Hi everyone,

I'm back from my college reunion! In a sense it was better to "miss" the holiday weekend - I had to deal with reunion food, but not BBQ food. I had a great time catching up with a few good friends. Of course I spent a lot of time reflecting on my college experience. I do felt that I missed out on a lot of the social aspects of the whole college experience b/c I spent so much time studying, in addition to being shy in the first place. On the other hand my social life at my home school also "suffered" because I spent my entire junior year studying in Australia, then a domestic study program in the US, which were really amazing experiences and I wouldn't trade those for a second. So I spent the weekend with a few close friends that I do have from my college years, but part of me regretted that some of my classmates seemed to have close relationships with so many others. Rather than spending a lot of time regretting, though, I'm going to try to keep that in mind with my relationships in the present. But don't get me wrong - I did have a lot of fun at the reunion!

Food-wise I'd say I did pretty well until my last day of travel. I didn't do horribly, but I got sort of munchy in the airports. I know I'm retaining lots of water so I'll give myself 2 days to flush and then see if I met my goal of not gaining. I know I did better than normal on a trip b/c usually I crash so far off plan that I want to stay off plan for several days when I get home, but I'm right back to it today.

No big vacations planned for me, sigh. My problem is I want to travel to a lot of places, but can't convince anyone to travel with me! I'm too much of a chicken to travel internationally alone.

Midwife, ooh la la, France!

Shannon, glad your GM is out of ICU.

Shanna, I'm so glad to hear your biopsy was normal and your dad was released from the hospital.

Sheila, I'm so sorry to hear about your granddaughter.

Will be back later for more catching up. Have a great week all!

Sounds like most of us survived the long weekend pretty well. It's another day here, and I'm not tired of them yet! Though my lawn is looking parched and I'm having to water my flowers more than normally.

Silver - good to see you. Glad I could get you out of lurking. I was researching trips over the weekend, and came on one on digital photography in Snowdonia - near you, yes? It's pretty pricey though, so not on this year's plan.

I'm hoping while my sister is here this week I can get her to commit to a trip somewhere with me next year. She's divorced/single and living alone for the first time in over 40 years, and it's a big adjustment for her.

Shannon - glad to hear your grandmother is out of ICU. Hope they can coordinate her physical therapies.

Midwife - Kery does live in Strasbourg which is on the French/German border. I'm jealous of your trip - sure hope it's wonderful for you!

My big trip this summer is a "Quilt Camp at Sea" on a cruise ship - in Alaska! It's similar to the trip Michele is taking, in that it's in Southeast Alaska, which is nowhere near where I live. There are 5 of us going (and one husband - not mine!). It's at the end of June, and I'm getting excited.

So I'm only working today and then going to a training on Friday. Tomorrow and Thurs I'll be off with my sister.

Good Morning,

Sheila, still thinking of and praying for you and your family.

Happy Birthday Sznn!

Megan, glad you had a good time at your reunion!

Jessica, I agree - we need more vacation time!

Shannon, so glad to hear that your GM is out of ICU and recovering.

Midwife, wow - what a fun trip!

Allison, congrats on the great loss! Did you sleep okay w/out the melatonin? Did you feel better when you woke?

Dagmar & Meg, I'm with you on the 5 lbs. In "stretchy" pants it might be closer to 8 lbs, but in non-stretchy 5 lbs is a pant size for me too. Is there is a bigger gap in bigger sizes? It seems like there is a larger gap in inches between a 16 and an 18 than there is between a 4 and a 6, what do you think?

After getting out my summer clothes, I found that I only had a couple pair of capri pants, and most of those are a little big, so I went to the mall on Saturday. The good news is that I'm wearing a size 4 comfortably. The bad news is that I spent way too much $. I bought my first ever pair of "designer jeans" (Cookie Johnson's Straight Faith). Normally I won't even try on clothes at Nordstroms (only at Nordstom's Rack), but I decided to "splurg". I tried the jeans on before I looked at the price tag - bad idea. The fit is incredible. I'm curvy so I always have trouble with the waistband, but I also have bigger thighs so most of the "skinny" jeans don't fit there. These fit everywhere! I also bought a couple pair of capri "NYDJ" (not your daughters jeans), khaki, chocolate, and blue denim, and a couple of cute summer tops. Ouch! But it was fun.

Did okay on food over the long weekend - a few "over indulgences" but made up for it on the other meals, so I came out okay.

DH informed me last night that he's going to start getting up 20 min earlier to do "a little exercise". He's always said "I only work out at the gym, and I don't have time to go there". I've responded that a little exercise at home is better then no exercise, but I've really said almost nothing over the past year and half of getting up early to work out and eating healthy. He's not in bad shape, could lose maybe 15-20 lbs though, and I just know he'll feel better if he loses that and gets in a bit better shape. I'm happy for him.

Anyhow, back to work!

Pat,
The class I am taking is called 'Technical Services' and the textbook is really dry. When I tried taking the class before, I was dealing with a depressed daughter and a dying father, so I'm hoping less stress in my personal life will allow me to focus better. There were a lot of group projects involved and since I take my classes online, I was having trouble coordinating times to "chat" with other group members. I will keep you in mind if I need a little help. The professor is one I'm not familiar with so I'm hoping the class is a tad easier.

Shanna-- glad you splurged on some fun things! My dd's and dh wanted me to buy expensive jeans for mother's day and we went to Macy's. I have trouble spending a lot of money on myself. I somehow managed to find $165 jeans marked down to $15 and bought those so my family says that doesn't count! They aren't all that comfortable though--I'm glad I didn't spend $165 for them!! I forget the brand name-- my dd (14) knew it but I didn't.....

I'm starting working my 2nd job on Tuesdays tonight which will mess up my dinner and gym on Tuesdays. I know gym will be out of the question (and I will miss my fave latin dance class) but I'm not sure how I'll handle dinner. I don't want to eat at 9 pm but I may have to..... I will work my first job from 7-3 and then my 2nd job from 4:30-approx 8:30. I will eat a large snack before I go and bring a snack with me but I may be too busy to eat it. Any suggestions? Would you eat dinner that late or should I just eat something light when I get back?

Hi to everyone else!!

Michele - I assume you will be home between the two jobs? If so, I'd eat a substantial snack, kind of a mini-dinner, and then something light when you get home. I am always unhappy when I go to bed soon after eating a full meal. And technical services can mean many things, but I'll be glad to be "on call" for you (along with info from my TS staff).

I have a really tough time finding jeans that fit right. I need a short rise and short (28") legs, but they need to a "relaxed" fit for my thighs and butt. Right now I'm pretty good with Land's End (even if they are Mom jeans ) but their petite rise is still a little high and the waist band rolls, which is better than a regular rise which has the crotch halfway to my knees. Grrrr, if I were rich I'd have my clothes made for me....

Hey everyone - thanks for the Bday wishes.
I am hoping all the Bday treats are done and I can get down to some serious WL.

Shanna - I am happy the hear your biopsy was normal, must be a relief.

Shannon - I hope your Grandma makes a speedy recovery.

Allison - 5.5 pds ....you rock! What was the name of that cookbook again?
May have to pick one up.

I am afraid to go near the scale after a w/e of cake and wine.
But maybe it will light a fire under my butt to get busy.

-S

Hi everyone! Today has been hectic - read the thread but no time to reply. Had a make up hair appointment tonight I had to reschedule from last week, and my main shelf fell in my closet this morning so had to clean all that up and figure out where to put my stuff when I got home... I'll tell you this - your shelf falling and restricting your space makes you seriously reconsider your space.... I got rid of the majority of the last 'big' clothes I had been hoarding...

My grandmother is in a regular room now, and they hope to have her in the rehab center by Friday. Whew.

I'll reply to all the posts tomorrow... tired, headache, time for bed...

Have a good evening everyone!

Good morning everyone!

Yesterday I figured out that I'm a person who needs an outside motivation to keep going with the dieting/maintenance.

Since I don't have any of the major life events coming up I have to create some to keep going (even with reference to just plain life, rather than just physical health).

One of my clients works for a cruise line. She offered me a really good package (haven't seen it yet) to Alaska.

I've always wanted to take a cruise and wanted to see Alaska before humankind ruins it.

I'm going to go for it! Life is too short to always be worried about having enough money at the age of 85. I'm going to take the chance that my business will recover spend some savings and go to ALASKA!!!

Have a great hump day all!

Dagmar

Went to the gymn for the first time since being in hospital a fortnight ago (minor op). I knew I was fragile but I really had to take it easy. Just did a very little on the treadmill and a fair bit of stretching. It will build up nicely though. It's so good to be back.

Pat - yes, I'm in Snowdonia and it's lovely here at present. Sorry the digital photography course here is too expensive! Another time? Have a lovely time with your sister.

Shanna - your DH's exercise programme sounds good!

Shannon - bad luck about the shelf. I had to get rid of a built-in wardrobe (closet?) last year and I still haven't really worked out what to do with the clothes.

Dagmar - yes! Go for it! Great idea! Do tell us more as the plan unfolds.

Hullo to everyone else!

Go for it Dagmar! I agree-- life is too short!!

We are going to Alaska on a cruise this summer and it doesn't make sense for us financially. We were going to go a couple of years ago (we are going with my aunt and uncle who are like parents to me as mine are deceased) and my uncle's health deteriorated. Now that he is healthier, I feel like I don't want to miss the only opportunity we may have to go with him.

Worked my first night last night. It was very hectic and I had no time to snack while I was there so I was fairly ravenous after. I also developed a horrible headache which kept me up during the night. Anyone ever had problems with LOW blood pressure? Since losing weight, my blood pressure seems very low and I was reading that headaches can go along with that-- I keep feeling just weird and not right. I took my BP with a home BP monitor and it was 90/44. I am due for more bloodwork for my thyroid and possible anemia so I think I'll get that done today.

Good morning to everyone else!!

Alaska cruises rock! I've been on two and loved them both.

I had a bad night's sleep last night. I assume it was from not taking the melatonin. I fall asleep just fine but wake up around 2 AM and never get back to sleep. Ugh. I think I finally got relaxed at 4 AM and was able to doze a little before my alarm went off at 4:45. Once up, I wasn't groggy, so that much is good.

Sznn, the cookbook is Fresh Food Fast. It really is good! Tonight we're having Mongolian beef over rice with pea pods. Yum!

Uh oh, I'm falling behind! Hi everyone!

Megan, welcome back from your reunion!

Pat, have fun with your sister!

Sznn, happy belated birthday!!!

Shanna, my DH is getting back into exercising too doing workouts with Gilad on TV. He's been slacking off on working out for over a year now, since we quit our gym because of the dog and he officially decided that he was an invalid and couldn't run (read: refused to see a doctor about his knee pain and refused to take my advice of stretching and icing it, and refuses to start out running slowly and for brief time periods, so he always overdoes it on his first time out and hurts his knee again). Anyway he knows he needs to be working out more so it's good that he's started to on his own.

Michele, I'd try to have a meal in between your two jobs and then just a light snack when I got home. (I say that, but I often end up eating dinner at 9pm . . . )

Shannon, glad to hear your GM is doing okay.

Dagmar, the cruise sounds like so much fun!!

Silver, I don't know if I said welcome or not yet, so welcome!

Allison, I really need to get that cookbook, but I keep forgetting!

Man, I wish I was going on a cruise. Work is being really annoying lately for me, and DH is so stressed out I think he's giving himself an ulcer. I told him that I'd rather have him quit his job and be a house-husband than make himself sick because of it. We're lucky in that either one of us makes enough money for both of us, so we don't both really need to be working to get by. I could pay for our housing and utilities just fine out of my paycheck, we'd just have to cut back on other spending and we wouldn't have as much retirement money.

Not that I *want* to be the breadwinner in the family, but I'd rather do that than have DH get an ulcer! OTOH knowing him he'd be more stressed out if he wasn't working than when he is. Really he just needs a different job, but with the economy the way it is it's not a good time to job hunt right now. I wish we could both work part time. We'd be in a pretty good spot if we each worked three days a week and earned 3/5 of our current salaries.

Sigh, oh well. Mostly we both just need a good vacation.

Dagmar - go for it! My aunt and uncle went on an Alaska cruise a couple of years ago and loved it!

Allison - sorry you didn't sleep well last night. That tired feeling is a yucky way to start the day, though not being groggy is good.

Michele - my mom's BP jumps from really high to really low. She says that the low actually makes her feel worse - headaches, tiredness, etc. She doesn't even really notice when it is really high. On the eating between jobs, I might try for something heavy and high protein before going in, not anticipate being able to snack, then something light when I got home. If that is even doable.... good luck.

Silverbirch - Glad you got back to gym! be careful, though! (said by the woman who way overdid the exercise the first week back after her own surgery... )

Sznn - I had a weekend of pastry and fast food, and am just now seeing numbers heading in the right direction on the scale... You will recover from your weekend! Glad you had a good birthday weekend!

Pat - I was thinking about your sunny days this morning as I looked out my window at more clouds... still sunny and gorgeous up there? Maybe I need to take an Alaska cruise, too...

Shanna - your shopping trip sounds fun! I'm glad you found some good stuff! I have some money from my parents, my brother & SIL, and my MIL from my birthday that I have yet to spend. Need to make some shopping time soon...

Megan - glad you enjoyed your reunion! I sometimes also feel bad about not having more friends from college, and I was there the entire time...

I got up mostly on time, didn't exercise, but did have time to make my smoothie and get all my snacks ready for today. Planning to exercise when I get home. I have to get myself back on track before this weekend - we have DSS this weekend to make up for last weekend (well, really because mommy has other plans and needs us to keep him but it makes up for last weekend anyway) and I'm going to have to go to the hospital some, so if I don't get back on track in the next three days it will be another week... If I get in my planned exercise today that will only give me three days of exercise out of the last seven, but five out of the last nine, so not terrible.

Have a good day everyone!

Hi everyone, I've been trying to read all the posts and catch up.

Sheila, I'm so very sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Life has been Very busy for me lately. Playing lots of golf and babysitting my 2 year old grandson almost daily.

I'm happy to announce that my weight is doing fine. I'm still doing weight watchers and my goal weight is very much insight (AGAIN!). I'm loving all the choices now of fresh fruits and veggies. Not getting to the gym too often, but am playing in a couples golf league and a women's golf league both. Lately it's been so rainy here that I end up walking the course every time!

I'm very proud too that my DD, Lacy, has finally decided to stick to a plan and has lost 12 lbs. in the past month. No amount of encouraging from me ever got her to stick on plan. Several of the other women who work with her at Subway are all trying to lose weight together too. I'm happy Lacy is now eating healthier and is leaving alone those dang cookies!

I did great at buying groceries today and we are fully stocked with healthy foods. (although it did cost a small fortune!)

Good to hear about your DD, Lily. What do you think finally motivated her?