hey, tomorrow is LEAP DAY. it's not real.

so, i had a big challenge today, and i'm proud to say i PASSED!

david and i took another one of those chinese cooking classes from last semester. i had a plan: only eat ONE of each thing we make, eat breakfast at home, and wear tight pants. i did all three.

i had ONE egg roll, ONE potsticker, and ONE pancake thing. plus i asked the teacher if i could cook some chinese greens, so i had that and some bean sprouts. i rule.

in other news, my body must have freaked out that i am back on plan, because it got TOM randomly, in the middle of the month. i'm not due for another week. wah.

YEAH Holly...sounds like some major NSVs to me! Way to make a plan and stick to it! You rock!

Things are going well here. I'm getting back into the habit of journaling my foods--I'd been counting my points, but not writing them down. Doesn't work so well.

I've been trying to eat more at home or packed from home. It's taken a while to get used to not just eating stuff because it's here, but now I'm getting back on track. My class reunion is in June and I'm already smaller than I was when I was a sophomore. I want to wear something from Ann Taylor or somewhere like that. Something that I never would have worn in HS.

I joined the YMCA this week. Thanks to a nice deposit from the "Bank of Mom"...wouldn't have been able to do it otherwise, but she was so excited to hear that's what I decided to do with some of it. Today I picked up some new workout clothes on sale. A couple of long sports bra tops, and some capri workout pants. I have some other pants, but they're kind of long, and I was worried about them getting caught in the treadmill or the bikes. I'm so short!

I think I'm going to buy one session with a trainer at the Y so that I can get trained on the weight machines and stuff. I need to learn what to do so that I can tone up my arms and thighs...and everything else of course, but especially those two!

at my Y, you get three "fitness orientations" for free. they show you how to use the machines and kinda figure out how much you should lift. it's not a "trainer" per se, because they don't check up on how you're doing, but it sounds like what you are looking for.

I go to that bank, too! Thank goodness for kind and generous mothers...

Yahhhh Holly. Great job on planning ahead and then sticking to it.

Daners - I think you'll love the Y. I have been going for 3 weeks 3x a week now and I think I'm addicted. I just love to lift weights. I have even been popping in over at the ladies who lift forum to get tips and stuff. I had an orirntation where they showed me all the machines and I have set up a session with a trainer ($35.00) to look at what I'm doing and try to make sure I am doing what's best for me and show me some free weights and stuff. I really need to go get some new workout clothes too!!

I had a great weekend. We planned to go shopping and Hubby wanted to be there right when they opened, but I told him that I was going to the gym first and we would have to leave a little later. I was happy to be putting myself first. On the way to the mall, we went to lunch at one of my favorite restarants where my standard order is their philly cheese steak sandwich. Just to die for. I opted for a chicken ceasar salad, hold the dressing. Hubby got the Philly and I didn't even have a bite. It's wierd changing the way you live. The mall we went to has this great ice cream shop. We have NEVER gone, and not had ice cream. We didn't this time. It was hard, but we didn't. It the little changes that make all the difference.

I bought the book by Bill Philips called Body for Life. Need to get more information on Weight Lifting and cleaning up my diet. I am actually very excited.

On the down side, Steve and I went for a 10 min walk today and it winded me. I have been weight lifting, but not doing much in the way of cardio. I need to work on that. But, my heel spur is bothering me because of all the walking that we did at the mall on Saturday Need to get new Gym shoes. Look this weekend, but didn't find any.

Hi to everyone!!

Holly and Sandi ... way to go on not giving into food temptations.

Dana, congrats on joining the Y.

No much going on here. My hubby's out of state assignment wrapped up on Friday and it will be good to have him home during the week. My daughter and I are pretty well recovered from our strep .... but my stomach's not great. I basically consumed nothing but cold liquids for a few days cuz my throat hurt, I slowly added back solids, but no matter what I eat, I get a dull ache in my stomach ... could be a minor side effect of the pennicilin, too ... I don't know. I'll give it a few more days and see what happens.

Holly: You had a plan & you stuck to it—you go girlfriend!!!

Daners: Congrats on joining the Y, you’ll love it!

Sandi: Such an inspiration to us all. Hope you find a good pr of shoes—I paid $20 for mine @ Kmart, they are Everlast.

Step: Hope you’re feeling better soon!

As for me, still job hunting, collecting unemployment, eating is back on track today but the last 2 days were "TOM is eating what he wants to eat this weekend". Finally got my carcass to the gym today, yay! Got my tax return back from state, still waiting for federal. Have to sign my severance agreement, which basically says they are not liable for my bils if I have a mental breakdown due to losing my job. Ok, that's not funny. *sigh* But you gotta keep your sense of humor when job hunting.

Here's to a great week:

it's only tuesday? sigh.

so last night, i conquered "italian night" in cooking class. finished the day at 1440 calories, right in my range. woo. there is now a lot of spinach lasagna and spaghetti w/ meatballs in the fridge, next to the spring rolls and potstickers. things sure last a while when i can't eat them all at once!

david and i are meeting at the YMCA after work. my new thing is the ellipitical. kinda tired of the treadmill, it wasn't "doing it for me" anymore. so i work up a sweat on the elliptical, and tonight is upper body.

i'm actually looking forward to wednesday... i want to see how much i've lost this week!

Yes, somehow, "It's Tuesday already?" doesn't seem to fit. Although one of the other moms at daycare was all, the weeks almost over. I told her that although I admired her attitute, somehow Tuesday morning, doedn't quite feel like "almost over".

I had a good Monday. Stayed within my calorie range and worked out. The water might have been a little low, but I'd still call it a great day. I'll swing by the Gym tonight and do a lower body workout and then swim with Jacob.

Nothing much going on here at all. Just kinda getting into the "routine" of sticking with my plan.

Holly - Great job on sticking within your calories at Italian Night!! I just LOVE Italian food. (Of course, I would!)

SAPF - No luck with shoes yet, although I have tried on a zillion pairs. Not only do I have wide feet, but I have orthotics as well. Not fun. I hope after I lose this weight I won't need wides or the orthotics!! Any luck with the job hunting?

Step - Sorry your still not feeling 100%. Hope that passes soon!!

How is everyone this week??

Hi all! I'm just sitting here on the floor with Elijah. He loves to crawl and roll all over the living room! He went to the doctor today for his 9 month visit and got a lot of shots and some blood drawn. Bless his heart, it was traumatic (for me too!) He's up from a long post-doc visit and is happy again. He doesn't seem to have held it against me!

I'm sort of off of a plan right now. I was sick at the end of last week and went off of Atkins so I could have my chicken soup and such. Now, we're putting off going back. I'm not overeating, so that's good, but not making much progress.

Hope everyone is doing well!

i posted this in the 300+ and ready to try again......#498 i thought you ladies would enjoy it as well

good morning ladies. i hope everyone is doing fine. i am great. i had some friends send me this and i thought you all would appreciate it. the riddle at the end is awesome. i will post answer later. i'll give everyone a chance to read it and think about the answer. hope everyone has a great fri.


Here is a pretty neat little thing from Paul Harvey. See if you can guess the riddle at the end.


Paul Harvey Writes:

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I'd like better.

I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really would.

I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.

I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.

And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.

It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him.

When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.

On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.

If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.

I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.

When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy\girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.

I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle.
May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.

I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Hanukkah/Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life.

Written with a pen. Sealed with a kiss. I'm here for you. And if I die before you do, I'll go to heaven and wait for you.

Send this to all of your friends. We secure our friends, not by accepting favors, but by doing them.



RIDDLE:

When asked this riddle, 80% of kindergarten kids got the answer, compared to 17% of Stanford University seniors.

What is greater than God, More evil than the devil, The poor have it, The rich need it, And if you eat it, you'll die?



I WILL POST THE ANSWER LATER. IF SOMEONE FIGURES IT OUT. PLEASE POST YOUR ANSWER AND COGRATS.

i know the answer but i am not going to post it ill pm you with it so others can have a chance to figure it out.

Congrats on joining the "Y," Dana--hope you are enjoying it.

How the Body for Life book, Sandi?

Making it through Italian night--WTG, Holly!

Angi, isn't it so hard to hear our kids cry? Gosh, mine are all adults, but I can still remember feeling just awful when they got hurt as babies, even if it was a vaccination.

Hhmm, I did most of those things Paul Harvey mentions. My father says that the reason kids get into so much trouble today is that they don't have woods to play in like he did when he was a kid. I never spoil that illusion by mentioning that he got into trouble several times. I drank a beer once (I was 21) and hated it. I got a figurative black eye, but never a real one, thank goodness. And I don't want to see puppies being born because that usually means more dogs that have to be killed at animal shelters because of pet overpopulation. Never did have my mouth washed out with soap.

Speaking of seeing old dogs die, I'm waiting for the results of my 17 year old dog's X-ray. She had a bladder infection, and they checked for bladder and kidney stones (no stones) and found something on her spleen. Could be a shadow, though. I wasn't home when the vet called, and my DH was on a phone conference. So we're waiting for the vet to call back and give us the news. Keep your fingers crossed that it was a shadow! I'm not ready to let this old girl go yet.

sometimes it's good to look at the big picture:

whoa that's awesome