Good morning all,

Woke up with a big ole earache and a bit of a sore throat on that side. I'd better not be getting sick is all I can say. :mad: I did have to put the air conditioning on last night. It was over 80 degrees upstairs and although I had the ceiling fans on and windows opened all day, there was no cooling the upstairs off. The a/c could be bothering my head.

I got some stuff done yesterday. Went through a couple of cabinets and starting putting together stuff to take up to the new house. The cabinets are emptying out which makes DH happy. Less cabinets in the new kitchen so I'll have to think carefully how to arrange them. Could use a pantry - I'm surprised with all the little extras in the house that they don't have a guest coat closet on the main floor and a kitchen pantry.

Annie - maybe finding a guy is like getting a house. You start out with one picture in your head and eventually through sampling you find something that will suit you. At least you're finding someone to date - if you believe what you see and read it seems every guy today thinks he's entitled to a 20 year old not matter what he looks like or how old he is :lol: Society has gotten very superficial and I don't know why.

Shad - I read 2 articles about greenhouse tomatoes. Neither said anything about pollinating which doesn't make sense. Instead they talk about fussing with the soil since tomatoes are so prone to pests and diseases that leach into the soil. And... I picked up some tomatoes at the store last week - vine ripened they say and they were quite tasty. I looked at the tag on the vine and much to my surprise they were from NEW ZEALAND! Not fancy tomatoes, just regular ones in the bin. I thought gee that's a far way to send produce. I think after the floods that they'd be sending it to Australia instead but then again, if it's your growing season, perhaps you all have enough of your own right now. But they did taste good :lol:

Ceejay - I like highlights and lowlights (darker streaks). I think it looks better with some tones in the hair. Not too much - just enough to catch the light. Go for it!

Time to get on up out of here. The washer repair man is supposed to come back. My washer leaks a tiny bit on some cycles that put more water in the tub. They can't seem to fix it. I Googled it and sure enough, a steady stream of complaints about this problem and the inability to fix it. They just don't make things to last any more :no: :no: This washer is only about 3 years old. I guess I could avoid using the sheets and towels cycle. And it doesn't really leak that much - about 2 spoons of water. I'm sure it's just over splash or something but this was an expensive washer. It should work properly for at least 20 years. Yeah, right huh :rofl:

Good morning to the Worldlies, I need to get off now - catch up with you at lunch. :wave:

:rain:GOOD MORNING CHICKS:rain:
BLUSTERY & RAINY. NOT A NICE WEEK COMING OUR WAY. SNOW SHOWERS FOR WED & THURS. :faint: JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO COME OUT OF THE HOUSE:rofl:
I AM ON THE MOVE THIS MORNING. REPORTS & SOME PROBS IN ANOTHER BLDG. HOW DID THIS MAKE IT MY PROBLEM? NOT SURE BUT I HAVE THE ANSWER SO I'M GOING DOWN.
YESTERDAY WAS QUIET AND ALL I DID WAS WATCH TV! I CANNOT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE WEEKEND. JUST ALL MINOR STUFF AND A FEW CLOGGED TOILETS. JOHN SAYS HE'S GOING TO MAKE TAKING STOOL SOFTENERS MADATORY IN HERE :lol3: :lol3: :lol3:
HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY!:moped:



HAPPY.....I LOVE THAT SO MUCH IS BLOOMING DOWN YOUR WAY. MUST GIVE YOU THAT WARM FEELING INSIDE TO SEE BUDS AND BLOOMS EVERYWHERE.
THANKS FOR THE GOOD THOUGHTS. I AM FEELING VERY SPECIAL AND HAPPY RIGHT NOW:hug: HOPE YOU AND YOUR TOE COLOR MAKE FRIENDS THIS WEEK! :rofl: AS FOR GREENHOUSES...TONS OF OUR VEGGIES ETC COMES FROM GREENHOUSES SO THERE MUST BE A WAY TO DO THAT NO???? BESIDES, I HAVE KNOWN PEOPLE WHO GROW THEM ON SCREENED IN BALCONIES AND PORCHES IN POTS. BUT I'M NO GARDENER!!



SHAD......I DON'T WANT TO GET MEASLEY THINGS SO I BEST CALM DOWN. I NOW HAVE YELLOW TULIPS ON THE SCREEN AND BUBBLES AS A SCREENSAVER. IT'S SOOOO CUTE! HUGE BUBBLES JUST FLOATING AROUND! HOPE THE WEEK AT WORK GOES WELL AND YOU STILL LIKE THE JOB. BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I HEARD YOU SAY THAT! I WAS GLAD TO REPORT TO JEN THAT SUNDAY WAS FEELING OK. :hug: YOU MADE ME LAUGH ABOUT SPLITTING THE ATOM...WHO'D A THUNK IT!!! :rofl:



ANNIE....WELL YOU CERTAINLY HAD A VERY FULL WEEKEND LASSIE. HOPE YOU ARE RECOVERED AND HAVE AN EASY WEEK!!!:hug:

Annie
I'm so glad you got to enjoy time with your family this week end. A night out on the town is well worth it for thtat reason.

Happy
I have an ear infection. Hope you are not getting one too. Empty cabinets always make me happy. Less stuff to use.

Shad
Oops, miss read my news story on Prince William.

Mel
Glad your week end was quiet.

Feel like I'm on the road to recovery concerning the sinus and ear infection. I still have some drainage but not as bad. The steriod pack is doing the doing the trick.
I just hear on the radio that the chemical truck is on it's way. Need to go down stairs.

Happy Monday everyone -

Sorry for not checking in on the weekend...after having to work Friday night and Saturday morning for report implementation, and since my website work that I planned to do this weekend kind of fizzled out, I decided to spend the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday away from the computer.

Saturday, I went to a meeting with a Herbalife distributor that I met through a mutual friend. This distributor is starting a "weight loss challenge". By sitting in on the meeting, I learned that the weight loss challenges are how they attract new customers. No surprise there. Even though challenge participants aren't required to use Herbalife products, it sort of skews the odds when the majority of the participants are using meal replacement shakes twice a day. So the question is....do I do Herbalife for a few weeks/months to get a jump start on the weight loss? The quick weight and inches lost touted by Herbalife is tempting. Or do I stick with sensible eating/exercising, since that is what I will ultimately be doing long-term anyway? I tried Herbalife in the late 1980s, and I didn't like the way I felt on the products. The products we sampled at the meeting however were pretty good.

After the Herbalife meeting, I went to the Women's Health Fair, which was pretty informative. In one building, the local hospital/medical clinic group had booths with all kinds of information about blood pressure, diabetes, breast health, pre-natal care, etc. While in another building, there were booths with vendors, including chiropractors, massage/spa services, healthy cooking/spices, and even my Zumba instructors. The instructors gave me a big hug and told me how much they missed me, and I told them I missed them too and that I hope to get back to Zumba.

Saturday afternoon, we went to the grocery store, where I purchased lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and items to make quick, easy, and healthy meals. A posted a question on another 3FC thread regarding quick and easy breakfasts that I can either make at home before work or at work, and a suggestion I received was to microwave Egg Beaters with a bit of cheese. So I had that this morning. 1/2 c. Southwestern Egg Beaters that I microwaved for 45 seconds, then stirred, then cooked for another 30 seconds or so. I added 1 Tbsp. of reduced fat shredded mexican blend cheese (cheddar and monterey jack), and served that on a corn tortilla that I heated for 20 seconds in the microwave. Easy peasy and very filling.

Yesterday, I cooked some make ahead meals for DH, did a couple loads of laundry and then alternated between relaxing and cleaning. I'd tidy things up for 1/2 hour, then relax for an hour. Then repeat. My back and lungs were okay with this arrangement. I have a feeling I'll repeating this cleaning/resting routine a lot, but I'm okay with that. I've got to work with what my body will allow. :)

We had LOTS of LOUD thunder and hail storms yesterday/last night. The doggies did NOT like them at all. But the nitrogen in the rain definitely greened up the lawn.

Today, my team is having a pizza lunch (not too healthy), I was hoping to grab a big salad beforehand...so I would only be tempted to have one small piece of pizza. But with all the back to back meetings, there's just no time to get to the cafeteria, much less eat a salad. So I'll eat a string cheese beforehand and do my best with the pizza...maybe have a big salad afterwards if I'm still hungry after my one slice. After work today, I'm meeting with the nutritionist/weight loss coach. When I stepped on the scale this morning, I couldn't believe what I saw...down quite a lot from last week. But I'm not going to change my ticker just yet...I think it's too good to be true...so I'll check for the next couple days.

*******************

Shad - I'm glad that Daichi's family, Mika's family and Chris' friends are all doing well. What a relief! :faint: You are right about the tragedy of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I've seen a few documentaries where they interview survivors of the bombings. One woman was working, and her co-worker that was scheduled to relieve her was running quite late. The woman at work was getting quite annoyed...but it turns out that the tardiness of her co-worker saved her life. When the bomb hit, she was safe, but her co-worker was killed. If her co-worker had been on time, it would've been the other way around. I hope that the radiation from the Fukushima reactors stays contained and that as few people as possible are affected by the radiation sickness. Last week, the planes and passengers of all flights coming into Chicago O'Hare airport from Japan were being screened for radiation. I hope you were able to defeat the spider webs and dust bunnies...I'm going to be doing battle with them over the next two weekends while I get the house ready for DMIL. My challenge is that we have vaulted ceilings in two rooms (living room and family room) and I'm vertically challenged (politically correct term for SHORT). :rofl: I've got dusters with telescoping handles...but I still think I'll need a step ladder.

Mel - I'm so glad the bookkeeper stood up for you and you didn't have to work the entire weekend. How nice that Jen and Richie are spending spring break at the trailer with the kids. Your temps got up to 81 on Friday?! I'm so jealous!! Congrats on the new computer. If we lived closer, I'd send DH over to set it up for you. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that the IRS gives you $500 or more. The sad thing the seniors (and others) who still hold a grudge over WWII and feel like the current tragedy in Japan was somehow deserved, is that they don't realize most of the current victims weren't even alive during WWII, and even those who were, had no say in the actions of their government. Even in the U.S., we live in a democracy...but our government makes foreign policy decisions that not all of us agree with. In short, can't blame citizens for the decisions/actions of their government.

Ellen - I hope you feel better soon.

Happy - Congrats on the new garden tractor! When we bought this house, we got a riding lawnmower for our 1/2 acre yard. It's big enough to tow several yard attachments, but unfortunately it's not big enough to use as a snowplow. I think a "garden tractor" is the minimum size/power for that. Or many of my neighbors hook a snowplow attachment to their ATV. Just something you might want to think about for up north. Other nifty gadgets are the snowthrowers where you sit in them and drive them, or you stand in like a little phone booth type thing while you push the snowthrower...it keeps you out of the wind and keeps the snow from blowing back and hitting you in the face. I'm sure your relatives can offer great suggestions for what works best up there. A $6,000 for a folding sleep number bed? :yikes: DH and I are planning on getting a new bed with our tax return, but I think it will be another standard bed and we'll put our 4" memory foam topper on it. I'm getting a cut/color next week. Still sticking with the blond...I'm way overdue for touching up the roots and covering the gray. How wonderful that the azaleas are budding? I'm going to take a look around and see if any of our spring bulbs have popped up yet. I have seen some robins in the yard...so I guess spring must be here (of course they're saying we might get snow later in the week). :( I hope your earache and sore throat go away quickly. You're already using the A/C?! Wow! Good for you for starting on the kitchen cabinets. I really need to do that too, and I'm not even moving. Lots of stuff in the kitchen cabinets that I could either give away or move down to the basement.

Ceejay - So nice of you to let your neighbor stay the night. Glad you had a nice time in Blytheville!

Annie - I'm so glad you had such a fabulous weekend! Your home cooking sounds so yummy!!! Making me drool. :drool:

I've got a ton of meetings to prepare for this morning...so I'd better get to it.

Love and hugs to all,

Morning all. Not doing much yet - just reading a book, ate breakfast, catching up on your posts.

Ceejay - Glad the meds are working on the sinus infection. It would be interesting to hear what your doc says about any impact the chemicals in your workplace have on your sinuses.

Shad - Bf and I have been discussing replacing the insulation in our attic - it's very old and probably not nearly as effective as it used to be. Not too excited about that job - dirty work, especially with fiberglass insulation.

Happy - Hope you're not getting sick - you're way too busy to get sick!! Nice you cleared out some cabinets. I don't have much cabinet space, but I need to think of the things in them that I rarely use - yeh, I could get rid of many things, I'm sure. Your weather sounds wonderful...except having to turn on the AC!! I bet the azaleas will be blooming in no time. In our backyard, I see the daylilies (or maybe the daffs) popping up. I saw some snowdrops on the dogwalk yesterday.

Annie - Sounds like a fun weekend with your family!!! Sorry you didn't like the movie or the date! Better luck next time.

Mel - Congrats on your new computer! Hope you'll enjoy your speedy new internet. :) Glad the weekend was a quiet one for you. Fingers crossed with the possible $500 from Uncle Sam. :crossed:

Ellen - How's it going? Hope you and the family are well. Are your kids on spring break yet? This week is the week for our neighbor's kids who go to parochial school.

Michelle - Sound like you had a busy weekend. Just my quick two cents - I think real food is better than shakes. Your breakfast sounded tasty. :hungry: We had a lot of rain and some thunder yesterday too, and the grass looks a bit greener and the stuff springing out of the ground looks taller too! I hope we don't get any of the white stuff this week. Heck, I'm not thrilled w/ forecast temps in the 30's and 40's - I'm getting spoiled w/ the 50's we've had! Good luck w/ the pizza lunch today.

My weekend was nice enough. Sat. I got my hair color touched up and cut. And this time I had it styled, since I was meeting friends for lunch. Bf's mom drove her car over and before they drove to the dealership to trade it in on the car she's leasing, they swapped out her nearly new battery with the old one in our neighbor's daughter's car. I was worried about the long drive to the dealership because her car's transmission is about to go completely kaput, but the made it okay.

I had a nice lunch w/ my friends - all five of us go back to HS and two of us back to grammar school. More plans have been made, so that's nice. Afterwards, I went to the Lands' End store nearby and found a new spring coat - a trench coat in a pistachio green (per the tag) plaid. I'd already decided I liked it when a store employee came over fawning over how great it looked on me. But I'm glad she came over because I noticed that one of the buckles on the strap around the sleeves at the wrist was missing and she gave me another 20% off. I didn't mind when she even insisted I wear it out of the store, LOL.

It was a nice sunny day, so when I got home I took doggy out for a walk and then opened some windows for a little bit to air out the house. Also washed the kitchen windows while I was at it. Not too much later, bf & his mother got home w/ her new car - a new VW Jetta in a nice metallic toffee brown. Love that new car smell! :D Bf's brother, who's a manager at the dealership, got her an excellent deal on the lease and her trade-in. But I'm still worried - here's a 77 y.o. woman who is taking a part time office job in order to pay for the car because she has no money. What if the job (she just started it TODAY) doesn't work out?? Sigh. Just another sign that we need to live within our means and save, save, save!

Yesterday morning I took a Zumba class - still fast, and I'm still trying to get the steps. But in the meantime, I'm enjoying it and getting a good workout, so I won't complain. Except I did take a spot in the middle row and still had trouble w/ learning the moves that faced the rear of the classroom because all the students who don't know the moves are in the back row - duh. I also did some housecleaning, laundry, and a dog walk yesterday.

Nothing planned today. It started off gloomy, but now it's lightening up. Lots of hammering out back - neighbors are having a big shed built kitty corner to ours. Our little rubbermaid shed is dwarfed by this new shed, LOL. They are now at the shingling stage, so I think they are almost done. Doggy is finally ignoring it after initially giving some half-hearted warning barks.

I might go to a 5:30 exercise class today - it's called cardio fusion. Otherwise, I might go to the library for the book club book. Oh, and I might go to the fabric store for a new pair of buckles for my trench coat. I honestly could just stitch that one strap so it's not dangling and no one would even notice the missing buckle, but I prefer to have the buckle. Besides, the fabric store is near Trader Joe's and I need to pop in there for a few things.

Okay, sounds like I have some of my day set up, so I better get washed and dressed and get to it!

Michelle - my 2 cents regarding Herbalife. Just last week after discussing the Flat Belly Diet you said you felt that you could not do the 4 day jumpstart because it was too restrictive. And it sounds like the Herbalife plan is 2 shakes a day and one meal - not unlike the Special K cereal plan or the Slim Fast Shake plan. So if the Jumpstart with food was too restrictive, then how is eating 2 meals of shakes a day not restrictive? :dizzy: And if you said you did it before and it made you feel a bit ill, why do that again? Perhaps it has soy in it which doesn't agree with everyone. Didn't Mel have some issues with Nutrisystem because of that?

If you want to do the shake route you can easily do it yourself. Freeze portions of bananas, berries in snack bags. Take a single serve container of LF, or plain Greek yogurt, add some Splenda or honey if you need more sweet, a scoop of protein powder and the frozen berries and mix. That gives you the shake with healthy stuff and no added fillers or sugars. One of my former co-workers lost a ridiculous amount of weight (150 - 180 pounds if you believe him) by doing nothing but drinking shakes 3 times a days for months on end and exercising 3 hours a day. Both times as soon as he stopped he ballooned up even worse than when he started. And the second time he started it was not as effective as the first time and he is now again puffed up and I'm willing to bet he has blown his metabolism as well as put his health at risk with severe yo yo dieting. So ... I am not a fan of shakes as meal replacements. A nice cool shake for breakfast on a summer's day maybe, but twice a day :no: :no: I realize with your crazy hours it is hard to find time to pull togther a meal plan. I find it to be true also. I would make up 2 weeks of breakfast options (14 days), same for lunch and maybe 21 dinners and rotate through them. Maybe this means some prep work on Sunday and yes, I too resent the time it takes to plan the meals, shop for them, and cook up the food. That easily takes 1/2 my Sunday.

I remember my personal trainer saying that being fit didn't necesarily mean you were a size 2. Eat clean, measure portions to calories, get a little movement in, drink your water and you should be in a very good place to get to a healthy you. Don't starve those poor lungs of the healing nutrients they need to get nice and pink and dry again!

I've done the Egg Beaters at work too. Still not sure I am comfortable that it cooks them enough in the microwave to kill bacteria but it does seem to set them ok. Or you can make a stratta / quiche ahead of time and bring slices to work. Or sometimes I just make extra scrambled eggs at home and refrisgerate them, then pop some in a container to warm up at work. I also like the Wheat Thins flatbreads crackers with a bit of light cream cheese - I mix dried vegetable flakes in to make a garden vegetable flavor without all the salt of using a dry vegetable soup mix. 3 flatbread crackers with cream cheese and a yogurt or a slice of shaved turkey breast gives me enough lean protein to get me to lunchtime. That's easy to toss in a snack sized baggie and assemble at work. As for pizza, you'll save alot of calories and fat if you just switch to vegetable pizza. Dab the oil off the top if the cheese is kind of greasy.

Your cleaning routine sounds alot like Fly Lady. Do some, rest some, do some. I do that too as a sort of work / reward thing when I'm not feeling particularly motivated and I need to push myself. All that matters is that things get DONE!!!!

Laura - yay on the new coat! I love that Lands End store. Sometimes it's hit or miss but when it's hit you can get some nice stuff. The pistachio color sounds very pretty. I would have to agree with you on BF's Mom taking a risk with the car. Once you sign a lease (and the car loses so much value just driving it off the lot), I don't think she can just go and turn the car in if the job doesn't work out. She might be out a bunch of money for early termination so hopefully things work out. Geez, what kind of part time work do you get at 77? Good for you for sticking with the Zumba. I'm sure in time you will get all the moves just fine.

Mel - I will try and send you some of our sunshine. It really is nice right now but I will also have to send you some of the pollen schmutz because that comes along with the territory. I think it's just going to be a later spring for everyone this year.

Ceejay - hope the antibiotics do their job. I am hoping I don't have an infection too. I'm sure the double whammy of the chemicals and the flowers are doing a number on you. Take your meds and get your rest.

I need to go prepare for a 1pm meeting. Talk to you later. :wave:

Laura - I'm glad you had a great weekend and are enjoying your day off! Congrats on the great deal on the spring coat! And congrats to your bf's mom on the new car. I hope her income remains steady. I was getting spoiled with the 50 degree temps...and am trying to stay in denial about the possibility of snow this week. The Zumba moves will come in time, and yes, it can be difficult when you face the back of the room where all the folks who don't know the moves are. The most important things in Zumba are keep moving and enjoy the party! :dancer:

Happy - Oh my friend, you know me too well. Yes, two shakes and one meal would be fairly restrictive...and no matter how much I "jazz" up a shake it would get boring after awhile. And while many of the people at the meeting said that it kept them full and satisfied for 4-8 hours, for me it was closer to 2 hours. So I was probably 75% sure that I wouldn't be doing it. I think I was looking at it like some sort of magic pill. I would SO love to snap my fingers and have all my excess weight be gone and be totally healthy. But really, the typical weight loss on the "H" program is 2-3 lbs a week...not much more than eating 1,400 cals. As for my bad previous experience, I told the people there that I felt ill the first time I did it, and they swore up and down that the formulas have improved a lot since then. Thanks for the shakes/smoothies suggestions. I'm not a huge fan of meal replacement shakes either...so why was I even considering Herbalife? :dunno: Goes back to the magic pill concept. Thanks also for the strata/quiche suggestion!! I love what your personal trainer said. It is just as possible to be a very healthy, fit overweight person, as it is to be a very unhealthy, unfit thin person. I really appreciate all your breakfast suggestions!! I did stick to veggie pizza today at lunch. In terms of cleaning, I got some prep work done down in the basement so that shelves are in place for things we want to move down from the kitchen and my DMIL's room.

Monday, here it is again and man is it dragging. It has been crazy busy. My heiny cannot catch up with my frontie...lol Sam and I walked over to the mall at lunch and I finally got a cover for my phone...They were 2 for 25 or 15 a piece. Since Sis needed one also we split the cost of the 2fer. Of course it is in PINK.

Working tonight at CVS....today starts my 15 day run. I will be tired tomorrow because for some strange reason I woke up at 2:30 and couldn't sleep. Nothing on my mind as we know I do not have one..lol. So instead I watched the rest of the movie Sex and the City, Becker, Wings and early news.....Bella didn't want to get up this morning, probably cause I made her play outside most of the afternoon, that tends to wear her out. Plus she snuck up in my bed and I think she was just a bit too comfortable. I had to have a chat with her about staying in her OWN bed. lol

Happy...so sorry to hear about your earache/headache..drats, get to feeling better. I love pitching and tossing stuff, want me to come help you empty out the place? hehehe You know what they say...whoever they are...NEW HOUSE....NEW BABY..Yikes!!

Ceejay...how ya feeling are the drugs helping any? We are going to have to send you, Happy and Chelle to the infirmary at the commune...Happy, please have DH get our infirmary done first thing are our commune/retirement home.....thanks...lol

MELLIE...we are having sunny and 75 today...then 68 tomorrow, 66 Weds, the a 7 day run of 42/44. Spoil us then take it away from us. Good for you kickin' back and watchin' the tube yesterday. I like days like that but always feel guilty like I should be doing something constructive.

Chelle...never apologize for not posting, we all do what we want/can do, there are no rules here in Worldlie land...except to laugh, enjoy life and of course...adult beverages...hehe Hmmm..Herbalife...I tried it back in 1986, the year after Sam was born...it was expensive and didn't do one stinkin' thing for me. That is just my opinion. I like your 30 mins of cleaning 30 minutes of resting...I can deal with you doing that, but no more than that. Seriously, want me to take vacay and come up and clean a bit for you...I certainly will...I have like 98 hours of vacay at this point and it is just building and building.... Hope you had your willpower of the pizza and didn't pig out.

Laura...Wow you had a busy weekend. Meeting with old friends from our younger days is so much fun. Great deal on the coat. I really need a winter coast but too cheap to buy one,...just trying to hold out for spring/summer/fall. I know now is the time to pick up a winter coat...but would rather go see Bob Seger..haha.

Ellen..how you doing? Are you feeling ok of late?

Better wrap this up and get ready to head out of here.

Love and hugs..

Annie - Thanks for the offer, but you are working WAY too many days and hours to take a road trip to come up to my house and clean. DMIL arrives in 15 days (and you're working every day between now and then). Plus, I'd be WAY too embarassed for you to see the house in it's current state...after months of back pain followed by a month of bronchitis has led to bear minimun cleaning. I'll get it done, in 30 minute fits and spurts. I am taking this Thursday off and also April 4 off...to allow for plenty of cleaning time. And once the cleaning is done...relaxing time! :) :beach:

Morning all,
Just a quick blow through this morning. I've a lot to do today and I am determined to get this $%^&*&%$ SIT testing finished. Then maybe I can get on with my real job.

Michelle - I dabbled in Herbalife for a while years back. Yes you can lose weight on it, but it is water weight so whatever is in it contains a large dose of diuretics. I found that that weight loss slowed dramatically after a couple of weeks and I basically just stayed the same after that. Besides which it doesn't teach you to eat properly. It tells you what you must eat for at least 2/3rd of the day. When you get to weight what happens then? You have no idea on how to keep it off.
Short answer - it can work but not for everyone. It is a convenience not a conventional diet, and it can work out expensive. Maybe it is something to consider for a finite length of time - like that first month.

Happy - NZ tomatoes hey? Well they are a long way from home. Our crop farmers are back up and in business and the prices of vege are slowly coming down - apart from bananas. It will take another couple of months for those to start coming back. We are currently getting South Australian tomatoes in the shops - one of two States that weren't affected by flood or fire this summer. Glad to hear that yours are tasty tomatoes. Mine vines are starting to ripen. I picked one yesterday before the birds and bugs found it. I will eat it later in the week. It is still slighty greenish.

Ceejay - hope the ear feels better soon.

Laura - Busy weekend for you. I hope that the car lease works out for the lady. Sounds somewhat dodgy to me. Anything to get rid of the car off the dealers floor hey?

Mel - bubbles and tulips on Fred or Joe? Sounds nice. I've currently got Stonehenge on my work computer. On my laptop, all screensavers are my own photos. Sunday is back to her normal self. She will be okay until the next time she is feeling neglected. At the moment she is just happy that she is home even if she is acting like she is a dog.

Annie - sounds like you had a good weekend. Does the body good to let it all hang out once in a while. I am still trying to get back to the work 3 weekends and go somewhere for the 4th. So many things to do, so little time for the working people.

I'm am trying to work out why the system made *** out of my word. I just worked out that I said r.e.t.a.r.d.ant. I guess we can't use that word any more now either. Okay new word. My insulation no longer has the ability to resist burning the house down. Hope that is clear enough for me to get on with doing the ceiling.

Michelle
I know I get discouraged with the lack of pounds I lose and the lack of exercise I do. I can't get motivated for more than a week at a time with the exercise.
I have that clean for an hour rest for an hour most of the time.

Annie
Pink and purple are my favorite colors.
Yes I think the rx's that the ent's office is working better. They've put me on a higher dosage which is what I need right now.

It's been a beautiful day. I'm enjoygin every minute of it.

Shad
You snuck in on me. Have a good day.

Ooops - didn't realise there was another page. Oh well later gator

Annie- if I moved up north and found out I was preggers, you would be the first one I'd call. Better get right with the Lord because it WOULD be the second coming considering I was told a long time ago by my doctor that ovaries are resembling very old blueberries by now :rofl:

Shad - I hope your testing went well. Clap the hands, over and done with. Now on to what they REALLY hired me for :rolleyes: I agree with you about the shakes and once done, how do you get used to proper portions and balance and eating real food and all that stuff. Like they say, if there was a magic pill we'd all be thin yet we seem to be getting fluffier and fluffier. I had picked up on your blocked word right off the bat - I guess the filter can't interpret meaning and context.

Well I just checked in on my way to bed. Better get upstairs and tucked in before another hour goes by. Goodnight everyone.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Work was stressful yesterday...mostly because I was in meetings nearly all day and didn't get anything done. I'll have to kick it into high gear today to get caught up. But other than that, yesterday was a really good day. I ate within my calorie count despite the pizza I had for lunch. And I had a great meeting with my Nutrition/Wellness Coach. She and I discussed how I'm feeling, both emotionally and physically, and how I can find some acceptance for where I am now and do things that I can do. She's happy I'm doing well with the calorie counting and staying within my daily total, and also with using those calories wisely on nutrient dense filling foods. We talked about how I wish I could physically do whatever I want...and am often frustrated that I can't...and how I need to right now focus on what I can do. What she said was almost identical to what many of you said to me last week, if I can only walk for 5 minutes...then just walk for 5 minutes...a few times a day. Perhaps you all have missed your calling and should be nutritionists/wellness counselors! After my meeting with her was done, I walked down the hall to where the physical therapy area is, and since my PT didn't have a client, I chatted with her for a few minutes. She gave me a list (with diagrams) of core exercises I can do now in advance of my appointment with her tomorrow afternoon, so I went home and did those exercises.

I'm feeling a lot more hopeful...and I think so much of weight loss is all about attitude. What's that quote by Henry Ford, "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." I know that applies to a lot more than weight loss too. And I also know that I'm determined (or just plain stubborn) enough to know that I can do whatever I set (and keep) my mind to.

Thanks, my friends, for all your love and support.

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Happy - I thought of you (and Stash to be honest) when I heard on the news today that all the rain we're getting down here today and tomorrow is going to result in approx. 10-12" of snow up north. Yuck! I really hope it all stays as rain down here even if it does mean muddy doggy paws. :lol:

Annie - Congrats on the new pink phone cover! My fave color used to be pink...now it's purple. Of course, my co-workers tease me to no end whenever I wear purple saying that I'm wearing it in honor of Brett Favre and am a closet Vikings fan. UGH! :barf: :nono: Such a bummer that you have to work 15 days straight...please try to rest/relax in your limited amount of free time over the next two weeks.

Shad - I hope you got the S.I.T. done. So frustrating to have to spend your days on tasks that don't get you any closer to meeting your own deadlines. Now that you mention it...Herbalife is probably chock full of diuretics as during the meeting people got up to use the rest room SEVERAL times. I agree with all of you...it's not a good plan long term, and I would probably gain back all the weight (and more). I'm glad to hear that the Aussie farmers are back in business. Too funny that Sunday is acting like a dog.

Ceejay - I hope the meds are helping and that you feel better today.


A big :wave: to all my wonderful friends!

Lots of love and hugs,