Are you sure you're talking about cleaning and not weight loss?? Cuz I seem to have had the same exact issue with my body, not my house It gets to the point where it's overwhelming, and since you can't imagine the end result, you feel it's pointless to even try! So, just like weight loss, I suggest you attack your house slowly. One room at a time, or even one piece of furniture at a time (clean off a table or a cluttered couch, etc.). Then work on MAINTAINING what you have already worked to accomplish while you wait until you have time to do a little more.

I only have a little 1-bedroom apartment and live alone, but believe me, I can create quite a bit of clutter, especially knowing no one else is going to see it on a regular basis. It's hard to find a whole day or weekend to devote to cleaning (since I only see the boyfriend on weekends, work full time during the week, attend a book club on Monday night, choir rehearsal on Tuesday night, TOPS on Thursday night--starting this week...), so I do little bits and pieces when I can. The hardest part is once I get that coffee table cleaned off, NOT coming home from work the next day and just dumping all my stuff on it again! I'm slowly learning that it's worth it to take an extra 30 seconds to put things away the first time so I don't have to clean as much. *sigh* hopefully I will have mastered this concept before I have an entire house to worry about (and maybe I can share my wisdom with the boyfriend, since he doesn't seem to understand why I get upset when I find dirty dishes/dirty clothes/wrappers/you name it around the house). UGH, men!

RISE and SHINE ladies !!!!!
It's a new day, a new week, a new chance to IMPROVE your life style.
I got a good nights sleep and ready for a new beginning.

Terri and Jill ... on the topic of CLUTTER ...
It is a killer of good feelings.
I agree ... take it one step at a time... but take it.
My first goal is to keep my living room clean. My second goal is my guest room. Then my bedroom. Did you notice my kitchen is often LAST.
That is because I feel so hopeless there. I can keep it clean, but CLUTTER seems to BREED there. LOL I have one little corner I allow to be cluttered and work hard trying to keep it there. The kitchen is soooo frustrating. You clean it and within hours you need to cook again. Grrr Then it is a mess again. It is a nonending pain in the ars.

I do want to say that everyone WILL BE HAPPIER if you declutter. And you sleep better if you declutter your bedroom.
When you declutter that gloom and doom feeling is lifted.
As with weight loss... easier said than done. LOL

Judy ... 14 inches !! The snowflake challenge is over... you need to stop collecting so many. I bet it is beautiful.

I will be ... I have looking at 2004 models to save some $$$ Like I said, I am cheap. LOL They all want to order me whatever I want in a 2005. LOL
I too FEAR getting in and out of the cars in front of the salesmen.
I also want to check and see if the seat belts fit. I certainly don't want to not fit in front of anyone. I know I can buy an extension if needed... but so far so good.

Synn... right now "my cup runneth over" with positive attitude... take all you want. BUT... I will probably be asking for some back come PMS time.

Lilion... If I ever do fly again I am going to buy an extra seat too.
I think I will make it a child seat so it will possibly be cheaper. LOL

Okay... gotta go cook breakfast for hubby.
There I go again.. messing up a clean kitchen. Grrrrr
What's a girl to do ?? LOL

OOppss ... I came back to add... don't forget Monday is not only the end of our 2x2... but it is also the end of our Cross Country Challenge.
So go that EXTRA MILE to get those last minute planes and cars collected.

Morning. I haven't been able to assess yet if it's good. I thought yesterday would be good but I was a little of there. Started the morning off well enough...got good sleep, had a good breakfast...then wound up tossing my cookies all over the bathroom Went to synagogue, came home and ate lunch, went to a baby shower with BF where they had the most amazing looking display of thai/chinese food. Thankfully most of it was pork/shrimp which I don't eat anyways, but they had spring rolls and fried shu mai that looks sooooooooo good. So I had some of the cucumber/onion salad. It didn't appear to have much of anything on it and that was I wasn't offending the hosts by not eating. Home again to cook dinner...yet another kitchen experiment...failed.

Have any of you made the chicken where you just toss in a cup of ketchup and a can of diet soda and let it cook? Things seemed to be going so well...the instructions seemed easy enough, pour, boil, reduce heat, simmer, yay! But somewhere between pour and yay we had disaster. Yup..burned it terribly...BF was very understanding and tried to get me to not feel so bad but being new to the whole cooking thing and trying as hard as I have been to cook instead of going out...I was horribly upset. So he took me to dinner and we both tried to be good...does anyone know the Points value of an ostrich burger? I ran it through CalorieKing and it came out to about 3 pts...I skipped the bun and had loads of salad. I know that ostrich is very low fatand low cholesterol and the burger wasn't greasy at al...but I couldn't find it in ANY of my WW books.

Then off the the lovely engagement reception for my rabbi's son. HUGE buffet reception, but managed to snack on celery for a few. Fortunately, my rabbi eats bland foods and watches his health, so at the asian station, they had some salmon and edamame...always a yay...then I talked to the caterer and found out that all the soups were made with vegetable stock so I had some onion soup and a little of the roast they were carving. Protein fills me up and I didn't have any of the pastries, bread, appetizers, etc...so what can a little meat hurt?

And home...where BF decides that he is having issues so we sit in the car and fight for a half hour before coming inside to fight for another 45 minutes. After lots of tears and reassuring from both sides we get through it. Made the mistake of not wearing the waterproof mascara and looked like some sort of tribal warrior by the time I got inside. In the end, all is well, we made it through, and I didn't create my own personal refrigerator buffet when it was over...tempting as it was.

So...enough of my venting. It's a new day and I'm off to try again.

To those of you looking at cars...I bought a new car over the summer...2004 Saturn ION 2. Lots of car for not so much $, a very reliable and safe car, a very roomy car, and I can sit comfortably in the front in the seatbelt and not worry about it not fitting. The front seat adjusts in a few directions, Saturn takes wonderful care of their customers (great warranty packages and free car washes whenever), and I don't have to fear that it will die on a daily basis. Just my humble plug. Saturn also takes good care of their used cars as well...if you can get a certified used Saturn from a dealer, sometimes you can find one with low mileage and warranty left. Happy Hunting.

Ok..off to find the positive side of the morning...it doesn't appear to be raining and after the January adn february we had here in LA...no rain is a true blessing.

New mini-hopeful goal: To not need the seatbelt extender on the plane when I fly home mid-April for my step-sister's wedding. I'm sure I still will but a girl can hope. Any advice for flying and trying to stay OP? We have meals scheduled for 2 of the legs of the flight (cross-country) and I surely do NOT want to eat plane food, and you don't get all the fancy choices in coach. BF is also diabetic and needs to eat on a semi-regular basis. I'm sure I can scrounge up stuff at my parent's house for the flight back, but... Plus I found out the menu at the reception and it's SO not OP...chicken marsala or an almond-crusted grouper. I'm going to ask my step-mom if BF and I can get plain grilled or broiled fish with no crust and some steamed veggies. Otherwise, we'll be off and running to BK for naked chicken Whoppers (3 points w/o bun..woooo).

Sorry for such a long rant...

Happy Sunday!

Hi Julee,

Ostrich is 1 oz.cooked = 1 pt.

You really did quite well yesterday considering all the challenges you had.

Cooking is not my favorite thing by a long shot. I love food. I understand the work that goes into the preparation of a healthy meal and am willing to kiss the feet of anyone who's willing to go through all that trouble when 1/2 hr. after they're done fixing it .... zap! ... they're left with nothing but dirty dishes to show for all their work. I'm a "I can cook it if I can boil it, broil it, nuke it, or eat it raw" kind of cook. Nothing close to fancy or creative.

Good afternoon chickies! Where da heck is everyone?

This morning after reading the paper (my sunday ritual) and taking a shower, we went to Wal-Mart to check out the Bissell carpet cleaners! We got the one that heats the water. My carpets are that builder's grade off white, ivory, beige or whatever you wanna call it that looks forever dirty dirty dirty cause they have that red clay dirt around here and its forever on shoes and dog feet!! Plus, the little guy's room has a mess where he wrote on the carpet with crayons and spilled milk from his sippy cup lids! Can you say YUK??? Anyways, we got two of those white rockers for the front porch and now I am trying to convince John to go to Kmart with me to get the Martha Stewart patio set they have on sale today. Only thing is I think its the same one my sister has. I had to get it in Philadelphia for her because she couldn't get it in RI all the stores were sold out. If it is the same one I will probably wait and find something different!

I am so inspired by everyone's posts here! It is so good to see all the new faces!

Synn...Pawtucket huh? I managed an elderly apartment building in Pawtucket at 300 Broadway...right on top of Rt. 95! I can't for the life of me remember the name of it! Oh wait, Doyle Manor I think it is!! When I lived in Coventry we lived on Hill Farm Rd. My parents eventually returned to Coventry and lived on Sweetwater Dr off of Colvintown Rd.

Terri...house cleaning! What a dirty word! LOL. My house is always a mess. I seem to always be cleaning and nothing stays clean for very long. My house never has all rooms cleaned at the same time! Any advice???

J-Ann...I love to cook for a crowd but just for us something simple will do! We use our grill all year long so that makes it easy! John usually does the grill and I do the sides!

Julee I had to laugh at your cooking ordeal. You sound like me! John always makes fun of me because I burn alot of things when I cook! I cooked the babyback ribs on the grill yesterday and one rack was fine but the other caught fire and was burnt...needless to say..I got that rack! Though I do like my food on the dark side anyway...makes for better flavor! They actually weren't all that bad! I just mixed some honey and brown sugar into the bbq sauce to make a glaze and they tasted mighty fine to me!!

2Cute....I am working on the decluttering thing...at least trying. I have every intention of doing our bedroom but I keep putting the time into the living room and kitchen incase someone decides to come over and the bedroom never gets done! Oh and by the way..congrats on the 7 lb loss and getting into virgin territory! I have 96 lbs till I get into virgin territory...but I will do it!!

Iwillbe...I think the binging comes in because we get discouraged fast because of the large amount of weight we have to lose. I try to break it into small portions. Like my first goal is to bring myself under the 300 lb mark so I tell myself I only need to lose 29 lbs and I work on that 29 lbs until I get there no matter how long it takes me. 29 is easier to lose than 100 or 150 or whatever it is we need to lose. Once I get rid of the 29 lbs then I will set me another small goal and go from there! Trying for the big picture sets me up for failure. I lost 97 lbs on WW before I had Andrew and thats how I did it! That plus exercise which I have a hard time fitting in right now. I just need to get on a routine and just do it!

Jill....ha! Men...I wake up every morning to paper plates, cups, whatever on the coffee table that someone..no names mentioned...can't seem to walk into the kitchen when he is done with them. He is one man that would walk over a newspaper sitting in the middle of the floor 100 times and STILL not bend down and pick it up unless I asked him to!

Lilion...pm me your address and I will send you the new books. I plan to go back to WW on friday so I will get another set of books and I would be happy to send them to you!

Thin I have a hard time staying OP on those restaurant jobs! I love food, especially when someone else is cooking it AND doing the dishes! The doctor is taking us and our spouses out to Ruth Chris's Steakhouse on thursday night! I can't wait!

Loki and any other newbies who haven't posted on this thread yet...welcome to a fine group of women who will help you along the way with whatever you need help with! Be it weightloss, personal issues or whatever they are always here for you!! I have been a part of this group for 4 years now and love each and every one of them!!

SueMarie...whatchya been up to lately? CD where are you? Susie, Syn, Jen, Steph? Gail? Tina are you ok? You all better come out and post again!

I think I caught everyone who posted on this thread!! If not please don't be offended!

Come out and post now so I will have something to read later on today!

TTFN Michelle

Good Sunday Morning! Hope you're having a great day.

Terri and Jill...With me it's housework, weight and work! You just get so far behind that you don't know where to begin! I even brought work home with me this weekend...which I'm avoiding by playing on-line...much like I do at the office!


2cute...our thrid seat is a child's seat...my DH and I joke about our invisible second child that gets to go to Vegas with us while my DS stays home.

J-ann...Can't say I know the point value for ostrich...but I'm surprized its a pt per oz. Isn't chicken 3 oz = 3 pts? At the store the other night they were selling bison and listed it along with beef, turkey, chicken ostirich and venison. I noticed that the exotic meats were about 1/2 the calories and fat of beef and chicken. Of course, I'm using old WW info so maybe chicken is higher than it used to be.

Julee...I'm pretty sure you can request vegetarian meals in coach...that ought to keep you OP. Just a thought.

Michelle... See your PM! I really appreciate it!

DH and I bought two cars in November, a 2001 Ford Escape for him and a 2005 Chevy Equinox for me. Yep...two SUV's. I'm not sure how that happened, but the prices were right, we both needed new vehicles and I got the 2005...so I'm happy!

Well, we started the day with 8 pts of oatmeal and english muffin...and I know we're doing beef stirfry tonight...so hopefully, I'll have a healthy, OP day. For now, I guess I better quit procrastinating and get to work.

Have a good day all!
Lilion

Lilion wrote:J-ann...Can't say I know the point value for ostrich...but I'm surprized its a pt per oz. Isn't chicken 3 oz = 3 pts? At the store the other night they were selling bison and listed it along with beef, turkey, chicken ostirich and venison. I noticed that the exotic meats were about 1/2 the calories and fat of beef and chicken. Of course, I'm using old WW info so maybe chicken is higher than it used to be.


I got the pts. on ostrich on another site. It's equal to lean skinless chicken. 1 oz = 1 pt. Most beef is 1 oz. = 1.5 to 2.5pts. depending on the fat content. Most wild game, red meat or white, eg: elk, venison, squab are lean and 1 oz. = 1 pt.

Thanks for the welcomes everyone. I'm glad I found my way back. I've been having some of that winter depression the past few days. Actually, no I really love winter time. I'm not quite sure what's been going wrong. Yesterday morning was great; I got out with some friends and walked and played catch. I'm fine when I'm out doing something, but it's when I get home that I just go downhill so fast. Maybe it's the clutter, I'm sure that's some of it.

I still live with my parents though (gasp the horror) and that's a lot of it too. My Dad is just an insensitive *** and my Mother won't come out of her bedroom. It's like pulling nails to get them to do anything other than sit and watch tv (or in Mom's case, lay in bed and watch tv). I've tried to tell her that will make you depressed.... staying in one room all weekend. But anyway, there's no being in the 'family room' when Dad is home. It's just constant ridiculing. So that leaves me here... at the computer, which I love but which also gets old so fast.

*sigh* I suppose it'll pass but in the meantime the past two days I've eaten kinda out of control and I know the only reason is that I see it as my only *escape*. And I know this, but when I'm in that moment I don't even remember it. Sounds kinda odd. lol. But true. Bleah. Hope you are all having a better day now!

Lilion...see your pm for the details. Its all sealed up and ready to go and will be on its way to you tomorrow morning!

hi. im new here
I don't even know how much i weigh. I had a baby in august and at last weigh i was 284. but i have gained sooooooooo much weight i can hardly move. i can't sit, or stand with out being in MEGGA pain.
i hope that you don't mind me joining your group.. i will update my countdown as soon as i know my propper weight. but i cannot find a scale that goes this high yet. Please help

Intriguing. WW Online has water buffalo listed as 1 point per 1 ounce. Not buffalo as in bison, water buffalo. I found ostrich to be 120 calories,2 gr fat, 0 fiber for 3 oz. 3 points.

Momof5 - You've come to the right spot for support. We give encourangement, hugs when needed, and a kick in the butt when needed too. I'd encourage you to take small steps. Several of us have worked through Dr. Phils weight loss book and it really helped. First, get a CAN DO attitude. No about where you are now or how you got there. Make the decision that you are going to change and live in a going forward mode. Oops, a little Oprah slipped in there too. Welcome to the group and believe in yourself that you can do this!

BarbPA - It does get better. I have found myself saying several times the past few months that I learned something or do something because of dad (he passed two years ago) and that makes me smile. Sometimes still I get a wave of grief and loss. But it helps to remember that he's still in my heart as you are finding comfort. Sorry about the hormones and delaying the cycle but also sounds like a better path to follow. You're still in my prayers. It was so good to see you checking in today.

Loki - Sorry about the parent issues. My parents had issues too and it used to really bother me. One day I finally had to say that I didn't want to be in the middle of their problems anymore and to leave me out. Try not to let it disrupt your feelings because finding solace in the food just isn't fair to you. Remember, you deserve better health than that!

Michelle - One word - Flylady. Actually, I am finally admitting that the more often I work on cleaning the house, the less time it takes. And if I quit whining about and work really hard, it doesn't take all that long either. White rockers on the porch sounds so spring like!

JillyBean - Yep, you're right, getting it to the maintain mode is key. Although I do have to say that my house is nothing compared to what was shown on Dr Phil on Friday!

2Cute - The kitchen counter is a clutter zone and makes DH crazy when it gets that way. How did you end the weekend? I hope you moved on into virgin fat zone! When I went to the doc yesterday, I was so thrilled when they didn't have to move the little thingy over the 250 mark even with all the clothes! Its been a long time I've been down this low. Now, let's stay there!!!

to everyone else! The dog is about to drive me crazy so I guess I'll go walk him.

I'm so excited, its cookie night. Now don't chastise me about being excited about cookie night. One night a week, I bake two chocolate chip cookies each for us to enjoy. Its our treat of the week.

Hi all,
Checking in again - I have been really busy so I have only posted on the exercise thread (keeps me honest!) lately.
I have started lecturing at uni this year, for the first time, and they messed up our contracts. So when I went in last week to sign it, I found out that they had made me unit assessor for the subject! This means I have to set all the assignments and the exam, and set up all the material. To add to it, the previous teacher took all of her material with her (copyrighted it) so I have had to start from scratch. And I had to give my first lecture on Friday. I got very little sleep and worked my butt off, but I managed to give the lecture on Friday and have everything ready to give the students (unit statement, assignment 1, the online teaching environment etc).
My lovely 16 yr old daughter (one of the twins) decided that we were going to "eat healthy" last week, so she spent some time making up a shopping list, working out meals etc ... and then she cooked some beautiful kebabs on Saturday night with brown rice, for our family and one of my middle daughter's friends that was staying over. It smelt heavenly and we were all looking forward to it. As she got it out of the oven the pan slipped and splashed hot juice on her wrist and she dropped it all. The whole kitchen was painted with the sauce (which had soy sauce in it, so it was black) but I was mostly worried about her burned wrist. We ran cold water over it for about 20 minutes and although its red its not blistered. I rang the hospital and they said to do what we had already done. So after all that, it was far too late to start cooking, and I was deadly tired, so we got pizza Life happens!

Anyway, lately my blood pressure has been way up, and I have been seeing stars around the outside of my vision from it. I have been retaining fluid from that, and last week's weighin was a disaster because of that - up 3 1/2 lbs from the week before. This week (today) I lost that + 0.4 lbs (3.9 altogether) but I'm still retaining some fluid so I guess I will see what happens next week. Bombed out of the second 2x2 for February though!
Hopefully things will settle down a little workwise/familywise over the next week and then life can get back to 'normal'.

2Cute: I love the 'virgin fat' comment ... a woman on another list I was on called it "Fresh Fat" and she would put in the subject "I AM IN FRESH FAT!" It would always give me a chuckle.

Terri, I love the idea of your cookie night - it's such a sensible idea to not deprive yourself of treats sometimes!

BarbPA, so good to hear from you again - sorry to hear about the delayed cycle ... but all the best wishes for you on the new path you have decided on ... how would you feel if you end up with twins or triplets from this after the process?

I know there are heaps of people I haven't replied to, but I have a mountain of work sitting here looking at me, and only 2 hours to do it in before my darling son arrives home from school!

Best wishes everyone
Leanne

Great Googley Moogley!!!!!! You stay off this site for two minutes and it takes an hour to read the posts. How wonderful!! I overdid it on supper a little tonight. My mother and I went to Fridays and I was starving so we shared the Spinach Dip (God is it wonderful!) But I shouldn't have got it. I ordered the Sizzlin Chicken and Cheese but only ate half. So I saved my overeating a little bit. I am off the next three days. So I am leary of how I will do eating at home. Since there is a million things to snack on. But I am up for the battle!

2Cute: Congrats on getting down to the virgin fat. WTG!!!! And the resistance at buffet! You are doing great!! You are so encouraging and so upbeat. What are you taking? LMAO just kidding. You posts have really perked me up today!

ThinThinker: Thanks for the Article! Congrats on the reprogrammed sleep!

Julee Claire: How was the movie Hitch. My friend and I were thinking of going to see it. And if I go I will remember you resistance to the popcorn! How was the Ostrich? Never had the guts to try it. Guess I am just a chicken.

Loki: Welcome! I hear your gasp the horror and raise you a . I still live with parents too. My father is cool. But mother is quite addicted to TV she watches TV from 4:15 - 10:00 that is when she gets home from work till she goes to bed. And she seems depressed. She gets mad because nobody talks to her. But when she is watching TV she won't let anybody in the room talk. Go Figure! Just remember tomorrow will be better.

SueMarie: How do those scales work that do the Fat precentage. Avon has one that does your hydration level or something?

Miss Muffet:Welcome! I can definitely relate! I hate booths Some booths my boobs sit on the table!!! Who designed those things!!!

Iwillbe: I understand the insane binge fest. I am currently agonizing over the fact that my family spent about $100 on GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!! OH TO EAT A TAGALONG. That is why I am currently posting to deter my self from eating them. My dad would get mad if there was cookie crumbs on his laptop. LMAO

Judy: I wish I had that much snow!!

Terri: Good luck with the company. I understand the clutter. There are 9 humans and three dogs living in this 3 bedroom house...

BarbPA: I am so sorry to hear about you mom. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Good luck with the baby making! Glad you are back!

Momof5: Welcome! You have come to the right place!

Leanne: Good luck with the classes. That sounds like a lot of work! Congrats on the exercise. BTW is it safe to deepwater walk in the rain

Well I hope I didn't miss anybody. I think I may have overdone it on this post. Its a little long. But the urge for cookies is over. Even with Terri mentioning the chocolate chip cookies. Which that sounds like an excellent plain.

Have a good night!

Scooter

Hi all! The Nascar race is almost over but I'm going to try and catch up on responses anyway. I've been in my office all afternoon working on stuff for Spring Fling II. Honey is a bit disappointed in me as I was supposed to be hunting up receipts for taxes. Oops! What I was doing was ALOT more fun!!!

Momof5: Welcome! We're glad to have you joining us. I'm sorry, but I refuse to put "huge" in front of your name! Think positive, don't put yourself down. I know how it feels because I have the biggest butt on the planet, but I don't want to keep reminding myself or it will never go down. * Anyway, welcome. We will be glad for you to join us on our journeys. * Weight Watchers makes a nice scale that weighs up to 380 pounds. I found mine at Bed Bath and Beyond for like $60.

BarbPA: It was so nice to see such a long post from you. I know how hard this all must be on you. It's wonderful that your dad is not spending all of his time moping about. The poker game will be very good for him. My mom plays cards 3-4 days a week now that dad is gone. It gets her out of the house and listening to other people's problems rather than focussing on her loneliness! As I've said before, being so far away from aging parents is NO picnic! I'm glad you and Jeff are using this time to become stronger together. [[[hugs]]]

Loki's Concubine: How sad that your folks don't get along better than that. I can't imagine living in that kind of environment, let alone trying to raise kids that way. [[[hugs]]] It must be hard to keep food under control. How bout getting out and about more.

Lilion: Honey and I just went to Vegas in December of last year and we did the same thing... an extra seat. It was great. I can't imagine even a skinny person sitting in just a single seat, especially for a long plane ride. *Either you didn't say, or I missed it, but where are you from? * How do you like your Equinox? That's the car that we rented when we went to Vegas. Well, actually, "we" didn't rent it, our friends did so we rode in the back while there. I was very impressed by how easy it was to get in and out of. How is it to drive? *Glad you and your DH were able to have a night of "adult pleasures". That is good every once in awhile.

Michelle: Gotta love that red clay dirt!!! Guess that's your trade off for the nice weather! * Ruth Chris' Steak House!!!! YUM!!! I work them too!!! *The restaurant jobs are hard but usually I try to order a grilled fish of some sort. Not crazy about cooking fish at home...mostly because the boys don't really like it...so I order it when I'm out.

J-ann: "I'm a "I can cook it if I can boil it, broil it, nuke it, or eat it raw" kind of cook. " I knew you were MY kind of woman!!! Give me a bag I can open or a couple of cans and I'm good to go. *Isn't it funny how we have special weights that we remember. I was at 285 for a long time after my kids were born. I was at 250 when I got pregnant with each of the boys. I was at 200 when I got married. Oh how fat I thought I was then!!!! Just never dreamed!

Julee: I just love your posts!! You have me laughing AND crying every time!! Just the spin you put on stuff is so great! Sorry your Cola Chicken didn't turn out too well. I mix the ketchup and cola in a bowl before pouring it over the chicken. You might have done that as well, just didn't mention it. Anyway, did you Pam the pan before beginning? That helps. Also cook on medium heat and be patient. Have you seen the recipe for chicken breasts where you mix a can of crushed pineapple and a jar of salsa and cook that same way? It's really good too. Especially if you like Sweet and Sour stuff from Chineese restaurants. * When Honey and I went to Vegas, they sold stuff to eat on the flights. Of course, we didn't know that ahead of time. But on the way back, we stopped at Subway and took healthy sandwiches on the plane with us. It was a great option and cheaper too. *The recipes are great. I hope you'll take the time to copy and post them over on our recipe thread so they won't be so hard to find once we move on from here.

2cute: Speaking of being embarassed by getting in a vehicle in front of a salesman.....we used valet service on Friday night when we went out and we happened to be in Honey's car (which doesn't fit me so good ) and the valet guy closed the dang door on my arse! Had to close it twice more before I had tucked myself in enough for it to shut. Wish he would have let me close my own door!!!!

Jill: The clutter thing gets me too. But it sounds like you need to work on reprograming your BF's habits. Gotta tell ya though, that's easier said than done.

Terri: The house to me is just like weightloss, it seems so out of control most of the time that it's just easier to forget about it. Maybe I should work on those baby steps in both instances.

Iwillbe: "I am still here and trying to get back to where I was at the end of the last 2x2 challenge." I hear ya there. I was way up and I'm working my way back down. We'll do it....as long as we don't get too frustrated.

Synn: Doesn't sound like you're eating all that much, just not a healthy mix or making terribly healthy choices. It's hard to make new habits, but it IS worth it!!!

MissMuffet: Glad to have you joining us. Come back and post often.

Hilta: Ok, you took a day out of life. Now it's time to get back in here and POST!!! * Great job on the lost pounds!

SueMarie: Can't help you with the body fat scale. I've never really looked at that as that important. I figure if the pounds and inches are going down, then the body fat has to be as well.

Recipecrazy: Don't worry about typing fast and doing individual replies. Most of us don't start out being able to do that all that well either. You get better the longer you're here and the better you get to know everyone.

Angela: Good job being OP. I bet that makes you feel WONDERFUL!!!

Joyce: How did the doggy home visit go??? I found that funny that you would have to "put on the dog" to get adopt a doggy! Hope it went well.

Cherishell: Welcome to our little corner! Hope you'll be checking in often.

Barbg: One more day and you'll have licked February! I'm looking forward to you being back here on a regular basis. I've missed you!

Grannie/Mary: Where are you? What have you been up too? You've been too busy for us lately....

Leanne: Good to see you here. I rarely read any of the other threads because I don't have time and I was hoping you hadn't desserted us. * WOW, lecturing at the University! How cool is that!!! Sorry you had to start from scratch....and it sounds like you found out at the last minute, but I'm glad it went well anyway.

Scooter: Stay away from those Girl Scout cookies. One leads to two, leads to three!!! *It does get crazy in here when you don't check in at least daily. This post is a result of the same thing!

What ever happened to Qadira, Jibbelle, Esmaraude and I know there were others we're missing? You guys were here so regular and have now just disappeared. Please stop in and let us know how you're doing.

I've gotta run. We got through fast-forwarding a bunch of VCR tapes tonight since no one was interested in the Oscars. That was a good thing as we really had a pile growing. I'm going to hit the bed before midnight again. I'm actually tired and so it shouldn't be a problem falling asleep. This re-programing thing didn't take as long as I thought it would.

You all take care. Love ya bunches!