Biggest Loser--Fall 2011 Challenge for Losers & Maintainers!!

[Rose&Mike]

Sorry I posted the QOTD and disappeared! My DS came home yesterday, so we had a busy but fun day! I did do 4 miles on the treadmill yesterday, which was the most I have don consecutively since starting pt. My foot was a bit sore yesterday, but that could also be because I really beat it up with the golfball in order to avoid scar tissue from the walk. I ran the last tenth of a mile (which is about 70 seconds of running). It was awesome.

Anyhow, I really enjoyed reading everyone's answers to the QOTD.

Thank you to Dona and Lisa for posting QOTD. Yesterday we went to the gym, ran errands, watched Army/Navy (woohoo Navy) and went out for gf dessert! Long, busy, fun day! And we have a set of glass ornaments on out main tree that have glitter on them with a Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Pluto. I also have mini tree with neon glass Mickey heads--they have glitter too!

I wanted to respond to the comments on exercising in the cold. Several years ago I had a nasty respiratory infection that lasted all winter. One of the things that came out of it--I developed a reaction to cold air. Everytime I walked outside--even to get in the car-- I coughed and wheezed. My doctor said it was essentially an asthmatic reaction to cold air. Last year I did a bunch of research on it, and it really isn't uncommon.

Here's how I handle it. When the temp is below ~40 I have a fleece neck thingy that I wear over my mouth and nose when I run. I put a safety pin in it and it stays in place. There are ski masks that would work for this, but I think they are kind of scary looking. If I have a cold/respiratory thing, I don't run outside. It's a recipe for wheezing. If you are coughing and coughing after exercising outside in the cold, it's a good indication you are having an "allergic" reaction to the cold. My doctor a couple of years ago said I could get an inhaler, but I try to avoid meds if at all possible, and wearing something over my mouth and nose so that the air I am breathing is warm and moist does the trick. The issue is that the air is COLD and DRY. Of course, YMMV, but this does the trick for me. I would say if you have never had a problem with this before, it might be worth a call to the doctor to make sure nothing more serious is going on.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Lisa's QOTD, December 11th: If you celebrate Christmas and put up a Christmas tree do you have some Disney ornaments on it? If yes, what is your favorite one? If you don't have a favorite Disney ornament, what is your favorite?

Like I could resist this QOTD!

Ariel, Stitch, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Jiminy Cricket, even Dumbo are represented on our tree -- but the biggest presence goes to Belle. I think I counted 9 ornaments this year Each time I go to WDW I stop in the Christmas shop and select a Belle ornament. All those races have added up

But I think my favorite is actually Mickey and Minnie sitting on pillows in front of a tv. When you press a button it plays the theme from the Wonderful World of Disney, and the tv screen lights up with fireworks.

Question of the Day

What are you doing today? Is it getting ready for the holidays or just normal housework.

Oh! I did both! After my 10M run (I have nothing on Lisah!) I baked oatmeal choc chip cookies, did , got packages ready to mail, and wrapped a few presents. I also watched my Tivo'd SyFy Christmas specials (Eureka, Warehouse 13 and Haven). My dh and ds were out shopping, so I had the entire house to myself all afternoon. It was awesome! Harry Connick was singing about Christmas, the red berries and cedar candle was glowing, and I was feeling the spirit!

Rose's QOTD, Friday, December 9th
Have you had any setbacks this challenge? How have you handled them? What did you learn?

I found it challenging to have visitors, to travel, and to stick with my plans, as usual. I think I what I learned was to stop getting impatient and trying to take shortcuts, because it always backfires

Ok folks, time to stop DISing and finish getting ready for church. I know we're all preparing for an awesome finale week!

Maria

 

[bellebookworm9]

Lisa's QOTD, December 11th: If you celebrate Christmas and put up a Christmas tree do you have some Disney ornaments on it? If yes, what is your favorite one? If you don't have a favorite Disney ornament, what is your favorite?

Believe it or not, I don't think we have any Disney ornaments (of course, I'm not at home so I can't double check). My tree at school is a little 3 ft. fiber optic one, and I bought a silver glitter star to go on top, and sets of lavender and silver ornaments (some glitter, some not).

At home, I really like my "Baby's First Christmas" ornament, even though it's really heavy!

Gretchen, is this the last week of school? Good luck with getting through finals and getting ready to head off to WDW soon. :smickey

Yup, I'm finished this Friday, and then I have Saturday and Sunday to finish packing. Last week as an undergrad (sort of).

 

[glss1/2fll]

QOTD: I don't think we have any Disney ornaments. The tree goes up later this week. My favorite ornaments are the ones the kids made about ten years ago, back when they were little and cute and wanted to do crafts! They are glass balls that they poured some paint into and swirled it around. very nice

I'm sure DS2 is mad today because he was invited to a slumber/birthday party yesterday with all his friends from the high school his parents didn't let him go to and he has to leave early because he is helping out at church. We couldn't find a substitute for what he's supposed to do. There are actually only 3 choices for subs and 2 of them couldn't and one of them was doing the earlier service. So he's stuck. And then right after the service he's supposed to go help serve a meal then that commitments ends and he has 2 hours before he's back at church for choir practice. I've a sneaking suspicion he's going to skip serving food to take a nap! If I don't hear from him in 30 minutes I'm calling to make sure he is up before I go get him!

DS1 was home last night (very odd) so we all watched the 2nd Transformers movie. He got 2 & 3 for his birthday last month. Guess he'll get 1 for Christmas! Had a very nice phone call from one of his teachers yesterday. He said parents too often get calls about something wrong their kid did, so he was calling to say how awesome ours was. He raved and told us what a wonderful job we were doing. I like this teacher!

Need to go finish loading up the dishwasher. I lead such an exciting life!

Loved the photos! I bet the card is adorable; we just make our guys go to Wallyworld for a cheapo holiday photo! Say cheese and please don't kill your brother in front of the photographer!

ETA: Oh, we do have a Disney ornament, only it's a tree topper. We bought it last year on our trip. Totally forgot!

 

[ougrad86]

I will be in Norman, OK. The Marriott runs the complex, which I am sure is very nice - but I hate the idea of being stuck there. I don't want to pay for a rental car out of pocket - when that money can go for vacation.

This is Patches. He was adopted from a rescue in Arkansas that transported him and his sisters to NH where we picked him up. At the time he weighed 2 1/2 pounds. He will be 2 in January. His mother was a daschund/terrier mix. Dad was a shihtzu. Patches is weighing in around 10 pounds. I wish we had socialized him with other dogs more. It seems everyone around here has huge dogs - and Patches doesn't like them. He does have 2 friends that are daschunds. I noticed a Petsmart in Woburn as a Doggie Day Care. But it's indoors and there had to be a dozen dogs in there last weekend. All the dogs were lined up at the window looking into the store. I would like to find one of those agility courses for dogs. Patches would be great at that.

This is the picture I used for our Christmas photo. We were going for fun. It's not a flattering picture of DS - but he loved the card.

Janis

Norman is a nice town, but if you are were I think you are going to be, it's not close to the campus. Of course, it has been years since I have been there, so things may have changed. I was loving college, and fell in love with everything around it!

Love your dog. He looks like he has very silky fur - very cute! If we get another pet, it will be from the humane society or the rescue. That is where we picked up my dog when I was young, and I always like giving them a second chance.

That picture is great! Reminds me of my DS!

Lisa's QOTD, December 11th: If you celebrate Christmas and put up a Christmas tree do you have some Disney ornaments on it? If yes, what is your favorite one? If you don't have a favorite Disney ornament, what is your favorite?

I have two Christmas ornaments I recently picked up...at JC Penny! Blown glass Mickey heads with gold glitter that I stumbled across after one Christmas - they were on clearance! My favorites are the ones we picked up in Germany when we lived there, and one I picked up in Epcot back in the 80's from the German pavilion...a little wooden toy train.

No tree this year though, since we will be gone for the holidays.

Carol

 

[donac]

Good Sunday afternoon.

Been to church, went grocery shopping, made brownies for my math team, a ham is in the oven and I am just getting ready to put the sweet potatoes into the oven. I have done a little quilting and wrote our Christmas card letter. Not much to it this year since we didn't do much but that is okay. Will get the cards out over the next couple of days.

QOTD We get a new ornament from Disney everytime we have gone except for the last time we went. I have one from DL from our honeymoon. We also got the guys ornaments for each trip. I collect ornaments whenever we travel.

Off to get somethings done around here like laundry.

Have a happy and healthy day.

 

[mikamah]

Lisa's QOTD, December 11th: If you celebrate Christmas and put up a Christmas tree do you have some Disney ornaments on it? If yes, what is your favorite one? If you don't have a favorite Disney ornament, what is your favorite?

This is actually a "recycled" question from donac from last year! Thanks, Dona!

We have a Disney tree that we put up in our sunroom. You've never seen so many Mickey heads! But I have to say my favorite is the Disney Vacation Club ornament -- because it reminds me of all our fun vacations.

My favorite disney ornament is a mickey one that michael secretly bought me at Target last year. I have a 2006 lollipop mickey head from our first trip too. My favorite ornaments are the picture ones, I have at least one of michael from every year, and some of my parents and grandmother. We got a small tree yesterday, and realized we have too many ornaments so we put just the favorites on it. If our house was a little bigger, we could get two trees.

Thanks for the QOTD Lisa.

Janis-Your dog is just adorable, and I love the picture of DS. I checked out the petco/petsmart classes, and they both look similar. I have one more place to go, and then think I'll sign up to start one right after christmas. They both have them on weekends.

Lots of miles run this weekend. Congrats to everyone out there running.

We had a low key weekend, the days are great, nights pup's not sleeping great in the crate, so we moved it to a different room, and hope tonight will be better. We've been out for several walks and ran her in the park, and after dinner will take another long walk, and hope to tire her out so she'll crash.

Have a great night everyone!!

 

[dvccruiser76]

So, I don't think we have a QOTD yet, so here is one from me.

Consider it a bonus if one gets posted later.

Rose's QOTD, Friday, December 9th
Have you had any setbacks this challenge? How have you handled them? What did you learn?

My darn cold has been a setback for sure. I'm still doing well, but I'm always tired and have to force myself to the gym and up until last week when I would eat I couldn't taste everything fully and for some reason couldn't tell when I was full. It was odd, but yet I seemed to lose weight after eating worse than I should I've had the cough for 6 weeks now and a week of antibiotics didn't help much so I'm hoping it goes away this week or next. It's worse at night so I'm able to go to work, but it's annoying as ever. It's also caused me to not get all my wrapping done like I have in years past, but I'm hoping this is my week for wrapping

Ds is up now, so Poko and I will go out for our long walk. We walked to ds's school to pick him up at after school care yesterday, and ds was so excited to show her off.

Awww... too cute. Did his friends love her?

I did learn a lesson while out on my walk. Be sure the song on the radio is one I want to sing for the next 45 min before I leave the house. I was singing DOminic the DOnkey the whole time.

Ha! I got DS to listen to that the other night. He keeps asking for Santa Baby now, because he can say it easily

A big, BL thank you, too to Sue for being our weightkeeper and CC for being our HH coach.

Everyone should give themselves a big old and woo hoo for sticking with this challenge all the way through. This is the last week! Pretend that you are getting ready for your own finale this week and figure out what you need to do to finish strong!

Oh good grief! I've been telling people that we have two more weigh-ins Some weight keeper For some reason I had the 23rd in my mind.

This is Patches. He was adopted from a rescue in Arkansas that transported him and his sisters to NH where we picked him up. At the time he weighed 2 1/2 pounds. He will be 2 in January. His mother was a daschund/terrier mix. Dad was a shihtzu. Patches is weighing in around 10 pounds. I wish we had socialized him with other dogs more. It seems everyone around here has huge dogs - and Patches doesn't like them. He does have 2 friends that are daschunds. I noticed a Petsmart in Woburn as a Doggie Day Care. But it's indoors and there had to be a dozen dogs in there last weekend. All the dogs were lined up at the window looking into the store. I would like to find one of those agility courses for dogs. Patches would be great at that.

This is the picture I used for our Christmas photo. We were going for fun. It's not a flattering picture of DS - but he loved the card.

Janis

Patches looks too cute and so does the pic for your card. I'm glad he ageed to be in it this year


Hello everyone, just jumping in quick before I wrap up some work. Things seem to be slowing down here a bit. Don't forget to pm your weights by tomorrow night if you haven't sent them yet

 

[glss1/2fll]

Had an excellent run today. I love it when I break a speed record! Now, my children would laugh at my "speed," but I am happy.

I needed that run, and several more like it, to make up for the "refused to set up fudge" I've munched today! grrr I was all prepared to cut it and get it wrapped for gifts and instead it's in my fridge calling my name. Fortunately for me, I have teenage boys! That fudge won't last long.

DS2 did serve lunch today at the soup kitchen! Amazing. After choir practice he finished the book he was reading for fun then said he wanted to watch a movie. So he put in Finding Nemo. Part way through he was falling asleep so he's getting ready for bed, now.

Hopefully I can convince DH to start our Christmas newsletter and review gifts on hand and gifts needed. Time is ticking!

Have a super final week!

 

[buzz5985]

Lisa's QOTD, December 11th: If you celebrate Christmas and put up a Christmas tree do you have some Disney ornaments on it? If yes, what is your favorite one? If you don't have a favorite Disney ornament, what is your favorite?

This is actually a "recycled" question from donac from last year! Thanks, Dona!

We have a Disney tree that we put up in our sunroom. You've never seen so many Mickey heads! But I have to say my favorite is the Disney Vacation Club ornament -- because it reminds me of all our fun vacations.

We have several ornaments that we have bought in our travels to WDW. Mine is a replica of the Disney Wonder by Radco. DH's favorite is a huge handpainted Santa that we bought in NH. My SIL family gave us a glass ornament dog - that looked like our old dog Bonnie - so we love that one.

Norman is a nice town, but if you are were I think you are going to be, it's not close to the campus. Of course, it has been years since I have been there, so things may have changed. I was loving college, and fell in love with everything around it!

Love your dog. He looks like he has very silky fur - very cute! If we get another pet, it will be from the humane society or the rescue. That is where we picked up my dog when I was young, and I always like giving them a second chance.

That picture is great! Reminds me of my DS!



I have two Christmas ornaments I recently picked up...at JC Penny! Blown glass Mickey heads with gold glitter that I stumbled across after one Christmas - they were on clearance! My favorites are the ones we picked up in Germany when we lived there, and one I picked up in Epcot back in the 80's from the German pavilion...a little wooden toy train.

No tree this year though, since we will be gone for the holidays.

Carol

I am staying at the National Center for Employee Development. It's a federally owned place that the Marriot runs for them. Sounds like a fun place.

My favorite disney ornament is a mickey one that michael secretly bought me at Target last year. I have a 2006 lollipop mickey head from our first trip too. My favorite ornaments are the picture ones, I have at least one of michael from every year, and some of my parents and grandmother. We got a small tree yesterday, and realized we have too many ornaments so we put just the favorites on it. If our house was a little bigger, we could get two trees.

Thanks for the QOTD Lisa.

Janis-Your dog is just adorable, and I love the picture of DS. I checked out the petco/petsmart classes, and they both look similar. I have one more place to go, and then think I'll sign up to start one right after christmas. They both have them on weekends.

Lots of miles run this weekend. Congrats to everyone out there running.

We had a low key weekend, the days are great, nights pup's not sleeping great in the crate, so we moved it to a different room, and hope tonight will be better. We've been out for several walks and ran her in the park, and after dinner will take another long walk, and hope to tire her out so she'll crash.

Have a great night everyone!!

Have you tried covering 3 sides of the crate with a towel/sheet or something - so the dog thinks she's in a cave, nice and cozy and safe. I know some rescue's give the dogs stuffed animals to sleep with - as long as they don't try to bite anything off. Puppies are tough - don't give up or you will have a spoiled, rotten brat that runs your house - like I have!!!

Janis

 

[bellebookworm9]

Have you tried covering 3 sides of the crate with a towel/sheet or something - so the dog thinks she's in a cave, nice and cozy and safe. I know some rescue's give the dogs stuffed animals to sleep with - as long as they don't try to bite anything off. Puppies are tough - don't give up or you will have a spoiled, rotten brat that runs your house - like I have!!!

Janis

Just adding my own story: When we got our dog he was about a year old. We knew he had been abused. For whatever reason, we did not get a crate (maybe he was too big?). So the first night he followed my mom up to bed and slept on the bed with her. She didn't kick him off because she didn't know what he would do. Now he sleeps there almost every night, unless I'm home, then he'll sleep downstairs with me (he's almost 12 now and the stairs aren't so easy).

When we left the house we closed him in the entryway/basement, separated by a door from the kitchen and rest of the house. As time went on, we would leave him to roam the house-the only problem is that he would get into the garbage can! So now we just prop a gate over that cupboard and put up any other food and there's no trouble. In fact, it's better: If he's home alone during a thunderstorm, he just goes and hides in the bathtub!

 

[donac]

Good Monday morning.

Got our Christmas card letter done. It is so short because nothing much happened. Luckily I am using paper with a big bow in the corner and across the top and side so I don't have to put as much into it. I will start printing it out tonight. I had to wait to print until ds2 approved it.

Long day today. Math team this afternoon.

SOrry this is so short today just lost track of time.

Have a happy and healthy day.

 

[pjlla]

Happy Monday friends!

Well.... DD and I got back about 8:30 or so last night and we were out the door at 5 am.... so we are both a bit tired.

I just wanted to say hi as I am working today and probably won't bother to lug my laptop along as I probably won't have much time in this particular class..... plus I am deep into HP #7 and it is quite a page-turner, so if I have a free period I will be reading!

I have been working on that list that CC mentioned and hope to share it later. I haven't had a chance to look and see if anyone shared the list.

Yesterday's eating was difficult, but I did really well up until late in the evening.... had a bit of a stress moment with DH and ended the day eating pretzels straight from the bag (rather than portioning them out properly). Probably not too much damage overall, but I was already at the top of my points for the day. But today is a new day!

I"ve gotta hit the shower or I'll be late! I'll try to pop on tonight. DD is probably skipping all evening activities tonight to catch up on homework, so I'll be home tonight....................P

 

[dumbo_buddy]

good morning all!

well, this challenge obviously is a bust for me. i've decided to just let things be until i have my 6 week post partum check up and get the ok to start exercising. i ate my weight in poppycock (don't ever buy that stuff, it's dangerous!) last night. i'm tired and a little frazzled and dealing with the awesome ****s-trying-to-figure-out-how-much-milk-they-need-to-make feelings. i haven't cooked a meal since i've had the baby. i need to work on getting myself organized and onto a schedule of some sort. once i get myself more settled i'll be back in earnest.

look out BL new year's challenge, i'm all over you

PS - 158 days til our next Disney trip! can't wait. just the four of us are staying in the treehouses - we feel that is being nice to all the other people traveling so they won't have to hear a screaming baby and/or toddler in the middle of the night (plus we have the points since i couldn't do the WDW marathon in january)

 

[mikamah]

Good Morning! Figured I'd post a qotd today.
What is your favorite holiday food this time of year? With your healthy lifestyle have you modified any of your favorite holiday recipes to make them healthier?

My favorite are my mother's spritz cookies. I do not even try to modify them, except for the fact that I try to give most away, and only make them at christmas time. Normally we've made a batch by now, and eaten it, but I'm waiting til next weekend.

 

[pjlla]

Good Morning! Figured I'd post a qotd today.
What is your favorite holiday food this time of year? With your healthy lifestyle have you modified any of your favorite holiday recipes to make them healthier?

My favorite are my mother's spritz cookies. I do not even try to modify them, except for the fact that I try to give most away, and only make them at christmas time. Normally we've made a batch by now, and eaten it, but I'm waiting til next weekend.

Good girl waiting on the cookies!

I don't really have a favorite holiday food. We've never adopted a really strong Christmas tradition for dinner, so I don't even have a special main dish or casserole that I am looking forward to having.

DH and the kids usually make his family's semi-famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies so that there are cookies for Santa.... that's about it. I've never tried to modify that recipe.... I think cookies can get ruined pretty easily by modifying.

I have modified many other recipes over the years though!

Thanks for the great question!

I'm at work ladies and like I said, probably won't be online much today. Hopefully it will warm up before recess duty time!! TTYL....................P

 

[mikamah]

Janis_ I did try the blanket but she pulled it through the crate and chewed it up and almost broke the crate pulling it through. I moved the crate in to the living/playroom and let ds sleep on the couch last night, and she went out with him. She woke and barked a couple times, so I came out and didn't speak to her, but she saw me, and then she stopped and didn't bark again all night. I want to be tough, but it's hard. But I know she need to be in the crate when we are gone, and sleeping. So alll in all, I'd say it is coming along. Thanks for the advice.

gretchen-I can picture your poor puppy in the bathtub.

Pamela]-Have a great day at work. Hope you have plenty of reading time.

Nancy-That's a great plan to just go with the flow til your 6 week appt. You may be surprised at the scale then, just by your busy schedule, lack of sleep, craziness life. Hang in there. These days seem so long sometimes, but in reality they do fly by. I know you'll believe that in 10 years, but it does seem like yesterday michael was an infant. And I was losing my mind. Hope you are able to find a good balance day to day.

Hello to everyone else!! Off to take Poko for a quick walk pre-work/crate.

Have a great day!!

 

[lisah0711]

Good morning all!

Rose, glad that Tom is home safely and that you are able to do some more exercising. I know that makes you happy! Thanks for the tips on cold weather running, too.

Maria, I love the Wonderful World of Color ornament! And, of course, all of your Belle ornaments from all your races. Another one coming soon!

Gretchen, this week will fly by for sure!

Linda, congrats on the new PR! And for getting out there in the cold. We are having horrible air quality here -- please send some wind our way!

Carol, have a great time on your trip!

Dona, how much longer until Christmas break?

Kathy, hope moving the crate helped Poko and the rest of you get through the night. The nice thing about dogs is that the stages pass much more quickly than they do with children.

Sue, that sure was one nasty bug. Hope that you are able to kick it this week for good. A shot of bourbon always helps me when I have a cough at night.

Janis, your dog ornament sounds cute!

Pamela, glad you made it home safely. Sounds like you have a busy day today.

Nancy, don't be so hard on yourself. That giving life thing can derail your health goals for a bit but you have such a wonderful baby boy to show for all your hard work! Lots of time to work stuff off as you chase around your toddler and baby.

Good Morning! Figured I'd post a qotd today.
What is your favorite holiday food this time of year? With your healthy lifestyle have you modified any of your favorite holiday recipes to make them healthier?

My favorite are my mother's spritz cookies. I do not even try to modify them, except for the fact that I try to give most away, and only make them at christmas time. Normally we've made a batch by now, and eaten it, but I'm waiting til next weekend.

Thanks for posting the QOTD today, Kathy! I'd call putting off a batch a healthy modification myself. That's what I did with a batch of Chex Party Mix this week-end. It will still be there waiting for me next week-end. I don't try to modify the recipe either. I think it's better just to have the thing that you enjoy and control the portions or frequency. Otherwise I'll eat ten other things trying to make up for what I think I'm missing.

I'm sorry to say that I only made it to 11 miles on Saturday due to a very painful knee. Turns out I rubbed a blister on the bottom of my foot, too. I'm hoping that it can be fixed with a new pair of shoes. My shoes probably are worn out since I've had them since June. I'm glad this happened 6 weeks before the Tink instead of 3 weeks before.

Have a great day all!

 

[pjlla]

Janis_ I did try the blanket but she pulled it through the crate and chewed it up and almost broke the crate pulling it through. I moved the crate in to the living/playroom and let ds sleep on the couch last night, and she went out with him. She woke and barked a couple times, so I came out and didn't speak to her, but she saw me, and then she stopped and didn't bark again all night. I want to be tough, but it's hard. But I know she need to be in the crate when we are gone, and sleeping. So alll in all, I'd say it is coming along. Thanks for the advice.

How about putting the crate in a corner with maybe a bookcase or something next to it.... that might give that same "cave" type feeling wihout having a blanket handy to destroy!

gretchen-I can picture your poor puppy in the bathtub.

Pamela]-Have a great day at work. Hope you have plenty of reading time.

Already got a few pages read!

Nancy-That's a great plan to just go with the flow til your 6 week appt. You may be surprised at the scale then, just by your busy schedule, lack of sleep, craziness life. Hang in there. These days seem so long sometimes, but in reality they do fly by. I know you'll believe that in 10 years, but it does seem like yesterday michael was an infant. And I was losing my mind. Hope you are able to find a good balance day to day.

Wise lady.... you know what you speak of!!

Hello to everyone else!! Off to take Poko for a quick walk pre-work/crate.

Have a great day!!

Have a super day!!

Good morning all!

Pamela, glad you made it home safely. Sounds like you have a busy day today.

Thanks.... it was a long ride home last night (about 90 minutes), but DD was awake and we talked, so all was good.

I'm sorry to say that I only made it to 11 miles on Saturday due to a very painful knee. Turns out I rubbed a blister on the bottom of my foot, too. I'm hoping that it can be fixed with a new pair of shoes. My shoes probably are worn out since I've had them since June. I'm glad this happened 6 weeks before the Tink instead of 3 weeks before.

Have a great day all!

Youch!! But honestly.... there is nothing ONLY about 11 miles!! That is amazing! Get yourself some new shoes now!!

**********

OKAY FRIENDS.... put on your thinking caps! DD and I need an idea. She needs to spearhead a community service for NHS and we are trying to think of something original. Here are the criteria....

food drive, coat drive, clothing drive, penny drive have already been done. She is already collecting can tabs for Shriner's hospital for her Rainbow Girls activity. It doesn't have to be done now, before Christmas, but she'd like to at least get an idea going. We would like to NOT have it be anything where she has to collecting large quantities of bulky items. We don't have a truck or large mini-van available for transporting stuff.

We were both thinking, in this economy, it would be nice if it were something that didn't take a lot of $$ from each person.... like collecting something that might otherwise go to waste (similar to the can tab thing). I had suggested collecting used cell phones. I believe there are a few organizations out there that collect them and somehow it benefits veterans/soldiers (not sure exactly how).

She thought it would be nice if it could benefit something local, as opposed to something international (I had suggested Heifer International or Feed the World type of idea). But a coat drive and food drive for our local food pantry have already been done recently.

She would like to do something to benefit Project Linus (as she was the recipient of a blanket from them a few years ago), but she doesn't have the funds, the skills, or the man power to create any number of blankets.

ANYHOW.... ANY IDEAS OUT THERE?? Thanks in advance.................P

 

[bellebookworm9]

Got our Christmas card letter done.

Mom said she did ours last night too!

plus I am deep into HP #7 and it is quite a page-turner, so if I have a free period I will be reading!

Such a good book-I read 6 and 7 in under 24 hours each when they came out!

Good Morning! Figured I'd post a qotd today.
What is your favorite holiday food this time of year? With your healthy lifestyle have you modified any of your favorite holiday recipes to make them healthier?

I love those oreo truffle things-cream cheese mixed with crushed oreos then dipped in chocolate. Not many people make them though so we don't have them often and I doubt there's really any way to modify them.

OKAY FRIENDS.... put on your thinking caps! DD and I need an idea. She needs to spearhead a community service for NHS and we are trying to think of something original. Here are the criteria....

food drive, coat drive, clothing drive, penny drive have already been done. She is already collecting can tabs for Shriner's hospital for her Rainbow Girls activity. It doesn't have to be done now, before Christmas, but she'd like to at least get an idea going. We would like to NOT have it be anything where she has to collecting large quantities of bulky items. We don't have a truck or large mini-van available for transporting stuff.

We were both thinking, in this economy, it would be nice if it were something that didn't take a lot of $$ from each person.... like collecting something that might otherwise go to waste (similar to the can tab thing). I had suggested collecting used cell phones. I believe there are a few organizations out there that collect them and somehow it benefits veterans/soldiers (not sure exactly how).

She thought it would be nice if it could benefit something local, as opposed to something international (I had suggested Heifer International or Feed the World type of idea). But a coat drive and food drive for our local food pantry have already been done recently.

She would like to do something to benefit Project Linus (as she was the recipient of a blanket from them a few years ago), but she doesn't have the funds, the skills, or the man power to create any number of blankets.

ANYHOW.... ANY IDEAS OUT THERE?? Thanks in advance.................P

Two things that I have participated in in the past: For my girl scout bronze award, I coordinated a children's morning at the local library. Read some stories, played a few games and did some crafts. You could also do a book drive.

For my silver award, my troop went to a local teen halfway house and re-decorated their "art" room. We painted it and put some things up on the walls, and added some curtains. We also collected toiletries and such for them.