National Parker Honestly, I always think of pop corn as a "veggie" Sure beats potato chips!

OnebyOneOur daughter's friend is a potter. She bravely worked with 60 mentally challenged youngsters to make something out of clay and is firing their art work. Hope their initials or name at the bottom of 60 snowmen can get the right one with the right kid. They were very well behaved and loved every minute of the class.

Agree, munching on raw (especially sweeter organic ones) Carrots can take a while, satisfy desire for crunch, and build health, too.

Sandy

Ordered a cup of soup at the lunch and felt good - despite the full meal being free as a treat by my boss, so everyone ordered burger/fries or wrap/kettle chips. I checked the nutritional info and it was less than 300 calories so I'm pleased with my choice. Dinner was fairly light as we were focused on getting the tree decorated. DH had picked up different lights that were "warm clear". Hm. They are the brightest dang things. Not happy but that's a first world problem. I said the small airport near us will confuse these lights for the approach lights in the field next door. DH came back in and agreed that we'll use these this year and then find another use for them next year but they're not the cheap $3.99 boxes... so we'll see.

A project for this season was cutting up some purchased birch logs into candleholders and DH is tackling that tonight. My part of it was the idea. I kid you not. I adore birch wood and it's going to be hard for me to part with them, but will give a couple to my brother and his wife and a couple to my friend as part of her gift. I'm amazed that he's as into it as he is! I appreciate him tackling it now so I can gift wrap them and have them all set before he returns to work tomorrow night.

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walked, CREDIT moi, to my evening event after dark. Christmas lights are everywhere. I zigzagged my path to include two micro-libraries where I fondled a few books but left them behind. My desire continues to be to cease stacking books in my house. I am, however, getting impatient that my library request for Dr. Randall's new book about dark matter hasn't been filled yet. Apparently, I wasn't the only one to request it.

Meals were on plan, CREDIT moi, with afternoon snack the problem. Seems that my only success with snacks lately is to report what I'm doing here. At least I haven't given up. I had some writing to do and blank paper yells "Eat, eat, eat" to me. Oh, Well.


onebyone – Real cutlery is such a nice part of eating. I keep threatening to buy a heavy set of silverware just for the joy of it. DW reminds me that it doesn't go in the dishwasher and she isn't going to be the one who washes it by hand. Yes you can say that the day went well. [Beck books always end well, LOL. This isn't Moby Dick.]

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Full Kudos for exercise on schedule for the month.

nationalparker – Good popcorn should be banned from the office environment. Neat that you're planning your staff lunch in advance.

Karen (karenrn) - It's colder in Arizona than here in Massachusetts - Wow. Kudos for dropping the cashew brittle.

curlyjax - Yep, Kudos for avoiding food at a book club meeting.

Sandy (love2garden) - LOL at popcorn as a veggie.

Readers -

I had an inappropriate snack while I was out doing stuff yesterday. The sabotaging thought was something along the lines of "It's Christmas!" Sigh. CREDIT for making it replace a snack, not making it an additional snack.

I've got to do Christmas shopping today and I guess I better make it this morning because I can't trust myself at any other time of the day. I guess I'll phrase that more positively since getting mad at myself doesn't work for me. I'm going to shop this morning to make it easy for me to stay on plan today.

WI: NA kg, Exercise: +40 645/1200 minutes for December, Food: 80% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

Hi coaches!

I've been to Denver once this morning and am back down with mom who needs a tooth extracted. She's requested I be in the room with her. Yuk. Not my choice but I will abide with her request. Knowing this yesterday, I scheduled a 90 minute massage. It's a great non food reward. I'm stating to formulate a new and more restrictive plan for 2016, which still follows my original "diet" of choice and includes more planned exercise. I'd like to set some new goals for 2016 which include my new and crazier life AND a bike rack for my little car so I can restart what was a quite enjoyable outdoor exercise for me several years ago. Credit. Food just ok weight just ok... Not freaking out about either but Beck teaches me to respond before 5 pounds turns in to 50. Credit.

Ok, time to proceed.

Good afternoon coaches,

Did my class at the gym as well as 45 minutes on the treadmill, credit. Food is on plan and within calories, credit. It seems more difficult right now just because of the season, even though I am not anywhere that food is displayed. Go figure.

Lexxis Good to see you. Boy it is almost the new year, isn't it. Enjoy your massage, that sounds heavenly.

GardenerJoy I would have an inappropriate snack too if I just saw a really good looking shortbread cookie. I was even at the gourmet type grocery and nothing looked good enough. I actually did a little shopping today too. I don't mind it once I get out there, it's just getting myself to go. Did you have any luck?

Nationalparker Your Christmas tree lights reminds me of all the discord we had when we had a live tree. Dh hated putting on the lights and would usually have a couple of beers while he did it. I was usually not happy with how they were spaced, etc. Well thank goodness for prelit artificial trees. No more fights about that subject at least.

Love2garden I love the idea of popcorn as a vegetable. Actually I need to remember popcorn. I like it fine popped in the air popper and then I can have quite a bit for few calories.

Onebyone I hope you're having a good day. I just reread your post from yesterday and enjoyed it all over again.

I'm just going to say, "Lord give me strength to get through this food focused holiday season!" I think I'm going to need to formulate a plan to determine just what treats I must have so I don't feel deprived but also don't gain weight.

Debbie 90 Minute Massage!!! I usually have 60 minutes every Wednesday afternoon. Wonder how on earth the masseur can keep going! Hope you treat yourself more often.

Karen Agree on the air popped pop corn, I really like that and have for ages. Economical, too. 45 minutes on treadmill should give you good credit.

Today was massive de-cluttering as I emptied file drawer of past financial statements that are safe to shred. With neither of us working now, lots of papers can safely be eliminated. Found an interesting statement I typed up years ago when my boss was not remembering how much I was asked to do that were far from my "job description" (picking up his kids from school, for example) Lots of memories, some good some comical, some caused my stomach to knot up.

Time to go veg out in front of TV with a good basketball game.

I've not put forth much effort today - a carb-filled day from the get-go. All by choice. Frustrated with myself and disappointed. I haven't added up the calories but the main offender was a LARGE cookie at a gathering in the morning. Our office has them frequently and I typically only have one every few months. Why now?

I'm tired of saying move on from that. But I need to. I haven't had enough sleep for three nights, just staying up very late with DH as he's trying to maintain his sleep cycle for working nights. Tonight will be much earlier bedtime. When I'm overtired, everything non-nutritious sounds supremely scrumptious

I have a long list to tackle this weekend - will set priorities and a system and have at it - baking, shopping and giftwrapping. I enjoy it all - much more when I'm organized and not wasting any time. My brother will be undergoing surgery on Tuesday and I'm sure all will go well, but it is in the back of my mind. He's such a treasure in my life and I'm fortunate. Goal is to post personals early tomorrow and then to report back late that I've been OP.

Good Evening, Coaches.
One more day of crazy. No sweets at work continues but I have definitely eaten too many at home. Balance. Credit for adding healthy food choices even after I ate my calories for the day. In the past I would have denied my body that as punishment for too many calories.

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Two food events - Ouch. Some relief because they were nearly back-to-back. Who schedules a party from 2-4 in the afternoon with enough food to be nibbled as either lunch or dinner? I survived, substituted salad for fries at lunch (CREDIT moi), and passed on some of walking appetizers at the party. We watched Dallas Buyers Club that's been on our list. It's a powerful reminder of the difficulty of the initial treatment for HIV/AIDS. It's not an easy watch but we're both glad to have seen it.

I did manage to get two walks, CREDIT moi, just getting myself to the two events. I left the house in clear weather but, after a warning from DW, wore rain gear and carried an umbrella. Good choice since my last walk home was in a slight drizzle. Yay for planning that works.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Such a powerful Sabotaging Thought, "It's Christmas!"

Debbie (Lexxiss) – A bike rack is a great step toward squeezing in a little Lexxiss-time in your busy life.

maryann - No sweets at work during this season is seriously Kudos worthy.

nationalparker – Seems a challenge to live a diurnal life while staying up at night with a nocturnal DH. Hope you can find some sleep time. LARGE cookies are so unnecessary in life.

Karen (karenrn) - Neat point that the season seems to suggest eating even when no food is in sight.

Sandy (love2garden) - Super Kudos for shredding the old financial stuff.

Readers -

Good morning coaches,

I've read my cards for the day and hike will be Camelback which is a short but epic hike in this area, credit. It's a bit of a climb in sections and with hiking Suzanne I'm sure I'll be getting my heart rate up. I think it's 1300 feet elevation gain in 1.1 miles. Someone placed a Christmas tree at the top so we need to get our pictures taken. This afternoon/evening is dh's work Christmas party. It starts at the office with a taco truck and then we're going to some "fancy" bowling alley. Actually I think it will be fun, lot's better than dressing up and lots of cocktails, etc. My goal is 2 tacos, 2 beers.

Bill Oh the food . . . thank goodness for all the good walking you get regularly.

Nationalparker Being tired wreaks havoc with food choices. Hang in there. Good luck with prioritizing for the weekend so you can enjoy all the things you plan to do.

Love2garden I love making room in the file drawers by shredding. I can't believe how quickly it fills again though. I'm sure I have some old work things that I could purge too.

Have a great day everybody!

CREDIT for rigging my day for success yesterday. Besides following my plan, I got in over 12,000 steps!

Today's challenge is supper from a Cuban food truck -- all part of the theme for the opening of the gallery exhibit with photos from our Cuba trip. I've mostly avoided food trucks with the assumption that the offerings are more yummy than healthy. I'm going to skip a snack today so that I don't have to worry too much about the calories in supper. It's going to be a long evening, so I'm also going to put off getting my supper as long as I can stand it, using visits with my fellow travelers and the people who come to the exhibit as my distraction.

WI: +0.1 kg, Exercise: +60 805/1200 minutes for December, Food: 100% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

karenrn: I finished my Christmas shopping! I had a pretty thorough list so there wasn't much I had to worry about making decisions about. A well-stocked bookstore is pretty much all I need.

Weighed in this morning closer to my highest weight than my ticker, as they're now wham bam right next to each other. To that end, I indulged in a half of a donut on donut Friday... went with a light breakfast and said the heck with it. Not the attitude I need to edge away from the high number and sure wish I could have said I faced yet another one down.

Ran out at lunch to pick up DH's dinner to take with him to work (from the cajun spot) and ate half of mine for lunch and will have the other half for dinner or tomorrow's lunch. At least that is a credit. It's like lately as the scale is rising and pants are tighter, I recognize it, then dismiss it. Not sure what's not clicking and why I have the oh well feeling right now. I'm only one week into my 40-week "plan" without a plan. But I can rescue today. One half of a donut does not equal a pound or 10. In fact, if I can just prep and eat a large salad tonight, that will satisfy me...then brush my teeth to prevent any mindless nibbling.

Bill - Major credits when you sub a salad for fries. Well done, sir. Have you seen Force Majeur? I think I'm on hold at the library for that one.

Karen - Great job on getting out there and challenging yourself with these hikes. Hope the party is fun and you both enjoy it. Smaller groups seem fun. Our gathering is a few hundred.

Maryann - Continued impressive withstanding the work treats! Great job! I hope you find some peace this weekend.

Joy - What a great feeling to have the shopping done. I'll be there at some point. Enjoy the festivities with the gallery showing, and the Cuban food. Hopefully it's true Cubano food with fresh ingredients.

Love2Garden - I love getting rid of paper stuff ... DH loves to shred it. I used to just crumple it up a bit and toss it in the fireplace. He hates it when I do that, so I put the papers on the shredder and he "Ed Nortons it" I call it, pushes up his sleeves and gets to work on it. haha. A good feeling to have space. I felt for you with the stomach knots reliving rough former employment stuff.

OneByOne - You have had to deal with so, so much in this past year-two years. Give yourself more credit for not just getting through it, but being a family member who has guided others along the path while still putting forth beautiful art into the world. We need more people like you. Let's make this "our" year in 2016. The Becksters will gain momentum here, snagging CurlyJax along the way. I have been All Hat No Cowboy as you wrote a long while ago and it has resonated with me. I want to start my next journal as Hat and Cowboy.

CurlyJax - Hope you're able to get some time to relax a bit amid all the action this weekend. I am setting aside time the next few evenings to shut down and take a hot bath with low lights (I have dimmers in my bathrooms and that is the best use of a dimmer switch EVER... as one who believes dimmer switches should be on every single lighting unit).

I'm looking forward to visiting my brother and his wife, but there's now a part of me that will feel so fat and BIG around them. She is a size 0 - VERY petite, and he is also very lean. DH is about 6" taller than him and maybe 80 pounds more. In my mind, I'm already self-conscious about going home at this weight. Why didn't I deal with it months ago and at least be a bit down. Instead of mentally down. Hm.

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Two lights are out that require a ladder to replace. Perhaps I should celebrate that it's a convenience to only need to haul up the ladder from the basement once. Both the kitchen light and the bathroom light require a trip to the hardware store for replacements. I could also celebrate that I like going to the hardware store and, even though one is a four foot fluorescent tube, I can walk and carry them home. On the other hand, I could wait until the remainder of each set burns out so that I can replace the pair together. On the third hand, I could replace the four bulbs in the kitchen and the two bulbs in the bathroom right now - a preemptive strike believing that their partners are on the verge of dying. Yay for first world problems.

Little walking due to rain during the day. Not enough to seriously feed the gardens but enough to keep me inside. We have three events on our schedule today so I'll need outside gear if it's another rainy day.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Hope your Cuban photography show went well. So many food situations fit your, "the offerings are more yummy than healthy."

nationalparker – Kudos for continuing to recognize "But I can rescue today." And you can give yourself credit for stopping at half a donut. [hmmm . . . Force Majeur sounds like a movie that DW would enjoy.]

Karen (karenrn) - Yep, a taco truck does sound easier to manage than a big company party. Continued Kudos for those hikes.

Readers -

Good morning coaches,

Great hike yesterday to the top of Camelback, credit. It's a climb as much as a hike. Food just okay, but that's okay. The taco truck turned out to be a Mexican buffet that was served on a patio in the near dark. I'm sure I had more calories than I would have wished. The good news is that no sweets were served.

Hiking Suzanne brought a very small tin of cookies. I decided I am going to redefine myself as a person who can eat just one cookie a day. Yesterday I had one crispy spice cookie from the tin. Today I will serve dessert at the party at our house, so no cookie. I think this might work. Typically I won't keep sweets in the house, but I don't want to keep the idea in my mind that I can't use some self control.

Bill Yes, you have big decisions today regarding what to do with the light replacement. Good luck to you in your deliberations.

Nationalparker I hear you about wishing you had lost weight before visiting your brother, but I know I don't care what size my brother is when he visits. I'm just so happy to see him and share our memories.

GardenerJoy Good job getting your shopping finished. The bookstore was my first stop the other day also. I even bought a couple of adult coloring books that seem to be very popular.