Summer it is really hard to set a price on things that you loved. I started off wiht a few things that were $5 but I ended up just telling people $1 or $2 depending what shape the things were in. Good luck on it though. I know I loved it but I don't think I will be doing it again any time soon.

Emily sorry you had to come back to the land of the moody. How wonderful it must have been not to have AF.

Sandy bubbleheads are better than chicken buns.

I saw the book that Summer was talking about in the ABC Distributing catalog yesterday. There was a series of 6 for like $6.

Echo is sick for some reason. She threw up 3 times last night and her tummy was making some crazy sounds this morning. I hope she will be ok today outisde in the heat. SHe is under a covered area with water but I still feel bad for her.

Well last night I hit a brick wall with my diet. Me and Jay ate a ton of cheese and crackers so yesterday was shot also. Today has been no different. I have no idea what is going on but I am holding out hope that once my birthday has come and gone I can get serious again.

The weather was AWESOME today. So hot but I loved it. I swam in the pool and I still got in my 4 1/2 mile walk so I am happy with that. I am terribly bloated but I have to live with it since I am in control of everything I eat. (and it is alot!!)

I got a nice little burn while I floated in the pool. Here is a pic of Rebel enjoying the water.

Hey gals. What happened to the day? It's 9 pm here and I'm only finding the time to post now. These half-days at work are a killer. I actually force myself to make the most of my time while at the office instead of farting around on the internet (mostly on this site) . Anyways, I think I had a pretty ok day foodwise. This afternoon after coming home I ate some Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips with some salty peanuts and raisins....sort of like a homemade trail mix I guess. The choc chips are gone now so there's no danger of me eating them again tomorrow. The good thing is that I got in a 5.2 mile walk this afternoon. My legs are speaking to me now but I feel pretty good. I made a goal to walk 90 miles this month on the exercise forum...after today, I need to walk 24.3 miles more to get there. *sigh* let's just say that I'll try my best.

Angie, hang in there girlfriend! You have to consider the PMS hormones going on may be causing those cravings. You're always so strict w/yourself foodwise anyway, a little going off the beaten path won't take away all your efforts. I'm not encouraging you to eat like this all the time, just saying that you've come so darn far already, to give yourself a little break. Rebel looks like he belongs out there on the raft. Looks like a beautiful day there in Maine.

Sandy did you get to enjoy a day at the lake? I always use SPF 30 or higher if I know I'm going out in the sun. I burn easily too, but after the inital redness goes away, I can catch a mean tan (it's my filipino blood )

Kempy, is Echo doing better? Poor girl. Maybe she ate something funny while out on your walk? Speaking of which, my sisters little JRT actually seeks out garden slugs and eats them--not just picks them up and plays with them, but eats them. Isn't that disgusting? It reminds me of the Lion King movie where Simba and the warthog guys eat bugs and grubs....yuck!

Emily, hang in there girl. You'll get into your groove again. It's taking me a while, but slowly I'm getting it back. I just need to have them more days in a row rather than not.

Summer, I agree--no guilt allowed. We always berate ourselves about bad food choices and stuff, but we encourage and support our online friends when they falter. Why can't we treat ourselves as we do our friends here? Thanks for the reminder that I need to be kind to myself, through thick and thin. Are you free for the summer now? yahoo!

Holly how are you doing?

Jen hope you and the kids are making some long-lasting memories. I want stories of your adventures when you get back.

Ok, well, it's late and I need to get to bed. Take care ladies and I'll see you tomorrow.

Hey ladies!! I have been MIA for a couple of days. I messed up my diet . I had to have an endoscopy on Monday afternoon, and had to fast from 8 pm Sunday until 2:30 pm monday afternoon. I was sooo hungry that I ate EVERYTHING I wanted to, including yummy brownies with reesees pieces on top.mmmm. It was great, but, now I have to get back on track. I am feeling quite a bit better, and was able to mow the lawn last night, it was a start. How do those of you who walk measure the mileage? Just curious, I have used Walk Away The Pounds tapes, but, would like to take my walking outside.

Hope you have a great day!! Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go...ho hum.

Holly

Did we all fall off the wagon? Maybe is got swept away with the tornados that past through the country last night. But never fear! I will build us a new one!!! We have to foundation underneath us Ijust need to get the wheels on and hook up the mules. How about I use hunky men instead. Will that keep us on?

It is amazing to me how easy it is to fall right back into our old patterns. I know we want to make changes otherwise none of us would be here. We just need to all keep taking it one day at a time and realize how much better we feel once we have accomplished one goal.

Echo seems to be doing better so I guess she just eat something funky. Maybe that will teach her.

I only have 7 more days before the beach and the god aweful bathing suit.

Are you going to Florida again Kempy?

Yep, I have totally and completely fallen off the wagon. I will get back on after the party a dinner though. I promise. It is SO damn easy to fall back into those habits. I was just telling Jay that I guess I havent learned anything because I am only eating junk right now because I dont want to get too good and just have to screw up this weekend. Like that makes any sense at all!!! I am a numbnuts!!! I'll get it but as of this morning I have bloated back up to 142.5 pounds. YIKES!!! Monday I will be back in the swing of it again.

It is so freaking hot today!!! I have been washing the carpets in my house all day and I almost died on my morning walk from the heat. But I am glad it is back. The pool is feeling awesome!!

BIRTHDAYS, GRADUATIONS, WEDDINGS, RETIREMENT PARTIES, ANNIVERSARIES, VACATIONS, AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!

We've all been overwhelmed with a very celebratory month. I think rebuilding the wagon is a great idea! I'm shooting for Sunday as my day to get back on. I had frozen margaritas and party food last night to celebrate my LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!! Yes, it is officially summer for me now. I have a birthday party on Saturday. So, Sunday seems like a good time to begin again. I went to the beach today, but had to leave after an hour. The DEP kicked us off because an endangered species (bird) layed eggs on the beach and they were hatching.

I went to my gastroenterologist yesterday. His scale is eight pounds higher than mine!!! Why is it that doctors' office scales are always higher than home scales. They are even higher than my scale was at Weight Watchers. I still showed a weight loss, but not as much as I wanted to show him.

Peekaboo, thanks for the info re: adoption. Oops

Kempy, thanks for the advice re: tag sale pricing.

Angie, you need to videotape your adorable dog for America's Funniest Home Videos!

Noelle, YES I'M FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!

Holly, Hope you are feeling better. I've had two endoscopies, one awake (**** on earth), and one asleep (not too bad). Take care.

Enjoy the summery weather everybody!!! Summerlover

HOT!!HOT!!!HOT!!!! I did my walk this morning at 5:30 this morning and I still was so HOT!!! It is so hazy and yucky outside that I dont even want to go out to get in the pool. I cooked my blueberry and chocolate chip cakes this morning so now all I have to bake while we work is whoopie pies and croissants. It wont help much but at least I can get the cakes cut and wrapped early.

The kids swam until 9:30 last night because my SIL is up from New Hampshire and her kids came down for a while. We sat out on the deck and got chewed alive by the mosquitos.

When is this week going to be over. I liked last year because I talked the kids out of having a party so I didnt have to worry about the dieting issues involved. Maybe next year.

Sandy, I saw your post on your other thread about your son and just wanted to tell you that I am dealing with the same issues with Brit who is also 11. I think it is just the way kids are today. I know I never lipped back at my dad and he never spanked us(except for the time we opened all of our gifts early) He just had a tone of voice that we knew not to push it. Brit does everything to egg on arguments with me all the time. On the bright side we only have 7 more years and then they will be grown up.

Have a great day everyone. I cant wait until this week ends so I can get back to my normal routine and post all the time,etc.

Angie how hot is it up ther and you guys have mosquitoes too? For some reason I just thought they stayed down here with us. Of course with all of the rain we have lots of them. I am worried about my party next Tuesday b/c of them. We have a huge fan that we are going to set up b/c if there is a slight wind they can't fly in it so I am going to try to keep them away from the guests.

Yes I am going to Florida but only for a few days. I am dying to hit the beach. Not really ready yet for the bathing suit but oh well what are ya going to do? Joe and I talked about the suit issue last night. He asked what was wrong with the one that I had and I told him that things just aren't as smooth as they used to be so now it is time to cover them up. Sweet guy, he has no clue what I really look like. He has those love goggle on.

Summer you will have to hop on the wagon early and be ready top pull me on when I get back from vacation. There is no way that I can make promises about staying on track while I am gone.

This thread has slowed down some. Come on guys, I have got nothing but free time today and I am ready to chat so lets get the typing going.

Hiya chickies. I can't believe I didn't get to post here yesterday. Must've been busy! Well, I'll try to make up for it today. Note: Some ranting and child-talk ahead . I took my son to visit another preschool yesterday...wrote about it in my journal. The bottom line is that I'm not 100% comfortable with the child/teacher ratio, which is 25 kids to 1 teacher, 1 aide. Of course that's a state mandate--but it doesn't mean it's right. I know that once he starts kindergarten the ratio may be about the same or higher (if he goes to public school ) , but he's only 4 ya know? I guess I have a hard time seeing my baby grow up, and I don't want him lost in the shuffle. I'm still calling around other centers but a lot of them are already full and/or have really bad admin staff answering the phones which make me balk before I even get a chance to see the place. First impressions are important to me. But, I don't have much time to find another school and if I don't find one that's suitable, I may just keep him home until I do. I feel like I'm being picky, but hey, it's my child and my child's well-being...Summer, how's the ratio at your place? You sound like a wonderful, caring teacher--what's your take on what to look for in a childcare or preschool? I know I sound like one of those annoying, paranoid parents .

Kempy when are you leaving? I guess you guys just drive over? Must be so nice to jump in a car and go somehwere far...*sigh*
Have fun at the beach. You know, I don't think Joe has love blinders on--I think you're very pretty and you've got some height on your frame to carry your weight well. I'm not dissing your concerns, it's just that we women almost always have a distorted body image of ourselves, you probably look 100% better than I do in a suit. I'm kinda stocky built from head to toe, not outrageously large in anyone area, just large all around. I think I look like a tank in a suit--that's why I wear (if I even go to the beach or swimming), a tankini--aptly named, don't you think ?

Angie, can you send me some whoopie pies? The bottom of my bathing suit is starting to get a bit loose and I need to fill it up again (haha, sorry for the visual) . What time does the sun go down at your place? Was there still daylight at 9:30 pm? I guess so, since you're way up north. The sun comes up at 5:30 am in teh summer and goes down at about 7:30 pm here--and that's late for us. I remember being in Seattle a few summers ago and kinda marveling at how the sun was still out at 9:30 pm...me, a country hick in the big city

Summer, I would boycott stepping on the scale at the doctor if the difference was that much from my home scale. Sometimes I think drs offices don't get their scales calibrated at all or have them set higher, much higher, so they can always tell you, "you should lose some weight" .... whatever. I'm so ill, I have my home scale set 4 lbs higher to match my drs scale, that way, no suprise gains when I go in for a check up.

Sandy hope you're having a great summer. We must be boring you...or maybe something I said? Where are you? Come out and say hi.

Holly, I have a pedometer (which I haven't been using lately) which I bought from the Sports Authority. It was about $15-20 and besides counting steps walked and mileage, I program my weight and stride length into it and it does calories burned. Pretty handy tool--especially with that so-called 10,000 steps-a-day recommendation. I don't use mine because I need to reset it again but I can't find the darn instruction sheet. But I pretty much always walk the same route, sometimes in reverse for variation so I already know what my miles are.


Emily how are you doing? Can you please check to see if my wagon seatbelt is securely fastened? Summer is such a hard time for weight loss...so many outdoor BBQ's and good stuff to eat like ice cream for cooling off or apple pies...I need to go pick up a watermelon but I can't find one cheap enough--last one I saw was $.38 a lb, too pricey I say. I want $.20 or lower (yeah, call me a cheapskate, I don't care) .

Shoot, I did great with my food yesterday, then Rick comes home around 8 pm with sushi... I ate it, a whole roll of maki sushi w/tuna

I'm here....

I have been lurking, but nobody really has been posting much of anything....including me. I can't believe Angie and I wanted heat a few weeks ago, now we got so much of it we can't stand it!!! It was 95 by the seashore today and not a bit of breeze!!!

Angie: Thanks for the advice. I just don't know what to do with the boy. I can't spank him, he's a big boy and well, I just don't see what good it will do to inflict pain on a child. I mean yes I spank (whack) my 5 year olds bottom but thats different than the spankings I got as a kid, not that I got that many. He was better today, but his dad made him go out on the lobsterboat and do some work instead of just laying around the house all summer. Oh well, this too shall pass they say.

Noelle: Public school here is pretty okay with the ratio....there are usually 10-12 kids per teacher, thats better than some. Wish you luck.

Kempy: Enjoy Florida....but I bet it's really really hot

Well gotta scoot....
Hugs,
sandy

I'm here...I've been trying to play with the kids and catch up on house-stuff since I was so busy last week...
Still not quite on the wagon, but slowly getting there I think (don't I sound committed-lol!) I may be trying too much at once: lose weight, get out of debt, organize home and yard...a bit overwhelming and then I just want to lose myself in ice-cream or Burger King. Funny thing, while I was pregnant- I did so good with the eating- craved the healthy stuff more than the junk and really thought I had changed my ways. Proving not to be true. At all. So it's behavioral and I'm going to have to be really diligent on changing some habits.

I love the summer nights! Here it is still light at 10:30- well, by then it is getting dark...I stay up way too late though. The kids are going to bed easier than I though with the lightness...they can't claim "Scared of the dark!"

I'm so jealous of you guys that live by water! I've always thought that would be soooo nice! Here we have a few rivers and man-made lakes. Not the same.

What exactly are whoopie pies?

Sushi: yum I've only had the maki tuna, salmon and cucumber (yeah- that probably doesn't count) We have a great Japanese restaurant here. What other kinds should I try?

Well, DH and boys are at swimming lessons and I should get something made for dinner...
Hope to see more posts tomorrow! I will do better
Emily

Hi Emily....ya know, I had my first (and only) kid 4.5 years ago and I'm still eating like I'm pregnant--and that's not a good thing ! heehee. It's great that you're spending time with your kids. The days pass by so quickly and next thing you know, they're almost grown! I took my son (4 y.o.) and neice (10 y.o.) to the public library and we got some books to read. I went over the proper library etiquette and everything before we went in and still my son's "whispering" could be heard across the room . We sat in the reading room section so we could actually make a little noise. It was fun and it brought back memories of when my mom used to take us kids to the library.

Don't think I've ever swam in a lake. I've lived on this tiny little rock for almost all of my life and get this, never learned how to swim. Anyway, it's pretty much 20 minutes to the beach anywhere on the island. Cool huh?

Let's see, whoopie pies are a Maine specialty--Sandy or especially Angie could tell you more about them...I know I started drooling the last time Angie mentioned them. Oh, and sushi? Well, since we're surrounded by water here, I'm into the real Japanese stuff, raw. If you're kinda squeamish about it, but willing to try something new, I'd try the toro sushi. This is one of the best quality grade fatty tuna which is so smooth, it almost melts like butter in your mouth...I love the stuff. If you want to browse a little, check this out : http://www.greatworldchefs.com/sushitwo.html

OK, I've got to get dinner started myself, have a great night all.

Angie, you have got to take a pic of the woopie pie and post it for these girls to see what a true woopie pie looks like. Please dont' make me make them....I would have to help eat them....

Emily~~~ Angie by the way is our resident baker....and the pictures she has posted are good enough to eat....

It is finally Friday!!!!

I will be leaving work at 2:30 but the race is on to clena the house. My MIL is in New Orleans today and she will be at my house on Monday so we need to go to the fish store (20 mins away) to get a new light and more fish. I feel bad for the one that I have in there right now. The light has been out for a month and Joe killed the other fish in there by accident. He does get natural light b/c I have tons of windows in my house but he is tropical and he needs more than what he gets.

Noelle I miss going to the library when I was little. I remember going for story time when I was still 12. It was great!

I am glad that all I have to see is pictures of the yummy things you guys cook that way I can't devour them.