[Natasha1534]

Good morning (well for me, it is) ladies!!! OMG am I tired and sore!!! LOL Totally worth it, though. We left out for Athens around 1030 hrs and got into town right at 1300 hrs. Drove around the campus a bit to find a parking space and just as we were about to give up and pay $20 to park in a parking deck we stumbled upon free parking. Parked, got out the GPS, and headed to The Grill for lunch. It was a 2 mile walk!!! MOSTLY UPHILL!!! LOL So needless to say, after walking 2 miles I didn't feel guilty for having my bacon and swiss hamburger (on a multigrain bun, mind you) and side salad. Not very conducive to SB, we had to plan to eat a large lunch and then not eat again until after the game. By the time we got out of Athens and headed home it had been 11 hours since we had eaten. Bad food choice on the way home...Krystals and Waffle House were the only 2 things open and I would rather sell my soul than eat at Waffle House, so Krystals it was. And the reason we left out so late??? We could NOT find our car!!! I had saved our parking location in the GPS so we could get back easily...punched it in and it says "No Route Found"...gee thanks, TomTom!!! So after wandering around for an hour and a half and almost giving up hope and just calling the local PD to ask for help, I said "let's cut through here and just check" and, sure enough, there sat my car. In total we walked for 4 hours yesterday, a lot of it uphill or stairs, and we got in I would guess about 8 miles. My feet are SORE today, for sure!!!

The game was awesome. I thought we were gonna throw it away, but we pulled it out in the end. Looks like we have a shot at a bowl game after all. We also got to witness what's called the "Dawg Walk" before the game which is where the players come through on their way to the game. I got some good picture of the players. YUM!!! I haven't watched the game as it appeared on TV, but several people texted me and said that Samuel L Jackson was there on the UGA sidelines. ****, I probably looked right at him and didn't realize it, LOL

Again, no time for personals but I will be back tonight to make it up. Hope you ladies are having a wonderful weekend. Back to work for me tonight.

[sophie]

Good afternoon ladies,

Busy morning. I made a family breakfast this morning of pancakes with fresh fruit and real maple syrup. I didn't have any but succumbed to a slice of homemade whole wheat bread and now trying very hard to stay on plan.

Heidi - I too love Comfort Finn and the slip ons that I had lasted 5 years but they didn't have my width. Also have a pair of Finns, hardly worn casual shoes that my new orthotics don't fit in so I kept my old ones and will only wear them when I don't have to walk too far.
Everyone else enjoy your day.
take care
Sophie
who is only thinking of decorating the house for Christmas

[zeffryn]

tallandthin - i did have that smoothie, plus some scrambled eggs.

i've come too far to fall off the wagon. there is no turning back.

[TallandThin]

Zef, PROUD OF YOU

[Natasha1534]

Hi again, ladies. I'm back for personals before I head off to work. Ugh, I really really really don't want to go, LOL

Okie - Christmas Eve isn't as big of a food day for me as Thanksgiving is, but we usually have steak, shrimp, salads, twice-baked potatoes, and dinner rolls. This year we'll still be doing the steak and salad but the potatoes and dinner rolls are out the window as well as the shrimp since I developed my allergy. I think we'll go w/ crab legs and some roasted asparagus w/ olive oil and lemon pepper. YUM, that sounds good!!! Good luck w/ your goal...you can do it!!! I'm sure those 3 pounds will disappear in no time...it might even just be water weight. And congratulations on going back to school...how exciting!!!

Beloved - I have yet to tackle quinoa but I haven't even tried...I'd love it if you'd share the recipe. I'm a chickpea fan, so that sounds yummy!!! Glad you are feeling a little better...now get some rest!!! LOL

Lexxiss - Hope you get your paperwork caught up. However, playing holiday weekend sounds MUCH more fun.

annieoh - Good job!!! Yoga is much harder than a lot of people realize...don't let it get you down that you couldn't get it all. When I went to class the instructor used to tell me to bend farther and I wanted to just yell at her "I'm fat!!! FAT PEOPLE DON'T BEND THAT FAR!!!" LOL Kick yoga's butt next week, girl!!!

Ruth - That's nice of you to play DD for your friends. I find that a lot less people feel inclined to drink and then drive if they have a DD that has offered to come pick them up. I have to admit, though, one night my DD showed up and she was effed up on pain pills WAY worse than me and my friend she was driving home...we would've been better off crashing on the couch at our friend's house instead. How is your friend, Joanne, holding up??? I know it's got to be really hard for her. I'm glad everyone is pitching in to help her out, though...and she's lucky to have a friend as good as you. Celebrate the Season night sounds fun!!!

Cottage - Glad you got a chance to slow down after your busy day...although it still sounds kinda busy, LOL When you're done w/ your decorating, shopping, and card-addressing feel free to skip on over to my house and handle mine as well.

Cyndi - I'm thinking the cats are due for some punishment...LOL I'm w/ you on December...the first week alone I have stuff planned almost every day. I'm doing a yard sale w/ some co-workers on the 3rd and 4th, then flying out that night on the 4th, moving Jersey back here w/ us on the 5th, Christmas party on the 7th, Nutcracker on the 8th, Christmas shopping/lunch/visiting w/ a good friend of my mom's on the 9th...then back to work that entire weekend. LOL Here's to hoping we can both get our exercise in anyway!!!

WaistingTime - Wonderful picture of the family. At first I looked at it and said "wow, her son is REALLY tall!!!" but then I saw he was sitting on someone's lap kinda, LOL You know you can get back on track...so do it...NOW!!! Seriously, though, you have to stop beating yourself up and just get back in the grove. We've all been there and done that, right???

Heidi - Correct me if I'm wrong, but gout is a build up of uric acid, right??? I don't know what foods are high in uric acid but I'm betting you'll have an easy time adjusting. I mean, look at how you've adjusted your way of living already, right??? Definitely post the recipe...it sounds yummy!!! Hope you're enjoying your time w/ Beth before she leaves!!!

sophie - Thanks!!! Sorry your shoes are unraveling...hope you are able to exchange them and get you a new pair. Glad you found you some comfy shoes to help w/ when you are on your feet for a while.

TallandThin - Oh, I wanted Alabama to win SO bad...I hate that they choked. Everybody knows Auburn is a 2nd-half team...they got too cocky b/c of their large lead in the first half. GRRRRRRRRRRRR, ALABAMA!!! I have a friend that's an Alabama fan and our deal is that as long as we're not playing each other he'll root for Georgia and I'll root for Alabama.

Zeffryn - Don't be too hard at yourself...at least the pizza was on plan.

Oops...I'm out of time. I'll be back later for the rest.

[Heidi58]

I've just got a minute for a quick hello!

I took Beth to the airport, the roads were awful on the way in but it was a beautiful drive home. I finally got a chance to check out the the new Trader Joe's. (It's close to the airport.) I picked up some dried bing cherries for Fergie, they're supposed to be good for gout. He's not too keen on them, but I'm hoping the taste will grow on him.

I've got the litter boxes put away til next visit, and I've done my best to vacuum up all the cat hair. The washer and dryer are going and I took a quick break from my lesson planning to pop in and catch up on everyone else's weekend.

Tall and Thin and Natasha, I posted the sweet potato mash recipe yesterday. It's so good!

[CyndiM]

Natasha - I'm off to see the Nutcracker next Saturday DD and I see it in Boston.

Heidi - Those cherries are really good in the crockpot oatmeal/porridge

[BellaLucia]

Thanks Natasha. I'm gonna be doing an online course to be a Lead Teacher at a Daycare.

[Lexxiss]

Hi Everyone

Sorry, I didn't get to stop by this morning and I'll never catch up with everyone now. We went down to Denver early because DH's bro, who is visiting, was playing in the band at his old church. We ran some errands on the way home and are now settling in to watch Sarah Palin's Alaska on tlc. For "better or worse", she is fishing this week with our dear friends who stood up for us at our wedding in Hawaii 18 years ago(Nov 30th). Should be interesting....anyway, politics aside, it will probably make me homesick for the place I called home for 23 years.

See ya'll tomorrow.

[Natasha1534]

Hi again...and again...and again. LOL My mom just talked to my niece a little while ago and it turns out that she was at the game last night, too. It's funny b/c they kept showing these girls on the screen and I kept thinking it looked like Brianna but I just brushed it off thinking there's no way she'd be there. Apparently she went w/ her boyfriend's church group and was handing out programs.

Cassrose - Welcome to the forum!!! If you want my opinion (and most people don't, LOL) you need to stay away from the scale for a few days. It's not good to be so focused on the scale. When you think about it, your weight fluctuates all throughout the day. Why be upset that you didn't lose a pound in 1 day when, throughout the day, your weight can fluctuate by several pounds??? Beans and dairy are what people swear by to get through Phase I...your FULL servings allowed. Just think of it this way...you're more than halfway through Phase I and you've already lost nearly 5 pounds!!! Don't let the fruit keep you off plan...get right back on and stay on. Good luck!!!

Ruth - OMG, you are one strong lady to resist white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies...unless you don't like them, LOL Seriously, they are one of my favorites...it'd be a serious struggle. Good luck...sending you LOTS of willpower dust!!!

Pearlrose - Good job not indulging in the cinnamon rolls!!!

Cyndi - Oooh, dark chocolate coffee sounds DELICIOUS!!! When I was freezing my tatas off at the game last night I was dying for a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. But since it took me an hour and a half to find my car, it was way too late by then to get one. Maybe this week sometime.

rdw - Awww, sorry that your goal is out of your reach. But it can't hurt to still try, right???

Tonight seems to be a fairly...ummm...Q-word (shhhhhhhhhhhh...don't even say it or you'll jinx us!!!) night at work. Let's hope it stays that way. I'll have Monday and Tuesday off, then I'll work Wednesday and Friday, and then I'll have a whole week off. YAY!!!

[Natasha1534]

Lexxiss - I'm not a Palin fan either, but that DOES sound like it'd be fun to watch since you know the people. How neat is THAT???

[zeffryn]

Found something new today - it isn't on plan, but might make the holiday cravings easier for some. Gingerbread flavored graham crackers. WAY less fat, sugar and calories than ginger snaps and they taste EXACTLY the same. I know for a lot of us, the holidays are about sticking as close to plan as possible, but there are times when indulgences are inevitable. I'm going to be getting some of these at my mom's house for the holidays when the cookie plates come out - to me, these would be a better option than holiday cookies.