Hope everyone is doing well. I am just popping in to say hi. I can admit I am off the plan. Alot of issues going on right now. Family member is sick . So between school and back and forth I just dont have the energy to think. But glad everyone is doing well.

Good morning everyone and happy Sunday!

Peanut: You sound super busy and best wishes with your recipes and the holiday! Can you tell me how you roast your veggies? I love them but have never been able to do then successfully... so any tips would be great!

Oh Peanutt I think i forgot you when i said Hi to everyone. I am so sorry. You are the closest to my weight i think. Right now i am riding around the 240 mark.

Life4evr- Sorry to hear that a family member is sick. Just try to keep on keepin on.

Hi to all the other ladies. Everyone seems to be doing good.

I am still not making any progress really and i really need to just get things into gear.

I've had the best success with roasting veggies doing this: pre-heat the oven to 450F with the pan inside. Toss the veggies with olive oil and seasonings in a big bowl. When the oven is hot, I take the pan out and pour a bit of any excess oil from the tossing bowl on to the pan and put it back in the oven for a minute to heat up before adding the veggies.

Hi Everyone and happy Monday to you all!

Another beautiful day here... I have the day off since the offices are closed due to the Columbus Day holiday and also huge IT upgrades. I got some chores and errands done and will get supper started soon.

Yesterday DH and I took the dogs to the state park and walked around, we all had a great time... we just chugged along, did not run a marathon or even keep a fast pace but we sure enjoyed it.

Still on plan and not smoking! Yeah.

Life4evr: I totally understand where you are, I truly do and have been there a few times myself - please let me know if there is anything that you need - we are all here to help!

Peanut: Thanks for the recipe! I will be roasting some up for supper sometime this week... about how long do you roast them for? Have a great day!

Kim: You sound super busy! Wow... I hope you manage to get a few minutes of rest and relaxation!

Cherry: How are things going for you?

Bandit: How are you doing? I'll bet you have fantastic colors up your way with the fall season here. How was your holiday?

Judy: How are you doing? Did you have a good weekend?

Tessa: What is new with you?

Hey guys - just wanted to pop in and share more details about the roasted veggies. I really hit on a winning combo tonight. Here's the best I can come up with for a recipe considering I improvise so much (remember I was making for Thanksgiving crowd). Hope you enjoy it!

1 acorn squash, peeled and cubed
1 medium yam, peeled and cubed
3 red bell peppers, cut into chunks
4 small carrots, cut into chunks
1 medium parsnip, peeled and cubed
1 cup of grape tomatoes, whole

Preheat oven to 475F with baking pan inside to preheat. Combine all veggies in a large bowl. Toss with 6 teaspoons of olive oil to coat. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, rosemary and fennel seed to taste. Add to the hot baking pan. Bake for approximately 40 minutes (or until all veggies are tender), stirring half way through.

I roughly worked this recipe out to 12 points for the whole pan. It filled my 9x13 cake pan.

Thanksgiving was very successful. My mom was insistent on bringing pie and buns which really added to the point total. Aside from those two items, my Thanksgiving dinner only totaled 13.5 points. My plate was heavy on the veggies (roasted above and a cold cucumber and tomato mix tossed with greek yogurt and dill), I avoided the gravy and kept small portions of mashed potatoes and stuffing. The WW-friendly crock pot stuffing was also quite successful. I'd say that it tasted nearly the same as the old version, but with a quarter of the points.

Princess - Nice work on staying on plan and off smoking!

Good morning everyone and happy Tuesday to you all! I hope that all of our Canadian Turtles had a wonderful holiday weekend!

The weekend was very nice here, weather was beautiful and I felt like I got lots of chores done. I also managed to make it to my knitting group which is always fun.

Peanut: thanks for the recipe... I am going to try that and see how it works out. It sounds fantastic though and congrats for doing so good on a holiday menu!

Hi turtles:

Princess - nice job on all the work you have been getting done around the house and kudos on the not smoking!!

Peanutt - WOW, congrats on your weight loss, that is super! Also thanks for reminding me of the roasted veggies, I really like those and there are so many nice combos to try.

Life - try and get back on plan as soon as you are up to it.

CHerry - hang in there, hope you are doing better.

Kim - how as your mountain hike, sounds like it would be gorgeous! Good luck with AmeriCorps.

Well, I got through the holiday and enjoyed it very much. Had more wine and goodies than I should have, but this a.m. before I left for work I took out the leftover blueberry & pumpkin pies for the squirrels. I saved 1 small piece of the blueberry for dessert tonight, then thats it. Usually my dd takes pie home, but she said she didn't need it either. I made lots of veggies with my turkey so will be having leftovers for the next few evenings.
Also got my fridge/freezer cleaned out at trailer since it will be winterized this week. Have to go back this weekend and deal with cupboard food.
But overall, great weekend.

Now, time to get back on track and lose some more weight.

Have a great day!

Hi Turtles,
It's so great to have so many turtles chiming in with good ideas, etc. to us all!

Life4evr, I'm sorry you have a family member who is sick. We are all pulling for you. : Yes, like the other gals I'd like to offer support and some small ideas to help stay on track if you'd like. In any case, here's a

Cherry, keep on visiting and remembering baby steps. Sometimes things seems overwhelming and then that's when it helps me to take a deep breath and fake it till I make it. I'm so often embarassed by how long it's taking me to lose weight----my losses and false starts and gains drive me up a wall. But I know that without my WW group and without the Turtles, I'd be up many many pounds and devaluing myself. So here's a to get you through.

Peanutt, the recipe for roasted vegetables is great. I really admire how you planned your Thanksgiving as far as points and did the right thing for yourself! Weigh to go!

KimL, Vermont leaves----sounds so romantic. You are so busy with working in the restaurant and at school. Glad to hear you're giving AmeriCorps a try. Let us know more as things progress.

Princess, state park and DH and dogs sounds terrific. You packed so much into your weekend. Glad you got back to your knitting group and also are on program and are smoke-free! Weigh to go. Isn't it wonderful how you can pull yourself up and do it! I am so impressed.

Tessa, how are you doing?

And Mrs. Tho, chime in when you can.

Bandit, Glad your Thanksgiving was so nice. Yummy, blueberry pie sounds scrumptious, but it's so smart to throw out the leftovers. They just don't do us any good. Glad you had such a great weekend and that you're ready to lose more weight.

I've been reading the guesses about the new program WW is coming out with. Here in NY, it'll be Dec.1st. I think it will emphasize filling foods since my WW leader has been pushing them and de-emphasizing the processed foods including bred. Well, I'll have to wait and see.
The crazy day just led to a crazy, but good, weekend. It was my grandson's 6th. birthday. We all went pumpkin picking on Sat., then had more family fun on Sunday. I had made crockpot dishes and even though no one else wanted them, I had pointed out foods to eat and I felt much better about that. Monday morning I woke up and was dizzy, so my dh ended up driving me to my dd's house to celebrate our grandson's birthday on his real day. Then he drove me home again. Very sweet of him. I figured out I was dizzy because of allergies and have taken some stuff to clear out. Got to podiatrist and hairdresser today and was able to drive without any trouble. Yay. Topmorrow is my WW WI, so I've got my fingers crossed. Can't sabotage myself tonight the way I have been doing the last couple of weeks.
Okay, gotta run-----We're doing great. Everyone, Keep on keepin' on!
Judy
234/6193.6/170's by Halloween.

Too many folks for me to go individually so thanks for the well wishes. I am always taking tips. Things are starting to settle down a little bit around here.

Good morning and a very happy Wednesday to you all!

We are supposed to get some rain here today, keeping my fingers crossed that we do, it is very dry here and there have been "no burn/open flame" warnings out for weeks now... this is the time of year that DH and I love to have a fire in the fire pit and just hang out in the evenings so we are missing that and eager for it to rain so that the bans will lift.

Weight is not budging, even with counting calories and the walking. Will keep on chugging and just try harder. DH and I took the dogs to the small park last evening for a quick walk, not far but it was something and we splurged and had supper at Subway which for me is an easy way to control my food.

Judy: Sounds like you are doing well, I am glad to hear it and I will keep my fingers crossed that it continues to get better!

Bandit: Sounds like you had a nice holiday! Great job throwing the leftovers out for the squirrels! I have tried that in the past with a few leftover items and our squirrels have turned their noses up at most everything except for the nuts... even the veggies they did not show interest in - not sure what thier issue is. The Chantix is really working with allowing me to move through the day with out hardly a thought to smoking so it is working - just having lots of side effects with it so I am eager to get off of it but still have at least two more months that I have to take it.

Life4evr: Glad to see you stopping by - I have very few words of wisdom for you but hang in there - I do know that in the past when things have gotten tough for me taking a quick walk around outside to clear my head has helped, also a nap if you are able to, or pick up a book or some other hobby - I know that for me keeping busy helps even if it is to go and clean the bathroom it takes my mind off of things for a little while.

I have to run - busy day ahead!
Susan

Weigh-in 239.8 again. In all honesty i am not working the program or any program for that matter.

Morning turtles:

Well, my car window was frosted up this a.m. but now it is nice and sunny, on the cool side but good.

Judy - hope you are feeling better and good luck at your weigh in. Like you, I feel sometimes I have been on this journey forever but if I wasn't I am sure I would be much heavier. So, keep at it - you are doing great!

Princess - so glad the Chantix is working for you, once you get through this you will be thankful to have kicked it for good.

All - Sometimes when I feel stressed or burnt out I find having a nice hot bubble bath really helps & also a brisk walk seems to clear my head, or sometimes just calling up a friend and venting. Whatever you find comfort in - go to that place when you need to.

Hope we all have a successful week!

Cherry, think about it this way. You are maintaining even though you aren't on program. This may not be the success you're hoping for, but it is a success nonetheless. I hope things fall into place for you soon and you get the results you want.

Princess, I know if you keep with what you're doing, you'll see a weight change on the scale soon. : It has to happen. If I remember, you'll go a week or two without a good loss and then you'll lose more than 2# the next week. Am I right? Sending : and Stopping smoking is fabulous and the weight loss will happen too. I know it's disappointing, but you'll see a nice loss next week.

Bandit, such nice comments. Thanks! Yeah, sometimes a hot bath is exactly what we need.

I had a nice WW WI and am still annoyed at myself. If I had worked harder last week I would not have gained the 1.6# and would be in the 180's again. Instead I gained last week, see-saw style, and this week I worked so hard and lost 1.8# and am still 191.8# If I work extremely hard this week, I could break into 180's and I am determined to do so. It'll take a lot of planning since we've got another busy weekend ahead again. Got back on the boardwalk after almost a week away from it!
Okay, gotta run----you all take care. I'm thinking of all of you!
Judy
234.6/191.8/170's by Halloween