Just thought I'd start us off this week with a hello from your local warrior princess in-training I'm just getting ready to hit the gym to pump some iron! I don't have much to say in the way of updates, so I'll post more later. Hope you ladies are up to a productive start, too!

Azure-we have a Renaissance Faire here in the spring that my church sponsors believe it or not. It's a big fund raiser for us. Who'd have thought it would be popular in Mississippi?

Faye-I eat nuts and seeds for fiber in addition to the veggies and a little fruit. One thing that works well is ground up flax seed. I buy the seeds whole and grind them in a coffee grinder-they last longer than if you buy them already ground. They have a ton of fiber and very few carbs. They don't smell very good but they taste okay. You can sprinkle them on salad, on your yogurt, etc. Black soy beans, if you can find them in Thailand are probably your lowest carb legumes and they are pretty good in things like soup or chili. Not sure I'd want to eat them raw.

Fay My Love: I think that you need to do what works for you and there should be no verbal spanking whatsoever. You are confident and articulate so you did not fear posting alternate ideas but I would hate it if I thought people could not be honest on a support site because they might get shamed about their eating plan. Your body is telling you something and you are listening to it. There is more than one way to skin a cat. Where did that expression come from anyway. Its kinda gross. Anyway, Azure is the picture of beauty and health and her plan is different. It works for her.

I'm thrilled about the play! Sounds like a blast. I envision you as such the theatre person. It is a wonderful culture that I miss terribly. As my nights are not my own I can no longer get an acting fix. So distressing. DH has figured out that it is not a good idea to purchase tickets for plays because going creates a longing that I can't describe. Pathetic isn't it?

Have a terrific day and have some fiber. I'm going to do some research today to see if I can come up with some suggestions for you.

Love
SC

Oh yeaaahhh...flaxseed...I heard this was good. It also comes in a pill (supplement). Not sure though...if that works as well. OOOOhhhh how I wish you a good poop Faye!!! Sending you [[[[poop vibes]]]]...BTW, I sh*t 2 times yesterday and it felt so good...aaaahhhh! not sure...if it's the chocoperfection bars, fruit...or just shear being full of sh*t!!! But...it was sooo freein'...sending you some more [[[[poop vibes]]]]]...Hee heee! Okay...okay...too much coffee this morning! Seeyall! Joyce

P.S. I agree with SIC...no verbal lashin' here...(smile)...keep listening to your body...it'll let you know everything you need to know! Congrats again girl...don't forget us poor slobs when you make it big (and hey...if you make it broadway - my hometown NYC) can you send me some front row tickets???

Hello,
We had a nice weekend here too. It was in the 70's. On Saturday, DD15 and I went bike riding. I love my bike!! I have to fight DS to get it though. It keeps taking it! Sunday was supposed to be warmer, so I spent all morning getting the housework done so we could go out on the boat in the afternoon. Of course, by the time we got out there, it was cloudy and cooler! But it was still nice. We live on a large lake and have a pontoon boat.
We have wildlife too, being outside of town, but I've had very few close enounters. Our dogs keep everything out of our yard. Even the deer stay away although the neighbors have problems. I saw a red fox out in the street near the house a couple of years ago and stopped to take a picture with my cell phone, but one of the neighbors pulled up behind me and started throwing scraps of hamburger buns to it. Evidenlty he had been feeding them. He told me there were three foxes, but within a couple of weeks, they were all hit by cars. We also see dead armidillos and squashed ground hogs pretty regularly. I guess there are live ones around too, but I don't see them.
Fay, Congratulations on the Rumors part!
I think salad veggies and things like celery are the best defense against constipation. I've upped my veggie intake in recent weeks for the same reason. I'm not sure beans are any better than the LC veggies, but we all get to adjust the plan a little bit!
SIC, sounds like you had a less stressful weekend. Good for you!
Joyce, my two cents on raising kids is that some of it is just society! That feeling of entitlement, for instance, I think kids get that from popular culture. But eventually, they find out through experience that it doesn't always work. I've seen my oldest daughter change a lot since she's been on her own. She's turned into a very hard worker because she's seen how the world works. I wish I could spoil her a little - she deserves it, but she's past needing the kind of things I can provide. Now, she needs a job! She graduates from college in May and wants to quit both the restaurant and the dance studio (her college jobs) and go on to a "career" type job. I wish I had a connection to get her that! Everyone grows up at their own pace, so don't give up!
I wish I could do the warrior princess challenge, but I feel more like the dowager queen! I need to get back in the groove. i don't know why I was messing up this weekend, when I had some success on Friday. Weekends are just hard for me - too many temptations and too much time with a DH who absolutely won't watch what he eats. Oh well. I haven't weighed myself. I plan to wait until Wed, just in case it's bad news.

Faye-I hope my suggestions weren't interpreted as a "verbal spanking". They certainly weren't intended that way. Personally, I have no vested interest in what you eat. Hope you find something that works.

I seem to have finally gotten the nasty respiratory virus that everyone has had. I got a sore throat last night, and now I'm couging and my nose keeps running. I also think I have a little fever. I'm hoping it isn't the flu because I really hate to miss work. I also start obedience with my shepherd this week.

Today was my official weigh in day and unfortunately, there was no change but this happened to me last time. I lost a few pounds of water weight, then nothing happened for several weeks, then I started losing consistently so I won't freak. I had my "well woman" visit today and my blood pressure has returned to the normal range so I can tell that something positive has happened.

Wow! We are off to a rip roaring start of the week. Good for EVERYONE!!!. I'm home early from a site visit (3:41 my time). DD had a dentist appointment with DH and I came home early in case she was traumatized. She wasn't. She has three cavities but one is so large that they have to put a crown on...a baby tooth. You heard it folks. 1500 bucks for a crown that is going to pop off when the permanent tooth comes in.

Various board members from one corporation were emailing me all morning. I warned them about giving their personal contact information to a guy who who showed up at a board meeting but they didn't listen. He has sent differing directors about 10 emails since last Wed. Of course, they have answered individually and in slightly different ways and also taken phone calls from hime and now he is trying to play them off against one another. He also has a selective memory, "you told me xyz". I spent the morning, again, dedicated to trying to clear up messes created by questions posed by one guy who has too much time on his hands.

Today I didn't let it consume me though. I answered the Directors, peppered them with some more email as back up and then gave some of my other clients the time they deserved. I predict the board will quickly get fed up with this guy and answer him in anger. At which point he will get on the internet and make my life and everyone elses a living ****. Get a hobby because I dont' want to be your ***** and moan pastime.

Missed lunch today (regretfully cause I was driving) Gonna have to make up for it at dinner. Tonight its fillet, steamed asparagus with green beans, steamed yellow pepper and zucchini with gorgonzola. Yum.

Hope everyone is well and happy.

SC

This is Xena, the Warrior Princess. And my current hero She inspired me to hit the gym this morning! I love that in the show she's a powerful woman with loads of sex appeal, but she's buff. She's athletic and fit--but not supermodel-thin. Love her!

Crumbs, no! No, no, I just felt decidedly naughty for thinking about going off plan.

Well, I don't really count how many drinks of water I have a day, but I think I'm generally pretty good. Ever since I moved to Egypt 5 years ago I've been necking water like...well, like a girl in the middle of the desert! Now that I'm in Bangkok it's just as hot, and with the humidity it feels hotter! So you sweat LOTS (ick), so you drink LOTS too - pretty much all day. (I generally drink 2-4 330ml cans of soda water a night, and 3-4 large glasses of cold water while I'm at work, and 1 or 2 glasses of water before I head to school.)

My body seems to be back on track now, but after last week's Not Fun Shenanigins I'm trying to make sure that I don't have that happen again! Flax seed is a splendid idea - I'll keep my eyes peeled! In the meanwhile I've been chowing down on sunflower seeds - also picked up some watermelon seeds and pumpkin seeds last night, although the former turns out to be WAY oversalted and pretty charmless. But I'm going to incorporate some more fruit too, I think - last night I made myself an improvised shake of 4 strawberries, a little carton of coconut cream (6 carbs), a teaspoon of almond butter, a dash of raspberry essence and 2 sachets of sucralose . And a couple of icecubes. It was OMG Delicious.

Argh! S'Calm, I'm so sorry! For what it's worth, keep in mind my utter lack of anything remotely approaching a love life, let alone a solid relationship! I mean, I could do with having my nights BE a bit less my own, you know? But - yeah. I definitely appreciate my good fortune right now in both having the time and the opportunity to get involved in acting again - in Cairo there simply wasn't any am dram group to be found (although we knew about 2 different ones that apparently HAD existed up until fairly lately).

Thanks so much for all your positive words, you guys! You rock so!

And - Yay Xena! (What's particularly startling is how NOT huge and strapping the actress actually is - buff, yes, but not a giantess. Oh, the miracle of telly. She's so different in Battlestar Galactica!) Azure, you're definitely inspiring me to take one of my *** kickin' girl heroes as my inspiration here, and kick my own ***.

Meanwhile, this is me on Saturday night, just before I headed out to the ball:



And several hours later, when I got back:

Wow Faye! You look stunning!

Wow Faye - Your really trimming down quite nicely! BTW, I think your prettier than Drew! Keep up the good work!...and work it girl!

Okay soooo...back to accountability guys (as I struggle to keep eyes open from exhaustion). Day (hmmm...) 12 (I think) of my "Ripped" program. I didn't work out at all yesterday (Sunday) although I intended to...kinda got sidetracking arguing w/DD21 and then BF came over....soooo...ya know the drill...okay!...sooo...I worked out pretty hard this morn on the eliptical (30 min HIIT, level 2). Even though I smoke...my lungs are definately getter stronger...whewwy! This eve I did weight training (upper body only). I'm exhausted (don't know if from all the working out today or last night..hee hee!) Really though...don't know? I hardly ate anything today though (not good...not good!). SIC, I think I'm having the same problem as you...so friggin stressed out with work (working on closing 3 real estate transactions this week) that my appetite is in the toilet and I try to make a concerted effort to eat...but when I look up...the time just flew away and it's time to pick up DD from school and get on with homework, etc., etc. and then I don't end up finishing my work (work at home too) til 11pm at night! It's almost midnight where I live and I'm cooking stewed curried chicken so that by tomorrow...I'll have something quick to eat! Need to go shopping though. Hey...anyone ever notice that while low-carbin' you seem to need to go food shopping more?? I go through (seriously) $250/week or better in groceries! This wouldn't be bad for a family of 4-5, but it's just me and my 9 yr old! Go figure...I guess eating healthy comes with a price though...I'm worth it...oh well...I'm turning in guys...(oh wait....the chicken!)...well, after that's done..I'm turning in...really...(smile). Joyce

I think I officially have the flu. Not going to work today and going to get swabbed to find out for sure. Miserable night here with bad weather. I have a NOAA weather radio because tornadoes really freak me out and it was going off about every 30 minutes last night. I know it may save my life one of these days, but it sure can be annoying. There was a tornado about 1 hour north of me last night that injured some people.