Good morning ladies. How was the weekend?

Mine was miserable - sick since Wednesday with a sore throat, hacking cough, blocked sinuses, etc. I must see if we have Throat Coat in Canada - haven't heard of it but then again I don't do much browsing in pharmacies

To make matters worse, we had our first winter storm Saturday/Sunday. Lots of wet, sticky snow overnight with high winds. Lost power from early Sunday morning until about mid-afternoon. Spent the day feeding the downstairs fireplace and cursing winter while DH dashed about madly trying to keep the fish tanks warm. The power still hasn't been restored in much of the province and won't be for several days. And this is mid November...

I'm thinking about about starting a separate thread called Fat Once More.

Susan

susan,

I'm going slap you upside the head. Then again, my skirt is digging into my
waist, so who am I to talk?

Sorry you are feeling cruddy and having winter weather on top of it sucks.

If you can't find throat coat, I'll mail you some.

Well, I had a very tiring weekend. I served as my parents settlement house sponsors, apparently 14 boxes of misc. kitchen goods never showed up, so we ended up giving them lots of stuff, unfortunately, it seemed like I was dropping off stuff every 2 hours. Suffice it to say, my kitchen back up supplies are diminishing and that is okay. Went to San Francisco to get some miles on Saturday am, didn't even get a chance to pick up a newspaper, went to a wedding on Saturday night that I was dreading and actually really enjoyed and basically spent yesterday raking leaves and serving as my mother's helper...

I'm going to core this week and hopefully that will help.

I just have to make it through the next month...

Hope everyone else is doing dandy.

Had a fun Friday at Universal Theme Park. DH and I walked on each ride and hardly waited at all. The weather was also great. Went to a rummage sale on Saturday and saw nothing. Went early Christmas shopping yesterday and bought myself some things. Hmmm, that's not right.

Susan, I'm sorry you're not feeling well. There's nothing worse being sick and then cold on top of it because of power outages. I hope good health visits you soon.

lala, You sure go to a lot of weddings. I hope your parents are getting settled.

My mother is having surgery for an aneurysm on Wednesday, so we are all pretty worried here.

Hello, Pam and Melissa.

Sending good vibes to Lisa's mom and to keep her healthy.

lala

Good afternoon, ladies!

Susan: I found Throat Coat in with the organic teas, etc. in the grocery store. There was a new one out with Lemon Echinacea...not bad and it did help. Sorry to hear about the power/weather situation. We've been fairly lucky with things here--it's been clear/sunny the past few days but I hear later in the week it's all going to change. Hey, don't be so hard on yourself!

Lala The waistband on my pants that I'm wearing today felt a little tight this morning as well *sigh* and I know it doesn't help that I haven't been feeling that great either. I'm going to follow the old Fast Track this week to get things back on track.

Lisa: I loved going to Universal--there's a lot more now than when I was there last. The new boardwalk area was under construction the last time I was at the park. I hope your mom's surgery goes well. I'll keep her in my prayers.

Hi to Pam!

I'm still not 100%, in fact I'm sitting here at my desk trying to keep my eyes open! I'm thinking I need to run over to Starbuck's and get a coffee then again I've got a Autumn Spice Blend that will work just as well and it'll save me the $$ I'm trying to get things caught up after being out 3 days last week and so far I'm not getting very far!

Hi everyone,

Quiet here today. Things are moving along. Ordered our turkey and goose for Saturday and flower arrangements. My parents are leaving at 2 pm, so I need to go see them off. I really can't take the time out to run to the airport.

Had a pretty darn good day yesterday, no cheetos, no major chocolate and managed to do the 1 hour killer step class. The class started out being beginning and it has evolved to intermediate. I am going to try a new class tomorrow am.

Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday.

lala

Lala good for you for keeping away from the junk. I love step aerobics..my favorite form of exercise. I'm thinking for the holidays I may do turkey breasts vs the whole bird. Was watching the cooking network and they suggested that..may give it a try.

Lisa I will keep your Mom in my thoughts and prayers. Hope everything goes well tomorrow.

Susan don't be so hard on yourself. You want to lose 20 pounds, that's 2 lousy pounds a week..so in 10 weeks you'll be right where you want to be... in plenty of time for your vacation. Stick with it girl!!!

Hi to Melissa.

I may be back later.

I will agree with Pam on the 2 lbs a week thing.

I'm going for the whole bird, I only eat the breast, but like the carcass for soup.

Our thanksgiving before thanksgiving is tiny this year. Sort of boring too. Oh well, at least it will be quiet and done with early.

Getting a hair cut today. whoo hoo.

lala

Good morning!

Lala: Good for you for staying away from the cheetos, etc. I'm doing better as well. Last night at the meeting I was working at I talked with another LT member who is having the same problem--eating at night and not because she's hungry--anyway, we made a pact to do better this week and to "report" in next week. More incentive to keep out of the junk!

Susan: Being hard on yourself isn't going to get you anyway other than making you feel bad--write down all the good things you're doing and then look at the things you'd like to improve and work on one at a time. You can lose the weight

Pam: The last few years I've made turkey breasts for T'giving and it's worked out great. I'm doing the same this year. I don't stuff the breast either, just cook them up. It's a lot easier and everyone likes the white meat best.

Lisa: Hi!

It's hard to believe that a week from today we'll be busy getting things ready for Thanksgiving. As far as I know my 2 great aunts will be joining us for dinner, along with my parents, so I'll be cooking for 8.

Today's my meeting day and I'm not too optimistic about the scale--my hands feel puffy this morning (figures) so it's hard to tell what the scale will reflect. The good thing is that I have been getting exercise, the flip side is that my eating at night hasn't been great.

Thinking of Lisa and her mom today. Here's to steady hands of a surgeon, excellent care and good vibes from above.

Melissa -- I have been cheeto free for four days. I am thinking of doing a ticker factory for such things, diet coke free, frequent flyer message boards and cheetos... However, I think when you look at the tickers, they give inspiration.

Hey, I am the one who said that as you walk from your car to the WW meeting you gain two pounds. Good luck on weigh in.

Thanksgiving plans -- looks like we're a tiny group and now DP is rebelling and saying we're only serving goose. I hate goose and so do at least 5 others there. So, we're doing both turkey and goose. I may go to my folks to cook the turkey.

Did a nice bike work out this am and going to attempt a modified aerobic workout tonight.

Hope everyone is well!

lala

Hi, everyone. Thanks for the good thoughts and prayers for my mother. As I write this, she is going into surgery. It's a difficult surgery and she may be in the hospital for a week! I couldn't believe that because it seems that hospitals are eager to kick people out in a couple days.

On the repair front, flat roof goes on today. Hurricane shutters arrived (for next season--I hope I don't need them.) Soffits are on order (maybe next month installation). Pool screen is any time--we were bumped by some builders--not happy with that! I still need a sheetrock installer.

I've been doing fairly well on the food front, but eating too late at night. We had some car problems again, so that means I have to pick up DH at work which means we eat later.

lala, I've never had goose. I really like turkey though. I'm headed to my parents for Thanksgiving and I more than likely will be doing all of the cooking. Congrats to you for all of the physical activity--you go! I still walk 6 days a week.

Susan, two pounds a week sounds achievable, doesn't it?

Pam, thanks for the prayers. How's your weather-still cold? It's in the 70's here today and rather nice.

Melissa, maybe you just feel puffy? I hope it doesn't show on the scale.

Thanks everybody for reminding me that in the grand scheme of things, 20 pounds is not that much and certainly achievable prior to February. I was really hoping to lose a bit by the time the Christmas dinner/dance rolls around - I bought a cute little RED dress after Christmas last year and was hoping to wear it. If I can't, it's not the end of the world.

Lisa: My thoughts are with you today as your Mom's surgery goes ahead. I guess it will make the Thanksgiving holiday all the more special to have that behind you. Sounds as though the house repairs are progressing relatively well. Some people still don't have their power back as a result of the weekend storm. Thank goodness it's not the middle of February!

Melissa: Kudos for having a plan/challenge to curb the night time eating. That's my biggest challenge at the moment too. Did OK last night and I have a meeting tonite so at least I'll be away from the fridge. How did weigh-in go?

lala: My DH has a cheetos habit. That's one snack food that can be staring me in the face and I won't be tempted. I think it's because they're so messy!

Pam: I've always done the whole bird at Thanksgiving/Christmas. How many people will you be feeding?

Can't believe it, but I have most of my Christmas shopping done - and most of the gifts are wrapped. We even mailed out a parcel today! What's with that?

Lala: Good going on being "cheeto free" the past 4 days! The tickers are a great way to keep track.

Lisa: Sending good vibes to you & your mom. I think the hardest part is the waiting to hear from the surgeons. Sounds like the house repairs are coming along nicely. I don't do all that bad when I eat later as long as I've had a snack in the late afternoon. Bravo to you for walking 6 days!!! I've been taking advantage of our nice weather and getting out as much as possible.

Susan: When is your Christmas dinner/dance? Is it totally unreasonable for you to wear the red dress? If it is then maybe what you need to do is reward yourself for moving in the right direction by getting something you feel good in. I think I've gotten 2 presents for Christmas...good for you for being ahead of the game!

My weigh in was actually good considering how I felt. I was down .8 and I'm happy with that. Last week I was up 2#! My plan is to journal and keep my night time snacking at a minimum (key is to plan it into my daily points).

Our meeting today was good in terms of planning for the holiday. My leader also passed out a calendar for the months of November/December with a key to mark down if we attended a meeting, exercised, followed the food plan, and all. If we choose to take a day off we just mark a "O". It's a good visual to keep track of what we're doing and she said that at the first meeting in January she'll collect and whoever has the most marked will be eligible for a drawing. Good incentive to stay on track.

Melissa --
Calendar is a great idea. I will do the same on mine at work.

Just put the down on the boiler... Yikes

lala

Good morning! Another cloudy day here in PA with temps hovering in the 50's--kind of strange for us this time of year. I'm waiting for the cold snap that I'm sure is lurking around the corner!

I had a good day yesterday--fought off the urge to snack just for the sake of having something to eat--I did plan something for later in the evening and stuck to my plan so I'm happy with that.

Lala I like the calendar idea because it gives me a visual of what I'm doing. Hope the boiler installation goes well

Lisa: How's your mom? Hope everything is okay!

Hi to Susan, Pam!