I Need A Buddy Too........
 

Hi, my name is Melanie (Melameter), I am on the Atkins diet, and have been since May 1st. I have lost 15 pounds. I live way out in the country in Central Texas, with my husband and 2 sons. As you can see I am surrounded by males. And they could care less to talk about my diet, the only thing related to food I ever hear is "WHATS FER SUPPER?"
I would love to have someone to talk to, it would really help to keep me motivated.
:roll: I need a buddy..... If you are interested please respond. I would love to hear from you. :wave: Melameter...

Hi Melanie,

I'd love to be one of your buddies!

We have a few things in common. I too have 2 sons and a husband. And while my husband is very supportive, I sometimes see his eyes glaze over when I start talking about my diet...lol.

I live in a pretty big city now, [Norfolk, VA] but have lived in a little town in GA of under 30,000 and loved it.

I started this WOL [Atkins] May 14th and have loved it more every day.

Do you have a journal yet? They are very helpful.

You are at the right place if what you want is support. This is a great group of people, and a wonderful resource for info.

Later,

Renee'

Hi Renee...
 

It is so nice to hear from you, I was reading where you lived in a smaller city of 30,000, I chuckled because the town where I live has less than 600. It is very small.
Actually my nearest neighbor is almost two miles away. It is 25 miles to the nearest grocery store.
I really love it though.
I bet if you where here in my shoes you would go crazy, because your used to lots of people?
I dont know you may love it...
How old are your children? My boys are 13 and 10.
My 10 year old son wants to go on my diet with me, he could stand to, he is pretty hefty. I am seriously thinking about letting him do it. My only concern is, if he eats high fat and carbs when I am not looking, it would not be good for him, but I dont guess it is good for him to be overweight either. It is just really hard when you send them to school, and all those vending machines.
Well speaking of the children its time to go to tucking them in, so will talk to you later...
Thanks for replying, I am going to enjoy corresponding with you.
What is Virginia like, I have never been there. Is it flat or hills?
Melameter

Hi Melanie,

The 30,000 I mentioned was actually the size of the whole county, even so our little town sure had more than 600 people in it...lol. I miss it sometimes. It's so nice to have strangers wave at you and smile or say,"good morning" when you walk by. If you try that here in the city, people think you are trying to start something...lol.

The part of GA we lived in was in the foothills. Here in VA we live on the coast and it is so flat that you could watch your dog run away for hours....lol j/k

Our sons are 16 & 17. They are good boys and we are very proud of them. My oldest just bought a set of weights yesterday and told me I could use them anytime I wanted to. I know in my heart that he bought them with me in mind, bless his heart. He knows I've been trying to save money to get a "total gym" and money is tight. He has a full time job and can spend his money as he pleases, and he wants to spend it to help me...makes me cry I'm so proud of him.

I think it's great that your son wants to try this with you. It would be easier for him as an adult if he were to start eating healthily now. As far as the "vending machines" don't we all have our own "vending machines"? No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. If he really wants to do this, just let him know ALL about it. Teach him what are the best choices and [this is the hard part] let HIM make them. Do not ever set yourself up as the diet police. Be his buddy. Encourage him when he is doing well, and comfort him when he is not doing so well.

Enough preaching, sorry, but I kinda have bad experiences with dieting as a child, and think they have added to my past troubles. I do very much believe that it could be wonderful for your son, but think we need to be careful not to allow our children to judge their self worth by their weight. It can be tricky, but I know you can do a good job being his buddy, afterall who loves him more :D

Later,

Renee'

buddies
 

hi melanie:
I too lived in a small coastal town on the north shore of lake eirie. i just moved to a small city and i'm loving it. i have 4 children all grown (29,27,27,and 24) my son, and one of my daughters have gone on the atkins diet with me. it is quite fun. we all cook and share meals frequently. my son just got married on the weekend and already i miss the fun. my daughter, sam, calls me with new recipes and has been a real encouragement. i don't know what i'll do when she goes to japan in the fall. i'm needing a buddy myself.
i started this diet, or should i say lifestyle, in april 2002. i'm pretty new at this myself. being perimenopausal and having thyroid problems has made it a bit of an uphill battle but i'm pleased with my 9 lb loss so far, at least i've stopped gaining which had been going on steadily for over 2 years.
working out 3 X a week has helped to. i find that the weights have really helped me lose inches even if the scale is slow. i bought a denim suit last fall and never got to wear it. i had gained 5 lbs and that was it, it was too tight. now i can fit in it! that's important. i feel great. i'm feeling more beautiful and happy.
i hope that we can buddy up and have some laughs to.
take care
jane anne

Renee,
 

Hey again, sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I had to take my mother to the doctor in Austin, yesterday, I was gone all day.
We went to the mall and I was trilled to try on clothes, It is amazing just what 15 pounds will do. I bought 2 pairs of shoes and a couple of cute sleevless shirts, and then went to a mexican food place and had fahita meat with sour cream and cheese pico de gallo, mmmmmmmm I really felt mistreated :) I just love this diet.
I hope your dog doesnt decide to run away...ha
I bet it is real pretty there. I know what you mean about the people though, I lived for a short time in Tampa Bay, Florida, I dont think I have ever met such rude people. My husband says I just have not been to New York???
That is so sweet of your son to buy the weights, they sound like great kids. My boys are good kids, but as differnt as night and day. Colton my youngest, does want to do this diet, but he decided to wait until school starts. The boys live with their stepdad and I, but are going to spend July with their real father. ( I miss them, :( and they are not even gone yet.) But it would be hard for him to try to diet away like that. He gets homesick, and I know that is a terrible feeling. I will take your advise to heart, I know that he has to lose weight because he wants to, not because somebody makes him feel like he has to. All I can do is provide him with food and be there for him. I would love to see him lose a little weight though, but only for his health.
When he was 6 years old he went with his dad for the summer, when he left (to Florida) he wore a size 14 slim, when he came home he wore a 16 husky. His dad let him eat nothing but junk food and candy. I told his dad, he may think he is doing good by letting the kids have all that junk because they love it, but it was not good for their health. Colton has had a problem ever since.
But maybe he will do good on Atkins, after all it was his idea...
Well talk to you later...Melameter

Hi Jane Anne......
 

I would love to buddy up, as they say you can never have to many friends.... I think it is so great that you have such encouragement from your family. And I know how great it feels to get into those clothes that have not fit in forever. I have a little short black dress, that I used to love to wear, it made me feel so feminine. I have not fit into it for at least 4 years, I got it out a few weeks ago, and started trying it on once a week, it helps me to see how much I am losing. It is still a little to tight for comfort, but it will zip. When I feel good in it, like I used to, I am going to wear it out to eat a big yummy steak.
You are doing good, I know you would like for the weight to come off faster, But I have always heard that it may be better to come of slowly.
I have only lost 15 pounds, and I have not lost any in the last week or so.
So you live on Lake Eirie?, I have never been to Canada, although someday would love to go. I love traveling and seeing things I have never seen.
Been to see the redwoods in California, it is unbeleivable how big they are. We took a bunch of videos, and I use them for inspiration on my diet, as I weighed my goal weight when we went, I felt so much better too....
I have been alot of places, but would love to see it all before my times up... Dream on...
I have enjoyed it all, except it didnt take me long to look at the desert, got tired of looking at sand and cactus in a hurry. When you are in the cattle business, That dry stuff looks terrible, means it is going to cost you a small fortune to feed them.
Well, I better go now, have had company from Arkansas, and they are supposed to drop by on there way home, I would hate for them to see me with my hair sticking up and my nightclothes on.
Later.... Melameter

hi melanie, there's always a few favourite clothes we save in the back of the closet hoping to one day fit back into them. 6 years ago i went on the "food and the gut reaction" diet (very similar to the low carb way of eating except you're allowed to eat fruit and honey) the goal was not to loose weight but to heal my bowels(ulcerative colitis) i did lose 30 lbs though and kept it off until i had to have my gallbladder out. anyway, i have some beautiful clothes that used to fit that i'm dying to fit into again.
last year when we went to europe with my ailing dad, i wouldn't buy any neat clothes because i refused to believe that i would remain this heavy. how sad is that?
i also love to travel although i had not done much while i was married to my exhusband. he always claimed we couldnot afford it but i find it interesting that on my own i have been able to afford to travel much more.
i have managed to help my kids to understand that you can't afford not to travel. it broadens and enriches your live so much.
canada is truly a beautiful country. if i were to visit it for the first time i would visit the rocky mountains. i took my kids on a horse back trip into the mountains a few years ago. it was an incredible trip. we slept in logging tents and ate in a cook tent. we really roughed it. and we spent all day riding to remote places in the mountains and seeing things very few people get to see. it was awesome. then i guess i'd see newfoundland. it's very rugged and very picturesque.
i guess you can tell i'm a woodsy, roughen it kind of girl.
i don't think i could handle the dessert, no trees. the land is so naked.
my daughter just called needing some encouragement about the diet. it's costing her a fortune so i suggested that we find some recipes that we could improvise with and cut down some of the cost. and she's getting sick of eggs.
i'll grind up a bunch of pork rinds for her to make "french toast" some mornings. that should help a bit.
she's trying to save for a "teach and travel" course that will teach her how to teach english to children in foreign countries. it's been a dream of hers for years and now that its getting close she's finding that her diet is "eating" into her "teach and travel" funds. ironic eh?
she's so determined though to stay on the diet andstill save money to go. i think she will have her cake and eat it too. :daze: :D
anyway have to go pick up the paycheques so........
later :wave:
jane

Melanie,

Hope all went well at your moms appointment.

WOW!! 15 pounds!!! :cheer:
It must feel great to be able to shop for new clothes. You go girl!!!
It's going to be a while before I buy anything sleevless...lol

You are probably right that it'll be hard for your son to follow any type of plan while with his dad. By the time he gets back maybe he will be even more encouraged by how well you are doing :)

Sorry so short, today has been hectic and time is running out here at work. Don't worry, I'm my own boss...lol, so I'm not in danger for doing this at work.

Again WOOOHOOO 15 pounds!!!!!

later,

Renee'

Jane,

I would love your recipie for french toast!!

You have what sounds like a great family. It must be wonderful sharing this WOL with them as you do.

You are so right about saving our "skinny" clothes. lol...I've been tempted many times to have a yard sale, but never quite got rid of any of my favorites.

Renee'

"french toast pancakes"
 

hi renee'
french toast....yum yum! you can have it for breadfast or for an elaborate desert...kind of like belgin waffles (sort of).
i got this off the lc recipe website.
1/2 bag unflavored pork rinds (or 3/4 cup gound pr)
2 eggs
1/4 cup whipping cream
3 packets sweetner (splenda's the best)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
crumble pork rinds until fine (i grind mine in the blender 4 bags at once)
beat eggs well then mix with the remaining ingredients and beat again. add pork rindsto egg/cream mixture and allow to sit for 5min. mix will thicken to a "gloppy" phase.
meanwhile heat skillet or griddle with butter or oil, and when hot, fry pancakex until golden brown on both sides.serve with cinn. butter or low carb syrup.

cinn butter
(can't get lc syrup in my district so i made this up and it's quite good)
3/4 cup butter
1-2 tsp vanilla
1- 2 tsp cinnamon
whip together with electic mixer and keep in container in fridge until needed.

DESERT
make pancake as above
spread with cinn butter
spead 1 tsp of sugar free strawberry jam on top
top that with a dollop of whipped cream (made with sweetner, of course)

I know it all sounds kind of icky but promise you will love it , our whole family loves it and honestly never tire of it and its one of the cheaper things to eat.

also when we were in paris last year we had cafe' creme and what that is, is a dollop of whipped cream stirred into coffee. add 1 packet of sweetener, and a little vanilla and you have a wonderful desert coffee. just make the decaf a little stronger and it makes a really rich flavourful coffee.

enjoy girls!
jane

ps: you girls are doing excellent in the weight lose dept. and i'm inspired.
:cheer: :hyper:

Hello buds.....
 

I am so tired it has been a long day. It all started after I logged off of the computer this morning, I had time to take a shower and my mother in law showed up, she is the sweetest woman alive, but loves to talk and talk and talk, I had company fixing to show up, and I tried to tell her, she just lives right here beside us, anyway, my company showed, I am still in my bathrobe with wet hair, I still look terrible to this minute.....
I am really not vain at all, go around in my oldest most comfortable t-shirt most of the time, but I wanted to look nice today, have not seen these friends from arkansas in awhile, argggggg :mad:
But they have all left and now I can relax...
I was reading about the french toast, I cant wait to try it, will have to get to the store for ingrediants. Sounds good. I have tried the coffee like Jane was talking about, it is really good. I am trying to stay on induction for awhile longer, I dont really know what to do, I dont lose weight very fast on induction so what would happen if I started eating more?
Canada sounds really pretty, I would love to see the mountains, I have seen the grand tetons, they are pretty. I live in the heart of the hill country, no mountains here, just hills. But its home.
I was going to tell ya'll about my mom, she is so lucky guys, she had been going to the same dr for years, and he happened to decide to move, so she was tranferred to see a new dr, new to this area, he asked her if she had ever had a mammogram, she was 63 years old and had NEVER had one. He insisted she go get one right away. They discovered a little lump, it turned out malignant, she had invasive ductal carsinoma. But because they caught it so early, she had a double mastectomy, but had to have NO chemotherapy or anything, they got it all! THANK GOD!!!!! My mother is my very best friend. Anyway, always take care of that kind of stuff, dont put it off, its important! I have to take her to Austin every 4 months just to be sure everything stays okay. And so far it has.
I tried not to write a book, but I am so glad my mom had such luck with her dr. if she had not have, there is no telling what would have happened.
Well guys I am tired and think I will curl up with a good book for awhile and get some sleep.
Talk to ya'll later... And just wanted to say this is really nice chatting with you both :wave: Goodnight Melameter

hi girls,
you probably won't see this til morning but i'll write anyway. then it's off to bed for me too.
i want to encourage you and your mom, melanie. my good friend, marj, had a double masectomy 13 years ago and has not had a recurrence of the cancer.
she did have to have chemo but she too was a very blessed woman.
my mother passed away 7 years ago....it seems such a short time ago. my sisters and i took mom out to lunch and shopping every 2 weeks for the last 2 years of her life. we had so much fun and laughed so much together. i am so thankful for the times we had together. they were precious.
last year we lost dad. before he passed on, our whole family took him to europe to see paris, scotland ( his mother was born there and we looked up her stats at the archives in edinburough and also looked up some cousins) and we had a party for him at the RAF club in london with the remainder of his squadron from the 2nd world war. i can't tell you what a wonderful time we all had. my cousin from germany met us in paris and we had a family reunion, sort of. 10 of us went and even though we are still paying it off, i wouldn't trade a lifetime of financial security for one day of our trip.
every day you have with your loved ones is a precious jewel. we have our memories forever.
i wrote a journal of our trip and plan to make it into a book for the family for christmas this year. (don't tell ha ha)
gerry, the fellow (mentally challenged senior citizen) i take care of, is coming to stay with me tomorrow and so i must get his bed ready and prepare for him. we have great fun, together.
so it's off to bed for me so that i can get up early and go to the gym and prepare for ger.
good night, good morning, and God bless!
:wave:
your bud,
jane

Melanie,

Bless your heart, I dress comfortably too, but surely do understand wanting to look nice for people you don't often see. I would have been mortified. I hope you remembered that your friends came to see you because of you, not what you look like. This is easy to say, but I don't think it would be easy for me to feel. Seems we are quite similar in that...lol.

"I dont lose weight very fast on induction so what would happen if I started eating more?"

Believe it or not, eating too little can cause a weight loss stall. Your body can, and will go into starvation mode if it feels you are not going to eat enough. I have GAINED weight on a 500 cal diet!!! In fact, I think I gained most of my current extra weight on what would be considered by most to be a LOW CAL diet [800-1200 cal] I have lost every pound that I have [not that it's a huge amount] by increasing my food intake! My sister lost 135 pounds simply by starting to eat 3 meals a day [rather than the one meal she was used to] and INCREASING her cal count by 200%. It took her 1 & 1/2 years to do it. And since she is a parapalegic [has been since 16] I can safely say that it had VERY little to do with exersize.

Most Doctors scoff at this fact, despite the documented proof. I don't understand why they would, they freely acknowledge that if you don't drink enough water your body will store all it can, but fat...there is just no explaining how they think sometimes.

If either of you have a question about this please send me a private message and I'll be happy to provide more details.

Thank God your mother had to change Doctors. Imagine a Doctor this day and age not insisting that your mother have a mamogram before she was 40, much less 63. I agree with you that you can't fool around with these things and have my own cancer history to remind me to take care of myself.

FYI my Doctor told me flat out that my fat had very likely contributed to my cancer, it seems that fat acts as a producer of extra estrogin, and too much estrogin can cause "female" cancers.

So you see, we need to be even more careful than most.

Sorry to end on such a bummer, but remember, we are doing something about it. This is the best thing we can do, not only for ourselves but our loved ones as well.

Later,
Renee'

Jane,

How wonderful to have been able to enjoy your fathers adventures abroad. You will have those memories for the rest of your life. It must be very comforting to know how much happiness you brought to both of your parents in their last few years.

You are so right, family is the most precious gift God gives us.

Thank you for inspiring me to spend more time with my grandmother. I think I'll go see her today after work. She is a spitfire. 90 years old, almost blind, all but deaf, but it hasn't slowed her down. She does more than I do at 39. She is very involved in her church and until recently walked or rode the bus alone everywhere she went [she never drove]. She was widowed very young [mid 30's] and raised 3 children alone on a hairdressers wage.

Thank you for the recipie, it looks great!!! OMG a treat!!! I will definitly be trying it.

Later,
Renee'

good morning renee':
i agree whole heartedly that we are doing the best thing we can do for our health. the y are now linking hydrogenated oils and carbs heated in oils and fats over a certain temp. with cancer. so any carb that's been deep fried is on the list. its supposed to be so bad that it'll cause tobacco like issues in the courts because they've known about it for so long but have done nothing about it.
the good news is that we don't eat deep fried carbs anymore. no fries, potatoe chips etc. can you imagine what a good thing we are doing for our bodies?
if everyone ate low carb we'd save a ton of tax payers money on health care.
i also believe as responsible adults we should be our own health watch dog. my mother passed away because two doctors failed to realize that 8 wks on prednezone would make an older woman into mush and make surgery impossible. my sisters and i decided that day that we would not leave our health in the hands of one or two over worked drs, that we would also do what we can for ourselves.
i managed to find a wonderful dr. who listens to me and will try alternative forms of medicine. i also research on the internet alternate treatments for whatever ails me. that's why i was on the "food and the gut reaction" diet. mom died of ulcerative colitis and i had it to. since the drugs did not help mom i found something else to try. and it worked.
drs are trained to work in emergency situations but are not taught much about pro active care.
The atkins diet is not just about weight loss for me, at my age i'm looking for ways to keep healthy. i'm 52 and i intend on living to be an old, happy, healthy (albeit funky and odd) woman! :dazzle: :daze:
i've got the happy down, i'm moving toward the old, and i'm working hard on the healthy.
by the way, i'm one of those people who will be in her nighty cleaning the house at noon but i'm still pretty insecure about hair and makeup so i'll sometimes fix my hair and put some lipstick on just in case. i can't help it . i would have probly told my mother in law to come in the bathroom while i get ready for my friend.
in january, i met an old (there's that word again) school friend after 36 years and you want to believe i spent a week getting ready for her. of course she was exactly the same, had not change one bit, and if she hadn't been so nice, it would have had to go home and never see her again.ha ha we've become good friends again.
well i'd better finish getting ready for ger.
bye :wave:
jane

Hi Girls...
 

Jane I too think it is wonderful that you got to spend time with your parents, and Renee go see your Grandmother, like you said, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.
Ya'll will not beleive, but my only sister had ovarian cancer she died at 33, that has been 11 years ago, and 3 months ago my older brother 48 went to bed and died in his sleep. They said he had taken some kind of sinus medicine and drank a few beers and his heart just stopped. Lost my dad 4 years ago, he had lung cancer, and emphazema. So now out of our family of 6 there are 3 left. I am not 40 yet, but I get a mammogram and all that stuff.
Now on to happier things, I was just wishing I had some of those pork skins, I would try that french toast, have you tried it yet Renee?
I also read what you said about not eating enough, I wish you would look at my journal and tell me what you think, I write down everything I eat there. It is kind of boring as that is all it says is what I have eaten. I look at other peoples journals to get ideas about what to eat, I took a look at Jane Annes after the french toast idea, I thought she was eating good stuff, I read about a pork roast that made me hungry, I have not even thought about a roast. I posted over in her journal and was going to look at yours, but right about the time I got hers typed out the electicity flickered and I lost it all, so I just left the computer off and went to bed. It had been a bad day all day long.....
Better today though.
I think I will venture off into the recipes and see if I can find some new ideas, I am tired of eggs too. I want something different.
Well Jane, take care of Gerry, I think that you are wonderful for that. We have what we call a Crawfish Open here every year for the MHMR (mental health) We raised about one hundred and twenty thousand dollars this year, have in past years bought several houses, and the adults who could not live by themselves stay there with others like them, and then they hire people to come in and watch over them, take them shopping. We built a recycling center, so that some of them who could work, would have jobs, they love it. It is the best thing we have ever done. My husband and about 10 or 12 friends started this 13 years ago, and only made 500 dollars the first year. Now they have a golf tournament, a big name band on Saturday night, it is great. Usually cook about 15,000 pounds of crawfish.
Well, I am going to go walk and then come look at the recipes, it is a cool morning , think I will take advantage of that, as it was 100 degrees yesterday. Later ya'll, Melameter

hi melanie
took a peek at your journal this morning and i can see that you definitely don't eat enough. never skip a meal. and always have snacks. i try to keep a bag of almonds (with skin) in my fridge and one in my purse when i go out. almonds are very good for you and make a light snack when you can't get home or to a store.
read the label of your pop it may contain aspertame which seems to add to a stall.
i also keep mozzarella cheese sticks in fridge as well.
another good snack is devilled eggs. these are good when you add a little pureed garlic and onion, and parmesan cheese to the mix.
and last but definitely not least, water,water water.
every morning i fill up 8 - .5 litre bottles of water and must drink them all before bed plus whatever else i drink in a day.
it's fat and protien and water that makes us thin.
i hope this helps you out mel.
i'm what you would call one of the people that support mentallychallenged folks in a house like the one you and your husband started. i thank God for folks like you who fund raise and support projects that support challenged people, i could not do that work myself. and without folk like you we could not do our job supporting guys like gerry. we started out with three fellows in 1990 and first tom passed on and then bill broke his hip. so now we have gerry. and what a joy he is to us.
we are just on our way out the door to go grocery shopping, a favourite activity. "more food on tuesday?" the fridge must always be respectably full... no small feat!!
:wave:
bye for now
jane

Hey, Jane
 

I think the that people like you who take care of people who cannot take care of themselves are the special ones. I pat you on the back. :bhug:
I know that it means the world to them too.
Well, I went and bought the stuff to try your french toast recipe, I already made the cinnamon butter,mmmmmm I could eat it with a spoon. I was going to wait until morning to make it, but I may try it tonight, after reading this, I decided I was eating to much and hardly ate anything today. I have drank 172 oz. water. No vegatables only meat. So I may can afford to eat some now.
It sounds really good. I think I will just go fix it, I will let you know how it turns out.
And I am going to try to quit drinking so many sodas. They do have aspertame. I love them.....
But I want to lose weight. I wonder if decaf tea with liquid sweetner just once in awhile would be bad? I get so tired of water.......
I will get to my cooking now, talk to ya later...

hi melanie:
i think you need to eat more food. i know it seems bizzare, but if you read dr. atkins book he explains why more is better. i'm not a techno queen and so i can't really explain it well.
check your liquid sweetner, it may not contain aspertame (nutrisweet) so ice tea (decaf) may be okay to have as much as you like.
i'm getting to like water better all the time. sometimes i put slices of lime of lemon in the jug i keep in the fridge.
i'm pretty tired, tom arrived with a vengance today, and it leaves me very achey, sore, and tired.
aaron and nadine arrived home from honeymoon along with a ton of laundry. i'll go put their stuff in the drier andthen it's off to bed for me. hope i can make it to the gym in the am.
well goodnight all.
jane

Hi Jane.....
 

Hey, how are things going with you? Okay here....
I was thinking when reading your post, that I should go back and reveiw my Atkins book a little. I guess I am getting in a hurry again. Would like to lose a few more pounds before our trip to Las Vegas the 16th of July. And it is not far away.
Oh well, either I will or I wont, I'm going to have fun anyway.
So did your kids enjoy their honeymoon? I remember mine, I wanted to go to the coast and sit out on the beach, it was nice. The marriage lasted 7 years. And 2 wonderful boys. Its just the husband wasn't satisfied with one woman, and I could not live that way. My husband now is 24 years older than me, but he treats me like a queen. And he is good to my kids,(better than their real dad honestly). He is almost 50,000 dollars in arrears on child support, he is not going to pay it. It is really sad.
Well, I guess I will go now, I need to clean my house, it is filthy.......
Wonder where Renee is... Haven't heard from her... Melameter

hi mel,
things were exciting here this morning. about 5:30 am i woke up to this weird crackling sound. i went out to the livingroom and there was this young man standing there. he was dead drunk. i said "what are you doing in my house?!" he replied that he need to use my bathroom. i said to get the heck out of my house or i would call the police. he relied that this was his friends house and he wasn't going until he used my bathroom. so i just opened my do and shoved him into the front vestibule. then i called the police. i walked into the kitchen to check the back door and i notice his shoes by the door (a polite burgler ha ha) so a picked them up and threw them out the door. as i was waiting for the police to arrive, i went to the kitchen sink for a drink and there were his socks, pants and hat. he had been standing in my livingroom in his underwear. anyway the police arrived and took him away. by this time gerry was awake and finally my daughter woke up(she was sleeping on the sofa bed in the livingroom and slept through 1/2 of everything. I guess we both locked the doors last night except that jess, not being familiar with my house yet unlocked my doors after i had locked them.
it was quite the morning. i ended up going to the gym at 6 am and jess stayed with ger.
the kids did have a wonderful honeymoon. they were treated like royalty at this really exclusive inn near cambridge, ontario.
they hope that they can afford to go back once a year even if its only for one night.
they leave for switzerland at the end of the month to go to caux for a peace conference put onby the rearmament (?) organization. it was started back after world war 2 and they invite young people from all over the world to discuss how to bring peace through forgiveness. they want them to go so bad that one of the origional men involved is paying their way for them.

i was married to my husband for 25 years and realized one day that he would never treat me any differently, he was verbally, and emotionally abusive. he did get physical with me on a couple of occasions and after my mom died i realised that he did not love me the way my dad had loved my mom. and that he had no intensions of making an effort. its been 4 1/2 years and i waiting for a man to love me. i haven't even dated because i knew , until about 6 months ago that i wasn't ready for a relationship yet but i think i'm ready now. there are no single men in my circle of society but i'm sure someone will show up soon. you are so fortunate to have found a wonderful man and i don't think age has anything to do with it. i certainly am not limiting myself to someone my own age. infact i'd even be open to a younger man if he loved and cherished me.
i can't afford a divorce from my husband so i'm trying to do a self counsel divorce it costs much less and through work i have one hour free legal councel and so i'll get them to look it over when it's finished.
it'll be simple. i don't want anything from him i just want to be free and because of his bad health, they won't take him to court until he gets well and that could be never so i'm not fighting. it could kill him and i don't want that on my concience. ( his had 2 massive heart attacks about 2 years ago a result of neglecting his diabetes for years)
anyway you give me hope that there's someone out there for me too.
must fly . got laundry to do. an ger wants coffee......."cobby bweez"
later,
jane

ps. definitely go bacxk and refresh yourself with the atkins diet. we all need a refresher occasionally. j.

Hi girls,

Jane, OMG you handled yourself beautifully. You are one brave woman. I think I'd have been a whimpering idiot...lol. What did the police say?

Melanie, I just posted to your journal. I won't bore you by repeating it here. Seven years for two wonderful boys sounds like a good trade to me... :D Besides you traded up...lol.

I've been so busy lately that I've forgotten twice to eat breakfast. When I first get to work if things are hopping it's easy to forget, especially since I'm not hungry. I covered both times by eating late but don't know if that's really good enough.

I have lost another pound and a half though, wooohooo!!!! And if you've missed my other posts you missed me saying that I am swimming in my bras right now he he.

It's still hard for me to eat so much, but if this is what it gets me, "bring on those cals."

Later,

Renee'

hi renee'
if you are losing weight and swimming in your bras, i think you must be doing something right.Good going girl!!
it's not just about lbs., it's about inches!!! i haven't lost much weight for the last 6 - 8 weeks but i can fit into clothes i hadn't worn in years.
as for this morning's incident, i think a couple of years ago i would had be afraid. but in the last year and a half i've had to do some inner healing and i have a new confidence that i've never had before. i guess i got a chance to see myself in action. :D
anyway, the police kind of laughed 'cause the guy was still standing on the front step in his underwear and my upstairs neighbour's sandles in his hand.
the police said "i have a nice place for him to sleep it off". and when i said i just yelled at him and shoved him out the door, the police man laughed and said "he's so drunk i don't think he would have been capable of being a real danger". he also thought i was very together and my daughter thought the police man was cute. so it was quite the morning. i think the kid was still living at home so i'm sure his parents will be happy about having to bail him out. i would have loved to have been a fly on th e wall to witness that little exchange.
anyway, renee', keep up the good work and try not to miss any meals. it does hinder weight loss. mornings i cook up some salt reduced bacon for my daughter to take to work with her and she eats it on the way with a bottle of water. it helps.
must check on gerry,
got a funeral tomorrow and i need to see if anyone is available to watch ger for a couple of hours tomorrow.
later,
jane

Hi girls...
 

Ohh Jane, I would have been scared to death if some strange man were in my house. I think you handled it well. I bet his parents will be upset with him.
I was single for 6 years before I married again after the boys dad. But it was a time I think that I grew up alot. I had to, with 2 babies wondering what we were going to do. My ex did not even check to see if we were alive for 8 months. My parents helped me alot. There is somebody out there for everyone. And like you said age does not matter. RL, my husband is 56 and I am 33, but He is a wonderful man, I dont have to work, I like to do woodwork, and tole painting so he made a part of the barn into a shop for me and I have every kind of woodworking tool ever made. He is so good to me. People tell me they just wish a man would look at them like RL looks at me. I will love him for eternity. Every now and then we have our troubles too, but we usually get along pretty good.
I hope that you find someone like that to love you too Jane, because it is nice to be treated like a woman should be treated.
And Renee.... I am so proud of you, Buying a new bra, I have taken mine up to the last snap but I have not had to have a new one. Yipee for you. I am going to go over and look at my journal, I need to post over there but my computer is in the bedroom and I dont want to have to turn the light on and wake up the hubby. So will wait till morning. I did try to do better today, I did not drink any sodas, and when we went out tonight I took water with me, and drank 3- 20 oz. bottles.
I ate some spinich dip I dont know how many carbs, but it did not have anything in it that I could not have, it was so good...
I am fixing to start my TOM and feel blown up like a balloon. I wonder if it does something to your weight loss? Dont know, but since I got my tubes tied 4 years ago, I have horrible cramps, during that time.
Well girls, I am really getting excited about going to Vegas. There are 10 of us going, it is going to be alot of fun. I love to play the slots, its fun. But most of all, I like to go see the shows. And the Chippendale male strippers are going to be there then, I have never seen them and probably wont now. It is all in fun, but I would rather save my money for a new bra, if I could just start swimming in mine like Renee. I am going to take Janes advice and start trying to eat more for awhile and see what happens.
Guess I better sign off now are you girls may get crosseyed trying to read this book I am writing, it is just so nice to have someone to talk to, I really look forward to it......Goodnight. Melameter

hi melanie,
tom is reaking havok with this month. i gained a lb hope it goes when tom goes. also i didn't drink enough water yesterday. must drink lots of water. i'm beginning to feel like one of my plants on my patio. it gets so hot some days i have to water them 2X per day.
i also am a little artsy. i used to sculpt all the time. but then when i left my husband i could not bring my kiln with me and so have been struggling to sculpt for quite some time. now i have a basement with my apt. and have brought my kiln to theis place.just have to get it hooked up and i'll be in business. i have a commission even but could do nothing until after the wedding. now i'm clearing off my table and this week i get to town on the sculpture. hope it all goes well.
today's a busy day, so i'll be signing off for now.
jane :wave:

Hey Jane....
 

I bet it is alot of fun to sculpt, I have never tried that. I dabbled in ceramics a little but now just woodwork. My husband builds wooden caskets. And I have a scroll saw so I cut out western scenes and things to put on them, it gives us both something to do. We also make furniture out of old barn wood and things like that. We are fixing to tackle a really big project and build a small cabin next to a big pond we have down in the pasture, I think it will be so much fun to build it, and then decorate it up cute. A place for deer hunters and all to stay. My boys cant wait so they can stay down there. I might have to spend a night or two myself.
Well, I need to spend time with my kids, they are leaving Tuesday morning to stay with their dad for a month, I am going to miss them, but it will be nice to have a little break I guess.
Anyway better go, talk more later.... Melameter
P.S. Forgot to tell you I tried the french toast, and it is really good, and the cinnamon butter I could eat it by itself, a really nice treat...

OMG, I can't believe the similarities here.

You both are crafty, me too. I do a number of different crafts, but the one I'm into most right now is making jewlery with natural stone and wire tieing.

Ann you sculpt and Melanie you and your husband make caskets.

My husband and I own a Monument company where we often are called upon to sculpt and refurbish statues and we create works of art on a daily basis in granite memorials.

Melanie raises money to help people, Ann uses that money to help them hands on and I consider the largest part of my job to be helping mourners get through their grief.

This is uncanny....sure we aren't tripplets seperated at birth...lol

hi girls,
i am surprised at all the similarities. it's comforting to know that you're not alone out there that there are people to connect with on all levels not just diet and weight loss. actually it really blesses me because i thought origionally that i would just be talking about diet etc. and i have come to concider you a part of my little friendship family. and it happened so quickly, i can hardly believe it.
Melanie, i love tools and am a little envious that you get to build a little cabin, heck i'm envious that you will own a little cabin to go hide in occasionally. i love the great outdoors.....as long as there's trees. i need trees. i think its because i spent my youth in the north and i mean the north!! 300mi. as the crow flies from james bay! and it was quite the experience for a young girl from the city. i have to say it shaped my life and who i am. that and a lot of other stuff.
renee', my friend, ruth and i used to make jewellry out of clay. it was fun but too heavy. we had to use 25 lb test fishing line to make sure it didn't fall apart. her husband taught me everything there is to know about clay, he's a renown potter in this area.
anyway girls, i must get gerry's lunch.
:wave: later,
jane

pizza
 

Hey girls!
i have a recipe for pizza i almost forgot about. i got it from the "food and gut reaction" recipe file and modified it a bit for this diet.
so here goes.
Pizza
3 1/2 cups coarsely grated, unpeeled, zucchini (sprinkle with 1/2tsp salt and mix - allow to sit for 15 min)
3 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 heaping tsp pureed garlic
3/4 cup mozz cheese
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp tarragon (optional)
Mix all ingredients well.
Take 4 pie plates and spray with pam and line bottom with parchment paper spay again.
divide "pizza dough" into four ( its a bit sloppy) and press into the bottom of the pie pan and about 1/2 in. up sides (to hold toppings)
bake at 325 for about 30 min or until edges are browned.
top with tomato sauce, muchrooms, peppers, onion, bacon, chicken, pork, sausage etc.
this is well worth the effort and work believe me. people rave about this
it is very filling and must be eaten with a fork.
bake again at 350 for about 25 min.

the crust may be made in advance and stored in the freezer.
i used to do up a big double batch and freeze so there are some on had.i'm going to start doing this again.
later girls.
:wave: