Good morning. It's 51 here this morning, a vast improvement over the weekend mornings. We had 37 degrees on Sunday morning; that was not fun for us Floridians.

Tonight is WI and I'm not thrilled. I know that there will be a gain. I don't know what it is. I can't get rid of this holiday fat! I am OP one day and way off the next, e.g. Friday I was OP, Saturday, let's not discuss and Sunday, I think I was OP. I seem to be craving salty things which I know makes me retain water (so why do I eat it???)

Friday night, the King's Brass was terrific. Before that we went to Applebee's and I had the new WW entree, Confetti Chicken. I highly recommend it. It's only 7 points. On Saturday I judged local high school playwrights. They were great. I am so impressed by many of our youth today. It was difficult to pick the best one, but we gave many of the others good scores.

On Sunday, I putzed around the house and later had a rehearsal for Mendelssohn's St. Paul (an oratorio).

Tonight after WI (ugh) I'm going to an audition for "Once Upon a Mattress." I'm trying out for Queen Aggravain (great name). If I don't get that part, oh well.

Melissa, are you a Steelers fan? What a game!

Pam, sorry about your Pats.

lala, are you a Seahawks fan? They looked pretty good.

My Redskins are outta there!
How is everyone else?

Hi Lisa. We appear to both be struggling with consistency. My weekend was similar to yours. I caved on the weigh-in since I overate Friday nite. There was no need to pay to be told that I was up. Resolve is back in place this morning. Isn't that always the case on Mondays?

Other than that, I had a productive weekend. I finally decided on bedroom furniture and put a deposit down on Saturday. It is not a good set, but the best I can afford given that I've just purchased six new appliances, two occasional chairs and a dining room set. There's just no money left for solid hardwood!

I took M to see the condo Saturday and it went better than I expected. My reaction I mean. I was a bit afraid that it would make me feel worse about the whole situation, but it didn't. He was very complimentary about the quality of construction and the aesthetics of the place; if you knew him, you would know that this is highly unusual. He's critical when it comes to houses.

We did some touring around the community too. It's a beach area, and there are many roads in and around there that I'd never been on before. It's a beautiful area too; I gain confidence in my decision with each passing visit.

Had my hair cut and highlighted on Saturday, then went to Pilates class (2nd). Those moves sure are hard to get right, aren't they? It was windy and raining here yesterday morning so I ran at the gym instead of outside - over an hour and just a little more than 8 km. It is paying off to take things slowly; both lungs and legs felt fine.

I have a busy week ahead, then I'm heading to Ottawa to meet up with a friend and her Mom. The purpose of the trip is to skate on the Rideau Canal but if Ottawa weather has been like ours, that won't be happening. We'll see.

Susan, I'm glad the showing with M went well. That had to be strange though. Wow! You've bought a lot of new things for the condo. It will look very nice, I'm sure.

I like Pilates, but you're right, it's difficult some times. Did you do the type with the machines?

Hi Ladies,

It's bitterly cold this morning. Driving to work the thermometer read 9 degrees. This weather is insane on Saturday the temp was close to 60 and by Sunday morning it dropped down into the teens and was snowing! Now I'm hearing by Wednesday back up into the mid 40's.
My eating was very irregular this weekend due to quite a bit of stress throughout the week. Last Monday a dear friend and coworker died. It was not unexpected, since he had been ill for over a year, but still very sad since he was only 53. The funeral was Friday and the stress of it all really put me in tailspin. Friday night DH and I went to dinner and I ended up ordering a small carafe of wine...just for me to go along with dinner. I did better on Saturday but Sunday wasn't terrific either. I'm back on course (I hope) today.

Susan I'm happy that your condo is coming together. You must be getting excited about the move. It sounds like it's in a lovely area with a lot of nice roads to go running on.

Lisa I'll take that 51..sure beats what I woke up to this morning. I didn't have a good feeling about the Pats and wasn't too surprised by the loss. I've got to try the WW menu at Applebees. I've heard a lot of good things about it. There's a new one scheduled to open in Springfield in May, It will be pretty close to my office so will be convenient for lunch. I can't wait!

Hi to Melissa and to Lala (I waved on Saturday did you see me ). Hope you're having a fine Monday.

Hi everyone.

quick drive by right this second, about to paint the accent wall in my study.

I lost a 1lb, so, yipee.

more later.

lala

lala, I gained your pound!! Went to WI last night--it could have been a lot worse. DH was down 6--he drives me nuts!

Pam, eewww, bitter cold. I don't like it when it's that cold. Try Applebees; it's good. Sorry about your coworker. I think when the person is young, we begin to think of our own mortality.

Went to an audition last night for Once Upon a Mattress. I thought I did well, but one never knows what the director is looking for. I sang, danced (sort of) and read well. I return tonight for more torture.

Hello Melissa, Susan, and Austin.

Good morning! It's 36 here this morning but temps are supposed to begin dropping later today and snow is supposed to move in overnight :frown: Saturday we woke up to a slushy mess and it made driving treacherous. By the afternoon it was a little better.

I didn't do a whole lot over the weekend except eat mindlessly then get upset with myself for not keeping track. It seems a few of us are in the same pattern. I do well for a few days then things get out of hand. I really need to get a handle on why this is happening.

I didn't get my tree down over the weekend but I did do some major de-cluttering in the spare room I've been trying to get cleared out. I got rid of 5 boxes I need to move the boxes of legos, lincoln logs, and other toys up to the attic since the boys don't play with them. I have a bit of a backache and I'm not sure if it's from the lifting/bending yesterday.

Lisa: It was an exciting game. Because we're 2 hours from Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland we kind of have 3 teams that are our "home" teams. I felt bad for the kicker from the Patriots. The games this weekend should be interesting.

Susan: Sounds like things are coming together with your condo--I bet you can't wait to get into your own space! Good for your for keeping up with your exercise--I'm working on it. That's one area where I could improve on!

Pam: Our weather has been up and down--we have some unseasonably warm temps following by extremely cold ones. Condolences on the passing of your friend & coworker. Even when you are expecting it, it still isn't easy. It's amazing how our emotions affect our eating--I have a hard time separating the two. I'm working at doing better on the weekends, although this weekend wasn't great.

Lala: Congrats on the 1# loss!!! WTG!

Well, I better get some work done here. I'll check back a little later on.

Hi everyone. A little colder here today and a light dusting of snow. Makes it a bit more like winter. I can only hope that Ottawa is a lot colder, otherwise I'll be swimming in the canal

Still another nite of bad eating. I did get my exercise in though so that's something. I found an interesting site today called ***********. Have any of you seen or used it? I'm hoping a different type of routine may "spark" the click that has been so elusive.

I'm heading out of town for a meeting and will check in when I get back on Thursday afternoon.

In the meantime, kudos for lala and for lisa who seems to have been standing behind her when she "lost" that pound. Better times a comin. BTW, no, don't do Pilates with machines. It's on a mat on the floor. Never heard of Pilates machines. Must be interesting if they can gauge movement in those elusive internal core muscles.

OMG, they blanked out the name of the site. Didn't know this was against the rules.

Susan, I wondered what happened to your post. I didn't know they blanked out sites either. I'm going to work on losing that pound and more. The pilates machines are very interesting looking contraptions.

Melissa, you are in the right area to cheer for 3 teams. Hope your back feels better.

I think I know what site you are referring to and I think there was a big rift between these two sites, way back when......

However, they have very interesting information on that site as well as this one, that is all I'm going to say.

The hawks won, I guess I should be happy, but I'm blaming their win on our not breaking the rain record. Its not like once the rain stopped for 26 hours we had sunshine and lollipops, it is still raining here and still grey.

My study looks pretty good in the light. Did one wall in treetop (martha stewarty green), the rest in high hide white. The green wall is the west facing one, so it should be lovely in the summer, cool, but still light. The other walls are covered in bookcases, so its just nice to paint them.

Had an okay eating weekend considering that I flew all day on Saturday. My arms hurt from the rolling, but I made it to the gym, so I'm happy. I joined a small group of women at flyertalk (www.flyertalk.com) on a weight loss board, so I'm working on it from both angles.

Sounds like everyone had very busy weekends. I think the cold weather would do me in at this point, unless I could see the sun.

Thanks for the encouragement on the lb lost, Lisa you will lose it this week and please don't give it back to me, okay?

Susan - glad M saw your place. It will be lovely when it is all yours. Please take some pics for us, okay?

Pam -- I waved, but it was cloudy. You have some wicked cold your way.

Melissa- I am happy that football is making all our communities happy. I wish the seahawks well, they have never done well, but I'll just be happy when the season is over.

Okay, must really get going. Work and all that. DP's train was cancelled due to mudslides, so I think she's driving herself, which I hate, but it is her choice, she has a seminar to give tomorrow and was hoping to get five hours on the train to work. Dumb mudslides....

Have a great day ladies....

and lurkers...

delurk y'all...

lala

Good morning, ladies! As I sit here at my desk I can see the snow swirling outside my window in the courtyard...*sigh* it looks like we're getting another shot of winter. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 45 and sunny...the weather has been odd this January. I'm hoping the roads don't get slick since today is my meeting day and I need to drive.

Susan: I think only some sites/links are removed depending on the content. Keep up the great work with the exercise...the eating will eventually fall into place.

Lisa: My back is feeling a little better--I don't know what I strained but I must've done something. It's not as stiff as it was the other day.

Lala: There was an article in our local paper about Seattle's rain streak and the number of days it's rained, and I complain about our weather! Sounds like the study is very calming...I had originally painted our kitchen a green and then re-painted the following year a nice blue. I'd like to paint our bathroom sometime in the future.

Pam: Hang onto your hat! The winds & snow we're experiencing will probably be blowing your way. I hope you don't get any major accumulation with it. The winds were pretty strong last evening and I really expected to see tree limbs down this morning on my way to work but didn't see any.

Well, I'm doing good with my exercise and it feels good. Now to get the eating under better control and I'll be even better! I had a restless night last night in terms of sleeping and I'm not sure why. Hopefully tonight I'll sleep better. At the end of the day today I'm going to a wine & cheese reception--wish me luck! I'll post after my WI today and let you know how things went. I'm hoping to be down a little more.

Hi Ladies,

Crazy weather here also. The temp this morning is 55 with torrential rain and strong winds. I almost was blown away while walking into the office. Tomorrow is suppose to be sunny and in the 40's but who knows.

Weighed in this morning and was down a whole pound, yeah for me! Actually I was pretty happy since my eating has not be stellar. Today I'm having a yogurt with banana for breakfast and a salad with chicken breast for lunch. I'm going to try and talk DH into going to Applebees for dinner tonight.

Other than that, everything is kind of soso. Still in a funk, I'm sure it's related to my friends death last week. I just can't seem to shake this sadness.

Melissa this winter has been insane. The temps are fluctuating by 40 degrees or more daily. Funny about your painting the kitchen green, I recently painted the dining room a kind of sage green. Not sure if I like it and have already been contemplating a change. Good luck with your weigh in today and more importantly be careful at the wine and cheese reception. That would be deadly for me!

Lala congrats on your one pound loss!! Hope the rain stops soon and the big yellow ball in the sky finally comes out.

Lisa yup my DH also can drop a lot of weight without a whole lot of effort too. Very frustrating as I struggle to lose a pound.

Susan Hope you're enjoying the out of town meeting. WTG on keeping up with the exercising!

Well ladies, I should try and get some work done. Talk to you tomorrow.

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping that everyone's weather calms down. It is grey here today, it was pretty nice yesterday and another bunch of crocuses are blooming in my lawn.

Pam - I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I can't say much more other than it is devestating.

Melissa - I just checked the weather for chicago this weekend. Yoikes. I'll be standing outside freezing hoping the line moves fast at the Berghoff. I love paint, its changeable and honestly, it gives you a great reason to declutter.
Good luck at weigh in and wining.

Lisa - I want to start pilates too. It looks quite challenging.

Hi to Susan, Austin and everyone else. Back to work.

lala

Just a quick update--I was down .8 today so I'm moving in the right direction. Now to get the night time snacking under control. Send me good vibes--I'm going to a wine & cheese reception after work and cheese is a red light for me...I'll try and just have a piece or two and then move away from the area

Lala: I was surprised to see the Berghoff was closing--they just added the cafe. It's definitely going to be missed! I don't know that I'll make it there before they close

Pam: We had the howling winds & rain last night--it sounded awful. The snow moved in this morning and it's tapered off and the temps have dropped from 36 this morning to 28!

Have a great evening ladies!