checking in to say hi.....work has been hetic and getting a sinus infection to boot.....hope to catch up soon



sandy

SATURDAY: Today is Sunny Thoughts Saturday. Share with us your Sunny Thoughts Today!

WRAPUPS:

Susan
Cathy
Amanda
Donna

Good Morning. Just a quick peek in to set up the morning. I didn't get points yesterday as we ended up not getting over to the Y last night and are going first thing this AM, I had some stuff over plan last night and I was short a glass of water, but that is ok as I am still totally on track.

Talk with you all later!

Faye

Morning beautifuls!

Wow, it is SO AWESOME to see people posting losses again!!!

WOO HOO FOR ALL THE LOSERS!!!

Faye those shoes look amazing.......you must be thrilled.

Amanda--I know you feel down about the whole pizza thing, but think about this. You realized you were eating in reaction to the interview. You KNEW you were trying to fill a hole. Just knowing and understanding your eating is half the battle! Be proud that you can understand. Next time, try to realize what you're doing BEFORE you start and then you can control it. That job is out there, don't worry!

Well, I managed 3 points yesterday. Spent ALL DAY working with my dance partner on our upcoming show in April. You would think that means I got lots of exercise, but no......we were putting everything down on paper. The music, transitions, costumes, etc. So, I got lots of brain exercise (which I've been craving lately), but alas no physical work.

Today is another day. It's finally above 0 and sunny, so I'm going for a walk outside as soon as dh gets home. I need the sunlight sooooo bad!

I do have a WTG and a sunny thought today....I think I'm eating way too much at night, just because the food is there. I've tried cooking less, but it seems I have my recipes on auto pilot.....I can't cook smaller. So, I tried eating dinner out of a tiny desert bowl last night. Normally, I just automatically go back for seconds because everything tastes so good. I figured that if I do that, it's ok because these bowls are so small that I'd still be eating about 1/2 what I normally do. Guess what? When I was done with the first bowl, I realised that I just wasn't hungry anymore. I could have eaten more and not been stuffed, but I was satisfied and no longer hungry. So I just stopped. I probably ate 1/4 of a normal dinner! If I can just keep this up I know I eat mostly because of the taste! I want to keep closer tabs on my actual hunger instead. Wish I wasn't such a good cook!

Well, gotta fly..........
Everyone have a great weekend!
Julie

Julie: Wonderful WtG. We all can learn a lesson from you about that! You also get a for points!

We went and worked out this morning. WOW I can use a treadmill guys! I have never been able to do that before. I only did 1.35 miles today because I didn't want Jack having to wait for an hour for me (he could only start with a mile, but he did it on an incline, which is good for his heart). I just had to share that I used the equipment and even did it at a good speed not the lowest and part was an incline too! WOOHOO

Faye

Nice going folks. I am happy for everyone who is again finding their inspiration, and I am glad Faye posted those shoes, fun to really see them. I had a whirlwind day yesterday, really wanted to post my

4 points!

but did homework till I couldn't keep my eyes open and wasn't thinking straight. I admit I had no idea how much work nursing school was going to be, at least the one I got into (in the top 10 in the US, yay for me!). Today is my Dad's birthday, I am going to Eugene (2hrs drive) to make dinner for my parents and grandparents and my friend down there. I am making seafood gumbo, modified from the moosewood low-fat cookbook. That recipe is really really good. It is about the only one I tried from that cook-book that is, if anyone wants it, let me know. It is normally vegetarian, but I subtract some of the beans and add shrimp, but it is good both ways. So I am thinking of taking the bus or the train down to my folk's so I can do some school reading on the bus. I am going to check the schedules right now.

Keep the new kid (me) in your thoughts these days, as I have never had to work this hard in my life. OMG!!!!

Oh yeah, sunny thoughts, sunny thoughts. All I can think right now is comfy my cats look rolling around in the sun. And how tonight I am not going to study, am going to hang out and drink beer (probably) with my best girlfriend!!!!

Take care of yourselves!

Kim

Morning Ladies,

Faye, that is super and you'll be amazed at how soon your endurance builds up

I almost missed working out yesterday because i had a lot of housework to do but i convinced myself to treadmill at 7.30pm i'm glad i did now got 3pts for yesterday (not enough water..usual story plenty of black tea tho' )
Off to exercise..BBL..HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Hello
I get 2 points for yesterday. The food thing hasn't fallen into place yet but I'm sure it will by the end of this week.

Sunny Thought - I'm just looking forward to going to lunch with a couple friends then off to the used CD store. We all have a thing for music so we talk and compare and share amongst us.

Kim - have fun at your dad's birthday, and think of me when you pass the Corvallis exit!

Faye - nice work on the treadmil and those looked like fabulous shoes, sometimes its just the right pair of shoes that can make you feel wonderful

Donna - YAY for the loss! Awesome

Julie - That's fantastic, portions are something I REALLY need to work on

Amanda - Don't feel too badly. You at least know why it happened. I am eating all healthy food but way, way too much of it! I will certainly keep you in my thoughts and prayers concerning the job search.

To everyone else I wish a very happy day!

POINTS POINTS POINTS POINTS:

Cathy
Kim
Susan

Kim: Hang in there. Youth is on your side! Think about being 50 and trying to get through nursing school! We are all very proud of you!

In fact, I am proud of all of you who are trying to work on weight loss and get through school, work a job, take care of kids or the combination of them. You are all terrific ladies!

Cat: Actually, I could have easily kept at it, but I didn't want dh to have to wait for me though he told me from now on I am to exercise as long as I like and he will just wait for me. The neat thing is instead of 3 times a week, he wants to go with me everyday. He wants to run the race I walked in last October. He used to jog and he wants to get back to that.

Well, I need to run. I have a few things to do and we are going out to dinner with friends tonight. I promise instead of the chicken alfredo, I will get the fettucine marinara at Olive Garden and not load up on the other stuff!

Faye

Hi Everybody,
I got all 4 points today. Exercising was tough, I did some walking but my knees did not like it at all. I guess it is the weather, we have a norther blowing in and it has been raining. I may have to stick to my recumbant bike.
I got my nails done---no more soda. Solar nails, they look very natural, no colored polish, and I really like them. Now I wait for the caffeine withdrawal headache to kick in. Oh well.
Have a great evening.
Judy

Just a quick check in to say great job everyone! You all are so motivated and encouraging! Even when the bumps in the road seem to get to you, someone here is there to smooth them out! What a great group. I guess that would qualify for both a WTG and a Sunny thought!

I am down another .5. Its not much, but with everything going against me, I'll certainly take it!

Only two points for today - water and exercise. The eating isn't really bad - I have cut back on my servings, but the munchies always seem to get me. I'll predict a 2 for tomorrow too, since we'll all be in front of the tv with snacks watching the playoff games.

Goodnight everyone!

SUNDAY: Today is Silly Poll Sunday and here is our poll for the week:

You won, inherited, stole( just kidding), whatever millions of dollars and you want to "give back." What charities would you give to?


POINTS WRAPUP:

Judy
LisaZ

Good morning ladies. Hope you are having a good day. We are going to go to the gym when it opens at 1 pm and I hope to get an hour in today with some weight training today too. If they aren't too busy. I hate using the machines as a beginner if there are people who need them and use them all the time, but I guess the only way I won't be a beginner is to use them, right?

As for the poll, I always give to charities that mean something to me so here goes, Navy Relief, St Judes here in Memphis, Feed the Children, Muscular Sclerosis (my bil has it), American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, The Hope Rescue Mission in Chicago, one of the finest run Christian Missions in the country in my opinion and the Salvation Army. One of the things, silly though it may be, that I have always thought would be a wonderful thing to be able to do , was to go back in the hills of Kentucky, W Virginia and Tennessee and find a family that is living is absolute poverty through no fault of their own, not laziness etc, buy them a home, clothes etc and help the parents find jobs to make their lives more normal. It is definitely NOT normal to have to live that way in this country. Though I do not understand that kind of poverty, I do understand poverty, I lived it. One of the reasons I would give to Navy Relief is that many a time they helped us keep from completing going under, helped us go to see my fil when he was dying and then to his funeral and kept us from losing our car once. I only wish the citizens of this country would realize how very little the military that puts their lives on the line for us every day really makes. When Jack retired from the Navy after 20 years of service, his yearly income was less than 20,000$. That is pathetic and it has not gotten any better. Couple that with the fact that military bases are usually located in large metropolitan areas with expensive housing and such and you just cannot make ends meet.

Check in later ladies!

Faye

Good morning chicksters......

Sounds like everyone is having a good weekend. I almost didn't want to post today just because I wasn't "perfect" yesterday....I had TONS of exercise. I took that walk in the woods, like I said (1 hour of walking in deep snow is quite a workout). Then my oldest daughter had a pool party at the Y and I had to swim the whole hour with my 4 year old son. It was in a deep pool, and he's not a good swimmer....so was basically treading water for an hour straight. My legs hurt last night! I also got in my water. BUT, I did have a small piece of cake/icecream...and then we went out to a chinese buffet. So, I'm sure I went over calories. HOWEVER, I did stop eating when I was satisfied. DH did the usual "buffet stuff your face challenge" and was complaining all the way home how much his stomach hurt because he ate too much. So, only two points for yesterday, but I"m proud of myself anyway.

Faye, it sounds like you're going to love the Y. Don't let yourself think that you deserve to use the equipment any less than the "regulars". You all pay the same premium to use the equipment.....you deserve your time as much as anybody else!!! I don't know how your Y is, but here you have to sign up for a time slot because there's always a line AND they limit the time on the cardio stuff to 20 minutes! Now, I think that's ridiculous because EVERY guideline or recommendation you read says that cardio should be a MINIMUM of 20 minutes to START the fat burning process. SO, I always was a little resentful of having to stop after such a short time. I hope that's not how your gym is. Since you have the "luxury" of going pretty much whenever you want, you might as well ask them when the slow times are during the day and go then so you can choose your pace and workout as long as you want.

KIM--Hang in there. Nursing school is TOUGH! My sister did it, and I remember how much work she always had. Your health is the most important thing to keep you going through all the stress and hard work, though! It is especially important for you to eat properly, drink your water, and EXERCISE! Not just to lose weight, but to keep your brain and your body able to easily handle the challenges put in front of you. YOu can do this! Just put yourself as a first priority.......

Judy--Congrats on the soda kicking! If you do get that nasty withdrawal headache, DONT go back to the soda! Excedrine has a little caffeine in it, and works on those headaches while still allowing you to NOT be drinking the soda. Babystepping down the caff levels is the best way, but cold turkey is the only way for some people.

Cathy--If your tea has caffeine in it, you are dehydrating yourself! Caffeine drains your body of water. I read somewhere that you have to drink 2 glasses of water for every glass of caffinated beverage you drink just to stay even. SO, if you can't stand to drink all the water, at least try to drink a decaf tea! You can also get significant amounts of water through fresh fruits and veggies. Can't cook 'em though....raw oranges, apples, celery, etc.

Well, hope everyone else has a great day.
Gotta fly now,
Julie

Hi ladies.

All is pretty well here. My hubby found another job to replace the one he is losing next month (acct coming to an end - he didnt get fired. lol) And its so much better of a job. He will end for one company on Friday and start for the new one on Monday. The company is only 10 miles away (he is currently driving almost 100 mi one way to work) with a 20% pay increase over what he makes now, all company paid insurance and co. paid pension plan, 50% match on 401k, 10 paid holidays, 10 paid sick days per yr.. and the list goes on. The benefits are awesome, the top pay (which he will reach in 5 yrs) is just breathtaking, and I am sooooo relieved. We found out his job was ending in Feb, a few days before Christmas which totally ruined Christmas for us and was a major cause of my recent eating binges. I hope now I can get back on track.. more so than I have been now that the stress of that is relieved.

Now, as far as the poll. Carl and I have talked about what we would do if we ever won the lottery.. so I will basically go with that since its always the same.

We would definately contribute to St. Judes. Its a charity which we have give to before and will continue to. This particular charity is near and dear to my heart for reasons I cannot explain. They would get a big chunk of the money.
Also, I would contribue to the American Cancer Society. Cancer has taken so many loved ones from me and this is another important charity to my family.

I would pay off my sisters house and her truck and set up a fund for her only child for the future. College, a good start in life, or whatever he needed it for.

I would pay off my parents truck, and buy my great grandfathers house in KY that my mother has been desperate to get her hands on for the last few years. I would also give them an amount to spend.

My aunt - she lives in the appalachians.. in the kind of poverty that Faye described. I would move her into a home with running water and all the luxuries that we take for granted. I would also give her money to furnish it completely and I would help her husband find a good job. He works now for the school, and he is far from lazy but its not enough to get them out of where they are. I know he would want to continue to work. So I would do what I could to get him a good job with a good wage.

My husbands family are already pretty well off and wouldnt pee on me if I was on fire, so I would probably not do alot for them. Of course if someone really needed something, I would always be there to help if I could.

Its so hard to mention everything I would want to do. There would also be alot of little things involved with my kids school, the church, some message boards that have helped me alot that run on contributions, and animal welfare organizations that would be donating to.

Then I'd get my number changed, move into my own new house with my own new furniture and vehicles, put up a big fence.. and enjoy my new life.

Debbie..thats hilarious "get my number changed and put a big fence up"

I've never really thought about giving it away just what i'd do for myself and my children its not that i'm selfish its just that i wonder sometimes if all of the money that is donated goes to the actual use that you want it to I definitely believe that charity begins at home and me and mine would come first and then i'd consider something to do with cancer and arthritis..both of which have affected members of my family.

Julie, my tea is virtually colored water i get about 4 mugs out of one tea bag..i don't like strong tea.

Did'nt exercise yesterday but got plenty moving furniture around and cleaning, i also had a day off from the diet (planned) but did'nt go overboard so 0pts for me.

Hi all,

I'm feeling much better now - thanks for your kind words everyone.

I got 1 point yesterday - starting my week over as of tomorrow, although today has been a good day - I went on my exercise bike for the first time in months. It was so great to work away some of that nervous energy that I've got since giving up smoking. I worked really hard and it felt great!

Amanda xx