Thanks NP and FL, great encouragement.

Went to a store and bought some pants yesterday, I love cargo pants and can wear them to work and these fit great and were on sale should have bought another pair might go back. Once you find a pair that fit nice in all the right places it is nice to buy "EVERY color they have. I so did not want to buy anything till I lose some more but I feel old and frumpy and tired of the same old fat pants.
Feeling better today and just went for a walk, busy at work so back at it.

Spent another 30min on the TM. I rewrote the schedule, squeezing in another interval. Less rest but more jogging!

FL, oouch! sorry about your teeth. Feel better.

Ashley, glad you are in a better place today. I tend to buy multiples of the same item, too.

Annie, glad you are feeling better. You can have our rain! My food choices are changing to reflect the warmer weather. More fruit and salads.

Ready to kick back and relax with the March Madness games tonight - a friend is heading over for Trader Joe's cheese pizza (YES!) and i stopped at Papa Murphy's to get their garden salad. Stopped at Target and got some pet food - but also got their hummus chips (red pepper) and that is a huge temptation for me. Already had one serving - 130 calories.

FruitLady - GOOD LUCK with the dentist - don't focus too much on water weight from meds - you know it's not gained fat ... take away some of your worry! you're so hard on yourself.

Annie - hope you're still feeling better - kudos for you to keep up the exercise. I haven't seen anything recent by Mirj, but don't have her blog address to check up on her... I know it's here somewhere but haven't gone back thru.

Penguin - Did I miss it or did your FIL get out of hospital yet? How's he doing now? And your hubby - he handling everything okay?

Ashley - Yay on the pants - did you go back to get the other pair? I do that at times, but for me, the second pair is never just the same as the ones I loved to start with. it's funny. I do that with great work shoes, too... Any update on the legal stuff or is it in a holding pattern for awhile?

How's everyone else doing? Ange, Barb, you still out there? Looking forward to seeing what's up with those who've stopped by with a post or two here lately - join right in!!

Hi NP and all
I'm still here but reading more than writing.
Had a great few days up on the Barrier Reef. Snorkelling, swimming, drinking beer and eating nice food. It rained a bit on the last two days, but it was still warm and we still enjoyed it.
Been working interstate up in Queensland earlier this week. Next week i'm interstate again for 2 weeks but this time to Western Australia.
Meanwhile hubby is up in Hong Kong watching the rugby via corporate hospitality for the weekend.
Next week we have an invasion by the in-laws from UK. Hubby's sister, brother in law, 3 neices and nephews, and mother are all coming to stay in our house for a few weeks. I'll be away in Western Aus when they arrive but will catch up with them when i get back. Just trying to figure out all the sleeping arrangements and have a weekend of washing bedding ahead!

Getting stuck in to my running too and have signed up for a half marathon race on sunday (13miles). This is really a training run for the PROPER half marathon i'm training for on 15th May

And that's news from me! Put on a few pounds whilst on the Barrier Reef, but think i've lost them again now, so back to square one!

I woke up to a 65* house! Normal for me is 72* inside! Its 43* outside with a windchill of 37*. Eeeek. A few days ago I was complaining about the early warm weather. I spoke too soon.

NP, thanks for asking about FIL. I think I forgot to post, but he was released late Tues. I'm not sure what they were waiting for, LOL. But he is home. Hubby is confused; this is the third promotion he's been passed up for in the past few years. I feel he's just too good at his current job and they don't want to lose his training by promoting him. But we feel that isn't fair to him or to his co-workers who aren't getting a chance to gain experience by learning Hubby's job.

Ange, Good to hear from you. I sometimes feel like I'm posting the same things over and over as my schedule dosen't change often; so I feel I have nothing new to say. Your vacation sounds relaxing. Hubby and I are planning our first vacation in years next month. That at least will be new but no computer access either.

Penguin - Good news about FIL! ... any way your hubby could ask what he could improve upon in order to get the promotions - any area he needs to increase experience (just as a way of asking to find out the reason to see if he thinks it's legit or flawed) ... ?? I need to crank my heat up or come over . We keep our house at 65-67 and I'm always cold, but the natural gas prices are just crazy even on their budget plan so you pay year round for your heat. I meander down the hall and nudge it up now and then. In the fall when I'm being frugal the heat doesn't get kicked on until it hits in the upper 50s in the morning inside and I'm miserable and say THIS IS IT - the HEAT goes on but then I know it's on for good for about 5 months. UGH. I'm SO ready for the summer.

Had an incredibly healthy (not!) breakfast of a BIG baked potato. I just wanted the fill and warmth and chose it and counted it. Ate it in the car on the way to work.

Not feeling particularly ambitious today. Stepdaughter comes this afternoon for the weekend and tonight's dinner will be tomato soup/grilled cheese at home ... quick and easy cleanup, so I/we can watch hoops. Weighed this morning and stayed the same as a few days ago ... why am I disappointed with that when I've not eaten the best this week?

What's everyone up to for the weekend? 26 here tonight, 30s in the day tomorrow, so I'm bundling up and hiking with a lot of layers. Have ww meeting in morning, oil change and errands first.

Thanks all- The dentist decided not to pull the two teeth. Since they can be saved he wants to do a root canal w/ a crown in one & did a filling in the other. I don't have insurance so he is giving me a huge discount and letting me pay $30 a month on the bill. He's also doing other fillings so they don't cause pain. I left it all up to him cause he really cares about fixing my teeth up & is charging me very little. Not having money all my life to go to the dentist, is catching up to me, I can't eat certain foods, I don't have many back teeth left cause I had them pulled. I almost cried, i was so happy he wanted to do all this for me. He truly is a caring person.

Well, I've been doing good with eating today, rode the bike for 20min & took a walk for 27min. It's still cold out, but sunny. I'm too embarrassed to post my weight, i gained alot over the past few days, some water due to taking Advil & eating too much junk. I feel terrible about it, hope it comes off soon. I felt so out of control this past week, still ate my healthy meals but alot of junk in between and I wasn't even hungry, my calories were way too high for days. It's so hard to just stop and get back on track again, but I know I have to before it's too late.

NP, I try to use being cold as an excuse to get up and do something as it seems I'm always sitting on the couch under a blanket. Hubby is trying to talk to his friend who suggested he put in for the job. We feel the hiring decision came from higher up than the friend but he might have some insight. Hubby is topped out paywise so it doesn't matter where in the company he works he's not going to get a raise, and is more qualified/been around longer than most of the other employees. We wonder if that's not the problem. Why qualifiy/school someone else when Hubby is there to do the job already. Good for the company in the here and now, but not in the long run, but IMO corporations seem a bit shortsighted that way.

FL, very nice of your dentist to give you a discount and work with you on the bills. The sooner you get back on track the easier it will be, and the better you will feel.

FL -yay on the dentist that is awesome!!

NP - hope your weekend goes well with your stepdaughter.

Penguin - glad to hear about FIL.

Did good yesterday and today so far, hiked at lunch . going to sisters for dinner and nephews bday, having steak and cake, she always makes a nice salad so I would like to have steak and salad and forgo the cake. I feel so huge this week it is gross. I am alos feeling fatuguied it was really hard to hike these last few days but i did it.

We are making out Social security hearing into a vacation, going to stop and see hubby's kids on the way and stay at their house which will save us $80 on a hotel but we still need one for one night and this will add 10 hours to the trip but we havent seen them in over a year so probably a good idea even if for two days. SS says they will pay our travel but they only pay from the U.S border so they figure we dont need a hotel, when it is a 9 hour drive. It is a month away but is nice to have some sort of time off and get away hopefully our tax return will cover this and two new tires before we go.

FL- that's great news with the dentist - must be good karma coming back to you Hope you're painfree soon!

Ashley - thanks for the luck this weekend. I find I'm not always the most patient when she starts in with 25 compliments in 25 minutes (I love the dishes, I like your shoes, i love your purse, I love this chicken). I get irritated. I KNOW I should be thankful that it's positive stuff but I'm not a gushy person - well, with kittens i am - and I just think "ENOUGH". Patience.

Sounds like the trip is going to come up quickly - keep us posted as you're getting ready for it. Did you go by and snag another pair of those good pants?

We're to get 1-3" of snow tomorrow evening now. You northerners are stronger than I am - i'm weary of it all. I escape into a hot bubble bath in the evenings...

I did 55min of weightwork today. First time in a few weeks. I took extra time for a good long stretch so hopefully I won't be sore.

Thanks all for the welcome. It is good to find a group that is active- though I feel overwhelmed and a bit out of the loop and hope to catch up with what's up with everyone!!

All of your successes have been inspiriing! (as well as seeing that people who are successful have struggles along the way!)

Bf and I have been walking or going to the gym a few days a week and I have been walking myself on the other days. I have gotten 30-60 minutes of exercise every day and have stayed within my calorie range.

After several false starts, I finally feel like I am back on track and not struggling!

I have been planning everything I am going to eat in the mornings, allowing for flexibility. I think that has made a huge difference. Before I would be busy and get hungry and then just eat without thinking it through...

I am thinking of it like a debit card... I have a certain number of calories I can use and that's that. I have to budget them just as I do my money.

I am on Day 12 which feels great, because it seemed like I was ALWAYS back to Day 1 again before!

FL-So glad you have a dentist who is willing to work with you to help save your teeth. The work I have had done recently has been tough and I really regret not taking better care of my teeth.

I can't think of anything except a movie I watched tonight, The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. It is about the Holocaust and I feel like my heart has literally been ripped out of my chest. Just emotionally drained. I was almost wailing aloud at the end. That said, everyone should see this film. I don't think I've ever been affected this way by a film. Not sure I can even sleep. Just incredibly moving and stunning.

Stormed this morning; the thunder woke me up. Very rude! My abs and triceps are sore but the rest of me seems okay.

Went to ww this morning - down 1.6 pounds. yay. I'm the slowest loser, I swear.

Ran a few errands and then we hit the log home show. Yowsers. I think a bit of reality set in for us on the financing stuff. Oh well, fun to dream. We need to decide where we want to live forever, I guess. But we both love to travel and don't necessarily want to commit to just buying and paying for our dream home instead of seeing the world. Of course we don't have money for either now - ha ha!

Did tids and bits for an early dinner while we watched hoops - we were ravenous but I didn't want to do snacks and then dinner. Plan to go walk the trail in a while. Cold out but at least not raining.

ANnie - that movie sounds so intense - i was afraid i'd just sit there crying the whole time. Did it stick with you thru the night?

RPhoenixR - Day 12 is FANTASTIC - you're doing great with focusing and executing on your plan. Great job! Planning is a big part of my life, so I've carried that over into weight loss - trying to plan weekly meals, and just daily intake too. Not as good at getting the exercise planned and done, though.

HOpe everyone's having a great weekend!