Hi, Aria! I just "talked" to ye over in the land far far ... thanks for respondin' on my new journal. Yep, I'm back on antibiotics for now ... and also not givin' up on oregano oil. But this is atypical pneumonia ... not very serious, so I am fine ...

I HAVE A NEW CHALLENGE FOR MYSELF ... JUST NOT TO GAIN WEIGHT UNTIL THE FIRST OF THE YEAR ... s'all I can do as I'm eatin' my head off and eatin' sugar 'cause I'm not feelin' well.

How the Mighty Have Fallen.........
 

Had to spend TWO nights at work because of bad weather---finally got home after 60 hours. I was the only one at work yesterday [becasue I spent the night!] and we had to canel the alst night of our big Victorian Christmas event so I caught the phones all day, and put chairs away and cleaned up, etc.
I think I was visulaizing it to be a more serene experience than it was---I worked my butt off!!!!
And this morning I dismantled all the fresh greenery in the old house and dragged it out into the woods. I never feel quite right about that; I feel rather grinch-like!
Just as I was finishing up and the ice was melting and I was feeling confident about driving home, I hooked my pinkie toe on a Victorian love seat that wasn't in it usual place and I think I broke my toe. It's my understanding that if you break a toe the docs just say to tape it to your other toes, that it really can't be set----is this right? Anybody know? I did stop at my doctor's on the way home and asked a nurse and she said they'd order an x-ray just to make sure it was broken and then tape it. I told her I'd rather just go home. Now it's all swollen and sore and bruised and I can bend it all around and it's really creepy. Gives me character. I guess.
Anyway, I stayed so busy that i didn't really have time to do anything fun at the old house. I had plenty of food with me and I ate like a queen. Sigh**** the worst thing is I fell hard for stupid stinking FUDGE. I fel t all overworked and resentful and didn't sleep well and the old house was spooking me so I "comforted" myself with sugar. Stupid fudge----it's been over a year since I've had sugar and it's so clear that I can't handle it. A taste makes me want more and it was right there in the house with me, and at the continuing ed center too and it seduced me! I actually feel hung over and kind of nauseous. I didn't eat buckets of it, but probably had 9 small piecs over the last 3 days. I'm pretty disappointed in myself right now. Craving SALT!!!

[color=blue][b]Yo, E!!! I responded to thee in that other realm re the sugar bingeing ... thinkin' you'd been as far off the wagon as me ... then I came here and :lol: you've only had nine pieces o' fudge in three days ... how 'bout FIVE Take Five bars in a DAY (which is what I did today instead of sleepin' as I was instructed by the medical profession ... I had to go to work the beat). Anyhow, it's the same syndrome ... in the other realm, I posted "We are twins" ... yep, it's the same syndrome ... a little sugar, a lot o' sugar ... I HATE IT, TOO, E! It is a DEMON ... but now this end-o'-year jumpin' off place is here and we can jump right back on the ol' wagon 'cause our bods KNOW how good it feels to be sugar free ... so let's get back there and do 'er!

Re the toe, that's been my experience and I've broken the little toe twice (same one) ... they say it's too small to set and just tape it and it hurts a bit and then gets better ... but you should go to doc anyhow as what do I know? After all, I'm trying to cure pneumonia with oregano oil and Take Five bars (and antibiotics, which are just as crazy, IMO, but I'm takin' 'em).

We soldier on ... whatever comes our way, let's dump that SUGAR DEMON for good in 2006 (or before) ... I don't EVER wanna try to absorb five Take Five bars in a day again.

But at least THAT is past ... and tomorrow's another day, Scarlett.

Huzzah.

Tacky post ...
 

Tacky as this is, I'm gonna cross post from A's new journal in the land far far as it explains where I am right now ... going into Solstice Week ... sorry for the tackiness o' not writin' a whole new postie ... I need to shop, then work on stories ... this was in response to a question by a poster as to what a Take Five bar is ... ARI is my new initiative (A...'s Refocusing Initiative)!

Well, ok, I will tell ya ... ! But under no circumstances go out and buy one as they are ALIVE! They have the demonic capability to burst out o' their wrappers and before you can take evasive action, they THRUST themselves into the bods o' innocent diet folk, who then TURN INTO Take Five bars in a state o' reproductive frenzy, seekin' new TAKE FIVE bars to mate with so that they can TAKE OVER THE WORLD! :devil:

It is veeeeerrrrry scary!

The Take Five bar is produced by the Hershey Candy Co., which is really a FRONT for the Demon Candy Coalition, which seeketh to eradicate the NO REFINED SUGAR UNIVERSAL MOVEMENT, a benign organization dedicated to peace, harmony and the elimination o' Demon Sugar from the galaxy.

The Take Five bar contains FIVE elements: chocolate, peanuts, salty pretzels, peanut butter and caramel.

There is NO need, I am sure, for me to describe the DANGER o' A ... gettin' her hands on this combination o' ingredients when she hath pneumonia and feeleth depressed ...

Anyhow, A... has had THREE o' these bars today AND ... here the Universal Dietary Law Consortium's agents (disguised as Weight Maintenance Hags) have broken down the door o' the Diet Refocusing Hovel (ARI headquarters) in the Deep Dark Diet Dilemmatic Woods and confiscated A's remainin' stash, removin' them to an unknown location in the trash.

ARI CHALLENGE FOR SATURDAY: Just hold the line calorically. Everything else will fall into place. Going to go out and buy some better food ...

Meanwhile the ARI team (Weight Loss Hag, Weight Maintenance Hag, Inner Children, Pneumonia Specialist, New Biz Representative, Keep Present Job Clerk and the Exercise Fairie) has met and brainstormed some strategies for weigh-in day (tomorrow) so that A will not be upset if she hath gained ... and the chant o'

"ARI, ARI, ARI" hath rung out over the land, denotin' a new spirit as A FINALLY heads into Solstice Week. Huzzah ...

Amarantha, you look after yourself. You need to get as much rest as you possibly can. Why is it (speaking for me, really) that a need for rest denied turns immediately to a need for sugar? Fell off the sugar wagon yesterday in fine style, moi-meme, huge job stress plus insanity of trying to make Lebanese feast for DH's birthday dinner all in an afternoon. Suddenly remembered choc bought for stockings and ate only 1 bar -- too bad it was 185 grams. :rolleyes: Then wine with dinner...

Feeling almost too exhausted to worry about the whole thing today. Was just going to go sneak cake and ice cream, but DH arrived back home, thank goodness, and saved me.

Eydie, I did also envision your time at the house as more serene than it sounds to have turned out. And a broken toe. And sugar. I think there must be some bizarre sugar-inducing alignment of the planets. I just stood up yesterday as if remotely-controlled and rushed, robot-like, down stairs. Grabbed the bar and came back up here and just ate it. Much too sweet, it was. :rolleyes: Ah well...

I did go for a walk this morning and did yoga. Haven't eaten anything awful yet today (hear that "yet" :dz: ) Will meditate soon. And rest. Just going to cozy in for the evening -- two freakin' more parties tomorrow -- why can't they just leave us alone! :lol:

Adios, muchachos!!! Let us try to establish some sort of equilibrium. Love to all......

Just a "Howdy" to wish all good to the Queenlies. Glad to see some still soldiering on. All is in bad shape here, food, water, exercise - none as should be.

Tomorrow is three months since dh came home. We have improvements, then more things wrong, and I am bone weary. Where does one turn? Food, of course. I have gained but not nearly what I should have considering what I've eaten. I believe it's from all the physical stuff I've been doing and would probably be sylphlike if I had maintained even a halfway moderate diet.

I too have been wondering about the Irishman Encounter and that's probably at least 50% of why I "tuned" in today. Had not realized how long it's been.

Better health to all and have more fortitude than I on the sugar battlefront.

If only sugar weren't so ... sweet!

Uh huh.

:candy:

Howdy, Anagramatic! :)

Another selfish me-me cross postie and apologies 'cause I'm not being really responsive to others on here right now ... actually, I AM mentally responding, but am so fatigued I can't formulate thoughts ... trying to write for the paper is torture. But here's my journal entry for the solstice goal! I will stop doin' the cross postin's soon but just want to participate here as well ... bleech ... I have no character ... :

"Ok! A ... , co-founder o' the Secret Order o' ARI (A...'s Refocusing Initiative), and ARI members A..., A..., A... 'n Co-Founder A..., met this a.m. in a clearin' in the Deep Dark Diet Dilemmatic Woods fer the FIRST ARI CEREMONY O' GETTIN' BACK TO OUR WEIGHT GOAL PROJECT! We found the group's collective weight to be 139.8 ... up a MERE 1.4 ... we say "MERE" because the past two weeks have been an eatin' fiesta, punctuated by binges o' Demon Sugar!

The GROUP made some decision for the following week: 1) We are declarin' our Solstice Goal Date to be on December 25 ... if this were a day in our own spiritual tradition, we'd say it was Christmas, but it's actually three days past the Solstice ... however, since we like Christmas as well as the next person (havin' been raised in that tradition), and we like the Solstice, which bringeth comfort and light back to our world, we're just gonna call it GOAL DAY!!! The GOAL is to lose 1.1 pounds! 2) TO LOSE THE 1.1 pounds, we need to ELIMINATE DEMON SUGAR BY THE END O' THE WEEK (can't do it all at once) SO ... WE WILL ALLOW OURSELVES TWO SUGAR ITEMS FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY, ONE SUGAR ITEM FOR EACH OF THE FOLLOWING DAYS UNTIL DECEMBER 25! 3) plus, to lose the 1.1 pounds, our Oracle Fitday PC hath declared an average weekly cal count o' 1698 ... we will WORK to achieve that average by the end o' the week!

Following the meeting, the ARI'ers enjoyed their Sunday Sugar Fest (allowed) o' two TAKE FIVE BARS. This was followed by milk and a whole wheat English muffin (legal). We then all took a nap in the woods and are ready to do some work for the Evil Overlord (aka employment).

We are ignoring the pneumonia demon today.

We are not mad that we gained a bit o' weight as it's all part o' keepin' the metabolism goin' ... gotta have those uppages to get to the downages.

We soldier on! We WILL reach our goal in 2006!"

Hi Girls! I think I jinxed myself in that last post on the other thread when I said things should be slowing down around here. Geez Louise, it seems like I never stop!

So, the Irishman. :) He flew in last Friday, Dec 9. After several hours of delays due to Midway being closed and the snow storm in Chicago that headed directly to Toronto (we were thinking it was a sign by the end!), I finally made it to the airport, waited over an hour and a half while his plane sat on the runway...talk about torture! Finally, passengers started coming in. I was standing with a crowd of people and when he came up the ramp, he spotted me right away. I started walking over toward him, and he just stopped, set down his suitcase and his jacket, and stood there with his arms open. Of course, I cried. Nine years I waited for that moment, and it is one I'll never forget. It was like time stood still for us. I walked into his arms, and I think it was then that my heart started beating again! I can't explain the emotions at that time, so I'm not even going to try...it was the best hug ever.

There was no awkwardness at all. It was like we had always been together. We had lunch and marvelled at sitting across a table from each other, then we checked him into his hotel (he has allergies and I have cats), picked up coffee and wandered the mall a bit, the four of us (DH, DD, and the two of us) had dinner together Friday evening, then back to our place for a couple of hours. Saturday was ours to hang out on our own. (I must say, DH was very gracious about the whole thing. We discussed it all beforehand.) So Saturday we lingered over coffee, then just hung out for the afternoon. I didn't want to plan every moment of his visit and then feel like we were too busy...he came here to relax, after all. He taught me to play gin...I was never a card player. We headed for Toronto around 4pm, traffic being so unpredictable around here. We had tickets for a murder mystery dinner at 6pm. We were there by 5:30, and figured we would just go to the bar and wait, but the sign outside said it started at 7pm...our tickets said 6pm. It was freezing cold and the door was locked, so we wandered down the block to a little jazz bar and went in for a couple of drinks. It was so nice...great music, great wine, the place wasn't busy and was all lit with candles. We had a pretty deep conversation and just enjoyed being together finally. Back out into the cold, we walked to the murder mystery thing. It was pretty bad...but we laughed about it. Took us almost two hours to get home from Toronto in traffic, and then we sat and talked until 1:30am. Sunday morning the four of us went out for breakfast, then I took him to the airport at 10am.

The weekend went by SO fast. I was just dreading saying goodbye to him. I sat with him for almost an hour before he had to go through security...I thought I was doing pretty good, and when we finally walked down to the security gates and had our final hug, he pulled away and said he had to go before HE started crying....which got me crying...what a pair of saps we are.

He is such a wonderful man in person. His parents certainly taught him well....opened EVERY door, wouldn't let me pay for anything, not even a coffee!, took my arm while we walked, made sure he was there if there was any ice or snow I had to walk through, took my hand while we walked through crowds...there aren't many like that left! He is just as handsome in person if not more so.

After such a great weekend, waking up to the normal work week routine was REALLY hard. The first couple of days I was really down. So hard to not have him here after spending a few days with him. He was going through the same thing. I didn't think it was possible, but we are even closer after his visit. The plan is for me to go there in May to meet all of his family and see him again. 22 weeks to go. :)

I know most people, and possibly even some of you can't understand how I can be so close to another man and be married. He and I have a very unique and special relationship, and thankfully we have spouses that support it. There is nothing secretive about our relationship. I just know that I am truly blessed to have him in my life.

I do have a couple of pictures, but I won't post them publicly. He is kind of high profile in his job, and I respect his privacy. If anyone wants to see, PM me and I'll give you a link.

So, now that I've written a book...quick diet update...I have lost 11 more pounds since the beginning of November. I am down a full size....had to buy pants for work because all of mine are too big.

I think I better hit post before I lose all this. This is definitely a Me-Me-Me post! I'll be back to catch up with everyone.

HEllo all....

Empress, sorry to hear about the pnemonia.... please be very gentle with yourself....
I can relate in a small way as this past week return to work was very draining till about Thursday when suddenly I felt much improved.....

Anagram! Was very concerned about you and am glad you had a chance to post.... Please be gentle with yourself too!

Eydie! Not to worry! Fudge is getting to all of us! And no wonder, there you were, stuck, all by yourself.....

Just last night I succumbed...
Actually could hear my heart beating it was racing so fast from the sugar effects...
Today I must be very stalwart as I know what the after effects will be!

Wood Nymph!~ Hold tight! Hold tight! Hold tight! Job stress is so awful...
Here's the percription...please be gentle with yourself!

Wsw! You are my hero!

Wildfire! Thanks for sharing your story! How lovely to see that your friendship is so strong ! Its obviously built on love and respect.... You are a lucky woman!

Ceara?? How are you??


Sorry I have gone so long... its just been lack of energy...amazing but true...
It wasnt till I felt the energy return I realized how low I had gotten....

Here's today's thought :

***

Thought of the day :

"Though there is much to be concerned about, there is far, far more for
which to be thankful."


Question of the day :

"When's the last time you fell out of bed?"

***

A fresh, new week!
 

:balloons: Hello everyone!
Just checking in.
Wildfire ~ Happy for you that you finally met "him". How romantic! :cloud9: These European men are really charming with their good manners, aren't they? Are you sure your DH is not a bit jealous? I know I would be (if I would be a man, that is, :)).

Just a fly-bye ... sorry, too, 'cause there is so much good stuff on here to reply to but I have to go to work (yes, despite the lingering pneumonia) ... Wildfire, I WOULD like the link just to get a glimpse o' the Irishman ... can you pm it? :) Congrats on a great visit.

Arabella, I bookmarked the quiz ... looks like it will take some thought and I have to away now ... clever, though. I got the first one ...

K, glad thou art improved ... I'm waitin' to emulate thee.

Aria!!! Huzzah!!!