Jane, my favorite is when I go to open an account and they ask me about all the student loans I have. A lot of mine are kind of confusing (it's a loan from one company but I pay through another company), and I always get the questions wrong! Takes a few followups before I can finally open the account or do whatever it is.
The sweet potato sounds amazing - I may have to have one for dinner tonight
Bikini, sugar is definitely a habit for me. Once I have it, I can't stop! Interesting that I never used to have a sweet tooth...
Dagmar - I cannot imagine what you are going through right now. Good for you getting back on plan though.
Thanks for the tips! I've been wanting to get them the "choke" collars, but wanted to wait until they were older... 4 months old isn't too young?
They each, individually, have the walking alone part down. They don't heel yet (stop yes, sit no), but since I first started walking them at 8 weeks, I wrap the leash around my wrist so they have no choice by to walk by my side. We have a fenced yard, so I rarely have to walk them for potty breaks. There's no reason for them to not be at my side.
My husband and I have tried each taking one puppy and all 4 of us walking together. Ha! That's worse than me walking them on either side of me.
I don't know what a Halti is.. but google is my friend
Overall they are such GOOD puppies. Thanks for taking the time to write all that out - I appreciate it! My husband and I are big Ceasar Milan fans and we apply a lot of his theories... so I know what you mean when you talk about being the alpha.
I tried to attach a picture of them.. but I'm still short a few posts for link posting priviledges... darnit!
Barbara - your heated keyboard and mouse idea is a great one!!
Bikini - I know what you mean about self-sabotag. It's a total mystery to me as well. Do you have any idea of what you might be afraid of? It's true that sometimes friends and loved ones don't want to see you improving on yourself... it reminds them of what they are NOT doing - consciously, or not. That's my guess anyway. Good luck staying on plan.. you can do it!
Offical weigh in is tomorrow, but I'm not expecting much - I finally got back to my last Saturday's weight of 143.0 this morning. We'll see, but either way, it's not going to affect anything.
I've been feeling so much better physically this week that I think I'm going to give my recumbent bike a go.
Tam~I have several different collars for my dogs. They wear a regular woven flat collar on which their tags are attached. When we walk them, our older dog uses a choke chain (although he is also very good on a halti which is like a halter that a horse uses without the bit that goes in the mouth). My younger one does much better with a pinch collar--all other forms he totally disregards and pulls me like there is no tomorrow. Mind you, he is usually very well behaved. He heels without any collar or leash in the yard, but once we're on a walk, he feels that it is job to lead us where we (he) want(s) to go (he knows our routes and doesn't take us off course). He just likes to pull. And he loves greeting other dogs/humans, so we can't keep him off leash at all as he doesn't discriminate between friendly and unfriendly dogs. Anyway, I can't use a choke chain on him as he'll still pull and pull to the point where he's coughing and gagging. The only thing that works for him is the pinch collar (but your pups are much too young for a pinch collar at this point). Don't feel that a pinch collar is cruel--I've "tried" them on myself and they don't hurt--they're just uncomfortable when you pull.
Allison I have never, ever in 14 years encountered a lab that doesn't pull. Even the 12-yr. old one I walk still tries to haul me toward the beach at the beginning of the walk. I've had to pad several of the younger dogs' haltis with moleskin as they were pulling so hard the haltis cut their snouts!
The reason I use the "choke" and the halti is so that I have a back up if they slip out of the halti (and they all do that at some point too). The "choke" is not tightening around their necks when they pull as the halti is absorbing most of the force of the pull. I don't like the flat collar with the halti because it tends to ride up around the dogs ears which bothers them quite a bit.
I don't like the pinch collars because they always seem to come apart when I let the dogs loose to run and take them off. And then I have to hang on to the pinches or put them in my pocket or something. I usually sling all the leashes, with haltis attached, around my neck and this just doesn't work with the pinches.
I guess my situation is a bit different from the regular dog owner who has a couple of dogs.
I know that the more sugar I eat, the more I crave it. I've learned the hard way that sometimes it's just better not to start. I used to allow myself two chocolate covered espresso beans every morning and I found that it was getting harder and harder to stay on plan even with that small an amount of sugar and chocolate.
I read an article years ago on the sugar industry that said researchers speculate that sugar releases endorphins (the body's painkillers); apparently they've demonstrated that it does so in rats. Research has also shown that the higher the sugar content in food, the more people consume of it, at least until the sugar content exceeds 12% (for kids, this threshold is 20%). Food manufacturers purposely add sugar to foods you wouldn't think would need it because then the same foods will taste bland without it. It's part of the sugar industry's strategy to create more demand for their product. The article was written in 1999 and, at the time, the USDA expected demand for sugar to increase by 16% by 2009 (which is twice the rate of the expected population growth).
Sugar is an addiction for me . As soon as I eat just a bit I crave more and more. That's what I binge on - never any other food - and it seems like I can't stop once I start to eat it. Even one square of chocolate or a candy can set me off .
My DH read somewhere that the artificial sweeteners tend to also produce cravings similar to those produced by sugar . I'm trying to cut back on those as well. I find I can drink green tea without any sweetener but not any other caffeine sources. I wish a manufacturer would come up with a diet drink with caffeine and without sweetener.
And yes, I know plain water is much better for me but I can't seem to get through the day without some caffeine. If I don't have a couple of diet Pepsis during the day I ready for bed at about 7 p.m.
Someone stole 1 of my 3 Madagascar palm trees from my front yard and tried to take a second one (it is now partially dug up and leaning precariously over my lawn). I had to file a police report. Aargh. Now I also have to determine an approximate value on them (the one stolen was about 6-7" tall and had 3 or 4 trunks). I'm sure they cost over $600 each. Here is a photo of what they look like: http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:...es/pach_23.jpg http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:.../05/9/9021.jpg
Notice the spikes on the small one? They're about 4 inches long and very sharp. I also have to talk to my neighbors to see if anyone saw anything.
On the plus side, I'm down another half pound for a total of 5 pounds this month!
Update. I went to the nursery--a replacement tree costs $2000-2500 (for one of a comparable size). I suppose I'll buy the 1' tall one for $150 and watch it grow.
Allison and Dagmar - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! My husband and I googled Halti's last night. I went and bought one this afternoon and walked each pup with it. It was awesome! My big boy is a scaredy cat and any dog barks or lawn mower gets him all nervous and he'll start to pull.... that harness kicks ***. I am so excited... I have to go buy another one now so I can walk them both at the same time Thanks so much for the suggestion... I've had a dog all my life (always smaller ones though) and had never seen or heard of these before. Huge difference today!!! Thanks!!!
Good for you getting back on plan though.
for me 
but I can't seem to get through the day without some caffeine. If I don't have a couple of diet Pepsis during the day I ready for bed at about 7 p.m. 
)
Congrats on the weight loss this month!