It's been a great day...WW meeting went very well, although I can relate to you, Nancy...most of the women were quite a bit smaller than me. At this point, though, I really don't care. I just need the support, and they all seemed very friendly and had lots of great advice to share. Today was the first time I found out how much I actually weighed, and that was a little scary. I just didn't want to believe it had gotten that high, but it didn't freak me out as much as I thought it would. I think it will be an even bigger victory once I reach my goal!!!

So far I have had 64 oz. of water today (up from yesterday). I'm a soda addict and just quit on Sunday. Since then I've only had 1/2 a can of diet coke; I think that's pretty good! I just sat down with my new-found recipes and made a shopping list, so I'll get that done tonight; I like to shop late in the evening when it's not nearly as crowded. So far, motivation level is high! I do have a question for those you out there who are currently/formerly WW members: My daily Points target is 38, but I'm tempted to keep it down as low as I can (and still eat enough) in order to lose weight FASTER, but it seems like that might not be such a good idea. If I only consume 30-32 pts/day, do you think I'd be making an unhealthy choice???

Have a great night everyone!

Monica - I don't know much about weight watchers but I've seen lots of posts from WW people who aren't losing weight. Not eating their daily points and/or their flex points seems to be a common issue. I'm not saying that this is why they aren't losing... but eat your points. I think they cut points off as you lose weight, so worry about that later. Better to start slowly than quickly, as later you might find yourself not losing at all.

Thanks; that makes a lot of sense...I guess I'm just feeling a little impatient (I know, it's WAY too early to feel that way!!!) because I waited so long to start to get my body on track, and I want it to happen now. But I'd much rather be healthy, and lose weight in a safe and steady way.

:goodscale

Greetings to the new peeps, Monica and Rosebud!

Bernice – Glad to hear you’ve found your ankles. I’ve never experienced kankels, but my feet have swollen up a few times so that my toes looked like little piggies. Great news about your big loss!

Penny – I had a bad day water wise too. I had so many distractions/emergencies at work that I barely got to take the necessary potty breaks. I had been taking four 16 oz bottles of water to work everyday but it was such a hassle. Today I thought I'd just refill one bottle, but I never found the time. On the way home from work I bought a 32 oz bottle so tomorrow I’ll drink at least that much.

Debi – Wow, you’re busy with a lot of corn! Your friends will be in my prayers.

Sharon – I hope you’re feeling ok. It’s the pits to be sick during the summer. Everyone is running around having fun and you’re stuck in bed. Hope you got your laundry in before the bonfire. I live about a mile north of a funeral home that is also a crematorium. I try to never “hang out” if the wind is from the south (it seldom is).

Jess – Hi! I love Roseanne too!

Nancy – Keep going!

Carol – Glad you’re feeling better today.

Debbie - Everyone has been so busy with housecleaning! It makes me feel like I need to get busy. You mentioned your little people. I have one of those too. She has free range of the house. She even has her own recliner.

Annie – “Body clutter” is a great book! I read it last summer. I even bought my own copy. I found it to be so insightful and just what I needed to get me started. I think I need to pull it out and give it another read. At the end of each section there are questions to ask yourself or journaling exercises. Very helpful!

Anne – An occasional day of hooky is necessary. My employers expect it. In addition to standard sick leave and vacation, we can take mental health days. You are doing so well with your program. You are a marvel!

Catherine – Anne mentioned about journaling your food intake being in the news, I’ve seen a lot about it too. There was a big study that proved tracking your food everyday can make a big difference. I’ve been journaling daily for about a month and it’s a real eye-opener! I use a website that gives your tallies for everything: calories, fat, fiber, cholesterol, sodium, protein, sugar…. It’s great!

M'Chelle – Let them eat cake!

Ratkity – I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for you! I hope you get the job. From my experience, I would always take the recommendation of an employee over someone walking in off the street. For me it’s important to have that known factor. Good luck!

Monica – I’m glad the WW meeting went well. Knowing your starting weight can be kinda scary, but it’s important to know the bottom line. I like to shop later at night too. No lines, no hassled shoppers and the shelves are usually getting restocked for the next day. I usually work until 9 pm at least one night a week so I try to take my list and coupons with to work that day. Our store has double coupons every Wednesday. They allow doubling of any coupon up to $1.00 you can use 5 total coupons a day with a $25.00 purchase. Last night I saved $23.00 between the coupons and the store discount card for weekly specials. It’s a big savings.

Work has been so crazy this week. Our last staff opening was filled and the new person started on Monday and has been training this week. With all of the staffing changes there have been a bunch of extra shifts to cover due to the vacancy and vacations. In addition to the extra shifts there have been crazy computer problems. I was supposed to have a rare day off yesterday, but there were too many issues dangling. I ended up working nearly the whole day. Today I volunteered to work 9-1 and 5-9, a split shift, then a meeting cropped up at 2 pm, so the boss said she’d work for me tonight, which resulted in a 13 hour day for her (8 am – 9 pm). See it’s just crazy! Hopefully next week will be a big calmer.

The new director is working out well. She emailed the staff and invited them to lunch “on her” next Wednesday! That never happened with the old boss. She said she wanted to thank everyone for making her first month easier. The following day, Thursday, everyone is invited to picnic lunch/cookout provided by the CEO. She said to plan on a cook out the last day of every month for the rest of the summer.

Oh my, it’s after midnight! Time for this chick to hit the hay!

Miz M

Monica: If your target is 38 then you need to eat your 38. When I went back to WW this time, I started Flex. I had previously lost 90 lbs on Core...mainly becuase I didn't want to deal with all the tracking. I started with 33 points a day and at first it was hard to get it in. Then I remembered how much I love fruit and it got easier for me. I had a very hard time going cold turkey on diet soda...so I used it as a reward for drinking all of my water for the day. I actually now do that for any non-water beverage (except for unsweetened iced tea). Once I have had at least 64 oz. of water I can have something else to drink. Good luck and keep plugging away!!

Catherine...it was an interesting review. I agreed with what she said about wanting to more about the "auxiliary" characters (ancillary perhaps?) but it read more like an 8th grade book report than a book review for a newspaper, regardless of the size of the paper itself. Was the writer very young? I'm glad she liked the book...I'm sure we all are. Otherwise we might have had to have a little "talk" to someone up there :)

Hubby is HOME....hooray! I am glad he went but I missed him terribly..and he called me this afternoon to tell me he missed not having me there at CC with him...but after last year I just couldn't go again. As far as our friends....it's pretty much 90% the wife and 10% the husband...but I have decided that I am done waiting for them. From now on they get a 10 minute window (to allow for LA traffic) and then we move on with whatever...be it dinner, movies, whatever. I'm just not inclined to be taken advantage like this again....even if they were doing us a favor. They led DH and I to believe that they were leaving early, which was why I had him drive down with them, so he could have a full day. Oh well...live and learn.

Good night all :)

Monica - i used to be a soda addict too. once you go about a month with no regular soda your body wont want it anymore. its too sweet for me now and it makes me sick to drink. i have found that a good alternative if i want something sweet and dont want to pay for it is diet cherry 7up. so good!

also, eat all your points. they figure out that stuff for a reason, and youre paying for the information. also, it used to only be 31, they gave you more points because they found that you will lose quicker. just make good food choices.

Good Morning.
Well Yesterday was a very long day and today is a new one. I have got 2 20oz. waters in already and starting the third! YEAH, for me! I just got done with a small bicycle ride 6.8 miles and the body is feeling good. Not sure how my mind is yet! lol I am still feeling a little blah. But today, I have to bake a cake for a baby shower tomorrow so I will have to go to town shortly. After I eat breakfast as I haven't even done that yet. Hubby was not happy and told me that I should eat before going out on ride. I just didn't feel like forcing myself to eat when I wasn't in the mood too. I know I will eat. Still trying to figure out me on the inside and what is wrong. I heard I have to fix the inside so I can figure out WHY I am the way I am. Older daughters room is clean!!! Yep, for real. I didn't check under the bed, but hey it is a wonderful improvement over the last month. Younger daughter, not there yet. I guess I will have to get the cattle prod out! he, he

Monica-I agree with Anne, start slow, it WILL come off. WW is a good start, I hope you do well on it. My sister is doing WW points too and it works for her, she really enjoys it. Also, YEAH on the cutting out coke! My hubby was a huge soda drinker. The first month he cut out the soda, he lost a lot of weight. He now will have one about every month or so, and complains that it is sweet. He likes to use the drink packets in water and does very well with them. Have you tried them? I am so proud of his accomplishments and weight loss and I am proud of you too. Giving up something that you really enjoy is hard, but you don't have to give it up! Just go in moderation! He was crazy with it and always had one in his hand. Have a good day and I will be thinking of you!

Mizm-I did finally at 1:00 a.m. get my water in for yesterday. But I am told that ya gotta drink it! So, drink your water. Keep posting so we know how you are doing. Your name is on one of my water bottles so I will think of you when drinking it!

Julee-Sometimes ya just have to set limits, I think it sounds like the 10 minute window for the friends is a good idea. Glad hubby made it home.

Luan-I agree with you on the points, ya gotta get them in. Yeah to you for cutting out so much soda too!

Well, I better keep moving, I gotta get breakfast in me. check in later, Penny

Julie-Yes, the reporter was young. With the labor shortage here, everyone is too young for their jobs. She was also very bubbly, obnoxiously so. I took two years of journalism in school, and I was taught to never to act that interested in your subject.

Penny - 1 am and you're still drinking water?!?!?!? I'd be up 3 times before 6 am needing potty runs! I need to slow down the water intake by about 7 pm or I'm floating all night long (lol). Thanks for putting my name on a water bottle. That's such a sweet thing to do. I'll name one of mine after you.

Today is a repeat of yesterday with lots of computer problems at work. We have two different entities trying to get their software and hardware to play together nicely. At this point, one is refusing to come back and the 2nd is calling the 1st and trying to do everything over the phone. Yikes! :yikes:

I'm almost ready to leave for lunch with a friend. We're meeting at a local mexican restaurant but I'm planning to be good. TOM came this morning but everything is good so far. It's been too busy to notice even if it weren't. I'll be back later to report in and see how everyone is doing.

Miz M

HI...life has been nuts here!! My phone is ringing off the wall. THe baby is still hanging on..they are running test today to see just what shape he is actually in. Every hour he makes it really improves his chances.
The other girl is now in labor with her twins( 32weeks) everything is going great with her and they should be fine. THey should be here by mid afternoon if not before.
I talked with my daughter in law a little bit ago and she is still doing great. She is really getting excited about her shower on sunday. I have to make the cupcakes tommorow. I have little baby blocks to go on them that spell out baby girl. I decided against doing a cake since we are going to be having the shower at a mexican restraunt. Cupcakes will be easier and also a set serving size.
My scales appear to be stuck again...but thats ok for now,,,I havent had time to exercise much this week.
Hope everyone has an awesome day.
hugs
debi

Penny- I really love the flavored mix-ins...right now I'm drinking cranberry-apple (wal-mart brand...very yummy!). They really help me get all my water in.

Shopping last night went well; I used my "Kick start your success" book from WW as a guide for the essentials. Very good ideas! Breakfast this morning was a Vanilla yogurt & granola parfait w/ fresh blueberries- what a great start to the day!

I need to get ready for work; I'll probably be back later...have a wonderful day & *SMILE* :D

Anne – That is really exciting that you are about to cross into virgin fat territory. Setbacks suck, but as long as we keep moving forward that is what counts.

M'Chelle – I hope you are able to get some down time this weekend and reconnect with sanity. It’s a nice thing to have around. :)

Annie – Sorry to hear that you aren’t having the luck you would want on the job front. I seriously need to move on from my current job but am scared about the market right now.

Debi – I am keeping those prayers going for your friend’s baby. Eating can be very calming to the nerves, which makes so many of us want to eat. I always wished I was one of those people who couldn’t eat when they were upset or nervous, but no such luck.

Rat – Congrats on the good news on the job. That is really exciting!!!

Catherine – Splitting up with someone after 5 years was hard enough. I can’t imagine it after 45.

Penny – Thanks for the smashing offer! I think I am ready to get back to my routine come Monday, but if not I will definitely let you know! :) It is good to have a vegging out day every once and awhile – don’t be too hard on yourself!

Carol – I am far too good at wasting time. I hope you were able to enjoy your relaxing day and not beat yourself up about it. It can be crazy how we cannot allow ourselves to enjoy our time off sometimes.

Monica – I agree with Anne that you should try and eat your points. One of the tricks of staying on plan long term is to keep yourself as satisfied as possible with what you are eating, and if you are cutting out too much it could really backfire.

Miz M – It is amazing how differently the feel of a company can be with a different person at the helm. My company just experienced this, but unfortunately not in a good way! I hope your hours do calm down a bit next week, but if you get overtime I am sure that is nice as well.

Julee – I am also at 33 points to start with. I was actually right on the money yesterday. It works out a bit differently than calorie counting so I will need to get used to which items are better choices on the plan. Do you eat bars at all (eg Luna bars). If so, do you know one that is a good points option? I like to have bars as a backup when I don’t know what my options are but was surprised to find Luna bars to be 4 points.

Luan – Another soda I like in that vein is the cherry Fresca. Is it really tasty.

Well, so far so good on day two of WW. Their online tracker is pretty good. I came in at exactly my points total yesterday and was surprised to see how many points certain things were compared to others. The fact that certain foods come out to 0 points (such as one slice of low calorie bread) could allow someone to try and cheat the system, but then of course you are only trying to cheat yourself and that is not possible.

I am spending the weekend at my BF’s place. He has his stepson for the weekend and we will be totally geeking out. We are doing a double feature of Batman and Hellboy movies and also going to a local ren faire. One of the reasons I chose WW was that he is doing it too so it will make it a lot easier to stay on track working together.

Hi all,

Debi: I will continue to pray for the babies, all of them. Hugs.

Catherine: Glad your new potty is in.

Rat: I hope you get the job you are wanting.

Peny: Today will be a better day. hugs.

Carol: sometimes we just need a lazy day. I hope you get to swim today.

Monica: Hang in there at the WW meetings. I was always the biggest person in the room but everyone treated me very nicely. It is such a great supportive place.

Mizm: I will have to check out "Body Clutter" now for sure.

Julee: Glad hubby is home.

Nancy: Have a great weekend. Enjoy the movies.

House is sparkling clean, Yards are nicely trim and watered. Time for a looooong Bike ride. I am geared up and ready to go where the bike takes me.

Blessings all,
Annie

Nancy: Have you tried out any of the WW bars? Some are quite tasty and only 2 points. I love the Luna bars but yeah they are high in points. I like the Pria 100 bars though..especially the Mint Chocolate flavor. We tend to keep our WW bars in the fridge so they get cold and a little chewier...takes longer to eat them and for some of the chocolate ones they get richer.

Today was a much more productive day and it feels so good. I even found time to swim - funny how I couldn't find the time yesterday.

Hugs,
Carol

Nancy - maybe its the cherry... lol

Brought a granola bar and some peach yogurt for lunch today and wound up being hungry an hour afterwards...I'll have to plan to bring a snack like pretzels or a banana so I won't be tempted by the vending machine with its 2 different varieties of Cheez-Its and oh-so-many yummy-looking snack cakes!

Nancy- I played around with the food tracker for what I think turned out to be hours the other day! I was a little ashamed when I saw how many points were in the food I used to grab on the go every day. I think a big thing for me doing the WW plan is becoming AWARE of what I put in my mouth.

Annie- Thanks for the encouragement! For the first time in my life I'm really not feeling very self-conscious in front of others...the women at this meeting are so kind and supportive, which really helps!

MizM- Where do you shop? I'd like to find out if my regular grocery store has those dicount cards, as well

Julee- Great idea about having non-water drinks as your reward for drinking your 64 oz! That's a good way to not let yourself feel restricted.

Luan- Can't wait to try the Diet Cherry 7Up; it sounds good...I think you're right- adding cherry flavor to anything just makes it seem like more of a treat.

Penny- thanks so much for the positive thoughts; I really can use all the help I can get! Congrats to your hubby too!

Ooh, my fiance made a shrimp stir-fry tonight (w/ Napa cabbage, snow peas, broccoli, red bell peppers and mushrooms) that was SO delicious! I do love living with a chef...

Good Morning Peeps - here it is 4 am and I am up, drinking coffee and doing laundry. I am in one of my not sleeping periods so I might as well be productive.

Debbie - if you're lurking I hope you are having great time with you brother.

Nancy - how is WW going? I'm glad Annie's vibes reached out to you. You are one of the people who inspired me when I first started and have always admired your strength. Are you still dancing? Your comment about the gym hit home a bit - I'm not going back until after Labor Day - it was becoming something I truly hated doing. Summer activities keep me moving more. Once I made the decision to take some time off - it will end up being about 7 weeks - it felt better. Give yourself time to get used to being OP - remember my friend - baby steps. The gym will come when you're ready.

Annie - my house and yard are done too - you and DH wanna come hang out with us by/in the pool?

Battle - if you are lurking - HUGS!

Penny - water anyone?

Debi - how's the garden? My tomatoes are going gangbusters right now along with peppers and zucchini. The flowers though win the prize - it's looking like a tropical paradise. Good luck on the baby shower.

Grilled sweet potatoes are on the menu tonight - one of my favorites. let's see I got up at 3 am - hope I'm still awake for dinner.

Move your bodies, drink your water and SMILE.

Hugs,
Carol

Good Morning.
well the little guy is now 48 hours old. that would be a big threshold they said. He is really a little fighter. His mom goes home today and that will be hard on the family.
the other girl had her twins yesterday and both babies came in over 4lbs and are doing GREAT!!
I only lost.6 this week but its my fault...i didnt exercise at all. I dont even know where the week went.
Guess i better finish my coffee and get moving again.
sorry for no personals the last few days.
hugs to everyone and thanks for all the prayers
debi

Hello my sweet Chickies,

My FIOS is down.. that means no phone, no tv and no internet. I stole my sister's cell card for the weekend so I can have internet, but she has to have it back by Monday for her work. Ugh! The repair guy is coming between 1-5p today. I hate waiting for them. I feel totally unproductive waiting.

I need to do the lawn and have no motivation to do any of it!

I have a stack of books to read and finished one already last evening (thanks Catherine!!).

Hugs and Luv to all,
Ratkity

Yesterday was a nice day.........DH had the day off....we had to do some shopping so we drove over to the base grocery store....

DH is making his "famous" meatballs (they are the size of softballs) and spaghetti as well as his baked Ziti.....all of which he needs to make to feed 50+ people! On sunday the church is having a donation dinner for a couple of homeschooled kids who are going to a national competition for sign language.........they have been working towards raising the money for the cost of hotel & travel etc.... So Dh volunteered to cook for the dinner!

We had a few hours of alone time which was really nice.......and then picked up DD from her job........went to Ruby Tuesdays (kinda late in the evening) I tried their veggie burger it was fabulous! There salad bar was awesome too! DH bit into a cherry/grape tomato and almost lost his dinner.........he said it tasted like cleaner......the tomato itself looked good .........his mouth started to swell by the time we got home so I gave him some benadryl and he went on to bed.....this morning he was feeling fine.

Monica-I usually take 3 or 4 things that aren't high in calories but filling to snack on........like carrot sticks....apple.....I also usually always have unsalted sunflower seeds (shelled) I get these from the health food store......they work for my snacking mode at work.......sometimes I will add raisins & marshmellows LOL (just a few of those) no fat content but curves that sweet snacky tooth that sometimes will haunt me all day when I see the vending machine LOL

Carol-how do you grill your sweet potatos?

Grilled sweet potatoes?! I wanna know too :)

DMPLS, I would encourage you to call Ruby's and tell the manager about your grape tomato incident if you haven't already. If he gives you a hard time about not believing you, I'd also encourage you to call the health dept to make a surprise inspection. Normally, the managers are afraid of lawsuits, but I'm more concerned with the human safety part of it (I work for USDA).

I am praying this is an isolated incident!

Luv,
Ratkitten

Rat-We told our server and she went to take them off the bar.....I told DH we should of taken the tomato home with us just in case....he spit it out but it almost made him throw up.....I ate at least 7 or 8 of them and didn't have any problems.

I think I will call them though as well as the health dept.
thanks for the tip.

Good Morning!

Carol- I have to know about grilled sweet potatoes too! WOW, you woke up early, I hope you have everything done so you can relax the rest of the day. It sounds like you have quite a few tomatoes! Enjoy them!

DMPLS- I would call too!

Ratkitten- Did you get the lawn done?

Monica-You doing o.k. today?

Well, I gotta refill the water bottle, I'll check in later, Penny

Just called the restaurant and spoke the manager.....explained what happened and what the server said she would do.....I also informed her about my husbands reactions from it. She took his name and said she would turn it in to corporate and that if he felt he had to go to the hospital later today that all he would have to do is call into corporate and they would take care of it. She also said she would speak to all employees about the cleaning regs for the salad bar.......also she would check their tomatoes to make sure they are ok. Since today is saturday I can't get ahold of the health dept....but if DH is still feeling poorlyI will make him go to the ER and they will get ahold of the health dept for us.

thanks for the advice!

Carol - Come on girl....spill...I want to know about those grilled sweet potatoes too!

Carol_ I want to know also..I love sweet potatoes.
dmpls_ how is hubby feeling today??
rat_ my jalapeno peppers are in high demand right now.Everyone around me has been calling trying to get them since the stores have pulled them. Maybe I should start charging for them. I have given away most of them and have only kept a few for myself.
Monica _check out the weight watcher string cheese. It only has 50 calories and I love it for snacking if i need something to stay with me.

gonna go take a nap..I love being lazy!
debi

Only 3pm and I already have 48 oz. of water down. I tried the Crystal Light Sunrise orange flavor...it's supposed to taste like orange juice but I think it tastes like Tang. But I like Tang so that's fine with me :D

I think today might be a bit of a lazy day for me, too. I just put a load of laundry in but that's probably the extent of my daily activity! Fiance wants to go see the new Batman movie so we might do that.

Hope everyone has a great Saturday...I will be back in a while if I have more to say; I guess there's just not a lot goin' on with me right now. Later, ladies!

Monica keep an eye on sodium content in drink mixes.....I tend to mix it weak so I have some flavor but not full strength. like 2 bottles of water to one packet......some of those sugar free ones have sodium in them as well as aspartame which is horrible for most people.

DMPLS-Ya know, I never thought about looking at those packets to check the sodium levels. You are a smart lady. I guess I never looked at the back of the box thinking of sodium. I am going to have to go to the cabinet and check to see what kind I have now. What do you think about splenda or stevia?

Monica-did you get a lazy day? Go see the Batman movie yet? We went last weekend to the drive-in and watched it. It was pretty good. Hubby asked if I wanted to go to the drive-in tonight but we had already seen the movies playing. We couldn't really afford to go anyway. He is out to San Diego M-W and then Fri-Wed or Thurs. to Atlanta. Always going somewhere.

O.K. well dinner is almost finished in oven so I need to get the rest finished up. later, Penny

Greetings Chickies!!

My Fios is back up and I have internet, tv and phone. Took the guy 5 min to reconnect me at the main box. Guess it got accidently removed during some other work.

I did get the front garden mostly weeded. My hamstrings and calves are screaming at me. I have to mow the lawn tomorrow.

After weeding and some floor sweeping, I took the golden retrievers down to the Bark n Bubbles doggie wash about an hour away in VA. The Golden Retriever Rescue Education and Training (GRREAT.org) was having their charity wash. Charlie, the 4 yr old, was rescued from there. The dogs were overly excited and were estastic to be around at least 10 other goldens at the same time getting washed. The smell of wet doggies has permeated my brain. Charlie was a great boy in the tub, but Buffy acted as if someone was torturing her (no sounds, just numerous escape attempts). I found that Buffy had created a nasty hot spot on her inner thigh, so I've been doctoring that this evening. The entire process took 2 hours and we were all exhausted at the end. Both dogs slept the entire way home and after eating their supper, are now passed out on the kitchen floor. It was wonderful being able to nose kiss so many spoiled goldens at the doggie wash. I was in golden heaven!! As you can tell, I have a soft spot for those type fuzzies.

Hugs and Luv to all!
Ratkitten

oh!! DMPLS, I'm glad you told the waitress and called the manager as well. It seems they were reactive to your tomato complaint and did all the right things. I hope your hubby is feeling better!

Hugs,
Rat

The gourmet sweet potatoe recipe (NOT) is overly simple. Partially bake the sweet potatoe in the microwave - maybe 2-3 minutes. Cut in 3/4 inch slices and season to taste - I spray a little olive oil nonstick spray and then chilli powder on usually - I also like cinnamon with a sprinkle of brown sugar splenda. Grill for about 4 minutes a side. It is truly one of my very favorite things. Looks great on a plate alongside a nicely grilled zucchini half (olive oil spray, garlic, sometimes parmesan, sometimes some fresh basil or tarragon).

No nap for me today - I hope I can wind down and sleep tonight. My trainer came by this afternoon and sat by the pool urging me on in my exercises. He looks great (he had 27 pounds of excess skin removed on June 25 - lower body). He will have his legs done next although right now he is waffling on that - I'm not sure he thought about recovery from a 9 hour surgery. He is loving the benefits but struggling to learn who this new person is. Sound familiar?

I spent 3 hours at Kohls this morning and came home with a carload - nothing for me though dangit. Wonderful wedding present for tomorrow, equally nice baby shower and honeymoon shower gifts for next weekend. DH ended up with a few things too. I hate shopping so I do it all at once. Thank goodness for the discount coupon.

A month or so ago I mentioned a mini-goal of a dress I'm wearing to the wedding. The goal was for it to fit great, not just good. I'm anxious to see how it fits tomorrow - I'll keep you posted.

Sweet potatoes are ready - no - I'm not sharing (but I'll gladly cook you another one).

Hugs to all,
Carol

an update...the baby who was born at 23 weeks didnt make it. He fought hard but lost his struggle this evening. Keep the mom and dad in your prayers.
The twins are doing great.
I am having trouble knowing i get to have a baby shower for my dil when my best friend jsut lost her grandbaby. GOd knows what is best but its hard for us to understand at times like these.
Eating has been really good today but i am slacking today on my water..got in a little exercise but its so hot.
I need to pick the garden but dont feel like it tonight..so I think i will jsut go to bed.

Carol: I was inspired by all the talk of grilled sweet potatoes. Unfortunately we have no grill. We have a huge George Forman but no room for it....we have considered taking it to the porch and running an extension cord. maybe another day. Tonight I made a half turkey breast with lemon and garlic and an herb rub, cooked up some portabello mushrooms with a flavored olive oil blend, steamed some veggies and made a yam and sweet potato in the oven by quartering them each into spears, spraying them with a little olive oil and drizzling them with heirloom baslamic vinegar. Everything was delicious...even if I did totaly butcher the turkey when I was cutting it. It still tasted lovely. DH and I are really struggling to recommit ourselves right now to better eating and getting back on track with WW. We both want to lose and need to lose...but we keep getting sidetracked and frustrated.

We are going to see Dark Knight next weekend..so no spoilers please!!! I am doing another market research study tomorrow...the last one was about cars and I made $175 and tomorrow it's about a new TV pilot and I'll make $125. My ONLY fear is they asked for our shirt sizes because we have to wear sensor vests that measure our heart rates and the largest they had was XXL...hopefully a men's XXL which should fit me. I would be mortified if I was dq'ed for being too big :(

Back to work on Monday...where did my vacation go???

Well tonight we had youngest DD's old chorus teacher over, he moved to Florida last year & got married......they were in town and DD along with her best friend (also from chorus) set up this huge surprise get together with the rest of the class and this years chorus production on DVD! We had a HOUSEFULL! DD made salad, deviled eggs, baked beans, two different desserts and Dh BBQ burgers & hotdogs they had a blast watching themselves on the DVD......then they broke out the American Idol on the playstation! LOL it was alot of fun! with almost 20 people here tonight it was a madhouse! They were all singing and shouting LOL

Dh is feeling much better and refused to go get checked out today since all his issues were gone today.

I will definately be making me some grilled sweet potatos!!! along with that grilled zucchini!!! I like the idea of cooking them a bit first in the nuker since they are soooooo hard to cut into pieces(the sweet potatoes)

Dh is working on his Meatballs right now since the party just ended a few mins ago........he already had his sauce & all assembly of the baked ziti stuff complete now he just has to bake the meatballs (yes bake....LOL they usually weigh about 1/2 a lb each!) I will take some pictures of them to show you all!

Penny-Stevia is the best I think although it is very expensive, Splenda is good also.......I've suffered from Migraines for years........untill I discovered the remove of aspartame removes most of my migraines! I buy the cheaper version of Splenda at Walmart it starts with an A LOL

ttyl

Anne - great picture. I can really see the difference - time to get into some smaller clothes though my friend. Isn't it strange - I struggle also to put on clothes that fit but once I do I feel so much better and they flatter the figure better than baggy.

Penny - water?

Debi - so sorry about the little one. Enjoy the shower today and take comfort in your faith.

Hugs,
Carol

It's Sunday so you don't have to move your bodies but please drink your water and most of all SMILE.

Hiya my Peeps,

Debi, hugs and prayers to the family of the 23 week old. I'm glad the twins are doing great. I'm not doing well with hydration either. Yay for your jalapenos being the fav!! Good thing they grow fast, huh? My dad used to grow sweet banana peppers at the same time and some of them would end up hot.. we think because of the jalapenos he grew.

Julee, your menu sounded heavenly!! Vacations go by too fast, don't they? This is the first summer in a long time that I have a bunch of movies I want to see, including the Dark Knight. I also love animation and want to see WallE and I heard Mama Mia was wonderful. Then there was Hancock (I'm a Will Smith fan).

DMPLS, you house sounds like the place to be!! What wonderful energy to have all those singers in the house and then the surprise for the old chorus teacher. I'm trying not to dr00l thinking of 1/2 lb meatballs.. hehe.

GGG, thanks for the sweet potato pointers!! I'm afraid I didn't move much yesterday.

The doggies are playing and wrestling. Buffy is feeling better now that she's on antibiotics and some steriods for the really bad hot spot on her thigh. I still have to stop her from licking it. She's confined to the indoors today. If she doesn't quit, it's the conehead therapy for her!!!

Penny, I never checked those mix-ins for sodium either.. hrm. I do know they are acidic and will bother my sensitive teeth, so I started limiting them.

Monica, Hope you had a great Saturday! I didn't even do laundry.. ugh.

Tex, you and me are gonna try the sweet potato thing, right? I need to hit the grocery store today among all the stuff I haven't done this weekend.

I need get some of those all natural frozen fruit bars when it's so hot. The low cal frozen fruit thingies have a chemical in them that I'm allergic to, so I have to stay with natural fruit juice. I should make my own (like I used to). Where did all my time go?!

Hugs and Luv to all,
RK

rat_ my mom told me to plant my hot peppers away from all my other type of veggies..she said once my grandfathers tomatoes were hot.LOL I did have a volunteer tomato plant come up this year..it is a cross between a grape tomato and a reg..they are all the size of golf balls. It came up where my grapes tomatoes were planted last year.
I have my 64 ounces jug of water by me today and will finish it and do another one...
Have a good day everyone..im trying to find my house before i have to get ready for the shower.
hugs
debi

Good Morning,
Well another WI day. Yeah -2.4 lbs.!!!!!! I just had to check in and let ya know.
Debi-another tomato plant and the same size, I would probably get them mixed up. That's a big water jug, good for you. Enjoy your day and hopefully it won't be too hot.
Ratkitten-Glad you had a good day at the dog wash! Sounds fun!
DMPLS- Your daughters event sounds like the times my kids have here! Enjoy them even though they are a very busy time. My house has been full many times and I am sure that there will be more. I enjoy them too!
Carol-No water yet today but getting ready to. Thanks for the reminder!
Julee-Enjoy Dark Night next week. I am sure that the shirt will fit fine. I worry about things like that too when asked for a size.
Well, hubby is cleaning out a corner so I better help if I want the weights set up. He just got the stationary bicycle working again for those inside rainy days! Yeah! He had WI yesterday, -4.5 lbs.!! He is happy to be losing again. He had been at a hold the last month. Younger daughter stayed the same, not sure how older one did, she is at work. Check in later, Penny