Morning all.

Terra – Thanks for starting another thread for us. I like the title!!

Michelle – How were all the wedding festivities? Are the bride & groom off on a honeymoon now? If so, where did they go? Oh, and how’s your brother doing?

Annie – Keeping you in my thoughts and praying the right opportunity comes along for you. It’ll happen for you, I know it.

Susie – I’m glad you enjoyed that movie. I’ll have to get out and see it. I can’t make it to the movies with the girls on Tuesday, but maybe later this week bf & I can go see it. Don’t envy you going back to work after a full week off. Good luck with Mt. Email. Doing that 4 mile walk sounds like a good way to get motivated and the training will definitely get you moving more. Nice you got a walk in last night.

Ceejay – Glad you didn’t have to work another extra day – makes the weekend too short! Hope you find the right size trash can on a future shopping trip.

Happy – Trying not to think of winter, and maybe we should ban that word here!!! Probably a good thing you did a buyout on that pension, why keep having reminders of the poor treatment?? Re the big plumbing thing – we’ve known this was something we’d have to deal with eventually, and even though it was expensive, I’m glad it’s not hanging over our heads anymore. And I’m glad we dealt with it before it resulted in a big mess in the house. Re meeting up in OB when you’re in town, the weekends are filling up now, but I think I’m good for either the 23rd or 24th, otherwise, most weeknights would be good for me. Just let me know how it’s shaping up for you once you get here. Those are big temperature swings – definitely need to be prepared with extra blankets!! Good luck with the tag day frundraiser!! I think the presence of tag people on the street is what will remind people to donate, so don’t fret about the newspaper thing.

Shad – Sounds like you’re keeping very busy at home. No, no fun thinking of taxes. I felt very poor and “woe is me” last week because of the big plumbing bill and property taxes were was also due on the 1st. Bleh. Thank goodness for savings. We put the plumbing bill on the credit card so we can at least earn some points out of the deal. Glad kitty is happy to be back at home again with you. Sounds like you’ll be busy for a while yet. I need to get some lists going – not much got done this past weekend and there’s a whole lot that needs doing!!

==
Sorry I was MIA all weekend. Saturday morning I went to Jazzercise. The gym floor was being redone, so we had class downstairs in the parish hall – they use it for bingo. I was pooped afterwards – got through the cardio part fine, but it was the strength portion that I struggled with.

I stopped at Trader Joe’s for a few things afterwards, then went home and showered and did a couple chores/errands before taking doggy in for his bath. We did the DIY bath at the grooming salon nearby and then we went home and I took another shower, LOL.

After that, it was off to my sister and BIL’s house for a cookout. Everything was wonderful, from the weather to the food & drink. But I did get stung by a wasp out on the deck…not too horrible, though you wouldn’t know it by the way I freaked out, LOL.

We got home around 8-ish and a I walked doggy around the block in the dark, him wearing his little clip-on light and me carrying a flashlight.

Yesterday I lazed around with my book and newspaper for the morning. I did one last load of laundry and I’m finally caught up (for the most part). Bf and I went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory with a gift card, and then went to Lenscrafters to check out eyeglass frames. I didn’t see anything I liked, so I’d like to go to another place or two to check out other brands. I already looked a bit at Costco a couple weeks ago, but their selection is rather small. Too warm for the dog park, so it was another short-ish walk for doggy.

I discovered I left my sunglasses by my sister’s house on Saturday, but we will both be attending a wrap-up party on Tuesday evening for the Relay for Life fundraiser we were part of, so my sister will bring them with her then.
The boss is out today, so it’ll be quiet. I have work to do on our budget, so I will be busy with that and other things. Off to do them! TTFN!

I hate these pop up ads. Not sure it's the wok computer or this sight.
I'll be back later and see if my tablet will do the samething.

Best interview ever today at Wells Fargo.....I am hopeful for a change. Thank you for all the thoughtful prayers, thoughts and crossed items, even if they are unmentionable.

Love and Hugs

Happy ~ Thanks for explaining to me why Joy isnt sweating where she lives. Yeah Christmas just isnt Christmas without snow. Yeah I feel sorry for my friend also even though I didnt know it was dangerous not to sweat. I guess I learned something new today LOL.

Susie ~ Yeah thats probably why I slept in. No I didnt get my walks in yesterday but I'll be sure to get my evening walk in tonight and then I do my 30 min walk outside tomorrow morning and then Friday I'll start all over again, I dont walk in the mornings on Wed and Thursday cause thats when I have school but I still get my evening walk in on those days.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I woke up later then I normally do, I woke up around 10:30 am but I still got my morning duties done for the day, Now Im just posting on here and on two other forums, Waiting for mom to get home so we can go to Dillions. As always the only plan I have for today besides going to dillions is to get my evening walk in tonight.

Annie - I am so glad to hear the WF interview went so well! It makes me smile to hear the optimism and hope in your voice! I'm praying for you, and crossing everything, that you get a great job offer soon.

I survived the 1st day back and it went pretty well. I'm down to 62 unread emails. I have read them, just to make sure there wasn't something that had to be done and I flagged them days that I can tackle them. Hopefully this weeks email won't be to heavy and by Friday I will be in a good place.

Also it helps knowing that come next Monday both my managers are in Asia for 2 weeks and that will free me up a lot. I do have a report and spreadsheet to put together. It's a new thing for me. The person who did it in the past moved to a new position and so I'm taking it on for my Director, it has to do with our headcounts. The previous person showed me how to run the reports and how the spreadsheet they kept worked. I just need to set it up for this year as well as the reports in the system. That I will tackle next week when they are gone.

I just finished a 2 mile walk on the treadmill. I got it done in 31 min. It feels great!

I had a little set back with food. I came home and I was just starved...I always am. I think it is a bit of hunger but I think it is the stress of working all day and when I come home I want something comforting to "settle" me. So I had a 3 peanut butter cookies and a glass of milk. I get upset with myself for doing that. I think that I will allow myself to do it but it has to be a Herbal Life shake. At least I will have good calories and protein. What do you think?

Michelle: What sort of workout did you do with the trainer?

Laura: You had a busy weekend and it sounds very active. Good for you! What book are you reading?

Ceejay: I don't get popup ads...I wonder why you are getting them? That would be annoying.

Terra: You are in a good routine with getting your walks in. You should be very proud of that.

Annie: I'm crossing everything and praying hard about the Wells Fargo interview. I know it's tough.

Hi Shad and Happy!

Susie ~ Thanks, I am proud of myself

Morning all,

Just 2 days left before I leave. Lots to do but I am getting stuff done at a comfortable pace so I am not worried about finishing. Tag Day went ok, a lot of people said no in a gruff voice - especially the ones with out of state license plates. DH said one guy was especially rude, said he had no money and came out of the store carrying 2 large bags full of booze. Like they said, you can't take no personally. Our relief workers did not show up for the last shift of the day. I am especially proud of DH - not the kind of thing he'd want to do and it was hard on him physically to just stand in one spot for 2 hours running. I hope they did well. We had nice weather unlike last year's soaking rains.

Not much else to say on my end here.

Susie - holy cow - 62 unread emails - and that's what's left You sure have a busy work life. Good for you for getting a treadmill walk in. I get where you are coming from walking in the door famished. I think you have to prepare ahead of time to grab something quick when you walk in the door - like peanut butter and an apple, or a bit of cheese and some grapes - something to satisfy but not ruin your appetite. Of course it would be better if DH had dinner waiting right when you walked in - or maybe a glass of wine but that doesn't always work out that way. I would find when working if I had a light protein type snack around 4pm before I left for the day, the famished part stuff my face wasn't quite so bad. Part of it as you say is stress. The shake is a good idea, but may not satisfy the need to decompress. Try some "sassy water" - chilled water with slices of cucumber, a few mint leaves, lemon slices and some sliced fresh ginger. Let it chill in a pitcher and when you come home, pour a glass, put your feet up and take 10 minutes to wind down and catch up with DH and relax and leave the day behind you. In the winter you can swap for a cup of tea. I think you need a decompress type of routine when you get home if it's stress or a late afternoon snack if it's true hunger that is getting to you.

Terra - did you get anything at Dillions or just go window shopping?

Annie - hoping, hoping, hoping that you get a wonderful job offer. When things FINALLY get into place, I think you will understand why it took so long for the best thing to come into place.

Ceejay - very often my computer gets hung up on web ads too. Hate them and I never buy anything from the ads. Especially when they track my browsing history and show me stuff I ALREADY PURCHASED!!!!

Laura - ouch on the wasp sting! Those suckers hurt! But it's part of the outdoors experience. Good to know you are open to meeting on a weeknight - that gives us more options. I figured by the time you got off the train and drove over it wouldn't be worth it. Glad you and my sister are early to bed people - no late night partying here. Keep up with the strength training - one thing I can say is that we sure lose muscle tone fast as we age so it will be a big help if you can maintain that on a regular basis.

Welcome back home Shad. Glad Miss Sunday is happy you are home or maybe she is happy to be back in her palace. I trust you had a nice time visiting everyone? What a the plans for the short term? DH and I talked about one last big vacation in our lives. I said I'd love to have you show us around your part of the pond. Something we have to think about and plan very, very carefully but would be a few years out. I think he'd go crazy with the camera. So many wonderful things to see.

Michelle - glad you had a nice time at the wedding festivities. Now it's back to work. Keep up with the gym workouts!

I'm off to get things done myself. Have a good day everyone.

Good morning ladies,

I went to the gym last night and did 1/2 hour on the recumbent bike. It feels good to be back exercising again. Tonight, I have yoga class.

After the gym last night, I went to a weight loss surgery support group. What an excellent group! Along with a few other "pre-ops" (like me), there were people who were anywhere from 6 weeks to 10 years post-op. I picked up some good pointers on how to get enough protein, as that is what "post-ops" need to focus on. It's educational to hear patients' struggles, and it's very inspiring to hear their successes (getting off meds, being able to be more active, how they tackle challenges like dining out and vacations, etc.).

I've got 11 more pounds to lose before I can have surgery. I just have to keep moving and eat better. I mentioned to D's brother (who is one of our roommates) that I would be having abdominal surgery. He asked what for and I told him the truth. He's now made it his mission to help me lose weight without surgery. I really do appreciate his concern, and of course, if he comes up with suggestions that seem feasible I'll try them. That being said, my mind is made up on having the surgery. I've done a lot of research, and talked to several people who have had weight loss surgery, and not one person regrets it. I think it's the best option for me to lose weight, keep it off, and reclaim my health.

I'll try and get back for personals later. I've got a graphic design project to finish up.

Much love,

Morning all.

Happy – Glad the tag day went well and the weather was good for it. How crummy the relief workers didn’t show up, but how very nice your DH agreed to fill in. Glad a weeknight works for you as well because the August weekends are getting goofy for bf & I – juggling things around because we set a date for one thing, but forgot about a previously scheduled other thing, etc. Duh, it's called a calendar. Re the strength - or any type of fitness for that matter – it goes so quickly when you stop doing the exercise. I definitely have to get back into it. This morning I did a measly 10 knee pushups – what a struggle.

Susie – Wow, 62 unread e-mails, i.e. what was left after you went through all of them??!! Congrats on surviving that. It’ll be nice when your managers are out of the office next week. I understand your food setback – I get upset with myself when I buy something crummy to eat on the train home from work, or eating mindlessly once I get home. I guess if every weeknight were spent the same, it would be easy to just get home and start preparing dinner right away and eat at a reasonable time. But we don’t do that either because one of us might be going to work out, or has a chore to do, or we just don’t have dinner planned. I think having a planned snack is a good idea so you just don’t end up with the first thing that catches your fancy. As for books I’m reading – nothing special lately. Though a firm book club date hasn’t been set yet, the book Gone Girl has been chosen because the movie is coming out in October. We read another Gillian Flynn book for book club and it was good, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Terra – You probably mentioned it already, but when do you start your fitness class? Have you cooked anything interesting in your cooking class lately??

Annie – Glad your interview went well yesterday!!

Ceejay – Sorry you’re getting the pop-ups. I haven’t had that problem. I hope you can figure out what’s causing it.

Michelle – I missed the part about working out with a trainer on Sunday. How was that? Good job on the workouts! You’re the workout queen! You’ve really done your homework and soul searching on this surgery decision - it’s very interesting how strongly some people feel about it one way or another.

Hi Shad!!

++

Nothing much to report. It began raining right as I got off the train yesterday evening, so I was rather cold and wet when I got home – and that’s only a 5-6 block bike ride. Oh well. I don’t mind that much when it’s on the way home.

Tonight’s a wrap-up party for the fundraiser I participated in. I still haven’t decided if I will go home and go to the restaurant by car, or go straight from work (the train stops about a block from the restaurant). If I do the latter, I’ll have to watch the clock to get the train home, and then ride my bike home and it’ll likely be dark by then…okay, I’ll probably drive.

That’s it for me. Everyone have a good day!!.

I did several things to the work computer and wrote to Suzanne about it. Today this sight is back too normal on my behalf.
More good stuff. My co-worker finally picked up the furniture last night.

Michelle
You know what is right for you. Proud of you for doing all the exercise.

Happy
That was nice of DH to help out. I don't like people standing around asking for money either. But if it's for a good cause I will donate. Are you getting excited about your trip.

Susie
Talk about a mountain of email, you've had it. You sound like one that is very organized so things will go smoother.

Annie
I could shout from the roof tops. Fingers are crossed and good vibes are being sent.

Terra
Have you gotten your walks in for today? Have you worked on your t-shirt quilt anymore.

Seriously?! The cookies in the vending machine are calling my name. LOUDLY! And they aren't the lousy cookies either...these are delicious shortbread cookies with a dollop of jam on them. Sadly, I have to walk right by that evil machine every time I go to the bathroom...and with all the water and Crystal Light I drink...that's quite often. Sorry about the TMI.

I've had Greek yogurt, string cheese and an apple. I think my willpower can hold out for another hour (time to go home). Rats! I just heard someone pop the top on a soda, and even though I can have soda now, I'm trying to eliminate it because I can't have it after surgery (the bubbles can cause big time gas pain on a teeny stomach pouch).

===========================
Annie - I'm definitely saying prayers and crossing everything that you get a great job offer soon. Don't get too angry about companies that don't hire directly from submitted resumes. Some companies (like the major tech companies out here) insist that you start as a contract/temp employee first so they can "try before they buy".

Terra - Some weekends I wish I could sleep in until after 10 am, but Santa always needs to potty by 8 am. If you have any good, easy, low-cal recipes from your cooking class, please share. This group LOVES recipes (even me - and I don't like cooking).

Susie - Nice that your managers will be out of the country for awhile starting next week so you can get caught up and maybe even get ahead on some projects. Good on ya' for doing so well on the treadmill! You and Terra are truly the walking queens! The workout I did with the trainer was all about strengthening the core and back (both upper and lower), along with other moves. He had me doing planks, squats, chest presses, shoulder presses, and the rowing machine. The gym offered a special on training sessions so I purchased a 10 visit package and I start next Wednesday. I usually plan for a snack or something right before I leave work or have something in the garage. Because by the time I go to the gym or run errands and then pick up Santa, I'm so hungry I make very poor choices. Sometimes I'll have a greek yogurt before I leave the office. Or a protein bar on the drive home.

Happy - I'm glad you're able to get your stuff done at a reasonable pace and are not frantic. As for tag day, I guess some people aren't charitable. I always tend to donate, especially where animals are concerned. So nice that your DH helped with the tag sale. The Shelter is very lucky to have you both. I'm considering volunteering as a dog socializer for a local shelter, but I'll probably wait until after my surgery. One of these days I'll have to make some of that sassy water. Especially after my surgery as it's vitally important for post-op patients to drink enough liquids (and soda, tea and lots of other beverages are not allowed).

Laura - I hope the wasp sting is doing better. Those are painful. I hope you and Happy can meet up while she's down there. Bravo for getting back into pushups. Don't be down on yourself that you did 10. That's 10 more than I can do. I'm going to start adding pushups and planks to my at home post-gym and dog park but pre-shower routine. You are right that so many people have such a strong opinion about weight loss surgery, and they think it's there duty to tell me because in their view I'm just making a foolish, desperate, drastic decision on a whim. I think I just need to be more selective about who I tell going forward. And once I start losing weight, if someone asks my "diet plan", I'll just say portion control and exercise, which is 100% true. Bummer you got caught in a rainstorm on the way home yesterday. Glad to hear you're going to drive to the restaurant tonight. Riding a bike in the dark is so dangerous. Cars just can't see you.

Shad - Are you enjoying time at home? Are you seeing much of DS2? So nice of Miss Puss to be happy to see you.

Ceejay - I'm so glad to hear your co-worker finally picked up the furniture. Must be nice to have the extra space.


Well, I'd better sign off. I've got a few more things to get done before I leave for the day.

Much love,

Happy ~ I bought a bus pass for 68 dollars and a bag of salad and alot of diet soda cause it was on sale.

Laura ~ I was gonna start it this Thursday but I think Im gonna wait and start it next Thursday. Nope we havent made anything interesting lately in cooking class, Last week we made Shi-Ka-Bob's...I dont know how to spell the actual word but Im sure you know what food Im talking about.

CJ ~ Nope I havent got my walks in yet, I dont walk outside on Tuesday morning cause we are usually busy in the morning but I'll be sure to walk outside tomorrow morning and I'll do my 5 mile walk tonight before bed.

Michelle ~ Yeah I usually cant sleep in too long because Clyde needs to go outside, We dont cook using recipes, The stuff we cook we already know how to cook, I dont know if thats defeating the purpose of cooking class or not but if even we dont cook something new we are still learning either way at least I think we are, Like one of the students are famous for using paper towels to clean the counters,stove and eating table when your suppose to use dish towels so your not using alot of the paper towels so he is learning not to use paper towels.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up at 7:00 AM, I let Clyde outside and then Mom and I went to her doctor's appointment and then we left her appointment around 10:00 AM and then we came back home to pick up my boyfriend Scott to take him to CD Trade post so he could try to get money for 2 dvd's but He forgot to put the dvd in one of his cases so he only got money back on one of the dvd's, We're gonna go back next Tuesday so he can get the money for his other dvd. I tried to get money from a dvd I had but they were only gonna pay me a dollar and some change when I bought the dvd for 15 dollars and some change so Im gonna keep my post on craiglist to try to sell the dvd for 10 cause I know I wont get 15 for it but oh well, If I get 10 back I'll be happy with that but I wasnt gonna give it to CD Trade post for a 1 and something when I paid 15 dollars and something for it. Anyway after CD Trade Post we came back home and cleaned house and then we made lunch and thats all we did today. I still need to do my 2 mile walk this evening which I will do for sure.

Hello!

I had a busy but good day at work today. My email is always insane. I came in to 91 new emails and when I left tonight I have them down to 57. It's like that for everyone. I'm so OCD that it really bothers me to have anything above 50 left in my inbox before I go home but I'm learning to just let it go. I've read them, but some of them I leave unread so I know I have to do something with them asap.

I came home, had a cup dry Fruit Loop cereal that I bought so when I come home I have something to just crunch and chew. Happy is right, for me it can be that I'm hungry but it is more about decompressing. So I ate that cereal, drank a glass of water and put my feet up for 15 min. After that I was ready to get on the treadmill and do my 30 minutes. Right now, I focusing on doing 30 min daily at least 5 days a week. I think I'm going to add a bit of strength training, 30 min 2 x a week and do that at lunch starting next week. With my managers out I will be able to get away for that amount of time and by the time they come back I should be in the habit.

I have trained them to expect me to always be at my desk when they need me but I talked to them both this week and let them know that I would be taking my lunch hours and that a couple days a week I would be in the gym. I told them I would flex the time I went if it was very busy or a big meeting going on but most of the time I would be gone from 11:30-12:30.

Happy: I hope you and Laura can meet up..what fun that will be for the both of you! Your DH is a special guy to help with the tag sale..it's because he loves you!

Michelle: Your training session will help you get that 11 lbs off. Were you able to say no to those cookies?

Ceejay: I am happy to hear the popups are not happening for you anymore and that the furniture is gone. What will you do with the empty space?

Terra: Do you take the bus a lot? How was your walk today?

Laura: What did they do for the wrap-up party for the fund raiser and did you end up going? Be proud of yourself for doing those 10 knee pushups. Many people are just sitting on their couch doing nothing.

Hi Shad and Annie: I hope your day went well and that we hear from you soon.

Ok..time to read a bit and then head to bed.

ooops flat out busy day. back tomorrow