Tomorrow is a brand new day for me!! Yippee!!! I start my life over again and this time I will do it right! I joined a gym today and am so excited about it!! They have lots of cool equipment and so hopefully I will be able to tone myself up and get some husky-girl muscles!!!

Geez, where to start??

First, Vickie, congrats on your loss!! I hope your nephew is okay! and Froufie, go sit on the heating pad! I hope your backside gets better soon, but I've had that too in the past and it was horrible. It woke me up at night with the pain. Ugh, don't want to repeat it!

Vermont Kathy, I'd check out e-tools too if I were you, especially since you're a current "meeting" member and probably get a free code. PLUS, since you already know what to do, and can be accountable to yourself for weigh-ins, why even do it online? You know the program inside and out!

Kierie, sounds like your walking might offset those poptarts.

And a big hey there to everybody else!! Good luck on upcoming weigh-ins!

frouf - is there a recipe of your famous soup here somewhere?
thanks kally

Kally, here's what she posted on support #9:

I make soup of of ANYTHING and everything, but seems I now have a somewhat "typical recipe", which is (and you need a really big pot!): Take beef shank bone or any "cheaper cut" of beef, I usually "brown" it, add about one sliced onion, cut up baby carrots, cut up two stalks of celery...saute a couple of minutes...then add beef broth (either pre-made - the 1 litre tetra pak size) or water w/beef cubes. Add one large can diced tomatoes.... usually pre-seasoned (w/herbs and garlic), one large can tomato paste or campbell's tomato soup, more water, spices (salt, pepper, garlic, italian seasoning), a few splashes of worcestershire sauce, some splenda if too sour, about 1 cup barley (sometimes I will also add about 1/2 cup split green peas). This week cabbage was on sale (1 cent per pound!!!!), so I have chopped some in there - oh ya - also one can of red kidney beans - or whatever beans you like (drained and rinsed). So you bring this to a boil - then turn it down, cover and simmer for about 2 hours or so? Need to taste to adjust seasonings and/or sweetness. When done I remove meat if on a bone (shank) and cut up the beef, throw it back in the pot and discard bones.

I saw that you were still online and thought you might want to make some soup, and Froufy wasn't here, so I went and found the post where she described how she made it.

Just be warned - it makes a LOT of soup. But that's OK, because it's so yummy.

Angela

Well I just got back from the rehearsal dinner. Before the dinner I stopped at the grocery store and got a fruit tray that consisted of canteloupe, honeydew, strawberries, and grapes so that I wouldn't be starving when it came time to eat.

I was not surprised that nothing was core. I had 3 small fried chicken strips, a salad with cheese and real ranch dressing, and peanut butter fudge. Tomorrow is my first weigh in and I think I may have already blown it. But hey, I won't let one little mistake ruin my efforts. Live and learn, right?

Hey, you said it! Live and learn! And tomorrow is always another opportunity for a fresh start.

The rehearsal dinner wasn't in your plan, and I guess we always have to make allowances for these unforeseen obstacles! You did a good thing though by stopping for the fruit.

Be sure to let us know how that weigh-in goes! You might just be surprised.

So we're at the dinner table - been home for a little while and dh kinda mentions some package that came today!!! SO I START FREAKING OUT...and of course 6 yr old joins in as we dash upstairs to get the box!!!

DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION EXTREME IS NOW IN MY POSSESSION!!! How cool is that??

I naturally had to rip open the box and try it out - had a few problems with it initially - like which mat (got 2) went in which "slot" and at first it wasn't "registering" my dance steps (silly you have to dance on mat 1 if it's plugged into slot 1 and it's on single mode!). Once we got that straightened out it was off to the "lessons" and some beginner dancing. What a hoot!...even dh got into it and we were taking turns (he got a few A's - I was pretty impressed). Boy you can certainly work up a sweat (had to go change from jeans and sweatshirt halfway thru and into my yoga capris and t-shirt). I think I danced at least 30 minutes - kinda lost track - but I'm at a very basic beginner mode and I'm sure it will get more difficult once we increase the levels (right Angela? )

So while my backside is not really hurting - just feels weak and funny when I put pressure on my left leg - I could not stop myself from dancing - just hope I can waddle around tomorrow and hop on that scale!

Amanda - I think you did great considering the non-core foods available - and it was a great idea to get the fruit to fill you up! I'm sure you'll do great tomorrow!

...thanks for reposting the soup recipe Kathy (actually have to print it out for my boss!). I am making a fresh batch on Sunday once I get some more "ingredients"...I always try to make a smaller batch, but sometimes it never works out that way?

Went to the International Day show ( and food fest!!) at son's school - lots of food around (brought a diet pepsi with me)...got hungry so I got a vegetarian cabbage roll (lots of rice!!)....had about half of one...and decided it was not that good, so chucked the rest...had a bite of ds' banana bread (it was very good)...and 2 pretzels w/dip..and that was it!

Got home and of course eveyrone wanted a pizza - so ordered some - I did not have ANY - but instead for supper all I had was a slice of toast w/peanut butter! Oh and after my dancing extravaganza I "rewarded" myself w/a large juicy navel orange - it was the best orange I ever had! lol

I smell popcorn downstairs now as dh is watching tv - but I dare not have any for fear of the dreaded water retention which might occur! a definite no-no the night before weigh-in.

Oh ya and the bad news is my gf from Toronto called earlier to tell me that her father-in-law passed away this afternoon - she is feeling guilty now for trying to plan a trip while he was ill - but frankly one can never predict these things.... He went into cardiac arrest again and they were unable to resuscitate him - at least he did not suffer too long! I believe the funeral is on Sunday, and then 7 days of mourning to follow. I feel very sad, altho I did not know him well I had met him on several occasions and had dinner at their home a few times while in Toronto.....such is life!

Frouf

Oh oh oh! Frouf, that's horrible about your friend's FIL! I'm so sorry!!

The DDR is a hoot, huh? I'm still very very very tempted to order that cheap one that plugs into the TV ... I know one day when these girls move out I'll have room to dance in front of a TV!!! Right now we have 7 TVs in this house and not ONE of them can I hook up a DDR to. One of these days though ...

Congrats on skipping that pizza and good luck for tomorrow's weigh-in!

Froufie, I'm so glad you like your DDR. I'm still on the easy level. On my game, once you get into moderate and expert levels, there are eight arrows to step on, as they go diagonally too!! Isn't it funny how you can go for a long time, and not even realize it?

I dealt with sciatica a while back because I was toting my 20 pound baby around on my right hip too much. It is, literally, a huge pain in the butt! I hope you feel better soon, and remember to not put too much strain on it.

I am definitely sick with the whole shebang. Blah. Oh well, at least I don't feel like eating a ton! Weigh-in's not till next Wednesday anyway, so I'm not too worried.

I had this fabulous chicken salad last night that my mom made. I'm going to get the recipe and post it later.

Angela

Hi ladies, just stopping by to say hello. Angela, can't wait for the chicken salad recipe; I love chicken salad!
So Froufy, what is the DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION EXTREME?? I haven't heard of it, but it sounds like fun.
My week was ok, I had a couple of slips, but not too bad considering it was my first week. Soon I will have to get on the scale, but haven't yet.
Kathy, glad you shared that soup recipe, I will have to make a batch this weekend, will be a good meal option for this week!

thanks for the recipe - I wil try it this week.

Here is what I do:

Buy chicken bones, backs necks and make broth. Stick in freezer until time to use it.

Put broth in pan.
Heat it up and add chopped onion.
Add anything on hand really, but usually I put in, chopped carrots, chopeed celery and a bit of something soft like cooked squash or cooked zucchini for that mushier sense.
Then I season it with Mrs. Dash and go to the freezer and take a couple of T of frozen kidney beans and toss them in.
Then I cook it all up.
Last minute I add some frozen peas.
If I want I grab some frozen cooked and shredded chicken, but sometimes I dont bother.

Delicious and cheap. Soupmakers of the world UNITE.

I challenge anyone to make a soup this week and tell us about it.

Hi Ladies! Missed you all very much yesterday. I had a very long day and another ahead of me.

Froufie, good luck with your weigh in. Hope your butt feels better this morning. You really need to be careful that you don't hurt it to the point where you can't exercise at all. You got me all excited again by the darned DDR. I guess I have no excuse for not getting the plug into the TV one. I have at least two TV's that I could do it with including one right in front of the treadmill. I used to LOVE to dance and could use something that I'm not dying to get off of! Sorry to hear about GF's FIL. I hope he had a good life. She should try not to feel guilty. It doesn't help anything. You'll have all your new point supply for your dinner tonight but try not to use them all at one shot!

Amanda, these things will happen. With any luck you had some points left? Don't let one meal get you down. It was a wonderful idea to stop and get the fruit tray. I'm guessing that if you got right back on program, you'll be fine. Can't wait to hear how your weigh in went. I've always noticed that bad meals don't show up immediately, so I think you'll be ok.

Vermont Kathy, I'm a meeting girl so my advice would be to stay for the meetings. My Niece goes with me and doesn't always stay and she does fine. She just needs the regiment of having someone else weigh her and make a record. She feels if she ways herself it could be as if it didn't REALLY register. We joke with each other when we are saying something the other one doesn't want to hear. It's "I don't hear you!". When she doesn't weigh in with WW, she tells the scale, "I don't see you!". I have a great Leader and I think that makes all the difference in the world. If you can be disciplined alone, then I would save the money by all means. For me, as soon as I stopped going to meetings and weigh ins, I would quit.

Laurie, I'm excited for your first weigh in. Can't wait to hear how you did.

Angela, I'm with Laurie. I LOVE chicken salad. Can't wait to see it. You and Mom keep those recipes coming!

Kally, I have a GREAT mushroom barley soup recipe. I'll dig it out tomorrow and share it. Thanks for the challenge because I've been telling myself that I would dig it out for weeks. Now maybe I'll finally do it!

Well, today I have a birthday party for my 8 year old Great Niece. I have to wrap, eat, exercise and clean up the house before I go. I slept late because I was out late and now I'm all screwed up on my meals. I haven't eaten breakfast yet and it's already 10:30! I was up and going constantly yesterday from 7:00 until I went to bed at 1:00 a.m. I'm taking leftover Smothered Barley Chicken and some applesauce with me to the party. Don't care if I look stupid. I'm tired of trying to eat greasy chicken and wipe off the grease.

So my Nephew is 42, just 7 years younger than me. Long story short he had surgery to shorten his arm (don't ask it's HORRIBLE) and dealt with some rheumatoid arthritis. He had complications and now has a staph infection. He'll be in the hospital for a couple more weeks while they try to keep the infection from invading his whole body. It's in an icky hospital in an icky part of town. He only went there because it is supposed to be a good hospital and he thought he'd only be there for the surgery. He is allergic to EVERYTHING you can imagine in a life threatening way. The hospital hasn't been able to figure out what to feed him so he's starving. We've all been trying to bring him food but it's just a terrible situation. Once Jim and I got there yesterday, he didn't want us to leave. I ran all over yesterday trying to get him stuff he could eat before we went. The hospital doesn't seem too bothered by all this. I want to raise the roof but it isn't my place because he has a wife and my Sister. Yesterday, I offered to call the Hospital and pretend to be his Lawyer but no one would let me!

Sorry for the long message but I'm appreciative for the place to vent! You are ALL the best. I went out to dinner last night and ate all Core despite the fact that my friends ate blooming fried onions and my favorite alcoholic drink, Long Island Iced Tea! I deserve that 30 pound loss this week just for that!

Talk to you all later all tomorrow!

Oh Vickie - you deserve MORE than a 30 lbs loss - good for you for sticking to it - sounds like you had a fun, but long day. So sorry to hear about your nephew's dilemma - I know that hospitals these days are so busy that they usually rely on the next of kin to do some of their work! - at least it's like that around here - hope he gets better fast!!!

Oh ya - and I'm waiting for that mushroom barley soup recipe!!! Sounds like something a frouf might like!

Amanda - how did your weigh in go? can't wait to hear your good news!

Vermontkathy - I feel I need to stay for the meetings so I would not be a good on-line candidate. Also a competitive kind of a girl and I like the challenge of competing w/myself each week to see how much weight I can lose - don't think this would work as well if I were weighing mysefl? But I'm sure it can work for others.

Angela - that ddr is quite something - I think it will take a long while before I "graduate" from the beginner level ...and I can see how addictive it can become (for those who don't know DDR is a Playstation or x box dancing game - like those you find in the arcade where you follow the steps and dance to different types of music - quite challenging and very good exercise! You need the cd-rom and a dance mat to do the steps on).

Also want to know about your sciatica - cuz I'm pretty sure that's what my problem is - did you get medical attention? Is there anything they can do for it? ...or do I just wait til it feels better/goes away? Might call dr on Monday if there is something she can do for me???

Take care of your cold and hope you're feeling better soon!

And weigh-in went very well - down another 2 lbs!!!! which makes 16 in total - how wild is that? Just one thing i noticed and want to know how you would feel? I notice my leader usually "rounds" up or down when weighing us? Have you noticed everyone else comes back with a 1.8 or 2.1 or .8??? In my case I always lose in "whole' numbers... One week I am pretty sure I lost more than 2 (maybe 2.2 or 2.4)...but I think she wrote 2...today I'm pretty sure I lost 1.6 and she wrote down 2 - I guess it all evens out in the "wash"??? In fact when I first started I think I was 224.4 and she entered my weight as 224 (ya like that's less depressing? ). Anyhow - just wondering how all of you would feel about this?

I am getting OFF the computer now to try and take a NAP - (us froufs don't like daytime napping too much cuz we might miss something important!). DD has dance class at 3:30 so I have asked her to wake me up at 3 pm!

We are going to friend's for dinner tonight - not sure what is being served but not too worried either - I'm sure I can find something to eat???

Later,

Frouf

I did a lot of reading about sciatica, and I don't think there's really much of a treatment. They say it can take a LONG time to go away (gee, wonderful!). Mine probably hurt enough to bug me for about a month. Then it slowly went away. I didn't go in to the doctor - I just stopped lugging around my dd as much. But it probably wouldn't be bad to go see a dr just to make sure.

Good luck with your pain in the butt!
Angela