Good morning and welcome to the last week of January! It's dark, snowy, and cold -- so it must be time for the gym. (in half an hour) At least in my gym, Mondays are the busiest days and it really slows down by Friday. I guess people are atoning for the weekend?

Lily, in answer to your oatmeal question on last week's thread -- I eat 1/3 dry cup at at time. Like Pat, I use 2/3 cup water but I'm not imaginative to add all the other wonderful things that she uses (but it sounds delicious!) I always eat my oatmeal with some kind of eggs, usually one whole egg and four whites scrambled, so the meal fills me up for about 200 calories and has a good balance of protein and carbs.

After I get home from the gym, I need to get my washer repaired. I discovered that it runs through the whole cycle without agitating. I wonder how long I've been throwing the clothes and soap in, turning it on, and leaving it without realizing that the agitator isn't working? Weeks?

How are our moms-to-be? How many days now, Anne? (not that you're counting )

My goal for the week is to finally get healthy (for the first time since January 1), get to the gym every day, and eat on plan every day.

Check in and tell us how you're doing! And we love lurkers and newbies, so please don't be shy.

Good morning!

Although I know that our winter can linger well into April, I find it comforting to see the end of January. As if the darkest days of winter and winter driving are over. In fact, it's supposed to thaw today.
I'm looking forward to that. I'd like to get a glimpse of my backyard and start dreaming of my garden.

My SIL made a raggedy quilt. I love it! So since we've been home, I've been madly cutting flannel squares. It's not exactly sedentary and keeps my hands out of the kitchen. I'll have to loosen up a little about matching and coordinates tho' ... I'm a bit legalistic ... they look great even if they don't match perfectly.
This all has drawn my attention to my sewing machine which is 29 years old and sounds like it. I'd love a new one ... sigh ...

And on the holiday/vacation weight loss front ... I'm doing OK. It's going. I don't like how these uniform pants are fitting this morning. That'll improve in a couple of weeks but in the mean time, I'll have to watch how I bend over.

I'm finding that I can't stand the thought of another salad. That happens to me some times. Soup is a good 'instead' and my fella's don't seem to mind soup and sandwiches for supper. While DH doesn't mind the same soup two nights in a row, I do. So I'll have to come up with some more. I only have three specialties.

I've ended up being kinda chatty this morning.
Have a good week everyone. I look forward to seeing what you're all up to.

Good morning.

I'll try to de-lurk a bit this week, now that I'm slowly easing into second-semester-classes mode. Well, at least I'm posting here today, it's already a good thing.

I'm currently crossing my fingers for the weather to remain sunny today, so that I can go and bike along the canal again. I could go to the gym for my cardio, but if I have an opportunity to do it outside, let's be honest, why would I lock myself in a cranky little room with other people sweating on their cardio machines.

Oh yes... I also got a freezer! So now I finally have plenty of vegetables under the hand without being afraid of them turning bad in the fridge if I don't eat them fast enough. And oddly enough, the fact of knowing that there's a pizza in said freezer and I don't have to eat it today to avoid wasting it actually... makes me feel like NOT eating it. Go figure! (It's a good thing, I think.)

Good morning maintainers!!

I hope you are all well. I got home from my trip on Thursday evening and I'll admit, I peeked in here, but didn't even get a chance to read everything. You guys had a chatty week!!!

My week away was great! Weather could have been a lot better, but I was glad to be away and not fat. It was the first time that that was the case in over 2 decades. Just walking around and being able to wear the clothing that I wanted was a joy. Oh and I did manage to swim a couple of days, so that was nice.

As far as the eating goes - yikes. But I'm okay with it, I planned it that way, not exactly sure why. You name it, I ate it - pizza, pasta, ice cream cheese cake and alcohol. I enjoyed every bite of it and have put on a few pounds, more then a few pounds. But I'm already on the back slide having been on track since getting home on Friday and I am inching back towards my ticker weight. In fact all the water is coming out of me, I can't stop peeing.

I posted my so called "goal" before/after pics in the goal photo album forum if you want to take a look, here they are:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=132648

I hope you all have a fantastic week.

Morning, maintainers.

Had kind of a bad week, but I'm committed to getting back on track. I'm not sure what's going on, but I've had a serious and persistent case of the munchies. I feel so sludgy that I'm not going to step on the scale for a few days, because I know it will just make me ticked at myself. Friday.

Susan's mention of quilts reminded me: my big project for the weekend was to start on a set of roman shades for our dining room. I've been working my way through the house (17 shades down so far), but putting off the dining room because I can't think of any fabric that would possibly look good against the vintage wallpaper we inherited (blood red with a large floral print). After getting whacked on the noggin for the 252nd time by the 1960s vinyl roller shade as it jumped out of its socket, I decided enough is enough. Let's hope my 1940s Singer can keep on chugging until they're done. Let's hope I do.

The Boy doesn't have school today, so he's sleeping in. I can't go to the gym until he's up, fed, and driven to his after school program. I know it sounds selfish, but these school-less days throw off my entire schedule!

Maybe I'll go sew. Just getting started on a project is bound to make him wake up.

Kim

Good morning maintainers. Meg, I'm now down to 140 days, since you asked. Not that I'm counting mind you. My counter says today is the halfway point, but it was actually on Saturday, so my due date is off by 2 days. I'll have to talk to my OB. This doesn't matter for most people, but since there is a strong likelihood I'll end up with a scheduled c-section, I want it to be right. If I recall, two days will seem endless as the end does approach.

My fun this weekend was a kidney stone. I've been pain free for almost 10 hrs now, so it has probably passed, but I wasn't happy yesterday. I'm pretty sure other things happened this weekend, but I don't remember.

Anyway, I'm exhausted. I am going to work today, but I may try to go sleep a little more before hand. Just finished up a bowl of shredded wheat. Hey, if I wake up twice, can I eat breakfast twice. Hmmm....

Wow, SusanB, talk my ear off, why don't ya?

Kery, having a freezer sounds wonderful. We need a bigger one. Not happening anytime soon.

Robin, hang in there.

Kim, it is so hard to have the child routine disrupted. On the days when DD's school, i.e. daycare, closes, I'm just a wreck.

Anne

Hi everyone,

My weekend was dominated by the play "Greater Tuna", which was very well attended and the audience could not stop laughing. It was nice switching to being backstage after being onstage for the previous few shows. It takes a lot less energy. I sort of caught up on sleep, and then got behind again last night. At least I don't have rehearsals this week so I can start doing things like... laundry... shaving my legs... showering... again. (Jk, I did shower during the past 2 weeks... but thank goodness I have a huge supply of socks & underwear.)

But I stayed totally OP, still, with food & exercise. This makes nearly all of January feeling really good and healthy (knock on wood!). Hopefully the scale will reflect that for my weigh-in tomorrow. It was a beautiful day yesterday and I got out for a long bike ride.

Anne, sorry, I'm glad to hear that you did finally pass the kidney stone. Enjoy your morning nap!

Kim, step away from the scale!

Susan, I love raggedy quilts! My mom & I made one together (awww) the summer before I went away to college out of patches we cut from all the pairs of old jeans that she refused to throw away even though they had major blowouts, and fabric scraps from other projects. Turns out we made a really nice quilt that I still have on my bed - I've gotten so many compliments on it over the years, from people of all ages and styles. Kim reminds me I have been meaning to get my sewing machine fixed so I can make curtains now...

Robin, glad to hear you had such a great trip. I'm sure you're right back OP and will whip your body back into shape in no time.

Kery, congrats on the freezer! I know you'll put it to great use. Enjoy your ride outside.

Meg, I'm sure if your clothes still smelled fresh, they're clean enough, lol. I hope you do feel healthy this week!

Hello everyone else! I hope everyone has a great week.

Hi everyone,

I didn't wake up til 9AM. Then I had to walk the dogs before I got my first cup of coffee. Hate it when that happens.

Meg, I'm gonna try doing what you do on the oatmeal. I thought maybe I could eat less of it if I had eggs with it to fill me up.

SusanB, I'm also looking forward to spring and being able to plant my garden. Since I'm counting calories now there will be no guilt about eating all the fresh veggies.

Kery, WTG on getting a freezer.

Robin, I'm so glad you enjoyed your vacation and didn't have the weight worry . That must have been great fun. I had no doubt you'd be right back on program.

Anne, glad you got the kidney stone passed. Those are so terribly painful.

Megan, I used to love making quilts too. I need to do another one sometime. Actually that is something that could be fun for me , Shelbey and Lacy to do together. They absolutely love craft type projects.

I've done well since Dec. 31st at staying OP with food and exercise. 1 off-plan meal in 4 weeks. I looked up how many cal's I should be eating and it said 1934. I know that's too many for me. So, I'm trying to eat 1500. I was eating way under, like 1100 but made it up to 1345 yesterday. I had 4 small meals and 2 snacks and felt like I was eating constantly.

My plan today is to hit the gym after the girls get home from school.

My son loved his birthday presents! It's hard to believe he is already 22 yrs old. That makes me getting pretty dang old myself.

Hi maintainers !

I'm still here, only incredibly busy at work. I just read through all the psots. way to much to answer to all, but I still wanted to say hi.

Rabbit

Hello again! And a big ole' "hang on" for those who need to get back on plan.

Anne -- Yikes! I sure hope it has passed. I've never had a kidney stone, but I've heard and read countless times that it's extremely painful. :|

Megan -- I've already started. I think I'm in love with that freezer. It makes everything so much convenient all of a sudden (and now I can eat only half of that small pizza and leave the other half in ).

Lily -- Wow, good job! I wish I could say I've also been on plan for 4 weeks save for one day. I wouldn't go as far as saying that it was just the contrary (it's not true), but there sure have been more blips than I'd like in this past month. ^_^;

Like Susan, I can't bear salads right now. I've been on a soup kick, but DH is starting to complain about all the soup. I don't understand his complaint--every soup is very different from the last and all have lots of great things in them. He's just weird I guess.

DH was supposed to fly to SLC early this morning but Delta called at 3:30 AM (!!!) to let us know his flight was cancelled. He'll leave tomorrow afternoon instead. Then he wanted his return changed from Wednesday morning to Thursday afternoon or Friday morning and they couldn't accommodate him--I hope he's okay with only a day and a half up there instead of 2 full days.

We had two full days and nights of rain here which interrupted our Sunday 4 mile walk. Today we have gale force winds. I guess the weather up in SLC is really bad--they have 70 mph winds and are expecting 12-24 inches of snow. I wish DH would have waited until next week to go up there. Oh, well.

Hi everyone! My weekend was not exactly on plan. Friday night we went out -- that part was planned. Lunch on Saturday was supposed to be at home, but I don't think I did too much damage with it. The problem was after picking up some salmon for dinner we were right next door to the ice cream shop . . . one of the ones that's on those lists of top 10 ice creams in the world? I couldn't resist, BUT I was as good as possible and we bought a pint which we split between the two of us over two days. Then at the grocery yesterday I was craving garlic bread, so I bought a frozen garlic bread . . . not too bad calorie-wise, surprisingly. Friday was my only day over 2000 (first day over 2000 calories this year). Weight is up again. :P

Meg - LOL about your washer! How did you finally discover the problem?

Hi all,

I had to get up at 5am today to drive bf to the airport!!! Completely unreasonable. That's just far too early. The worst of it is that we got a BUNCH of snow yesterday (way more than I've ever seen in this part of the world) and his flight didn't even wind up leaving until 11:30. I could have slept in until a completely normal time. Grumble, grumble.

But I'm on my own until Friday. I'm thinking I should use the opportunity to cut my cals down to 1500 or something to see if I can't shift these last few pounds. On the other hand, I may not. The 2 or 3 pounds between me and 135 are pretty insignificant in the long run. It's just vanity and stubbornness. I wonder if my ambivalence explains the seeming 'impossibility' of losing anymore weight... Ho hum.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Hello everyone!

I was told that it is impossible to fail the city's health assessment.

I now know that is a BOLD FACED LIE! How? I failed it!!

So, here it goes:
I told them I was a diabetic. They tested my blood sugar as part of the routine shabang. My blood sugar happened to be high, so they accused me of poor diabetes control. I told them that bringing it down was easy; all I needed was some fast-acting insulin. Blah. They wrote down the high number on their little assessment chart. This all made me quite nervous because they made such a big deal about it, telling me how unhealthy it was and that it could impede my hiring process. I'm a nervous person anyway - it's just part of my personality - I get nervous anytime anything might go wrong. Then, they took my blood pressure and heart rate, both which happened to be high due to my being nervous about them making me feel strange and the potential of me not getting hired over something dumb like high blood sugar. They took my blood pressure two more times and it finally dropped into a normal range (121/80). However, my heart rate did not, although it was progressively decreasing as I got less nervous. They STILL refused to take my pulse two more times despite me telling them that I KNOW it will go down, as it is normally around 80 (it was over 100 for them - like I said, nerves!) I told them about how fit I am, how healthy I normally eat, and how if I REALLY had a tachycardia problem, I would have KEELED OVER by now with all the exercise I do! I said I could get my primary doc to sign off on there being nothing wrong with me BUT they still insisted that I needed an EKG in order to be hired! I guess I'll go and get the EKG though I KNOW nothing is wrong with my heart and I think it is a useless waste of time and money!

Lily - WOW! Shane is quite a looker! You're not just a biased mom; he really is very handsome! Oh, if I wasn't taken and he was in Florida...

Susan - raggedy quilts rock! Making quilts is exciting... though I think making clothes is even more so! I used to design some clothes and had some of them featured in fashion shows up in DC though it is a hobby I have yet to resurrect for the last year or so. Maybe you'll inspire me to get back to it

Megan, that is so exciting being in a play! What character role do you play? Or are you involved with it in some other way? I love both seeing plays and being in them - I saw a play called The Dead Guy a couple weeks ago, which was hysterical. If it comes around close to your part of Florida, I highly recommend seeing it.

Oh, and Allison, I meant to tell you - I think the shorter hair cuts really do flatter you and shape your face well - not to mention you are just beautiful!

Hey KIDDO get that EKG...I would much rather know you wasted your time and money...and knew ALL WAS WELL...over the...alternative!