Oh, hey there Melee, how goes it? Well I actually meant to post this on the main board, just because so many of us are outside in the sun etc... anyway, had a bit of a cancer scare:O. I had a little spot on my neck/shoulder, that I'd just kind of been ignoring...anyway my sister came into town and saw it, insisted I get it looked at and well....turns out it was melanoma. And for those of you that don't know melanoma can be very deadly:(, it's the skin cancer that can and does go to organs, usually lungs, lymph nodes, brain:( anyway they caught mine fairly early, of course for a week or 2 I was wandering around the house humming the theme from Love Story LOL, before I got all the results back. they still had to cut a pretty big chunk out of my neck to get all the margins, but it's healing fairly well, and I don't think it'll leave too bad of a scar. So!!! if you see anything suspicious on yourself or anybody else, get it looked at!!! Don't be a knucklehead like me, if caught early they can take care of it fairly easyly. And being as most of us on this board probably spend a great deal of time out in the sun, make sure you wear hats, sunscreen, etc.....ok enough preaching from the Boopster. Oh and Melee, I'll have to post some more pics of Hudson, hes getting HUGE!!!!!!! How are your horses doing? Done any yakin' lately? Poochella, how's Mikey the Brittney getting on? Has he settled into country life yet? We spent the weekend at the coast with the folks we got Liz from,they brought her sister Lil, I'll have to post some pics of her too, they look so much alike I almost brought the wrong dog home! anyway our house at the coast is not all that big, and we had FIVE Border Collies down there with us:) but a good time was had by all.

Hi Theresa! Welcome! I hope to reach my goal by December 2006 so I understand about longterm goals. I've been shedding about a pound every 10 days or so by adding a lot more activity. I retired in January and that has helped me a lot. I used to have a desk job and was a workaholic on top of that so more than 40 hours per week. Add a long commute and I didn't have much time left over to have much of a life except relax so I could go back to work again. I've lost 25 pounds since January 2, 2004. Your questions: - How much have you increased your activity? A whole bunch on most days but I don't track it with regularity. I now have the luxury of gardening. Also, cleaning house can really be a workout and I didn't really have time to do this before. If you work at an office job, I think you may need to face reality and try to plan some type of regular physical activiy. This was something that probably really caused me to gain the most weight. I should have realized that some form of "working out" if I wasn't moving much on the job was absolutely necessary. I didn't want to believe that. Now I do. - How do you handle breakfast on the run? My breakfast is 1/2 to 1 cup of yoghurt (brand White Mountain which I have learned to love but didn't initially. This stuff helps your digestion also. I don't use the fat-free or low-fat stuff. I try to avoid artificial food whenever I can.) I also add 1 to 2 ripe avocados (depending on how hungry I am) along with my cup of yoghurt, I eat these with a spoon right out of their shell. It makes breakfast very quick and easy and almost gourmet since I love both of these. This can be portable if you put the yoghurt in a containter with a lid and don't leave it in the heat. This helps me to hit the ground running and I haven't gotten tired of it yet. Been having this breakfast (most days) since I retired in January . - Do any of you use Leanne's meal planner from FlyLady? Does it help? I have thought about Leanne's meal planner but haven't subscribed. I did try some of her test recipes and liked them. My husband and I are vegetarian so though she has options, it wasn't quite a good fit. Also, part of my retirement is trying to learn to cook good food largely from scratch where I can. I know everyone doesn't have this luxury. Sometimes I wonder if cooking from scratch has helped me lose weight? I've heard that smells can be very satifying. I find that I don't really over eat at the meals that I prepare, only ones that I eat when I go out to dinner in a restaurant. Strange? some significance there, I think. - Please tell me what keeps you going. I need to keep going too! I do feel so much better. And it is wonderful to see my weight on the scale drop. I'm going to have to be more rigid about things probably before too long but not having easy access to a vending machine like I did at work has helped tremendously. I love Snickers and haven't had one since January. I have prayed as has already been mentioned. Never hurts to pray, whatever your religion or meditate if you're not religious. I plan to do some regular swimming since I love that even if it is healthy. Find something you really enjoy so it will feel like you are pampering yourself even if it helps you lose weight. - How do you "unlearn" bad portion sizing? This is my toughest problem. I finish everything on my plate when I go to a restaurant. Restaurant portions are getting bigger and bigger, if I don't succeed losing all that I want to lose, this will be the reason. But one funny thing I have learned is that nuts really help me lose my appetite quickly. I have bought all kinds, brazil, walnut, cashew pieces, pecans and almonds. Not the salted kind and not peanuts since I itch and think I'm allergic to them (and they aren't really nuts but are "legumes"). Anyway, if I find myself wanting to eat something after I should be full, if I have a couple of handfuls of nuts, it seems to really help the ole "hypothalmus gland(sp?)" shut down. Mine seems to tell me I need to eat all the time unless I really struggle to counteract these messages. Raw is best if you can get them. I like the raw walnuts the best but I vary them because diversity is usually good in most things. I buy them at "Whole Foods" grocery, a health food store not too far away. Walnuts are also supposed to help lower cholestoral. Even though their calorie count isn't that low, I highly recommend. I seem to lose weight on those days I eat the most nuts, strange... Another trick I've found is that a piece of fruit about 30 minutes or an hour before dinner will keep back the munchies really really well for just the right amount of time. Otherwise, I may eat too large of a "snack" and then eat dinner too which is just too many calories. Also, I try to keep from becoming famished because terrible things happen when I do. Bananas are a real treat and I've eaten two of them before to keep from eating unhealthy. I try to always have bananas around since they are such a treat, even though they are one of those fruits you are supposed to be careful of. Much healthier than ice cream and they don't seem to be as addictive to me as snickers :). Sounds like you don't have as much to lose as I do. All I can say is please, please take care of it now. It is so much worse if you let it continue. Have as your goal to quit gaining at least. Then worry about losing. Don't bury your head in the sand like I did. But also don't beat yourself up. It seems like the easier I take this, the better I feel and am not so negative about this losing weight thing. I'm also taking a bunch of vitamins. Not sure how they affect losing weight. One supplement I take that may be related, I think, is Chromium Picolinate. (not positive so I don't want to get into a serious discussion on which vitamins are best:) Everyone is different of course. Hope that some of my personal information can help you. Bottom line, take care of yourself, nurture yourself as best you can and I think it will help you hang in there for the long haul. --Alice

I have no ability or patience to do such decorating but really love to look at them. I'm sorry you get the headaches Michelle but what a lovely 'recovery' idea. One hint I'll add that I got from a professional baker... roll your cookie dough out on parchement paper or the rimless sheets they used. Cut your cookies out ON this and just pick up the scraps, rather than try and lift cut out cookies ONTO a sheet. Of course they also were uber-efficient in making use of all the space of the rolled cookie dough and did not have many scaps at all. I have a zillion cookie cutters but never make rolled cookies. It figures, doesn't it !?!?!?!! I must need camp again. Maureen

OMG! Ok - I was trying this forum out and YES, I did leave things obscure enough for some of you to be making these statements. I am not a bad mother. Background. My 2 oldest sons had graduated from H.S. when I came over here. They were already situated & ready for college. My 3rd son was in 3rd grade and is now in 7th. He is very attached to his father and so it was decided (mutually with my EX) that instead of uprooting the boys (whom didn't want to leave their own home & ranch to live in a NY cramped apt) they would stay in TX. The catch would be that my EX would move into our home so as not to have the boys move with him into his studio apt. As for my current husband's EX Wife; she calls and asks for him to call the Super from her apt bldg so as to voice complaints just because he's a Man and they listen more to a man. She calls to ask him to buy groceries because she doesn't want to carry the bags in the subway train she takes from work. She calls to have him discipline the boys (for which his kids are asking why he's always so mean to them and mommy isn't). She calls to have him run over to shovel snow that is stuck to her Explorer so that she can go to work (boys take school bus). She calls to whine about money issues and how she's not making it and then goes on to ask for a loan (she gets a very good amount $1K+). She calls to ask if she looks good in her cognac colored boots or the jet black boots. He works 2 jobs and she calls to have him get out of work to pick up the boys because she's tired from going out all weekend. As for his treating me differently . . his personality changes when they are here. I've tried everything possible to get along with these boys and there has been some progress. Enough so that they feel good to come to me to help them finish projects because mommy is tired. I've taken them in too many times to count for dinner, rides and washing their clothes without so much as expecting a Thank You from anyone. But my husband's personality is still visibly shifted and the answer for that is still unclear. He tends to buy very expensive games, electronic toys, etc., and he's put our finances in jeopardy. And their (the boys) attitude & tone of voice change when their dad is present. 1 minute they're ok with me and then they change with dad. No, I do not vie for his attention or try to take it away from them. I bow out on many things that I can safely consider a "guy" thing in order for dad & sons to have some alone time. MY sons are very good & progressing happily. Yes, of course they must miss mom (me) but anyone who's talked to them can see that they are very well balanced boys. As for the original plan in our marriage was that my husband was going to finish out 6 years in his place of business before we made concrete plans to move to my home state. I'm just wondering if it'll ever happen or if I'm wasting time. My stepsons aren't the major problem; it's the calls, the calls and the calls from his EX-wife and the way he just changes when the boys are around. NOW reply please.