Good Morning everybody . . . the sun is shining again today and the temperature is currently 20C (68F) at 9:00 am. Love it.

The tortoise would be proud of me . . . another .6 of a pound gone . . . not very exciting but at least it is the proper direction.

Ryanmi . . . congratulations, girl, on not giving in to stress eating in the face of difficult times.

Shawn . . . very impressive that you made it to the Y even when you were so tired.

Cheryl . . . how awful for you. It's great that you didn't stress-eat. Pick one kid on each side to embroider with a little flower and everybody will think you planned it that way from the beginning.

Michelle . . . glad you kept the camera. The new picture looks great. Obviously you beat the eyeglass-glare problem.

Erin . . . brag away, chickie that's definitely an accomplishment of which to be proud. Glad to hear you are in such a great mood.

Today's FFF . . . CAFFEINE . . . which hides in more places than just coffee, for example . . .

Coffee, 8 oz serving . . . percolated, 230 mg . . . drip, 190 mg . . . instant, 100 mg . . . decaf, 5 mg . . . steeped tea, 55 mg . . . Soft Drinks, 12 oz serving . . . diet Dr.Pepper, 65 mg . . . reg. Dr.Pepper, 44 mg . . . Coke (reg. or diet), 45 mg . . . Pepsi (reg. or diet), 35 mg . . . Mountain Dew, 49 mg . . . 7 Up, 0 mg . . . Chocolate, 1 oz serving . . . milk chocolate, 6 mg . . . semi-sweet, 30 mg . . . Analgesic Drugs (OTC pain-killers), recommended dose . . . Excedrin, 65 mg . . . Anacin, 35 mg . . . Midol, 32 mg . . . Aspirin or Tylenol, 0 mg


Have a great day moving and shaking your way down the winding road to health and fitness, gang. See you later.

Hi Tracey you snuck in when I wasn't looking. Sorry it's so hot in your area. Please DO NOT send it to me. I know it will get here eventually.

Good morning Chickies. Hope all is going well for everyone.

Erin, hope you got the groceries bought before you crashed, it would be terrible to crash in the middle of walking through the store. LOL Glad you are so happy today it.

Michelle, It is a good thing I didn’t move the ticker. I was back up this morning to 1 pound over my Sunday weight . I am glad you are figuring out your new camera, they can be a lot of fun.

Tina, did you get the lawn done? Have you added any new flowerbeds lately?

Ryanmi, sorry to hear that dad is a bit of a turkey’s backside. But be proud of yourself for doing what is right for grandma. Sounds like you handled the stress well and ate a good dinner. Yay for you.

Shawn, I have only one girl and wouldn’t trade her for the world but let me warn you now, my girl is 14 and the teen years are not easy for sure. Sometimes I really wish she was 2 again, back when she was so sweet and I could dress her in pink and ruffles.

Cheryl, I am so sorry to hear you had a mishap with the quilt. I am sure though that you have it covered up and it looks just fine.

Hello there Tracey, good to see you. I don’t think I would try exercising with out AC either.

Yipeee Linda, I know that weight loss is very difficult for you but you are doing great. You have a great amount of will power to stick with this when it is so slow and hard. I am proud of you.

Not much to report here. I didn’t bring my lunch with me to work today so I am trying to figure out where I will go that has something healthy.

Here are a few quotes you all might like

Thanks a bunch, Robbin. I don't think I could do it without the support of this group; it really helps. Hope you had a healthy lunch. I Love the quotes. See you later, gator.

Well guys, I'm a little calmer this afternoon, still really good but a little calmer.

Tracey I am feeling your pain, I would die without my central ac! I don't do sweaty well! Hope you get that screen soon!

Linda Are you still working on the Jet stream because i have not seen any changes here yet? Thanks for letting me brag a little, it really got my day off to a good start! OH and a huge congrats on the loss for you! Steady wins the race! Keep it up!

Robbin So, where did you end up for lunch? I like the quote about the exceeding the feed limit! Suits me pretty well, i tend to be a bit of a lead foot too. I actually made it home finished some laundry, put all the laundry away and then crashed, big time!!!!

Hope ya'll have a great evening. I may try to check in later otherwise see you in the morning!

Hey girls...just popping my head in for a sec. I've been a busy bee and the end is no where in sight. Trying to get some things attended to around the house and crap like that. I will try to get back for personals later!

ERIN...CONGRATS on your weight loss and exercising!!! You're doing SO GOOD girlie!!!

ROBBIN...Sorry that you couldn't move your ticker, but hopefully next week, you'll be able to move it lots! I like your quotes!

LINDA...Thank you for your kind compliment! You're SO nice!

TRACEY...Hope it cools down for you soon!

TINA...Now you just slow down there a little girlie LOL! You're always so busy and on the go go go!!!

Well today it was much cooler here and now it's raining again. Oh well, what can ya do? I woke up with one of my horrible migraines today and slept so much of the day away, but now I'm actually feeling so much better.

Hi Tracey! We haven't "met" yet, but I just wanted to blow some cool air your way! A hot home is the worst! Hope you get it fixed soon!

Robbin ~ Love the quotes! And your picture looks SO familiar! Did you used to live in Dallas/Ft Worth?

Michelle ~ Glad to hear you're feeling better from your migraine... I would have LOVED to have slept the day away! :jealous... except for the migraine part:

Well, I am beat. Working out after the girls go to bed is just BLAH. I need to pay bills tonight since today was payday, but don't feel like it. Before I went to work out, I got TOTALLY stressed out... just thinking about everything I needed to get done... workout, bills, straighten up after girls went to bed, figure my points for the day, post on here, etc... I almost decided not to go to the gym. But I knew I couldn't go tomorrow, because I have to go grocery shopping... yes, AGAIN. My fav. store is having an 8-hour sale tomorrow. Lots of good sales! (crab legs, chicken, diapers, pineapple, etc). So tomorrow night I might not go workout. I keep trying to cram too much in, and it makes me a basketcase!

At the gym, I did 30 mins on treadmill... it said I burned about 225 cals. ~ not great, but better than not going at all!

My eating was great for the day... I was under points, so I'm sitting here eating frozen peaches with cool whip. YUM.

Have a great night ladies!

Howdy Girls!

Believe it or not, I just got home from work a little bit ago...summer school started today so things were hectic at work! I just ate a delicious dinner of shredded wheat cereal! Too late to eat much else, and it was perfect!

Michelle, I woke up with a horrid headache this morning as well...I was able to head it off early enough, but I sympathize. Migraines are terrible!

Linda, thanks for the downer about caffeine ...God I LOVE Diet Coke! Good news though, is that I have only had 4 in the last two days! I can reduce it but it can't go completely!! My staff wouldn't be able to stand me...or me them for that matter!

Great Quotes Robbin- I actually have the "eating to live or living to eat" taped to my computer monitor...along with "Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man, or nation." Both are pretty good motivators-for me anyway...

Tracey-nice to meet you. And I totally understand about the heat...I'm in Chicago, and it has been in the 90's all week! I'm cranking the AC!!!

Erin-great news on the exercise!! I'd be winded after the 4 minutes though...

Shawn-Mmmm...I love cool whip-unfortunately, it doesn't love me, which ultimately is a good thing! I have a drawer in my fridge that is stocked with sugar-free jello snacks...puddings, jello, and also applesauce cups. That way, if I need something, at least it's not terrible! Unless I eat a bunch of them...

Tina- Let us know when your house will be featured on HGTV...I imagine it is beautiful!

And now...off to the exciting worl of litter box changing!

Michelle...Hope you are feeling better. Your picture looks great. Aren't you glad you kept the camera. We cooled off big time this afternoon, had a sever thunderstorm rumble through. Boy did it get green and ugly. Had 50 MPH winds, hail and pouring down rain. Cooled it off just enough to sleep real good tonight.

Tina...WOW girl, you are always on the GO! Hey, if you need something to do, I've got yard work that's needs to be done.LOL

Shawn...You go girl!! That's awesome you make time for yourself to workout even when you are dead tired. You will be rewared for your efforts. Are your girls identical or fraternal? I'm married to a twin and they are identical mirror twins. My hubby is left handed and his brother is right.

Erin...So that's way the earth shook this morning, it was you jumping up and down. Send some of your energy my way, I've been a slug lately.

Michelle 2...You should be so proud of yourself for caring for your grandmother. Sorry your Dad is such a JERK!!! Congrats on handling the stress and not grazing.

Tracy...Sorry it's so hot there, but please don't send it this way!! Hope you get your AC and start moving and shaken.

Linda...So nice of the fat fairy to pay you a visit. Please send her my way, I could use a little of her magic dust.

Robbin...Cute quotes. I hear you on 14 year olds. Our foster daughter is 14 going on 20. WE had a phone to chat on, they have the web. Couldn't get a license till we were 16 and here is is 14. I'm not even going there, so she is very upset over that. They grow up way too fast now a days.

Weigh-in day for me, and I was up .5 lbs but I'm OK with it. I'll be down next week. Got my Light and Tasty cookbooks out tonight and made up my menu's for the next two weeks. Got my grocery list made out for tomorrow and Friday when we go to Fargo to Sam's Club and Super Wally. Hope I can find some fresh red snapper, scallops and shrimp. Sea fest time.
Thanks ladies for all your kind words about my quilt. I just made more work for myself is all, but it will still look nice when I get it done. Had lunch at McD's with my gal pals today. Tried their new Asian Grilled Chicken Salad. It was soooooo good! Shawn, it's only 6points. If you have the crispy chicken, it's 8.
Leaving you with some info on water.

1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that itis often mistaken for hunger.
3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.
4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.
8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Cheryl ~ my girls are fraternal ~ they don't look a THING alike... you wouldn't even know they were sisters, if you didn't know better! LOL... can I show them off? Their website is www.xanga.com/jordanandcarson ... I've heard about mirror image twins, Cheryl ~ that is so cool! I was afraid if mine were identical we'd get them mixed up... but there's no confusing them, that's for sure!

I may have to check out that McD's salad sometime ~ do those points include the dressing too?

And thanks for the water tips ~ I never do drink enough water, so that's a good reminder for me.

Hey girls...boy is it ever hot in here! It was 28C, and for a canadian that's hot! LOL! I was checking out Hong Kong weather yesterday and it was 30C but felt like 39C...I suppose to the heat getting trapped in the concrete and expelling heat like an oven! I also was checking out the place where we're going to stay. My brother-in-law has bought an apartment for revenue and it's empty so we're going to occupy it. If any of you are interested in taking a peek, parkisland.com.hk This place is apparently the best place to be, they don't let any exhaust type vehicles onto the little island...blah blah blah....all I heard is beach!! LOL!

Anyways, I didn't get nearly as much done as I wanted. But there's always tomorrow. I intended to get a bunch done but my mom phoned as she was catching a ride into town and needed me to pick her up to bring her around to shop for my grandmother who is leaving for Ontario tomorrow. She's 75 and very insecure, she isn't comfortable dealing with money and people she doesn't know. So that took away a lot of my time, but the good news I got through the pile of 27 shirts I needed to iron. For those of you who don't know already....I HATE IRONING..and ALWAYS leave it till the last possible minute.

Now to the good stuff..catching up!

Michelle, Oh that lawn gave me a bigger workout than the backyard. It was so long and thick from all the rain we had. Yes, I had realized I only had 20lbs. to go to be in ONe-derland...I'm really excited! Thanks for noticing!! Glad your migraine subsided...they really can throw you for a loop and spoil your whole day.

Linda, woo hoo! Congrats on the loss! It's a big deal even if it's a small victory. For you especially. Celebrate it my dear!

Ryanmi, it's gotta be tough when you would love for someone to be as passionate about something as you are. And even more frustrating when it involves your father and his own mother. Talk about being stuck in the middle. But you handled very well. Yayyy for you!! Goes to show how much of a "bigger" person you are! And I mean that in a good way! LOL! You've just named my favorite TV station...it's on the majority of the time that I watch TV. I am a long way from getting on there but maybe I'll showcase here! hahaha!

Shawn, you are showing great stamina and determination. I know if I had to wait till that late after a long day dealing with kids till getting to the gym...I'd probably pass. I'm so proud of you!! You are a rock!

Cheryl, OHhhhhh my! I'm so sorry to hear about the tear. That had to be heartbreaking. But after seeing your work I'm positive that it won't be noticable. Good for you, for not heading straight for comfort food. That takes such determination!

Erin, I would wish that every morning you would wake up feeling as positive as you were this morning!! It was great, I was totally feeding off of you! Keep up the good work and you deserve to have bragging rights! Congratulations! And nope, sorry to say I didn't feel the earth move as you got bite by the exercising bug. LOL!

Tracey, yikes! I think all I would want to do is sit in a pool. Maybe try looking into water aerobics?? I would love that! Good luck getting the AC.

Robbin, I'm not allowed to add anymore plantings this year because of our trip. It's a total bummer...I envy everyone I see going off with carts of plants! LOL! But it's true...I won't be home to care for it and I need someone to care for the ones I do have.

Well, I've got both my workouts in today. I figure I've done good with my meals so here's hoping for a positive tomorrow! Have a great night girls!

TTFN!
~Tina

Well girls my excitement may have been overdone, the scale was up this morning so the rebound from the water pill may have been delayed a little. Also I had a pasta dish last night pretty high in fat and has bacon and parm cheese so lots of salt so that will increase water weight too. Oh well, i am not too worried about it as long as it doesn't keep going in that direction. I have already exercised this morning and I am still drinking more water and plan to put the numbers out of my mind for a while. Have debated skipping weighing a day or two but i am almost obsessive about it so will probably do it anyway. I am still excited and proud, i have accomplished so much in the 6 weeks i have been serious about this(290-265) and i have only been exercising for about two of those weeks! Trust me i am not down, may just not be making the earth move this morning!

Tina I am sweating jsut reading your posts!! 27 shirts!! my iron only visits on rare occassions our church is very casual and my husband doesn't have to dress up for work, saves a lot on the iron. thanks for the congrats!

Michelle thanks for all the happies i am still enjoying my success and the support really helps! My mom suffered from horrible migraines, i feel for you. I have had a few but seem to be able to ward them off with caffiene and a lot of it ( excedrine migraine and heavy caffiene drinks) Not good for my heart condition, but i'd rather not have the headache! At least it was rainy so you didn't miss much.

Shawn You go girl!!!! One of the reasons i get up at 4 in the morning 90% of the time is so that i can exercise before i do anything else, if i don't i don't get it done. It can be so overwhelming to do everything and when you start listing it all it seems like the list runs off the paper. take one task at a time and remember this (which i have a hard time doing) THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH TAKING TIME FOR YOURSELF!!!!! You know the old -you can't be anything for anyone else if you are not taking care of yourself! So make it work however you have to!

Ryanmi 10:00 to get home from work can really wear you out!! Good job on the light supper!! What kind of work do you do? Okay i hate cleaning cat pans, one reason we don't have a cat anymore! You know i found a sugar free coolwhip here that tastes pretty close to the regular, maybe that way loving it won't get you in so much trouble!

Cheryl Hey, so glad you were only up a half a pound, if you weren't on a digital scale you may not have even noticed it! Keep going you will go down, just stay true to what you are doing!! YOU WILL SUCCEED!!!! I admire you for making menus and planning your meals, I never seem to follow through when i do that and end up getting lots of groceries that end up in the garbage can! Good way to stick with your plan though! Loved the cool water facts! I never connected some of the facts there with water but now that you brought it to my attention i see the connection!

Well ladies time to shower, pack a lunch and head off to torture folks! ya'll have a fantastic day and keep doing what you are doing!!!! Here's a little more dancing for ya'll to keep the good vibes going!!!!! Love ya'll Erin

Erin, I work in Higher Ed. I'm the Bursar at Lewis University-(What is a Bursar?? LOL, I get that all of the time)...I am in charge of all Student Billing, Collections, and all "other" monies that come into the University. We have about 5200 students-it's a mid-sized private school. Here's the link...http://www.lewisu.edu

Truth be told, I love what I do, even on the worst days-I think I've heard it all when it comes to reasons why the bill isn't paid!

I hate cleaning cat pans as well, but the alternative is much worse! Plus, one of the two cats is quite vocal, and quite picky, and she lets me know when she isn't happy with the "conditions" !!

Have a great day girls!!!

Hi Girls!!!!

Just popping in before I leave for work. Sorry this is short. I just wanted to wish you all a great day.

See you tonight when I can catch up!!

Love,
Tiz