Salut tous vos graisses poussins,

Hey all-

I'm feeling a bit owerwhelmed, but that is okay....

I'm about to get interviewed for my position, so that is good news, I was also the only candidate, so that hopefully will work to my favor.

seesaw: I know those renos can take forever. Our main floor bathroom was retiled, refitted etc. sept 99. the paint is peeling already. I am miffed and not excited about scraping, priming and repainting again.
At least I'll change the colour.

Melissa: sorry to hear about your friends dad. Gosh, what a shock. The school thing too- how can they make such a descision on such short notice. Is it a remodel or some such? A school in my neighborhood is under massive renovation and we knew about it 3 years before it was undertaken.

Austingal You've resurfaced! How are things going? I think I should spend a day or so in Texas acclimating to the heat before hitting Australia. Yikes. I feel sorry for all those plants- hot, cold, hot again...

Your skinny cow story was funny. I am debating buying a couple cases of nutrigrain bars for the American Airlines points and then donating them to a food bank. Can you imagine buying 9 cases of bars? At least you don't have to have freezer space, which is always at a premium at our house...

So, off I go to work, interview and chase down phone numbers...

Have a great day all!

Avez-vous un journee agreable!

lalala

lalala - I can't imagine buying 9 cases of Nutrigrain bars! I am doing fine - thanks for asking. We are settling in, and have been invited to a neighbor's house for dinner this Sunday. I may have missed something, but why are you interviewing for a position you already have?


Any suggestions on an appropriate hostess gift for dinner at the nieghbors' this weekend? I am not a wine expert, so I am overwhelmed at the thought of trying to pick out something appropriate in the wine department. I am thinking of flowers - always a pretty choice, and non-caloric. The debate I have now is whether to bring fresh flowers wrapped in tissue or whether to try to negotiate a vase full of water and flowers when ringing the doorbell. Maybe a nice flowering potted plant would do the trick? Any suggestions?


Bumby - I like your idea of hiding the Skinny Cows away. I should have done that - instead I brought a whole package to work this morning and stored them in the office kitchen fridge. I have already had two of them myself! So far, two co-workers have bummed one, because they look so tasty (or maybe because I make such rapturuous noises and have a blissful look on my face when I eat them.) Anyway, as you say, those things are expensive, so I hope my co-workers quit asking to taste them!

Because I have eaten two Skinny Cows, I am not allowed to eat any more points till dinner. This is not a good thing - I don't think I can make it without an afternoon snack. Darn those Skinny Cows! Wish me luck ...

[This message has been edited by AustinGal (edited 02-21-2001).]

Good afternoon!

lala ~ Good luck on the interview, I am sure you will do just fine!

AustinGal ~ The new skinny cow flavors sound great. I have the vanilla ones, and I am the only one allowed to eat them at home (your right, too expensive!) I would love to try peanut butter and mint....yum!!

Well, better run...talk later!

------------------
Tonya
170/134/140(WW)/132(personal)

[This message has been edited by TonyaLyn (edited 02-21-2001).]

Good morning everyone

I didn't get a chance to post after my meeting yesterday...I was up this week and haven't figured out exactly why since I've been walking and making sure I get my water in. I'm going to focus on my portions again this week and will continue to get more walking in and hopefully this will help break the cycle of see-sawing up and down.

I have never seen the Skinny Cows here in PA but will keep my eyes open for them. The mint sounds yummy.

lala: The school is struggling financially because there aren't that many families staying within the city and sending their kids to the parochial school. It was so sad yesterday because the kids were told and there were news crews all around. It's a difficult time for everyone involved. I have been making phone calls regarding a new school for my son and I seem to have found a place that will work for him. They have an open house next weekend so we'll be going to check it out. He's a little nervous about starting a new school but there will also be more opportunities for him in the long run.

Hope everyone is having a good week! The kids are off on break next week so it's going to be pretty quiet around here for me...I'll be able to get caught up on some things that have been sitting on my desk.

Melissa
161/143/142ww/135 personal (??)

Good Morning. The Austin weather has taken another wacky turn - I am dressed in a spring-ish short-sleeve flowered dress and open-toed sandals. However, I discovered that it's not really spring here (tho it's been in the 70's all week). Right now, it's in the 40's, with an expected high in the 50's. I guess you could call me a "wishful dresser."

Did well yesterday - exercised, stayed relatively OP (despite the two-Skinny Cow fiasco) and got in lots of water. I'm hoping for a repeat today - tho exercise probably won't happen today.

Today is the last day of DS's cotillion class. It is the "final party". He was speaking this morning about "escorting a lady to her chair" - it was cute. He sounds so grown up for a 9-year-old!

Lots of work today - gotta run. Hope everybody has a good day.

Happy Thursday all-
Really, I'm up again .4, but thats okay, because, I knowI'm doing everything right in my heart and I saw my first narcissus blooming in my garden.

Austingal: flowers are a hard one. I tend to bring flowers, but usually either
something seasonal and wrapped in nice tissue
with a martha-ey ribbon or something from my garden if its in bloom. A vase is very bulky
and a pain to get rid of by the hostess, unless she reciprocates with flowers from her own garden (this is the martha way, correct?)

A plant is nice too, but awfully expensive...

Wine, I agree is a major pain. Some people are such snobs and a good bottle is hard to find for under 20 bucks.

The cotillion sounds cute. I hope he graduates with full honors and never steps on the toes of his dance partners.

TonyaLyn: My interview was fine, sort of a formality. I have the job pending final the University's approval, however, I'm not giving final notice until I have it on paper.

Melissa: Was this a charter school or a private school? What a bummer, but it seems like your son is up for the challenge and change, it is good, right?

Okay ladies, I'm excited to finish the little project before the end of the day and then spend tomorrow helping write proposals for more of my salary money.....

I'm off early on Saturday, like I believe kt for a while. I'm home for about 34 hours and then gone for another 24 days. I hope to take some great pictures and keep up with my adventures with lala! Heck, its another continent to conquer!

lala

Good afternoon, all!

I'm still been rather busy at work, so I apologize if I don't respond to everyone's posts.

I was down 1.2 at my meeting last night. I have decided to try the maintenance mode because I've been frustrated that I can't ever get below 140 (I've been as close as 140.4!). So in the last week, I decided to bag the idea of trying to lose more weight & instead decided to figure out maintenance. I'm pretty good at losing the weight, just miserable about how to keep it off successfully. I'm a little fearful of adding back more points & food because of the panic of possibly gaining weight. But, I am going to give it a whirl, especially since I'm off to Florida on Sunday and I know I am going to be out of my "comfort zone" with regards to food choices.

Re: Skinny cows - we have the choc & vanilla ones here, and strawberry flavor has just surfaced here in the Madison, WI area. I liked the strawberry as well, but haven't seen any mint or choc peanut butter - those sound wonderful! Melissa - the Skinny cows are packaged in a clear cylinder-type package - sort of looks like a package you might see donuts in - they are not in your typical box of ice cream sandwiches. They say Silouettes on the package & there is a picture of a cow (skinny, naturally!). They are made by Edy's, so ask your grocer to order them if you don't see them - that's what a member did in my meeting.

Back to work - I'm off on Fridays, and plan to start packing for Sunday. I'll try and check in on Friday.

Later,
Katie
191.8/142/145WW



[This message has been edited by kt marie (edited 02-22-2001).]

Sad to say my entire package of mint skinny cows are gone (tho I only ate 3 - my secretary ate two). My secretary also tried one of the peanut butter and says they are yummy - they are 3 pts instead of 2, so I haven't tried one yet.

lalala - thanks for the tips on hostess gifts. I think the tissue-wrapped approach with very nice bow is a good idea. I went to a local shop yesterday, planning to buy a plant or something like that, and came out instead with a cookbook by the chef of a local up-scale restaurant here in Austin called "Hudsons on the Bend." This guy gives cooking classes that I have heard are very good. He is very popular and his classes usually sell out. Any way, this cookbook is autographed, and wrapped with a very Martha-ey ribbon. Since my hostess is a member of the "gourmet club" in our new neighborhood, I thought it might make a nice gift. Who know? It's the thought that counts, right? [What is a "gourmet club" anyway? I hope it has to do with cooking food!]

Had a Dr. appointment today, and weighed in at 1 lb more than when I went in for strep throat last month . Seems I may have low blood sugar. Maybe that explains why I eat constantly? It sounds like a good excuse to me... They had stick me numerous times to draw blood, so I feel like a pincushion. All other vitals checked out well, so I have a clean bill of health.

Cotillion was very cute. At the last-day "party" girls had to dance with their fathers and boys had to ask their mothers to dance. I am quite an uninhibited dancer, and my DS joined in with much good sport and gusto - we made quite a spectacle, but had a roaring good time. I probably even burned a few calories (I mean, who can hear "YMCA" by the Village People without just absolutely "busting" a move?)

Well, guess I better bust a move or two here at work, since my Dr. appointment made me late.

Have a great weekend, all.

[This message has been edited by AustinGal (edited 02-23-2001).]

Those skinny cow ice cream sandwhiches sound delicious! How many points are they?

Jamie - they are 2 points each, but I guess the peanut butter ones are 3 points each.

Katie

Hi All-
just chowing down on a go-lean bar and decided that typing is better than eating .

I'm off for about 5 weeks, I may post here and there, but it just depends on internet connectivity in Australia...

I have decided to stay the course for the next few weeks. I don't think I'll obsess about each thing I put in my mouth, but I'm certainly not going to hit the fish and chips shops with a vengeance and the hiking is supposed to be pretty amazing.

All I know is that I'm 10 lbs lighter than I was this time last year and if I hadn't started WW again, I would be 10 lbs heavier than that. I am bummed I'm not losing fast, but I'm happy with parts of my body and I'm way more energetic. I'm just not happy about the four! grey hairs I found this week. I had made it through the mid-30's without one. Oh well, I have no idea what my mother's hair colour is.

So, have a great few weeks everyone. I know that everyone will journal, drink water, exercise and think good thoughts!

You guys are the best!

lala

Thanks Katie!
I hope you have fun in Australia LaLa!