Rise and Shine!


Good morning all! I hope everyone woke up on the right side of the bed this morning! Today is off to a good start for me -- mostly because I am working from home and get to skip the commute today! Yea! I've already cleaned one bathroom, picked up a little, showered and after I post here I'll start on my work. I'm having lunch today with a couple girlfriends which is always fun! I've never been to the restaurant we are going to, but one of my friends faxed me the menu --- this way I can decide on something healthy before I even get there!

Kat --- Thanks for sharing - you are right! I love that everyone shares their breakthroughs -- that way we can all learn and grow together. Not only did I gain alot of insight from your thoughts, but now I may not be as leary about getting out into my flower beds!!!

2Cute --- wellllll, of course you have to have new furniture to go with the new cabinet --- men just don't understand!

Amanda --- Bravo girl!! Good job on the shopping trip!!! I love the "perimeter" shopping -- I never thought about it, but it's so true!

Deon ---- I'm glad to hear that you and your brother have talked. You sure have quite a family dilemma on your hands --- of course you don't need me to point that out! Hang in there!

Mary --- I'll try to be at chat tonight! American Idol is on at 8:30ET, so I might only be there a short time. Looking forward to chatting with everyone!

Terri ---- WELCOME!!!! Great to have you!!! This is such a great place!!!

Well, it's time for me to start working. I'll check in with everyone later!
Love,
Barb

Is everybody still asleep?

I am getting ready to go meet my friends for lunch --- Guess what??? I am wearing a pair of jeans that I haven't worn in about 2 years! That should be motivation to have a healthy lunch!!!

I hope you're all having a good day so far!

Barb

THERE ARE NO SHORT CUTS TO SUCCESS.

There's a price to pay if you want to make things better, and a price to pay for just leaving things as they are.

Whatever you want in life, you must give up something to get it.

The greater the value, the greater the sacrifice required of you.

Nothing worthwhile ever comes easily.

Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last.

Use your imagination more than your memory to achieve success.

There is no success at bargain basement prices.

The highway to success is a toll road.

Everything has a price.

Author: Unknown

Good afternoon ladies!! It is another beautiful day here in SC. Of course every day is beautiful when I treat myself right. I went to the gym again last night and I am feeling it today. I am going back again tonight. Gotta get what I can out of my free pass.

I bought a scale last night too. It is a good one so now I have a starting weight down at the bottom of my post. Actually it is 12 pounds lighter than I weighed 2 weeks ago at the mall, but I will call it my starting weight. I am going to weigh in every Wednesday from now on. You will be seeing less and less of me

Barb- Hey girl!! I bet it feels good to work from home. I wish I could find a job that allows me to work from home.

determined to succeed- I am sorry. When I hit reply it doesnt show your name. I wanted to say WELCOME

Mary- Hello

Deon- I hope that things work out for you. It is hard being in the middle of family feuds. Sometimes the best thing to say is to say nothing at all.

Amanda- Congrats on the successful shopping trip!! It sounds like you bought some really healthy stuff. Good for you I think I do better when I go shopping without hubby too. They mean well but..........

2Cute- Are you still rearranging things?? I am a very indecisive persons. I usually get others to make my decisions for me One of these days, I would love to pull up a stump and spit with you

kat- I loved your gardening story. You made a great discovery and it was also quite witty. You are on a roll with the gym girl!! Keep it up!

Lori- It feels good to have things organized doesnt it? I know I want things just right when I go to bed at night so I sleep better. You never did tell us about your movie. At least I dont think you do. Spill it

Tina- I see that you had a "moment". I love when it just clicks for me about things. Those "moments" are what help us to succeed. You are doing great!!

Sandy- That was not a post!! Get back in here and talk to us a bit

Ok I am off to straighten up the house and vacuum the pool.


Tracy
324/324/150

whether to even post this or not, but I'm going to do my best. First of all...TOM is heading in, so in in the throws of "eating the doors off the hinges" and crying hysterically at the same time. You'll have to excuse the proceeding........

Disclaimer: What you are about to read are the ramblings of an insane woman, who is in the early stages of PMS. Please take any and all she says with a grain of salt, as she should be back to normal in a couple of days.

See? I still have a sense of humor.

First of all, let me say I am happy that my TOM is on the way. No, I've not gone completely insane....just that, if I get it over with now, it will be gone by the time I leave next Saturday to go to the Charlotte race. Secondly, eating has been terrible the last couple of days. As I was sitting here reading all the posts, I was over 1/2 way finished with a bag of yogurt raisins.

Kat: Your epiphany was so helpful to me. I could almost see you standing there, with tools in hand, ready to dig in the dirt....but wondering where in the world to start. My problem is, I'm halfway done with the flowerbed and apparently I'm happy with that, because I'm not making any progress with the rest of it.

This is the moment that made me cry though. This is the moment that I got a knot in my throat, my stomach starting hurting and I practically laid my head down on the keyboard and started sobbing. It was when I read the affirmation at the bottom of Terri's post.
For some reason, it felt like I just got punched in the stomach. The words.....Do you want it bad enough? Yes, I do want it. I really really do. I want it bad enough, that I closed up that bag of raisins (that I had fully intended on finishing) and put them away. Now the only thing beside me is my bottle of water. Well, that and my picture of 2cute. She is looking at me now, telling me that I can do this. No, I'm not hearing voices.... I just know her and I know if she was here, that's what she'd be saying.

Sometimes I give into this "stinkin thinkin" and wonder if certain people were right? Then I try to move away from that and tell myself that no, they're not. I am trying to have to presence of mind right now to know that these feelings will go away and that I will get back on the intended path. I need to go to a WW meeting so bad, and I absolutely hate that they are only available here on Mondays & Tuesdays. The problem is, they only have them late in the evenings. The one on Mondays is at 6:00 and the one on Tuesdays is at 6:30. By the time I get home from work and get settled in, I don't want to turn back around and head back into town, so that's one of the reasons that I quit going.

A part of me is also saying....(and I know this is crazy) but I'm being honest with you guys, "Well Tina, you know....you're going to Charlotte next weekend and you're going to want to eat out, so why don't you just re-join after you get back?" But all that's going to do is give me a free ticket to eat until basically the 1st of June and I do not want that!

I hate to say it, but I'm floundering guys.....I need just a little bit of help today.

Good Afternoon all,
At work again today, very busy but thought I would pop in and say hello and catch up. I hate to get to far behind.

Tracy: Glad you found a scale, don't get to obsessive like me, I'm on them all the time....I can't be trusted with a set of scales in my sights.

Kat: That was food for thought line by line

Barb: I'm awake, can't you see me? I'm here.....Good job on the jeans.

Terri: Hi to you, this is a nice group.

Mary: I will try to be in chat tonight.

Deon: Family issues? I could give you a big sob story on this, my family has got to be one of the most disfunctional ones ever. But, like I think Kat said.....my first priority now is (my dh and kids) my siblings are all grown, well one is only 13, but anyway the others are all grown and have lives of their own. I do not agree with their lifestyles, but I am civil to them when I see them. My brother has issues with my Dad as do I, but I got sick of being the middle man and trying to make everything okay all around. Now, I just do what is good for me and mine!!! We all grow up and there is a time that you have to accept that your childhood was not the best, but if you did not like it (DO NOT PUT YOUR KIDS THROUGH THE SAME THING). That is the speech I have to give my brother over and over.
It is probably different being an adult and having parents divorce, mine did it when I was 3, then my dad divorced my step mom when I was 10, then well there have been a string since. Once I was old enough I just let it end. It's hard being in the middle, and one day I finally told my dad that and told him not to put me there anymore, it had nothing to do with me and I am not gonna take on the frustration of his adult life. Okay I will shut up now, cause I will get going and going. But I did want to give you a big {{{{HUG}}}} and let you know I understand and will listen.

Okay girls gotta run,

I'm a little ashamed of this one...

I was thinking about what Sara had said in the last thread. About making your kitchen "cheat free." So, I was going through the pantry looking to remove anything that might be tempting to me. Since I have been "low carbing," however, I have been staying away from all my usual cheats...and I mean it when I say the craving is just not there...(yet, anyway, I should be PMSing in about a week! ) Anyway...

I realized that the goodies that were there are still there from at least a week or two ago when I started to really buckle down and avoid carbs. There is a bag of chocolate chip cookies STILL there for at least two weeks!! (Absolutely unheard of a short time ago!) That's because the other members of this family can eat a few and forget about them and not eat two while they are getting the glass of milk to go with the four that they will have for their snack! Not to mention going back for a few more to go with the milk that is left in the glass! And the sleeve of Ritz crackers that I opened for my nephew over a week ago is still there! And the box of Triscuits~which I love~are still unopened! The loaf of bread is lasting forever and the potatoes are sprouting buds! Geez...I was eating a LOT! I haven't had to go food shopping yet this week, because...and I am really embarassed to admit this, but I will anyway...the food is lasting longer since I am not eating so much of it!

What an eye opener.

The other night I was at the gym, in a class where they want you to to watch your form in the mirror, to make sure it's correct. I hate mirrors and avoid them at all costs! But I looked. Those rolls around my midsection were a total wake up call...as I looked at them...and I really had to MAKE MYSELF LOOK and not turn away, i realized that those rolls are all the cookies and ice cream and goodies that I've packed away and not burned off! I pictured myself sitting in front of the computer with an empty box of Triscuits or a sleeve of Girl Scout cookies and wondering where they all went... I pictured myself sitting down to eat dinner with the family after having consumed a meal's worth of food just tasting and nibbling. I thought of how I would eat when we went out...eating the entire portion and then getting dessert, even though I was too stuffed to even enjoy it.

These are not flattering images. But they are ones that I MUST examine over and over to reinforce what eating this way has done to my body and to my self esteem. I have often thought, when in the throes of a binge, "what if someone ever saw me eating like this?" (because of course, most of this kind of eating is done in secret!) I would be mortified if someone ever saw me behaving in such a gluttonous manner. Of course, you can take one look at me and know that i did not get to be this size by eating salad 24/7!

Anyway...those are my rambling thoughts today. I should be journalling them instead of boring you all to tears, but it feels good to share with people who understand. Thanks for "listening!"

I hope you are all having a good day!

You are not boring us.....you are inspiring us....

Thank you.

Hi Everybody! Boy, I feel as if the days are just flying by. I make an attempt to catch up and then before I know it, I'm waaaay behind again.

Honey's 50th Birthday was Monday. He took yesterday off and we, #1 son and I took him on a mystery trip (complete with blindfold! ). We went downtown to the Hockeytown Cafe for lunch and then the Detroit Science Center has a Titanic exibit. Honey is really facinated with the Titanic. Watches all the documentaries, etc. Actually, so is #1 son. So that's where we went next. The exhibit was really well done. They also had the planetarium set up with a presentation on the night sky, the night the Titanic went down. Their Imax theatre had a movie about one of the salvage operations and then the exhibit was full of some of the artifacts. It was really quite nice.

For dinner on the way home, we went to an all you can eat stir fry place. We really like this place for something different. You know me and my jobs, we do just far too many steakhouses to make them a treat anymore!

Amanda: Thanks for the great Carrot Cake recipe. It is my #1 son's favorite cake. I will be trying that one real soon.

2cute: I heard a speach by Susie Orman the financial woman some time ago, that a really good way to put away a few extra bucks was to never pay for anything with other than paper money. Then collect all the change and have a jar (or whatever) to put it in. Don't touch it until the jar is full and then you will have a significant amount of money to actually do something with, and you'll never even miss it like you would putting away a portion of a paycheck or whatever. The premise is that you will never miss the quarter here and the dime there. Well, I've been doing that since I heard her little speach. I do follow the premise pretty closely. Even if my bill comes to $10.02, I always use $11.00 to pay for it and stow the 98 cents in change. I usually only go about 6 months or so before emptying my jar, but I'm always able to pay for a complete weekend away somewhere fun. So, I'm thinking that maybe that will be my reunion jar now and I'll try not to touch it for the next year. That way I'll be able to afford wherever we decide to meet up without draining the family budget.

Katrina: WOW, your sister is one lucky woman! I could spend those winnings in a heartbeat. I'm glad she's more sensible and wants to save for the boy's educations! I loved your gardening analogy. Boy that was a great picture you painted. And so true. I'm copying it and printing it, for myself and one copy to take to my WW leader. I'm sure she will love it too.

Lori: A movie part. How cool for you!!! * I would say that you got your exercise in for the day with all that furniture moving.

Sandy: I'm glad your financial situation is finally on the upswing.

Duckie: Another 2 pounds! Good Girl!!!

Lucky: Honey, where are you? Is that new job keeping you too busy for your old friends?

Jen: What a sweet story about your Mother's Day message from your hubby! I'm glad it made it to you safe and sound. * Glad to hear that you have found a flight back here to the USofA. Are you going to stay stateside until your husband is due back from Bagdad, or just for the surgery and recoup time? Keep up posted. I love it that you're back with us. [[[hugs]]]

Barb: Are you done playing bachelorette yet?

Michelle: WOW! 9.2!!! You are definitely on a roll! Good for you! I hope Andrew is feeling better by now.

Mary: Glad your sister is doing well. * Sounds like everything is pretty much running smoothly again in the sunny south.

Tracy: WOW! 6 pounds for you! There have sure been some great losses here this past week!! Good going on the gym. Maybe you've found a new place for some motivation, especially if you had fun.

Sara: I'm glad that you were able to reaffirm your control over food, instead of it's control over you. That is very powerful.

Tina: I loved your message from Mother's Day. Your hubby is dead on! I know exactly what you're talking about. I too am complacent. I see 340 as a whole lot better than 375. I'm just happy to be able to 'maintain' until the 'losing' mode kicks in again. * I love it that you went to work in your jammies. Since I do all my paperwork at home, I get to work in my jammies sometimes too. I just don't think that when I'm a 'showgirl' that would be terribly appropriate! Especially since I don't wear any jammies! * Those kittens are going to be just adorable! But I'm thinking maybe you shouldn't have let your little girl out 'cattin around'! Buh Dum Bum!!! * You are so right that you have to customize your program to fit your lifestyle. If you don't, you will always feel guilty and lose interest. The 8:00 rule is great for people that are not night owls like us. I personally prefer to skip breakfast, do something more brunchish, and then do a mid afternoon snack and then dinner about 7:00. My DH doesn't usually get home until 6:30, so any other timeframe just doesn't work for us.

Deon: Never been on a plane, eh? It really is incredible. The view is breathtaking. * As far as family goes, I'm really sorry to hear you are so distraught. It must be so terrible to be caught in the middle. I'm afraid I don't have first hand experience with a divorce situation, but I have to tell you that I have sat down with my parents as well as my IL's and had heart to hearts about what I will and will not put up with. This included how much they could drag me into their problems and how much I would let them in on mine. It was hard at first, both to say those things to them and their reaction. But after some time passed, I found that things went on a more 'normal' swing and I wasn't getting sucked into situations I wanted no part of any more. Sometimes it's worth biting the bullet and airing it all out and then getting on with life, rather than everyone stewing over it for years. Then it just festers and gets worse.

Steph: WOW! 5 pounds down! I'm so proud of you! This is definitely a losing group this week.

Terri: Hey, girl, glad to see you! You are welcome to make this your new home. We love to have people join us. I've checked over there by you in WW100 a couple of times and it sure seems like you were almost the only one holding down the fort! YIKES! Welcome to our little corner. I hope you'll stick around. * I love your signature line, "Do you want it bad enough? If you really want it, you will find the time to plan, find the energy to exercise, and the commitment to stay the course. " How true is that? Gotta make the time. We're worth it.

Well, girls. I'm going to run. I have a meeting with a city councilman this evening in regards to my election, so this should be interesting.

But before I go, I want to fess up that I did go to WI (not Wisconsin) on Monday. I was UP ^ 2.5 pounds. I actually am not beating myself up too much about it because I wasn't there for two weeks.

But here's the deal. I need to ask you all a favor. I REALLY need to get back into the losing mode. I know everyone wants to be supportive, and you all are. But what I really need from you now is some tough love. When I do poorly, I need you to say things like, what the ****'s your problem, what were you thinking, get your A$$ back on program. Ok??? I'm asking for it. You don't have to be nasty (like somebody else we know), just be genuinely admonishing. Ok???

Thanks, you guys. I'm looking for 50 pounds by Labor Day. I've done it before, it's time to do it again.

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it." - Goethe

Hi guys... I have been pretty productive today and that makes me feel good.
I have not read any of the posts yet... but I wanted to jump in and tell those of you who do watch TV that on "Star Search" tonight... the cloggers that are competeing are from my hometown. I hope I get to see them perform... but if I have to chose between the finals of American Idol or them... I am afraid AI will win. LOL
I think Star Search is from 7-8 and Amer Idol 7:30-8:00. I will keep my fingers crossed that I get to see both.

I will come back later tonight and catch up on my reading. Sorry I just don't have time now... (hubby is taking me out for Mexican) but I wanted to share about our hometown performers.

Now THERE'S the ticket!

Thank you Thin.
It is good to have support, but when I came in here mealy mouthing today....I need a good swift kick in the arse. What say, Thin ....that you and I both figure out what the **** the problem is and get our A$$ back on program together!?

That's an order!

Just dropping in to say "hi". I'm hoping to get a pic up today, I'm going to try it on this post. Yeah, I succeeded finally, I'm so happy. I'll drop in for a longer post later today. I'll see you guys in chat.

[size=huge]what the ****'s your problem?
what were you thinking?
get your A$$ back on program. Ok???[/size]

Okay...one down.

Tina,
ditto!

Love,

But I've got a couple of things to say:

Kat - When I read your post about the sleeves of crackers or cookies snacked on by the computer, I was at work and had just shoved a junior mint into my mouth. Mindless eating because I wasn't hungry. I quickly slammed the drawer.

Tina - When I read that you had seen my ending quote, that made me remember that it was on my signature and that yes, , yes I too want it bad enough. I made myself do the Tae BO (most of it anyway) and need to scoot quickly so that I can get a dog walk in tonight as well.

I wish I could take credit for those words that are so thought-provoking, almost brutal and so absolutely true, but no. my WW leader said that as her parting shot at the end of the meeting. Nothing left to do but either slink out or hold up the head and say YES!

Kat again - I was slightly startled by your post there but soon caught on once I read backward.

That was more than two. To everyone else, hello and thanks for the welcome. Keep up all your great work, don't ever quit, and have a great evening.

Welcome Terri
Kaat include me in that scolding.

Hello to all the rest