What a day. I got in the van to go to work and it wouldn't start. It worked fine on Sunday, but not today. We called a tow truck to take it to the garage, but before they got to our house my DH tried to start it again and it started. I was able to drive it to the garage. Since it was there I had it inspected and the oil changed.

Because the day started crazy, I just couldn't seem to get into a rhythm of work for about an hour. I finally got down to business and got work done.

Autieg - I'm glad to see you're back. I turst things work out for your BIL and DH. I'm sorry your family has been struggling physically. We'll keep you in our prayers.

Judy -Way to go on the cleaning marathon. I get like that sometimes. It feels good to do things and you don't have to put a lot of thinking into it.

Penny - Way to go on getting back into Curves. Keep up the good work.

Have a good evening.

Kathy

Auntie, it's good to hear from you! I'd say to hang in there, but I know that you're already doing that. Eight and half pounds isn't an insurmountable amount to lose. It's amazing that you haven't gained more over these past six months. You have obviously been reining it in somehow--you'll be back in the groove, once you can focus again. I know you can do it!

I'm eating on program, and I did a 40-minute weight workout this morning.

judy

Auntie - My heart goes out to you with all the difficult times you and your family have been through lately. It's good that you are staying strong. "Leaning" on chocolate now and then isn't so bad - some people turn to much stronger stuff! As Judy said, once you can focus again it will be easier to concentrate on losing weight. I'll keep your BIL and DH in my prayers.

Kathy - Car trouble can be frustrating - and expensive! I hope it worked out and at least your van got a good "check up".

Judy - Good for you staying on track and getting your workout into your busy schedule.

Not much news to report here except I did a ton of yard work again today. I don't know where all this energy has come from, but I like it! I decided to change my avatar photo as I felt I was getting into a bit of a rut with the old picture. The photo was taken when I visited my folks in the UK about 18 months ago. That was when I was at my lower weight and from there it was all downhill (or should I say uphill - the number on the scale kept on climbing). I'm on track for my pound loss this week - my "official" weigh in day is on Sundays.

Great photo, Penny! With all the calories you've been expending in your yard, you must be building up a lot of muscle. And the Curves routine, too..go, Penny , go!

I'm going to take a warm bath and turn in very early. I need to be relaxed and alert for two long days of stressful meetings. I think it's helping that I feel much more in charge of my intake and I have been working out (at home, gym orientation is on Saturday ). And my apartment isn't a wreck, although I wish I could say as much for my office. I'm considering playing Weekend Spa Detox, and not going into the office on Monday.

I hope that everyone else is doing well. Hey, it's almost Friday! That's gotta make you smile, at least

I'm so glad that it's Saturday, 6/20! That means that my big week is over, for better or for worse. the meetings went well, overall, but I'm exhausted. I saw a fascinating documentary last night, Food, Inc., about agri-business, health, etc. A few parts weren't for the squeamish, but overall it was funny, infuriating, entertaining, sobering....everything you want in a good doc.

Today I slept in, and met with a personal trainer. I can see that I need to push myself harder! I'm playing "Home Spa Weekend:" eating lots of steamed and raw veggies, and doing some serious relaxing. I won't reach my ambitious Fourth of July weight-loss goal, but this is progress that I can live with.

I hope the rest of you are doing well! perhaps we need to start a new thread and try to recruit some new blood....

Judy - I'm glad your busy week is over and that you're unwinding at home. A 'home spa weekend' sounds lovely - I think I'll do the same. I forget to pamper myself sometimes and it's a nice way to relax. The documentary you saw sounds interesting - I'm sorry I missed it. I've been doing a lot of reading lately - very eclectic - from Jane Austen to my current new favorite Terry Pratchett's weird but funny stories of the surreal "Discworld".

It's been very cool and rainy today - more like fall weather!

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

Hi Penny & Judy!

I'm sorry that I don't post more often. This past week was very stressful and my eating showed it. I'm sure I'll be up when I WI tomorrow. This is a new week and new eating habits. I didn't do well on getting out a walking. I only walked 2 days, but I got exercise mowing our entire yard which took me about an hour and 45 minutes. This was all push mowing. 90% of our yard is hill so it was a work out. Today starts the new week and I did get a walk in this morning.

This past Tuesday I handed in my application and resume for a new job at a area high school. I'm going to send in my resume to the school my kids go to for a secretary position. It would be great to get a job at the school because it is only a mile from our house. I'm ready for a change and I'm praying that God will give me the job I should have.

I trust you both have a great week.

Kathy

My Home Spa Weekend is almost over...but it was great! I checked out a yoga class this afternoon. It's more than I can do with my size and my knees, but I'm proud of myself for giving it a shot, anyway. I've been on program all day--spa meals, fresh veggies, mostly. Now I'm looking for a nice warm bath and an early bedtime.

Penny, Food, Inc., is playing in theaters, but most documentaries don't last long, and I doubt it will be playing in most cities for very long. I'm catching up on Netflix this weekend. So far I've seen Cadillac Records and Hamlet 2. Hey, you like Jane Austen and Discworld! That's an odd pairing. I love Jane Austen, but I have read any of Terry Pratchett's novels in a long time. He does have a zany sense of humor. I've finally gotten through my backlog of novels. Right now I'm slogging through Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, a history of Europe in the Dark Ages.

I wish everyone a good start to the new week!

judy

Hey, Kathy! We must have been posting at the same time. I'm sorry that you had a stressful week. Every day is a new start, and today's the summer solstice, so you could think of it as a kind of a New Year's Day. An old-fashioned push mower is a great workout .

I hope you get this new job, it sounds ideal!

judy

Judy, thanks for the words of encouragement. I did WI this morning and I was down .2lbs. I was happy with that because I was sure I had gained weight. To me it was better than being up .2!!

I am not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. I know there will be piles to do because I have no one to keep up with it. The best part about that is that it makes the day go faster!!

Today I got to visit with my friend that came up from Florida. It was so good to see her. She is always after us to move to Florida and I'm always after her to move back to PA. She took pictures of all of us and then the boys by themselves. Jakob will graduate this year so she also took his senior pictures. She does such a good job and they only cost I have is for developing them. What a great friend!

Trust you all are having a good day!

Kathy

Kathy, your post about your far-away friend made me laugh! I can relate. Maybe you can split the difference and both move to South Carolina. Congratulations on weighing in lighter than last week--it all adds up!

It's been quite a week so far! My so-called off day on Monday was pretty hectic. We are all a little shaken after the metro accident. I did manage to get in a 45-minute cardio workout, plus an extra 20-minute walk on the way to work.

Something's up with me, tho. This morning the scale claimed that my weight is higher than it's been all year, despite my logging, working out and getting plenty of sleep . I couldn't even get my rings on this morning. Maybe it's TOM, but even so...I'll make an appointment with the nutritionist. This is really frustrating!

But I'm hanging in there. Except for an angry handful of chocolate kisses, I've been on program again today.

Hope everyone else is doing well!

judy

Judy - I'm sorry you're struggling with the scale. I got on the scales again this morning out of curiosity and I was down almost 2lbs from my loss of .2lbs the day before. How come it never shows the lowest when you actually have your WI day! Hmmmmmmm

Sometimes are bodies do crazy things. Do you think you have hit a plateau? Keep hanging in there the scale will cooperate again and I'm sure it will be soon.

That is so sad about the metro accident in DC. Do they know what actually happened?

Today was back to work for me. It went well. I had to a lot to do so it helped make the day go faster. Tonight after making dinner and watching the news I went outside and weeded for about 40 minutes then came back in and cleaned the entire upstairs in the house. It always feels so good when you get a lot done.

Hope you have a better day tomorrow. Keep encouraged!

Kathy