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Come on in! We're a group of friends that are pursuing this long journey of getting the weight off and keeping it off. We come from all over and have started at different points. We're here to help, encourage and support each other in the ups and downs. We have learned that this is a lifelong journey and that we have to hang in there...for the long haul.

Come and join us!

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Good morning, Terri!

Today I'm off to work - wow, work - at the yarn shop. Right now, I'm just helping my friend out - so there's no pay, except for occasional yarny goodness.

The mower has a problem. My landlord's father (and my next door neighbor) decided to show me how to mow the hills that I'd said we'd need to weed whack because they were too steep. He flipped the mower. Now the brake doesn't work, it doesn't go backwards.

Argh. Today is Sunday and a day of rest so we'll have to look at it again on Monday (his day of rest, not mine). I'm not sure how to handle this exactly. He broke it (though he keeps saying, "I don't see how it can have broken it, it was such a soft tip over...") and so he's gonna need to fix it for us (or pay someone else to do it). After spending $500+ we didn't have on this mower I'm really, really frustrated.

I was indeed so frustrated yesterday that I forgot to eat all day. Dinner was Chalupas (10 pts each) at Taco Bell in an effort to get me up to points. LOL! I paid for it later though - I can't eat food that high in fat without getting mighty uncomfortable.

Good morning!

Its cold and rainy today so no yard work today.

Yesterday, we went down to see mom and bring home our boat and moped we call Vino. It was a lovely day. She was so excited to see us and so excited to make a nice lunch for us. I kept telling her that we don't eat that much but I realized that she isn't cooking much for herself anymore and really misses cooking for someone else. Alas, we ate more cheesy stuff than I intended and ended up over in points for the day. TOM finally arrived (seems like I've had PMS for three weeks now) so I was crampy and not feeling into vigorous exercise. A lazy day for me.

Today doesn't look much better. However, I WILL make it better. MIL's birthday is tomorrow and she wants a family gathering today. We're meeting at a restaurant at 1:30. I told DH that I'm eating something at home if I have to because I'm not going to go ravenous and then overeat because they are eating late. I also will do some low-key exercise today.

Jen - Congratulations on your loss. I know you're really frustrated about how slow its going - but its still a loss. Its so hard not to be frustrated when we are doing all the right things and the body responds slowly. Especially when someone else is losing at a faster rate. But hang in there. Your body may be adjusting back to what its used to (lots of hiking) and you could be putting on muscle as well. Keep it up and you'll be rewarded. I'd be really about the mower too. Sometimes men think they know everything when really they have no idea what they are talking about. Good luck with the sticky situation. Have fun playing in the yard!!

Time to shower and get ready for church.

Have a great OP day everyone!

Good morning!

Yesterday was my first day "on the clock" at the yarn store. We're still preparing to open, so it was all data entry. My boss went out and bought a nice bar stool type chair for use at the register (yay!). Today the bathroom is being painted, and I'll be doing more data entry. I'll be more prepared this time though - I'm buying Slim Fast bars to have with me in case I need to snack while there. Yesterday was another forgot-to-eat-until-I-got-home day. That's not gonna be a good solution for me long term.

Terri, sometimes we need lazy days. I hope you enjoyed yours! I used to go boating with my grandfathers when i was young. One had a rickety old row boat that didn't look it could possibly hold us and still float - but it did for all the years I knew him. The other had a spiffy new mini-yacht. I like the rickety row boat better somehow...

Hello!

I'm running late this morning. Just want to wish everyone : for a great OP day. I've got my plan for the day. DH wants pizza so I've got my plan to be able to have pizza and not blow my points. Tonight we will be watching KU beat the pants off Syracuse in the Final Two!

Jen - Good plan with the slim fast bars. I keep the WW bars on hand so that I can have the protein snack AND chocolate for only 2 points.

Grr, I've got to go and finish getting ready for work.

Have a great OP day!

Thai Chicken Rollups

319 calories, 10.3 g fat, 15.9 g protein, fiber unknown

2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp light mayonnaise
1 tbsp reduced-fat peanut butter
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
4 large napa cabbage leaves
6 ounces thinly sliced deli-roasted chicken or turkey breast
1 cup red bell pepper strips

Prep time: 15 minutes

Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl; stir well with a whisk.
Spread each tortilla with 1 tbsp mayonnaise mixture. Top each tortilla with 2 tbsp basil, 1 cabbage leave, one-fourth chicken and 1/4 cup bell pepper and roll up. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill.


We sampled these in the Thai cooking class the other night. Very good. The combination of peanut butter, garlic and red pepper is very unusual but delicious. I counted each rollup at 7 points if I remember correctly. Some may think its high but you can cut calories and fat by using FF mayo and FF tortillas. This rollup and some fresh veggies will make a wonderful lunch.

Have a great day!

Terri, the Thai roll-ups look great! I'll end up trying these with fruit salad as dinner one night.

Working hard, no time to post. :-(

Good morning!

Hopefully we are all just very busy this week and doing well. If anyone is struggling, come on back because we're here to help.

So far, I'm doing well with my plans and food. Exercise has been a little elusive this week and must be do to the change in weather to cold and wet plus the time change. But according to my home scales this morning, I'm down another pound. I was planning on going to official WI tonight but realize that it may be 5:30 or 6:00 before I get home from work. I really have to work on the yard so we can get it mowed tonight and tomorrow. Its almost out of control since we've had rain.

I have a new recipe that I'll post either tonight or tomorrow. Its "Stir Fried Pork with Napa Cabbage". The only fat in the recipe is from the meat and the recipe calls for lean pork tenderloin so its a very good fit into the WW plan. And it was really good - DH raved about it. I had never done anything with napa cabbage until the Thai cooking class and so I was intrigued. I looked up a recipe and we tried it. It was great topped with lite soy sauce and hot chinese mustard. I'm really into cooking flavors and trying to wean myself off the old "comfort" foods that really, if you think about it are bland. I crave flavor now. Okay, okay, and the occassional ice cream.

Tonight, I will be making Peach Salsa and Chicken Burritos which is a WW recipe. That is if I remember to go to the store and find the peach salsa or remember to look one up on the internet. DH won't be home tonight so its my night to experiement.

Cynthia - We miss you. How was your trip? Are you even home yet? Hope you're doing well.

Jen - Work keeping you busy is a good thing! Yarn shop or internet sales? Either way, have fun!

J-Ann - If you're out there lurking, I said a little prayer for you because if you're silent then you may be going through some tough times right now. We miss our friend and hope that you're just busy but doing well. Take care!

I better get ready for work. Have a great OP day! : :

Hey guys, I'm back. For the last two weeks DH has had a cold and now I think I'm finally getting it, which will be a HUGE bummer. I only lost 0.4 lbs at the WI today, I think mainly because of the trip and the fact that I didn't get to exercise at all during it. It felt good to get my walk/jog in yesterday. I've signed up for a 5k for Sunday (did that yesterday before I started feeling all icky) and don't know if I'll be able to actually do it. It doesn't matter, though, because the registration fee goes towards battered kids to it's a good cause.

Started taking my yoga classes again today. The school is really close to my WW meeting. It ends at 11:30 and WI begins at 11:30 so the timing is perfect. I can kill two birds with one trip!! I figured between the jogging and the Aikido my body might start getting really tight so I need to get back into the yoga habit.

We did see one house we liked, but of course it's a fixer-upper (the only way to get the most out of your money). I could do a lot of the work, but the asking price is a bit high for the amount of work that needs to be done and the location. Just depends on how low the owners are willing to go. Otherwise, we'll just keep on looking.

Sorry about the plateau, Jen, it can be frustrating not to get that reward at the scale.

Terri, one of my favorite snacks is 3 hard boiled egg whites squirted with fancy mustard. I have it with a small pot of tea and it helps keep me full for a bit. It's only 1 point so you might try something like that before the restaurant meal (unless I'm already too late with the advice, ).

Good morning!

I'm down this morning, and I know it, because my home scale shows a reasonable loss. So I'm all chipper headed into my weigh in today. After that we're off to Atlanta on a buying trip. I'm not working this weekend because something's broken on the computer. Hopefully I'll be back at work on Monday.

No time to chat - it's great to see you Cynthia and Terri!

Hope everyone else is just too busy to post!

Good morning!

Not much new this morning. Last night was a pleasant evening. DH had a trip so it was just me and the dog. I didn't get home until after 6 pm and forgot all about the 7 pm WW meeting. I'll go on Saturday morning.

I got home to find my neighbor in my yard pulling weeds. It really frosted me because this is not the first time that if we don't get to yardwork soon enough, he comes into our yard to do it. We live in a nice neighborhood and yes we want our yard to look good but good grief we've had three days of rain and no chance to get it done yet. I jumped out of the car and said "Doug, you really don't have to do our yardwork" and was very blunt about it. (This after being in a "Handling Emotions under Pressure" class all afternoon ) He's like, no really, I was here, the weeds were here so no problem. I said, no really, you don't do our yardwork and went in the house. Not sure he gets it. I guess I'm ultra protective of MY house after living in rental places for so long.

After that, I spent 45 minutes working in the back yard, prepping for the mowing tonight. That felt good. It was such a beautiful, calm evening. I fixed the peach salsa and chicken burritos. I liked them and will do them again - would make a great lunch to take to work.

I even drug the dog out for a nice 30 minute walk. All I have to do is put on my walking shoes now and he knows hes going walking. Right now, he's laying behind my chair making disgusting licking noises.

Not sure what's on the menu plan for tonight. Maybe BBQ chicken. OOH, that does sound good. I'll get a chicken out before DH comes up with something fattening. Tonight will be mowing and yardwork. Hopefully tomorrow will be more yardwork and painting on the master bath.

I better go get my lunch and breakfast made and get out of here. Unfortunately, I do have to go to work.

Good to see you back Cynthia - glad you had a good trip and another loss. Jen - Good luck on WI and have a great trip yourself!

Have a great, great OP Friday!

Okay Terri, I must be missing something. If I had a neighbor like that he'd have the key to the shed where the gardening equipment is kept. I HATE yardwork, particularly weeding!! Also, I've been known to shovel the neighbor's sidewalk during a snow when I felt like getting in some extra APs (of course that didn't happen during the blizzard, ).

Jen, woohoo keeping my fingers crossed for that WI. Can't wait to see the new numbers.

I'm waiting to hear back on an offer we made for a house in Bend, OR. It's doubtful that the owners will accept it since it's a bit lower than they want, but the house needs a new roof, new carpeting throughout the house, and needs to be painted inside and out, sheesh ! Steve found a great site online where he could check comps and they are priced a bit high anyway. I'm kinda on the fence, though, cause it means lots of work for me (but no yardwork, the homeowner's dues cover that). Since we don't have a time limit, I wouldn't mind going back in May and checking out some more houses.

I'm hoping this cold goes away soon. I did have some energy today at least. Got all the oversized clothes bagged and ready for Goodwill, as well as some clothes that I look at now and wonder what the **** I was thinking of when I bought them . Sometimes I just have too much time on my hands during the weekend or something, must have been drunk .

Back from Atlanta, exhausted.

Terri, I get the lawn thing - we had a neighbor who would do it, even though the yard was _fine_ and we were taking care of it regularly! Its a personal space thing, I think - I like my space, I don't like people in it without my permission...

Cynthia - Bravo on taking the organize your don't-fit clothes! I did that last night - getting rid of the summer things that are too baggy.

Today's weigh-in: down 4 pounds!

Gorgeous Saturday!!

I got myself up early and went to WI. Down 4.2! I am definitely changing to Saturday mornings. This is the leader that I had six years ago when I very first joined WW and lost 30 pounds. But then stalled out and eventually quit. Ever since then, I have not once rejoined and made it past a 10 pound loss before quitting in frustration. She doesn't remember me which I understand because she leads a lot of meetings in different locations. But she cooks and makes up new recipes and stuff. Funny thing is that she got off topic. First she talked about another lady who had joined WW, lost 30 pounds and then quit in frustration - FIVE times and this lady just mentioned the other day that she didn't know she could ask for help. Dixie, the leader, then went on and talked about how if we're stuck at a certain weight, not to quit but to ask for help. It was almost like she was talking to me. So this time I left the meeting feeling good about doing WW and about attending meetings. My new goal is to attend every other Saturday.

Last night, I did a lot of yard work. I sprayed for weeds, cut back the dead stuff from the mums, mowed the front with the push mower, and even raked some. All this before dinner! I was so tired I could hardly keep my head up off the plate. This morning, we went to Lowe's (I love that place) so I could buy purple fountain grass, three rose bushes and four lily plants. DH and I mowed the back yard. I also have spread out mulch in the landscape area I built last year. I'll redo part of that to plant the rose bushes. I'll put the fountain grass on the west side of the house where the regular grass doesn't grow well against the foundation. The lilies will go in the corner of the yard where its also bare. Hopefully tonight I will get out and plant that stuff and fertilize the yard before it rains. We've had turkey sandwiches so I'm ready for a small nap before doing some housework.

Yes, the neighbor issue really is a personal space thing. I am very protective of my home. Its my shelter or place to be away from everyone else and I don't want you there unless I say its okay. DH is really lucky he got in!! I personally would be happiest if I lived out in the country where I could walk outside and not see anyone in any direction. I also take it as a bit judgmental because he always does something in our yard the day before we're going to do it - its like we don't do it soon enough to suit him.

Cynthia - How far away is Bend, Or? If you buy this, will this be a summer home or early retirement? I know you've mentioned it before but I'm having a brain lapse today. Good for you for getting those clothes out of the house. Hope you get to do your 5K tomorrow. Get well!

Jen - for your good weigh-in. I know it was frustrating for you last week but you didn't let it get you down and you got a great reward.

Nap time! Have a great rest of the weekend!

Good morning ladies,

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was a great weekend. Lots of activity as it was a very productive weekend. I got all my roses, lilies and grasses planted. Now, we need a little prayer that I'm able to keep them alive! We're still in a draught state so everything needs lots of watering right now. I'm inspired so I want to pick up some calla lillies, stargazer lillies and more of the grasses. Just never enough time and money to get it all done at once.

Tonight, my home project for the evening is to get started on painting the bathroom. For some reason, I'm having trouble just getting started. Once I get started, I'll whip on it and get it done right away. But, I'm determined that tonight is the night.

Food points were a little high but I had planned on that and am still within range for the overall week. I'm trying to keep my points down during the week and earning the activity points then so that on the weekend, I can have the higher point food that DH wants. Remembering to plan ahead is key.

Cynthia - How's the cold? Did you get to do you 5k? Good luck with the house.

Jen - Any hiking this weekend? Or fun in the yarn?

To those lurking, come on in! We love new friends!

Have a great OP Monday! : :