Although I had a difficult time falling asleep last night (spending the day in bed probably caused that!), I did finally get to sleep and slept soundly despite being "trapped" by the orange cat who curled up behind my knees. I feel a lot better today but obviously not 100% yet.

Three hours into the work day and I'm caught up for the most part. I really thought it'd take longer but then I usually worry about things like that and allow my mind to make things worse than they are.

I remembered that I forgot to get gifts for my nieces so I'll have to stop at the store sometime this week for that. No worries if anything is late--sometimes my kids' presents come mid January from my SIL who is always less than punctual.

I take delight in throwing away something I don't want. It was a little harder with some of the Thanksgiving leftovers but I did manage to do it. Now it is a cake that must be chucked. One of our employees gave it to me and DH for Christmas. A tidy, square, fondant covered 4-layer cake. It had a pretty ribbon on it and it made a pretty present, but it's sickly sweet and the top layers were rather dry and the low layers a tad bit soggy. I had half a slice (minus the frosting that was so sweet it made my stomach hurt) and threw the rest of mine away. I suppose I can't throw it out just yet as DH declared it yummy.

Dagmar - I have issues with wasting food, too, but not alcohol. My husband, on the other hand, will toss food but calls dumping booze the real definition of 'alcohol abuse'!

Feel better, Allison! That sounds miserable.

Thanksgiving/Christmas stress - Hm. I manage to avoid a lot of that, actually. I do Christmas with the inlaw's and my kids, we have some church stuff, but I've gotten better and better and not overcommitting and being willing to say 'no' when I think I might be pushing it. My world is small, thankfully, so many of the issues with holiday parties and such are no issue at all, because the bulk of our dearest friends are also busy with large families as well, and want to party about as much as we do (ie: not at all.).

It helps that our definition of a party involves a potluck, chatting, and craft time, instead of shiny dresses and alcohol. But truly, the best practice I've had to adopt is the art of saying no and minimizing the guilt relating to it

Michele - I'm sorry to hear about the meltdown! Some days are just like that.

I'm off to a good start today. We survived our extremely busy day yesterday, thankfully, but it lead to a piece of fruitcake (!!!) in the afternoon, in the middle of it, and some salami later in the evening. Nothing awful and I was still within my carb limit for the day, but I am a little annoyed I ate off plan and that's out of character for me. Today, however, is going just fine and I'm on track this morning, if running a little late due to oversleeping my original target by half an hour.

Boos in this house - colds! We've had colds that have lingered for several weeks and ramped up this past week. As for me, I'm tired of sneezing and nose blowing. Way, way over it.

I think I will do some "window shopping" on the net tonite, instead of sitting down at the TV after dinner. My Christmas shopping is done so this will just be looking at pretty things. Anthropologie is really good for that. I've had to send back everything I've ever bought from them but they have such pretty, impractical, non-functional stuff. And the shoes are amazing - not things you could wear outside or clean or fix or anything but little sculptures for the feet.

http://images.anthropologie.com/is/i...roduct410x615$

See what I mean? These are called "fawn heels" - note the pretty little deer ears.

Or these - as "party boots"

http://images.anthropologie.com/is/i...roduct410x615$

Dagmar

Forgot to mention we saw this last week. It's a tremendous film and Redford was totally up for the challenge of a role with only him on screen and with only 8 words of dialogue to say. I hope enough people see this to realize just what acting chops he has developed over the years. Riveting!

And i was quite amused to listen to all the people around me gradually shutting up as they became involved in the film. There are a lot of people out there who apparently feel uncomfortable without any "chatter" going on.

Dagmar

I didn't finish my Christmas newsletter yesterday, really didn't start. I got all caught up in reviewing the year. That will be helpful when I get to planning 2014, but wasn't a fast path to getting the newsletter done. It won't happen today, either. Maybe tomorrow.

All is Lost is on the top of our watch list but I'm not sure if we'll be lucky enough to see it before it is out of the theaters here.

I'm feeling a bit better although coughing hard enough to have some severe sternum pain.

Nothing much else going on here. Hope everyone is doing well.

I know why I get stressed out around the holidays.

It's because of The Effort of Being Non-Fat, which I have turned into the equivalent to a part-time job that happens after hours from my full-time job: The hours in the gym, the food shopping & preparation.

My life is manageable, but just barely. So if anything gets added to the schedule -- holidays, a streak of bad weather, my mother visiting for a full week -- the whole structure seems in danger of toppling and that scares me witless. I'm terrified that I'm not up to meeting all of these demands & that something is going to slip.

I was thinking today that I don't actually connect Christmas with any pleasure whatsoever.

Saef-- you are my (slightly dysfunctional) twin for sure. I do like Christmas but everything else surrounding the holidays-- not so much!

I'm feeling down and trying to analyze why. I'm thinking a lot about my daughters and their weight issues and wondering if my trying to set a good example has actually backfired-- making them not want to be so over the top about diet and exercise as they see it negatively. My one daughter is very overweight (though she eats fairly healthy overall) and my younger one is slightly overweight but gaining and she eats junk. Neither work out. Sigh.....

I always think I'll be able to shave off a few pounds when dh is gone but it doesn't seem to happen no matter how good I am. I started the year at 130 and was bound and determined to get under my redline (125) but I've maybe seen it briefly once or twice all year. Not sure what else I can do unless I want to severely restrict my calories as I eat super healthy, rarely indulge, exercise almost daily.... so frustrating.... sometimes I think I should just go back to being heavy but I was so unhappy then and I was gaining and gaining and gaining. Just thinking aloud.... sorry to be a downer!

Christmas, for me, is mostly about the tree. I love decorating it and having carols blaring (DH hates that part) while doing so. Then I get to come home every day and plug in the lights and there's this magical thing in my home.

My front porch this year is pretty nice too. DH said the decorating made the house look "inviting". No one else on the street has lights up - yet. I hope DH and I get to do our walk through the neighbourhood to look at all the lights - it's something we both enjoy.

I can do without most of the rest of it. I enjoy giving DH and all the pets (all my clients' pets get gifts) gifts but I could easily lose the rest of the holiday stuff.

And Now I have to go out into the cold and do a dinner walk - part of the holidays I could do without.

Dagmar

Ah, "the holidays". Not my favorite time of the year for a whole bunch of reasons. I do my level best to hide it from everyone around me because it's pretty clear that they don't share my outlook. There is always a moment, usually a few days before Christmas, where I get some clarity and have time to take some deep breaths and enjoy the tree/music/eggnog and if I'm lucky, the fireplace.

I'm in scramble mode this week. I be lurkin'.

Saef, if you need validation for your feeling that weight maintenance is a time-suck, you will enjoy this essay: http://justmaintaining.com/2010/09/3...b-description/. FWIW, when I found this blog about a year and a half ago, I was amazed at how insightful and validating it was. To this day, I have found little on the web that helped my efforts at maintenance as much as this woman (who, regrettably, went back to school and so quit writing her blog; I often wonder what has happened to her).

Dagmar, now that I have a dog, and live just a few hours drive south of Toronto, I too resent the cold. And it has been d*mn cold here the last few days (14F, which is like -12C today, and that's the straight temp, not counting any "wind chill" nonsense). Guess there is a downside to animal love :>(

I'm out there from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a break at around 9:30 a.m. I am now dressing in 4 layers on top and 3 on the bottom. It seems I feel the cold more as I get older.

I have ordered the "Baxter State parka" and am looking forward to its arrival. That should reduce me to 2 layers on top and give me a nice big furry hood too!

Ah the glamour of my "work clothes" - DH calls me his "little sherpa" .

I enjoy most holiday traditions - lights, caroling, the tree, and seeing my family most of all. It's the commercialism that drives me crazy, and yes, the disruption to my routine and finding the time to shop, craft, send cards, and otherwise prepare, even though my routine is not as strict as it once was. I try to get through it by focusing on the best part, the family part, and the second best is in finding BF a gift he loves, filling his stocking, and putting up the tree and lights so he can enjoy them. Even though it's not really about the gifts, he doesn't have happy memories of the holidays and rarely gets gifts from his family.

I'm still working on gifting. I ordered stocking stuffers for BF last night, but I need to order more tonight for everyone else. A friend is having a Christmas party tonight but it's a huge event at her bar, and I think I'll skip it. I'd rather wog the dog and call my sis and mom to try and ferret out ideas. I have 3+ more holiday parties to attend in the next week so I don't feel I'm missing out.

I have to confess I've eaten some cookies and too much sugar over the last few days. Last night I made myself a lovely salad with greens, half an avocado, a mandarin orange, and homemade honey mustard that I was actually excited about, and I made one for lunch today as well. I'm hoping my deep belief in avocado juju will boost my nonexistent willpower and keep me away from more sweets.

Dagmar, how about some feet and hand warmers? They work well and when you buy them in bulk you get a discount. Check discount sites like Sierra Trading Post. I'd think at least the feet or toe warmers could be enjoyed all day, not sure if hands would be useful for you. Enjoy your new parka. (Warmers make good stocking stuffers, too.)

Michele, you are setting a good example and are a great mother. You can't make anyone want to lose weight or get healthier. I know it's hard to focus on, but though your weight might not be exactly where you want it, you ARE maintaining a huge loss - at 5 lb above your desired weight. You've come a long way. Sorry you feel so down. I hope today is a little happier.

Allison, how are you feeling today?

We're doing Christmas-lite this year. No decorations at home, but we've been doing some holiday things out and about. I'll miss having a tree in the house at some point in the season (I know from experience), but just couldn't make it happen this year.

traveling_michele: detected a bit of all-or-nothing thinking in your last paragraph. To me, it reads that you must weigh 125 or "go back to being heavy." There's a huge range in between those things -- 130 being one number that you could declare yourself satisfied with and call it done.