Hershey went to Morna's to await her pups yesterday. How strange to wake up and realize I have no doggie duties – strange and sad. Early morning coffee will be lonely – maybe I’ll look at Canada AM. I went to bed at ten with my alarm set and could have sworn I heard barking from downstairs to wake me up before the alarm! I’m nuts! I've never needed an alarm because of the dogs and I obviously still don't need one!

After coffee and breakfast, I have a bit of laundry to fold and then will be ready for Gail Day. I am leaving her to it as I have to go to Westport to present schoolwork prizes on behalf of the Fair. After that, my day is my own....so far!

What's happening around your beach towel this morning? Sit and chat a bit.

Good morning, Chicklets~~

Had a wonderful weekend with my family. Started out a little shaky, as DD #2 and DSIL's plane was forced to circle the airport for an hour before they landed, but eventually we got on our way to Huntsville, AL and Uncle J and the cousins.

Friday night we were up at the ranch and had a bonfire. The dinner menu was hotdogs, potato salad, baked beans and marshmallows. I had 1 hotdog with the bun and 1 without, and a glass of water.

Saturday morning I woke up and the secondary infection from my spider bites had worsened considerably. Little blister-like spots have been cropping up on various parts of my abdomen and arms, even though I've been on an antibiotic. They itch horribly and hurt, too, so I stayed home from church and started lunch for the gang.

Everyone arrived starved from church, so we ate, then made our way back to Huntsville from the ranch for the big party in honor of Uncle Justin. Cousin Jon, who's a biologist suggested swabbing the blisters on my arms and belly with vinegar. His theory was changing the ph of the skin might kill the bacteria. Couldn't hurt, so I tried it.

Uncle J's party was held at the Oakwood College church and there were about 80 people in attendance. Cousin Bill, who is a professional Audio-Visual Geek, put together a Powerpoint slide show with music that showed highlights of his dad's life from infancy to today. Anyone who wanted could stand and tell how Uncle J...or Dr. Hamer to some...had touche their lives. It was very moving.

DD #2 has baby fever. She and SIL have been married for a year and half, she's a year away from starting her nursing courses and has decided she wants to be a mom. SIL is being very resistant at this point, so we'll see how this all comes out in the wash.

Jon's vinegar remedy seems to be working. No new spots and the swelling from the ones I have has gone down considerably. So, I'm keeping fingers crossed.

Hope all you chicks had as wonderful a weekend as I had.

Ruth, enjoy your day! I know how precious and unusual it is to have a day to yourself.

Everyone have a great day on the beach!

Mamacita

Gee, Ruthie, last night I dreamt my kids were kidnapped. We must be on the same wavelength.
Lucy will be home before you know it.
Please send Gail over when she's through with you.

Mamacita, what a weekend you've had! I'm glad the vinegar is working... it makes sense.

I'm just heading off to see my psychi. Will pick up some fresh veggies in the Market. And then I suppose I'll do some renovating. Hate it. HATE IT!! But very grateful that we have the funds (well, borrowed) to do the job, and I'm looking forward (in a perverse sort of way) to cooking in my new kitchen. This new convection oven is LOVELY!

Have a wonderful day, girls...

Oh Good morning Chickies! It looks like it will be another wonderful day here in the Rocket City!
Mama... It sounds like you enjoyed your visit here over the weekend. Oh the joys of motherhood! It's one thing to want them it is another to find out what it is really all about. I am sure they will make the right choice for them. Did Mama give any input on it? I know Mama always knows best. Atleast that's what she always tells me!
Ruth... The puppy blues! Well they will be back barkin atcha in no time! I hope you enjoy the kids today.
Ellis... I cannot wait to redo my kitchen although it may be another year or two. There are so many other things on the list! Just have fun and enjoy what you can!

Me... Well today will be full again as I have Ragan and Baracha here and wow what a handful they are. Oh and so tender with their lil feelings when it comes to me! But it is 8 here and they are still sleeping so all that playing outside yesterday really payed off I guess! Well I am off to get coffee DH is off today so I'll see if he wants to go out on the deck and have it. Gotta get a sweater it's cold out there. It's 43 out there! burrrrr!

Good morning ladies! Hope everyone had a good weekend!! We got the dining room painted!! We went with the gold color -- and I think it's gorgeous!! It's very warm, yet bright and happy at the same time. I can't wait for the new furniture to be delivered next week!! AF is on her way out the door and I think she took a few pounds with her -- yay -- I guess we'll know when I weigh officially tomorrow. Let's hope!

It's gonna be a busy week, but fortunately I should only be out of town one day for business, and it's a road trip.

Hope everyone has a great day!!

lauren

Oh, and speaking of dreams, last night I dreamed I was married to the wrong person!! Very frustrating!!

Good Morning Ladies!

I wrote last night on here....How is everyone doing? I have to say I LOVE my job...granted it's only part-time but I really do enjoy it...Working at Talbots is fun...Somehow I managed to get today and tomorrow off but I'll work the rest of the week.......It looks rather gloomy outside today....it's 63 degrees but I like it when its cooler out...anyways ladies I hope you all have a wonderful day...I'm sure I'll be back in to check in

Morning all!

I weighed in this am and I'm down another 4 pounds!!! Which makes a total of 16 for Phase One. I was soooo worried that I wasn't going to be down at all because I'm bloating up - TOM. I knew I was in trouble yesterday when my mom and I shopped until we dropped and I realized that I hadn't frantically searched for a bathroom in any of the stores That could only mean bloat city. Usually on this diet I go all the time! But I am thrilled about the 16 pounds in two weeks. Anything else that comes off after TOM will just add to my October goals. I think I'm going to stay on a modified Phase I until after TOM is over just to see what happens.

Nurse Kat - thanks for the advice on the frappachino. It seems to be the only thing I really miss. Yesterday we went to the coffee and tea store and of course they have homemade candies and fudge! My mom bought 1 1/2 pounds of fudge. I told her she would need to please refrain from eating it in my presence.

Ruthxx - I know how you feel. This past May I had to put my beloved Rottie to sleep because he had bone cancer. He was 13 and had lived a wonderful life on our lake. I still miss him. At least you have only a brief time apart and then puppies!

Mama - Wow it sounds like you had a great weekend!!! What fun. Hope the vinegar works! My mom who is a nurse likes to read about alternative cures.

Bami - you also sound like you are having fun! Little girls are so much fun.

Ellis - I have renovation horror story. A friend (who is gourmet cook) redid her entire kitchen. She purchased a $7,000 stove (which I haven't seen yet but I can't even imagine - it must be made out of gold! ) and the installation guys hooked it up wrong and it was leaking gas!!! Everyone was ok but it was scary!

I had a gorgeous guy spotting in the grocery store. I'm so stupid I didn't even realize that he was checking me out until about the 6th aisle. My mom and I were grocery shopping and he was coming the opposite way so we would pass in every aisle and make eye contact. He looked like he could be in or just out of the military - in his 30's. He had a great bod and was really cute. I said to my mom, "did you see that cute guy"? So she has to check him out and he got a unanimous thumbs up from both of us. I was so nervous that I couldn't concentrate on groceries. I've been living with/married for 17 years before my divorce - I need practice. Maybe I'll go back next week - same time and see if he is there.

Have a great beach day!!!

Morning, Ladies!

Ruth, do the pups eventually come home to you once they are a bit older? If so, you are going to have a house full of puppies in no time! But I know what you mean...when our dog was out with DH for the funeral, I really, really missed her! The house is not the same without our puplet.

Mamacita, you poor dear! I'm so sorry that you have those darn blisters! But I'm glad you didn't let it stop you from having a great weekend!

Ellis, feel your pain...there is so much to be done around the house, and DH, the stalwart worker, was just too pooped to poop yesterday and decided to ask the roofer to come back and finish the job on the garage. It's totally unheard of for DH to pay for something he can do himself, but he's just exhausted, poor dear! I'm glad you are able to pay for it...it can make all the difference! What all are you doing besides the bathrooms?

Bamiegirl, it's just as cold in the mornings here. Brrr! Who are the visiting little ones? Neices and nephews?

Lauren, congrats on the gold dining room...sounds fabulous!

Me:
Well, I finally broke down and took the darn antibiotics. I was a walking mess all weekend...and poor DH was down and mopey, so it was a dreary weekend, in some ways, but cuddly and nice in others. I did get a bunch of homework done and even made a batch of SBD friendly cookies (which I threw in the freezer after having only one!

We have company coming this weekend, and I'll actually be out of town, so trying to get the house cleaned up, pack, create gifts, etc. Crazy!

Meanwhile, I think my immune system packed up and went south. I am crazy allergic...sniffling and sneezing, and my skin is itching, itching, itching! I have low skin immunity, so just about anything can set me off when my immune system is down. I'm kicking myself for not taking the darn antibiotics earlier, but... that's life.

This morning I woke up to a three pound gain (YIKES! ) though it went down to 241.5 over the weekend, so I'm not any worse off...but it's somehow harder to see the lower weight and go back up than to just stay the same, you know?

Well, today's another day...just clinging as close to OP as I can. And looking forward to a trip home at the end of the week! Can't wait to see my family. They haven't seen me since I started the diet, and I know they will be very supportive. And I'll see most of my girlfriends...going out for my friend's babyshower. It's her first, and it's really high risk, so what a miracle!

Have a great day, chicks!

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile....also off plan for awhile too. I feel like I didn't have a weekend at ALL. I slept great last night, just still really tired.

Friday, I had to work all day at another store, then came home, threw all my PartyLite stuff in my trunk, and went to do a show. I ended up staying there until midnight. Had to work the next day, too. Didn't get to sleep until about 2am. So then I worked all day Saturday, and Saturday night I went to my parents' house to visit with friends of ours, and then we went to the Funny Bone Comedy Club because my friend Abdul was performing. Stayed out late there, too. Then yesterday, had to be up at the crack of dawn to drive to Chicago....went to the last Cubs game at Wrigley this year.

I'm absolutely wiped. I'm ready to be back OP too. Not ready for work again, but that'll happen, I guess. Gotta work straight through this week because I'm off Saturday. Wahoo.

Well, you all have a great day. I need to start getting ready for work. Talk to you all later!

Hey, Jess and Anchor, we posted at the same time!

Jess, so glad you like your job! And just think of all the ways you'll use your discount as you lose weight!

Anchor, I'm sure that you'll figure out this dating thing...it'll just take time. And if they are checking you out now, just think what it'll be like when you get to goal? And CONGRATULATIONS on the 16 pounds!!!

Good Morning, gals! I had the most wonderful time at the annual Polkafest party yesterday! I hadn't seen any of these people in a year and they were really surprised at how well I looked. Many of them had gained weight over the years and were also interested in the improvements in my blood pressure and cholesterol. I spent hours explaining South Beach to friends who seemed seriously interested (except for the guy who said no way could he give up french fries and corn).

I brought WW blueberry muffins and WW strawberry banana chocolate chip muffins. Everyone who tried them said they couldn't tell the difference between them and regular muffins. Same things with the lasagna. I used WW lasagna noodles, well drained lean meat, mushrooms, zucchini and spinach with FF cottage cheese and RF mozzarella and every drop was eaten. I also brought a large assortment of cut up veggies and Triscuits with a spinach dip I made from FF plain yogurt. That was popular too. Even with the kids. I'm really glad I brought so much since there was really nothing else there that was OP except the ham slices.

My ex-husband was there (mostly ignoring me, my husband and son) as well as several guys that I had gone out with for a long time. They were okay with talking to me and my family. You would think my ex would have gotten over it (we've been divorced over 10 years) but I guess some things are hard for others to get over.

Brian had a great time playing with Jenny. They are both in 2nd grade and it was nice to be able to talk with the adults and have them entertain themselves - except when we had to get the hula hoops out of the trees.

Kiko - Before I forget, I got the okay from my boss to go to the race on the 16th. So I plan to send in registration today for the 5K CO-ED Family Fun Run/Walk. Right now I think my son has other plans but if he changes his mind (or his rocket trip gets rained out), then I'll register him if necessary on race day. PM me about where to meet up. I'll probably take the DART rail down (parking at the Bush Tollway station) so maybe we can meet up there.

Good morning beach chicks!

Another .8 off at the official Weight Watchers weigh in. And, on my home scale, even more. So, things are going in the right direction.

There just aren't enough hours in a weekend, though! I thought that some time during my lifetime I would see a standard four day week...but no such luck. I also thought that the US culture would catch a clue from other countries where, in my opinion, people have more "balance" between work and the rest of life but no such luck there either. It actually seems like people outside the US are moving more in the direction of our rat race here (and I think the rats are winning).

Nonetheless, it was productive... we finally sold our travel trailer that we haven't used in three years so that was good. No point in paying storage, insurance and registration for something that just sits there. And, did a big Costco shopping and bought plenty of fish and veggies so hopefully there won't be so many stop offs at the store on the way home for a while.

Well, time to get ready for work now. Thanks to all for being here to listen.

Laurie - thanks, I can't wait to get down a little more. I want to say - get to my goal but that seems light years away - so I say a little more just to keep my brain online. I felt more like this little bloated guy than this smokin guy yesterday. But the attention made me feel good all day. Good thing I was buying healthy stuff.

Barbara - it must have been the weekend for polka fests. This weekend was the annual polka/food/fun weekend here too. I didn't go - I usually go and eat lunch one day but I knew I wouldn't stay OP. They make food like my grandma used to make. Good for you for bringing food! That is an inspiration to all of us. With holiday parties coming up maybe we can create a thread of holiday appetizers that we can bring to parties to keep ourselves OP. I was asked to make my annual Werewolf cupcakes for DS school party. They are not OP!!! I got cravings just looking at the recipe. I know we are heading into troubled OP days on the beach. Way to look around the ex.

Sorry I don't have time to go through and comment on all your great posts today! But I did read them all and just wanted to send out a quick hello to you fab chicks! have a wonderful OP day!