Hi Everyone! It's been ages and ages since I've been here. I feel terrible about that. I've been really busy the last couple of months and just slacked off on posting and even lurking. Agh! I haven't had a chance to catch up on the latest posts yet. I started a new job (teaching) so that's been pretty interesting. Something completely different actually since I don't have any teaching background or experience. I'm still working on my graduate school classes so that keeps me pretty busy as well. I haven't been successful at all at losing any weight tho. I'm really disappointed in myself. Anyways... just wanted to post and say hello. Hope everyone is doing well and had great Thanksgivings.

hi girls,
good to see a busy thread yesterday. i'm afraid i was far too busy at work to post though.
i went up to scotland last week and saw my little niece for the first time! she's lovely (piccie attached), but i'm not broody yet. i'd still choose a kitten over a baby! cool about your hamster lolly!
good news on my job front. well, as good as it's going to get. HR at the weather company are going to send me a letter guaranteeing that the next time the job is available i will get offered it (without having to reapply or audition again). so, hopefully, once the current economic climate stabilises, i could get the chance to be a brolly dolly after all. but it won't be till next sept at earliest. fingers crossed i can stay at my current job, it should be ok but i don't trust anyone now!

hmmm, not long till xmas, so let's support each other in this last minute panic to get healthy and slim!

back later,
kirsty

Kirsty: she is so so so cute!!!!! So cute. Whenever I see babies now I get really excited. great about the job letter. I am sure your current employer will keep you...they love you!

Shalyne: great to see you. Exciting about the new job. For weight loss, set a goal for Chirstmas...and it does not have to be a pounds down goal but maybe a behavior goal. For example, I am going to drink my water between now and then. Anyway, I find that if I set behavior goals and tackle them one at a time it helps me get back on track.

Dr. went well yesterday and I lost 2 pounds. How about that.

Hello to everyone else. Must get back to work.

Trish

Cute baby Kirsty!!!! What was her name again?? She has chubby cheeks, just perfect to pinch!!!

I am doing OK. I ate pizza last night and really went high on points, but my exercise points saved me... YAH! SO I didn't go over!!! I am hoping for a loss on Saturday!! I need one, it's been awhile!

Hi Shalyne ~ It is so great to hear from you again. Hang in there, we are here for you! Teaching sounds excellent!

Kirsty ~ That baby is a sweet one! Your lucky the baby vibes haven't hit you yet! They have been hitting me lately with many of my friends having them, I already have two babies, don't need anymore!!! (Of course my babies at 6 yrs and 3 yrs, I miss having babies around!!) That is great that something could be worked out with the news station. It is also great of your current job to keep you around, you must be valuable to them. This is when the saying "Don't burn bridges" is really true, right??!?!?

"Hi" to everyone lurking and about to post. Let's get those posts up, I love reading about what everyone is up to!!

I am doing great OP!! I have been sticking to the low end of my point range since last Thursday and I feel so much better about myself! My mom joined WW with me, and it is great having a buddy close, plus having this board to lean on. I am hoping for a loss on Wed night WI.

I just got a raise at work, which was very nice. Since I work at a University, we are under a state contract. The state decides what percent raise we get each year, it is never very much, but in addition to that, Vice Chancellors have special accounts that can pull money from to give raises in addition to the state contract. Anyway, I was one that got an additional raise, so I am very excited.

In addition to the land my DH and I are looking to buy now, we are also buying a 1999 Chevy Suburban this week. It is super nice. Our 1993 GMC Jimmy is getting old and lots of miles, so it is time. My DH got a 2002 Toyota Corolla a couple months ago, so we will be sitting pretty good on cars for a while.

Let's see....what else can I babble about.....oh, does anyone know what Clementines are? I have heard some people on different boards talking about them, I think they are fairly low on points, but don't know what they are. Anybody???

Well, I better get some work done, TTYL....

she's called Eilidh (pronounced Aylee), which combined with the middle name Anne, makes her an "alien"! as a further stroke of genius i have renamed my sister "the mothership". strangely enough, she's not impressed!
Trish - not long to go for you now! Weird about those 2 pounds. My sister only put on about 20 pounds throughout her pregnancy (sickening I know) and Eilidh weighed 9lbs 6. She's back in her old clothes already, but has a bit of toning up to do. It's very impressive but somehow I doubt I'll be as good when it's my turn!
i meant to ask shalyne, what are you teaching? is it fun?
jen-l - PIZZA! yum. fingers crossed you get a loss on saturday.

hi tonya!
fingers crossed you get a loss on wed, and hooray on the raise!
a clementine is a tangerine of a deep orange-red North African variety which is grown around the Mediterranean and in South Africa. hope that helps! basically a kind of citrus fruit, like a small orange.

Hi ladies!

Kirsty - Good to hear from you again. Your niece is adorable!!

Tonya - Congrats on the raise. It sounds like things are really going your way lately!

Trish - A 2 pound loss?! I can't believe how close you are getting. You must be so excited!! I am excited for you!

Shalyne - Congrats on the new job. Don't be too hard on yourself about the weight loss thing though - sometimes our minds need a break. I'm sure you will find your motivation soon!

Jen - I am impressed - pizza for dinner and still within your points! Pizza is my downfall...

Not much is new here. Work is busy, as usual. I am also in the process of filling out law school applications, which is time consuming. I am going to paint pottery tonight with my friend. We went a few weeks ago and I made the cutest snowman plate, so I figured I would go back and make a few X-mas gifts!

Have a good day!
Jen

Life's insanely busy and guess what? I get sick. I currently have a nasty case of laryngitis which I just have to let pass.... I can't work today since I can't talk, luckily I called in sick yesterday for today and they were greatful since I gavce them plenty of time to find a sub for me (I also feel like poop in general). I have a huge presentation tomorrow and honestly considering my voice got worse topday I doubt I'll be able to do it, so I think I'll have to e-mail my prof...


Other than that, I was presented with a huge decision on Friday evening. Nothing bad, let's just say it has to do with my living situation next year..... I have time to decide though.... You see my roomate is giving up the apartment next year and well, I have to look for elsewhere.... let's just say someone very close in my life would like to share a lease with me next year...... hmmmm, I can't decide.... darn this being a libra. Luckily the person who wants to share isn't pressuring me or anything..... The person I am most worried about is my mom... for some reason almost EVERY phone convo I have with her she brings up the fact she wished she hadn't lived with my dad before they were married (and they are still together after almost 28 years).... darn this family intuition (we all seem to have it, even the men in my family, oh and I haven't told her that I am contemplating that or anything).

Funny story that happened at work on Sunday. This woman came to the cash with a sweater and she was there with her daughter. They were discussing the fact that they had seen the same sweater at another Northern store at a mall near my parent's house. So I asked if they were from Montreal, they said yes, and then I asked if they were from the West Island and then they said in that general area and named the town... the town I grew up in... They were suprised and asked which street I named it, the daughter's house is about a 30 second walk from mom and dad's. They even know who my parent's are (she moved in just after I moved away for University)... funny coinky dink!

I know what everybody means when you're hit with the wanting a baby bug.... rationallyI know the time is definately not right, but it's hard when your friends start having babies!


Jen2: my best friend's boyfriend's mom owns a pottery store like that. She's amazing and gives courses... my friend and I go often. We just have to pay for materials, but she let's us stay as long as we like! Hvae fun!

Kirsty: It's funny my mom started off each of her pregnancies at about 165 lbs and ended up at about 155lbs afterwards! Though she had a sick doctor who told her she was morbidly obese at
165lbs and she's 5'4". She said that really messed up her perception of her body... She's now 160 and looks really good.. She wants to weigh less than me though I think she should become a leader when she's done!

Tonya: I have a Corolla and she's a good car. I love the way she handles the road... I got mine in mystic teal pearl, then I discovered (espedcially in busy parking lots), that a lot of people had the same colour as me.


Trish: wow you are close.... I guess you must be getting to be like a kid on Christmas eve with all that excitement.. I can't wait to be a mom one day.

Shalyne: Teachiong is cool.. apparently I have enough qualifications to be a sub teacher... maybe I'll apply for May and June. I have two high school teachables... You're doing you MBA right? Good luck with that!

Kirsty: Cute picture... Out of the kids in my family, I think I'll be the first one to have a baby though.

Jen: My eating has sucked as of late, but often before I get sick my appetite increases... I guess it's my body's way of letting me know that I need more food.

Anyhoo, wow that's a long post... take care!

Ali

Well I had a holiday function last night. I went all prepared to have nothing and ended up eating. I blame it on the woman who brought the sweet breads. It was good, but came home incredibly nauseus from overeating. Thank God I only have one more holiday function (a progressive dinner) to attend before the big day!

I did drink 124 oz of water yesterday. My water bottle was my best friend all afternoon. It probably will be today as well.

DD and Ds both have a 12 hour flu bug. I've pretty much been up most of the night, so I will check back in between naps and cleaning up after them should anything happen again.

Hi to everyone, I want to respond but dkids are calling me!

Emily

It decided to get cold here in Oklahoma.
I have a closing in 30 minutes, but I wanted to post a funny joke my coworker shared with me...
Three men were traveling in Europe and happened to
> meet at a bar in London.
> One man was from England, one from France and one from
> Canada.
> They got acquainted and started talking about their
> problems with their wives.
>
> The guy from England began by saying: “I told my wife
> in no uncertain terms that from now on she would have
> to do all the cooking. Well the first day after I told
> her, I saw nothing. The second day I saw nothing. But
> on the third day when I came home from work, the table
> was set, a wonderful dinner was prepared with wine and
> even dessert.”
>
> Then the man from France spoke up: “I sat my wife down
> and told her, that from now on she would have to do
> all the shopping, and also all the cleaning. The first
> day I saw nothing. The second day I saw nothing. But
> on the third day when I came home, the whole house was
> spotless, and in the pantry the shelves were filled
> with groceries.
>
> The fellow from Canada was married to an enlightened
> woman from Nova Scotia. He sat up straight on the bar
> stool, pushed out his chest and said: “I gave my wife
> a stern look and told her, that from now on she would
> have to do all the cooking, the shopping AND the
> housecleaning. Well the first day I saw nothing. The
> second day I still saw nothing. But on the third day,
> I began to see a little bit out of my left eye.

I hope everyone has a great day and I'll check in later!!
HI to everyone!!

So I recommit to my diet, and some co-workers ask me to lunch. We ended up at the Mexican place, and I know I ate too much. I had chicken fajitas, which by themselves are fine, but add rice, beans, chips and salsa ... and bad! I'll try and eat lightly for dinner. For breakfast I just had half a pita with some hummus.

BUT GUESS WHAT? I did go to the gym last night. I hadn't been in so long, and I found I couldn't do very much. I walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes, then did some of the leg machines and some crunches. I guess I just need to get back into it.

My dilemma of the day: I sort of volunteered to help out with the local Phi Mu chapter, because I was a Phi Mu in college and I was looking to branch out and do something new. I was invited to an event of theirs tonight to meet the girls, and I'd like to go, but I'm really nervous because of my weight. I know I should be confident in myself, but I'm so self-conscious. I'll probably go and grin and bear it.

On another topic: Did anyone see the latest People magazine? They have Emme, Carnie Wilson and another formally fat actress (I can't remember her name at the moment) chiming in on Shallow Hal.

Oh, I did see Harry Potter. Not bad, but the book is better. Sure, it stays pretty true to the book, except for cutting out some details, but I find the imagination does a much better job that Hollywood could ever do.

Shalyne, glad you're back. Ali, hope you feel better. Kirsty, your niece is cute. Tonya, I just got a raise, too! Nice to have right before Christmas! Hi to the Jens, Emily and Trish. Where's Belle?

Gotta run. Work calls.

P/S BF is in a grumpy mood today. And I'm grumpy at him because he hasn't find out what days he has off for Christmas, and I don't know what to do. I thought we'd be spending it with his family, but he's probably only getting one day off and that isn't enough time. Meanwhile, my family is going up north and I won't be able to go with them. Odds are, I'll spend most of the week alone, Christmas Eve alone, and I don't do alone well. At least, if he has to work on Christmas, I've been invited to a friend's house.

Kim: do you have to work? Is that why you can't go with your family? I say if you don't have to work, go with your family up north! Many times I go with my family when my hubby can't. Otherwise, if you have to stay home alone, I would valunteer to do something that night. Homeless shelter, abused women center, something. Anyway, had to spend an Easter by myself and it was great to help others and they really helped me. Great time.

Stacey: funny joke...but I think those men in England and France should be careful of what their wife is putting in their dinner.

Emily: that is great on the water.

Got to run. Hello to eveyone else.

Trish

Trish: I could take off work and go north, but I'd feel guilty leaving him. I've already taken two trips this year without him because he didn't have vacation or wasn't allowed the time off. Initially, the idea was that this year, we'd spend time with his family because last year, we spent time with mine. But his job won't let him have more than one day off.

I hate where he works. I hate it more and more every day.