No wine or cake tonight, yeah! Thankful for small victories.

Mom23BC-strangely our King Cake did not include that funny little plastic baby. There was a plastic angel instead that was about twice the size of the usual baby. Perhaps the store was afraid of someone choking on the baby.

Mom23BC - thank you so much!!! That makes me feel so great

Terapet - I decided to give up all sweets. I know that's a fairly common one, but I've never done it before because I never had a sweet tooth until now. But day one and I am already struggling!!! This will be a big challenge, but will also be really good for me. My new debate is... what should I count as a sweet? I was initially thinking pastries/ice cream/cookies/etc, but then there are some treats like frozen bananas, yogurt, or all-fruit smoothies that aren't quite "sweets", but substitute for them. If I can just sub those, it's kind of like I didn't give anything up? Not sure yet - still deciding. I did have a smoothie today when my whole team went out for them (so if I decide to ban smoothies/frozen bananas I already kind of cheated), but it was instead of a Dunkin Donuts hot chocolate which I think is definitely more of a sweet than an all-natural smoothie.

Melissa - TOTALLY agree with you on the brushing your teeth tip. I do that a lot when I'm hanging out at home at the end of the night and know I'm going to feel like binging soon.

I'm totally bummed because I was looking forward to staying at the Westin next week, where they have "Westin Workout Rooms", meaning hotel guest rooms with exercise equipment IN the rooms. Now I find out that there are only two of those in the whole hotel, and they're impossible to get without status, and I don't have any real status at Starwood yet. Also, they're supposed to have a "Run Westin" program where they have a "running concierge" who leads 3-5 mile running tours of Boston every morning. I called today to find out what time they are, and they cancelled the program!!! That sucks so much. I think I may just stick with the Hilton again next week, because I love that the gym here is 24 hours. Last night I went at midnight, which I wouldn't be able to do at Westin unless I somehow managed to get one of those Westin Workout rooms.

My only complaint about the Hilton gym (which is brand new and GORGEOUS and has tons of great equipment) is that the ellipticals are somewhat uncomfortable. I like to hold onto the grips on the elliptical (I know it can decrease your calorie burn - I don't grip them for dear life; I just use them as a place to set my hands b/c otherwise I don't know what to do with them!), but the angle is really weird and I have to hunch forward in order to do that. And then that prevents me from really pushing with my heel. I ended up with a TERRIBLE cramp in my left foot (like, the kind where your toes bend in at weird angles and you have to kind of hold them tight and straight because it feels like they might break). I've gotten that once or twice before (usually in the middle of the night), but today it went on for literally 5 minutes and I had to just sit on the weight bench gripping my toes! So weird... not sure what causes that, as I've been eating pretty well lately.

Last night in the hotel for the week - I'm excited to be going back to NYC, home cooking, and my real gym with the comfy ellipticals Hope everyone has a great night!

Hope everyone had a great day! Mine was going wonderfully until I picked my son up from school. Went to go start my car and it wouldn't turn over. It's been acting up a bit so I guess it finally decided it was time to die. At least it did it in front of my son's school and not on the 20 mile stretch of interstate I take to and from work. So, had to pull hubby out of his meeting to come get us. Called AAA (LOVE having AAA!!!). They came out about an hour after I called them, the guy was real nice, tried jump starting my car (my hubby and I both thought it was the starter but the AAA guy swore it was the battery). He couldn't get a good connection tho so I watched my car get towed away to the dealership I called Hertz to see about getting a rental car, yeah, they had nothing available for me until tomorrow morning at 6:30am if I wanted to have my hubby drive me all the way to the Omaha airport (25 minute drive), or at 7:30am if he wanted to drop me off near the car dealership. Choice 1, not going to work as we can not drop Jon off at school until 7 which would mean we would have to drive all the way across town to get the rental, than one of us would have to drive all the way back across town to drop him off at school, then drive all the way back across town again and then some to get to work. Choice 2, not going to work because I need to be on interstate by 7:30 to get to work on time, granted I could get to work late tomorrow, but Choice 1 and 2 are honestly not going to work because trying to get my hubby up before 8am is not a pretty site! THANKFULLY, we have friends (hubby & wife) that work at the same place as my hubby does, our friends carpool to work together so they don't use both of their cars!! So instead of driving my Grand Prix, I am driving our friend's little Prizm...I'm not used to driving such a small car!! LOL We'll see if I get my car back tomorrow. I'm hoping this doesn't cause a problem with the bootcamp tomorrow...

Andi, car trouble is the worst! Though I have to say, I love driving and miss it now that I'm in NYC and can't have a car. Last week when I had a conference down in Delaware, I opted to rent a car instead of taking the train like most people... it was so fun to be driving again! Funny the things you miss...

Good Evening Everyone! I'm doing well today.

Terapet-- Evenings are hard for me too. That's my favorite time for ice cream. What is King Cake? Why does it have a plastic baby in it? I've never heard of that before.

Melissa-- Good job with your points today and with your run! I'd love some good crockpot recipes too.

Tina-- I'm so glad Joey had a good time and came back safe. It's hard to let our kids grow up sometimes, isn't it? My daughter wants to go to an overnight Girl Scout camp this summer. I'm kind of nervous about it, but I'm sure she'll have a great time. Your Vegas trip sounds like fun. Me--I grew up going to Vegas all the time because my Grandma and Grandpa live there. I prefer going other places because I've been Vegas-ed out.

Rennie--I hope your home improvements turn out wonderfully. I'm sure the wood floors and new paint will make things beautiful.

Mom23BC-- I hope the baby is feeling better tonight. I was a baby last night and didn't do the 500 step ups. My nose was stuffy and I couldn't breathe well so I only exercised for 5 minutes before wimping out. I'm going to do at least 20 minutes on the treadmill tonight.

Karen-- Glad your still on plan. Thanks for checking in.

Yello-- Great to hear that you stayed on plan despite a rough week. I hope everything goes well while traveling.

Melissa73-- You're doing awesome staying OP so many days in a row. It's a great idea to keep track. I'm sure it's very motivating! Yoga Shakti is a great yoga DVD. It's more advanced so if you're new to yoga or not very strong (like me), you may have to modify some moves. But it's a beautifully done DVD that will last as you get stronger.

Kari-- I hope you had a great "off" day and got all your errands done! That chair pose is killer, isn't it? I haven't been able to do one for the whole commercial yet.

LadyZaidi-- Welcome Home!

Danielle-- It's good to hear from you. I think the board is very motivating. I think about the chicks here every time I want to totally blow off watching calories.

Laura-- You're doing awesome. I'm sure home will be a welcome sight after being gone for awhile.

Counting-- Thanks for the reviews on the DVDs.

OptimistK-- Hi!

Andi-- Congrats on the 1 pound loss! So sorry to hear about your car trouble. What a pain! I hate may van. It's always having trouble.

Muse-- Woohoo for hauling up the bike and exercising for so long during the show last night.

Nicoya-- I hope things work out for you soon. It's a tough situation you're in right now.

Yay!! I stuck to plan yesterday and got in my workout!! So proud of myself.

Unfortunately this morning I've got a quiz that I've got to memorize for. I dont know about anyone else but I dont do well with memorization. I'll know it for the quiz but then it'll be gone by the end of the afternoon. Another reason why I hate auditing! LOL!

So I'll be back this afternoon to check in! Have a great day Red team!!!

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone is fine. I am sick with a cold and just spent the last week at work and bed. I dunno what the scales will say tomorrow but hopefully it wont be too bad. I havent been able to get all my water in and when your sick you dont eat as much and when I did they werent always the right food but back to being OP. Take care everyone and I will be back tomorrow. Bye for now.


Cathy/Canada

Good morning ladies~ I have a pretty busy day ahead of me, so I didn't go back to bed this morning. I am helping at Joey and Madison's schools today. I have to go to Joey's right when I get the Madison and Kyle onto the bus, and then leave his school after about and hour and a half to head over to Madison's school to help. Not sure if my sister is coming over tonight. I may have to watch the baby again tomorrow. I'm going to my MIL's tonight though with my SIL for a chat session. I need to get the heck out of this house. My sister and I got into it yesterday afternoon. Well I should say I got into it, and she sat on the phone and cried. I've just had enought of her crap. She is 26 yrs. old, and it's time to get her stuff together. She is the one who hooked up with this loser, and trust me my whole family had been telling her for the 5 yrs. she was with him that he was a LOSER! I mean for real no job, 2 other kids, no money, no car, NOTHING, and that's not the worst of it he's in jail right now for selling drugs to an undercover police officer...I like to call him Mr. Dumb*ss! This guy is taking my sister and now my nephew down with him, and I won't sit by and watch it. I just don't get what the hold is that he has on her. She is so pretty, but her self esteem is crap! She is a bigger girl, but I tell you guys she is one of the prettiest girls I know, and I'm not just saying it because she's my sister. I just hate that she lets him use her, and she thinks nothing of it. I basically told her that I'm not going to continue to help her as long as she's with him. I won't support her if she is not going to try and help herself. I also asked her if this is the type of male role model she wants for her son. She is a very whining person, and that was driving me insane yesterday. I'm over the freaking tears already. She was telling me how it's hard because she is all on her own...HELLO! What the heck do you think we've been telling you all along...did you think having a baby would make him get his life together. Shoot he already has 2 that he can't take care of, so what made you think you would get anymore then them. Not only does she support him, but when his other kids are over she supports them also. I've just had it, and so has my poor mother. My mom has been paying her rent ever since Antonio was born, and working a weekend job to do so. That is insane to me...the father up until he went to jail, sat home while my mom worked to pay their rent. I told my mom also though that she was stupid for helping them. You think they'll ever learn with you spoon feeding them. I guess it just upsets me because I had Joey when I was 17 yrs. old, and granted Kevin was always there for me and his son we still had to do it on our own. I was still in hs and working, Kev was working full time, and we made it work between us. My mom and MIL did help a lot with babysitting while I finished hs, but other then that it was Kev and I. I can't listen to her crying anymore. I told her that crying won't solve anything, she needs to ditch the loser and go get the help she needs and move on. Nothing in life is free, and she just thinks the help will come to her and fall right into her lap! Sorry for the rambling, but she has me fired up!!! Okay I better move along here...

Laura- I can't believe you workout at midnight...after working all day long. Girl your the most dedicated person I know when it comes to working out Keep it up!

Andi- I hope your car gets fixed soon. I have to say though I drive an SUV and when I drive my husbands little work car, I love it. I think it's so zippy!

Jen- How cool to have grandparents that live in Vegas. I hear it's a beautiful place to see

Karen- Hello...I love the new avatar...that dog is so pretty!

Yello- Great job of staying OP while having TOM...that is really hard for a lot of people

Melissa- You go girl, pushing through the run at the last 3 min. even though it was hard. What do they say on TBL..."This is what will make or break you" something like that Did you ever find a crock recipe yesterday. I didn't know any off hand, but I love the cooking light website. Good luck with your quiz today.

I'll try to check back in later to get all you gals I missed! Have a great day everyone

Cathy- Feel better soon

Just a quick check in, because I have to go work out and I'm behind on homework this week, LOL!

Shymoment, Skinnyvibes, CountingDown, Cassie501: Good Morning!

Tina: Glad your son is back safe. I always get a little uneasy when my kids are away from me. Even if they went to the store with Daddy, I have to say a little prayer for their safety. I am amazed I even let them leave the house. The first time I let my son spend the night with someone, I was a nervous ninny.
Can you count that laundry as exercise???
I am sorry to hear that about your sister. I have a sister that stayed in an abusive relationship for 16 years. She had a son with him and because of the role model that her son had, he was abusive too. Hit his own mom! Okay, don’t get me started. Good for you for standing up to your sister. You sound like a very strong person. And you hit it on the nail head. She does not what him for a role model for her son. Sending up a little prayer for her.

Therapet: The angel sounds better. I was always wondering about the chocking hazard of the baby. Congrats on the no wine/cake victory!

SceneStealer: Wow! I didn’t even know that there were rooms with equipment in them. Of course I have never exercised while away, unless you count walking around Disney for 9 days for 12 hours straight…Or hiking during camping. Usually my vacations have a lot of exercise just built into them. New attitude in the future for me though!!!!

Andi18: Sorry to hear about your car.

JlBake: I hope you start feeling better. I still haven’t did my step-ups. I still have till Monday to do it. I am a procrastinator, sooo…..I can see it now. Nah! Hopefully, I’ll get it done earlier than that. I’ll keep you posted.

HuneB: Great job staying on plan and good luck on the quiz!

Catway8: I hope you start feeling better.


My baby slept better last night. Still the sniffles, but it was so nice she was able to rest. The night before, she just was so miserable. So thanks again for the well wishes. My goal is to only eat healthy protein and veggies for dinner until my weight moves again. Also, still need to do the 500 step-ups along with my walks with the kids. Have a good day everyone!

Good morning! I had a crazy busy day yesterday and I just realized I never did check in. So it was my day 2 week 5 C25K run...8 minutes, 5 minute walk, and another 8 minute run. It was hard- but I did it! I keep surprising myself, lol. I even added a minute to the second run. I am still nervous about tomorrow's 20 minutes-- but I guess if I keep it slow it's doable! I just really want to get to the point where I can get on and do 30-35 minutes 3-4x a week and have it feel great. Maybe that's where I'll be in a month!

Eating wise I've been pretty good- TOM started yesterday which kind of surprised me because I didn't have the "eating symptoms" of pms. But this morning I totally wanted donuts, lol. Figure I'm safe if I stay home.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Good Morning Red Chicks,

It is a beautiful day in the ATL today.

Andi18-Sorry to hear about your car trouble. Sounds miserable. Being that your in Omaha maybe you could just ice skate wherever you need to go! I grew up in Omaha. I went to Westside High School and the University of Nebraska-Omaha. My whole family still lives there and I love to visit, usually in the summer though!

jlbake- King Cakes are a Mardi Gras tradition in New Orleans (and other places). It is coffee cake in a ring shape with white frosting and purple, green and gold sugar sprinkled liberally on top. There is a plastic baby hidden inside. If you find the baby in your piece you will have good luck. I think you are suppose to hide the baby in the cake the following year. In school one year, one of my boys found the baby and he was pronounced king of the Mardi Gras and got to wear a crown. He loved it. Although I do not live in New Orleans, I guess Atlanta is close enough that they sell King Cakes in the store every year.

Tina-Sorry you and your sister are in such a crazy situation. Your sister is fortunate she has a loving family that cares for her and the childs well being.

Laura-It must be terribly challenging to keep focused on your weight goals when travelling for business. I am impressed with your ability to balance both your personal and work goals.

Good morning ladies! Another day "off" for me. YAY! but I have a ton of laundry to do, dishes, floors, toilets....hmmm doesn't really sound like a day off at all. Think I am getting the shaft on this one. lol
Tina~ Sorry to hear about things with your sister. Must be something in the air, my friend is having problems with her sister too.
Mom23~ Glad your little one is starting to feel better.
Well Zachary gets his cast off tomorrow morning! YAY!! Well better get started on the house chores.....