For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
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Good evening, Friends. Okay...what have I done????
Breakfast: 
450 calories of 1/2 cupful plain white grits, 1 turkey sausage patty, 1 scrambled egg and 1 ounce cheddar cheese and a banana...
Mid morning snack: 
100 calories of cubed watermelon...so far so good, right???
Lunch: 
Still okay at Smart Balance peanut butter s/w w 2 diet breads at 250 calories...(Subtotal so far 800 calories for the day...)
Afternoon Snack: 
200 calories of Valentine candy from Mom...(Subtotal for day 1000 calories)...
Late afternoon Snack: 
It's the 100 calories a bag popcorn but breaks my rule about eliminating extra salt/sodium until at goal and then something UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!...one of Hubby's treats that I usually find disgusting to eat (that's why I buy them for him...he loves them and I do not like them...) 
fudge round...ick! I should have foregone these 2 items for REAL! Would have lowered calories and eliminated SODIUM from the popcorn. (Subtotal for day 1250 now)
Supper: 
400 calories of steak...
200 calories of baked sweet potato WITH MARGERINE...
(Subtotal for day 1850 now...you would think I would surely quit cause my maintain calories are only 1700...)
Nitetime Snack: 
400 calories of speghetti and meatballs...bringing TOTAL for DAY to 2250...PLEASE....! I just have one question....WHY did I do this????? Please don't say it is just something we all do from time to time...I've been doing really well and I cannot let myself lose all the hard-earned work I've done here lately to get to 145.0...but here I am, as usual...sabotaging my own efforts again!!
Update: Okay...I have figured it out...had I just eliminated the popcorn 100, fudge round 150, and speghetti 400, my calories for today WOULD HAVE BEEN 1600.... :-(
Did I say I'M STILL HUNGRY?????? :-(
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Hope you are having a good evening.
Love, Maria
Progress as of today: 60 lbs lost so far, only 5 lbs to go!
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
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Good morning, Friends.
I missed the boat to go to Island 144 this morning... still here on Island 145...scale weighed me at 145.0 this morning, same as yesterday and day before...I double checked the scale by weighing different things and weights on it since it is weighing me at EXACTLY 145.0 for 3 days in a row and it is RIGHT...but NO COMPLAINTS! A CNA at Mom's nursing home asked me how much do I weigh and thinking I was still heavier than her (she and I are same height and I always thought of her as the ideal size and weight for our heights when I was a little heavier) I told her that I weigh 145 and she said she weighs 146 and we stood side by side looking in a full-length mirror and lo and behold, we ARE the same size! Also Mom asked me yesterday, "Do you weigh 130?" "No." "How much do you weigh?" she asked. "145." Actually I'm only 5 away from ideal weight goal but if I stayed this weight and size, it would be fine with me, hehehe! I'm 5'8" and wear size 8 very comfortably.
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Back at the homefront...
Hubby
found out yesterday that his schedule has been changed and he will NOT have tomorrow off (when we could have gone gallavanting around the countryside together, enjoying each other's company)....But...we both agreed it is a blessing...it will be overtime pay, so we thank the Lord for it.
Hubby and I went to see Mom
yesterday together after I received a phone call from the head nurse at her nursing home, telling me that they had checked her hemoglobin level again (a month ago it had dropped to 10 and 12 is the lowest it is supposed to be and I had asked the nurse at that time to ask Mom's Doctor to put Mom on iron and she said she did but he had refused, saying he had decided to wait a month and check her hemoglobin again before taking any action)....well...the nurse announced to me over the phone yesterday that her hemoglobin has now dropped even more, to 8.9 (which though she didn't say it, it is close to critical need for blood transfusion according to what I've read over the internet about it). She said Mom's Doctor has ordered specific detailed hemoglobin tests to find out exactly what she is deficient in so they will be doing bloodwork on Mom today as well as they are going to check her bm for 3 days to see if there is any blood in it. So...I ask for your prayers for Mom again.
Please pray for me as well...I will be going to my Doctor this morning for a follow-up test concerning when I went to the er 2 weeks ago. (I am feeling MUCH BETTER now though.)
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Hope you are having a good day.
Have a good day!
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
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Menu update below:
Good morning, Friends.
I'm still here on Island 145 this morning...scale weighed me at 145.0 this morning, same as yesterday...wooohooo!...you know how it is when you get to a lower number....you wonder if it is going to 'stick'...and it has!
Do you remember Joe when I was on Island 147? 
He gave me some good advice about watching out for extra sodium...well, tomorrow makes 2 weeks since I've given up soda pops (as in diet pepsi and diet orange sunkist)...and popcorn. This has made a BIG DIFFERENCE for sodium reduction. As for sweets, I eat fruits mostly when I have sugar cravings. AND...I try to keep my calories under 1700...yesterday my calories were 1600.
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This is Jerry...do you remember him?
He had offered for me to ride his bicycle when I was on Island 147. Well...I have a mountain bike (beautiful and in good condition that I bought at a yard sale for only $5 during our last year's vacation in the mountains of NC) that is stored in Hubby's storage building that just needs the tires aired and I'm hoping that soon Hubby will get it done so I can start riding it and I recently bought a bicycle helmet (never had one growing up and no problems but it doesn't hurt to be extra safe)...at a thrift store (Goodwill) for only $3.
This is Jacob, the raccoon who says 'RIGHT ON!'
He encouraged me to eat lots of fresh apples when I was on Island 147. 
So...although I haven't been having any apples lately, I've been eating bananas and watermelon.
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Back at the homefront...
Hubby is doing well. We both got upset stomachs after eating at the expensive buffet restaurant Tuesday nite for Valentines' Day supper and we've decided we don't want to go back to that restaurant anytime soon to put it mildly. He was up a good deal of the nite with nausea but he is better now.
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I went to see Mom yesterday, who was very angry with me, saying that 'they' had said I had told them to make sure to get her up, dressed and out of her (familiar, comfortable) bed and she was sitting in her wheelchair in the hallway very mad with me. I told her I did no such thing but she said there were 2 or 3 of them that told her the same thing (while I was wondering why I'd even come). I wheeled her to her room where she and I could spend some time together and I gave her a banana and a fruit-jello (low fat and low calories). I put the same (in a bag) on her roommate's bed, who was not in the room. I spent about an hour and a half with her and she cheered up some when I painted her fingernails red, which she loves and put lipstick on her and at her request, some pretty earrings in her ears to match the cracker barrel shirt I'd given her the day before that she had on yesterday.
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Today's Menu Plan:
Breakfast: 1 cheddar cheese toast made w 1 diet bread and about 1 oz. cheese 130...1 plain diet bread toast with grape jam 130...2 coffees with ff creamer and splenda 20...total for breakfast 300...(300 subtotal)
Lunch: Banana 100 and 1/2 s/w of 1 diet bread 40 and 1 tbs Smart Balance chunky pb 90 and 1/2 cupful of low-cal G2 tropical punch gatorade mixed half and half with water 20...total for lunch 250... (550 subtotal)
Supper: Buffet Restaurant (not the same one we ate at on Valentine's Day): Salad with fresh veggies and pecans and a little dsg 250...unsweet tea w splenda or splenda-substitute 0...1/2 cupful rice 100...1/2 cupful lima beans 100...1/3 of a pc of fd chicken 100...1/2 cupful of mac and cheese 150...half of a very small pc of cake 150...total for supper 850...(1400 total for day)
Total: 1400 calories
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Hope you are having a good day.
Love, Maria
Progress as of today: 60 lbs lost so far, only 5 lbs to go!
Great visit with your mom, good thing she enjoyed the finger nail polishing and beautification session, how sweet. I spoke with my mom, too, yesterday over skype. It's not the same as visiting personally, but it works when one is so far away...
I have been eating too salty foods I guess (olives, salty cod fish) so I saw my weight go up this morning. Must drink lots of water today. Have a great day!
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
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Hello, everyone...
Pretty, sunny, morning (in the 50's, I think) here in SC...supposed to get up into the 60's (F) today according to the weather channel on tv...
Scale weighed me at 145.0 this morning...woo-hoo...getting closer to goal...only 5.0 away!!!
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Hubby 
surprised me Monday afternoon by presenting me with a beautiful red fragrant rose in a vase with a pretty red ribbon wrapped around it for Valentine's Day. I surprised him by taking him out to his favorite (though expensive) buffet restaurant last nite for Valentine's Day supper in another town nearby.
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I visited my Aunt (Mom's only and older sister) 
yesterday and took her a Valentine's Day gift of a beautifully wrapped gorgeous Cracker Barrel shirt and a red balloon with 'kisses and hugs' written on it and she was VERY HAPPY over it. I also sang her a special Valentine's Day song from me to her on her piano while I played it. She had her caregiver to take photos of me singing it to her and had me to sing it to her over and over, which I happily did. It was something I made up that went like this:
'Happy Valentine's Day...to my beautiful Aunt...
And I love you so much! Oh yes, I do...
Happy Valentine's Day...to my beautiful Aunt...
Have a happy day!...I love you!'
It was just a little simple tune and song but she loved it so much and I sang it with her sitting right beside me to where I could look at her when I sang the words to her.
She is a sweetheart...she gave me a beautiful tin of Whitman's chocolates and also another gift that apparently she'd decided to part with which was another of her most precious treasured collection in her kitchen, her green ceramic cookie jar (she's already given me the set of mugs and holder and also the teapot and creamer and sugar for past gifts...)...She has always adored her green ceramic collection that she has had for many, many years...it is her fav.....She still has her green cannister set, which she said she wants me to eventually have... Her favorite color is green. I spent about an hour with her and we had a wonderful, happy visit.
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After visiting my Aunt, I visited Mom a good while yesterday afternoon and she gave me a big red Valentine box of Russel Stover Chocolates (someone apparently had given her...I think one of her new roommate's Daughters)... I gave her a beautifully wrapped gorgeous Cracker Barrel shirt and a red balloon that said 'kisses and hugs' on it.... She loved them. Her new roommate was not in the room as she was out spending time with her Daughter(s), I think, so I put her Valentine's Day gift on her bed (a shirt for her also, wrapped pretty), and an identical balloon like Mom's and Aunt's that I tied to her serving tray table beside her bed for her to find when she would get back to the room. I spent about an hour and a half with Mom and we had a happy time together and I sang to her, too.
Hope you are having a good day.
Love, Maria
Progress as of today: 60 lbs lost so far, only 5 lbs to go!
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Hello everyone,
I am now in the 145's! The scale weighed me at 145.8 this morning. Big Smile!
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Hubby and I just got back from spending about an hour and a half with Mom at the nursing home. Mom was doing well. Had on her makeup and jewelry my Sister 
gave her when she visited her yesterday. Mom told me that Sister (who has lost a lot of weight recently and is working on getting to her goalweight) left me some candy (quite a lot) and I got it and brought it home...Sister means well...she knows I love chocolate but I am feeling in control of my eating again and only indulge within my alloted calories each day. Mom's roommate was doing well and one of her 2 Daughters came to visit her while Hubby and I were visiting Mom. While there, I cleaned Mom's side of the room and brought home some items that were cluttering it. She still has plenty of her things in there and especially her prized photos of family and friends gracing her long windowsill.
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I talked with Brother 
over the phone this morning...he sounded very, very happy over his new job, which he has already been working at a few days.
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Hubby is doing good, too. While he is taking a Sunday afternoon nap, I am back here in the study, keying this to you.
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Hope you are having a good afternoon.
Love, Maria
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RYC thanks. My birthday is the 26th.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
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Hello, everyone...
Pretty, sunny, chilly morning here in SC...
Scale weighed me at 146.2 this morning...getting closer to goal...
Supposed according to weather channel on tv to turn cold over this weekend...with high only in the medium to high-40's tomorrow....(but only the Lord knows for sure)... but it IS winter and SPRINGTIME
is right around the corner! 
(Time for gardening, Umpqua!)
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Hubby is working today but he is supposed to be off tomorrow. He and I 'may' have next Saturday together
if his schedule doesn't change (he is supposed to be off that day). I cooked a good supper for him and me last nite...we had rice and beef stew, italian green beans, macaroni and cheese, and for desert, a piece (in moderation) of german chocolate ice box cake. Yum! Yum!
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I visited Mom a good while yesterday and together we worked on some greeting cards to send to 2 of my Aunts...(Mom's Sister and Sister in law)...Mom wrote what she could and did well on the first one and could only manage a little on the second one, so I helped her with the second one and then I addressed the envelopes of them both and mailed them at the post office after I left the nursing home on my way home. Mom and her new roommate are getting along real well. Her new roommate is real sweet and has 2 Daughters who dote over her and do everything they can to make their Mom happy. So sweet! :-D It is a big comfort to me to know that they visit their Mom (and thereful mine as well, who is her roommate, hehehe) often.
Hope you are having a good day.
Love, Maria
Progress as of today: 58.8 lbs lost so far, only 6.2 lbs to go!
RYC: it's the grandparents of the kids I was going to babysit who showed up. My grandparents would be 110-120 years old by now. :-D
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Hello everyone,
I am SO DRAGGING... I got up this morning, prayed and read the Bible...ate a little breaky, then I decided I needed to clear out the 2 back clothes closets and make them more accessible and have the spring-summer wear in one and the fall-winter clothing in the other one. I worked for a couple of hours on them...I know I made progress as I have a big pile of clothes to give away stacked up in the living room...may take them to the nursing home as they usually need donated clothing there. Question: Why, oh why, would someone want to hang on to clothes that don't fit? Example...couple years ago while on vacation in the mountains, I bought a nice pair of size 6 jeans, thinking I would eventually soon be able to fit into them (NOT!)...well they are now part of the give-away pile. Some things I've kept for years that family has given to me, thinking I might regret it if I got rid of those clothes (that I didn't wear)...they are part of the give away pile...Some things I had that were really nice but I probably wore than maybe at the most, 'once' a year?...part of the give away pile...Clothes that were maybe's became part of the give away pile...They are all on hangers, so will make it easy to distribute them. The Lord doesn't bless me for me not to share with others the beautiful clothes He blesses me with. So...That's what I've been up to today.
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When Hubby called from work on his lunch break, I asked him about us going out to supper this afternoon and he agreed. I sure don't feel like cooking supper after dealing with all those clothes!
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Where is Dear Diarist? (aka Stella Starr...) I miss her!
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Hope you are having a good day.
Love, Maria
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For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
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Hello everyone,
Scale weighs me at 146.8 this morning...
Brother called yesterday... He left the nite before on a train and he had changed over to riding on a bus traveling toward his new job. Please keep him in prayer.
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May or may not visit Mom this afternoon. I'm feeling so 'out of it'...headache, can't get warm enough, aches and pains....still taking antibiotics....
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Hubby is doing well. He and I have our house back to ourselves again and are getting used to it being only us together here again.
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Hope you are having a good day.
Love, Maria
Progress as of today: 58.2 lbs lost so far, only 6.8 lbs to go!
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
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Hello everyone,
Scale weighs me at 146.6 this morning...so there are benefits to taking antibiotics...it's called 'loss of appetite'...ha, ha. I am working on getting better and thank you for all the encouragement and prayers.
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Brother is leaving on a train tonite. His suitcases are packed and he is ready to go. It will be quite an adjustment to get used to his not living with us. But he has a new job to go to and he is happy. He likes living in far away places and it doesn't bother him to relocate and live in an area he's never lived in before.
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Brother is going to visit Mom this afternoon and say his goodbye to her and I sent a note by him explaining that I will see her soon as I am staying home and resting and that will give the two of them some special time together.
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Hubby has been taking good care of me when he's home. We are taking Brother to the train station
(in another town) tonite to see him off.
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Hope you are having a good day.
Love, Maria
Progress as of today: 58.4 lbs lost so far, only 6.6 lbs to go!
Glad to hear your brother is excited about moving - he sounds like me a little. I have been moving so much in my life and I got used to it, sort of. I don't mind it at all moving places I have never been too. It is an adventure. Stay well!
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
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Hello everyone,
I've been under the weather lately and Hubby and Brother took me to the er Friday. So...I'm asking for prayer for me today... I am taking antibiotics and I was severely dehydrated, too, so they gave me iv fluid at the hospital.
Weight is the same as last time I keyed an entry (scale weighed me at 147.4 this morning).
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Brother is still very excited about his new job... He will be leaving for the long trip there tomorrow.
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Mom seems okay currently.
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Hubby is doing good, too.
This is short and sweet...I'll try to key more when I am feeling better.
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Take care.
Love, Maria
Hubby and I visited Mom after we ate out at a buffet restaurant for lunch. She was in distress and it took a long time to get someone to come see about her. We didn't leave until someone did come, though.
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This is short and sweet...I'll try to key more when I am feeling better.
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Take care.
Love, Maria
Progress as of today: 57.6 lbs lost so far, only 7.4 lbs to go!
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Actually what I was going to say is that everyone has their days when they are hungrier, for me it is on the days when my workout schedule is loaded, perhaps this might be the same for you.. Anhoo I hope you can sort out whats going on <3
V on 02/18/2012:
Well for me Maria overdoing it was never an issue..It was poor choices that put me in the position that I was in.. For me I think about all of the hard work and dedication that i have put into this and pick and choose my battles wisely..It is not always perfect but I make sure that I balance it all out..
V on 02/18/2012:
Oh sorry, I never let the guilt of not being perfect deter my progress <3
V on 02/18/2012:
That totally makes sense to me..There is no way to undo what has already been done so there is no sense in reflecting on that, we just have to take each day as another day to move forward in our progress :) Thank you my friend for your kind comments..
V on 02/18/2012:
On that note, i bid you a good evening and sweet dreams to you as well <3
selina on 02/18/2012:
Hi Maria! I posted some photos on my page, take a look!
Sorry the day didn't go so well for you.... tomorrow has not been used yet! Stay well!
grannyannie on 02/19/2012:
We all do it, don't worry as you don't do it often! Have a great day!