Hi everyone! I hope everyone who changed their clocks back are adjusting. This time of year is hard for me with the "falling" back. This morning was really difficult getting up!

The weekends are becoming more a struggle and I need to find ways to keep myself more accountable. I start off good by having every intention of keeping up with my journal but then I seem to take a side road along the way.

I had my first training toward becoming a receptionist and it was a little overwhelming. I am going to help out at a meeting on Tuesday. I'm sure once you get going it's not as bad as what it appears.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Hi Melissa. Looks like we were posting at the same time. No problem - we'll use this one. I've tried to copy what was in mine. Let's see if this works:

How was the weekend? We had our disco Hallowe'en bash on Saturday nite and
judging from the time we got to sleep (after 4 am), I'd say it was a howling
success. Lots of great costumes, too much food as usual, even the music was
good (altho I think the alcohol may have played a part in that evaluation) . We
weren't moving too quickly on Sunday but managed to get the house back to
normal and get out for a walk.

I've been out of the loop for much of this month so I'm afraid I have no personal
messages for anyone (will try to go back to last week at least to catch up).

Not much else to add except that I weighed in Saturday and was down 1.8. Oh
yeah, and that I've finally resumed running after a (sigh) three-week break. It
was a little tough the first time - my calves cramped up really badly - but we
went out again on Saturday and I think I'm back to normal. It felt great to be
back!

Looking forward to hearing what you guys have been up to.

Looks like your cut and paste worked, seasaw and welcome back! Hi melissa - yes, being a WW receptionist does look very complicated. lotsa paperwork. I somehow feel I'm not long for being a ww employee,even though I just began. I mean I'm happy to put in my 1 evening a week, but I'm just not interested in further involvement. And having to attend a mandatory meeting on a Sunday or someother afternoon seems above and beyond the call of duty. That's what's happening in my WW world. Well, if they really don't like that I'm not going, they can take whatever action. I'm not doing it for the 10 bucks a week.

I'm not so crazy about the "fall behind" clock setting. Now it will be dark when we get out of work. Gee, I wonder when I am going to rake leaves???

Where is everybody this week???

Seasaw: Congrats on the loss! It's always hard for me to get back on track with exercising but once I've started I'm fine. I started walking again; I had put this on the "back burner" for a bit but now I feel more motivation to continue it.

Laurel:I know what you mean about the additional meetings...I'm going to see how it goes but I'm thinking it may just give me some extra motivation and I enjoy being around people. I don't like coming home in the dark and it's even harder to have to go back out!

Things have been relatively quiet in my neck of the woods. It's hard to believe that tomorrow marks the end of another month and the beginning of the holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's) Yikes! The weather here has been pleasant and we're supposed to have some warmer temps this week so I'll be taking advantage of that by getting out and walking over my lunch hour; it's a great way to relax.

Hi Melissa. You're right; it's eerily quiet. Maybe the ghosts and gobblins got everyone?!

Got out for a run last nite and I really felt the change in temperature. I have exercise-induced asthma, so this time of year is difficult for me until I get acclimatized. It's kinda depressing to be running in complete darkness so early in the evening. And with all of the leaves covering sidewalks and streets, it's more than a little treacherous, particularly after a rainfall.

It's interesting to get all of this inside info regarding the business/staff side of WW. There is one woman at my centre who is a treasure. She is always pleasant and encouraging, and appears genuinely interested in both my progress and challenges. People like her really make the difference for me.

It is hard to believe that it's almost November. I'm still waiting to hear whether my parents will break with tradition and spend Christmas with me this year. Some of my younger sisters are not too happy that I've extended the invitation; they are quite used to Christmas dinner at Mom and Dad's. Trouble is, they usually don't provide much help and my 75-year-old Mom ends up with the lion's share of the work. At least I've given her the option to have someone else do it this year.

My stomach is rumbling so I guess I'll get some lunch. No time to prepare anything this morning - so it's gonna be take-out from the mall food court. Maybe a falafel - m-m-m-m-m.

Hello ladies!

Been busy at work so I haven't had much time except to "lurk" and read.

Melissa - re: time change/setting clocks back - I have the opposite problem as you - I was awake earlier than I needed to be (& so was DD - she was up at 5am on Monday - YIKES!!)

Seasaw - glad to hear the Halloween disco party was a success - I have to admit, I like the 70s disco/dance music.

LM - in my neck of the woods, WW has "staff" meetings about once a quarter. Ours have been on Saturday afternoon for about 3 hours. You get paid (not much), but people do complain it cuts into their free time, especially if you work another job. They say they are mandatory, but there are always people who don't make it. I enjoy working with the WW members & staying connected with WW will help keep me on the straight & narrow since you have to turn in a weight slip every month. This Saturday I will be attending the annual "Innovations" meeting in Milwaukee - kind of like their annual awards meeting. I went to it last year - pretty motivational to see all the awards given out.

The weather has been decent this week - sounds like warm weather (high around 60 degrees) for the trick or treaters. DD is going as a cheetah. DH is taking her out this year & going with a few of the neighbors. I will be giving out candy this year since I have to do my WW meeting that same night.

Well, back to work.

Hello everyone,

I am back in town for two whopping days and I'm bushed beyond belief.

However, it was nice to be in DC and Milwaukee and
the three hours I was home, it was nice to see the dog and cat.

So, not bad on the eating and exercising front. The place I stayed in DC had Y passes and I used it every day, the same for my brother's digs.

Other than plane food, I did pretty well overall, better than usual because I self-monitored.

So, Halloween is tomorrow. Some ghouls stole three large pumpkins off our porch sometime this morning. I am very bummed since I grew one, one was for pumpkin soup and one I bought cause I liked the shape. It takes all kinds.

So, I hope everyone is well. I'll fill in my journal info soonly.

lala

whew, lala I'm utterly exhausted after reading all your journals...I can just imagine how you feel!

hi all.

I am exhausted and after some inane paperwork, seminar, updating of pages etc. I'm leaving.

I weighed in this am- lost .8, so I'm now 12 lbs from goal and 20 from my personal goal. I'm so happy.

So, I still wanna update the rest of my journals etc, but if I don't add to the thread, I want to wish everyone a happy halloween and hopefully I'll be able to log in from Germany. I guess my uncle has internet access and so does my cousin. I am hoping that my self-monitoring will continue. All that choucroute, sausage and
great cooking of my aunts may do me in.....

lalala

lala: Congrats on the loss!!! Keep up the good work. Hope you get to relax soon, it sounds like you could use a little time to yourself.

I went to my meeting today and also posted a .8 loss...I was happy I working towards getting back to my comfort zone which is 138-140. I'm on my way and the determination to get myself there is strong at the moment. Just need to keep the feeling.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Hello,

well I had a little eye-opener last night with a 1 pound gain (1 # over goal weight). I've really been overeating and picking and compulsive. It was a wake-up call, so now back in control, I HOPE!!!. That's why they call this Thin For Life, right?!

LM: That's the spirit. It really is a life-long jouney and the odd set-back shouldn't be taken too seriously.

lala: Happy trails, and congrats on the loss! After Germany, will you be hanging out at home for a while?

Melissa: Good for you to be back on track. Are you very much over your comfort zone?

katie: How did the cheetah do last nite?

We certainly did not get as many kids at the door as in other years. Consequently, there are loads of leftovers. DH will likely take the chocolate to work. I will, however, keep the potato chips because I like having the small portions around. I eat them anyway; might as well try to control the damage!

DH and I are heading to Quebec City for an escape weekend tomorrow. It's always had a soft spot in our hearts; we spent an incredibly romantic weekend there when we were dating and we return every so often to relive those heady days. Of course, we always eat and drink too much, but that's part of the magic. I just hope we don't end up spending more time in airport security check-in than on the Plains of Abraham!

Have a great day folks.

Good morning,
Well, Halloween went well - DD looked cute as a "cheetah", although DH had a bit of a struggle with her being cooperative about putting a little makeup on her face to complete the look. The weather was cloudy but quite mild (highs in the mid-60s), so it was great for the trick or treaters. Not too many came to the house, plus with all of DD's candy, we have a lot around the house. May have to bring to work to get rid of it.

Seasaw - what a wonderful weekend you have planned - have fun!

LM - up a pound isn't bad, but it's good that you're aware of it & don't let it get out of hand....

Melissa - congrats on the loss.

lala - Whew! I get exhausted just hearing about your many travels - does your body ever know what time zone it's supposed to be in??

I stayed the same at my meeting last night - so far, so good with the maintaining.
Back to work,

Not hard to tell it's November here on the east coast. It's another dreary, drizzly day, altho much warmer than yesterday. The outlook for the weekend in Quebec City looks pretty good. I packed my running gear in the hopes that I'll get out.

Our royal gramma died overnite (tropical fish - very pretty - half yellow and half purple). It stopped eating about four days ago, but had no outward signs of the usual diseases to which they are prone. May have been old age. It's always tough to lose one of them; they've become part of the family.

It just dawned on me that our first Christmas party is a scant five weeks away. I've been looking half-heartedly for a dress; wore the same one two years in a row and would be content to go for a third. What do you think? Would people notice? It's a plain black dress, and I am extremely comfortable in it. Perhaps I could dress it up with some colour in the hopes of disguising it? I so dislike shopping for clothes that I know I won't get much wear out of.

What are everyone's plans for the weekend?

seasaw I say you can't go wrong with basic black, so elegant and refined and you can dress it up however you like. Sorry to hear about gramma - glad it wasn't grandma (which is what I thought at first reading!)

Girls, I am so stressed out about being the breadwinner (and believe me, it's very light bread) it's not even funny. This economy, hubby cannot find work/job/anything. It's just not pretty...It would be nice if I were a loving, compassionate wife, but even that's not working. and all the other unhappy faces...

On the up side, we're having a fun weekend. Gotta spend the dough such as it is. Saturday night, the opera (I'm a fan of Mozart operas), Cosi Fan Tutte. Very excited about that. And then on Sunday, instead of going to my "mandatory" WW meeting, going to see Travis, fiddler extraordinaire. Maybe lots of leaf raking too.