It just dawned on me--we are in a new month!!

Hi out there (whoever will read this!)

Alan called me from Ireland today. He had picked up his rental car and was on his way to the company that he is visiting. I do so miss that man!! My bed is very empty without him in it

The scales are being kind today! I'm hoping this is a conintuation of the downward trend!

I just found your new thread! I linked to it from the April thread and copied my post over here:

Well, Howie and I drained the pond and cleared out the muddy bottom this morning before he headed off to work. I am leery of more problems, but this time with run-off from rain. I wish I'd done the rocks and liner a little differently. We'll just have to see how it goes!

We're still kinda struggling with the plan, but we are at least maintaining. I would have lost this week had I consumed the water like I should have. Too bad my working out in the rain on the pond today doesn't count as water...I'd have my day's worth. LOL I put on my heavy chore coat and just kept going. It's done now (gee, I said that before, didn't I?).

The Heart Walk's coming up in a couple days. Howie and I walked about 40 minutes today, and the 3-mile walk will take us around 1-1:15 hours.

Thanks for posting the link from the other thread, Kimberley--I probably would have been posting over there for days wondering where everyone else was...

I've been IMing with a girl who lives nearby all morning. She's my age, and I found her post on Craiglist in the "strictly platonic" section. She sounds similar to me--she spends most of her free time with her boyfriend and has almost no female friends to hang out with. We're going to get together sometime in the next couple weeks

Jen--I hear you on the empty bed. I remember when Jeff left overnight for the first time since we moved in together...it took me FOREVER to fall asleep! I ended up curling up with his pillow and watching tv until I finally drifted off. I don't normally have to watch tv in bed when he's there...I just fall right to sleep. Alan will be home soon

Ooh, I have new motivation to pay off my credit card! I got Jeff to agree that once it's paid off, we can adopt a cat I am SO excited (even though it probably won't happen until December-January at the earliest...unless I win a lottery ).

Kimberley: That pond is quite an undertaking! I dont think I would have known where to begin to make something like that! Would love to see it when you get a chance!

Jill: I think women need to have other women as friends. I know so many women who only spend time with their mate, and they don't get a chance to do any "female bonding." I felt that way when I first moved down here--I didnt have any women friends at first. But being the outgoing gal I am, it didnt take long!

The kitty sounds like good motivation to get things paid off! With your new job and salary, it should be a snap! I'm glad you are taking care of this while you are YOUNG!

Hey Gals! Sorry I haven't been posting, work has been SO crazy, and with my new workout schedule, plus it's spring cleaning here this week.. things have been too crazy. By the time I'm done with work AND working out, it's time to make my lunch for the next day and go to bed. I haven't even had a chance to update my resume or apply for any jobs, which is sucky.. but I know this will all pass soon, I'm going away for 5-6 days in May, and then after my mom leaves after the long weekend things will calm down a LOT!

I'll try and check in more often.. I must run... literally.. take care, it's almost summer!!

-Aimee

Good to see you, Aimee. Have you thought any more about temp work, by chance? I think we'd talked about that a few threads back, but I don't know for sure anymore.

Here's a picture of the pond along with a picture of a robin who fought his reflection in our car bumper for almost an hour yesterday. I have a short movie clip of him flapping against the chrome, but no way to post it here. I might post it at my website, though.

Oh Kimberley it turned out beautiful!!! And what is up with that crazy bird?

I have to remember to watch my sodium intake. I had some sauerkraut last night at dinner, and this morning I am up 2 lbs! Tonight it's straight protein and veg--chicken and broccoli!!

My abs are sore from doing 100 sit ups on an exercise ball yesterday! My friend and I challenge each other every time we work out together to do four sets of 25, then rest in between. It will make a difference one day soon!

Sounds painful! I have so slacked on the exercise. I need to just bite the bullet and do it. We walk, but not regularly, and I don't do strength training (though the gardening I've been doing lately has certainly qualified for that).

Robins and cardinals are both really territorial during mating season. They'll attack their reflections for hours on end! I got a couple shots of a bird unusual for our suburban neigborhood...A pileated woodpecker. They're huge birds with bodies about 15" long! Here's a couple shots of her, plus two of the flowers in front of our house:

You've been a busy gal! The flowers are beauties! And that bird is really strange looking!

Good morning!! I hope everyone is doing well.

Today will be my fifth day in a row to go to the gym! I will be concentrating mostly on cardio today. Will do 20 minutes on the treadmill, 10 minutes on the punching bag, 10 minutes of rebounding, 100 crunches and 5 minutes of stretching. The trainer remarked yesterday how she can already see a change in my body. I can too! I am getting more of a waist now! I actually like the way my body is shaped for the most part--with the exception of my big belly!

Wow, good for you! Our Heart Walk is today and I am trying to get psyched. LOL My legs are sore this morning, but the kinks will work out okay once I get going. We saw several of our walking buddies at the coffee shop last night and everyone seems to be looking forward to it.

Yesterday evening, I saw yet another first for us in our yard. This is a rose-breasted grosbeak. And next to him is one you should be familiar with, a northern cardinal.

I didn't realize you were such a birdy girl, Kimberley!! Birds are pretty cool to watch....

Kimberley--as per usual, I am jealous of your superior photography skills And that pond looks awesome! Hope no more little creatures disturb it

Jen--congrats on going to the gym so often...you're doing so great!

We started a new contest at TOPS last night. We each made a yarn octopus with 8 braided legs. For the next 8 weeks, anyone who gains weight has to cut off a leg that week The people with the most legs remaining after 8 weeks win! I like these little contests--they help me a bit with motivation. I like my little purple octopus and don't want to se ehim get hurt!

I stopped at both Whole Foods and Trader Joe's for the first time this week. I was somewhat disappointed in both after having heard such rave reviews on here and from people at work. I suppose my expectations were a bit high. I did find a new hummus at Whole Foods, though, where oil was the last ingredient listed instead of the second. It sounded good--it was tomato basil flavor. The expiration date on the container was May 15. So, I grabbed it out of my fridge 2 days ago (May 3) and grabbed some rice crackers to eat with it. I peeled off the plastic safety seal and opened the lid to find--mold! For less than 3 bucks, I wasn't about to search for the receipt and go back to the store for an exchange or refund, but it was quite the disappointment. I threw the entire container away

I'm officially back up into the 280s, even according to the TOPS scale, which is usually slightly lower than my home scale. I haven't been drinking enough water lately, have been eatin more sodium and crap in general, and haven't so much as walked further than from my computer to my couch for exercise At this rate, it certainly shouldn't take much of a drastic change to see an improvement--I can only get better from here, right?

Hey Jill: Your challenge at TOPS is very interesting! I know your octo will still have all of its legs by the end of the challenge!!

I took it easy at the gym today--30 minutes on the treadmill and stretching. I'm still hurting from all the activity this past week. This is my sixth day in a row! I'm taking tomorrow and Sunday off, I think--unless I go just for cardio. My muscles need to heal!