Biggest Loser 8 Fall Challenge -- for losers and maintainers!

[lisah0711]

You are so right about the pounds piling on. I guess thats how I got to this point in the first place. I'll just have to work a little harder a little longer.

I hope everyone is starting to feel better.

Anyone want to explain how to multiquote? I can't get it to work for some reason. Maybe I'm forgetting a step?

After you've signed in you will see a little box with a + sign in it next to the Quote box in the right hand corner of a post. Click on the + box and it will change color. Go through and do that to all the posts that you want to multi-quote and then reply using the box in the bottom left hand corner of the screen.

Go through and type your answers. Remember each quote has to start with [QUOTE (username);number]whatever they said and end with [/QUOTE] (quote is in caps but the html editor is changing it for the display) or it will end up looking funny.

After I've done my multiquote post I always copy everything in my post before I hit submit reply. Sometimes after I've spent some time with a post and hit submit the system asks me to log in again and it looks like you've lost everything. Just enter your username again and press on. You ususally will not have lost your info -- but if you did just start a new post Control V (Paste) and it's all okay!

Hope that helped!

 

[mullysisters]

hi all, I've had a bit of a bug and lots of extra work including court cases.
I've been reading all the posts but no time/energy to post myself.
Great questions OTD!
Next day off is Thursday, I hope to catch up then.

Handling compliments? I dont very well and usually make a self-deprecating joke.
Insults? These really hurt, but less than when I was younger (I'm getting a thicker skin) I try to remember that people who would say these things are really saying more about themselves than they are about you.

It's one of "The Four Agreements", a really good read. Also I'm listening to "Stephen Covey - 7 Habits" and it's a great motivational read (or listen, in my case )

 

[pjlla]

Good morning to all you losers (and maintainers and gainers, of course ). Well.. I was up bright and early, got in my workout, threw in a load of laundry, hit the shower, and was just about to start my make up when the phone rang. They didn't desperately need me at work today and since I am feeling a bit poorly they offered me the day off! I took it. But both kids were feeling good enough for school (DD complained, but I left the choice up to her and she is at school). DS doesn't have any outward symptoms, but he would LOVE an excuse to stay home! DD is coughing a little bit, but no fever, no excess stuffiness, no headache, so she was good to go. The cold/flu season has JUST begun, so I hate to have them start missing days already! PLus DD has already missed a day and a half with bronchitis in early October.

My head is a bit achy and stuffy, but nothing drastic. I could have handled a day at school, but I couldn't pass up the offer of a day off unexpectedly! I have already done two loads of laundry, folded yesterday's three loads, loaded and run the dishwasher, fed the guinea pigs and cat, done my workout, showered, driven DD to school ( ), got chicken cooking to make a big batch of my curried chicken this week, and have crock pot dinner supplies laid out and ready to go, and made coffee for DH.... pretty good for just 9 am!!

Today's QOTD:

Are you at the point in life where you THOUGHT you'd be by this age? Not just weight, but financially, family-wise, educationally, etc.


Hard to say.... for many, many years I had a premonition that I wouldn't live past 30, so I never imagined myself as an older person. I'm pleased to say that I am WELL past 30 and going strong.

When I was younger I pictured myself having a very trendy and cosmopolitan style life, living in NYC, plenty of money to travel globally, working for a big designer, looking sharp, married to some crazy dark ethnic type (with long hair), with two adorable kids... not where I am exactly, but my life is GREAT!

My weight is FINALLY under control, so that is happiness in a nutshell lately! Financially.... well obviously I always pictured myself a bit WEALTHIER (who doesn't?), but we are stable, which is saying a lot in this economy. We have a house that has never had a late payment, two cars (one paid for LONG ago and one with just a few payments left), no outstanding credit card debt, no HELOCs or second mortgages, a bit saved for college (just a bit ), a decent retirement savings (would have been better than decent if it weren't for the crummy stock market lately), a bit saved for emergencies (again, just a bit.... need to work on that)... so I guess all is good there.

I am in a stable, happy marriage to a nice, normal, hard-working man (with very short hair and a pale Swede at that!) and I have two healthy, smart kids who I adore (and yes, they are ADORABLE!) So that is very much like I imagined... (except for the smart mouth on my teenager! ).

I did complete four years of college, but I have really NEVER worked in the field that I majored in (Fashion Marketing). I'm not even sure WHAT my dream job would be if I had limitless possibilities. Oh... I know... but Samantha Brown already has my job!!!

Overall I can't complain.... I'm not exactly where I pictured I would be, but life is good the way it is!


Here is the breakfast cookie recipe I offered yesterday. Don't let the VERY long list of ingredients scare you away.... they come together very quickly.
(BTW, if they look familiar, I KNOW I have posted this before... I just couldn't find it!)

Pamela's Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Cookies

1 1/4 C flour (10 pt)

1/2 C sugar (8 pt)

1/2 C Splenda (0 pt)

1/2 tsp. salt (0 pt)

1/2 tsp baking powder (0 pt)

1/2 C skim milk (1 pt)

1 Tb. soy flour (.75 pt)

1 Tb. water (0 pt)

6 Tb. Benefiber (0 pt)

1 tsp. cinnamon (0 pt)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla (0 pt)

2/3 C sugar free apple sauce (1.5 pt)

2 Tb. vegetable oil (6 pt)

2 C crushed Go-Lean/Go-Lean Crunch (1 c each = 5 pt)

1 apple, washed, cored, chopped

ROUNDS UP TO 34 PTS TOTAL

Combine wet ingredients in one bowl and dry in another (except apples). Combine wet and dry and fold in apple. Bake at 350° for 13-15 minutes on a cookie sheet coated with nonstick spray. This makes 20 cookies at 1.7 pts each. The cookies are very "wet" and must be kept in the fridge or they will mold quickly. I find them to be a bit sticky on the outside, but that doesn't bother me. Maybe they could be cooked a bit longer to dry them out bit more.

Modifications: I did make them another time with a combination of Fiber One cereal and Crunch Corn bran cereal, peach apple sauce, no oil, and soy milk instead of skim. They were just as good. This changed them to 1.3 pts each.

Obviously you can change this up a great deal, depending on your tastes and available ingredients. You could use raisins, shredded carrots, and different cereals. I gave you a break down of the points per ingredient so that you can make the necessary calculations as you change things. Use the recipe as just a "guideline" for making your own "cookies"!!

Sorry I don't have the NI for folks other than WW.

Well... I've been typing here on and off for a HOUR! (I hopped away for a phone call and got dinner in the crockpot while I talked!).... GTG.........P

 

[princessbride6205]

Today's QOTD:Are you at the point in life where you THOUGHT you'd be by this age? Not just weight, but financially, family-wise, educationally, etc.
No. LOL I'm not insanely far off, just different.
Family - I did expect to be married and I am. I expected to have kids in my late 20s, so our little Boo was about 3 years too early. I always wanted 2 children, but I think we're going to stop with one, and I'm happy with that.
Weight - I have always imagined that I will lose weight. Even when I haven't actively been on a plan, I've always thought, "I'll be thinner next year." That said, BL has gotten me a lot closer to where I want to be weight-wise.
Education - I got a Bachelor's Degree and that's all I planned on. I ended up changing majors several times and finally designed my own - definitely a different path but it got my the piece of paper! LOL
Financially - Did I envision more money? Of course, but our style of living isn't way below what I'd hoped. I do wish we had more money for travel/vacations. But mainly, I thought my salary would be a good deal higher. I chose the corporate route 5 years ago instead of following my lifelong dream to be a singer/actress. I thought this would give me job stability, security and a good paycheck. Well I work for a company that gives tiny raises and no raises with promotions. I feel like I got stuck here first by my pregnancy (I had started looking for work) and now by the economy. I do feel lucky to have a job, but I'm a manager in a rarely fulfilling job with an assistant-level salary. I appreciate the steady paycheck, so I'm toughing this out for a little longer and that brings me to my next point...
Location - Definitely did not envision myself living in Minnesota. Even after I moved here, I thought DH and I would have moved away by now. We were kind of stupid and bought a townhouse even though we didn't plan to stick around more than 2-3 years. Well, we bought at the height of the housing market, so even with putting more than 10% down and paying a little extra every month for 3 years now, we're almost underwater. We're working on building our savings and paying down our mortgage so that we can move within the next year and not be upside down on our house (hoping we can find work!).
I do get stuck in a depressed mood every so often that life isn't the way I pictured it. I like having a plan, though, so I'm working on making at least small changes and hopefully in the future bigger changes (like moving).
That was a really thought-provoking QOTD!

 

[LuvBaloo]

Today's QOTD:

Are you at the point in life where you THOUGHT you'd be by this age? Not just weight, but financially, family-wise, educationally, etc.

When I graduated high school I had a life plan.
Get a bachelor's degree (engineering), get a job and eventually work my way up to be CEO of a company.
Get married and have 2 kids by the time I was 30.
Go on a cruise before I was 40.

Well, in 2nd year university I realized I hate physics so I switched from engineering to chemistry, and got the degree and the job. After 5 years I realized I don't want to be CEO, and in the last few years I realized I don't want to be in a dirty industrial plant, but I am happy with my paycheque so I'm still here while I am working on some accounting courses so I can possibly switch to a different career. So work wise I kinda ended up where I planned, but now my plans have changed. Financially, I of course wanted more money, but we are doing okay, and will likely end up reducing our income in the future, if I go ahead with changing careers.

I did get married and had 1 of my kids by the time before turning 30 and the second one a couple years later. I wanted 2 kids and I got them. I originally planned for them to be 1-2 years apart and instead they are 3-1/4 years apart. Overall family life is what I wanted and I'm happy with it. DH & I were friends in grade 12 and became a couple right after graduating. We took a long time to actually go from dating & living together to getting married, but with our parents track record, we didn't want to rush into anything.

I'm 37 and I've already done 2 cruises so that's great!

Weightwise/health-wise, I of course imagined myself to be more fit and active, but I could be a lot worse, and I am working on it.

Overall I'm happy with my life

 

[jennz]

qotd...very tough one! Is this where I thought I'd be? No way! I thought I'd be an actuary married to a dark haired man and have 2 kids and a nanny, working full time in a major city. Instead....I do have my math degree and worked as an actuary but didn't finish the exams, married a blond, got cancer, and have one child that I didn't have until I was 33, and I'm a stay at home mom! Actually for the past few months I've been a work-at-home mom. Would I trade any of it? No way!

 

[mullysisters]

Well, when I was a teenager I thought I would marry at 26 and have 6 children! I really wanted to be a work at home mom full-time!
I didn't marry, sadly, and have no children. Wanted to but it just didn't happen that way. "Unlucky in love" my Nana used to say It was very hard for a while but now I have made my peace with it.
I have a large multi-generational family and my older sister (who married twice, widowed, then divorced with two wonderful sons) is my best friend.
Along with her I have realized my dream of living in the country with all my critters. Never saw that coming!
I have my health, a good job (not what I imagined but still good)
and I am thankful every day for all my blessings.
I still think about the children I didn't have and my little dog that only lived for two years, but I dont think I want anything more than what I have right now. I think I need to be healthier and live many more years just to enjoy it all!

 

[sskem96]

Yeah, DH got the internet working again! For some reason our URL filter that's supposed to keep the kids off of "inappropriate" websites was filtering out ALL websites. Now we just have to keep a close eye on the kids since he had to turn off the filter. I don't think they'd go to a website like that on purpose, but sometimes you can google something and some of the things it brings up are NOT what you were looking for!

Today's QOTD:

Are you at the point in life where you THOUGHT you'd be by this age? Not just weight, but financially, family-wise, educationally, etc.

Not exactly where I thought I'd be, but pretty happy with where I am.

My plans after high school were to get a degree in communications and become a movie producer for Disney-MGM Studios! At that time in my life I had only been to Disney once and there was only MK and Epcot at the time, but I guess I just loved Disney movies and thought that would be a great career. I went off to college, met my husband 3 weeks later, got engaged a year after that, and decided I'd rather get married and start a family than develop such an exciting career. I changed my major to education the first semester of my sophmore year, and by second semester I had decided to go to nursing school instead, so I took classes like First Aid and Medical Terminology. What should have been my Jr. year I transferred to a jr. college and got my LPN. I graduated 2 days before my wedding and ended up being about 15 weeks pregnant at the time. That's what we get for having such a long engagement! DH took a semester or 2 off somewhere in there to be able to work more and stuff, finally graduated when DD was 17 mo. old with a degree in History, and still works at a grocery store like he has since he was 16. We moved a little closer to our families after he graduated, bought a "starter home" that we have lived in for 11 years now, had another DD, and then I went back to school and got my RN 7 years ago, although I toyed with the idea of going for my CPA at the time. Still not sure what I want to be when I grow up, maybe a neonatal nurse practitioner? I'm only 33, still lots of time to decide! So educationally, I'm pretty sure I'm not done yet. Family-wise, yes since I did want to get married and have my kids early in life. Weight-wise, satisfied now that I've lost 20# recently, but still have a ways to go. I'm thinner now than I was during most of my jr. high and high school years. My goal wt. is 135 and I weighed 136 in 6th grade, so I can't be too terribly upset with only being 25# over that right now! Financially, we do have a little debt and the majority of our savings is just what's in our retirement accounts, but we pay all our bills on time and have everything we "need" plus lots of extras. I'd love to get new flooring, countertops, maybe a bigger house, but if I did things like that I wouldn't be able to go to Disney, so I make the sacrifice!

Sorry if that's TMI. I was sitting in a leadership conference all day and my brain is fried!

 

[pjlla]

Good evening friends!

So many interesting responses to the QOTD. It looks like no one has EXACTLY the life they pictured.... but that is what makes life INTERESTING! I'm happy to see that so many of you are very satisfied with your lives the way they are now.

I had a tough time eating OP today, as I was feeling like I needed some comfort. I stayed within my points, but didn't really use them in the wisest way.... I spent 2 points at lunch on a slice of bakery bread.... cinnamon raisin, toasted with a spritz of ICBINB spray with a cup of tea... just what I needed to comfort me! But not real filling for 2 points! And the veggie soup I made from a mix was WAAAAY higher in calories than I imagined. I was SHOCKED when I read that a half cup of the mix (Bob's Red Mill Vegi soup mix with peas, barley, lentils and pasta) had 330 calories! I only ended up eating half of the portion I had made for myself because I didn't want to spend 5-6 points on a small cup of soup! And it wasn't even that good! I won't be buying that again.

Dinner was a nice low point crockpot chicken cacciatore with a side of cauliflower. I have a few points left for an evening treat (while I am watching BL or DWTS).


I got quite a bit accomplished today, even though I am not feeling top notch. The laundry is fairly well caught up, I got one scrapbook page finished that has been sitting there waiting for attention, made a nice dinner and got the chicken cooked for another one that I will make tomorrow or Thursday.

I think I might try to take the time to do a micro-dermabrasion treatment on my face tonight. I always love the way my skin feels for a few days after I do that. And I NEVER did get in the hand scrub that I planned last night, so maybe I will do that after! But none of that is going to happen if I keep sitting here chatting!

Sweet dreams...........................P

 

[tigger813]

QOTD:
I'm very content with my life right now. Wish my business would pick up and we had more money to visit WDW more often but we are healthy so that's good. Always knew I'd be a teacher when I grew up. Took me 8 years after graduating to get my own classroom after I had my first DD. Had our 2nd DD in 2004 and then lost 2 family members in a week's time in 2006. Decided after that that life was too short and I was not satisfied with my job and trying to be a good Mom at the same time.
So in March 2007 decided to leave teaching to become a LMT. BEST decision I've ever made besides marrying DH and having my DDs! This job allows me to be a mom and still do something I enjoy. Everyone says what a much happier person I am. I never had the time when I was teaching to exercise and focus on me. Since Dec. 2008 I've lost 32 lbs and am working on reaching my goal of 145-150 lbs. Only have 17-22 lbs to go. I'm feeling great about myself and am enjoying helping other people relax and feel better and the best part is I can be there with my kids and DH and take care of them when they are sick and not have to worry about work. Hoping with the improvement in the economy on the horizon things will pick up at work and we will all be happy and healthy.

 

[tigger813]

Off to start my BL elliptical ride. A half hour early so I can get in 3 miles and then make a chocolate chip coffee cake for a chili and dessert cook off at DH's work. Chili's in the crockpot so we've gotten a start on that. Hopefully it will turn out good. Need to add stuff after it cooks for a while!

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I love the BodyBugg! I was fence sitting on whether I wanted to work out or not after the Biggest Loser since I didn't have a chance to do it before. So I uploaded my armband and put in my foods to see where I stand for the day. I like how I can see where my deficit is (and there is a deficit, yay!) and it inspires me to work out.

QOTD: Yes and no. I have my own house now, and am living indepently. But I thought by this point I would have a house in Florida and would be performing for Disney or working as a manager for them. I also thought I would be married, maybe even have a first kid. I don't think I'm disappointed, I do see Disney in my future. I'm just not where I thought I would be.

 

[tigger813]

Off to start my BL elliptical ride. A half hour early so I can get in 3 miles and then make a chocolate chip coffee cake for a chili and dessert cook off at DH's work. Chili's in the crockpot so we've gotten a start on that. Hopefully it will turn out good. Need to add stuff after it cooks for a while!

YES! I did 3 miles on the elliptical! That's 5 miles total on the elliptical today and the 2 mile WATP! I feel so AWESOME!

AND LOVING BL tonight! One of my favorite to date!

 

[Colleen27]

Monday's QOTD:

How do you handle it when someone hurts your feelings??

I'm pretty thick skinned, so it really doesn't happen often. DH is really the only one with the 'power' to hurt my feelings, and I know when he does it he doesn't mean to, so that helps with forgiving. I can't claim to be perfect; there have been times I've totally gone off at him hours or even days later, when he had no idea he'd said something to upset me, but for the most part I let things go easily.

Today's QOTD:

Are you at the point in life where you THOUGHT you'd be by this age? Not just weight, but financially, family-wise, educationally, etc.

Not at all, but mostly in good ways. Weight is a struggle, of course. No one imagines themselves significantly overweight when thinking about their future, right? But the rest... Well, I had pretty low expectations for my life when I was younger. I really couldn't imagine myself getting married or having kids, and I'm happily married 7+ years with 3 sweet kiddos. It never would have occurred to me that I'd be in this sort of financial position; we're not rolling in it (in fact, money's tight a lot of the time and we live on a modest income), but we own our home and two cars free & clear and we can support our family on next to nothing should the need arise, which is an amazing level of security in our area in this economy.

Educationally is really the one area where I've let myself down. When I chose to leave college in favor of tech school at 18, I promised myself I'd finish my degree by 30 and that didn't happen. I finished my associates and started working towards my bachelors, but baby #3 didn't come along exactly when we'd hoped so instead of 3 school-aged kids and the time to go back to school, I'm home with a toddler. I can't complain, though, because she's such a sweet reason for the delay. I'll have plenty of time to finish that degree once she starts school.

 

[LuvBaloo]

Here we celebrate our progress and recognize our superstars.

Reminders:
-after 3 weeks of no reporting, you are dropped from the challenged – can re-start at any time, though
-if anybody knows they will miss weighing in, just PM and let me know ahead of time, and you’ll be marked excused


First some stats

Current Participants------------60
not reporting in for 1 week-------9
not reporting in for 2 weeks------4
not reporting in for 3 weeks------ 8 (dropped from the challenge)
Had to drop out of challenge -----0
Excused-------------------------4
weigh ins-----------------------35
gains---------------------------6
maintains-----------------------3
losses-------------------------25
first time weigh-ins--------------1

Biggest Loser 8 Fall Challenge Week 7
This weeks total group loss 34.3 pounds!
Total group weight loss so far 299.2 pounds! We are so close to breaking 300! We’ll do it next week
Group weight loss goal 500 pounds! We can do it!
average percentage of weight lost 0.53%

Before the weekly superstar list comes the disclaimer. I am human and I make mistakes. If you have any questions please contact me. For your reference this is the magic percentage of weight lost formula - weight loss for the week divided by weight for last week times 100, that gives us the percentage. Now let me test that with my numbers for week 1, click, click, click goes the calculator. Yes, that agrees with the percentage on the magic spreadsheet.

Now let's get to the good stuff. Who were our superstars of week X? This week I’ve went with a simple TOP 10 LIST, which is also everybody over 1% loss this week. That criteria may change from week to week. Hey I'm in charge here and I get paid nothin' to do this so you better take what you can get! (and if there’s something you want to know, just ask me!)


The WISH Biggest Loser 8 Fall Challenge Week 7 Superstars!!
#10-1.14%-pjlla
#9-1.15%-Ronda93
#8-1.20%-shewelch
#7-1.23%-dreamlinda
#6- 1.63%-ohMom
#5-1.67%-ShortyNBug
#4-1.75%-Piglet18
#3-1.97%-seashell724
#2-2.01%-sahbushka

and now

The WISH Biggest Loser 8 Fall Challenge
Week 7 Biggest Loser!!

#1-2.09%-sskem96


Quote from Dare2Dream: How is your week going? Are you OP (on program)? Are you exercising? Drinking that water? You know what to do to make the magic happen. Get on the wagon. We are all here to help you on the journey. We can do this one day at a time. One bite at a time.

Have a healthy day!

Congratulations sskem96!!! What a great week you have had. Keep up the good work. We have a very special clippie reserved for our weekly Biggest Loser.

This is our weekly reigning Biggest Loser clippie. We have the large version

or use this
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/31040weeklyBLsmall1.jpg
followed by

or we have a medium version

or use this
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/31040weeklyBLmed.jpg
followed by

and we have a small version

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/31040weeklyBLsm.jpg[IMG]

or use
[IMG]http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/31040weeklyBLsm.jpg
followed by [IMG]

Thanks to ohMom-Molli for these clippies. They were used for a previous BL but we can recycle. Don't they look great!

 

[LuvBaloo]

All right folks! I'm happy to say that we've made it half-way through Biggest Loser 8 Challenge!

Here's some questions for us all to ponder:
Are you where you wanted to be at the half-way point?
Is there anything you want to change as we go through the second half of our challenge?

We are all doing this challenge to lose weight and get healthier, but its not just a matter of losing weight, its also making a commitment to make healthier choices, and sticking with the challenge is a choice. So first off:
Number of people who have reported in every week = 27!
(for this excused counts as reporting in, late reports count, and telling me you are too sick to weigh in counts!)

The next number I want to report is our steadiest loser, with perfect reporting and a loss every week:
dreamlinda

Now onto more stats:

Results for Challenge-to-Date

average weight loss of all participants (current & removed) = 1.8 pounds
average weight loss of all current participants = 2.2 pounds!
so sticking with the challenge has better success!

Just looking at current participants: (anybody that's missed 3 in a row, I've not included in these results)
Total gains = 6
Total maintains = 3
Total losses = 42

I truly believe no matter what category you fall into, we are all seeing better results by doing BL8, than we would if we were not! So let's stick together and keep plugging away at our challenge

Top Losers in the Challenge-to-Date:​

I've decided to report everybody with 3% or higher loss:

With 3.0-3.9% loss:
mikamah
sskem96
sahbushka
HallsInTheKingdom
LMO429
Piglet18
ShortyNBug
corinnak

With 4.0 to 4.9 % loss:
Colleen27
jenjolt
50sjayne
pjlla
susan514
lisaviolet

Now there's a jump to the next group at 6 to 7% loss:tigger813
dreamlinda
shewelch

And our Top Loser with 9.7% loss, is
TammyAlphabet!
​

Congratulations and THANK YOU to all Participants!

 

[donac]

Congrats to all the losers this week and over the first half of this challenge.


Tuesday's QOTD:

Are you at the point in life where you THOUGHT you'd be by this age? Not just weight, but financially, family-wise, educationally, etc.

I think I am. I will be 55 in May and I can officially retire not that I want to because I am having so much fun.

I am making more money than I thought possible for a school teacher but then again I have worked very hard to get a Master's and an extra 45 credits over that.

I have a great husband for over 31 years. Both his family and mine are a little crazy at times but whose family isn't.

My 2 sons are great. The oldest is a college graduate and the younger one is a sophomore at college. They are both Eagle Scouts and great kids.

I would like to travel a little more but we are putting the younger one through college and we have taken very few loans out to send both of them to school. It is our gift to them

Except for my weight I think I am where I want to be at this point in my life.


Besides except for the far back of my closet I got it cleaned out. Just have to hang things up and I am just about done. 2 bags for the clothing drive this weekend and 2 bags of garbage and 2 loads of laundry to do and I am done. Then on to the next project for this week.

Taking my two cats to the vet yesterday was a trip. It took me over 20 minutes to get them intheir carrying cases. One weighs 8 pounds the other weighs 17 pounds. The bigger one had to be sedated to get some things done (she was screaming like a crazy when they tried to do something to her that needed to be done) so when she came home she dissappeared. Dh found her in the basement lying on a blanket.

Have a great day everyone. I am going to go to the doctor for my last appointment on my foot, then to the mall to check out the new Barnes and Noble and then to a friend's house to help her cut some fabric. She is working on pillowcases for kids with cancer for our local hospital.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Wonderful Wednesday Pampering Project:

This one is not just for you! Take 5 minutes and sit with a pet, or take 5 minutes and call a friend (not e-mail!). Call and speak to a friend of family member, a real live person, just to say, "Hi!". If you're sitting with your pet, give your pet your full attention. Don't watch tv, just focus on this precious animal who adores you!

Now you've had your social interaction, let's work on relaxing! I know it's getting colder, and your feet are calling out for attention. Do whatever level of pedicure you can make work today -- it may just be a quick footrub with some heavenly lotion, or maybe you have time to soak, scrub, buff and paint those toes a fiesty color!

Maria

 

[tinkamom]

Tuesday's QOTD:

Are you at the point in life where you THOUGHT you'd be by this age? Not just weight, but financially, family-wise, educationally, etc.

Not at all! I was petite and thin until I hit 40 and never in a million years predicted I would be this overweight. Didn't think I'd be a single mom at this point in my life either!

Another thing I didn't expect was getting custody of my grandaughter and raising another child in my 40's. But I love her to death and wouldn't change a thing. So I have three girls, each about 10 years apart, 28,16 and 7! My oldest does not live with us.

My education was not what I predicted either. I didn't graduate college but have almost enough credits for my degree. I then went to Ultrasound school and received a technical degree. But I'm currently enrolled in college so I can finally graduate.

Financially? Well, I always thought I would be rich. I'm not!

 

[pjlla]

Hola Amigos!! (DD is inspiring me with her constant Spanish practice around the house!)

It is so great to see that so many of you are content and happy in your lives, even if they aren't exactly going the way you planned.

LuvBaloo... thanks for taking the time to complile such great statistics. Even though I am mathematically challenged, I still love to look at statistics. They were so inspiring.

I am not going to have a lot of time today to hop over here. I am covering a 1st grade class and I don't have a planning period because of standardized testing.

DS and DD both had a fever last night. DS stayed home (he was at about 100.1 this morning), but DD opted to go to school. She was nervous about missing honors geometry and honors world civ. I gave her the option, so she went to school... but she was fever free this morning, so I felt okay sending her. I'm sure she would have liked to stay home, but such is the life of a busy honors student!!

Today's QOTD is a FLUFF questionn... since I have been hitting you with some pretty serious stuff!

Wednesday's QOTD:

What do you do to keep the "Disney Magic" alive in your house on a daily basis?

Well... I don't really have any specific way. DD's bathroom is decorated in a basic Mickey theme... black, white, yellow, and red with stenciled Mickey's... but that was my idea and she is getting a bit tired of it, so we might be redecorating this coming year. I have a few Disney touches around the house (Remy utensil holder in the kitchen, Mickey photo frames in the living room, some assorted vintage Disney glassware in the dining room), but I don't have a big Disney theme anywhere.

I have a Mickey cover on my Razr phone and a picture of Cinderella Castle is my wallpaper and my banner says "Think Disney". I wear my bits of Mickey jewelry and some of my pins a few days a week.... they keep me happy!!

We sing Disney songs in the car sometimes and I listen to my DL CD collection when I am working in the kitchen.... nothing like dancing around to the Space Mountain theme while I am doing dishes!!

I hope everyone has a great day today and STAY HEALTHY!! ......P