Biggest Loser Alumni Holiday Edition: past, present and future participants welcome!

[cclovesdis]

Well, another day of eating gluten is almost over and I cannot wait until midnight on Dec. 30th!

My stomach feels so uncomfortable right now. I've had this type of pain before and vomit typically follows, so I'm not a very happy camper right now. I'm hoping the gastro's office will call me back tomorrow.

I have almost no plans for tomorrow. I think it's time for a visit to the grocery store, but that's likely it.

Have a great day tomorrow everyone!

 

[tigger813]

Morning!

I'm coaching today and couldn't be more excited!

QOTD Tuesday, 12/20: What is one thing on your to-do list that must get done before the holiday(s)? How are you going to make sure that you do it?

I have given up on finishing everything this year but I have to finish wrapping. I am going to try and do some every night this week so it will get done by Friday.

Fluff QOTD: What ride/attraction do you WISH you were on/at/doing right now?


I wish I was on Soaring, it is my absolute favorite ride.

I'm with you Erika! I want to be on Soarin' right now! The music is going through my head right now! We should ride it together after the cruise!

Evening all,

Took my mom to a few places close by tonight. Hoping to finish my shopping tomorrow. Spending the day at the mall and going to Bed, Bath and Beyond across from the mall! I'll take her to the spa where I work to get her nails done on Thursday.

Enjoying a drink and some light popcorn. Brian hopes to lose some weight before the cruise in June. We are discussing what we can do together. Going to try and do workouts together 3 nights a week after the kids go to bed.

Watching the SNL Holiday special!

have a great night!

TTFN

 

[jenanderson]

Hello Everyone! I have not gone through and read all the posts yet...but will have to try. I am a BL alumni and know that I need to join the next BL group because I maintained a long time but have gained a bunch back. I know what is wrong and just need to get back on track.

CC - Sorry that you are not feeling the best right now. I have skimmed a bit and it sounds like you have some health issues right now. I am sorry to read this and hope you feel better soon.

Lisa - Thanks for the FB message and encouraging me to get on here! I know that all the support I got here 2 years ago is what helped me through the long journey of losing weight and living healthier.

Rose - How is all your running going? Do you have some races coming up? After running a marathon in October, I have taken a break from running (this is a big reason why I have gained some weight back). I am planning on getting going again soon.

A big hello to all the other alumni! I hope to be on the WISH threads again because like I said...I need to lose the weight again and the support here is great!

Happy holidays to everyone!
Jen

 

[jillbur]

Well, it's 9:24 and I'm not wrapping
Guess I'll start tomorrow. After work and dinner, I decided to just sit and relax with my boys. I've been so busy running around and baking, I just needed a day of nothing. We finally watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Loved it! DS5 was Harry Potter for Halloween and has been wearing the scarf as a regular scarf lol. It's too cute.

I have to get to the gym tomorrow. I've slacked off the last couple day. My kids are done with school tomorrow, but I still go Thursday. I need a break from my students and I am counting the hours!

I'm off to bed. Good night everyone!

Jill

 

[donac]

Good Wednesday morning everyone.

I think everything is bought for Christmas. We are still waiting for 2 more packages.

Jen welcome back.

Two and a half more days for me and three for dh (Yes we go to Friday)

Ds2 came home yesterday and will leave for Gambia on Jan 2nd. He will get back the Friday before classes start. He sounds very excited about the trip.

I only have about 6 full classes to teach. Tomorrow I am giving tests to most of my classes. Friday is a half day with short classes and a concert at the end of the day. There is also talk of a drill so it make the day go faster.

Off to get ready for school.

Have a happy and healthy day.

 

[pjlla]

Pamela I have 4 DVD binders where you put the liner notes in the front and the DVD in the back. Let me know if you want them before I take them to goodwill.
They have been through the ringer(tortured by 4 kids) but still function. I'll snap a pic later, I'm headed to the Post office now.

Thanks for thinking of me, but we're good. We currently are at our max capacity for the entertainment center upstairs, but as the kids are getting older I definitely think it is time to thin the collection a bit. As long as they still all fit in the cabinet, I won't worry about pulling them from their boxes.

We recycled the boxes. Poor recycling guy hated us!!! LOL

Sadly our town recycles only #1 and #2 plastics... and sometimes not even those! It makes me crazy! I put EVERYTHING with a recycling symbol on it in the bin and they just toss them out! I wish we could have permission to take them to another town that recycles them. I mean, heck, they make MONEY from it, so why not take it??


Must do is cookies before Friday. I want to do a box for the crossing guard and teachers. Today I hit the post office which is the last must do for the holiday.

God bless you! My kids do NOT want to bring gifts to their teachers. Not sure exactly why..... guess that they feel that they are getting too old and don't want to appear that they are "kissing up"???

I've staged my wrapping table this morning so I'm all set to start that when I get back from the PO.

Fluff - Well today is the 20th which means we would have arrived at WDW The 18th. So today would probably be a MK day because it's one of the slower days there.
We are probably in line at BTMR with fast passes of course, then we will head to Cosmic Rays for lunch.

Mmmmm.... love Cosmic Ray's for lunch.... so many choices! But I hate that you have to stand in different lines for each thing!

gretchen, i love that attraction. it might be my favorite actually. i cry every time. a few trips ago i left it practically sobbing - you know that part at the end where the dancers take the little kids and let them play instruments and march around while they sing that last big number? well one dancer took a little girl who was in a mechanized wheelchair - i'd guess she has cerebral palsy or something like that - and wheeled her around in the circle. the little girl had a smile on her face so big that i will never forget it. it made me fall in love with disney all over again


How sweet!
************************

QOTD #1: i still have a couple little things to pick up for my cousins for christmas. it's just gift cards but i need to go to a few places to get them. thing is, i have a newborn in the house so i'm getting off easy - i don't think anyone expects me to have it all together this christmas! (and i certainly don't!)

QOTD #2: omg i definitely would like to be riding living with the land right now. yep, the land. i know it's not all that exciting but sitting in that boat always makes me feel like, "ah, i'm at disney." oh and not to mention the last time we were on that ride this past september we made it to almost the end of the ride and my son thomas barfed ALL OVER ME. i mean barf was everywhere! we were given vouchers for a free outfit from any of the stores. i dripped all the way to mousegears in order to find something that would fit me - i was 30 weeks pregnant at the time! i'd like to re-do the land ride sans barf right about now

Umm.... EWW! Poor you and poor DS.

Thanks Rose! I’ve heard about the biopsy. I thought I was going to have one, but I think there is some insurance mumbo-jumbo to deal with first. I actually have already had stool tests, but for a virus. I haven’t heard the results yet. I think I’ll call about those and the lab work you mentioned today. That is the next thing on my agenda.

Speaking of agenda, I discovered that using Word to make a to-do list is genius! I’m always hoping on my laptop for this, that, or the other thing, so I leave the document open throughout the day and am amazed at how much more is getting done since I started this approach.

I tried having my to-do list on the computer, but when I sit down I just get sucked into things like the WISH board and Facebook! Then I never get anything done! I do much better with simple paper lists around the house. I keep them everywhere.... on my scrapbook table, taped to the kitchen cabinets, on the fridge, etc.

I know what you mean about feeling like a hypochondriac. I even had a professor in undergrad call me one. I was so sick with vertigo and nausea. I was starting to worry about my hearing then too. College food didn’t help either. Luckily, the college health, counseling, and nutritional counseling office didn’t let my professors get away with anything. The one thing these years of being sick has taught me is that you have to advocate for yourself.



Before I started eating wheat, I touched some and within a minute was itchy and could see evidence of a rash. Is it safe for you to be doing this?



Two-and-a-half years! Congrats! I did 4 years and a BA and a BS plus complete the Honor’s Program, so 150 credits, with 18 being honors level. I took some summer classes as well and one semester I took 21 credits. It was definitely worth it. Congrats!

Wow.... that is impressive! We have so many smart folks on here!

I’m not sure if my parents are actually going to get me a Nano for Christmas, but I really do want one. The mp3 player I had was terrible. I couldn’t download any music to it and it never held a charge. I think it lasted 2 trips to the gym.

They are offering a $40 Target card with the purchase of 8G Ipod touch right now.... just in case they haven't shopped yet. The 8G Touch is $195 around here.

Hi Laura! We only have one type of fish. What we do is kind of complicated, but delicious. We buy packaged cleaned squid-whole tubes and tentacles. My father fries up the tentacles and then chops them into really small pieces. They go into a stuffing mixture of lots of bread crumbs, garlic, eggs, and parmesan cheese, plus some other ingredients. We stuff each tube with the mixture and then hand sew them shut with thread. My dad then fries them until they are almost completely cooked. My grandmother finishes cooking them in a special sauce. We serve it with pasta. My brother-in-law started helping us 2 years ago so now there are 4 of us stuffing and sewing. It makes it much more manageable. My grandmother used to do it herself, then we started helping her, but now we do it at our and then travel with a bowl of stuffed squid in our trunk.

I am all about food cultures and such, but that just sounds..... icky. Gla dyou enjoy it and nice that your parents are making you a special squid!

Thanks! I am definitely going to look into why I am not having a biopsy. My parents have already decided that they are going to make me my own stuffed squid next year, but I have no idea what else I will be eating. There are cookies everywhere on Christmas Eve.


Thanks P! Yoga is on my plan for after lunch. My mom said she would help wrap gifts tonight, so I will wait for her. It will be nice to not have to wrap my own gifts.

Did you get your wrapping done??

I have to run to the grocery store and pharmacy tonight, do a bit of baking and fill out a mortgage app and I want to clean the house. It sounds like a lot, but really shouldn't be that bad. We have the refinance appt on Friday and she asked me to do the online app today. After today I should just have housework to do. I'm really in good shape this year

Busy, busy! We should look into a re-fi right now. We started the process about a year ago, but it wasn't going to drop enough to be worth the work... and since we weren't worried about taking money out, it just seemed like it wasn't necessary at the time. But I am imagining that rates are down more by now.

Glad you are feeling like you are in good shape as we head into these busy, busy weeks!

You and I at almost the same weight with the same goal They are looking into starting a weight watcher's program here at work. If they do that would be a huge time saver and motivator for me for 2012. Don't get me wrong, I will be at 140 or lower before our Hawaii trip at the end of July, by every little thing helps.

You will look SLAMMIN' on the beach in Hawaii at 140 in a pretty PURPLE bikini with your beautiful hair and eyes!

I never made it on the Dis yesterday. I was way too busy making cookies. One tradition I could never get rid of is my family's Christmas Eve dinner. We've been having the same dinner since before I was born. My sister & I have taken over for my grandma. We have no meat. We start with bean soup and a wafer. Then we have fish, pirogies, mashed potatoes, corn, and salad. Dessert is just cookies. Then after midnight, we have ham and kielbasa. Yummy!

I'm not big on meat so the early dinner sounds great to me..... but I'd wanna skip the ham and kielbasa. Are the pierogies homemade? Are you Polish?

I have to wrap presents and return some stuff. I over bought this year and want to return before the madness next week. I haven't wrapped one thing! DH usually wraps and we are going to start tonight. I really, really don't want to be wrapping on Christmas Eve!

Thanks for the reminder! I've got an over-bought gift to return to Target and I keep forgetting it! Gotta get it back TODAY!

I wish I was on Soarin' right now. Please? Pretty please? And then I would follow up with a trip to a bakery in France or Norway! Yummy!

I have to run, but I hope to be on later to catch up!

Jill

We need a group trip to WDW just so we can all ride Soarin' together. Maybe CC would join us if we promised to hold her hand!??

I have to make sure the basement is ready for my Dad's visit. When we don't have company, it's a combination gym/family room. When we have guests we turn the futon (With a Serta mattress, it's comfy!), into a full-sized bed, clean up the kitchen so it's spotless, clean the bathroom, and make sure the kitty bathroom area is presentable. I also have to dust all dh's old trophies on the mantel. I am the only one who even considers dusting

Right now I would love to be on Star Tours. I have not been able to ride it since the upgrade, and I'm really looking forward to that in a couple months

Maria

I'm sure that Dad appreciates having his own space. We don't have a spare room and no one would want to be in our basement..... plus my Dad's frequent night trips to the bathroom would make it awkward to be down there. DD has a trundle bed, so we will give my parents her room during Christmas. She will sleep on the floor in our room.... she doesn't mind that at all.

DD doesn't care much for Star Wars so we skipped it during our trip in May, so I haven't seen the upgrade yet either.

QOTD Tuesday, 12/20: What is one thing on your to-do list that must get done before the holiday(s)? How are you going to make sure that you do it?

Fluff QOTD: What ride/attraction do you WISH you were on/at/doing right now?

I still need to go to the mall and finish shopping. I think it will take us about an hour tops. AS soon dh gets home we are going to talk and then take care of what we have to do.

I wish I was Soaring right now

Another Soarin' fan!

You know, I hadn't thought about having a reaction from touching it...
FWIW, I have heard of folks having negative biopsies too. Not to be a downer. Here's the thing, my doctor said that having a positive response from the food challenge is more than enough reason to stop. But if you are interested, the lab I used is Enterolab. There is some controversy around their testing, but I feel pretty confident in my results. I know I have had people think I'm a hypochondriac, over anxious, etc. But I am telling you that after 10 months of being off gluten, I feel much, much better. I still get anxious--who doesn't? And this weekend I had a mini meltdown--but it lasted like two minutes and I moved on. I am so much calmer and feel so much better. Hang in there.

Glad you are feeling so much better. Nice of you to continue to help CC as she makes her way through this.

Hello Everyone! I have not gone through and read all the posts yet...but will have to try. I am a BL alumni and know that I need to join the next BL group because I maintained a long time but have gained a bunch back. I know what is wrong and just need to get back on track.

A big hello to all the other alumni! I hope to be on the WISH threads again because like I said...I need to lose the weight again and the support here is great!

Happy holidays to everyone!
Jen

So nice to see you back again! You have been missed. Merry Christmas!

Good Wednesday morning everyone.

I think everything is bought for Christmas. We are still waiting for 2 more packages.

Jen welcome back.

Two and a half more days for me and three for dh (Yes we go to Friday)

Ds2 came home yesterday and will leave for Gambia on Jan 2nd. He will get back the Friday before classes start. He sounds very excited about the trip.

I only have about 6 full classes to teach. Tomorrow I am giving tests to most of my classes. Friday is a half day with short classes and a concert at the end of the day. There is also talk of a drill so it make the day go faster.

Off to get ready for school.

Have a happy and healthy day.

Glad DS is home safe. Good luck with your last few days of classes. I know the kids (young and old) have "holiday-fever" pretty bad already. Be sure to dress warm on Friday for the possible drill!

************

Morning friends! DD was MOST unpleasant when I had to wake her for swim practice this morning after just a mere 3 hours/45 minutes of sleep. She did homework for a SOLID 7+ hours last night. I'm sorry, but that is just INSANE! What do these teachers expect?? And she had to miss swim practice AGAIN last night, which of course did NOT make her happy. I cannot WAIT for holiday break.... she needs it SO BADLY!

Today will be wrapping, grocery shopping, a return to Target, pick up meds for DS at his naturopath's office.... can't remember everything on the list, but that is foremost in my mind.

Already on my 2nd cup of coffee.... emptied the dishwasher, got DD to carpool, packed her lunch, checked email and FB, and started the washer. Off to a good start.

Gotta to wake DS and continue this busy day! TTYL................P

 

[my3princes]

Pam you are so good my my mental health

I'm the coach today. I had intended to post last night, but got caught in Christmas traffic when I went grocery shopping doubling the time of that trip. I got home and had to bake cupcakes and brownies. Thinking I'd make it easier I did the brownies in a mini muffin pan, cooled them outside with the cupcakes. Time came to frost them and I could not get them out of the pan without them breaking I spray the pan with pam so have no idea what happened. So at 8:30 last night I had to make a couple pans of sugar cookies (emergency store bought from fridge). Thankfully they came out cute with some red sugar sprinkles and little Santa faces. So the boys had their party treats for today and the teacher gifts. Now if they just remember them.


Wednesday QOTD: with less thn 4 days to go before Christmas, what one thing have you been putting off that you need to prioritize and get done today? I'm sure we all have those little things that we've put off thinking we'll get a minute soon, but soon never seems to get here.

I didn't get our mortgage app done last night, not even started. That HAS to get done today. I will also pick one room in our house and clean it thoroughly tonight. Of course the boys have a bowling match this afternoon which will complicate things, but I can and will do it.

 

[mikamah]

Just popping in to say hello!! It's been a busy week, but I'm plugging along and getting ready for our Christmas eve celebration. I did a lot of baking over the weekend. I do just love to bake, and ds and i do gingerbread men which is a really fun activity. The qotd if I could only do one thing it would be my Christmas eve party. Our whole family comes, and my best friend and her family, and I've had it at my house every year except one for about 20 years. So many good memories, pics of my parents asleep on my couch in the early years waiting for midnight mass, ds and dniece looking in the sky for santa, really nice family time.

Hello to all our alumni, I've only scanned through but it's great to see Jen and Nicole, and everyone from the fall challenge. I hope to find some time to read more thoroughly.

I'm sure I will be back, but for those who might not be, I want to wish you all a very, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Kwanza, or what ever holiday you may celebrate. I love having you all here to share with, the good and the bad, and the support is amazing.

Have a great day!! I wish you all a peaceful, stress free few days leading up to the holiday too!!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Wednesday QOTD: with less thn 4 days to go before Christmas, what one thing have you been putting off that you need to prioritize and get done today? I'm sure we all have those little things that we've put off thinking we'll get a minute soon, but soon never seems to get here.

Well, I have a bunch of things to do today, but none of them are Christmas related. I have to go to the bank to close one of my accounts and have them note that I am temporarily moving. Then I have a dentist appointment for a cleaning. Next will be the DMV to renew my license: I am determined to get a good picture this time, and they said the number of characters that can fit has been increased, so my full name might fit this time! I'm also registering to vote/become an organ donor.

When I get home I have to call Dell. Mom got a virus that crashed her computer so $265 and about seven hours worth of phone calls later we're finally ready to proceed to the final step of wiping her hard drive and installing a fresh copy of Vista.

 

[jillbur]

We need a group trip to WDW just so we can all ride Soarin' together. Maybe CC would join us if we promised to hold her hand!??

Yes we are Polish (my grandfather) and Slovak (grandma). The traditions are mainly Slovak, I think.

Yay Soarin' lovers I'm all in for a group trip to ride Soarin'!! In fact, my DS5 would love it. When we were there in Jan/Feb, he made us ride it 3 times in a row. We finally convinced him to try some other rides But, all he talked about was Soarin'. And still does. The funniest thing is, my nephew13 hates that ride. He doesn't like heights and it freaked him out bad. So DS5 laughed at him a little that he was afraid and DS wasn't We even texted my nephew and kept telling him how many times we rode it and how much we loved it. It's was all in good spirits!

I'm the coach today. I had intended to post last night, but got caught in Christmas traffic when I went grocery shopping doubling the time of that trip. I got home and had to bake cupcakes and brownies. Thinking I'd make it easier I did the brownies in a mini muffin pan, cooled them outside with the cupcakes. Time came to frost them and I could not get them out of the pan without them breaking I spray the pan with pam so have no idea what happened. So at 8:30 last night I had to make a couple pans of sugar cookies (emergency store bought from fridge). Thankfully they came out cute with some red sugar sprinkles and little Santa faces. So the boys had their party treats for today and the teacher gifts. Now if they just remember them.


Wednesday QOTD: with less thn 4 days to go before Christmas, what one thing have you been putting off that you need to prioritize and get done today? I'm sure we all have those little things that we've put off thinking we'll get a minute soon, but soon never seems to get here.

I know hate is not a nice word, but I hate when I bake something for school or an extracurricular activity and it doesn't work out. Then you have to scramble to make something else and your tired and frustrated. At least you had back up cookies and didn't have to run out to the store again!

QOTD: I HAVE to start wrapping today. That's all I need to get done. I'll wait until Friday to make my fudge and mini cheesecakes so they are fresh. So that's it for today. Oh, and I have to workout! I plan on going to the gym for a circuit training class, but it's warm here today (50 whoohoo). It's raining, though. If it stops raining, I will be running instead. I miss running outside. I still haven't braved the cold. oh, and I HAVE to stop eating cookies! I feel so yucky from the sugar! My co-worker and I have plans to run out real fast during our lunch break and grab salads. I am craving a grilled chicken salad!

I'm showing most of my classes A Christmas Carol today and made up a nice 25 question worksheet to go with it. I was going to show my younger group Polar Express, but the English teacher needs them for 2 periods to work on some essays, so we'll just show it tomorrow. I highly doubt very many kids show up tomorrow. We are the only school in our area with school and most of the kids told us they aren't coming. I'm all about an easy last day before vacation!

Enjoy your hump day!

Jill

 

[SettinSail]

QOTD Tuesday, 12/20: What is one thing on your to-do list that must get done before the holiday(s)? How are you going to make sure that you do it?

Wednesday QOTD: with less thn 4 days to go before Christmas, what one thing have you been putting off that you need to prioritize and get done today? I'm sure we all have those little things that we've put off thinking we'll get a minute soon, but soon never seems to get here.

I have GOT to get my neice's present. I have a millions ideas in my head but won't committ to one. I just need to DO IT! Already have a few smaller things for her but need to get the big gift. I still have until Saturday night so I don't really feel too much pressure but that is the one thing hanging over me that is undone.

.

Speaking of agenda, I discovered that using Word to make a to-do list is genius!

I used to love doing this when I was not working - I would have the list up all day and just delete whatever I got done - so satisfying

Next will be the DMV to renew my license: I am determined to get a good picture this time, and they said the number of characters that can fit has been increased, so my full name might fit this time!

Thinking of your last name now - it is a long one


Hello friends, DS and DH finish up work and school today I'm working tomorrow and Friday and then off until Jan 3rd

DS was begging me to skip school today but he had a QUIZ!! Of course I wouldn't let him skip anyway. I think the Geometry teacher gave the few of them that were there a major break - she gave them the formulas they needed to take the test Hopefully he will do very well on it. I am still holding out hope he will end the semester with a B in Honors Geometry. I know it will not be easy for him. Not to mention that we are on the block schedule so he has basically taken a year-long course in one semester. I've heard after Geometry it gets so much better. It's been so long ago for me I really can't remember I don't remember Math being too complicated until I got to Statistics in College. That was the end of Math for me

I have been really struggling to hold my weight down and have not felt like exercising!!!! Definitely going to the Y tomorrow and Friday after work. I have been doing OK at functions with treats and such only to come home later and eat a POP TART or CHEEZITS ! What is up with that
Yes, we should not have that stuff in the house.

Tracey, you reminded me I missed the SNL Holiday special, waaaah.
We were at BSA Christmas party last night and didn't record it.

Got to scare up something for dinner around here and then taking it easy until 5:30 rolls around again tomorrow morning and it's time for work again

 

[my3princes]

Well, I have a bunch of things to do today, but none of them are Christmas related. I have to go to the bank to close one of my accounts and have them note that I am temporarily moving. Then I have a dentist appointment for a cleaning. Next will be the DMV to renew my license: I am determined to get a good picture this time, and they said the number of characters that can fit has been increased, so my full name might fit this time! I'm also registering to vote/become an organ donor.

When I get home I have to call Dell. Mom got a virus that crashed her computer so $265 and about seven hours worth of phone calls later we're finally ready to proceed to the final step of wiping her hard drive and installing a fresh copy of Vista.

I hope you managed to get it all done

Yes we are Polish (my grandfather) and Slovak (grandma). The traditions are mainly Slovak, I think.

Yay Soarin' lovers I'm all in for a group trip to ride Soarin'!! In fact, my DS5 would love it. When we were there in Jan/Feb, he made us ride it 3 times in a row. We finally convinced him to try some other rides But, all he talked about was Soarin'. And still does. The funniest thing is, my nephew13 hates that ride. He doesn't like heights and it freaked him out bad. So DS5 laughed at him a little that he was afraid and DS wasn't We even texted my nephew and kept telling him how many times we rode it and how much we loved it. It's was all in good spirits!




I know hate is not a nice word, but I hate when I bake something for school or an extracurricular activity and it doesn't work out. Then you have to scramble to make something else and your tired and frustrated. At least you had back up cookies and didn't have to run out to the store again!

QOTD: I HAVE to start wrapping today. That's all I need to get done. I'll wait until Friday to make my fudge and mini cheesecakes so they are fresh. So that's it for today. Oh, and I have to workout! I plan on going to the gym for a circuit training class, but it's warm here today (50 whoohoo). It's raining, though. If it stops raining, I will be running instead. I miss running outside. I still haven't braved the cold. oh, and I HAVE to stop eating cookies! I feel so yucky from the sugar! My co-worker and I have plans to run out real fast during our lunch break and grab salads. I am craving a grilled chicken salad!

I'm showing most of my classes A Christmas Carol today and made up a nice 25 question worksheet to go with it. I was going to show my younger group Polar Express, but the English teacher needs them for 2 periods to work on some essays, so we'll just show it tomorrow. I highly doubt very many kids show up tomorrow. We are the only school in our area with school and most of the kids told us they aren't coming. I'm all about an easy last day before vacation!

Enjoy your hump day!

Jill

How's the wrapping going? I hope you get it finished

 

[my3princes]

Settinsail

I hope you committed and got Niece's present bought. I'm sure things are getting pretty picked over so if you don't choose the choice my soon be made for you

 

[RutgersAlum]

Wednesday QOTD: with less thn 4 days to go before Christmas, what one thing have you been putting off that you need to prioritize and get done today? I'm sure we all have those little things that we've put off thinking we'll get a minute soon, but soon never seems to get here.

Gotta get the teacher gifts together with their cards. Also must gather my co-worker gifts tonight even though we have school Friday--don't want to leave it to the LAST, last minute
Michele/RutgersAlum

 

[my3princes]

Gotta get the teacher gifts together with their cards. Also must gather my co-worker gifts tonight even though we have school Friday--don't want to leave it to the LAST, last minute
Michele/RutgersAlum

Hopefully that won't take long and you'll have one more thing off your list



I got our mortgage application submitted, but cleaning is looking likely. Oh well, it certainly isn't life or death and I'm sure that it will look worse on Sunday.

 

[dumbo_buddy]

QOTD: i guess the thing i have left to do is to figure out what we're going to eat on christmas. maybe you guys can help?

we are staying home for christmas (not going to in-laws because they are crazy....long story) so i'd like to maybe start a nice tradition of being home on christmas. i want to watch the disney parade in the morning and go to church. DH asked me today if we should get dunkin donuts for breakfast on christmas. i was thinking it would be nice to make something yummy - a breakfast casserole perhaps?

do any of you have a breakfast casserole recipe?

i should probably make a nice dinner too...hmmm.....

 

[bellebookworm9]

Thinking of your last name now - it is a long one

I hope you managed to get it all done

Everything is done! Bank account will be closed tomorrow, and just got off the phone having it noted that I'm moving. Dentist was fine, no cavities. DMV was super speedy-I had visions of 3 hour long waits, but I was in and out in 10 minutes. Got a new picture, and my *entire* name now fits, not just my last name and then first and middle initials! It should come in the mail within two weeks so I can have it before I fly, but if not, I still have the old one and it's not expired so it will be fine-plus my ticket is booked under "G".

I just got off the phone with Dell after another hour and Mom's computer is all shiny and new. I installed some anti-virus software for her, am downloading Microsoft office (free through my school) and then just have to transfer the few files she wanted saved from the external hard drive.

Also, to whoever mentioned d-cot, I blame you for the fact that I am going to get nothing productive done this evening-just discovered it and am making a rather extensive playlist!

 

[dvccruiser76]

Hi everyone,
Sorry that I'm late to the party. I just skimmed through, but will be back tomorrow and then again on Friday to coach

Help - I need an Intervention

Man oh man, how long did that take you? I'd be missing more than one of those puppies

a little PSA for everyone: there's a thread on the main board called "what's the best thing you've eaten at disney"

yeah, don't go there. i'm drooling.

but....it's a way to get the food fix without the calories, right??

have a great day everyone!!!

My favorite is the Food Porn link on the restaurant thread in the main board. It's practically all food pictures I need to find your thread next!

Hoping that the XBox Kinect will help me with that!

Hi Tracey
Do you have the Kinect yet? You'll have to let me know if you like it. Do you have the Wii? Are they similar?

do any of you have a breakfast casserole recipe?

Does it have to be healthy? I have a bacon, egg and cheese bake, a french toast souffle recipe and the old Main Street Bakery frenc toast loaf recipe if you want any of those.

Is Thomas going nuts this year? Dylan is really getting the whole Santa thing this year. Have you guys watched Jingle All the Way on the Hallmark Channel yet? It's too cute

 

[jenanderson]

Good Wednesday morning everyone.

Jen welcome back.

Two and a half more days for me and three for dh (Yes we go to Friday)

Ds2 came home yesterday and will leave for Gambia on Jan 2nd. He will get back the Friday before classes start. He sounds very excited about the trip.

Have a happy and healthy day.

Hi Dona! It is good to be back and "see" all the familiar people! I am so surprised to see all the people here who have school on Friday...I hope it passes quickly for you. Our students finished today but I have a staff in-service day tomorrow (but get Friday off ).

What is DS2 going to Gambia for? I bet he is excited to go. My sister went to Africa for an extended time and loved her experience there.

So nice to see you back again! You have been missed. Merry Christmas!
**********

Morning friends! DD was MOST unpleasant when I had to wake her for swim practice this morning after just a mere 3 hours/45 minutes of sleep. She did homework for a SOLID 7+ hours last night. I'm sorry, but that is just INSANE! What do these teachers expect?? And she had to miss swim practice AGAIN last night, which of course did NOT make her happy. I cannot WAIT for holiday break.... she needs it SO BADLY!

Already on my 2nd cup of coffee.... emptied the dishwasher, got DD to carpool, packed her lunch, checked email and FB, and started the washer. Off to a good start.

Gotta to wake DS and continue this busy day! TTYL................P

Thanks for the warm welcome back! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!

It looks like things in your life are busy as usual. I totally get where you are coming from with your DD. My DD went to bed tonight at 7 PM. I know that she was not done with her homework. She was just so exhausted from everything these past few weeks that she could not take it and said she was just giving up for tonight and going to bed. I have no clue how these kids do it every day.

Wednesday QOTD: with less thn 4 days to go before Christmas, what one thing have you been putting off that you need to prioritize and get done today? I'm sure we all have those little things that we've put off thinking we'll get a minute soon, but soon never seems to get here.

I didn't get our mortgage app done last night, not even started. That HAS to get done today. I will also pick one room in our house and clean it thoroughly tonight. Of course the boys have a bowling match this afternoon which will complicate things, but I can and will do it.

WED QOTD: I have been putting off making the Lefsa and cleaning the bathrooms. I did not get it done today either. I do have a list made though of things I need to do Thursday and Friday so that I am ready for Saturday. I did get the Christmas cards mailed today and all the teacher gifts in order as well as do laundry.

Hope you and everyone else were a bit more successful then I was!

Just popping in to say hello!! It's been a busy week, but I'm plugging along and getting ready for our Christmas eve celebration. I did a lot of baking over the weekend. I do just love to bake, and ds and i do gingerbread men which is a really fun activity. The qotd if I could only do one thing it would be my Christmas eve party. Our whole family comes, and my best friend and her family, and I've had it at my house every year except one for about 20 years. So many good memories, pics of my parents asleep on my couch in the early years waiting for midnight mass, ds and dniece looking in the sky for santa, really nice family time.

Hello to all our alumni, I've only scanned through but it's great to see Jen and Nicole, and everyone from the fall challenge. I hope to find some time to read more thoroughly.

I'm sure I will be back, but for those who might not be, I want to wish you all a very, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Kwanza, or what ever holiday you may celebrate. I love having you all here to share with, the good and the bad, and the support is amazing.

Have a great day!! I wish you all a peaceful, stress free few days leading up to the holiday too!!

Hello! I have to say that it is really a good feeling to be back with everyone. I will have to share some of the ups and downs and such at some point - but not as we all are getting ready to celebrate the holidays...I will take time to share after Christmas while I am still on break.

Your Christmas Eve celebration sounds so nice. I bet it is wonderful to have everyone with you and enjoying the night together.

Well, I have a bunch of things to do today, but none of them are Christmas related. I have to go to the bank to close one of my accounts and have them note that I am temporarily moving. Then I have a dentist appointment for a cleaning. Next will be the DMV to renew my license: I am determined to get a good picture this time, and they said the number of characters that can fit has been increased, so my full name might fit this time! I'm also registering to vote/become an organ donor.

I saw all these plans and thought that you were being very ambitious today and then I read further and saw that you actually accomplished everything today....WAY TO GO! I am totally impressed.

QOTD: I HAVE to start wrapping today. That's all I need to get done. I'll wait until Friday to make my fudge and mini cheesecakes so they are fresh. So that's it for today. Oh, and I have to workout! I plan on going to the gym for a circuit training class, but it's warm here today (50 whoohoo). It's raining, though. If it stops raining, I will be running instead. I miss running outside. I still haven't braved the cold. oh, and I HAVE to stop eating cookies! I feel so yucky from the sugar! My co-worker and I have plans to run out real fast during our lunch break and grab salads. I am craving a grilled chicken salad!

I'm showing most of my classes A Christmas Carol today and made up a nice 25 question worksheet to go with it. I was going to show my younger group Polar Express, but the English teacher needs them for 2 periods to work on some essays, so we'll just show it tomorrow. I highly doubt very many kids show up tomorrow. We are the only school in our area with school and most of the kids told us they aren't coming. I'm all about an easy last day before vacation!

Enjoy your hump day!

Jill

Jill - Did you get your workout in? I hope so! I know what you mean about running outside in the cold. I live in MN and our rule is as long as it is above -10°...we run outside. It is so hard to get used to running in the cold though. I am just getting over bronchial pneumonia though so I haven't been doing much running.

Hope that you enjoy the last couple of days with your students. I think your movie plans are great. When I taught in the elementary school, that is how we always spent the last day.

I have been really struggling to hold my weight down and have not felt like exercising!!!! Definitely going to the Y tomorrow and Friday after work. I have been doing OK at functions with treats and such only to come home later and eat a POP TART or CHEEZITS ! What is up with that
Yes, we should not have that stuff in the house.

It is so hard sometimes to get motivated to exercise. I have also really been struggling but I like that you have a plan for going to the Y and to get back on track. I know from my past experience that having a plan and sharing it really helped me actually follow through. So now that you have told all of us that you are going to the Y tomorrow and Friday...you will go and feel great that you did it!

do any of you have a breakfast casserole recipe?

i should probably make a nice dinner too...hmmm.....

I bet if you searched, you could find something for breakfast that is healthy and simple to bake on Christmas morning.

We will be having a nice lean ham for dinner. I am also making a bunch of cooked veggies. We will also have some traditional lefsa because I can't let go of all the traditional treats.

I hope everyone is having a great evening and getting everything done that they need to. I am going to head to bed for the night with my list of things to get done tomorrow ready to go!

Night Everyone! Jen

 

[momofdjc]

I've been very bad about posting for most of the last challenge. I've been able to read along but haven't had time to post. I'm going to go through and answer the QOTD for this week.

Question of the Day

Do you open presents before or after breakfast?

We open presents before breakfast. The kids have to stay in their rooms until a decided upon time before they can come and wake us up. While they are trying to wake up their dad, I go turn on the oven to bake our breakfast casserole. They then are able to come out and open the stocking first and then the rest of the presents.

QOTD for 12/19/11:

We all have great family traditions for holiday time, be it Hannukkah, Kwaanza, or Christmas. But imagine life got REALLY crazy busy and you had to start dropping things from your list. What is the ONE tradition that you could not possibly foresee giving up? Is is making special cookies together as a family? Is it a relaxing cocktail party with friends? Trimming the tree with your kids??

The one tradition I can't see us giving up is spending time with family. We generally spend Christmas eve with my husbands family, Christmas Day with my mom's extended family, and another day with my dad's extended family. Almost everyone in the family lives in the general area so we don't have to travel longer than an hour to each party.

HEY... where is everyone???

Anyhow, I have thought of a bonus QOTD! For those who celebrate Christmas....


White or colored lights??? Flashing or still???

For those who celebrate Hannukah.....

Real candles or electric??

............P

We have still colored lights. DH tries to put the flashing lights on but they give me a headache.

Morning!

I'm coaching today and couldn't be more excited!

QOTD Tuesday, 12/20: What is one thing on your to-do list that must get done before the holiday(s)? How are you going to make sure that you do it?

I need to buy a few more things and wrap about half of the gifts still.

Fluff QOTD: What ride/attraction do you WISH you were on/at/doing right now?

Right now I would love to be watching Illuminations with the Holiday add-on.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Wednesday QOTD: with less thn 4 days to go before Christmas, what one thing have you been putting off that you need to prioritize and get done today? I'm sure we all have those little things that we've put off thinking we'll get a minute soon, but soon never seems to get here.

I went to go pick up the picture calendar that I created for my in-laws and had printed at the store. The store was more out of my way because the closer one ran out of the supplies to print them. The ones I made for my mom and dad and my grandparents was delivered today also.

Tomorrow we are going to go see my new nephew - I can't wait! Now I think it's time for bed.