I expect it will be quiet here today due to President's Day, however, I'll at least get the week going. Hi lifers, lurkers, et al. We're heading into the last full week of February. Where are you in relation to your goals??

For my part, I'm a little farther away than last week. Had a bit of a blowout yesterday (Sunday) and while I couldn't make myself get on the scales this morning, I can feel the extra pounds. It's time to get serious. I am going somewhere south in about a month, and this is no time for my weight to head north!

We made some great progress again this weekend on the bathroom renos. Found some fantastic ceramic tile for the floor - a mix of colours and texture - almost that "distressed" look - and it was the "aha" that I was looking for.

lalala: Smarties? I don't understand. Do we have a Canadian tradition that I'm not aware of, or is this a BC thing? I wish we did get a holiday in February though; I hope you all enjoy the reprieve, however brief.

Melissa: Reading your post about your recent weight-loss success was timely for me. For some odd reason, I think I had forgotten that and was expecting that I could wish the weight away. Thanks for pointing out that success only comes with effort. I needed that.

Gotta run now. Will check in later.

Seasaw
171/147WW/???/138

Good morning Seasaw, and everyone else!

I am like you, Seasaw, but I pretty much blew it all last week. I am beginning the week serious though. Spring/Summer is upon us, and I want to look good in shorts this year! So, toning is the key for me, and maintenence!

I am going to journal faithfully this week, drink all my water, and walk 3 miles a day!

Well, I, unfortunetly, do not have President's Day off, so back to work!!



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Tonya
170/134/140(WW)/132(personal)

Good morning! I am probably one of the few who doesn't have the day off... Oh well, I'm hoping to get through some things today. At least the sun is shining here today! The downside is that I won't be able to go out walking over my lunch hour today, I have a lunch date.

The weekend was a blur for me--Saturday we went to the flower show in Cleveland. I was a little disappointed in that there wasn't as many flowers as I had envisioned. The upside was that I got a lot of walking in. I did purchase a couple of dry soup mixes. The woman I bought them from knew the ww points for them so I took the plunge and bought a couple. They did have tastes so I knew what I was buying.

I didn't do well at all in keeping up with my journal and I know that in order to stay on track I really need to keep this up to date. I'm still not feeling well and I'm toying with whether or not to call the doctor or not. It seems like whatever it is keeps hanging on and I can't shake it. This is getting to be old for me!

On a happier note, hubby and I went and paid for our new bedroom set and it's going to be delivered next Friday. I can't wait! We've been married 19 years this year and have finally gotten a whole bedroom set Now to start the frenzy of getting my room in order and clearing out stuff I've accumulated!

Seasaw: I, too am heading south in April and want to get more serious with my exercise. I know that this is a big part of my weight loss efforts. Let's do it! We can make our goals by the time we hit Florida!

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Melissa
161/142/142ww/135 personal???

Morning Seasaw, Tonya & Melissa! I am at work, too - who are the lucky people who get to have the day off?? :confused:

My weekend had some extra eating included as well - bought some 1/2 price Valentine's candy & decided to sample a few peppermint patties.... did exercise so that should help. I am thinking of going into the maintenance mode for awhile since I am at/below my WW goal weight of 145. I am frustrated with not being able to get below 140, so maybe it's best to cool it for awhile. I need to get the hang of maintenance anyway.

We are planning to leave for Orlando on Sunday, so this week will be busy getting prepared.

Melissa - I would love a new bedroom set, too. We are using the set I had growing up.

Back to work!
Katie
191.8/143.2/145WW

I, too, am at work today, sans secretary. She is off, I am here plugging away.

Didn't do any decorating this weekend. I did try to get into a weekend housecleaning routine and I found it very frustrating. There is so much space to keep clean that it seems almost impossible. I am obviously going to have split things up into chunks, and do a chunk each week. Unless I get paid help, there is no way that I am going to be able to dust, clean floors, toilets, etc. every week. That had been my hope, but reality is setting in. Any thoughts on this - I've never owned a home before (always rented a small apartment), so any tried-and-true advice on this issue would be quite welcome.

I am back on track today - packed my lunch and went to the gym before work. DH invited his BF and wife over from out of towm for a weekend trip in a couple weeks. I was about 15 lbs heavier the last time I saw them, and I want to make sure I look trim and tone this time - the wife is one of those disgustingly thin types around whom I usually feel quite plumpy (dumpy + plump). Therefore, I am definitely on board with Southern-bound katie, Melissa, and Seasaw and with Tonya in their renewed resolve. It will be good to feel like I look good when I see these guests again - I definitely was embarrassed about my weight the last few times.

Well, I was waiting for the copier to warm up, and I think it is ready now. I guess I'd better go get some work done.

(sorry long post)
Hi all-
I am also at work today, I should have been here all weekend, but that is another story.

Melissa- Don't be disappointed by the lack of flowers at the Garden Show, the growers have to force everything for the shows. Its a pretty limited palette - usually bulbs, kerria, forthysias, witchhazels, viburnums, grasses and the ubiquitious red-twigged dogwood. The plants absolutely hate all that body heat and those bright lights. I certainly wouldn't want to purchase those stressed plants.

I go because it smells good and I sometimes get an idea for certain plant combinations.

Seesaw: I was referring to the candy, Smarties (the m&m clone)in better colours.
I spend a week or so each summer in northern BC (queen charlotte islands) and enjoy looking at all the great Canadian cookies and sweets.

Tonya and ktI'm with you on the summer shorts thing. I'm heading to Australia in 12 days where the current temperature is 102 F! So, I'll be in shorts and little else sooner than I expected. I
am about 4 lbs less than the end of the summer and my shorts fit then, so I'm okay. Its the white, hairy legs I must take care of soon enough.

Austingal: I understand the house cleaning thing. We have a moderately large house with lots of platerails and other dust catching areas. I try and shut off rooms that we don't use to minimize cleaning them. I also admit to using a housecleaner twice a month. It was my treat to myself when I started working full time. I'll admit that I still vacuum the area rugs twice a week and vacuum the wood (thats all we have) between visits and do tidy up our main use bathroom. She is much more efficient than I am at doing the main cleaning stuff. You may want to look at the new book, Home Comforts, by Cheryl Mendelsson (?). It is a new bible of
home making, written by a lawyer!

So, this is getting long enough. This is the last week I'll be here for about 5 weeks. I'm off to NYC for a meeting, Paris for my birthday (really, its cheaper than NY) and Australia and NZ for three weeks. I'm not ready for anything and starting to slowly panic.

lalala

Good morning everyone. I had a good day yesterday - stayed within points, tracked everything and ran for 35 minutes on the treadmill. Not quite enough water, but I was close! Now for Day Two...

katie: Everyone must be so excited about Sunday. Have a great trip!

Melissa: A new bedroom set is also on my wish list. We have been looking for a few years and the only set that we've liked had a pretty hefty price tag. We're still thinking about it.

Tonya: Do you walk every day? I consider myself lucky if I manage 4-5 times a week. You're right though; toning can make all the difference. Right now, I'm concentrating on cardio to burn the last vestiges of fat, but strength training is on the horizon.

AustinGal: I tried several different approaches to housecleaning, but nothing has worked as well as my current arrangement. I pay someone else to do it. DH resisted for a long time, but since he's not the one who worries about the state of the household (he does clean, but seldom initiates), I really pushed the idea.

This arrangement has been in place for about 3 months. I still clean the main bathroom and tidy up between visits (she comes in twice a month), but it's nothing like having to tackle the whole thing. I recommend it!

lalala: OK, now I understand. I had no idea that Smarties were a Canadian candy and when you mentioned them in relation to celebrating Provinces day, I thought the two were somehow related.

Have a wonderful holiday. I am an attractive shade of green, especially about Australia. Kiss a koala bear for me.

Have a good one everyone. Keep those goals in sight.

Seasaw
171/147WW/144?/138

Good morning everyone!

Seasaw ~ Nope, I don't get to walk everyday. Usually 5 days a week I walk over my lunch hour, 1.5 miles, and then 3 of those 5 days I workout at the gym and walk an additional 2 miles. I get exercise on the weekend, but not structured like during the week. I still hope that I can lose my last 4 pounds, but if I don't, I am happy at my weight. My butt and thighs really need toning, it is just loose skin there now (gross...I know!)

My most difficult issue is with the amount that I work out, I don't know how many points to eat to maintain my weight. I am so used to eating 18-20 points a day, that it is hard to eat more, I am so afraid of giving myself an inch, and me taking a mile!

I will eventually work it out. (Sorry for the ramble, Seasaw! )

I hope everyone has a great day, it is sunny here, but only suppose to be 18 degrees today.

Check in later.....



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Tonya
170/134/140(WW)/132(personal)

Good morning everyone! It's a balmy 49 degrees here in Erie, PA! Hard to believe...I'm chomping at the bit to get outside and walk at noon today. Tomorrow we'll be back to reality with a high expected of only 24!

This darn sinus infection is taking all of my energy and I have all I can to do stay awake at my desk. The antibiotics should start to kick in so that will help quite a bit.

lala: This was my first experience at a flower show so I didn't know what to expect. It was pretty neat to see the different ways they presented the plants. This year's theme was Germany so they had more ground type plants, hycinths, tulips, bleeding hearts and such. I didn't spend a lot of time in the area because the blooming plants (especially hycinths) wreak havoc on my allergies.

I've been doing pretty well with keeping track of my points. I need to work on getting more walking in if I'm going to reach my personal goal.

Have a great day everyone!

Melissa
161/142/142ww/135 personal

Hi All-
In early so I can leave early...

I hope.

I'm feeling smaller today. Perhaps I'll see a loss on Thursday. That would be the nicest thing to happen in a while.

Seesaw: I think smarties are actually a British thing, but were also produced in Canada. Its funny, they taste different in England than they do in Canada. I like the colors, but i'll take a m&m over a smartie anytime.

Sounds like you are keeping up with your goals. Good for you. Australia was literally planned 2 years ago, its here now and I'm just not ready.

TonyaLyn: have you thought about working with a personal trainer to help "define" exercises for your "problem areas"? Sometimes they can help you figure out the best exercise routine for you.

Melissa: I think it would be awful to have allergies at the garden show. I think ours had the company that manufactures claritin or one of those allergy meds give out information at the show. Nice marketing don't you think?

So, I should get back to making pretty pictures for my meeting presentation. I'm really excited (not).

Have a great day all-
lala

Salut mes amies. (Hi my friends). Just trying to get lalala ready for Paris

Two days of tracking and staying within points seems to be working well. I am definitely lighter this a.m., but I'll wait until the official tally on Saturday morning. Hey, this program thing really works if you follow it

We've run into a few snags with the gathering of materials for the bathroom renos, so it's been a rather stressful week so far. It will be good to have a little break from it - I'm off on a business trip later today, returning tomorrow nite.

Off to the gym this morning and I hope to get 40 minutes in.

Til Friday then,

Seasaw

Seasaw: Yep, the program sure works when you follow it--found that out myself.
As far as stressful this week has been at the top. One of my dad's friends whom I've known all my life suddenly died from a massive heart attack and to add to the list we had a meeting at my son's school last night and they announced that the school is being closed at the end of this year and that we'll have to find another place for him to go to school. School registration for the Catholic schools here begins the first part of March which is just around the corner. Aaarrgghh!

On a happier note, I did not relieve my stress by eating I'm looking forward to going to my meeting today at noon because it will be a nice break from everything and it's time for me. I got a 40-minute walk in yesterday and felt so good! I'm hoping to continue walking and have decided to move it inside if I can't get outside.

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Melissa
161/142/142ww/135 personal (?)

'Mornin, all. Sorry to hear about the stress that Melissa and Seasaw have been going through. But, I'm glad to hear that the same ladies are feeling good about their weight/exercise goals.

It is the week before TOM for me, and the scale shows a gain this morning (as usual for this time of month). I have been ravenous the past few days, so it has been kind of a bummer week so far.

On a lighter note ... "Oh, Happy Day!" I just visited a grocery store I haven't been to in a while, and discovered that they now carry the mint and chocolate peanut butter cup flavors of Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches. Naturally, I bought all flavors - three packages of Skinny Cow's in one trip. I'll report back on my taste test results - I have already found that I don't like the chocolate flavor nearly as well as vanilla.

Well, I made it to the gym this morning, and that felt good. I packed my lunch today and left it sitting on the kitchen counter - that felt not-so-good! Anyway, hoping to have an OP day - I hear this program really works if you follow it!!

Have a good day, all!

Quick update to report that the mint flavor of Skinny Cows are absolutely to die for! I was in heaven while eating it, and now I am sad it's gone. That't the problem with these yummy low-cal treats - it is hard to stop with just one!

Back to work ....

I keep my Skinny Cows in the basement freezer to hide them from the kids (hey, they're expensive), and only eat them after the kids go to sleep (unfortunately, that usually isn't until after 10:30 p.m.). This keeps me from going for a second one when the first one's gone.

But if I could get a hold of some MINT ones, I think I might be willing to venture back to the basement in my PJs...