Hiya, guys!

We just returned from a day out - minus kids - for our anniversary. (Thanks for the good wishes, everyone!!) We went hiking on the Tennessee side of the mountains. We took the 1.5 mile trail up to the Walker Sisters' cabin in the Smokies. It was lovely - quiet and peaceful and such. Dinner afterwards was Carrabas (where we'd never eaten before) and BOY was it yummy! I had a salad with grilled scallops and shrimp on top.

Here's a photo of us at the start of our hike.

Happy Anniversary Jen, what a beautiful place you got to spend it in, too. Wish we could go hiking but still too much darn snow.

Feeling a bit wiped out today, increased my jog time again and it's finally enough that it makes my legs tired. My lungs are the weakest part of my bod, and now that they are finally getting into some kind of decent shape the rest is now feeling the work!! I think I'm giving the legs a break and taking the afternoon off from the spin bike, especially since I have Aikido tonight.

Just planning out loud - sometimes it helps:

Breafast: Harvest bread, 1 slice: 4 pts
Lunch: Tuna salad sandwich, fruit salad: 8 pts
Dinner: Tacos (Ground beef, lettuce, low fat cheese, FF flour tortilla) x 2, baked tostitos, salsa, fruit salad: 14 pts
Total: 26 pts

Okie dokie. I'm all set.

Here's a couple links to photos of what I conjured up this week. I bought one of those WW points braclets because, well, I think its a GREAT idea. But I rather hated the pearlesque look of the one I bought - so I whipped up two of my own. :-)

Here's one from porcelain beads: http://www.jenanne.com/mt-static/arc...uebracelet.jpg

And here's another from crystals: http://www.jenanne.com/mt-static/arc...rebracelet.jpg

Good morning!

This is my Friday! I'm taking off on Friday and Monday. DH and I are headed to Branson for the weekend. Tomorrow, he drives his morning route, I board the big dog, and pack and off we go by around 10 am. We don't have plans to do anything but veg out and occassionally go eat out. Our room has a jacuzzi for two - not that I plan on sharing but I do plan on soaking. I am so excited I can hardly make myself go to work. Jeez, its only Branson, not Hawaii. But anytime last year that we planned on a getaway, we either had to have surgery on Bear or was spending a few hundred on fence because of the dogs. I bet we spent a minimum of $3000 on the stupid animals last year between vet and fence. Woohoo!! I'm excited.

I've been holding my own this week. I've been tracking my food and exercising. While not at the level I'd really like; I've been busy so I've squeezed in where I could. Tonight, I plan on 60 minutes of cardio and will do something in the morning before we head out. I also am taking my walking shoes so that I look for the hotel gym or walk outdoors.

Jen - Loved the pics. You are very crafty! Looks like you've got a good plan for food.

Cynthia - How's aikido and the legs?

J-Ann - Where are you? Come out come out wherever you are!

I better get my butt out of this chair and off to work. I have four reviews to give today so I better be whipping up some enthusiasm for dealing with that.

Have a great OP day!

Well, didn't make it to WI last week since the meeting was cancelled due to snow. Ended up having three really bad eating days starting that day. Guess having my routine that messed up for that long brought back some old habits. But I got back OP Sunday and was able to show a respectable 3.4 lb. loss for the two weeks. I am focusing on Onederland now, figure I can do it in 6 weeks on Mother's Day, when I go to Phoenix to visit mine. I know I've got to dig deep because those bad habits want to hang around a bit longer. I was having a really hard time today, feeling blue because I wouldn't let myself gorge. Then I went online to the WW message boards and read about people struggling as well, and about their gains ! That was the wakeup call I needed and the day got easier. This is about the weight I was back in 1998 when I lost 63.5 lbs, then just let all the badness back in a gained it back. I WILL NOT let that happen this time. Okay, enough.

Jen - I really like the purple bracelet, maybe you should sell them on Ebay, .

Terri - Aikido is going well, though the knee is still hurting so I'm just going to observe tonight. It's kinda fun being out of my comfort zone. I have no idea how good I will be at this, or how I'll progress, so I can finally just enjoy the moment and not think about the future. The people are amazing and very helpful, it's a much different atmosphere than the hitting martial arts.

Big time snow here today. :-) My dad came for the day on Saturday, left this morning at 5.15, but then turned around and came back until the roads were properly plowed. :-)

Big fun!

Busy, busy, busy now - but wanted to check in.

There's still lots of snow on the ground here - ooooo, pretty! (Photos are on my site here: http://www.jenanne.com/blogger.htm)

Not much else to report - just a "go get 'em, tiger" to you all!

Hi, Terri! I was beginning to feel all alone in here. *g*

I'm planning a dull day of work today, followed by shoveling horse poop in preparation for mowing tomorrow. A horse spent part of the day free in our yard before its owners picked it up - which is why there are presents that need moving before mowing. Yay. :-( LOL!

Sounds like a great weekend you had, Terri.

Happy day to everyone!!

Terri, sorry the sports got intrusive, but I'm one of those that likes NCAA and golf. Next weekend is the MASTERS!! Can hardly wait, lol. And I'm with you on the excuses, though not the cold one. I've been out in 9 degrees and survived with all my parts. However, I wouldn't go to the gym if there were lots of skinny teens either. For one, the noise would drive me crazy !

Jen, the snow didn't look too bad. I'm still waiting for them to clear some of the tree branches off the park path, don't know why they are taking so long. And you have to be careful if you drive near trees on the streets because some property owners just don't seem to care about your car getting creamed by a low-hanging branch.

We are having great weather here today and for the rest of the week as well, so maybe I can get some of those roof leaks fixed. A handyman is coming over this afternoon and I sure hope he can do something. One is in the bedroom and it sure is annoying. They are just in weird places so a permanent fix has alluded us so far.

This weekend we head to Sisters and Bend, OR to check out vacation properties. We are looking for a summer home in the mountains, something a little different than Colorado (a little more moisture perhaps?).

Today was a long, hard steep 4 mile round trip hike, which included a spectacular waterfall and a small, wonderful cemetary along its length. We're home, tired, and smelly now.

But happy. :-)

Cynthia, this was our first more-than-a-few-inches snow here. It was up to 10" in some places - but mostly 6 to 8 " deep. Loved it!

I'm happy to report so far so good on my plan for the day! I'm at 26 points and will go find something else to eat to get me to my planned 33 points. I've been out raking leaves vigorously for 30 minutes - worked up a sweat even. I had to quit because 1) my arms felt like they were going to fall off and 2) leaf dust was getting up my nose. I should have done this last fall but then Sadie the bulldog had so much fun running through the leaves and then who knows what else. Maybe I should change my user id to "Queen of the Excuses"!

Oh Cynthia, I know all about the Masters! I'm planning a weekend at my sisters house so that DH can lay down and watch it all day long in peace. I don't mind watching the stuff occassionally and do enjoy it most of the time BUT when we can't make it to a movie or out doing something because **fill in the sporting event** is on and its a must see - then I get a little ticky after awhile.

Jen - Good for you for such a strenous walk. Sounds breathtaking - literally and figuratively!

Well, I'm off for the night. I still have 2 activity points to earn and will take the dog for a walk here soon.

I will set a plan for tomorrow. We have church class and DH wants to make roast in the crockpot so I need to plan accordingly.

Have a great evening and great day tomorrow!

Hellloooo!!! It's lonely in here!! Everyone must be busy busy working program and exercising!!

Hope that everyone is doing well. I've had two good OP days in a row. Its working well to set my number of points and activity points for each day based on the plans/needs of the day.

Tonight is a lowfat Thai cooking class at the local Wellness Center. I'm excited. I've never done a cooking class like that. It will be demonstrations, samples and recipes. What fun!

Not much else is new so I better scat.

Have a great OP Day!