VQ's Big hcg Adventure!

[bacon bit]

Jessica, that's so true about finding that window of opportunity. I had to have a round of prednisone and it set me way back. Three Steroid pounds are like 15 regular pounds. Yuck. Anyway, it's good to see your enthusiasm!

[verbqueen]

Heidi! So great to see you! Sorry about the steroids--I've always heard there's no weight gain as difficult to get rid of. How are your kids?

I'm not updating much because there's not a whole lot to say, but I feel like I've settled back into my normal eating groove--not fighting it any more. Gosh, it's amazing how something like a vacation can take WEEKS to recover from.

I just looked at our Mexico pix and I look, well, slim. Not just in some of them that happen to be snapped at a "magic angle," but in all of them. Wow. I guess that even still, I don't quite believe it.

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by verbqueen

I just looked at our Mexico pix and I look, well, slim. Not just in some of them that happen to be snapped at a "magic angle," but in all of them. Wow. I guess that even still, I don't quite believe it.

Awesome, my friend. Yes, it takes time to get back in the groove but this post tells me that you aren't that far out of the groove to begin with. WTG, girlfriend! You are MY inspiration now.

[verbqueen]

So friends, I DID IT. Forced myself onto the scale to face the music. It actually wasn't too bad--163. In my heart of hearts, I was afraid I'd gotten myself into the upper 160s, or even maybe 170! Boy, am I relieved!

Anyway, I think another week or so of hcg dieting will put me right back into the upper 150s where I like to be!

[CherylB]

No doubt, my girl. No doubt.

[rice paddie]

Hey lady - just stopping by to show some support. I've been away from the message boards for several months now. I've been trying to push through a 2 month stall and have decided to take the hcg option out of my back pocket and give it a go to see if I can't get the scale moving again. I see you're thinking of doing another round....I'll be rooting for you!

[verbqueen]

Hey, girl! I saw your journal pop up and figured you were back

As for me, not just thinking of it--DOING it!

With Cheryl as my witness--hcg has the power to bust through stalls! (She's the one who convinced me to try it, and I'll be forever grateful!) Prepare to be amazed as the miracle unfolds!

[rice paddie]

Quick question for you.....I'd like to use a little red wine vinegar on my lettuce. I believe vinegar is on the acceptable list of foods but I just wanted to confirm that red wine vinegar is okay. Can you give me some advice on that?

[verbqueen]

In my view, it couldn't possibly hurt you. I never used rw vinegar, but I used white, cider and rice vinegar freely!

(one great thing about hcg is how it makes you get really creative in the kitchen, huh?).

[bacon bit]

Jessica, I was so scared to weigh after I saw the weight creep up from the steroids. I went back to strict low carb and knocked off 3 lbs this week. My kids are great. I'll put pics up soon in my blog. You do look great!

[pooticus]

Hey girl! So glad you're back from vaca and that the weight isn't bad. You're on top of things grabbing it before it gets out of hand. I'm soooo proud of you!

Hey, sorry to confess the apron isn't ready. I had made up my mind what I was doing and what apron I was getting then sat and talked with a friend and suddenly it's all up in the air. I think instead of a transfer, I'm actually going to invest in really nice 100% cotton aprons and do embroidery on them.

I hope you forgive me for it taking so long. Your's will be the first one sent out, I promise! I hope to order the aprons early next week.

Hugs and hope you still love me!

[glamazon]

Hi Jess! Gorgeous pics! Hope you had a great Mother's day!

[privatediva]

Hi Miss Jess! I'm coming up for air now that Swan Lake is finished. Hope all is excellent with you and yours. I got a handful or pics of the dancers on stage in their new tutus. The girls really looked beautiful (they would look beautiful in burlap bags!)

[CherylB]

FABULOUS pics, Deb! And I agree. Burlap would look stunning on them.

Jessica, where you at, girl? We miss you!

[pooticus]

Oh Deb, beautiful ballerinas!!!! How lucky you are to work in that field with your beautiful voice.

Jess come back, come back soon! Timmy's down a well!!! Bring Lassy!!!!

Happy Mommy's Day!!!

Cheryl, hugs!!!

[rice paddie]

Hey lady - where have you been?? Hope all is well and that you come back to us soon!

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by pooticus

Jess come back, come back soon! Timmy's down a well!!! Bring Lassy!!!!

Cheryl, hugs!!!

That show was a bit before my time, but I am enjoying your sense of humor! And I agree. Jess, come back; come back soon!

Hugs right back at ya, Pooti.

[verbqueen]

Hey guys. So weird--I typed out a post last night when I got in from my Chorale rehearsal, and I SWEAR I posted it. Now, mind you, it was a crappy post just saying hi and complimenting Deb's beautiful work and waving hi to Pooti and Cheryl and rp, and saying I'd be back tomorrow. But where the heck is it?

Anyway, I'm doing fine. Just haven't been in the mood to be on the internet much for the last few days. I had a really nice Mother's Day with Hallie. Dave stayed in Seattle, but will be in this coming weekend. Hallie and I went to The Melting Pot for brunch, and had way too much food, plus bottomless mimosas, so way too much champagne. But I had very good eating days yesterday and today, so I've got my wheels back in the track!

[verbqueen]

oh oh oh! I left out Angela! She's BACK, and I left her out! I have really, really missed you and I'm so glad you're feeling like YOU again!

[privatediva]

Yay...whew....I was just about to send up a flare Glad things are good and you had a lovely Mother's Day!

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by verbqueen

Hey guys. So weird--I typed out a post last night when I got in from my Chorale rehearsal, and I SWEAR I posted it. Now, mind you, it was a crappy post just saying hi and complimenting Deb's beautiful work and waving hi to Pooti and Cheryl and rp, and saying I'd be back tomorrow. But where the heck is it?

Anyway, I'm doing fine. Just haven't been in the mood to be on the internet much for the last few days. I had a really nice Mother's Day with Hallie. Dave stayed in Seattle, but will be in this coming weekend. Hallie and I went to The Melting Pot for brunch, and had way too much food, plus bottomless mimosas, so way too much champagne. But I had very good eating days yesterday and today, so I've got my wheels back in the track!

There she is! So glad to hear all is well with you. Also glad you went out with Hallie and had a wonderful time. Moms deserve to be treated well. God only knows all the crap we've put them through over our lifetimes! I know I put mine through a lot.

Anyway, please come back soon! We've missed you much. And don't try to pass-off anymore of those "crappy posts" like the one that got mysteriously misplaced. Perhaps it was God saying, "They deserve more than that!"

Love you much, sister.

[verbqueen]

Hello, friends! I'm having a lazy, pleasant day. It's sunny and really warm here, got all the doors and windows open, doing laundry and puttering around. Have a dress rehearsal for my chorale tonight. Performance is Friday night. I have a small solo in the William Billings (early American composer) song "I Am the Rose of Sharon." And I mean small--like about ten words, haha.

Eating is going well and I'm feeling good. Cheryl, look at your weight drop! WTG, girl!

[CherylB]

Best of luck with the performance on Friday! Large or small, it's important and I'm sure it makes you nervous. You'll do great!

Yeah! The weight is coming down nicely. I know most of it is water in the beginning but it still feels great to not be toting it around with me anymore.

Night, ladies. It's early to bed and early to rise for me!

[verbqueen]

Really, Cheryl, I'm not one bit nervous about this particular thing. It's just about two lines of singing, and I don't have to come down out of the chorus and go to a mike or anything--I'll just be singing out from where I stand. I honestly think the fear of tripping or falling down while climbing off of the risers or of an audio-visual equipment malfunction is scarier by far than singing! The rehearsal went just fine.

I weighed this morning, and am up a pound from where I was last time I weighed. (No doubt still the legacy of my Mother's Day blowout.) Will try again and hope for better.

Eating is going very, very well this week!

Hope you are still loving the new place and all the "horsey-work," haha!

[pooticus]

Congrats on your solo. Love your attitude honey!!!! Yay on being back on plan and on being centered that what went up, will come down with a few days of eating right! MUAH! Love ya girl!

[CherylB]

Yes, flying onto your face is much scarier than singing! I'm with you 100% on that one, sister. I am still loving my new home and the horsey stuff. Last Tuesday was torrential rain and only two of us but it surely tests your commitment to work under those conditions. I hate being out in the rain and being soaked to the bone. It's worse than cold, snow and wind. You can't protect yourself from the rain. I know because I dressed for it and still ended up saturated!

I love my new place! I'll try to take some quality real pics on my camera tomorrow. If not tomorrow, this weekend. Then I'll post them on my journal and tell about the pics in the siggy. K? K!

Mother's Day blow-out. Hahahahahahahahaha!

[CherylB]

I wonder if I could take a video and upload it to Youtube, then post it here? I've never posted a video there. Guess it's time to learn!

[verbqueen]

Hello, friends. I am still alive, and survived my busy weekend. My little solo went nicely, I think, and no falling occurred, haha. Hallie and her friend Ashley and Dave met me at a nearby bar and grill after the concert for drinks, and then I took Dave on home from there. We spent Saturday with Hallie. Her Macbook Pro that was her college graduation present finally gave up the ghost, so she wanted her dad to go with her to the Apple store to get a new laptop. We also had lunch at the mall while we were doing that. Then we went back to her apartment and Dave helped her get all her files transferred over from her old computer while I played with my grandcat. From there, the three of us went to the quarter horse races in Los Alamitos and lost some money (but not much--we're all about the $2 bets, haha.)

Sunday was our big music ministry celebration Sunday, and all five of our choirs took part. It went beautifully, and my children's groups totally stole the show (like they always do.)

Suffice it to say that no weight loss took place during all of this, but I'm back after it today. I seem determined to stay in the 160s, since every time I'm about to break back into the 150s, Dave comes home and all hell breaks loose.

Happy Tuesday!

P.S. Edited to add--Sunday evening taking Dave to LAX had us driving straight into the setting sun, and thus looking right at the eclipse. (Of course, we didn't look RIGHT at the eclipse, not wanting to go blind or anything.) As we got to LAX, we found it sitting under a heavy marine layer (clouds off the ocean), as it usually is, and we were able to easily see the eclipse behind the clouds. It was very strange--like a thin sliver of thumbnail moon, only it was the sun. Dave took some cool pix. Will try to post one later.

[verbqueen]

Been doing a lot of thinking. I'm feeling bored and rebellious, and that's a dangerous combination. I feel like I've been tiptoeing in a minefield.

I'm going to switch to JUDDD for a while. The DDs should be easy enough--I'll just eat Simeon's P2 style. For the UDs, I'll do standard full-fat Atkins induction, and we'll just see how it goes.

[CherylB]

Happy trails to you! Sounds like a good plan. Glad the solo went well! Hectic weekend "again." I can't remember the days I used to just laze around all the time. I can't imagine how I lived like that. Now I'm so busy all the time! Much better off.

Very cool about the eclipse! I forgot about it because it wasn't visible from the east coast.