Good morning!

I'm in overdrive this morning as I've not yet done the goodie baskets.

Check in if you can.

It's going to go to 50F today with rain! I can't believe this after Mondays extreme cold!

I have a pimple on my chin and a bad cough. At least it's not TOM.
I have to go out later today to pick up some more groceries. Hopefully I won't be killed on the roads (freezing rain).

Kim...continuing to keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Anchor, I hope that thing are going well for you.

Bamie, how's the dishwasher? Isn't it wonderful to have one! This is our first, too. I keep getting things stuck in the arm.

Little Chick, you're crazy-busy as usual... sounds like you're getting on top of things, though!

RNMom, enjoy your time with your daughter and son!!

Peggy, you may be the only one losing weight on Christmas day. You're such an inspiration, girl!

I have to get the guest bed ready... Mom is staying with us on Christmas Eve, and then going to my sister's for Christmas night. I know that not having Dad here is hardest on her, and we're trying to keep her occupied.

I'm off to get more coffee... have a wonderful, productive day, girls!

I am being soooo good, Ellis! I've not yet started making the goodies! The baskets may contain rain-checks if I don't get off my butt soon!

Morning ladies

Thank you all for your kind thoughts.

Well it only took me 3 hours to do my regular 1 hour drive to work today - actually my sister drove while I napped snow & freezing rain - lovely

Then I had an extra 45 mins of climbing snowdrifts to fall into and out of busses. Needless to say, I now need another nap.

I am hoping to get my laptop today because I am working from home all of next week, I think I will work from home tomorrow too instead of facing another six hours in traffic going to and from work.

As for my eating - my body is absolutely HATING this. I am bloated constantly, have acid reflux and gas all the time and I feel miserable and tired.....but I can't seem to get back on track. Today I forgot to bring my Splenda to work - so instead of getting the other sweeter at Timmy's, I got plain ole sugar.

Things are so hectic right now - I am hoping by Wednesday (that is when all the relatives/friedns will have visited by) that things will calm down and I can get my a$$ back in gear.

Actually Santa (ImNotSanta) your story really inspired me - now if I could only get you to talk to my DH He turned 41 on Tuesday and is feeling old and unmotivated too.

Man I need a vacation.

Have a good day all - stay warm and safe.

Kim

Hello Chickadees! I just got up! OMG it felt so good to sleep in. I was so tired and needed the rest really bad. Not much on the agenda today. Tomorrow will be crazy though! DH will be off and we will finish our shopping. Nothin like waitin til the last minute. We are usually done long before now but this year it seems wwe are a lil behind!

Ruth... I know you'll get in gear and get the baskets done! Looks like y'all are having a heatwave up there! lol It was in the 50's here yesterday but today the high is 30. Go figure!

Ellis... Good morning! I love the new dishwasher! The one that was here when we bought the house was a hunk of junk! teehee Hugs for your Mom as I am sure this has to be really hard on her. Hey can you pour me a cup of coffee? lol

Bups...Glad to see ya checkin in with us! You'll get back on track after the holidays. Atleast that's my story and I'm stickin to it! lol Oh my how aweful all that just to get to work! I hope you can work from home it sounds much safer. Take care of yourself and we are all still thinking of you.

Well I'm off to do something! I'm not sure where I will start but probably with laundry! Yuck! Have a great day Chickies!

Hey Kim, I'm a Kim, too!

Sounds like a good plan to stay home tomorrow - Xmas eve traffic along with yucky weather is never fun.

Do we have a lot of folks here who are digging out after that giant snowstorm yesterday? Our Mid-West states got hammered, so the news tells me. True in Canada also? Stay warm, and break out the SF hot cocoa!

Here in Western MA the freezing rain warmed up to regular rain about the time I arrived at work. Murphy's law, I guess.

Ciao, and have a happy holiday, if you haven't already!

Solarmama

Just a quick hello. Off to shop for the restaurant and pick up a couple of things for Christmas, then I am ready. Good thing since it all starts tomorrow evening.

Bups and Bamie, we will start the after Christmas weight loss group! cuz that is my story too. At least I am not gaining any just staying the same.

I will try to check in tomorrow but if not everybody have a :merry: and no :snf: from you gals in the Midwest.

Ellis, sending good thoughts and prayers your way for your first Christmas without your dad. Sounds like a good plan keeping your mom busy.

Ruth, are you getting those baskets done??? :sball:

Good Afternoon Beach chicks!

Checking in late today. I've finished the last of the presents and now I have to wrap the Santa gifts. I'm feeling kind of guilty because W Michigan didn't get hit like the rest of the Mid west. That means there must be a doosey coming somewhere down the line.

Hey I'm all for the after the Christmas SBD commitment. Can we re-confirm our commitment even though we've stayed pretty much OP? I could use a crackdown - I've been eating too many splenda cinnamon pecans. In fact I have decided to put them out tomorrow for the party so they can be gone for awhile. They do trigger the sugar monster for me even though they don't have sugar in them.

Last night I dreamed about carbs and binging again. This time it was these wonderful breadsticks that they have at one of my favorite restaurants that are served with sharp bar cheese. Yum. Maybe the dreams are some kind of turning point for me. You would think I would be dreaming of s*x since I've been single for almost a year for the first time in 17 years. But no - I dream of gooey carbs.

Ruth - you go girl. I didn't do baskets this year partly because I don't have my own kitchen and secondly because I would have to taste test the goodies.

Ellis - You are wonderful for what you are doing for your mom! I hope all goes well.

Kim - you've had a tough time but things will get better. Try not to get stuck in the nasty circle of eating because you're sad and being sad because your eating bad, and then eating more because you are sad again. Hugs to you You'll pull out of this!

Bami - have you been reading my saga of dreaming about eating carbs? You were at your sisters when it first started happening. Becareful tomorrow because people will be nuts! Driving nuts, pushing & shoving. Be careful!

Solarmama - we are heading in the opposite direction in Michigan. Tomorrows high is supposed to be in the single digits. BRRRRR

Bunna - I'm in for an after Christmas re-commitment to the SBD. Happy Holidays!

I'm at work until 6 pm then I have to finish my rice-crispie snowmen for the kiddies tomorrow. I'll check in tomorrow to say hi!

Oh no! Did you ever have one of those major freakouts. I mean, one of those major eating binge freakouts? I was doing incredibly well on my diet until my department's holiday lunch/gift exchange yesterday. My lunch was superb--seared ahi tuna with a petit arugala and mango salad. I had dessert, too--a sugar-free, low-carb chocolate mousse in a champagne glass. And then there was the gift exchange. Harmless enough, right? Wrong! What follows is immoral and not for sensitive eyes.

I was getting nice presents from my six co-workers (one of which is also on the SBD, two of whom are doing WW), until I open one from Ann--slender, aerobicizing, kind-hearted Ann. She got me a huge jar of apple butter and a jar of blackberry jam, each listing sugar as the second ingredient. I think, "Fine--I'll give them away and keep the lovely snowman spreading knife they came with." Then my awesome boss gave me a desk calendar with a little bag of homemade chocolate-covered toffee. Now, bought food, I can pass on. Homemade gifted food, though, has long been a problem. Mina, who's on WW, gives the annual small fruit breadloaf and homemade sweet granola. Yum! A little granola in my ff yogurt won't hurt, and neither will a little little loaf of bread, right? Then Linda, who's doing WW, gave me a box of chocolate-covered bing cherries. Wow. No problem, right? Wrong. We pack up our gifts and had back to the office. I throw my cherries and toffee in a drawer. Then I open the drawer. Then I open the bag of cherries because I've never had one and one must be all right. Did I just have one? No. Try six. And four pieces of toffee. I take the candy back OUT of my drawer and go off to my night job where I give the candy to my friend, Jen, who thanks me and scarfs them down out of pity for me.

I eye the tin full of frosted peanut butter balls on the counter and try to avoid eye contact for the next 8 minutes. Eight minutes was all I lasted. "Jen," I ask, "Are those peanut butter balls?" She says, "Um, yeah." I reach. She says, "Julie--you don't need one of those." I say, "No, but I love peanut butter. It's my weakness. And ... I've already eaten half-a-pound of sugar today--another four ounces won't hurt." I hurt. I bounce through the next five hours. And through one shrimp tamale, one beef tamale (both with sweet, sweet masa), two more peanut butter balls, and then go home, giving away the apple butter and blackberry jam to Cindy the tamale-bringer before I'm tempted to even open them.

I go straight to Mike and Beth's house where I'll be housesitting for the next few days. I read the note they left--a lengthy one, but with only one important line: "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE eat the Christmas cookies in the fridge! With milk!" In the fridge--a small plate of frosted, sprinkled, sugared sugar cookies. A small yet loaded plate of sugar on top of sugar with a little sugar on top. Downed in one sitting. With a glass of ff milk. And two slices of the mini fruit loaf with some I Can't Believe It's Not Butter on them. With a glass of sugar-free soy milk with sugar-free chai mixed in.

Yesterday, I was doing so well. Last night, after the Great Cookie Consumption of 04, I stopped by my house and took all the bad food out of my house and am giving them to Jen tonight. The five pounds creeped on overnight, literally. Today's breakfast was two scrambled eggs and a vegan sausage. I feel ill. I'm glad I feel ill. I feel like I'm 8 and Halloween was last night and I snuck the bag under the covers with a flashlight. Right now, I feel guilty and amazed at how many sugar cookies I ate on top of everything else. I'm glad that the only think in my drawer is a bag of pecans. Now where'd my deli-sliced turkey breast go?

Oh, tanrazbury, I do sympathize! I didn't do very well this month resisting homemade goodies at work. Luckily they're gone now and I'm back to losing. You can do it!

We still have snow on the ground but it finally warmed up to the mid-30's today so some of it melted. There were icy roads this morning so I did have to be careful driving.

Me - I was under 150 this morning! Now if I can just get past Christmas...

I've spent the day cooking for our Christmas eve dinner. I've got the Spicy Cranberry sauce cooked. It is so good with Spenda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. I've made the Upside Down Peanut Butter Cup cheesecake as well as two batches of muffins - apple cinnamon and Strawberry/banana. Half with chocolate chips and half without. I've got all the stuff cooked for the stuffing and I made the candied sweet potatoes so I just have to reheat them tomorrow. They use unsweetened orange marmalade and a little honey. Not totally OP but not as bad as they could be.

I think you are all doing wonderful. Just a note to say I am keeping an eye on this thread as I hope to start this program if and when my life ever gets back to normal. I to am facing my first Christmas without my mom,she died whithout warring. Oct.9th. I have a DH terminally ill with brain cancer that we only found out about in June, Christmas this year is sooooooooo different. I am thankful for the true meaning. DH dosn't know what is going on, we started morphine on Monday so pain control is better. Our days are usually filled with a few crises, such as this morning DH fell in the shower, (I got a tub chair today no more standing in the shower) and then tonight I was hit in the head with a toy car(baby grandson threw it) I will have a nice black eye. Ha Ha But I must say thankyou God for each day.There is always something to be thankful for.

Well so much for my woes,
Love Life laughter,
Tazcat