Thanks Barb, but really its just that I am trying to hide behind them because they are much more interesting to look at than me.
Actually that picture is about a year old... before I started this weight loss program, but I had put on some weight from that time, till I started. But I am back to that weight now, actually a little less I think.

I posted a larger picture on my profile if you want a better look at it.

I will try to get a decent current picture and post it for you guys.

Quiet around here. Guess everyone is out enjoying the beautiful fall weather. DH and I are about to head out to the Jaycee's Haunted House. I have never ever done a haunted house, so he's starting me off easy. I head to the airport tomorrow at 10 AM. Guess I'll be packing in the morning.

Jillian - WOW - talk about a changed look. I love the new "do" - what did DH say? I know most guys like long hair, but mine hasn't been really long since high school. Hope you're feeling good....did you have any morning sickness with your first two kiddos??

Felicia - how did the children do in their races? Last time I saw a group of little ones running in a "fun run" half of them were crying and screaming and I really never could figure out why. Something tells me your two were out in front leading the pack!

Kelly - great job on the weight loss.

Lettie - happy belated birthday. I'm so glad you take the time to check in with your LAWL peeps.

Okay - gotta run. I'm going to try and get 3 or 4 workouts in while I'm on my business trip. And I hope to make good restaurant choices, but I have to admit that since I rarely eat out at good restaurants, there may be a splurge or two.

Jillian-I love the cut.....looks really good on you.

Joni - how was the haunted house? I haven't been to one since high school and third DD wants DH and I to come see her next weekend and go to one. She says it's suppose to be rated in the top 10 in Texas. I don't know if this old gal can handle it any more....I guess we'll find out. Wishing you safe travels......

The family reunion went well....okay, kind of well....I did break down and eat a piece of cake...but the good thing was half way through it I had to throw it away because it was too sweet...that has NEVER happened...I usually love any kind of cake, pie or dessert. Could it be that my body is getting so use to not eating the bad stuff that I don't even like it any more....this would be to good to be true, I'm sure this was just a momentary lapse.

Kelly, Great loss! You are going great.

Carrie, Good for you for only eating half the cake. I went and was horrible at A&W today. Root beer float and a burger, after 2 and a half weeks of perfection. OH well... I just get so hungry after spin cycling class sometimes and then I couldn't get warm... Oh well, I was planning on a TO starting tomorrow anyway. I only had hoped to not do one because I had been off plan for once. I felt rather poisoned right after though. I haven't eaten like that for over a year. We were going to go and be mildly bad, getting a frozen yogurt, which there used to be a TBCY place there and you can get the non fat and I figured it would not be that bad of a splurge, but the yogurt shop is now a super cuts... but next door was the A&W... and well... one thing led to another and next thing you know I"m eating a big burger and having a float.

Oh well... 3 weekends POP is hard to do.

Barbara

You are absolutely right Barbara..........3 POP weekends is really hard to do!!! Tomorrow will be a better day!!!

Felicia.....I could just kiss you for your sweet comment about me looking "skinny," outside of the wine cellar. Thank you so much!!!!

Joni......any luck finding your first day of school outfit? I am so curious to see how you liked the haunted house? They are just not my thing......

JILLIAN.........you look soooo sassy......and adorable in that new haircut!!!! I LOVE it! I wish I were that brave. Really, though........you chose well..........you look smashing!

Ok, there are so many other things I wanted to say to so many.....but I need to go lie on the couch now. It is time

So far, so good OP this weekend. I am really hoping to stay serious here and win the chicks to the finish challenge
XOXO

Carrie, I fully understand about moving. I could be making $20,000 to $30,000 more if I moved and kept the same job! I struggle with it every now and then when my college buddies call and tell me what they are making. I would have to move at least an hour and a half away and besides my daughter not wanting to move and being in college here, my DH and I have older parents. His dad is 86 and my parents are in their 70s which isn't bad but my dad is a stage 4 cancer survivor and he is sick a lot now. They also depend on my to drive them around when they have to go to Knoxville or want to go over there to shop or eat. The interstate has just gotten so big and crazy going through town now. Oh well. I just get over the money and say the cost of living would be higher, even though I know it is the same. Then I say, family is worth more than that. Maybe someday.

Jullian, Love the new do! Last night I saw several people at our Fall Festival that didn't recognize me with short hair until I got right in there face or they saw my DH. I forget the hair is short and can't figure out why they aren't speaking to me. Funny after it is over and I figure it out.

Not looking forward to WI tomorrow. Had a football party yesterday and the fall festival. Tried to be good but we shall see. Not POP by no means!

Joni - both kids did well. Neither of them was in the front of the pack, but they both finished with smiles on their faces. DS shaved about 3 minutes from his time from last year!! DD ran in the 1/2 mile run/walk and she did just that - ran a little, walked a little - but she had so much fun! At last count, around 1200 kids ran yesterday. Between our five photographers, we took over 3,000 shots!

DH scared the pooh out of me. He had rented this big lift so that he could go WAY up in the air to take a group shot of all the kids before the races began. I couldn't watch! I was so nervous! The wind was really blowing and there he was - cool as a cucumber - 30 feet up, snapping shots!

DD was fussy yesterday - VERY unusual for her - and she slept until 8:00 this morning - also very unusual. I hope she's not coming down with something!

Hiya All,

I'm sorry I've been MIA for the past week. That flu turned into something worse and I was down for the count for a while. I'm just now starting to feel like *maybe* I can take the dog for a walk tonight.

I've gotta get some personals out

Jillian - CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I'm so excited for you! And your hair looks darling!

Nicole - Welcome back! We missed you! Your Germany pics are beautiful just like you!

Barbara - congrats on the two weekends POP. As for this one... well A&W food is VERY salty (Many moons ago, I was a rollerskating waitress at the A&W car hop) so a few lemon waters later I'm sure it'll be like it never happened.

Joni - good luck on your trip! You know the routine if splurges do happen.

Hi Amy(s) and Angie!

Alannah did you move in yet?

Felicia - It's always good to see you and hear about your life, children and students. I hope everyone is well.

Where has Pearl been?

Hi Dan And Liz too!

And Kim(s)

Ok, now I've done some personals and I'll try to catch up a little more later. I need to clean a house that has gone to the wayside during almost 2 weeks of being sick. Also, an old friend of mine from high school is pregnant and announced she's having a boy. We were never that close, but for some reason I really felt inclined to make something for her. I used to knit and quilt like crazy when my daughter was little but gave all of that up after her Dad and I divorced. Now I'm getting back into it. Anyway, I've been working on this project all week inbetween reports at work and here and there at home. Nicole, I thought you'd like this



I can't wait to see it finished! Oh, and it's for a baby, not the weird looking doll.

Take care everyone and be as POP as you can be!

Welcome back Liza.. Glad you're on the mend.. It sucks being so sick that the whole house falls apart and you don't feel like even turning the computer on.. How did your diet fair during your down time?

Liz and I have some making up to do this week for transgressions we committed yesterday at the Balloon Fiesta... Not exactly the place to eat when you're on a diet, but we made the best of it.. Meatless burritos.. Considering we ate at 5:30 am, by the time we were done there and on the way home, it was 10:30 and all of us were famished, so we decided to just bite the bullet and have some real breakfast.. Needless to say, we didn't exactly make good choices, but the rest of the day, we were spot on.. Today has been POP as well, and I even fought off the desperate urge to visit the Carl's Jr. next door to the Walmart after I got done buying groceries... The smell of frying burgers was intoxicating, but I was able to drive away...

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Dan - That's funny I was going to say something about that in my post and then forgot. My big problem was eating enough. Some days I was starving, as soon as I ate my tummy was growling again but most days I had no appetite because everything tasted (as my daughter would say) like ***. Not that I've tasted that nor has she, but it sounds like a good comparison. I made a lot of soup in the crockpot and pretty much lived on that. During the days when everything tasted horrible I made it very spicy. The only semi-bad thing done was frozen yogurt. I didn't eat a lot of it but it just felt so good on my throat on a few occasions that I gave into a cup here and there. I counted it as dairy and that was that. I didn't lose any weight, but maintained what I'd already lost so that's good.

Good job for staying mostly POP during the festival AND avoiding the frying burger temptation! I got these coupons at work from Carls Jr to try their new "flat buns" burgers for free. I should've given them away immediately but they still sit in the bottom of my purse. I don't know why. I get sick when I eat there...

Any Chargers or Raiders fans here? I got invited to go to a huge party for the game today. The host kept leaving voicemails for me about all of the food he's cooking up. Honestly, it just doesn't sound good to me today so I politely excused myself from going this morning. Liquid starch really sounds bad and for food.. well I bought some marinated pollo asada and I'm going to make tacos at home for the kiddo and I.

I really should be cleaning right now....

Carrie - the haunted house we opted for was really lame. We're going to do one of the better ones when I get home. There is so much truth in the saying "you get what you pay for." This one was so bad I had to laugh and as I told DH, at least the money the Jaycees collected is going to a good cause. Otherwise, I would have asked for my money back.

Post Master Nicole - HOWDYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Kim (TN) - you are doing the right thing for your family. Money isn't everything! Hope your WI isn't too bad tomorrow. Sometimes the scale can surprise you!.

Felicia - glad to hear the kidlets did so well in the run. Hopefully DD is just tired from such a big day......hope DH got some great aerial shots!

Liza - hope each day finds you feeling better and stronger. I hate being sick. OMG - your baby knitting project is fantastic. I love it. I have a ton of quilting supplies and have yet to finish one project. I think quilting is really cool, but it sure takes a lot of time to finish something. The hard part for me is that I have to put everything away when I work on a project. If I had a quilting room, maybe I'd be better. Maybe not. Knitting also seems really hard to me. Does MiniMe like to knit? If not, you should try to get her involved in it. I think it's a cool, relaxing hobby. I love watching the quilting and knitting shows on HGTV. They make it seem so simple!

I made it to Reston and it's not all that exciting. I have work to do and then it's Desperate Housewives and early to bed. Hope to get a work out in the morning before work.

Dan - as always, I'm proud of the choices you make and how you inspire us all to stay on track. Thanks.

Maybe I should have waited till tomorrow to post as this is the end of this week's but here I am so here goes...

I am not moved in yet but I close on the house this thursday. I am officially off on vacation from work for 2 weeks although I can go in and work some overtime in the evenings if I so wish as we still have unlimited time available. I might do some but not much. I have had a total of 3 days off in the last 50 so I am really looking forward to the break even if I am spending most of it packing, moving and then unpacking again. I am getting excited now as it is down to basically 3 days. Tomorrow I go get my house insurance lined up and also get some dog supplies so chance is good to go when I move too. The only thing I'll have to get for her after I move is her food. She will be with me the weekend after I move in.

Eating right has been an ordeal lately with all the working and such but I have been trying my best and although nowhere near perfect I have maintained where I am so I am happy with that. This week there won't be a lot of cooking as everything is getting packed but I'll get some salads and such that I can have on the go.

Not much else from me right now. I literally haven't done much but work and come home.

Liza - I am gald to hear you are starting to feel better

Jillian - love the hair - really it is great on you!! I am trying again to grow mine out. I do this all the time. Grow it out and then get it chopped off. Last time I was like you and had about 10" cut off. I'd like to get it down about another 2" or so. Mine grows very fast so that's only about 2.5-3 months at most for me.

Nicole - glad you enjoyed your trip and the pictures were really nice.

Well, I have a bed soon calling me. Have a good end/start of the week everybody....

Liza - we've missed you!! I'm so glad you're on the mend! The days are never the same without your posts. I LOVE the baby snuggler (well, that's what I always called those things!)! I crochet, but knitting has always fascinated me. Wish we lived closer. I would come by for lessons! I had such a tough time learning to crochet from my aunt because I'm a leftie!

Jillian.. WOWWEEEEEEEEEE