Bits of Bios

[Anlhess]

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Hey shannon...I was stationed in Panama City for a year at Tyndall Air Force Base. Got one of the worst sunburns of my life there...LOL

[ShannonK]

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Yes, I have gotten a couple of those myself. *lol*

I love Panama City. I don't think I would want to go back and live there now, but I sure love to go home and visit. I miss the white sand beaches. There is just no other place like it. We were stationed in Southern California and in Hawaii and the beaches just aren't the same.

[Terry]

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Hi Guys!

Its the New Year and we have a lot of new members to our STAC family so its time once again to bring this thread out of the basement and let everyone get to know eachother a little better.

Please add your name and tell us a bit about yourself!

[sincub]

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I'm Traci, a 20-year-old journalism major in Arkansas (not the best place for journalism, but affordability prevailed). I live with Mike, my boyfriend, and work at a coffee/bakery/sandwich shop (and hopefully a hotel sometime soon), and I start at my new school on the 17th.

I read anything I can get my hands on, from Aldous Huxley's awesome philosophy to cheesy romance novels to political theory to Archie comics. Mike and I just moved into a tiny 1-bedroom, and it's mostly filled with books because we're both geeks.

I love journalism, have since I was about 11 or 12. Always sort of knew it'd be where I'd end up. Before I moved I was associate editor of my university's newspaper and next in line for editor (had problems with the adviser so I bowed out) and designed ads for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

I don't have any pets here, but I desperately want a kitten. Can't quite afford the apartment complex's deposit for that yet, though.

I also don't have any kids - I'm letting my sister (she's 25) take care of that. She's having her second tomorrow, and her kids will be five years apart like we are. It's so odd but a little impressive to watch her become a parent, the absolute center of a child's universe.

I love writing, photography (I've been promised a nice digital Canon for my birthday - not the Rebel, because it's too expensive, but a nice one anyway), reading, wine (unfortunately), and that awesome feeling of completely changing my appearance. I'm ready to lose weight again and just generally feel great (mentally and physically) like I did the first time around.

[atkinsagain]

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Oh my, what a cool thread. I can't believe I didn't see it until now. It's been great reading about everyone.

Okay, here's my deal:

I'm 41 years old and am the youngest of 5 kids (oh....you didn't want me to go back that far.....okay, lol).

I'll be 42 in March. I have a 17 year old daughter who I absolutely love to death. This blessing is a product from my first marriage. I married 1 month after my college graduation and remained married for a little over 11 years. Two years after my divorce, I married again, this time to the man of my dreams. He brought with him 2 girls aged 13 and 15 at the time. We've now been married just over 6 years and I'm very happy to report we not only survived blending our families (although there were definitely questionable times), but now genuinely love and care for eachother. Another great thing is that my daughter's father lives in the same neighborhood, just down the street, so that was a tremendous benefit for the two of them. Our daughters have grown to be intelligent, independent thinking, well adjusted kids......so far....knocking on wood! One is done with college, one just entered, and one will be there in less than 2 years.

People joke that I should be in "the opposite sketch". Drinking coffee can make me sleepy. I had a baby, I lost 60 lbs. Go through a divorce, I gained 20 pounds. This medicine may make you drowsy, I don't sleep for 48 hours.

My degree is in political science and I am a political junkie. I refuse to talk politics with family or friends, and I think that is a wise decision at the moment,lol. I'm very close to my siblings and am fortunate to have both parents in excellent health. I read everything I can get my hands on, but prefer non-fiction, historical type books. I've been working in the same industry (non-political) for nearly 20 years, going into a sales position about 10 years ago. I left the corporate world about 3 years ago to join my husband in his company(same industry) and am pretty darn happy with that move, but it can take it's toll. So, we're together pretty much 24/7. We even work out together most of the time. It works well for us.

I've always been very active, but for whatever reason lost my way over the last 6 or 7 years. I successfully did the Atkins WOE a couple of years ago, but fell off after a health scare. The coast is clear now, and I'm ready to get back to the person I knew not so long ago. One thing I do know is that for me, this WOE is the only way to go, whatever fun, or not so fun surprises life wants to throw my way. I'm definitely in for life.

[booklady]

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I have had fun reading about everyone , great idea !!
My name is Stephie, and I picked booklady as my member name for two reasons, one, I love to read, and two I sell books online as kind of a hobby, mostly a little spare money but it is always fun to make a sale !!I am 45 years old and I am married for 24 years to the most wonderful husband and we have four kids, ages 16 to 25, oldest was at our wedding in case you noticed the number differance there, lol , the oldest three are now married and two of them have given us three grandbabies whom we adore from ages 4 months to five years, the middle one is 21 months and a very busy little guy !!
I am a still a stay at home mom to the last one, he is a sophmore in high school and a great kid, in fact, all our kids are pretty darn great, never went through all the stuff we were warned they would put us through, we were very lucky and this one is easy on us too !!He is not driving yet, things have been crazy around here with our son and son in law in Iraq and I babysat our grandson for the year and half they were gone so our daughter in law could get her EMT and then Paramedic certification. Five days a week, 8 to five most days, I am glad that is over now that they are home and she is done, Grandma was worn out. Grandpa works swing, so he had to babysit too as he does not leave for work until noon, so we took a baby everywhere we went for a year and a half, we have not quite gotten used to it just being us yet, as our son was home for two weeks for winter break the same time we were done lol !!!
My hobbies, other than books, is a love for beads and beading, although I have not done much of it lately due to my hands hurting which goes away on low carb and they are starting to feel better now. I love to crochet and do all kinds of crafts and love to garden as well. I used to love to bake but have put that hobby away now, have to learn to cook all new now !!
We live in a cute 80 year old house in a very cute little southern town in Texas.Moved here from Southern Calif four and a half years ago and it is so differant. I am still enchanted by the fire flies and love the seasons that I had never had , the bluebonnets are amazing here in Texas in the spring and I look forward to them all winter. I miss our oldest daughter , her hubby and the oldest and youngest grandchildren, but honestly am glad to be here, cost of living is so much more affordable, and it is so charming. Needless to say once or twice a year we head out to Calif for a visit !!
Our oldest son and our youngest daughters hubby that just spent a year in Iraq are home and both took army jobs( they are National Guard normally ) and so now we have two more kids headed off , one to Kansas ( taking our beautiful 21 month old grandson with him and his wife ) and our daughter and hubby are going to south Texas. We have a lot more trips to see kids in our future. Now it will just be who, when !!!!
I have been on Atkins on and off for over three years, I have lost count how many starts I have had. I know at one point it was at least over twenty. Never made it over two months and I know once I do, I will really start to see the results I want. This one is for good, I have no choice, with diabetes taunting me and my body showing me it just cannot handle the carbs. I am so grateful to have found a place with a place just for people like me. What a relief.
So, that is my life, not as exciting as some I have read here. I have been a stay at home mom for 22 years for which I am so grateful to my wonderful hubby. He worked many second jobs so the kids could have thier mommy home. He truely let me have my dream job.He wanted that dream too, he loved having me home with them and is my biggest supporter. He is still working hard, six days a week, and soon I may venture out and see what kind of jobs I can find.It would be fun to do something out in the world again !! I want to lose some weight first which will help my self esteem, it is really scary to look for a job when you have not worked in that long !!
I am looking forward to a great year on this board, and many more to come as well !!! Stephie

[teejay]

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Ok my turn here. My name is Tiffani. I am 32 I have finally married the man I should have met first, Adam. After meeting and marrying two animals of the male gender that try to CLAIM to be human. 3rd time really IS a charm. I have three wonderful children from my previous marriages and I have two awesome step children from his previous life. Unfortunately they don't live with us. I also have 5 cats ( and I am allergic to them, but I love them) 5 rabbits, 2 ferrets, 1 dog (for now) this spring I anticipate about 20-30 chickens 2-6 piglets, maybe a couple of goats and maybe a bottle calf. If my hubby can get the fencing up

This is my 2nd or 3rd go with Atkins and I am bound and determined to stick to it from here til forever. Currently I am a SAHM due to illness and a little body-wide muscle problem. Maybe someday I will get another job, but for now I have the most important job in the world. So I will stay with it.

I live on the northern border of Iowa, I mean I can almost spit on Minnesota. I was born and raised in The Home of Arbor Day. I miss that place. Spent a few years on Staten Island and then in Denver and somehow ended up in Iowa. Still not sure how I let that happen. Anyways, any ? just ask me. I will probably answer them.

TJ

[Felix]

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Hi all,

What a lot of wonderful, interesting people we have here!

My name is Catherine and I'm 32. I live in Jersey in the Channel Islands which are near France but part of the UK. Very confusing! It's a beautiful place and I came back here after many years slogging it in London and travelling around the world.

I live with my Boyfriend Dan who has been my rock through two years of CFS that turned my life upside down in May 2004.

Prior to that I was a fitness fanatic - I ran nearly every day along the beach , played tennis and swam a few times a week. Fasr forward two years and I am slowly emerging from the hole and appreciating every little thing I do. Because I can now do things!

I work as a property manager/ developer and am considering training in a special form of therapy for ME sufferers called Mickel Therapy.

I love travelling and am looking forward to a few months in Oz at the end of this year with Dan. I also love reading but most of all I love sport so I am counting the days until I can play tennis again. Won't be long! Hurrah!

I've started Atkins again as its the only thing that works for me. I also have PCOS so sugar is an issue for me. That and the two stone I have put on since ME struck! Bah!

Looking forward to seeing you all around,

Felix

[sugargirl]

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Hi my name is Sheri & I'm 33, married & have two children 8 yr old boy & 14 yr old girl. I'm so not ready for all of the teenage stuff my husband and I are bewildered. I also have a Mastiff, Sasha, & she is my baby & follows me around the house all day. She's big & a lil stinky but I love her anyway.

I used to work as a paralegal (insurance defense & criminal law) but it was really hard to juggle that & kids etc. so 5 yrs ago I opened a daycare out of my house. This is going to be my last year I only have a couple of kids (stragglers whom I'm good friends with their parents) left & the littlest starts kindergarden next year. Then I have to figure out what I'm going to do with myself.

I was scared to do Atkins at first I thought I was going to gain a trillion lbs but of course I lost 30. However, I fell off & I want to fit into my pants again!

I like big dogs, all kinds of music especially rockabilly/old country & alternative stuff. I go swing dancing at least once a month & I like to cook, garden & read. I have a DVR which I am now addicted to & keep finding new shows to tape. I like a lot of the cheesy stuff that my husband hates. Right now I've got Wife Swap, Rollergirls, & the L Word left to watch.

[Cambrogirl]

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Hi! I'm Sue from Michigan, and I'm here for a second time around.. I had success the first time I was on Atikins, and thought I could handle going back to eating in "moderation" but we know where that attitude gets ya.. right back here!!

I'm currently an EMT, and volunteer for the Red Cross. I just got home from spending 13 weeks in Mississippi feeding people from one of the mobile feeding units. Unfortunately the food is NOT Atkins friendly, very high starches and carbs. So I came home heavier than when I left and needed to do something about it. I got the stomache flu as soon as I got home, and decided there was no better time to cut out sugar and carbs and do an induction since I had the flu anyhow!

So I'm back on track, have lost several inches already, and joined a gym today and will have my first workout tomorrow. Even thinking about doing a couch to 5k challenge for myself (I hate running with a passion) I like to force myself to do stuff to prove to myself I can do anything I put my mind to. The owner of the gym was sweet, and said he will help me work on goals no matter what they are, and will help me every step of the way.. how cool is that?
So here I am! Ready to work my way into a size 10, and run a 5k in June!

Glad to see some familiar faces here, I should never have left this place and strayed to the dark side.. now to make up for lost time!!

[kibskix]

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oooh ooh right here!

I'm Kelly, i'm 3 months shy of being 21, and I live in Buffalo Grove Illinois right outsida Chicago. I've lived here almost a year, and it definately has grown on me.

I'm a Texan born and raised (yeehaw), although these days my accent is all but gone except for an occasional "y'all" unless i'm around people who have it, then it comes out again. I lived in south east texas all my life until was about 17, then my parents divorced and I moved to Austin. I stayed there for about 2 years, then moved to Addison Tx for about 90 days, then packed up whatever I could fit in my Del Sol and drove to Chicago, where i've been ever since. sorry if I dont give the details on that story, I have to tell it a lot cause people seem to think it takes a lot of guts to do it.

After my parents very very messy divorce I moved out and moved to Austin, where I went on a control binge and entertained myself by controling what I ate. My weight went up and down for a long time until I found this site, and doing atkins I lost about 30 lbs. Then my relationship with my b/f of 2 years fell apart, and I moved in with my mom in Addison tx for a month and a half. At that time I had begun to see psychiatrists and finally treat a lot of the problems i'd known i'd had for a long time. I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, Bulemia, depression and all those fun things, and was stuck on Effexor.
Against the wishes of most everyone I knew and my doctors I pretty much said "screw this" and packed up and moved to Chicago, where I now live very happily with my husband of 1 year (anniversary was yesterday actually). In my time in chicago we've gone through some very stressful things (misscarriage, having nowhere to live, a very bad car wreck where he was hit by a drunk driver in a stolen car, then another wreck 2 weeks later, bankruptcy, be being in the middle of hurricane Rita etc). no one I know things i'm only 20 years old, and they pretty much think my life belongs on a talk show!
I work full time at CDW headquarters in fraud prevention, and i LOVE my job. its a big step up from the Starbucks I was working at 7 months ago! I love reading, playing video games, teaching myself to crochet and play the bass.

I'd write more but its time for me to leave work. YAY!

[Ash]

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I'm Ashley, I'm 19 years old, and I'm originally from Rhode Island. Pretty young, I know. And single. Not that I want marriage or kids right now, but a boyfriend would be nice, haha. After high school I was accepted to NYU so I moved to New York City for school last fall. However, then I was accepted for an internship at Disney World in Orlando, FL, and I moved down there last spring. I absolutely love WDW so I couldn't pass that up. I came home to RI for the summer after that, headed backed to NYC in the fall for another semester at school, and... now I'm about to make my way back to Disney for another internship. I guess I have wanderlust, and I just can't make up my mind about where I want to live (or what I want to do with my life, for that matter).

I looove music and I go to a lot of concerts - I try to follow my favorite band on tour quite a bit. Obviously I love to travel. I've done my fair share of road trips and flying, but I haven't been out of the country yet. I'd really like to visit the UK and Egypt some day, among other places. I love movies (Almost Famous is my favorite), reading (The Catcher in the Rye, The Time Traveler's Wife, and pretty much anything by Nick Hornby top my list), the usual hobbies. I also enjoy theatre, though I unfortunately haven't been involved in any productions since high school. Once I'm at my goal weight I'm sure my confidence will be a lot higher and maybe I'll face those auditions again. I'd like to call myself a writer, but I haven't written anything other than school related assignments in a long time.

I started Atkins while I was home for the summer in the beginning of June 2005. For the first time, I was actually motivated and determined to get some weight off and it worked; by the time I moved back to NYC I had lost about fifty pounds. Yay. But living on your own and being broke is tough enough as it is, so I ended up being pretty lax in my eating habits last semester (I admit, I had to live on Ramen noodles for a while... typical college student). Luckily I only gained a couple pounds back which I've lost again since then. I restarted induction on January 1.

[Terry]

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So glad to meet you all!

Welcome to your new STAC family!

[Desertthorn]

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Great posts. I am so glad to get to know you all

[cesara]

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Wow! Everyone is so interesting! And so many of you have made some big changes in your life whether it be moving or new careers and such....what a brave bunch! I loved the read!

As for me,

My name is Tara, 35, a wife of one, mother to 4 (14, 12, 4, 2) and human mommy to 2 beautiful english mastiffs. Hubby and I have been married for 14 years. We have 3 boys and a girl...strange thing that is.

MY DH
My hubby is a wonderful man whom I met when I was 17. He actually went out with my best friend (and still my best friend today) before me. Strange how things work out that way. We are soulmates, most definitely. We bicker at each other a lot, and if you don't know us well, you may think we're off our rockers...but, it's all in looooove.

I actually had a psychic reading once and she told me that we, indeed, were soulmates. She said that we bicker a lot (and she was right!) and we had been together in sooooo many lifetimes that we were basically just 'tired' of each other...

Regardless, DH is the love of my life. He's kind, loving, caring, thoughtful and an absolutely fantastic father.

MY KIDS
Our first two kids were both boys, 2 years apart...and DH and I were content. Then, 7 years later my 'biological clock' starts ticking saying 'try for that girl now...you won't be able to soon enough!'...sooooo, we tried for our girl....and we had....a boy! We doated over our 3rd son like he was the cats meow and decided we were happy with our 3 boys. My dear DH went 'under the knife'. We were done....or so we thought....

8 months later I'm pregnant yet again and, sure as sugar....it was our little girl! See....things happen for a reason!! Yes, DH had to endure another visit to the doctor...lol...BUT, we're pretty sure this time we're in the clear.

Each one of my kids has something special about them. My first is a natural musician and artist. My second is a natural born comedien/actor. My third is smart as a whip and following in his musician brother's footsteps. And my dear little girl is a dancer...yes indeed, a dancer through and through! I love them all. They are all kind, caring, polite and loving kids. I couldn't be prouder.

MY DOGS
I love my dogs and have no idea what I would do without them. I have had a dog since as far back as I can remember. I've had several breeds but my favorites are boxers and english mastiffs. My female mastiff of 6 years had a litter of puppies in August and we now have her 6 month old son, Ozzy. He's so sweet and sooooo big for 6 months already! Sooo, I breed as a hobby because I love it. I also have my Obedience Training Certificate but I swear my dogs teach me more than I teach them.

CAREERish stuff
Since my husband had a good job, (he's a roller operator for a paving company) and we had our first child quite young, I hadn't established a career and, for the most part stayed home with my son/s for the first few years. I then worked as a Special Needs Worker in a daycare doing one on one care with some pretty special kids. I then did some skip tracing for a major collections agency/credit bureau. (who shall remain nameless..lol) It was then that I discovered this amazing thing called the internet. I started out doing a bit of chatting, but it didn't take long for me to realize the potential for making $$ online. That was 6 years ago. I now run my own online marketing company out of my home and I love it! (well, I love it all except the fact that I'm at my desk almost alllll of the time...bad bad bad)

HOBBIES n stuff
- my dogs
- reading, mostly self-help, spiritual stuff and the occasional historical romance (have you guys seen Pride and Prejiduce yet??...it sooo rocks!)
- natural health
- metaphysics
- Xena: Warrior Princess (come on ladies....you've gotta like her even just a bit!)
- crafts
- re/decorating
- historical reenactment (medeival and renn are my fav...)
- travelling (although I wish I could get out moreeeeeee)

ATKINS
I've been heavy most of my life. I was a heavy child, a heavy teenager and a heavy adult. Having 4 kids has worn on my body from weight gain to loose skin to post-partum depression. I swear, my body loves being pregnant, but watch out for the hangover!! I'm ready to get rid of this weight for good. It will ALWAYS be a battle for me, and I chose Atkins because it's a LIFESTYLE thing and not some fad diet that, once done, reminds you all too clearly of the weight you left behind, as soon as you're 'done'. Been there, done that....for good!

I'm so glad to have found this board. You are all so inspirational and I look forward to perusing the gold nuggets in these threads every day!

Thanks for listening