Carol, I hope you'll have some time every day to rock in your lovely chair! I'm so glad to hear that your hubby's home, but now you'll both have to work very hard until he's recovered. He's lucky to have such a sweet-natured nurse :hug:. I was in Seattle last week, so I stopped by the Market. I'm so happy every time I open my freezer!

Penny, congratulations on the tea! And thanks for the tip about tofu pate (Marie, stop gagging :barf:). As it happens, I bought some garlic spread from the garlic booth, and plan to use it on my turkey breast on Thursday.

Marie, it will be nice to have three generations together for T'giving. The little guy sounds very easy-going, a nice quality in a kid!

I had a busy weekend and a crazy Monday. But I'm really buckling down to gid rid of the bad habits I picked up on the road, leaving behind the carb craving. Every day has been a struggle, though. Today I had a protein shake for breakkie, half and apple and a cheese stick for AM snack, a big salad w/tuna for lunch, carrots, hummus and tortilla chips for afternoon snack. For dinner I had beef, broccoli and green beans, and a clementine orange. No workout this morning--I was up late reading, and overslept this morning. I will do yoga tonight before going to bed.

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday--judy

G,day ladies just a quick Hi and I,ll catch up on the posts I,ve missed and checkin again later just thought I would say I,M BAAAAACK.

JULS

Juls, I loooove your Xmas present to yourself :carrot:. I hope you've been having a good time.

I am very happy to get the slider on my ticker moving downward! My period just started, so now I feel a little better about my epic battles with the Carb monster last week. I have been better about the misc snacking, but it's still taking a lot of self-talk. It feels good to be about to work out again, too. I'd forgotten how it felt not to limp or wince. I did 60 minutes of cardio and strength training this morning, and ate on target today--except I ran across a Ghiradelli chocolate, left over from my San Franciso trip, and I promptly ate it. but otherwise a good day.

I hope everyone is doing well. I plan check in every day of the Thanksgiving break (which starts on Thursday, Juls). I will need the positive reinforcement...we don't have to regain a pound over the holiday!

judy

Carol - I hope your hubby is getting better day by day and that you'll both enjoy your Thanksgiving.

Judy - Congratulations on moving your ticker downward :carrot:. You're an inspiration! That was very sneaky of the Ghiradelli chocolate to hitch a ride in your bag! :lol: I'm hoping to be able to post a loss on Friday (despite tomorrow's challenges). I'm glad you're bashing the carb monster :frypan:!

Juls - Good to hear from you - pop in again soon!

Marie - I hope you're doing well.

I'm doing much better with staying on plan and I'm recording everything faithfullly on spark people. The sun came out today so everyone is out walking or raking leaves. Since we're not crazy about turkey, I'm making roast beef tomorrow with parsnips and brussels sprouts, followed by a tiny portion of raspberry trifle.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! :thanks2:

:hug: G,day lovely ladies WOW I go away for awhile and the place falls apart :lol: accidents, Marie that was terrible how that witch took of off leaving the scene some people don,t give a damn so I bet she won,t give it another thought, glad you weren,t hurt to bad and your car will be fixed if it,s not one thing it,s another.

Carol what is going on with the medical profession, as if you haven,t got enough to deal with but at least they say it shouldn,t cause a problem but that isn,t good enough I would be getting advice from a lawyer too just in case, incompetence is in excusable :mad:, but I,m so glad that you and your DH are getting through this trying time my thoughts and prayers are with you as always, it will be great when it is all over and you both can look back on it as just another nightmare you,ve put behind you. I was seeing your rocker in my mind it sounds lovely, I,ve got one but not as old as that I love it I nursed all my kids in it and I still love to sit in it and read.

Judy congrats on your sliding ticker :dancer: keep it up. I will give you positive reinforcement for the holidays your right we don,t have to gain over the holidays. And what a hide that :devil: chocolate had hitch hiking in your bag and of course his punishment just had to be to termination :shrug: :lol:.

G,day Penny how are you.

Well I had a great time in Sydney and of course I ate to much and as you can see by my ticker I gained 2lbs, I was taken out to dinner a couple of times and we don,t have Krispy Kreme where we live in the country so while I was in Sydney I only ate at least a dozen of them :o so I don,t have any idea how I gained the weight :?: :p. Anyway I,m home now and have been back to healthy eating actually I have been living on soup God paid me back from eating all those donuts I,ve got an absess on my tooth I suppose that will teach me there is a price to pay and not only an increasing butt also pain ;) anyway I,ve lost 1lb so far but a very sore way to do it.

Take care I,ll check in later bye for now, everyone be good and stay on track keep focused :drill: :coach: :yoga: :woops: :exercise: :running: :goodluck:.

JULS

Juls, you must have sent some powerful spiritual mojo up my way, as I got to slide my ticker down a few more notches already :D. It was right on time too, since today is the official kickoff of the USA's annual eating marathon. I am cooking a feast for myself (pumpkin soup, garlic turkey breast, roasted veggies, greens, and cranberry sauce (made with Splenda)), and looking forward to leftovers. I love Kripsy Kreme donuts, Juls:drool:. When I lived in Georgia they were everywhere, at every meeting, wherever there was free coffee....they even have "healthy" whole-wheat donuts now, ha-ha! Sorry about the toothache. Hope you're able to crunch on good food again soon.

Penny, your T'giving meal sounds good. I'll be over at 3PM;).

judy

:wave: G,day ladies :flow1: Hope you are all well.

:woohoo: :cheer2: Judy you go girl, glad I haven,t lost my touch, your feast sounds good and healthy and also yummy it just goes to show that you still can indulge but just choose healthy versions. I,m doing OK the tooth is slowly getting better and I,m able to eat a few more things but can,t crunch into an apple yet which I,m missing but I,m getting used to a diet of yogurt and cabbage soup and diet shakes so when I get on the scale next Wednesday the :devil: of a thing had better play nice or he will be going out the window :lol3: and my hip and leg have been pretty good lately so I,ve been able to :exercise: a bit more so that is good.

G,day, Carol, I hope all is going well with you and DH :hug:.

Marie and Penny hope you are both doing fine.

All of you enjoy your Thanks Giving and choose healthy foods and Judy watch those leftovers they can undo all your good intentions ;).

Everyone take care bye for now.

JULIE :grouphug:

Judy - Your garlicy turkey sounds yummy. You'll have some nice (and healthy) leftovers. I'm just going to have one more small portion of the trifle and then toss it as otherwise I'll gobble up the whole thing! I made a small one, but it's still too much for just the two of us.

Juls - I'm glad to hear your toothache is getting better, also that your hip and leg are letting you be more active. I hope you can soon eat crunchy foods again. I love your positive attitude!

Carol and Marie - I hope you guys had a nice Thanksgiving.

I'm pleased to report that I've lost 1.5 lbs.! :carrot: Yesterday I ate lots of veggies and just a little roast beef and stayed within my calorie range of 1600-1700. It was nice and sunny so we went for a walk by the river and then did some yard clean up in the afternoon. It was around 50 deg., which is pretty good for this time of the year. We're driving to the coast today to take advantage of the last sunny day before the rain comes back in earnest.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hi, all! Carol and Marie, I hope you are having a good holiday.

Juls, keep those good vibes coming! That scale better do right by you at the next weigh-in! I would think it would be hard to eat too post a gain on a diet of cabbage soup and yogurt....It's fun to pick at yummy leftovers, but early last night I divided most of the turkey breast into about 4-ounce portions, and put them into the freezer, along with some one-cup servings of the soup. That limited my snacking potential, and I felt too virtuous (and full)afterwards to want to snack much, anyway. I had a frozen chocolate Slim-A-Bear for dessert. Oh, and I had a glass of wine, too, I guess that counts, huh ;).

Yaaay, Penny! Way to go :bravo:. And throwing away dessert, too. That's something I really struggle with. Somehow it makes more sense to store any extra food on my hips and thighs instead of in the garbage disposal. I hope you enjoyed your scenic walk.

I spent the evening watching movies and laughing at the British version of "The Biggest Loser." For some reason I thought it would be more edifying, but no, it was just as melodramatic and petty as the US version ("So, how did that make you feel, knowing that both the Red Team and the Blue Team voted you off their teams, and now you're being sent home?"). Today I did several loads of laundry and have been cleaning up, with more cleaning to do on Saturday. I decided that I really dislike one of my two balance ball videos. But I did have fun checking out soem of the workouts in the cable TV library (thru OnDemand, for those of you with Comcast).

Time for dinner--leftovers, hooray!

judy

Morning everyone, it sounds like Judy and Penny had a good Thanksgiving and stayed on track. That's excellent. Juls, sorry about your tooth. I love KK donuts, but they put something in them that I'm allergic to so I don't get them when I have a chance - which isn't often as their mix doesn't work in higher elevations (according to a former donut store owner). At least that explained why our town didn't have any brand donut stores.

Well, what an interesting week. DGS got sick on Monday (puked all over the Durango) then got DS2, DH and I sick by Wednesday. My parents were here and so far haven't gotten sick. DH had it the worst as he has a very weak stomach. I was sick on Wed, but better on Thursday. Now I'm back to normal. But it sure did help on not overeating on Thanksgiving. The idea of stuffing my stomach was revolting. So I guess I stayed on track all week. I think I'd rather use willpower.

With DGS visiting (and sick) I couldn't exercise Mon - Wed. I did take a 1.5 mile doggie walk on Thursday and yesterday. DS2 and I decided last night that we will have a yoga date today as it's been 1.5 weeks since yoga. :(

My parents are leaving a day early as they didn't get to the coast on the beginning of the trip. So they're leaving today. I love spending time with my mom, but my dad just drives me up the wall. Now, my mom has had 3 back surgeries and multiple reasons to be b*tchy. But who complains all the time - my father. We went to the winter light show yesterday and it was cold. (This was after a wonderful out to eat dinner that my father made rude comments about throughout). So we're walking in the cold looking at the beautiful lights and he's b*tching away. He goes to the firepit to warm up and we continue on the path with my mom. She's loving the displays. Now, DS2 and I are making comments (whispered to each other of course about how grandpa is driving us nuts). Ok, shorten the story - I say to DS2 "here's grandma with 2 back surgeries and multiple other maladies and she's just trooping on, enjoying life - then there's grandpa... DS2 responds, "But grandma is a trooper." I found a way to let my mom know that DS2 said that without giving her the reason (but she's smart - probably figured it out). The coolest part about this is that my mom used to be the queen of b*tching and moaning. Now she just wants to enjoy the rest of her life. Cool, huh.

BTW, I owe DS2 big time. All week he listened to my father's endless stories about his friends lives. I DIDN'T have the patience - he did. I figure I owe him big, big time. I really appreciate him. I also told him that when I'm old, if I start acting like my dad and not like my mom, to kick me in the A$$. :)

OK, so that sums up my week. I'm back and in a few hours, my visitors will be on their way (they're still sleeping). My doggies loved my parents, especially my mom. DGS was sick and standoffish be he still charmed them when he was feeling good. All in all, not a bad week.

Judy, garlic turkey sounds divine. How do you make it? I just roasted my turkey and it was great, but I'm a garlic lover. Do tell.

Penny, how can you not love turkey. If it was wasn't for turkey and chicken, I'd be a vegetarian. I LOVE turkey. The roast did sound tasty though. The river walk sounded even better.

Juls, take care of the tooth and be thankful there aren't any KK Donuts in your vicinity. :) You'll lose both pounds. I know it.

Carol, I hope you survived your Thanksgiving and the DH is recovering.

Talk to you all tomorrow. My laptop battery is dying and I'll send this before it vanishes.
Marie

:hug: G,day ladies, hope your all well and happy. It is another beautiful day here downunder a bit overcast and the chance of a thunderstorm but still a wonderful day.

Penny the tooth was doing fine until I forgot and bit into an apple I think I left claw marks in the ceiling :lol: but after some pain killers it settled down again, I miss my apples and because I wasn,t in pain I thought I would risk one :devil: of a thing looks like it is going to have to come out :( the absess is nearly gone but the roots are still tender what is with teeth they are buggers getting them and buggers when their going. :cp: :high: on the 1.5lb loss another one bites the dust never to be seen again ;) I hope you enjoy your sunny day, and great for staying in your calorie range and your river walk sounded wonderful.

Judy I,m sending heaps of :goodvibes I think of you all when I :exercise:I think the :goodscale will be kind to me I jumped on them this morning and with my cabbage soup and yogurt diet I have already lost the 2lb I put on over last week but like I said I wish I could of done it without the pain. :p. Good for you dividing up the left overs and freezing them and give yourself a pat on the back for not wanting to snack, your chocolate dessert sounded healthy and a glass of wine isn,t going to do any damage and if it was red wine it is even good for you ;). I didn,t know there was a British Biggest Loser, but I did think in the US one that the blue team voting off Jerry sucked, but like you say they are all so petty and a lot of back stabbing goes on even in the Aussie version. Hope you enjoyed your housework I used to hate it but then there was an article in one of my mags that told me housework was exercise so I don,t mind a good round with the mop and broom now, I put on the stereo full blast and go for it :D enjoy your leftovers.

Marie, I wish I was allergic to KK donuts but that is my problem I,m not allergic to any type of food :dizzy: you sound like you had a full week, I have the opposite to you I was a real Daddys girl and I miss him terribly, I love my Mum but for as long as I can remember I have spent most of my life trying to get her to be proud of me but she always has some negative remark and it is mostly about my appearance. I went to visit her when I was in Sydney and we went shopping and she found a skirt that she thought I would like I,m between a 16 and 18 bottom and feel bad about that as it is but when she held up a 26 and told me it would fit me perfectly I was stunned, I told her it would be a bit big but she turned to my DH and said she thought it would fit me because I am rather large and to that my DH nodded, again I was stunned when I asked him why he agreed with her he said because he didn,t want to get on the wrong side of her so he got on the wrong side of me instead, I have put up with years of her hurtful comments and my DD who was with us told me it was about time I stood up to her and told her how I felt, so I did I told her that this was who I am it isn,t my weight or clothes that defines who I am it is what is on the inside and if she can,t except that then it is her problem not mine and I just don,t give a damn anymore, she was shocked but respected how I felt but no appology at her age she thinks it is OK for her to say just what she likes and if it hurts the other person to bad. I look at my Mum and for as long as I can remember she has always been the same "negative" I try to see something positive in everything even if it is bad it has happened for a reason and there is a lesson there that I needed to learn. Oh well I guess we can,t change people not even our parents my DD told me that she is so glad I,m not like my Mum and she is thankful everyday for who I am and how I taught her to be, she is my second child and also my best friend I,m glad for our friendship and I,m proud of the woman she has become and I can step back and say I had a part in who she is. I hope you are all well again it is good when we don,t overeat but not so good when it is because we are sick.

Carol all my thoughts and wishes for a speady recovery to your DH and take care of yourself and don,t forget your you time :hug:

Bye for now everyone all of you take care and stay focused :drill: :coach: I,m off for a :coffee2: :grouphug:.

JULS

Morning everyone!!! My house is quiet and peaceful. Just DH, DS2 and me. I'm very liking that. I ended up going over the mountain with my parents so they wouldn't get lost and my father is a terrible driver now. At least in that rental. I kept telling him to slow down. He jerked the car all over the road and would slam on the brakes for the icy/snowy areas. That's the last thing you do. I was literally getting nauseous. Poor driving so soon after the accident was too much. I was glad to see him on his way. I wish my mom was more mobile and healthy as she could then travel on her own. I'd love to spend a week with just her.

Food is fine as my stomach is still a little weird. Some times queasy, some times not. Nice little stomach bug. At latest count DGS's bug took down him, DH, me, DS2 - then two days later DS1 and his mom. All are recovering but it's been harder on DS1 and DH than the rest of us.

I didn't yoga yesterday as I had the impromptu trip over the mountain. DS2 and I changed our yoga date for this evening when he gets off work. I did walk yesterday and will take the doggies out in a bit.

Juls, your mom sounds way worse than my dad. How insulting!!! What does that get her? I mean most people have their agendas in what they say and do. Why be mean to your child. Even when my father irritates the pants off me, I'm very nice even if it's through gritted teeth. I don't understand belittling people. I wouldn't go out of my way to visit her and I'd be SO mad at my hubby if he joined in the belittling. Ooooooo.....

Well, that's it from here. I'm going to keep catching up on things and then make myself a new duvet cover. I bought new flannel sheets to sew together and it should be snuggly.
Marie

Good morning ladies, it is 4.30 in the morning here can,t sleep nothing unusual.

Marie I agree with you Mum is a shocker at times but I love her hey she,s my Mum, we live about nine hrs away from her so I only get to see her about 3 times a year so the rest of the time I just don,t let her get to me, if I ring her and she starts with the negativity I just bye Mum love you and hang up. I was angry with DH but he told me he wasn,t putting me down he was just being diplomatic with her because he didn,t want her on his case, he did tell her not to upset me though so I guess that was something. I always remember a line from the Mel Gibson movie The man without a face, when he is front of the committee judging him for his friendship with his student and he says to them If this is all you see then you don,t see me you can,t see me, and I feel like that when people judge me on my weight, I have a friend I have known for about 16yrs and he has seen me at my heaviest and at my goal weight over the yrs many times, we caught up with him when we went to Sydney and he told my DH that he has never seen me heavy or slim he has only ever seen me as a beautiful soul another friend says the same so I guess I must be doing something right, I make allowances for Mum she is getting old when I was younger it used to hurt but now at 50 I,m not so thin skinned anymore I just let it slide but when she did it this time we were in a store full of people and she isn,t the softest spoken woman on the planet so I was more embarrassed than anything really. But that is over done with gone the next time I see her I hope to be at my goal weight then she will probably say I,m to skinny OOOOH well mothers gotta love em.
I,m doing good tooth is just giving me a hurryup now and again my DD my youngest of 5 and my DGD stayed with us for a week and when DSI came to get them he had a virus and DH and I have it I guess it is going around even all the way here downunder, but this to shall pass LOL.
Take care everyone bye for now.

JULS

Well girls hopefully I am back on track today with work starting at least a half of day the other have to take hubby to the drs. for a visit new primary I got rid of the other one. I am on a role. I did contact a lawyer and we are awaiting the paperwork of the incident then we will see if there is a case or not. Drs are so protected for their mistakes at times. But nothing searched nothing gained and if anything ever happens due to this issue at least it is on record for what ever that is worth. It gave me some peace in a little way. not a huge amount of exercise. I did manage to go shop on blk friday. Lots of good deals I am at the pt of wrapping some more to gather but almost done. Gift cert. wait til last, and they do make life a bit easier. I got a super deal on a kayak for my hubby he will be so surprised and this will give him something to look forward to. My back is bothering me too much carrying packages, pellets etc. Food hopefully will get better with my rtn to work. I am again going to write my intakes. I did finish my chair it sits quite low but I love it and it marked a time in our lifes almost a comfort zone and peace. Oh we do have great news new grandson on turkey day our little HI baby 7lbs 8 oz. healthy as can be. A visit is in order by 3/08. THE HUBBY IS DOING BETTER EVERYDAY ITS ALONG ROAD BUT EVERYDAY IS A BIT BETTER. You all seem to be losing and doing great. Marie its hard to have company at times but there memories we will all need someday. My mom is aging so quickly these days and its tough to see. The time we have isn't always easy sometimes they make us laugh sometimes cry but the time is so precious. Glad you had the time and now your house is back to normal. Thanksgiving was very different for us this year small group the kids were sick so none of them could be around grandpah. So it was tough. But yesterday my daughter and I shopped and the little guy said I will stay and help grandpah. How cute 6 years old. Grandpah said as soon as he is up to it they are all coming for a visit and staying over he misses them so much. But the tummy bug would of not been good or the cold virus either seems they had it all. Well today we are off to see the doc. and then I am going to go walking afterwards with Bear maybe around the lake. Got to get into it. Tues. back to the gym. I never want to do this last month over again and nor does he. It was tough and I am surprised I didn't gain a ton. I do have to jump that scale but I have a drs. appt. this week. Sorry this is so long but thanks for all the support once again. I am going to try and log on my intake cals and exercise later on. Take care and keep up your great efforts and results.

Marie - Sorry to hear you had a tummy bug over the holiday. I hope everyone is back to normal by now. Your new flannel duvet cover sounds nice and cozy. I wish I could sew, it would be great to just be able to whip up something like that. I have sewing machine phobia from previous failed attempts! It must feel good to have your house nice and peaceful now.

Juls - I know exactly how you feel about your relationship with your Mum. I spent a couple of weeks with my parents in England back in September and it was very difficult at times. Mum isn't getting any mellower with age and just seems to be so angry with the world and my Dad in particular! Now that she's so frail - about 4'10" and 80 lbs. - it's amazing how everyone is still afraid of her temper. Looking at it from a distance now, I can see that Mum probably has some form of mental illness. I just wish she had gotten help when she was younger - it probably would have made things a lot easier for her and the rest of us. I think my difficult childhood has definitely contributed to my problems with food as that was the only way she showed affection. We never knew when she would blow up and start beating us. She never criticized my appearance, but there's different ways a parent can abuse a child. Dad was always too afraid to stick up for us kids and I find it amazing how he has stood for all the verbal abuse during 60 years of marriage. He would joking call me "Bessie" (as in Bessie the cow) and similar things. I don't think he realized how it hurt my self-esteem even though I wasn't really overweight at that time. Your post touched a chord in me and I agree with you that you just have to let go at some point. The abusers are the ones with the problem and we have to find it in our hearts to forgive them.

Carol - Congratulations on your new grandson! :congrat: Your 6 year old grandson sounds like a cutie. It's great that your DH is looking forward to having company again. I'm so glad he's gradually feeling better. It must be a relief for you after such a stressful time.

Judy - I hope things are going well for you.

I hope everyone has a good week and stays on track.

Carol, thanks for taking the time to fill us in. I know you must be busy and tired. Isn't it great how kids can be such spontaneous little rays of light just when you most need it? And a new one to celebrate, how lovely. You seem to be on top of everything, including our weight-loss journey, good for you :hug:.

Juls and Penny, your posts remind me of how painful casual remarks can be--and for how long! Some people call this "love" and "honesty," ay-yi-yi! Who knows what's really going on in someone else's head? My way of dealing with this is by eliminating the toxic people from my life, which isn't an ideal strategy, but it works for me. I'm sure that if I still lived in the same city with most of my family, I couldn't get away this this, and I'd be wasting precious time and energy being angry, hurt or defensive (or mean). One of the most important things I learned from child abuse therapy was not to expect more from people than they are able to give. Once I accepted that, it made it easier--or maybe too easy--to separate myself from people who were emotional black holes. Juls, maybe your hubby has his own struggles with how to deal with mean remarks, so he just agrees to keep the peace. I'm glad that you spoke up for yourself.

Marie, I'm so sorry that your family was bugged for the holiday! Tanks for reminding me that I'm supposed to be doing my yoga more often.

The rest of my weekend was nice. I did more chores and attended a friend's b-day party. All I had at the party was cider and a bit of cheese, so I'm very proud of myself. I'm been eating on program with few digressions, and really dong well at listing my eating, if not tracking all the nutritional info. I've worked out everyday for a week, including a personal best of 45 minutes on the exbike, but I was feeling whipped and achy this morning, so I took it easy today. My weight is still around 223-224. I want to have a really good week, and see a lower number by the time I leave town on Friday.

Hang in there, everybody--judy

Oh Marie that bug is awful it has gone through all the grandkids and now hit the son inlaw yuk. I hope we don't get it here the hubby oh wouldn't be so good. We went to his appt. and the doctor lowered his blood pressure med as we all agreed it might be making it too low and therefore headaches and lightheaded feeling etc. Not nice. He has lost 10lbs. not good. He needs some wt. I'd like to give him some. I am going to work on my new goal Hawaii in the spring so now I am ready to be serious. The doctor totally agreed a second opinion is needed with my husbands extra piece being left inside after surgery. I liked the new doctor she seemed right on top of it all. Young and maybe thats good fresh and ready to change the world. I am trying to fatten him up. So I made homemade pot pie turkey leftovers. The rest of my day wasn't too bad lets see I figured it out about 1400 cals. better than some days for me. I am going to have a little frozen fruit bar so I will hit just over 1500. Not so bad never got to exercise as it rained and no time before dark. I am going to try yoga at the gym. I could use it..
Well take care and judy you have a good way to look at things I like it. Maybe I should use it too. I missed our girls lunchoen her last day is tues. Oh hope the others don't posion her she is a nice person but its her choice. So once again we are hiring. More training opportunities....... Oh well what can one do. We are now starting to serve children and are quite excited about that.

Hi everyone. Well the Monday back at work is over. I got through my emails and that's about it. Maybe tomorrow I can actually do some work. I had an eye dr. appointment and had a choice to make. To have an enhancement to the lasik surgery I had 7 years ago, to try contacts again, or glasses. I chose the contacts. Most of the time I don't even contemplate the enhancement but I'm thinking possibly. I'll get glasses later, but I'm trying the contacts first. Tomorrow I have another dr. appointment - podiatrist as my toe surgery hasn't healed completely.

Carol, congrats on the new grandson. That's awesome. Takes a little sting out of the nastiness November has dealt us.

Judy, you're doing so great staying on track. It's sure hard to get back on the wagon and you've done it. Great job.

Penny, wow, how very "sweet" of your family. Bessie??? How can they say that? I just don't get that. So you've all made me realized that although my father bugs the living daylights out of me, I am very lucky.

DG1 was offer the position in Reno. He'll let them know tomorrow of his decision. I think he'll be taking it. So DGS won't be moving as far away as it was going to be last summer. Only 5 hours instead of 11. Much better.

Well, that's it for today. I dragged my butt out of bed at 5 this morning and took the doggies out for a 1.5 mile walk. I did yoga last night. Tomorrow might be harder for a doggie walk as it's supposed to rain and snow. So it might be a treadmill morning with Kodiak staring at me with sad eyes.
Marie

:hug: G,day ladies.

:congrat: Carol on your new little :angel:it just goes to show that even with all the bad stuff that happens there is always something good happening just around the corner to make things a little bit easier to handle, I hope everyone is on the mend and they all :getwell: soon. It is great that your DH is on the mend and I,m sure your pressy will be just the motivation and medicine he needs to keep him improving everyday, even with all the hassles of late you seem to be still on course and focused. I hope you are taking care of yourself I bet you are tired and it is great to hear from you. Sad that you missed the girls last day and I don,t think the others will poison her as you said she went because it was more money so I don,t think she will get in their click.

Judy you know your right about my DH he does have some issues of his own from his childhood his Mum didn,t put him down or anything like that she took off with his sister when he was 14 to Italy and was gone for 4yrs and his Dad went to and was gone for 2yrs DH was left with relatives, he was terrified when he was growing up his Mum had mental problems and was diagnosed with Schizophrenia and was give shock treatment and then became scared of Doctors so she was never medicated and often threatened to kill the family in their sleep so I guess we all have our own set of demons some worse than others. I like you have learnt over the years to cut negative people out of my life, it works for past friendships but is a bit harder with family.

Hey Marie hope all goes well with the Drs, that is great news for your DGS and 5hrs isn,t to far like you said much better than 11 my kids are 5hrs away as you know but my youngest DD moved to QLD for a few months 13hrs away but she couldn,t be that far away from her Mum she told her DH so they moved back down to Sydney.

Hi Penny it seems like you had a rough childhood I guess we all have somebody in our life that seems to find delight in hurting us in some way, Bessie is a bit unkind and it seems to hurt more when your a kid, it is funny I was always a skinny kid and my sister and brother called me skeletor so I guess it doesn,t matter what your weight is there will always be someone waiting to pull you down. I made up my mind long ago that they can only keep me down as long as I let them these days I take a long hard look at who is being spiteful and tell myself that they aren,t happy with themselves and if putting me down makes them feel better then I feel sorry for them.

Well I,ve raved on enough so I,ll talk to you all later take care.

:grouphug: Weigh in tomorrow:goodscale:crossed:the :devil: will be kind to me.

Judy - Those are very wise words about not expecting more from people than they are able to give. It's no good wasting our time on earth thinking "what if?". Congratulations on your personal best on the bike :ebike:! I'm seriously considering getting mine out of mothballs! If only I could find a comfortable seat. You would think I'm very adequately padded, but it's uncomfortable, even though it has a wide seat :o. Good for you staying on track at the party. Maybe you could send some of your willpower my way!

Carol - You are doing great staying within your calories even with all the stress you've been under. I'm glad to hear you are keeping such a positive attitude - even buying a new kayak for your DH. By the time the weather warms up next Spring, hopefully he'll be feeling way better and ready to enjoy going kayaking again with you. Maybe he'll feel more energetic now that his meds have been adjusted. It's good that you've found a new doc that you're more comfortable with. That can make a big difference in your peace of mind.

Marie - I hope the contacts work out for you. I wore them for about 30 years but my eyes became dryer as I got older and now I wear glasses (just for driving). I'm short sighted, so I don't need reading glasses, in fact I see much better up close without glasses. Sorry to hear your toe still hasn't healed yet, I hope it gets better soon. You don't let your injuries slow you down too much, you're always on the go! I think of you as the 'bionic woman' :D How are your wrists doing? Cool that your DS1 was offered the job in Reno - that's not too far at all so you'll get to see your sweet DG more often.

Juls - I hope your scale was kind to you today. You're right about us all having some people in our lives that cause us pain. The good thing that comes from it is that we are more sensitive to others who have problems. I've found that people who have had a difficult childhood are often a lot more empathetic and nurturing. As they say, you can't choose your relatives, but you can choose your friends! I'm very blessed to have many supportive friends, including you guys here on 3FC :grouphug:.

We put the Christmas tree up and strung the lights on the bushes yesterday, so I'm starting to get into the holiday spirit. It will be sad not to have our DS home for the holidays, but we keep in touch by phone every day and maybe we can set up something with the Skype video.

Hi all, the dr. visit was productive. I ended up having surgery on both toes. My thought was why recover twice??? There was some type of cyst where the surgery in august was. Dr. showed it to me and I can see why it hurt. It was a hard little rock. The left toe needed it too. So for now they both are sore. tomorrow will be exercycle - no walking. No bionic here, Penny. Just a stubborn a$$. The wrists are so-so. I'm starting to think they're not going to get much better. I can live with that.

Juls, Penny and Judy, I thought of you as I was reading the Oprah magazine during the surgery. I believe it was a dr. phil article - they were talking about family that says hurtful things. He said to say "Ouch". Not much more. Gives them the idea to think about it. Sort of interesting.

Juls, I've never been thin. Always overweight. But when I read skeletor, I thought that was just as mean as Bessie. Why do people do that??? It's good you decided that they couldn't hold you down. That's a great attitude.

Penny, your son won't be seeing you on Christmas at all??? Idaho isn't that far away. You should push for it. :)

Well, I think I'm getting ready to zone in front of the TV for an hour. TTYL.
Marie

:hug: G,day you lovely ladies :hug:

Penny you are so right about choosing your friends but not your relatives but thats life and I agree that it does make us more understanding and caring I guess we know what it is like to be hurt so we are less likely to do it to others. I,ve put my tree up to and hung a few lights I don,t know about you but when I,m out and about it just doesn,t feel like Christmas not the way it use to the atmosphere just isn,t there anymore, it is good that we can still keep the spirit alive in our homes though. And I,m glad to report that the :devil: scales we,re very nice to me I didn,t lose anymore than the 2lb I put back on but that is OK I,m not greedy I,ll take it ;).

Marie your poor toes, I hope they get better soon :hug: that Dr Phil article sounds good I think I,ll try it but my family especially my Mum God love her is very thick skinned so I don,t think they would get the point AHHH well such is life :) ;) you may not be Bionic woman at the moment but Wonder Woman will do you are always on the go as Penny says as far as exercise goes you give me a good :kickbutt: when I start to feel lazy. I didn,t like skeletor either but now I,m older if someone says something negative about me I tell myself well thats fine while their picking on me their leaving some other poor b**s***d alone :lol:

Carol and Judy how are you doing.

Well my food intake so far has been good.
Brekki : some yogurt and coffee. Lunch : some chicken and a slice of bread and a coffee. Dinner I,m making some healthy pizza with some mushrooms low fat grated cheese and a WW jelly for dessert and a green tea.
I,m trying to get my water in to I went to my Dr last week and he told me not to drink to much fluid because for every 10 glasses we drink our body only gets rid of 5 so it isn,t good for fluid retention he said to only drink between 4-6 glasses a day, since I,ve been doing this I don,t feel so bloated.
Well take care everyone bye for now.

JULS

Hi all, the toes are recovering I guess. They're a bit sore. I get to start to soak them tonight and take a shower. That will be nice. Kodiak gave me pitiful stares while I used the exercycle. I went 5 miles. As the exercycle hurts my knee, I didn't push it. Just a casual pedal for 25 minutes. Tomorrow I'd like to walk but we'll see.

Juls, thank goodness the scale wasn't evil today. We must take it's kindness (or lack of meanness) everytime we can.

Work was okay. My house is freezing but the temp is going up. Told DH that he has to have the thermostat set to at least 66 at 3:00 in the afternoon and 6 minimum. He wanted to heat the house totally by the wood stove. Excellent idea if we were home all day. But it was 60 degrees when I walked in the door. Now I'm surfing nearly sitting on the wood stove. :)
Marie

Just passing through to say hello before heading off to bed. It's been two late nights at work, and struggling when I get home not to go overboard on calories. I have gotten short morning workouts done, but overall this is not what I need to do to lose a little each week....but I'm hanging in there. I will take a break on Thursday and do personals.

Hope everyone has a very good morning!

judy

Hello everyone I am doing fine just stopped in to catch up I will write later. Take care and all is starting to be on a real mends here. Thank goodness cals are within my limits Drs. appt. today for wow me.

G,day ladies hope your all well.

Marie I,m glad your feet are feeling better and you could give them a soak and have a shower sometimes that is heaven itself. Poor Kodiak he probably wonders when he is going to get a walk, but good for you for doing the 5 miles on the bike you sound like me the bike hurts my knee to but like they say beauty is pain LOL.

Judy sorry for your late nights it is easy to binge when we are tired but don,t be to hard on yourself and it doesn,t matter that you are only getting in short workouts every little bit helps, your getting there it doesn,t matter how long it takes you know your worth it remember we don,t fail if we stumble we only fail if we don,t try.

Carol I,m glad everything is picking up at your home and good luck at the quacks.

I,m not doing to bad I somehow got a burst of energy today and decided to scrub floors oooohhh my favourite job but I just adore housework LOL I worked up a good sweat and my heart was pumping like crazy so I guess it was a pretty good workout.
Diet shake for brekki and a coffee: small homemade pizza with mushrooms and cheese for lunch: Dinner a pork chop with sweet chilli sauce and a small serve of pasta Alfredo and some fruit salad for dessert.

Hey Penny hope your well.

Bye for now take care everyone.

JULS

Hi, all--

I'm determined not to work late tonight! I'm going to leave momentarily so that I can workout before dinner, since I didn't at all this morning. I had a protein shake this morning, almonds later for a snack, a salad w/turkey for lunch (meeting), and a little slaw and bean salad for afternoon snack. I had a small bag of SmartPop popcorn, which isn't on the program. Afterwards I remembered that I have some celery sticks in the office frig, which would have taken care of the nervous crunchies. Oh, well. I will head to the exercise room and pedal away on the bike for penance.

Juls, you had a great workout, with an added benefit. I'm envious. You're right, a short workout is better than nothing, but I need to do more intense short workouts, or be sure to do two short ones during the course of the day. I haven't been walking as much as I used to, and I really must step up the calorie burn!

Carol, I'm glad to hear that things are continuing to improve on your end. Congrats on keeping the calories in line--most of us would think of this as a perfect time to eat everything in sight!

Marie, toe surgery sounds very, very unpleasant. You have been having a lovely year physically, haven't you? Now I will feel like a real slacker if I don't work out on the bike, since you still managed to go for 5 miles.

Penny, I will only ride the recumbent bike, the regular bike makes my heinie hurt! I am also thinking about decking out my apartment with Xmas stuff. I have a big box of decorations, but since I'm not usually there on the big day, some years the stuff never gets unpacked.

I'm off to Ohio until Monday evening. I won't have much computer access, but I will stop in for quick check-ins.

Hang in there!

judy

Marie - I hope your tootsies are healing fast. I found the image of Dr. Phil telling my mother "ouch" quite amusing. That might result in a nuclear melt down! :lol: Rather him than me! Actually, after a while, I found it quite funny to see how my Dad fell into her traps all the time. Mom delights in saying something quite ridiculous so that someone (usually Dad as he hasn't learned to agree 100% with everything she says) corrects her so that she can go into a tirade about how they think they are so smart and think she's stupid. As they say, "distance makes the heart grow fonder" and I feel much fonder now that I'm several thousand miles away! Unfortunately, our DS only gets Christmas Day off as his firm is very busy, so it's just not in the cards for him to come home. We're looking forward to visiting him in Boise in the Spring though. It's funny how guys don't feel the cold like us gals. I'm for ever turning up the thermostat and hubby is turning it down! It just seems if I get cold it takes ages for me to warm up. I put a space heater on in the bedroom about an hour before bedtime so it's nice and toasty when we go to bed, but I like it cooler during the night.

Judy - Glad to hear you're hanging in there despite your heavy workload and travel schedule. I like crunchy things too. I've just found these great crackers called 34º at Whole Paycheck (aka Whole Foods). A serving is 19(!) crackers for 130 calories. They are thin flat crackers (three different flavors) that look like those Scandinavian pressed cookies. They are great with salsa and Tofu Pate. I haven't managed to eat the whole serving size yet! I hope your trip to Ohio goes well. I LOVE recumbent bikes, I used one at a gym several years ago and really miss it. Maybe I should put in a request with Santa?

Carol - Glad to hear things are going better at your end. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Juls - Oh, please send a burst of energy my way!! Good for you getting a workout out of your housework! :carrot:

I haven't been sleeping very well lately and find it's a real challenge to resist carbs in the afternoon when I start dragging. It's been very chilly here and we might get some snow on the weekend. Our DS just got word that he's been accepted into the Boise PD as a reserve police officer. It was reassuring how thoroughly they check applicants out. He had to do several hours of interviews and they checked out about 10 references - talking to some people as long as 45 minutes. He starts his training in January (about 100 hours) which he'll do in the evenings after work. He's already completed the Law section which was several hours of online testing. He will be doing about 15 hours a month as a volunteer officer. Luckily, Boise isn't a real high crime area or I'd be a basket case.

Penny, I remember you telling us that he'd applied. Send a big congrats from us. Police work is dangerous no matter where, but don't focus on that, focus on the fact that you raised a child that wanted to give back to society. That's an AWESOME thing. And back away from the carbs. Slowly back away from the carbs... Did that help??? BTW, why can't you go to Boise for a long mid-week break somewhere near the 25th of next month?

Judy, I hope your trip goes well. Good for you in keeping with the workouts even when you're so busy. Even if we never lose an ounce, the exercise is good for the mental health. So your doing your brain good.

Carol, I'm glad DH is mending. We think of you often.

Juls, I did the 5 miles again as the toes are too sore. Poor Kodiak. I think 2 days without his walk has made him give up hope. :( The bike didn't bug my knee as much today. I'm listening to Double Cross on the iPod and the time flew by. It's certainly an interesting book. I like James Pattersons Cross series. I used to love the Women's Murder club series but it's nosedived in quality and there's not story line or closure in the books. But this one is good so far.

BTW, Juls, do you do your friendly co-chickie's floors too? I could use it...

Work was good today. I've been catching up a little. Even crossed 1 thing off my to-do list. At this rate, by the time I'm a hundred, I'll be caught up. :)
Marie

Juls congrats on the 8lbs. thats great! I felt lucky enough at the doctors today to be only 1 lb over what I was when I went to HI last time. So if I can shed off 6lbs. before I go again I will be happy with that. My wt. wasn't as bad as I thought it would be today. I am grateful. Actually didn't look at the scale and then when my nurse left the room I peeked at the paper crazy huh? Well we ladies tend to be that way huh? I did find out though my vit. instead of the tricor didn't do the trick my thyroid was great the chol. and trigl. were way out of wack around 350 each oh! not good see its not always what I eat but how my body works or doesn't work for me. Oh dang thougth I was doing so well. She did tell me to continue the QC10 vit. as she thinks its helping with my bones bad knee and back are better and this maybe why? So I will continue those also said due to hubby better get a flu shot. My arm isn't even sore last time it was bad for days hot hard etc.... This time nothing guess the doc was right this RN knows how to give them. My cals today weren't bad even with some dark m m's peanut of course not totally bad I did skip the icecream I am trying to fatten up the hubbie whom lost 10lbs. and couldn't afford to so anything I would like to eat I feed to him instead of me. Hah hah! I did manage to get out of work an hr. earlier today and hit the gym with my workout partner in crime. Intake today 2 poached eggs, dry rye toast little jam, few potatoes, lunch a sante chicken grilled salad and a grapefruit, dinner- a little chili and a little goulash 1/2 c. cottage ch. then about 20 peanut m and ms. 45 min workout oh an orange peeled for an evening snack only 2 cups of coffee, tea and ice water. Not too bad only naughty was really those mms and they were peanut ones and dark. Oh trying to convince myself they were okay.
Juls feel free to do my floors too. I want to decorate this weekend!
Penny my son and his family won't be home either too many miles but everyday gone by is a day closer to my visit there. I can't wait. The hubby is also looking forward to this trip. We seem so much closer since this problem with his health I think he is so grateful for the care I have given him but he would of done the same for me. He has never been in the shape he was this time. But feels like everyday is better. Soon he will be doing even better and we will have a good holiday I think. Sleepings not been easy here either the over the counter pm stuff has come in handy a few times over in the past few weeks. The doc says no big deal. Congrats on your sons approval and yes that is reassuring that they ck them out so well. We all should be grateful for the young folks like him.
Marie soon we will have to put you in a glass show case. You becareful now no more broken or sprain parts. Hope your on a mends sure the doggies are awaiting a walk for miles.
I feel pretty good today and its the first time in awhile that I can say that. Well take care it was leftover night. I have decided tues. and thurs are fix your own meals or leftover nights as those are my nights to work out. Trying for 3 days a week. Judy you are so good even short workouts add up and sometimes are better that way they say. Well take care all hope I didn't forget anyone if I did sorry. I am on a roll wouldn't it be nice to have a loss before the holidays not impossible if I work on it. I do have a holiday party at a group home on friday. But I will try to becareful especially the rest of my day to fit it all in. Its good to be back in touch and feel I have some control.

OK Ladies I get the message you all hate doing floors well send me the air fare and I,ll be there :lol: Penny I,m sending a magic :genie: your way so make a wish for energy, your doing well though and I hear you about sleeping :tired: insomnia is the pits great that your DS was accepted as a RPO you must be so proud of him.

Hey Marie you go girl :carrot: when you finally are able to take poor Kodiak for a walk he will be so excited he will be taking you for a walk instead he will just drag you along ;) I,m a James Patterson nut to I love the Alex Cross novels and I think it helps if you have seen Morgan Freeman playing the role it helps you visualize and I find for me it makes the reading more enjoyable, it,s funny I,m reading Double Cross I,ve just started it, I,ve never been into the Womens Murder Club to boring for me. As far as your floors go borrow Penny,s :genie: :lol: I was at it again today I did my kitchen floor my DH was nice he came and asked me if I wanted help when I had finished God love him, but it really is a great workout and the floors look so nice so there is a double plus.

Carol how are you doin, sounds like you didn,t do to bad at the quacks but you must not peek at the reports :nono: :lol: :hug: you might see something you shouldn,t it,s a pain in the bum when you do all the right things but your body still does what it want,s :p. You can have those flu shot,s they hurt but better to be on the safe side for your DH, your eating isn,t to bad but if your trying to fatten up DH next time give him half the M&M,S dark choccy is good but in moderation like everything else but hey I could eat a whole big packet of those things they are so addictive, and as for your floors you can borrow Penny,s :genie: when Marie has finished with him ;) I,m decorating too, that is why I scrubbed the floors I have old timber floor boards and I paint them and stencil them myself and they are in need of a touch up before Chrissy so me and the floors are getting overhauled :cool:. But I do wish I was closer to you all sometimes I don,t know about the floors but a :coffee2: would be nice.

Judy have a good trip and a great weekend.

Well I,m doing fine I got a nice surprise today went to the Doc,s for my hip and I have been telling my DH I think we need new scales anyway the Doc told me to jump on hers and to my surprise I was right my old digital scales are out of whack mine tell me I have lost 8lbs which is great but hers tell me I,ve lost 11lbs so as you can see I,ve adjusted my ticker, I guess all that scrubbing got results :carrot:

Take care everyone and I,ll catch up later bye for now :grouphug:

JULS

Juls - WAY TO GO!!!! 8 lbs is awesome. That must mean you got your Christmas present early (your signature...). So excellent. BTW, Kody has shown his displeasure by "marking" his territory while DH and I are at work. A dribble here and a dribble there - meaning my floors really need it now. :)

Carol, I'm glad you feel good today. In just a few hours, this dreaded month will be history. Together we'll have a much better December 2007. I'm not waiting until the new year to have a good year. It's amazing how in bad times relationships get stronger (or worse in some cases). Just proves you and your DH belong together.

Juls, I'm about halfway through Double Cross. When we're both done we'll have to chat about it. I had an image of Alex Cross in my mind and it actually was pretty close to Morgan Freeman (I love him). So when I start listening again this afternoon, I'll use him totally for the image.

After work I'm picking up DGS. He's staying with us for the weekend. I'm excited about that - especially since he'll be moving in a month. :( We're going to the Winter Lights tomorrow night and the air base children's Christmas party on Sunday afternoon.

Well, I'm at work (since I'd not be able to surf this evening with DGS) so I best get back at it.
Marie

Juls wow congrats I like their scales I think that is great. I use digital too maybe I shouldn't my doctors is the regular one. Yah mm's are good but got to watch how many. I was told before that the peanut ones were the best to have then dark came out so okay then. I just had some lovely pictures posted on the web of my new grandson he is so darn cute. Oh I just want to hold him. I bought him his first book from grandma for christmas I like to give the kids one every year which I like to think is special. Keep up your good work.
Enjoy your DGS wish my Maui baby was closer the pictures brought tears to my eyes he's so darn cute. I just want to hold him and I am so happy the kids are sending us photos. Lucky there. Oh yah I am right on with yah lets never go back to Nov. 07 only a few good things the valve is working well and I got a new grandson on Turkey day. So lets go December!!!!
I had a christmas gathering at one of the group homes last night. It was very nice and so family orientated lots of them showed up and the weather was good no storms we do have appox. 5 in. this a.m. though. I did well in the eating area except for lunch yesterday I had a fried haddock fish sandwich. But for breakfast oatmeal and dinner at the party not too bad stayed with mostly the shrimp and a couple little meatballs and couple small cookies. But it could of been much worse. When I came home I only had a cup of herbal tea which I have been doing more of lately. Trying to cut back on coffee at work and have tea and at home in the evening. I am reading a health book how to boost your energy. Natural Energy Boosters quite interesting info. not as fun as the books you girls are currently reading. But its interesting and if I take an ounce of knowledge out I am doing well. Take care and have a great day. I am going to go do a little me time and then come back clean the house and decorate for christmas. On sunday I want to make cookies so some dough I will premix today.

G,day ladies hope your all well.

Marie OOOOHH poor Kody he must be really miffed about his walks or lack of them and he sure is letting you know it, but I must admit I like is style LOL. I watched the movies that were made from James Patterson,s novels Kiss The Girls and Along Came A spider then I started reading the Alex Cross novels so I could see Morgan Freeman in my mind I love him as an actor to. I watched Driving Miss Daisy the other day and Robin Hood I think he is definately easy on the eye LOL, have you read the one before Double Cross, Cross where he finds out who killed his wife I thought it was a great read I couldn,t put it down once I started. I,m about half way through Double Cross to, so far a good read a few surprises oooooh that Kyle Craige is a sneeky one.Thanks for the congrats on my weight loss yes I did get my pressy early so I am giving myself another one as you can see I want another 8lbs gone. Have a great weekend with your DGS don,t be sad he won,t be to far away and enjoy the lights and the Crissy Party.

Carol thanks for the congrats I was pleasantly surprised to by her scales so I think I,m going to get a new set of scales and go to the Docs once a month and see what hers say. I like the peanut M & M,s I haven,t tried the dark chocolate ones yet I love chocolate coated ginger and crystalised ginger I like ginger the hotter the better I use it alot in cooking to. You sound like you can,t wait to get your hands on that new DGS of yours it is so nice that they are posting pictures for you isn,t technology a wonderful thing at times, you sound like me I give my DGS,s and DGD,s golden books for Christmas I started doing it from their 1st Christmas it is special my eldest GS treasures his he is 11 now and his first book still looks like it was just given to him. It is nice that your gathering was pleasant and you enjoyed it you need some down time you have been through heaps, your eating still sounds like you are mostly in control and that is great the book sounds interesting all right anything that helps boost energy is good and if you find something in it that you can keep and use even better, I hope your better than I am with temptation, when I make cookies I always taste the dough I like to make shortbread so of course the dough is all buttery and yummy I,ll still make them but I have a low fat version so maybe I won,t get so tempted I can only hope LOL. I agree with Marie sometimes it takes a crisis for us to see just how special the people around us are and we should make each moment with each other count, we forget what is important and take to much for granted we just count on them always being there and don,t think we have to try anymore.

Hi Judy hope your enjoying your weekend.

Hey Penny how are you doing.

Well all of you take care.

JULS

Morning all. DGS is still sleeping so I'm soaking my feet (dr. directions) as I sit in front of the toasty fire in the quiet house. DH and DS have gone off to guard weekend so I'm waiting for the dear boy to wake. Oh, I added a mocha to my peaceful morning too. Outside the window that's 5 feet away it is 11 degrees out. eeks. DGS and I will wait until a bit later to go for our walk. Sled dog style. Kody and Blizzie will be attached to the stroller and me attached at the back end. I'm going to try to take a picture. It should be funny.

Carol, it is December. I am so happy about that. Have fun baking cookies. I was thinking of trying it was DGS but he's only 21 months and a little hellion on feet. I don't know if I can interest him in the project for long. We'll see.

Juls, I bought DGS a couple books for Christmas but he doesn't sit still long enough to read any book. One page is as far as we get. But we keep trying. He does like the pictures. Especially of dogs as he adores Kody and Blizzie. And that's reciprocal. They love the little boy.

Well, that's about it for now. I'm glad it's weekend and I'm going to treasure every minute with the little guy. I'm sad he'll be moving 5 hours away at the end of the month, but I knew it was coming.
Marie

G,day lovely ladies hope your all well and had a great weekend.

Marie your walk with your DGS and your dogs sounds cute, boy I bet Kodiak will be excited I,m trying to visualise what you will all look like and I think it sound like great fun. I like to read to my 11mth old DGD when I,m there she holds the book and listens but you aren,t alllowed to turn the page until she has finished looking at the pictures, she is very clever for her age and has a will of her own just like her Mum but I guess her Mum gets that from me LOL. I hope you had fun baking your cookies did you get much help from the little fella, don,t worry 5hrs isn,t that far my family and friends are that far away from me as you know, I don,t get to see them much but when we do get together the time is priceless our time together now has become more about quality than quantity and it,s funny but we seem to appreciate each other more because of the distance, you just make every minute count. Well I,m going to go and get back to my floors started painting them done the lounge just have to do the stencils now then I,ll start the hall, it,s a nice little 2 bedroom cottage about 65yrs old and I love it.

Hi Penny, Judy and Carol how are you all doin.

Take care bye for now.

JULS

Marie - Sounds like you had a fun weekend with your DGS. I can just imagine how excited Blizzie and Kody were to pull the baby stroller! I hope you managed to take a picture.

Juls - Congratulations on the unexpected loss at the doctor's! It very unusal that their scale is lower - my doctor's scale is always about 2 lbs. higher. Your floor stenciling sounds like a fun project and probably burns a ton of calories! I'm waiting till the last moment to bake Christmas cookies as otherwise I end up making batch after batch and guess who ends up eating them???? :dizzy:
Hey Juls, I just realized we're both the same height and weight!

Carol - I'm glad to hear things are starting to get back to normal for you. I bet you can't wait to see your new DGS. The Christmas get together at the group home sounded nice. You must have lots of different holiday related events going on - it must be quite a challenge to stay on track with all the temptations :devil: but it sounds like you are doing well with managing your calories.

We've had some wild and woolly weather here the last couple of days with high winds and torrential rain. One town at the coast had gusts of 129 mph! We're hoping none of our big trees come down as the ground is very soggy now. A new Panera Bread restaurant just opened in the new shopping center just 5 min. away. We went for lunch and they have great sandwiches and soups. It's not too bad calorie wise if you just have the 1/2 sandwich. Some of their broth-based soups are only 90-100 calories. However, I have to close my eyes when I walk past the pastry case! A Greek restaurant is also opening soon in the same plaza. I love Greek food and they have some healthy choices like their salads and grilled chicken.

We bought a little Christmas tree to send to our DS in Boise. It's about 4' tall with colored LED lights built in. We thought it might help him get into the Christmas spirit as it's the first time he won't be home for the holidays. We were considering driving to Boise, but the roads are a bit treacherous this time of the year, so we'll wait till the Spring.

By the way, I've changed my goal weight to 160. I think 145 was too optimistic and I'd be VERY happy to weigh 160! Maybe my goal won't seem as daunting now and if I were to go lower than 160, well that just would be icing on the cake!

Judy - I hope your trip is going well.

Hi all,

The sled dog / baby walk was an adventure I think I wouldn't want to repeat. As the dogs haven't been trained to walk just straight forward it was a bit of a mess. If I was to do it again, I'd need another harness as Kody kept getting tangled in his leash. The first half of the walk was great - it was after that when they started getting easily distracted. I did sort of get a picture I will try to post later.

The whole weekend was nice. Tiring. I'm so thankful I had my kids when I was young. I'd be exhausted now. But the little guy and I had a lot of fun. He cried on Santa's lap, but I think that's pretty normal for a 21 month old.

I'm thinking of buying a tree tonight after work. DH will be home and I think it would be good for the spirit. I can't believe christmas is in 3 weeks. Eeks. I'm usually done with my shopping but alas, I'm not even close. although DS1 got his present yesterday because he's borrowing his brothers LCD monitor and he can't take it with him to Reno.

Penny, I know what you mean about re-doing my goal. Heck, I'm so not caring about losing weight, I should up the goal weight above what I currently weigh. Seriously though, I think I'm pretty happy where I am but I know eventually I'll want to lose more.

Juls, I tried to read DGS a book. I made it though a 1/2 page. It's so frustrating that it's not worth the aggravation. His parents can work on the reading stuff. It's just that I loved reading to my kids (and it was never painful) and I was looking forward to that with my grandkids. Be thankful your DGD enjoys it.

Well, I'm at work and should work. :(
Marie

:hug: G,day lovely ladies.

Hey Penny how are you I was surprised with the Docs scales to and I asked her how it was that her scales said I had lost 3lbs more than mine did she said it could be where I have my scales if the floor is a bit uneven or if their on a carpet or mat that can make a difference, so I took them of the thick plush bathroom mat and hey presto they told me the same as her,s, it,s funny how things affect our weight even the scale has to be put in the proper mood and enviroment to co-operate :lol:. My floors look great I,m very pleased with how they turned out I still have the dining room to go but so far the hallway and the living room look good I did them Black and I stenciled Black and white tile affects here and there, when I told DH I was going to paint the floors Black he sort of pulled a face but now their done he loves them they are quite striking. We have been getting a bit of weather here to thunder storms nearly everynight for the past four nights and it feels like we are back in winter the nights are quite chilly aaaahh you have to love mother nature :dizzy: I hope the tree you got for your DS cheers him up it is hard being away from family at Xmas, the new restaurant sounds good, I was like you I set myself a goal of 145 originally but I thought I,ll go for 155 and if I get there and beyond great but if I only get to the 155 or even 160 like you I can live with that it is still way better than the before and look how far you,ve come already with inspiration like that I know I,ll get there to. I like being 5ft 5 I just fit nicely under DH arm.

Hi Marie your walk sounded eventfull, I,m glad I had my kids at an earlier age to not when I was younger hey girl we aren,t ready for pasture yet :lol: but it is good because now we can enjoy our DGC before we are grumpy old grandma,s ;) and don,t worry I,m sure in a little while your DGS will be bringing books to you to read to him boys seem to get distracted more than girls my darling Skye has her favourites you hold up books and she shakes her head then she jumps up and down when you show her the one she likes, she is into Shrek at the moment.

Carol and Judy I hope you are both well and trying to stay on track as much as this crazy life allows anyway.

Take care everyone bye for now.

JULS

Morning everyone,

Penny, I'm thinking of you. Wow-wee Portland got bombed with wind and rain Sunday and yesterday. I hope all is well. The pictures of the flood roads were scary.

Juls, DGS other grandmother said that DGS's mom was the same way. Almost DIL still hates to read and doesn't like books. My hope is low on that front. :) I love thunderstorms. Lightening especially. I'm into lights (hence stained glass and the love of Aurora bourelius (I know the spelling was horrible on that one...)). I can watch the lightening forever.

I saw an incredible sunrise on my way to work today. It was so pretty. And it lit the top of Mt Shasta (a 14,000 foot mountain). What a great way to start the day.

Food was horrible yesterday. Eeks. Bad, bad, bad. I did exercise this morning - another doggie walk. They were so happy it wasn't raining. Mud puddles everywhere but I stayed dry. I'd planned on the exercycle but alas the sky had stars instead of rain drops.

Hi Carol and Judy, I hope all is well.
Marie