Thought I'd get the thread up and running early since I got to work a little ahead of time today.

How was the weekend for everyone? My in-laws arrived on Saturday and we had a pleasant enough weekend. Of course, it all revolved around food - preparing it, eating it, and cleaning up after it. I don't know how my MIL has done it all these years. Anyway, they're heading home today and we can return to normal (i.e. eat when you're hungry).

Got my exercise in over the weekend with a combination of running, gardening and housework. We're still partly in renovation mode; DH is in the midst of installing my closet organizer and things got a bit off track over the weekend. I hope to finally have my clothes upstairs again by week's end. Otherwise, things are looking pretty good. Tried the new shower for the first time Saturday. It needed a little adjustment (good thing I had just returned from a run and didn't mind lukewarm water)

I'm off on a business jaunt today and will return tomorrow evening. Hope to catch up with all of you on Wednesday.

Hi there Seasaw and all,

Hey Seasaw, I love how your idea of normal eating is eating when you're hungry. I wish I could get to that point!

Well, we had a great time at the wedding in the beautiful Catskill Mountains. I used to go there as a child and always loved being "in the country". It still is very rural. Love it. And the wedding was alot of fun. Good food. And husband-person not only danced with the lovely wife but actually seemed to enjoy it. I have to get him to drink more often...I wonder what damage I did re: the scale. Oh well. I don't intend to go to any more of this friend's wedding. This should be it.

Now feeling kinda crummy with a sore throat, fatigue and no desire to be here at work. Might have to leave if things don't improve.

e you later.

laurel

'Afternoon, all!

Well, it is the beginning of a new week and things are off to a fairly well-controlled start. I worked out this morning and pushed it for a little longer than normal (a full 30 minutes on the stationary bike). That felt good. It is almost 4 pm and I have stayed OP all day, despite the temptation of evil chocolate morsels in several co-workers' candy bowls. All in all, a fairly successful Monday!

Friends are coming in from out of town this next weekend, and the wife is on Weight Watchers too. That should be fun - I am looking forward to planning meals that are OP and entertaining-friendly. Any and all suggestions will be welcomed, especially breakfast-type casseroles, etc.

Gotta run! Have a great week, everybody!

ciao ragazze,

I started a message that got destroyed so i'll begin again.

Had a divine, if not hot time in roma. DP does not do well in the heat and was quite content to spend the afternoons laying around our apartment and going out after the heat had dissapated. We quite enjoyed puttering, shopping, eating and savoring probably my favorite urban center in the whole world.

I did pretty well eating wise. I stayed away from cornettos (croissant/brioche things) and cappucinos, but did not shy away from pizza. yum. Roman pizza usually doesn't have cheese on it, so its even better.

I did do quite a bit of gelato tasting. I wanted to compare the quality of various gelaterias, so there was replicate sampling of certain flavors : limone (lemon), aguria (watermelon), melone (cantaloupe) and pesca (peach). It was a hard job, but someone had to do it .

Anyways, we're back after four hops and some very appealing and unappealing airplane food. I'm whomped but ready to get back to work and on program.

Laurel-hope you get well soon! drink lots of liquids, rest and wash your hands. I can't remember was the wedding already? if not, arm yourself with wet-wipes and vitamin c. Its all that hugging and kissing that will get you. Take it from a four cold so far this year victim.

seesaw- wow, closet renos too. I gotta see the pictures.
I understand eating to someone else's schedule. I so wonder how i would do on vacation with certain couples of my acquaintance.

melissa: I can do without your weather also. Hot and humid is great for orchids and curly hair and that is about it. It must be nice and wierd to see all those eager faces.

austin: okay, brunch. i have a great martha-esque turkey, apple
and sage sausage patty recipe that can be prepared ahead of time. I like roasted potatoes (yukon golds, rosemary, olive oil, orange zest in strips and salt and pepper. This can also be prepared ahead and just reheated.

For eggs, I would opt for a zuchinni and sun dried tomato egg-white dominant fritatta with parmesan or fresh goat cheese. I think I can find a recipe for that.

Fruit salad, si, si.

i don't have any lowfat scone recipes. i wish i did, but i think i have a source in julie rosso's great good food book. I think you can lower the fat by using a yoghurt/cottage cheese combo.

okay ladies, time to look at data.

sigh.

lala

hello to all (sniffle, snort) and buon giorno a voi, cara Lalala - io sono molto geloso about your trip to Roma. (and that concludes the Italian portion of our broadcast, having used up the three words I know).

just laying around the house, hot, sticky, fatigued and generally feeling cruddy. Good thing I've got that nice pussycat Edward who is such good company. And yes, Lala, I entirely blame the wedding guests for this darn cold or whatever it is. blah. Which by the way did nothing to assuage my healthy appetite. Pick pick pick. Weigh in tonight. Results will be posted tomorrow!

yours stuffily,

L.

P.S. A-Gal: Sorry don't know any brunch cassarole recipes. The only thing I could think of would involve alot of cheese and sausages, possibly fried onions, potatoes...whoa there goes the appetite again. down girl

Hi all-

Its late on the east coast and what not, but I was wondering how everyone was doing.

I was doing lovely until I found a day old chocolate chip cookie I bought for my office mate lurking in my purse. Oh well. I guess I'll be at the gym tonight.

Laurel: How the heck are you feeling? I hope you stayed in bed yesterday and got some rest. Summer colds are really the worse.

Tonight I am really going to start to try and put our front garden back together after the painting. I can't believe the amount of stuff that lived on our porch. I tell you like they say with accessories, put all of them off and then take at least one piece off. In this case, I feel like
leaving the porch completely bare. Its so, well, zen.

Okay, I'm hoping everyone was not attacked by a chocolate chip cookie.

lala

good evening all - quiet on the board today. I had one of those icky all-day meetings and no internet access to while away the long hours. Don't these people realize I have postings to make! I hate when work interferes with my personal life.

Lala - feeling much better thank you. I did stay home all day yesterday until WW time. and - lo! another miracle.

Lost 1.5 pounds! I'm sure you all recall my Saturday journal of the wedding feast. We're talking a good 55 or 57 points and only reined myself in with great difficulty on Sunday. Bodies are just plain weird - I can't get over that. Last week I average 26 points and lost 1.5 pounds. Hey, I'm not going to look a gift loss in the mouth.

My goal for this week is really to maintain. I'm shooting for a solid 23 points a day and we'll see what happens. So far haven't gotten hardly any exercise because of the cold and the meetings, so we'll see what's what.

How is everyone else? By the way, melissa how did you get your mini-photo avatar? I tried it but couldn't get it to work. I have a digital pic of self and tried to reduce it to 7 pixels and only got a smeary bit of my cheekbone I think. I'd love to see what everyone else looks like - right now I picture everyone looking like Melissa!!! (which is not bad at all )

talk to youse guys tomorrow I hope.

L.

Hello to all!

I have a little time to post finally. Well, I finally lost 1.8 pounds last night! So, that was a relief - I really have a problem with my nighttime snacking (I feel your pain, Melissa) as well & really need to make a concerted effort to do something else besides wander back into the kitchen to forage for something.

Melissa - have fun at the wedding - we have a wedding on June 30 in St. Paul, so I will be able to spend time with my mom & some of my siblings. I am hoping this is a fun wedding. I bought a just-above-the-knee spaghetti strap dress. It's really cute & fun, but I am a little apprehensive about it being REALLY sleeveless ( I am self-conscious about my arms not being as toned as I'd like them to be....DH doesn't get it & thinks my arms look fine, but then, how could I expect a male to understand?? ) Happy birthday, too! As for turning 39, just think how wonderful you look. When I turned 39 almost 2 yrs ago, I was fat & totally unhappy with my appearance. I decided then that when I turned 40 (in Oct 2000), I wanted to feel good about myself so I rejoined WW & got rid of the weight before I hit the big 4-0.

LM - congrats on the loss! I am hoping this 12 week journal will keep me going to get these few pounds back off. Glad you're feeling better - too bad the appetite wasn't suppressed, though!

AustinGal - I just received my latest edition of the WW magazine the other day & it had a recipe for a breakfast type casserole that sounded good. I'll post it for you when I get home today.

I am totally not wanting to be here today. The weather is starting to clear as I look out my window. I am so restless in my job & have seriously started thinking about making a change. Problem is to what? I hate to give up the semi-decent salary & flexibility, but want to be more fufilled in what I do. Such a dilemma, scary to make a change, but if you don't, you have all the what ifs floating in your head. Any thoughts, advice or similar stories you'd like to swap or share??? I'm even considering working for WW as a leader - find it more satisfying helping people being a receptionist at WW for our local town meeting than I do most days at work here.....I must stop rambling & get back to work.

Later,
Katie
191.8/146.8/153WW

Hello - a rainy Thursday in NJ - and the first day of summer!

melissa the car situation really is stressful. i just spent a packet on mine for new tires and then it died in traffic and that was another packet and then he discovered something else we should attend to - woof. And DH's truck sounds awful. It's all so expensive. I believe in horse & buggy, plus you get all that nice manure for the garden.

Take it from someone who is seriously middle-aged (almost 45) - 39 is NOTHING. you are a BABY!!!! now, turning 40 was a shock to me and this 45 business is just so mature. too bad I can't live up to it.

Hope you have a great time at the wedding and on your birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! P.S. Thanks for the photo instructions. I have to try it. You'll see if I'm successful - It worked!

kt I'm sure you'll look great in the spaghetti straps. Take a pic and somehow post it and let us be the judges! I am also in a job puzzle. It is such a boring job, but basically I'm the sole income earner in the family so I feel nervous to try something different. And even then, I have no clue what else to do...It is difficult.

the good thing about this job is the free gym and classes. Just came from kickboxing class. So much fun!!! Rah!

talk to you later, gals.

Laurel

Hi All-
glad to see Laurel back to the living and on her way down! Lucky pup!

Melissa I am very sympathetic to the car plight. We are definitely on the hunt for a car, new would be nice, but they are all so darned pricey. Its interesting living in an area so affected by the dot.bombs to look at the number of newish mid-luxury autos for sale in the paper. Its all sort of tenative of DP deciding on delaying grad school for a year to work for another branch of the govt and thus delaying our need for a car to commute 500 miles rt at least twice a month.

DP was offered a lateral move to my old branch of the gov. with a chance for paid grad school in one year, but is trying to figure out what to do. The early to mid 40's are not a time to bandy about if you are getting a ph D. We'll know in due time.

everyone else: what is it with job woes? I think its a virus transmitted through this board. I am feeling much the same this week, but its probably because its nice out and I just got back from vacation.

kt: did you start yoga? How is it.
Your dress sounds faboo. You are probably more critical about your arms than anyone else. I'm positive you look lovely.

My main challenge this week is trying to get back to the gym. I'm starting to wonder if all the colds I'm picking up are from everyone there. I just don't want to get sick again this summer.

Anyways, hope everyone is doing well. I'm off to SFO for a one day wedding on Saturday. I'm hoping that the dress I wore two weeks ago didn't pick up any stains that I don't recall.

Back to the data grind.

lala

Hi everyone.

Congrats to kt, Laurel and Melissa re the losses. Yes, Melissa, you too because .2 is nothing and I regard that as a maintain. I was going to weigh-in this Saturday but I'm actually afraid to. I've been exercising regularly but my eating has been truly awful and I don't know if I can face the ugly truth. If not this weekend, it will have to be next week - probably in the evening - and that won't be good because I've been going to Saturday morning weigh-ins for well over 18 months and weight is lowest in the a.m. Anyway, I may bite the bullet and get it over with. Maybe it's what I need.

lalala: I'm once again envious of your latest jaunt. Our lives may have parallels in the reno department but I think you're ahead on the travel end of things.... How is the front yard looking?

A-Gal: Sorry, I meant to look up a recipe I have for a breakfast frittata (spelling?). It's made with broccoli/onions/eggs and a hint of cheese and is quite yummy. Will try to remember it for tomorrow, if that's not too late.

By the way, you are all just BABIES. I celebrated (?) my 47th birthday on June 11th. So don't talk to me about 39 - I'd love to be 39! (By the way, I'm in the best shape of my life right now, so it's not all gloom and doom.)

Guess what? I have a closet, I have a closet!

Hello again,

lalala - I think the yoga class will be good - really concentrate on one's breathing plus making sure everything else is supposed to be doing what's it doing (I don't know if I'll ever keep that all straight!).

Here's the recipe I mentioned, AustinGal from the July/Aug issue of WW magazine:

Summer Vegetable Strata

Makes 8 servings

2 tsps extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium red or green pepper, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
Pinch salt
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces crust-trimmed day-old whole wheat bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup reduced-fat Swiss cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated fat-free milk
4 eggs
2 egg whites
2 Tbls Dijon mustard

Heat a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the zucchini, pepper, onion & salt. Saute until the pepper is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and garlic; cook until the tomatoes are soft, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Spread the bread cubes over the bottom, then top with the zucchini mixture. Sprinkle with the Swiss & Parmesan cheeses.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, egg whites & mustard; pour this mixture over the bread and zucchini in the pan, making sure all the bread is soaked. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the strata, covered, until it begins to bubble, about 50 minutes: uncover and bake until slightly browned along the edges, about 10 minutes more.

Per serving (1/8 of strata): 228 cal, 8 g fat, 3 g sat fat, 115 mg chol, 407 mg sodium, 24 g carb, 3 g fiber, 17 g protein, 383 mg calc. POINTS: 5

Yikes!
This all must be in my head - I swear I've been awake off & on since about 3-3:30am this morning. Seems like when I know I don't have to go into work, I can't seem to sleep in the early morning hours....

The sun is making an appearance here this morning & the weekend promises to be a great one - highs in the 80s & sunny. Perfect for swimming, etc. Plan to go to pool in town today with DD - plan to walk there with her in tow in the stroller - get my walking in for the day.

I feel an renewed sense of committment to getting these last 5 pounds off plus am holding out for the small possibility of even toying with the prospect of getting under 140 (which I've NEVER been able to do now or 13 yrs ago when I hit goal the 1st time.) I hope to journal faithfully & stay OP for the entire length of the 12 week journal I'm using.

Need to buy a wedding gift for next weekend's wedding - I am going to see if I can get someone to take a picture of me with a digital camera so I can figure out how to post a picture of myself - I may need some assistance from you Melissa or LM .

Anyone have any exciting plans for the weekend? DH has to work out of town in central Wisconsin today & tomorrow, so DD & I will be doing our own thing Friday & part of Saturday.

Later,
Katie
191.8/146.8/153WW/under 140 dream goal