Ange-Here is a sample of the kind of music Trans Siberian Orchestra does....not sure if they are popular in your part of the world or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHioIlbnS_A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cP26ndrmtg&feature=fvsr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szLmAPW39uE

They are rock/classical...a bit of everything and AWESOME!!

Forgive me the ads if there are any before the videos.

Well, the holiday goodies have begun to arrive here at work. Giant box of Baklava in the kitchen.....one of my favs. I had two pieces... Oh well...onward with my day! Good thing I got in that 3 Mile Boot Camp this morning.

I believe I have a mouse in my bedroom wall (or something larger...it was making alot of noise last night...ugh...). I know the crawlspace vents under my house need better covers and I have just been too lazy to replace them. I am going to see if fiance will come to my house this weekend and help me work on that and sealing up any possible entries for rodents. A few weeks ago I heard something trying to crawl up the drain pipe of my bathtub!!

I almost finally almost done decorating for Christmas. Just a few little things to finish.

I am going to make us a healthy supper of grilled tilapia, rice and a green veg. (I have broc and asparagus. I really want the asparagus, but bet the boys would prefer the broc. Regardless, it will be steamed.) Going to try to keep the regular meals as healthy as possible with all of the goodies creeping up on us.

Have a great day everyone!

GOOD morning! I'm not doing well on any plan/program here. I need to get on track here. I need to actually be accountable!! Will weigh in tomorrow morning - i know i'm up to where i started anyway, and need to just redo my sig/little chicken walking across the eggs. He looks like he has a mission and is more committed than I am

Got on the scale this morning in my pjs and was thrilled to see a very low number. so got off and got on again and it zipped right past that number to a high one. Great. I had already eaten breakfast so will do tomorrow nekkid and before bkfst. see the true damage.

Good job, Annie, for getting up and working out. I got up earlier and got some xmas stuff done/laundry/picking up ... but conveniently didn't work out. My main goal now is to get the eating down to where I need to be, so will work on that.

A friend is coming by tonight for me to practice interviewing her as she's got a phone interview this week. So will run errand at lunch and then zip home to drop stuff off and head back to work. Will check back in after lunch.

NP-I'll be waiting to hear a report on the weigh-in tomorrow. I'm sorry you are feeling out-of-control. My attitude about myself has been awful the last few days and I don't know why. Maybe PMS here... I put on my jeans after work yesterday and imagined the thighs were getting tight and just got this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. Maybe a pound gained in the last few weeks, so not much to worry about but I guess I'm looking ahead to all of the goodies coming my way. Just HAVE to be stringent about allowing myself only small amounts of those.

Together we can do this, friends!!

Ran to Target at lunch and got a lean pocket to eat for lunch ... so that wasn't horrible... I don't usually buy already prepped stuff but need to keep 1-2 things in the freezer for rush days. Spent $120 at Target - got the donations and three smaller gifts with that, but got myself a sweater that I liked for $15 I have one already in another color. This for you, that for me? hm.

Uh oh, I really have to weigh in now. Hm. I see how this works, Annie. Maybe that's why WW always worked for me in the past. Checking in and being accountable. A pound is GREAT - I will hope for that We keep talking about hitting the gym at night but with the opp skeds sometimes, planning everything, we're not finding any nights to do it. I don't want to cancel the membership because then it's "giving up" ... but ... venting here. I have 101 solutions for myself and don't put them into ACTION. Need to increase the water, too. I'm not feeling full at all... Probably because my veggie intake has been slim, sheesh.

Was trying to see if we could manage cramming in a trip to the German Christkindlmarket in Chicago on Saturday before everyone comes in on Sunday, but now I think i'd rather prep the meal, etc. I dunno. Seems like it's just a FULL day to drive up there and back - five hours total and don't want to run into icy roads. My main fear. Have done it for the past 6 years, I think. We'll have 10 for dinner on Sunday.

Barb-I really wanted to say "Welcome Back"!!! We've missed you around here!!

Welcome, 30-pounds lighter! Glad to have you join in. I've only been here a couple of weeks and it looks like it's going to be a great supportive group

Busy today - but the sun is shining. Have errands to run this evening, so made tonight's quick dinner close to midnight last night. I have yet to clean the kitchen, though, which drives me bonkers. Will do that as soon as I get home tonight. At least that's the plan. Baked trays of brownies to send in with my fiance to his work - peanut butter/fudge frosted ones and oreo ones. I will do another tray tonight for my bring in tomorrow ... those are easiest for me as there are no cookies to sample. I can't bring something in with a piece removed for tasting purposes clearly just quality control, but ... ha!

Have no good meal ingredients left in pantry, so need to come up with ideas and get the right things. Sent him off to work with a mashed sweet potato, a bit of taco turkey mix, fruit cocktail, an orange and some triscuits. He's gone 14 hours, so I try to include a few snacks, but the meal was a hodge-podge. He left the broccoli - he usually takes that. Think he just forgot it. Nothign in there has a lot of staying power.

Enough rambling. Will check in before i leave the office (unless no one else has posted...) hope everyone is doing well!

Hi gang. Very stressful past 24 hours. Got into it w/ someone at work and have been working on getting that resolved. I have NOT given into my stressful food cravings. I will try to check back later, sorry no comments now, but will catch up later. Thanks for being here.

Good morning everyone - Hope you're all doing great today. Annie - I hope you were able to get things resolved to your satisfaction yesterday and were able to get it off your mind for a good rest last night. I hate it when things like that happen. How are you doing?

We have SO MANY views and only a handful of folks checking in here - anyone else interested in joining in? I know it can't be just a handful of us checking in on this - we don't have the time!

Ran errands last night for two hours - then wrapped a few things and straight to bed. I need a lot of sleep in the winter. Activity is nil here lately. Ambitions are high but I feel like with the 101 things to get done and the three pets who get no attention on the days that we both work days, that's not my No. 1 and i know it should be. Trying to get music for the wedding and last night I got irritated and declared, let's just skip it. It's not to be just our FAVORITE songs - it's to be songs that have meaning for a relationship and going forward - otherwise I'd have chosen Freebird, I Try, etc. So, we'll see... Two weeks until we leave for home (well, home for me - Florida) and three weeks until our wedding. I think we're cutting it close. His daughter comes back tomorrow evening for the weekend and I want to get baking done tonight and DONE. Doubtful. Need it for Sunday for his parents' gift basket.

Looking forward to hearing from everyone - Ashley, Ange, Barb, Terri, 30lbslighter, etc! Have a super morning!

Hey NP!! Yep things are better here. Just an attitude adjustment on my part makes a big difference. I know I will always encounter unpleasant people in my job and I just have to deal with it w/o getting frustrated.

You are correct....WE NEED MORE MEMBERS TO POST!! It is such a nice thing to have support or just to read about others' journies as we go about our own. I'm hoping it is just the time of year and everyone will begin posting lots after the holidays. I KNOW we are bound to get some new members after New Year's, what with resolutions and such.

So are you trying to come up with a playlist for your wedding reception or actual wedding music?? I have some suggestions if you are interested. Love the idea of Free Bird being played. Made me grin.

Try to hang in there and not let the stress get the best of you! Enjoy!!


I got the last of my indoor decorations put up last night and I think it looks nice. I had a hard time limiting what I put out. My new house is so small and so easily cluttered. I don't want it to look too full. I may post some pics soon. Still have a couple of yard decorations I may put up tonight or tomorrow.

I saw another pound (152) on the scale this morning and did not like that at all! I'll weigh again in the morning and decide if I need to panic. I have pretty much given up on trying to lose until after the holidays, but I MUST maintain what I've done so far. I only have 10 pounds until that goal of 140 and I WILL get there....soon. I've been keeping up with my usual healthy food but it's so easy to sneak in a piece of candy or sweet bread. I plan to bake cookies and possibly more candy this weekend. Yikes. The cookies will be the biggest temptation for me....and the fudge. I had decided I would not eliminate the usual holiday goodies I make because my boys love them so much. I just hope to really think before I indulge in them.

I haven't wrapped one gift yet!! I need to also work on that this weekend. Tonight I am going to get my living room dusted and swept and swipe over the bathrooms. If I have time I may wrap some gifts then. I do need to get them out and inventory and see what I still need to get. I know I need to buy the requisite underwear and socks for everyone and maybe some pajamas. Need to also line up the calligraphy for fiance's gift.

Love to all and I hope everyone has a happy and healthy day!!

Good morning all! Ended up scooting out a little early yesterday afternoon and going home for a little extra time to get things done alone. Started the baking - got six recipes of biscotti done by midnight- though I didn't get to slice and double bake all of them yet. That'll be tonight. Can't find the rest of my bins that I put them in, so probably need to pick up a few more this evening. Haven't done any cookies yet. Not going to do cutouts this year - those are by FAR the hardest for me to skip. Unless I can do them and get them out on cookie plates but they're such a project it seems. Am I the grinch?

Got on the scale this morning and freaked out. I need to scale back. Starting my period today but dang! I'm back to where I started ... I'll weigh again Monday morning and see where I stand. That'll help keep me on track on the weekend. I need to come up with a challenge. One that I'll DO. Ashley - you in on it with me? Anyone? I should mosey over to chicks up for a challenge, but I think I'd probably only check in on one forum, and feel as if i KNOW folks here

We're celebrating christmas early with fiance's family (folks, younger daughter, brother/his girlfriend and her three kids) on Sunday afternoon. His mom thought that was too late for dinner (5) but if folks come at 2-3 and we open gifts and then I have time to MAKE dinner - well, prep and put it in the oven, it'll be 5 when we eat. I don't want to eat at 2, seriously. Anyway, I kinda stuck to my guns on that and said to him why do we even discuss what we want to do as hosts if it's always changed? This was a week ago. Well, now the weather says possible snow and 40-mph winds for Sunday evening. We figured everyone would be on the road again (and it's an hour drive for them) by 7 at the latest. They're not lingerers. So now I'm wondering, hm... Do we change the time now? It seems like the forecasters love to say the possible worst and it's never that bad. We'll see.

My life has always been one thing after the other - a trip, plan this, have friends over, fly home to florida, hit the art museum, festivals, go to this sporting event, etc. And it's a whole new world for my fiance who never had stuff going on - his ex never wanted to do anything - just stay home and watch tv. SO I see that it's a bit stressful for him to NEVER have an evening with nothing to do - but I said last night that after the wedding and christmas - it'll calm down when we're back from our honeymoon. We won't have money to do anything else. HA. But I feel as if I need to crank things down a bit this next year... it's been something going on all the time this year. But I really think we can rest when we're 80 and need to live now I've never been a big tv watcher and he isn't either, but maybe just nights with the fire, him playing his guitar and me reading a mystery will give us the mental peace we need.

Hello everyone!! We are having our Christmas lunch at work today. I plan to eat the food brought in as it usually is pretty healthy. Will try to eat light for supper tonight.

Got a goodie bag from someone today and ate almost all of the bite size chocolates in it. A couple of Hershey's kisses, two Lindor truffles (threw half of one away, I didn't like the flavor), one mini Hershey bar and one Turtle. Still have 3 mini candy canes left, but I can save those for later. That should be my goody allotment for the day but I have a bad feeling....

Anyhoo! It's the season and I'm dealing with it. I did see 151 back on the scale this morning so all-out panic is on the back burner for now.

Not sure what is going to happen this weekend. The boys are with their Dad, so I usually go out to fiance's for the weekend. I have some things I need to do around my place (mouseproof the crawl space being the most important!) so asked him to come to my place for the weekend. Talked to him last night and he has a cold. So we'll see what happens. I'll try to stay in touch here no matter what.


NP-Sounds like you were a baking FOOL last night! I'm impressed! I don't think 5 p.m. is too late for a dinner. I think that you should be able to set the times since it is at your house. But if the weather is moving in, could you just move everything to earlier so everyone can get home before dark (or whenever the weather is supposed to move in)?? I know it is tough working around others' schedules.

No freakouts allowed when it is TOM!! It will go away!

Love that you like doing lots of things besides just sitting in front of the TV....now if only I could convince my fiance to get out some, too.

Have a great day everyone!

Well, now the weather doesn't look to be as bad as initially predicted, so checked with him and offered to change it to brunch (it has to have a meal, of course) and gifts afterward, but he said it'll be fine as is. Good, as that's easier for all. But if it does look bad as it gets closer, I'm sure we'll hear from them and can adjust if needed.

I went home at lunch and my healthy choice? NOT! I had a michelina's lean bites buffalo chicken thingies - don't know the name...190 cal/serving and the box said 1.5 servings. Was actually closer to 1.75 servings. SO I'm saying 350 for the box and three triscuits and the end of a biscotti. ARGH. Not a veggie in sight. Tonight is going to be mish-mash - but i know whatever it is, it'll include green beans - NEED to get some of those in mah belly!

Good deal, Annie, on bouncing back down so quickly. And for saving part of your goody bag. Yesterday my mom sent me a tin of butter toffee. Last year my fiance BLEW through it in a week - it's 75 cal/small piece. So this year I hid it in my drawer we'll enjoy it at a leisurely pace. My pace is a piece a week when I think about it. I don't like to get something nice and have it be all gone so quickly. It's a treat and I want to savor it over a while. Are you like that at all? he and his daughter are NOT and it's hard for me to get used to and now i find that I don't want to buy something that's a nice splurge - not even calories, but pricey, if it's going to be gobbled up too fast in my opinion. Who am I to judge, but ... that's me. I buy it and then am lucky to get one. Spoken by one who didn't have kids, obviously!

And, your mouse is cracking me UP! If I lived closer, I'd bring my cat who's ONTO them over You'd have NO problems then.

How was the lunch?

cannot believe it is 2 weeks til christmas eve. boy December is going fast. guess I better start shopping!

T.

Yep, When you are a kid..."Christmas is a WHOLE two weeks away!" When you're a grown up..."Christmas is ONLY two weeks away!"

Good luck out there this weekend!

NP-Hope the dinner works out! Good job on putting the toffee back and enjoying it slowly.

The lunch was okay. Still a little tension in the air (at least for me) from the situation the other day. Hate that. The food wasn't as good as I expected. It was a VERY CHEAP version of last year's lunch. Not very good. I ate pretty well and did indulge in some dessert. I'll try to get in some extra exercise this weekend. Doing LOTS of goodie making this weekend, too.