Good morning! Today is MLK Day in the US and DH has the day off, though he'll be working from home all day. Any one else get a day off?

It was a busy weekend here. On Saturday, DH and I had tickets to the Pittsburgh Pops. The program was called Oscar Night and it was all movie music, directed by Bill Conti (composer of Rocky and dozens of movies and TV shows). He's a great showman and it was a fun program. The last piece was video clips from Rocky, with the theme music, all one-armed pushups and chugging raw eggs. I'll think of it in the gym this morning!

For dinner before the concert, I had two interesting dishes: beet brushetta and lamb ravioli in paper thin pasta with dates, capers, and Mediterranean spices. Both different and delicious! Even though the food was definitely not on-plan, the portions were small and the scale went down the next day. Skipping dessert helped that too!

Yesterday was going to be our monthly visit to my MIL (she lives two hours north, on a farm by herself). DH had too much work to do, so I was decided to go myself. No problem, except my car started acting up so I took one of DH's old (1988) BMWs. No cup holders means no Starbucks! I decided that German engineers think that short women should not be driving M3s because the car just doesn't fit me. The car is hard to shift and I could barely see over the dash, even with the seat up all the way. But I made there in the pouring rain and back, so OK. Done for another month.

Today is the gym, vet visit, and I get to see the podiatrist for an ingrown toenail. Fun!

How was your weekend? What's going on this week?

Good morning! What is MLK day?

DH has lost 6 lbs. this month! I am just chugging along as usual. Still 2 lbs above my red line and all my size 8's are really, really tight. I have to eat less, which is hard for me in the winter. I'm getting determined though. Two events coming up and I don't have time or want to buy new clothes.

We bought bikes this weekend. We went to a place where volunteers refurbish donated bikes and then use the money to promote biking in the city. DH and I plan to start riding together in spring as an alternative to TV and eating. I took the bike for a test spin (first time in over 20 years on a bike) and you really don't ever forget how to ride!

I was quite wobbly but managed to cycle a couple of blocks. Enough to remember how much I enjoyed cycling back when I had a bike.

Have a great Monday all!

Dagmar

MLK Day is Martin Luther King's birthday and it's a federal holiday here, so banks and federal offices are closed. Most people still have to work, though. It's like President's Day or Veteran's Day.

Cool on the bikes! That sounds so fun! Here in Pittsburgh, there's nothing but hills, bridges, and roads will no place to ride a bike. I'd love to live somewhere where bike riding is an option. How funny that we really never forget how to ride a bike!

to DH!

Good morning! We have carpet installers coming today, and then painters tomorrow, the next day and maybe beyond. I hope I can get out to the gym. Oh, and my mammogram is on Wed. BIG fun!

We bought bikes last fall and rode a little. It'll be warm enough to get back on them soon.

Are your knees all better, Meg?

DS is off of school today so I went to the office early. I don't know what I'll do with myself, though. I can't go to the bank, we won't get any mail, and I'm sure I'll be a bit bored. DS gave me his cold and I'm rather miserable with that, so if it's really slow I may head home. It's rainy here this week so cuddling up in bed with some chicken soup really sounds good!

Due to my cold, I didn't work out this morning. I have to get better so I can work out Wednesday. But two nights of barely sleeping due to not being able to breathe was too much and I couldn't bear to get up early to work out. I wanted to grasp as much bed comfort as possible!

I made meatloaf yesterday and was happily surprised to see DS eat 3 slices! Sometimes I worry that he doesn't eat enough. We figured out that he grew 7 inches from November 2008 to November 2009 and didn't gain an ounce! Skinny Minny I call him!

Good morning everyone! I posted about this on the Operation 5-10 thread but I thought I should here as well. I made the official decision to change my goal weight to 135 and my red line to 140. After one of my skirts felt way too loose the other day, I bought a measuring tape and took my measurements for the first time in years. It turns out that my measurements now (at about 139) are the same as what they were at 133 when I was losing the first time. That means that at 135 I should be about the same size I was at goal before. I have little interest in buying an entire new smaller wardrobe or losing more weight than that.

So in any case I'm still working on losing to get down to 135, then I am going to relax a bit and go back to maintenance and just keep an eye on the scale.

Meg, sounds like a rather scary drive. What a fun night for you at the concert!

Dagmar, kudos for not falling off the bike. Bet you can't wait for good weather.

Wardhog, sounds like a busy week for you.

Allison, bummer about the cold--hope you feel better soon. Seven inches in one year. That's amazing.

Jessica, wish I had loose clothing. *Sigh*

My DH has the day off, too. We were supposed to have someone come over for coffee, but she got ill in the middle of the night. Is it bad to be happy about that? Okay, not about her getting ill, but that we won't have to entertain. Still in my bathrobe at 10:00 am, booking our tickets to Portland to catch our flight to Hawaii. Not until March, but it's fun to think about those warm tropical breezes.

Not off work - booo! This week should be less stressful and busy than last week though. I did manage the library building's anniversary party without having anything besides water. Of course, cake is not one of my "have to have" things. I have it on good authority - DH - that it was good.

Off to a meeting and then a haircut - which is overdue.

Pat - I'm not off work, either! Sadness.

Sheila - I can understand not wanting to have to entertain.

Jessica - Interesting about the measurements. Changing the goal to 135 will probably take off some of the pressure you have been feeling.

Allison - hope you feel better soon.

Ward - busy week for you!

Dagmar - on the bikes! DH & I are thinking about getting them as well.

Meg - sounds like a great concert!

Marie - enjoy your off day! Hope you get all of your stuff finished!

This weekend was our great experiment with food for DSS. We decided that we are done with the not eating thing he has been pulling. He eats pretty much nothing all day - cereal in the morning, then some milk at school instead of breakfast, milk and a roll for lunch, declining whatever they are having for lunch, then very little of what we have for dinner. He eats about five things at home - cheese sandwiches, spaghetti with a little fight, chicken nuggets, fish sticks with more fight, pizza. Anything else we try to serve him results in chaos, crying and yelling. So, this weekend we made lasagna for dinner Friday night, hot dogs for lunch on Saturday, pork chops for dinner Saturday night. Made him try some of all of them. It wasn't pretty. The hot dog was probably the most successful of the three. What little boy doesn't like hot dogs and macaroni & cheese?

Good weekend food wise for me, except for the cube steak that my MIL made on Sunday.

Good day everyone.

Shannon~I can understand your frustration with your DSS's eating. I have friends who's kids are like that. Frankly, from the beginning, I was adamant with my kids that they couldn't not like something without a decent taste first. Granted it didn't always work, but they understood and were willing to try before judging. I know you didn't have the opportunity to start something like this with your DSS, so I feel bad for you. But my next door neighbor has 2 boys--one who is adventurous and will eat just about anything placed in front of him. The younger one eats plain pasta, dry hamburgers and not much else. And she's a good cook, too! But, that said, as he has gotten older (he's 11 now) he's more willing to try new things. My son sure had some weird dislikes when he was younger--cream sauce reduced him to gagging and he still dislikes olives and pickles. Did I tell you the story of his first Krispy Kreme? I do know that most pediatricians are quick to point out that kids seem to do all right with a very small variation in their food routine, so if it helps to keep things calm at home, let him eat whatever...except that that means you have to cook two meals each time--one for him and one for you and DH. That, to me, is the hardest part. Good luck!

Sheila~I meant to tell you this earlier, but forgot. I LOVE doing my daily crosswords! I used to be able to get Monday done and some of Tuesday and a word or two on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and then once Saturday hit, I wouldn't even bother (they get harder as the week progresses). Now I can finish Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs and most of Fri and Sat! Even the big Sunday crosswords are getting easier! I also do the Sudoku from time to time, but often they're just too easy any more. I even buy books of really hard Sudoku to challenge me further. And I play Scrabble on Facebook with my friend in Arizona. Love puzzles!

It is so weird what kids will and won't eat. When I was a kid I would go through phases where I would only eat the stalks of broccoli but not the flowers and things like that. I don't recall ever refusing to eat things without trying them first (my parents always made me try things), and I grew up eating a big variety of foods including various ethnic foods. DH tells me that when he was a kid his grandma's technique was that she gave the kids a plate of food, and they weren't allowed to eat anything else until they finished what was on the plate. If they didn't eat it all, it went back in the fridge and came out at the next meal. He's finally learning now that he doesn't have to clean his plate, but I can see that hunger might be an effective technique to make your kid eat what you're giving them.

That said, I still have a number of foods I don't eat. Pickles, egg yolks, and mayonnaise come to mind. I have warmed up to onions at least.

Shannon - when my nephew was young, my sister went through this with him. Her pediatrician told her it was partially a control issue on his part, and that she should (a) stop bugging him, nagging, etc., but also (b) offer him healthy choices for snacks and meals, but not give him anything else when he refused. He reminded her that kids rarely starve in this country. It work pretty well, though I think most kids have some things that they just won't eat, even after a decent trial. I never would eat liver willingly (and we had it 1-2/month!) and I still don't like it. I would think that if your DSS was eating more variety, you could still include some of his favorites occasionally.

Back through the mists of time I remember refusing to eat eggs and cheese, and "accidentally" spilling any milk I was given to drink. Of course I did eat sauerkraut, blood sausage, olives, herring, and just about everything else my mother cooked.

I had one friend who refused to eat at my house and another who tried to come over every weekend (my mom worked so the fancy meals were Saturday and Sunday dinner). They got mostly Kraft dinner, Velveeta cheese, PBJ, Wonderbread, etc. at their home. Funny how two kids from the same family had such different attitudes about trying new foods.

Now the only thing I really don't like is any type of "innards". I have been served all sorts of variations of kidneys, sweetbreads (why are they called that - blaagh), heart, liver, and I haven't developed a taste for them, except as pate.

Does the above count as food porn? I think NOT!

Dagmar

While I won't eat the regular liver & onions, my mom has a recipe that uses bacon, onion soup mix and chili sauce over liver. It still has that grainy texture, but the flavor is wonderful. I haven't made it in over 10 years though.