Biggest Loser 9 Spring challenge -- Part 2! HERE WE ARE! :)

[jbm02]

Hi everyone!!!
I've been in a bit of a slump lately but have decided that today is the springboard to start anew. I don't know what it is about Mondays but they always seem like new "beginnings" to me. I am still a ways away from my goal weight but am going to start the push right here and now. Starting with my journalling!!

This was an "off" weekend for me in the exercise department. My DD had an AAU basketball tournament and they started early. She played really well this weekend for her. She isn't a starter but the coach had her play for a long time. She had 1 basket and several really good defensive plays (she is one of the taller girls). But she realized that she is slower than many of the other girls so asked if we could go to the Y after work today to work on her running endurance. Our plan is to run the inside track - do 1 lap at a sprint, and walk the next. (I am more of a runner than she is). If anyone out there with athletic girls has a better suggestion, please feel free to let us know!!

We also had out "assessment" at boot camp this morning. I was pretty happy with my 1 mile run time: 8:32 (Note: that was ONE mile only. I didn't have to keep it up for very long!!) 43 push ups in 1 minute and I held a plank for 3 minutes. The only problem with being so happy with these accomplishments - in 7 weeks I am going to want to do better!!!

Jen - wow. was SO impressed that you fit into DD's jeans. She is so long and lean - you are there!!!! I am so glad that you had a good weekend at the cabin. And Happy Birthday to DD!!

Flipflopmom - hope you are feeling better! I laughed at the run comment. I would have said the same thing!

favorite scent: the "scent" of the beginning of autumn. I'm not sure if that is actually a scent but there is something about the way the outside smells in mid September...

Three inspirational movies:
1. Band of Brothers
2. The Blind Side
3. Miracle

...now I have to get back to work. Have a great day everyone!!!

 

[lisah0711]

Good morning everyone!

to maiziezoe! I hope that you have a wonderful day. And remember age is like the scale, it's just a number, it's not who you are!

So much for being good this weekend. We had communions both days and not a healthy thing to eat on either menu.

, forgive yourself, forget about it and get right back on track. That is the best thing to do!

flipflopmom glad to hear that your surgery went well. Good job asking about when you could run again! Sounds like later this week will be better until you are feeling more like yourself. Don't push too hard.

Gonna work really hard to keep under control this week despite it being PMS week. I soooo want to hit my goal by the end of the challenge! I feel very strongly about staying focused and reaching my goal! I am strong and can do this!!!!!

You bet you can!

jenanderson, thanks for reminding us that we should be kind to ourselves as well as take care of ourselves.

quotd monday: What are your 3 favorite inspirational movies?

BTW LisaH-- I asked on the main Disney board about the wine tasting again and it sounds really fun, you just walk up to the counter apparently and make reservations. It's an afternoon thing so that would be nice to sit and cool off for a bit. They recommend going on tower of terror right after lol.

, sorry that you had a down day. Hope that today is better.

Apollo13 definately comes to mind when I think of inspirational movies. I'll have to think some more to add to the list. Ha, ususally when someone asks for one thing, I can't limit myself to one answer -- now, when I need three I am tongue-tied!

Thanks for finding out about the wine tasting. I will PM you and Stephanie and see if we can nail down a day and time. I think it would be a great way to cool down -- TOT after wine and cheese not so sure . . .

We are back to school after break today, but michael is sleeping late, so I'll drive him today. Gotta adjust slowly. I'll take a short run after I drop him off. Was hoping for a long one, but don't want to wake him up too early and have a cranky boy.

Nope, don't start off your week with a cranky boy. That reminds me that I had better get my own cranky boy going this morning.

Have a great day all!

 

[tigger813]

Happy Birthday Maiziezoe!!!!

 

[pjlla]

Lisah H--Yes I am so pleased at my control this year --it was really healthy food though as well-- it always is. Stayed out of the bar as there was someone performing this year and no karaoke and I won $50 in a drawing!

Pjlla-- how exciting-- it's getting so close to your trip! We're getting excited too. I've definitely got a lot of stuff left to do, but if I stick with my flylady list and cross off as I go along-- I'll be fine. I'm excited to start packing. I really want to maintain or maybe do a little better--I fit into some really cute Disney shirts but don't like my arms in them. It'll be really good motivation to do my back exercises as those involve my upper arms.
Got our taxes back instead of owing $500 like at first we thought, we got about $600 back--that was a relief!
Been promising some before and after pictures--this was christmas year before last, I started the New Years challenge right after.

This is me in Palm springs with my daughter the day after Easter Sunday this year: (we liked the very Brown Mary and Jesus)

Thanks for sharing the pictures! I love to see the difference in people's faces and it definitely shows in yours. Glad your taxes were a good surprise!

Sat. Question of the Day:

Who is your favorite overweight female celebrity?

Well... not sure about this. Not sure if this person would qualify as a legit "celebrity", but I really like that girl "Ruby" who is doing the reality show on the (??) Style Network. She started at about 700 pounds and was essentially housebound. She has lost a few hundred pounds and can drive again and is exercising and such. I am SO pleased that someone is showing the world that you CAN LOSE WEIGHT, even lots of weight, without gastric bypass surgery!! She definitely has her ups and downs and seems to be dealing with some psychiatric issues from her past, but she seems to be on the up and up with everything.... she tries to eat right and exercise.... and that is the key, whether you need to lose 30 pounds or 300 pounds! I feel so inspired by her and so PROUD of her!!

I cheated last night and had two beers. Just such a loooong week. I'm back on the no alcohol until our trip for our anniversary. I'm weighing in this morning when I finally get up. Debating going to the Y this morning or going back to sleep! I should hear about the heart monitor next week. Someone mentioned thyroid--all the blood work came back normal. So we'll see.

Kind of a tmi question, but has anyone else had extremely irregular tom after they'd lost some weight? This happened last time I got down around this weight. When I gained it back things went back to normal. I talked to my doctor last time and she suggested going on the pill. I read something once that we store estrogen in belly fat, and I am just starting to drop belly fat--I lost everywhere else first, so don't know if that has something to do with it or not.

Have a great day. I'm thinking I will go to the Y and then go back to bed.

I hope you hear good news from you monitor results. I'll be thinking of you. About the TOM issues.... I started having some irregularity and such about a year ago... which would have been about a year into my weight loss journey and I was probably down 70 pounds. But I am older than you and pretty much contributed the changes to perimenopause. Then I got a UTI a few months ago (very rare for me) and the doctor confirmed that this is common when women start menopause because of hormonal changes. My periods are definitely NOT the same as they were 10 years ago.... but the irregularity will come and go. I'll go a few months and be spot on at 24 days (my norm) and then a few months of being 36 days and then 18 days and such. Getting older is a drag!!

Oh! And I had a moment yesterday that I'm proud of -- ds and I spent the day together and he wanted to go to Friendly's for lunch. I had a salad with grilled chicken, apples, cranberrys, walnuts and bleu cheese, and I only ate half! Then it was time for dessert (Friendly's is known for their ice cream), they had a new deep chocolate lava cake filled with caramel, surrounded by three scoops of nuts over caramel ice cream (vanilla ice cream with caramel, nuts and tiny caramel cups enrobed in chocolate), topped with whipped cream, slivered almonds and a cherry. Yes, it was calling my name! I ignored it and had a scoop of watermelon sherbet. That was a NSV!

Maria

Being from NE and KNOWING how good Friendly's ice cream is, that is a DEFINITELY VICTORY!!

As much as the family LOVES Friendly's (especially DS) I try to avoid it now. They are not particularly forthcoming about their NI, so I kind of figure they have something to hide. I emailed their corporate office a few years ago asking for a list of NI for their meals and they asked me to name a specific meal and they would send info for that ONE. But I was looking for NI for everything so I could make an informed choice and weigh the options. The laws are changing, though, and sooner than later they will be FORCED to make that information available. Heck, if McDonald's can post their calorie counts right in their restaurants, why can't Friendly's??

Good Morning Everyone! Wow! It has been so long since I posted. This was a really tough week for me with my cold and cough. I felt so bad at the start of the week - could not stop coughing and it burned so bad. Towards the middle of the week I was starting to feel better but by the time evening came, I was wiped out. It is now one week later and I still have the cough, but I finally think that I am getting better.

The worse part is that while I was not feeling well I had the munchies for foods that were not that good for me. Thankfully I kept track of everything and did not go overboard and I was able to lose 1 pound this week.

Here is a non-scale victory story with a happy but sad ending:
So, last night my DD's jeans were laying on the chair in the living room. I sat looking at them for a while and suddenly announced that I was going to try them on. DH laughed and said "yeah right"...meaning that there was no way I would fit in them. That alone made me decide that I had to try and I went into the bathroom to put them on and . . .they fit! I came out and showed DH that they fit and he could not believe it (me neither really). Here comes the sad part...DD comes downstairs and sees me in her pants and she looks at herself and looks at me and looks at herself and looks at me and she says that she needs to lose some weight! Oh my! My DD is 13 and she is actually taller then me by a little bit. She dances 5-6 days a week and is not at all overweight - she is solid and muscular but not overweight. I felt so bad that I had caused her to feel bad about herself and I felt horrible that she is already thinking about diets at age 13. I quickly told her no way and showed her that her other "skinny" cut jeans did not fit me at all. We talked for a bit and she seems fine with everything but it was still a bit bittersweet to me.

My other thought about the experience was my perception of myself. I have been wearing size 12 and 14 jeans even though they have been big. I have not wanted to try even a size 10 jeans because I did not want to disappoint myself if they did not fit...in fact, I had convinced myself that size 10 jeans would not fit me. I also thought that I would have rolls going over the edges of my jeans if I tried to go down a size and I would look "fat" all over again. Turns out, DD's jeans are a size 8. When I put them on, I finally realized that I don't look "fat" and that I don't have horrible rolls and that I have changed the way I look. It made me think that I should stop being so hard on myself and begin to have a few more positive thoughts.

Alright - I will come on later and try to answer all my missed QOTDs and be a bit more active not that I am feeling better!

Happy Saturday everyone!
Jen

First of all... to feel better.

Second.... I know EXACTLY how you feel with regards to fitting into DD's jeans. I am now SMALLER than my 14 1/2 year old DD and while I feel great, sometimes I feel guilty! I make excuses as to why she can't borrow a pair of shorts or something... because I KNOW they won't fit her and it will make her depressed. But like your DD, my daughter is active and muscular. And I keep reminding her of how much swimming muscle she has, compared to my old lady flabbiness! And DD seems to be okay with us being a similar size now. She actually loaned me a brand new Disney shirt from her closet to wear on Earth Day (adult XS !! ) and she didn't squawk about me fitting into her clothes. It WILL get easier, I promise!

Quotd Sunday: What's your favorite scent?[/QUOTE]

Vanilla comes to mind first (cause I was thinking of cooking scents). But I like lots of scents. My favorite B&BW scents are Cucumber Melon, Sea Island Cotton, and Sweet Pea. I am definitely into clean, fresh, and floral. I don't go for anything heavy or musky.

DD love the smell of peppermint and I usually buy her a bunch of new B&BW peppermint stuff around the holidays.

I love the smell outside the candy store on Main Street at Disneyland. (I know they pipe it out ) That smell just says Disneyland to me.

Today was an exciting day because I did my first walk/race -- 5 miles in 1:36:18 -- it can only get better from here. My big goal was to finish and I did. For today I am just going to congratulate myself for doing something totally out of my comfort zone -- I really can do anything I set my mind to!

Have a great day all!

You CAN do anything you set your mind to... and you proved it with that run! I am so pleased for you.

And I would agree... the scent of "DISNEY" is the BEST!

I'm baaaaacckkk, sorta! The surgery went okay. I got some great pain meds, and slept pretty much non-stop from Thursday at noon until Saturday afternoon. Stayed awake for a bit, helped DD and DH get ready to leave for a gymnastics meet, went back to Mom's, and slept until10 this morning. Havent' been back asleep yet, or taken pain meds since, and it is starting to catch up to me. Scared to weigh, b/c I've eaten lots of yogurts, jellos, ice creams, etc. and done nothing but sleep, but it was a necessary evil. Mom said as the dr. was wheeling me out to the car post-op I asked him when I could run. They both found that hilarious. He said Monday, don't know if I'll be up for that tomorrow or not. DD got 4th on vault at her meet, they should be home around 11 tonight. LONG weekend for DH, he worked yesterday and then made the 4 hour drive to her meet. I'm rambling, time to get some meds and go to bed!

Just wanted to say hey!

Glad you are on the road to recovery. Hopefully you will feel like yourself really soon. And to your DH for taking care of the girls and their gymnastics stuff while you were under the weather! Nice job on the 4th place for DD!

I had kind of a down day today.
quotd monday: What are your 3 favorite inspirational movies?

to you. Hope things are looking up.

QOTD... wow... I watch a lot of "junk" movies and chick flix. I can't really think of anything particularly "inspirational". My favorite movie of all time is "The Sound of Music" and I guess I find that pretty inspirational. They defied the government of the time (the incoming Nazi regime) and fled the only home they knew, left EVERYTHING behind, and started a new life, eventually here in the USA. Those scenes at the end of the movie of the entire family hiking through the Swiss Alps gives me CHILLS every time. Their real-life story is equally as inspiring as the movie.

I'll have to give some thought to coming up with two more.



I think I missed the QOTD about which princess I would be. I would say Cinderella I guess. But I've never had a wicked stepmother or stepsisters. My life has been pretty good. I am probably more like MULAN. Stubborn, willing go make sacrifices for my family, hard working, not willing to take "no" for an answer sometimes. But I can also be like Ariel... a bit flighty, not thinking things through completely before committing to them, sometimes making snap decisions based on the heart rather than the head.


Well... happy Monday all! My crazy 24 hours in NYC was just that... crazy! We arrived in NYC about 9:30 pm. We checked into our hotel, parked the car, and then took a quick walk to Time Square. We checked out the Macy's store entrances and decided on which one we would wait at in the morning.

We were at Macy's Men's dept. entrance by 6:40 am the next morning! I circled the entire store about every 15 minutes, both for exercise and to make sure that there wasn't a large line forming somewhere else. We were essentially alone until about 8 am. Then a Dad showed up with his twin teenage daughters and they waited with us. The Dad circled the store a few times too and said there were a few people at another entrance. We were unsure whether we should go to where they were or stay where we were. We stayed where we were. When they opened the door, DD and the twins SPRINTED for the lower level of the men's department and we arrived just barely behind the two families that were waiting at the other entrance. Macy's didn't have any queue set up for the event or anything. They told us to go shopping and come back at 1pm! Well, the other mom (I call her Jersey Mom) and I were having NONE of that! We insisted that they tell us where to stand and we were WAITING there until 1pm. When the Macy's folks realized that we were going to refuse to budge, they decided to set up a line outside on the sidewalk. That was fine with us, as long as we didn't lose our place in line.

After all was said and done, somehow DD ended up with #4 (somehow a single girl ended up in the front of the line, and the Jersey family in front of us got numbers 2 and 3 for their boys). I KNOW beyond the shadow of a doubt that DD and I were the FIRST ONES at the store that morning, but frustratingly we didn't know which entrance to be at. But no big deal.

To make a long story short, DD got her picture taken with Michael Phelps TWICE and she has been on ever since. She swears it will be her Facebook profile page until the day she dies. Sadly, there was NO personal time, no conversation, and no personal autographs (although the photo frame was autographed). He did ask her how she was and she said good and such... but that was about it.

As the mom, I am just happy that she is so thrilled with her pictures and meeting. It was DEFINITELY worth it. We also went to the American Eagle store in Time Square where you can get your picture put up on their giant electronic billboard ("get your 15 seconds of fame" promo). She had her photo taken holding her picture of her with Michael Phelps and added the message "I just met Michael Phelps!" and then we got to see it in Time Square!

On the way home she got a txt message from someone that said "holy crap!! I just saw your picture in Time Square!!" Come to find out a swim team friend is vacationing in NYC (it is April school vacation week here in NH) and the friend actually saw DD up on the billboard later in the day (they must play it repeatedly if they don't have lots of pictures taken that day).


I"ll ask DD later if she minds if I post the pictures here.

I did fairly well with my eating over the weekend. Not QUITE as good as I hoped, but definitely okay, considering the obstacles and temptations. And between my laps of Macy's on Saturday morning, I stood at the door doing high knee raises. I lost count at my 4th or 5th set of 50 reps, so I at least got in my workout that day!

I need to bump up the workouts to account for the cookie dough accident I had yesterday... I hate to sabotage myself for the week over that. DH has made homemade cookies 3 times in the last 10 days. That needs to STOP. I am hiding the remaining choc. chips in the back of the freezer.

Well... here it is almost 11:30 am and I have done NOTHING of substance today except make apple raisin scones for the family for breakfast. Time to get MOVING!.......................P

 

[Worfiedoodles]

QOTD: Three inspirational movies:

I am like some of you, I watch movies to escape rather than be inspired I guess my three are: Stand By Me, Beauty and the Beast, and Pride and Prejudice.

I got up and ran 6M this morning, which made me happy. That's two days in a row, and my legs are not as thrilled. I'm going to just do yoga tomorrow. I'll be sleeping in until 6 instead of getting up at 4:30 I've run 26 miles over the last 5 days, and I definitely need a rest. I don't know how I can run so much and lose so little, but I'm pretty sure it has to do with the amount of and other junk I consumed over the weekend. I'm really going to try to do better this week. I am full of resolve in the morning and pretty much throughout the day, and then after dinner I get so hungry...I may have to start going to bed half an hour earlier just so I stop eating

Pamela -- I find Friendlys and the 99 equally frustrating. There seems to be so much hidden fat, it's really depressing. These are ds's favorite restaurants, but even when I'm eating a salad, I don't feel confident about making a good choice.

flipflopmom -- Nobody puts Baby in a corner! That's inspiring...

Maiziezoe -- Happy Birthday!

Tigger -- "Sweet Caroline" was going through my head when I read your top 3!

Ok, off to eat lunch and then get back to work. I'm having a vegetarian day today -- yogurt, vitamuffin and kiwi for breakfast; hummus, veggies, 100 cal chips for lunch; and butternut squash ravioli for dinner. I don't think I'll even miss anything!

Maria

 

[Nicole786]

So what do you guys do when you've hit a plateau? I feel so deflated and "whats the point?" I've come so far but i feel like i haven't come far enough, i can't even get >200! (i'm stuck at 204 right now down from 218) I know I need to change my diet (is my body getting used to it?) and my excersize routines (i'm running right now but need to incorporate strength) any other suggestions? Super bummed...

 

[LuvBaloo]

So what do you guys do when you've hit a plateau? I feel so deflated and "whats the point?" I've come so far but i feel like i haven't come far enough, i can't even get >200! (i'm stuck at 204 right now down from 218) I know I need to change my diet (is my body getting used to it?) and my excersize routines (i'm running right now but need to incorporate strength) any other suggestions? Super bummed...

plateaus can be frustrating!

Have you tried vary your intake from day to day? I find if I mix it up with higher calorie and lower calorie days that can get things going.

 

[LuvBaloo]

For me, the inspirational movies that first come to mind are:
- The Right Stuff
- Apollo 13
- Rudy

For both "The Right Stuff" and "Apollo 13" I like the team work, and the family strength.
For Rudy, its a classic underdog story, the little guy never gives up and finally gets his little moment of glory.

 

[tigger813]

Worfiedoodles- Gotta love the Sox! DD2 was born the day they won the series in 2004 so that movie will always be special to us!

LuvBaloo- Oh, we love Rudy! Never can get sick of that one! Love Sean Astin!!!!

Having a good day! Making an early supper for DD1 and myself and then I will do another 4 mile workout later! Trader Joe's Orange Chicken! I'll probably have some microwave popcorn later for a snack! Halfway done with 2nd jug of water!

 

[donac]

I am so glad that so many people find APollo 13 as an inspirational movie. I will be watching it 3 times a day the week after next. The first year I showed it I had kids coming in during another period if they missed their class that day. I had one student out of school one day and had her mother rent it so she wouldn't miss anything. NBC did a special on Apollo13 a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the 40th anniversary. The attention to details was amazing. The look of the movie is exactly like the original footage taken at NASA.

I also find that the kids are not exposed to anything about the space program in history. They have no idea about what the rockets were like back then.

 

[happysmyly]

Maiziezoe - Happy Birthday - hope this year is filled with lots of good happy and healthy memories Hope your birthday has been magical

Been reading off and on today--but not much to post--so I'll just do today's QOTD quickly...
Movies - I love movies so very hard for me to choose only 3. For weight - I love to watch 'The Mirror Has 2 Faces'. For life in general - I enjoy the love story in 50 First Dates but am more inspired by the classics--The Sound of Music, Easter Parade and Fiddler on the Roof are ones that I watch when I need to 're-fill my bucket'.

Have a great night!
Liz

 

[tigger813]

Just finished 9 miles for the day! I had to work off supper! Drinking water the rest of the night and may have some microwave popcorn!

Should get a good amount of working out in tomorrow while I'm home waiting for the dishwasher to get installed. I'll do 2 miles at 7:30 and then 4 miles after 9. I'll also be able to watch what I eat easily. DH is working late so not sure what I'll do for supper, probably frozen pizza for the girls and something simple for me.

Time to run my old dishwasher for the last time.

 

[flipflopmom]

Just saying goodnight. bone dead tired. didn't run today, just survived. going to bed. love to you all. i will check on everything tomorrow.

 

[Rose&Mike]

Happy Birthday Maizezoe!

 

[jenanderson]

Jude - I am sorry that you feel that you have been in a slump...but you are right about Mondays always being a new beginning! I feel like I am starting new about every other day right now!

I am so happy that you are going to go to the Y with Tess - I have no advice about what to do while you are there to help her with her speed and endurance but I just think it is great that she wants to work out with you!

Way to go on your one mile run time - I totally could not do that and everything else you do at that boot camp class is insane! You rock!

Lisa -Definitely take time to be kind to yourself! I think the thing that always makes me feel better about all the challenges I face everyday is the time that I spend on me. It allows me a moment to realize that I am worth all of this!

pjlla - Thanks for posting about your DD and the jean situation. We are still working through this new reality. I think that my DD is so proud of how far I have come and really likes the changes but it was a bit shocking to her to have me put her jeans on and have them fit. I do worry about what would happen if I got smaller then her...I don't think that will really happen though. My DD is so tall and so lean. She is a bit muscular but she has a dancer's body and so hopefully we will stay the same size. It is good to know that others have dealt with this though. I just want my DD to feel good about her body and not feel like she needs to lose weight. As a dancer she is always staring at herself in the mirror and I see how sometimes she looks at her body and it is makes me feel sorry for all the pressure our girls have to have the "perfect" body.

Sounds like you and DD had a great time in NYC! You will have to try to post some photos!

Worfiedoodles - Great job on your run! I laughed when I read about how your legs were not thrilled with you...made me think about how I believe my legs think I hate them!

Nicole786 - Plateaus are going to happen and they are so hard to deal with. There are so many times when we all have felt that we haven't come far enough...keep on going! The great thing is that you are down and you are not gaining weight. That right there is a victory. When I hit a plateau (and I had one the past few weeks I am pretty sure)...I re-evaluate everything. I go back to all the basics and I just try, try again. I had to post reminders that I was no longer my old weight and that my life was better with the little changes. I am sorry there is no easy answer and I always feel bad whenever any of us are struggling. I hope you are able to find some motivation to give it a push again and hopefully see a loss again soon!

Tracey - Hope your day went great! You were so motivated for a good day and I bet you have stayed focus!

flipflopmom - Just wanted to say that I think it is okay that you did not run today. Be nice to yourself and don't push your recovery too hard.

Alright - We had a busy day here today. I did bike to work today so that is a total of 6 miles biking. My classroom had a field trip today to a regional park where we went fossil hunting. I spent 3 hours hiking up and down hills and carrying a backpack with heavy rocks...I think that should all count for some extra exercising today. DH and I were suppose to run today but decided to push it to tomorrow because the pollen count was so high and my cough is still not good. We will for sure do 3 miles tomorrow. I still need to go get DD from dance.

Hope everyone has a great night!
Jen

 

[tigger813]

Yup, I did well jen! Popcorn got over done so I are 3 saltines instead.

I think I ate about 1400 calories today plus did 9 miles of workouts, All Leslie Sansone! Drank a protein water this morning and had 3 giant jugs of water and a green tea this afternoon.

Hoping to sleep until 6 tomorrow morning. I should head to bed now seeing as I've been awake since 4:30 this morning.

2 mile workout planned for 7:30am, 4 miles around 10am and another 2-3 miles at around 6ish. Also going to get some cleaning in during the day. Lots of water and green tea as well as good healthy food!

Night all! Starting to get a headache so I'm heading to bed now!

 

[50sjayne]

favorite scents- Vanilla and cinnamon, clove type spices. I chuckle to myself when I hear peppermint because years ago when someone could pee after surgery we'd put spirit of peppermint in the bowl, and it would make them go. I'm the type that goes when I laugh too hard, so I would stay away from peppermint.

Inspirational movies- City of Angels is my favorite movie, it's so sad, but inspiring in the risk you take when you love someone so deeply is worth the risk of the pain in losing that person. And also that you can feel so sad at a loss, and in time that pain will heal, and you will be able to live again. I'll have to think of some others.

Hah about the peppermint! And that's pretty what you said about City of angels. That was a great movie.

So what do you guys do when you've hit a plateau? I feel so deflated and "whats the point?" I've come so far but i feel like i haven't come far enough, i can't even get >200! (i'm stuck at 204 right now down from 218) I know I need to change my diet (is my body getting used to it?) and my excersize routines (i'm running right now but need to incorporate strength) any other suggestions? Super bummed...

What I did was found some research to the effect that walking was really the only way to break the dreaded plateau. so I did and it broke.

I am so glad that so many people find APollo 13 as an inspirational movie. I will be watching it 3 times a day the week after next. The first year I showed it I had kids coming in during another period if they missed their class that day. I had one student out of school one day and had her mother rent it so she wouldn't miss anything. NBC did a special on Apollo13 a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the 40th anniversary. The attention to details was amazing. The look of the movie is exactly like the original footage taken at NASA.

I also find that the kids are not exposed to anything about the space program in history. They have no idea about what the rockets were like back then.

Isn't that amazing Donac. I was always astounded by the lack of history taught to my kids. I was always renting stuff like Roots and Schindlers list. We like Apollo 13 too- I'm a big Tom Hanks fan. And husband loves anything space program related. He's a big fan of Ron Howard too.

Maiziezoe - Happy Birthday - hope this year is filled with lots of good happy and healthy memories Hope your birthday has been magical

Been reading off and on today--but not much to post--so I'll just do today's QOTD quickly...
Movies - I love movies so very hard for me to choose only 3. For weight - I love to watch 'The Mirror Has 2 Faces'. For life in general - I enjoy the love story in 50 First Dates but am more inspired by the classics--The Sound of Music, Easter Parade and Fiddler on the Roof are ones that I watch when I need to 're-fill my bucket'.

Have a great night!
Liz

Yeah Happy birthday to Maizie from me too- that's one of the quotes I had that disappeared a few days ago. I noticed we were both 42? that's what I though anyway-- mine was April 15.

Fiddler on the roof was yet another of my very favorites growing up. That is very inspirational I think.

Pjlla:

QOTD... wow... I watch a lot of "junk" movies and chick flix. I can't really think of anything particularly "inspirational". My favorite movie of all time is "The Sound of Music" and I guess I find that pretty inspirational. They defied the government of the time (the incoming Nazi regime) and fled the only home they knew, left EVERYTHING behind, and started a new life, eventually here in the USA. Those scenes at the end of the movie of the entire family hiking through the Swiss Alps gives me CHILLS every time. Their real-life story is equally as inspiring as the movie.

Are you kidding me. " I have confidence in sunshine-- I have confidence in rain, I have confidence in confidence alone..besides what you see I have confidence in me". That's a great one! Ok I'm partial this was my very favorite movie as a kid- I used to put in the 8 track and dance around the house to it whenever alone lol. Hmm I just found that tonight when looking for Xanadu- think I will watch that too.
Xanadu-- oh... I still just enjoy that...

Pjlla:
DH has made homemade cookies 3 times in the last 10 days. That needs to STOP. I am hiding the remaining choc. chips in the back of the freezer.

Michael Phelps comes across like such a mellow, nice kid. What an awesome time you had--duude...

Daughter and I did something like that once. We had just come back from seeing Bowie in Portland--all of us. I looked at the tour schedule on my shirt and noticed he was going to be in Seattle later that day so I extremely impulsively took her out of school that day (she took her homework) and drove the 5 hours up to see him. No tickets, just hope there'd be some good tickets showing up last minute at the ticket booth (sometimes this happens) Well we got up there and some guys show up and sell us tickets for well below face value--7th row. Lol. It was awesome. We were talking to the bouncers and during the show they let her go up to the stage- problem being she wouldn't leave lol. So I had to go get her. It was fun! Funny thing we sort of didn't tell husband we were going, just left a note saying-- gone to see Bowie in Seattle-- bye!
And Pjlla-- enjoy this time with her while you can--trust me...

Lisa H- yeah we'll have to try to organize this for sure. And lol-- I've heard there's going to be no fast pass for TOT when we're going anyway due to the construction. Bummer.

Well I ended up having a great day. I just really love my boss. I hate being any kind of trouble for her but I have to look out for myself too. How can I be someone who stands up for others if I don't stand up for myself? I also have 2 great people interested in helping me out with stuff. One has been a friend for years--I've just never taken the extra step with her and the other would be a great steward if he decided he wants to do it. We have contract negotiations coming up soon and I have a feeling it's going to be a rough one.

 

[tigger813]

UGH! DD2 wet the bed AGAIN! Now I've got a wicked headache and can't seem to get back to sleep! Sent out a letter to daughter's class about the upcoming basket raffle. I may read for a bit to see if that helps me get back to sleep! I really want to get in my workouts later so I REALLY need to sleep!

Time for some Kingdom Keepers 3!

 

[50sjayne]

I just realized I never answered my own scent quotd...I love how cats smell. I know it sounds funny but if you smell their fur-- it is just so nice, they are always clean. I don't know if there's any better scent for me than applesauce cooking on the stove with lots of cinnamon...

I think it's time for a little self appreciation. Share with us something you have done lately that you are proud of. For me it was taking some extra time with my old girl cat Trixie. She looked to be getting some kind of mouth infection so swabbed her with salt water, gave her vitamin c for about 3 days and she is much improved. I am also committing myself to spending some extra time with her, brushing her and spiffing her up a bit with a cornstarch cleaning. Gotta help an old girl out. Tonight I was using a flashlight and noticed she was following the beam. Well her favorite thing when she was younger was the laser light, so we found one of those and watched delighted while she watched it lol. She didn't chase it-- but she had fun following it around a bit lol. Well I gotta hit the sack-- totally exhausted....

Quotd tues. : Share with us something you have done lately that you are proud of.

 

[flipflopmom]

Thanks for all the well wishes everyone!

Hi everyone!!!

We also had out "assessment" at boot camp this morning. I was pretty happy with my 1 mile run time: 8:32 (Note: that was ONE mile only. I didn't have to keep it up for very long!!) 43 push ups in 1 minute and I held a plank for 3 minutes. The only problem with being so happy with these accomplishments - in 7 weeks I am going to want to do better!!!

That sounds awesome! I don't know if I could do 43 pushups in one day! And a great mile time!

Flipflopmom - hope you are feeling better! I laughed at the run comment. I would have said the same thing!
I think they laughed so hard because I said it slurred, with my eyes closed, and the only other thing I had said was "Uh-uh" (for no) when they asked me to walk across the hall.

favorite scent: the "scent" of the beginning of autumn. I'm not sure if that is actually a scent but there is something about the way the outside smells in mid September...

I can name that scent - football, ferris wheels, and funnel cakes from the fair! I love fall!

And I would agree... the scent of "DISNEY" is the BEST!


Glad you are on the road to recovery. Hopefully you will feel like yourself really soon. And to your DH for taking care of the girls and their gymnastics stuff while you were under the weather! Nice job on the 4th place for DD!

Thanks for thinking of that. The best part was that Sunday was his birthday, he had to work Saturday, and decided to go ahead and make the 4 hour drive to take her to the meet. They got a hotel room, ordered a pizza, and had a great time together. They really needed that bonding time, as she has entered the emotional drama tweens, and he doesn't understand it AT ALL. I was pretty proud of him!

QOTD... wow... I watch a lot of "junk" movies and chick flix. I can't really think of anything particularly "inspirational". My favorite movie of all time is "The Sound of Music" and I guess I find that pretty inspirational.

I Sound of Music. The whole thing. I wanted to name our girls Marta and Greta, or even Leisel, but DH said NO WAY!

To make a long story short, DD got her picture taken with Michael Phelps TWICE and she has been on ever since. She swears it will be her Facebook profile page until the day she dies.

That sounds like an amazing experience! I can imagine how DD would be if she met Shawn Johnson or Nastia Liukin. What a great mom! I've never been to NYC, but I think that a Mother/Daughter trip for their 16th birthdays will be in order, unless I make it their 13th so they aren't too old for FAO Schwartz!

QOTD: Three inspirational movies:

I am like some of you, I watch movies to escape rather than be inspired I guess my three are: Stand By Me, Beauty and the Beast, and Pride and Prejudice.

flipflopmom -- Nobody puts Baby in a corner! That's inspiring...

I really like Stand by Me, too. I kinda think Patrick Swayze is inspiring altogether in that movie!

Quotd tues. : Share with us something you have done lately that you are proud of.

I could mention my 38 lb weight loss, or the fact that I can run a 5K now, but this little act meant so much to me last night, I have to share. I've been so consumed with my Master's class papers and things due, I come home every night and head straight to the computer. DD2 has cried to stay with her grandparents, and I know it's because I've been neglecting my family. Even though I felt bad, I made a lasagna last night, let DD2 help, sat down to a family dinner, and did not work on any class stuff after dinner and just talked to them. It was the best feeling to just be with them. My final exam is due in 1 week, I have 5 paper type essay questions to answer, and I just let it go. I am stressing now, but recharging with my family was great!

Off to shower for work. Mom has agreed to keep the girls for a few hours after school today so I can work on my exam, I hope to have 3 of the questions done before I pick them up. I thought about trying to walk this afternoon, but honestly, I need to work on the exam more. I will be so glad when next Tuesday night comes and everything is turned in and this class is over. I'll have the month of May off from class until my summer classes, and I can start planning my trip more! Have a great day, sorry for the book