Support Groups - CCRRMM 2004 version 2.0

hi kaylets, amarantha, eydie, anagram! and to all the rest of the royal court. up ealier this morning than intended, but i guess i am stressed thinking about how much has to get done in such a short period of time now. hopefully, i can get some things done around the apt. this morning before my body realizes i tricked it by getting up before 5a.

let's see-- me tiny, (and i do mean tiny!) condo. is a one bedroom, one bath-785 sq. ft., but it is fine size for me. all my furniture will fit. yesterday, my friends who took me over there to "christen" the new place have already got ideas about putting in a pass-through in the kitchen wall and some floating shelves on one wall to display some of the tea pots i have collected over the years, which i think will look great. my decorating style is---hmm, well, i have a lot of cherrywood furniture-some antique and some more modern, but simple lines. my couch, loveseat, and ottomon are sage color, so i think the deep beige on the living room walls will be nice. i will have mood indigo(a wedgwood blue) on my kitchen cabinets, which is already making it feel like my home. still not sure about my bathroom color---may go with a sea green/blue. my bedroom will either be a more warm beige (called suede) which looks pretty soothing, and i think will look good with my navy blue bed linen and pillows and my furniture.

i am still the same weight that i have been for a long time now, but i know it has to move downward eventually if i just stick with it, and i plan to. of course, i wish it were sooner rather than later. well, i hope you all have a good morning. thinking of you, ladies. take care.

wsw

Hello all!

I posted last night that I've decided to speak about "my issues " with "going over the hill"....Which means literally, I'm back to square one....
I had a few moments yesterday when I realized that my tongue in cheek observations about marketing might literally go "over" some folks heads and then not be humorous......
And since the first round judging is done by each member of the audience, I need NOT to make the audience defensive....

So...
The good news is that finally, with this topic I have an opener I almost like and an ending I very much like.

Hee hee... Now to fill in the remaining 6 minutes!



WSW-- I have come to the realization that Less is More ... less to clean, less to maintain, etc etc.... and this is from a former "most toys wins" mentality....
Your condo sounds terrific... I love teapots too...

Must go, I'm late!

**************
Thought of the day:

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."
- Mother Teresa

Question of the day :

"Where were you born?"

**************


Kettle is on!

kaylets-glad to hear you now have a topic, opener and an ending you like for your speech. i too have found over the years that for me, less is indeed more. qod-i was born in minneapolis (and lived there until i went to college in ca.) well, back to my chores.

Ahhh. Where's the sigh-of-relief smiley? I'm so glad it's Friday. :dizzy: I nearly got blown off my bottom on the walk to work this mornin'. Guess Mama Nature thought that Ramon and I got too much enjoyment from hearing the rain patter on our bedroom window last night and decided to remind me this morning who's in charge. As if I could ever forget.

THAT'S who Amarantha reminds me of! Mother Nature! Well, not capricious, that's not what I mean...never mind. Um. Om Shanti, darling - that was a compliment, by the way. A pretty big one, in my mind. You just take up a lot of psychic space in my mind, you're a big presence, like Mother Nature. As someone who feels and revels in being larger than life I salute those who seem the same way to me. Perhaps you're not. I think you are, though. Punkin is, for sure. ;)

Anyway. So, could you please, please release to me that donut recipe you finally came up with? I wanted to take some samples to the poor guy at WW. Don't get me wrong, by the way. I love sweets and see nothing at all wrong with eating them (spent 5 points on an ice cream sandwich of Ramon's last night and enjoyed every bite). :yes: Oh, yeah.

Kaylets, I know how you feel - to walk a fine line between saying something of worth, being funny about it, and hoping desperately not to offend or even irritate. It's tough, and as a person who loves to be (or try to be) funny, I'm always thinking about it. Let me say truly that you've said some pretty pithy stuff (in a funny way, too, sometimes) in your posts, and you have never, and I mean never put me on the defensive. I never even got a red flag, and I've got a pretty keen hair trigger for that kind of stuff, for what it's worth. My two cents.

WSW, I am SO excited about your new condo. You know, little places are usually big on charm, and it need not feel cramped if you're clever at storing things and proactive about keeping things neat. Now that R. and I are in the smallest place of our lives (but the coolest place we've ever lived bar none) I'm learning a lot about picking up after oneself. Yep. Your wall colors sound wonderful. Darling, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for sharing all this with us. I'm a wall-paint junkie myself and am vicariously taking great pleasure from your experience. Hope you don't mind. :D

Eydie, the seating arrangement for that picture was in a toy store. Those holes in the wall were clever little seats for kids! I would've LOVED poking around in them as a kid (before I began my lovely, lifelong relationship with clautrophobia. My cousins put a sleeping bag over my head and held me in it for a long time when I was seven. :no: Little chumps).

Zadie, the LAST thing I'd ever imagine you as is a slack-jawed yokel. Though I had my doubts when you confessed that your favorite article of clothing was a raggedy pair of overalls! :lol: Please stay warm, love.

All right, the rest of you. Darlings, you're very, VERY much loved and I hope to God you have peace and joy and some good luck this weekend. I won't be around probably because I'm going to my parents' house to visit them and my brother and SIL. Kisses...

Congrats to the new condo owner! Colors sound great and all so exciting.

Loved the mommy dog tale, Empress! True to her calling.

Still never found that Cerise pic and seem to realize I'm missing some pertinent points in my "scanning". Well, still in my thoughts, all. Vacation half over. I'd be homesick except it's too cold there and I figure home is where dh is and right now, that's here. He doesn't miss home at all but maybe that's because here is where I am too.

Frogger, honey, hope all is going well with you and the little one.

On a recent QOD, I was born in Philly, resided for 19 years or so in two little towns in central PA (various addresses) and for 47 years have lived near the capitol city of PA. Have had 3 addresses in my married life but all very close. 34 years at present place. I'd say that describes a stick in the mud.

Well, the furnace is now fixed. We called someone in to fix it when our pipes froze. So it is warm in the house, even though it got to -24 last night. It cost a ton, but we need heat.

I missed owrk yesterday to stay home for the furnace guy.

QOD: I was born in Madison, Wisconsin.

WSW - the condo sounds lovely. So exciting.

Cerise - I long for the sound of rain again. That is one of the things that makes winter sooooo long. Five months without the sleep that rain brings.

Amarantha - Strenths in the fight against the evil that is Krispy Kreme. Although I do not like KK, I sympathise with the whole shugar craving thing. I must go post on the evil food thread.

Hello, to everyone else, named and unnamed.

Anagram, I am laughing out loud! You are not a stick in the mud! There is something to be said for sticking around...ooopps...sorry....

WSW...great color choices...sounds very relaxing and restful...I've been here 15 years and still have 3 rooms and a lot of shag that need to be re-vamped!!!!

Fly-by postie...was too windy on the food thread...got stuff to do...where is Frogger and the tadpole? Wildfire? Arabella....you must be on month end you guys!!!

:wave: to all..

Ceara

Fly-by: Ceara, you called it, for sure! 'Tis the dreaded EOM, compounded this time by holidays, DS crisis, and trip getting in the way of work. I've just come to the conclusion that I can only do what is possible :yes: and must live with the consequences. Hopefully I won't get fired!

Love to all -- I've read your posties and wish I had time to respond, thinking of you all v. fondly indeed tho! :wave:

Yowza, guys! Fly-by for moi as well as I need to get at least one story done to stay even on deadline this weekend! Will post in food thread and NOLA later ... wanted to say howdy!!!! So, howdy ...

Well, ok, I'm back, having written two inches! As thou knowest, I have the concentration of a butterfly. Think it's lunch time and I'm NOT having sugar!!!! Going to food and NOLA thread now, then taking a break!

Arabella, I doubt if thou'll get fired ... maybe I will, but thou won't ... I'll pledge to get this week's work done if thou'll pledge to get thy month end stuff done! Hmmm?

Well, I need a facelift and more red in my hair, saith Amarantha. The little boy across the street (about 5) stopped on his bike in the street and stared at me when I was getting the mail.

"Are you an abuela?" he asked.

No, smiled I.

"Are you a mom?"

No, I'm just me.

Puzzled stare.

:queen: s, I must vent ... I remember my nephew at age 5 asking me why I didn't have a baby ... same deal many years later ... all the kinds of women the kid across the street seems to know about are abuelas and moms ... not worried abuela rather than mom being the first option he considered .. I'm beyond ancient as far as he's concerned ... just bothers me a little that in the 21st century, women are still so stereotyped that a little boy is having trouble figuring me out ... and now that I think of it that there are places in the world where he'd be having even more trouble if he tried to come to terms with where women fit into the scheme of things ...

Anyway, my firebug neighbors to the back are at it again ... actually I'm starting to like the bonfires and having all the people out there until 2 a.m., but I still think it's extremely unwise and dangerous ... I'd report them but it'd start a lot of trouble that I don't need ... anyway the police helicopters have seen it a number of times and they don't do anything so why should I worry if they burn down the neighborhood and kill us all? :doh:

Did anyone appoint me the world's safety monitor? I think not.

I'm going to bed and read! Bye all!!!

Hello all!

Empress! Our thoughts run parallel courses again! Grandmas, mamas, perhaps you will be that little bike rider's first example of Empress!!!
At least he felt safe enough with you to speak....

I know I have been going on and on about the speech contest (and wouldnt you know, weatherman says we might have snowstorm on Wed....hee hee, wouldnt that be a hoot...get myself in full charge to wind up shoveling my driveway....)
I did get a few ideas yesterday at the seminar and also am realizing I should use some of my own musing to deal with the entire contest process.....

My point is this: I am realizing that if we pay attention to our mindset when we choose to accept a challenge that we can learn a few things along the way.
More on that subject later... ( you didnt think I'd be done with one sentence did you??)


DH and I are headed out to avoid the crush of Super Bowl Party shoppers....

****
Today's thought is:
"Sometimes when you have everything, you can't really tell what matters."
--Christina Onassis

Question of the day :

"Do you try to get up the same time every day?"

******


By the way, I mentioned tea earlier this week that Dh gave me... I am enjoying it.. I'll be glad to list the website... I thought DH had ordered decaf ... ( which is available) and was drinking cup after cup.... Just a little lesson for me Thursday night as I wondered why I was so awake at 10:30pm.....

Live and Learn!

KETTLE IS ON!

Greetings, Fellow Royalties! :queen:

Not even going to try to catch up right now, but will later this evening. Been MIA for two reasons: No change in scale on Wednesday left me totally bummed out and wondering why I bother, and we've been having some internet connectivity problems in this area. Not sure how widespread it was, but seems okay today.

Just got off the treadmill and really need to shower, then off to treat myself to an Evergrey CD if I can find one.

Will be back later when everyone else will be Superbowling...not my thing. :wave:

Yea, :queen: K, perhaps he will keep me in the back of his mind as he comes to terms with alternative examples of womandom in his life!!!! I hope all the kids around here think of me as safe, but that's always a problem, too, as one doesn't really want them to trust too much, since sadly our world is filled with neighbors who aren't trustworthy at all. I know all the kids at that house at least think I'm strange ... the little girls stare at me also but not with hostility ... I do think they are cautious, though. Once a girl of about 10 asked me where I was going (I had the walking poles and the sun was going down) ... I said I was going for a walk.

She peered at me for all the world as if I were fragile and elderly in the extreme and heading off on a dangerous mission in some far-flung battle zone. "Be careful," she said sternly.

"I always am," I told her. :)

Re QOD: I don't get up at the same time each day as my schedule is so varied.

:queen: Wildfire, left thou a message on the food thread! Loved the recipe thou posted!!!! Want some!

Just finished work guys and off to la-la land now. My new food challenge be looking really good ... details on food thread. Later, gators!

Oh, on the where werest thou born QOD, which I belatedly realized had been posted: Dayton, Ohio!

Thought it was about our least fav cities and someone was bashing poor Texas!

Which is ok (no offense meant to anyone who might have bashed Texas, 'cause that's free speech n'all) but really, Texas is quite nice!

I'm confused. Ok, bye!

Ok, four in a row! To anyone who hasn't read the food thread, please note the descending number on my sig!

Really, I'm going now!

Loved your 'little boy' story, Amarantha. I'm child-free too, and have gotten my share of odd comments, but mostly from adults. My favorite: "You really should have at least one child." What? :dizzy: :lol: My dream response: 'well, wouldn't that negate my decision to not have any children?" I usually just smile sweetly though!

wsw, really enjoyed hearing about the plans for your new home! Made me realize I need more color in my life. So yesterday while I was at Wal-mart laying in supplies, I impulsively bought myself a scarlet red 'track suit' sort of thing---inspired by you!!!

Kaylets, did you avoid the super bowlers while out shopping today?

Wildfire, glad you're back! Please don't be discouraged---well okay, it's normal, just don't STAY discouraged! ;)

We may have more ice and snow this week. Man, I have to work sometime!

Yea, Eydie, I've heard that one as well, not to mention a number of people who've commented that I stay so young because I don't have children. Since as far as I can tell, I'm aging at the rate of one year annually just like they are, I find that comment irritating. A few years ago when my best friend decided she had never really cared for me at all and told me what a bad person I was (you may recall I posted extensively about that), that was one of the comments ... that I could not "go with the flow" like she could, but she supposed that's because she's raised children and had a husband (she hates his guts, but ...)

When I emailed her that having a family did not make her a better person than me, she was so ... dunno ... oh, how could I think that she thought she was a better person ... but that's how I interpret all of these kinds of comments when they come from adults ...

Sheesh, I'm getting mad all over again! I like your comeback idea btw ... but like you I mostly just let it go ... it's a form of prejudice and you can't use logic to refute prejudice so I don't try ...

Later ... [/color]

Hello....
Woke up really wishing I could stay in bed but here I am....
If its too terrible, I'll come home. We all know that once you get there you always say, why should I waste a day to come home....
I crashed ( literally) about 7 pm last night-- just collapsed into bed and only awoke when DH came to bed after watching the game.

So ... its one of those mornings where everything needs to be done as it wasnt done last night...


*****
Today's thought of the day :

"There must be more to life than having everything."
Maurice Sendak

Question of the day :

" If we say " choose" ( like moo) when spelled two "oo"'s and "chose" ( like open) with one "o"--- why do we say lose and loose the same way but spell them differently to mean different things?"

*****

Sorry, I told you it was a wild morning!

Quicky post for a snowy day. My main exercise is keeping up with the snow.

Amarantha - I agree that parts of texas are quite nice. There were two things that gave me the big ick: I lived in a really bad neighborhood and the house got broken into a couple of times and we did not have air conditioning and it was over 100 for two weeks in a row. I was really young and dumb back then.

We went grocery shopping last night and there was no one at the store becuase of the game and the snow. It was excellent beucasse usually Sunday shopping is a madhouse.

Amarantha - I am childless and planning on staying that way. My little cousins asked me about it beucase according to them I am still a kid until I have kids of my own. Which is scary becuase I have a cousin who had a child when she was 18 and so, according to the little ones, she is a grown up and I am not. and congrats on the lower numbers :)

Ok I must get some work done.

Was only kidding about Texas, :queen: Z (not about liking it, but it didn't really bother me if anyone else didn't ... :) ) ... I hear thee about the summers w/o AC, I lived in Arizona five years without it (the first two years, I had swamp coolers, but they stopped working the third year). It's only been in the past few years I had window AC units put in ... one in the kitchen and then a year ago in my office ... still gets hot in the house but it helps. central air is just too expensive for me ... actually my mom lived in Texas during WW II (dating myself here) and told me she hated it big time ... dunno, I'm really drawn to the place, though. Maybe I was conceived or something when she was there ... don't think so, but I suppose it's possible!! :s: No, I'm way too young!!!! :)

Thanks for the congrats and the input on childfree by choice ... yes, it's scary to think some folks believe that just by the biological act of childbearing, an 18-year-old can be elevated to the status of adult (no offense to 18-year-olds, as many ARE adults, it's just that I believe maturity or lack thereof doesn't have to do with having kids ... in fact, I'd say many folk would be better off if they didn't have kids ever because I've seen too many bad parents in this world ... actually I hate to say this but I've seen more bad parents than good ones ... I think folk should have to pass parenting classes and have psychological testing before they can conceive and bring some poor child into the world to perpetuate their lameness ... :yikes: where did that come from, sorry, not bitter, really)!

:queen: K, sorry thou be not feeling too perky ... it's Monday ... hopefully, Tuesday will look better ... I'm just trying to hide out today but people keep asking me to do things ... why are they bothering me when I don't want to work? :fr: Hope you get to come home soon.

Re the Sendak quote, it sounds like my father (who had really severe emotional problems), who kept saying: "There must be a better way." There never was, for him, but I'm determined to make a better way for myself! :)

QOD: Actually, I don't say 'lose' and 'loose' the same way ... dunno how to type the sounds but they don't sound the same at all to me?

Anyway, guess I'll go hide some more!!! Bye!

Except for Monday, which was never good anyway....

Long day. :yawn:

I applaud those of you who have made the choice not to have children. I would have been among you had I had a choice all those years ago, but that's a whole other story. Even now, because I remarried, I get the "when are you two going to have a baby" comments...uh, how's never? I can see the finish line, why the :censored: would I start over??? I may be crazy, but I'm not insane! :crazy:

Amarantha, do you get the WW e-mails? One of the recipes today is herbed biscuits...I thought of you immediately! I made some banana-chocolate chip muffins from one of the WW cookbooks, and because I made 12 instead of 18 they work out to 4 points each, but they are a good size muffin, and worth it, IMO. Hey, you're down to 151 lbs?? That's six pounds, isn't? :cb:

I say lose like "looze" and loose the same way as goose, with the S sound. QODs: Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and get up at the same time every day, except weekends when I sleep late until 7am or so.

Kaylets, I crashed last night, too, watching HGTV in the bedroom with Peppy the kitten curled up under my chin. I had one of those mornings, too. :rolleyes:

Arabella, are you back home from Boston?

zadie, sorry about the furnace troubles. Why must they always break when it is 20 below?

anagram, how are the palm trees and sunshine? Sure could use some of that warmth here!

wsw, your colors sound lovely! Very peaceful. I'm a big fan of neutral colors, and you can always add color with accessories. Good choices!

frogger, how is the tadpole?


Eydie, thanks! I wallowed for a couple of days, then climbed back on the wagon. Love the scarlet suit!

Hi ceara! :wave:

Cerise, where art thou? Did I congratulate you on your amazing loss? If not, congratulations!! :dance:

And hey, :queen: Punkin is in absentia today! What up with dat? :?:

Did I miss anyone? :wave: if I did!

Off to the other threads, then to search for Flower (anyone seen her lately?), then the treadmill, then the shower, then ironing, lunches, maybe throw something in the slow cooker for tomorrow....it never ends. :shrug:

Hello all!

I feel good this am.... ice storm warmed up to be just a storm... Speech is really coming together ( DH gets a medal for listening patience on this one!)
and I think my hairdresser FINALLY gets it!!

I promise I will post the speech .. I am very interested in your opinions....
I'm a little shy because so many of you are professional writers but I do value your opinions!

*****
Thought of the day :

" A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
-- Herm Albright

Question of the day :

"What is the longest you've grown your hair?"

******

KETTLE IS ON!

Frustration level...HIGH. Tolerance level....LOW. Makings for a bad day...ICY DRIVEWAY! Argh!

:wave: to all... you are doing great..hope to join you this day.

Haven't seen Flower for a while...'nor Frogger either...was she logging on at work? That would explain that one. YO YO Dee either...we've lost a few and gained a few...

I'm with you Wildfire on the lose and loose....aren't the same at all....the vowels are very different. Hair...high school down my back of course.

Gotta go...drink some water and finish my programme...and maybe (be still my heart) walk for more than 8 minutes on the treadmill!!! DH is trying another fix :rolleyes:

Ceara :doh: :drill:

Icy here today. I may go to work this afternoon for a while. Luckily, there's not much going on that I have to cook for, so I'm just making 'busy-work' for myself this time of year.

Glad you're feeling better, Kaylets. My hair used to be so long, had a ponytail that hung all the way down my back. I guess I had some romantic idea about having long hair, but I'm over that now. The shorter the better--for me anyway!

Wildfire, I remember Flower! Haven't seen her here in ages!

Ceara, good luck with the treading!

Have a good day, everybody! I'll check in later.

Hello All!
The tadpole is making me very very sick.

Car is still not fixed. But I had to drive into work today in my mother's car (which by the way is a huge caddy and makes me car sick to drive it). Because I just 'HAD' to be here today according to management. To do what? I've been sitting on my arse since 6:30 doing nothing. I'd rather be doing that at home.

G'morning, dearests. Back from a wonderful weekend with my parents, brother and SIL. We laughed a lot, and the only two bummers were: 1. I ate too much and didn't journal at all, and 2. We had to leave for home during the Superbowl and I missed the halftime show.

Why did I eat so much, you ask? Aaah, you know how families are. They have waffles for breakfast - eat a lot, then can go for hours without eating until the next large meal. Meanwhile, the waffles were so high in points that I ate only one and was hungry an hour after, wandering through stores with my mum. We got home (I was grouchy with hunger by then) and she had bought vegetable lasagna for us specially, so I had a slice, contemplated journalling it, then said (sing it with me, you all know the song) "Ah, screw it" and ate myself into a coma for the rest of the weekend. And today's weigh-in. Never mind. I had a very convivial time with my family - ate and drank and laughed a great deal. The only thing I regret are the handfuls of chips I ate because I was off-program and I could... :mad:

My poor friends back East, when are you gonna get a break with this weather? It sounds extremely inconvenient. No injuries or hypothermia for you to report, so that's good. I'm glad you're in Florida, Anagram.

Frogger, I'm starting to hate your manager for your sake. And I'm sorry the tadpole's not letting anything stay down. It's one of those prenant-women conundrums I've never been able to fathom. How do you get the calories and nutrients to your kiddo if you're unable to keep food down? Anyway, sending you strength and patience and a strong stomach... :goodvibes

Eydie, your track suit sounds really cool. Ramon and I (wsw, you listen in too) are now seriously contemplating painting our apartment and have chosen some pretty bright stuff (despite sage warnings from tiresome people who remind us that we'll have to paint over it someday). We decided that we're SICK of neutrals - we're going to put color everywhere and let the headaches begin! Naw, it won't be like that. But we're not buying neutral stuff any more. Color!!! :balloons:

Ceara, sorry about your frustration levels today. Poor thing. Maybe treadmilling will joggle some of it out of you. Sometimes it helps for me...

Kaylets, I can't wait to read your speech. I am by no means a professional writer, but I'm avid reader who is keen to be delighted (bad writing aside). The perfect guinea pig. Isn't it lovely to have a hairdresser who gets it? I've had some that couldn't put their preconceived notions of what my hair SHOULD look like away and give me what I bloody well wanted! One had the temerity to tell me that I have a "very short neck" and anything below my chin would make the situation worse. I told her as coldly as I could that it was short because of a compression fracture I endured when I was 12 and I would grow my hair as long as I liked. Which leads me to the QOD: my hair is the longest it's ever been - down below my braline, but layered all the way up to my chin. Very bushy. Call me Hermione and I'll kill ya.

Wildfire, poor baby. Let's you and me crawl back onto the wagon with hunkered shoulders and commiserate. Punkin, hand me that butt-super-glue. That way falling off (or jumping off) will only occurr if I tear my *** right off. Actually, not a bad idea... :chin: Nooo - the only thing balancing my belly is my ***. Guess I'll keep it where it is for the time being.

I'm also childless-by-choice. I do love children (well, OK, everybody says that) and am always so proud of mothers-to-be, but I've never thought I'd be a mother, not even when I was a kid. My MIL is starting to drop hints. Ironic, since I'd think she'd had her baby-fix for a good long time (Ramon's younger sister got pregnant with her son when she was 16, had him at 17, and now she and her son, 3 years old now, still live in my in-laws' house along with the father of the kid). I ask you. My brother doesn't drop hints at all. Since he's in med. school and can't be expected to father children yet (though they want them) and Ramon and I aren't doing much of anything career-wise, he mournfully asks when we'll make him an uncle. Often. Had to get a bit shirty with him this weekend. Strangely enough, my parents are the ones who don't give me trouble about it. I do adore them.

Amarantha, I'm afraid it was me dissing Texas. The people, not so much the land. I love the meadows and wildflowers and flatness and the iron-hard sky in the summer. We like Texas. We disliked the people in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, probably because I had a very un-congenial workplace to deal with and it tainted me. It's an unfair attitude, I know, and I do remember the place fondly, but I still think that the stereotypes that surround the people of Plano and Denton are grounded in absolute truth.

Your story was cute, by the way. Things will change, my dear. Hopefully in our lifetimes. A lot of prejudice is born of the fact that our family is our little world and is therefore our "norm" for many years. Exposure kills prejudice (at least for a thinking mind), and that boy has been "exposed" to you. Good thing he met a kind, centered, strong single woman and not a defensive, crotchety and insecure one. Just by meeting you another male of our species has been set on the right path. :D

"Underworld" finally came in the mail today. Love that movie...

Right, I'm off to work. Love to you all!

Just got back from weigh-in at WW. I'm down another .5 pound, great considering that I fell off the wagon this weekend. Trying not to think about what I could have lost if I'd stayed OP.

I'm having some major, major beginner's luck here, people. People aren't lying when they say that at the beginning of your weight loss, you lose it like crazy. Savoring the moments while they last...

CONGRATULATIONS, CERISE, for sending that half :dance: packing!!!! Keep going! I posted a response to thee on the food thread!!!!

Hmmm. I sort of know how you feel about a bad experience with people in a place leaving a negative feeling for the place itself (if I've got that right). When I moved here, I had some quite negative interactions at the first paper I worked for and I think that has colored everything I've felt about people here and at subsequent jobs. Was just thinking today that I need to get out ... am thinking about moving to NOLA at some future date ... just thinking about it, not sure ... I need a life where I don't feel I have so many enemies ...

If that sounds paranoid, it kind of describes my present mood.

Kaylets, I'd like to read thy speech as well. You are brave to speak in public ... I hate it ... can do it when I have to but don't like it ...

Gotta go folks, later ...

Hello all!

I have the best draft still at work ( I thought it came home...sorry) - I will post tomorrow....

My weighin was the same but I am very excited for those whoo have lost....
Empress... is it true?? 6 lbs down?? WOW!!

Interesting thought on lose and loose.... never heard the vowels pronounced differently.... I 'm familiar with a soft s and a harder z sound in the s but goes to show you.....


Take care all... I have to rehease a bit.

KETTLE IS ON!

Er, no, :queen: K, I only lost a pound in the past two weeks ... six would be nice, though!!! :)

Somewhere I think I was rambling that by my figures, I'd gone down 27 pounds from last February 1. At least that's what I'd written down in my pre-body-for-life journal. I'm confused, actually, because I don't think it was that much ... but dunno ... I think I lost 13 pounds from April of last year to January 1 and I lost some in January ... so 27 doesn't sound right, but anyway, I'm getting where I'm going and that's what count! :) Some of the confusion may be that when I briefly did Curves in March, they weighed me in about 10 pounds heavier than I thought I was ... oh, well. I know where I am now, anyway.

Here's an approximation of how I hear (and I guess pronounce) lose and loose: To me it sounds like "lew's" and "luce" ... hmmm, never heard it any other way ... yes, that's very interesting.

Ok, bye!!!! :wave:

Hello all!

Thought I was feeling very confident and relaxed till the 2nd cup of coffee....
Decided not to finish the 2nd cup... am on water or decaf .....
till tomorrow at least...

Am going to do my best to keep breathing and remember that no matter what happens, I'll be ok.....
YIKES.... whos' idea was this anyway!?!?!


*********

Thought of the day :

"My mother used to always say, " The older you get the better you get, unless you're a banana."
--Rose Nylund in the Golden Girls


Question of the day :

"What is your favorite lunch?"


*************


KETTLE IS ON!

Quick drive by post. My sister got into a car accident last night in her almost new car. plus she is 7 1/2 months pregnant. Fortunately she got checked out and everything is fine.

Work has been a little hectic. Almost had to go inot court for an emergency hearing. Now, you have to understand that I NEVER go to court. But it was for a good cause.

Congrats to all the losers. Excellent. Wish I could say the same only I am really not doing so hot with the whole weight/health thing right now. But I think I am going to do a major relaunch. So here it goes. I am going to lose 8 pounds by spring. That is just about a pound a week. I really just need to focus and get back on track. I am itching for spring and started dreaming about biking to work. Sigh.

At any rate, much to do before I get to leave for the day.

Hello all!!


Here is the speech I promised.....

I am very interested in your thoughts as I need to use it again.... I won but because I tied w/ first place.... the other contestant withdrew as she had competed last year and wanted me to have the experience....

I was very nervous but must have done pretty well to tie.....

The dots and capitals are to express emphasis... Its hard to write it in an animated style.


"Its A Learning Experience"
>
>
>
> What a time to be alive...

.I've always said if I hit the jackpot, I'd become an archeologist as I love to imagine what it might be like to live in another time, but if you want my opinion, this is the best time ...
So many exciting things
In the last 100 years we've gone from Model T's to SUV's
We've gone from the Wright Bros at Kitty Hawk to the Rover on Mars

> We are really only moments away from learning what the next wonderful scientific breakthrough will be. Western Medicine is finally learning with Eastern medicine and are working together as "Integrated Medicine'..
>
> But for all our scientifc know how and brillant technolgy, we have yet to learn the secret of fountain of youth.
> But not for lack of trying I might add....The dollars spent to keep us "young" are mindboggling.
>
> For myself, Birthdays came and went and I've never understood the "Over the Hill" controversy.... Turning 30 felt just like 18, only smarter, 35 same way, even 40.... ok, so not like 18--- maybe like 25---But STILL smarter!-
>
> But then.....the lesson began......I began noticing....I would hear a song on the radio and have no idea who was singing much less what the words were....and more and more clerks were calling me "Ma'm"...
>
> AND then...... came the birthday when there were MORE candles than cake......
> and I began thinking .... thinking and watching myself as I've went thru my " age crisis"....
> I passed thru all the stages .... 2nd guessing the years of extra hours on the "career path" , regretting time wasted .....
>
> wondering where the time had gone....
>
> And I've learned that that getting older has lots of advantages:

> For instance,
I've learned that getting older saves you a lot ot time.... I can buy cigarettes and beer and get into "R" rated movies without being carded....
>
Its a real time saver!

> Life just keeps getting better and better.....
>
> I also learned that getting older is saving me a lot of money....
. My old clothes are back in style
...and my furniture is "retro" or "shabby chic'
>
I'm saving a lot of money!!

> Life keeps better and better!
..
>
> As you probably know, as we age, we lose brain cells..which is very handy..
. Now my supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable size.
>
>
Every day I learn something, most days many things.
>
>
> And many times, its a lesson I didnt expect to learn.
> Every day is a learning experience.
>
> *
> "And then 2 weeks ago, in a Toastmasters Officer's meeting, one of our officers said something that crystalized all of my thoughts of the past 3 years. She said, " I can only be a better me"
>
> I couldn't tell you unless I check my notes what else was discussed because I can only remember the sound of puzzle pieces clicking together when they fit. And once the puzzle was together, the view was amazing...

> What I saw was this:
>
There is nothing I can change about the past.

> There are no mistakes, only lessons.

> Its all a learning experience.
>

> So as I said, I think this is the best time to be alive and I don't plan on missing a thing....
> I can't wait to find out what we've found on Mars and I already wondering what will replace Plasma TV

> The party store might say I'm over the hill but I say,"Its really 18 with 32 years experience."

Yo, Zadie, how scary about thy sister, but glad all is well.

I've got no time to post ... stayed for a second woodcarving session today and now gotta go do a meeting ... was wondering where everyone has been lately and we are missing our fearless leader Seattle Jo on the NOLA ... I'm thinking I'm posting too much when I see how many posts I have in a row ... maybe will cool posting here for awhile except for the food thread ... dunno. Anyhow, hope everyone is ok and need to go work.

My fav lunch, :queen: K, is I guess an EAS shake and one of my healthy muffins! :)

Dagnabit...I'm sick AGAIN! Feel like :censored:. :mad: Didn't even go to my WW meeting. I'm too tired/achey/sinus painy/miserable. The usual drugs aren't helping AT ALL, and I have an interview with a recruiter tomorrow at lunch. :mad:

zadie, glad your sister (and baby) is okay. How frightening!

Kaylets, I'm too braindead/cold med foggy to read the speech for comment now, but I'm glad you did so well! :cb:

Amarantha, the point is not for you to post LESS, it is for others to post MORE. :yes:

Where the heck is everyone???

I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully not as cranky and ornery and miserable. :)

Hey, kiddos.

Dagnabit, Wildfire, I'm sick too!!! I've got a sore throat, stuffy nose, headache, and that general overall dead feeling in my limbs and head. Not a good couple of weeks to be not well, with the move at work and all. People keep coming up and saying things like, "Cerise, are you coordinating our garbage removal?" and "Cerise, have you mapped out our new filing system?" Wha....?? Part of me (the sick, grouchy part) wants to scream, "No, God-DAMMIT!!" and then fall into a long, lovely coma. "Mapped out the filing system"? Help me, God. :rolleyes:

Anyway, got home and promptly ate 7 of my Flexpoints. Feel a little better. I'm guzzling copious amounts of liquids in the vain hope that this present malaise is just a profound attack of dehydration. *snicker* If I were feeling better I'd cry.

So, not so cheerful tonight. Sorry, loves. We seem to have dropped off the radar a bit, here. OK, girls, rise and shine and let's check in and say Howdy. That way Kaylets and Amarantha, our most faithful and wonderful posters, won't feel so nekkid.

Kaylets, huge congrats for winning!!! :spin: I thought about you today - mostly along the lines of How cool would it be if she won the WHOLE THING!! Your speech is very cool. Thank you for sharing it with us. I especially loved the part about life just getting better. I can't tell you how comforting that is to hear now that I'm nearing 30. Gah. I HATE being called Ma'am. I got a chuckle out of your not being carded advantages. Wish I could hear you doing it, but it must have been brill, since YOU WON!!!!! :cb: :cb: :cb:

Ugh, Zadie, God. Your poor sister. I'm so glad she and the baby are OK. Are they watching her pretty closely for a while? I hope the news didn't flip you out too much. And I'm glad your furnace is all better. I cannot imagine living in your kind of winter. *shiver* If it drops below 40 around here I'm out there squealing that it's bitter out and I can't take it. Laugh all you want, Easterners.

Amarantha, any way you look at it, you've lost a LOT this year. Wow. I'm really, really proud of you. And don't pare down your posts here or anywhere else. I depend on you! Besides, who are we kidding? You couldn't pare it down any more than I could. OK, just kidding. :p

Hey, love to the rest of you. Miss you. I'm going to get ready for bed now. Being unconscious through this illness is the best idea I've got. Y'know, I think my bloody SIL jinxed me. She kept going on and on when we moved here in July that we'd get sinus infections, oh, yes. Every newcomer to Seattle gets them. I'm off to have a word with her... :mad:

Hello all!

Thanks Cerise.... I am looking to punch up the speech with a couple more advantages... I know the men gave me blank looks at my reference to "retro"a nd "shabby chic"...Maybe try to work in "antiques".....

Although I won, it wasnt a " pretty win"... my nerves really did take over...
hours later, just the thought of the contest made my stomach clench....

I will persist... might learn that contests are not my strength...


Zadie-- how scary... its amazing how many pregnant women are just fine after car accidents... we are designed really well in that regard...but I agree, hope everyone is on high alert in case symptons present ...

Empress--I felt like you.... that I was monopolizing the board and even was getting bored of myself... then when I got distracted the past couple days, was relieved to know you were anchoring us. YOU ARE THE EMPRESS!!

Thanks to everyone for your patience and all my contest talk...


*****
Thought of the day :
"You can observe a lot just by watching"
-- Yogi Berra

Question of the day :
" What do you fear the most and could you never convince yourself to do, no matter how much money was offered?"

*******

Kettle is on!

PS: I too put a lot of water away last night and the scale rewarded me this am.... Note to self--- its easier to get a big cup down than 2 smaller ones ( when you have to go back and keep refilling)....

Mornin' all....

Another winter storm on the horizon...Oh well, it is winter after all. What can we expect? :lol:

I have to admit to doing a bit of an experiment. Back last week the Empress A mentioned spam...I've been lurking, laughing and not posting in a conscious effort to see...my spam has dropped off dramatically. Now I plan to post more on these 3 threads and see. If my spam increases I may just change my profile a bit...may email the sisters too...I have a firewall, just an antiquated email...no blocking abilities!!!!!!!

Am continuing my love/hate relationship with the scale....but at this point in my life I need to control what I'm doing...small things are best. Yesterday was good.

Zadie K accidents are really scary. Glad sis and babe are fine...

Kaylets, I echo Missy Cerise....I'm sure your speech was brilliant. The secret to handling the nerves part is to....visualize all the nerves and put them down to your baby toe....as a keyboard player with juries (exams) and stuff to play that is what I had to do.... Ya can't have shaky hands to play...and that toe is basicly non-essential in that activity. Where do you put yours Cerise as singer? That would be applicable to a speaker... I find I even do this as chair of the board or whatever....down they go.

Have been incredibly busy at work...and anticipate the same today because of the storm people will stock up on reading material...I like my job. Just sometimes I need help.

My friend is doing well...she is developing coping mechanisms to deal with the absence of hubby...I can't imagine just how big that space must be in the house....we never know what tomorrow may bring and we need to live each day as if it were our last....So here's to many more good days for all of us!

Off to control something else...like the clutter on the kitchen table :lol: and then attack the treadmill :s: !!!!!!!!!

Ceara :doh: :drill:

Oh...get better Wildfire....we don't have time for you to be sick...good luck on the recruiter!

Am off to ingest some Vit C with zinc now...you inspired me!

Ceara :doh: :drill:

Yo, :queen: K! Somehow I missed the part about you winning the speech contest ... CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! Pls don't forget to post the speech ...

:queen: s, yea, I do kind of feel like I'm monopolizing things a bit ... but see we have some people not feeling well ... the weather this year is evil and methinks that's what it is ... hope everyone feels better and comes back soon but I appreciate seeing everyone who turned up at the Great Hall today 'cause I wanted to say hi ... gotta work a bit ... just too cold to get dressed, go to gym, come home, work, go out again ... so am not sure what I'm doing today ... gotta do so shopping ...later ...

Empress-- I did post it.... if you're viewer won't let you see it I'll send it to you privately later....

And thanks!

Just popping in to say hi. My son has relapsed and I don't have time or energy for anything else, but I wanted to let you know what was happening. I noticed that he seemed to be getting worse and asked him if he'd been taking his meds. Couldn't get a straight answer, then he said he lost them. So I found them and have been making sure he takes them, and hope he'll be better again soon. I'll keep you posted.

Guh. *sni-i-i-i-i-i-i-f-f-f-f* *a-CHOO!!* *snort* *cough*

I'll try to keep my distance today, ladies, since I'm pretty sure it's contagious. It's not a sinus infection, which I think I'm supposed to be glad of. I mean, I won't have to go to the doctor anyway. Though for sheer misery colds beat sinus infections every time.

Arabella, I'm so sorry, dear. Hang in there, and feel us angels :angel: on your shoulders in tough times. There's a lot of us, but we're little enough to fit. Here, have a hug, darling. :grouphug:

So, Amarantha, it's too cold to do much over there. Um, what's the temp. today, anyway? :D It was bitter over here this morning, about 30 degrees or so. Ick. It felt like the wind was flaying me alive.

Ceara, unfortunately for me my nerves go straight to my knees, and they wobble considerably. And my stomach. I've found that I do better when I'm nervous but not terrified. If I'm either cocky or don't care or if I'm frightened out of my wits (competition) I usually do poorly. Ugh. Piano juries. I was hopeless at piano at college, but had to do an instrumental jury to get my degree. I swear that my piano teacher took pity and passed me on through. I feel the same way about my 10th grade chem. teacher.

Thanks, dear, for keeping us updated on your friend. It's good to read about, since I sometimes fear losing my beloved spouse, and don't know what I'd do with the vacancy if we parted. It's good to hear about survivors.

QOD: I would never, bloody ever get into a box with bugs like they do on Fear Factor (so I've heard. I sure as **** don't watch that show!). In fact, anything that required getting into a box and doing anything would just about kill me. I'm claustrophobic.

Kaylets, the thing that kills me is a lot of the 80s music I loved as a kid is now on the Oldies station. Ouch.

OK, loves, onward. This is bad. When I'm sick all I want to do is eat. Those two recent Hershey's Kisses did nothing to alleviate my symptoms. I thought chocolate cured everything... :?:

Hello,
Sending off some get well soon vibes to wildfire and cerise. yikes.

arabella - i am sorry to hear about your son;s relapse, but it is very good that you cought on that something was amiss.

kaylets - huzza for the victory. the speech was quite lovely

amarantha - actually i like that you are a frequent poster. i tend to be rather remiss in the posting area, so i feel that your frequent posts make up for it somehow. plus they are always fun to read.

so the other day i was being frsutrated by the lack of a gender neutral pronoun and insisted that i would use "it" as opposed to the "he/she" route. I worked for a while until leif told me that i sounded like gollum "what has it gots in its pocket" :)

qod: i am afraid of flying, but i do it if i have to. i do not know that there is anything that i have a will not do it for anything in the world fear of. although i supposed i would not know till i was in that situation.

sister and baby are doing fine, although we are on high alert. the baby shower is this weekend.

the car died a couple of days ago. we are debating what to do. it will cost real money to fix and we just fixed the furnace. we may just park it a take the bus (which I actually do anyway for getting to work) but then it is hard to get to places as far flung as my sister's house.

I am doing very well with the whole eating thing today. I am going to get back to the whole exercise thing again as well, now that the ankle is doing better. just need some momentum.

well, back to work.

Kaylets, I loved your speech!!! :D Bask in the glory, my friend. You did well, you deserve it!

zadie, I'm glad that your sister and baby are okay. Scary stuff!
[speaking of babies, how are you out there, Frogger?]

Amarantha, please don't post less--we want MORE!!!

Ceara, DH says they're busier before storms too. People are checking out tons of videos!

Feel better, Wildfire and Cerise. I've been so lucky this year with not picking up crud.

Arabella, be strong. We'll all be thinking of you.

I've felt all prowly for food the last 2 days, know what I mean? Don't know exactly what I want, but am willing to keep eating till I find it!

Jumpin' Jehosephus....how much CRUD can one head hold? My nose is plugged, my ears are plugged, I feel like I'm drowning in crud. I've been on a total body stone since last night. My options are breathing or being stoned, so I'm stoned beyond belief. :dizzy: You could stick a pin in my behind and I wouldn't even flinch. Guess I should be thankful I don't have that blasted post-nasal drip cough that lingers for weeks like I had in December. Yeah, maybe later when I feel better I'll be thankful.

Meeting with recruiter went very well, she thinks I am perfect for the job. It is much closer to home, more money, and more opportunity to use my brain, so keep your collective fingers crossed for me. :crossed: Apparently filling out a self evaluation form while stoned on cold medication is a good thing, because she loved my answers. Will know more next week, but she said of the three (including me) candidates she had seen, I far surpassed the others and she was pushing me through for an interview.

Arabella, so sorry to hear about DS's relapse. I hope you can convince him to take his medication as directed, even if it means playing nurse for a while. We're here for you to lean on. :grouphug:

zadie, car troubles AND furnace troubles? That's just not right. Good to hear you're back on the wagon. If only the wagon could really get you around, you'd be all set.

Cerise, shall we quarantine ourselves together and watch old movies and eat chocolate? Sorry to hear you're cruddy, too. We just have to get through tomorrow, then we can be miserable in the comfort of our own apartments for the weekend.

ceara, interesting about the level of spam. Good to hear about your friend. I've thought about the "what if" too, but I don't like to linger on it....too much to wrap my head around. Tomorrow is supposed to be really messy...drive safely!

Kaylets, the speech was great! Love the humorous delivery mingled with words of wisdom.

Hi Amarantha! You are not monopolizing! :nono: There are no posting limits, so post away!

Eydie, have you figured out what you want to eat yet?

Okay, I'm off to have some toast and tea and zone out. I have NO appetite, but silly DH thinks it's not good to be stoned on an empty stomach. :shrug:

And where is Punkin?

Wildfire!
So glad you had time to stop by and share....

I remember the same sensation one time using a cold medication ... don't even know if its made anymore.. would dry everything up including your brain cells..

And of course, the recruiter liked your answers... can you imagine what she'd think if you went in there feeling well??? She'd quit and give you her job! :lol:


Arabella- You did exactly what needed to be done... And yes, please keep a close eye that DS takes it as directed... come by when you can... Here's another ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((HUG))))))))))))))))))) )))))))))))))))


Cerise-- there's lots of tissues here by the lamp and I have warmed up this afghan here by the fire. I've got nice hot towels coming for both you and Wildfire to wrap on your face...the heat is so relaxing and soothing...

Zadie---Sometimes just letting the car sit for awhile is the best way...
I can relate to "Too much month at the end of the money" ....in fact, was doublechecking balances just today .... In fact, my dryer stopped working this past fall and there are now probably 15 other things b/4 that ....
Not a real comparison I know but I can relate in a small way....
PS Another reason I love soup.... its cheap!

Eydie! You continue to make me smile... .


Ceara! Thanks for the advice! I've read about making "the butterflies fly in formation" but that still means in my stomach... I like the idea of forcing the nerves to the nether regions..... Were you allowed to do rehersals in the room (or w/ the instrument) b/4 hand??? I am seriously thinking of getting to the next competiton super early w/ DH in hand to find out if that room echoes, has loud heating noises, etc... so I'm not caught off guard mid stream...
A sound check if you will....

Empress-- yes, what is going on? has your bicylcle friend been by lately??
and the bonfire folks?? are they cooking, singing, drinking...???
And btw, have you made a decision regarding the massage classes??
And are you able to see the speech??
I am very interested in your thoughts.

ANGAGRAM!!! more ice coming in......its too soon to come back, you'll be sorry...

Frogger-- am getting a little worried about you... hope I am worried for naught..

Seattle Jo-- you too, how are you and what's going on??

wildfire-glad that your meeting with the recruiter went well. sorry to hear your're feeling crummy though. hope you will be on the mend asap. cerise-hope you feel better soon too. kaylets-congrats on the win! enjoyed your winning speech. arabella-sorry to hear about your ds's relapse. sending hugs your way. zadie k.- your sister's accident must have been scary. glad she and baby are ok! amarantha-i always love reading your posts. even when i can't respond, it still makes me feel good knowing you are here. eydie-hope your evening is good. when i think about wanting to overeat, as i was earlier, i remember what an inspiration you are and it helps to keep me on track. i am catching up on posts and wanted to check in and let you know i am thinking about you. i guess i am overly tired from all the excitement of getting ready to move, and so have had more "technical difficulties." that is not keeping me from being excited about this time, however. each time i go to look at the new place, it makes me smile. it is really looking good and my wonderful friends are busting their collective, generous butts to make it look great. they are trying to get it ready so i can be in there in a month (but even if it isn't, i can stay in my apt., so it's not serious.) i think they are just trying to get it done in a few weeks to have me moved in by my birthday. ceara, when you spoke about your friend trying to deal with the loss of her dh and how important and precious every minute is, it reminded me just how right you are!
hi anagram, seattlejo,frogger, punkin, and to all the members of the royal court, mentioned and unmentioned. i know how much it means to me that you are all here. what a great group you are!
well, i need to get to sleep. take care, all.

wsw

WSW!!!!

SO glad you could stop by!!
You are like sunshine on a rainy day!

SO.... you're birthday is coming up is it??

Hope you can come by again really soon!

;) Our temps outside are right at the freezing mark and its raining on top of thin layer of snow....as we speak...

Always interesting!!


***************

Today's thought for the day :

"I've never been disabled in my dreams."
--Christopher Reeves ( of "Superman" fame)

Question of the day :

"You've just won a fabulous vacation. The catch is this: You have to spend it with all your worst dates... now what?"

***************

Ok, off to deal with the storm....

KETTLE IS ON!

Just wanted to pop in and say hello. I've got tons to do today, but hope to be on around lunchie. See you then!

Kaylets, what a horrible question! I think at first I'd opt to just stay home--but then I thought I'd give it a try. People mature and mellow with age, right? Just how fabulous is this vacation?!

Hopelessly behind on keeping up w/posts. Scanning not good enough and don't even get that done. A few sleepless nights when I get home should help me catch up a bit.

I am homesick (I really like my place, my friends, neighbors, family, et al) but Kaylets is right. Just too darn cold and miserable for me to come home. Or rather, to take dh home. He's cold down here. I know people think I'm odd to be willing to give up a "vacation" and go home. But two months is a bit long for me. Actually was warm enough yesterday and today that I exercised in the outdoor pool - first water exercising in two months and my body said thanks. But to cool down again.

ANYWAY - all you ailing royals, please feel better. And may little rays of sunshine poke out and brighten those with all sorts of problems (special hugs, Wood Nymph) - sure seem to be a lot.

Empress, I'll be on the NOLA thread as soon as I can remember to bring my cheat sheet to the library with me. I think I'm on my 5th lap.

Bye-bye! More messages when I can read more.

drive by post. it has been a vey busy day at work. just got a call from sis and she is now on temporary bed rest becuase her blood presure went uo too high. yikes.

now i must get back to working and eating yogurt (organic plain fat free, aka not everybodies cup of tea).

So happy to see so many posts from the :queen: s but only up to flybye responses ... in brevity mode ... extra assignments and a bunch of weird items!!!!

Yea, :queen: Cerise it be super frigid here .... we are chilled to the bone ... except the winter visitors, who are wearing shorts as usual! :) No offense to any WVs who are reading this, it's just that the blood gets thin (literally, the platelets get further apart or something) when you live here all year. The temp did go down into the 30s last night methinks, but it won't do that again for awhile ... usually it is a bit warmer in February ... I am totally sick of this weather and might as while move to Alaska! Om shanti! :s: (Sorry thou be ailing, get well!)

:queen: Arabella, thanks for the update on ds! Sorry he's having a setback but that may just be par for the course and he'll start making progress now that you're seeing he gets the meds consistently.

:queen: K, I can't find the speech or even see where thou posteth it! Sorry. Can you email it to me? I'd like to read it!

I'm behind on QOD seemingly ... re the fear one, there's not much I'm afraid of that I wouldn't try, but I think the horrible sickening kind of "challenges" they do on some of the reality shows (although I must admit I watch the better shows of this genre, although "better" is relative ... I like "Survivor" and some of the Mole series) are disgusting and demeaning and I they could not pay me enough to do that. Re the vacation thing, I don't know that I've ever had any really, really bad dates (boring, though) so sure, I'd go!

:queen: Zadie ... sorry to be jumping around like this but I saw your pronoun conundrum ... actually (could be wrong) I think that currently just using "they" is acceptible stylistically even if you don't really mean it to be plural ... "it" is used for animals who don't have a name ... more than you wanted to know, but ... :)

:queen: Wildfire!!!! Glad thou be finding thy own way to deal with thy cold! :s: Was looking for the crossed fingers icon re thy job but can't find it, so consider it there anyhow!!!! Keeping them crossed for thee!

:queen: Anagramatic, I can see how thou wouldst want to come home after too long a period away ... it's always that way for me, too! But glad you are enjoying thy time anyway!!!! Keep having fun!

:queen: Wsw, it always makes me feel good know you are here! :) Sorry about thy technical difficulties acting up but glad you are getting into the home you want! :wave:

:queen: Punkin, :queen: Seattle Jo, and any and all MIA :queen: s, hope all's going ok and that you find the way back to the palace soon.

:queen: K, haven't seen Mysteriouso Bicycle Man lately ... the bonfires are continuing sporadically and they'll likely have one tomorrow if it's not so cold ... they aren't eating out there ... they just look at the fire, shake hands and drink beer ... I don't see the point but as I said, I've started to enjoy the "company" since they're out there until 1-2 a.m. ... they're not loud or bothersome, I just worry about the safety issue. They've recently acquired a nice big puppy who looks hopefully over at my Old Dog to see if she wants to be friends (she doesn't, she just stares at the pup but doesn't go greet her) ... anyway since they have a dog, they can't be all bad! :)

Yo! Here I am w/2-in-a-row again! :yikes: Just a note to say :queen: K sent me her speech and I loved it ... as thou seest, I've snagged a quote for my sig line!

Kaylets, I sent thee a pm but wanted to say I think you've scored a real hit there!!!! Great job!

TO ALL :queen: S : I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE A NEW MAIN THREAD BE STARTED. IF NO ONE OBJECTS, I THINK WE SHOULD DO THIS ON SUNDAY (first day of week). THIS ONE IS QUITE LONG AND IT'S HARD TO FIND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, IMO! ANYONE MIND? SORRY TO SHOUT! :s:

I'm off to the food thread ... I've decided to take a hiatus from weigh-in this week again and consider myself still at 151! :doh: Also bowing out of NOLA with a grand total of approximately 3 laps ... Anagram, thy 5 laps is a fantastic job ... thou be Trekker Woman!!!!!! If I had a superwoman smilie, I'd use it, but anyhow :cheer: !!!!!

Working early and late today, determined to do gym today as I was all whiny and wimpy with the trainer and hope to shape up this week!!!! Yowza!

Hello all!

Really slept in today -- appears to be a trend ....

Empress....thanks for the kind words... and I am very touched that you are using a phrase in you signature line... wow!

*****

Today's thought :

"Sometimes things which at the moment may be perceived as obstacles ---and actually may be obstacles, difficulties or drawbacks--can in the long run result in such good end which would not have occured it it had not been for the obstacle."
--Steve Allen

Question of the day :

"When was the last time you spent money frivolously?"
--Table Topics by the Pampered Chef

*********

Am seeing lots of posts here and elsewhere about "Passing As Thin" by Frances Kuffel....a true account of a woman as she loses about 170 lbs...
Our library lets us use their database and I hope to be there at opening to grab the copy that's on the shelf ( as of closing last night)....
Always loved the library but then felt as though the ultimate was to have the library here in my house.... now I'm realizing...unless its a book you use as reference or to study... I've begun to realize unless a book is shared and read and shared again.....I feel as though its wasteful to hold onto books just for the sake of "having"... Don't get me wrong... I don't mean leatherbound, signed editions...
Wonder how much I'm motivated by not wanting to dust them!
:lol:

---

Read a post which shared this website.... International recipes... I looked at the Vietnamese recipes and saw a few w/ Tofu ... am always looking to add to our favorites as I find tofu ususally stays with me so much longer and is so point friendly and so inexpensive.... Think I'm in love! :o
http://www.asiarecipe.com

Need to get dressed so I can be at the library when they open!

KETTLE IS ON!

Thou be welcome, :queen: K!!!!

Today I be back to remembering who I am and what I'm about and am going to take some steps to be kind to me ... starting with an announcement that I'm dumping the WW points system and going back to counting calories and eating in a modified Body For Life pattern.

Setting up my challenges on the demon food thread ... will keep track of exercise there as well unless the NOLA be revived. We are almost at Valentine's Day ... I am not at 145 pounds but that's ok. The quest continues.

That's all about me, sorry. Hope everyone is well. Dost thou :queen: s want to start a new thread? Advise at thy pleasure! :)

The last time I spent money frivously was the $200 I spent last week for new tools when I took the woodcarving class. They're nice, but I had tools.

Hello all!

Empress- New thread is a fine idea.... !

Here is the morning thought of the day .... little bit longer but I really enjoyed rereading it this am and thought you might too:

This was written by an 83 year old...The last line says it all.

Dear Bertha,

I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting in the yard and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time working. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the first Amaryllis blossom.

I wear my good blazer to the market. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries..

I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties, but wearing it for clerks in the hardware store and tellers at the bank.

"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary; if it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now.

I'm not sure what others would've done had they known they wouldn't be here for the tomorrow that we all take for granted.

I think they would have called family members and a few close friends. They might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles.

I like to think they would have gone out for a Chinese dinner or for whatever their favorite food was.

I'm guessing; I'll never know.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and parents often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives.

And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift from God.

If you received this, it is because someone cares for you.

If you're too busy to take the few minutes that it takes right now to forward this, would it be the first time you didn't do the little thing that would make a difference in your relationships? I can tell you it certainly won't be the last.

Take a few minutes to send this to a few people you care about, just to let them know that you're thinking of them.

"People say true friends must always hold hands, but true friends don't need to hold hands because they know the other hand will always be there."

I don't believe in miracles. I rely on them.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.
. . . . . . . . . .



Then, this morning, Finally caught up w/ a best friend...we live 2 doors away but btwn work, home, etc., we just got toghether to exchange holiday gifts... as we went shopping... don't know if anyone has seen the promos for the Dr Phil show for this Monday... The show is about this lady who has asked Dr Phil to help her lose weight... I don't know how much she weighs or how tall she is so I can't guess but the extra weight is up and down her legs, even hanging below her ankles... I don't know her story but know there are many reasons such a weight gain could happen....
I am hoping Dr Phil will have a place on his website so people can send supportive emails to this lady because I think I know how she must feel....

Anyway... we saw a lady who was very tall but also carrying so much extra weight that it hung below her knees... It was pretty early to be in the grocery store and I wanted so much to approach her and just give her a sign of a friendly face but then again... how do you approach someone you dont' know??? As luck would have it, her cart was blocking my cashier and I turned her cart just a tiny bit to get by, saying"
You don't mind if I move this a little bit do you?" and she was immeadiately, for apologetic... but I just said, " No problem, just need to move it a little"... and she said something else.. and her voice was so lovely that it made you think she would have a beautiful singing voice....

I don't know if I made any kind of difference in her life today... I hope so...
I know how many times I would've loved to interact with folks but shyness held me back..
I can only imagine how self concious this lady was....

I know how much my support means to me, its great when things go well and a godsend when things are not...

This is why we need to share our stories..
so that others know it can be done....

DH just handed me lunch so I'll be back later...

Loved both thy stories, Kaylets ... one of my fav songs is the one that goes " ... and if you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance, I hope you dance!"

Pretty sad today, but dancing anyway! :)

As posteth on the demon food thread, I got real and got on the scale and have only gained two pounds. Feeling good about my decision to go back on a calorie counting program rather than the points, which make me feel sometimes that 100 cal is not 100 cal, when it really is! I posted a 21-day challenge on the food thread.

Here's my prayer for today: Artemis, please help w/my 21-day challenge of no more than 1500 calories six days a week and no more than 1500-2000 one day a week, plus 360 total exercise minutes per week! Thanks!

Hope this offendeth no one. It's a real prayer ... not being flippant. I will log my 21-dayer on the food thread.

Thanks for the input on starting a new thread ... I always hesitate to take the initiative to do it ... maybe someone else will do it on Monday? Hmmmm? :s:

I've set a new weight goal for pre-Easter ... we need to do some thinking about holiday challenges, dinna ye all thinketh?

Worrying about Seattle Jo who has been away some time ... SJ, please reporteth to palace to let the :queen: s know thou art well and that thou still loveth us!

Kaylets, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I know what you mean, There's so many people I'd like to approach, but shyness holds me back sometime, or I don't want to seem weird. Garry had a great idea recently--to have cards made up to hand out to people who make the effort to make the world a bit nicer, whether it's a cashier, a bank teller, a stranger. It sounds really corny, I know, but wouldn't it be fun?! We're going to do it!!! I'll let you know how the Great Experiment goes.

Amarantha, Thanks for sharing your prayer. I'm reading a book now called "The Prayer Diet", by Matthew Anderson. I think You're familiar with him, Kaylets? I have a few little rituals that help me along. One is starting my day with a 'purifying' cup of water---with the prayer that it'll set the tone for the day, and that water becomes a healing elixer. And my coffee mug at work has an inspiring goddess image on it too! We can find our inspiration anywhere!

Hello all!

No, Eydie... Matthew Anderson was a new name to me although I do get an email from Ediets...just a Daily Tip... Let me know what you think of the book.. perhaps I can borrow from the Library...

But yes, I just posted to a brand new WW this am about how we can't rely on the scale for motivation ( too fickle) and that I need a fresh shot of motivation nearly every day which is why I am so often here..

Yes, I am worried about Seattle Jo as well.... and did I miss a post?? Is the Q of Friday on vacation.?? I miss her too.

Making Mushroom Barley Soup.... and Dh made Whole Wheat Bread... we don't even bother with the pans anymore as they too are fickle and no matter what we've tried... won't let the bread go... DH even made little loaves similiar to roll.... I saw at the Panera restaraunt how they hollow out a small loaf to use it for the soup bowl and have been enamored ever since.

hmmm... another love reference... The Big V day approaches...

hi all!

loved your stories, kaylets. eydie-think your dh's idea of giving out a card is great. little gestures of acknowledgement and kindness mean so much to folks. i realize even just how important smiling and making eye contact with others can be. hi anagram-hope the remainder of your time in the warm(er) climate will be pleasant. thanks again for the postcard! today is sunny, but definitely cold. i am looking forward to warmer weather here, though it still seems quite far off. empress amarantha, i am thinking of you. i was thinking about some of your Old Dog tales. She sounds like such a wonderful dog. i hope that some day when i get my own dog, she/he will be almost as terrific as yours is. hi also to seattlejo, ceara, punkin, arabella, wildfire, cerise, frogger, zadie k. and all the rest of the regal court. i have been reading your posts and wanted to stop in and say hello.

today was a good op day and without too much struggle to stick with it. the last couple of days were more challenging. i think the more tired i am, the harder it is for me to want to stay on track. i have kept to real simple food prep today and that makes it easier for me too (in the willingness dept.) so--i'm going to plan out a simple food menu for the next few days and just stick to that. my condo. is looking good! my friends have painted the bedroom, living room, and foyer and painted the cabinets in the kitchen, and put in flooring. i am also getting a walk-in shower and new bathroom flooring. it is so amazing. every time i see the place it looks different and even better than previously. it really is a modern day "barn raising." i should be moved in around the end of the month. i still can scarcely believe this is happening. well, enough of the condo. saga. hope everyone has a good evening. take care, all.

wsw

WSW- SO EXCITING!! I am getting excited just hearing about it!
A walkin shower is fabulous! And this is the perfect time to install it!
You are a genius!

I can relate about difficulties staying on program when tired...its very hard for me too when I am tired or not feeling well...
Another reason I always try to have at least one or two meals ahead in the freezer or as leftovers....

I was thinking of you today when I was on the WW boards... a lady who also has MS and is restricted to a wheel chair was wondering if she could lose weight...I was wondering if it would be possible to hook the two of you up to share tips but I was afraid I'd be over stepping.. but I knew you have had success with your weightloss program so I knew it could be done... I just didnt want to promise you would be able to speak with her b/4 asking you....

So...do you expect to move in by March?

;)
Hello all!

Temp's might get up to 45 today!! Here in Delaware that might mean folks will break out their shorts...


********
Thought of the day :

"If you think you can or can't..... you're right"
--paraphrased from Henry Ford


Question of the day :

"What is your favorite comic strip? Why?"
--from Table Topics by the Pampered Chef
************

I am very excited this morning's weigh in !! just goes to show you how much we really cannot control ..... the past month I've been losing every other week....last week reflected that same pattern.... no loss...was hoping this morning's weighin would show 1lb down ( as has been the pattern).... BUT ....I am 3 lbs down!!!

This is the first time in how I don't know how many years... MAYBE EVER!!!!.... I officially weigh less than what my drivers license says!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You ask what I might have done differently...
the only guess is this... I was so wound up last week with the contest, I missed two days of stair climbing and then only did one "set" rather than two the rest of the week....
The other possible ( and again... I am not really taking any credit for understanding what happened) is that DH has been making Whole Wheat Bread on the weekends. When it comes out of the oven we both have 2 pieces of warm bread... In other words...I'm definitely eating all my points...

Have a good Monday all....

Its a good day to be gentle to ourselves... good but gentle...

KETTLE IS ON !

Time to get your liscense updated, eh, Kaylets? That's great news! That'll keep me going today--I'm so happy for you! :D

HI LOVIES!!!!!!

I'm feeling 150% better today, so I decided to stop on in.

How the heck is everybody?

Things are going great here even though I'm already starting to have problems fitting into my wardrobe. I think I'm bloated with bowel destentia. (Ok I've been reading too much on pregnancy weekly.) But I should be OK if I up my fiber a little. And I've only gained like 2lbs. Anyway, for reference, here's what their handy dandy page says: Today is day #58 and I am 9 weeks pregnant
I have 222 days or 31 weeks left, and am 20% of the way there.
I have my first OB appointment wed. and I have taken off the entire day here from work. Boo on them here. No way I'm getting poked and scraped and then coming in here. I believe I have wed. off from my second job as well! WOO HOO!!! :cb:

I guess I got another compliment. The store manager at my second job asked me out. I don't think he realized I was married because I don't wear my rings there. (I'm afraid I'll lose them or they will get messed up).
I take that as I compliment since he's a 28 yr old very attractive man. Tall, very muscular, big broad shoulders. Cutie. Nice guy. I believe it was quite embarassed when I told him I was married, (but thank you very much anyway!) No, no one knows there that I'm preggers yet. I must be putting off some kinda pharamones or something, good grief!!!

oh I forgot to tell you!

I'm so sleepy lately. I guess that comes with the territory. But anywho, I went into the filling room this morning and sat down on the floor to file some things in a bottom drawer, yeah, I woke up about 15 minutes later still sitting there hunched over. Had me a little nap!!! Good thing that door is locked!

Hello, dears.

Sorry for the absent 3 days, but I've been really, really sick. Just a head cold and a cough, but pair that with a high fever that saps you of strength.

Really violent coughing. The kind where you're hunched over in the kitchen, tears streaming down, struggling to breathe, and just waiting for the kettle to boil because you know hot chamomile with lemon and honey will calm you down. I've coughed so hard and long that my core muscles (abs and back) hurt like ****.

I know. Boo-freakin'-hoo. I'm back at work today (missed work on Friday) - typing very, very gently and looking pale and tragic. Going to bed on time tonight.

Love to you all. Have to get back to work.

Quick postie:
Finally decided that my stair stepper should not be used a towel rack and actually used it for stair stepping last night.

Kaylets - congrats on those three pounds. If I were you I would get a new license. :)

Frogger: I hope the apointment goes well. You must have the "glowing" thing going on right now.

cerise - i hope you start to feel better soon. I think that when one is sick a fair degree of drama is in order at work. Pale and tragic can be a good look.

wsw - I am gald the condo is coming together. The painting is great becuase it is fast and dramatic.

amarantha - I am still stuck with that hangup from elementary school about "proper" grammer regarding the use of the word "they", which is odd becuase my grammer is not that good. Plus it was a pet peeve of some of my professors which could result in nasty grade reductions. I know, silly academic hangups, but what can I say: I am a product of conditioning. I am working on a law review article and will be stuck doing the alternating he and she route.
I hope the transition back to calorie counting is smooth. The pint stuff always sound fun to me, but I knew that I would abuse it dreadfully.

Little sis had the baby shower this weekend. She was technically on bed rest, but it was difficult to keep her parked on the sofa. He blood pressure is back to normal again, so she can get up, but she has to take it easy, which will be a bit of a challenge.

OK, back to work.

Frogger, it was fun visualizing you having a little nappers at work! :lol: And thanks for turning me on to the phrase 'bowel distentia'. You can bet I'll be using that one!

wsw, I love hearing about your new condo!

zadie, I've wondered about steppers. Is it a pretty good workout?

Cerise, I'm so sorry you're feeling bad still. Make the most of it though. Milk 'pale and tragic' for all it's worth! ;)

If you haven't come to the demon food thread, you're missing out on some great ideas. Come and visit!

Girls, I'm on a mission. I've got the Clean Sweep bug. My computer desk/workspace was the first target, mission accomplished yesterday. Next target...the hall closet! I HAD to get out yesterday, sick or not, so I went and bought some storage solutions for my desk area. It looks FABULOUS!

Cerise, luv...a high fever (greater than 101) is not typical of a cold. Do you have muscle aches? If so, you may have the flu and should be home in bed! Please take care of yourself.

It is a week today since I got sick, and I am finally seeing the end :crossed: of it. I think after tomorrow I may feel back to normal. I'm itching to get back on my treadmill because I haven't been able to while I was sick.

wsw, the condo sounds like it's really shaping up. What a great lot of friends you have! Speaking of dogs, did you manage to get in contact with any of the organizations about a dog guide/companion?

Kaylets, congrats on the loss! :cb:

zadie, glad your sis is doing better. :bravo: for stair stepping!

Frogger, how flattering for the young hunk to ask you out! Good thing you were sitting down filing when you nodded off...:lol:

I'm getting worried....where is Punkin? Last I remember she was taking a day off. Anyone heard from her? Cerise?

Hello all!!

I am still not quite believing yesterday's weigh in.... but this am the scale showed the same weight....SO...
I'll make my own 50lb star magnet!! ;)

And for anyone who is thinking that you will never get there.... please keep in mind...it took me a year of detours, side roads, sugar binges to move from the the 170's to 160's....
But live and learn...

Look at the wonderful folks I've met along the way! I mean all of you , just in case you're not including yourselves!!
And who knows where I would have wandered without you..... Thanks to all of you for sharing your journey. None of us know how much our actions are influencing those we meet in our lives...

********

Today's thought of the day :

"You cannot create experience. You must undergo it."
--Albert Camus

Today's question :

"What spitting be against the law?"

*****

I'm running very late ... see you all later!


KETTLE IS ON!

A quickkie...sidewalk spitting? Tavern spitting? Spitting outside the spittoon?

Am onto 3rd day of better choices....gotta do this one day at a time..

Great to see you Frogger! You go, you guy magnet you! And Wildfire...glad you're feelin' better....haven't seen Punkin...maybe she went off on vacation? She said she had some time from last year still. Cerise I'm glad you are also feeling better....there are a lot of bad bugs out there this year...now the bird flu? Sometimes globalization is NOT a good thing. Wsw the condo sounds like it is really coming along...am excited for you. A walk in shower....mmmm. Arabella, hope DS is stabilizing. A virual :grouphug: for you! :wave: to Zadie K, Anagram (she's the one with the tan), Kaylets and Eydie. SeattleJo where are you? Hopefully Cerise's ferry sheep haven't got you!

That is all my feeble mind can remember this am...:wave: to anyone I've forgotten!

And Empress A, my spam has increased...poopy pants. (quote from Cerise)

Ceara

Yo! Brevity mode as running late ... wanted to wish Frogger a good appt w/doctor ... hope thou telleth her or him about falling asleep while filing ...

Yo, Zadie, re grammar, I know what thou meanest about those feeling bound by elementary school ... in journalism we have folks mired in their j-school perusal o' the AP style book even though that may have occurred 30 years ago and the book's changed! :) The nice thing about language, IMO, is that it evolves and that it be fluid. I know a pet peeve of mine is writing "like" when one meaneth "such as" ... but I do it all the time because "such as" sounds wrong and stuffy to people who read the newspaper. Re alternating him and her, I guess that's better than the him/her stuff English profs tried to get the j students to use ... but the more recent acceptance of the use of "they" as correct is a boon to me. :s:

Cerise, glad thou be feeling better .... om shanti!

Wildfire, don't clean too hard ... except it's a great workout so on second thought, go for it!!! Or come to my house!!!

Kaylets, I thank thee for always being here on the journey ... could write volumes but it's getting late!

Ceara: Yea, methinks the spam thing be resulting from this site ... it started for me before the crash when the new software went in. I'm being careful now to open my email on the web rather than downloading it through my mail program. That seemingly decreases it.

To all, mentioned and unmentioned, avanti!!! Gonna go post on the food thread ... Eydie, my healthy German chocolate cake brownies are terrific.

My publisher made me crazy last night. I hardly ever see her but she came in and I said I'd see her tomorrow because I was going down to another of our papers and she said, "I thought that was Thursday." Now I'm going nuts wondering if I wrote down the wrong day for my appointments and will take this all-day road trip for nothing. Decided to ignore it and just go. Have a headache and going to walk just a little bit to get in some of my 360 minute challenge (details on food thread).

Howdy all,
I am officially down 1 1/2 pounds this morning. And I did the stair stepper again last night for 30 minutes. And I have been eating obnoxiously well. So, a couple of little victories on my march toward spring.

Eydie - I really like the stair stepper. Depending on how I set the tension I can either do a challenging lower body workout with some good cardio, or I can set it lose for a lighter strength workout with high intensity cardio. I tend to do half and half. I am now doing 30 minutes, but I would like to build up to 45.

Amarantha - I keep double calenders and a calender on my computer, and I still get the dates messed up, especially with the amazing moving meeting times we seem to have. Hope your road trip is not for naught.

ceara - My spam is not TOO bad. For a while I have a junk email addreess that I used for signing up for message boards wherer all of the junk would go, but now I just use the same addess for all personal email. I thought there was going to be some law to get rid of some of this spam, although sometimes that though frightens me.

Kaylets - definately deserves a star.

Wildfire - Please send me some cleaning motivation vibes.

cerise - sending virtual soup and ginger ale. maybe you should see a doctor.

frogger - I got a good giggle out of your file room nap. little sis went through the same thing. Ya know how cats sleep 18 hours a day? well she is getting awfully close to that :lol:

Just checking in for a quick "howdy" before I start skimming and trying to keep up w/y'all (have I been south too long?) - I find if I wait to say hi till I'm done skimming, I'm all out of time.

Was doing ok first three weeks, last two probably undid all the work of those three - shame on me. So I'm happy that some of us are losing.

More eventually.

Kaylets, Last year I was in a convenience store ladies' room and there was a handmade sign that requested "no spitting on the floor" with all sincerity! You mean we're not supposed to spit on the floor? :o I don't know if I'd go so far that i'd make it illegal, but it's certainly a disgusting habit. I hate to see it, particularly among the fairer sex! :lol:

zadie k, congrats on losing 1 1/2 pounds!

I stepped on the scales this morning and I'm down to a clear 134 pounds. My ultimate dream is to get down to 130 and have 5 pounds wiggle room, that way I'd never go above 135. I've gotten rid of all my big sizes, so there's no going back! I don't know if I ever mentioned this but Garry's on a quest to lose a few pounds and he's doing really well. He's lost 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks---he'd like to weigh between 160-170 pounds [he's at 177 now]. He's following my lead with counting calories [I'm so flattered!]; it's fun to do it together!

Wildfire,best of luck on your decluttering endeavor! I love to do that, it's incredible how things re-accumulate though. I've never regretted getting rid of anything.

Kaylets, so this is your 50-pound mark? You deserve more than a magnet, my dear! ;)

Amarantha, You have me dreaming of brownies. I see myself making some in the very near future!

Anagram, thanks for checking on us! :)

wsw, any new developments?

Arabella, how are you?

Cerise, PunkinSeed, and MIA Seattlejo---What's up?

As rare a' sighting as Bigfoot I tell ya....

It's Punkin!!!!!! :mag: :cb:

Whatta' week from Hades. As it is I've only got 8 minutes and haven't had any time to go back and read posts (will hopefully do tomorrow). I've missed you all bunches, but haven't had a spare second to get my hiney over here!!!

In a nutshell, we've been going through a self-imposed financial audit (wow were we wasting a LOT of money!) and just plain BUSY!!!

I must away to yonder post office and get home and into bed. My wonderful co-worker (aka mummsies) decided to share her cold and I'm feeling a little snorkey.

Smooches to all, shall return tomorrow! :wave:

Terri

Hello, darlings,

Feeling a bit better today. I only have those marathon coughing sessions (you know, the kind where people stick their heads over the cubicle walls and go "Are you OK?") a couple of times a day now. At night it's a different story. I have a very patient husband.

I'm sorry to be so fly-by, but every moment at work is spent feverishly packing and the hard drive's dead at home. I'm reading posts and thinking of you all fondly.

Oh, yeah, and I lost another .5 pounds this week. Must've been the high fever and plegm loss.

I have a horrible spitting story (not me spitting, as I don't, but ...) to tell but can't as there's the tiniest fraction of a chance that I'm recognizable to someone who might not appreciate it ... it gives me a headache just to think of it ...

Ok, not making any sense, shall go to bed.

:queen: Cerise, glad thou feeleth better and congrats on the .5 down!!! :cheer: Actually looking at thy stats, thou hast made tremendous progress on thy journey ... don't ever stop, keep a'goin' bairn, it be worth it!!!!

:queen: Punkin!!!!! Thou livest!!!! Sorry thou hast been having to do that financial stuff ... sheesh, I hate that! Anyway, I'm glad thou showed up as the towel boy hath been asking ... :s:

Guys, I'm making no sense and think I caught thy colds as my head is splitting and I feel feverish thou it be 50 freakin' degrees. Of course, I'm sitting in front of a space heater with pajamas on, plus a robe and a blanket around my shoulders, so maybe that's it.

Later ...

Eydie, didn't see thy post up there ... congrats to thee on reaching 134 ... that's exceeding thy goal! I'll be seeing thee at that weight soon ...

As a matter of fact, congrats to ALL here who have or will reach success in their journeys ... we'll all be MERRY MAINTAINERS very soon.

Ok, leaving now ...

Hello all!
Trying to waste less time early mornings ... the latest trend has been to leave the house at the last possible second and I don't like the that last minute feeling....I'm still in "training" but can really do quite a few things... its starting to get busy... need to establish some new routines so I can stay on on top.

I posted a soup recipe on the Food Demon Thread if you like Saurkraut... its ZERO POINTS!!

*****
Today's thouight of the day:
"The man who makes no mistakes
does not usually mak anything."
--Edward Jones Phelps

Question of the day:

"Do you consider yourself adventurous?"
--Table Topics by the Pampered Chef

*******

Here we go Wednesday, Here we go!

Punkin... glad you had a chance to check in... Dh and I are also revisiting budget issues... in fact, just cancelled the Y membership as we are just not getting there since my swim lessons ended and our gym nearby is installing
saunas and will have spinnng classes...Its amazing how the "little" bills add up.... what we pay now yearly as members for the gym is a fraction of the Y family membership.... there isnt a pool but I'm not getting to the other place to swim so..... but I did learn how to swim which is a major plus so I don't regret the expeience....

WSW- I posted a note to the other lady hoping she'd see it and respond.
Will keep you posted.

To those coughing, feverish, falling asleep in file drawers....
GET THOSE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN!!!! even if you have to do it w/ vegetble drinks... Please... you all know why this is so important...its easy to forget when we don't feel ourselves....
Soup is a good way to get these in... even canned soup is better than no vegetables at all....

Arabella... We are with you! ((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))))


Take care all!

Fly by postie: Yesterday was the 3rd day in a row of stair stepper for 30 minutes. Did well with food. This is turning into one of my best behaved weeks ever.

I will be back later today, but I was just so excited that I actually have been consistently GOOD for three days :p

YAY! Punkin is back...kinda...well, at least we know she's okay...except for the possible cold...Punkin, take care of yourself!

Cerise, congrats on the loss! :dance: A loss is a loss, no matter the reason! Feeling any better today?

Amarantha, you too? Feeling sick? Oh dear.

zadie, sounds like you're on a roll there! :cb:

Eydie, 134??? That's incredible! :dancer:

I found out today that I have an interview on Tuesday for the job. Was going to go to WW tonight and declare a fresh start (slipped a bit while sick and think I gained!) but the time just got away from me. Will stop after work tomorrow night.

Hellos to everyone! :wave:

hi wildfire!
kaylets-congrats on the 3 lbs. down and the -50 lbs. fantastic!
eydie-that's terrific to have gotten down below your goal! as always, you inspire me to hang in there.
cerise-congrats on your weight loss! glad you are feeling better at least. hope your full recovery will be soon.
hello to all! i am still a huge "technical difficulty." i finally made it out today to go to my p.t. appt., but couldn't do too much except the passive exercises. a little disappointing, but glad to have made it out on my own steam at least. the cold weather makes stuff worse for me physically---and there is snow due tomorrow. i am not looking forward to this at all! i still have yet to finish up my first application for a service dog, since they are so long and involved, but i am almost finished with one of them. i did speak with someone from this organization on the phone yesterday and she knows to expect it soon. my friends are so cute and excited about how the condo is looking. i haven't been able to see it since sat. and apparantly there is a big difference even since then. they call me often with updates. i smile when i think about what they are all doing for me. what a huge gift of their time, effort, and vast enthusiasm. my physical therapist suggested that if possible, it is a good idea to have the occupational therapist in her office take a look at my new place to give me some suggestions on how to make it as "user (handicapped)-friendly" as possible. my friend said this is a great idea and would love to hear what she might suggest. well, that will depend on whether my insurance would even cover such an evaluation, but if so, i will definitely do it. i stuck to my food plan today, which felt good, and did the excercising i was able to. now, i just need to go to bed instead of raiding the 'ole frig. which is calling to me. i think i can do that, though. i hope everyone's evening is good. thinking of you all. take care.

Hello all!

Went to bed early last night and what a luxury! It really was only 1.5 hrs early but what a great feeling of relief to just let go, give in, surrender....
Is this what I've been using food to do?? hmmmmmmmm.....

Wildfire! Great news on interview! My guess is that your weigh in will be better than you expect too.... I always like to have a fresh haircut for interviews...the difference in my mental attitude is immeasureable

Zadie! Now you're doing it! Be careful w/ the ankle, cold, etc... sometimes I do well for a few days and then expect too much from myself.. and PUSH to the next level and then get hurt and then crash and burn... I need to jumpstart my activity too... Am thinking since one of the beagle's is carrying too much weight that we both start a "speed walk" habit...

Eydie! GOOD FOR YOU!! I wonder if any of this is still very hard to believe...
I was sharing w/ folks that I lost 50 lbs and found it was like talking about someone I didnt know....

Anyone see Wynnona Judd on Oprah??? DH taped it for me ( he is the best!)
...
Oprah has "lent" her Bob Greene....and they are working her program in pieces...first... as much consistent activity for herself as possible as well as no eating 2-3 hrs b/4 bed... Bob Greene agrees with Wynnona that she "forgot to put herself on the list"... meaning her priority list... she admits she is always "the martyr"... and horribly, horribly shy which made her value food after performing even more....

****
Thought of the day:
"The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes."
--Frank Lloyd Wright


Question of the day :

"Are your closest friends older or younger than you? What do you think that says about you?"
--Table Topics from the Pampered Chef

****


Here we go Thursday, Here we go!

KETTLE IS ON!

Kaylets, Thank you for bringing it up. Yes, yes, yes! Being at my goal weight is really hard to believe. This is strange: when I would weigh myself and Garry would ask me about it, I'd automatically say 145, instead of 135. I would do that every time, it's like I just couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that i was at my goal weight. Garry would always catch it.
I was doing bicep curls 2 days ago. I was sitting on the edge of my coffee table and I looked down at one point and was shocked to see that my stomach was rather flat. I'm so used to seeing the 'pooch'. It's not like my belly suddenly disappeared--I was just finally ready to see it, I guess. Shocking--I had to call my best friend and tell her! I've read about people in their maintainence phase never quite losing their 'phantom fat'. That is, they still see themselves as overweight, even though it makes no logical sense!
And I'm always shocked when my clothes magically get bigger too! :lol:
We have a friend that I've always envied because he's always seemed so comfortable in his body. And I realize that I'm finally getting a taste of what that feels like. And that's shocking too!
I'm glad you brought it up, it's a subject I've been wanting to talk about. It's been such a long journey [6 years!] and it's almost embarrassing that I have to adjust to my new body.

I saw 'Oprah' yesterday and was riveted. I think that Wynona was so supremely courageous to do that voluntarily. If I had to predict I'd say she's going to do the '4 steps forward, 3 steps back' that so many of us are familiar with. I'll be watching---she's supposed to be back in May.

wsw, Your friends love you so much! What a blessing!

Wildfire, good luck with the interview!

Happy Thursday! It's snowing here, so Garry and I are trapped at home togther! The joys of rural living....

Eydie! I am jealous... would love to stay home today but will let you do it for me... Been meaning to tell you, I love the idea of Garry's cards....lets do it!

Lets come up w/ something that would lift someone's spirit....
and I was wondering if it would be a good idea to have a note on it asking that they pass it on ...??? Wouldnt it be something if one came back????
I'm loving the idea of the cards being given in secret... or maybe not always...
but especially if the card mentioned that we don't realize how much we "color" our world just by our attitude moving through it....

I am reading a book by Mark Victor Hansen about finding delight. He challenges us to expect delight and we will find it. He did an experiment in crowded stores... as he was in line, he kept thinking "to" the cashier... "You are a delightful person, people enjoy being around you"... and literally watched the cashier's stress lessen.....

Hmmmm...

Yes, Eydie... sometimes the journey takes us places we didnt expect. Guess we're not in Kansas anymore??

:lol: :lol:

Hola Chicas!

How is everything? Went to the OBGYN yesterday. My 'official' due date is September 20th. I can't wait!!! I'm so excited!
Still have to tell the boss though. She'll be let's just say, less than thrilled.

So here I am at the demon job, Thursday. Waiting on stuff that should have been given to me tuesday. Have to work tonight and tomorrow night. They better hurry up if they want it done. :mad: I leave at 3....

Well. What do you know....I was down 1.2lbs when I weighed in after work. :shrug:

We're a little sad tonight. We went to clean out DH's car and say our goodbyes. He's been a good car all these years and we're sad to say goodbye. :cry:

wsw, Spring is coming! 37 more days! You should take up the offer for the occupational therapist to check out your new condo. You may not be able to do everything she might suggest, but she might point out some things that could be useful to you. Glad to hear you're working on the dog guide applications. :yes:

Kaylets, you were right about the weigh in! I just had my hair cut a couple of weeks ago, actually. I was toying with the idea of letting it grow long again, and it was at that critical keep it or cut it stage....so I chopped it all off into a longish pixie style. My thinking was it would look more professional if I was going to be looking for a new job. I'm still at work when Oprah is on here, and I'm sorry I missed that one. I've always liked Wynnona. Hey, I've been going to bed earlier for about a week now, and what a difference it makes in my mornings! I think the "thank you" cards are a great idea. They could be printed on business cards that are available at the office supply stores. Something as simple as "You are appreciated." or "You are doing a great job." or even "Thank you for your help."?

Eydie, please talk about all the things you're feeling and discovering! It will be great inspiration for the rest of us. I am so thrilled for you! :cb:

Frogger, it won't be long before you start feeling kicks from inside!

Where is the rest of our Royal Court? Did someone declare a Royal Holiday and not tell us? :queen:

Yowza, :queen: s!!! Sorry, this be a brevity postie, as my sinus infection seems worse ... had only strength to post on the food thread ... my 21-dayer is going well and dragged myself to gym after brutal day with sinus hurting and actually did moderate cardio ... still will have to go some to reach my challenge goal of 360 minutes per week.

Forgot to mention this is a whine and me-me postie. Sheesh, I don't feel well and I need a life.

Wildfire, congrats on the 1.2 :dance: s thou hath waved bye-bye to ... hope thou packed them a lunch and got 'em a reservation at some far-flung motel in a warm climate so's they'll stay away from my neck o' the desert!!! :s:

Sorry if I missed congrats on anyone's weight loss ... been posting in the royal kitchen as our Demon Food Slayers contingent needeth to stay active 'cause those :devil: s be EVERYWHERE, just everywhere ...

Really need to lie down. Hope this pain goeth away tonight in lieu of last night when it should have.

If this postie dinna make sense, well, it won't be the first, so's I'm assuming thou shalt not mindeth! :wave:

P.S., I be too feverish to take in much, but the card idea soundeth good ... I think ... not sure o' the concept as I be brain dead and not up to usual keenness.

QOD: I used to consider myself middlin' adventuresome, now I mostly take a lot o' naps

Wasn't it Bilbo Baggins who said something to the effect of: "Adventures, nasty uncomfortable things. Make a hobbit late for dinner."

Words to that effect.

Made me think of how I committed myself to do one more task today that I don't want to do and was thinking of Bilbo: "What was I thinking asking a wizard to tea?"

Ok, bye!

Hello all!

Forecast and Friday are giving me Spring Fever!
really need some motivation... I guess if I think about times when I would have done anything to hear back from a job interview ...
hmmm...guilt, its a wonderful thing when used in moderation...

*****

Thought of the day :

"Patience.... persistence...... perspective."


Question of the day :

"If you could play an instrument and be excellent, what would you choose?"

******



Wildfire! GREAT news on the loss... down is down! Its very interesting to me how once the body flips the "release" switch, momentum begins... until the next plateau....

My job offers free hot chococlate which I often enjoy... but last week, the SF ran out.... I wonder if part of my loss was that I havent had any... I know there is a pretty fair share of sodium... interesting....
Can't put too much logic into these things...

Anyway...

Everyone who is not feeling well... I repeat the advice regarding trying to force vitamins, especially via soup and vegetables...


WSW- So far, haven't heard from that other lady...
But there's always next time!

Frogger- Glad the visit went well! So exciting to have a date! Whatever the boss says, we're here... come and vent...

Arabella- Good thoughts coming your way.


Geez, weatherman says today will be high up near 45, tomorrow 50... then back Sunday into the 20's....

Let me go b/4 I talk myself out of it!


Take care all!

Time to get rolling!

Have a good one all!

Friday! Yeah I wish there'd been a Royal Holiday declared! Just busy. Feel a definite lightening of mood and I wonder how much of it has to do with the longer days.....you're right Kaylets. Spring is sorta creeping into the air!

It is close to freezing here...the underside of it and with the sun the ice is slowly receding...only have a half a skating rink on the driveway! :lol: There are actually patches of grass here and there!

Visited the conference next door...those ladies are quite funny.

Anyway, I joined TOPS on Wednesday night...you guys with the WW inspired me to an extent. I just joined for the weekly weigh-ins...I work that night until 8 so I can't attend the meetings which start at 7? I think. Besides I do enough meetings. However just being accountable to someone physically other than me will help. And, I start that hormone (BC) on Sunday...see if that will help the no blood in my veins 'cause it has been lost somewhere else problem. I'm leery of side effects though. It sure would be nice to be warm again though...I'm always just frozen eventhough I wear layers of clothing. Where are the hot flashes when you need 'em? I'm not wishing for them just wondering. Be 'ware of what you wish for.

Frogger...September will be here before you know it!

QOD the harp.....they sound so restful. Or the guitar....I love L. Boyd.

:wave: to all! Check in on you later 'gators :s:

Ceara :doh:

Howdy,
Well, lil sis is the the hospital. Her water broke this morning and now she is there till she delivers. It could be tomorow or it could be in a month. More likely than not it will be in a week or so. The baby is over 5 lbs now, so they are not too afraid of major complications. I am a bit nervous though. She is aiming to hold off till the 29th, not that there is going to be much choice in the matter.

Needless to say this is a bit of a drive by post. But...QOD: the fiddle for folk adn bluegrass and the bass for rock music. If it had to be just on it would be the fiddle.

Aside from that, eating well, exercising every day and waiting to become an aunt.

Zadie, how exciting! And you lost weight too!

Kaylets - congrats on your 50 lb level and Eydie on being below goal.

Punkin - glad to see you're with us, howsomeever briefly.

Frogger, I'll share my 9/15 b.d. gladly. Good luck.

Empress, feel better. And you too, wsw, though I know with tech diff it's hard to work it out.

Ceara, let us know how OA works for you. So glad you're back more than I am, Wildfire. Cerise, hope that nasty move goes well.

And Wood Nymph, as usual, special thoughts out to you.

Heading off, time's up so hugs to anyone I didn't get to.

Actually, there's been a royal holiday declared in my house ... I can't stay awake. Tried to call in sick for my training day but she always talks me out of it. Sorry. Not up to posting much. Posted a Valentine's Day warning from the departed spirit of Questar the :queen: ... a :devil: Food slayer who now dwelleth in another dimension ... on the food thread.

In case anyone asks, as once they did on my 3FC journal when I got too far into role playing, I am NOT on medication! :cool:

Kaylets, if I had a job that offered free hot chocolate, I'd be in big trouble! :)

Zadie, congratulations for thy impending auntdom ... be it thy first?

Guys, I'm in big trouble if I can't even stay awake to post here as I have a ton o' deadline c**p to do this weekend.

Was noticing during my workout that I can't say or do anything that is not negative ... this is a problem I will deal with when I get well.

Going to check out the NOLA thread ... I discern Ceara hath posted there and am wanting to see what she hath to say ...

I sure miss SJ and wonder where she hath gone. We be missing some other folkettes as well.

QOD: I play a number of instruments but none of them very well ... quess I'd like to really be good on the organ ... want to play Mendelsohn (sp?) on a big pipe organ in a cathedral in London and then go home to the woods and carve fallen oak trees.

Soundsl like a plan.

My first choice for the'musical instrument question was the harp. They always look so graceful and sound so serene, but that music doesn't really 'move' me for long. I'd love to know how to play the banjo---wow, how's that for a quantum leap?! :lol:

Wildfire, congrats on the loss! :D

I was sick yesterday--I don't know what happened. Just one of those things that came swooping in out of nowhere. Happened in the afternoon and I was weak and nauseous for the rest of the day. Last night I slept like a stone and now I feel fine. What was that?

Gotta go. Dear Garry is bound and determined to take me out for lunch today. And when we go anywhere it's a major expedition, since we live so far out from civilization. I'll report later.

Happy :) Day, friends!

Hello all!

Coming by very late as recvd word of a death in the family. Very elderly aunt who became widowed in September... in many ways,
a blessing to know she's not greiving anymore or in pain but still, this is hard news for our family.




****
Today's thought of the day:
"You can clutch the past so tightlyto your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present."
--Jan Glidewell

Question of the day :

"Will the world be a better place a hundred years from now?"
-- Table Topics-- The Pampered Chef

***


Anyone for a cup of tea?


. . . . . . . . . .

Sorry to hear of thy relative's passing, :queen: K! Yes, that's hard news indeed, as age doth not make anyone less dear to us.

Eydie, that Questar :queen: lady be back on the :devil: food thread with another warning as WE KNOW WHAT THIS DAY IS!!! Questar hath announced Amarantha's no candy pledge for the day.

I'm still sick but worked a bit and will work out to meet my challenge.

[b]If no one objects, I'M GOING TO START A NEW THREAD RIGHT NOW! Twenty-four pages is enough, dinna ye think, :queen: s! I'll put this a.m.s posties by K and E on the new thread, so if everyone would be kind and post there, I'd really be thankful and send you some virtual Valentine's candy!!! Hoping all :queen: s will start posting again on a regular basis now ... she saith wistfully ...

NEW THREAD POSTED: CCRRMMS AT HOME IN THE PALACE!!! CALLING ALL :queen: s, COME HOME, COME HOME, IT'S A :) VALENTINE'S DAY JUNGLE OUT THERE IN THE COLD!!! DINNA POST HERE! BE THERE OR BE HEART SHAPED!!! :)