Auntie G, you rock But I'm happy with the warm weather, and I bet it's a little hotter where I am. It felt great to bask in the sun. I will will try to remember exactly how today felt in a few months, when I'm shivering one evening at the bus stop

Marie, I hope you had a nice nap on the way home from the doc's office. And you're right, losing 26 lbs is a lot better than a sharp stick in the eye, as my mom would say. My boss will be gone in less than two weeks. She has stuff to close out or hand over, and she still wants to leave in a responsible manner. She has the option of speeding things up and getting out earlier, and I hope that for all our sakes she does that.

Today is the first day I felt "normal" in a few weeks. I finally got a good night's sleep, and did a 60 minute workout this morning. I went to the grocery store, and will check out the farmers market in the morning. I also got a free facial at the mall, and they threw in a makeover, too! Very self-indulgent and relaxing (and cheap, since I managed not to buy anything). I looked very glamorous, I'm sure, browsing in the produce section.

I signed up for another online Stickk commitment, this time to do something centering at least once a day for the next six weeks. I've asked my friend Susie (who I met on another 3FC thread a couple of years ago) to be my referee. If anyone here wants to be a supporter--which means checking now and again and giving me a pep talk--PM me your email address, and you can sign up. The stress thing is key to staying on the path, and I have a tough couple of months ahead. Today felt like a day off altogether. Tomorrow I'll have to do more things on my moving list, and I brought work home, as well.

Penny, Carol and all you lurkers, hope you're enjoying this weekend. Take a moment and think about those folks dealing with Ike down there in Texas.

judy

Oh how crazy life has been lately. And yes I sure have been lurking. I will be better starting today I promise myself and everyone else. I guess sometimes things get in our way of doing what is best for ourselves and we put exercise and eating properly on the side lines. I have just made up a little journal which will start today. It has all my info. needed to make my jouney a sucess. I know taking the time to jot down my intakes is important and I have been a slacker.... So time to get on with being a good girl and making it an important part of everyday.
Auntie g wow your doing well and inspired me today to get it going.....
Marie too bad about the footsie thing my best friend has had issues on going for over a year yuk for both of you she has tried the insert which was formed for her but no changes there. Guess sometimes its not so easy to get things fixed up. Hope the med takes the edge off of it for you good luck.
Judy wow I know how frustrating work can be been there. I am thinking about you I let my feeling from work frustrate me to no end before and now am trying to be better with controling it. But at times still have ill thougths of some of it still. Much better than the past but stress levels can surely make us eat differently and exercise less etc... Got to jot down my exercise into my weekly schedule as an appt. and ensure I get there. Soon my membership will be up..... Then a decision will be needed....
Well take care the kids are coming and my mom for dinner not til 5 or so gives us all time to do things for the day. I am making a homemade pie but will make a little one with less sugar etc. and still have a treat for me but healthy way of baking.
Take care it is to be around 80's today gee who's idea was it to make spaghetti and meatballs at least there in the crock pot.

Auntie G - Congrats on the 2lbs. loss!

Marie - I hope your foot soon feels better. Good thing you have your pool to exercise in (at least while the weather lasts).

Judy - I hope your new stress reduction plan helps. Stress is definitely a major cause of weight problems. I think all of us here are searching for coping mechanisms to help us deal with it. Good luck.

Carol - Good idea to start your journal again - I hope it works for you.

I have bursitis in my right shoulder, which makes typing very painful, so please excuse me if I lurk sometimes. I've had it before and sometimes it lasts for several weeks. My scale is still stuck so I've changed my tracker.

Penny, I'm sorry to hear about the bursitis. Soon we'll all have voice recognition software on our computers, and all this ergonomic stuff will be history. I sympathize with being reluctant to change the ol' tracker! I was so happy to see 210 lbs that I stopped updating my tracker when the weight crept up and wouldn't budge. I was able to knock a pound off it today. I want to be back where I was at the beginning of July, before the wheels fell off....I want to hurry up and post each little loss, but I promise not to go more than a week without recording my true weight.

Carol, no wonder you're not maximizing your gym membership. You're too busy cooking up feasts for family and friends. Perhaps you can figure out a "kitchen workout" and write a best-selling book.

Marie, I love spaghetti, too, but I've figured out that mostly I love the combo or tomatoes, onions, garlic and spices. I can't eat regular pasta, and the gluten-free stuff frustrates my taste buds (the way veggie burgers used to do), so when the craving hits, I use spaghetti squash, or even brown rice or quinoa, and it seems to work.

Auntie G, Stickk.com is a fun website that helps you keep commitments. You can ask folks to be your support system, and you can even pledge to make a gift (or pay a fine) based on your success. People use it for everything from finally finishing a project to kicking the cigarette habit. It got a lot of attention in the media earlier this year, and I used it last spring to focus on my weight loss goals. Doesn't sound like you need something like that, you're cruising right along! I hope to be right behind you momentarily.

The weekend wasn't as productive as I'd hoped, but I didn't skimp on the relaxing part, which was crucial. I'm loving the summer weather! I did yoga today for the first time in many weeks. I'll spend the evening preparing for the new work week and not allowing myself to fall into a Sunday-night funk.

Happy Monday, everyone!

judy

Well here it is tues after the storm. Yesterday morning no power but yes today we have it. A tree fell over my deck gracing my back wall and my two doors one to SIL and one to the Adirondack room. Oh how lucky we were. It was also only about 24 inches round in the middle but about 38 ft. long and bushy all over. It isn't even good fire wood for the daughters house. Dang!! But we are all okay only a couple of hrs. sleep and went to work. The boss said she was proud of me still coming in I said I won't make it the whole day and took an hr. off. I was beat last night but the tree is already chopped up thank goodness for good friends and family..... I am starting to see some hard times for my daughter as her husbands pay got shortened but the company stayed in business. Its tough with three kids. So I have been helping out lucky I had it to do. I just had to do what I could. But I see so many young couples headed for harder times than I have had to have I think. The cost of everything going up and shrinking the sizes of products etc.. My heart goes out to all of them. So less big folks will get gifts this year I am purchasing extra for the kids but things they need along with fun things as well. For now just ensuring they have what they need for school. I just ran to the music store for two tuba books our gd in 4th is trying this out. Fun and why not she should beable too. Thank goodness I had grandparents whom taught me to help as they helped us when mom couldn't. Oh so sorry for rambling guess its better than over eating!!!
Judy we just hired a new director I met her yesterday seems nice. She worked from home for 5 years also thought we should have laptops I'd go for just not sharing a computer at this pt. and a new office location. We'll see how it goes at least first sight was nice..... good luck with yours.
Everyone else I will catch up later gotta go the school bus just went by that means I need to go to..My warning of time.....

This will have to be quick, I need to run home and straighten up a bit before the guys shows up to give me an estimate to do my move.

I've been eating on plan and working out. I also found time to meditate before coming to work Monday morning (very helpful!).

Carol, a falling tree is very scary, I'm glad that no one was hurt. Yes, more and more parents are helping out their grown kids, but this can't go on much longer! You're good to be so generous.

Marie, my boss seems be on an even keel now, and because of her other commitments, she was only going to be in a few days next week anyway. I could really use her help in sorting out and forwarding files, emails and other information, so while there are immediate benefits to her disappearing, it's much better this way. As long as she can maintain her equilibrium...

Auntie G, I used to share your nasty little habit. I don't miss it at all, but if I could take a few puffs whenever I feel "munchy," geez, I'd have hit my goal two years ago .

Gotta go, I'd be mortified if the mover saw my place as it looks right now!

judy

Marie - I also make tiny portions of things I love to eat - that way at least I don't feel totally deprived. I make these little almond tarts in mini pans instead of muffin pans and enjoy one with a cup of tea. I don't think the bursitis is from working out - more overuse from my laptop! I took a left over pain pill so I'm able to type this but those pills make me feel weird!

Carol - What a scary experience with the tree falling in the storm. Thank goodness nobody was hurt. You are a trooper going in to work after all that.

Judy - I hope you get a reasonable estimate for your move. I'll have to give meditation (and maybe some aromatherapy) a try again. Whatever works eh?
I gave some of my favorite Weleda lavender massage oil to my friend who is very ill with bladder cancer and going blind. She said it has really helped her to relax.

Auntie G - Voice recognition would be marvelous! I wonder how we'd do the smilies? I also get carpal tunnel when I use the mouse too long. I can't imagine how people use their Blackberries all day long! You mentioned crockpot cooking. I've just bought a new crockpot with a removable inside part (sooo much easier!) I've made several yummy meals in it and I even "roasted" a 1/2 chicken yesterday. I just put a couple of tbsp. of bbq sauce on it and 1/2 cup of water and put it in the pot. It turned out delicious and so moist.

Well, I bit the bullet and made an appointment on October 15th to get my nose/sinuses fixed (at least try). I'm only breathing through one nostril most of the time and I think this is why I'm so tired all the time as I "suffocate" at night. By straightening out my septum it may solve the problem, also my recurrent sinus infection on that side. My doc is one of the top ENT specialists in the country, so I hope he is more successful than the last time I had it done. It's a really awful surgery - almost worse than my mastectomy! If it works it will be worth it though.