Goodmorning Gals! I have normally been weighing in on Friday's... but I realize I just won't be able to tomorrow morning... so I need to brave that scale today. I really don't want to though! heh.... or WAIT! What if I push it to Saturday instead? I am trying to rationalize this away.

Kimberley - dialup is so hard after having highspeed internet! I don't know how you are dealing!

Jen - I feel lost in those huge groups as well... I guess I'm pretty needy, so this works for me :)

Jill - I've decided I hate scales... mostly I have a fear of getting on it! Although Marge has a good point, you will likely lose 10 pounds and we'll all secretly hate you :) hehe.. Congrats to you, it's SO nice when people start to notice that weight loss! Definitely gives an extra punch to things!

Marge - Aww, I love the ideas :) I cannot have baths, for some weird reason we live in a place with no bath tub... grrr! I love Sephora :) My brother brought me nail stuff from there this time, I am addicted. I got tons of stuff from Sephora last christmas, and then for my birthday.. I almost have everything :( Whats WRONG with me? I was thinking purses, but I do love mine. Do they make rings with Garnet stones in them? I'd love a really nice ring with a huge-ish stone in it. I have an idea, woohoo!! :)

Okay, I am off to exercise, eat healthy, and possibly get on the scale! I have not made up my mind yet...

-Aimee

Jen - just noticed your post (I guess it took me a while to write mine! ), Sephora is lovely.. it's cosmetic/perfume HEAVEN :) I have tinted moisturizor from Stila ( a brand they carry), and my skin looks and feels GREAT :) Uhm, I also use Sephora mascara, lip glosses (I have 2 kinds), eye shadow, and should invest in some eyeliner. They carry so many brands that even I need help navagating the store!! It's expensive, and a full face of makeup can cost you over 150 bucks.

I could go on for hours, but I must get some exercise in... ttyl!

-Aimee

Aimee--I have a garnet ring that my parents bought me for my 8th grade graduation (the only real piece of jewelry I own!). My birth stone is actually a ruby (July), but the rubies are a little pinker whereas the garnets are a much nicer red (and since my mother knows I HATE pink, she opted for the garnet--smart woman ;) ).

Hmm...since I don't have any other real jewelry, maybe I need to request some from "Santa" this year...(okay, here's the one time I wish Jeff would snoop on my computer and read my entry :devil: ).

OH, and I am definitely much less hungry today. I don't know what was going on yesterday and the night before, but I feel much better now. It's almost 1pm and all I've had is my Carnation w/milk, a can of coke zero, a packet of weight control instant oatmeal, and a bunch of water, and I don't feel like taking a bite out of the next person who walks into my cube! :p Ooh, and tonight is SUBWAY night--I LOVE Subway and reserve it for Thursday nights after my TOPS meeting :D

Jill: how many cals are you aiming for daily? Just curious...I am trying to work things out so I don't starve to death every day!!

Aimee: I have always loved playing with make-up since I was a very little girl! I love making myself all glamorous!! I will definitely have to look for a Sephora store around here.

Kimberley and Marge--where are you??

Let's see...I just checked my Fitday, and I had an average of almost 1800 calories per day last week (lost 4.25 pounds), almost 2000 the previous week (lost 2.25 pounds), and about 1750 the week before that (lost 3.25 pounds). This week, I've averaged almost 2000, but I had a TON of sodium (literally enough for about 3 weeks instead of just 1!), so I don't think tonight's weigh-in will go so well (thank you, water retention!).

I didn't really plan on any set range of calories--just seemed to work out this way. So I guess I'm doing okay with a range of 1700-2000 calories average per day each week. I also don't work out for more than 30 minutes a day, and I only do that 3 days a week (I know I should do more, but man, I feel so DRAINED sometimes!).
Just so you know, Kimberley is our resident night owl--much more likely to see her post at about 2am than by 2pm :p I, on the other hand, am up before the sun and check these boards about a million times a day while I'm at the office :dizzy:

Well gals, I am just about to head to work.. but thought I'd tell yah.. I braved the scale. Down 2 pounds this week. I should be happy right? Partly it's because I had let myself gain 7 pounds during the summer, and haven't been able to shake it since. My dieting/exercise life is JUST starting to get back to normal since the beginning of June, that means I just let 5.5 months go by without losing anything. K.. thats all from me! I am off to work, have a great day gals!!

-Aimee

Yay Aimee!! 2 pounds is great!!

Hey, Aimee, that's great! Jill, how'd it go?

I've been puttering around today, just taking it easy and giving my hips a rest. Man, it feels good to do nothing!

The squall parka I got from Land's End is not as warm as I thought it would be. Howie looked at it and said I should have gotten the insulated squall parka. Well...I decided that a long coat would be better since my legs were really cold the other night in the parka.

So, it was a choice between the stadium parka and down commuter coat. I went with the commuter coat since it is warmer, plus its pockets are not the big, flap pockets of the parka. It just looks a bit more feminine to me. I went with the Dark Berry. It'll be interesting to see what the color actually IS, because the Imperial Blue was much lighter than it appeared on the web and in the catalogs. Even if it is pink, the hat and scarf I got will look cute with it. I just hope it's not some shocking pink! LOL :ink:

Jen, I like a routine, too. When I worked at a call center, we'd get pulled from whatever work we were doing in customer service support and get put on the phones for orders and customer service calls. I was not a happy camper on those busy days. I don't like mundane routine like office work, though...Guess I like varied work, but to know what it is I'm going to be doing. Does that make sense? Right now, I could use a supervisor breathing over my shoulder, because I am getting diddly squat done on my contract work! I need to get crackin' and log some hours for these clients. :D

Well, as suspected, I did have a gain, but only 1/2 a pound, so I can live with that. I'm still at 270.25, so I won't change my tracker. We won't have a meeting next week since it will be Thanksgiving Day, so I've got 2 weeks to lose at least 3/4 of a pound in order to win out TOPS contest (anyone who loses 10 pounds before Christmas gets a coupon for a free Christmas lilly or poinsetta). Even with the little gain, I'm still down 9.25 pounds since I switched to this chapter/moved in with Jeff :)

Kimberley--here's hoping that your berry is actually berry and not Pepto! :p

Aimee--woohoo on the 2 pounds!! :carrot:

Marge--hmm, I dunno bout Joaquin Phoenix, but I'm positive there are sexier men than Matthew McConnaughy (I'm sure I butchered that--he needs a name that's easier to spell!). Heck, just give it to Brad Pitt for the third time! Normally, I'm sure Tom Cruise would be in the running, but since all this Katie Holmes nonsense, he's pretty much shot himself in the foot. Oh, and Jen, Mel Gibson has won the title before, and I believe Brad Pitt is the only man to have earned it twice (and Sean Connery was the oldest to win it at age 60). I listen to entertainment gossip more than I pay attention to actual world news--how sad :dizzy:

Jill: Me too--LOVE Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Extra, and all the mags too! Kind of a junkie here! One thing I can do without is more publicity for Paris Hilton! (White trash with money, IMO.)

And don't even get me started about Tom Cruise....anyone who would make ignorant statements about psychiatry being a sham or people who take anti depressants being weak is low on my list. And the obnoxious way he's been acting since being with Katie....PUKE!! I hope to goodness Katie's pregnancy and post partum go smoothly....God forbid she should need help if she gets post partum depression! (Okay rant over! LOL)

I am more interested in classic looking men, like Richard Gere and Mel Gibson.

I love Mel Gibson (41 here, heh heh). It will probably be after my lifetime that any man better than Robert Redford and/or Paul Newman comes along. Even in their 60s and 70s they are amazing.

I agree the whole Katie Holmes thing ruined Tom Cruise for me, though I was pretty on the fence with him to begin with. I think you might all be surprised by Joaquin (it is hard to spell!) when you see him on the screen (if you haven't seen him in a movie yet), he has real charisma.

Aimee, I don't take baths very often, I use the gel in the shower with one of those bath loofah things. I was watching Top Model (since they went to London) and got a laugh out of them all squeezed in the phonebooth in just undies. Ladies, honestly, it doesn't matter how good you look, please use deorderant!

Another stone I really like for jewelry is citrine. I saw a pair of antique citrine drop earrings when we were in the Hudson Valley a bunch of years ago. I enjoy window shopping, but the truth is I very rarely see anything I feel like I have to have. When I saw those earrings, I couldn't leave without buying them.

:carrot: 2 lbs lost! :carrot: Congrats!

The evil scale spoke to me this morning and didn't say anything good. I gained -- and if you knew how much I hate saying this -- 3 lbs. :cry: :yikes: I don't think I ate enough to really gain that much weight, and I've been slowing increasing the exercise, so who knows, maybe it's water weight and/or bulking. Jill, I'm making your 1/2 lb look not so bad! :lol: You know this is after 3 weeks of losing, and 2 weeks of not eating any chocolate. It's frustrating. What can I do but buckle down this upcoming week (which is Thanksgiving!).

Kimberley, too bad the parka wasn't warm enough. I've had my eye on the long underwear for a couple of years. I don't take the cold well. I grew up in Northern California were the normal temperature range throughout the year is about 40 degrees (from 40 to 80).

Well, that's my book for today, gotta jump in the shower. I went to the gym this morning and had a nice workout. It's dang cold here, in the mid-30s.

Take it easy, chicas.

Marge - i have faith that you will lose that next week.. and I am digging into why I am overweight to begin with (having a life coach as a manager helps!)... I'm hoping to "let go" of this weight and then I can help you too!! I'll help the WORLD!

Okay, I have a huge huge huge headache, we are talking migraine strength.. so this hurts to type. I am off to work... I have no choice.. I'll talk to you ladies later!

-Aimee

Hope your headache cleared up, Aimee -- those are the pits. I'm thankful I've not had headaches the last several weeks.

I forgot to tell you guys that the reason the cable was out is kinda embarassing. See, there's these little metal connectors at the ends of the coax cable sections, ya know? And they can wiggle loose without coming completely off the cable. Heh. In our case, the cable was actually separated from the connector, back in the rear of the cabinet we have the modem in. Sheesh. It's probably been loose for some time, and finally popped off. Fortunately, I saw the problem in time to call the cable co and cancel their visit here!! ;)

I'm down 2 pounds this week. Woo!

Kimberley: Congrats on the 2 pounds!! :):) And the cable incident? Could happen to anyone. A similar issue happened to me with my computer. I felt like a dorkus maximus.

Aimee: I hope the headache goes away. I've had some bad ones in my time, bad enough to get nauseated from it. Migrane strength should do the trick for you.

Marge: Looks like we are approximately the same age! I'm 40... You and I were young adults when Mel Gibson and Kevin Costner ruled the screen--remember Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, and The Bodyguard? YUMMM!!! Don't know what's happened to him lately--his recent movies are crappy, IMO. I plan to see Walk the Line sometime this week, so I will get to see young Mr Phoenix in action. I saw him on Oprah recently--very handsome for a youngster! LOL ;)

Oh, I think Costner is really handsome, as is Mel Gibson. :faint: Those eyes!!

Hey gals--just wanted to let you know I won't be around until next Tuesday. I'm taking Monday off work to spend extra time with my best friend and godson when they come to visit--they are on their way now!!:):):)

Have a great weekend--see you Tuesday!

Jen - have fun with them :)

I decided to come home from work, well not really... my manager sent me home. The headache is mostly gone, I have some residual stomach nausea... I think I am getting sick, the headache settled into my sinus's, so I bought some London Drugs brand extra strength sinus medication. Wow... London Drugs is a local chain, and their brand of drugs are ALWAYS so much better then their name brand counterparts. Dunno why, probably a mental thing.. either way I am feeling better. Fortunately I accomplished enough to justify going home!

BTW - Matthew McConaughey is HOT in my books! I love his accent, and every time I hear about him it's always a nice story. Oh and Jerry O' Connell?? He is a hot hot man. His eyes are so nice... shhh.. my bf might not like to hear I'm saying all of this! ;)

Marge - I have missed every single America's Next Top Model this season, I've had the crappy Wed night shifts for a while. Fortunately I am not addicted to it! One less tv show fo rme to watch.. I don't like the cold, I grew up in the cold.. so I don't get it myself. Vancouver is fairly mild, one of the most mild places in Canada. You know I was thinking, I basically live in the best place in Canada, there is no up from this.. so what does a person strive for?? Hmmm..

Kimberley - that is fairly embarrassing, but fortunately you caught it before anyone else found out! My brother used to be a tech person at the local ISP, one time he talked to a lady and she couldn't figure out why her internet wasn't working... turned out that her modem was switched off. True story! We all do stuff like that.. women are just the ones who admit it!

I think i'm gonna go nap... teehee... bye gals!

-Aimee

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll take the help. :) I actually know in my heart we'll both do it. We'll all do it. Congrats on the 2 lbs, Kimberley. :)

Jen, I agree about Kostner, he is cute, I've seen all those movies (and some of the bad ones too, heh heh). Yep, Mel has great eyes. I want to see Walk the Line, let me know how you like it. And have fun with your friends.

BTW - Matthew McConaughey is HOT in my books! I love his accent, and every time I hear about him it's always a nice story. Oh and Jerry O' Connell?? He is a hot hot man. His eyes are so nice... shhh.. my bf might not like to hear I'm saying all of this!

heh heh, well, Rob gets his Victoria's Secret commercials.

I basically live in the best place in Canada, there is no up from this.. so what does a person strive for??

yeah, your area of the world sounds really nice. I'd like to come see it one day.

I gotta go do some shopping today and get some other stuff done.

Take care, all.

Howie called last night and said he was going to drag the tree upstairs when he got home from work and put it up. He puts the lights on as he assembles each row, kind of drizzling them in between the rows, so it's a one-step process. Anyway, he did just that, and we decided to go ahead and decorate it right then rather than wait until today. I love getting out the ornaments each year, talking with Howie about the people who gave them to us or the event they signify. There's one ornament with a sealpoint Siamese cat which we now fondly look at in rememberance of Elliott.

We finally got to bed about 7:00am. Neither of us slept well, just kinda wired and out of sync with our normal schedule. He finally gave up trying at 11:00am and just got up. I toughed it out until 1:00pm. ;)

Other than his watching the OSU-Michigan game and our going to Caribou tonight, we have no plans today. His brother came over and did some work out in the yard. God bless the guy, he's hurting, too...But he still helps us.

We splurged this year and went with a farm-fresh turkey, s tomorrow we'll pick up our turkey and box of fixin's from a local farmer group. Mmmmmmm! Since we're expecting about 13 adults plus a few kids, we're going to get a second turkey, just from the grocery store. We want leftovers!

Is it Thanksgiving weekend in the USA?

Marge - we need to just DO IT! Just like nike says! I have the Manifesto of Lululemon on the wall in my bedroom, it definitely inspires me (when I'm not purposely ignoring it! ;) ).

Kimberley - this is an odd one from you eh? My goodness! And a christmas tree already up? Do you possibly love it more than I do??

Today I woke up late, with a sinus headache AGAIN.. I'm actually wondering if it's an infection? Anyways, I relaxed, read a magazine.. Michael Kors inspired me to find my own style! So I was going thru fashion mags picking out things that I like, to see if maybe there is a clue there.. we'll see how it all turns out!

Marge - I have a question... is there a way to shop at Bloomingdale's online? There is a Betsey Johnson scarf I *must* have, and I was going to see if my brother can buy it online.. it's SO cute, and so expensively nice... I'm in LOVE.. lol.

Josh is taking me out for dinner, so I better go get myself all pretty!

-Aimee

The turkey sounds great, Kimberley. We're going for a turkey breast, a full turkey for the 5 of us is too much. Our place is too small for a tree, but we bought 2 live potted baby trees from the local Polish store, a spruce and a false cypress (Lenny Spruce and Elwood).

Have no fear, my Canadian twin, we'll do it. One step at a time. Actually Thanksgiving is next Thursday, so my next weigh in is Thursday morning -- I'm planning on those lbs being GONE.

I think the dry air is giving me sinus headaches.

Yes, Virginia, there's is Bloomingdale's online but they don't always carry everything that's in the store. :( I did a quick google and saw a couple at Dillard's online. Very cute.

Today I did an early morning gym session (boy, was that place empty), then Rob and I did a little shopping in the neighborhood. Then we went and sat in the park for a little while. Nice and sunny today, not too chilly, lots of colorful leaves still. Think I need to go take a nap.

Dry air does it to me, too. The best thing I ever do in the winter is use our humidifier. It's a console model that takes care of our whole house. I can really tell a difference when I use it!

The turkeys they received for the Thanksgiving boxes were only 11-14 pounds each...We'd all been told they'd be 17-18 pound birds. Instead of refunding a little of the price or throwing in extra produce or staples, they just said they were sorry. Not so good. :S The "pumpkin pie" pumpkin they included only weighs 2.7 pounds, and I doubt that's enough to make a pie from. We're pretty disappointed with the whole thing. The produce is nice, but boy...

We picked up a second turkey at Wal-Mart. They matched another local store's price, so we only paid $6 and some change for a 20-pound turkey. It was 29-cents/lb. What is the going rate where you live?

Aimee, yeah, I *do* love Christmastime. :) Have you looked on eBay for your Betsey Johnson scarf?

All this talk of turkey--I've always been the odd one out on Thanksgiving because I don't like turkey! :dizzy: My mother always had to buy a 20+ pound turkey when we did T-Day at our house because she has 3 brothers, 2 are married, and one remarried a woman with 2 daughters who are both married and have 3 and 4 kids, so when the whole gang gets together, it's 23 people (including children). We're not doing that whole shabang for T-Day this year, though--we're doing it for Christmas instead since my aunt is a nurse and only gets every other holiday off, so her kids (the 2 married girls with the 7 kids between them) go to their father's on the holidays when their mother has to work. But christmas will certainly be a full house, and I think my mother is cooking turkey for that!

Jeff and I are going to his cousins' for Thanksgiving (the ones whose basement he lived in for over 2 years), and I said I would bring some sort of dessert, but now I don't know what! I said no pie (since I always seem to burn the crust), so now I've got to find something good to make on Wednesday. Eek! :?:

Well, I've got a ton of work to do here at the office (feast or famine, I tell ya!), so I'd better get crackin'. Hope your Mondays all start your weeks off right! :hug:

Hey, Jill - Good morning, lady! :) You don't like turkey? Oh, the pain...The pain. Actually, you'd be the first person we'd invite over (more leftover turkey for us!). ;) Do you like apple salad? Maybe you could make that? My MIL makes one with apples, sliced grapes, walnuts, and Miracle Whip Light. OH, what a wonderful combination of flavors.

I had another rough night, a combination of my shoulders and hips hurting and my having too much coffee too late at night. After realizing I was awake more than I slept, I finally just got up so I wouldn't be lying there awake *and* sore. My recliner's prtty comfortable and good for a nap later.

The new coat should arrive today. Crossing my fingers it's not Pepto or neon!

20 lbers go for about $17 in our local grocery store. Our 5 lb turkey breast is $12 (from a butcher, they wrap it in bacon and stuff it with herbs and garlic). We have it once a year, at Thanksgiving, so it's a nice splurge. Plus the prep is just throwing it in the oven, can't beat that.

Jill, you could make a fruit salad, dress it up fancy with kiwi slices and red grapes, apples, oranges, canteloupe, strawberries. Then bring a store bought pound cake (or if you want to make one, they're fairly easy). Entemanns's pound cakes are great. Or make a pumpkin bread. I make a fresh cranberry bread with orange that I like, but Rob thinks it's too cakey (ie heavy). I don't think there's anything wrong with buying the pie.

I'm going to make a sweet potato pie, we tried it one year and loved it so much we make it over the apple or pumpkin. I agree, the crust can be a bear to make. My mom was so good at it! She always made filled cookies for Christmas, sort of a soft sugar cookie with two types of fillings, one with pineapple and one with raisins.

That sucks, Kimberely, about the missed night of sleep. After years of tossing and turning, when that happens to me, I finally caught on and learned to get up and read. Staying in bed is useless and frustrating.

I just booked a room for my boss at the Lowell to stay in while his condo is being painted. Not too shabby, hunh.

Hey! Sorry I've been MIA these past few days! Last night I came home from work and was asleep by 8:30pm, and I woke up at 8:30 am! Can you believe it?!? I felt better today, and then I went to work, I swear the heat is just MAXED out, because I sweat without moving! My manager says no, but she's always cold. I just can't work where it's too warm, and people don't want to try anything on in that kinda temp either.

Kimberley - that was a pretty early morning post from you! Whats going on there?? ;) I didn't even THINK to check ebay! I shall tho.. because it's beautiful! I couldn't find it anywhere else. I checked ebay, nothing. Looks like I'dhave to call Bloomingdale's, see if something could be arranged if I *really* need it. heh. How come you are so sore these days? I hate it when things keep me awake at night!

Marge - not too shabby at all! I'd stay there! heh. So on that weight loss front, I jumped on my scale this morning, habit, and I was suprised at what it said! It told me that I am maintaining those 2 pounds lost! I thought I'd be up considering my dinner Sunday night, I guess not!

Jill - Are you happy to be busy at work? Sometimes it's nice, other times, I'd like to just lean on the counter and not move.. lol. I sure do hope that I'm out of retail in the new year, it's exhausting!

I am making chicken breast, broccoli, in a red curry sauce over rice. Sounds yummy, right? I am excited! I better go start that rice! Talk to you all later!!

-Aimee

Your dinner sounded goo, Aimee. I'm sore mostly from the bursitis in my hips. I think I have it in both my shoulders, too, just judging by how similar the aching is. I've taken two long naps in the recliner today and feel like I could sleep more...Kinda dreading trying to sleep on our bed tonight, in all truth. Maybe tonight I'll try a Tylenol PM.

There are so many stores selling turkey in our area, the stores are very competitive with their pricing. Had Wal-Mart not matched another store's price, the bird would have been 68-cents/pound.

My dinner was SO gross! I don't know what happened, it all started good. It was that sauce, phew, and it SMELLS pretty bad too! Josh went and got me a personal pan pizza, no one was in the mood to cook after that stinky thing. Phew, gross!

Kimberley - I hate trying to sleep after you had a horrible nights sleep the night before, does that make any sense? I'd take the tylenol PM too!

-Aimee

Aimee--sorry your dinner didn't work out (thought your last post was mildly amusing to me here at 6:30am :p ). At least you tried something new, and now you know not to try it again ;)

Kimberley--My mother has bursitis as well (in her shoulder, I think), and she also has some sort of arthritis in her hips. My grandmother had bad arthritis as well, so I hope I skipped that family gene! I have bad knees as it is from 12 years of playing softball while carrying extra weight (speaking of which, one of my knees hurts right now--maybe because it's raining?). I hate to see my mother popping her pain relievers and Tylenol PM all the time (literally the first thing she does every morning and the last thing she does at night)--I wish there was a way to just make the pain all go away!

Alright, so Jeff wants me to make an ice cream cake for dessert for Thanksgiving. What he seems to ignore is the fact that it's about an hour drive to his cousins' house, and I just don't think the ice cream would make it. However, I did find a recipe online yesterday that has you freeze the cake in a pan lined with plastic wrap, and then just lift the cake out by the plastic wrap, so maybe I could keep the whole thing in the pan in the car and stick it in the freezer as soon as we got to their house. They're doing dinner around 4-4:30, and we'll be there around 2, so it should have plenty of time to re-freeze completely before dessert. Worth a shot, right?

If the ice cream cake proves to be a total disaster, my backup plan is a cookie pizza. It's just a giant sugar cookie in a pizza pan (could also be a brownie or chocolate chip cookie or whatever you want) with some cream cheese frosting and sliced fruit (I like strawberries, kiwi, banana, and crushed pineapple) on top, then drizzled with a little chocolate or caramel. YUM! And I'm sure I can find ways to reduce calories in the cookie mix, and I could make my own frosting with fat-free cream cheese and stuff, so it wouldn't be all too horrible. But, since I spoil my Jeff, I will attempt the ice cream cake first :p

Alright, just have to get through today and tomorrow and then the week is done!

Boy, it's storming here. Cold, rainy, thunder and lightning, and it's supposed to snow on Thanksgiving Day. Not sure if you're getting any of this, Jill, but drive safely on T-Day in any event. If the cake melts, tell them it's ice cream soup. ;)

Aimee, we have an envelope full of take out menus for those times when cooking flubs happen.

I thought the gym would be empty this morning, with the weather and the holiday coming. Once again I was wrong. I guess people might be gearing up for the big calorie consumption day, heh heh.

Very strange to think we almost had a turkey as our national bird.

Hi gals! I'm back (temporarily)!

Having a BLAST with my friends from Indiana...taking them to the beach and to the zoo and all those other touristy things. The best thing is spending time talking with my best friend. She is the one person on this earth that know it ALL about me and loves me anyway!! :):)

I'm in the office today and tomorrow, but will be gone until next week for the Thanksgiving holiday. We are planning a nice dinner with our English friends that winter here (this will be their second Thanksgiving ever!).

Aimee and Kimberley: I hope your respective illnesses improve! It stinks to be sick on a holiday.

Jill: The ice cream cake sounds yummy! I wouldn't have a CLUE where to begin to make one, though!

Marge: Good for you for heading to the gym! You'll be much better off than me, who not only has not exercised (unless you count walking around shopping and sightseeing), but has eaten whatever was there!! I DREAD the scale reading at the end of this holiday!!

Will try to check in later!!

Goodmorning!! Anothing foggy day here, I wonder how many car accidents have been caused by this? I live far enough up on the mountain that we are STARTING to see a little sun.

So which day is Thanksgiving again for you gals?

Jill - I wonder if that ice cream cake will make it, I'd definitely look into some ice packs! Don't you love those short weeks?

Marge - wait until January! Your gym will be PACKED! Lets go to the Oprah christmas best things show, k? I want all those things! heh..

Jen - glad you are having fun with your friend :) And while that scale might say a couple pounds up, it might be worth it... well maybe. Either way, drink LOTS of water and drink some peppermint tea the night before you weigh in. You'll be up all night peeing, but it'll be worth it! You don't wanna be retaining water!

Well, I am off to relax, maybe do a little reading! I'll talk to you all later!

-Aimee

Howdy, howdy. The one Tylenol PM did the trick and I slept in bed last night just fine. Sure felt good!

Aimee, Thanksgiving's on Thursday -- it's the last Thursday of November, so the date changes.

Ice cream cake sounds wonderful. Keeping it in the pan sounds like a plan. Try putting the loaf pan down in a container of ice, plus putting a flat container with ice on the top of it. Sure sounds delicious.

I've got to get my grocery list made up; Howie and I are going shopping in the wee hours after he gets off work. More later! :)

Hey, the new commuter coat came today. I like it a lot better! The down is warmer than the parka's fleece, plus it's nice and long. The sleeves are longer than the parka's, too. Lastly, the parka had a slicker fabric for the shell, whereas this one is more like cotton. I just like it better all around. My new scarf and hat don't go so great with it, but I bought them to compliment a blue coat! ;)

Kimberley - glad to hear your new coat arrived :) Even better that the sleeves are longer. I completely dislike coats with sleeves that are too short, I would refuse to buy it!

I am suffering with a headache today, I'm going to try a really steamy shower, and possibly more drugs. Take care!

-Aimee

Kimberley--glad your new coat works out better for you! Now your kids (dogs) don't have to hurry when they go out ;) OH, and is it the color pink/red you were expecting?

Aimee--hope that headache cleared up. It's one of the worst feelings because you can't really do much to make it better other than pray that pain relievers work (unlike a sore muscle you can relax or a sore throat you can soothe with ice cream...).

Jen--glad you're having fun with your friends! Oh, and the beach?! In NOVEMBER?! I have never lived anywhere where that was quite possible (unless it's for the Polar Bear Club or whatever--those who go swimming in freezing cold water :p ).

Marge--We had rain yesterday and the day before, and they're saying there's even a slight chance of snow (just flurries--nothing major) tomorrow morning here. I really wish we did have snow by now--growing up in CT, I'm used to having snow pretty much from Thanksgiving (sometimes even Halloween) through Easter!

Well, I have decided to 86 the ice cream cake (for those of you who've never worked in a restaurant, that means I'm not making it ;) ). I'm going to do the cookie pizza instead. I stopped at the store yesterday and just bought some refrigerated sugar cookie dough, a can of whipped cream cheese frosting, and a bunch of fruit (fresh strawberries, bananas, kiwis, and a can of crushed pineapple), plus I'm going to drizzle a bit of caramel over the top. Should be yummy but dangerous since I am lazy and don't want to make anything from scratch to be healthier :devil:

Since I don't have TOPS this week because of the holiday tomorrow, I hopped on the scale this morning (like I do every morning anyway, but still). According to my home scale, I am down 2 pounds from what the same scale said last week. Now the real trick will be to see what it says on Friday morning :dizzy:

Aimee, that Oprah show is a doozie, isn't it. If you like the peppermint tea, you might like green tea. A friend of mine sent me some and I love it. Don't think it gets rid of excess water though. Feel better. That's an order! heh heh. I'm not looking forward to a packed gym. I usually go pretty early though, so maybe I'll avoid the worst of it.

Hey, Jen, I had Jill's reaction, the beach in November, brrr. I've been having anxiety attacks getting out of the shower these cold mornings. (we have a chapter of the polar bear club that goes swimming on Coney Island, btw) I know it's a holiday, but I'm dreading getting on that scale next week too! These past couple of weeks haven't been so great for me weight loss wise.
Cool you get to celebrate T-day with English friends. They must get a kick out of it.

Jill, I don't see how people won't be happy with the combination of cookie and pizza! Have you seen those new chocolate chips they have? some with swirls of peanut butter, some with swirls of caramel, omg, how can they keep coming up with these things. I almost ran to the store when I saw the commercial. (Happy to say I didn't.) Man, you're dropping the pounds. Send some of that mojo my way, I need it.

Kimberley, the coat sounds very cozy. Now you can ask santa for a new scarf to match the new coat.

Rob's getting our turkey breast today, so I have to make room in the fridge. Today I make the pie and he makes the cranberry sauce. I bought candle holders in the shape of fall leaves for the table. Time for some coffee.

Have I mentioned how good to see you guys each day? :)

The new coat is toasty and I love it. Last night we went grocery shopping after Howie got off work, taking in three all-nighter stores because the produce selection was so bad at each one. My coat kept me warm during all that running -- even my legs were warm, which for me is half the battle. The color is a berry red, not fucshia but not deep red.

We were going to pick up a couple of buckets for brining our turkeys, but I said it would make sense to buy a storage container we could use for other stuff after the holiday. Howie had the idea of buying one of those big tubs with the rope handles, so we could just put both birds in the same container. I knew I married him for a reason.

Hi ladies!

Jill: Probably the best thing to 86 the ice cream cake--you can save it for a special occasion with your sweetie! :hug:

I live on the east coast of Florida, approximately an hour from Orlando and 30 minutes from Kennedy Space Center. It has been awesome to watch launches so close up. I live about 10 minutes from the nearest beach. Funny thing about living so close to all these attractions is I rarely go to them. I haven't been to any of the theme parks in Orlando yet! But I do love living where I don't have to worry about snow and bitter cold. I kinda miss the cold at this time of year though--it doesn't feel much like thanksgiving when you are wearing capri pants and tank tops! I'm originally from Indiana, and am used to being all bundled up this time of the year. I really miss seeing the leaves change color....

Kimberley: The coat sounds GREAT! Can you put a pic up?

The only all-night groceries around here are Wal-Mart, and sometimes their produce leaves something to be desired. I always go to Publix, which is a chain of regular priced grocers in Florida. Their produce is very fresh! When I can, I love to go to the roadside produce stands as well.

Aimee: Poor thing! I hope you can get better soon. It sucks to be sick!! I'll try the peppermint tea idea....is peppermint a natural diuretic or something?

Marge: What kind of pie are you making? (Just about any kind sounds good to me!! ) Last year, our English friends joined us for their first Thanksgiving at a mutual friend's house. The friends also had their extended dysfunctional family there as well--so they got to experience a REAL American Thanksgiving! LOL This year they will be with my boyfriend and me and my best friend and her family visiting from Indiana. What a hodge podge of guests!

This will be my last post until next week--the day I step on the scale and see what kind of damage has been done. Hopefully I won't set myself back too much!

Take care ladies!! :carrot:

Hey Girls! I realize this site will be down tomorrow, my goodness! What am I gonna do without ya'll? I've been very quiet lately, I'm sorry! Things are a little crazy over here, and I feel pulled in like 10 directions. I gotta get focused.

I hope you all have a GREAT holiday and I'll see you on Friday!! :)

-Aimee