Good morning - another way too early start to my day. I need to get some Melatonin or something to keep me asleep past 3 a.m. Any suggestions?

I was very careful about what I ate at the lunch yesterday where there were lots of yummy green salads and fresh strawberries. I refused to take home any leftovers, especially my Bacardi rum cake. It is just too tempting and cuts well when frozen.

This morning I am delighted to see 179 on the scale. (I'm sure you chicks can relate to being thrilled at seeing a different decade on the Metal Monster!) I'm nearly halfway to an overweight BMI which, coincidentally, is the same weight I was when I got married for the second time in 1973. I must dig out and try on my old wedding gown which probably won't fit as our shapes change with age. I think it's gravity. My hair colour seems to have changed too for some reason.

It's raining for the next few days so there will be no gardening. Today I need to run around the Township delivering tags for the school artwork and picking up what's ready. Next week I'll get the rest - school stays open until the 29th - and then it's sort, judge and display for the Fair which starts on July 21. There goes my summer! August is MY month and I'm really looking forward to company, a family wedding at the farm and other fun things.

Hmmm ... maybe another coffee and some quilting would be a good way to spend the next hour although I do have strawberries crying out to be made into jam.

I hope your Thursday is "sunny" in some way. Make it happen!

Good morning Ruth I found a link to "natural sleep aid reviews" FWIW. I'm trying to find something myself. I need something in the middle of the night and my cat needs something to make him sleep past 5 am or not wake me up

I'm up and over the mountains again today. I love that trip and should have a good day ahead. I'm meeting some friends from the old job for drinks and catching up tonight. Only 1 of the 4 of us is still there. I'm also planning a lunch with other friends from the same job. After working there 12 years I still have lots of connections to the place.

Tomorrow is a half day of work then the usual chores. DW has a gig tomorrow night (anyone want to drive to Vermont?!) and will need my help getting things set-up.

Wow, almost 6 already. I always think I have so much time in the mornings and I'm always later leaving then I want to be!

Hi guys,
Ruth, I also sometimes have a problem waking in the night and not being able to get back to sleep. This usually happens when my mind starts racing about one thing or another. A product I have used for years is something called Hyland's Calms Forte. It is a homeopathic sleep aid and very well known; you should be able to get it at your local drug store or your pharmacist can order it for you, it is non-prescription. The way I take it is this: as soon as I wake (and it's the middle of the night) I pour 3 tablets into the bottle cap and wash them down with water. Don't chew, just swallow like a pill. I've also heard it's important not to touch them with your hands. It sometimes takes a couple of nights of use for them to start working for me, but it does work. Other non-medication tricks I've tried that also seem to work are: counting backwards from 100, and visualizing painting a wall with a very small paintbrush, starting in the upper left corner of the wall.

As far as me, I'm very "meh" these days. I've stayed on Phase 1 so far, but eaten far too much yummy, snacky food (olives, cheese, roasted chick peas, almonds) and due to this the scale is not moving, plus it's TOM. I'm very routine oriented and this week is driving me crazy because school is ending for my son and there is NO structure. I have to start doing things differently when camp starts next week, as I'll have to get up earlier so I can exercise before I take him to the bus, and my work hours will change, etc. So maybe I'm just coasting until then.

Goal at work today: finish last semester clean up and start preparing for next semester. Hope everyone has a great one...

good morning, Chickies! I may have to check out that link, Cyndi, as I usually wake up around 2 or 3 am and just doze off and on after that, then end up not wanting to get up when it's time.

Ruth, congratulations for reaching a new, lower decade! And I'm relieved that Disney is doing OK and it was only a scab on her ear.

The heat and humidity is oppressive here. Audrey wants to pack up a picnic lunch and spend the day at French Creek State Park, but I'm not sure if that would be wise for today. We could have a T-storm at any time, and it's not a good day for the pool, either. Perhaps we'll go to the crafts store and find a project to work on.
I ended up staying until 3:30 yesterday, so my 1/2 day didn't happen. My DIL and the grandkids were in the pool when I got home, so that was a happy surprise, but a storm started before I had a chance to get in.
I need another coffee, be right back!

Good morning chicks!

Ruth - Congratulations on the milestone! I've heard melatonin works well. MMCK's idea sounds great, I might try that too!

Cyndi - sounds like a great time catching up with the old friends, hope you enjoy!

MMCK - I was just telling my DH the other day I need to make sure I'm doing exercise with the kids out of school. I just haven't wanted to get up at 5 am!! Good luck finding some routine!

Cottage - Hope you find something cool to do!

I did get to go for a nice swim yesterday (didn't want to, after a rough day at work, but made myself, yay!). Think I'll take off today, and go a run tomorrow. Today is my long day of work, hopefully it will go by fast!!

Have a great day!

Good morning ladies! On my first cup of coffee today.

Magnesium works. It's natures own muscle relaxer (works for headaches, aches and pains and sleep). It also relaxes bowel muscles so it helps to move things along (but beware not to take too much...it's not fun when you do).

I'm on day 4 today and headaches are getting better but still there. It just tells me how bogged down with toxins my body was. 4 1/2 lbs in 3 days and will weigh in today too. I'm feeling a whole lot less bloated, too. And so much energy I'm bouncing around in my skin (that could be a problem for dh who is sedentary ). Rainy day for me too. Guess I'll lay low and hang with the kiddies...maybe a game day. Haven't had one of those in a looooong time. Should before the kids get too big and leave me Are you still rebounding MMCK?

Good morning.

Ruth - I tried melatonin once thinking I'd use it when I travel (which my SIL does) and hated it but honestly can't remember why. Maybe it kept me awake instead? Woo hoo on the new decade and kudos on your eating success!

Cyndi - My mornings fly by too! Have a great day.

Matilda - I've tried counting backwards and my mind wanders so I found it helps if I count backwards by 3s. Sorry you are meh. (My son taught me that word)

Linda - I had seen on the news that there might be storms out that way. I sort of watch it since my son is out there.

Twynn - Here's to a fast day today and a great run tomorrow.

Kristen - I heard about magnesium on Dr. Oz for constipation! Hope the headaches pass soon.

The scale hit a number this morning that I haven't seen in a very long time; I got on twice just to double check since we'd had dinner out last night. I have to say that I am making huge progress in that I ate out 4 times in the past week and didn't overeat or go off on a binge like I would have in the past. Progress

The faucet got installed yesterday with minimal drama but I'm not sure I like it. We got one with a touch sensor. Rode bikes, finally, and plan that again for today. Then this afternoon I meet with my old boss for coffee, postponed from last week.

Have a great day everyone.

Good Morning

Ruth, congratulations on seeing 179! Credit for not indulging yesterday which helped the scale to keep moving down, for sure!

everyone else!

I woke at 3 and made myself turn back over. Now I have 30 minutes to get ready but I always check in here first! VBS, then Bing has an appointment with his "pretty DR.", a cardiologist who seems so young...but very smart.

Have a great day everyone!

Good morning everyone,

I am dragging this morning, not enough sleep either but not from not being able to sleep, just too little. DD2 Swim meet didn't end til 10:30 last night and then found out, I let her go home with DH with my car keys in her bag, so had to get a ride home to get them only to find out she had left the zipper open so they had falled out somewhere. Ended up finding them under the seat in DH car. I didn't work out this morning, tried to but couldn't so I reset alarm and fell back to sleep. DD2 got a 1st place and a 2nd place she is doing so good swimming.

For those of you having problems sleeping- when I have problems sleeping I do some light exercise a couple hours before and that gets me ready to go straight to sleep.

Congratulations to Ruth and Karen for seeing the scale move down, that is always such a great feeling.

Okay I got an 8 a.m. call got to go. Have a great day everyone

Good morning everyone! I don't post here often since my schedule is a bit off from everyone else's and usually by the time I post everyone is done for the day! It seems like lately though we have some more late posters so I don't feel so alone! I finally received my Zumba game for my Wii and have played it a couple times and I really enjoy it! I have tried a few other dance workout games and you need to hold the remote in your hand so to get the good scores I am trying to get the arm movements correct which isn't much of a workout. However the Zumba game comes with a "belt" that holds the remote and tracks your leg/hip movements which allows me to concentrate on the actual steps which I feel gives me a much better workout. Anyways... I have today off from work because I have to work this weekend (eh, I think it's supposed to rain for the next 4-5 days anyways) so I am going to try to spend a lot of time mastering my Zumba moves... Also going to attempt to make a farinata (garbanzo flour flatbread/pizza). If it is successful I will post in recipes!
Ruth, is that cake homemade or a ready-made purchase? It sounds yum!

Hey all -

Another great day here in the Philly area - did finally break down and put on the A/C given the humidity. I have been trying to get the kids to leave the house to bowl for two days now - no such luck. They are playing dress-up, Littlest Pet Shop, whatever. I am loving actually sitting down for breakfast and lunch at a table rather than eating in the car in the am or at my desk with students!

Got back to 158 today, but unless some miracle occurs, the 4 lb loss for the month is HIGHLY unlikely. On the other hand, health is good, eating habits are WAY better, and maintenance is a good thing!!

Be well -