It's a new week. Hope everyone had a fine weekend and got to do that which pleased them. The weather here wasn't so good, but that didn't stop me. My sister and played tourist on Friday evening - strolled through the Public Gardens, had a drink outside in the trendy part of town then off to dinner at our favourite restaurant. On Saturday we went to a housewarming BBQ. Good time, but a little fuzzy yesterday due to overindulgence in wine.

I didn't weigh in on Saturday, now I'm in a panic because I will have to do so by Friday before we leave for the long weekend. I don't think the news will be good - I certainly won't be recording any five pound loss which was my goal for Canada Day - July 1st. I just can't seem to get motivated and it's beginning to get me down. Melissa, kt, how have you managed to kick start things again? Other than regular exercise, I can't seem to do anything right these days.

Sorry for the rant - feeling a lot discouraged. How is everyone one else doing? And lalala, how was the wedding? Hope you enjoyed the time with your brother.

good morning Seasaw and friends,

Had a productive weekend - beading, lot of cooking for a nice get-together Sunday evening, laundry, that kind of thing, which I enjoy alot. Now a few more days of that would be wonderful.

Seasaw, are you an exerciser? I guess I've spouted off before about my theory of exercise doing something to your body chemistry that helps keep you/get you on program. That's what I can advise. Of course, if you want to journal with the gang that would also be super!!! I love to see what other people eat. Anyway, good luck with that weigh in. You'll be fine and you'll keep moving forward! Now that your renos are done, you can focus back on yourself again.

will be checking back in later while goofing off from work...

Laurel

Hi everyone

The weekend was pretty busy...Friday night we took the kids out for dinner--went to Applebee's and I had their lowfat blackened chicken salad. It was really good! Saturday we had a wedding and I did pretty well there for the most part. I know I went over in points but I'm getting back on track.

I don't know what my problem has been with staying on track and keeping up with my journal. It's like I have this brain block or something. I have been walking more and trying to keep up with my journal. I know that when I do this my weight stays on track. I'm coming up on TOM this next week and am hoping to post some sort of a loss.

seasaw I think part of my kick start is once I get going I want to keep on eating better and exercising more...I can tell when I'm not eating the right things and not getting in my exercise. It's always been a goal of mine to never have to pay for a meeting. Lately I've been struggling to stay under the mark. Part of my problem is stress and I need to get myself refocused. So far I've been doing better. I'm also not getting things for the house that I know are trigger foods for me. Try going through your old journals, look at your book with your losses, etc, and I even go through my materials and that helps. Don't get on yourself...you can get back on track

Sorry to have rambled on here...hope everyone is having a good day!

Hi all-

Its rather grey and not so summery here in seattle. It looks a bit like Maine, but without the fabulous daylily patches.

Thanks Seesaw, I had a nice if not short trip to San Francisco. I met my brother at the Oakland airport, we took a cab into SF, checked in the hotel. The concierge asked if we wanted one bed or two, I started to laugh and said, "its not often you are in one of the world's most romantic city in the world with your brother". Anyways, we had a nice lunch, a good catch-up, a nap and lots of g&tonics at the wedding.

Great reception, good food, beautiful understated elegance everywhere and the bride was/is gorgeous and her groom was a hotty. whhooo baby.

There were lots of underdressed undernourished women there with entirely too much expensive jewelry. I could do without the outfits, but I could do with some better jewelry .

Which brings me the question I have been asking myself all weekend. Is it necessary to be a dark haired women of middle-eastern descent and have lighter hair? I think I was one of a few women at the event who has her natural hair color under the age of 40. I am wondering if starting the process of lightening your hair just starts another 90 bucks/6 weeks torture. Hmm. Any thoughts?

I like my hair color and it has very little (3 hairs) of grey at the ripe age of 36, so I just should be thankful eh?

seesaw: I understand the not getting it off by a certain date, but you are being very diligent in the exercise world and that is a great accomplishment. It'll all work out, maybe by your provincial day.

Laurel: sounds like you had a great weekend being a productive and creative person. I would trade you in a minute.

okay, i really need to focus and organize myself. I have work meetings in two weeks that require I actually get something done. yikes.

see youse laters.

lala

Melissa - I like your rambles, please don't apologize! And I think it would be very hard to have children and all the necessary goodies in the house that they like and not eat those goodies yourself! It's bad enough that my husband brings home relatively innocuous pretzels and italian bread everyday which I pick on relentlessly. I have to say you look like one of the most cheerful people from your mini-pic. I find it hard to imagine you stressed out! Your sunny pic is an inspiration to me since I have a naturally cynical and somewhat negative attitude towards so so many things...

Lala I say if you're not gray, go natural. And if you don't mind gray, continue to go natural. Personally, I had to start hitting the bottle quite some number of years ago, when my sister's friend asked me if I was her OLDER!!!! sister. Since I'm younger by 6 years, I was quite shocked. Then the ditzy dame saw my jaw on the floor and tittered, "Oooh, I'm just asking because I color my hair (it was a horrible artificial reddish brassy tone) and you don't." Hon, the next day I went to the local Beauty Supply store and I've never looked back. NEVER!! If I had beautiful pure white locks that would be one thing, but I'm not too fond of blech gray esp with the fab new body toeing the line...snort snort, I cracked myself up. The wedding sounded like fun. I love looking at the clothes and jewelry - at least you had something to look at. The wedding I went to last week was so darn casual - nobody seems to dress up anymore. Where were all the party dresses? (However, I looked terrif in hot pink silk and grandmother's pearls...) Meanwhile, can we hear more about the food???!!!

Okay, 15 more minutes and then we're outta here!

Good Tuesday morning and thanks everyone for your words of support. I actually had a pretty good OP day yesterday and am feeling better about things this morning.

We had a tough run last evening. It was very hot and humid and a bit of a shock since we've mostly been running in the a.m. When we arrived at the park, there were all these young people in formal attire. My first thoughts were -- boy, am I underdressed! It turned out to be grad nite. All these lovely hopeful young men and women brought back memories for me. I do remember how it felt to have your whole life ahead of you, rife with possibility.

lalala; I went the way of the bottle for a while but just couldn't justify the cost. Highlights are one thing - I can go two or three months in between - but all-over colour is a different story. I'm hoping I'll follow in my Mom's footsteps on this one - she's 75 and has that salt-and-pepper look which I regard as dignified.

Melissa: Thanks for reminding me of my old journals. I believe I have a stack of them somewhere and I like browsing through them, re-discovering foods that I enjoyed while I was still in loss mode. One thing that used to save me in the evenings when I wanted something crunchy (read potato chips) was corn bran cereal. A whole cup for 1 point!

Laurel: I don't think I could journal effectively on-line although I admire those of you who can. I like having the book in front of me - often carry it around in my briefcase if I'm travelling - to try to stay honest.

time to hit the in-basket. Later.

hello all,

we just found out that our darling eddie cat has a heart murmur - apparently this is not an entirely benign thing in an elderly cat. tomorrow he has to go in for an echocardiogram. i'm so sad. I love that pussycat.

seasaw - and all interested in hair coloring I do it myself. Very inexpensive ($3.50 per tube from the discount beauty suppy place) and comes out fine (though I sometimes wonder about the back of my head). Of course, I have short hair which makes it much easier. Now...if we all had our little photos showing we would all know who's hair is what length...hint...hint

and I also journal on an excel spreadsheet which I email back and forth to myself from home & work. just a compulsive journaller - probably one of the best things I do.

WW tonight. Hoping for a maintain, though a loss would be good because that would mean I could eat more points and still maintain, right? and more points is good.

i'll let you know tomorrow!

Laurel

Hi all-

Ah Tuesday. I can't believe I actually stayed within my points, drank my water, stayed off the hard stuff (diet coke) and exercised yesterday. Its been a while since things have clicked. It may be related to the fact that I snuck out of work a bit early to commune with the dog and don't have to go anywhere for the next two weeks. I am so happy!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways, Laurel: what's up with Eddie? Is he not feeling well or did you discover this at the vets? Yikes. I am hoping and wishing he gets better. The older they get the more they endear themselves to you. Our cat will be 15 in September and I had to coax her to come in last night, she is cavorting with other cats and hanging out under cars. What a little pain.

thanks for all the hints on haircolouring. I'm just not sure I need it, though the woman who cuts my hair when I'm in London thinks it would be fun and she is very talented. I'm not sure I can afford $500/rt touch ups more than 2x a year. If you start calculating how much money we spend on salon treatments (haircare, nail care and estheticians) its pretty scarey. I must say, I'm not a particularily girly girl, but I do not have the patience to wax my own legs and do indulge in
every 6 week pedicures. Yikes.

seesaw: I too ran into a bunch of grads and thought much the same thing. Gosh, sometimes I feel 18 and the rest of my life is ahead of me. I'm only 36, so I figure I have a good 50 years of
craziness to go. I hope to be a goal by then .

I couldn't imagine running in heat and humidity, but I'll be in San Diego in a few weeks and I'll get my chance. Take it easy, okay?

Okay, off to make pretty maps and quality check data.

sigh.

lala

Hello to all - have a little time to reply finally.

Seasaw - as far as getting back/staying on track - I am pretty faithful with regards to exercise & my water. Most of my problem area involves the evening hours after supper, where I tend to wander into the kitchen supposedly "hungry" when actually I'm either bored or just want the taste of something. I'm sure you're not that off track, but don't try to do everything all at once - you've got the exercise down, maybe next work on journalling or getting your water in. Keep adding things & pretty soon you'll be back OP. I semi-regularly go "shopping" to get that great feeling of being able to try things on & feel great about it (just trying it on helps even if I don't buy anything).

My two cents on the hair coloring discussion - I am thankful I don't have any gray hairs yet, especially since I will be 41 in a few months. My hair is medium-to-dark brown with natural gold & red hightlights in it. I have three older sisters to gauge my future in gray, & none have any (or no more than 2-3) & my mom who is 78 is only about 40-50% gray. I have always wanted to be a blonde, but never wanted to have the dreaded dark roots & the constant maintenance.

Well, my WW meeting is tomorrow & I'm hoping for a loss. I have been quite diligent this week & hope to be back in my comfort zone.

The weather is supposed to be wonderful & warm here the rest of the week - people complain that it's too hot, but I try to hold my tongue - I keep saying, "it could be January, it could be January."

I'll try & check in tomorrow.
Katie
191.8/146.8/153WW/personal goal 142-145/dream goal-under 140

Yes, we've made it to Wednesday. (What would you do if you didn't have me to remind you of what day it is? )

LM - I so admire people who colour their own hair and do a good job of it. I am pretty much remedial in this area - still cannot properly apply make-up. I guess I have finally accepted that I will have to pay others to do it for me (hair, at least). My sister colours hers at home too but quite honestly, it sometimes appears a bit brassy. How did your weigh-in go? Hope Eddie's OK.

lalala - I had a good day too on Monday. Yesterday, different story. Today - back on track. You made me with the comment about 50 years to get to goal.

kt - Good advice on getting back on track. I have been journalling so far this week, and getting enough water. I think exercising in this tremendous heat wave is making me more conscious about staying hydrated. Whatever works.

Melissa - Where were you yesterday? Perhaps enjoying a nice day off?

My sister, DH and I are heading to Prince Edward Island to meet another sister and her partner for the long Canada Day weekend. We're staying at a golf resort - two of the five will likely golf and the rest of us will spend time ducking. Will do some running and lots of biking too.

Have a good day guys.

hello everyone.

We took Eddie to the vet this morning for his echocardiogram. He meowed piteously all the way there. No he wasn't sick, just went in for his annual exam last week, when the murmur was discovered. He has slowed down considerably over the last year or two which I attributed to old age, but apparently this may be a contributing factor. I'm a nervous wreck. I don't like when bad things happen to Eddie, as has happened a few times in the past. I think he's used up many of his lives already - at least 5 or 6. He is the baby of the family (we have no actual human children.) Oy vey. Can't start weeping at work again.

On a lighter note, last night's weigh in ..... lost another 1.5 #!!!! And girls I was trying to maintain, i.e. eat a few more points per day. So this week I just must eat more (smiling) because at my WW anyway, they have a rule that you have to be within 2# of your goal weight in either direction by week 6 of maintenance (next week for me) in order to get lifetime status. So I wouldn't want to pay for an extra week because I lost too much weight, now would I!! This is so funny. When I was trying to lose weight, 3 pounds took months...Last night I came home and promptly ate some ice cream - doctor's orders after all!!! gotta enjoy it while it lasts...

But enough about me. How's everybody else today? Seesaw, ducking as in avoiding golfballs or looking for quackers? KT - you go girl, let us know about the weigh-in. lala you also go girl with that staying on program!

re: beauty treatments - i wouldn't color if I didn't feel i had too. I'm very gray - hate it. now this waxing business is intriguing. Never had that done - seems so...personal (as well as painful). but with the bathing suit season coming and I might actually get into one for the first time in a zillion years, I think it might be necessary if you know what I mean. any advice in that department? shaving doesn't work so well for the "bikini zone". (don't you love the subject matter considering that we are on the internet with millions of potential viewers?!)

see you all later

L.

Laurel: Ducking as in avoiding golf balls. I could do the other kind in my backyard but we've pretty much sworn off chasing ducks. It confuses the dogs....

Seasaw

Hi everyone!

Seasaw: No, I wasn't off yesterday...it was on the busy side getting caught up on things and going through paperwork. We have a little breather because the next orientation isn't until July 8-9 and so I'm trying to work ahead.

Laurel: Congrats on the loss! I have my meeting today at noon and am really hoping to have some sort of a loss. I've really been making an effort to get my water in and journal, even on days when I don't want to write what I've eaten. Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

RE: Beauty treatments I've had my highlighted a while back but haven't done anything since. I used to use Natural Instincts to tone down the brassiness of my hair (caused by the sun) but haven't messed with it. I have a few errant gray hairs that annoy me but other than that for the most part you can't tell they're there.

It's a warm, humid day here in PA and I'm not looking forward to going outside over lunch. I am looking forward to going to my meeting and getting some more motivation

I'll give everyone an update later on how my weigh in goes.

Good morning.

I'm happy to report that I had another good day, went to the gym, drank all my water and ate sensibly. I even managed to mow our back lawn which saw quite the ravages from our house painting. We even picked a few raspberries and cherries. Okay raspberry year, good cherry year and it will be an excellent kiwi and pear year.

I have new resolve. I want to have a smaller body, I'm already a munchkin, but I want to have very sculpted arms. I guess that means weight training.

beauty torture: I wax for some strange reason. I'm a dark haired girl and I think its helping some, but its very expensive. I usually don't do the bikini, but they use a different wax up there. I don't do anything strange. I just wear my normal undies. I also really trust my esthetician. She is very skilled, intelligent and hygenic. I go about every 5 weeks, the last week and half, I usually don't wear shorts in public except at the gym.

I'm still debating color. I don't think I can consciously remember my mother's natural haircolor, so you see where my people are coming from.

Laurel:wtg on the loss. you go girl! I hope the vet gave you some good suggestions on eddie. I agree, we have no children, so our dog and cat are it.

seesaw: I'm still hoping to do a trip to eastern canada. I think we're going to the Queen Charlottes for a few days this summer, but only if its a good crab tide. It just takes so long to get there. Have fun dodging golf balls- think of it as good ab crunches.

Melissa and kt: good luck on the weigh-in. I'm due for one on saturday am - 7 am. can you believe it. The meeting is full.

Anyone heard from miss austin gal? Probably testing out a patent somewhere.

see youse all later.

lala

Hi gang! I'm happy to report I'm down a whole .4!! I'm excited because this is the week just before TOM and generally I post some sort of a gain so I'm happy with this. Anyway, on the downside, next week I'll miss my normal meeting because it's the 4th of July...I'm trying to figure out how the heck I'm going to get to a meeting. The one I attend is the only noon meeting they offer. I know for sure I don't want to weigh in at night I may just see if I can squeeze in a 10 a.m. meeting on Tuesday.

What's everyone doing for the holiday? I know several of you are Canadians and you have Canada Day on the 1st. Do you have a plan of action? I'd love to hear how everyone is going to celebrate.