The Examiner.com Family Is Growing!!

Look! We're expecting even more great content!

I'm excited to announce that many low-carb names you know and love are now writing for Examiner.com! This is not only a big step in our efforts to share the truth about low-carb living, but it's also a tremendous opportunity for each of these talented writers. I feel very honored to be an Examiner and I truly hope I can fill the shoes they have handed to me. I have no doubt that the newest additions to Examiner will do a fantastic job and make us all proud!

So here's a current list of low-carb examiners you simply must check out!

Jamie Van Eaten - National Low-Carb Examiner from The Ligher Side of Low-Carb

Regina Wilshire - National Low-Carb Health Examiner from Weight Of The Evidence

Carol Bardelli - National Fitness Examiner from Kudos For Balanced Fitness and Lifestyle

Jimmy Moore - National Low-Carb Examiner from Livin' La Vida Low-Carb

Linda Duffy - Denver Low-Carb Examiner from Wifezilla's Way

And lastly my column...

Amy Dungan - St. Louis Low-Carb Examiner

I do hope you'll visit each link and leave a word of encouragement and support, as well as read often. I really think we are starting to see a shift in public thinking. If we all pull together, low-carb living will eventually get the respect it deserves. :)

Recipe Box: Lime Cheesecake Fluffy Stuff

This recipe is a favorite snack or dessert for me and came from Jimmy Moore. All I did was some measuring and figuring. :) I also replaced the sweetener with Fiberfitto cut down on the carbs. It's super simple and tastes great!

Lime Cheesecake Fluffy Stuff

1 12 oz. tub of Philadelphia Whipped Cream Cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

5 packets True Lime

2 teaspoons Fiberfit
Whip heavy whipping cream until thick. Add rest of ingredients and mix until combined well. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Makes six 1/2 cup servings. Per serving: 328 calories, 34g fat, 3g protein, 4g carbs, 1g fiber.

This can be really filling so a 1/2 cup is more than you'd think, although I could easily eat a full cup just because it tastes so good. ;)

Enjoy!

The 2009 Low-Carb Cruise is not to be missed!

With each day we get closer to January 2009. Time slips by fast, doesn't it? It's hard to believe in just over 7 short months we'll be in a new year again. But I'll admit this is one time I can't wait to see the days fly by. Why? Because on January 19 we will be on a cruise to Mexico!

I'm so excited about this cruise! I'll get to spend several days with the most wonderful low-carbers in the world. And you may remember in my last post on this topic I talked about how we'll be joined by Jonny Bowden, author of some of the best low-carb books on the market. It will be fantastic to meet him and learn from him!

At the risk of sounding like an infomercial... There's more! In this blog post by Jimmy Moore, he reveals that we have two other special guests who will join us on the cruise. Dr. Eric Westman, one of the world's leading researchers on carbohydrate-restricted diets will be there, as well as Jackie Eberstein, who worked side-by-side for 30 years with the late great Dr. Atkins himself. To quote Jimmy:

She really knows all the ins and outs of this way of eating so well that I consider her the foremost authority on the Atkins diet today.

I agree! And having all three of these wonderful people on the cruise will be awesome!

This will be a low-carb "get-together" like you've never seen. It will be informative, educational and fun! I can hardly wait!

If you haven't signed up for the cruise, but would love to join us, you still have a few days left to register with a small deposit of $50 per person ($100 per cabin), the remainder of the deposit coming due in September ($150 per person), and the remaining balance of $200 per person due in November. After May 21st all who sign up will need to put down a full deposit of $200 per person ($400 per cabin).

Where else can you get a fantastic vacation like this for $400 per person?


To sign up, here's another quote from Jimmy:

... should be booked through Vacations To Go through our cruise agent Amelie Richards and you can contact her directly with any questions about the 2nd Annual Low-Carb Cruise by calling her toll-free 800-514-9986 ext. 7583 anytime Monday through Friday from 8am-5pm CST. Or you can e-mail her Amelie at arichards@vacationstogo.com. If you have any questions for our cruise leader, her name is Becky Regandy and she can be reached at xregandyx@yahoo.com.

I really hope to see you there!

Speed Blogging

It's like speed dialing, but it starts with blog...

I guess it's just going to be one of those weeks where I don't get much done here. So here's a quick rundown of things.

New Internet Video Series
Jimmy Moore is once again on the cutting edge of things, and in this post tells us about the latest internet video series that I believe all low-carbers should see. I watched this interview with Dr. Mary Vernon last night (while folding laundry) and it's fantastic. I highly recommmend you take the time to see it. I'll be watching it again to make sure I didn't miss anything. I'm looking forward to the many other videos to come!


We're Back!
For those of you who felt completely displaced when a hacker took down the Low-Carb Disscussion forum, I'm happy to announce that we are back up and running at full speed. The new forum is at www.livinlowcarbdiscussion.com and is better than ever. Not only are there fun new features, but this baby is secure and being backed up daily. Sadly, we lost a lot of great content from the other forum. But many of us are working as fast as we can to get what little bit that was saved back up for everyone. I'm very happy to announce that the Good Calories Bad Calories reviews, posted by our wonderful Moderator Charles, are slowly being put back up. If you were a member of the old forum, please come join us once again. If you are new to our support forum, we'd love to have you join us! We really are just like family there!


Low-Carb Cruise in 2009
For those of you who may not have heard, last year approx. 45 low-carbers all got together for a Cruise to Mexico. They had a fantastic time and have planned to do it again. On this cruise you could meet many of your online friends, including myself, Jimmy Moore, Christin Sherburne, and the one and only Dr. Jonny Bowden! You can find out all the details by going here,
here, and here. I hope to see you there!


My Life
Things are busy here. We are trying to finish up school and get ready for summer. I can't wait! I need the break and so do the kids. There's more going on than I really have time to get into, but I promise I'll get back to more in depth blogging as soon as things calm down.

Have a good one!

Some links for you to persue...

I'm going through some stuff that I don't really care to talk about, and it's making it hard for me to think straight. I can't really seem to put a lot of effort into a post because my attention span seems to equal that of a toddler right now. So today I'm going to share some interesting links and leave it at that.

New Video Blog
Fellow blogger Mark McManus, from MuscleHack.com, has joined us in the YouTube world. His first episode is a nice tutorial on making easy and delicious low-carb substitutes. Be sure to check it out and tell Mark how much you enjoyed his video!

Margin Notes by Casey Ellis
Casey Ellis has a wonderful blog that any food enthusiast will love! Her writing style is fun and classy. Be sure to check out the right hand margin for some fantastic low-carb recipes!

Jimmy Moore Shares the Top 20 Worst Foods in America for Calories
Jimmy gives us a glimpse of some very surprising calories counts of popular dishes all over the nation. Be sure you are sitting down when you read this one!

Endurance Athletes and Electrolytes
Kent Altena gives us a great video discussing endurance athletes and electrolytes. He even shares a recipe for making your own sugar-free gatorade. Be sure to check it out!

New Blogs I've Added Recently
Some other blogs I've recently added to my favorites list are as follows:

Dr. McCleary - author of The Brain Trust Program

Fred Hahn's Ideas and Insights - My DVD Slow Burn coach. ;0)

Justin's Blog - Just a real guy tellin' it like it is. :0)

Enjoy!

Just sharing a link...

One of the biggest detriments to staying on any diet is being hungry. That's probably the main reason I hated low-fat dieting. I despise being hungry. Jimmy Moore's latest Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show podcast deals with that very issue. If you haven't heard it, then I recommend it highly! You can listen here.

Enjoy!

Jimmy Moore's New Chocolate Bar Is A Hit!

Coming out with a new product is never an easy thing. Sure we see new stuff in the store all the time and it sounds simple enough once we look the product over. I know many times I've smacked my forehead and thought "Why didn't I come up with that!" But having and idea and turning it into reality are two completely different things. We rarely, if ever, hear about all the ideas that never left the drawing board. I'm sure the number of discarded ideas are phenomenal!

That's why I'm so happy to announce that Jimmy Moore's new Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bar, by Chocoperfection, is an absolute hit! His idea, spurred on by his love for the combination of these two flavors, and his lack of love for sugar alcohols, turned out to be what I believe will most assuredly be one of Chocopefections most popular items!

Jimmy was kind enough to send me a few samples of this new confection before they were even available to the public. I have to say I was quickly hooked! I'm not a huge fan of raspberry and was pleasantly surprised to find I really liked this bar.




One of the first things you notice when you open the wrapper is the smell of raspberry. When you take a bite you enjoy a delightfully rich and smooth dark chocolate with that touch of raspberry that makes this bar stand out from so many others. Top if off with the fact that you are less likely to experience the gastric distress that so many other sugar free bars tend to cause, and you have the perfect low-carb treat. I'm sure I sound like a marketing mouthpiece here, but I'm just telling you how I see it. I really do think these will be a huge hit.

Interested in trying some for yourself? Be sure to check out Jimmy's blog post, where he explains how this idea came to be, as well as where and when these bars will be available.

As for me, I'll be keeping these on hand as often as I can afford! :0)

Jimmy Moore Supports My YouTube efforts...

I was pleasantly surprised today to check one of my favorite blogs, Livin' La Vida Low-Carb, and find that Jimmy had this post dedicated to raising the viewer and subscriber numbers to my Video Blog on YouTube! I'd like to send a huge thanks to Jimmy for helping promote my efforts. I appreciate your support! I also want to thank all of you who watch and subscribe. My subscriber numbers are growing nicely and I appreciate you taking the time to sign up! Feel free to spread the word!

And don't forget that very soon I'll be announcing that giveaway I mentioned earlier! :0)

I just have too many questions...

After doing some extensive research online, and reading until my eyes hurt, I feel it's best if I pull away from the whole Kimkins thing. I'm going to remove the ads and sit back and see how this thing plays out. I'm very uncomfortable with some of the things I've been seeing and reading. Until I find out the truth, I'm pulling the plug.

Will I still eat the way I have been? Yes. I've realized that I eat more like Dr. Atkins suggests in the 1972 version of his Diet most of the time. A few days of the week it's Kimkins like eating. This combinations seems to be working for me. I feel it's very sad that I can't openly recommend anything related to Kimmer's plan, which might actually help someone, without being attacked or sucked into the whole controversy. So, for now, here it will end.

Am I ready to jump on the "I hate Kimmer bandwagon?" No. I'm a little too grown up for that, thank you. I quit joining in groups like that when I was in high school. I do wish she'd clear the air on some MAJOR issues that have been brought up. It would honestly make life easier on many people. But I can't force her. And all this fighting is only making everyone involved look bad. I've lost respect for several bloggers, who I consider my friends, simply because of the way they have conducted themselves in this whole affair. I feel quite sure I've been blacklisted myself because I won't say Kimkins is evil - or worse yet because I won't attack Jimmy Moore over his affiliation with it all.

I'm not interested in destroying people over this. If I feel it's worth discussing, then I'll certainly do so. But I refuse to stoop to the level of name calling and slander.

So from here on out it will be back to business.. without Kimkins ads. In time, I'll decide on where to go from here. Until then, I need answers.

Saturday's Meet-Up... Here's What Happened.

Hey everyone. I thought I'd post a quick apology to those who showed up at Ryan's and couldn't find us. I promise - we were there! We arrived very early and informed the lady seating us that we had many more coming around noon. They gave us a large table in the party room in the back.

We ate and talked and waited. When noon rolled around and no one had showed up, Jimmy got up and walked around in the front of the restaurant to see if anyone was sitting out there. Mostly what he saw were military. Lots of military.

The manager didn't know about our get-together and the lady that sat us must have forgotten to pass it on to anyone else. It appears that several people showed up, asked about the get-together, was told the staff knew nothing about it, and so they left. I think the servers were overwhelmed with the military, not to mention a large group that joined us in the party room. The manager realized a bit too late what had happened and was able to find one person before she left. She then joined us in the party room. (It was great to meet you Lisa!)

I am so very sorry that we missed those of you who made the effort to be there. I guess we'll need to be sure to have signs next time. Or at the least make sure EVERYONE in the building knows about the meeting. It just makes me sick that we were all there at the same time, yet missed each other. I was looking forward to meeting all the great people who were going to be there. I know Jimmy and Christine were disappointed as well. Hopefully we can convince Mr. & Mrs. Moore to come back and visit us again very soon.

For those who are interested in how it went otherwise, we had a very nice, although quieter than expected, lunch. Yes, we discussed low-carb. I think John (my hubby) and Jimmy talked about golf more though. ;0)

Here are a few pictures we took while there:


From left to right: Me, Christine, Jimmy, my daughter Rachel, my son Matt, and Lisa (photo taken by my wonderful Hubby!)




Jimmy and Christine smiling for the camera while Lisa and my hubby chat in the back ground.



Christine and I - perfect angels! (OK.. so maybe just Christine fits in that category.. but I can dream, right?)

Let me just say that we found Jimmy to be a person with a heart of gold. If you think his enthusiasm for life and healthy living is infectious through his blog.. it's nothing compared to talking with him face to face. I left Ryan's feeling a renewed energy and determination to stick with it, no matter how tough it gets. And for that, I have to say thank you. Not just to Jimmy, but to everyone who works hard to help others in this crazy, mixed-up, spinning ball we live on.

It's people who truly care, and do their best to show it, that make this world a better place to live. I'm doing my best to be that kind of person. I hope all of you are too.

Do you have questions about Kimkins?

Or maybe Kimmer herself?

If so, you may get the opportunity to voice your questions to Kimmer herself.

Today on Jimmy Moore's Livin' La Vida Low Carb blog, he announced that he'd soon be doing a podcast interview with Kimmer. He's encouraging you to send in your questions and concerns to him so that he can cover all the bases. Worried that it's dangerous? Write him and tell him so! Ask him to address a specific issue that YOU want answers to. He's taking requests until no later than Friday, July 13th, 2007.

Links you may be interested in...

I wanted to share a few of links with you.

Dr. Mike Eades has an outstanding explanation of the metabolism and ketones, which I know you will enjoy. If you've never quite understood why low-carb works so well, or what ketosis really is, this is a post you won't want to miss. He explains it in layman's terms to be sure you really get it.

For those of you who are diabetic, I'm sure you've heard the news about Avandia and it's dangerous side effects. If not, you'll want to check out these posts:

Connie Bennett of Sugar Shock: Is Avandia Going the Way of Vioxx? Popular Diabetes Drug May Raise Risk of Fatal Heart Attacks

Jimmy Moore of Livin' La Vida Low Carb: GSK, FDA Knew Avandia Raised Heart Disease Risk In 2005, But Did Nothing About It

St. Louis Low-Carb Meet Up!!!

If you live anywhere near the St. Louis, MO area you'll want to make plans to be with us on Saturday, July 21st at 12:00 pm, Ryan's Steakhouse, 3579 Pennridge Drive in Bridgeton. We are having a get together with some outstanding members of the low-carb community. If all goes as planned, you can look forward to meeting the following:




Jimmy Moore from Livin' La Vida Low Carb Blog.






Regina Wilshire from Weight Of The Evidence Blog.




Julia Havey from Take It Off With Juila blog.









I'll be there as well and I know it will be a great time for all. If you can make it to this get together, we'd love to see you there too! If you have any questions or need directions, help, etc. Or if you'd just like to let us know you are coming, please don't hesitate to contact me at healthylowcarbliving@gmail.com.

Haven't you always wanted to have lunch with some of your favorite low-carb people (me excluded of course) and get to know them better? Here's your chance! I believe this will be an event you don't want to miss!

Random Babble..

I'm in a strange mood today, so I will just entertain you with random thoughts. Some will be meaningful, some will be idiotic. You can decide which is which. :0)

If our knees were on backwards, how would we sit?

Reading Jimmy's blog today, I was saddened to hear of a couple, who are vegans, who went to jail for malnourishing their child. The baby died. It was depressing. Someone was commenting on how none of us were born to eat meat, blah, blah, blah. His exact words were:

"Keep in mind that the perfect food for a baby is the vegan diet - it should be drinking its mothers milk (not any other animals milk) and of course, no baby can eat meat. We are all born vegetarian."

Ok.. so why is it ok for a calf to drink it's mother's milk, but not ok for us to do so? Isn't it all the same? Lactation is a natural process. It's not like we are forcing nature here. As far as the comment that no baby can eat meat.. yeah.. that would be because they don't have teeth yet. By the time a child develops teeth, which enables him/her to chew the meat, his/her digestive system is ready for it. See? Nature DOES know what it's doing after all.

Science4u1959 always has the most informative and intelligent answers to these comments. He is now officially on my hero list. When I grow up, I want to be as smart as him. The only problems being: I'll probably never grow up AND I'm not the brightest bulb in the lamp.

If you get scared half to death, twice, what happens?

I hate those quizzes people send you in e-mail. You know the ones, where you have to answer all these personal questions. But I've actually considered posting the "100 things you don't know about me" on here. Why? Because I could have sooooo much fun with that. What's great is you wouldn't know if I was making stuff up or not. :0)

I also hate the forwarded e-mail that threatens you if you don't pass it on. Peeps, I barely have time to pass on anything really important. Do you really expect me to care about some text that claims some poor little kids puppy will explode if I don't pass it on. Send me pictures of the mess.. then I'll believe.

Phone numbers. We have one that used to belong to two different people. Who apparently both don't pay their bills. It's really annoying getting 4 or 5 collections calls a day for other people. I guess I should just be happy they aren't after me. But most of them are the automated kind. "Please call us back at.." Riiiight. Like I'm really gonna call you back if I'm trying to stiff the bill.

The last message on our machine had me cracking up.

"This message is for _________, if you are not ________ please delete this message, as it is not for you. If you are _______ it is important that you call us back..."

How do they expect this method to be effective? How are they gonna know if I am or am not _______ ? So since I'm not the person they are looking for, how do they handle it? Simple, by calling everyday with the same asinine automated message. I bet Mr. _________ is somewhere laughing his can off right now, knowing that someone else is suffering through the torture intended for him. I would call them back and let them know.. but the message is so long that my machine cuts out half way through the numbers they give. Besides, if they are doing business like that, they don't deserve to find Mr.________.

I'm also sick of automated sales calls. I'm on the no-call list, but obviously that only applies when real people are on both ends of the phone.

I told ya I was in a mood.. you were warned.

I simply can't believe it!!!!!

I just had to tell you this!!!

I checked Jimmy Moore's blog today to see if I'd won a prize in his 2nd Annual Blog Anniversary giveaway. Last year I won some ChocoPerfection bars, which are awesome by the way. I was hoping for a win of some kind - the CarbWars cookbook, which I've put off buying until after the contest, Fiberfit and books from Karen Rysavy (I already have all her books, but have never splurged for her sweetener). I'd have honestly been happy with any prize. I'm scanning down the page and seeing a lot of names, none of which are mine, but I'm happy for them none-the-less.

Now, imagine me sitting in the computer chair and nearing the end of the list. I do not see my name in any of the prize bundles. I'm disappointed, but you can't win them all. So I scroll down one more space to see who won the VCS4007 Gas Grill.... and it was ME!!!! I almost jumped out of my seat with excitement!!! I am on cloud nine and can't wait to cook on this bad boy! How awesome is this?!?! I've never won any major prize in my life. I rarely win the little stuff, ya know? So this has totally made my day!!

You can bet I'll be sharing new recipes from the grill this summer. :0)

I'm not in the mood for ignorance

Sorry, but willful ignorance just hacks me off. It's one thing if a person just doesn't understand something because they haven't been taught. It's another thing to look the evidence right in the eye and declare it's wrong.

I was just sorting through the articles in my inbox that relate to low-carb when I found one written by a dietitian. That should have been my first clue that this was a waste of my valuable time. But since I seem to like self-inflicted torture, I read it anyway. I was steaming out the ears by the end of the article.

It was the same old tired "There's no such thing as a bad carb, blah, blah, blah". Oh yeah? Tell that to my thighs.. they seem to have missed that in class.

Too bad this so-called expert doesn't realize that no one is listening to her hype anymore. Dietitians, doctors, and biased researchers have knowingly lead this country down a path of disease ridden obesity. Do they care? No. If they told the truth they'd lose money. A majority of this nation doesn't NEED all the drugs we are told to use. I'd love to have a dime for every prescription written daily. I'll bet I'd be loaded by the end of the month.

A healthy low-carb diet can do so much for ones health. I know it's not for everyone, but it would sure help a myriad of people get off medications, improve lipid profiles, stabilize moods, increase energy, lose weight - I'm talking about Quality Of Life! I've yet to meet anyone that gave the low-carb lifestyle a REAL try and was disappointed.

So as far as I'm concerned these "experts" can take their health advice and stick in their ear. I'm tired of being lied to, and tired of seeing others lied to as well. I thank the good Lord I know the truth. But there are so many who have no idea that other options exist. They go to the "professional" for the help they desperately need, only to be give the same old useless advice. The patient leaves feeling hopeless, helpless and abandoned.

I'm here to say there is NO reason to feel this way. Look at all the amazing success stories built from low-carb living. Here's just a small sample:

Jimmy Moore
Karen Rysavy
Dana Carpender
Kate Welch


I could list many more success stories, but you get the idea. I mean, you can even look at the success I had from 2001 to 2003!



But surely I, and a host of others like me, must be wrong. We can't function on less than 120 carbs per day. Our bodies just don't do well on less than that, or so we have been told.



They must be right. I look terribly unhappy here. Don't you think I look sickly and peckish? It's all due to that terrible low-carb diet I merely existed on.

Do you have pictures of yourself from your low-carb experience? If so, and you'd like to share them, I love to compile a low-carb picture collage and post it here for all to see.

For those who still refuse to see the truth, Mark McManus posted a great article yesterday titled How to Lose Weight and Keep it off Permanently. He summarizes the path to success in simple terms. No big words or medical jargon. Just good common sense! I'm looking forward to reading his future articles on this subject. And who can argue with Mark? Just look at his pictures and you'll see what I mean. He is a great example of fitness and health!

I'll end this rant with a saying my husband has on one of his t-shirts:

Never Underestimate The Power Of Stupid People In Large Groups!

Like I said, I'm just not in the mood.....

The Training Begins

To prepare myself for my upcoming 6 mile walk on the morning of April 28th, which is to benefit the March Of Dimes Walk America program, I am starting a training of sorts. I'll be doing my best to drop as much of this excess weight as I can, since I know that will really help me. I'm currently walking 2.5 miles per day on my treadmill. My goal is to consistently walk 3 miles daily for the next few days and then increase it from there. Hopefully by the end of April I'll be able to get somewhere close to the 6 miles. I've never walked that far before in my life - not even when I was younger and thinner! It will be a challenge, but I say: "BRING IT ON!" :0)

I want to give a public thanks to Jimmy Moore of Livin' La Vida Low Carb blog for devoting a whole column to my cause. He's doing his best to promote the walk and build sponsorship for me. And don't think for a minute that he's all talk - He was one of my first sponsors!

I also want to thank those who have already signed up to sponsor me, as well as those who are planning on doing so. You have all given me great encouragement!

If you missed my previous posts about this and would like to learn more, please visit my page by clicking here.

I'll be posting my progress on "training" as often as I can. What I'm eating, how far I'm walking, how much I'm losing, etc.

And be sure to to check back after the walk is over! I'll be blogging about the experience, as well as posting pictures and totals.

4 Topics for today...

There is so much to post about today that I don't even know where to start!

Topic #1: Let's start with one of Jimmy's latest blog posts. Today he posted more great blogs that I can't wait to check out. Ten of them to be exact. As I read down the post I was thrilled and honored to see that my website was #3! Here are his exact words:

3. Healthy Low-Carb Living

This isn't a blog, but it is one of the best-looking low-carb resources I have seen in a very long time from one of my most faithful readers--Sparky's Girl! "Healthy Low-Carb Living" organizes just about everything you could ever want about livin' la vida low-carb in one lovely package. You can read her and her husband's weight loss success stories, see pictures, find low-carb tips and links, see the myths addressed, and so much more! Check it out along with the companion "Healthy Low-Carb Living" blog.

How great is that?!?! I guess I'd better get a scoot on it and finished up the last few pages that are not working yet! I still haven't finished the myths page, the cookbooks page.. and to be honest the front page still looks pretty bare. But my goal is to have all those things finished sometime this morning. Anyway.. Thanks for the mention Jimmy! It really is an honor and I'm so glad you like the site!

Topic #2: My weight has stayed the same on the scale for the past couple of days. I've actually eaten less than normal this weekend due to not feeling too well. I can feel a bit of water retention, but nothing too major. So yesterday I get out of the shower and go up to my room to dress. I'm standing there in my underthings and happened to glance at myself in the mirror. I had to do a double take! Was that really me? Could 17 lbs really make that much difference? I was amazed. I was seeing MUCH less of me. Areas that had rolls are starting to flatten out, my stomach doesn't stick out so much anymore, and my arms and legs are showing marked improvements. I ran downstairs like an idiot to tell my husband what I'd seen (I was acting like I'd seen a miracle, and some ways I felt like I had). He smiled and told me how proud he was of me and how he'd noticed the same thing. He just told his parents a couple of days ago how well I was doing and that he couldn't remember exactly how much I'd lost, but it was really showing. It's so nice to have that kind of confirmation. It really helps you keep going!

Topic 3#: Moderated comments. I have decided to moderate all comments on this blog. Not to be a dictator, but to keep offensive material and spam from showing up. I don't always have time to check the comments daily and I certainly don't want something offensive sitting there for several hours before I catch it. I get loads of spam in my website guestbook and have to delete it all the time. I have no problem listening to other opinions on the subjects we discuss here, as long as they are made in a kind and courteous manner. I will not tolerate hateful or vulgar comments though. They will simply be deleted. I know some subjects can become heated and emotions will run high, but not here. That's not why I started this blog. If someone wants to debate the merits and faults of this or that, find a forum for just that purpose. Also keep in mind that I have a very dry sense of humor.. and tend to use it when things get uncomfortable. I did so a couple of days ago after a post on a friend's blog got a bit personal and nasty. I guess one of the posters doesn't have a sense of humor. :0)

Topic #4: I think I'm fighting the bug my children had last week, though not as severe. My stomach has been upset off and on since Friday. So after finishing up my website, I'll probably take it easy today. I was only able to finish about half of my 11 oz. protein shake this morning before I felt a little sick. So anyhoo.. I doubt I'll be walking on the treadmill today.

Well, I'd better stop here. I plan on doing a couple of product reviews later today or early tomorrow. If I'm not spending the day bowing at the porcelain throne, I'll get them posted asap for ya.

Have a great one!