Way to go Courtney!! I knew you would show him the way!! Good job. And isn't the Grand Canyon awesome?? I am always blown away by the beauty. love donna

Hi Barb, sometimes it takes something this serious to really give us a wake up call. You got yours. You'll do this Barb, I know you will. You have too much at stake. Ad it's like I told you, you are in such better health now that you have such a good life ahead of you. Barb, you're in my thougths and my prayers. love donna

Tammy, What a beautiful/handsome family! Congrats on hubby's promotion, too! Thanks for sharing the pix with us. We've NEVER had a family picture taken...time for one...this year we WILL have a portrait done! Paula

Hi Christine, I'm a couple days late in responding...been away with kids out of school. I hear you about the sweets, kids and stress! First of all, take a HUGE deep breath... Second, get the damm junk out of the house, you or the family DON'T need it! And when you do dump it, make sure you cover it really well with dish soap so you can't get back at it. Third, Don't beat yourself up. This is a set back, yes, but it's BACK...it's OVER. Let it be...and move on. Now that the junk is gone, and you're not beating yourself up anymore..time to focus on what's really going on and deal with it. Get the kids in line. You're/we're the parents here. *I threw my kid's Halloween candy out two days after because they were SO badly treating me, that that was their punishment. They didn't need all that anyways*... They are only 8 & 6 and I refuse to let them walk all over me. Those days are gone. I'm growing a backbone and am not letting them talk back, feel like they're my friend and get away with anything they do..plus, I give in after saying no...and that's bad. As far as hubby goes..what the heck is his problem? He has a beautiful wife who's worked SO hard to become a better person...Tell him if he doesn't shape up...he'll be easily shipped out! School is hard...I can't imagine a mom going back to school and dealing with all the family stuff and school too...it's hard...try to stick it out...if you don't pass this time, you can always take the course again. Friends...ahhhh...friends....I thought I had made a wonderful friend two years ago..she's terribly heavy (I found my surgeon thru her brother who had surgery) and is also going thru the steps towards surgery (but I'm not convinced she really wants it)...she rarely calls me now that I'm smaller....when we do talk, it's not to make plans or to get together...it's one sided on her part. She tells me about her life and her family and never asks how I or the family is. Oh, well. I can't worry about that. I feel that we make only one or two really true friends in life. And they are hard to come by. I have one friend who lives four miles away, but only see her about once a year. She's in school and has a family and is very busy. We all are. But, we email and talk when we can and we still have that bond that I know will be there for a long time. Friends will come around, or they won't..But, like a marriage, friendships take time and work... Now...for getting back on track..you've got to (I have to also) get back to the basics again. Do a few days of just protein shakes and no carbs except what's in the shakes. You need to drink as much calorie free liquids as possible. You need to flush your body out of all the toxins. Take an Omega 3 vitamin/supplement. It'll help with the detox. Bu****er/fluids are the key. Try to get a gallon in a day. Someone here must have the Plateau buster diet. It's all protein foods. If it ain't on the list, you can't have it. Plain as that. Do that, after the few days of protein shakes and you'll be back on track. And, hopefully not be craving the carbs. I cannot believe how I feel after I eat a lot of sugar...It puts me into a coma practically. I'm in a fog, daze, and am in an ugly mood, which makes me parent all the worse. We can change our behaviors. We can do this. We did it at the start, we can start again., That's the glory of having choices. The fun is over, now it's back to basics and WORK! Paula

Did someone get left out in Sept because I Thought everyone got theirs or at least I hoped they did.