Morning chickies it is my favorite day of the week again. My it goes by fast. Anyway not only am I starting us off today. Hang on to yourselfs so you don't fall off your chair. I also got up and did my This is the third day this week although I have been doing it in the eveings but since I am having a candle party tonight I figured I would get some exercise I only did a mile but I did it in 17 minutes. I did not think that was to bad. So what is everyones plans for the day? Mine is tidying up for the party tonight and preparing some snacks... I am doing a fruit and veggie tray and a cheese and cracker tray and a punch any other suggestions? Other than that not to much have a good day must go get the youngest dd up or she will miss her bus.

Little Chick I am sorry to hear about your loss. That truly is so sad.

Ellis Sending good wishes and thoughts to your dad.

Today is day 10 of Phase 1. I am down another two pounds today. Yippee!! Yesterday was perfect as far as eating goes. I will post the Chicken Capri recipe, it was very good. DH even had an OP day. We were even at my mom's last night with beer, spaghetti, garlic bread, wine, strawberry shortcake....... We rewarded oursleves with a Peanut Butter Cup each when we got home. That dang recipe will be my saving grace on this diet!

As I said earlier, my 2nd food challenge is tonight at Bunco. Beachgal asked yesterday, but Bunco is a dice game that we play with 12 women. We meet once a month- each person puts in $10. The hostess provides dinner, drinks, and prizes for the winners. It is very much a mindless game, there is no strategy involved. Basically an excuse to get together and chat, gosssip, vent, etc.

I think I have my strategy figured out though, b/c my daughter has a birthday party to attend at 6:00. I am going to eat before the party- takes care of being hungry once I get to Bunco. Then, I actually have to take her with me tonight b/c my DH is working. That takes care of the wine consumption since I will have her in tow!

Good morning, Little Chick and Kiko. It's nice to know there are some early-chicks besides me!

Little Chick, I am so sorry about your friend. It is always sad to lose someone but losing a contemporary always hits home. I am mega-impressed over the treadmill session! I looked at one this morning in the catalogue. Does that count?

Kiko, you seem to be the General in planning strategy for these dangerous trips away from The Beach! I'm looking forward to the Chicken Capri recipe.

My sabbatical is pretty much over so you chicks will need to deal with me around again. If you don't play nicely, I yell. Actually yesterday I was able to permanently ban a spammer! Ah! Power! I love it!

It's another rainy day but that's OK because this morning I must actually write scripts for my three monologues at the Heritage Society tonight. Well, maybe just notes. We are doing the whole presentation as if Doug and I are in touch with the spirit world. Hershey is going to be the medium. It's very handy to have a well-behaved black dog for things like this. I'm doing "Amelia" the miller's wife who is very bitter, Jennie the poetess and religious nut who is still regarded as a saint and Mrs Doctor Joseph Kelly who had suspicions about her man's relationships. Dr Kelly was very famous as a healer in these parts and even had folks from New York State drive to see him!

I have to get my fluffy body back onto perfect Phase II of The Beach. Extra bread and crackers and dried apricots have been sneaking back in along with other unmentionables. As some of you know, the situation with my DH is deteriorating so I've been pretty stressed out, but never admitting it, of course! Tough Irish stock! Today I started off with lean steak slices for breakfast and am leaning towards a croutonless Caesar salad with chicken for lunch. Wish me luck!

Harry is up and about so I need to snap into Nursie mode. I'll check back later.

Hi girls.

Little Chick, how are things with your friend's family? Sending lots of hugs and prayers...

Kiko, thank you for your good thoughts... that means a lot to me.
Bunco sounds like a hoot! I'll have to check that out.
And congratulations on your loss!!

Ruth... hugs for you and dear Harry.
How the heck do you find these spammers? I never get any of the fun!
Hey, break a leg tonight, sweetie!

I'm going to the gym this morning. Signing up for 10 more sessions with my trainer.

RNMom, enjoy your fourth graduation today!! I know you WANT that bracelet.

Hi all - -well wishes for all those who need them.

Welcome back Ruth. You must be doing a great job because I have seen NO spammers.

Today is going to be a hard day for me -- I am driving to NY tonight, and won't get there until after midnight. I am driving with the cat, which is something I am NOT looking forward to. I have no a/c in the car which means she'll be in her crate for all 4 hours because I have to keep the windows open. It's cooler at night, so that's why I am driving then rather than in the AM. JoJo is a pain in the tush when it comes to car trips, so wish us luck! It's going to take me 4 hours alone to pack the car up -- I have to bring coolers and electrical cords back to my dad, not to mention all of JoJo's stuff [litterbox, dishes, food]. I hope there is room in my little Neon for my luggage, and ME!

Congrats KiKo -- so far so good for me today -- had eggs, some bacon crumbles in it, green peppers and mushrooms for breakie.

Snack are green peppers and low fat guacamole!

Lunch is a salad with a hamburger patty from last night's dinner. I also found a no carb dressing, but it has more fat than I would like [8g, 0 sat]. To this point, I've only used vinegar [no oil] so we'll see. I wanted something different and it was on sale at Whole Foods last night. The flavors sounded sooo good, just look: http://www.lowcarboutfitters.com/drew.html The only place I could find it was on a low carb site -- even though this is a GOOD carb diet...

I bought 3 flavors at $1.99 a piece: Kalamata Olive & Caper [which is what I am having today], Shiitake Ginger and Lemon Tahini Goddess [I know, it counts as my nuts for the day]. I hope these are good and worth the fat! I figure, my salads are usually fat free anyway and there are only .5g of sat fat in them so why not.

Ok I have babbled enough. I am going to go through withdrawl this week without internet access!

hello everyone!!!
i will start off by saying, i have been a very bad south beach babe over the past few weeks. i thought i could do this by myself, i made up my own plan tried like you would not believe and guess what ?? i can't. so it is good to be home!!! i really missed you all and it is so nice to see so many new chicks on the beach.

ellis- did you save my chair??? sorry to hear about your dad, hope he gets on the mend very quickly. so good to see you are still hanging out with the trainer!! good for you!!!

ruth- sorry about harry, hang in there. i see you are still as busy as always. good luck tonight sounds like fun.

little chick- sorry about your friend. loosing someone close is always so hard to deal with. great job on exercising tho.
sending prayers to all three of you hang in there!!!

well i am starting phase 1 AGAIN today. gotta get all these carb cravings to subside somehow.

(((justjodi))) Welcome back! Of course we kept your chair. (I even washed your towel and folded it in thirds a la Martha! )

awww thanks ruth!!! oh gawsh don't get me started on martha......i watch reruns of her shows on foodtv and my kids are always like how is she doing that???? do they have a remote satalite in prison??? silly high tech kids. thanks for the clean towel tho i'm gonna need it for all the sweat this time around on the beach. have a good one!!!

Hi, all!

Wow, what a bittersweet day!

Little Chick, so very sorry to hear about your friend. It is always hard when they go, but even more so when they leave a little one behind. I pray that you all find peace in this. for getting on the treadmill so early and doing so well! It takes me about 20 mins to go one mile...I can't believe how fit you are! Hope you have a blast at your party tonight!

Ruth, so sorry to hear that Harry is sick. I will be praying for you. Remember to take care of you...you can't take good care of Harry if you are run down and exhausted. Break a leg tonight and have a lot of fun! Wish I could come and watch--it sounds like an amazing show!

Welcome back, Jodi! Glad you are here and looking forward to your sage advice!

Jenn, I hope you have a fast, safe trip with a happy cat! Enjoy the visit! Hope you get tons of complements on the new weight loss and have tons of fun with the fam!

Kiko, for you for doing so well in the face of all that temptation! I ordered a bowl of soup at Ruby Tuesday last friday. My DH got the same thing, but for some reason mine came with a huge slice of garlic bread and his didn't! Oh, I cannot tell you how terribly tempting that was! And you had so many other temptations in front of you besides that and you triumphed! Good for you, girl! Oh, those fudgesicles are amazing!!! I do not know how I got through Phase 1 without them!!!

Ellis, as always, you totally make me laugh! Yes, they should take out those darn useless organs at birth! A girl downstairs had an emergency appendectomy two months ago. She was out of work for five weeks!!! I pray that your dad's surgery is as painless as possible and that he feels much, much better afterwards! And I challenge you to get the vacuum and potato...just look at them and you'll laugh every time!

Got my charm bracelet (see the rewards thread) on Monday, took it to the jewelers yesterday and they are going to add a couple links (my wrist is too fat! ) to enlarge it and add on the charms. They think it will take a week or so, but I want it now! Can you tell that I'm impatient?

Not too much planned for today. I have class tonight...my next to last one before summer and freedom! Had a Phase 1 breakfast this morning, yogurt for snack, and will probably have leftover Lemon Couscous chicken for lunch. If not, maybe a pita pocket or tuna melt. Depends on how much time I have. Having a starch free dinner, so get a starch to play with at lunch. For dinner we are having the Sesame Crusted Chicken and the Edamame with scallions and sesame from the SBD Cookbook. I've never had edamame before (just the dry kind for a snack, but never the green kind), so I am really hoping I like it! Last night we had the raspberry chicken (really good!) and a package of "Great Grains" pilaf. It was beyond fabulous! So many nutty grains...like brown rice, wild rice, wheat berries, bulgher, etc. Yum, yum, yum! Of course, we also had a salad.

Went to the gym this morning and did 24 mins on the elliptical and 10 mins of weights for my legs. My arms are still sore from Monday, so I'm going to rest them until Friday. Took Ellis' advice and looked at the readout to see if I was working out just as hard with a magazine. Nope! So I focused on working harder while reading, and it seemed to help. I actually feel much happier than I did Monday night, so I think the exercise helped!

Hope everyone has a much better day today!!!

Jodi, you're back!! Plop yourself right down in the middle of the circle, hon. Thanks for your wishes for my Dad!!

Laurie, can you cook or something? Sounds to me like you can cook. I'm seriously thinking of taking a lesson. No, that's not true. I just hate cooking for my (darling) children when all they do is complain about the food. That's one of the few times during the day when I don't feel like a Princess. That and when I'm cleaning the floor around the toilet.
Lemon couscous chicken... that sounds easy! Surely I can't screw that one up! Is there a recipe somewhere, or should I just wing it?
I had a wicked 1 hour workout with my trainer this morning. He carries a whip in his teeth.

I just joined, and seems kinda funny to jump into what seems like the middle of a conversation. But anyway, let me share my day...I have been shopping for my son's birthday gift, and preparing for our camping trip this weekend. I am a little stressed about it, not only because it will be cold and rainy which means four bored and miserable kids, but also because this will be my first time camping while on SB. I am planning on bringing my food from home, we will shop for the rest of the family there as usual. I think my big fear is being so bored all I will do is eat, and not wanting to eat what I have. My solution is to bring lots to do and some of my favorite food so I will reallllly want to eat them!

Thanks for letting me jump in!

Laurie Can I come over for dinner? YUM! I love to cook and try new recipes as well!

Just finished lunch- a very tasty salad with cukes, celery, tomatoes, avocado, and tuna. Abigail on the other hand had half of an apple and a tasty looking grilled cheese! She only ate a fourth of it and don't think I didn't eye the other 3/4's longingly! (only eyed it- didn't eat it!) We spent an hour at the park this morning, she loves the playground. She is usually a tearful drama queen when we leave, but didn't shed a tear today. She is down for her nap right now, so I plan to curl up on the couch with a book.

Today is a planned off day from exercise. (As opposed to planning on it and then blowing it off!)

Jenn Safe driving to you!!

Hi everyone! My thoughts are with all of you who are having a harder time right now. My bfs mom is sick right now and I know how much it is tearing him up.

For all of you who exercised today.... I was doing the 2 mile WATP tapes for awhile but had to return it to the library and then couldn't get it back (I guess it is popular) I finally got the 3 mile when I decided to take a break to finish phase 1. I cannot find it here to buy so I have to rely on the library...and no credit card either so online is off limits.

Lost another pound today but I am not sure if I should trust my scale. I need to get a good one. Any kind you recommend?

Beachgal: Those charm bracelets are sounded better and better. How fun. Oh and what are you taking in school? I took criminology and thought of going for my masters in forensic psych but not so sure if I want anymore school. But without a job in my field right now, it might be necessary.

Kiko: I love the name Abigail.....and grilled cheese sandwiches, good job not eating it!

Jenn: Have a great trip and hope you don't have a cat that whines as much as my two do inthe car.

Well all I am doing right now is sitting here listening to the dance hits channel so I should get up, move my butt and get things accomplished.

Have a good day everyone!

LOL to all. I am going to pay the $ and go to the vet, get her shot up and a pill for the way home. Hopefully, since it's night, she'll sleep. But I doubt it.

Wow! My brain can't hold all these conversations at once! I am amazed at what a lively and lovely group we are today!

Yup, I *love* to cook! I especially love to bake...now I'm going to have to do that for other people, which I think will be fine. At least, I hope so! My grandmother was a major prizewinning cook. If they had Food Network back then, she would have been the queen! Unfortunately, I do not have her skills, but I love puttering around in the kitchen!

Ellis, you can totally make that couscous! It is super-duper easy! It is in the SBD Cookbook, but let me know if you don't have it and I will type it in tomorrow. It has chicken and broccoli and couscous along with lemon and lemon peel! Yum! Let me know if you have questions or need help. I bet your kids would enjoy it too! I know I gave my mom such a hard time about her cooking when I was a kid. She wanted us to eat healthy, but we wanted none of that! I'm sorry yours give you a hard time, though. There are a couple of great shows on FoodTV that talk about making stuff for you and DH that you can modify for your kids so they like it. Maybe in your "spare time" you can watch a few? Ooh that trainer sounds delicious! (there's the bad girl coming out...) Actually, have you read that forward about the woman who gets a trainer? She says something like, "This is the first time that having a gorgeous man leaning over me and saying 'Harder! Harder!' is not at all appealing!" Yup...I can share that sentiment. Still, I say for doing that kind of workout, Ellis! Good for you!!!

Imzadi: it sounds like you have a great plan in place! Bring some SF gum with you to chomp on when you are feeling bored and lots to drink. Also, bring lots of stuff to do! Do you do any crafts like needlepoint or crochet? If your hands are busy, you can't eat! At least, that's my motto! I hope it is not as rainy as you suspect so you guys can relax and enjoy the vacation!

Kiko, you can come to my house if I get to come to yours...your salad (and Abigails lunch) both sound delicious! I love avocados! I am originally from CA, and am dismayed at the awful specimens of that they call avocados in NY! Sorry for the bad language, but these grocers should know better than to stand between a woman and her avocados! Congrats on staying away from Abigail's sandwich! Awesome self-control! Love your exercise plan. Much smarter!

Ozziesgirl: I am working on my Masters of Education in Literacy so I can be a reading teacher. I am a lowly grad assistant, so they pay for me to go to school and I work for them for an extraordinary amount of hours. In the end, it will be worth it. You know, I am pretty sure that I used to get a catalog for workout tapes in the mail. If you could find that online, you might be able to order the tape with a check. You never know!