Headache is gone, finally. Two more BD parties "under my belt"! One last night at daughters ... pizza and 2 cakes (one was for a belated ann. for in-laws - father-in-law got sick when we were supposed to have theirs last week.) The other was tonight with 4 of our friends. They took hubby out to a fancy restaurant to eat and then to our friend's house for MORE cake. Poor hubby, he's had a bad cold for 3 days now. He got some new cold med. Stuff on swabs you put up your nose. It works pretty good, it's about stopped his cold already.

Kids are all 8 going on vacation to Myrtle Beach for a week. Leaving tomorrow morning and I have the next 2 weeks off from teaching. Daughter-in-law and 2 kids aren't coming back for 2 weeks, they're stopping off at her mom and dad's. YAHOO!!! I'll be FREE!!! Except for a week from Wed. when I have to go to Chattanooga with daughter ... to take Ross to the Dr. Just MAYBE I MIGHT clean out a closet or two or work on cleaning up the basement. Or ... I might just DO NOTHING! I actually cleaned out one closet last night. Surprised myself ...

Well, it's 2 A.M. Where does the time go??? 'NITE ALL...

Well-so good to hear from everyone-sorry about the pain. It may be the change of seasons too.
Well, I used to be 5' but I am 4' 10 and 3/4. Thay call that old age. Now womder I can't get in cars!!! You should see me at the store climbing on shelves and asking people to help. Too funny.I need one of those claws to grab things.
My gd is taking kickboxing which is another funny thing because she is paralyzed. She kicks with her arms and she love s the breathing exercises, which she does before a test. She retook the English part of the FCAT- sure hope she passes it. The last time they had her in a room full of SPED kids who were making noises. This time she was alone. Her brain works weird because of the shunt she has, But what a kid!! She gives such joy!!! Imagine, she is a junior in high school.
Going to lunch with 2 friends but I am tired because I didn't get enough sleep. Took care of the former Pastor's daughter last night-She is 10 and no problem. We played cards and watched an old movie. But I went to bed 1 and a half hours later than usual because they came home later. Anyhow, it was fun.
Enjoy your time off, Meme. And your quilt, Joanne, I know about the back part. I am having a hard time tying the one I made.
Bye for now. there is another Dekker book at the library with my name on it. Hope the patch works , Tammy. Mima

Chris, I envy you for being able to bowl! I used to love it, and now I can't even dream about it without hurting. I know what you mean about the cooler weather. I was warned at school yesterday that the new room that I'm in gets very cold in the winter. At least I'll be able to wear sweaters again! Last year I was in a room that was so hot, we had windows open almost all winter.

Meme, it nice that you get together so often with friends and relatives to celebrate different things. Since my parents have been gone, we rarely get together. Hope your hubby's cold gets better soon. Have fun while everyone is gone!!! I vote for doing nothing!! lol

Mima, good for your gd on doing the kickboxing. I took a class about 5 years ago, and it was fun. I was always afraid that I'd hurt someone (or myself!!). That was before fibro. Glad she was able to take the test without others around her. That helps. Nice that you had a 10 year old to care for and not little ones. Much easier that way.

Bob and Tim are at the old house putting in storm windows and just getting things ready for winter. I'm doing some laundry. We told Tim to bring stuff home to wash here and save himself some $. I told him that since he was going to the house to help Bob that I'd start laundry for him. I'm so sweet!!

Seems like they always bring laundry home. Going to be in the nursery today. I hope Keith comes. I want to offer to babysit for him but I don't want to get into a situation.
We are going to see Leah today. We have a card for her and the money we owe her. Brad has to write it. I really don't want her back to work but we need resolution. She IS Brad's gd.
Went to lunch with 2 of my friends. And then got my bread at Trader Joe's. It's 2.50 there and 7.29 at the Health food store.
Guess the people haven't made an offer yet. My cousin has 2 houses and has to do all that and heat it.
My friend wants to know if you have any other perks retiring. Health insurance? The City of Worcester still lets me carry my insurance. I don't have to go on Medicare. That's a good perk.
Hope you are having fun. Meme. And you are away, Anne. What a beautiful weekend it is,
Bye Mima

Weigh in Day....and I am doing the Happy Dance. I have lost 3 pounds this week, which is a complete shock. Guess I will add another 5 pounds to the Halloween Goal, since I am at the orginial goal and there are a few weeks left.

~~chris
Halloween Goal




The Biggest Losser Goal


The Ultimate Goal

Mima, I agree about having a resolution with Leah. We can purchase health insurance. For the retiree, it is very reasonable, but for the spouse it is quite expensive. For dependent children it is reasonable too. Tim can be on mine until he is 21 and a student.

Chris, congratulations on the loss!!!! Woo hoo!!!

Lazy day today. I've taken a shower and that's about it. Didn't get up to go to church. Up late last night, so we decided to sleep in. Tim is finishing up his laundry, and Bob is at the other house mowing. Hope the other people sell their house soon so they can buy ours. Still don't know why the other couple hasn't made an offer since they went through it so many times and measured things.

Thanks, Tammy. I am not sure how the weight is coming off but I sure am liking it. I tried my Chic jeans on this morning and I still can't get into them. They are size 26 just like my other jeans but they run really small. Sme day soon....I hope.

Lazy day here too. Hubby had to work today so I am just kicking back at the computer and watching some TLC. After lunch I hope to walk on the treadmill some. I managed 7 minutes once yesterday. Hoping to do at least 5 twice. Only time will tell.

~~chris
Halloween Goal




The Biggest Losser Goal


The Ultimate Goal

I need to get some new jeans. I have some that I've been wearing for ages (through thick and not so thick, lol) I used to love Bill Blass jeans and then I couldn't find them anywhere. I have some JMS jeans. I don't really like them because they stretch out so easily.

Tim should be back at school soon. I cried a little bit again. We had a great weekend with him, and I know we'll see him next week when we take my nephew over for a visit.

Whew! Weekends sure do tire me out! Guess that must be a sign I'm getting old, huh? I'm telling you, standing up in front of that church choir singing in a mic and swinging your arm up and down for an hour is no picnic. You should try it some time. I told hubby tonight after I was done that I was totally exhausted. You wouldn't think it for only an hour but it really does take a lot out of me. Hope I burned a lot of calories doing that because I went to Cracker Barrel after church and had a Chicken BLT on sour dough bread and fries.

It has turned downright cold here. I wore a sweater and my leather jacket both tonight and still wasn't real warm. I don't like cold weather. Makes me hurt worse (although I really DO like the fall!) Guess I'll just have to start packing me a blanket!) They were talking today about doing a hay ride and then said they had every weekend in Oct. planned out already and would have to push it back 'till Nov. I said wait a minute here... Nov. like in WINTER TIME Nov? That's cold ....... They said there's usually still a few warm days in Nov in TN. I said NOT THAT WARM! I'll have to take my electric blanket for that!!!

Hey, Chris, when you figure out how you're losing, share it with us! I read in a magazine the other day that you could boost your metabolism by 30% just by drinking a large glass of ice water before and after each meal. They also recommened you drink a lot of water throughout the day and said if you add ice it worked even better to rev up your metabolism. I can do that!

I read in my Arthritis Today magazine that people who have rheumatic diseases don't exercise because they are either afraid they will hurt themselves or because it is painful and that is the worst thing they can do. It said you will not hurt yourself beyond repair but you will hurt yourself even worse if you don't exercise. The drs. said to start out slow and do some exercise 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes and if you can't do a full 30 minutes break it down in smaller periods to equal 30. Add stretches and yoga or deep breathing exercise as well along with the 30 min. of reg. exercise. They recommended walking or water along with any other exercise you can do. Have any of you ever heard of the Red Exerciser? It's a thing made much like a stool in a bar but it has handles on the side to hold to so you can 'twist' yourself on it. It's supposed to be a 'no impact' exerciser - especially good for midriff (which is what I need right now.) My legs and arms are skinny. Actually, I don't really need to lose any more weight ... I'd just like to shave a few inches from my stomach ... tighten it up kind-of. But I can't do sit-ups ... afraid I'll hurt my back again. I was thinking about getting one of these things but I'm afraid I'll hurt something with that, too! Take a look and tell me what you think. Tell me if you think it would be safe for 'us'. They're nearly $200!!!

http://www.RedExerciser.com

Well, I sure could not twist!!! That's why I can't do water aerobics. But I can swim. And walk. I have been so lazy-only walked 2x last week. now i am tired today-stayed up to watch a movie and woke up very early. Supposed to go to the movies today with d but I don't know if we can agree on a movie.
Nursery was great-the usually crying babies did not cry and Keith was his usual smiling self.
Brad and Leah made up. He gave her the card and before she left she apologized. I just don't want to go there again.
Went to brunch after church-it was great. And we went to Singspiration last night. Love to sing!!
Chris-what a great weight loss. Nothing can keep you going like success. And getting on the treadmill off and on sure works!!!
I can't spend any money on machines-I don't use them. My back hurts today-Keith is heavy. Angela says she has to go to chiro because of lifting the car seat. She is only 25. But she doesn't exercise. Anyhow!
Tammy-Again, I sure wish you could sell that house. The market has slowed down a lot. There are lots of houses around here for sale and not moving. But you never know.
Bye for now Mima

I don't think it is any one thing that has me lossing weight. I think it is a combination of things. First water, water and more water. I completely gave my soda up. The only thing I drank in the past was diet, caffeine free soda (at the bowling center it was just diet..not caffeine free). Now the only thing I will drink is water. And I usually is iced. My water is in bottles (bottled water bottle I have brought home from the bowling center but have refilled them with tap water) and I usually put one in the freezer. So maybe the ice water increasing metabolism.

I am staying within my Weight Watchers points. I try not to use the 35 weekley bonus points. I am not denying myself anything. I am watching portion sizes. If I want chocolate I eat chocolate in the form of yogurt chocolate mousse or 100 calorie packs. Before I comitted to a healthy me, I never ate fruits. Now I am eating 3 fruits a day...banana with breakfast (in the past I didn't eat breakfastP, evening snack of apple, grapes and vanilla yogurt (this replaces my nightly bowl of ice cream).

I am walking more than ever. I have had a treadmill for 2 years and I bet it didn't have more than 2 miles on it. My goal had been to walk 5 minutes a day. In the beginning I would walk 1-2 times at a time several times to get my 5 minutes in. Now I am walking about 10 (yesterday I walked 12) minutes. It takes me 3-4 times on the treadmill to get that amount in. I am doing it every day, no matter how I feel.

It seems to be working so I will continue doing it.

~~chris
Halloween Goal




The Biggest Loser Goal


The Ultimate Goal

Good Job Chris! Walking is about the only exercise I do. lately I have been lazy or really have too many irons in the fire..Scheduling is the only way for me.. I have been trying to finish a quilt and that is taking a lot of time..That is really not a good excuse. I used to walk 3-4 miles for an hour..I lost 74 lbs and am trying to get off another 5.. Not easy. It seems I am just barely maintaining.I set aside a pair of 16 jeans years ago. Something like over 20 years. They are now a pair of cut off shorts. I wear a 12.
Mima- Sometimes tolerating other family members is not so easy.. I have a family member here in town that can be very difficult.. It seems she is always looking for ways to show a difference of opinion with me..She is one of my sisters.The day is coming when I may have to let her know that is not the way to get along with me..
Tammy- I can't begin to tell you how many times I cried when our kids left the area or we left their area.. I guess we find it difficult to let go..I miss them more than I can say.. But, I have to realize they have a life to live.Our son is 48 today..
Meme- I like the cold weather,just not getting too chilled..Down here we don't have too many really cold days..The only water I drink is with ice. I don't like it any other way.. I am trying lately to maintain my 8 glasses a day..I keep a glass next to me all day..I think one of my problems is snacking lately.. I have stopped buying icecream and when the chips are gone that will be the end of that..I may just go and give what is left to the birds.Not much there anyhow..
Hello Happy
Joanne

Meme, I was hurting just thinking about singing in front of the church for an hour. I'm sure you burned up plenty of calories, and Cracker Barrel certainly sounds good. LOL to taking an electric blanket on the hayride!! I used to say that when the band was going to some very cold football games. I have to check out that exerciser. I'm like you, I don't want to hurt the back. Dumb me went off this morning without putting a patch on the back.

Mima, we used to have a treadmill and an exercise bike. We sold those to friends before the auction. We still have the healthrider on the enclosed porch, but I haven't used it like I thought I would.

Chris, I know that I don't drink as much water as I should. It sounds like you are doing well with the WW plan. I have my old books laying here, but I just can't get myself motivated to get back to writing everything down. I'm lazy. Keep up the good work!!

Joanne, happy birthday to your son! I'm realizing now how hard it was for my mother when I went away to college. I used to think she was silly because she still had my two brothers at home. I bought some Blue Bunny sugar free butter pecan ice cream. When I have any ice cream here at home, I get a very small dish out, put some i/c in it, and enjoy.

School went well today, but I was really worn out when I came home. I slept for almost 2 hours. I missed water aerobics. Bob said I was sleeping so soundly that he didn't want to wake me. I'm glad he let me sleep.

Well, I just went to check out the exerciser. Sure seems expensive, doesn't it? It says you get a guarantee with it, but I always wonder about that. I guess I could sit here in my desk chair, hold on to the desk, and swivel. That would do the same thing, right? Hmmmmmmmm. Maybe it would work!!!

Funny ... you'd wear you chair out pretty fast plus I think the tilt of your body would be all wrong and put a strain on your back. You'd have to tilt forward a lot to grab on to something. I can't decide.