Happy New Year Maureen, I'm going to join you in a new hope for 2009.  I feel so bad, I just keep thinking how good I felt Dec. 25, 2004 and 2005. I had fell off the wagon bad by Dec. 25, 2006 and now in 2008 I feel as bad as I did before surgery. I am gaining so fast , it's not even funny!  My highest weigh was in 1999 and I weighed 264.  March 31, 2004  I was 244 and Arpil 4th I was 255. I lost down to 169 by July and I felt like a million dollars. Then I quit losing. That Christmas I tasted of candy and cake for the first time since surgery and it did not make me sick. Sooooooooo, I've been eating sugar ever since. I wi**** had made me sick!!
I have not told my husband or anybody, but I've gained 7 pounds in the last two weeks. I went back today and looked at my weight journal and I've gained 22 pounds in the last year. I weigh more today than I have in over 4 years.  I weigh 227!!  Today I have not had sugar.  I will put this at the top of my list. NO sugar. If I  can leave off sugar I can do anything else that I need to do.  So, let's make this our best year. I am doing something new tomorrow, read my post to everyone.  Love ya, Judy

no aspirin...take tylenol or percoset if you have any lying around? or vicodin...again if laying around-haha

pam-sorry you have to wait-owies

Hi Elizabeth...your children are beautiful....your little one looks like a handful LOL, but she is a beauty!!!.....also....I liked your pics of you smiling....you are very pretty aswell, make one of your smiling pics your avie, they look great!!! Enjoy your New Years! 

I've got to add a couple more ...

5.  I am going COLD TURKEY and getting off chocolate completely as of January 1, 2009.   I just can't handle the stuff at all, I know I'm addicted to it so I have to purge my system of it; so I'm doing the AA, one-day-at-a-time method of abstinence (following Karen's lead!!! - I KNOW I can do this!!).
6.  I will canter on my horse, Laela - have not done this yet because she's so young and I'm still a relatively green (novice) rider - this is my goal and I can't wait!
7.  I will strive with all my might to try to lift myself up and out and away from that dark place in my mind that tends to suck me down into deep sadness and depression, when I feel defeated and full of despair. I will work very hard to seek the LIGHT when I feel this happening to me.
8.  I will be a better partner to my husband, Jim.
9.  I will find more opportunities to laugh and play with my teenaged son, Devin.
10. I will celebrate the remarkable young woman that my daughter, Jillian, has become instead of wasting so much time and energy in missing her to the extent that I am emotionally crippled by her absense.

OK, I'm done! Your turn! M.

I know how hard this is, Elizabeth, believe me. I forgot - I am going COLD TURKEY on chocolate, I am getting off the stuff altogether. I just can't handle it, so I'm doing the AA, one-day-at-a-time eliminating it completely. Wish me luck, I'm going to need it, especially where I work. The weird thing is, everyone has gained weight from that woman's candy stash! Including that woman herself - and she's laughing about it! But I'm not going to point fingers of blame at anyone - my choices, my consequences. I am officially off chocolate in all its forms come January 1st. By the way, I was reading a book at Borders earlier in the week about a 7-day plan that had more to do with eliminating toxins in the body by primarily getting off sugar and bad carbs and loading up on nutrients... I can't remember the doctor's name but it struck such a chord with me that I'm making the 40 minute drive back there tomorrow to buy the book - I'll post about it when I get back home. We can do this together, sweetheart! We ALL can! Maureen