Okay, so I had a chance to catch up on the thread. I hope everyone who was sick is feeling better!

Welcome to all the new people!

Marie sorry the puppy didn't work out, but hopefully it all works out with the rescue dog. But didn't you mention concerns about red flags at the shelter?? Hopefully it all checks out okay.

PresMaggie congrats on the new job. Hopefully the co-worker has put the past behind her. Sorry that your boys are being clingy. I'm sure this job is a big change for them, too. They'll readjust soon.

I envy you all your chili, sounds yummy! We've been having cooler weather here, too. I've kicked the heat on a few times, when I've noticed that my hands are really cold...

CruiseCAT sorry that you are missing Mack, and then have the fires to deal with, to boot! Skype is great... another addict here. Although I use Trillian now, but it's basically the same thing.

OnMyWay I'm glad they are biopsy-ing the spot. I've had basal cell carcinoma, too, and my regular doctor didn't believe me when I told him I thought it was skin cancer.

I'm looking forward to being back in the groove. I'm working very hard to resist the urge to eat, eat, eat. And, trying to decide whether to make roast lamb or roast chicken for dinner...

Thank you to all for your responses and encouragement on my weight loss thus far. I just love celebrating these mini-goals. I am going to reward myself by making myself a pretty necklace this weekend with some nice beads I have.

dmc - hang in there honey, life can seem really so hectic and I am glad you are taking time for yourself, that is so important.

cruiseCAT - Wow! 20+ windows cleaned is a big accomplishment.

presmaggie - I hope you feel better soon. :hug:

marie - I hope your weekend goes as planned and you will be meeting that cute little puppy soon.

gardenjoy - I hope you get some good sleeping time in tonight and this weekend.

newleaf - I am looking at this weight loss journey as a complete lifestyle change and I totally understand about not focusing and then refocusing, I think that is normal.

onmyway - chili sounds good, especially with this cooler weather. yum.

Picture! My GF, the champion Masters swimmer, entrepreneur, writer, photographer, and all-around Renaissance woman - with me. I am SO glad I went to NC!

ICUWishing what a wonderful photo... I can tell what great friends you are... There's nothing like a visit with a wonderful friend, eh? AND........ look how slim you are!!! You rock!

YYYaaaaaa tomorrow is FRIDAY :carrot::carrot: anyone else happy that the weekend is about to begin??

Tomorrow morning I am going to walk my daughter to school instead of driving. She is very excited about our new adventure we will have together. I am hoping that it will be a great way to add in some much needed exercise.

What is everyone doing this weekend?

I have a bbq to go to on Saturday with my husband and a bunch of beer drinking fire fighters.....I have to admit that i am a little nervous about making bad choices.....I must stay on plan!!!

KDHW Welcome! Your name is unfamiliar so I figure you must have popped in while I had popped out...

I have a love/hate relationship with weekends. Of course I love them, but the fact that they are not completely under my control (ie, I have to think about what others want to do, eat, etc) makes it harder for me to stay on plan.

We actually don't have a lot of plans. My DS8 has a soccer game on Saturday. We *might* go apple picking with my MIL. On Sunday, the boys have cello lessons. That's it for now, and it's a 3-day weekend. I guess I should come up with something fun to do with the boys on Monday. Maybe we'll go for a bike ride.

hi all, I'm very happy that all the difficult stuff of this week is over and I can relax a little tomorrow. Yay, Friday!

KD, good idea on walking DD to school, even better that she is excited about it too! No exciting plans for tomorrow {or the weekend!] but we get to go vote for city Mayor. The previous one resigned. Apple picking sounds nice.

ICU, Great picutre thanks for posting!

hydra, congrats on the weightloss!

I need to go to bed now, I keep making a lot of mistakes typing, and I' m not sure I'm making a lot of sense anyway. LOL

Well, it's been a mixed week. I did a lot of walking and some healthy eating. But then I received some heavy work assignments (I kind of hate my work, this is my fundamental problem), and responded with little binges. I can see the problem so clearly, yet it's so hard to break these habits which have taken hold in the last few years.

Late last night, I binged on just about the worst thing....shortbread! I had bought it for my mother and I wound up devouring it myself. Nice, huh? I didn't even check the calories until after I'd eaten the whole (thank goodness, little) package--holy cow! I might as well have eaten a stick of butter.

Oh, well, another day, right?

Although, personally, I find weekends tough. Mainly because I have to cook all these meals for a houseful of males. Constantly handling food. My mother-in-law is coming for dinner Saturday. That's hard, because she's weight obsessed--her own and everyone else's. I like her, but I get the vibe that these days, she's kind of enjoying my weight gain, because it makes her feel better. I get comments like, "If you and I were petite, dear, we could wear those little dresses."

Joan Eeew, a comment like that from my MIL would definitely annoy me... I'm glad you get along otherwise! I hear you about weekends being tough; it's the same for me. I hope your work day is less stressful today...

Heidi - Good to see you back here. I can really relate to where you are; my post last week was very similar. I've done great so far this week but still a little frustrated that I'm 10 lbs. heavier than my lowest weight since I started my journey.

Thanks for mentioning Trillian. With the issues (including legal) with Skype I'm not sure how much longer it will be available.

Looks like everyone is enjoying chili with the cooler temps. I made a huge batch and put most of it in the freezer in two serving containers.

My weekend will be spent doing much of the same..... cleaning. I always get so much done when Mack is gone. Today I will tackle the bedroom; including purging clothes from drawers and closets.

TGIF!
Newleaf - I empathize completely with the desire to step back and maintain a while! It does seem obsessive to have to pay attention to every single choice, every day, and every meal. I'm slowly making peace with it as the price I need to pay to not go back to where I was. Lots of things require my attention on a daily basis, and I guess this is just going to be one more of them. We miss you when you're gone, though! :) And thanks for the compliment - I wish I looked as thin from the waist down as I do up top! Maybe that's somewhere in the next 5 pounds ... I'm kind of moving into the exploratory phase of wondering which pound will take off the last of the waist roll, the belly pooch ... surprisingly, I just don't have that much left to complain about - weird for me!

KDHW - how far is the walk going to be? I sure wish I could do that with my DS10. Unfortunately, I have 3.4 miles, with no sidewalks, on hilly, curvy roads. Not safe! DS is headed for an overnight Bday party tonight, we have piano tomorrow morning, having a pheasant dinner with the neighbors tomorrow night, and DS sings in church choir Sunday. What else happens is dependent on the weather - there is a LOT of yardwork that has to get done.

Joan - ah, the passive-aggressive MIL. :D They're so special. Weekends are definitely my challenge too - my spouse is a top-of-the-line chef and he gets creative on the weekends. Best I can do is reduce portion size, eat slower, and try to stay active. He doesn't pout if I don't eat a lot, but he absolutely will not compromise cooking technique.

hydra - your jewelry is gorgeous, and I hope you create something really memorable to celebrate your ongoing success here! If you ever want to experiment with natural faceted gemstones, let me know - I have a huge stash that I'm practicing with as part of my gemology class.

patch - holy cow - you are up LATE!! Go to bed, girl! :) Haven't you heard that getting enough sleep is a factor in weight management? ;)

marie - we want to see new fuzzy pictures!

Another half a pound down. The iPod is getting closer ...

Originally Posted by ICUwishing:
KDHW - how far is the walk going to be? I sure wish I could do that with my DS10. Unfortunately, I have 3.4 miles, with no sidewalks, on hilly, curvy roads. Not safe!

our walk was wonderful this morning and my DD(age 6) was happy....which in return makes me VERY happy :D it is only 1-1/2 miles each way and there are sidewalks so it was good

newleaf123: glad to have you back on board!

Onmyway: chili sounds great for today! And a good plan for rescuing the results of an unfortunate incident.

ICUwishing: great photo! And yay for another half pound

KDHW: thanks for the dancing carrots to get our weekend off to a great start! My Saturday challenge is a pre-planning meeting for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month is November). We'll meet in a coffee house and will be encouraged to support the business of our host location. I checked the menu and the only thing I can have on plan at that time of day is....bottled water. So, bottled water it is!

patchworkpenguin: hope you have a great weekend!

Joan: I'm a librarian, so I'm always offering book suggestions -- ignore this if it doesn't feel right to you. The End of Overeating by David Kessler stopped my binge-ing cold. And the books by Judith Beck have really helped change my behaviors around food.

My efforts for my trip, taking all my own food and taking full advantage of exercise opportunities, paid off -- a new low today!

Gardener - Congrats on the new low! FYI - my mom is a retired library director/reference librarian/school librarian, you name it! I dimly remember when she was going to night classes for her MLS when I was in grade school. The key thing she always emphasized was "you don't have to know nuthin'. You just gotta know where to find it." :)

I Love Fridays and Weekends!
 

Joy, I’m glad you came home early. 2-4 inches of rain is too much for driving. I hope the flooding is minimal.

Heidi, I know either I am very focused or undisciplined when it comes to food. So I have made a life long choice to be obsessed with watching my calories because I hate the other end of the spectrum. I realized I can’t be “normal” and just eat. Although from what the news blares about obesity, overeating is normal. ;) Also, the red flags were more pink and after talking with them, I understood the lack of response initially. Vacations tend to do that and the director seems very detailed, controlling type of a person and I can see why she doesn’t delegate when away. I work with someone just like that. And Sasha is worth the initial frustration I'd had.

OMW, I too am a great believer in there’s a reason for why things happen and that they work out. Although I’ve never been tested with a major tragedy so I can be Miss Pollyanna. And I will be until I can’t be. I definitely think that Sasha was meant to be with me. The beginning of her life is a sad, terrifying story but she’s been with great foster parents and I know I’m a good doggie mom as I’d do anything for my pack. So Sasha will be loved forever more. I hope the biopsy comes back benign. I’m thankful you went to a dermatologist for it. GPs are good starting points but they should know when to refer.

Hydra, great job choosing your reward. Non-food rewards I think are a 40 something mentality. We finally get it. Enjoy the new necklace and the process of designing and making it. :carrot:

ICU, I ditto Heidi’s comment – you look so thin! And you’re so blessed to have a great friend. That’s what GF stands for, right??? Great Friend. :D

KDHW, - is your name Kim??? When I type KDHW I think of radio call letters. :o I’d rather think of you with a name. I love Friday!!! It’s the BEST day of the week. Someday, when I’m old and moldy, I’ll regret counting hours down to Friday and therefore weekend. Because wishing the work hours away is probably wrong, but for now, I still count. Fill up on veges at the BBQ and have a water in your hands at all time and sip constantly. Water helps ease the hunger and temptation. And great solution for getting exercise with DD. That’s excellent!

Joan, the shortbread tasted better than a stick of butter. :dizzy: You will break those habits. As long as you keep trying and don’t subscribe to the “well I screwed up and I’ll restart on Monday” mentality, one shortbread won’t hurt you. MIL sounds like a dream. :p Goof her up and reach your goal. Not only with the goal be heady, so will the end of her petty comments.

Cruise, when you’re done scouring your house, my place is only a few hundred miles up the freeway. :D It really needs cleaning. I too usually clean while David is away, but I’m so busy getting ready for the new husky that cleaning isn’t happening.

My weekend, at least this evening and all tomorrow, will be in my Jeep, traveling north to Sasha. Kai Pixie Bear is all packed for Sasha lifelong playdate. We have a hotel room in Salem and the pet deposit is nearly as much as the room. But the room is cheap so it’s good. I’ve packed up my 100 cal snacks, will pack my apples and diet soda after work and we’ll be off. I’m so thankful DS will care for Kody and Blizzie in the morning. And my animal behaviorist and I chatted last night on making Sasha’s introductions to Kody and Blizzie. If it’s not too late, she’s going to come over a little before I get home so she can help with the transition. I really am blessed. She is wonderful.
Marie