I would have to agree - I wouldn't spend $400 on 1 pair of shoes. But I have bought 2-3 pairs at a time for that amount. BUT, DH heard early on after his diagnosis with DMII that you need to be careful with your shoes/feet...so he bought a $400 pair of Mephistos...that was 8+ years ago...he STILL wears them and a couple months ago bought a black pair for around $400 as well. That averages out to $100 a year (athletic shoes aside), which isn't bad. I spend way more on my shoes since I buy cheaper brands, but more of them...

I started to binge on hummus tonight. I stopped at 200 calories... 200 calories I didn't have for today. Will have to cut them out of tomorrows food.

Hi again all you B-losers!!!

Missed out on all the shut-down problems, but totally delighted to have it back in working order. (Thanks Chelle!!! - and looking forward to your new avi) Though I don't always post, I do keep up with what the Blue Team is up to (or down to - like Angie - a pound away from her goal and Kim with her great loss).

I had expected to go down to Grant's Pass to watch Jessie, DD, in her Special Olympics track meet on Saturday. (Thanks Shay for your SO coaching btw). What I didn't expect was to leave Thursday, a "surprise" DH sprung on me pretty much last minute. I packed up a few things (including sweats/tennies for walking) and we were off.

Thursday was pretty much get there/set up day (I also got a jog in - something new to me - but I did good!), but Friday DH took me on the Hellgate Jet Boat dinner tour on the Rogue River. What a blast!!! Saturday DD won a gold medal and two ribbons**, then I did another jog - and this time I took pictures (see below**). The whole trip was awesome, and I was so jazzed about the perfect path along the river to run on. I can't run continually yet, but it sure felt great!!! Saturday night, the park put on a bird show, including a bald eagle**. I love this stuff, so I was in high heaven. While in town, I even got a great top for $3 at the Salvation Army**. (Not quite as tood as VixJean and her size 12 - which is one of my intermediate goals - congrats on that VJ!!!)

I have been OP for several weeks now, so since DH took me on the dinner cruise (log cabin pic** is where we were taken by jet-boat for dinner) and I'm actually "allowed" one cheat meal per week, this was it. I still did well, ate chicken breast (but also 2 - 2" cubes of BBQ rib) salad (pre-dressed with honey mustard dressing) broccoli (but also a 2" cube of scalloped potatoes) several glasses of white wine and the most awesome dessert (very small, but with some whipped cream on top). It is very similar to Anna's description - it was Marionberry cobbler with a topping that seemed to be oats, nuts, butter and brown sugar. Such a treat, but not enough to get me off plan. Right back on and still exercising - which again - is new for me. Thanks to Jaime - I bought Turbo Sculpt and will start using it tonight.

As for dance movies - we just watched one in our trailer this weekend called Assassination Tango. I enjoyed it, but it may not be for everyone. The Tango-ing was terrific though. Robert Duvall wrote, directed and stars in it. I'll have to check into the Strictly Ballroom one. REally enjoyed Dirty Dancing many years ago. (Did you ever read about the girl who played Baby? How she totally had her face changed - can't remember if it was on purpose, or from an accident or ? - but I saw her pic and she looked nothing like Baby.)

I agree with Rhonda, setting a July 4th goal is a good idea, and now that I'm exercising more - I believe I can reach 215 by then (currently 227). That's my goal. Like Josephine, that switch went off in my head too, and eating right just seems normal and I'm so about that! Might get a HRM soon too, we'll see. I'm pretty sure I'm in the burn zone (I run until I can't and walk until I can run again). Copied that Beginning Runner's Handbook someone posted a link to (Thanks!) and will try to work on that schedule.

Well, that's my check-in


B-losers are back on the track!!!

Dora

Hi everyone,
I haven't read posts since yesterday afternoon. I will come on at lunch time and do that. I came back after 3 weeks of freebies at the same weight. At least I'm consistent. I really hope to drop some weight this week. It's to the point where I think my scale is broken but of course it isn't. I gotta go jump in the shower. I did 44 minutes of Taebo Cardio this morning. I will check in later.

Good Monday Morning Everyone!

Had a very busy weekend, spent lots of money on things I needed for travel Went to a wedding on Sunday, and really controlled myself around the food. Lucky for me there were some healthier vegan options that didn't seem as though they were smothered in oil. A small, sweet wedding all told. And it DOWNPOURED! (But as we're told, rain on one's wedding day means good luck! So it was just a lot of good luck for the couple!)

Back to work and all that good stuff.

Have a fabulous day, all!

Morning gang. I just reported in my weight for Week 7 and I lost 4 pounds this week, yay! Almost half-way in the challenge, time is going by so fast! Lose one more pound and I'll be down 40 overall, yippee!

Nori -- oooooo, hummus! LOVE that stuff but I haven't tried keeping it in the house because it is a trigger for me. But I really wanna overcome the triggers for that one because the stuff is too good in a vegan diet to ignore!

Dora - Those pictures (especially the one of the eagle) are very nice. I nature photography!

Morning Everyone!

This morning I have somethings I need to get done before I get our new challenge posted, so it may be mid day before I can actually get it up. Thankfully I finished my book and I didn't bring Twilight to work with me, so all of my distractions are work and school related today!

The weatherman is calling for 100 degrees and today with heat index to 105... translate.... Lots of heat and humidity! I miss the desert weather of Vegas... it can be 110 there and you can't feel it cause there's almost 0 humidity.

Well I need to jump on writing these checks.... I'll be back in a bit!

I can't move there. We don't speak the language.

The grass is always greener for me. When we were DINKs, life was so good. We traveled, saved and spent, went to school. It was bliss. But we thought all that joy meant we should share it with children. I love my kids; I am endlessly devoted to them. But if I had known then what I know now? I might have made other choices.

Can't. I winged it. I only used about 1/8 cup on the steel cut oats. About 1/3 cup on the unbleached and the whole wheat flours each. Then a bunch of almond meal and a 1/2 cup of water. I added a tbsp of honey. It should be like a crumbly paste. I pressed that into an 8x8 and baked. It does NOT get crispy with all the almond meal, just cook til it is done.

On the stove, throw in the strawberries and 1 tbsp of honey. When it gets to a saucy consistency with large chunks of berries still visible, throw in the raspberries and stir. But the berries on the crust and cool to room temp.

Sorry you are not feeling well. Having a plan to turn it around is half the battle.

I almost took a third freebie this week, but I posted a gain. Blah.

Awesome, Josephine! I can't have hummus here either. I will eat half a tub.

Up to walk this morning. When I started C25K, I posted over there that I simply cannot run on my period. Can't do it. My legs don't work. So I walked and did some squats and planks and crunches.

Hi all I weighed in at 161.3 this morning, going to post that for next week I think.

Have a good week!

Nothing much going on here. I posted a small loss this week so kinda happy about that. But need to be consistant and work for more losses. It might not be possible next week or so cuz TOM is soon approaching. I plan to walk today and rest of the week at work. Then go home and do my regular exercises. I'm working on a short term July 4th goal and will try my best to achieve it.

Congratulations to all who have posted a loss for this week. Keep up the good work!! And DON'T give up to all those who've either posted a gain or no loss. We can do it!!!!! Kick each other's 'virtual' butt if we're going off-plan or feeling the need to binge We're all here for each other.

Dora, pictures are great!!!

Good morning, Bluesers!

Today is my weigh-in. Nothing magical for me...just a .2 pound weight loss. This is the week that I light a fire under my bippity bop and actually try to lose some weight. I've finally reached that point again where I'm sick and tired of being fat. I've opened my calorie tracking spreadsheet for today and I plan on walking this evening with Hubby. It's hotter than 'you know where' out there, but I'm determined to do what I need to. I looked up my weight as of my birthday, July 14th, of last year. I weighed 247.2. I've managed to lose 19.2 pounds since then. I wonder what I can bring it down to by my next birthday?

Zinke, I'm so sorry to hear this. My Hubby has been going through some issues at work, too. Our company stock hasn't been doing well and we think his department is getting ready for downsizing. As he doesn't kiss up, he thinks he might be on the list. I'm also worried about my position, even though I'm really good at what I do. I hope everything works out for your Hubby.

Congratulations! What a wonderful reward for all of your hard work!

Don't do this to yourself...throw the snacks away!

That does sound like a blast. And, thanks for the pictures. The eagle is beautiful.

Chellez, I finished the book. I really enjoyed it. I'm not so sure that I really liked Phury's story, but I loved some of the other story lines she had going on there. So, how long do we have to wait for the next story?

Time to concentrate on work a bit. I hope everyone has a great on-plan day.
GO BLUE!

Great pics Dora! What a nice surprise from your DH! I love surprises like that!

My lawnmower just died. Now that I've written out a chore list for each day of the week, it irks me no end if I can't complete what I've written down. Mondays I'm supposed to edge, mow, blow off, weed, and tree trim in the front yard! And now I can't mow and the rest has no impact without the mow, and I'm just peeved.

Clearly, I need to work on my flexibility. My middle name must be Rigid.

Only 119 more days. The Black Dagger Brotherhood Insider's Guide It might look like a manual to the Brotherhood, but its supposed to have a story in it that's going to connect Phury's book to Rehv's book (Lover Avenged) ... which comes out May 2009 (for some reason I thought it was January... I'll keep looking) Ward's already said Rehv's book is going to be hardcover, with a paperback released later.

What didn't you like about Phury's story?

Just a quick diddy... I'll be online most of the day since I have to turn in my accounting work online.

I'll be on Yahoo, if you need my screen name its : chellez03celi

I slept in and the kids are nutty so I'll take time to do personals later, but I just wanted to share that DH bought me a Garmin Forerunner 305 last night off of E-bay!!

I'm so flipping excited! I made him call it a late Mother's Day gift so that I wouldn't feel too guilty over the cost.