Hi LauraB - I am in Westminster, MA - North of Worcester - i actually have to go to a semins=ar for work in Cambridge in Nov. - It's about 40 Min. SE of here.
Weather is getting a little colder now at nite - the days are still warm here - we are expecting 90 on Monday - so Fall has not arrived yet! Fall is my favorite season - the colors here are great - I lived in Upstate NY until I was 9 yrs old - moved a lot during those years - Ithaca, Syracuse, Fairport.
Hope the pants aren't tight!!!! DOn't let the WI get you down - I am going up and down these days - very strange yesterday I was 171 - this AM 169.5 - very erratic - but I'm not letting it get to me - I know it's coming off even it it seems random at this point.

Sorry to hear you are under the weather but good that you didn't go through the drivethru-get some practice driving by for next month! get better soon!
Melissa

Welcome Michelle!
Good luck with the storm Sandi – she is a weird one!
Caldwell – I am the same way with the weight not moving then all of a sudden a good loss – mine has been weird lately too.
Melissa – glad to hear Josh’s first day went well
Melra – We bought a Total Gym in March – hubby uses it – I need to start again – weight training is important for our bones and definition too.
Suzy – I thinking about ya’ – I hope your son had a great B-Day!
Just jump back on Carrie – we are here for ya’!
Keep up the great work fancyfrog!
LauraB - don't let a little splurge set you back - you're doing great!
Yard Sale tips…. BIG SIGNS with arrows so people know where you are. Large items out front toward the street so people see them as they pass by. Clean everything. Hang up clothes if you can, easier for people to go through them. Advertise in the paper if you can – here we do thurs/fri/sat ads if Sat/Sun sale. If you don’t want people showing up early – put “no early birds” on the signs or they will come – some have collectors/dealers have shown up at my house the nite before while I was setting up!
Have batteries/electrical outlet ready to show people that stuff works.
Don't forget to get change at the bank - I did that once - what a nightmare!
Some people have music playing and beverages for sale too.
Don’t feel like a dork – it can be fun – I usually get a group of girls together to do it with me. Few drinks and some sun - it's fun!

Yea! I exercised.
Feeling better. Got to read a couple good books today, and had a short nap. We got phone calls all afternoon for my DD, 21 this Sunday! What am I? An answering service? Funny, I also got one for my DS who has been in the Army for 4 years now, stationed in Korea.
I am ready for tomorrow. I'll probably have a desk full of work!

No fast food in October? I'm not sure about that one!

Merla, if we ban all fast food we better not ban WHINE!

it's on melra! you may have a headstart, but i will try and catch up
laura, don't worry about one bad day. it's always a temptation to treat ourselves after a success. just try to focus on your accomplishment, not the indulgence.
gosh i'm tired. i think i need a nap. have to get up early to go out pitching insurance with my manager and some other people. grrr. i am no good at sales. it's going to require some major

StillTrying...THANK you for the yard sale tips. I didn't think to go get change!!! I woulda been in trouble too, because it will just be me and the kids here and I can't just leave all the stuff out on the yard and say "be right back, bank is down the road" lol I don't have any way to hang things up out there and am putting out a ton of clothes the kids have outgrown. I separated them all out by gender and size and will lay them nicely in their own stacks, so people can flip through them (not folded, laid out) and won't have trouble finding sizes they want. I put little price stickers on every single thing (took major time there) but have added up all of each size of clothing, so if someone wants to buy them all I can make them a deal without ripping myself off. I have just a small pile of things that could use wiped down, they were in the storage building, but I am not putting them out until Saturday or sunday because I am so wiped out, exhausted right now.

My back was better this AM, then 100% better after relaxing all AM. When I picked Allie from school I started working for the yard sale and haven't stopped since, and the back is aching just a bit now. i guess I overdid it. Tomorrow I somehow have to lug some furniture outside all by myself tomorrow, and if the back is still achy it might have to wait until Saturday when hubby will be home.

I ate mac&cheese with diced tomatoes for supper tonight But, I was SO busy and trying to get as much ready to go out tomorrow as possible, that I didn't eat with the kids. It wasn't until 10PM I realized I was absolutely starved, getting a headache, and felt I would pass out if I didn't eat quick. So, I barely ate all day then I ate the bad thing...*sigh* I cannot wait for this weekend to be OVER. I'm never doing this again, never. So much work!

Theresa

Hello again everyone, thanks for all your kind responses. This is exactly what I needed. It is great to know that there are other people out there feeling like you do. I am boycotting the scale for now (but not forever), I cant go without accountability so I must get on once a week, so I am going to get on next Monday as my 1st official WI day, not looking forward to that, I have got to buckle down. I am looking forward to many more chats with everyone. It took me about an hour to find this page so I could jump back in and talk to you guys. I still don't know what I'm doing but hopefully with time I will figure it out. I dont have alot of time to get on here, I am at work now and that gives me more time than I get at home somehow, go figure??
Melba--Thanks for the tips and advice, it somehow makes sense coming from someone else....

Well had a great OP day-course hard to cheat when there isn't anything to cheat with. I am so ready for Saturday so I can go grocery shopping. Josh didn't have as great of day today and almost had to go pick him up from school. His teacher talked him down though and he made it.

Excersize is a hard one for me. I spend so much time cleaning and picking up and doing the yard, I am pooped out by the time I get the kitchen cleaned up from dinner. I am still not done with that either.

My SIL called me from Louisiana-he is at some military base waiting for clearance to take water into NO. He said he should be able to have couple of days off in a week. I know he misses the girls and would like to see them. Amanda turns 2 on the 24th and I know he would like to be here for that.

Good luck on your yard sale-the work will be worth it when you count your loot.

I am off to finish the kitchen and if I can keep my eyes focused, work on my angel picture.
Melissa

grrr. couldn't resist the new cold stone flavor. cookie dough batter, yum. but i felt so yucky after. it was so good. amzed at how many calories in it though. well at least i made dh eat most of it.

hello everyone

I have not had a good couple days- I am not following my food plan - not eating junk Just not eating "right" Like no extra veggies or fruits and nibbling.. Nibbling is bad- I over do when I nibble. I am drinking lots of water tho- I will not go back to sodas and caffeine too hard to kick the habit once you start up again.
I did get on the bike this a.m. so that was a start. I plan on getting better organized this weekend as we have NO plans for once and getting back to my toning and cardio - I can tell you I feel a difference in me - i am so sleepy and blah because I haven't been eating properly.
I think I was stressing too much- when you see pics and hear stories of Katrina and then there's a hurricane right on the coast one tends to panic.

Picked up a few games at good will with all the pieces in them for 1.00 each and my 7 YO and I have been playing games every afternoon - after her homework is done and before dinner that keeps me out of the kitchen and I picked up a 1000 piece puzzles and figure to do that at night instead of nibbling.

Theresa - good luck with your yard sale. don't be afraid to say no if they try to talk you down on a price. they are lots of work but I hope you can make a lot of money
they reopened schools today and I am glad.. kids get bored when there is no school..
No fast food in October??? Does that mean NO drive thrus?? cause I get a salad every morning at CFA and they make it w/o cheese for me. I don't eat Fast food anymore after looking at all the web sites and seeing how many calories in everything But i do grab those 1.00 garden salads at CFA and wendy's to have every day...
I hope everyone has a great weekend- and have a great day!

Michelle~the easiest way for me to find things is to make sure my options include a default subscription to every thread I post on--you can click on "quick links" on one of the bars at the top and edit your options, your signature, view private messages...see if that helps, b/c if you can't find us, you'll really be missing out due to the overwhelming awesomeness that is our group.

I'm just keeping myself accountable here, so y'all can skip this part if you want:
I did WAY poorly on vegetables yesterday--I had a carb thing going on I guess, for convenience. I forgot about breakfast, brown rice with chicken for lunch;yogurt for snack; whole wheat pasta with tomatoes/parmesan and a Boca chicken patty at dinner......2 slices of cantalope and about 1/3c of baked beans leftover from the picnic<--they were my weakness b/c my MIL is an amazing cook and that was the last of them. I estimated my calories to be about 1400, but I didn't get all of my fiber or nutrients in. I'll do better today, but I forgot breakfast again and I am soooo hungry right now. Spinach salad for lunch with flax seeds. Yogurt for snack.

I couldn't motivate myself to exercise yesterday. I feel really stressed right now, trying to get myself ready for the art show season...I have one on Sunday and I still haven't made up my mind on my display. I am such a procrastinator, I don't even have IDEAS until the last minute. I might get in a quick run tonight but then that will probably be it until Monday. On a brighter note, I checked the scale again this morning b/c I didn't believe it on Wed and yup, I really did lose that pound, so that's good.

Not eating when stressed is also hard for me. I am a major stress eater. I haven't really found my magic bullet yet but there was someone-think Laura who said that she works on quilts when she feels that way or just wants to go eat. I have been trying that or cleaning something. It is amazing how quickly food flies out of your mind when you are focused on something else.
Melissa

I did so good yesterday. It was my birthday and I drove into NYC, met my sister and we walked down Third Ave looking in thrift shops for a dresser for her bedroom. We walked about 30 blocks. Then my sister and I met my mom, dh, ds, and dil for supper across the street from my mom's apartment, in our favorite neighborhood restaurant. I did so good, 1/2 a crab cake, and a big green salad with shrimp and avacado and sprouts and blue cheese and crumbled bacon. We shared 3 desserts and I had a taste of each. It was my only food of the day.
Today nibbling has started and I am posting as modivation to STOP NOW, before the day is ruined.
It seems that everytime I do good, or feel like I'm changing, I am compelled to react badly. I must stop this behavior which is against what I want.
Laura

No Self Sabotage Allowed, Laura! You deserve to be the size you want! You can do it!