Morning, everyone! The wind is howling and rain is pounding on the windows after a sunny, 72 degree day yesterday. Guess we knew it couldn't last!

Lily, I posted to you about exercise on another thread, but want to say again to be cautious in the gym. Your excitement and enthusiasm are contagious and the same thing happened to me when I discovered the gym, but ... take it slow. Muscles strengthen much faster than the ligaments and tendons that support them and that can lead to injuries in beginning lifters. If you push your muscles as hard as they can go at first, you're risking injury. And an injury will keep you out of the gym for weeks, which I know you don't want.

Work out cautiously at first. Don't overdo the weight and don't overdo the frequency of your workouts. Give your body time to rest and recover, and let the ligaments and tendons gradually get strong enough to support your new muscles. I read a study that said that 40% of new gym members sustain an injury in their first month of membership, which shocked me! I'm sure the reasons are 1) lifting with incorrect form, and 2) trying to do too much, too fast.

My worst gym injury came from being "tough" and working through pain when I should have stopped and listened to my body. It ended up in surgery with a year-long rehab (torn rotator cuff). Don't be an idiot like me! Take rest days, don't ever work out through pain, increase your weights gradually, and don't push to muscle failure in the beginning of your program. Your reward will be a strong and fit body to last your lifetime.

I'm off to the gym in a bit. Oh, how I would love a 24 hour gym! We're getting an LA Fitness close by in July and I heard that it will either be 24 hour or have very extended hours. The problem is that it's $$ and my Ballys dues are $22/month.

Good Morning maintainers. It's been raining here and we have all sorts of flood warnings. The ground feels like a wet sponge under your feet when you go out. Yuck!
I ate well yesterday, then this morning I screwed up and ate two whole wheat pumpkin muffins. I'll just put the planned eggs on hold for tomorrow.
My younger kids started basketball last night and swimming starts for the middle school boys next Monday so they will be starved and I'll have to keep stuff for them to eat. I find that hard. Even though it's healthy options I don't need to be in them.
Toddler stories-Last week 4yo told me she put pictures on the fridge for me. I imagined with magnets. Nope, she had taken a whole glue stick and applied a mosaic of drawings to the whole front of the fridge. Argh, but what can you do but laugh.

Thanks Meg, I went and read your post. Today I plan to stay away from the gym. If it warms up outside, I will just take Molly for a long walk. Otherwise, I'll just walk on my treadmill at home. I agree that I have overdone it at the gym this past week. My legs aren't sore at all, just my upper chest, arms and ribcage. It seems that when I walk into the gym that I want to do Everything, and have to reign myself in from trying to overdo it. I'm thinking now that this hydraulic type machine that lifts you in the air and then you basically do pull-ups on it, is what is causing my pain. From now on, I'll stay off of this until I build some upper body strength. (It's frustrating that I don't know the names of the different machines, they all say the brand name Stairmaster on them, LOL).

Last night my workout wasn't nearly as intense due to my soreness. Lacy and I did get in the pool for about an hour and leisurely swam and just basically played. We had the pool all to ourselves. Lacy likes to play silly games such as sitting on the noodle things and seeing who can tread water the longest while passing a beach ball back and forth without falling off the noodle.

I cheated a little on my eating last night. Had done completely on plan all day and then ate a SF ice cream bar after working out. I let the girls talk me into stopping at Braum's! I'm not gonna beat myself up over my cheat, cause that 2 scoop hot-fudge sundae was calling my name and I didn't eat it, LOL.

DH went back to work last night, so I'm back to singledom for a week again.

Good morning!

I had a good day yesterday. Other than 1 (yes, only 1) glass of wine, I was pretty much on plan all day. Since there is no more wine in the house, I am certain I'll have another good day. Getting a day or two under my belt will be the best thing--after that, it seems that staying on plan is much easier. It's just that initial start that can be difficult. Anyway, there are no celebrations to be had until the end of February (and then we'll be having a "Sweet 16" birthday party for my MIL--she's a leap year baby and will have her 16th "birthday" this year!).

On a sad note, my Mom is apparently not doing so well. My SIL wrote to say that she thinks she'll have to go into a residential care facility. She may never get out of the wheel chair. The doctor has ordered another 3 weeks for her to not bear any weight and she still has a considerable amount of swelling. She cannot feel her foot, can't move her toes much at all and has developed drop foot. Since my Dad can't really care for her, she may not be able to go home. I'm sure she doesn't want to think about that, though. We'll see what the future holds.

Allison, I'm so sorry to hear about your Mother's continued problems since breaking her leg.

Our new oak floor is finished in the family room and I practiced the dance styling by myself that I learned in call on Saturday. Tonight, I'm going to the dance party and try them out for real with partners.

Weight held steady this morning from yesterday. Just 2 pounds to go to get back to goal!

Last night we went to see Sweeny Todd (the movie) with Johnny Depp and Helene Bonham Carter. It was very well done and they did an excellent job of singing even though they're not know as singers.

Allison, I'm also very sorry to hear about your mom's continued problems. I hope she is soon recovered.

I had forgot to mention a little good news I got about my son. He was scheduled to deploy to Iraq on February 9th. He had Drill this past weekend and got new orders. He goes Active Duty starting on February 9th to the Army Base in New Jersey and then in Wisconsin. His actual first day in Iraq will be on June 8th. I know this may not seem like good news to some, but even that extra 4 months of training is a relief to me. Plus in March he will have a 3 day break that we can go and visit him! The day his unit leaves to Iraq, they will leave from Little Rock , AR. (4 hrs. from here) and DH and I will be able to be there for his sendoff.

Oh, Lily, so glad to hear that your son will be in the country for an additional 4 months!

Allison, so sorry to hear about your Mom. I'm sure it's a blow to her. Would your parents be eligible to move to an assisted living place together?

Carolyn, I really want to see Sweeny Todd. Couldn't persuade my DH before he left to go to MA, but maybe when he gets back.... Which is late tomorrow night, yay!

I started on the New Rules of Lifting for Women workouts last night. Wowsa, my arms, esp triceps, are sore. I blame the pushups. My legs know they worked out, but not nearly as sore as my arms. In fact, I'll be adding more weight with the squats next time. It's amazing that just 5 compound exercises can give you such a good workout, but I was sweating by the end.

Sweeney Todd is the movie next up on our list of "to see" movies. We also have a list of "will wait for the video" movies. Personally, Johnny Depp deserves the big screen--even if he's loaded with makeup and his character is dark!

I haven't talked to my parents yet. I don't know if they are understanding the implications that my SIL has presented to me. My Mom is a strong person and personally if she believes she'll go home, then she'll do everything in her power to do so. She's quite positive. I think her biggest obstacle is that she isn't eating enough, so the nursing home is going to start giving her more fatty and high calorie foods. Gosh, wouldn't that be nice for US!!! Thanks everyone for your well wishes.

I wanted to let everyone know what happened with the dog situation. We ended up filing a police report. We are to notify the police anytime the dog comes in our yard and they will handle it. If we don't have time to call the police, we are to handle it "with any means necessary" if we feel threatened personally or feel our animals or property is in danger!

Just 10 min's ago the dog was back in my yard. The neighbor lady came running across the road and hit it with a paddle until it ran back to her house. I called the police and she had it contained again before they got here. They gave her a warning that it had been reported and they will be watching for it. Maybe this will at least convince her to keep it on a leash when she takes it outside! They didn't tell her that We reported it, but I'm sure she can figure that one out. Will probably cause a big stir up with them, but I can't let that worry me.

Lily, you did the right thing by filing a police report! Keep on calling whenever that dog is loose -- so what if it causes a big stir. You have to protect your family! And I'm so happy that you're taking a rest day.

Allison, from the way you've described your mom, she's a tough and feisty woman. I've got my fingers crossed that she can fight back and be in her own home again. Is there any chance that the food in the nursing home just isn't very good? You know how sometimes institutional cooking can be kind of inedible? Because good nutrition will certainly help her heal, so long as she can stomach the food.

Carolyn, on being only two pounds from goal!!

Meg~Actually, Mom says the food there is quite good--she just doesn't have any appetite. Did I tell you all the story of the night they had enchiladas? Most of the old folks there (she says she's the youngest by 10 years for the most part and she is 83) didn't know what the enchiladas were--let alone the refried beans! She said they were delicious (and she asked for a Margarita for her "juice" at the meal). However, one of the days Dad was there for lunch, they asked him what kind of sandwich he wanted with his soup, he told them, and they gave him just 1/4 of the sandwich (a corner cut) which ended up not containing any of the roast beef. So, he had bread with his soup instead!

Lily~I hope your neighbor gets the hint!!

Allison - I hope your mom improves! Do you think she will need to be in a facility permanently or is it only temporary? My (91-year-old) grandma is currently in a rehab center temporarily, but even though she can't walk more than a few steps she usually is just at her house with my aunt who lives with her and a nurse who comes in for a few hours a day to help out. Maybe something similar could be worked out for your mom? Or like Pat suggested, there are a lot of assisted living centers that couples can move into together and provide different levels of assistance depending what is necessary.

Lily - glad you filed a police report. Now I am concerned about the dog because your neighbor was hitting it with a paddle! I wonder what they have been doing with that dog. Pit bulls can be extremely friendly and good-natured, and their bad reputation is because people actively teach them to be aggressive and mean (usually for dog fighting). Dog's don't just magically get that aggressive -- either they encouraged it or they did nothing to correct the behaviors when they were small.

Jessica, when the dog was very small last summer, I talked with her about her using a paddle on it and my concern that it would make it mean. Basically I was told to mind my own business,and that she was training it for "protection". I know that she isn't using it for dog fighting. But, she often hits it to keep it off her kids. My fear is that someday it will get fed up with getting hit and it will strike her or the kids or whoever is nearby.

OK so I don't really belong here (yet) but I've been reading about Lily's problem with the dog and have a suggestion. We had a similar situation and it was not truly resolved until we started videotaping the dog when it was loose and threatening people. If I knew the dog was out I would take my videocamera with me when I went to the mailbox or to the car, etc. The dog frequently charged and growled and I caught it all on video.

It's amazing how fast people will learn to contain their dogs when they realize you are documenting what is occuring. Makes life easier for the police and it looks great in court if the situation comes to that.

I'll now drag my butt back where I belong. See ya in 18 more pounds.

Hey Robin! Stick around -- we'd love to have you join us now. You don't have to be at goal to post here, just be thinking about keeping off all those hard-fought pounds for the rest of your life. OK?