Good Morning All:

Cork floors: my sister is 16 years older than I am and when I was a teenager she had a home and a family of young children. They installed cork floors and they were beautiful, easy to clean, soft and sound-absorbing. I've always wanted them. Just might get them in the kitchen area.

Pilates: I think that whatever the physical exercise it helps to have a teacher get you started and, if you can't go all the time, then go back for check-ups. It's important to do any exercise correctly to get the most benefit and to avoid injury. I'm sure I'm "singing to the choir" here.

Today, as already mentioned, is Remembrance Day in Canada...Veterans Day in the US....it's dreary, grey and wet here in Toronto...fitting weather for the melancholy brought up by the tragedies of war.

So, we've got the menu for the wedding reception planned or ordered. Well, it's not very CORE! The meat is of course, but I don't know about that Bar-b-que sauce!

We're cleaning house, getting ready to get packed and doing all those things you have to do to get ready for a trip. Froufy, come on down here to Toronto and help me pack...you regaled us so much with your packing adventures that I know you're an expert!

It's a good time to want to snack on something so I pulled some apple-oatmeal muffins out of the freezer...really yummy on a dreary day like today.

Well, I'm just chatting away about nothing really....so, have a great day everyone!

Rhonda

Okay is it my imagination? or are we missing a bunch of posts from nov 9-10?? I know I posted something on Friday and it seems to have disappeared? Very strange indeed?

Rhonda - okay first you need the froufie packing list spreadsheet - and the rest is a piece of cake! :D:D

Dreary day here today - I agree w/areil - very appropriate for remembrance day - little ds and I were watching tv this morning and they had the minute of silence and little ds was so cute standing at attention in his jammies in the family room - then he had to go find his historical moments dvd (handed out last year at the War Museum - 1 minute historical canadian vignettes - used as commercials - many of which depict some of the war stories involving canadians! (Areil - where in canada are you?)

Last night I was at the ELTON JOHN CONCERT - it was amazingly fantastic - I just went crazy - the very typical opening of funeral for a friend/loves lies bleeding in my hand - wow! The crowd went crazy! It was non stop entertainment - esp at the end with crocodile rock, the ***** is back and saturday night - all in a row! He signed many autographs of front row fans - and came out to do an encore - candle in the wind and the Your song! I was in heaven!

I am however livid about today's review in the paper - seems the reporter is out to lunch and doesn't seem to check facts - said EJ has not been in ottawa since 1997 - which is untrue as I saw him here about 5 years ago. Then mentions his rendition of 'don't let the sun go down on me' - which actually was NOT sung last night - how stupid is that?

And yes elton is getting older and can't hit those high notes anymore - I noticed a couple of lyric flubs (only the diehards would note this) but otherwise supremely great - lots of improvisation and jazzy/bluesy numbers - he still has many songs left in him!

Today was a boring day - started out with big fights as dd started the dryer at 8 am waking us up - not good! And did I mention her FACE PIERCING - which she did herself! She is insane - decided she wanted a 'monroe' - beauty mark area earring piercing - which she did with a stud she found - I am livid and am insisting she remove it esp as it is now looking red - she is not even talking properly and the inside is scraping her teeth.

Says she won't take it out unless I promise to let her have it done properly and get the right 'ring' (lebret) - am I too conservative and battling this for nothing? (yes all her friends have various piercings and their parents don't seem to object!).

So I figure we will be ending up in the emergency room pretty soon. Told her I was not driving her to dance classes until it was out (of course says she will get there on her own) - and yes she is the stubborn type as many of you know! I feel my hair turning gray as I type - I can't seem to make her understand she is harming herself!

Took her and ex for more groceries and back to his place - she is there til tomorrow. dh has been at local university library doing research on work project so little ds and I on our own. Drove big ds to his work/gig tonight - and then decided to go out for pizza together - yes I ate too much and I am now bloated - what else is new.

dh on way home with rental movie I think for tonight!

Frouf

Hi everyone, I am new here, but have been on the core plan for close to five months now. I have lost 33lbs. to date and I couldn't be happier. I am reaching out now, looking for some support as the holidays draw near and I am starting to struggle. I have been pretty good this week, but have had a tough month. I had 85 lbs to lose total, so I am about 50 lbs. from goal. Most people have not even noticed that I have lost over 30 lbs!!! I will never switch to flex and will continue to eat this way forever - that is the plan. I have great family support and my 21year old daughter is on program with me. I personally feel that the core plan is a near perfect diet. I try to exercise daily, but as I said, the last month has been tough. I hope to meet some great people here and give and receive some great advice and tips. I have lost weight every single week, with the exception of the last two. Not even much of a gain to count- two tenths of a lb. But, I want to nip it now!!! Looking forward to meeting some fellow core planners!

:welcome: Beckley. What's wrong with those people who haven't noticed! We did ;) Congratulations. You'll do well and this is a good place to come for support and you're lucky to have your daughter with you on the journey. I'd love to lose another 50 pounds myself and I'll see what the year brings.

Frouf: I am so envious of the Elton John adventure. I must get to see him sometime.

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's possible inflammation. I do hope you're able to get her to pay some attention to the potential health problems. There are safe ways to do piercings and try the public health people there in Ottawa, especially if she won't see a doctor. There may also be a youth clinic somewhere that provides safe piercing information. I'm not so keen on some of the piercings myself, but the kids are really doing them, so we need to try to get them information on safer ways to do it. Maybe she knows all of that??

Rhonda

Good morning everyone,

Well last night I definately ate more than I should of but I'm ready to get right back on the horse today. We went to the mother in laws last night and for some reason I always seem to eat too much there..I guess I should come up with a better plan. I was so full last night I thought I was going to blow up..at least I did learn a lesson as I was so uncomfortable. Today I plan to drink lots of water and eat normal portions.

Rhonda- That must be so exciting planning your menu. You are getting married very soon I take it? Even if the BBQ sauce isn't core it usually isn't too bad in points...usually not much fat and maybe a little heavy on sugar but all in all it's not a bad thing to eat. How long are you going to be gone for? Those apple-oatmeal muffins do sound very yummy..I wish I could even have something like that in the house but unfortunately I would eat them all at once.

Beckley- Welcome to the board!!!!!!!! You are doing so great. You must be very proud of yourself. I know what you mean about people not noticing..it took awhile for some people to notice when I was losing. It's so hard to tell if someone just hasn't noticed or they are afraid to say something. I know some people don't like people to mention their weight even if they have lost weight and then there are other people who want you to notice and say something. Personally I don't mind if someone mentions I look like I lost weight lol. That is so great that you have lost weight almost every single week..you definately know how to work the program! Congrats to you!!

Frouf- That is so cute about your son standing at attention in his jammies. I feel kind of bad I didn't go to any of the ceremonies around here but I was thinking about them yesterday. About you daughter..I'm not sure what to say about that. I had my nose pierced when I was in my early twenties. I thought that was brave for me at the time and even put a hoop in it a few times lol Personally I'm not a fan of the other piercings for me but they really don't bother me on other people...although I must say if I had a daughter I wouldn't really care for it on her too much either lol. I probably would let her do it tho because I guess I believe in personal expression even tho I wouldn't like it one bit. In the end it's your daughter and she lives under your roof so I believe until she lives under her own roof it's up to you what you decide..not her. No matter what you decide I would make her take out the one she did herself as it doesn't sound very safe. I'm in my early thirties and I have a younger sister that is 18 and she just got a tattoo of her initials on her neck lol..I just shake my head at her..I guess she can put her hair down and cover it up if need be but I'm wondering what she will get next. She has had her belly button pierced for a few years now but she never did any of the other piercings although I did hear her talk about them many times.
I am on the east coast frouf..Fredericton, New Brunswick. Have you ever been to the east coast? I have been to Toronto on the bus a few times..umm can you say crazy. I'm not a big fan of flying but let me tell you it is quite a long bus ride lol. So I have been to other parts of Ontario..whatever the bus route that goes from Montreal to Toronto. I always left Fredericton in the early evening so of course by the time we left Montreal the next morning I usually slept most of the way from Montreal to Toronto so I'm not sure what places we passed through lol. It's been awhile now since I have been to Toronto but always had a great time there. Someday I would love to go to Ottawa and stay a couple days as I would love to see the city. It sounds like an interesting place to live.
Sounds like you had a great time at the Elton John concert. Evertime I think of him I think of my cousin who moved to Toronto when he was 19 and he ended up catching aids and passed away from it in the 90's. He was older than me but when I was a kid and he was teenager he would put on Elton John all the time and make me dance to it lol. I haven't ever seen him in concert although my mother in law likes to make me watch him in concert on dvd everytime we go over there lol. It's nothing like seeing someone live in concert tho. The last concert I went to was Dolly Parton last year..even tho I don't listen to country music that much I have always loved Dolly. Anyway it was very disappointing because they didn't have a screen up and we were so far away from the stage that she looked like a little dot on stage..even with those big boobs lol. That's too bad about the review..sounds like the person didn't know much about the concert or Elton John.

Anyway I'm off to hunt down some breakfast..have a great morning everyone!!

Areil

hi, chickies. curtis and i have been away since thursday am. we decided to hop in our car and go to some friends' in east texas since the livingston trip had fallen through. we stayed with them till sat am.

sat am we drove to kaufman to the archery tournament. i won't rattle on here about scores but will tell you i shot fabulously the first round (game) and pitifully the 2nd (longbow). but i had fun and learned a lot.

i am gong to get on my soapbox here. (relate what i'm saying about archery to weightloss.) when i have a bad practice or even a bad tournament--i seem to learn the most about my shooting. (ring any bells?) we are constantly tweaking to get better. (more bells?)

on with my journey. when we left kaufman after i had shot over 6 hours and was exhausted, we drove on to alvarado where some friends were gathing. most of them i hadn't seen in year.s we had a fabulous time. i opted for no wine but for dessert. ww says you can have anything you want--just not everything.

i'm off now. we have to leave. i'll be back later. i hope all of you are doing great. curtis just reminded me to get off. see ya later.

Hi All:

Yes, Areil, I'm getting married on November 25th to Sandra's (just above here) cousin, Doyle. He's my high school sweetheart. After 40+ years of not seeing each other, we rearranged our lives and creating a new one. After the wedding in Texas, we are taking a cruise to Cozumel and the Yucatan.

I've really tested myself this weekend. I baked a chocolate pie for friends and date squares for my former in-laws. I did very well and ate only a sliver of the pie and one date square. My former MIL was a fabulous cook and baker who now has Alzheimer's. She can really even put a sandwich together and it all falls to her husband. He LOVES date squares so I took him some today.

For me, salad and chicken today. Doing well, today, anyway!

Rhonda

Meant to write that she can NOT put a sandwich together...probably obvious from the context.

Hey guys!

I just wanted to pop in and say that I'm reading and getting to know ya all. I also think I am going to do Flex for a week or so. I LOVE that we can choose a plan for awhile, then if we get bored or need to change (i.e., want more variety from Core, or need a break from points) - we can try the other plan for a bit.

Now is a good time. I'm starting to feel a bit strained with some of the foods I miss - so rather than throw in the towel completely, I will do flex for a bit - probably until I need another break from points. I think this may be a way for me to keep motivated/dedicated. I think that around thanksgiving I'll be happier on Core - so I may switch back to core next week after a week off.

Hope you don't mind if I stick around though - :) It's a great place for info and I want to continue to get to know you all!


Thank you!

Tina

tina, we want you to stick around. i am actually "floreing" right now.

rhonda, i am getting more and more excited about ya'll getting here. please contact us when you can so we can set something up.

First things first -SANDRA -- 165!!!!! Fabulous:bravo: Even being away you are doing so well. I love looking for ticker changes. Congrats.

Welcome Beckly and Tina! Jump on in and join the conversation!

For me last week was a struggle. I think the stresses of my sort of boss, Sarah being sick, being called back for my mammogram and way too much halloween candy go the best of me. Funny, chocolate has never been a trigger food - perhaps it was because it was everywhere! Yes, I got "the call" on thursday to schedule a follow up mammogram. At first I was a bit nervous about it, but when I talked to the scheduling person they said from a 2 day period last week they had 30 call backs. Which she told me was a record. So, either the tech or the radiologist was not so good. I'll worry when I have to worry. I go back on the 22nd.

Work is just about the same, I had a meeting with my real boss on Friday where I wanted to discuss the happenings from the prior week. Well, he was out and it got cancelled. I'm still not sure about how or if I should follow up with the other boss. Still haven't sent the email, I need to go read that again today.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week and we are right into the Christmas rush. I've actually started some shopping - an early record for me! My goal for this week is to stick to plan. Next week I'm off and we are going to Maine for 3 days (sun-tues). I can't wait. We'll be eating out then so I need to be very, very good until then.

I just want to throw out me 2cents on core. I successfully lost 40 pds in 9 months doing nothing but core. It does work when you follow the rules. Not eating when you are satisfied is the key to it all, at least it was for me. Otherwise my portions get too large and I don't lose. What I've always told people who ask me about core is that if you have issues with portion control, don't do it. Core is great if your problem is poor food choices.

Well, go to get to work. I'll check in later.

Come see us on the new board!