TEAM DONALD--Biggest Loser 11 Spring Team Challenge

[pjlla]

Good snowy morning friends!! I don't have time to read and catch up right now after being off yesterday.... and I have to attend an (unpaid) workshop day today.... followed immediately by taking DD to a short swim practice and then her high school sports awards night. Busy, busy day. If I am back here at all today, it won't be until about 9 pm.

I just wanted to be sure to pop on today and say HI!! I prayed that I could offer some inspiration and motivation to those of you who are struggling with this..... but I'm not coming up with anything very eloquent. Please just know that it IS worth the fight! This can be a difficult journey.... but the rewards are phenomenal!! You ARE worth it, you CAN do it! Put your bad day/week/month behind you, pick yourself up and dust yourself off.

TODAY is a new day! Make a fresh start on this journey today!

For those of you who are cruising along without hitting any bumps..... good for you!! But watch out for those unexpected potholes and frost heaves! They can throw you for a loop! Be ready for the unexpected!

I hope you all have a marvelous day!! .................P

 

[SettinSail]

OK, so not many organization tips from this crew

I wonder how the question went over when it was posted on Team Mickey? It was closer to the first of the year though when they posted it.

I'm having a very busy day today and need to eat lunch before I faintso I'm going to post our QOTD quickly and then come back later to catch up.

I'm keeping it nice and simple today since so many of us are busy:

QOTD Wednesday March 16, 2011
Do you wash your hair every day?

Unfortunately for me I do have to wash my hair every day that I exercise. If I take a day off from exercise, I can get by without it but when I exercise I get so hot and sweaty and my hair is wringing wet! I hate having to wash and style it every day, it really takes a toll on my hair. We have hard water here which can be very damaging and I know I'm just slowly washing the color right out of my hair the more I wash it It's a no-win situation!

Congrats to all our biggest losers this week and esp to 50's Jayne for being our biggest loser. However, ahem, I believe you are trying to maintain your weight right now 50's Jayne You have some 'splaining to do !! Seriously, I hope all is well with you

There have been several good posts on here since yesterday and I want to come back later this afternoon and comment on them.

Shawn

 

[lisah0711]

Good morning TEAM DONALD!

Congratulations to all our superstars and especially our BL, 50sjayne! Congratulations to TEAM DONALD
for winning this week's team challenge. And, last, but not least, a big cheer for all of us who are sticking this out! We are all winners!

Well darn. Now I kind of feel guilty about going out out eat tonight and not focusing on reaching Onederland.

As Scarlett O'Hara says "tomorrow is another day!"

OK, need to vent!!!

Mom guilt is kicking in big time over this 5K at Disney.
I really really want to go, I need this goal to keep me motivated. But now I'm feeling guilty about spending the money. I'm having a really hard time justifying the price of flights.

DH had talked about all of us driving down but then that jacks to price up even more. I would love for them to be there but Gaahh!!! I don't know what to do.

I know if I drop this race I may just end up falling completely off the wagon. I can not afford to do that!!

I need some guidance! Talk me down people, talk me down!!

Okay, deep breaths, Buffy, deep breaths. You have some pretty stressful stuff going on in your life right now. This may not be the best time to be making big, sweeping changes at home. Baby steps will be easier and get you there just the same.

Meal planning doesn't have to be fancy or elaborate or be gourmet. It just has to work for you. Try to think of a plate in your mind. Fill 1/4 with a meat, fill 1/4 with a side (i.e. potatoes, rice, noodles) and the last 1/2 with vegetables. What do you have at home already that would fit this strategy? A lot of times I use salad for the first vegetable then have something else. A meal can be as simple as hamburger, couscous, and frozen vegetables. Or look at some suggested menus on sparkpeople or your favorite magazine.

Plan on meal for this week-end and see how you like it. Then start using the food that you have or plan another meal with what you have.

And take it easy!

TODAY is a new day! Make a fresh start on this journey today!

For those of you who are cruising along without hitting any bumps..... good for you!! But watch out for those unexpected potholes and frost heaves! They can throw you for a loop! Be ready for the unexpected!

I hope you all have a marvelous day!! .................P

Sound like words of inspiration to me!

OK, so not many organization tips from this crew

QOTD Wednesday March 16, 2011 Do you wash your hair every day?

I wash my hair every day. But it is very short so I pretty much have to. I use very little shampoo and it is the kind that helps keep your color because that is the expensive part of my 'do.

I'm treading water a bit here. I'm okay with that. It's the winter doldrums. DS has a high level of puberty snarkiness coupled with the time change. I choose to just hold the line and make it through the week.

 

[mikamah]

Good morning Donalds!!!

Congratulations to all the top losers!!! And a big congratulations to every single one of us still here, plugging away, slow and steadily losing, or struggling. The key to success is to keep on trying and never give up. We can do this and we will reach our goals if we keep at it, even though it may take longer than we'd like, the harder we work for it, the harder it will be to gain it back.

Well, I didn't feel like going out to run this morning, but said if it wasn't raining, I would, so I prayed for the rain to start, but it didn't, so I did 3 miles. Now I'm glad I did it, but sometimes it's hard to get motivated to go.

On yesterday's qotd, add me to the group of disorganized dis-ers. I'm definitely a clutterbug, and at times drive myself crazy looking for something and I know if I was more organized, it would save me time over all. I'd say the area I'm most organized in is vacation planning. I can spend endless hours planning and organizing vacations that never happen, but even more when they are going to happen. I just booked a house on a lake for august we'll share with my brother and sister and their families. I do have a pocket calendar with all my appts in it in my purse, and I have a box where I keep my bank books and put the bills in so they all stay in one place.

Today's qotd, I do wash my hair almost every day. I may skip a weekend day if we're not doing anything, but if we're going out anywhere more fun than the grocery store, I need to wash it.

Shawn- Hope you have some fun planned in for your busy day too.

Buffy -Mom guilt is the worst, but you need to remember that you are important too, and your health and mental well being is a huge factor in you doing this race, and thus if you can budget it in, you deserve to do it. It sounds like your dh is supportive of you, and with him being gone so much, you really do deserve to do this for you. I think the emotional benefit of the trip will far out weigh the cost. I went through the guilt thing so many times over the past year while training and planning our princess trip. I need ds to come to the park with me so I could run many times, and initially felt bad about it, but came to realize that it is good for him to see my getting healthier, and to know that what I need and want is also important, and he might have to give me some of his time and be there for me. He really was great about it too. The guilt about the money hit too. My hospital is merging with another hospital sometime this year, so that's a big unknown, some of our docs have started doing procedures elsewhere, so our census is lower, and my hours can be cut, and to be honest, I think I was in denial a bit, and on one hand, I knew I shouldn't be spendind 2grand on a disney trip, but on the other hand, the running really helped me through a tough time emotionally, and the thought of the disney race, truly was what got me up and out the door, and I do think my emotional well being is important, and definitely worth 2 thousand dollars.
I hope you can work through the guilt, and know that you are worth it, and you deserve to go, and your family, if they all go with you will be so proud of you, and that is priceless.

LTS-Bummer about the chinese, but I think it was a sign from the ONE-derland gods that you must get on over there. Maybe friday!! You can do it!!
Grapenut custart is a regular custard, I think but on the bottom of the pan you spread grapenut cereal, and they get all soft delicious. I can get you the recipe if you want. But not til you're in ONederland.

Tigger813- Thank you so much for all your hard work as weightkeeper, Tracey. We do appreciate all that you do.

Hello to all the rest of our team. Only one week left and we'll get to hang out with the Mickey's too. YAY!!

Have a great day all.

 

[mikamah]

I'm treading water a bit here. I'm okay with that. It's the winter doldrums. DS has a high level of puberty snarkiness coupled with the time change. I choose to just hold the line and make it through the week.

Sometimes just getting through the week is all you can do. Hope the snarkiness doesn't last too long and spring break is here before you know it.

 

[princess_reject]

OK, need to vent!!!

Mom guilt is kicking in big time over this 5K at Disney.
I really really want to go, I need this goal to keep me motivated. But now I'm feeling guilty about spending the money. I'm having a really hard time justifying the price of flights.

DH had talked about all of us driving down but then that jacks to price up even more. I would love for them to be there but Gaahh!!! I don't know what to do.

I know if I drop this race I may just end up falling completely off the wagon. I can not afford to do that!!

I need some guidance! Talk me down people, talk me down!!

Hi Buffy! I'm not a mom, so I'm not sure I can offer much insight on mom-guilt, but what I can say is this: You will not for one second regret the tings you do to make yourself healthier. Think of the motivation trip as something that will actually make you a better mom. It shows your kids that being healthy is important and it will give you the motivation to stay healthy to ensure that you will be around a long time for your kids. I can also say that even though I have ammassed more debt than I should have by traveling a lot, I don't regret the places and things I have experienced while taking those trips

QOTD Wednesday March 16, 2011
Do you wash your hair every day?

I sure do! On occasion I will skip a day if I showered right before bed, but in general, it is every day.

Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a great night yesterday and are off to a good start this morning Yesterday was BFs birthday. It was also bowling night for us. We pre-ordered a Dairy Queen cake and had it pre-cut and took that with us to bowling to share. I had 2 small pieces, but the rest of my day was pretty good on the food front, and I hit the gym over lunch, so I still had an OP day. BF, on the other hand, was a different story. He LOVES ice cream Generally a normal carton of ice cream lasts him about 2 servings. He had 5 peices of cake--and no other dinner I think all of that sugar affected his bowling though...he averages about 201 and yesterday he averaged about 175 I on the other hand must have ate just the right amount of ice cream. My 3rd game I bowled a 200 and left no open frames That has never happened before. I felt kind of bad for beating him on his birthday, but a night like that doesn't come around too often for me so I chose to just be excited about it

Have a fabulous day!

beth

 

[RemembertheMagic98]

Sometimes I feel like a pigeon and other times I feel like the statue. This week is without a doubt a "statue" week....getting pooped on sucks!

I was rolling along and this past week the wheels have fallen off my wagon! Bad choices and boredom have been the culprits. I'm back on track today (bypassed McD's for breakfast) and have packed my day with digital scrapbooking, the gym, and my book club this evening at the Atlanta Bread Company (where I will have the Greek salad). We read "Finny" by Justin Kramon and the author is actually coming to our discussion tonight I really liked the book too!

Hang in there Donalds! Since we are experiencing more rain here in NJ, all I can say is: Just Keep Swimming

 

[SettinSail]

Finally a few minutes to catch up. Really enjoyed the guided art tour yesterday, you can really appreciate the art more when you know about it. I had never heard of Hitler's famous "Deginerate Art Exhibit" but they own some pieces that were in that and it was really fascinating. Hitler decided which artists would be allowed to continue working and the rest had works put on display in this deginerate exhibit and they were made fun of. It killed their careers. The cafe only had tomato soup left when we got to the cafe so I had that, not bad. I felt so weak though I had a coke also. No food from 7:30 to 1:30, big mistake! I came home and ate some more before going to the club dinner last night and did not make a real smart choice last night. They had a "hamburger" on their menu, served on a bun w/lettuce/tomato/pickle/onion. I got so excited, you never see that here. It was really just a frozen beef patty and was so-so. It was loaded w/mayo, I didn't realize it would be served that way. I ate a little over half with some fries and a glass of proseco. I was not up this morning but still have 1.2 to lose from the weekend. Went to look at my friend's couch last night. They are selling a leather couch for 90 euros (about $120) and they will deliver for free. It was exactly what we are looking for and great price but 2 of the seat cushions have been severely scratched by a cat. You'd have to keep a blanket on it to use it. I still want it but not sure what DH will say. He will go look at it this weekend. Went downtown shopping this morning and got 2 new charms for my charm bracelet. I need to work on my trip for May when my friend comes to visit for 10 days. We have decided on our itinerary and I need to book transportation as early as possible to get good rates. I spent about 3 hours playing around with this yesterday afternoon, it is such a headache to go to several cities in Europe over 10 days. If anyone else comes to visit, they are going to have to plan their own trips.

Like many others here have posted, I am in need of a kick-in-the-pants, slap-in-the-face wake up call!!! I am still rocking the daily exercise and water but not making good food choices and not taking time to plan ahead. In case anyone missed this, here is an excellent article about motivation posted by LisaH the other day:

Good morning TEAM DONALD!

This article from sparkpeople about Mastering the Mysteries of Motivation might have something in it to help you with the consistency dilemma. http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_articles.asp?id=630 This is the first part of a a three part series and there are links to the other articles in this one.

For me I have to say that I've learned that doing the same old things does not work; what works today may not always work; it is going to take twice as long and be twice as hard as you thought it should; somedays nothing works except a fresh start the next day; if you never give up, you will always move forward.

As Scarlett O'Hara says "tomorrow is another day!"

My hero and one of my FAVORITE sayings

I'm treading water a bit here. I'm okay with that. It's the winter doldrums. DS has a high level of puberty snarkiness coupled with the time change. I choose to just hold the line and make it through the week.

This is going around my house too

Lisa, I use the color care shampoo & conditioner too but not sure how much good it does with this hard water!

Treading water beats the alternative

Good snowy morning friends!!

Ugh, I have no words for this.....snow, really?? How can you stand it !

Thanks for your encouraging words this morning. I needed to hear that. We can never hear enough of it

OK, need to vent!!!

Mom guilt is kicking in big time over this 5K at Disney.
I really really want to go, I need this goal to keep me motivated. But now I'm feeling guilty about spending the money. I'm having a really hard time justifying the price of flights.

DH had talked about all of us driving down but then that jacks to price up even more. I would love for them to be there but Gaahh!!! I don't know what to do.

I know if I drop this race I may just end up falling completely off the wagon. I can not afford to do that!!

I need some guidance! Talk me down people, talk me down!!

My first thought is to stand your ground and continue planning for the race with just you and DS. Research flights and these boards to make sure you're not missing any good prices (I know you probably aren't with the airfare theses days!) What if just you and DS drive down? If all else fails, maybe find a race closer to home and do that instead Good luck with your decision and planning!

I've been reading but missed today. I didn't pos only because I didn't have anything to offer.
I'm really considering some sort of meal plan. Biggest loser, medifast, Jenny Craig, South beach, something. I need to just get the ball rolling for myself, and just feed to family something different.

Argh! I just wish DH were home so I didn't feel so overwhelmed!! If he were here I could focus on the food part while he was helping with homework and entertaining the kids.

I like that idea. If it's in your budget, a meal plan would be a good way to get the ball rolling. Don't forget Nutri-System? There's nothing like getting some results right away to further motivate you and maybe you could ease off the meal plan after a few weeks or months.....

UGH. That was a total waste of calories, fat, carbs, time and money. Several people I know have raved that this is the best Chinese food they have had so I have been dying to try it. OMG! If that is true then I really, really don't want to know where they have been eating. It was bad. I will give them credit that the quality of their Hibachi beef and pork was better than I have usually seen, and they refurbished the restaurant beautifully. But it was the same bland, boring, nasty, icky buffet food you find at most every mediocre or less low cost Chinese buffet.

While I ate more than I should have to be on program I certainly didn't eat anything near what I expected to. And I really didn't eat much else today in anticipation of this so I think I am going to be quadruple good the next few days and see if I can still get a loss this week.

Bummer, I hate when I'm expecting something good and it's not
Happens a lot here. Atleast you were smart enough to not waste too many calories and to plan accordingly the rest of the day. Very impressive!!!

Congrats TEAM DONALD for winning the week again! The difference was .3 of a pound!

Only one more week until we merge!!!!

Keep up the good work!!!!

Wow, that was a close one! WTG Team Donald!!!

Who else is looking forward to the merge!!!

I do have plenty of healthy stuff, not tons of junk, but dang they eat the healthy stuff faster then I can! I'm usually left with the crap because they've eaten all the good stuff.

You didn't ask for advice on this but I was thinking maybe you could have a small basket you keep in the fridge and/ar pantry that all the kids know is Mom's food only. Even put your fruit in there so it will be there. I remember growing up, we were not allowed to eat Mom's aids (a diet candy) or drink her Tabs (a diet soda). They were both very tasty

Reverse Journaling.

LOVE this !!!!!!!

I am going to have to check out the meal planning thread; sounds like things are hopping over there!

Well darn. Now I kind of feel guilty about going out out eat tonight and not focusing on reaching Onederland.

You deserved it One-derland is still waiting for you

Donald Statistics: Week 10
The WISH Biggest Loser 11 Spring Challenge Week 10 Donald Superstars!!

#9- .63% settinsail

Did we all catch this ??

First time this challenge, woo hoo. Now, I've spent all this week trying to get back there

My dishwasher hasn't been working well and we think DH fixed it last night but my kitchen is a disaster with the fall out. We really never go out to eat 3x in a week but I think we are going out again tonight.

Our dishwasher has been broken for a month. Landlord says we have to pay to fix it. So far, it's a stand-off. SURPRISINGLY, we have found it very quick and easy to wash our dishes by hand. It took some getting used to but now we just quickly wash them after each meal, takes about 10 minutes. Sometimes even DH washes them too!

I really, really hope that translates to something wonderful in German! I think I would have to put "never to go a restaurant with RAT in the name" high on my list of things to remember!

Not sure what Rat Rat means in German.....I know Rathaus is the town hall

grapenut custard? I would love to know more about that.!

I wondered about that too !?!

I used to work in a bridal shop. Trust me, NO ONE looks good in those dresses. Tall, fat, short, skinny they make everyone look like a blob in satin. Ever notice how close that word is to satan? There is a reason. . .

Still very stressful at work, cannot wait until this week is over. Have a two day trial that is just going to be horrible and I am very concerned about it.

Hope it goes well.

Am eating OP, but not getting much exercise in. Have another appointment tonight - hoping to get out tomorrow night

Hang in there Linda! We are rooting for you to get to the in '13

PHEW... down almost another whole pound.

I twisted my husband's arm into letting me book our anniversary vacation at Disney.

OK my day yesterday:

Let's see I wanted to throw in the towel multiple times over the weekend and it overflowed into yesterday and today. I'm so frustrated with the scale and food.
I need to reevaluate. The scale is continuing to move in the wrong direction, but I have no idea where to start. Well I need to start with food but frankly I am not well versed in healthy foods, calorie counting and the what not. And I've been fighting with the kids, no matter what I cook someone has to complain. Last night it was a fight over broccoli and green beans, I mean really? Just freakin eat it!!!

ARGH!!! Thanks for letting me vent!!
I need to go do housework or go somewhere before I stuff my face again.

for your day yesterday......vent here all you want, just don't quit on us!!! You've gotten some good advice from others on how to get started with nutrition and meal info. Sparkpeople has a wealth of information as others have pointed out too. Good luck to DH with the job issues!

SettinSail I have always wanted to go to Baden-Baden I just love the name.

It is a truly unique experience....

How sweet of you to make DS the extra mini meatloaves! And the preemie caps, how sweet!

I did well at the pot luck. Had a plate with small samples of a lot of different foods, stayed away from the cake, and had one small serving of grapenut custard. I did run/walk 3 miles after work, and when ds got home he wanted to go for a bike ride since it was still light out, so we went out for half a hour. I know now, homework will come first next time. I'm sure that didn't help him.

Good job Kathy !!!!!!!!

I had a horrible weekend and start to the week. Bridesmaids dress shopping. What is it about those satin dresses that makes you feel so bad about yourself? There's something about that fabric that makes me look like a big blob and feel like one too. I'm having a hard time convincing myself to eat anything. I can't believe I've let myself get as big as I am. I'm so disappointed in myself.

I'm hoping the spring weather we are expecting later this week will help lift my spirits.

It can only get better from here on !

Good morning Donalds!

I am going to have to make this a short post. Yesterday I spent most of my day on the boards avoiding work. Today, I have to get some actual work done!

Please don't get fired

Edit, Undo Typing is your friend Pamela!!! Learn it, live it, love it!!


Repeat:
EDIT
UNDO Typing!!!!

Hmmmmm, I must remember this. Wonder if I can go back to some old posts and practice it? Recently, I have set the screen to rolling by hitting something but I discovered if I start typing it will quit.

I need more hours in my day, or an assistant...

I hear that !

Gotta go, DS home from school.

Shawn

 

[sparks19]

QOTD Wednesday March 16, 2011
Do you wash your hair every day?

:

no usually every other day. my hair gets so frizzy after I wash it. drives me crazy... so I like to try to have at least one decent hair day lol.

How's it going Donalds?

Great to hear of all the successes this past week. That's a great list. Congrats to the top 10 losers and a BIG congrats to 50sJayne for being the BL this week.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Good Morning
I think I am still trying to adjust to the time change. I have been very tired. That and DH and I keep staying up too late. I think I am going to try something new tonight and suggest we watch TV in our room at 10pm. Usually we watch in the living room before we go to bed and go up around 11. But it usually is another hour before I am ready for bed and we have talked and wound down. If we watch TV upstairs I can be getting ready at the same time and maybe we can be asleep by 11:30 instead of 12:30.

I was supposed to go to the gym but decided against it. BAD LTS. I have a list of excuses to give but frankly, I just don't feel up to it and I want to stay home. This is my only day this week I don't have to go out and don't have a thousand things on my schedule. I am going to clean house and work on a grocery list and menus and book my hotels for our Spring Break trip in 2 weeks. I have a stack of paperwork and misc things I need to do so I am going to work my way through that. Or I may just watch TV and hang out on the DIS!

I'm really considering some sort of meal plan. Biggest loser, medifast, Jenny Craig, South beach, something. I need to just get the ball rolling for myself, and just feed to family something different.

There really is no reason to feed your family anything different. They need to eat healthy just like you do. And that will make you feel even more overwhelmed and like a short order cook. However if you need something to turn to RIGHT NOW so you can give yourself some time to get together a plan I personally would probably just see what frozen "diet" meals are on sale this week (Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, etc) and get a few of those for my dinner and fix something different for the kids. But I am talking about for a week at the most. Plan your meals to look something like this:
Breakfast: Whole Grain Cereal or Oatmeal, or Scrambled egg and whole wheat toast
Snack: yogurt and some whole grain crackers and fruit
Lunch: Salad with lean meat, a small amount of cheese and a low fat dressing
Snack: Carrots and celery or cottage cheese and fruit
Dinner: Lean Cuisine with additional vegetables (which the kids should be having too)
Evening Snack: Sugar Free Pudding or light Hot Chocolate (Swiss Miss has a Diet HC with only 25 calories that I make with skim milk)

I am not very good with coming up with ideas for snacks that don't fit a low carb plan so maybe others have some ideas or you can look back at the QOTD where someone asked about snacks. Having 6 smaller meals really is much easier for you and better for your body. And you have to take the time for yourself. Your kids can give you the time you need to make your meals, even if it means using TV or video games. They need to entertain themselves. I find that when mine can't find something to do on their own that a rag and some Windex applied to the windows, or a toilet brush and some cleaner keeps them busy. Either with that or all of the sudden they figure out something to do in their rooms!

Any free time you have today, keep a paper and pen handy. Write down a list of all the meals that you make for your family-- healthy and unhealthy. List all the breakfast options that you have and all the lunch choices you like. That will be your list to use to start building menus. And keep in mind that you don't have to have a different and unique meal for every night of the week. Grilled Chicken or Hamburgers or Spaghetti or whatever are perfectly acceptable to repeat. You can serve broccoli for the vegetable 5 nights in a row if it is what is on sale and easy to make. I knew a lot of families growing up who had the same meal every Friday night, and sometimes every Sunday also.

If you would like to try South Beach I would be very happy to help you set up some menus and talk you through the basics of the program. There are a lot of free forums that are a great resource and you can most likely get the book and probably some of the cookbooks at the library.

When will your husband be home again?

Mom guilt is kicking in big time over this 5K at Disney.
I really really want to go, I need this goal to keep me motivated. But now I'm feeling guilty about spending the money. I'm having a really hard time justifying the price of flights.

DH had talked about all of us driving down but then that jacks to price up even more. I would love for them to be there but Gaahh!!! I don't know what to do.

I know if I drop this race I may just end up falling completely off the wagon. I can not afford to do that!!

I need some guidance! Talk me down people, talk me down!!

You deserve you time. You deserve to do something and to spend money that is only for you. If this would be your only family vacation then maybe it is worth it to all go down together. I think your kids would really get a great sense of pride and admiration in seeing you run the race. Figure out options to make it a more budget trip. Maybe stay in an off site hotel, only go to one Disney park and do other things in the Orlando area. Or spend a few days at the beach in a hotel there.

By yourself or with the family, use this as a chance to relax and recharge your own batteries. We are much better mom's when we take the time to do things for ourselves.

QOTD Wednesday March 16, 2011
Do you wash your hair every day?

EVERY day. My family knows when I am really, really sick because I won't shower. My day has to start with a shower. I am NOT a morning person and it takes the water hitting me to really wake me up. So I wash it every morning. My hair is oily anyway so it just looks and feels gross if I don't. Even if I happen to shower before bed I still wash it again in the morning. If I need a shower after I exercise then I wash it again. I used to have really long hair but it is shoulder length now. And I used to curl my bangs but have stopped doing that so my style now is very much wash and wear! It will look nicer if I blow it dry so it is straight and not as frizzy but I can also just let it dry and run my fingers through it and it is okay to leave the house.

Okay, deep breaths, Buffy, deep breaths. You have some pretty stressful stuff going on in your life right now. This may not be the best time to be making big, sweeping changes at home. Baby steps will be easier and get you there just the same.

Meal planning doesn't have to be fancy or elaborate or be gourmet. It just has to work for you. Try to think of a plate in your mind. Fill 1/4 with a meat, fill 1/4 with a side (i.e. potatoes, rice, noodles) and the last 1/2 with vegetables. What do you have at home already that would fit this strategy? A lot of times I use salad for the first vegetable then have something else. A meal can be as simple as hamburger, couscous, and frozen vegetables. Or look at some suggested menus on sparkpeople or your favorite magazine.

Plan on meal for this week-end and see how you like it. Then start using the food that you have or plan another meal with what you have.

Great Advice!

I'm treading water a bit here. I'm okay with that. It's the winter doldrums. DS has a high level of puberty snarkiness coupled with the time change. I choose to just hold the line and make it through the week.

Just keep swimming! Sorry about the snarky kid.

.
LTS-Bummer about the chinese, but I think it was a sign from the ONE-derland gods that you must get on over there. Maybe friday!! You can do it!!

LOL! Probably. When I went to write it all down in my journal I realized that I probably hadn't actually done too bad since I didn't eat much. But the scale is still not happy today so I am going to drink water all day and keep my meals light the next few days and see what happens. I am hoping maybe by Sunday. . .

Grapenut custart is a regular custard, I think but on the bottom of the pan you spread grapenut cereal, and they get all soft delicious. I can get you the recipe if you want. But not til you're in ONederland.

Hello to all the rest of our team. Only one week left and we'll get to hang out with the Mickey's too. YAY!!

I am looking forward to getting to know the others!

You will not for one second regret the tings you do to make yourself healthier. Think of the motivation trip as something that will actually make you a better mom. It shows your kids that being healthy is important and it will give you the motivation to stay healthy to ensure that you will be around a long time for your kids. I can also say that even though I have ammassed more debt than I should have by traveling a lot, I don't regret the places and things I have experienced while taking those trips

Wonderful words of inspiration.

Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a great night yesterday and are off to a good start this morning Yesterday was BFs birthday. It was also bowling night for us. We pre-ordered a Dairy Queen cake and had it pre-cut and took that with us to bowling to share. I had 2 small pieces, but the rest of my day was pretty good on the food front, and I hit the gym over lunch, so I still had an OP day. BF, on the other hand, was a different story. He LOVES ice cream Generally a normal carton of ice cream lasts him about 2 servings. He had 5 peices of cake--and no other dinner I think all of that sugar affected his bowling though...he averages about 201 and yesterday he averaged about 175 I on the other hand must have ate just the right amount of ice cream. My 3rd game I bowled a 200 and left no open frames That has never happened before. I felt kind of bad for beating him on his birthday, but a night like that doesn't come around too often for me so I chose to just be excited about it

You deserve to be excited about that! Now rub it in that your healthy choices are making you a better bowler!

 

[lisah0711]

Sometimes just getting through the week is all you can do. Hope the snarkiness doesn't last too long and spring break is here before you know it.

Of course today he is perfectly fine. Last night DH said to me "I hope we can survive his punishment!" I think there might be G-I-R-L issue going on, too.

You will not for one second regret the tings you do to make yourself healthier.

ITA!

Karen, hope that your week gets better.

My hero and one of my FAVORITE sayings

When I say it I always add that little extra dramatic effect . . . TOMORROW . . . (dramatic pause ) is another DAY! (dramatic sigh).

Hope your guy caught the bug too!

Hi sparks19!

LTS, love the meal planning challenge!

Have a great day DONALDS!

 

[Missoutandabout]

Congrats, 50's Jayne!

QOTD Wednesday March 16, 2011
Do you wash your hair every day?

I have to; absolutely, positively have to. If I let it go even one day, it starts looking manky by the end of the day. Greaseball city. When my hair is its natural color, it's even WORSE!

Seriously, what is my problem... I need to stay away from the flippin' SCALE. It's like a siren's call, luring me every morning to its numeric torture.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Seriously, what is my problem... I need to stay away from the flippin' SCALE. It's like a siren's call, luring me every morning to its numeric torture.

Is there someone in your house that you can get to hide it from you? That is what I had DH do for a while when I was having issues with it. He would hide it and bring it out for my Friday weigh in and then it would disappear again that night!

 

[Missoutandabout]

Is there someone in your house that you can get to hide it from you? That is what I had DH do for a while when I was having issues with it. He would hide it and bring it out for my Friday weigh in and then it would disappear again that night!

That is an excellent idea! If I can't muster the self-control, I think I'll have the hubby do that...

It's funny. I've been doing good ignoring all the snacks and bad-for-me things that my kiddo eats... but when it comes to ignoring the scale? No inkling of self-control.

P.S. Lovetoscrap: By the way, made a whole large bowl of steel-cut oatmeal this morning... but it took so long to cook, we're saving it for tomorrow's breakfast. So looking forward to the change-of-pace.

 

[lovetoscrap]

That is an excellent idea! If I can't muster the self-control, I think I'll have the hubby do that...

It's funny. I've been doing good ignoring all the snacks and bad-for-me things that my kiddo eats... but when it comes to ignoring the scale? No inkling of self-control.

P.S. Lovetoscrap: By the way, made a whole large bowl of steel-cut oatmeal this morning... but it took so long to cook, we're saving it for tomorrow's breakfast. So looking forward to the change-of-pace.

Let me know how they are. I have seen several recipes to do them in the crock pot over night so you can have it in the morning but you need a bowl that can go into your crock pot and my crock pot is an oval so I don't have anything that fits into it.

When I finish this batch of oatmeal in my fridge I will try to remember to make the steel cut ones.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

QOTD Wednesday March 16, 2011
Do you wash your hair every day?

My hair is the type that should be washed once a week at most, so no, I do not wash it every day. My stylist would kill me I'm probably the only one providing any diversity to this thread

Lisa -- From my limited experience, the snarky only grows as they do...hang in there, we'll get through this together!

LTS -- The time change kills me! Every year I say I'm going to take the Monday after off, and every year there's some reason why I don't. I think if I could just adjust before I have to get up at 5 the next day, I'd be ok, but it has yet to happen. By next week, we should feel ok again

Pamela -- I'm glad your snow was rain for us. I think I would have given up if I awoke to snow. I am done of winter

Kathy -- You were up and out too early, 'cause by 9 it was raining here...if you had held out a little longer, it would have made it to you! I'm glad you got the run in, since I know you feel better because of it

Buffy -- I'm going to make a radical suggestion. While I think you should keep the Disney 5K plan and do it if you can, I would also suggest training for a 5K closer to home first. You can probably do a local 5K for a minimal cost, and that will give you something sooner to shoot for, and also get you into the spirit and mode of training. Plus, then you'll be able to say that having a race keeps you motivated (that's one of my phrases, and also very true!), and that way your family can see you do a race, if it doesn't work out for them to come to WDW. I had my first solo trip for the Princess this year, and it was a great experience. I did all kinds of things I normally wouldn't -- like the movie in China, Hall of Presidents, 3 parks in one day -- It was so freeing to make the trip all about me, and I was able to really focus on my race without worrying about anyone or anything else. Plus, there were so many WISHers there, I wasn't alone all that much. Between Meets and hanging out with people I met on the DIS, I pretty much had someone available if I wanted to be part of a group. When I came home, I was a much happier wife and Mommy because I had the experience, and that is nothing to feel guilty about!

This rainy, yucky day doesn't seem like it's ending any time soon...I'm taking tomorrow morning off since ds doesn't have school, but of course dh and I have work. We're splitting the day...I'm going to put myself first again and do my 10M tomorrow morning. Truth be told ds could be alone, but I don't like leaving him by himself all day, particularly with twin girls next door and no supervision. They're all good kids, but a chaperone doesn't seem like a bad idea...

Maria

 

[donac]

Good afternoon team Donald.

I took the day off. I just couldn't handle the meeting they were having this morning. I just relaxed today. The weather this morning was wet and I was very achy this morning. It is better this afternoon and I am feeling better. I will be moving costumes in a little while. the costumes need to be in their secure place so they are going there in a little while.

Since I took the day off I will be making corned beef and cabbage for dinner and we can have leftovers for tomorrow. I need to make some Irish soda bread when I get home from the costume run. I never make my potatoes and cabbage in the beef cooking liquid. I hate the taste of them that way. I usually boil the potatoes with no butter and microwave/steam the cabbage.

QOTD My hair gets too frizzy when I was it every day. I need to take a day or two between washings. I just got it cut a couple of days ago and it is still long enough to put into a very small pony tail when I shower and work out.

I have weird hair. In the summer when I wash it it takes forever to dry and in humid weather it looks like it was just washed for hours.

Well I am off to move costumes and make soda bread.

Have a happy and healthy evening.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

QOTD Wednesday March 16, 2011
Do you wash your hair every day?

Nope, since having DD my hair has been through hell and back. It started falling out a lot about 3 years ago. So I try to be as gentle on it as I can. I probably wash it once or twice a week, depending on if I workout or it's hot and sweaty out.
And I don't wash DD's hair but maybe once a month. Her hair is gorgeous!!! shampoos today over stimulant the oil and it can be bad for hair.
I also don't wash the boys hair when lice is going around school. Lice likes clean hair, knock on wood we've never had lice!!

My first thought is to stand your ground and continue planning for the race with just you and DS. Research flights and these boards to make sure you're not missing any good prices (I know you probably aren't with the airfare theses days!) What if just you and DS drive down? If all else fails, maybe find a race closer to home and do that instead Good luck with your decision and planning!
can't drive it's just to far. We live about 22 hours away so it would be a 3 day drive. The train is out because it takes just as long.


I like that idea. If it's in your budget, a meal plan would be a good way to get the ball rolling. Don't forget Nutri-System? There's nothing like getting some results right away to further motivate you and maybe you could ease off the meal plan after a few weeks or months.....

I've looked into medifast before, I think I might try the BL one though. They cooked some of that last night on the show and it actually looked pretty good.


Who else is looking forward to the merge!!!

the jury is still out on that one. Not sure how I feel about it. LOL

You didn't ask for advice on this but I was thinking maybe you could have a small basket you keep in the fridge and/ar pantry that all the kids know is Mom's food only. Even put your fruit in there so it will be there. I remember growing up, we were not allowed to eat Mom's aids (a diet candy) or drink her Tabs (a diet soda). They were both very tasty

I might have to!! I can not keep fresh fruit and veggies in the house at all. They burn through it. Heck, I tried to make a Beef Stew a few weeks ago, I had to buy carrots 3 times!!!! Not that I'm complaining but man, give mom a break.


Our dishwasher has been broken for a month. Landlord says we have to pay to fix it. So far, it's a stand-off. SURPRISINGLY, we have found it very quick and easy to wash our dishes by hand. It took some getting used to but now we just quickly wash them after each meal, takes about 10 minutes. Sometimes even DH washes them too!

DS10 did dishes the other day without me asking. I was like what do you want and how much is it gonna cost me?!?!?

Hmmmmm, I must remember this. Wonder if I can go back to some old posts and practice it? Recently, I have set the screen to rolling by hitting something but I discovered if I start typing it will quit.

No it doesn't work that way. When you are typing and something disappears look in the tool bar at the top of the URL window, you will see a button that says edit, click that and you should get a drop down menu, click undo typing and it should bring back the typing you just deleted.

Replies in Purple. I'm so darn lazy! LOL

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Thanks for the pep talk everyone!!!

Hopefully things will start working themselves out soon! I'll weather the storm like a true New Englander.

 

[jimmduck]

Just a quick "Lent pop in" - very stressed over trial tomorrow.

Will post more when its over.

Have a great evening folks.

Eating OP for most part - no walking though. Will get to gym tomorrow nite hopefully.

Take care.

Linda