So, again, we honor Meg's road trip by starting this thread before she's up.

Dinner last night was an extended family grilled affair - and I did OK on my plan despite there being five kinds of "hamburgers." Fortunately, they were the size of sliders, so it was possible to have three different kinds split with my DW (aged-grass-fed beef, black bean, portabello).

Yesterday's rain is history; we're off to a clear summer day.

I limited myself to the small popcorn at the movie yesterday. Usually I get a large with the intention of "sharing" (funny since I get the kids each one of their own) and I feel sick from all the sodium afterwards. Got the medium drink and did not last all the way through the movie without a bathroom run. Whew !

I'm preparing myself and DH for the dog sit - a long one at 15 days - by trying to reinforce all the good habits now, before I leave.

DH on Friday said he's ready to get serious about the diet and exercise. I bought groceries to reflect that - no chips of any kind. Snacks are all about protein - small cans of tuna, 100 cal packets of turkey, etc. - and veggies - carrots, baby toms, celery, etc.

He has maintained his "no coffee" pledge for a whole week (great for him!) and I rewarded him with a low fat/high fibre muffin (140 calories) with his tea yesterday.

Great Monday all! time.

Dagmar "sunny:

Good morning! The kids are going to Camp Invention this week. I am dropping them off and heading to the gym. woot!

my week is starting off with a challenge... my first ever sports injury has me going to the doc for an xray on my right ankle... which means my gym will be limited to upper body adn core ... and the week is only just starting...this will be one of my most challenging weeks in a really long time... between this severe sprain (which is what i am hoping this is and not a break) i also have pre-op appt tomorrow for my IUD removal operation on friday and going to my new job on wed for a day trip (about 2 hr drive) away...

this has shown me one thing for sure... running to food is not going to fix any of these so why bother !

heading for another bottle of water now... and then xray time!

enjoy your mondays!

Good morning! I finally have Internet after a frustrating week dealing with Comcast. I'm here in New Mexico, waiting for our first grandchild. She's decided that she isn't ready to come out yet, though she is almost a week past her due date. DD has a doctor's appointment tomorrow and if nothing has happened by then, the plan is to schedule an induction.

Bill, your burgers sound delicious and I love the idea of sliders to be able to sample a bunch.

Dagmar, 15 days is a l-o-n-g dog sit! But it will be a great opportunity for you to do what's good for you without any other influences. Are you going to be able to stay in touch with us?

Ward, have a fun week!

Kim, it just isn't ending for you, is it? Let us know what you hear from the doctor -- I hope it's good news!

I'm off to join a local gym today, even though I nearly had a heart attack when I visited because I'm used to my cheap-o Ballys membership and this is a LOT more expensive. Granted, Ballys is in bankruptcy and their equipment was old and broken and the restrooms didn't have hot water, soap, or paper towel most of the time -- but it was cheap! This place is gorgeous and has all new, state of the art equipment. I'm telling myself that it will be a blast to check out all the new equipment.

summer finally arrived in Vancouver

This w/e has involved far too many treats - i really need to get away from the mentality of 'Oh i can eat that, i am going for a long run tomorrow' bad, bad, bad.

On that topic - i went for another 20k run yesterday, it was much easier than the week before....and i shaved 8 minutes off the total time, so i was very happy.

now i only have a few 10k's before race day - feels almost like i am on holidays.

Hope everyone has a happy monday - and a great on plan week.

S

meg - thanks ... it is NOT BROKEN! YA HOOO... now i have a challenge ahead of me... stay on plan with food is a MUST becuase i am going to be probably 6 weeks on almost no lower body activity and probably 3-6months without anything too serious... i start physio this week so hopefully they can help that out a bit faster?

well, i guess i just need to look at this as a challenge... i can work on my abs and back and maybe finally get the chin up while my lower body heals? my trainer will set me straight!

i am with goodlife fitness and each gym has different equipment so it is cool to go to a 'new' gym for me... i want to try those moving stairs that i've seen... might be a good rehab thing for me in a month or so? hmmm...

sznn- you make me smile ~ 10km is my longest run and for you it is short! ha... way to go!!!!

Bill, wow, the time thing says 1:17 am on your post. Five kinds of hamburgers--that's some cookout.

Dagmar, so that's two weeks of not being home at all? Good deal on the smal popcorn.

Wardhog, Camp Invention sounds fun for the kids, and you get gym time. A win-win.

Kim, glad it's not broken. You can do it! When I hurt my leg, I did the "hand bike" and worked upper body. When I broke my arm, I did leg stuff. And really watched what I ate. Neither time did I gain weight. Your trainer is your best friend through all of this.

Meg, isn't that the way it goes? You go there to help out, and the baby decides it's not time. My DH said his MIL came and stayed for two weeks waiting, then had to go back and the baby came the next day. Hopefully you're enjoying NM. Have fun checking out the new gym.

Sznn, a 20K run--oh, my! Congrats on the great time.

We had a full weekend. Worked on our new townhome most of the day on Saturday. The owner had put up cedar planks on the walls so we took them down--about 250 sf of wood plus I tried stripping the wallpaper, but it appears it was glued on right over wall board. We'll have to have the sheetrock replaced. Ka-ching! Met with insulators, window installers, the electrician I use and the handyperson to get estimates. We freecycled the cedar, some yard decoration and an atrocious chandelier. It's amazing what people will take if it's free.

Sunday we went on the garden tour with some friends. Speaking of friend, it's kind of exhausting hanging around other people for so long (about five hours), especially when wine is not involved. Actually, it was fun, and the gardens were wonderful. One couple had worked on their garden for forty years, and it was incredible. No landscapers involved--their own design, their own hard work.

Speaking of yard, I better get out to mine. The weeds loved the combination of lots of rain last week and lots of sun over the weekend.

Happy Monday, everyone!

I feel like I was living in some sort of dream all week last week... Dishwasher delivered and installed on Monday. Refrigerator delivered and installed on Tuesday, I had to fix the water line from the house because the installers don't do that. Wednesday was moderately normal. Thursday & Friday we were at the car dealer all night, ended up buying two new cars on Friday. DH has wanted a convertible Mustang forever, he used to drive one but traded it in after he and his wife divorced so he could carry the baby in the car. He had found one he wanted, but was reluctant to trade his CRV and leave us without a car that had some cargo space. My Accord has a flaw in the rear brake system (all 2008, 2009 & early 2010 do, actually) that is going to require rear brake work every 15-18K miles, and it dropped 4k in resale value since 5/1. As a result, I went from just at $1k upside down to just over $5k... Called my Honda dealer and told them they needed to cut me a good enough deal on a new CRV with all the fancy options I had in my Accord to offset the negative equity. As per usual, she came through with a 2010 EX-L Navi for just at cost and a fantastically better interest rate, had it delivered to me in North Atlanta from Auburn Alabama Saturday morning. So, went with DH to the Ford dealership Friday night to get the Mustang, which we drove around in all weekend. Took it to show his mom, my folks, drove it all over. Got a pretty nice sunburn, haven't exercised since Wednesday night (other than my AM yoga), have eaten terrible since Wednesday. Am ready to get back to a normal week!

Sheila - I have some friends who had the same thing happen in their house - wallpaper glued right to the paneling. They had to take the paneling down, put up sheetrock and repaint. Totally unexpected.

Susan - on the 20k!

Kim - you are having a tough time! Be careful on that leg! I read your other thread, just keep an eye on your diet and you will be fine.

Meg - how long are you going to be staying in NM?

Dagmar - 15 days away from home, wow... Enjoy it?

Bill - Good job with the sliders!

Good day everyone!

I saw photos of your cars, Shannon. Aren't you lucky? I've always wanted a convertible, but then wonder if I'll like getting my hair all blown around.

I had a very nice weekend with my friend and her kids. We went to see the A-Team which was better than I expected. Ah, Bradley Cooper!

We watched the Tony Awards with my DD as she had to watch it for her theater class. She's headed back to school today.

Summer vacation is in full force so I wonder when (or if) DS will get out of bed! I'm certain he won't be calling me to see what his chores are! I'll have to remind him tonight that he should start to take the initiative to do things that need to be done without being told to do them. We'll see if it works.

I'm still dreaming of the wonderful breakfast we had Sunday. Dreaming of it so much that we ARE going back this Sunday to repeat it. Can't wait!

DH's new 'Stang. 2001 V6, 305 HP, they call this color Red Candy Metallic. I think in the good ol' days it was still just "Candy Apple Red".



Because someone had to have a family car in the family. And, I wanted the Accord to be gone. Enjoying this one so far.

Allison - we rode all over the place in the convertible this weekend. I had a scarf on at one point, baseball hat another. It was really nice, actually.

Shannon, I love your new cars.

Allison, I have two convertibles (Jeeps). I put a headband on then pull my hair in a ponytail. It works great. I absolutely going topless.

DH and I did the entire bike path yesterday. 34 miles. The last 4 were hard (slightly uphill and tired squads) but it was great!

DS and DIL announced they're having a baby. Very cool.
Marie

I am sooooo glad that the week long fiesta of food is over. I had NO desire to go out last night, but dh pouted (probably because he hadnt gotten me a present so felt obligated to take me out to dinner) so I went. And felt ill. And came home to find the kids had baked me a cake.

Telling dh to shove it is one thing but I cant look at the cheery little proud cherub cheeks and not eat some of the cake they made.

I'm giving myself 3-4 days of on plan before going anywhere near a scale.

Marie. We have a Jeep, too, but I rarely drive it. The weird thing with the Jeep is that in the winter it's too cold to drive it topless and in the summer it's too hot. Besides that, it takes forever to close the darn thing up. I'm thinking more along the lines of a convertible BMW! And I do pony tails all the time, but sometimes I prefer my hair down and don't like the crease left by the band if I put it up for even a short time.

DH didn't put my bike stand up so I've yet to get in any riding, but I am discharged from PT, so that's all good. I've got a bunch of exercises that I can do on my own to help build my quads and butt to support my knee better.

"Jeep" was the first word my daughter learned to read so she loves Jeeps. She wants us to buy one. I need to teach her how to read words like "Porche"