Gettin' together -- December 2005
 

Hi gals--hope you don't mind me starting the new month's thread! Seems like I'm always the first one here in the AM--not because I'm a morning person, I can tell you that! If it weren't for work, I would definitely be a night owl like Kimberley! Now, if I stay up for the news, it is a late night!

Well, according to my scales, I've dropped 8 lbs since Monday's weigh in. I know it's mostly water, but I feel much better seeing the numbers go down. My pants are loosening again too--what a relief!

Kimberley: I have always loved scrapping, but haven't done it since I moved over a year ago. My apartment is just too small to set up a table just for that, and I hate having to put my projects away all the time. If we get a bigger place soon, I'll start back.

Better get to work--will check back in later!

Jilly--congrats on your loss! I've been considering finding a TOPS group for some "in the flesh" accountability. I saw there are lots of local groups around.

I'm wrestling with the possibility of joining a gym. My dilemma is--do I find a ladies only gym, or do I find one that both Alan and I can go to? He could really use the exercise as well. He has said in the past that he would go if we found a place to go together.

If I went the ladies only route, there are two Curves that are fairly close, and a Lady of America gym. I was a Curves member when I lived in Indiana and really liked it, but I was hoping for a place where I could do different classes and such, like Lady of America.

Any opinions/advice?

Whoops, forgot about the new thread for the new month--good call, Jen! Here's my post that I inadvertently posted in the old thread:

Posted a 1.5-pound loss at TOPS last night (for 2 weeks since we didn't meet last week)--woohoo for losing over the holiday! :carrot: Per the TOPS scale, I'm now at 268.75, so hopefully those 270s are gone forever. I just realized that I'm only 19 pounds away from the 250 mark--I can't even remember the last time I weighed under 250. I think it was early college sometime. I'm also only 8.75 pounds away from a total of 50 pounds lost. Realizing these things has really inspired me to keep going! I've got 10 more pounds to lose by Christmas for our challenge, but I only have 2 more TOPS weigh-ins before then, so I'll have to go by my home scale that last week to see if I make it. Before I left for TOPS, my home scale said 273.5 (it only weighs to the half pound, not the quarter), so it's been pretty consistently 4 pounds higher than the TOPS scale, so it should still give me a pretty good idea of my progress.

Speaking of ghosts and natural electro-magnetic currents...when I was in college in PA, there was a place nearby that was supposedly haunted. The story goes that a bus was driving a high school football team home after a game one night, and their bus rolled down a hill and went over a cliff, killing the whole team. Now, if you go to that hill and put your car in neutral, your car will actually roll UP the hill instead of down! This is supposed to be the spirits of the football players pushing your car back up the hill so you don't meet the same fate as them. This location was actually covered on a tv special once, and it was determined that it was a very high area of electro-magnetic activity or something, and that was te real reason the cars rolled up the hill. No matter what the reason, I think a car rolling up a hill would be creepy! I had friends who actually went to this place and said it worked. We tried to find it one night and got lost :p

I have to eat lightly during the day today because tonight, we are going to a place called Mike's American for dinner--supposed to be REALLY good! And I'm doing an evaluation for my secret shopping company, so I will get fully reimbursed for our $70-meal (we are required to share an appetizer, order 2 different entrees and drinks, and share a dessert, plus order a drink at the bar). Gotta love free food! :D

Jill: What is Mike's American all about? Sounds like it would serve lots of "American" style food, like burgers and such. Yummm....burgers!

I know if Alan commits to going with me, a mixed gym won't bother me. We are planning to build a house in a few years, and a home gym is definitely in the plans!

Okay gals--headed out for the weekend. Have a great one, and see you on Monday!! :):)

This location was actually covered on a tv special once, and it was determined that it was a very high area of electro-magnetic activity or something, and that was te real reason the cars rolled up the hill. No matter what the reason, I think a car rolling up a hill would be creepy! I had friends who actually went to this place and said it worked. We tried to find it one night and got lost

This is so funny!! Jill, Rob and I went to PA and did this two falls ago. Gravity Hill, in the middle of the country. It really works. Rob says it's in a valley so it gives you the illusion of going uphill, when in reality by the contour of the earth you're going downhill.

:carrot: :carrot: Jen :carrot: :carrot: 8 lbs, woohoo! congrats. That's amazing over the holiday weekend. Congrats to you too, Jill. You've come a long way :carrot: Kimberley, I'd love to hear a speech, you've really done an amazing job. Lots of things in your life must have changed.

I lost 2.4 lbs this week, which knocks my socks off. I ate so many goodies. Sticking to the exercise made a big difference for me.

My gym is mixed. There's a free weights room downstairs, and that's where the buff weight lifter guys go, and then a resistance machine room, which has slightly more men than women, but still lots of women. I do free weights at home, then the resistance at the gym. I like there being a mix of men and women (as long as it's not a meat market type atmosphere), but then I never went to a women only gym.

So I guess I'm no help at all with that decision!

Aimee, I think once you have your program going full steam, and have been doing it a few weeks your going to see more consistant losses. I have to tell you, if you looked at my journal, it's up and down all the time, lose lose, gain, lose, lose, gain. Sometimes you can be so close to finding that balance of exercise and eating to start losing weight, that can be when people are in the most danger of getting discouraged and quitting. Let us know what we can do to help you!

I went Xmas shopping today and my feet are killing me. Think I'll finally go and watch my taped Big Fat Loser finale!

I had a whole post completed then *POOF*. This is the second or third time this month I've done that at 3FC!

You guys did great losing even after holiday goodies! I either maintained or gained 1 pound; the scale teetered between 201-202. I'd had a big glass of water late the night before weighing, plus eaten, so I took it as a maintain. ;)

I'd never heard of the hill phenomenon. Thanks to Marge's post, I did some sleuthing and found out more about it. Here's an explanation and here's more. Gosh, I love the Internet!

Saturday was a full day, but fun. I was at my HS buddy's home from 1-8pm, just visiting and talking (and talking, and talking). Then I went met Howie and his mom at the coffee shop for our usual Saturday night outing and my scrapbooking friend and her husband came to meet us. We're going out for coffee at 10:00am today (yie, and I can't sleep) and then over to their house to visit and work on some pages. Howie and I are so thankful to have another couple to hang out with.

As the time of his surgery draws closer, we're more thankful than ever for the friends we've made online and how the Internet allows us to keep in touch with friends near and far. We're going to be uprooted for a time, in a strange place, and having the continuity of communities like 3FC, davesgarden.com and bloggers is such a blessing to us!

Oh, before I forget - Marge, here is my new coat! Howie took the photo for me last night. I tell ya, that baby is warm. I just love it...I have not been cold once since wearing it, and that's really saying something. My fingers get cold because I have cruddy Isotoner driving gloves, but that's just a given. The coat's a deep berry color which looks red in some light and deep pinky-berry in other. It's nice, whatever the shade.

Ok, Kimberley, you look so terrific. You're pictures inspire me -- and it's not just the coat, lady! :) I plod along, and it's slow. It always feels like "some day". Then I see you and Jennifer (teapotdynamo) and it starts to make me say, Ok, this is real, they are kicking butt and looking fierce. Just stay with the program, Marge.

So when is Howie's surgery? That guy is getting skinny. :) Being so healthy now must make a big difference. That's a gift he not only gave himself, but all the people who love him.

This is where we were: Gravity Hill, off of State Route 96 just south of New Paris, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, USA. Bedford has a fall fair that we went to. We ate literally the best homemade ice cream I have ever tasted there.

I sludged through the snow today to go to the gym, smugly thinking I'd be the only one there -- on a snowy Sunday. Not so, the place was pretty full.
My leg is just about back to normal, knock on wood. So my exercise is in a good place. I need to bake my boss something today, and we rented March of the Penguins. Have a great day, everyone.

Gravity Hill, yes, that is what it's called! I couldn't remember the name. Not that it matters, I guess, since we couldn't find it anyway :p

Well, had a pretty good weekend. Ate out for dinner on Friday night at a great restaurant and had too much food, then ate out for lunch on Saturday and had too much food, both of which were for evaluations, so I get fully reimbursed. Thank goodness I am able to be so strict and good during the week to average my calories all out okay :dizzy: Seems to be working since I'm still losing pretty consistently!

Sunday was a lazy day. For some reason, Jeff couldn't sleep on Saturday night. I woke up at about 1:20am (we had gone to bed just after midnight), and he wasn't in bed. I found him playing his game online, and he said he just couldn't sleep. Well, then I was awake, so we laid on the couch and watched Delores Claiborne that we had recorded on the DVR. The movie is pretty long, and we both stayed awake for the whole thing (although I missed about the second half because my head hurt, so I had turned and faced him and closed my eyes, but I never fell completely asleep)! So, around 4:30am, we went back to bed. We slept till about 11 Sunday morning, got up and showered and dressed and discovered we had NO food for breakfast. I knew we had to go grocery shopping, but we didn't even have milk for cereal, no eggs, couldn't make pancakes without milk, and we didn't even have bread for sandwiches or anything! So we hit Subway for breakfast/lunch, then did some major grocery shopping.

Oh, I did try a new recipe his cousin gave me, though it's not very healthy, so I won't post it on the recipes thread ;) It's just 1.5 cups of self-rising flour and 2 cups of ice cream. That's it! Mix the softened ice cream with the flour until all the flour is moistened, then put in a small greased and floured loaf pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. We used chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in the hopes that it would almost make little cookies throughout the bread, but the cookie dough parts just kinda melted, but it's still REALLY good! Basically vanilla bread with little chocolate pieces and spots of sweetness from the dough chunks. We're also going to try strawberry ice cream. His cousin made it with peaches and cream. It makes a very moist and dense bread, really more like a cake. It's so easy even I didn't mess it up :devil:

Rob does most of the grocery shopping here, so we always seem to be overloaded, heh heh. Mostly good stuff. ;) You'd think he lived through the Depression the way he overstocks, we have about 10 boxes of cereal.

We went to a local Mexican restaurant for lunch on Saturday, very hole in the wall type place. I had a spicy pork taco with rice and beans, and I tried horchata (a rice drink). I love that place. They have all their Christmas decorations up. So does the gym, they put real pine garlands all over the outside, and on the inside up the stairs to the front desk. We watched the Polar Express last night. Such a cute movie, got me in the holiday spirit. I have a couple of friends I have to mail presents to, so I'd better get moving on that!

Better get moving on my Monday to do list. Have a good one!

Hi gals: you know those 8 lbs I lost in a few days last week? They're BAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!! It's my own doing--we had a traditional English Sunday dinner with our English friends. The dinner was fairly healthy, with the exception of the Yorkshire pudding, gravy and pie! So, Im back to 320.

I bought The Biggest Loser book this weekend and read it cover to cover. It was a GREAT book! The circuit training outlined in it looks MUCH simpler than in Jillian's book. I think I will start with it, and as I get stronger, add in Jillian's workouts.

Alan's mum has an exercise bike that is in great condition that she wants to give to me. I'll gladly take it! It will give me something to do while watching TV other than eat!

Kimberley, love the coat girl!!

Jill: Interesting recipe--anything with Ice Cream piques my interest!! :):)

Marge: glad to hear your leg is healing, and that you were brave enough to go through the snow to the gym! Being the lazy sot I am, the snow would have been a great excuse to stay home under the covers!

Okay, out to walk, then eat lunch! I'm determined to keep my exercise goal this month!! See you in a bit!

THAT sounds wonderful. And now you can tell Jeff you've made him an ice cream cake. ;) Well, you have!

I've been a slug today, just wiped out after running all weekend. My hips have been getting better, but now I've had a lot of pain in my right shoulder, moving down my arm. My left shoulder's hurting, too, but not as badly. I wonder if it's bursitis, too, since it hurts to push on the joints like it did my hip joints. At any rate, it's been kinda discouraging having the unrelenting physical problems lately. I don't know Howie stays so positive and keeps on chugging with all HE has going on. That keeps me going.

I was over calorie both days this weekend, so this week I'm cutting back to compensate. I plan on a lot of veggies in those calories!

Morning ladies! It looks like rain here today....We'll see whether or not it is raining when I want to take my walk.

Alan is headed to an interview today. It is with a job making considerably less money than he is used to. But any amount of money is better than nothing I guess. I'm not used to having a spouse/partner/significant other out of work.

Don't worry, you'll lose those 8 lbs again, Jen. I remember when I started this program, I lost 3 lbs in the first week and was so psyched. The next week I gained back the 3 lbs! I'm glad I managed to keep it together and keep going.

You know, I had the Biggest Loser 2 hour finale on tape and finally watched it last night, heh heh. What transformations those people made. The guys looked so skinny. Cool you get a free bike. It's nice to have a piece of equipment you cn use indoors in the wintertime, when it's too slushy and cold outside to walk. Wait a minute, what am I talking about, you're in Florida! All you have to worry about is dodging falling coconuts! ;)

It's stressful to have a sig other out of work. Been there. For most guys their whole identity is tied up in their jobs. Hang in there, Jen.

Kimberley, I wonder if your doctor or hospital wouldn't have some type of pain management program to help you out. I've seen articles about how it's a growing field. Maybe even something like a physical therapist might help. Doesn't seem right that you should be in pain so much of the time.

The big snow storm we thought we'd get didn't materialize, all we had was a little snow fall early this morning. I have to admit I've been gnoshing on the goodies a little too much these past few days. Hope all the exercise makes up for it. :p

My aunt wants me to go to PA while she's there this month (visiting her sister and niece). I just don't think I'll be able to get away, plus right now isn't the best time to spend the extra money. I feel guilty because I'd love to see her, she's getting older now, in her 80s, I'd like to see her niece (we were close when we were teenagers). I'd have to rent a car or fly, or bus or train, any mode would add up fast.

Plus Rob can't get away and I don't especially like the idea of going away for a few days without him during the holidays. Have to ponder this one.

Marge: "falling coconuts"--heehee!! Actually, the indoor bike will be good to use as I watch telly (and I do watch alot!)

Alan decided to forego the interview. While I understand why he did it, it doesn't give me much of a secure feeling. I have faith he will be working soon...I guess I just don't have enough experience with unemployed SO's. My former husband was (and still is) employed by the same place.

As far as going to PA--that would be a tough one, especially if money is tight. Maybe discussing it with Rob will help make the right decision.

Kimberley: How long have you had the bursitis pain? I hear it can be unbearing at times.

And where is our Jill?

Howie is in such need of some deep, theraputic massage in his neck. This curvature in his lumbar spine forces him to hold his head and neck up at an unnatural angle in order to look up in front of him while walking or sitting at a desk at work. He really should be off work at this point - he's in so much pain. But he says he's gotta just grin and bear it because it's almost over. God, he's such a trooper.

I know there's pain management available for both of us in the form of PT, that's not the issue: It's the doggoned co-pays. :( They're $15 or $25, depending on whether our insurance considers the providers specialists (it's the higher co-pay for them). We know it'll be a matter of 3x/week kind of appointments for a few weeks and that's hundreds. Just can't do it right now. We have got to put money back for when he's off work, that's our focus.

I don't mean to sound like a sad sack - that's just reality. You know how life happens! ;) It'll work out, just has to wait.

My scrapbooking friend called and asked if we could get together later, like at 7pm. She's exhausted and needs to take a nap and still run an errand. I could tell she was really wiped out, so I gave her the option of getting together Thursday instead and she didn't think twice. I've had those days - guess it takes someone who has 'em to hear it in the other's voice, eh? We spent a totally enjoyable day with them Sunday; it's so cool to have another couple to do stuff with. Since all our other friends have kids, we're kind of the odd ducks and don't get to spend much time with them.

Sorry I've been MIA. I'm alive, I promise! I just have had actual work to do at work, so I sit at my computer for 9 hours during the day, then I go home and have reports to edit for my second job, so I sit at my computer for a few more hours, and by the time all is said and done, I just don't want to be at the computer anymore! I come and read a lot, but the thought of typing kinda makes me want to drop-kick my computer off the balcony sometimes :devil: I've got a project due to a client on Friday, a call with a client tomorrow, a meeting at 10 today and another at 1:30...And then my part-time editing job from home is another feast-or-famine case. I went an entire billing period (15 days) with no hotel reports (those are the ones that take 1-2 hours to edit plus addition time the next day when you have to wait for answers on questions from the evaluator plus more time for feedback from the account manager...), and now I have 7 hotel reports just this week (plus at least 3 more next week). I sure enjoy the money, but sometimes I also enjoy sleep ;)

Anyway, I have been busy and eating everything in sight and not going to the gym. I had 2 slices of cheese pizza for lunch yesterday--I NEVER have that during the week! Plus that bread I made plus regular soda (Jeff's, since I ran out of my diet soda)...I've just been a dieting disaster :( Meh, it happens. I left the cash at home in my bedroom closet so I can't buy food in the cafeteria for lunch. I'll stick to what I brought from home (reduced-sugar instant oatmeal and a small can of fruit cocktail packed in pear juice).

Alright, I'm off to fill my water bottle and get back to editing this 23-page table in Word (I hate big tables in Word, but our client won't let us use Excel). Catch ya'll later!

Hi Jill:

Ugh, I HATE tables in Word also--they can get messed up easily! Excel is soooo much better! In fact, if I could only have ONE Office program, it would be Excel. It can be a word document, spread sheet, database and more!

It's easy to go overboard when you are busy and don't have the right food in the house. That's the way it is at our house right now. I need to go to the grocery, but UGH! I hate going!

Kimberley, when I was married to my first husband, we were also the odd ducks out because we didn't have kids--not that we didn't try! I think it's worse if you really want kids and can't have them. If you are child free by choice, it's not so bad. Honestly Kimberley, I can't remember your situation--are you and Howie child free by choice? (Feel free to not answer if it is too personal!)

Off to work....will see you in a bit!

Jill, I don't blame you for wanting to drop-kick the computer. Ugh about editing tables in Word. Any way you could temporarily pull the table into Excel for editing and then pop it back into your Word doc? That's what I'd do in a heartbeat. Hey, speaking of mystery shoppers, you'd be proud of me; :D I got a 10/10 on my Hickory Farms report without needing to submit any corrections. Woo!

Jen, yes, it's by choice. We decided after 13 years of my being on the pill that a permanent solution was preferable. It's so nice not having to remember to take that pill every day.

Cute new pic (avatar), Jen!

Alan decided to forego the interview. While I understand why he did it, it doesn't give me much of a secure feeling. I have faith he will be working soon...I guess I just don't have enough experience with unemployed SO's. My former husband was (and still is) employed by the same place.

Just in general, it might be more worth his time to find a job at his correct level. If you take a job at too low a level, then you might end up having to leave it, and going to interviews where your too overqualified can leave you feeling like you're spinning your wheels: you probably wouldn't get offered the job (most good managers know that an overqualified person would get bored too quickly or would leave for a better job as soon as they could).

I know it can be tough. In our parent's generation it wasn't uncommon for a person to expect to be employed by the same business his/her entire life (mostly his!). That's not so much the case anymore. The responsibility is on the employee to take care of his/herself. Our social safety net has really shrunk. :(

Speaking of which, the insurance situation drives me absolutely batty. I mean, it's really wrong that we have to accept making a choice between our financial well being and taking care of our health needs. We have the most advanced medical resources in the world, so why is it only the wealthy and well insured (a number that's shrinking) get to take advantage of it? :soap: Hang in there, Kimberley.

Jill, at least the extra money comes at a good time. But then when is not a good time to have extra money, heh heh. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a good loss despite the extra snacks, you have the mojo.

I've got to get working, I've been slacking off lately -- that's a pitfall of working at home, it can be too easy to slack off sometimes! Have a good one, ladies.

I've been slacking at my work, too, Marge. I had a photo project I was procrastinating about (so many photos to edit!), and as long as that wasn't done, I felt guilty doing anything else work-wise. So...I putzed around and didn't get either done. Anyone else do that? Now the photo job's completed and I am going to hit the webhost work hard and heavy. I want a good paycheck this coming period and it's entirely up to me - the works there, just need to sit down and do it!

I wish there were more mystery shops in my town. Most of them are in Columbus and it would cost me the honorarium's worth of gas to drive in and do them. Fortunately for me, they often send out job board info in the wee hours of the morning, so if there is a shop in my town, I have a good chance of getting it from a 2:00am e-mail notification.

Morning ladies!

I had considered doing a Mystery Shopping thing, or taking surveys, but never got beyond considering it! LOL

It sounds like all of you work from home. I go into the office from 7:30-5:30 every day. I don't think I'm disciplined enough to work from home--I'd end up surfing and chatting all day long. (Oops--I already do that ! LOL) But I do have a great job with great benefits, and I am so glad for that.

Marge, you are right about Alan's job level. Not only can he financially not afford to take something beneath him, intellectually it would really aggravate him. We talked about some strategies that he has in place to start earning again. I feel very confident he will be earning again by the New Year.

Speaking of Alan, I'm attaching his pic....he's soooo handsome! :):)

He's a cutie, Jen :) I'm glad to hear you two are discussing it, talking about it can let the air out of a lot of the fears and anxieties that go with being unemployed. Then it's more like your supporting each other and going through it together.

Kimberley, I do the exact same thing, I can't do this until I do that, then I end up doing neither thing, yikes. Heh heh.

I finally did a few holiday things, last night I mailed out about half our xmas cards. I still have to get together a couple of packages and bake, bake, bake. I've gotten a couple of gifts for Rob. I know he's gotten me more, so I have to figure out what else he might like. He's not that easy to shop for.

Tonight a big snow storm is supposed to move in, and I go to the gym Friday mornings. I'm having my exercise will tested here. If I hadn't overindulged in pannetone and brownies this week, I'd be able to skip it, but that's not the case....

Jen--I WISH I worked from home! Well, I do, I suppose, but only for my part-time job. I work for a giant evil corporation as a technical writer/editor weekdays from 7am-3pm, then do the stuff from home in the evenings and weekends. The actual mystery shopping isn't for income since I don't get paid, I only get reimbursed for the meals at restaurants, so I just kinda do those for fun. The part I get paid for is editing the mystery shopper reports before they go to the clients, and that is a per-report rate, so even if a report takes 3 hours, I still get the regular per-report rate (luckily, that doesn't happen very often!) :dizzy:

Where is our Miss Aimee lately? Looking back, it looks like she hasn't been with us all month! Hope everything's okay...

I burst out laughing when I read your parenthetical remark! :D Had to read it to Howie, too, of course.

That is a *great* picture of you two! He is a handsome guy, you're right. You both look wonderful -- great choice for your avatar, too!

I'm having a lazy, lazy "morning". We're forecast to get 3-6" snow, but who knows whether that will pan out. I'm looking forward to there being something other than brown winter blah, but at the same time, I'm not looking forawrd to cleaning off the van tonight after scrapbooking with my friend.

Good news on the healthcare front...We got an unexpected refund from the furnace guy for a part which didn't fix the problem, so Howie said the money I make from the contract work this pay period can go for me getting some adjustments from the chiropractor and/or PT. My hip's been hurting again and I'm thinking I might just go ahead and have the doc give me a cortisteriod injection sometime before we leave for Maryland.

Take a look at this radar. Woo! We're somewhere near the B in COLUMBUS.

I'm not sure how much was on the ground when I was out there just now, but the roads are interesting. Really, they could be a whole lot worse. I stopped on the way home and took pictures downtown -- been waiting until we got snow so I could get the courthouse lights in the snow! Here's my favorite shots. You get to see 'em first. :hug:

Morning all....

Gorgeous pics, Kimberley! Reminds me of the town where I grew up (Franklin, Indiana).

Well y'all, I woke up in full b*tch mode today. TOM should arrive today or tomorrow. The sooner the better, before I kill someone! I already told Alan: "I love you, but you are just not going to do anything right in my eyes today." He thanked me for recognizing it and letting him know. It seems like my PMS has been getting worse the older I get. And forget healthy eating--bring on the CHOCOLATE!!!!

Kimberley, those pictures are gorgeous!

Well, we got a few inches of snow (about 2-4), but it took me over an hour to get to work this morning (usually takes about 25-30 minutes). I leave at about 5:30am, so I figured everyone else would still be home. WRONG! It was pouring rain when I left, so I was wiping all the snow off my car and getting drenched, then had to scrape a layer of ice off the windows. I assumed the side roads would be icky, but I figured the highways would be fine. Wrong again! All traffic on the beltway (I-495 going around DC) was doing 15 miles per hour. 15! It was insane!

But, in any case, I made it to work alive and in one piece. Jeff stayed home since there's an accident where a tractor-trailor truck crashed into a utility pole, shutting down an entire parkway right near Jeff's office. He called work, and the guy told him it wasn't even worth it to come in because it would take forever, and he only works till 2:30 on Fridays anyway, so now he is home all day, and I'm stuck here at the office :p

I also didn't sleep well last night, but for good reason. When I got home from work yesterday, my apartment was cold, so I turned up the heat. I was freezing as I was working on my computer, soI turned it up a bit more and put my hand over the vent to find that it was blowing COLD air! So I put on my shoes and went down to the front desk to report it, but aparently the heat was out in the entire building, not just us. So anyway, Jeff and I curled up with blankets and watched a movie, then went to bed with an extra blanket on top. I woke up at about 1:30am SWEATING! I ripped the extra blanket off the bed and went and got a cold drink of water from the fridge, but I was still hot when I went back to bed. That's when I remembered that I had turned the heat up to about 80 when it wasn't working--well, it was working now! So I turned down the heat, and Jeff had woken up as well, so we watched a little tv to fall back to sleep. So now I am at work, cold, tired, and Jeffless, and I wanna go home, but we have a deliverable due to a client today, so no hope of leaving early for me! :dizzy:

At 9:30am, we heard a terrible racket coming from downstairs. My MIL's dog Hannah was yelping and crying up a storm, obviously in distress beyond the normal "poor abandoned, crated puppy dog" cries she normally does after Nancy leaves in the morning. Howie dashed downstairs and found her with her nose wedged partially under the crate door, her mouth stuck open in the bars. She was stuck tight! She doesn't appear to be injured, but wow what a way to greet the day. I'd not gone to bed until a bit after 6:00am and tossed and turned for a while before settling down, so it was a *very* short night's sleep for me.

:ROTF: This I must remember to tell Howie!

Oh, Jill, poor you...A bad night's sleep, killer commute and Jeffless to top it all off. Glad they got your heat working at least. Our snowstorm wimped out and we only got maybe 2" on the ground. I heard ice was a possibility, but I've not really seen it.

Okay, where IS Aimee??

TOM should arrive today or tomorrow. The sooner the better, before I kill someone! I already told Alan: "I love you, but you are just not going to do anything right in my eyes today." He thanked me for recognizing it and letting him know. It seems like my PMS has been getting worse the older I get. And forget healthy eating--bring on the CHOCOLATE!!!!

I not only have a twin in Canada (Aimee, you know who you are), I have one in Florida too!! :rofl:

I loved your pics, Kimberley. It's much cuter than my home town of San Leandro, CA. ha. Some people here get into the decorations, there's a three story brownstone on 9th street that has lights plastered all over the building, and a santa claus, I get a kick out of it.

I'm really glad to hear you're going to get PT.

Definitely be careful on the roads, Jill. We're seeing all kinds of news footage with nasty accidents. There was one right here on Sixth Avenue near us, involved about 4 or 5 cars and there's glass all over the sidewalks now. We finally have the heat cranking here, and I've been waking up sweating too, :lol: I keep thinking it's colder than it is and using lots of blankets and wearing a sweatshirt on top of my nightgown.

Happy to report a 0.8 lb loss this week. I changed the ticker to read 15 instead of 10, I'll never reach 15 by Christmas, ha. This way I can feel like I got closer to a goal. :)

Well, I'd better go get some stuff down, have to order bagels to be shipped for my dad's birthday (12/11).

:hug:

Just thought I'd pop by and let you all know where I am... life is crazy, and I'm having a rough time.. so I'm taking a time out.. Just need some time.

-Aimee

Aimee we miss you and are thinking about you!!:hug:

I'm happy to report that so far there are no homicides committed by me today!:cp: There' s still time, though...:fr:

Potential good news! Alan is getting the opportunity to bid on some contract work. He feels he has a good chance of winning this bid! :carrot: Fingers crossed!

Okay, so a little informal census of our little group (let me know if I'm wrong on any of this):

--We all have jobs (all outside the home except for Kimberley)
--Kimberley is our only married; Jill, Marge and Jen have live-in Significant Others; Aimee has a boyfriend that doesn't live with her (not sure about that one)
--Jill and Aimee are in their 20's; Kimberley is in her 30's; Marge and Jen are in their 40's
--None of us have children at the moment
--Jen lives the furthest south--Aimee lives the furthest north

Am I very far off base?

Aimee, sorry to hear you're having a rough patch. :hug: Take good care, do what you need to do, and come back soon as you can - we miss you.

I think you're right on, except I think Josh does live with Aimee. Hope I'm not getting SO's mixed up! I can't keep spouses/SO's straight sometimes. Mine's pretty easy for everyone since he's active here. ;)

I think I got the SO's down:

Jen and Alan (duh!)
Kimberley and Howie (duh again!)
Aimee and Josh
Marge and Rob
Jill and Jeff

Speaking of yours Kimberley, I was excited to see he made it to the 240's!! Nearly half the man he was!

Good luck to Allen, Jen. That's good news. I'm happy to hear you avoiding hurting your loved ones too, heh heh. I have one correction to your survey. I work out of my home.

Aimee, :hug: Looking forward to reading your posts here again. I know sometimes a break is the best medicine.

I've been baking up a storm: biscotti and cranberry bread. Tomorrow it will be chocolate chips, maybe oatmeal if I have enough energy. Then I have to pack them up to give most of them away, heh heh.

Howie's Uncle Bobby and Aunt Bea came out to take my MIL Nancy to lunch, but invited us to come along, too. They're great people, quick to laugh and kid.

This evening, we went with our coffee shop friends to a Victorian Christmas event at a local historic home, Davis-Shai House. They had a Santa Claus display with all kinds of figures from different eras, plus dozens of trees throughout the house. Live music from various local groups were nice, too. They have a big, heated events tent set up outside where they serve free doughnuts and hot cider. After that, we headed over to...You guessed it...Caribou. Tonight we mixed things up a little and played double 15 dominoes, what a fun time.

Tomorrow we're having Howie's nephew and his family over for dinner. I'm so pooped right now, that makes me downright tired to think about. But it'll be fun. :)