ok, so here I sit eating lunch. They had fried catfish (which I can pass on) but the best looking macaroni and cheese - and she does make good m 'n c. BUT I said no, gotta be good. So got the salad bar and topped it with a grilled chicken breast. It's freezin cold in the office today so I got a cup of 1pt veggie soup to warm up. Just so you don't think I'd that good, I did get a fountain Coke. Been drinking tea all morning, the coffee here is retched and I just wasn't feeling like milk or hot chocolate. I'm trying but it's hard.

I hear you on the portion control Michelle. That is my biggest downfall - too much of the right stuff. I hate measuring and tracking and figuring and all the time that takes but if I have to be brutally honest, that's the only thing that really works - knowing what your points/calorie max is and working to that number.

DH asked me what I thought about some appetite suppresant he saw on the Internet (all natural ) My first reaction was ... we need to stop cooking such great tasting stuff. We like to experiment - most stuff is good, some are duds. I notice I have no problem whatsoever with portion control when the stuff is less than tasty. And as much as I hate it, need to spend the time to plan ahead of time, calculate points and just stick with it.

Last year my boss hosted the holiday get together at her house. Afterwards she provided pictures. My co-worker (where we are getting together tonight) was horrified at her pictures and vowed to get back to fighting weight by her 45th birthday in November. She lost 55 pounds on WW. And she looks fabulous. We pulled up those Christmas pictures the other day and the change is remarkable. She looks pudgy and dowdy in the old shots and fab and hip now. And much younger. And she has a new edgy short spiky hair style that really compliments the changes (before she wore her very long hair pulled back off her face. It really is quite inspiring and motivating. Of course she did it by being relentless in pursuing her goals - at one point she was bordering on annoying because as we were discussing Lean Cuisine and WW Frozen Entrees she would criticize the ones I was eating as "too pointy, too pointy" - and they were 5 or 6 point meals, not a 55 point Stouffer's Chicken Pot Pie And when she hit a plateua, she upped the exercise from an hour at 5am to that plus another hour or more in the evening. I am just not in a place to be THAT intense and I'm not sure I ever will be. Does this make me a lazy heiffer? It does seem that those who lost large amounts of weight did get maniacs about it. And while I am open to alot of food options, there's just some stuff I'm not going to eat.

Mel. I cannot tell you how annoyed I get about the freaking darn government diddling you around Why don't they go after the serious cheaters??? Somewhere there is a big basket of money waiting for you... I will save you some fudge - want the chocolate nut or the peanut butter and chocolate?

Michelle - sounds like you are super busy. Web work this time of year? I'm sure the extra money is nice, but not sure where I'd fit it in during this busy time.

Gotta get back to work now. Later chicks.

Happy - That is TOO WEIRD of a coincidence! Our cafeteria also had fried catfish...which I also passed on. Instead I chose a beef and snap pea stir fry over brown rice that was VERY good. As for appetite suppresants...my opinion is...if I only ate when I'm hungry and/or only ate 'till I'm satisfied, I wouldn't be overweight. My problem is NOT my appetite as much as it's eating too much of yummy tasting foods and eating when I'm NOT hungry. Still working on both of those. That's so wonderful that your co-worker lost 55 pounds in less than a year! Bravo to her!! As for Web work this time of year...you're right, it's hard to fit in this time of year...but I gotta keep my clients happy EVERY month if I want to keep them, so I work it in.

Yeah I finally got into the forums. Somehow I got locked out of them. The error said that someone tried to hack my account. uh oh, but from what I read it was more widespread than just my account.

Happy
I agree that I can do fairly well eating but it is the exercise that get's me, and my two sister's (siblings) are exercise nuts. Having to work 12 hour per day doesn't help matters. I've tried getting up at 5 a.m. Doesn't work for me. I need to plan my food also.

Michelle
I did buy some of Jillian's weight control pills but I'm not taking them. I have my thyroid under control and I really don't want to upset it. I agree with you I just need to step away from the food.

My day
I made it to Blytheville (22 miles north of my home town) this afternoon. I wanted to go to Lowe's to look for a new vacuum cleaner. Mine bit the dust last week end. I bought a new Electrolux canister. It's suppose to be easier on the allergies also. I may regret not getting the upright but the upright I have now is a bit to heavy to maneuver. Then to JCPenny's to look for a winter coat. They had some but not in my size. I may need to go to the bigger JCP in Jonesboro. They had some beautiful sweaters and alot of stuff in the Alfred Dunner brand, but I didn't buy anything there. I decided to go to the super Walmart to look around and lo and behold I found the pedals that I wanted. They are portable. Now I have no reason whatsoever not to exercise at work.

GOOD MORNING WINTER CHICKS OF THE WORLD. HOPE NONE OF YOU ARE SNOW DRIFTED INSIDE YOUR HOMES. SEEMS THE SNOW MISER HAS RUN AMUCK IN SOME OF YOUR STATES. STAY WARM AND DRY.

WE'RE GOING TO WARM UP TO 37 DEGREES. ANYTHING OUT OF THE 20'S IS FINE WITH ME. ESPECIALLY CAUSE ONE OF THE FIRE ALARMS IS BETWEEN THE 2 SETS OF DOORS WE HAVE
JEN AND I SPENT SOME DOWN TIME TOGETHER ON THE PHONE. BOTH TOO LAZY TO MOVE. ALL IS WELL IN MY NECK OF THE WOODS. NOW I MUST GO BACK AND READ WHAT YOU GALS WERE UP TO YESTERDAY. HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND. BE BACK IN A BIT.....

Good morning chicks,

I'm off to go get the hairs cut and colored shortly. I'm 99% sure we're doing the red again. And for once, it's close enough to when we go home for Christmas that my family can see it too.

Had a good time at last night's party. The group I work with now is much more fun than my old group. Of course maybe I THOUGHT I was having more fun because I polished off and entire bottle of white zinfandel by myself. No... actually they are fun. Will be on calorie restriction for the next week and a half though...

Today will be shot what with killing the morning. I just hope my hairdresser does not have too many otheres squeezed in between my appointment. (she will often do a cut while I'm waiting for my color to process). Back home, I have cleaning and laundry and cards and am I really going to decorate? I did haul my stuff out and set up the dining room. Holiday placemats and decorations on the buffet and big cabinet/hutch. I probably should do the mantel at least in the living room. And maybe bring out my little fiber optic tree and the snowman for the hall cabinet.

It's dry in the house too. I come in, take off my jacket and proceed to get shocked as I walk through the house.

Mel, I hear the visualization thing so often that there must be something to it. I am going to give it a whirl myself this time. I hope you enjoyed that Coke yesterday and it did not set your tastebuds in motion again. I loved your snowy picture - so much better to look AT than stand IN There is one thing about snow though, I don't think anything ANYTHING makes the sky a more incredible blue than a cold day with lots of snow on the ground. One of those fooler days that looks so pretty through the window that it's deceiving. Stay inside and keep warm. 37 feels good only after you've had a week of it being in the teens

Ceejay - I have always preferred the canister vacumn cleaners. To me they just seem to have more suction (sorry Mr. Dyson but that's what I've found). I guess if you have big open rooms with lots of carpet, the upright would be better but I don't. Hope you enjoy the new appliance. When you stick with the cloth hepa filter bags, they say you can trap most of the allergens. But you have to use the very expensive bags. Good for you for finding portable pedals. You just have to be determined to find a way to make things work instead of excuses for why it can't - my new mantra heading into the new year

Michelle - I'm surprised they had catfish up your way. Thought that was a southern thing down here I would expect perch or something for you. I completely agree with you about the appetite suppresents. It's not that my problem is being hungry all the time, it's lack of measuring and thus portion control and like you said, food is too yummy - even tho we try and lighten up the stuff we eat so we can have tasty stuff at fewer calories. So some pills are not going to help. Best appetite suppresant was booze and cigarettes Can't go back to those days though

Well I gotta get into the shower which is not a 10 minute hop (can't wait to get stitches out Monday and wash my foot). Have a good weekend chicks, will check in later.

and I guess Mel, that's not a bad idea about keeping a half cup measuring cup on the counter. Are you saying that everything first gets measured as a half cup serving? Gosh, I'd be eating the crumbs and licking my plate for sure if that's all I got

Groups of friends, so old and true
That they seem our kinsmen too;
These all merry all together
Charm away chill Winter weather.
– from "A Glee for Winter" by Alfred Domett (1811 – 1887)

HAPPY~ SAY AT DINNER TIME...I USE 1/2 CUP OF POTATOES OR RICE, 1/2 OF A CHICKEN BREAST(DEPENDING ON IT'S SIZE} AND THEN 1-2 CUPS OF VEGGIES OR SALAD. I DON'T EAT MORE THAN 1/2 CUP OF A STARCH UNLESS IT'S PASTA AND I HARDLY EVER HAVE THAT. MY BIG SPLURGES ARE WHEN SOMEONE IS HERE OR I EAT DOWNSTAIRS. MAINLY HOLIDAY TIMES. AFTER AWHILE YOU GET USED TO PORTIOPN CONTROL AND WONDER HOW YOU EVER ATE 6 CUPS OF ANYTHING AT ONE SITTING! WHAT COLOR HAIR THIS TIME??
SANTA COUNTDOWN IS IN THE OFFICE WINDOW...DID I MENTION THAT LAST WEEK?? HOPE YOU GET IN AND OUT OF THE SALON!! HAPPY WEEKEND!

Morning chicks.

Happy
You are going to be a beautiful red head at Chritmas time. Thanks for approving my buy of the cannister type vacuum. Will be using it later today.

Mel
The snow picture is good. Like Happy said as long as I don't have to be out in I'm fine. I really should measure my food, but like I said before it's a trigger to my binging.
I let myself have pizza last night and regretted it at weigh in time last night. It wasn't good either. I was back up to 202.8. It's back to clean eating today.
I took the Real Age test last night and I'm 64.3. instead of 59.3 that hurts the ego. I need to take my blood pressure and I'm set to start the journey once again.

Evening all,
I've been out to the vineyards today. We went to two wine tastings, a cheese tasting and lunch at a fairly spiffy restaurant. I guess I won't be counting my calories too much today. Don't see how I am going to achieve any weight loss this month.

Ceejay - must have been some pizza. Hope you enjoyed it. It's most likely the salt content, rather than the fat content. Water, water, water

Mel - cute poem. I agree about portion control. It is everything. The CSIRO tends to measure in cups of salad, 1/2 cups on root veg and 1/3 cups rice per person. That's uncooked. I like Mac n cheese but after a cup or so, I would be digging out the cheese sauce and the topping - all that yummy grilled cheese and leaving the mac behind.

Happy - going home red huh? Well someone other than the DH should get to see the visuals.

Apart from potatoes, I seem to have gone off the starchy stuff and pasta doesn't turn me on like it used to. I just wish all this healthy stuff would make some difference in the fat content of my body.
This morning I found a walking/ cycling track called the Warburton Trail. It's a very pleasant, somewhat steep in places walk through the bush. Apparently it used to be a railway track and goes for about 10km. I do not do the entire track. I'm luck if I get 2k up the hill and another 2k back in my 40 minute trek. Everyone on the trail speaks as you pass. One this morning noted that I was running back down the track - it's much easier coming down isn't it he says as he puffs past going uphill. Anyway, I am getting my exercise in. That's got to be good.

So that's about it for now. I'll be back tomorrow after work.

GOOD MORNING CHICKS.
HOPE YOUR WEEKEND IS GOING WELL AND EVERYONE IS REASONABLY HAPPY
IT'S QUIET AND THE SKY IS DARK. GOOD WINTER NAPPING WEATHER. NOTHING NEW, NOTHING GOING ON AND BEST OF ALL...NOTHING PLANNED!!
HAVE A WONDERFUL SUNDAY/MONDAY

JEANETTE~ YOU ARE MUCH BRAVER THAN I AM...I WAS AFRAID TO TAKE THE REAL AGE TEST I HAD CHINESE FOOD AND REGRET IT TODAY. GUESS WE'RE BOTH BACK TO CLEAN EATING THIS WEEK!! we will keep each other company

SHAD~ HOPE YOU STAY WARM AS WELL. TOO BAD IT'S SO COLD THERE I LOVE THE TOPPING ON THE MAC'N'CHEESE TOO YUM!!! MY GRAM USED BUTTERED BREADCRUMBS AND CHEESE ON TOP. I AM DROOLING NOW! SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAD A REALLY LOVELY WEEKEND. A BIG CHANGE FROM HAMMERING, PAINTING AND GROUTING NO??? HOPE YOU HAVE LOTS OF OUTINGS WHILE YOU'RE THERE.

Shad
What a nice trail! I would love to be out in the woods. I at one time was off all starches. This week I'm back to eating as clean as possible without being to stressed about it. I'm sure it was the sodium in the pizza but it sure was a lot heavier meal than my body is used to.

Mel
We can do this together. Your ticker gets longer every day.

Of all things when I got to work this morning there was a note for a mandantory meeting on the 16th. I took that day off this week because I had 12 hours left of my vacation time. It doesn't say what kind of meeting it is. At least it is at city hall and not at the cramped fire department.

Hi all,

Just sitting here cleaning and sorting and doing laundry and making my lists to get ready for our trip and making calls to finalize plans with friends. Busy day.

Tonight I think I will watch Julie and Julia - the movie with Meryl Streep where she plays Julia Child. From the trailers it looks like Meryl does her usual awesome job.

Got to go through the refrigerator and try to figure out adventurous meals to use up all the persishable food by week's end. Will make for some interesting meals ... Could make a vegetable soup but I have no soup stock or meat.

I do have red hair again. It's a really dark color. Was not sure I liked it. Could use some light highlights I think though it will surely fade out and lighten up quickly. I was looking in the makeup mirror this morning - DH bought me one of those ones on the extendor arm that mounts on the wall like in a hotel. It has a light around the rim. Was looking at my hair close up and while it is dark, there are single strands that are the most incredible red color - very shiny - like spun gold - they actually sparkle and shine. Pity that you have to get within 2 inches of my head to see them though - LOL No wonder the hairdresser and her sister were carrying on about the color. I know my Mom will complain that it's too DARK. She would prefer to see my sister and I as blondes.

Ok, break is over, back to work...

Ceejay - hope the mandatory meeting is not bad news. The word "mandatory" makes me nervous.

Mel - love your snowman. I had Chinese food yesterday and enjoyed it I hear there is a big chill moving up your way. Button up that overcoat!

Shad - that walking trail sounds just lovely. So nice that people pass and nod too. I noticed that there must be something about the fresh woodsy air that makes people nicer. Most everyone is way nicer on the trail than if you are just out walking the neighborhood.

Afternoon all,

Mel - it's all over the shop here as far as temps go. Yesterday was cool, today was hot - well it was until the Canadian I work with turned the office into a fridge - and tomorrow is supposed to be a scorcher but rain late in the afternoon. Probably about going home time, I'd guess.

Ceejay - hope the mandatory meeting is nothing to worry about. Yes it is a nice place to exercise. Bikers, walkers and their dogs, they are all out on the trail. Its a good place to be if it is not raining. It could get somewhat slippery if wet.

Happy - Clearing all the goodies out of the fridge is always interesting. Try using water and a stock cube or spices to flavour the veges, or drop in a tin of tomatoes and a bit of yoghurt and some fresh herbs if you have them. The thicker you make it, the better it tastes. When do you leave for the frozen north??

Work is still going okay. We're mapping out a program for the new warehouse manager today. It has taken most of the day to get my logon working more or less properly. I have internet but no email. Weird?? well all these outsourced IT outfits are pretty weird.

So back to work again tomorrow - after the exercise of course. See you later

TODAY IS APARTMENT INSPECTIONS ON MY FLOOR. GOD I HATE THESE CAUSE THE TENANTS GO NUTS AND KEEP SAYING IT'S ILLEGAL BUT WHEN YOU LIVE IN FEDERAL HOUSING THEY HAVE ALL THE RIGHTS. THIS ONE IS ONLY OUR MAINT. DEPT. WAIT TILL THE FEDS SEND SOMEONE LATE THIS MONTH OR NEXT...THE CRAZINESS STARTS ALL OVER AGAIN!
RICHIE'S KIDS ARE COMING HERE FOR CHRISTMAS. OH JOY AND HAPPINESS. GUESS THEIR MOTHER WANTS PEACE FOR HER CHRISTMAS AND HAS OFFERED TO SEND THEM UP. THEY WILL BE HERE NEXT MONDAY THE 21ST AND LEAVE ON THE 4TH OF JANUARY. TWO WEEKS OF PURE BLISS. I AM GOING TO SEE IF I CAN MOVE TO ANOTHER TOWN TILL IT'S ALL OVER
HAPPY MONDAY/TUESDAY


HAPPY~ ARE YOU MAKING YOUR LIST AND CHECKING IT TWICE?? GONNA FIND OUT IF MOM HAS BEEN NAUGHTY OF NICE??? HOPE YOU REMEMBER TO TAKE EVERYTHING!! THE HAIR SOUNDS VERY NICE. I BET SOMEONE LOOKING AT IT CAN SEE IT MUCH BETTER THAN YOU DO. HAIR LOOKS DIFFERENT TO THE EYE WITHOUT A MIRROR. HAVE FUN PACKING. TIME IS FLYING!

SHAD~ HOPE THINGS CONTINUE ON THE "GOOD" TRACK WITH THE JOB. TAKE THE A/C CONTROLS AWAY FROM THE CANADIAN!!! HE PROBALY THINKS HE'S IN AFRICA WHAT DO THEY KNOW ABOUT SEASONAL HEAT???

SPEAKING OF WHICH...OUR WEATHER WAS 23 JUST THE OTHER DAY AND YESTERDAY IT WAS ALMOST 52. GOOD THING I'M INSIDE!!!!