PatchworkPenguin - I thought that Julie & Julia had lots of laugh-out-loud moments, but I was definitely laughing *at* Julie and not with her. Have you finished? Because I have a comment to make, but not if you aren't done. Too funny about the cherry pit!

Jacquee - Glad to hear about the size 6 shorts -- you rock!

Marie - re: the contract. With the economy being so bad right now, and with raises likely frozen, I probably wouldn't bring it up right now. $2200 isn't *that* much money over, say, 24 pay periods a year. I'd probably mention it casually as in, "Hey, what every happened to..." and then wait until I felt the economy had picked up to revisit it...

As for me -- Oh my, is the Shenandoah area in VA gorgeous!! We had a wonderful vacation. Hiked twice with the kids (not Old Rag, though -- we did two "easy to moderate" hikes in the park because my youngest son (age 8) complains about hiking a lot so we wanted it to be as enjoyable as possible). The exercise highlight was that DH and I went on a 12-mile bike ride through the valley near our house and it was incredible. Absolutely gorgeous and VERY strenuous. So that felt great. We also went to Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home) and all (including the boys) found it very interesting.

I'm nervous to step on the scale tomorrow since I ate with a vacation mindset. I was aware of the choices that I was making, but strongly believed that it was vacation, that I was going to enjoy those glasses of wine, the incredible local corn, etc. Now that we're home, tomorrow marks a new day and a rededication. I love having this long-term outlook. It makes all the difference.

Finally, my FIL's wife sent me some photos from their visit here last month. But she also included some photos from when we visited her last December. They made for some great comparisons -- before weightloss, and down 20 lbs. I hadn't realized how heavy my face had gotten. I'll post them, probably tomorrow.

It's great to be back. Sorry I couldn't reply to everyone personally, but going forward...

Here are the photos I referred to above.



In the BEFORE picture, it was the end of December, 2008. I weighed about 185. I came right home from that trip and meant to start losing weight immediately but I hurt my back and got sidetracked. I finally started losing weight about a month later. In the MINUS 20 LBS picture it was late June and I weighed 166. The picture was taken when my ILs were visiting. Remember the day I was grumpy about the Indian buffet?? This was taken the next day and I remember feeling very good about myself and my willpower. I haven't really lost any weight to speak of since then, but with vacation behind me, I'm motivated to get the loss kickstarted again.

I also remember buying that yellow shirt in Spring 2008 because I needed something new to wear. It was obscenely tight and I could only wear it under a sweater or jacket. Now I love the way it looks...

Hubby and I bought more Kilz and finished priming the chairs and table. We got the cream-ish colored paint for the set. They look so screaming white right now, its scary! I forgot about the leaf for the table {Hubby remembered?!?!?!?} so we have to prime that tomorrow, but hopefully we can get everything painted this weekend and be done with something.

Hubby says his back feels a little better, about time!

Newleaf, I like how the yellow shirt goes with your hair. Great pics, thanks for sharing! I finished J&J! Comment away. Thanks for starting a new thread.

PatchworkPenguin - thanks for the compliment! As for Julie & Julia, yeah, I didn't like Julie either. And I thought it was interesting that apparently Julia didn't either... as demonstrated through her lack of interest in what Julie was doing, and her lack of reply when Julie tried to reach her. Did you take a look at her website when it was done? Completely uninteresting...

Heidi ---- WELCOME BACK

Hearing you talk about my birth state made me a tad home sick. Virginia is a beautiful state and so rich in history. I was blessed to live outside of DC for 20+ years and then spend 13 years in Williamsburg. My previous employer while living in Williamsburg was an architect and his father was the mastermind behind the Blue Ridge Parkway. Yep.... I'm home sick.

Patch - we painted our dining room table & chairs several years ago and love how it turned out.

Mack and I did not hike with the group last night because of the heat; it was still 90+ at 5pm so we decided we would head up to the mountains this morning. We are going to hike up to Bertha Peak about 6.6. miles round trip. I'll post a few pictures when I get back; the views of the lake are spectacular. Mack has one of his communication sites up there and we have been many times, just never hiked.

Well I need to go eat so we can get on the road. I'll be back later.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Newleaf, welcome back! Glad to hear you had a great trip! The differences in your photos are quite obvious, especially the confidence that shines through! Photo one you are hiding behind your son (a trick most of us have used at one time!) Photo two, no more hiding! Way to go!

Walked this am, it's cool here again. Is this August? I have a friend visiting and we are just relaxing and enjoying talking together. Hope everyone has a great day!

CruiseCat - It was truly gorgeous. I would love for my kids to go to the University of Virginia so I could visit all the time! We were in Stanardsville, which is between Madison & Ruckersville. Very rural... Your hike sounds wonderful; I can't wait to see the pictures! Funny that it is hot where you are... dark and cool here in Pittsburgh.

OnMyWay - thanks for the compliment! Yes, the hide-behind we all know so well... It is cool here, too. We can't believe that it is August and our grass is lush green still. Usually it is a dust bowl around here come August. From our standpoint, it's a welcome change! Plus, all the rain kept my flowers alive while we were away, added bonus!

Back from our hike and wanted to post the link to an album I made.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/4106149...57621926561670

According to the rangers the hike is 7 miles round trip and the last .7 was a killer. I've got two blisters but nothing major. The boots are breaking in nicely just not real comfortable coming down a VERY steep incline.

I'll be back in the morning to catch up with everyone.

CruiseCAT - what great photos!! It looks like an incredible hike, and you and Mack look great! The trail was nice and wide, but it sure looked rocky and difficult. You rock! As for the discomfort coming down, I don't think there is anything you can really do about that other than buying bigger boots so you have more toe room at the end. Depending on how much space you have, maybe you could stuff a small rolled up sock, or wear double socks, for additional padding? It looks like you had a great day!

Painting project isnt' going very well. I wish I had this idea several years ago, but we are having a hard time picking the right color. I painted a cabinet several years ago and liked the color but apparently since we didn't prime before we painted over the dark wood it changed the color, so when we painted it onver the primer white we couldn't tell the difference in colors. We went back and got a 'wheat' color which when painted over the white primer looks beige. {I DON'T LIKE BEIGE}. We are going for a second coat but I'm REALLY disappointed its so light. We've already wasted so much time and money here, I'm really getting frustrated, not to mention sick of painting! This project isn't exactly building my confindence to choose colors for the rest of the things I want to repaint around here.

Newleaf, Although the book doesn't say a lot about Julia's feelings about Julie, I got the impression Julia felt Julie was trying to ride Julia's coattails to get her 15 min of fame. Less of an homage and more of a copycat. But who knows what Julia's real thoughts were, the reporter could have been just trying to get a reaction out of Julie. I have to confess I thought of looking up the blog, but lost interest.

I'm a little afraid of my scale in the morning too. Food wasn't bad but it had too much salt!

SusanB - I just saw your last post in the abs result thread. I'm glad you made it over here!!

Thank you Heidi.

Most of the pictures of the trail itself were taken of the last mile up; it's actually the service road to the towers. Total elevation gain is around 1700 and I would guess that much if not most is in the last mile.

The trail was VERY rocky and you had to watch EVERY step. I feel GREAT this morning other than a stiff neck from looking down and a little soreness in my thighs.

My new boots I bought a little big because 1) my right foot is about 1/2 size bigger than my left and 2) when I travel my feet swell. I did wear two pair of socks and I think I would have done better to wear two on the left foot only. That will be my plan for our next outing. Now sure where we will go next weekend but I am really looking forward to cooler temperatures so we can start hiking here in the desert.

OK - 2nd try at an entry. Just discovered that the "Esc" key will wipe out everything you wrote. Sigh. Must be Monday ...

Penguin - agree, beige is a celebration of mediocrity. HATE it!

CAT - GREAT pics! Spouse is convinced the only way to break in boots is to put 'em on, stand in a tub of warm water til they're thoroughly soaked, and then walk them dry. I'm not convinced ... it might be helpful for leather, but he's stubborn. Maybe with your climate it's a realistic option? Otherwise ... the magic substance ... molefoam!

Heidi - welcome back! Wow, you look terrific in yellow! Sounds like you've had a great trip! Love what you said about the long-term outlook - it does modulate the day-to-day choices and leave room for special times. I think my greatest discovery this year has been that great food doesn't taste better just because you eat more of it.

SusanB - At least with salt, we know it's there, we know how to flush it out, and we know it's temporary. By Wednesday you'll be golden!

OMW - right - what summer??? I actually had to put my heavy comforter back on the bed last night - it went down to 52!!!! But it does make getting outside in the yard easier - I've probably spent more time outside this summer than any previous.

We had a great weekend - drove out to Grand Haven (MI's west coast). DS10 spent five solid hours in the lake playing in 6-foot waves - he was in heaven. Saw old college friends - some we haven't laid eyes on in 15 years ... and remembered why we like them so much. Funny though, I'm glad to be back to my weekday eating routine.

Newleaf - love seeing the before and after pics. Your face has so much more definition in the second picture - you're so pretty!

CAT - way to go on your hike - you are a complete stud! We hiked yesterday but didn't cover nearly as much ground. All hail to the CAT!

I'm a little stalled on weightloss as I've been at 178 for over a week but I'm ready to hit it hard this week so will probably be boring you guys with lots of posts as I try to stick to it. Happy Monday all!