Waving Hi to everyone and looking forward to seeing some faces from the past    BTW, I see you are from Manteca, I am currently living there also 

Good Morning Jeannie and everyone else

Jeannie  You must be so proud and exhausted.  I will be ancient when my grands graduate from high school.  Glad you had a good time

I am on my way to the orthopedic to discuss my knees and exactly how bad they are.  I have had this appointment for 5 months.  My back doctor called the ortho office and even with his intervention this was the first available appointment.  Don't know what to expect.

Back later when I am home.

Funny thing, I just came back to visit based on some instant messages I received over the weekend and started reading some of the postings and read this post with interest. . .  this board is not unlike many other places, people get tangled up in various things, sometimes express their very strong opinions, which sometimes causes a stir and/or hurt feelings, etc., but I've also witnessed people who had bad beginnings with one another, only after some thought about the issues that caused it, take stock and come back stronger for it. 

There was a time, when one of our members was being stalked by someone in their life, wherein the person put up a fictuous profile only to find out what was being said by that other person, we figured it out rather quickly, that person eventually dropped off this board, sadly so did the person being stalked, and there have been other instances where some less savory individuals have come on here and caused people distress, chasing some away for good, others for a time, so while a newbie may not necessarily know these things, as has been stated, this is a pretty open forum and so sometimes there are reasons that you may not be aware of.  I have never seen anyone new really be mistreated, sometimes there is more posting, than at other times and there too, sometimes a conversation has more people with a common interest, so it can seem like you get lost in the mix, I've felt that way at times, but I also know that for years I felt invisible because of my size and other reasons, so in the earlier days of my visits here, sometimes even later, I felt like I was being ignored, I guess we all have our issues prior and post-op.

As for lurkers, as far back as I can remember, people have done that, I always noted the amount of actual postings, as per viewings, differed greatly, just the nature of people, some curious, some fearful to jump in, others feeling like outsiders, but the main purpose of this, as I started out as a lurker, is to gather information on what life post-op was and can be like, which is why, while we band together and share intimate details of our life, we must be sure that there is some measure of giving people encouragement and trying hard not to get into politics, religion and the very things that cause problems in real life discussions. . .

Just my two cents worth. . . :)

Nancy, you got that. I think wardrobe is important. So many of us forget to take of ourselves. As we are losing weight - making sure the clothes we were fit well is important IMO. 

I spent a lot of money.....relatively speaking ....in thrift stores, salvation army...etc... I had a monthly budget.. 

Wearing good fitting clothes makes me stand taller, smile more ...and feel better about myself. That little bit of self confidence makes it easier for me to make better food choices.  Suddenly I no longer think "I can't eat that" but rather "I chose not to eat that".. 

Feeling good about my apperance also makes me more social - I don't feel like I want to hide in my room when the formal activities are over and social time starts..  So that also makes me more active... 

Good luck. 

I am going to an herbal conference in 3 weeks and I know I need to chose my wardrobe to be both, comfortable and nice... For me. So I feel good about myself. 

Ladies,

It's here. Monday. Wow. Yesterday was a good day. I ate very reasonable; I didn't cry too much as my first born grandson graduated, with a large scholarship, which surprised me.  We ate trout, bass, and catfish and tons of veggies and some fruit. I made hushpuppies and by the end of the day, we were all tired.  Of course, they put the volley ball net up and all the kids played volley ball....my nephew, who is 54 had to sit with the old folks because he hurt his knee and we all laughed and said, this is the transition from playing to sitting and I said, dear, soon you will be like me, watching from the kitchen window. LOL....yes we are all aging. 

Well, today should be a good day for me. All the students have loaded up and summer school is two weeks off. Our intercession is a very short time and few students are here for that.  We are a typical college town so when summer hits, we lose more than half of our population (the students go home).  Yeah...no waiting in line at stores. 

Ladies, have a good first day back....catch you all later.