300+ Club - 300+ And Getting Fit after 40 #203

This thread is a sub-set of the 300+ thread.

This group is for those dealing with the challenges of having a significant amount of weight to lose and being fit which becomes harder after age 40. If you're an old or new friend and not over 40 and feel this is the place to post, jump right in.

Morning, all!

I'm ready for my spring break this week! Except it's not really a break. I have to get my courses ready for next term (next week) and get some other things done that didn't get done yet! I HOPE to get it all done in three days, but we'll see.

Hey, check out the exercise thread! We've hit 10,000 min this month! But we still need all the help we can get!! So, post your minutes!

Have a good Monday morning!

Had a great week last week, got all my water in and exercise and calories were perfect..scales still didnt move...GRRR oh well I am not stopping !!! Iwill hit 90lbs surely within a few weeks of doing everything right!
I just made some crab salad..very low in calories and light..cant wait to enjoy it at lunch today.
kids are cranky..its monday!!
hugs to all

Greetings all!

Feeling very blue today. :cry: Not sure why. The doctor took blood last week and the results will be in today, so I'll know for sure if something menopause-like has reared it's ugly head. Spent the weekend working a bit on the garden and flower beds, but not nearly enough. Spent way too much time shopping for things I really didn't need. :shrug: You know how that is. And, of course, eating too much. Last night in particular was bad. I was in SUCH a mood! Anyway, that's OVER now and I'll try to be super duper good the rest of the week so as to avoid a gain.

Anyone have some advice for me????

I found out last Thurs. that my kid's orthodonist office LIED right to my face about the contract I signed. They made us pay 1/2 up front and pay the entire amount off in 1 year, even though DS will have the braces for two. It's caused all kinds of problems with my cafeteria plan. They told me - numerous times because I questioned the terms - that that is their STANDARD contract and that's they way they've ALWAYS done it. Thursday I'm talking to someone from my doctors office who just had her kid put in braces thru the same office. Not only did she get to pay over 2 years, but she paid 25% down! :mad: When I went directly to the ortho - they said, "Well, we do charge different people different rates. I'll have to check with the person who does the contracts and credit checks."

FIRST - I don't recall EVER authorizing a credit check! I could be wrong, but I don't think I signed anything allowing that.
SECOND - They NEVER said anything about my credit - just that it was their "standard" contract."
THIRD - My DH and I have both worked the same jobs for 15+ years, have very good income and last time I checked, our credit rating was in the 700's!

If there was something WRONG with my credit - they should have TOLD me! Because I need to get it looked at ASAP! For all I know there's someone out there doing bad things to my credit and I don't know because they LIED to me! I don't mind if they thought I was a bad risk. I really don't. I mind a great deal being lied to! They already have more than $3000 of my money and they're treating my kid. I don't know what to do here! I don't want to tick off the person who's seeing to my child's dental well-being!

What would you do????

Edit to add:

Heard from the doctor. Yep. Menopause. :( Which I suppose explains the nerves, blues, lack of sleep and general
:witch: (w)itchiness I've had the last week or so. I'M ENTIRELY TOO YOUNG FOR THIS!

The results are in!

Well, ortho says that according to their criteria, these were the terms I get. BUT they won't tell me WHAT specifically was the problem and that I need to investigate my own credit rating to see. She politely agreed with me she'd be upset about that too. Wasn't that nice of them???

These people stink.

Lilion - Was this the time that you were having issues with a friend that did stuff on your credit?

Ever want to just throw in the towel - many peptalks to self today have not allowed this. The tape playing in my head is - I am not a quitter - you should not measure only by the scale. I MUST get out of the 270s - I feel like I have lived here forever. To top it off the scale was up a bit more today (yes - still a daily weigher). I've done great food and water wise today - no exercise planned as I need to recover a bit from the weekend strain.

I feel the exact same way carol. I have done everything right and the scales dont really move. I have been within the same few pounds for weeks now. You might even stretch it to months. I am eating right..exercising now and drinking my water. I will keep doing it!!! I may not be losing but i feel so much better!!! I do want to hit 90bs before long..surely i will!!!
I came in low on calories today but ate 3 good meals and feel full so im not pushing it today. My dinner was a huge and i mean huge salad. It filled me up and im satified.
going to go and read for awhile..
hugs

Hi gang... I've been MIA b/c I've been trying really hard to meet a deadline and not doing much of anything else, but decided I'd check in tonight since it's taking me so long.

Lilion: The ortho's an ***-o. Sorry bout the hormonal stuff. I'm going through the same. The only thing I know that seems to help is when I'm feeling blue for no good reason, I do a check of basic needs: Am I tired? Hungry? Thirsty? Do I have a genuine emotional need, like am I lonely or need to talk? If the answer to any of those is yes, then I make sure I take care of it NOW. If not, I still look for something nice to do for myself, a walk or check-in with a friend or something. It's not a cure-all, but about half the time I realize, yeah, hey, I didn't actually get enough sleep last night, or I haven't talked with anyone besides my mom in 24 hrs, and then I take care of that, and things are slightly better. For what it's worth.

DG and Carol: Good for you for keeping on. You're my heroes! Heroines, even.

Heather--Hope the week is a good breather. I'm so glad we're on semesters (since it's my sabbatical semester especially ;).

Maybe I'll finish this textbook tomorrow... I'll definitely check in again coz it does help me keep focused.

Have an OP Tuesday, ladies!

We got some good news last night. My new sil is getting the screw out of his foot tommorow. He will be on crutches for about 10 more days after that. I know he will be glad to be able to walk again. The dr did tell him no lifting for at least 2 more months. I know my daughter will be glad to have him walking again and she will be glad when he can lift and do things around the house and yard with her.
Scales are up 2lbs today..i have done everything right so i will just keep going. Just frustrating!!!!
Im dragging out that old trusted minitramp this morning...it always works when nothing else seems to move the scales.
hugs to all and have a great day!!

Terri, the friend thing was quite a while back and was taken care of. The ortho ran the credit check no earlier than last Nov. So this is something new. I won't know what's going on until I check. Just makes me SO mad to be lied to ...and now they won't even tell me what criteria I didn't meet!

Angela, I know menopause isn't the end of the world, but I'm having a really hard time with this. I just really didn't expect it for a few more years and not only that, but it came on so fast and so hard! I expected to notice little things now and then, but instead all at once I'm having hot flashes or alternatively chills! I'm b!#@hy and moody and my skin is dry and it just seems like it all came on in two weeks! I know exercise would make me feel better, but I have such a hard time getting up - because I can't get any sleep with the night sweats. And my friend I talk to is having many worse problems than menopause, although she had a hysterectomy two years ago and we've vowed to wax each other's lips. :lol: I just expected some warning...and can't believe my doctor wants me to try OTC stuff for two months before he'll see me again. :shrug: I'll survive.

To everyone with stuck scales: I rejoined WW in JULY. I've lost 4 lbs in 8 months. At this rate I'll hit my goal in 11 1/2 years.

Enough depressing stuff for today...

My garden is surviving. My peas are coming up. My lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower plants I bought are doing well. The brussels sprouts, lettuce and spinach I started from seed look good in the garden. And I think I may have finally beaten the tree-rats at their digging game....with the help of lots of netting and bricks! I can't wait for veggies. :)

And now, I'm off to do office work... :wave:

Okay girls, we can't lose our vision here...our goal isn't to simply lose weight. We want to feel great, we're here to achieve a greater sense of well-being for ourselves, so we can be there for ourselves and our loved ones as long as is humanly possible, with a real quality of life. Everyday we have challenges and choices. Don't let a bathroom scale tell you how you're feeling.

But you already know all that!

Check this out...http://www.butlerwebs.com/jokes/images/Little_Girls.jpg

Love you all!

Georgia

Just popping in for a quickie hello! :wave: I'm wiped tonight. Tons going on...busy a usual with work, gym, kiddos....family is arriving on Saturday and I want the house clean and organized and want to be a good hostess. I know...it's family and they understand, but that's just me. :)

Later friends...

I'm going to try something tonight and wondered if any of you have done this. I'm going to sit on my Fitball while watching TV. I want to see if sitting on it and bouncing a little on it will record calorie burning on my GWF armband. I'll let you know tomorrow what my "findings" are.

Georgia

PS) Dealing with huge PMS cravings tonight. I want a bowl full of Top Ramen in the worst way! I'm so glad I don't have any, but it's going to bug me until I go to bed. I made a mistake and had a huge lunch...two big bowls of soup made with pinto beans, grilled chicken, Rotel and pico de gallo. Very low fat, but I still ate A LOT. I was stuffed so I didn't want to eat anything for the last seven hours, but now my appetite is nagging at me. What to do...

OMG!!! I was on the Fitball for one hour, bouncing and moving my arms, and then I had my GWF armband record my activity during that time. Are you ready for this? Over 600 calories burned! Over 5000 steps taken!

I think I'm going to be on this Fitball everyday!

Georgia

Hi ladies,

Wow, can't believe that this is my first post of the week. :o Sorry about that! I guess I've been having too much fun not being tied to a computer; or else too much fun on Facebook. :D

I'm feeling pretty good this week. I'm really trying to focus on having fun and enjoying things that I'm doing. And I feel so much more in control as a result of that. :dizzy: Sounds kind of stupid that I would have to consciously think about having fun, doesn't it? I almost want to skip.

I made it to the fitness center last night and had a good workout on the elliptical and the circuit machines. I didnt do much on Monday because I'm having a little issue with a tendon in my left foot. I've had plantar fasciitis for a number of years and have a spur on the foot too. I thought I've had it under control for a long time now but I've been having pain in the achilles area lately. On Sunday night, I had sat back on my foot to lean over the back of the couch to let dogs out the back door. The pain was sharp and intense on the back of my heel. Its better but it sure was sore for a couple of days. I'm paying particular attention to doing the stretching exercises and I'm wearing my arch supports all day again. Gads, the last thing I want is to have to do foot surgery - again!

I'm also getting back into the habit of using calorie king to get a grip on food. Last night, DH tried to get me to eat a piece of cheesecake but all I did was take a bite and handed him the fork and walked away. That bite was satisfying enough.

I posted a summary of an article from Good Housekeeping on my blog. Its "What Thin Women Know". It kind of highlights the difference between that thin women just basically do it and heavy women battle the process. Whether its how we eat or approach exercise. Its about the mental attitude more than anything (is what I gathered from it). I enjoyed the reminder so I put it on my blog.

I'm going to go get my lunch and be back to do personal replies.

:wave: to all!

I'm back. Lunch was yummy!

Georgia - That is interesting about the fitball and the workout. Just goes to show that burning additional calories doesn't have to be all about heavy duty cardio. Every bit counts. Good job! Hope the cravings are leaving you alone today! Thanks for the pep talk!

Debi - That is so frustrating about the scale especially when you've done all the right things. I could say that you should focus on the good things you've done forself and not the scale BUT I know that is so much easier to say than do. And its hard not to let the number on a scale cause such emotional havoc. :hug: Just keep kicking butt. :drill:

Carol - The same sentiment for you too. :hug: How are you doing this week? Our trolley walk will be here before we know it!

Lilion - That does totally reek about the ortho and their stupid practices. Gosh, sorry to see about the onslaught of menopause too. What happened to gradually creeping up on a gal with perimenopause? That just sucks. I know I'm approaching that possibility myself and I am not very much in favor of hormone treatment for myself. What kind of OTC did the doc suggest? :hug:

BarbPA - We'll keep the fires burning while you have family in this weekend. Have a great time!

I think that gets everyone. :wave: again!

Just a quick fly by - I'm having one of those crazy weeks - but doing great food, water and exercise wise. Even went to a birthday party at Buffalo Wild Wings tonight - planned to eat dinner there - didn't see anything that looked anywhere close to healthy so didn't eat - that's a first - came home and fixed a baked potatoe and threw some cheese on it with a salad.

More later..............

Morning ladies,

Not much new here. Allergies are driving me nuts but that's not new. I had a bad body morning. Might have something to do with the sauerkraut that DH fixed (again) for dinner last night. He had eaten out a big lunch and then didn't want to cook for me. I'm done with the sauerkraut for a while. I put on four tops this morning to find something to wear that I didn't feel like a whale. Bloated muffin-top whale. :rofl: I finally settled on a black cable-knit sweater over khacki pants. And my spanx cami. :D

Carol - :bravo: for not eating at BWW's!

Gotta run! :wave: to all!

Morning! We're on "spring break" here and I think that's more for the students than us. BUT, I AM taking today off. No work. I do have some things to do before classes start again on Monday, but I really needed a break of my own.

It was glorious this morning -- I got up and fed the dogs as usual and then went back to bed for a couple more hours. Amazingly, I don't feel as exhausted as usaul! Who knew? ;)

Hey all :wave: - quickie today again.

Terri - The doctor suggested two herbal suppliments - evening primrose oil and black cohosh, or Estroven - which contains: According to their website - Soy isoflavones, Standardized black cohosh, Calcium and boron, Natural vitamins E, B-6, B-12, B-1, B-2 and B-3 and folic acid, Estroven® calming herbal blend (to reduce irritability) and Estroven® balancing herbal blend (for energy) I'm going to check out the Estroven website - but I haven't actually bought anything yet. I was going to ...but I forgot! Can you believe that? (Absent-mindedness is a symptom of menopause. ;) ) Hope the big snow misses you!!!

Later ladies!

Where has the week gone - I'm glad its Friday and my weekend if here. I had 2 meetings scheduled today so I was going to have to go in but both were cancelled - guess I'll get ready for the snow they are saying is coming our way tomorrow.

It was an interesting week - on Wednesday morning at 7 am a field superintendent told me "shut up, shut your mouth". That is a button pusher for me, first instinct is jump right back at him. But ya know - I "shut up", told him thanks for calling and have a nice day. That day went downhill from that (not good when you've been at work for 30 minutes and that happens). I didn't really stress over it but laughed about it with my assistant and my boss, didn't eat because of it and just kept on going. It didn't get him what he wanted and only hurt him. Certainly didn't cause me to cooperate with him more.

At the last minute my exercise class was cancelled last night - after I had changed my clothes at the office to head out. Instead I stopped at the park and walked. No stress but just tweak it and adjust.

Terri - I'm looking forward to the Trolley Run - but it will be a Trolley Walk for me. I'm not fast but steady and will finish! Can you believe the amount of snow they say we are going to get?

Barb - enjoy your company. Remember they are coming to see you not your clean house (oh but I so get it).

Georgia - need to sit on my ball while watching TV - thanks for the suggestion. I bought 5 pound handweights a few weeks ago - the pups really want them while I'm using them - we think in their eyes they are nice big dog bones.

Lilion - 4 pounds in 8 months - I'm with you. I'm hoping when I break the 270 pound mental block I have about not being morbidly obese any longer that I can get this show moving again. I took a planned break last summer to see if I could maintain through our summer entertaining - I did and was proud - still seem to be mostly maintaining though.

Heather - I hope you have taken some time for you this week.

Angela - HI! How are you this week?

Debi - great job on the walking. Have a good day with your kiddos - maybe they will want to exercise with you today too!

Keep making those great choices - the weekend is here and will present some additional challenges - let's all forge through them!

I started moving into my new house yesterday. Since there's no bed in there yet, I went to the Holiday Inn to spend the night. I was going to go back to my vacation house to get the next load of boxes, but was too tired to drive and just didn't want to spend the night with my parents...so I had a completely secretive evening last night, holed up with a half a chicken dinner from Boston Market, at the Holiday Inn, watching Smallville. It was great! (Not the show...although that Tom Welling...mmm!) It was great to get away with something!

So why am I doing this again? I'm 48, not 14! But the minute I'm back in my hometown and feeling my mom's fingernails digging into me, I'm back to my old feelings of being smothered by her, which triggers compulsive eating for me. I'm so ready to gain some power and clarity over this situation.

Yesterday I moved and unpacked boxes, bought a refrigerator, organized my pantry. Mom kept calling me asking me where I was, and when I hadn't called her after four hours, she was afraid I had fallen down the stairs and was mad that I hadn't called her to help her get over her fears. She does this all the time, invents a scenario in her head about me, puts herself in an emotional state, then blames me for it in order to get over it. She does it to my dad too. She's 78, she's not going to be changing how she does things anytime soon.

So, boundaries have no meaning with her. She just lays in wait for a break in my armor. I have to be constantly vigilant with her, which is why I'm so good at reading people now. I should become a therapist! I've had a lifetime of training!

This is going to be an excellent opportunity for me to learn something, I'm sure...

I was in town yesterday getting my utilities switched into my name and I came across a brand new Pilates business opening this week. I stopped in and chatted with the owner. She's going to open a reformer training room as well and she runs all levels of instruction as well as absolute beginner lessons. I'm going to join as soon as I'm moved in completely. I'm so excited about this! I didn't want to go do this at the local gym with trainers who barely know what they're talking about.

Okay, I have to get back on the road for the next load of boxes. Ciao!

Georgia

Morning ladies,

I'm not sure what kind of weekend its going to be. Other than a crappy weather one. We are on the cusp between two storm systems that are bringing rain and snow. The weather map says the biggest chance of accumulation is between "Paola and Harrisonville". Well that's us. The weathermen have been going nuts all week saying that we could get 6-12 inches of snow. However, right now, its just raining. I think they are disappointed.

I've been going through old photos and scanning them. I want to make a photobook. Funny, that I wanted to do scrapbooking and wanted to print my digital photos and here I am trying to scan all of my printed photos instead. :lol: I just found photos of my first horse, my beloved cat Smokey, and my sheep, Danny. Not everyone got to have their own pet sheep. :rofl:

I vow that I am going to come back here today and report that I had a great workout and that I did it here at home. Working out at home seems to be a problem. In that I don't remember to get around to it. And there's no good reason since I have a spinner and a stationary bicycle.

Georgia - How far are you moving? Big :hug: for what you're going to have to deal with with your mom and being back home. That pilates class sounds like it will be fun for you! You'll definitely need it!

Carol - Good grief! What a jerk! I have to admit that I'm not sure I would have been able to not respond. You definitely deserve the weekend! Yeah, I'll be walking too. I do have it in my mind that I want to be able to jog/run one by the end of the year. Something ridiculous to strive for often gets me motivated. :D

Lilion - I hate the absent-mindedness!! Gads, I have to remind myself all the time of what I'm doing. Hope WI went well this morning.

Heather - Did you have a nice day off?

I'm going to get this posted and go see what the dogs are up too. Its awfully quiet. :eek:

:wave: to all!

HI ...
the ugly weather is heading at me also. No real snow but heavy rain and storms.HE did say last night it could end as snow..but no accumlations to speak of.
We are heading out today to grocery shop and then going to see hubbys mom who is in the hospital and my dad who is in the nursing home. We are also going to see the rest of the family. My son and his family and daughter and her husband are meeting us there, should be a fun day. We are even hitting a tiny outlet mall. Hubby needs new jeans and i need a few tops.
My challenge will be dinner tonight. We are eating at a chinesse seafood place.
My scales are still stuck and i am glad i have moved my weigh day till monday. I dont expect any movement then either.GRRRr
I had cut my calories but am increasing them back to 1500. Guess its time to get moving and see if that will start the scales working again. I begged hubby to change the battery in them..tried to convince him it had to be a bad battery.LOL he said htey were working fine on him..he is gaining but he is eating big time!!!
hugs to all

I had two lovely days off, and the weekend still to come! That's all I get until June something when classes are done for the year. I hope this upcoming term isn't too crazy...

Today is boob smasher (mammogram) and some kind of workout at the gym before we get together with friends tonight...

Moving activity continues for me over the weekend. I get my washer and dryer and new refrigerator delivered, plus moving more boxes into the house. It's just a three-hour drive, but having to do it two or three times over a weekend really is exhausting. I'm trying to keep costs down and doing as much of it myself as possible. For the last four or five moves, they've all been corporate and paid for by the company. Suddenly I'm having to do everything for myself. And the money I saved up seems to be falling through my hands like sand.

One more evil drawback to the moves is the eating resulting from not having all my stuff around me to make something or because I'm too tired to cook and the Boston Market drive-thru is acting like Mr. Right-Now. I gained back five pounds since Monday. And this despite all the extra calories I burned with extra exercise. I did track what I ate and had popped over my normal calories by 500 to 800 calories on two days, but I also burned even more than that to cover it all. I just have to keep my calories down below 1800 and my daily activity levels burning over 3200 in order to keep the downward trend in place.

The rest of my weekend food choices will be at the supermarket and not at any sort of restaurant. And I will have a lot of boxes to move upstairs, so I will make a point of doing them one at a time so I can get a lot of time on the stairs.

Georgia

Popping in to say Hi :wave: to my friends! Family should be in the air now after a missed connection and delayed flight. I'm entertaining my 3yo showing him videos of airplanes on Youtube. He doesn't understand that we are not going to ride a plane today...just going to the airport. He's going to be so sad when we just get people and leave. :p

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy weekend! I'll pop in when I can.

My bro and I are hitting the gym this afternoon! Yay for a brother who is a gym rat! :)

Later....

Hi gang! I know I'm not a good group member. I just don't take the time to stop in very often. I did read a while tonight. Glad everyone is still hanging in there. I went to my doctor this week and I am down 9 pounds since I was there in November. Not record breaking, but at least down. Things are still going the same around here. I am going to the health club and walking and exercising in the water at least 3 days a week. My office is still the circus it has always been, Alvin's job is a roller coaster since it was sold in December. Terri I know you can relate to that. There is supposed to be another big reorganization on Wednesdae, but no one is sure what's coming. I'm not concerned about his job as long as the company keeps this call center open, but they have shut down several so his may be next. We will face that if and when it happens. Can't waste time of what can happen.

Keep up the good work and I'll check in later.

Ageoldie...congrats on the nine pounds!!! It's more than I've lost since November, so don't worry. Losing at the slower rate means a higher success rate of permanent weight loss.

Heather...did you boobs bounce back into shape? Gosh, I hate those things! My girls aren't that substantial, and it always feels like they're going to burst at the tip and squirt out all over the place when I go get my mammogram done. And I'm due for one this summer, I think...or maybe the pap smear. Ick!

Terri...how's the photobook work coming along? I just moved all my photos to the new house and am thinking about doing the same. I'd love to Photoshop my husband out of them all! I'm going to make a series of books for both my boys, burn copies on to disks and then send all the old photos back to my husband. Today, I'm glad we had his aunt take our wedding photos and didn't spend huge money on anything fancy.

I'm here to confess...my resolve to avoid fast food was out the window today! I ate just over 2800 calories from Burger King, Taco Bell and Starbucks. And according to my GWF armband, between midnight and 8 p.m., I walked just over 5900 steps and burned 2750 calories. By midnight tonight, I will have burned more than I took in, just barely, but that's not what I was shooting for!

So tomorrow, Sunday, a new day. My new fridge arrives in the morning and I can fill it with healthy stuff and cook for myself at home.

I bought a new mattress set today. Had too much fun at Target getting bedding to put on it and tonight is the maiden voyage of the SS Queenie. Hope it's comfortable! I got all white bedding. Haven't decided on a color scheme yet, although I'm leaning towards that apple green again.

Hi all,

Big project that was due on Feb. 28 got sent in on Mar. 27. That's okay, he told me by the end of March would be okay, so I guess I've officially made it by the end of March now.

Lilion: I'm with you; this is way too sudden. I mean here I am 42, I did not expect to be having these kinds of problems yet either. The irregular periods are the thing bothering me the most, although the occasional really awful night of no sleep and heart racing and such is, well, really awful. I haven't talked much to my doc b/c I have such doc phobia. I might check out the evening primrose and black cohosh too.

Heather: Glad you got some fun time on break. Does it all start up again tomorrow?

Georgia: Sounds like we have similar relationships with our mothers. (Except mine is currently living with me.) We'll have to share strategies.

Okay, this is too fast I know but the day is getting started and DH is only here for a few more hours.

More soon. Cheers--

Angela

Hey everyone. A late-night pop in here!

Barbara - Good to see you again. Keep checking in, we like to hear from you!

Georgia, Glad your moving is almost done! Don't feel too bad about the fast food and such. Moving I think is the exception everyone gets! I hate moving with a passion.

Angela, Wow! 42 and doing the meno thing? Guess I got lucky to be at 45. I wasn't expecting it so soon. I'm sure my mom was in her 50's. I told DH that the "perk" for us girls is the periods stopping, but since I don't have them anymore I don't have the perk - which annoys me no end. :lol:

I'm feeling better. Friday was bad. I was literally in tears for no reason at all. I was tired, wasn't going to WI Saturday - I got some much needed sleep instead - and wanted to go out to eat and see a movie. DS didn't want to go because that would mean extra daylight hours in the headgear, so we didn't go and I was TICKED! I was such a :witch: and then cried. The mood swings are just no fun at all. I've never thought of myself as a moody woman (I think DH would have disagreed, but what does he know. :p ) Anyway, I made a run to the store and bought the Estroven. I know it takes a few days to kick in, but somehow I feel better already.

I spent a good deal of the weekend shopping and buying almost nothing. I decided to spend a bit of our tax refund, most is earmarked for paying down credit cards, but I really want new blinds for the living room/dining room and kitchen and to just get some stuff DONE to this house! We've lived here seven years, had a list of "must-do's" when we moved in, and we still haven't done them! Anyway, I'm also incrediby cheap, so I didn't actually find anything I was willing to pay for. When I wasn't shopping, I was cleaning. At least it looks better, even if it doesn't look like I want. I've decided being distracted was a good thing.

Terri, Did you guys get the snow? We got rain and cold and wind, but that was it and today was actually beautiful, a bit chilly, but got close to 60 I'm sure.

Gotta run. I still have laundry to fold and dishes to wash before bed.

Night all!

Stop! Do not post here! Join us on the next volume thread!