Good morning, good morning, good morning!!!!
:sman: :sball2: :sball: :snf: :sman: :snf: :sball: :sball2: :sman:
We got bombarded again with snow last night, about 4 inches! WooHoo!!!! Everything's white again. It had gotten so ugly with all the grass that's not green anymore. It's really beautiful out again.
We had a really nice time Saturday. Went out with friends to the play. It was hilarious! As I took my coat off at the hall to hang it up I reached in my pocket and handed Honey hotel keys for the evening. It was a surprise and I had already gone in the afternoon and put a bag with clean clothes and stuff up in the room. He was just a bit surprised!

We had a real nice evening. Came home Sunday morning after having their little continental breakfast thing at the hotel.
Found a dishwasher on Saturday as well. Got ABC Warehouse to come down $100 PLUS there's an $80 rebate for professional installation which we will have a friend in construction fudge an invoice for. Honey's pretty handy so he'll be doing the install himself. That brings my $479 dishwasher down to $270. I'm pretty impressed with our negotiation skills.

Cha-ching!!!
I'm happy to report that this morning I am back down to my tracker weight!!! It's been a real struggle, but I believe that I am coming to a turn in the road, a positive turn!!!
Yesterday was the Daytona 500 so Honey was tied up all afternoon.

Guess I better get used to it since it's only the beginning of the season.
Ok, let me see if I can catch up on some replies.
Mary: I'm sorry that your life is full of drama these days. You still haven't said much about "what" is going on so I'm sure you're not ready to share. But if and when you need to, you know we're here for you. [[[hugs]]]
Iwillbe: "I am lucky though, since this is post 29, no one will read this and find out that I forgot to follow my own advice!"

No One Will Read This????? Sorry, you don't get off THAT easy. I'm glad to know, however, that I don't have to get out the Sarg

on you. It sounds like you have properly chastised yourself and are on the road again.
Barbg: I love all the graphics. They sure are cute!!! * I'm glad that things are looking up for you guys. That is great news. You should be very proud that your program has not gone totally off the deep end given all of the stress that you've been under lately. Keep the faith. Love and prayers are still coming your way. *Lots of companies are going with no benefits. #1 Son is employed full time with a company and they offer NOTHING, not even a buy in health care program. He's tried to convince the owner to get at least hooked up for a group health insurance that everyone could pay for themselves. It seems to be the wave of the future. Probably because all of these American companies are trying so hard to hold onto their businesses with everything going to Mexico and elsewhere. It's hard to compete with the low wages.
2cute: Glad you had nice weather you could enjoy and you survived the grandkids. * Now, I know I started the thread. Now, YOU can see what took me sooooo long to post. It's a MEGA one!!!
Judy: Hope the scratchy throat didn't turn into anything MAJOR!!! Colds and flu are the pitts and it is the season! *Great advice for Scooter.
Angela: I guess I missed something in translation. What type of book are you writing? I guess I didn't realize you were a writer. I'm sure you wrote that somewhere and I just missed it.

That was such a cool story about the outfit at work. Really jazzes ya to keep strong and stay going, I would bet!!!!
Marcie: Great job avoiding the cakes. You are soooo STRONG!!!! Whatcha been up to? We haven't seen you in a bit.
Joyce: I HATE that "totally stuffed" feeling. I've gotten to the point now....baby steps.....that I WILL NOT go through that anymore. Now, don't get me wrong, it is NOT easy. I'm from the age old "clean plate" club so leaving a little on my plate or taking home leftovers is a real challenge for me. But I have to say that the longer I practice this, the easier it gets. Most of the time the leftovers never get eaten, but I haven't gotten to the point of leaving 1/2 a meal on my plate and throwing it out.
SueMarie: Glad you're feeling better. * Another GREAT game! Good for you! You're quite the bowler! When I used to bowl, I was really doing good if I hit 110. I think my average was 75.
Terri: I'm glad you were able to take the other day off, but it sounds like you might have worked harder at home than at work!!! Geez, you were one busy woman! * I don't know if this will help or not, but a friend of mine has a big dog and she has one of those big oval stuffed beds right by the door and when Lady comes in, she has to go straight to the bed. The bed is not so much for Lady to sleep in as it is for her to dry off when she comes in the back door. * Glad you had a chance to get out and see the "girls". Sounds like you have a good time anytime you get to the barn. *Sorry to hear about the death of DH's Aunt. I'm sure you've been busy this weekend with the funeral. Glad that BIL is doing better. It's amazing what progress they have made with stroke victims.
Hilta: Good job on the extra pound and a half! You're doing GREAT!!! * I love your Monday's Motivation. That's a keeper!
CD: I'm a "night person" too. It's the pitts because other than my friends also being night people, Honey wants me to go to bed when he does so that I don't wake him up when I finally crawl in. I have read that you can re-program yourself by forcing yourself to go to bed a a particular time and get up at the same time for a couple of weeks. I'm in the process of trying that.

It's the pitts too because I lay down and then don't fall asleep for an hour or more. But I'm hoping the re-programing takes hold here before too long or I may just scream!!!!!
Scooter: Good to see you back. I copied/pasted an article for you/all of us that I found in my WW newsletter. It's about how to get our loved ones to stop sabataging us. Hope you'll find it helpful when dealing with your mom. It's really too bad that she isn't more supportive, but it is common for our eating buddies to be quite jealous of us trying to do something to get healthy when they're not able to get their act together. Do you have a second TV somewhere else in the house. Maybe you could suggest that she watches that one for the 1/2 hour that you're on the treadmill. After all, it's not like you're there for hours.......yet!
Leanne: Hope you're feeling better by now. Don't take any chances with anything. You don't want to end up with another hospital episode. [[[hugs]]]
Ruby: Hope you're feeling better too. Can cyber-buddies catch stuff from each other?

I do have the Oxycise tapes. Unfortuneately I have not used them. They are among the exercise tape collection that is collecting dust here.
BarbPA: It's nice to see that you're keeping up reading. Hope you'll feel more like posting real soon.
Esmaraude: Where are you? I don't think you've checked in since your birthday. Are you ok?
There are quite a few more we haven't seen in awhile. Gizmo, Amanda, Steph, Jen, Tina, Sandy, Syn......I know there are more, but it's escaping me right now.....sorry. Hope you are all well.
The "baby" is supposed to *said with attitude* get his car back today.....FINALLY!!! It was in paint last week and Friday they were "putting it back together". Arghhhhh!!! They said 3-4 weeks. Today it is
5 weeks. Guess somebody doesn't know how to count!
Survivor was good the other night. Seemed neat to have it start a little differently. How stupid was the group that lost their "fire" box at the bottom of the ocean. Like #1 Son said, "why the heck didn't they empty the rocks or whatever that box was weighted with?" Even if they wanted to keep the box, they should have put the flint in someone's pocket or something. Well, we'll see if they can retrieve it.

And what about that school teacher that had to sing all the time? YIKES! Real glad she's gone! Not sure how many weeks I could put up with that.
Is anyone else bored with
The Apprentice? We watch it, but it's not like I would miss it if we didn't.
And
Desperate Housewives.......I think I need crib notes to keep everyone straight. It is a terrible show for people like me who only have 1/2 a brain left! YIKES!!! What's with the guy in the diner? First he's talking to Mike, then you see him talking to the guy from the police station. If somebody has some insight, please share with your poor brainless friend over here.
Well, my dears, I do believe I'm caught up again....If I missed anyone, I am indeed sorry. It was not intentional.
Gotta run. Just a couple of quicky jobs today, but I do have to get on the phone and try and get my new mattress ordered. See you all later. Love

ya bunches!
Here's that article:
Weight Loss Saboteurs
By Melissa Sperl | 10/25/2002
When Melody started trying to lose weight with Weight Watchers, she found her (also overweight) sweetie to be, well … less than supportive.
"He finds [Weight Watchers] to be very threatening to his way of life (eating), since he is addicted to bread and olive oil," says the WeightWatchers.com Community user. "He also listens to 'experts' who say that lots of fat and starch will keep you satisfied, and therefore you'll eat less. I've learned to make light of it ('Yeah, I tried that diet … all the way up to my top weight'), but if it gets too bad, I pull out the big gun and say, 'Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm the only one losing weight here.'"
Weight loss is hard enough without conflict from your loved ones. But lots of people report that the husbands, mothers, family and friends they expected to cheer the loudest actually never said a peep. Or worse, they were loudly against the idea of weight loss altogether.
It's enough to slow down your weight loss momentum. In really bad cases, it's even enough to stop you short. What do you do when your should-be supporters are trying to sabotage your weight loss efforts?
Help!
When you realize that one of your loved ones is a saboteur (the word we use for a person who, purposefully or not, tries to sabotage our efforts toward a goal), says Dr. Howard Rankin, a Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, psychologist and author of Inspired to Lose (Step Wise Press, 2001), "it helps to stay focused on your goal, and realize that others have their own agendas."
Perhaps they're just plain jealous that you're losing weight. Or maybe they're worried that if you make changes in the way you eat, they'll have to eat differently, too. Another WeightWatchers.com Community user said that was the case with her husband: "He thought I was going to take his treats away from him."
Maybe the saboteur is acting out of fear. The user from above added, "He also used to complain that if I got skinny, I would leave him for somebody else."
Another thing that might be getting in your loved ones' ways of cheering you on is their own habits. Maybe they're used to loving or comforting you with food. Now that you don't want to be loved that way, they feel confused and rejected.
5 Stop-It Steps
It's often perfectly innocent, but sabotage can still make a big difference in your plan. After all, it's hard to hold your resolve when your best friend is pouting because you won't go out for pizza, or when your mother puts your favorite, high-fat dessert in front of you ("Just one piece can't hurt, can it?").
With Rankin's help, we figured out some things you can do if you fear there's a saboteur in your midst. Try these tips:
Make sure you have a support group to counteract the saboteurs. If you're getting negative messages at home (or at work, or from your friends), be sure to get even more positive messages from somewhere else. A Meeting room is the best place to get this done (click here to find a Meeting).
If your friend suggests you're losing too much weight, reassure her that you are eating healthily and losing weight slowly. Show her Weight Watchers Weight Ranges if you need to. Tell her what a difference this is making to your health.
If your spouse is worried you'll lose weight and then leave him (or her), make it clear that even though you're changing the way you eat, the way you love him/her will stay the same.
Talk about it. Simply ask for help. Maybe your sister doesn't know you're really serious about this, or that her harsher words make a difference.
Recognize that this is your life. Remind yourself everyday about why you're doing this. Be your own cheerleader!
Be patient. For Melody (above), simply asking for support didn't help much. But over time, her boyfriend got used to the changes she was making, and they learned to laugh about it. "Now," she says, "he even asks me if I need to get on the Internet so I can log my POINTS® values into my POINTS Tracker!"
Ok, It's probably not morning anymore, so I'm outta here.......
