Sunny and bright here today - a lovely summer day! supposed to be warm tho!

Vickie - sounds like you had a blast - and what a record for Nancy - glad she got a special day to celebrate!

kathy - don't worry about the "beer monster" you are allowed one "get of our jail free" card - so you'll be just fine!

Angela - glad to hear it isn't strep - but sorry to hear you are in pain. Hope you get better fast - and don't worry about the 1.6 - it's all in how you look at it - and you are doing GREAT!

LUNCHTIME CHALLENGE coming up as I leave for a staff meeting and bbq lunch....having chicken on a bun, will avoid the chips and hang in - just had a banana to curb any hunger I might have!

Can't obviously walk at lunchtime, but will try and get out tonight altho dh not home as he is playing a gig.

Therapist appt w/dd: who seems to think dd is doing well - completing her "homework" and did not cut this week which is an improvement. I am a bit optimistic as it looks like dd has agreed to at least another 4 sessions and I am relieved about this as I didn't think she was "cured" yet!

Dh and I not doing well right now (and yes my roses are still on my desk open and smelling FABULOUS), not sure if we're both cranky and tired, but I am easily upset and feeling overwhelmed with life in general. We have a therapist appt next Tuesday and I hope to discuss some of the issues then. Thanks to everyone for their hugs and support - it does help!

My internet is down on my home computer and dh is trying to clean off the machine and reinstall everything fresh! So I am stuck catching up from work! Will check in later to see how everyone is doing!

Frouf

Hi ladies,
Great job Terry on the weight loss!! Please do tell any tips on sticking with Core.

Kathy, what a great pik! And I wouldn't worry about the beers. Sometimes it's just necessary. I can definitely say that there have actually been a few times when life was all about a great margarita! In fact, there have been times when dinner was a great margarita, salt and all!

Frouf, I wish you the best with all of your challenges. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and doing all of the positive things that you are doing to make your world better. Sometimes life gets so hard!

Angela, hope that virus runs it's course and right out of your body. It seems that so many of these viruses are mutating and multiplying that there are more than ever, a million different ones to get. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Went and had the biopsy of that growth on my head. Two big bright blue stitches. I can see being at work and having a coworker say, "hey, you have something in your hair" and snatching one! Will know in a week or so if I can go back in 6 weeks to have it burned off if it's benign; or if I have to have some kind of 'special' (what ever the heck that means) surgery if it's malignant. Something about having to cut deeper if it's malignant. Now call me crazy, but it's on my head. Probably the only place that there's not a layer of fat. How deep can you go before you hit skull? HELLO????? And I know that they can't go deeper than that. I need those 4 firing brain cells!
Anyhow, I was so freaked out over them numbing my head with a needle (what a wus!) that I worked myself into a major arthritis flare! Sometimes I just need to kick my own a$$! So, I'm home from work today doing demerol and thinking "yep, that needle stick that lasted oh, less than a nano-second was certainly worth all this pain! The humidity doesn't help, but I know better than to get so worked up, and really all about nothing!

I'm doing ok with core, am still making a conscious effort to get those fruits and veggies, haven't exercised this week yet. Guess I need to get busy before I run out of week! Hate when that happens.
Wish all a great day! Stay strong!

Terri

vickie, it sounds like you had a great day yesterday at the game. congratulations on being sooooo strong and staying on core. you overcame a lot of temptations. that's impressive. i know how easy it would have been for you to give in--but you didn't.

frouf, i'm sorry you and dh are having problems. i didn't know till this week that he's not working right now. my ex was without work. that put a big stress on us in more ways than one. i hope you can work your way through everything. i'm glad dd is still going for counseling. i can't imagine staying focused on a diet going through all you've been through. i admire your strength.

terri, we'll all be waiting to hear from your report. i've had shots in my head, too. they aren't good. there's something very scarey about it. i'm glad you were able to go home and not have to go to work. you need some pampering time.

i start physical therapy tuesday on both feet. my doctor is working hard to get me in shape for the big archery tournament coming up in july. it's all day for 2 days in a row. i've never shot this type tournament before but know there will be a lot of walking and shooting. i hear around 200 arrows on sat and over 100 on sun. if i can finish this tournament, i will be the first woman over 55 years old to ever compete in the 3 major state championships here in montana in the same year. now i just need to get these tootsies ready.

Well, it's been nearly 3 1/2 weeks on Core. So far, so good. I can tell it's going to be a slow process though. Don't mind eating this way. I love quinoa mixed with salsa, oatmeal with cinnamon & splenda, ff refried beans with cheddar flavored veggie shreds, it's all good. Thought I'd be dying for a piece of bread by now, but I'm not. Love that we can have popcorn too - (just wish they'd let me take my own into the movies with me - LOL!) Went to see Batman Returns and as soon as we got home I put popcorn in the microwave! I know it's just a silly habit, but I really missed the big bucket I used to get...

good for you!
itll be 3 for me on monday. i think ya not craving bread bc of all of the starchy veggies n stuff we get.

Hey Girls! I'm back from my cut/color and weigh in. I like the cut although it's a tad too short (stylist wants to go shorter yet at some point) and a tad to light in the highlight department (I'll be making her tone them down a bit at next appointment). I think it was just so drastic because my hair was so dark to begin with. Cut is cute in back but sides were pretty well butchered by former stylist so I have to grow out alot but she can blend for me. So, I think I'll just go in the pool and try to ignore it for now! It's very hot here and I weighed in early so I could swim.

I gained .8 but I'm not concerned at all. TOM is around one of these corners and I used every drop of my points this week and only exercised 5 days. I was actually afraid that it would be worse. I'll get some more exercise in the pool.

Angela, OMG! You're probably sending more of that heat this way! It is supposed to be 95 here tomorrow. It was good of you to let the kids get wet. Sorry about your weigh in. I'm sure you'll get right back on track. We're counting on you to be our role model!

Kath, I'm glad that you had no ill affects from your little indulgence yesterday.

No Frouf after 4:30! How are we going to manage. Hope DH got your computer back together. This will NEVER do! Glad therapy wasn't too stressful (although it must have been a little since you are feeling emotional) but mostly I'm glad that Emily agreed to more sessions. This too will pass.

Sandra, good luck with your PT on your feet. It helped me but not 100%. I hope it's the magic you need. You go win that tournament for all us old Girls!

Judy and Andrea, I'm glad you're enjoying Core. Hope you see huge results soon!

3/4 isnt bad at all....
have fun swimmin. cant wait til mine is usable. ill be swimming indoors after my 1st ww meeting tonight

Would love to go for a swim right about now! Thanks for the encouragement Vickie. ..and yes the good thing about hair is it grows in - so I'm sure within in a little while you will have the right "look"!

...and we all know that that measly .8 will drop off (along with some of its "friends") soon enuf - as you do seem to have big losses when TOM is gone!

Well I did not do well at our lunchtime bbq - I think I was too hungry....I had the chicken on a bun, with some toppings - but I did eat the bag of chips and had a small piece of cake for dessert (and some diet coke of course!). Not fretting too much (am I insane?), and trying to stick to plan the rest of the day and not go on a "bender".

Have some of that mexican rotini casserole ready to warm up for dinner and I did have my cherries for afternoon snack! The trick will be trying to get some exercise in, as I did not sleep well last night and have a bit of a headache right now (as I did when I woke up this morning so I took some tylenol before coming to work).

Very busy day tomorrow - need to be dropped off at work early as dh is taking my van in for servicing (some sort of recall thing?) and I have two heavy meetings - one from 8:30-10:30 and then another 10:30 - 12 - can a girl breathe? Thankfully it's friday and I am hoping a lunchtime walk will be a reality? Can't wait til my haircut on saturday, and teatime w/my gf and her visiting aunt (from England) on sunday pm.

oh ya did I mention dd is having 3 gf over tomorrow night for an end of school sleepover???? Yes four teenage girls under my roof for one night? Will I survive?

Will try and check in at home if I can wrestle kids of den computer! ha ha ha

Frouf

judy, congratulations on making excellent choices. i'm a popcorn eater, too. i'm proud of you for waiting till you got home from the movies. i know that was hard to do.

i'm not sure how long i've been on core. i haven't kept track this time. guess i should have, don't you?

i guess i could just start my time from when i joined 3fc core group. (i'm thinking out loud here, aren't i?)

vickie, you've had a full week. i think gaining .8 is pretty good. think of all the good choices you're making. we're different people now, aren't we? i was listening to zig ziglar again yesterday while driving to town. one of the things he said was something to the effect that "what we get from reaching our goals isn't anything compared from what we get from getting to our goals." i like that. i see myself now in a different light. i still make some mistakes eatingwise (and otherwise, too, of course), but i am making much healthier choices now. ww is a good school of learning, isn't it? sorry about all this rambling. i got on a roll, didn't i?

i'm looking forward to pt for my feet. i'm determined to shoot that tournament no matter how they are feeling. i'm a stubborn bmw. (burley mountain woman)

Hi all --

I've been busy at work the last couple days so I've only had a few snippets of time to check in here and there.

Thanks to everyone for being so encouraging about my recent weight loss. I really meant it when I said that the support of others is a key to success. You folks are always quick to offer encouragement and help -- and that makes all the difference.

Judy, the secret to 94% ff popcorn in the movie theatre is a big purse.

Vickie - I had to laugh when you said you were back from your cut, color and weigh in. My first thought was that we didn't have hair stylists at my WW meetings. My second thought was that you shouldn't cut your hair to lose weight. My third thought was, hmmm, my hair is kind of long, and maybe it weighs a half pound. . .

Terri, I love your name. Are you sure you're spelling it correctly? The shot in the head just sounds nasty. I hope you feel better and get your benign results back quickly.

Sandra, being stubborn is what gets things done. Hope your feet cooperate with you and get better. If not, they will suffer and do what your brain tells them to do. I'm stubborn too -- no one can tell me what I can't do.

Frouf, can you walk in the evenings? I used to walk at lunchtime too, but it's been so brutally hot here that coming back to the office is just not an option. Yesterday I did my run at 8:30p and the weather was great. Plus I think it motivated me to go a little faster because I didn't want to be in the woods after dusk. (Yes I run with pepper spray in hand!)

Angela, you are always looking on the bright side. Hope your sore throat is mild and quickly passes.

I forgot who asked whether I work and then go home and cook. The answer is yes - most of the time. Sometimes I am smart enough and organized enough to cook several meals on the weekend and freeze them. On occasion I get my dh to cook something, but usually I cook. It is a hassle, but since I have never made the same recipe twice, I am always looking forward tasting my creation.

Clearly, I love to eat (I think it's the Italian in me). I genuinely prefer the core meals I make to fast food and most restaurant meals, so I am highly motivated to cook. The majority of the time, the meals turn out to be really delicious.

I am planning to take a cooking class (boy, this is not something I would have said before Core). Calphalon offers a knife class -- showing you how to chop stuff -- which is the slowest and most tedious part of cooking. I'm hoping I can learn to chop really fast like those TV chefs and keep all ten of my beloved digits intact.

I've got to get back to work. Hope everyone has a wonderful afternoon.

Peace.

Hi everyone,

I'm getting a late start today. Things have picked up at work, but in a good way. We needed some new business.

I'm doing pretty well on the Core front and I did get my bike ride in this morning, although I probably won't be able to walk this evening, as there's laundry to do instead. That's pretty good exercise, too, though, since I have to shlep it across the street to the laundromat.

Terri, try not to worry too much about your head. I know it's a difficult thing--my husband had one smack in the middle of his forehead. It was malignant, but when they say "cut deeper" they are talking in terms of layers of skin. Your brain cells are safe.


Hope you get your walk in, Froufy. I miss it when I can't.

The knife class sounds like fun, Terry. I wonder if they teach you how to really sharpen them. I have one of those electric sharpener with the vibrating stones, but it's gotten really loud over the years and doesn't do a fantastic job. I'd love to learn how to do it with a real whetstone. It makes such a difference to have really sharp knives.

Hi chicks! I am still alive! I have been so busy, stressed out and tired this week that I just haven't had time to post. I have been stopping by to read and catch up though. I really appreciate the fact that some of you missed me! You are too sweet. It is so funny to have friends that you have never "met."

I have to run to the store to buy some bday cards but I will be back later tonight. DH has to work till late and I don't plan on doing much that doesn't involve the couch.

terry, the knife class sounds like fun. i think i'd enjoy taking some cooking classes. i'm a late bloomer on the cooking scene. i've learned most and cooked most since i retired. i used to be called the fast food queen. no more.

cher, i see you're just about 10 lbs from goal. that's impressive. congratulations.

melissa, i'm waving at you.

melissa, i'll try to get on tonight, too. i have been getting in my fruit and veggies. thanks for starting that challenge.

Thanks, Melissa, although sometimes I feel like my weight is measured like dog years--you have to multiply each pound by 7.

Dog pounds. Heh.