Hey Kat and Ellis first things first...

Ellis, you go girl...Tae Bo...no friggin way...that's an intense workout...you are THE WOMAN!!! Go Ellis, go Ellis, go Ellis, go Ellis


I bought the Tae Bo tapes years ago...tried them once and then gave them to a skinny friend of mine at work. That really is an intense workout. How sweet of your husband to encourage you and do it with you. What a doll he is.

And Kat, how much do you think your left arm weighs because maybe...oh no, Soozie, that is so very sick...

Kat, I came up with the number 11 because I'm at 190 and I want to break into the 70's. So 11 pounds will bring me to 179. Out of the eighties and into a new realm...the 70's. I was trying to come up with a reasonable short term goal. It will be fun if we try to do it together. Just think 11lbs would bring you to 247...not bad... a better number isn't it...do you know that I had to use pencil and paper to figure that out ?!?!

Kat, funny you should mention wheelchairs. I just finished emailing my friend who had a spinal cord injury about 25 years ago. The guys that are doing our kitchen are making a small ramp for me because I had built a ramp myself...being the renaissance woman that I am...that goes up to our back deck, which was fine, but now my friend is using an electric wheelchair and we have a little step up at the back door. That was no problem with a manual chair but it is impossible for the electric...so, I'll stop rambling on now, but it was really sweet of the guys because when I asked them if they could make it they said no problem and that they didn't want to charge me for it....must be the donuts that I've been buying for them.

So, girls...we have our agenda...11lbs...by September 15th...yahoo!!!
My partner and I celebrate our 15th anniversary on, of all dates, September 11th. (my cat just stepped on the keyboard and managed to bring up the internet explorer help box!!)

I'm excited about trying to do this. Thanks for the encouragement.
Here we go girls... Love, Soozie.

ps. the chocolate candy was lindt truffles. I've bought them before individually but our friends bought us a whole bag of them, in six flavors, its okay because I already ate all of the ones that I like...the dark chocolate and white chocolate will last a long time now because I don't like those...I ate all of the milk chocolate, hazelnut, and peanut butter...should I not be posting this...I don't want to be a bad influence...however, I had a lovely salad with tuna fish and really yummy tangy yellow peppers from trader joe's today for lunch. I put the peppers on instead of salad dressing. They are roasted and marinated. Do you guys have a Trader Joe's nearby...I don't know if they have them in Canada. I know we have em in South Jersey don't know about up North. Trader Joe's is like a discount gourmet grocery store. We love it there...on to the 11lb goal...love, Soozie

Thank you darlings, thank you... (too bad I had to BEG for congratulatory messages )

Okay girls... it's D-DAY!!
Kat, I'd like to reassure you and say that weight is all relative, but I know EXACTLY what you mean. It's like one of my girlfriends who's been model skinny all her life and has just had her first baby at the age of 39 saying to me, "I really have to lose this 10 pounds." aaaaaaaargh!! If it's any consolation, I'm pretty sure that on the doctor's scale I weight 10 pounds more, but I'm not going to fret about it.
Listen, just remember, sweetie... the heavier you are, the faster it comes off. Initially. So you'll be catching up to us in no time, girl!! And probably passing us!!

I WISH we had a Trader Joe's here, Soozie!! Because Trader Joe refuses to sell genetically modified food! Could you ship me up some unmodified food, please?

Soozie, that is so lovely that you'd have a ramp put in for your friend. I studied architecture for a few years (before dropping out), and I did an individual project on accessibility. It drives me crazy to go into an inaccessible building!! And almost all of them are! Even the National Art Gallery here in Ottawa... the doors between the exhibit rooms must weigh about 300 pounds. They're stiff as ****, and there are NO automatic opener buttons! So if you're in a wheelchair, you need to wait for someone to come and open it for you!! And if you're an old man with a weak heart, you have a heart-attack trying to get the doors open. Don't get me started...
And how sweet of the boys to offer to build the ramp for nothing.

Oh. Sept 11th is your anniversary, huh? Makes it rather difficult to celebrate, doesn't it. But 15 years is GREAT!!

"...its okay because I already ate all of the ones that I like..."
Nice, Soozie... sounds like me.

Okay girls... here we go!! I'm going to do another round of Tai Bo today. And maybe some squats.
If either of you fall off the band-wagon, I'm going to get nasty. So LET'S DO IT!!
xo ellis

Okay...I'm pumped, I'm ready...I'm sipping my green tea and my cranberry water (cranberry juice concentrate, unsweetened and diluted with lots of water) to flush all the yuckies out of my system...

I have the Tae Bo tapes, used to use them quite a bit, may have to resurrect old Billy Blanks and see if I can still kick his ***! (beleive it or not, I was heavier than I am now when I was using them on a regular basis!)

I love Trader Joes! My brother in law send us stuff from California bought at Trader Joes...I just looked up their website, the closest one to me is probably in Westfield, there are only 4 of them in Jersey....although, I may just have to take a road trip down to that one in south jersey and look around for a Billy Blanks hatin' lesbian mom of a 5 yr old, looking to lose the baby fat! Think if I just ask to have you paged, they'll do it?

"Irv, clean up in aisle 12...oh yeah...and would soozie the lesbian please report to customer service? There's someone here to meet you!"

Sept 11 anniversaries have been forever altered...how sad...but 15 years is wonderful, congrats. My hubby and I will celebrate 19 years of marriage 7/30.

Lots to do today, gotta run...have a good one, chickies...

Go Kat!!

Go Soozie!!

Go Ellis!!


hey kat... that cranberry is a great idea. I've just sent hubby to the store to pick me up some. Hmmm, I suppose I should have walked there MYSELF!
And green tea... I'll get out my green tea that I keep forgetting to drink!

Any other good ideas, girls?

Oh, I just met at my sister's house with my mom and a friend. Our friend is moving to Guelf (how the **** do you spell Guelf?), and we had a little goodbye get together. I am proud to say that I only ate a half inch sliver of the carrot cake. My sister's partner was cutting us all huge slabs about 4 inches thick, so I cut my own.

Hey, this is not a plug, but do you girls subscribe to
http://www.care2.com/
?
There's a bunch of advertising, but also a lot of good environmentally friendly stuff like home made recipes for body products, etc.
Wait... this is a better link... it's to "Annie's" stuff

http://www.care2.com/channels/more_annie.html

HI ladies, I haven't been in here to stop by in awhile! Humilated that I gained while we were away...proud to say it is off & then some already though! Plus I donate blood tomorrow, so that will be another 2 pounds! Course then I will lose nothing for a week, but it feels good to have that drop at once! Still haven't figured out how it works that way yet, but it does. If only they would let me give everyday I would be thin by August!

Been busy at work too, I hate when I actually have to work 8 hours a day, no time to check in with everyone & email my friends!

Kids are in trouble & sent to their rooms, Dh is out for the night, guess I have no choice but to go pilates. I thought that I would just be lazy tonight, but I am bored of that already. Maybe that is a good sign. In my "larger days" I would have been happy to sit on the couch with Ben & Jerry (icecream, not 2 men) for the whole night!

All the worrying about my son saying something to embarrass me when he realized my friends were a lesbian couple was for nothing! We stopped by on the way home, & my friends little brother was visiting. He is only 8, so Zach had a friend from the second we walked in the door. After awhile we hear them outside talking, Andrew is explaining that his sister & Kim are "Partners" and that it means they can't get married, but are like his Mom & Dad except that they ar both girls. Alli giggles, the 5 year old, & asks if they kiss. Andy says yes, & giggles too. I am clenching the counter scared to death what will come next! Zach goes "Ohh...Gross, I never want to kiss girls!, but if they are both girls, who mows the grass" Releived to hear Kim laugh, her & I walk away for her to tell her Mom. On the way home, Zach asked me if I knew what a lebsian (his pronunciation, not a mispel) is? I say yes, he just says, "Oh I didn't know if you did since you never told me, I guess it is like Uncle Mike being Jewish, it just isn't nice to point out, because some people are too dumb to know it doesn't matter" At that moent I knew I was doing my job as a parent if my 7 year old was smart enough to realize this! DH & I are going out with my girlfriend and a bunch of her friends & partners tomorrow night. He just laughed & said "figures I finally get a whole table of 9 girls in a bar without a man in site, and I still have not a one interested in me!" They have promised to include him with my honorairy lesbianship! He has drawn the line though & refuses to play Rugby with us. Says that he can't take the humiliation of all those girls kicking his butt all over the field!

Ok I guess that I will go at least do a load of laundry! Have a good night ladies!

Hi girls. Did well with my eating today. Yahoo.
Like the cranberry idea. Have to try it. Sounds very detoxifying!!!
Also, Kat, you are a scream...I loved how you plan to find me at Trader Joe's though I must confess we shop there often!! I love their stuff and their prices and yes, Ellis, no GMOs so we don't have to worry about waking up one morning with an extra toe or something.

We love Annie's Goddess Salad dressing. It is not a lo-cal dressing but it has lots of healthy stuff in it and it tastes so amazingly good it makes salads a major treat. You just have to use it in moderation. Everywhere else it sells for over three bucks a bottle but at TJs its only 1.99. What a bargain, who can resist?

Ellis where is Guelf?? Never heard of it. Good job with the cake. Glad you didn't let her slice for you!! (nice, you can relate to the, I already ate the ones I like bit )

My kitchen is nearly finished. Can you believe it? These guys are so intense. The sink, oven, garbage disposal, and microwave are all functional!!!!
We're just waiting on one cabinet that was not the right size, had to be reordered, some of the trim, and a second and/or third coat of paint on the ceiling. Also, the electrician has to come out the fix that wire that almost zapped my partner!!

On Monday they'll start repairing the framing of the front of the house...the original log cabin part of the house. I think I posted here about that .

Love, Soozie

Soozie, that's really cute how you assumed that my sister's partner was a woman. No, she's got a man. It's my hubby's sister who's a lesbian.

Oh... Guelph. Ontario. 40 minutes outside of Toronto.

What!?!? You have part of an old log cabin as your house?!? That's so cool!!
Hey, I can't believe how fast your kitchen is being completed! Listen darling, we want to see a picture when it's all finished.

Hey, good job with your eating, Sooze!!! How about you, Kat? How did you do? I did quite well. Aaaaaaaand, I just did 20 minutes of Tai Bo again with my husband. la di da.
I just love that little banana. He's so.... so.... phallic.

Oh, listen... did I tell you we bought 3 posters and had them mounted for the dining room? You know those old prints from the 1920's of The Tour de France? Black and white prints. Anyhow, we ordered 3, and I hung them in the dining room and they looked like ****!! Our living and dining rooms are painted this really cool shade of green, and we've got some green furniture and some red furniture plus a bunch of red accents. (a mix of antiques and contemporary... a red buffet from the 50's, an old oak hoosier cabinet, some cool upholstered/maple chairs from the 40's, a trunk on wheels for a coffee table, etc) And hardwood floors. No carpets. I hate carpets. Anyhow, to cut it short (too late, you say?), I've just painted the wall behind the prints red. I think it looks good. I'm just waiting for it to dry so I can hang them back up.
I hate that... you purchase ONE new item, and you end up having to completely revamp the house.

Going to Upper Canada Village tomorrow. It's one of those old "villages" that is thrown together for the satisfaction of tourists who care to know how the original settlers of Canada lived. You know... pumping water, making decorative brooches out of hair, churning butter, freezing your butt off in the dead of winter while using the loo...
I don't know about you girls, but I am VERY grateful to those settlers. Personally, I would have slit my throat within a week of landing.

I'm going to have some popcorn. I think I deserve a little. I could be wrong, though.
Do good tomorrow, girls... love ya!

ps... soozie... thank you for the affirmation of my good intentions. I needed to know. Your horiscope for today is, "Beware of right-wing axe murders."

Good morning Ladies, what I am doing up at this ungodly hour of 4 AM is beyond me! You would think that I would be doing something more productive than sitting here at the computer if I am going to be up too! OH well I have to be quiet, only thing worse than beng up this early & having everyone else up this early!

Soozie, how old is your log home. My husband & I built our log home 11 years ago. I love the character of it & that is different than everything else...but the upkeep can be horrendous! And I too have been known to eat those last 10 oreos just so they aren't there tomorrow to temp me!

Ellis, Dh has often suggested going to Upper Canada when we are at the cottage for a week, just have't made it yet. Maybe someday!

WEll if I am up I might as well go do pilates! Have a good day!

Hey girls... how's the plan going? I've done Tai Bo for 3 days running, now. I'm very proud of myself.
DH want to visit his mom today. Okay, he doesn't WANT to, but duty calls. I wonder if I have to go, too? I've got my period. Pretty damned good excuse if you ask me.
Upper Canada Village was fun. But expensive. 55 bucks for us to get in, 33 bucks for lunch, and 33 bucks blown in the gift shop. curses. Ah well.. the kids had a riot.
later darlings...

Hey Girls, Guess what Ellis I have my period too!!! (insert theme song from twilight zone) Anyway, I was cleaning the new cabinets out all morning and just got the urge for chocolate so I came upstairs to check in instead of chowing down. I'm sure the craving will pass...

I haven't exercised even though I had the best of intentions. Well, let me rephrase that...I have been climbing up and down on the step ladder, wiping out cabinets, cleaning the windows, scrubbing, carrying boxes of dishes, loading and unloading the new dishwasher, so I'm not just sitting on my padded little fanny.

So, I don't feel guilty, though it ain't tai bo...speaking of which, go Ellis you tai bo diva you.

Kat are you hanging in there?? Hope so.
Gotta go, the telephone is ringing and I forgot to bring the portable up here with me...talk again later.

Love, Soozie.

"do do do do. do do do do."
It's PERIOD time, men!! Look out! We are bonding!!

I would say that all that work DEFINITELY constitutes exercise, Soozie! yay Soozie!!!

Didn't do Tai Bo yesterday. Yucky period. My sweet DH didn't even SUGGEST I go to his mother's house with him and the kids. So I had a lovely quiet time to myself.

Listen, if you eat a huge chunk of feta cheese in bed just before you fall asleep, could that make you gain 2 pounds? It's very salty. I ate quite a bit. I know I'm not supposed to weigh myself frequently, but I'd lost 3 pounds until I weighed this morning... gained back 2. It's gotta be the feta, right? Tell me it's the feta... please.

I just don't understand. I've had a lovely bowl of mouse poison down for about 2 weeks now, and STILL I can hear that darned mouse rustling about in my kitchen. He hasn't even TOUCHED the poison!! Maybe I should stir a few Cheerios into it.

Kat, how are you doing? Where are you? My daughter drank my cranberry juice. Curses. I need my own fridge. Speaking of fridges, did I tell you that mine is coming on Tuesday? I'm just so nervous about it fitting through the doorways.

later darlings...
xo

Hey!! I have my period too!!! Well, it's just finishing, but I think that counts!

Well...I'm home, for a few weeks...three to be exact, then we're off to Maine...this past week was nice, but it wasn't MY vacation...just me and my son horning in on my sister's family vacation! It was kind of a waste, going back down...we never did get back to the beach, the weather just did not want to cooperate...that is, til it was time to leave Saturday afternoon. About 1/2 hr before we left, the sun came out in all it's glory...warm and wonderful, after a dreary, drizzly day. And so, off into the sunset I drove...heading to Philly to pick up my daughter...I was travelling from a different point than I usually do, so I really had to pay attention to the roads (not just throw it into cruise control like usual) I couldn't see a blessed sign, because of the sun in my eyes...I told my son he had to be my navigator, could he please put the *@%# Gameboy down for 5 minutes and read the road signs for me??? (nice Mom) I was pretty well stressed when we got there...but calming down...We loaded up my daughter and were heading out of the city when she asked if we could "stop for just a sec so she could return some videos for a friend?" Stop?? Where the **** do you stop in the city?? There's no parking anywhere... I pull over into a no parking zone, thinking she only had to run around the corner, I should be okay for a few minutes...of course I was told to move it by a kindly officer of the law...Thinking I could just drive around the block and come back again, I left...and enountered enough one way streets til I had no idea which way to get back to the one I left her on...I knew the general direction I wanted to get to, but did not know the name of the street that she was on. Panic started to set in...I am NOT a good city driver...I drove around a few times til I thought, AHA!! I'll call her cell phone!!!...I managed to dial her number....and heard the jingle in the back seat of my car...*^&$^%#^()*&&%#@#%$^&*@$&*#...Smart child that she is, she called my husband (at work) from a pay phone and told him what the deal was...he called ME to tell me her location...but I could not get to that point directly and drove around and around a million one way streets, trying to figure out how to get there (later she told me how she saw me drive by a few times)...I was cursing, crying, praying...my poor son was saying, "Mom, you are really scaring me!" Yeah well I was scaring myself! Not to mention that my gas was running quite low...Finally, she called dh back, told him to tell me to just STOP anywhere, let her know the location and she would come to me...I stopped right on Broad St, in the heart of the city, and waited...DARING a cop to tell me to move...{{"Go ahead, make my day!"}} She finally got in the car...about 45 minutes after I first dropped her off...I didn't know whether to kill her or kiss her...and guess what??? I have to bring her back tonight, THEN work tonight at 11:00 after 10 days off....

When we finally stopped for gas...OUT of the city...we also stopped at Mickey D's...one quarter pounder with cheese AND fries later...I'm starting again today...Yesterday started out promising, fresh fruit and a bran muffin for bkfst...but we went to Red Lobster for dinner...I had shrimp scampi and those wonderful biscuits (3) which sent me directly to dieter's jail, without passing "GO" or collecting $200!

Well, I'm going to get some housework done, haven't done that all week.

I'm glad the house is coming along so quickly, soozie...must be donut power! It sounds like you're getting plenty of exercise!

ellis, that must have been one helluva chunk of feta cheese! Try weighing again today...you probably are retaining water from your period...get more cranberry juice to flush it all out!!

christina, does a pint of blood really weigh that much?? I guess I'll have to donate a bit more frequently!!

Gotta run girlfriends...keep up the good work! See you tomorrow!

Hi ladies, just shecking in for a sec, waiting until DH SCREAMS at me to get in the car! We are going to the evil inlaws for the day, don't want to get there an earlier than I have to, so I am hiding hoping he thinks I am still getting dressed!

I was told that the blood does weigh over a pound & that you burn more than normal calories as your body works to replenish itself. I would donate daily if they would let me!

Oh jeez, I just got the 5 minute warning, I better go! See you later, I will asking for bail money if any of them tick me off & I have to kill them! Course no jury in the world would convict me once they heard my testimony on how bad they are!