Happy Sunday everyone! Are we ready for another rockin' week?

Sunday is always my planning day when I think about what I want to accomplish the next week, do some general menu planning, and mentally prepare and strategize for any challenges coming up.

My current challenge is that my husband is still in "birthday blowout" food mode AND we go on vacation next Saturday to visit his family in Maine, where they will attempt to feed us 24 hours a day.

well, i was doing great on the weight loss....till about the middle of the month (about a week after my quit date- from smoking)...I was down just over 4 lbs. but she said it could be a side effect with my medication that will make it harder to lose the weight....that and TOM arrived last weekend and then class started (with homework each night), so i havent worked out in a week. i am hoping to get that turned around this week. DD starts school in the morning. i have a routine set, just need to actually do it. i think it sounds doable...but i'm not sure. plus have to have room to reintegrate hubby into my routine for the week or so he'll be home for next month before leaving again. if i stay on plan each day with my eating and working out, sparkpeople estimates that at 1.5 lbs/week i could have the last 10 lbs gone by 10/10/08...or if i can lose 2 lbs/week i could have it gone by 9/29/08 (which is about the time hubby will be home from MD). So i know i can do it...just have to actually do it!
I figure we'll get up at 645am to get ready for school and have breakfast, leave home by 730am to get DD to school (it's a .5 mile from our house), then come back and let DS play in his room while i workout and have a shower, then we would either have lunch afterwards (tu/th/fr) and take a nap (DS) or take him to the sitter (mon/wed) and i go to class. and then get DD from school at 315pm.
does it sound like i'm gonna have too much on my plate each week?? Somewhere on the days I dont have class and DS is napping i need to do my homework (which takes 1-4 hours depending on if i have to prepare financial statements), read the chapters and study for exams (we will have 3 mid terms and 1 final). my class ends on Oct 15th (its only an 8 week class, but considered a full semester worth, since i have class 5 hours/week), then will decide if i can take another class for the second half of the fall semester or just chill at home (and maybe handle an online class)...

i need help with motivation...and a good kick in the butt to get moving. i think i've been so busy this last 2 weeks with school and working otu and watching everything that goes into my mouth and cleaning house (organizing and throwing things out or selling stuff), that i overwhelmed myself right into the ground and now i'm at a stand still and am not motivated to do anything. i think i'm just so tired of everything, and school starts for abigail tomorrow and i have class. and have so much to do before tomorrow morning...i think i tried to do too much at once and tried to be wonderwoman and it's crashed me....

HI....having a calm weekend at home. Cleaned out my drawers and closet, got a 30 gallon trash bag full of things to big to take the the goodwill store.
I had a good loss this week of -1.6. I was so hoping to be at 235 by labor day but I dont see that happening but as long as im within 5lbs Im happy!!!

Checking in to say hi and see how everyone is doing, this weekend. I am having a nice, OP weekend. Some are easier than others. So far, this one isn't giving me much trouble. For which I am thankful.

I hope you are all having a great weekend.

Well wanted to stop and say HI!! This weekend especially today so far has not been on plan at all, we just went and ate Casa Del Rey (mexican) I to just need a swift but hard kick in the butt!!! Every since vacation it has been hard to get back on plan and stay there. All I know is I have to find it and hopefully when challenge starts that will be what I need. I so don't want to start this challenge higher then where I left but at the rate I am going it is a good possibility.....

Well we have to get race car washed and loaded for race tonight so I will check back in tomorrow.

Armywife: Sounds like you've thought about it and have a good, if busy, plan started for your schedule. You'll soon get into a rhythm and it will just flow....
But remember to be flexible and don't just descend into chaos and negative attitudes when (not if) you can't always stick to the schedule for the day or week.
You WILL get this done--just look to mid-October, and think one day at a time. That's only a little over 1.5 months--then re-eval. If it was too much, you can maybe do some adjustments then.
I really admire you for tackling all that while essentially being almost a single mom with two small children. It's not as if DH can be any help, or any nearby family.

Good Luck!

Thanks..yep, my nearest faimly is 1000 miles away in GA (we've always been stationed 1000 to 1600 miles from our familys in GA). and hubby is gone with his 2 months of school in MD, then will return for just over a week, then will leave for another month to CA for training (preparing for deployment)...so it'll just be me and the kids, which is nothing new to me - i've grown somewhat accustomed to that part (sad but yes)...i've always managed to juggle everything fine without help, its just adding me having a class during the school year is throwing me off a bit. Since i had to arrange for a sitter for my son while me and my daughter are in school. and have time for homework and reading (and with accounting its going by fast, i have had 2 days of class so far and have to read 2 chapters [90 pages] by tomorrow and have already done 2 chapters of homework [about 5-6hours so far]) so it's a little overwhelming. plus i have to get used to waking my son up to get my daughter to school in the mornings since i no longer talk/hang out with my neighbors, who used to carpool and take all the kids in the mornings and we'd share in the p/u in the afternoons for her kids plus ours. so instead of just getting up and getting her ready adn sending her across the street, i now have to get all 3 of us up and dressed/fed and leave to get her to school...and since she's kindergarten it means finding somewhere to park (thats why i plan to leave early) and get the kids out so i can walk her up to the building to her kindergarten hall door to go to class...and have to park and go up to the hall to get her in the afternoons...so no breaks there. so have to coordinate my son's naptime so its in the middle of her school day and while i have class. the sitter is great, she also has a 2 y/o son, so she's got them fed an early lunhc adn at leasat an hour naptime before i would pick him up, so he's rested and we can go get his sister from school and i dont have cranky boy in the afternoons...so that'll help that she's willing to work with me on that issue.
well, i need to finish cleaning and the laundry so i can help my daughter finish picking out her clothes for the week (which means less time getting ready each mornign since the outfits are planned out in advance)...and read my 90 pages or so for the first 2 chapters so that i am prepared for class discussion tomorrow. we have 4 exams that are 4/5 (80%) of our grade, and class attendance and group participation/discussion is the other 1/5 (20%) of our grade...so i realy have to pay attention.
well i need to get off this laptop before i get nothing done ! lol
thanks so much for trying to keep me in check...i think i just needed some reasurrance that i can do this.

Hi Everyone,
I have had the most horrible week last week, my cat died and it was unexpected. I had taken him to the vet on Monday, and they took blood tests, tuesday he was sick and Wed morning he was gone. It was also the first day of school so we didn't tell DD until after school. The same day I took my neice to her OB appt, she has been like a daughter to me since her mother died when she was young, and she was told she has pre-eclampsia, she is only 26 weeks along and they want her to get to at least 28 weeks before the baby is born because then it has a good chance of survival. we are just holding on to see how long she is going to be able to maintain her pregnancy. I have been just trying to hold on this week, Friday was my wedding anniversary, but we weren't able to afford to go anywhere, we are saving money to go to DS graduation from AIT training at Ft Leonardwood.

I hope everyone has a great week, and despite everything my week hasn't been all bad.

Bette K - Just . I hope things look up for you soon.

I'm FINALLY feeling motivated again both with my food and exercise. He he maybe it's because I realized weigh-ins start again soon! I doubt I'll make it to under 200 by then which was my in between goal but I'll at least be a pound or two less then when we ended.


Have a good week all!

Hi All,
This thread is moving along nicely. I have been able to read some updates and skim some as well.

Sonja - Good Luck with the belly dancing, how did it go?

Josephine - Good luck with the in- laws, I know mine push the cake as if it was the last piece of cake ever made, and that I will die if I just don't have a small slice!!!!

Me - I got some fresh fruit at the farmer's market this weekend. I am doing some research on some diet plans I might be interested in. Feeling like I really need to step my game up to hit goal buy May 2009, (family wedding in June).

I'm thinking you might not be the only one starting higher.

I'm finding since we are all plurking that I can keep up here remarkably well. I'm a little behind on plurk and find myself marking all as read quite frequently. But I'm not into the new books so that is a lot of plurks I don't have to read. It works out well all the way around for me.

Bedrooms are done. I popped a few Motrin last night and felt great this morning.

I hopefully have finally found some running partners. DD finally got on her bike today and rode it. We bought them 1.5 years ago but she fell off right away and was to afraid to get back on. Well she hopped on it today and rode it about .75 mile. Hopefully she'll get a little more confident and the kids can ride their bikes while I wog. I'll be in heaven.

Oh Bette, so sorry about your cat, and feeling your tension about your niece--what a hard week you've had. Hang on, and I'll be wishing your niece the best.

Armywife: you make me feel extremely lazy just reading about your schedule/plans. But sometimes when I have those crazy busy times, I rise to the occasion and I know you will too. Maybe you'll meet some moms and arrange a new carpool for your DD's kindergarten year.

reda: I had mexican last week also, sometimes I just have to, lol! While DH is pretty supportive, (well most of the time), I need to consider his desires as well, so sometimes mexican, sometimes pizza, etc. But I have been cooking a lot more and with money tighter, we have been eating out a lot less. So that has been helping, as I choose the menu when I fix dinner and he never complains! Generally only eat out now about 1-2x/week for dinner. Still eat out at lunch, though, when at work.

Vix: yeah the farmer's markets are so great right now, generally I go on Sundays after the gym, but there is one almost every day somewhere around here. So much easier to eat healthy when it's summer!

Jo: Here's hoping you and I can get by without too much eating off-plan. Wed-Sun, Vegas. Then, following week I have family coming here!

zinke: it feels so great to accomplish some re-organization and get some cleaning done in the process. I bet the kids are happy, as are you now that it is done! (if tired and sore.....)

FChickBG: I am looking at new motivation again as well, after another spotty Friday and Saturday. Feeling more optimistic, re-dedicated to goals. These ups and downs are so unsettling, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who has them. I mean, I don't wish for anyone to have them, oh, you know what I mean....

Sonja: My gym has a belly dancing class 2 eves/week. I may have to try it. I didn't really think about it being enough of a workout. Now I'm intrigued....

Hey ladies, just a quick check-in tonight. My mum was visiting for the weekend, which was so wonderful. My daddy is riding his motorcycle to California and back this week, so she needed some company. We went wedding dress shopping, and I have a HARD decision between two dresses now! Although I looked beautiful in the dresses, it was also a HUGE motivator - I want to be way more fit!

That's all I have time for tonight, hopefully I can check-in better tomorrow!

Purple, Purple, Purple - you can't worry about what "they" think. I'm not brave at all, I'm just stubborn. I wouldn't let anyone tell me I couldn't do something because I'm a woman, or I'm almost 40, or I'm black, so I'm sure not gonna let some extra weight stop me from belly dancing. It's like listening to the radio, if you don't like a song, you change the station. If they don't like the sight of me dancing, or the sound of you cheering, they can watch or listen to someone else or they can go home, but YOU and I are staying our ground. Keep your power Purple! Don't give it up to anyone else.

Mandey - all I can say, is "Whew!" I don't think I'll ever complain about having too much to do, ever again. You are a powerhouse! As busy as you are, always remember that without some time to take care of yourself, it's hard to take care of others. You say you're not motivated, I say downtime might be what you need. Take a breather. You'll get moving again. And for the record, YOU CAN DO THIS!

Bette - I'm so sorry about the loss of your cat. I went through that last year with my dog. I'm sending along good thoughts for your niece and her baby too.

VixJ - thank you. It went great! The restaurant was tiny, so we had to modify our formations a bit, but we all did so well. I'm so proud of us. The next performance is Sept 21, I'll try to get pics next time.

modcat - 10 to 15 minutes into our class drill and we're all sweating. The drill is 35 minutes and then we add another 40 to 45 minutes for troupe rehearsal. Just about every part of you moves in belly dance - there are head slides, snake arms, grapevines, hip circles, chest circles, shoulder shimmies, hip shimmies and full body shimmies. If you take the class, let me know how it goes. By the way, if you have Comcast OnDemand, they had a show called Shimmy that teaches belly dance too. It might still be available.

Woo-hoo! the Cubs beat Washington today! Go, Cubs, go!