AYANNA we will work thru this together i know we have the will power to do it and its so much easier to do with good friends!

nelie - You look lovely in your dress. When is the big day?

Ammi - We arrived at our hotel in London in the middle of the afternoon, after taking the ferry across the English Channel from France. So the first day we didn't have much time plus we were so tired from all the sightseeing we'd been doing throughout the trip. So we decided to take it kind of easy. Our hotel was across from Hyde Park so we decided we'd wander over there awhile and just see what we could see. It was a lovely park. We kept walking til we saw a sign that said "Notting Hill" and we decided we must see Notting Hill to see if it looked anything like the Hugh Grant movie. It was very nice and I loved to see all the houses there that are so much different than what we have here. We found a small pub and had a bite to eat and then walked back to our hotel. The next day we took the double-decker bus tour through the city. We saw Buckingham Palace (we didn't get to see the changing of the guard that day because they were practicing for a parade in honor of the Queen's b-day...still, lovely to see), Big Ben, Tower Bridge but we didn't go in anywhere like that. By then, to be honest, we were just plain tired of museums and old buildings. So we focused on other things like Harrod's, Madam Toussaud's, Picadilly Circus, and another pub for a pint and some authentic fish and chips. A funny story when we were walking back to our hotel from Notting Hill. We decided to shop in a shop to buy a bottle of water. Well, all along our trip we were on the Euro and I had gotten used to that and knew what size coin was what. Well, now we are in England which, as you know, it still on the pound. So we had different money than we were used to. Anyway, the bottled water was something like 1.89 (pounds) so I gave him my biggest coin which in Euros was 2 Euros. The clerk just looks at me with disgust and I thought he was annoyed to have to make change (some people seemed that way in Europe). So I said, "I am sorry, that is all I have." He goes, "You only have 2 pence?" And then I realized the largest coin was not 2 pounds, it was 2 pence. So I gave him some bills, apologized and we walked out of there giggling hysterically trying to imagine just how dumb he must think American girls are.

Brenda - you made me laugh with your comment about low sodium V8 actually tasting like veggies. As for blueberries, I have never really liked them fresh. I like them in things like muffins and smoothies, but I don't like to just eat them out of hand. BUT, the other day I was making a smoothie with frozen blueberries and I popped one in my mouth. They are DELICIOUS frozen! Sort of like a tiny little blueberry popsicle! Yummy. Give them a try.

Patti and Ayana - OK, we are officially in the Starting Again Club!

Misti - Won't it be nice to be "outta there"? Sounds like even the clerks who work there realize that no one really likes having to shop in the "big girl" stores. Congratulations on your NSV.


mechell - Thansk for letting us know what the healthy level of sodium is. I imagine it is almost impossible to keep it under than if we eat very many processed foods. I've never really tracked my intake before, but maybe I should!

Katt - I finally saw the pictures of your lambs. How sweet they are. Now I wanted a little lamb for myself!!!! By the way, to you and to Ammi: What is a Perky Nana? Sounds delightful whatever it is!

As for me, I made it through day 1 of my 12 week committment to journal all my food. Only 83 more days to go. Today my only plan is to get my house cleaned up. I need to go to WalMart and get a few cleaning supplies and then right back home to get to work. I want a sparkling clean house by the end of the day! Tomorrow I am going to relax. I want to shop for a few new clothes for my trip to KC tomorrow. Well, I don't really WANT to shop for clothes, but I need to. It's been so long since I bought anything new and I am starting to look shabby. I hate buying clothes at this size because nothing really looks good but I need to. My work clothes are starting to look really unprofessional. Plus I am going to my friend's baby shower next weekend in KC and I need to be presentable. If I am not too beat down by clothes shopping, I want to go to the scrapbook store and buy some things to make Julie (my friend with the baby coming) a homemade card. But, if I am beat down, she'll be getting a store bought one. I also promised my aunt that I would make invitations for my grandparents' 60th anniversary party which is coming up in November. But those can wait a couple weeks if I don't have time tomorrow. Well, that is it for me. Time to get to work. Have a great day, everyone.

Xena~ Frozen ones huh? Maybe I will go pop a few on a little cookie sheet in the freezer for my evening snack. They would be good while watching tv tonight! And, you have to use those cookie sheets for something!

Okay...I'm so far behind I don't even have time to truley read every post- although I did skim. It looks like everyone is doing awesome. misti what great NSV's!! it seems like you are having them more and more now-proof that you really are disapearing!!!

AMMI- WELCOME BACK!! The pics are great- and you look amazing!!!

Okay- sorry I'm missing so many personals, but my step son and nephew are staring at the clock as I told them I would play with them in 5 minutes about 4.5 minutes ago!! Everyone have a great day- and I will check in later (after I've kept my play commitment to the kids!)

Ammi~ Consider it updated

Brenda

Hi everyone... wow just passing through again! Just read through everything and thanks to everyone for the personal encouragement to me!

As to frozen berries... yes and frozen grapes are good too; also peaches straight out of the bag frozen.

Another comment as I have seen several post that they hate underwire bras. So do I... but you can solve this problem.... just take a sharp paring knife or seam ripper and cut a small hole in the top of the binding that holds the wire... under the arm... push the end of the wire through it, and you can pull it right out. I have been doing it for years!

Happy Sunday... yay no work tomorrow LOL

Oh a question for those who have done water aerobics. Since our outdoor pool is closing and I have been able to do only shallow water aerobics, I am going to switch to deep water at the public pool. But I don't know much how to do them -- of course I will be in a class so they will teach us -- but I'd like to get some pointers if anyone has done them. Thanks.

in Seattle (I wish! Have had no rain to speak of since June)

Xena a new start up club good idea!

Just taking a break from cleaning...day two (ha-ha) wanted to say hi and good afternoon....

Xena ~ Frozen cherries are delish also I've been buying bags of frozen fruit at the supermarket...much cheaper to do that than to buy all the fruit i like fresh...also is yummy with yogurt

one other thing...I'm not sure what NSV means or any other of the other things that ya'll post...is there anywhere to see a "dictionary" lol


Misti ~ I hear ya when it comes to the underwire...some styles bother me more than others.

Ziggy ~ NSV means non-scale victory. Things that make us realize that we are losing inches/weight even when maybe the scales arent co-operating.

Misti~ when the deep water aerobics are done at my pool tehy are almost the exact same only you wear a flotation belt around your waist so that when you raise your hands etc you don't sink.

Brenda

Xena - Sounds like you got to see more than I did in London rofl ... I got to see Harrods (of course lol), Alexandra Palace, Planet Hollywood for dinner, Big Ben, 10 Downing Street (woo hoo rofl .. we walked right passed it before we realised what it was rofl), Buckingham Palace, Hamleys and Clintons (two stores that sell my Tatty Teddy bears lol) ... I was only there to go to an event for my fave bears at Ally Palace (Alexandra) so to see anything of London was a bonus ... definitely happy to get out of there tho ... there are more ppl living in London than in the WHOLE OF NZ!!!! Almost twice as many .. wayyyyy too many people rofl. Perky Nanas are a cadbury bar that only seems to be readily available in NZ, specialty sweet shops sometimes have them tho I have heard .. they have the NZ Cadbury chocolate on the outside (and believe me ... even tho its Cadbury I have tasted the same dairy milk in 4 countries and they all taste different lol) and inside is a chewy thick centre with a banana flavour ... do you guys get pineapple lumps?? They are sorta like that but in bars rather than bite sized pieces ... if you dont get either in your country I will try and find a bar that you have over there that may be similar rofl ..

MISTI - Great idea about the underwire bra .. I have been doing that for years too!! I had only found one bra that didnt have the wire and was nice and comfy (the cross your heart brand) but I havent seen that in the stores over here for years (DARN IT!!!), so it becomes a habit now to just cut the darn thing out when I get one. Just a question (for you and others).. do you get fitted for a bra or do you just go by past purchases?? I feel uncomfortable having someone measure me up for such a intimate piece of apparel, but I have heard to have it done at least once every couple of years to make sure you get the best fit for you ... still wont make me want to have it done tho .. there are enough personal space invasions women need to have without adding that one rofl ... just curious tho

Well I have started my day off as I mean to go on!! I got up at 6.30, got the milk ready for the lambs and had that heating while I went and got on my workout gear and put the disc in the player. By then the lambs breakie was warm and I went out to feed them and warm up for 5 minutes. Came back in, cleaned out their bottles and straightened up the bench (I always seem to spill a little of the milk when I do it rofl) then I did my learn and burn ... well the burn anyway Im still a little sore in the abs from yesterdays crunches ... but I just did the low impact moves instead of the full on ones .. I still got up quite a sweat and it looks like its gonna be another nice sunny day so Im glad I got it out of the way then .. can spend more time outside.

This week is gonna be a busy one, my dad is coming up on Wednesday with a trailer load of firewood (getting ready for next winter), so we have to unload and stack that (workout material for sure!), then we have to go to the storage shed to pick up some things my hunny wanted (BBQ, Lawnmower, Grandmother clock, filing cabinets OUCH!!). Thursday we get to go into town to get his shopping and do those sorts of chores, then we come home and get the lawns done and start on the garden.

My dad may be coming to live with us as he may be losing his home to one of his ex's, but we will find out on Wed if that is likely .. if that happens we are going to see if we can build a little house for him at the back of our property, either that or extend the sleepout to make it into a little house, that way we all have our independance and privacy, so either Wednesday or Thursday we will be going to have a look at a log cabin we can get built here .. as well as see our local council ... its either those options or we will just get another mortgage and buy him a small house nearby Never a dull month in our family for sure!

I am determined to stay OP this week (and weekend!!) .. although this Saturday will be a challenge as my hunny and I are going to our old town and having a day out at the fair/carnival there - we lived there for 4 years and never went to one as we had our shop so were always there! My hunny is also paying for me to go to the hairdressers to get my hair done Been months since I have been and the hair is a mess and lots of new growth, so it needs a tidy and Im gonna see if they can get it back to my natural colour again ... even tho its dark I can get away with it in the summer .. in the winter I look like a ghost rofl

Have a great day all .. and for those I havent said HI or GREAT JOB .. I sincerely apologise .. so hard to keep up with so many positive happenings!!

Huggies

Katt

BRENDA - Great news about being OP again and the Fat Fairy visiting you in such a nice manner Your updated blog is great too!

AMMI - I know what you mean about Richard S dvd ... its a little overwhelming .. so many moves I had trouble with .. actually it was more co-ordinating the top half with the bottom half .. I just couldnt get both doing what they were doing .. so I focused on the footwork, did all the crunches tho (OUCH!!) and the cool down no prob ... but Im gonna "disco" some more this afternoon I figure as long as I keep moving and get the heart rate up and sweat goin I will be ok and doing well Shame the shop was shutting down when you arrived .. typical rofl .. still .. at least you didnt get as much as you would of had they been fully stocked At Subway I like the Roast Chicken and the Melt ... both are on the 6g of fat list ... but Saturday I had the chicken fillet and the cheese steak instead ... did have wholemeal bread tho rofl ... but I wont be doing that again .. Saturday is our Subway day now, but I will just be sticking to my regular low fat one from now on I think ...

Xena - your story about trying to pay for the water with a two pence piece was classic How much is bottled water there. In Wales it's anything from 50 p to 90 p for a small bottle. I could not believe that they were charging a minimum of £1 in London, and the most I paid was £2.50 a bottle when we were at the theatre to see a show If we weren't all dying from thirst I would have told him where he could stick his bottled water!!!

It sounds like you had a great time in London, what did you think of the bus tour you took? We considered going on one but at £50 for the three of us we decided to give it a miss. Besides, we had day passes for the train and that could take us to all the attractions that you see on the bus. The time before last when I went to London with Daren we went on what is called a Duck Tour. You do the route that the buses take you on, but when you get to the Thames, you go down a slope and straight into the water The vehicle is an ex army one that is designed for road and river use. It was so weird driving straight into the water, but thankfully we stayed afloat.

Well if you ever make it back to London we will have to make a trip too and then we can meet up

Well done on making it past day one of your 12 week commitment to journal your food. Forget how many days you have left, just take it one day at a time, and soon you will be looking at the calendar and will be surprised at how long you have been back on track

I hope you get some lovely new clothes. I know how you feel about buying new ones but wishing you didn't have to. Every time I buy more BIG clothes I promise myself that I won't buy from that shop again, but of course I have a long way to go until I can shop in any clothes shop of my choice. So I guess until then I will just enjoy the fact that I am dropping sizes now at least

Brenda - I read your journal, and all I can say is Well done for getting back on track, don't question why you have been able to do so, just enjoy that you have, and 11 lbs lost already. You should be so proud of yourself. I am proud of you

Kimberly - thanks for the welcome back, it's nice to be home and back online I haven't had chance to read all the posts I missed when I was gone. So tell me, do you know if you got that job yet??

Thanks for the compliments on my pics, I have a long day to go before I think I look amazing lol, but I know I look so much better than before

Misti - I have taken the underwires out of a few bras in the past but I find that they lose all, or most of their support then I am SO glad that I found some lovely new comfortable bras without underwires now. I would buy some more, but will wait til I need to get them in a smaller size first

Those deep water aerobics sound fun, I wouldn't mind having a go at them. Maybe one day

Ziggy - hello and a belated from me. I don't think I have posted to you before, or if I have I have forgotten. Old age is bringing memory loss with it

Katt - how long were you in London for? It sounds like you managed to do a fair amount of sightseeing. I wanted to go see Hamleys, I love that shop, but Daren was already miffed just hanging around Harrods when I was browsing, so we gave it a miss. He is your typical man, hates to shop! How many Tatty Teddies do you have, do you only have the ornamental ones or the cuddly ones too? I have a few of the cuddly ones.

I have decided as a Christmas treat to myself I am going to order 5 bars of chocolate from that online candy site. And one of them is going to be a Perky Nanna. Be it on your head if I love it so much that I start craving them too, lol. I know I love Milky Ways, and I know I love banana sweets, so something tells me I am going to love Perky Nannas.

On the subject of bras, normally I would go and choose a bra from the rack and hope it fits. But I have been so fed up of them being uncomfortable or giving no support, that last time I bought some I went to be fitted properly. She measured me without my top on, told me the size I need, then went to find a few in that size and a smaller size just to be sure. I tried one on, in private lol, and then she came back in adjusted the straps etc, saw that it fit perfectly and then I knew that it was the correct size for me. Yes it's a little embarrasing, even more so for me because it was a hot day and the sweat was pouring off me. I didn't care though, I was determined not go go home without a proper fitting bra lol. I would definitely recommend you go for a fitting.

Sorry to hear that your dad may lose his house to one of his exes, how many times has he been married?? It's lovely that you will take him in, and what a great idea to either build on to your house or make him his own separate house on your property so that you can all still have your privacy and independence He is lucky to have a daughter like you.

That's lovely that hubby is paying for you to get your hair done soon. I hate going to the hairdresser because the one I go to has full length mirrors in front of me. I hate seeing all of me that close up. BUT I do love seeing my hair go from a mess into a nice style, so I put up with it

I was going to say good luck staying OP this week and on the weekend, but I don't think you will need it. You are going to do it, simple as that!!

Your Subway day is a Saturday, mine is a Friday, at least when the kids are in school and in the warmer months. I don't know if we will bother once winter sets in. We like to go to Starbucks first for a drink, then to the Mumbles for a long walk, then back to Subway for lunch.

You will have to tell me if Richard Simmon's Disco Sweat gets any easier the more you do it. Once was all I could manage, and then I only did two songs I really am fancying giving it another go soon though.

Mel - yay great to see you posting Where are you going on vacation, walks on the beach and cocktails sound heavenly. All I can advise is that you try to make some good food choices, but also allow yourself some treats. It's impossible to diet when you are on holiday, but you can walk a lot and make some good choices and that should make a big difference to how much weight if any you gain. I will see if that advice helped me when I weigh in the morning

Ok STILL catching up on emails, so off I go again, take care all and I shall return once more I reckon before it's bed time

Hugs,

Ammi

Ammi Just Over A Week To Go And American Idol Will Be Back On Television!

Hello all- I've had a pretty good day- busy one though. We had a coupon to pay $4.99 a sheet for photos, so we decided to take some family pics. We bought 26.00 worth, plus 1 free- so we got quite a few- I'm excited because they all looked really good. My fiance said " you look better than me now...its not fair!" I know that's not really an NSV but it still made me feel good!

I have to make this quick as I have loads of school work to do- but I wanted to say hello!

Oh- Ammi- about the job, I didn't get it. as I explained while you were away, I really feel pretty good about it because I had mixed feelings about the impact the new job would have on my routine (weight-loss) and also school. they also gave me some really good feedback. They said that while I was the youngest interviewee they were surpised to say I was the most mature and professional during the interview. They said they purposely threw in some questions to un-nerve me, and that I didn't flinch, but was completley comfortable & confident. All-in-all I felt really good about the whole conclusion!

TTFN! Stay OP!