Hi again . . . another yucky day . . . OMG, I am getting so tired of this Winter. Think I've got a bit of SAD induced depression going on here -- but it will pass -- nothing keeps me down for toooooo long.

Hope everybody else is having a great, great day.

Hi Pals,
Happy Ash Wednesday. Happy Lent.
Happy New Moon - Solar Eclipse.
Happy New Year - of the Rat.

Well if this isn't just a whole bunch of stuff all at once indicating a pardon-the-expression New Beginning (isn't that redundant?) then I'm a llama's spleen.
As hard as it is right now, I signed up several weeks ago for that challenge at the gym, paid my money, and now the time is here and I've got to do it. Met with my trainer this morning and I'm supposed to call him every day and let him know what I did that day for exercise.
I'll let you all know too.

This thread is a scream! I'm trying to not blurt out a big ole laugh here at work!

Counting Down, where did you get that rofl thing in the other thread? It is not on the ones here. I want one!

I think I'm going to have to make this one of my regular stops after the 17th.

Hey cbmare!

gailr42, you're killin' me with this shoe thing! Now you're buying $4 shoes at Mervyn's?

Happy Losar, everyone! That's Tibetan New Year--biggest celebration of the Tibetan year. Same idea as Chinese New Year--lunar calendar and all.

Spiny, it's the year of the Earth Mouse in Tibetan.

"New Beginning" seems redundant, but it's probably one of those emphatic phrases--just to make sure we really really get it.

I went swimming today! I wore my new swimsuit! The pool was lovely! We also have a hot tub with jets, and I spent some time there, too, then back to the pool. Ahhhhh it was nice!

hijude, I don't like a steam sauna--makes me feel like I can't breathe. Give me a nice dry sauna with eucalyptus oil. Yum...

meowee, I sure hope you get some sunshine soon!

Jay

Jay - SWIMMING! I am so jealous!

Mare - I use Firefox as my browser. There is a plug in called Smiley Xtra which has links to smileys on the net.

Spiny - you GO girl! You are gonna nail the challenge. You have so much focus when you are determined to do something. And we are here cheering you on

Folkaerobics - I love it!

Linda - I have a SAD light in my office. I go to work when it is dark, I come home when it is dark, and one of my two offices has no windows

Gail - those shoes sound wonderful! I NEED to go shoe shopping. In fact I need to go shopping. I have avoided apparel stores since I want to buy stuff - and I am trying to wait until I hit goal. (and then I moved my goal downward - what WAS I thinkin')

Jude - thank you for your kind words. I agree with Jay - no is a valuable word in the English language. We need to practice saying it more (I'm preaching to myself here as I deal with our youngest)!

I think we NEED to make life about us right now. I know I got to where I was by NOT putting myself first enough. I ignored my needs and what was best for me and put everyone and everything else first. It wasn't wise. It wasn't healthy. It needed to change.

Well Kickbox Bootcamp kicked my backside! I did 3 of the five routines and they were quite good. The "bootcamp" routine started with squat thrusts. I had flashbacks from high school gym class and it went downhill from there. I will be skipping that routine on the video in the future.

Wishing everyone a POP day You are in my thoughts, and that keeps me smilin'

Hey! Hellllooooooo!

Anyone out there?

I went swimming again yesterday... lovely! I'm so glad I can do it. And also, I got new running shoes (gailr47, take note! ) yesterday, so I'm rarin' to go. I don't run, but I do walk a lot, and my shoes were worn out--starting to bother my knees, etc.

Jay

Hi Jay - I love to get new shoes. I read that we need to replace our running/walking shoes every 6 months. I'm not quite there yet, but it does make sense. I'm still jealous. Swimming! We are supposed to get below 0 degrees again this weekend. The only swimming I will be doing is in my bathtub. They DID have a fundraiser for United Way last weekend - the "Polar Dip". They cut a hole in the ice and all went swimming in the lake. Not my idea of a fun weekend!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

CountingDown, wow, you are so encouraging!!

Those polar dip people are insane. I need a wetsuit just to go in the pool at the fitness center. 81 degree water is frigid to me.

I like the year of the Earth Mouse. I like a second chance at a line of demarcation for a new year. Especially since the Jan 1 New year has sucked so far. So I'm wiggling my whiskers and trying to hold my tail up in hope for things to get better.
Today - 15 mins of dancing around and 30 mins of Nautilus machines.
Now I have an appointment with a pineapple martini.

Hey! CountingDown, it was too cool for the pool today--and will be the same most of the weekend. Darn. But, as time goes on, more pool will be had. We also have a hot tub--with jets. I LOVE that! I no longer have a bathtub in my house, so the hot tub is a real plus.

I went and joined up at the Anytime Fitness Center today. Whew! All-new machines! Lots better than the old worn-out, half-working ones at our free center here. They are OK for maintenance, but not much else. Also, the new machines seem to give the correct readings for calories burned with exercise--really low... urk... But I think reality is a good thing.

Spinymouse, good work with the dancing and Nautilus before the, um, pineapple martini...

See y'all tomorrow!

Jay

Jo - More folkaerobics! I think I need to try some myself I've never had a martini - let alone a pineapple one. Though I did have an excellent glass of Shiraz last night

Jay - New gym membership! I know you have been wanting to do that for a while now. Congrats - you deserve it. Enjoy.

I have an attachment that I use in my tub that does the whirlpool/massage thing. I love using it. Many people around here have hot tubs on their back decks. It puzzles me. We have about 15 minutes of warm weather in the summer. I guess I'm like spiny - There is no way I'm putting an my swimsuit or any other suit and going out in the cold to jump into a tub full of hot water. The parts of me that weren't in the water would freeze. Add to that the expense and maintenance - I could probably get a gym membership for the same price. To each their own I guess.

Weigh in day today - down 2 lbs. this week Only 19 to go - then the real work (maintenance) begins.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

CountingDown, I used to live in Mass. and one of our favorite things to do was go to the hot tub place in the winter. It was good to get an outdoor one--they had a couple of tubs on the roof. All the tubs are private rooms, of course. What's outside the water doesn't freeze at all--in fact, it's really nice! The perfect thing to cheer one up in winter. Especially nice at night!

What I can't understand is people who have them year round here in Fla. When it's 93 degrees and 95% humidity in the summer, why would anyone want to be in a hot tub? Of course, the hot tub at our pool is there year round--so maybe this summer at some point I'll give it a try and see how bad it really is.

Jay

Lol - Jay thanks for the explanation. It makes more sense now. Having never used an outdoor hot tub, I just couldn't see how it would be much fun. Though, I'm rethinking that position. I joked with DH - we should put one on our deck. It is -2 F out there right now - BRRRRR!

I hope everyone has a wonderful POP week

Counting, my sister once had an outdoor hot tub in Park City, Utah, and we went bathing in the winter. The tub was built into her deck. It was so cold that night that the glasses we were drinking out of froze to the edge of the tub! Ha! We had to splash them with hot water to pick them up. But it made for a nice contrast. Seems so decadent now. She no longer has that house.

We went to the opera event last Saturday evening at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. The place is really wonderful, with several different stages. Our event was in the main hall. And, we also went for dinner. They have both a restaurant and a cafe as part of the center. The food was buffet style, but let me tell you, this was SOME buffet! The best! I'm glad I had saved up my calories--I didn't do too badly.

The singer, Kiri te Kanawa (her farewell tour), was as good as expected, although she didn't sing any of the big, famous arias. She is 63, after all. She sang many songs from a variety of countries and composers, including some folksongs. We made her sing two encores--she politely declined a third.

So that was my big night out! And it was great.

Jay

Oh Jay - that sounds like a marvelous night out! We don't have any opportunities to go to the opera here in northern MI. We do try to get to Chicago or Toronto to the theater every year or two. Opera and ballet are both on my list for tickets the next time we are in SF. Both were not in season for this year's visit. So, the kids are already looking at options for next year

What did you wear? Way to go with your eating. Buffets are my nemesis!

Jay - Thanks for posting about your Kiri te Kanawa concert. Sounds like a wonderful performance.

Kudos for not doing too badly at a choice buffet.

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