Good (freezing) morning! Time for one more mug of coffee before the gym -- anyone want to join me? (in the coffee or the gym? )

How are everyone's holiday preparations coming along? I finished cookie baking this weekend and everything is tucked out-of-sight in the basement freezer. All my packages to be mailed are ready to go. But I still have wrapping and cards left to do and the tree won't be decorated until next weekend. Christmas is just happening so fast this year!

Fortunately I think I'm done with the mall -- what a nightmare!

Today the spa where I'm working is having a big holiday Open House, with tons of fantastic food and drink. I'm there for ten hours so have to plan, plan, plan in order to survive. I made chicken-black bean chili yesterday so will take that, along with hummus and veggies, and a cheese stick and sliced up apple, and then will have dinner on a plate and ready to warm up as soon as I get home.

The only other unusual challenge for the week will be DS's birthday on Friday and he's requesting his usual marble cake with vanilla buttercream icing. I'll make it on Friday morning and send the leftovers home with him that evening.

I graduated from physical therapy FINALLY last Thursday, so am on my own back in the gym. The good news is that I'm pain-free on the elliptical and almost pain-free on the bike. Walking, believe it or not, is my biggest challenge since I had to learn how to walk all over again. So I cross-train every day and do 20 minutes each of bike, elliptical, and walking. And still lift weights, of course!

Stay warm and stay out of the cookies!

on getting through the physio Meg and at the open house today!

DH and I found ourselves snacking in front of the TV again last night. He took the weekend off from dieting and it seems my willpower was at a low last night so I caved and joined him. I find I get really beat when I'm out in a cold wind all day and it was bitter (70km winds) yesterday.

Back OP today. I'm finished all the Christmas stuff except the tree, and that is the part of Christmas I actually like. I'm looking forward to decorating it on the 20th just before I leave for my dog sit. That will be my "Christmas moment".

Dagmar

Dagmar

Meg Taking you up on that cup of . It's good you've got a plan going Meg. I would find a 10 hour day a real challenge. The more tired I am the more easily swayed from my plan. Hey, my ds's birthday is Friday too. I'm having one small piece of cake. His birthday request will crack you up. A tube of cookie dough. All his to eat raw. Ick! That I can stay out of.

Dagmar We all have those moments. Back OP today.. As for Christmas, well I need to buy some gifts and a tree. It doesn't look Christmassy here yet.

I've got alot to do today. Vet appointment for my foundling kitten, dentist appointment for me and a Girl Scout cookie meeting tonight. Busy can be good if it keeps me from snacking. I'm taking some tea with me to the meeting tonight so I'm not tempted to buy a coke.

Good morning everybody.

Meg, I'm so happy you have graduated from physical therapy. Marvelous news, that is. I know you'll be having that walking down pat shortly. All the best on that front.

Mudpie, the cold can do me in as well. Well come to think of it so can the heat - and the snow - and the rain- and the ...... Yeah, it goes on and on. Today is a new day.

Joy, yes, I believe it's quite helpful to keep busy.

I had a spectacular on plan weekend. Although I begged off from my Sunday walk due to the cold, windy weather . Or should I say due to the fact that I didn't want to get myself out of the house DUE to the cold, windy weather. I did get lots done in my house though. Rearranged some cabinets - I'm making room for some new pots and pans that I ordered on line. I also did a LOT of paper work and organizing. In other words - I kept busy. Which is what I needed this weekend.

I still have lots of holiday shopping to do. I'm absolutely torn as to what to get my kids for the holidays. 2 of them would like lap top computers. 1 already has one. But our budget just won't allow for it. Other then that, there's nothing I can think of that they really want or need. I hate to cop out and get them gift cards from their favorite stores. We shall see.

Have a wonderful day and week everyone.

Good morning everyone! I'm working from home today so I'm online early. This is just a quick fly-by since I have to leave in 5 mins to take the dog to the vet. He's going to get his teeth cleaned and his nails trimmed, plus get checked out for all the snoring and grunting he's been doing lately. They wanted me to drop him off in the morning and then they'll call when he's done and I can pick him up. I'm worried about leaving my poor fur-baby all alone! I feel like a mom on the first day of kindergarten/day care. I'm so worried about leaving him in someone else's care! (Strangely, I don't worry about leaving him home alone all day when I go to work, but he's not getting knocked out and worked on at home.) I guess if anything bad were to happen to him, the vet's office would be a good place for him to be.

More later, just wanted to say good morning!

Good morning, maintainers!

Congratulations on your graduation, Meg. Wonderful news!

I had a very busy week-end but I managed to stay on plan. My weight is still up a bit and those pounds are stubborn. Oh well, I know what to do. :sigh: I got a lot accomplished, too. Gifts ordered (I don't do the mall), tree decorated, and photo for card taken. Speaking of ... want to see?



Have a great day!

Good morning maintainers!

Ward, your DD looks JUST like you, especially her pose matches your avatar photo. So darn cute---both of them!!

Just a flyby post today. I've had a few rough moments with food lately but yesterday was POP and so far so good today.

Some of you will recall my problems with the phantom pornographer from last week. Well, today there is another penis drawn on the stop sign in front of our house. I called and filed police reports on the first two incidents, but since the stop sign is not our property, I couldn't file a report on that too. I'll be calling the graffiti hotline in a second. I'm not amused.....

Have a great on plan day. I'll be working off some serious irritation at the gym.

Wardhog~your children are gorgeous!

Midwife~what a shame they can't be caught in the act of defacing the property whether it's yours or the city's. Good luck.

I'm terribly busy at work today as we're having a tax audit. It's especially hard as he's going back 3 years and although I've been here that long, I really didn't know half of what was going on that first year. I have to send all his questions to our CPA to be answered. It's kind of stressful to say the least!

Hi gang!

Ward - your little ones are so cute! What a great picture.

I was feeling so yucky yesterday that I barely moved from the couch. Good thing is, I ate well yesterday! I kind of was tempted to do some pity eating, but managed to stop myself (and asked DH to hide the dark chocolate chips).

Feeling much better today. Enough to do some light cardio and some weights, but I got tired fast. Don't want to overdo it - but I get panicked when I can't get in my exercise (gotta work on that obsessive thought).

Wow. The day is practically over and I'm finally getting 2 minutes to check back in.
Oops. Now I have to leave to pick up DS from school. I can't catch my breath!

Good news is that I did a great workout this morning (burned 300 calories and by the water dripping off of me I probably dropped a pound in water weight!). I also missed breakfast thinking I'd eat oatmeal when I got to work. Nope. The auditor was here and immediately I was busy chasing things down and answering questions. Aargh. What a day!

Afternoon. No time to post a lot. Just wanted to say I'm feeling better - my hives are pretty much gone except where my clothes are - under my bra, waistband, etc., but the itching is much much less. Still need to finish out the round of steroids though - through Thursday. I see the doc that day too. Then I hope my body is done betraying me. It's been nearly a month since I felt truly well. Grrrrr.

We got all out out-of-town presents bought/made/wrapped and boxed and DH took them to the PO this morning, along with our cards. Whew. Now I just need to work on the few for around here - DH being the hardest. We have an outside wreath with lights up but nothing else. We always cut a real tree, so it's too soon to bring it in, plus DH is hosting his men's book club later this week, and if the tree is up there's much less seating in the living room..

Ward - your kids are lovely, and DD does look like you.

Allison - audit! Arghh. IRS, double arghh!! Hope it goes well

Meg - glad to hear you've been released. 10 hours in a open house - wow, you need to be strong! Just keep telling yourself "it's not my food; it's for the clients." I know you can be strong - but still that's a long time to spend with that food.

The first of my parties comes Friday night when the library crew heads for a local Italian restaurant. Fortuately, we have menu so I can go in prepared. I need to remember, it's about the company, not the food. Of course, that goes for the Fire Dept party on Sat (DH was a volunteer FF for 20 years), never mind our "official" City party on the 19th, or a friends' gloog (a hot mulled wine) party on the 20th. Or the dinner party my quilting group is having on the 17th. Yikes. By the time that CHristmas dinner actually comes I won't be hungry! I have a plan, however, or actually more of a strategy for dealing with all this food. First off, no seconds. Second, if it's something you can get all the time - maybe skip. If it's seasonal and wonderful, a small portion. Third, one glass of wine per party!! The ones where it's free are the hardest. I'm too cheap to drink more if I'm paying $5 or more for a glass.

I'ts not IRS, it's state sales taxes, so it's far less horrible! Thank goodness for that! If it were and IRS audit, I'd have my CPAs at my side rather than answering my questions via email!!!

Things are calming down. I'm feeling a little less stressed. It sure has been "one of those days," though.

Whew, yes much better. We don't have a state sales tax here, though our city has a 3% sales tax. But of course, since I run a city dept, our revenues are not taxed. Funny though, I have a store charge card at the local supermarket (issued to the city) and it charges sales tax, then they deduct it when the bill is issued. Wonder why they can't program the register just to not charge the tax? Just came back from there with such goodies as coffee, kleenex (tis the season), lysol wipes and AA batteries.

We have Santa coming to the library for storytime tomorrow and Thursday. He's a local guy who makes wooden pull toys for all the kids. We used to take Polaroid photos, but these days, all the moms just bring their digital cameras! It's always fun to watch though, and some moms go all out dressing up their kids.

Well, surgery went much better than expected last Wednesday. They didn't need to do abdominal surgery, so I'm in much better recovery shape than I or the doctor anticipated. I was sent home less than 48 hours later--I was so glad because I was seriously bored in the hospital. Saturday found me at my place of work walking the long halls with my hubby twice that day and the same on Sunday. It felt good to walk. Food went well at the hospital. I rarely ate what they sent as it was filled with sodium and calories. The one time they did sent a breakfast plate sugar free, low sodium, it was a very tiny bit of eggbeaters, one high calorie, margarine laden piece of toast, and an orange. The nurse even commented that it didn't look like much to eat.

After being home for a couple days, I wish I was back in the hospital. I'm home, bored, and eating things I shouldn't be eating--chocolate chip cookies, chex mix, chocolate. I am SO HUNGRY! I can't seem to get full. I have to pull it together somehow, but I don't know how. I'm trapped in the house because I can't drive for two weeks. I'm also tired, so I do sleep,but I wake up craving chocolate and chex mix. HELP!!!

Hello everyone!

That is great news on your surgery goal! I bet you are hungry because you missed a few meals around your surgery (before and after). That should level off. Maybe make sure you journal what you eat and you might be less likely to overeat.

WaterRat-- I'm impressed you have your out of town gifts sent. I seriously need to do the same. Glad you are feeling better. You do have some food challenges coming up-- many of us are in the same shoes.

Allison-- sounds like a stressful day at work. Hope tomorrow is better for you.

Fiberlover-- glad you are feeling better. There are so many illnesses going on around here. I am hoping and praying we avoid them.

midwife-- I would be so frustrated. I hope the person is caught and prosecuted soon. Hope you worked off some frustration at the gym!

WardHog--your kids are adorable! Thanks for sharing....

Paperclippy-- how did your doggie do? I always worry about mine when I leave them at the vet, but they always do well. A little drunk when they come home, but fine otherwise.

Robin-- good luck figuring out what to get your kids. It can be a challenge...

Hi Dagmar and Joy and everyone else!

Meg-- I'm so glad you are back to your regular exercising. That is awesome!

Another really crazy and hectic week for me. Dh is traveling and before we know it, our relatives will be here for the holidays. I still need to shop, mail gifts, majorly clean the disgusting house, decorate..... Plus work, gym, parties..... I have a party this week and a couple next week. I started journaling my food again yesterday after not doing it for a few months. I did it "mentally" but didn't write it down. It will be interesting to see if/how my weight changes.

How do you handle "food pushers"? I worked with a lady today that doesn't know my "history". She had made homemade muffins and kept trying to get me to eat one. I had no intention but I didn't want to offend her. I don't know her all that well so I didn't really want to explain myself but she wouldn't let up. I finally told her that I don't like gingerbread (which is true) and she dropped it. What tactful ways do you use to stop the food pushing?

I have officially finished my class that I was taking for my masters. That is one thing off my list to do. What a relief!! Now I'm off (from schoolwork) until January.