Support Groups - New CANADIAN WINTER Thread ...

Holy snark it dumped on us yesterday :( I am so done with this winter thing... seriously.

Found out this morning a friend died suddenly last night :( Why do people do this? I do so much better with it when given some kind of warning.

This isn't going to be a good week... I work all week, then have no exercise time until wednesday. Tonight is a hockey game, tomorrow is taking my Mom shopping, Wednesday is dog agility, not a lot of exercise but it's something. I wasn't able to get my butt off the couch all weekend, I am so unmotivated lately.

Hello all. It's so cold here today--the coldest this winter, brrrr. I got out to walk this morning before the wind started blowing so I was ok. Tomorrow the wind chill is supposed to be -27. I might not walk.

Aunty Jam, sorry about your friend. My friend's aunt died of a stroke last week, very unexpected also.

So here's the recipe I submitted to X-Weighted. A clean recipe is one that doesn't use processed foods but as natural foods as possible. The cookbook is called Clean Food, by holistic health counselor and food educator Terry Walters.

Potato Salad
1 1/2 pounds red-skinned potatoes
1 sweet yellow pepper, seeded and chunked
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 green onions, sliced
3/4 cup frozen green peas, lightly cooked and chilled
3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped or 1 tablespoon, dried

Scrub potatoes and cook in salted boiling water until tender but not over done. Drain and let cool slightly. Cut potatoes in large chunks. Mix the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper together to make a dressing. In a large bowl combine warm potatoes, yellow pepper chunks and sliced onions with half the dressing. Chill. When ready to serve salad, combine with peas, dill and remaining dressing.

RO ~ thanks for the recipe; the dressing sounds nice. Thanks for the "clean" definition ... I make clean food sometimes too; just didn't know it! :lol:

Aunty ~ sorry to hear about your friend's sudden passing; that's very upsetting. Remember, keepin' busy burn calories too! :hug:


We went up town (despite the cold) to pay some bills and do a bit more shopping, picking up the stuff we couldn't get last weekend. I bought myself a thick plush fleece blanket to keep me toasty and warm tonight.

Have a terrific Tuesday and stay warm ... Rosebud :flow1:

Yes, thanks for the recipe, it does sound good.

I guess the funeral will be saturday, we're all kind of bummed but trying to remember the good times.

I ended up not going to the hockey game which sucks because my team actually showed up for a change and won!!! But that means I didn't sit on my duff and drink beer either. The game wasn't televised and I was so sure they'd loose again (50 lashes with a wet noodle for the non-believer) that I didn't even listen to it on the radio. Actually... my husband gave me good news only up dates about the game via blackberry (he was out) and I had me a nice 40 minute work out at home.

I recently started a "good stuff" book. I needed something to help keep me motivated, I'm not sure if it's the Canadian winter or what but I tend to get down easily. I have a calendar book that my Mom gave me for Christmas that I was having trouble finding a use for. Last night I decided I would write down only the good things that I've noticed while I loose weight or things that people have said to me regarding my weight loss. I will never write about a slip up, or a bad day... good stuff only. Like when I saw a friend at her baby shower and the first thing she said to me was "You look great!" or that I noticed the little "saddle bag" things on either side of my chin are almost gone or had to get a smaller pair of jeans. I'm really hoping this will help to get me out of a funk. Have you guys ever done anything like this?

Aunty Jam, that's a great idea on the calendar book. I haven't done anything like that but I've heard about other people who have.

Rosebud, I noticed over on the Calorie Counters forum that you posted in the "What did you have for breakfast" thread that you have homemade muesli for breakfast some mornings. What do you put in yours? I'm going to start making muesli and would like your input.

Another cold day here out in the Atlantic Ocean. Almost -18 plus wind chill of -27. Brrrrr. And that crazy rodent saw his shadow today so for me that means 16 more weeks of winter (give or take a month). It's hard to believe it was +5 two weeks ago. Bundle up and keep warm.

Aunty Jam, sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. I have heard of people keeping a Gratitude Journal, which sounds like it might be similar.

RO - I agree, the recipe does sound good. I printed it out. Thanks!

Rosebud - that fleece blanket sounds so nice and cozy. Maybe I need one too.

I am excited because "Lost" starts up again tonight.:carrot: DH can't stand it, but I love it. So many convoluted plot lines. Sadly, it is the last season.

Have a good evening, and stay warm!

RO ~ here's my recipe for homemade Meusli; very simple really ~

1/3 cup Quaker Granola Cereal/110
1/3 cup All-bran Buds or other whole grain cereal/60
2 tsp chopped nuts/35*
1 tbl seedless raisins/25
1 sliced dried apricot**/20

*I use hazelnuts (complete protein); or almonds & walnuts. **you can also sub with some dried cranberries (1 tbl) or whatever you want. This is for one serving and adds up to about 250 calories. I make up three individual servings at a time in see-thru plastic containers. Just grab; add milk and a bit of sweetener, if needed.

JUDY ~ we love that blanket so much; we are going to pick up another one.

AUNTY ~ I do a daily food journal and a gratitude journal as well. I do the same thing; only write down the positive stuff (ignore the neggies). By focusing on your positive accomplishments, you stay motivated to do even better next time. Even on the day(s) that I eat a bit more than I planned I just put a + sign on the total; I learn from it, and move on to the next day.

We have lovely :sunny: here today; lovin' it too! We have lots of birdies comin' to our feeder the last few days. The colder temps encourages that, so we put out extra food during February and March for them. Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday ... Rosebud :flow1:

Thank you so much for the recipe, Rosebud. It looks delicious. I didn't know hazelnuts were a complete protein. You learn something new everyday.

RO ~ yes, hazenuts are one of the few nuts that are a complete protein, so you can eat them all by themselves and get their Protein value (just chew them well); the others, you need to eat with something else in order to get their NV (nutrient value). I bet some people don't know that either. They are sometimes hard to find though -- I managed to get some over Christmas but when I looked this week, both stores were completely sold out of them; go figure ... :?:


We had another lovely :sunny: day, so we went out and picked up some bird feed, dog food, and another plush blanket (got the last one in that color). WE are all set now; will be nice and cozy. So I got in lots of walking today; tomorrow will be a rest day. We had fish for dinner becuz I was tired and it's tres easy ... ;)

Hope you all have a fantastic Friday tomorrow ... Rosebud :flow1:

Thanks for that info. I'm vegetarian and of course I'm always on the lookout for good proteins. I can usually get hazelnuts at the Superstore in 100 gram bags which is not much considering how expensive that is. I don't ever remember seeing them in larger bags or even at a bulk food store in my area. I really like hazelnuts. Must keep my eyes peeled next time I go to the city.

We had a snow day here. It's our first real storm of the season but it's not too bad where I live. My two DSs are in the blizzard area and have quite a bit of snow. I got out to walk today but didn't make very good time as I had headwinds for most of the walk. But thankfully the temperature wasn't as low as it had been all week. Up to a balmy -6 or -7 most of the day.

RO ~ PLANTERS sells Hazelnuts in larger bags; and at a better price than the baking section ones. I got them at Christmastime, and when I went back to buy some more, they were all gone. Will maybe have to ask the manager if they can get them again. Sooo, I went to the grocery store and bought 2 bags of the ones still in the shell; but noticed this week that they are also sold out of them now too. They sure are becoming a very popular nut; but the demand is exceeding the supply by far ... drats!

We had some gorgeous :sunny: again today; so nice for us. It is going down now and it's cooling off. Time to go put supper on; we're having pork shoulder steak and veggies for dinner tonight ... haven't had them in a while and found some in the freezer when we were putting groceries away the other day!

Have a wonderful weekend people ... Rosebud :flow1:

Rosebud, you are a wealth of information. I'll have a look for the Planter's nuts. I like to buy the larger bags and keep them in the freezer.

We had snow for the last 2 days and everything is piled high. We didn't have much of a storm but it was a steady snow with some wind at times. I walked today and then shoveled for a while. Now, I'm ready for spring but alas it is not to be so for a long time.

Have a good day, eh. :)

You too eh :D

Mmmmmmmmmm.... Hazel nuts are yummy, my Dad's allergic so we never had them in the house when I was a kid. I may go look for them now, what are they like calorie and fat wise?

Went swimming today with the husband and step daughter, holy smokes am I ever tired! It doesn't seem like you're working very hard when you're in the pool but once you get out you sure notice it! None of us has been swimming since we were in California last year, we plan to go more often :)

I didn't realize there were so many Canucks on 3FC!

I usually live in northern Ontario, but right now I'm living in the extreme north of Quebec and teaching in an Inuit village. Winter lasts from October to late May/early June, and temperatures can sometimes drop below negative 50... without including the windchill. Brrrr!

I just know that I'll never complain about how cold it is in Ontario ever again!

:welcome: to our Canadian thread, KIRJAVA ~ I was in northern Quebec one winter (not as far up as you though) and it was quite cold there. My sister & her DH were working in a small town near Chibougamau and we went up one Christmas to visit. Can't believe we braved that now, but Angels were with us, and we had a safe trip there and back.

AUNTY JAM ~ hazelnuts are about 95 cals for 10-12 and 8.5 grams of fat for same; I usually eat about 6 at a time for <50 cals + 4.2 grams fat.

Just having a quiet weekend at home. We've had some nice :sunny: here and that has certainly warmed things up for us here ... only -7C today. Have a great week everyone! :flow1:

Kirjava - That is seriously cold, I couldn't handle it. What do you teach?

Rosebud - Thanks, I'm going shopping tomorrow, maybe I'll look for some.

I'm starting to be ok with Norm's passing... I'm still sad I'll never see him again, never have him wrap me in a bear hug, make a face at my husband and say "Mine!" but I know he wouldn't want me to dwell on it, he wasn't that kind of person. It was a massive heart attack, his second one, doctors at the hospital said he was likely dead before he hit the floor. Norm was a fun guy.

I'm thinking of signing up for a 5k run/race in August... I can run on the spot for 20 minutes without stopping and I plan to go outside once summer comes (or maybe to a track sooner). I should be able to manage 5km by August.... right??????

Hi gals.

Aunty Jam, I love swimming and I know what you mean about feeling it afterwards. I haven't been swimming since last summer and wish we had a pool close by so I could go every day. That 5k run is totally a possibility. It's amazing how quickly we can increase our endurance with practice.

Hi Kirjava. I guess long johns are a staple clothing article where you live. I wear them on really cold days myself as I hate feeling cold. We have a wood furnace and it's always warm inside but outside I'd like it to be as warm. Ha, ha.

Rosebud, it's really warmed up here. It was +3 today but that made for lots of slush. I don't know what's worse in winter, cold temperatures with hard snow or warm temperatures with slush.

Anyone have any plans for Valentine's Day? I'd like to do something special but DH is not likely to want to eat out as he doesn't like restaurant food. (He keeps adding up the food and comparing it to what we could have bought in a grocery store. So not much romance in that conversation.)

AUNTY ~ sorry to hear about your friend passing; it is true what they say ... time is the best healer of grief. After a while, we can reminisce over all the fun things about our friends and loved ones ... :hug:

RO ~ we don't go out on Valentine's Day very often either; but if I pressed the issue, we could. Honestly, there are only a couple of places here to dine out and it is very expensive. We went out to a nice place on my 50th birthday and splurged; but it isn't something we could do all the time. The place is kinda like a Swiss Chalet without the salad bar; it is nice, but they charge for it too. I used to be a professional cook myself, so I am a bit fussy; if I can't find a place that makes it as good as me, then forget it!:D

Well, it says it's only -9C out there, but with these cold northern winds, it feels a lot colder than that. We had to go out today and those winds almost blew us away. DH had a dentist appointment, otherwise we would have just stayed home.

We picked up some fresh foods and did some errands whilst we were out there; but boy, I was glad to get back home. DH was just saying it feels cold in here right now, so I am going to put the furnace up a bit to make it feel warmer in here. I just noticed that I can hear the winds coming down the furnace pipe ... :yikes:

Have a great evening ... Rosebud :flow1:

Thanks everyone... I know it will take a while for me to be really ok with it.

I told my husband we could ignore V-day this year, he was shocked because I'm a bit of a romantic but I'm just not into it. Between some personal woes and not enjoying food the way I used to I'm just not sure it's worth the effort to do anything. Hubby has suggested a pasta dinner and a bottle of red wine (both my favorites), then the first (and only!) romantic movie he ever took me to see is playing on TV so he suggested we sit down and watch that together. And all I can think of is "Pasta is really bad... wine is really bad... it's a sunday, weigh in day... I need to work out". He's trying and if I don't say ok he'll get upset and frustrated and I can't even get mad at him for that because I'm frustrated with myself for being negitive about the whole thing! BLEH! Excuse me while I bang my head on my desk.

On a slightly better note, I've recruited 2 friends to do the 5k run with me and plan on doing the "Couch to 5k" program. It looks like something I can handle. One of my friends is a more experienced runner so I'll get to lean on him for some advice.

Oh and I found natural hazel nuts in the bulk baking section of Save on Foods but couldn't get any (budget), maybe next week.

Rosebud - Do you eat the natural ones or are they better processed? Eg, from Planters.

RO - I think we're going to go swimming agian this weekend... if I can convince hubby to go as more of a work out thing then an entertain-his-16yo-daughter type of thing.

AUNTY ~ I ate them both; and couldn't really tell any difference, except that the Planters were probably more uniformly bigger (you know, the natural ones may have a few shrunken ones or smaller ones in them). The Planters didn't have any salt on them either (and that's good); and the others were in their natural shell. I just happened to buy 2 big bags of the ones in the shell so I still have 1 left. I only bought 1 bag of the Planters, and I could kick myself in the butt for not buying more now. The Planters were only $1.00 more than the ones in the shell; which isn't that much really.

Your post just reminded me -- we have a new bulk food store here in town now; so maybe we'll go see if they have some or not, and what the price is there too. They say they have all kinds of nuts; but I will have to discipline myself and not look at the other stuff ... :lol:

PS ~ I think that pasta dinner with wine & a movie sounds great; pasta isn't bad. Just be sure to measure your serving to 1 cup cooked, then add your sauce or whatever you are having, like meatballs. If you are really concerned, just eat lighter at lunch. We just limit ourselves to pasta once a week; if I have leftovers, I save that for a lunch a few days later.


Just stayed home and did laundry and light housechores today; had chicken and roasted veggies for dinner. Had a good OP day, and am pleased about that. Have a wonderful Wedsnesday ... Rosebud :flow1:

Aunty Jam, I second the vote for pasta. You could have a large plateful if you fill the pasta with all kinds of vegetables.

Rosebud, sounds like your day is going good. I've been on the go most of the day-walked, hair appointment, dentist appointment, church goodwill centre, prayer meeting in a few minutes. Most days mine are much more confined to the house.

Wish winter was gone. My legs and feet feel so heavy when I'm walking with boots and double layers on my legs. When spring comes I'll think I'm flying in lighter clothing. Hahaha, when the wind hits me I do think I'm flying.

Have a great evening ladies. Catch you later.

:wave: HI LADIES ~ We were gonna go out today for a couple of pick-ups and for a walk, but the winds were really cold, making it feel much colder than it was. Tonight it is suppose to drop down to -17C, and with the winds, that would feel more like -27C; I can already hear the winds coming down the furnace pipe, as I am typing this post ... :brr:

Today, we were making up our bed with a new blanket that I picked up and I pulled my groin muscle ... :yikes: that really smarts.Thankfully, after I rested for a while, the pain subsided and I was OK to get dinner going early, so DH could go to a charity hockey game. In the future, I am going to have to be much more careful ... :o

I had another really good OP day today; was happy about that. I am tweaking and revising my plan as I go. Instilling some ideas from other plans, but still using my basic plan that I devised many years ago now. I am getting better at it as time goes by.

Hope you all have a great day tomorrow; we may be hybernating, if it gets much colder here ... :lol:

I feel bad for you guys... it's getting wamer here! We got up to 1°c yesterday! This is a rare winter treat for us... although we did have some of this a few months ago too. It's been an odd winter all around.

Unfortunately I had pasta last night, now pasta again for lunch today (left overs) <sigh> and now pasta on sunday. I've asked if hubby could make whole wheat pasta but he really doesn't like it. I'm going to eat maybe half of the pasta I brought for lunch. I weighed myself this morning and it wasn't a good result.

According to my Wii I ran 6610 meters in 20 minutes last night! That's my best distance ever by almost 500 meters! That's running on the spot but I did lap the pool table a few times.

So, what did you all think of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies? I thought they were beautifully done, and I was very moved by the Olympic flag and torch ceremony. I figured the final torch bearer would be Wayne Gretzky. Perfect choice, IMHO. So sad about the young luger though. Tragic.

We have a long weekend here in Alberta, does everyone get that? I am going to take it easy and try to get over my cold.

We are having very moderate temps here too. Not enough to melt the snow, though.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

I liked the ceremonies and I agree Gretz was the perfect choice. I was so sad when the Georgian team marched in, such a horrible thing to have happened. Did anyone else see the crash? Made my stomach lurch.

Pasta dinner has turned into chicken parmasean (sp?) so I can still have pasta and fill up on nummy chicken. I was tempted to get a bottle of wine for my relaxing bath last night but decided to hold out and get it on Sunday. Then I ended up having an extra long work out and had a quick shower instead of a long bath :) My husband is half Italian and is a wonderful cook, I specifically asked for home made sauce so I am really looking forward to tomorrow! I'm going to have to make sure to drink lots of water before dinner so I don't over eat!

Hi there. I didn't see the opening ceremonies but I did see the luge accident yesterday afternoon. So sad.

Aunty Jam, your Valentine Dinner sounds like it will be a winner. We're having veggie burgers because we haven't had them in ages and we both like them very much.

Since last time I posted I've been down and out with a very sore lower back. Haven't been able to walk (outside) or exercise since Thursday afternoon. I think it might have been the wood chopping I was doing. I thought it might be a good workout for my arms but my back disagreed...sigh...It's gone from terrible to bad so I guess by Monday or Tuesday I'll be back to my normal exercise routine minus the wood chopping. I've been doing hot baths and icing the area which has helped some and I've been eating Ibuprofen as a 5th food group. Today it poured rain so my walk would have been put on hold anyway but I would have gone on my exercise bike. Oh, well, I'm on the mend.

Have a good day people.

HI LADIES ~ NO, we haven't seen any of the Olympics becuz we don't have cable or satellite tv; I am just going to keep track on the net for the results like I did last time. I am kind of glad that I didn't see that accident; so I am sending up some prayers for those involved. Gee, it's been some time since we have seen any really bad accidents at these kind of games; will have to pray that the athletes won't be frazzled (?) by that incident.

Sounds like you all have some nice plans for Valentine's Day; we may have something special, but haven't decided what yet. I was kinda thinkin' of Shepherd's pie (one of DH's faves); we picked some frozen ones up on sale last week. They are so much nicer when all you have to do is pop them in the oven. :D

RO ~ sorry you hurt your back; I strained my right groin muscle so have been taking it easy the last couple days myself and am feeling better for it. You just gotta do what ya gotta do; and that's rest until you are healed. Then just pick up from where you left off.

AUNTY ~ you've been getting lots of exercise in; sounds like you have lots of room to jog indoors -- you must have a big rec room somewhere. If I have leftover pasta, I freeze some for a few days later or the next week for a lunch so I don't have the pasta too often in one week; but as long as you spread it out, it should be OK. Plus re-inventing the dish is a great idea too.

JUDY ~ our temps warmed up to 0C today with some :sunny: -- then tonight, they dropped back down to about -10C, plus the winds slowed down and we have had some ***** over the evening as well.

Hope you all have a pleasant Valentine's Day tomorrow; we also have a civic holiday called FAMILY DAY on Monday here in Ontario. Take good care ... Rosebud :flow1:

RO & RB - Take care of yourselves! Hope you both get healed up and back at it soon.

We also have Family day here in Alberta :) Do you guys have anything special planned for tomorrow?

We have a fairly big room in the basement, it's a little tight with most of it taken up by the pool table but it works. Hubby has grand plans for the basement that includes removing walls and adding a wet bar. We'll see.

I'm trying to get lots of exercise but unfortunately I usually get lots of food too. Friday night I worked out for an hour, I did 10 minutes of step before and after a 20 minute run, then just for the heck of it I ran for another 10 minutes and did another 10 minutes of step to cool down. My legs are still sore! LOL. Some friends and I have signed up for a 5k run in August so I'll be starting the couch to 5k program soon. I'm trying to figure out how to fit my Mom in Laws old treadmill into the basement. Wish me luck!

Help! Hubby came home with the groceries for dinner (and also some roses and alstroemerias :) ) with a cheese cake sampler for desert!!!!! Basically a whole cheese cake made up of pieces from all different kinds of cheese cake!

God give me strength!

AUNTY ~ I think that is so cute; roses + plus a plant (flower?) + cheesecake sampler ... I bet he thinks cheesecake is healthy for you. Now, if you just take a bite or square from a few that won't be so bad ... I said, only a bite ... :lol:

;) Prayers ascending ... :hug:

Off to check on my dinner too -- we are having Beef Shepherd's Pie + baked apple & blueberry crumble ... yum!

Well, we did have our so-called Beef Shepherd's pie on V-Day; but it was really a vegetarian Shepherd's pie with no Shep in it! :lol: You would have gone blind lookin' for the boeuf ... ;) And if that isn't bad enuff, I bought 8 of those suckers ... LOL! So now I am conjuring up a way that I can sneak some meat in there somehow ...

We went shopping today as there was a break in the ***** and the temps came up to about 0C. Picked up some salad stuff and veggies etc. Got a lot of walking in but now I feel like the tin man, so have to go put my legs up after I get out of here. Hope you all are having a great week and I just know that you are all busy watching the Olympics right now ...

ttyl ... Rosebud :flow1:

Loved the Canadian Mens hockey last night! Was hoping Chan would do better in his short program but they say there is still a chance he may make it to the podium. Keeping my fingers crossed. Did you guys see the women snowboarder who won gold? Yay! :)

Vday dinner was really good but he accidentally put to much splenda in the sauce and it was a little sweet. No heartburn though... The cheese cake was so heavy, bleh, I had 2 half pieces (= 1 whole piece :( ) then read the bottom of the container yesterday... 440 calories per piece!!!!! HOLY CARP! I told him to get it out of the house, it actually made me a little sick, I've never been one for rich foods.

What did everyone do for Family day? Mom and I went to our new art gallery, then dress shopping, then dinner, then grocery shopping. Whew... busy day.

I haven't had a chance to run lately, I want to start the couch to 5k program but I have a business trip in March that's not going to leave me any time to run. Think I can "pause" training for a week? Maybe the repeat the last week I did before I move on?

i'm here, Fraser valley BC ... about 40-hour away from Vancouver. Its a beautiful day here (12 degrees yesterday), i wish i had found this thread months ago it would have helped alot. Course we didn't have a bad winter this year i could have REALLY used it last winter and the one before. Anyway i'm glad i'm here now.

:welcome: JEN ~ glad you finally found us! I try to steer new Canadians our way, if I see some in the Introduction Forum, but I'm sure I don't catch them all. You have balmy weather out there compared to us; we have been having ***** for the last 2 days and they are predicting more for the rest of the week. I took some pics of it yesterday; as it is piling up on the deck out front. It's -6C near the house but I can hear those winds howling out there, so it is probably a lot colder out in the open ... :brr:

AUNTY ~ oh dear, sorry you didn't notice the count on that cheese cake -- we can get individual mini ones here sometimes for about 120 cals each, but then I just eat about 1/2 at a time and put it back in the freezer. They only have them now and then though, not all the time; which is commonplace in a small town like this. Count it as a special occasion, and keep on going!

Just stayed home today and rested; as I seemed to need that. Guess I did a bit too many exercises and with the walking added on ... it was just too much. Gotta watch that: less is more, they say. Hope you all have a good week ... Rosebud :flow1:

thanks for the welcome, this thread didn't show up through the new posts search so i missed your welcome.

It wasn't a good day yesterday, sarah (my toddler) is sick, my hubby's sick and we leave for hawaii in 1 day less than 2 weeks. Everyone better get better by then lol.

JEN ~ Wow -- lucky you ... off to Hawaii in February. I suppose you are flying there? Hope your family are all feeling better by then too!

They said it was supposed to be :sunny: today but Mr. Sun hasn't arrived yet, maybe he'll show up later. The temps are much milder though: +1C which is good for this time of year. Our winter interlude is finished for this year and the committee, volunteers, and sponsors did a fabulous job once again!

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend with nice weather like us ... Rosebud :flow1:

JEN ~ Wow -- lucky you ... off to Hawaii in February. I suppose you are flying there? Hope your family are all feeling better by then too!


March 5 to the 14th to be exact. 13 days from now. We've been planning this trip since July and my best friend is coming with us, her and i are going to climb diamond head crater otherwise known as Honolulu's outdoor stair climber. lol

P.S. yes we are flying, otherwise it would be an awful tiring swim. ;););)

Welcome, Jen. Glad you've joined us.

This last week was so busy. It was our church's turn at the Goodwill centre in town and I was there Tuesday to Friday each afternoon. I did, however, find some wonderful buys this week while I was there. I bought a brand new yogurt maker still in the box for $2, a couple of tops, 2 dresses, 2 sweaters, 2 plastic baby cups and a pizza cutter. I didn't spend over $15 for the whole lot including 3 tops for DH. I luv the Goodwill Centre. :D I spent most of the afternoons sorting and shelving clothing so I was on my feet most of the time.

Our weather has been snowy, rainy, slushy and totally uncharacteristically warm for this time of the year. The ground isn't even frozen so not only is there slush but mud as well. What a mess when walking.

Rosebud, send me your Shepherdless pie, I'm vegetarian... Maybe you could fry up some ground beef and spoon it over the top.

Aunty Jam, I believe all desserts are about 500 calories!! I'm always blown away by the calories in cakes and pies, etc. I have dessert once a week and I'm always looking for low calorie desserts with full fat, full sugar content and they are not to be found, of course, but I wish anyway. So I find my portions are getting a little smaller trying to compensate for the high calories. I love cheesecake and don't think I could get rid of it that easily.

My back is better and I've been out walking since Tuesday but I actually gained 1/2 pound this week (which I'm refusing to claim). I did have a bad breakdown Tuesday night where I ate an equivalent of 3 days calories (or 8 pieces of cheesecake). I haven't done that in such a long time but I just kept eating...sigh....but I've been ever vigilant since and will be for some time to come. I would have been at goal this week I'll wager if not for Tuesday night.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

I have been working 2 jobs since January 4th and it looks like it will not come to an end until. March 12. I have been told that the new driver criminal background should be cleared by the end of the March Break. I will be driving my school run until the 12th then the break starts and I will get actual days off and then I can spend more time on me. I can keep a "vampire" type schedule and not have to make my body switch between a vampire schedule and a nanny schedule. I will also be able to stay up to date on what everyone else is doing. I look foarward to getting to know you all again.

When you start a new Spring Thread be sure to send me an email with the link to the new thread in case thing don't go as planned. First day of Spring is March 21.

Laura

Hi Jen :) Nice to meet ya.

RO - I actually like to have yogurt for desert... no fat, no sugar (splenda). I find it very satisfying, sometimes I throw in some bran buds or chop up some real fruit and add that. Very nummy!

Rosebud - It's very nice here too.. was going to go to the off leash park with my dogs today but just didn't make it.

:( My "young" dog turned 7 today and became a senior! Of course he still looks and acts like he's 4 or so. My old dog is 14 1/2... and still dominates over the young one.

Hubby and I figured out a way to get the treadmill into the basement so keep your fingers crossed that happens for me soon! I really need to start some serious training for this 5k run.

I'm worried about my business trip in March, I'm going to Houston, Texas for 6 days. Last time I was there there were almost no vegatables to be seen!!! Portions are MASSIVE in Texas and everything is either deep fried or smothered in sauce :( We had to hunt for a place with good veggies! PLUS it's right in the middle of my training. This is not going to be good.

I will be so glad when the temps stay above 10 degrees Celsius again. When I get dressed for the 12 hr night shift job I feel like a stuffed turkey b/c of all the clothes you need to wear so you stay warm. This night was so damp and cold the cold seemed to seep into your bones and stay there.

HI LADIES ~ Well, Mr. :sunny: finally showed up today -- nice! It is very warm out there ... above 0C and the snow is melting on the road too.

RO ~ yes, that is exactly what I plan to do; fry up some lean hamburger and put it on that -- great minds think alike. That's a good idea having all the churches take turns voluteering at your goodwill; maybe I'll suggest that to ours as they have been having some struggles lately. Donations have been down with 2 major employers closed up for most of this winter. One friend just returned to work this week becuz someone else decided to retire.


AUNTY ~ our girls were the same; of course, the older one was her mommy. Sadly they passed away and now we have our boy, NIKO who is just a young fella about 2 years old now. We really don't know his exact age as he was an abandoned dog that was rescued and we adopted him; he's very lovable and looks similar to yours too.

2b ~ we have a frosty cold here this year; biting cold would be more accurate. Thankfully, today is much milder ...

JEN ~ :lol: ... actually, I was just wondering if it was a cruise vs a fly-in. A lady I know has a dream to go to Hawaii, but she is afraid to fly, so we suggested a cruise, if there is such a thing??? :D

Hope you all have a very pleasant Sunday ... Rosebud :flow1:

JEN ~ :lol: ... actually, I was just wondering if it was a cruise vs a fly-in. A lady I know has a dream to go to Hawaii, but she is afraid to fly, so we suggested a cruise, if there is such a thing??? :D



i was teasing you, i couldn't resist sorry honey.

anyway there are cruises where you go to all the islands, but i haven't seen any from the mainland to Hawaii.

Hello ladies. What a nice day here. It was 7 C when I went for my walk and the sun came out and I got the best time ever walking/jogging my 6.55 k route. It looks and feels like spring. It's so hard to believe it's February 22. We're usually in a deep freeze this time of the year. I suppose we could be in the middle of a blizzard next week.

Aunty Jam, I often have yogurt for dessert but I don't count that as dessert. :D Desserts are rich and gooey and full of calories so anything healthy doesn't count. Haha But the yogurt and fruit gives me the sweetness I'm craving. Actually, the more fruit I have in my diet the less I want/crave refined sugar.

Rosebud, I guess lay-offs are everywhere. The papermill close to where I live closed down this year and it's affected the whole area. But I haven't noticed any lack of donations in the goodwill. The bags of clothing seem to breed in the collection room.

Laura, I know what you mean about so many layers of clothing on in the winter. Sometimes I feel like Maggie Simpson in her snowsuit. (DSs always watched The Simpson's when they were home. When Maggie, the baby was in her snowsuit she couldn't move her arms or feet and looked like a five point star with all her limbs sticking out and her head at the top.) What's your night job?

Jen, that swim to Hawaii would be quite a workout! :rofl:

Keep warm and I'll be back.

My 12 hr night shifts are in Security. I answer alarm calls. When off from that I drive school vehicle. I was suppose to be done the driving in December but when the MTO was on strike it was impossible to get new drivers licenced so I was asked to stay on until a new driver could be licenced for my run. I am hoping to be free and clear of driving in 2 weeks. I am finding that not having any time off is hard on the system.

i was teasing you, i couldn't resist sorry honey.

anyway there are cruises where you go to all the islands, but i haven't seen any from the mainland to Hawaii.

There are some cruises that leave from Vancouver and go to Hawaii. We have been looking at them, but they have 5 sea days to get to Hawaii, and we thought we might not enjoy that.

Rosebud - Rescues are the best... my old dog (front) was adopted from the humane society and the young one (back) was from an unwanted litter they were going to take to the humane society.

RO - I keep trying to think of yogurt as a desert! I repeat it as I eat "This is desert... this is desert!" :D

I want to go to Hawaii too!!!! But I'll have to settle for a business trip to Houston next month :(

Getting the treadmill moved into the basement soon... I keep pestering hubby he says I have a one track mind.

JUDY-LYNN ~ thanks for that info; I will pass it along for sure.

AUNTY ~ yes, our boy just seems to happy and grateful to be with us all the time; he is so meek now and always trying to please us. My sister says it is becuz he knows how lucky he is to live with you; DH says he thinks his previous home wasn't too good, and he may be right (well, they deserted him and left him & his sister there to starve). He is such a sweet, lovable, and well-behaved dog; I guess I'll just never understand some people ...

We had lots of big, giant ***** flakes fall all day today; it really was so very pretty. DH grumbles about it a bit, but I love it myself becuz I'd rather have the snow and the nicer temps that go along with it. Just had another quiet day today, but tomorrow, I'm off to the dentist to have my last filling done. Glad that will be done with soon.

Have a wonderful Wednesday ladies ... Rosebud :flow1:

Rosebud - Sometimes they just know.

It's supposed to get up to +4° here today!

Woo Hoo! Hubby got the treadmill into the basement last night! :tread:

Now I think I may be comming down with something, there's something going around work. Either that or it's all the dust and carp from cleaning out the basement. Hubby insists on cleaning out the entire basement since I wanted the treadmill in there... couldn't just clean out the little room it needed. Oh well... it really, REALLY needed it.

:wave: HI TO ALL OUR FELLOW CANUCKS out there ~ hope you are all having a Fabulous Friday ...

The temps were colder (down to about -18C) here during the night and we had some really frosty northern winds this week which made is seem about 10 degrees colder than that. So we just jacked up the furnace last night and that helped a lot. Today the temps came up to almost 0C but those winds were still here ... drats!

Well, in a couple of days, we'll be in March and then spring will be here before we know it ... :carrot:

Ttyl ... have a wonderful weekend ... :D

Treadmill is in... basement is a disaster and I have a cold :( I'm going to try start couch to 5 k tomorrow anyway since it's not a really bad cold, just a bit under the weather but I haven't been working out like I should.

Today I'm heading down to the tailors to have my new jeans hemmed :D They're a full size (or two) smaller then my old jeans and are they ever snug! Hubby loves them ;)

Rosebud - Are you getting that winter storm that's been hitting the eastern part of the country? Should I not tell you that it's been just to the plus side here?

Edit - Those jeans fit like a glove! I'm going to hate giving them up when I lose more weight!

I start my night shifts again today. I have done nothing but sleep all week. Went to bed at 7 pm on Thursday and slept through the night Buses were cancelled on Friday so slept more. I slept 12 hrs from Friday to today and I only work three days this and next week on the 'vampire shift' but continuing the domestic shifts driving bus for the next 2 weeks then I will be down to 1 job and my days off will be mine. All mine. and I can put some serious effort to working out. Since its the end of Feb. I will use the Almanac days to my advantage (February: 28th March: 1st, 2nd). I do so well during the night shifts staying on plan. I have to work harder at staying on plan when off and driving bus.

Hi everyone! We are having nice weather here as well. I think it was about +10 today. Dare I hope Spring is on the way?

DH is in Las Vegas this weekend with one of our sons. They went to watch Nascar. Today they took a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon and tonight they are going to see Garth Brooks. I am just a wee bit jealous, but it was my decision not to go, so I can't complain. I am going to pamper myself a bit tonight and have a nice bubble bath and give myself a mani/pedi.

Our Canadian team is sure doing well at the Olympics, eh? Can't wait for tomorrow's Men's hockey game. Should be a nail biter. I loved the Ice Dancing too. So beautiful!

Have a great weekend!

We Won!!! Hockey that is. I'm no hockey fan but I must say I watched most of the Canada/US game today.

I'm on my back again. Reached for a piece of paper yesterday and bingo my back went into a spasm. Must be growing old and wearing out. So no walking or exercising for a few days until everything's healed again.

See you all in March. So glad February is just about over.

There are some cruises that leave from Vancouver and go to Hawaii. We have been looking at them, but they have 5 sea days to get to Hawaii, and we thought we might not enjoy that.

interesting i didn't know that. We're terrified of cruising with the norwalk virus going on. I'm with you i don't think i'd enjoy 5 days at sea either.

RO - My eyes were glued to the set the entire game.. I'm a major hockey fan. When the US scored with 24 seconds to go I thought my heart would stop. So glad Sid managed to score early in the OT... don't know how much more I could have taken!

Aunty Jam, you summed up the whole of Canada's feelings at the 24 second mark. I was listening to call in radio this morning and the host said almost the same exact words that you did- "heart stopping, etc."

March came in not like a lion nor a lamb but more like an angry cat. It's overcast with intermittent flurries but there's the promise of more snow tonight. We'll see.....

Today I could barely get out of bed but once up I can walk around some. Actually I feel better standing then sitting but I can't stand all day long.

Anyhoo, the countdown to Spring has begun.

:wave: HI LADIES ~ glad to hear that Canada won that hockey game yesterday; I missed that ... oh well, but I am glad they won. :carrot:

AUNTY ~ nopers, we've had 2 glorious days of :sunny: in a row and nice warm temps too! Congrats on that NSV of smaller jeans ... :cool:

RO ~ sorry you hurt your back: ouch, that's no fun ... take it easy and get lots of rest! Yahoo, spring is coming; it seems like spring here with all the snow melting and the streets are bare.

JEN & JUDY-LYNN ~ remember that we are talking a CRUISE SHIP here; they have lots of rooms, dining rooms, sports rooms, games & entertainment, and even pools on some of them ... they are really like floating luxury hotels!

2b -- glad that you had/and will have some time off to recupe; all work and no play makes for a dull life ... ;)

We had a beautiful full moon over the weekend too; that was lovely to see too. Went shopping today and got some walking in. It was too nice not to go out today. Hope you all have nice weather soon too ... :flow1:

:wave: It's nice and :sunny: here right now; plus nice warm temps (for our area at this time of year) ... even up to +5C today. It was gorgeous with the sun beaming thru our south-facing windows so we decided to do some spring cleaning while the snow fairies were out clearing away the excess snow and carrying it away to the snowdump.

Hope you all are having lovely weather too and a great week also! :D

From the snow melt I've been seeing I'd say it's been really nice outside here too... but I haven't been out in a few days. I got sick then got better then got really sick. I haven't been out of the house at all or doing any running :( I REALLY don't want to get on the scale. Hubby came home today with, of all things, a slurpee, just for his sickly girl.

Sorry, you been sick, AUNTY ~ will send up some prayers for you; every time I hear of someone getting a flu now, I pray for them right off. There's so many of them out there these days, and some of them can really wipe you out or develop into something worse. Drink lots of fluids (so slurpees are A-OK in my books) and get lots of rest too. You can pick up where you left off later on ... :hug:


We had more :sunny: this afternoon and warm temps again. We have been having some awesome spring-like weather here; wouldn't mind it being like this all the time. :lol: We expect at least 2 more days like this too ... We got some shopping in today and went to visit our the re-opening our our Goodwill Second-hand store. They spent from January til now renovating and painting the place and it looks really nice.

Hope all our Canadians are enjoying this fab weather; have fantastic Friday tomorrow too ... Rosebud :flow1:

Thanks Rosebud :) I am feeling better... cold fx works wonders even if I'm not supposed to take it (auto immune problem), I just can't stand watching everyone else get over their cold/flu in a few days while I'm out for over a week.

Today is the first day I'm wearing my new jeans :) I bought them in January and I've only now gotten around to getting them shortened... and........... they're loose in the front and the bum!!!!!!! I bought these $50 pair of beautiful Wranglers with the fancy design on the bum (hubby said they made my bum perky) and they're loose! WHY didn't I get them shortened right away? When they were still very snug? And WHY did I spend $50 on a pair of jeans when I'm losing weight? Well, ok, I just wanted them really really badly and they're not really loose, just a little, but what a surprise! Unfortunately they're low riders so they do nothing to hide the muffin top! I haven't felt up to running but I am SO going to start the C25K program again this sunday!

Good morning ladies! I'm new here and so far love all the stories/support on this site. What plans is everyone using? I'm counting calories and using some slim-fast products for convenience. So far with working out (using Wii EA Active Personal Trainer) and watching what I'm eating I'm down to 214 from 230 since Jan 1. My first goal is 15lbs by the end of April which will take me out of the 200's...finally.

I went from 227 to 193 in 2008 when I got married and then steadily put the weight back on thanks to lack of physical activity and really poor food choices (Ronald McDonald and those damn fries!).

So here I am and I'm determined to get to 150 before my 37th birthday in September! I may try Full-Bar (again for convenience) as I find that I have a hard time not snacking in the evenings and having something that will fill me up might help.

The beautiful weather has arrived and so I'm taking full advantage walking outside in my new Sketcher Shape-Ups!

What about everyone else...how is everyone doing? Short/Long-Term goals? Where are ya'll situated? Anyone in my part of the world?

Cheers,
Tamara

:welcome: to 3FC's and to our Canadian thread, TAMARA ~ I live in northern Ontario and we are all spread across the country really; some all the way out to BC and one from Newfoundland too. I started with portions, then went to calorie-counting and I am slowly moving into lower carb, as that is where I had much success in the past.

I have lost another size in the last while so I am happy about that, but I think that the lower carb (not no carb) plan will be better for me healthwise as well, as I had pre-diabetes; and by cutting down on, and switching to healthier carbs, my counts are back in the normal range again. I am now off my meds too; so that is a big bonus for me.

Hope all our Canadians enjoyed all the successes we had at the Olympics; and do have a great weekend too ... Rosebud :flow1:

Welcome Tamara! I live in Lethbridge, so I am close to you. I am just calorie counting, although I have done Weight Watchers in the past with success.

Aunty, congrats on the jeans. A perky butt is always a good thing! ;) That reminds me I have some jeans that need to be shortened. That is a first for me - trust me, as I am tall. But these were Tall jeans, and they are actually too long.

Rosebud, congrats on dropping a size! :carrot: I am with you on the healthy carbs. Sounds kind of like the Weight Watchers Core plan which incorporates healthy carbs, and limits things like bread. I liked that plan, but it has been a long time since I followed it. I may have to read up on it and follow it's principles.

RO, how is the back? Hope you are feeling better.

Well, I am planning to get out for a walk today and tomorrow. It is absolutely beautiful here. Supposed to be 11 today and 15 tomorrow! But snow on Tuesday. :(

I am so glad it's the weekend. We are having temperature wars in my office. There is one whole wall of south facing windows, so it gets very hot in there - up to 77 degrees (the thermostat is in Farenheit) this time of year. So, I have been putting the a/c on. Well, there is one skinny little employee that is always freezing and she has been putting her space heater on. We work in an open area, so the temperature is the same everywhere. Boss is too much of a wimp to do anything about it, even though I have talked to him about it. So there we are with the a/c and heat both cranking away in competition with each other. Makes for a very frustrating and exhausting work week. Well, that's my rant for the day. Sorry.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hi Tamara... I'm in your general area, 3 hours north of you actually. I have a sister and her family down there.

Wore my new jeans for the first time yesterday, my husband loves them hahaha... I like them to ;) Went shopping today and got a few shirts in a slightly smaller size :) Any victory is a great one. My trip to Houston is coming up week after next :( I'm scared... there were almost NO veggies there last time! My fellow Canadians and I actually went searching for a place with more veggies on the menu. The big wig in Houston sent out an email asking if anyone had any allergies or dietary restrictions so I put in a request for lots of fresh veggies with every meal!

Judy Lynn - I know what that's like, big windows are nice in an office but they sure raise up the temp fast. It's always the skinny person who wears those skimpy little outfits that walks around complaining about being cold. Uh.. ever heard of a sweater???? Very frustrating.

WOWIE ~ our temps came all the way up to +9C today with clear skies and full sun ... even warmer that Toronto which got up to +8C ... :D Well, my weather forcast says that we are supposed to get 2 more days of sunshine, so DH's friend was wrong.

JUDY-LYNN ~ Never seen or been on the core plan but that's great. I have been slowly improving my plan for some time now. Thanks, my favorite pants are now getting too baggie; DH says it's time to take them up again. That's very :cool:

Have a super Sunday folks ... Rosebud :flow1:

So yesterday was our first full day in Honolulu having a lovely time until
i slipped and fell down a set of 4 stairs at the pool, its a blessing rhonda was carrying sarah b/c i don't know what would have happened. I'm getting a massage today and spent last night putting ice and some homeopathic remedies on it. The swellings down and the ugly bruise showed up late last night. I slid down on my butt and wow its sore.

Hopefully i will be able to climb diamond head on monday but if it doesn't happen we'll do it on Thursday. I'd take a pic of the bruise but theres no way i'm putting my hiney on the internet. LOL

Jenatgym, we'll take your word on the hiney bruise. So sorry that happened on your vacation and I hope you're up and about by tomorrow.

Welcome, Tamara. I'm in Newfoundland and Labrador in the central part of the Island. I'm a calorie counter but I try to eat healthy and stay away from junk food. I do have one cheat day on the weekend when we have a big family dinner with dessert.

WTG on the jeans, Aunty Jam. It always makes my day when I can fit into a piece of clothing that I'd bought earlier. I have a skirt that is just a wee bit too tight that I know will fit in about 5 pounds. Can't wait for that to happen so I know how you feel about the jeans.

Rosebud, I love thrift and Goodwill stores. I volunteer with our church at our Goodwill centre. I've gotten some really good buys there.

Judy Lynn, my back is feeling much better. I'm going to try to go for a walk again tomorrow. Did I tell you I have a cousin named Judy Lynn? It's not you is it? :lol:

Saw the sun today for the first time since March came roaring in. And only saw it about half an hour before sunset but it was so good to see that large yellow orb once again. We had our worst storm of the winter Friday and Saturday. School was out on Friday and roads were barely passable on Saturday and still the snow came. Lasted until around midnight last night and it's packed hard because of the high winds and drifting. We had such a mild and almost snowless winter and then we get dumped on in March. More snow flurries tomorrow afternoon but I hope the weather forecast is wrong. How I hate winter. The only thing worse than snow is freezing rain. Fortunately, we escaped that but there are areas in Newfoundland that lost power on Friday and some of those places won't have electricity back until Tuesday. I guess I'll count my blessings.

Anyhoo, tomorrow I'll try and walk, help serve breakfast at the elementary school and attend a funeral. That should keep me busy. Have a good week.

We had another day of gorgeous :sunny: and +10C -- even the sidewalks were melting today. NIKO and I spent at least 2 hours out on our deck basking in the sun. I like to take a book and read out there at this time of year as there are no buggies until June ... yeah! :carrot:

We didn't have as much snow this year, that is why it is melting with all this lovely March sun which we get every year. We had light but steady snow the week before. They are saying we'll have sun tomorrow then be cloudy after that, so we'll see, but I am sure taking advantage of it while it is here.

JEN ~ sorry you go so bruised while on vacation; hope you get well soon so you can enjoy the rest of your trip.

RO ~ don't send that snow this way; send it out to the ocean instead ... ;)

Hope you all have a terrific Tuesday tomorrow; and do take good care ... Rosebud :flow1:

Rosebud, aye, aye, ma'am, out to sea I'll send it.

We had a lovely sunny day again today. Yesterday was nice too and I walked about 8 km. Today I went shopping most of the day and walked my feet off in the stores. I was happy to drive home. I was down half a pound this morning so I'm hoping to get off the remainder of the 2 pounds I'd gained a couple of weeks ago. Half pound to go and then I'll try and tackle another new pound.

Hope everyone had a great day.

This is my last week of working 2 jobs. I am showing the new driver my route tomorrow morning. At the end of Friday I will be a 1 job women. I will be able to use my days off for exercise and staying on a night schedule so my sleeping will hopefully improve.

I also started a team on SparklePeople for night shift workers of Canada. http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/groups_individual.asp?gid=41144 If you could pass it on to those you know that work nights and live in Canada. The statistics are scarey for us.

:wave: We've been having awesome weather here this week -- with lots of :sunny: and +10 C yesterday and today about +9 C but the sun was only out for a short time this AM and late afternoon. Supposed to be back for tomorrow and Friday though.

THANKS, RO ~ it didn't come our way! Our snow is melting too; we can even see some grass here on our front lawn and near the fir tree. Two doves decided to have a swim and bath in a puddle in our laneway which is on a downward slant so it is one of a very few that is clear already.

2B ~ It will be a lot better on you when you aren't working two different shifts too; I never could get used to the nightshift myself. I have a couple of friends who worked nightshifts and they always seemed to be tired.

Been having really good on plan days lately; getting better each day and no junkies for far this month. Going for a record of no junkies this month; hope I make it ... :D

Take good care ladies, and have a great week ... Rosebud :flow1:

I am FINISHED my driving job. I am now a 1 job women. Yes its 12 hr nights but my days off will be just that, days off. My plan for next week is exercise. I get 2 full days and 1 half day.

CONGRATS, 2B ~ now your life may start to feel a bit more normal, if there is such a thing ... haha! Like you say, you will have some real days off now and everyone needs that ... :)


We had another gorgeous day with lots of :sunny: with warmer temps in the 50's F, so we went up town shopping as I needed some veggies and meat this week. Picked up some strawberries for my fruit snack as they were on sale. So I got some outdoor walking in today; I always do some around home each day, plus my toning exercises each AM upon waking.

DH told me today that he can really tell that I am losing inches off my body; he says it is becoming more noticable so that is nice becuz he is around me all the time. I can feel it in my clothes too; they are all much loser than before. YOu know, when your pants start coming almost to your chest. :lol:

Probably the only reason they don't fall off is that they have a really good elastic in the waist. I love to wear those fleecy pants around the house and I have a few pairs of them; that is, if I'm not wearing a shift. ;)

Hope all our Canadians are having great weather like we are; and have a wonderful weekend too ... Rosebud :flow1:

Hi everyone, I came to this forum for a while last year and Susan B just reminded me of it, so I came to visit again.
I talk w Rosebud on the diabetes forum too.
THe rain and warm winds have taken away most of our snow now, so I need to get those nordic walking poles so I can keep exercising now that I am in the habit. I did a lot of cross country skiing this winter. I will miss that. I also get on my treadmill while watching tv sometimes and go to yoga when I can.
Was diagnosed pre-diabetic in December and came back to 3fc while making significant lifestyle changes, especially increasing the exercise.

will keep visiting this group, have a good weekend.

:wave: HELLO AGAIN, MS. MAD ~ I have some poles that I picked up for $2.00 at our local thrift place (Goodwill second-hand shop); such a good price that I bought two pairs. I find they really help me to walk better in both winter and summer. I can't do the skiing thing but I the nordic walking is the next best thing and it really does help you get a whole body workout.

DH and I will be starting our nightly walks again; we are always on the lookout for good flat places for me to walk. Someday, I'll advance to the tuffer ones, but I need level ground for now. I will be able to do some walking out at our lot when all the snow is melted out there; it was still there when we checked last weekend.

We are still having awesome weather up here: :sunny: and warm temps all weekend and they changed the forecast again and it looks like we'll have more of the same for a few days yet ... yahooooooooooooo! :carrot:

Have a great week everyone ... Rosebud :flow1:

Our snow really melted this weekend. It's very Spring-like :)

Spring is on the way! I saw a robin yesterday! :flow2:

2 nights down 2 to go. David home for March Break. I am not getting a lot of sleep. Eating has been ok.

Greetings from Houston!!! Just thought I'd drop in real quick and let everyone know how wonderful it is here! 26c when we landed yesterday at 5pm!

Unfortunately I am NOT going to like the scale when I get home. Eating out every day is not good for the diet. But I'm managing to keep my veggie and fruit level high, it's the other levels that are getting to me. Namely the booze one... the group I come down with is quite rowdy and it's easy to get caught up in the spirit. On Wednesday they're taking us to a rodeo, box seats with a concert first of a country singer I like but I can't remember the name right now.

Yah, I agree ... think spring is on the way; I am hearing some other birds singing in the trees too -- couldn't see what kind they were as they were far away, but I am expecting to see the robins anytime now too. Our snow is melting fast as well.

We had another full day of :sunny: again today and the last two nights the stars have been so close that it seemed like you could just reach out and touch them ... very beautiful! ;)

2B ~ try to get some sleep now; unless you want to sleep all the way thru your first free whole weekend ... not! :D

Hi AUNTY ~ glad you are having a great time down there!

The forecast is calling for more sun for a few more days; at that rate, we may be almost snow free as more than half our front and side lawns are now grass! Some of the bigger birds are already starting the mating moves; the male ravens are getting aggressive and the male doves are swooning ... :lol:

Have a great week all ... Rosebud :flow1:

OMG, the sun and warmth were fantastic today. Had a little walk outside, went to hot yoga, then bought my nordic walking poles. Hoping to try them out tomorrow.
I felt so spring like I arranged to get my snow tires off on Wednesday. I hope southern ontario weather won't bite me in the a** for that one. But today felt like a cool summer day, was a nice boost.

Hi all! Just thought I would join. I'm from Alberta, Canada.

:welcome: to our Canadian thread 5FACTORGIRL ~ we love lots of company and it's so nice to chat with other Canadians here. Tell us a bit about yourself and your life so we can get to know you a little better ...

I was born in southern Ontario (in the Guelph area); but moved north to go to college (I went twice) and just decided to stay. Funny thing is that my parents were here as were my grandparents at that time (they have since passed on); but all my other immediate family ended up going back down south, except for me. I only have a couple of extended family members left up here ...

I met my husband here though; and he always reminds me of that and says that if I hadn't come here, I wouldn't have met him. ;) That's so cute ... We have been having lovely :sunny: weather here this spring and it was another gorgeous one today, although the temps were a bit cooler today.

We went out shopping to pick up our weekly needs; made chicken drums in BBQ sauce with veggies for dinner; very yummy. So I got some walking in and ate well today too; felt a bit hungry today though, so am going to have a wee healthy snack soon with some tea. Hope you all are having a great week ... Rosebud :hug:

Hi Rosebud. Your husband seems very sweet.Well, I am originally from India but have lived in Alberta Canada my whole life. I am married and have twins who are 3 and a half years old.

Today I feel absolutely horrible! Very sick, can't breathe and don't want to do anything. I got up this morning and worked out and the more the day goes on the worse I feel. Now, I am just exhausted and I haven't done anything all day! Diet has been okay but feel really gross and don't really want to eat healthy. I would love to get soup but not in the mood to actually make it :( Sorry for all the whining but I am actually very sick and almost never get sick! *yuck*

5FACTORGIRL ~ sorry, you have caught one of those nasty colds/flus that are going around these days; I hope you start to feel better real soon. That must be difficult when you have toddlers running around.

Yes, some chicken soup would really make you feel better; I cheat and buy those cupasoups for those time I don't feel like making it. The rest of the time, I make up a big pot using leftovers and freeze them in 2 cup containers; this is very handy becuz all I have to do is put it in a pot on medium heat and it thaws and heats itself up. DH and I just luv, luv, luv to have homemade soup for lunch ...

Today, I had leftovers from last night's dinner for lunch today; that is handy too. I am now purposely making extra for my lunches whevever I can. Not only does this save money, but it is so easy to just heat it up in the microwave too. Sometimes, I just make extra steak or chicken or whatever and throw that on top of a salad. I buy those bags of mixed coleslaw and find them very handy; you can get other salad mixes here too -- and they almost always have one kind on sale each week.

We have a lot of clouds today and had a tinsey, insey, bitsey amount of ***** that was barely detectable and that has now stopped. It was colder this AM (around 0 C so we had to put the heat back on); but now it has come up to +10 C. The sun is trying to peak through right now too ...

Hope you all have a very pleasant day!!! Rosebud :flow1:

Today was first full day off. Dh and I went into London to drop off scrap metal got enough to buy new bbq. He and I had a lovely day together and an interesting afternoon putting the bbq together. I do the reading and he does the labour. LOL. Picked up son & friends from friends house. All together I have 4 boys here. I will be glad when March Break is over and I only have 2 kids. Mine and his friend who moved in this week.

Rosebud...thanks! That's an awesome idea about freezing the soup and just reheating it. I am definately going to do this. I always end up making to much so this is a great solution (LOL). Thanks!

Yeah it was pretty miserable here yesterday. Cool and snowy. ***yuck*** But seems like it may be nicer today. I hope it gets really nice next week then we can take the kids back to swimming!

Hi everyone. I've been MIA since a week ago Thursday. My laptop died and I've been on computer withdrawal. I'm using DS's itty, bitty Dell notebook which he lent me today until I get my new one in a couple of weeks.

My back is just about all better and I'm back walking. It's so good to get out again. Spring is slowly coming our way after we had a fierce storm about 2 weeks ago. Saw a crow with a twig in her beak the other day so nest building is happening which is certainly a Spring activity. I've switched from my winter coat and boots to a light jacket and regular sneakers and if I walk fast enough at the beginning of the walk I warm up right away.

Have a good evening and Happy 1st Day of Spring.

Yes, HAPPY 1st Day of SPRING to you all too! This is also our anniversary -- the anniversary of 7 ... yes, count 'em ... SEVEN years today that DH and I quit smoking!!! :carrot:

It is also my mother's birthday, so Happy Birthday MOM ... she is on the other side and I know that she can hear me!!! Although, time may not mean the same thing to them over there ... :lol:

2b ~ oh, your DH is a scrappy!!! Good for him; that's a great hobby and you can make a little pin money with it too!

RO ~ glad that your son lent you his laptop so you could come in and say hi; ya, that would bother me now too. I am so used to coming in here to visit and with my family thru the email and such too. Since we don't have a TV anymore; well, DH has one that he watches videos and dvds on though. I have some too, but he watches them more than me. Anyhoo, I come on here instead ... ;)

It was cooler here today but we did get some lovely :sunny: so we went up town to pick up some things we needed like new VCR/DVD wire connectors for DH as his broke somehow ... not sure how that happened though :?: Plus I got some giant totes to put all my Christmas decos in; these are huge and may hold them all. They were on sale for only $10 bucks and are the size of a coffee table. :D

Now I have a big job next week of filling them ... oh boy! Good thing I caught up on my laundry last week. Oh well, it will keep me busy and burn off lots of energy too ... hope you all have a relaxing and restful Sunday tomorrow! Rosebud :flow1:

Yesterday was first day of spring, my daughter's eighteenth birthday, which makes it my birthing day. We had a dusting of snow, but the weather last week was so surprisingly warm, I just know it will be back soon to stay.

Have been mia, my mother had a stroke Tuesday and died on Wednesday night, so have been stressed, sad and busy.
Had a little binge yesterday, going off plan.
Last year at this time when my dad got sick (he is fine now tho) was when I went off the rails and restarted all my bad habits and gave up my good ones.
This stress is minor compared to dealing with mum's declining mental and physical health, so I plan to forgive the blip yesterday and get back to my new normal of regular exercise and healthy eating. Back on atkins induction today, and will go grocery shopping in a bit for the week so I can plan some good meals.
Hope the weather is good for the rest of you.
:hug:

Madeleine, I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your Mother. :hug:

We have just returned home from a weekend in Calgary. DH is participating in a clinical trial, so we will be making lots of trips up there. Our son was also in town (he lives in Toronto), so that was great to see him. Other than that we just vegged, watched some movies, made use of the hotel pool & hot tub. It was nice and relaxing. Back to reality tomorrow.

:hug: Ms. MAD ~ I didn't know your name was Madeleine; Mad must be short for that, I guess. Sorry, to hear about your mom's passing this week: our condolences to you and your family. It seems that many people we know are dealing with parent issues right now; them becoming ill and/or passing. I guess it's part of being from the baby boom generation. :hug: and prayers going up for you and yours ...

My mom passed away in 1993; it seems like an eternity and just like yesterday at the same time. It was her birthday on March 20 and she always wanted me to quit smoking. When DH and I quit 7 years ago; we didn't take notice of the day til a few days later when DH decided he wanted to cross off the days until we had stopped for 6 or 7 years because someone said that it took that many years to restore our lungs to normal. So I had a giggle when he told me it was on my mother's birthday that we quit and I knew she would be happy about that.

We had a sprinkling of the white stuff ***** a few days ago but for most of our weekend, we have had lovely :sunny: ... but just a few minutes ago, I looked outsidea and noticed that it is snowing again; and it is quite windy out there too. I could feel the temps were dropping so got up to put on the furnace and saw the snow; all makes sense now ... ;)

Hope you all have a better week coming up ... Rosebud :flow1:

Good morning ladies! Spring is definately in the air...the temp here was +14 yesterday although we're kinda cloudy and expecting some rain and cooler temps today.

I joined Herbal Magic last Wednesday! My best friend just lost 40lbs and is down to a size 2 after having twins two years ago. She won her program so she only has to pay for the supplements...lucky! I only had to pay 50% of the program because my benefits at work entitle me to 50% off. It was still expensive, but so far it's good.

I think, for me, it's an accountability thing. I know the nutritional aspects of weight loss, but it was always so easy to cheat and not really care cause I didn't have to answer to anyone. Also the cost ($54/week supplements) is a lot but I can afford it and it will hopefully keep me on track. I understand that I don't cheat anyone but myself when I cheat, but it's a good thing (for me) to have people who are somewhat invested in my lifestyle change as well. I know some people will probably think I'm crazy as so many people can do this journey with just online support and for free, but I think this might just be the thing. I know quite a few people who have lost on it (they seem to be more ready to admit it now that I'm doing it). I guess that HM has had some bad reviews so some are negative about it. But for me...219.4 down to 213.4 in the first four days...I'll take it!

I can't wait until my ticker gets activated so I can have one that shows my losses to date. And I'm definately looking for support from all of you lovely ladies! One can never have too much support! I'm back to weigh in today and am hoping for another pound. It would be pretty terrific to be down 8lbs in my first week and then level out at 2lbs/week. I'll be in ONEderland before I know it! Wooot!

Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

T

Fatmad, so sorry about your Mom. My mother passed away this summer and it was quite a shock to us all, even though she was 92, she was very good for her age. Losing a loved one is never easy.

Tamaraj, good luck with the HM. I've never used a purchased diet but everyone has to buy food so it may not be as expensive as you think.

It's a gorgeous sunny day here but tomorrow we've been promised a Spring storm so that means more white stuff mixed with ice pellets. Hope I can get out for my walk before the worst of it hits.

Got good news yesterday about the laptop. It will be here on Friday. Yay!!!

Take care.

fatmad: So sorry I missed your earlier post and didn't send my condolences. I've very sorry to hear about your mom. My thoughts are with you and your family.

retiredone: Thanks for the well wishes. The stuff I have to buy is actually just the herbal supplements, they don't really sell food other than a few protein bar and shake options. The food you eat on HM is from the grocery store which is how they teach you to eat "real" food and just select good quality foods and watch portions.

I weighed yesterday and was down to 211.8 which is almost 8lbs in 5 days. I'm back today and then tomorrow is my one week check where we weigh and take measurements. I'm hoping to see some inch loss as well since I've been 100% on plan for the week and have been doing 4x/week of deep water workout. Last night totally kicked my butt, I thought my arms were going to fall off! I love the no-impact aspect of it as my back it out of place right now and I can still work out because there is no impact. I need to get started on weights though. The deep water is ok for cardio but it's not going to build a whole ton of muscle.

I can't wait to see my results tomorrow and will update.

PS...has anyone had the Chapman's Dark Chocolate Yogurt plus frozen yogurt? I had 1/2 cup last night with 1 cup of sliced strawberries and it was absolutely divine! It even has dark chocolate pieces that you can savour while they melt in your mouth. Easily my favorite frozen treat to date that is OP.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day.

T

TAMARA ~ yes, I have some of Chapman's dark chocolate lf yogurt ice cream in my freezer which is only 90 cals for a half cup; I have this 1-2 times a week for dessert or a evening snack. Is that the same as the chocolate yogurt or frozen yogurt you had?

RO ~ I sure hope you don't get too big of a nasty storm; we have been blessed with such wonderful weather lately. We did have a tiny bit of ***** one night but the sun melted it by the afternoon. Our snow is almost all gone here, just a few places where they had to pile it up left; that may mean our lot is almost clear now, so we'll have to go up there and take a looksee ... :D


We were blessed with even more :sunny: today too; GOD IS GOOD! It is cooler here right now, as the temps have dropped a bit, but all this glorious sunshine makes up for it. I just took it easy today; I blooped and overdid it a bit the last few days and paid for it with sore legs and feet and fatigue. So, I put my legs up for awhile this afternoon and fell asleep ...

Thank goodness I woke up just in time to put dinner on -- we were just having fish & baked fries (mine were sweet potato fries), with coleslaw and veggies so that didn't take too much time. I just did our usual daily stuff today, but had lots of time to send up prayers for those with special needs at this time. :hug:

Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday tomorrow; and do take good care of yourselves ... Rosebud :flow1:

Good morning everyone! I'm feeling really good today and looking forward to my 1 week results on HM. :carrot:

Justwant2Bhealthy: It's the Chapman's Yogurt plus dark chocolate rapture. It's 150 calories (1/2cup) and 6g fibre, 3g protein, 3g fat...but oh my! It's soooo good. I tried to attach the URL to their website...not sure if it will work.

I had such a yummy dinner last night! I used my good old "Hungry Girl Cookbook" and made chicken fingers (done in fibre 1 "crumbs") and butternut squash fries. Did everyone know that butternut squash tastes similar to sweet potato but is about half the calories! I had no idea but Yum! It's my new favorite thing along with spinach salad with hardboiled egg, Yves veggie bacon and dressing made of olive oil and seasoned rice vinegar (1 Tbsp each).

I'm off to HM today to get my weigh in and measurements done. I was 211.4 yesterday so that was only 0.4 from the day before...but I'll take it!

Check back soon!
T

Hey y'all... did ya miss me? ;) It was really nice in Houston, not that I got to spend much of it outside but I did go out during breaks in the meetings. They had flower gardens in front of the building with snap dragons and a few others I didn't know, I would just sit on the retaining wall with my eyes closed, face in the sun and inhale deeply. What a wonderful treat for a Canadian girl... even if I got sicker then a dog as soon as I got home :(

If my scale is to be believed I didn't gain any weight while I was gone... I really don't know how that is possible, eating out for every single meal, drinking and not training. There was a lot of fish and seafood true but I just don't see how it could be possible. My only thought is maybe I lost more then I thought I had and only gained a bit back leaving me still to the good side of the numbers. I dunno.

RO - I'm glad your back is better and that your new computer is coming soon! I'd go nuts without mine, it's a good thing my hubby is a tech!

Fatmad - So sorry about your Mom. I'm very close to my own Mom so my heart goes out to you.

And a big hello to everyone else!

Good morning fellow countrymen! LOL (That is how my mom who now lives in KS greets the Canadian geese down south).

Well my one week weigh in at Herbal Magic gave me the following updated results!

SW: 219.2 1 Week: 210.4 and down 8.5" (and this AM my home scale said 209.5!) Woot!

I'm very pleased with these results! I'm aiming for ONEderland by April 15. How's everyone else's day going?

Aunty Jam: I hear ya with the weather down south. I was in Houston in January Florida in March a couple of years ago and it was so nice to have the heat and sunshine! Glad to hear that being away from home didn't derail you. I've found in the past that even though there are not great choices when on this journey we still tend to pick things that are not horrible and smaller portions. Sorry to hear you got sick when you came home. Take care and feel better soon!

T

:wave: You know, from what I'm reading in this thread, it seems to be true what they say about us Canadians ... that they travel a lot, esp to the US in the cold months! I can't really blame you though, esp if you can afford to do it and you have good health too.

Hi AUNTY JAM ~ yes, it's nice to have you back with us again; glad you had a great trip and enjoyed all the warm weather and nice flowers. It's even better that you didn't gain any weight either ... :D

Ms. T ~ glad that your herbal magic plan is going well for you; do they just give you a diet and you take herbal supplements along side of that; or do you have to count calories too ... just curious? ;)

We live in a small town, so we are a bit limited on the Chapman selections here. Our local grocery store does carry tons of the low-fat yogurt ice cream products, but hardly any of the low-sugar/lower carb options or yogurts, which is disappointing, esp since there are so many diabetics and pre-diabetics out there (like me) who need them ... :?:

We are having very cold weather up here right now too ~ it's -10 C right this minute; but we did have beautiful :sunny: all day long, so that made it seem much warmer. Like others though ... we had some ferocious winds last night and this morning -- they woke me out of my sleep in the middle of the night. Plus our garbage can was found rolling around on the street, but DH managed to rescue it before it got hit by passing vehicles ... :lol:

They are predicting a really cold -16 C for us tonight so I just turned up the furnace a bit ... :brr: Hope you all have a fabulous Friday tomorrow ... Rosebud :flow1:

Good morning all and TGIF!

Justwant2Bhealthy: On the HM plan I just buy normal grocery store food and I have a little book that tells me what a serving of certain things are. For example...I'm allowed the following per day:

1 Dairy (8oz skim milk/ 1oz cheese/ 6oz NF yogurt/ etc)
1 Free Exchange (100 calorie pack/ NF pudding cup/ 4Tbsp NF Sour cream/ 2 Tbsp NF salad dressing/ etc)
2 Starch (2 slices weight watchers bread/ 1/2c pasta/ 1/2 pita/ low-fat tortilla/ etc)
2 Fat (1 Tbsp Olive Oil/ 1/2oz nuts/ 1/2 Tbsp PB/ etc)
3 Fruit (self explanitory)
3 Protein (5 oz poultry/ 4oz lean beef/ 1 veggie bacon/ 2 eggs or 4 whites/ etc)
4 Vegetables (2c lettuce/ 1/2c corn or carrots and the rest is mostly 1 cup)

I also have to really limit sodium and most things are non/low-fat. So far I'm having a great time coming up with recipes and different things. I'll choose my favorites and they'll become my easy staple meals. The above are just a few examples of long lists of things I can have. It's very much getting into the routine of portion control. I don't have to count calories but I do keep track of everything on livestrong.com. There has been an incredible drop in sodium (used to average below 2300mg/day now I'm closer to 1000mg/day), calories (used to average 1500-1700 and now between 1200-1400), huge increase in protein (used to average 30g/day now average 60-80g/day) and my sugars (other than fruit sugars) are virtually non-existent.

I've upped my water intake to about 3 liters a day and I have to take their supplements which cost about $50/week. I've dropped to one small cup of coffee in the morning and then switched to herbal teas with splenda to get my caffeine. During the first few days I had a hard time getting all 3 proteins in a day so I bought some of their bars, but have only used 3 in the last week as I've found ways to get "real food" instead. I do carry one of the bars in my purse though just in case I get caught out without food and need something. One of their bars counts as only 1 protein and they have snack bars that count as a free exchange.

So far it's working for me, I'm enjoying the food and I'm feeling good and more importantly very rarely feel hungry except maybe right before bed and I just drink some non-caffinated herbal tea with some fibre-sure in it which I've also started adding to my hubby's evening tea (he doesn't know) since he eats a ton of fruit/veggies but rarely eats any whole grains. I decided to boost his fibre intake a little, but it's good for him.

I hope everyone has a terrific OP weekend!

Tamara

ps...yesterday's weigh-in was 210.0! I'll be in ONEderland by mid April and hopefully out of the Obese BMI (175lbs) by Canada Day!

T ~ yes, that does sound like a low calorie and lower carb plan too, since you only get one a very small starch/grain serving each day but you do get 3 fruit and piles of veggies, I see. I bet the fibersure will help you though. You seem to being doing quite well on it, and you are losing so that is great! :carrot:

Thanks for sharing a bit about the HM program with us; I didn't know what it was all about. I bet you could do the plan as it is, and just take vitamin supplements, herbal teas, and have a protein bar on hand for emergencies like you do now. I like the fact that you can just buy normal food at regular grocery stores as we don't have health food or specialty stores anywhere near us here.


Old man winter paid us a visit last night and today: we got a steady stream of ***** all day long as well. It is quite light right now, but it is pushing towards 2" right now, but the temps held at 0 C all day. That's not too bad really; we were very spoiled this month, so we can't complain really.

We spent our morning sorting out the rest of the Christmas decos and filled up 5 totes in all (DH gave me one of his which I will repace later); that is a lot better than 20 odd shaped boxes. Now they stack up nice and neat and take up much less room. I am so impressed that I am going to pick up some more to put some other stuff in as well; as the smaller ones are on sale this week. We worked at that til about 2 pm then called it a day and now we are gonna relax for the rest of the weekend.

Hope you all are well and that you all have a wonderful weekend too ... Rosebud :flow1:

Technically I'm half way to my goal now... why do I still feel as if I have 50 pounds to lose?

Aunty Jam You're doing fantastic. I know it's slow going but you'll get there and you probably already look amazing. Keep it up...it will be sooo worth it!

YES, AUNTY ~ half way to your goal is fabulous! Those of you who have 50 lbs or less to lose can see your end goal in sight fairly quickly. You can chip away at that last 25 lbs -- 1 lb at a time. You could be there by the end of this year or sooner; the slower the better so you won't gain it back. :carrot:

Well, the ***** stopped yesterday and the skies cleared up and we had a beautiful full moon last night, as we do right now, only it's much bigger and closer tonight. We had lovely :sunny: all day long and lots of that snow melted; our deck is clear and dry so NIKO just loved going out there and spent a good part of the day out there. It was still a bit cool, but the sun was gorgeous just the same.

I just did daily chores and meals today; and spent the rest of the day giving myself a personal care day ... some good old-fashioned pampering! A pedicure and manicure too -- and some nice pretty nail polish would be a fitting way to encourage the spring to come, I think. Also did my hair today too and am letting it dry by the furnace as we speak ... :D

After dinner, I spent a while doing some reading with my legs up and will do some more later too. Most of the province is supposed to get nice sunny skied this week; us too! Hope you all have a terrific day tomorrow ... Rosebud :flow1:

Thanks guys... I appreciate the support. I guess my biggest problem is that I'm apple shaped and I HATE it. All I want to do is lose that belly and it's the least likely to go :( I can't see myself ever being skinny enough not to have a horrible ulgy belly.

Aunty Jam - You will get rid of the belly! It might be the last thing to do, which can be discouraging, but you will lose it!

Justwant2Bhealthy - Sounds like a nice way to spend the day! I also got a pedicure on the 14th and got a bright green polish to celebrate St. Paddy's and the coming of spring. I usually go at the beginning of each month but I put it off this month until the middle so that in May I'll have a fresh pedi for May-Long. LOL So I can plan my toe polish months in advance but can't always plan healthy meals! :o

I weighed today and was 208! Yeah! Tomorrow is official weigh-in and measurement day. (2 weeks) and then I only have to go on Mon/Wed/Fri. I was totally pumped to be down a whole pound today though. I am doing the March Weight Loss challenge in "Chicks up for a challenge" and met and exceeded my March goal of 209. Happy Girl!

Have a great day ya'll. I'll check in tomorrow!

Tamara

will we be going to a spring thread or waiting until summer?

I am off now and trying to catch up on sleep. I spent my off ays last week n Windsor with my Aunt it was a short visit but I had a good time.

Well, RUTH said in another thread that spring won't really be here until April this year, so I guess we should wait until then, but maybe just do a spring/summer thread becuz it seems less people post in the summer than the winter here. What do you all think?

Spring and summer sounds good to me. I really should get my lap top running and put wyfy on it or some sort of internet and take it to work with me. During my breaks I could be keeping in touch with everyone.

Oh let's do Spring!

I second a spring thread...

Thanks for the support guys... I guess I'm just really bummed out lately. I'm still sick and I just can't seem to shake it, my throat is sore today after not being sore for almost a week and I'm thinking WTF!?!? I thought I was supposed to be getting better!

Good day ladies!

I had my two week weigh in and although my weight didn't change from yesterday I lost 3 inches this week. So in two weeks that brings the grand totals to 11.2lbs and 11.5 inches! Woo Hoo!

Will be watching for the Spring thread.

Tamara

OK, this is a democracy -- and SPRING wins! I'll start a new thread for April 1st called the New CANADIAN SPRING Thread ... so watch for that for tomorrow. :D