This week for exercise I hope will be better than last.(where I was sick). Why is your sick for a couple days then it feels like it takes weeks to get back on track.

I am a little nervous but mostly excitted.I just hope I pass all there health test I would hate to think that the IFs wasted all this time and have me be able to do it. The thing I am most nervous about is the test to the reproductive system.

Morning all! Just got back from the gym and wanted to check in. All well here. Had my second client last night, and I'm just going to love doing training away from the gym! Put on some nice, soothing music, worked with the woman slowly to learn about her problems, and to get to know her, and found that the hour went very quickly.

Not much to report...not losing, but holding my own in spite of going out to eat last night, and probably again tonight. Found a restaurant that has great salads, so have been convincing all my dinner partners to go there with me. Helps me stay under control.

Hope you all are doing well.

Susan

Good morning ladies! Well thank goodness the sun is shining today! I thought it would never come back out after yesterday! I got in a great strength training workout yesterday along with my evening walk. I subscribe to Shape and Fitness magazine so when I am done I cut all the workouts out and put them in folders according to what they work, and I have been trying some new things that I am really feeling. Today is my sons school picture and he looked so handsome going out the door. I tell you all by looking at him you would never think he was in fourth grade. I think he looks like he is at least like 11-12 and he is only going to be 10. Well today will be a walk and maybe some light strengh training we'll see. Hope you all are having a great day!

Susan that is great that you are really enjoying your new clients. That sounds so relaxing to work with music playing and a nice quiet enviroment. Hey holding steady is just as hard as losing so be proud of that. Have a good day and a nice dinner tonight!

Canadian Mom I am sure all will go well with the testing! Just try and keep up your exercise from now until then and continue eating well and that is all you can do. Glad you are feeling better!

Steph where are you? Angel where are you? Morgaine where are you?
I think that takes care of all of you! Hope you all are doing well! We miss you so come and update us soon.

Well that is all for me today! Hope you all have the sun shining by you also. Have a great day!

Ok I have set a goal for myself...Im calling it Big City Bootcamp. Wrote about it on my blog...it lasts 60 days starting today.

Sorry have not been around. Was shooting a wedding last weekend so was super stressed out about that. If you guys wanna check out the pictures

http://stephaniewilliams.smugmug.com/gallery/1854948

Now I have to get back down to business. I have been slacking due to my shin splints but they are finally starting to feel a bit better. I believe I can do cardio, but should probably stay off the running for a bit more.

Did you miss me?

angel - I know what you mean about being overwhelmed sometimes by the smallest details. I am notorious for that when I am stressed.

susan - yeah my shins were pretty sensitive to the touch...the pain goes off and on though but is serious when I run. Is feeling a bit better now though. Ooh I know what it is like to just eat and eat, but back on track the next day sounds like a success to me.

tina - yeah the stress monster did get me. I swear though that sometimes that is just my natural state. But I am back and back at getting rid of these last stubborn 15!
Wow 8-9 hours of yardwork! Your one crazy workout queen hehe.

canadian mom - It is always so much harder to get going again once you've had a lull. Good luck with your tests!

Hello everyone!

I went out of town last weekend for a 4 day Community Theatre conference. A show I directed competed for awards and we won 4. I was a nervous wreck most of that day.

We ate out every single meal and when I came back and weighed in yesterday morning - I was up 3.5 pounds. *gasp*...BUT - After 6 hours of rehearsal last night - I was down 4.5 pounds this morning, so I'm sitting at 144. Not bad. I'm thinking most of it was water retention - I was pretty heavy into the margaritas rimmed in salt this weekend. I didn't really pig out - stayed pretty much on my food plan, but I did allow for some treats here and there.

The next show opens this Friday. It's the one where I wear all kinds of gorgeous gowns. I have a total of 15 costume changes in the 2 hour show. We had a dress rehearsal last night and twice I was faced with the choice of completely missing my entrance or going out on stage half dressed. I chose the latter. I'm so glad I'm still not carrying around the 35 extra pounds or I would have chose the former.

One number was really funny. We have sequined tops and skirts and we do a strip tease by taking off the skirt, but there's matching short-shorts on underneath. I couldn't find my shorts in time, so when I stripped off my skirt - I was down to underwear. The assistant director teased me about my "dedication". Thank goodness there was no audience - it was just a rehearsal.

I found out yesterday that not enough students enrolled for two of the classes I'm supposed to start teaching next week, so they were cancelled. I will only be teaching one night a week this semester. Cool beans! My schedule is loosened up now!

Stephie - Great wedding pics!! Also - is your avatar your OWN belly? If so - I am supremely jealous!! You look hot!!!

Have a nice day, everyone!!

hi girls....

Stephie.....great pics!! Big City Bootcamp huh? glad to hear your shins are feeling better.

Morgaine.....wow, holy up and down!!! Congratulations for being up for an award and WINNING!!! wooohoooo

Tina.....Sounds like you're on a roll. I love a workout when you're in the 'zone'. Great job!!!

I had a good day today also. I got tired of sitting around doing nothing and feeling sorry for myself so I got dressed and forced (willed?) myself to the gym. I was glad once I was there mind you....but I HAVE to get back in the habit of JUST GOING!!! My mantra is ...."no more excuses". I gained 7 lbs since the start of the summer and I tried on a pr of capris and they were snug (mind you I'm pre TOM) BUT STILL!!!! NO MORE EXCUSES!!!

Good morning ladies! I am so glad to see all of you back! I was starting to miss you all! Well not much going on here! Today I have my son's open house and thats about it. Yesterday was good food and exercise wise. Today I have weights and a walk later this evening. I don't want to jinx myself or anything but I really feel like I have a grasp on this whole healthy lifestyle. I know how good I feel when I eat right and exercise and how crappy I feel when I don't and refuse to feel bad or guilty anymore. I don't know if I have talked with you all about this but family and sometimes strangers keep asking me are you almost were you want to be weight wise because you are starting to look really skinny. Now I will say I look a hundred times better then when I started and feel the same but I am not about to blow away in the wind. I mean so far I have lost 62.5 pounds over a year and a half which is a healthy slow way of losing so, if 10-15 more pounds will make me totally happy why would I stop when I have come this far. I just feel like nobody ever came to me when I was really overweight and said they were concerened and now that I am the healthiest I have ever been people are concerened. I don't get it and it is starting to really upset me. I mean I am sitting at 5'6 and 145 pounds let's not act like that is crazy because for my height it says me healthy weight range goes all the way down to 115 which sounds nuts to me. I am thinking 130-135 but who knows I may get to 140 and like it. Okay so much for not much going on I just got ransacked with these questions yesterday though so this is fresh on my mind.

Steph sounds like you have a good plan in place. You can do this girl! Glad to hear your shins are doing better. Have a good day!

Angel that is the spirit. I think you will find once you get in the habit of just going to they gym you will start to look forward to it and maybe even crave it. Have a great day!

Morgaine to funny about your reherasel. Glad to hear your schedule cleared some for you! Good luck with all your up-coming shows.

Susan glad to hear your really enjoying your work. It is so nice to be doing something you really enjoy and at the same time really helping people. Have a wonderful day!

Have a good day ladies!

Wow took a while to catch up! Well yesterday I went for a long walk around the neighborhood with the dog and the hubby. Came back and my shins were killing. I hate this. I am not a mindful eater. I eat crap and then work it off at the gym. This whole eating right mindset it extremely hard for me...but I have never backed away from a CHALLENGE! Yesterday was not perfect eating wise but I believe I was under calories. Today will be better. Trying to drink a slimfast shake in the morning since I just cannot get my body to crave breakfast. They aren't half bad, tastes like an actual chocolate shake...

Today I am really going to focus on my food intake. Eating every 3 hours, eating the right things, controlling my cravings. Its pretty doubtful that I will go to the gym due to my shins but some stretching could definitely count as workout minutes right?

Morgaine - yeah I wish that was my own abs rofl...seriously I am like dying laughing right now. J/k. I have ok abs but not that killer! Soon though *fingers crossed* Wow that is quite a few costume changes! Congrats on your awards!

angel - Getting to the gym is always the hard part. Go you for getting there though. NO MORE EXCUSES, I hear ya girl!

Tina - I know what you are saying. Its like you already demonstrated you know how to lose weight healthily and BE healhty and they worry you are withering away...you know what though, YOU R BODY you know what you need. Your the boss hun, and you should get a raise because you are working it!

Good morning ladies! Well yesterdays open house at Joey's school was really nice. I am happy to report we have a winner of a teacher this year. I think I am really going to enjoy her along with Joey. All of Joey's teachers loved him except last years and that was really hard for me to understand because he is one of the most loving laid back kids you could ever meet and I am not just saying that because he is mine. My daughter who will start Kindergarden next year was so excited to see the desks and classroom. I don't think I will have a promblem at all with her adjusting although I may get notes home about her being a bit chatty. I don't think she ever closes her mouth but the funny thing is she is not just talking to talk she is really telling you stuff. I have been feeling so much better lately in every area of my life. I think I just get so overwhelmed some times and I shut down. I am really enjoying my time with the little ones though while Joey is at school. Well food and exercise were good yesterday. I weighed-in this morning and lost 2 pounds so I was thrilled since last week I stayed the same. I think over the weekend we are going to try and get to the zoo if the rain holds out. It is so nice being memebers though because the kids love it and I never get sick of walking around and looking at the animals. Well that is it for me.

Susan I hope you are back to feeling 100% How are your new clients coming along? Have a good weekend!

Steph those shins are still bugging you huh? You must of really done a number on them. Is there anything a doctor can do or do they just have to heal on there own. I used to do Slim Fast shakes and I never really minded them. I am not a huge breakfest person either but I find if I don't eat it I pig out at lunch so now I just do a bowl of oatmeal or cereal. Have a good weekend!

Morgaine hope your weekend goes well! If you have any shows this weekend good luck!

Angel hope you are doing well! Have a great weekend!

Have a good day and a great weekend ladies!!!!

Good morning ladies!! Where are you all at? I am missing you all! Hope you are all doing good. Well this weekend we did make it to the zoo and had a blast. The weather was perfect for me a bit overcast with a nice nip to it. Today though is gloomy and stormy which is okay for a day or so. Food and exercise were not good over the weekend but today I am back with it. Today Joey is having grandparents day at school and he is really excited about it. I think it is really cool of his teacher to acknowledge this day especially since Joey has such wonderful grandparents. He is really lucky also he has both sets of grandparents, a great grandma and grandpa and a great-great grandma. I love that he is going to be able to remember them and he has great memories with all of them. Well not much else going on here. I am having my boys birthday party in a few weeks so just some planning for that. I hope you all had a great weekend!

Have a good day ladies!!

Down a lb from last weigh in...IM BACK! Played kickball on Sunday for about an hour. We clobbered the other team so that meant a ton of running the bases...shins feel just fine. So back to working out I go! I have a ton to do today so may not be able to get as much time at the gym in as I would like but you better believe that I am going!

This weekend went excellent. Had slimfasts for brekkie, had pria bars and or nuts for snacks. First time I have been on the road and planned ahead actually following the plan. Oh and just to let you ladies know, it is totally true what they say about breakfast...it helps so much just making yourself get some fuel in the morning.

Thanks for all the congrats on the job. I am super excited! I get to pull out my dress up wardrobe once again. I have also finally picked the school I will be attending. It is San Franciscos Academy of Art...they do degrees online in Photography...in 2 years you get an Associates then you can go 2 more for a Bachelors and 2 more for a Masters! All costing me nothing...this deal is so sweet!

Tina - Shins are feeling much better...I just think I have to watch it on the duration of my workouts. Your getting so close to goal! 8 lbs to go, you can do it!

Hi all! Been busy studying for my certification exam, and trying, as always to get/keep the house in order. Made this great chicken dish for the week...chicken with fennel and tomatoes in tarragon sauce...really easy, from a Cooking Light magazine. It was so delicious! I don't like licorice (sp?) but fennel and fresh tarragon are a whole different matter. Also made a bean soup with Italian sausage and jalapeno peppers that came out great.

Worked in the garden, saw a free jazz concert in the park, and visited friends. good weekend.

Morgaine, wahoo for the awards!!! very impressive. what were the categories?

Steph, looks like you are moving ahead with all your plans...healthwise, school wise, way to go!

Tina, glad you had such a nice weekend. It must be such a relief to you that Joey's teacher is a good one, and that he is happy. Is the yard work finally done?

Angel, glad you are back in the gym. Is the week your son leaves? I'm wishing him well.

Canadian mom, hope things are continuing to go well.

I've applied to register my trademark, bought liability insurance, and am applying for a sole proprietorship this week. Things are moving along.

Did 20 minutes of cardio this morning...hope to get in my lower body tonight. Didn't do my exercise on the weekend, other than a 2-mile walk on sunday. gotta get back in my groove.

Have a great day all!

hey all.....well second dr.s visit and apparently I have allergy related bronchitis!! hence all the coughing and hacking!!! I hope all the meds finally clear this up and I can get a good nights sleep. I've been on edge lately, and then TOM is coming.....anyone want him?

Susan.....uh, nope not my son, they're only 8.5 and a 13 wanna be. good luck with all your business permits etc....what name did you eventually decide on?

Stephie.....that is FANTASTIC about your tuition!!! wow excellent job on the pound loss.

Tina.....hi!! great job on your 2 lb loss also!!! Sounds like a great day to head to the zoo.....we just had a new baby elephant born at our zoo.

Well it is official I got the flight conformation today I go in the 18 for testing. I leave Sunday night and come home Monday night. I will finally get to meet the guys in person.

I am so pumped. I did make it to the gym last night about 30 mins stretching, 65 mins strength and just 7 mins cardio. I am trying to build up my time in increments because I do not want to jinx myself now that I finally think my shin splints are gone.

Found some olf pictures of myself from when my hubby and I were first dating. Man was I a looker. I am like wow it IS possible for my stomach to be flat and these love handles to go away. Ofcourse I lived next to the gym I WORKED AT during that time so I was really a workout a holic....

Today I have to work a ton at home. Have some housework. Probably 2 photo assignments, I think the staff photog at the paper is sick today. I am going to do more stretching and maybe like a half an hour of cardio. Nothing to scary.

Susan - I know I am super excited about these changes...sometimes you just need to shake things up. Ooh that jazz concert in the park sounds great. Love music outside so relaxing...Sounds like your business is coming along!

angel - Oh so sorry your not feeling well, that sounds just awful. Hope to see you better soon.

canadian mom - How exciting! I bet you are stoked.