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

[buzz5985]

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[buzz5985]

We picked up my DS today from camp. This is a picture of him last year at Fulton's Crab house digging into his filet - just for a size reference. Notice the skinny arms.

He was all excited telling us how he repelled down Cathedral Ledge in North Conway NH. So I went and googled it.

When did I sign off on this one!!!! 300 Feet down. I am amazed that his arms held him up. I knew he was brave - he plays hockey - usually against kids that outweigh him by 75 pounds. But to be able to "jump" off a cliff, is simply amazing to me. Just another view of the rock. Sorry - just had to brag a bit.

So he is safely home. LOL Last week our grocery bill was $35 for DH and I, this week right back to $100. LOL Tonight we made homemade tacos. We made the tortillas in the breadmaker - actually a recipe for wraps - but it's very good. I kept away from the cheese, and stacked it high with grape tomatoes.

We decided to stick around the house tomorrow and have a small cookout for the family. Just finished making the hot dog rolls, had made hamburger rolls the other day for our lunches and had 6 left. We have gazpacho made, green salad made, will throw together a pasta salad tomorrow. The heat is supposed to leave us tomorrow/Monday - so looking forward to more activity outdoors.

Have a Nice Sunday everyone. Go get a glass of water with a twist of lemon.

Janis

 

[keenercam]

So, question of the day is kind of a cop-out but I am looking for new ideas, so I'm kind of sneaky this way :

QOTD for Sunday, July 24: If the weather ever cools down enough so that cooking over a hot grill outside is enjoyable, I am sure we'd all like new ideas for making grilled foods interesting. Share your favorite idea of something to throw on the grill or a recipe/marinade that you have enjoyed.

My favorite marinade for london broil is A1 steak sauce and fat free italian dressing mixed together in a ziploc bag.

 

[tigger813]

Morning all.

Not feeling my best this morning so we are going to skip church. Tummy was bugging me last night and I just can't seem to get moving this morning. Brian and Ash are still sleeping. I have the doors and windows open in the house as it's supposed to be a much cooler day today. Had some quick showers this morning. I had a Fiber Plus bar for breakfast. I'm going to have a shake for lunch and we have pork chops to grill tonight or maybe we'll have the chops earlier in the day. Not going to sit around all day like I did yesterday. Kids and I will do some Wii dance workouts and play some other games as well. I would love to go see the Winnie the Pooh movie but I'll see how the tummy feels. It's a short movie so won't be gone too long.

Can't wait to see the Glee 3D movie. Probably going to see it on my birthday with Ash, Izzie and my DSIL. She is a huge Glee fan, even saw the real concert! I just think it will be cool to sing the whole way through a concert and this will be a must have DVD! The night before my birthday Brian and I go see Journey, Foreigner and Night Ranger. Excited for that. Hoping Journey does "When You Love a Woman" as that was our first dance at our wedding and the song we fell in love to!

Guess I should see if anyone else in this house is going to get up today. We even went to bed early last night so I'm surprised that Brian is still sleeping!

TTFN

 

[tigger813]

So, question of the day is kind of a cop-out but I am looking for new ideas, so I'm kind of sneaky this way :

QOTD for Sunday, July 24: If the weather ever cools down enough so that cooking over a hot grill outside is enjoyable, I am sure we'd all like new ideas for making grilled foods interesting. Share your favorite idea of something to throw on the grill or a recipe/marinade that you have enjoyed.

My favorite marinade for london broil is A1 steak sauce and fat free italian dressing mixed together in a ziploc bag.

We are having pork chops marinated in Lawry's Teriyaki marinade! I like your London Broil marinade! We'll have to try that one! I think I'm out of regular A1 right now. We prefer the thick and hearty. We will probably have rice pilaf and salad with it. I'm hooked on salads right now and have been eating one everyday!

TTFN

 

[keenercam]

The salad was delicious-and HUGE! I was only able to eat half of it, and I brought the rest home-I ordered it without the pecans to make it less points. I got an apple as my side, which I also brought home. I drank water, but ate my whole cheese pastry.

I am so glad to hear you liked the salad. That is a very positive recommendation and now I am really looking forward to having it. I’ll have to look it up on WW for the points values without the pecans and I’ll ask for the dressing on the side. Thanks for posting! Really sorry your ice cream and the heat teamed up to attack you.

Christina – I hope you are having a great time with your friend!

Hi, Deb! An allergy to cold is such an interesting concept; it seems terribly inconvenient! I guess my annual polar bear plunge for Special Olympics would be completely out of the question, huh?

Tracey – We played a new card game with our friends yesterday and I immediately thought of you and thought you might like it – 5 Crowns. It’s a somewhat complicated card game but lots of fun and never boring.

Lisa – Where the cottage is looks so gorgeous! I am really glad you are able to get away. I hope you have a nice, relaxing time.

I had to laugh when you said that what you did wrong was too much diet soda- Okay, I understand that is something you are trying to avoid but once again you totally impress me with everything you do “right.” I think you are wonderful! Thanks for reminding me that Maria will be at Providence ½. I am going to send her a PM to see what her plans are. I am really excited there will be so many WISHers there. WISH you were coming, too! I hope you had a good 7 miles yesterday with your running group. How did it go?


Dona – That show sounds like so much fun. Is your dog okay? Hope you were able to avoid going out and fighting the traffic.

Lindsay – Did you go out to get Ryan’s cleats yesterday? Was it wicked hot? A big hug to DH for letting you sleep in yesterday.

Shawn – Congrats on the scale going down!! See? We KNEW you could do it. Your water intake and calorie burn on Friday are very impressive. How did yesterday go? Saturdays are hard! Did you go to the movies? How was it? I hope you quickly find that your old friends and friendly acquaintances are so glad you are back and more than eager to renew the relationships. Do you belong to a church or a YMCA where you, DH and DS might meet some new friends?

Let's see, the less beneficial thing was talking my husband out of our daily walk b/c it was so darn hot, but I still did my Wii Zumba which was "right" and in the A/C

I see nothing wrong with this. I am so impressed!! You could have just given yourself the day off and you didn’t.

Gretchen – The swimsuit is really cute! And I love the poster. Where are you going to hang it?

I did get out and do C25k week 4.

Great job!!! Has DS made a decision yet? Don’t you miss the days when you could just make the choice for them and they’d be content? LOL! Have a great time on your visit to Branson.

I had an OP day today and...I exercised! 30 min. on the Wii Fit!

I am also with all of you who can't get out of the "I exercised, so I can't eat x, y, z mindset." I am down overall for the challenge, but this is one thing that is preventing me from getting to my goal.

Great job on the exercise and the water, CC!!! Our health plan’s Rx benefits changed recently so that it is actually less expensive to buy the generics on-plan than to buy the OTC which are not covered. Very strange, but glad for you on the change.

So you'll love this, I went on-line last night and put a top and bottom in my cart and then went to Sears today. I found a top that fit in size 12, but had a black bottom at home. When I got home, I didn't like the bottom with it, so I need to go back tomorrow to see if they have a good one. We have 2 more Sears stores not too far if I need to try them too. Anyway, I was pondering getting the one on-line then picking between the two and when I looked at my cart it said the top was no longer available and there is practically nothing left on their website. One of your links didn't work either so maybe you got it before it was gone. Crazy huh? I wonder why Sears is the only place I can find them. Is that where you went? I may try the other two Sears stores anyway to see what they have. It was a pretty good sale, about $28 for the top, which was like $50 or $60 originally.

Good luck on your bathing suit quest. I didn’t end up buying one this year since mine from 2 years ago fit again. I do not like shopping for bathing suits and mostly resort to ordering on-line. LOL! Have fun at HP today!!

He was all excited telling us how he repelled down Cathedral Ledge in North Conway NH. So I went and googled it.

WOW! Janis, I am SOOO stinkin’ impressed! HUGE congrats to DS for that awesome achievement. Remind him he now has life-long bragging rights about that.

Tracey - I hope your stomach gets better quickly. I didn't know about the Glee movie but I am going to go on fandango and find out about it. That concert sounds fantastic! I have to see if it is coming to the Philly area and try to find tickets. I'd love to see those groups in concert. By the way, do you have the Glee DVD from the first season that is just the musical performance clips of 18 songs (I think)? It is great fun and yes, I tend to sing along, despite my horrible voice. My ipod is loaded with Glee performances.

 

[keenercam]

I am so sorry I didn't get here yesterday at all. I seemed to be rushing all morning and lost my "window" of time I'd thought I'd check in. I went to the Y to do an hour on the dreadmill, then home to shower and dress. Howard and I went to the mall to run some errands, including trading in an old pocketbook at Brighton for a credit toward a new one. So, now I have a pretty new bag for the fall.

We drove about an hour away (took 90 minutes) to meet friends for bowling. I did pretty well there -- 1/2 chicken tender and 1/4 chicken quesadilla. I was eating lots of fruit all day (bought a ton of it at costco yesterday morning). But at their house dinner was a 4 oz fillet mignon, deep fried corn fritters and a twice baked potato. Dessert was cheesecake with strawberries. I ate all of that. The only "good" thing I did was munching on fruits and veggies before dinner and while playing cards, rather than pretzel braids. I have to journal all of it but I'm sure I used most of my weekly points allowance.

Today we are driving an hour to meet friends for lunch. Then Howard and I will shop at Wegmans. There isn't one any closer than that one and I thought it would be a fun thing to do even though we really don't need much in the way of food after our trip to Costco yesterday.

Does anyone shop at Wegman's? Any must-try or must-buy items we should look for? DH LOVES their store brand triple fruit jam, so I am definitely going to look for that.

 

[tigger813]

Cam- I will have to check out that card game!

The Glee Concert will be in theaters around the country. We went to see the Hannah Montana one years ago and that was fun! My ipod is also full of Glee songs. I also saw that DVD of the performances one day for $10 at Target and for some reason I didn't buy it! We listen to Glee all the time in the car though lately I've been catching up on podcasts and listening to a lot of audiobooks. I'm hoping to listen to most of Wicked tomorrow. I've read about half of the book and figured I would just listen to the rest. I have errands I have to do after I drop the kids off and I plan on doing A LOT of working out this week. I've been so lazy this weekend that I need to get my act together. TOM arrives tomorrow and somehow that usually gets me moving! I will do my errands and then walk to the Wellness Center. I'll have to make a list later to make sure I get everything done!

Ash wants some breakfast and I'm sure Brian does as well!

TTFN

 

[SettinSail]

Shawn – Congrats on the scale going down!! See? We KNEW you could do it. Your water intake and calorie burn on Friday are very impressive. How did yesterday go? Saturdays are hard! Did you go to the movies? How was it? I hope you quickly find that your old friends and friendly acquaintances are so glad you are back and more than eager to renew the relationships. Do you belong to a church or a YMCA where you, DH and DS might meet some new friends?

I'm down another .5 today But, still up 1.5 from my lowest so still have some work to do. Yesterday was good, I got 100 oz of water in again but never made it to the Y. The movie was very good - Midnight in Paris.

We do belong to the Y and a church but have not been back to our old church yet. We can't decide if we want to go back there or not. It's a very small church so there is always a lot of work to do. I think DS would like a larger youth group. We are easing back into things and so many people are travelling at this time of year and the kids are all into their activities and athletics, I think it will take a few months for us to find our "place" again.

Here is a good marinade for flank steak:
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Score the top of the flank steak and pour the marinade over it and place in large ziplock bag. Marinate for atleast 2 hours. Discard marinade and grill steak to medium or med well.

Today we are going to eat out at Moe's - anybody know what a good choice is there? We are eating out one meal a day, either lunch or dinner. It's just easier since we do not have all our dishes/cooking supplies yet.

Have a great Sunday

Shawn

 

[bellebookworm9]

I am so glad to hear you liked the salad. That is a very positive recommendation and now I am really looking forward to having it. I’ll have to look it up on WW for the points values without the pecans and I’ll ask for the dressing on the side.

And I love the poster. Where are you going to hang it?

The salad without pecans, but with dressing included is 6 points. With the pecans it's 9. The poster is going in my room at school, mixed in with some Disney photos. I also have another new Harry Potter poster to hang as well.

Does anyone shop at Wegman's? Any must-try or must-buy items we should look for? DH LOVES their store brand triple fruit jam, so I am definitely going to look for that.

I'm going to Wegmans today too! The only thing I can think of to recommend from there that is healthy is possibly their "Organic Tea It Up", which is a lemonade/iced tea mix for $1.99, and their lunch meats are very good as well. Most stores have a fruit/salad bar, if you get hungry...but some also have a wokery, a sub shop, a pizza counter, and gelato!

I would love some grilling recipes too-our grill is broken at the moment, so we're using the George Foreman when we can.

 

[keenercam]

Tracey - I really enjoyed "Wicked" though it's been at least 5 years since I read it. I can't wait to hear what you think.

Shawn - Great job on the 1/2 pound!! Keep up the great work!! That marinade sounds fabulous, especially since I am a honey freak. LOL! That's all Howard will have to hear, that now I am using it in marinades, too. LOL! He thinks I have addict tendencies, though I haven't eaten any in months.

Okay, off to lunch and Wegmans. See you all later!

 

[lisah0711]

Good morning all!

Hope everyone gets to do something fun today!

Shawn, woo hoo on the scale going down! You've had a rough time of it lately but being able to spend some time on yourself is paying off!

How was the movie? We just finally watched The King's Speech last night. It was great and of course, I always love Colin Firth.

Your flank steak recipe sounds good, too.

Sue, sounds like you had some success with LE suits. They've been having a big sale and it looks they are pretty picked over online. I really like Land's End. All of DS' uniforms come from there. They washed and wore well all year long even after being worn week after week.

I have a news blackout when I go on vacation. No email, no internet, no tv news, no nothing. I check my cell phone once a day right before the margaritas are served. It won't be enough time to really unwind but it will be nice for a few days.

Enjoy your trip, momofdjc!

CC, I do generic Prevacid from the pharmacy. If you add it up it is actually cheaper because you get a bigger dose from the pharmacy that you can't get over the counter -- you would have to pay double. I'm glad that you found something that works for you.

Linda, are you enjoying our summerlike weather at last?

Janis, thank goodness that you didn't find out about the ledge until after DS was home. He is a strong, brave guy for sure! I love water with lemon -- thanks for the reminder!

So, question of the day is kind of a cop-out but I am looking for new ideas, so I'm kind of sneaky this way :

QOTD for Sunday, July 24: If the weather ever cools down enough so that cooking over a hot grill outside is enjoyable, I am sure we'd all like new ideas for making grilled foods interesting. Share your favorite idea of something to throw on the grill or a recipe/marinade that you have enjoyed.

My favorite marinade for london broil is A1 steak sauce and fat free italian dressing mixed together in a ziploc bag.

I don't think your QOTD is a cop out at all Cam! You can marinate some veggies in that same mix (different bag) to go with your steak, too.

Here is a favorite recipe of ours for the grill that is a bit different. It's from a cookbook from the 80's called Grill Book. We usually just make a 1/2 recipe for the two of us.

Tofu Marinated in Sesame Oil and Rice Vinegar with Scallions

Two one pound packages "firm" tofu, drained.
2 T dark sesame oil
3 T rice vinegar
4 T tamari or soy sauce (I always use soy sauce)

Cut the drained tofu into four 3/4 inch slices (cut the brick in half lengthwise). Mix the seasme oil, rice vinegar and tamari. Marinate the tofu, turning frequently, for 1 hour. With the tofu pieces laying flat, insert two skewers parallel to each other horizontally into the tofu (the little flat rectangles will flat lie on the grill -- you will need to soak your skewers first if they are wood). To grill place the tofu on an open grill over a medium hot fire. Cook 5 minutes, turn and cook another 8 minutes, until the outside is slightly crispy and brown. (Serves 4).

The book suggests serving with grilled Anaheim or poblano chilis and sliced fresh fruit. A lot times we will do a salad or grilled veggies and brown rice.

Aww, thanks, Cam, for the reminder that we need to concentrate more of the stuff that we get right!

I had a little talk with myself about that very same thing during my run yesterday! I had a great run -- thanks for asking. I somehow put my Runkeeper on pause for a big chunk of the run but I did 6.12 miles and 18 minute miles in over 70 degrees so I was really happy. And I ran for parts of the whole run -- even if it was only ten steps a minute at the end. I was much farther into my run before I started meeting people coming back this week, too.

Today is a little cleaning and packing and maybe a little napping. Have a great day all!

 

[lisah0711]

Oh and I forgot to mention I had to Google Wegman's to see what it was all about! I also had to Google Chick-Fil-A during that discussion -- the closest one is 280 miles away so no worries there!

 

[SettinSail]

I've heard about Wegman's from all the transplants that have moved here over the years...must be something really special from the way they talk!
I've never heard of Friendly's though until Nancy.

There is a nice thread on the budget board about what is good to buy at Trader Joe's. I think I'll make a list of some of the things that are mentioned over and over and head over there sometime next week.

Lisa WTG on the run Enjoy yor vacation We'll miss you!

The movie was really good. I usually like Woody Allen movies though they may not be for everyone. Saw some really good previews too.

Cam, I definitely have addiction tendencies

Heading to the Y now!

Shawn

 

[tigger813]

Lisa- Just saw the King's Speech myself a few weeks back and I also loved it!

Ash is impatiently waiting for a friend to walk over and get her for something they are doing this afternoon.

I took Izzie out to ride her bike and then had her start trying to ride Ash's old bike that doesn't have training wheels. We just never have enough time to go out to ride bikes so I'm glad we finally did today. We will go out again later today and try it every night. That was how I taught Ash. She did pretty good but I have to work on the leaning and getting used to the weight of the bike. She was WAY too big for her other bike so I will take that to the consignment shop this week along with the other stuff I have for them.

Need to go clean out the change from my car so tomorrow I can drop off the change at the bank.

TTFN

 

[bellebookworm9]

I've heard about Wegman's from all the transplants that have moved here over the years...must be something really special from the way they talk!

In Geneseo, the middle of nowhere town where I go to school, we have WalMart and Wegmans. All of the people from NYC and Long Island come up and have no idea what Wegmans is...but then they find out and they love it! I think I actually heard one guy call it "the heaven of grocery stores" or something. They are just amazed that you can eat *in* the store!

 

[mikamah]

Good afternoon everyone!

We are back from camping, and had a pretty good weekend overall, but it was hot, and we all had various episodes of crankiness, so I won't say I'm sad to be home this time. Actually, I'd like to be sitting with all of you on Lisa's beautiful, lake front deck sipping a margarita.

Thanks for coaching this week, Cam!

I hope to stick around again and get inspired to stay on track again. I know journalling helps so much, but just haven't been stickin with it for a full day.

QOTD for Friday, July 22: Think about your day yesterday. Tell us one thing that you did "right" and one action that was less beneficial to your effort to get and/or stay fit.

My day yesterday, the right thing I did was I walked to the other end of the campground to swim, and go to the store for marshmallow sticks twice, which was probably a quarter mile each way. Wrong was coming back from the beach, very hungry and I wolfed down a bunch of cheese/crackers/ pepperoni, and guzzled a Mikes berry drink, before having water and fruit.

QOTD for Saturday, July 23: What is your biggest challenge that you anticipate for this weekend (especially in this heat wave when we may be tempted to hole up in our air conditioned homes and open the refrigerator too many times and not just to cool off) and how do you plan to overcome that challenge?

My biggest challenge was our traditional camping food which includes smores, which I only had one of, bacon and tater tots cooked in the bacon grease, and I only had 2 pieces of bacon each morning with 4-5 tater tots, and alcohol, which was Mikes Hard Berry drinks, and I had 3 fri, and 3 sat. I did go with a plan, and brought cantalope, honeydew, apples, bananas, and carrots, and I when we brought the snacks out, I brought out the fruit and carrots, and had those, and most of the time just a little of the bad stuff. Overall for the weekend I did ok. My friends son slept with us in our tent, so when we woke up this morning, and everyone else was still asleep, I left them to play ds, and took a run/walk, about 3 miles.

QOTD for Sunday, July 24: If the weather ever cools down enough so that cooking over a hot grill outside is enjoyable, I am sure we'd all like new ideas for making grilled foods interesting. Share your favorite idea of something to throw on the grill or a recipe/marinade that you have enjoyed.

Either steak or chicken on the grill, I tend to buy the pre-marinated bags from the grocery, and I'll par cook red potatoes in the microwave, and zuchini/summer squash as well for a couple min in the micro wave, and then cut the vegies in half long ways, brush with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and then grill them.

Another good thing I did, though unintentionally, I left all the congo bars that were left at the camp with my friends who were staying another night. We were going to have lunch and then do the beach with them, but we ended up coming home early, after ds had a meltdown, and it kind of snowballed out of control, so I figured the late nights, tough sleeping weather, we were better served coming home. He actually fell asleep on the couch when we got home and slept for a bit, and is fine now.

We need to go to the grocery store, but I might just pick up a few things for tomorrow, and do a bigger shop alone when he's at camp tuesday.

Off to finish unpacking and clean the coleman grill.

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend.

 

[dumbo_buddy]

I've never heard of Friendly's though until Nancy.

Shawn

stop it. stop it right now. no friendly's?? that was a staple treat of my childhood! every report card, if i got all As (1. i was a huge nerd and 2. anything below an A was just not tolerated) we got to go to friendly's and i could get a conehead for dessert. i wasn't allowed sweets as a kid so this was HUGE! (and now we wonder why i have major eating issues!!!)

In Geneseo, the middle of nowhere town where I go to school, we have WalMart and Wegmans. All of the people from NYC and Long Island come up and have no idea what Wegmans is...but then they find out and they love it! I think I actually heard one guy call it "the heaven of grocery stores" or something. They are just amazed that you can eat *in* the store!

we may not have wegmans but we have www.stewleonards.com which has been coined the disney world of grocery stores! lol!!!

 

[pjstevens]

QOTD for Sunday, July 24: If the weather ever cools down enough so that cooking over a hot grill outside is enjoyable, I am sure we'd all like new ideas for making grilled foods interesting. Share your favorite idea of something to throw on the grill or a recipe/marinade that you have enjoyed.

no new ideas, but hubby is grilling yummy burgers on the grill in a few. I'm going to have mine wrapped in lettuce instead of a roll (since I don't have any of those skinny ones).

We do love to do corn on the cob on the grill. You leave the skins on and soak them in a pot of water (like all afternoon) and then put on the top shelf on the grill and they get 'steamed' in their skins. They are a little hard to clean as soon as they come off, but if you have one of those veggie brushes, you can use that to get the hot silk off. This tastes so much better than cooked in a pot!

 

[dvccruiser76]

Yup, I went to Sears. That link to the top that I posted, all they had left was size 12 in blue, so it's possible that it's gone now. I paid $40 total for the top and bottom, so it was like getting two pieces for the price of one! Really, the store didn't have that great of a selection either, so I'm glad they had at least one suit that I had been eying-and the bottoms were the LAST pair, so it's good that they fit!

Funny story. I found a Ron & Hermione "poster" about 9 months ago that I really liked, but it was only 11X17, which is quite small. So I've been scouring the internet for it, and finally found a 24x36 on ebay. It said the item was located in NY, so I bought it, paying about $20 including shipping. It took forever to get here-more than 2 weeks. Well, it arrives today and it came from HONG KONG. It had a customs sticker on it for crying out loud! Needless to say, I am very confused and my feedback rating showed it. But the poster is huge and in great condition, so I'm happy about that. (Please excuse the books that are flattening it out).

I like your suit! I think your top is the same line as my top. Mine is a tankini, but it has that same metal hook at the top of the halter. Though mine is black and white with a design all over it. And I had even better luck today. I didn't like my black swim bottom that I had from last year, so I ran to Sears again, but nothing in my size. So, when DS was fighting his nap, I put him in the car and drove to Sears in Saugus. He fell asleep on the way there and slept the whole time I was in the dressing room So, I was actually able to find another Land's End top and a black bottom. The bottom wasn't Land's End, b/c they didn't have any in my size, but I found a black skirt that matched both tops. So now I may just keep both tops. I'll probably try them both on again after my shower tonight. The top was a little loose even though it was the same size as the other one I got, but I figured better a little loose than a little tight

Aren't Ron and Hermione so cute? HP was awesome. We saw it this afternoon. Though sometimes I wonder if I should just go see movies before reading the books, so I'm surprised.

We picked up my DS today from camp. This is a picture of him last year at Fulton's Crab house digging into his filet - just for a size reference. Notice the skinny arms.

He was all excited telling us how he repelled down Cathedral Ledge in North Conway NH. So I went and googled it.

When did I sign off on this one!!!! 300 Feet down. I am amazed that his arms held him up. I knew he was brave - he plays hockey - usually against kids that outweigh him by 75 pounds. But to be able to "jump" off a cliff, is simply amazing to me. Just another view of the rock. Sorry - just had to brag a bit.

So he is safely home. LOL Last week our grocery bill was $35 for DH and I, this week right back to $100. LOL Tonight we made homemade tacos. We made the tortillas in the breadmaker - actually a recipe for wraps - but it's very good. I kept away from the cheese, and stacked it high with grape tomatoes.

Wow, when did you sign off indeed. Is that what I have to look forward to Good for him, that boy has got guts!

So, question of the day is kind of a cop-out but I am looking for new ideas, so I'm kind of sneaky this way :

QOTD for Sunday, July 24: If the weather ever cools down enough so that cooking over a hot grill outside is enjoyable, I am sure we'd all like new ideas for making grilled foods interesting. Share your favorite idea of something to throw on the grill or a recipe/marinade that you have enjoyed.

DH likes to throw a bunch of spices in a bag with chicken breast and a can of either diet orange soda or diet sprite. It never tastes the same twice, but it's always nice and moist.

I see nothing wrong with this. I am so impressed!! You could have just given yourself the day off and you didn’t.

Good luck on your bathing suit quest. I didn’t end up buying one this year since mine from 2 years ago fit again. I do not like shopping for bathing suits and mostly resort to ordering on-line. LOL! Have fun at HP today!!

Thanks, it's time for another night of Zumba. I would prefer to go to bed early, but I always feel good after.

Thanks, I actually had some good luck

Does anyone shop at Wegman's? Any must-try or must-buy items we should look for? DH LOVES their store brand triple fruit jam, so I am definitely going to look for that.

I must google this too!

Sue, sounds like you had some success with LE suits. They've been having a big sale and it looks they are pretty picked over online. I really like Land's End. All of DS' uniforms come from there. They washed and wore well all year long even after being worn week after week.

I have a news blackout when I go on vacation. No email, no internet, no tv news, no nothing. I check my cell phone once a day right before the margaritas are served. It won't be enough time to really unwind but it will be nice for a few days.

Good for you! It's not a real vacation unless you can forget about work completely, or so I've found. My two best vacations were my honeymoon when I didn't check voicemail or email and my cruise, where once again I was not in contact with anyone by DH and DS.

Good afternoon everyone!

We are back from camping, and had a pretty good weekend overall, but it was hot, and we all had various episodes of crankiness, so I won't say I'm sad to be home this time. Actually, I'd like to be sitting with all of you on Lisa's beautiful, lake front deck sipping a margarita.

Thanks for coaching this week, Cam!

I hope to stick around again and get inspired to stay on track again. I know journalling helps so much, but just haven't been stickin with it for a full day.

My day yesterday, the right thing I did was I walked to the other end of the campground to swim, and go to the store for marshmallow sticks twice, which was probably a quarter mile each way. Wrong was coming back from the beach, very hungry and I wolfed down a bunch of cheese/crackers/ pepperoni, and guzzled a Mikes berry drink, before having water and fruit.

My biggest challenge was our traditional camping food which includes smores, which I only had one of, bacon and tater tots cooked in the bacon grease, and I only had 2 pieces of bacon each morning with 4-5 tater tots, and alcohol, which was Mikes Hard Berry drinks, and I had 3 fri, and 3 sat. I did go with a plan, and brought cantalope, honeydew, apples, bananas, and carrots, and I when we brought the snacks out, I brought out the fruit and carrots, and had those, and most of the time just a little of the bad stuff. Overall for the weekend I did ok. My friends son slept with us in our tent, so when we woke up this morning, and everyone else was still asleep, I left them to play ds, and took a run/walk, about 3 miles.

Either steak or chicken on the grill, I tend to buy the pre-marinated bags from the grocery, and I'll par cook red potatoes in the microwave, and zuchini/summer squash as well for a couple min in the micro wave, and then cut the vegies in half long ways, brush with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and then grill them.

Another good thing I did, though unintentionally, I left all the congo bars that were left at the camp with my friends who were staying another night. We were going to have lunch and then do the beach with them, but we ended up coming home early, after ds had a meltdown, and it kind of snowballed out of control, so I figured the late nights, tough sleeping weather, we were better served coming home. He actually fell asleep on the couch when we got home and slept for a bit, and is fine now.

We need to go to the grocery store, but I might just pick up a few things for tomorrow, and do a bigger shop alone when he's at camp tuesday.

Off to finish unpacking and clean the coleman grill.

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend.

Hi Kathy, Glad you had a nice trip. It's so much nicer out today. I had a few Mike's myself yesterday. Cranberry and Black Cherry. Any good plans for the week?

we may not have wegmans but we have www.stewleonards.com which has been coined the disney world of grocery stores! lol!!!

Ah Stew Leondards... my sister has those. Did you know they now have really good cupcakes? We went to a restaurant in CT (Maggie McFly's) and they had Stew Leonard's cupcakes on their dessert menu. My BIL got the red velvet and it was delicious. I wonder if they ever made it there to see the other kinds



Well, we hit up Texas Roadhouse for dinner, so now I must punish myself with Wii Zumba. Bad Sue bad!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend