Hello! A long and tiring day again today -- the firestorms are dying down but volunteering is still costing a lot of time right now. We lunched again today at the little cafe we first tried yesterday (we intend to go for dinner tomorrow as well). Today I had sliced turkey, artichoke hearts, and spinach wrapped in a sun-dried tomato tortilla with cold grilled potatoes on the side. I also had a taste of my husband's dessert -- praline cheesecake that was, quite literally, the best dessert I have ever tasted in my life. And I had ... one ... single ... bite. I'm proud all over of that effort let me tell you. The temptation was to buy the entire cake and cut off an arm so I wouldn't gain weight for eating it.

Linda -- this weekend while washing my hands in some anonymous bathroom on the road, I looked in the mirror and suddenly thought, "You know, my face actually looks thinner." Sure enough, later that day someone commented on it. I know when there's a lot to go (I've only lost 13.5# myself and have quite a ways to go yet!) that the changes seem slow -- but isn't it neat how you can see them in yourself? Congratulation!!!

Geri -- I always have a pity party when I gain anything; unlike you though I'm not nearly courageous enough to admit it when its happening. Bravo on sticking to your guns in the face of the Evil Ice Cream Lord Vader. Darn him! (I just wanna smack anyone who eats ice cream when I've not the points for it!)

Lilacglitter -- I've heard that my husband knows how to cook but have never seen the evidence. One of our family legends recounts the time when my husband made me a turkey sandwich one evening spontaneously. It is the only time, before or since, that he hand prepared food for me. On the other hand, he does spoil me rotten so I guess that has to count for something, eh? LOL!

Happy day -- strenth and serenity to everyone!!

EDITED because I somehow missed J-Ann's BIRTHDAY! Happy birthday -- and I hope the brownie was extra good (and that you didn't eat the candle )

Lilacglitter, you wanted to know what skunk smell like. Well, I'll take a shot at describing it.

Picture the smell in a bar full of sweaty men who've had too many beers and eaten WAY TOO MANY beans. (Get my drift?) The bar has no air conditioning and it's a warm, humid, day and the windows are shut. Throw in a couple of wet dirty hairy dead animals. (Starting to smell pretty bad isn't it?) Add a little mildew to add some extra mustiness to the odor. Now multiply the smell you're imagining by about 100 and imagine it wafting into every open window of your home! It's not a pretty picture is it???

All this from a cute little black animal that looks like a relative to a low legged cat with long hair and a white stripe from the top of
it's head to the tip of it's cute long, fuzzy tail. If it wasn'table to spray this noxious odor it might make a cute pet.

J-ann it sounds awful!!! Maybe I dont want to smell a skunk!! And I thought my trainers were bad after one of my walks!

Well, it is a very hot day today, very muggy again and I am very sweaty. Yuk. Still, I am OP and drinking lots of water, so that is making me happy.

Off for the weekend to stay with a friend who lives near the sea side so we will be hanging out on the beach, hunting fossils, and doing lots of art (as she is an artist and has loads of paints and clay around the whole time!). So I am really looking forward to that. She is supportive of my programme too, so I think the food will be ok. I have saved up 11 points this week for extras at the weekend - we are planning to eat out a couple of times. There is a new fish restaurant she wants to try so we might do that.

Tonight I am going to make pizza, but I am substituting the very high point pizza dough for 'point-free' aubergine (egg-plant) slices. This way I get to put plenty of cheese and bacon on the top! I used to make these when i lost weight before (oh sorry tale of Lost Motivation ......... after 50lbs I gave up, and of course gained about 75......). Trouble is I am not exactly sure how I did it......but I am going to have a bash anyway and we will see what happens!!

Bunny - I bet that turkey sandwich he made you was the best ever I suppose some people just dont like to cook. That dessert sounds like it would have done you a lot of 'arm.

(hope that 'joke' is not too London...........)

Linda - that article was really interesting - in some ways it stands to reason that to lose weight we need to be proplerly rested - otherwise our bodies will just get too stressed out. let us know how it goes with skipping your afternoon nap.
Its great to start noticing! I am beginning to just about notice my tops being a bit looser - just a tiny bit. it is very motivating!

Geri - well you WON the fast food battle, and the ice cream fight! That is really testament to your strength and staying power when faced with the horrible disappointment of a gain in the numbers.........so good for you for tapping that level of resources! And it is normal to feel unhappy when we go up a bit I think, although I wish we did not. It is one of the main faults of the (otherwise good) weight watchers plan that they perpetuate this dreadful 'thin = good, fat = bad' mentality that we have all grown up (and OUT) on. So WW does not really help our self esteem because they say ' you will feel good about yourself if you lose'. They should be saying 'feel good about yourself anyway - AND lose'. The problem with their approach is that there is insufficient support for us when we go up a pound or two on the journey. Its all 'lose it and then you will feel better'. Well, the way it works for me is 'feel better and then I will lose it'. A subtle but KEY head thing.

Love to everyone - I probably wont be checking in again until next tuesday or so, so have a good op weekend everyone, and remember how strong, loving, funny, supportive, and effective we are EVEN IF WE ARE CURRENTLY LARGE!!!!!!!!!!

Hope my rant about self esteem wasn't over the top.....It is one of my big things.........getting hot under the collar about the whole 'you cant love yourself if you are fat, so lose to feel better about yourself' thing

And Geri, I dont even know if your pity party (great expression!) was coming out of that self esteem dip thing - that was just me projecting what I get in to when I gain - sorry!

Rant Rant RantRant! What must I sound like! A weekend away...that is what I need!

Well, I had my WI this morning and was down 1 more pound. I'll take it, thank you very much. That's 14 total and I noticed this morning that the steering wheel isn't digging into my belly anymore. That's a very "good thing".
Today at my meeting we talked about rejoicing in the small victories and changes so that's what I'm trying to do. I can finally reach behind me to undo my bra rather than having to twist it around to the front to unclasp it. I was able to cut my baby toenails for the first time in ages. My shoulder bones and collar bone feel closer to the surface. My pant legs feel looser and I have to keep pulling my pants up. I'm able to take deeper breaths and I can climb the two flights from my community swimming pool without stopping rather than taking the elevator. All steps in the right direction.

Hi everyone! Had 2 great days OP and today was back to 'iffy' again. I have journalled and have tomorrow and Sunday to be 'good' again so I may be ok. Hope you all are doing ok.

Linda: Congrats on the pound down, you go girl!!! Thanks for the excerpt from the article. It was really interesting. My youngest son is on the heavy side and has a very flabby chest. What you were saying really fits him. When he's at college, he stays up all night, gets a couple hours sleep at most and goes to class. When he's home, he gets up at 7 am, goes to work, comes home gets on the computer and doesn't log off until 3 or 4 o'clock the next morning. So he's going on just a couple of hours sleep every night. Your article kind of explains his physique.

Lilacglitter: I never really thought about the pity party being the result of a self esteem issue, but it was very interesting that you pointed that out. I don't stop long enough to analyze it, but I should. * Hope you have a wonderful time at the shore. It will be nice to get away.

J-ann: I don't know how I missed your birthday either so here is my birthday tribute to you HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR J-ANN! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! and many more!!!! * I laughed my butt off at your description of the smell of skunk. By gosh, I think you nailed it!!!

Bunny: I envy you your hiking. #1 because I could never walk that far, and #2 because of the beauty of the area in which you live.

There are an awful lot of you missing. Where are all our old friends? Come out, come out wherever you are!

Well girls, I'm doing a theatre job this weekend so I need to head back out. You all be good.

"The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings." - Kakuzo Okakiwa

Hello!

I'm back from my trip to Iowa. What a boring drive. But the class was worth it. The food was not good; literally not good plus not WW good. Wasted calories.

The humidity has been bad here again certainly making everyone feel cranky and sluggish. Even the dog. He missed the walks while I was gone and so did I.

Today, I'm having a really bad allergy overload. Maybe from all the rain, the mold is running rampant. Plus I've been unpacking, shampooing carpets and trying to clean house. That probably hasn't helped either. The house is beginning to look more like home everyday. And no the desk still isn't put together. He's **thinking** about getting it out of the box. I'll probably do it all myself this next week and weekend if he doesn't hurry up.

I did something different yesterday. I went to a dog show! What beautiful (and some ugly) dogs. It was fun. I especially enjoyed the bullmastifs because they are soooo huge. Not very tall but the body is massive. You should see two 145 pound dogs laying on the floor wrestling and playing with their tails wagging furiously. They need lots of floor space!!! Glad I don't have to scoop that poop!

Not much is new here. I'm sort of disgusted with myself for food being so bad this week. Some may be pity party from not feeling good. So Im going to go take meds, lay down and rest.

Have a good Sunday! I'll catch up on posts and congrats later.

Hi ladies! I have been working very hard getting back OP this week. Boy a full blown pity party will really do you in! It's really hard getting all that sugar back out of your system. Yeech!!!

Terri: Guess it's just you and me, girlfriend! * Have you decided to show your new pooch? * Sorry Iowa was so boring. They never serve good food at those 'conference-type' events. I usually at least pack fruit and my own snacky stuff. * Your house sounds like it's coming right along. The humidity has been awful here too. The temp's been pretty good, but I had to turn the air back on 'cuz everything in the house was so damp feeling. * Shake off the pity party. That's what we have to do, and it's not easy! But we CAN manage it! Begin again today.

Talk to you later!

"It's never too late to be what you might have been." - George Eliot

Just got home from Canada. Did Teri say Dog Show? Well, we went to the Pointer Club of Canada's national specialty show. It was held in conjunction with several all-breed shows at Long Sault Provincial Park,near Cornwall, Ont. What a beautiful park. If anyone is traveling (camping) in this area keep this spot in mind. It consists of 10 or so small islands in the St. Lawrence River (Yes, they're part if the 1000 Islands.) connected by bridges and causways. They are secludes and tree covered with sandy beaches and gorgeous parks.

Each morning, before the show began, a Scot, in full regalia, played his bagpipe for about 15 minutes. It was neat to see a piper coming out of the morning mist, playing traditional scottish tunes.
Anyway, "Sarah Pointer" was entered in a class called Veterans, for Champions over 7 yrs of age. She won and was Best Veteran in Show. We came home with ton's of rosette ribons and a couple small trophies and one tired pointer.

Was able to stay OP by taking lunches in the cooler and staying away from the vendor's stands with the burgers, French fries (and vinegar), fried dough, etc. and the Club dinner, on Sat. ws a lovely buffet that was made for someone on WW. I was able to make OP selections and even have dessert. They had small 1/2' by 2" slices of raspberry tart so I had one. It was delicious.

Teri: Hope you had a great time. Glad you're back OP.

Linda: Good for you. It's a great feeling to see a difference, in the mirror or in your clothes. Keep it up!

OK, off to the washing to try and catch up!

TTYL

Me again!

J-Ann - Congratulations on both winning at the dog show. The pooch did great and so did you with your food choices. What fun. The area sounds wonderful too. No vacation for us this year with having just bought the house but next year there better be something. Maybe north or the Smokey Mountains after reading about such lovely places.

Geri - I do want to try to show the brat dog. I was so miffed when I got there because I could find no publicity about the event so I had no idea what time it started. I got there at 10 am to find that the rotties had shown at 8 am. After that could only spot one rott in the whole bunch. And Bear is definitely a much prettier rott. I stood there watching and thinking, "yeah, Bear and I could do this and have a blast". So I came home thinking about my champ only to have him drive me nuts while trying to clean the garage. He was into everything. Attacking the broom while I was trying to sweep...playing tug with the garbage bag...bolting through the door to the inside in case he got left behind. We do have some work to do!!

Well I'm off to watch the Sopranos reruns and not pout because Sex & the City and Six Feet Under is not on.

Have a great evening and lets all have great OP Mondays.

I've just returned from a trip -- spent 20 of the last 40 hours on the road drivin' like mad between NC and Florida. Not a lot o' fun -- but I managed to stay OP anyway.

Bah -- tired, old, and not entirely as fresh as I'd prefer, its 2.17 am here -- but I had to check in before heading to bed.

BUT I found I'm too tired to focus, read, remember -- so goodnight! Hope your weekend was grand!

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