welcome back, Mary. I've always wanted to go to Alaska. Maybe someday. How nice to celebrate such a huge accomplishment in your marriage. I hope to someday reach a milestone such as yours. Missed you. Denise

Hi Everyone, I just got back from a great vacation. Took a roundtrip cruise to Alaska from Seattle. Went a few days early and stayed a couple days after to visit with my wonderful family and friends. A dear friend of 34 years and her hubby went on the cruise too. Hal and I met on a cruise to Alaska 20 years ago this week (married 3 months later) so this cruise was our 20th anniversary. Cruising is so romantic. What fantastic sights we saw, what an awesome time. Words can not express the beauty of the land in Alaska and the sights that you see. We spent one day cruising thru Tracy Arm with mini icebergs floating by on either side. The trip was filled with firsts for me: 1. my very first stretch limo ride ever. 2. my first time up in the Space Needle in Seattle as an adult 3. my first time in Juneau and Skagway 4. my first time taking a tram way up the mountain in Juneau (oh my gosh, my fear of heights almost convinced me to cancel). 5. my first time to see the Grand Canyon (we flew over it today unexpectedly on the way back home from Seattle). I had never stayed in downtown Seattle before. It was fantastic. We walked to Pike Place Market, we walked to the Seattle Center. We walked and walked and walked. The day at the center when we returned to the hotel, I wanted to cry with joy. I realized that over 2 years ago I couldn't even walk 1/4 of a block without my hips locking up and I had just walked for HOURS with no problems!!!!!! No words can express the joy I felt. On the ship, we walked every day ... took the stairs 95% of the time going up and 100% going down. Back in January when we cruised we were only able to do the stairs the first 4 days. So all of my swimming and walking have paid off with endurance. Both Hal and I have improved greatly this last year and it showed on the cruise. I did well with eating. The food was wonderful but I didn't over indulge. I did order dessert but never ate more than a bite or two. Being on the cruise was not an issue for being able to get enough protein in -- it was always available. I had a little bit more difficulty with water, but did my best. Hope all of you are doing great. Post and let me know how you are doing. We just got home a few hours ago. I really need to head to bed. Hugs, Mary

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOooo missing our regulars who have gone into lurkdom...or have been busy with life . I check in regularly and I miss updates on all our old friends from February-land. Come out, come out...where ever you are!!! Life 2 1/2 years following surgery is difficult at times. I am almost able to eat anything and my portion size keeps increasing. I am scared, but trying to stay calm and real. I never want to be where I was. I am hovering around 200 pounds and would really like to be at 150...I 'm not sure why - it is just a number. I feel good. It's nice to be able to rotate my clothing for the seasons and not have to shop because things are too tight. Home life is good. My daughter turns 5 in November...my son is almost 7 months old. Work is work and I am ready for fall. So, how are you? Denise

Okay, since nobody made it in for Friday, how was everyone's week? I'm back up a little bit, and I'm beating myself up for that, because I know what I need to be doing, but between work, home, and everything else, I'm not entirely doing it. Some things, I don't have any choice - with the Type 2 diabetes, when my sugar crashes (and I can feel it, don't even need to doublecheck by testing), I have to eat something, and I usually balance between quicker carbs (fruit/fruit juice), longer carbs (followed by some bread or granola) and protein, if I'm home - it's harder to find good protein at work, and not much of the good protein is very portable or long lasting.. Other things, though, I do have a choice, and am not making the right ones. I have a fair amount of energy at times, bouncing up and down in the lunchroom while waiting for my coffee to brew (one of those flavia machines, so it's always fresh, even if it does cost money as opposed to the 'free' coffee... (Gotten to be a real coffee snob lol)), but yet even though I bounce up and down, I don't bring in my gym stuff and actually go to the gym like I should. My weight's up about 9 lbs from where it was, so I really need to get back on track with myself. 9 lbs isn't bad, but it's a step backwards that I need to reverse. How was everyone else's week, besides busy? ...N

It's Friday and the start of a holiday weekend. Hope you had an awesome week. Any plans for the weekend? We are going to the outdoor swap meet one day. Always fun and so much to see. It is also a great walking place. Altho outdoors, the aisles have roof over them and misters to help keep it cooler. I dumped the other night for hours. I ate something that stated 6 grams of sugar but I think it had more than that. Boy was I sick. Amazing (and good) that 2 1/2 years out that I do definitely dump. Fortunately I've only had this happen a few times, but it sure is a wake up call when it happens ... so it is a good thing for sure. How are you doing?