Welcome to a new week, ladies. There was some good football yesterday, wasn't there? I know that Pam is on Cloud Nine about her Patriots. I hope the Super Bowl is a good one!

I started off the weekend staying OP, but strayed some. I'm supposed to WI this evening, but I'm dreading it. Maybe it will wake me up. As I've said in the past, I wish we'd lose weight when we pass up that cooky or potato chips. By that I mean, like an extra bonus when we walk by something we shouldn't eat...

I kept up my activity for sure. DH and I played golf on Friday. On Saturday we did the 5K walk and run. Yesterday, DH and I walked.

I went to the audition for Pirates of Penzance. I think I have a shot, but there was another lady there who has beat me out in the past. She would do a good job. It depends on what the director is looking for.

How is everyone else?

Yesterday I went to the gym and did 35 minutes on the bike, 20 minutes on the treadmill, and 2 sets of each of the weight training machines (the machines are what the personal trainer went over with me on Friday). I tried to go on Saturday but I got there at 6:05 (because I had to work that day) and guess what? On weekends they close at 6 So yesterday we made sure to get there earlier in the day Going to try to make it there tonight as well, but I'm not sure. DH has to work a 1/2 day so I came into work as well. I have a big presentation on Tuesday and I'm doing the finishing touches

Lisa - Thanks for starting the thread! That does sound like a lot of activity! I went to WI yesterday and came in at exactly 162. I stayed for the meeting as well. I know what you mean about passing up that food, but in reality it is not that we don't lose weight when that happens, but that we don't gain.

Hi Ladies,

Not much going on here. The weekend was great but went by too quickly. We went to see The Bucket List on Saturday. It was interesting but a little sad. Sunday was filled with football, it was a great day to stay in since the temps were so cold. Eating was OK so hopefully the scale will be kind on Wednesday. My plan is to go to the gym tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday. Having a little medical "procedure" on Thursday morning so I'll see how I feel. Maybe I can workout Thursday night too if all goes well.

Lisa I wish it was warm enough to golf here. I would really like to get out and play. Maybe it's time for a vacation to someplace warm When will you find out if you got the role in Pirates?

Lori Nice workout yesterday! I try to do 20 minutes on the treadmill and 20-30 on the elipical and 2 sets on the weight training machines mostly for upper body. Good luck with your presentation on Tuesday!

Hi to everyone else...hope you all had a great weekend!

Went to WI yesterday--up 4#!! I'm not a happy camper. I'm taking it as a wake-up call.

Pam, I will find out by Thursday if I was cast. I've been wanting to see The Bucket List. A coworker went to see Cloverfield and he walked out; he said the movie made him sick to his stomach from the camera movement. It doesn't sound like one I'd want to see.

Morning ladies! I have a big presentation here at work in about 40 minutes and I'm very nervous. Everyone is telling me not to be but I can't help it. Its my first big "thing" as a team leader!

Made it to the gym yesterday - 50 minutes on the stationary bike. Not tonight, too many chores!

Pam - All I hear at work is football, football, football! Unless its the summer and then all I hear is baseball Of course everyone from RI are Pats, Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics fans. Smallest state = no teams Although we do have the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Providence Bruins. I don't like football or baseball though. I am a huge hockey fan though. DH and I go to Boston Bruins games a few times a year and he watches every single one on TV (I watch them here and there - I don't have as much time). We've been to some P-Bruins games, but its not the same as you're not used to all the players. Good luck with your procedure on Thursday!

Lisa - I *really* want to see Cloverfield! I'm a huge fan of JJ Abrams. I just couldn't go opening weekend. Worked Saturday and Monday (even though it was a holiday for us) and did chores on Sunday. Plus I hate opening weekends. Too many people! Don't worry about those 4#, you'll get them off soon!

Hi everyone! I tried to post over the weekend but lost it twice and got frustrated so I decided to hold off until I got back to work today.

It was cold and snowy on Saturday and the roads were icy so I pretty much stayed in. I was supposed to go out on Sunday and decided not to because we were having whiteouts and I figured I was better off staying at home rather than trying to go out somewhere.

I didn't do that great with eating but I didn't do really bad either. I'm working on getting more activity in and trying to stay on the straight and narrow but it's a challenge.

Lisa: I talked to my GF yesterday and she said the temps have been nice (60-70) which is a big difference from ours which over the weekend were in the single digits! It's been snowing off and on today again. I thought I was going to have a heart attack watching the Packers on Sunday--I was so disappointed when Favre had the interception at the end of the game. It'll be an interesting Super Bowl because the Giants are really playing well.

Pam: I hope your procedure goes well on Thursday. My mom is going to see The Bucket List today so I'll be curious to hear what she thinks about it. You're doing great with the activity! I've been slacking in that area and need to get back into a more regular schedule.

Lori: I hope your presentation went well! I need to get back to the Wellness Center to use the machines--I've been just walking the track.

It should be a pretty quiet week (I hope). I'll head to my meeting tomorrow and am hoping for a loss of some sort! I figure eventually things will fall into place but in the meantime I need to be patient, which is really hard!

Hi to Tanya, Grammaknits!

Good Afternoon Ladies,

Theresa, Thanks for the Birthday Wishes. I don't feel like today is my b-day, because we celebrated this weekend, since DH is away on business.

I went to the gym and had lunch w. mom and went shopping for a new jogger this morning. Mine is falling apart. I don't want to go crazy on a new stroller, since baby#2 will most likely be within the next year and I am going to need a double. I had to drop my A&P class I am very upset, but I had no choice. DS has the stomach bug and just got over croup and if he is sick, I can't put him in daycare and I won't leave him my mom if he is sick, especially w. her Graves Disease acting up lately. He seems much better this morning. DH will be gone for a month w. the exception of weekends, so if he gets sick again I would have to skip class. I am paying too much to miss even one class. DS very rarely gets sick, but we have a few appts coming up that we have waited months for and I can't re-schedule unless I want to wait until April!! I thought dropping the class until next semester would be a relief but I am not happy about it at all. I love DH very much and I understand that his work doesn't care about my schedule and he had no choice in this matter, but I am still pissed off about it. I mean, what if I was working full time? We can't afford full time daycare and someone has to be w. DS. My mom would offer to take him in a second, but I don't like to ask. I want her to have time for herself after raising 6 kids. Actually I shouldn't day after, since my youngest 3 DS are 21, 19, 16 and still at home. Plus she should enjoy being his grandmother and not his mom. It's a full time job chasing a 2yr old and she is tired and has just enough energy to make it to the gym and cook and clean. My dad owns a contracting business which she also runs. Sorry I am rambling, and it feels like I am trying to justify dropping this class. I just feel like I gave up. I feel AWFUL.

Well I did have a good weekend and I was good at both Saturday and Sunday's parties as far as eating goes. I am going to have my fav dinner tonight for my b-day. Well, my fav is baked ziti, but my fav healthy dinner is my mom's porl tenderloin and butternut squash w. green beans, mmmmmmm.

Lori, That's great that your making so much time for the gym. I hope you are enjoying it. I know I have so much more energy when I go to the gym. I skipped yesterday, because Jax was sick and I felt lazy all day and hungry too.

Lisa, Wow you are one active girl! I am so proud of you for doing a 5k, that's great!! Do you run/walk them often? I am not into golf, but it seems like so much fun. DH is a big golfer and HUGE hockey player. He actually turned down a full ride to play for UNH to join the Marines... CRAZY! Good luck on the Pirates roll!

Pam, Good luck w. your procedure. GO PATS! It's a great year to be from Boston, ha?!

Hello Melissa!

I've done pretty well over the last 4 days and I sure hope it shows up on the scale. WI is this Saturday, so I still have some days left. I've actually been staying OP and have done about an hour of exercise each day. When the weather is bad like it has been (very rainy), I do the nordic track along with either my pilates or golf exercise tapes. I had friends over Saturday and made a very healthy winter vegetable soup which I ended up eating on for a couple more days. I think I may finally be getting back into "healthy" mode. Hope the rest of the week goes well for you all. (Forgive if I don't get all the names correct. I'm having to go by other replies!) - Theresa

Tonya, sorry to hear you had to drop your class, even if you were dreading it a bit. I remember when I was a young, working, single mom and it was always so stressful when my son would be sick. I don't think I ever took a sick day for myself back then. Hopefully, everyone will be healthier when the weather gets better. Here in Texas a lot of people have a strain of the flu that wasn't included in the vaccine this year, and it's been pretty rough. One school actually closed for a week to help stop the spread.

Way to go Lisa! I need to get back to golf again. I was actually playing in the 80's about 5 years ago. I doubt I could even break 100 now.

Lori, how'd your presentation go? I'm terrible at public speaking unless I'm teaching a craft class and for some reason I'm comfortable there. Probably because the atmosphere is more casual.

Pam, good luck with your procedure. Hope everything goes ok. I've been working on my own "bucket list". I just started cello lessons a few weeks ago. I played piano and flute as a child, so I can at least read music. But I'm having to limit practice to prevent blisters until I get calluses built up on my fingers to be able to play anything but open notes with the bow. That's ok though. I don't have any schedule I'm working toward.

I don't know what it is about my laptop but I keep hitting something that totally erases what I'm working on and then takes me back to the original page! AAAAAAHHHHHH! I just lost a whole, long post!

I'll try this again and hopefully it'll work!

Tanya: I totally missed the fact that it was your birthday! Happy Birthday!! Hang in there with the class--you didn't "bail out" just recognized the fact that it would be difficult to take the class, juggle things with your DS and the fact that your DH is going to be out of town during the week. I took a class when DS #1 was 3 and it was hard to keep up and that class was a refresher for me and an easy subject (shorthand). My DH was working an odd night shift (5 pm to 4:30 am) so evenings it was just DS and me; there were many nights that he was sick, just wanted me to hold him, that I didn't get to my homework until 9:30-10 pm. You want to be sure that you can dedicate the time and energy you need for that class and waiting until next semester is not being a failure--it's a mature decision to wait. Hang in there!

Theresa: I love making a big batch of soup and freezing individual servings for my lunches. The last 2 weekends I've done just that and now I have a nice stash of soups to eat. I really admire those of you who take the time to exercise at home and go to the gym. I really should take advantage of the Wellness Center more with the machines that they have available.

I do have to say that I'm feeling much better than I did last week and I can tell that I'm getting back to "old" self in terms of energy level. I did go walking with my friend today and I feel good--not tired so that's a big bonus.

Have a good evening everyone!

Good morning ladies! As you will be able to tell, I am playing with smilies today

My presentation went great yesterday. It was actually way more casual than I thought it would be. There were also less people than I though there would be. I got a lot of praise afterwards on my preparedness and understanding of the problems at hand. :

Heading to the gym tonight, didn't go last night. Too many chores. I plan on doing 45 minutes on the bike , 20 on the treadmill , and 1 set of each of the weights . They also have yoga tonight though, and I kind of wanted to try that out. Depends on if I can make it to the gym in time for the class. If I do that, I won't do the bike and the treadmill, but will still do the weights.

Have you guys ever received spam as text messages on your phone? This has been happening to DH and I recently, and it is sent through the web or something, since you can't trace the message back to a phone number. Its pissing me off since I get charged for text messages I receive (and send).

Tanya - Happy Birthday! Don't sweat the class. I agree with Melissa. I think you made a very mature decision! I understand about your mom as well. We can only do our best, and it seems that you are doing that with Jax.

Theresa - I love making big batches of soup as well. Right now I have 15 Bean (1 left), Split Pea with ham(5 left), and vegetable (1 left) in my freezer. I have a thing of chili today for lunch (only 4 points for 2 cups - I use lots of veggies), but it is the last one left

Melissa - Are you still recovering, or can you do regular exercise now? I bet in a few weeks I will lose my "I'm going to the gym every single day!" attitude and get into some routine of 3-4 days a week.

It's good to hear from everyone. I'm really blue. The 4# gain is really bothering me and I didn't get cast in Pirates of Penzance. That's how the cooky crumbles. Looking forward to our church rummage sale this weekend. It's hard work, especially at the end when we tear down, put away tables, pack up the leftovers. Sometimes I get some good finds, too.

I made the taco soup last night (2 pts per cup). I forgot how much I like that. DH likes it, too. Of course, he's not having weight issues as I am. He's so active; he loses weight easily. I've kept up my activity and I'm trying very hard to stay OP; I'm just frustrated about this gain.

Grammaknits, It sounds like you are on track. Wow--golfing in the 80's? I've never been there. I hover around 100. BUT I don't practice, so it's my own fault. I like Pilates, don't you? It has really helped my back. I also take Tai Chi which I enjoy. That helps me relax and work on my balance.

Melissa, I hope you will be able to resume your full activity soon. Yum, all that talk about soup made me hungry. Winter and soup go hand in hand. I have the same problem with posts. It's not your laptop. I've started threads and they disappear.

Lori,Thanks for all the smilies--they made me laugh. Congrats on your presentation. Let me know about your yoga class. Did you like it? I hate spammers, too. That is really bad if you're getting it on your mobile phone. I've been concerned about even telemarketers. I've received a few calls from them and as you said, those are MY minutes going out the window.

Tanya, Belated birthday wishes to you. Hey, do what you can, but be a good Mom! Your son is the future.

Pam, Hope the procedure goes well.

Hello to Susan.

Made it to the gym last night. Did about 45 minutes on the bike, and 1 set of all the weights. DH went with me. I would have done more on the bike or moved to the treadmill for a bit, but he was ready to leave

Tonight I'm making a whole chicken, spinach, and baked potatoes. It sounds so yummy I almost can't wait I don't know if I will make it to the gym because of this though. I only wanted to do about 30-35 minutes on the bike and that was it. If I can't make it - no big deal. I'm definitely going tomorrow night (with DH again) so I'm not worried. I've already been 3 times this week!

Lisa - I'm glad I made you smile Don't feel so down! You will get those 4 pounds off. And don't forget that you did land that part in the movie, which you should be very proud of! You can't get every part, right? But I know how you feel. I played flute in high school and college (went for music for a year and a half before I switched to computers) and I would get VERY upset when I didn't get the part I was looking for out of an audition!

Good morning ladies! It's snowing here--I woke up to 6-8" this morning; the good part is that it is a very light snow so it made shoveling easy. We have a lake effect warning until 4 pm tonight so we could get anot 4-6" by the time this is done depending on which way the wind blows!

I went to my meeting yesterday and as I was driving there I kept thinking to myself, "just let me be down a little, I'll even take .2, but let it be down". Well, the persistence and patience has been worth it--I was down 1.6# this week which was a really nice surprise. I'm hoping that I can continue to drop a few more pounds to get back to a more comfortable zone for me.

Lori: I was getting exhausted just reading all the things you did with your workout! Good for you! I haven't gotten any spam text messages. I am cleared to go back to my regular activities (exercise) and I'm getting back to my regular routine and not getting exhausted so that's a really good sign.

Lisa: I totally understand your frustration! It could just be a fluctuation--hang in there! I'm finding that by writing everything down that I'm being more accountable to myself and being more aware of what I'm eating. I really had gotten away from keeping my journal and for me that's not a good thing! I am able to get back to my regular activities and I am feeling much better and not as tired.

Pam: My mom said she enjoyed the movie and never laughed so hard in a long time. She did say it was kind of bittersweet. I hope all goes well with your procedure today!

Tanya: How's everything going with you?

Hi Theresa!

Had another OP day yesterday and doing well today. I'm being positive; I know that I can get this weight off with some persistence.

Melissa, That's a lot of snow--more on the way! Yikes. Congrats, congrats on the loss. I know that you must be happy. You're doing really well considering your limited activity in the past few weeks. So, are you happy you had the surgery?

Lori, You go! Your workouts sound great. Yum--I made a whole chicken last Saturday and it was great. Very moist.

Lisa: Keep up the good work with staying OP...it's sometimes tough to focus on the present and not dwell on the past in terms of weight loss. I am really happy with the loss and actually feel as if my clothes are just a little looser. I am happy I had the surgery--you know I have to admit that the day I was admitted I questioned myself as to whether or not it was the right decision and now I can honestly say I am very happy with it. I feel so much better--no more cramps, headaches, nausea, bloating, tenderness. I'm feeling so much better and am getting back into my normal routines. I've been walking 2 times a week with my friend and haven't been exhausted like I was when I first tried to do it so that's progression for me.

The official snowfall at the airport was 9.9" although there were areas that got quite a bit more. I think we're supposed to get a little more this evening. The forecast for next Monday/Tuesday is showing temps in the high 30's, low 40's. Go figure!