Living Maintenance - Maintainers Chat: Week Of September 14 - 20

Good morning, o lovely maintainers! It's been a whirlwind since DH and I got back from NM on Thursday night, but I finally had a chance to catch my breath yesterday. The laundry is done, I got groceries and did some cooking, and I moved summer and winter clothes around (not done yet). The plan for today is the gym, errands, and then work.

I still have about a pound and a half to lose from vacation but should be able to knock it off this week. I'm superstitious and think that the sooner I get rid of gained weight, the less chance it has to "stick". :lol:

Yesterday I was going through my calendar for the rest of 2009 (it's going to be really busy!) and thinking about handling the holidays. Right off the bat, I mentally heard Anne saying "it's a holi-DAY, not a week or month". So true! In fact, it's only a meal, not even a day or worse. I didn't handle last holiday season very well and gained about six pounds, which I lost by the end of February. But my goal is not to gain at all this year. So forgive me if I start talking about the holidays now, but sheesh, there's Halloween candy all over the stores already!

Time for one more mug of coffee, then off to the gym. :carrot:

I'm still carrying vacation poundage which I'm going to lose this week. Then I'll be back to 135 next Monday to resume the drive toward goal.

Bargoo was right about my not being able to motivate my DH. I have to take care of my own diet and health and encourage him but not feel like I've failed if he goes off plan.

He has no plan to go off yet. He has to come up with what will work for him and I can help him then if he wants.

For now I have to cope with a week of being back to work with a grueling schedule after 10 days off. No time for a morning workout before work until Friday.

For the first time in my life I'm not really looking forward to being back at work.

I think it's ageing - I'm not bouncing back like I used to be able to do. So a healthy diet, no diet pop, and keeping my stress/anxiety under control is more important then ever.

Have a great Monday all!

Dagmar :p

Good morning!

I am thinking about the holidays already, too. We usually go see my family for Thanksgiving and I need to be comfortable in my jeans by then. It's 73 days away now so it's definitely doable!

I have a busy couple of days coming up and then I am hoping to settle back into my routine. Gym first, though!

I still have about a pound and a half to lose from vacation but should be able to knock it off this week. I'm superstitious and think that the sooner I get rid of gained weight, the less chance it has to "stick". :lol:

No, this is most definitely Proven 3FC Maintainer Fact! If you cut down your food intake to lower/losing levels, cut the salt, increase the water, and be vigilant about exercise you can get the fat flushed out in about a week and call it "water weight". Before it's got time to "stick" to you or something... (fuzzy science there). If you don't do it within the week, the fat has a chance to congeal and will stick to your trouble spots, and not budge but for weeks and weeks of lower calories, more water, and exercise etc. After that first week it takes on supernatural properties and is much harder to move! The same holds true for Vacation Fat, Christmas Fat, and Thanksgiving Fat.

Ward, I mentioned the holidays last week too. I definitely need to be comfy in a few more pairs of jeans and cool weather clothes by the time the cool weather gets here.

Dagmar, I'm sure once you see a few of your dogs you'll realize how much you missed them! It always sounds to me like you have a pretty active lifestyle even if you don't have time for formal "exercise". Good luck with your continued efforts. Something that's been helping me stay OP lately has been to remind myself how important a healthy diet is to keeping my mood up. I've always been extremely sensitive to junky food making me feel worse mentally, and it sounds as if you've noticed this effect too. Just a simple mental reminder before I dig in really helps me take a minute to think about what I really want to eat.

Meg, I noticed all the Halloween candy too - I'm going to go start another thread in this forum about that subject, in fact!

Our visit to BF's family was very nice, and my worries were unfounded. Actually several of his family members did say "we're so glad you're here!" - didn't mention our break-up thing specifically, but it made me feel welcome. And BF's mom, aunt, nana, and DS were all there together, which is a big occasion for their family.

I was not POP as I hoped to be... sigh... but I'm totally back on track today. Work, healthy lunch and snacks packed, gym (bag also packed), book club with the girls tonight which is always a mood lifter, whether I need it or not. A friend of a friend has connections with an organic produce co-op and she is trying to see if there is interest to start a delivery to this area, too, which would be awesome if it works out (very little organic produce, or decent produce available of any kind, let alone affordable here). I've decided I'm going to try to learn how to cook different greens this fall, maybe try to grow some swiss chard in my fall garden.

How was everyone's weekend? What's on the table for this week? :)

Good morning!

A rather exhausting weekend for me, but fun. My animal group started its Fix 'em this Fall campaign so I was running around getting everything set up to issue the spay/neuter vouchers. Still have to hear from two more vets about participating in the low-cost campaign. Oh, I went to the big crafts festival on Friday and bought a new purse--just love handmade purses so I've been saving. It's beautiful!

We left about 1:00 pm on Saturday to go camping. I haven't been camping in 15 years, but we bought a big tent so we could put up the air mattress and bring our pillows. We were rebels and didn't set up the tent prior to getting to the campground, but it worked out fine. We got into our kayaks at about 6:00 pm and paddled around the lake for about an hour--it was rather choppy because the wind had started up. The next day we took our kayaks to two other lakes just to say we've done all the lakes in the area. Just gotta have a goal. Pretty tired last night.

Meg, the "H" word. I'm not ready to think about holidays, but I suppose it's better to plan now. Costco already had Christmas stuff up in addition to Halloween.

Dagmar, hope the first week back at work goes well for you. As Megan said, once you see your dog buddies, maybe you'll feel better.

WardHog, I admire your gym dedication!

Megan, sometimes the anticipation of an event is worse than the event. Sounds like that's the case here. I'm glad that everyone was friendly and made you feel welcome. Re: the swiss chard--easy to grow, but don't plant as much as I did. I just couldn't keep up with it, mainly because I'm the only one eating it.

Have a great Monday, everyone!

I had a horrendous week last week, and this week isn't starting out a whole lot better... Well, really, my household has had a pretty horrid couple of weeks... DH had a stye on his eye the week before his reunion so had to use antiobiotic solution on his eye that made him sick (two weeks before Labor Day), then the week after he picked up a head cold and was sick all week that week (the week before Labor Day), threw his back out helping his ex wife chain saw down some bushes Labor Day weekend so was down for the count for the long weekend with the dregs of the head cold and the back injury, wasn't back on his feet until last Wednesday, at which point I gave in to the head cold and missed the rest of the week of work. I ate 6500 calories in junk food over several days, feel bloated and greasy, am still hoarse and sick and taking cough medicine with codeine that makes me constipated and keeps me from sleeping, my throat hurts and I'm tired... I don't feel good about myself or the way I handled the last week of being sick, and I'm fairly disappointed that we aren't going to take a trip anywhere for our anniversary this year. I'm also worried about DH, he has been pretty stressed out and frustrated lately, and I've tried to be a good example, but I don't know what else I can do to try to support him in his weight loss and healthier living efforts. We have to find a sustainable life style that we can manage even when we are under stress, and we haven't done a good job of that in the last several months. I am so not ready for the holidays...

I obviously need to go back to bed and start the day over...

Megan - glad you had a good weekend!

Ward - 73 days away... we'll make it.

Dagmar - Hope you get back into the swing of things today. It is sometimes tough to go back to work after several days off!

Meg - I made it through the holidays without a gain last year, but I'm feeling out of sorts today so am really worried about this year... No Halloween candy.... Don't have to have it...

Sheila - the camping trip sounds like fun!

Have a good day everyone!

Ah. Megan, that must be why I'm having trouble losing these 10-15 pounds! They've been here so long they've congealed and are stuck to everything!!!!

The desire to lose weight MUST come from within. I totally agree with that notion. Any kind of change must come from within. Of course that change can be precipitated by an outside situation (but a wife's nagging is never that situation).

DH and I did a little shopping over the weekend. It was odd, really. First on Saturday we were picking up parts for the golf cart to make it street legal and next door is a car dealership (Desert European Motorcars--so you can imagine the KIND of cars they have there). We had almost an hour to kill before picking up DS from Karate so we decided to stop in and "look" at a Jaguar XF. I've been eyeing those for over a year. I don't even need a new car. Well, DH was reluctant at first but I assured him I just wanted to look. Now it seems as if DH is all ready to buy me one. I kind of feel guilty...

Then in the afternoon we went to the mall. I wanted new bras, so we hit Victoria's secret where I tried on a bunch and didn't like any of them. We also went to Macy's and same thing. But at Macy's we did get DH some pants, shorts and two shirts. I think I didn't find what I was looking for because again I felt guilty. Guilty for making him stand out there in the store while I tried things on. It's so much easier to shop with a girlfriend or daughter (or alone). Sunday I went to Soma alone and picked up 4 bras and 4 matching panties--all on sale! I need white and got every color BUT white, so I may go back to VS to look again (alone!!).

Shannon :hug:
You must be feeling pretty lousy. hang in there, take it 1 day at the time, 1 hour at the time, 5 minutes at the time. Meditate. You have come an amazing way, so this too will all work out.

Allison, go for the jag! My mom is considering getting one as her next car and I'm encouraging mostly because I want to drive it! =) She doesn't need a new car yet, either... but in a few years, perhaps.

Shannon, you CAN start over - from right now. I hope things get better, just stick to your guns!

Sheila, that camping/kayaking trip sounds like so much fun! I bet it was a great workout too.

Megan, I'm glad things went well at your bf's place. Also, I LOVE swiss chard. A couple of summers ago, I worked on an organic farm/CSA and got to try all kinds of new and exciting veggies. I really miss that just for the variety of things I ate that summer. Whatever I came home with, I figured out what to make with it. Now I've reverted back to the usual suspects that are cheap and easy - broccoli, spinach, etc. Nothing wrong with that but it gets a bit dull!

Meg, how dare you mention the holidays already! I'm not ready to think about them... I guess I'll be in for a rude awakening on my next target run!

Wardhog, thanks for the T-day countdown. 73 days. I'm actually going home this year so it's something to look forward to. And I hate going home wearing my "fat pants."

Dagmar, I think it's always hard to get back into normal life after a nice vacation... I bet things will pick up as you settle in.

I slept in this morning. I just have so much trouble getting myself out of bed lately. It's always been a bit of an issue, but I'm starting to wonder if something is wrong with me. Once I am up for about 10-15 minutes I am usually fine, so I'm thinking it must be mental, but I still don't know how to work through it!

Iris - I'm the same way with the getting up... I have serious trouble getting out of the bed, but if I get up and stay up longer than the time it takes to pee and lie back down I'm fine. I believe it is a mental block with me, too..

Head still congested, feels like everything around me is moving in slow motion. You know that tipsy feeling where it takes the world a few minutes to catch up when you turn your head? That is me right now... I'm not thinking I'll be getting back on the exercise train today... Unless I try the elliptical, which makes me stay balanced. Treadmill would likely be very very bad...

Hi everyone! I had a great staycation last week, with the exception of my dog almost getting eaten at the dog park and having to take both cars in for service/repairs. We got a recall notice for our 2001 Honda Civic saying apparently if the airbag deploys, the airbag inflator might explode and shoot shard of metal into your head killing you. And we've been driving around in this death trap for 8 years? :rolleyes:

As for the dog park, well, there was a manager from the humane society there (the park is run by the humane society) who saw the whole thing and kicked the other dog out of the park for aggressive behavior. We thought that our dog Carter might have started it since he barked first, but it ended up with Carter hiding under the picnic table, and the other dog came at him again after being pulled away and corrected. I got pretty bruised and scratched in the process of trying to hang on to my dog though. I thought that my dog was the one being aggressive so I dove on top of him to hold him back, not realizing that the other dog was the aggressor and could easily have bitten me. All my injuries were due to crashing into the side of the picnic table though, so luckily no dog bites (for me or for Carter). I feel bad about the other dog getting kicked out though because they were playing fine for an hour before the incident, so it seemed kind of sudden. Apparently they already had a complaint against them.

Anyway, no time for responses but I wanted to check in. Tomorrow should be a slower day at work so I can catch up better!

Just a fly by to say hi!
I will be too busy for a few days and then hopefully things will calm down later in the week. Dh is still in Europe, I'm working two jobs, taking a class, feeling stressed and overwhelmed. No time to sleep!

I had an epiphany at the gym tonight though that I wanted to share. First of all I was proud that I went knowing I would have to stay up that much later tonight to even begin to get half done of what I need to. Anyway.... I was there and I started thinking that if I had to move to another area, I would miss my gym with my instructor and my WW leader. More than just about anything else here-- more than my job I think!! How weird is that?!?! 180 degree mental shift from me from a few years ago......

I'll check back in when I can. I've got schoolwork to do! Hard new class with a very tough professor!!

Made it through the dreaded 3rd day OP (when I usually derail) and am starting day #4 with all the vacation weight gone.

Lots of water is really helping (how dumb is that) and waaay less diet pop is making a difference too in my cravings for things.

This is finally gonna work!!! Two years and it's finally gonna work.

Gotta go - work starts in an hour.

Dagmar :dance:

Dagmar, congrats on getting rid of the vacation weight!

Went for a HIIT run last night. I think something got messed up between eating less and exercising in the heat -- I got a massive headache and then a stomach ache. Feeling fine this morning though. I guess the lesson is that if I'm going to work out in the heat after not having had much to eat, I can't wait another hour and a half to eat after finishing. I didn't think dinner would take so long to make though and I wasn't really that hungry. Oh well.

I am in a very blech mood today. It downpoured all day yesterday, with more rain forecasted for today. My goal is to just get through today without deciding eating a lot of things is a great idea and try to get lots of sleep tonight. I had a run-in with the pb jar last night. This morning I started to eat a brownie from a tray of brownies left for the taking in the kitchen. I ate one yummy bite and was so frustrated with myself for eating a brownie at 8:30 AM that I threw the rest away. But I'm still thinking about the rest of the tray. I've got to get myself to flush out anything from my weekend away before it congeals, my weight was up this morning! The blech mood is also about not having much to do at work, the weather, and an uncharacteristically subdued book club meeting last night. Thanks for listening to me whine. I'll stop now.

Dagmar, great job! :carrot: Sounds like you're really on track.

Michele, you are one busy woman! It can take us by surprise how our priorities shift sometimes.

Iris, I hear you on the veggies. Broccoli and green beans are some of my faves but I can only eat then so often. I like to try and diversify! Once the fall weather hits I'm always trying to cook more veggies, anyway.

Shannon, I'm also feeling the "need to go back to bed and start over" today, but for different reasons. It sounds like you're really sick and need to rest! I hope your illness continues to clear today. Don't push yourself to do exercise if you're not up to it.

Sheila, it sounds like you had a fun weekend of paddling & camping. I hope you found the bathroom stops ok. ;) How much swiss chard is too much to plant? Several of us at the office have gardens. There's a point each spring & fall where we all bring in big bags of lettuce to work for everyone, lol. Maybe I'll end up sharing chard too.

Have a great day all!
Megan (aka little ray of sunshine)

Megan! :coach: Step away from the brownies! :nono: Does your office have hot tea or sugar-free hot cocoa? One of those might make a rainy day feel better without being full of fat and sugar!

Speaking of offices and junk food -- soon after I came in this morning I was assaulted by the scent of cinnamon rolls wafting over from my coworker's cubicle. He was eating those mini cinnamon rolls you get from fast food places. Then I went to the breakroom to get some water and the admin assistant was heating up a donut in the microwave. :sigh: I am on track though! No junk for me! I've got one POP day under my belt and I'm going for two today!

Yesterday was beautifully POP, actually came in about 200 cals under maintenance. Would have been better if I hadn't gotten up for chocolate milk when I couldn't sleep at midnight.. Argh.

Planning on being POP again today. Don't feel like eating, so might be easier than I think.

Jessica, we'll stay away from the office baked goods together. It might be tough, but we'll feel better about our decisions tomorrow!

My in-laws called this weekend from the Oregon coast where they've been seeing freezing temperatures at night. That notion is so totally foreign to me when our night time temperatures have been hovering around 80 but lately have dipped down to the low 70's. Freezing? In September? I guess I need to remember my childhood in Utah when those things did exist! But seriously, we get either hot or cold here and it isn't quite time for cold. They can't wait to get back here. And when they get back we get to surprise them with the golf cart! DH and DS are putting in a lot of work to make it really nice (for a 13 year old cart).

My eating was a little off plan yesterday only because I had leftovers for lunch and didn't realize how much there was. Of course, queen of the clean your plate club ate it all. Then dinner wasn't too calorie friendly, but it didn't kill me. Weight actually came down half a pound.

Megan~I hope the sun does shine for you!

Shannon~are you feeling any better?

Jessica~just imagine the sickly sweetness of the frosting on those cinnamon buns! That alone should turn you off of the tantalizing cinnamon aroma. I can't stand the amount of frosting they put on those things. I ate a Cinnabon once (and only once) and I swear I thought I'd puke. Way too sweet for my taste.

Dagmar~stick with it! Another day or two under your belt and you'll be over the dreaded hump and it will all be easier.

LOL Allison, Cinnabon is a major weakness of mine. Luckily there aren't any anywhere remotely close to me. The frosting is my favorite part. :o But I'm feeling good and motivated and OP so no temptations for me.

I just went out and bought an iPhone. I don't feel good, my head is congested, and they had a pretty pink case that matched my pink Coach purse my mom got me for Christmas last year, so of course I had to have it. Better phone than food I guess. :) Now I just have to figure out how to use it.

I am still pretty seriously dizzy today - I feel like my head is moving through liquid. Weird feeling...

ETA - I used to work for Burger King, at a franchise location inside a mall. Cinnabon & Auntie Annie's Pretzels killed me....

Another day, another fight with the alarm clock. Today I feel slightly more legit because I woke up around 3 am and couldn't fall back asleep for hours. Naturally I was NOT feeling it when the alarm went off! But seriously, I have to work on getting my bum out of bed. Didn't help that first thing I got this somewhat chiding e-mail from my boss. She tells me I need to keep things moving along, but when I take a step forward it's not the way she wanted it done. grrr... but I'm sure another cup of coffee will cure this. Thank goodness for caffeine!

Shannon, the iphone is so much fun! My friend has one that I like to play with. I think maybe next time I get a phone that's what I'll go with.

Jessica and Megan, stay away from the sugary baked crap in your office! It never seems to be as satisfying and delicious as you'd hope.

Allison, I can't even imagine freezing temperatures this time of year. I'm in southern arizona where most days it still hits 100.

I just went out and bought an iPhone. I don't feel good, my head is congested, and they had a pretty pink case that matched my pink Coach purse my mom got me for Christmas last year, so of course I had to have it. Better phone than food I guess. :) Now I just have to figure out how to use it.

I am still pretty seriously dizzy today - I feel like my head is moving through liquid. Weird feeling...

ETA - I used to work for Burger King, at a franchise location inside a mall. Cinnabon & Auntie Annie's Pretzels killed me....

I just got my iphone a month ago! So far I love it! We can learn together. It is pretty darn user friendly so you should be fine. Let me know if you have any questions! Mine has a pretty purple case!:)

Oh gosh, it's been so long since I logged in that my computer didn't fill in my login! :lol:

GOt home about 7 this morning (actually into Anchorage late last night, but slept at a friend's house where I'd left my car). Boy it was hard to go to work today! I had a great visit with my sister, my BIL/SIL, and a college friend. Eating was not awful, but some days I was hard pressed to find a vegetable! What are these people thinking?? Exercise was less good, mostly just a lot of walking. Now I need to go grocery shopping, then come home and unpack and fall into bed. My body is still adjusting from east coast time.

iPhone? :) I want one, I'm just having trouble justifying the increased monthly costs for the internet part. Sigh.

It's been cold here at night (I hear :lol: ) but no frost yet. The leaves have turned and it's very pretty out. This morning driving out from Anchorage I saw the most beautiful sunrise. Of course my camera was in the luggage in the back of the car.....

I can't possibly catch up with everyone, so I'm just jumping in and starting from here.

Interesting, obviously I have two logins on this site - and the above one is old. Oh well, it was still me. :lol:

Pat Wellcome back!

Hey Pat! Welcome back! Glad your vacation was a good one.

DH and I have been walking two nights after dinner. He's all excited so I'm dragging myself along. I'm working looong days and really wouldn't rather have this extra chore but I did promise to motivate him.

We also then sat in front of the TV and ate a 1/2 bag of whole wheat pretzels - could have been much worse. I was eating to try to stay awake (at 8:30 p.m.!!!).

I really miss my caffeinated pop. I know it's much better for my body without it but it's really hard to keep going at this point. I will struggle through this. It'll get easier next week, and even easier the week after that, etc.

Have a great hump day all (it IS Wed. right?)

Dagmar :tired:

LOL about the two logins, Pat! You have two different user icons too! Welcome back!

Dagmar, think of it this way -- those two extra walks not only are motivating for your DH, but burn a few extra calories for you too!

Shannon, have fun with the iPhone. I want them for myself and DH, but I can't justify the extra monthly cost. Right now we pay $60 for both of our cell phones.

I am loving the iPhone... The service plan actually doesn't cost me any more per month, I've had PDA phone for years and was already on an unlimited data plan for my Samsung BlackJack II. The iPhone data plan is exactly the same price... Now, it is more expensive then a regular cell phone plan, yes... I pay $82/mo, DH pays $45ish. :o

Dagmar - enjoy the walks with DH! They will make you feel good, too, one you get past the tired! :) And yes, the lack of caffeine will get easier over time.

Pat - good to see you! Glad you had a good trip!

Michele - purple is cool! I feel very girly with a pink cell phone case. :) I'm just beginning to explore the applications, any suggestions?

Iris - sounds like some mixed messages from your boss. Annoying!

I feel almost human today! I've had no cold medicine so far, just my standard daily allergy meds. I'm considering some dayquil to tide me over for the afternoon - I'm going to a wellness seminar put on by our insurance company, so every little bit will help! Really want to get done and home in time to do a little exercise. Nothing heavy duty, just getting my feet wet again after a week off...

Good day everyone!

Shannon, I'm glad to hear you're starting to feel better! Two of my coworkers have been out sick recently and I'm living in fear of catching whatever they had - probably flu. I get a free flu shot but not until Oct.3. Won't help me much if I get it before then!

Dagmar, are you giving up caffeine altogether or just the soda? Soda I can do without, but heaven help the person who tries to keep me from my coffee!

Pat, welcome back! I love fall with changing leaves and everything. It's so pretty. I can't wait to move back to a part of the country where I get to see it instead of the desert!

I bought a bunch of bananas this week thinking I was going to make smoothies, but apparently that's too much work for me and I've just been eating the bananas as is. I guess there's nothing wrong with that!

My son wants an iPhone, but I didn't want to deal with AT&T (bad experience with them from years ago when they took over the provider we had). My Verizon dealer says that it looks promising that they'll have iPhones in 2010, so then he can get one. Right now I don't know if I could part with my Blackberry, although I've played with DS's iPod Touch (which has the same touchscreen/apps/etc. as the iPhone) and it does seem okay (and it "learns" with you). We'll see if I change.

Wow, Shannon, that's a good price for your plan. I have basic nationwide service, 400 minutes and NO free nights/weekends, for $50 (which is paid by work). Like Allison AT&T is low on my list. They left the state, didn't provide us with good transition to Cellular One, and then after a few years, AT&T came back, and we had the same transition issues. THat's when I left them, and I hesitate to go back. I know that the basic service would be about $50-60, but then the internet is another $30/month. THe city clerk has one, and the city pays the basic and she pays the rest. If I weren't retiring soon, I'd consider doing that.

Iris - bananas are good no matter how you use them. :lol: I had one in my carry-on bag that got beat up. I just stuck it in the freezer for a smoothie.

I feel almost normal today. Still woke up early but later than yesterday. I should stop trying to sleep later when I'm waking up at 5 ish - just need to get up and go to the gym. It's going to be harder now that sunrise isn't until after 7 am.

Ha! Take that brownie! Nope, never had the brownie and turned yesterday into a better day in the afternoon. I was also 3 lbs lighter this morning so I'm sorta happy that I was retaining water, not fat. 2 more lbs from the weekend to flush away before it waaaahpfffts! onto my tummy (that's the sound it makes when it congeals).

My (29-year-old) sis & I are still on our parents family phone plan! We figure an extra $10 each for the two of us to share minutes that they never come close to using, rather than having to pay for whole new plans, is really the more economical thing to do. My dad is a gadget person so it wasn't hard to talk him into getting the plan that supports unlimited texting and lots of internet to our phones, too. I'll bet if Verizon ever gets iPhones it won't be hard to talk him into getting those, as I said, he likes gadgets. Mwahahaha!

Pink or purple cases would definitely improve the quality of one's phone. Definitely!

Pat, glad you had such a nice vacation, even if there were no vegetables to be found. Your weather sounds very nice right now!

Dagmar, couldn't you just go to sleep if you're that tired? I know I sleep extra when I'm not drinking coffee. It does sound like DH is enthusiastic about the evening walks, and it's good for him.

Iris, sorry you're having trouble waking up. I have trouble sometimes, too. I have to tell myself that the actual getting up and to the shower is the worst part, it's not so bad after that.

Shannon, I hope you're feeling better!

Off to the gym and then maybe to donate blood. I have lots of snacks to keep me going. I hope everyone makes it through their Wednesdays... then tomorrow is Thursday, practically the weekend! :)

One of the dogs I walk (7 year old) died this morning at home. Completely unexpectedly - I walked her yesterday and she seemed fine.

I have to take a few days to cry and stuff so I'll see you all Monday.

Dagmar :(

That's so sad Dagmar. Sorry to hear it. Makes me think that a similar fate may be mine in the near future. Buddy (not the avatar dog) is over 15 years old and that's old for a lab.

Dagmar, I'm so sorry about the dog. That's really tough.

Megan, we have my DSS on our plan, too. Since it's only $11 a month extra, I give it to her as a Christmas gift. Congrats on not eating a brownie.

Pat, it's hard to see the sunrise coming later, isn't it? Pretty soon it will be the solstice. Since it's still 90 degrees here, it doesn't even seem like fall.

Allison, that is old for a Lab. You've taken good care of him.

I've been volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club on Wednesday afternoons during their Power Hour (homework and reading). I was helping a 3rd grader today, and she had to write down her favorite thing in school. She said the Smart Board, and I asked, "what's a Smart Board?" Bad move! The look I got! Hey, they didn't have that stuff when my kids were in school. I had to google it when I got home. Never show 'em you have no idea what they're talking about.From now on, I'll just smile and nod, smile and nod.

Hope everyone has a good Thursday!

So sorry about the dog Dagmar. I am sure you will grieve him almost as if he was yours.

Shannon-- cool apps-- the best one so far is Shazam. You "tag" a song you are listening to. It can then tell you the lyrics, the artist, all about the artist, etc. And you can watch the video or buy the song from iTunes. It has helped me up my workout repertoire!

:hug: Dagmar.

Sheila, don't feel bad - I don't know what a smart board is either. We still had chalk boards and I'm only 24 so it wasn't that long ago!

:grouphug: Dagmar, I'm so sorry about the dog.

Sheila, now I have to google smart board too. I'm 27 and when I was a kid we had chalkboards, and in college whiteboards. I have to say, it bugs me when I see stuff on TV about the laptop usage in classrooms. I am one of those people who learns things by writing them down -- by hand. Typing what the teacher is saying onto a computer screen will not make me learn the way taking notes by hand does. I saw an article the other day about how people's handwriting is getting worse and worse because kids don't need to write anything by hand anymore, all their homework and tests are on the computer.

Hi all,

Slightly bummed that lightning came through the cable line last night and took out my new TV. It's just a TV, I know, but still... Anyway storms kept waking me last night so I'm a little :yawn: today. I'm lucky though. With all this rain, the next town over is having problems with almost everyone downtown's septic backing up into their houses... ewww... and I'm glad that's not happening in my house!

No weird side effects to donating blood last night like the last time I donated. I'm glad - I would still donate, but would have to cut out workouts entirely on donation days (now I just go to the gym first). For the first time ever they had semi-healthy snacks after donation, 90-cal packets of dried fruit (yes, with some sugar added). I politely declined their cookies and told the techs I would drink water and eat walnuts from my purse, and this one guy dug out the fruit for me and as I left a protein bar. Hello, where have these been? It was nice to have a few better-ish options.

My parents are teachers and their school (which is the one I attended) built a new building almost immediately after I graduated from high school. It had smart boards, but nobody told the teachers about smart boards, they just told them to move in. One of the teachers moved into his classroom, thought it was a white board, and wrote all over it. It had to be replaced. So note to all of us - you can't write on a smart board with white board markers! I'm only 27 and I didn't know what they were, either.

I can almost believe that handwriting would become obsolete. I remember we got graded on our penmanship in first grade, second grade... doesn't that happen anymore? Maybe 27 is old, lol!

Dagmar, I'm so sorry. :hug: It's so hard to lose a pet.

I'm sitting at my desk staring at the rain and doing some computer work today. How's everyone else's day going? I hope it's good.

So far, so good. Snuck a peek at the scale today - 130.5!! =) Now to maintain that through tomorrow night's happy hour :p

I'm glad the weekend is almost here - I need some me time. Maybe buy myself a cute outfit if I've maintained the loss by saturday!

Dagmar - :hug: I'm so sorry about the dog. It must be hard in your line of work, getting attached to so many different pets. It is hard enough for me thinking about something happening to the two owned by my parents and my cat.

Iris - I make smoothies almost every day, and have found myself eating bananas as a snack a lot lately, too. Never a bad time for banana! ETA - :high: on the loss! Definitely cute outfit time!

Allison - I don't love AT&T either, was with Verizon for a number of years and liked their customer service more, at least initially. In the last few years I was with them they had started to decline so there wasn't a lot of difference in the level of service between them & AT&T in this area. The Verizon dealer who sells us our company plan also says that they should have iPhones next year.

Pat - if I would just get up when I first wake up instead of trying for the few extra minutes of sleep it would be easier for me as well... I have a harder time getting up when it is dark outside, too.

Megan - good job on the brownie! And sucks about your tv - did you have it on a surge protector? I put mine on a battery backup with surge protector so there is some kind of warranty if it gets damaged by lightning.

Sheila - I didn't know what a smart board was either. :) My 4 year old stepson has computer time at daycare...

Michele - I've heard of Shazam - have to look for that. Thanks!

I remember being graded on handwriting... I wonder if that still happens. Probably not. My aunt has three kids, one who is 25 I think, and an 11 & 8 year old. She says that the schoolwork she is doing with the younger two is totally different from what she did with my older cousin. She was helping the 11 year old with an English assignment a few weeks ago that had a section on text messaging and its role in language development. WTF? I see no language development in text messaging. Heck, the 'intelligent keyboard' on my new iPhone fills in the word it thinks I mean even when I spell it totally wrong. I went as off the wall as I could yesterday to try to test the limits. I typed 'ebodj' and it filled in 'which'. Which was the actual word I meant in the context of the sentence I was writing. Creepy.

Well, I had great intentions of exercise yesterday, then by the time I got home I could barely keep my eyes open. I sat down on the bed for 'just a minute' and slept for over two hours. When I woke up the ear congestion, couging and dizziness was back so I tabled the exercise. I might give it another day or so and see what happens, if it isn't cleared by Monday I'll go back to the doctor. Figure I'll try exercise again tomorrow and see what happens. Might have to hit in the morning before the energy level bottoms out.

So, I think I've been having hot flashes the last few weeks and just didn't recognize the symptoms. I go from perfectly normal to red, hot, sweaty, out of breath, temp spikes up to 100-100.5, dizzy and a little shaky in about two minutes. Lasts anywhere from five to ten minutes then settles back down and is back to normal. I started paying attention since I've been sick, it always happens between 6-8:30 in the evening, and has happened every day. As I think back, it was happening before I got sick, too. Does this sound like a normal symptom? I'm only 37...

Good day everyone!

More downpours and severe storms here, though they didn't wake me until 6am today. I'm going a little stir crazy! The ground is already super-saturated and roads, yards, etc. are flooded everywhere already and it's still raining. The good news is my TV magically started working again last night. I established that it worked, then unplugged everything for more coming storms, lol. Shannon it was on one of those surge protector strips, but not a big battery back-up like we have for our computers at work. I don't understand it but I'm glad it started working again.

Yesterday the power went off at the office at 12:15. We waited 1 1/2 hours, no power, so I went to the gym. Turns out the power didn't come back on for many hours. At least I got a good long workout and got in bed early last night.

Shannon, ummm, to me text messaging slows down language development, if anything! How bizarre. Sounds like you're still sick and needed that rest. Let yourself rest! This is one instance where saying "I can exercise later" is ok.

Iris, I hope you get some good "me" time and a really cute outfit this weekend.

Not much going on here this weekend - the usual working out, laundry, hanging out w/ BF, and I think my beer club is going to brew a new batch Saturday evening. What are everyone's weekend plans?

Megan, glad the TV is working again. We had an issue a couple months ago where a power surge wiped out the entire memory of our DVR! (Of course it was the only thing we DIDN'T have plugged into a surge protector.) I wouldn't mind if the power went out at my office and I got to take off early, that's for sure! :lol: Also, I forgot to say it earlier, but I'm glad you and BF are working things out!

My only weekend plan is our Rosh Hashanah dinner tomorrow night. MIL is out of town on a bike trip so we're hosting it. As of right now I think we'll have nine people total for dinner. Today my plan is to find a good slow-cooker brisket recipe. Not sure if we'll cook it overnight tonight or just get it going early tomorrow morning.

Megan, we're getting inundated over here, too. The lawn service got a lawnmower caught last Tuesday in our backyard, which has turned into a small wetland. They had to tow it out. (I'm in the Tampa Bay area.)

The cable service probably went down in the storm, or a fuse protector in the TV was tripped and then reset. Who knows? We have satellite TV, and unless something strikes the dish we're OK. :yikes: We have everything plugged into surge protectors, although not the high-end kind, and we haven't had any problem. The one thing I do worry about is the phone line--but at least with a wireless network in the house, the computers aren't directly plugged into it. Oh, and we have cordless phones, so if the phone line was hit, only the base unit would blow (and not someone talking on the phone).

Interesting, isn't it? No hurricanes so far, just big thunderstorms one after another. :dunno:

Jay

And again I swear I posted here this morning, but nothing...

Megan - glad the tv is back up!

This morning I was talking about how we were getting whapped with rain here as well, but now it is partly sunny. Will rain again tomorrow though I believe... Blah. We need the rain desperately, but I wonder if the gunk it is stirring up is part of what is keeping me sick. Dunno.

Exercised tonight when I got home! Woo hoo! Did a DB workout from Women's Health (I was supposed to do two reps of the 8 exercises, but only did one) and then did 45 mins on the elliptical. I feel okay now, but we'll see about later....


Have to go visit my folks tomorrow - my dad had hernia repair surgery today and is at home recovering so we are going to take him ice cream and BluRay videos for his convalescence. Hopefully the rain will hold off on the drive there and back.

Good weekend everyone!

Glad you're feeling better Shannon.

I have been crazy all week and the weekend will still be crazy. My weight was down but today's eating has been a little funky so I'll see how my weigh in goes tomorrow. Dh comes back from Europe late tonight/early tomorrow. He's been gone 2 LONG weeks. Tonight dd and I are going to temple for Rosh Hashanah. Tomorrow I need to work on a major school project (and tonight after temple too) and then Sunday we are going to Sonoma for a pasta feed (pasta and wine sound like a dangerous combination!)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Gulp....
I finally changed my goal here. I don't know why I was so hesitant to do it. My official WW goal is 135 but I've been hanging around 125 for months and I don't think I'd be happy at 135 now. It is just a mental thing but I really had a hard time doing it. Silly me.... back to my school project again....

Hi everyone, sorry I've been missing for so long. Just a lot going on here. I've been very sick and couldn't figure out why. I finally broke down and went to see my doctor. After some tests, I've learned I'm now Insulin Dependent Diabetic. Very depressing for me since I've done about everything in my power to lose weight and keep it off.

My last post a couple weeks ago was about my grandson living here with us. He is now back with his mom and awaiting the new custody trial (so his dad will take custody of him). My heart breaks at the way this baby has been shuffled around.

In other news, today we learned my son is deploying to Afghanistan instead of Iraq. I was afraid this would happen! He isn't upset about it, but I am! Though I'm trying to stay calm and not "stress out" which even further messes with my already enormously high blood sugars!

I'll try to start posting again and let everyone know how my new "diabetic diet" is going. I'm staying within a few lbs. of goal, so just need to eat the right way and focus on my health more than my weight for right now.

I do have the desire to walk on my treadmill but not the energy to do so. I feel incredibly fatigued all the time for right now.

I hope everyone else is doing OK!