Good morning from Paul Newman and me. I sure do enjoy my Keurig coffee maker! It takes me mentally into Linda's kitchen. Another sunny day on tap but snow returns tomorrow.

The lads did a lot of work on installing the generator and indoor switch but will be back today to do more. They did manage to shovel away a lot of snow and put in the indoor switch. Unfortunately Paul had to remove a door frame as part of the job and now my deck door won't open. That's the dogs' door but we used the slider in the studio which meant the pooches had to climb over a snow pile to get out for potty. Paul will be here this morning to fix the stuck door. In the meantime they are pretending they are Saint Bernards!

Massaged my diet a bit yesterday and headed it a bit more towards Atkins. I know carbs are my nemesis and have been bread-ing and pasta-ing it a bit too much. All whole grain but too many servings. I'm keep legumes though and will make a eban salad later today.

Time to get dressed and trundle off to the gym. Donna won't be joining me because she has a really bad cold. That means I won't be tempted by carrot muffins when we go out for coffee afterwards. (Kind of dumb to go to the gym for 90 minutes and then eat a high calorie muffin!)

Happy Hump Day! May it be just a gentle rise and slope down.

Mmmm carrot muffin. Have a wonderful workout!!!
Biggest hurdle today will be a literary tea for the kids school. It will be packed full of non phase I foods.

I am starting to think about the weekend. I am headed to a conference for women. I have herd the food is great. Any tips?

I did sneak on the scale and it reads 3 lbs lower for a total of 6. Proof that the carbs were out of control. I cannot remember who wrote this but I do love the term "dietary restrictions." Mentally that sits much better than "diet." The word diet takes on such negative emotions in my mind and has always meant a temporary fix. Thank you for the wisdom ladies!!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day.
Ashley

Good Morning

Hi Ruth and all to come!

Ruth, I can't believe how much snow you have! I guess that here with the intense high altitude sunshine it must burn off much faster. Great that you're doing some "tweaking" with your food choices. I'm working on that, too.

My first step of progress has been to start measuring (again) some of my foods I tend to indulge in AND to really crack down with the nibbles at work. I do accept that some nibbles are ok but having 2 or 3 heels of the yummy rye bread during a shift are just too much. Yesterday I kept reminding myself I could have a nice grilled cheese for dinner IF I didn't use up my bread allowance at work. That strategy worked yesterday and I'm going to give it a shot again today. Boy, when I focus on my eating choices at work I also notice how much cr*p my coworkers consume in a shift. I'm glad I've been able to firmly say NO to consuming the lethal "chefs mistakes".

It should be a day off but my coworker is in Florida....nice. I got up early to work on some niggles (specifically paperwork) and am heading down to find another cup of coffee.

I'm glad I just finished a bowl of blueberry pie oats so the talk of carrot muffins isn't so tempting.

I hope Paul gets your door all fixed so Disney & Jazz won't have to keep climbing over the snow mountain to go potty, Ruth. That's going to be so nice to have a generator that will turn on automatically when your power goes out. How's your finger?

Ashley, enjoy the "tea" today, it sounds like a fun event. Try to stick to lean meats and veggies at your conference, and you should be fine.

We're on storm watch here. Right now it's very windy and raining, but supposed to turn to snow soon. Most schools are still open, and I'm waiting to hear from Cindy as to the plans for the day. She's supposed to go to an overnight conference and I was to stay overnight with the girls, but that may all change. I'll wait to hear from her before I pack an overnight bag. We're in the 4-8" zone, so that's my Hump for this day.

Good morning It's a cool and lightly snowy day here. I've got midday meetings including a conference call. So glad I have the treadmill desk now!

Ruth - ah, warblings makes me think birds. We have a Plum Island trip in two weeks but I need to get out this weekend. Everything is starting to move. Saw red-winged blackbirds and turkey vultures, sure signs of spring. I know robins are more romantic but they aren't reliable indicators

Grace I've been wanting to try these carrot muffins. Might have to add those to tomorrow night's baking (I'm making cookies for a staff mtg)

Debbie - I'm also pushing myself back to logging everything I eat. It's so easy to slide a little here and a little there. When do you get a day off?

Cottage - blueberry pie oats sound delicious Good luck with the snow. Not much forecast here and I am happy about that. I am so ready for spring!

Time to get moving (actually half an hour past). Happy hump day!

Good morning, no snow yet but boy it feels like it is going to start any minute. Guess I'll be one of the frantic shoppers today lol. Sadly this is my day to grocery shop. Not much planned other than catching up on housework and the never ending to do list.

Ashley congratulations! Maybe eat before going to the tea party and stick with tea. I find when I travel I may not be able to eat exactly how I would like to eat. So if faced with limited choices. I try to pick the healthier of the poor choices and drink lots of water.

Debbie I give you and Holly extra credit. Working in a "food" environment is an extra challenge.

Ruth I continually tweak and reevaluate. I think I will for the remainder of my life. My friend Meredith eats whatever and whenever she likes, doesn't exercise, yet she is lean and muscular. Some people are just blessed with good genes. I think the majority of people have to watch and be conscious or our "jeans" keep expanding.

Ok time to make my shopping list. I think today is a comfy jeans and sweatshirt kind of day.

Good morning.

Ruth - I'm with you - seem to do best with limited grains.

Ashley - I still struggle with eating at events and whenever there is an abundance of off-plan food. I'd say try not to go hungry, pack snacks, make the best choices you can, and if you go off plan, immediately get back OP.

Debbie - Ohhhh - If I worked in a restaurant with bread I'd be in big trouble! Lucky for me I work in retail and we can't eat on the store floor so I actually do better foodwise on work days, being such a big snacker at home.

Linda and Cyndi - When will this winter end?!

Jennifer - I hope the stores aren't too crazy.

We booked our last Alaskan flights yesterday! Unfortunately we couldn't use my mom's frequent flyer miles for upgrades since they said no such seats were available. Coincidentally, there was a news article yesterday about Delta not making FF mile seats available. Now that we've paid so many non-refundable things for our trip, my project is to get travel insurance!

I work this afternoon.

Have a great day.

Good morning,

Quick fly by for me as I have a call in five minutes! I have been completely OP again for 5 days and I must say the energy I have is amazing, I don't know why I keep going off track when the body feels so good when it is ontrack.

No snow for us but it is cold here today.

Have a great day everyone!!!

Morning chicks! We're getting about 12 inches today so I thought I'd pop in early. Perfect day for TOM to arrive I am hoping to get out for a walk in it to break in my new snow sneakers and coat.

I am glad that I already dropped quite a few of the pounds I gained last week. Thank goodness for Ph 1!

Have a great day and stay warm!

Thanks for the tips ladies!!
Ashley