for you, KJK!!!!!!! YOU are amazing! Way to GO, GIRRRRRLLLL!!!

Ok- wonderful group of people who I could not do this without-

It is my bedtime and I must get a shower so I can go to bed. I will be at school from 10:00 am until 9:00 pm tomorrow and I have promised my friend Sarrah that I will walk with her tomorrow after class so I am looking at getting home about 10 or so tomorrow night. Sigh- the life of a student.

Red- I am glad that you got on that bike! Good for you!

Little grasshopper- Your info on how things effect the body has helped me as well and I find it interesting so please don't stop explaining things. I think it does me good to think about how one thing in my body effects all the other areas. Keep up the great info!

Jacque- thanks for the info on the game- I am now looking forward to mine getting here so I can get started. I also want the dance game that comes with a mat because I think it would be a fun way to exercise.

kjk- great job today and especially great while eating out which can be hard to do.

stormy- I feel your pain with school. The tornado of work starts tomorrow and I am not looking forward to it. Alas- I got myself into this so how can I ***** about it , right?
By the way- I get 2 points for today- I walked and drank a lot of water but I blew it big time with eating and I think today will be my cheat day.

Okay - tomorrow is Tuesday so it is support and reasons we want to lose. I think it would be great if we talk about reasons we want to lose that have NOTHING to do with our cosmetic appearance. What other reasons do we have for wanting to lose? What started you on this journey? Was it a particular life event or just frustration that led you here??

Question of the day for tomorrow-
If you could have dinner with any three people (dead or alive) who would you choose and why?

Have fun everyone! Please remember we only get to ride this ride once- enjoy your day it is the only one like it you will ever have.


Quote for the day:
"Effort only fully releases its rewards after a person refuses to quit."
-Napoleon Hill

CrimeGirl, have fun in classes I'm off to bed shortly too...

Question of the day for tomorrow-
If you could have dinner with any three people (dead or alive) who would you choose and why
My Grandfathers (both of them) so that I could meet my dad's dad, and so I could tell my mom's dad how great my life has turned out! (He was one of my best friends growing up!) and Ty Pennington (from Extreme Makeover Home Edition) because he's HOT! And because he's done so many wonderful things, I'd love to pick his brain!

HI

Red, I am so, so proud of you

Jacque, thanks for the info on the game. I like TY too but I think he is gay. Why does that always happen with the hot ones ?

Little GH, thanks for the kind words about school. The thing is you have to work hard to attain the things that you want in life. I think that trying to find a way to balance everything is so difficult. I feel that I am not always the best friend, wife, or daughter b/c school takes up so much of my time

KJK, good job with your points today. You are doing so good

CG, have a great day at school Tuesday Don't forget to fit your walking into it.

Crime Girl - that sounds really interesting seriously! I love that sort of "problem" solving stuff. I thought about law for a while, but decided I would get too emotionally drained by it. As for CSI.. i know real life isn't like that i would rather be one of the geeks in the lab, or an evidence collector! BUt wouldn't it be cool if it was?

Red - SADS - seasonal affected depression syndrome is a real thing. It can be caused by a lack of exposure to UV light. People in countries where winters are especially dark and gloomy and have limited daylight hours are especially affected. I know in countries like norway and sweden people have large UV emitting lights in their lounges or bedrooms to allow them to get enough exposure to ensure things like vitamin D levels are maintained. PerosnallY I get a bit dark in winter (pardon the pun) and have found that going for a sun bed 1-2 times a fortnight is a really good way to combat this. I know you live in a country where pale skin is the ideal, but there may be somewhere nearby that has a solarium? seriously go and get a couple of good doses or warmth and light and see if it cheers you up! As for time zones, NZ only has one and yeah we are almost on the date line. In winter we are 4? hours a head of japan. India is about the only country that has a half hour time zone, as it straddles a lattitude line east coast in one side, west coast on the other so they split the difference. Most other places I know of use an hour zone. Australia has a couple, I know we are 3 hours ahead of the east coast and 5 head of the west coast.
You've made me remember a line by frank 'n furter on the rocky horror picture show
"even smiling makes my face hurt"...

Here's a really good song I listen to when I am down:

Change, by Blind Melon

I don't feel the suns comin' out today
its staying in, its gonna find another way.
As I sit here in this misery, I don't
think I'll ever see the sun from here.
And oh as I fade away,
they'll all look at me and say, and they'll say,
Hey look at him! I'll never live that way.
But that's okay
they're just afraid to change.

When you feel your life ain't worth living
you've got to stand up and
take a look around you then a look way up to the sky.
And when your deepest thoughts are broken,
keep on dreaming boy, cause when you stop dreamin' it's time to die.
And as we all play parts of tomorrow,
some ways will work and other ways we'll play.
But I know we all can't stay here forever,
so I want to write my words on the face of today.
and then they'll paint it

And oh as I fade away,
they'll all look at me and they'll say,
Hey look at him and where he is these days.
When life is hard, you have to change.

anyway this is a bit of a book now...sorry
back to work

Thanks people, for the never-ending encouragement and cheers. NBK, I just got in from riding Hurrah! and am running to get ready to leave again and catch a friend who's playing in a gig (guitar, hard rock, Hard Rock is ME!!) So, I'll write later. But, thanks for the song. I will read it slowly later.

And here's a good quote I found that is similar to what I think the song you wrote is about (from the glance I took through it).

*****

"A man with outward courage dares to die.
A man with inward courage dares to live."

(Tao Te Ching 73)

******

I think a lot of our struggles come from daring to live. Have courage and keep on!

Red - enjoy the band!! And your night out. And congratulations for getting that butt moving on such a hard day!! It's the small things like that that are actually HUGE!!!

NBK - Thanks for the info on SADS. There are a TON of people in the US that have it now too. A lot don't even realize it. They just go through winter feeling "cagie" and can't figure out why...we say we have cabin fever. What actually happens in the body is cool...

Your Pineal Gland is this little gland that sends the hormone that basically tells you when to sleep and when to wake, but it also releases hormones that direct other endocrine organs as well. It gets a lot of it's information based on the Sun - and sun exposure. BUT the organ can not work properly unless other organs like the hypothalamus are working well too......here is a neat article that explains it easily!

http://www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C19447.html

When we have less and less sunlight - or just a major change in sunlight this organ can get a little confused because it's constant information feed is missing. That leads to depression in a lot of people. Or insomnia, or changes in sex drive and food urges.

Red - a full spectrum light bulb at work would be enough to help! You can get them to go in regular US light sockets. I won't pretend to know if this is the same kind you have. You can also order them on line. I paid about $6 for mine and I've have it over a year and it still works fine. NBK is right though - a tanning bed would help too. They are almost full spectrum lights.

Okay, enough science stuff. I'm off to the gym - today I can RUN!! I'm like a kid who wants to do chores All the doc had to do to get me to run was tell me I can't. I'm so easy........

Stormy - My BF use to say that when I graduated we were going to spend some time together and see if we still liked each other! You're right though, very few things in life are handed to you. You're on a great path though and you're in the last year! That's wonderful for you. I know that doesn't make it much easier. But we're all thinking about you!

See you guys later -

Good morning!

I tried to get on to post earlier, but for some reason my internet service wasn't working...

Everyone sounds like they had a great day yesterday - yea! for all of us!!!

To answer the question: I would eat dinner with my best friend from college, Kendra. I have hardly seen her in the last five years and I miss her greatly! I would also eat with my two grandfathers. They passed away 12 and 9 years ago, and I never really got a chance to say goodbye to them. So to just have that time would be priceless.

Ok, gotta run...I'm supposed to be working right now. Hope everyone has a great day, keep up the awesome job!!!!

kelly

HI! I just got back from the gym and I just had to say this...I RAN!!! The ban on cardio is finally lifted and I can run!! It felt so wonderful - I didn't even have to stop to catch my breath! It was so much fun!!! I want to run again tomorrow

Little GH, good job at the gym. It must have felt great. Like your boyfriend, I always say the same thing. I was 19 and my hubby was 21 when we got married. One of us has always been in school. He just finished his doctorate in Sept and I am still in school. By the time I get out we need to start thinking of having kids. One day we will have time together. We try to set a date each week to spend time with each other like going for a hike, going to a movie, etc.

NBK, back in high school I loved Blind Melon. Too bad about the singer, wasn't his name Shannon? Anyway, thanks for the lyrics.

Red, hope you had fun at the gig. It is nice to get out and listen to some good music.

KJK, did you get your walk in this AM?

Well I just finished my hour workout. It is so hard for me to workout first thing but it gives me so much more energy throughout the day. GUess I just have to bite the bullet.

Okay, I have to go see some patients now. I'll check in this afternoon.

I am at school so this post will not be long-
How is everyone today????

Little grasshopper- Congrats on the run! I bet you are elated you can finally do some cardio.

stormy- I know how that is- with school and the fact that bf works in retail I really never see him. It is hard to work out a schedule so we can spend some time together.

NBK- It would be interesting if it really worked that way- a lot less expensive too. You would only have to pay the big bucks to the guy who swoops in and solves everything!
I think I will like my choosen profession for that very reason- I love to problem solve and I think it is an area that I am good at.
Thanks for the song.

kjk-how are things going today? I have been much better with food so far today. I am walking after class so maybe i can get all the points today and try to catch up a bit.

red-You are sounding better- go out and have fun!

Okay I need to go- I am in the computer lab and it is not a private venue.
Have fun today everyone!

Ok, lots to catch up on! So forgive me if I leave anyone or anything out!!

Stormy,
Ty is so not gay He can't be!! (Ok, I see it... but I'm in denial!)

NBK,
I Love that song! Blind Melon has some amazing songs if you just listen

Red,
That quote is amazing I'd never heard it, but I have now written it on a sticky note (I stick random quotes about the house to inspire me)

Grasshopper,
Congrats on Running! I can't wait until I'm at that point!! I can barely make it through my 30 minute cardio workout right now Hopefully soon though!

I did my 30 minute workout today and didn't even need encouragement I'm so proud of myself for that!! AND... yesterday I came in UNDER 1500 Calories for the day!!!

Now if I can just approach cleaning my house like I do this losing weight stuff

Jacque, you are in such denial about Ty. Ha ha! Great job exercising today. Keep it up and you will surpass your 2/1/05 goal of 223!

Denial? Maybe... Although I heard he has a girlfriend

Is anyone doing Discovery Channels Health Challenge??