Happy Monday to all!!!

For those of you who are wondering WHERE THE HECK I HAVE BEEN ALL WEEKEND well, it's been a very very busy weekend!!

Working backwards...first of all...I AM NO LONGER WITHOUT WHEELS!!! Yep - I got myself a brand spankin' new vehicle!!! A 2003 VW Jetta. This is my very first new car (oh, yeah, we did buy the Dakota new but I never drive it). VW has a super deal right now - zero cash down on 2003 Jetta leases. Jim kind of had a coronary when I told him I was thinking of leasing - his idea is that you should buy the car and then hang onto it for dear life. All well and good when you're referring to trucks since they are supposed to take a lot of punishment (he uses the truck for his bass equipment) but I don't consider vehicles 'investments'. Now I can use my bonus next month (yep we still are getting bonuses) to pay some bills and enter my first horse show on the 8th of December! I'm really looking forward to that.

On Saturday after my riding lesson (which ROCKED - they seem to get better every week!) Dee Dee and I talked about the horse show coming up in December. Classes cost $8 to enter which is cheap - the real cost involved is hauling the horse over to the site, which is $175 round trip. It would be great if another student wants to show Freight (the horse I've been riding) as we can split the cost of hauling. Dee also mentioned to me that the owners of Norman - a 6-year-old purebred Arabian gelding who is a lovely dapple grey - are interested in part-leasing him. I would love to do that but first need to see where I stand after committing to the Jetta!

Free Day - jeez - I was so busy this weekend I barely thought of Free Day - got a burrito and ate like 1/2 of it. On the way back from the car dealer, we stopped at Yumi and each got a small frozen yogurt cone

Gotta run now - in less than two weeks I'm flying to London and I've got a TON of stuff to do between now and then! I'll post more after work...

Hello girls,

Happy Monday to you all....

Wow Mrs. J. your w/e was extremely busy... and your next month or so seems to be also... Good for you it will keep you out of trouble...lol....

My w/e was quiet... and I wasn't good food wise.... today either...
someone put some Wether's candy on my desk this AM before I got to work and I proceeded to eat them ALL... But the rest of my day was clean and I had a great shoulder and ab workout this AM...

Tonite we are having salad and stew that I made and I make it pretty plain because the kids don't like anything hidden in gravy...

Tonite I will go for a walk and I will do better tomorrow....

Buhbye for now...

Just a quick note before dinner, then I'll update longer later--

Mrs. Jim--Congrats on the new car! I have a 2000 VW Jetta TDI that I adore to high heaven. I've driven across the country in it on four separate occasions and haven't had major trouble at all! It's so comfy and you can get tons of stuff into it. Such a good choice.

Jan--congrats on your progress so far. I remember thinking the same thing about changes in my body when I'd take pictures. Just keep hanging in there and working hard, there's no secret to it or magic, just hard work, sweat, and good clean food. Just think about two more months how long that list of positives will be!!

Off to eat flank steak and a potato.
Maggie

Hey guys,

I had a busy weekend also. The fun run went really well and it wasn't too difficult either because I ran it with a friend. It was such a beautiful day as well and the run was along the edge of the harbour with gorgeous views. I saw 2 movies on the weekend as well and we went out to the markets to look at birds because hubby wants a cockatiel. On Saturday night I went to a hens night which was average but at least the food was Japanese so it was great. We even had to take our shoes off at the entrance to the restuarant which was weird.

I am feeling much better this week and well rested. I am taking this week off plan and am starting another 8 weeks with CPB next week. I got my bodyfat tested on the weekend and it came in at 25%. Not bad considering that I started at somewhere above 44% (I didn't get it tested until 5 weeks in) I am hoping that Pam can drag me down to 15% - which is where I want to get to. I had a long think about it over the weekend and decided to make this my priority again. I have dropped a class at grad school, cut back on social events, cancelled my holiday for Dec and decided to give up free day. I really want to wear a bikini for summer this year. They are some the decisions I made on the weekend. I was starting to get upset because it seemed like I was never going to reach my goals so I needed to do something about it.

Hopefullly, no definately ... I will be around more this week!

JC

PS thanks for all of your support last week.

Mrs J: Congrats on the new wheels!

Congrats on the new car Karen - those Jetta's are very cute.

Lana - I am with you on getting more vegetables in. That is a struggle, I think maybe I need to have crudites on hand and have those with every meal I eat at home. I know I need more fiber in my diet. I did make a delicious curried cauliflower this weekend. I can post the recipe if anyone is interested. It has a sauce made with plain yogurt and it is a good side with chicken, almost gravy like.

Mel - I'm 48 too. Celebrated my friend's 50 b'day at my house on Sat. night. About 3 in my circle of friends will turn 50 in 2003. We are kind of amazed and stunned by this!

Jan, well. I'm right behind you. I still am wondering what to expect out of this process. I agree that there are many things that are very good so far. The posts at L&S, and here, keep me motivated and convinced that we are on the right track.

My new weight bench should arrive one evening this week. I'm looking forward to that. I need to find a source for purchasing an olympic bar. The sporting goods store where I bought the bench only sells it as part of a set with 300 lbs. of weights. I don't think I need all that weight and would prefer to buy it piecemeal. Any suggestions for a source?

I also bought glutamine powder tonight. The instructions say to take a heaping tsp. in water after working out and another tsp. 2 hrs. later. Is that what you guys do?

ledom: I take a heaped teaspoon in the morning and again after my workout if I am particularly sore. If not I just take it once. I don't take it everyday - only when I really need it - usually around 3-4 times a week.

HTH

JC

Good morning!
Just wanted to drop in and say hello.

Lanaii--Keep your head up and your eyes on the goal. You can do it!

JC--I'm sure Pam can get you to where you want to be. 15% is my ultimate goal as well, and I hope to reach it in a way where I can maintain it easily and not have it be a one-day thing where I take a picture and then it's gone, do you know what I mean? My body seems to be really comfy at about 18-19% and doesn't like to think about giving up any more...

Ledom--There's a great website at http://power-systems.com that sells tons and tons of exercise equipment for home/commercial use. I buy almost all of my PT equipment here and have been happy with the prices and customer service. They definitely sell Olympic bars individually but you'd have to pay shipping. I don't know if you live in a bigger city or not but you can often find individual bars at fitness stores, not sporting good stores.

About glutamine--I hate having to mix it in water in order to take it. I usually spoon some out, drop it into my mouth, and then take a drink of water really quickly. It's kind of yucky that way, but easier in my opinion. It's tasteless and dissolves really quickly and easily. I usually take 3 servings a day, right when I get up, after my workout (no matter how long I've been up), and then right before bed.

Another plug for glutamine--I cut my face this weekend and debated about going to the emergency room for stitches. The bleeding stopped really quickly, though, so I didn't go. I am amazed at how quickly it is healing. I really do think the glutamine has something to do with it. I hope that my muscles recover and heal as quickly as this cut has!

What kind of weight bench did you end up getting?

Okay, I'm off to the gym for a hamstring/back workout!
Take care everyone.
Maggie

Hi everyone! Hopefully today won't be as nutty as yesterday - hard to believe that my London trip is in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS. Aacck...

Susan - forgot to mention this but Jim passed his Class M with FLYING COLORS. Only missed one of the trick questions the California DMV is so well known for - goes something like this:

What is the major cause of motorcycle accidents?

1) Speed
2) Alcohol
3) Road conditions

Well Jim picked #1 but the answer was #2. (personally I think that the REAL answer wasn't listed: "Stupidity" )

Maggie - another good place to buy weight equipment (like I would know, I don't have a place to put it!) is eBay. I have seen some REALLY killer deals. Or just check out the Penny Saver (or whatever you call the 'free classified ads' that get dumped in your mailbox every couple of days). Jim's new favorite place to hunt for stuff: Craigslist.com - I don't know if it's just a Bay Area site but it's a great place to buy/sell/connect with people (I sold my old BMW through CraigsList and Jim found his drummer and guitarist through an ad he placed there as well).

So many people with good intentions buy home workout equipment...and end up not using it...then selling it for very cheap prices. Their loss is your gain!

As far as taking glutamine - I can't do the dry powder in the mouth and swig it down - I just mix it in a small glass of water, swish it around, gulp it down, then put some more water in the glass, swish and gulp (to get the residue). I'm with JC - I don't take it every day - and usually only once a day unless I'm really sore or know I will be (like today since I had a killer leg workout!).

Back to work - everyone have a good day

Oh yeah baby! Just tried your baked yam w/ cc, cinammon, splenda, and a splash of vanilla Karen. I get it - simple and delicious! A new staple in my arsenal.

Mox, thanks for info regarding equipment and glutamine. My first stop might be a pawn shop or two in search of the bar. Oh, by the way - that was a great website that I have bookmarked for later. I'll list details of the bench later when I have specs in front of me, I'm still learning terms. I paid about $200 for it. I hope that I bought the right one - I think so though it certainly isn't the heavy duty quality you see in gyms. But then again, in a way I will be sorry to retire my simple little bench that I paid around $35 for at least 20 yrs. ago. This one has more stuff, but will also take up more room.

Adios - more later.

Karen, is your yam recipe in the recipe file?

CONGRATS to Jim on his m/c passing! I did have to take the CA written tests to change my license when I came here. The auto one was a breeze but the m/c one was full of trick questions as you say...it was like...WHAT??????????? when they gave me the answers. My husband, riding 30 years, failed the m/c written test the first time in CA. sheeshers.

CONGRATS on the car. I love Jettas. I haven't had a new car since 1996 (when I went back to school) and before that I traded in every 3-4 years. I am so looking forward to a new car a year from now.

JEC: I am restarting my sprint (as of yesterday). From now til Christmas with thanksgiving as a free day and another day or two but not one every week.

Moxie: thanks for the exercise equip link. I think that when I move to Dallas I will be able to have a really great exercise room.
Right now I'm scattered all over the house. I have been looking for a Universal Leg Press (horizontal with the weight stack on the side so you can change weights without getting up off the floor) for years now. One of these days I will find it.

Everyone is doing well! I cooked all my food on Sunday and restarted 100% yesterday and it's so hard to restart. I ate completely clean and worked out. I cannot believe the progress I lost in 3 weeks. It's horrible. Well, back in the saddle (so to speak). Maybe I need riding lessons. I start back to middle of the night workouts in a couple of days. Hope I get swimming and yoga in there as well.

Thanks everyone for being here.
Susan

Susan

SOOO Susan you're moving to Texas for sure huh? I've never been there but it's most definitely Horse Country. When are you moving? I'll be in Vacaville (most likely) December 8th for the horseshow...

Hey guys,

Great to see that everyone is doing well! Last night a friend of mine Jayne (Jaylizbet on L&S) dragged me along to a belly dancing class! It was so much fun. I even didn't mind staring at myself in the mirror for an hour!

Susan: Glad to hear that you are back on track! Pam has me for the next 8 weeks up until Christmas again to get me to 15%. I am really really hoping that I can get there!

Take care everyone!

JC

I seem to have turned into a lurker. Very busy doing I'm not sure what- bosses are on vacation so I'm running the company this week and rebuilding the website.

I'm also really hungry most of the time and the only time I don't think about food is when I'm working out! I'm reassessing how much lower I really want to go in terms of body fat. I don't like my midsection and there's still a little extra on the inner thigh- but damn I'm hungry! But I gotta say, my shoulders and chest and arms look pretty awsome. I just need to find a way to wear nothing but strapless gowns!

JC and Susan I admire your new dedication. No free anything is really hard. I've fallen flat on my face twice since starting it almost 8 weeks ago. Also not really seen the progress I expected, but then again I never do. Didn't help to eat a whole 1/2 gal of ice cream one weekend.

Karen- Enjoy your car! That was one I really wanted to test drive but hubby has decreed NO MORE EUROPEAN CARS! So it's Hondas and Toyotas for us. I love my Honda, but the Jettas looked so cool...we've had lemon disasters with volvos, saabs and one insanely purchased bmw. They probably weren't lemons (well, the saab was) but they just cost so darn much to fix and he's also a drive it forever type. So the fixes do get pricey.

Hope everyone is doing well and is back on track if derailed,

mel

MrsJim: Yes, I am moving to Dallas. Before the offer, Michael and I had been spinning in circles about where to live. The northern CA economy is so bad and we've been broke for a long time. I wanted to go back to NYC and he wants to stay in a more rural/suburban area. We were thinking we would be a bicoastal couple with me in NYC and him in CA. We knew it would be difficult and expensive. We also thought of Florida and NYC. He wants a more moderate climate than the northeast and a less urban place where he can fish (bass fishing is his thing). Because the firm has offices in Dallas and NYC I'll be back and forth for a year or two and be able to be mostly in the NYC office after that but still have business in Dallas. Dallas is so much cheaper than east or west coast that we can better afford 2 places if one is in texas. So this way we both will have what we want. We'll have a place outside Dallas, on a lake, and an apartment in the city. Then when I go to NY we'll have an apt in NY and the house on the lake in Texas. Even though I wanted an all NYC job, this actually works out quite well for us.

Mel: You and I are a lot alike with progress. When I was in MA and holed up in a hotel, I ate candy out of the vending machine and I NEVER eat candy. Of course, it will take me 6 weeks to lose a few inches but I swear I gained 5 lbs the first night I was around that vending machine. I find that free days can trigger all kinds of stuff and I am just going to do what I did at the beginning of the last sprint....keep them for only the times when I'm coming off the walls. Once I'm eating clean, I'm not hungry and have lots of energy and I think that free day can disrupt it and leave me grump. I notice that I'm less hungry than I was yesterday and expect that to continue until I feel "well". Before I got sick and Michael was assaulted, I was so into the whole exercise thing and I WANT that motivation back!!!! My motivation right now is the New Years Resolution crowd...I dont' want to be one of them. I've been there too many years....

Off to have meal 4 and study.
Take care everyone!
Susan

Moxiegirl – I know what you mean by having it for one day and then losing it. I definitely don’t want that to happen. I want to be able to stay at 15% once I get there.

Mel: I am giving the no-free day a try but haven’t done it before so we will have to see. I know that it will be hard but I am trying to focus on the bigger picture more. I really really want to get my bodyfat down now. It’s becoming frustating.

Susan: It sounds strange but I never really get motivation from anywhere – I just tell myself that something has to be done and I find a way of getting done. Thank goodness I am not a procrastinator otherwise I would be a very unhappy chickie!

JC