After reading Diva's post....I am so sorry Bridgette about your friend. I don't want to be so wrapped up into what's going on with me that I forget to support others. You and DD will be in my thoughts.

I forgot to tell y'all. We got a beautiful tree at Lowes for only $21 bucks. It's full and so pretty and smells wonderful. I thought we would have troubles with the 2 kittens, Punkin & Bonkers, because they are a lil' over 5 months old, but lemme tell ya, Their Mama, Stormy, who is almost 6 yrs old is the one doing this:

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...oncatxmas6.gif

LMAO! She's bad...

Oh and I'd like to make a comment. It makes me SICK the way J can eat and eat and eat, carbs and calories and NOTHING happens to his figure lol! I've gained 2 lbs and feel like a whale and he's the same tall skinny dude! grrrrrrrrrr

Roni my dh is the same way. So aggrivating! thats really funny about the kitties, we used to have 2 cats many moons ago before I figured out I was severely allergic and they used to get in the tree and drink the water. I'm thinking the same as you, I think there are alot of people who arent happy about the teams being mixed up so if there isnt just one chat thread its not gonna be good. But...from what I can tell and the last I heard there would be just the one chat thread. I'm feeling super gross today too. I'm gonna use the next 2 weeks to just stick to what I know I need to do! Wanna join me?

Shay....ugh AF!! You do so awesome with your menus I just know any gain is nothing but bloat. Not to worry! I'm thinking we all could use a swift kick in the tush to get rolling

Well except Bridgette!!! 3 lbs!!! Girl you are amazing!! Great job this week!! I'm jealous! LOL!! I wanna be a big loser too, so you just inspired me to stop dragging my feet! Way to go! and I too am sorry I didnt say something before but I'm really sorry to hear about your loss. I hope dd is okay too. I'm the same way with procrastinating going to see the ones I need to. My dh's granparents were put in a nursing home several years ago and grandma has such severe Alzheimers that she doesnt even know who I am so I havent gone to see them. I know I'm gonna regret it when the go.

Alrighty, gonna work hard today to finish up homework for my cost class. I have that final this thursday. Its been raining here all night long and melting all our beautiful snow. Gonna make for some nasty roads!

I'll be checking in! Have a great day Red!

~melissa

P.S. To any Lurkers out there! I really dont mind if anyone wants to jump in with us and chat! I know we've still got time left on our challenge but the chats are gonna stay up till the next one starts and there's no reason we cant get to know each other a little early is there? So jump in and say hi!! Even if we dont end up on the same team its all about the support!

Dream I'm sorry about your friend! That must be rough. Was the Gastric the cause? (And congrats on the great loss!! woo hoo!)

Just poppin' in for a quick hello. Tomorrow we go set up the booth for the show and I'm a bit worried about how it's going to look compared to the people who had 6 months to prepare! I've only mostly had time to work on stock not polishing up display.

Had a great loss this week but I have to admit it's only because I've been working every waking hour, and eating not as often as normal, and kinda like crap. (Lean pockets, coffees... etc)

congrats to most of you for the losses, and those who gained, eh it happenes... just keep going!

Popping in real quick, will try to post more tonight. Hope everyone had a great day!

Dont forget to post your weigh ins!! I totally forgot it was deadline day! Almost got kicked out of the challenge! LOL! Sorry gotta rush out again I've got 5 different batches of cookies to get baked and dinner is going.

~melissa

Mel, did you catch Genie Frances on The View this morning? OMG! She looks GREAT! Here's her Access Hollywood clip off the medifast site.

http://success.medifastdiet.com/geni...other-updates/

Good Evening ladies! I hope everyone had a wonderful day. My day wasn't too bad til about 4:30. The evening girl called in so I had to work late. I was out of there by 7:30 which wasn't too bad but I had to go to Wal mart afterwards, to prepare for AF. I'm expecting my least fav aunt to show up anytime! I came home and my kitchen was a disaster. I left this morning and it was in order and a day of hubby and dd being home it looked like a tornado hit it. Well tonight I told DD about Karmen, I was about in tears. She handled it better than I thought she would. I still haven't decided if I'll take her to the funeral or not.

Muse- yeah her gastric bypass definitely played a part in it, along with depression, and family baggage. She was taking calcium and iron supplements together, because she wasn't getting enough from the small amount of food you can eat after the surgery. According to her the calcium and iron cancel each other out when taken together. So then she had to go in for iron shots, which left her sick. Basically it came down to her body wasn't absorbing nutrients from the food she was eating. She lost a lot of weight, she weighed 108lbs with a 5'7" frame. Her body became so weak that she couldnt even hold her head up. Sunday she was put on oxygen, her kidneys starting failing, she came down with pneomnia (sp) and eventually died from cardiac arrest. All of which happened within 5 hours on Sunday.

Shay- As long as your down for the whole challenge than I think you're a winner! I got so frustrated about a month ago, when I took my measurements and they went up for the first time. It took my friends saying its ok, you're still down from where you started and you look great!

Melissa-now we can't be having our leader kicked out of the challenge! 5 batches of cookies.... you go wonder woman... still amazed.....

Diva-I'm glad you decided to sign up for the next challenge. Even if we're all not on the same team we can still chat and support each other! I'm sitting here thinking about Stormy climbing the tree.... awnry lil kitties! You know I always think those slimquick commercials are so true. My husband can give up pop and he'll lose 10 pounds, if I do the same I might lose 2 if I'm lucky!

Well I best start the dishwasher and get ready for bed 5 o clock comes early. Everyone have a great night and we'll talk to ya tomorrow.

Bridgette.

Dream, Congrats on the 3 pounds. I am so sorry to hear about your friend and all that she went through. I will be keeping her and her family in my thoughts and prayers. :(

Diva, if you replaced that cat in the picture with a 15 month old, that would be my house. Also, try having a big stupid dog try and "mark" the tree every time he's alone with it...lol

Melissa, sending you big A+++ vibes for your final on Thursday!

Shay, I know you will have no problem getting back on track, I think this has been a rocky couple of weeks for everyone.

I would like to join the challenge again, but would feel pretty guilty considering I've been kicked out of this one and all. I guess I have a little time to consider it. Today was a really good food day for me. And I also did a 2 mile run with hills.

Leeda you join! LOL..seriously you've been so awesome with posting and offering support I'd hate to lose you from my team thats for sure!

Come on Leeda....join us in the next challenge...u know u want to....it was accident that you got "kicked out". You didn't give up, you've been here giving support both before and after the lil oops. I'd hate not to have you giving your encouraging words on the next challenge!

Its me AGAIN! Yeah I actually ran 2 miles non stop w/o achy calves and no side stitches (sp). Its been probably 3 weeks since thats happened.. I'M BACK BABY! OOOOH better go I got muffins in the oven.

:lol: I'm such a dufus... I had nasty physics yesterday and I totally forgot to post my weigh in yesterday. I iz now teh village idiot. ;)

Dream, way to go on your 2 miler!!

Diva, do you think that squirt bottle trick would work on my son? :P
Yes, that is progress resisting the call of bisquits!! Good for you!

I was thinking today, I hardly ever notice loose skins on the contestants on the biggest loser. Granted, maybe they are covered with clothes, but I just would think there would be tons of it. I've been thinking alot about loose skin because I'm pretty sure I'm going to have some in my tummy and boobs. I do remember someone (seth?) having loose skin around his tummy while he was showing his 6 pack...but if it's around a 6 pack, you can't mind too much! Oh well, I was wondering if anyone else noticed.

Going to a baby shower today, It's going to be a big test. I will get to see a lot of people from my old job...it's going to make me nostalgic for old times :) The food there I'm sure will try to lure me. My plan is to stick to veggies and fruits, maybe sandwhiches without mayo. NO CAKE! Wish me luck!

Good Morning girls! Flying by the seat of my pants this morning, typical for tuesday I suppose. And I've got an early PTA meeting this afternoon so I may not get back for personals till later...I'm sorry!! I did see that Bridgette ran though...WOOOHOO!!

I'm not gonna lie and say that I did not partake in any of the cookies yesterday, sort of had to because 2 of them were new recipies and since I'm serving them at PTA tonight I really did have to test them, just to be sure.

And one last thing before I head out the door....girls your prizes are ready to go finally! I got everything all ready yesterday and then ran out of printer ink so I couldnt print the instruction cards but we are good to go, things are packed up and headed to usps today! I'm so sorry its taken me so long, just think of it as your Christmas present now LOL!

I'll be back!! Keep shining girls!!

~meliss

Hello, all! I have signed up for the next challenge and have been reading to try to get familiar with some of the members. I have been a lurker for several years and have gained and lost the same 10 or so pounds in that amount of time. I had a small group I chatted with for a few months last winter. I did well checking in close to every day, but the group fell apart as did my "stick-to-it-ness" (can't think of the word I am looking for ;)) I have tried to find a new group but I get overwhelmed! Some of the groups around here are pretty large. I want to respond and include everyone, but I get confused :dizzy:!

I'm ready to put excuses aside and get serious! I have a definite goal (event) in mind and this is my year to get there! I'm a little nervous about getting kicked off my team because I seem to be having memory problems lately! :lol: I have a bit of a boring life and struggle with what to post, but I plan on checking in often during the next challenge and I hope to get to know you ladies a little better.

Dream - I'm sorry for your loss. When I was in Jr. High, I lost a grandmother type figure after a long illness. I hadn't kept in touch with her and didn't attend the funeral. (I think I just didn't know how to cope with the situation at that age) I'm not sure how old your daughter is or where she is emotionally on dealing with this, but I just want to say that not attending my friend's funeral/visitation (by my choice) and getting the chance to say good-bye is one of the bigger regrets of my life. I hope you and your daughter can find comfort in this difficult time.

*Perks* Prizes? No Christmas present for me? *sadface*

ksk571...Welcome to the Red team!! So good to meet you!! its good that you are done with the excuses because while I can certainly be the queen of excuses I'm hard pressed to accept them LOL!! I would say dont worry about responding to everything, acknowledge the stuff that needs celebrating and if someone is struggling and you can offer some support those are the important parts. I tend to get very winded and post about every little thing but I certainly dont expect anyone to respond to my jibber jabbering LOL! Even if nothing is going on the biggest thing you can do for yourself is to hold yourself accountable, whether that be a simple...I did well on plan yesterday, or I exercised today or posting your menu. We all watch it and ya never know what someone can point out to you or you might just inspire someone. I'm really looking forward to getting to know you over the next few weeks!

Chellez...LOL! Girl did you stick to plan during those 10 days before Turkey day? dont be sad I bet Santa has something special for ya!

Whew! what a day its turning into, one of my kiddos stayed home sick. And i've got a meeting to prepare for. Plus I missed GH yesterday! LOL! Oh priorities!

~melissa

I can't believe that the challenge is almost over. It's so depressing. I can't wait for the next challenge, but it won't be the same.

Well what an evening. I did good eating til it came to supper time. I shared a nacho platter with a friend at bowling and then managed to eat 2 slices of pizza when I came home...OUCH what an overload on calories. Speaking of bowling I get the idiot award of the night. I got up to go get the nachos and I put on my slipper so I didn't get my slide shoe wet....Well I forgot to take the slipper off before going up to bowl. Well guess what I didn't slide, INSTEAD, I propelled forward my ball landed in the gutter, I landed HARD on the foul line, and my hands landed in all that icky oil. LOL How embarrasing. My knees are soooo sore and I have lil knots on both of them. Considering I bruise easy I'm sure they'll look lovely tomorrow! Anyways I suppose I better get DD in the shower its way past her bed time.

Everyone have a great night.

Bridgette.

oh Bridgette LOL!! I'm sorry I'm really not laughing at you but that is hilarious! So something that would happen to me! LOL!! I hope you arent too sore tomorrow! LOL...thanks for the giggles!

~melissa

Ouch bridgette! I'm glad you're not too sore today, sorry that happened :P

Tera, it is kind of depressing that the challenge is over. I keep looking at the goal weight I set and get kind of sad that I'm nowhere near it. At least I weigh less than I did when I started!

Well, I had a great time at the baby shower. I talked and laughed and then went to get a plate, put some chicken spaghetti, crackers and cheese, a one small piece of cake on my plate. A lot of this I shared with the baby. I was halfway done eating it before I realized that I said I was only going to have fruits and veggies. Argh! But, I didn't eat a lot. The cake tasted too sweet to me so I had one bite. It was lunch time, so I just counted that as my lunch. I really didn't do badly.

I did some yoga and weight lifting when I got home.

Good Morning girls! Well dd is staying home again today so I've got a few extra minutes before the other dd is ready to go. It was so cold here so I got the furnace turned up and then the past few days its been in the 40s and 50s well now its so damn hot in my house I'm sweating! I've got the windows open this morning! So much for the snow!

Leeda...I think that can be the hardest part of trying to change our lives, and that is doing it unconsciously. We can go in with the best of intentions but its just not automatic yet. We'll get there, dont get too down, sounds like you didnt do too bad!

Alrighty, better get some breakfast and make sure my girl is doing what she's supposed to be doing. Have a wonderful day everyone! I'll be checking in on my study breaks.

~melissa

OMG! Lemme tell you, The Stuffed Flounder we had for dinner tonight was awesome! I am gonna post the recipe for y'all.

BAKED STUFFED FLOUNDER
Printed from COOKS.COM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


2 lbs. flounder fillets (or 12 pieces)

STUFFING:

1/4 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. butter
1 (3 oz.) can mushrooms, stems and pieces
7 1/2 oz. can crabmeat
1/4 c. saltine cracker crumbs
2 tbsp. snipped parsley
1/2 tsp. salt

In skillet, cook onion in butter until translucent. Drain mushrooms, saving liquid. Add mushrooms, crab, crumbs, parsley and salt to skillet. Mix. Lay flounder, skin side down; divide stuffing among fillets. Roll up. Place in baking dish, seam side down. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare sauce.

SAUCE:

3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. dry white wine
1 c. (4 oz.) shredded Swiss cheese
Paprika
Reserved mushroom liquid

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour and salt. Add milk to mushroom liquid, add wine. Cook, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly. Add cheese. Pour over fillets. Bake 30 minutes. Check doneness and add paprika to top. If sauce is too thick, add tiny bit of milk and place n oven until heated through. Fish should flake easily. Serves 8.
*******************************************
The only thing we did different was we didn't use the sauce or the parsley and he made his own Lemmon pepper sauce w/butter and pour it over the top. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Good and very fulfilling! Also for you lowcarber's, it's pretty dagum low carb too! :D

I'm back. My paper is all turned in. This paper worries me. I have an "A" and I'm trying to keep it. I have the final exam questions, they are due next Wednesday. I was so busy with that today I forgot to eat my 2 afternoon snacks. I will squeeze them in otherwise I would wake up starving tomorrow.

Melissa--Good luck on your exam tomorrow.

Diva--The recipe looks good. I know how you feel about the binges. I have them now and then. When I'm done I'm like WTF?

Bridgette--I won't say anything....

Leeda--No worries, you didn't even eat that much.

I'm attending a holiday party on Friday and I plan to have a little bit of everything I want. Oops I forgot I have another holiday party at a pizza place earlier in the day. Yeah, I gotta do some plannning. I've only eaten a few of my flex points this week. I'm actually using activity points now too so I think I will be good to go. I don't think I've posted my menu for the past two days. I need to get back on it.

Morning ladies...well the knees are doing much better today, they don't look so good but at least I don't have to sit down like I'm pregnant. I slept in today I got a cold and AF decided to come to visit, so I feel like poopoo. Last night I drank a cup of hot tea with honey and was in bed at 9:30. Of course I woke up at 3:30 and I thought oh **** no! I'm going back to bed, well I tossed and turned in bed for two hours before I finally fell back a sleep. Oh well! I ate horribly yesterday cookies, pizza, gardettos, the only good thing I ate was my cereal before I went to work. Today will be a better day!

Diva-Oh yeah I've dropped the ball behind me. I've fallen, I've had the ball stick on my hand so it shoots straight up in the air! You name it I've probably done it, but everybody eventually forgets. Your flounder recipe sounds delish, too bad my husband and daughter don't like fish.

Leeda-it doesn't seem like you had that much to eat. I'm sure if you had a sensible dinner you were fine for the day. If not just eat a lil less today. I'm glad you had a good time at the shower.

Melissa- I know what ya mean about the weather. We had an ice storm last saturday, by Tuesday it was in the 50's, Wednesday, it was in the 30's and today its snowing! It never fails when the weather does crazy s#*t I get a frickin cold.

Shay-Good job on getting your paper done. How long before its graded? I always worried after doing major papers. It seemed like it took forever for the dang teacher to grade the stinking things. I hope you have fun at your holiday parties.

ksk571-nice to meet you! I'm Bridgette, married with a DD and a dog. Thank you for your sympathy and advice. My DD is 4 and I've decided its probably best if she remembers Karmen the way she was.

I suppose I best get ready for work. Might have to leave early due to the weather. We were suppose to have freezing rain before the snow, so not sure how the roads will be. Everyone have a great day!

I forgot to mention that we got snow yesterday. I was so caught up in revising my paper yesterday when I finally got up and looked out the window I was like oh....! Depending on where in Northern VA it was bw 2-6 inches.

Bridgette--She said the paper is 2nd on her priority list. I was thinking she would probably want to get them done before our final which is due next Wednesday. It an essay exam so that would be more reading for her. I'm thinking this time of year is jsut as bad for professors as it for students. All that grading can not be fun.

Good Morning Girls! Oh its quiet around here. Sorry I didnt make it here yesterday, I overslept by ALOT and I had a final by the time that was over I was absolutely fried for the rest of the day.

Got tons of studying to do today gearing up for 3 finals next week and its also a really busy week for us w/ PTA at my dd's school.

I have been so uncomfortable the past couple of days. I feel like I have an enormous air bubble in my gut and it wont go away. So uncomfortable when I'm spending time bent at the middle pouring over books. Nothing seems to be working in the way of making it go away.

Alright, gotta get the kiddos rolling here. Hopefully I'll get to chat with some of you today on my study breaks! Have a fabulous day everyone!!

~melissa

Hey just popping in to let ya'll know that I'm out of town/working, so won't be on much until Sunday! Have a great weekend!

....Sigh....I think I have the winter blues or having a blue Christmas? Something....anyways, I had 1 good diet day, and the rest have gone to the dogs. I've gained 3 lbs in a week. :( Jess is now sick, I am not 100% better, and M is giving me some problems with School. His teacher's are not appreciating his class clown thing and he has misplaced a $100 calculator. :( Anywho...I don't post much when I am depressed and doing bad.

Well ladies I am back to 221. Yeah! I got rid of that holiday weight. I'm hoping to squeeze out another lb or two before my official weigh in on Monday. All from exercsing 4/wk, staying OP, and getting all of my water in. I think using my AP helps too. My whole issue is I have been so hungry since starting to exercise. Using those also keeps me from dipping into extra flex points. It's Friday and I haven't touched them yet. Well, I have a holiday party tonight so I will dip into them then. But that's what they are there for.

Diva--This time of year I get down in the dumps too. My brother is leaving for Iraq today so that doesn't help much. I talked to him briefly last night. I thought it was more important for him to spend time with his family (3 girls and another baby due next month) so I didn't keep him long.

Hello ladies! I just wanted to check in today. Thank you for the welcomes! I have exercised the last 6 days in a row which is quite an accomplishment for me. My eating has been healthy with the exception of about 3 hours yesterday, but I'm back on plan.

I can relate to the Christmas blues, or whatever it is that is wrong with me and a couple of you. ;) Mine has been in the form of loneliness. Diva and Likenoother, I hope you can both cope with the blues and not let it deter your "getting healthy" efforts!

I hope everyone has a good day!

Diva--Thanks for your kind words. We will send him alot of letters and care packages.