Thursday, March 2: In like a lion...
 

I'm supposed to be at a literacy volunteer training today but there's reports of tons of snow, so it was cancelled. :coolsnow: Snow day!!! :snow4:

So, for Lent, I'm going to stick to one starch each day and no more! I'm also going to spend 30 mins reading the bible, praying, and doing some lenten devotions. I love this season and how it gives us a chance to reconnect and do things right. :) Of course, I did a carbfest on Tuesday night in true Mardi Gras fashion. Only I was Laurie Gras the next day! :p Well, not really, but I felt like it...and I craved all day, even though I was eating good carbs. Lesson to self...lots of good carbs can be just as bad as a little bad carbs. :nono:

Hoping that I can make it to the post office today to mail out our presents from our trip to France. I'd love to make it to yoga, but the gym might close. I can always do my yoga/pilates tape at home. Hope to get some pictures from our trip posted and clean up our bedroom some more.

Have a great day, chickies and stay warm!!! :cool:

Morning Laurie,

I don't know if school round this area is canceled yet because I haven't turned the telelvision on. It woun't chjange my day much so It's no use checking yet. My son will be happy if it is. He likes school but he likes playing all day even more - so do I - lol. ;)

Spent the day in court and never made it to the office at all yesterday. I never even testified and for all intensive purposes, we lost. It really stinks that it's the child that suffers. :?: The best we got was cutting a deal that the child will re in the custody of someone else. We got no orders of supervision and no findings of neglect which means that the parents and/or relatives could come and attempt to get custody anytime and most likely succeed as preventive services must be mandated for us to interfere. Well, enough of my recap. I guess it's still on my mind. :dizzy:

I did well on phase 1 yesterday except for the glass of wine I allowed myself before going to bed. It's in the frig from phase 2 and it was the last glass in the bottle. Here's to raising happy healthy children. :hug:

Back to the office today. Hope all have a great day.

Good Morning
 

Beachgal- can't wait to see pictures. What a great trip.
Freaky- sorry about court, I know how hard you have worked and that stinks, do we need a new attorney?

Ok here's my problem. I have been getting up with the kids at night time, non stop for weeks, execersing as much as I can, not cheating much at alland the scale hasn't moved. I just think after working sohard, being so decidated and determioned can't I be rewarded a little????? I am frustrated. I go to my cardiologist today and I did not make my goal for today. I know I have lost since the last appt so I hope he will be happy and encouraging.
Today my oldest work me up at 4am again. I got him asleep and I couldn't sleep. SO guess what I got up and exercised. I did my biggest loser dvd. I have been working out through all this sickness and stuff but today instead of tossing and turning I worked out. SO then during my extremly early workout my youngest son is inhis crib screaming! :mad: However, I finished my workout. Then I went and got him, now at 6 am he is toddling around, saying he wants ice cream. :mad: So my point is I am working hard, I know with a little more sleep I can work harder and mybe see fast results but why am I not seeing any for 3-4 weeks. I am going to keep going but start to think I will be this weight forever. I am annoyed. I am not giving up, still determined. Now I am mad at the scale so I am going to work even harder so someday I can smash it to pieces and let it know what I am really thinking.
I am hoping ot get a second workout in tonight. I did that yesterday and hoping if I do 2 workouts a day it will jump start a little. Well tiem to put baby downa gain, I hope.
Sorry for the venting ladies, I am up too early, a little crabby, Forgive me please????
Have a great day everyone. :hug:

Popping in to say a quick "hi!" before getting on with things. For a change of pace, I went to bed at a normal-ish (11 or thereabouts) hour and got up super early (around 2:30 am here). It's getting close to the end of the quarter, so I'm down to crunch time (and I don't mean sit-ups! ;) ). It's hard to believe this quarter is nearly over. I'm all registered for next quarter: pre-calc 1 and intro to chem as I'd planned, but the computer tech class I need to take instead of the report-writing class I'd thought I might take, as it was offered online. I don't really know what it is exactly, just that I need it. It probably won't be too hard, though; I'm reasonably computer-savvy - I even used to (pre-DS) build my own computers from the motherboard up.

As far as this quarter goes, so far I'm still maintaining A's in both my classes. I have 1 major essay, 2 discussion papers, and 3 sets of responses on discussion papers left in social psych, and 1 (2-part) assignment, 3 labs, 2 quizzes, and a final exam left in geology. I think that's everything. Then spring break will be 2-3 weeks - but little (if any) r&r! Busy, busy, busy! I'll be building my raised bed (and maybe a wee one for DS to dig in and pull sprouting beans up out from!) and doing my "OAQC" for next quarter. I've been testing some recipes (most of which aren't exactly OP, so I won't go into details) to see how they freeze and generally experimenting - or having DH experiment for me when I'm too pressed for time to cook. He's such a trooper! :love:

How's everything with you, dear chickies?

Good morning chickies!

Laurie It is so good to hear from you! Sounds like you have a wonderful day planned! How is the sleeping going? I am not sure I could function on the amount of sleep that you do! I am still thinking about what my Lenten goals are. General healthy eating, but that doesn't seem too behavior-specific.

Freaky I will toast to raising happy, healthy children! I am exhausted trying to do so, but it is well worth it!! :flow2:

Mama You should think about posting some of your sample meal days and having some of the knowledgable women here take a look at it. Maybe they can see where you could tweak what you are eating. I can see where you area frustrated- if you are doing all the right things and not getting the results you want to smack someone around a bit!!

H-Ko Another sleep-deprived chick.... sounds like you are a busy mama!!

Me- Not much to report. I had a good, OP day yesterday and was very proud of myself for not feeding my frustration with my day. Today will be a long one as it is Open House tonight from 6:30-8:00. It is always a nice evening, just gets to be long!! My mom will watch the girls as DH is working. All of today's meals and snacks are planned, so I am anticipating another good day of eating. Okay- need to get into the shower and get some coffee pumping.

Have a super day all!! "Flow1:

Just a quick :wave: to everyone since I need to get the doggie fed and get my backside out the door to work. Will be a busy day today. We're on a skeleton crew - for various reasons my team is down to 2 people today (instead of 5). At least I have good food prepped ahead of time, so I don't have to worry about navigating lunch out.

Everyone have a great day!

It's not a snow day here, it's an ICE STORM:yikes: ! The schools have all closed, and even my Curves is closed for the day. I'm staying home today, too, but Cindy has a conference in the city, and said if the roads aren't too bad she's going to bring the girls to my house. That's fine with me, they live out in the country and the roads are usually treacherous out that way, and there's just no way I'm driving out there. She's braver than I am.
Yesterday went well. I had my egg & muffin for breakfast, soup & raw veggies w/ hummus for lunch, and more soup & raw veggies for supper, and I managed to get in my 64 oz. of water. I was really hungry mid-day and wanted a snack badly, and to top it off I got home late and by then I was starving and didn't feel like making a salad, so had soup again instead. I sure did miss having dessert, too, but had a cup of Vanilla Hazlenut tea, and that took care of my craving.
I'm doing a load of laundry right now, and plan to clean the house today and then settling in with my book. Of course that may change if the girls come. I should plan what to make for supper, too. I have mushrooms that need to be used up, maybe I'll make Chicken Alfredo with spagetti squash.
All you gals on the East Coast, be careful out there today!

Good morning, Chicks~~:coffee:

I'm bummed. Stepped on the scale this morning and I'm UP 3. :eek: I know it's water retention. BIL brought home rotisserie chicken from Super Wal Mart and even though I pulled off the skin, it still tasted salty. They must inject it with a sodium solution or something. Even my fingers feel fat this morning! :(

So breakfast this morning is tea and ww toast. I'm going to guzzle water and maybe even take a diuretic today and see if I can get rid of this. Yuck!

I feel so bad for you chicks who are snowed/iced in. We're actually having nice weather for a change. It's so wonderful to see the sun after all that frassing rain we've been having.

Freaky, I'm sorry your court case didn't go well. If there was strong enough evidence of abuse/neglect, why in Heaven's name didn't the judge do the right thing??? You have to wonder how these people sleep at night.

Cottage, Jana, Kiko, Heather, Mamahulk and Laurie :wave:

:wave: I am kicking my butt today as I've already wasted most of the week. For some reason, I've been feeling really lazy - I wake with good intentions but goof off most of the day. Today I have a list on the whiteboard in the kitchen.

Top priority is getting the recycle stuff to the curb before 8:30 so I'm outta here for a bit. I'll be back later to read and comment.

Sorry about the crap weather to those south of me. So far we are sunny with just a few clouds but still damned cold! Stay safe and warm!

Good Morning,,

I think the Ham I baked was just to salty ,,, it was good,,, but I feel bloated this morning,,, My water intake was good yesterday as well... Might be nothing.... who knows..There is Virus going around shcool and my brother is home today,, I am avoiding him in hopes that i dont get it... ick!

Take Care Everybody....

Good Morning!:D

I work in a day care center and passed three car accidents this morning, one of them ended up being one of our parents. They were all OK though, thank God! :hug: This week is not going that well for me. I had planned ahead for Fat Tuesday so when I ate a custard filled Paczki I really didn't feel that bad. :carrot: I worked out twice on Tuesday, and it was probably one of the hardest workouts I have ever had. I still hurt. Yesterday I ate way to many carbs for dinner, but I ate dinner really early so that I could hopefully burn it off. For lent I can decide what I want to give up. I think I will try to give up whip cream:eek: :eek: , because that is the major sweet thing that I eat the most of. I haven't weighed myself lately because I think my scale is broken, but tomorrow is my weigh and measure day at Curves and I am terrified to go because I am bloated and if I go weigh in with all this water weight I might get discouraged:( . Wish me Luck!! I hope everyone had a great day and can stay warm. It just started snowing again here. I can't wait for SPRING!!!!!

Sorry to hear about the ice and snow in the north but think of the nice...out like a lamb...weather you have to look forward to.

So far so good, I'm OP and plan to stay that way. Yesterday I really didn't have much of an appetite and didn't eat much, I should go to Curves today but I'm not sure if I feel up to it.

I need to go Grocery shopping today,, and I just dont know what to pick up.. I added Oatmeal and an Apple last week,, and this week was the same,, I need to add another one but just cant think of one to add,,, Still not wanting bread yet... Not sure at all

Good morning chicks! THe weather is beautiful here. It's 62 out right now! I'm wearing a short sleeved polo shirt and slippers. I'm ready for winter to be over already. IT was a crappy half-a***d winter anyway. I'm ready to wear skirts and cute strappy sandals again :D ! I've got a pot of vegetable soup on the stove and it smells yummy. Today is my worst day of the week but I'm going to try to make it a good one. After all, tomorrow's friday, right? Have a great day chicks!!

ooh I get to post before there are thousands get on.

Mamahulk-I feel your pain!! there is nothing worse than really doing your best for no reward. I agree post a menu-maybe you eat things that you didn't realize are sabataging you, maybe you don't eat enough. Working out is great but you shouldn't need to do 2 workouts and skip sleep to do it.

Freaky-hope you can get the case out of your mind, it must be really hard not to be able to help more. Sadly it sounds as if they will come back through your system and hopefully then maybe...

hey Heather!! I love to the OAMC, I have some yummy non OP recipes that freeze well if you need more. One day I'll sit down and get some OP ones...

enjoy staying in on the snow day for all of you.

I'm happy to say I finally have seen 126 on the scale. and now I'm sure in a few days I'll be *****ing about not seeing 125, lol. I need to go out and get some better running shoes as my feet tend to roll inward and now my knee is making a lovely series of clicks. I learned from my chiropractor that no one should ever do squats, very bad for your back though great for you butt!

enjoy the day!

just a quick hi...
 

to everyone. Off to do errands, then house cleaning is afternoon. Seattle guests return from their visit to family further south of Tampa. They arrive tomorrow and leave on Monday--gained 1.5 when they were here last week--hope the same doesn't happen--cause I have lost 1 lb since Tuesday :carrot:

Have a good weekend all!

Wow losts of posts already. It's snowy/eecky here. (Pearsy - what do you meanit's 62 there?!!) I have ice and snow with more on the way (oh goody!) I go to work at 2, but df goes in a few mins, so I'm going to go out & clean off the car (he's so lucky to have me!) :rofl:

Hello Ladies! I haven't felt like posting in a while.
I wanted to let ya'll know that I'm past the 20 lb. mark!!!! It feels great!
My brother's moving to Omaha from Denver so he'll be coming to my place tonight to store some of his stuff in my basement.
We've finally gotten a new manager but she'll be managing us all the way from Chicago. That's dumb. I found out at 4pm yesterday that she's our new manager & she'll be here in NE today and tomorrow. Some notice, huh?
I didn't get my house as clean as I wanted it to be for my brother coming. Oh-well.
DH hates his new job & so do I. He's been leaving home at 6:30 am and not being able to come home until about 8pm every night and to top that off they aren't paying him for all the hours he's on the road & spending time away from home. It does pay more, though. It's sad when both of us don't like our jobs and just stay there for the money. I DON"T WANT TO BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE! At least my weight loss is going well!

Laurie: Snow day! ALRIGHT!! We've had such a mild winter! Yesterday it was like 71 degrees here!
Freaky: Sorry 'bout court.
Mamahulk: Hang in there!
H-Ko: Good luck!
Kiko: Have a good day!
JanaM: Hi! You must be new, huh?
Cottage: I'm jealous!
Mamacita: Hi! I hope it works.
Ruth: Hey there woman!
MsCrockett: I'm sprinkling anti-germ dust ********
Pear: Enjoy the weather! You must have what we had!
Batmom: Congrats!!

Talk to ya'll later!

Hi Pinkeagle & Soon!!!!

that stinks Danielle,

dh used to work for Applebees and being in the restaurant biz you get sucky hours, there was a weeek where he saw our 5 yr old for a total of 5 hours...all week!! He finally ended up moving to Chili's and things have been great, better hours, even more $$ so hang in there but not so long that it just makes you both unhappy. Look around there might be something out there. Best wishes to you both

Still dashing madly off in all directions but just checked the weather! :yikes:
We're safe up here but I hate to see that green glob south of us!
Aarrrgh!

Just checking back to see what's happening in here -
The girls were dropped off at 9, and now they're happily watching "Aladdin", and Jake just came home, too. I'm glad I got all my cleaning done before every came, although with the girls here all day, I'll need to run the vacuum again after they leave.

Pearsy ~ I'm so envious of your weather! Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy some warm days before too much longer.

Everyone, stay warm and dry today!

Sorry, Ruth, but maybe you'll just get all snow instead of this frassing ice storm!

Brian woke up this morning with a fever and he says his neck is sore when he swallows and he is really tired. The flu is going around and other stuff so he just left for an appointment at the doctor. I know he will be late since it took me so long to get DH up to take him. I'm the only one from my team working today so there was no way I could take him. I'm acting as team leader too. If it is the flu I want him to get on Tamiflu quickly and if it is strep, then it is also best to find it quickly. Two kids in his class have been out all week.

Good morning ladies. I have to brag about my mom for a second. I introduced her to the South Beach WOE three weeks ago and already she's lost 11 lbs. I am so proud of how well she is doing. My mom as always been thin and the word diet just isn't in her vocabulary. In the past few years, her metabolism has come to a screeching halt and she has been steadily gaining weight. She says that she's never felt so good.

I still haven't gotten the results from the vet yet as to whether Orion has a urinary tract infection. We have a really big cat carrier that he's been sleeping in overnight. This morning, I finally had the guts to put the two seat cushions back on the couch (after spraying them again). I let him out of the carrier and while I was in the shower, he pooped on the couch again. :mad: I need to rent a steam cleaner.

The weather is beautiful today. I think I'll walk to school to pick up Reilly. The education/developmental specialist is coming over at 1 to meet me and Keely. Today is my husband's 30th birthday, so I made a cake and decorated with balloons and streamers. We'll probably go out to dinner tonight. I used to be nervous about eating out, but I am so happy with the way I've been eating and the way that I feel that I'm confident that I'll make the right choices.

Have a great day everybody!:)

Good morning
 

Hi everyone! :wave:

I just started day one of phase one today and thought I'd pop in here and say hi. Of course I probably picked a bad time to start. We're going out of town as soon as dh gets off of work (anytime now) and we won't be back until late Saturday night. We're going to a Third Day concert tonight and then going to spend a few days with family. Hopefully I can find some good phase one foods to eat wherever we end up. We're staying at my mother-in-law's and I hate cooking there. I'll do my best and start over Sunday if I have to.

All of you covered in snow... I'm sorry. We had an absolutely beautiful day yesterday. Today's cooler, but it's still in the upper 40s.

Toodles for now!
Christine :carrot:

Stopping in to say hi. I wanted to write some specifics to people but daughter is calling me and it jsut isn't working for me right now.

To those that live in upstate NY I wanted to say my parents live In Rochester, NY.

Maybe I can get on here later!! HAve a Great Day everyone.

Had a good day eating wise yesterday, gopt my 64 ounces of water in, and did 60 minutes of yoga, 15 mins on the eliptical and took the dog to the park. DId not however get any of my domestic dailies done...I feel like I can never get my food, water, exercise and house under check all in the same day...there is always something that is sacrificed. I have to work a ton today both at home and taking photos. I am going out of town to see a few girlfriends on Fri night/Saturday. Friday night may be a challenge as I am staying in the city and I know more than one cocktail will be calling out to me throughout the night, must be strong...lost 3.5 lbs last month...cannot undo it for nonsense.

Well here is to staying OP. :)

beachgal - a trip to france sounds divine right now...I keep telling myself I am going to try to learn how to speak french and when I do I will reward myself with a trip...and then I wake up :)

freaky - checked out your march challenge post, way to go girl you are getting that exercise done! Keep it up and that goal is going to be passed mid month...I admire the work that you do. I try to stay on top of the news and it seems like every day there is some child abuse/killing case...like this couple that kept their adoptive kids in cages...in my opinion we don't have enough people like you , that not only care but are devoting their lives todoing something about it. *stepping off my soapbox now...*

mama- I think depriving yourself of sleep can stall your loss too...so can working too hard through a sickness...I know how can you be a mom these days and not do those things. Weight loss is tricky, do you FEEL like you are getting thinner? Maybe your body is just recomposing itself, I do that sometimes, gain muscle here, lose fat there...no scale movement but lots of measurement movement.

h-ko - still busy I see, congrats on your continued success...it is always nice to hear from you.

kiko - great job staying OP

mscrockett - stear clear of that illness lol, it seems like there is something going around everywhere.

bella - good luck with your weigh in hun

Countess - go to curves...you will feel a great sense of accomplishment after you are done.

pear - are you rubbing it in? J/k it was 70 here yesterday and now it is snowing...gotta love Colorado.

bat - congrats on the 126...yes 125 is better but 126 is quite an accomplishment.

soon - the new avatar is darling!

demeter - i was wondering where you had run off to...Congrats on the loss! I understand what you guys are going through, I used to think everyone hated their jobs and they were just a necessary evil...but then I found my niche...they say you are supposed to find something for your career you love so much you would do it for free and then find someone to pay you for it...THEY obviously did not have bills like mine!

tyra - Loose fitting jeans that were once tight are soooooooooo encouraging. I had a day like that this last week, it felt like my stomach was getting flatter...

IIIIIeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Sooooo Many Posts!!!! No time to respond to each!!!! :write:

To all the newbie posters :welcome3: little chicks !!!!! :chicken:

The Schatzinator is in between interviews right now... :blah: this afternoon I have 2 more...tomorrow chock full too...

Love to you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know how frustrating that can be, Mamahulk! The thing is, you need sleep to lose weight. It sounds silly, but it's true! You need the time spent sleeping not only to do the actual work of moving your fat to be used, etc. (obviously I'm not a doctor or scientist! :lol: ). In addition, when you don't get enough sleep, your body releases chemicals that make you want to eat more, even though you don't need the extra calories. I know for me, I also crave because over the years I learned to eat carbs and sugar when I felt tired to get my going again. :rolleyes: Oy!

So, try to get more sleep...and in the meantime, be gentle and understanding with yourself. I have no excuse for my lack of sleep, but when I'm not working very hard on it, I usually get about 3-4 hours of sleep a night, and that's when I see my weight maintain or even gain. :tantrum: But, as soon as I get one or two nights of good sleep (7+ hours), the weight drops rapidly. So don't stress too hard, okay? Try to keep yourself from eating extra, no matter what cravings you have, and don't beat yourself up, okay? Don't forget to tell your cardiologist that you aren't getting enough sleep, okay? :hug:

Brian has strep throat. I guess that is better than the flu but it still means he will miss a couple of days of school.

Luckily work has been pretty quiet and DH is out getting his prescription filled now.

Oh Barb....I hope Brian feels better soon! Maybe mom can make him some of her awesome soups? :T:

WElCOME HOOSIERMOM from another Hoosier in Indpls.

I can relate too about lack of sleep. My 2 year old had me up 2x last night and I woke up on my own a couple of times. I stay up late at night just to have time to myself. I rarely get more than 6.5 hours of sleep.
Did I mention I'm having my afternoon coffee right now?? LOL
Love that cup of coffee. I know I should drink more water and I am trying. I have got to get DD down for a nap before the boys get home from school.

I also didn't tell you all I work at the YMCA! I NEVER get to exercise tho because I'm either working or taking care of the kids, etc. I know I've got to figure out a time to do something there for me. I could have gone to a aerobic class 7:00pm Wed. but I'm out of the house 4 of the 5 weeknites already this week! Busy week. I could do walk away the pounds at home and I really want to make that my goal this month. To do the exercise tape here at home at least 3 times a week! I know I'll feel good if I do!
Got to run!!!

Good Afternoon Chickies -

I'm finally on lunch and have a minute to post.

The weather here (Chicago) can't decide what it's going to do. Okay this morning, but now sort of snowing? To all the snow (and ice) bunnies out there...be careful on the roads :)

HoosierMom - :welcome: I'm from Evansville, IN...where is Linton?

Barb - I hope Brian is feeling better soon!

Hello to everyone else! :hug:

ME: Doing good today. I am back on P2 after a two day P1 to get rid of all the bad carb cravings I've been having (since I had been eating a lot of them for the past three week!). Didn't go to the gym yesterday...my abs just hurt too much from T's workout. But I will be there tonight :) Went to Trader Joe's last night and bought some yummy raw almond, roasted peanuts and dried apricots (the posts yesterday about them made me want them :)). Looking very forward to my PM snack of dried apricots and almonds.

Well, I have to go. Lunch has been over for 10 minutes now (haha)

Have a good afternnon all

:grouphug:

Brian is napping now. And you know an 8 year old is sick when he will nap instead of watching TV! I haven't been able to get him to eat anything. The strep has made his stomach upset. As long as I can get some fluids and the pennicillin to stay down, I'm not going to worry about food. He'll probably be eating fine tomorrow since the strep was caught fairly early.

Just wanted to stop in and say hi to all you chickies... especially all you early risers! I could never do what you do!
I only have a week or two left at my current job (I'm a temp QC editor for LSAC), and I'm getting antsy. I really hate change... I've gotten so used to being here and all the little perks (wearing jeans and t-shirts every day, unlimited internet use, etc.), even though I find myself getting bored a lot. So now I need to start looking for another temp job. I would like to get a permanent job, but since I plan on going to grad school in the spring I don't think it's feasible. Do you think it would be rude/unprofessional if I started a permanent job and then had to quit 6 months later? That's what I'm thinking. ::le sigh:: I can't wait till I'm finished with school completely and I can actually start a CAREER! Grr.
Diet-wise I've been off and on. Yesterday was good for up until dinner, when my bf and his brother decided to order in pizza. I stuck to 2 slices, though. And today I went out to lunch, had a chicken caesar wrap, which I guess isn't so bad, but then I scarfed most of the potato chips on my plate. I need more self-control.
Well, I hope you all have had a wonderful day so far. I'm sorry for all of you stuck in storms or sick or nursing sick people-- hope things get better! Peace Out!

P.S-- for the decadent brownies, do you know of anything that could substitute for the pecans (I don't do nuts)? Thanks!

Hey!
 

Hello everyone. Pearshape, did you say you were enjoying 60 degree weather........................share will ya???????????

Quiet day in the ER so far, that's good, I'm getting a lot of homework done.

It's great to read all the posts, they are so motivating.

Oops gotta go get a patient!

RNmom - Would you believe it was 93 in Dallas yesterday? Right now it is 79 but the rain should be starting soon.

It's hard to believe the weather this year. We keep going from one extreme to the next.