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

[pjlla]

Good Monday morning friends!

I'm your "coach of the day" today! I'll post your QOTD and then come back to catch up on everything I missed this weekend.

Here goes...

I was visiting my parents this weekend and they happen to live in MA where the tornadoes went through a few weeks ago (6/1). Their house and neighborhood were spared, but it only missed them by a few thousand yards. I was quite STUNNED at the devastation just around the corner. My Dad drove us around town and showed us some of the worst of it in Brimfield and Sturbridge. I was just... It leads me to think...

QOTD: What is the one or two items that you would miss the MOST if your entire home disappeared today? (Assume that all of your family and pets were safe and healthy and that all of your photos were safely backed up off-site somewhere.... cause they should be!!)


I've always been terribly sentimental and fire-phobic, so I thought a great deal about this kind of thing my entire life. I KNOW we shouldn't get attached to material objects, but I can't help myself.

My first inclination is to say my scrapbooks. They represent 15+ years of work and love and creativity.... but if my photos were all safe, I could eventually produce new scrapbooks.

The cradle that my grandfather made before I was born pops into my head next. I slept in it, as did my brother and my two cousins and all of our children. It is very dear to me. And my grandmother's engagement ring is also in my house.

I would also like to be able to save something important for each of my children..... for DD that would probably be her Lambie.... not sure what would be most important to DS.

I KNOW I would miss so many things, but I'd like to think that as long as my family was safe, I would be able to keep it in perspective.

Be back in a bit to chat...................P

 

[KristiMc]

Good morning everyone,

We had a very busy weekend. Spent a full day at Cedar Point on Friday, graduation party on Saturday and then took my oldest DS (10) to his first summer camp yesterday. I was ok - didn't cry. We will pick him up on Saturday and I keep checking their website to see if I can spot any pictures of him. My little guy (7) is off to golf camp this morning so I will have a few hours to myself.

QOTD: The few things that I would want to grab are my albums, wedding gown and "Green Blankie". This is a blanket that my 10 year old has had since the day he was born and is very sentimental to the whole family. He doesn't carry it around anymore - just lays on his bed, but I think we would all be devastated if it was lost.

Kristi

 

[Rose&Mike]

Hello, everyone!! We are leaving in 3 hours for vacation!! I probably won't be on at all this week - unless I have down time and WIFI and the same time.
I am still nervous about eating this week, but don't want to ruin everyone's fun with my calculating, and avoiding treats, etc... Today is my normal "cheat" day, and I would have skipped it in anticipation of the week ahead, except it was Father's Day, and DH got to pick dinner. But, I was down this week, and that was the encouragement I needed. I'LL BE BACK!!!!! Have a great week!!!

Have a great vacation!

Hello. I need to head to bed soon as 4:30 comes early. We had a nice day. DH loved his new portable hammock which he wanted for the camper. I got a lawn chair for my Dad as the ones in their camper were falling apart. I got a few things done for this week then headed off for my last shift at the Balloon Festival. I'm glad to be home and have that over with. Now if I can get through both jobs tomorrow and thursday as well as the pot luck lacrosse party on Wednesday I should be golden for a while. One last week of high stress then the calm of summer.

Deb--meant to tell you earlier--I'm glad you can give up the second job.

just had to stop in quick and say ive had no time at all to myself lately but im trying to stick with the diet and failing miserably. its just not going well

Baby steps. Take baby steps. Just pick one thing to work on if you are overwhelmed with things--drink your water, get just a few minute walk in, make an effort to get in your veggies. Hang in there!

Today is Thomas's birthday!!! Two years old!

Happy Birthday to Thomas!

 

[pjlla]

I ran errands and stopped by the restaurant to give my notice. It was difficult as I've been there since 1992 and they are not only employers, but friends. I hope that he finds someone to give him a night off, but I just can't carry that burden any longer. I will work Monday and Thursday nights next week as I had previously committed to those nights and feel I should give notice.

Sorry I didn't see this over the weekend. I'm sorry it was tough for you to give notice, but hopefully it will result in MUCH LESS stress for you and the entire family.

thanks for everyone's advice re: house hunting. i think you're all right - staying by family is a really nice thing. you know, they don't really help me but that's not because they haven't offered! when thomas was an infant i think i was too proud to ask for help. but now with a new one coming i think i'll ask for more help.

you know, that's really true either. they do help. they help by coming over and just hanging out. they help by just being there when i'm walking around the neighborhood and i know that i ALWAYS have people to say hi to. does that make sense? they aren't babysitting per se but they helping by being there. we wouldn't have that in the 'burbs.

QOTD: i measure my weight loss efforts (other than the scale) by how i look in pictures, particularly my face. when i was 35 pounds heavier it looked like someone had slabbed pancake batter over my face. it was so swollen and when i smiled i had no eyes! when i lose weight i have definition in my face. you can see my eyes when i smile.

ok, please don't judge me in the first picture - i was heavy, depressed, and just looked terrible. i had just gained 40 lbs in THREE months. ick. the first pic is Jan 2007 at WDW. the second is Jan 2011 also at WDW (duh, all my pics are from there). you can really tell in my face.

i can tell i'm getting heavy when my face looks puffy. you should have seen me when i was nine months pregnant with thomas! shoo!

You are so absolutely adorable (and young!!). I certainly wouldn't say you looked TERRIBLE in the first picture.... just heavier.

Good morning Losers!

I am caught up on this thread now. Will try to read one last time this evening before I head to the airport. Then it will be trying to catch up on a week's worth of conversation!

My mom's surgery went well and her new pacemaker is working nicely. DH got DS1 where he (and a ton of teammates) needed to be for his basketball camp. DS went out the night before and I was already in bed when he came home and then he was in bed when I left for the hospital in the morning, so didn't get to hug him goodbye. At 17, I'm sure that didn't break his heart! DS2 had chosen his clothes for the trip back east as instructed. I think he's making a mistake taking t-shirts instead of tank tops. Looks hot and muggy in DC/NY to me. He didn't bug the neighbors for their refundable/bottles cans as instructed nor did he empty the dishwasher so I'm a little miffed. But it's hard to stay miffed when you know you have a group of middle schoolers to chaperone and packing to do!

He'll learn his lesson when he doesn't have the right clothes for the weather. Dnephew had a mission trip to the mid-west earlier this spring. He dressed for spring Pennsylvania weather.... not late winter mid-west mountain weather! Apparently he was pretty cold! And of course, his parents had told him to pack a winter coat, but he thought that sounded ridiculous! Sometimes they just need to learn it the hard way!

Used up the older bananas in bread this morning, but baked them in my mini muffin tins. DH and DS1 want lasagna while I am gone so will prepare that in a few minutes for them. Then I realized we may be out of deodorant! With 4 people in 4 different places we need 4 of those and 4 toothpastes. Could be trouble. Gotta start that search/shopping trip.

When I did the kitchen clean-out challenge last week, that was the one thing that I noticed about the upstairs freezer.... the overwhelming number of bananas!! Next bake sale I will be making banana muffins FOR SURE!!

Hope you found all of the toiletries you needed!

Happy birthday Pamela and good job on the weigh ins everybody.

Thanks for the birthday wishes!!

Just wanted to share ds's game went well. They made some bad errors in the field, and were losing 16-0 going into the last inning, but the ump didn't use the mercy rule, and on their last up got multiple hits and 4 runs, so they finished strong, and I'm happy to say everyone seemed to have good team spirit today. Michael pitched really well, and he didn't seem to stressed out on the mound, but I was happy when he was done.

Glad they finished well. Why no mercy calling???

Also, Buffy, I thought of you and the organizational challenge, and after I walked him down for practice, came home and cleaned out my fridge. It really needed it, and I feel good. So thank you.

Wanna come do mine? I did both freezers and the pantry, but I DREAD doing the fridge. It isn't the food.... its the washing and wiping. I know that my shelves and drawers are icky.

Off to cut the lawn, and then going to run/walk with my friend Karen. She's doing the falmouth road race in august and wants to do a long run today.

Thank you Lisa, for coaching this weekend. Hope to have more time to chat later, and now that baseball is over. Unless he makes the tournament team. oye.

How did the walk/run go?

Happy Belated Birthday, Pamela!

THANKS!!

Just an update on Mom...she had her first chemo yesterday and so far so good on that. She is still in some pain but is up and moving around. The PT came in while we were on the phone so she had to go. She is going to head home on Monday after my brother arrives. She says she wants to sit around outside and also have me push her around in her wheelchair in her neighborhood. We will also hopefully go shopping.

I'm sure she is looking forward to HOME and seeing more than just the hospital walls!! Fresh air and sunshine will do her a world of good!

I just got the containers for the fundraiser finished except for putting holes in the top for the tickets.

You sound like me. Know matter HOW crazy my own life seems to be, I always have some sort of "project" going on! Right now I'm looking down the gun barrel of this Friday's scrapbooking crop!
TTFN

As far as the payscale...I got moved up a level from Practice Manager to Senior Practice Manager which means a very small increase but its more than I was making and that is all that matters. I am very close to moving up to the next level soon and that would mean thousands more dollars a year. So that makes me happy. Our network is so screwy though and I wont get to excited until the money actually shows up in my paycheck. Thanks for asking.

WOOHOO for more money (and a better title)!!

Sorry Pam I forgot to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Im glad you had a great day.

Thank you.... it was a very nice day!

Then my FIL wanted to eat at this BBQ wagon that is new. Its basically food out of a truck. They smoke there own meat and have pork sand or burgers. Well no one ask me if I was ok eating there but since we were celebrating Fathers day I just went along with it.

I ordered the cheeseburger because that seemed to be the best choice on the menu. (I know right it was sad) This darn thing was huge. It was all I ate and I am glad I saved 19 extra weekly points because I estimated this burger to be 20 points.....yep you read that right. It was just an estimate. So I only have 4 reg points left for dinner and then I will tap into the extras. I am very full so Im not sure if I will even eat much. I also plan to run later once the sun goes down.

So now we are all relaxing and theres not much planned for the rest of the night. I have drank about 40 oz of water so far so hopefully I can flush the burger grease out of my system.

Have a great saturday.

That burger truck sounds like an ENORMOUS challenge!! Sounds like you probably did about the best you could, given the circumstances. And it was nice of you to let the Dads decide, even though it made a tough day for you.

I'm just chugging right along, like the Little Engine That Could, haha! If I stay at the same losing rate I'm at right now, I'll have lost just over 16lbs before my trip- how exciting! Hopefully I'll be able to increase my losing rate soon though by kicking it up with more workouts and better eating habits.

And I had to share this with you ladies (and gentlemen!). I had a date last night with my probably future DBF, and we went to go see Green Lantern. If you get the chance, go see this movie. Beside the fact that it is a pretty decent movie, there is a scene in there that spoke to me about this challenge. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to whip my phone out and start typing up these quotes, but they were incredibly motivating. (This is where I nerd out, forgive me) The head-man of all the Green Lanterns is giving Hal Jordan (played by Ryan Reynolds-YUM) a speech about how he must be without fear in order to accomplish his goals and defeat the bad guys. It really struck me how much of what he said spoke to me about how I need to live my life and complete this challenge. I strongly suggest seeing it to hear for yourself!

Hope everyone has an awesome OP rest of the day!!

Isn't it amazing WHERE you can find inspiration? When you aren't even looking for it, it comes from the most amazing places.

Don't forget....the "little engine that could" eventually got where he wanted to go with all of his cargo safely intact!! Nothing wrong with that!!

Well, to be honest I've had a tough time settling down after vacation. 2 weeks has turned into 3 but we've finally slowed down. I had a Lean Cuisine dinner since we're going out for Father's Day tomorrow. Hopefully this week goes better than last

Sometimes that is the hardest part.... getting back to "normal" after a vacation.

Why don't you plan your dinners for this week so that you KNOW you have a healthy meal scheduled for each evening? It might help you make better choices for breakfast and lunch.


Happy Belated Birthday Pamela

Thanks!!


Well, time to watch a movie. DH is bugging me while I type. We're going to watch the Social Network. Tomorrow I'm making him cheesecake pancakes and we're going to see the Green Lantern in 3d with dinner at the Blue Stove in Burlington, so it's a good thing I weighed myself this morning

Have a good evening everyone!

Please do NOT share the cheesecake pancake recipe! They sound too delicious!

I have something exciting to share! (I know, I sound like I'm doing show-and-tell. I did the grocery shopping today! My mom gave me money and I graciously spent it. Actually, I got some great sales and was so cheap that I went to 2 different grocery stores to save even more money. I did end up buying a few things I thought we needed but didn't, but oh well. It could have been much worse. I bought lots of fruit and veggies (all fresh) and lots of lean meats. There was a great deal on boneless, skinless chicken breast and another one on thin pork loin chops. You had to buy the 3 lbs or more packages so there is now 5 portions of lean meat in our freezer. I got a good deal on ground beef sirloin and ham too. Plus my favorite whole oven stuffer roasters were on sale and we can turn an 8 lb bird into days worth of meals. Tomorrow night we are having a "Christina concotion." I am calling it ratatouille, but it really isn't. I cut up eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, onions, and chicken and cooked it in diced and crushed tomatoes. I'll add some artichokes and broccoli to it tomorrow and bake it with some parm cheese. My parents will probably want some pasta too, but if they don't suggest it, I'll casually forget about having a starch.

QOTD: I'm mostly a scale girl, but also look at how my clothes fit. I'm big into numbers and buying a size 14 does not make me very happy.

Well, I am never up this late, so I must be off to sleep. I slept well last night and I am hoping for the same tonight.

Have a great, OP day tomorrow everyone!

Glad you got to have some control over the food situation for a change. Your concoction sounds delightful. How did it come out??

We're finally home from the balloon festival. We ended up parking cars for 9 hours. I even had one of the restaurant owners chew me a new one because there was no parking for his customers. Like I have control over the fact that people said they were going to his restaurant and perhaps didn't. There seems to also be an issue with having kids help, but the reality is that they are not going to get adults to participate if they can't have their kids there. It's the rec dept which means that every adult has a child or more. The Chamber of Commerse doesn't allow the kids into the festival without paying the $12 admission and all the food and porta potties are in the festival. If that isn't corrected before next year I know that we won't have many volunteers as most of us came as family units.

YOu know what they say.... "no good deed goes unpunished." You try to help out and organize this and of course, you are the one that gets yelled at. Always the way, isn't it??

I did the freezer and the pantry but the fridge needs to be done again. I made pulled pork sandwiches and chicken salad yesterday so I need to get those into smaller containers and toss the chinese. Blech!
And milk was delivered Wednesday, that takes up one entire shelf. I sorta cleaned it out last week but it really needs to be washed, I haven't had time for that yet.
But my pantry is all sparkly and I never ever have to buy potatoes again!! I found 5 boxes of Betty Crocker Potatoes buried in the back of the pantry. UGH!!! And diced tomatoes too. I bought 8 cans because they were on sale and I could get 100 gas points (10¢ savings at Shell!) So, I couldn't pass that up.
Hmmm, maybe I should take out pork chops in the morning and do smothered pork chops. that will use up one box of potatoes and 3 cans of tomatoes........

WOOHOO on a sparkly pantry and food prepared ahead!!

I'm hoping to take a nap today. I woke up way too early. I don't think I got more than 6 hours of sleep, and that's if I don't count how many times I woke up throughout the night. I'll be fine if I don't take a nap, but I'll be better if I do. Monday mornings at work tend to have a time crunch, but I got a lot done on Friday, so that shouldn't be a problem tomorrow! My goal is not to be sleep deprived, but I'll be fine if that's what ends up happening. I can't stand when I don't sleep well.

Today, I have 2 goals (other than a nap). The first one is my usual Sunday routine of organizing for my clothes for the week. I will say that didn't go well last week, so I'm hoping for smooth sailing this week. My other goal is to make my breakfasts for the week. I made muffins last night using a Hungry Girl recipe. I used bananas instead of blueberries and I have a feeling that this is not a recipe you can change. They were good, but not great. I'll be working on pancakes today.

Well, I be back on later. I want to get going on the laundry situation. It always takes more time than I think it will.

Buffy-My parents did the 8 cans of diced tomatoes for gas points too. Knowing my mom, we had a coupon too. Those bonus gas points really add up to some great savings.

I have one or two of the Hungry Girl cookbooks....which recipes are you using? Have you seen her on Food Network? She has a Hungry Girl show on Sunday mornings. I've only seen bits of it occasionally.

I was a bit worried to see my scale this morning. I know you shouldnt weigh in daily but it is how I gauge myself and I find if I dont do it Im not right mentally. Anyway after that burger yesterday and 1 smores last night I thought for sure It would be up but I was pleasantly surprised because it was down 1. Maybe my 30 min run last night helped too. Either way I can honestly say I am completely happy and proud of myself this past week. I finally feel completely back on the wagon.

Isn't it a great feeling!!??

Those of you who have done the challenges before may remember this article and question but I think it's a good one for this stage of the challenge.

Do You Suffer from Diet Rage?

After slowing down to an unexplained stop for the 147th time in the space of 2 miles, I decided that I hated the world. Surrounding me were an ocean of maddening brake lights, rain pelting the windshield and thousands of tons of steel and fiberglass flung around by a clueless pack of selfish morons who obviously didn’t know the first thing about driving!!

It was in serious danger of ruining my whole day.

Is there anything more frustrating than being bogged down in traffic? Most all of us have been there before. That discouraged, fed up feeling that just makes us want to throw up our hands in surrender or lay them on the horn.

Thankfully, I stopped muttering helplessly and started thinking instead. And I realized that I often witness another type of "road rage" – the frustration that builds on the road to weight loss: Diet Rage.

Think about your dieting history. Does it give you the same feeling as an exasperating traffic jam? You never quite get where you want to go as fast as you want to get there. You get aggravated, yell (usually at yourself), and see people in other lanes going faster than you (how do they DO that?!), and it usually ends up ruining your day.

Here’s the lesson: Getting frustrated with your diet does no more good than getting frustrated in traffic. It just makes you unhappy, unsuccessful and tense.

Here is a link if you would like to read the whole article: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_articles.asp?id=346

Which leads me to the QOTD for 6/19:

How would you rate your "diet rage"?
* Low- I'm moving slowly, but I'm on my way!
* Moderate- Everyone's moving except me
* High- I'm screaming but no one can hear me!
* All Over The Board- It's stop and go all the way

I'll be back later to answer and catch up on replies. Sorry I'm a bit MIA today as my Mom is still here.

Well.... for maintenance (or very close to it) it is a tough question. I suppose I would have to choose low. I'm not trying to lose a lot of weight, just those last few pounds I gained at Disney, so I don't expect to be losing a lot at once or to be losing quickly. And after doing this for years, I'm rarely on high. But I do occasionally have a weekend that is "all over the board".

I'm actually still on track. I need to grocery shop, so that helps. I'm going to tell michael not to let me buy any junk, and I'll let him get a treat I don't like, like those gummy things. I don't usually buy them, but if i let him get chips or something like that, I will eat them.

Hope the shopping went well.

Hope you're all enjoying your sunday. The sun is shining here, and there's a nice cool breeze, so it's really a perfect day.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day, wasn't it!

just popping in to say I've lost 3.8# this week!

Nice loss!!

So here's before and after for me. I see pictures of myself now and I really don't recognize that person. I know that sounds funny, but I don't think I was "myself" then. I like the new, active me a lot better.The last picture is a quote we saw when we were at Raglan Road in May.
Dec 09

May 11

Have a great Sunday and a Happy Father's Day!

Stunning, as usual.

I just got back from grocery shopping! Mom gave me $70 and I bought so much stuff: salad, cucumber, onion, tomato, grapes, carrots, blueberries, strawberries, and bananas. Then I bought a giant club pack of chicken so we are set for a long while! I'm going to try out a few of the weight watchers recipes over the next few weeks, so we'll see how that goes.

Please share the recipes if they come out good!

At the moment, I would say my "rage" is low. I'm losing consistently, and so I'm happy with that for now.

After all those healthy things I bought earlier, we ended up going to Friendly's for dinner. Well, we've been trying to get there for about a month and a half, actually. Although I didn't make the best choices (Honey BBQ Chicken Sandwich and a Butterfinger sundae) I did try to adjust a little: I had a water to drink, shared the sandwich with Mom, and subbed a side salad for the fries.

Friendly's is absolutely one of the most difficult places to eat out OP. Even their salads are

I mowed the lawn this morning (arm workout!), and am now heading out to do some weeding. I may do some Zumba also, just to work off the calories. I am finding the quote someone posted a few pages ago to be true: Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.

AMEN!!

Today is just a really bad day all around. I hate Father's Day. I bawled for a good half an hour this morning when I got up. I was in that mood of I wanted to either a) break dishes, b) punch a hole in the wall, c) go outside and scream vulgarities, and d) all of the above.

I feel so alone today. A day that I should be spending with my husband and 5 year old daughter but I did nothing but cry most of the morning. I then said screw it to everything and went back to bed. I didn't wake back up til a few hours ago. I had sent a text to my best friend and told her "Sorry but I'm not doing anything today. I'm not in the mood and I'm not putting on a happy face just to go out in public." Then I tried texting my mom to vent and she is just totally clueless "Oh hey what's up?". By that point I just turned my stupid phone off. I went from bawling my eyes out to mad as a hornet in 2.4 seconds.

We did just get home. We went out to eat because I was starving and there was no way I was going to cook. I let Alan pick where we went so we stayed in town and went to Texas Land and Cattle. I had some bread, salad with ranch, 4 bites of mashed potatoes, and country fried steak (took the breading off). Then I had a 16 ounce strawberry daquiri to just wash away all the freaking emotions from today. I can say I do have quite a buzz right now but I blame it on the 100+ degree heat.

I can't empathize with your situation, but I'm sure you know that venting is always allowed here. I'm sorry you feel alone today, but I know that I am sending positive thoughts your way and others will too. I'm not even sure what to say, but your post made me want to attempt to send some words of comfort/support your way and I hope they help you to feel a little less alone.

Nicely put. Thanks for saying it so well for ALL of us.

Hello. I need to head to bed soon as 4:30 comes early. We had a nice day. DH loved his new portable hammock which he wanted for the camper. I got a lawn chair for my Dad as the ones in their camper were falling apart. I got a few things done for this week then headed off for my last shift at the Balloon Festival. I'm glad to be home and have that over with. Now if I can get through both jobs tomorrow and thursday as well as the pot luck lacrosse party on Wednesday I should be golden for a while. One last week of high stress then the calm of summer.

YOu can do it.... one more week! Glad you had a good Father's Day.

I slept most of the day away, we went and ate dinner, and now I've just been playing around on the computer. This is going to be a busy week so I'm just trying to stay focused on everything I've got to get accomplished.

Monday, Alan is taking the car into to have it serviced. Tuesday, we have to get the cats into the vet. Wednesday we'll be doing last minute cleaning and packing. Then we'll head to bed around 9pm so we can be up and out the door by 2am. Its 10 hours from our house to Pensacola and I want to get there at a decent hour so we can kick back and relax. In the past we've always left our house around 8am and gotten in around 6 or 7 at night. So all we've pretty much done is ate, showered, and hit the hay. This time I want time to actually kick back and relax for a few hours.

Plans have changed and it looks like we're going to be staying a week insted of a few days. I'm still trying to decide if I just want to add onto our stay at Best Western Lake Buena Vista or if I want to get a few days in at a value resort. I'll talk with Alan more about it tomorrow and make a decision tomorrow night.

Busy, busy. But all for a good cause.... a last minute trip! WOOO!

just had to stop in quick and say ive had no time at all to myself lately but im trying to stick with the diet and failing miserably. its just not going well

I CHALLENGE you to come on here and post EVERY DAY with us. Just answer the QOTD! Don't worry about chatting or replies or anything.... just answer the QOTD! Please don't give up on yourself or on the healthier eating. It takes TIME for it to become a habit!!

How was everyone's day yesterday? We got to my sister's house at 1:15. I swam before anyone else got there. She had some cheese and crackers, some veggies and dip and nachos and salsa. BUT them she didn't serve anything substantial until 4. Nobody ate lunch so we were prettty hungry.

Now I know you are not supposed to be critical about what the hostess makes but. She served filet mignon, potato salad (no mayo) grilled veggies and a salad. My ds and dh will eat meat. They will eat roasted cauliflower but not the veggies she served and they don't eat potato salad. I wish she served some bread or potato chips. It was so late that we left before desert because ds wanted to go back to college last night.

I know my mother was hungry since she did not eat lunch and has to eat at regular intervals because of the medication she is on. I told my dh I miss giving parties. We haven't had one at the house for a couple of years now.

Off to get some things done.

Have a happy and healthy day.

I've been known to leave OP foods in the car and sneak out to the driveway to eat them when I'm at a function away from home! Sometimes the food offered at parties, barbeques, etc is just too tough to deal with!

Good morning everyone! I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. We were out and about all day. I will catch up though- promise!!

We had a nice father's day. Went to 8:30 am mass and Thomas is surprisingly getting better at sitting...for the most part haha. I did get. Little caught up in my thoughts though while there. Thought about how much I missed my grandpa and other important men in my life who have passed. It was sad to see slot of women there by themselves. Many of them were tearing up, probably thinking of their own dads or husbands. I know our board here had a bit of a tough day

Saw my dad on Saturday at my cousin's graduation party. My mother didn't come as usual. My dad has seen Thomas maybe 10 times ever. And he wonders why Thomas isn't interested in playing with him - he doesn't know him! Oh and I should mention that he LOST him!!!! I could have killed him. It was for only a second but ugggghhh he was playing with him then comes outside asking where he is!!

Anyway, I got an iPad yesterday and figuring out how to use it. I'm trying to post with it but it is a little difficult.

Today is Thomas's birthday!!! Two years old!

Happy Birthday THOMAS!!!

Good morning everyone,

We had a very busy weekend. Spent a full day at Cedar Point on Friday, graduation party on Saturday and then took my oldest DS (10) to his first summer camp yesterday. I was ok - didn't cry. We will pick him up on Saturday and I keep checking their website to see if I can spot any pictures of him. My little guy (7) is off to golf camp this morning so I will have a few hours to myself.
Kristi

Wow.. you didn't cry??? You are my hero!!


**************
Morning friends! DS is off to the last full day of school! DD and I are ATTEMPTING to get out of here and go strawberry picking (that we rescheduled from Friday), but not having much luck yet. Probably cause I'm still sitting here in my pajamas on the computer!!

I had a good weekend (foodwise) overall. Like I had mentioned, Saturday morning/early afternoon I had packed the cooler full of healthy foods for all of us, so that went well. My cousin's graduation party was full of temptations, but thankfully there were also some healthy offerings (green salad, fruit salad, crudite platter, baked chicken), so we were all able to stay OP that day as well (although the chips and sweets were certainly tempting).

Yesterday we had a healthy OP breakfast at Mom's and then went out for a Father's Day lunch at Uno's (had a coupon ). Again, DH, DD, and myself were all able to stay OP (I had baked haddock without the cracker crumbs and a double order of the roasted seasonal veggies). My only splurge for the weekend was a piece of the angel food birthday cake my Mom made. It was frosted with homemade chocolate whipped cream that was made with cocoa powder and sweetened with stevia.... so very low carb (but obviously not low fat!!) It was a nice splurge and not too far off plan. Then dinner was homemade salad bar.

So while I probably didn't stick strictly with my WW points over the weekend, I definitely watched my carbs, so overall I feel good about the weekend (other than Friday's birthday treats!! ).

Well... DD is announcing that she is ready to go, so I guess I had better get dressed! TTYL......................P

 

[mikamah]

A quick hello this morning. I just sort of realized that with school ending next tuesday, I only have a few days to get out and run/walk alone, so I took advantage of the morning. Thought a lot of my journey along the way, and about how successful so many of you here have been, and really think I can do it this time. I've done it before, and I know what to do. I did great at the grocery store, but let michael buy some mini powder donuts, ate 2, but had him pack them up in baggies for his school snack and told him if I ate any, I'd give him 10 dollars. That's going to keep me away from them.

Hugs to those in need today Have a marvelous monday. The sun is shining again. Hope it's shining wherever you are too.

 

[Zhoen]

Morning, Losers!

Well, apparently my pattern is to be very very good all week, do ok on Friday weigh-ins (take that as a compliment, you guys matter!) then go berserk on the weekends... My WW weigh-in this morning was still a loss from last weeks WW and BL weigh ins, but higher than the BL weigh in 3 days ago, if that makes any sense... I had a terrible weekend. Anyone who is beating themselves up over this weekend, I *PROMISE* you did better than me!!!

But-- it's totally not my fault-- it was the cats!!! Wasn't there someone on here that was blaming her cats??? Well, her cats (not mine, mine are sweethearts) came over and FORCED me to eat all kinds of terrible things!!! The worst (best tasting) part was when they handed me the jar of Nutella... if you've ever seen "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"... it was like Augustus Gloop, chocolatey goodness everywhere, but with me and two cats instead!!! I tried to take a picture for the cheezbergers website, but the nutella from my hands got on the lens and it didn't come out... She wasn't kidding, those cats are TOTAL enablers!!! They even convinced my husband that he needed to go to Outback for Father's Day and order the cheesie fries. Beware the evil cats of fatness, they are coming for you!!!

Actually, speaking of cats, one of mine is LOVING the organizational challenge. Every morning after I make the bed, you can find him snuggled up on it... I tried to get a picture of him this morning, because, I SWEAR, he was SMILING in his sleep all sprawled out on the nice, neat bed... plus someone asked what he looked like after DD7 gave him a haircut (it's pretty funny)... but just as I came back with my camera, the *@(#@ dog pounced and woke him up... so no picture... shame, it was cute... and who couldn't use a little more cuteness in their lives???

just had to stop in quick and say ive had no time at all to myself lately but im trying to stick with the diet and failing miserably. its just not going well

DON'T GIVE UP!!!! One of my favorite quotes is "you can't start over, but you can always start again." So start again this morning, or whenever you read this... and if you have a bad day, start again, and again, and again...

 

[Disneylush]

WOW... okay I am finally caught up. Took me 3 hours this AM but so worth it.

First off hugs to so many people dealing with so many things.

I just downloaded the c25k lite on my phone and I cant wait to do it.

I have had the zumba for wii for 2 weeks now and only been able to do it once because every time I turn it on my kids start fighting over who gets to go first. It is very cool thou.

My heel spur is getting worse rather then better. I now walk on my tip toes and I know I am going to hurt my hips doing this. I bought the expensive New Balance shoes but I am wishing I would have just bought new Merrel's.

I work retail and we are super busy with our annual sale so I am up and down the ladder all day long. I am hoping to interview this week for my own store. I am proud to say I am still regular coke free and I have avoided all the food temptations at the mall.

well I am off to have some lunch and then head into work.

Have an awesome day!!

 

[bellebookworm9]

QOTD: What is the one or two items that you would miss the MOST if your entire home disappeared today? (Assume that all of your family and pets were safe and healthy and that all of your photos were safely backed up off-site somewhere.... cause they should be!!)

Whoops-I should probably back up my photos somewhere; I want to get an external hard drive at some point...

This is a blanket that my 10 year old has had since the day he was born and is very sentimental to the whole family. He doesn't carry it around anymore - just lays on his bed, but I think we would all be devastated if it was lost.

I have one of these blankies too, except I'm 20 and I still carry it around (the house, not anywhere else). It has a lot of ruffles on it and I have nervous hands and a fidgeting habit, so those ruffles are very helpful for me!

So, I think I would try to save that blanket and my Disney scrapbook/photo album. Possibly also my computer and/or iPod. I have so much music that it would be very difficult to replace it all!

Today is Thomas's birthday!!! Two years old!

Happy birthday Thomas!

You know what they say.... "no good deed goes unpunished."

I now have a very strong urge to go and sing the song of that name from Wicked!

But-- it's totally not my fault-- it was the cats!!! Wasn't there someone on here that was blaming her cats??? Well, her cats (not mine, mine are sweethearts) came over and FORCED me to eat all kinds of terrible things!!! The worst (best tasting) part was when they handed me the jar of Nutella... if you've ever seen "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"... it was like Augustus Gloop, chocolatey goodness everywhere, but with me and two cats instead!!! I tried to take a picture for the cheezbergers website, but the nutella from my hands got on the lens and it didn't come out... She wasn't kidding, those cats are TOTAL enablers!!! They even convinced my husband that he needed to go to Outback for Father's Day and order the cheesie fries. Beware the evil cats of fatness, they are coming for you!!!

First the "scale, scale" rhyme, and now this! You are so cheering up my mornings!

Last night I planned out all my meals for today. This morning I had pancakes with strawberries, bananas, and a little bit of syrup on top, plus a light nonfat yogurt and some water. The rest of the day should be pretty healthy. Planning to start Week 3 of C25K today, plus I'm getting a haircut and kicking the GRE studying into high gear (AAAHHH the test is in 16 days-where has the time gone?!). Still waiting on those new glasses...

 

[JacksLilWench]

QOTD: What is the one or two items that you would miss the MOST if your entire home disappeared today? (Assume that all of your family and pets were safe and healthy and that all of your photos were safely backed up off-site somewhere.... cause they should be!!)

Hmm, that one is a little tough. I would have to say the small stuff, especially my Dug dog (from Up). My mom got it for me after my first week of CNA school. During that week, I went to school from 9am to 1:30, then worked in a local hospital from 2:30 to 8p, and a couple times till 11p. It wore me out so bad, and I was so exhausted. So my mom got me my Dug as a little token from her to let me know how hard she knew I was working and how I was doing everything I could to better myself in life. So Dug reminds me of how hard I worked. The other thing I would miss would be my Ariel lamp. I've always had an obsession with Ariel ever since I was three, and a few years ago, my mom got me this really gorgeous lamp from the Disney store with Ariel on it. I'll have to post a picture, it's so pretty!

 

[mackeysmom]

But-- it's totally not my fault-- it was the cats!!! Wasn't there someone on here that was blaming her cats??? Well, her cats (not mine, mine are sweethearts) came over and FORCED me to eat all kinds of terrible things!!! The worst (best tasting) part was when they handed me the jar of Nutella... ... She wasn't kidding, those cats are TOTAL enablers!!! They even convinced my husband that he needed to go to Outback for Father's Day and order the cheesie fries. Beware the evil cats of fatness, they are coming for you!!!

That was me

I'm telling you - they use their vacant, laser beam eyes to hypnotize you into eating everything in sight ...

- Laura

 

[mackeysmom]

QOTD: What is the one or two items that you would miss the MOST if your entire home disappeared today? (Assume that all of your family and pets were safe and healthy and that all of your photos were safely backed up off-site somewhere.... cause they should be!!)

I would probably be the oil painting/portrait of my late cat Mackey that I won in a "Cutest Pet" contest.

BUT, if the question was re-worded and you asked what one or two items I would grab if I had to leave the house before it disappeared, in addition to the portrait, I would also grab my pocketbook. That way I would have ID, my debit card, my phone, car keys and a little cash.

- Laura

 

[lisah0711]

QOTD: What is the one or two items that you would miss the MOST if your entire home disappeared today? (Assume that all of your family and pets were safe and healthy and that all of your photos were safely backed up off-site somewhere.... cause they should be!!)

Great question, Pamela! Thanks for being our coach today.

We've thought about this quite a bit over the years as we are very close to a national forest -- like it's at the end of the street -- lots of potential for being evacuated due to fire. My photos and computer documents are all backed up offsite -- thank you Carbonite -- so that isn't a worry! (If you don't have this, consider it, for $59 per computer per year you can back up everything online, offsite and it does work when you need to restore it. We use it for home and work and sleep much better at night!) I would miss things like some of the antique items that we have from our families -- a real Tiffany light that was used for the front porch of DH's family farm and the lantern that belonged to my great-grandparents.

The one thing that I need to do still is take a detailed DVD of everything in the house -- including in the drawers -- so we would have a good record for our insurance claim if everything did go. Buffy, that would be a good item for the organizational challenge when we get everything cleaned up!

But-- it's totally not my fault-- it was the cats!!! Wasn't there someone on here that was blaming her cats??? Well, her cats (not mine, mine are sweethearts) came over and FORCED me to eat all kinds of terrible things!!!

That is a very new and original excuse!

My heel spur is getting worse rather then better. I now walk on my tip toes and I know I am going to hurt my hips doing this. I bought the expensive New Balance shoes but I am wishing I would have just bought new Merrel's.

Ouch! I have horrible heel spurs, too, in fact my physical therapist refers to them as "heel spoons" they are so large. Orthotics were what helped me and never, never, never go barefoot. If you are on your feet all day you need to do what is needed to get that under control NOW!

and kicking the GRE studying into high gear (AAAHHH the test is in 16 days-where has the time gone?!). Still waiting on those new glasses...

Good luck with studying!

The other thing I would miss would be my Ariel lamp. I've always had an obsession with Ariel ever since I was three, and a few years ago, my mom got me this really gorgeous lamp from the Disney store with Ariel on it. I'll have to post a picture, it's so pretty!

Sounds pretty! I have a very nice Disney torchiere and Mickey porch light that I have in my office. As you can see by my tag, I have a nice Disney office. :mickey:

Today is another new start for me. I really need to pull herself together this week, especially if I don't want to post a gain three weeks into this new challenge. Being off plan really isn't as fun or satisfying as I remember it being. More like watching something bad happen that you can't seem to stop.

So I have my newly minted training plan ready and a brand new page in my journal. I hope by this time next week I will be patting myself on the back and seeing nothing but blue skies and clear roads ahead. I've tracked all my food, including planning for tonight and I am totally OP -- it's about time!

Have a great day all!

 

[Zhoen]

That was me

I'm telling you - they use their vacant, laser beam eyes to hypnotize you into eating everything in sight ...

- Laura

Ah, well then I'm doubly sorry the picture didn't work out, you could have had it made into another portrait for somewhere else in the house... maybe on an opposite wall... it could be like Jekyll and Hyde... "Sweet kitty/demonic diet-ruining kitty."

 

[Disneywedding2010]

QOTD: What is the one or two items that you would miss the MOST if your entire home disappeared today? (Assume that all of your family and pets were safe and healthy and that all of your photos were safely backed up off-site somewhere.... cause they should be!!)

Josh's flag case that contains the flag off his coffin and the flag case that contains the flag that his command had given me. They flew it the day of his funeral. Yes, most material things are replacable, however those even though yeah I could go buy a flag and put it in a case its not the same.

 

[SettinSail]

Oh my gosh, you guys are cracking me up with all this cat talk At my house, we always make up things that the cats are saying when we see them outside. I've opened my apartment door several times to find "Samba" (neighbor's cat) lying on my doormat and trying to freak me out! How he got into my building I don't know.....sneaky cats!

We had fun at our 2 parties yesterday and I was better than the old me would have been but I still made some bad choices. I think part of my problem is when I get around some foods that have come from the commissary that we can't normally get in the German stores. I mean I see 7 layer dip and Tostito's and I'm supposed to walk on by??? Everyone was telling me not to eat any Tostitos since I'll be back in the US next week and can have all I want! Guess I should have listened to them. Anyway, I am WAY UP this morning! Like .4 over my starting weight for the challenge. Today is a new day and a new week and I will do better

Nancy - loved your before/after photos! Beautiful! Inspiring!
Happy Birthday to Thomas! 2 is a fun age and 3 is even better. They can do so much more at this age. Of course, his world is about to be rocked this Nov!

Rose - GREAT photos! I hate to say it, but you are nothin' but ****S now girl! How in the world did that happen !!?? Oops, that got edited out, you are nothing but chest now!

Kathy - sorry about the baseball game but sounds like the kids were troopers and had team spirit despite the coaches. What sport is up next for Michael - football?? You've posted some great ideas for resisting Michael's treats. I may have to try some with my son, he would love those rewards. Thank you for the help with the run/walk - I've always wondered how to do that.

Lindsay - congrats on the pay increase And, you survived MIL

Sue - I really like Riesling wine too, there are some good German ones, (or are they all German, I'm not sure!)

Tracey - when we fly into NC, we take a taxi to my Mom's and it's less than $20 so we don't have to bother anyone to come pick us up. She is very close to the airport, off Harrison Ave though. I'll be glad to give you a ride to the airport July 4th if needed

CC - good job w/gocery shopping this weekend. I hope you get a good night's sleep tonight

Buffy - I've got my freezer down to 2 packs of ribs, 1 box brussel sprouts and 1/2 bag of green beans. My fridge is ALWAYS clean and organized. I even have to have all labels facing front at all times I open that thing about 10 times a day to see if I should straighten anything out I re-organized the pantry last week, threw a few things out and posted an inventory on the door. I did use up 1.5 cups of cous cous this weekend but there's a TON of stuff in there we won't be able to get to before we move. Atleast it's looking good and I've even got one completely bare shelf so it's not super packed. For some reason, I'm not as anal about my pantry looking nice like my fridge

Linda - have a great vacation!

Kristina - hope today is a better day

Trina - hang in there and DON'T QUIT !!!!!

QOTD-
Sunday: I'm low rage. I could actually use a little rage to kick my butt in gear sometimes! But since I have the never quit mentality, I know it will be up and down over time.

Monday: I would miss my baby panel the most. In my home town, we have a $$$$$ photography studio that does a baby picture at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. The pictures are in black and white and then hand colored and put into a single frame. It looks like an oil portrait and is beautiful! I would also miss my wedding album, my Mom's wedding album and my cross-stitched items that I've made over the years.



Today was a busy day. I did 45 mins on my elliptical and showered, did 4 loads of laundry, marinated some chicken, met a friend for coffee (tea for me), met another friend for lunch and went shopping at a cool tapestry place. I bought a large tapestry, table runner and 2 pillows. This shop buys the tapestries in Belgium and then puts borders on them, makes them into other things. Very very lovely. DH still wants to get a cuckoo clock before he leaves. We are trying to think about what we want to get to take home that we don't have yet.

We had a "Middle Eastern" dinner of leftover cous cous salad - dish I took to both parties yesterday-chicken w/zaziki sauce and pita bread halves. Delicious!

I am starting to go through my list of things I've sold and force people to pay me and come get their items!!! Yikes, it's been kind of a pain to sell to friends. Most people here will travel or go home for a good deal of July and August so that gives me only this week and next to get this done. I don't think people remember I'm selling this stuff because I'm LEAVING !

Don't have much on the calendar tomorrow so I will take it easy. We are having cool rainy weather here so it is a perfect day to stay home. Athletic banquet at school tomorrow night so no dinner to cook

My realtor is meeting the listing agent for the rental house tomorrow and we are going to be on the phone with her at the same time they are on the phone with the landlord in Calif. It sounds like we have the place although nothing signed yet and no $ has changed hands. I won't relax until we have a signed lease agreement and then I will

Shawn

 

[Disneywedding2010]

Well, I know one thing is for sure: I'm going to sleep like a rock tonight. I've been the Energizer bunny all day and this bunny is getting tired. My list so far of things I've accomplished:

Wiped kitchen counters down
Scowered kitchen sink
Wiped down stove top
Unloaded dishwasher
Cleaned toilet, sink, and mirror in half bath

I still need to:

Clean fridge out (something died in there I swear, lol)
Load dishwasher
Clean our shower out
Clean our toilet
Finish cleaning off dining room table
Finish putting laundry away
Make my bed (lol)

Alan has already said, 'Don't worry about the vacuuming. I'll do it." Thank goodness I hate vaccuming! .

Oh and in about an hour I need to start dinner.

Tomorrow I'm not doing ANYTHING, .

 

[tigger813]

QOTD: I would grab my computer as ALL of my recent photos from our trips and special events are on it! And my wedding album!

Happy to say my mom is finally home. She went home about 2 this afternoon. My brother picked her up. We spoke to her briefly when we called to sign happy birthday to her. She was in a lot of pain today so we didn't talk long and she sounded tired!

Shawn- I will put your cell in my cell and let you know if I need a ride. My flight is at 7am and I am checking 1 bag.

Got the girls signed up for the summer reading program and got both of them some books. Ash is going to do the teen reading program! She liked the prizes better! LOL! Her teacher sent home the summer reading list with her today though it was available at the library.

Had pork chops for supper. Brian will have to take care of supper tomorrow night as I have 2 clients.

We're finishing watching Tangled. Kids got to play with the neighbors for awhile under a sprinkler so they are quiet now.

Need to make a list of phone numbers for Brian tonight as well as update the calendar.

TTFN

 

[donac]

QOTD: What is the one or two items that you would miss the MOST if your entire home disappeared today? (Assume that all of your family and pets were safe and healthy and that all of your photos were safely backed up off-site somewhere.... cause they should be!!)

This is a great question. It has been on my mind since the flood in the Mississippi where they gave them 24 hours to get out of their house and they may never come back. This is one of the reasons I am planning to try to clean out my fabric stash and make quilts to give to those less fortunate. I also plan to back up my pictures on snapfish and on DVD's. I like the idea of making a dvd of the house for insurance purposes.

I would probably take some of my quilts.

See you tomorrow.

 

[dvccruiser76]

Today is Thomas's birthday!!! Two years old!

Happy Birthday Thomas! Dylan's is on July 3rd so they're very close in age. I was just at Carter's looking for a b-day t-shirt but didn't have any luck. Did you have a party? If so, what theme? Dylan is currently into dinosaurs, so that's what we're going with. Tomorrow it could be Toy Story or Cars

Please do NOT share the cheesecake pancake recipe! They sound too delicious!

I got the recipe from Betty Crocker's website, but used Heart Healthy Bisquick instead and bought mini frozen cheesecakes and cut it up and put it in the batter. They were really tasty

Sue - I really like Riesling wine too, there are some good German ones, (or are they all German, I'm not sure!)

The German ones are the best that I've found, but there are some good ones from NY state, Washington State and even some from Napa. That's the wine I first started with and can't seem to shake. Probably b/c it's sweeter than most wines.


Hi everyone, hope you all had a nice Monday. It was gorgeous out here today. Had my WW meal at lunch today and made ham steaks for dinner, so it was a good day food-wise. Tomorrow my co-worker is getting his hair cut during lunch, so I'll have another WW meal and won't be tempted to cheat.

Enjoy the rest of your evening Time to go watch the Bachelorette.

 

[bellebookworm9]

Hey all! I had every intention of doing C25K when we came home from our errands, but a terrible sinus headache derailed that plan. I did okay with food, ate my 5 servings of fruit & veggies! Did go a little off plan, but will figure that out points wise tomorrow.

Now I'm off to watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Side note: For YEARS I've been trying to get Mom to read/watch Harry Potter. She had no interest. Saturday night I basically forced her to watch Sorcerer's Stone-and she actually liked it! So last night we watched Chamber of Secrets and we're slowly continuing on-she's even coming to the midnight premiere of Deathly Hallows Part 2 with me and my BFF. Yay for small victories!