Hey all. Don't have a lot of time to post, so hello, and I am thinking of all of you.

I made it to Ikea yesterday, only to find they didn't have one of the things I felt I needed. I know have to call and check on shipping prices to see if this is a need or a want. I just don't know. So between that and the huge crowds - kind of a stressful day.

I did not make it ot the gym this morning, so will try to go after the barn. I have to make it home in time to sleep, though, as I have to work tonight. I will try to post more then. I also have to go and enroll in the fitness challenge on liine tonight, as I did not have time to battle the lines yesterday.

Have a agood day all, and be prepared with the kicks for me.

Hey All! First off, congrats to Happy and Erin on the loss Saturday was the first time I have been able to work up enough nerve to get on the scale since the holidays. I am happy to say that though I haven't lost anything I did not gain at all. I don't know how I pulled that one off but I'll Take it!!!

Happy, South Beach is a wonderful book. I have read mine more than once. It explains how eating bad carbs mess up your blood sugar and bog you down, how the plan is heart healthy and how it fixes your body from the inside out. This is just my opinion but when I followed it I felt great. I had so much energy and was never hungry. I'm a junk food eater and the plan promised I would stop craving that stuff and I did. I didn't eat sweets for 8 weeks. I use to eat them everyday. The weightloss is consistant and the energy level is huge. I'm sure you are wondering if it's so great then why I stopped doing it? That's just me. That's why I'm still fat! I have a hard time keeping my motivation. Anyway, I keep reminding myself how great I felt so I'm working my way back to it. I have been to the grocery, have rid my house of junk food and tomorrow morning I will begin. Hopefully this time I will be able to hang there.
Let me know what you think about the book and the plan.

Lots to do today so better get going going! Talk to you all later

Good morning ladies!

Erin, Happy - Congrats!!! Great week for you two!!

Happy - Consistency and focus. Great things for me to work on. You know, you mention Bill Phillips. His Body for Life program was one of the things that really got me moving last year. Maybe I should really look into doing that again as a jump start into this year. His philosophy is good, and it really does work. I felt great following the program, though I have to admit I had to watch how much protein I ate. I tend to get really sick if I eat as much as he wants. That's one of the reasons I can never do the Atkins program. I get dizzy, nauseous, lightheaded, weak, the whole bit. I'll let you know if I give it another shot. It's not an easy 12 weeks, but it's a darned effective one.

Jolly - I'm sorry IKEA didn't turn out to be what you wanted, or have what you needed. You sound very tired. Please get some rest, please don't make yourself sick with this work schedule?

Hippy - Heeeyyyyyyyy ... learning maintenance is just as important as learning to lose! I'd consider that a HUGE success!! Congrats! I've found that I now have pretty much learned maintenance, and that's a very good thing. The one time I was totally unable to maintain was during the time after my father had his accident and was going downhill and I was waiting for the money to come through to get up to Alaska, then the whole trip up there was one huge food fest provided by my brother and SIL. That was disastrous for my weight. But since then, I haven't gained any more, so like you, I take that as a success. Now it's time for us to get losing again!

Yesterday didn't work out as planned. Do they ever? I ended up working at the stable the entire time I was there. Rosa is having a really rough time with depression and lack of money (wow, it's an epidemic) this winter and she and her husband were off installing some drapes (she sews and installs drapes as a second job). She asked if we could feed, and I said sure... then I started looking around the stable, and it's obvious her depression is getting to her. Several of the stalls obviously hadn't been cleaned in days, the walkway in the barn was filthy... So I picked stalls, straightened up tack, put away tools, cleaned water buckets, swept and blew out the center walkway. We brought in Ichabok and Nelson, the only two who don't have blankets right now, and made sure they were all set up with hay, water, and their evening grain, then fed all the ponies in the pastures, checked blankets, etc. Nickie got in a good ride, she's working on re-teaching Shadow to transition to a canter. It's been a long time since Shadow had to do that, and her transitions are awkward. But she's learning again. I didn't get a chance to ride, because by the time we were done with all the chores, it was dark and the wind had picked up and frankly, I was worn out and freezing my butt off. I spent time with my pony, feeding him and combing out his mane and tail while he ate, and giving him hugs and pats. He seemed confused when I left the pasture without him. I truly love that horse. And of course by the time I got home, it was 7:30 and I still had to cook dinner. Dinner was healthy and OP, but again, I ate too much of it. I need to really start focusing. I took the time for a nice hot shower though, after the dishes were done. It felt good to get warm.

Today is laundry and hopefully a ride. I want to do cardio, too. It's dry, not as cold though as it was yesterday. High pressure, so the sinuses are achy. Lotion, water, lotion, water.

Oh!!! And a high point of yesterday!! Has anyone here seen Cirque Du Soleil? Nickie and I haven't been to a live show, but we watched several of them on TV last fall. My favorite right now is Dralion. One of the original singers for the show (the ringmaster, almost) is this incredible man by the name of Erik Karol. He can go to a low tenor to this incredible falsetto with such power. Or as one reviewer said "one minute he sings in a rich tenor, the next he's in a freaky stratosphere with his female counterpart." Sadly, his last tour with Dralion was here in Atlanta in 2000, and I missed it. If I had only known!! ANYway... my darling incredible unpredictable daughter used her Christmas Walmart card to order *for me* the Dralion soundtrack with him singing. And another CD - a compilation of several other Cirque songs from different productions. We listened together to the Dralion CD, swooning and laughing and drooling over Erik Karol. He looks incredible in makeup. So... that made my day, my week, my month. I felt like a teenager. *giggle*

So, I suppose I should get my fluffy butt moving and start laundry and maybe get on that treadmill, eh??

Yeah, it's Sunday, that means tomorrow is Monday... Hey Lucky, how is the waking up going??

Hi Everyone.

Hope everyone is having a good Sunday.

to Happy and Erin way to go.

Happy I used to work until 6:30 and if the tills didn't balance I had to stay until I could find out where the money was. Then with running kids around, then making supper we didn't usually eat until 8:00. Now with my new job, I am off work at 4:00 so I am hoping that this should push supper ahead. Wow that will be great for you to get away in April. How long will your trip be? What other places are you going? Or just to the 2?

Well Raven, after this weekend I am ready to move, so I'm coming your way. A good friend of mine split up from her husband so I moved her back home to the city an hour away from here. Half way there it started pouring freezing rain. Roads were awful. At least we got there before they closed all the highways because of all the accidents. Good thing my brother-in-law lives there so I had a place to stay. Then he bought a couple big sidewalk blocks to put into the back of our little truck so I could get home today. You are such a special person to notice the Rosa's depression and do all the chores for her. That would have made her feel better that that was done and she didn't have to wonder "where do I start?"

Jolly enjoy your time out at the barn. Then enjoy the gym visit. Would you have to pay any shipping at IKEA? Or shouldn't they just bring it in for you as it is something they sell?


Hippy how are you? I have been doing SBD also, and I could have lost more, but you are right about the motivation. But now we are back on track and we will make ourselves stick it out. Oh and you then get to be the official wake up caller. Raven first, as I think that with the time difference she hits 5:30 first then me. Do we think that I will be able to sleep tonight, as I will be to paranoid that I will be late?

Tracy how are you? Where are you? Pop on in and say hi.

Enjoy the rest of the day everyone.

Bill Phillips??????? ACCCCCKKKKKK. I thought it was Bob Greene - scheesh, them too look too much alike! I thought it was odd when everyone was talking about BFL and I knew Bob was "Get with the Program". Oh well. The cookbook looks good, the info in it is great. I have meticulously planned my meals for the week - am going to try and go back to the high protein, low carb, 5 or 6 mini meals that I started when I first began because that did work for me provided I stuck to it. Was hard to do the mini meals when I had to go back to the office but now that I'm working from home, no excuses. I had a good talk with myself and my biggest downfall is no self discipline. So I am making a list to check off. Food, water, exercise and the Preventive Maintenance things I have to do each day. Geez, I'm getting old. Have to do stuff to keep the old "car in tune" - stuff like take my vitamins so I don't get sleepy during the day, do my stretches so my feet and neck don't hurt, get more than 4 hours sleep a night and junk like that. I've been trying to make note of what I do that makes me feel better even if I am not exactly thrilled to do it.

back to Raven and Lucky for being the good friend of the week and helping someone else who needed a friend.

So far this year our only trip is to SF. My husband's job might be shaky - never know and we'll wait to see how things go before planning anything else. I only get 2 weeks vacation too so I don't want to fritter it away.

Hippy, thanks for the heads up on SBD - since the forums are down this evening, I think I'll give it a look. I already planned food for the week but I have to believe BFL and SB have alot in common. Will be interesting to compare.

Jolly you are brave going to IKEA. They have some great stuff and terrific prices but geez if you ever saw the crowds there, you'd think they were giving the stuff away for free.

Heys to Chachee and Erin, have a good Monday.

Speaking of Monday - here's the 2 challenges for the week. I just drew them and honest, I didn't know about it till now but gee, guess which ONE I'll be picking

1) Plan your meals for the week ahead of time and stick to them

or

2) eat 5 servings of fruit or veggies each day this week

Hey Chickies.

I'm having a little bit of a rough go of it this morning. You know when you get in a fight with your SO, and the thing that your fighting over is just the tip of the iceberg because you haven't talked about other issues in the relationship that have been there for a long time? Well, that happened this morning, and it made me painfully aware that things are not right between Richard and I, and I've been avoiding any discussion because it's too difficult. He always decides he's the victim, for one thing, and I get so damn tired of that. Plus there are some things we've spoken about before, and I will get the same answer as I got last time, so why bother. Then there are some new things, and I'm actually afraid to approach them because I'm afraid of the answer I'll get. It's so much easier to just pretend everything is ok. Well, till something scratches that thin veneer of "ok" and all the "not ok" comes spilling out.

From the few dancing around the issue conversations we have had, I am fairly certain Richard has no intention of moving any farther away from his job than he already is. I, on the other hand, am rather desperately wanting a home of my own on a decent parcel of land (10 - 20 acres) with a small stable for the ponies we have now, and the ones I'd like to have. To find a place like that I can afford, I have to move farther north. Even that will cost a small fortune, but it's something I want so badly I can taste it. It is looking painfully like I will have to choose between my dream of owning my own land/horses, and my boyfriend. Now the big question becomes can I even afford to do the land without him? Well, **** - right now with my job situation the way it is, I can't even afford to live where we are without him. Which of course I loathe. I hate being financially dependent on someone. There are options, like filing the paperwork against my ex-husband to bring child support up to where it should be, which would pretty much cover the difference for rent. And if I get the raise my boss is pushing for, that would cover the difference in utilities, so .. I probably COULD stay there. It would be very, very tight. I don't know... I'm rambling. I'm confused and frightened and just dumping my thoughts out here. I apologize.

Lucky - I'm just profoundly grateful you both made it home safely. One of the folks on the John Lyon's forum posted about their son-in-law (I believe) being involved in a horrible pile-up down in Florida. He's in the hospital in very, very critical condition. So... did you make it to work on time!?

Happy - Hmm. I need to work on both of those. Which one, which one... I tend to plan out the meals fairly well, then juggle them according to time allowances during the week. I just buy a mess of chicken breasts, lean hamburger, low fat hotdogs, some fish, and sometimes some shrimp if I can budget it in, then work from that. My whole thing is to actually COOK, not cave and buy fast food or pizza or something. So if I might, if I may, I think I'll modify that one just a tad to concentrate on actually fixing meals out of the food I've purchased, rather than whining about time. So focus on homecooking and avoiding the easy outs. Is that ok? Bill Phillips Ack?? His recipes are fairly good, I pulled a lot of great information out of his book. It's great that you can pull what you need out of a program, then toss the rest. I don't seem to be able to stay on anyone else's "perfect plan" but I certainly have learned a lot from them. Things I can use to perfect my OWN plan to work with my own body, cravings, and schedule. Sometimes this feels like one great big jigsaw puzzle.

One half pound down this Monday's weigh in. Not bad, considering how freaking tough it was to stay OP this week and start getting my quacking fowl aligned. Now to just focus on this through the emotional poo. And thinking about it, I would bet that some of this is PMS, too. *sigh* I hate that stuff. Ok.. back to work. Suppose I'd better get something accomplished around here.

Hey all. I am having a down sort of day too. Happy, I have seen the crowds there. GAACK! It is crazy. And I feel like a bull in a china shop.

I am just feeling all out of sorts. My weight is up, my life is frustrating, I have some decisions to make. So, I will leave it for now. I hope you all have a good day and week. I will work on the 5 servings of fruit/veggies for this week.

Hey Girls,

Today I am back OP. I have done my homework and have a plan. First to stay away from high carb foods, drink my water and exercise of some sort daily.

Raven, I read your journal about the puppy dog, I'm so sorry. I hate to hear that you feel like you have to choose between your dreams and your sweetie. I have some similar issues with my hubby and it's terrible to feel like there is no room to compromise. Maybe these balloons will put a smile on your face Hope things get better for you soon.

Jolly, sorry to hear you are down today too. Balloons for you too

Doing laundry today.....AGAIN, it seemd never ending! Working on cleaning raw veggies and so on so I can be prepared ahead of time.

Hope everyones day gets better

Hippy, so I am not the only one who feels like people sneak into the house and put extra laundry in the basket!

Sorry to hear it's a bummer day for Jolly and Raven. Sometimes you hit a crossroads.

Raven, you didn't ask for my opinion but since I've never been one to keep my mouth shut. Just an observation from a neutral party... In any relationship, even with your own kids there is a compromise factor. No one can have things their way entirely and even in a compromise, it's a matter of both of you feeling that each others needs are being partially met if not totally. Hard to get to that point. I can totally relate to the dancing around the issues part and the feelings on both sides that the other is being selfish. Just went through that myself when my husband wanted time I didn't have to give him when I was killing myself at school last semester. And I also understand from the other side about not wanting to move. At one point my husband wanted to move to .... ATLANTA! But, I am VERY close to my family and I wouldn't hear of it. Caused alot of strain between us until I said I'd consider it and then he blew his back out which put the kabosh on those plans. But back to you... I do believe in living your dreams and taking calculated risks. But you have to determine your priorities and the consequences of those risks. Seriously, it doesn't sound like you are quite in the financial position to make a move at the moment. And you have 2 kids that get first priority at unexpected expenses. Also doesn't sound like with his history you could depend on your ex for regular income. This is not to say that you have to abandon your dreams. I remember when you first met Rosa, you couldn't imagine yourself being able to get involved with horses again. And you did. Slowly. step by step. Might be that for the time being, that will have to satisfy your need as you work to your ultimate goal. Things are still shaky in the economy and even though I read last week people are in even deeper debt than ever before, I don't understand it. You can't always just throw up your hands and walk away from something. So, proceed with caution.

As for Richard, perhaps it is time for an honest heart to heart. Perhaps over a bottle of wine. Sometimes you outgrow a relationship, sometimes you are at different points with different needs and a little talking can open up the communication again. (God, I hope he's not like mine where I have to PUUUUULLLLLL the information out of him ) Painful as it might be, it would be better to know the truth and decide rather than pretending to live a lie. I have many times gone back to the "am I better off with him or without him?" question. You deserve happiness in your life and like any goal, you have to think about and plan your approach.

Sorry, did not mean to butt into your personal business. But I do know the heartache and extreme lonliness one can feel in this situation. to you today.

Oh yeah, and I'm not putting down Bill Phillips. The ACK was realizing that I thought Bill was Bob. Actually when I first looked at BFL I liked the program but not the food. Bill's done a good job with this cookbook. More real stuff instead of BULGAR wheat. Yuck, yuck, yuck...

Happy Monday everyone (although, thank god it's almost over!)

to Happy and Raven on your losses and to Hippy for a no gain holiday!

Raven: Dump whenever you need to!!!! Brian and I have been having the build up to a big production going on for a while now. I'm not looking forward to the blow or the events that precipitate it at all! I'm still working on getting over the blow out that happened 2 years ago (which sent me back to emotional eating and not caring about myself again)! We're here for you anytime you need to chat, vent, plot against the world, etc

Lucky: I'm glad you made it home safe! I hate icy road driving! Snow I can handle, ice makes me stay home!

Jolly: I hate having down days like that. I've been avoiding thinking lately to avoid them!!! And, can I add, I'm jealous of you and Happy getting to actually go to an IKEA! I haven't gotten there when visiting my family in Chicago and the new one outside the Mall of America isn't open yet! AHHH!!!

Happy: I should have clarified the stamping I"m doing. I do rubber stamping as a hobby and have done programs for some relatives' weddings and invites for many birthday parties and showers. My sis asked me to rubber stamp her invites for the wedding, shower and the bachlorette, the programs, rsvp cards, seating cards, and the thank you's for them all. The chose a pretty simple design, but it's still time consuming!!! Thank goodness I have about 3+ months to get them all done! Maybe all the paper cutting, sticking together and stamping will keep snacks out of my hands and mouth!!!

Tracy and Chachee: Hope you guys are having a good Monday!!!

I have a cute boy asking to play on the computer now, so I'm off to finish cleaning the kitchen and then chill before Mom's taxi service begins again!

Oh happy day. I will reply to posts in the morning.. right now I'm so tired. But I just had to share this. I got my raise. The one they promised me in September, the one I was depending on, the one without which I have been going in the hole every month. I will now do a little better than break even, which means I can actually start paying off bills. Slowly, yes... but progress is progress, just like weight loss! A little here, a little there. I got my raise. Thank God.

Aw Raven that is wonderful news about the raise Big congrats to you! It's about time and you sure deserved it. What peace of mind that must bring.

Erin good point about all that craft work keeping you from snacking. I've seen some of the stamping things. Very unique, pretty and it really adds a personal touch. I'm sure you're glad to breath a sigh that it's over tho, especially if your were working to a deadline instead of pressure.

I started out the day so well. Was just getting ready to finish work for the day, make my protein shake and do my workout when SNAP. No lights, no phone. The transformer across the street blew out a part. The power company came in about 45 minutes and said it would be several hours until it got fixed. It was twilight and though the sky was in the last throws of light, it got dark in the house pretty fast. And it was feeling cooler too. So I suggested to my husband to go out to dinner since we figured they'd take their sweet time fixing things. I didn't eat my favorite meal, instead chose a cup of soup and chicken with mushrooms and steamed veggies. However, this is a PIE restaurant. And I caved. Chose a half piece of lemon merangue ??? over my preferred banana cream. I suppose it was a choice of sugar over fat. Got home, didn't want to work out right away so I sat in front of the TV. Before you know it, 10 o'clock and no work out. I also had the strongest cravings for chocolate. Didn't help that all over the news the big story is that the local candy company is closing their doors after 50 years here. I mostly gave up chocolate but I do like their stuff and have it a few times a year. Of course I HAPPENED to have a small bag here from Christmas that is burning a hole in my brain. I tried the wait, drink water, stave the crave thing for an hour and 1/2 and finally caved in. Had 3 small pieces which I let melt in my mouth and I savored each calorie. All the while telling myself BUT YOU HAD PIE YOU DON'T NEED CHOCOLATE AND YOU DIDN'T WORK OUT!!!!! That kind of behavior will not get me where I need to be in April. So easy to slip... but tomorrow is a stronger day. Heck I had a Coke binge last week and I felt so bad about it that I haven't had a soda in 4 days so maybe an occasional slip is a positive reinforcement.

Slap me if I'm bad tomorrow.

GOOD Morning

Hey Raven are you awake? Well yesterday I slept in, still at work on time though. I do know that as long as I am up by 6:00 and hustle my butt, I will be ok. on the raise. I am glad that it finally came through for you. That should put some pep in your step today. You should be able to do some running on the spot, or maybe out for a jog around the ring with the pony.

Happy thankyou for pulling those fortunes. As it happens I sat down on Saturday and planned the menu, made the list and bought only what was on my list for the next week. Hubby is complaining as I didn't buy any snacks. you would think that the world is ending by the way he is acting. I also get Bob and Bill mixed up. I have the make the connection book with him and Oprah. Then I saw the Bill book, but thought it was Bob. I thought wow did he change his program.

Wow Erin that is alot of rubber stamping. So how many cards in total will you be doing for your sister? I do have a friend who really enjoys stamping. Do you scrapbook also?

Jolly how are you doing? Sorry that you are having a frustrating day. We are here for you if you need anyone to listen.

Tracy we are waiting...... How are you?

Will post more later, must run and get ready for work.