Hello my dear ladies!

I have been MIA lately. Honestly, it's tough adjusting to this shift change. Not the sleep patterns, but trying to get everything done. I feel like I need to be Superwoman (actually, I like Wonderwoman because she had a cooler costume!) and I just am not finding time to get certain things accomplished. i.e. posting and journaling.

I had my friend pick up the new WW flex points package. I am going to study that this weekend. It's Wednesday and I forgot to weigh in. Gosh, I am such a numbskull lately.

All you ladies are having the same issues as I am right now. Although, my food choices haven't been that bad. I know that once Halloween is done the candy will go away and I won't have that temptation.

I did give myself a present. I had my hair cut and colored last night, my regular appointment. I told her to cut off three inches and we dyed it darker, almost a honey brown color. I have been hi-liting it for the past four years, so it was really blonde. I turn that naturaly blonde color in the Summer, but it was nice having it year round. Now I am back to more of my natural color in the Winter time. I love it and everyone is freaking out over it. Most of the people here at work never saw it the way it was before because they are all new employees. Kinda fun.

Raven: Sounds like your plate is full! How is the puppy situation? Mine are doing better and Buster is growing. I finally got the home computer fixed, so I am going to take a picture of them and hopefully get it posted within the next week. Peanut is still so small.

Lucky: I tried SBD but couldn't deal with the restrictions. Just a mind set that I am trying to overcome. They did have a lot of wonderful recipes, though. Good luck to you with that.

Hippy: Howdy. Have you lost more? I think my hubby would have done better with Phase II, but he has a habit of not eating all day and then overeating at dinner. I am using WW recipes and trying to control his intake.

Jolly: Girl, please don't take those diet pills if you have any health issues. I started to take the Xenadrine about two years ago and couldn't figure out why I felt I was on Speed. Plus, I had a lot of heart "fluttering". They made me feel like I was having a heart attack. Just be real careful, because there have been several people that have died taking those. Don't take any with Ephedra, Ma Huong or Bittersweet Orange. They all trigger heart problems from what I have read. Please, please, please be careful! GOOD LUCK ON YOUR INTERVIEW!!!

I better scoot!

Chach

Hey!!!

Lucky, I can't beileve you have snow! I can't wait for it to get cold enough to snow here. We are looiking at the upper 70"s the next 7 days. Jordan thought it was just grand picking out the ring. We were walking out of the jewelers and he looked down at me, smiled and said, Mom, it must be rough being short!! I'm 5'6" so I'm really not short he's just extremely tall.

Somedays I feel like this dieting is getting the best of me. Hubby has give up, well, not totally but he doesn't do so well when I'm not around to make choices for him. I'm finding it very difficult to make good choices for myself. I'm working really hard to get out of this slump. I didn't buy candy to give out Halloween because I would eat it myself!! Instead, I bought the mini bags of microwave popcorn to pass out. They are so cute, orange bags with Casper on them! I get terribly stressed out this time of year. Though the holidays are my favorite time of year it's so stressful to try to get the money in order to buy gifts for the ones that we buy for. Not to mention that Jordan has gotten very expensive to buy for. Blah, Blah, Blah....Whine, Fuss and Gripe!! Okay I feel better. Oh, just one more complaint! I am having a hard time getting my water in because it's been chilly here and I don't want cold water! I guess I'll be sucking it down the next few days. The water is a life saver for me as far as keeping me full and energetic.

So glad to hear that your kids have got plans for Halloween, how cute they are all dressed up! I guess Jordan and I will pas out popcorn! I'll be the hated lady on our road!!!!!

Talk to you girls later!!

Hi all. Real quick post before I am off to a meeting (groan) and my interview Then two more meetings. And I work 3rd shift tonight, so will try to post more then. I am wearing a great new suit, compliments of my best friend. My makeup is good, my hair as good as it gets. I have had my morning dose of chocolate. All I can do now is go in confident, listen carefully, answer thoughtfully, and pray.

Hippee, you won't be the hated one on the street. The person that gives out raisens, or toothbrushes - those are the ones that get tp'd. I hear you on the holidays too. Rough times.

Chachee, glad you are back! I can't wait to see puppy pictures. I hope things settle down soon, and you feel bette about 1st shift.

See you tonight.

OK. The thread ate my post. The thread ate my post.

Good morning all. Night owl checking in. I actually like doing the occasional 3rd shift. It gives me a chance to catch up on all the little things I like to put off during the daytime hours The only bad thing is all the eating I do to stay awake On a good note, I did make it to the gym yesterday morning, and did my weight work out, and did almost all of a kickboxing workout yesterday afternoon. Probably won't make it today, with the third shift.

I hope everyone is well. I am just trying to stay sane until I hear about the interview. I am not sure how it went - it seemed short. They said they would decide next week. Now I just have to stop second guessing how I should have answered the questions.

In case I don't get a chance to go online later today - have a fantastic weekend all.

Hello all

Jolly that is great that you looked your best - great hair and makeup. I slept in and was late for work to find my boss waiting for me.

Told him my car wouldn't start as I was only 5 minutes late - but with slept on hair and no makeup
Not only was the hair slept on but I had it cut the night before and she did the flip up thing with it and when I got home my DH asked me if the hairdresser was mad at him to send me home like that. Both kids had a little fit at him in my honor. So I could only imagine what the boss thought. I take refuge in the fact that he took me out for lunch so he couldn't have been to offended by my rumpled appearance.
The boss will be back next Thursday so I can only look better for then. Unless I sleep in once again.

Hope your interview went well. Now time will drag on for you until you hear back.

Chachee we have a little runt named peanut also. He rules the roost. You will have to include you with your new hair in the pictures you post. Wonderwoman would make a great halloween costume. Good thing it is way to cold here to dress up in something like that as my excuse would have to be "Wonderwoman in the funhouse mirror"

Hippy don't worry about the popcorn, that would be a great treat and it is in halloween packages. Kids and moms will love it. Someone once again went to all the trouble of making popcorn balls and handing them out. I don't know why because those are the first things to go into the garbage because the kids can never remember what house they came from. (No address in the bag) Went to one house and they got toothbrushes. Who do we think lived in that house? Well shortie, it must be hard looking up to the son! What they never seem to get is that they might be taller but we can still take em down!

Raven how was your week? Did your kids go out last night? Did you end up out helping with the horses or did you say no and have fun with the kids? Cody asked me how old was to old to go out I said don't worry you have a baby brother so you can still go out for awhile. As long as you dress up and have a little one your ok.

Happy how is your course going? Hope all is well with you also.

Have a great weekend everyone.


Kathy

Hey Girls!

Jolly, hope you hear great news about the new job!

Halloween is over and I had 1 trick or treater. I was kind of relieved.

Thursday and Friday were rough days. My youngest brother left his wife and he is now here. She called me Thursday when he left trying to score points. My nephew was sitting in her lap crying and the whole time she was on the phone she was bashing my brother in front of his child. I have a very bad temper so I was trying to stay silent so I didn't add trouble to my brother's turmoil but she said something about Jordan and called him my f***ing kid and that's all it took. We had it out. All I know is she better be glad she was on the phone and not in my face. Anyway, Chris, my brother will be staying with us for awhile. It's actually nice, we are very close. He so dearly loves his little boy who is only 5 and so confused. It's about to rip Chris's heart out but he knows this decision will be better in the long run. I just hate to see such pain in people. The wife is one of those that you can never please. It just doesn't matter what you do it's never enough. I'm just glad his whole life won't be wasted with her. He is only 27 so he has plenty of time to rebuild his life and be happy

Today I will be busy rearranging and so on to try to make room for 1 more. We have a VERY small 2 bedroom house and it's cramped with just the 3 of us but we will make room.

I have been trying to watch what I eat and get my water and my workout in daily and I have done ok but to be honest, right now those things seem to be far from what's on my mind.

November all ready girls!!! It's in the 70"s here. I'm ready for cold November weather.

Jolly, Raven, Cathy, Happy, Chach.....Did I miss anyone? Hope you all have a great day!

It's me again! I keep forgetting to ask you all if you watch Dr. Phil's weightloss challenge? Just wondering because he said in the beginning that you don't have to count points or drink shakes............now he has himself plastered on diet bars and shakes that are called Shape Up. What in the **** is he thinking? I know his things are suppose to ward off cravings and so on but I find it interesting that he doesn't suggest bars and shakes and so on but must cash in on a bit more money! Must be **** to be a know it all. Hope I didn't offend any Dr. Phil lovers, just find his way of thinking very amusing!

Hey Ladies... Happy weekend.

I'm sorry about not posting much. I'm pretty much in the same boat I was in foodwise, waterwise, and exercisewise. I think I need to take a step back and figure out what's going on in my head. So for now, I'm not going to worry about my "diet" if you will. That's just more stress right now that I don't need. I need to resolve a bunch of other stress things before I can commit again to working out and eating all the right foods (which takes so much planning, it seems). Time is at such a major premium right now, and everything in my life is a high priority, so there isn't much of anything I can eliminate to create time for working out, etc.

Hippy - I used to think Dr. Phil had some good answers, but anymore he just seems to come off as a self righteous know-it-all. And by selling out to the almighty diet and weightloss market, I've lost any respect I might have had for him. Now he's just another peddler going for the buck. IMO, anyway.

We didn't have NEAR as many trick or treaters this year. Which is not good, since I bought enough candy for what we had LAST year. Great... now I have all this stuff sitting here, plus what my kids got. My daughter felt a bit awkward out there, being as tall as she is several people commented on her being my son's mother. *cough* But her costume was really cool - we did the winter vampire with silver fangs and frost and the whole bit... I hope the pics turned out good, I'll post them if they did. Machine was the gory murder victim with a knife through his head and a blood plastered t-shirt and blood all over his head where the knife "went in." I guess Nickie's old art teacher from school disapproved of how gory Machine looked. It's halloween, woman, get over it. Well, she's the same one who said my daughter looked like the "devil's daughter." *sigh* But they had a good time. It dawned on me last night as I watched them leave that it was the first halloween that I didn't go out with them. Wow. I missed going out. So next halloween.... get this.... hopefully by then I'll have my truck and trailer, so we want to bring in the horses. I'll dress my beautiful white (almost) boy up as a unicorn, and Nickie might go as the headless horsewoman. Shadow is so dark that she'd look awesome with Nickie up there in a long black cape carrying a pumpkin under her arm. It wouldn't be a long ride, obviously, cuz that pumpkin would get heavy after a while, but I think it would be awesome. I just hope the neighbors don't mind. They have a parade around the main circle of the subdivision with the fire engines and the cop cars.. maybe we could be in that parade.

Jolly - Good luck on the job!! I really hope it works out for you. I know from recent personal experience that not getting something like that can hit pretty hard. I'm trying to roll with it, but it's not easy. So hang in there, ok? I'll say a prayer or two for you, myself.

Chachee - Want another puppy?? *hopeful look* I'll trade you yours for mine! *heavy sigh* I'll get Artemis trained eventually. I hope. I'm so glad your little babies are doing well, they are just as cute as can be. I know the time thing is a killer, but hopefully you'll be able to get your schedule under control soon.

Lucky - Are you happy with your hair? I can't decide whether to keep mine short now or let it grow out again. It is wonderful to have short hair for the convenience, but... I kind of miss the length sometimes. I did stay home, and I'm glad I did. But we're making up for it by taking care of the farm tonight and tomorrow morning while Rosa and Jeff go visit her parents down in south GA. That way Nickie and Machine still get their lesson on Monday for free. Which is a good thing, because I sure as heck don't have enough money to cover it. Bleh.

*hugs* to everyone - I hope everyone is having a good, relaxing weekend!!

Good Morning all

Just a quick little note

Hippy I am sorry for what your brother is going through. That will make it very hard for the family. For your SIL to say something inexcuseable like that about Jordan shows she must have some big jealously issues. She must not have been getting the reaction she wanted from you and knew that she would get it if she insulted him! Did you get along with her when they were happy together?
I just have to tell you that Cody got some full size microwave popcorn and he was very happy. He informed us that it was his and we were not NOT to touch it but we could help ourselves to the rest.

I am fine with my hair. I really don't suit the flippy look. I had fairly long hair but I have slowly got it shorter and shorter. Now I am in the process of letting it grow again. Although I will have to start coloring it as the gray is starting to show. Oh and when I did my hair the usual way Mark did complement me. Hope the pictures turned out of the kids I can't wait to see them. Raven isn't you taking care of the farm for a weekend worth a FEW free lessons? Thats alot of work. Kristi would gladly help you. She loves doing that horse stuff.

Have a great day everyone.

Kathy

Good morning all. Very early. I picked up a 3rd shift again. I tried to find someone to cover it at the last minute, but I guess God knows my needs - and right now that is extra money . One of the cool things about my job is that even salaried people get premium pay if we cover shifts. other places I worked just considered salaried = owned!

I have to say, I am really glad you all are here. I so enjoy having you to "talk" to. I am kind of on my own little tangent tonight, so I apologize if I don't respond to all of you.

I agree about Dr. Phil - let's rake in the bucks however we can. He is so full of it. I love my best friend, but she is a total Oprah and Dr. Phil junkie. Too much!

Hippee, sorry you got caught in the crossfire with your brother. I hope things get better for him soon. Raven, I am glad the costumes turned out, even if they were "gory." I like your ideas for next year. I also agree with Lucky - if a weekend of barn patrol gets you one free lesson - you are working too cheap! Lucky, did you ever come up with another name for your new baby??

I finally started riding again this weekend. The place where I board was digging up the indoor arena for new footing. I am a little hesitant about riding my brat outdoors. So he between that and his colic, he has had about 3 weeks off. He was good Friday, but Saturday decided to be a jerk. Ah well. Plus, I found out how quickly your thigh muscles disappear when you aren't riding. I am SORE.

Not much else right now. I am trying to figure out what changes to make in my life, to get where I want to be. I really need to think on it.

Take care all, and have a great week

Hi everyone, sorry I've not been posting. I am in the camp with you struggling to find that motivation again. Life is crazy right now and I guess I'll use that as my excuse. My husband announced on the weekend he wanted to start a diet so I went and bought all the right foods. I picked up the carbohydrate Addicts Diet book this weekend and am trying to read it a bit at a time as I can - mostly when I'm eating, what does THAT say? But I do know I have a problem with carbs and I can't get into Aktins or SBD right now.

Must be that time to get the hair cut. I quite a bit hacked off 2 weeks ago - it's to the shoulders now and wants to flip out instead of under like it should. It's tinted red with blonde highlights. Now outrageous, just enough to put some color in this pale face of mine. But like Jolly for her interview, sometimes when you look back in the mirror and feel like you're looking pretty good, it's a nice feeling.

Hope things go well from the interview Jolly.

Dr. Phil. How disgusting. I opened the TV guide this week and there's a 2 page ad for his diet shakes and exercise tapes and I guess his new website. I was even considering buying his book but couldn't get to the store this weekend. That ad sort of cinched it - he's on my do not call list. He was on Jay Leno last week and Jay was quietly ridiculing him - asked him if his next book was going to be on how to grow hair. I just think he's cashed into the big time and compromised himself. Maybe we should all meet and go give him a big thump on the head.

Jolly if you feel you have to take a pill, take vitamins. Tell yourself each morning it 's a reminder to keep the day healthy. I find it's really hard to start a diet this time of the year. Cold weather, gray days and like the squirrels, all we want to do is eat, eat, eat.

Raven, your ideas for next Halloween sound so cool. I wish they'd just end trick or treat already. It's time has passed. We hardly had anyone too and I don't need this big bowl of candy calling out at me. I snarfed the Snickers and the rest of the stuff I bought things I didn't really like and packed them with the husband to the office.

Hippy, sorry to hear about your brother. It's great of you to be there for him now. And I'll take some of that 70's weather of yours if you can spare a few a few warm winds our way.

Well I'd better get to bed now. Hello to Lucky and Chachee too. Hang in there everyone!

Good Morning Girls! Just have a minute. Things around here have been very hectic. My SIL is doing everything she can to make my brotheres life a living ****. Calling, showing up at his work, not letting him talk to or see Alex. I'm in the process of helping him find a good lawyer so he can file and immediately get some visitation. Alex loves his daddy so much and I think it's pitiful that she is making him suffer because she is so desparate. Lucky, to answer your question, I have always tolerated her for the sake of Chris and Alex but we have never been close. We have had a few small run ins in the past because she has always treated us like we are beneath her. Her and her 2 kids from a previous marriage are the rudest people I have ever met. All she is ever worried about is her and her kids social status. My family on the other hand are just down to earth people. We like to get together, cookout, go camping, drink a few beers....just whatever but that lifestyly always disgusted her. Oh well, I'm just glad that Chris has realized all of this and is so ready t make a new life for himself.

I'm not doing well at all on eating and exercising or even drinking water. My biggest problem is I'm not eating 3 times a day and when I do I just grab something. OH, The woes of dieting!

Better get going, hope everyone is doing well. Talk to you soon!

Good morning all. I just have a short time to post today. We are doing a flu shot clinic for the group homes. Yikes.

I am going to give up my kickboxing contract for now. I am having serious problems with my ankle, and need to stick with low or no impact things. I just can't handle the pain. I will work hard at the gym.

Happy, glad to hear from you. I know how hard this time of year is for me too. especially with all this cold rain.

Hippee, I hope your brother has good luck with visitation rights. It is too bad the "lady" can't put aside her issues, for what is right for Alex.

Have a good day all.

Good morning everyone.

Its cold and gray outside. These are the days I have the most problems with snacking and snacking. Am home with a sick baby so it will be worse than usual.

Jolly sorry to hear about your ankle. But we will try to give you some motivation to work hard at the gym. Will you look foreward to going back to the kickboxing?

Hippy I feel for you. Your brother is lucky to have you for a sister. Your family sounds like my family (and probably most families) You know how to have a good time together and not waste time trying to be something we are not. Its pretty lonely out there when noone quite measures up to your social standing when you are with a bunch of great people that have more to care about. That is just too bad that she is going to punish Alex by not letting him see his dad. More and more dads are getting more rights to visitation and shared custody. I hope he gets a good lawyer.

Hi Happy, Is this the first time that your hubby has decided to go on a diet? I use that as an excuse as to why I don't succeed is because it is to hard to make something for me and something different for the rest of the family. Is the carb addicts book real different from SBD or Atkins? I have never watched Dr. Phil. He is always on when something else I'd rather watch is on, but one of the girls at work is doing his weight loss challenge. I was trying to read a little of his book, but didn't get past all the little self evaluation tests in it.

Hi Raven and Chachee. Hope all is well. How is Artemis doing? By the time you are done you won't want to find a permanent home for her! (him?)

Have a great day
Kathy

Hey all. Has everyone flown south for the winter? I feel a bit lonely here.

Well, Lucky, I did do my weight workout this morning. And 20 minutes on the Precor. I had to scrap the squats the trainer wanted me to do. Hurt the knee too much, but I did everything else. The gym I belong to does have a kickboxing class as well. I am going to stick to non impact workouts for right now, and start taking classes again when I feel my joints are healed enough. As for the martial arts studio. . . I am not sure. I like going there, but it seems to increase my esteem issues. I never feel quite good enough. So unless I need to deal with those particular issues first. Then we shall see. I am in agreement with you over the weather. I really don't want to do anything that doesn't involve food, a blanket, the t.v., and a couch. I hope your baby is feeling better soon.

I hope everyone else is ok. And we hear from you soon.