Hi, Terri! Sounds like changing meetings is a good pick for you. And all that yard work does pay off eventually - both in better health and a great looking yard.

Today is another work-all-day day for me. It ends with dinner with a friend, followed by a knitting guild meeting.

Yesterday we were all day in Columbia, SC. Breakfast was a Tuna Salad Sandwich with a banana in town before we left (8 pts) and dinner was 2 veggie egg rolls and egg drop soup (approximately 10 pts, per my WW eating out guide). The rest was made up in snacks.

Have a great day!

Hey guys, still have that chest cold so I wasn't able to do that 5k . Ah well, there are plenty of others in the future.

The seller accepted the offer and DH is flying out there Wednesday for the inspection. We are putting our house in Denver up for sale too, that way people will be looking in on it while we are gone, . The Bend house will be our summer home. When the Denver house sells, we'll get another one in Vegas. I'll bet both the Vegas house and the Bend house combined will come up costing less than this one Denver house . Thank goodness DH can telecommute.

Jen & Terri - YOWZA, what the heck were you guys doing to both lose 4 lbs.??? Must be the yardwork. I can tell you guys don't have a heavy clay soil. Here you don't want any plants near your foundation because the goal is to keep water away, otherwise all that swelling and contracting will cause problems. Also, we can't plant till after May 15, the traditional last freeze supposedly. Oh, and I don't think we'll be allowed new plantings after that either, if the drought is still considered severe enough.

I started my spring cleanse today. It's a semi-Ayurvedic cleanse, not really a fast because, of course, being a good WW I figured out the point values of all the things I'll be having, and it comes to about 20 points each day (three days). Could be more if I were to use honey in my herbal teas, but I'm not. I did this last winter, around October, and felt fantastic afterwards. Kinda nice because I had no cravings for a month after. It wasn't until I started adding some processed foods and wheat back to my diet that I began to get them now and then. But I decided I can't do the wheat-free thing for long because I know that mentally the cravings will come back anyway. Humans are just so dang complicated.

Yeah for another beautiful sunny day! Although a touch too warm for this time of year. Tomorrow will be rainy which we desperately need.

Yesterday as a good food day again. I didn't get as much exercise points as planned but that's because I got started on painting the shower room of the master bath. At least now, I have color on the walls so I'll get it done this week.

I'd like to smack DH. On Saturday, I'm going to spend the day with mom (2 hours each way). It will be an all day trip. Last night, he decided to invite his mother, her husband, and DH's brother over for Easter. No way, we're missing church. Wonder when he thinks the house will be cleaned and food cooked? DH will make the ham and that's about it. I'll have to do the rest. His mother never has a speck of dust in her house - while I won't strive for perfection, it has to be decluttered of DH's crap. I'll have to do a search for a low point pie.

Cynthia - Sorry to hear the cruddy cold is still hanging around. But congratulations on the house!! Wow, Vegas. Never been there. DH lived there for over 20 years and loved it. However that was during his sin years of drinking and gambling. The Ayurvedic way of eating seems to be working for you. How did you get started with it?

Jen - The great thing about all the yard work and indoor projects is that it keeps me from sitting around eating something - or even wanting to eat something. Must be the same with your knitting.

OMG look at the time and I haven't even showered for work yet. Better quit jacking around. Have a great OP day!

Quick post this morning. Yesterday was a good day with food and activity. Since the first of April, this is the most focused I've been consistently for a long, long time. Setting my daily plan and not thinking beyond the day is working for me at this time. Its also helped me keep my points down during the week so that on the weekends I can plan to go over if I choose. I can feel the difference in the way my clothes are fitting. Before I did anything else last night, I earned my activity points on the spinner and worked up a sweat. Then I went out and worked in the yard for 30 minutes. I'm not sure bagging leaves counts as much in points but I considered it my stretching exercise!

Tonight is our last Wednesday church class for the summer. I'll try to get home early enough from work that I can work on the spinner and have time to cool off and refresh.

Today's food will be egg beaters and milk for breakfast; turkey rollup and fruit for lunch and brats and sauerkraut for dinner. DH wants brats and I have to admit I like a good brat every now and then. I figure if I do the sauerkraut, I'll skip the bun. I'll have to see how many points the brats are and what I have left for the day. My plan is to eat light enough during the day to have enough to enjoy this evening.

Last night I made yummy chicken, red peppers and lettuce with FF ranch dressing wrapped up in a honey wheat pita. Yummy! DH wasn't home so it was my night to feed myself. The last two times he's had a trip, I've actually been intelligent and made myself WW friendly foods that I love instead of blowing my points. Woohoo!

Okay, so a short post has become the ramblings of a crazy woman! Not crazy, just feeling good this morning.

Have a great OP day! Here's lots of : : : for everyone!

Got up at 5 this morning, headed off to ship 80+ packages at 8 am, in to work at 10 am, back home at 7 pm, weed eater'd the lawn until 9 pm, now I'm all dead and tired.

Ugh.

Okay - not much more to share today - but I do love coming home and finding something to read here.

Not much to report this morning. Yesterday was a good food day up until dinner. The brats DH bought were very high in points so I ended up over my planned amount. The good news was that I knew that was what we were eating and had thankfully kept my points low during the day. I think that means I'm making progress in my habits.

I've been scouring the WW recipes for what to make for Easter dinner. I want WW alternatives for me but they have to be quick as I'll be limited on time to prepare the meal.

Today will be no fun at work. Its review day. Its my first year on the executive review process and what I read on the paper copy seemed kind of brutal. One of my peers laughed and said, "looks like the training wheels are off". The others said that's the way it is and it doesn't mean that I've done a bad job - just that our boss is lousy at giving constructive criticism. DH reminded me that I got a good raise and his take is that she's preparing me for a future place when she retires. I heard that one of the other direct reports to her left the other day crying - no one knows if it was her review or something else happened. I just keep telling myself - that that doesn't kill me, makes me stronger!!

The plan for the day: Find something for breakfast, have leftover chicken and peppers for lunch with a small salad; DH wants fried chicken so I'll have him make me a skinless chicken breast. I already warned him that I was going to look for a side dish in my WW cookbook. I also planning on getting 30 minutes in on the spinner and take a dog for a walk.

Today is my Friday!! Tomorrow is a vacation day. WooHOO!

Jen - With all that work, you'll be burning up the calories!

Take care and have a great OP Day!

Hey folks, kinda busy getting this house prepared for sale ONCE AGAIN. Started painting the deck (now have to wait to finish on Monday since weather forecast is not favorable for painting till then), repaired some cracks, doing some painting, and then the big cleaning!! Don't think it will all be done by mid-week next week, but I'm not going to sweat it. I'll do what I can, but exercise and fixing good meals come first!!! It's not a priority that we sell anyway, thank goodness.

Terri - I've been reading about Ayurveda off and on for a while, hard to get into because it's so dang complicated. Yoga got me into it a bit more, at least enough to start reading about. Plus a book titled "The Balanced Approach" made it a bit easier to understand. Written by a westerner - Jennifer Workman. Still have a ways to go before I can really incorporate the ideas.

Got the bad news from the Denver water board. Odd numbered houses can water on Saturday and Wednesday over 8 zones at 15 minutes/zone (and no watering between 10 am and 6 pm). New lawns and seed will not be allowed more water (last year you could get special little signs to put in your yard if you had put in new lawn so that you could water more without getting a ticket). Actually, I think that's fair since everyone would just put down seed in order to be able to water more, humans are a sneaky bunch, lol. But the days BITE!! We don't have a sprinkler system - it's me. We tend to be out of the city a lot on Saturdays, so this could get interesting. Maybe we'll finally put in that artificial putting surface that DH has always wanted, .

I'm trying to figure out what to do about Easter as well. We are heading to Colo Spgs on Saturday in order to avoid traffic on Sunday morning, so I have to plan for a meal Saturday night, and the entire day on Sunday. The hotel we stay at has a fridge so I'll bring yogurt, grapenuts, and some fruit for Sunday breakfast. Hopefully there'll be veggies so I can snack on those. The biggest problem will be the champagne - just love that stuff. However, DH hasn't mentioned buying any and the in-laws tend to buy cheap nasty tasting stuff, so maybe that won't be a problem. I just won't remind DH that we need to get something decent . Then again, a nice buzz would help me get through the day with those folks .

Happy Friday!

I've been off today. But it was cold and rainy this morning so I have a headache. DH and I went to run errands this morning. I got a peony bush and three shrubs at Lowe's for my landscaping project. We just got back from the grocery store and are all ready to fix Easter dinner. I've got FF miracle whip and low fat cream cheese and the fruity slaw calls for lowfat yogurt. Too bad I don't feel well enough to get up and do anything. Actually, don't feel up to doing a very good post this afternoon. Sorry!!

I'll be gone to mom's tomorrow so I won't be back around to post probably until late Sunday or Monday morning. Have a great holiday weekend and let's not blow all our hard work with bad food choices.

Take care!

Good morning!

I was up .5 at WI. I was delighted with last week's loss but worried it might mean something like this. Here's the thing: I'm still exercising (okay, so a lot of it is just that I've changed from a desk job to a moving-around job) and still eating just right - but the weight still refuses to go. VERY frustrating! I have to find a meeting near my new workplace as well - I end up arriving at work too late otherwise.

Terry, I hope you recovered from your headache and had a good rest-of-the-day yesterday. Do enjoy your time with your mom - and eat well. I love Easter as a holiday because Ham isn't actually a hard meat to eat well, I think. You get a reasonable serving size for lower points than you might think - and then there's filling up on veggies that are good for ya. Perfection!

Cynthia - I helped my father install their sprinkler system and you'll be glad to here that it wasn't difficult, just some hard work digging trenches (which could have been made easier by renting a trencher but my dad said, "Why? I have you, dear daughter" so I was the trencher).

Off to work shortly - I'm working on training the cafe I like to eat at near the store on making me WW compliant meals. *g* I love it!

Good morning, ladies!

How was your Easter? We had a really good day. I was up early to get the food ready before church. After church, I ran around like a crazy person finishing cleaning the house. Good way to burn a few calories before the meal. While they don't care what the house looks like, now its clean for the week. The food turned out really good. No one knew that the potato salad was made with FF miracle whip! They loved the fruity coleslaw and even ate if after I told them the dressing was made with non-fat plain yogurt. They raved about the cheesecake. Okay, I have to admit that one wasn't exactly WW friendly. I did use light cream cheese. It was delicious - fresh raspberries on the bottom that baked in to the cream cheese mixture and topped with semi-chocolate squares melted in heavy whipping cream. I liked the fruity coleslaw and it has potential as a great summer dish. However, I think it needs something. Maybe its the blahness of the plain yogurt. I'll post the recipe and maybe you have some ideas. I wondered about spicing it up with ginger or something to give it a zing. We had a good visit too. DH made it through the whole afternoon without getting mad at his brother. It would take a whole thread to talk about his brothers. I don't think that I did too bad on food. I didn't have breakfast and with almost everything being made to save calories - plus no chocolate bunnies or Easter candy - I think I did okay.

I had a good visit with mom. We went to the cemetery and walked around a bit. I haven't been since the funeral and she figured that it was time that I did. I helped her with some of her bills and gave her email instructions again. I did get to play with our horse a bit. I'm not sure if I'll get to ride her before the baby is born in August or not. I think the baby is pressing on some nerve and making her feet sore. Mom was good to me - fixed chicken breast and baked sweet potatoes. She had snackwells devils food cookies and not pie or cake!

My plan for the week is to earn lots of activity points and keep my food in the lower end of the range. I'm going to WI on Saturday morning so I've got a chance to redeem myself before then.

Tonight is yardwork. Bad thing about fertilizer - got to mow again soon! I did plant my shrubs. I'm loving doing landscaping now that I got started. My next purchase will probably be blue fescue bunches to put between the shrubs and then I'll be done with that area (after the mulching of course!). I was browsing my gardening books last night and now think I want to do some grass repair next year with sod pieces. I can dream can't I?

Cynthia - Your area is definitely a lot worse than ours as far as lack of rain. We got a good rain this weekend to help us get out of drought status. No water restrictions yet. How's the house prepping going? Such a lot of work. Hey, if you make it to Las Vegas, I don't think they have much of yards do they? DH said his was rocks and a pool! Hope you had a good visit with family. I had to chuckle about need a buzz. Family - can't kill 'em so gotta live with them!

Jen - Sorry to see about the small gain. I remember that you used to hike a few times a week plus going to the Y. Your body may have adapted itself to needing that level of exercise. Even though you're moving around at work, your body may need the 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer to burn the fat. Frustrating, I know as I think that's where I'm at. I'm convinced that our bodies remember the levels that we at times perform and then demands more and more each time we get back into our routines. What is irritating is that for some people, all they have to do is cut back on a certain type of food and walk a mile a day and the weight flies off - for others, we have to work out an hour plus a day - hard - to get a modest loss. Does that make any sense? Just hang in there and you will be rewarded.

I guess I better get myself to work so that I can come home early and jump on the yard. Have a great OP day!

Hey guys, had a decent Easter weekend. Everyone remarked on how good I looked with the weight loss. Of course the next day, on Sunday, the SIL had to say "isn't it funny how we keep losing and gaining weight?" I know she wants me to fail, particularly since she's gained so much. That made me even more determined during my walk/run this morning .

Terri - glad you got to feeling better! Try yogurt from a health food store, one that has the live cultures. It will be tangier than the bland stuff you generally get at the regular grocery stores. Stay away from Horizon brand - still a BIG producer even though they lay claim to the organic labeling - and their's tastes as bland as Dannon and the rest. I did manage to get the deck repainted in between light rain. We have been getting some nice moisture the last few days.

Jen - thank goodness for Home Depot. You can guarantee that I'll rent equipment from there whenever possible.

The house in Oregon is pretty much a done deal. The inspection is complete and the loan has been approved. We close on May 16th and will probably move in over Memorial Day. We plan to come back to Denver the second week of September, if we still have a house here!

Hi ladies! Its going to be a gorgeous day! I have a dentist appointment so I'm being a little leisurely this morning. I may even take the dog for a walk this AM.

Yesterday was a good, back on track, day. I kept my points low and after work, I worked a good 1-1/2 hours in the yard. Not only is the house clean, now the yard work is done. Whatever will I do now??!! Well, by Thursday, the house will need to be decluttered and cleaned again and the grass will probably need mowing!! I am, however, determined to paint on Wednesday night. DH has a trip so I'll have quiet time.

Cynthia - How exciting about the move to Oregon for the summer. New fitness opportunities! You will have internet access to keep in touch, won't you? There is always someone in the family or friends that has to rain on everyone's parade. Just keep on doing what you're doing because unless you sit down and don't move a muscle, you've found a winning strategy for you.

Jen - I bet you're working hard as always!

Here's lots of : for not only a good OP day but just a great day where we all feel great about ourselves and our bodies.

Good morning, ladies!

I've definitely been working hard. Today, I'm off! I'll be knitting, catching up with my kids and hubby and doing yard work.

Indeed, I'm supposed to get off the computer now to do all those things. *g*

More when I have time to sit and think and type.

Not much time this morning. I've spent all my spare time waiting for the computer to boot up and had to reboot it again when the screen went black.

Yesterday was another good day. DH had a trip so it was just me and the dog. I did a bad thing! I stopped by the nursery on the way home and spent too much money. I raced home and got everything planted before it started to rain. Seriously, I have to quit! Now, I need to make myself do the final touches right away so I won't try to plant anything more. But I'm really loving it and there is so much I could spend if I could just get everything that I liked!! I kept busy with that and painting last night. The smallest room in the house is the worst to paint. But I made progress and even did some this morning. I want that room done by Friday night. That still leaves me the bigger part of the master bath. I'm trying to get all my spring house projects done by 5/15 so I can enjoy and work on decluttering (a never-ending task).

I kept my points well within range. I had intended for more aerobic exercise last night but was too tired after all the other work. Tonight is another cooking class. Viva La Vegetables. That or its the fish class.

I'm out of time. Have a great OP day! :