Good morning Chickies~~

Slept pretty good last night, thanks to one Ultram and a couple of melatonin tablets.

Watched the second part of Colonial House (I taped it). Very interesting program. History has always been a favorite subject of mine. But I'd sure be plastered with scarlet letters!

I'm sooooo glad it's Friday. Yesterday at work wasn't so frenetic, so I was able to catch up on my paperwork and other duties around the lab. But I got home so dog-tired from the work week that I didn't have the energy to walk. Gotta make up for that sometime this weekend.

I have no idea what my food for the day will be...gotta head down to the kitchen and snoop in the fridge...I'm guessing eggs will be on the menu.

Have a great day on the beach everyone!

Mamacita

Running to the gym. No, I'm not RUNNING there. I mean I'm in a rush. Be back later...

Good morning, Mamacita, and all to come.

Another terrorist attack this morning according to The Girls! There is a Pileated Woodpecker around and he decided to drum on our stovepipe this morning! Silly males and their territorial warnings! Anyhow, they scared him away and got their Mommy up early enough to watch the sunrise with them. What spoiled brats I have!

My days are very hectic lately. Sarah comes today for gardening and barn tidying and I'm also going to use her to lug wine down to the cellar. There's a load of "junque" to be taken over to the Church for tomorrow's sale and about 50 potted perennials to go too! Somehow I doubt that I'll get baking done!

Tomorrow I'll be at the Church until 10 and then at the greenhouse. Somewhere between now and 5 PM tomorrow I need to make devilled eggs and chicken for 20! My sister is having a nostalgia family party then as my brother and his perfect wife and daughters will be here. Joan is doing a ham, potato salad, tomato aspic and a strawberry shortcake - all Mum's recipes. My part is the devilled eggs and Mum's oven fried chicken. Geez! I am going to take raw veggies too as the whole meal looks high carb and high fat! Can you tell where I got my start on weight gain?

I'd better stop whining and get on with it. The new washer arrives between 9 and 2 today - how's that for a definite delivery time! There is still a bit of grease on the floor from the old one which I want to tackle before then so I'm off to just do it!

Have a super TGIF!

Hey Ruth -- a woodpecker is better than these d@mn cicadas!!! It sounds like a lawnmower all night long! Luckily, my windows [closed] hide that noise and since I am running my A/C, the buggers [pun intended] get drowned out. These things are nasty and gross and are here for another 4-6 weeks!

I am feeling much better today. I am back down to my lowest with a great day yesterday which will continue today. I have 2 events this weekend that both involve eating out and drinks -- but I am going to try to forgo the drinks. And if I can't, red wine [which I am NOT a fan of] it will be. It's a mexican restaurant and so I know sangria is out...as are margaritas!

Happy Friday all!

Hi everybody--

Ruth, sounds like a very busy day. May be a good thing that The Girls got you up early!

Jenne -- Eating our, particularly Mexican food, is difficult. Fortunately the last place I had to go on SBD had mariscos (shellfish entrees) and I had a shrimp cocktail while everyone else was sucking down margaritas.

I did well on SBD last night. There is nothing like grilled veggies with onion on the bbq.

Hi!

I went to the gym this a.m. and did 22 mins on the elliptical and ten minutes doing arm weight machines. Good stuff! I'm definitely more tired and less pumped than I was last week, but still proud that I did it! There is a 1.5 mile walk scheduled for this afternoon at work and I'm signed up for that, too. Guess I'm getting all my exercise at once!

Unfortunately, the scale bumped back up to 300 and won't go down. I ate one serving of fruit yesterday and one carb. No movement today. I'm going to keep on the one fruit one carb thing for another day or so and see what happens. Did a Phase 1 breakfast minus the V-8 (no time to open a new bottle) and will do a no carb lunch of last night's leftovers. I did have that French onion soup with no bread last night. The high fat cheese might have put me over a bit, stalling the weight loss, I suppose.

I visited several docs yesterday, and they all kept telling me how great it was that I started SBD. Nothing like a little encouragement to brighten your spirits!

No big weekend plans, just lots of homework and work in the garden (which needs a ton of attention!!!).

I am looking for a support group to talk to about the South Beach Diet. I am just starting and feeling a little overwhelmed. I am not sure how to reply to these threads, so I hope this goes through. I am a mother of three girls and 44 years old. I live in Brentwood. CA near the Bay Area (not the one in southern CA). I am encouraged by reading all the posts at this site. Need encouragement please! Thanks,
Stacy12

Mexican tonight -- would this be ok? I pre-looked at the menu so I knew what to have:

"Combo [beef and chicken]Fajitas al Carbon
We use only genuine aged Mexican Mesquite wood and charcoal to grill our food. Served with fresh flour tortilla, Mexican rice, guacamole, pico de gallo and frijoles a la charra."

Without the tortilla, rice, and get double beans? With a Diet Coke and Water to drink of course [still want to save my alcohol consumption for Memorial Day!]. If that doesn't look good, would anyone recommend anything else? Here's the link to the restaurant: http://www.lauriolplaza.com the menu is on the bottom.

They really do make the best margaritas!!!!!

And Stacy -- we are here for you -- please visit the FAQ section of this forum and feel free to ask us anything. If you read through, you will see stories of encouragement, and times that we may have fallen, but got right back up. We're a diverse group of people here. So welcome!

Happy Friday to all!!

It has been a great week for me. I think I have conquered my "boredom snacking". I just ask myself "Am I REALLY hungry?", drink some water and wait about 15 minutes and if I'm still hungry then I go ahead and have snack. Half the time I totally forget I was hungry.

I also turned down strawberry shortcake at work. It was sooooo hard, this is one of my favorite summertime treats, but I asked myself how I would feel after eating it and decided that the answer was probably crummy.

I can't believe how great I feel eating this way. I used to have that major energy slump in the afternoon, but not anymore. Now I sail through the day and it's bedtime before I'm tired at all. I even woke up before my alarm clock this morning, which I've never done before. This eating right stuff is AMAZING!

Hope everyone has a super weekend! I'm planting a veggie garden on Saturday and driving to Chicago to see 2 plays on Sunday.

Stacy, you've come to the right place! Welcome! There's a lot of good support going around here.

Jenne, sounds okay to me! Enjoy yourself, hon!

Laurie, don't get discouraged... that weight is going to come off! DAMNIT!!!
Keep it up with the exercise... you're doing great!!

Ellis, God bless you!!! Thanks for expressing my feelings, exactly. I just might have to keep a hammer by the scale to wave at it now and then.

Jenn, that sounds perfect. Just ask and make sure that the frijoles are free of manteca (lard). If they are, then you are good to go! Do you like avocado? If you do, you could have some of that with your meal, which would be like a little treat!
Hey, put some lime in the Diet Coke...makes me feel less thirsty for a margarita!

Stacy, welcome! I hope that you find this forum as welcoming and supportive as I have! Just join in, read a lot and ask lots of questions!

Rosey, good for you on getting rid of that boredom snacking! That is awesome!

Thanks everyone!

Rosey---yay on feeling GOOD for a change! You know?

BeachGal - I ALWAYS get lemon or lime in my diet coke! Manteca huh? Is that a spanish pronunciation of lard? Should I ask in Spanish?

Hi everyone,

I have today off and took Tuesday off and have a five day long weekend now so I am happy. I am visiting my brother in Toronto so that should be fun! Anyway I hope everyone is doing well!

Ali

Have a wonderful weekend, Sweater Girl!

Jenn, I bet you can just say lard, but in case your server does not know the word, you can call it manteca. I know one Mexican restaurant near my parents serves "frijoles de la olla" which are basically pinto beans in a broth. They must be healthy. But if the refried beans have lard in them, they're a no go, unfortunately. They taste so darn good!

Have a great night!

Hey I made it to the site before bedtime! Wow. Up early, did my walk/jog thing, went out of town for a spell, went tanning, did laundry, mopped the floor.....wow my life is sooooo exciting.

Tomorrow I'm going to a Japanese restaurant place, in the afternoon every Saturday they have a sushi making class. My friend and I signed up. I'm excited. I know it isn't OP, but I've always wanted to learn to make it.

Eating a gigantic salad right now, everything in it but the kitchen sink.

Sounds like ya'll are doing good. Welcome to the newbies.