:)

Happy Thursday EP Friends!

My weight continues to be up on the scale .6 so I will try to increase my water intake today.  I was out and about yesterday with a dental appt. and a few errands so I didn't want to overload on water and have to search for a potty all afternoon.  I also made a scrumptous mexican casserole and had a little too much so this could attibute to the scale being up this morning.  It was yummy. 

I have another full day.  I was up early this morning to get a few things finished for my job; I am working from home to keep things in check!.  This morning I have an appt. to meet with one of oldest son's teachers, nothing major he just seems to be getting a few more behavior marks in that class.  So I need to touch base with that situation.  MIL is coming by this afternoon to visit and then it will be dinner time again.  WOW - where do these days go....LOL! 

Have a great day everyone!

Happy Hump Day!

Happy Hump Day EP Friends!  First off I would like to send my sincere gratitude for all of your prayers, thoughts and kind words regarding the situation with my dad.  I know that prayer and our faith in God will get us through this ordeal.  Thanks so much!

Well, it's the day after.  The day after the Texas primaries.  WOW our local television news broadcasts went on for hours and hours.  You would have thought it was the actual presedential race we were determining not just the democratic nomination.  Interesting and this will be a very hot subject for '08.

The scale continued to be up 2.2 lbs. this morning.  Monday morning weight was 238 and Tuesday and Wednesday read 240.2 - hmmmm.....

Wishing you a terrific day!

Things don't always work out.....

like we want them to.  My youngest son was sick today so he had to stay home from daycare so needless to say I didn't get to go to the WW meeting like I had hoped.  So, I don't know what my official WI would have been BUT if this morning's scale weight was any indication I was not going to be happy.  I can tell by my mood and face (pimples) that this would have been TOM week.  It's just a different feeling without the actual TOM part.  I know that sounds weird but this is my first experience after surgery so I didn't know what to expect.  I was up 2.2 lbs. on the scale this morning and was disappointed because I thought I did well yesterday.  Being up on the scale also leads me to beleive that I will still experience these hormone changes since the doctor just removed my uterus during the hysterecotmy.  So, I will coast along and do well; hoping to get to the WW meeting next Tuesday for an official weigh in. 

Well, I am off to check up on my friends and see what kind of day you had. 

Have a great Tuesday evening!

Tracy

Rainy Monday.....

Good Morning my friends........how was your week-end?  Mine was "okay" ~ I say that because we are really dealing with a lot right now.  My dad recently had a knot removed from his arm and the testing of it came back positive for Merkel Cell Carcinoma which is the most rare, severe form of skin cancer.  Living in Texas we have one of the top cancer centers in the world and have an appt. for him on Friday 3/7 for him.  Me, my sister and mom will be going with him to meet with his doctor to review his case, find out what testing and treatments he will need and also what options we have and the prognosis.  Just goes to show you that cancer can strike at anytime.  Please keep my dad and our family in your prayers as this is what will get us through this.  We have a very strong faith in God and know that he will get us through this. 

I am going to try to enjoy my day.  I have a very busy week planned.  2nd week of recuperating from surgery BUT I am feeling really good and this is bad.  "Bad" in the way that I want to get down and clean my house, "bad" because I want to pick up my 18 month old and "bad" because I want to do too much and I can't.  I keep reminding myself this.  4 more weeks and I should be good-to-go.  I have an email into 2 of my ds's teachers requesting a parent-teacher conference to find out some stuff about grades and behavior; Wed., I have a dental appt.; and Friday is my dad's dr.'s appt.  We are anticipating a long drawn out day and am very thankful to be going with mom and my sister too. 

I weigh myself every morning and was very happy the scale read 238.0 this morning.  238 in the buff, first thing this morning.   It has been yeeeeeeeears since the scale read that weight and I am very happy.  Before surgery my daily weight was anywhere from 243 - 246  so I am definitely doing something right.  My official WW weigh in is tomorrow so I am so hoping I can get that 10% which is 239 BUT I don't know if my body will cooperate. 

Have a great day everyone and go hug someone you love! 

Hugs!

Tracy

Marching Forward

Happy March to you!  WOW - it's hard to beleive that 2 full months of 2008 are off of the calendar.  So, I was reading GCQMom's blog this morning from yesterday (leap day) and she asked what did you do to make you feel proud? Since yesterday was February 29th we got an extra 24 hours to take care of ourselves, pray more, do extra's for our family and friends (or ourselves).  I spent the day taking care of myself (still recuperating) and also did some fun stuff and feel good about it.  I finished a few crafty projects ~ yesterday was the day that I finished 2 (and started another) of those projects just for me and my home.  For those of you that do not know, I love to craft, did craft shows for a few years and even had my own online craft business for awhile too.....but life got in the way and I couldn't keep up so I chose my family over crafts.  Go figure, huh?  Click here to see some of my stuff from last Christmas.  Anyhoo's there were those projects that I said one day I was going to make for myself....well I spent the majority of my leap day doing that.  Still recuperating I couldn't get down and dirty with it - but did some painting and finished up a cute prim tree for my kitchen as well as my spring carrots for my bushel basket.

Okay - enough about that.  The scale was very friendly to me this morning.  239.4 (in the buff) so I have to stay focused on Tuesday's weigh in.  I can feel that 10% keychain in my hand. 

If you are looking for some words of inspiration ~ click here and check out my Words of Inspiration page. 

Also, if you are using the weight watchers plan and haven't checked out our WW Friends Support Group right here at EP - I invite you to join us. 

March Goals

Water Intake - Drink at least 64 oz. daily

Meal Planning-reorganize my recipes and create a binder for easy access.  Begin the first stages of my meal planning process.

Exercise- exercise (walk) at least once each day for a minimum of 10 minutes.  Since I am still recuperating I can't over do it - but this is manageable. 

Have you set your March goals yet? 

Happy Saturday everyone and keep Marching Forward. 

Hugs to all!

Tracy

T.G.I.F.

Happy T.G.I.F everyone!  I am up early this morning to get a few things finished for work.  Even though I am off on medical leave - I am still working from home.  I am so glad that I have that option because if I wouldn't OMGoodness - just the email overload is enough to stress me out.  This gives me a way to work on some things while not physically being in the office.  It is nice and I feel I have a little control and not be so overwhelmed when I return to work. 

Okay - on to me.  The scale was up .4 this morning - but that' okay.  I am still recuperating and not able to really get after my exercising....I am very happy that the scale read 240.4.  My official WW weigh in is not until Tuesday so I am striving to be 239 by that day.  This will mean I will FINALLY make the 10% goal.  Yep, it's taken me almost a year....but 8 months of that I goofed off big time and you can't goof off and expect to get results on the scale. 

Being off this week has given me the opportunity to catch up on all of my EP friends and the ability to find some new ones.  I am amazed at how many successful EP friends are out there and I get so inspired.  My friends list is getting longer!  I loooove it!

I am really into the primitive country decor and yesterday sat down at the sewing machine to create some prim country spring carrots for my table.  Carrots????? (outta fabric)

I haven't sat down at the sewing machine in YEEEEEARS!  It's kind of like riding a bike...you're wobbly at first but then you get the hang of it.  Didn't create a masterpiece or anything I actually created some carrots for my Easter basket.  I took some muslin fabric, sewed, stuffed, painted orange and the tops green.  I will grunge them up today.  "Grunge" means to tea or coffee stain them for a aged look; I will also add some cinnamon or other fragrance to give them a scent.  I love it!  I will try to post a picture when I am completely finished because I know some of you are saying what?????

Okay - I am really enjoying being off of work.  It's been 8 days after my surgery and I am doing very well.  Of course, I continue to take it easy, do not lift or bend but I am feeling really good.  Thanks for reading today and happy Friday! 

Hugs!

Tracy

EDITED to add the picture I promised you.......Taaaaa Daaaaaa! 

Introducing you to my handmade prim country spring carrots! 

Created using: muslin fabric, sewn, stuffed, painted and grunged up with stain, cinnamon and spice scent.....

Oh Oh - it's Thursday.....

I slept much better last night and woke up at 6:30 am ready to get up and start my day.  I am still taking it easy but I can help dh get the toddler and the 11 year old dressed for school.  The toddler was in a great mood this morning....laughing, giggling and was very cooperative so it was a smooth morning.   Being 7 days after surgery I am feeling better and stronger each and every day.  Having to solely take care of myself is awesome.  I am at home by myself all day long - I don't have to fight for the TV, I don't have to walk over toddler toys, I can eat when I want (good food of course).  My sweet MIL came to clean my house yesterday - I am soooooo lucky and blessed.  DH is ensuring the laundry is kept up and dishes are washed.  I say that A girl can really get used to this, for sure! 

The scale was okay to me this morning.  240.0 morning weight.

The wind is a bit nippy outside here in south east Texas and it blows everything everywhere. 

I will be trying to keep my freeweb page up to date too.  I worked on it a bit this morning.  You can check it out here. 

Hugs!

Tracy

The day after.....

It's the day after my very motivating weigh in yesterday and you would think that I would strive to work that much harder to stay on track.  I just didn't sleep well last night and I am paying for it today.  I don't want to take a nap during the day because I can easily get my nights and days mixed up (been there, done that) and stay up to all hours of the weee mornings watching tv when I should be sleeping - then I sleep all afternoon - vicious cycle.  Anyhoo's, I kinda of feel really drabby and dragging butt today.  So, I just needed to type this out for my own accountability so when I am up on the scale I can check back and see why. 

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Back to the WW Meeting I go.....

DH had to stay home with me and the toddler today because the toddler was sick.  Only being 6 days after surgery I couldn't solely take care of him by myself so dh had to call in sick.  He hates that but we had no other choice. 

Anyhoo's the toddler was feeling much better as the morning progressed on and I convinced dh to drive me into town to attend a much needed ww meeting and run a few much needed errands.  He did.

Yes, I joined weight watchers for the upteenth time almost a year ago and am proud to say that I am officially down 25 lbs.  Now, I know if I would have followed the plan as intended, tracked and journaled points I would be down much more than 25 lbs. but I can proudly say that I am down rather than up.  Today, I begin again.  Each day I am feeling better, more stronger and a sense of releif that I don't have to worry about TOM dragging me down, the bloating, the irregularity and the moods were a huge downer.  Now I am not saying that a hysterectomy is the answer for every woman but so far so good for me.  I was told by many ladies that I would feel much better after about a week and they are right.  I have to keep in mind to take it easy, don't lift anything over 10 lbs. and do you know how hard it is not to bend at the waist?  LOL ~ If I absolutely can not avoid bending I try to bend at the hips rather than the waist.  Oh, and I am increasing my walking every day.  When I came home from the hospital last Thursday the scale read 250.2 (yes, I was devestated because I had just went almost 2 days without any solid food and was sure I would have lost rather than gained)  the morning of surgery I weighed 243.2 - so you can see my disappointment to see the scale up rather than down.  DH is so awesome and supportive, he saw my disappointment and said Tracy, you just had 3 bags of IV fluids pumped into your body over the last 2 days - you'll lose it and he was right.  I didn't lay around after surgery I have been up and steadily increasing my daily walking.  Also, I am drinking lots more water ~ so officially today at the ww meeting I weighed 240.0  ~ yes, folks, you see the number correctly before your eyes 240.0 - I have to type it again because I haven't weighed 240.0 on the ww "official" scale in about 7-8 months.  I have flirted between 241 - 246 for months and I can officially compliment myself and positively say that I am doing something right.   Okay, now I will slowly get down off of my pedestal.  Thanks for listening.

I'm off to read some of your blogs and check up on all of my friends and give ya a boost too.

Hugs!

I'm Back!

I'm back...........WOW! The last week has been quite the whirl wind and am so glad it is over and I am on the road to recovery.  I had my surgery on Wednesday, spent the night in the hospital, was doing very well and my doctor discharged me on Thursday.  I was home by 4 pm the next day.  I literally feel like I went in, they did my surgery, recuperated as needed afterwards and they sent me home.  I was expecting to be released on Friday so was very thankful to be released earlier.  At home, so far so good.  I can't do anything but take care of myself (no housework, lifting, cleaning, cooking, etc.)  Hubby and ds have been great!  Also, I have a wonderful extended family support system.  Today is my first day at home by myself.  I know I will be fine but it's that feeling of being all alone.  I will be fine. Pecking on the computer does not require any lifting so I plan to get caught up on all of my EP friends, find out how you are doing and research some meal ideas and recipes to get my weight loss started again.  Also this gives me a chance to catch up on my daytime soaps...especially Y & R and Days of Our Lives.  Oh, and I love the new Rachel Ray show too.  I am looking forward to seeing that for the next few weeks.  I requested 6 weeks off but don't think I will take that long.  I follow up with my dr. in 3 weeks so if everything is A-OK I may go back to work after that. 

Thanks for the support as I recuperate and I am looking forward to feeling better and being happier and healthier in '08!

Hugs!