CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES

Weight Tracker

Created by MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods

Friday, December 26, 2008

Taking it off together

Ok, I'm not doing too great this holiday, but I'm not doing horribly either.

All time high weight: 264.4 lbs
Weight last week: 215.0 lbs
This week's weight: 216.8 lbs

This week's personal gain: 1.8 lbs

Overall loss since October 8, 2007: 47.6 lbs

Here's the group's stats:

This week's Biggest Losers are Christy and Jackie with a loss of 3.0 pounds! Wow! Please stop by and congratulate Christy and drop Jackie an email.

Here are the results for this week:

Chris - 2.6 Gain
Tammy - 0.5 Loss
Ciara - No Change
Grace - 1.8 Gain
Leigh - 1.6 Gain
Clara - 4.0 Gain
Julie - 0.8 Loss
Audrey - No Change
Christy - 3.0 Loss
Tina - No Report
Danielle - No Report
Jessie - No Report
Steph - No Report
CYN - No Report
Jackie - 3.0 Loss

And please welcome my friend Sally Jo - 0.6 Loss

Our grand total this week is a 2.1 Gain.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Taking it off together

Ok so I'm starting all over as it were. Not really starting over, but trying desperately to get back in the swing:

All time high weight: 264.4 lbs
Weight last week: 214.2 lbs
This week's weight: 215.0 lbs

This week's personal gain: 0.8 lbs

Overall loss since October 8, 2007: 49.4 lbs

I'm trying to get out of this rut, but I am realistic as this is the Holiday season and my true goal for this time of year is to just maintain...if I lose great, but to plan to lose during this time of year, for me at least, is just plain crazy!

Here's the rest of the group:

This week's Biggest Loser is Christy with a loss of 2.4 pounds! Wow! Please stop by and congratulate her.

Here are the results for this week:

Chris - 1.8 Loss
Tammy - 1.0 Gain
Ciara - 1.0 Loss
Grace - 0.8 Gain
Leigh - 2.4 Gain
Clara - 1.2 Gain
Julie - 0.6 Loss
Audrey - 3.0 Gain
Christy - 2.4 Loss
Tina - 1.0 Loss
Danielle - No Report
Jessie - No Report
Steph - No Report
CYN - No Report
Jackie - Weighing in on Friday

Our grand total this week is a 1.6 Gain.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Help support a great cause, by placing your vote.

I just voted in Care2.com's online contest to make 2009 "A New Year of Hope for Animals." If my shelter (Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, FL) wins this contest, then it will win a much needed $10,000 donation! Every vote in this online contest helps promote the need for pet adoption to save homeless animals' lives. Please help my shelter win (or another worthy animal shelter), and save homeless pets by voting today.

Use this Link to vote!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Before I forget to do this AGAIN!!! Yikes!

This week's Biggest Losers are Leigh and Julie with a loss of 1.0 pound each. Please stop by and congratulate them!

Here are the results for this week:

Chris - 0.4 Gain
Tammy - No Change
Ciara - 1.0 Gain
Grace - No Change
Leigh - 1.0 Loss
Clara - 0.6 Loss
Julie - 1.0 Loss
Cheryl - No Report
Audrey - 1.0 Gain
Christy - 0.8 Gain
Tina - No Report
Danielle - No Report
Jessie - No Report
Steph - No Report
CYN - No Change
Jackie - No Change

Our grand total this week is a 0.6 Gain.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

I'm trying to catch up!

For whatever reason the vacation in Colorado nearly 1 month ago and Thanksgiving being late this year has messed with the flow of my normal holiday progression.

NORMALLY, we have Thanksgiving, followed by my hubby decorating the outside of the house and all of us decorating the inside of the house. Then I typically have about a week to prep for "Big Stuff's" birthday (get his birthday picture taken, the party, etc.) which is in early December. Then get the cards out, take "Big Stuff and Lil Bit" to see Santa, and lastly finish any shopping. In between there's lots of baking, movie watching, story telling, teaching my kids about Christmas, and of course family time.

Weeeeeeellllll, this year the outside of our house IS done, but the inside is only partially done still. "Big Stuff's" Birthday went fantastically well, but at the moment we have birthday present placement (meaning finding a place for his presents in his room and not all over the house) going on admist the decorating for Christmas inside. We have watched a few movies, the kids saw Santa yesterday, and I believe all the shopping with the exception of what the kids and I are getting my hubby is DONE. I almost had my cards but there's been a little issue with Snapfish nothing major, but I haven't gotten my cards to send them out yet. HOWEVER, in spite of my discombobulation, I am enjoying my time with my family doing silly little things running around in penguin socks and "skating" on the floor and traditional stuff like baking cookies.

I am really trying to get back on track, but I have a feeling it will be sometime in 2009 before that happens, but I don't think I'll hold my breath. :-)

I do hope that you all are well and that your holidays are progressing nicely as well.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Taking it off together

I've been A LOT behind since vacation. This was not a good week for the group as a whole...just be warned!

My Stats:

Beginning Weight: 264.4 lbs
Last week's weight: 211.6 lbs.
This week's weight: 216.2 lbs

Weight GAINED this week: 4.6 lbs.

Total Loss thus far: 48.2 lbs.

I did not eat well this week, nor did I exercise like I should have; however, the strange part is that I LOST 3% body fat this week. If I'd been exercising heavily I'd say that was muscle gain, but since I wasn't...who knows.


Unfortunately this week we do not have a prize.
Hopefully we can get something in the works for next time. This week's Biggest
Loser is Tammy with a loss of 1.0 pounds. Please stop by and congratulate
her.

Here are the results for this week:

Chris - 0.4 LOSS
Tammy - 1.0 LOSS
Ciara - No Change
Grace - 4.6 GAIN
Leigh - No Change
Clara - 0.6 GAIN
Julie - 0.2 LOSS
Cheryl - No Report
Audrey - 1.0 GAIN
Christy - 2.6 GAIN
Tina - No Report
Danielle - No Report
Jessie - No Report
Steph - No Report
CYN - 1.0 GAIN

This week's total: 8.2 GAIN
Yikes! I think that's the highest we've had since we started. I do believe that a lot has to do with holiday time. This is the time that the average weight a person gains is SEVEN pounds.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Taking it off together Tuesdays....I know it's Friday...sorry

I'm getting ready for a much need vacation with my family so I apologize for my delay in posting this.

I will not be on line all next week but plan to return on the 17th.

Here's the groups results:

Congrats to Clara for being this week's biggest loser of pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!

Chris - 4 GAIN
Tammy - 0.5 LOSS
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - no report
Grace - 0.2 LOSS
Leigh - STARTING OVER!
Clara - 2.6 LOSS
Julie - 1.2 LOSS
Cheryl - no report
Audrey - no report
Christy - 2.2 LOSS
Tina - no report
Danielle - no change
Jessie - no report
Steph - no report
CYN - no change

This week's total - 2.7 LOSS

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

There's a delay on the Weight Loss Post today

Due to circumstances beyond our control...the Taking it off Together Tuesdays will most likely be posted tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

My Personal Election Rant, The Fabulous RAYS!!! and Taking it off together Tuesdays # 18 & #19

I've been out for a while as working at a news station during an election period is horrendous. Why? Because after our normal days work we must offer up something called "Free Time" to political candidates, regardless of party affiliation to say whatever they want in regards to their platform/bid for whatever office they are running for provided it is not deemed obsene or offensive by FCC guidlines. I believe we are allowing approximately one minute and fifteen seconds of free air time to all local and federal candidates in our viewing area should they decide to take it. One candidate for some office I've never heard of that isn't in my voting district anyway, but is in some district of our viewing area has had the audacity to not show for this "Free Time" not once but TWICE. Let me tell you, when you are at the end of your work day and you just have one more appointment or meeting or whatever that requires the participation and promptness of another human being and they don't show resulting in making your work day longer than necessary not once but TWICE...let's just say if this candidate was somebody I could vote for I would vote for whomever was running against this candidate, because this candidate has no consideration for others...even those getting nothing out of helping them except, of course, a longer work day than necessary. Was there and apology either time...uh no. That says it all!

On a lighter note: I am so totally stoked about the RAYS being in the World Series! My family and I have been to several games over the years. Big Stuff and Little Bit have both been to SEVERAL. They've meet players, and have various versions of The RAYS logos from over the years. My hubby still has his hat from the Inagural Season. We will, however, be watching the Series from the comfort and safety of our home for several reasons...the least of which is the Trop is Sold Out for Games 1 and 2 (mind you we went to a game back in September and even though they were the best in the American League at that time you couldn't give tickets away...tonight you'd practically have to sell you 1st Born to get them, be that as it may I'm excited for the RAYS and I can't wait for it to start in a few hours!

Now for the Wednesday edition of Taking it off Together Tuesdays #18 and #19

For #18

Original Starting weight: 264.4 lbs.

Last week's weight: 211.2 lbs.

This week's weight: 210.4 lbs.

Weight lost this week: 0.8 lbs.

Total lost since October 8, 2007: 54 lbs.

Now for this week's update for myself and the group:

Starting weight: 264.4 lbs.

Last week's weight: 210.4 lbs.

This week's weight: 210.8 lbs.

Weight gained this week: 0.4 lbs.

Total lost since October 8, 2007: 53.6 lbs.

And now the group.... not a good week, but they do happen:

This week our contest is sponsored by Tammy! She is offering a copy of Superfoods for the prize for this week! If you'd like to sponser a prize, let me know! We are currently out of prizes!

dsc_0238.JPG

The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Chris!

Congrats to Clara for being this week's biggest loser of pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!

Chris - 1 LOSS
Tammy - 1.5 GAIN
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - No Change
Grace - 0.4 GAIN
Leigh - No Change
Clara - 1.5 LOSS
Julie - 0.8 LOSS
Cheryl - no report
Audrey - 2.2 GAIN
Christy - 0.2 LOSS
Tina - 2.0 GAIN
Danielle - no report
Jessie - no report
Steph - no report
CYN - no report
This week's total - 2.6 GAIN! EGAD!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Taking it off Together Tusdays #17

I was wrong...I haven't totally made it to the land of the living yet (still adjusting to early mornings), but I'm getting there.

I had an OK week weight wise.

My results

Starting weight: 264.4 lbs.

Last week's weight: 211.4 lbs.

This week's weight: 211.2 lbs.

Weight lost this week: 0.2 lbs.

Total lost since October 8, 2007: 53.2 lbs.

On a positive I dropped almost 2% body fat so that was HUGE!



OH YEAH...I WON THE CONTEST THIS WEEK! *doing a happy dance* I never win anything so this is great!

Here are the groups results:


This week our contest is sponsored by Julie! She is offering a copy of the Biggest Loser Cookbook as a prize this week! If you'd like to sponser a prize, let me know! We are currently out of prizes!

The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Grace!

Congrats to Clara for being this week's biggest loser of 2 pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!

Chris - 3.5 GAIN
Tammy - 0.5 GAIN
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 1.0 LOSS
Grace - 0.2 LOSS
Leigh - 0.5 LOSS
Clara - 2.0 LOSS
Dette - 0.5 LOSS
Julie - 1.0 LOSS
Cheryl - No Change
Audrey - 0.8 GAIN
Christy - 0.6 GAIN
Tina - no report
Danielle - 1.0 LOSS
Jessie - No Change
Steph - no report
CYN - no report

This week's total - 0.8 LOSS!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Taking it off Together Tuesdays #16

Ok... I think I've finally started to adjust to doing a 4am shift again...so I'm returning to the land of the living...I think.

I had a very good week weight wise.

My results

Starting weight: 264.4 lbs.

Last week's weight: 214.6 lbs.

This week's weight: 211.4 lbs.

Weight lost this week: 3.2 lbs.

Total lost since October 8, 2007: 53 lbs.

Here's the group post:

This week our contest is sponsored by Clara who writes the Coming Back to Life! She is offering a hand made tote as a prize this week! Here is a picture! Oh it is SOOO cute and perfect for fall!



untitled.bmp



The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Julie!



Congrats to Grace for being this week's biggest loser of 3.2 pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!



Chris - 2 LOSS
Tammy - 1 LOSS
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - no report
Grace - 3.2 LOSS
Leigh - 2.5 GAIN
Clara - 2.5 GAIN
Dette - 1.0 GAIN
Julie - 0.6 LOSS
Cheryl - NO CHANGE
Audrey - no report
Christy - 2.4 LOSS
Tina - 1.4 GAIN
Danielle - NO CHANGE
Jessie - NO CHANGE
Steph - no report



And welcome back CYNwho is reporting no change this week.



This week's total - 0.8 LOSS!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Taking it off Together Tuesdays #15 (I know it's Wednesday,but...)

Yes, I know it's Wednesday...I'm a little behind this week.

ANYWAY, My week, weight wise, was not good. Here are my results:

Beginning Weight: 264.4 lbs.
Last Week's Weight: 212.4 lbs.
This Week's Weight: 214.6 lbs.

Total gained this week: 2.2 lbs.

Total lost since October 8, 2007: 49.8

It also seemed to be tough on everyone else as well, but we still had a loss over all. Here's Leigh's post:

Last week we contunued the contest where everyone who reported a LOSS had their name added to a drawing for a lot of 100 Mary Kay samples! The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Danielle!

This week our contest is sponsored by Ciara who writes the Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog! She is offering a hand made bracelet as a prize this week!

And check it out! We had an over all loss again this week (barely, but it's still a loss)! Congrats to Clara for being this week's biggest loser of 2.5 pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!

Chris - 1 loss
Tammy - 1 gain
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 1 loss
Grace - 2.2 gain
Leigh - 1 gain
Clara - 2.5 loss
Dette - no change
Julie - 1.4 gain
Cheryl - no report
Audrey - 2.4 loss
Christy - 3.2 gain
Tina - no report
Danielle - 2 loss
Jessie - no change
Steph - no report

This week's total - 0.1 LOSS!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Ok, I'm trying 2 new things

One is DISQUS for my comments, and the other is dNeero for earning a little extra money.

Let me know what you think of either or both.

This is my 1st dNeero try

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Taking it off Together Tuesdays #14

Well, I surprised myself this week! I worked out 5 out of 7 days for anywhere from 30 minutes to an entire hour! I have to admit that thus far I'm am totally loving my Wii Fit, and apparently so is everyone else in the house as well. Last night I even used one of the aerobics activities that I opened called Free Step where you can get it started and then do a basic Step (from like a step class) for 10 or 15 or 30 minutes, set the type of counter you'd like to hear from your controller and the pace of the count/rhythm, then watch TV or a movie or whatever, and it'll keep track of your steps and tell you when to change sides based on the number of steps (usually at 100). I did 30 minutes of that last night while watching Ever After on TV and really didn't notice the time, nor did the counter bother my hubby who was also watching the movie.

Any way here are my results:

Beginning Weight: 264.4 lbs
Last Week's Weight: 216.2 lbs
This Week's Weight: 212.4 lbs
That's a LOSS of: 3.8 lbs

TOTAL Lost since October 8, 2007: 52 lbs.

So I lost the 2.6 lbs I gained last week PLUS and additional 1.2 lbs. That made me the biggest losser for our group this week. Here how everone else did according to Leigh our group moderator. Please stop by and pay these wonderful people a visit:

We currently have a contest where everyone who reported a LOSS had their name added to a drawing for a lot of 100 Mary Kay samples! And since I currently don't have any other prizes, we will have the same contest this week. Just remember that maintaining doesn't count, sorry! Also, if you have a prize to donate that would be GREAT!! Just let me know!

The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Dette!

And check it out! We had an over all loss again this week! Congrats to Grace for being this week's biggest loser of 3.8 pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!

Chris - 1 LOSS
Tammy - 0.5 GAIN
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - no report
Grace - 3.8 LOSS
Leigh - 0.5 LOSS
Clara - No Change
Dette - 1.5 LOSS
Julie - No Change
Cheryl - No Change
Audrey - no report
Christy - 1.4 LOSS
Tina - 0.5 GAIN
Danielle - No Change
Jessie - 3 GAIN
Steph - no report

This week's total - 4.2 LOSS!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

I just received an award!!!

It's been a while folks since I've gotten an award, but this one comes from SweetMummy






The rules for this award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs that you've nominated.

Ok, so here we go for nominating 7 other blogs:

As always, there's Leigh, who got me started blogging (even if she doesn't know it), over at Eternal Flux.

I also love Chris's blog, over at Lone Black Spider

My brother and his wife over at Zac and Jules

"Mommie" over at Mommies Home

"Inspiration to Dream" over at Sharing Anti Aging Secrets

Mandy over at Texas Medical Freak which is always a VERY INFORMATIVE read

And last, but certainly not least, Genevieve over at Mother of Confusion. She's the one who headed up the blogging for Autism whose button is posted on this site.

Now I'm off to inform all the winners :-)

Taking It Off Together #13

Well overall the group did FANTASTIC! Me??? not so much. I gained, but I did lose in the body fat category. I also received a wonderful gift from my inlaws for my birthday (which was a week ago today), but it didn't arrive until yesterday. I got a Wii Fit Bundle and I had a fabulous time working out for over an HOUR!!! I am soooooo sore today too, but that's not a bad thing. My hubby worked out for 30 minutes and "Big Stuff" and "Little Bit" worked out right besides us too and laugh out loud when one of the Miis that was "running" with us fell down in a fantastically laughable fashion too. I'm hoping that this will push me to exercise more than I have been. Now, here are my results:

Beginning Weight: 264.4 lbs
Last Week's Weight: 213.6 lbs
This Week's Weight: 216.2 lbs
That's a GAIN of: 2.6 lbs

TOTAL Lost since October 8, 2007: 48.2

The rest of the group did MUCH better and here is Leigh's post:

"Last week we announced a contest where everyone who reported a LOSS had their name added to a drawing for a lot of 100 Mary Kay samples! The motivation worked! Nearly everyone reported a loss this week. So we will have the same contest this week. Just remember that maintaining doesn't count, sorry!

The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Ciara!

And check it out! We had an over all loss again this week! Congrats to Cheryl for being this week's biggest loser of 4 pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!

Chris - 4 GAIN
Tammy - 1 LOSS
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 0.4 LOSS
Grace - 2.6 GAIN
Leigh - 2.0 LOSS
Clara - no report
Dette - 0.5 LOSS
Julie - 0.8 LOSS
Cheryl - 4 LOSS
Audrey - 0 CHANGE
Christy - 1.6 LOSS
Tina - 1.4 LOSS
Danielle - 1 LOSS
Jessie - no report

And please give a warm welcome to Steph who lost 2 pounds this last week!

This week's total - 8.1 LOSS!!"

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Baby Tea Leaves: HOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS! (Here we go, ladies!!)

Baby Tea Leaves: HOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS! (Here we go, ladies!!)


Yes, this is just one more thing to keep myself motivated and honest! WISH ME LUCK, or better yet: JOIN US!!

"Why Women Should Vote" by Angelika

I was totally inspired by this post by Angelika. I must admit that I too am guilty of not viewing my right to vote as "an obligation" instead of the hard won privilege that people believed in enough to give their lives for. When you get a chance, do yourself a favor and read her post. Thanks!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

OK I'm a day late in posting this: Taking it off together Tuesdays #12

For me this week went better than expected:

Starting weight: 264.4 lbs.
Present weight: 213.6 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 0.4 lbs.
TOTAL lost: 50.8lbs.

This week we are adding a contest! It seems we all need motivation after all. So, for everyone who reports a LOSS (maintaining doesn't count, sorry!) on the next weigh in will have their name put in a drawing for 100 assorted Mary Kay samples! So drink your water and count your calories. We can all do this!

And check it out! We had an over all loss! Congrats to Christy for being this week's biggest loser of 5 pounds!!

Chris - 3.2 LOSS
Tammy - 1 LOSS
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 0.4 GAIN
Grace - 0.4 LOSS
Leigh - 0.5 GAIN
Clara - 0.5 GAIN
Dette - no report
Julie - 0.2 LOSS
Cheryl - 0 CHANGE
Audrey - 2 GAIN
Christy - 5 LOSS
Tina - 1 LOSS (from last week)
Danielle - 2 LOSS
Jessie - 0 CHANGE

This week's total - 9.0 LOSS!!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Taking it together Tuesday #11

I didn't do so well this week, but I'm getting back on track!

Beginning Weight: 264.4 lbs
Present Weight: 214 lbs
Weight Gain this week: 3 lbs
Total weight loss so far: 50.4 lbs

Thanks for keeping me honest.

Here's how everyone else did this week (Overall we gained this week, but that happens sometimes...time to get back to it!):

Chris - 2 GAIN
Tammy - 1 LOSS
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 0 CHANGE
Grace -3 GAIN
Leigh - 3.5 GAIN
Clara - 4 LOSS
Dette - 2 GAIN
Julie - 0.2 LOSS
Cheryl - 0 CHANGE
Audrey - 2 LOSS
Christy - 2 GAIN
Tina - no report yet
Danielle - 0 CHANGE
Jessie - 0 CHANGE
This week's total - 5.3 GAIN!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Tropical Storm Fay update

Just so everyone knows...my family and I are doing fine. We're actually not getting that much rain at all! Go figure. My folks are getting more rain, but they are doing well too. My inlaws are just getting drenched over on the East Coast, but they have electricity and since work's cancelled for them (due to areas around them flooding) they've been watching the Olympics and doing crossword and suduko puzzles and watching dvds and such.

Thank you all so much for your concern...it is very appreciated.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Taking it off together Tuesdays #10

Thanks for keeping me honest! Didn't lose, but didn't gain either...so maintaining is good right?!?!

Here are my results for this week:

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 211.0 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 0.0 lbs.
Total lost: 53.4 lbs.

AND here are the reports for this week. I hate to say it, but this is our first week with an overall gain! We can do this! Go support your fellow weight loss partners and post your favorite ways you are using to lose weight!

Chris - 1 GAIN
Tammy - 0 CHANGE
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 1 GAIN
Grace - 0 CHANGE
Leigh - 0.5 GAIN
Clara - 1.5 LOSS
Dette - 0 CHANGE
Julie - 0.2 LOSS
Cheryl - 2 GAIN
Audrey - 1 GAIN
Christy - 1.2 LOSS
Tina - no report?
Danielle - 1 LOSS

Please help us welcome Jessie to the group with an inital report of 0 change!

This week's total - 1.6 GAIN!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Taking in off together Tuesdays #9

I was actually shocked that I lost this week. Why? Because while I did exercise...a lot, I did not eat AT ALL the way I know that I should have. My mother in law had her birthday this past weekend and there was cake and m&ms so I was certain that I gained. However, I did swim for SEVERAL hours so it has to have been the exercise. Thanks for keeping me honest!

Here are my results for this week:

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 211.0 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 1.4 lbs.
Total lost: 53.4 lbs.

AND here are the reports for this week.

Chris - 1 GAIN
Tammy - 1 LOSS
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 0.6 LOSS
Grace - 1.4 LOSS
Leigh - 5.5 LOSS
Clara - 2 LOSS
Dette - 1 GAIN
Julie - 0 CHANGE
Cheryl - 4 LOSS
Cyn Blue - no report
Audrey - 0.6 LOSS
Christy - 7.2 LOSS
Tina - 0.5 GAIN

Please welcome Danielle to the group with her starting result of 0 Change!

This week's total - 19.8 LOSS!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Taking it off Together Tuesday #8

It's been a tough week food wise, but I still managed to lose a little. Thanks for keeping me honest!

Here are my results for this week:

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 212.4 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 0.4 lbs.
Total lost: 52 lbs.

AND here are this weeks totals for the group:


Chris - 3 GAIN
Tammy - 0 CHANGE
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 1 LOSS
Grace - 0.4 LOSS
Leigh - 2.5 GAIN
Clara - 0 CHANGE
Dette - 0.5 LOSS
Julie - 1 LOSS
Cheryl - 0 CHANGE
Cyn Blue -0 CHANGE
Audrey - 5.2 LOSS
Christy - 3 LOSS
Tina - no report

This week's total - 5.6 LOSS!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

2 Great Article Regarding Autism Spectrum Disorders

My friend over on My Space posted these articles and I felt that they were both very good. One is called The 5 Types of Autism and the other is called Asperger’s Syndrome Information - "What is?". "Big Stuff" was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome about 3 years ago, before it was getting as much attention as it is now, and I've always had trouble trying to explain it without someone telling me, "But don't all kids do that?" So I hope that these articles serve to help explain something that I have trouble explaining sometimes. Oh, and keep in mind that "Big Stuff" does not exhibit all the Asperger's symptoms listed in the article. In fact, most people with Asperger's Syndrome or "Aspies" do not exhibit every symptom. Every person on the spectrum is definately different and unique!

The 5 types of autism

Autism may not be what you think it is.

The 1988 movie "Rain Man" — starring Hollywood heavyweights Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise — introduced autism to mainstream America. It also cemented stereotypes that all autistic people are savants with outstanding math skills, that they have no emotions or senses of humor, that they cannot make eye contact or show affection.

This is true for some people, but autism comes in many shapes and sizes, in countless combinations of characteristics.

Autism is one of five disorders coming under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders, a category of brain disorders that affect the way people speak, socialize, play and react to their environment.

Below are definitions and characteristics of these five disorders.

• Classic autism — This is the most severe form of autism. People with classic autism have problems talking and relating to people. They can be hypersensitive to their environment. Certain sounds, colors and textures can upset them. They compulsively cling to rituals, such as eating the same foods or watching the same TV show every day at the same time. Changes in routine can upset them.

• Asperger's Syndrome — A type of autism that causes problems with social and communication skills, but does not trigger language delays. People with Asperger's can be socially awkward, may not understand conventional social rules or may show a lack of empathy. They may make limited eye contact, seem to be unengaged in a conversation and not understand the use of gestures. They also have average or above-average intelligence.

• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder — A type of autism that develops in children who previously seemed perfectly normal. Sometime between ages 2 and 4, these children stop talking, lose potty-training skills and stop socializing. They can stop playing, lose motor skills and fail to make friends.

• Rett Syndrome — A condition that usually affects girls and is marked by poor head growth. People with this disorder have poor verbal and social skills. They have repetitive hand movements such as hand-wringing, excessive hand-washing and clapping. Mental retardation is common.

• Pervasive Developmental Disorder­Not Otherwise Specified — A condition in which some — but not all — of the symptoms of classic autism and another pervasive developmental disorderare seen. In these cases, there can be social and speech problems, as well as unusual sensitivities to specific sights and sounds.

Sources: Autism Society of America, Cure Autism Now, Yale Child Study Center at Yale University, National Institute of Mental Health

SOURCE: http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/autism/types_of.html



Asperger’s Syndrome Information - "What is?"

In 1944, Asperger's Syndrome was first described and named after the Austrian doctor, Hans Asperger. He described individuals who showed odd-like behaviours, a lot like the symptoms thought to be shown by Albert Einstein and Bill Gates.

Asperger's Syndrome is a form of autism that affects how a person communicates and relates with others. This means that they commonly have difficulty in social relationships, in communicating, and have limitations in imagination and creative play

Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome are quite often easily understood, and have intelligible speech before being 4 years old. Their grammar and vocabulary are usually very good, but they often repeat what they say and partake in conversations that revolve around themselves. They are usually obsessed with complex topics like patterns, weather, music, and technology.

IQ's of people with Asperger's Syndrome fall along the full spectrum, but many are above normal for verbal abilities and below average in performance. Many have dyslexia, writing problems and difficulty with mathematics. They mainly have concrete thinking and often lack common sense.

People with Asperger's Syndrome have odd forms of self-stimulatory behaviour and their movements are often clumsy and awkward. They are often overly sensitive to sounds, taste, smells, and sights; preferring soft clothing, certain foods, and can be bothered by sounds or lights no one else can see or hear.

They have a great deal of difficulty reading body language, have trouble determining personal body space, and are socially aware but often react the wrong way. It is because of this that those with Asperger's Syndrome are often viewed as eccentric or odd and can easily become victims of teasing and bullying.

People with Asperger's Syndrome are often punctuality, reliability and dedication.

Sometimes people assume everyone who has autism and is high-functioning has Asperger's syndrome. However, it appears that there are several forms of high-functioning autism, and Asperger's syndrome is one form. Asperger's Syndrome is probably hereditary in nature as many families report having an "odd" relative or two. It is often reported in those also with depression and bipolar disorders.

Asperger's syndrome is a neurobiological disorder that affects the brain and the people who have it seem very "normal" and people with Asperger's Syndrome are often of average or above average intelligence. As a guess there is about 1 in every 500 people in the US have this dysfunction which can include everything from language disabilities to sensory problems and physical awkwardness. These people are very intelligent, extremely structured and have no social awareness; they are often very literal. Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome can exhibit a variety of characteristics and the disorder can range from mild to severe. Persons with Asperger's Syndrome show marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest.

It's important to remember that the person with Asperger's Syndrome perceives the world very differently. Therefore, much behaviour that seems odd or unusual is due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad behaviour, and most certainly not the result of "improper parenting".

Most individuals (although not all) exhibit exceptional skill or talent in a specific area. Because of their high degree of functionality. People with Asperger's Syndrome often develop an almost obsessive interest in a hobby or collecting. Usually their interest involves arranging or memorising facts about a special subject, such as train timetables, Derby winners or the dimensions of cathedrals.

As soon as we meet a person we make judgements about them. Just by looking we can guess their age or status, and by the expression on their face or the tone of their voice we can tell immediately if they are happy, angry or sad and respond accordingly. Not everyone has this natural ability. People with Asperger's Syndrome find it more difficult to read the signals which most of us take for granted. As a result they find it more difficult to communicate and interact with others and have a large problem with social interaction. Meanwhile they often develop overwhelmingly obsessive interests, which can preoccupy them (but may form an ideal basis for a job).

People with Asperger's Syndrome often find change upsetting.

Young children may impose their routines, such as insisting on always walking the same route to school. At school, sudden changes, such as an alteration to the timetable, may upset them. People with Asperger's Syndrome often prefer to order their day according to a set pattern. If they work set hours then any unexpected delay, such as a traffic hold-up, or a late train, can make them anxious or upset.

The causes of autism and Asperger's Syndrome are still being investigated. Many experts believe that the pattern of behaviour from which Asperger's Syndrome is diagnosed may not result from a single cause. There is strong evidence to suggest that Asperger's Syndrome can be caused by a variety of physical factors, all of which affect brain development - it is not due to emotional deprivation or the way a person has been brought up. There is not treatment.

Asperger's Syndrome is most likely hereditary in nature as many families report having an "odd" relative or two.

As they get older, they may realise that they are different from other people and feel isolated and depressed. People with Asperger's Syndrome often want to be sociable and are upset by the fact that they find it hard to make friends. But Adults with Asperger's Syndrome can and do go on to live fulfilling lives, to further education and employment and to develop friendships. Many lead productive lives, living independently, working effectively at a job (many are college professors, computer programmers, dentists), and raising a family.

A Visitor Commented that "Those with Asperger's Syndrome have normal scores on IQ tests and are of average or above average intelligence. You should know that normal means a score above 70. You create the impression that those with AS are all very bright. This is not so. Incidentally, current research suggests that there are good reasons for not differentiating between autism and Asperger's Syndrome."

SOURCE: http://www.pickbrains.com/articles/aspergers

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Update on my mom & a word of thanks!

As most of you know, my mom has been in the hospital since Monday, July 14th, when she had her surgery. After a slight set back or two, I'm happy to let you all know that she is OUT OF THE HOSPITAL AND BACK HOME! She still has some recovery of course, but she is home!

I cannot begin to express to you all how much each and everyone of your kind words, thoughts, wishes, and prayers have helped me and my family. I would love to give you all a great big hug personally, but since that obviously isn't possible I at least want to say "Thank you! Thank you all from the very bottom of my heart!" You've all helped me more than you will ever know and I will forever be greatful for the kindness, concern, and compassion I have been shown, even from those that I only know "cyberly" and not "personally".

Taking it off Together Tuesdays #7

I've decided to combine "The Weighty Update" with "Taking it off Together Tuesdays" mainly because I felt a little redundant posting one on Mondays immediately followed by the other on Tuesdays. So here are my results for this week:

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 212.8 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 1.6 lb.
Total lost: 51.6 lbs

AND here are this weeks totals for the group:

Chris - 2.8 LOSS (-5.8 overall)
Tammy - 2 LOSS (-7 overall)
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 2 LOSS (-2 overall)
Grace - 1.6 LOSS (-51.6 overall)
Leigh - 4 LOSS (-31 overall)
Clara - 1 GAIN (-9.5 overall)
Dette - no report...?
Julie - 1 GAIN (-4.1 overall)
Cheryl - 2 GAIN (+2 overall)
Cyn Blue - no report
Audrey - 2.6 GAIN (-0.4 overall)
Christy - 0 (-11 overall)
Tina - 1 GAIN (0 overall)

Totals:
this week - 4.8 LOSS
over all - 120.4 LOSS

as you can see our moderator, Leigh, has now added the overall totals for both the week and total group weight lost. These are a great bunch of people who are very supportive, and not just with weight loss! If you'd like to become a part of "Taking it off Together Tuesdays" just contact Leigh by clicking here, and she can help you get added to this wonderful group!

Thank you all for keeping me honest!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Update on my mom

Little worried:

She's had a bit of a set back. She's back on oxygen & a heart monitor. They're sending her for some test right now to see if they can figure out what's going on with her.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Taking It Off Together Tuesdays #6

Here are the reports for this week:

Chris - 1 GAIN
Tammy - 1 LOSS
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 1 LOSS
Grace - 1.4 GAIN
Leigh - 0.5 GAIN
Clara - 0.5 LOSS
Dette - -1.5 LOSS
Julie - 2.2 LOSS
Cheryl - 1 GAIN
Cyn Blue - 0 CHANGE
Audrey - On VACATION
Christy - 8 LOSS!! You go girl!

Welcome new member Tina with a 1 pound loss!

Total : 11.3 LOSS WOOT!!

Monday, July 21, 2008

The Weighty Update

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 214.4 lbs.
Weight gained this week: 1.4 lb.
Total lost: 50.0 lbs

It's been a rought week, but I'm alright. Moving forward.

Another one on my mom

We went to see her again this weekend, and "Little Bit" & "Big Stuff" were great. "Little Bit" was scared at first, but soon realized that it was just her "Mac". She's eating "solids" (soft food) again and walked about 200 ft. yesterday. The doctors are going to move her to oral medication today, and so far she is still on track for a Tuesday or Wednesday release.

Again, I want to thank you all for everything!

Friday, July 18, 2008

My mom's doing FANTASTIC!!!

Quick update:

Yesterday she was moved out of ICU and into a "Regular" Room. Today they made her do her walks. First one was 25 ft. Second one was 50 ft. The most recent one was 150 ft. The doctors are very happy and if all goes well she should be home this coming Tuesday. (For those following along, that's 1 week and 1 day after major surgery!) I will let you know if this actually happens.

I saw her last night, and she is still in a lot of pain, but not nearly as much as she was when I saw her earlier this week.

I want to thank you all for your kind words, thoughts, support, and prayers. My family also greatly appreciates them as well.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The latest update on my mom's condition

Surgery was a success! She's in ICU until at least today, and then they will move her to a regular room where she will most likely remain until sometime next week. I saw her yesterday, and while she is very weak and incredibly sore, she's mentally very alert and more concerned about all of us getting rest and how we are than anything else it seems. Just like a mom don't you think?

Taking it off Together Tuesday #5

Here are the reports for this week:

Chris - 2 LOSS
Tammy - 2 GAIN
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 2 GAIN
Grace - 4.6 LOSS
Leigh - 1 GAIN
Clara - 2 LOSS
Dette - 1 LOSS
Julie - 0.8 LOSS
Cheryl - 1 LOSS
Cyn Blue - no report?
Audrey - 3 LOSS

Everone help us welcome our 12th member Christy with a 3 LOSS!!

Total : 11.68 LOSS

Monday, July 14, 2008

The Weighty Update

Oh I almost forgot! And this is a Fantastic Week weight loss wise (of course it could be the stress, but at this point I'll take it!)

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 213.0 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 4.6 lb.
Total lost: 51.4 lbs

I FINALLY CROSSED 50 lbs. LOST!!!!! Another milestone that I never thought I'd reach. This is also the lowest my weight has been in over 7 and 1/2 years!!!

Thanks for keeping me honest!

Present update on my mom

She's out of surgery and in recovery and my dad let me know that all is well, and that he was about to get to see her.

Latest Update on my mom

Just got a text from my dad and to quote him "The surgery on {my mom's name} is a miracle! Both surgeons are able to work at the same time! PRAISE GOD!" They were closing her up, according to the text, about 15 minutes ago. I will, of course, continue to keep you all posted!

Just a brief note...

My mom went in for major surgery this morning and will be in surgery for approximately 6 hours. I can not go into too much detail as it is too hard for me to explain it adequately, but the long and short of it is (like we told "Big Stuff" and "Little Bit") something inside her got broken and the doctors need to get inside her and fix it. So, there's no panic...we've known about this for a while but didn't have all the details until this past week, and apparently my mom's been living with this for a few years, but didn't know it. She does not have cancer and her heart is fine, but the doctors do have to open her up to fix the problem and needless to say with this being major surgery, and even though she is otherwise healthy...I'm still worried about her (and my dad, who told me, "As a pastor I'm used to seeing people in the hospital about to go into surgery, and it's never an easy thing to do, but when it's the "love of you life" that takes it to an entirely different level.")

I'll keep everyone posted.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Lots going on...

"Little bit" turned 3 a few days ago add we had a crowd at the house. All of this around the July 4th holiday. I didn't follow my plan for weight loss as closely as I would have liked, but I did enjoy the time with friends and family.

My friend just had her second child about 2 weeks ago, and there was D-R-A-M-A-!!!

Here's the story:

The baby arrived without much ado (other than the baby was early everything went smoothly with the delivery). After 24 hours the little one developed jaundice, and as my friend put it, "It's not the sit-in-sunlight-and-be-cured kind of jaundice, but the mommy's-blood-hates-baby's-blood-and-is-trying-to-destroy-all-the-red-blood-cells kind." The little one got sent to the NICU when the jaundice level tripled and got to wear a lovely eyemask while basking under the tanning bed for the next 36 hours. The jaundice level was down at the next testing, but unfortunately it climbed up until it was even higher than it had been when the baby went to the NICU in the first place. So back under the lights the little one went.

Meanwhile, the nurses got scared when the little one decided to take a little break from breathing one morning and turned blue. They gave the baby some oxygen for about 10 seconds,and the little one began breathing, and for all this trouble, earned an extra 5-days-minimum-stay in the NICU and visits from lots of heart and ears-nose-and-throat doctors. The ENT guy diagnosed the baby with acid reflux and put my friend on a dairy-free diet. That could have caused the breathing episode, and that would be the best case scenario because either diet or medicine could fix the problem.

You would've thought this would be enough for all of them, but one nurse in the NICU decided to make things more interesting by giving the baby some other woman's breastmilk one night. That was a bit of a shock for them, considering the bottles are "all color-coded and labeled with (the family's) name and hospital ID number, and sit in a basket that also has (their) name on it." So they pumped the baby's stomach and then they spent most of the next day waiting to find out if the other mother had HIV or any other communicable diseases. No HIV, so that's good news.

From what my friend told me everything else came out OK, but I'm not 100% sure if all of the test have come back yet. Anyway, I think everything's fine as everyone is back home and they made it to "Little Bit's" Party the other day (Yes even the baby and I got to hold the little one...I forget how small they are when they're born!)

On a different note:

Yesterday, was the 7th anniversary of the death of my friend Danielle Cipriani, and while the waste of space who did it now has to serve back to back life sentences and has been serving them since he was sentenced 4 years ago...I still have brief moments of out and out anger and also sadness...I usually don't think about her death much less the date of it and probably wouldn't have this year either if it weren't for someone mentioning it yesterday and pointing out exactly what day yesterday was...

I'm a little bit of an emotional mess today, but I'm holding it together...my apologies for rambling on and on and on...

That's a life update to this point...moving on.

Taking it off Together Tuesday #4

Here are the reports for this week:



Chris - 2 LOSS
Tammy - 0 change
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - Out Of Town
Grace - 2.4 Gained
Leigh - 3 LOSS
Clara - 2 Gained
Dette - 1 Gained
Julie - 2 LOSS
Cheryl - 0 change



Please help me welcome Cyn Blue who is reporting a 1 pound gain.



And everyone welcome my aunt Audery to the group who is reporting a 3 pound loss!



Total : 3.6 LOSS! YAY!

Monday, July 7, 2008

The Weighty Update

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 217.6 lbs.
Weight gained this week: 2.4 lb.
Total lost: 46.8 lbs

Thanks for keeping me honest!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Taking it off Together Tuesday #3

Here are the reports for this week (and everyone either lost or stayed the same!):

Chris - 0 change
Tammy - 1 LOSS!
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 0 change
Grace - 0.8 LOSS!
Leigh - 7 LOSS!
Clara - 0.5 LOSS!
Dette - 2.5 LOSS!
Julie - 1 LOSS!

and every one be sure to welcome Cheryl with her first weigh in at 0!

Total 12.8 LOSS! Congratulations!!

The Weighty update

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 215.2 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 0.8 lb.
Total lost: 49.2 lbs

What is it with me and the 0.8 lbs??????

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Taking it off Together Tuesday - Week #2

Chris - 1.0 loss!
Tammy - 5.0 loss!
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog -1.0 loss!
Grace - (out of town...I will update when she gets back)SEE MY POST BELOW
Leigh - 3.0 GAIN! ARG!
Clara - 5.0 loss!
Dette - 0.5 gain
Julie - 0 (first week! Welcome aboard!)

Total of 8.5 lost! You go girls!

I'm back...and the weighty update!!!

Just back from a family reunion and I worried about posting numbers today, but I was pleasently surprised with my results. (I'd have been happy to have just maintained!)

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 216.0 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 0.8 lb.
Total lost: 48.4 lbs

Why I lost I have no idea, but I'll take it!

Thanks again for keeping me honest!

As for my trip it was fantastic! I know that I don't get back "home" near enough. Ok, it was also nice to see Leigh in person again and not just talk to her in cyberspace :-)

Monday, June 23, 2008

For those interested in the weight loss meme...read on

Hey, I've been gone for a bit. If you're interested in joining the weight loss meme you can contact Leigh (she's the moderator & a relative) by clicking here and she can add you to the meme!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The First Edition of the Weight Loss Meme

Welcome to the First Edition of the Weight Loss Meme. This is a group of women (but men are welcome, too) who have decided to get together and help support each other while losing that weight we've been meaning to get off for years. Sometimes you just need a hand to hold or someone to hold you accountable.



Here is the deal, each week when you weigh in you can send in your results to the moderator of the Meme (Leigh) and she will create a post once per week with everyone's results. She will then e-mail the post to everyone who has signed up so they can post it as well. This way we all get support (not to mention added traffic). If you wish to join please leave a comment!



So, without further ado, here is this weeks results!



Chris - 2.0 gain
Tammy - 0 (just started this week! Welcome aboard)
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 2.0 gain
Grace - 0.8 loss
Leigh - 1.0 loss
Clara - 0 (no change from last weigh in)

Monday, June 16, 2008

The weighty update

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 216.8 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 0.8 lb.
Total lost: 47.6 lbs

Slow but going the right direction nonetheless.

Thanks again for keeping me honest!

Monday, June 9, 2008

The Weighty Update...one clue...ugh!!!

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 217.6 lbs.
Weight gained this week: 2 lb.
Total lost: 46.8 lbs

On the up side Body fat went way down so I know it's muscle, but still!

Thanks again for keeping me honest!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

So we ran this story today...

...about the relationship between birth weight and autism:

"Low birth weight may be linked to autism.

Doctors with the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention studied the birth records of more that 550 children with autism and compared them with a control group of children.

Babies born before 33 week gestation who weighed less than five and a half pounds had a two-fold risk for autism.

The risk was higher for low birth weight girls than boys." (This was the actual script).

"Big Stuff" was a week over due and you'd think that he would have been huge by then, but he was only a little over 6 and 1/2 lbs. at 41 weeks! "Little Bit" was early by 2 weeks when she was born she was WELL OVER 7 and 1/2 lbs. (and I gained less weight with her!) Now I realize that neither of my children were premature by any standard ("Little Bit" born at 38 weeks so technically that's full term), but it just made me wonder if there is something to this study.

Forgive me...I just babbling on...no real thought went into this post if you didn't notice.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

I'm back after my project...here's what you missed!

The telethon went well...despite the present economy the Tampa Bay Area Raised over 4 Million dollars for All Children's Hospital.

I have now re-entered the blogosphere and am now going to update you on the status of my weight loss:

THE RECAP

May 19, 2008 - a gain week

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 218.0 lbs.
Weight gained this week: 0.2 lb.
Total lost: 46.4 lbs

May 28, 2008 - a loss week

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 217.8 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 0.2 lb.

That's right I lost exactly what I gained the week before!

Total lost: 46.6 lbs

AND NOW WE'VE COME TO:

June 2, 2008

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 215.6 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 2.2 lb.
Total lost: 48.8 lbs

Thanks for keeping me honest!!! I'm getting there!

Took "Big Stuff" to see Prince Caspian...he loved it (He also loved the "date" with mom. "Little Bit" had a "date" with dad that night too and went to Best Buy and got some movies she liked...I believe they were Princess Stories of some sort).

"Oma and Opa" watched "Big Stuff" & "Little Bit" long enough for Hubby and I to go out for dinner last night...just the two of us! A grown up meal with hubby (whom I haven't seen in about a week because of my real job...and trying to keep the kids happy because of all the extra work hours). It was fun!

and now we are down to one child the rest of this week as "Big Stuff" is with his "Oma and Opa" for a little time with them. We were going to be completely childless for a week as "Little Bit" was going to be with one of her favorite people "Mac" (and "Papa" too of course) this week for some intensive potty training and fun, but "Mac" (aka my mom) had somethings beyond her control come up (don't you love it when things our out of your hands?!?!?) and she had to take care of those...I don't know who was more disappointed "Mac" or "Little Bit"...actually, I'm thinking "Mac", but I told her not to worry. We're enjoying the special time with "Little Bit".

That's about it from here.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Belated Happy Mother's Day and other stuff...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all my mommy friends!!!

OK I'll admit it...I'm a slacker. My mother's day was fabulous! I got a griddle and before anyone gives my hubby grief...I've been asking for it for just about forever. For the record I LOVE IT!!!!!!! I also got 3 inches of hair chopped off and I got it streaked with blonde and red again. We also spent Mother's day with my mommy, so we had a good time.

And now for my LATE Weighty Update for this week:

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 217.8 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 1.4 lb.
Total lost: 46.6 lbs

My body fat% went down again as well!

Thanks for keeping me honest!

I can't promise how much I'll be posting over the next week or so as I'm working on a project at the station for All Children's Hospital (In conjuction with the Children's Miracle Network) for our annual telethon, but I will at least try to keep the Weighty Update going for you all.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Historic Autism Bill Passes BOTH House and Senate in Florida and is now on to Governor Crist!

I received the following email today and wanted to share:

A number of you have called the CARD office to see what we know about the autism bill that passed on Friday. Krystal and I have hesitated to answer questions because we weren't really hearing anything and we weren't sure what to tell you. I spent a few hours this afternoon combing through Google to see what is out there. Here are a few links that will hopefully answer your questions about the bill. It helped me understand a little bit better what has happened.

A fantastic site that seems to have the most information about the autism bill is the site by Floridians for the Future of the Developmentally Disabled.
http://www.ffddnews.com/blog1b.php?blog_id=2008050221562257

Watch the historic and emotional speech by the Speaker of the House and the vote in the Florida House that passed Senate Bill 2654.
http://www.ffddnews.com/articles0b.php?art_id=2008050609203252 Read the instructions on this page to watch the roughly 10 minutes toward the end of the session where the bill was passed.

FFDDnews discusses the passage of the Senate Bill 2654.
http://www.ffddnews.com/blog1b.php?blog_id=2008050615181171

Article "Last Minute Miracle ... Florida Autism Bill Passes ..." from a parent who is thankful that the bill passed. http://findingnoah.org/?p=417

Panama City News http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/18553574.html

The News Press (Insurance companies have two years to come up with agreements to cover all children with disabilities or face mandates to serve autism).
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/OPINION/805060321/1015

There is more out there if you want to search but these links will give you an idea of what happened.

All of you who worked so hard for months and in some cases for years, deserve the thanks of every one who has a family member who has an autism spectrum disorder. A special thanks to the CARD families who called their legislators every time we sent out an alert.

Weighty Update

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 219.2 lbs.
Weight gained this week: 1.6 lb.
Total lost: 45.2 lbs

It's not all bad though...my body fat% went down nearly 2 points!

Thanks for keeping me honest!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Quick Apology

Craziness at home...sick yesterday...better today...field trip tomorrow....D-R-A-M-A

Sorry, hope to get back soon! {{{{HUGS}}}} to all.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The Update on my health that I promised WAY BACK WHEN!

Back on February 6, 2008 I promised, in a post,that once I got my blood work back I'd let everyone know how my cholesterol levels were since I've been taking S-Force Cholesterol Control that I sell on my website so that I could give you my honest opinion. Well, back in January of 2007 my cholesterol was 213 which is "Borderline-High Risk" (I apologize that I do not have the LDL & HDL breakdown for this to give you a more accurate comparison), and today (April 23, 2008...blood was drawn on April 15, 2008)it was 179 which is in the "Desirable". That's a reduction of 34 points! Ok, here's the Breakdown: LDL is 113 which is "Near Optimal/Above Optimal" and HDL is 66, and "an HDL cholesterol of 60 mg/dL or higher gives some protection against heart disease." (All terms in quotes are linked to the American Heart Association website.)

Obviously, since, as you all know if you read my Weighty Updates, I've lost nearly 47 lbs. (approx. 21.32 kg) some of it is related to that; however, I took my S-Force Cholesterol Control to my doctor and they were very impressed with the qualitiy of the vitamin and told me to continue taking it!

Short version: I'm very pleased with my results.

Again, if you've read this far...thanks for letting me promote Seriesse! Feel free to ask questions if your interested in any of our products!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Weighty Update

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 217.6 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 1.0 lb.
Total lost: 46.8 lbs

Thanks for keeping me honest!

Friday, April 18, 2008

A Photo Survey - Just for fun, but harder than you think!

Here's the catch, you can only answer these questions with pictures.

Go to photobucket. com, put your answer to the question in the search engine and pick one of the pictures from results to represent your response.

Have fun!




Your current location?

home


Ideal vacation spot?

the pillar of brindisi, its most famous




Favorite musician/band?

u2 (cheers)


Favorite television show?

Dexter


Pick one of your hobbies.

READING IN BED


Ideal vehicle?

1968 ford mustang convert


Favorite time of day?

Early evening

Significant other's name?

John Lennon

Ideal place to live?

lol


Exciting events coming up?

3 year old birthday


Color hair?




Middle name?

Elaine Dancing

Year you graduated from high school?



Favorite restaurant?

The Grape


Favorite alcoholic drink?

AMARETTO


Favorite season?

Autumn.

Favorite sport?

Boxing

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Another benefit of Green Tea!

I am always looking for ways to promote my at home business Seriesse, and today I found something while dropping my Entrecards!

I found it in this article over at Your Best Life The cool thing is that "L-theanine is a natural amino acid that comes from green tea..." and the post goes on to say that while it may "...seem odd that something from tea, which is known as a stimulant, could help with stress and anxiety but this amino acid has been proven to create a sense of relaxation and calm in just 30 minutes, without making you drowsy"!

Here's the good news about Seriesse's Essential Green Teas are that they are

- Calorie-free

- Caffeine-free

- Sugar-free

and they taste FANTASTIC (ok that's my opinion, but I do drink this EVERYDAY!!!) This is just another benefit of Green Tea!

Stop by my website if you're interested in getting some of these benefits for yourself!

As always, thanks for listening to me promote myself :-)

AND AGAIN A BIG THANK YOU to Your Best Life for helping me discover this additional benefit!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

This is a two for one post!

First off this is a post that I was going to do anyway for Autism Awareness, but by a stroke of luck it also works for Earth Day as well! I guess that I should disclose that even though I was going to do this post anyway I was happy to know that A Girl For all Status is giving away 100ec for the first 50 people who write a post of a minimum of 50 words for Earth Day Awareness you can find her post here, but for now I give you PIZZA FUSION! (FYI other than the ec's I'm NOT BEING PAID FOR THIS POST...this is strictly something I think is great!)

I wanted to highlight this company Pizza Fusion! Why? While "Big Stuff" doesn't have a problem with gluten, he does have a problem with casein as I've mentioned before...I know that there are other's out there who know someone or are related to someone that has problems with gluten or casein or both. I first learned about Pizza Fusion through GFCF Mommy's blog. There, unfortunately, isn't a franchise near me, and boy do I wish I could afford buy one myself; however, I have heard that their pizzas are quite good. In particular their Gluten-Free Pizza ...the next time I get close to one I'll have to try it out for myself! I can hear you all now,"Ok I see how this is good for someone on the spectrum following a GF/CF Diet, but how it this good for Earth Day?"

Tah-Dah!!! They are also an eco-conscious company as can be seen by their slogan,"Saving the Earth one pizza at a time." You can view their company profile and mission statement here, but the short version is this: They follow LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standards set forth by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), they deliver their food in company owned hybrid vehicles, they give their customers discounts when they return their pizza box to recycle it, among a laundry list of other things!

Long story short (I know...too late) if there is a location near you I'd check them out especially on April 22nd! Oh, if someone could open one it the Tampa Bay Area I know a few people who'd definately be there!

I'm a thief...AGAIN!!!

Whenever I steal something I try to give credit where credit is due...I stole this from Crissy's Haven:




Your Birthdate: September 2



You're so intuitive, it's like you have a sixth, seventh, and eighth sense.

You connect with others freely and easily - and you tend to have many best friends.

Warm and caring, it's hard for you to close your heart to anyone.

Affection is like air for you - you need to give and receive it to survive.



Your strength: Your universal compassion



Your weakness: Your unpredictable mood swings



Your power color: Mauve



Your power symbol: Butterfly



Your power month: February

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

My Spectrum Blog Pick of the week...AND my bracelet arrived!!!

My blog pick for this week is: Asperger's Aid as it is a wealth of information! I do want to highlight one article in particular...and that is The Autism/Aspergers Checklist. There are 17 different items listed and some will answer yes to all, and others (for instance "Big Stuff") will only say yes to some (in "Big Stuff's" case the number of yeses came to 13).

My bracelet arrived this past Friday!!!



Chrisi over at Chrisi’s Creations was incredible to conduct this transaction, and I couldn't be happier with the bracelet! She, again, makes awareness bracelets for a number of various causes besides Autism Awareness and she donates a portion (I'm not certain on the percentage off hand...sorry) of her profit to various charities...for example...my bracelet will end up supporting Autism Speaks, and an Alzheimers Awareness Bracelet will end up being a donation to the Alzheimers Association Memory Walk. Check her out if you can. She also does mother & grandmother jewelry as well.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Quick Weighty Update

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 218.6 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 3.2 lbs.
Total lost: 45.8 lbs

Thanks for keeping me honest!

Monday, April 7, 2008

The Weighty Update...PLUS other stuff

Starting Weight: 264.4 lbs.
New Weight: 221.8 lbs.
Weight gained this week: 0.4 lbs.
Total lost: 42.6 lbs

So it was a gain week but BMI and Body Fat% went down so I think it might be muscle gain again, which is good!

Now for the other stuff:

My friend, Devonda, wanted me to repost this (She posted this bulletin on MySpace, but knew that others had posted about the contest elsewhere as well). Here's what she had to say,

"It was a good run, but (Devonda) has been ELIMINATED...

...I was able to finish in the top 30, but didn't receive quite enough votes to move to the next round.


TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!! THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR!
...or maybe I could move to the next county...........................................*thinking*

ROFL!

I want to thank EVERYONE who voted.

!!!!! I have received confirmation of votes from as far west as Los Angeles, CA & as far east as GERMANY!!!

WOW!! I am feeling the love right now!!!

I am exhausted...so I'm going to relax.

MWAH! MYSPACE FAM-!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

...and as always....

Peace and blessings,

(Devonda)"

For a local newspaper contest, there were a TON of votes!!! Votes for her Group alone were well over 60,000. Thanks to all who voted for her, as you can see she is VERY Grateful!

My bracelet should be here this week!!!



I got an email from Chrisi over at Chrisi’s Creations this morning. I'll let you know when it arrives!

That's about it (for now anyway).

Friday, April 4, 2008

A Plea for a Friend...Please vote for Devonda!

I'm only doing this because she is (even though I haven't seen her in YEARS!!!) a good friend from my past, AND I know what kind of singer she is and she is one of the best! She's in a contest near her home that the local newspaper is doing. You don't have to live in the area to vote you just have to have access to a computer anyway her name is listed as Devonda A.H Walker on their website and you can vote as often as you want...she's up today (April 4th) with her group and then she'll be up on the site April 5th & 6th along with all the other contestants. Please vote for Devonda A.H Walker as the 2008 FLORIDA TODAY Brevard Idol! That link takes you to the contestants page so you'll have to find her on that page to vote. Yes this is only Round 1 so I may be posting this (or something like it again if she moves on, but don't let that discourage you...she is VERY talented.)

Thanks in advance! No, there's nothing in this for me!

AN UPDATE (POSTED ON APRIL 5th): She is in Group 5 and the link above NOW takes you to a page to choose from the groups...so you must click on GROUP 5 and then her to get to her voting page. You can also vote as often as you like!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

I wanted to highlight a blog on the "Blogging for Autism Awareness" List

NOTE: In honor of Autism Awareness Month I am Blogging for Autism Awareness. There are several others doing the same and I thought that a few times this month I would highlight a few, from whom, I have learned a little something. My first highlighted blog is: The Gluten Free/Casein Free Experience

My son doesn't have a problem with Gluten. We discovered this when were trying the GF/CF Diet to see if it would helped "Big Stuff" we did discover that he DOES have a problem with Casein. ANYWAY, my main problem was finding receipes that my son would actually try...let alone eat! I wished that Thomas' Blog, The Gluten Free/Casein Free Experience, had been around back then. I've only glanced over a few of the receipes since learning of the blog last month, but I've already found several that I can't wait to try!

Check out this wonderful blog!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

My Autism Awareness Bracelet

I finally found the bracelet I was looking for:



I found it at Chrisi's Creations, which I learned about from This Post at Mom around the Clock.

I will be wearing it as soon as I receive it as a daily awareness raiser.

JUST A REMINDER:

April 2, 2008 is the FIRST World Autism Awareness Day!



You can read more about the World Wide Events by following this link