First MG go to www.nutrio.com and use one of their activity calculators. It is even based on your weight. Now I think for a deep clean on my house(continuous no breaks) I get 200 cal./hour, you could just stand in place and walk in front of the TV while you watch (hey I think the walk away the pounds lady does this) keep pumping your arms over head to get your heart rate up, isn't lovemaking 230 cal/hour (now I have to admit we are talking hours here to get a good workout I bet Don wouldn't be too disappointed. I find yoga poses a blast for keeping limber, you can find those in a book, I have no idea on the calories, but if you decide on lovemaking as your excersise could be useful

I think you should bring some of your delectable desserts to your party(if you get everyone else fatter you'll look skinnier )JK!!!!! I think the veggie tray is an excellent idea!

Top 5 Reasons to Be Happy
1. Have my health
2. Have a job
3. Have a lovely family
4. Have some good friends
5. Have all of you to talk too!

Miss Chris

The veggie tray is actually a great idea. Everyone does love them. Sometimes the best answers are the simplest.
Lovemaking for hours sounds like the best solution to my exercise dilemna. Yes, that would just be great. I think the big problem of exercising in front of the t.v. is that I would feel silly. At least when I am walking I am away from the house. I wonder if I would feel quite as silly if I were using a tread mill or other piece of exercise equipment. I could do the house cleaning thing. 30 mins burns 200 cal. I could get some really intense cleaning in after dinner. Also, I thought about climbing up and down my stairs. At least it would be in the back of the house where nobody is.

Reasons to be happy :
1.My family- I love them. They are flawed, but then, so am I. I know they will be there when I need them. Just as I would be there for them. That is so good to know.

2.My job- It makes me crazy sometimes, but it is so flexable. It bends for my busy little children. And, I know, deep in my heart, that it is going places. They will be very successful.

3.My home- Warm, comfortable, and big enough. I have more than a lot of people.

Have a great day all!!!
morningglory

MG - a fruit bowl is also a really nice - beautiful - colorful and lo cal treat to bring to a party, too. Put a nice bowl of fat-free Cool Whip, with a little toasted coconut sprinkled on top for looks, in the center and let them munch away on grapes, pineapple chunks, strawberries, maraschino cherries, avocado?, prunes! LOL Bring a shotglass of those funky little toothpixks with the widdle frills on them and VOILA! Safe food.

Now I'm drooling. I just sat here thinking that up and I can already taste it! Rusty's Ambrosia Fruit Dip! Whaddya think.

Definitely find a workout show on the boob tube, too. Might find one that you like enough to keep in mind when you decide to get some new tapes (and your VCR replaced). Denise Austin is less than annoying and I used to be able to keep up with her low-low-impact workout.

My weight is going down but it's at half the rate it went away when I was 30. Not a big surprise. Then I lost two pounds every single week for three months. Now it's a little more than a pound. Thank goodness I am more patient in my old age.

Can you believe we are going to Walmart later today?? It's 35 and sunny and a Saturday. Are we insane? Need wild birdseed, dogfood and some stuff from the supermarket, too. Waah.

I was thinking another suggestion to MG's excersise dilemma may be mall walking if its close enough. This is an excellent time of year for mall walking and people watching at the same time. When I was a kid I use to make little stories up in my head about their secret identies and lives. You never know when 007 is going to need that new belt from JC Penney!

I too have been thinking about going to Target today. I need deordorant. I consider this a must have and if I have to park on the back lot and stand in line, hey more excersise for me!

Have a HAPPY SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!
Miss Chris

Hey Miss Chris - race ya to the checkout! Man, good thing we are pretty mellow about crowds and long walks to the car. I do most of our Christmas shopping online and get it over with without leaving this chair. So we aren't in a panic to get a list of gifts while we're shopping. LOL

MG - don't run up and down the stairs - you'll wind up taking a header and hurt yourself. You get the same benefit from stepping up and down onto the first step at the bottom of the stairs. Put some excellent tunes on and go for it. After about three minutes I start panting and turn around and step down for a while. Sure works the calves and thighs. Add some small cans for weights and punch your way up and down and raise your arms over head and do some behind the neck work and your upper body will benefit, too.

I have taken Ms. Chris's advice and joined the List Club!! here's my 5 things I can't live without during winter..

1. BLISTEX!!!
2. Polarfleece hat with earflaps
3. Thermal longjohns
4. Polarfleece sox
5. My thermos of Hot Chocolate

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Hey Hotsplashes! Great nickname. LOL

Anybody know a good lo-cal Hot Chocolate mix? Preferably sugar-free and fat-free - haha. Am I dreaming?

Great ideas and suggestions everyone. I have decided on the veggie tray. I am also taking hot wings, but I am baking them. My sister will have a fruit tray.
Hi Hotsplashes, Welcome!

Must have things during winter:
1.Hand lotion. Lots and lots of hand and body lotion. I would be a scaly snake by winters end with out it.

2.Coffee!! But that's a must have anytime of the year.

3.A really warm, large, soft blanky. I love to curl up in it and make myself a warm bundle.

4.Chapstick. Lips would fall off, 'nough said.

5.Don!!! What better way to warm up!

morningglory

Things that I can't make it thur the winter w/o.
1. Lotion and baby oil. I think that my legs could make a good boot or a purse right.
2. Blistex. My lips are a close second.
3. Hot chocolate. Rusty if you find a good one that is ff sf let me know.
4. My electric heater. Need it at work there is no heat in receiving.
5. Books. Got to have something to keep my mind goin.

Chris and Rusty let me be tell you how brave that you all are goin to wally world and target on the weekend. There is no way that I would even consider it before Christmas, that is unless that I got up every early and went before the rush hit. Welcome hotsplaches I hope that you find this as helpful as I have. Christmas is almost here and I hope that everyone is ready for the season. Mg how do you get to snuggle up the tool man is goin thru male change of life and has no interset in anything of that sort. The only way that I could get so lucky is if I had a monitor, keyboard, and cpu attached. How long does this last for the men anyone got any answers?

You know gigglez, I am lucky. Don just wants to be with me. Yesterday I told him I lost 17 lbs already, and he asked me how I could have that much to lose. I just looked at him. He said, you know, I love you anyway you look, you are just sexy to me. Which was so very sweet, and true. He does. But, he's lucky to have me too.
morningglory

I live next to Super Target so I go all the time. They should just get a portion of my check. My mantra is just deodorant don't look at anything else whenever I go!

Getting the uninterested man to look at you? With my husbands meds we have highs and lows in that department, so I am a firm believer in self pleasure when the man knows that you are enjoying yourself without him he will eventually start sniffing around again.

Things I can't live without in winter:
1. Gloves-if my extremeties get cold I am done
2. Warm socks (see above)]
3. Carmex and lipstick for my lips
4. My Luxiva lotion so my cheeks don't get chapped
5. My fireplace-cause without it and my neighbors my cheap butt would have no heat at all!

A hot chocolate mix that is sugar free and fat free? My mother-in-laws is close on the fat free part but without the powder sugar it would be gross.

Much Love!
Miss Chris

I'm going to have to be different as summer is just beginning down here-


Five things I can't live without in summer.

The fan in my bedroom

Ice cold beer, especially after mowing our lawn.

air conditoning in my car (sorry Greenpeace...)

My big old floppy straw hat

White muslin shirts- go with everything, go to everything (beach, bbq, sports) and can just throw them in the wash- no ironing!!! Yay!!!!!

You are so lucky Wykyd. Summer my time of the year. LOve getting out and working outside, goin to the lake, ah man who am I kidding I love the heat much better if only we could get eh heat without the huminty.

I guess that is a way to get a man's attention Chris. I know I am lucky.
Wykyd, does it get cold up in New Zealand? Do you have winter during our summer?
I like cold and snow much more than I like heat. I can't take the humidity. There are days around here when the humidity gets up in the 90's. It makes me physically sick. To top it all off, I work in a kitchen. Not great. I actually prefer Spring or Fall. Nice in-between weather.

I sleep with a fan on year-round. I need the noise to sleep. I have so much trouble sleeping without some kind of background noise.
I am getting Don a popcorn pan for Christmas. One of my co-workers said I should wear a string of popcorn while giving it to him. ONLY a string of popcorn. See what pops, so to speak

MG - yep we have our seasons the opposite to yours, so our hottest months are January/February and our coldest are June/July.
Parts of New Zealand get snow, though where I live we only get it on the surrounding hills. Further south it looks a lot like Rusty's part of the world!
Its great having summer at the end of the year, but I have to admit I do envy you guys your white christmas. Its kind of weird to have 'Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow' on the radio and be out by the pool tending the BBQ! We have started having a neighbourhood mid-winter christmas in July so we can all have turkey and christmas pudding in cold weather instead of thirty something degree heat.