Morning Ladies!

Hope you all had a good weekend and ready to welcome the new week ahead

I'm rather excited at having started day 1 of phase 2 today! It was wonderful to have something different for breakfast instead of eggs or yogurt! I had oats (with yogurt!), left in the fridge overnight and it was all gooey and chewy. And for snack I had the most juicy, crispy, tasty, apple there ever was! I'd forgotten how good they taste!!

Now trying to decide what to have for dinner??

I bought a bag of sweet potatoes, because I know I can start to have them, however, I've never really had much experience with using them ... what does everyone else do with them? Any suggestions welcome, thanks!

I'll pop back later when you have all risen ....

Good morning!

Nichola - I so agree with how wonderful apples can taste. I love sweet potatoes just baked in the oven or baked "fries."

I'm up early thanks to not yet adjusting to the time change and (confession coming) actually having an upset stomach from all the crap I ate this weekend. THREE meals out. I did not handle it as well as I should have or could have and am feeling it today. So, I will go back to basics, aka PH1, again to get myself well on track before Thanksgiving. I struggled this season last year too with travel and social eating and don't want a repeat.

Off to the dermatologist today for my annual check. My trainer is out-of-town this week so no workouts with her and my mom; must be motivated enough to do that on my own. Maybe it's finally time to break out the P90X!

Happy Monday!

Good Morning

I didn't have internet all day yesterday and it's just recently returned.
I have about an hour to get ready for work and do have some tidying up AND drinking coffee (not forgetting my smoothie, either)

ETA-Cyndi, sending supportive thoughts as Julie heads into surgery this morning. Take care.

Have a great day everyone!

Good morning Just a quick check-in from the surgery prep area. I'll be back later.

Hope your Monday is off to a good start.

Good morning!

FIHK - I think phase I makes things taste amaaaazzzing. I guess from cutting all the junk out? I agree on the apples, but on cashews...their flavor is so amplified. Delish!

Karen - we won't talk about what I ate last night . Hope you get a good report today!

Debbie - whew, no internet! Once in a while, I want to unplug ours for a week and see if the world falls apart. It might though, since most of my recipes are on there .

Cyndi - prayers for Julie, we want a great report later!

Just another day....get the kids on the bus, probably run to the grocery store in between, and maybe a run after work today.

Good Morning, Chickies,

Hong Kong, Baked sweet potatoes are one of my favorite things! Wrap them in foil and bake at 400* for 1.5-2 hours.

Karen, It is SO hard to eat on plan in a restaurant. For us, it is so rare, it feels like we should be celebrating something. Bring on the bread bowl!

Debbie, No internet would be painful in this house... Glad it's back!

Cyndi, I'm thinking about you both today.

Twynn,

It's a short week -- Auston and I are both off for Veteran's Day Friday. Yay!!! I still have Christmas shopping to do to get ready for our Louisiana Thanksgiving trip. My goal -- Stay out of Walmart! There are so many quaint, cute shops in downtown Oneonta. Maybe I can afford something...

I have an Auston funny: We were having dinner and Hubs (who is actually very intelligent and educated) said, "There ain't no water!" Auston corrected, "There ain't ANY water."

That extra hour in the morning is a nice pay-off for the shorter hours of daylight.

Nichola, I smile every time I hear someone comment on how tasty a piece of fruit is after completing Phase 1. I like to make roasted sweet potato fries or just plain baked potatoes with my sweet potatoes. Happy transitioning!

Karen, I hope your tummy settles down soon! The holiday season is a challenging time for all of us, and we just have to remember to make as good of choices as possible. What really, really helps me stay on track is remembering how sick and miserable eating off plan is going to make me. Good luck at your appointment today!

Debbie, I'm glad you got your internet back today! Have a great day at work!

Cyndi, Julie will be in my thoughts and prayers all day today. You take care, and I know all will turn out well.

Twynn, sounds like you have your day all planned out. It's going to be a gorgeous one in our area, enjoy!

This is going to be a weird week, the girls have off tomorrow, and then again on Friday. And Cindy will be leaving for Texas Wednesday night, so I'll be doing double-duty again. And my DD and Carley want to come out and stay with us on Thursday and Friday while she's having a new floor put in her kitchen. Plus, we have an all-day wedding to go to on Saturday.

I need more coffee!

Chelby, that Auston just cracks me up! Thanks for starting my day off with a nice laugh this morning!

Cyndi, good luck with everything - keep us posted.

We also have a weird week here. School is closed tomorrow and Friday; tomorrow DS is in his after school program mini camp for the day, but Friday he's off and so am I. Today my husband is home so he's going to take him to school and then attend a meeting with me in the evening about our son's school possibly extending itself through grade 8. What that means is that I'll be working a full day rather than leaving at 2:30 to pick up DS. So our whole week is a little "off", but that's ok. We'll survive! I'm getting excited about our Thanksgiving week little vacation... have to start my planning. Hope everyone has a great day!

Good morning. It was nice to wake up and see some light happening out there. We are supposed to have a couple of glorious sunny and warm days.

Nicola, it's nice to have someone so perky start the daily. Debbie is good at that but I worry that she doesn't get enough sleep. Enjoy your first day on Phase II but go slowly in adding "new" things.

Karen, I love sweet potato fries. I got a Pampered Chef chip maker last week and it makes crispy chips from regular or sweet potatoes. It's supposed to do yucca too but there is no way I'd ever get that around here.

Debbie, internet withdrawal is not pretty. There should be a ten-step programme for that. Have you ever made your smoothie with coffee in it?

Cyndi, you know we are all thinking of you and Julie today. We will be sending good vibes, prayers and positive thoughts to you both.

Twynn, do you really "run" to the grocery store? I know you are a keen runner but ...

Well chickies, my ticker may never be back and I'm very, very discouraged. I have put on 14.6 pounds in the past two weeks. I did the math and that's 51,100 extra calories which is sort of impossible. My left leg is so swollen, it won't fit into my pants and I have to wear just a slipper on the foot.

Anyhow I am going to see the doc or nurse practitioner this morning. I need a diuretic to give me the biggest whoosh ever! (It's quilting group day but I will probably just pop in with the baking and dessert I've made for the "lunch", give my Treasurer's report and leave.)

It sucks to get old and be crabbing about health so I'll stop and have another coffee.

Ruth, Bless your heart! Let us know what the doctor says...

Sheesh! If I hadn't come back, I'd have missed another Auston-ism. What a cool kidlet! Michelle, are you recording all this?

Cottage, your week sounds hectic. Is it a family wedding on Saturday?

Mathilda, I don't think I ever said how nice it is to see you back and in a good space. Where are you going for your mini-vacation?

Now I'm really outta here.

Morning chicks,

Boy, was yesterday trying! Sometimes it gets to me that DW does not think about how hard it is for me to walk into a candy store in Disney! I mean, not only do I want the candy, but they make it all so visually appealing that it's hard to resist.

But I did.

Though DW bought a caramel apple then asked me later when we got back to the hotel, "Would it be mean of me to ask you to cut this up for me?" REALLY? *faint*

Today it's a day, I hope, by the pool. First up is a free breakfast buffet (you really DO NOT want to know how I got it). Just hoping for good weather.

Nichola - do a search! But I like them sliced real thin for breakfast with eggs.
Karen - have a great Monday!
Debbie - yay for the interwebz!
Cyndi - sending good vibes to you and Julie!
hi Twynn and Chelby
Cottage and MMc- I need coffee just thinking about your week!
Ruth - good luck at the doctor!

Ruth, thanks for the welcome back and please keep us posted on what the dr. say.s

good morning,

Nicola - I don't know if I said hi to you. Have a great day.
Karen - I too have a hard time eating out. Can't resist the bread basket.
Debbie - have a great day. Busy as ever, eh.
Cyndi and Ruth - you are in my thoughts today.
Chelby - Auston is too funny. Thanks for the laugh.
MMc - have a good week.
Jenn - good for you resisting the candy, have a good day by the pool.

I have been too busy doing yard clean up and putting away everything for the winter. On last count we picked up 38 garden bags of leaves. Also been dealing with my two bushels of apples and just about finished. Have a few gifts I am working on for Christmas too. Feel that after last weekends splurge, I am getting back into a routine.
take care
Sophie