Morning ladies!

This is about how I feel today:

Well, yesterday was the worst day I’ve had in distant memory. All sorts of crap going on and stress on all fronts. It felt like the whole world was conspiring against me yesterday. Work, money, Steve, even the pets were in on it.

Dietarily it didn’t go so well either. I guess it could have been worse, especially since I felt like stopping at KFC for dinner (I didn’t), but it could have been a lot better. It was snowing when I got home, and freezing cold, so Ella and I just went for a couple of short walks rather than one long one. We took another quick one this morning. She did let me sleep all night though, so that is an improvement. But I was up late because I couldn’t get to sleep in the first place, and this morning I just feel plain worn out.

I don’t really have much to say today. I’ll try to do better with my food, and drink more water, and get in a longer walk this evening. And hopefully more sleep.

Question of the Day

What are your 3 (or more) favorite things about your body? Love your blue eyes? Blond hair? Pinky toe? Fingernails?

1. I love that I am tall. I’m 5’10”, and I like it.
2. This may sound odd (not to mention gross), but sometimes I really like it that my body doesn’t react to much. Sure, that means that even Vaseline doesn’t do much for my dry skin, and that it’s very hard to find an anti-perspirant that’s effective for more than 3 or 4 days in a row (I have to keep switching because my body quickly gets accustomed to it), and I have to take about 5 aspirin to make my headaches go away (which is why I hardly ever take medicine—it’s not effective anyway). But it also means that I very rarely get indigestion, and I don’t recall ever having heartburn, I’m not allergic to anything that I know of, and I’ve only thrown up maybe 3 or 4 times since I was a baby. I’m choosing to look at all that as a good thing.
3. I’m shapely. Granted, right now I’ve got a few extra curves, of the not-so-fabulous variety, and it is true that I’m not exactly buxom, but I have a very defined waist and therefore hips, and that makes me feel incredibly… female. I love being a woman and most everything about being a woman, certainly including my hourglass figure.

OK, I don’t really have much to say today. I’m going to go… not work. (Long story, maybe I’ll fill you in later. Yes, I still have a job, I just have nothing to do.) Have a good one, chicks.
~Elisha

I'm exhausted, but I felt compelled to post! Go figure!

Food today was good...
Bfast:Oatmeal & 1/2 Latte
Lunch: Cottage Cheese & Pineapple (was STARVING when I left work at 4:30)
Snack: A small handful of cheese curls, 4-5 Ritz cracker with PB.
Supper: Broccolli & Cauliflower smothered in cheese sauce & grilled breast of chicken
PM Snack: another small handful of Cheese curls & one Girl Scout Thin Mint...only ONE, though!

I did my exercise minutes today. Got in 15 minutes of Tai Chi this morning before work, so I came in at 120 for the week. If you want to count some walking and lifting at work I did today, you can add another 15-20!! ARgh!

Tomorrow I start a new exercise challenge. Aerobics 3 times a week (90 minutes) and 3 sessions of Tai Chi or toning for 20 minutes each time (60 minutes). That's 150 minutes!

I can't have another today, but I still feel like this was a very good day!

Thanks for listening...Hope you all aren't losing the motivation!!!!!!!!!!!! C'mon...I got 8 lbs to lose before April 1!!!!!!! Help me out here....

HUGS!

Good morning!

Going to be a short post this AM.....just wanted you to know that I made my exercise challenge minutes March 1-7 HOORAY!!
Sorry to have been missing the past couple of days.....sometimes I just have to back away from the puter and get stuff done!
Yikes! Time to go to work......will be back this evening to comment......
Have a great day!

If you could change one feature about your body today *besides your weight*, what would it be? Be specific.

Morning chicks!

Well, yesterday was a pretty crappy day too, but today seems to have started off on a better note. Steve and I had a little spat last night, but we worked it out and I certainly feel better about things now. I’ve just been so stressed in pretty much every aspect of my life that I’m growling at everyone I meet.

Food yesterday wasn’t too good. Didn’t drink nearly enough water. And I went to my parents’ house to get more stuff, so I didn’t get home until well after dark, so I didn’t get to walk the dog. I did take her for a quick jog around the block. Not sure which was one us was more out of breath after that.

But my breakfast was better today, and my packed lunch is as well, and this evening I am making a quick stop at the grocery store for some fresh fruit and veggies. And I should be home in plenty of time to take Ella for a walk. And I can feel that I’m getting dehydrated, so I’ll be sure to drink lots of water today.

The scale was at 215.8 this morning, so that is good too. I’m getting mad at myself for being off plan so much. I want to go back to being in control of my diet. It IS possible, I just have to do it.

I did talk myself out of stopping at KFC last night though. I really wanted to, but I knew I didn’t need the calories. All the way home I was debating. But I didn’t. I went home and had a grilled cheese sandwich with some turkey bacon instead. Still not the healthiest of meals, but better than KFC. I may have to work some baked crispy chicken into my menu over the next couple of days though.

Question of the Day
If you could change one feature about your body today *besides your weight*, what would it be? Be specific.

This one is almost a toss-up for me between vanity and physical comfort, but I think physical comfort is going to have to win. I would change my back/spine so that I don’t have those occasional bolts of pain shooting up my neck and down my back, and so that I can bend over easily and twist in any direction I feel like twisting. There are days when it hurts to walk, or stand, or sit, or simply roll over. I know losing weight will help that, but it won’t make it go away.
(For anyone who’s curious, the vanity answer would have been my skin. I have a form of keratosis, and it doesn’t cause me any harm really, it’s painless and it can be moderated. It’s just a pain in the butt, and I’m neurotic about my skin, partially because of the keratosis.)

OK, that’s it for me at the moment. Have a good one, chicks.
~Elisha

Aloha --

Monday was good, Tuesday was bad. I ate too much yesterday. But today will be better. And I'm going back to jujitsu tonight.

***
Julie -- Good job on staying out of that ice cream at work. Good job on your exercise challenge.

Jennifer -- Ooo, motivational seminar. Colin Powell seems so cool.

MsRD -- Yay, you made your exercise challenge!

Elisha -- Hey, the scale is already down from the beginning of March.
***

What are your 3 (or more) favorite things about your body? Love your blue eyes? Blond hair? Pinky toe? Fingernails?

1. My brain.
2. My .
3. My hands -- they're capable.

If you could change one feature about your body today *besides your weight*, what would it be? Be specific.

I would be more flexible.

Hi Chickies... just a quick note....

I missed my exercise miniutes by 10 ... only got in 200 for last week. But I'm on for another 120 this week.... 20 so far.

No more for me.... Have been at a seminar etc... anyways off make dinner and leave for class in an hour

talk to you all tomorrow when things get back to normal.

Joy

PS Happy International Womens' Day... you've come a long way baby.

Hello!

Phew! A not so busy day today at work.....which really makes for a long day....then an hour snarlup on the freeway coming home.....dinner was TacoBell ......and there is still lots of chores here at home.

Elisha......Ella is soooo beautiful! Dogs do not seem to understand that you are tired or stressed or have 2 broken legs.....they just want to go to a walk with you! By all means......go! You will be surprised how much better you feel, both physically and emotionally!

Healthnut......Keeping a food journal is a super idea! It really focuses on what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong with your food! And don't forget the vitamins and calcium!

TBJ....You are so wise! Small lifestyle changes are what we should aim for.....and making them permanent! I have tried this month for this goal.....but, well, being impatient isn't helping!

Julie.....You are doing so well on controlling your sugar! I am so proud of you....and I am sure you are going to be some smaller numbers on that scale! You get a gold star for resisting the chocolate chip mint ice cream!

Jennifer......Sorry about the damaged table.....a small setback, compared to what you have gone thru, but that doesn't mean it isn't irritating. Your seminars sound very interesting.....especially the section about nutriton.....look forward to hearing all about them.

Joy.....Maybe you missed your exercise goal by 10 minutes, but I still count that a success! Are you on for this week again? I am setting my goal at 180 minutes again, but hopefully will surpass that!

All of the ice is finally melted on our backyard pond, and we had 3 mergansers (diving ducks) out there this morning! What beauties!

The next project around here is painting our bedroom.....the new drapes really show how bad the walls are! Gotta go measure the room and figure out how many gallons needed. Sure would like to get this done before spring!
DH isn't feeling well this evening, so better go check on him......

OMG...it was such a BUSY and stresful day today! I feel better now, thank you!

The day started out with...let's just say some abdominal/intestinal "crap"! Yuck! I thought about calling in and as the day progressed I wondered why I didn't!!! Cooking group today...not appealing at all with a sick stomach, but the nurses at work took care of that with some Milk of Mag Onward and upward! Gads! Got through that but then the afternoon turned a bit...oh...unproductive!

Residents were not participating, not cooperative, not anything! So, I gave up...boss asked me if I was going home...but NO! I stayed and put back together my Activity room after the floors were waxed last night! UGH...my back and every muscle and joint hurt right now! Lifting 36" TV's and hauling/lifting other furniture is not my idea of a "fun day"!!!!

Thank goodness DH made dinner tonight, because I was just not in the mood to cook anyting!

On a bright note... ...I stayed completely away from sugar today! Nothing, nada, zip!!! Sorry!! I'm so proud of myself!!! There were even donuts at work today!!! Seems work is no longer my trigger...it's when I get home at night! I've been "hiding" the sweet stuff so it's not as bad, but...sometimes I get the huge urge!

I'm chatty tonight...2 glasses of wine will do that to me!

I missed yesterday's QOTD and I will answer today's as well!

If you could change one feature about your body today *besides your weight*, what would it be? Be specific.
I never really wanted to change anything about my body, except maybe to be a bit taller! I'm only 5'2" but I'm ok with that now! Hmmmm...maybe my arthritic back which aches constantly!


What are your 3 (or more) favorite things about your body? Love your blue eyes? Blond hair? Pinky toe? Fingernails?
I love my hair! It's wavy, naturally curly and will do whatever I want it to most of the time!
I love my hands. They are short, but petite! My Dad always tells me they remind him of my Mom's hands. I have always liked my Mom's hands!
Maybe my breasts...I'm quite well endowed, but never have thought of that as a problem...I kind have gotten used to them!

No time for comments tonight! Hope you all are on board with the exercise challenge this week...150 minutes for me, Joy! I met my last challenge...I should get an extra for that, shouldn't I??? Do you like my exercise ticker????

Hugs to all!

What is your favorite form of exercise? Hitting the dance floor with your girlfriends? Love to swim? Can’t make it to spinning class often enough?

Hey everyone.

I just wanted to check in and say that I'm going to be scarce for a while. Just when the work stress was starting to untangle and get resolved, my gramma just had a heart attack at age 89. It was a mild one, but still a heart attack. So my mind is not up for keeping track of internet stuff until I'm sure she's getting better. I will try to check in periodically, but I'm kinda "on call" in case I'm needed for the time being.

Keep up the good work, everyone! I'm always thinking of you!

Good morning ladies!

Well, today I am much more positive. I had a decent day yesterday. Calories were ok (around 1750, not great but still an improvement), water was good (though I don’t remember exactly how much—right around 100 oz), exercise was power-walking around the neighborhood with Ella in the rain. And I actually got to bed around 10, which is early for me. And the scale is down to 215.6 this morning, and that is progress.

Also, I hit the powerball. The bad part is that I only hit the powerball number, so only won like $3. But hey, I got my money back for the ticket, so I am a happy camper.

On a completely different note, I started taking SAM-e this morning to help with my episodes of depression. It can take up to a couple of months to kick in though, so I’m not expecting to be bouncing off the walls today. I need to find the rest of my vitamins and start taking them again. If I collect them all in the same place I don’t have a problem taking them.

I didn’t follow yesterday’s meal plan very well. I ended up having an Arby’s salad for lunch instead of my frozen dinner. But I skipped my snack to make up for it. I wasn’t hungry anyway.

So today’s menu looks like this, and I WILL eat this:

Breakfast:
Too much coffee with amaretto creamer (the regular kind too)
Breakfast burrito with the obvious tortilla, ¼ c. egg beaters, 3 oz. turkey ham, a bunch of green peppers and onions, and a sprinkling of cheese

Lunch:
Diet Vanilla Coke
Healthy Choice Beef Merlot
1 serving mini cheese rice cakes

Snack:
Apple

Dinner:
I don’t know about this one just yet. Possibly a turkey sandwich. Possibly some chicken corn chowder. Possibly something completely different. We’ll see.

Question of the Day
What is your favorite form of exercise? Hitting the dance floor with your chums? Love to swim? Can’t make it to spinning class often enough?

Hmm…. tough one. I don’t really like to exercise much at all. I’m pretty lazy. I do like to swim, but haven’t gotten to do so in quite a while (years, seriously). I’m too self-conscious (and too cheap!) to go to a pool. Walking the dog isn’t so bad. Yourself!Fitness isn’t too bad either, when I keep up with it. I think that’s part of the reason I have such a hard time sticking with exercise—I haven’t found an exercise I like.

OK, stuff to do. Have a lovely day, you lovely chicks.
~Elisha

Howdy.

Yesterday was much better in the food department. I ate smaller portions. AND I went back to jujitsu! We learned an elbow-nerve technique. And I managed to keep my head off the ground for some of the rolls and falls.

Knee hurts now though. Blargh it all and grr grr grr. I am still waiting to be referred to a specialist. Have been waiting for two weeks. Called the doctor's office today to ask where the referral was. No reply as of yet.

***
Elisha -- I hope your strategy for treating your depression works.

Betani -- Sorry to hear about your grandmother. I'll say a prayer for you and for her.

Julie -- Ooo, m'lady, are you being hard on yourself! You deserve to take a break and let your body heal. Eh, don't worry about the residents. It's their loss if they weren't cheerful. And yipee-a-woo-hoo-hoo-hoo about staying away from the sugar.

MsRD -- Arrr, traffic. Snarlups on the freeway are so frustrating. Do you ever have a fantasy in which your car sprouts wings and you go flying away, above everyone else? And, heh heh, thanks, but if I were wise, I would be at my goal weight.

***

What is your favorite form of exercise?

Jujitsu, then biking. Jujitsu is just fantastic, and I hope my knee doesn't prevent me from progressing in the martial art. Biking is great aerobic exercise, and I'm proud of myself for completing that bike ride this summer.

Aloha.

evening, chickies. Sorry to post & run, but we're stopping to pick up some final things for hubby's office, and then either tonight or tomorrow, I'll be taking down this computer, and bringing it up to the new house. Saturday they are coming to fix the office line & deal with the short in that line, and we called up mid-week to set up the internet cable, since our DSL stuff never did show up. With all the phone issues, I almost don't dare to put DSL on those lines- we'll never get a dial tone

I will be able to check in from work, and we are hoping for a fully moved date of 3/31. If there's still stuff in the townhouse, we'll bring that up afterwards, but as soon as we can get hubby to the point where he can roll out of bed & shuffle to his fully working office, we can make the move.

Things have been crazy-hectic, and we're on target to do 10 Million dollars in closings this month, so I'm trying to sneak in some time at work, hopefully when Roid is otherwise occupied.

Trying to behave myself. I haven't touched chocolate at all, and the demon coworkers are making a point to have it around quite a lot. I think I need to give up a lot more for lent, since I'm not eating chocolate, but had 3 slices of Dominos deep dish pizza for lunch! Bad Jennifer!

Ladies, sorry to be so absent, but I'm thinking of you all. Julie, hug the little one for me. Betani, your gramma is in my thoughts. Elisha, Ella is gorgeous, and hopefully running you ragged with all her energy. TBJ- any word on the bar yet? When will you get the results? MsRD- what colors are you doing in the bedroom? Joy- kick butt, chickie with all that exercise!

Hugs to all, and hopefully I'll be peeking in bright & early for a long post & to catch up on the QOTD.

Hi!

Another long day......after work, we went to DS & DIL for supper and then on to youngest DGD kindergarten play. It was soooo sweet and she was really good.......not just sounding like a grandma here.....she was *really* good!

Julie......Residents have bad days too, with no reflection on your hard work! No sugar day! I think you deserve a reward for that one!

Betani.....Hugs to you and Grandma! Stay strong!

Elisha.....I am glad to hear you are addressing the depression issue. It is far too serious to be neglected. I hope the meds will work for you.....but, if not, then keep trying til you get the 'right fit' for you.

TBJ...Must be great to get back to the jujitsu workout! Keep nagging that doctor for a referral for your knee problems......

Jennifer......It sounds like you are in the final 'Git R Done' phases of moving. I have picked out a soft ivory/light light yellow color.....same as the drapery sheers. I have scheduled a couple of vacation days later this month, and will hopefully do it then. (and I remember the old days, when I would come home from work, paint whatever room until the wee hours, and then get up the next morning and go to work.......well, that ship has sailed)

I have been focusing on exercise this month, as my 'baby step'.....hoping to get to the point where exercising is as natural as breathing. In the meantime, I haven't been monitoring my food intake very well, so there probably won't be great losses on the scale this weekend. Hmmmm.....will have to starting counting those calories again next week to get that back under control. *sigh*