Fran - I don't think there is a problem with finding a good deal, I am a pretty good bargain shopper myself. I guess that for some it is their goal to be millionaires in and of itself. My financial goal is to have a nice cushion when I'm older which having a million or more may be a byproduct of but not a goal in itself. My overall goals in life include travelling the world, staying fit and active and in general being able to have lots of different experiences. So some of their examples of ordinary-people-become millionaires included those that didn't do any foreign travel. I think I'd die if that wasn't part of my life :)

Another good financial book that DH loves is The Richest Man in Babylon. It is a cute little book which has some good financial advice.

Hi LWL,

Tiki...I'm here! Just not able to talk to you people in the middle of my afternoon ...had to bring DS to the ortho for braces on his teeth, had to take DD to the doctor for an ear infection that does not want to clear...and now is my first moment of some rest.

My friend will be skipping the powerclass today because her brother is getting married, and i guess i will do the same. I'm just too tires. bad, and i know it, but I hope to make up for it later. I might just go upstairs and workout on my own stuff, or check out the billy Blaks DVD that I got.

Foodwise my day was Ok, just too busy to eat. I'm having broccoli quiche today. it's the kids night to eat out with XH, and they do not like broccoli, but i do!

Have a great day all,
Rabbit

Hi Everyone :wave:

I'm here Tiki. Just had a busy early morning. After dropping DS off to school I left for the gym for my UBWO and cardio. I upped the weights on my db bench press for a couple of sets which felt good for a Monday. I always enjoy Monday workouts best. Usually I take the weekend off so on Monday I get to stretch all the kinks out. After lifting I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the treadmill, walking of course. Hit the mats for some nice stretches and ab crunches. Worked up a good sweat and went home. DS2 must have played really hard in the Childwatch this morning. He conked out on the couch immediately after lunch. :faint:

RABBIT: Hope that the ear infection clears up soon. Those are SOOO painful. I had one once as an adult OMG. You just can't get comfortable.

NELIE: I've been meaning to read that book too. Thanks for reminding me to put it on my list. Funny you should mention the book. While I was out shopping with my mother DH was crunching numbers to see how long till retirement. Trust me, it's going to be a while :lol3:

FRAN: How was the swim meet? I hope the weather was decent for your drive. We had flurries off and an all weekend. Oh, and thanks for reminding me of the swollen feet first thing in the morning. That is an NSV in my book. Back in the day I was greeted with that too. My goodness I felt much older than my years then, I almost forgot about how that felt

BFL_Cat: Nice to hear from you. I hope you get a good answer about the stiff hip you feel after your workouts. Maybe working on more core exercises may help. Although you are stretching, hmmm :dunno: Keep us posted on how this progresses with you.

FRU: Good job once again with your test. The weekends are challenge for me too so I hear ya. Sounds like you pulled through like a champ.
f
Okay. I gotta go. DS2 is on my lap and fighting me to take over the keyboard. :devil:

Oh by the way, When IS Pat coming back?

Hey Lydia, the meet went great. We hit alot of bad traffic driving up Friday afternoon which was a bummer. But she set new personal bests in all her events and took like 4 3rd places, a 5th, and a 6th. Pretty darn good! We left on Saturday instead of staying over bc the forecast was for snow starting over nite. After driving those moutain passes there, I did not want to drive them back in snow, and I knew I would not sleep well for worrying about it, so we made a quick decision to leave and everyone was happy to be back home and in their own beds after that long day. My only other gripe was that this town still uses the tornado sirens (civil defense) to call out their volunteer firefighters, so that darn thing went off 4 times Friday nite. Next year, we will NOT be spending the nite! lol

Lydia,
If you are interested in buying it, I found it at Barnes & Noble for 6 bucks. DH and I were browsing their bargain books and found a few good ones, that included. One thing I mean to do is go to our local library but for some reason I think I have bad memories of getting fined too much for keeping books late.

I'm here too! :wave: Just swamped with work, housework, cooking, cooking, cooking, and more cooking.

Nelie- I want to read that book too. I read "How to Live Well on Less" a few months ago and didn't really learn much. I think we're pretty much pared to the bone as far as we are willing to pare. I agree with you on the shopping. I just bought a pair of very high end boots at Lord and Taylor that were marked down 70%. They were still more expensive than anything full price at Walmart, but they feel like heaven on my feet (real sheepskin inside) and should last at least 10 years. I don't wear stylish clothing and generally buy everything at the super markdown sales well past the end of season. But what I do buy is quality. I'd rather wait and have a few really good things that will last than buy things that will fall apart after I wash them twice. I also had to chuckle at the title "Splendid Grains"...I have a book sitting on my kitchen counter called "Dangerous Grains".

Fran- congrats to DD on her placements! Where in the world were you?

Lydia- how does your leg feel now that you are back to using it? Did you have a lot of atrophy or lose endurance?

Hi Cindy :wave: Do you do a short cool down walk or bike session after your LBWO? That might help. Are you slightly stiff or is it pain? The fact that it happens when you are just sitting for long periods suggests to me that it's probably not exercise related and that exercise in fact will improve it. Uh, the bad new is that my advice is to talk to your doc or see a rhumatologist.

Did legs this morning...nothing special but it's done. Then 1/2 an hour of elliptical after my successful boot finding trip to the local mega-mall.

Food is on. I need to bake junk for ds tonight- send me resistance vibes!

Mel

Mel,
Speaking of boots. Before I lost weight, I had a pair of boots that I got at Nordstrom on sale. They felt heavenly and were my favorite boots. When I lost weight though, my foot shrank and they no longer fit right so I sold them on ebay (for a few dollars less than I paid for them as well). Anyway, I saw the exact same boots in my size at Nordstrom Rack the other day. They were a little over my budget ($60 for a pair of soft leather boots) but I mulled over them quite a bit until I looked at them closely and saw that the zipper was busted. I was so bummed! Then I figured it wasn't mean to be. I am a big quality girl when it comes to clothes and shoes, especially shoes. Bad shoes can ruin your day.

I did end up ordering the book Splendid Grains so I'm really looking forward to it. It has recipes for Amaranth, Barley, Millet, Quinoa... I'm so excited :) I also expect more recipes for steel cut oats as well.

Mel, I was in Cumberland MD which is up near the PA and WV borders. Waaay up in snow country, near Deep Lake, or Frostburg (they ain't kidding) State U if you've ever heard of that. However, when I lived in Pottstown in '94, they still blew that darn air siren for their volunteers so at least I knew what it was and didn't think we were under attack!

I have sore abs today. A rare occurance for me. Very casual leg lifts while watching TV yesterday ... must remember that.

Not weight loss related, well sorta
 

I'm so excited. I just booked my honeymoon!!

Just a little catch up, this is a second marriage for both of us. We were actually each other first boyfriend/girlfriend way back in middle school. Dated off and on thru out high school. Then after he graduated he went into the Army and got his own life as did I. I got divorced from my now ex husband in august of 2005. Ran into my fiancee in Target of all places in March (March 17th - happy Paddys day to me).
We are getting married in July.
Honeymooning in Jamacia.

:wave:

Hello all you fit chicks! I feel like a bit of a slacker - I didn't gym yesterday but we had plenty of running round in class last night!

I got home and DH had bought me some Pommery POP pink champagne! They sell it in Selfridges for £10.99 :faint: For a 200ml bottle :faint: But awwwwwww :D bless :D

Congrats on the honeymoon plans, SFJ. Where are you staying in Jamaica? I"ve been to Montego Bay once at the Sandals there. Fun, fun place with good food, and noisy airplanes!! lol

Fru, pink champagne? I'm not sure we have that here that I"ve heard of. Was he just trying to loosen you up so he could put the moves on ya??

Morning everyone.

Today I have sore tri's ... that's exciting too!

SFJ ... such a romantic story :)

I haven't had pink champagne in ages.

FRAN: Wow, it sounds like DD did great. She must have a lot of endurance for a seven year old. :swim: My DS is a swimmer too but doesn't quite have the endurance yet for the swim team.

By the way, I can tell that I'm really back on my eating program. I am going through serious carb cravings :dizzy: and last night after dinner all I could think about were oatmeal raisin cookies of course. :drool: Completely independent of your post. It just hit me out of no where. I wanted them so bad that I could even imagine the taste, texture everything. I got through it though. Gum and Ice Water seems to help for now. :^:

NELIE: I love Barnes and Noble. :love: I may go check the one we have around the corner from us. Unfortunately, it could mean that I also walk out with more than just a six dollar book. :?: Maybe I should check the library first anyway. I don't have too much trouble with getting books back in time. When you have small children, the library just becomes part of the routine. :yes:

MEL: The hip is a little achy this morning. I think maybe I did a little too much yesterday :dunno: so I am taking the day off. Overall, I have lost some strength and muscle definition. My legs measure about the same in size, but there is more cellulite than this time last year. But you know, it's still looks better than it did two years ago and I do know how to get it back in shape. That will be my work this spring and summer. :cool: Right now, I'm just going to practice discipline and patience and do exactly what my physical therapist advises. Even though, I want to work it like gangbusters right now.

SUSANB: How are those abs this morning? Ready for more leg lifts today?!:devil:

SFJ: Oh, a honeymoon in Jamacia. This morning, that sounds wonderful. I'm looking out my kitchen window and see a snow squall blowing through my backyard. Give me :sunny: I haven't seen it since July. Okay. Not really. It's been a mild winter here for Ohio. Still, Jamacia sounds wonderful!

FRU: Slacker?! You?! I don't think so. Anyway, I hope you and DH enjoyed the champagne. How wonderful of him to celebrate you with the bubbly. You certainly deserved it. :cheers:

No workout for me today. The schools two hours west of us have closed for the day and they said it's coming our way. That means it will dump just as I am leaving after my workout. It's usually a 20 minute drive there on a good day so I'll just stay home and rest this hip a little. Keeping the food clean and playing with DS2 and his collection of playdough toys and legos. DS2 is so funny, he just "disciplined" his monster truck toy by putting it in time out. I have to go now to set the "timer." I love three year olds. :rofl:

Oh wait, the snow stopped. Hmmmmm. Maybe....I'll go workout anyway. Hmmm. There's still time...

No I'm not ready for more abs! But I do have that (sick in the head) happiness that comes from extended pain ;)