Fullsteam- We ended up renting Get Smart, it was pretty funny but I have seen funnier :lol:
That is awsome that you are going to see your parents, I can imagine that it is hard to go a whole month without them, I cant go a week without seeing my dad ;) My mom died when I was 4 and he has been a lifeline for me and a support like I cannot describe in my keeping my sanity with my 2 girls :yes:
Also , way to go on fixing those beautiful nails, you SO derserve any pampering you get :D

Well guys I have to come clean and say that after discussing it with a friend last night, I am going to opt out of not cheating until Thanksgiving by eating healthy the day of the concert (the 21st) instead of having to pack food and stuff with us, I will eat good though, it just wont be 100% Micheal Thurmond as he says no salt and I want to have fun on that trip and relax a tad, I will get right back on plan after it is over and keep going until Thanksgiving though and then I will get right back to work for our Christmas challenge, I had to tell you all that, You guys keep me more accountable than any other group has, and I want to be honest with you guys, if I succeed it is because you guys keep me on track :hug: Have a great one ladies!

Shy- Where are you sis, I miss you to pieces!!!

Wahoo Hattie!!! You are doing great>>>>> goodbye 230's

Urock~ Hi busy lady, I hope you are having a great day today!

Christie~ about your concert eating plan, you have to do what works for you. Enjoy the day and get back on plan like you said. You'll be fine!! :hug:

Fullsteam~Good luck on the weigh in tomorrow. Sending you :goodscale:goodvibes It sounds like you are going to have a fantastic next couple of days. I love getting together with all my family too.


About me~ Every year we go to my parents for Thanksgiving we always have and it's always wonderful. My Dh told me his out of town family would like to come here for Thanksgiving. For the very first time in my life I'm making Thanksgiving dinner. I am so very excited. I have been looking at menus and am trying out new recipes this week. I bought T. decor for the table and have been doing projects to get ready. I feel like a little kid!
If any of you have any unusual dish or food that you "are known for" I would love to hear it. Perhaps this is an inappropriate place for food porn? :D

The thing I'm thankful for is my health. I see my Mom suffer through so many health related problems and it rips me apart. I had a scare with cancer earlier this year and it really put things in perspective for me.

Back on my drinking water wagon. I fell off. I just don't like beverages period. Going to ride the bike now and will talk to you gals later.

lene- I will PM you a few of my favorite recipes, as they are too dangerous to be posted here :eek: And I am thrilled for you to be having Thanksgiving at your house, You will be the perfect little hostess I just know it, You have fun chic and enjoy every moment!! ;)

OMG, you ladies are something else! Such beautiful people and I feel very fortunate to have met you all here and hope one day we can meet in person.

Christian, I think its wonderful you are so close to your daddy : ). I did go nuts at not being able to see them and thats why I am so excited. Ty for your kind words sweetheart........as always! You go to that concert and you have a great time, I dont blame you one bit for not packing up stuff that day, lol, heck no girl! You go do your thing and you have a wonderful time :hug:

Leneeeee, : ) I absolutely love your enthusiasm and excitement at having thanksgiving :) oh o h, regarding putting things in perspective. I am glad that you are well sweet lady......gosh I feel you both on those things, it really makes you not take things for granted and appreciate the things we have. Lene? food porno????? :rofl: It sounds delectublly sinful:lol: I have a delicious stuffing recipe but you prob make your own and mine doesn't involve the innards or anything or too many spices buttttt if your interested in a greek dish, spanakopita (spinach pie) is one of my specialties. Thing is I dont follow a recipe as I go by eye but have made it so many times I can give you pretty specific amounts. Uncooked spanakopita freezes very well which would allow you to make it ahead of time and cook it when you need it. THe phyllo dough is a little time consuming but aside from that, its not too bad....if your interested just let me know. Whatever you decide to have or make, I am sure it is going to be wonderful. I am excited for you :)

Okay, I'm going to go downstairs and keep the little darlings company awhile and call my mom. Hattie, shy , urockmom.....I hope you are having a wonderful day. God bless all of you! :hug:

p.s- by the way lene, the spanakopita might be hardcore porno! hahahaha :) lot's of butter.

Thanks for understanding about the concert ladies, Your all the greatest!!! It is funny but like I have said before, just having you ladies here makes me feel successful already :balloons:

Yeah Hattie!!!! :dance: You are awesome! Congratulations!

Lene (aka Martha Stewart)~ It sounds like you are going to have tons of fun getting ready for Thanksgiving! I love "doing" the holidays and will have Thanksgiving at my house but my favorite is Christmas as that is when I go completely out of control with weeks of decorating, baking, prepping, wrapping, caroling, visiting, mailing, partying..... (Well, you can see I am a little bit out of control just writing it down. :dizzy: ) I will be happy to send you my Thanksgiving speciality-sweet potato casserole-by PM but I am serious this is hard-core. I caught my mother-in-law one year after Thanksgiving dinner in the kitchen eating all of the left-overs straight out of the dish with a spoon!

Christie~ Sounds like you have a terrific plan and a great day on tap with your friends!!

Fullsteam~You have a terrific couple of days with your family. They are a blessing and I know that you have been missing your parents. I am so glad that you are feeling better enough to visit with them. :hug:

So, for me, I am now on my way to the gym for day 5 of 6 on my exercise this week. I have been pretty consistent with my water but haven't been really good on my apples. :( I had weigh in this morning and am the same this week but my whole diet has been out of whack this week with the DDs home from school and lots of running around. I just feel really bloated so I am hoping to eat clean over the next couple days and see the scale move next week. (I just can tell that it is a temp thing. :shrug:)

Since we have been talking about family, I would like to say that today-on my mother's 75th birthday-I am really, really, really thankful for her! She is the most supportive, loving mom ever and my best friend. In addition, she is without question the strongest woman I have ever known. My brother passed away in January of this year and I simply can't express how much I have learned from her and been in awe of her strength as she has gone through this most awful thing, the loss of a child. So, today, MY MOM ROCKS!!!

urockmom- Your mom sounds like a truely beautiful lady, you are blessed beyond measure :hug:

Today I am thankful for- The two beautiful girls who came home from school in a great mood and I am gonna enjoy our weekend together :yes:

Hi everyone:wave:

urockmom: Wow! You brought tears to my eyes with your thankful statement. Happy bday to your mom!!!:balloons:

Christian: I want you to go and have fun!! Making healthy choices is as good as sticking OP. I didn't want to think of you going and eating in your car. That was a horrible thought and just a punishment to yourself. I hope you have the best time and then get back to the strict OP. I know you want to make goal and that is half the battle.

Lene: Have Fun!! Remember to take the package of gizzards out of the turkey before putting it in the oven...lol So many people forget to do that.

Fullsteam: Enjoy your family. Enjoy your bday party. You deserve it!

Luckymom: I miss you too! Are you out there? Come home to us.


I am thankful for my husband. He is always sooo supportive of me in anything that I do. From collecting hermit crabs to waiting patiently until I figured out that I needed to get healthy and lose all this weight. He never in the 27 years we have been married said one thing about my weight. He truly is my best friend and I am very grateful to have him in my life.

You girls are too cool! Christie thank you so much for the recipes you PMed me. My DH is going to love the 1st one especially. I'm gonna make it this weekend because it sounds so yummy!

Fullsteam, I would just love your recipe for you spanakopita my MIL loves greek food so it would be a great surprise for her! I've always wanted to make that and baklava.

Urock, when you were describing your MIL in the kitchen after dinner with the spoon I was thinking at least she wasn't pulling a George Costanza from Seinfeld eating out of the trash and getting busted. I am planning on making a sweet potato casserole but would love a tried and true recipe.

Did I ever tell you guys how much I like you???

I still haven't gotten my exercise in yet. I ended up on the phone for 1/2 the afternoon.

Hattie, you have one of the good guys. Congratulations on 27 years of marriage. It sounds like you don't just love each other but like each other too. That's a beautiful thing!

Christie, I have 2 girls and a boy. (I don't know if I ever told you that.) You seem to really enjoy being their Momma. I enjoy my kids too. I like when they have off school or summer vacation and we can just spend the days together. I hear Moms saying they dread it but I love our time. (Not that I don't like having a little time on my own once in awhile too.)

Urock, Happy Birthday to your Mom! She sounds like an amazing and strong lady. I'm so sorry for the loss of your brother. It is a horrible thing to have to go through.

I'll check back later!

Good morning ladies!

lene- We are toooo much alike sis, I hate it when the kids go back to school, I just miss them like crazy!! And weekends cant get here quick enough so I can spend time with them ;) My oldest will be 15 next month and I am HATING it, I wish they stayed young longer :( I am actually thinking about having another one on a year or two, I just cant see myself with no kids in my 40s and my youngest is 12 already :eek:

Hattie- 27 years? WONDERFUL!!! You are a blessed lady indeed, my hubby is the same way where my weight is concerned, He married me when I was a size 20-22 and a 3 X top so I know he loves me for me and that makes me love him all the more too :D

Hi everyone:wave:

Since we are talking about children... I have a son who is 24 and a daughter that who will be 23 in a couple of days. I always wanted at least 4 children. As time went by..we decided to stick to the two. I always felt the same as you Christian. I could not imagine being without a little one. The time does go by sooo fast. My son is in Chicago..Northwestern... working on a PHD in chemistry. (don't know where he got that from!) I miss him a lot! My daughter is home and I love having her here. It still feels like yesterday that they were little. I guess I have to wait for grandchildren now. I was married at 20 and had my son at 23. I can't believe I was so young! My daughter is now at the age I had my son!

Thankful statement for today: I am very thankful for my children. They have given me more than I could ever imagine! I know some people can't have children and I am extremely thankful and blessed that I was allowed the honor!

Good morning ladiessssssss : )

Happy Saturday to you all. Hope everyone had a nice night last night. All of your stories are very touching, bless you and your loved ones.


urock mom, ty :hug: I am sorry for your loss as well. Your mom sounds terrific and though I am a bit late , :celebrate: wishing your mom a very happy birthday. Is your nickname after your mom? I bet your kids tell you you rock too! : ) and fullsteam too! you rock! urockmom, congratulations on completing your exercise as planned! :bravo: keep up the good work, surely that scale is bound to move for you. Did you know that I am from (and still in) red sox nation too! lol . I don't know what's wrong with me but just noticed that the other day, I am on the north shore. When the weather gets nice maybe we can hit Cranes beach for a long shoreline walk? : ) Are you familiar with that beach? It is beautiful!

Christiann, enjoy your weekend with your beautiful girls and DH :)

Hattie, hi there girl : ) Your hubby sounds wonderful and you are too, so the 2 of you must be dynamite together! :val2: Enjoy your weekend together.

Leneee, absolutely! I will pm you the recipe either tomorrow night or monday. Have a great weekend : )

Shy, how are your wedding plans coming along?

I weighed in this morning girls and I am right on the button the same, no gain and no loss. It's a good reminder to me that if I am bad on the weekend and good during the week I basically end up maintaining. I know I can get away with ONE meal ofmy choosing in moderation over the weekend and still lose but any more than that impedes my weight loss so I am just going to have to step it up anddddddd get my tail moving. I am mentally preparing for starting a ph1 on monday, I have been contemplating it for awhile now and it's high time I just do it! So that's the scoop planwise.
It's another grey day here but very mild, it is in the high 60's! I need to go out and run a few errands before tonights dinner . I hope you all have a super day and weekend and I look forward to chatting with you all again soon. :hug:

thankful statement of the dayyyyy: that my daddy is well and here with us today and my loved ones are okay.


Hattie, we were posting at the same time. You must be so proud of your son! and your daughter of course too. Will he be coming home for the holidays? It's nice you still have your girl at home : ). I was married young too, at 21. I stayed home withmy parents until marrying my DH. My DH lived 2 houses up the street from me and we started going out when I was a young teen! lol. My parents were so strict but let me go out with him because they knew the family well and DH always brought me home on time.
okay, I better get a move on.

Health, happiness, and love to you and your families always!!!!!!

eveninggggggg ladies,

I just got back from the dinner party a little while ago, there were 7 of us all together. No idea why I feel tired though, I came in to unwind a bit before going to bed as I am not sleepy yet. We were at the restaurant about 3 hours. ANyways, before I drive you all nuts with my little tangents, ladiessssssssss , I was good! I was going to order the haddock dish on risotto cake, etc. but opted for the grilled chicken ceaser salad. That's all I had and could not finish it, they gave me a huge pile of romaine lettuce. I forgot to ask for the dressing on the side and it was plentiful on the salad but I didn't have too much of it and it tasted like anchoviesssss, ugh! :lol: I stayed away from the bread. For lunch, I made DH and I an egg omelette with 1/2 english muffin each. In essence, this weekend....so far so good.
If I were bad tonight, I don't think I would be flying in here when I got home to give you all a report! lol. I need to watch it tomorrow though and not go overboard. Can't wait to see them, I want to try and get to bed at a decent hour tonight so that I am rested tomorrow.
Hope your all had a good night ladies, catch you all tomorrow :hug: