My bedroom door pushes open easily and I know that when I'm gone Lucy opens the door and makes herself comfortable on my bed. I've caught her red-handed many times. Molly usually just hides under the computer desk and sleeps. The cat likes to sleep in my kitchen window sill. Over time and trial the dogs have gotten good at staying out of the trash, but the cat still pilfers in it when he gets the chance.

Jessica, I'm with you today on the soreness. My shoulders are sore from the rowing machine. Last night I still walked 2 miles at home on my treadmill even after having my workout yesterday at the gym. Today will be treadmill walking only!

Since the holidays, I feel like my exercise is back on track , (I feel lazy when I'm not exercising). My eating has now followed suit and I'm logging my food again daily. I haven't weighed since last Thursday but my tummy feels a tad bit flatter.

As for exercise DVD's, the only ones I use are my old Richard Simmon's ones. Sometimes I can get the girls to do these with me.

I have to say that getting Lacy and Shelbey each their own laptops for Christmas was a great idea. I have the home computer to myself now. Also, the wireless internet is faster than my other internet server ever was. Both of our girls are scheduled next month for ACT testing and I hope they both do well.

Lily, when I was a kid I used to do Richard Simmon's sweatin' to the oldies with my mom whenever she decided she wanted to lose weight! :lol: I still remember his "ain't no mountain high enough" move.

My dog does sneak naps in places where he's not supposed to sometimes, we've caught him at it a couple times! We put tin foil across the couch when we leave which deters him from going up there, but if we forget to put it on we inevitably come home to find a big furry area on the couch, a paw print, and the cushion still warm! :lol: I haven't found any evidence of him sleeping on our bed when we're not home but we did catch him on the guest beds, so now we keep the doors to the guest bedrooms shut. I think he mostly stays downstairs during the day though, and we did give him a second dog bed downstairs so he'll have somewhere comfy to sleep.

Well, I am guilty of posting once saying "I'm not a maintainer yet, but"!! I really am clueless about what you mean, Meg. If you want to get the word out to people who are trying to lose...use me...tell me, teach me....I'm so listening and I think all of you are my heroes!!! Is it a shift in thinking we need? I'm so sick of "it's a lifestyle change"...I mean , I know it is but it's such an overused saying. I feel like I'm on the verge of getting the light bulb moment ...I just stopped dieting the week before Christmas but I'm not gone from healthy... I took some time of for Christmas and still made healthy choices. I want to learn...I want to be enlightened...

Wow... I just mindlessly ate 300+ calories of nothing good for me while I was putting away groceries.... When I got home I ate a small slice of poundcake - I wanted to throw the tin away and it was what was left... About 20 grams. Then, I ate a few bites of the broken stuff in the bottom of the bag of party mix my grandmother made for me. Same reason, throwing away the bag. Then, I finished with the groceries and mindlessly ate 11 of those mini rice cakes before I realized how many I had eaten.

Good grief.

ETA: And, on top of that, I blew off my run this afternoon because it was cold. (And, it took two hours at the grocery store, but lets face it - that was just the excuse I'm giving myself.) 50 degrees and very windy so felt colder to me. People in this thread run in snow with fancy attachments on their shoes and I'm fussing about 50 degrees, sunny and windy? What kind of maintainer am I today?

Obviously one who is feeling a little out of sorts... :(

Shannon,
I've had so many days like the one you just described. Hope things look a little more motivating tomorrow.

I had a killer gym class today. Yesterday was salsa dancing and just a good, fun workout. Today's class kicked my butt! I had done it one other time a long time ago but this was a different instructor and much different. It was a combination of weights, a barbell, and a step. I have a feeling I am going to be VERY sore tomorrow!

I have pretty good news on my doctor's visits to report. I saw the doctor today about having a biopsy done on my swollen lymph node. He said I could do it but it isn't really necessary. Get this-- he called me skinny twice....I wanted to kiss him even though it was my first visit to him..... he said when you are skinny you can often feel the glands easily (you can actually see this one from the surface). I also got the results back from my ultrasound which showed a slightly enlarged liver and slightly smaller kidneys so the doctor will probably order more tests but she said not to worry that it is probably "just me". I hope I can sleep now that I won't be so stressed!!

Wow, good news Michelle. :)

I'm about to join Amanda in whining, but mine is about the weather! It's still D**M COLD here. It's not been above zero for two weeks now and according to the weather forecast there's no change in sight until sometime next week. It's very hard on everything mechanical. My car door latches get harder and harder to close; the springs are frozen every morning, and on it goes. We have to keep a fan running in the bedroom to keep the windows from icing up.

Argh, that's enough. I think I'll go and read awhile and go to bed.

Pat High pressure systems (sunny skies, cold temps) tend to be more stable that low pressure so they tend to hang around a lot longer than low pressure. Hope there are clouds on your horizon soon, signalling warmer weather.

Michelle Wow, good news! Interesting about how you can feel more things in your body when you're skinny. Makes sense though. :)

I had a sad night last night :cry:. An older golden retriever I walk occasionally had to be put to sleep - cancer. Callie was a really sweet dog all his life. Like to retrieve rocks and give them to me. Not to throw, just to keep for him.

And the young golden that I walk every day has a tumour on her shoulder that is cancer. She's having surgery Monday so I won't be sleeping much on Sunday night :tired:.

Nico's prognosis is good, depending on how the edges of the cancer look. I started thinking about all the golden retrievers I have walked over the years and, out of 15 dogs, 11 have had cancer. That's pretty scary.

Nico's going to get some extra treats and hugs today and tomorrow.

Dagmar :(

Aw, Dagmar. I'm sorry. :hug:

Dagmar-- Hugs to you and Nico. I hope Nico's results turn out well.
We have had many, many dogs and cats die from cancer. It is so sad. Makes you wonder. I used to laugh (so I wouldn't cry) that my cat had liver cancer and he never drank and my dog had lung cancer and he never smoked (this was the same time that my mom also had cancer and we had two pets with it as well-- not a good time....)

Scale is still holding firm to my holiday treats-- doesn't want to budge yet. I hope it does soon. I will probably miss my WI on Saturday as we are going on a whale watching trip-- I never miss my WI (I still weigh at home but that is my "official" weigh in) so I guess I have one more week to work on those stubborn two pounds.....

Michele, glad to hear the good news from the doctor!

Dagmar, :hug: I hope that Nico will be okay.

I have some bad news. :( I found out this morning that my next door neighbor's son died tragically yesterday. He slipped on the icy/snowy streets while running to catch the school bus just around the corner from our house, hit his head, and died in the hospital soon afterward. He was 14. I'm trying to figure out what the correct thing for us to do in this situation is, because we really don't know the family at all beyond waving hello to them, and they don't speak much English (they moved here from China 2-3 years ago). We don't even know their names, only the son's name was listed in the newspaper article. At least I would send them a sympathy card and a fruit basket or something like that, but I feel like I should go in person to their house since they live next door. I wouldn't even know if whoever answered the door was the parents or their family though since I almost never see them.

Yes, Dagmar, the weather people try this meterological stuff on us all the time, too. :rofl: I know why the cold sticks around, I'm just realllly tired of it. Plus when it does cloud up/warm up, the winds start blowing and so it feels just as cold and is miserable to be out in. Why anybody - esp me - lives here in the winter is a mystery! :) At least we're gaining over 3 min a day of daylight now.

DH's carpeting of our home office is progressing nicely, though I can't say it does much for his mood. Between that and a head cold, he's fairly cranky! It's too small of a room for me to be of any help to him, beyond keeping up with the rest of the house. The cats are very interested in the whole process so we have to keep them contained in another area of the house so we don't end up with glue on them.....

Dagmar - so sad to hear about all the canine cancers. :hug: Are Goldens especially susceptible to cancer?

Jessica~since you don't know the neighbor's name, it might be difficult to send a card. I see nothing wrong with getting a fruit basket together and taking it to them. Such a difficult thing! Gosh, my own son is just 14. What a tragedy.

Michele, glad to hear your Dr's appt. went well.

Jessica, so sorry to hear about the neighbor boy.

Pat, it sounds like the remodeling is coming along well. I had full intention of nagging DH til he puts all my new baseboards on next week. Then he called last night and has to stay 2 weeks at his job. (It's for a nice promotion and payraise though so I guess the baseboards will just have to wait). I'll probably drive down next week and spend one night with him.

I stepped on the scale at my gym today and am down 3.5 lbs. since renewing my pledge to get back on track following the holidays. I'm very happy with this! Happy and SORE I might add! I'm gonna lay off the elliptical for the next week and do the exercise bike instead and see if my pain in my hips goes away. Still find myself hopping on my treadmill every single night even if I've already had a good workout at the gym!

Tonites goal is to take down the Christmas tree and sweep and mop my floors.

Hi everyone. I'm just popping in today. Getting ready for my trip to New Orleans - our flight leaves at 7:00AM tomorrow :eek: I don't think there is enough coffee in the world to make that early of a flight without being in a stupor.

Honestly, I don't plan on really being on plan while there, but we are bringing running shoes and are going to jog each morning along the riverwalk. So that's something! Never exercised on vacation before.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Michele - sounds like good news from your doctor's appointment - I'm so glad to hear that! And, whale watching trip? Wow!

Dagmar - :hug: I knew early on that I couldn't work with kids or animals. I just couldn't handle the bad things that can happen. I hope Nico's surgery goes well.

Pat - You are a brave woman! I feel cold if it is 50 degrees, much less below zero. Is it beautiful up there, though?

Jessica - that is terrible! I think running a fruit basket over is a good idea. You might not have to call them by name since they should recognize you, just include a card with your names signed to it?

Lilybelle - I'm glad it isn't just me who still has decorations up! I got everything down inside the house and completely forgot about the things outside... I have to get those in tonight...

I had my preop appointment for my breast augmentation surgery today, paid the remaining balance on my account. So, no backing out now unless I want to lose a lot of money. I guess I'm fully committed now! I'm trying to get in all the exercise I can between now and the 22nd to be prepared for my enforced exercise break...