Good Morning all,

I't a cool, foggy morning, and I feel the rain in the air. It's rained every day last week and starting in on this week too. At least we're not getting the storms that were predicted for the south. I had to work all weekend. I decided this time that getting home at 8 and trying to do dinner and everything that goes with it was just too much. I thought maybe I would have a dinner this weekend, but it's DGD's communion, so that doesn't work out either. And I was informed by the kids yesterday (I babysit Monday and Tuesday) that they really didn't need any more candy, they got way too much. So I guess it's gift cards and money for Easter this year instead of baskets. Maybe i'll put it in an egg and hide it so it will resemble Easter at least a little. So many posts I can't even begin to answer all. I'm so glad we have such an active group.

Freda

We stayed in Delaware, Ohio last night We will be leaving here and heading to Effingham, Illinois today. Right now the sun is shining but it is very windy. Not a whole lot of fun when you are pulling an RV. Praying that we have safe weather to travel in today. Then one more day of travel and we should be home Wednesday evening. These tornado alerts are sure scary though. Try to touch base again tonight if we are at a spot that has wifi. Have a good day everyone

Good Morning all.

Last night my kids called and asked to come over and play monopoly on the wii. It was fun and it was a great boost for my mood. They will only be here for a few more days so it is nice to spend all the time with them that I can.

I woke early and I was feeling a little tired but I did my strength training workout and I feel good about getting that done. Strength training is definitely my least favorite but I always feel a sense of accomplishment and I am pleased by how much my strength has improved.

Mary, I wish you safe travel!

My DIL is taking me shopping after work today because I have almost nothing to wear. She is much better at shopping than I am.

Have a great day!

One more gone One more gone and I did my workout tape this morning even though I was whining about it So YAY! for me Have a good day all, I'm off to work and I'll catch up on all the posts this evening

Hello, and here we are starting yet another week…my nine vacation days are, alas, behind me, and I’m back in my office <sigh> Well, I’ll be working straight out now until Memorial Day weekend, and then dh & I will be in the White Mountains with our goofy group of friends, and THEN, on Friday, June 3, when I get out of work, we’ll be heading to Rhode Island for a week at the beach. I am hoping desperately for good weather for that week. We’ve had nasty, rainy weather all weekend long, yesterday, and today, although it’s looking a little brighter out there now: I drove to work in a thick fog. Yesterday I was in Boston for meetings all morning, and then a meeting at Boston University to discuss hydroponic gardening and how we might incorporate that into the community center curriculum (and provide fresh produce all year long to the surrounding low-income neighborhoods at the same time). VERY interesting, and I needn’t have bemoaned my inability to ride my bike (and get some exercise for the day) because in order to get to our meeting in the chemistry lab, we had to climb about 150 outside stairs (in the rain – lucky I had an umbrella) which I managed to do, but not without considerable strain. Good grief! If I hadn’t been properly vetted by my doctors, who found nothing whatsoever wrong with me (except, I suppose, creakiness from lack of movement all winter long) I’d think I was on the verge of heart failure. I was pretty out of breath after climbing all those stairs while simultaneously clutching an umbrella, brief case and pocketbook. Guess I’d better do more climbing and try to increase my stamina. Or not. Gawd. That was horrific.
Congrats, TeaG on another pound gone….! I didn’t dare weigh in on Sunday as I usually do, because I went a little overboard during my vacation week – not terribly much, and I did do a lot of biking, which should have helped counteract some of my dietary slips – but I was afraid that if I had gone up a pound or some such, I would be discouraged and might then just give up, so I stayed away from the scale altogether and got back on the wagon on Sunday. Yesterday, with back-to-back meetings and all the stair climbing, I didn’t have time for breakfast OR lunch, and had grilled veggies – onions, peppers, mushrooms, Savoy cabbage, artichoke hearts – and chicken sausage for supper. So, my exercise should’ve easily countered whatever calories I ate. Not that I planned not to eat breakfast or lunch – I’m usually careful to make sure that I do eat both, just so I won’t be outrageously hungry at supper or want to snack after supper. Luckily, last night I was too tired to snack after supper….went to bed very early.
And congrats to you, Rie, on losing so much! Happy shopping! (One of my favorite activities, I’m afraid).
Omigosh, Karen31…such awful weather around the country! I’m sending very positive thoughts your way for safe traveling home. I hope you enjoyed your visit east, though.
Hi Freda – as you can see, my Easter was quiet and non-celebratory as well. I loved it! Delivered some gifts to the grandkids, and my dd pressed some pork tenderloin and veggies – and her award-winning macaroni & cheese - on me. Luckily she conceded to just fixing me a plate to go, and dh got home shortly after I did, so I shared with him. I swear this family always puts enough on a dinner plate to feed ten people. I guess they learned it from me, so I dare not complain!
Mary, I wouldn’t dare even try a diet that consisted of anything chocolate flavored! I’m such a chocoholic that I’d be out buying candy bars after drinking those shakes. The only way I can control it is to stay away from chocolate altogether. I’ve always envied folks who could have a little, and let it go at that. Not me.
Karen3, that book of your boy’s is really hot! Hey – you raised him. You get a very large percentage of the credit, right? So congrats! Oh, and sooo nice that your dh still has some charm. Mine does on occasion, and perhaps will more often once I’m retired, and have some of my own free time, but right now, not so much. In fact, having him away for the weekend gave me some much-needed space. He’s a good guy and I love him, but there IS such a thing as just too danged much face time, and that’s the truth!
Nancy, I have always loved, loved, loved riding a bike, and was devastated when mine was stolen a couple of years ago. Now that I have my new hybrid, I am happy to get out and pedal my little legs off! (And coast where possible, of course!) Oh, such pretty desserts! You did the decorations? Soooo pretty! I’m just no good whatsoever at that sort of thing. My attempts always look like they got left out in the rain or something…all blurred and uneven. Yours are bee-you-ti-ful!
PT, I know what you mean by the tummy-turning lapses when you haven’t had sweets in a while. Affects me the same way, but I just soldier on with it, and the next time I’m tempted (luckily not TOO often) I conveniently forget about the side effects!
Hi Bobbi – oh, everybody knows that you never hold onto anything you gain from temporary indulgences! I’ve never seen anybody who could discipline themselves like you do! I should learn from your example, huh? (I’m trying).
Sounds like your Easter day was a happy one, Rosey…and nice hearing from you, Lyn. Happy belated Easter from a fellow Massachoosetsian!
Hi Gayle! Happy belated Easter to you, too! I hope you had an enjoyable day, chickie!
Welcome, Nona, and Happy belated Easter, Lynn!
See you-all later, Gators!

Z

Morning everyone..its raining here.april showers bring may flowers geez i still have snow banks lol.congrat to all who have lost and wtg to all of us staying on track and exercising. i lost another 1#. nothing new to report.hope your day is awsome (((hugs))) rosey

Well so far I'm doing ok with the chocolate drink. It tastes great and I was afraid I'd over-indulge...I'm like you, Zoe...but the thing is this drink is SO filling! At least so far I'm doing ok. If it gets to be too tempting I'll get rid of it. Anyone who loves chocolate would like it I think. I hope the vanilla is just as good. Here's how I'm doing it....for breakfast I had the chocolate drink and ate a small banana. I was gone all morning so didn't have any snack. For lunch I had the chocolate drink and then ate a bowl of leftover beef vegetable soup and crackers. I was hoping it would keep me from eating the crackers (I had my usual 10!) but it didn't but now I feel like I'm about to burst!! My idea is that if I'm eating a completely healthy meal I will have the drink for dessert. If I'm eating something not so healthy...like the crackers...I'll drink it first to hopefully fill up. Well, we'll see how it goes. I have a huge appetite so I'm not totally convinced it will work but I'll will to try and it sure does taste good. And my bs today was good.

This is suppose to be my FREE day meaning I am not tied to many household tasks, but we got off schedule with our meals, so I did have to buy groceries today. Started out first though by going to my wonderful prayer group. Then went grocery shopping. Came home to put the groceries away and to have lunch and rest a bit. Now I'm about to go out again to get my hair cut. Tonight is Men and Women's Bible studies, so it's a full day. We are having leftovers for dinner so that's easy. I do have a little housework I need to do of course and will try and fit that in between things as I can...if not tomorrow is another day.

Rosey - We have always wanted to travel to Alaska but we don't like cold weather. When's the best time to come to avoid it...maybe June or July?

Jess - Believe me, I know the feeling! But if you keep on track, you might be surprised by a bigger loss down the road. It happens that way sometimes. Don't be like me and give up for a while and then take forever to get back down.

Zoe - Wow, I'm glad you made it safely up the stairs! Not sure I could. I notice when I go upstairs at the mall I get a little short of breathe and can feel my heart racing even though I workout at the gym at least 3x most weeks nine months of the year and walk 30 min most days the other 3 months.

Well, I'd better get up and get going before this day is over....

Hi Everyone! I weighed myself today instead of going to WW; the scales are the same. I'm down the pound I gained last week so I'm happy. Congrats. to all those that there are "less of"! Had a nice Easter ; had DD, SIL & his mom for dinner. Made everything out of the WW cookbook & barely had leftovers so it must have been good, eh? I did absolutely nothing yesterday (cause I can!). Today took Baxter for an hour walk, then drove a lady to her dr. app't (I'm a volunteer driver) & am now cleaning my area rugs. Well, taking a bit of a break between cleanings. Man do they ever get yucky........eeeeewwww. So I will be all self-righteous when I'm done! We have had sun & rain off & on all day but it isn't cold; supposed to get down to freezing tonight. Keep on keeping on, eh? TTYL

Well, we made it to our campground in Effingham, Illinois tonight. Sitting back and relaxing. There is a tornado watch out for here until 10:00pm but right now it is very nice. The trip today was pretty good-- had to fight the wind but only ran into a few showers. I saw on my facebook page that we have streets flooding at home. From what they showed it isn't near our house. Will be glad to be home tomorrow. Everyone take care and hopefully I can get caught up within the next week or so. Welcome to all the new Golden Girls. Catch you all tomorrow or the next day

Hello Golden Girls!

Just a quick note to update everyone. My shopping experience was stressful, fun, exhausting and amazing. DIL saved me as she led me through shopping. I kept wandering to the women's section and too large sizes but I got some really nice stuff that looks great.

Bella, I love your posts. They are wonderful.

Donna, I know how you feel, we have all been there. I am convinced that there is a loss headed your way. Hang in there darlin.

Mary, is that chocolate stuff a protein drink, a supplement or what? really curious.

Talk to you tomorrow Ladies!

Good Morning My Golden Girls,

Woke up this morning to the sound of rain on the roof. Pouring outside. I'll have to go outside to see if there are any stray cats or dogs (raining cats and dogs). This is the hardest I've seen it rain in a long time. My husband got the front lawn cut yesterday, finally. It's just been too wet. He had intended to do the back lawn today, so I guess that isn't going to get done any time soon. On the good side, it did warm up quite a bit yesterday. I walked to the grocery store and back, about 2 miles, in a short sleeve shirt. I wish I didn't have to get out in this today, by have to go to the funeral home this evening. My managers grandfather passed away.

Rie, what did you get on your shopping spree?

Karen31, Glad you made it to the campground ok. There were tornado warnings out here too. The kids were supposed to go to soccer practice last night but they were called off. Actually, we never got much in the way of bad weather at all though. It was holding off untill this morning.

Z, I love to ride my bike too. since we couldn't go to soccer last night, my DGD and I went for a bike ride. Not the marathon ride that you usually do, but I could still feel the burning in my legs. Great exercise! I walk the stairs at work for exercise too. Every time I do that I think about the firefighters at 911.

Sherry, Congratulations on the lost pound, and on making a dinner that was low calorie too. Not easy but it can be done, with some planning. I do it when I can. Did you tell everyone that the dishes were WW? I don't!

Mary, Yeah, I'm with the others, what kind of shake do you drink. And how many calories does it have. I'm not much for drinking my calories, but I can see making this and freezing it this summer. yummy!

Donna, hang in there girl. I don't know why that happens, but it does, too all of us i'm sure. I just think that my body isn't ready to turn those pounds loose yet, but it will. Just continue to do what you're doing and you will wake up one morning with everything cooperating! Trust me on this one.

Rosie, Congratulations on the loss! You are doing so well. Still getting your work out with those boxing gloves?

Tea, congratulations to you too! Seems like we had a pretty good week, weight wise, in spite of the holiday. Good for you for hanging in there. Not easy to do when you see everyone else eating at the holidays.

stay dry,

Freda

Hi Everyone,
It is a dreary, muggy Wednesday morning here. My AC is not working – REALLY needed it the last 2 days. For the past 5 years I’ve been putting Freon into it. I think it’s time to bite the bullet and get a new system.

I FINALLY got off the antibiotic – took my last dose yesterday. With any luck, I will stop feeling nauseous but hold onto the 2 lb. loss – unlikely that the latter will occur.

Today, I am meeting with my book club – discussing The Mistress of Nothing. I found it kind of boring. We read a lot of books about women and MANY have the same theme – women are abused and they endure.

Have a great day, Everyone,

Lynn
Hi Freda,

Even though my DD is almost 50 (she will be 48 in February), I still think about making her an Easter basket. I also refrained – she and her DH are on diets & I didn’t want to sabotage them. But I agree with you. Doesn’t seem like Easter without chocolate bunnies.

Hi Karen,

Our weather station keeps reporting on tornadoes across the country. Safe travel.
Hi Rie,

I don’t think we’ve met before. I have been pretty scarce. WELCOME!

Hi Tea,

DoInG tHe HaPpY dAnCe for you!!!!!!!

Hi Zoe,

The ½ marathon was in a nearby park that is VERY hilly. I trained in that park for over a month before the marathon. Did not really increase my ability to do those hills without getting out of breath. During the marathon, I was gasping so loudly that my DD was afraid I was having a heart attack. Climbing is just HARD!

Hi Donna,

Try a low-carb diet for a few days & drink LOTS of water. Always gets me started again when I’ve hit a plateau.

Hi Rosey,

How are you doing with your exercising? Any new activities?

Hi Mary,

Just try to make sure you are getting enough protein. I know what you mean about the drinks filling you up. I keep Atkins chocolate drinks around. One container replaces a meal for me.

Hi Laff,

Congratulations on the loss & on your volunteer driving. I think that volunteering is good for the soul. My 2011 New Year’s resolution was to spend less time on my laptop playing Spider Solitaire. To accomplish this, I decided that I needed to do something for my body, something for my soul, and something for my brain. I started training for a half-marathon (walked it a month ago – now starting to train for another one in June); I started volunteering with the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society; and I enrolled in a course at a local community college.

Strangely, since then, my whole approach to eating/dieting changed. I stopped weighing myself multiple times/day; I stopped recording every bite I ate; I started eating a lot less (I’m just not hungry); and I started losing weight again. I am really wondering if “feeding” my body/soul/brain satisfied my “hunger” for too much food?

However, now that I am eating so few calories, I need to get more careful about my carb/protein/fat intake. I know that I have been drifting toward carbs and away from protein – NOT a good idea for me. Oh well – we know this is a lifelong process. No one ever said it would be easy!

Good Morning, I've got so many emails to read this morning and I have no time. I just wanted to post this article about all you cat/dog lovers out there. Not only did I get one today from this site but Dr. Weil had one also today. His site shows pictures of his two dogs. Real Age also has a few really good mind booster games to play to keep our memories fit. I play spider solitare and do a couple of crossword puzzles daily to ward off dementia/alzheimers. Hope it pays off.

Morning, all…started out foggy and damp again, but the sun is already out, and the wf’s are promising a warm sunny day here in the land of way too much snow & rain. Yesterday turned out well, too, and at lunchtime, a few of my co-workers and I dragged a picnic table from its shady spot next to the building over onto one of the parking lot medians where the sun was brightest and warmest. Enjoyed a long, cheerful lunch and were loathe to go back to our respective offices. And now I’m regretting that I didn’t get my spring/summer clothes out of storage and get my winter clothes stored away while I was on my vacation. It just wasn’t very pleasant weather, and even when sunny, was windy and chilly. Quite a turnabout this week, which, having lived in New England all my life, you’d think I would have been prepared for. So, I’m a little pressed for exactly what to wear these days – have some transitional stuff that will tide me over until the weekend, when I hope to at least get started with the changeover, but after such a long, ugly winter, I am really, really anxious for some “official” acknowledgements of springtime, and one of the best – or at least most visible – is changing into lighter weight clothes.
Freda, interesting that you should mention 911 – I spent two weeks at Ground Zero right after the attacks doing grief counseling with firefighters, police, and other first responders. I still get notes from some of them. I have never experienced anything like that – the whole atmosphere was like those videos of third world war zones that you see on the news. I gave my gas mask – or whatever you call those thingamajigs – to my granddaughter, and she has kept it, along with my logo jacket. Maybe someday it will be of historical interest to some of my descendants? She seems to think so. I do have to say that those firefighters – and police – and the people with teams of search dogs and such – were among the bravest folks I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with. Brave – and at the same time, so sad at all the lost lives and devastated families.
Well, on to more recent endeavors…these days, I’m afraid I think more about retiring than I do about getting things accomplished at my job, or even in the community. We’ve been through some tough times as a family – with dh being forced into retirement and the changes that we had to make as a result; the twins being born so prematurely (thank God they’re now thriving!); my daughter (their mom) being diagnosed with MS – and fighting her way into remission through some very stringent dietary changes, exercise/yoga, and sheer will power; my son coming back to Massachusetts to live and his upcoming wedding…oh, lordie, there are so MANY things that it would take a book to document everything, but suffice it to say that I am looking forward with great anticipation to retirement, and although there ARE some things I very definitely will want to pursue, I’m thinking that for the first six months or so, I might just want to happily vegetate and accomplish absolutely nothing whatsoever.
Hmmmm. I sure seem to be running on here, don’t I? Sorry for the flood of words.
PT, are you eating ENOUGH? You know that when you cut back too much, your metabolism goes on auto-pilot, right? My only other thought is to say that I seem to get the best results from juggling my calories up and down over the course of the week (the original Wendie Plan) because it seems to keep my metabolism guessing. Of course, I’m no expert, as is demonstrated by my many trips up and down the scale. There are other Golden Girls who have been much more successful at taking off – and keeping off – the pounds. Girls?
Good going on dropping those pounds, Rosey and Sherry! I’m hoping to report some more loss myself next Sunday!
Yes, Rie, DO tell us what you bought! (I need to stop buying….somebody handcuff me, please!)
Karen31, continued thoughts and prayers for your safe passage home.
Mary, I’m sure you’d have gotten up those stairs far better than I did. It was almost embarrassing to be huffing and puffing the way I was doing. I HAVE to get myself in better shape!
Hello and happy Wednesday to everybody else! See ya later, Gators!

Z