Congrats, Bargoo!!

Lily - I sure hope you feel better soon. Boo, on your doc being closed.

Sheila - A couple of my PT employees here take a water aerobics class that they consider strenuous, but it's in the middle of the day, so I can't make it. And you bet older women can wear shorts - and tank tops - but, um, in my case at least, no bikini!

Meg - I was thrilled to move down almost 2 lbs this week, and it makes me want to keep it up the rest of the season, but frankly I'd be happy to stay even! We leave on vaction April 2, and I want first to be really in good aerobic shape for hiking, and secondly down a chunk of pounds. So, while I'm taking care this next 10 days, I'll be hitting it hard after the 1st. DH is leaving 12/31 for 10 days, so I'll have my own little boot camp. Do you think I could teach the cat to salute?

Speaking of the cat, there was exactly the cat I wanted in the animal shelter feature in the paper this morning. Of course, she was gone by the time I'd called.... Probably just as well as DH and I agreed that we'd wait tril the tree was down.

Bargoo - a big congratulations to you!!!

I'm still feeling under the weather - week three now
I went to a Dr. on Monday and he put me on some mega antibiotics for a respiratory infection. Felt great after two days, but now I am feeling yucky again.
Sooo frustrated - I haven't done any exercise for 3 whole weeks.

Lily are you still on board for a South Beach stint in January?
I am aiming to start after the first week of January, as I have a belated Christmas to attend probably the first weekend in January.

I should spit more food out....and I wish I didn't like the taste of pizza.
Must be an indication that I am not eating so clean, as I still have a taste for grease and salt.

Here's wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday.
May we all not let the goodies get the best of us.

-S

I'd say that I've had about 6 slices of pizza since I started my journey back in Sept. 2006, and 5 of them were all really, really planned for - and thoroughly enjoyed. Today though, I was walking home from work, I had a ton of unexpected errands to do, didn't know when I would get home for my usual lunch and thought, I'm just gonna do it, I'm gonna have a slice of pizza. I went to what is usually one of the best places around. I looked at the pizza before I ordered it and knew it didn't look right. Too saucy and sloppy for me, but I had it in my head and that was that - ordered it anyway, and didn't enjoy it. Oh well.

Feel better Lily.

We had a guy come into the gym where I work last night and he got his girlfriend a membership there for Christmas. I was wondering how well she was going to take it. I think it's actually a very thoughtful gift - if the motives behind it are the right ones.

Sheila, that class sounds brutal. I really should try something like that.

DH and I have talked about gym memberships for Christmas. We thought it was something we could do together for a few cold months of winter.

Take care all you who aren't feeling well and GO bargoo!

Hello everyone. What was left of my brains got crushed by syntax, japanese and linguistics midterms, but now I'm officially on holidays (although I have tons of things to revise), so I can take some time to post again.

First, I can't possibly catch up on everything, but congratulations to Anne and Bargoo.

Christmas this year will be... interesting. I announced that there would be vegetables. You'd think I've dropped a H-bomb or something. Blank stares and confused looks ahead! I was told "but... but you're not going to cook diet food for Christmas, right?", to which *I* gave a blank stare in turn. If having a plate of vegetables on the table means "being on a diet", then I seriously don't want to have a Christmas ever again. (To make things clear: yeah, the family will get their "traditional" crap and foie gras and cakes, but I am providing healthier options, whether they want it or not, and whether I'm the only one who ends up eating some.)

No kidding. I am still baffled. Especially when I was told that "we have vegetables all year long, we can have something else". Yeah, riiight. The day my family eats the recommended 5 veggies/fruits per day, I guess it'll mark the end of the world and the awakening of the Great Old Ones.

kery! about vegetables! "Oh my G-d, do we HAVE to eat vegetables???"

Bargoo!

Jay

The idea of pizza sometimes grosses me out, and sometimes I crave it like mad. Luckily, I'm usually satisfied with one piece and I can fit it into my calories for the day, but I rarely do that. I was never big on all that cheese anyway, so sometimes I just take most of that off.

Hope everyone's doing well and getting some rest before Christmas, because that day usually wears everyone out, dealing with family visitors and such.

I really MUST run today, because I haven't run since Wednesday, and that was just 1 mile! Terrible!

Would anyone like to come over and clean my house and wrap my presents for me?

Oh Kery, I hear you. My family too. Not my current, now family, but my family when I was growing up. My mom's version of veggies was canned creamed corn and french fries. She did make the fries from scratch though AND get this - she DID serve them with ketchup. Just think of all the tomatoes in that there ketchup. Fruit, forget about it. Canned fruit cocktail was the closest thing we got.

When they come to me for a meal now, they love the veggies I serve. Most of em anyway.

Oh family - can't live with them - can't live WITH them.

Kery- that is hilarious! We have TONS of vegetables (and without gloppy sauces) at all holiday meals. One of the things that has always baffled me when I'm in France is "where are the vegetables". I see them growing, When I've eaten in people's homes there are salads and vegetables, but when I go to a restaurant, there is nary a one in sight. My last time there was four years ago on a biking trip and we ended up eating probably 2 meals a day either from shops where we could get our own fresh food or were invited into the homes of people we met along the way. It was wonderful!

Robin- Pizza is a huge turn-off for me now. I don't think I could swallow it. 7 years ago, I could eat an entire pizza in secret Chocolate, on the other hand, is a whole 'nother story!

I have a client who purchased 10 training sessions for her husband- I don't think he's going to like the present or the message! In my experience, unless someonle asks for a gift like that, or already works out, it's kind of like getting a dust buster. Or worse.

Mel

OK LADIES on the PIZZA thing ~

Last night Angie and I went to California Pizza Kitchen for our date night . Now in the old days I would have gone for one of the cheesiest creamiest meals and got a pizza to go. Last night Angie and I split a half salad, Greek. We each got a pizza, mine was tomato-basil...not the old standard pepperoni I used to get....I brought 1/2 home for lunch...in the old days there would not have been half left...Angie wouldn't have brought over half of her's home either I would have eaten that too! AND I only had one beer!...although I did have 2 before we went...still all in all...much better "choices" for me!

LILY ~You mentioned the other day you made a roast. I made one Thursday night, the kidnapper son in law was coming over to sell me some insurance...I figured I should buy some so he could get my daughter a Christmas present with his commission Anyway I took the roast out of the oven, placed it on the serving plate on the counter, ran upstairs to go potty. When I came back in the kitchen to get the roast to set on the dining room table...it was missing....CRAP!!! I ran downstairs and out to the yard to see my dog Reba running around with it in her mouth!! Rinsed it off...ate it....he never knew ....until I told him AFTER he had eaten it

Have a great week-end ladies as you prepare for the EXCITEMENT that's coming!!!

Gary,Love the dog story, my dog Sparky would do the same thing, he thinks he deserves it ! He would prefer prime rib but would settle for a chuck roast.

LOL Gary. I would be furious if my dog stole my roast! She wouldn't do it though. She has internalized her subjection and is very well behaved. She does steal used tissues though. She loves them. She rifles through my trash for them and has recently started stealing tissues directly from my desk! What the **** is so delicious about a used tissue??? It's pretty disgusting.

Kery, that's really hilarious (and tragic) about your family and veggies. Does foie gras lose it's magical fatty flavor if it is served during the same meal as vegetables? Bf and I are doing the cooking for xmas dinner for my family this year too. I'm going to do a combo of two CL root vegetable dishes: Honey Roasted Root Vegetables(which is really delicious) together with the cranberries and apples from this recipe. I'm going to put in some walnuts towards the end too. Yum!!! No one could complain about something so delicious, I'm certain. And if they do, that just means more for me!

Where's Shane this week? She hasn't popped in in a while.

We're off on our journey today. We drive to MIL's in OR today and spend the night; tomorrow we fly to MA to my family's house for the week. I don't know that I'll be able to check in very often, but I hope everyone has a lovely holiday and that no one gains more than 2lb this week!!!

Good morning maintainers.

If you all have a spare prayer, please say it for my Mom. She fell down the stairs yesterday and broke her leg. Okay, it sounds a lot worse than it was--she didn't fall down the entire staircase--just one stair, but the way she did it....she was going down the stairs backwards, carrying a load of boxes (she was putting up a few Christmas decorations because my brother and his family are going there for dinner on Sunday and she wanted it to be festive--she should have made two trips down with the boxes). Anyway, she thought she was on the landing, but she was on the bottom stair, so when she stepped backward, it was a hard step and she fell (thankfully she didn't fall into the telephone bench right there at the bottom of the stairs). Anyway, my Dad (hard of hearing) couldn't hear her, and she didn't think to use the phone to call anyone for help, so she scooted herself back up the staircase and into the sun room where they spend most of their time. She sat for a couple of hours (Dad got out her old walker from when she broke her foot so she could go to the bathroom). Then she called my sister (in Texas--my Mom is in Utah?) to say she was in excruciating pain! My sister told her to call my SIL, who just happened to be 2 minutes away. She came over and called 911. Meanwhile the firefighters who live next door came over and also said to call 911, but my Mom wouldn't. They decided that there was no way for any of them to get my Mom in a car to go to the ER because of the snow yesterday. So a battalion of emergency workers descended on my folks house (I'm sure everyone in the neighborhood now knows of her accident!) and took her to the ER. One leg is broken, just below the knee, both bones. We'll find out today if she needs surgery. If no surgery, she'll have to demonstrate that she can get in and out of bed without trouble and she can go home--otherwise she'll have to go to rehab to learn that before she goes home. I talked to her on the phone last night--she's in good spirits, and I got her to laugh, but she's feeling a little sad at the prospect of either surgery or having to wear a full leg cast or splint for 8 weeks.

Oh Allison, poor Mom and right before Christmas! I'll keep her in my prayers and hope for a speedy recovery, with no surgery necessary. I'm sure it's so hard for you being so far away. Here's a hug for both of you.