Allison - The bathrooms in the rooms older hotels in europe were added as an afterthought. Like in the 1950's it would be commen to have the bathroom down the hall, and cheaper hotels (like 1 *) will still have one bathroom down the hall to share for several rooms. America has much more bathrooms to bedrooms than europe has.
My trip to France in college was a bathroom nightmare for the first few days... They bathrooms on the plane were having some difficulties so only one was open and it wasn't vacating like it was supposed to so I refused to use it after the first few hours in flight. Got to Charles de Gaulle airport and the janitorial staff was on strike so the bathrooms were horrendous... Again, refused to use them. We were bussed from Paris to Tours where we were staying the first 8 weeks, a multiple hour trip - stopped at a rest stop where I discovered the two foot channels and hole in the floor toilet... Freaked out, couldn't figure out what to do, didn't use it. Got to the train station where our host family was picking us up, they got there, took me home and wanted to give me a tour. It took me a while to get a word in edgewise to ask for the restroom, then they told me not to flush it unless I had something solid, that the dad would flush it nightly. I freaked out and burst into tears. At that point I had needed to use the bathroom for something like 12 hours and thought I was losing my mind... I wrote everyone I knew how I had gone to some crazy country with no bathrooms... Funny now, but pretty darn traumatic at the time...
Heather, what a transformation! GOOD JOB! You look much happier, too.
Jessica - ACK, all those freakin' DESSERTS! STAY STRONG, GIRL! Dessert buffets tick me off to the extreme. Desserts are my dangerous drug of choice And if there is anything I haven't tried, that's even worse, because I will HOUND IT. Oh, most of my contest diet looked straight off the Atkins diet, specifically Phase I, which caused me to go CRAZY. I love carbs. They make me happy. Not just desserts, either
Rabbit and Allison - I have not stayed in a European hotel that only had one bathroom per floor, but I know it is not too uncommon. I stayed in a hostel once, which means sharing everything with everybody. which actually ended up being a great time despite the lack of privacy.
On a side note, speaking of travel, I heard the bathrooms in Tokyo play waterfall music for you as soon as you shut the door ..to maintain your privacy.
Hey everybody...just stopping by to say hello. Been with my mom after her double knee surgery yesterday. Slept at the hospital last night and will again tonight. Then will go home tomorrow evening so that I can get my 2 oldest kids off to college Thursday (DS) and Saturday (DD).
Very tired and VERY off plan. Eating has been not so good and exercise has been nil although I am taking the stairs whenever possible. I have not exercised since Friday morning except for a half hour on an ancient treadmill...didn't even have a cup holder for my bottle.
No time for personals...don't even have time to check the pages of posts on all the threads I follow. I do hope EVERYBODY is doing great!!!
I feel SO much better today than I did yesterday. As I mentioned before, I caught a cold. Everyone at work has had it for around three weeks, but I thought I escaped it. On Sunday, I felt like I had the hangover from...you know where... but blamed it on all the EXCESSIVE partying I'd been doing and figured all that finally caught up to me. Of course, once my co-workers saw I had joined them, they laughed and said, "HAHA! Oh, we are SO SORRY, Aidyn! Look! We got Aidyn sick!" I didn't work out yesterday and am SO stir crazy today. I know I probably should lay off the heavy weights until I am totally done with coughing, but maybe a little bike ride would be nice?
So yes, I spent my birthday wallowing in my misery and watching movies. I felt too sick to go out anywhere. I was seriously starting to think I had the flu (full body aches, coughing, headaches, stuffy nose, no appetite, no energy at all -- closing my eyes felt like the best option -- I am not that much of a wuss about pain or illness, either, but this was not fun) so I am relieved to see I'm kicking this thing's butt!
In better news, I've been eating very healthy things since Sunday. I know that is just a few days, but one day at a time... right? I must say that after a month of partying, I am very happy to be back on what most of my friends call a "crazy health freak diet." This usually happens after I fall off plan; I just feel SO much better when I'm treating my body the way it is supposed to be treated... don't we all?
Joci - It is ok to be off plan right now. You know you can get right back on it... you are dealing with a VERY stressful time in your life.
Wow - it is almost four... Where did the day go? Oh yeah, it was spent reviewing occupational medicine clinics for addition to my worker's compensation panel... four hours of my life I'll never get back...
Got up and exercised today - did a number of dumbbell exercises, lots of pushups, some ab work, 7 miles on the stationary bike. Left arm and elbow a little sore, think I overextended something... Owie.
Shane - glad you are feeling better today! And glad it wasn't flu...
Joci - at times like these the plan is less important that surviving. Things will settle down. How is your mom doing?
I am still working hard to take off my cruise weight and am getting close but today may prove a challenge. I am a school librarian and we have a staff retreat today. Last year we played Survivor all year-- we had teams and our teams did challenges, etc. for teambuilding. All I know is that this year we are doing The Amazing Race. We are supposed to dress comfortably so we can "move" and we are going to an undisclosed location for lunch-- we were told to bring our appetites! I don't want to be derailed but it doesn't sound like I will have good options.... I plan on sneaking a few snacks into my purse and eating those and little else unless there are good choices.
On the plus side, I plan on going to Latin Dance tonight. I haven't been in months due to my work schedule and other commitments. It is my favorite class at the gym! Cha Cha Cha!
modkittn - It is hard to stay on track with a little one, much less with new meds throwing you off as well! This week will be better!
I had a good day yesterday, ended up about 250 calories below my normal level. Won't happen that way today - it was due to schedule crazy rather than planning, but I'll take it! Got up and exercised this morning, 50 minutes on the elliptical. Might have some lawnmower cardio when I get home, might not.
Hope everyone has a good day!
Last edited by Shannon in ATL; 08-20-2009 at 10:03 AM.
Michele and Lori - you BOTH can stay strong, rawr! Frozen in a box empanadas... erm... if ANY kind of empanadas are thrown in front of me, even the frozen ones, all willpower goes down the drain. I LOVE those things. There is this place here called Latin Cafe. One time, I went in there just to get ONE empanada, but since I come there on a relatively frequent basis and it was closing time for them, they put in THREE empanadas, FOUR croquettes, SIX random sweet flaky pastries, and a flan for good luck... all for the price of one empanada. I jokingly said, "Ya'll are going to get me so fat."
Shannon - 250 calories below - woot woot! That is awesome, especially when it's unintentional. Better to create a deficit than a surplus, no?
As for myself... yesterday was another day of healthy, clean eating, as today will be, too. I think I am going to go to the gym later and work out for an hour with weights, though I won't push myself the way I normally do. And I am definitely going for a walk on my lunch break! I'm going crazy here. I miss high intensity exercise... A LOT. Oh. I'm going to this ice cream social thing on Sunday. I promise I'll behave..
Last edited by NightengaleShane; 08-20-2009 at 10:35 AM.
And if there is anything I haven't tried, that's even worse, because I will HOUND IT. Oh, most of my contest diet looked straight off the Atkins diet, specifically Phase I, which caused me to go CRAZY. I love carbs. They make me happy. Not just desserts, either 
Heather and 
Happy Birthday Shane!
