Introduction

LinC3003

So....I'm 59, mother of 3, grandmother to 12. Married. Retired preschool teacher. Girl scout leader with 3 troops. Weight crept on in my late 40's going through menopause. Never had a weight problem before that. Been losing it and gaining it back for the past 12 years. Seems I can lose weight rather quickly by watching what I eat (counting calories), but after doing that for awhile (I'll stick with it a few months most of the time) I fall back into not watching portion sizes and over eating on things that are not good for losing or maintaining weight loss (like cookies/candy).
Hobbies/interests? Varied. I spend most of my week watching grandchildren for my one daughter and daughter in law who are both nurses. Planning stuff for my GS troops takes up a lot of time too. I'm crafty (which comes in handy when planning Girl Scout activities), I love to read, I'm always planning some project to do in our house, and my exercise of choice is walking.
Weight loss? Found myself back up at one of my highest weights in early spring of this year. Lost around 29 pounds by early summer. I didn't count calories at all in July and August....and so found myself having gained back almost 10 pounds by early September. Got back on track right away. Managed to lose those pounds plus a bit more in September. So as of today, I have lost
32 pounds since April of this year.
Goals? Still want to get down at least 20 pounds from where I am right now. More would be nice, but 20 more pounds would see me fitting into the tightest jeans I have in my closet now. That's also my motivation. Luckily I have no health issues related to weight or otherwise. It's all a vanity thing for me.
Lin

LinC3003

I should have added: present weight: 184.9 goal weigh: don't know, but for now I'll start with 164.9
Challenges: if I stay away from certain foods (pasta, cookies, candy) I'm okay.....but I have to learn that if I have a cookie or 2, that doesn't mean I can eat the whole sleeve. This is definitely my biggest challenge since most of my life I didn't have to worry about what or how much I ate. It's only been since I've been in my late 40's that I can't do that anymore.

NZblue

I'm a mum of a 2.5 year old, born by emergency c-section. My husband is natural slim and toned, and a petite build. I've already lost 3.3kg (7lb) and lots of cm.

My goal is 56kg. Starting at 112.9kg, I anticipate to take over a year to do it.

I pretty much try avoid processed sugar and this works well for me. I'm a primary school teacher in New Zealand, an I find the more I eat, the more I lose. So my plan is lots and clean.

I'm 24 years old, and have the most supportive husband. He's at uni working towards his nursing degree, and is right in with nutrition with me.

I originally lost all my baby weight, but while trying to lose, I gained 16kg back over four months. Sorted the health issues behind it, and am now losing slowly but surely.

This is my current progress!


Me a week ago. (I lose cms like crazy, before weight, so it isn't a huge weight difference, either!)



This is where I aim to be back to by Christmas! Hubby is still just as slim and hasn't aged at all... Total cutie. This was five years ago when we got married.



And this is my beautiful miss 2... She has her daddy's blue eyes. Oh, my gawsh. She melts me.

RaeBeeBaby

Hi all! My name is Rae and I live in Oregon, USA. I'm an active 55 year old and I've been married for 34 years. I have 3 grown sons, two married and one single. Only one grandson so far, but I'd love more!! I have two very spoiled furry ladies (an Aussie and a Beagle) who pretty much rule my household.

I retired a year ago after 35 years working for state government doing medical policy analysis and project management. I'm currently really enjoying not having a specific schedule to follow, but I sure am busy!! (How did I ever get anything done when I was working??)

I love to read, cook, bake, and garden. I grow a lot of my own food, make my own tea, and eat mostly organic as much as possible. I've been gluten-free for the past year, so baking has led to exciting and creative experimentation. I also love to make natural health and beauty products and avoid nearly all chemical-heavy lotions and potions.

Weight-wise - I've been a yo-yo dieter over most of my life. I've gained and lost the same 25-30 pounds more times than I can remember. I'd usually keep it off for a few years before it would start to creep back on. Once I reached 50, thought, it just seemed to stick around and losing became much, much harder.

Challenges - I'm now on a medication that causes weight gain. Once I started taking it, the weight came on very quickly. I've had to work pretty hard to drop around 20 pounds since January 2015, but I still have another 15-20 to reach my goal weight. It's been slow, but it is coming off bit by bit.

My highest weight - 180
My current weight - 160
My goal weight - 140-145

Favorite exercises - aquafit class, yoga, walking and disc golf!

AEPHubinc2015

Hi LinC, NZblue and Rae,

So, as of today we are four. Nice start!

What do you say to an October challenge? And let's start modestly and add on in the months to come. (let me know if you think we're starting off WAY too modest in this challenge, not modest enough or just right)

Here's my suggestion:

Stay under goal intake everyday with one day allowance for going over in a SMALLish way (no more than 250 calories).
Set a goal of exercise for the week that burns a total of 700 calories for each week...and stick to it.
Lose 3 lbs. for the month

As a motivator, I'll send a surprise to whoever succeeds in her goals for the challenge. (please send snail mail address and email address)

I hear ya', LinC, about 2 cookies versus the whole sleeve. I have a few things on my TOTALLY FORBIDDEN...EVER list. These are the things I know it's super tough for me not to eat the whole sleeve/bag/container. We may all have a few of these things. Maybe each of us could share 2 of our "tough to eat just one" things.

One of my daughters-in-law never had to diet or watch what she ate. She was totally clueless about how to go about losing weight after her first daughter was born - didn't know a calorie from a cranberry. I don't know which is worse - never having had to worry about weight and then having to, or having had to think about it all one's life. Different challenges - both challenges, though.

What a cutie your little girl is, NZBlue! And how great that your slim, toned husband is supportive of your weight challenges. I think we, women, are amazing that we get pregnant, add on all that weight so that our babies will be healthy and have a good start in life, give birth, then work hard to get all the weight off....only to start over again a few year later. Is it any wonder we have a tough time sometimes and some food issues? The trick is the slowly but surely part...

Glad we're back in touch, Rae. I hope I can help motivate (and stay motivated) through this group. Any suggetions - from everyone - are welcome! I had to smile at your comment about the same 25-30 lbs. coming and going all your life. When they aren't visiting you, they're apparently visiting me, and vice versa. Yep, same 25-30 lbs. coming and going for me, too.

I have a thought for those of us for whom weight has been an issue for years and years - it suddenly occurred to me the other day that part of my self-identification has to do with being someone who has a weight issue and has to think about what I'm eating and how much. What if...all of that was gone. Poof. At ideal weight and effortlessly maintaining, having gotten accustomed to food as energy provider instead of food as entertainment/comfort/fun? Wow! Quite a void to fill. Maybe that's why it's there? Maybe I could find healthier things to fill that void? Okay - just a thought.

Enough for now.

Let's hear your ideas.

ChocolateSpaghetti

Hi there, my name is Ice (Not really, but I don't use my real name on the internet), I just turned 19, I'm 5'9", and I'm ready to finally lose that last bit.

My starting weight was about 190+ after I got out of a damaging relationship. I used my rage and pain to motivate myself and dropped down to 165, but I've plateaued and am now stuck around 160-165 range. My goal is around 135-140 range.

I had always been a fat kid, my entire life was spent very isolated because not too many kids wanted to be friends with me. This lead to some dangerous binge-then-starve bulimia that I still struggle with to this day. I'm getting better managing it through food diaries like this one and looking for support groups. Sometimes there are slip ups, but I've learned to recognize it and deal with it before it gets worse.

Nutrition wise, I would say I eat pretty normal. I tend to stay away from anything fake (processed) and overly sugary/salty. I've completely given up canned anything now since the salt is WAY to high; with the exception of pineapple in its own juice. But, if I want a treat like cookies or cake, then I make it myself from stratch so it seems worth it and I can keep track of what's going in it. I only eat the very lean meat, like 90/10 or even the rare 95/5. I eat all vegetables except for my enemy: lettuce. Give me brussel sprouts, eggplant, asparagus, ANYTHING BUT LETTUCE.

My method of working out is mostly based on strength. Weights and special machines for target areas are my first priority. I use swimming for cardio and endurance since it works much better than treadmills.

I'm a student at my local community college studying game art and I'm also an artist. My first show was back in June after I graduated from high school. My hobbies include drawing (of course), cooking, gardening, swimming, and a bit of novice astronomy.

So to recap:

Name: Ice
Age: 19
Height: 5'9"
Starting weight: 190+
Current weight: 163
Goal weight: 135-140

AEPHubinc2015

Good morning, everyone,

Welcome, Ice! Sounds like you've got great habits going. Healthy eating and exercise! Are you pretty routinely staying at your calorie intake goal every day? Speaking from experience, it's easy enough to eat healthy food in large enough quantities to go way over goal intake. It's not only cookies and potato chips that push those numbers off the chart.

What's the toughest part of keeping up with the healthy habits that send us toward your weight goal?

So - are we on for the October challenge?

I started yesterday, just in time it seems because I FINALLY see a weight loss. I've been at 164 for more than a week and weighed in at 163 this morning. Two more pounds to go this month for the challenge.

The new semester starts in my yoga studio today. I'm teaching two classes today. Some new faces. Some regulars. It's always great to begin again. I usually teach three classes on Wednesdays but one is in a local high school and they have a school outing today.

Waiting to hear from everyone about the challenge...and in general.

Have a great day!

LinC3003

So....our challenges for October..........I can definitely do the staying under calorie goal except for 1 day a week (and then only going over maybe 250 calories). My calorie goal is set to 1200 on mfp......but 1 thing I have learned over the years is that if you make smart healthy choices, you can really fill up on 1200 calories. As far as losing 3 lbs this month.....I so want to do that! I actually want to see 179.9 on the scale for November 1st. These 180's are killing me. Only 3.5 pounds to go to get to 179.9. So I'm in for that.
Burning an extra 700 calories a week may be a bit tricky for me just now. A week and a half ago I had 2 AFib episodes. Lasted about 4 hours both times. Never had one before. Went to ER both times. So....stress test, blood work, chest xrays, EKGs, heart echo......everything came back normal. The cardiologist I saw 2 days ago said I'm healthy....and they don't know what caused the AFib. However....one more test they want me to do....sleep test for sleep apnea. Evidently that can cause AFib. So I have an appt with a sleep specialist next week. In the meantime, I still have to wear a heart monitor for 5 more days. Although, the cardiologist said that the heart monitor after 1 week hasn't shown anything wrong with my heart either. So far now....I am still going to take it slow getting back into exercising. The first night I had the AFib episode, I had actually done 45 minutes on my treadmill......over 3 miles. Anyway the episodes both started about 1 hour after I went to sleep, so maybe it really is sleep apnea. We'll see. Been feeling good though. Just don't like not knowing what caused it.
Lin

AEPHubinc2015

Hey Lin,

That sounds pretty scary. Hopefully, it'll turn out to be sleep apnea...or nothing at all. That's a possibility, too, maybe. (or isn't it?)

So I'm thinking that if you want to get to 700 calories of exercise a week for this month, you might try moderate walking. Do you live somewhere that has a nice walking possibility within a reasonable distance? Btw, light household cleaning for an hour burns a nice amount of calories, too, and you have a clean room or two to show for it! There are all sorts of things you might not consider exercise that burn calories. Take a look on the exercise page.

Welcome to the challenge!

Rae? NZ? Ice?

LinC3003

Moderate walking and cleaning house....no problem with that. I live in a beautiful, rural area of NJ....I can walk for miles just by stepping out my front door. And....when I watch my youngest granchildren, cleaning up after them (and running after them) burns extra calories too. Anyway......since th doctors can't find anything wrong with me yet as far as the AFIB is concerned, I'm just going to ease back into some light to moderate exercise and see how that goes.

Embera

ok i think im in... im not sure about the exercise cuz im gonna go back to work soon after alot of time off for various things my life has been high stress for the last month or so. i work at a pizzeria so im on my feet for hours and when im not used to it it hurts a lot but i do buss for work not drive so the commute is walking a little not just riding. but when i get home everything hurts for weeks but i refuse to count that as exercise even tho ill be practically dripping in sweat.
Im just starting to log again and im going to try to stay under but more importantly im going to try and be truthful id rather go over and log it than not own up to it even tho ive gotten lazy lately. dinner is nothing i really have control over i live with family and they make dinner its not always the best for you. but im going to try and at least eat vegetables i bought with it no mater what it is.
Ive been heavy all my life in the past few years ive put on weight so this is like the heaviest ive ever been im even considering surgery. i urge anyone interested to friend me i love reading about hats going on in your life more than just your food diary talking to people and getting to know each other and having someone monitor me and having someone to vent to is an amazing think its what keeps me going but i dont have anyone on here anymore

Name: Amber
Age: 24 (just had a b-day)
Height: 5'5.5"

Current weight: 262.8
Goal weight: 150
Month goal: 255

RaeBeeBaby

I typed a (very profound) post 3 times last night and just when I was ready to hit "send" it all disappeared, every time! Grrrrr!

Anyway, the short version of last night's soliloquy -

I'm in for the October challenge! The exercise part will be no problem as I try to do some type of workout nearly every day. I know I will struggle a bit more on the calorie goal, but I can do it. I've slacked off a lot lately on logging, so I will need to step that up in order to monitor my food intake a bit more closely. My daily calorie goal is set at 1410 and I do eat back some of my exercise calories. If I stick with that plan I should lose about .5 pound a week, so I might be able to reach the 3 pound goal (or close). After a number of months on MFP with the 1200 calories per day, I just didn't find that I had enough energy to workout as much as I wanted. When I lowered my expectations a little (.5-1 pound per week), and increased my calories a bit, my energy level increased. The weight loss is slower, but I think my health is better overall.

RaeBeeBaby

A bit more to say . . . .

@NZblue - your little girl is adorable, and so are you! I've been married for a long time to a naturally slim guy myself. I have struggled our entire marriage to weigh less than him. The times when I suspected I didn't, I just didn't get on the scale! (I didn't want the proof staring me in the face.) Finally, now that we are a bit older his weight is a little bit higher, but he can still drop 5 pounds over an active weekend. Not fair!! But we can do this together, all of us!

@LinC3003 - that is so scary! I had some very similar issues a few years ago and had to wear the heart monitor. It felt like my heart was skipping beats, but the monitor showed that I was actually having extra beats. It was terrifying! It eventually went away and I still don't know what was going on. The sleep study is a good idea. A lot of people have sleep apnea and have no idea. Even though you mention that the weight loss you desire is "a vanity thing", you just never know. Even an extra 20 pounds can have health consequences (as my doctor keeps informing me). I was so proud at my last physical to have lost about 15 pounds. I told her I wanted to lose a bit more (thinking 10) and she said 20? Wah, wah!

@Ice - you and I are stuck at about the same weight range. I plateaued at 165 for about 6 weeks. Right now I'm fluctuating between 160-163, but I'd sure like to see those 150's again! So funny that you don't eat lettuce. Is it just lettuce or any kind of greens? I eat all kinds of greens many times a day. I put kale, spinach, arugula, beet greens, mustard greens, collard greens, in my eggs, pasta sauce, rice, stir fries, soups, even smoothies. I'm getting ready to plant my winter kale, arugula and cilantro. If we have a mild enough winter I can still have fresh greens in January. Last year my kale just blew up start of February and I was giving it away to anyone who would take it. Question for you on your studies - what is game art? Does that have something to do with computer gaming? (showing my age here, lol)

@Embera - Happy (belated) birthday! Oh, to be 24 again! I would say with your active job and walking to/from the bus you could totally count that as calorie burn. Have you thought about getting a fitness tracker (like a FitBit or Vivofit)? I have a Garmin Vivofit and it works just like a pedometer. It tracks your steps throughout the day and tells you how far you've walked and how many calories you've burned. Most fitness trackers can be set up to sync with MyFitnessPal and automatically update your exercise. I'm technically challenged, so I haven't quite mastered that part of it yet, but I do like seeing how far I've walked in a day. The one I have wasn't that expensive (around $80), but I know there are even cheaper ones out there.

@AEPHubinc2015 - so good to reconnect through this group! Thanks for creating it! We are going to ditch those 25-30 pounds together and kick them to the curb once and for all! Regarding what you said about food - I've been thinking about that quite a bit last few days. Food as energy provider instead of entertainment/comfort/fun. I think we can find a happy medium somewhere. I do view food as fuel for my workouts and try to make good decisions about what my body needs. However, food also smells, tastes, and looks good. There's a reason we enjoy it so much and I doubt I will ever be able to give up the enjoyment of it. I think it's all about moderation and planning. For example - yesterday I was shopping with my mom and we went to a restaurant called The Cheesecake Factory. Their menu is 20 pages long, so lots of yummy choices but also low-cal options. We talked about it and decided to split two healthy appetizers (summer spring rolls and chicken lettuce wraps). They were delicious, beautiful to look at and quite satisfying. Being where we were eating, it was tough to pass up the cheesecake, so we didn't. But we did decide to split a piece. It was amazing and I don't feel a bit guilty. We walked about an extra half hour around the shopping mall to try and burn off the cheesecake. LOL

I promise my future posts won't be such a novel, but wanted to say hello to each of you and give you support and encouragement. Feel free to send me a friend request if you want to connect that way.

Blessings!
Rae

Embera

@ RaeBeeBaby
thank you and i have thought about it but like i said im not working and i actually really need a knee brace first ive been thinking about getting one but im not sure is the investment is worth it

RaeBeeBaby

Embera wrote: »

@ RaeBeeBaby
thank you and i have thought about it but like i said im not working and i actually really need a knee brace first ive been thinking about getting one but im not sure is the investment is worth it

A knee brace is very important, especially if you will be on your feet all day with your job. Once you can afford it, I think the investment in the fitness tracker would be very worth it. For me, it is quite encouraging to see how active I am each day. I like to challenge myself to reach my goal steps and try for even more the next day.

AEPHubinc2015

Hi all,

I just got a pedometer and try to remember to wear it everyday. It cost about $15 on Amazon. It's very simple - no fancy functions - but does what I want it to do, tell me how many steps I've taken during the day, very well. I try to get to 10,000 a day. My hour on the stepper is 5000 so most days I'm over 10,000. Surprising, though, how few steps I take during the day other than the stepper. A good thing to keep in mind.

Happy birthday, Amber! A birthday month is a great time to start a new path. Actually, any month is a great time. (-: It's tough not being in control of your dinner and having people in control whose goals aren't the same as yours. Would they be open to changing things around? THEY'D feel better with the change, too, in the end. If not, maybe you could offer to make a big salad for everyone to share along with the (maybe less healthy) food they've prepared. It might be a challenge to pass up the less healthy food sitting on the table in front of you but you could take super small portions if you had some kind of salad you've made that really appeals to you. Since you don't like lettuce, you might look online for some easy to prepare, interesting salads that DO appeal to you.

About the surgery - please check it out very thoroughly. Many people who have it end up with odd combinations of mineral and vitamin deficiencies that can have disastrous health results. I don't want to scare you but there it is. A friend's daughter is one of those people so I've seen it close up and personal. Until they figured out (quite miraculously) what the problem was, she had become virtually non-mobile, using a walker (she's 36 year old) and things were just getting worse and worse. It's not super common but, it turns out, it's not super uncommon either. I'm guessing some kinds of surgery are less problematic than others but have no idea which are which.

I know how frustrating it is to have extra weight weighing you down physically and emotionally but maybe there just isn't a quick fix.

I, too, love almost any kind of greens, Rae. Kale has only been available in Israel for the past 2 seasons and the season is very short. This year there was curly kale, too, which was a great find. Big on fresh cilantro, parsley, arugula, any kind of lettuce, spinach, marigold leaves...really just about anything green and leafy. Have you tried the greens salad that's made with lots of cilantro, parsley and purple onion all cut up very tiny? Doesn't sound great but I love it.

My husband was one of those snorers you can hear down the block if the windows are open. I was pretty used to it and could sleep by his side to our children's constant amazement but sometimes it was so loud that even I couldn't sleep with it. He would also stop breathing for longer than seemed healthy and I'd find myself awake, waiting anxiously for his next breath. He was maybe 20 pounds overweight. Then he started going to the gym three times a week, toned up and lost 15 pounds. The snoring pretty much stopped and the long gaps in his breathing stopped.

Who knows? Maybe a weight loss would do something for your heart issues, Lin. A few years ago, I had the extra heart beat thing and wore a monitor for 24 hours and the doctors didn't find anything. Its' been years and I don't remember all the details except to say that I lost 15 pounds at some point and the heart beat irregularities stopped at some point. Maybe it was connected.

Question: At the end of the food diary, after you complete your entry, it always reads...If every day were like this one you'd weigh xxx in 5 weeks. Has anyone found that to be accurate???

Off to the stepper.

Embera

if i got a pedometer heart rate thing id probably want a fancy one i herd there's one that tracks sleep too and i think that would be cool to know my issue is wearing it if it wasn't comfortable idk if i would use it and id hate to spend all that just no get nothing out of it

AEPHubinc2015

Try looking at up bands, Embera. There are some pretty inexpensive ones that have the sleep functions you're talking about.

RaeBeeBaby

@Embera- My Vivofit has a sleep tracker function. I only used it a couple times because I didn't like wearing it while I was sleeping. However, you can hit the "sleep" button and leave it on your dresser or nightstand and then just turn it back to "active" when you wake up. Basically, it's really only measuring your down time.

Most of the trackers have an online program that syncs with your band. That way you can see what you're doing over time in chart form. I have such erratic sleep habits that I'd be turning it off and on all night anyway.

I second the opinion about the surgery. I know more than one person who has had problems afterwards. My brother's mom-in-law had gastric bypass surgery and has had nothing but problems ever since. She lost a lot of weight very quickly, but never felt well. She was basically malnourished because her body wouldn't hold on to anything long enough to get the nutrition out of it. After a couple years she had a second surgery to reverse the first one. She still has problems. I also know of at least 3 people who had weight-loss surgery, lost the weight, and have now gained it all back again and more. It's not a miracle cure, that's for sure.

@AEPHubinc2015 - I have never seen the greens with the red onions included. Maybe that's not something available in my area. Sounds good, though. I did try a new packaged salad mix last week that was delicious! It was Organic Girl Sweet Pea. It had various lettuce greens plus pea shoots. I never knew until this year that they were edible or I would have been eating them off my pea plants before now! I love the curly kale. That is the variety I am planting this fall, so I hope it turns out well. I learned something new from you today - never knew you could eat marigold leaves! I do harvest dandelion greens out of my yard. I grew nasturtium flowers this year and decided to try one (as I know they are edible). It was very bitter! Ugh!

LinC3003

RaeBee Baby....you harvest dandelions and eat them from your backyard? Well... next year come to my house....I have a couple of acres of them growing on the lawn! We used to have a pot bellied pig that loved them. He died from old age last February....so this summer my yard was a sea of yellow!

I also loved salad mixes and fancy greens. Unfortunately I like salad dressing on them. My go to favorite right now is Ken's Light Options Honey French. 70 calories for 2 Tablespoons. Not too bad.

AEPHubinc......I always thought my husband had sleep apnea. He would snore the night away and I also lost count of how many times I would be waiting for him to take a breath when he was sleeping. I don't snore....but I know that when I am first falling asleep sometimes I catch myself gasping for a breath so I must have it. Hope that is the cause of the 2 episodes of AFIB I had. Doing good otherwise. Sleep specialist appt next week Wednesday. Oh....and my husband lost about 40 pounds last year....and his snoring has decreased dramatically. Whether or not I have sleep apnea and whether or not it is caused by excess weight.....it certainly won't hurt to lose some pounds anyway. Just another motivator!

And....the prediction of what your weight will be in 5 weeks when you complete the food diary for the day.....lol......doesn't seem too accurate to me. I noticed a big difference in the prediction even when there was only a 50-60 calorie difference from 1 day to the next.

AEPHubinc2015

Another morning. Yesterday was a long day and I came home at around 9 p.m. exhausted. Aside from the stepper, I happily walked all over the place with two of my granddaughters. Since I had on my pedometer I knew I'd walked almost 20,000 steps and earned my exhaustion. Whoever said that 60 is the new 30 had a screw loose.

RaeBee - I'm never sure if the English translation of what I never saw in the US and learned only in Hebrew once I moved to Israel is accurate. Marigold leaves? Who knows. That's a direct translation. They're long, deep green leafy things with a tough, white middle. Maybe they're collard greens. Anyway, throw every green leafy thing in a bowl, add some salt, olive oil and a small amount of basalmic vinegar and I'm in. And how's this for a combination - broccoli, green beans and edamame soy beans? It doesn't sound like much but it's delicious.

My kids bought me a vegetarian cookbook by a famous chef and I'm having fun trying out the beautiful recipes.

NZ - where'd you go? Is that yummy little girl keeping you too busy to join in? If you're not writing because you're "off the wagon", that's exactly when it would help to be in here sharing the difficulty. We've all been there. And not just once. I hope all is well.

Lin - where do you live that you had a pot bellied pig (was his name 'Wilbur'?) and acres of dandelions? Sounds pretty idyllic!

Ice - Do you do the 2D and 3D game art for video games? Do you do it professionally? What about other kinds of art? How about sending a copy of something of yours! I took an oils class last year for awhile. I don't have much talent but it was fun anyway. I actually painted something I liked enough to put up on the wall in my house...and then left the class. I figured I'd hit my peak. (-:

Everybody - I'm collecting names of good books. What was the last good book you read?