Well, I'm back! I sat down in the chair to catch the news and promptly fell asleep. Bob had a dinner meeting and just got home -- I was really zonked out!

The iron monster told me I gained .8#. I can't say that I am surprised but it is reminding me that I have to be more in control. We ate lunch out for 3 of our 4 workshop days; even though I chose wisely, I'm sure I ate more that I would have at home plus not walking for a couple days. Tomorrow starts a new week -- onward and downward!

See you all tomorrow!

Jean -- from Iowa!

JEAN ***poof*** that little ole .8 will be gone next week for you have the right attitude to get back on track and stay OP and do your program. {{{{{{HUG}}}}}}} but I do know it doesn't feel good to show a gain however so slight. You will do well this next week - this is a wake up call.

COOKIE thanks for the laugh. When you came and posted as number 14 it was like you whispered and didn't dare make it a long post because it might just not get in there because it was the last of that thread. Your departure date is looming ever closer ~ oh how I wish I were going also.......

Sleep well my friends ~ good night.

GOOD MORNING FLOWERS!

Well, I'm one happy camper this morning.... That old scale was very kind to me..... Down 4 lbs.

Jean: that .8 will be gone in no time. You're aware of the reason and awareness takes you a very long way. Don't I know it!

Maggie: Congrats on your loss this week and I think I may try your breakfast sandwich this week end. It sounds wonderful. Hope Cowboy doesn't work up too big of a sweat chopping up that tree. I'm glad to hear that no one was hurt. Those trees can really do a lot of damage.

Well, to everyone else...... have a wonderful day and try to stay cool

Brenda

P.S. - Dawn was down 2 lbs as well!

BRENDA - CONGRATULATIONS on that weight loss and to Dawn also. There you go with a great loss to take you down this road to thin. You are b-a-c-k! Have another great week.

It is still a nice cool day here....... I love it this time of the year.

Good Evening, Flowers!
It is a very humid 77 degrees as I type. There was a breeze today but I stuck to everything that I came in contact with. It poured rain this morning which didn't help the humidity %.

The first day is always interesting. There were several "lost" freshman who didn't bother to come to freshmen orientation on Monday evening. They can do a run through of their schedules so that they can find their rooms and know where they are going. I guess they didn't think that an additional 500+ students would make a difference. In our math classes there are two girls who are pregnant, another one just had a 4# baby,
and another one had hers when she was in the middle school 3 years ago. There is definitely something wrong with this!

Maggie -- Where do I have to go to fix my cookies? I can't remember! I should be out walking but it was just too hot and sticky when I got home. I've had my nap in the recliner and maybe I will go in a bit. It is dark out now.

Brenda -- What a great loss! CONGRATULATIONS to both you and Dawn! I know what I have to do (exercise!) but tonight I'm just too pooped. I've tried to get up earlier in the morning but that hasn't worked either. Hopefully, I'll get myself back into some sort of routine and SOON. I'd rather walk and be able to eat a bit more. I know I feel better when I walk every day.

I need to pick up the papers, pitch the junk mail, and figure out what I'm wearing tomorrow. Have a terrific Thursday, Flowers!

Jean -- from Iowa!

Good Afternoon Ladies

Thought I drop in for a quick howdy!

If you didn't notice there are a ton more cool Smiles.

Here is my group hug for all my special friends




Brenda

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

The weather is holding "nice" now. Hope we don't get another spell. However, the east winds - that are called Santanas which are hot coming off the dessert do hit around October. Also el nino is due back in September so we just may get some before the year is up.

BRENDA Thanks for the hug it sure felt good coming from way over there. And we are up to 101 smiles.... WOWI can imagine you are still on from that great loss.

JEAN I can imagine how going back to work is messing up your exercise schedule. I may just buy a bicycle come the first of the next month. Just want about a 6 gear one to ride around here for my aerobic exercise along with some walking worked in which I need to do but hate to do. I am going to do the 3 things that are recommended - Aerobic 3-5 days for 20-6- minutes, Strength 2 days with my little s and the Flex & Stretches beofre each of the other two sessions. That is my plan to start in September.

Have a good evening Magnolias. We are going to grill some boneless pork loin chops that I have marinating in a teriyaki sauce I made with crushed garlic and low-sodium soy sauce. I will fix a large mixed green salad to eat along with it and some mashed potatoes.

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
It was miserable in our room at school today. The temperature was only 80 degrees but the humidty was 75% and no breeze. I went to Wal Mart after school and bought another fan! We got over 4" of rain last night along with a whole night of thunder and lightning. I slept through most of it but did get up once during the night which I haven't done in just ages.

I need to head out for a walk but just hate the idea of "sweating" before I'm ready for a shower and bed. Guess I will go see what there might be available for supper . . . as in maybe it is DH's night to cook and we will eat out!

Have a fantastic Friday! It's been another fast week at my house!

Jean -- : from Iowa!

WOW...Everyone did great on the weight loss this week...Jean...I'm including you too, because if you only gained .8 after eating out 3 times for lunch...that is a loss!! I know what you mean about choosing well in restaurants, but I still over eat because of the portions! We LOVE to go to Applebees, but one of their servings could feed a family a 4!! So now, when I order, I ask the waitress to bring a "take home" box with my meal...I divide everything in half...box one half and eat the rest. I'm completely satisfied with the 1/2 portion and I have dinner for the next night too! I read this somewhere and it really works!

So...the floors are mopped, the carpets vacuumed, furniture dusted and bed changed!! NOW I can leave for vacation!!

We leave early tomorrow morning...should be a great 3 weeks!
I'll see you all in September! Choose Wisely---Live Well
Jackie

Hi all you lovely ladies

Glad to see everyone's perking along. Jean, I'm sad about your .8#, but bet it's gone by next week.........you'll have sweated it off at school The entire county was at my old school for an inservice on Wed., and somehow the cooling system got fouled up in the auditorium and the heat was on instead of the air! Everyone said it was grim. The rest of the building was cool. they had a great speaker, but it was a little tough to be really attentive when everyone was feeling so lousy. Glad I wasn't there.
I've had the week from ****. Tues. about noon, I took some mail out to our Band Camp for my son, who is one of the clinicians. I took Jimmy, the Beagle, and the kids were having a ball playing with him until............the big bass drums tuned up, and he tucked his tail between his legs and ran as fast as he could into the woods. To make a long story short, he was missing for three days, but I finally got a call yesterday afternoon from a lady who had him. I'd put posters up and ads in the paper, etc. I cried for three days.........it was awful. I wasn't in this shape when Mike had his bypass surgery last year.............it was the fear of the unknown, and the fact that the camp is in a national forest, and Jim the couch potato is not used to the woods. All's well that ends well, however, and it was worth every penny of the reward.
I was supposed to have clerked at the WW At Work mtg. last night, with a new group coming in, but I called a friend in the class and told her to come get the scale, I was going to get my dog. The leader may never speak to me again.

Maggie, before you get a six speed bike, think long and hard about it. I did that, as I had never even had a 3 speed. They tried to talk me out of it at the time, but I wouldn't listen. I wound up trading it a year later for a bike with 12 speeds. The price is the same, and I seldom had to shift gears, but they were available when I needed them. We ride on a "Rails to Trails" trail given to the state by the C&O Railroad. It used to serve the logging camps on the river, and it's about 70 miles along. It's been written up in many hiking and biking magazines. It's a whole lot more fun to walk and ride on the river than in town or around a boring track!

Had delicious grilled fish last night, wrapped in foil and covered with onions, potato, squash and zucchini. It was wonderful! If I'd made it I would have had more veggies, but, hey, I was so wiped out after getting Jimmy back, I was grateful to have anything!

Youall have a wonderful weekend, and I'm keeping Jimmy on his leash

Bubs

It's Friday and school is out for the weekend. I am a happy camper doing a happy dance! My $10 WM fan made a lot of difference in our room today. I don't think it was quite as warm as yesterday so I put it in front of the windows, on top of a desk for the day. We can't have any extension cords because of the fire code, so it had to sit right beside me. I feel like I can still hear it!

Jackie -- I hope you just have the best vacation ever! I'll look forward to hearing about your adventures when you return!

Bubs -- I'm so glad that Jimmy is home safe and sound. I'm with you in that I'd go after him before I'd work a WW meeting! Don't you wish he could talk and tell you about his days in the woods?

I need to get off the computer as DH is supposed to be calling soon. He went to his mom's this afternoon. He left a note saying she had called and wasn't feeling well. He'd planned to go up anyway to mow and rake the beach. She was supposed to have company next door this weekend and she was looking forward to it.

Have a nice weekend!

Jean -- from Iowa!

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

It has been a good day here. Nice and breezy but dry. I have been reading a great book put out by the Weight Watcher folks caled COACH APPROACH which is out of print but I found it on Amazon.com as a used book and when it came it was from a book store. The reason it was classified as used was it was missing the protective shrink wrap cover. Book is in excellent condition. They had several other used copies of it on the web site if anyone wants to take a shot at it. It is "how to motivate the thin you." Kinda goes with my little Thin Within concept don't you think.

BUBBLES that was some ordeal you and poor Jimmy went through. So glad that the littlle guy was found and is safe and you can rest now. OK you have me convinced that I should get a bike with more gears even if I never think I will use them but who knows ~ I may really get in to it. We have one of those trails like you mentiond here made on the old railroad way that goes from the valley through the mountains to the ocean. It has a rail fence dividing it so one side is paved for walkers and bikers and the other for horses which has wood chips. It too has been written up in Sunset Magazine. I would have to drive down to town in the valley to get to the head of it so I won't be riding on it whle living up here. I'll just be riding around inside this campground which does have some grades in it - certainly not all flat land here. But I have to start out very slow.

JEAN hope you are keeping cool at school. YIKES will they ever get your heating - cooling problems fixed. Well I am back to edit this because your post wasn't there when I started typing. I am so glad that your little fan made a difference. Hope your mother in law doesn't have anything serious wrong and this passes quickly. Nice having a good son to do things for her.

COOKIE Bon Voyage - see you on 9-15.

GOOD EVENING MAGNOLIAS

It's Friday again and I hope you all enjoy your weekends.
You are all such great LOSERS!

JEAN: Your small gain will evaporate with all that heat in your classroom. I know what you mean about the sound from the fan. That is the reason I won't have one in the bedroom. I would never be able to sleep.

MAGGIE: That's great, your getting a bike! If you start out slow and only for a short trip I'll bet before you know it you will be cycling around the campsite like in the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I can't remember who rode the bike Paul Newman or Robert Redford!

JACKIE: Enjoy! Enjoy! Alaska will be beautiful and you will have such a great time. You will have to tell us all the details when you return.

BUBBLES: That was such a traumatic episode you had with Jimmy! I can understand why you blew off WW and went to pick him up. Lots of dogs are upset by loud noises. Ours were always upset by fireworks.

I love the new smilies and the new site hasn't given me any trouble. My cookies and bookmark worked the first time I tried it. I guess I was lucky.

Gloria in Ma....enjoying the cooler weather.

Jackie,

Have a marvelous trip! My good friends from NC are going on an Alaskan cruise in two weeks.......youall will just miss each other.

Maggie,
I think you'll enjoy your new bike and be glad you made the decision for the extra gears. Your trail is fancy compared to ours.......guess it's a California thing. Ours is just a dirt path with a light dusting of fine gravel, and we have to tip toe through the manure I keep thinking Jimmy will roll in it, but so far, so good. He's slept since he's been home, practically nonstop........guess his little hike did him in. He's more like himself tonight, and did eat finally. As long as he was drinking water, I figured he was like the rest of us, and if he missed a meal or two it wouldn't hurt him. Lord only knows what he ate while he was gone

Glad it's cool on the Cape, because it's still steamy in the hills.

Have a good one.

Bubs

Hi Everyone!!

Well we got thru the first week of school. It was a rough one. The little second graders kept getting lost and missed their bus. Then our phones went out... So when it was time to get the children for the bus we had to go room to room. The phone system shouldn't be giving us trouble so soon, the school is only two years old. Oh well....it will get better. Yesterday we were at 99 when the clock hit midnight. I guess our cool summer is gone The air conditioner at school works so during the day you really don't feel it.

Congrats to everyone who had a loss this week!!!!

I need to read the old threads, so that I can catch up with everyone

Well, I need to get some paperwork...hope everyone has a great weekend.