Melanie,

I'm sooo glad the weather has cleared.

I wouldn't mind having your energy...my house is a mess...lol. When I get home from work I just don't have the energy to take care of things like I should. I'm hopeing that after a few more pounds it won't be such a struggle to get those tasks done. I've been thinking of starting to walk, hopeing that would build my endourance and boost my weight loss.

This morning when I stepped on the scale I had lost some of that weight I was freaking out over yesterday...whew!! Still have half a pound, but atleast it's going down again instead of going up. Oddly enough I noticed this morning for the first time that I LOOK like I'm loosing weight. My husband has told me he sees it, my son in law too. Even my mother mentioned it yesterday but it sure feels different when I see it for myself.

Well gotta go,

Renee'

good morning girls:
well i'm off to a good start this morning. went to the gym and upped my workout. pushed myself for a change and because it is such a beautiful day (24 degrees and no humidity) i'm going to walk to the stationary store and get some computer paper. that'll give me some cardio. i'm also going to clear off my sculpting table and prepare some clay to so some sculpting. i'm quite motivated today. i must be feeling a bit better, although my tooth is still bothering me. had a beautiful visit with my son and his bride this am too. had to drop something off before work so we had some green tea and a conflab (chat).
karin, i would day that this journal is more private than your personal journal. and you can write whatever you want in it from what you ate today, to how frustrated you feel, to how successful you are. you may want to post things that seem to work for you as well since it could help someone else. or a recipe that you want to keep for future reference.
in this journal we share with one another whatever.......and try to encourage or just be there for one another in victory and defeat.....although we have all agreed that there are no defeats when you pull up your socks and keep going.
we have come to really care about one another here and miss one when they are away.
step up to the plate and join the team.
oh melanie, what a great idea, hide the scale and only jump on once a week. i'm going to try. i have been obsessing over that thing lately. it's been driving me crazy. plus i'm going to try what my sister wendy's been doing and see if i can nudge the weight down a bit fast. still low carb though.
must go eat. :D
later,
jane

Jane,

I'm so glad your ear is feeling better. I don't often get toothaches but can definitely simpathize with the earaches, they are awful.

Have you decided what you'll be sculpting yet? Or are you one of those who just figure it out as you go along? I'd love to see a pic of your work Jane, I bet it's wonderful.

Allright, I see you are doing a heap of exercising too. I better get on the ball or you gals will leave me in the dust...lol. Sitting at this computer all day may be getting the bills paid but it's playing havock on my body. My feet and legs have even taken to swelling lately, which I can't figure out with all the water I drink. Guess my body is telling me something...get off your butt...I hear it...lol.

Today, I start walking...promise. And those weights will be used too!! No more laziness...got to do this right!!

Thanks,

Renee'

hey renee
excersise can be walking up the stairs instead of using the elevator or parking the car in the farthest parking space from where you needto go. i can be getting of the bus one stop early and walking the rest of the way. it can be just finding opportunities to work yourself. start off slow and you will be surprised how quickly you build up stamina.
as for my scupting, i've got a commition (?) from an organization in peterborough to do one for a fund raiser. it will be a group of 3 children in wheelchairs with one in front and 2 behind. the one out front will have one foot out of the wheel chair and be reaching for a butterfly the symbol for hope. it will signify that there is always hope.
i have some more in my head and some i've done.
one i did that may give you an idea of what i do was a middle aged woman is sitting in a porch chair (wicker) and on her knee is sitting her teenage daughter. the daughters head is on her mother's shoulder and they are talking. it is called a hard day at school. i got the inspiration at my mom's funeral when my cousin was telling about how my aunt, her grandmother, had to go out and support the family when she was 15 years old. working as a hairdresser which in those days was very hard work. my grandmother used to wait on the porch for her and sit her on her knee and rock her and chat about her day. i also used to do that with my girls when they had a hard day at school.
got to run, someones just come in the door,
jane

Jane,

Wow, your description is so vivid. I can almost see it. I hope you get sending pics figured out soon. I'm dying to see some of your work.

I'd love to make you that pair of earings you were talking about. If you could describe them to me I could try anyway :D

I know what you mean about walking an extra step for exercise and actually have been doing the parking lot thing you mentioned on my own for years now, thanks for the others. I don't often ride elevators or ride the bus but when I do now I'll remember what you said.

I do live very close to my office and have been thinking of walking in tomorrow. Also, as I swore earlier, I plan to walk to my mothers this evening, she lives about 6 blocks from me so I figure that's a good start. She may even decide to start walking with me...who knows. If the two of us start I'm sure my sister will join before too long too!! We are all very close, both living and loving, and we all also have weight problems.

We live in a two story house so I could use the stairs... :D

Later,

Renee'

Hi Melanie,

Yes, you are right. I do feel a little blah and was dragging me feet all day. I got up at 6AM to do my 20 minute fast walk around the neighborhood and it took all my will to go. Would have rather stayed in bed for another hour at least! It's been a long day for me. I worked a 10 hours today and I think I didn't pack enough food and was pretty hungry when I got home. I am happy to say though that I stuck with the plan and ate a celery stalk with cream cheese to tide me over until the chicken was done.

The rainy days don't bother me unless we have many days of gloom and doom then it gets to me.

Yes, I have children, two boys. Zack is 12 and Colt is 7. My hubby John and I have been married for 13 years and together for 16 (where did the time go?!). I own and operate a comic book store here in town. For fun I am into pen paling, genealogy, reading, quilting, and of course computers. I use to hike but haven't done any real hiking in a year. Miss it too. We just moved into a new house (well the house is old but new to us <grin>) about 2 months ago. That has kept me busy, unpacking, decorating etc.

Well, need to run. Hubby and I are going to watch American Idol. We got sucked in :D

Have a great night!
Karin

Hey Girls, This is going to be short and sweet. I am so tired after all day in Austin. Had a good time, but am glad to be home. I did good too,I only had grilled shrimp and salad for lunch. I was strong. My will power did not abandon me. I thought of you friends and said, I'll have this grilled shrimp, please... I felt so good about myself. I walked my legs off, and made it home before dark, so I took the weedeater and cleaned off my dad, sister, and brothers graves. The weeds where getting bad after all the rain.
Well goodnight girls, I feel a little wilted, beleive I will go to bed....
Whew... lots of reading to catch up, ya'll have been busy while I was gone.... Later
Karin, keep up the good work, you will be so glad you did. You will see......
I will talk to ya'll tomorrow, have to get up early and haul a load of cattle to market, so I will talk to ya'll when I get home, missed ya'll today :wave:

Hi ladies,
I rolled out of bed again feeling beat. Man, I must really be on withdrawl from sugar!! I was so tempted to just get back into bed but I knew if I did I would be mad at myself later. I did my twenty minute fast walk around the neighborhood. The weather was super this morning, so nice and cool and breezy. Much better than the day before where the air was so thick I could cut it. The walk was still a bit difficult but was happy I was out there. I heard my stomach growl for the first time this morning in probably many months. It was great, but the best part was getting on the scales this morning, down 2 more pounds!! I have lost 5 so far. Woo hoo! That made me feel so much better.

Melanie: Do you live on a cattle farm? You did great yesterday with your eating. I think eating out for me will be my toughest chalenge. Oh, and what about pizza night. Do I just eat the topping? That would probably be the best part anyhow :D .

Renee': I read some earlier posts and see you do not live too far from me, I am in Manassas which is about 40 minutes west of Washington DC.

Questions: Is everyone taking vitamin suppliments and if so did you go out and get the stuff recommended in the Atkins book? I started taking One A Day multivitamin but I think I forgot to take it yesterday.

Well, need to get some chores done before I head out to work. Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Karin :)

good morning girls:
it's a beautiful day today.
Karin, you've started well, keep your positive attitude and you can't go wrong. i do think though that you need to pack a larger lunch. even if it's snacks of cheese, nuts, or bits of sausage or ham, it will help you get through the day and not be too hungry when you get home from work. You've got your hands full with 2 boys. i have only one son and 2 daughters of my own and one daughter that bubbled into our lives at age 14. she now lives with my sister in Toronto. the are both actresses and are very good for each other.
i also am into geneology. we have manage to complete my mothers side but my dad's is difficult because his mother was illegitimate and was adoped out at one year old. then she was taken back by her family but her mother remarried and so there's a confusing array of names. i spent some time in the registry office in edinburough last may and did find out a little. and dad's dad is quite a mystery. i have a few names to go on though and when i get a chance i'll give it another go. dad died last summer so i kind of took a break.
my girlfriend, ruth is a beautiful quilter. and i used to hike and camp a lot.
it's so good to have melanie back. we missed you. hooray for you that you had such good willpower. :cheer: you did really well and we are really proud of you.
i too, am back on track and back under the 200 mark. :yay: I didn't eat much for lunch but i had a good dinner.
renee, i would love a pair of your earings. do they have steel posts or silver i have an alergy to most metals.....like i'm actually going to somehow get to own a pair. that would take some real manouvering, eh?
i don't wear much jewellry but i do indulge in unusual earrings. and a couple of silver rings. that's it.
well gerry comes today so i best get ready for him. beds to change. food to propare etc.
talk to you later,
jane

Good Morning Girls,

I fast walked with my mom yesterday for half an hour. Felt like we covered quite a few miles...lol...I have no idea how far we went. Our path was zig zagged through out the neighborhood and at a very fast pace. Thought for a short while that my calves would cramp but I just kept on, didn't even slow our pace and before long I felt them loosening up.

It's really odd, let me explain how she came to walk with me:

I called her to find out what time she would be getting off work, so I could try to time my walk to when she should be getting home [I was just going to walk to her house and visit for a while, then walk home] Well when I told her why I was asking she said, "Oh My Gosh!! I just told my doctor yesterday that I was going to start walking today!! Could you wait and let me walk with you?"

Is that great or what??!! She wants to walk every other day so I have a partner to walk with on those days. Also my husband asked me if I would like him to "stroll" with him on the days my Mom doesn't walk. [stroll being the opperative word, he says he doesn't want to "run" like mom and I do...lol]

So here is the plan:

Fast Paced Walk with Mom everyother day
Slow Stroll Walk with Hubby on the others
Weight train on days I walk with Hubby

What do you girls think about that?

Melanie,

:cheer: WTG!!!! We knew you could do it!!!! Proud of you girl.

Karin,

Manasas Is close. Couple of years ago we had a lot of work in those parts. It's beautiful. We stayed in Dumfries during the job and commuted...lol.

Do you ever make your way down here? Va Beach is less than 5 min. away from where I sit... :D

Jane,

I usually use "junk" but can order what you need. Let me know what you want and I'll look into it... :D Also describe what exactly you are looking for please. I think you had said you wanted them different from eachother, but to match in style and color... I've never seen a pair like that and would like to know more.

Example:

Size [ do you like them large or small]
Shape [do you like danglers or high and tight type]
color preference
How different do you want them from eachother?

I really would like to make them for you but I want to make something you would really like. Please describe EXACTLY what you would like. Or you could mail me a drawing, I'm sure you could do that with all your sculpting ability you must be able to draw well too... :D

Later,

Renee'

earrings
 

Renee:
wow thanks so much. i'd love one of your creations.
okay hear goes. i would like one small and one med sized. greens from forest to jade and any shade from light to dark. one could be a stud and the other a dangle. the small one could be tight and compact the the larger one would be an elongated form or the small one. just use your creative mind. i know you'll come up with something funky.
the metal could be surgical steel or silver. i can also wear gold but i rarely wear it. most of my jewellry is silver.
if you ever get up this way i'll have some sculptures here and you could choose something you like too. they are hard to ship as they can break. although UPS aren't too bad. they will at least reimburse what they break. surprising enough i don't draw that well. i think it's because i'm a three dementional person. the things i do well are always 3 D. sewing, sculping, unusual cake decorating, stuff like that.
time to get back to house cleaning.
by the way, please let me know the price of the earrings. i can mail you a US money order or something.
later,
jane

Renee
oh by the way, i think you did just great on your walk and your plan sounds perfect.
Way To Go, girl. :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
talk to you later,
jane

Jane,

I'll look into ordering the "hardware" and let you know how much that is and I'll ship C.O.D. but the rest is on me!!.. :D I have some beautiful green marble here that I think would be just right and like I said earlier, I WANT TO DO THIS. You gave me the idea so you should get the earings... :D

Later,

Renee'

oh renee,
you are such a dear. you made me cry. it is so kind of you to do this for me. i do hope someday you can come for a visit or even a drive thru and stop...then i could give you something special, too.
thank you so much. words fail me. :bhug: :angel:
:rheart: :rheart:
jane

Jane,

Don't do that....I'm not promising museum quality jewlery or anything. I'm really glad you inspired me to try this but I don't even know how it will turn out yet, so please don't expect true art. I enjoy making this stuff but believe me it's nothing to get very excited over. Like I said before I usually use cheap materials [junk] and this will be the first time I ever even bought the hardware from a reputable source...lol. I'm sure anything that I could make would pale terribly in comparison to one of your works. So please don't give another thought to offering me one of them. A picture is QUITE enough and I would certianly consider that a fair trade.... :D

The Jewlery I normaly make LOOKS like "good" stuff, but is definately not. I couldn't afford to use real stuff and am happy to make due with what I have available to me.

My Mom is also alergic to certain metals [nickle in particular] and I've never made her anything that she couldn't wear on top of her clothes to protect her skin from it. If this works out you may be helping me to break into new horizons and for that I am truely greatful. So you see, you are doing ME the favor, not the other way around...thank you... :blush:

Renee'