Hi girls,
Fingers crossed we all behave ourselves this weekend. i know i'm going to struggle!! tonight i'm having a birthday party in soho at my favourite bar. i've hired a room and i plan on having lots of champers. yum. i know the manager so usually get a few freebies! unfortunately this place does absolutely wonderful bar snacks (nachos, spicy potato wedges etcetc). but i figure i should have some cos otherwise i'll get far too drunk.
i wasn't around yesterday cos i went to bbc television centre (cool!). some of you might remember i got offered a job as a broadcast meteorologist (weather girl!) last year but it got postponed cos of budget cuts. but they have promised me the next available job. yesterday i had a meeting with one of the senior forecasters cos she had been on maternity leave during my job fiasco and wanted to meet me and reassure me they hadn't forgotten about me. i'm so glad i got those highlights cos she asked me if i'd mind doing a quick piece to camera so they had me on tape. eek! i had to quickly put together a forecast but it was alright. everyone was really positive about it. i just hope i can start working there soon. it would be a dream come true! sadly it doesn't look likely till next year. still, at least i know now the weather will be pants today (ie raining) but tomorrw should brighten up, which is good since i want to have a BBQ!
so that's my news. what are the rest of you up to this weekend?

kim - thinking of your friend.
jenk - happy birthday for last week!! good news on the boy!
lexxy - good to see you!
KT - 2 weddings on the same day? eek, that's a tricky one.
a big hug and a hello to everyone i haven't mentioned. gotta get on with some work here. i need to go have a big pasta lunch so i line my stomach for tonight.
kirsty

Happy Friday, all!

Kirsty, I'm wildly jealous of your exciting life. A big party tonight, a forecast meteorologist job...just don't do a report from the fire station sliding down a pole in a short skirt! I swear, you are all Bridget Jones to me. Kind of makes me miss being single and childless. Not that I'd trade my life for anything...I just get nostolgic. Have fun, Kirsty, and throw back one for me! Make mine early, though, so it's not responsible for any silliness that may be forthcoming!

Another weekend catching up at home. My husband and i just moved to this tiny town (population 8,000) last December, so it's pretty rare that we have weekend plans unless our Twin Cities friends come down or we drive back up there (where we used to live). In a way, I'm kind of sad about that, but in a way my house has never been cleaner with all this time...I'm hoping as Aaron gets older and we join playgroups that I'll expand my circle of friends. I do have a few here, but none I know well enough to call on a Friday night. All will come in time, I guess. On the flipside, I'm thanking my lucky stars that DH's brother, mom, and her husband are gone. Yes, that's right, the kitchen commandos are gone, so I am allowed to make coffee the way I like it again!

I need to get back on the WW wagon. I have been off since that visit, and I can't seem to make myself care. I have, however, kept the workouts up (minimum of 30 m in of cardio each day, along with my daily weight workout) so I'm not in a total relapse...just partial. I am just so hungry all the time, though...I can't seem to fill myself up on legal portions. Probably a result of being off the wagon for so long. How do you all put yourself back on? Please tell me! Have a good Friday!

Kirsty - Have FUN at your party tonight!! It sounds like a blast. I wish I was able to come! Something tells me that we would probably do pretty well partying together!!

Jayne - I'm glad your kitchen commandos are gone! I'm sure you're looking forward to a quiet weekend without any company!

I went to dinner and the movies last night with TB (that means "the boy"! I'm creating a new abbreviation!) and one of his roommates, who has been here for a year from London, but is going home this Sunday. I thought it was so sweet of him to invite me and it kinda seemed as if he wanted her to know me a bit since she is leaving. We had a really good time and she told me I could come visit her when I go to London in January! He is pretty upset about her leaving, so it was nice of him to invite me along.

I got a great 4 mile run in after work yesterday. The weather is so nice the past few days and running felt so much better than it did earlier this week. I ran it in about 35 minutes, which made me happy since 2.5 miles the other day nearly killed me! I'm running a 5K on Sunday to stay prepared for the 10K I am running in 2 weeks. Then after the race I am going to the Cubs game. Nothing better than being in the sun watching baseball! (other than being in the sun listening to live music!)

Have a good day girls!

I am so happy this week is almost over! I'm actually planning on going to WI tomorrow so we'll see how much damage I've done. We have my sister and her fiance's "we're not married yet" party tomorrow night too. They didn't want to have stags so this is a pre-wedding bash for all their friends. Should be good.

Kirsty - I'm so glad they haven't forgotten about you! You will be the best weather girl (sorry, broadcast meteorologist) ever. Have a lovely birthday bash!

Jayne - Glad the in-laws are out of the way. Just think absolute relaxation for the weekend. Whenever I fall off the wagon (and I do a LOT) I get back on by journalling EVERYTHING I put in my mouth. Also, being summer I'm a fruit-o-holic and that helps when I have a nibbly attack (the cherries right now are sooo good) I hope that helps.

Jen - sounds like he wanted a trusted female opinion. Maybe he was checking to see if you are the jealous type. Did you see a good movie?

OK so this actually took me a while to post so I've probably missed a bunch of people but I'll try to get back on later. I'm alone in the office so the only thing stopping me from surfing all day is this huge pile of work on my desk. and back to it!

KT

Hello all!
Well, it's Friday! It's cloudy here today, but that's probably a good thing so I can give my sunburn a break! It's a bit tender today.
I'm feeling optimistic today. Although once again I slept through my class (I don't know what's wrong with me!) but I'm up and getting the day started.
Ah, last night my roommate cooked dinner, because she was paying me back from me cooking all week (she can't complain about the healthy food, and she actually likes the WW recepies!) but she made marinaded chicken, black beans and rice, and a salad. So, my points were a little high, but I"m balancing out today. For dessert? I made the WW Key Lime Pie. Anyone ever had it? It's very tasty.. and easy! For only 3 points, very hard to resist.
Tonight "Im going to try to cook the Eggplant Parmigana (although I can't spell it!)

Today I must go get my pregraduation check from the university. It's really scary to realize i only have a year left. who knows where I"ll be afterwards.

Okay, for some reason my apartment smells like ice cream cones.. and that's just no good. (but very nummy)

Kirsty-- Have fun at the party! Why is it that all good parties have great snacks? Ah, goes with the territory, but you'll do fine. And the job? Awesome!

Jayne-- Having guests are great, but after awhile, it's even better when they're gone. Definitly enjoy a relaxing weekend. Usually I get the organic popcorn (which is like 2 points per BAG) when I'm in the eating mood and trying to get back onto a plan. Then you can munch and it's almost empty.

Jen- Good luck on the runs! So a 10K is how many miles? I can never keep them straight.. but good luck! You'll do great, and in peak condition!
A Cubs game? Sweet! I visited Wrigley field once, but never when a game was going on Make sure to throw on some sunblock! (I wish I would've though of that yesterday!) Have a great time, there's nothing better than a baseball game!

KT-- good luck on WI, let us know how it goes. On a Saturday? Actually that sounds like a good day, because it keeps you in line on Friday night. Have fun at the party tomorrow night also, and luckily the meetings will be right on your mind.

Well, to everyone who hasn't posted yet today, Hello! I"m off to get the day started. HOpefully i'll swing passed the gym on the way home. Put my locker to use.

Have a great FRIDAY!

Lucy

Lucy - I live about 5 blocks from Wrigley Field - a great neighborhood! It's so much fun! Hope your sunburn gets better. I am pretty good about sunblock, because even wearing SPF30 on my face, I usually end up a bit pink!

KT- Have fun at the pre-wedding bash! That sounds like a lot of fun! We saw Mr. Deeds last night - it was pretty funny, but not really worth going to see. I never even thought that he might want his friend's opinion of me!! Probably best I didn't think about it, so I didn't end up nervous!

Yeah, I can tell it's Friday - I am so antsy to get out of here!!

Hello All -

Very, very busy day here at work - Yeah! Am supposed to hear if I got a 2nd interview for the Events Coordinator position by COB today. Wish me luck!

Kirsty - by the time you read this you'll have had your Friday night fun. Hope it was a great time. Good luck with the BBC job - everyone should end up with their dream job!

Jayne - speaking as one of the single set - as much as I love my freedom, there are nights when I envy those who have someone to sit down to dinner with and talk about their day.

Jen - Good luck with the 5K - let us know how you do. Have fun watching the Cubbies.

Kat - "I'm not married yet" party - sounds like something every single girl ought to throw for herself - not an engaged couple! Anyway, have fun. Also, I just started having Sat WI's too - hope it helps keep me in line on Fri nights.

Lucy - I've made the WW Key Lime Pie and enjoyed it as well. I've also made WW friendly Snickers Pie and Strawberry Pie when I needed deserts for family gatherings both were scrumptious.

Hi to everyone who may still check in. Have a great weekend all.

Winter

It's been kind of quiet around here today, maybe there are lots of lucky people enjoying a day away from their computers...

Well, this hasn't been the greatest week for my exercise. Last night was the first time all week that I've made it to the gym. I started my Pilates video but HotGuy called again. (More on that messy situation later). Tonight I work at the gym, so I'll definitely get a workout in then. And even though I usually have trouble getting my butt into the gym on Saturdays, I'm just going to have to do it tomorrow, no matter how I try to talk myself out of it. That'll be my 3 times at the gym. Now, I just have to figure out how to get my other 3 times of exercising in... Luckily I can do those whenever I feel like it.

So, let's talk for a second about HotGuy (who is quickly becoming ugly!) He calls last night around 8:30 and asks if he can come over. I'm like "Well, I suppose, but it's late and I have to get to work early tomorrow, and I'm right in the middle of something, and we wouldn't be able to hang out for very long." OK, if someone gave you all those excuses, don't you think you'd get the hint? Well, he didn't. I honestly didn't want to hear from him in the first place, REALLY didn't want to spend any time with him, but I am so bad at saying no because I'm always afraid people are going to get mad. (I'm a really big wimp). Well, he shows up, I call my sister and her boyfriend and the 4 of us go to the bar and play pool for awhile. When I take him back to his car that's parked at my apartment, he's all "Can I come up for awhile?" I'm like "Well, I'm just going to make my lunch and get some stuff ready for work tomorrow and go to bed." He followed me up, then is all like "Why don't you come sit on the couch with me?" Perhaps because you're a great big slimeball. Then, I did my stuff around the apartment and pretty much ignored him, so he started following me around. He kept trying to touch me and finally, I'm like "OK, you have to go because I have to go to bed." There are so many things wrong with this situation: he has a girlfriend, I told him I have a BF and he's all "Well, we're just hanging out as friends", he doesn't get hints, he invites himself, he's really immature, he's shorter than he said he was (he was in his truck when we met)--as in shorter than me.

I feel guilty about lying to my BF about him, but I also have to keep in mind that he goes out ALL the time and that I know there are things he fails to tell me about his social life. Besides, nothing happened and I can file this adventure away under the classification of "Things Not to Do Again", "Reasons I'm NOT Pathetic", and "I Have My Own Life Outside of BF".

All right, that's enough of my whining about my lovelife. Let's talk about you guys:

First of all, this has taken me about 2 hours to finish, so I'm sure people have posted since I started this. Hello to everyone.

Kirsty--It seems like each day talking to all of you glamourous, sophisticated girsl makes my life seem more and more boring! Hope you have a fabulous time tonight!

Jayne--Thanks so much for the pointers on veggie cooking! I had some stir fried veggies last night and was pleasantly surprised to learn that I CAN make things like that! Tonight I won't be able to try anything because I have to work at second job. Hmmm, how do I put myself back on the WW Wagon? I've only really gone off once for two weeks. Of course, I've only been doing WW since January. I think what worked best for me was letting myself eat all the things that I knew I'd crave once I got back on. Then, once I'd eaten all those things, I got back on the wagon and haven't really craved them since. Something else that has helped was getting some more creative ideas about things to eat. For awhile, I was eating the same things all the time. Changing to things I hadn't eaten before or hadn't had in a long time really helped.

Jen--That's great about TB! It sounds like you guys are taking things slow, which is important, but it also sounds like he's taking you seriously--not as "just some girl", which is also important. I'm glad that the running went better for you, you sounded SO discouraged earlier this week! You're in Chicago, right? I think Chicago and Omaha get pretty much the same weather. It was sweltering here when it was for you and it's nice now, like it is for you. Maybe Kirsty, our resident broadcast meteorologist can explain that for us.

Hello KT!! Good luck at WI!

Lucy--Haven't tried the Key Lime Pie, but I think my parents did, using strawberry Jello (that's the right recipe, right?) Your dinner last night doesn't sound bad at all--beans and rice is pretty low-point, the salad should be low-point and the chicken couldn't have been that bad, you probably didn't go over your points and if you did, it couldn't have been by very much. Don't stress over it at all.

OK, I haven't done a spec of work yet today. Better get to it for the next two hours.

You guys are going to be SO proud of me... I'M so proud of me. So Wednesday and yesterday were not great point days, right... I've been over since WW WI... well so today I had to go to a vendor's site and they were ordering pizza from a local place for lunch. I was so bummed... because I can't resist pizza... in fact I have too much. But I asked if the place had salads... and they did so I ordered a grilled chicken salad. But I was still worried that I would eat pizza when it got there... but so many people heard me order the salad that they were like "yeah, I should have the salad too." So they just ordered salads!

Kirsty - Have a blast at your party!!!!! SOunjds fun - I'll ahve a drink in your honor!

Jayne - awesome about the workouts - you're doing awesome. Trust me... single life might sound fun - but sometimes I'm just tired of being single... although lately it hasn't been so bad.

KT - good luck at WI.. and have fun at the party. What a cool idea.

Jen - wow, 4 miles. great. I can't imagine doing a 10K. It's something I would love to try sometime... but I run like a 12-minute mile - I'm so slow I'd come in dead last.

Winter - good luck with the job. Event Coordinator sounds like a lot of fun! Let us know!!!

Jess - sounds like most guys I know.... so many guys are jerks... yet so many of my friends are dating really awesome people. It's like all the good ones are taken.... but I'm on the hunt... there have to be a few left. Kick him to the curb!

Alrighty ladies... have a great weekend. I have a feeling I'll be the last post since it's Friday afternoon.

Lisa

Your feeling is wrong, Miss Lisa! I will be the last post. I just had something so utterly bazaar happen to me I can't believe it. At my church, there's a grumpy janitor who has always made everyone who wasn't rail thin very uncomfortable. You know, he'd stand by the bake sale table and tell us that we didn't need any sweets (even if we were buying banana bread or something for our family that we didn't intend to eat) and at the church potlucks, same story. Well today I was at church working on a volunteer program, and another lady and I stumbled upon something that is so wierd. This guy has to be mentally ill. We saw him go through all the rooms and go through the garbage and take it all out and sort it into different piles. He then carried it off to storage rooms. We mentioned to the secretary what we had seen, thinking it must be a mistake. She took us to one of his stashes. THis guy takes styrofoam cups out and rewashes them...we saw faint lipstick stains on the cups. If paper is crumpled, he flattens it out and stacks it up. He had ziplock bags full of food scraps that people had tried to throw away. Another box was full of used straws. I have no idea what he is planning on doing with this stuff. I just realized that the problem is 100% his own, and that preying on innocent women in the potluck line is just a symptom of his sickness. Isn't this the wierdest thing ever??? I hope that makes you all feel more normal!

Lisa, you are the queen of salads!!! Don't you feel so virtuous when you sit there with a salad? Good for you, setting the example for everyone!

Jess, I am very much like you in my inablility to say no. In my single days, I got a (very undeserved) reputation as a flirt because I could never hurt anyone's feelings when they asked me out or wanted me to go somewhere with them. Nothing physical would even happen, no commmitment or even talk of anything beyond friendship ever happened, but you know how people will talk...next thing I knew, I was supposedly "dating" one guy and got accused of cheating on him when I was talking to someone I really did like. Just remember, you didn't do anything wrong, and it's truly a compliment to be pursued (although a real pain in the @ss sometimes!). And I am very proud of you for doing your first stir-fry...it's a nice change of pace, isn't it?

Winter, good luck with your new job possibility. Tell me, are you going to get to wear one of those cool headsets and walk around with clipboards and bark orders, like Samantha on Sex in the City when she coordinates events? That would be so cool!

Jen, I love that neighborhood in Chicago! My sister went to college in River Forest, and we went to a few Cubs games when I visited her. Watching baseball in the Metrodome is so wrong...you're not supposed to be inside!!!

Lucy, believe it or not my anti-diet hubby loves WW recipes too! There are some really good ones on this board, under ww recipes...check it out, I've found some great ones.

KT, have fun at that party! My hubby and I did that too when we got married...it was much more fun to bedrinking with all of our friends together...and a few of my friends hooked up with a few of his friends that night, and let me tell you...it made for an interesting wedding reception.

Happy weekend, all!

I'm really just posting so I can be the last post of the day!

Jess - THat guy sounds gross. Steele yourself next time and just say no!

Jayne - Speaking of gross! That guy sounds imbalanced and somewhat unhealthy, he should be reported.

Lisa - WAY TO GO! I say the best way to deal with temptation is avoidance - you did good.

OK, now I'll go finish some of my pile o'work.
KT

Oh yeah KT? WRONG! I am the last post of the day! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ok, that was terribly juvenile of me...

Today had been REALLY bad. I went to my parents for dinner and EVERY TIME I go to my parents I eat like a pig! Anytips on avoiding this sort of thing? I think I will just have to make the kitchen a "no-fly" zone or something, if possible. Grrr.

Jayne- That is really weird. It's amazing the things some people do.

Lisa- Way to get back on track with the salad! I need some of your motivation to get back after today

Jess- That guy sounds like a serious creep. Reminds me of the guy I went out to dinner with once last summer. We did dinner and a movie, and then he wanted to go back to his place, and I declined, and then I got some very weird email from him later. I showed it a couple guy friends and the verdict was "he just wants to sleep with you". And then of course I just did not want to see him AT ALL (I mean, really! Do I seem easy or something? I am not going to sleep with you on the first date!). Kept trying to put him off nicely. I'm really busy....painting my room, washing the dog, picking lint of my sweaters, etc. Finally I told him to just leave me alone, and he totally felt this was out of the blue. Guys really don't pick up on stuff sometimes.

Winter- Good luck with the interview! I bet you will make a super events coordinator.

Lucy- Gotta start getting to class! I know how you feel though...bleh. And summer classes are the worst. Yeah, the idea of finishing school is pretty scary (even though I am a bit behind you). So I am thinking....lots of grad school! Stay in school until I am 30

Jen- Sounds like things are going great with TB. Funny, I was just reading a review of Mr. Deeds...going on about how there are too many remakes in general, etc.

Kirsty- A BBC weather girl....neat-o. Sometimes I think it would be cool to be on TV all the time, but I think I would get sick of having to get dressy every day and worry about my hair and whatever all the time. I guess I am too sloppy for the glamour of the tube!

Ok, and now I dare someone to post and make me the not-last post!!!!!

Cat

I can't resist a dare!!!!!!