Good to see you today!

Can you ever go back home?

Moving can be quite overwhelming! I stayed away 12 years and then moved back to my home town in Ohio in 1986. I had really put on the pounds in between and wondered if it would be difficult for me to deal with people seeing me and wondering why I had let myself go. Returning had its moments.

One humorous thing that happened occurred at a ladies devotional a couple of months after I returned. My brother was the educational director at church and I told him I would help out by teaching the Sunday morning class for 3 year olds that they were starting up. A lady at church who had lived in the area for a couple of years about 7 years before had returned to the area with her husband and had wanted to start a 3 year old class using material she had helped to developed while they were away.

She would be teaching the Wednesday night class and wanted the Wednesday night, Sunday morning, and Sunday night classes to all coordinate, teaching the same material in slightly different ways. My brother had told me to check with her to see when she wanted the class to begin. As she was sitting near me during the fellowshipping time of the devotional, I asked her if she knew when the 3 year old class would be starting. She looked at me and said, "Well, I'm not real sure. Do you know who Don is?" I tilted my head and said to her, "Um, do you know who I am?" She said, "Sure, you are Missy!" I said, "I'm Don's sister!" She looked right at me and said "NO, YOU ARE NOT! We lived here before. We know Ray and Patsy (my mom and dad) and they only have 2 children Don and Rachel!" I said, "Well, actually they have 4 children! I have been living in Texas and Missouri for the past 12 years and we have another sister that lives in Texas!" She was absolutely astonished and wasn't really convinced that I was who I said I was until she talked to my mom!

At least she didn't have any mental image of what I had looked like before. She hadn't even known I existed!!!!! I later asked my mom why she had never mentioned me or my other sister! She said she was as surpised as I was that the lady was unaware of my identity. She thought she had always talked about our lives! Go figure!

Beginning to Feeling Diminutive Again

I am starting to actually feel diminutive again! I am just now getting to the weight that many people who are struggling to lose weight are starting at, so I know that I am still very heavy, but I can actually do some things that I couldn't do for so many years that made me feel HUGE! I can get close enough to my 6'6" brother to fit under his arm again! Yes, you read that right. We are full blood siblings and he is 6'6" and I am 5'1". I grew up in a house full of giants! My standing joke for many years has been "Our family had some short genes(jeans) and somebody had to wear them!" He has been telling people for the last 35 years that I am short because he was always patting me on the top of my head. (He is 2 and 1/2 years older than me.) Both of our younger sisters are also tall, although not as tall as our brother. My brother's son and daughter are both over 6' tall.

I am truly enjoying my sons' designation of me as "The Incredible Shrinking Mom" as I am getting smaller as they are growing taller. This morning my 13 year old said he is as excited as I am looking forward to the day when he will be able to pick me up and throw me in the swimming pool at the family reunion, which is one of the things I have on my list of things I want to be able to "do" when I get near or at goal. I doubt that it will be this summer, but we are shooting for next summer!

I am down a few more pounds this week! Hurray!



......I think I can...........I think I can...........I think I can...........I think I can.....

Missy
365/251/115

"Mmm, this is good!" 

"Hi! You better go eat your lunch, too!" 

"There is she is again! Now she's behind me!" 

"What time is it? Do I have time to eat some more?" 

"Oh, good. It's my turn!" 

"Who are you taking a picture of now?" 

"Hey, guys! Look who's taking our picture!" 

"What have you got in your lunch?" 

Paula, Kim, Joni and the 1st graders are eating lunch on our field trip. 

Commitment Bear, 20 pound, is getting support from Pound to do Leslie Sansone's Two Mile Walk Diet.

Pound, the original 10 pound bear, is doing Leslie Sansone's one mile walk. 

Success Bear, 90 pound, is lifting those 1 pound weights. You've got to start somewhere!

Workout Bear, 80 pound, Success Bear, 90 pound, and Dedication Bear, 100 pound do jack-knives on their Tony Little's Ab-Lounge Extreme while Pound, Commitment, Community, Determination, Encouragement, Focus, and Willpower do push-ups.

Focus Bear, 60 pound, and Willpower Bear, 70 pound, are working on Tony Little's Gazelle while Pound, Commitment, Community, Determination, and Encouragement encourage them to keep up the good work.

Encouragement Bear, 50 pound, is riding 10 miles while Pound, Commitment, Community, and Determination Bear cheer her on.

Community Bear, 30 pound, is riding his exercise bike while Pound and Commitment asked him if he needs to take a water break. Be sure to drink your 8+ glasses of water each day!

3-21-06 253 pounds (I've lost 112 pounds in 6 months)! 

Here I am, happily showing off my 4800 penny outfit! 

Missy with Joni's 1st graders - Thank you for the pennies and the hugs! No one could have a better group of cheerleaders! 

Missy with Paula's 1st graders - Thank you for the cards and pennies to congratulate me! 

Missy with Kim's 1st Graders - Thank you for the bags of 100 pennies to help buy my new clothes! 

100 Pennies - $100 - 100 Pounds

Wow was I surprised at work today! To congratulate me for losing 100 pounds, 48 of the first graders at school brought me a bag of 100 pennies and a homemade card. They are so cute! The K-4 grade teachers pitched together and got me a $100 dollar bill to say how proud they are of me, for me to buy some new clothes. So Mom and I went out this evening and I got 2 beautiful coordinated sweaters (size 16-18)! Then I also got 3 new bras. There was no way that I could wear my pretty new clothes with my old, too big bras. I am going to wear the sweaters to work tomorrow to show the children and teachers how I am spending the money. I cried when I got the things from them. I will get someone to take a picture. I feel so blessed! (And I've still got money left to spend!)



......I think I can...........I think I can...........I think I can...........I think I can.....

Missy
365/255/115

I had a wild and crazy week between so much to do at work and testing and too much paperwork! But I am not going to feel guilty! And I am not going to try to be Super Woman! I will just do the best I can!

I got in a lot of exercise on Friday:
bike - 10 miles, walk - 1 mile, gazelle - 1 mile


(Then I stood outside for about 1 hour from 9PM to 10PM (I had on my winter coat, a tied up head scarf, and a pair of gloves) and helped with lifting the car by standing on a 2X6 to lever the Honda Civic up enough to get a jack under it to replace the wheel that came off. I no longer weigh enough to get the board all the way to the ground. He and a friend had to lift up on the car too while the friend's dad got the jack under it. My DS told me later that he "almost" said "Too bad you lost all that weight, Mom! Then he thought better of it and kept it too himself." I told him I was thinking the same thing! LOL!)

Saturday: I walked 1 mile.




......I think I can...........I think I can...........I think I can...........I think I can.....

Missy
365/256.5/115