Hipnotq - Bellydance videos - I would get them from Amazon.com because they're cheaper, and you'll find reviews by people who have bought the videos. It will also list other videos that are similar. I don't have any of the videos, but there's a couple put out by two ladies (Neena and Veena, I think) that I've heard really good things about. It was checked out at the library, so I'm going to check it out there before decididing whether to buy it. There's also a couple of beginner hula DVD's I want (Island Girl something or other).

I just can't seem to force myself to exercise if there isn't some point to it. I love swimming and water exercise, and I have a doctor's referral for the local warm water therapy pool (absolutely wonderful, and the only exercise that I can do fairly strenuously for an extended period). My husband and I also started geocaching last year (haven't started up yet this year), but it's alot of fun - sort of high-tech treasure hunting (geocaching.com). You use a GPS unit to find trinkets other people have hidden (like in parks and hiking trails).

While both swimming and geocaching are alot of fun, both need a bit of preparation to do, so I was looking for something I could do spur of the moment. The bicycles are a good outdoor option, and dancing for indoors.
I really have to look at it as playing rather than exercising or I'll never do it.

Rosario - I'm already paying for using the original seat. I can barely sit, and walking hurts too (in that hurts in places I didn't know I had places way) I think I'm going to buy a gel seat from Walmart, but save for an even better seat down the road. I found some online dealers that sell some fantastic seats, but they're pretty expensive.

Well, today has been a good day. Stayed on plan, got a great workout this morning and did some walking this afternoon. I am feeling good about today, just hope that I will make it through the evening ok.
Sounds like everyone is doing well today too....that's great!

Brandy~5 hours of workout for certification.....that must have been exhausting! I have toyed with the idea of getting certified....once I make it to goal, but I am not sure yet. Congrats on the success with no bingeing and wish you lots of luck tonight!

Colleen~I know exactly what you mean about the seat pain and it really hurts!! When I bought my bike, my butt was sore for a couple of days~I could not imagine getting back on that thing! I still have a little trouble with it on the first ride of each spring, but the better seat REALLY helped!! Good luck!

Katallan~Great idea, packing lunch and snacks ahead for tomorrow, that should help to stay on your plan. Hang in there and don't let them lay that guilt on you.

Lydia~good luck with McD's. I would have a hard time not eating their French Fries all day, all it takes is the smell of them to get my mouth watering! I hope you have more self-control that I would...go for the new Asian salad, it is fantastic!

Hypnotiq~That is so great that you could beat the craving! I had to give in to it Sunday, but since then I have not felt the need to dive into any more.

Miasmom~Hang in there, that scale will move in the right direction again! I weigh myself most days, except when it is my TOM...it is too depressing to see how much water I can retain some months!

Rosario~L.A.? Sounds like alot of FUN and what a great motivator that will be!

Have a great night and chat with you all tomorrow!
Darcy

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I'll definitely have to keep them in mind! I'm thinking that my best bet will be to bring lunch with me (or buy some food from Walmart, which is where the McD's is located). I have no desire to actually eat the food, except maybe the occasional salad or fruit parfait. What I may do is not worry about aerobic exercise since I'll be on the move all day at work, and just do strength training on my days off. We'll see how it goes. I have to get the job first :P

Good Luck Lydia!

Well, I took Ryans crib apart tonight and put in his single bed, I'm kind of sad right now,my little angel is growing up so fast! He's 2 and a half and I know I've been slow getting him into more grown up things but I guess apart of me wants him to stay little,next thing will be to potty train and break him of his "soosy" habit.
Tomorrow I'm leaving him with mom so I can go for a 5 mile walk and enjoy myself, maybe even take some music with me for the road.I'm going to try and walk 10 minutes and jog for one, just to see how the asthma and the bad knees are going to react,looking forward to it though!
Have a good sleep, chat tomorrow.....

Hey everyone. I'm done with school. I'm thinking about getting up at 6:30 so I can do the Denise Austin workouts at 7. We'll see! Did anyone watch American Idol tonight. My favorite, Elliott, was voted off. I cried! I loved him. If you watch, I'm going to vote for Taylor next week. He's a lot of fun!
I had some of my grandma's homemade veggie beef soup for dinner. It was soo yummy! Friday, I'm taking her flower shopping and am taking stuff to make tacos from their house. It'll be a fun day. Well, I'm going to bed now!

Okay so I've been mucking around with my fod and putting on weight like crazy.
I sat down today and reread some good books that have reinspired me so I'm going to work hard at this and do it.

Happy Friday Eve! Well, after weighing myself last nite, I'm over this weighing myself every other day thing. Too depressing! I'm only weighing once a week now, and not at all during my TOM.

Rosario-I'm using a vacation as incentive too! I hope to meet a mini-goal of losing 4 pounds by July 4. I leave for Europe for three weeks on the 5th.

Re: Paris chocolates-so far so good! Just one a day! Then again, it has only been two days!

Have a wonderful day!
Elizabeth

Good morning!!

Well yesterday I was having such a good day...but then on my way home-traffic everywhere. I just wanted to get home and i was getting so frutrated and tired of being in my car. So I caved in and went to McDonalds (I have the worst self control). Then I got home and had a Gansito (mexican chocolate twinkie-type thing). I am so bad at controlling myself. And to top it, off I didn't work out. Shame on me. And I am so psyched to got to LA and I want to drop a couple of pounds before I go. With the way I'm going though I am just going to get fatter !

But today is a new day. Wow, I am so grateful for fresh starts. My bf gets out late from work today so I brought my laptop to work. I'm going to sneak into one of the vacant offices and get my work out on. I have my SI6 and Walk and Box. And if there's time left I'm going to go for a walk/jog arund the office park. That's my plan and I am sticking to it!!! (Better said than done!)

Elizabeth-I know what you mean about the scale. I weighed myself this morning and I did not like what I saw. Bummer!! But I am determined to get it lower! I, too am only going to weigh once a week. Every day or every other day is too depressing.

Chaarli-I have been the same way as you for awhile now. We all need to be re-inspired once in awhile. Glad you got your inspiration!

Angela-wow, I haven't seen american idol since season 2. morning workouts are tough for me. Good Luck!!

wendy-it's so sad to see babies grow up. i'm scared to see my nephew. I haven't seen him since Sept of last year. and everybody tells me he is changed sicne he started school (he's only 2.5 yo!!) But it's inevitable. Enjoy your free time.

Lydia-whatever you decide to do...good luck!

Nail-lady-glad your day was a successful one (if only we could all be so lucky )

Colleen-that's a very good idea thinking of excercise as play time. that way you can actually look forward to it, not dread it. I'm glad you have found workouts that you actually like.

Have a great day everyone!!

I cried too, even though he wasn't my favorite. I honestly believe that he would've been the best American Idol. He just seems to be a very thoughtful, graceful, and humble person. I bet he'd have spent most of the money he earned from the contract to take care of his mom.

Rosario Sounds like you are going to have a great time!!!! I have got to get back in this thing...I only have less than 4 mouths to go till my big goal date...thats the big 40 for me!!!! I only have 25 more to lose and I really need to work on this. I feel like I have given up! Drop the ball so its time to get back into this thing!!!!! Its not to late to work on this!!!! Lets get moving Ladies!!!!!!!!!

Hi ladies-getting a late start today. I actually slept in this morning (my walking partner has an early meeting on Thurs.) Then I did 90 minutes of turbo. I had to play a funeral, so my workout time got cut short since I slept in.

Well, my no binge continued yesterday. It was made a bit more difficult because I went to a girl scout meeting to help them finish the necklace I started with them back in March, and they had a HUGE platter of cookies. It was a little hard to say no, but I did it. Then today at church the after funeral dinner smelled and looked so yummy with all the homemade desserts on the table, but I resisted and came home and had a turkey on whole wheat sandwich. You've heard my recital dilemma, and now on Saturday we're having an end of the year choir get together with desserts. This week is turning out to be much more challenging than I thought when I agreed to do this.

la3y-You can definetly still reach your goal. Remember, 1 day at a time. They add up and make a difference.

Lydia-good luck working the fast food. I hated my time doing that. You're a strong smart gal, and you'll figure out what works for you without to much delay after getting used to a new schedule.

Rosario-here's to fresh starts. Dont linger on yesterday and you'll be doing great today! I'm so happy you get to visit your family. I know from your previous posts how homesick you feel at times. My running schedule is only 2 times a week with an 3rd run thrown in every 3 weeks. I wouldn't try running everyday because I KNOW my ankle cant handle it.

chaarli-I hope your reading got you plenty motivated!

Angela-I'm so happy that you get to spend so much time with your grandma. I used to spend every Friday afternoon with mine, but now she doesn't feel up to it. I little strange, but what can I say. Did ya get up for a workout? I always do better on my early ones.


Wendy-They sure do grow fast. My neice and nephew are getting bunk beds this weekend. Its crazy how quickly time goes by. How did your run go? My ankle swelled a bit after mine. No pain so I'm going to try again tomorrow.

Darcy-Great Job staying on track!!! The certification was exhausting, but definetly doable. I'd say look into different ones and pick what you like best. I'm tossing around the idea of going to get a personal training certificate, but am just not sure yet.

kaplods-I have been wanting to try geocacheing for about 4 years now, and still haven't. Do you know of a good, affordable gps? I think it would be so much fun!!!

Well, I'm off to run some errands and get everything I need for tomorrow. I hope you all have a great day and stick to the plans you have mapped out for yourself.

Hi everyone! I am doing well today, started off with a great workout and have been sticking to my meal plan, so it is a good day. I just hope it continues to be.

Brandy~congrats on the no binge success, your will power is amazing!! I don't know if I could resist if it was all laid out for me to see and smell!

Well, I hear the thunder rolling in, so I need to shut it down. Hope everyone has a great day!
Darcy

Well, raining persians and poodles here in Winterpeg, my little walk/run was cancelled, not because of the rain but because my mother thinks I'm to strict on inforcing manners on Ryan. I expect him to say excuse me when he belches and she thinks it's ok to just say something stupid to him and not make him excuse himself. All of a sudden shes on my arse about being Miss prim and proper, and I'm PMSing so I just don't have to sit there and listen to any BS right now. MY kid, my rules.
Venting done........
Today I'm going to tackle the spare room and make it a play room for Ryan,complete with TV and VCR/DVD for Ryan's movies. Going to be hard work!
Hope you are all having a great day!

You're absolutely correct....a friend recommended it to me, and it has been a favorite since then. I have a huge bottle sitting on the counter just beckoning me...but I'm not allowing myself to have any until I've made it through 2 full weeks of eating right and exercising. That's Saturday, so it's coming up fast

hypnotiq-me too. It's yum!!!!