Another quick fly-by from this drastically over-worked retired person. Hopefully it will soon be over and I can get back to the important stuff -- chatting with my 3FC pals, for example.

In the meantime -- how about just saying 'please' and 'thankyou' and 'smiling in all the appropriate places' and you shouldn't need to add "dear" or "honey" or "poopsie-pants" at all.

Keep fighting the good fight everybody -- see you again soon --

Hey JUDE I mean those "senior" moments sometimes when you can't remember a person's name even though you know you have known them for 25 years!!

"Dear" always seems to work for me....but then cute guys can get away with it....hahahahahahahaha....yeah right!

Jay

Hi Sucroseplums,
You all will never believe what I just did. Well, maybe you just might. At the fitness center they are having a Biggest Loser Challenge. It's expensive. It costs almost $400 to enter. For this you get a bunch of inspirational and instructional emails, a bunch of body fat measurements and 8 personal training sessions, one a week for the 8 weeks of the challenge. There are four winners at the end of the challenge, because the categories are divided into male and female, under 40 and over 40. The winner in each category wins $200. So you don't even get your entry money back. But what the ****. I just got a check in the mail for $500 that I lent someone 9 years ago that I didn't expect to ever see. And I want to do this because I want to do any thing that will make me motivated to lose this darn fat. Oh - the winners are determined by who loses the most body fat, not weight. I have a lot of fat to lose. Challenge begins Jan. 29. That should give me time to get these hind legs to stop screaming at me.

Jo - wow - way to go with entering the BL contest! I entered the one here on 3FC last time (came in 2nd on my team) and so I entered again this time. I agree, that for some people (me) having those types of challenges is an extra motivator to stay OP. I actually exercised more because I knew that I didn't want to let down my team. I'm betting your hind legs will be in fine form by the end of Jan.

Linda - I'm watching you and your busy schedule. You are a mentor for me when I retire (at least 5 years, unfortunately). You definitely don't sit around and knit all day

Gail - I am blocked from YouTube AND 3FC at work (as well as a host of other sites) Both have "sexual content" that we don't want the kiddies to see - and we have one filter - for all computers on the network.

Jay - I applaud your tenacity with working out. I can't seem to stay focused on the Gazelle, treadmill, etc. Even my weight lifting day was shorter than is should have been. I'm thankful that I have so many DVDs (and I ordered 2 more this week). They work for me. I do what I am told, when I am told to do it, and stop when it is over. Pre-measured, pre-planned, canned, and relatively foolproof. Without them - ugh - I don't want to think about it! More "Sizzlin' Salsa" aerobic dance today. I ALMOST made up for only doing a 20 min. weight session.

Hope you all had a great day

Well . . . I wish I could find a little more time for knitting, sometimes.

But just look at this, I got to stop in here at 3FC two days in a row. Not that I hven't got pension calcs to do, but at least things are starting to slow down a little. I put in a second load of laundry and even spent an hour outside in the mild morning, scraping at the last few lumps of ice on my driveway (call it exercise). My house faces north and right up near the garage the sun never gets at the driveway so it takes a long, long time to clear off. We are supposed to have another relatively mild day today but they are saying freezing rain for tomorrow so I guess Winter is coming back after all. Hey . . . at least I'm starting over again from clean bald ahsphalt.

Guess I'd better get back to the mathematical stuff again . . . have a great moving and shaking day, gang . . . see you soon . . .

Are you all moving and shaking as Linda suggests? I'm not... I've gone and caught another cold. Crap.

Snurf...

Wow, Spiny, a challenge... well... it should be an adventure for you! And hey, you might win! and lose fat! and collect $200!

I think I'll go back to bed now...

Jay

Jay, you stop that. (getting sick, that is!)

I moved and shook yesterday (sounds like one of those frenzy-inducing churches with the snake handlers - hey, is there an exercise DVD for that???) and have been planning my hypothetical exercise schedule for the BL challenge. This is going to be a real good time for me to do this because 1) that $500 check 2) this is the first time that I can remember that the new year feels like a new year. I don't know why. 3) the bar that I usually go to after work is closing this Saturday! Can you believe that? Yes there are other bars, but they are not as enticing, as they are not part of my usual routine. Yes, they serve beer and wine at the gym but it's safe to say I'd only have one light beer there after an evening workout, and I'll probably be working out mostly in the morning. So I'm taking these two weeks to get in a new routine, and start the challenge with non-sore muscles.
Counting - I'll be on the BL here on 3fc too. Hope we're on the same team!

Linda, we are supposed to get snow tonight (actually under a winter storm warning tonight) after losing virtually all of ours this week. It is really windy and feels cold after the mild weather

I'm entering a busy season at work as well. I've had to put in an extra couple hours a day just to stay afloat. Sometimes I wish I wasn't salaried

Jo - I hope we get on the same team too! I'm hoping that I can get my weight loss back in gear. I would love to get these last lbs. off by summer. I think summer would be a grand time to try maintenance. It is so easy to be active in the summer

Jay - I hope you are feeling better soon!

I'm babying myself with a whirlpool bath tonight. DH has to work late and I pulled a hamstring yesterday. After icing it yesterday, I'm thinking a nice bath is in order

Sounds like everyone but Spiny is sort of limping into the New Year. I'm trying to get back on track but with all of the schedule disruptions since November it is sooo hard to get back into a routine of shopping and meal planning and counting calories and all the effort it takes to live a healthy let alone reducing lifestyle.

My new pedometer that I bought through the 3FC link to Amazon is just the best! I now know that during my regular day I walk 2.5-3 miles. I don't really understand if this helps in weight loss because it is in fits and starts not in one long walk. I am hoping though that measuring my distance daily will help me to add more steps each day. At this point this effort certainly will not hurt

I think it's better to walk for at least 15 minutes, but any is better than none!

Sniffle. Cough.

Jay

I don't know what got into me. I must have had a couple of glasses of wine too many, when I got on the internet and ordered not one but two bras. I mean real bras, the kind with cups in them. I've always said I need a bra like I need a jock strap. I can count on the toes of one foot the number of times in my life that I have worn a bra. But, I am starting to exercise now, and if I go to a class where I get sweaty, I don't want to look like a bad entry in a wet T-shirt contest.
I do have some of those sports items of clothing that are basically tight-fitting stretchy tank top things that are only called sports "bras" because they don't go all the way down to the waist. But they don't have real cups in them. I should really stick with those to wear under my T-shirts.

I ordered the real bras because of too much wine and because I measured myself and according to the formula I would wear a size 40 AA. This is not an easy find. I think that the manufacturers assume that if one is big around in circumference they are also big in cup size so most size 40 bras are not available in cups less than B or C. So when I found a place that sold a size 40 A (not AA) I jumped on it like it was a rare find, and ordered 2.
They arrived yesterday.
Wow. What the **** am I supposed to put in those cups. they looks like two soup bowls.
I put on one of the bras. Here are my comments.
1. Not only do the manufacturers assume that a large chest circumference means bigger cups, but they also assume this means bigger breast height and width. These cups, even if flattened out, would look if not like soup bowls, at least like small dinner plates.
2. The band circumference is fine. I think I need to detach the cups, buy a size 34 AA bra, and attach those cups to the size 40 band.
3. How do you ladies stand to wear these things??? The bra is constructed so that the seams and tag are on the inside, next to the skin, even though no one is going to see this garment. Seams and tag next to the skin = itching. I want to scratch myself constantly all around the bra area. I am considering wearing it inside out. I did cut off the tag but the tag residue still itches because I can't get rid of it completely without ruining one of the itchy seams.
4. This is quite the harness. Where's the snow and the sled?

jo

Well, there are companies that make bras specifically for sports--if that's not where you got yours, then you might want to look at some of those. Places like Title 9...

Sports bras are made so that they don't chafe, but any bra will feel tight, and one does feel itchy here and there, especially with a new one, until one gets used to it. Washing them before wearing sometimes helps. Don't dry them in the dryer! Ever!

I have worn a bra all my life, even during the years when everyone was going bra-less as some kind of statement, because I am large enough that I do not feel comfortable without one. And running and strenuous sports are just not possible for me without one! So I can't tell you how I do it except that I'm used to it.

Lesson: Don't drink and buy bras?

Jay

Wow! thanks, Jay. I never heard of Title Nine before and just looked it up. I noticed that their bras only start with A, not AA, but the pictures look like they might work.
So now my question is, if the sports bras don't chafe and itch as much, why would anyone choose to wear a non-sports bra, for anything?

Still crazy busy but I think it's almost over . . . can't think of much in the way of weird questions that I haven't already been asked about ten times.

You can always rip off the tags, SPINY and some of us who have the sort of opposite problem to you find that sport bras don't provide enough support for those fancier occasions.

Gee . . . why can't we all be perfect and/or at least fit the "average" description a little better . . .