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

[bellebookworm9]

GOOD MORRRRRRNING BIGGEST LOSERS!!!!!!!

everyone awake??? good i'm nancy and i'll be your coach for the next week and two days. i hope to be half as helpful as so many of our previous coaches have been!

in an effort to gather some much needed pixie dust...ok, it's totally a selfish thing really because i so desperately want our september WDW trip to work out...i thought it might be fun to have, along with our usual QOTD, a disney QOTD too! sometimes i just am able to get on and WISH DIS so i don't get to read enough fun Disney DIS stuff

QOTD, Wednesday 6/22: We all know that BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day. Do you adhere to that statement? What is your typical breakfast like? Do you keep it light? How soon before waking do you eat? "They" say we should eat within 30 minutes of waking - do you?

DISNEY QOTD Wednesday 6/22: Won't you tell me about your first trip to Disney?? DL or WDW? How old were you? Who were you with? What is your favorite memory from the trip? Were you hooked by trip #1??

Good morning!

Question 1: I eat breakfast every single day. Most of the time it's cereal with skim/1% milk (at school I buy skim, but at home we have 1% because awhile ago Mom thought the skim tasted funny...). At school on the weekends we have brunch, where I do try to eat some fruit and cottage cheese with whatever else may be there (pancakes, bacon, sausage, etc.) Occasionally I may have a muffin and some juice.

Question 2: Well, technically my first (two) trips were not really much of a trip. I was ages 13 months (1992) and 3 years (1994), and each trip was simply a one day excursion to MK while we were down visiting friends in the Tampa area. (Mom didn't even realize Epcot, the Stuidos, TL, and DTD were even open at the time, she was shocked to find out later!). I don't remember much from either trip, except our hotel, which had a macaw in the lobby named Lisa, and also the kids club and the bridge to get there. I'm told I was afraid of Goofy and Tigger. My first "real" trip was in 2007 at age 15. I went over President's Day weekend with my school's music department and performed at MK as part of Magic Music Days. We visited the other parks as well, stayed at All Star Music, and were there for six days total. That was the trip that really started the addiction and led to the trips in 2010 and 2011!

 

[pjstevens]

QOTD, Wednesday 6/22: We all know that BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day. Do you adhere to that statement? What is your typical breakfast like? Do you keep it light? How soon before waking do you eat? "They" say we should eat within 30 minutes of waking - do you?

DISNEY QOTD Wednesday 6/22: Won't you tell me about your first trip to Disney?? DL or WDW? How old were you? Who were you with? What is your favorite memory from the trip? Were you hooked by trip #1??

QOTD#1 ~ I have a protein shake every single morning. There are very, very few times I stray from this. I had lapband surgery years ago and don't do well with too much in the way of solid food when I first wake up. I probably eat within 30 minutes of waking or close to it (I shower first).

QOTD#2 ~ It was 1974, I was 10 and my father and soon to be step mother took us to Disney. I remember Dumbo being my favorite ride and screaming, truly crying scared in the haunted mansion when the portraits started growing! What a sissy I was then. Didn't go again until married with kids, but got hooked at that point.

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

May 11

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

You look absolutely gorgeous and so healthy and fit.

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!!

It use to be like that with my in laws. The kids would cry and scream and wouldnt go near them. It has gotten better now that they are older and my inlaws now come around once a month or so. I would have been completely ticked to about him "loosing him" even if it was for a second. Anyway you really have to just come to peace with the fact that its there loss that they are not involved in your family. There is nothing you can do to change them. I cant imagine why they wouldnt want to be more involved because thomas is such a cutie pie and I think you are pretty cool too. Like I said there loss.

happy belated bday to Thomas....forgot to mention that the other day.

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!!)

Actually this is a question that hit close to home. almost 7 years ago my nana and aunts house burned down and they lost everything...I mean everything. My moms wedding dress and pics were still there. All of our childhood memories. My nana's collections, purses, wallets, money that they saved in a big tin. Like thousands of dollars....(apparently back in the day it was thought that the banks and governments just stole your money) so that is why they horded it in a tin can. Anyway it has me often thinking about what I would miss.

I have a grandfather clock that my dad made in high school that is really special to me. It was given to me a few years ago when they had to move my grammy out of her home.

I also would be devestated to loose my wedding dress and accesories, the kids christening outfits, and ryans teddy that he has slept with since he was 1. Otherwise I feel that everything else is replacable.

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!

Glad to hear this.

WOOHOO!!

My Bachelors degree came in the mail today
32 months of pure hell at times but it was worth it in the end.

Congratulations! and enjoy your trip.

Here are a couple of pics from the Sand Dunes. This is Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado. The sand has collected at the base of the sangre de cristo mountains and it is a pretty neat place. There is some water runoff from the mountain snow this time of year which creates a little river along the bottom of the dunes.

Wow beautiful pictures and awesome job on getting up to the top. I felt that way a few years ago going across these really high up nets at sesame place. DS was yards ahead of me and yelling come on mom you can do it. Im glad you pushed through and completed it. What a great NSV.

Here is today's QOTD:

If you could have a personal chef who took care of one meal a day, which meal would it be and why?

Definitely dinner because I just dont have the time or energy at night to cook. I would not trade that for a maid because I can just clean on the wkends.

Well, good morning everyone. I was just watching the today show about that woman in NY who sent threatening letters to the little league officials and has been arrested, and just want to reassure you all that when I hear about our tournament team, if michael isn't on it, I promise you will not hear about me on the news.

And since you asked here is a picture of my Mickey torchiere in my office, next to the print DVC gave me for spending lots of money for my VGC DVC.

And my Mickey porch light above a print of Cinderella's castle decked out for Christmas.

I do have prints of Cinderella's Castle as well as Sleeping Beauty's Castle and VWL in my office, too. And my Disney stock certificate. My dream is to have a picture of each Disney castle from a trip to each but it will be awhile before that dream comes true.

It really does help me get through my crazy busy work days to be surrounded by Disney stuff!

Wow I love your office. I would love to do something with mine someday to make it feel more zen. Just need the money to do it but someday I will get there.

How awesome that your day is starting off great.

I've been MIA for the last week or so. We spent Thursday - Sunday in Omaha, Nebraska for a baseball tournament. DS15's baseball team lost in the semi-finals in their tournament. It was a great time while we were there. The boys got to meet some of the teams in the college world series. During the fan appretiation day, they were talking with the Texas A&M team and watching other teams practice. They had a great time. I even managed to lose while we were there.

Sounds like a very cool weekend. I played traveling softball in high school and those wkends were some of the greatest times of my life. Your son will have some great memories to hold onto.

I would take time to really catch up but... I'm spending all my spare time doing actual research in an effort to plan an actual WDW trip!!!!! It has been almost 6 years since our last trip. DH finally gave me the thumbs-up and I'm just DYING to get there. This will be DD's first trip and I CAN'T WAIT!!!! We haven't settled on dates or anything yet, but we're working on it.

How exciting. Wow 6 years....I would say you are definitely more than ready for that trip. DD will be so thrilled.

So I am back yet again. My name is Michelle and I am a stay at home mom of 4 little girls, ages almost 10, 8, 2 and 2 1/2 months. I am from Ohio and I am a total geek who loves magic of any kind, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and oh yeah, Disney! lol

Welcome back

Today will be an OP day with regards to eating.

Sounds like you are lined up to have a great day. I hope it goes as planned. Your doing great.

QOTD, Wednesday 6/22: We all know that BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day. Do you adhere to that statement? What is your typical breakfast like? Do you keep it light? How soon before waking do you eat? "They" say we should eat within 30 minutes of waking - do you?

DISNEY QOTD Wednesday 6/22: Won't you tell me about your first trip to Disney?? DL or WDW? How old were you? Who were you with? What is your favorite memory from the trip? Were you hooked by trip #1??

1.) BF is my worst meal as far as quality. I am not really a breakfast food lover. I am the one that if we go out to a resturaunt at 1030 everyone else wants BF and I ask if I can order lunch. Lately I have been getting 1 or 2 hashbrowns from mcD's. 1 is 3pts on the old WW system. Its not the best choice by far but its the one thing I just have not figured out how to get rid of. Of course this is only on work days otherwise I eat a bowl of frosted flakes with skim milk.

2.) My first trip was when I was 10. It was my parents, my moms cousin and his wife both a little older than my parents, and their niece who was probably 16 or so. It was tons of fun from what I remember. We stayed off property at wilson world. We did seaworld, busch garden, NASA, midevil times, and a few other off site things that I cant remember.

My first onsite trip was my graduation gift. I went with 5 other girlfriends the august after we grad. high school. We stayed at CBR and loved it. That is when i fell in love with disney. Our last family trip in 09 is when I became a complete fanatic though.

Well, my lazy day yesterday had a very good ending. We have come to a verbal agreement to rent the house we were trying to get. We get the keys next Friday, hard to believe. We are getting a pretty good rent based on the ones I saw online. The one we were interested in prior to this one was 600 sf smaller and cost $100 more per month. This one is in a much better location too, on a quiet cul de sac but still on the golf course. DS also won the coaches award for his soccer team at the athletics banquet last night. They actually gave all 4 awards for the team as coaches award rather than an MVP, most improved, etc. I thought that was neat. I was able to deliver and collect on 3 more items for sale and got an item back that a friend had borrowed that we want to sell. My good luck came to an end this afternoon though - I had a teacher at the school email me to get her items and I was set to meet her at 2:15 but I couldn't find a ride to school. My 2 closest neighbors that have kids at the school were nowhere to be found and not answering their cell phones Hopefully I can set another meeting with her soon.

Wow what a great day. Have fun celebrating the holiday. Wow germans really like to celebrate.

 

[trinaweena]

Wow so definatley didn't get that run in! About 30 seconds before I was going to head out the sky opened up! It's been downpouring and thundering ever since. I don't know if its the weather but I just feel exhausted. I only woke up an hour before I usually do but I'm really feeling it, having some coffee now hoping it will wake me up before work.

Looking at my food plan for today I realize that i'm going to be very hungry if I only have a protein shake for dinner, espcially since i will have to take my break at 5 and then will be working till 9. I think I will make a salad instead with some tuna of top for dinner. Salads worry me though cause I can't stand a dry salad but I never know whats ok to use for dressing!

 

[JacksLilWench]

GOOD MORRRRRRNING BIGGEST LOSERS!!!!!!!

everyone awake??? good i'm nancy and i'll be your coach for the next week and two days. i hope to be half as helpful as so many of our previous coaches have been!

in an effort to gather some much needed pixie dust...ok, it's totally a selfish thing really because i so desperately want our september WDW trip to work out...i thought it might be fun to have, along with our usual QOTD, a disney QOTD too! sometimes i just am able to get on and WISH DIS so i don't get to read enough fun Disney DIS stuff

QOTD, Wednesday 6/22: We all know that BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day. Do you adhere to that statement? What is your typical breakfast like? Do you keep it light? How soon before waking do you eat? "They" say we should eat within 30 minutes of waking - do you?

DISNEY QOTD Wednesday 6/22: Won't you tell me about your first trip to Disney?? DL or WDW? How old were you? Who were you with? What is your favorite memory from the trip? Were you hooked by trip #1??

I hope everyone has a great, OP day. Drink you water, eat your veggies, stay AWAY from the junk and..."Don't go out of your WEIGH to please anyone but yourself!" That's a quote my Aunt Ann always says - she has lost a bunch of weight and kept it off successfully and it's her mantra.

"Everybody neat and pretty? Then on with the show!"

Well, if I wasn't awake before, I am now!! This is gonna be a good week, I can feel it, haha.

I do try to eat breakfast every day. It may not be the "best" breakfast, but I try to get something in me. This morning it was steel cut oats with a little brown sugar and milk with coffee. It was so tasty! And you can mix it up and put fruit in there like berries too. It usually keeps me full until early in the afternoon- and it's easy to make!

As for the Disney QOTD- the first trip I ever made to Disney was Disneyland in 2001, and I have been hooked like a fish ever since!! I was 14 years old, and in the pictures I look like I might as well be seven I'm grinning so hard. We stayed at the Candy Cane Inn, which backs up right to the Magic Kingdom, and were able to see the fireworks displays a couple times from the hotel courtyard. The last night there in line for the parking trams, I cried and cried- I was just totally inconsolable I was with my mom and sister. I think my favorite memory from the trip is meeting Mickey for the first time. I'll have to post the picture on here, as soon as I get it on my computer!

 

[Zhoen]

Trina, I can't remember, are you doing a specific plan? (ie-points, counting calories, counting carbs, etc?)

If you get a chance to try it, my favorite salad dressing is by a company called "Brianna's" It's in a pretty bottle with a strawberry on the front. It's a vinaigrette, and doesn't actuallyl have strawberries in it, but it's super-yummy. I've found that you can mix it 1 part dressing, one part water, one part lemon juice, and cut the calories by 66% with it tasting exactly the same... it makes a little go a long way. You might be able to do something similar with other dressings you already have at home... (though I think most you'd need to use vinegar instead of lemon juice... that only works in the fruity ones, of course.) Just a thought since you're trying to figure out what to put on your salad. Just plain lemon juice and salt and pepper will work well on some salads, it depends on what your vegetables are.

 

[trinaweena]

Trina, I can't remember, are you doing a specific plan? (ie-points, counting calories, counting carbs, etc?)

If you get a chance to try it, my favorite salad dressing is by a company called "Brianna's" It's in a pretty bottle with a strawberry on the front. It's a vinaigrette, and doesn't actuallyl have strawberries in it, but it's super-yummy. I've found that you can mix it 1 part dressing, one part water, one part lemon juice, and cut the calories by 66% with it tasting exactly the same... it makes a little go a long way. You might be able to do something similar with other dressings you already have at home... (though I think most you'd need to use vinegar instead of lemon juice... that only works in the fruity ones, of course.) Just a thought since you're trying to figure out what to put on your salad. Just plain lemon juice and salt and pepper will work well on some salads, it depends on what your vegetables are.

I am counting calories (or trying to haha!) What I made today was mixed greens (darker stuff I CANT STAND ice berg mixes or anything like that), baby spinach, diced onions, carrots, green oinions, kidney beans, and a salad fixins mix thing that has some dried cranberry and some seeds and nuts and stuff just to give it a nice crunch. I plan on putting some tuna on top when i get to work and I brought a tiny bit of light seasame ginger dressing, so I think that will do me for now, or for today at least haha. I very much like an asian feel to my salads, and to my food in general. As i put it to my boyfriend all the time, "I'm in the mood for chopstick food" Whether its chinese, thai, vietnamese, or japanese I'm a huge fan of asian food. (Although I also REALLY LOVE mexican! But i havent figured out how to make that healthy yet

 

[dumbo_buddy]

Good Wednesday morning everyone

I made it throught the last week of school without yelling at anyone I usually blow up at one time or another.

I will post last week's results later today. I will also make comments later. I slept in and want to get somethings done this morning.

Have a happy and healthy day.

getting through the day without yelling at someone is a HUGE accomplishment! woot!!!

Well, my lazy day yesterday had a very good ending. We have come to a verbal agreement to rent the house we were trying to get. We get the keys next Friday, hard to believe. We are getting a pretty good rent based on the ones I saw online. The one we were interested in prior to this one was 600 sf smaller and cost $100 more per month. This one is in a much better location too, on a quiet cul de sac but still on the golf course. DS also won the coaches award for his soccer team at the athletics banquet last night. They actually gave all 4 awards for the team as coaches award rather than an MVP, most improved, etc. I thought that was neat. I was able to deliver and collect on 3 more items for sale and got an item back that a friend had borrowed that we want to sell. My good luck came to an end this afternoon though - I had a teacher at the school email me to get her items and I was set to meet her at 2:15 but I couldn't find a ride to school. My 2 closest neighbors that have kids at the school were nowhere to be found and not answering their cell phones Hopefully I can set another meeting with her soon.

Well, we have a 4 day weekend, this is the 3rd public holiday in the month of June. This one is called corpus christi, I read what it's about but can't re-explain it here No school Thurs and Friday. We are just going to be around the house getting our suitcases ready for next week and possibly meeting friends at the Biergarten some days. We may make a visit to the Black Forest for DH to look for his cuckoo clock.

Have a great day Losers!

Shawn

no skim milk in germany?? and yet, they all seem so thin! sheesh, maybe they are on to something??

congrats to your DS! nice! i saw the pic on facebook! very cool. have a great long weekend. i like how you going to a biergarten is like, an actual biergarten. but of course i'll just be thinking of the one at disney world

I do eat breakfast every day. I'm in a bagel/cream cheese rut at the office, although I occasionally with have a sausage and egg mcmuffin. I have been adding two boiled egg whites to breakfast and that seems to keep the hunger at bay until lunch time without adding too many calories.

i wonder, can you make a sausage mcmuffin? i know my friend always makes these homemade egg mcmuffins and they are really good and not too many calories. i mean, it's no mcD's biscuit but one can pretend, right?


i always at in my office and it was so bad. i should have just taken the time to go and eat in the little break room but i always felt too swamped.

I think Aunt Ann is a smart lady!
I think she is too! she's always got some neat thing to say about losing weight!

My first Disney trip to was to DL when I was two for my birthday. Sorry, don't remeber a thing about it! I grew up in Anaheim so we went every year. But my first trip to WDW wasn't until 2004 with DH and DS. We loved the total immersion into WDW -- we call it "the bubble." We also got very attached to Wilderness Lodge which is very ironic since it is just like it is here!

one of my absolute favorite things about WDW is "the bubble." you can escape to a land of happiness and with little effort can have no clue what's going on in the world!

QOTD: My typical breakfast is water with aloe, green tea and an Herbalife shake. I had to have a protein bar this morning as with the bladder infection I have to cut back on milk stuff.

Looks like we will be able to fit in getting my nails done today. We started and will finish at 11 and then I have to leave at 11:45 for girls day with Izzie. My list keeps getting bigger as to what I need to buy!

Going to buy Gnomeo and Juliet today so we can watch it after school tomorrow and order pizza.

Well, I need to go fold my sheets and put them away.

TTFN

speaking of herbalife, my friend just gave me a brand new canister so i'm going to wait til that's close to finished to put in an order. i just finished my first canister of vanilla. i really have enjoyed the shakes. i blend the powder with frozen fruit, milk, and a bit of splenda. really yummy! when i order from you i'm going to get the cookies and cream too! oh and the soup? it's pretty good!

I was hungry all the time when nursing, too...

me too! i was hungrier nursing than i ever was pregnant!!

Hmm... rarely neat and almost never pretty...

Today breakfast was a vitamin and 2 calcium tabs, since I'm recovering from a 24-hour flu that apparently can't tell time...
hope you feel better!



As for me, I like that there is one place in the world where most (not all) people will play along. What makes Disney magical is that everyone agrees to be nice (or as nice as they can personally manage, though it usually wears out about 4pm) and suspend their disbelief for a day. I've heard a lot of parents melting down in the parks over the years, usually about the heat and the cost, and the worn-out kiddies whining... but never have I heard anyone say "Be realistic," "be reasonable," "be practical," or "get your head out of the clouds." So that's what I like about it, I like that people let each other believe... and I wish everywhere could be like that.

YES! YES! YES!!!! i totally agree. i mean, ok fine i've totally been one of those adults having a major meltdown in the middle of the park (poor DH) but for the most part i'm just so happy to be at disney when i'm there. it's magical. it's a well-oiled machine. love it.

If you grab them just because you're hurried in the morning, what about stashing some healthier choices in the freezer at work? I forget what brand it is, but there are some mcmuffin-type frozen sandwiches in one of the diet brands... they don't suck... during the winter, I love a pack of instant oatmeal with some cinnamon, some stevia, and just a dash of salt (I would never have thought of salt, but someone recommended it, and it really adds a lot!) When I'm jones-ing for a salt fix, I like instant grits with salt... so I keep grits and oatmeal in a spare drawer in my desk... they keep forever and don't crowd the communal fridge/freezer, and don't disappear like the other stuff sometimes does...

these are good ideas! salt in oatmeal? hm, now i'll have to try it.

oh, and grits! i've had them...like, at disney. definitely can't get them here but i did see a box of instant ones at the store the other day. i almost bought them but realized that even instant ones would probably not taste like the imaginary ones i have in my head!

Good morning!!! Woo who, I'm pumped from the excitement in your post this morning!!! Thanks!!!

YAY!

QOTD...I always try to eat something for breakfast...even if I have to load up some cereal and milk into a lock and lock and eat it once I get to work. I also try to bring a snack to have mid-morning. I normally just do cereal and yogurt and maybe a smothie if I have some time, but I'd love to hear what everyone else does for some ideas.

Disney QOTD...My first trip was in 1985 at WDW...I was 5. I don't remember much about it except for the 10 minutes of video that we have and a couple of pictures. We stayed off-site with some friends. It was my whole family...my Mom, my Dad, and my older brother. My dad went the first day, but decided it was not his cup of tea (I think he fished the remaining days). My mom and I have been back several times because we fell in love with it. In fact, when she found out she had colon cancer, she was told to do what you want to do now while you're still healthy...and so, we went to WDW at Christmas time in 2000! It was AMAZING...the best memories ever.

I hope everyone has a great and MAGICAL DAY!!!!

thanks for sharing your disney stories. so glad you and your mom got to go on that 2000 trip. something you'll always have

Good morning!

Question 1: I eat breakfast every single day. Most of the time it's cereal with skim/1% milk (at school I buy skim, but at home we have 1% because awhile ago Mom thought the skim tasted funny...). At school on the weekends we have brunch, where I do try to eat some fruit and cottage cheese with whatever else may be there (pancakes, bacon, sausage, etc.) Occasionally I may have a muffin and some juice.

Question 2: Well, technically my first (two) trips were not really much of a trip. I was ages 13 months (1992) and 3 years (1994), and each trip was simply a one day excursion to MK while we were down visiting friends in the Tampa area. (Mom didn't even realize Epcot, the Stuidos, TL, and DTD were even open at the time, she was shocked to find out later!). I don't remember much from either trip, except our hotel, which had a macaw in the lobby named Lisa, and also the kids club and the bridge to get there. I'm told I was afraid of Goofy and Tigger. My first "real" trip was in 2007 at age 15. I went over President's Day weekend with my school's music department and performed at MK as part of Magic Music Days. We visited the other parks as well, stayed at All Star Music, and were there for six days total. That was the trip that really started the addiction and led to the trips in 2010 and 2011!

i'm always jealous of the high school kids that get to march down main street. i played the flute in the band for like, forever and i wished we could have done that. then again, we all hated being in the band and we were terrible so that wasn't an option

QOTD#1 ~ I have a protein shake every single morning. There are very, very few times I stray from this. I had lapband surgery years ago and don't do well with too much in the way of solid food when I first wake up. I probably eat within 30 minutes of waking or close to it (I shower first).

what do you put in your protein shake?

QOTD#2 ~ It was 1974, I was 10 and my father and soon to be step mother took us to Disney. I remember Dumbo being my favorite ride and screaming, truly crying scared in the haunted mansion when the portraits started growing! What a sissy I was then. Didn't go again until married with kids, but got hooked at that point.

i still get spooked in HM and i've been in it a bunch of times!

 

[dumbo_buddy]

You look absolutely gorgeous and so healthy and fit.

agree! rose looks absolutely gorgeous!

It use to be like that with my in laws. The kids would cry and scream and wouldnt go near them. It has gotten better now that they are older and my inlaws now come around once a month or so. I would have been completely ticked to about him "loosing him" even if it was for a second. Anyway you really have to just come to peace with the fact that its there loss that they are not involved in your family. There is nothing you can do to change them. I cant imagine why they wouldnt want to be more involved because thomas is such a cutie pie and I think you are pretty cool too. Like I said there loss.

thanks lindsay it's totally their loss. one day i'll get over it....maybe. thomas IS a cutie..well, in my opinion at least and even if he was ugly, he's still their grandkid! lol! my parents know nothing about me. they don't know my friends' names. they don't know what kind of things i'm into, nothing. when i see my dad we talk about golf and the weather. lame.

happy belated bday to Thomas....forgot to mention that the other day.

thank you!!! i just spent over $200 at party city on decorations for his party on saturday. ugh. that's ok. he's worth it. plus it'll be the last big party for a while!!


1.) BF is my worst meal as far as quality. I am not really a breakfast food lover. I am the one that if we go out to a resturaunt at 1030 everyone else wants BF and I ask if I can order lunch. Lately I have been getting 1 or 2 hashbrowns from mcD's. 1 is 3pts on the old WW system. Its not the best choice by far but its the one thing I just have not figured out how to get rid of. Of course this is only on work days otherwise I eat a bowl of frosted flakes with skim milk.

i much prefer lunch and dinner over breakfast too. i am not a person that likes "breakfast for dinner" or any of that. yick. breakfast for me is hard too because i just don't like it very much.

2.) My first trip was when I was 10. It was my parents, my moms cousin and his wife both a little older than my parents, and their niece who was probably 16 or so. It was tons of fun from what I remember. We stayed off property at wilson world. We did seaworld, busch garden, NASA, midevil times, and a few other off site things that I cant remember.

WOW!!! sounds like an awesome trip, especialy for a 10 year old!!!

Wow so definatley didn't get that run in! About 30 seconds before I was going to head out the sky opened up! It's been downpouring and thundering ever since. I don't know if its the weather but I just feel exhausted. I only woke up an hour before I usually do but I'm really feeling it, having some coffee now hoping it will wake me up before work.

Looking at my food plan for today I realize that i'm going to be very hungry if I only have a protein shake for dinner, espcially since i will have to take my break at 5 and then will be working till 9. I think I will make a salad instead with some tuna of top for dinner. Salads worry me though cause I can't stand a dry salad but I never know whats ok to use for dressing!

maybe some oil and vinegar but just a tiny bit of oil? or what about balsamic vinegar? i need a little something on my salad too. can't stand a dry salad.

Well, if I wasn't awake before, I am now!! This is gonna be a good week, I can feel it, haha.

I do try to eat breakfast every day. It may not be the "best" breakfast, but I try to get something in me. This morning it was steel cut oats with a little brown sugar and milk with coffee. It was so tasty! And you can mix it up and put fruit in there like berries too. It usually keeps me full until early in the afternoon- and it's easy to make!

do you make instant steel cut oats? i have the regular kind but i always decide against making it because it takes too long to make and i'm hungry!

Trina, I can't remember, are you doing a specific plan? (ie-points, counting calories, counting carbs, etc?)

If you get a chance to try it, my favorite salad dressing is by a company called "Brianna's" It's in a pretty bottle with a strawberry on the front. It's a vinaigrette, and doesn't actuallyl have strawberries in it, but it's super-yummy. I've found that you can mix it 1 part dressing, one part water, one part lemon juice, and cut the calories by 66% with it tasting exactly the same... it makes a little go a long way. You might be able to do something similar with other dressings you already have at home... (though I think most you'd need to use vinegar instead of lemon juice... that only works in the fruity ones, of course.) Just a thought since you're trying to figure out what to put on your salad. Just plain lemon juice and salt and pepper will work well on some salads, it depends on what your vegetables are.

good advice!!!

*************************
i never got a run or walk in today. the weather people kept saying it was about to rain and i didn't want to get stuck out there with thomas in the jogger so i didn't go. and it's still not raining. it drizzled for like a second! sheesh. my aunt and uncle who live across the street are both off today (uncle has to get one of those cortisone shots in his back, yuck) and stopped by for about an hour and a half to play with the little guy. so, instead of exercising i had people over. oh well. i spent oodles at party city on decorations for saturday's birthday party. that's ok. he's worth it

i splurged on lunch today but plan on keeping it light for dinner. DH is still in san diego so i don't need to make a "real" dinner. i'll make something for thomas and then maybe just do a pb&j for dinner or a smoothie.

i'm going to the met game tomorrow! woot! of course, i finally get a ticket and can go and it's supposed to storm all day. ugh. no fun. oh well, i'm still looking forward to it!!

 

[bellebookworm9]

i'm always jealous of the high school kids that get to march down main street. i played the flute in the band for like, forever and i wished we could have done that. then again, we all hated being in the band and we were terrible so that wasn't an option

We didn't actually get to march down Main Street. The Wind Ensemble (that's what I was in), the orchestra, and the chorus all performed at the Galaxy Palace theater (no longer exists) in Tomorrowland. The Jazz Ensemble performed somewhere at Downtown Disney, and the Marching Band marched in Epcot about an hour before IllumiNations with two other bands, and each stopped and did a little show in the WS Plaza. But I would love to march down Main Street-I'm always jealous of the bands during the Christmas Parade that can say they've done that!

 

[Connie96]

GOOD MORRRRRRNING BIGGEST LOSERS!!!!!!!

everyone awake??? good

Well, if I wasn't awake before...

in an effort to gather some much needed pixie dust...ok, it's totally a selfish thing really because i so desperately want our september WDW trip to work out...i thought it might be fun to have, along with our usual QOTD, a disney QOTD too! sometimes i just am able to get on and WISH DIS so i don't get to read enough fun Disney DIS stuff

Great idea! I hate having to decide whether to read trip reports or come in here when I'm short on time. (What are your September dates looking like? I've got September on my radar too!)

QOTD, Wednesday 6/22: We all know that BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day. Do you adhere to that statement? What is your typical breakfast like? Do you keep it light? How soon before waking do you eat? "They" say we should eat within 30 minutes of waking - do you?

I always eat breakfast. "Typical" is Kashi Go Lean and skim milk. I prefer to eat as soon as my feet touch the floor, but I also like to wait until I'm ready for work so that my breakfast carries me a little longer and closer to lunch. Until about a month ago, DD had requested (demanded?) a cereal bar every morning since she could chew. Now, all of a sudden, she wants other things so, we've been eating breakfast together - Kashi waffles (her: 2 with syrup, me: 1 with almond butter and honey), or English muffin (again with almond butter), or cereal, or scrambled egg (white) sandwich. So, yes, light and healthy most of the time.

DISNEY QOTD Wednesday 6/22: Won't you tell me about your first trip to Disney?? DL or WDW? How old were you? Who were you with? What is your favorite memory from the trip? Were you hooked by trip #1??

Well, DH and I "discovered" WDW together on our Honeymoon in 1996. (I was 23 and he was 26). Neither of us had ever been and we knew absolutely nothing about it. Looking back, we did really love it that first time, but I don't think we got really good and hooked until our second trip, 6 years later. We've been 2 more times since then and I can hardly wait to get back again. I really need to go *home*.

"Don't go out of your WEIGH to please anyone but yourself!"

I *LOVE* that. I'm definitely gonna hang on to that one!

yay!! So excited for you, and I for one looooove to live vicariously through others as far as disney trip planning, so share details as you plan them.

Well, I'm still in the research phase and not quite "planning" yet but we're looking at September for right now. We're also interested in December but until WDW releases the late fall/winter offers (which won't happen until after the current Sept offers expire, of course), it's hard to decide.

Oh, and my mom and dad are planning to go with us!! So between them and DD, we've got THREE first-timers on our hands. I *seriously* can not wait! (That's the other reason I'm diggin' September... it's just SOONER!!)

Connie - a WDW trip How exciting!

How exciting. Wow 6 years....I would say you are definitely more than ready for that trip. DD will be so thrilled.

Oh, "excited" doesn't even come close. When I actually do book this thing, I won't even have to post it here. That squealing you'll hear coming from the middle of Texas... that'll be me.

*******************
And another little perk about all this WDW excitement. I'm NOT thinking about FOOD! Seriously. My lunch hour is over in 8 minutes and I haven't eaten yet because I don't want to stop working on this! I was telling DH that if giddiness burns calories, I have no doubt I can lose what I want to lose before the trip. (Don't worry. I promise you, I won't starve. Gonna eat right now.)

(Okay, I was just going thru the smilie list looking for little hyper dude and I noticed little crutches dude for the first time... Bwahahahaha... Totally cracked me up.)

 

[pjlla]

Hi yall. I let myself get too far behind so I scrolled thru the last 6 pages, but to say I "skimmed" them would probably be overstating it.

I would take time to really catch up but... I'm spending all my spare time doing actual research in an effort to plan an actual WDW trip!!!!! It has been almost 6 years since our last trip. DH finally gave me the thumbs-up and I'm just DYING to get there. This will be DD's first trip and I CAN'T WAIT!!!! We haven't settled on dates or anything yet, but we're working on it.

WOOHOO on the trip!!

Don't worry about catching up.... just jump in!

I would want a personal chef to do dinner each night, and I would invite a whole bunch of friends over and have a big dinner party. I'm finding the older I get, the more European I sound...if that makes any sense, lol. Plus, the more weight I lose and the more I hear all you guys talk about food, my perception about food itself is changing. I used to be afraid of food because I didn't know how it worked- no one ever taught me healthy eating habits and how to eat properly or what food was actually is supposed to do. It's not that my parents didn't try, they just have an old-school way of looking at food. My dad tells me stories about how he remembers his mom frying eggs, and the egg never even touched the pan because it floated on the grease at the bottom And my mom's mother would just give you whatever you wanted whenever you wanted it, with no concern of "No, you can't have chocolate cake for breakfast." But ever since I've started growing up, I've started to actually look at food like it's fuel for my body and what I want my body to do for me. And I love the European view of food and life that it should be celebrated and enjoyed and used as a "second-place holder" to friends and family. And to those of you that actually HAVE been to Europe (I know there's a few of you, but I can't remember your names! ) Please let me know if I'm talking out of my behind

But I would probably trade the chef for a maid once or twice a week

I agree..... the Europeans (especially the French and Italian) seem to have found a way to enjoy and appreciate food without going nuts. And let's face it, America isn't exactly known for its top quality "American" foods (KFC?? McDonalds?? Or better yet... Hooters? ).

When Americans want to eat "good" food.... we eat Italian or French!!

Ok, so like Laura's cats breaking in and making me eat junk wasn't bad enough... now I seem to have caught that stomach flu one of y'all was talking about... was that pjlla? Or someone else? Apparently our virus-scan doesn't work on actual illness... who knew?

(Actually, DD4 painted the house a phenomenal shade of red Saturday night (she'd been eating watermelon...) and EXACTLY 48 hours later, DH and I got sick, too, along with a cousin who had been visiting... DD7 held out until 2AM... She'd been at the cousin's house yesterday, and I'm still trying to figure out what on earth they fed her that created that particular shade of blue...

So I guess I can say that diet-wise, I've been a superhero today... I've managed to choke down some shredded wheat and a popsicle... but I DEFINITELY haven't haven't gotten in all my water, vegetables, or exercise... everyone else is all bounced-back already... so I am waiting for my tylenol to kick in and am going to attempt to get up... because they are doing TERRIBLE things to the house...

Oh, and house this for getting kicked when you're down? The circuit that feeds our cable box AND the washing machine blew out for hours today... so no cable to soothe the savage beasts, no internet for whining to you guys... and not even a washer to wash all the pukey clothes and blankets... wahhhh poor me

Ummm.... eww! So sorry that the sick bug is hanging around your house. HOpe you all get better FAST! I might be tempted to open a black trash bag and load the pukey clothes and blankets, tie it shut, and head to the dump!

Happy day! (send that chef and maid soon, I need help!!!)

Wish I could come help out! You definitely need it today!

QOTD: I would definitely choose dinner, especially those nights when I have to get dinner started before DH comes home and then rush off to the gym. Or tonight with swim practice. I would trade for maid service any day, I would much rather cook than clean!


I'm baffled by all of you who like to cook. I can't STAND cooking! Don't like cleaning much either, but I'd rather clean. Wish we lived close enough to trade off work!

Nancy-I started making homemade chicken nuggets for the kids when it was one of the few proteins DD would eat (she is also a bean fiend!). They love it so much more than the processed junk. You can also choose to bake or pan fry them. We are actually making a batch together tomorrow night, DD and DS both love to help! I love your ninja chef, maybe I could work on that with a few more combat classes!

Homemade baked chicken nuggets are a great idea! It isn't anything I've ever made, since my kids have never been "nugget" fans (plus DS is allergic to poultry). But I have made homemade fish sticks. Not crunchy enough though... need to work on the recipe.

Pamela-I love the Harry Potter series and resisted a little at first since they were so hugely popular. They are great books!

Guess I'll have to give them a try.

I realized I still haven't done my intro, so here goes:
I'm Lisa, 36, SAHM to DS9 and DD5. DD is starting first grade in the fall, so that will definitely be a turning point for me as I figure out what I want to do next. I've been married for almost 14 years. This is my 3rd challenge and I am really enjoying them. In my life before kids I went to culinary school and worked as a chef, so I definitely enjoy food. The bulk of my weight gain occured in the year after finishing college and transitioning to a desk job. This is only my 3rd real attempt at weight loss, my first being in my 20s and it was so much easier back then! I can't believe that I got derailed. If only I knew then what I knew now...

I spent 5 months on bed rest pregnant with DD5, which threw my health for a loop. During this time, my cholesterol shot up 50 points. I am happy to say that my cholesterol is back down (even lower now!) as of last September. Anyway, I am back to trying to live a healthy lifestyle and have lost 35 pounds since Jan 2010. It is so slow and sporadic for me. Some days I am convinced I will never lose another pound, but I keep plugging along. I also started taking thyroid medication last June.

I need to get going with dinner (where's that chef? oh wait, that's me!) and swim team practice. Talk to everyone later!

Thanks for the intro!

DId I know you had a swimmer? How old? DD (nearly 16) will be starting her 8th season of swim this fall! I cannot believe how it totally took over our lives!

Evening everyone,

Well, I'm 95% packed. Mom asked me to bring my bathing suit to take my dad to the pool to do some water exercises. She was really tired today so we didn't talk long. I will be taking her to chemo on Friday afternoon. My brother is doing a great job taking care of her and he made a spreadsheet of all the medicines and times and such which will be quite helpful. Mom hopes to get her hair and nails done while I'm there. I may need to get mine done as I don't think I'll have time tomorrow while I'm at work as my co-worker is busy. Taking the smaller of our big suitcases. I have about 10 magazines and 3 books and my ipod ready to go. I downloaded Prisoner of Azkaban last night and will hopefully have podcasts to listen to as well.

Didn't do very well eating today or at least this afternoon. I came home and had chips and some sherbet. Don't know why. Must be PMS starting to kick in.

Feeling quite tired but I really want to stay awake and spend time with Brian. He has to make the dance recital/kindergarten performance DVD for me. I got 4 disks of photos from a friend from dancing. I think I'll put other photos on my ipod now too.

TTFN

Safe travels if I don't see you again before Friday.

Thank you Pamela. I am not offended at all, and appreciate your being so frank with me. I know you've heard me many times complain about the junk I've eaten, that I have bought and brought into the house, and I don't know why I keep doing it, and can't keep the control that I need to be successful at this.
I know I say the junk is for ds, but to be honest with myself, when he asks for something, I know its for me, and when he's not with me, I'll buy the chips or ice cream for "him", but really it's for me, and he's so much better than I am with treats. He loves all fruit, and when I bring home a can of mandarin oranges, he's in heaven.
The red grapes are so good right now, they really are a treat, and when I buy a fresh pineapple it's so good and it makes me feel so good to eat healthy, and yet I bring the junk home, I eat the junk, I feel badly after, and still I don't stop.
It's definitely an emotional thing, and I know I need to look within and face some of the reasons I am sabotaging myself repeatedly.
Thank you for the reminder to be a better role model for michael. Neither of us needs the junk, and I will definitely be thinking of you when I go grocery shopping again, and your strength and resolve. You are such a good influence. Thanks for caring, P.

Right back at ya........

If anyone flies Southwest, go check out their website right now! They are having a 72 hour sale, and a lot of flights have been dropped in price.

0-450 miles $40
451-1250 miles $80
1251+ miles $120

Book by June 23rd, for travel August 23-November 16. There are some blackout dates, and Fridays and Saturdays aren't included.

I went to check ours, and our return flight from Disney was down to $80! I couldn't change it online for some reason, so after calling, waiting for 32 minutes and speaking to a wonderful guy named Tony who was able to perform an override, I now have $120 in flight credits to use for our January grad school scouting trip!

Sorry, I know this isn't weight loss/health related, but I hope it might be able to help some of you out!

Thanks for the heads up. We are trying to plan a trip away as a gift for my parents' 50th anniversary this fall, but I'm afraid the sale will end before I can make a decision. oh well.

GLad you saved!

Just a fly by post as I should be in bed by now.

QOTD: I would without a doubt have a personal chef for dinner. I struggle with so many activities in the evening it would make life so much more simple.


Work is going well. Tomorrow night we have the lacrosse party then that is done for the year. DH and oldest DS will play in a Men's league, but I won't have to do anything but watch.

We've decided to go camping this weekend though I'm not sure when I'll find time to pack the camper and we don't know where we're going yet

Have we talked about Moosehillock campground? I"ve heard good things about it but never been there myself.

Well. i guess you could say we had a bad couple of days as far as dieting and mood goes. Thanks all of ya'll who encouraged me not to give up. I can say i'm ready to get back on track. Although I had a bad lunch, I did get a good dinner in, turkey burger and veggies. I have these fiber one sandwhich thins, 90 calories and obviously fiber, that i use instead of buns for my turkey and veggie burgers.

I have not been tracking my food but im back on track starting tomorrow. Also despite my bad eating I have no let myself give up on excersice. I did pretty much give up on 30 day shred, but I hope to get back into it once this class ends (saturday is our last class, which is sad because i loved this class and this professor, but i'm pretty sure we will remain friends so im ok with that). I did see a difference on 30 day shred, and ive never done strength training before so i thought it was a great workout. At the moment, I actually cannot do it because I usually do it right before bed (I know, bad time to excercise, but it helps me sleep and its when i have time!) and i do it in my room which is just a mess right now! I barely have a floor. With working EVERY day and class I just havent had time. Next week we're back on track with that. I don't know, i know i should not make excuses but i feel like at least i know im going to be back on track next week when i get my day off back and this class ends.

But I have been keeping up with my running and...I really like running, guys. I mean i feel like i could be very serious about this. I have three races coming up in the fall and I just want to be a runner for real. I'm learning as I go, I make sure im going slow, building my strength and learning what else i need to do to be the best i can be. I understand its going to be a long road, but i try to push myself when i know i can do it. I follow the couch 2 5k program and im on week 3 and im finding it difficult but also easy. At the end of my workout i ususally push myself to do a 1/4 mile straight running. I only push because I KNOW I CAN DO IT! The other day I did a full mile at a run. I had to stop every 1/4 mile and i allowed myself 30 seconds to catch my breath and then KEPT GOING! I kept telling myself, your not gonna die, YOU CAN DO THIS! I want to RUN my 5k in sept.

In keeping with the running thing I looked at bikes today because i would really like to cross train and bike on the days where i dont run. I'm not looking to get real into biking, but we have a bike trail next to our house (thats where i run) and my friend and i used to bike all the time till 1) i ran over my bike and 2) my friend moved away. I really enjoy biking and I guess I really have to start saving up for a bike.

So any runners on this board, would love some advice! Any kind of advice that youd be willing to give! I'm also looking at camelbaks to solve the problem of omg i need water!

Another question for everyone, how do you ya'll feel about protein shakes? I have been kind of doing the special k challenge. I love the cerreal and i have recently gotten addicted to the choc shakes and the choc pb bars. Just wonering what anyone else thought about them?

So I guess I'm here I'm back on track (hopefully) and thanks to everyone. I'm going to make an effort to come here at least once a day and update ya'll. I cant promise i will always get to replies but i will be reading everything! Hugs to all

Sounds like you are well back on track and OP!!

So I am back yet again. My name is Michelle and I am a stay at home mom of 4 little girls, ages almost 10, 8, 2 and 2 1/2 months. I am from Ohio and I am a total geek who loves magic of any kind, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and oh yeah, Disney! lol

I have struggled with my weight my entire life and would love to get it under control. Most of the time the idea of losing a big amount of weight seems like an impossible dream, like winning the lottery, but hopefully my numbers will pop up and I can't kick this weight in the bum!

I am doing the WW online right now and have done pretty well with food the last few days. Nursing the baby makes my ravenous at all times so I was struggling before WW, but I am trying to focus on doing better. No exercise yet, though I did get Zumba for Playstation 3 for Mothers Day and can't wait to try it!

Oh by the way, my 2 month old slept through the night 2 nights in a row!!!!

Not that has anything to do with weight loss, its just that I am so darn excited. Sleep my old friend, how I've missed you!

So glad to see you back! And nice job on getting the baby to sleep..... I swear my kids didn't totally sleep through the night for YEARS!

I woke up before the alarm went off, but I only woke up once or maybe twice throughout the night, so I'm not complaining. Okay, I'm not complaining too much.

I do feel better this morning than I did last morning though.

Today will be an OP day with regards to eating. I peeked at the scale yesterday and I am up over half a pound since Friday. I am still down from last week's weigh-in at WW though. I will have to weigh-in there on Friday as my sister and BIL came last night and I'll probably work late tonight. I may be able to go on Thursday night, but I'm not sure yet. I did go to the gym last night and got in the best workout since the last time I did a C25K walk/run. I did 7+ miles on the recumbent bike in 35 minutes. Something about under a 5-min. mile makes me very

Today's plan is to make breakfast. I also have to remember to pack a morning snack. Grapes? I'll see what we have. Dinner is probably leftovers and we have some of the dinner I made left, so if we do have leftovers, I'll have that. Lunch will be my usual chicken breast sandwich. Exercise may or may not happen today. Maybe the Wii Fit? I feel like exercising so maybe it will happen today.

Well, my alarm telling me to "get up" went off so I must go. Looking forward to a good day at work and an OP day.

Sounds like you are having a great week!! Keep it up.

GOOD MORRRRRRNING BIGGEST LOSERS!!!!!!!

everyone awake??? good i'm nancy and i'll be your coach for the next week and two days. i hope to be half as helpful as so many of our previous coaches have been!

in an effort to gather some much needed pixie dust...ok, it's totally a selfish thing really because i so desperately want our september WDW trip to work out...i thought it might be fun to have, along with our usual QOTD, a disney QOTD too! sometimes i just am able to get on and WISH DIS so i don't get to read enough fun Disney DIS stuff

QOTD, Wednesday 6/22: We all know that BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day. Do you adhere to that statement? What is your typical breakfast like? Do you keep it light? How soon before waking do you eat? "They" say we should eat within 30 minutes of waking - do you?


DUring the school year I am up anytime between 4 and 6 am (depending on whether there is a morning swim practice, my morning workout schedule, whether I am working that day, etc) But I don't usually eat until about 7 am. Summer is a bit more of a crap shoot. Swim mornings I am up very early and other days I sleep until about 7am. Again, I don't eat right away. It depends on my workout schedule, etc.

DUring my "normal" Weight Watchers days my breakfast changes frequently.... high fiber english muffins with peanut butter or cream cheese, yogurt and fruit, cottage cheese and fruit, high fiber cereal (Fiberone, GoLean, Special K vanilla almond) with almond milk, oatmeal with a bit of brown sugar or agave nectar, grits, cream of wheat, scrambled egg whites with veggies.... those are many of my standards. PLus I often throw in a serving of veggies for breakfast.... usually dinner leftovers, but sometimes I steam some broccoli or cauliflower. I usually have coffee or green tea or my special morning hot drink with breakfast.

Now, while I am trying to watch my carbs a bit more breakfast has been a bit more limited...... egg white omelet with cheese, scrambled egg whites with veggies (broccoli, spinach, roasted red pepper, onions.... whatever is around), or steel cut oats with a bit of agave and/or stevia, sometimes a serving of fruit with any of those. Coffee or tea.

DISNEY QOTD Wednesday 6/22: Won't you tell me about your first trip to Disney?? DL or WDW? How old were you? Who were you with? What is your favorite memory from the trip? Were you hooked by trip #1??

First trip....first week of December 1974 (yup, I'm VERY old compared to most of you it seems, based on your stories!).... I was 10. Visited with my brother, parents, and grandparents (who had been a few times already). It was my first plane trip, first time in a hotel, first time out of New England. It was all a HUGE culture shock for me!

Favorite memory.... hard to say.... probably meeting Mickey (he was SHORT!) or Pluto (really playful!) or seeing the HUMONGOUS Christmas tree in the MK. Or not being able to get to sleep the night before we left..... I truly laid there watching my Mickey clock go round and round.

We spent a few days at MK (these were the days of ticket books... we were lucky that Dgrandparents had some extra "E" tickets from previous visits to share!), a day at SeaWorld, and a day at Busch Gardens. It was quite the trip! We flew Eastern Airlines and stayed at the Contemporary while in Orlando! Wish I had more memories of the Contemporary, but I only remember being overwhelmed by that giant mural in the lobby. I don't remember the room at all.

We have GREAT (silent) home movies from that trip though!!

Definitely loved it, but it was kind of DRILLED into me that it was a "trip of a lifetime" and I never thought much about going back.

We returned when Epcot opened for a short visit during college spring breaktime in 1983 (with my brother and parents). I think we spent one day at MK and one (very rainy) day at Epcot. I was more interested in WS and the signs about "coming attractions (I swear they were going to have an "Africa" in WS.... I remember the sign having a giraffe on it!.... maybe I was delusional from all the rain??).

I hope everyone has a great, OP day. Drink you water, eat your veggies, stay AWAY from the junk and..."Don't go out of your WEIGH to please anyone but yourself!" That's a quote my Aunt Ann always says - she has lost a bunch of weight and kept it off successfully and it's her mantra.

"Everybody neat and pretty? Then on with the show!"

Thanks!!

Good Wednesday morning everyone

I made it throught the last week of school without yelling at anyone. I usually blow up at one time or another.

I will post last week's results later today. I will also make comments later. I slept in and want to get somethings done this morning.

Have a happy and healthy day.

Nice job keeping your cool at school!

My typical breakfast is Special K cereal with raisins and 1.5% milk. It's the lowest fat milk we can find here. My daily plan is to get up at 7, get DH & DS out the door at 7:30, exercise, shower and eat breakfast around 8:30. Does not always go according to plan but that's what I usually eat. On the weekends DH will fix us a huge breakfast of eggs or omelets with bacon or sausage or sometimes pancakes.

YUM.... glad I'm not at your house on the weekends! I love breakfast foods!

Kathy - thanks for posting about your struggle with junk food. I took that very much to heart and could have written those same words. I will commit to doing better in that area too for myself and my family

Well, my lazy day yesterday had a very good ending. We have come to a verbal agreement to rent the house we were trying to get. We get the keys next Friday, hard to believe. We are getting a pretty good rent based on the ones I saw online. The one we were interested in prior to this one was 600 sf smaller and cost $100 more per month. This one is in a much better location too, on a quiet cul de sac but still on the golf course. DS also won the coaches award for his soccer team at the athletics banquet last night They actually gave all 4 awards for the team as coaches award rather than an MVP, most improved, etc. I thought that was neat. I was able to deliver and collect on 3 more items for sale and got an item back that a friend had borrowed that we want to sell. My good luck came to an end this afternoon though - I had a teacher at the school email me to get her items and I was set to meet her at 2:15 but I couldn't find a ride to school. My 2 closest neighbors that have kids at the school were nowhere to be found and not answering their cell phones Hopefully I can set another meeting with her soon.

Well, we have a 4 day weekend, this is the 3rd public holiday in the month of June. This one is called corpus christi, I read what it's about but can't re-explain it here No school Thurs and Friday. We are just going to be around the house getting our suitcases ready for next week and possibly meeting friends at the Biergarten some days. We may make a visit to the Black Forest for DH to look for his cuckoo clock.

Have a great day Losers!

Shawn

Yet another holiday? When do they get any work done???

HOpe you find a great clock.

Wow so definatley didn't get that run in! About 30 seconds before I was going to head out the sky opened up! It's been downpouring and thundering ever since. I don't know if its the weather but I just feel exhausted. I only woke up an hour before I usually do but I'm really feeling it, having some coffee now hoping it will wake me up before work.

Looking at my food plan for today I realize that i'm going to be very hungry if I only have a protein shake for dinner, espcially since i will have to take my break at 5 and then will be working till 9. I think I will make a salad instead with some tuna of top for dinner. Salads worry me though cause I can't stand a dry salad but I never know whats ok to use for dressing!

It is okay to use whatever you WANT for dressing. It depends more on you counting it correctly (whether you are counting calories, carbs, Points, or whatever).

I'm partial to the Paul Newman light dressings... most especially the Balsamic vinagarette.... I believe it is just 45 calories per serving and super tasty. But I also make my own dressings with EVOO, rice wine vinegar, mustard, etc.

When I don't have "familiar" dressings handy, I just stick with oil and vinegar or vinegar and lemon juice. Salsa makes a GREAT light dressing too!

Well, if I wasn't awake before, I am now!! This is gonna be a good week, I can feel it, haha.

I do try to eat breakfast every day. It may not be the "best" breakfast, but I try to get something in me. This morning it was steel cut oats with a little brown sugar and milk with coffee. It was so tasty! And you can mix it up and put fruit in there like berries too. It usually keeps me full until early in the afternoon- and it's easy to make!

As for the Disney QOTD- the first trip I ever made to Disney was Disneyland in 2001, and I have been hooked like a fish ever since!! I was 14 years old, and in the pictures I look like I might as well be seven I'm grinning so hard. We stayed at the Candy Cane Inn, which backs up right to the Magic Kingdom, and were able to see the fireworks displays a couple times from the hotel courtyard. The last night there in line for the parking trams, I cried and cried- I was just totally inconsolable I was with my mom and sister. I think my favorite memory from the trip is meeting Mickey for the first time. I'll have to post the picture on here, as soon as I get it on my computer!

LOve to see pictures!

I am counting calories (or trying to haha!) What I made today was mixed greens (darker stuff I CANT STAND ice berg mixes or anything like that), baby spinach, diced onions, carrots, green oinions, kidney beans, and a salad fixins mix thing that has some dried cranberry and some seeds and nuts and stuff just to give it a nice crunch. I plan on putting some tuna on top when i get to work and I brought a tiny bit of light seasame ginger dressing, so I think that will do me for now, or for today at least haha. I very much like an asian feel to my salads, and to my food in general. As i put it to my boyfriend all the time, "I'm in the mood for chopstick food" Whether its chinese, thai, vietnamese, or japanese I'm a huge fan of asian food. (Although I also REALLY LOVE mexican! But i havent figured out how to make that healthy yet

Paul Newman's also makes a great light Sesame Ginger dressing and a lowfat Asian.

For mexican cravings.... I make a big green salad and top it with one crunched up taco shell, a few scoops of fat free refried beans, maybe even some black beans, maybe some lowfat shredded cheddar, sometimes a small scoop of guacamole, and then, my special "mexican" creamy dressing (three heaping tablespoons of mild salsa mixed with 1 TB. of Bolthouse Farms creamy yogurt blue cheese dressing...). DELICIOUS! You could add lean seasoned taco meat or some grilled chicken as well.

****************
Afternoon folks!

Just a quick word for you "breakfast haters". There is NO RULE that breakfast has to be cereal or eggs or english muffins. Turkey sandwich, fruit, salad, fish, chicken.... anything like that would work!

As usual, the day got away from me. And it is STILL zooming by, so I can't stay and chat. Just wanted to check in to see how everyone was doing.

DS is waiting to do a "project" with me, so I've gotta fly. I'll try to pop on again later...................P

 

[my3princes]

GOOD MORRRRRRNING BIGGEST LOSERS!!!!!!!

everyone awake??? good i'm nancy and i'll be your coach for the next week and two days. i hope to be half as helpful as so many of our previous coaches have been!

in an effort to gather some much needed pixie dust...ok, it's totally a selfish thing really because i so desperately want our september WDW trip to work out...i thought it might be fun to have, along with our usual QOTD, a disney QOTD too! sometimes i just am able to get on and WISH DIS so i don't get to read enough fun Disney DIS stuff

QOTD, Wednesday 6/22: We all know that BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day. Do you adhere to that statement? What is your typical breakfast like? Do you keep it light? How soon before waking do you eat? "They" say we should eat within 30 minutes of waking - do you?

DISNEY QOTD Wednesday 6/22: Won't you tell me about your first trip to Disney?? DL or WDW? How old were you? Who were you with? What is your favorite memory from the trip? Were you hooked by trip #1??

I hope everyone has a great, OP day. Drink you water, eat your veggies, stay AWAY from the junk and..."Don't go out of your WEIGH to please anyone but yourself!" That's a quote my Aunt Ann always says - she has lost a bunch of weight and kept it off successfully and it's her mantra.

"Everybody neat and pretty? Then on with the show!"

I do eat breakfast everyday and usually within 10 minutes of getting up. I never used to, but when I truly decided to lose weight I had to start and now I wake up hungry. I usually have a sandwich thin skim coated with low fat peanut butter and fluff.


My first trip to WDW was on our honeymoon in 1992. It was the first trip for both of us. We tent camped at Fort Wilderness and it was HOT!! That is the only trip we were ready to come home. Definitely not hooked. MGM was just opening and was much smaller than it is now. We even went to River Country which was the first water park. Our second trip was with our two oldest son's in 1998. That was when we were hooked, seeing it through their eyes. I remember planning to go back to the hotel early the last night to pack for our flight and our oldest who was 2 1/2 cried. We had to buy them sweatshirts as we weren't prepared for the evening chill. We stayed until they kicked us out. Peter Pan's flight was our last ride. We still laugh about it .



Pam we went to Moosehillock last month. It was nice, kind of spead out with lots of walking and HUGE mosquitos We may go back later in the summer as friends have a seasonal there.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

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

My diet rage varies by the day, today it's Low, so I'm Thankful

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!!)

Tough question -- I'm trying to think of something I couldn't replace -- I'd say some of the craft items made by my parents. I think I'd just miss the familiar -- I'm a creature of habit and having everything be new would be disconcerting at best.

Here is today's QOTD:

If you could have a personal chef who took care of one meal a day, which meal would it be and why?

Maybe breakfast, because it is hard to get moving that early in the day?
Maybe lunch, because brown-bagging it is getting old?
Maybe dinner, because you hate the rush at the end of the day?

BONUS.... if you could trade the personal chef for one hour of maid service every day, would you??

Definitely dinner, that's the meal I have problems with being satisfied with. I would not trade for the personnel chef, I am willing to live with my level of filth

GOOD MORRRRRRNING BIGGEST LOSERS!!!!!!!

Wow, someone is clearly awakened by a toddler....I need that enthusiasm!

QOTD, Wednesday 6/22: We all know that BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day. Do you adhere to that statement? What is your typical breakfast like? Do you keep it light? How soon before waking do you eat? "They" say we should eat within 30 minutes of waking - do you?

My breakfast consists of fruit and hot tea after my shower around 7:30...and then I finish it later with a homemade banana muffin, orange, and yogurt spread between 9 and 11. I at the first fruit after the treadmill and shower, so it's not within 30 minutes of waking, more like 1.5 hrs.

DISNEY QOTD Wednesday 6/22: Won't you tell me about your first trip to Disney?? DL or WDW? How old were you? Who were you with? What is your favorite memory from the trip? Were you hooked by trip #1??

My first trip to Disney was part of my honeymoon, and I was 25. I was with my dh. My favorite memory I can share is riding Space Mountain. I had dreamed of it for so long, and I was thrilled to have the dream come true. I was definitely hooked, but I knew I'd never get dh back there without a kidlet His Disney disgust began early

I've been swamped at work this week, so this is my first chance to spend any time on the DIS at all. On the bright side, my eating and exercise are going well.

No time for replies, but I love the photos, to anyone who needs it, and Congratulations to our Graduate!

Maria

 

[tigger813]

Well, it's raining hard here!

And I get to take Ashleigh to see the doctor and possibly for an x-ray as she kicked a pole yesterday at recess and her foot is pretty swollen and sore especially to the touch! That will teach her a lesson not to kick something when she's mad!

Izzie and I had a pretty good afternoon though I think she is starting to miss me already. She was a little cranky this afternoon and argumentative and whiny! We rode the merry go round, had lunch, got the Cars 2 game and she also wanted a mini Bolt at the Disney store. We bought Gnomeo and Juliet to watch tomorrow after school. I got Brian the new Weird Al CD as a late Father's Day present from Izzie.

I had a small roast beef from D'ANgelos for lunch with VT cheddar and horseradish. I also ate a couple fries and 2 of Izzie's chicken nuggets.

Well, I need something to drink and a snack since I don't know how long I will be gone at the doctor's. We were going to have burgers for supper but now that's kind of up in the air. Maybe I'll just make those now in case we have to wait at the dr's.


TTFN

 

[Graciesmom77]

QOTD: I would LOVE to have a chef cook dinner, as I have recently discovered I dislike cooking. I have been cooking for many years because I have to for my family, but recently I realized I just do it because I have to, not because I enjoy it at all. I would not trade it for a maid, I would much rather clean then cook.

QOTD: I am trying to eat breakfast now that I am trying to be healthier, but usually I have no appetite until later in the day. I do like breakfast foods though because I am a vegetarian and there just seems to be more options for non meat items at breakfast time. Cereal, pancakes, yogurt, muffins, potaotes..... Ok now I am making myself hungry. lol

Disney QOTD: Our first trip was in 2006 with my husband and the 2 kids we had at the time, and I was AMAZING. I was 26 before I got to go to Disney and I instantly fell in love, We went down at Halloween time and went to the MNSSHP and it rained like a monsoon, but I still loved it. We went again in 2008 and I am DYING to go back again. We are hoping this Christmas time but we'll see.

I can't seem to get the time, energy or motivation to exercise. I know I need to get my butt in gear so hopefully sometime this week I will get moving.

The baby slept pretty well, though not all night. I have to go to bed when she does and not stay up all night reading the DIS boards!

Hope everyone is having a great strong day!

 

[Rose&Mike]

Thank you so much to everyone who has coached this week! I have been very mia, but things seem to be going just fine!

GOOD MORRRRRRNING BIGGEST LOSERS!!!!!!!

everyone awake??? good i'm nancy and i'll be your coach for the next week and two days. i hope to be half as helpful as so many of our previous coaches have been!

in an effort to gather some much needed pixie dust...ok, it's totally a selfish thing really because i so desperately want our september WDW trip to work out...i thought it might be fun to have, along with our usual QOTD, a disney QOTD too! sometimes i just am able to get on and WISH DIS so i don't get to read enough fun Disney DIS stuff

QOTD, Wednesday 6/22: We all know that BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day. Do you adhere to that statement? What is your typical breakfast like? Do you keep it light? How soon before waking do you eat? "They" say we should eat within 30 minutes of waking - do you?

DISNEY QOTD Wednesday 6/22: Won't you tell me about your first trip to Disney?? DL or WDW? How old were you? Who were you with? What is your favorite memory from the trip? Were you hooked by trip #1??

I hope everyone has a great, OP day. Drink you water, eat your veggies, stay AWAY from the junk and..."Don't go out of your WEIGH to please anyone but yourself!" That's a quote my Aunt Ann always says - she has lost a bunch of weight and kept it off successfully and it's her mantra.

"Everybody neat and pretty? Then on with the show!"

I eat breakfast everyday. Usually within 30 minutes or so of getting up. If I have a big workout or run planned then I might wait until afterwards. I go through phases where I will eat the same thing for weeks and then get tired and move on to something else. Right now I am having a combo of 2 g-f chex cereals, a few chopped nuts and skim milk. Yum! Sometimes I throw in some fruit.

My first trip was to DL probably 87 or 88, can't remember. We lived in San Diego and often went for the day. It was great to be able to get up and say--ok let's go to DL today. My first trip to WDW was in 1994 when DS was 3. It was our first real vacation. Mike had just gotten out of the Navy about 6 months before. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge--the first December they were open. It was awesome--only 4 days, but we had such a nice time. DS wanted a Pooh "panny" pack that he wore everywhere. He was afraid of the characters except Minnie Mouse. He would hug Minnie. He came home with a Minnie to sleep with. He fell asleep on the flight from MCO to ATL and slept through a plane change and the entire next flight. He was pooped!

You look absolutely gorgeous and so healthy and fit.

Thank you so much for saying this Lindsay--and thanks to everyone who made such nice comments. I can honestly say that for the first time in my life I like the way I look. Maybe 40something is the new 20something.

one of my absolute favorite things about WDW is "the bubble." you can escape to a land of happiness and with little effort can have no clue what's going on in the world!

This is what Mike likes the most. We only watch espn or the weather channel and we rarely look at a newspaper. We call it "mindless fun."

Oh, and my mom and dad are planning to go with us!! So between them and DD, we've got THREE first-timers on our hands. I *seriously* can not wait! (That's the other reason I'm diggin' September... it's just SOONER!!)



Oh, "excited" doesn't even come close. When I actually do book this thing, I won't even have to post it here. That squealing you'll hear coming from the middle of Texas... that'll be me.

*******************
And another little perk about all this WDW excitement. I'm NOT thinking about FOOD! Seriously. My lunch hour is over in 8 minutes and I haven't eaten yet because I don't want to stop working on this! I was telling DH that if giddiness burns calories, I have no doubt I can lose what I want to lose before the trip. (Don't worry. I promise you, I won't starve. Gonna eat right now.)

(Okay, I was just going thru the smilie list looking for little hyper dude and I noticed little crutches dude for the first time... Bwahahahaha... Totally cracked me up.)

I'm so excited for you, Connie! How is it going with the crutches?

And I get to take Ashleigh to see the doctor and possibly for an x-ray as she kicked a pole yesterday at recess and her foot is pretty swollen and sore especially to the touch! That will teach her a lesson not to kick something when she's mad!

Why is it that every kid seems to need to learn that lesson! We had a MiLB player who was around 21 or so who wasn't hitting well. This was a couple of years ago. So he got mad and punched the water cooler. Guess what happened? Broke his hand! He was in a cast for 6 weeks. So every game he had to videotape when our team was batting--that was his punishment. He sat in our section. We'd smile at him and he'd look emabarrassed. Hopefully he learned his lesson! Hopefully the foot isn't broken!

*******
Still here, still maintaining. I feel really bad for being very absent this challenge. We have had a few challenges at home that have been sucking up a lot my energy, but hopefully some of the stuff will be resolved this week.

It has been good for me in a way to be stressed out because I am learning more about how to maintain.

So here's what I am figuring out:
1. I don't have to be perfect, but I do have to be reasonable.
2. I have my range set at a point that is low enough to keep me in the size clothes I want and is just a little bit challenging. That's a good thing. I contemplated raising my maintain range a pound or two to take some of the pressure off me but decided that was a bad idea.
3. I need to weigh every day. Every day. Not once a week. When I am this stressed I could easily see myself putting on 3 or 4 pounds in a week. I don't know if this makes sense, but I am ok with being on the high end of my maintain range, but if I thought I had really put the pounds back on I am afraid I would throw in the towel. Weighing every day is keeping me on track.
4. I do not need to exercise every day. This is a big one, since I have been known to be an overachiever at times when it comes to exercise. 4 really good workouts a week (60+ minutes) seems to do the trick.
5. If you don't lift for two weeks, your muscle tone goes away. But it comes back quickly when you start lifting again.

I hope everyone is having a good week! I am going to try to be a little more active, but the next couple days are still a little crazy. Hopefully by the weekend we will know better what is going on here.

 

[JacksLilWench]

Nancy/Dumbo_buddy (I don't know why I can't remember anybody's name on here!)

I don't make the instant steel cut oats- but also don't have any kids and I only work part=time, so I have the time to do it the long way, haha. I like to do it in the afternoon though, that way I've already eaten and I have the time. The brand I use is called John McCann's Irish Oatmeal, and you make 4 servings at once. So I do it in the afternoon and pour it into a Tupperware and keep it in the fridge.

Once it cools I cut it into four pieces, and then when I make it I just pull out one piece. I heat up a skillet with a little non-stick spray to medium, put the piece on there to heat up, and break it up into smaller pieces (about an inch big or so) Once it starts to heat up pretty good, I just pour in 1/4 cup of skim milk, so it has somewhere to spread out to. After that you give it a good stir and you're ready to go It's really easy, even though looking at it sounds kinda complicated, haha. You should try it out!!

 

[donac]

QOTD I would love to have a personal chef to make dinner. Sometimes it is just a pain when I get home from school. BUT I would love to have a maid to clean the house. That is the job I really hate.

QOTD I do eat breakfast I change things around. Cereal, or a smoothie or eggs and toast.

For those who want something like a mcdonalds you might want to try this. A 100 calorie sandwich thin or 100 calorie english muffin, 1 soy breakfast patty (I usually microwave it to thaw and then slice it in half and finish cooking it in the pan while I cook up some egg beaters. It is less than 250 calories.

QOTD First off Pam I am older than you since DW opened when I was in junior or senior year in high school. My math teacher went to a conference in Phila and was having a so so time so he went to the airport and hopped on a plane to Orlando for the rest of the weekend.

My first trip was to DL on my honeymoon. I had been in love with the DL by watching the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights. It will be 33 years this August.

 

[dumbo_buddy]

Well, if I wasn't awake before...

hehe, even online i'm loud!

Great idea! I hate having to decide whether to read trip reports or come in here when I'm short on time. (What are your September dates looking like? I've got September on my radar too!)

we are hoping (and praying and wishing) to go sept. 11-17. we have a reservation to stay at bay lake towers one bedroom for the week. i'm so excited and i just HAVE to go! i'll be 29 into 30 weeks pg then and although i know it'll be hot, it'll still be nice to be in disney. plus, so far i've been pretty good about getting out and exercising so i'm hoping to feel good while i'm there instead of blobbish like i felt with thomas (i was on bedrest and a total blob). when are you thinking of going??? it would be fun to meet up! i LOVED meeting WISH people when i was down for the princess! i was SO nervous about meeting them too. silly. everyone is so nice (i'm looking at you, rose, lisa, kathy, and maria!!)

I always eat breakfast. "Typical" is Kashi Go Lean and skim milk. I prefer to eat as soon as my feet touch the floor, but I also like to wait until I'm ready for work so that my breakfast carries me a little longer and closer to lunch. Until about a month ago, DD had requested (demanded?) a cereal bar every morning since she could chew. Now, all of a sudden, she wants other things so, we've been eating breakfast together - Kashi waffles (her: 2 with syrup, me: 1 with almond butter and honey), or English muffin (again with almond butter), or cereal, or scrambled egg (white) sandwich. So, yes, light and healthy most of the time.

DS likes waffles and i keep forgetting to buy them! duh. i can barely get him to eat anything so you'd think i'd buy what he likes! he's been doing scrambled eggs and toast (he'll eat a little) so i'm happy with that.

Well, DH and I "discovered" WDW together on our Honeymoon in 1996. (I was 23 and he was 26). Neither of us had ever been and we knew absolutely nothing about it. Looking back, we did really love it that first time, but I don't think we got really good and hooked until our second trip, 6 years later. We've been 2 more times since then and I can hardly wait to get back again. I really need to go *home*.

i love hearing how people who have started going to disney as adults seem to love it just as much if not more than those who have been going since before they can remember. just really shows how great disney is!!

Well, I'm still in the research phase and not quite "planning" yet but we're looking at September for right now. We're also interested in December but until WDW releases the late fall/winter offers (which won't happen until after the current Sept offers expire, of course), it's hard to decide.

early december is a great time to go! it was cold this past december but it was empty! if i wasn't BY MYSELF WITH A 17 MONTH OLD i would have really loved that time!

*******************
And another little perk about all this WDW excitement. I'm NOT thinking about FOOD! Seriously. My lunch hour is over in 8 minutes and I haven't eaten yet because I don't want to stop working on this! I was telling DH that if giddiness burns calories, I have no doubt I can lose what I want to lose before the trip. (Don't worry. I promise you, I won't starve. Gonna eat right now.)

hey, whatever helps keep us away from food, right???

Afternoon folks!

Just a quick word for you "breakfast haters". There is NO RULE that breakfast has to be cereal or eggs or english muffins. Turkey sandwich, fruit, salad, fish, chicken.... anything like that would work!

As usual, the day got away from me. And it is STILL zooming by, so I can't stay and chat. Just wanted to check in to see how everyone was doing.

DS is waiting to do a "project" with me, so I've gotta fly. I'll try to pop on again later...................P

you are so right that breakfast doesn't have to be "breakfast" foods. i have another aunt who has lost a lot of weight (sheesh, all my aunts seem to be losing). anyway, this one is my aunt mary. she's lost 25 lbs and weighs less than me now! she has been having a turkey sandwich with avocado every morning for breakfast. protein, carbs, fat. done and done!

I do eat breakfast everyday and usually within 10 minutes of getting up. I never used to, but when I truly decided to lose weight I had to start and now I wake up hungry. I usually have a sandwich thin skim coated with low fat peanut butter and fluff.


My first trip to WDW was on our honeymoon in 1992. It was the first trip for both of us. We tent camped at Fort Wilderness and it was HOT!! That is the only trip we were ready to come home. Definitely not hooked. MGM was just opening and was much smaller than it is now. We even went to River Country which was the first water park. Our second trip was with our two oldest son's in 1998. That was when we were hooked, seeing it through their eyes. I remember planning to go back to the hotel early the last night to pack for our flight and our oldest who was 2 1/2 cried. We had to buy them sweatshirts as we weren't prepared for the evening chill. We stayed until they kicked us out. Peter Pan's flight was our last ride. We still laugh about it ..

it's so great to see disney through the kiddo's eyes, right? i can't wait til thomas remembers and talks about it. it's been great going there with him. and another honeymooner at disney! i'm surprised we didn't do disney for our honeymoon!

My first trip to Disney was part of my honeymoon, and I was 25. I was with my dh. My favorite memory I can share is riding Space Mountain. I had dreamed of it for so long, and I was thrilled to have the dream come true. I was definitely hooked, but I knew I'd never get dh back there without a kidlet His Disney disgust began early

a disney honeymooner! squee! disney can be so romantic. and i hate that romance crap! but, like it's place in the "bubble" disney is the one place where i'd allow some romance. sometimes i let john hold my hand when we are there. sometimes

I can't seem to get the time, energy or motivation to exercise. I know I need to get my butt in gear so hopefully sometime this week I will get moving.

The baby slept pretty well, though not all night. I have to go to bed when she does and not stay up all night reading the DIS boards!

Hope everyone is having a great strong day!

you have a newborn! of course you don't feel like exercising! plus, you're not even supposed to workout til your 6 week check up- and you're not that much past it! get out for walks if you can. just a little here and there. if not for exercise, for sanity! i remember taking walks with thomas in the carriage every day just to get out. like, one day we'd walk to the butcher. another day the fruit store. another day to pastosas, the italian deli/fresh pasta store. that's the beauty of living in an old new york 'hood. we still have those within walking distance

*******
Still here, still maintaining. I feel really bad for being very absent this challenge. We have had a few challenges at home that have been sucking up a lot my energy, but hopefully some of the stuff will be resolved this week.

It has been good for me in a way to be stressed out because I am learning more about how to maintain.

So here's what I am figuring out:
1. I don't have to be perfect, but I do have to be reasonable.
2. I have my range set at a point that is low enough to keep me in the size clothes I want and is just a little bit challenging. That's a good thing. I contemplated raising my maintain range a pound or two to take some of the pressure off me but decided that was a bad idea.
3. I need to weigh every day. Every day. Not once a week. When I am this stressed I could easily see myself putting on 3 or 4 pounds in a week. I don't know if this makes sense, but I am ok with being on the high end of my maintain range, but if I thought I had really put the pounds back on I am afraid I would throw in the towel. Weighing every day is keeping me on track.
4. I do not need to exercise every day. This is a big one, since I have been known to be an overachiever at times when it comes to exercise. 4 really good workouts a week (60+ minutes) seems to do the trick.
5. If you don't lift for two weeks, your muscle tone goes away. But it comes back quickly when you start lifting again.

I hope everyone is having a good week! I am going to try to be a little more active, but the next couple days are still a little crazy. Hopefully by the weekend we will know better what is going on here.

hehe, didn't baby Tom know that "panny" packs are soooo a fashion faux pas? LOL! how cute! panny pack.

hugs for you rose, you have alot on your plate. i think you should be crowned the biggest loser hero - you're dealing with alot of stress and doing it beautifully. i think alot of us (well, we wouldn't be here if we didn't) don't deal with stress and food very well. and here you are maintaining through it all. yeah, ok, i know it's been very hard for you but you're doing it! and learning lessons along the way! me? i tend to cry in my cookies. so you are my personal weight loss hero!

i think your #4 point is very important. i was turning into a running nazi when i first started thinking i needed to run everyday or else i'd be 200 lbs heavier the next day. nope. your body needs a break. your muscles and joints need a break. when i take a break i always come back the day after feeling better on my runs. i have to remind myself on my days off and make sure to get back out there the following day though!

Nancy/Dumbo_buddy (I don't know why I can't remember anybody's name on here!)

I don't make the instant steel cut oats- but also don't have any kids and I only work part=time, so I have the time to do it the long way, haha. I like to do it in the afternoon though, that way I've already eaten and I have the time. The brand I use is called John McCann's Irish Oatmeal, and you make 4 servings at once. So I do it in the afternoon and pour it into a Tupperware and keep it in the fridge.

Once it cools I cut it into four pieces, and then when I make it I just pull out one piece. I heat up a skillet with a little non-stick spray to medium, put the piece on there to heat up, and break it up into smaller pieces (about an inch big or so) Once it starts to heat up pretty good, I just pour in 1/4 cup of skim milk, so it has somewhere to spread out to. After that you give it a good stir and you're ready to go It's really easy, even though looking at it sounds kinda complicated, haha. You should try it out!!

i'm going to try to do that. maybe make a pot of it during naptime and put it in tupperware. i really like the steel cut oats. they taste so much better!

*************************
one more night til DH is home from san diego. this was only a two night thing (well one for him as he's doing the red eye tonight) so not that bad. usually he's gone for a week or more at a time and that gets old quick! DH texted me saying that his meeting with petco went really well which bodes well for disney! woot!

i was thinking of getting on the elliptical during naptime but instead read a bunch of DIS trip reports. have you noticed how weird disney fans are??? seriously! i'm one of these weirdos i know but maaaaan some of them are strange folks! what i should have done was steered clear away from the disney dining reviews! wowsa some people can eat! actually, some of them made me feel like even i make good choices while at WDW! lol. and that's saying something! the reports got me very excited. i really enjoy the pictures too!

tonight we're just going to eat whatever is left in the house. we might just have pb&j's with some fruit. at least i know thomas will eat that!

tomorrow, weather permitting, is the mets game! i'm pumped for it. haven't been to one this season yet. i'll miss the beer though. but hey, it'll be alot cheaper not having it the game's at 1:10 which is prime naptime so it may be a disaster but who knows, we may get lucky.