Hi everyone. Wishing they would do a restore on their database. I know that Melissa is the best at starting these threads, but I'll try.

Welcome to the third week of 2002! Its whizzing by so fast.

I hope everyone had a very nice and relaxing weekend.

Not much to report here. I am busy trying to get life organized and prioritized. I have a bunch of workshops and meetings in the next few weeks and am feeling like while they are important, they are also taking me away from the stuff I need to do.

DP and I are going to London on Thursday (see the last TFL thread) and this time I need to get a better set of house rules and pet info to housesitter. I guess that is better than doodling during meetings.

Hope all is well. If anyone can read my last posting from TFL and give me some help with my depressing weight yo yo, I could use it.

I hope kt is doing okay. I miss her.

Have a great week everyone.

lala

Hey Lala, thanks for getting us up and running again

It's hard to believe we're already halfway through the month...the time is whizzing right by. Three years ago on the 20th I joined WW...time sure has gone by fast.

I'm off to Chicago on Saturday for a meeting and then flying right back...no time for any side trips this time. My older son is getting his wisdom teeth out on Friday so I'll be off with him. He's a pretty strong guy so he should come out with flying colors. As he puts it, "This'll be a piece of cake compared to having my tonsils out!" Here's hoping he's right, lol.

Work is picking up--classes begin tomorrow and all the prep is tedious in getting things up and running.

Eating wise I've actually been doing okay...not as good as I'd like but much better than in the past. I went walking yesterday at noon and was kind of hoping to be able to do the same today but it's kind of a rain/snow mix outside. Ah well...I'll find something to keep myself busy.

Lala: Have fun on your trip!

Hi lala and everyone else. The time is flying; this time last year we were anticipating a week's vacation in the Dominican Republic. This year, no such plans - looking ahead to summer and Switzerland, if we're lucky.

I take it your weigh-in did not go well lala. It's hard to say why the pounds are being so stubborn. I had a gain too but I'm lucky it wasn't more given my eating habits over Christmas. I am having a hard time with commitment to the program. On again, off again, but at least I know it's something I am doing. You mention that you'll be meeting with the WW leader sometime this week. That's a great start.

Did you see either of the movies you were contemplating on Saturday? Both are on my list as well. I hope to see The Shipping News this week.

The new treadmill is working out well. Have used it twice sice we set it up last week - it does everything I want it to so far. Nice to have the option to run even when the weather is cr*ppy.

I'm having a seriously hard time weaning myself off of chocolate. To make matters worse, I now have brownies in the house (my fault entirely). I intend to put those in the freezer tonite along with the other leftover goodies. It doesn't take long to fall into that trap, does it?

Later,

Susan

Well, last week's eating was probably more points than I thought... I weighed in yesterday and had gained 1.6 pounds! - going from 126.8 to 128.4 - need to focus the rest of this week. Kind of bummed but know it's directly related to what I put in my mouth and what I didn't do exercise wise.

Seasaw I know what you mean - choc wise - hard to give up. So are those brownies in the freezer yet? Also have you hear of the No Pudge brownie mix from Trader Joe's. Apparently there's a way to make one at a time. I haven't tried 'em yet but lot's of 3FC and Dotti's gals swear by them.

Melissa have a good trip in Chicago, and good luck with your son's wisdom teeth - I've had a couple out - it's just pretty sore for a day or two, but ibuprophen is a wonderful thing!

Lala Re: the yo yo-ing. I've been there (over and over) and it can get so frustrating. But I do think that with all the traveling you do even maintaining is pretty remarkable. Have a good meetng with your WW leader. For me, exercise was a real key to stepping up my metabolism... as well as getting pretty anal about what everything that went into my mouth was really worth. GRRRRRR. But that's what it took to get that 10 lbs off these past 6 months.

Hello ladies,
Yes, I am here - today is my last day, but who knows - my boss is planning to continue on with his telecommunications consulting & I may be helping him out on a temporary basis until I find something else. I am still in a funk & the eating has been rather poor & the scale is up about 5 pounds more than it should. Thanks for missing me, lala . That makes me feel better.

Today I register DD for kindergarten for this fall. She will be five in March. I can't believe how fast the time goes.

Don't worry about the gain, Patch - you are still under your dream goal of 129!

Seasaw - it's amazing how those old bad habits creep up on you. I am having a similar problem. Seems like since I came back from my cruise after Thanksgiving, I've been in a rut about wanting to eat better. Thank God I'm still exercising to help combat the extra chowing.

Melissa - have fun in Chicago - I'll wave to you from up north!!

Well, I am going to hit the road. Think positive work/job thoughts for me. I'll keep you updated as to my whereabouts.

Later,

Hi everyone! I was able to scan a recent pic (12/14/01) but it's not as clear as I'd like...anyway, as you can see my hair is quite a bit longer than it was before. I did get it cut last week and now I'm having second thoughts...it's not that short but definitely not as long as what is in the picture. *sigh*

Katie: Hope you find something soon! I know how stressful it can be and how it can affect your eating, etc. Good luck with the job search!

Patch: The doctor gave my son a prescription for 800 mg. of Ibuprofen...I'm sure he'll be fine. They've really improved things since I had mine out back in 1980 The trip to Chicago is going to be a quick one--arrive at 10, meeting at 1, dinner out, leave Sunday morning at 9. I'm going to pack a lunch to eat while commuting around.

Susan: Sounds like you're really enjoying your treadmill. If I had room for one I'd get one but unfortunately don't have the room. I know what you mean about the chocolate--usually once it's gone I'm fine. Lately I haven't had any cravings for the stuff. I've made the No Pudge Brownies up (single serving) and that works for me. They have the directions on the package.

Today is meeting day for me and I'm anxious to see where I'm at...I did a quick WI this morning at home and it's looking good but I'm not going to count on that because the home scale has been off before. I have been doing much better in watching and I've been measuring again to get a better handle on portion sizes. I'll post after my meeting and give an update.

Melissa: You look great. Is your hair much different now? How did your weigh-in go? I'm betting you had a nice loss!

Patch: The brownies are now in the freezer (after another feeding frenzy last nite) along with the licorice allsorts, the chocolate mint wafers, the chcolate raspberry sticks, the chocolate orange sticks, etc. sigh...why do people give me these things?? I don't think that Trader Joe's operates in Canada - at least not on this coast - and it's just as well; brownies seem to be one of those red-light foods for me cause I can't stop with just one.... BTW --too bad about the gain, but it could be just normal weight fluctuation too.

katie: come back soon

lala: How long will you be across the pond? Or in your case, half way around the world?

Hello, y'all:

it's been very busy at work. Usually things come to a standstill with the beginning of the new year, but now at top capacity. What will the rest of the year bring???

Well, I'm in the boat with the rest of you. Up 4 pounds, now that the holiday mists have cleared. And yes, very hard to get back on track. Trying to do the sensible points thing all day long and then ravenous before dinner time and doing a good bit of damage. Oh dear, I guess it never ends...

KT, so good to see you. Hoping everything works out well employment-wise for you, fast, smooth, fulfilling, big $$$$ - and the time inbetween jobs enjoyable!!! We had to do goals & objectives at work. Mine is to win big on the lottery this year (have to buy tickets though...)

Saw Fellowship of the Rings. Liked it. Want to see Gosford Park.

Seasaw-Susan: I'm perfectly capable of eating brownies straight from the freezer...hope you aren't!!!

Melissa, love the new pic! Wish everyone here had their picture posted!

Everyone, hope to get more time soon.

L.

Wanted to report in after my weigh in...I was down .8 I'm happy with that; at least I'm not up against the wall. I'm really going to focus on the portions and journal again this week. I've started to drink a cup of tea before my meals and this seems to be helping in keeping me from overeating at meal times.

Susan: My hair is shorter in the back and the layers were shortened...it's not too drastic, the back is the main difference because it's shorter and tapered more. People haven't said, "Oh my gosh, you've cut your hair," so it's not that noticeable.

Hope everyone has a successful WI!

Hi you guys,

Just a quick post to say hi and bye.

Melissa- great pic! I hope the wisdom tooth incident goes smoothly. Ice cream and smoothies are always an option for brave young men.

good on ya and your wi.

susan- I understand the brownie temptation. I started giving away stuff around dec. 26 and am still giving it away. Of course, DP is about to come home from Paris with a backpack full of chocolate, so its a losing battle chez lala.

switzerland sounds nice though.

patch -you get rid of that fluff soon enough.

oops. gotta go class starts soon.


ah, back at work......

[b]laurel]/b]- i too have gained weight overnight. this is not good, been exercising everyday and keeping within moderate points. My pants fit the same and I'm running, so I just don't know.

Didn't meet with my leader this week , was stuck in a two day workshop on geospatial statistics. Didn't understand anything on the second day, very disheartening. I may drop by tomorrow morning for my pre-London wi and drop off my journal for him to peruse next week.

I need a kick in the pants.

okay, off to find a nightgown to take to my auntie in London. I swear my mother has the strangest requests.

maybe i'll post while there.

lala

see you all on wednesday.

lala

Good (Yawn, Yawn) Morning!

Yes, the insomnia monster still lurks at my house. Woke up at 3:45 am to go potty & could not get back to sleep. Of course, starting thinking about things I should do, work, etc & I just laid there, so I finally decided to get up.

Melissa - great picture. It looks different from your old one (which was great, too) - you hair was much shorter & looked blonder to me on my compter. I still can't figure out how to get my pix in here. I scanned our Xmas pix but can't figure out how to crop it so it is a small enough file to save. Any tips?

Seasaw/Susan - I am still going to be around. When I said I was going to hit the road, I meant I was leaving work. Glad to hear you like your treadmill - I bought one (a Trimline brand) a year ago & it was a good investment for me. I've used it alot when I can't walk outside or can't get away.

Laurel - I am up a good 5 pounds myself. Been eating way too much since about Thanksgiving.

lala - here's your "kick in the pants" from me. I know that's what I need to get out of this eating rut.

Well, we FINALLY got some measurable snowfall yesterday - about 3 inches is all, but seemed like so much more since we've received basically nothing this season. Got a little extra activity in yesterday shoveling our driveway. I also called in to start receiving unemployment benefits. I've never had to collect before; feels a little strange, but at least now everything is done over the phone, so you don't have the agony & humiliation of waiting in long lines like it used to be. I am still waiting to here if I can pick up some part time work working with my old boss if he gets his consulting practice off the ground. Still toying with the idea of doing a couple more WW meetings per week, but hate to add any more in case I do find something soon. Such decisions....

I talked to DD's daycare & am able to scale back to only paying 2 days/week. They will hold her full time spot open for me until I find work. That was pretty accommodating & will cut the costs down considerably, plus I won't have the worry of trying to find daycare again. It's right in town & they have a waiting list for kids over 3 years old, so I don't want to lose her spot. We are also restructuring a loan we have to cut down the monthly payments by 25%, so that should help with expenses as well. I still get stressed about making sure we can make ends meet - Yikes...

Later ladies,

Katie: The old picture was taken just after summer...my hair lightens up quite a bit with being outside and whatnot. My dad's hair is the same way. The flip side is in the fall/winter my hair gets darker because the sun is limited. I've been asked if I color my hair...as far as the pictures go, what I did was crop the picture and then use 70 x 70 pixels and that gives you the size that you can use here on the site. Once you save the picture you just go the area where you change the avatar and browse for the picture you saved. That's it.

We haven't had any major snow since December 28th...just some flurries. On Monday night we had some ice and that made driving a little treacherous on Tuesday morning. They're calling for snow tonight...we'll see though. I'm not going to complain. It's nice to see that we're getting more daylight and I'm not going home and coming to work in the dark.

Okay, I took the plunge and decided to post a photo. Can anyone tell me how I managed to lose the colour? Help!!

alright, alright,

I'm going to post a picture of me right after I get back. Maybe I'll take a picture in one of the photobooths in london at the tube station...

its so nice to put faces to our names.

at the airport lounge, DP is in a tizzy over job change, thinks she has made biggest mistake of her career. Its going to be a loong day. I feel so badly, but she has got to make her feelings clear to her new boss.

Ran this am and cleaned up house prior to leaving town, why? I don't know. Skipped WI, but was down a bit on home scale. i'm going to assume that the weight I gained last week will be gone by the time I get back.

I am even going to restrain myself on the plane tonight, sleep is more important than the cheese course. Really.

A Frequent flyer acquaintance posted on my favorite bb for addicted flyers if anyone knew the points value for first class food on united. I think we all got a good laugh, however, I wonder if this is possible to find out.

So, everyone, have a good day. kt thanks for the kick and I hope the insomnia goes away soon! laurel- good on ya for restraining points, you'll see your fluff leave soon.

patch- that picture doesn't do you justice, ladies- she is gowgeous!

melissa and kt- glad you guys are getting your winter weather, drive safe ya here?

okay, lala, remember, they drive on the other side of the road, gotta look both to the right and left.

see you guys later.

lala

Susan - I'm clueless about the color thing... I'm not really sure how I did it - but thank you Melissa for posting directions. Something got through this techno dweeb head of mine. Love all your pics guys!

Katie - the stock market may not show it, but I see some upward hiring movement out here in Calif. Hang in there. We're all rooting for ya.

Well all my "noble" statements went by the wayside last night - I was kind of blue and DH took me out for dinner... definitely not on the richter scale!