Natasha, that's amazing! Congrats!!!!!! I feel like you need a ribbon or something! And FYI, you have great personal strength to go to Olive Garden and stay OP!

Natasha!! That's great!!:carrot::carrot:

Good job.

:broc: :broc: Hooray Natasha! :broc: :broc:

Hi again, ladies. Back for personals this time around. Just got home from Olive Garden about an hour ago and I've been killing time online waiting for Project Runway to finish so I can watch it. I didn't want to come in half-way through...I hate doing that. Anybody else watching??? I really want Mondo to take it all. If not him, then Andy. Just as long as it's not Gretchen w/ her awful colors, hideous patterns, boring clothes, and crappy attitude. YUCK!!!

FoodObsessed - Good luck on your move. I wish I had the guts to pick up and move far away...I would love to live in NYC like my cousin, Karen. I just don't have it in me, though...and I don't think I could stand being that far away from my niece and nephew. You'll have to let us know how your doctor's visit goes. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and hope you make it into the 2s!!! :)

Ruth - If it makes you feel any better, I had a snack sized bag of Sun Chips last night. Oopsy!!! Congratulations to your friend on his election win, by the way. If ever there's a reason to stray off plan a little bit, that one is a good one. ;) And awwww, the bear is too cute!!! Glad he could help you through such a tough time.

Beloved - Hope you're enjoying the new car. I think the beetles are SO cute...and they say they're surprisingly roomy. Plus they're the highest rated car for safety, if you didn't already know that. ;) Has something to do w/ the dome roof. Hope you found some brown rice sushi...or maybe you at least got to enjoy some sashimi.

Cyndi - A nice hotel on the waterfront is certainly NOT a silly extravagance. You deserve it, woman!!! A friend of mine from the Boston area came to visit me back in April and we took her to Tybee Island...b/c it was her first time in Georgia we decided to stay on the beach in a nice hotel. It was awesome!!! Definitely worth the money...and now I'm spoiled and want to stay there (or in the beach house that my mom's friend's family owns) every time!!! Enjoy it!!!

Cottage - Hope you're feeling better now. Sounds like a sinus infection, hon. YUCK!!! If nothing else helps, try a nice warm compress right over your sinus area. Helps a lot!!!

Randi - 5 lbs is totally doable. You'll probably lose that just through Phase I. Good luck!!!

lazylioness - Try not to get too discouraged by the scale. Sometimes it just stops...sometimes it goes the WRONG WAY...but it always goes back to the way it's supposed to. Have faith!!! ;) Also, I don't think I've seen you around before, so welcome!!!

WaistingTime - I'm glad it's not only me, LOL I'm just gonna keep plugging away and, before I know it, I'll be a pro...right??? LOL Heck, when I think about it, I started out nearly dying after 3 minutes on the elliptical...now I walk 2 miles and do 20 minutes (plus a 2 minute cooldown) on the elliptical 5 times a week. So I know it gets easier. My co-workers picked on me for wearing a helmet when I'm going to be riding mostly in my neighborhood, but my philosophy is that there are so few people out there w/ decent brains...ruining one would be a real tragedy. ;)

Kim - I was gonna pick on you at first for cleaning up before your cleaning lady gets there...but then I thought about it and I bet we ALL brush our teeth before going to get our teeth cleaned at the dentist, huh??? ;) A co-worker swears that he doesn't...he says he eats Oreos before he goes b/c he's going to make them EARN their money. I'm pretty sure he's all talk. LOL

Lydia - Welcome back!!!

Thanks everybody for the congratulations. :) Did pretty good at Olive Garden. I got a steak from the grill w/ some asparagus and I substituted zucchini and yellow squash for the garlic mashed potatoes that were supposed to come w/ it. By the way, did anybody else know that Olive Garden has whole wheat linguini??? I sure didn't until tonight!!! I did go off-plan, though, when we ordered dessert. I didn't have tiramisu (my fave) but I had a dark chocolate caramel creme dolcini. I don't feel too bad, though, b/c it was those teeny time little dessert cups...well, here...

http://www.olivegarden.com/images/me...lcini_7310.jpg

But other than that I did well. No breadsticks and I had them leave the parmesan-herb breading off my steak.