Hey Sandra - I JUST LOVE that outfit - very, very nice and I think it will look good on you! Looks easy to pack as well - I too am a disproportioned Frouf - and bigger on top than bottom - which is quite a challenge - I also prefer the separates route so I can get a smaller bottom (preferably in a petitie length if possible) and a larter/looser top. Hope this works out for you!

Vickie - so I was driving to work this morning and had the radio on and they were doing the sports report - and I, who generaly has no clue about anything in the sports world - heard them say the Astros would be playing the white sox - and I just perked up and thought - that's right - I know that's Vickie's team and she will be so excited about this! I also want to thank you for the answer to a trivia question the other day (I frequently play on an msn trivia board - currently around 13th place by the way :)) and the question came up - I think about Frank Thomas and what team he played on - and they do give a bit of a hint (like 1st 2 letters were ch.... with a 3 word answer) and of course I got the Chicago White Sox - THANKS!

Kathy in computerland - definitely put the TV on the list - maybe a new plasma screen :):). My ds has also been burning the midnight oil for school stuff, but only in 1st year so I don't think he realizes how tough it will really get. He emailed a paper to me to edit the other day - like a 2 page literature review - said he was up til 1 am working on it - and I said "boy are you in trouble...ha ha ha"...can't imagine how he will cope when the real paper (like 10-20 pages) comes up? This week he has some midterm exams coming up so he is stressing a bit.

The funniest is he just got his exam schedule (early december) and says he will need a ride to school for 2 of his exams which are early on sat morning? I say are you kidding? You need your "mommy" to drive you to school? What's wrong with the bus? What time is the exam? So exams start at 9:30 am on Sunday - we are about a 20 min bus ride from campus? So what's the problem? I told him you ARE 19 YEARS OLD AND DON'T NEED YOUR MOMMY TO DRIVE YOU TO SCHOOL! (Well if you put it that way - he says!). What if I'm late? Well that's your responsibility to get up on time and get yourself there? What do you think we did when we were your age? Do you think I dared ask Zaida (his grandpa/my dad) for a ride to university on a sat morning? What do you think he would have said? Well that sure shut ds up! Am I being mean? I think my ds thinks he is a "prince" and has special entitlements that we mere mortals don't have!

Just had my big bowl of oatmeal and hoping not to have a "weak" day again!

Later,

Frouf

Hey everyone! Where have I been? Don't know really. Bad week of PMS last week. Emotional roller coaster. Didn't really feel like doing much and pretty much just felt sad. Woke up yesterday feeling like a whole new person. Don't exactly know why, but I'll take it.

Went to WI yesterday - down 1.8 so that makes the grand total now 11.6 - finally passed that darn 10 lb. mark. I've pretty much been doing the Wendie plan and counting points. Last week I walked on the treadmill a lot, so I think that must have helped too.

Kathy - hope DH keeps busy until his next Dr. appt. - we're all praying that it's nothing.

Vickie - how about those White Sox? Sorry you couldn't get tickets to the world series. How are you feeling?

Melissa - I too would see the Dr. about your jaw. I don't let stuff go too long anymore.

Frouf - maybe your DH would feel better if he had something useful to do., if not work, can you find him some projects around the house, or is that out of the question?
My DD really seems better since she started zoloft. Says it just takes the edge off.

Went for my mammogram last week. All clear. I still don't understand why they have to smash you to china?? Had cholesterol checked today. Waiting to see how that is, since I've been on oatmeal since March.

Hi :wave: to everyone else.
I'll try to get back here more often., going to find a 10 lb. chick now.

Lisa

frouf, i think you're being a good mother teaching ds some responsibility. like dr. phil says "we're raising adults not children."

lisa, congratulations on getting that 10 lb chickie. i'm happy for you.

we just took the grands home. it's peaceful and almost too quiet here now. (but i'll take it.)

Well, the "dip" showed no UTI but Doc is sending it in to get a culture done anyway. He thinks I may have cystitis which I don't know much about. I think this, in my case, may be a perimenopausal thing. Not sure what the treatment is but he gave me 5 days of antibiotics until the culture comes back and is sending me for a renal ultrasound. Back in 2001 I had one of these ultrasounds and there was a kidney stone. There is always a chance that the stone is a problem. I'm really worn out. I just wanted to let you all know what is up.

I need to make my appointment and Jim is taking me out for dinner. One thing that could aggravate the condition is spicy acidic food. Lot's of the things I eat now on Core for dinner. Go figure. I think I'll be having salmon tonight.

Talk to you all later.

vickie, i hope the meds help relieve your pain. this has to be wearing you out. hang in there.

i have been wiped out today. i just woke up from a nap and am feeling a bit better. i guess all our "socializing" (sat-this am) has done a number on me. curtis is tired, too. we've been planted in front of the tv all afternoon. that's where i took my nap. now we're waiting on survivor and the apprentice tonight. we call this type of day "recovery day." guess we need it.

we're leaving tomorrow mid-day for kalispell. i don't know if i'll get online before we leave tomorrow or not. but i'm guessing i will. we have a plumber coming in the am. (water heater) i hope i don't jinx anyone and cause your waterheaters to go on the fritz.

got to go now. i'll catch you later.

We are sure a quiet bunch these days, aren't we? I think everyone is either sick, tired, stressed, or a combination of all three.

:grouphug: We need this.

Sandra, take care on your trip. My water heater had to have a valve replaced last week. I hope yours isn't having sympathy pains!

I'm dealing with a computer issue between little DD and DH. Neither are mad at me, but I'm in the middle. I picked up a disk from DH's desk and gave it to DD to install because she needed the program. Turns out it was a big no-no, now she has done her work using that program and still needs it, but I have to uninstall it. Her computer is password protected, I had to call her frantically and get the PW, and then she's freaking out because she still needs to do some edits to her work. Judd said have her edit all she needs to, and then uninstall, and then we'll buy her a copy of her own. I know it was an innocent mistake on my part but he's saying I should have asked first, and I should have. When will I learn? And DD isn't mad, but really needs to finish her work. I hate like heck being caught in the middle of everything.

Enough whining -- I have better things to do, like try and figure out which drain all my motivation went down. I have to dwell on this for a few days and devise a plan to get myself back on track. I think I will have to learn to tune out all the "but you look good -- you shouldn't lose any more weight!" That is sabotaging me bigtime.

Okay, that's really enough. I have to be at work by 6:30 in the morning and work until 10 to finish out my 52 hours for the week. Then I'll probably just keep on and stay until 3 or 4 just for something to do.

Night, all. I hope everyone is doing well. Vickie, take care.

Kathy, you're right. When does it ever end? I don't have any motivation right now either. I just need to start feeling well.

My big dilemma is that I still feel like crap with the UTI or whatever and I can barely walk on my right heel. Jim and I are contemplating buying scalped tickets for Sunday's game and spending way too much money. I feel really too crappy to go but don't want to see him miss the once in a lifetime experience. So we'll be having the real tough conversation this morning. I'm guessing we'll be going to the game. I know I should be more excited but there is a lot of drama figuring out how to get the tickets and then find parking. I just don't feel up to it but I really don't want him to miss this. Sigh. I've been up since 5:00. We have lunch plans with our friend today to give him the stuff we picked up for him. He was the guy we used to buy season tickets with. Soooooooo......that's my dilemma for today.

Frouf, you ok? I know the sugar monster had you in its clutches. Fight back
girl!

Lisa, I am so happy for you! The program really DOES work when you follow it, doesn't it? As I'm sure you've read, Jim and I are out of our minds with excitement over the White Sox. We still haven't given up hope on tickets.

Sandra, you are a busy girl. How's your program/eating doing? Have fun on your trip and I hope you got your water heater fixed. I had to run downstairs and cover the ears on my water heater so it wouldn't get any ideas. You know this stuff is contagious.

Melissa, where are you chick?

Oh yeah, the repairman said nothing was wrong with our dishwasher. He kept insisting that we used regular dish soap in there. Excuse me. Do I LOOK like a moron! Anyway, I kept at him and he finally found a gasket that needed to be replaced. So I bought a bottle of vinegar to try to wash out all the soap residue. Sheesh, it's always something.

I'm gonna go surf for a while until it's time to eat breakfast. I'll be back....just like a bad penny.

I realized after my last post that my life is great and that most people would kill to have my dilemma! So, I'm putting things back into perspective. We've located tickets on ebay that we'd be thrilled to have that come with parking. So girls....please think good lucky thoughts for us that we can get these tickets for a great low price.

Angela, how have your weigh ins been going? Any inspiration or advice you can offer to those of us who are struggling?

Hey Vickie! Sorry I haven't been posting as much lately. I have been SO busy the last few weeks. My big slide show/dinner thingy was last night though, so at least that's out of the way. Now I just have the big Halloween road rally next week to worry about. :D

As far as weigh-ins, I'm maintaining at just above 125, which is where I've been since the beginning of summer. I'm happy that I seem to be getting the hang of maintenance. I think it is easier than losing, simply because there's more "wiggle" room. My mom is slowly slowly creeping down weight-wise, but she's really got to work at it. No cheating, no slip-ups, exercise every day. It's very frustrating to her, as I'm sure you know, Vickie. I really find myself wondering if it's hormonal. I know menopause can mess with your weight, and I'm sure pre-menopause is the same way.

I don't know that I have any advice, except to encourage you to keep going. Even if the losses are small, they ARE losses, for the most part. Just think, if you weren't doing Core, what would your weight be doing? Most likely creeping up, right? (At least, that's what mine was doing before Core.)

I really think being sick can drag you down. I know when I'm sick, there's no way I'm going to be thinking rationally about a diet. Make sure you take care of yourself, get over this as quickly as you can, and do what you have to to be comfortable.

:grouphug: Hugs to everyone, and hopefully after this next week, I will be able to post more.

Angela

Good morning from the COLD NORTH! Yes -2 this morning and the grass was all crispy and shiny w/ice! Luckily my car is parked inside the garage these days, and that BRAND NEW LEATHER COAT arrived just in time! :) yes siree bob, picked it up last night from Sears - fits great (size 20) and looks passable. Love that new leather smell - but boy it sure does feel heavier than what I'm used to. Wore it to work today!

Now Vickie - you gotta stop putting that regular dish soap in the machine - for goodness sake! :lol: When will you learn? :D Hope the gasket replacement works, and all our water heaters are certainly not paying attention to whatever is going on here and will BEHAVE properly!

I am so sorry you are under the weather - I hope you can find out what it is and treat it properly - poor you! I can certainly understand not being able to enjoy and focus on anything else. But somehow I am VERY sure that once you have those tickets and are on the way to go the game you will most defininitely perk right up! ENJOY!

Kathy - welcome to my world - always being caught between kids and dh - it's certainly not fun as I can relate. The latest at our house are the missing kitchen scissors - they have a "home" in the knife block, but have "disappeared". Of course one of the kids took it but no one will fess up - this makes dh (and me too) a bit crazy - as you reach for them, and start cursing cuz they're gone. Dh is now threatening to shut off all computer/internet access until they reappear - a bit harsh I think? (considering ds needs these for school these days). I think it would just lead to further fighting and accusations between the kids as they battle it out!

Lisa - you are doing AMAZINGLY GREAT! Keep up the good work - and yes it seems obvious but it's nice to know that doing what you're supposed to do does get the best results!

Angela - glad your presentation is over and I'm sure it was great! Congrats on maintaining so well - you are a great model for the rest of us!

Sandra - have a FABULOUS time and enjoy yourselves - we need all the details upon your return.

I am still struggling here - yesterday not a great day eating wise - I ended up going to a movie while dd danced (6-9 pm - in her shoes - great chick flick!), and consumed almost a whole big bag of popcorn as this was my supper! And at 10 pm had two bowls of honey nut cheerios w/milk - definitely room for improvement.

Today I am having lunch out with my ex-work colleague who I miss so much! He and I were a great team in our previous jobs and get along really well (w/complementary skills to boot!). It is a real treat to finally get together (one of those always being "postponed" meetings due to other commitments). We are going to the Thai restaurant down the street from my office - where I have been many times and were they have that seriously good mango ice cream that I have trouble with. Will try and resist it this time!

No major plans this weekend except for Hallowe'en party at little ds's school this sat pm - have to get to the library as I'm "out" of books to read, and that's about it! We are all alone at home sat night (very rare) as big ds is working a concert at a downtown venue (he works for a band promoter) and as one of her favorite groups is playing, 13 yr old dd along with a gaggle of girlfriends is also attending. I was a little leary about this but seeing as big brother is there and she is getting ride there and back from parents this should be okay! I tend to be very OVER PROTECTIVE but that's too bad for her. Going to a sleepover after that and she is quite ticked off with me as I ask for names, address, phone numbers and call parents to ensure all is okay!

So what is everyone else up to this weekend?

Frouf

Sounds like you need to stop at the store on the way home and buy two new pair of scissors, Frouf -- one for DD and one for big DS, and let them know that you would be thrilled if sometime within the next 24 hours (no questions asked) the original scissors found their way back to the knifeblock! :lol: I'm so paranoid about everything, you should have seen me last night trying to clean DDs room in case Judd had to come upstairs to "help" me with her computer. I was frantically throwing clothes and dumping Dr Pepper cans and having a major attack of nerves. Isn't is so silly to live that way? But I sure can't blame Judd for going ballistic on that room. It is an absolute icky pigsty and he's concerned about getting bugs because of food and drinks left in there. I didn't dare look under the bed because I would have probably gagged and thrown up. Oh wait, on second thought, maybe I *will* look under there after for a little bit of appetite control.

I have heard that In Her Shoes is a good one. I saw Jennifer Weiner interviewed on a morning show recently and she's just so funny. There was also a good article but I can't remember where I saw it ... where she was talking about her struggle with her weight and finally she decided to just be happy with what it was. I thought about getting some of her other books because they also sound really good.

Our weather finally cooled off a bit. The high will only be 80 today so that's some good news. Judd left for his trip -- yahooty! Three days of ME time! Okay well except I'm at work all day today, and probably tomorrow morning. But after that, it's all about MEEEEEE!

Vickie, I hope you get the tickets! I'm getting really excited about tomorrow's game and am all set to hunker down in the chair to watch.

This Slimfast thing is getting old with me. What's new, huh? My problem is that it always feels like I'm eating sweet stuff. The shakes are sweet, the snack bars are sweet, and the meal bars are sweet. Ick. The dinners are Core and I'm fine with that so maybe I'll just keep eating Core (how many are rolling your eyes, slapping your foreheads, and saying OY VEY??) for my other meals. I mean stuff like Maltomeal for breakfast, fruit for snacks, BP or soup for lunch. How hard is that? It's food I like, for goodness sakes! I just need someone to drive me to work so I don't stop at McDonald's on the way. :lol:

Where's our Melissa girl?

Hey Ladies,
Vickie you need to take care of yourself first before you worry about tickets and parking and losing weight...can your Dh find someone else to go with him to the game. It cant be very comfortable for you sitting there for at least 9 innings....take care of you first!! The rest will come..
Froufy that coat sounds wonderful......mmm love the smell of leather. I agree with Kathy stop at a dollar store buy 5 pairs of scissors and put them in every drawer in the house.... thats what I did. Mine were always disappearing...
Welcome back to Core Kathy.....sometimes we need a change to shake things up a bit...your almost at goal....you can do this . Think how far you have come already.

Weighed myself this morning and I did manage to lose the 3 I gained last week, but unfortunatly they didnt take any friends with them.....thats ok. A loss is a loss isnt it?
Still 3 pounds away from Halloween goal and Im going to do it this week........going to kick butt and get my 10 pound chickie up! Then I have a goal for christmas to be under 300....that will be 5 pounds for nov and 5 for dec. Thats my plan anyways.....
have a great weekend everyone
ttyl

Hi Girls! Sorry to be MIA. We are ALL consumed with this ticket stuff. We didn't win the tickets this morning but have just bid on some that expire in about an hour and 15 minutes. They would be in left field in home run alley and near the Sox bullpen. Could be kinda fun! We have our limit though and so far the tickets are going higher than we can spend. We did confirm that we could ride with our friend, the Organist. This would mean driving 20 minutes in the opposite direction but it might really be worth it. Last time we went, I lost sleep over the parking situation.

I promise I'll be back to respond to posts when this is all resolved.

I'm here! Thanks for missing me. Things have just been really crazy and stressful. Plus we've actually been having a social life, imagine that. Rare for us! ;)
Right now I am concerned b/c I can't reach DH and I don't know where he is. So I'm off to find out.
I will hopefully talk to you guys tonight or tomorrow. We have a busy weekend.
Vickie, I hope that you are feeling better quickly. And that you get those tickets!
Kathy, don't work too hard. And I got tired of SF really fast too, when I was doing it. Especially because I only liked one flavor.
Patti, good job this week!
Sandra, hope you are having a blast.
Frouf, hope things calm down around your house. No running with scissors.