Ooooooo Kathy I'm so sorry the temps are diving for you. I can say I'm sure glad it's not me. *ahem* I found this page on handfeeding, and they go into weaning to regular pelleted food down towards the bottom. Looks like a good information page in general.

http://www.lafeber.com/feeding_instructions.asp

I never had to handfeed babies, nursed a few adults back though. I hope you have great luck with the baby!

This morning was a little frustrating for me. I woke up later than I should have, the dog got into the trash, and the weather is not cooperating. Temp is dropping, and the rain will start, so we'll have a nice little ice buildup on the roads. I'm hoping I can bug out of work early so I can avoid the worst of it. And if I get home a little early, I can run tonight since I didn't have time this morning. I'm still suffering from my overindulgence on Saturday weight-wise, but I'm hoping to see that drop off, as well as that lingering pound remaining between me and my goal for this month. I know I didn't get really going till mid-month, but it would be really nice to meet goal anyway.

Hope everyone's Monday is going well.

Hey sometimes a little outbakc is just right..i bet your tummy was like..ok..i want my diet back..lol every once in a while no big thing!! plus look at you on that readmill YOU go!! I am thinking how I can sneak one in w/o the hubby finding out. My stairmaster was fried by him trying to fix it..hmm

Oh happy I am so sorry you are in pain. Tooth pain is the worst. Can he not call you in somethig elsie. Bless you. Would rahter have cold than a tooth ache. so so sorry!!


Lucky,.brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..i mena it is what 27 here..and I am cold but 34 brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..what an awesome name for the wee one. Be interested to know about the feeding.

My hubby is home and i am going nuts..for goodness sake sun..MELT the blooming ice

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRr

Hi all and happy Monday ? Lucky, I love your baby's new name. How great!

Well, we have crappy weather here too. I am leaving at 4 to go home, get some sleep, and do a 3rd shift. I am actually glad that is the plan, and that I am not scheduled to go to the barn tonight. Brrrrr.

Well, I gained a pound and a half this week. Not good, but I have made some baby steps in other areas. One day, one decision at a time.

Stay warm, drive safe, and have a good day.

I called the dentist this morning but he was still out of town from his weekend trip. He did prescribe me antibiotics - should have know this was an abscess and I am seeing him first thing in the morning. Everything has tightened up in sympathy so now my jaw, throat, head, neck and back hurt too. Tracy, I would take the flu any day over this. I think I would feel better if I could pop my head out the door tomorrow and it would be sunny and 70 degrees but the forecast is more bitter cold and some additional snow it seems. Sorry to all you ladies down south who got ice today. Be careful out there!

I didn't see the posts until late but Kathy my sister had to wean her baby cockatiel - I can ask her how if you like.

Just a quick check in for me tonight - I'm going to try and get some disruptive sleep now.

Have a good day tomorrow - stay warm and safe!

Oops, I forgot it was Monday. New focus for this week -

1) Eat on Plan or practice portion control

or

2) focus on eliminating impulse spending. Before you buy anything this week, ask yourself "do I really NEED this?" If so get it, if not perhaps delay your purchase until you've given it a bit more thought.

Hey all. Do we love this weather or what???? I am sitting here at work. I think I will only be picking up a few more shifts, then I should have my positions filled - at least for the moment. We will see.

I am working to remember one decision at a time. And to focus on my long term goals, not immediate gratification. Writing down everything I spend is really an eye opener. I see how much I spend on extra stuff - mainly food. So I try to remember my house and weight goals whenever I have the urge to "just pick up a little treat." It has helped. Right now I will take any help I can get. That is another reason why I need to cut out the third shifts. I am just spending the money, using it to splurge instead of save, and I eat more on thirds. I am trying for healthy things, but it still adds calories.

So, I guess I am going to tackle both of your goals for the week, Happy. I hope the antibiotics kick in soon, and you start to feel better.

Everyone else, have a great night/morning/day - whatever.

Good morning! It's a better one than yesterday.

Tracy - Oh yes, my tummy is very happy to be back OP. I felt bloated and stuffed. The food was so good, but the consequences were not so great. It took my system two full days to get back to something approaching normal. I got my treadmill used for $300. It isn't the greatest, most awesome thing in the world, but it works. That's all I really cared about. The treadmill is the one thing besides my freeweights that I find I will use consistently. It was a very good purchase for me. Things still strained with the husband? I hope it's going better for you.

Jolly - It is so hard to have all these goals - financial, emotional, physical - and to focus well enough on all of them all at once to actually make huge progress in any one area. I can't do it at all. I find I really need to focus hard on one area for a long time before it becomes even remotely second nature enough for me to tackle something else. It's frustrating and I'm not a patient person, but geez, I guess that's another area I have to work on, eh? That you keep tackling those goals from new angles and keep making progress is a wonderful thing.

Happy - Oh OUCH! I'm so sorry! Gads I hate stuff like that. I've been remarkably blessed on the tooth front. My mom had to deal with abscesses a lot, and I remember how much it hurt her. I hope now that you've figured it out it will be taken care of and GONE. I'm doing pretty good on the eating OP and the portion control finally. It took me a couple weeks to get it reined in. Impulse spending, though... boy, that's a good one. I need to work on that ALL the time.

I'm making progress, and I'm happy about it. I increased my distance on the treadmill today to 1.86 miles in 30 minutes, which means I'm moving a little faster. I managed to run 7 tenths of a mile and a half, which is also an improvement. AND I dropped a half a pound. I have 5 days to drop the other half a pound to meet goal. You better believe I'm going to be running my butt off. OP with food, OP with water, and I missed one day of working out. It doesn't seem to have hurt my progress, though.

The weather is supposed to break today, clearing up and slowly warming up till it's in the 50s this weekend. And so far, no rain called for till Monday or Tuesday. *hope pray* That would be a GREAT riding weekend!!

Time to get some work done. Have a great day, everyone!

Morning Girls! Just a fasr post before I lose electricity again! Ice storm Sunday night, 3/4 of an inch on everything. Tree branches falling all over my yard, little limbs everywhere! Dense fog advisory Monday, more freezing rain last night now a couple inches of snow. Not going to warm up until Thursday. No school today and both big guys are home from work so everyone is safe.

Just wanted to check in and say hi to everyone. Lights are flickering, gotta run!

Hey all. Not doing so well today. I lost the lunch battle. It is so stupid too, because I know it is due to being over tired, and I was frustrated. So, instead of eating healthy, and affordably, I did a super - plus- sized McDonald's run with a couple of candy bars thrown in for good measure. I won't even try to rationalize, Raven. There is no excuse. And the whole time I am eating, I know why I am, and that I shouldn't be. Sigh.

On a happier note, though, I did make it to the gym today, even though I worked last night. And, I had a talk with one of my group home managers, and asked him NOT to bring me breakfast when I work at his home. It is incredibly sweet of him, but he doesn't need to spend the money, and I don't need the calories.

I think I am going to leave a tad early, and skip the barn tonight. I am going tomorrow, and tonight the weather is still a bit rough, and my mood is even rougher. No need to take it out on my pony.

Have a good one all. Drive safe.

Good morning all. Where is everyone? It feels a tad lonely. I hope things are going ok for you. I am so tired this morning, and not even sure why, as I got to bed decent last night. I may not make the gym - we shall see.

Hope to hear from you all later

Hi everyone.

What is the only thing that can halt a trucking company? -40 degree weather. Wind chills of -50. Raven does Alaska even get this cold?? We don't so I don't know why we have been blessed with this, but I'm thinking that we will all go to a tanning bed tomorrow seems as a vacation is out of the question.

Happy did you get to see the dentist today? I sure hope that the pills kick in and start to take the pain away. That would be great if you could ask your sister how to wean this bird. It is going to drive me crazy, it keeps screaming, and it can't possibly be hungry - it took us awhile but we figured out it wanted to be picked up.

Hippy sorry to hear about your power. Hope all is restored quickly for you so that things can get back to normal. On the plus side I hope you all enjoyed your unscheduled day together.

Jolly that is so nice that someone brings you breakfast. Even if you have to ask him not to. It is nice to be thought of. Way to go on making it to the gym.

Tracy how are things going? I don't know if you can sneak in a treadmill, just hint for the rest of the year that it is what you want for your birthday or Christmas. Just keep hinting. Or check out the papers and see if you can find one that someone is trying to sell.

Raven look at you go. I am most impressed. You are doing so wonderfully well on that treadmill. The kids will have to come out to the garage to visit you soon. Actually it is amazing how knowing only half a pound to go to reach goal will give you an extra little kick to lose it. I am so proud of you that you are doing so well. I am still trying to get all the kinks out of the new routine around here, so am mopping away at work. (to fast music to help me go faster.) Thanks for the website for the bird. This one eats more than it says it is suppose to. Oh well we will get this worked out also. The people we got this one from say that they have one that is 5 and they still hand feed it, plus it eats on its own. I sure hope we can wean this one as it is time consuming to feed them on demand.

Well I must run and get ready for work. Have a happy Wednesday everyone.

Good morning chickiedoodles...

I am in a great mood this morning. I managed to break the running goal I'd set for myself by two weeks. This morning I ran OVER a half mile without stopping. I actually did six tenths, and of course my lungs are paying me back now. *cough hack*

I am also really beginning to understand so much more about myself, the reasons I stayed fat and angry, and how to let it go. As I start to do that, the fear of losing weight is slowly diminishing, though it still exists. It took me a year to get to this point, a year of 3FC and introspection and wanting so badly to figure this out. It really is all about doing the exercise and watching the food and water. The scale will come bumping along behind, but as long as I stay OP, the weight will come off. It really will. Maybe at its own pace sometimes, but that's just the way it is. I can't force the scale to change, but I can make myself stay OP.

Jolly - I wanted to come online, really I did!! A contractor somewhere managed to eat through 30 feet of Bellsouth cable, and we lost internet and phone here at work. Was a major bummer. I know I was fighting fatigue too. The weather doesn't help. That food you ate yesterday probably doesn't help, either. Jolly - why are you doing this to yourself? The things you talk about are more symptoms than causes. Why do you continue to sabotage your efforts? Why are you holding yourself back?

Hippy - Ack! Hope you get the electricity back on soon!

Lucky - Well in Anchorage no, it doesn't get that cold. But up in Fairbanks, yes, absolutely. Sometimes much colder. Without any wind chill, you can easily expect air tempuratures of at least -45 for at least 2-3 weeks out of every year, and that's inside the city limits. The outlying areas get hit harder, and I do remember days of -65, nearly -70. Again, that is without windchill. That's when the truck tires freeze, the trees explode, and running to the outhouse REALLY wakes you up in the morning!! Then lets not even talk about temperatures up on the North Slope oil fields where I worked for so long. That's on the edge of nowhere, and the word cold doesn't even mean anything anymore. And THAT is why I live in Georgia now!! I hope you get the baby bird thing figured out! I think handraising a cockatiel would be so fun! If I had the time. Which I don't. *blink* I wish I had something physical I could do at work... I spend 90% of the day in front of the computer. Ohwell, at least I'm a geek and enjoy that kind of thing.

Happy hump day, folks!

Hi peoples,
Brrr sure is cold out here tho not 40 below like you Lucky. It's going to be a loooonnnnggg February. My body does not like winter.

Lucky, my sister got her bird at 2 months. It had learned to eat pellets from watching the other birds in the cage. She said the baby pellets were really messy and she put a regular seed cup in for a few days and gradually moved the baby pellets out. When she'd feed him the liquid he'd squawk like crazy but she gradually cut out the liquid feedings as she monitored his food intake. I think she had him weaned in 3 weeks. Here's another article on weaning - http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww50eii.htm I didn't realize they ate so many things and another article from a breeder said it's best to have them eat more than just seed for longevity. My sister said she didn't mind hand feeding Sydney but most people found it too much of a hassle and let the breeder do it. I guess those birds make quite a bit of noise, don't they? But my sister loves them. She's had 2 and is pining for another I think. Good luck to you.

Raven, I think you are right on the mark about staying on plan being the most important focus and not paying much attention to the scale. I have gotten off base these past few weeks and I need to get my momentum back again. The lure of excuses is getting more tempting so it's time to buckle down. But I think you have hit your stride and I will follow in your footsteps. Wait a sec, what do you mean "TREES EXPLODE" - from the cold?

Jolly, I hate to say it but I think you have to put McD's on your "Do Not Call" list. I know myself, I can't walk in there without getting a Big Mac so I've had to force myself to just drive past it because otherwise I'm doomed. I can understand being hungry and rushed for time, Subway would be a better choice. And one doom leads to another, that's the bigger problem I think. If it was one meal once a month, that's one thing but it seems like one snowball starts a whole downhill avalanche. It was also a good move on your part to ask the manager not to bring in breakfast anymore.

Hippy, hope the weather has cleared up for you a bit. Ice is the worst. I'd rather have the snow and cold. It was bad driving yesterday but I think today was worse with the unseen layer of thin ice on the roads - black ice they call it. Lots of spin outs and accidents today, more than with all the snow we got yesterday.

I am doing better with the tooth now. The antibiotics are working and I can eat now. The tooth is not excruciating like it was, just feels now like someone cold cocked me in the jaw but I know that's part of the routine. I just hope this clears up for good because I absolutely cannot go through this again.

Past my bedtime so y'all be careful tomorrow.

*sigh* I WISH it were that kind. Stop it, you'll make me blush.

I met my weight loss goal. *dance* I lost 5 pounds before the end of the month. *gigglesnort*

Off to the treadmill, more later.

Go Raven, Go Raven, Go Raven!!!!! Congrats on making your goal woman!