Very, very wise words. Thanks, Michelle! Love you too. Smooches, K

Hi everyone! Wow, we are 18 months out...what an amazing 18 months it has been. I have lost 160 pounds. I want to lose about 30 more before I have my tummy tuck. I have been stuck for a while. I am doing great with working out. I need to stop all "BLT's" (bites, licks, tastes). This is my problem. I have joined weigh****chers to try to keep me focused. I am so thankful for the changes in my life. I am so lucky to have had this surgery and for the support from my family, my doctor and of course all of you! Thank you! Shaun

I just wanted to pop in and say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Ya'll all look so great. Glad to see alot of familiar but different faces around. I have missed you all, but I needed to break from everything to get my life in control. I am down 185 pounds to an even 200. Not sure if I will ever see Onederland but as long as I am alive I am happy. Big hugs to all. Have a safe and happy Holiday. Kat

How many of you are celebrating Thanksgiving? Me! Me! Me! 1) What are your plans? Who with? We are picking up prepared food from Wegmans at 9 am sharp and taking it to Rich's parents house. After a few hours of listening to them whine and complain... we'll happily leave and go off to Rich's work. He is doing the 3 pm to 8 pm shift on air (WARW 94.7 Classic Rock in Washington DC) 2) Are there any special traditions associated with the holiday or the weekend? Not anymore. I haven't had T-day with my own family in almost 20 years since I moved out on my own. Living 300 miles away and knowing I would see them in 4-5 weeks for Christmas... I got out of sharing the holiday with them. I was reminscing with my boss at work today over my T-days growing up. Strangely, it was the frozen vegie generation of conveniences. We had: turkey w/ homemade giblet gravy a la Dad, Ocean Spray cranberry jelly from the can, Stove Top Stuffing, Mrs. Pauls frozen candied sweet potatoes or candied sweet potatoes w/ apples (if we could find that one), Birds Eye Creamed Pearl Onions, Birds Eye French Style Green Beans and (perish the thought here...) Potato Buds (though my sister and I often begged for "real" potatoes and we often got 'em too). And dinner rolls. Dessert was Mrs. Pauls pumpkin pie and mincemeat pie. 3) Do you fix any special plates to share? Since we are doing prepared foods... the only extra made was Mashed Sweet Potatoes. Rich made 'em this morning. This way they aren't made with brown sugar. It is one of Emeril's recipes... simply with butter, sour cream and nutmeg. Very nice. 4) What is your strategy for getting through it sane and without compromising your eating plan? No strategy needed for this holiday. Christmas will be harder. Tomorrow, I'll have turkey w/ gravy, green beans almondine, mashed sweet potatoes and a bite or two of rosemary roasted potatoes. That's it. I know enough not to overeat or deal with the wrath of the pouch. No temptation for sugar since I dump like a bad dog. 5) What are you thankful for this year? I'm thankful that my sister came through her surgery and her chemo just fine and dandy and seems to be doing very well. I'm thankful that my dad came through his prostate cancer treatment well, that he is happy in his new home though he is never there and most of all because with Peggy (aka his "Golf Buddy") in his life... he is more active and social then he has ever been. I wish I had his life. I'm thankful for having Rich in my life. I'm thankful for my health.

Hi, Becky and everyone!! 1) What are your plans? Who with? This is actually the first time in I can't even remember HOW long it will be JUST the four of us (me, hubby, and kids). I'm making a small turkey and a SMALL bit of all the other fixins. 2) Are there any special traditions associated with the holiday or the weekend? Football, football, and more football. We may go see Happy Feet tomorrow. 3) Do you fix any special plates to share? We usually have dumplings, something my mom started. I always used to make this cherry cheese pie, though, but there is absolutely NO way to make it sf, (it's made with sweetened condensed milk). I would love your Oreo pie recipe, though!! 4) What is your strategy for getting through it sane and without compromising your eating plan? As I said, I'm making a small bit of all the fixins, so there won't be huge amounts for my consumption. I'm with you on the eating like a horse. I was PMSing a few weeks ago and felt like I could eat any and everything in site. 5) What are you thankful for this year? Oddly enough, I am getting some help dealing with some things that I didn't realize I needed to deal with, but have come up recently. I am dealing with them in a mature, non-hiding way. I am actually feeling the feelings, going through the right steps, and not trying to stuff, push away, or hide the experience. I am actually sharing it with hubby, too!