It's Friday! Yeah!!!! It's my weekly pizza splurge night! YEAH!!! I've already managed to do my pilates this morning.. and will do the rest of my exercising this afternoon.... so today WILL be a great day!

Julie... you can go to the South Beach Diet thread and view the FAQ thread and on there you can get a ton of info regarding Phase I and Phase II foods to eat and to avoid. You could probably get by without buying the book. I have mine loaned out right now... And regarding my motivation.... well... I am a type of person that when I finally, and I do mean FINALLY get into the groove... I do really really great. I have a couple of short term goals to keep me motivated... mainly my friend is coming in next week, and then he will be back at Thanksgiving. So that was my "alan goal" and my "thanksgiving alan goal". Then I have New Years eve set as another goal, that is when I would LOVE to go out on the town, but right now, not sure if I will get that chance.. and it's my youngest's birthday. I think I can have 80% of my final weight goal OFF by then!!! So I am excited by that prospect! It just keeps me focused and going. Besides.. I am also that single mom, in the dating scene person... I don't have a wonderful DH or SO and I just want to feel better about me and my body before I really get back out there and start dating.

So those are my motivations!

Anyway... time to get to work.. I have two payrolls running Next week and I am not where close to being ready. :-)

Cherie

Thank goodness it is Friday.

The banquet was great! I ended up getting another puppy. She is so cute but was havn't found a name for her yet. We are trying to stick with the mythological names and it is not very easy finding on the fits her. I will post some pics whne I get home. It was dark when we got home last night so we coulnd't get any good ones. Echo is still trying to get used to her.

I did make Joe take a few pics of me but I didn't look at them yet b/c we were in a hurry to leave so he just clicked a few and then we ran out the door. I will post those later too.

Of course i am in a good mood today b/c of the new addition plus I am getting off at 12:15 today. (doin' a little dance in my chair)

Noelle i would be the first person to go see Jacks if I was that close. I mean you guys are friends here you could be great friends in person.

Cherie what time do you end up going to bed? You always talk about putting your kids to bed and then working out. I was just wondering if you are a night owl.

Jacks I love little bunnies. They just freakl out on me when I pick them up and in turn I freak out too. Maybe it is because I am not used to being around them. Got any pics of the baby?

Julei my hats off to you for doing low carb. I am not able to keep that up for very long.

Angie one of our members had a tummy tuck last year and she looks great. She look better and better all of the time. I think that gave her a new found sense of motivation.

Hey everyone! Happy Friday!!!!

Kempy I am so happy for you. Is it another lab? What color is she? I love them when they are puppies. Can't wait to see your pics! Kempy about the low carbing, it is just the only way I can seem to lose the weight. I hope to lose another ten pounds and then start adding in some carbs..I just love my peanut butter sandwiches and popcorn and fruit.

Cherie thank you for the info about the sbd thread I will have to check that out. I give you all the credit in the world for being a single mom. My mom was too for awhile until she married stepdad and I just know it was not easy on her at times. That is great your taking care of your fitness and health. It is important to take care of you.

Hello to everyone. Check in later. Julie

Kempy.. congrats on the new addition to your family!! Can't wait to see pictures!

As for my evenings.. I have a very routine/strict schedule laid out for the girls and I. This seems to be the only way I can stay on track.

I get up at 5:45, roll out of bed and do the 20 minute pilates. Take a shower, get the girls up, we get dressed, things together and are out of the house by 7:00 AM. I work 7:30 to 4:00 (30 min. lunch) I am back at my apartment complex by 4:15, and I do an hour on the treadmill (I change before leaving work) at 5:15, I go pick up the girls, we come home, I make dinner and we usually have eaten by 6:00 PM. 7:00 PM is bath time for the girls, I do my second pilates or abs tape while they are in the bath. They change, we read books and I tuck them in to bed by 8:00 PM. (they are only 3 and 5 so this isn't too early). I wait about 30 minutes, then I go to the fitness room to do my 45 minutes on the ellpitcal machine. I take my walkie talkie with me, the other one is on my bedside. The fitness room is literally right down stairs, and Hannah knows how to use the WT if she wakes up and there is a problem. So far, they have slept right through all my workouts. I get back to the apartment, take a shower, relax for a little while, and normally I go to be between 10:30 and 11:00 PM. So no, I am not a night owl. Just highly motivated and organized! :-)

Cherie

Julie, thanks.... this has been one of the hardest things I have ever done.. Be a single parent, and the other parent is in another state. I don't ever get a break, and on somedays, I just want to scream and ask what was I thinking???? But I love my girls, and they are my entire world right now. I want to be healthy for them and for me. I want to show them how to live a normal healthy life, full of exercise and activity, and not to get hung up on dieting and food like I did growing up. So, now that is something I have control over, and together all three of us are working at it. It's sad when a 5 yr old says she wants to lose weight. :-( So, we get out as often as we can to go play at the park or go skate in the parking lot.....

Anyway.. thanks again... One day I would love to be married again, but gotta find someone who will love my girls as much as I do!!

Cherie

Happy Friday! It's almost the weekend and I don't have any plans, well, except weighing in tomorrow morning at WW. Think I lost maybe a pound , but it's better than gaining a pound right? This process is infuriatingly slow, but you know what? I'm eating a lot more than I have been and I FEEL healthy and strong. I just FEEL lighter. Hehe, the body's bound to catch up eh?

Kempy, how exciting to have a new puppy! Is she a yellow like Echo? There's a very handsome yellow lab named Kalani that walks in the same neighborhood I walk in. He always looks like he's smiling (if that's possible). I like the way you name your pets. How 'bout Gaea? (she was Mother Earth, the daughter of Chaos).

Jacks, what's your bunny's name? It's weird but I don't know if I ever told you girls before, we actually have 2 rabbits at our house. A small black dwarf female named Ebony (Ebby for short) and a large white albino I don't know what kind of rabbit, that my niece found at the local park/gym not too many months ago. My sister calls him Jimmy (because we found him at the Gym ) . He was a bit dirty when we found him, but my sister grooms him at least once a week with the dog slicker, and all that dirty fur came off and now he's pure white. He's about 3X as big as the dwarf and eats 5X as much as she does. He even eats whole bananas with the skin in addition to apples, carrots, rabbit food, you name it, he'll eat it.

Cheri you're a great mom--and super organized! It's great that you're taking care of yourself and setting that example for your girls. You rock.

Angie how ya hanging today? My sister's JRT Koa (about 15 lbs) got into the middle of a scuffle between her 50 lb yellow lab Rusty, and 90 lb German Shepherd/Bull Terrier mix, Max. Max picked Koa up by the scruff of his neck and tossed him. He didn't get hurt, but I was amazed that he would even jump in the fray! I guess he doesn't care about the size difference

Julie, what part of the states do you live in? I don't know if you posted it before or if I just forgot...are you on the east coast or midwest? You can kind of tell where we live by the times we post on here. By the time Jacks and I pop in, most of you have already had lunch and are planning dinner. Hmmm, what's for dinner today?

Dips, hope you made it home OK! When's Disneyworld???

Well, got to get back to work. Hello to everyone else--Chris and Holly, (give us a holler!), Sandy, Tonya, Summer, Emily, JackieO, redballoon...

Noelle good luck on your weigh in tomorrow, I bet you will do just great girl! Its wisconsin, and for supper tonight its probally grilled salmon. Maybe with a salad and a veggie. Trying to keep those carbs low for a couple of weeks!

Hey Angie where ya been? I hope you are having a great day.

Cherie you are welcome. Your girls will appreciate and respect you with thanks when they are older. I know I didn't realize how hard it was on my mom to be a single parent until I was an adult. Being a mom is the hardest yet most rewarding job in the world.

Can't wait to see the pics Kempy.

I better get supper on. Take care everyone and I will check in later!

Btw Kempy what did you think of my costume of idea?

Today was a little busy here. For some reason it is pretty busy still. I am not *****ing though because I can use every penny I can get. Plus I have Brits party tomorrow so I have to bake the cake and clean the house etc.

Okay, I missed so much that personal replies will be hard but here goes...If I miss anyone it wasnt on purpose really.

Cherie, I made pizza tonight too. YUM. mushrooms,onions and green peppers. You have a very hectic schedule girl. My hat is off to you. I hope you can find the right guy for you and your girls someday. Me and Jay have always said that if we ever split up then the new spouse would have to be liked by the kids or we wouldnt get involved at all.

Kempy, A PUPPY!!!!! I am so jealous!!! A lady by us has Cairn Terrier puppies right now and I would love to have one so bad but I am too poor to buy another pup right now. I am a terrier girl I guess. If it is a little butthead then I want it. I want pics as soon as you can get them. Echo is going to love having another dog around while you guys work.

I think a tummy tuck would do that for me too. I need a little bit of confidence.

Jacks, We used to have bunnies when I was little. I love rabbits. If you can we would love to see a pic. We used to let ours stay in the house too.

Noelle, I think you are doing great!! You are really motivated. When do you leave for vacation? Rebel loves big dogs. They are his favorite. When he was 8 weeks old he was the size of a beanie baby and my mom brought her Rottie over to see him. I was so scared because she could have litterally swallowed him. He loves her so much and he drives her bananas whenever she is here.

I broke down and had two huge brownies at work today. One of our managers is leaving and we had cake and browines and cookies for her. I haven't really had anything good and chocolatey in a while, and today.... I ate them knowing that I shouldn't have. I was at first just going to have one half of a brownie.... and that would have been enough... but instead... I had TWO..... sigh.... I did go do my treadmill for an hour... and because I ate them so late in the day... it started upsetting my tummy..... I feel so bad right now. So moral is. Chocolate Brownies are NOT good for you. So... I am not having pizza tonight. I have done enough damage. Right now, I don't even feel like eating... but if I do, I will be reaching for the tuna instead. This weekend I will try and figure out how I can burn off the extra browine weight. I know each one of these things had to have at least 1000 calories! They were THAT GOOD then. Not now... I just feel.... EWWWWWW.

Ang.. your pizza sounds great.... have a piece for me. I am heating up a frozen pizza for the girls... they won't care. And I won't be tempted to eat it. Brought two of the cookies home for them, so they will be excited about the treat.

Julie.. you are right again. Being a mom has been my most challenging and favorite job in the world... It's great!!! Lots of rewards.... my 5 year old was trying to take care of me this afternoon cause I felt so bad. Bless her heart.

Noelle.. good luck with your weigh in!!! I know you will do great... and isn't that a wonderful feeling!!! YOU are doing a GREAT JOB!!!

Ok.. time to feed the girls.... timer is going off!

Cherie

Here is a pic of the new baby. I think we have settled on Reha

Here she is again.

She looks a little happier in the one. I think she may have just been tired.

Rhea is Sooooooo CUTE!!! Echo looks like a perfect big sister. You are very lucky to have 2 beautiful girls.

(the hubby ain't bad either )

Thanks Noelle. I can't believe I spelled her name wrong in the first post. What a mother I am.

I think I will keep them all. Including the human on.