I don't think I've ever washed the canister. I usually take it outside to our big covered garbage bin and pull the "trigger" to release the gunk while it's deep inside the garbage bin so very little comes back out at me. A shake or two gets the rest. I guess it sounds like a good idea to clean it, but well, I'm just plain lazy! If the beater bar gets clogged, I let DH clean that!

I did it. I finally sat down and ordered myself a MacBook Pro. Apple announced that they upgraded processors on all of them to make them faster and the batteries last longer, so I finally decided to take the plunge. I'll probably be very busy this weekend!

For those of you who love their caffeinated beverages (I do, I do ) the caffeine acts as a diuretic, causing water loss from the body.

Back when I was pounding down the diet colas every day I could lose 4 lbs. overnight from the water loss. I also would come home tired and cranky and start eating and not be able to stop. Apparently dehydration can mimic hunger.

I cut waaay down on the colas and upped my water intake and it made a real difference.

Dagmar (almost cola free )

Hi everyone,

Dagmar - i know when i am really thirsty - i confuse it with hunger and overeat. Amazing what a glass or 2 of water can do.

I came home stressed 80% - shoulders as earring stressed. I started eating uncontrollable to calm myself - but instead went for a 45min run. I feel much better and i think i can get through the evening without too much damage.

S

I'm diet drink free as well. I drink caffinated coffee only til noon, and otherwise I drink water (sometimes club soda or sparkling water), decaf coffee and tea, and the occasional glass of wine! Don't miss the diet cola at all and in fact, all artificial sweetners taste awful to me now.

That is really interesting about the water and the coffee...might give that a try!

sznn "shoulders as earrings stressed" describes me perfectly when I'm under pressure. I will keep that phrase in my mind from now on.

I am part of Oprah's self-help (?) network and they emailed an interesting idea for journalling this morning which I'm going to try.

I was writing down everything negative I was feeling/doing in my life in past journalling attempts. I thought that if I got it down on paper I might get some insight on how to change things.

Oprah's type of journalling is totally positive instead. It give you day by day topics and instructions on how to treat yourself well and positively.

I think this will work for me. In my past attempts I also started repeating myself and then gave up as there was nothing new to say. My life tends to be very repetitive.

This gives me something new every day.

I have a notebook, from a past attempt, so I will start tonite. Might be the kick start I need to get out of my winter slump (and combat DH's anxiety spillover).

Have a great hump day all!

Dagmar

Morning all,

Very sleepy here. I think I'm going to leave work early to take a nap. Dress rehearsals are going SO late. I got home last night around 11:00 and couldn't fall asleep until midnight. I went to the gym Monday and am going to try to go today. Every other day seems reasonable this week, every day just isn't happening! Food is good. I'm so glad I've got my stockpiles made up from Sunday.

I didn't drink coffee in high school, so I used the caffeine in diet coke to keep me awake to study at night. In college I added coffee and chocolate-covered espresso beans. I still love my coffee, have cut out 95% of my soda drinking, but the chocolate-covered espresso beans remind me too much of organic chemistry for me to stomach them anymore. I think it's funny how 8 years later I still associate the two so strongly.

Michele and Jessica, I would only recommend getting a skin (very thin wetsuit material that provides a little warmth) if you're going to do a triathlon in salt water somewhere, especially during the summer, or if it's a long race and you're worried about sun protection. I wear my 0.5 mm skin a lot in the summer as protection from jellyfish stings, to prevent dive gear from chafing, and to keep the sun off of my skin ("waterproof" sunblock disappears after about half an hour). Surfers wear "rash guards" to protect their skin from all the pounding against the board and waves, and also for sun protection. Sun protection might be a consideration if you're in the water for more than a half hour on a sunny summer day. Wetsuit pricing is also based on thickness (measured in mm), so a 0.5 or 1.0 mm skin is less expensive than a 3-7 mm thick wetsuit. I don't think it would be easy to swim a race in the thicker ones. It's hard to bend my knees properly when wearing a 5 or 7 mm suit. A skin is usually 0.5 or 1 mm. This site usually has good sales if you're considering a skin or rash guard. Of course it all depends on how often you might use it. Oops, I typed a lot. Guess I got carried away... you mention something associated with diving, you're talking my language!

Dagmar, good luck journaling. What are Oprah's suggestions?

Jessica, I agree wholeheartedly. Weight loss and healthy living are very individual things!

Iris, I've always had trouble getting up in the AM to work out as well. I will say, when I can get myself on the right sleep schedule I feel really great getting my workout done early. But right now... no way! I might try to switch back to AM summer workouts, b/c last summer I had a lot of trouble going to the gym after long summer field work days. But I think it's just important to find a time when you can stick with it, AM or PM.

Off to do some work... have a great "hump day" everyone.

Megan-- speaking of diving... we were planning on doing a "beginner's scuba" excursion on our cruise. They kicked me out based on my medical questionnaire. I was so ticked but they have to cover their a*&! I felt like saying-- look at me-- I'm healthier than 99% of the people that come through here. But, I marked that I had thyroid issues and that kicked me out. Really?!?! I can't imagine what that would do with anything but they said I would need a doctor's note in order to dive. I guess if I decide to proceed any further, I'll have to ask my docs. I see my endocrinologist on Friday for a checkup so I think I'll ask him what the deal is.

Good news, bad news on my job.
Yesterday I was on top of the world! We had completed our first ever district wide read-a-thon and I found out my school WON! I had a feeling we had because I pushed it hard, my teachers and principal supported it, and our parents and kids embraced it. We get $1000 in books for our library from the bookstore that is promoting the read-a-thon plus three of our classes won parties from the local fro yo place. I'm hoping I can make the parties too because I LOVE fro yo!

Then, last night I went to my second job (Weight Watchers). We found out one of our two meetings is going to be cancelled due to lack of members attending so my pay will be cut in half. Not a big deal as I don't get paid much, but still disappointing and the members were unhappy about it.

Then, this morning I came in and it looks like my position and/or hours are definitely on the chopping block. I haven't heard anything definitive but it is in the local newspaper that the board approved cutting or reducing the elementary librarians. So, I'm waiting to find out more. Not going to stress eat. Not going to stress eat. Even though we are having a tea this afternoon for all of our parent volunteers with tons of yummy baked sweets (I made brownies)... I'm going to stay far away from the sweets and mingle....promise....

Iris, I get more healthy oriented as each b-day approaches. I actually started my weight loss routine two days after my b-day a couple years ago (had out of town visitors and starting on b-day was not worth it). For me it’s getting older that sets that mindset.

Allison, I totally agree about not enough water and getting tired mid-afternoon. It is uncomfy when we do that at work.

Jay, I absolutely hate touching a vacuum bag. I’d much rather pooper-scoop after my four doggies.

Dagmar, I’m decaf but have the dehydrated feeling when I have too much decaf diet pepsi. I wonder if the soda can mimic the dehydration/hunger idea?

Sznn, glad you’re run de-stressed you. Great choice. I must say you made me laugh with the shoulders as earring image. I’m going to remember that one.

Dagmar, I love the positive journaling idea. Let us know how you like it.

Megan, THANKS for the link!!!! I’m supposed to stay out of the sun for a year for the surgical scars. BUT… I have a pool and love swimming laps. I’m going to order one of the skins I saw on the site. Thanks so much for the info. Plus I’m going to be learning SCUBA and it says it makes a great skin under a wetsuit for added warmth. A win-win!

Michele, I’m so sorry about the job news. No way should you have had to read about it in the paper. So were they so tacky to have the great news of the read-a-thon victory next to the cuts? I hope your resolve to be strong around the sweets stays strong.

So I have my Blizzard in my office. She’s been having difficulty breathing the last couple days and was scary last night. I gave her Benadryl and she’s better, but she has a vet appt in an hour. I hope it is just allergies. She’s my soul-doggie and that she is aging just scares me. BTW, she’s not a great office dog – she’s at my office door just staring out, looking for a way to investigate and escape. It could be a long day.
Marie

Marie-- I'll be thinking good thoughts about Blizzard. Let us know.
One of my dogs is a therapy dog (Great Dane) and I bring her to school a couple of times a year to talk to the kids about therapy dogs. They are always asking when I'm bringing her again. She is a sweetie but it is hard for me to get work done when she's with me as she wants to follow me everywhere!

No, the job stuff wasn't posted by the Read-a-thon stuff. I'm waiting to hear from my principal to see if she knows anything. I couldn't go to the board meeting as I was working so I feel out of the loop.

Is it really only Wednesday?! This week is dragging for me.

I've pretty much nixed the diet drinks, but I always have my daily coffee and I LOVE unsweetened iced tea - especially when I have a lemon with it! So no chemicals/fake sweeteners but still plenty of caffeine for me. I think I am going to start keeping track of my water intake again - I used to always have a glass beside me, but lately that's turned to a mug of coffee instead!

Marie, I hope the vet can make your dog breathe easier - crossing my fingers that it's just allergies.

Michele, I hope things work out for your job, it stinks that you had to hear about it through the paper. Congrats on your school winning the read-a-thon!

Dagmar, I'm curious about the positive journaling suggestions, too. I think I could use an extra dose of positivity in my days!

I've been looking on craigslist for a treadmill... it's much cheaper than a gym membership and I'd prefer to run outside but my allergies don't like that too much - plus summer in AZ is upon us and the heat is a bit extreme. My BF is coming back tonight from his trip so I'll see what he thinks about putting one in the office. I think he may not be as enthusiastic as I =( He runs outside in the mornings and I'm going to try joining him, but I don't want to be stuffy and miserable all day thereafter.

Megan, thanks for the wetsuit info!

Michele, I have my fingers crossed for your job security.

Marie, do let us know how Blizzard's appointment goes! I hope she is okay.

Iris, I am so with you. Only Wednesday? I can't wait for the weekend.

DH and I are scheduled for another 5k this weekend, and it's a big one (Race for the Cure, 40,000 people expected). We're hoping the traffic won't be too bad. On the other hand, I woke up with a sore throat this morning and my nose has been running nonstop all day, ugh. Not sure if I caught a cold or if it's allergies. Is there a good way to tell? Other than the runny nose I feel fine, maybe a little bit of a sinus headache but that's probably caused by the nose.

I also managed to pull a muscle or something in my back from my push-ups and/or rows yesterday. Ouch! I'm getting older and not healing as fast as I used to. I was planning a run this morning but decided to sleep in because of the nose/throat and do it tonight instead, but now I'm not sure if it's a good idea or if I should rest. (I guess that depends if the problem is a cold or allergies!) I certainly don't want to be sick on race day Saturday.

Marie~glad to hear it isn't anything serious with Blizzard. I'm about to leave the office to pick up Chico and take him to Gentle Dental for a non-sedated teeth cleaning. Then he'll come back to the office until it's time to go home. I'd take Buddy, too, but he's so old and hard to get in and out of the car. He's got laryngeal paralysis but is too old for surgery to correct that, so we have to listen to him hacking and coughing--especially when he gets excited. We have workers at the house today and that excited him and one of the guys was worried about his hacking. We said he'd been doing it for 5 years and there's nothing we can do about it. We consulted the vet 5 years ago and they didn't think it was serious, now they're sure it's LP, but now he's too old to fix it.

Jessica~we're all getting old! My knee keeps bothering me off and on and I'm just too stubborn to go to the doctor. I'm sure he'll just say to rest it and that's not what I want to hear!

Michele~good luck on your job. Our school districts are cutting like crazy (again).

Iris~I'd offer you my treadmill, but I love it too much to give it up right now. I can't use it much because of my knee, but I'm determined to use it again! Good luck in your search.

Oops, Marie, you posted while I was typing my post -- glad to hear it's nothing serious with Blizzard!