Hi everyone,

OOooooooooooooooooooooo Spryng, it's really gorgeous!! Congrats. I have a 4.5 year old Ford Explorer that I love. I would like to trade up to an Expedition, but since I lost my job, that isn't happening!! Sorry about your Dh... :(

Can I just go off here about what absolute BRATS my boys were today????? If one wasn't pulling on me or whining the other one was. They just about pushed me over the edge! Thank God for grocery shopping after dinner! I got out of the house for an hour and could calm down. Dh of course was at his witts (sp?) end in just that hour!! Will just would not listen and Tony wanted to be held pretty much all day. :dizzy: :mad: :eek: :fr: Thanks ladies, I feel so much better now!!

Gosia, I thing that buying exercise videos ought to be like the very old days (even before my time :lol: ) when you could listen to a record (you know, vynil, an lp....) before you bought it. What a total waste of money if you buy something you absolutely hate. So glad Ali's feeling better.

Melinda, Will used to always get sick when he was in daycare. He's been home since the end of November and has had only one cold since (knock on wood)...all those baby germs!! His dr said it's better for the little ones to be exposed to build up their immune systems. Glad you got another workout in. Hope the videos are at least worth the 50 cents. :lol:

Andrea, hope the taxes worked out in your favor. We're getting an ungodly return! I got paid almost 3/4 of a year's salary between my severance and retention bonus and an additional bonus that got taxed at 39% instead of the 25% it should have been taxed at. We plan to put a deck in the backyard this summer. We have no patio or entertainment area back there so the lawn furniture actually sat on the lawn. Spryng, I'm so jealous of your 62 degrees! It's going to get above freezing here for the first time in a month...woo hoo!!! Take an outside walk for me .... pretty please???? :D

Well, I stayed OP today and have actually drank more than 10 glasses of water....so why am I hungry???? Oh yes, bad habit of eating at night. I'm going to hide down here so I'm not in the kitchen. I even got on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Only 1.46 miles, but I do it an an incline so it's an uphill battle....to battle the butt you know?? I changed my stats today. I have gained 3 of my 6 pounds back :( So I have now set a mini goal of 17 lbs off by the end of March. It's 2 lbs a week, but if I get my exercise in, it's doable. Then took a nice long shower...the kind you can't take in the daytime with the little ones... ahhhhhh.

Well, I had better post this before I lose it.

Hi to Ginny, Candy, Lori, Ricci, anyone else out there??

Geri,
You're right they should let you see the video/dvd before buying it. Money is a bit tight at the moment, as I am not working and we have to get used to having only 50% of the money, but one hungry mouth instead :heart:
Congratulations on your water and work out! This two are even more difficult for me than staying away from food. Next week I am going to work on that two.

Ginny,
Thanks for the tip, I will look for it, maybe I will find it at reasonable price.

We have made a big decision, that we are going to try let me stay at home two years instead of just one. We hade to decide now if we are trying or not, bacause we are applying now for SAHM Aid and had to decide if we want to get it 12 or 24 months. I just knew if we choose the 12 months option (it's at 150% rate of the 24 months) there will be no way I can stay at home two years. It still may not work out, because DH is self-employed and things get better or worse periodically, but at least we want to give it a try. I really hope it works. Ali wouldn't have to go to daycare that early and I could follow with my studies and start my Master Degree in the fall.... Which I would love to do. My Mom said that she will think about lending me money to pay for my university, but hey, loans mean that you have to pay them back. OK, enough money rambling. It's just because we visited a daycare yesterday and I couldn't imagine my teeny tiny there, even if she would be already 14 months while starting.

So now something merrier... Wednesday is my Weigh In Day and today the scales made me a present. 75,7 kg - 166,5lbs!!! My April Fools Day Goal seems more and more realistic!! I actually achieved the wieght I had 3 years ago. Only two more years do undo and I'm happy LOL.

Good morning.
I don't know anyone who is up at this ungodly hour. I just wanted to let you know that I won't be home until later this evening. MIL called our cell phone at 11:30 last night. She has a blood clot in her leg and is in the hospital in Joplin. So dh took the day off, and we are going up to see her. You all have a great OP day.

Good morning all!
Ricci, so sorry to hear about your MIL. My mother had that happen once and was in the hospital for a few days while they thinned her blood and all that to get rid of it. Is it above the knee? They are so dangerous when above the knee. Wow, Joplin huh? You won't be very far from me!!! Some day we really should meet. :)
Gosia, there is an online site that shows clips from workout videos so you can check them out before you buy any. I think it is called www.collagevideo.com or something like that. I think Ginny knows the name. What is SAHM aid? I wish I could get something like that here. But here they push you to work and throw your kids in daycare to do so. No one supports SAHM's anymore. It's too sad. I enjoy every day that I am allowed to be here with them because who knows what the future brings and I may be working someday. Congrats on your WI!!! Is that a 3 1/2 lb loss??? That is fantastic! Whatever you are doing seems to be working out for you!
Geri, my heart goes out to you. My kids give me alot of days like that. Sometimes I think I'm going to go hoarse from all the talking I have to do to keep them in line. And my ds (the 3 yo) is my stubborn one and likes to fight me to no end sometimes. Very frustrating. Hopefully though today will be better for you. Sending you a great big ((((((HUG)))))) Were you able to stay out of the kitchen last night? I think those 3 lbs will come off quickly now that you are remotivated. What are you having for dinner tonight?
Ginny, I hope you today goes well for you and we get to "see" you more, lol. Did you say you were skipping the meeting today?
Well, my day should stay active. I plan on cleaning like crazy this morning and then around 10 or 10:30 am I am taking the kids to the park for an hour or so. They will enjoy that. I also plan to get a walk in while I am there.
Ok, so I should see you all again during nap time this afternoon. TTYL!

Mornin'! Sorry I haven't made it to chat lately. I had to restore my computer to a previous backup and of course that was when the chat wasn't working so now I have to try and figure out how to get it working again.

Anyhows, Spryng, love the van! Sorry to hear DH won't be home this weekend. I know that was disappointing. Does he have to request every weekend he gets off? How much time off does he get a year? Does he ever get to take a week or two off at a time? Hope ya'll have fun at the park today.

Ricci, hope your MIL will be ok. Keep us updated on her condition.

Ginny, I know it is not funny but you get a little giggle out of me when you talk about dd. I am soooo not looking forward to those days! Glad you are enjoying your new video. Hope things calm down a little for you.

Gosia, I check out my videos on the site Spryng recommended. You can also get their newsletter which is really informative. I purchased my Winsor Pilates DVD's from them and it was a good experience. But often I check them out there and then see if I can find them cheaper on EBAY or Half.com, which I almost always do. Hope you find some you like. My favorite is pilates but I also have the Walk away the pounds, Kickboxing and Hula Dancing Videos. I really need to get back to doing them!

Geri, sorry you had such a rough day. I had a bad day yesterday too. My laundry helper was running off at the mouth a bit about my kids and I got really ticked off and finally said something too her, can't even remember what it was, but it wasn't nice. She did shut up after that though. She is only 17!!! I keep trying to remind myself of that! The day before she had asked me about taking her to Walmart. I told her I wasn't going but I could drop her off while I ran a couple errands. She said she needed 20 minutes, I gave her 30. Then we waited for 25 minutes more and she still didn't come out. So I left and went to the grocery because we all had to use the bathroom and when we came back she was finally outside. She had been in there 1.5 hours!!! I fussed to say the least. I told her she could have at least come out at the designated time to let me know she wasn't done and ask if she could have more time. Ugh! Ok...I'm done. Sorry my sympathy note turned into venting, Geri! Anyways, hopefully today will be better for both of us! Hope Dr. Phil works for you! Seems everyone has to find what is right for them and until you do, nothing works. Hope this will be it for you! My MIL loves him. I have only caught a piece here or there. Oh, and I meant to tell you, since I started eating more raw foods, I am never hungry. I don't know if you want to hear this or not (my DH is about tired of me) but I'm gonna tell you anyways. Cooked and processed foods lose most of their nutrients so your body is constantly hungry trying to nourish itself but when you eat raw, nutrient rich foods, your aren't hungry as often because your body is getting what it needs. I would never have believed it if I wasn't living it! And the switch to more raw foods is hard at first but it really becomes 2nd nature once you start feeling good. It also helps with ones mental health. I have found I am alot happier and not so easily irritated lately (the incident yesterday could have been a lot uglier :)). Seems my dh loves me more too, or is that just me? Anyways, I'll shut up now but I had to share as I never dreamed that food could affect you in so many ways before I changed my eating and maybe you never thought about it either.

Ok, well, today I am gonna clean my house. Laundry got done yesterday and that's about it. I did get a new dehydrator. It has a motor and I can adjust the temp. My old one didn't have a fan and took forever to dehydrate. Dehydrated foods are considered "raw" because they aren't heated to temps that kill the good stuff. Heat that kills is around 120 degrees. My old dehydrator didn't get anywhere near that and my new one has an adjustable thermostat. My kids love dried bananas and mushrooms so I try to keep something going as they eat them as fast as I dry them.

Well, I'm off to clean. Doubt I'll chat today unless I can get the chat working before then. Yesterday it wouldn't work all day and at night it all of sudden started but then I had to do the restore thing today and of course that was before the chat was working!

Hope everyone has a good day. Hey...what are we doing with the exercise challenge? I think we should do a water drinking challenge along with the exercise. I have been doing really bad with the water and exercise!!! Ok, ttyl!

Good morning everyone,

I'm going to try to chat today if the boys will let me. So far today has been 100% better than yesterday. :dizzy:

Candy, sorry you had a bad day too ... at least it wasn't your kids bothering you. That sure was rude of your helper, but like you said, she's 17. Hopefully she may have learned a lesson! Dr Phil isn't really telling me anything new, but it'll give me a place to go to refresh if I start back-sliding again. He really makes you stop thinking negatively and look at the positive in your life. :D I need a good kick in the butt once in a while. As for raw foods, I am going to try to eat a lot more raw veggies with lunch and as snacks to keep me full. That's about all I can muster at this point! But, feel free to keep me informed as to how it works for you and makes you feel :)

Spryng, yes I stayed out of the kitchen last night. It wasn't easy....I felt hungry when I went to bed. I know that there is no way I was really hungry as I ate grilled chicken, peas, carrots and rice for dinner along with drinking a glass of milk. It's in my head you know? I am so used to snacking all night that it could take a couple of weeks to get rid of that feeling. He says to replace that habit with something opposite...like exercise or relaxation or a hobby or something. I have a ton of projects started that need finishing so I shouldn't have a problem finding something to do. I really wish I could exercise in the morning when I have more energy. Well, when the boys get older I will. For now, I'll just have to do it at night. Enjoy the park ... I'm still very jealous :p

Ricci, sorry about your MIL. My sister who is 3 years younger than me had that. She has to be on blood thinners the rest of her life ... which can really screw thing up...she has to be very careful not to cut herself.

Gosia, what is SAHM aid? Here, it's not having to pay for daycare :lol: but then dealing with half the income is tough. I will eventually have to find a part-time job ... although I don't want to. Daycare was actually very good for Will. I may even put him back in before he starts school so that he can work on those social skills. He's quite shy and will play in the corner by himself rather than with other kids alot of the time. Hopefully everything will work out the way you want it to. Are you planning on having any more kids?

Hi to Ginny, Melinda, Andrea and anyone I may have missed. Hope you're all having a good day. Talk to you all later.

Sorry to be short...everyone had time to chat a lot and all I can do is say hi!
Ricci- I will pray for your MIL.. hope all goes well.

As far as videos goes- there is an online video company Collage video, and in their catalog they rate/analyze the videos. I have found their ratings to be pretty accurate. You might want to try them.

Gotta go- sorry I can't get personal Geri, Candy, Gosia and Spryng.
See ya later.
Ginny

Hi All! Just a quick reply from me also, I'm fixing to go down for a nap :tired:
Ginny, we will take what we can from you!! We miss your long posts though! :)
Geri, I read somewhere that is takes 3 weeks for something to become a habit so hang in there and late night snacking will be a thing of the past. Have you tried the old chewing gum trick? or brushing your teeth trick? The brushing teeth one helps me from eating. I feel like the gum makes me hungrier because it stirs up the saliva and gets my digestive track ready for real food, lol. So that one does the opposite to me.
Candy, yes DH has to put in for every time he gets off and that request has to be in 8 days in advance or more. He gets 4 days off a month so he could come home every weekend and stay for one day or stay out two weeks and come home for 2 days, which is better for the kids so that is what he tries to do. Of course when a month has 5 weeks he is forced to stay out 3 weeks during that month. And no he never gets a week or two off at a time. He isn't eligable for a vacation until he is with them 2 years. And then he gets one week off. But we are hoping after he is with this company one year and he is considered experianced he can switch to a local company and be home every night or at least every weekend. :) So the future will be better. We just have to commit to this arrangement for several more months.
Well the park was fun but cold! :fr: It would have been nicer if the wind wasn't blowing so hard. So the kids played for about 30 minutes and then was ready to leave. So I treated them to Sonic for lunch and rented them The Lion King 1 1/2 to watch and I got subway, so it was nice to come home to our warm house and eat lunch. Tomorrow should be even warmer so maybe we'll try it again. But it was nice to get out for a little bit.
What is everyone having for dinner? I'm making Provencale Chicken, a crockpot dish (smells heavenly in here) it has chicken breasts, basil, salt and pepper, a can of white beans, a can of tomatoes and yellow bell pepper diced and thrown in too. Very easy to make and low in pts. It's only 5 pts for one 4 oz chicken breast and 1 cup of the bean mixture. So it should be filling.
Well I won't be at the chat today, like I mentioned I am laying down now for a nap. hope you all have a nice time and I will chat with you later! :dancer:

Howdy! How has everyone's day been? Mine has been ok. My cough is almost completely gone, in fact, I don't remember coughing once today. My ear was aching again last night as I still have head congestion but it was feeling better today too. All in all, a good day.

Geri, hope today was better for you! Yesterday Kylie was extremely emotional...well, I did wake her up after she had only been sleeping for an hour so she was crying quite a bit and wanting me to hold her. My helper said something about letting her take them home for a week and they would come back better. Ha! Mind you, her 13 year old brother is doing community service for harboring stolen goods. Anyways, I love her pieces but somedays she is more than I can take. I am planning on "firing" her as soon as she finds a real job since I am now on a good schedule and caught up and feel I could keep caught up since I am feeling so much better. Plus, I could really use that $100/month elsewhere. I did it to help her out as much as myself as her family was having a hard time financially (deadbeat dad, etc, etc.). Anyways, enough about that.

Spryng, glad you guys made it to the park. Hope it is warmer tomorrow. I think that warm front will have made it here by then as we are supposed to be in the mid 60's tomorrow and Friday. Do you have a Quizno's there? You talking about Subway got me thinking about Quizno's veggie sub. If you like guacamole, it is pure heaven. How did your kids like the Lion King movie? Mine really want to see it. Oh, and I meant to ask how your leg hairs were coming along. I bought the Nair wax but all I got was a whole lot of pain. I tried it twice, thinking maybe the hairs weren't long enough the first time, though they were plenty long. Both times all it did was rip my skin off but only about 2 hairs. Thankfully Walmart took it back. Do you think it was defective or was it just me?

Ginny, glad to hear from you, even if it was just a drive-by. :)

I made homemade pizza for dinner. It was pretty good, the best yet as far as homemade goes. I was just feeling like I needed a "bad" night. So, pizza it was. I had mushrooms, olives and veggie sausage on mine. I put veggie pepperoni on dh's with the other stuff. He enjoyed it. Didn't complain, at least. I also found out tonight that one of my closest friends is having a GIRL! Ugh!!! She already has 2 girls and I really, really, really wanted her to have a boy. Her husband is such a "I love my girls" kind of guy and I really wanted him to have a son. He is thrilled but she is a little disappointed. Oh well. Such is life. Once that baby is in your arms, it really doesn't matter.

Got my chat working but noone was there today. Figures!!! Spryng, hope you got a good nap. Oh, and I did enjoy Jerry McGuire the other night. I don't know if it was worth the utter exhaustion the next day but I did enjoy it. There are a few corny lines I could have done without ("You had me from hello"). Did anyone see Intolerable Cruelty with George Clooney and Catherine Zeta Jones? I have Netflix and Runaway Jury is on the way. I can't wait! I am dying to see that one.

Ok, well, I have babbled as usual. Hope everyone has a good night.

Good evening everyone.
Well, we went to see MIL at the hospital today. We were in her room with her for 5 hours. The boys were so good. They had fun pushing the buttons and making the bed go up and down. MIL actually has two clots, one above her ankle, and the other right behind her knee. She has to be on blood thinners for six months, and if the clot comes back, then she is on them for life. The dr. told her she has to get blood work done every so often to make sure she is doing good. Since MIL is a truck driver, she has to figure out how to do that. She could be in the hospital for a couple of days, or for a week. If she is still there saturday, we are going back down there to see her. MIL is also a smoker. She couldn't wait to have a cigerette. After the dr talked to her, she went out to the court yard and lit up. Oh well. No matter how many times we tell her how bad it is, especially now, she just won't listen. Her own mom was on an oxygen tank and still smoking until the day she died.
Anyway, when are we going to start this challenge? We got up so early today and left, that I didn't work out, but I did when I got home, and I am on my second jug of water. Candy, I think most 17 year olds are like that. I have a brother who is 17, and a sister who is 15, and both of them just say what they want with out thinking. Makes me want to choke them both. Well, I have babbled on enough. I will catch you all later. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers on MIL. You guys are great.:thanks: :grouphug:

No workout today! I spent the day shopping with my grandma. She is 82 and we love going bargain shopping. We went to a new Ross Dress for Less store in the area and the $1 store. I spent $50 and got tons of stuff, pretty exciting. JW was great, but wore out from the day out. He was in bed before 7 tonight.

I am a bit dehydrated now. When I am out all day, I do not get my intake of water, b/c I am still new with finding a bathroom for mom and baby. I will caught up now and be up all night probably. However, the day with my grandma was all worth. She is in good health, but I treasure each day with her. JW had 7 greatgrands when he was born, now he has 6.

We had feta tomato chicken with brown rice for dinner, with salad. It was great, but I think I went overbroad on the serving. Well, I am going to start my water and take one day at a time.

Happy Evening!

Melinda

I placed a picture in the profile. Checking to see if it works!
Mom and JW on Valentines

Melinda

Ricci, glad to hear MIL is doing ok. Hope she continues to improve. I'm sure her occupation doesn't help with the circulation in her legs but what's she gonna do? As for the smoking, it's like anything else. Until the person gets some motivation to stop, it just won't happen. Sounds like you have done all you can...the rest is up to her. Anyhows, congrats on the excercise and water!!! I was home all day and didn't do as well, what's my excuse?!?

Melinda, love the picture!!! Glad you had a great day with grandma. Did you go to the new Ross in the north area? I wasn't sure if it was open yet. I think one is coming West Ashley also, but I know it is not open yet. I can't wait to check it out. We had Ross in Florida and I always found great deals. Your dinner sounded yummy! Would you mind posting the recipe? Sounds like I could make it vegetarian and I love feta cheese.

Ok, back to work. We spent a little time tonight working on the house plans, figuring cost on different things and picking out different things. So much work!

Hope everyone has a great night!!!

Just a quick hello tonight.

Candy, I tried to chat but I kept getting error messages! Figures!! The last couple of times I was all alone. I'll try again tomorrow.

Ricci, glad you got to spend so much time with MIL. BTW, my sister's still smoking. She'll never learn.

Melinda, great pic!! Nice to finally meet you and JW.

Can I whine a little now? Thanks, you girls are great! This not snacking at night is killing me. OK, it's only the 2nd day but geez! I had less cravings when I finally quit smoking (almost 5 years ago ... yeah for me!) than I'm having now. I swear, it's like detox!! I know I'll be OK in a few days ... or weeks ... or ... oh please, not months!

Thanks for listening chickies!! Got more than enough water in today (btw, was up at least 3 times to go potty last night!) and 30 minutes on the treadmill again. So day 2 and I'm still OP!! I had a morningstar farms pizza burger for lunch. If you haven't tried them I suggest you do....HEAVENLY!! Dinner was grilled haddock, baked potato and peas leftover from last night's dinner. I use the spray margerine for a little butter flaver and put garlic powder on just about everything..yummy! Didn't need to slather butter on the potato.

Well, I'm off to find something to watch...maybe...or maybe I'll keep reading Dr Phil's book tonight. I hope everyone's having a wonderful evening.

Good morning all!
Ok, I guess I was the one who suggested the exercise challenge so I should get it going right?? lol. Ok, How about this, for those of us who haven't been exercising at all lately lets take it slow, lets aim for 3 days a week of at least 20 minutes a day. How does that sound? Then next week we can add one more day to it and so on until we are doing it 4-5 days a week. Does that sounds do-able or should we just aim for the 3 days a week for a few weeks and then move up?? But it has to be something that is at least 20 minutes long (yes you can break it up and do 10 minutes here and the other 10 min later if that is easier for you) And then when we increase our number of days to workout we can also increase our duration, up to 30 minutes a day. How does that sound?? Now we just need to figure out when to start the first week. Today? Tomorrow? Monday? Tomorrow is my WI day and I don't work out the day before but we can still start today, I don't mind at all. OK, also we will report our exercise either before we go to bed or in the morning so we all know how well each of us are doing. But ladies if you miss a day or something don't feel like you have to hide it or anything, it's not called a challenge for nothing! It's hard!! :) Just report it anyway and we will go from there ok? Ok, now who is in??
Geri, so sorry the night snacking is getting to you. Hang in there! I always felt like things got better after 3 days OP. So keep up the good work and IT WILL PASS! What does Dr.Phil say to do at night instead of snacking? And what do you do inplace of it? Do you sit and think about how much you want to be in that kitchen? Does he not even allow healthy snacking at night? I don't usually at after 5-6 pm (most of the time earlier) so I'm not a night snacker but I know there have been ocassions where I was hungry and hit the fridge for some baby carrots or something before bed. Are you able to do that? Your dinner sounded so great! I love fish on occasion. I haven't had any in a long time. Maybe that should be on my list this week. :)
Melinda, so nice to get to "see" you! I love it when we all post some pics every now and then. I should re-post some of mine for the ones who have joined us recently. So nice that you got to spend the day with your grandma! All of my grandparents are in california and I haven't seen them in 3 1/2 years now. I sure miss them all.
Ricci, your MIL sounds like she is in bad shape. With being a truck driver that won't help her blood clots. She needs something where she isn't sitting as much. Is she going to be released soon? Is she going straight back to driving?
Candy, sorry your helper is giving you problems. I remember those young teenagers who thought they had the answer to everything. How is she doing on her weightloss?? And as for a quiznos, no there isn't one here but there is in Joplin. DH has had them and loves them but I've yet to eat at one. But I do love guacomole so that sounds like something I'd be interested in if I had some flexpoints to burn, lol. And my leg hairs are fine, lol. Did you heat the wax up first before using it?? I find that it works so much better if the wax is warm and also when you pull the strip off, do you pull straight up and off or bend the strip back to where it is parallel with the rrest of the strip on the leg and yank? The latter works better also. But if it hurts you and doesn't get the job done then I say nix it. Don't kill yourself to have waxed legs :) I'm out of strips right now so I am back to my trusty old razor for awhile. I can't seem to find just the wax strips anywhere without having to buy the entire kit again. Maybe I should try a beauty salon outlet store. Oh and I rented Runaway Jury last night and I thought it was fantastic!!! Great story line with just the right twists. I really liked it.
Well my provancale chicken came out wonderful last night. I loved how the flavors mixed. I'll post the recipe if anyone is interested. And it was a crockpot dish which I love to make because of convenience.
Today I am making Angel Hair Pasta Delight for dinner, another recipe from cooking light online. And some light housework also. And that is about it. I really need to get into my kids bedrooms and clean them and throw out a bunch of toys like some of you have been doing recently. But I just feel overwhelmed when I walk in there. What a mess!
Well I am off to grab a shower and then get some breakfast in me. I hope everyone is having a nice thursday and let me know your thoughts about the exercise challenge!!
TTYL!