It's Wednesday afternoon and I have been home all day because we have men working on our garage addition - I was able to work out for 40 minutes on the treadmill and drink 2/3 of my water and eat well today. I am on track

carla - you are so sweet to give accolades to Red - I acknowledge you for sharing the idea here. I missed that post on the other challenge. It has helped me immensely - today I got my jewerly boxes (and baskets) cleaned out and reorganized! BTW - my big boy kitty - scratches on the furniture, bed, chairs, carpet in the morning until I get up and feed him. What a punk, hence his name, Punk!

Bonniebelle congrats on your losses! Thanks for your support.

Sushi - hope you got some rest and doing great today!

So far today I've drunk my minimum water and done a 50 minute bike ride this morning. No cleaning done yet... I'll have to find some 15 min chore to make my goal! Maybe MY bathroom - it's not as daunting as the cats'...

Mscat, you're awesome, right back on track. I think most cat owners use them as alarm clocks. Marble (from another thread) has two huge cats that bang on the mirror and run thru the vertical blind slats to get her out of bed. Punk sounds like a good name for yours!

Bonnie, I am so glad that I was right about "fake" weight gain! You go girl! (Just don't do it too often - it won't work every time!)

This morning I was up early (of course) and decided to go for a bike ride before it got too hot: terrific! It rained lightly, and the air had that smell of rain on dust. I rode along the canal, and boats were going thru the locks at my turn around point. I really, really, really have to get out in the morning more often. This is such a pretty city. As I rode I mentally composed a really lyrical post about the experience, but a brain fart came and erased it, so this is all that's left.

Where is Sushi? Is she fast asleep somewhere? We all wished her a good sleep - maybe it was a little too much sleep mojo all at once?

My apologies for the long-ish absence...
The power went out just as I was typing up my post yesterday evening. The maintenance didn't return our call, so it was a hot and uncomfortable night, ugh. This morning it turned out that the fuse blew, but we didn't have a replacement anyway. I'm glad the computer is ok and that the food didn't spoil, yesterday was a grocery shopping day! I had to call a friend and ask to give me a ring this morning to make sure I woke up for work...

Carla, you might have been right about the too much sleep mojo! I just couldn't wake up yesterday morning! I finally got up at 12:20 pm - that after getting up at 6 am and walking into a wall, taking 5 mins. to realize that the alarm was going off at 8 am, my boyfriend's three attempts to wake me up (the last time he tried, I apparently didn't say anything - I do remember trying VERY hard... he says we also had a conversation earlier, but I do not recall...)
That made me miss the 7 am aerobics class and my Pilates class... but I still went to Aquafit and skating, and those two turned out to be BIG TIME workouts, so I did get lots of exercise. I was tired all day - the heat is back...
Met other goals as well, but unfortunately the power went out just as I was waiting for the water for my herbal tea to boil... so I'll have to re-start the 21 Day Challenge again. I ended up messing up later - out of frustration and tiredness we had a midnight dinner Thai takeout dinner, and I ate every single bit of the eggplant dish. Don't even know how many calories that was -- one serving is about 363 calories, but how many servings is a standard restaurant portion?

So I messed up yesterday, but I'm determined to be back on track today.

Mscat, great to hear you're back on track, I knew you could do it! I think it's hard to jump right back on the horse after we fall off... my own experience confirms that - better to take it in 2 steps.

Carla, I know that you took the "15-minute chore each day" idea from Red, but still, you're the one who inspired Mscat and now Bonnie. I'm usually pretty good with tidying things (can't sleep unless I've put things away and set everything out for the morning), but I'm thinking I might challenge myself to do something about the dirty dishes more often... It's my boyfriend's area, and he gets upset when I do them (makes him feel guilty), but sometimes he struggles, and I really dislike when dirty dishes pile up... Have you tried using Fly Lady? It's a bit too much for me personally, but there are lots of good ideas there - perhaps you could find some ideas for 15-minute tasks? Oh, and great job with those 4 boxes!

Bonnie, great to hear the pool has been poop-free recently! And kudos to you for planning the calories - way to go!

Bev, hope you enjoyed the musical and that Wednesday went well for you!

Thank you for your thoughts and good sleep wishes, everyone! Have a great rest of the week!

Sushi, what is Fly Lady?

Try www.flylady.net, just don't get put off if you're overwhelmed. Look for stuff that might work for YOU.


I might add that I am all good today challenge-wise.
Hope everyone is doing good too!

Hey ladies - doing well on points today and water! No exercise because my back went out again - very uncomfortable. Will try to get my bonus goal in tomorrow. The scale did not move afterall - but I am ok with that for now. Have a great evening - hope to talk more tomorrow!

Bonnie, did your clean laundry ever ripen enough to be folded and put away? i know I let everything that needs to be ironed gain some basket experience before I attack a huge pile all at once.
I live in Canada's capital, Ottawa. It's fairly small as cities go, and apart from the climate it's great. Very safe, lots of bike/walking paths, a canal running thru the middle with boats in the summer - and in the winter the canal is almost totally drained to make the world's longest skating rink. The bike paths along the canal are great for walking or running in winter, except if there's a lot of ice. In the winter some parkways in the nearby Gatineau Park are closed to cars and groomed for Xcountry skiing. Winters are very cold, but if you're active outdoors they're actually more fun than the summer! One of the things that I really enjoy in summer is the fat groundhogs munching away in the grass along the parkways and even highways. They're so chubby and sleek, and, unfortunately, far too often flattened by traffic. I could go on and on, but you're probably already sorry you asked...


Sushi, I visited Flylady, and have already made my kitchen sink so shiny I never want to use it again. I must say the idea of 15 min per day, every day, should work in the long run. I've signed on and hope to get lots of ideas for short but useful chores. (I also like the 27 things idea. Might do it tomorrow.)

So today I drank more than my water goal, swam for at least 20 minutes and went for a 30 min stroll, and cleaned the sink. So today is on target!

Must go now: the cats have been on a rampage, and there's tidying to do and mice to dig out from under the furniture.

Good morning, Ladies!

9:30 am on a Friday morning here, I'm at work and I'm feeling sooo good! The workout yesterday was really great - I attended a class where we did exercises for the abs and thights, and this time it wasn't nearly as hard as it was in the past. I also picked up a 9 lb bar (last time I nearly passed out under it, but yesterday was great) and 4 lb weights (heavier than before). I also did 10 minutes on the treadmill, which sucked, but I did do it. And I slept great despite going to sleep a bit later than planned (just love night-time chats).

I know I haven't posted my bed & get up times, but can't remember the details at the moment. I have them noted down at home. Got up at 7:30 yesterday and 7:20 today though.


Mscat, sorry to hear your back gave out, ouch! I hope you get better soon. Just take it easy for a few days.

Bonnie, hope you're having a good day. I know full well about not being able to fall asleep... I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a clean pool for you all the time!

Carla, great to hear you've already found Flylady useful! There are some great ideas there indeed. I couldn't do the whole thing though... maybe once I have a house, family, work and self to take care of... for now I can handle things with my own systems. Hope the cats let you sleep today. But then it's actually it's not such a bad thing for them to wake you up if you get to exercise a bit.

Sushi, it's great to hear you sounding so up. It puts a different slant on everything, doesn't it! You really do a lot of exercise: I noticed your August goal of 3600 was already half-achieved on the 4th!

Fitlady does have good ideas, but the avalanche of emails could get annoying. But I don't have to do everything, do I! As a matter of fact, I'm typing this lying in bed in my nightshirt with no shoes on. The cats are settling in and are either quieter or I don't hear them any more. I'm still getting up by around 7 or 7:30 (remember I'm still on holidays), which is actually a good thing. Once I get back to work I'll be up a lot earlier.

Have an enjoyable day!

At first I was like, where did Carla get 3600 from? Then I noticed I had made a typo in my signature! It sould be 360 minutes out of 1500.

Chilling in bed mmmmm... I like that too. When I'm in bed because I want to, not because I don't feel like getting up! I'm an avid bed reader.

I didn't sign up for Flylady emails, but I've heard it can be overwhelming. How are you supposed to get the stuff done if you have to sit read email?


Anyway, I think we're doing a great job getting this thread out of focus...
So here are a few pertinent and more focused inspirational quotes to get us back on track...


<i>
Goethe:
Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded.

Jim Rohn:
Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.

Thomas Fuller:
That which is bitter to endure may be sweet to remember.

Samuel Johnson:
The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.

Marvin Phillips:
The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!

Plato:
The first and the best victory is to conquer self.

Vincent Lombardi:
The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything.

Anthony Robbins:
The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results.

Roger Bannister:
The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.
</i>

Hey ladies! I figured I'd drop in to say hello and good job to everyone who's been keeping to their goals! It's been a bad week, bad food, no exercise, bleh. But, I think I needed this. I had planned to go to the gym yesterday, but it didn't happen, so I'm just going to finish out this week and try to eat healthier and start my exercise on Monday, I think I just needed some lazy days. Hope you're all doing well, not sure if I'll come back for next weeks challenge or not.

Hey Ladies! Have had a good day - on track with points - struggling with water but it's only 6:30 Friday evening. Going to try (iumph) getting on the treadmill this evening - but I have my 2 hour bellydance class tomorrow - so I might skip it. Back is feeling a lot better but I don't want to hurt again before class.

Bonniebelle - for your exercising! Hang in there with the calories - we all have days like that (boy - do I know about that!)

haleys - good to have you drop in hope you are enjoying your break and join us next week - pick an easy - already established challenge and just hang out with us. We miss you!

Sushi - for your goals and for those awesome quotes! I got the focus!

carla - for you on your accomplishments - You are doing great here and on the 21-day - you are my idol!

Have a great night!

Good morning ... I'm back!!! Sorry I've been MIA for the past few days, but just haven't taken the time to post.

Wednesday was great -- I did get up and take a 35 min walk before we left. "Wicked" is just wonderful. Make your family go with you, MsCat! I think that women/girls will enjoy it much more than guys ... but it is very much worth seeing. I did use quite a few of my Flex Points (am not going to confess how many!) but didn't really do that bad and I did count/estimate them which is a step in the right direction.

Got up and took my walk on Thursday morning and had a very low point day with plenty of fruits and veggies. Had to work all day and was soooo tired -- I'm an ol' lady and not used to those midnight bedtimes.

And then yesterday I just blew off my walk. I am SO MAD at myself!!! It was foggy in the morning so I got started on some things around the house and just never put on my shoes to get out the door. Ate well again though - made a Crockpot Ground Beef casserole thing that was full of vegetables and also had blueberries, strawberries and watermelon. Next time I make the casserole I'm going to use 1/2 the meat -- will be much lower in points and I think just as good.

Did my walk first thing this morning so am back on track -- thank goodness. Have proved to myself that "I'm not going to do it later" so won't try that again!

MsCat - sorry to hear about your back. Hope it is much better by now.

Bonnie - you are doing so well. I really doubt that you will ever go back to your old habits. I know that even when I falter a bit, it's always in the back of my mind that I'll do much better tomorrow (or the next day!) I just feel so much better that I won't give up completely.

Sushi - good job on your exercise. You are one of my motivators!

Good to have you visit, haleys -- just enjoy your time off and come back to us one of these days.

Carla - am glad your kitties are settling in. My pup is growing up too -- no more middle of the night "pit stops" and he'll actually cuddle down and sleep pretty late in the morning now. Maybe that's not such a good thing!

You guys are shaming me into a "sort & organize" mode -- so I'm off to start in the bedroom. Will probably take me all day!!!

Everyone have a good Saturday -- Bev

I'm really tired, so just dropping by...
I did 16 laps in the 50 yard pool before my Aquafit class yesterday, it felt awesome. And this morning my boyfriend said "Let's have a scrumptious dinner tonight" - and we had Thai style broccoli with rice and and chicken, tomato-parsley-onion salad and vegetable samosas (baked). Delicious and healthy. Just wanted to share my recent achievements. And now I want zzzzz... back tomorrow.

Working w/DH on house projects all day yesterday and today - sooooo sore - I think this counts for bonus exercise goal! Barely stayed under points yesterday but bombed on the water goal. The jury is out on both today - we will see!

Bev - where did you sit at the theater? I am looking at orchestra row R and trying to decide if it is worth the money or if I should just go for the loge or balcony. What do you think?

Bonnie - for being in a position to give away fat clothes! I am soooo jealous - you go girl!

Hello Sushi, carla, and haleys - Talk later!