Belated Happy Easter to those who celebrate. :)

Knee surgery was uneventful. I'm on crutches, but improving every day.

Eating has been bad, partly out of comfort food.

Tuesday PM
 

It's another beautiful day here in WEst Michigan! WOW! And tomorrow is supposed to be as nice and warmer! Yea!

Today was good. Food was pretty good. I did eat some really fatty (but yummy) ribs leftover from Easter Dinner for lunch today. I don't usually eat fat on any meat, but I like it on BBQ Ribs! Whatever! Other than that and a piece of chocolate that I had at work today, I did pretty good. But the thing I HAVE to share is what DD shared with me today.

She's been reporting that she's trying to eat fruit or a veggie at lunch every day. She's kind of picky with hot lunches, but I make her have them, because I was tired of her telling me what she wanted in the morning and then not eating any of it at lunch....So...today she reported that she drank a whole glass of water when she got home and that she had a vegetable at school with her lunch (her favorite Raviolli) and that she was eating a healthy supper (chicken & salad)...so that was THREE healthy things she ate today! I told her I was proud of her for thinking about what she eats and that she makes an effort to eat things that are healthy for her. Hey...at least she knows what is healthy at six. I never knew what was healthy until it was too late and I had gotten fat!

It's such a fine line to walk in teaching kids about being healthy because I don't want her to obsess, but at the same time, I want her to know what is good for her and what is not. She ALMOST borders on obsession with the food thing. To the point that I worry she may become anorexic when she is a little older. Let's hope that doesn't happen! Let's hope she is just a "normal" child with "normal" eating habits! She does like junk food but is ok with eating "just a serving"! YEA!

OK...so off my soap box now!

I'm going to watch American Idol tonight, so I need to get going.

No formal exercise tonight but I played soccer in the yard with DD and we walked through our new "Meijer's" that just opened about a mile from our house today! That was after a day of work and walking lots at work.

TBJ...so glad your surgery was uneventful. That's always a good thing. You are in my thoughts, chickie! Chin up!

Hugs to all!

Morning chickies!

Julie: I agree that it is good that DD is conscious of being healthy. On a side note though, something occurred to me. You said that you never knew what was healthy until it was too late. I don’t think that was the case for me. I knew what was healthy, I just didn’t make any effort to eat it, and my parents never made any effort to incorporate it into my diet (or their own, and they still don’t). I think (and hope) perhaps that is a sign of the changing view of nutrition in our schools. I remember being told to eat fruits and veggies, etc, but then being served cheeseburgers, macaroni and cheese, and French fries for lunch. Then by the time I got to high school they were serving green beans with the cheeseburgers, mac and cheese, and fries. I know schools are still not nutritional havens, but I wonder if they aren’t getting at least somewhat healthier, especially with the recent publicity surrounding child obesity. Just a thought. If you have an insight into that (having a child, you would know more about it than I do), I would be interested to hear it.

TBJ: Glad to hear you’re improving! Comfort food is a danger to us all! On a completely random note… have your pets gotten to come live with you yet? I remember you said they were in quarantine, but I forget for how long. I was wondering about that this morning for some completely unapparent reason. Just my natural curiosity, I guess.

Jennifer: How exciting to finally be moving into your new house! I know you’ve been waiting a long time for this, and I can totally relate! Now… when can I visit?


It’s a beautiful day here! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and on the way to work I noticed that all the redbuds along the interstate have turned to that brilliant shade of pink that I love seeing every spring (it seemed to happen overnight, because I didn’t see it yesterday). It’s already 70+ degrees out and it’s supposed to reach 81 today. I’m loving it!

As I predicted, Steve did not get a lawnmower yesterday. He says he will do it today. We’ll see.

So yesterday I got in a 14-minute walk in the morning, 30 minutes on the stair-climber after work, and some stretches. Calories came in at 1721. Water was somewhere around 90 oz. The scale is at 218.4 this morning. Whatever.

I did have a mini-binge episode at dinner last night. I set my eating cut-off time at 8:00pm, and it was sort of like “I have to eat everything I possibly can before 8:00!” I didn’t, but I wanted to. I ended up having small portions of a bunch of different things. I just wanted to eat and eat and eat. Then later when I took my birth control pill, I realized what it was—PMS! It gets me every time! But I am NOT going to let it win and set me back this month! I know what’s going on, and I’m going to fight it and beat it!

I finally gave myself that manicure and pedicure I’ve been wanting last night. I didn’t manage to dye my hair though. And why not? Because I came up with a better pampering idea—I went to bed early! :lol: I was in bed by 9:15, and that’s super early for me. Of course, I didn’t sleep well and woke up a few times, but I’m not too incredibly groggy this morning, so that is good.

So this morning the alarm went off at 5:30, and I promptly turned it off. Then I laid there for about 7 minutes and talked myself into getting up. I told myself that if I got up early enough I could get in my entire cardio workout before work and I wouldn’t have to do it when I got home. So I got up, put on my shoes, and took Ella for a walk. We walked for 24 minutes, so longer than we have been walking in the mornings, but still not quite enough. I’ll take her for another 15 minute walk this evening. At one point, I was trying to take the long route to extend the walk, I walked around the practice football field by the Jr. high. Little did I know, for some reason only part of the field had been mowed, so I ended up getting my feet soaked in the grass. The field is on the opposite end of the neighborhood from our house, so for the second half of my walk my feet were cold and wet. But, I did it, and my shoes will dry, so it’s fine.

But now my entire body is sore and achey. I feel like every single one of my muscles has been tensed for about 6 hours straight. I know part of it is from the weights session I did on Monday (I think I used too much weight on my dumbbells—I will adjust them for the next session), but I think most of it is just because I’m not used to so much exercise at such an intense pace. I was going to do weights Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but now I think I’ll change that to Monday, Thursday, Saturday, at least for this week.

So tonight will be a quick walk with Ella, then stretching, then dinner, then mostly just relaxing. I think I’m just going to put off the hair dyeing until the weekend.

Ugh… I want to quit my job and go home. I want to go back to school and learn something useful. I want to hit the lottery.

*sigh*

OK, I need to work now. Have a good day, chickies!
~Elisha

MsRD- hope you got a destination for this road trip! If not, I'm going to suggest "turn south" and come on down to the new house. We'll just have to time it so Elisha gets here at the same time, too. Party at the new place, chickies! :) I know, too late, you're already on the road. ;)

Elisha- cool with the lawnmower, and also his mom being a botany prof. We're still trying to figure out what we'll be able to grow, since 99% of the places claim we're Zone 10, but the agricultural maps show us as Zone 9. Yeah, I know, it's hot as hades, what's the difference, right? All the darned plants say zone 3-9...and it'll be just my luck that the difference in heat vs. not freezing will cause the plants to self-destruct.

TBJ- good luck with your surgery- we'll be thinking about you!

Julie- I miss you, girlie! We need to coordinate our darned schedules already! Waaah! I need my chickie therapy! ;)

Ok, we're getting down to the 11th hour with the move. Hubby has already freaked on me and tried to move it to next week. After I've scheduled the time off, and my boss is off for 3 days due to a funeral. Not able to change at the 11th hour, and NOT COOL, dude! So, 1 argument later, 1 stormy AM, and no talking for about 8 hours, and supposedly we are still on for this weekend. I just want to move, already!!!

We might be driving up there tonight with some things we don't want the mover touching, like our fireproof little mini-safe, and my few pieces of jewelry. We'll lock those away in the master bedroom until everything is moved in. Maybe even take up some of the small plants that might otherwise get roughed up in a big truck.

Ok, this has taken 2 hours to type between calls & crisies. Hopefully more tomorrow before the packing & moving starts- if not, I might have to post & add a picture of the chaos of the move.

Happy Hump Day!

Aloha --

Eating improved a little yesterday, and I've eaten three servings of fruits and veggies as of lunch today. Better. Still eating too much, though. :o

I went back to my doctor today. The Provigil did not help last month. So... it's official... I'm taking a stimulant, starting tomorrow. :eek: The stuff is called Adderall (Lame name! :lol: Of course, Strattera sounds like it would get you high (stratosphere), and Provigil sounds like it would keep you awake (vigilant). I guess the drug companies have good marketing skills. But still -- ADDerall? Ugh!).

It's a mixture of amphetamine salts. One side effect is weight loss. On the one hand, yay; on the other hand, who wants to lose weight with drugs? I've been proud of myself for doing it the natural way, even though the weight loss has been slow. I'm not going to turn down weight loss, but still, it seems unnatural to me. I guess it doesn't matter in the long run if I'm improving my eating and exercise habits. *Sigh*

***
Julie -- Thanks for the well-wishes. :) Your daughter's "just a serving" habit seems reasonable, not obsessive. Obsessive would mean never eating any junk. Her attitude is healthy. She must have a rad mom. :D

Elisha -- Yep, our pets moved in with us in early February. The quarantine lasted four months. Sad, but they handled it well. Good job on your exercise yesterday. Ella certainly is helping you sta active.

Jennifer -- Thanks for your kind thoughts. Ah, yes, totally understandable that you want the move to be DONE.
***

My mother sent us a box of Easter chocolate. I'm not usually too bad with chocolate. Especially since Hubby will eat most of it -- probably by tomorrow. :p

Happy Hump Day
 

ARgh! Today was busy! In the nursing home industry, we have an annual survey by the state surveyors. They can walk into our building anytime, any day (within a given window of time) and today was the day! They will be there for a few day and haunt us all the whole time they are there. At least they are friendlier than what I remember when I first started working in nursing homes! But it's a stress we can all live without.

Here's a fact for you...Nursing Homes are the 2nd most regulated industry in the world (2nd to Nuclear Plants). We are regulated in just about everything we do from washing our hands to how and where they can give residents meds to what rights residents have...the list is endless. And it's not just State, but Federal regs. It's such a racket! And then...they just keep taking money away from the old people and make it harder for us to care for them! Something has GOT to change! Maybe TBJ...you could be an attorney representing the geriatric population in Nursing Homes! Anyway...I'll be glad when they are gone and our survey is done (of course, if we get some "bad" grades, they will be back sooner to check on us!)

OK...and back to my day...:dizzy:

Food was decent. I'm not keeping track of calories, but I know I am getting my fruits and veggies, which is what I really need to focus on.

Water...must have not been enough because I am sitting here parched, but I know I drank more than yesterday! <Sigh>!!!

Exercise...I did 20 minute walk tonight to DD soccer practice. The field is just a bit down the street, so I opted to walk after eating out tonight. I did have a grilled chicken salad and only a half roll at Logans! Yea me! Not even a Margarita! :(

Elisha...On nutrition in schools. I could write a novel on the lunchroom chaos in public schools, but I will just comment on the nutrition part. DD's school offers a veggie with every meal and then they have a "fruit bar" or they can get juice or milk. The meals are acutally pretty "kid friendly" but they do try to keep them nutritionally sound. They also offer turkey or ham salad or submarines. DD gets them quite often because she's so darned picky about "chese"! She hates it...and won't touch antyhing with it on it! That's fine by me, but geesh...take the cheese off!!! LOL!!! I've been trying to get her to eat a fruit or veggie at school every day. She rushes through lunch to get outside to recess, so it's important that she eat something!

TBJ...you were cracking me up with the drug name analogies! Too funny! And thanks for the compliment on being a "rad mom"! :o I try! DD is obsessive about a few other things with food, but NOT junk food! She loves that! She hasn't vomitted lately, and I'm hoping that was a passing phase, but that was one of her control issues with food. She also is turning into a vegetarian, not that there is anything wrong with that, but she used to LOVE meat! Of course, I remember not liking even hamburger as a kid! I drove my Mom nuts!!! Glad you are eating your fruits and veggies, chickie!

Jennifer...Husbands! They can be so irrational!~!!! I hope you get moved safely and expediently! Yea you for sticking to your guns! HUGS! We'll catch up soon!

Gotta go...my eyelids are closing as I write this!

Morning ladies!

Another beautiful day here, if still a bit chilly. It is supposed to warm up though—highs in the 80’s. I’ll take it! Of course, a give me a month or so and I’ll be complaining about the heat! :lol:

Well, yesterday was ok for me. Calories came in at 1914, water was about 96 oz., and exercise was a 24-minute walk with Ella in the morning, then 20 minutes on the bike, a full set of weights, and a full set of stretches after work. I wasn’t planning to do the weights, but then I just felt like getting it done so I wouldn’t have to do it today. I lowered the weight on my dumbbells though. It was still a challenging session, but more manageable than last time. Today my muscles are actually less sore than they were yesterday.

This morning I got up at 5:30, but I didn’t feel like walking today. I just didn’t want to be cold. So I got on the bike instead and pedaled for 22 minutes. I’ll do more when I get home, possibly WATP. Hard to tell with me. But there will be some form of cardio, and stretching.

Steve did buy a lawnmower yesterday, and a trimmer, but he didn’t use either of them. I was going to mow, but there was no gas for the mower. I did weed one of our flower beds a little. I will probably do more of that tonight. Also, I will tell Steve that if he will get some gas I will mow when I get home. I actually like to mow the lawn.

I didn’t sleep well yet again. At one point I woke up and sat up, and I actually thought it was time to get up and started to do just that, but then I looked at the clock and it was only 2:00am. Today I have a major headache, and I’m wondering if it’s not because of the lack of sleep.

I’m doing well with cutting back on my coffee. I’ve been drinking less every morning, and using less creamer. This morning I accidentally put a little too much creamer in and when I took a drink I almost spit it back out because it was so sweet. And the mug of coffee I have right now is too sweet too. I think I’ll just switch to water and not finish it.

I brought most of the leftover cheesecake to the guys in my office (I left a piece at home for Steve). I’m just glad to have it out of my house. Perhaps tomorrow I will bring them the rest of the cake. Depends on if I have any Tupperware or not! :lol:

When I go home I drive right by a McDonald’s, a Wendy’s, a KFC, a Subway, a Quizno’s, and a Dominos (all within a block of each other and my house). I’m proud to say that I have stuck to my guns this month and not eaten a smidge of fast food. Each day I drive by these places and I am invariably stopped in traffic waiting for someone to pull into or out of one of them. I look at the people in the vehicles, stuffing their faces and slurping their super-sized soft drinks, and I’m a bit disgusted. Mostly at myself, I think. I don’t want to do that to my body anymore. The people I see are generally overweight, and I see the kids in the back seat stuffing their faces and slurping their soft drinks, and I want to tell them what they are doing to their bodies. I want them to stop.

But alas, that’s not my decision. But now that I have stopped, I don’t want to go back. I am sure that I will eat fast food again at some point in my life, but certainly never again on a daily or even weekly basis. The thought makes me cringe. *shudder*

So last night Steve and I sat down and worked out a very sketchy budget. When we were done writing down all of our income, expenses, due dates, and interest rates, plus discussing what we wanted to do with our “extra” income, I asked him how he wanted to handle it. He said that we wanted to sit down with our bills this weekend and figure out a budget. :?: I said, “Isn’t that what we just did?” Apparently not. It’s weird, dealing with him. He’s never had to worry about money, never had to handle it particularly well, and certainly never had to budget. I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum, so I’ve always had to budget and not spend money on random stuff (which I do anyway, hence the debt). I added up my bills and everything I could possibly think to subtract from my check—groceries, gas, prescription, everything—and I had about $150 left. He said “so you can’t really afford to contribute anything.” I told him I would pay the water bill (around $90) and he looked at me incredulously and asked how I was going to live on $60 for two whole weeks. Umm… that $60 is what’s left after I pay everything I need to pay. That’s the idea. At any rate, now I’m somewhat determined to show him it can be done. Besides, I’m used to having about $2.37 in my bank account. ;)

So anyway, now I need to go look for another job, and perhaps do some stuff at my current job. What fun. Have a lovely day, chicks!
~Elisha

My, how our group has dwindled... :?: Hope everyone who's missing is doing well. Come back and give us a holler, even if you aren't doing well! Maybe the end-of-the-month slump is encroaching. Don't give up!

***
Elisha -- You're really on track these last few days. :D I remember an old post of yours, in which you said you have trouble with the weekends. Sending you good vibes so you can keep up your good work in the days ahead:

:hug: --> Elisha


Julie -- Aw, that survey must be stressful. Hmm, elder care law. There are so many awful stories about elderly people who live in nursing homes and don't receive good care. I feel bad for those people. At the same time, there are people like you who clearly care about the residents. :cool: Too bad a few lousy caretakers cause nursing homes a bad reputation. Yes, helping elderly people would be a noble career. I'm really hoping for criminal law, though. Who knows. :^:

Sorry to hear about your six-year-old vomiting! :hug: That news is sad. I was reading a vegetarian website the day before yesterday, and the site said to watch out for people who might use vegetarianism, and especially veganism, as a way to hide food restriction. I had a friend who probably did exactly that thing. :( Tell your daughter that you know a lady on the internet who is vegetarian, but who is overweight, anyway. ;) See how she reacts. You're doing a good thing by encouraging her to eat fruits and veggies. Maybe she'll see that eating more of the right foods will keep her in better shape than just eating less. You're a good mom; you don't need my advice. :)
***

First day on Adderall is going well. I took the pill an hour and a half ago. No side effects! The dose is low, though. We'll see whether it works.

I managed to eat five servings of fruits and veggies yesterday. But I had too much pop. Last week, I was successful in my new goal of only five pops per week. :wizard: (My old goal was limiting myself to one pop a day.) I know I can improve. I usually start challenges on Saturday. After then, I should be recovered enough so that I can't use surgery as an excuse to indulge. So I'll make next week's goal a repeat of the five pops per week. I did it before... I can do it again. :drill:

One annoyance in my life right now is that I'm depending on Hubby to cook, and he doesn't cook healthy food. He seems to forget that in order to cook at home rather than go to restaurants, he has to buy the food and prepare it! :lol: When I got out of surgery, Hubby bought comfort food, which I appreciated. He said he bought "junk food" to cook for meals. Well, when I asked him what we had at home to cook for his vegetarian wife, all he had bought was frozen deep-fried onion peels and mozzerella sticks. :tantrum:

He hasn't done any grocery shopping since I had my surgery. And then every time mealtime approaches, he asks me what I'd like to eat. I ask him what he has available to cook. He gets this confused look on his face, almost as if he expected food to appear in the refrigerator. And I look at him with my eyebrows raised. I'm being a little immature and passive-aggressive. :o Hubby has doted on me like I'm a princess. :sumo:

Normally our relationship is great because we communicate and tell each other if we want something. But now I want him to figure out for himself that he has to put forth effort in order to cook at home. :snooty: Maybe I want him to figure that out because it's normally me who does the cooking, and I want him to know that I really do work in this household. (Yeah, I'm a little insecure about being unemployed right now. :( )

I see other women suffer in relationships because they won't ask for what they want; they just assume their partners will read their minds and provide for their needs. And when their partners don't do that, the women get upset. I've always avoided that behavior. I should correct myself now. :yes:

I did some internet research on Adderall, and one thing I noticed was that people on the drug write really long posts... guess the drug must be working. :lol: If you've read this far, thanks! :hug: Guess I just needed to vent. :blah:

Thursday
 

Evening chickies (Elisha & TBJ)...and...wherever the rest of you are! ;)

Today was another VERY stressful day! State surveyors still in our building. They will leave tomorrow by noon, hopefully! I spent almost 2 hours today cleaning our popcorn machine because they pretty much said it was disgusting. They didn't use those words, but I'm sure they were thinking it! It was disgusting and even all the scrubbing I did for an hour on the kettle itslef, didn't get it spotless, but it's not covered with grease and salt anymore! Yea! I just hope it still works. Ikind of got it more wet than it should have gotten. Anyway...I'm just hoping they won't give us a citation on that! Grrr!


Sooooo...needless tosay, I turned to food as a comfort today as I was scrubbing this stupid kettle! I had icecream and ate some chillin and cornbread in a HUGE hurry (so I could get back to the scrubbing...whatever!) I was so thirsty when I got home, I guzzled 2 huge glasses of water. I'm sure I didn't get enough in, but I tried. Too busy!

I'm really tired tonight, so I think I'm going to go to bed early.

TBJ...That was the LONGEST post I think you have ever written. I love to read your posts! :) And thanks once again for the compliments. You are so sweet! Husbands! They drive us crazy for a reason sometimes! I don't know why, but they do! I think that's what God made them for??? LOL! Glad you are feeling better. I sure hope your knee feels good enough soon so you can make a trip to the grocery store, at leasT! :hug:

Elisha...Budgets...just the word makes me cringe! Not so much the budget part, just the part about "discussing" it with the spouse! Eh! Keep standing up for yourself and your abilities! You will show him! And you will have all and any debt paid off in no time! Way to go on the Fast Food "fast"! I'm proud of you!!!! :hug:

Night chickies! Have a great Friday!

Morning chicks.

My head is pounding this morning. I took some Excedrin Migraine (usually the only thing that even phases my headaches), and that brought it down to a dull roar. As soon as I came into the office this morning I had 3 different people tell me to go home. I might in a bit. I have a couple little things that need to be taken care of today, and I have to reschedule a meeting, but if I can manage that I think I will go home and go back to bed for a while.

I didn’t exercise this morning. I’m taking today off. I like taking Fridays as my day off from exercise, mostly because it’s the last day of the work week too and I get to just go home an veg all evening. Plus it was raining when I got up.

I got in a bunch of exercise yesterday though. Yesterday morning was 22 minutes on the bike, then 33 minutes of WATP Walk & Jog and a full set of stretches after work. Then I had some dinner, then I mowed the lawn, then washed all the dishes.

Water was good yesterday, 112 oz. or so, but calories were high. I do ok during the day, but then I go home and pig out at dinner. I’m just so hungry. As a result, the scale is at 218.2 this morning. I’ve been working my butt off all week, and no progress whatsoever. But, at least I am getting into the exercise habit, and if I plan my menus my eating will fall in line. One thing at a time.

Steve and I were planning to go to Applebee’s for lunch today, but obviously that won’t happen if I go home. That’s ok. I don’t feel much like eating at the moment. I brought a mug of coffee with me, and just thinking about taking a drink is making me a little nauseas.

So what’s going on with me this weekend? Hopefully Mom and Dad are coming over either tomorrow or Sunday to help us figure out some house stuff. Dad can help us estimate the cost and importance of remodeling projects, and Mom can tell me which of the green things in my flower beds are weeds and which are not—and she wants to talk about wedding stuff. Also, I suppose Steve and I will work out a more precise budget at some point. I plan to go through my cabinets and frig to see what we have and make some meal plans and a grocery list.

OK, chicks, that’s all I have the concentration to write this morning. Have a good day.
~Elisha

Hellooo --

Yay, the Adderall has no bad side effects. :) Happy happy, joy joy. I did notice a slight decrease in appetite. Not in a bad way, though.

So food was good yesterday. And today I haven't been using crutches at all. I go to the doctor on Tuesday and he'll take out my stitches. I bet by the time my parents are done visiting, I can go back to jujitsu and at least do Yawara (the standing up stuff).

Happy Friday.

Saturday check in from the "moving in progress...

Townhouse was all packed yesterday. Last night we came up to the new house to drop of the last of the things we didn't want the movers to mess with. Got back to the townhouse about 10:30, we were out cold by 11pm. Hubby got up before me and was working on the last of the laundry. I got up at 6:30, fought to stay in bed until 7am, then got things moving. Movers got there at 8:15. By 9am I had kitties in their travel carriers, their food, 1 litter box (didn't clean it, just dumped out the old & put new litter to keep some of their smell on it & not freak them out too much) and headed out with the crew to get them used to the house a little before people started showing up, making noise, and scaring them poopless.

Movers got to the new house here at 3:01, and pulled out at 5:15. Needless to say, I am surrounded by a world of cardboard and chaos. :) It's a good thing- really. The one complaint that I have about the company/movers- they didn't disclose that after 8 hours on the job, the rate increased to time and a half. With as much time as they took to pack, and then get here, we freaked a little over that part, and told them not to worry about assembling the beds & the dressers/mirrors to save time/money. Then, after the fact, they *****ed about the travel time, and charged for an hour and a half, not an hour, like was discussed on the phone. Hello- I gave you my damn address from, and to, when we arranged this. Your failure to check mapquest should not be MY problem. Grr. I'll debate that with the powers that be on Monday. In the meantime, I'm taking a 5 minute break to check in. Working in the master bedroom, getting the dresser, mirror, 2 5-drawer chests, and 2 nighttables scrubbed down, drawers squirted w/ clean cotton fabric refresher spray (I loves me some Yankee Candle goodies!) so that all the clean clothes going in will smell nice, but not all feminine/flowery.

Hubby was here briefly during the hoopla, but thanks in part to the lovely timing on several people's part, he's back at the old house, finishing up some work that absolutely has to be completed before he can head up to help. I really want to have our room totally set up as a thank you to him for all the time he lost yesterday & today babysitting these guys, and all he's done to manhandle the things I just can't do myself. He works so hard...and then he still doesn't get any peace. So, if I can get the master bedroom done, and have all his clothes put away, and then maybe do the little guest room next to his office, he'll be able to really see a big difference in a short time.

Having a diet mt. dew for the caffeine- this is going to be a long, dirty, sweaty night. I had better lose a few pounds when I check this #&%!@ scale when it comes out of a box!

Will check in later/tomorrow with an update, and a sore part checklist.

Elisha- how long did it take for your cats to get adjusted & come out from their hiding place? I have 3 cats hiding in 1 small bathroom- 2 behind the toilet & 1 behind the door. They won't eat, drink, or do more than lay in the stupid litterbox- not actually *go* in it. Double Grr!

Night for now, chickies- hope everyone is having a lower-key weekend than I am!

Hi,

Life's OK here. Still no side effects from the Adderall. :cheer: Kind of a funny story... Hubby drank a can of some kind of cappuccino drink. He said it consisted of 80% sugar and 20% caffeine. He was so boingy and talkative afterwards. :dizzy: I told him it was funny that he was all boingy, while his wife, who is taking an amphetamine, is acting perfectly normal. :p Of course, people who need this kind of drug are supposed to act normal while taking it, not boingy. So I guess the fact that I'm less boingy when I'm taking speed than my husband is after drinking cappuccino is a good thing. :D

Speaking of caffeine, I'm going to have to cut it out of my diet! Yep yep, caffeine combined with Adderall is not a good thing. Maybe I will drink less soda as a result. :o

Food was good yesterday. And I walked around without crutches, all of yesterday and so far all of today. :D The doctor will remove my stitches on Tuesday.

Jennifer -- Good to hear from you. :hug: How thoughtful of you to appreciate your hubby. :love: He sounds like he works hard. And having moved my cat four times, my experience is that it takes two days for them to feel comfortable in a new home. Don't forget that kitties like to prowl at nighttime. They're probably raising **** when you're asleep. :)

Well, leftovers for dinner tonight. Then we might go out for a movie. I want popcorn and a pop. Don't know whether I'll get them. I haven't eaten that many calories today. On the other hand, I don't need junk food... Maybe I'll see when I get there. :)

Morning chicks!

Well, this weekend is going well for me so far. I'm actually doing better this weekend than I did during the week! :lol:

I've stayed on track with my exercise. Yesterday was 40 minutes on the bike, a 40 minute walk with Ella and Steve, weights, and stretches. Water was decent, but less than usual (I really need to get a bigger glass for the house--it makes it so much easier!), probably around 80 oz. Calories came in around 1435. We had lunch at Applebee's--I had fajitas--but I was still full by the time dinner rolled around, so I didn't eat anything after that.

I did end up coming home on Friday. I watched a movie and laid on the couch, sleeping most of the day. I kept my calories in check, but pretty much everything I ate was junk food. And I took Friday off from exercise. It felt good just to veg for a while. I still have a headache, though not as bad as Friday. I don't know what's up with that. Usually when I get headaches like this it's because I'm not drinking enough water, or I haven't had any caffeine. But neither of those is the case right now, and this headache just won't go away.

So anyway, I also managed to make up some meal plans and a grocery list for the next couple of weeks. I went through my frig and pantry to see what we've got, and it turns out that I don't even have to buy a lot of groceries or do a lot of cooking. But some of the things I will make are lasagna, peanut chicken, chicken with lime sauce, cumin roasted potatoes, peppered steak with horseradish chive cream, and parmesan crusted chicken. I'm trying some new recipes, and all of them are healthy. :D Most of them came from my new issue of Cooking Light (love that magazine!). I'll let you know how they turn out.

Also, Steve and I talked about it yesterday, and I'm finally going to get to start working on my nutrition degree. I've been wanting to for a while, but it's gotten pushed aside because I didn't have enough money, enough time, etc. But if I don't just do it, it'll never get done, and it's something I really want to do. So I'm going for it.

Jennifer: It took our cats a few days to come out of the basement. Then we got a dog and they went back in the basement, and are still there. That's partially our fault, because we have a barrier up so the dog doesn't go after them, but they're getting acclimated and the barrier will be removed soon. That'll be a fun day. But TBJ is right--2 or 3 days, they'll prowl around at night, then all will be well.

OK, enough chatter from me for the moment. Time to find something for breakfast, then perhaps a movie. Have a good day, chicks!
~Elisha

Hello!

So, last night... I just kind of picked at my dinner. Got popcorn and pop at the movie, but just kind of picked at that, too. Went to a bookstore, bought some science fiction, and had a really yummy de-caffeinated coffee drink. :love: That drink was the only food/beverage that I've really slurped down since starting the Adderall. Today, I went out to lunch after church, and again, I ate , but I didn't eat as much as I used to. I had ice cream afterwards, so it wasn't like I was depriving myself -- just a little less hungry.

Well, enough about amphetamines. :) I have been working on good habits, not just eating less. Yesterday I ate fruits and veggies. Today I've only had two as of lunch. I used to eat fruit for breakfast, but apparently citric acid makes the new med less effective. So I've been eating cereal instead. Cereal is perfectly healthy for breakfast, but I had a lot easier time getting in my five fruits and veggies when I could eat fruit for breakfast.

Yes, I have been drinking fewer sweet beverages as a result of the caffeine ban. Today I wanted a Thai iced coffee with lunch... couldn't have it. And I don't seem to drink as much non-caffeinated soda as I used to drink the stuff with caffeine.

Anyway, food has improved a lot over the past few days. Here's hoping I can keep up the good habit. I really would like to reach that goal of 149 one of these years. :^:

Happy Sunday. :)

Morning chicks!

I may have to go take notes at a meeting in just a few minutes, so this may jump around a bit. Can I just say that I’m really starting to hate my job? Isn’t this why people have secretaries?

Anyway…

So I went home on Friday and laid around all day. The headache got a little better, but it remained for the rest of the weekend. It’s gone for the moment, but I’m not counting on it staying gone.

I did good this weekend. Calories were good… Friday: 1665, Saturday: 1435, Sunday: 1535 (I think). Water was good. Exercise was a lot.

This morning I got up at 5:25 to exercise. It was drizzly and wet out this morning, so I didn’t go for a walk. I got on the bike, but my body just did not want to move. I’m exhausted this morning, just completely drained. My body feels heavy and worn out.

I thought weekends were supposed to leave you feeling refreshed.

Ah, and the headache returns. I knew it wouldn’t last long. I have a headache more often than not.

So I’m going to take this nutrition course, right. Steve and I discussed it, and we think we can work it out. It’s something I really want to do. The problem is, the down payment is $800 (it’s a whole degree program, not just one class). Yeah, we can manage the $100 per month payment plan, but where in the world are we going to come up with $800? We can save some each month, and I guess that’s what we’ll have to do, but it just feels like it’s getting put off even more. And knowing how bad the two of us are at saving money, it feels like it’s never going to happen. There’s always something more important.

I really wish I could quit my job and go back to school. But if I quit my job, I can’t afford to go to school. Sometimes money really sucks.

Moving on…

So I’ve been doing the Total Body Makeover for a week now. I’ve been following the rules, doing the exercises, everything I’m supposed to. I’m having a couple problems though. Problem #1: It appears I have to keep my calories low AND do all the extra exercise to lose anything. Now, now, I know that it takes diet and exercise to lose weight. But he says you shouldn’t really have to monitor your calories too closely if you follow the rest of the program, which I have been doing. My calories haven’t been too far out of whack, but I’m hungry a lot more now (and that’s saying something, because I’m always hungry anyway). I’ve got to find some foods that last longer in my system and give me more energy. Which leads me to Problem #2: I’m worn out. I know that exercise is good for me and will eventually lead me to having more energy. But how can I force myself to do all of this extra exercise when it’s hard to lift my feet to go up the stairs? Is this one of those “fake it till you make it” situations? Problem #3: I have no time. I didn’t have any time before, and now I’m spending the vast majority of my free time exercising. I don’t have time to do anything else. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, socializing, all falling by the wayside so I can exercise. Problem #4: The program is built around increasing your exercise time each week. There are actually 2 problems with this, 1 being the aforementioned lack of time that is Problem #3—if I don’t have enough time now how am I possibly going to have enough time in a couple weeks when I have to devote even more time to exercise—the second being that I haven’t really been doing an exact amount of exercise (which, I realize, may contribute to said lack of time). How do I increase my time 2 minutes per day if my regular amount of time is random, 32 minutes one day, 43 the next, 37 the next, etc.?

I don’t know. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears. But I’ve already decided that I’m going to stick with it until my birthday, May 29. That day will mark 6 weeks following the program. If at that point I am not seeing a reasonable amount of progress, I’m giving myself permission to find something better. I should be able to see some improvement in 6 weeks.

OK, today’s menu:
Breakfast:
2 c. coffee w/FF vanilla creamer
1 sv. breakfast casserole (I made it healthy—around 300 calories for a huge chunk)

Lunch:
2 small Salmon-Dill Cakes
Sweet and Sour Carrots
1 sv. Potato Chips (yeah, I know)

Snack:
Dried Apricots

Dinner:
Dunno. Leftovers or something super quick.

I did go through the pantry and frig this weekend to figure out what we have. And I planned some meals for the upcoming couple of weeks. As it turns out, I don’t really have to buy that much stuff. I made out a grocery list around my menu, and since I didn’t have to buy that much I included some other handy things to have on hand that I don’t necessarily need right now. But, as I’m trying to save money, I might not get them this time. My main goal right now is to spend as little money as possible.

Anyway, that’s about all I’ve got to say at the moment. Time to go scan the classifieds and possibly do some work. Have a good day, chicks.
~Elisha

Monday
 

OK...so I haven't posted in a few days! Ahem! Been a little busy...actually, that's just an excuse! I have just been doing so poorly with exercise and eating that I'm ashamed of myself! Tonight I had 2 glasses of wine and a huge candy bar...that was AFTER I had about ahandful (or two) of these yummy chocolate orange truffles while shopping for an anniversary present tonight! It's DH & my 13th anniversary. I guess I felt entitled to a little treat! But that's just the icing on the cake....it's been like that all weekend...and quite frankly since last week! I've got to get this under control! Ahhhhhhh!

OK...now that I have that out of my system...

Our survey went ok. We ended up with 6 citations which were minor compared to what it could have been. And...we did get cited on the dang popcorn popper! That won't happen again! Of course, it will be the joke with our staff for a long time to come! HA! It is now completely cleaned and I did a "test" batch today to make sure it was ok! Seemed to be working fine!

Anyone watch Oprah? I watched her show last week about women who have let themselves "go"! It was interesting. She has a bunch of stuff on her website on how to self improve, if you are interested at Oprah.com I think I am going to try to check it out! My menu planning isn't working so well...

Jennifer...Glad you are all moved in. Hope you got your bedroom done before hubby came home! That would have been cool for him! I take my DH for granted lots too. He's always doing something around here to make it easier for me! :) Gotta love that! I have been hoping to catch you on line sometime, but you must be a busy girl! And when you get done putting all that stuff into place, I'm sure all you want to do is crash! I would for sure! Hopefully sometime soon!

TBJ...Glad the Adderal is working for you. Maybe the lack of appetite is a good side effect for you? Enjoy the tropical weather, though ok? Spring has sprung here in the Midwest, but nothing beats those tropical breezes!!!

Elisha...Keep on hangin on girl! Sometimes we have to do the things we don't like to do to make our jobs go smoothly. Sorry about the secretarial stuff for you! It could be worse! You could be scrubbing cast iron with a wire scrubby til you have no fingernails left! ;) The exercise doesn't sound too awfully bad. Maybe you can figure out how you can get in more without compromising your duties at home. For me, it's pure laziness when it comes to exercise. I just don't WANT to...and then when I finally do it, I feel so much better! What about getting that blood work done? Did you ever do that with your Dr. appt.? I still say maybe you are anemic or have mono?! This fatigue has gone on long enough for you! :hug:

Morning chickies!

I smashed my finger in a drawer while putting away dished here at work this morning, so my typing is a little slow today! You’ll have to forgive any typos! :lol:

Let’s see… yesterday was a good day. I did 30 minutes of Yourself!Fitness after work, plus the fitness evaluation at the beginning (I reset it). Lots of crunches, jumping jacks, squats, lunges, push-ups. Ergh. But I got a good workout, and I sweated buckets, so it’s all good. I drank over 100 oz of water yesterday, and calories came in around 1630. I did so well at dinner last night I had room in my calorie budget for a chocolate chip cookie and half a glass of skim milk. Yummy!

You would have been so proud of me at dinner last night. I ended up having 1 cup of whole wheat pasta (I measured!) with 3 oz. of turkey breast and 1.5 cups of mixed veggies in herbed tomato sauce. And it was a big plate of food! I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to finish it. But… yeah right, me, not finish something? It is to laugh. But anyway, it was very tasty, and healthy. I will have to buy more of those veggies.

The scale is down to 215.6 this morning. Yay! Moving in the right direction.

Ella and I went for a short walk this morning, only about half a mile. Oh, and I got a new pedometer, so now I can keep track of how far I’m going. I’ll do more exercising tonight.

I have to stop at the grocery store after work though. I’ve got my list made out, though I will probably adjust it during the day today to make it a bit healthier and more budget-conscious. I really want to save as much money as I can so that I can start my nutrition class. That, and I just want to prove that I am capable of saving money. :D

I found out this morning that I have to go to Salt Lake City for 3 days next month for work. I’m excited. I’ve never been there, but from what I’ve seen on tv it looks very pretty. I have to reschedule a few appointments, and I leave on Mothers Day, but that’s ok.

So I tried to call my doctor’s office this morning to #1, pay my bill, #2, refill my prescription (the one I called to get refilled 2 weeks ago that still hasn’t been taken care of), and #3, reschedule my appointment. I was on hold for…way too long. Granted, I didn’t have anything life-threatening going on, but how did they know that? No one should *ever* be on hold for that long at a medical facility. It was within normal business hours and everything.

Anyway…
My menu for today looks like this:
Breakfast:
1 c. coffee w/FF vanilla creamer
Breakfast burrito w/1 tortilla, ¼ c. LF shredded cheese, ½ c. egg beaters, green peppers, and onions
Cappuccino w/1/2 c. skim milk, 2 teas. chocolate coffee syrup, and coffee

Lunch:
Turkey sandwich: 2 sl. ww bread, 1 sl. Muenster, 3 oz. turkey breast
½ c. LF cottage cheese
1 c. fruit salad
1 sv. BBQ soy crisps (Have you tried those? They’re yummy!)

Snack:
Dried apricots

Dinner:
Dunno. Probably leftover whole wheat pasta and more turkey breast and some sort of veggie.

Julie: I'm planning to talk to my dr. about the fatigue next time I go in. I did have some blood work done in September, but they didn't test everything, just the basic stuff I guess. I'm borderline anemic, but I knew that, and I already supplement with iron. I'm also writing down my food intake, exercise, and water so I can show it to her and prove that I'm not just whining. ;)

Anyway, I need to get moving. Have a good day, chicks!
~Elisha

Calling ALL Chickies!!!!
 

Alright you chick-a-dees!!!! It's time to come out of hiding and report in! A new month is going to be here in just a few days, so it will be time for a MAY Challenge! Spring is here and I know that means busy times for many of us, but we need to help one another out and be supportive. I know I need it and I'm sure most of us do!

So....here's the challenge for the remainder of the month (that's through Sunday!)...Post once a day...let us all know you are comitted to this challenge board...and I want to hear one POSITIVE thing about your day!!! :)

OK...and for me...well I'm plugging along and NOT losing weight OR inches! I am tired of it and really, really, really want to make that change. Foot is still bothering me...arch supports or not! My back aches all the time! I'm not eating healthy and certainly not exercising to speak of (other than the exercise I get in my daily routine, which is more than some, but not as much as others!) So...I'm ready to start AGAIN and I would love to have all of you here to help me with this journey! PLEEEEEASE??!!!!

Chickies! Hellllooooooo? Anyone out there?

Well, yesterday was… eh. Water was good, as usual. Calories were around 1620. I didn’t exercise again after work, so all I had was my quick 12-minute walk with Ella before work. :(

I went grocery shopping after work and managed to buy ALL healthy stuff. And I only had to talk myself out of buying a few unhealthy things. I did buy some healthy stuff I don’t really need, but less than I wanted to buy, so it’s ok. I’ve got to make a trip to the other grocery store tonight, but it should be quick and I don’t have to get too much. Last night I didn’t get home until after 7:30 and by the time I had the groceries put away it was 7:45. I am out of my dried apricots I planned on eating for my afternoon snack yesterday (I usually keep some at work), so by the time I got home I was starving. I made myself ½ a LF cheese and tomato quesadilla and some cottage cheese salad for a quick dinner. Then I had a chocolate chip cookie just because I was stressed out and feeling crappy. Yes, I immediately solved my stress dilemma by turning to food. I know that is not the best idea and I need to come up with a better solution. At least I stayed within a reasonable calorie range and I limited myself to one cookie and did not let it turn into a binge. I cleaned up the kitchen, cleaned the cat box, got ready for bed, then laid there and read for a while.

I’m really trying to stop procrastinating so much. Like last night I was stressing about because the kitchen was a mess (it really wasn’t that bad, I was just feeling stressed in general, and that blew everything out of proportion). Anyway, I stopped and took a deep breath and washed the dishes, and I felt so much better. I did the same thing this morning. I just washed the dishes as soon as I was done with them, and now I know they won’t be there to stress me out when I get home.

So this morning I got up at 5:25. Not enough sleep. Steve sets the alarm on his cell phone for 10:00pm. Then he lays there and hits snooze for an entire hour. I’m trying to get him to stop doing that. Not only do you not get any quality sleep in those 9 minutes between alarms, but it makes it harder for your body to wake up and get moving even when you do eventually roll out of bed. Besides that, I usually go to bed at 10, and his alarm keeps me awake for an extra hour. Not fair! Maybe I should start calling him every few minutes when he goes to bed just so he can see how it feels! (I’m not going to do that, but it is amusing to think about.)

Anyway, I got up a 5:25 this morning. It rained all day yesterday and most of the night, so everything is wet, and it was downright cold when I took Ella out. So I didn’t go for a walk this morning. I got on the bike for 15 minutes instead. I admit that I did a rather half-hearted job of it though. I’m not too upset about that though, as #1 I fully intend to exercise when I get home, and #2 the whole point of getting on the bike was so that I make morning exercise a habit and it gets easier to do. And I figured some was better than none, which is what I really wanted to do.

So one of the things I bought at the store last night was LF vanilla soy milk. I made myself a cappuccino this morning with it. I thought it would be nice and healthy. Everyone’s toting the benefits of soy these days, you know.
Umm… can anyone say “disgusting?” It tasted like a big coffee-flavored fiber pill, and was almost as gritty. At first I thought perhaps it was because of the steam, or maybe it was just the foam on the top, or maybe I didn’t have it stirred up enough. So I kept stirring it up and taking another drink. It never got any better. In the end I dumped it out and poured myself a cup of regular coffee with a smidge of half and half (no FF vanilla creamer here at the office). As far as I’m concerned, the vegans can keep it! Maybe I will let Ella try a little bit on her food this evening.

Menu for today:

Breakfast:
2 c. coffee, 1 w/FF vanilla creamer, 1 w/ ½ and ½
2 frozen waffles
2 T. light syrup

Snack:
Banana

Lunch:
Turkey sandwich: 2 sl. WW bread, 3 oz. turkey breast, 1 sl. Muenster
1 c. cottage cheese salad: ½ c. LF cottage cheese w/cucumbers and tomato
1 mini Snickers to quell the chocolate-craving monster we refer to as ToM

Snack:
LF yogurt

Dinner:
Dunno. Lots of healthy food available though, so I’m sure I’ll find something.

Anyway, I’ve got a meeting to go to. Have a good day, chicks.
~Elisha

Hey Julie! :wave:

We posted at the same time!
Good to see you checking in!

Are you going to post the May Challenge for us? (wink wink nudge nudge)

Is MsRD still on vacation? If so, she's got a valid excuse.

But where are the rest of the chicks?!

hey, chicas! Whew, what a weekend, and 2 days. It's just been a long day, trying to catch up on what everyone left for me. When I'm out, I guess they figure that it's not important to make sure I don't get behind. Sigh. Job security, I suppose.

Did my first official drive in to the office from here this morning, but with a side trip back to the townhouse to get my Sunpass prepaid toll thingie from hubby's car, and to check the mail for checks and bills that needed to be handled. Tonight hubby is at the townhouse/remains of his office working on some critical things. When we set up the move, he had a clear schedule, but that never seems to last. So, mid-move, the poo is hitting the fan, he can't dismantle everything because he was still working, and our first week in the new house together, well, hasn't been all that together. And I can't complain- I was the one whining about it'd be August and we'd still be in the old house if we didn't just up & do it.

Lots of emotions about clearing out of the old place. Big changes. Hubby's spent 18 years there, so that's a big chunk of his adulthood, and his independance. Our first years together. And little things on both ends that just complicate things, and frustrate you to the point where you just want to throw up your hands and just have a good cry. I'm the more flexible, more tolerant one, so I can only imagine how poor hubby is.

Ok, I'm rambling, and I don't think I have a lot more to contribute, at least not while I'm sweatty and yucky. I'll post in the morning- hopefully my new, test-out schedules will make life easier, and give me some private time to check in. Toying with 7:30-4 w/ a half hour lunch. Would really be nice to getin & get out, and be done. Wish me luck.

Night for now, ladies. Miss you all! Julie, please, please, please come up with something for May for us- with small things falling into place, I think I might be able to work up some of that mojo. :)

Hello!

Just got a minute, so this will be short......promise to catch up tomorrow! Vacation was wonderful......we went thru Pennsylvania and then south into Virginia......Gettysburg, Amish/Pennsylvania Dutch country/Norfolk Naval Station/Colonial Williamsburg, and then a beautiful drive thru the Appalachian Mountains and on home. AND (insert drum roll here), I came home weighing the same as when I left!!! This is no small miracle, as I ate terribly, got very little water and exercise!

I came home to puter problems......minor stuff really, but it has been so busy this week playing catchup that I haven't had time to deal with it! All is well now.

DH has decided to have the RNY gastric bypass......we went to an orientation meeting this week and nothing there dissuaded him, so, as soon as we can get the insurance companies in agreement, I guess it is a go. I have been quite freaky about this.....major surgery, major lifestyle change....but they were very kind and patient at the meeting, and answered all our questions, so I am beginning to feel a little better about it.....I think.

Whew! My eating is still 'off' this week.....so hard to get back into the swing of things! I will be looking forward to the May Challenge .....have to get refocused!

Afternoon chickies!

Julie: See, we just have to whine a little about everyone being gone, and POOF! They magically appear! Now we just have to find Joy, she’s been gone way too long. And Betani… wonder how she’s doing?... TBJ is around here somewhere. ;)

MsRD: Sounds like you have a wonderful vacation! You should have let me know you were in the area, we could have met up! But, I know you like your anonymity as well as I do, and I know you didn’t know exactly where you were heading, so I suppose I can forgive you this time. Great job on making it through vacation without gaining!

Jennifer: Congrats on finally getting moved in! It takes a while getting used to. It is still weird for me driving past my old exit on the interstate. And it’s really weird going to my parents’ house now. But you’ll settle in soon enough, and then you’ll be good to go! My first night in our house was alone too. I had wanted to wait until a night when Steve could be there with me, but it just wasn’t in the cards.  Oh well. I was asleep anyway.

So, I’m way late posting today. I got slammed at work this morning, about 9 different things to do before noon. I’ve busy the rest of the day too, but I’m taking my lunch hour! I’m sitting here eating a Lean Cuisine, mini rice cakes, and a banana, and someone in the office ordered pizza and chicken wings. The smells wafting through are sooooo tempting. I almost went out for a salad just to get away from it. But then I realized that I have to stay here and wait on a phone call, so no luck there. So here I sit, eating Lean Cuisine. Weee.

What else? My mind is spinning right now.

I woke up this morning thinking it was Friday. And then at some point I realized that I was wrong. How disappointing.

I finished my grocery shopping last night. More healthy stuff, with 1 exception: shells and cheese. I know, not good. But it just feels like my pantry is not completely without some shells and cheese. So I’m weird.

I really didn’t want to work out when I got home last night. I made myself a lean cheeseburger (FF cheese, LF mayo, WW bun, even lean ground beef) for dinner, then played on the computer for a while. But then after my dinner settled for a bit I talked myself into exercising. I did another 30 minutes on the bike plus my weights and stretches. Water was good, and calories came in at 1708.

This morning I didn’t want to exercise either. I was up late last night due to exercising. :D But I did. I actually did my Yourself!Fitness workout this morning, so I am pretty much done for the day. Yay! It did take me a bit longer than I would have liked, which means I need to get up even earlier. It made me feel rushed, and I hate feeling rushed, especially in the morning. Bleh. I like to be able to sit and drink my coffee and read my email.

I will probably take Ella for a walk this evening though, just because she’s been so freaking energetic it’s maddening. I was going to make some lasagna in the crockpot today, because my mom was going to come over for dinner, but she told me she’s not coming, so I didn’t bother with the lasagna. I’ll fix myself something semi-quick when I get home.

On the docket this weekend: lots of cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Hopefully Mom and Dad will finally stop by, but I’m not going to hold my breath. Steve and I are going to do our wedding registry Saturday afternoon. I’ll see if I can squeeze some relaxation time in there somewhere.

Menu for today:

Breakfast:
1 c. coffee w/FF creamer
Cappuccino: 4 oz. skim milk, 4 oz. coffee
2 sl. ww toast, 1 T. LF mayo, 1 sl. FF cheese, 1 sausage patty

Lunch:
Lean Cuisine Chicken Teriyaki
Mini cheddar rice cakes
Banana

Snack:
Trail mix with nuts and berries (they were out of dried apricots!)

Dinner:
TBD

OK, I need to get back to work. I hope you’re all having a good day!
~Elisha

It's late...
 

so this is going to be quick and filled with lots of typos, I'm sure! My eyes are half closed...some of you know that if it's after 11, I turn into a PUMPKIN!!!!

Anyway...food today...not so great! What else is new? I have been trying to get in at least 3 fruits and/or veggies a day. I did do that today, so that was a good thing.

Water was good. Best day in a while at around 80 oz.!

Exercise...Blah! Other than the walking I do at work and the running around with DD in the yard, it's been non existant this month.

I'm feeling fat! Really fat. Like the kind of fat that you feel when your rolls touch each other when you sit down or bend a certain way! My pants are all tight. I don't feel good about myself. I don't like it either! I'm joining Weight Watchers in May...sometime. I have to run it by DH first, but I really don't care what he says...I'm doing it. I just want to give him the courtesy of working it into the budget! May is tight with lots coming up, but hey...I'm so worth it! I'm sick of being fat and gaining and not doing anything about it!

So there...:p ...there's my rant! Sorry it wasn't more positive. I promise the May challenge will be MUCH more psoitive...and I WILL put it up this weekend!

Gawd...I'm so busy...I hate end of month...rush, rush, rush! Do this, do that!!!! Ahhhhhhh! I just want to pull my hair out of my friggin head this time of month! I'm sure you all can relate!

MsRD...Welcome back! I missed you. Glad you had a good time. Sorry about puter probs! That sucks!

Elisha...too funny...I woke up this morning thinking it was Friday too! It's soooo disappointing when reality slaps you in the face, isn't it? We survivied, didn't we? And I hear you taling about Mac & Cheese (I don't care about brand), but I HAVE to have some comfort food in the house! I have boxes of the stuff because I was so used to having it on hand when Kaleigh was younger...she's not so into it anymore, but I could eat a whole BOX of it!!! Tsk, tsk!

Jennifer...When ever you slow down, you can email me! I know you are busy! I miss you!

TBJ...How's the knee coming along? And the new meds? Still working well for you? Please check in! I miss you when you don't! :^: Enjoying some of that Pacific air, I hope!?

Betani, Joy...and anyone else who might be lurking out there...please check in with us! We sitll love you!

Morning chicks!

Yesterday turned out to be a so-so day. A little stressful, but that’s what I get for having a job, right? Anyway, calories came in at 1625, water was good, exercise was my Y!F in the morning. Dinner ended up being a big salad and some leftover wheat pasta with a splash of soy sauce. Then I had a chocolate chip cookie. Having just one of those cookies, heated up in the microwave so it’s all nice and gooey, makes me feel like I’m being decadent and normal (as in, not on a diet). :lol:

The first time I got on the scale this morning it said 216.2. I hopped on a little while later and it said 215.2. Umm… ok. Either way, I’m down from last week, so it’s all good. Now I just have to hold onto the loss until Monday so it’s official. :D

Today is my day off from exercise. YAY! I slept in until 6:00 this morning. Wait a minute, can 6:00am really be considered sleeping in? Well anyway, it felt good. And I will hopefully get to sleep in tomorrow too. Hooray for sleep!

Breakfast today was 2 c. coffee w/FF vanilla creamer, a hash brown (cooked with NO oil—only a spritz of Pam to make it crispy), and a bagel w/LF chive cream cheese. I bought the cream cheese the other day because I thought for some reason I needed chive-flavored cream cheese for a recipe, but as it turns out I need chives AND sour cream… I was confused. Obviously. But oh well. It works on bagels.

Steve is taking me out to lunch today. I don’t know where we’re going. Possibly Ruby Tuesday so I can get the salad bar. Yum! I know I don’t really need to go out to eat, for a couple of reasons, but I never get to see Steve during the week, and we always seem to be busy during the weekends, so it’s nice to just spend some time together.

Dinner… most likely salmon. Broccoli, a salad. Yeah. Mmmm… salmon.

I’m going to do some laundry tonight. Hopefully I can get a good bit of it done so I don’t have to rush around so much the rest of the weekend. We’ll be out a good bit tomorrow, visiting my parents and registering and possibly getting some stuff for the house. I hope I can get some other stuff done at home though, cleaning and cooking. There are so many yummy things I want to cook, and I bought all the ingredients, I just need the time. *sigh* That’s the hard part. And then Sunday my parents are coming over. Mom wants to go over wedding stuff, and I want her to help me plan my garden (or at least tell me which ones are weeds and which ones are supposed to be there), and we want Dad to give us advice on some remodeling projects (mostly which ones need done first and how much they will cost).

I was thinking about the house last night, and I realized that I’d really like to have some things done before we have kids. Like the floors. There’s icky, old, disgusting carpet throughout the house now. Someone glued it to the lovely hardwood floors underneath. Morons. And now Ella has ripped a few holes in the carpet. So yeah, the carpet needs torn up and the floors refinished. That project won’t be incredibly expensive, it will just be a lot of work and a big huge mess. And both of the bathrooms need completely redone—floors, walls, fixtures (well, the main bath has a new sink and toilet, but they don’t match—again, morons), lights, everything. The dining room needs new drywall, which, again, isn’t incredibly expensive, but time consuming and messy. We’ll probably do the whole dining room—walls and floor—at the same time. The bedrooms all need the walls and floors redone, and almost all of the windows need replaced. The windows aren’t really that bad, it’s just that they all still have original wood sills, and some of them are deteriorating. Not only that, but the morons painted most of them shut. *shakes her head*

OK, I just talked to Steve, and there’s been a change of plans. His parents want to take us out to dinner, so we’re not going out to lunch, and I’m not cooking salmon tonight (I’ll probably have it tomorrow, as it is fish and therefore needs to be cooked soon). But, as I didn’t bring a lunch with me, so I’ll have to go out to get something. That’s ok. I’ll get a salad or a sandwich or something healthy. No fast food for me! I’ve only got 3 days left, I’m not going to blow it now.

So anyway, I need to get moving. Still dealing with remnants of yesterday’s craziness, but it’s not so bad today. Hopefully everyone is out enjoying the beautiful weather and won’t be sending me crap to do! :lol: Hey, a girl can dream!

Have a good weekend, chicks!
~Elisha

Afternoon, chickies! Today is the official "move the office" for hubby day. He's already tearing apart his computer, and bundling up all the accessories. When I get to the house tonight, the first thing we'll be doing is setting him up, and testing everything. It'll sure be nice to have him underfoot all the time :)

Last night I dropped by to see him on the way home, and that ended up in a 5 hour date ;) I was missing him, and he had to do 2 inspections, so I went along for the ride. At 8pm, we stopped and had dinner at PF changs. I haven't eaten much at all this week- from working on the unpacking & stuff, I've been overheated, and not hungry for the most part. So, our splurge last night won't have done a lot of damage. Anyway, by the time we got back to the old house, it was well after 9pm, and I decided to stay there- crashed on a blanket on the floor, but at least got to spend quantity and quality time with hubby. He worked until nearly 2am to get everything finished, and then came to bed. No more floors, as of tonight. :)

I'll check in tonight, hopefully, once I get him all set up. I might be offline if we can't get the wireless network all hooked up, but as long as he can get on, and work, that's the main thing. Oh, I should bring my laptop & I can dial up, just in case. Good thinking!

Have a wonderful weekend, chickies!

Wow. I completely suck at keeping up with posting.

I have to schedule an appointment with my doctor soon. I'm finally going to talk to him about my depression, increasing mood swings, and stubborn cholesterol, along with a stoic acne outbreak on my forehead that's been there since January and doesn't respond to any soap on the market.

I just bought Leslie Sansone's "Essential Walker's Journal", and I think I'll use it with next month's challange, if I can get my act together enough to post!

Man, today is WAY to nice to be at work! Well, my boss did say that as long as I kept my head propped up and looked like I was working she wouldn't say anything... And, she did say that if we all left quietly, one by one, no one would notice... Ehh. The day's almost over anyway.

Tonight I am going to my SIL's wedding rehersal. I'm feeling kinda anti-social, but I'll do my best to be attentive. DH is singing in the wedding, and he's an usher. She got a two-fer with him! He's excited about it, though. He doesn't know the groom very well, and he really really hopes he treats her right.

I've got to do my best not to over-snack tonight, since today was a retirement party for someone in one of the other departments. Too many creamy type pasta and broccoli salads, and fried chicken! Gotta be careful tonight.

Okay, I'd better post this before I get side-tracked AGAIN.

BTW, speaking of journals...

Does anyone here like guided journals? I just got a couple from journalsunlimited.com, and they are really cool! Just thought I'd share.

It's even later...
 

than last night, but I was just talking on the phone to a very good friend that I haven't talked to in months. Funny thing. She lives in Alabama...and I'm here in Michigan. Haven't talked in months. She says..."Well, I'm joining WW next week!" I'm like "No way...me too!" On Tuesday...at 6pm...both of us! Too funny! :D So now I have another accountability friend and we will be on the journey together! YEA!!!

I told DH tonight that I was joining and there was pretty much a "non response" from him, as if to say "Yea, I've heard it all before..." Makes me feel REAL motivated about losing, ya know!!! Oh well...I AM motivated and my goal is to be down 20lbs by my birthday on July 25...that's almost 3 months. I just need a jump start here with the weight loss to keep me going since I can't seem to do it on my own. I mean...I KNOW what I have to do...I just can't seem to actually DO it! I'm sure you can relate! Now...my key will be to actually stick with this and really work hard at it the first few weeks! So, I need some enthusiasm here from all of you...:carrot: LOL!

I did ok with food today. Had Whole grain bread toast with PB & J for b-fast. Lunch was a salad w/ Poppy Seed dressing (probably way too much, but it was good and at least I ate a salad) and supper #1 was a grilled (very greasy) meat & cheese sandwich at work and a candy bar (tsk) and Supper#2 was a cheeseburger on the grill, some crackers & spinach dip and a glass of wine! Not the best choices throughout the day, but better than it could have been, so I will say that was a success!:)

Water...not as good...Only about 60oz. today.

Exercise...lots of walking at work, but I know that doesn't count! Waaaahhhhh! My foot hurts...have I mentioned that lately? Maybe getting 10# off to start will help with that! I'm also making an appt. with the Podiatrist next week to see if I can get another cortisone shot just to take the edge off for a while! :) That would be nice!

I'm going to whine a bit here...sorry! I've noticed lately since I really haven't been exercising that my back is really sore...muscle aches all the time, especially in my back ribs which means I am not extending much these days, which means I really have to start at least stretching more routinely again! Probably is why my foot is hurting more, too! Duh! OK...done with my whine. Stretching routine starts tomorrow morning first thing...before anything!

Betani...Sure is good to hear from you. Please keep with us through the May challenge! Do the guided journals have questions that you could share with all of us that we could do our own "journal" of sorts? Maybe this is the time to start something like this again...like a question of the day that Elisha used to do! Let me know.

Jennifer...So glad you got to spend some "quality" time with hubby! I'm sure you enjoyed it! ;) Sounds like you have been working like a work-horse! Maybe this weekend you will have some time to email an old friend...hint, hint!!!! LOL! I'll bet you've lost more than the 4# that keeps popping up in your sig. :hug:

Elisha...How was your dinner? Have a good time this weekend with the family. I think Ella's been good for you! She sure sounds like a good dog! Do you have any pics to share? Speaking of that...I was supposed to post my picture of me in my bathing suit a month ago!!!! ARGH! I look worse now, so glad I took them then! :o

Gotta get some sleep! Hope you all have a great weekend! My nephew is coming over tomorrow, DD has a soccer game & I have to work the concession stand for an hour after her game. I hope the weather is nice! Night all!

Helloooo --

Just popping in to say I'm really busy right now, but count me in for May -- I might not post for a week, tho. Hi to everyone! :) Sorry so short.

The New May Challenge is up!
 

Come over and check it out!
Here's the link!
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83046