OOPs sorry hippy, I didn't mean to leave you out. I had already typed your have a great day in my head. :o That is great that you are sticking to vegetables and getting them ready in advance. That will be helpful so that you remember to eat them. That will be my job sometime this week also.

We ate supper at 5:30 last night, and everyone thought that they needed a snack by 9:30. DH caved and went out and got icecream for everyone.

Have a great day all.

Okay Lucky, I'll let it pass this time without taking it personal :lol: Just kidding! I read the posts but am bad about forgetting who wrote what when I'm posting :eek:

Wow Happy, You said it all about Raven's situation. I had the same thoughts but didn't want to step on her toes.

Raven, So glad to hear you got a raise! I'm glad something wonderful happened to brighten your day :D

Jolly, are you in better spirits today?

Okay, yesterday I got all of my water in, ate well all day UNTIL last night. I will be working on a plan for nighttime snacking. Don't really know why I was snacking, I wasn't hungry at all but I have never had to be hungry to eat. I know it's a matter of self control and I have to work hard to get back to the point of being able to tell myself NO!

Been dealing with alot of issues lately, no excuse, I know, I seem to get out of sorts when things seem messed up. Gary works all of the time so there is hardly no time for me and him or us as a family, it just gets old. I won't bore all of you with my petty crap, don't even know why I typed it.

Okay, Here's to great day girls!!

Hey all, thanks for the concern yesterday. Things are feeling a bit better, though now both of my "boys" are lame, and there is some problem at the bank I have to take care of. Yikes. But, I did make it to the gym this morning, so that is something.

I will try to post more later. Have to check with the bank, and get to work. See you all later.

You all are so awesome!!
 

Everytime i reead something you guys have typed..or a we care about you or even advice..i just think how lucky i am to have gotten to have you guys in my life

YOU ARE SUPER HEROES TO ME!!

I am doing a general post as I have spent like 90 minutes on hte net tryoing to fix my e-mail...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

So forgive me..i will address everyone hopefully tomorrow

Yesterday was a great exercsie day..kinda bad eating day but not as bad as before. I played tennis stairmastered and did a few weights.

Am aiming for 5-6 days of exercise 1/4 less food and more water. though i just drank a big huge class of saopy water and want to vomit!! AHHHHHHHh

Please post anything that has helped you. I am not feeling very up to speed..thus the reason for the weight loss..i just want to have more energy.

Again..all of you....make my day..every day...

Thank you.

Ps i will be able to use my pm's but cannot access the e-mail notice!!


:balloons: :chockiss: :cheer: :thanks:

Ok, I'm here and have a few minutes to really read and post. First off I want to say thank you. All of you have become real friends to me. This is the first thing I check in the morning, and the last thing I read before bed. I just want you all to know how much it means to me that you're here, supportive, caring, and it feels for all the world like we could all just meet at a little coffee shop someplace and have a blast chattering away. I hate to sound really mushy, but there are times when ya'll bring tears to my eyes because of how much you mean to me. So.. *snuffle*

Happy - My God, woman.. how could I possibly consider what you said "butting in?" I put my troubles out there for all the world to see, I can't expect anyone to keep their mouth shut about it! :p Here's the scoop on my plans to move. They can't possibly happen immediately. I'm looking at 2 years, maybe more. I stand to come into a fair piece of money as soon as my SIL sells her house, because she's buying out my third of my father's house. That will go for catching me up completely on my credit, putting a down payment on a new (or new used) truck, getting my kids into an online educational program, taking us all to disney world (the dream vacation we've never had), getting my TUMMY TUCK (so yes, I really DO NEED to lose this weight), and putting the rest away till such a time as I am ready to look at land. I expect the house will sell at some point this year, the housing market is very seller friendly up in AK right now. OTOH, I'm not holding my breath, it will happen when it happens. :dizzy: I think Richard is now regretting the day I stumbled into Rosa at PetCo. Because if I had not met her, there is little to no chance I would have gotten involved in horses - I'd given up completely on that. It didn't even enter my thought process any more. We'd still be plodding along doing what we always did, and I'd have had no big, warm, solid rock of a critter to lean on and cry into when I was trying to deal with my Dad's accident. I would still have that nagging feeling that something was missing, but I wouldn't know what. That feeling is gone now, and I have dreams again. I feel more in touch, more connected to me and reality, less depressed than I really ever have in my adult life. I know what I want to do now. Whether I actually get it all done or not - :^: That remains to be seen, but I have goals. Very cool feeling. And I know this is hard for Richard, and in some ways, I've changed the whole game plan on him. But - he's done the same to me, so... I won't feel too guilty. I do realize it's no one's fault, and if he chooses not to live with me once I buy my house, well .. I can't force him to be with me. I want him to, but can't force. I can't give up the most compelling and incredible motivation to DO something I think I've ever had in my life, however. So .. we shall see what the future holds, as it unfolds, one day at a time. And you're right. It's time for me to bite the bullet and really sit down with Richard and talk about a lot of things. Not in an accusatory way, just try to get both our cards on the table so we can move forward. We've made it through a lot of **** ('scuse) in the 8 plus years I've been down here with him, I think we can make it through this. One way or the other. Ok wow, that was really stupidly long. :D

Hippy - Feel free to step! I dumped that here because I needed perspective, and I was losing mine. I don't think PMS is helping. ;) Night time snacking. That used to be a real issue for me. I started out by keeping a huge tub of cut up fresh veggies - broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, etc. (I see you're already cleaning veggies, so there you go!) Then if I wanted a snack, I HAD to eat that. That was the rule. After a while I kind of got veggied out, and the need to snack seemed pretty much to dwindle. It still happens once in a while, in which case I'll drink two or three glasses of water and drowned it out. ;) And you know what? It's not petty crap. Things can get hard, and if you need someone to listen, that's what we're here for. I sure as heck dumped my stuff here, and I'm darn glad I had here to come to. I was feeling really lost and very alone. Perspective, you know? If we can help, even if it's just by reading it and giving you a virtual hug, you know we will. *hug*

Erin - Ouch... I truly hate big arguements. I hate the negativity, the exhaustion, the pain. Is there any chance you two can sit down and work things out without the blow up? Just like Happy and Hippy told me to do? ;) In any case, you know you can come here to dump, just like I did. That stamping thing sounds kind of cool! And yes... having something to do and concentrate on can really reduce the "need to feed," if you will.

Lucky - :lol: I was awake this morning because my BF came in to tell me that Artemis is psychotic. *blink* Apparently she has decided he is the grand poobah of the household, and is the one to whom she must grovel. Sadly, her groveling includes submissive piddling. So I was up at 5 this morning cleaning up little piddle trails. I have to admit, he didn't fly off the handle. He was disgusted and peeved, but not overly angry. Or maybe he was just afraid I'd start bawling again. :o And hey! I did go ride last night and it was a wonderful adventure. I'm starting to learn and use some John Lyons approaches to training, and the response from Arashi is really quite impressive. We had great fun last night! We'll be having fun tonight, too! Thankfully the weather has warmed up, so it's much more enjoyable being outside in the evening. *lol* Your husband wants snacks. Hand him a carrot! :devil:

Jolly - Both of your boys? Did I miss something? I'm assuming Chance banged himself up after his shenanigans at the barn the other day, eh? Good going on the workout! I know that can help with the stress level, too. I hope the bank issue isn't serious, and gets resolved ASAP!!

Tracy - Woo !! WTG on the working out! Sweetie.. you have been under SO much stress, it's no wonder you're feeling a little wrung out! Just make sure you don't drop your calories too low, that will drain you, make you weak, and throw your body into conservation mode. If you drop the protein too low, you risk feeling puny, as well. Soapy water!?? Gack! That sounds horrible! What new diet is that? :lol:

Ok. I started using fitday again yesterday because I really need to find out if I'm kidding myself on calorie intake. Now that some of the financial worries have lessened (or will be lessening, and there is hope), I do feel as though I'm much more capable of doing this. I was getting too focused on my job and money, and not enough time was really being spent on my eating and working out. I didn't do good on water yesterday, but food was pretty darn OP. I didn't get to bed till 11, which is BAD. Tonight might not be much better, because Rosa postponed Nickie's lesson to tonight. :tired: But I'm feeling good. Yep. Yee haw.

Hey Everyone!

It's been an off day here since K ended up staying home from preschool due to croupy/asthma breathing/coughing this morning. He's doing better, but he decided to skip dance class tonight since he still has a cough (when he wants some TLC :)). I was doing good on my food until the poptarts grabbed me. I think I'm going to be sending them to Brian's work so they aren't here to tempt me!!! Otherwise, veggie/fruit and waterwise, I'm doing ok. I'm going to go heavy on water and veggies tonight at dinner, so it'll all work out for today.

Raven: :encore: Yippee on the raise!!! I know how waiting for those things can be! And it does nothing to help any relationships! As for me and Bri talking things out. I don't think either of us is at the point where it would help. I think I need to work on me before I go there and dredge it all up again. Especially since I need to figure out if it's us or just me. I have a bad feeling it's me. :( Oh, and what's Fitday?

Jolly: I'm glad you're feeling better today!!! :dancer:

Tracy: :strong: WAY TO GO on the workout!!!

Happy: I hate how easy it is to slip.... I'm starting to have a mentality of "I slipped for this minute, but in 5 I can get back on track". Last night I was going to skip dinner because I had slipped during the day (thought about it today too), but decided that i need to nourish my body with the good stuff and it's not worth it to deprive myself of veggies, a bit of meat and sitting at the table with my family. Now, wanna pass some chocolate? ;) I have been craving it for DAYS now and don't have any! And I'm trying hard to not buy any!!!

Lucky: I have about a total of 650 "items" to do. Not all are a lot of stamping, but I get to be in charge of all the paper for the wedding. I haven't gotten into scrapbooking yet. I tend to get a bit perfectionistic, so I never like my scrapbook pages, but I usually love the cards I do.


Hippy: I have night time eating slips often too. I've been working really hard on gulping water until I feel sick to help keep me from grazing. Not the best way to kill the urge, but it keeps the calories out.

I have to toss our meat in the oven for dinner and run and get Brian now. Hopefully, I'll be back before tomorrow afternoon!!!
Have a good evening Ladies!!!

Morning Girls,

Oh Raven, the dreaded PMS. It's enough to ruin a person's day or several days in my case! I am either such a b*tch that I can't stand myself or I cry at the littlest things :shrug: Gary can tell when I have a bad mood coming on and always says he is going to spend a week with his Mom, I tell him I will gladly pack him a bag :lol: It's a standing joke around here!

I read the posts but can't remember who wanted chocolate but I have some! Yes, I blew it again last night...Brownies. Did I eat just 1? :no: I ate 3. OUCH! I have to get this figured out. I do fine all day, eat right, drink water and I have healthy veggies to munch on but choose to not eat them at night. I think it's because they make me turn :p anyway and by the time I forcr myself to eat them at lunch and dinner I have had my feel. I know there's a solution, I just have to find it. I scrapbook alot so I think I will try working on it in the evening.

Jolly, Happy, Tracy, E, Lucky, hope things are going great for you!

Better get going.....Have a wonderful day!

Good morning!

Lucky! - How goes the new job!?

Tracy - Doing good on the exercise still? How's that soapy water diet going?? :D

Jolly - How's Chance? How are you? Hanging in there?

Erin - I'm assuming K is your son? How old is he? I hope he's feeling better soon! What kind of dance is he studying? I guess he's a little feller if he's still in preschool, eh? Poptarts are evil, made by the devil, I'm sure of it. :devil: I can't keep them in the house. I know what you mean by "working on me" before you start the conversations. I hate to just be over emotional and jump the gun on something without really thinking it through. There are so many sides to things, and I know that I have my problems, too. And I hate finger pointing and excuse making, especially if its me doing it. I truly love Richard. He's been a rock for me when I needed it, and he's been the one man in my life who I felt like I could be myself around. And yes, the raise will help SO much. Richard has really been financially helping out far more than he should have to when it comes to me and my kids. And with never a comment, either. He's a good man. We have our issues, but who doesn't? I just don't want things to deteriorate to the point where the issues overwhelm the good parts of the relationship.

Hippy - You know, when I was on birth control pills, I didn't have PMS at all. And my periods were literally about one day long. But I also had the sex drive of a rock. Which is a mixed blessing, considering everything..... :p I stopped taking the pills in November, and my body is starting to readjust, so I'm out of practice with this hormonal surge thing. And yep, I was in the crying mode. It seems to have dimmed down a little today, but yesterday and the day before... sheesh. What a pain. Somtimes it's such a puzzle to find a plan and a routine that works well for us. A tweak here, an adjustment there, but if you keep trying, you eventually stumble on the right answer.

Which brings me to my latest tweaking. I've been having a real problem at night, too. Which is unusual for me - I mean, I had issues with just boredom or emotional snacking, but not the serious hungries. These last couple weeks I hit dinner like a starving person, and overeat. Even when I'm really careful to eat enough calories during the day, and especially on days when I go out to the stables after work. One of the things that I had been doing differently this time is that I was eating breakfast shortly after I woke up at home. Well, I know that is conventional wisdom, but it doesn't work for me. That starts my eating too early in the morning, and because I eat dinner so late on those days, by the time we eat I'm ready to chew the leg off the dining room table. So I'm going back to what was working, whether it's "bad" or not. I'll drink my coffee with skim milk in the morning, then when I get to work, I'll eat my oatmeal. That really helps, and it pushes back the meal times a couple hours so that by the time dinner rolls around, I'm not as likely to overeat because there has been 5 hours between my last snack and my next meal. And I must, must, MUST add in more cardio. I'm fooling myself if I think I can lose weight without the cardio. I'm doing it once a week, I've done that for two weeks, now it's time to add in a couple more times. Period. So tonight I WILL get in bed on time, and I WILL wake up early enough to do a 30 minute cardio workout. And I will do one again Friday morning. No excuses, no whining, no complaining about how tired I am. Just do it. :drill:

Oh .. and this week's muffin must go in the freezer as well. Evil muffin. Nice boss, evil muffin. :devil:

Hope everyone is making it through the week so far ok!! Halfway down!

Hi everyone.

Just popping in real quick to say hello and I hope that you all had a good Wednesday.

My job goes well. I basically just answer the phones, and phone other depots to tell the dispatchers where to send the trucks. And dispatch our trucks out to pick ups, do the paperwork, send it in to head office all that stuff. Mark has been upset that I have been late getting home, as I am the only one in the office and I have to wait for someone else to get there so I can go home, or lock up if noone is there by 5:30.

Raven Artemis is a smart dog if she has figured out who is the grand pobah that she really does have to suck up to. Lose the piddling and just maybe she might win him over yet.

Will pop in later to chat more,

Kathy

Hey all. Well Bill Phillips cookbook looks wonderful and the pictures are really pretty but... Made orange roughy last night. Was ok. Made a beef roast in the slow cooker today - it smelled wonderful - had red wine, onions, garlic, enough seasonings but when it was finally finished I was disappointed to find that it was very bland. I hope this is not a trend :(

Kathy sounds like you have the new job down to a do-able routine. Is Mark upset because you are all by yourself in the office or is it just that you're coming home later and the routine is disrupted?

Raven, I think you eating thinking is on the mark, especially if it works for you. The point of breakfast I think is to just get something in your stomach, kick the metabolism and get the day rolling. If you're eating your oatmeal at work, you're still getting something in. Maybe on your stable days you plan for a bigger lunch or save a part of it to nibble on your drive out. I find that if I have a mid afternoon snack I'm more in control when I'm getting dinner ready. And I totally agree with what you said to Hippy about trying different things, paying attention and finally after much trial and error, finding something that works for you.

Hippy, I made brownies this weekend too. Except I put in extra nuts and used 3 eggs for the "cakelike" ones. They were dry as hay. Which was good because I didn't eat them then. :lol: They are getting tossed on Friday for trash day as they are about petrified by now. Finally, a brownie I can live with!

Erin, good that you are getting back on track again instead of letting a slip up bring you spiraling down. I am attaching the last 3 pieces of chocolate I have here at the house but don't be surprised it they get scarfed by someone on the pipeline before they get over to you. Kellogg's makes a Krave bar that I sometimes use to stem my chocolate fix. It's not exactly dietary but not as bad as real candy either. They have a chocolate one and a chocolate peanut flavor.

Tracy, that's great that you are back into playing tennis again. I am jealous that you have weather you can play tennis in. And what's this with the new soapy water diet? That's not how you do a colon cleanse - hahahaha.

Jolly, hope things are going well with you and that life has calmed down a bit for you.

I'm doing good so far. Pretty much sticking to plan, a few slips but I'm trying. At least I haven't abandoned all hope yet. I am still working on the make it a habit, make it a habit thing. I am feeling more compelled to be good over bad so that's a good thing.

Happy Thursday, we're heading into the deadly tempting weekend. Take a deep breath and steel your resolve or lift that bale, tote that barge or however that goes ;)

And I don't like the clown smilies. Good thing they are short term.

Morning Gals,

I am soooo glad yesterday is over. I don't know what was wrong with me but I woke up with a headache that I could not get to go away. After I posted I slept off and on unti 2:30. It eased up but never went away. Anyway, feeling much better today. I didn't have to worry about overeating because I didn't eat anything at all yesterday si need to get some healthy foods in me today.

Happy, brownies aren't even my favorite thing. I think I just baked them for no reason, ate them because I wanted to and am now kicking myself for giving in to temptation. Thankfully everyone ate them and they are gone so I won't have to beat myself with a stick to stay away from them :rollpin:

Raven, I am so glad you said that. I thought I was some type of freak! I have had no sex drive at all since I went back on birth control. I don't remember it being like that when I was on them before but that was 14 years ago. I feel like I have to choose between a sex life and a normal life because when I don't take them my periods are long and heavy, to the point that some days I can't go anywhere because I can't get away from the bathroom. Now I have no cramping, PMS is less severe and I spot for about 2 days, I almost feel addicted to them because I don't want to go back to the heavy ones. The joys of being a woman! I don't want to wish my life away but I can't wait until menopause! I hope I take after my Mother, she stopped having periods at 42!

Me and Gary had a long talk last night about all of this working he's doing. I get so depressed because he gone all of the time. I do good to see him a few hours a day. He works 3rd shift but it's screwy, he has to be there anywhere from 4 to 8 in the afternoon and gets home anywhere from 3 to 7 in the morning. He gets off work Friday morning, goes to his second job, is lucky if he's home by midnight, leaves at 4 am Saturday morning and is lucky to be home again by midnight. Sleeps most of the day Sunday and goes back to his regular job Sunday night and does it all over. I understand that he is doing this because we bought a new truck and want to buy a house and so on but geez, I just want my hubby. It was agreed upon that when I had Jordan I would stay at home until he got in school. He is 13 and I still don't work. Little did we know that Jordan would be born a gifted child and take special classes and be involved in so many activities. Not that that has anything to do with it other than Gary feels I need to be here when Jordan gets home incase he needs help with homework and I do spend time at school helping with the Academic Team and ball games and so on. I think it's just our routine and he doesn't want it broken. :blah: Anyway, he has agreed that as soon as I can pay off this one payment that we have he will quite his second job. I can't wait! I'm going to work on a new budget today and see how fast I can pay it off.

Okay then, I have gone on long enough.

Hope everyone has a lovely day.

Hidey hey folks...

Lucky - I'm really glad the job isn't as intimidating as you thought it might be. I'm sure as you get to know things better, there will be additional challenges to face. :) I hope Mark gets over it. Sometimes we don't have the luxury of being able to schedule our time around our partners. Or sometimes we just don't want to have to. Boy do I know that one. How goes the weight loss? Any closer to hopping on Lucky?? :p

Happy - I always dump in more spices than a typical recipe calls for. I would say a good 3/4 of all the recipes I try are bland to me. Not enough garlic, usually. ;) Are you a salt person? I know my BF is big into salt, and often times what tastes wonderful to me tastes bland to him because he thinks it needs more salt. :dunno: Brownies as dry as hay. Hmmmm... I know! Send them to me, I'll feed them to my horses! :D You know, last time I tried this it really did seem so easy, and I'm not sure why it's so much more difficult this time. I wonder if it's because now I realize this isn't something I can do for a few months and "go back" - I really don't know. The comment you made about trying to make things a habit seemed to strike some sort of chord in me. It's like this time I'm really trying to change my life, not just lose weight. Odd. Even my daughter is really thinking about her lifestyle and trying to figure things out in the weight area... she finally came to me the other day and said "Mom, I've decided I don't care how much I weigh. I've decided that I'm more interested in what size clothes I can wear, if I'm happy with the way I look, and if I'm healthy and fit." And you gotta know I was so proud and happy to hear her say that. And the funny thing is, she's been losing weight - she's now fitting into pants that were too small for her 4 months ago. But she's eating decently, so I know she's not in there starving herself... I'm hoping that my attempts to change our eating habits are making an impact on her.

Hippy - Aw... I'm sorry you had such a lousy headache! I know sometimes the weather will get to me if we have a big pressure change - my sinuses will just KILL me, and it doesn't even seem to help to take pain relievers. I just go through the day feeling like my head is going to explode. I'm really glad today is better for you. You know what's weird, I thought I was a freak too till I talked to the planned parenthood folks about it. The nurse I spoke with said she's seen a lot of women talk about that. Really, I just want to lose this weight, have the tummy tuck and at the same time that I'm down for that, have my tubes tied. I know it won't end the periods and stuff, but at least I won't have to worry about taking pills, etc. My mom didn't hit menopause till she was in her 50s, so .. I have a ways to go, I'm afraid. Bless Gary's heart though, for working as hard as he does! There are a lot of guys who won't. But I do know what you mean about missing him, especially with the weird shifts. I hope you can get the finances worked out so you two can look forward to spending more time with each other!

Of course, this is another good news, bad news thing. Good news, the adjustment of breakfast really helped, and last night, dinner was great. So I stayed OP with food beautifully yesterday. AND I got to bed on time and woke up on time! Big improvement. Bad news, this morning my period started, which wouldn't have ordinarily kept me from working out, it's just yucky feeling. But then I was putting on my running shoes and gee wow.. the left one is split on the sole across the ball of the foot. *sigh* Ok, now.. these are old shoes. I know that. I just couldn't afford to go buy new ones. I've just been pushing it and doing the interval training with them on and trying to ignore the pains in my shins. *wince* Ok, I know.. that's really stupid. The wear pattern on the shoes has gotten literally dangerous to my health. BUT! I got a raise, right!? So to celebrate that raise, I'm buying new running shoes on the 23rd when I get paid. Woo! I'm also taking my BF out to dinner at Outback. I have a gift certificate for $35 which will cover most of the cost that I got from my boss at Christmas. Wee! That will be a seriously off plan meal. So, till I go buy the shoes, I guess I'll just wing it. Stay OP with food, etc. Oh, and today I'm upping my water to 4 bottles a day instead of three. 2 before lunch, 2 after. Doing good!! Now if only it doesn't rain all weekend like the forecast is calling for... :mad:

again..e-mail has failed me
 

ok new e-mail everyone

[email protected]

I stil have my old

I again apologize for not posting

Raven..i know the money thing will even out..they always do..it seems everytime i get in a fix..the good Lord brings me up. I am sorry about the raise...when I read that..i felt well.like it was super unfair..my hubby is not getting a raise or a bonus this year..but..as so many people have lost their jobs here..we are trying to be like.hey at least I have a job..sigh..but it is HARD...i hope your babies get over being lame soon.


Hipp me too on the heache i ahd a sinus one for weeks then boom went to the doc..and he prescribed a bunch of stuff for me. I hope you are resting and taking care of yourself..ah i did the brownies myself for my kids..in some cute new cookie cutters i bought..ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh..what was wiht this brownie thing!!

Happy what is that cookbook??I just got a ton of Martha stewart everyday books from my mom and I love them..The ban and pasta soup was great plus it was really low cal. Let me know if you want to exhange food stuff..looking for kid friendly ones too please..ps soap.does a colon good..lo

Hey lucky..i once worked for a moving company and filled in on that job several times..it takes areally good mind and thinking on your feet to do that!! I am sorry you are working so late..is this abuys time for your business?? Thanks you again for the pep talk!!

Jolly what is going on with chance??please let me know...i missed that in the posts..please forgive me

Emaleyth..how old is your child??i used to teach preschool??Has the flu been bad where you are??hey where do you live??lol It hit really hard in my town. I hope your wee one gets better soon!!

chachee..helloooooooooooooooooooo

all for now..the hubster is yelling at me..sihg

later

Raven, after spending over $2,000 on physical therapy for my feet - not to mention over $300 for orthothics - all I can say is get new shoes! I know money has been tight lately but better you just do a walk in your street shoes then to mess up your feet bad with torn shoes. But hopefully you can treat yourself soon with your raise. And no, I'm not a salt person at all but I do realize you have to use it in cooking because sometimes like with soup if you don't put it in at the beginning, you can never season it enough afterwards to taste. My husband used to drive me crazy because in the early days he'd heavily salt and pepper everything before he even tasted it. He's gotten away from that now and we don't even have the shakers on the table. About the only thing I like salt on is fresh from the garden tomatoes. I even scrape the salt off the hot pretzels.

And I hate to burst your bubble ladies, but it takes as much as 10 years after menopause starts before you finally stop having periods. And in between that time there's all sorts of new and exciting things that happen that make the periods seem not so bad. Ugh...

Tracy for the first time in 20 years my hubby is not getting a raise this year. Last year we had a freeze and I didn't get a raise. The economy still stinks and I will personally hunt down anyone who admits to voting Bush in for another term this year. But don't feel bad, he sent our people to war and then cut combat pay so they didn't get raises either. Sorry... editorial frustration here. And yes, I must say, when are we going to worry about taking care of the people in THIS country for a change???? And the cookbook Tracy is Bill Phillips of the Body For Life program - his new book/cookbook - Eat for Life. Jury is still out on it but I'd be glad to trade recipes and ideas.

Hippy, hope you are feeling better and that you can work out some kind of budget so that you can have your husband around a little more. Sounds like he's more of a visitor around the house and it's hard to maintain a relationship that way. And I'm sure your son is getting to the age where having Dad around a bit more is just as important as Mom time, maybe even slanting the other way now that he's older.

We are supposed to get sleet late Friday and into Saturday. That will put the kabosh on any weekend stuff and bodes of a weekend spent huddling inside doing chores. Just as well, that basement does need dejunking!

Have a good weekend everyone! No weekend binges please!

Good Morning!

My head is full again again today. I know it's a sinus thing. Trying to treat it on my own but I guess I will go to the doctor if it's not better come Monday. I feel pretty good until the sinus medicine wears off. There's no time around here to feel yucky.

Raven, you are so sweet! I bet you are so proud of your daughter for making good choices. Is she a teenager? Just wondering. I know teens gets alot of pressure as far as body image and what brand clothes they wear and so on. It sounds like she is pretty level headed and that she cares more about what she thinks of herself than what others think. GOOD FOR HER!!!

Happy, it's funny that you should say that. Jordan was always such a mommas boy and now it's all about dad! Don't get me wrong, we are close and love eachother but if he gets a chance to hang out with Gary I just get pushed to the side! That's okay, I think it's important for them to have their time. Jordan goes to work with Gary every Saturday. They get to talk alot and they do the job together. I think it's a good way for Jordan to learn that money has to be earned. We pay him a a little bit for helping Gary and for doing his chores here and he knows if there is something that he wants he has to save for it. We don't make him pay for all of his stuff but for some things just so he can learn about earning and saving money.

I feel bad today for complaining about Gary. He is a wonderful man. He definately believes in providing for his family and we have all that we need and most of what we want. It's just that shopping isn't near as wonderful as hanging out with my hubby.

I'm glad to hear that some of us are exercising and eating healthy. I'm having a really hard time doing this. The last time I jumped right in there. I refused to eat bad foods and I drank only water. Now I just seem to half *** it. I won't give up. I'm still working and planning and the day will come when I will stay with the program.

Better get moving, it's grocery day. Have a great Friday!