me again,
great to read all your posts! i posted a poll so you girls can mark your relationship situation and we can see just how grown-up this thread is getting!!
argh. just about to type to you guys and boss wants me to do work. what's that all about?
best go. back tomorrow (possibly hungover as i've got a ticket to some PR launch tonight - i do hope they have bubbles!).
kirsty

Hi girls!

Boy, is it busy today! Welcome back from your trip, Kirsty! Where did Lolly go on her honeymoon? I can't remember if it's been mentioned.

I probably shouldn't be writing on here today because I procrastinated all day yesterday and my editor is coming down on me about deadlines. No fun. I stayed at work until about 10:45 p.m. last night, although I did leave for an hour and go swimming at the gym. I did laps for a whole 30 minutes (mostly the crawl and about 5 minutes of water jogging), which I was pretty proud of.

Jen: Yay on the boy! Good luck!

Lisa: You look wonderful!

Jess: I hope your day is getting better! Sounds like you need a little pampering to destress yourself. Go get a pedicure! And I hope BF's job problems work out.

Tonya: I'm glad you'll be able to see your hubby more again soon! My BF — oops, fiance — has been working nights and Sundays since October 2000. I know I've whined before about only seeing him Friday nights and Saturdays. I still whine. Since we've been back from Florida, I've hardly seen him at all. I fear I'll be doing all the planning for the wedding myself. I'm a bit irked at him at the moment because I thought we were going to have lunch today and I called him and he was already fixing himself lunch. Grrr. We're planning on going to a jazz festival at a winery Saturday, so hopefully that will make up for not seeing him or hardly talking to him this week.

Hi Belle! See, it can happen. Even I was starting to doubt it. Don't fret too much about maintaining ... at least you're not going up! Is there an exercise you can do, like swimming? That's pretty low-key.

Yikes, I better run. Hi to Lexxy and Becky and anyone about to post!

PS I'm doing WW myself, with the help of eTools. (A friend gave me her code so I could sign up. The online journal and Points calculator helps me a lot) I'm recording my weight every Wednesday, and this morning the scale was hovering between 185 and 186, so I'm calling it 185.6. That's 3 pounds in about 2 weeks!

work's not going so great...

A couple things... my girlfriends and I get together every couple months and one of us makes dinner at our place.

So, it's my turn and I actually have a nice dinner planned that should run about 10 points, excluding drinks and dessert. Not bad at all.

So - one of my friends emails the group and says "I just got 4 fondue pots - can I bring them and we can have a fondue night?"

Before I could respond all 7 girls emailed back saying how great that sounds. I am freaking out now. I checked online and 1/2 cup of cheese fondue is 12 points. Just for 1/2 cup. And she was talking about having cheese fondue and chocolate fondue for dessert.

This spells complete and utter disaster for me.

I was brave and emailed the group saying "That sounds great, but as you all know I've been working on getting to my goal weight, and fondue isn't the best choice for me. I'll be making chicken with caramelized onions, mashed potatoes and green bean almondine. I hope that still sounds good to y'all."

So the girl that suggested the fondue, emailed the whole group back and said "That sounds delicious! And I completely understand .... you look great. I'll bring the fondue then for anyone who wants it though."

AGGGHHHH. So I'm making dinner and it looks like she's bringing the fondue for the people who do want it. But I'm freaking because it will be there. And just a tiny taste will add up for points. Should I email her back and ask that she not bring it at all... or should I battle and see if I can overcome the situation using my will-power. I'm just afraid I won't have the willpower!

Sorry for the long letter....


Jen - good to see you're still here too. I missed you also! That's awesome news about the guy!

Tonya - 10 pounds to lose - awesome. You can do it. So what if it takes time... better late than never. I saw a sneak preview of ya-ya. Great movie!!!!

Belle - sorry to hear about the injury. That definately doesn't help. I'd be happy to maintain during an injury - I hope you get better very soon!

Winter... sorry about your Wings.... I'm an Avs fan, so I couldn't believe last Friday's game. I have NO IDEA what happened. I'm still bitter so I'm rooting for the Canes.

lexxy - thanks. I'd love to see pictures of your progress. It's always inspiring to see others doing well, I always think "I can do that too!"

Grace - when is your wedding? congratulations. good luck with WW this week.

Okay ladies.... see you soon.

Lisa

lisa - email your friend (not the whole group) and ask her (really nicely of course) to not bring the fondue and save it for when it's her turn to have you girls over. make out that you've already bought a lot of stuff in. and you're worried that it will go to waste. if she really has to bring it, then tell her to just bring one (whatever is lower in points). say the chocolate one and then get lots and lots of fruit to dip in it and go easy on the dipping. you might be able to get low-fat fondue stuff? anyone know??
kim - lolly and her husband (hee hee - it sounds so weird!) have gone to edinburgh (scotland). hope it's raining less up there than it is in london today.
kirsty

Hey, could someone do me a great big favor? I don't have my Points Finder here and would like to know the points for this bag of Skittles that I'm going to eat (regardless of the point info)?

Here's the nutritional info: 240 calories, fat 2.5, fiber 0

Thanks guys...

I'll be back later to write some responses...

Jess,

I don't have my points finder.... but I'm about 95% sure that that would run about 5 points.

(When in doubt, if there's no fiber, 50 cal = 1 point) It's an estimate, but helps when there's no points finder!

Kim, we posted at the same time it seems... good for you last night. I've been swimming in the mornings. What a work-out. My gym just finished up our pool. We've been waiting on it for years. I go to the gym at least 5 times a week, and I'm telling you, swimming wears me out!!!! You'll have to tell me more about water jogging..... sounds interesting.

Lisa

Good guess Lisa, they are 5 points.

KT - at least you guys talk marriage, my b/f tells me "I love you Poopie...." then comes "I am not ready to get married or anything..." so I know he isn't there at all.

My friend gave me some excellent advice. She said you know youi are ready for marriage when you know your life will go on without the other person, but you don't want it to. That is real love, not infatuation, lust, etc. I think that makes a lot of sense to me. I think I am there with my b/f - I know I have a life wihtout him, I could get on and pick myself up if we broke up, but I want him to be part of my life. He enhances my life.

Kiminey!! Good for you working out and beign OP - you are inspiring!! Yes, I can swim in 4 more weeks - my arm is not healed either, so I can't really do much until I am healed, then I can start recovery. So maybe at the end of June I can start again. But I am not going to quit WI b/c I do think I might gain if not for being accountable. You know what I mean?? I am so happy for you and b/f. did you love your ring???


Lisa - Jess' advice is good - I have been in the same fondue boat as you are. But really, its your turn to cook, so you should be able to choose themenu! I would call/email this girl too....if you have to have one, get the chocolate and dip very little, getting mostly fruit. It won't be as bad. Let us know how it goes!!

Belle

Hey Jess ... Skittles are 5 points.

Lisa: I agree with what Kirsty said. I think it's not a bad idea to ask her to just bring ONE and find some low-fat chocolate to dip. Think strawberries with just an eensy bit of chocolate on them!

Kirsty: My grandmother is from Edinburgh! (she lives in Connecticut now, but much of her family is still there) I visited there when I was 4. My family has a funeral home there. Creepy!

Belle: I LOVE my ring. I have a photo if anyone wants to see it. My mom took pictures to email to my grandma.

Funny story ... my grandma took the train from Connecticut to Florida (!!!) to visit my mom. She told me today that everyone around her now knows about the wedding and even how he proposed. Yeesh. I think she's a little excited.

But like we've talked about, guys ask when they're ready. I really didn't think Brian was ever going to, and I had almost resigned myself to having a "big talk" with him if we came back from Florida and no ring. But of course that didn't have to happen. And I'm actually at a loss about what to bug him about these days. No more daily "When do I get my ring?"

Wow - is this thread ever busy today.

Belle - I know your concerned because you've been maintaining instead of losing for a month but I really think that considering your injuries that is an incredible accomplishment.

Lisa - I second Kristy's suggestion on how to handle the fondue. Truly a diplomatic and gracious way to handle situation.

Belle - I love the advice your friend gave you about marriage. I'm going to keep it in mind. Although, I probably need to meet a guy that I'd like to date before I start wondering about getting married!

Well, I nailed my interview this morning. If I don't get a call back for a 2nd interview, I'll just have to conclude that the hiring managers are dunderheads. This job and I are PERFECT for each other.

Haven't been doing so well on the food front. When I went off in search of a mint, I found a donut instead. And then even though I was up a 1 lb at WI, I went and "found" fries and a burger for lunch. And these were not the small fries and small burger! I'm now at war with myself about whether to get back on track with a small salad for dinner or just call the day lost and have a slice of the pizza that I'm craving. I hate days like this. I'm hoping that the day passes quickly so I can go home, crawl into bed, obtain willpower while sleeping, and have a great OP day tomorrow.

Later,

Winter

Oh my gosh, it's been a busy day today! Thanks to everyone who offered comfort during my crappy day and to everyone who told me the points info for those wonderful Skittles. I hate to use 5 poitns on a snack, but they were totally worth it.

OK, so here's what's going on... BF went and talked to his boss and got his job back. Basically all that happened was that he's been late 4 times and they fired him for it, which I personally think is a bunch of crap. He's the best darn guard they have (and by far the cutest, but maybe I'm biased) and they don't fire the ones who are lazy and he pointed that out. His boss apparently agreed that it's a bunch of crap and gave him his job back. This makes me SO happy. He had all these big plans and if he lost his job, he wouldn't be able to do much with his future, so this is a big relief.

I'm in a better mood about that, but people here at work are just getting on my nerves! Good thing I have you guys!!

One thing that drastically improved my day is that I booked my cruise today. So there's no getting out of it now. I just wish that it was sooner than December. But this way I have time to tan and reach goal before I go.

Lisa--It's good to have you back! Know what? I have the very same dress as the one in the middle picture. I should have never bought it. My boobs are too big for it. I didn't think it looked that bad, but I wore it to a wedding and apparently my breasts were the topic of conversation after I left. You look so good in your final picture, I can only imagine how AWESOME you must look now!

JenK--Oh my gosh, that is SO cool about the boy. I bet he couldn't stop thinking about you the entire time he was there and now that he's coming back, he can't wait to see you and I'm not kidding, I think I hear wedding bells. OK, maybe that's a little over the top... I'm a desperately hopeless romantic...

Tanya--Yikes, your hubby had to do crappy shifts for 2 months? Ick, I'm sorry to hear that...

Belle--No, I don't live with BF. (If I did, he'd always be to work on time because I'm a naggy girlfriend. ) And, thank heavens I'm not the only one gaining (not that I'd wish gaining on anyone). Bladder infection? Oh, icky. I had a bunch of those awful things right in a row for some reason about a year ago. Hope that clears up for you!! Also, a suggestion for you, since you've been maintaining, try fluctuating your points--realy low one day, then high, then low again, then banked and so on--my mom had the same problem, then started losing when she tried that...

oops, time to go. Will respond more tomorrow.