Hi girls!

What a cool, crisp windy fall day we had here today. Loads of sunshine and nice cool temps. One of those very rare "fall" days for this part of Texas. We have a very small "window" for fall, and it looks like this is it. Would be wonderful if we could have a little of the cool stuff for the wedding - in just 10 days from tomorrow! :eek:

Jan - Yep, I am the official dog-sitter while the kids are in St. Thomas. We plan to board him the day of the wedding (just too much confusion going on at dd's house) and I can't pick him up until Monday morning. He will probably be really mad at me when I go get him! But he's so sweet - he will forgive me, I'm sure. You have done so well with your weight loss - I am sure you will be able to wear that dress! But it probably wouldn't hurt to get it out and hang it in a prominent place - just as a reminder to be "very good"!

Joyce - I got such a lovely little surprise from you today! Thank you for thinking about me - even the little box was decked out! It was so sweet of you! Thanks again! No rare beanie baby finds? I sure don't see them as much around here like they used to be. Does the company still make new ones? Seems I remember they have stopped production. Your Chili Supper brings back such nice memories for me! My Dad was always a member of the Brotherhood in my childhood church and every October they would sponser the chili supper. I can remember how we kids used to run & play in the Parish Hall & how they always had Christmas crafts to entertain us! Gosh - THAT was a good many years ago!

Carol - I am gearing up into wedding mode again and making pew bows. Took a sample over to dd's tonight to get it "blessed" before I make 17 more of them! Hopefully I have enough ribbon - don't have a lot of days left to get over to the floral supply place if I am short. Drove over to the local newspaper this afternoon to fianlly get an engagement pic in - photographer just brought me the b&w glossies last night. Still no color pics but he assures me they will be done BEFORE the rehearsal! We will do seating charts this week-end and print the place cards. Looks like we will have about 150 coming - a bit more than I wanted but not as bad as it could have been considering all the invites that went out! DD's step-mom has finally completed the wedding programs. That should be almost all the big stuff. STill have to wrap a few gifts - but can't do so until I get the darn engagement picture prints to go into the frames (which are the parent/grandparent gifts). As far as the kids squabbling this close to the big day - the fact that future sil works from 3-11 p.m. & dd works days keeps them apart a lot. She's asleep when he comes home and he's asleep when she leaves for work. Probably a very good thing right now. :lol:

Janet - Have you disappeared again??? I was just getting used to hearing from you on a regular basis. Perhaps your dd took back her computer??!!

Liinda - Congrats on winning first place - and with a dessert, no less! Also even bigger congrats are due because you didn't use it as an excuse to heavily indulge in the first place winner! Way to go!

Rebecca - How's it going for you? Are you able to stay back on the program? I know how difficult it is - and I sure do get discouraged too. But this group is a wonderful source of support. You just hang in there!

Saara - I sure hope we haven't lost you. Everytime I see one of the decorated cows around town I think about your trip last summer when you first saw them. There was even a decorated cow outside the newspaper office this afternoon and there was one in my bank lobby last week-end. It's fun to see them "pop" up when you aren't really looking for them. They will be on display another couple weeks then will be auctioned off for charity.

Gotta scoot, ladies. Maybe I have time to make a couple bows before bedtime. *See* you later.

Thanks so much for the vote of confidence, Carol, JOYce and Texaslady! That really helped! I'm absolutely determined now to make it happen. Stayed op today, and dh and I just walked 2 miles as fast as we could.

Carol, I'm so sorry that those planes are keeping you awake! I know how that is; we used to live right by the runway at Carswell, a SAC base (strategic air command) where they kept planes in the air 24 hours. Not easy to sleep through all that! How is your back doing these days? Hope the sleeplessness isn't aggravating that. Glad to hear the weather is great; how I loved those New England autumns, when we lived in Mass.!

JOYce, way to go on all the walking at the swap meet! Thanks for the inspirational messages, too; you are so thoughtful. DH and I are really enjoying the flag pins; everyone asks about them.

Texaslady, how lucky your dd is to have such a talented mom! And so organized, too; I'm sure that with all you've done ahead, you and your dd will be able to relax and thoroughly enjoy the day of the wedding. You'll have to tell us all about it. I'm really curious about what a pasta bar is, too; have never seen that done. It sounds like a great idea, very versatile and healthy.

Dh and I went to S.A. last night, and I went to my Oct. ww mtg. (Think I'll try to go every week for a while, esp. since it's free, finally.) My favorite leader was there; she's kept 80 lbs off for 20 years, and she puts a lot of energy into her meetings.

Linda, everyone is fascinated by the flag pin you made! I can just see the wheels turning as they try to figure out how to make one like it.

Janet, didn't you say you'd gone back to meetings? Do you have a good leader?

Rebecca, hope things are going well for you too.

Saara, please don't disappear, now! We miss you. Beth, I know how busy the school year gets, but drop in and say hi when you can.

Regards,
Jan

Good Morning Everyone! Just thought I would post a little note here before I begin my exercising, cleaning, etc., etc. that takes me away from the computer. Anyway, thank you all for your kind words of encouragement, I seem to have found my determination back. I want to succeed at this, and I am determined to do just that. I weighed in yesterday and lost 3 pounds. :D So I got rid of those nasty pounds added and dropped a little more. Yeah!!

Texaslady- Have fun with all the wedding stuff. You sound like a busy lady!!

Jan- Sounds like you are in a groove. Way to get those two miles in! You go girl!

Well, I am gonna go ride my bike. You all have a great day and a wonderful weekend.

xstitch :cool:

Yay, Rebecca, 3 pounds gone forever! Way to go!

HI
 

HI all... I have exactly 60 pounds to lose, well now, 59.

Elaine

Hi Elaine! Welcome to the group; so glad you joined in. So, sounds like you've already lost a pound and are on your way; that's great! Tell us more about yourself? Are you on the ww program?

Had another op day today, and walked 2 miles; dh even joined me again, sure hope that keeps happening. Linda, you asked before and I forgot to answer; dh had stopped journaling and plateaued, but he started again a few days ago, and seems more interested in it now.

Tried a braised redfish recipe (in apple cider) last night, from Jane Brody's "Good Seafood Book." I'd never cooked fish that way before, but it's definitely a keeper! Will try to post it asap under recipes.

And tomorrow's Friday! Whew. What does everyone plan to do this weekend?

Regards,
Jan

Welcome Elaine! Good to have you aboard. I guess you already have seen that you can get great encouragement on this thread. I've made some wonderful friends.

Well, I can't say that I was exactly OP today. I went to tea with Linda and 4 other ladies from church. We had such a fun time, we probably laughed and talked some of the extra points away. :lol:

My plans for the weekend are all for me!! there is a 3 day Doll/ceramic/craft show at our fairgrounds, and I signed up for seminars for all 3 days. I'll do some airbrushing, glass fusing, and ceramic sculpture. I'm really loving doing things with glass, so am really looking forward to those 2 seminars. I'll be sitting all day tomorrow, no walking;, on saturday I will only be there 1/2 day because gotta help get the girls going on cleaning house, their weekly chores. but on Sunday I will have class in the morning and walk the show in the afternoon.

dh had a gruesome time at the dentist today, dealing with a tooth that is close to abcessing, he was in great pain tonight.:cry:

texaslady, I'm sorry the little box got trashed, it was only an afterthought, I thought it would protect the pins. que sera`
WOW, just barely a week til the big wedding huh!

I almost forgot! hehehehe! dh was eating dinner yesterday, and started tellig us about a Cancer prevention survey they had at work ...he was shocked that he is supposed to eat 5-7 servings of fruits and veggies every day!! I don't know where he has been!
He was sorry to hear that chips and nuts don't count in that category!! :lol: only kidding about that part.

Thanks for the welcome Jan and Joyce.

I am not officially on weight watchers... but essentially following that plan.

I am justing starting.. and so far.. so good.. I also go to OA because I have compulsive eating issues. I lost the weight before but didnt' deal with that.. so this time I am working on all aspects of my food problems: bad eating habits and a compulsion to eat too much.

I live in NYC, I am 43 years old, I work in Publishing, I am single, no children.. I play music seriously but it is not my profession. My other serious hobby is writing and I also exercise quite a bit.

My weekend plans all evolve around those things: tonight I will practice my fiddle... tomorrow I am playing music with another fiddler, Sunday I am going for a very long walk in CP with a friend who also plays music and then we are going to practice our music. I am afraid my Sunday friend has not dealt with her food issues... right now she is not overweight.. but being a recovered binge eater.. I can tell by the things she says that she is isolating herself and binge eating... I know I can't help her.. she has to want to change.. but I have decided that I will be very pro-active about where we eat after we walk and I WILL remain OP, irrespective of the pressure to "just have some this time".. nope.. no can do!

Thanks everyone,
Elaine

Hi Elaine! Sounds like you have a very healthy and fun weekend planned. It's great that you're being assertive re:eating out, and I agree, your friend will change only when she's ready. I guess we all have to hear that "click" that starts us on this journey. But maybe seeing you so determined to get healthy will help to inspire her! How cool that you play the fiddle! (I used to play violin in hs, but now just play piano.) What kind of music do you play?

JOYce, what a rare occurence, a weekend entirely for yourself! I know you'll enjoy those classes, and all that walking will be great too. So sorry to hear that your DH is having so much pain with his dental problems; can't they give him some painkillers? Poor guy! Re: the box you sent Texaslady, I don't think it got trashed at all; she said it was "all decked out," our way of saying decorated lavishly.

I posted that fish recipe under its category, btw. Oh, and I tried the bocaburger brand of breakfast vegetarian sausage patties today; they were great, and only 1 pt each. Stayed op again today, but it was hard. I really, really wanted a second glass of wine tonight after dinner, but it would have put me over, so I went for another walk instead. Told myself I'd have it after the walk if I still wanted it, but felt so good after walking that I didn't want anything but lots of ice water.

Btw, if you get the Home and Garden Channel (HGTV), at 7 eastern time this Sunday, they are going to show our local ghost town, Helena. We'll have to have another reunion down here so I can take y'all on a tour!

Hi to Carol, Texaslady, Linda, Janet, Rebecca, Saara, and Beth; have a great weekend!
Regards,
Jan

Good morning everyone! Are you all ready for the weekend? I sure am!! DD,sil and little sweetie are going to PA to visit exdh's brother and wife, so the dogs and I will have the place to ourselves! Now if I could just get them to take the dogs....but I guess not! :lol:
Elaine, welcome to our little group! My daughter has a BA in music, and is slowly but surely working on her masters, but that part has been put on hold- she has a near 2 year old and another on the way. Piano and organ are her primary instruments, although she can play a number of others- not the violin, though. Good luck on your weight loss journey- this is a very supportive group, and we've gotten each other through some rough times! I grew up in Philly and used to get to New York periodicaly, but haven't been there in years. Your beautiful city and it's people are in all our thoughts and prayers daily, I know. I have a friend who, like yours, is sort of wishy-washy about her weight loss- which is fine, because we all know noone else can make you lose weight. The poblem is that when she's off her plan she wants me to do the same!! Misery loves company I guess! I still need to drop about 25 pounds, but the 97 I've lost were too hard fought to blow them to please a friend!
Texaslady, I hope your beautiful fall weather holds out one more week!! I can't wait to see pictures of the event! After being through the planning stages with you, I think it will be such fun to see the results of all your hard work! Just make sure you don't run yourself into the ground this week so you can enjoy the celebration! It's probably good that dd and her dh to be work different shifts! My dd actually moved back with us the last few weeks before the wedding "so we don't kill each other"!
Janet, it sounds like you're really back in the groove with your walking and tracking of your points. But remember you're at goal- although not quite where you personally want to be- and don't get too carried away!! We don't want a good stiff Texas wind to blow you away!;)
Rebecca, congratulations on your refound determination, and on that wonderful 3 pound loss!! :D The bike riding is helping too, I know! Wish I could exercise- it's so frustrating to have the doctor gining the :nono: to things I want to do!
Well, ladies, I'd better run- I promised dd I'd run out and get her some bananas to take on the trip for little sweetie this morning, so I need to kick it in gear! Hi to all, and have a great weekend.
Carol

Welcome, Elaine!
 

Glad to have you in our group, Elaine! Sounds like you are very determined; that's what takes the weight off--that and lots of perseverance! I think it is neat that you play the fiddle. I used to play a mandolin and when I was in college I played guitar in a little bluegrass band. I sold my guitar years and years ago, but still have my mandolin (brought to me by my Great Aunt when she took a trip to Greece back in the 60's), which is on display in our dining room. Anyway, stick to your resolve about not overeating along with your walking friend-I'm pulling for you!

Jan, you are so good to be doing so much walking. And I'm glad that your DH is back to journalling, that is so important. I'm afraid that my DH and I got away from journalling, and have lost some previously-gained ground -- we are back OP as of tonight, and I know I can take these last few pesky pounds off again.

Beth, good for you, losing three pounds! Wow, that is amazing. Keep up the good work, and please keep posting regularly.

Make it a great Sunday, everyone!

Happy Monday!
I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was nice and peaceful with everyone gone. I got a lot of chores and errands done, and made a Trader Joe's run. There's a new Kashi cereal called "Heart to Heart"- had anyone tried it? Sort of like Cheerios.
Linda, I didn't realize you played the mandolin in college! You are such a multi-talented lady!
Jan, I looked up your redfish recipe- it sounds wonderful!!
Elaine, how did your weekend go? Were you able to steer your friend in the right direction for eating after your walk in CP?
Janet, it was good to talk to you last night! Stop on in here and say hi to us!
Texaslady, you passed through my mind many times over the weekend- I know you must be absolutely swimming in chores! Less than a week to go now! It seems like it came around so quickly!
Hi to Joyce, Beth, Rebecca and Saara. I hope you all are braced for another work week.
It's almost 4:30- I'd better run and start getting ready for work. Have a good op day, everyone!
Carol

Gee, thanks everybody!

I did really well with food this weekend, and my friend was surprisingly supportive.

Someone up there asked what music I play... I play a little mish-mosh of everything.. but mostly jazz, swing and some bluegrass. I like Bluegrass.. but I prefer for it to lean more to the country-swing side of things.

Thanks also for the warm comments about NYC. It has been a very difficult month, to say the least. Needless to say.. I did not stick to my food plan very well that week... on the other hand.. none of us really had a precedent for how to not binge during an air raid!

I weigh-in on Thursday, what about you guys. Also, what food plan are you on... WW?, and what are your goals, and, where are you now?

Hugs,
Elaine
204/199/135

Hi Elaine! So glad the weekend went well, and that your friend was so supportive. I'm sure you'll see some great results on Thursday! Tuesday is my usual day, though since I have to travel so far to any WW meeting, I sometimes go on Sat. I'm a lifetime member, but am trying to go weekly as I'd like to lose a little more, below my ww goal of 155. Highest wt was 256, personal goal, 144 or so.

Carol, sounds like you had a relaxing weekend! I envy you having Trader Joe's so close. My little sister lives around the corner from one in Scottsdale; with fares so low, I ought to go out for a weekend visit and take an extra suitcase for groceries! ;) I haven't seen that new Kashi, but will look for it. Did you like it better than Good Friends cereal?

Linda, I know you'll be back at goal in no time; how wise of you to go right back op at the first sign of a gain! You set such a great example for us all. I didn't know you played mandolin! I used to have a cheap version of one in college, but never could get the hang of it, so played guitar instead.

JOYce, how did your classes go? Is glass-fusing where you make beads and such with the blow-torch, like my sister does, or is it something else?

Texaslady, looks like the weather's going to cooperate with you next weekend; will keep my fingers crossed! I know you must be incredibly busy right now, but check back with us when you can catch your breath!

We had a nice, quiet weekend, doing chores, lesson plans, and such. Am working on stuff for our upcoming Indian Summer Festival (in that ghost town I mentioned, where our county museum is). It's Nov. 3, just two weeks, so I'm kind of rushed. Will have to remind myself to make time for walking, etc. as Dad's party is under 5 weeks away now!

Hope everyone had a great Monday! Hi to Rebecca, Janet, Beth, and Saara!
Regards,
Jan

Hi girls - just ducking in for a quick minute! You are all absolutely correct - I have been running around like a madwoman. I finally got all the pew bows made - they are SO pretty! Right now they are all over my sofas - between them & the centerpieces everywhere, this house will look positively "naked" after Thurs when we deliver everything to the country club.

Just wanted to say Welcome to Elaine! It's so nice to have a new member around! I am from just outside Houston & am 56 & divorced. My one & only child is getting married this coming Saturday and we are having a big, fancy wedding. I have lost 75 pounds on the WW program. I have pretty much strayed from the program but I haven't gained anything back & I count that as a positive move. ONE OF THESE DAYS I will get it all together again and lose this last 40 pounds. Sounds like you have the proper mind-set - now you just have to keep on keeping on!

Joyce - Jan was right. The little box wasn't "trashed" - guess it's just one of those "texas" phrases. It made the trip just fine & they are so cute! I love them. Have fun with your dolls.

Jan - Glad to see you are walking again. The weather was so nice for a while - now it's inching up hotter everyday & the humidity is back. We all have our fingers crossed for good weather next week-end - sounds like we will get a front thru on Wed & Thurs & then it will clear up & be very cool - at least for us! Just give me lots of sunshine - I really dread having to move everything around in the rain.

Carol - Haven's seen the new Kashi, but I will look for it. Always looking for a new yummy snack - that's how I eat it since I can't have the milk :( Glad you had a nice week-end. How are you feeling these days? How's Janet doing? I miss her posts.

Linda - Was one of those little pins from you or were they both from Joyce? It was so sweet of you to think about me. You have done so well staying at your goal range - I think you have figured out that it's a lot easier to lose 5 pounds than 50!

Gotta go & do some place cards. We have the seating assignments done but I am waiting on a floor plan of the tables from the country club before I actually number the tables. We have these cute little soft gold frames to hold the place cards - it is pure heck trying to fit the cardstock in those little frames! I bet I throw a couple away in a fit of rage before I finish! Still need to wrap some of the bridal party gifts - still waiting for the darn pictures to arrive so I can put them in the frames before wrapping! He's got 3 more days to get them here - or I will lose my cool for sure.

Rebecca - Congrats on the loss! Way to go, girl!

I don't know if I will check in again before Saturday - I will be off
work starting Wed but there are still so many little odds & ends to take care of. I know you will all be thinking of me - I wish you were here so you could come, too! Wish us luck & good weather!