Judy - I'd love to see your hair - it sounds gorgeous. It sure takes a long time, but it must be nice to be pampered all day. Curried turkey soup sounds good - I'll have to try it next time I have leftovers. I like all kinds of curry. Good for you doing the Turbo Jam. I need to up my exercise - I feel like I've been slacking off a bit lately, though I'm still managing my 3x a week at Curves.

Marie - I've had a hard time with hair stylists too as I'm growing my hair (just past shoulder length). The last time I got it trimmed she talked me into layers, which I know are not good for me as I have very fine hair. Oh well, at least it will grow out and I still get compliments on my hair. I'm sometimes tempted just to go in for a shampoo and deep conditioning as I love getting the head massage. I once had an Indian (Asian) head massage and it was wonderfully relaxing.

I've been a bit tense today as I got myself into a conundrum with a friend who invited us to Christmas dinner and I accepted, thinking my DH and DS would enjoy it as we'd spent last Christmas with them. They have a house full of friends and family and it's nice for us as we don't have any family here at all. Unfortunately, my guys both really wanted to spend Christmas at home, so I had to beg off. I felt really bad about it and had to have two glasses of wine before I had the courage to call my friend. I think she was really disappointed, so I hope I haven't ruined our friendship. I'll have to learn how to say 'I'll let you know' in future. I think my guys really didn't like their family tradition of everyone reading verses out of a Christmas book! Of course the stress had me raiding the fridge and going overboard in calories - after I'd been good thru Thanksgiving! Well, tomorrow is another day.

Marie I normally enjoy the rush of shopping the day after this year I didn't so much. Especially the midnight thing I was in bed afterwards at 5:30 p.m. exhausted. The deals at the outlet mall weren't that great by any means. It was fun hanging with the girls and doing something crazy but not to be repeated next yr. The regular black friday shopping was good. I did manage to save some money and got a few things done. Kohls was a mad house and I had an extra 15% off coupon for charge customers. I saved my girl friends some cash and let them use it too. Together we did well. One person stayed in line with her big toy item while we shopped and added ours in later. Not so nice to everyone in line but they were cool and said they didn't care. My sister got out at 5:00 a.m. and the next day the item was another 10 dollars cheaper she was mad. I really think that the stores have just as good sales the next day with less crowds. They will have good deals right up til christmas. Judy my veggie daughter loves curry dishes but I have the spice and never know what to make with it. Any good recipes would be appreciated for sure. Sounds like the hair appt. was long but worth it. I think before christmas I am going to treat myself to a color and highlights. Maybe before my christmas party wish is the 7th. I will make an appt. today. I have a doctors appt. next monday maybe I can fit this in too. Marie the new toys sounds wonderful and you earned them. I have to tell you I am reading a book and its great to wake up before everyone else have my quite time in front of the fire with my hot coffee in hand and my book. You will love that stove your working for next. Well damage control:::::::::::::::: I gained only .5 for the holiday which could be salt from turkey, high cal. dinner with tetrazenni yesterday not low cal at all and some sweet potatoe custard leftover from the pie. So I am feeling okay with all that. Making it through the holiday. Now to hunker down and preplan my holiday gatherings into my schedule. I have a plan for cals., exercise and my little mini goal thats in the works before christmas. I feel good about not gaining too much with all the extras last week. So now just think if I had been good what I might of lost ! So if I am good all week I should see a change in that scale by friday. My first christmas gathering at a group home. Take care everyone.

I feel like I've been up forever, but it's only 11AM. That's what happens when you have an early-morning dentist's appointment . But I'm proud of myself for getting up early enough to squeeze in 40 minutes of cardio before rushing out the door.

Penny, I hope that your friend doesn't make more of your decision than she needs to. Maybe you can schedule a lunch or something, just the two of you, to reassure her. It's not as if you backed out at the last minute, after all. These things are stressful, though. I read somewhere that we tend to make judgements based on our intentions and other people's actions, and the world would be a better place if we were more attentive to our own actions and other people's intentions. I think about that a lot in situations like these!

Marie, I don't care so much about how fancy the new TV is, but everyone says it's nuts to buy an old-fashioned one at this point. The choices and the technology is a little overwhelming. I'll just take a couple of recommendations, search for the best deals on those and push send.

Carol, you're right about the deals not being over this early in the shopping season. I actually love to shop, but I can't deal with the crowds and the lines. It's more fun for me after Xmas, when the good stuff is deeply marked down.

Okay, gotta get back to work! Have a great day, everyone!

judy

Hi everyone. It's back to work time - and I'm tired of working so it's a midafternoon break with my chickie friends.

Judy, I know what you mean about not getting the latest technology, but in this case the difference isn't great and it costs more (the TV and the service). I don't know - I'd look into it a bit before plunging ahead. If you're relly a TV addict maybe it would be worth it. I'm not so to me it's not. AND way to go on the exercise before the dentist. We are exerciser chicks, through and through.

Carol, sorry about the square box. Tomorrow is my day. It should be fine since I logged my calories and didn't go over even on Thanksgiving. But it's almost TOM and that's always unpredictable. I agree with you on the Black Friday scams - prices are reduced throughout the season. I'm staying home next year - at least I'll just come to my local town and not travel over the mountain.

Penny, I'm sorry about your predicament. I totally agree with Judy. Invite her out and expain your family's wish to have a quiet Christmas. And tell her you value her friendship and really appreciate the generous invitation. Damage control.

I did my 5 miles this morning and am on target for food. Not else new - just back to the grind. Oh, I did one thing - I'm taking off 1 hour early every Wednesday through the end of January so that I can walk my doggies. Blizzard (maybe beloved Alaskan Husky) has hip dysplasia and if I don't exercise her regularly she gets stiff and is in pain. so I decided that the best option was a midweek walk. So I set it up. If I don't take off an hour early, it's too dark to walk when I get home.

Well, back to the grind.
Marie

Carol - Congrats on only gaining .5 lb. over Thanksgiving. You're right, the salty foods can cause water retention. Now that I get the nutritional info when I log my foods I'm amazed how much salt is in some foods that I would never have guessed were so salty.

Judy - Good for you for fitting in exercise before your dentist's appt. - that's dedication! Thanks for your suggestion to invite my friend to lunch. I'm hoping it will smooth things over a bit if I talk to her about it. It's a bit tricky for us to get together as she's a naturopath doctor and works long hours. Hopefully we'll be able to get together before Christmas.

Marie - You are so good to your doggies. Poor Blizzard. Our neighbour's Husky had a bad hip and they spent a fortune on surgeries but it still had a wobbly leg. It seemed happy though. Dogs are so good at looking on the bright side! I'm amazed how you do your five miles every day. I wish I could get myself motivated to at least do the treadmill again. I know I need to do more than just Curves.

I'm pretty much back on track calorie-wise. My DH is going to Toronto for a few days tomorrow, so I won't be doing much cooking. I have a bunch of Lean Cuisines to eat up in the freezer and I may be stuck indoors anyway as we might get some freezing rain - brrrr!

Penny I feel your pain with telling someone thanks but...... I have the same problem kind of my sister puts on a lovely spread on christmas but my family likes to stay home. I always feel bad. But she started it years ago so her kids could stay in their own home with there gifts etc. Well my daughter likes to unwind and stay home also. I am making dinner here as the DH and SIL also want to stay home for dinner. If my daughters want to come over for dinner its great but if not I understand as well and will visit their homes to see what the kids got from santa. My Son in law makes a great breakfast buffet for all of us christmas morning. And we have our Polish Christmas Eve with my family. So its not like we don't get together. So good luck with your friend and I am sure she will understand. Going to lunch before christmas together might not be a bad idea. Judy your doing great I took the stairs yesterday and did some gardening planting bulbs for spring almost December crazy huh? Marie no I'd shop around your side of the mountain. We have several neat houses which open up and sell unique gifts some homemade around here. Its fun to go see and buy of course. I am going to an Art and Craft show on saturday with the girls. I always manage to do some shopping there. And my first group home christmas celebration is friday. The start of the busy season of trying to fit things in. Black bean soup for dinner last night stayed within my daily calories but salty a bit.

Hi everyone, I'm on a "I don't want to work" kick. started yesterday afternoon and it's rolling into today. So here I am surfing bright and early. I have no choice but to get to it very soon. Loads to do.

We've been getting loads of snow the last few days. Driving is fun. Yesterday after driving home in it (a 23 mile drive) I realized I left the space heater on in my office. No one was still there so I had to drive back and home again. Wasted evening to say the least. I left early this morning and before the traffice started so it wasn't too bad. This evening I will turn off the space heater and enjoy time at home.

I did 3 miles jogging and 2 miles walking this morning. Didn't really want to but I had no choice. I also have to call the company on my light therapy box. Two of the blue lights blew this morning and it's on warranty so I'll have to send it back. Not a great time of year to do that so hopefully just exercise will keep my moods stable.

Penny, don't you love rain that turns into ice. The roads here are nice and glassy. Very shiny. Not nice at all. I'm sorry DH won't be home, but thos lean cuisines should definitely keep you on track.

Carol, my parents and in-laws made a big stink about having to spend Christmas with them (Christmas Eve with inlaws and Christmas with my parents) when my kids were little. DH and I said, tough, we're staying home after all the manipulations. Basically we said the kids needed to have Christmas in their own home and that the families were invited. My parents showed once. But it stopped the pulling. I promised the heavens I would never do that to my kids. So I think you and I are on the same wavelength there (and probably many other places).

Well, I should work...
Marie

Marie, I'll bet that getting up and working out will tide you over while the light box is getting fixed. I wouldn't have believed it, but getting the blood pumping early in the day does wonders for my mood. And the more I am a slug, the harder it is to energize myself. This is the time of year when sleeping in and "resting" actually works against me.

Penny, I hope you can use your hubby's visit as a chance to be selfish. I keep Lean Cuisines in the office freezer for back-up meals, but I try to be careful about sodium intake on those days. Do you enjoy going to Curves? I like that I have a habit now, and it is just minutes away from my office, but I am a little bored by the routine. I read on another board when one woman had fallen into a rut until she started going four times a week. I usually just go twice, and do other workouts with weights at least once or twice on other days.

Carol, your family has so many nice options for the holidays! I would invite myself over for brunch...My family is so big and far-flung that we've never tried to establish rules. When I was a kid we'd make the rounds to visit older relatives in the area (and pick up more gifts and eat more). When I grew up I was envious of people who had annual traditions. But basically I think you need to make the holidays work for you. Why add drama?

I am fighting the urge to overeat, now that was a little more haphazard over T'giving and I'm putting in more cardio. This can really snowball into a problem, looking at my travel schedule through the end of the year (away from home for about 18 days). I will force myself to log my food 'til New Year's, starting today.

Keep up the good work, y'all.

judy

Marie yah that can really take a toll on the kids at christmas plus the mom's and dad's are exhausted after such excitement too. I agree its time to have a break from work. You have done so well with your moods. I need to start baking in a week or so. Not too early just want to get it done and put away. Needless to say not anywhere that I will get into it. I have been struggling to get the scale moving down. It is making me a bit grumpy! I am also going for another thyroid test. I think this med is too low of a dose. Before I wasn't eating anymore than now and kept my wt. more stable. I have had a bit of stress with work. I am getting a real involved case again. This one is a relative of a big wing in the community don't get much higher. I know it will be watched like nothing else ever has so needless to say its going to be not so easy lots of difficult demands to meet. The harder yah work the more people expect. I guess it will be okay and I will do my best to meet the expectation of others. Too bad a raise or something special didn't come with it. Not likely. I will look forward to my christmas bonus and focus on being lucky to have a job. I'm planning on going for a nice walk today. I think it will relieve some stress and help get me moving in the right direction. I am counting cals closely. Has anyone any idea on one of those little calculators to add cals as your day goes? Do you even know what I am talking about or did I dream this one up? I'm going to stick with my preplanned meals for right now and see how it goes. This in the past has helped me get through all the holiday parties etc. Monday I have a doctors appt. the female ck up or two ---- ck. as they say. Past due and its time to get it over with. I was hoping to be down a bit by then. I will continue to work on that. Judy you keep up the good work and your results are going well. Hurray! Penny I have never done curves but had a friend who did and had great results. I just need to get to the gym again on a routine. That is my problem not taking time for myself anymore I think. Maybe I should try going in the mornings? You seem to do good Judy and Marie by doing mornings. I surely am up early enough. Well let me ck it out on thurs. morning.

I just have minute to say hi and wish everyone a good Wednesday. I'm scrambling to get things done before I leave town tomorrow morning. I won't have time for Curves today, but I did 50 minutes of cardio this morning, and will pack my WATP DVD (and the band and the belt) so I can work out while I'm at my mom's.

Carol, I hope things go well with your high-level client. But just in case, please keep good written records with plenty of references to standard procedure and who authorized any variance, because a paper trail seems to be the only way to protect yourself from politics in a bureaucracy. It sounds like you are liked and trusted by your new boss, though, and if so, she will have your back.

Take care--judy

Carol, I totally agree with Judy. Always have a well documented CYA (covre Your a..) file. With everything, especially when you know it will be scrutinized. I believe in taking blame when I screw up but I don't believe in being a scapegoat, so I document everything. Probably the HR manager of my past life in me. Good luck with the morning exercise. It does get easier after a while. When I first started, LindaT from the journal part of this page commented to my whine about exercising early was "Nobody said it would be fun". That really stuck with me, especially when I want to lollygag in bed. But, it definitely has improved my moods.

Speaking of moods, my bluelight box maker is the best business I've EVER dealt with. I called yesterday, fully expecting to be without my box for a couple weeks, and they said, "okay I've ordered you a new one and when it arrives please send the old one back". WOW!!!! I was shocked. Then today I got the confirmation that it was shipped. Since it's from Utah, I bet I have it by Friday, Monday at the latest. WOW, double WOW.

Judy, I hope you have a nice time at your mom's. I don't envy you - being with my parents drives me nuts. They are great, loving people, but they drive me up the wall. Keep track of the food and you'll do great. No slacking!!!

Carol, here's a link for what I think you're looking for. I'm tempted to buy it... http://www.coheso.com/caloriesmart.d...FRh3YAodjh_yjw Hopefully 3FC doesn't erase it. I'll PM it to you too.

Penny, hope things are going great.

Today was my first Wednesday getting off an hour early to walk the doggies. Blizzie was so excited and they had a blast. The cool thing is that I only exercised 3 miles this morning and added the 2 mile afternoon walk. It was cold though. It was 29 when we started and dropped like a balloon. It was 19 when we got back. It feels like I'm still in Minnesota.
Marie

Marie - I'm glad to hear that the lightbox company has such good customer relations - that can be hard to come by sometimes. Does the box make a big difference for you? I'm tempted to try one for those dark winter days. I bet it's cold your way - we're expecting an ice storm tonight brrr. Luckily my DH returns late tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully it's above freezing by then or else he'll have fun driving home from the airport.

Judy - I hope you have a good trip. You're doing great with the WATP DVD - keep up the good work! Yes, I do like Curves a lot and I go three times a week, even if I'm not feeling too good - I always feel better after my workout. My Curves is having a crafts bazaar for members to sell their stuff so I'm making some soaps. My fragrance order came in today so I'll have to get busy. It's nice because the manager doesn't charge us anything. A little extra pocket money!

Carol - I hope your walk lowered your stress level a bit. It's even harder to stay on plan when we have extra stress. I haven't seen a hand held calorie counter, but I should think there is something out there like that. It would be handy for when you're traveling and not near your computer.

I've spent the time while my DH is away putting up the Christmas decorations and it looks real cozy. Putting the ornaments on the tree is always special for me - especially when I come across the goofy little ornaments my son made in kindergarten and also the ones given to us by family and friends. I've lit some apple spice candles and put a Mannheim Steamroller Christmas CD on. We have a neat fireplace DVD that I like to put on the TV - complete with crackling log sounds. Sure beats watching the depressing news all the time (like when DH is home!) All that's missing is the eggnog. Too bad it's so loaded with calories. I made some mini mince pies, so I'll have one of those later with some Rooibos tea. A snow and ice storm is predicted tonight through lunchtime tomorrow, so I'll be nesting here and trying not to eat too much!

Judy you are very right on the matter of my work. I do feel she does have a lot of respect for me and that part feels real good. She feels I am capable of taking on this case and offered to assist me with it anytime I felt the need. We came to an agreement yesterday though that I don't like to be praised in front of my coworkers. I told her it makes me uncomfortable because we all do things just in different ways. God help me on this one but it will be okay. Marie I have been thinking of using some time also to get out a bit earlier to go to the gym. Congrats on the box glad they were so nice. I hate getting home when it is dark out. Today will be a later night as I am moving a gentlemen in to a group home from living his whole life with mom. Its going to be hard for her and my heart goes out to her but I know its the best for the future. I do a lot of future planning with elderly parents and she is like 79. But witty as can be! Oh my good news for today is I am down wow its about time. All that scale wanted to do was climb. So I am in hopes its correct. I am going to try and get it down some more of course I still am up from before but this is a little sunshine in my corner. From just the other day 1 lb. that one less hurray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to thank you for that site and I am going to ck it out seriously I think its a good idea. My daughter would like some type of DVD which would be exercise and fun dancing any ideas girls I would be glad to hear your input. Christmas shopping this weekend and maybe after work today a bit. A little here and there and it helps speed things up . I need to start wrapping. Penny where do you order from for your soaps? I would be interested and how cool you can sell at curves neat idea I say. Have you ever made cranberry/ almond oh its very good if not ck it out. I also have a recipe for bath salts which came from my daughter in laws mom who is a massage therapist. If you want it let me know and I will post it for you. Girls I found some pumpkin spice tea oh its so good. Yah might have to ck it out. The girl at work who started ww made me a cup of tea yesterday. We are going to take turns treating each other in the mid morning it helps get us through til lunch time. She lost 4lbs. the first week and that was with Thanksgiving. I will have to pick her brain for some info. Of course she has more to lose so the rate of how much is different as it is for all of us. I went to get my blood work done yesterday to have the thyroid ck's to see if the new med is meeting my needs. Today I will try my best to make healthy choices. I started my day with 2 poached eggs, 1 oat english muffin. I will have an orange around 10. Then lunch and not have anything else til supper. Trying to stay with in my calories. Been good about not snacking after dinner.

Hi all, things are going good. I exercised this morning and that's always good. Goldilocks is at the groomer so I have to remember to pick her up. It would be really back to go home without her.

Carol, I looked a bit at that calorie counter after I posted it. If I didn't have my computer solution, I'd get it - without hesitation. Seems very convenient. I looked at it on Amazon and all the reviews but one was very positive. One was very negative. You should check it out.

Penny, enjoy your hubby being home. I hate ice more than I hate snow. Way more. It's still pretty bitter cold out, but not as bad. At least it wasn't in the single digits this morning.

Well, back to work.
Marie

Carol - You are an angel for helping all those people in your work. I really felt for that elderly lady whose son needs to go into assisted living. It kind of puts your own problems in perspective. It must be very rewarding for you when things work out and everyone is happy. That must make up somewhat for the times when things don't go so well. Congrats on losing the pound . It just makes the day seem brighter when the scale cooperates! That pumpkin spice tea sounds good. I'd like to get your bath salts recipe some time. The cranberry/almond soap sounds interesting. I get my fragance oils from Brambleberry.com but I buy my soap base locally as it's heavy and the shipping would cost an arm and a leg! Brambleberry are very quick and customer friendly. They even sent me a free scent "lilly of the valley". It's very nice and light so I'll have to make a few of those too. I made cucumber/loofah soaps this morning and the whole house smells like cucumbers! You are doing well sticking to your calories - keep up the good work! I've been a bit greedy today, so I only have 250 calories left for dinner!

Marie - The freezing rain just missed us and it's warmed up to around 40 deg. so no more snow & ice! My DH is on his way to Chicago for his connecting flight home this afternoon and he's hoping there won't be any delays as they are going to be socked in by a big storm tonight! I always think of that movie "Trains, Planes and Automobiles" when he travels at this time of the year!

Judy - I hope your Thursday is going well.