Hi Feathers,

Looks like no one else is chatty either eh? I had terrible pasta Alfredo-ish thing for dinner last night - went to a pub/bar and the menu description sounded amazing - "shrimp, chicken, broccolini scampi style with fresh garlic and herbs" and it was like a soggy fettucine Alfredo ripoff. Blechhhhhh, expensive to boot.

Weight was up, and today my boss took me to lunch on the company card at 11:45 AM which is 3 hours earlier than my usual feeding time but he had a doctor's appointment and free lunch is nice. I ordered a turkey burger and then he ordered nachos so now I'm STUFFED. Hoping this translates to "fuel to lift at the gym tonight." :) At least I have a healthy dinner planned with my boyfriend tonight.

Aaaaand I just found out I have a whole week off between Christmas and New Year! YESSSSS, gonna try and take a vacation then because I can!

Alexistrophic That mulled hot drink sounds delicious and wholesome. With ingredients like that who needs extra sugar/syrup? Cards and cookies go together really well - your Wednesday get-together sounds perfect. Nashville eh? Enjoy!

mottainai AYCE shabu shabu is the best thing ever, it's so healthy too - just meat and veggies!

http://www.wa-pedia.com/images/conte...bu-shabu-1.jpg

Domlacha No hangover, no problem! I hate snow, I like maybe one day of 3 inches or less, maybe snow around Christmas, and then as far as I'm concerned it can melt and become spring by New Years Eve.

JossFit Oh my god I looked at flights from Albany to LA between 12/26 and 12/30 and it was $900 RT. Nine. Hundred. Dollars. I flew ALB-LAX for under $200 just a few years ago! My roommate and I work opposite schedules and I don't want to just buy a tree without her there so I don't know when we're gonna get a chance...soon I hope! Sorry your weight is up higher than you want it, but the tiny pants and awesome butt are both things to be happy about!

TurboMammoth Another day at 137.2 I see? What is it? I hope we poop and regain control over the seasonal sweets soon. Between Joe-Joes and the store brand peppermint creme sandwich cookies my mom got me, I dunno when that will happen :P

Hola Feathers!

Just a quick check in, I'm in knee dip in **** trying to rush my thesis corrections before the holidays.. bleeeeh. I'm having a problem with a software, I hope the boyfriend will be able to solve that tonight.

Still at 137.2 lbs. Need to poo badly though.

Krampus, I also had a alfredo-WTF last night, I tried a recipe that was using califlower for the sauce... but like JUST califlower, no cheese whatsoever. When you are expecting an alfredo taste, this is sad LOL

hey feathers quick drive-by will do personals later. Just had to say I am super annoyed that the costco brownie bites have 140 calories a piece!!!!!!!!!! i had three during my final exam in class today, my prof brought them. I didn't look at the package until I was done with my exam and leaving out the door. i would have only had one if I'd known there were so many dang calories!!!!

Alexis - Kids are definitely not in my future but I don't HATE them or anything. They can annoy me but in that setting they were really cute; they all had little funny stories and wanted to talk my ear off. We made Christmas cards with them, and they got all excited over getting to use holiday stickers and glitter and things like that. They were cute.

I know tickets are expensive but I was seriously shocked. I mean, we already paid $600 for them a few weeks ago, and now the price is up to over $1300! I was going to change from flying out on a Sunday to a Thursday so I figured the price would be about the same or possibly less... what a crock! LOL

It sounds like you're in the full-on Christmas spirit! Making cookies and mulled beverages while writing out your cards... fun! I am trying to keep the Christmas-ness at bay for now. It sounds silly but I just really want to bake and eat cookies and drink delicious cocktails and shop til I die... but I can't really afford to do that to my body right now. It would be lovely but I don't want to deal with the extra baggage after the fact.

... I would punch a baby square in the mouth if it meant I could eat some decadent holiday desserts without it negatively effecting my waistline though...

Krampus - Well someone has to start the chat for us to have something to chat about!

I don't really have any news today; took a much needed rest day from the gym which always makes me feel like a fatty slacker (yes, my name is Jocelyn and I'm a gym addict) so now I'm trying not to be a full-on fatty slacker by "fueling up" too... haha. I also broke my 8-week ban on chewing gum last Friday, and am pleasantly surprised that I seem to have really curbed the habit. I've only had a few pieces whereas before I would have had like 12-15 in a day.

See, your chat about food and weight things is more interesting.

Oh, well I guess I can add that I was super annoyed this morning with my living situation AGAIN. It's not her fault, but my roommate woke me up at 0330 this morning because she was doing laundry, which happens to be right outside my bedroom door. I wanted to 'sleep in' until 0430 today! Whaaa! In all fairness though, her kid peed the bed so she pretty much HAD to start a load of linens right then... and then on top of that the dog chewed up the Christmas tree AGAIN so she got mad and yelled at it and it scared the stupid dog so bad the dog pissed on the rug! Not only did she have to clean up her kid's mess but then she had to steam clean the rug at 4 am.

Yep... no kids for me. Eff that noise.

Anyhoo... sorry your dinner was so lackluster. That's sort of the pits when you are expecting something fantastic and then you almost feel as if you 'wasted' your calories or your meal when you could have had something much tastier. You never seem to have a shortage of awesome meals and occasions to eat out though so I'm sure it will soon be forgotten.

Congrats on the time off of work! I too just found out I get a bit of extra time off. Not whole days, but next week I only have to work 0730-1200 instead of until 1630 each day, so that's nice. More time to hit the gym and fewer meals reheaded in my tupperware at the office... haha.

Where are you thinking of going during that vacation time?

Turbo - Boo... sorry you seem to be a bit stuck on the scale, but at least it's not going UP right? Silver lining? :)

Good luck with your Thesis corrections... that does not sound super enjoyable.

Domlacha - Yikes on the brownie bites! I hate when I get an unexpected food surprise like that! I am super conscious of labels and unless I'm having a free day/meal I ALWAYS look to see. In fact, I'm rather OCD in some ways (I love planning things, crunching numbers, etc... I'm weird) so I usually have all my meals planned out a week in advance. No surprises there!

You have been dropping pounds like a mad woman lately though, so I doubt they'll do too much harm. Just keep dinner on the light side and I'm sure it will all balance out!



Well... you guys got the gist of my life -- I get some extra time away from work next week which is always welcome, since being at my desk makes me want to boredom eat like crazy. I honestly never battle with cravings and the like at home but sitting here at my desk is horrible in that regard. I'll need that bit of help next week when we're in full-on Holiday mode and the treats will be beating me over the head!

I'm getting ahead of myself though... one day at a time!

Just checking in...Hope everyone is doing well! I'm not feeling great...TOM and I think a stomach bug is really playing havoc with my energy. Not too hungry either and still not missing a workout. Tonight was really hard...
A circuit of 10 burpees, 10 kettlebell swings, 10 jumping jacks and 10 high knees, then do it all again...9 more times! I honestly thought it would be easy, I do a lot of these workouts. But...not so much! LOL!

Not weighing in till Friday or Saturday. No point with TOM.

Anyhoooo...like everyone else, hanging in there until vacation time!

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Mottainai...Bon voyage and I hope you have a great holiday that does NOT involve thinking about weight or binge eating. Relax, enjoy and safe travels.

Joss...You took the words right out of my mouth. I too just want to eat, drink, cook, bake and be merry! But I can't right now either. I'll have 10 days in the sun to do that! Oh boy...sun! Yay!
BTW...DH and I don't have kids. We've been together for 22yrs...married 14. We didn't get married with that mindset, but honestly, neither one of us had the "biological clock is ticking" type of feeling. Though now, I can tell you there are those few moments when I wish I had. I love our life and lifestyle without kids and so I am happy that I didn't fall into the "everybody is having kids" phase when all my friends were pregnant. We don't get asked anymore if we are having kids, but we still get the "I can't believe you don't have kids" reaction...even by complete strangers. It's as though people can't comprehend not having or wanting children.

Turbo...Good luck with the thesis! I'm sure it will be great. Oh and I've tried a few of those cauliflower recipes..they all suck! I'm sorry...cauliflower pizza crust and cauliflower mash? No thanks...they all ended up "dans la poubelle!" LOL!

Krampus...you lost me at alfredo! I'm dying for some! The good creamy, fattening type...with NO PROTEIN! LOL!

Domlacha...you are doing great! Brownie guilt...been there, done that. You'll be over it tomorrow!

Hey ladies :wave:. Weights about the same. Had a really nice workout at the gym yesterday and ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a while, so nice to catch up.

The brownies wouldn't have been so bad except I so could have spent the calories on something else, like pizza or ice cream, or pizza and ice cream!!! There were good but not 420 calories worth good. I'm still within my calories and did have some redvines so I'm all good. I like to have snacks and junk built into my day, makes me happy. Plus I figure if I can't learn to eat it and lose weight how am I going to learn to eat it and maintain ;). I had pan fried tilapia with a spinach tomato and broccoli salad with sliced onions and garlic for dinner.

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Jossfit hahahaha, punch a baby in the mouth... I can't say I wouldn't do the same if it meant no weight gain. I'd say its a good plan sticking to "the plan." I agree many people just say screw it and overindulge for the holidays. I'm kinda baby crazy right now, but then I remember that they are way too much work especially when they don't stop crying, are whinning, crabby, sick, tired, and so on. I like babysitting and them seding them home. I might just take my niece to see Rise of the Guardians...

Alexistrophic The tempts here aren't projected to make it above the low to mid 30s for the next few days. We had so much snow this weekend we'll have a white Christmas even if it doesn't snow again.

I like the idea of cards with "baked" in cookie smell. I need/want/don't need/put probably will do some baking.

Krampus $hit it would be hard to turn down a free lunch, especially if your boss is treating. Too bad about that alfredo, I hate when food doesn't live up to what you are expecting.

Bayzee Good job keeping up with your workouts even though you aren't feeling that great. I always end up unmotivated the week of my period because I'm so uncomfortable lazy and would rather eat everything in sight!

I have a 3.5 year old and an almost- 2 year old. I love my kids and my life but I can definitely see why they aren't for everyone! Haha

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are my workdays so while I read up on this thread each day, I don't actually have time to post. I'll come back on Friday morning and do a thorough catch-up! :) my husband's Christmas party is tomorrow night and I'm really excited! It will be our first real night out with a babysitter since last years' christmas party... How sad is that?

I don't know wtf is going on, but the weight has been falling off in the last few days, it's crazy! I was stalled out for a couple of weeks, then had period bloating, so now that my period is just about over, maybe my body is catching up? I won't complain... 131.2 this morning.

Krampus ~ Is there a shabu place by you? (sorry if I missed that.) We used to get that when I was teaching in Korea, only they'd randomly throw in a bunch of peanuts (on top of the rice, in the broth, on the meat) just for kicks, and since I'm deathly allergic (anaphylaxis) it was not an ideal situation for me, but the parts that I could eat were super delicious.

Hurray for that unexpected vacation! (You work for a non-profit, yes?) Any plans for destinations?

Turbo ~ Sending good wishes for the successful completion of your thesis! Was the bf able to work out the bugs?

Joss ~ Ha. I only (barely) managed the baking of cookies yesterday. No cards were sent out. You motivated me to start thinking about sending them, but alas, no luck last night.

The "mulled wine" isn't actually that bad... It's just no sugar added grape/pomegranate juice (not the best, but only about 50 cals/10 carbs for a treat) + spices. I add in an orange, but it could be left out to avoid the extra sugar. Ate a few of the cookies this morning (just to, you know, make sure they're OK :rolleyes:) but managed not to have any last night. I tried to look at them more as an art project than an opportunity to binge... I feel the temptation, though.

Dom ~ Grrrr... on those brownie bites! So frustrating, but I like the idea of building "treats" into your day. That tilapia sounds fantastic, too.

Ohtheplaces ~ Have fun at the Christmas party! That's what Christmas is for: getting baby-sitters and havin' adult kind of fun. It's gonna be my first time out in ages, too... and I don't even have kids.

Bayzee ~ Hang on through the TOM woes... Brighter days ahead!

~~~
So I weighed in this morning at 154.4. For all the eating I've been doing lately, that's not too bad, but of course, nowhere near where I'd like to be. Meh. Am trying not to be too rough with myself. I'm trying to focus on non-food actions I can take to make myself feel "pretty": doing my hair, doing my nails, tidying up the house, planning out my outfits... Sometimes (most of the time) I can get into a funk and not feel like doing anything, but taking small action helps work me toward a better place.

Have a Christmas-type get together with friends tonight. Made the cookies and will probably do some kind of a cream cheese stuffed celery appetizer. Looking forward to seeing the people, rather than stressing about food...

Hang in there, everyone!

Good morning Feathers, happy 12/12/12!

I didn't poop before weighing in this morning because I could hear my downstairs neighbor hacking and coughing so hard she choked on phlegm and threw up, which was deeply upsetting (and made my poo retract back into my body) because that could totally have been me in 10 years if I never quit smoking.

Tonight we are hosting "knitting and crafts with the Krampuses" and my roommate is making Hungarian mushroom dill soup which sounds delicious. My boss is on his way to Cyprus today for a month and I am thinking about going to the gym on my lunch break so I can (A) get it out of the way and (B) avoid the stupid smelly teenage boys and boxing spectators who flood the place between 5-6 PM.

Looking at flights during my week off - they want like $1000 to fly to Florida, which is just unreasonable. So it looks like I'll be sticking to places I can drive to. Maybe I'll go skiing with my boyfriend even though I've never skied before and he is advanced/expert level. He'd like that.

Alexistrophic No shabu near me, I live in a Japanese/Korean food wasteland with very very few good options. It's unfortunate but I have found a couple places that hold me over until I can make it to NYC or Asia (or northern Jersey, ha!).

OhThePlaces That's really great that the bloat and weight is falling off. I hope your night out with a babysitter will be a blast! Wasn't your husband deployed in the middle there? It's not sad when you think of it as spending quality time with your family ;)

Domlacha Having a great workout is such a fantastic feeling - it sucks about the brownies, I feel that way about the terrible pasta Alfredo - if I had known I could have gotten so much more bang for that caloric buck, and not felt sick afterward. Your dinner sounds amazing - I need to try my hand at cooking tilapia at home!

Bayzee That circuit sounds tiring to me - and you did it after having a stomach bug?! Yeah, GOOD fettucine Alfredo would be something, but this was super mediocre. Oh well.

JossFit Oh man that sucks you got woken up early but it probably sucks worse for your roommate. I never feel like cleaning up human/animal waste, but I'm sure having to do it at 0330 would be insult to injury. I don't think I would ever sign myself up for living with a dog or a child (DEFINITELY not a puppy) if I didn't have to. Sorry you've been struggling with boredom eating urges, but at least you haven't been caving in any drastic way. Work is slooooow here too and I feel like an indoor cat looking out the window, because once 1700 rolls around I don't feel like doing anything!

TurboMammoth No more fake Alfredo for either of us. It's not worth the disappointment! I hope your software problem got solved and your thesis corrections get done. And also of course that you could poo.

Krampus skiing sounds fun. I've never downhill skied before actually (odd, since I grew up in Syracuse which as you may know is nothing but snow for 1/3 of the year!) but the one time I tried snowboarding it was a blast. I can't believe flights to Florida are so much! They really try to price gouge for the holidays huh?

Alexis I thankfully haven't yet had to deal with a holiday party. But the celery appetizer sounds like some good healthy food to fill up on!

OhThePlaces I know my body tends to stall before my period. Which makes sense, since the uterus is building up a good lining, so before TOM it's holding on to extra tissue. And tissue isn't weightless.

Domlacha You would think something with the word "bites" in the name wouldn't pack that much of a caloric punch!! Yipes!

Bayzee I'm feeling you there on the TOM. Blaahhh

Joss I used to be bad at my old job with snacking. We had a nice supply of chips and candy for the kids so I'd usually be eating chips when I was at the desk. Now though home is my worst for eating, because I work in people's homes so grazing on their food isn't so professional LOL so I only eat what I bring or plan for the day.

Turbo why is it that computer/software trouble always happens right before a deadline?? Hope it gets all settled quickly!


______________________________

Been a while since I updated... for a couple reasons. Last Thursday was a BAD day food wise. We had KFC for lunch (though, I have to admit, there's some decently delicious not overly calorie loaded foods there) then went out for dinner and Cheeseburger in Paradise. The only saving grace for me was that they were out of mozz sticks, so I saved those calories. So I ended up back over 150, was around 152 most days since Friday.

Saturday I spent the day trying to recreate the pina coladas they have at cheeseburger in paradise. And failed. So went out to CIP with my friend that night to get them there. They had the mozz sticks back by then. :/ BUT to my credit, my friend ate a couple and I left 2. So it could have been worse.

I really was intending on updating over the weekend, but I felt SO horrid the whole weekend. My sinuses were on a warpath because of the weather. Saturday I got a headache partway through the day. Napped when my husband got home from work, took meds so I could still go out with my friend. Then Sunday was just WORSE. Sunday was so bad, atmospheric pressure wise, that my husband had to call me at 6AM to pick him up from work because his vertigo got so bad he shouldn't have even driven TO work in the first place. So we both spent half the day asleep and half the day only barely able to function, just well enough to go get his car at dinner time.

And, TOM has been playing games with me again. I started getting cramps days ago, and some spotting. Today it's SUPER light, but there. I assume it has started because I woke up back down to 149 for the first time in days. I'm kinda surprised cause even though I did well with food yesterday, and drank a ton and peed a ton LOL, on Monday I are 2/3 of the frozen pizza we had for dinner.

I haven't been counting my calories. Most days I estimate them, and when I do I have been staying pretty good. But if I'm not back to 148 by the end of the week I may have to get back to being strict about counting again.

~Katy

So, I've arrived!!
Ah, guys, this is too awesome. So far I'm loving Japan so much. I have no idea what I was freaking out about so much, haha.

Here's a picture of me and my MIL!! And DH's dog Hanako. (I look kind of crap, haha, because I was totally WIPED OUT from hardly sleeping the past 24 hours in order to reset my sleeping clock once we got here.)
http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/.../5199771F1.jpg
I love this woman so much. She's really amazing, actually a role model for me. She's one reason I want to move and live here. She stays in this big house all by herself, and especially in these upcoming years I wish DH and I could live here with her!

Anyway, I'm going to have a great time here.
I needn't have worried I'd be not thin enough to meet the Japanese standard, that's one obvious thing.
And the other is that I shouldn't have been so stressed about changing my eating routine. I'm adjusting beautifully and enjoyably.

More pics to come, I'm sure! But I doubt I'll be doing much diet talk anymore. (;

Glad you arrived safely, mottainai! I'm just addressing cards to send to my "Japanese family" in Fukuoka now...these little guys are like, TEENAGERS now!

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot..._3085886_n.jpg

Did you know that if you take left over pancake batter, add a bit of vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar, and put it in a ramekin with a layer of cinnamon and sugar in the middle and bake it for 20-25 minutes at 350 it makes a nice gooey yummy desert cake for one?

Yup.

~Katy

OKAY, times for personnals!!

domlacha : It is always SUCH a bummer when you realized how many calories there is in a treat AFTER eating it. Everytimes it happens, I just feel... like cheated on by the food!

Joss : Oh good lord, that is a HUGE increase of price for the tickets! But it always get crazy in the holidays for everything (ever try going in a toy shop during holiday season? Almost lost an eye and a arm last week, JEEZ) so no wonder it's the same for plane tickets.

OMG I probably would have BARKED with all the things that happend last night. But your a good roomate to say that your roomate probably got the worst of the experience (3:30 is heavenly early to clean pee of dog and kid)

Concerning the silver lining of the scale, i guess I should not complained, it's not going higher, and I have to admit that my efforts were NOT ALWAYS huge for a few days. I started to be really concerned with my scale but I tested it this morning by going up again while holding something and it went up to 140.2 ... so I guess the scale is still kinda okay (would have been easier if my scale was going cray-cray LOL)

Bayzee : Hope you're feeling better. You still manage to score a workout while feeling like crap.. That is good!

I hate how those recipes website always say that it just tastes the same. IT IS NOT. I wanted to try the califlower crust and now I WON'T!! thanx for the input ;)

I laughed so much at dans la poubelle? you speak french??

Ohtheplaces : your weight is dropping!! good for you! :D

alexis : I don,t know why, but doing my nails always get me in such a good mood that i forget to focus on the weight. :) Mine is all chipped now though, maybe it's why I've been focusing on my pooch for the last few days? ! :P

krampus : Skiing is fun and you fall way less than learning to snowboad. I can't wait to head to vermont to ski, there is always so much snow there!

Being able to workout during your lunch hour is so cool, I was never able to do that because I'm a sissy who need to dry my hair and everything.

kakers : So that was probably not the best weekend for you :( Sorry to hear that. Hope it will get better!

Love your pancake batter thing. I could eat pancake batter uncooked, if the boyfriend would not stop me.

Mottaini : CUTIIIIIIE DOG!!!! (you also look awesome in the picture even with all the sleep thing going on, but the doggy got meeee). Your MIL is so cute, she looks all stylish!

***

God, I posted this before even updating my stuff.

Still 137.2 which is ... well, okay!?! My boyfriend worked to bugs out of my thesis, which is AWESOME! I only have to go through it one last time and then print it and get the paper signed and I'm gonna be officially a Master Degree-Unemployed person! OH YEAH!

I played indoor hockey this afternoon with a bunch of guys for a friendly tournement for the sciences graduated students... It was fun, but I lost some cardio. I felt something on the hip by the end but nothing that I couldn't manage. It was not really hurting, it was just... there.

A friend is coming down from Montreal tomorrow (she's not working right now, she had a knee surgery in november) and we are going to bake our life away. At least she will bring back half of the goodies with her, so we'll be able to try tons of recipes but not keeping everything! I'll try to take picture of what comes out of the oven ;)

It's Thursday Feathers... that means it's almost Friday! Close enough to start getting excited over it as far as I'm concerned. Anyone have any big plans this weekend?

I am opting out of our work Christmas party on Saturday and volunteered to babysit my roommate's daughter so that she could attend. (It's an adults-only party this year.) I'm totally okay with that! I figure it gives me a valid excuse not to go, which sounds totally hermit-like but I feel like my reasoning is valid; (A) I already have several dinners/parties to attend when I am in Colorado and I am finally starting to feel like I might be moving a bit of fat off myself so I'm sticking to my plan and not indulging until it's time. (B) It is going to be at our commander's home, which is lovely of him to do for us, but I feel like it might be a bit awkward especially if people drink too much! (C) This might seem silly but I work with my ex boyfriend, and he will be there with his new girlfriend. Now, I love my husband more than anything and this other guy was all wrong for me... but I'm human and I would be lying if I said there weren't still feelings there for both of us. He has met my husband and we have worked together really well and attended the same social events before, but this feels different. Frankly I just don't want to see him with his new girlfriend that he's crazy about, dressed to the nines and having a ball, and I'd be there without my husband. Like I said, I am 100% happy with my guy but why even put myself in a situation that might be awkward or uncomfortable for me? I've met her once before and I noticed that he ex boyfriend definitely acted a bit differently. I really still enjoy his company and consider him a friend so watching him put on a little dog and pony show was just painful... hahaha.

Anyway, not a whole lot going on besides babysitting Saturday. I have a long-overdue hot stone massage scheduled for Sunday so I'm looking forward to that! I was out of town so much in November and then my massage therapist was busy moving into a new house that I haven't seen her in like 6 weeks! Normally I see her every 2 or 3 at most so I'm totally ready for a good session.

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Turbo - I hope you didn't take my comment of "at least the scale isn't going up" as any sort of snide remark! You certainly didn't have to apologize or explain yourself. You were frustrated, vent away! I was just trying to make you feel a bit better about it.
I wish that things had changed in that regard since then but perhaps today will be the lucky day!

Did you get your thesis all printed, signed and completed? Are you officially a highly educated unemployed Feather?! :D

Your bake-a-thon sounds like so much fun! Man, I really want to do some baking this weekend... maybe I'll find a decent 'healthy' recipe. There are so many out there it wouldn't be hard to whip something up. I found an awesome recipe for some low calorie pumpkin scones the other day on the hungry-girl site that I want to try. I also just got her latest book so I've been going through that the last few days looking for new meal ideas. Maybe I'll find something in there to whip up. It doesn't really matter what it is, I just feel like cooking something new.

Haha you have a lot more patience than I for trying to shop for TOYS during the holidays! I didn't get much this year, and what I did buy I mostly purchased online and had delivered to me. I just don't feel like dealing with the mall or running from store to store just for one item each. Not only that but I think I would end up buying ALL THE DECORATIONS AND GOODIES, and after paying off my credit card balance today it's clear that I did enough damage as it was! Normally I try to put a good chunk of each paycheck into savings but with all the plane tickets lately, the photo shoot and the holiday shopping I haven't added anything out of my last 3 or 4 checks! haha

Kakers - Mmmm that oven pancake recipe sounds great! I have been making 'baked' oatmeal and doing similar things. I pick a base of wheat bran, oatmeal, quinoa (etc.) then add egg whites and whatever spices/extracts I feel like that day and bake it in the oven or just 'bake' it in the microwave for 5-6 minutes and it comes out all fluffy and cake-like. I really love the carrot cake version I make and another one where I use quinoa, egg whites and pumpkin to make a pumpkin bread of sorts. It's amazing!

I'm sorry your weekend didn't go as well as you would have liked with regard to your diet, but it sounds like you had a great time and really enjoyed it during the weekend! It's always hard to see that you gained a bit from overindulging a bit, but that's life and it's certainly worth it on occasion. Besides, it doesn't seem like you did too badly overall and I'll bet that just a little bit of extra attention to what you eat over the next few days can get you right back where you were.

Are you feeling better now? It looks like you just felt sort of blah toward the end of the weekend!

Mottainai - Glad you made it and seem more relaxed. Man, you ARE seriously tiny... I can't imagine why you would have so much anxiety over losing weight before going on this trip! Enjoy and EAT UP! If you can get any gym time in to do some heavy lifting take advantage... might as well use this time to try to gain some muscle right? :)

Krampus - You should not be allowed to post any more pictures with you in them unless you are stuffing your face with something delicious. You're far too gorgeous and it may give me a complex. :)

How did craft night with the Krampuses go?

Skiing sounds like a blast! I think that anytime my husband suggests something I should probably agree to it, since most of the time I'm the one making plans. I don't know if your BF is the same way, but since it was his idea I'm sure he'd be stoked if you agreed to go. Besides, you'll have a ton of fun, burn a whole heap of calories, and then you can get all Christmas-y drinking spiked hot drinks and cuddling up afterward. Take pictures!!

LOL I laughed so hard at your poop retraction story... OMG. Not a visual I needed but I appreciate the laugh nonetheless. Sometimes I see or smell people smoking and it just grosses me out to no end and makes me SO happy that I quit. In retrospect, it wasn't really difficult for me at all. I just decided after 5 or so years that I didn't want to be a smelly smoker anymore and stopped. Every now and again if I'm REALLY drunk I might steal a puff off of someone's cigarette and then always regret it immensely when I wake up the next day smelling like an ashtray and uncharacteristally hungover.

Alexis - How did the get-together with your friends go? Did you manage to stay out of the rest of your cookies you made?

I like to try to do non-food things for myself as well. The other day I actually dyed my eyebrows... hahaa. I have naturally blonde eyebrows and lashes and I fill in my brows each day. After like 13 years of practice they look great but I do get tired of it. I decided to color them and I LOVE it! It saves me a few moments in the morning but the big benefit is just being able to wipe sweat off my brow in the gym or touch my face without wiping one off... haha. I'll have to take some pictures and show you guys the before/after.

OhThePlaces - Hey, when the weight falls off I just thank whatever is responsible and try not to over-think it! Congrats on the whooshes... I hope it continues.

I don't think it's 'sad' that you and your hubby haven't been out, but I do think it's LONG overdue! I hope you had a ton of fun, kicked off your shoes, let down your hair, and acted with reckless abandon! Let us know how it was!

Domlacha - I'll have whatever you're having... I just hope to have *some* of that success this weekend when I weigh in! I'm not super stressed over my current weight, but after seeing a gain EVERY SINGLE TIME I have weighed for the last 3 MONTHS, a bit of a drop would be nice for a change!

Go see Rise of the Guardians with or without your niece... it's great either way!

Bayzee - How are you feeling? I hope that stomach bug didn't kick in fully and sideline you. Not fun!

You and your husband don't have kids either?! Yes! LOL it seems like I'm one of a dying breed of woman! Even my close friends who swore up and down they weren't the mom-types are suddenly ending up preggers. Good for them, truly, but honestly I hate not having more friends who are as free to travel and explore as my hubby and I are.

He has a 13 year old daughter from his first marriage, but she lives with her mom and is old enough that I'll never have to be a 'mom' or authority figure to her. She is amazingly sweet and still very young and innocent for her age so when I do see her it's super low-maintenance for me. My husband is also very happy with the one child and has scratched that biological itch so I'm not worried that one day he'll start bugging me about having a kid.