Morning ladies,

I just love fall mornings when it is cool and so quiet.

I didn't get to go riding yesterday afternoon. Lorrie was not feeling well so we postponed. It was such a gorgeous fall day too.

Instead, I worked on getting all the bill work done ahead for the next couple of weeks. Then we did some work outside getting ready for the fall hay to arrive this morning. I moved pallets around inside the barn, moved wire fencing panels, drug panels from the outside hay area around to get them into the back of the truck and then into the barn. Those suckers are heavy. DH was having a flat tire on the 4-wheeler so we had to remove that. It took both of us to get the lugnuts loosened. I was hot and dirty by the time we got done and in need of a cool shower. That counted as my workout.

Today's agenda started with my strength training stuff this morning. Tonight, we are both going to the chiropracter. I will have to do my cardio work at home and then get in two hours of studying. No more weekends off from studying or slacking off either so I am going to have to be very disciplined about that and the exercise.

This weeks agenda is to get a grip on food and get back into logging it into Calorie King. Arghhh, how many Monday's have I said that and not done it?

The doggies are quiet. I guess the coyotes kept them up most of the night as three dogs were in the kennel and two dogs got kicked outside at 12:30 for barking. They are tired pups this morning. Time for me to sneak through and go take a shower.

to all!

Hi Terri -- You've got a lot to juggle there! Good luck!

I had a girls weekend away and it was so much fun! I hate going back to work today! I ate horribly, and must buckle down.

Hey everyone! Just breezing in with a quickie post!

Michelle and Val - How nice to see a post again! About time ladies!

WI was as expected this weekend - I had a gain of 1.6 but you know, all things considered, I'm not distraught. I'm back on track and hope to have it off again by next Saturday's WI. Of course, that is if I stay OP all week, since I used ALL my flex points on Saturday night! We went to the movies and saw Death Race. Certainly not my usual type of movie - but I had a husband and teenage son picking the movie - Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I expected and I enjoyed it. Of course, the mondo tub of buttered popcorn took all my points, but that's the way the ball bounces.

I made the yummiest chicken last night to go with my garden fresh green beans - I've gotten three pounds + off my little trellis so far as I planted late and missed the early picking, and have at least another one to two pickings before the weather gets too cold I think. If only the rest of my garden would cooperate. My tomatoes are no longer ripening. There's probably 15 little tomatoes hanging on the vines, but they won't turn red!

Hmmm. I said this is a quickie - right? Better run!

Happy Autumnal Equinox Everyone!

Howdy everyone! I'm back from the mountains! I had an awesome couple of trips -- I decided to come back after two trips instead of taking one more. I was tired and I also didn't want to hike out on Saturday, drive all day Sunday, and then try to go to work on Monday . I ended up hiking 38+ miles over 7 days. I will post a couple of pix from my last trip in Ansel Adams Wilderness -- one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

My last trip was tough -- it started out with a 7.5 mile, 2400' elevation gain, 9 hour day. The trail was really hot and dusty and uphill. I got a couple of boosts though from folks on the trail. One guy dayhiking with his wife told me that he was impressed with my speed given the size of my pack. Another guy traveling with 3 other guys told me I was "intrepid" . I almost gave up but the spot I was going to stop and camp at was marked no camping, so I struggled on and made it to my first night's camp before dark. The next day was a lot easier and that's where I camped at the lake that's gonna be in the pix thread. I spent two nights at that lake -- my layover day was totally lazy -- just read, eat, sleep, look at the lake . Then, I hiked out 7.5 miles, but it was mostly downhill.

I was traveling alone. This was backpacking -- put all your camping gear in a pack and hike into a camp spot. I had good weather until the last day when rain kept threatening. I never saw a bear . I did 2 trips -- one in Yosemite (3 days, 2 nights, 17.5 miles) and one in Ansel Adams Wilderness (4 days, 3 nights, 21 miles).

Since I got back, I have been kind of lazy although I went on a 27 mile bike ride yesterday with my work pals. I was so proud of myself -- I was able to go faster than them sometimes! These gals bike all the time and last time we went riding, I had to ask to slow the pace down -- this time I was setting the pace! Andre has started kindergarten -- his teacher is really sweet. She's been teaching kindergarten for almost 20 years -- I guess you have to really like little kids to do that . And, this a.m., I hit 255 which is 50 pounds lost since mid-April. Woo hoo!

Hope everyone has a good week!

Sounds like Lilion and Elmay had great weekends too!!!

Yeah, but I expect Elmay's was way healthier!

Just popping in. I've got to try very hard to get back to office work and off the internet.

On the diet front - I'm working on staying OP quite hard. Doing pretty well. It would be good to see my little gain gone come Saturday. What I'm not doing well is exercising. I haven't been getting up early enough to work out or getting out of the house early enough to do my 1/2+ mile walk. OP this week for my goal, exercise next. (and when I can this week)

Got to run!

Hi ladies,

I got to experience what DH feels like when he falls. We had just gotten back from the chiropractor's and I was going to walk around his truck to show him something. However, I wasn't looking where I was going and tripped over a cinderblock. There was no opportunity to catch myself as I must have knocked both my feet out from underneath me and basically did a belly flop on the gravel. OMG, I have never hit the ground so hard. I basically landed on my palms with my arms bent underneath me like I was getting ready for a pushup. I skinned my palms and that area between my hand and elbows. I felt it jar my neck and shoulders for taking the brunt of the fall. I just lay there on the ground totally stunned. DH started yelling for me because I "disappeared" and he had no idea what happened. I could only manage a weak "I'm on the ground". Scared him silly as I wasn't getting up. Holy freakin' cow. Needless to say. I didn't do much after that and certainly didn't do any exercise last night. My neck and shoulders are sore this morning as well as the muscles above my elbows. Must have jarred that too. I'm a little concerned about my right elbow as years ago I took a header off a bicycle and jammed both arms; breaking a piece of bone off in my right elbow. Gads, talk about a buzz kill for the evening.

I've got my stuff to head off to the fitness center tonight. I did log my food into Calorie King last night as my first day of getting that back on track.

Elmay - Sounds like a fabulous vacation. Very well deserved. You're doing great on weight loss and having finished your MBA. When does the new job start?

I need to get going. Imagine that I have too much work to do.

Terri -- OUCH! Sounds like you're lucky you didn't break your arms landing like that!! Take care of yourself!!!

Lilion -- I'm trying to stay OP too. Trying to find ways to handle two things:
- Eating when I think I'm hungry, but I know I'm really not. Gum is my friend.
- Stress eating...

Hi Ladies!

This a speedy fly by HELLO!
All is wonderful here...just super busy and I'll be out of town for work on Thurs/Fri and doing a garage sale on Sat so I might not make it back here for a few days.

Eating is good, exercise is good! Life is great!

I took a yoga class today!

I must sleep.....everyone stay HAPPY & HEALTHY! Talk to you as soon as I can find a spare moment!

Terri - OUCH. I'm so glad your injuries were minimal. Take good care of yourself!

Love to all!
Barb

morning group,

Oh what a day to sleep in, or be at home working. But I am neither. We are having lovely thunder storms roll through this morning. Perfect snoozing weather.

I did make it to the fitness center last night. I only did 30 minutes on the treadmill but I did do the interval walking so I had a good workout. My arms above my elbows are sore on both sides. I've hemhawed about going to have x-rays to see if I have impact fractures but I'm thinking it is only sore muscles from being jammed. Tonight is a chiro appointment and then I will try to do cycling at home; we'll see how that feels on my arms.

I've logged my food into Calorie King for two days now and am feeling that I am slipping back into a good place foodwise. That certainly helps you get a grip on how much little extra's you're getting in and don't realize. My goal is to keep my calories to approx 1600 per day. I can do that if I bother to plan and make sensible choices.

Barb - Good luck with the garage sale. I only do those when I move. But I bet that helps you to move on kids clothes and toys.

to all!

It's only the second week of the term and I'm swamped with work. I don't know what next week will be when I start having more grading to do! Why oh why do I insist they actually LEARN????

Not much happening here. My sister and her DH are in town for the Nascar race. We're going out tonight for dinner.

Tomorrow night we're having DH's cousins out for dinner. So lots of housecleaning will be happening tomorrow. And of all the luck, the carpet cleaner has a broken part. I don't have time to have it repaired so I'm getting a new one tonight and will give the old one to my niece if it can be repaired.

I can't even think of anything to yap about.

to all. Happy Friday!

Week 1 of "back to work after vacation" is almost over. This has been kind of a tough week. I really miss working with my old boss -- even though I've moved on to a new job, it is in the same business and I was looking forward to working with him. I'm just feeling kind of "blah" about work these days -- I don't really care deeply about it -- it is just a job at the moment. I have not met with my new boss since she offered me this job the Sunday b4 Labor Day -- she has been in Europe all week. So, I do not exactly know my responsibilities, scope, how long the job will last, etc... That has made it a bit weird too. Ah well.

I have been doing pretty good with eating this week. I started a new exercise program -- I'm doing the strength program from "New Rules of Lifting for Women" and I'm doing the "Couch to 5k" running program from coolrunning.com. The first week of couch-to-5k, you are supposed to run continuously for 60 seconds, then walk for 90 seconds, then repeat for 20 minutes total. I can only run continuously for 45 seconds, so I have a "week 0" (geek humor for any programmers in the crowd ). It is good to have a new challenge that is really hard for me so that it keeps me on track with eating and exercise.

I read a good blog post this week about how long-term weight loss is a lifestyle change. It's not a "diet I'm on" -- I'm becoming a new person -- A Woman-Who-Backpacks, A Woman-Who-Eats-Healthy, and, perhaps sometime soon, A Woman-Who-Runs-A-Lot .

The other thing I was realizing this week is that I have done so much more this past few months as I've lost weight versus the 1st time around. I didn't think I could backpack until I got below a certain weight, run until I got below a certain weight, etc... This time 'round, I'm just doing it. Sure, it is hard sometimes -- that first hike in May up Dog Mountain I almost crawled , but it got easier and the sense of accomplishment is so great. Plus, I just love being outside.

This weekend's outdoor challenge is hiking up Mt. Hood again -- on the Cooper Spur side -- this trail is as high as you can get by trail on the mountain -- seems like a good thing to do now before the snow starts . I have had problems posting my pix on the pix thread , but I will try again from my home computer.

Have a great weekend all!

Morning ladies,

A quick post this morning before I jump up and start on the housework. A beautiful fall morning.

Dinner out last night was very good. A Mexican Bistro. All for of us siblings with some of the spouses plus two nieces got together. It was just a nice family gathering. I didn't go hog wild with food either. I had limited my food to a WW entree at lunch so I was hungry when I got there. I didn't feel too bad then about enjoying the guacamole and cheese/spinach dip with chips. I didn't eat much of my entree and no dessert.

The farrier is coming this morning to trim horse's feet. I am hoping to get my housework done so that I have time to ride some this afternoon before DH's cousin's arrive. Gosh, it feels like forever since I have ridden.

Better go and see what is happening in the backyard with the dogs. They are like children that need monitoring.

Elmay - I am truly inspired by your posts and the woman you are becoming. You seem to have a very good perspective and something we can learn from. Thanks for sharing your accomplishments.

to all!