Hey all - Life is crazy this week... --- Big congrats Juno... Good job PW with the mini goals, new gym, etc. -- My choice for climate - Monterey CA... Lived there 2 years and loved it... Never rained and 65 all the time. If you wanted snow it was a 3 hr drive, if you wanted HOT Salinas was 30 minutes away... Kind of the best of everything. I am an New Englander, who hates the winter----just skip the whole thing...

Ended up just doing the swim and bike on Sunday, and haven't had the chance to run this week... until tomorrow when its our last together workout. We're swimming and running. Can't do it until late 6:30 pm so I am not expecting my best workout ( I am a TOTAL morning person). At least I am going.

Had to go to a very sad funeral yesterday. Friend from HS lost his ex-wife, MIL, and oldest son in a car accident. His youngest son survived but with pretty severe injuries... SO sad... I've been feeling pretty blessed to have my life the way it is right now...

Steph - glad the new dog is working out... Funny how fast they adjust. How's the am exercise working for you... Hope your stress levels are lower and you are feeling better than your last post indicated...

I have pretty low motivation this week, but thank god for DD2. If there's one person to get me to the Y, she's the one. I have an out of town wedding this weekend so I know I have to workout hard the next two days. Next week its light workouts and the big race on Sunday. I can't tell you I anxious I am feeling....

On that note, Happy Wednesday@@!!

Eat thoughtfully, chase it with H2O and run, run, run!! ( or pack pack pack -- for Juno -- enjoy your walk)

Ciao!
Absmom

I am only hopping on to wish everyone a great weekend! Good luck on your trial race Absmom! Hope you find it easy with those mini-goals PW! Glad you sold the house and it is all moving so quickly Juno!!!

Picnic and parks today and after nap I am on vacation for 9 days .....yeah!! Not going anywhere so I can write some long posts next week and bore you all to death!

Steph

Steph the vaca sounds great. Make some goals and keep us posted!

PW the small goals sound good - but always be kind to yourself. That is a big part of our success I think!

Abs, hope the slump is passing. I agree it is great to have some built-in inspiration (DD2) for working out!

If last week was manic, this week is logy. The weather changed and I "came down" from all the excitement. I feel that I didn't use the time all that wisely in terms of fitness and house chores - but maybe I needed the naps more!

We leave for Portland on August 8 (Shorty where are you?) - I am going to write out a goal plan to be at my best for the trip. I will come back home in the middle and close the houses, then go back down only to come back in 3 days. Oh well I will have some miles. For fitness, the Relay for Life is Saturday. I will be walking. I am also thinking of it as sort of a kick-off event for reentering normality?

Lots of work--

Juno

Hey All!

Hope your weekends were restful. DH and I went to his cousin's wedding in PA, my mom kept the kids... Nice to get away and feel grown up again...

Unfortunately, the mail greeted us when we returned... BILLS are stressing me big time. DH took a pay cut with his new job last August and frankly, we haven't gotten used to living at his new salary... Car insurance, nursery school, I don't know how we're going to make this work... UGH....

I am dying to get to the gym this morning, get rid of some of this stress, zone out for a while. This is gentle work out week - slow runs, swims, bikes... Lots of stretches.... Race is SuNday.... I know some of my stress is related to that... Got on the scale this morning, up 2lbs... The same weight I've been playing with for the last month... ugh.........

OK - enough...

I'll post more tomorrow - hope you are all much more 5% than I am !!! Enjoying your time off Steph???? I'm sure you;'re counting the days til your trip Juno! and PW - hows the new gym working out????

Happy Monday@!
Absmom

Absmom--
I haven't even LOST 5% yet (am aiming for 50... so there's a ways to go.... I like this group because the intention is to be the 5 % that KEEPS it off, even if it is a challenge...

I certainly eat wacko when stress is high... You're doing awesome to maintain within 2 lb AND stay OP with your fitness plan.

You'll find a way to manage (or create a completely NEW way to manage) DH's pay cut. A dear friend here is facing the same challenge: kids in and on the way to college, much lower salary for husband who got caught on the downsizing carousel when the internet/telecom industry first started deflating, and less part-time work for her because one of her employers has leukemia.
With nursery school kids, your worries may be a normal part of solving life problems... something that is hard and frustrating when you first begin, but that becomes rewarding, satisfaying and maybe even routine, once you get the hang of it.

Hope and Help is out there when you expect it... (and are a diligent searcher. Best wishes.

Maybe you'll join the 5% of US residents that aren't in hock up to their eyeballs. Wouldn't THAT be responsible!!! (Who told you that it would be easy?

Hi,
I am just dropping in to explain my being MIA for a bit. Our vacation has been a pretty sad affair so far since we received bad news on Monday. We were at the zoo when my SIL called and told us that my DH's mom passed away that morning. I don't think anyone really expected her to die just that her recovery wasn't going right. We are all sad that she spent the last 5 weeks in the hospital trying to recover from a surgery that had a 95% success rate but it just wasn't in her cards. For never being in the hospital except for births - we were all kind of upset that she had to go this way. It has been a lot of drama around here and the worst thing is we got the e-mail before we went to the zoo telling us she was strong enough to move to the rehab center the next day. Very sad here because she was the only one remaining of his grandparents and parents.

PW - You are doing great. 5% is all about being successful and pushing forward and you've done that since you've joined the board.

Absmom - We went through the same thing 8 years ago when we moved to MN from IL. Big pay cuts and we got big bills moving here and our spending got out of control. Then we bought a house, new car.....we struggled for a while but now we are fine. We did just buy a brand new van and the thought of the car payment freaks me out because I haven't had one in a few years!! This month is awful $$$wise. Cat surgery, extra trip to pick up dog, vacation things, I had a week off without pay... I could go on. And now this trip to Chicago for the next few days won't be without some spendatures.

Juno - Hope you are having a better vacation week than me I am wishing you a speedy closing and they have revised the paperwork by the time you have to sign all that stuff. We were losing patience buying the van just because it took them so long to clean it after we signed the papers!!

I will check back in next week when we return. I am sending you all some very healthy vibes and that stupid reminder that life is too short so enjoy each minute. We are even going to the amusement park today, went ice skating yesterday, and tried to enjoy the zoo. I can hear his mom saying "ahhh, don't mind me - do whatever". I think her dog knows too because the day before she died he was horrible and I was thinking there was no way I could keep him if she stayed in rehab too long. Monday morning he just turned into the calmest dog ever. He is lying here at my feet right now as I type.

I almost forgot - GO ABS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL BE CHEERING FOR YOU AND YOUR SISTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU - YOU ARE SO GREAT!!!

Steph

Happy Wednesday All!

Trying to get myself out of this funk and focus on the race this Sunday. Dropped my bike off for a tune up last night and will pick it up today. Ran 3.5 monday, biked 11 and ran 1 yesterday and Tonight, Sister 2 and I are going to try and swim (if the Thunder storms have subsided), I'm not going to freak if it doesn't happen. I know I can do this race, and if I keep focused I know I can do it well (for me).

Dipped into the "super emergency bank account" and just paid everyone off - except the credit card cuz there wasn't enough $ to do it. Trying to get DH to "GET IT", and I sense he finally is to some extent... Looking forward to the gov't's child tax check so that the vacation in Sept will be paid for - Oh and then there's the roof - send some vibes that it can last one more winter (til next yrs tax refund). Yikes... I swear - enough with my money woes... Its just such a big stresser for me.

Steph - So sad to hear about your MIL. Its got to be tough for your DH so far away... Good that you are trying to keep things going for the kids and truly I am sure your MIL would not want you to miss out on family fun... You're right - Life is way too short. Hope your trip to Chicago is safe and look forward to having you back. I'll be thinking of you.

PW - Thanks for the encouragement, and really - I'll think more about perspective when I start stressing ue every time I get a bill. Glad you're feeling so 5% ! I am right there with you on your quest to lose 50lbs - That's about what I have left.

Juno - Good vibes your way for an uneventful closing (on both houses) Hope the packing is going well. In a way its kind of a cleansing - almost spiritual experience. Renewal is a good thing...

And my last bit of news, I have a consult today for a breast reduction. Been toying with the idea for a while and I am now committted. I'll let you know how it goes...

Four days til race day - Anxious and READY!

Cheers!
Absmom

Quickly checking in--

Steph I'm so sorry about your MIL. What a shock and how sad for her and for everyone. I hope your guy is doing okay. I'm thinking about you.

Abs I CAN'T WAIT to hear about the race. I'm so proud of you! Tell us ALL.

Also, I know your pain when the paychecks downsize - it is an adjustment but you will make it and think of all the advantages you are getting.

PW you will get there with small goals, a wee bit at a time. Seeing the possibility is just the best step, and a positive attitude.

A friend of mine started a diet book by Curves. She is doing it with a friend and they each lost 10 lbs the first week (they are both fairly overweight). It is exciting to see them feeling good about something they are trying, I want to read the book and see what it is they are doing.

I'm mostly walking for fitness. I'm really in limbo-land, between my kids' activities (I have to drive at the time my body pump class meets), the house and the upcoming trip, my job and and and. Not that I'm any more busy than any of you...it just isn't my usual busy, and I am so unsettled. I think I'm in a good holding pattern, not overeating and I'm starting to focus more on protein which I like to do a couple of weeks before I travel.

Time for work. We went with the girls to see Pirates of the Caribbean - jolly good fun, silly but who can resist Johnny Depp?

Later
Juno

Hi everyone,

Juno - Glad things are going well for you, and that you are so accepting of your current - not so routine schedule as of late. By September, I am sure you'll be back in the swing... Have a blast on your trip. Enjoy the time with your girls and DH.

Steph - Hope you're doing well after your trip.

PW - Keep up the good work with your new gym!

Well, we all know what I was up to this weekend... Heres the re-cap. The Tri was fun. Got up at 3:15 a.m. because I just couldn’t sleep, got to the parking area by 5:00. Made SEVERAL trips to the bathroom with nervous diarrhea (lovely). Lots of calls to my sisters to make sure they were coming.... They arrived at 5:30 and we unloaded and biked to the lake (about a mile). Found our spots, unpacked and made several more trips to the port-o-pots… Got numbers on our body, warmed up, dawned our swim caps and waited and waited and waited. Plenty of people watching went on. Lots of shapes, ages and sizes. I wasn’t the biggest person there – I should not have been worried about my outfit (although there were definitely others that probably should have...).

Sister 1 left in heat 7 – purple, I was in heat 8 - yellow, Sis 2 – neon green in 12. Sally Edwards (TRI guru ) gave us a little pep talk at waters edge and after high fives of “you go girl!” we were off! Swim was hard to get started. Lake was shallow and there were too many people to swim. I think next year I’ll try getting in front. Doing a sprint for the first minute and then settling into a rhythm. Otherwise, you’re just stuck in this mass of kicking and scratching … It’s a little claustrophobic. Once I got into a space for me, I felt good.

The transition was much too long- 719. I am sure it had to do with the 500 yd run to the bike from the beach and the fact that I was real inefficient at getting the sand off my feet (not to mention the little rain shower on my stuff). And then there was the .25 mile walk with bike to the start of the leg… The bike ride made me feel like we hadn’t trained at the right distance OR that we hadn’t trained hard enough. The first part had an unbelievable hill. Lady at the course review said it was a quarter mile. I think it was at least 4x that . The ride down didn’t offer me a lot since I was a bit apprehensive not knowing the terrain, etc. I’m still not as comfortable on the bike, as I would like to be. My time beat Sis #1 – woooo, and I transitioned a bit better to the run.

The problem with the run was that I had an extremely painful stitch in my side for the first mile or so… I tried drinking water, stretching, holding it, nothing seemed to work. It was the first time running that this has happened. Too much soy, Midol before racing, not enough water or drinking Propel instead of water… who knows. My time ended up being faster than expected – sub 11:30 miles and I walked at times. The sisters finished well - 1:46 and 1:49 respectively. My final time was 1:52. The sisters were so enthusiastic and into themselves… Not in a bad way, just different than how I felt at the finish. The Danskin Tri motto is the woman who starts the race is not the same one who finishes... I am so glad I made it, but it was anticlimactic in way. I was looking for something divine – some sort of catharsis and honestly it didn’t happen for me…

I should just enjoy the moment, and yet I am worried that I’ll fall off track with fitness and diet. I am already looking for my next “goal” event, whatever that thing might be to inspire me further. That said, I plan to do Danskin next year with the goal to do better.

Of course, its coming up on that time of the month - so my outlook could be totally diierent tommorow.

Happy monday!
absmom

Absmom--- I am so impressed... Not likely to to a tri myself, you understand, but impressed!!! Way to go.

(I like Walking The Labyrinth: it takes about 25 minutes, you finish feeling different, but there's no heavy breathing or hills or risks of getting toes caught in the toeclips!!) It's spiritual exercise, not cardio!

Scale not cooperating, but pants-o-meter and stamina are good.
Maybe a blob will disappear tomorrow!

Good morning to everyone. Life is a bit calmer and I have a bit of time to type. I also vowed to not post here until I could post in a more positive frame of mind instead of screaming I had a total lack of sleep the past week and was pretty much whining all day Monday and feeling very sorry for myself. Two nights of sleep have helped everything.

Absmom - I can't even say You Rock Girl loud enough to show how impressed I am that you completed that event and are looking for another goal. Good for you! They would be searching the lake for my body in the beginning. I've known so many people that have trained for big races and then used any excuse they could think of not to go at the last minute. Congrats!! I am impressed beyond words.

PW - I hate scales I think the pants-o-meter is the better way because that is something that we can feel vs. a number. Besides those darn numbers can just fluctuate so much what is the point!! Can you tell I am on a scale avoidance now??? Afraid of it after the past two weeks and the pants were a bit tight - oh well stress still can = food around here.

Juno - Hope you have a great relaxing trip even with the run back home. You will get exercise just signing your name on all those pieces of paper. All I had was walking over the past 2 weeks but I got my butt up this morning and jogged and did some light weights. Felt better just doing it.

So my life in a nutshell......we tried to do fun things on vacation but knowing that the wake & funeral loomed at the end of the week just took the fun out of it. We went to IL for 3 days and while it was wonderful being with our family - it was just filled with a lot of tears and a lot of stress. We decided to be the bigger people and allow an in-law whom no one speaks to be present at the events and he just made everyone nervous and tense. He is pure evil (I am not kidding). I don't know why he would want to be there except to gloat that she was dead. It was really rough because it was hard to mourn when you are actually worried about someone's actions.

My cat had surgery to remove a tumor but end result is that they got it all and he will be fine. He is my fat 14 yr. old tabby that everyone loves. My MIL's dog was doing horrible for a few days but now he has slept for the past two nights. I think he was totally stressed going back to see all the family but we had no choice. Especially because the evil family member wanted to kidnap the dog and kept touching him. Poor dog! And to finalize the month (knock on wood since there are two more days) - my DH broke his wrist. He chipped a piece off and just has a partial cast. I was laughing because he did it rollerblading and he should no matter to not do it without wrist guards because I broke mine years ago doing the same thing. Safety everyone!!!

So that is what is going on here. I know I have gained a bunch of pounds just because I ate yummy polish food for the whole weekend and brought some home with me. I couldn't help it and it did help my spirits. My MIL was such a nice woman and was widowed at an early age...raised 5 kids and was so self-sacrificing. They never went without and even when they were older she always helped if they needed it. She was so delighted in all the little things in the world - pretty dish towels, good books, and walking her dog. We just weren't ready to have her leave the earth

Thanks for listening.

Steph

Hey Steph,

Sounds like a rough week!! Don't sweat the stress lbs, I know that you'll have them gone in no time. So sad about the MIL and its always akward and uncomfortable to have an unwelcomed guest at such an intimate gathering... Sounds like you were all the bigger people. I am sure your MIL would be thankful for your civility....... Glad the cat is going to make it. I am pretty attached to my 3 lovies - although they are nowhere near 14yo... (8 maybe 9). but I worry when they don't come home --- That's VERY frequent in the summer months...

Everyone here is ready for September... Not to wish the summer away, but life just seems so crazy this year for some reason. We crave structure... My sister (#1) and I have committed to our next race - a 5k Sept 7, and we're looking at a 10k Columbus Day. I actually ran 3.5 miles yesterday and started a new training plan for a half marathon. I am not planning to do a half marathon (yet) but the workout look interesting and it gives me a structured 12 week plan... The last plan worked so hopefully this one will too. I really want to start concentrating on the eating scene this time and hopefully shed some more lbs. I got my race pictures back and BOY am I fat... Sometimes I feel SO good working out that I forget. Its tough to take...

I took a little vacation from FITDAY.com out of frustration, but I think I'm ready to head back and be accountable. Any weight gone is better than none... I know it didn't come on in one day... If I lose another 15 lbs by the end of the yr that will be 30.... All these things I have to keep telling myself

I know I am tired, because I am rambling lots. Hope all of you are 5% and planning wonderful weekends of fun!

Ciao!
Absmom

PS if you're curious and want to see ME - here's the link to the TRI photos! http://www.brightroom.com/me.asp?2621514

Hi. Great pictures Ab. The determination in your face shows what a determined woman you are. I could scan me into the photos lying at your feet looking at you in amazement. I am just a wimp when it comes to long endurance events. My girlfriend wants us to do one of those train for a marathon and go to Hawaii........I'd rather just pay myself and enjoy my vacation I loved seeing you racing!

Juno - Hope all is good on your trip and you are finding time to RELAX!

PW - How are the mini goals doing??

Okay I started writing a bit ago but then the new baby arrived about 20 minutes earlier than she ever gets here. Says she has been up since 4 because she didn't think she could get her here on time. I think in the 3+ years I've worked for her that she has been to work on time once. So now I have my hands full - my child is entertaining him right now but that will fade soon.

I could not get into an exercise groove last week to save my life. Hopefully this week things will come together. I was eating bad, just taking walks, trying to catch up mentally. I think I'm fine now so I will be pushing myself into the exercise arena and making it hard vs. easy this month. I have a wedding to go to with "young" buff people next month. I don't want them to look at me and guess my real age

Have a good day - wish me luck with the baby!!

Steph

HELLLOOOO JUNO in vacation/moving land.... Wishing you good travels and hassle free closings......

Hello PW - How goes exercise? I hope you're feeling motivated... OK I'll bite --- What is Walking The Labyrinth????? Sounds like some sore of torture... but only 25 minutes??? No pain or hard breathing... hmmmmm..... Fill me in

New baby Steph? Got to be tough... Hope he's doing OK in a new place - not missing his mom too much... For your sake....

I think you needed a week or so to get it all back together. It can't be easy for any in your family - give yourself a break! Nice to give yourself the "mini goal" of the upcoming wedding. Push yourself ---- RUN RUN RUN ----

So, I have been mulling something over... Our Y is having a half marathon training group. The race is October 19. I am SOOOO slow and can really run more than a 5 k right now... Could I - Should I try this group? I feel like I should though SELF DOUBT is creeping in... I have committted to nothing yet. Is this too ambitious?

YIKES.... Baby's away... My time is done!

HAPPY TUESDAY!


Absmom

has to be FAST---(are you sick of my abbreviated posts yet?)

Abs your photos are monumental! Thanks for posting them goddess. Half marathon would be more running than I would want to do personally, but I would not let slowness be your guide. If you want to do the work go for it!

Steph I am sending energy your way for your spirits. You are an energetic soul and will persevere and grow through it all.

PW keep us posted! I am reading them all even if I'm not too talkative.

Walking a LOT - and it is going great! I feel really good even though not able to do formal workouts at the club. It's summer after all.

Current house appraiser was here yesterday. Just a few more hoops to jump through and then we can move.

We leave for Oregon Friday and I will REALLY be MIA then.

Juno