Colleen it is a hard battle and those weekends really do get me to- Just don't give up and keep plugging away

I do not see myself as a great motivational person like Holly and Tammy but we do all struggle everyday and we are here for you to get it off your chest and come clean and start fresh again-

Well been going through clothes all morning and finally got done packing so all I have left to do is get bathroom stuff packed and I am good to go - can't wait

Ok well DH has decided to finally start going through his clothes so I better help him - I will check back in later

With all the gals on this site you would think that at least one of us would have found the easy road, and posted it for the others to take wouldn't you? I'm still looking for Easy Street...somebody let me know which direction to go please!

Doing the math the other day...in the last 18 years (since getting divorced) I have gained about 5 1/2 pounds a year. That isn't too bad until you figure it the "other" way and see that in that time I've packed on 100 pounds!

CC, are you going to Jamaica with a group or just you and DH? My crazy neighbor is from there. She says that $100 American equals about $800 there. She's a wild one! Everyone knows the Jamaican in our little town! Hope you have a great time!

Back to work and "normal" tomorrow.

Hope this note finds everyone feeling good, and cheery!

Good afternoon ladies. I took a break from cleaning to post and you know it broke my heart to do so....

Coleen, I feel your pain on the weekends. I would sooooo already be done with WL if I did not stumble on the weekends. What I try to do..... is if I see it is going to be one of those eat all weekend deals (like for your DH 50th birthday), I do my best to just maintain until Monday and I hit it hard again. The thing is..... this has to be something to do for life. So I try to make it workable into my everyday life. So, don't beat yourself up for the lava cake and such..... just enjoy the company of your family and pick back up on Monday.

I don't have bootcamp tomorrow. ... b/c of MLK day. And quite frankly b/c of what is going on in the owner's personal life, I don't know if he will be able to keep the business. It is a GOLDMINE...... but he is going through a nasty divorce. So, I am looking at getting Giliad step aeorbics and such (just in case) and for those days he is not open. Holly, do you use a regular step or did your DH make you one?

CC, I am sooooo jealous you get to get away from winter for a bit and just go lay in the sun! I hope you have a blast.

Holly, how are things? I know you said you were going to be busy at work, I hope you are not having to work to awful hard.

DH is still sick. Boy, this stuff is kicking his butt!

Well, I need to get back to cleaning. I will gab at you all more later.

I'm feeling better after venting.

Tammy, what is MLK?

Holly, what type of a benefit do you put on? You do your own catering or have a business catering? I love planning big events!

You guys all sound very ambitious with your cleaning efforts! I have it pretty good. It's just me almost all week in a pretty new house. Kids are out on their own, husband gone most of the week. The only mess is what I make myself, and that doesn't amount to much. A couple loads of laundry a week, and keeping up with the snow on the walks, and driveway. In the summer we have lots of yard to mow, but Tim likes to do that, and I gladly let him! I miss my dog very much but am not missing the incredible amount of hair, drool and clean up needs that she provided!

I need another hobby I guess. I like to fiddle around on the computer, talk to people and play games. Lately I've been wasting time on Facebook and playing Farmville! Very addicting, cute game!

What do you guys do for fun?

Well there is a group of us that goes and we go all-inclusive, if you are not familiar all-inclusive is everything included- flight, room, food, drinks and not just soda and water, we have a blast

MLK - Martin Luther King day

Facebook is very addicting - You can send a friend request Reda Brewer
I am addicted to Cafe and the mindjolt games

Fun stuff well of course in the summer riding my motorcycle- we do also have a river cabin that we try to get to at least one night out of the weekend
Our DS (20 yrs old) drives a race car so that takes up Sat and Sun nights for us, I am also the president of our Eagles Riders Club so that takes up some of my time as well- Needless to say in the summer we are super super busy....
Winter time well we have snowmobiles so while we have all this snow and it is not 20 below zero we go out riding, I enjoy playing Hold'em cards as well

Tammy sorry to hear DH is still not feeling well has the doctor gave him anything for it?? That is to bad about your gym and the issues hopefully the divorce doesn't cause it to close down maybe it will just go up for sale or something along those lines???

I will probably try to send some pics through facebook while we are in Jamaica- Oh by the way Colleen everyone has told us that in Jamaica it is US currency but your neighbor says different?

OK well gotta get up at 230am and be on the road at 330 so better get myself off here and get a shower and head to bed

Have a Great Monday

CC, As I understand, American $ just buys much more in Jamaica than in the USA. Are you going to get your hair all braided up with beads? Some of the gals there are super fast at it! When we went on a Bahamas cruise EVERYONE asked if they could braid my hair! Within the first block off the ship, someone wanted to sell DH some weed! We did neither, ever. My neighbor was born and raised in Jamaica, but is now married, and a citizen of the US. She hooked up with a tourist and got her ride here! Hope you have a great time!

Colleen, nice bikes! Glad you were able to post a pic. I need to post mine...... I need to shine her up though.

CC, sorry if this offends, but at the thought of you with beads all in your hair after being braided. sorry.... just struck me as funny. I would look like a huge bush if all of my hair was done, although the WL has taken a lot of my thickness (no pun intended) away. I hope you have blast there! I really do.

Holly, how are ya, girl?

Me and the scales are having a battle..... so I have decided I am NOT going to weigh until February 1. I am staying within my points and I am going for the gold. We will see. I swear, these last 10 are hard.....but I figure I am making it harder than it has to be.

For fun..... well, we just ride. I am not as involved as CC and Holly in groups or organizations. Its not to say that some day we won't, but due to DH's work (law enforcement) it is just better that way.

I am going to get busy. I will gab at ya later.

Gosh I need to check in daily don't I!

Colleen, the benefit from the Harley Raffle is for our Motorcycle Rights Organization, and we give away three $500 college scholarships each year. My husband has cooked in restaurants in the past, and still loves to cook; I am a pastry baker for half the year. When we joined the organization, they told us that they were really unhappy with the previous people they hired to do the meal, overpriced and not that tasty. DH and I felt it was our contribution to the organization to do the meal, with no payment. We did it for three years without accepting any payment; then last year it was voted that we be given a free ticket for the raffle ($100 value) so we gladly accepted that. We didn't win but it's still fun.

Oh CChick thank you for saying that I am motivational I think I am just insane that I will work out almost every day, yet I eat too much and the wrong things. Maybe as it gets closer to Spring I will buckle down for these 7 or 9 pounds I want to ditch. However one can't argue that the exercise is doing good things. I would be DEAD on my legs each day if not for it.

Tammy, the step I use is not a regular-type step. It is a hard, firm foam one we got YEARS ago from an Ames (cheap dept. store) It is about 4 inches high. I did once have a nice regular step, that you could adjust to make even highter? but someone in the house cracked it and never bought me a new one. I had the foam one as a back up and have used it ever since. I do have to put a heavy dumbbell on the floor in front of it though, to keep it from moving.

Friday, Sat. Sunday were BUSY. Sat. and especially Sunday (yesterday) were KILLER! ugh. Oh, to put Colleen up to speed, my winter job is in a tourist town (Stowe, Vermont) so it is all skiers in the winter. I'm at a convenience store with a deli/bakery. I do not do any baking there, I am just deli work and cashier. It was non-stop yesterday. I was still shell-shocked today, LOL. Thank goodness it is not always like that, just holidays.

CChick, we are so excited for your vacay

Colleen, nice pics of the bikes!

Oh, what do we do for fun..well the bikes are a huge part of our lives. When it is riding time we use our bikes to commute, and even for grocery shopping because we have a cute little trailer that DH hauls behind his bike. We ride with friends when we can. We go to the Harley Rendezvous each year; a little event near here called Bare Bones; we volunteer and ride in our MRO's annual Toy Run in August; and for the past few years we've either ridden or driven to Chillicothe Ohio for an EasyRiders rodeo. Our friends sometimes have big parties and we wear our rally clothes (like in my avatar pic, that was from a winter biker party, I don't always dress like that )

I am on our town's Fire Department Auxiliary and we try to raise money to give away two $500 college scholarships. We're lucky that we hardly ever have to help the Fire Dept. I am truly NOT a good housekeeper and if I ever talk about cleaning well, it's very rare indeed

I do spend alot of time on the computer in the evenings but it's not anti-social, as I have the Mac laptop and sit in the living room; and DH is in the living room watching TV. I frequent motorcycle forums; and here and recipe sites; my summer job that i love is at a private fly fishing club and I do the pastry baking there. I am on Facebook but don't do much with it.

I do actually kinda enjoy working out, mostly because its just a habit now (after many years) and I know how much good it does me . In summer I do almost all the grass cutting and enjoy taking good care of our black berry patch. I am so sorry about the loss of your beloved dog We lost our Tasha last year, after having her since a puppy for 12 years. Then my husband adopted a lab/rottie, Eddie, and he is a goofy joy.

Our two sons are 19 and 26. The 26 yr old had to recently move back here as he lost his apartment lease but HOPEFULLY he will find someplace soon) and the 19 yr old is in a local college.

Okay there is my story

this morning I did The Biggest Loser's Cardio dvd; and I did the whole thing for the first time EVER. Warmup 5 minutes; Bobs section 20 minutes; Jillian's 10 minutes; then the last girl's 10 minutes. It was challenging to say the least!!

I will stop blabbing for now

Thanks for the nice updates. I'm feeling as if I know you guys a little better!

You all sound crazy busy!! I have lots of time on my hands. If I was a pastry baker I'm sure I would have a much bigger problem that I do now with weight! That would be OH TOO TEMPTING!!! Good thing I work at State Farm! No food!

I took my Mom to Wal-Mart tonight, and stopped at Taco Bell on the way back. I did okay. I ordered 3 89 cent burritos, but I only ate 2, as I was satisfied, and am saving the 3rd for lunch tomorrow. 3 would normally not have been any problem, and have some nachos too!

I spent a good part of my day reading a thread on 3FC on "Why I want to stay fat". It was fun. Lots of humor! I laughed out loud at work reading about one gal trying to fit in a booth where the seat was low and her boobs rested on the table! That is a familiar problem! Recently happened to me at a night club. Nothing I could do about it either!

Take care.

Good Morning Ladies,

I hate to start the day out with a request..... but I need one. Please pray for my DS #2. One of his classmates/friends committed suicide last night over a girl, by standing in front of a train. It was horrible. Please pray for all involved. My oldest son took the 911 call from the conductor. He was (rightfully so) very shaken (the conductor). He had never killed anyone before and he had to look into that boy's eyes. The boy just balled his fists up as if he was going on a thrill ride and took the hit. I know the mother of the boy (she dated my boys dad many years ago), when the boys dad died she was very thoughtful and talked to the boys very lovingly. I hate she has to live with this the rest of her life. The boy did leave a note. I am sure there will be a lot of judgement going around about it..... but what most people don't realize is our kids are so much more stressed and "broken" then we were as kids. There is so much more for them to get into and such. Okay, I am off my soapbox now.

My eating was HORRIBLE yesterday. DH was off work (he is finally better now) and he took me out for lunch, then I wanted a burger last night. But, I am back on plan today.

Colleen, I guess out of all of us, I am the least busy with organizations.

Holly, I feel your pain..... these last pounds are hanging on for dear life.... and to make it worse, I am hungrier than normal. But, it all comes down to how bad I want it-- I guess. It is a million times harder for you and CC b/c you work around food all day. I really have no excuse.

I need to get to work (can you believe they expect me to work-- lol)?
Hope everyone has a good day.

Tammy

I am not sure that I like the new avatar........ but there it is.

Tammy, I love the pictures! Great transformation too!

Wow, taking that 911 call of a classmates death would have been a hard one. Best wishes to all. I hope their healing is speedy. Kids do have it rough...I wouldn't want to do it all over again!

I've not been real involved with many organizations. I have the opportunity, and have had my hands full in the past, so it feels kind of good to just chill for a while. I do some small charity things. Like this past Christmas I adopted a family and bought them a ton of presents. I really had a lot of fun. I barely know the gal, but know she was hurting financially.

I'm still getting calls for Saint Bernard puppies. We have none. We had 3 litters from Mandy. I loved raising them, and keep in contact with the new owners once they found their forever homes.

Today is going okay. Kind of a slow day at work. Been cleaning drawers for something to do! (better than snacking though!)

Tonight better be a cleaning night. The house isn't bad, I've just been putting off doing the regular upkeep, and have a little pile of decorations left to be taken to the basement and put away. I'll be motivated to get it done before 7:00 because I want to watch American Idol tonight on TV. There are very few things that I follow, but that is one of my favorites. I like America's Got Talent too. The next best is America's Funniest Home Videos. It must have something to do with all of those starting with America!

Making the most of the day!

Take care.

Tammy...hugs to your son and how horrible a thing to happen. That poor mother, what she must be going through now I can't imagine. Everyone involved is in my thoughts and prayers.

and awesome avatar, girl!

Hi Colleen and Reda

I had off today and was just so blah. Spent most of day in bed. No, not sick, just one of my bad days. I did get up to work out, and worked out hard, then back to bed. Some days are just like that for me.

Holly, I am sorry it was a bad day for you. Congrats on the working out even though you did not want to. And, thanks for the avatar compliment. I hate it that the ugly sad monster is in your house. I hope with Spring getting closer and closer that monster will leave you alone.

Colleen, thanks for the compliments as well. How is your eating plan and elliptical going?

I did a kickboxing class this AM. I am soooo glad it was only 30 minutes. Man it was rough. But, I liked it. I hope they continue to do it on Wednesdays after abs class, as opposed to on Saturday AM. It is hard to give up mine and DH coffee date time--- to sweat my butt off. Lol.

Thanks for your prayers for DS. He is doing relatively well. He and I talked about it last night while I was cooking spaghetti. He told me there were many warning signs that no one took seriously. Allegedly the school counselor was told Friday by the boy he was going to do it. He did the classic thing in giving his possessions away over the weekend. I hate it for the family. DS told me that he would never let things get that bad. He kids with me a lot. He said "I know you would kill me if I killed me". That is just his way. He also agreed that even though we don't understand the whats and whys all the time..... suicide is a selfish thing b/c you leave behind so very many people that don't understand why and will have to live with it forever. DS#1 that took the 911 call said the RR investigator was acting like it was no big deal. He said this happens all the time, just like suicide by cop. But, DS#1 told him that these people they have to "scrape" off trains are someone's family member and they would not want someone to talk about their member like that. It is a bit out of character for DS#1 to relay his feelings. He is a "tough emotional" person. I am continuing to pray for the family.

CC: So, are you ready to go? I hope the weather is great and you have a good time.

I am tempted this weekend to go to a lady biker's maintenance clinic. It is about 100 miles away from here..... but knowing certain maintenance things would be great!

I need to get busy.

Good morning chicks

Tammy, I am so glad that your DS #2 is able to discuss his friend with you. Why the school counseler didn't intervene .... I don't know. And yes, it is a crying shame when people who 'see this thing all the time' are callous about it. I once spoke sharply to an acquaintance who is on the Rescue Squad but said something flip about a death of someone I know, a member of the summer Club where I work. The man drowned while out alone on a rowboat, probably suicide..he was an older man who was diagnosed with cancer. The rescue squad person said 'so I heard you had a floater up there'. I said, "I know you are immune to the tragedy but that was someone I knew, and that is a sucky thing to say". The rescue squad guy was shocked that I, 'nice Holly' said that. Well it was wrong.

Anyway, I am glad your son can talk to you about it

Glad you enjoyed your kickboxing; I tried a Cathe kickboxing workout and OMG it was tough. But good to 'mix it up'. LOL at giving up your coffee time wth DH to sweat instead

I did totally waste a whole day yesterday. But today I am up, have already worked out (Gilad's Step and Tone; and instead of his ab work, some Cathe abwork), will tackle the week's laundry, then maybe hit a thrift store or two. And I have to bite the bullet and buy a pair of good, (expensive) shoes for all day wear. My feet are feeling horrible lately and even two days off doesn't let them recover. I think I have to get a pair of Dansko's. If they feel great then it will be worth the probably $100-plus dollars .

Hi Reda and Colleen

well now for laundry. have a good day