Rhonda...sounds like classic burnout! You hit it so hard then you fizzle out. I'd say those changes you are working need to just be a lifestyle. Dont expect perfection just work day by day on getting a little closer to where you want to be. Okay that'll be $200! LOL!

Thanks for asking ladies, my dh is doing well. Still very weak, recovery is slow going but he seems to get a little better every day. We go back in for all kinds of tests and consults with specialists after the first of the month.

Alrighty, since life is supposed to be getting back to normal I've got to go to class this morning. Only the rest of this week then next week of classes then I've got 1 final and then I graduate!!!! Today I'm sending out my very first resume. I had planned on taking the summer off to enjoy one last summer home with the girls but since dh's hospitalization and we lost our income I've gotta hit the job scene early!

Have a lovely day everyone, I hope you find some sunshine...and then share it with me!!!

I don't know about a last hurrah, but I am definitely not OP!

My list of 5 things:

1) plan out dinners for the week. Prep some ahead and put in freezer for those "I'm too tired" or "It's too late" to cook moments.

2)start bringing my lunch to work again (a york peppermint patty at 2:00pm isn't the best option)

3) start exercising again. How did I go from 3-6 miles a night to nothing????

4) stop giving myself excessive pats on the back. yes, I am almost there, yes I have lost alot, but I am NOT at goal yet!!! Get moving!

5) try to get DH to exercise more and as parents be good healthy role models for the boys.

Focus, Grasshopper, Focus Sorry I couldn't resist.

I would suggest obsessing on 1 small thing at a time. For example, Reducing the monthly bills ... pick one thing to work on at a time, since you are dieting, try starting with the grocery bill, then maybe look at the fans, then move on to something else.

Let this obsession be a bunch of little obsessions, instead of 1 big obsession and keep the weight loss working the same way. Pick one thing to work on, when you get that one mastered, move on to another, until you get all your new ways of heathly living mastered and they are second nature.

Stop looking at the entire album, take it a page or even a picture at a time and obsess on that until you just do it (hello Nike) and can move your obsession to something else, without losing what you have learned.

Just my thoughts an suggestions, I am definately no expert, because I just obsess on everything all at once and find something new to add regularly.

We are too looking to reduce our monthly bills and our "footprint" to be more green. Here are ways we have saved money and gone more green in the process:

1. We are not going to buy water bottles from Costco, we are using our filtered water and bottles that we can wash and reuse from home. Considering how much water we go through, that is a great deal of cash each month.

2. We use our ceiling fans to circulate air and have a programable thromostat for the upstairs and the main level too.

3. My DH and DS are both video game fanatics and I have laid down the rule that my DS has to pay for at least 1/2 for all games they both want and 100%for games only he wants. (nothing green about this, but saves us lots of money). When I see games on big time sale, I purchase them and put them aside for something special, like his easter basket, or his 1st communion, or if we need a gift for a friend.

4. The only thing that gets washed in a temp other than cold is my towels.

5. I drive a hybrid car, which cuts down on gas for me, when we replace Jim's in several years, we will replace it with something more green.

6. We put down rubber mulch (recycled tires) in our beds out front. Cost us more upfront (but we found it at Sam's Club for a little over $8 a bag), but will last for like 20 years, so in 2 more years, we will be saving money on it and time as it requires no maintenance.

7. Making sure that all the clothes I am donating get logged in It's Deductable for tax time since I am giving away several wardrobes.

8. I got clothes from my mother (and a friend) and gave some of mine to another friend. This means we are not having to buy a ton of new clothes as we change weight (my mother gave me clothes that she outgrew when she lost a bunch of weight). This means I only have to buy a few work related items like suits, until I get below a size 12. Can we say MONEY! (Mom wears the coolest clothes!)

Start small, it all adds up in time.

Rhonda - I'm with you!!!

I've been reading this challenge for a couple of days and the thought of having 5 goals completely overwhelms me.

I have two goals:
1) Stay OP. For me, that means staying within my WW Points and having only 1 glass of wine a day.
2) Burn 3500 calories per week.

That's the best I can do.

I've been in "Last Hoorah" mode since the last challenge ended and it shows on the scale. I'm READY to dig in and make some downward progress!!

All this happiness and I feel utterly miserable.

Aunt Flow has made her triumphant return again! I'm bloated cranky and definitely off plan. So now I have a good knowledge as to why my starting weight is way above what it needed to be. Oh well... more to lose for that first week.

I'll be stuck scanning files into the computer again today. I've done a good job avoiding it for the past month or so but when I told my boss that his 9 year old daughter has a tendency to condemn others for things she's not allowed to do, ( eg. She and her brother and sister can't watch movies like Narnia or read books on fantasy, believe that people can have multiple religions, believe in Santa and the tooth fairy etc etc) he promptly pointed out I needed to scan those dreaded files before I continue reading my book.

And on a side note... Daniel and I are fighting about money he owes me.

Dee - No rush on V. 1, I just didn't want to jump into V. 2 after this Maggie Shayne book and miss character development.

I guess my last horrah is for lunch...

I am really close. I just have the strawberry beds to do and to fill in some dips in the yard. I am still going to run tonight because it does not feel like I am burning many cals.

I think you are a classic vertical learner. Definitely not ADD--it that were the case, you would never get as far as you do with your single topic. I am guessing that with any major purchase, you become a walking-talking Consumer Reports article. Your strengths are in research and project-based careers. Now that you know you are this way, you can see how it helps your life, how it hurts your life and plan accordingly.

No, dirt rules my life.

Be grateful for AF. SHe brings peace of mind of not being pregnant.

Your boss sounds like a complete freakin' nut bag.

As for Daniel, sorry. Marital tension is hard to live with.

Pre-Challenge Challenge Part Deux

How are your five things going today?

When you look at your list of five, are they doable or did you shoot for a fantasy?

Revise what you need to and put them on a Post-It. Put it where you see it in the morning: on your mirror, on your coffee pot, on the oatmeal. While you are performing the task to which the note is attached, think of the steps that you take during the day to make it happen. Picture yourself eating more whole grains, walking at lunch, packing your snacks, whatever you have on your list.

Kelly--Your list makes my eco-feminist heart go pitter pat.

To make it really thump, my DS is doing a World Conservation Badge project this Saturday and his Pack is doing a big clean-up at a park.

As for the Part Deux: I think my things are going well so far, no walk tonight because we have a soccer game, but I will be on my feet the whole time and so will my DS, so the only thing missing is the overweight dog.

Last hoorah? You can't really have one if you've already posted a starting weight, right? That would make for an almost automatic gain for the very first week! Regardless, I've been "hoorah-ing" on Kashi bars all week Could be worse--at least they're pretty healthy, but too much of anything is still too much!

I have a question about the challenge. I know we have to have our weight in by the deadline each week, but no one is keeping track of what day everyone weighs in on, right? As in, I postd my starting weight on a Monday, but I'd rather not weigh on Monday next week because my parents are visiting this weekend (read: eating out a lot), so I'd like a couple days to drown the sodium out of me before officially weighing. I know eventually it could mean there will be a time when 2 consecutive weigh-ins are actually less than a whole week apart--does it matter as long as we post a weight at some point during each week by the deadline?

Doesn't make a hill a beans difference to me when you weigh in. Just as long as its on time

I am the same way, Rhonda, exactly. I have made enough permanant chagnes that I bounce around the same 3-4 lbs and pretty much maintain while I'm spending all my time obsessed with things other than weight loss...but I have to say this past 6 months or so I have been able to keep the focus on my weight loss somehow through the other obsessions, not sure how I am doing it though! My current obsession is my flowerbeds, though I have only bought one plant in three weeks, I have done hours and hours of research and hubby is getting frustrated because none of what I want can be found in stores or nurseries near us I'll have to order offline, then I cry at the prices and buy nothing. I am getting bored though, heading back into exercising like crazy instead. I have no solutions, only sympathy and understanding.

I don't know about last hurrah but last night involved a lot of dark chocolate and red wine Yesterday was my last day of class for grad school (which warrants celebration, imho), one more paper and a graduation ceremony and I'll officially be a Master. Master Jaime. Jaime, Master of Arts. That sounds vague enough to be intimidating, right?

I just made my 5 things today so it's a little early for a progress report - though I did have a healthy lunch and I've had half my day's water so far, but I didn't walk for half my lunch hour... too hot & I'm sick and in long sleeves! Recipe for disaster. I'll make sure to go for a walk tonight when it's cooler (and I can change).


I'm thinking of buying a manual mower... for a variety of reasons. They're easy to fix if they break, they don't require gas, they don't pollute, they are quiet and clean, they're good exercise... Seems like a bundle of good stuff right there, right? So, does anyone have experience with push/manual mowers? Any buying advice? Tips, techniques? We don't currently have a lawnmower anymore and our grass is tall enough such that I'm afraid to let my cats out into it lest they get lost... So I need to figure out some kind of solution!

Jamie - Congrats on finishing your Masters. If that doesn't warrant a hurrah, I don't know what does! I have a push mower, but it's gas powered. My next one will either be electric or manual, but we have a 1/2 acre, so I felt limited by the need for something speedy. At least it's not a riding mower, so I use it as exercise once a week in the spring/summer.


I just got Bob's book, and am reading the acknowledgement....the first person he thanks is Ellen DeGeneres, for making him think outside the box. I'm off to read Chapter 1...

1) Dark chocolate and red wine? That is just good cardio health.

2) Congrats on the masters! I have never used mine, so I hope yours is of great use to you!

3) We had a reel mower that we loved. The biggest downer was that it takes longer because the deck is smaller than a gas mower. Usually, I would start with the reel mower and DH would take pity on me (our yard is a little over 3/4 acre) and then mow at the same time with the gas mower. When Will was born, we would do it together and he would nap in the backpack. When Meara came along, we sold the reel mower. We just could not spend that much of our family time behind the mower.

How we mow now...

http://lifewithanna.blogspot.com/2008/04/our-mower.html