Huzzah, Anagram!!! WTG on the 1.5 down!!!! I am absolutely sure it be not just water!!!! Good work on the walk also!!!
I'm posting the journal thread in a few minutes since everyone seemeth in agreement!!!!! I shall NOT call it a journal thread, though, and I am hoping all will come and participate now and then or everyday, since there be no obligation to journal, just check in with a focus on what thou hast been doing in food and exercise wise with the goal in mind that we all seemeth to have in the weight management/health/fitness department, whether we are Courtly Challengers, Regal Reducers or Merrie Maintainers!!!! I personally will continue to, er, post my daily menus and exercise, at least for awhile unless everybody quits doing it and I feel like the Loneth Rangerette! Again, the reason I'd like to separate from this main thread is just for focusing purposes and I promise to be brief (really, no blathering, short and sweet). Recipes would also be nice?
Here's to ya! So nice to be back! I was a bit overwhelmed, thinking about how to manage to get caught up, but now I'm here it seems easy-peasy (like the lovely Naked Chef says).
I feel a little sheepish thinking about being HEAVIER now than I was when I started here, eons ago. However, one can only go on from where one is. And I'm committed and determined and THIS IS IT!
Ooo, I've taken on a new role at work and am doing "Horoscopes for Geeks": http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDef...919205,00.html They're kind of fun to do, and I find myself reminded of very important things while I'm writing them.
Amarantha, I'm going to formulate my plan of action and post it to the new thread for diet/exercise. It will be all things I try to do anyway, but I really think that having a daily check in will help me to stay focused.
Kaylets, did anything ever happen that seemed to fit with that nagging feeling? Hope, if so, that it was just a surprise -- and a pleasant one, at that! I don't enjoy the WW meetings, really, either, but I do find the WI helpful to me, so I'll continue going. And usually there's something of value to me in a meeting. Last week the leader challenged us to think of one behavior that was holding us back and try to eradicate it. I picked eating other than at the table when I'm by myself (really a biggie for me!) and have so far done well. Nevertheless, I think that the meetings could be much better than they are. I found myself walking home fantasizing about starting a new type of weight loss group. I think I'll do that -- if only for myself!
Eydie, funny you should mention occasionally feeling surprised to learn that someone really likes you! I thought I was the only one that feels that way -- apparently not, huh. Furthermore -- like, nuthin'! -- we positively ADORE you!
Cerise, I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to count my points or not. I'm a bit resistant to that kind of bean-counting (uh, almost literally ) although I'm starting to think that it would make me feel a bit more secure that I was going to lose in a given week. We shall see!
Anagram, WTG on the 1.5 gone where the bad pounds go. Oh, yeah! Now I remember Amarantha being (i think briefly) Hag o' the Hut and Crone for a longer time. And Eydie being Goddess -- not over the top, though, aren't we all Goddesses?
Frogger, yay for you and tadpole getting away from that sad excuse for a job. I agree with whoever it was that said your DH's blackouts were probably not related to electrician work. Maybe that would be a good thing for him to do...
Ok, My darlings, I'll away and do stuff. Love to all, mentioned or unmentioned!
[b]Yo!!! Yea, Wood Nymph, I forgot Hag-o-the-Hut. She's still living in the house with me, though!!
Thanks for putting up the link to the horoscopes ... you've done a fabulous job with them and methinks everyone here will recognize the touch o' thy subtle brain when they read the page ... also it be weird, but mine is so on target you wouldn't believe it!!!!
Yea, I think we carry manifestations of the Goddess within us ... I'm especially fond of the aspect called Artemis, as thou canst see by my avatar, which is actually an ancient rendering of her, even though it looks like Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch.
Eydie, thanks for mentioned the new thread and thanks for posting there and ditto thanks for the posts from Anagram and Ceara ... and anyone else who's posted there that I forgot because my head still hurts from this sinus problem, but I digress ...
And yea, Wood Nymph, do come on over and post there if it pleaseth thee!!!!! The daily focus has been helping me ... re the one behavior holding me back ... it's not mentally breaking down my calorie count into meal chunks as per the Body For Life eating, which I'm getting closer and closer to ... so I revamped my calorie counting spreadsheet to reflect my desire to mentally divide my eating into seven meals a day (yes, seven) !!!!
Reading thy work hath reminded me I need to do some of the paying writing meownself, so ...
Been a very off schedule day...
Got up late and DH was already posting Ebay auctions so I took on Kitchen duties...and then got motivated to dig things out to post as well....Seems like folks are in buying mode so I will put better items up for auction and keep the remainder in the yardsale pile.
DH even had a "Buy It Now " sale within 3hrs of posting a duckpin ball auction which is very exciting... will be even more exciting when the payment comes thru... most times there are no problems but once in awhile, folks get cold feet when it comes to paying....
Anagram! GOOD FOR YOU! its always thrilling to see the scale go down...
I think now that spring is here all of us will be motivated to do more...even if its an extra stretch to wipe a window or floor... an extra trip up the stairs or out to the trash...
so...am going to take some photos... and come back in an hour or so... that's my deal to myself...
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Today's thought is :
"Life's truest happiness is found in friendhsips we make along the way."
-- Anonymous
Question of the day :
"What are we doing to recyle? Will recycling save the earth?"
-- Table Topics by the Pampered Chef
Kaylets, I am getting into the spring cleaning mode as well ... really thrilled with my purchase of a cordless electric weedeater! Where I live we weedeat instead of mow (well, some people mow if they are rich and have real grass, but I digress)! Anyhow, I can't stand doing it and always hire someone but since the weeds (bermuda grass and other junk) are already knee high and I can't find anyone to do it, I went out and looked for a new weedeater, having no hope that the enterprise would go any better than it had in years past ... the gas ones are too heavy and hard to use, the electric ones don't work very well and you have to deal with cords. Anyhow, I found this rechargeable thingie and will start using it in a day or two ... still kind of ill today.
Anyhow, it doesn't take much to make me happy.
I don't think recycling will save the earth ... but then I'm confident the earth will go on for a long, long time despite the prevailing belief to the contrary.
Take Bermuda grass (please, take it) ... you can't kill it. If some idiot planted Bermuda grass in your yard in the middle of a desert before you even got here, you'll have that Bermuda grass to deal with for the rest of your life. Fire doesn't kill it. Pulling it out by the roots doesn't kill it. Full midday sun in July at temperatures of 122 degrees doesn't kill it. Planting a groundcover that your SIL says will crowd out the Bermuda grass doesn't kill it. It will live longer than any person now alive. It will survive flood, pestilence, war, natural disaster. If you build a city on top of it, it will eventually poke its way through the concrete and stainless steel and reach the sky.
So if something as nonsentient (I think it's nonsentient) as Bermuda grass can do all that, I think the human race can find a way to keep the earth going for a few more millennia, at least.
Great party yesterday for DSis! She was totally surprised, teared a bit. DBIL teared a lot. I won't post yesterday's menu! Actually while I did have a sweet or two too many, I still don't think it was OVERBOARD. I think that's a big difference between NOW and THEN. My eating habits have become more healthy overall, even if not always perfect. So I indulged a bit - I did not gorge. And it's back on track this morning instead of waiting for a Monday Fresh Start.
Have a heavy heart though. DS friend (from 5 y) is 38, has been a juvenile diabetic since about 10 and is scheduled for a heart valve replacement on Tuesday. The diabetes affected his kidneys and he needs a transplant. The kidneys affected the heart and caused the need for the new valve. In addition his optic nerve is affected and his sight is bad. The heart surgery was previously scheduled and was cancelled after he was already "out" because of some chemistry imbalances. If Tuesday's surgery goes well, he will be able to have the transplant. DS says he has a living donor (I think his sister) and that he has amazingly kept a good attitude through all of this. But it's another reminder of how many things can go wrong healthwise even in someone so young. He was one of the crew that spent a lot of time in my house for a large number of years and whom I consider extended family. And I'm feeling sort of helpless about being able to help him in any meaningful way. I'll find some small ways though. For him and for DS and for me.
And of the other end of the spectrum, have the funeral on Monday of a 92 year old friend of many years. As DS said, never thought he'd live that long. Had more than his share of auto accidents, fell off roofs three times (he was in construction), imbibed his share (and mine and maybe a few other people's) and, of course, survived WWII and more than the usual quota of family problems.
Both situations remind me of our favorite quote about being kind because everyone's dealing with a problem.
Other than that, I'm fine, feeling springlike even if the weather isn't yet and going to conquer the world and food all in the same week. With me?
Forced myself up regular time so tomorrow won't be so hard and thought I as so clever getting a load of wash finished early....
Then went into the bedroom to put something away and realized one of the dogs was sick in my bed... even to the bedskirt!!!
So....
How does that saying go?? One step forward, two behind?...
At least its supposed to be in the 50's...
a good day to hang quilts outside ... if I didnt think the quilt needed washing earlier, there's no question now!
****
Today's thought is:
"Money will buy a pretty good dog
but it won't buy you the wag of the tail."
-- Josh Billings
Question of the day :
"What's your best guess... how many 'diets' have you been on ?"
****
I volunteered for kitchen duty again and I made scrambers again..
This time I added fresh spinach... Dh says he noticed the flavor, I couldn't tell... but I know the vitamins were in there!
Eydie... these are tofu scramblers... so simpler... saute your favorite omelet vegs, "crumble or shred" the tofu with a fork and stir in. We add pepper, tumeric ( for color and flavor but use a light hand if you're not familiar w/ tumeric) and go from there....
Today I added really skinny asparagus the last few minutes.. becuase it was so skinny, that's all the asparargus needed ....
Making that scrambler took the last box of tofu we had so we're off to the Oriental grocery to go pick up a case of Mori-Nu....
Also have to run the other direction to grab some bubble wrap too...
Yo!!! Amarantha ing to Anagramatic and Kaylets as she speedeth to royal kitchen to eat ... gotta weedeat lawn if I can get this thing together ... posted my already done exercise AND weight loss triumph (to me, at least) on the food/exercise thread.
Anagram, sorry to hear of thy friend's DS ... diabetes is very tricky and here's hoping he'll improve after the surgery ... loved thy story of the 92-year-old, though, of course, anyone's "death dimishes me" and is sad, still, that was a long and seemingly glorious run he had and the celebration of his long life may offset the leaving of it, reminding us that all that happens is as it should be (IMO)!
Kaylets, oops, sorry to hear about the bed incident with dog! I know how that goes!!!! I love the thought o' the day ... my old girl's arthritis seemingly is flaring up ... I need to give her a massage in a sec ... later ...
I'm very happy to report that the party didn't knock me off-track. 'Twas helpful that the dinner (meat curry, veg curry & basmati rice -- all made lower-fat than is traditional) was not overly heavy and I eschewed dessert. I really hope to have a good loss tomorrow, and I'm seriously thinking of counting points again if I don't. It's juuuuuuust possible that I could be fooling myself Certainly I have been known to do that
Amarantha, I'm so glad you liked my horoscopes! And that you found yours to be accurate, of course. I was amazed last month at my own -- it was talking about having been putting a lot of energy into someone close to me and how I needed to save some of that energy for looking after myself. Really, I often find them quite convincing. Which is, I guess, a good thing in an astrologist (albeit somewhat of an accidental one ).
Kaylets, sorry about your bedding! But won't it smell nice tonight I love the smell of bedding that's been hung on the line! I did a spinach/mushroom omelet for breakfast today. We always go for a biggish breakfast on Sundays. That one at least had the benefit of having lots of veggies - we had avocado & salsa on the side. Along with a glass of juice, it amounted to 4 veggie servings. Hmmm... five to go OH. # Diets? Maybe 300?
Anagram, so sorry that your noble heart is heavy! I know, when you see things like your DS' friend it really seems unfair. Why we keep expecting life to be fair when it has abundantly demonstrated itself not to be (oh, sorry for that convolution!) I do not know, but I certainly am surprised each time, myself, to see more evidence to the contrary. It's one of the things I'm always grappling with. I know you will find some way to help, and sometimes the smallest gesture has a wonderful and lasting effect. I love that saying about being kind -- it makes me realize how we are all striving together in our own individual battles and, for me, it illustrates, somehow, how connected we all are. Love to you!
Just letting you know I haven't slid off the planet, although it sounds like a pleasant alternative. Mucho problemos with DD, too much has happened to even begin to explain. I may be scarce for a few more days.
Reaching out with hugs, Wildfire to keep you from sliding too far away but a little slide into oblivion from time to time is a big help in dealing with unpleasant situations. And just when things were looking up for you too! No explanations necessary among friends, just hang on and we'll hang on to you.
Oooh, Kaylets. What a bad way to start your day that also had looked so good! Yuckie.
Congrats on the loss, Empress, and on breaking into a new dimension too.
Glad your party didn't derail you, Wood Nymph, as mine did, though just a bit. And Ceara, I love your Zone idea. Mine for today was getting into the Begorra mood and baking a loaf of soda bread. Just one (so far). No raisins or currents or caraway seeds. But it put me in a nice mellow mood and will be a part of my supper (w/tea, o/c).
Still gray and chill here but I KNOW spring is coming. I feel it in my heart. Let's do a little spring dance.
Yo!!! Off to have another smoothie, the recipe will be in my menu report on the food thread later ... fighting this sinus thing is getting really tiring ... can't get rid of the infection no matter what I do or take or whatever ... now it's in jaw and other unpleasant symptoms that are going to interfere with my ability to work this week, but I SHALL PREVAIL ANYWAY!!!! Yowza!
Ceara, thankee kindly for the pm ... I sent thee one in return!!!!
Wildfire, yea, no explaining necessary but take care ... you'll make everything come out right ... I've noticed that you always do handle things so well and have a knack for making things work out for the best!!! Come back when thou canst!!!
Anagram: Thanks for the congrats!!!! Also the spring dance as tomorrow is St. Patty's Day and this is the first year we haven't had a challenge for it!!!! Here's to Mr. anyhow!
Arabella: I'm going to check thy horoscope page regularly ... what a neat thing to be ... an astrologist!!! Suits thee, methinks! Thy omelet soundeth good!!! Bought eggbeaters and cottage cheese and mushrooms to make one for meself but just not up to much cooking!
It's also getting hot here, s, but I refuse to turn on the AC just yet!
I'm seeing that this is a universal experience for us all. I feel sad, I feel angry, I feel used, I feel stupid, but I gave it my all and after 24 years I couldn't give anymore.
Here's my thing: Because of this experience, I'm pretty terrified of deepening any existing friendships, and I really want friends. It's quite a predicament. Crap. I know it's time to get out of my comfort zone and do something out of the ordinary. Again...goody.
I could go on and on, and probably will later! Hey, here's a thought: maybe we could do our letting go ceremony together? Who doesn't enjoy a good cackle over a smoking cauldron? Who's with me?
Well I made it to this page before I had to talk. I think that any friendship is a risk...however if we don't risk it then what do we gain? For every broken friendship, I have more that I wouldn't give up for the world. And eventhough they're broken, those friendships have taught us something and thereby have value. I mourn many of the friendships I've lost...however none that I've lost could have been resurrected so to speak...they'd had their day. Man my head hurts. Empress and Eydie think transference. In my recent experiences, people transfer to you what they actually are feeling or thinking. That doesn't mean that you are what they think...actually they are what they think you are....now my head really hurts.
So in summary before my head bursts with all this introspection and philosophy, Eydie and Empress and was it Anagram? Mourn the loss but don't regret the friendship.
UMM...I've made it to the end! There were some other things I wanted to respond to, but the explosion of my head has made them disappear.
Anagram, Congrats on the 1.5 lbs down, Empress A for hitting the 40's and Zadie for banishing a 1/2 into the netherworld! I hope I didnna lose anyone there.
What no tan? Anagram?
Cerise....I love you. Saw 2 crocuses (croci looks too weird) today...a lovely gold one and deep royal purple. You can come talk to my plants anytime. I have a few things tryin' to pop their heads through the ground...helps when there isn't a brick on top of them!!! DH did that, bless his pointed head. Those poor little squashed crocus were tryin' to move that brick! I did it for 'em.
My declared zone of selfishness was a manicure...think I'll revise it to a bath....that is the splendor of making your own rules...right?!?
Frogger have you felt the tadpole move yet? That is so cool when you do.
Wildire congrats on the job. Remember children are the bane of our lives sometimes and our only revenge will be when they have their own!!!! Keepin' you in my thoughts.
wsw are you settled in yet? Arabella, I remember Babette. That was when I first plopped my keister in....I think it was the quirkiness of your (collective) humours....it appealed. One "l" or 2? Aaaaaaakkkk. I was so excited when I found you guys.....and I still am. Guess that counts for something right?
Gotta go....the tub is calling me...and the son likely wants to call his GF...1 month anniversary. True young love.
I am absolutely sure it be not just water!!!! Good work on the walk also!!!
Again, the reason I'd like to separate from this main thread is just for focusing purposes and I promise to be brief (really, no blathering, short and sweet). Recipes would also be nice?
Saturday!
So nice to be back! I was a bit overwhelmed, thinking about how to manage to get caught up, but now I'm here it seems easy-peasy (like the lovely Naked Chef says). 
) although I'm starting to think that it would make me feel a bit more secure that I was going to lose in a given week. We shall see!
Oh, yeah! Now I remember Amarantha being (i think briefly) Hag o' the Hut and Crone for a longer time. And Eydie being Goddess -- not over the top, though, aren't we all Goddesses? 
ing to Anagramatic and Kaylets as she speedeth to royal kitchen to eat ... gotta weedeat lawn if I can get this thing together ... posted my already done exercise AND weight loss triumph (to me, at least) on the food/exercise thread.
I really hope to have a good loss tomorrow, and I'm seriously thinking of counting points again if I don't. It's juuuuuuust possible that I could be fooling myself 
Certainly I have been known to do that 
s, but I refuse to turn on the AC just yet!
