Thank you saef. I'll do the same. I was curious and did a search on Amazon for books on overcoming fear. Most of the titles the search came up with involve religious belief. Interesting and quite surprising, for me.

Dagmar

Ward, bless you and you friend for staying and doing what you could. Too many people are afraid to "get involved ".

I don't know if I'm gaining momentum-- perhaps in the wrong direction.
Weight is going up and up again. Puts me in such a foul mood.

I couldn't exercise yesterday due to trying to pick up the mini cooper-- it taking longer than expected coupled with bad traffic-- plus I ache all over....

I was late getting to work today because I kept changing outfits because nothing looked good. Bah Humbug.

Better get my arse with it today!

Michele, I hear ya - I was there earlier this year, and couldn't get it turned around until July. I don't know if what I have is "momentum" - it's more like the way a glacier moves.

I've read excerpts from "The Gift of Fear" and it sounds like a great book. I am currently working on "The Places that Scare You" by Pema Chodron, trying to get past my own stall points. It's a hard read for me and going slowly, as the message is very simple but I don't have much context to attach it to. Martha Beck also addresses fear in "Finding Your Own North Star", which has become one of my favorites. The exercises in it have caused me both incredible discomfort and truly shattering paradigm shifts.

146.5 today. I updated my weekly average graph and since July, my trend is about a pound down every five weeks. Definitely not a best-seller type of plan!

I never understood this. How can you live with yourself knowing you turned away from someone who needed help desperately? It's not hard to call 911 and say where the incident is.

Fortunately there aren't many emergencies in my direct path, but when they do happen (domestic disturbances, homeless people lying comatose on the sidewalk, etc) I don't really consider ignoring it an option.

Michele, I'm completely gaining momentum in the wrong direction.

Ward - I'm glad that you guys didn't leave a little earlier! I have a friend who was jogging downtown a couple of years ago and an SUV jumped the curb and crushed him between it and a retaining wall alongside the road.

Did I kill the thread? Eek.

It lost momentum. Momentarily.

I overdid the 'nog a bit last night - had to get the first 3 and innermost strings of lights on the tree, and needed something to kill the pain. Actually, I've finally found a great pair of leather gloves, and they took the brunt of it. My forearms still look I stuck them in an ant nest, but hey, it's Christmas, right?

The siding project starts/started today. I don't know for sure, I'm not home. Hopefully if there were an issue, the phone would ring! My nosy neighbor will give me a full report later, I'm sure.

I really need to schedule a massage. This whole month makes me hyperventilate. No holiday should require a month of preparation for "meeting the standards."

MMMMM 'nog. I had it (spiked) for the first time last year. Going to pretend it doesn't exist save for maybe one evening this year.

Last night I went out to sushi, had my share (1 block of cold tofu, 2 modest sized rolls of 6 and 8 each) and found myself inhaling my boyfriend's leftover beef donburi and then eating 2 servings of ice cream (two different kinds - but one was freeze-dried so it doesn't count, am I correct?!). Today I intend to take it a little easier - go to the gym, cook dinner, and work on Christmas cards.

Freeze-dried ice cream? What the heck is that?

Ah, 'nog. Can't go there.

I've had freeze dried ice cream, it is the little pellets right? Though I think they can make it in different shapes. Space Dots or something?

I love eggnog. My ex-uncle used to make it homemade. We were all very upset when he and my aunt got divorced because we lost the eggnog hookup.

Never understood the allure of the freeze-dried ice cream, but I think I tried it when it first came out - didn't register as something worth eating. Now, eggnog, different story! I have reduced my quantity over the years, but upped the quality. It has to be a premium organic brand with full fat (or home-made), must be spiked with dark rum, and must have fresh nutmeg grated on it. Indulgent? Ohhhh yeah. And so rich, it's safely self-limiting. I am a full-fledged eggnog snob!

I have bought silk nog the last few years - I think I've finally realized that isn't worth it. This year I tried the Horizon Organics lowfat eggnog, it is pretty good. I'm somewhat craving the full fat, though. I do put ground nutmeg and cinnamon on top of any I drink, even the silk nog. My dad used to spike his with white lightning - I have fond memories of drinking that with him.

Screw the standards, I say! I've been working on this my whole life, and it's liberating to realize you really don't have to keep up with the Joneses or anyone else. Some people love decorating for holidays, but I don't -- so I don't do it! Same goes for holiday parties, sending out cards, and spending extravagant sums of money on gifts for the neighbour and her dog. For me and my family the holidays are short, simple and intimate. Everything I need to do will get done in the 3-4 days before Xmas.

Some of the world's most interesting people swim against the tide. The only standards worth meeting are your own, IMO.

F.

I would knock you out of the park in a sushi-eating contest! Right now I'm facing a dilemma. We're going out to our favourite sushi place on Friday to celebrate my son's 15th birthday. At the beginning of the week I weighed in at 144 lbs, which is over my red line, so I vowed to order only a couple of small items from the menu. This morning I was down to 140 lbs, so the all-you-can-eat option is beckoning... What to do, what to do?

F.