Hi,
Anne, I hope your having a great time today at the Expo. Sounds like there will be lots of great food to eat. Now we are into your favorite season. Did you get a big storm?

Aleka, I'm really carb sensitive, according to the test. I would imagine since you fall between the two, that a low cal diet would work the best for you, like WW. I have to start looking at that book a little better and get myself back on track with weight loss. I'm getting really out of shape and feel like crap.
I saw Greer C. on HSN last night. Again, she looks so fantastic, like a living Barbie Doll. Has anyone heard anything about her cookies? I see them give the number for them, but I've never heard them talk about them. Are they just cookies? I was hoping you could eat a pile of them and lose weight

The weather has been so hot, but today, it has cooled down quite a bit. Must be in the 70's and it's raining. They say it will rain til tomorrow. We need the rain so bad, we are having an aweful drought. The river is so low, it could be called a small stream now. The fish are dying and it smells pretty bad. The weather man says it should stop raining by tomorrow afternoon. We are planning a small labor day picnic tomorrow, for friends and family out at the camper. I hope it does stop for that. The inside of our camper is too small for a party.

Yesterday we went to see the movie, Open Range. DH loves westerns. It was ok, kind of boring, I thought. Then we went out to eat and back home to relax. My sleeping has been pretty messed up this past few weeks and last night, I was able to sleep most of the night. That helps.

Talk to you both soon, Nikki

ANNE, hope you had fun at the expo yesterday and that you're enjoying your weekend. How is your Dad doing?

nikki, along with the Curves diet, will you be doing the exercises? I am glad that they put their exercises in the book so that you can do them at home....not that I've done them I heard Greer on HSN the other night. We had to leave the TV on along with the a/c & fan to drown out our party hearty neighbors who like to sound off their air raid siren at all hours and I woke up to this LOUD voice...Greer! I am sorry to say, I have yet to do Body Flex. I did copy & paste your instructions with the gym bar and print them out, but they're just sitting where I left them. I have been reading the South Beach Diet again and I think I will give that a try again starting tomorrow. Are you also starting fresh tomorrow? I'm confident that we'll lose the weight this time. Have a good time at the picnic today.

Enjoy your holiday!
Aleka

Happy Labour Day Everyone:

We had a great time yesterday. I woke up somewhat stiff
this morning (much to my suprise ) I do an hours worth
of brisk walking Mondays to Fridays so I wasn't expecting this.
I guess my 46 years are starting to show.

Our weather was great. Lots of sun, no rain and the temperature
was not too hot.

I will still do my body flex today. I really love that activity. The
cable gym is alot tougher, but I will start slow and gradually
improve. Its the lunges that get me with that exercise. I
have reached the stage where my knees tell the weather
I am pretty sure its due to the extra weight I carried for too many
years!!

Have a great day everyone I will be busy preparing for
the school day Tuesday!!!

Anne.

Good morning,
Aleka, I don't think I'll start again until after the camping trip is over, which is next Friday. It's too hard when I have too cook up yummy things over the fire. Like fried potatoes and pork and beans. Besides, I think this may be our last camping trip of the year. I like the SBD, I didn't give it a fair try. As far as exercise goes, I'll do BF and some weight training with the gazelle for cardio. I was reading yesterday in Shape magazine where you should mix it up as your body does get use to doing the same things. So, I'll start to use the Firm tapes again too. They were very effective, but they are also a real pain to try to learn. The instruction is very limited on them. You have to learn how to do it by watching them and then repeating it over and over. I'm dance challenged so it's especially hard for me to learn how to do steps. As far as diet goes, I"m going back to low carbing, in one form or another.
That's really irritating when you have to have everything running because of rude neighbors. Are they summer people or are they there all the time? Greer is loud though and will get your attention if she's on, even if your asleep. I weighed myself last night and looks like I've gained about 18 lbs. back. Wasn't a big surprise, my night shirt barely fits now. I have to do something about it or buy new clothes in a bigger size, and I refuse to do that.
Anne, when you were talking about being stiff, I know what you mean. A few days ago, my air mattress in the camper went flat and I was sleeping with my feet and shoulders in the air, with the rest of me kind of curved down on a hard surface. I don't know why I laid like that all night. Anyway, I am so down in the back from it, I can barely stand up. We came home last night as it was raining and getting pretty cold out. (Well, it was in the 70's, it feels cold when it's been over 100 for a long time. )
I don't know what the cable gym is, is it like weight training? I find the more I exercise, the more I want to. Right now, we're just walking alot. I know if I start to exercise, I'll feel better and not be so stiff.
Nikki

I looked around the internet and found the cable gym. I've not seen that infomercial yet. The price ranges from $99-149. Looks like it would be a good way to build some muscle.
I also looked up Greers cookies on HSN. They are low fat and have 100 calories each. The one review said that the chocolate chip flavor is like a brownie, but when you bite into one you can feel sugar granuales. Guess they aren't really the thing for low carb diets.
Take care, Nikki

Heard on the weather yesterday that depending on what hurricane Fabian does in the next few days, we may either see part of it or all of it depending if/where it hits on the East Coast.

ANNE, glad that you had a good time. Maybe you were using different muscles than you usually do on your walks. It is tough to get old. I feel it every morning when I get up. The legs don't work like they used to!

nikki, there is no sense in starting a diet while you're camping. It's better when you are home in familiar surroundings. I wanted to wait until after the holiday to start mine. So, I will be starting today. I hope you don't feel bad about gaining weight. I've gained everything but 3 lbs. I lost on WW, and who knows, after the holiday weekend I probably even gained that back. My clothes, that fit great before are starting to get snug too and like you don't want to go into the next size. I also feel uncomfortable.
How awful about your air mattress. How is your back doing now? Is there room in your camper for one of those beds that you inflate?

Have a great day.
Aleka

Hi Everyone:

Aleka, funny thing you mentioning those inflatable beds. I have
been looking at them seriously myself. I wonder if they are
as good as they look

Nikkic, the cable gym is a neat little system. It is easier for
the boys to use than myself, but maybe as time goes on.........
who knows. It really is the lunges that are tough on me and
as far as crunches go Mine are really stinko What can
I say, its the truth

Two of the boys are back from their first day of school. One
took two tylenol, the oldest will be in class until 9:30 tonight.
(You know what university is like) James seemed pretty ok
and of course David starts Friday. (really nervous about that)

My dad is at the doctors. I will let you know what the doctor says
when dad gets home My sister phoned in sick and
drove my parents down so my dad didn't have to drive. I don't
drive myself and my one son who does is the one who is at
school until 9:30 tonight or he would have been happy to take
him down.

Talk to you later.
Anne.

Hi,
We are having the most beautiful weather you can imagine. We still are having a drought, but it is so nice out. I made steaks and stuffed potatoes over the fire last night, it was so good.
I feel like a stuffed potato myself. Really looking forward to exercising and dieting again. Will start on Saturday. I'm still walking around the campground, but that's not enough to get rid of the extra calories.
We have air mattresses on our beds in the camper. Which you might think of as inflatable beds. They do last for awhile and are super comfortable. In the beginning, we just slept on foam and that was really hard. Then we bought fairly expensive air beds, they lasted for awhile but not as long as I expected. Now, we just buy the $10 ones from Walmart. They are heavy vinyl and seem to last just as long as the expensive ones. You have to buy a seperate air inflator for them, they run between $15 and $25, but you only have to buy that once. Air beds are ok for using once in awhile, but I won't use them for an everyday bed (especially for kids), as they just don't last very long. When you get a hole in them, you can patch them, but finding the hole is almost impossible, unless you hold it under water.
Aleka, hope the hurricane takes a right instead of a left and goes out to sea so you don't have to see any part of it.
Anne, I'm glad your dad is getting to the Dr and I hope you hear good news. Your family has sure had a hard time of it and your dad especially.
I didn't realize you don't drive. I'm trying to teach DD #1 how to drive now. We have no bus service here, so it is just necessary for getting around, unless you ride a bike everywhere and that isn't so easy in the winter, or even safe. I told her it doesn't matter if it takes a year to learn, the year will pass anyway and she can either use it to learn something new or not. She is still pretty anxious about it, but is doing better every time. Right now, I drive her everywhere. While I don't mind, it sure does take up alot of my time and limits what we can do.
Take care, Nikki

We are having delightful weather. It's in the mid 60's, sunny, and not a bit of humidity. I think we're supposed to get some rain tomorrow. From the weathe reports, Fabian is supposed to miss the east coast and travel north. Let's hope it stays on that course.

ANNE, how did your Dad make out at the Dr. yesterday? I hope you heard some good news. I didn't realize either that you didn't drive. If I lived in a city where there was public transportation, I don't think I would either. Where I live a car is a necessity.

nikki, your steak & potatoes sound yummy! Are you still thinking of doing the Curves low carb diet? I did pretty well on Phase 1 of the SB diet yesterday. I felt kind of after breakfast, but it went away. Today I'll eat more like Phase 2, then back to Phase 1 tomorrow, and I will alternate between the two. I can't do strictly Phase 1 every day.

Have a great day!
Aleka

Hi Everyone:

The doctor took an x-ray and will be calling my mother back
today. The doctor thinks my dad may have pneumonia or
at the very least an upper respiratory tract infection. She has
prescribed antibiotics but he is as weak as a kitten with no
appetite at all. I went out this morning and bought a selection
of hard candies for him. I remembered from all I read about
carbos that sugar will stimulate the appetite. Lets hope it
works for him. (I know it works for me )

What a morning! I had a second cable gym arrive. I only
ordered one!!!

Nikkic, steak is my number one fav Just love it.

Aleka, I hope that darn Fabian stays away from you!!!

I just hate the devestation these storms cause. I am always
hoping they stay out on the ocean.

Talk to you later.
Anne.

Anne, hope that the antibiotics work soon for your dad. Yes, sugar is certainly an appetite booster. Also, has he tried any high calorie drinks, even a milk shake with some protein powder in it would be one way to get lots of calories in. Did you get charged for the extra cable gym? Sometimes those places don't always keep track of what they're doing.
Aleka, I think I'll do the curves diet. I'm finding lots of low carb recipes and I'll post some of them. Breakfast sausage three ways is one of them.
Nikki

Hi,
A big day for you Anne, bet with David going to school, your going to have a rough day/night. Hope things go well for him (and you).

We're bringing the camper home today, so thought I'd do a quick note. Hope your both doing ok. I don't know if I'll be able to start my diet tomorrow or not. Have to go shopping, make a list/menu and don't know if I'll have the time today or not.

This new kitten of ours is so naughty. We thought he looks like he is part oscillot and without saying anything to anyone, that's what everyone who sees him says too. He sure has a lot of personality and he plays so rough. He loves playing in water and the noise (not a meow something like a little sound in his throat) he makes is really different from any cat I've ever known. Leave it to me to take in a stray, wild animal and make it a house cat. I doubt he will ever really be tamed.

Take care, Nikki

Hi Everyone:

Nikkic, I have been running around like a house on fire
We are pacing around wondering how David's first day is
going. It will be quite a shock for him to arrive in a new school
with new teachers and of course new students.

Dad is just starting to do abit better. He is starting to eat
and was up shaving this morning (though he is worn right out)
The doctor called yesterday and said he has an infection but
thankfully its not pneumonia She did mention if he is
not much better after the round of antibiotics he may need
oxygen. He seemed to accept this news ok. Normally when
you say oxygen to him he gets furious.

Nikkic I can't help but smile when reading about your kitty.
He sounds like a little rebel!!

Talk to you later.

Hi Aleka!!! How are you doing???

Anne.

Anne,
This kitten (Stripe), is just the naughtiest thing you can imagine. Just like the Gremlin he's named after. Today, he ran to the dry cat food bowl, scooped out everyone of them on the floor as fast as he could. Then he runs and does something else equally bad. But, when I'm in the bathroom, fixing my hair, he lays in the sink and watches me and purrs. There is always one part of the day that he sits on me and just can't get close enough or loving enough. Then he runs off and does something really silly, like play in the toilet bowl and fall in. He talks all the time, some little mmm-hmmm sound.
Hope things are ok with you, David will be getting home soon I imagine. Also, glad to hear your dad is doing better. Sometimes, when a person realizes that oxygen is not giving up, just something that will help them to feel better and be able to do things again, they can accept it easier. Marty's aunt is on O2 and she goes all over the place. She's had to use it for years. She even goes to casino's with it and sits in the no smoking section.

Aleka, I can't start my diet tomorrow. We just got everything back to town and unpacked. I'll spend the rest of the night cleaning it all up and repacking things. Got to go help DH unload some stuff.
Will make a list and go to the store tomorrow.
Nikki

We lost our internet on Thurs. and didn't get it back until late Fri. afternoon. We had a terrible T/storm come through around 3:30 am Thurs. morning and it knocked out our cable, and since the cable co. is also our internet provider, that was knocked out too. Unfortunately, our TV came back Thurs. afternoon, but it took longer to locate and fix the internet problem. The good news is that it's up and running again.

nikki, your cat sounds adorable and entertaining. I got a chuckle out of the cat food and falling in the toilet. My cousin had a cat that got into everything and was so comical. One day while we were visiting her, he came running down the stairs with a pair of my cousin's pantyhose in his mouth with the legs trailing along behind him. Have you finished unpacking yet? It's nice to get home, but I hate unpacking. It seems like a never ending job. When you're ready to start dieting again you will. Until then, just enjoy the freedom. My first few days of Phase 1 did not go very well, so I've decided just to do Phase 2.

ANNE, how did David's first day of school go yesterday? Hope everything went well. Glad that your Dad is doing better. Hope the infection clears. Did his Dr. say how long he would have to stay on oxygen if he needs it? I've seen a lot of people on oxygen and it doesn't seem to stop them from doing what they want.

Have a great weekend. I'm off to make Suzanne's cream cheese pancakes for breakfast and Jimmy Dean Sausage patties!! YUM!!!
Aleka