Monday's Chick Chat
 

Good Morning!

How's everyone doing after the weekend? It was a brutal hot and sticky one around here. I love summertime, but I hate having to keep the windows and doors closed because of the air conditioning. We're having a few showers right now, and the humidity is terrible.

The house is a total wreck, but Caite and Carley will be going home today. I guess there's no sense doing any cleaning until they're gone. It's been fun having them here, but I'm looking forward to some peace and quiet. It'll be nice to have my laptop back, too, without Caitlyn hogging it!

I'd better be off to Curves right now, before I can find an excuse to skip it. I'll see you all later!

Morning! I've been up since about 3:30 because I could not STAND to sleep with my sunburn. It's so strange, I never burn, and if I do it's only after I've been on the beach for at least 6 or 7 hours and it's gone by the next morning! Ugh. Oh well, at least I'm not radioactive red anymore. I keep slathering myself up with aloe and will probably take a nice cold oatmeal bath after the roomie goes to work.

Weather seems nice temperature wise today. It's cool out but we're expecting thunderstorms later on. As long as the temp doesn't rise, it's FINE with me!

It's been brutally hot here as well. We've actually been under a CODE RED smog alert since yesterday. :hot: Sounds scary, huh!

I know what you mean about the peace and quiet... its well earned I imagine!

Well, I got up at 5:00 today so I could get my work out in before the day got to crazy. I've had my breakfast and now I need to go finish getting ready for my first day back at school. I LOATHE the first day - meetings, meetings and meetings... I just want to work in my classroom and get everything ready!

On a SBD point, I have my lunch and my snacks packed so I WILL avoid the bagels and whatever lunch the PTA will be having.

Have a great Monday chickies!

Quick check-in before I head to the gym. We have a soft rain falling this morning - the first in two weeks so the garden is sighing happily.
Back later.

Morning Ladies, first day of school here for the kiddos so it was kinda hectic around here. I managed to get my workout before I got her up, so all was good. Time to get started on the housework, you ladies have a good day!

Allie, Ouch! Keep slathering on that aloe and stay cool! Are you taking any meds right now? Sometimes that will cause a reaction with the sun, thus causing your sunburn. An oatmeal bath sounds pretty soothing, too.

Noleschick, happy first day back to school! Good for you, getting up early for your workout! I have to get mine in first thing, too, or I'll just procrastinate about it the rest of the day.

Ruth, I hope you have a good limbering-up workout at the gym! I'm back from mine, it feels good to have it done for the day. I have a mental picture in my head of your beautiful garden rejoicing in the rain. :)

Hey guess what. I'm tired. Going to say hi real quick and go back to bed for a few. Hi. I'll pop in later on chicks. Hope everyone has a good start to their day!

Lisa

Good morning ladies,
So here it is Monday and actually it's kind of a relief this week. After stressing out all weekend about work, I can actually dig in and try to make some good progress this week. I just put the crockpot turkey cacciatore on, and I'll let you all know how it turns out. My turkey breast was a little too big, and I really had to cram it in there. I've got a telecon this morning, then I'll jump in the car and make the long drive to VA for a staff meeting this afternoon. When I get home tonight, it'll be nice to have dinner all ready!

It's raining pretty steady here, so my garden is very happy, but I didn't get to take my walk, oh bother. Maybe I can motivate to get one in tonight. I'll need it after all the car time.

Wow JennJenn, your kids really start back early! Mine have got three weeks left.
Allie, sorry about your miserable sunburn. Noxzema cold creme slathered on there really helps too!
cottage, I know you'll be glad to get your house back. There's nothing like the quiet after the house has emptied out. Can you tell I'm really looking forward to that first day of school?
Good morning Ruth, glad you enjoyed the chicken!
noleschick, hope your first day goes by quickly.

Mornin!
Allie -- That's so funny we're neighbors. Though I'm actually moving out the burbs come September -- boyfriend and I are going to move in together in Watertown (yikes!) I can't imagine how you got yourself such a bad sunburn -- as for me, I was hiding indoors with the windows shut and the AC going! I'm glad to see it's going to cool down today...though i'm not that psyched about the rain.
Noleschick -- be strong in front of the bagels!
Ruth -- thanks for the reminder -- I have to water my plants!
Jenn -- hope she likes the first day!
As for me, Im reaching the end of Phase 1, today being my last day. Total weight loss was 6 lbs, a bit disappointing, but I don't really trust a greater weight loss than that anyway. I'm excited to try new things for Phase 2 tomorrow!! Especially wine!!!
Good day, everyone!
--Sonja

My son came home with a bad sunburn on saturday too...he is the only one of my kids who burns. I went outside and cut up and scraped a bunch of aloe leaves for him to use then and also spent about another 1/2 hour scraping more to put in a container to keep in the fridge if he needed more..he didn't. Wish I could bring that container over to you!

I tried that pork tenderloin recipe yesterday that I had seen on TV..it was fantastic. I'm sure you could use the marinade on any other meat too. I am going to use it on some grilled chicken this week. It was soooo tasty and everyone in the family loved it.

For once, I got up to NO emails from clients..hope it stays that way today, but doubt it. I had a really nasty headache last night (sinus) so I took a couple of tylenol PM's and it knocked me out...I didn't wake up till 7 and I never sleep past 5 and I feel really stupid today.

Noles, I have one more week till I have to go back to school. Good luck on the first day...Are the kids coming today or is everyone just working on their classrooms? I like those "catching up with everyone days" when we can visit in everyone's classroom. I see you are in Marietta..ah, that's where Alton Brown lives isn't it? He started a new series on Sat. and the first episode was down here. He went to a local alligator farm (the map said "Hammond" but the farm is actually in the town where I teach.) I taught one of the kids whose parent's owns the farm. I took a class on a field trip there the year I taught the little girl. I was nervous the whole time that some kid would decide to climb the fence!
AB also went to a seafood place in N.O. that was a block from my daughter's old apt. I had to call her in California right away so she could watch it. Shouldn't have..it made her homesick.

Let's all have a great week!

Morning Ladies. Supposed to be a HOT one today and getting nothing but warmer all week! After 4 days of back and forth on getting my 16 year old daughter here for the week I finally made the trip yesterday to pick her up. Will be nice to have her here for the week! Planning on shopping for an outfit for the class reunion next weekend, and getting a new do with her assistance. DS is taking her to see Hairspray today, so she is occupied while I am at work. You know teenagers they can't sit still for 30 mins without being bored! Now I know why my mother forbid me to use that word!

Cottage I know what you mean about the house being a wreck! DD is sleeping in the living room on one of those HUGE blow up mattresses and I had to walk around her this morning. Also sure to find a sink full of dishes when I get home. How can they dirty soooooo many?

Allie Hope that burn gets better and you can sleep tonight, nothing worse than that!

Noelschick Hope they don't meeting you out today and tons of willpower dust to you!

Lisa Hope you get some rest! Your in my thoughts and prayers.

Schmoodle Have a safe trip, hope that dinner is good, nothing like coming home and just having to scoop it up!

Sonja Good job on your phase 1 weight loss, I think that is about what I lost too. Enjoy phase 2 but take it nice and slow!

Ruth and Jenn Have a great day!

Ok going to catch up on other posts, check with you all later.

Steph

Good morning all.

Today I start a new project, so I'm going to be reading reams of documentation just to get ready to test the software for 2 weeks! Gotta love corporate, they make it so hard to do any job, and then they expect you to be an expert in all fields at all times. If I were a salaried employee, I would've taken the docs home to read this weekend, but I'm hourly, and they won't pay me if I'm not physically in the office - so no working from home for me ;)

I know already tomorrow is going to be a bad day eating wise for me. I've got a 1pm appointment for my 2nd epidural for my back. By the time I get out of that, DH will want lunch, and I'm not going to be able to make him anything, and it'll just be easier to get something from a fast food place. Dinner as well. I'm thinking Pizza. There's a place who will make a ww pizza with lowfat cheese, so I'm thinking about ordering that. DH likes it, so all the better.

Time to bury myself in HL7 and Dicom documents... wish me luck!!!!

Grrrrrr! While I was out, Lucy ate my glasses! It's been six months since she did it the last time and I thought I was safe. I found all the pieces of glass on the couch and doubt that she ate any.

I think I'll just go back to bed and start the day over again!

Good Morning Girls,
I made it thru the weekend without sweets!!!!! I am so proud of myself. I do have a question, is it normal to not have much energy and feel sick to your stomach? I feel like this everyday, especially in the morning. I drink milk with my medicine, then when I get to work I usually have a cheese stick. Around 10 I eat my eggs, or what I have brought for an actual breakfast. I just can't eat eggs early.
Other than that I am back to work and happy to be inside. This morning it was already 84 at 5:00. Hope everyone has a great day.

Morning Chickies!

Sorry for not checking in at all this weekend. DH's friend was here from out of town and we were running around like crazy! I'll check back on the posts from this weekend later.

Cottage: Yeah! You get your computer back! Our house is a wreck, too. I'll be working on that tonight after training. I bet you'll enjoy all the peace and quiet coming up!

Allie: So sorry about that sunburn. I haven't had any experience in that department, but I've heard it's extremely painful. Hope it heals up quickly!

noleschick: WTG getting your meals together and planned out so you avoid the dreaded PTA food. Hope the meetings finish up quickly so that you can get to your room!

Ruth: Glad for you and the garden that it's raining!

Jenn: Goodness, your kiddos start school early! Are you going to be glad for the peace and quiet or will you miss them more?

Lisa: Get some rest, honey! Hope you're sleeping peacefully as I type!

Schmoodle: I love crock pot dinners. They're the best! Hope that turkey turns out to be delicious.

Sonja: WTG on the 6 lbs! I think that's a great loss for P1! Now that you're moving into P2, you'll really start to see the changes!

femme: Hope your email stays empty for the day! I know what you mean about sleeping so long/deeply that you wake up feeling, well, dumb. That's about where I am this morning. Hope the day is a good one for you!

Steph: Oh how fun getting your hair done with DD! And I bet she'll help you pick out a great outfit for the reunion!

mare: I would absolutely LOVE it if I were paid hourly. Sounds like your job is more stressful than what I would want to deal with, though. Hope you get through all of that reading quickly!

ME:

This weekend was a good one for me eating-wise, but I didn't get a workout in on Sunday. I figure that can be my day of rest for the week. The scale still hasn't budged and actually, my ticker is lying. I do believe that it's because of the weight training I'm doing and that I'm building up muscle and losing fat right now. At least I hope that's what's going on.

I'm going to get it together tonight and do my full meal plan for the rest of the week and next week, so that I'll be sure not to cheat. I'm probably going to go back to D1 of P2 and start over with the carbs. I'll probably start that Thursday because Wednesday night is my birthday, and let's face it, I'm eating cake!

Well, I need to go pull some files and do some deed research. I hope everyone has a great day and that it's beachy! :beach:

Morning Ladies:
I needed the get your arse out of the fridge graphic this weekend! Today I Feel much more in control!
Cottage enjoy having your house & Puter back to yourself Stay cool and dry its going to be nasty here today!
Allie I hear you on the sunburn (I'm 100% Irish me and the sun are NOT friends) I'll be sending cool thoughts your way!
Noles : you're doing great!! it's all about planning!
Ruth I want to walk barefoot through your garden!! Ok maybe with sandals so I don't track mud like the doggage! I'm sorry about your glasses!
Jenn Do something nice for yourself today while the kiddo's are off getting full of knowledge!
Femme: I'm with you on the sleeping late slow feeling and I didn't take any sinus meds May the coffee Cattle prod give you a boost!
Steph Have fun with DD you deserve to be pampered!
SChmoodle tell us how the turkey goes I can't wait to try it!
Kim :) sounds like a good plan! and you know birthday cake has no fat calories sugar or carbs :)
BK that's great! I Like to eat in stages too!

My weekend was jam packed! Friday night we went to see the simpsons with some friends it was ok Kinda like one big Episode. . .What wasn't ok was me and a box of jr mints to stay awake! When I'm over tired I pop sugar "like candy"
DH and I are broke till Friday which is bad b/c it makes me stressed, but good b/c I CAn't stray into alternate food land and have to use what I have in my fridge (mainly SB legal)
Saturday We saw Arsenic and old lace in community theatre it was good! we cleaned up a bit and were figuring out finance stuff together (usually it's all on me)
Sunday I whipped up something super nummy If you guys have a trader Joes get their roasted red pepper (Garlic and Egg plant) dip I threw some on Boneless SKinless chicken thighs ( I know Not beach legal but post bypass I CAn't always eat chicken breast without Digestive pain) and put that on top of some bulgur pilaf and threw it all in the oven.
Then we went to see THE POLICE! At Giant Stadium!! sooo good!!! and Sting is Dorian Grey the man does not age! we danced all night!

Tonight is workout/cleaning night I have Taco bake in the freezer to throw in the oven when I Get home. Today I'm just trying to stay awake!!!
bbl
Kierie

Slisette- Funny! I'm moving to Waltham in September! We'll still be neighbors! Haha. Except I'm just going back to school and I'm on the other side of Waltham from Watertown. I'm there all the time though to go to Target!

Femme- Your poor son! Aloe fresh out of the plant sounds so good... this gel crap they sell at the store just doesn't cut it! And Alton Brown is from Marietta! It's funny because I grew up near there and when my roomie last year got me watching his shows, I kept freaking out: "That's my mall!" "That's my veggie grocery store!" :P

Cottage- I'm checking up my medication now to see if any of them act adversely to the sun. None of them mention it in the side effects but maybe I just got some rare side effect!

BK- if you can eat any earlier, that might help. And I feel you on the eggs- I HATE LOATHE DESPISE eggs. :P Could you get down a small salad and piece of chicken for breakfast? During ph1 I swear I ate chili and greens every morning! Are you getting enough beans? That helps with the energy. Try not to limit yourself to "breakfast" food for breakfast and it really makes a difference!

Hazy internet connection at work today. Yeesh.

How the heck are ya, chicks? I'm hanging in there. Got another 20 minutes of sleep and then got up, still tired, to start my day. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I lost 2 lbs last week though, after a few weeks of only losing 1 per week. That was fun. Will have to measure myself when I get home tonight, as it's been 4 weeks since the last time I measured. Hopefully I'll have some inches lost as well.

Well, I'd better get on my phone calls and reports. Hope you girls have a great day!

Lisa

Allie -- THERE'S A TARGET IN WATERTOWN??? Awwww, yeah. I have yet to explore my new surroundings over there. We are actually moving into an apt that my friends currently live in, they are getting married and moving to JP, but they've loved watertown, and you get more for your money. Anyway, what are you going back to school for? And where? I'm a grad student at Lesley for counseling, but definitely rethinking my career path considering that mental health counselors live life drowning in debt!

Well anyway, today is good so far. I have yet to cheat on this diet...though I did run into some trouble this weekend, I was dogsitting for my brother and didn't have all of my groceries on hand, found myself at a loss for food. So I dug up some peanuts and probably ate too many.

Is there anyway to read nutrition labels, or recipes with nutrition info, and know if it is SB safe? I haven't quite figured out the pattern...I know lo-carb, but some of the recipes in his book are 20-ish grams carbs, which doesnt seem that low to me. Any tips?

The Target is across the street from the Arsenal mall- I think. Or down the road a bit. I've never been to the mall but I think it's close. I'm actually only 19 so I'm going back for my sophomore year at Brandeis where I'm triple majoring in international relations, Latin American studies, and politics and minoring in anthropology and history. That kind of sounds ridiculous, eh? All in preparation for the Peace Corps and a sustainable development or human rights masters... I'm resigned to work for NGOs and be poor the rest of my life- but at least I'll live somewhere interesting!

I like Watertown. I haven't been there much but it has an interesting history. After the Armenian genocide, it became the center of Armenian life in the US- at least for the east coast.

I hate living in the South this time of year. It is 99 and 90 some odd percent humidity. I am the only white girl walking around with an afro w/ the weather.

Since this is my first day of Ph 1, it is normal to feel mildly sick to your stomach - I have felt this way all morning?

It's normal to feel a bit sick. Also, it could be you just being nervous about starting a new diet! Are you eating beans? Beans are like the magic pill around here I swear, but they really make you feel better!

Humidity bites. Do you have curly hair? I have a haze of frizz regardless of humidity but it turns into an afro once the humidity tops 80%!

Humph! Speaking of Target right now, I'm so mad at them! We just got back from there, and I went specifically to buy the Brokeback Mountain DVD that is advertised on sale this week. The sale started yesterday, and not a DVD on the shelf! The guy in that department helped me look for it, then told me to go up front and get a raincheck for it. The two women working the "Courtesy" desk told me they couldn't give me a raincheck for it since they didn't have a code (?) for it, and that I should check back every day to see when they'd have it in stock. Right. I have plenty of time to run over there each and every day to check. Grrrrrrrrr! I always thought if a store didn't have an item that was advertised on sale, that you'd automatically be given a raincheck. Apparently not. It's a trivial thing, but it's the principle of it! At least it wasn't a wasted shopping trip, in Caite's opinion. Grandmom bought her a couple of cute tops and a handbag that she was admiring.

My hair is thick and wavy so it starts going frizz crazy once the humidity gets above 10 percent :) I wear a ponytail pretty much permanently during the summer.

Its a little Napolean dynamite but not quite that bad!

hehe.

I personally have thin wavy hair - but I've found if I use Curling shampoo and conditioner, then top off with a wave/curling mouse, and just blow dry it with out running a comb through my hair, I can have waves/curls all day with out getting the frizzies!

I've tried the anti frizz serums - they just made me look and feel like I hadn't washed my hair in months - just greasy and heavy - really icky!

Curly Hair
 

My hair is curly/frizzy too. I usually wear it up in a twist with a clip on it, or braid or pony tail becasue of the heat/humidity during the summer...but can wear it down when it's not so hot (it's always humid here) A couple of products I love are Infusium and Aveda's Be Curly products. I've been considering getting it cut, but think I may regret it since if it is short, I can't glue it down.

slisette - This is a good fat/good carb diet rather than a low carb one so you will find that carb counts are pretty worthless. You are mostly looking for whole grains and healthy oils (like olive and canola). There is a lot of information in the FAQ section.

Vacation was a lot of fun. This was Brian's vacation and was devoted to what he wanted to do and it was really wonderful that he likes the same stuff that I do. The weather was beautiful. It only rained for about a half hour on Friday and we were at the Sea Lion show at Sea World sitting in the splash zone. How can you complain about getting wet when sitting in the splash zone? We made friends with two other families and spent part of the days with them so he had other kids his age to ride with some of the time. I didn't mind riding the Steel Eel the second time with him but it was great when he got with the other kids and rode it three more times in a row! It was the end of the day and they didn't make them get off. The roller coaster is 3.6G of force and that is more than my neck liked.

The water park (Schlitterbahn) was wonderful. Lots of tube rides and body slides and uphill water coasters. The lines weren't too bad at all. I did get a little bit burnt the first day so I wore a tshirt the second and was just fine. We ended up riding every ride in both parks that Brian was tall enough to ride and seeing every single show.

Neither place had food even closely resembling healthy. I put on quite a bit of weight and my ticker is definitely lying right now. I'll update it in a day or two after I get rid of the water weight. We did spend over 2 hours walking on the Riverwalk the first night there and we did a lot of walking and stair climbing during the week but it couldn't make up for the food choices.

Well, I knew this morning that the turkey breast was a little too big for the crockpot when I had to kind of mush it down with the lid. So when I got home I had a big mess to clean up where it boiled over. It was good though.
Yuck, what a hot sticky night. The sky was absolutely scary looking around DC on the drive home. All that smog just trapped over our heads. On the way home, I stopped at Trader Joe's and loaded up on nuts, lowfat cheeses, chicken sausages, soy sausage and hot dogs, and got a bottle of Nessa's favorite goddess dressing to try. The closest TJ's is half an hour away. Thank goodness I don't have to drive down there tomorrow, but I do on Wednesday, and on Thursday I have to go out to the test range in Dahlgren to witness a shock test on our new munition. It will be boring and HOT!! I'll be glad when this week is over.
Oh, a pat on the back for me - since I'm not at work every day, I don't have my own cubicle, but I use a communal "guest computer" desk. Today when I got there, the secretary had brought in homemade cranberry nut bread and set it right on the desk in front of me. Someone else had brought in chocolates, so I could smell them as I was working. The secretary even came over and cut me a slice and put it right in front of me! I just waited until she left and got rid of it!

Barb, glad you and Brian had a fun time, you deserved a break!
To all the frizzy heads, I'm right there with you. I don't have curly hair, just kind of wavy I guess, but the humidity makes me a major frizzo.
WTG on the weight loss, weezle!
Sandstriped, hope you feel back to normal soon. I'm going to finish cleaning up the kitchen and go read. You chicks have a nice evening!

Barb, I'm glad you and Brian had a nice vacation. He'll have good memories of this for a long time. The extra weight you gained will come off in no time, once you get back to your regular routine again. I just hope your workload eases up for you! When does Brian start back to school? The kids here start back right around Labor Day.

Schmoodle, WTG, ditching that cranberry bread! You are s t r o n g!!!!!

just skipping in to say... "I DID IT! I avoided all the bagels and other misc. food items at school today." wooohooooo

KO, DH and I went to Bonnaroo this summer just to see the Police. We ended up in the front row, right against the railing! I swear Sting and I had a "moment" ... hehehehehe

I just got home and I'm totally exhausted.... hugs to the chickies~

Thanks cottage, it's good to feel strong because I was very w e a k this weekend!
WTG noleschick, we are doing fine!