[qt82699]

well i already posted in the other post, but i will again!!
My name is Dawn and i live in a really small town in Minnesota, have lived in mn all of my life. I have been married for 7 years (together for 13) to a man who, except for the fact of my beautiful kids, i wish i would have never met!! I have 2 kids, Sidney age 8 and colby age 6, they are my joy and the reason i get up every day. I work for volunteers of america working with ppl with devolopmental disabilities, i love my job i work a 22 hour and an 18 hour a week and i am done! so i get to spend lots of time with my kids. I stay very busy though with all their things. I am a girlscout leader for my daughters 3rd grade troop, have been for 2 years and my kids are both in wrestling and my daughter is in basketball and son in cubscouts, never a dull moment! I have been overweight all of my life and have struggled with it, having this surgery has been the best decision i have ever made, since we know i do not make very good ones most of the time (hubby) lol I enjoy camping, fishing, concerts, music and tattoos!! I have really enjoyed this whole journey and feel like i am getting back who i am, i have gained so much confidence, even though some ppl i know are taking it for cockyness..lol anyhow enough about me...whos next??

[ksummer19]

Hi, I am Kim

I am a pretty shy person so this is kind of hard for me. I was thin until I had my children and then slowly put the weight on. I have lost it before but never for too long. Born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin (lived in Kansas for 7 years). I have been divorced (he just walked out after 16 years of marriage for his high school sweetheart) for 10 years and that was the hardest thing for me to ever go through. I have two wonderful children, Lori 25 and Tony 22. I guess this really shows my age and so far I am the oldest one posting....ha 47 years old!

I met a really great guy on-line almost 4 years ago however it is still a long distance relationship. He lives in Vermont and has 2 daughters the same ages as my kids so it makes it hard to move forward for us. With his job he is able to come here 5-6 times a year. I love to visit Vermont.....what a beautiful state. I cannot wait to hike some of those mountains!!

I work in a hospital as a patient registrar. This May will be 10 years that I've worked there. I like what I do but the money isn't so good. My daughter tells me all of the time to get and and look somewhere else. She says I am better than that. Maybe after I lose some more weight I'll be a little more aggressive and find a new job that is better paying.

My goals after weight loss;
ride a bike
hike mountains
ride rollarcosters
sell house...move to Vermont??!!??
parade myself around a festival in front of ex and wifey!
stop being so shy and DO things..anything!

hitting the send button and hope I do not reqret it.

[TamTamW]

Ok where do I start, My name is Tammy I like in a Northern MN town, I have been married to my hubby for 14 years (been together for 19 yrs) we have no children together, I have one son who is 25. We had three dogs one left, lost one in 06 and one in 07, so we are hoping that skippy will make it thru 08.

I have been over weight all of my life, and when my son announced his engagement I weighted 326 this was in around Sept of j02 and they were getting married in April 04. My first thought was what a sight I would be at their wedding, dance at the dance ya right. So one night I was sitting and watching tv and eating a bag of chips and struggling to breath, I said that was it I had to do something to loose this weight or I would probably eat myself to death and not be around it they had any kids, so I went on a weight loss program and stuck to it faithfully exercised 6 days a week and by Feb of 04 I was down to 246 and felt so good.

Well in 05 we went on a cruise to the eastern Carribeian and gues what I gained about 15 lbs back and that was it, it just kept creaping back up there, and I still was faithful about my exerciseing but I guess the eating was out of control and then in Feb of 07 after thinking about WLS for about the last 5 years I finally looked into it and discussed it with hubby and he said if that is what you want I will support you all the way, even thou I love you just the way you are. I made my mind up and did it, my new life started in Nov 07.

Oh and my son and his wife had our first grandchild in July of 07 so I was soo happy that I had decided to go thru with the surgery because I wanted to be alive for my grandchildren. This was the best decision that I had made, next to deciding to keep my son and become a single mom at 21. So I guess I just about gave my age now so I am 46 will be 47 in August.

I think that is about it, so who is next??

[texasangel]

Hi I am Sarah. 38 yr old mother of two, Tiffany 20 and Craig 19 and new nana to Jordan Paige 3 mos. I have been married since I was 17 so we will celebrate our 22 wedding anniversary in July. I work in a Physical Rehab Facility as a Medication Aide. It means I dispense the medicines to our rehab patients plus alot of nursing duties because we are always short on nurses. I am hoping to go back to college this fall and become an LVN.

My son was diagnosed with diabetes at 12, my mom was diagnoses 38 yrs ago, all my aunts and both grandparents are diabetic, and I got diagnosed 5 yrs ago. My mother has lost her left leg, eye sight and kidneys to diabetes. She is 68 and acts more like she is 90. She lives with us because she cannot live alone. She passed out for over 5 hours and broke her hand, then her knee, ribs, ectra. She falls alot. That decided me it was time to search for a surgeon to help me with my previous wls and maybe get the weight off for good.

[qt82699]

it is so good to get to know everyone!!

[Trulykath]

OH kara...if you ever get to Texas, IT"S ON GIRL!!!

[kbfrmaz]

Hi Kim! I hope you don't regret the post, it's great to see how people are doing and get to know them. I hope you do all those things- and more!


OH and Kath I am a TEXAN at heart! I was born in Nacogdoches and we lived in Austin until I was 4 before moving to AZ! Hubbys fam is in the panhandle, so we are there often- gotta work my way up north next time. LOL

[lazell]

Hi Im Lazell 47 Have one daughter 28 who is my best friend. She has 2-2yo twin girls a 3yogirl and my grdson whom is 7and thier dad who is great. Ive been big for 1/2 my life before that I was pretty thin. Hopefully will be again. Everyone here is SUPER. I don't do a lot besides my fam, but that will hopefully change soon. There is some wonderful people and places out there I just gotta go find them. I would not trade this journey!!!!

[myavt]

Hi Guys. This is MYA.

I am 43. I have 3 kids 24, 19, 17--who will all be a year older in April (the girls 17 & 24, share the same b-day 4/16). My husband of 8 years is 14 years younger than me, which absolutely shocked my professional community.

I am a Psychotherapist. I mostly work with women who are survivors of some kind of trauma/domestic violence. I have been doing this work for 14 years.

I play guitar & piano, mostly my own original music. I also paint, write poetry and am mostly done writing a book I'll probably never sell, but you have to dream. Right?

I am funky and eccentric. I love alternative music, dying my hair weird colors, and getting new tattoos. I'm a bit flamboyant. Life is a lot of fun. There was a point in my life where it was the unusual day that I didn't cry. NOW it's a VERY unusual day if I DO. Usually you'll find me laughing and goofing off.

I was put on a diet of "Suzo-Slim" skim milk when I was 6 mos old because my Mom thought a chubby baby was a beautiful baby. So my fat cells were set REAL young. I'm so envious of my own kids who grew up NORMAL weights!!! They don't struggle like ME!!! I've been up aand down my whole life. I think I'm a professional dieter. I sure like living in a healthy trim body better than a fat painful body!!!


Guess that's it.

XOXO
Mya

[DeMarie]

I'm Denise. I am 43 years old. I have had weight issues since about 10 years old. I've always been 'the tall girl' then I started to be 'the big girl'. I wouldn't say I was obese through high school and after, just full figured. There were times I did get thinner, but it would come back eventually. I was 230 when I got married, then pudged up to 300. About 10 years ago I lost 90 pounds (I gave up carbs). I kept it off for about 3 years, then started putting on about 20 pounds a year till I hit 330. It seems like I am on a 'diet' every day of my life, but these past few years, for every 3 pounds I lost, I'd gain 5! About 4 years ago I started to need thyroid medicine (used it as an excuse for not losing weight!) About 2 1/2 years ago I started not getting my period. My gyno, who I've been going to since my teen years, said 'Sweetheart, with all the love and respect of a father, you are too young to be this heavy, and it's starting to affect your health, do whatever you have to do to lose the weight.' He was talking about WLS, and as much as I like him, I was like "EXCUSE ME!!??" I'm not that person, a person who needs surgery! And of course I thought...I can lose the weight myself! Well...a year later and another 20 pounds heavier (had maybe 2 periods in there) and now needing blood pressure medicine, they did every test possible on me as to why no periods...it's just the weight. This was last August or so. Also, my mother had a heart attack last February (she's fine , but around this same time, in August, one Saturday I stared to have chest pains. Thinking how my Mom had recently had a heart attack at 60, how her Mom had died of a heart attack (she was also 60) but how I was the one that was over weight, I was sure I was having one. It ended up just being indigestion, but I had freaked my self out pretty good, hospital, whole bit! That's when the commercials for the lap band started to actually make their way into my brain. I talked to my primary, and my gyno, and both, no offense to anyone with the lab band, kinda hinted that that wasn't the way to go, not for me anyway. My primary gave me a card for the Doctor who ended up being my surgeon. I went to the seminar, still thinking I might not do it. The night of my surgeons seminar I listened to what everyone had to say, looked at all the slides, then when the Doctors came out and mine started talking, he was so straight foward, so kind, I said "I want him!" Thus started my journey!
On a personal note...
I had dated, on and off, for about 7 years, from age 19 on, a butt head, thought I was in love, put up with his crap...
One time while we were on a 'break up' I was out with a girlfriend, we stopped to get a cup of coffee, there was a crowd, she knew some people, Doug was there, we started talking and....were married 10 months later! We are married 17 years now. He is my big gentle bear. He's a cowboy type in that he loves his Mama, prefers boots to shoes, has respect for others, works hard, drives a big ol truck, and loves me good.
We started our own company about 10 years ago, have a beautiful house in the 'country', just over an acre, fenced in yard. No children, but 3 dogs, a lab and 2 rotties, 2 cats inside and 2 cats that have adopted us outside. We both have motorcyles, he has a Harley of course, ('Wild Hogs', that's my husband and his friends) I have a goldwing. We like to take rides in the country on the bikes, go down the shore in the summer, sit out on the back deck and have dinner and play with the dogs, and go to Disney for our vacations.