Hi ladies,

DH took me up to where we used to live so that I could go to Sunday school with the ladies group. I truly miss that group and today was ministry appreciation day and they were doing something special for the teacher. She is the one that came down last weekend for dinner and I wanted to surprise her. Now that life has settled down, maybe we can go back up there more often.

I'm going to get laundry started and clean the bedroom. The dogs need to nap this afternoon so I think I will put them in their crates on the front porch. Wile escaped this morning and wouldn't come to me before we left. He was running like a fool and just wouldn't come to be caught. We had to leave him loose and thankfully, he wasn't a spot on the road when we got back. He was standing by the barn and ready to come in. I'm sure the others barked like fools at him running so they will all be tired.

So that started our morning with DH and I in a major tiff on the way to church. That is purely stupid but we did it. We're okay now other than the humiliation of how stupid we were.

I didn't get to go riding yesterday after all. When I went out to get Spanky, I noticed that he's limping. So he's got a stone bruise, I hope. I worked with Phoenix instead. I was going to ride him except that he absolutely lost him mind in the round pen and acted like he's had no training whatsoever. He was running around bronc bucking and DH suggested that maybe I should just stay on the ground instead of ride. Must be a full moon making all the animals crazy.

In the spirit of making it a great day, I will go to the fitness center and work up a good sweat. I also think I will finish listening to the Storm Jumper and study. And enjoy every minute of whatever I do.

to all! Smile even if it hurts today!

I'm back to report that I did make it to the fitness center. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill. I moved up to week 2 of the C25K where its jogging for 90 seconds and walking for 2 minutes. Ninety seconds is a long time. But I did all six jogging segments and did all ninety seconds of each. I then did 15 minutes on the elliptical. I needed that.

Great Job Terri!

I made it a great day around here. I hung out with the boys until naptime then I handed things off to DH. Then I hit the gym for 45 min on the elliptical - part of the time I bumped up and extra level. I kept my heartrate up and got a good workout. Then I did my abs and stretching. After that I did the grocery shopping and got home in time for the start of the Eagles game. I've been watching it off and on while cleaning up and playing. The boys are watching a little tv while they finish up dinner and then it's time for bath and bed. After that I'll try to relax a bit and get ready for tomorrow. We'll watch the Phillies tonight! I'm missing out on a lot of my usual favorite TV shows. Just too busy. I miss it...a little.

Anywho...I hope the rest of you are well and will pop in. I feel lonely! DH is honestly not a big emotional support right now so I rely on all my friends here!


Talk to you later.
Barb

I like hearing people make it a good day. I did my best. I got to the gym and got a lot of grading done.

Hey Chicks! Where is everyone?

Don't hide from your friends!

Had a great day here. I cut out of work early and met my trainer for a workout and good chat. Afterwards I hung out at the gym chatting with some people I've started getting to know. I felt like a "regular", it was fun! The gym is new and I've been there since day one so I guess I am a regular. Monday is the one day that hubby gets the boys and I get the evening to myself. I was home in time for a little snuggling with my boys and a late dinner. It was a good evening!

Tomorrow I am taking a lunch time yoga class at work.

I think I'm going to head to bed. Sweet Dreams to all!

Barb

Hi all,

Hmm, I thought I posted yesterday. Oops!

Yesterday was a busy day. I was up early and got in about two hours of study time. Then we headed to the city for DH's MRI on his lower back. Then we went to Nebraksa Furniture Mart. DH's #2 son works there so we get the immediate family discount. We have a front living room that has had no furniture in it for two years now. I just couldn't figure out what I wanted. One day I walked through and got the inspiration of a long couch facing the windows looking out over the front porch and horse pasture and that flanked by two chairs. That creates the conversation place for when we have guests. Also creates a place for me to go to read or relax with no TV in the room. I was further inspired by a JC Penny catalog that had a Santa Fe style living room set on sale. We decided on a rust colored leather couch with matching chairs and a western styled coffee table. We also found a southwestern style rug in all the colors of our house and the new furniture. Now I need some pottery and other southwestern/western accessories. But that can come in time. Now that I have finally been inspired, I can hardly wait for it to be delivered. It won't come until the 24th. After that was home where #1 son was there for a visit. While dad and son visited, I headed back into town with the big truck for a chiropracter appointment, clean the inside of the truck for the trip, and a Wal-mart shopping trip. It was after 7 pm when I got home. Whew. Sadly that cut out my fitness center time.

Today, I'm cleaning house, doing laundry, packing, getting a haircut, and making time for exercise. Oh yeah, and study!

Tomorrow, we leave for Branson for a few days. I've already checked and the hotel has a fitness room so I'll take my stuff for that. I also am going to take stretchy bands. Too bad the pool is outside.

I was catching up on some reading this morning and ran across this food plan in the August Good Housekeeping. Its nothing really new but its a good reminder of how to get in healthy snacks during the day.

The Snack All Day Diet - Every day you can eat six snacks (about 180 calories each) and dinner (about 300 calories). Eat something at 8 am, 10 am, 12 pm, 2 pm, 4 pm, 6 pm and 8 pm. This plan is for about 1400 calories a day. Adjust to your caloric plan by adding protein, whole grain carbs or healthy fat.

Snack/mini meal ideas:

• 3/4 cup Kash GoLean cereal, 1 small peach, and 1/2 cup FF milk
• 2/3 cup cherries with 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
• 100% whole-grain waffle, toasted, topped with 1/3 cup NF yogurt and 1/3 cup straberries and 2 tsp maple syrup
• Smoothie - 6 oz NF yogurt, 3/4 cup fresh or frozen berries (add 1/3 cup ice if using fresh berries) and 3 oz calcium fortified orange juice
• 100 calorie Clif Bar, 1 cup FF milk
• 2 hard-cooked eggs with 2 whole-grain crackers
• 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks with 1/2 cup LF cottage cheese
• 15 roasted almonds plus 1-1/4 cups watermelon chunks
• Salmon Spinach salad - spinach, green onions, 1 small can salmon, 2 TB LF dressing, and 2 whole-grain crackers
• 1 mini pita, cut into wedges with 1/4 cup hummus, and 1 red pepper, cut into strips
• california roll (4 large or 6 regular) with wasabi and soy sauce
• Sandwich - 2 slices light whole wheat bread, 2 tsp honey mustard, 3 oz turket or lean ham, tomato slices and fresh herbs
• frozen entree of your choice - 180 to 200 calories
• Energy smoothie - 6 oz NF vanilla yogurt, 1/3 cup FF milk, 1 tsp instant coffee powder, and 1/3 cup ice cubes
• 1 cup FF milk and any 100 calorie snack pack
• 1 fruit and nut bar - about 170 calories
• 1-1/2 tablespoons peanut butter spread on a carrot, cut into sticks
• 1 mini babybel cheese plus 3/4 cup grapes (about 18)
• 1/3 cup hummus with any freebie veggies
• 1/2 cup light chocolate ice cream with 2/3 cup fresh berries or heat frozen berries in microwave for 5 minutes
• 5 whole-grain crackers spread with 2 wedges laughing cow light cheese
• 1 oz baked tortilla chips with 1/3 cup salsa
• 2 fig newtons or 5 gingersnaps
• 100 calorie bag microwave popcorn

Freebie foods
Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Endive
• Green beans
• Leafy greens
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Snow peas
• Summer squash
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini

The food plan and recipes is listed on their website. I like the idea of this for the weekdays because at work, I want to snack all day.

Something else that I read was an article about allowing yourself just one bite. I never really thought about it, but the article talks about how emotional eaters are so focused on the next bite of food, so busy focused on what we don't have now, that we don't really enjoy what's in our mouth now. That is a reminder to me, to savor what I'm eating. The point is to teach yourself how to be able to enjoy just one bite of something we really want and not have to eat it all. Again, not a new concept, just a reminder.

I better get busy doing something. I need to leave in a couple of hours for this day's errands.

Hi Terri!
You have been a busy little one! The living room sounds like it's going to be so nice! You'll have to share pictures once it's all decorated! Lots of good ideas in the info you posted.

I was actually just thinking about enjoying food.... I have found that Yes, I still want to enjoy my food, but I'm also more concerned about getting nutritionally sensible food. I just went down to our work cafeteria (awesome cafe as far as they go) for lunch. I usually get chicken and veggies, but I'm about to go to yoga so I wanted something a little lighter feeling. I got 1/2 a turkey sandwich (no cheese) on whole grain with onion, lots of lettuce and mustard. I wanted the mayo so bad but I resisted. Somehow it was just stuck in my head that I needed mayo on a sandwich. I had a packet in my had and said NO....I will completely enjoy the healthy 1/2 sandwich I had and there was no need to add empty calories onto it! Guess what...I came back to my desk and enjoyed and savored every bite. I rounded it off with a handful of grapes and carrots! Now I feel satisfied and ready for yoga!

That was a babble! I just find that I am viewing food differently these days. The coworker I walked down with got a chicken cheesesteak...which quite honestly was not at all appealing to me. It would have been a few months ago.

Ok...time to change clothes. Have a great day my friends!

Hugs!
Barb

Hey all! First day back at work for me and...my chest is hurting. Who want's to bet that when I finally get to my doctor next Monday he tells me it's stress? It won't surprise me a bit to find out that this job is making me sick. After all, we're so overworked and backlogged I actually looked up at the doctor from the gurney after my cardiac cath and asked him if I really had to be off work a week. Not because I like being here, but because I'm just so far behind I can't ever catch up and every minute I'm not at work it gets worse.

I was UP, as expected, at Saturday's WI. 252 I believe. I am not so concerned given that I expected it. I am also doing pretty good getting back OP. I've used a few flex points this week, but I was home - I always have problems wanting to "snack" all day when home. Maybe I'll have to check out Terri's list. But really, I eat healthy snacks, just too many.

Got to run. Stressful or not, the job awaits.

Hi everyone! I've been on a 2 week pity party and have been lurking on the boards. Fortunately, it stopped yesterday -- I sure am glad!

I've been having a tough time since I got back from vacation -- my work is a big source of my identity and also where a lot of my social contact comes from -- I loved working for my old boss -- when he got fired by my new boss who I didn't like all that much before the firing -- well, it was the last straw, I guess... Anyways, I've been in a huge funk which just got worse and worse until everything went to heck a couple of weeks ago. I stopped exercising, I started eating junk again, and I stopped posting. All the things I know not to do .

So, yesterday, I met up with a classmate of mine from my MBA program. He is also an associate dean at the local dental school -- has a PhD and a DMD, and I don't know what else. I wanted to get his take on life as an academic -- and during the course of the conversation, re-found my passion/mission in life. Thank God. I am pretty certain now that my path is going to lead me away from the business world and towards graduate school for a PhD and onto life as a tenure-track professor at a business school. I won't be applying until next fall/winter for a Fall 2010 entry -- and I will still keep doing research on it -- and probably go back and forth many more times , but I think this is what I will end up doing.

So, I came back to work from that meeting all re-energized. It is strange. Nothing externally has changed -- but I feel completely different. I think there is a good possibility I will lose my job -- the economy is bad and that hurts my company a lot -- but whether I do or not, I will be ok. I knew that in my head these past two weeks, but now I know it in my heart as well.

I'm not religious (and sometimes I cuss although I'm trying not to on the boards ), but I do have a strong faith in a Higher Power -- I've been sober in AA for 9 years as of Monday -- and I have seen time and time again that when I turn my will & my life over to God as I understand him -- it works out. It works out in ways I could never have imagined but it works out. Usually a lot better than I imagined as well. I've been struggling to find that place of faith with regards to my job and I feel like I found it yesterday. Yahoo. So, sorry for being gone for a while ...

I didn't weigh myself this a.m., so not sure how much ground I will have to regain (or is it re-lose? ) but I have my running shoes on and am going over to the fitness center after work tonight. I've eaten good so far today -- my binging has been in the evening so I will have to be mindful tonight.

It is good to see so many people doing well and also good to see people struggling but still moving forward. Thank you all for being here -- even when I just lurk or, in my darkest moments, just skip over the link and say "not today" -- I always know that you are here -- when I'm ready to do the work I need to do. Thank you.

Hi all, My company left today. I ate too much, stayed up too late and sat way too much. It is time for me to kick my own rear and get back to healthy eating. I am never sure just why I get off program when I have others to cook for and eat with.

I enjoyed their visit but it is nice to have my house back to just the two of us. I am creature of habit (don't we know it?) and like my nice, quite boring life. LOL!

Terri, the new furniture sounds great. I would love to redo my den in leather. My and DHs recliners are leather but not the sofa and loveseat. I love new furniture!

Elmay, good for you! I tend to lurk more when I am disguted with myself for not following my plan, and I know that is the wrong thing to do too. I guess that is when we need to come here more often huh? There is always someone willing to give us a pep talk or a cyber kick in the behind if we need it. Terri is goood at that..wink, wink

Lilion, I hope you are feeling better today. That job is not worth your health, but hey, somebody has to bring home the bacon! (trying to find a little humor for you, though there is nothing funny about stress.)

Barb, wow, you impress me. I hope things stay the same for you. I seem to have lost my zest for everything!

Well ladies, I can see tons of work ahead for me tomorrow. You clean for company and when they leave you get to do it all over again!Hooray!

Take care, see you tomorrow. Ruth

Hi Chicks! I'm so happy to see a few more friends popping in.

Lillion - Sorry to hear about the stressful job. What do you do? Have you thought about trying yoga or meditation or something to help with the stress in the off hours?

Elmay - I'm happy to hear the pity party is over!! Glad to have you back. That's great that you have rediscovered your passion as an academic. Yes - we are always here for you!

Ruth - Company can certainly add challenges to a healthy lifestyle. We haven't had any since I've really gotten myself on track. I'll be interested to see how I do. My next big challenge will be traveling for a week during Thanksgiving. Thank you for your kind words....I am not giving up...EVER. I know I will have rough spots but this is my new life. I want to be a happy and healthy woman, wife & mom! What can we do to help you get your zest back???

Terri - I hope you are having a great time in Branson. I've never been there, but my parents loved it.

It was a great day here today! I worked at home...which I'm finding more lonely these days. I'm glad to skip the time commuting, but I like being around people. It didn't help that my work laptop was running so SLLLLOOOOWWWW and it took me forever to get things done. Anyway, I worked out with one of my trainers at 4:00. We did 45 minutes of weights and then I did 30 min on the elliptical, did my abs and finished with stretching. Then I got my little angels from daycare and cooked tacos with ground turkey for dinner. My bonehead husband "forgot" I was cooking and brought home a pizza and soda. I was more annoyed than tempted. I didn't touch it. I still had my tacos and salad. At one point he asked me to hand him another slice of pizza and I refused. Later in the evening he told me that he's becoming more inspired by my new way of living. I can't wait until he decides to do this with me. In the meantime I am so thankful I have wonderful internet buddies and friends!

Our 3 year old is refusing to sleep tonight. 2nd time in a week. Not sure what's going on with him. Normally I would handle it, but DH offered to go upstairs with him so I could finish getting my evening internet fix.

I'm off to read more and keep cheering on the Phillies!

Sweet Dreams!

Hi guys Well I'm going onto week 4 and as of Tuesday I'm down another 6 pounds. Last week I didn't get much exercise in but I'm making up for it this week and I'm doing much better with my food. My boys have pretty much recovered from their oral surgery, they can't wait to get out of the house, a week's down time is more than enough, if you know what I mean Made an appointment for my mammogram and physical for the end of the month, hope my numbers are lower than last year
I was wondering if anyone takes any supplements or use any weight lose products, otc or perscribed. Just curious, I myself take a multi vitamin, a calcium, magnesium and zinc tablet and evening primrose oil. I have heard that fiber products, aloe vera juice and spirulina work to help you lose weight. Has anyone tried any of these???
I'm not big on taking pills and have only started with the vitamins as part of getting healthy.

Good morning chickies, I am taking a small break from house cleaning. I thought I would check in and see how it is going with all of you. I bet Terri is having a ball in Branson, at least I hope so.

Went back to counting calories this morning, now I hope I can continue through the day. Getting that first day back op is the hardest. Not that any day is easy!

Bigmomma, the only thing I take besides perscription drugs is a multi vitamin. I don't like taking pills anyway and I will never take a diet pill of any kind. Scared of them! Congrats on the weight loss. Glad the boys have healed from their surgery and can get out and play.

Barb, I wish I knew what would put the zest back in my life. LOL! Right now I will settle for getting back on plan! and staying there.

If I don't move from this spot I know I will never finish what I have started.

Take care, Talk at you later. Ruth

Good Morning Friends!

I'm at work and terribly behind on things but I wanted to say hi!

bigmomma - GOOD FOR YOU! KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK! You can do it!!! I'm proud of you. Glad to hear the boys are recovering. As for additional supplements, etc., I take a multi-vitamin and extra calcium. If I'm feeling run down or sick I take some extra vitamin C. I do have 2T of ground flax seed a day (in a morning smoothie) and I drink a cup of green tea most mornings. Other than that it's just good old fashioned diet & exercise. I did talk once to my doctor about Alli and she said it was fine for me to take if I wanted, but after reading about it and getting my head on straight I decided I didn't need/want anything.

Ruth - Yes. The first day is the hardest, but as soon as you get that sense of accomplishment and pride back it gets so much easier! You can do it! Just focus on today and once you succeed then think about tomorrow! I'm sure I'll pop in periodically through the day if you need a little boost.

Hi to anyone else peeking in. I must work now....

Barb