Pat! I am also looking forward to getting to know you. I love this forum - everyone is fun and supportive and has such good advice I couldn't do it without them!

Freda - stay warm - hope you don't get the snow they are predicting for tonight!

Jay - glad you got out of jury duty - it was wise to ask to be excused. Though, I'm with you - if I could - it might be an interesting experience! Glad you did great with the eating. It amazes me how taking food "just in case" really makes all the difference in how I eat. Having my "security food" really has kept me from making poor choices many, many times.

Jude - the class sounds fun! Glad you made it to the gym. And - I hope the eating went better today!

Busy work day today for me. And I have no inspirations for dinner tonight. DH and I both decided to "celebrate" our anniversary later when we both aren't so crazy busy at work. I feel more like a nap than a party tonight - LOL. And we are under ANOTHER weather advisory until tomorrow morning.

Eating is going well, the scale is still staying in a 2 lb. range - which means that I might just have this maintenance thing figured out

Welcome Pat...
Glad you found us. There are some great success stories on these pages. Would like to be one of them too.

I am just trying to do the best I can to get through the season. Doing great today. I had a little talk with myself this morning. If I can not stop myself then no one else is going to. I have plans for next year that require a slimmer me. So trying to get serious.
Lately I have been trying to work through the issues that start the sugar craving. All takes time.

Sounds like you are getting your exercise.
I made it to the gym yesterday and plan to go tomorrow as well.

Glad to see you got a reprieve Jay. Lot of sitting for a long time.

Hi to everyone else. Hope all the Christmas shopping is going well. Sounds like the rest of us are having lousy weather.
We are supposed to get a bunch of snow this weekend. Not what I was hoping for. Have to work on Saturday and that will make it hard to get to work AND really busy.
Have a good night all. I am going home to watch the Biggest Loser finale tonight. Great show.....Jude

Just a quick note this morning...I've been up most of the night again, the back didn't like all I did yesterday. Oh well, onward ho
Our temp went back up so at least we aren't a popsicle this morning. I'm really late with this the rest of the house is getting up...so i'll have to go for now,,,talk to ya later.....Pat

Hi Pat hope your day went well. We have had lots of snow and it took me an hour and a half to get here this morning.
What a drag that was. I was all dressed in sneakers etc to go to the gym this morning but ended up shoveling the driveway in my shorts and sneakers and a parka. Too late for the gym.

I hate it when that happens. I have a hard enough time getting there anyway.
DD is trying to make plans to come for Christmas or Boxing day. Not sure why as she has to pay for a bus and the roads are wicked even for the bus.
Throws me into a confusion as my son and I were just going to do something easy.
If she comes I will be cooking turkey and whatever else. She is working on her stuff but not nearly enough time has gone by. Her life boggles my mind and that is not a good thing for me right now.
I had a good food day yesterday and now today is a little iffy. Work treats again and DD.
Have you guys heard of nanaimo bars? or is it just a BC thing?
Couldn't ask for anything sweeter I don't think.
Some days I just start over again after a slip. But I am definitely getting better and the sugar cravings are getting less.

Staying out of the sugar just works so well till I get blindsided by a nanaimo bar. grrrrr. Looked up the calories. 200 but 14gm of fat!! Did not shovel enough snow to burn that off.

Hope all is well with everyone. Busy time of year.....jude

Howdy! Been out of touch because of deadlines. When will it be over, you may ask. Well, not until later this month.

Jude, planning for the gym first thing when there's snow coming... Doesn't work out so well! When I lived in a colder climate, the gym had to be later in the day when I could get there with cleared roads... But the shoveling was good exercise I guess. I don't miss it!

Also, Jude, you and your son can still do something easy for the holidays--your daughter coming doesn't have to change that. She can do what you're doing--or not. No need to get all up in the air.

Pat--sounds like you overdid it with exercise? Or was it the stairs?

meowee, is the back better?

Laurie, good for you on the maintenance!

Hey Freda, Lori, and our other readers!

Jay

Good Morning Jude!! Thats quite a picture you painted of you shoveling snow in SHORTS???? My legs would have frozen off But I guess that was because you had planned on going to the gym...you're braver than I that's for sure..My legs don't see daylight except on Sunday, for church, in the winter months...and here it is not anywhere near as bad as up there.
I know what you're saying about your DD, I had a step come for Thanksgiving. It was not very pleasent, but we got through it. Hopefully no one is coming for this holiday, we had a full house for the last.
Congradulations on the good food day
That's always a good acomplishment!!! I seem to do pretty well until the evenings: Seems like I eat more as the pain increases...gotta get a handle on that..at least I've identified the trigger...first step.
I've never heard of nanaimo bars, but they could go by a different name down here in the states....If they are as good as you say, I don't want to
I had a fairly good week this time...even with the bad day in there...this is the day I usually weigh in...down two lbs
DH and I have to go get some last minute shopping done today, if we wait any longer we might not get it at all...Just presents for each other and my Mom left to get, thank heavens.....Well the house is starting to stir again so must get busy...Hope everyone has a wonderful day....Pat

Good Morning Jay!!! I must have been writing while you were posting...Hope your deadline works out for you I always hated those.....Hope everyone else is haveing a wonderful day.....
Pat

Hi all - quick fly by. The new convection/microwave arrived tonight so I had to spend some time reading the manual cover-to-cover. I made corn muffins. They came out GREAT! Nice and brown on top and perfect inside.

I could never get muffins to come out very well in my microwave - I'm liking this gadget already!

Using a "bot" I was able to find a Wii Fit on Amazon last night.

Hope you all had a good day!

Jay - keep some balance in your life with all that work!

Jude - never heard of nanaimo bars - but, just get back on track and don't sweat it. I agree with Jay - make your plans and DD can fit in or not - her call. Life is too short to fret about it - and given your other posts, she probably won't be happy whatever you do. So - do what YOU want!

Pat - I hope your back is better soon! AND that you get some sleep tonight.

Have a GREAT Friday all!

Good Morning everyone...I'm sorry I mention the back so much. It won't get better and I must stop complaining, sorry Anyway, thought I might mention since you said something about the Wii Fit...I've been looking and priceing them also...If you haven't ordered it yet you might want to check out 24 hour fitness store on line...they had them quite a bit less a week ago, haven't checked lately.
Had a good night so am feeling much better today...Thank-you
Finally got all of our shopping done...glad that's over. My stepson called last night and sorta tried to invite himself and family over for Christmas dinner. I love them dearly but the girls are wild, and Mom always gets so upset by their noise, so guess I sorta ignored the commit...Bad step mommy...
I actually was able to play half a song on the mountain dulcermer yesterday, that's huge for me. Oh I can play it the old way, but this new way where you actually pick out each cord is so neat
My life style change is getting better, not having to fight myself quite so hard...so the journey goes..I'm gonna climb stairs again today..it's all I have until DH gets the treadmil fixed...
Hope you all have a fantastic and productive day today!!!
Pat

Good Morning, I was writting and just got kicked out! Don't you hate that?!!!
We're getting the snow storm the weather men promised. up to 12 inches by tonight. It started around 5 this morning and we've gotten around 3 already. I had plans!!! Oh well, maybe when DH comes home from work we can go shopping in his truck. I'm afraid to get the car out.

Pat. Congratulations on learning to play the dulcermer. My grandma played one. Don't see them around a lot, and they bring back pleasant memories. glad to hear that you're feeling better.

Jay, hope you get all your work done before Christmas so you can relax and enjoy.

Jude, Never heard of the naniamo bars. Don't want to ever see them. Got too many temptations already!! I wouldn't worry about your DD coming for a visit. Just tell her what you intend to do and invite her to participate, or not. No need to change your plans.

Laurie, You're probably getting the same weather we're getting, maybe more. Keep warm, drive safely! I'm sure the schools are closed! Yeah!! extra day off?

Freda

Agh. The nanaimo bar is named after the town of Nanaimo, BC, where it originated. It is also sometimes called a New York Slice.

This page has a recipe. Warning: Do not read it if you have a weakness for butter, sugar, and/or cocoa... I hope I never encounter one.

http://www.nanaimo.ca/EN/main/visitors/NanaimoBars.html

Hey the slim me! Thanks for the good wishes about finishing my work. I lose hope, though. OH WELL. A New Year soon...

Time for lunch pretty soon--I'm really hungry this morning, no particular reason, though.

Jay

Oh Nanaimio Bars

Nova Scotia has snow . . . actually we are in the middle of something being deemed as 'Snowmageddon' in Ontario . . . whatever you want to call it; it's cold, windy, and white.

So glad I don't have to go anywhere today.

Linda - LOL - Snowmageddon - love it! Very apt for what we are experiencing right now! Another foot of white stuff today. Just finished an hour of shoveling and I'm TIRED!

Jay - I didn't dare look at the link - they sound like something that I would LOVE.

I haven't baked this year. Both DH and I decided that we could get plenty of baked goods at work, parties, church, etc. No need for more at home. It has been a good way to balance out the eating. Now that we finally have a scale that will hold DS2, he has been weighing regularly. I'm hoping that it will help him -even if it slowly - make some of the changes he needs to make.

Freda - yes, we got the snow, but we had school anyways. We had assurances from the county road commission that they would have roads cleared by the time the buses went home. And - unfortunately, I'm one of about 30 people in the district that are expected to report for work on snow days. It is actually a great time to get a lot done. My phone doesn't ring off the hook

I'm working Christmas break too. I have several projects saved up that I can only do when almost everyone is gone and I have exclusive access to the software.

Pat - My wii fit shipped and should be here next week. I will let you know what I think of it. If you have trouble finding one, let me know. I found a great online sight that updates every 2 minutes and lets you know when they are in stock on one of the major retail sites. It really helped me find one!

I'm open for suggestions for wii games if anyone has any thoughts!

Glad it is the weekend. I need to get some things done around the house. Hope you all have a fun and productuve one!

Well I was not going to post the namaimo bar but Jay beat me to it. Yes it is from the city of Nanaimo over on the island. One of the loveliest places in this area.

Well in expectation of DD coming I went out and bought a turkey which is not what we were going to do. But it is in the freezer and I am not sure if I will cook it. I think I should as DS loves turkey and he does not eat sweets. I will decide next week.

DD is not going to make it for Christmas. Turns out her work is closing till the 13th or something. They are having a potluck at a meeting on Christmas day so that is the best place for her to be.

Says she may come Boxing day but you know maybe she should just stay where she is. DS is back to work boxing day I think and I am just going to chill. Well I would love to have the daughter I long for but she is not available this year. I have to say though for her credit she is working hard at getting better. Big job ahead. I feel overwhelmed.

God I wish I would stop feeling eveyone else's feelings!!! Right now I am feeling sad. Not a good feeling for me when I am trying to stay OP.

My weight is holding its own for now. That is all I can ask for. Just gotta add more good days to the bad.

Sorry to hear you are so swamped Jay. But that is better than the opposite. We are swamped here too. Adds to the overtime. Tomorrow is my last day of overtime for a while though.
Hey Laurie love your new oven. Who would have thought you could make that in a microwave.
Pat good for you for doing the stairs. I don't do stairs anything but. Eventually hopefully.
Too all the snowed in people well we are getting a bunch more on Sunday. Jeez.
Hope you are all having a good night. Here is to an OP day tomorrow..
Huggs....Jude

Good morning everyone!!!

Well it's a balmy 32 degrees here, after listening to the stories of snow storms, I feel very lucky We don't have snow right now...we are suppose to get it Sun and Mon though....Being a Mich girl I get really tickled at the folks down here, you'd think a couple of inches of snow was a couple of feet...everything just shuts down...

Dh and I are going out for breakfast this morning, I'll try to be good, but my pancake is calling my name.. Probably won't be good, but will do good the rest of the day. I can make up the calories, and will.

Did the stairs 50 times yesterday, will increase it by about 5 each day till I get back up to 100....Have to learn to take baby steps, I get inpatient with myself and my body...but I now am getting a new prospective on it.

I worked for Amazon.com for 7 years, boy you talk about climbing stairs... that place is 5 stories high and the size of a football field and a half, it's real easy to get lost in there. I didn't have to worry about exercise then, could eat anything and it just fell off...But that was then and this is now...My point climbing stairs will really knock it off, thus my effort.

Well I hear life above me (my computer is in the basement) so I better get myself in gear...Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!!!

Pat