I am a 49 year-young mother of three, grandmother of one,and 3/4 (due in January). I recently received my second degree, and am a registered professional nurse working the evening shift at the local hospital. I am currently working on the Child and Adolescent Services unit, a locked floor, and will move to an "open" adult unit at the beginning of November. It is the floor I wanted originally as I spent the first 20+ years with my psych degree working in social and human services, covering everything from domestic abuse/sexual assault and peer support groups at the local high school. My two younger children are a first and second year college students; the youngest in Chicago and the middle in New York. My oldest son is a Captain in the US Army; married with the child and one on the way. He is currently attending the Marine Warfare Expeditionary School in Quantico, VA. They will be there until May 2008. After that, anything goes.

I have struggled with my weight since the age of 16, when my mother decided that my sisters and I needed to join her at Elaine Powers Fitness Studio. And so it began. I weighed 140 pounds at the age of 19; at that age most of it was in my chest! I had breast reduction surgery in 1989, after the birth of my third child. Over the last 25 years I have lost and regained about 250 pounds. The madness must stop. I have made significant changes in my diet over the past 10 years, and it is my intention to get down to 175 by my 50th birthday. I rejoined Curves in May of this year, and while I have not lost any weight, I have lost inches. The next step for me is to track what I eat and utilize TRUE portion control.

I am hopeful that this site will provide me with exceptional peer support and I intend to take full advantage of it!