Frouf, your writing is so vivid. I feel like I know these folks from your description. Have a wonderful time with them. You know life can be short and this isn't a dress rehersal. I've found (from talking with my friends openly about my weight), that they barely notice my ups and downs. They just know this is one of my life's struggles and they love me anyway. I just know that your friends love you so much they don't notice or if they do it doesn't matter to them. The only things my really close friends have ever said is that they worry about my health. As do I!

Kath, do what I do when last minute company is expected....clean so looks good! Frouf is right. They probably won't even notice.

I am SO very tired. Jim is watching replays of the post game interviews from one of the world series games. He never gets tired of it. I'm kinda done for now so I came in here to check on all of you.

I'll be back in the morning. I was going to wait until Tuesday to get back on the treadmill but found out that Jim and I will be babysitting the Great Nephew at 9:30 am. So I may get back on tomorrow instead. I'll see how I feel in the morning. I'm very sore and beat up right now. I think I must have been clenched since yesterday and now everything is aching as I relax. I bet I'll sleep soundly tonight!

Light and love.

Kathy, our resident guinea pig!! Let us know how it goes!

Frouf, you are always on the go aren't you? Sounds like you had a nice day, other than being tired. I hope that you will take some time to relax and pamper yourself this weekend. Vickie's right, maybe you should write a book!

Vickie, rest up my friend! I think it's amazing that you are even thinking about exercise right now. Makes me realize I REALLY have no excuse!

I'm so tired so I think I'm done for the evening. We just watched two Star Wars movies. And tomorrow I plan on sleeping until I wake up! And then maybe I'll sleep some more! Night!

Geez, Melissa! I can tell I'm retired. When I saw your post at 11:12, I said, oh boy....Melissa is going to be TIRED tomorrow at work. I guess I've lost track of my days again.

As far as the exercise goes, I'm convinced it's the key to the kingdom....at least the one here on earth that opens the weight loss success gate!

That's funny Vickie. What you don't know is that it says 12:12 here! I AM tired, but I'm sleeping WAY in tomorrow.
I know that if I exercise I will lose. So why don't I do it regularly? That's one of the things that I want to change this year.
OK, really going to bed now! Night!

Good morning! How's everyone doing this very last day of 2005? I must say I'm not sorry to see it go. I think it's been a rough year for lots of us.

And as always, it's good to have a clean canvas to start over with. I know that technically we can start over with the very next breath, but there's just something about starting over on a "marker" day.

I'm going to read for a while and then get up and clean some. Believe me, these people probably don't care what the house looks like. I have to figure out what to make, if anything. I might just tell them all to bring chips and dip. This isn't a formal thing by any means.

Oh and I'm not doing the guinea pig thing until tomorrow. Today will be regular eating. Core, but still regular eating.

Good Morning Chicks!

Kath, you beat me today, GF! You shound more chipper and less stressed about the guys coming over. Good. I think one of my challenges for myself this year will be to try to worry less about things that really don't matter or that I can't control. Your menu looks wonderful for today. I'd need some protein but then I know I'll be eating less someday when I'm at your size!

I REALLY hurt today in my lower body. I'm blaming the barium and Jim is blaming stress. He's got me wondering if stress is what is making me sick. I know it can. But, what in the heck do I have to be stressed about? Life really is good for me. I have enough money.....not as much as I want but enough. We just got a raise of 4.1%. Imagine getting a cost of living raise on your pension every year that is tied to inflation. What on earth could be bothering me. Life is Good (thanks Sandra) and I'm going to try to keep telling myself that this year.

I've got lots of budget things to work on today. I may stay in my pajamas and shower later. I thought about getting on the treadmill, but not how I feel right now. Maybe I'll feel better later. Niece lent me seasons Four and Five of Gilmore Girls. I LOVE that show and have no idea what happens since I never let myself watch the current seasons on TV. I have a rule for myself that I can only watch them on the treadmill. That's my motivation for getting back on. Jim is currently taping season six for me. Next Fall I'll be all caught up!

Wow, aren't I chatty this morning. I think I'm procrastinating. I'm going to do my other morning surfing and wait for my hour to be up to eat breakfast.

I'm sure I'll be back later.

morning all!

I too was going to walk on the treadmill, but have talked myself out of it. Actually took the kids ice skating yesterday! Yes, I did skate! It's been a long time since I skated, but I managed to stay on my feet the whole time.............today, my bad foot with the plantar fasciitis (which was all cleared up) is feeling a little stiff. So, just going to baby it and not irritate it with the treadmill. After all, the gym starts Monday.

Vickie - didn't someone say you should drink a lot of water to flush all that barium out?

Kathy - couldn't you just order some pizza for the "rockers"?

I think we are just having a lazy day today. Lots of laundry to do and groceries to buy; it supposed to sleet tonight, pretty dreary out now. DD has a book report that's due Monday and DS has new video games to play so I think we'll just hibernate.

Check back with you all later.
Lisa

vickie, that's what friends are for. we help when we can.

melissa, hanging at friends' houses sounds like fun to me. enjoy yourself. i like black-eyed peas, too. wish they'd kick in and make me rich. lol

kathy, we are emotional, aren't we? i find myself reading through blurred vision a lot. you know i'm watching to see how the detox goes. i'm the resident copycat. speaking of "policed", there's going to be an article about me soon on a website. it's not a blog. can i still post it? it's a montana sports paper. the article is a more montanaized version of what ran in those papers in johnson county, tx.

vickie, i'm sorry you're feeling bad today. what a way to end the year, right? curtis is downstairs treadding now. i will do it in a few minutes.

i'm going to do ww with a little slim fast thrown in. i am proud that using sf helped keep me from gaining this holidays. now i'm ready to start losing.

frouf, the get together sounds like fun. i am glad your friend beat the cancer. and the kids' party? what a hoot! i confess i would eat at that party, too. my resistance is about wiped out now. i've done about all i can till after the holidays.

kathy, enjoy yourself tonight. i'd let them bring chips/dips if i were you. but i know you--you'll have a spread for all of them.

lisa, i have the same foot problems as you. they are pretty bad, aren't they? what kind of shoes are you wearing? do you wear orthodics? (sp?) i wear sas shoes with orthodics in them. that helps.

i shot well last night. out of a possible 300 i shot 297. one of my misses wasn't my fault. (that's what they all say, right?) the arrow hit another arrow that was in the center of the x and glanced out. curtis is calling easton arrows tomorrow to see if this other type arrow they sell would be better about not causing glance outs. i don't like to lose a point but if i do, i want it to be because of me not because i made a good shot. know what i mean? glance outs are frustrating.

when we shoot a tournament, we shoot either 3 or 5 arrows per end depending on what type tournament we're shooting. last night was a 5er. curtis wasn't competing. for some reason he thought we were finished and packed my bow while we were down at the targets scoring the next to the last 5 arrows. when i got back to the shooting line to get my bow and shoot the final end--my bow was gone! he already had it in the case. he had to scramble to put the equipment back on it. i was a little flustered. i'm blaming him for a miss i made on that final end. (as they say in archery, "a poor excuse is better than none at all.) so in my mind i shot 299 last night. lol

that's prob more archery than you wanted to read. sorry. sometimes i get carried away with it.

got to go. i need to get dressed. my hair is sticking up like feathers. it needs taming. have a good day.

Good morning all! 2005 went by pretty quickly for me.

We've got a busy day here. There's a big seafood party at my house tonight. I'm pan-frying my favorite fish (orange roughy) and getting a shrimp cocktail, so that'll be dinner for me. It's going to be tough, because there's also crackers, cheese & summer sausage, chips, soda and all kinds of bad fried seafood. *whimper* But I will be good, and stick to my Core foods, because I know you ladies will keep me accountable. I think I'll think of it as a test of my willpower. It'll be better if I treat it like a game. I'm thinking of inviting one of dh's friends who is currently going through a divorce. Otherwise, I think he would have nothing to do tonight but sit at home with his wife and watch each other. Probably not too much fun. I don't like his wife too much, and she doesn't like me, I know, but I'll invite her too. Man, but it seems like divorce is hard. As amazing as it is to believe, this is the first one I've ever seen up close.

Well, time to make my list and take all the kiddos to the store.

Later!
Angela

Sandra - usually I wear my birkenstocks, or my Ryka sneakers with orthotics; I should probably take them out and put them in my ice skates..........I wonder if they would fit. I'll have to try that the next time.

Angela your seafood party sounds good. We went to Red Lobster yesterday and I won't even tell you what I had to eat. Wasn't exactly CORE , but it was good. Maybe the ice skating evened things out.

Kathy - are you still cleaning? I ran the dishwasher and now have a load of clothes in the washer and one in the dryer., waiting for the washer to stop so I can have my shower.

Had to take the Christmas tree down the day after Christmas. THe poor thing was just dying. We actually bought a cut down tree the 2nd weekend in december and it was half dead before we even got it decorated. So, we went out and cut one down 2 weeks before Christmas. It drank water like a fish the first 4 or 5 days, then................nothing. So, it lost about half of it's needles by Christmas. This happened to us a couple of years ago. I don't know what happens to them. We drill a hole in the bottom and keep them watered., and away from the heat. Could it be the sun coming through the sliding glass door? don't know.; may have to go artificial for next year.

Lisa

Sandra, I'll have to run that by Suzanne about the website. Policy is changing and it looks like nothing will be allowed (with a few exceptions).

Angela, I finally broke down yesterday and got a bag of clementines. They are SO good! After reading your menu day after day, I figured there must be a reason you ate so many! I think that's my new favorite snack. I have a big glass dish in the middle of the kitchen island that has a jumbo 3-wick candle, and I arranged the clementines around the candle. It looks cute, plus it keeps them handy. So far, the cat hasn't seen them.

I just want to sit and sit today and do nothing!

Lisa, all I've done is 2 loads of clothes and make my breakfast. Oh and swept the kitchen but I do that 15 times a day due to the animals.

I need to wipe down all the countertops still. I keep walking by and noticing that they need it. I'll get to it. Other than that, vacuuming and cleaning the bathroom is all I'll do. Oh and figure out what to feed the peeps. The rest of the day I'm sitting.

angela, let us know how the party goes. i'm betting on your staying on program. you have a lot of willpower.

lisa, i didn't realize you'd rehurt your foot ice skating. it's heck getting older, isn't it?

kathy, that's okay. i can just pm it to folks who are interested. no big deal.

Sounds like we are all having a nice restful day. I better go make breakfast since it's 10:00 already and stop shopping for cookie tins!

Lisa, I'm so glad you're back here regularly again. I drank 10 eight ounce glasses of water yesterday in addition to 2 cans of caffeine free diet pepsi and about 16 ounces of decaf hot tea. I'm going to drink alot more today. I hated having the barium and the iodine contrast in me. They told me to drink alot to help my kidneys flush the iodine.

Angela, I've never had orange roughy. You make me want to try it. What time should I be there? I'll just shoot west on I-80. Be strong, GF. You can do it! Wear a sexy small outfit to remind you why you don't want to eat that fried fish. It'll remind everyone else that THEY shouldn't be eating it either!

Sandra, I think it sounds like you had a darned impressive night! Shooting (pun intended) for perfect? Aren't we all a bunch of perfectionists?!

Kathy, try to control your impulse to throw a top notch party for these guys. You only have a few days of vacation left to enjoy for yourself.

Do clementines have seeds? I've never had one. Jim lives navel oranges and tangerines but they are not in season. I'm having a hard time getting him to eat fruit and honestly, I need help too. Should we try them?

No, no seeds. And the peel comes right off so easily! I definitely recommend that you try them.

I'm not seeing a top notch party at the moment. They'll be lucky if I'm even dressed by then! I just put up some more clothes and am thinking about emptying/refilling the dishwasher -- also need to water the inside plants. I set the tomato soup can out on the counter by the stove. We call that "getting ready to fix lunch." My pinto beans are going on hold until Wednesday but they'll still be good.

Where did I read one time where you should always wear tight clothes to a party to keep you from overeating? It's good advice! I love orange roughy too. It's not a strong fishy smell and taste ... very mild. I've been buying tilapia the last few times. We bake it in foil with cut-up vegetables, a little drizzle of olive oil, and some lemon juice. It's very good.

I'd like to have that link, Sandra, when it's available so would you PM it to me? It does sound like you had a great night last night! We had planned to go to the shooting range during our time off and just never made it. Did you ever go out to Alpine? It's sort of in the Rendon area, maybe like 5 miles south of I-20. They have a pistol range, trap and skeet. We usually just shoot trap and I'm the lucky one who gets to cock the trap for everyone. That's okay though, I count it as a workout because it darn sure is! My shoulders and forearms are usually killing me the next day, in addition to the huge bruise I get from my own gun. I'm a bruiser anyway from the daily aspirin and firing it even once gives me a good sized bruise. Anyway, my point is (and I assure you that there is one) is that I *think* Alpine has an archery range too so I wondered if you had ever been there.

I guess I'll go fill up my water bottle now. I've only had the one bottle so I'm behind!