Hello!
I have been having the worst time with my internet! I did save a post I tried to post last night though so I'll copy it here:

Hey everyone-
Well, I'm happy to report that I am back on track for the past several days and feeling in control again. I've had botchy internet the last few days so haven't been online very much. Yesterday I had an awesome run- 30 minutes total with a few minutes for warm-up/cool down, but it felt so good! Now to get where I am wanting to do that at least 4-5 times a week! With my cleaning job, I find I'm pretty tired by afternoon so need to get my workouts in in the mornings.
It snowed here again last night- but it's going to be back up close to 60 on Thursday so I guess I'll live. I'm just soooo ready for spring!

Counting- I agree that something somewhat dressy would be appropriate. What about a consignment store so you could find something for slightly less $$? How about a sweater with bling? LOL

Melissa- where do you guys ski? I'm not a skier, but my dh has taken my older boys a few times. I suppose if it's something the family is going to be doing I might have to join in sometime. I've just never been a winter sport person (even being from Montana, lol).

Kari- warmer weather definitely helps with the getting moving!! I hear ya!

Well, my dh is home and it's time for me to go work. It's nice on my "non-exercise days" I still get a workout cleaning for almost 3 hours!!

**Back to present** (lol)

Had another great run this morning and eating is on track. Now to get through the rest of the week! I find I do awesome M-W and then for some reason on Thursday my weekend starts and I just don't do as well. So I'm committing to running tomorrow, and Friday. Saturday I have meetings all day and don't think I'll get a chance- but that will make it 4 for the week which I'm happy with right now.
Hope everyone is having a great day!

I am feeling so much better today than I have in weeks. I have been eating good today, drinking plenty of water and I got some exercise in. It is a beautiful day in Texas (70 degrees and sunny) so I put my 3 year old in her seat on my bike and we took off for a 40 minute ride. She had a blast and I got a great workout. We will definately be doing that again.

Hi Team! I hope everyone it doing well.

I still have a pretty huge bruise on my leg from my fall on Sunday. It still hurts when I touch it, but it is slowly improving. This morning I got out and exercised first thing. If I get my exercise done in the morning, I'm good. But I really struggle to fit exercise in later in the day. There's just too much going on.

We've been busy here. We've been working on the Girl Scout cookie selling every day between site sales and deliveries. I've been really good with the cookies though. I'll be really happy when it's all over and there's not so many temptations sitting in the house.

We also visited an exhibit on Pompeii. We study Ancient cultures last semester. So this field trip ties in with those studies. It was incredible to see the artifacts from Pompeii. It was also wild to see the body casts. We watched a movie at the exhibit about Mount Vesuvius. It was a bit over-the-top playing up the fear factor, but my kids were okay with it. My son thought it was great. I left my youngest home and just took my other three kids.

Anyways, it was a great exhibit and really gave the kids insight into the lives of those living at that time. The kids had great insights because they were making comparisons between the Middle Ages that we're currently studying and the Ancient Times shown in the exhibit. And they were really well behaved.

In terms of my goals for BL, I'm really going to work on consistently getting my exercise done in the morning since that works best for me. I seem to be at a standstill weight-wise and my biggest problem is not getting the exercise done consistently.

Well today my son is home sick from daycare which means I can't take him into the gym daycare either, so I will be running tonight I guess on my treadmill, or maybe a step video. Mon and Tues I was able to see my trainer, so I got in two good workouts so far, and hoping that tomorrow I can get back to the gym with my trainer then I am on my own on Friday and I think if I get off early enough (I am a flex employee so my hours change a lot) then I will go swimming for an hour. It's been over a month since I did laps, and before that it was a year since I regularly swam. I have been waiting to start this job so I could get back in the pool for cardio and I think this might be the week to do it! I burn a whole ton of calories swimming, so I am excited to get started again plus it's easier on the knees which have taken a beating with all the running I have done since last July!

Eatign wise, I am shamefully not OP like I should be. I eat ok meals, but snacks are killing me. Time to pack the junk in the box and send it to Iraq to my husband.

Jen - That sounds like a great exhibit. Is it a traveling exhibit? Pompeii is very interesting. My husband and I were fortunate enough to visit there about 5 years ago and it is a place that I will never forget. We did not get to see many artifacts though because they were at a museum.

Oh, girl - we are two peas in a pod! I wore one of my "new" thrift store suits to work today. I had several comments on it. I do think that I will continue to shop thrift stores after I hit my goal. Not only is it a great way to save some money, but I really like the stewardship aspect of it. I recycle, I reuse, I buy green, and recycling clothes really makes a lot of sense.

Laura - AWESOME victory over the cheesecake! WAY TO GO!

Kari - hang in there - spring is coming - and you WILL be out of the 180s soon!

Emily - thanks for the ideas! No consignment shops here, but a sweater is a GREAT idea. I think I saw some nice ones on the sale rack at JCP. A trip tomorrow after work is in order Great job on the exercise! Keep it up!
DK - Glad you are finally doing better

Jen - I have to exercise in the morning too. My evening workout is "gravy". If I don't start the day with Bible reading/devotions and exercise, the day just doesn't go as well as it should!


Cat - I find that I have to plan my snacks and get the junk out of the house. I second the idea of sending it forth! Stock up on healthy, ready-to-eat snacks that you enjoy. It really does help a lot!!!!

To all the rest of my RED teammates, I hope your day went well. It sounds like we are back on track. Let's kick it into gear and win this week! WE CAN DO THIS!!!!

DK--Yes, it's a traveling exhibit. How great that you got to visit Pompeii. My sister went there several years ago too, but she also said there weren't many artifacts when she visited. She really enjoyed seeing the exhibit with us because we got to see the coins, jewelry, medical equipment, storage jars, artwork, combs, lamps, sculptures, etc. from Pompeii. We had a great time.

DK--I'm glad you're feeling better. The bike ride with your daughter sounds like a lot of fun. Where are you in Texas? My brother, his wife, and brand new baby are moving there soon to the San Antonio area.

Cat--Sorry to hear that your son is sick. I hope he get better quickly!

Counting--That's how I like to start my day too. But I've really been struggling with it. Thanks for the reminder that everything about the day goes better when you start it right!

Hey ladies,

sorry i've been MIA For a few days. Just haven't been able to find the time to post. Today was my 68th day OP and it was a good day. I went out to dinner with a few friends and planned my dinner before hand. I had a huge salad, water with lemon and 3 slices of cheese pizza for 12pts. I didnt' even have a roll...that was an accomplishment. So I enjoyed myself, went out with friends and I didn't even have to use any ap's or wap's, I actually had 2pts left over. Then I went to cardio kickboxing and earned 8aps. I am getting much better after 4 classes.

Yesterday I went to the gym and did 30 min of run/walk intervals and 20 min of back, biceps and abs. Then during TBL I did 175 crunches during on commercial break, then did 200 squats during another and then hulahooped for another. It felt really good....I earned 7aps yesterday.

Shy: congrats on being the biggest loser this week!

Melissa; YOu inspired me to buy a hula hoop and it's a pretty good workout. Too bad I can't do it very long. DS was laughing at me and then after the commercial break was over, he had to show off how long he could do it with his skinny little ***. LMAO

Tina: I'm so glad that you are enjoying you OA meetings. Congrats on day 9! Keep up the good work.

Wish I had time for more personals but it's 11pm and i'm tired. I'll be back tomorrow! XOXO

Here is my clothing confession:
I've discovered that I always am the size at both Brooks Brothers and Anne Klein (it's too bad I can't drop a size, but that's another story...). Anyway, I've found that on eBay you can get suits, shirts, pants, skirts, etc that are new with tags for a fraction of the price! It doesn't work so well if you're shopping for a specific occasion, but it's a great way to stock up on things you need for work/casual wear while saving a TON of money. The disadvantage is that you can't try stuff on before you buy it, so you need to only shop brands where you are certain of your size. The other benefit for me is that I never have time to go shopping because I'm always traveling, so it's nice to have some fun packaged surprises waiting for me on Thursday nights when I get home

On topic now:
I went out to dinner tonight and stayed completely on plan!!! Actually, about 200 cals under. And I also worked out this morning AND tonight (on the treadmill right now), so I'm kind of making up for yesterday too.

I told several of my friends that I need this weekend for some me-time, and I really mean it. I want to cook, eat healthy, not go out drinking, work out a lot, and sleep a lot. Will keep you posted on how that plan goes!

Good evening Red Team! I am just stopping in quick to say hi!

Congrats to you Shy on being BL for the week. I know I'm a little late on this...sorry

Laura, that is something that I need to do...make sure that I am a certain size in a few different brands so that I can shop on ebay! I used to shop on their for my son, should start doing it for myself! Of course I am hoping to drop a few sizes so should probably start shopping for smaller sizes that way when I get to those sizes I have clothes already to wear!


I have been doing pretty well with staying OP this week. I have done 2 days of C25K!! This is going to get interesting I can tell. I need to practice my breathing... boy does that sound stupid! I catch myself breathing in and out through my mouth and can tell I'm not taking in the air I should if I were breathing in through the nose.

My new downfall is these cookies you can buy at 24 Hour Fitness...Nummy!

Apex Fix Cookie -White Chocolate Chip Box and also the Apex Fix Cookie- Chocolate Mint Chip Box
They are soooooo good!! Soft and chewy and white chocolaty or mint chocolaty depending on which one you get! Only 160 calories. Can eat half the cookie before you workout and the other half after you workout! I need to just buy a box instead of buying them on occasion at the gym, would be much cheaper!

I hope everyone has a great Thursday! It's one day closer to Friday!

Melissa73...did you know that you burn 3.5 calories with a good laugh! Thats the whole point of doing the hula..well besides the great ab workout. I'm so excited that you are giving it a try! Not to worry I've been doing it for almost 3 weeks and I'm a million times better now, even if I cant keep it going for more than 10 seconds, Way to go!!

Ugh I had Salt and vinegar potato chips and whoppers candies for dinner! I was so tired all I wanted to do was fall into bed so I did. Regretting my food choices now but nothing I can do to change them. I'm headed out to run the PTA table at the school for another 5 hours...ugh! And then I would like to hit the gym for a good hour. I think my body is screaming for it!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Good morning ladies~ Well I made it through day 10 and I'm onto day 11. I went to my 3rd OA meeting last night, and really enjoyed it. I can't say enough how good I feel once I leave it. I just feel motivated and full of life....not to be corny or anything!LOL! I took Mattie to the doctor yesterday and found out she has strep. No wonder the little thing is miserable. I just thought since Kyle had the fever for 5 days she had the same thing, but hers was not getting better, so I'm glad I got her in and on some meds. She is feeling a lot better today she said. Of course she won't go to school again today. I tell ya I love me kids to death, but after Kyle being home all last week and now her all this week I'm going a bit crazy. It's like I can't just get done what I need to get done. Last night Kev and I got into bed at 9:30...we were both beat. I did read for about and hour, but it felt good to just be in bed with peace and quiet I told Mattie today we would try a recipe out of her new cookbook....she is really excited. We'll do that once her little brother goes to school though, otherwise he takes over and she gets really mad I had a great workout at home yesterday, and today is the gym for me. I'm so happy tomorrow is Friday...this has been a week to say the least!

Melissa- Those darn chips get the best of me everytime...I can't stop eating them once I start! Move on though and just have a kick butt workout tonight

Andi- I do the same thing when I run...I sound like I'm going to die! It is not the most attractive thing to be next to me on the treadmill while I'm trying to run!LOL! You'll get there...it takes practice

Laura- Great job at dinner last night...

Melissa73- Ahhh pizza...great job on staying within your points. With pizza that would be hard for me Day 68....I can't wait to say that~

Counting- I love JCP...good luck finding something~

cakses- I hope your son is feeling better soon. This sickness is insane this year!

Jen- I hope your leg feels better soon. Those bruises can be really tender! I tell ya I used to workout at 5:30 am and I always felt great for the day, but since winter hit, I can't get out of my warm bed and go outside that early Maybe once the weather gets warmer I can do that again.

DK- I would love that weather...I'm missing my bike!

Emily- Great job on getting those runs in..keep up the good work~

Have a great day ladies~

Hello Ladies!
Since I had a taste of sugar last week, I cannot seem to stay on track. I'm hoping one day to be able to have a little taste of some things like sugar and not overdo it, but for now I can't.

I have had a headache and sore throat for the past few days. I've been trying to go to bed early to try to avoid getting even sicker. I hope I don't get the crap that's been going around. I've been exercising some but not too much.

Good morning! I started my day with exercise! Yay! I wanted to exercise even longer than I did, but my daughter was dragging her feet about getting ready for art class. I had to keep her on track. It still felt good to get the day started right.

Tina--I'm glad you found out what was wrong with Mattie. Poor thing! Strep is painful. She should get better quickly on the antibiotics. Way to go with OA! I'm so proud of you!

Melissa73--You are doing so great staying OP. You're an inspiration to everyone!

Andi--Great job on staying OP and doing C25K!

Melissa--Don't get down on yourself about the food choices. Just get back on that OP horse and keep going! You can do this! I love that you burn 3.5 calories by laughing! We need to keep a good sense of humor on this journey.

Laura--What a great idea for saving money on clothes. Thanks for sharing. Great job on dinner.

Karen--I hope you feel better quickly. The stuff going around is a doozy so I hope you don't have it.

Rennie--Thanks for having such a great attitude about everything. Congrats on being biggest loser this week. You are so consistent and steady on this journey. I find that very inspiring. Thanks!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!