Well, I ventured onto the scale this a.m. -- up 3 lbs, which is less than I expected. I feel liked I've gained 7 at least. But at least I know where I stand. Probably not too bad considering the complete derailment of my exercise routine over the summer. Am back on track for the past three days, TM and weights. Going easy on the weights so I don't incapacitate myself again! Why is it that I've been exercising the past three days but feel fatter and more 'puffy' than I have all summer? Strange.

Took to the dog to the vet this a.m. for her tooth extraction. They called mid-morning; seems her upper left molar is also chipped and cracked very, very close to the pulp. They recommended to remove that one as well. I feel very, very bad for my dog. I know she broke these teeth from chewing on the nylabones, which I was always giving her. I thought they were a good thing, helping to remove plaque from her teeth. I have to wait a few more hours b/4 I can go get her. They are sending her home w/pain meds but . . . . still.


Jo

P.S. I changed my quote in my siggy. Enter the Haggis is an Irish band out of Canada. Check their music out (itunes, amazon, enterthehaggis.com, etc.) Good, good stuff.

How old is your dog--and what type? Mine chew on nylabones all the time. Yikes!

Hi girls hope you are all having a good week.

Saturday is the first of September and before you know it we will be talking about Christmas yikes. It's only 17 weeks until the big day.

If we all lost a pound a week think how much better we would all feel.

I'm going to weigh in tomorrow and see how I've done this week. Then try and take it one pound at a time.

Jo hope your dog is doing all right after the extraction, a little bit of tlc and I'm sure she will be feeling a whole lot better.

I haven't managed to get to the gym this week.

I must try harder with the exercise.

Allison, she's four years old and a border collie mix (possibly some jack russell int there; that's how she's colored). The doc seemed doubtful about the nylabones as the cause but I've never, ever seen her chew on anything else. She really goes at those bones, even to the point that she'll bleed a bit (we'd take them away then). She also didn't seem to be in any pain whatsoever. Chowed down and acted just like herself the whole time her teeth were cracked. Maybe there's some fine print on the nylabone package that says something about really hard chewers and tooth damage -- that my aging eyes failed to decipher? -- but I just don't know. I just can't think what else would have caused this. She was in a year ago for teeth cleaning and all was fine, so it happened just w/in the past year. They xrayed three teeth to check them and that's when they found the second bad tooth. There's some enamel cracking on the bottom right tooth but it's nothing that will cause any problems for her. When she'd chew the bones it was always those top and bottom teeth that did the primary chewing. Keep an eye on your pups. Id hate for anyone else's dogs to have to go through this.

She's pretty zoned out from the pain meds. They gave her a shot at 5pm right b/4 we took her home. Hopefully she'll feel more like herself in a day or so. She's such a nice dog. When we left the vet's office, she went over to him for a pat. When he was done he said to her 'you have to go out that way' and pointed to the door. Penny turned around and headed for the door. Too sweet!

Clydegirl, thanks for the hug!! Much needed and appreciated. Yikes only 17 weeks till Christmas? Hey, I like the idea of losing a lb a wk b/twn now and then. 17 lbs. is a lot!! I'm back into the exercising -- my legs are feeling those squats and lunges today. Anyone up for a mini challenge? Let's all get on the wagon and try for a lb. loss by next Friday -- what is that, September 8 or 9th? We can do it (ack, I'm hearing that Tony Little guy in my head -- you know he sells those Gazelle exercise things.) How 'bout it?

Jo

Jo count me in. Mini challenge.

I'm getting on the scales tomorrow morning.

I'll jump in on the challenge, too. You would think that 1 pound a week would be doable. Hopefully!!!

I am a little down this morning. I spent some time going through some old letters and cards last night. (It's a long story, but my MIL had a stroke and we were going through her papers to get insurance info, etc. It made me think that if something happened to me, there are some letters from my husband from way back when we were dating - 20+ years ago - that I'd rather not have anyone else see.) Anyway, it took me so far back in time, back to the skinnier, younger days. We were so much in love, couldn't get enough of each other, etc. While we still love each other, the passion has obviously changed and, of course, back then it was just the two of us without any stress from kids or responsibilities. Yes, I love my kids and this is a good time of life, but I do miss the carefree days of my youth.

Anyway, life goes on and changes are good.

Sorry to hear about your dog's tooth, Jo. Poor baby. It is so hard on the animals because they just don't understand what you're doing to them! I'm sure this will help her feel better.

Okay, that's just downright mean to remind us of this!!!! How on earth will I get my shopping done! (((stress))) LOL!

Jo~hope the dog is better today. I hear you with the fine print!!! I finally broke down and bought myself a pair of drug store readers! The phone book and I are no longer friends!

Everyone have a great day!

Well I got on the scale this morning and was down 3lb. So that was a nice surprise.

Diane I have a bunch of letters as well from back in the day. I would not anyone to read them after I'm gone. There's some things though that you don't want to part with.

My dad died 2 years ago and we had to clear his house. He had kept every letter and card I had sent him over the years. It brought back a lot of memories sitting reading them.

Diane, I'm sorry to hear about your Mom-in-law.

The old days have been on my mind a lot lately, too. I had a bone density done last week and turns out my bones are not in good shape for a 43 year old women. Darn hysterectomy! I've been thinking a lot about how its changed my life in ways I never expected...more wrinkles, mood swings, not much interest in hubby(If you know what I mean) I miss the passion, too. I'm hoping that getting in shape and losing the weight will help.

Clydegirl, I know what you mean. There are a few that I saved that I just can't part with. Too bad those things couldn't just disintegrate if something happened to me!! ha! It really struck me, though, how letter writing is no longer happening, and it is kind of sad. My husband (boyfriend at the time) wrote to each other so much because we just couldn't afford to call long distance. No email, no cell phones, no text messaging. I can say this to all of you because you remember that time, too! I think it is great that you can call so much easier now, but the letters are missed.

Rhonda, I know what you mean. Aging is not for sissies! My aches and pains drive me crazy. But, hopefully, with more weight loss, that will not be quite as bad. I don't know what I'll do when I get to add menopause to all of this! I haven't reached that point yet, so that's something to look forward to! At least we all know that we're not alone.

Allison, lol on the drug store readers. I can LOL while I sit here with my bifocals.

Hi everyone.

It's quiet in here.

Have a good Labour Day and remember it's just one day

Hi - I'd like to get in on this challange thing! I was doing pretty well for a few months, but now - I cannot seem to stick to a diet, although I am continuing to exercise faithfully. So - I need some motivation as far as eating (or not so much) is concerned.

Jo - I hope your doggie is feeling better. Please don't blame it on anything you've done. I'd bet anything it's just in her genetic makeup. And you took her to the vet to get her teeth fixed, so her life is better because of you.

Hey everyone, how's it going? Hope you all had a good LD weekend. CG, congrats on the 3 lb. loss -- WTG!!!

47yo -- I'm in the same boat as you! Great w/exercise but I keep blowin' it w/the food part. I just keep plugging away though.

Pennydog is doing much, much better. Back to her old self. She just kept quiet for a few days; the morphine shot they gave her just b/4 she left the vet's the day of the surgery really made her dopey for a bit. It took few days to get all the stuff out of her system. She's eating regular food (hard too) and seems fine. Yeah!!

Got my exercise done for the day and am off to do some domestic chores. Yawn! Maybe I'll finish my book first!

Weigh in this Friday for the mini 1 lb. challenge. Good luck to us all. Have a good one!!

Jo

Hope everyone had a good labor day. It was nice to have the extra day off! We had a good time. My son had a football game on Saturday and it was incredibly hot out there. I thought I was going to get sick by the end of it. I guess I shouldn't complain because the boys were playing in the heat, but I am used to air conditioning and it really got to me. We had 5 players get injured, so it wasn't a good day. I think the other team was on steroids!!! (just joking)

We stayed at a cabin on Sunday night and went night fishing. It was pretty good fishing, so that was fun. The cabin was great, too. Although the kids thought they were going to die without having a TV, they made it through. I loved the peace and quiet of no TV, no cell phones!

I guess our weekly weigh-in challenge is for Fridays? Is that right. And it starts next Friday. I lost a pound last week, so that's a good thing! I need to keep my motivation up, though. It's tough because there is so much going on right now. Any of you have that problem?? ha!

Well, happy Tuesday everyone! Love long weekends!!

I had a nice weekend with the extra day. It started out bad with the power outage and all, but ended nicely. DH and I cleaned the back patio, furniture and grill to get it ready for winter entertaining (not that we do that much entertaining, lol). I started a new book Monday morning and ended up reading almost 3/4 of it! Good book!!! I think it is called "Never let me go" and it's kind of futuristic without being futuristic. I know that makes no sense at all!!

Everyone have a great week!