HAPPY OCTOBER!

Here we are, a brand new month and it's starting on a Monday! That alone is a great motivator for me to make a fresh new start.

I actually did pretty well this weekend, and am quite pleased with myself. My DD was involved in a pretty scary car accident late Thursday night, and although no one was seriously injured, it was nothing short of a miracle that they weren't killed. Anyway, she needed the comfort of her mother all weekend, so I've been giving her lots of TLC and even took her out for some "retail therapy". But it's been an emotional rollercoaster all weekend.

Kiko, it was great to hear from you again! We've missed you and hope you can find time to check in regularly.

Barb, Brian is really doing well with his popcorn sales, I hope he can reach his goal for this year!

What's going on with everyone today?

Oh Cottage, I'm so glad your DD is ok!

I'm recovering from all my vitamin pills for awhile until my tummy settles down enough to head to breakfast for some coffee and studying. I'm pretty bleary eyed but I have so much work to do that won't get done if I stay in the room with the morning news on! :P I'm looking forward to some grapefruit.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Good morning everyone! And happy Oct. 1st!
It's a beautiful cool morning here...very welcomed after the heat we've had this summer.
Had a very busy weekend of going on a "field trip" with some friends to some lovely gardens in Baton Rouge and helping my son and his GF take his room apart, throwing away bags of stuff, rearranging the furniture and putting together the platform bed we got him for his birthday.

Yesterday morning, I went to walmart to get some groceries. (BTW, I discovered the marinated turkey breasts...wonderful grilled!) I saw a pair of pants and a henley shirt that would be good for school and debated on grabbing the 12's or 10's. I wishfully grabbed the 10's...tried them on a few minutes ago and they fit like a charm...woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe I'll make my goal by Christmas!

boy, you ladies are up early! good morning to you all!

Today, I am back on the beach. I had kind of a rough weekend, but I want to put it behind me and move forward in a positive direction!

New week and new month. September was sort of a bummer month for me - funerals, Lucy and missing a MOD meet but October is going to be great! I'm calling it Optimistic October after Sad September.

My weekend with my friends Shirleyanne and her dog Bella The Wuss was exactly what Hershey and I needed! We talked non-stop and Hersh showed Bella the ropes, including how to go up and down regular stairs. Bella lives in a bungalow and had never even been in another house. She was a rescued dog. We took her to Church which made it the third house and she was well-behaved.

Slept until after seven this morning once again so am off schedule. I'll go to the gym mid-morning and do a wee shop while I'm out. I have my painting class this afternoon and am in charge of teatime - aka feeding frenzy! People who take turns seem to try to outdo each other with goodies! I'm about to screw up my rep as a baker by bringing store-bought cookies but will bring fruit, cheese and crackers too.

I'm off to shower and crank up Monday! Enjoy!

Cottage, I'm so glad your daughter wasn't hurt! Those close calls really make you want to wrap your arms around your loved ones and hold them close, don't they? I'm sure your DD feels extremely blessed to have had lots of mom-time this weekend!

Hey, Allie! Glad you have some food you can look forward to! How is the diet working out for you? Are you feeling better now without the gluten? Do you think it might have been a gluten sensitivity that was giving you problems? I don't know about you, BTW, but watching the news (at any time of day!) gives me a terrible stomachache! I've been on a "no-news-diet" for over 3 years now. It really helps me!

Cat, congrats on fitting into a new size! That's awesome! Those gardens must have been incredible! Are people's yards starting to recover from Katrina? You changed your avatar! The artwork is beautiful, but I do miss your smiling face!

dcapulet, good for you on putting the past where it belongs and moving forward! After all, as Cottage so wisely reminded us, it's a new month AND a Monday! That's a great day to start again! Success, after all, is just getting up one more time after falling!

Me:
My friend's wedding was beautiful and they had a fantastic day for it...cool and sunny with blue skies and tons of color on the hills below us. They had an awesome DJ and I danced my heart out--even got DH on the floor a couple more times than I thought. Found a new technique for that--one of my friends (who has a non-dancing husband as well) grabbed me to dance with her and halfway through, DH cut in...apparently he was jealous! If I'd known that, I'd have been dancing with my friends a long time ago!

DH and I took a 5 hour nap after the wedding! I guess we're both really tired. He has a tonsillectomy schedule for Wednesday. I'm working tomorrow so I can take Wednesday off to be with him. I'm scared for him, since I've had the same surgery and it was my worst one. But I'm thrilled for him, since it will hopefully help him with his sleep apnea. I hate hearing his breathing stop at night!

Off to the gym after work tonight. I can't say that I'm in love with working out, but it's becoming a routine. Making it a part of my day, right after work, takes away the possibility of talking myself out of it. Oprah's on while I'm working out, and I've actually been enjoying watching her show.

Have a great day, chicks!

Hey, Ruth! Simulposting!

I'm so glad you're looking at October so positively. You know, Robert Fulghum (author of "Everything I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten") says that he thinks the Jews have the right idea--the new year should start in the Fall. Even though it's not traditional for the rest of us, I've definitely adopted that "turning over a new leaf" (no pun intended... ) mentality in the Fall. Time for new beginnings. Sounds like your visit with Shirleyanne and Bella was a great start to that new beginning. What a brave girl Bella was in two totally new places! But I bet she was immensely calmed by having Hershey as guide!

Good morning ladies! Wowsers I'm tired today. Last night we had the threat of severe weather (TV went nuts just after 10) so I stayed up in case I had to hit the dirt. By the time it hit my county, it started to fizzle out so we just had a little boomer and that was it. D'oh. So I didn't get to sleep until about midnight and now I'm starting my week tired. That's alright though. I'll try to sleep well tonight.

How are things with everyone else? Hope you all have a glorious day! And I can't believe it's October already!!!!

Lisa

I'm still trying to wake up. It's early in the ER and thankfully the public is still asleep. I enjoyed a busy weekend at home and am not ready to come back to work.

Ruth, glad you had a good weekend, it sounds like just what you needed. I agree with you, October has to be better!

Cottage, glad your DD is Ok and I agree with your decision to have some retail therapy!

Beachgal, I'm kinda the same way about fall, I do fall cleaning instead of spring cleaning. Good luck on Wednesday, I'll be thinking about you.

dcapulet, yes, a new week and a new month is always a good think. I like see blank pages on the calendar!

femme, YAY for you! It's nice to have those little surprises that keep you going!

Well, it SNOWED here on Saturday, had to go to an outdoor wedding...not sure why anyone in Idaho would have an outdoor wedding in September! Ended up moving the wedding indoors, the poor bride was disappointed.

We are in the heart of potato country and the schools are closed for two weeks for harvest break. A lot of the older kids work for the area farmers bring in the spuds. My dd is working and everyday I pray I don't see her in my ER with injuries, they can be so nasty.

Well, hugs to all! HOpe you have a great day!

Good Morning Ladies! No time for personals today as I have spent the morning catching up on posts I missed by not checking in over the weekend.

I found some crackers put out by All Bran over the weekend and eaten with some laughing cow cheese, yum is all I can say! They have 5 grams of fiber per serving! Counting them out is the key as I am sure I could eaisly go overboard with them if I didn't.

Here's to a new month! May we all meet our goals! Will power dust to all and I will check back later!

I can't believe it! Just as I was getting ready to leave this morning I got a call from my DS, asking if I would come pick up my DIL. She had just had an accident on the by-pass!!!! Once again, we can only be thankful that no one was hurt, but she messed the front of her car pretty bad. That had better be the end of car mishaps around here for a long, long time as I've had more than I can take.

Morning, ladies! I'm tired again this morning as the pager went off at 3AM and it took me a half hour to get the system back up. By then, I had a hard time getting back to sleep. I am SO glad that my oncall ended at 8 this morning. I am ready for some uninterrupted sleep.

Tonight I have a camp director's meeting down at council offices. I'll try to take Brian to a few houses before handing him off to DH to take over. This is a busy week for me with stuff scheduled almost every night.

cottage - I am so glad your daughter is okay. That is so scary.

Allie - I take my vitamin at night and then it doesn't mess up my stomach. Sometimes taking them after food can help too.

Cat - Congrats on the smaller pants. That is so much fun. Brian and I have been paying attention to the landscaping of the houses as we sell popcorn. Then he comes home and pulls out the Neil Sperry Texas Plants book and plans how he wants the landscaping around the pool. DH has told him some of his friends might tease him if they find out he is interested in this but I support him in whatever he wants to learn about. I did tell him it will be awhile before we can afford to landscape around the pool. Pools are expensive!

dcapulet - Weekends can be rough. Just make a fresh start.

Ruth - You have the best attitude! I like the idea of Optomistic October.

beachgal - I hope your DH has an easy tonsillectomy. I was in my late 20's when I had mine and it was rough. It did get rid of my tonsil infections but it was very painful for probably a week.

weezle - I love your new icon. That picture is great! You have really done so well!

rnmom - Wow, snow? We are still having highs in the mid 90's! I can't imagine a wedding in the snow.

Hi, pacer! I just can't eat crackers. If I find one I like then I end up eating too many.

Good Morning Chicks,

I am back at it and just thought I would check in I have had a busy crazy summer. I will fill ya'll in later. I am at work...but starting phase 1 today and needed read some of your inspiring and kind words.

Have a great day,

Barb, thank you! It's my most recent picture. I really have been trying and the "last ten" really do come off TERRIBLY slowly. (How do our bodies know what we've picked for our goal weights so they can slow down for the last ten?) I've been chugging along though.

I'm really starting to get sick of the comments some people are making though. Wiggles keeps saying "Girl, you keep disappearing. Eat something! You're fading away!" I do eat, and I even treat myself to eating out once a week (sometimes twice ) so I don't go crazy and binge for a month like I've done in the past. A girl I went to high school with who works at the bank said this morning "Lisa, you're starting to look really thin. You need to eat." I DO EAT! Roar. I said "I've only lost 2 lbs in the last 3 weeks, it's not like I'm dropping a ton of weight" and she said "Well I don't think you need to lose any more."

Since when is my weight-loss anyone's business but my own and my friends like you girls who I share this stuff with? I've done plenty of research on what a healthy weight for me should be, and it's between 104-127 lbs. I'm 123 and I don't look unhealthy because I'm not unhealthy.

My goal is 115, and that's just if I get there. I'm comfortable with my body now (although I could use to tone up some, but that's only if I wanted to exercise. ) I am just going to continue a healthy lifestyle and if my body decides it wants to drop some weight, then that's what it decides to do. If not, I don't really care. The number doesn't matter so much.

Sorry for the little rant and negative energy. I try not to be negative but good Lord people, mind your own business! Ya know? I'm trying to be happy that I look and feel the way I do now because it's been a long road and I've worked hard, and I don't like people trying to ruin that for me. I think I look fine, my parents think I look fine, my hair stylist thinks I look fine, and most of my friends think I look fine.

I think Wiggles is just giving me a hard time, but Lori was serious. Wiggles watches me put away food (and not healthy food either. I take him out to eat every weekend because I'm that good of a boss.) I'm trying not to let it bother me but it's a little frustrating.

ANYHOO, speaking of food, I'm looking forward to making refried bean soup tonight. Mmmmmm. Low-calorie, good carbs..... I may make spinach dip too. I have some Triscuits that need eaten up. Mmmm. Food.

Better get some work done. Sorry again for the rant. I feel much better now. Hopefully now I can go about my day in a positive way! Take care girlies! Talk soon!

Lisa

Hey, Lisa! Hon, I can totally relate! I think, honestly, that people (especially women!!!) aren't commenting on your weight because they are worried for you. Rather, they are scared that they are bigger than you are and don't want you getting any skinnier and making them look bad! They want losing weight to be so hard they can pretend that it's not worth trying. You know? It's all about them and not at all about you! That doesn't mean it's not totally annoying! When I had about 25 left to lose, I got comments all the time. I still had a very visible roll of fat on my belly and sometimes felt like squeezing it and saying, "See this??? I don't think that's healthy!!!" Anyways, vent away here--that's what we're here for, to understand and support each other!

Now that's out of the way, you really do look AMAZING, Lisa!!!! I'm so thrilled for you!!!

Barb, I think it's wonderful that you support Brian in anything he wants to learn. I'm not sure where DH is coming from--I don't know many boys who would tease another boy for being into plants. There are tons of male landscape artists! It's great that he's learning about regional plant life, too. I'm always amazed at how everything turns into a learning/educational experience for you guys!