I am doing that intricate dance that happens when you lose weight . You know the one, lose it now keep it off.
I am going shopping today for a wedding dress, no, not for me. My youngest son is getting married, it will be a very small wedding, in a chapel, a religious ceremony will be held later. I don't need to get a Mother Of The Groom Dress but want something a little dressier than what I normally wear. I do have a very nice ivory colored pant suit but think it is too close to white to wear even to an informal wedding.

Weekend re-cap. I started each day with a healthful breakfast and a long walk with the dog. I ate Mexican leftovers Sat & Sunday for lunch & dinner, because that is the only "meal" food I had in the house, and it was hard to justify going shopping with a fridge so full. As I ate each meal I grew increasingly stressed out and frantic. Everything has been brought to work today. It was like an emotional cleanse to get it out of the house this AM. There ended up being a huge amount of leftovers that I was stuck with. I wish I had learned the art of throwing things away sometime in life.

I worked myself into such a state stressing about the weekend that I didn't have any fun. I stayed at my house where it was "safe", except I felt my fridge had been taken out of my hands and made "unsafe".

I think I need to stop hosting gatherings at my house, bc I can't seem to deal with my stress in any better manner. It makes me sad in a way bc I always have had this image in my mind of being a "real adult" and hosting smashing dinner parties graciously. But that has never happened, and I think it's ok to take a break from that unattainable ideal. I feel like some kind of anxiety-ridden freak, having so much stress over one weekend.

So today I'm 4 lbs up. Drinking lots of water, going to work out a lot and eat healthful low-sodium foods. Thank goodness there is nothing going on next weekend. I'm going to tell BF we're taking a break and having a healthy weekend.

Bargoo, enjoy your shopping trip. Good luck dancing!

Silver, good job staying OP. I completely understand, I also like to focus and don't like being constantly drawn into "new" things. I'm a creature of habit.

Allison, congrats on the whoosh!

Hi everyone else. Thanks for listening to my long post if you've read this far, lol. I've gotta run.

Megan, I alway dreamed of being a gracious hostess, never quite made it. I have all the trappings, crystal, silver, china, just don't have the flair.

Oh, no, it's the dreaded "a lady should ..." thing starting up.

I know about it, as it comes from the better-off, more genteel side of my family. (The other side isn't cursed with it, as it was concerned more with getting by than How Things Looked.)

Beat it back with a stick.

I mean when you start thinking stuff like "a lady should be a perfect hostess ... a lady should maintain her weight effortlessly ... a lady should buy all organic produce or grow her own ...a lady makes everything from scratch and it's invariably delicious ... a lady should look attractive in public at all times ... "

Take a big stick and whack at that pink ladylike pinata.

Do what you need to do to get by in this world. It's hard enough, really, without heaping up more and having to feel "unsafe." That is a bad, bad feeling in one's own home.

Contrasting weekend re-cap : I too am up - 3.5# to be precise. I made good choices where I could - did not drink a single "foo-foo" drink with an umbrella or weird color, just beer and wine (Bud Light is disgusting, BTW). I had a tasty vanilla cupcake and only wished for a minute that I could try the "star of the show" - the red velvet one with cream cheese frosting. And yup, I had an outstanding 6oz burger, medium rare with swiss cheese and sauteed mushrooms. I savored every single bite - I'm pretty sure it was my first hamburger of the year. We played really hard, laughed a lot, walked miles each day ... and I'm exhausted. It's a relief to get back to the normal patterns.

Megan, the big difference I see is that I was out of the house the whole time - and when I came back, it was just stepping back into the routine (talk about a warm fuzzy!). I'm sorry your weekend was stressful. That vigilance will serve you well, up to the point where it makes you miserable. Let's just focus on this week and enjoy our "normality", and get the bloat off.
I'm also looking at lots of green tea and water today! Treadmill will wait for tomorrow morning - I absolutely could not get out of bed.

bargoo, good post about the intricate dance. Enjoy shopping for your sleek 2012 figure! You've worked hard and I know you will be beautiful in whatever you choose. Congrats on your son's wedding!

silver, yay you! Sounds like you are playing to your strengths - I hope the week is smooth for you. Recognizing your groove is a good thing. I am also happy to be back at work, and facing my standard calendar items.

allison - Nice drop! It's about time the scale agreed with you!

Saef, I hope that the payments get worked out for the work on your apartment.

Megan, the trick is to only host dinner parties on Sunday nights. That way you can take all the leftovers in to work to get rid of them Monday morning. At least, that works pretty well for me!

At least I managed this weekend with only the one off-plan meal (cooking club brunch). OTOH I probably ate like 2500 calories just at that one meal. Oh well, I'd been craving brunch foods for a while so it's all good. Craving satisfied. The only challenge on the horizon right now is tomorrow night -- we're having a celebratory dinner for a product release at work that I have to go to. My plan is reasonable portions, lots of veggies, and no alcohol.

Following last week's discussion of neti pots, I did end up buying a sinus irrigation thingy. I bought the kind that is a pre-sterilized solution in an aerosol-type spray bottle since I'm too afraid of doing something wrong if I were to boil tap water myself. It seemed to be pretty much ineffective though. I think whatever blockage I have in my sinuses is too thick to get pushed out of the way by a little bit of salt water. Oh well.

Hmm, I never thought of it this way. I think in me it comes more from the urge of wanting people to like me. I've always been a bit shy and certainly a homebody. It takes me a little longer to make friends bc I have to push myself to make the small talk that leads to deeper talks and friendships, it just doesn't come naturally to me. I suppose I've always dreamed of the day I magically transform from socially inept to... ept? apt? Lol. Not surprisingly, losing weight did not create this magical transformation. I never considered that the urge might come from societal standards of how a lady "should" act. Actually thinking of it from that light makes me want to rebel against it.

Thanks for the kind words and understanding all.

Megan~I, too, feel like I should be the hostess with the mostess, but it rarely happens. While I do host a party at least once a year, I rarely get the attendees that I'd like. Usually it ends up being my in-laws friends. And it's usually a crowd, so everything is served buffet style. I'd love to host a nice sit-down party, but my inner self never believes that anyone will come, so I don't even bother planning it.

Bud Light is bad, but have you tried Michelob Ultra? Double yuck! When we're on a proper golf course and the cart girl comes by, that's what we usually get and frankly it's more like water than anything. I wish they'd put some better choices out there!

My weekend was great. I didn't over indulge and my weight is up only 1 pound, which I usually attribute to waking up earlier on Monday than when I weighed in on Saturday. My goal is to get that pound off by Wednesday.

Golf yesterday was horrible. While I think I have my swing down, I've needed to shorten my club and some holes I over shot even with the shorter club. Then on the next hole, I'd shorten as I think I need and can't hit the green. No pars were to be had but I got one birdie.

Afterward, my tropical shrimp boats were delish!!! I picked up some strawberries as well and that's what we noshed on. Then I had a light dinner once we got home. Success.

Megan, rebel away. There are lots of us out there who will like you even better when you whack the pink pinata, as Saef said. Heck, knock that sucker into the upper deck in mid-field! Honor your Megan-ness, and trust yourself. I spent the whole weekend watching women, and it's very obvious who's not comfortable, even if they look the part.

allison, I think I tried one a few years back. I don't know why or how it's legal to call that tainted water "beer". Sam Adams or Labatt Blue is about as light as I'm willing to go, when I'll drink a mass-produced beer. And we are drinking much more Sam Adams now, since their bottles are the heaviest glass and DH needs them for bottling his own brew. Life is too short to drink boring, crappy beer. Well done on the good weekend!

Jessica, it may take a few tries to get through it. Don't give up - it's worth the effort. I had a couple of meals this weekend that probably were the entire daily calorie allotment in one sitting. The worst was ... the brunch buffet. Unlike most buffets, this one was outstanding, and had a lot of delicious stuff that I wanted to try. I had a whole bunch of 1-oz blobs on my plate - it looked like a very crowded painter's palette.

Megan-- sorry the weekend was so stressful for you!

It sounds like many of us are up on the scale today. I'm also way up after my birthday weekend. I'm not feeling at all well today. Bad headache when I went to bed last night-- kept waking up and the headache is worse this morning. Not sure if I'm sick or perhaps my body didn't like all the sugar and junk I consumed? I had a great birthday weekend but no time right now to summarize. Going to be an insane day at work and no time to be sick!

So busy here!

A terrible multi-site day here. I won't sing you my litany of complaints. I'll pour another cup of tea, go to the kitchen and work out what to do with a lot of chicken wings and thighs.

Glad you're all around.

Megan - I also have dreams of hosting, and attending, fantastic parties with flair. It hasn't happened for me either. My mom puts together these fancy events - showers, birthday parties, etc. She remembers everything from tablecloths to flowers that match to foods that complement the theme. Not me. I've had a couple of sit down dinner parties for a small group of friends, but I struggle. I agree with Saef - we don't have to be all perfect, or to put all that stress on ourselves. And it is so hard when our home turns into a place that isn't safe - maybe we need to have parties and serve foods that are good for us? Is that possible?

Birchie -

Michele - hope you feel better. I bet you do havea sugar hangover.

Becky - sounds like you made good choices this weekend.

Jessica - I got a neti pot from a friend who accidentally ordered two off of Amazon and I'm freaked out, haven't tried it yet.

Saef - I'm sorry that things aren't moving on your condo. That is the hardest part for us when we open a new restaurant - getting the money we pay to the GC to trickle down to the subs actually doing the work. And I know that it is hard with insurance companies and your HOA - that is an additional layer of crazy. I hope it shakes out soon.

Bargoo - enjoy your dress shopping! Definitely dress up the MOG!

I'm up a little today, but I expected it. I held in the 134 Saturday and Sunday, but made a spicy curry dish for dinner last night and it always makes me retain water. So I'm not going to count today's weight. LOL

I worked from home on Friday to keep DSS while DH & XW went to a meeting at the school - he was sullen and distant all morning until his mom picked him up, wouldn't hug me or really interact with me at all other than to get his basic needs met. Then I ran into them on Saturday at Target. I did what I have done in the past - he didn't see me, so I acknowledged her and turned down the closest aisle so he wouldn't see me. (She has been bothered by running into me in the past.) After I'd been standing at the pharmacy counter for a couple of minutes I hear running feet and I look down and there was DSS smacked into my legs. Gave me a big hug and a kiss and told me how glad he was to see me. XW says "I told him that I saw someone he knew around the corner and he should go check it out." I almost cried.

Oh Shannon! That's so very good to hear.

Nice, Shannon!

Hi chicks- long time, no type

busy, busy, busy... as they say... in some good and some less than good ways

re:the kid thing, my youngest has been giving me a serious run for my money- started therapy and all that. But, he does seem to be making progress; issues with low esteem, anxiety, control, negativity... Where does it come from??

Weight, specifically, my own- today at 131 but have stayed b/w 126.5 and 128 for the past 2-3 weeks (not counting Mondays )

Have been contacted for that exciting tv thing I mentioned a while ago. BACK on hollywood regimen-- that means doing what I know to do, writing everything, including blts and exercise 3x/week minimum, and staying 12-1400 cals/day.

ok, it's takn me a really long time to get this part of the post out. will hit reply now, even tho I'm not finished with all my personals.

happy to read about you all, plan to do it again soon!

That's wonderful Shannon! Maybe XW is finally taking some baby progress steps? We can only hope!