Good morning ladies! OOOOhhhh a challenge, that sounds great! I will be starting Monday as I have to go to the commissary this weekend and clean out what is here and stock up on good stuff. I have to sit down with Jack and do menus and then a grocery list this evening so we can go tomorrow. We want to lose weight and that is the goal, but I don't think we want to have to put pressure on with regards to # of lbs per month or whatever. I think our first challenge since we are all on ww should be exercise, which seems to be the one thing everyone falls down about. I think each of us should declare what our goals for the last weeks in December and through January are for exercise, each one of us needs to do what we think is appropriate for us.
Ok, for me, my goal is exercising 5 days a week however I can physically manage it, walking if I can if not seated and some weights. So that is my exercise goal.
Susan: Thanks for the food info. I will check out the programming guide for fit tv and see what they have. I would eventually like to do some tai chi or some light yoga, something like that. I heard that tai chi is great for older folks. Hope your computer woes get solved today and you can get that phone up and going. You will probably have about 2 years for me to make goal so you have lots of quilt time! When you do go about it, I love, love, love color so I would like it to be colorful in whatever way you would like to do it. I have to do this now and not fall off again. I think maybe I needed my health to be affected and truth be told it never has. I have controlled blood pressure, I have always had excellent cholesterol readings, which I think is hilarious, I have no diabetes, which is not only prevalent in obese people, but my brother, nephew (type 1), sister, mother passed from it, all have diabetes. I am the most miserable I have been, I tend to get sick a lot and I am tired of fighting that so I imagine this is my bottom point. Besides, I need to be able to walk around Vegas! lol Oooh and I LOVE the crocs. I got them yesterday and put them on and walked around in them and wow are they great to walk in.
Jean: Hope you can get around without falling on your.... today. It is pretty cold this morning and yesterday it was cold and windy all day, but nothing like you have that is for sure. Hope you get your Christmas decorating done. I am SICK of mine and can't wait to take it down. Dusting around all this stuff irritates the devil out of me. I hate clutter and everything feels cluttered now.
Maggie: I know you will do well on the program. With the four of us commited and helping each other out, even long distance, we will do this thing. I got gift cards for my sister and for Tom's parents this year. I have to get some cards for them as I don't have any card stock or computer style greeting cards to print on.
Sounds like Jack is just about ready to come downstairs and he will want the computer so he can play freecell. Have a wonderful day ladies!
The temp has been in the 60's the last few days as the day progresses. Now at just about 10 am it is 43 degrees. No snow but the ice warning came on in our rear mirror guage in the Jeep last night on the ride home ~ it was 35 degrees then. The going away dinner party was fun. The hostess gave us all a gorgeous poinsetta plant and star shaped porcelan ornaments with cute sayings on them. I was able to eat what I wanted since I had 13 points left from the day and hadn't dipped into my "flex points." I love it when a plan comes together. I ate a banana about an hour before leaving for the party which helped. I also was the last one to go through the line. I was busy calming down their new little Yorkie puppy. Little bitty thing was a bit scared of those rambuncous kids. I held him close and talked softly to him and he soon just snuggled up and if he were a cat he would be purring. He licked my chin instead. They have an older one and wanted a baby before he passed on. I just love those little dogs. I showed those kids better how to treat him. And wisely they chose just to play with the grown up dog.
SUSAN I didn't get the new food scale since I have the earlier model that works great. Maybe I will get it later though because I am a sucker for the latest eqiment. That is a neat "blue bag" isn't it. We go "out there" a lot and I can see it will get a lot of use when we are going to be out at a meal time on some long and lonely road with lots of scenery and nothing else.
DONNA I don't have a set number of pounds to lose at a certain time. That jams me up and messes with my program to think I have a schedule to meet. I just keep OP as best I can and take the losses as they come. I am a slow looser and as I remember when you were on that losing streak you dropped the weight in chunks. You go girl. It's a cinch we aren't all alike but I figure it will take me two years to lose what I need to. This is my last hoorah and I am not going to lose my FOCUS. My little tweetie at the bottom of this post is set for 25 pound losses. When I lose 13 more pounds then I get that 75 pound washer. So then I'll set it to lose another 25 and so on till I reach goal.
JEAN You have said you don't like that WW leader there. This one here must be her relative. I sorely miss the folks that I had to leave behind but the neat thing is they stay in touch. One of the workers back there is coming out to KS to visit in the spring and be with us a couple of days. She sends me coupons and WW "stuff" that we don't have out here in the heartland. But I look at it this way ~ the information is good I get from the meeting and I have met some wonderful people there and it is "my" program ~ not that leaders. All the workers there are teriffic to talk with also. So I do look forward to going. It will be what I make it to be. I can understand why Bob isn't supposed to download stuff because there are some rotten bugs attached to some sites. My program alearts me when I am on a bugged site to leave because it is bugged. And then it checks my computer to see if I caught any and takes good care of me. I went to a site once that had gotten bugged so I emailed them and informed them and they let me know that they appreciated my alearting them and took care of it pronto. For some reason those nasty folks like to bug the wholesome sites.
Have a lovely weekend Magnolias. Type at you later ~
Good Afternoon, Flowers! We had a half day today, but I stayed and worked a bit longer, trying to get the algebra teacher caught up on her checking and copying. We got a light covering of snow during the night but the sun came out and it was 40 degrees on my way home from school. Needless to say that my clean car is no longer clean.
"Gma" -- It's nice that Jack will work the food plan with you. If he's a typical male he will probably lose weight faster and that's just not fair! I can definitely tell, as I get older, good health has a whole new meaning than ever before. I'm sick of the Christmas clutter and I haven't even gotten a good start!
Maggie -- I had to chuckle at your comment about our WW leaders being related. Our's is such a dud! She's very pleasant, etc., she just has no pizazz to her at all. Most generally no one at the meeting speaks up or contributes anything either. Sometimes we are done in 15 minutes if we get started on time. I met an online friend who is a leader in NE and she has the neatest ideas for contests, etc. I keep trying to talk her into becoming a full time traveling WW leader! She is also a teacher so is one busy gal. You are right about it being our plan and not the leader's.
I need to make a path and pick up the clutter! Maybe if I start laundry tonight I will be ahead of the game tomorrow. Then again . . . probably not! I tried to place a Penneys order and they were out of every style and color I wanted. I just got the catalog this week. Bah humbug!
Good evening, ladies! Cold tonight (don't laugh Jean and Maggie) 40 degrees.
I had to go to work to day to finish that stupid phone...after I got done, he decided he is sending it back. Can you see the headlines, Woman Goes Postal and Kills Boss With a Blackberry Storm!
Faye, I'm up for the exercise challenge. That is now one of the Healthy Guideslines - 30 minutes a day and you'll love this, you can count housework as exercise - anything that gets you moving. I still go to Curves and I will commit to 6 days next week and 4 each of the following 6 weeks (closed 2 days each week for the holiday). I burned 333 calories when I worked out today. I don't set a number of pounds to lose in a specific length of time - I take what I can get. There is no longer a rule to drink at least 6 glasses of water a day - it's now 6 cups of liquid, water is the best but it all counts.
I get 20 points a day and am happy to say I ate exactly that according to the etools tracker. I ate 85% filling foods. We supposed to track that now. And I got in all the healthy guidelines. So I hope I'm off to a good start and I can sustain. Oh, I did eat lunch with my friends and had a lettuce and tomato salad that I put 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 2 Tablespoons wine vinegar on and 1/2 of a 8" turkey sub with Provolone cheese (hold the mayo). I've been satisfied all day and didn't even need a snack this morning or afternoon.
Also, your $15 cookbook is paper bound. The one I got from Amazon for $19.64 is in a 3 ring binder and opens flat. I'd rather have that.
Maggie, I love that bag of goodies. I jumped right in and started reading them. I will probably follow the kickstart for 2 weeks after I go to the grocery store tomorrow. Give me a new ground work in menu planning since I eat just about anything and love variety. I liked the old 1 week plan and I see those menus have been incorporated into this.
Jean, I think there are more changes than you think. Set Points won't be explained until Week 5 and Simply Filling follows in week 6, and then the additional Good Health Guidelines and requirements. And having to track the Filling Foods as well as the Points. I'm sure it will all become second nature.
Well, time to get to bed (and read for at least an hour).
Good morning to everyone. Well it is the dreaded commissary day and we have tons to buy so it will take forever to buy and come home and put away. I have been cleaning out, but still have a bit to do. One of our problems is things don't get eaten entirely, ie bread and milk before it goes bad. I went to clean off the bread shelf and had some buns turning green. They were under a loaf of bread and I didn't see them. UGH!
Susan: Oooh mama, that boss would be on my list too! Oh and I looked and my book says it is hard cover. Original price was $30 so maybe we aren't getting the same book. I am including a pic of the one I am ordering from my book club. I have a wish in my head about lbs loss, but I don't set limits that way either. You never know what is going on with your body this week or that so it is best as you say to take what you can get, just stay OP.
Maggie: I just love yorkie puppies. They are one of the most beautiful puppies I have ever seen. Fortune was so little he fit in my jacket pocket and weighed about 1 lb. I think it is amazing that all yorkies start out black then change colors as they grow. Sort of free God made hair dye! They can have health problems though, especially the little ones. I would have loved to have a teacup yorkie, but those little guys have a lot of problems because of the breeding process.
Jean: It irritates me too to have stuff out of stock or backordered when you try and order the first day you receive your catalogue. I ordered 2 blouses and 3 pairs of pants at a couple of large online stores. I got the pants for $9.99 each on clearance and the shirts for $11.99 each on clearance. I love to scrounge the clearance or outlet parts of these online stores. Rarely do I buy the regular as the prices are so inflated. I mean, $50 for a tshirt? Come on, even I know I am not fat enough for $50 worth of cotton! Hope you can find what you want.
Well gals, I am going to see if Jack is up and if so go up and get the bed made and get a shower. As the saying goes "Early bird gets out of the commissary without commiting murder."
I got a surprise yesterday. Will went out to get the mail and run some errands and came back with "the new program cookbook" ~ yep he went to the book store and got the new WW one and it is the binder kind that SUSAN has. The picture you showed DONNA is the same book. I couldn't tell by it though if it was he binder kind or the other but it will have the same stuff inside since it is the same picture on the cover. You will like it. I looked at every page and am going to enjoy using it. I might even try toufu.
OH this afternoon I get to cook a few gallons of chili. I got the onions chopped last night and double bagged them and there they sit in the fridge. Got some good looking extra lean burger I will cook up with the onion. I will have to cook it in stages because my pans aren't huge, so will start that this afternoon. I got the little elephants printed out with the numbers on them for the drawing. Now to wrap the presents. I have a glass globe with a flower trapped inside for my white elephant and Will has a small pair of binoculars for his elephant. I put the binoculars in a huge box that glasses came in ~ the kind with dividers in it. Just dropped them down in one of the cubicles and that box rattles great. He is at the dollar store now getting paper and ribbons. I think I'll just wrap my gift in its own beat up box. I got it at an elephant party years ago and found it when we moved. It is good for a go round. We will have fun for sure. It is all about wrapping up something someone could still use that you no longer want. We play it where #1 picks a present and opens it and if #2 wants it then #1 opens another. That first (and future) presents can only change hands 3 times. Then at the end people can make a deal with anyone to trade with them. One year Will ended up with a frilly kitchen apron and it was a hoot. Next pot luck after his sermon before the meal he put the apron on under his suit where you couldn't see it then at the "right time" he opened his jacket and unrolled the apron and you should have heard the laughter. One elderly lady loved that little apron so he gave it to her. One time my mother sent him a tie protector that was a roll of plastic that had a tie clip on it. So at one pot luck he unrolled it to eat and again you could just imagine the laughter. He is a fun guy. Well that fun guy (sounds like fungi) is home so I should wrap those elephants.
Everyone have a wonderful weekend. Type at ya'all later.
It sounds like we'll all have the same cookbook. Faye got the bargain, but I don't want to belong to a book club. I bought some bulgar and some quinoa today to give them a try - healthy grains!
Faye, I don't envy your commissary trip. I have to go during off hours to the grocery store. I hate it to be crowded.
Maggie, Chili - yum! We do gift exchanges like that too. It's fun!
Jean, I hope your day is going well.
Tonight I'm going with one of my friends to a Christmas musical program at a Church in Williamsburg.
I was watching Paula Dean on the Food Network and she made white hot chocolate - 2 quarts of heavy cream, 1 quart of half and half, 12 oz. of white chocolate chips, sugar, and peppermint extract. How many points do you think a cup of that would be? Faye, you and I would have to camp out in the bathroom for a week.
Good Evening, Flowers! I am tired and didn't do a thing towards getting ready for Christmas today. I needed to clean and pick up the clutter, did a couple loads of laundry, and fixed a casserole and pumpkin bars for the teacher who had surgery. Next Friday I'm on the food list for the teacher having chemo. Beth and the kids came over this afternoon so that ended my getting any more done for the day. Will is home with the same crud we had a week ago.
I haven't been able to get email since Thursday evening. I finally took the time to call tech support this morning and found out I had over 3000 spam emails blocking the system! When I had high speed installed this summer I specifically asked the "idiot" about a spam folder and he assured me that it was all automatic and I didn't have to worry about it! So, if any of you sent anything it either came back to you or was dumped when the tech cleared out the "stuff." Now I have to remember to do that periodically.
"Gma" -- I hope your commissary run went better than you anticipated. I think putting stuff away is almost as bad as going after it. The clothing that I ordered is all for the guys for Christmas. I also ordered a fuzzy top for Amanda from Lands End; they are pretty speedy about delivery.
Susan -- I just read in the paper today where airlines are using blackberries for their tickets; you download the information and just hand the blackberry to the ticket agent (?) at the airport. They want to go paperless which will leave me in the dark since I have no clue what a blackberry is (other than to eat one!). I don't think Paula Deen ever makes anything that would be WW friendly. I think I would like "brown" hot chocolate better than white.
Maggie -- I was thinking I missed something when you were talking about elephants! I'm sure you had a great time with the gifts. The two that you mentioned Will wearing would be a hoot. Chili sounds good; maybe that will be on my agenda for sometime this week. Did you get the sample newslettermI sent to you? I'm not sure if emails I sent "went" since nothing was coming through to me.
Good morning gals! I hope your Sunday is starting out just right. It doesn't seem to be as cold as it was though it was chilly yesterday with a lot of wind.
I downloaded a Neil Diamond album and a Tom Jones album to my Ipod and I was groovin' in my chair this morning getting a nice workout. Cherry Cherry gets me going and a couple others then I put in a couple slow ones to do more stretchy then go back to the fast stuff. It is actually fun and I get tired so I know I am moving those muscles so until I lose some weight this just might work!
Well, the neighbors on the right moved out. {{{SIGH}}} Now we wait and see what kind of crud we get for new ones. They did stuff that irritated us, but at least the woman living there (who was not on the lease btw) would apologize about blocking the garage and stuff. No more of her dd blocking the walkway. Oh, I didn't tell you what I did last Wednesday so all that garbage got picked up. You are supposed to sit it in the walkway between the garages, but I put is all right in the drive in front of the walkway so she couldn't park there. I never understood why she just didn't park in front of their own garage! Anyway, I dread to see what moves in.
Jack has been dying to see the new cars so yesterday he drove out to Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealership. He test drove a beautiful red Mercury Mariner and fell in love with it. He said when we are ready to buy we will be very happy with it as it is nice and roomy. It has this heat package where you get heated seats and it reminded me of a funny story. Don't know, since most of you work, if you have ever watched "How Clean is your House?" on BBCA. The disgusting homes they clean are outrageous, but the two women that are the show's stars are a hoot, especially this big buxom older blond woman named Kim Washburn. She has been a housekeeper for like 30 some years. Anyway, recently they did a stint on american homes and they were in Las Vegas. They had an SUV and Kim was complaining about how hot it was and her "bum" was burning up. She had the heated seat going and didn't know it. A similar thing happened to Jack with an SUV we rented that had them. It was in the summer and Jack said his behind was hot when we were on a trip somewhere. Come to find out this SUV had heated seats. I told him he would have to be careful with that feature or he would fry his tush and we would have ham for dinner!
Maggie: I used to love the white elephant Christmas parties our ss class would have when we lived in Indiana. I remember one year Jack got this ugly suede sports coat. That was the year someone brought a tricycle and someone went out and bought a talking beer stein. I think the preacher ended up with that. Actually, it was much sought after as the thing insulted you! lol Hope you had fun.
Susan: I really love my book club. I have been a member for several years now and I pay a lot less than I would buying the books at a store. I always pay half price. Now there are downfalls, such as you can't always get a book someone might suggest to you, though they usually keep up with the current ones and you have to be a big reader for it to pay for itself. I get a lot of free shipping, free books and such so it is well worth it to me. I have a cabinet full of books to read right now that I haven't been able to get to because of knitting. I am working my fingers off trying to get that newsboys bag done. I found an easy sock pattern using bigger needles and yarn so after everything is done, I am going to try it to get used to making socks. Don't know if I will ever be able to make fine gauge socks, but hopefully. I just bought two murder mysteries surrounding a knitting group.
Jean: Jack is mad for a blackberry. They are kind of an all in one phone with email and internet capabilities, calendar, address book etc. It is a big deal for people in the business world. Both my kids have them. I refuse to let Jack get one because he doesn't need it. I ended up buying a new phone last night. I have had a tracfone account for years because I don't use my cell phone that much being home all the time. I got irritated that it wouldn't take any of my credit cards or bank card to put more time on it. I have to call and when you do that, the operator tries to force you to buy more time and such so I always use the online thingy. Well, I decided to heck with it and bought a phone at att like I did for Jack. I have a different phone that he does, but it does the same things, camera and such. I could care less about that, but I got a great deal on it. I love Land's End because no matter how long you have something, if you don't like it or something happens to it like straps break or tears or something, you can send it back. I had a pair of sandals I had for about a year and the strap broke. I emailed them complaining and they sent me a shipping label and replaced them free of charge! The customer service person said it is their policy. Last year for Christmas I ordered Thomas one of their big canvas bags to carry his music in with this picture and musical poem I downloaded and had his name embroidered on it. I thought it would be a cheap canvas bag, though the price wasn't cheap, but it is high quality heavy duty and I saw it when we were there Thanksgiving sitting by the piano with his music inside a little dirty, but none worse for wear.
Have a wonderful rest of your weekend. I am going to check my bank account then sit and keep knitting the bag.
Faye
PS: one more thing ladies. I know most of you have everything you need for points, but if you ever need to find out calories and such on just about anything and that includes restaurant and fast food items, go here it is wonderful. It is what I use. They also have lots of other things that you may find interesting.
OK folks here is the weather report here in the heartland ~ 12 degrees with a wind chill of 10 degrees below. Now that is cold after yesterday was a T-shirt day for the fellas. No snow ~ JUST COLD. But I have a warm coat.
Chili turned out great! And my cornbread was such a hit I had to chuckle. I made it from a box. Krustaez which takes a cup of milk and an egg. But it is the best I have found. I use the low fat kind here at home which is just as good in my book. The gift I ended up was a cute little sandwich press. Will got one of those wooden impossible to get the x out of the square puzzles along with a bag of yummy candy popcorn. We had a lot of fun and I was worn out and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. One of the most precious things though was the little 18 month old toddler that came over to me and waved and said, "Hi Maggie." She said it so clear that heads turned and I melted.
Hope everyone has a lovely day. Type at ya'all later
Good Afternoon, Flowers! It has been a nasty weather day outside for sure. It's -2 degrees right now, but with the wind I'm sure it "feels" much colder than that at -26! I always wonder where the stray cats settle in for the night to keep warm. We've had light snow from time to time; I wish it would either get serious and dump enough so we'd have "no" school tomorrow, or else cut it out. We were both very tired last night and decided to skip church this morning. After we'd had our morning coffee I suggested going to 2nd service which I've never ever done before. The bell choir was playing and I wanted to hear them before I start back Wed. night. They played 3 pieces throughout the service and played at both services plus at the Middle School last week. I'm sure it was a long morning for them. Several left after they played their final piece and before the sermon began so I imagine those that were left to put everything away weren't too pleased. I'm glad I wasn't playing this month!
"Gma" -- I will keep my fingers crossed that you get good neighbors this time. I'll bet Jack has you in a new vehicle before you know what happened. Bob has no desire for a blackberry and I think he could really use one for business and appointments since he is on a couple of different boards plus his clients plus his family obligations. He doesn't even carry his cell phone with him unless he is expecting someone to return a call to him and he's out of the office. Bob ordered one of those canvas bags from Lands End for me thinking I would carry my school stuff in it. It is too big for that and is very stiff as it can stand alone with nothing in it. I use it during the summer when we are packing stuff to go to the lake. I've always had good luck ordering from Lands End and I like that we can return the item to Sears if we don't like it.
Maggie -- I knew your get together would be great fun for all! I have a whole bunch of puzzles that belonged to my dad. I hate to part with them but am thinking about perhaps taking them to the nursing home or assisted living place where MIL lives.
Susan and Gloria -- "Hi!" I hope you are keeping warm and enjoying the day!
I need to change laundry loads and mix up some ham loaf meat that I bought on Friday. I have card club tomorrow night and it begins with supper at 6. Bob can have leftover ham loaf.
Have a nice evening and a marvelous Monday tomorrow. Only 4 days of classes left and we begin final exams on Friday!
Good evening, ladies...a balmy 51 degrees right now.
I did something to my back and it has been hurting since yesterday afternoon. Need to take more Advil soon. I must have done it on the dip shrug machine at Curves.
The concert last night was amazing. This is a huge church - 3,000 members. They have a full orchestra made up of member. One of their members is with the Met in NY and has the most beautiful tenor voice. There is over 100 people in the choir. It lasted 1-1/2 hours. They are doing 12 performances. The tickets are free and they put it on their internet site - all gone in 30 minutes this year. Church seats 1700. The church members can come to the rehersals but they are not permitted to attend the actual performances - this is their gift to the community.
I've been OP for 3 days now. I'm sticking mainly with filling foods and haven't been hungry at all.
I have to type an address list for my boss tonight so I can't reply individually - good night!
Good morning ladies! For those of you freezing to death, it is 4:45 AM and it is 63 here right now! It is supposed to go down during the day to the 40's today, but it is supposed to be in the 70's on Thursday!
Maggie: Sounds like the party came out just right and was a lot of fun. I don't know if you have ever seen the BBCA channel, but there is a show about auctioning off your things on it. I have seen several what they call puzzle balls. They are chinese and are one piece of ivory that has been carved from the inside out. It is a ball, in a ball in a ball, etc. It is always intricately carved and beautiful. It is amazing to see one. I would love to see one in person.
Susan: for you staying OP. Today Jack and I start going and I am looking forward to thinness some time down the road. We are having a roast pork tenderloin with roasted potatos and green beans for supper. I have my menu for the day pretty much set up, but I usually do the evening meal the day before so Jack knows how many dinner pts to subtract from his day and can plan out his other meals. Jack bought me an IPOD last year when I got out of the hospital the first time and I have tons and I mean tons of songs on it. I am an oldies girl but I have a variety. Everything from Tom Jones, Barry Manilow, Johnny Rivers, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, to Glen Miller. I went and made an "exercise" playlist yesterday putting in 2 warm up songs that are about a total of 5 minutes, 15 minutes of fast stuff, then 5 cool down minutes. I used Neil Diamond and Tom Jones for this week. It is sure easy to do and the I pod is so light to wear. I am going to stick to chair stuff for awhile, but I love music so much that I get a good workout sitting. I have great rhythm so I pretty much dance in the chair. I know I am getting a workout because I sweat and I can feel it in my muscles so for now that is good enough. As I loose I can do more difficult stuff to tighten everything up as much as it will tighten. I mean, having been obese for 30 years I am going to look like I have elephant skin, but I already know that and accept it.
Jean: It is true those bags are pretty heavy canvas and stiff, but Thomas it was just the ticket as he can't tear up his piano and violin music that way. I am usually not stubborn about stuff, but the car is going to wait until next summer, period. He is in agreement, but I do see the longing in his eyes! lol We are gaining on retirement, which means reduced income and we need to make sure we have as much of our debt paid off as possible. We should be right at the edge with the mortgage or even finished with it, though then we will have to take on a separate insurance for the inside and we will continue to pay the maintenance fee. I want the new car paid off, any credit cards paid off, etc so I am working to get all that done. A new car loan will be paid off, but before we go into the loan I want other things paid off so no car before then. It will tie up some of our loose capital we have now so I don't want to lose that until next summer.
Well gals, I want to get started on cleaning and such. I always exercise right after Jack leaves for work so I have about an hour.
Its 71 degrees right now and beautiful! I have a rose bush with a bud so we'll see if it gets opened or nipped.
I have another Christmas party for tonight. Dinner at an Italian restaurant then dessert at a members house. I'm eating lightly and have all my WPAs to use so I think I'll be alright - then another one on Wednesday but that's finger foods. I'm going to be vigilant and stay OP! I'll exercis before I go to the party.
Faye, you got the exercise nailed! I know they have lap dancing so would this be called chair dancing? Enjoy, every bit of movement counts. I know you and Jack will do well. About that quilt, I'm glad you like color because that is what I do best. I love bright colors and lots of them.
Burrr here in the heartland. It was 10 degrees when I set out for WW this evening. I am happy to say that I did lose 1.4. Also picked up that book that the lady said she forgot to bring last week and it is different than the one we gals bought. It is called Weight Watchers Momentum Cookbook and has 200 tasty looking recipes in it. Yep I bought it and it was the one for $15. It is not ring bound but easy enough to wield and has a paperback not hard backed. It will probably be at your meetings also.
Steel Magnolias #52
When you do go about it, I love, love, love color so I would like it to be colorful in whatever way you would like to do it. I have to do this now and not fall off again. I think maybe I needed my health to be affected and truth be told it never has. I have controlled blood pressure, I have always had excellent cholesterol readings, which I think is hilarious, I have no diabetes, which is not only prevalent in obese people, but my brother, nephew (type 1), sister, mother passed from it, all have diabetes. I am the most miserable I have been, I tend to get sick a lot and I am tired of fighting that so I imagine this is my bottom point. Besides, I need to be able to walk around Vegas! lol Oooh and I LOVE the crocs. I got them yesterday and put them on and walked around in them and wow are they great to walk in.
Friday ~ Finally
I can definitely tell, as I get older, good health has a whole new meaning than ever before. I'm sick of the Christmas clutter and I haven't even gotten a good start!
I met an online friend who is a leader in NE and she has the neatest ideas for contests, etc. I keep trying to talk her into becoming a full time traveling WW leader! 
She is also a teacher so is one busy gal. You are right about it being our plan and not the leader's. 
from Iowa!
Saturday
It is good for a go round. We will have fun for sure. It is all about wrapping up something someone could still use that you no longer want. We play it where #1 picks a present and opens it and if #2 wants it then #1 opens another. That first (and future) presents can only change hands 3 times. Then at the end people can make a deal with anyone to trade with them. One year Will ended up with a frilly kitchen apron and it was a hoot. Next pot luck after his sermon before the meal he put the apron on under his suit where you couldn't see it then at the "right time" he opened his jacket and unrolled the apron and you should have heard the laughter. One elderly lady loved that little apron so he gave it to her. One time my mother sent him a tie protector that was a roll of plastic that had a tie clip on it. So at one pot luck he unrolled it to eat and again you could just imagine the laughter. He is a fun guy. 
When I had high speed installed this summer I specifically asked the "idiot" about a spam folder and he assured me that it was all automatic and I didn't have to worry about it! So, if any of you sent anything it either came back to you or was dumped when the tech cleared out the "stuff." Now I have to remember to do that periodically.
I'm sure you had a great time with the gifts. The two that you mentioned Will wearing would be a hoot. Chili sounds good; maybe that will be on my agenda for sometime this week. Did you get the sample newslettermI sent to you? I'm not sure if emails I sent "went" since nothing was coming through to me.
in Iowa!
I have a whole bunch of puzzles that belonged to my dad. I hate to part with them but am thinking about perhaps taking them to the nursing home or assisted living place where MIL lives. 
in Iowa!
It is supposed to go down during the day to the 40's today, but it is supposed to be in the 70's on Thursday!
for you staying OP. Today Jack and I start going and I am looking forward to thinness some time down the road. We are having a roast pork tenderloin with roasted potatos and green beans for supper. I have my menu for the day pretty much set up, but I usually do the evening meal the day before so Jack knows how many dinner pts to subtract from his day and can plan out his other meals. Jack bought me an IPOD last year when I got out of the hospital the first time and I have tons and I mean tons of songs on it. I am an oldies girl but I have a variety. Everything from Tom Jones, Barry Manilow, Johnny Rivers, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, to Glen Miller. I went and made an "exercise" playlist yesterday putting in 2 warm up songs that are about a total of 5 minutes, 15 minutes of fast stuff, then 5 cool down minutes. I used Neil Diamond and Tom Jones for this week. It is sure easy to do and the I pod is so light to wear. I am going to stick to chair stuff for awhile, but I love music so much that I get a good workout sitting. I have great rhythm so I pretty much dance in the chair. I know I am getting a workout because I sweat and I can feel it in my muscles so for now that is good enough. As I loose I can do more difficult stuff to tighten everything up as much as it will tighten. I mean, having been obese for 30 years I am going to look like I have elephant skin, but I already know that and accept it.