Hello Ladies,

Had weigh in last night, and was up one pound, but that is okay. It’s TOM for me and I usually am up more than that!

Linda: I found out last night that 94% FF Kettlecorn is NOT CORE. There has been much debate about this, and they ruled it not to be core. So, I find myself finding another snack, as I can’t stand regular butter microwave popcorn. Guess I’ll just use my air popper at home and sprinkle Splenda on it. I’m sorry you are feeling fat. That will pass. Just keep up the good fight. I’m very proud of you for your quilting project. As the wife of an enlisted man, it makes me feel good that there are people who care about us. I’m sure those families are going to treasure the quilts you make them and they will be passed down from generation to generation.

Happy: I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. I’m going to add garlic to it next time, but man, it sure was good. I hope you hear something soon about the job offers.

Raven: Sounds like the old you is back. You are such a strong woman, why would you think you needed a man to validate you? It’s very nice to have a man, a companion, a significant other, but don’t lose track of yourself in order to have it. You are such an inspiration to me with all your goals and dreams, and being the mother of two teenagers and doing so well. If there are times when your man isn’t the best thing and is more problems than love, then it’s time to re-assess having them in your life. I don’t know exactly what your situation is with him, but search your heart and find what is best for you and your family. As for coming down there, we are planning next Christmas to be in NC, so you better make some time for me!!!

Jolly: Where are you? It’s weird not hearing from you. Hope things are okay, and I miss you.

Alright, ladies, looking forward to a great week again next week. Life is getting busier with the holiday season coming up. Time to make sure we are on track with everything, so nothing falls by the wayside.

Happy Thursday.

Chach

Hi people. Just a quick message to say I'm alive and reading the posts on the fly at times, wishing I could sit down with you and chat at leisure. No time to read back now, but from what I remember, Raven! come on girl, have some faith in yourself. What is meant to be will be and there is a reason I believe. If anything, it's perhaps to show yourself that you are much much bigger than all this sh!t happening to you. Just believe you will prevail. You have your dream and you must hold tight to it! There was a poem I knew from when I was a little girl. Langston Hughes. You probably know it. It always gave me a sense of strength and perserverance.

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
for if dreams die
life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Derry, the quilting is such a beautiful thing to do. I am sitting here getting chills and my eyes well up with tears to think of the feelings, the thoughts that are going into that project. Those families will most surely feel the same. You are fantastic.

Gotta run. Later, all.

Aw shucks you guys! Thanks for your kind words about the quilting stuff!
I am so enthused about this. Did you ever feel that a certain thing was just meant to be? This is kind of how I'm feeling about this project. It's falling into place, there are volunteers coming out of the woodwork to help, wow! I am totally overwhelmed, but busy. Happy is not the right word to describe how I feel, as these soldiers gave their lives for freedom, however, I am hoping that the people who get these quilts can feel happy in knowing that so many people dropped whatever they were doing to take part in this as they felt the importance of showing support, love and caring. Wow.
Just when you get down on the human race, they do some amazing stuff and you get all pumped up and feeling good! One person CAN make a difference!
At any rate, feeling good, eating good. What more can one ask for, except of course that ______ scale showing me a reward for all my hard work!
Just HAVE to share this recipe with you all, we had it last night and it's a 9.9 on my 1 - 10 scale!

Yes! Pizza Crust On Core!!!!!!

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First, credit where credit is due.... I am on another thread and have been whining about not having pizza and the wonderful, dear Melanie came back with this pizza crust recipe! Haven't tried it yet, but I will for sure!

PIZZA WITH POLENTA CRUST

Non stick cooking spray
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup cold water
1 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
1/2 cup grated fat free parmeson (Kraft makes a Non Fat "grated topping" that is on my core companion book, but I couldn't find it, so used low fat parmesan and gave myself points.... changes the point total at the bottom of this recipe, but thought I'd leave it there so you could see it, if you can find ff parmesan)

Spray a 9 inch pie pan with non stick spray. Preheat oven to 375. Place cornmeal in small bowl. Add cold water and stir until well mixed. Stir cornmeal mixture into saucepan of boiling water. Cook, stirring over low heat until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stirr in salt and parmeson. Spread cornmeal mixture to form a crust in the greased pan, using wet hands or a spatula. Spread evenly across bottom and up sides. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Add toppings and bake until finished.

6 points for the whole crust for those who are doing points.

So, guys, it's off to breakfast and a work out for me. Keep up your spirits guys, especially YOU Red!
Linda

Red - What can I say? That poem, of course, made me cry. It's so true. And at the risk of sounding flippant, I feel like I've been flopping around with a broken wing for the vast majority of my life. Are you ok? How is the job thing going? How are you?

Chachee - *warm hug* Why would I think those things? Fighting my old conditioning again, I guess. But you're right. I've been thinking a lot lately, and getting my head back on straight and making sure my priorities are in the right place, and for the right reasons. But I can come in here and read how you all are doing, and I know that even if I slip for a while, I'll get going again. I'm so proud of you! I told Jolly this... Regardless of my agonizing, the drama, whatever - I know this much. No matter how long it takes, I'm going to lose the weight, I'm going to get my certification in hoof care, I'm going to keep going. Whatever happens around me will happen, but I can't let it all distract me to the point of forgetting my goals, my dreams, my priorities.

Today ... My daughter and I are off to check out Play it Again Sports and see if I can't find a good used treadmill. Wish me luck!

Raven, just a quick remark and then I've gotta get rolling....
You have not seemed like a bird flopping around with a broken wing to me, also the rest of you, truly. I think WE are all strong women supporting each other and we are all, in our own way, trying very hard to get it together and keep it together. I think we all have had, some more than others, our share of hard luck, but we are coping and not wallowing in it all.
We can work together and move forward, thinner and happier and more "together"!
Linda

Hi guys,

Just a quick check in. Linda, that's really great what you are doing with the quilt making. What a terrific way to reach out to people!!!!

Raven, I hope you are able to find a good treadmill at a decent price. Last weekend we FINALLY got the basement cleaned and I'm back on my treadmill again. Bouncing between bike riding and the treadmill and boy did I miss it. I feel alot better regularly exercising again. It is not showing up in the scale but I am not letting that discourage me.

Red, big hugs to you I hope you find your way through the minefield that is your life right now. I can totally relate. Sometimes it's very hard not to sink into despair which is why I haven't posted much lately. I don't even know how to put it into words many times but I'm not in a very good place myself right now. Mostly just plugging away.

I suppose I should remind myself that often I sink into the pits of despair and hit a personal low and then boom, good times are right around the corner. Maybe feeling bummed out now is a good thing as the answers are nearer than I think.

Either that or I'm just goofy again

Hellos to Chachee, Jolly, Lucky and Hippy. I'm off for a good night's sleep. We were supposed to go camping this weekend but changed our minds and decided to stay home and work around the house. I think we missed the best weekend of the year to go camping - hope the weather holds up for the next few weeks.

Take care ladies...

Happy, glad you are back on that treadmill!
Best weekend for camping? Wow, it was pouring buckets, windy and nasty all day yesterday here in NH. We had the remants of Hurrican Ivan coming through. This morning it is 43 degrees, very chilly, but at least sunny.
My exercise for the day will be yard work this afternoon, this morning church.
Red, I am still sending energy in your direction. I know times are tough, but I meant what I said in my last post, we are ALL strong women. Keep telling yourself that!
Linda

Derry, thanks! I'm trying. Raven, happy, thanks too. Things are no better but I am fighting!

Ok, I gave up on the buying a treadmill idea. I guess I'm spoiled. My old treadmill had a cushioned deck and it's hard to go back to the standard hard one. I'd have to spend too much to get what I really want right now, so it's time to repair the old one. I think I can get a new belt for $150 or less, and the motor will last for a little while longer, then I'll replace it, too. Apparently there aren't many used ones for sale right now... maybe just bad timing on my part.

Today it's hauling wood. Amanda (my new barn owner) felled a bunch of trees on her property and cut the majority of it to stove length, so Valeska and I will be loading up the pickup and bringing at least one full load over today. Then I'll buy an axe and a maul and teach V the fine art of chopping wood. I miss that. Plus with wood at $190 a cord here, it's going to save me a LOT of money this winter! I try to heat with wood rather than turn the gas heat on, so this will really help the budget. Lets see if I can NOT throw out my back again. *grump*

Yesterday it was all about adventures with round bales. I found out a round bale will fit in the back of the truck. I also found out I really should have brought straps to keep it from rolling back and forth when I stopped and started. *eek* I noticed interesting things... like you never notice the bank in a road till you have as high a profile as a round bale and you feel like you're just going to tip right over... especially when the wind is blowing. And there are 15 cars piled up behind you because you don't want to go faster than 35 in a 45 mph zone. *lol* Oh! And if you get a round bale rolling downhill, throwing yourself in front of it to stop it is NOT a good idea!! On the positive side, my horses are very happy. Now I get to see how long one lasts for three horses.

Ate way too much - it was Richard's birthday dinner. Eh. Move on. I'm seeing the scale start to creep up. Not a good thing. I have an e-mail in to the company that supplies belts so I hope to find out if they can replace mine and how much it will cost today.

Happy - As much as I don't like it, life does seem to operate that way for me, as well. I think that's why, even though I kind of pulled back on the board, I didn't let this slump get to me. I didn't think of it as the end, or as failure, or whatever. I just let it roll. I knew it would end at some point, and it seems to be ending now. Goofy is ok, too. Many years ago I decided that confusion was just my brain trying to figure something out, it was normal, and to just let it be. At some point all would be clear. I think my slumps, my depressions, my agonizing is kind of the same thing. If I just be patient and ride it out instead of trying to force something, everything will eventually work itself out. Congrats to you on getting back into the swing, getting on the treadmill, using the bike. Hopefully I'll be joining you soon! I hope that foot doesn't give you much trouble, and the stretching helps.

Red - *hug* You are that, aren't you. A fighter. I hope you can rest soon.

Linda - We had the remnants of Ivan last week, and got record rainfall. Yay. I'm still fighting street closures from where the flooding tore apart roads. It was supposed to be totally yucky all weekend, but it turned out to be utterly gorgeous. Fall is most definitely in the air. Seems early for GA. I wonder if that means this winter is going to be a cold one. Yay.

Jolly my girl... where are you? Is everything ok?

Chach - Hope you're having a great weekend!

Off to toss wood!

Boy oh boy oh boy... if you didn't hit the nail on the head with that one. I think that's what's frustrating me so much - there are 3 directions I can go in, I'm not one to just sit and tread water, yet I can't really do much of anything until I have an idea of which direction to go in - I'm not about to go full tilt in one direction if things will change and that will become a mostly wasted effort. At this point I have a week and a half left on the job. I guess I will just do my best to get through this time and decide where to go from there (I sure wouldn't mind having a week or 2 off to tackle some things - but it would be easier knowing I had a definite job after that time).

Anyway, I've already had a morning bike ride - almost an hour - a new personal best for me. And I'll do the treadmill in the evening so I got a good workout today. Grocery shopping now.

Raven, we have a cushioned track too and even with cushy sneakers, there's a huge HUGE difference so I hear where you're coming from, especially if you're running. It's like trying to walk a treadmill with Dutch wooden shoes once you've been on the cushioned track.

What's a round bale? Is that one of those big round hay things we see in the fields as we are out in farmland? If it is, geez yeah I hope you'd have that thing strapped down in your truck! Good going on the wood. Go easy on the back and enjoy your chopping. Lizzie Borden had an ax... Chopping wood is HARD work! as your daughter is no doubt about to find out.

G'morning chicklets.

Happy - *lol* Yes, a round bale is one of those big round things. I know what you mean about treading water. I get very impatient to DO SOMETHING, and a lot of times, that's not what needs to happen. I don't like the unknown, I don't like waiting, I really do better when I have a plan. But too many times things just don't go according to my plan. It is very, very hard for me to sit tight and see what happens. And I guess that's understandable when you're talking finances and livelihood, like what you're in now. That kind of stress just consumes me. Excellent bike ride!!

Valeska and I hauled about a cord of wood yesterday. Some of those suckers were a good 2.5 feet long and huge around... not exaggerating, I know they must have weighed at least 90-100 pounds. We'd each grab one end and heave them into the truck. Got that all piled up outside ready to chop. There's a LOT more, so probably more loads next weekend. I'm kind of surprised I'm not more sore today. And yay me, I didn't strain my back.

I found a place to get a new belt for my treadmill. It will cost me about $100, but that's better than 10 times that to replace the whole thing. I will be ordering that this week.

I hope everyone had a great weekend... time to face the week!

Hi Ladies! Not much to say but just checking in to let you guys know I am here.
I had Chinese Food on Saturday night and I did have enough flexpoints to have it, and used great portion control, but I was apalled to see my scale go up a few pounds this morning. Not sure if it's fluid from the sodium in the food or if I really gained? I haven't had a period since April, maybe I will get one now? That could be it? Doubt it, but one never knows.
So, am feeling a bit down in the dumps about this, as my weigh in is tomorrow.
I was a good girl all week, staying on program, even the Chinese was flexpoints, so why this sudden gain? I was so hoping I would have a loss tomorrow and felt so good about it. I am really being GOOD, but guess that Chinese might have been a bad idea?
Maybe tomorrow I will be a different weight. My weight does fluxuate from day to day, so who knows?
Linda

Hey Linda,

Don't get bummed but remember rule number 1 - no Chinese before weigh in It's got a tremendous amount of salt in it - even if it doesn't seem so. My foot lately seems to be a barometer for sodium gauging and having had Chinese ourselves this weekend, it's true. At our favorite take out place, we can ask for less salt in the food and I thought, what a great idea. Well believe me, it's so blah with low salt that you know they must be using quite a bit - or the infamous soy sauce when they cook it "normally". So don't fret, drink lots of water to flush your system out and you should be back in the swing of things again.

Hey chickies... fall is in the air! It's still warm during the days, but the nights are dropping into the 50s and 60s, and it feels great!

I've been able to clear up several financial issues that were dragging me down, and that has relieved quite a bit of stress. There's always more waiting in the wings, but it feels good to have at least some of it off my back.

I haven't ordered the treadmill belt yet, I want the dust to settle on my bank account before I do, just to make sure I'm not digging myself into another hole. I hope to have it ordered by the end of this week, though.

In the meantime, I'm finding myself starting to gravitate towards real food again. Last night it was steak and salad. I even bought my oatmeal for work so I can have my breakfast here. I ordered a couple CDs from Amazon to use as new workout music, and I need to pick up that Alice DJ CD again, like I keep promising myself I'll do. I feel like I'm climbing back out of a hole. Climb towards the light, Marian!! *lol*

Linda - OMG Chinese is the bane of scale weigh-ins!! I agree with Happy... the sodium in that stuff will puff you up SO bad. And you said it yourself, weight fluctuates. Make note of the number, and move on.

I figure I can still be in the 150s by the end of the year. Not goal weight, but still it would be the lowest weight I've been since I was in my early 20s. And I could even conceivably be into the 130s by February. I can still do this. I feel good about it again, finally. Not like I HAVE to do something, like I WANT to do something. Want it enough to actually put the effort into it again. I feel good that I didn't shoot up the scale like crazy. I gained about 6 pounds over the last several months. I don't consider that bad at all. If I had my treadmill right now, I could probably get that off by the end of the month, but ... patience, Marian, patience. If I could even ride every night... but noooooo, all my horses are still lame and my saddle hasn't even shipped yet. It's a conspiracy, I tell you.

So ok, my goals for the remainder of this month are just to stay the course. Try to make the small steps I know it takes to getting back on plan with my food, and take care of the things that need to happen so that by October 1, I'm ready to roll with exercise. I would really like to be at 155 by the end of the year. Doable. Achievable. Exciting!

Hi guys. In frustration, this morning, I posted a new thread about plateaus.... got only one answer, but it may be THE answer I need to get myself moving along.
I wanted to share it with you all:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...d=1#post677375
Weigh in was a .2 loss, and I wore warmer clothing as it's been so cold here lately. So, here I am.
Will be working hard and really taking what was said as an answer to this post of mine to heart.
Linda