March 3, Wednesday Night:  There is good news and bad news about tonight's weigh in.  The bad news is that I gained 3.75 pounds.  The good news is that I gained 3.75 pounds!  That gain was all it took to snap me into the reality that I'm slacking and need to get back on track.  So after the meeting, while others ran to KFC, I ran to the grocery store and stocked up on everything I need to make my veggie wraps.  The last time I got on a wrap kick I ate wraps for 8 weeks and lost 8 pounds!  So I hope it works for me again.  The other good news, at least I hope it's good news, is that we had elections tonight and I will be the new secretary starting in April.  It will be a bit more work but I'm sure I can handle it for a year then I can pass the torch on to someone else. But for the moment, I look forward to a very good week eating my wraps and maybe getting outside a bit if it's warm enough.

February 24, Wednesday Night:  I had what TOPS calls a "turtle" tonight at the weigh in. That means I didn't gain, I didn't lose. I stayed the same. And I was happy with that.  As long as I didn't gain, I'm happy!  But I really would love to start walking.  Especially now that I have only one dog, it's much easier to walk him.  And he would just love to go for walks.  I used to walk all three dogs at the same time and that was quite the task.  But then Cupcake got old and could not walk well. Then Puff would get very tired and I would have to carry him.  So I stopped walking even Scruffy because the others looked so sad if I left without them.  Anyway, time to start walking Scruffy again, but my chest won't allow it right now. I still have horrible flutters that I've had for well over a year now.  I see the doctor about it on March 18. And I still feel like I have bronchitis.  So I need to get healthy so I can get back to doing some walking and get back to losing weight!

February 17, Wednesday Night:  I pulled off a tiny loss.  I expected more.  I'm quite frustrated.  I look forward to warmer weather and longer days so maybe I can start moving around a bit.  I just feel so sluggish and I still have bronchitis.  Still have only a bit of my voice.  I really should go to the doctor again but I'm sick of going there.  My next appointment is in one month and I'm going to try to hold out until then.  Well, I'm not in a bright and cheery mood so I'll just sign off!  On a good note, I am at least happy that I had a loss.  I'll take a loss, no matter how tiny it is.  I've come a long way with tiny little losses :O)

February 10, Wednesday Night:  This has been pretty much a lousy year for me so far.  I've been sick with bronchitis since the first week of January and now I'm even losing my voice.  My dog was old and sick and I had to have him put down. Yes, I got to go to Nashville and see my son and his little girl but we had an ice storm and I was not feeling up to doing much so it was not the trip we hoped for (but still totally worth seeing my granddaughter!!!). My mother has been sick too so two trips to the doctor for us both so far this year. And now I'm having a hard time with my weight.  I swear, I hardly ate for the past few days.  My dog was not doing well and I had no appetite at all.  And I have barely eaten anything since I had him put down.  So I go to TOPS tonight to try and get away from sadness for a bit and I end up gaining 1.75 pounds... just what on earth is that all about?  Can't I catch a tiny break?  I don't know... I'm just very depressed right now and I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired.  And I'm very sick of this weight loss taking so damn long.  I'd love to rev things up a bit but I'm so freaking sick with bronchitis... complain, complain, complain!  That's all I feel like doing for now so I'll just stop.  Maybe tomorrow things will start to look a wee bit better.  I sure hope March is a better month.  So far Jan and Feb have pretty much sucked.  The End.

February 9, Tuesday Night:  This is a very sad time for me.  I had my beautiful dog Puff put down yesterday.  His time has been coming.  I got him from an animal shelter who gave him to me for free because he was a hospice case and he just needed a good home for his last days.  I took him because I figured I would not have time to get attached to him.  But the very old dog that was supposed to die soon almost seemed to turn into a new puppy.  And he certainly looked like one after I shaved him to help his skin issues.  He had lots of problems including thyroid disease, bad heart, total deafness, cateracts, two tumors, lots of missing teeth, lung disease and very bad skin.  He was estimated to be about 12 to 15 years old.  I got to love and care for that precious dog for just over 3 years!  And the dog that I was not supposed to get attached to was by my side constantly.  He followed me so much that there were times I hated to get up because I hated to make him get up.  The past few months have been going down hill for Puff and I knew he would die soon.  After all, vets have been telling me he would die any time for 3 years now.  I expected and hoped he would die home in his sleep but he kept hanging on and I finally had to have him put down because I could tell he was suffering.  I know I'll feel better in time because I did not think I'd ever feel better after losing Cupcake but right now I just feel like I lost the love of my life.  I will miss him forever.  You can see him at the bottom of this page... My Doggies

February 4, Thursday Afternoon:  Gee... I have not posted for 2 weeks! That's because on Wednesday the 27th I weighed in at TOPS but was feeling too sick to stay for the meeting.  And I had to fly to Nashville the next day.  So I came home and just rested and did a bit of packing.  Then on Thursday the 28th I flew to Nashville to see my son Derrick.  Then on Friday, during a freak ice storm, we drove from Nashville to Mississippi to pick up my son's little girl, my sweet granddaughter Skylar!  It was quite the trip. Took us 15 hours for a 420 mile round trip. Then I stayed in Nashville with my son and granddaughter until Monday afternoon and got back to Maine at midnight Monday night.  And I'm still sick with bronchitis.  At least this week I lost some weight.  January was a bad month for weight.  It was the first time since I joined TOPS that I had a month with a net gain.  It was only a net gain of 2.50 pounds so that's not bad at all considering I was even on prednisone for part of the month.  And at last night's weigh in I lost 2 pounds.  So I hope to lose the other half pound plus more at the next weigh in.  It's very hard for me to lose weight while I'm sick.  I seem to retain all my fluids and I drink a lot of water, even when sick.  I also feel like eating a lot of crackers when I'm sick and that prednisone made me feel like eating anything in site.  So it was a rough month.  But I'm so happy I was still able to go to Nashville and see my son and granddaughter!  Skylar is just the sweetest thing and she keeps me and Derrick laughing all the time.  And Derrick is the best daddy ever.  I'm so proud of him!  You can see some pics of Derrick and Skylar below on my November 28th entry.  That's when he took her to Maine.

January 20, Wednesday Evening:  We ended up not having a meeting tonight.  At least, not that I know of.  We had snow but TOPS was not officially cancelled. But when I went there there were no weight recorders and the other couple members who were there said many had called and said they were not coming. So we just took it upon ourselves to call it quits.  I was not going to stay for the meeting anyway because I'm too sick with bronchitis.  It may have turned into pneumonia, not sure. I'm going back to the doctor supposedly on Friday if they can squeeze me in.  One thing for sure, I'm sure happy I didn't have to step on the scale.  I am on prednisone for the first time in my life and I hear that's a big weight gaining med. I've tried very hard not to give in to the increased cravings the prednisone caused and also just being sick makes me feel like eating junk. Thank goodness I have my soup and I'm trying to stick to that.  What a lousy two weeks this has been with this horrid illness!  And I'm supposed to fly to Nashville in one week to visit my son and granddaughter.  I sure hope to be better by then.

January 13, Wednesday Evening:  I had another gain this week but I really expected it to be a lot more.  I've been sick with a bad cold for 1 week now.  It started just after my TOPS meeting last week and now it's all in my chest and I have a world class headache.  My mother has it too. We see the doctor on Friday.  So, I think all the fluids I've been drinking and the crackers I've been munching on are sticking right to me.  I hope I feel better soon.  I leave for a vacation to Nashville to see my son and my granddaughter on the 28th!  I've got to feel better by then!

January 6, Wednesday Evening:  I started my new off with a gain.  But with losses there will always be some gains along the way.  I look forward to taking it back off plus much more!  On a good note, I was the biggest loser at TOPS for the month of December.  I lost 4.75 pounds for the month.  Normally you need to lose more than that to get the top spot but December is a month of gains for many.  I didn't really do anything different for the holidays when it comes to eating.  I tried to stick to the same old same old.  I did have chex mix last week which is why I blame myself for not losing last week.  And this week I did have chocolate and that is FOR SURE the reason I had a gain this week.  Now it's all behind me and I have an entire new year to lose lots of weight!!!  I hope this is the year that I drop down below 200 pounds!!!

December 30, Wednesday Evening:  Well all I wanted was a tiny quarter pound loss and I didn't get it.  I stayed the same.  In TOPS language we call that a turtle.  But hey, I didn't gain!  And the past week has been a bit more crazy with the food.  Not too crazy, but my husband made Chex Mix.  Usually he brings it to work but this time he didn't.  And he didn't lock it up.  Did you know we have a lock on one of our cabinets?  Yes, we do!  And only my husband has the key.  It's where he keeps his stash of junk.  And that's where the Chex Mix should have gone!  But instead, I ate a bit too much of it.  But now it's gone and I'm starting the new year with a brand new attitude!  I hope to lose 60 pounds in 2010.  That's an average of 5 pounds a month.  I should be able to do that.  Happy New Year everyone!!!

December 23, Wednesday Evening:  Whoopie!  The best Christmas gift I could ever give myself was a nice 2.50 pound loss at the weigh in tonight.  We didn't have a meeting because everyone is busy with the holiday.  But we did have a weigh in and I'm thrilled with my loss!  We have one more Wednesday this year and I hope to end with a loss... even a tiny loss.  I've lost big the past two weeks so I'm not expecting much next week.  But I know that I'll be eating right and staying on track through the holidays.  Holidays are not about food.  In fact, I have absolutely nothing planned for food but a nice pot of soup :O)  Merry Christmas everyone!!!

December 16, Wednesday Evening:  We had our TOPS Christmas party tonight, delayed because of last week's snow storm. What fun we had!  First we all ate.  It was a healthy soup and salad pot luck with some desserts (I had a few cookies!).  Then we had a wild auction using TOPS dollars that we earned for the past 6 months for various accomplishments.  Like if you lost weight you earned some money.  If you donated something to the weekly fruit basket you earned some money... and so on.  I had earned over $300 in TOPS dollars and won a crazy big stuffed gorilla that I will keep here for when my granddaughter visits.  I thought it might scare her, but instead it scares my mother!  She can't even look at it.  She's afraid of real gorillas, but a stuffed one?  It's just too funny.  But it was a fun night and I had a 2.75 pound loss.  I wanted more because that was for two weeks since we didn't get weighed last week.  But hey!  I'll take it!  It's over a pound a week for the two weeks so I'm happy about that.  I can't believe I'm getting close to weighing under 250!!!  I hope to get there by the end of January.

December 9, Wednesday Evening:  We did not have a weigh in tonight at TOPS because of a little thing called a snow storm.  Not really what I call a storm, but still, very messy and lots of shoveling to do.  So we did not have a meeting and tonight was going to be our Christmas party.  Now the party will be next week.  I sure am glad I didn't make the big pot of soup I was bringing to the party.  Right now I'm eating wraps and the soup would have been wasted.  I also wish I could have weighed in because I think I might have lost a little.  Now I just have to do even better for next week!

December 3, Thursday Afternoon:  I had a little gain this Wed at TOPS but only 1/2 a pound and I'm fine and dandy with that because I had my son here and my brother and we had lots of holiday food in the house for Thanksgiving and I also went to my nephew and new niece's wedding and had lots of beer.  I did my very best to really watch what I ate but I did stray a bit, including the beer.  But I had a blast at the wedding and I danced and so did my little granddaughter.  It was such a nice evening.  Now the holiday is over and my house is empty and I'm back to eating my veggie wraps.  I'm confident if I stick to my wraps and broth that the weight will continue to come off.  I just love my veggie wraps so much!!!  And I never dreamed that broth could taste so good and be so filling.  I drink a cup of hot broth while preparing my wrap then I have another cup with my wrap.  It really is quite satisfying.  My son and my granddaughter left on Tuesday and I hang on to the thought that they will return, hopefully soon.  I miss Skylar so much. She lit up this home!  She is just a living doll and my son is the best daddy ever.  Skylar truly is a joy to us all.

November 28, Saturday Afternoon:  Before I even talk about my weight I have some very important news... MY GRANDDAUGHTER IS HERE!!!  I didn't dare mention it before because I was so afraid it wasn't really going to happen but my son took her from Mississippi to Maine!!!  Oh, I can't even begin to tell you how completely thrilled we are to have her.  She arrived on Monday the 23rd and is here until Tuesday, December 1st.  How I'm ever going to let her go is beyond me!!!  These are the very first pics from when I picked them up at the airport.  There will be many more pics coming as soon as I set up her gallery.
You can click the pics for a larger view.
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Now let's talk about my weight!  It has been a good week for me.  Not only did I get to bring my son and Skylar to my Wed weigh in to show her off, I was granted a 1.50 pound loss for the week!  That wonderful loss means  I reached my 40 pound mark so I have new photos for you to see.  Once again, I don't see any difference from the 30 pound photos, but I sure do see a difference from when I started my blog.  You can see my weight loss photos here.  This has been a busy month for me so I have not been listing my tunics on eBay.  But that is about to change.  When Derrick takes Skylar back home, I will be filling my time with sewing.  And I will look forward to seeing Skylar again in the spring.  That surprise granddaughter of mine has become my greatest joy!  And Derrick is the best daddy ever!  I'm so incredibly proud of him.  When I learned about Skylar just 3 short months ago, I cried for a week thinking how the circumstances would probably mean I'd never get to see her or at least not see her for a long time.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think Derrick would be bringing her to Maine to visit us.  We are all so in love with that little girl!  And I'll forever be thankful to Skylar's mom for letting Derrick take Skylar on such a big adventure!
 

November 18, Wednesday Night:  This was a good Wednesday for me!  Not only did I lose 2.25 pounds, but that got me the title of Biggest Loser at my TOPS chapter for this week!  And I also won a random drawing and got a $10 gift certificate for Kohl's.... how sweet is that!  And I attended our TOPS workshop and I got 3rd place in the top 15 losers for our county.  I lost 12.5 pounds since the last workshop which was 2 months ago.  Our next workshop is in 4 months and our chapter is hosting it so I hope I come in the top three for that workshop too!  I'm going to do my best :o)  I also had 5 losses in a row and now our chapter gives you a charm for every 5 week block that you lose weight.  I love little incentives like that.  TOPS ROCKS!  And I'm very, very close to losing 40 pounds and that means I'll have to take more pics to add to my before and after gallery!  And soon I'll be in the 250s!  I can't wait to break the 250 mark and be in the 240s.  When I started this blog I was not quite 300 pounds but at one time I did see 306 on my scale, so getting to the 250s will be a real treat for me. I'm FINALLY starting to feel a tiny bit lighter.  I still have a long way to go, but getting off my butt is a bit easier.

November 13, Friday Afternoon:  I can't believe I never came to post my latest loss.  I guess I must be getting bored with losing weight... naw!  Can't ever get sick of that!  I'm only 3 pounds away from my next set of weight loss photos.  I hope I see a bit more difference this time.  At least my hair is different.  It's sort of short and shaggy and nearly black.  Now that I think of it, it looks very much like the picture of David Cassidy I have in the column on the right!  Like this!  I guess I must be looking at this picture too much!  That is just too funny!  I'll have to take a picture of my hair and we can compare to see who is cuter, me or David!

November 4, Wednesday Night:  I lost again!  I love it!  My new eating plan is working!  I'm doing wraps.  Wraps, wraps and more wraps! I've been eating veggie wraps for 3 weeks now.  And I'm not even close to being sick of it.  I get all my wrap ingredients ready on Thursday and they last me through until the following Wed when I get weighed.  Then I go out and buy more wrap stuff and start all over again!  I have a wrap for each meal with a nice hot cup of broth. Any time I'm hungry I make a wrap. I'm always full and I'm losing weight. No complaints from me!

October 30, Friday Late Night:  I think I should go to bed.  But once again, I'm not sleepy.  I've been writing articles all day and night.  It's like a new addiction.  It's such a fun way to make money.  I really should quit sewing and write full time.  But I love to sew too much.  So sew I will!  But as long as there are sites out there that pay me to publish silly articles, I'll keep writing too.  And now I'm into publishing slideshows too.  I don't even have to write!  I get paid to put up photos that other people take.  How cool is that?  I just started with slideshows so I'm not sure how well they will pay.  But I can pump out a lot in a day.  And I'm loving my new Celebrity Headlines topic on The Examiner.  I made over $50 right out of the gate with just a few articles.  If you are at all interested in writing for The Examiner you can join here and please use my referral number which is 8049.  It's free to join, you get paid to write, and it's fun!

October 28, Wednesday Late Night:  I can't believe how fast October went by.  All that means to me is that I'm getting closer to shoveling season!  I guess the exercise won't kill me.  I'm happy to report that I lost another pound this week.  I was really happy to have any kind of a loss after losing 4 pounds.  We have another TOPS workshop in two weeks and I'm quite sure I'll be in the top 15 biggest losers.  I love having that to look forward to.  I've been eating my wraps for two weeks and will do another week.  Heck, I plan on doing wraps for several months as long as I keep losing.  I ate my survival soup for over a year so it's time for a change.  I still have broth with my veggie wrap.  I drink it from a mug. It's very filling and satisfying.  I'll post my veggie wrap recipe in my recipe section later.  For now, you can see it in my Oct 21 entry.

October 23, Friday Late Night:  I am beat but yet I can't sleep.  Just exhausted and sick of being exhausted.  But, on a good note... let's see, there must be a good note!  I can't think of anything right now.  I guess I just came here to complain :o)

October 21, Wednesday Night:  I lost 4 pounds!!! Happy, Happy, HAPPY!  I'm happy because I tried something different.  I ate veggie wraps every day.  I cut up about 15 different kinds of veggies and put them all in bags or containers and placed them on a cookie sheet.  Then all I had to do is pull the cookie sheet out and I had everything I needed to make my wraps.  Here was was in them: green lettuce, iceberg lettuce, baby spinach, pickles, marinated mushrooms, fresh mushrooms, broccoli, cucumber, pickled eggs, yellow squash, zucchini, green pepper, onion, radish, carrots, tomato, peas, corn, and alfalfa spouts.  Then I add salsa mixed with just a bit of sour cream as the dressing.  I roll it all up in a wonderful low calorie, low carb, no cholesterol, high fiber, flat bread and eat!  I ate two or three a day and drank broth with it.  Then at night I had sugar free pudding and whipped cream for dessert.  I'm going to do another week of wraps but this time I'm also including water chestnut and a variety of beans (black, garbanzo, kidney, pinto, and a couple more but can't remember them).  I'll only add about 1/4 cup of beans per wrap or maybe even less.  I can't add much of each item because I put so much stuff that it's nearly impossible to actually wrap the bread around the veggies.  I swear, I felt overly stuffed every day but I lost 4 pounds!!!  I hope I have another good week.

October 20, Tuesday Evening:  Gee... I can't believe I have not updated this blog.  I wanted to say that I went to the TOPS fall rally for the state of Maine and I had such a good time.  Getting through the day with little sleep was not easy, but I actually got 5 hours of sleep with only waking up two time during those 5 hours so that was good for me.  I got up at 5:00am... that usually when I'm finally getting to sleep!  I took photos of the rally but for some reason they all came out dark.  But it was fun and OH!  I almost forgot!  I won and award and wouldn't you know... I was in the ladies room when they called my name.  I missed my shining moment!!!  It was not such a big deal but I like all the recognition I can get.  I, along with others, were awarded for losing double digits during the summer contest.  I lost 10 pounds during that time.  I didn't think I did.  I still say maybe someone did their math wrong!  I have to check my book to see what I get for a total.  But I took my certificate and ran with it!

October 14, Wednesday Night:  I'm not a happy camper!  I did a good job this week with eating... at least I thought I did.  But I had a 2 pound gain.  That means I have to switch things up a bit.  This week I am not going to weigh myself at all until I get weighed at TOPS.  I usually weigh myself a couple times between meetings and I think when I see my weight is low and then it goes up I beat myself up and that's not good.  Luckily I have my cousin who joined TOPS with me to keep me motivated.  We go shopping after the meeting and stock up on goodies.  We both had it in our minds that we wanted to do wraps this week (they happened to make wraps on Biggest Loser which is what gave me the idea) so we stocked up on flat bread and wrap fixings!  I'm going to eat wraps all week and take a break from my soup.  I can't wait to shred the carrots and chop the onions and peppers and slice the cukes and get all my veggies ready.  Then all I have to do is pull out the platter of veggies and make my wrap!  I will also make some and have them ready to grab for a quick snack.  I think it will be a good change of pace for me.  And I also plan on doing some walking this week and some exercises with my little weights.  At least the gain motivated me!

October 11, Sunday Night:  Wow, what a Saturday I had!  I woke up early after not much sleep (what's new?) and decided to stay up and try to work a full day.  While I was laying there trying to wake up, I looked out into the yard and remembered that I have a tree that could cause some damage if it decides to come down this winter.  I had a tree fall on my garage during our last ice storm and don't want the same to happen this year.  And while I was staring at that tree I hear a horrible crash.  I just had some work done in my kitchen and thought for sure the entire ceiling had caved in.  I got up to see and all was good in the kitchen.  Just then the phone rings and it's the neighbor telling me that a tree, not the tree in my yard that I was worried about, but a tree on the side of my driveway came crashing down on my Jeep!  I could not believe what I was hearing.  A tree fell on my Jeep???  Yes, it sure did!  You can see the photos here.  The thing that I'm so happy about is that no one was outside at the time.  I usually stand right in that spot with the dogs before we get in the car.  I am very, very lucky that no one was hurt.  I can't even imagine my mother being in the car when this happened.  I'm also glad that the tree cleared the house!  All in all, we were very lucky.  And no broken glass either.  I can still drive the Jeep!  It will have to be fixed but it could have been much worse.

October 8, Thursday Afternoon:  I had a decent loss last night at TOPS.  I was quite happy to see that I lost the half pound that I had gained plus lost an extra pound on top of that!  Any loss is a step in the right direction.  And it's just plain fun to lose weight!  Last night was the first time that I noticed a bit of difference in my face.  I saw a hint of cheek bones starting to show. That inspired me to cut my hair into a new do!  I brought it up to the shoulders and made it kind of shaggy.  I like it.  Now I think I may dye it a darker brown.  And I want to start putting on make-up every day now too.  It's time to start looking better! It will keep me on the right track.  I may even polish my nails!

October 4, Sunday Night:  I can't believe it's October! Wow, what little bit of summer we had really flew by.  It was a summer filled with rain, rain and more rain.  And I kind of loved it.  I love the rain.  I love the sound of it, the smell of it and love that it allows me to work in my home and not feel guilty for not being outside doing yard work or gardening.  I can just stay in and work! Now fall will fly by and winter will soon be here.  And I will be smaller.  I WILL!  I will.  That's what I keep telling myself every day.  And maybe shoveling snow will be a bit easier than it was last year since I've lost a bit of weight :o)

September 30, Wednesday Night:  I am bumming, but only a little.  I had a gain but that is after two big losses in a row (at least big in my book) so a tiny step back is something I can deal with.  I will just hope the scale moves next week.  Now, I don't use the word "hope" as though I have no control over it.  I have full control. It's just that sometimes even when I try hard (as hard as I can try while still refusing to exercise) I will not always get a loss as a result.  It just means that the loss will come later.  At least that's what I'm telling myself :o)

September 25, Friday Afternoon:  I just took my new "30 Pounds Off" photos and I'm so disappointed!  I look bigger in the new photos than in my previous photos!  Oh well, I will just keep losing.  Eventually there is going to be a huge change.  I can't wait!  I also hope it does not take me three more months to lose another 10 pounds.  Don't get me wrong... I'm happy to be losing no matter how slow it goes.  But I like to set little goals so my next goal is to lose the next 10 pounds in less than three months.  Anything less than three months will be good!

September 23, Wednesday Night:  I am one happy camper!!!  I had a good loss tonight at TOPS.  I'm down 30 pounds!!!  That means I can finally take new photos.  I promised to take new photos each time I lose 10 pounds and I can't wait to take them!  I will wear the same clothing like in the other photos.  Hopefully I can get that done by this weekend.  I'm just happy, happy, HAPPY!

September 19, Saturday Afternoon:  So far the scale is looking good to me.  I really try hard to not weigh myself often at home.  But I like a weekend check just to see how I'm doing.  So far, so good!  I had two gains the first two weigh-ins at TOPS in September so I'd like to have losses for the last two weeks.  I know I can do it!

September 18, Friday Afternoon:  Gee, I didn't get to bed until 5:30am and slept until 1:00ish.  Woke up because my aunt and uncle came over.  It's a good thing they woke me else I would have slept all day!  I had a very good day yesterday.  I was busy and even went shopping stayed completely on my eating plan, which isn't really much of a plan.  Mostly soup lately.  I love my soup!  And I also started working on a gallery for Skylar.  You can see the beginnings of it here.  I have a lot more photos to put up and also youtube videos.  Thank goodness for the internet!  I at least get to feel like I'm watching Skylar grow up.  I love her so much!!!

September 17, Thursday Night:  My granddaughter Skylar!!!  What more can I say!  Looks like a powerful business woman in the making!  You go my Sky girl!

September 16, Wednesday Late Night:  Yippee!  I lost 3.25 pounds at TOPS tonight!  I was thrilled.  That means I lost the weight I gained the past two weeks plus a bit more!  Now I hope I can have another good week and another good weigh-in next Wed.  I'm beat and it's time for me to hit the hay but I have another video of my granddaughter playing the pots and pans.  Maybe my son will have a future drummer for his band one day! Skylar playing pots and pans.  Now I'm off the the night and hope to have a productive day tomorrow... filled with more work and more healthy food :o)

September 13, Sunday Night:  I am happy and proud to say I was in the TOP 15 losers at my TOPS workshop yesterday!  I came in tied for 10th place with a 9 pound loss since the last workshop.  I was very happy with that.  It's giving me the encouragement I need to keep moving forward, no matter how slow I go.  I got a pink teddy bear that I will save to give to my granddaughter.  I can't believe I have a granddaughter to give a gift to!  I still just can't believe it.  She is so cute!  Here is a short little youtube video my son put up.  I love her!!!

September 11, Friday Evening:  I seem to be headed in the wrong direction!  I had two gains in a row.  But I'm not discouraged.  I was bound to hit a spot where I would have some gains.  This is only the 4th gain in an entire year so I'm not complaining!  And tomorrow I will go to my TOPS workshop and I hope to be in the TOP 15 losers!  I hope, I hope, I hope.  I've lost 9 pounds since the last workshop so that usually gets someone in the TOP 15.  I really wanted to lose much more but if there is one thing I've learned it's this... losing weight a tiny bit at a time is better than nothing.  And it's certainly better than gaining!  So now I will look forward to the next workshop in Nov and hope to have another loss by then.  And I'll post tomorrow night to let you know if I made the TOP 15 this time!

September 3, Thursday Night:  Well, bummer!  I ended my year long weight loss journey with a gain.  That's what happens when I put pressure on myself to lose.  But hey, losing 25 pounds in a year makes me happy.  VERY HAPPY!  I know if I had not started this blog I would have gained instead of losing.  So thank you to all my blog readers and let's start on year number 2!!!  Come on, you can do this with me!  You can!  Another year is going to go by no matter what so you may as well lose some weight if you need to!