TGIF Chick Chat
 

:coffee: It's finally Friday! :woohoo:

I had to dig out a pair of jeans this morning, it's really chilly outside! The trees are starting to put on their grand finale, and it's just gorgeous!

I may be getting off early this afternoon, and if I do, I'd like to go up to the Green Dragon to look around. Tomorrow we're going to a big Fall crafts festival in Myerstown. I look forward to that every year, they block off several streets in the middle of the town and have all sorts of booths set up. I hardly ever buy anything, but it's fun to look, and the drive up there is really nice this time of year.

I think I'll make a nice pot of oatmeal with chopped apple, cranberries and walnuts for breakfast. Anybody care for some?

Running off to yoga this morning. That oatmeal would be perfect Cottage :) How is your Dad?

See everyone later :wave:

Good morning!

I'm having my cup of coffee before I start waking up the fam.

I'll check in later!

I'd love some oatmeal, but since I'm just 3 days in on P1, I'll hold off LOL :-) I'm enjoying peace and quiet before the little one wakes up(he's 3), and getting the others(ages 14,11 and 9) ready for school. Well, they really get themselves ready.
I need to do a better job preparing my breakfasts, instead of last minute. Its much easier that way-so I'll probably make some up today and freeze them.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Good morning. It's so nice to see new Beachers posting in the Daily. :welcome: once again.

Slept until 6:30 this morning WITH a wee dog on the bed. She was probably tired from her first day at doggie daycare. So was I as yesterday seemed long and hard.

Today I will finally plant the mums up at the Church and also write and print the bulletin. I've already got a load of cherry tomatoes in the dehydrator - the last of the crop. I think we had a killing frost last night but, if not, I'm going to ignore the rest of them! I may do a bit more basil if it survived and need to harvest and dry the Italian parsley. The freezer needs a bit of sorting out soon as the "lads" will be deer hunting in a month and are always giving me venison. Right now it's wild turkey season and I may luck out. Wild turkey is just delicious! So is Canada goose.

Time to haul on the jeans and get the day started. Hope yours is great. TGIF!

Good morning, fresh hot coffee for anyone wanting it! :coffee:

Cottage, it's chilly here as well. I have been wearing jeans all week, and a sweat jacket! I couldn't believe some people were out on the lake wind surfing yesterday! That water must of been FREEZING! I know I was cold just walking by the lake!

Welcome Angie! Sounds like you have your hands full with four wee little ones!

RUTH! Send the "rest" to me! I love cherry tomatos! ;).

Me: Well, I finally got to sleep about four, just so my son could call and wake me a little before seven! I'm exhausted! I couldn't sleep because of allergies to kitty! :(. That and pup at one point woke me crying in pain. Seems her ear infection came back. As I was cleaning her ear I noticed a little blood on the paper towel. I gave her some medicine last night, and a little more this morning.

Yeah, son is excited about his job. So excited he never went to sleep last night. Instead he stayed up packing! HE called for my steam cleaner so he could clean the carpets of his new place. He says before he moves in with his buddy he's got to give the entire house a good disinfection cleaning, steam clean carpets, whole nine yards! Where he's staying now asked him where he gets his cleanliness from, he stated "mom!" ;)

I would love to take a drive in a few weeks here to view the foliage. Maybe one of these years I'll take the Eastern Seaboard down to Florida to visit my brother!

It is COLD here. I was putting it off, but yesterday had to start pulling warm clothes down from the attic. But I can't put the summer stuff away yet, so it's a mess everywhere. I hate the wardrobe changeover! It was in the 30's when I woke up this morning! I probably should have put on the heat, but I need to clean the radiators first so the house doesn't smell like it's burning. There's a fun project for the weekend!

Sorry to be absent this week chicks. I’ve been really trying to get work to a place where I can leave for a week feeling like I deserve a vacation and put it
out of my mind completely while I’m gone. Plus spending too much time obsessing about our trip. DSs birthday is the week we are in Orlando and I was looking for an idea to do something special. He didn’t want to be sung to by Characters. I found out that they do something cool at the Coral Reef in Epcot. They have a giant aquarium and a diver will show a birthday message, plus they will print up a personalized menu for the birthday person.

Interesting watching the VP debate last night. It’s cool that DD1 gets to vote this year and is very energized and excited about things. What an exciting election this will be – even the kids are paying attention. I read somewhere that they are expecting 85% voter turnout which is amazing. We'd better vote early to avoid big lines!

Oooh, I had a pair of size 10 capris on yesterday. I had nabbed a pair on sale to put away for next summer, and have been looking for some for my trip, but there are none left in the stores now. Anyway, I was packing up some summer stuff for the attic and saw the capris and thought I’d try them on just for fun. They fit fine! They are Sears size 10s though, which are not normal sizes. I put my size 14 jeans back on and they fit just fine. So there ya go, Sears 10 is a Lane Bryant 14. It was fun to be in 10s though, even if it wasn’t real~

Catching up on some posts:
zeff, I don't know how you stay up so late girl! When I was pregnant I think I was in bed around 8PM every night. Hope it isn't all the stress keeping you up!

Hmac, your life and activities sound so fun and exciting. I always like to read what you're up to.

cottage, the leaves are starting to turn here too. I just love this time of year. I am going to miss my annual big craftfest here, Colorfest, while we are away. I usually get together with some buddies from my old hometown and make a girls weekend of it.:( Well,, there's always next year! I've got a pot of oats on right now, yum.

Good morning to the dashing chicks, Cyndi and tmi!

Hi dasmith, don't think we've "met". Wish my kids would get themselves ready. At 10, 11, and 21YO, you'd think they could do it without me playing drill sargeant! Okay, I'm exaggerating about the 21YO.

Hi Ruth, those poor little tomatoes, how can you ignore them? I've got to get some mums, but the King Coleus I've got in the front urns still looks great and I hate to kill it. Hmm, wild turkey? I've never had it, well not the animal anyway, but they run all over my dad's property here. I'll ask him why he never shoots any. They are cool to watch though. BTW, for future reference, getting up at 6:30 qualifies as "getting up early", not "sleeping in."

Loriann, it's great that DS is so psyched about his new job and new place. Very exciting to be that age, although don't think I'd want to do it again.

Schmoodle! congrats on the jeans! WOW!!!!!! (were they elastic? hahhaha)

I KNOW I wouldn't want to be 19 again! I think I'm just now starting to enjoy life! ;)

Good morning everyone!

Busy at work but atleast its FRIDAY! wfh day again so that is nice but I will be descended upon by the kids since they only have half day of school today.

Football tonight, will have to bundle up for that it will get chilly.

Have a great day today

:woohoo: Its' Friday!

A bit chilly here this morning.

Cottage hope your dad is doing well. Your oatmeal:T sounds delish

Cyndi speaking of yoga do you know of any low impact yoga dvd's for my dh - he wants to do more stretching and someone recommended yoga and he said my video is a bit much for what he wants

Schmoodle :bravo: on the jeans - keep up the great work!

Went to see my Best Friends Girl lastnight and it was ok kind of high school ish but it was time with dh and thats all that matters.

Busy weekend for me as tonight is family dinner night and tomorrow my new furniture will be delivered and then going somewhere to watch the FSU/Miami game - GO NOLES!!! and then taking mom to see Nights at Rodanthe. Sunday is church and softball game and of course the Jags/Steelers game that night -GO JAGS!!!

hope everyone has a great day and a super weekend.

I'm going to have a busy day today - I have to do food shopping, pick up prescriptions, return some wii games to Blockbuster, go for my daily walk...

i'll check back in later! :)

It is darn cold here this morning too. Thought briefly of turning the heat on but I hate the thought of my gas bill going through the roof. I will just do layers for now.

Looks to be a calm weekend for once which is good because the house needs a good scrubbing!

Felt much more human yesterday, no cravings to eat my desk, I think that is an improvement!

Cottage that oatmeal sounds 10 times better than mine this morning!

Welcome to our new chicks!

Guessing I should get a move on, I have a closing here at 11:00. Will be keeping a close eye on the Bailout Bill today and the markets, either way it goes it could have a huge impact on my job.

Have a great day ladies!

I'm so late getting here this morning, that I really don't have time to do personals, but wishing everyone a great Friday!

I'm off today and can't believe I slept till 7! I'm usually up at 4 even on days off. Took a sinus pill last night and it knocked me out. We are going to eat some breakfast, deal with puppies, then are going to the new gym in a while. Looking forward to working in the yard later. It's in the low 50's this morning...great day!

Morning, girls! I don't really have time to do personals this morning. I need to get a cake baked so it will cool in time to use it this afternoon.

Also, I heard that a local Uhaul has boxes for free? So, I have to check that out. I also found some great ones on Freecycle. whoohoo. I need to pick those up and start packing. Today is packing bathrooms. Me thinks I'm going to be tossing a LOT of stuff.

schmoo - I've been rather a night owl lately. DS doesn't usually wake up very early, so I get to sleep in in the mornings. Our days usually don't start until about 9 ;)

Cat - I remember awhile back you mentioned that you had covered up your fence with a climbing plant....what was it? I'm looking for a climber that does well in full sun (Louisiana full sun, because apparently that is different than Northern full sun ;)). Was it inexpensive? Easy to grow? Thanks :)

Have a great day, girls.

Good morning everyone! I'm hoping to join you on this thread. I'm looking for a little community and figured this was a good place.

I started PI on Tuesday and I'm doing really well, sticking to it. I'm so excited. Every year for the past five years, I've organized an information fair at this time of the year students at the university where I work. I always buy tons of candy (good candy--ie chocolate) and pass it out to the tables for students and the people working at the fair, and I always eat tons of it, because I'm too busy to get anything to eat. Yesterday, I brought all the candy, passed it out, and didn't eat a piece all day! Yay!!! It felt so good, not only emotionally, but also to my body. (Part of the thanks goes to CyndiM whose post literally saved me from "just a few pieces of sushi not to offend my friend" at a critical time when I was just getting started.)

I do have one question though ... I've lost 3-1/2 pounds and I find myself constantly doing the weight math in my head ... "I've lost 3-1/2 pounds so I'll probably lose 8 in in the first 2 weeks, then it will slow down to 2 pounds a week which will put me at 210 by Christmas and 185 by March, but I wonder if I could get to 170 by then or maybe ..." ... it goes on and on and it's driving me nuts. Also, I feel that if I'm changing the lifestyle, that type of thought counterproductive and could set me up for an upset if things don't go my way. Any thoughts? Advice? Anyone else been there. (Is this the right place to post this, or should I start a different thread? I'm new here, so just let me know!)


Gonnabe165: My favorite yoga video of all time is Yoga for Weightloss by Suzanne Deason, even if DH is not trying to lose weight. She has four different modifications for each pose, and three different sections. It's relaxing, and it's a good strengthening and stretching workout.

Schmoodle: Congrats on the capris! It's nice that you'll be able to wear them now because they probably won't fit you next summer!

Good morning chickies!!! Happy Friday!!!

Cottage - Oh to have trees that change color. I long for a true fall, but in So. CA it's either green or bare, there seems to be no in between. Enjoy the colors for me today.

Cyndi - Enjoy your yoga today!!

tmi - Welcome to the chat. I know you've been posting the past couple of days but I haven't had a chance to say Hi. So welcome! I hope you find some great advice and support here.

Angie - Welcome as well! Let us know if you have any questions that we can help you out with.

Ruth - I think Disney truly loves you and you have given her such a good home. Enjoy your cool weather.

Loriann - So sorry to hear that your allergies are driving you bonkers. I hope you find a good solution. And I hope Jade feels better soon.

Schmoodle - Hey there...Good to hear that all is ok. I think it's a hoot that you think my life sounds fun and exciting. For me it's so normal and exhausting at times. Maybe I need a new perspective. Have a great weekend getting all your stuff done!

Pearlrose - Enjoy your football tonight, and try to stay warm.

Gonnabe - Have a great weekend. Looks like it'll be fun!

Stephanie - Love the new avatar. Makes me think that you're running/jogging down that road. Enjoy your calm weekend!

Cat - Enjoy your day off!!!

Me - Finally got to the chat in time to do some personals. I've been missing that this week. Exercise has been nonexistent this week, but the scale continues to be kind. Great Survivor last night. I really thought the one team wouldn't win a thing, but I guess I was wrong.
Bunko tonight and then tomorrow morning I've got to go to a presentation for a fieldtrip that I'm taking students on in a couple of weeks. It's at the house of blues, so it should be fun!
Enjoy your Friday, everyone!!!

Hi fireballgirl! You are obsessing, which is natural at the beginning and which I do sometimes even now. I think once the program becomes more automatic and natural you will settle into it and stop thinking about it so much. Most of the time that's how I am now. I just caution you to not "expect" a certain rate of loss in the future just because of how you are losing now. You can lose a bunch at once and then none for a while, and the rate of loss does tend to slow after the beginning. Just focus on staying on plan and the rest will work itself out. You will have great weeks, and frustrating weeks, but you are making a lifestyle change and in it for the long run, so don't fret or set yourself up to be in a certain place at a certain time.

Sad to be missing Survivor, is it a good season so far? DH changed our channel lineup before he left and I didn't get around to changing it back. My laptop does not have a sound card, so I could watch but no soundtrack. I'll just catch up once I get a new desktop, I guess.

:welcome: fireball! Yes, I have experienced what your going through and yes, you WILL drive yourself nuts! ;). Try focusing on the program, the foods to eat, menu planning, exercising, and most important continue living your life! Go ahead and weigh yourself if you want, but when you move to P2 don't be surprised IF you see a stall or gain in weight loss. it's normal! Be sure to visit the stickies in the FAQ forum, very important information and too much to retype!

Good luck!

Fireball thanks for the yoga recommendation I will see if it's someyhing he may want to try. Focus on the plan and the way feel and do your very hardest to not worry about the scale. I have found that I have lost more inched than weight. Remeber everyone is different. Keep posting and ask all the questions you have. Good luck!

Hi Ladies,

My husband is going OOT this morning and won't be home until Sunday. Can you say jammies all.weekend.long?

I am going to make baked artichokes for dinner tonight and I can't WAIT.
HA! Never thought I'd be soooo excited about eating veggies.

This is my first attempt at SB and I am 5 days into P1 and I am loving it.
I guess I didn't needs chips and bread as much as I thought.

I have had a couple cravings for sweets so I grab some Jello or a SF fudgesicle.

Hope everyone has a great Friday

I have issues with the scale also. I'll weigh myself every day.

I weighed myself this morning and found a 1 pound gain. Boo. Maybe I ate too much chicken last night? Who knows.

Zef - good luck with finding those boxes! :)

tmig- our weights fluctuate....a lot. Expect it and don't be too concerned with what the scale says. Focus more on how your clothes are fitting and how you feel!

Ok Zef :) I'll try!

tmi step away from that scale it will have you going mad crazy

Just wanted to say hi. Its been a rough week. i got laid off from my job on Friday of last week and pretty much threw any dieting to the wind for a few days. I haven't been that bad, mostly remaining close to the plan but had a big "returning to the diet tomorrow" party last night that involved Red Robin burger and fries and a big regular coke. Its mostly been irregular eating, I am off my schedule now that i have no schedule. Things have been hectic with all the things you have to do when you lose your job. And the depression doesn't help me stick to anything. So I am going to try to stay pretty strict Phase one from today forward to see if i can get things back on track.
I guess its to be expected when you have a crisis. I hope you all have nice weekends.

Hi all,

I've had issues with the scale as well, and I decided to ignore it for a while. I just started P2 Monday. On P1, I lost 2 lbs the first week and gained it back the second, which was more than a bit discouraging! But, I was feeling better and DH mentioned that he thought I looked like I was losing (not sure if he was just being supportive or really meant it, but either way it was nice to hear). Anyway, after SLOWLY moving into P2, more like P1.5, I decided to stay away from the scale for a while. I'll eat OP and continue with my exercise, knowing that I'm getting healthier in the long run no matter what the mean old scale says! I did read the post about how the scale lies, and that was helpful. Also, thanks to Zeff and Ruth for your support too when I was feeling really discouraged about DH losing and not even staying OP. You're right Ruth, they are a different species!

Today is a beautiful fall morning here in North Georgia. Crisp and cool, with the leaves just starting to change. I need to dig out my winter wardrobe, but I'm worried that I won't fit into any of it. Last fall/winter I was pregnant with DS who is now 7 months, so I only wore maternity clothes, and now I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get back in my pre-pregnancy sizes. I just dread pulling them out and trying them on, but I dread even more the thoughts of going to the store and spending more money on clothes that I don't intend to be in for very long. But I do love the thrift stores! Still, trying on clothes, ugh! Anyway, I guess I've ranted long enough. My DH's morning nap should be ending soon, and I still need to hop in the shower before he wakes up.

I know I'm fairly new here and haven't posted much, but I've been lurking around and reading your posts diligently, and I'm starting to feel like I know you all. You are all a great inspiration and I look forward to joining the community! Thanks for all the great advice and support and making us newbies feel welcome. :)

:carrot:
I MADE MY FIRST MINI GOAL OF 10 LBS!! I am so happy!!! It took me 5 weeks. Exactly where I should be for 5 weeks I think!!!

Zeff, it's confederate jasmine and it smells great when it's blooming (usually twice a year here) It has taken about 3 years cause we planted it not too long after K. but the fence is mostly filled now. Very easy to grow...just plop it in the ground and it spreads pretty fast.


Fire, my advice would also be to ignore the scale. Just stay on plan and you'll soon feel great and your clothes will start falling off and you'll be a happpy camper out shopping for new ones. Don't stress over the numbers, just concentrate on getting healthy.

Oops, I meant my DS's morning nap! :) I'm new at these abbreviations!

OK, So yesterday I was at Big lots andpicking up some spices. I had in my hand chili powder but put it back because I could of sworn I had three bottles of it. UM,... went to make chili today and, guess what :(. NO chili powder!

I had to get creative and google it. Luckily I had all the ingredients to put in the pot, paprika, red pepper, etc. Now to see how it turns out, as I just guessed at the amounts, the recipe didn't have amounts! Oye Vey!

Cherry :hug: sorry to hear about your job and I hope something comes your way soon. When we are under stress for whatever reason it is hard to stay on track. I have been there (I lost my aunt & dad within days) and my life fell apart I either ate too much or not at all and gained back 10 of my 21lbs lost and for the past year have been battling back. I learned that life isn't perfect and I can only do what I can do. Take it 1 day at a time and remeber we are here if we can help.

tferg WELCOME!

Jenski :carrot:Congratulations on the weight loss :carrot: keep it up

Thanks so much for your well wishes! I am taking it one day at a time. Luckily i can collect unemployment and they did give me a severence package but in this economy you never know how long its going to last. I managed to get by with only putting about 2.5-3 pounds back on i think. So far anyway. i am hoping to stop the bleeding today.

Cherry, Sorry about your job. I know how hard it is to find a decent job today, I've been out of work since July! A few interviews, but nothing landed :(. Good luck. OH, and while your off, try to enjoy the time off! while we have to look for work, I've been managing day trips and getting things done around the house! ;)

Cat - Thanks! I also thought about Morning Glory or climbing hydrangea...any experience with these?

Cherry - sorry to hear about your job, dear. Do as Lori instructed and try to enjoy the free time, even though it is very stressful.

Jenny - CONGRATS!! And you were doubtful ;)

Thanks all for your advice!

tferg2000--I totally know how you feel. My baby is 9 months old. I was looking at my clothes a few weeks ago and realized that all my winter stuff is maternity too. I also don't want to buy anything, and am looking forward to the next 50 pounds of weightloss because I have cute stuff in all of those sizes! (The lower I go, the cuter it gets!)

Jenskihere--Congratulations! 10 pounds is really exciting!

Well this had turned into a crazy day. Big work thing going on that's had me on the phone most of the day.

GonnaBe - I love the yoga zone videos. Many have 20 minute routines with plenty of adaptations offered. My current favorites are an hour each - Flexibility for Stress Release & Conditioning for Stress Release. Both have one person doing modified versions of the poses. While I usually have a couple of poses I can't manage in class I rarely run into those in the videos. Netflix has a good assortment if you want to check some out before committing.

Ruth - I wish I could find a way to take some of those tomatoes off your hands! Speaking of hands - are all your fingertips still intact?!

Schmoodle - I hope DD knows how important it is to vote! I'm hearing a lot from new voters about how excited they are. I just hope they make it to the polls! Congrats on the size 10s! I love NSVs :)

Fireballgirl - Thanks! It's nice to give something back.

mmacaskill - Baked artichokes?? :drool:

Wish I had more time but now I've got to catch-up from the morning. Have a good day all!

Zeff, I love morning glories. But they die during the winter. The confederate jasmin stays green all winter. You could really do both.

DH and I just got back from the first visit to the gym. Oh, was it nice!! Tried out all the machines for abs, arms, legs and butt and took a couple of spins and the bikes and treadmill. Just spent about an hour there cause I didn't want to be in pain this weekend. I think my favorite was the steam room and the yummy shampoo they had! I looked like a crawfish after that steam! DH got a drink that was good too, but I only took a little sip cause it had sugar in it.

Well it certainly has been cold here in the Northeast, at least to me. Had to cover myself with some extra blankets last night cause I haven't had heat in my room for like a year or two now. Woke up this morning with a HUGE headache, seems like I get them daily now, I dunno what's going on.

Anyway, I'm gonna go lie down for awhile and watch my DOOL.. Hope you all are having a good day so far :)

Cyndi thanks for the dvd advice and we will check it out

Originally Posted by :
I think my favorite was the steam room and the yummy shampoo they had! I looked like a crawfish after that steam! DH got a drink that was good too, but I only took a little sip cause it had sugar in it.

Cat are you sure this was a gym or was it a spa?:lol:

I feel bad taking credit for an NSV that wasn't really real! Those were not REAL size 10s. And yes, there was elastic involved.

Gonna and I are gonna miss each other by hours in Orlando. How bad does that stink? A chick near-miss.

cherry, so sorry about your job situation. Hopefully it will resolve quickly.

Jenski, congrats for hitting your goal!

Hi tferg and mamacaskill! So many new chicks, this is great! I guess you are graduates from the Ph1 thread. Welcome.
DH has been away since July and I telecommute so I have been in jammies for, oh, about three months now! :D DD1 had to stop me from going out the door in them the other day.