Good Afternoon! Bobbi, thanks so much for your help with fitday! I knew you had been putting your meals in for a long time but for the life of me I sure couldn't figure out how to do it! I even downloaded the "help" and still couldn't figure it out! So yes, I got the potato soup in the food log and I enjoyed some for supper last night. I also saved your email so if I forget I will have the intructions to do it again.

It has been cold here but no snow! I am so looking forward to Spring! My brother said he set up an appointment with the people who redid our pool to open his on May 5th. I'm thinking that I would like to get ours open around the middle of April (depending on the weather) but then on the nice sunny days it can be heating that water... it is going to take a lot to heat 20,563 gallons!

Well, I am puppy sitting for my brother until tomorrow. And believe it or not, my two just don't want anything to do with her!! She is still very much a puppy, only about 6 months old, and Ginger and Sissy just aren't that thrilled with her slapping them around! So I have put up the baby gate and have Angel in the office room to keep them separate for now. Maybe she will settle down afterwhile and then get along with everybody!

Take care and I will try to catch up later.

Some news -

My DD (Kathryn Triolo) won a photo contest - see photo of "ugly bird" -

http://www.nps.gov/history/heritagea...decjan2010.pdf

Lynn

Hi Donna,

All 3 are Tuscany towns -

Fiesole - left
Monteriggioni - middle
Volterra - right

Yes, DD is much better.

Lynn

Hi Everyone,

I can't believe it, but I just had a great start to a reply to everyone here today, but in the process of going forward and backwards on the thread I can't seem to get back to my original message reply. It seems to have disappeared. I just don't have the heart to start over again, LOL. I do hope to get the hang of this soon! In the meantime, I've enjoyed reading your posts and meeting all of you. I'll try again tomorrow to get this sorted out. Have a great evening everyone.

Hi ladies,
I have been MIA (not that I posted a lot, but I do read regularly!) I need a swift kick in the butt. Ever since December 21st, when I caved and participated in a potluck at work, I can't find my mojo. I was very sick with bronchitis (my excuse for not exercising), the holidays arrived and I made candy (almond roca, truffles) for the first time and it was just too good not to eat. The new year brought new stresses-the latest? My just turned 20-year old son is going to be a father. Anyway, I have been coming home from my very stressful job and just bundling up in sweats and a blanket. I don't want to work out. I want comfort food (think mashed potatoes with lots of butter and gravy) and wine, lots of wine. Today I actually managed to walk 3 miles with Leslie and do a little upper body strength training. I HATED EVERY MOMENT OF IT. I just can't get back into the groove. Spring will be here (in California anyway) before you know it, and I don't want to be parading my fat thighs. Can any of you offer advice? How do you get over apathy? Sigh...

Releve, I had the same problem. I found that if I had two windows open, I could switch between the two and not have to go back and forth, because I would always lose my post when I did that!

Lynn...cute picture your DD's picture, only a mother bird could love that face.
And you girls that lose post, just write them on your word, do a copy/paste and you'll not lose them again.

Good Morning,

Started snowing last night - still snowing. Supposed to continue until tonight.

Posted my snap pea couscous stir fry recipe - making it now.

Check back later,

Lynn

When I do a long post, I open WordPad or NotePad or WORD and write my post there - click back and forth between my post and the Golden Girls thread. Otherwise, I'm sure to lose it. Not sure why the 3FC system is so unstable, but it is VERY frustrating to lose your hard work.

Anyway, we're enjoying getting to know you also

Hi Giovanna,

There is a great book - of course, right now, I can't think of the title - that explains how our bodies fight us to gain back weight we lose. There is tons of research referenced in the book. The short story is that it is NOT in our minds. There are physical reasons why we have these "dieting lapses."

That being said, I'm in the same place as you. Between illnesses, holidays, stress, I have gained 8 pounds since Thanksgiving. We've just got to "Do It!"

Below are my best 10 ideas to get "back on track"

1) Go find someone on any 3FC Board who is in trouble & give them 10 ideas.

2) Go to www.dwlz.com & spend some time playing around there.

3) While you are in www.dwlz.com, download Weight Commander and spend time playing with it.

4) Make yourself a pot of herbal tea, put it in your best teapot and pour yourself several cups while you are on the computer.

5) Find a good meal recipe that is around 400 cals/serving; make it; package the servings in separate baggies; eat one.

6) Think of a good challenge you would like to set for yourself & post it on the 50+ Board. We'll join you in the challenge & it will be a lot easier to do it!

7) Identify 5 things you did today that were good/nice. Write them on an index card and put it on your refrigerator.

8) Go to at least one 3FC Board that you rarely visit & read through 1 page of messages.

9) Think of a goal that you could meet this week. Challenge yourself to do it.

10) Turn off TV, turn on some good music, lie back and spend 10 minutes imagining how you will spend a day after you meet your weight goal - be specific - start with when you wake up in the morning and go through day until bedtime.

Good luck to both of us,

Lynn

Morning Girls!

Hi everyone...

Sorry I gave you an invisible photo of my sketch... I'll try again at the end of this post, using a different posting method.

I've lost one more pound, so that makes ten since I started my diet at the beginning of January. I just can't stay off that scale! Yesterday it said I gained two pounds, but I knew it was kidding... I was just retaining too much water at the moment. That's why daily scale reading is such a joke. Anyhow, I did love the 230.4 reading this morning.

Lynn, crooked faces are interesting and beautiful in their own ways. I love, love, love the winning bird photo!! So glad to hear your daughter is doing better now. Snap pea couscous sounds delicious... I may try that! Thanks for ten ideas to get back on track!!!

Zoe, your lunch of fruit and Greek yogurt sounded delicious. I've never had Greek yogurt.. not sure how it is different. I use the large organic yogurt containers in our local small mountain grocery, which admittedly has a much more limited selection of foods than most American supermarkets these days. Sometimes when I go out into "civilization" I marvel at the huge selection of new-to-me items on the shelves at stores.

Bobbi, your snow stories are riviting! I haven't had deep snow at our home for several years. (Deep being over ten inches, I guess.) We live on an unpaved country road but UPS still manages to come up here, snow or no. Of all those 'boyfriends' you wrote about the only one I'd like to know is Will Power. Sounds like a cool guy!

Isabella, I was too shy to sketch the young guitarist... LOL... so I just got a drawing of the machines. Still it was a good learning experience for me. I'm a rank beginner at sketching but now am doing it daily. Thanks for the story of your slushy walk... I am so grateful we've had decent weather for a couple of days and no snow on the ground. I walked to a nearby creek and back yesterday - almost two miles, which is a lot for me after my foot injury last year.

Rosey, so good to hear that your friends plowed you out!

Donna, glad that your shoveling got done with no major traumas.

Karen, glad to hear there's no snow in Missouri since I have a friend driving north through that area to get home to Minnesota. I hope it stays that way for a few days at least! And you're already planning on getting your pool ready for summer!

Releve, sorry your post got lost. I'm composing my post on notepad as I read through the messages... and then can copy/paste when I get to the end. Computers can be so unreliable. I save my work a lot.

Hi Giovanna, you're already just about at my goal weight of 160 and you're the same height as me. I don't feel I can give you any great advice. My normal weight was 145 until I lost control of it years ago. I don't expect to get down that far again because I'm exercising like crazy and I know muscles are heavier than fat... so I'm setting my goal high and hoping to at least be healthy and 'thin enough'. Well, much better than now because I'm still at 230!

Here's my laundromat sketch from day before yesterday. I'm doing one sketch daily.....


Linda

Just a quickie...on our way to the orthodontist.

Giovanna, I see that you're from Northern CA. So am I, Lodi.

Nice to meet you!

My 1st post went poof gone into cyber space so Howdy again everyone..i have been waiting for my dh foot to heal before i made an appt to start the bypass surg journey as i need him to help get me down the wchair ramp and into the car..more difficult in winter anyways the dr office called and i took the 1st apt available ,its march 17th..my dh and his friends promissed to help get me out..im so excited its finaly going to happen..the only thing that would stop it is if my ins wont pay..i promissed to take u all along on the process..the 1st appt is a 2 hour orientation,lab work,1st visit with the dr and group meeting that evening..since welive out of town it will be a long day.. my 2 sisters have had the surg and look wonderful..this is just a tool for better health..its a learning process and a new way of eating..im excited to start and see where it takes me..Jess i to have trouble keeping all the posts strait so if i miss you its not intentional..hoping u all have a great day ((((hugs)))) rosey