Living Maintenance - Maintainers Chat: Week Of December 28 - January 3

We're heading into the New Year! :hat:

How's was everyone's Christmas (for those who celebrate)? :tree:

I weigh today what I did the week before Thanksgiving so feel like I made it through another holiday season unscathed (though the year isn't over yet!) -- whew! Even so, losing a few pounds is a goal because I won't be able to exercise much after I get my knee cleaned out next week and a cushion would be nice.

Today is a sad day because it's probably the last day for our old kitty. As I reported over the weekend, he stopped eating a few days ago and can't walk now, so it's probably time. We found him in 1991 on a sand dune in New Jersey, when he was only three weeks old and didn't even know how to lap kitten formula. So he's been part of the family for a long, long time. I sat in the dark with him on my lap this morning, talked to him, and hopefully got all of the tears out.

Other than that, I had a big day of errands planned since I tried to stay away from the stores this weekend, but snow may put an end to those plans. Our street isn't plowed yet so I'm not going to try to get to the gym yet. There's always later!

Check in and let us know how you're doing, what Santa brought, and about your New Year's Plans!

Meg:hug:. It's no easier losing an old, old pet because we have so many more memories with them.

I am off to round 2 of Christmas today and will have no internet access until Thursday. DH went to sleep at 10 p.m. last night so he'll be fine to drive today. The weather looks good too! Whew!

Have a great week everyone and Happy New Year!

Dagmar :coolsnow:

Have a great trip, Dagmar!

Meg - Sending supportive thoughts as you lead your dear old kitty down the last road. I've done that and tried to sooth the pain with all the intellectual arguments that I was doing the right thing, but it was a deep loss - one to be mourned.

I am sorry, Meg.

Have a great trip, Dagmar!

Hi Bill!

One more week with the kids home. We're all going to the gym in a little bit. I am almost ready to start Stage 3 of NRLW. I think I would be seeing results if I could just put the fork down.

I also had my inaugural swim at the aquatic center yesterday. The tri I want to do is 1/4 mi swim, 12 mi bike ride, and 5 k run. So yesterday I went to the gym and rode a (stationary) bike 12.6 mi and ran (on the treadmill) 3.1 mi. The pool didn't open until 1, so I went home and had lunch, then went over and swam for about 20 min. I lost count of the laps but I think I did the 1/4 mi. :woohoo: I think I'll be able to do it; it's not until June, though.

Sorry to hear about your cat. It is difficult to lose a pet, and takes courage to let them go when its time.

Meg :cry: :hug:

Jay

:hug: to you Meg:hug: what a long wonderful life your kitty has had. Doesn't make it any easier though.

WardHog-- I want to do a tri like that too. I don't have a bike though. Do you have one? I guess I would have to buy one before I seriously consider doing a tri.

Have a safe and happy trip Dagmar.

We are in Houston staying with the in-laws since Christmas Eve. Good and bad times....... challenging food wise, challenging exercise wise, and certainly challenging with the family!! I've been running/walking around the lakes here. I really hate running but I don't have a gym here and I have to do something! It is at the same time liberating and scary not to have a scale here. I normally weigh at least once a day and now I won't weigh for a week. My pants were feeling tight yesterday! I had a dream that I got on the scale and it said 130 something and I got off and got back on and it said 140 something so I got off and got back on and it said 11,000 pounds!

Yesterday we spent remembering our past life in Houston. We visited our first three houses including the first house we bought after we got married (and our first daughter was born there). We bought it in 1988 for 47,500 (foreclosure). It still has the paint job we put on 20 years ago (doesn't look good!). My girls got to appreciate how far we've come. We also visited the Veteran's Cemetery where my parents are buried. Left stones on their headstone, talked about them, and remembered. Someone had put wreaths on all of the graves in their section and it was quite beautiful to see.

Today I am going to visit my best friend that is pregnant. We will spend the afternoon/evening with them. I can't wait!

Michele, I bought a mountain bike last year but I haven't ridden much. There's really just no safe place to ride around here, unless you stick the bike on the back of the car and go to a trail or something. And that's really hard to do with two kids in tow. Anyway, the only significant ride I have gone on was when we were on vacation in Sept. I haven't ridden in about 30 years, so I was nervous and wobbly. We rode 18 miles, and I wrecked halfway into it. For me, it will be the scariest and most challenging part of the tri, but I've got six months to get myself up to speed.

Meg, I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty. It's sad to lose a dear member of your family, but please know that you are doing the very best for him. He has lived a long and happy life with your family.

Today, I'm at the top of my desired range at 135. Here's hoping that this week goes well for me. I'm off work for the week and like others I really need the structure to stay OP. I have many things that I want to accomplish this week but not alot of motivation to get started. I really need to get the tree (real) down today. It's really dry and I cannot wait to get it out. I'm still recovering from a lovely holiday cold that I got last week with lingering mucus and the accompanying hacky cough.

Wardhog, I'm impressed with your commitment to a tri. I'm not sure that I could complete the swimming portion.

Meg - I'm so sorry about your kitty. :hug:

Dagmar - have a good trip and be safe!

Ward - cool on the tri! I see crazy people riding bikes on the road around me and I always worry about them. Them and the people who run on the road out here with all of the construction zones... Wow.

Michele - 11,000 pounds! Wow! Funny dream. Sounds like you guys are having a great trip.

Losermom- I'm at the top of my range, too. Here's to both of us getting back down! :)

I ran 11 miles yesterday, my longest run ever. I'm feeling pretty good today, to my surprise. Thinking about signing up for a 10k for Friday afternoon - the ATC Resolution Run. I have until Wednesday at 11:59 to make up my mind. :) Food was also on target yesterday. Actually, my HRM says I burned the same number of calories on the run that I ate yesterday, so TDP shows a net zero. Am I supposed to eat more when that happens?

Good day everyone!

Meg~sorry to hear about your kitty. Thankfully our vet thinks we've got another 6 months with our old dog now that we've found the best concoction of pain meds for him. Other than a bit of diarrhea last week, he's had no side effects.

Pat~Wow! That was a steal on your Keurig! I got the elite for $74 from Amazon and that was with free shipping. I think Target sells the elite for $80 or $85 and the big one you got is more like $175! The adapters at Amazon are about $12 FYI.

I don't want to talk about my weight...suffice it to say that I did so well in Italy and kept off what I had lost, but it all came back this holiday season. I've been doing a 45 minute cross train 3-4 times a week on the treadmill, and I'm not sure I'm up to doing more right now. I am suffering from a sore throat right now and fear I might be coming down with a cold.

On a brighter note we're supposed to be having our solar installed beginning today!

Meg, I'm sorry. :hug:

Shannon, you should do it! Look at you! Back in the day when I was running for > 1hr at a time, I would add a snack. Usually a pb&j or some such.

Hello to all! :wave:

Meg, I'm so sorry about your cat. Saying goodbye is incredibly difficult, but know that you've given your kitty the best life ever. Seeing all the cats that end up at the shelter, I so appreciate people who provide wonderful forever homes for their pets. Thank you.

Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

Afternoon. Who said I had to work this week??? I want to be home. :)

The Keurig was a bit hit. I've ordered a sampling of different coffees, as well as the adapter. Our grocery where I got the brewer has 3 types only - one decaf and 2 regular.

My food was okay over the holiday - not POP, but not freefall either. Saturday I bought new jeans - on sale. They're the first I've had in over a year, and I did get a smaller size than I've been wearing. I replaced all my work pants last summer, but not jeans, so it feels good to have some that aren't falling down. :) Not that they would ever slip over my hips, but the legs are way too big, and the waist slips down and nothing stays tucked in. I'll still wear them at home - I'm too frugal not too. :lol:

This week's exercise continues to be swimming. There are two more "lessons" tomorrow and Wednesday, and then I'll be working it into my regular exercise routine. I'm getting more endurance which I need to count it as cardio. Next week is back to weights (been having a wee break), and then the Precision Nutrition Lean Eating program starts again mid- January. I've signed up for another six months, focusing more on weight loss this time, whereas the last six months I was concentrating on building muscle.

Today is my last day of vacation. Sadness. I don't want to go back...

Sorry, Shannon. I wish I had more than just two 3-day weekends...

Very quiet at work, though. Yesterday we hardly got any phone calls, so I was able to get a lot of year end stuff done. Today has been a bit busier with deliveries, but I'm still wishing I could go home early. But DH had an eye appointment and when he left he said "I don't know if I'll be back or not." So I'm here until closing. Of course, being the boss is good--I can declare us closed early!

LOL Allison. I did that on Crhistmas Eve (though actually earlier in the month). I knew the afternoon would be dead in the library, so we closed at noon. I'm looking forward to another 3 day weekend, one that isn't as busy as the last one. My only commitment so far is to take down the tree, decorations, etc.

Work is frustrating this week. I need stuff to get done by year-end, and no one is available. I have to work, why don't they. :)

Anyone else still away from home and feeling very stressed about weight, etc? I am and I'm ready to go home and get back to my routine of food and exercise. I hate the lack of control....
Tonight we had Mexican and tomorrow we go for Steak. Hard restaurants in Texas! I chose a mahi mahi that came with veggies, two broiled shrimp, and a little rice. I got the sauce on the side and was glad I did because it was called "Chipotle cream sauce" but when it came it was VERY creamy. The fish was delish without it. I know I'm making the best choices I can but it is still way worse than what I normally eat. We leave Thursday morning early so we will be back home Thursday afternoon. One more big meal New Year's Eve and then back to normal. Our gym has been renovated so I'll get to check out the new gym hopefully on Thursday. I had been running each day but it rained today and looks to be rainy tomorrow.

Not ready to go back to work but I am ready to go home!!

Meg :hug: Stormy was such a wonderful big-hair Joisey cat. It is so hard to make that decision. I'm glad you had time to hold him a remember.

Off to work....why am I working this week??????

Thank you all for the kind thoughts about Stormy. :hug: He left us on Monday and it was so sad, even though it was the right thing to do. DH was home and came with me, which helped, though we both were in tears. You'd think with four other cats I wouldn't miss one, but there's a big hole in the house without him. He'd always lie on the chair beside me when I was on the computer, so this feels really wrong.

Moving on -- Mel, why ARE you working this week??

The gym has been so deserted since Christmas. I'm dreading next week's rush. A renovated gym will be fun, Michele! Are you getting new equipment too? I drool over the cardio machines with the TVs etc but they will never come to Ballys (in bankruptcy).

Today's plan is to finish some Christmas returns today. I'm trying very hard to ignore the sales and that little voice in my head that says "but you SAVE so much money by buying XX on sale!" :dizzy:

The cookies and goodies left in the house have had zero appeal to me since Christmas, thank goodness. DH should get them all finished in another week or so. My pants all still fit and weight is holding steady at preholiday levels -- whew!

:hug: Meg :hug: It is so hard when our fur babies leave us. Take care.

Meg - :hug: It doesn't matter how many cats you have in the house, you will still miss Stormy. Sounds like he had a great life and you were lucky to find each other.

Allison - it is good to be the boss. :)

Pat - My parents are coming up Saturday for their Christmas with DSS, so we are leaving up the decorations until Sunday. I'm planning on sending the boys to visit MIL and take down all the decorations solo while they are gone.

Michele - stay strong, you are almost home.

Meg - the gyms will definitely be crowded next week. Enjoy the slow week!

Got a Bosu for Christmas! Woo hoo! Also got a food processor, some running accessories (gift card for new shoes, waist pack w/ water bottles, headphones, socks, etc) and a Roomba. Have to exchange the Roomba - battery won't charge. Have been using the rest of the things, though. Pretty excited that the family is getting on track with the healthier lifestyle!

Signed up for a 10k for Friday afternoon - I was a little worried because I run pretty darn slow, was afraid I wouldn't finish in time. Found out that the 10k is just two laps around the 5k course, so if I'm not making good time at the end of the first lap I can just stop. The Resolution Run. Still trying to decide on the ING Half Marathon, but I'm thinking yes.

Good day everyone!

:hug: Meg. It is hard to lose our fur children. I gave my two an extra hug this morning. (after cursing at them last night for pinning my legs down so I couldn't turn over :lol: )

Shannon - you'll do fine. Just being in the race atmosphere will help you run faster. Be sure not to go out too fast, and - my personal favorite technique - stay ahead of someone. It was always my goal to not be last. :rofl: As for the half marathon, I think it's an experience. I really enjoyed it, and have no desire to do another. Just being with all those people was great. Mine was an official Team in Training race for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and I had to raise $$ for it.

Michele - relax. You're doing what you should be, and there are times when we cannot completely control our environment. You won't gain all your weight back - honest. :)

Mel - why are you working? Why am I working? What's wrong with this picture? :lol:

Cold weather has returned. It was zero this morning, though it's supposed to warm up to the teens when the sun comes up (10:15).

I'm back! I'm "working" today too (from home), although so far all I've managed to do is try to catch up on everything I missed while on vacation. Then I finally got ready to do some work and discovered I needed to copy files from the server in the office, which is extra slow over our VPN. It's been copying files for the past hour!

Meg, :hug: I'm so sorry about Stormy. I'm sure that he had a good, long life with your family.

Allison, glad to hear Buddy is going to be okay for a while yet with the new meds.

Speaking of pets, the reason I'm working from home is that I had to take Carter to the vet today. Last night DH found a small growth on his back leg while petting him so we took him in to make sure it was okay. The vet said it's just a skin tag, so nothing to worry about luckily! However, my fur baby is getting fat! :o He weighed 93lbs at the vet today. He was 80lbs when we got him, then went up to 88, then we put him on a diet and he went down to 82 or so. I was starting to think he looked a little chunky again. It's so hard to tell with him because in the summer he lets his food sit all day and barely touches it, but in the winter he gobbles up all that we give him and begs for more. We don't give him many treats and we barely give him any table scraps (if we do it's usually green beans, which he loves), so all his gain is just from too much dog food.

In other news, my vacation in LA was great! Scale was up 4lbs when I got back though, but it was already down 1 today so I will give it a couple more days to clear the water weight before determining my actual gain. I stuck to my plan of working out regularly and not eating breakfast at restaurants, but I did still eat a whole load of junk food (mostly dessert, as anticipated). It was worth the work it will take to get it back off.

Also, for those of you in the LA area, I had THE BEST tacos al pastor ever near my sister's place in Highland Park. Along York Blvd. in Highland Park there's a taco truck set up just about every block, and food stands in between in the evenings. The one with the great al pastor was called La Estrella and is on York Blvd at Ave 54. So. Good. My sister says they're the best she's ever had and she lived in Mexico for three months. The other food carts that set up around there (I'm sure they are completely illegal, but the food is really good) serve up Salvadoran specialties.

I think I have Delayed Fat Syndrome :eek: Now that I've been eating clean and doing real, back to normal workouts for 3 days, I'm fatter. Why does it sneak up on you with a WHOMP effect?

DFS -- :rofl: That's what always happens to me too. It can take up to a week for extra calories to show up. Just when I think I've dodged a bullet -- bam! Up two pounds, five days later!

DFS -- :rofl: Mine is not so delayed. I can literally see the extra weight on my body - eeww! I am not getting anywhere near the scale until next Monday.

I'm back at home and I am eating clean starting today. Tonite's New Year's Eve celebration will be a healthy one!

Enjoy the evening everyone!

Dagmar :hat:

Welcome home, Dagmar! It will be a healthy New Year's Eve here too. DH and I are planning to hibernate and watch a movie. Once it stops snowing here, I have to run out for groceries and the gym, but after that I plan to stay home.

After six sugar-free days, I feel like I've finally detoxed from the excesses of Christmas. It's amazing how much better I feel when I don't eat that crap! Why do I have to learn that lesson so many times?? :dizzy:

LOL about the DFS! My detox from Christmas is mostly complete. Of those 4lbs I came back with, only 0.5 is left. I love how water weight disappears so quickly -- if only my fat could disappear that fast! :lol:

I totally forgot that today was new year's eve. Knowing how exhausted DH and I have been the past couple days we'll probably go to bed at 9:00! :faint:

I definitely have DFS! I remember saying how lucky I felt after Thanksgiving and not having gained...well, a bit over a month later I'm WAY up. It is so hard (this time of year). It's cold. It's dark early. I cannot fathom eating a salad at night. I want my comfort food, and obviously I've been eating it. After tomorrow, though, things are going to be better (tomorrow we're celebrating DS's, DH's and FIL's birthdays and MIL is making lasagna).

DFS. Yep, I've got it too. I'm up two pounds from yesterday, which was already two pounds over where I like. I've been jumping around in an eight pound range for a week... :) Tonight should be fine food-wise. DH and I are staying home, not sure what we are doing but there will be lots of veggies and chicken involved. :)

Happy New Year everyone!

Morning. I'm not weighing til Saturday - then we'll see how I did. There were treats, but no really dreadful meal. I really have no idea other than that my clothes fit the same. :)

Tonight we're going to Anchorage. We'll watch their fireworks (a typical Alaska time for them as we don't have the darkness to do them at July 4) and then go to a square dance party that starts at 9. We'll stay at a friend's house there as I don't want to be on the road with any drunk partiers. Besides an hour drive home at 1 am isn't my idea of fun anytime. The party is a potluck finger food, but judging by past years, they'll be plenty of fruit and veggies and smoked salmon. :) And a party that involves lots of activity and no alcohol is great.

Now if I just weren't working all day.... So looking forward to another 3 day weekend.

I just added up my calories for today and I have enough left in the budget for 12oz of wine. :hat: Happy New Year! Don't worry, I'll be getting up to work out in the morning. :D

Happy New Year's everyone!

I just got back from Houston. Made it to the newly renovated gym (tons of new machines, new spinning bikes, new TVs-- looks great!). We'll see what the scale says tomorrow......

Unfortunately I still haven't learned my lesson with food and sugar. We went to a steakhouse last night and I ate too much. I really didn't eat a huge amount, but enough that I felt uncomfortable. THEN I ate dessert which was sugar laden. Immediate horrible headache, indigestion, and a stomachache. Still had the headache this morning. We have one more big meal tonight for New Year's Eve at a fancy restaurant. Not sure what my choices will be but I'll try not to overindulge. We got up at 4 am to catch our flight so I will be hard pressed to make it to midnight!

HAPPY NEW YEAR maintainers!

Severe case of DFS here as well. I am not weighing in until somewhere next week. Too much doing nothing and wine, but OTOH I had almost forgotten how holiday feels and I needed the de-stress.

Happy New Year! :hat: This year I'll become a grandma, so it's going to be exciting!

I was sound asleep when the firecrackers started going off at midnight. The cats got scared but I went back to sleep. Now I'm sitting here with my coffee, waiting for the gym to open at 8 am and wondering how many people will be there. Last year it didn't open until 10 am and got packed as the day went on. I'm hoping that 8 am is a wee bit too early for most folks. :lol:

Then a quick shopping trip to find big waisted sweat pants for DD, who can't fit into her jeans any more. She says that she's bigger every morning when she wakes up! We have a big sporting goods store that opens at 9 am, so I'll zip over there once I'm done at the gym.

Instead of the traditional pork and sauerkraut for New Year's dinner, the guys decided on steak and scalloped potatoes. I'll roast asparagus and some sweet potatoes for myself. And I'll take the tree down today and get Christmas put away for another year.

It's going to be a wonderful year!!

Happy New Year! NRLW and triathlon training! woot! Bring it on! :carrot:

May the new year bring all of us much joy and success in whatever goals we set for yourselves.

Our New Year's eve celebration was quiet and very nice. Just DH and myself, dinner, "Tin Man" and a midnight toast and kiss.

I stayed OP except for one extra glass of wine. I'm not one to make resolutions but I am on my second day of no diet cola and I have none in the house. Nor do I plan to buy any when the stores reopen.

Today I'm making a big pot of pea soup with the leftover Christmas ham bone. We're going to see Avatar this afternoon.

I'm doing my one hour strength workout right after this post - get the last of the wine out of my system.

Have a great first day of 2010 everyone!

Dagmar :strong:

Meg, congrats on becoming a grandma!

Mudpie, I've been craving ham and bean soup, but maybe split pea would be better...

I too am a victim of DFS! I'm at the top of my range, 135 this morning. It could have been far worse than it is. I've continued my workouts despite of the holidays but cannot seem to control what I put in my mouth. This unstructured week at home was not good for my eating. Monday I'm back at work and DS14 is back at school. I'm looking forward to it.

Meg, congrats on becoming a grandma!

Mudpie, I've been craving ham and bean soup, but maybe split pea would be better...

I too am a victim of DFS! I'm at the top of my range, 135 this morning. It could have been far worse than it is. I've continued my workouts despite of the holidays but cannot seem to control what I put in my mouth. This unstructured week at home was not good for my eating. Monday I'm back at work and DS14 is back at school. I'm looking forward to it.

DH and DS saw Avatar last week and want DD22 and I to see it again this weekend. Last night DH and I redboxed Section 9. I guess I had no idea what it was about going into it, but the message was powerful.

Happy 2010 to everyone! May this year leave you happy, healthy and prosperous!

Last Saturday I made a huge pot of ham and bean soup using the ham bone leftover from Thanksgiving (I'd frozen it). It was SO good! It simmered for 3 hours and it was a cold day so it was really nice. DH and I have enough leftover for at least one more lunch.

We turned in early last night--just like any other night--so I'm having a normal "weekend" morning lolling on the computer and drinking coffee. I ran yesterday so today is rest, but I'll run again tomorrow. I really like the 45 minute cross train workout on the treadmill. I've even kicked it up a bit to walk at 4.0 and run at 5.0. Next I'll change the level so there's more uphill parts. If I continue this 3x a week for the next year I'll have run over 500 miles in 2010. I guess I should start keeping track!

We'll probably see Avatar this weekend. Today is a bit of a challenge as my in-laws are doggie sitting and we're not sure if we want to leave the dog alone for that long (they're bringing him here and he's a bit aggressive with my 2 bigger dogs). Also MIL is making lasagna to celebrate birthdays today (FILs is today, DHs is the 4th and my DSs was on the 25th).

Just finished my Resolution Run - 10k, unofficial time 1:08:55. I'll post the official time when they update the website from the chip results.

Happy New Year everyone!

Hooray Shannon! That is great!!
What a great idea to do on Jan. 1 when everyone is making their resolutions!

Happy new year everyone! DH and I probably should have just gone to bed early, but instead we opened a bottle of champagne and stayed up until midnight. Of course, I drank too much champagne, and ended up snacking, but not much damage was done.

WTG Shannon!

Anyone heard from Lily? I wonder how she's doing and how her holidays went.

Dagmar :coolsnow:

Shannon, you're my hero!! :high:

I got to the gym when it was supposed to open at 8 am yesterday -- along with about 35 other brave souls -- and waited for 15 minutes and no one showed up to open. So went home. Bah humbug! Then it started to snow so I never went back. It's supposed to snow all weekend so I'll have to check out the roads when the sun comes up to see if I can get there today.

I'm in my usual post-holiday "clean-up and organize" mood, where I ruthlessly swoop through closets and the basement and take all the clutter to Goodwill. It's kind of like my New Year's diet resolution, except it's getting rid of junk and mess instead of fat. I love the end result, when I can open a closet and instead of everything falling out on my head, it's organized and neat. :lol:

So that's today in a nutshell -- the gym and decluttering. If I can't get to the gym, I'll lift in the basement. A Bosu ball makes a pretty good bench in a pinch.

hi maintainers,

Meg - de-cluttering mood here also! My resolution: let go of more clutter, in my mind, in the house and especially in the form of too much fat on my body! I seriously want to de-stress more in the next year, that is aside from the usual eat more healthy- be more consistent in my workouts - loose the last 10 pounds trio.

have a great day,
rabbit

Has anyone else encountered Carnegie Deli NY cheesecake? I usually don't like cheesecake, but we got a small one as a gift... OMG! :drool:

It was a small cheesecake, and a tiny slice (2 ounces) had 204 calories... :eek: I had planned for it, though, so I kept with my target.

I'm glad this stuff isn't around very often...

Happy New Year, everyone!

Jay

I found a bag of milk chocolate :devil: truffles this morning, forgotten in the back of the closet. Got the dish detergent out :( but boy, was that hard. Glad DH is away for the weekend - hate to see a grown man cry :p.

I am also decluttering. Our Goodwill services no longer accept anything but clothing so I'll have to get creative about where I take all these little things that have been piling up.

My business is ready to roll for 2010. Just finishing up washing all the stinky dog things so everything will be fresh for Jan 4. I will be so glad to see all the dogs. They are such a big part of my daily life and I miss them all.

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Dagmar :coolsnow:

Just got back from my Saturday weigh in. I missed last week because I was in Houston. We usually have 70+ people at our meetings and apparently there were 7 last week! I was up .4 which I thought was great considering. I know I will have it off in no time.

My kitties are MAD. One of them (Wilbur) had been vomiting and I took him to the vet before our trip. She suggested two weeks of eating plain cooked chicken only. We started the experiment yesterday. They both have to eat it (Charlotte too) because I can't leave cat food out for her. They were on a hunger strike yesterday-- they were mad and chasing each other! The food seems to be slowly disappearing but they are still acting like they're starving!!

Dd's 19th birthday is Monday. She wants ribs (I won't eat them) and some sort of cake. Last food hurdle for me to get through!! I can do it!!

Tons to do today........back to work Monday.....

I have my last food hurdle today, for a couple of weeks anyway. We're going to a friend's house for family game night, which also includes lasagna, bread, brownies, wine, etc. Maybe I'll be able to get away with eating salad only or hiding somewhere and scarfing a Zone perfect bar.

Dagmar, Toronto has freecycle. I found that was a wonderful way to get rid of stuff that the thrift stores won't take or is too big for me to get to the thrift store. When we remodeled our kitchen, instead of getting a dumpster, we freecycled our kitchen cabinets, old sink, etc. Since people come and get the stuff, you don't have to drive around trying to unload it. It's pretty amazing what people will take and repurpose.

Oh yes, I've done freecycle and Craigslist both and gotten things gone .....

I have an ongoing off-to-the-thrift-shop bag for clothing, so whenever it strikes me that something needs to go, into the bag with it. WHen it's full, off to the thrift store. Ours will take small things - but no computer stuff or furniture. But excess crockery, small appliances, etc. I can take there.

Sorry about your gym time Meg. I knew everything here was closed yesterday. Today they're open, and I'm opting for swimming this evening.

Yes, we've got a charity shop bag permanently on the go. The danger is ... The problem is that whoever takes it in comes back with the same or greater volume of stuff (usually books or clothes)!! Our Oxfam shop has been an additional lending library of much older and obscure books for the DB.

Pat I think most of the closets in our house are versions of your "off-to-the-thrift-shop bag". :lol:

Dagmar

Argh. I had typed in a long post on my iPhone, bumped the corner and accidentally hit the 'undo typing' button.

Take two. :)

Just finished my last holiday gathering of the season. My parents and grandmother came up to my house today to do their Christmas with DSS. Tomorrow the tree and decorations come down while DH & DSS spend the day with my MIL. I'm ready to be able to get to my back door again so will be happy to see the tree come down! So much easier for me to get things down while they are gone....

My parents got me a Roomba - had to exchange the first one because it wouldn't charge. Amazon had a replacement to them Wednesday, they brought it up today. The new one has charged fine, so I'll play with it tomorrow while the boys are gone as well. Excited.

Have I said in previous posts that my parents totally overdo on holidays, and thereby I tend to overdo on holidays as well? Well, that became glaringly obvious this year when looking at the presents Santa brought DSS at our house compared to the present (singular) he brought DSS at his mom's. Okay, saying present isn't fair, there were a few. He got a wooden rocket playset (really cool actually) and some playdough from Santa at his mom's, plus two toys from her friends and a couple of things from her family. Santa brought him lots and lots and lots of stuff at our house - every Imaginext set known to man, transformers, robots, cars, remote control cars, walkie talkies, games for his laptop, books... Then today my parents brought him almost as much stuff as Santa brought here. He has started to comment that he doesn't have as many toys at his mom's and wants to take toys from here over there. (Which we don't want him to do so much, we bought things designed for he & DH to play together.) He has also commented about the small tree at her house, no Christmas stockings at her house, no tree in his room at her house, etc... So. I am a Christmas nut - it took me about six hours to put decorations out - something in every single room, on almost every flat surface in the main rooms. She doesn't do so much. I (and DH & my folks) overdo on the gifts. She doesn't so much. I'm not trying to outplay the holiday, I have always been this way. I am however struggling a little with how to not completely overshadow her on Christmas... I have a year to figure it out I guess.

Ooops - bath time, gotta run. Good night everyone!

Is there any way to search the recipes thread in this forum (and others) to find a specific bunch of recipes?

For example, if I wanted to see all of the soup recipes can I enter that in a field somewhere within that thread?

Thanks,
Dagmar :brr: