Weight Watchers, Week 2

I have lost another .6 pounds!

It may be a SMALL loss, but it is STILL a LOSS, and that is a GOOD thing! :-)

I have now lost 4 pounds total, with 19 to go.

Wish me luck!

Home

FINALLY back home, and exhausted.

We had SUCH fun and spent lots of time with good people.

But now, I need to unpack, and get things ready for work tomorrow.

And get some SLEEP.

I'll post about the trip a little later . . . *yawn*

But as always, thanks for stopping by! :-)

Missouri Bound

Dear Hubby Steve and I are going to the St. Louis area this weekend. Some family friends are having a Graduation Party for their oldest son, and it should be a good time - - these people, like Steve and I, are just a little "off center", which always makes for a fun time!

We are pulling out Saturday morning at 5:00 (yes, that is A.M., unfortunately!) and heading down to Perryville, Missouri first, on a little 'shopping trip' to Stoney's Meat Market, and then heading up to our hotel in Festus, Missouri, then heading to the party in Arnold, Missouri.

Unfortunately, we will not have a chance to visit my favorite place, The Hill (the Italian neighborhood) this trip, but there will be other chances this summer for that.

On the way back, we will stop by Dad's and take him to dinner for Father's Day. I'm looking forward to spending some time with my Daddy! Yes, I definitely AM a "Daddy's Girl! :-)

I'll write all about the trip when we get back. As always, thanks for stopping by, and your comments are always welcome! :-)

1st Week's Results

Tonight marks the end of my first Weight Watchers week. Meeting and weigh-in time was 5:30.

I was a nervous wreck!

All I could think is, what if I didn't lose any weight? What if I had actually GAINED weight? What if still being on this medicine prevents me for seeing any progress? (more on the meds later).

As it turns out, there was really nothing to fear. I had followed program all week, watched my portions, counted my points, got all the foods in all the categories like I should . . .

And it paid off.

I lost 3.4 pounds!!! YIPPEE!!

Yesterday at my Dr. appointment, we decided it actually was time to wean me off the meds. He, like me, did not like the excessive weight gain they caused. So over the next 2 weeks, I will be cutting back the dosage until I am totally off them.

I'm hoping that will also assist my weight loss!

I'll post my results every week - - and as always, THANK YOU for stopping by, and please feel free to comment!

Love and Hollyhocks

There is an Amish settlement near where I live, and I noticed there are always lots of Hollyhocks on the Amish farms.

When I once asked one of my Amish friends about them, this is what I was told:

"Where the Hollyhocks are in bloom,
There is love in the home."

WELL THEN - -

All I can say is - - there must be LOTS of love in my home! :-)

More Scenes From the Vow Renewal Ceremony

I have finally gotten to the point where I have been able to go through all the pictures, do so cropping, resizing, etc., and now finally have some to post for you!

Cindy and Jerry hamming it up before the Ceremony.
I don't want to tell you what Jerry has in his hand - -
It was a joke gift we all gave him, and is a story in itself!


Bishop Jerry Wood of the Diocese of St. Francis,
United Independent Catholic Churches of America



Bishop Wood officiating the Ceremony
Left to right: Curt, Steve, Liz, Bishop Wood, Judy



Another picture of the Vow Renewal party



View from the other side of the Garden Arch



Another picture from the back of the Garden Arch


Jan (left) and Cindy (right) looking on



The Vow Renewal party


Another picture of the party


Bishop Wood (left) with the happy couple



Steve, Bishop Wood, and Liz


Cindy, Jan, and Judy even gave us a Wedding Cake,
complete with topper!


The traditional cutting of the cake

So there you have it - - it was a wonderful ceremony, with our special friends there with us to help us celebrate.

Looking back over these pictures, I'm reminded all over again how truly blessed Dear Hubby Steve and I to have these wonderful people as friends. They enrich our lives in an undescribable way. Our lives would not be near as good without them!

Thanks to my dear friend Judy for standing up with me; to her husband Curt for standing up with Steve, to Cindy and Jan (and Judy also) for all their hard work making a beautiful reception for us, and of course to our dear friend Jerry, who did a wonderful job of officiating the Ceremony. It was heart-warming and touching, and we could not think of anyone else we would have wanted doing it.

Steve and I love you all!!

Time To Get Serious Now

I am overweight.

Not by choice, mind you - - almost 2 years ago, my family doctor put me on a medicine to help with anxiety attacks I had been having. They started a year after my Mom had passed away, and that, combined with worrying about Dad, things at work and at home, losing a dear friend to a particularly nasty form of cancer, and other dear friends with serious health problems, really did a number on me. The medicine really did the trick . . . unfortunately, the side effect was weight gain.

About a year ago, the doctor tried to reduce the dosage, but apparently my body was not ready yet, because the attacks starting coming back, and they had to increase it back to my original dosage.

We also tried another med for about 6 months that would not make me gain weight. It didn't, but it also didn't help the anxiety attacks. I was ALWAYS "edgy", and not sleeping well at all; when I finally DID get to sleep, I had terrible nightmares and wake up exhausted. So we went back to the original med. *sigh*

I have been fortunate to have such an understanding spouse through all this! Dear Steve, thank you for standing by me during this time - - love you, babe! :-)

Now, here it is, another year later. For the first time in 2 years, I am actually feeling like it is time to try standing on my own two feet, and taking back control of my life. I have an appointment with my doctor next week, and I am going to tell him how I am feeling about this - - that this is the first time I have felt confident in myself and my ability to "handle things" in life, and the first time that I have felt "ready" for it.

Things in my life are SO much better than they were back when I started taking the meds. Dear Hubby Steve and I are at the best place in our lives that we have ever been. I have gotten to the point at work where I don't let all the lousy stuff bother me any more I am so blessed with the best friends anyone could have. Dad still misses Mom terribly, of course, but overall is doing well, and is getting out and actually enjoying himself with friends and family members, and some short trips periodically.

SO - - it's time. I'm ready.

AND - - another big thing I'm attempting - -

I rejoined Weight Watchers tonight.

I achieved my Lifetime Member status in October 2001, when I lost nearly 25 pounds. I kept most of that weight off ever since then. Well, there was about a 3-4 pound fluctuation that was always going on - - first I would put it on, then take it back off, but I kept off 20 or more of the pounds I had lost.

Until recently, that is.

SO - - since I am talking to my doctor next week about getting off this medicine, I also decided that now was the time to start getting those blasted pounds BACK OFF MY BODY!

I will be going to my meetings on Wednesday evenings, and will share my weekly progress with you on here. It's not going to be easy, but I'm determined to do this, and be successful.

Wish me luck . . .

The Next 20 Years

I have gotten lots of good comments from friends about my post about our 20th Anniversary vow renewal. Most of them have been very complimentary.

But then there are some of the other comments . . .

The following is the vision of one of the "cast of characters" in my life (who has too much knowledge of computers, and obviously wayyyy too much time on his hands!) of Dear Hubby Steve and I in another 20 years:


Apparently we never got our house built, hence the trailer ("It Ain't Home Till You Take the Wheels Off") - - and don't you just love Dear Hubby's hairstyle??? And MINE???

Ahhh, friends - - what would I do without them?? :-)

Thanks for the laugh, Paul! :-)