Hello I live in the beautiful state of Minnesota. I am a mom of 4, grandma,of 3, girl scout leader, Sunday school teacher, daycare provider, taxi service for my teens and their friends, and wife of 20 years. We also have 7 European kids and 1 European grandchild. We have really enjoyed hosting students for the school year. My goal as a second grader was to have 96 kids hence my name. I love to read and be outside. We also have 2 Springer dogs and 2 cats which keep me busy. It will be great reading about everyone's challenges and more importantly their successes. I love to bake and am looking forward to making Lefsa and hard tack this year for Christmas. Fortunately I only like Lefsa fresh off the grill so no worries on eating too much.

Sounds like a wonderful place to live. I've lived out in the country myself for over 20 years now.

I'm 53 and have been married for 3 1/2 glorious years. We live on a 100 acre farm in Peterborough, Ontario. I was a city girl until I met my husband. He has lived on the farm for over 30 years but, started coming to the farm when he was just 5 years old.

Hi everyone!
I am 57 years old, married for 33 years to a wonderful man! We live on the north side of Shuswap lake, Anglemont in British Columbia. We are trying to sell our house(for the last 3 years!), we want to full time RV and have lots of plans when that happens. We have two grown Children, a son who is married and has 2 boy's, and a daughter who is married and has 2 girl's. We are very blessed to have a loving family. We try to see our grandchildren as much as possible, but it is sometimes difficult because they live in Alberta. This summer I bought a Stand Up Paddle Board and have had loads of fun on it. While we are waiting for our house to sell we enjoy the area we live in to the fullest!

wow there are some fantastic women in this group. Let me tell you a little about myself. My husband and I are in a second marriage, we both married too young and didn't know much about life the first time around. We have been married ten years, have 2 daughters and two sons ranging in age from 35 to 25. Everyone is grown and on their own so we have three dogs and three cats to keep us company. My 83 year old father also lives with us so life is never dull. We also have three grandsons and one granddaughter ranging in age from 12 to 2 years old. We have great relationships with our ex's which is important. We are able to attend family functions together and no one gets left out. We haven't vacationed together yet but I see that happening at some point.

I love to cook (and eat) and belong to a cooking group. We meet monthly and try different recipes. We also formed a book club and enjoy lively conversations about the books we read while drinking wine and snacking. Yes, there is a lot of food in my life which is why I am here trying to keep it all under control.

I work full time and manage to find time for my family and friends. I live near the ocean in New Jersey and could not imagine not living near the water. I love long walks on the beach and boardwalk; summer is my favorite time of year. I hope to retire someday and move to Florida where it is warm and sunny most of the time. I am always looking for new friends so I hope if you like my story you will add me to your friend list.

What a great way to get to know everyone.

I'm 56 , married 30 years and the mother of 2 grown men who are now both married and out on their own. I work part time as a massage therapist, love to bird watch and envy all of you country folk who are out there living on 10+ acres and enjoying nature. I live in the suburbs outside of Raleigh, NC but own a small piece of land out in the Smokey Mountains which I am looking forward to retiring to in about 10 years. I enjoy reading and music and am trying to get back to enjoying more active pursuits such as walking, hiking and canoeing.

I know what you mean about stress! I see you work at a school. I have worked at a university for the past 26 years, but always thought I would like to work at an elementary school. Maybe someday................

I am a single mom of five kids ages, 29, 25, 22, 20, and 17. Their father and I divorced after almost 28 years of marriage. He had a problem with his marriage vows and drinking... When we divorced I still had 3 kids living at home and now I am down to just the 17 year old.

This past year has been filled with more stress than I thought possible but just when you think there cannot be anything to top the last thing something more comes along. sheesh

I was a stay at home mom for 19 years and went to work when my youngest was in K/1st grade. I got a part time job in our local school district so that I would be home when the kids were home. That part time job has morphed into a full time job still with the breaks off but only 6 weeks in the summer off. I work in the school office and absolutely love it.

I am originally from Indiana and go back for a week or two in the summers to see my parents. Fishing with my dad, shooting guns, hanging out with my mom and seeing old friends.

Here at home I am on the computer way too much...:)

Belinda

I do love the elementary school setting! I am not sure I could tolerate middle or high schoolers!

Me too, I posted here earlier, but I've been 'away' for a few months... didn't feel like logging every day, and indeed, slowly my weight crept in the wrong direction. Luckily I was able to climb back on the bandwagon at only 2 kg (4 lbs) over my 'goal-zone', but since I started logging again just before christmas, I was frustrated by a plateau were I stayed on until last monday...

@Caribou2U: as a Belgian, I was wondering which breed is called 'Belgian Sheepdog' in the States... I looked it up, and indeed, it's not often called 'Belgische herder', but the breed is know here better as 'Groenendaeler' :-)

Hello Robin, I love Reiki. It is so healing and relaxing....it has really helped me thru the death of my mom. Good luck on your journey to lose weight,

Hi I live in Long Island and between my hubby and I, we have 7 kids ages 12-30 . The 12 and 16 year old are still home the rest are in college or on their own. i work as a school counselor and love it!! I had minor knee surgery 3 years ago and it never healed right. Since then I went thru menopause and have gained way to much weight. It is very difficult for me to workout. I can swim in the summer and I have a stationary bike at home. I love to travel and hang with friends. I also just lost my mom so Ive been emotional eating, but its a new year and I am ready to take care of me!! I hope we can all meet our goals this year!

Hi! I'm on Long Island too (Smithtown). I'm hoping to participate in a Walk or Mini-Marathon in several months, after I've gotten back to exercising. Best of luck to you!

Hi, just joined the group. I am 51 years old and live in the suburbs of Philadelphia with my wonderful husband of almost 13 years and my 25 year old son. We have about an acre of land, we have chickens and hopefully in the spring some bees. We also have a golden retriever that is just the best dog ever made. We have had a very rough 5 years and every time we think things might be getting better we hit a new trial. I have gained about quite a bit weight in the last ten years and it needs to come off. I need to start looking for work, but for now I like being at home quilting and having my family over for pool days in the summer.

Welcome Karen! I hope you enjoy this website like I do.

Lisa

Hi,

I just turned 60 last month. In April, I will celebrate my 35th wedding anniversary. On our first date, I know I was going to marry him, and a year later, we did.

I was born and raised in Philadephia and I moved across the bridge to New Jersey when I got married. Although we are on the NJ side of the bridge, we still live in what is considered a Philadelphia suburb.

We have two children. Our son is a restaurant manager. He is a musician and active in all sorts of sports. His girlfriend takes her nursing boards this month after finishing her BSN in December. She graduates in May. They will be getting engaged then.

Our daughter is a fine arts major with a concentration in graphic design. We adopted her from Korea as a baby. She is also on MFP to lose some weight.

After a productive, but totally boring, ten year career for the government, I left to have my son. When he was 3, I started a business from home doing freelance writing and editing. I've done that ever since. I work from home.

I was so skinny when I was young that I used to have to force myself to drink weight-gain shakes between meals so my weight wouldn't go under 100 pounds. I walked everywhere and did yoga every day from age 14 to age 35. I also did ballet until age 22. Then, I became disabled at 35 and gained 200 lbs. Now I can't walk much at all. I use a wheelchair a lot.

On top of my existing disabilities, I fell onto my knees on the hardwood floor this past summer, shattering the cartilage and tearing the meniscus, so I've been going for physical therapy. I love physical therapy. I lost 126 lbs on South Beach Diet, but with all the health challenges of this past two years, I gained my weight back. So here I am.

I love good food, and I enjoy ethnic and gourmet restaurants. We have home-cooked meals every night for dinner and I have leftovers for lunch the next day. We enjoy film of all sorts--mainstream, indie, foreign. I love to read, and I read more nonfiction than fiction. We also enjoy plays, ballets, concerts, museums, and ethnic festivals. Although we don't get out much anymore. We volunteered for ten years at a church camp for kids. Now that our daughter it too old to be a camper, she is a volunteer there.

:happy: Hello! I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with the love of my life, stepson, 3 cats, 2 cockatiels, and a big fish tank . We have 5 grandkids, 3 local and 2 in Colorado. Our Colorado family will be here next month for a visit & I can't wait! I love to go hiking and am fortunate to have great trails nearby. Also enjoy going to baseball games, love my SF Giants. I've worked at a private medical practice for the past 20 years and love my job and have wonderful coworkers. Pretty much keep busy with work, family, & friends. Life is good.