Greetings to AR4life and slimmercindy! Glad to see you on the board! I hope you post often.

Yeah, CD, volume might be part of the answer. I had popcorn last night--it was good. But sometimes, I don't know, I just want something sweet, and sometimes that turns into more. I'm better off if I just don't start with some foods. I have never been a big fan of chocolate--and yet lately if I have any, I can't stop with it. Must be that magic combination of sugar and fat, eh?

Anyway, I've also been having trouble since I had to cut down on exercise. I have to find a way to get more of it without going more strenuous--at least until my back issue resolves. I think I got a little too gung-ho earlier this year with the step class and trainer etc.

So, here's to a good day for all!

Jay

I also have back issues so I need to excersise and yet not throw my back out so I can still work. At the beginning it is hard not to go gung ho, I wish that feeling of gung ho would stay with me!

DH and I were talking, he said he'd rather have a little than none at all, I would rather have none than just a little, cuz just a little makes me eat more. Ice cream, cookies, white wine, doesn't matter what it is, I am better off staying completely away from it.

Hi all - just a quick fly-by I had to present a PowerPoint workshop after work tonight - I FINALLY made it home - what a LONG day.
I'm glad I walked, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten any exercise at all!

Stay OP everyone! WE CAN do this!

Oh I have been so busy. Went to the prairies for a 10 days and had a great time. Then came home for a couple of days and went to visit my DD in the interior of BC.
Hot hot hot everywhere I went. The good thing is that the heat makes me not want to eat. But I have been making up for it since I came home.

I am just back to work this week and I am dying here. This is a stressful job and we are all just getting too old to be working.

It was so nice to be off and to just relax. Plus the kitchen is just getting finished this week as it was all on hold for the month of August. Counter is done and sink and new taps in. The tiler has to come back tomorrow and do some silicone and then he is finished.

Now the floor is looking old but the money is gone for this year. I am so glad I did it. It looks fabulous.

I have been reading all the posts. Hi to all the newcomers, nice to hear from you.

Laurie I get worn out reading your posts. Not sure how you do it.

Jay I have the same lower back problems. I got some exercises from the physio and if you want to send me your fax number I will fax them to you. Very low key stretch type of exercise just for your back. Said to do them 2 x a day for the rest of my life. They do help when you do them. The pain goes away. You can do them on your bed in the morning. That easy.

Lori so sorry to hear about you packing your classroom. That must have been very tough. Lots of memories. Good luck with the job hunt. xxx

I am at work but going home soon. Have not been to the gym in while but no excuses now the kitchen is done.

Have a great night everyone......

Hey folks!

Jude, I thought you'd disappeared! And... you did for awhile. Good to see you back! I'm so glad to hear that that kitchen is almost done...

Thanks for the thought about my back and the exercises. I do have the stretches--got them from my chiropractor. In the past, I had back pain mostly because of my weight, and with the combination of losing weight and getting fit, the pain went away.

But this new pain is something different from that, I think, and although stretching and exercising do help, the pain doesn't go away for long. My poor little vertebrae are just all upset. So, it's ice packs, sometimes hot packs, and over-the-counter anti-inflammatories for me.

Today we drove up to Tarpon Springs and visited the old sponge fishing docks. In the first half of the 20th century, this area was a major supplier of sponges, which were caught in the Gulf. A river connects the town to the Gulf. Tarpon Springs has the highest percentage of Greek-Americans of any city in the U.S.--their ancestors emigrated from Greece, where there was also a large sponge industry.

So the place is filled with Greek restaurants, and we went to one for lunch--Mama's, which is on Athens Street. I ordered the gyro platter, and they gave me enough meat to feed three people. So, that was lunch and dinner, and probably a meal tomorrow as well. Good, though! Oh, and we got a complementary dessert... baklava... only one of my most favorite things ever. It was heavenly, but oddly enough, a small square of baklava is not terribly high in calories. Only about 120.

So, I think it wasn't a low calorie day, but it could have been much worse if I didn't have some strategies now--like getting the takeout box!

We walked around after lunch, looked at shops, checked out the sponges--yes, they do still fish for sponges, although the synthetic sponges have just about eliminated the commercial fishing. They also have some boat tours along the Anclote River, which is an idea for next time.

Jay

Jude - SO glad to have you back! I'm feeling old this week too. Our district had a "buy out". I'm finding myself WISHING that I could retire (at least 3 years off), and envious of those that did.

With the budget situation, the tension level is almost at breaking point. While I enjoy challenges, it hasn't been much fun this summer or fall!

Jay - Spreading one restaurant meal into 2-3 has definitely been a huge success strategy for me Sounds like you made excellent choices all around.

I'm dragging today - yesterday was too much of everything, and when the cat jumped on me at 1:30 a.m. I could not get back to sleep. I finally dosed off as DH got up (4:45) and got a couple more hours of sleep.

Thus, I'm headed for bed soon. SO glad tomorrow is Friday!
I always quip that I really like my job excep the two weeks at then end of the year, and the two weeks at the beginning. One week down ...

Hope you are all having a great week!

Laurie

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend!
Stay on plan!!!

I'm off to get some food prepped so we have convenient and OP choices all weekend!

Laurie

Hi all! I've been gone a while but have been OP for the last 2 months. Getting more and more into exercise so glad to find you!

I'm actually finding the food part easier the older I get - I don't know if it's all the practice I've had over the years or the lack of hormones!

For the evening munchies - I don't eat after 7 but I make sure to get very full before then: Veggies and salsa; a whole cucumber with spices; a large glass of V-8 is very filling!

Glad to meet you!

Kris - welcome back I love your signature - inch by inch is GREAT! And so true!!!!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend! We are just hanging around home trying to get some chores done. Winter will be here before I know it!

I did get quite a bit of cooking done today - I shouldn't have to do much else in the kitchen this week other than cook some vegetables and prepare a salad or two.

I'm off to spend time by the fire tonight - we need to take advantage of this glorious evening!

Hey Buttercup! Right now I'm reading Borderline by Nevada Barr. What's your favorite book? I really liked A Superior Death, just to name one.

Everyone doing their "farewell to summer" Labor Day gatherings today? We seem to have plenty of summer weather left, although it's almost coolish in the mornings these days. (Temp must have dropped "a" degree.) We bought some all-beef hotdogs and buns and some Bush's Grillin' Beans, and that's going to be our Labor Day dinner.

I have been working all weekend trying to catch up on a project that has turned out to be bigger than anyone thought... a rather troubled textbook (for those who don't know, I'm an editor). It's a terrible way to spend a long weekend, but these things happen now and then.

Here's to showing restraint with the parties!

Jay

No big party plans here. DH is working and DS2 is at a gaming party with his friends. I have a quiet day planned - a little shopping, cleaning, exercise, cooking, gardening and maybe even a nap

Enjoy your holiday, all!

Hi Everyone,

See my Halloween Challenge

And here we are, with September marching along!

Finally dug my way out from under the weekend assignment. Whew!

CD, I'm glad you're enjoying the fires in the evening. How long will you be able to do that?

Last night celery was my "life saver" as far as the evening snacking. I also watched an episode of "Hoarders" about a food hoarder. That was enough to put you completely off eating!

Football season starts this week, which is a cheering thought for me! Sometimes when you spend your workday thinking really hard about highly technical stuff, it's nice to turn to something like sports viewing.

I went to the gym yesterday for a good workout! I realized that I had been letting my achey back cause me to cut my workouts short. No no! The idea is supposed to be, an hour workout, but doing gentler movements and easier routines! So that's what I did.

See ya!
Jay

Jay - on the workout! I thought of you when I got home tonight. It was a typical first day of school - exhausting! We had a wine-tasting event to attend tonight, so it would have been easy to skp my workout. But, I thought of you and lifted weights for 25 minutes before we walked down to the event.

We can continue to sit out well into October, if we want to bundle up. Right now, the weather is still in the 60s and quite nice. Who knows how long these warm evenings will last. It has been a weird summer - very cold for us. We had frost a week ago

Hope everyone had a nice start to the week!