nothing eventful. Finally put up our tiny Christmas tree. Haven't even started Christmas shopping yet. Then again, we only have like 2 big stores here in our little resort town and Christmas isn't a holiday here (no day off anyway), so it's just not the same.

My Friday was good. I haven't really totalled my calories as it's hard to sometimes with some food here. But I am pretty sure I don't go over 1500, if I do, it's not much. I walked 1.5miles tonight and as soon as I get off of here I will do my abs/butt lifts/ and arms tonight. Today while waiting for someone to come to the house, I did lunges (20) and ballerina style leg lifts (20 each leg).
I did weigh in today and have lost one more pound. But I think it will be more next week as today started my time of the month (or MC--monthly cycle as they call it here), so feeling a little bloated. Hey, has anyone heard that during that time, or the first like 4 days if you are good then it's easier to loose weight? or is that just an old wives tale that i've heard.

Lisa, I would too be quite upset about what MIL did. Does she usually do this type of thing? Maybe she just didn't realize how much it meant to you (well, ok, some people don't get the hint too well). Hey, there's still time till Christmas you know

Cyan, praying for you and your mom. Take it easy and have patience. Easier said than done I know.

Hey all, I will try to get on the chat, but I am more than likely putting the kids to bed. Yes, my youngins go to bed late here. My own kids do since they aren't school age. Our fosterkids go to bed at 11pm (ok, late for the states, but not for here since they usually still take naps all through highschool, even adults do, my dh does!) But I will check in occassionally to see if anyone is there.

Sorry I haven't mentioned other personal notes, but I've really gotta get some things done before bed. Take care all.


210/198/145
first short term goal==187lbs by Jan.15th
**new information as of 12/13/02**

Good Morning everyone,
Well, I was very reluctant to get on last night and post. I was not in my normal cheery mood yesterday and I just refused to think healthy...
Cyan,
I love that quote. Very Inspirational!! I will keep your mom in my prayers, as well! Hope everything is okay.

Lisa, I would take the pig over the Xbox, but this Xbox comes with a Husband attached to it.?? Your Choice

Miki, Sorry to hear that Josh is sick now. But kudos to you for losing the weight that you put on after Thanksgiving!
to you!

Lisa, I have come to the realization that In-laws are just different people that were put on this earth to make us stay on our toes! I am not the person to give advice on In-laws, considering my dysfunctional set of In-laws. But ride with it and see what happens, It could be a nice gift from the hubby too You NEVER Know...

Taiwan, I wish we had nap time here in the states. When I went to Mexico, that was the only part of the vacation that I liked. The siestas in the afternoon. Everything closes in the town for 2-3 hours. It was so relaxing...
I like your short term goal. I may ride with you on that one. In addition to our other challenge of maintaining and not gaining by 1/1/03.

You all have a great weekend and I will try and pop in this weekend, I have my Mom's Surprise Birthday party tomorrow, and my office holiday party on Sunday. I will try to keep the calories low.

Have a blessed one!

Hi Everyone,
It's the third day of rainy drizzle. I was supposed to meet my friend for lunch today but I begged off. I'm feeling lazy - like I need a day to do nothing all day.

I chuckle at you girls and your McDonald's addiction. You see, I remember when the first MickyD's was opened...oh ... ahem ... a few years ago ... and I loved their burgers and fries too. Then they stopped cooking in lard and changed the ingredients of their burgers and they just don't taste good to me anymore. While driving to Minneapolis we stopped to get something to eat and McDonalds was the only fast food in town. I grumbled about having to eat there until I thought about all of you. I decided to let you enjoy my meal vicariously. You had a cheeseburger, fries and diet coke. Sorry, I couldn't get myself to eat a Big Mac!

Hey! I tried on two pairs of pants yesterday and both were baggy in the seat, so I put them in the given away pile. When I told my husband, he said my butt is getting firmer and it doesn't sag anymore! Yea!

I tried to log onto the chat room, but was told I had to download Microsoft's Virtual Machine. When I tried to do that it didn't work. Just got the message Installation Failed. I will keep working on it. Meanwhile, if I get it to work, between 8 - 10pm Eastern Time is good for me.

Cyan - My folks both passed away at a young age, and as much as I miss them, I'm so glad they were spared what your parents are going through. There is a special place in Heaven for daughters like you.

By the way, you described it perfectly - I could hear the silence when I ran in the snow.

Thanks for the Dr Phil advice - very good stuff. I really like him; he's got such a logical way of looking at things. I'm going to check out his web site.

Do we have a format for our Oprah letter? I don't know exactly where to start.

Reina _ Mia - thanks for the info on Billy Banks. I saw his DVD and it had a 15 min instruction, then a beginner, intermediate and advanced level. I think I will try it. Even if I only do 15 minutes to start, it will be a good workout.

Lisa - I agree. We are in this for the long haul! Together we will succeed! Thanks to you too for the feedback on Billy Banks. So, I gotta ask, does Hamlet dig holes all over the yard? I hear pigs are very smart and the pot bellied pigs are really cute.

I wish I could give you the magic answer for the YMCA problem. I sure understand where you're coming from, but try to find a way to let it go. If you don't it will put a wedge between you and your MIL and SILs that will not go away. If you don't get a membership for Christmas, make a goal of getting it on your own - through grants, or by saving your money - whatever will work. It will mean more to you if you earn it yourself anyway, right?

Debee - I never got a chance to welcome you to the group. WELCOME! It's good to meet you!

Miki - Hope you were able to work out time with your hubby and your boys are well again soon. Congrats on losing 2+ lbs! Keep up the good work!

Taiwan - Naps! I love naps! It's hard enough to get into the Christmas mood here in Florida; I can't imagine what it would be like in a country that doesn't celebrate it at all. I know nothing about Taiwan, is it a warm climate? Will you tell us a little about your town? Good for you for watching what you eat and exercising! It's working! Keep up the good work.

Anne, Cjunk we really miss you!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Lady

I sure didn't mean to leave you out of my post! I bet you can identify with my blahs today. At least you kick yourself in the butt and get moving!
Hope we hear from you again soon!
Lady

Goood Mooorning Everyone! Happy Weekend!

I lost another pound this morning, bringing me back to the weight I was before our vacation. YEA!

While you all are lounging in bed on this fine Saturday morning, I'm at work. Two years ago I did a career change and left nursing to become a software instructor at Gateway. I have some free time, so I thought I'd check in and see who posted last night. Guess what? No one posted last night!

There was a class scheduled this morning with only one student, but she didn't show up. Guess I get to do some Christmas shopping! Think I'll pick up a new scale while I'm at it. Mine gives a different weight each time you stand on it and if you lean forward or backward just a little bit, it adds or subtracts a pound or two.

I'll check in again tonight, meanwhile you all have a great weekend!

Lady

ladyRider I have a few scales like that...boy do they piss me off...thats why I prefer to measure myself

Last night I went out for Thai food...so yummy and I ate too much...as usual....1992 cals consumed for the whole day...so this weekend, I will have to tow the line. Ho Hum.

I dont know whats going on around me lately, my dad's good friend is in the hospital ....he collapsed yesterday and is in a coma...he's young...mid fifties...he is like a second dad to me...used to fix my car for free when I was in university...even drove out for 2 hours once to fix it...always looked out for me he did...so I am sad for him and hope he gets better. My good friend suffers from schizophrenia...a mild form and on meds she is fine, but her doctor recently changed her dose and now she is feeling manic...and of course, my mother who stedfastly refuses to eat and is slowly withering away...we might have to hospitalize her either tomorrow or monday for starvations if things dont turn around.

Sorry for all this negative accounts...but this is what is going on right now...amidst all this holiday cheer.

Thats it for now

Cyan

Cyan,
I am so sorry for all difficulties that are surrounding you. I will pray for you dad's friend and especially for your good friend. I know how hard that is.
I really hope things get better with your mom. I really know what that is like to watch someone wither away. I think of my situation as if it just happened. I miss my gram's but I know now that she was happy that I was there for you. You are a great daughter, and you be strong for you mom. That is what she needs.

LadyRider, congrats on the pants fitting loose on you now. I know that is a great feeling and I can't wait to get ther.

Ladies, I have to confess that I was not as good this week as I thought. I just had a overall bad week and I promise to get back on track. I am starting to get the Christmas blues about my in-laws not wanting to spend the holidays with us, and what it is doing to my son and husband. I love the holidays, but when there is such extreme tension between all of us, it just gives me anxiety. And that lead to stress and you know what stress leads to
EMOTIONAL EATING!!!!
I have let it take over the latter part of the week and my husband had to tell me to slow down before I really regret it. He wasn't being mean, but he knows how much this means to me so he had to hit me where it hurts. He brought out the scale and told me to weigh myself. Then he said if I can look back at this week and say that I was good, I shouldn't be afraid to get on. As you can guess I couldn't get on.

I want to be strong, and I hope this week brings better moods and less emotional eating.

Sorry for dumping, but I can't keep things from you ladies and Cyan, I need the virtual kick in the butt today.

You all have a great day, I will try to check in tonight.

Hi ya'll!

Finally got some shopping done. My sis and I left her house around 2:30 yesterday afternoon to start. We went back home around 6:00 to fix a quick meal for the hubbies then by 7:00pm, we were gone again. Got home a few minutes after midnight! My feet felt like they were about to fall off.

Not sure about my calories. Havent logged them into Fitday yet. Not great choices tho. Around noon, I had a Burger King Whopper with cheese, Fries, and Diet Coke. Didnt eat again until 11 pm but then I had a Grilled Stuffed Steak Burrito from Taco Bell with Diet Pepsi. I was honestly hungry both times and not just eating out of habit, but definitely NOT healthy things to eat. I hope all that walking got rid of a good bit of those calories.

Today we had Mexican food. I had a Burrito stuffed with grilled steak, onions, and green peppers covered in cheese sauce with a side of refried beans and spanish rice. (sounds like the same thing I had at Taco Bell but this was wayyyy better tasting than theirs.) I havent eaten anything else and I know that meal is HIGGGHHH in calories! I think tonite I"ll just have an orange or something.

Lisa, you said your M-I-L gave you each money to buy 5 gifts for yourselves..right?? So why not buy yourself a Gift Certificate to the YMCA and wrap that up? The other 4 things could be just really inexpensive things. Just a thought. Of course, I cant remember how much you said a membership is but I was thinking it was less than $150. I hope it works out for you to go. I told my hubby about it also. It sounds wonderful and I was telling him how lucky you are to have something that great close to home.

Cyan, wow, seems like you've got more than your share to deal with right now. Thanks for filling us in on things tho. I think it's great we can share anything going on in our lives. Seems that all of it somehow ends up affecting our food habits so it's nice that we can come here for support or advice. Just knowing someone is always close to listen helps me out. My grandmother was like your mom. She would NOT eat at all. Nobody could force her. She ended up having a feeding tube against her will. Anyway, it was a frightening thing to watch, and my dad was affected more than anyone I think. Every time me or one of my sisters comments about a diet or says we arent hungry when asked to eat over there, he doesnt believe us and he tries to convince us we need to eat. He is so worried that we could end up like that, I think.

Taiwan, I have been thinking about you and your family ever since you first mentioned that Taiwan doesnt formally celebrate Christmas. You know, tho, it is sooo commercialized here, I bet it actually has more meaning for you and your family as far as the real reason for the season since they arent bombarded by the secular parts. My kids have always been taught what Christmas is all about.....Christ, giving, love, etc but they also get caught up in the Santa parts and the wanting everything they see at times. Sometimes that part seems to take over the holiday and we have to remind ourselves what it's all about.

Reina, you deserve to occasionally have days when you arent in the best of spirits. Normally you come in here and brighten up the place so once in awhile, you're entitled to be down and use the posts to vent a little. Dont stay out just cuz you dont feel cheery! We miss you anytime you arent here and we dont just care about good days. If that was the case, I'd have to miss posting alot more than I do..lol (the entire weekend last week, for example )

Hooray for LadyRider!! Glad to hear you are back to your pre-vacation weight. Sounds like you had a fun time while you were gone but got back to business once you got home. Way to go.

PreciousOne, Debee....missed hearing from ya'll today!

Annie and Cjunk....Please check in if at all possible!! If something is wrong, we're here anytime to listen. If things are just hectic, and you havent had time to ck in, hope the pace slows soon so you can get in here and catch up with everyone. You are REALLY REALLY Missed!

I'm going to go for now but if possible, I may check in later tonite. Reina, have a good time at your 2 parties this weekend! Fill us in later with all the details.

Later chicks!

MIKI

Hello Hello Hello. How is everyone. I really have to make myself get on here and post on the weekends. Not because I don't want to but because my schedule is so different on the weekend that it doesn't happen unless I make it.

Yesterday, I don't think I did really bad food wise and I was great exercise wise. But I did do some emotional eating when I had a horrible phone conversation with my MIL.

This morning we had a Christmas program rehearsal at church and I stopped at McDonalds and had a Bacon Egg Cheese Bagel. It was pretty good and filling. However...they had none other than Krispy Kreme doghnuts at church and I had one. ONLY ONE!! I had a cookie at my mother in law and some tortilla chips and some chocolate kisses throughout the afternoon and evening...and then I had a Hot Ham and Swiss from Arbys with a small order of Jalepeno bites. There....

I did get some Christmas wrapping done and laundry done and put away and my floor vacuumed, my piano dusted, my kitchen cleaned and my kids rooms straightened.

Now, I'm going to bed but not to sleep because my daughter is out with my SIL watching Harry Potter and will be home late.

I might not post tomorrow but will be back Monday morning!!

See ya!
Lisa

Reina thank you for your kind words...they are appreciated. And Now....get ready for that virtual kick.....here its comes....POW Also...thank your husband...he seems wonderfully supportive and very much interested in helping you and looking out for you...You are so lucky to have a husband that loves you enough to keep you on track. And, have you thought about why it was you overate or got off your program? I would identify those triggers. Reina you are too important to you and your family .... you are on this health journey because you realize this...so love yourself enough to stick to it...you deserve this and you can do this..truly you can. I am sorry to hear that you are sad about your inlaws not coming over for christmas. Sorry to hear that there is anxiety there for you...I send you a virtual hug too.

Miki thank you for your kind words...they too are appreciated.
And I am sure all the food you ate was spent up shopping...WOW all day shopping spree...that is tiring but fun I'm sure. And put it into Fitday...because you might be surprised to see that it wasnt that bad.

Hey Lisa I am happy for you that you are doing well ...postive attitudes cant be beat....enjoy Harry Potter.

Stay strong and motivated

ps: my dad's friend passed away saturday morning at 11.00 am...he was 59 years old...he will be missed...he was a wonderful caring man...he leaves behind his wife and two sons of 18yrs and 22yrs old.

Cyan

Cyan, Thank you so much for the virtual kick. It was so needed. I am really trying to identify those triggers, but my husband once again, came back with a good one by saying that I can't use my Menstral cycle as an excuse for ruining something I worked so hard for. And he is right... I used that as my excuse all week and every month for that matter. He is a great guy and he has the biggest heart..
Also, thanks for the hug. I needed that too!
I am soooooo sorry to hear about your dad's friend. I will keep him in my prayers.

Miki, glad to hear you got some shopping done. Thanks for your kind words. I am glad to hear that I occasionally can help someone else out. I know how good if feels when you all help me out. I won't ever stay away because I am having a bad day. I will keep coming back the virtual kick in the butt and your supportive words.

You ladies mean so much to me and I know I couldn't get through this journey without you all.

I did decide to get on the scale last night when I got home to let myself know I am doing damage only to myself and no one else. Luckily I am still at my current weight. I keep fluctating 1/2lb back and forth. But I am glad I haven't gained a pound back. I am ready to face my challenge full force today.

Thank you all, and I hope you have a great day.

Hi again everyone. It's a lazy Sunday around here today. I feel awful. Have a bad cold I guess. I dont think it's what the kids had because I havent had any fever, but my poor nose is raw from my blowing it so much. Didnt feel like getting ready for church. Slept in, then went to Huddle House for late breakfast/early lunch. My family ate like s lol but I hung in there this time and didnt give in. Josh and Luke both ordered fried eggs, biscuit, bacon AND sausage! Phil ( my hubby ) had eggs, hashbrowns, and a waffle! I ordered the grilled chicken salad which only consisted of a grilled chicken breast cut up on top of shredded lettuce and cabbage with 3 slices of tomatoe with Ranch dressing. I have to admit tho, that one bite of waffle that Phil left on his plate was sooo tempting! The melted butter was sitting in each of the little squares of the waffle and it had sat long enough that the waffle itself was soaked thru from the syrup...yummmmmy! But I left it sitting there. Had to make myself not look at it tho..

Cyan, I finally put my foods into Fitday from Friday and Saturday. Friday, which was the Burger King and Taco Bell day, totalled 2214! Saturday, the delicious REAL Mexican food day, wasnt quite as bad with 1614 calories. I am hoping maybe all the walking averaged the 2 days not much over 1500.

Lisa, I was so excited when you happened into Chat last nite while I was there!! I had hoped some of this group would. I had fun; just wish we had more time. I only stayed about 5 minutes after you left. I had already started feeling bad and was about to leave when you came in. Definitely couldnt leave then.
I hope things have smoothed over between you and your mom-in-law. I cant stand conflict. Gives me a huge knot in my stomach when things like that are going on. Luckily, I have never had the usual in-law probs people always joke or complain about. Believe it or not, I have worked directly with my mom-in-law for around 15 yrs at the bank, and we've never had any bad feelings between us. I'm probably closer to her than my own mom. I'm very blessed in that area.

Cyan, I was so sad to get your note at the end of your post about your Dad's friend. I had so hoped he would get better. Sounds like he was really good to you, and I really feel for his family and for you and your family to lose someone so dear. Especially so suddenly and right in the middle of the holiday season.

Well, I am going to take a nap in hopes of feeling better when I wake up. Maybe by then, Reina, Lady,Taiwan, Precious, Debee will have posted too.

Oh, heard from WI-wide again thru email today. Remember her daughter that's pregnant and just got married and is diabetic? Well, she's been really sick and was hospitalized for several days last week. Seems that WI has alot going on right now but she is in hopes of getting back in here after things slow down.

Ok, really going now. I"ll be back later on I"m sure.

MIKI

OOPS!
Reina, just as I hit "submit", I noticed you had posted. I guess we were typing about the same time.lol Anyway, wanted to say hello to you too. Glad to hear you havent gained any more weight! I know that had to be an encouragement. Ok now, I really gotta have that nap! bye for now...
MIKI

My weekend was ok. I am not as strict, but don't overboard either. I stuck with my breakfast drink Sat and Sun and didn't fall into the "buy" it trap. I mean, I don't think Taiwanese people have ever heard of low fat stuff. Seriously!! My inlaws LOVE to eat pork, but with like a 2in layer of fat and .5in of meat (maybe that much). Anyway, Sat. my biggest bad thing was a hamburger and coke (didn't have the french fries and lucky for me their were all out of their delicious blueberry pies ) Sunday for dinner we went out to the night market (once a week thing, our biggest happening in town ) and had an oyster omelet--don't even know some stuff they put in so won't even thing about it. Also, I broke down and had Pearl Milk Tea (I know, I know, MAJOR calories--oh well, such is life).
Today is Monday and I am back at it. I found a breakfast drink that has oh, I don't know how many beans (well the powder) and some fruit and such. Only 91.6calories and I think less than 1g of fat. Then I found "7 Fruit Bars", ok, a little expensive, but pretty good and only 69calories from that. So that's my breakfast for today. We will probably go out again for lunch, but I will probably stay away from the meat sauce for rice and just get rice and veggies. Didn't walk on Sunday, but went 1.5miles on Sat. Will try for 2mile today.

Cyan---sorry to hear about all that's going on in your life right now, and especially around the holidays. Don't let it get you down though. You need to take care of yourself too. I'll be praying for you here.
Reina---You have such a wonderful husband. I think most men would just let their wives do what ever they want and eat whatever they want. Your husband sounds so supportive (can he teach my dh a few things ). Now you can get back on track. Good to hear you hadn't gained any thing back. Sorry to hear about your in-laws. Just remember, you can come here and tell us all, don't let it get you down. A new week is ahead of you, the old week is behind you. Start fresh and GO GIRL!
MikiG---I would just die for something from Taco Bell!!! They don't have one here We have 2 McDonald's, another fastfood place and one Dominoes Pizza. That's the exent of it, oh! I almost forgot we got KFC on Sept.19 (the day we had a traffic jam here, everyone was like lined up for the drive thru). But KFC doesn't keep non-spicy foods around as alot of Chinese like spicy So we don't go there often as our family doesn't do spicy. As for Christmas, yes, I think it does mean a little more to us here. I mean, here Christmas is all about Santa Claus and give me too, but I doubt as much in the states. But here, it also seems like something for children only as they are the only ones who seem to get gifts (not in our house!!!!--I better get something!) Our fostergirls were here with us last year for Christmas and were in awe of it. They had never had a Christmas nor a Christmas tree, nothing. The oldest has to go back this month and we worked it out for her to be here at least throug Christmas. My parents even bought gifts for them too.
Lisa---hope things are settling down with your family now. Don't let it ruin Christmas for you. We haven't even started Christmas shopping here Gotta do something soon. You know, I was thinking about your pig--my mom just LOVES pigs. She grew up on a farm. My mom's kitchen is decorated in pigs.
Ladyrider--our town, let's see. One side is mountains and one side is ocean--not bad It's actually considered a "low class" town here in Taiwan, but really, I love it. It's a slower pace than most places. Of course there are ALOT of things we don't get here: food coloring, koolaid (for kids not me!), chocolate chips, just to name a few. My parents send shoe boxes of stuff here and there for my kids and all. Our town population (well our county) is mainly aborigine (similiar to American Indian--my dh is aborigine). They live a simpler lifestyle than the Chinese do. Don't know what else to say about our town other than I love it and am glad God brought us to this town.

Well, I hope I didn't miss anyone in the personal notes. DH and DS1 are out getting breakfast, yes they eat at like 10am. I currently homeschool Joshua (DS1) since he is just 4yr, gotta get his English ability up to par Josiah (DS2) is awake but not fussing yet. Hey, I 've tried the chat a few times, but noone at all was on it--the joys of living in another part of the world. I will still occassionaly check.
Have a great night ladies.

"Don't let the midnight munchies bite"

210/198/145

Oh, if anyone wants to check our website of our family and ministry check us at: www.moringlightministries.org

Taiwan....I checked out your website ( I did put an "N" in the word morninglight tho LOL) It's great now being able to put a face with the name. I enjoyed looking thru the site. I admire you and your husband for the work you are doing. Your children are ADORABLE! You all are a very nice-looking family.

I'm still not feeling great and my nose looks like Rudolph's now so this one will have to be short and sweet. Just wanted to check back in before I head to bed. Since I cant taste anything anyway, havent had much of an appetite today. Had the grilled chicken salad for lunch, and tonite ate an orange and a baked potato. Havent felt like exercising at all either.

Time to go tuck in the kids. Be back tomorrow!

MIKI