Welcome back.... we missed you. Glad the trip was nice, not good about your back, nurture mode sounds like a good idea. Another vacation.... where to this time?

Recovery is going great and my instructions were that I could do anything as "tolerated". The only real problem with that is you really don't know for sure until you try something and it's not tolerated. A couple days ago I found that flicking the covers off with my foot was not tolerated, yesterday it was swatting a fly that was about 3' above my head. I'm thinking I'll get back on the treadmill tomorrow and maybe do the Bowflex on Monday.... we shall see.

CruiseCAT - we've rented a house that borders the Shenandoah forest in VA (Stanardsville) for a week. The house has a pool and is on 300 acres. So, quiet and private. It should be very relaxing. My MIL is joining us for a couple days in the middle, which will be nice. Bummer about your weight; it will come off, though -- don't worry. Don't push yourself too hard; you don't want to send yourself backwards, not forwards. How is the food situation? Can you eat what you want, or do you still have to be careful?

Welcome back Newleaf. Sounds like you had fun in Florida. Sorry about your back, take it easy so you can be ready for your next trip which sounds wonderful too!

Cruise, sounds like you have had many adventurous trips. The fact that you continue to cruise must mean you truly love it!

My neighbor and I are planning to go back to water aerobics again tomorrow. The community center has classes 6 days a week in the AM and 2 days a week in the PM for the rest of summer. You buy a swipe card, so you can go as often as you like. I'm thinking this will be a good addition to my exercise routine.

Anyone else feel really tired after eating sweets? DD and I had sundaes from McD's and I felt really tired after. I'm thinking it was because I wasn't used to eating sweets. Kind of an eye opener for how different foods make me feel.

Glad to see a little more activity here today, yesterday was kind of quiet!

Penguin, here’s a link to my website that I put DH’s pictures on. http://www.mariesdogs.com/Plane/Images/index.htm Your DH will know what the stuff is but not me. Fuselage/smuselage. BTW, you might as well get your DH his plans. When it’s a dream, it won’t be snuffed. I know I’d rather have spent the loads of $$$ on something else but DH is very happy pursuing his passion. I think having a plane will be cool but there are no BATHROOMS on board and I am female with tiny bladder. That’s my only worry.

CAT, After my post last night it dawned on me that your screen name had to do with your upcoming vacation. I’m just so quick. Your cruising experiences were entertaining to read. Even the wave one but I’m betting not so wonderful when it happened. I think if I was ever to go on a cruise again, I’d like one that cruises the Fiji Islands. A friend and I were looking at one a few months ago, but the idea sort of fizzled. Now that I’m saving all my $$$ for my February surgeries, I will be waiting on that one. You will love the Alaskan one. I swear Hubbard Glacier was probably one of my 5 most favorite sights in the world. It was awesome. I can post a picture later if you want.

Newleaf, it sounds like your trip was great with the exception of the back. I think the more in shape we become the more we forget we’re in our 40’s. I’m amazed how much easier I can tweak something than when I was fat and out of shape. When I was muttering about getting as cast in the spring, the cast technician said “I’ve never had to cast someone who sits on the couch all day”. A very valid point. So your back is sore but I bet your kids were so thrilled to have an active mom playing with them. Just be careful in the VA pool.

OMW, I have the sweets crash after eating high carb items, like blueberry pancakes out. You've trained your body to expect healthy and it revolts at the non-good stuff. I always try to remember to weigh the wanting vs the after effect before ordering. I success occasionally.

My cycle so dictates my weight loss. I knew yesterday that I’d moved into the “losing” week/10 days so this morning it wasn’t a surprise that the scale said 158.0. Yeah, another pound gone. I’m going to change my ticker. I just hate the two weeks of my TOM cycle that has no losing. It’s always irritating. Just like CAT said, it’s amazing how the scale can make or break your day.

Time to get back to my state report. Boo-hoo… I’d rather play here.
Marie

Cruisecat - I'm sure most of the extra lbs are from post surgical swelling but it must be really frustrating. Sounds like easing back into your exercise routine is a good idea. Hang in there!

Newleaf - glad you guys had fun! And way to go on keeping things steady on vacation!

Quick botox update - it took a few days but I can really see the difference now - way fewer smile lines when I do a full smile. And absolutely no vertical lines between my eyebrows. I'll take some after pix tomorrow morning and post them with the befores. Based on my one experience so far, I'd definitely recommend it.

OnMyWay - that's great -- all you can eat water aerobics!! Have fun!

Marie - I agree with you re: the plane. The last thing I would want is for my DH to resent me for preventing him from pursuing something that was his passion. What can you do??! My DH got a big pay raise this winter and you know what he did -- spent > $1500 on some fancy leaf blower. (not that leaf blowing is his passion!) I was quite surprised that *that* was what his pent up demand was for, but whatever...

Marie and CruiseCAT - we are doing the Alaska cruise next July with my ILs. Marie - I'd love to see your photo. CruiseCAT - let me know what you are researching; I'd love to piggyback off of it. We're already doing some 10-day cruise / land package, but what I need to decide is if I want to stay an extra few days with the boys (DH will need to go home) to do something fun... They will be 9 & 11 at the time of the cruise.

DancerInDenver - I'm glad you're happy with the Botox results! Can't wait to see the before & afters...

I slept in this morning and now am having a hard time getting myself started. Seriously, who wouldn't be excited about doing leftover laundry from yesterday???

Marie, Thanks for posting the link. I'm sure Hubby will get a kick out of that.

Denver, Glad the Botox is working! Looking forward to the pics.

OMW, I get tired after eating sweets. Once my response was to eat more sweets to wake up. that didn't work very well.

NewLeaf, Your house sounds fabulous! Enjoy!

Cruise, Congrats on those 2 lbs! Hmmm. on the tolerated idea, maybe a few suggestions would have been helpful???

I made this for a side dish last night and Hubby loved it even with the veggies.

Veggie Stuffed Mac and Cheese
Volumetrics Cookbook

4oz dry pasta
1T breadcrumbs
1/2 tea butter melted
1/2 tea paprika
1 c milk
1 1/2 T flour
3/4 c shred chedder cheese
1/2 c cottage cheese
1/8 c grated Parm
pinch nutmeg
1/4 tea salt
pinch ground pepper
3 c fresh spinach ; 1/2 lb
1 tomato diced; 1/2 can

Preheat 375* cook pasta, drain, set aside, Mix breadcrumbs - paprika; set aside. Heat 3/4 c milk in saucepan over med-high heat, until steaming. whisk 1/4 c milk and flour, until smooth, add to pan. Whisk constantly until thickened 3-7 min. Remove from heat. Add chedder stir until melted. Add cottage and Parm. Mix. Add Nutmeg- pepper. Mix. add pasta, mix.
Spread 1/2 pasta mix in bottom of greased {Pam} 8x8 pan, top with tomatos and spinach. Spread rest of pasta on top. Sprinkle with crumbs Bake 25-30 min.

Cal 330 Carb 38g, Fat 9g, Pro 25g, Fib 5 g.

The nutioninal information is based on the full recipe {6 servings at 1 1/2c each} which made a 13x9 dish as an entree. I halfed the recipe and made it a side dish. I made a mistake and pulled a package of broccoli out of the freezer instead of frozen spinach but that worked well also.I'm not a big fan of Mac and Cheese but thought it was okay, Hubby loved it even with the veggies. I thought it would be good to make it with peppers, onions, salsa, and chili powder to make it Southwestern. Might try that next.

Well, we're back from vaca! 2 weeks in DC. I'm pretty sure that we saw everything that we could possibly see. I'm up 2.5 lbs which is awesome! I was expecting a much larger gain. We did walk alot and DH and I did run a few times, but not enough. And I ate too much, but I still feel good about it overall. It was great to get away and see DD. We celebrated her 22nd birthday during our stay. I think that I was starting to get a little too obsessed with my weight before we left, I was becoming afraid to eat--not good, and I was developing a real fear of maintenance. But the fact that I ate pretty much whatever I wanted has proved to me that this is doable. Today, I'm back at it and feel really good about my choices. I think that I needed the break to put everything in prospective.

LoserMom - welcome back! I'm glad you had a great vacation... Up 2.5lbs is nothing, and getting the perspective that you needed is wonderful. I'm glad that all is well. I just got back yesterday and spent this morning cleaning out the refrigerator. I don't know what DH ate the week we were gone, but clearly not the vegetables that I would have eaten so I threw a lot of stuff away. It was fun to go to the farm market to stock up again!

newleaf - welcome back! It sounds like you had a good break.

losermom - I hear you on getting obsessed. Because the scale hadn't moved in many days, I was feeling a bit obsessed, myself. Glad your perspective is back.

Penguin - your recipe sounds great! I wish I could eat dairy products.

dancer - looking forward to seeing your before and after shots. I don't think I'd ever have the nerve to get it done, though.

Marie - if you ever cruise in Fiji, I'd recommend Blue Lagoon cruises. Mind you, I went there 15 years ago, so I don't even know if they are still in business. They have an island that they own, so the snorkelling is amazing - there are no other people there.

Onmyway - love the water aerobics! It is a lot of fun!

Cruise - we went on an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon and we loved it. My favorite part was hiking the first couple of miles of the trail that was used for the gold rush. I've seen many pictures of it from the days when there were hundreds of people using it and it was fascinating to imagine what that must have been like.

Finally, I'm down a pound. That took 3 weeks. That vacation I took really threw me off. I'll hope for a better week this week.

Good morning everyone!! Been quite busy the last few days. Besides the baby bunnies we now have baby birds. They are definitely not as cute as the bunnies right now, LOL! I have more bunnies due next week from two moms. I am going to be over-run!!

CAT-I can't believe how well you are doing already after your surgery!! Aren't you glad they don't do it like they used to? My Grandma had a huge scar all down her side from her gall bladder surgery. I will have to remember to talk to them before any surgeries I have as I get really sick after usually too. It was no fun puking my guts out after hernia surgery, let me tell you!!

Those bunnies you like are called Castor. When you blow into their fur you see rings of different colors such as red, greyish and black. They are similar to brindle in the mottled coloring but there is actually a Mini Rex color called Harlequin(they can't be shown as it isn't an accepted color yet) which looks even more brindly with the mottled striping running through the other color. Isn't there a color called Harlequin in the Danes?

Hermit-Awesome job on the 5 pounds!! You go girl!

Marie-I think the bunnies eyes have that bluish tint like young puppies do at first but change later. There is a White version with blue eyes in the Mini Rex though. They are really pretty. I have one with red eyes which I don't like but he has the best fur ever so he is staying.

That is awesome about the plane! I have flown in smaller ones quite a bit as my brother-in-law, nephew and cousin are all pilots. My brother-in-law and nephew have been in the middle east quite a bit lately. I don't know how my sister can handle it when they are both there!

Red velvet cake rocks!!

Penguin-That is amazing how you may end up being able to drive! My niece fortunately now lives where she can hop a bus but she always hated having to rely on everyone else for transportation.

jelder-So how is your new cat doing, LOL?!?!

dancer-The zucchini recipe looks great!! Glad to hear the Botox worked so well for you!

Onmyway-Water aerobics sounds fun!! Nice thing is they wouldn't be able to see how uncoordinated I am under the water, LOL! Sweets make me crash royally now. I try to stay away as much as I can. No wonder we had no energy before eating healthier huh?

newleaf-Welcome back!! We sure missed you and your uplifting posts and encouragement! Glad you are back safe and sound!! I am nursing a sore back right now too. Kind of stinks getting older huh?

losermom-Welcome back!! DC is such an interesting place to visit! We walked a ton when we were there since everything is all in the same general vicinity. I would like to go back before my kids leave the house. We crammed what we could in one week but is was not enough. I have been there several times now and have never been up in the monument!

presmaggie-Good job on the pound lost!! Vacations can throw us off. You will get back on track!

Have a great day everyone!! I am off for a run with a friend!

Presmaggie - congrats on the pound. Even though it took a few weeks, it's a start...

Beemer - I can't believe all the bunnies (and birds!) in your world!! Too cute. One very needy cat is enough for me! My DH said the cat was absolutely forlorn by the end of my week away... He has been craving my affection around the clock since I got home! (The cat, not DH - who I haven't even seen yet since he turned around and left on a business trip the day we were coming home). Sorry to hear about your back... at least you an still run -- wtg!

Hey, I lost another pound. *whew !* I am back now to where I was only beg of last May. For some reason May and June I climbed up five more pounds, but I've now beat 'em.

Keeping track of everybody is getting difficult, you know, writing a personal note to all, nobody will be offended I hope if I make general comments ? Cruisecat brought up a very important point, that when weighing everyday it really makes or breaks your day. I pretty much weighed daily as I gained all the way up, and I admit, I got into some bad self judgement as I knew the numbers were only going up, up, up. They would have even if I didnt' weigh.

I'm carefully observing how women lose , around TOM, around holidays, around stress, injury (surgery)... and well, it' still in the mindset. As long as we keep our lifestyles in mode of exercize and clean , light eating, the scale is going to drift to our healthy weight... slowly.. but most surely. I have decided that I am not going to try to speed up the process by starting to deprive , but it's okay if I decided to exercize more. Basically, anything I do that is PRO balance... pro-happiness, pro-health, then I am going to allow myself more, and the scale is the last thing that will show the results ! I am trying to remember that... the last thing. Yet, the only thing we've trained our self confidence to react from. I say MORE of looking for other signs of results. But, I still get impatient with the scale, I'm not above that yet. I have so long to go, but I can imagine that once we get past half way that like a horse to the barn, we just want to go, go, go... and I expect the difficulty to go up a notch.