Thanks for the birthday wishes! :D

:wave: Good Morning Ladies,

It is kind of sunny outside. It looks so lovely. Everything is covered in snow. It is very cold at 18 degrees but very pretty. I wanted to check in this a.m. and see how everyone is doing. I have an appointment at Curves to learn the machines today :carrot: Then off to do some shopping for a little boy that we chose off of the Church Christmas tree to buy gifts from. Oh, it is so sad. His daddy is in prison and this is some kind of state wide or perhaps nation wide program for children who have parents in prison. Their names and needs/wants go on a card with a bit of information about them and then you choose one if you want and buy the items they asked for and wrap them up and then it is like coming from their parent that is in prison. I've never heard of this program before but I am thrilled to be able to participate in it.

Sharon: I'm so glad that you are feeling better from you migraines. It sounds like you are pretty:gift2: prepared for Christmas.

Andrea: I wish you could come visit me and your little boy could make all the snowmen :snowfight that he wants to in my yard. Heck, I would even take you guys to a nice sledding hill! :D

Lillion: So great to see you. Glad that you still pop in here once in a while! :hug:

Shadie: I'm sorry too my friend. I though it was your sister. I didn't realize it was your brother's children. Not that it matters brother or sister. It is so wonderful what you are doing. I know how hard it is from personal experience. I ask God to bless your family for what you are doing! :angel:

Tashabella: What part of the world are you in? You said it was snowing I was wondering if you are in America or Canada.. just curious.:)

Brandnewme: :o so sorry to hear about your abnormal results. Please let us know how you are. My prayers are with you sweetie.

Brenda: Yea ! New Clothes are fun in smaller sizes. Not that I would know yet. I think I will be in this size for quite some time but it does get looser and looser and fits better on me than it did. Have fun shopping:carrot: for those clothes.

Catherine: I'm so sorry and upset :( that your roommate is being such a brat. You are so sweet to wait until she isn't around to work on your gown. Don't let her attitude ruin your happiness. Come here and tell us how you feel. We will rejoice with you. :hug:

Kristy: :hb: :balloons: Happy Birthday (late). So sorry I didn't wish you a happy birthday properly. We are so glad that you have joined us. :hug: Hope you had a great day.

Valerie: Stay safe out there on the road. We wil miss you:( when you are not able to post.

Suemarie, Futurediva, Ammi: We hope you ladies are just busy with the holidays. We miss you lots when you are absent. Please come back to us.

Blessings everyone,
Dogpal

I'm finally starting to feel better, and so is my roommate. She has been very nice today. I've got 7 big boxes, and 2 little ones packed and ready to ship. God only knows what that is going to cost, even parcel post. I'm kind of worried about the customs forms. They are mostly books and clothes, so I'm hoping that won't bring huge customs fees. It will still be cheaper than renting a uhaul and driving 3500 miles in January. Plus, I have to go on a visitor's visa, and the uhaul might make them think that I am going to overstay my visa. I won't, but the border patrol won't know me well enough to know that. 43 years worth of life, and I'm pretty sure it will be less than 20 boxes total. It is really quite freeing starting over with just the basics. His mother sent me a Christmas card today. For some reason, that really brought home the fact that I'm getting a mother-in-law. Holy Cow! I just keep repeating over and over again, "they live 6 hours away."

Dogpal - LOL sadly, yes, hes boxing again... but he loses... lol

Catherine. Glad you are feeling better. dont be too hard on your roomate. shes hurting right now and doesnt know how to channel it.. lol maybe put her in a guest house out back? she just loves you and is sad you are leaving. make sure you tell her how much you care about her :)

ALSO - i am a bit behind... did you find out if you were pregnant or not??

Ammi - i miss you! heres a BIG HUG!!! im not commuting... well all the time. i come out to vegas for a week or 2 to work then go home and relax. its pretty nice.. for now anyway.

glad to hear all the happy stories. hang in there ladies. we'll make it..

Hello everyone, I made it back safe from my holidays! It was a great trip!

You can see the photos here...

http://photobucket.com/albums/d179/i...CEMBER%202005/

I just love Sweden in December... :)

Hi
 

Brandnew - Hang in there and don't isolate yourself. Lean on the ones you love. We'll be praying for you!!!

Dogpal - I am in the U.S. in Maryland. We didn't get much snow (no shoveling, thank God). But it was nice to see!

Catherine - I'm glad your roommate calmed down. Don't let her abuse you, even if you understand her and feel sorry for her. You don't have to let anyone yell at you for 45 minutes (or any amount of time). Sounds like she is angry that she is losing her support system. But this will only make her stronger. Just don't let her abuse you, Catherine. You don't have to take that. You've been a good friend to her. (Maybe you need to remind her what she is doing by asking her "Is this how you want to leave things?" I'm sure it's not and should bring her to her senses.)

I'm on vacation and topped over 2,000 calories two days in a row. But I promised myself I would still count the calories to be aware of what is going on. I have done a lot of walking so maybe it will even out. Today, I plan to stay on track and not screw around. Only good choices today! We're going out again, but my plan is for soup and a low-cal salad, and lots and lots of walking.

Happy belated birthday, Softy.

Alison--Thanks for sharing those great pictures. It looks so beautiful there. Looks like you had a great time.

Oy HUGE mistake last night. My high school group had a program and among the snacks were Froot Loops, frosting, mini chocolate chips and mini M & Ms...and apple slices and FF caramel dip. I had probably 1/2 cup of cereal and then a little pinch of chips and M&Ms and a pinkie full of frosting..and some caramel dip with the apples. I'm not worried in terms of points...I had enough left for the week...but it has been solong since I have had that much refined sugar at one sitting and it gave me the WORST headache and stomachache last night. I am better now and it has passed but UGH...let that be a lesson to me...bleah!

Good Morning Ladies,

Catherine: I sure hope that you are pleasantly surprised when you go to ship your boxes. I am doubly hopeful for you that your new M.I. L. is nothing like mine! UGH!

PrincessPuffyPants: LOL. That is just so sad he is boxing again. My hubby and my Dad are "big" sports fan and my dad especially loves boxing he was a boxer for the Navy team or some such thing and the town team growing up. Any way, I grew up watching a lot and it is just not even believable if he boxes. He should take a lesson from George Foreman and make a movie more realistic like he is a coach or a small kitchen appliance hocker....lol.

Mazarin: Glad to have you back and thank you for sharing the photos. It sure is pretty there.

Tashabella: My husband's oldest brother and his family live in Maryland. He works at the Pentagon and rides some train daily. He is getting ready to retire very soon. They seem to really love it. Sadly, we have never been able to afford to visit but maybe now that my husband has such a great job and we seem to be using our noodles better with finances... getting those nasty credit cards paid off and then closing the accounts. Maybe soon we can save the money to go visit. So far after our 2 months in Northern Idaho snow shoveling is pretty much necessary (I would just put my car in 4 wheel drive and drive over the snow but hubby says we have to clean sidewalks etc. for neighbor's children to pass by our house and for any visiters we have) He has been doing all the shoveling. I bought him a lovely new snow shovel and scraper yesterday at Costco. Tee hee. I didn't realize it would almost be a toy to him.

Shadie: Get better soon! Chase those germs away.

Juleecee: Oh, do be careful if sugar is giving you a headache when you eat too much. What a great reason to stay away from it. You are really doing well.

Well, Blessings all, I am off to go to Curves soon.
Dogpal

Princess-no I’m not pregnant. It was just one of those things at my age. You’re right my roommate is in a lot of pain, but I think she has finally turned a corner towards acceptance. After 15 years, this is looking more like a divorce than anything else.

Tasha-thanks for telling me that I don’t have to take abuse. Sometimes I forget that. I tried reminding her of all the things I’ve done for her and her kids over the years, but that just made her madder at the time. I think she just needed to go through a grieving process. This will be a big loss for both of us.

Julee-isn’t is amazing how quickly our body can get used to good food? I’m convinced that the bacteria required to digest certain foods in the small intestine literally starve to death when we start eating right. That leaves it up to the nastier bugs in the large intestine to do the digesting, and that never feels good. Try eating some yougurt with active cultures next time you indulge, and it will replace some of the stuff you need to digest without discomfort. I kind of look at it like a hangover for a drunk. It is nature’s way of letting us know we shouldn’t ought to.

Catherine...thanks for the advice. I took some Advil and basically tried to flush my system with a healthy does of water..which I am continuing today. I haven't had yogurt in a while.maybe for beakfast tomorrow. I just had some yummy lentil soup though which made my tummy happy today since it's still chilly. I had a friend who had been raised without refined sugar or medications..both parents were chiropractors and they were very into natural foods and holisitc medicine....the first time he went "off the wagon" and at cake, pie AND soda...the boy was so sick...he didn't know what it was going to do to him. I got over it, but wow...what a lesson to learn. I knew I had lost my appetite for sweets but I did not realize that it was going to kick my butt that way.

Smooches to all...I am not expecting anything good tonight at WI..but oh well. I had an off week last week and I really need to rebound right away!! I need to get back on track.

Yeah Andrea, it was a great trip... I really need that time out break! It did me good! :)

Hi all

Really struggling this week I havent even logged anything Ive eaten - which has been far too much - ouch. Luckily so far havent put anything on though but weigh in isnt until Sunday.

Can those of you who are on the plan say a little bit about Curves one has opened near to me and I wondered what its all about. Is some of it food supplements?

Hope you are all well ... nearly the holidays!!

Are you moving country Catherine? When I got married I did, I have never regretted it.
Take care

Carole

Carole: CURVES is a women's fitness center that does something like circuit training in a 30-minute workout. They weigh you once a month and also take measurements. They have upper and lower body machines with cool-down stations in between and they will train you on how to use the machines as well. The do have some supplements and diet programs, but they are over and above the cost of membership and not everyone does them.

I had a bad experience with Curves, but I did like some aspects of it. The first thing to bear in mind is that the women who work there are not trained professionals in the fields of nutrition, exercise science, or anything even remotely related. They are hourly emplyees who know what they learned when they got the basic training. Some centers use too many games and gimmicks to get people in and it can be distracting to the workout process. However, if you stick to the routine, get in there regularly and combine your efforts there with a little added cardio (walking maybe) and a good healthy food plan then you can certainly see results. They will be starting to run holiday and post-holiday specials very soon...so you might want to check on that before you plunk down your money and sign a contract that they will charge you to break.

Good luck...