WISH Away the Pounds--January 2013 challenge--Everyone Welcome!

[donac]

Good morning everyone.

I don't know where the last couple of weeks have gone. I still can't believe that it Jan already in our school year. This entire school year has been a blurr.

QOTD for Saturday, January 12, 2013:

What do you consider your greatest personal accomplishment (other than your children)? Can be work, school, life-related, etc.

My personal accomplishment is all the education I have gotten since I started teaching. I have a Masters plus at least another 45 credits over it. I wish I had gotten a PhD but I found one I wanted when I had 30 credits and I still would have needed the 60 credits the college wanted. It would have cost me $50,000 and I didn't have that money and ds1 was close to going to college.

My other accomplishment was from the first one. I took a lot of the extra credits turned them into workshopsthat I have given to other teachers. In 20 years I gave over 40 workshops. I have been able to give a great deal of information to other math teachers.

I am also happy that I have been able to help several charities due to my handcrafts. I have donated blankets to Project Linus and pillowcases to ConKerr Cancer.

Bonus QOTD: What is your top #1 favorite family Disney memory? You know, that special moment that brought tears to your eyes!

It is the love my dh has gotten for Disney. There was the year I was recovering from bunion surgery and him say to me "Let's go to DW"

It was a couple of weeks ago when he said to me "We have to decide where we are going to stay for my 60th birthday (3 years away).

It was a couple of weeks ago when he came home with 2 books about Disneyland. We plan to go in 5 years for our 40 anniversary.

Off to stretch out my back and then get ready to go to church. I don't have to go to the nursing home because of the flu. They don't want anyone there so my communion group don't have to go.

Have a happy and healthy day.

 

[Flossbolna]

I'm also playing catchup with the QOTD...

I'm Eliza (no kidding!), I'm 49, married with 1 cat!! I work as a Health & Safety Advisor for a healthcare company with 1400 staff, so I'm quite busy.

Hi Eliza,

welcome! I am happy to see another European on this thread!! At least I think that so far I haven't notice anyone else from Europe - sorry if I missed someone else!!

I used to live in the UK for a while and always loved the way how people measure their weight in stones! It seems to be such an accomplishment when you can say that you lost "a stone" - very impressed by your previous success of losing several of them! I hope you will be as successful this time round!

 

[Flossbolna]

Good Morning to everyone and welcome to all the new people! Seems like we had quite a lot of people joining over the last days!!

So, I am up half a pound from yesterday so it seems that my weigh in yesterday was not totally incorrect. Still that means that within one week I lost 4.5 pounds. Still quite unbelievable to me since I am normally not losing weight fast. But I just happily take it for what it is and now will try to just use it as a huge motivation to continue on and hopefully top my January goal of 5 pounds significantly!!

It's a grey winter day and I need to get going with sorting through some papers and bills - but thought answering yesterday's QOTD would be a nice way to put that off for a little while...

Biggest accomplishment:

I would say it was my exchange year in Denmark. When I was 17 I took part in a program by an exchange organisation that sent me to live with a Danish family for a year. I went to school there and learnt Danish. I think it was a huge challenge to be abroad for a year with people that were strangers at first and having to speak a new foreign language. Especially since this was before the days of the internet and besides weekly letters my only contact to home would be a monthly phone call for 10 minutes which cost my parents half a fortune. But it was also a year that had a tremendous influence on my personality, it gave me confidence, I learned how to get through difficult situation and it manifested my general interest for other countries, cultures and people. I am still involved with the organisation as a volunteer until this day as I think it is such a wonderful opportunity for young people.

Disney memory:

A lot (if not most) of my Disney trips have been together with my sister ever since our first trip to DL in 1992 while we visited my aunt in California. So Disney trips are very much full of memories of having a wonderful time with my sister. But it is very difficult to pick that one moment.

I guess it would have to be the one morning during our first trip to Disneyland Paris in 195. That was the year they opened their Space Mountain - which is very different from the American Space Mountains as it has inversions and a soundtrack. We stayed at a Disney hotel and therefore had access to an early opening of Tomorrowland. We were there at 8am and proceeded directly to Space Mountain where we managed to get on without a wait. When we arrived back at the station after a fantastic ride on that wonderful coaster (the story was that you are in teh Jules Verne novel "From the Earth to the Moon" and are travelling to the moon, including seeing the smiling moon just above you at one point), the CMs were making strange signs and then my sister realised that they were asking whether we would like to stay on our "rocket" as there was no one in line. So we said yes and around we went again. We finally got off after our fourth ride in a row! And felt rather wobbly for one hour or so afterwards...

The sad thing is that this version does not exist anymore, they did an "update" called Mission 2 which to me was a downgrade of the ride. In addition the coaster has become very rough so I can't ride it that much anymore.

 

[D73]

Thank you to Fran (Mary°Poppins) for pushing me through MFP to get going again and especially to popping back on the DIS to join the challenge.

I am Christopher. I am American but have lived in Switzerland for 9 and 1/2 years now. Ride the weight roller coaster too much. First half of the year is good and then by summer I am slacking and fall into holiday season I pack it all on again......ugh.

Other than my weight goal for the month, I have some new pants I got for Christmas that do not fit....so those are my first size goal....get into the clothes that I have received.

I need to get my head around this new challenge format. The initial page appears easy enough and I have PM'd Rose&Mike. Will read through a bit to see how coaching and discussions are running.

Cheers

 

[Flossbolna]

Thank you to Fran (Mary°Poppins) for pushing me through MFP to get going again and especially to popping back on the DIS to join the challenge.

I am Christopher. I am American but have lived in Switzerland for 9 and 1/2 years now. Ride the weight roller coaster too much. First half of the year is good and then by summer I am slacking and fall into holiday season I pack it all on again......ugh.

Other than my weight goal for the month, I have some new pants I got for Christmas that do not fit....so those are my first size goal....get into the clothes that I have received.

I need to get my head around this new challenge format. The initial page appears easy enough and I have PM'd Rose&Mike. Will read through a bit to see how coaching and discussions are running.

Cheers

Welcome Christopher!! Another person on here located in Europe! Yeah! I think you will find the new format very easy, I am really enjoying it and think that only setting short time goals for one month at a time is really going to help me staying motivated!

 

[Greenfield1984]

Just stopping by to say good morning and vent a little. Since the beginning of December I haven't gotten a good nights sleep. I've been sleeping an average of 5 hours a night and nights where I get a little more are interrupted a few times a night by either my 3 month old or 1 year old... I'm running on fumes here and can't handle it much longer! It's also annoying because I'm doing everything right to lose weight (eating well and working out 6 days a week) but I'm sure this lack of sleep is stalling my weight loss (I'm still losing though).
I know it's temporary and really soon my 3 month old will be sleeping through the night but I'm just so tired!!!!
That's it. Just wanted to vent a little after a 4 hour sleep night

On a positive note this weekend I'm at my parents' house for my dad's bday and its been my first real test of how well ill eat when faced with temptation. I did really well and allowed myself to enjoy a couple of my favourite things but I tracked every bite and only went one point over my daily total (so I used a weekly point). So I'm pretty proud of myself for that

Have a great day everyone!

 

[elyse43230]

Hi everyone! Just wanted to stop in. I'm sort of lurker, but know that I read everyone's posts and it helps keep me motivated.

Had to share my best Disney experience:

I went to WDW in the mid 90s when I was a kid. I had a magical moment that had everything to do with my dad.

We had spent all day at MK. My feet were tired and remember having achy feet. But I was the kid in the family who never complained and let my siblings be the "squeaky wheels."

My dad was standing behind me, but then I remember he was gone for what seemed like just a second. When he came back, he gave me a Mickey Mouse stuffed animal and a pack of Goofy stickers.

I remember thinking they came from Mickey himself, my dad took no credit. I still have that Mickey plush. Pure magic.

 

[cclovesdis]

I know, I know, I disappeared for far too long. Things have been really busy lately. My grandmother spent Christmas night at our house. Wow, was that difficult! She has Alzheimer's and lives at a nursing home and really didn't understand that that day was Christmas. It was heartbreaking. There has been some continued drama surrounding that day and the subsequent death of her godmother (she was almost 100). Work has been very busy so I've been finding myself there longer and longer.

Allergy testing revealed a few things. I testing positive to 4 of the 29 tests. That equates to 6 (I think) new allergies. One of these new allergens requires me to avoid it and latex. I've been told to say I'm allergic to latex, but now my doctors and I know why. I am also allergic to 2 things I can't pronounce that are in the shampoo I was using. I switched to a very allergen-friendly shampoo and my face is so much less red, itchy, and scabby. I have easily 50% less acne too. I have lots of products I need to be careful with now, including glues (not so much of the standard school variety), paints, and hoses. My favorite potential source of one of the allergens is root canal disinfectant.

In more exciting (or less boring ) new, I am going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding this summer. Definitely a motivator to lose weight. I rejoined WW yesterday and the bride and I are thinking about going together. She has had previous success as have I and we are both hoping this helps. I will continue going if it doesn't work out that we can go together. I would love to, but our schedules are tricky.

Hope everyone has a great day today! Cannot wait for updates from our runners!

 

[camnhan]

Have you heard from our racers?? They have had an amazing weekend and awesome races!!!!!

Way to go !!!

 

[pjlla]

When we were at seaworld and she was selected to be part of the dolphin show ( i lied about her age, they asked me if she was 6 and i said yes, she was only 4) she was able to go up on the stage and do tricks with the dolphins, feed them and all that fun stuff. One of the employees had a camera and took lots of pictures and gave us the camera to be developed after the show. It was truly an amazing day! She was also picked later in the day to pet Shamu. She was such a cutie pie when she was younger

How sweet!

Playing catchup with the QOTD...

First the intro
Kinda did this a few pages back but could definitely do better

I am Lara, a 33 year old sahm of one son who turns 10 in a couple months. I have been married 11 years in march and my husband is great but not the most supportive with dieting. I live in the burbs of pittsburgh. I have always had issues with weight and body image. As a teen I struggled with anorexia and still have troubles every now and then but my husband fights them. I was never really overweight until 8 years ago when I started on clomid. That shot packed on the pounds. 100 lbs in one year. I stopped it but then went through a difficult depression over our infertility issues. That led us to adoption and we met our son and finalized his adoption in 2006. By this point, I knew I was fat but my life had other focuses. Over the next few years, I put on more weight. By 2011, I was at my highest weight ever 250 lbs. that year I got very into running, went to the gym every day and weight became an obsession. By the end of 2011, I was at 176 lbs. 2012 was a hard year. It began with surgery to remove most of my uterus followed by chemo and radiation. I lost nearly all my muscle, strength and stamina. I was on the road to cancer recovery, but depression set in once more. I can't say I quite caring about my weight but my efforts were sporadic. In august, I started working toward my goals but its been very hard. I have so little strength and one mile feels like a marathon. I am hoping maybe with support, I can meet my goals.

WOW! You've been through a lot. Great job on the loss so far! Hopefully the weight loss and exercise can help with the depression.

My goal
I would love to be the 110 lbs I was in high school but I am not sure that is realistic. So my goal is to get healthier, increase strength and stamina and get to a healthy weight. I would also like to feel good about my body but for me I think it will take more than weight loss to make that happen.

Bodies change as you get older and 110 may not be realistic at your current age (versus when you were 17). Healthier and stronger are great goals for now!

Trigger foods
Starbucks- yep frappes are a major weakness. Also ice cream, Ben & Jerry's makes an amazing coffee ice cream that I love.

Yum! I get my coffee ice cream fix by buying a lowfat vanilla frozen yogurt and a large coffee at the McDonald's drive-thru and having a lick of the cone followed by a sip of coffee! Perhaps you could make your own lowfat frozen yogurt at home and make it coffee flavored!

Diet Plan
Tried them all with no real success (not long term anyway) so planning to stay under 1200 calories and trying to eat 3x a day atleast.

Are you aiming to eliminate anything in particular or just cut down on portion?

Exercise goal
1 hour daily exercise but struggling with this.

Then start with 20 minutes! If the goal is unrealistic or a struggle to meet, you may give up all together. Tell yourself that you MUST do 20 minutes and take it from there. I often find that after I hit the TM, I can continue for an hour or more, but if I TELL myself that I MUST do 60 minutes, I want to quit before I even start.

How about finding a fun class? Yoga, Zumba, spin??

How often weigh
Haven't weighed very often but might start to see if it helps motivate me

I stick with once a week weigh-ins, but many folks have good success with a daily check in with the scale.


Fave veggie
Brusselsprouts- though to be fair I love all of em

I love most all of them as well! It certainly makes healthy light eating a lot easier!

Handle situations u can't control
Badly... I hate not being in control. I worry like crazy, don't sleep for days, it's really a struggle.

Weekends, easy or hard
The worst... Dh prods me constantly to eat and cook, cook and eat. And this weekend BIL messed up my diet being super nice and bringing pizza, beer, a tiramisu home last night. He lives in our mil suite while in college

Perhaps you need to sit down and have a firm talk with them BOTH about your goals, your struggles, and what they can do to be helpful and supportive!

Meal plan
I plan out dinners because I do a great deal of make ahead meals and shop once a month

Snack or 3 meals
This one is hard because it is inconsistent. Some days I force myself just to eat a few bites at every meal, others I feel like I could graze all day. Think this adds to my inability to lose.

Most proud of, struggled with
I am not sure I have any accomplishments that I am really proud of I am kind of a negative nelly when it comes to me. I am struggling with a lot right now, to much to list but the big one is sleep. I manage 3 hours st most a night not because I choose to but because I can't turn off my brain.

There has got to be SOMETHING! College degree? Job that you worked hard to get? How about CANCER SURVIVOR? You didn't give up and lay down and die when you got your diagnosis, right? You pushed through, took on the surgery and treatments and came out the other side ready to take on life (as evidenced by the fact that you are trying to lose weight and get healthier)!!

Well now you have my life story, lol. My positives for the day
I am a cancer survivor!
I have a great family!
I have a beautiful home.

So I'm new around here, but I figured I'd chime in. My greatest personal accomplishment not related to family is my completion of a marathon. Incredibly difficult, but incredibly satisfying. And I mean it when I say if I can do it almost anyone can. Here is a picture right after I got my Mickey medal!

Nice photo and congrats on the accomplishment.... and WELCOME!!

My #1 favorite Disney family memory is tough. I have so many. I think I'll go with the personal tour Minnie Mouse gave to my then 7 year old daughter. She grabbed her hand at Toontown rope drop and walked her through her house. Minnie showed her all the little details. She especially loved her kitchen.

SWEET!!

Good luck to everyone with this week's weigh in. I hope the scale is kind. Can't wait to see more changing colors.

Colors won't change until Rose is back and ready to get back to work on it... not sure what day that will be, but I'm sure she will get them all fixed up as soon as she has time.

Hey everyone!

It feels like a long time. Rather than go back and try to catch up (that seems a bit daunting), I"ll just jump in and try to keep up from this point.

For those that don't know me I'll re-introduce myself. I'm Melanie (DUH), and I'm 43! I haven't been on the DIS for a bit because we went to Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming & Montana last summer for vacation. Hubby still wants one more summer of vacations away from Disney this summer and then we get to go back. I think this summer is Nevada, Utah and Arizona.

I've been a member of WISH way back in the olden days when it was pretty new, and even did the Inaugural "WISH" Disney Marathon back in 2005. Oh what a fun trip and life changing trip and race that was. So wow, that was a few years ago. I lost 35 pounds last year and gained a few back this past Nov/Dec. I'm working on getting that back off and finishing and finally getting back to my goal. I'm determined this year to DO IT!!

Looking forward to getting to know those I don't know and reconnect with those I do!!

So happy you came back to join us!

Oh, missed the favorite disney memory QOTD
It's a toss up between my disneymoon and my sons 1st trip. My disneymoon was my first ever trip and just walking into mk and seeing the castle for the 1st time was amazing. Just thinking about it brings tears of joy. Of course watching my son experience the magic was equally amazing.

The "tears of joy" are definite indicators of the BEST memories of all!

I'm also playing catchup with the QOTD...

I'm Eliza (no kidding!), I'm 49, married with 1 cat!! I work as a Health & Safety Advisor for a healthcare company with 1400 staff, so I'm quite busy.

I decided at Christmas, that in November 2013 I was not going to be fat and fifty! I've joined Slimming World, which is the UKs number one slimming club (Think it's available only in Texas in the US???). I did it 3 years ago and lost 4 and a half stone (63lb to you guys) but then after our trip to see Mickey I let it all slip back on again. My actual starting weight on Wednesday was only 2lb lower than my starting weight 3 years ago!. I've always dieted for a target in the past....trip to Disney.....trip to Spain, whatever. This time, no target, just doing it for me. OH is very supportive - he eats the same thing I do, and does not put temptation in my way. 3 years ago, he lost the same as me, but has only put about half of it back on.

Trips, weddings, reunions..... top three reasons to diet, right?? But hard to stick to it after the event!

So, onward

My goal
To weigh less so that I can enjoy camping more and feel better in myself on a daily basis.

Great goal!

Trigger foods
Good old British chocolate I'm afraid. Anything with Cadbury on it screams out to me!

We aren't immune to the call of Cadbury here in the U.S. either!

Diet Plan
Slimming World

What kind of plan do they use? Calorie counting?

Exercise goal
2 30 minutes brisk walk a week would be a good start

Excellent start!

How often weigh
Weekly, at slimming class

Fave veggie
Carrots, so versatile. Raw in sticks, grated in salads, cooked, mashed, you name it. so tasty too.

Nothing not to love about a carrot!

Handle situations u can't control
Face it, no good running away, just get it over with

Weekends, easy or hard
Easy - it's when I do my planning, shopping and cooking for the week ahead.

Meal plan
Weekly, with a few tweaks depending on leftovers and how much fruit we get through (keep having to buy more, particularly bananas!)

Snack or 3 meals
3 meals with planned snacks mid morning and mid afternoon

Most proud of, struggled with
That at the age of 48 I started a degree at University (never did higher education in my teens), passed the first year and hopefully looking good for second year (I have an exam on Thursday!!!) Also proud that I have been happily married for 19 years......not something that a lot of my generation in the UK can say sadly

OK, well I think that's me for now......once exam is over on THursday I will try to keep up!!!

Great accomplishment! How wonderful to be motivated to get back to school in your adult years!

Other than the things you have listed, I chew gum. Especially when I am at work and craving something sugary (usually chocolate). If I chew a piece of mint gum & drink water, I usually can forget about that craving.

I'm a gum CHOMPER when I do chew (like a cow ), but my chiropractor has told me to stop chewing as it aggravates my TMJ and neck pain.

Congrats on the engagement. How magical to be proposed to in front of the castle. He's a keeper

My greatest accomplishment is quitting smoking cold turkey the day I found out I was pregnant with DS9.

WOW! And what a WONDERFUL gift to give your baby.... a healthy start!

I have two favorite memories. #1 is my first trip to WDW. It was just MK & Epcot then & my whole family (mom, sister, aunt, uncle, cousins) decided not to go to the parks for day 3 & swim at the hotel instead My dad & I went to MK by ourselves & I remember riding PotC with him & having so much fun! that was 30 years ago! #2 is watching my kids meet characters for the first time. DSs told Belle all about Nerf guns & invited the Beast over to our house for a Nerf fight. And, DS4 (at the time) told Snow White she was beautiful.

How adorable! And I love your childhood memory of being at the park with your Dad!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Saturday! Well, the scale was not my friend this week, but I can only blame myself & my poor eating the night before weigh in. I was not in the mood to cook & I was exhausted. For some reason, I woke up at 4 am everyday this week! So, DH wanted pizza and we got pierogie pizza & a cheese pizza. I love pierogie pizza. With bacon. And, we haven't had it for about a year! Oh goodness, it is NOT healthy by any means & all those carbs added to my weight But, I plan to kick butt this week. I was looking at our plans for the week & it looks like I can only get to the gym on Tuesday. I have an appt Monday, a Pto meeting Wed., and DS has an orthodontist appt Thurs. Bah! I am hoping it'll be nice enough for a walk or I will do a dvd at home.

Sorry about the bad number. You can kick that weight to the curb next week! And busy week ahead!

I hope all the runners are having a good time at Disney. I am sooooo hoping to do the princess half next year. I just hate running in the cold & snow & that's when I would be training. I have to figure something out. Any advice?

I am off to do some Disney planning (leaving in 13 days, but who's counting ) and laundry I'll check in again tomorrow!

Jill

SO JEALOUS! 13 days!

Well I had another fun dining adventure at Buffalo Wild Wings, with my 2 dd's and I.

I asked for the nutritional menu and they do not have one. I said aren't they required to have one by law? He didn't know and neither did I. Anyone know the answer to that question?

They had free WiFI so I was able to look up the nutrition info online but that was outdated so it did not have the info for some of the items.

I'm not sure if just having it online fulfills the law, but YES there is a law about having NI available to the consumer. I'd have to look further into it and I know it differs by state. Where are you located?

I got TOTALLY sassed by a server at Mr. Mac's (mac and cheese restaurant) when I asked for NI the first (and only) time I visited. She had a BAD attitude and basically told me "It's mac and cheese, what do you expect??" Well.... I EXPECT you to give me NI when I ask for it and WITHOUT an attitude, missy!" I ordered a salad (didn't go there by choice... we were following a swim group) and basically left hungry after paying for a lousy iceberg lettuce pile topped with some pathetic pale veggies.

I got a chicken & romaine salad and iced tea. Just now looking that up & 11 grams of sat fat. Not bad but I could have gotten something tastier I think...grrr. Cholesterol and sodium are also high. Won't get that again.

I"m guessing that the chicken was grilled/pan-fried with a bunch of oil for the fat to be that high.... or else it was the dressing. Did you get it on the side? Perhaps you saved some calories/fat if you didn't use the entire dressing portion.

I got DH a grilled chicken breast sandwich w/ swiss cheese. He did better than I with his NI.

Well, live and learn.

Know it before you eat it! My motto (when I can remember it anyhow!)

My greatest accomplishment would have to be earning my college degree. It was a lot of work, especially given where I came from... Despite being an honor student throughout school, I fell in with the wrong crowd and dropped out my senior year. I had my son very young and decided to change the course of my life. I went back to school when he was only a few months old, moved from the SF bay area to Az so I could afford to raise him, enrolled at the community college as soon a I was "resident," and eventually graduated from Arizona State on a scholarship and earning top honors! First in my family to go to college actually... And I am glad I could set that example for my kids

How wonderful!!

As for my fav Disney memory, well I guess that would be getting engaged I am so lucky and he made it so special, in front of the castle with a PP photographer taking pics! And it was such a shock because we had talked about getting married and he kept saying that he didn't think we were "ready" (we had been together 3 1/2 yrs), all the while planning this for a year! The kids were very happy and surprised and we have some great pics of all of us from this!

How truly romantic! Thanks for sharing the memories and the photos!!

Quick pop in. Spent the day shopping like mad men. The kids all need jeans and shoes, DH and I both need shoes. It was a whirlwind day but we got some stuff accomplished.

I hate shopping. Glad you got a lot done. Wanna buy me some shoes? I need black clogs (preferrably Danskos) and new running shoes (I really like those hot pink Aasics on the previous page!).

I guess we are doing ok here. The boys eyes are getting a little better. My throat still hurts and my voice is off. I really hope it goes back to normal.
DS16's and my eyes have started to itch today. I really really hope it's not pink eye!!!
I'm just so sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Guess I'm going to to go to bed. My feet and back are killing me from lugging my purse and bags everywhere.

I think you need a vacation! Fingers crossed that everyone gets healthy THIS WEEK!!

I have GOT to stop falling off the face of the earth, if only because keeping up with you guys keep me on track. I was doing grea for about a week and even lost 3 pounds! And then I just stopped tracking and working out and slipping back into bad habits. Things that I am struggling with:

1) Working out. I was doing so good! I was forcing myself to work out even when I didnt want to, I had a plan I was following it I was doing great! I don't know what happened, I've gone 4 days without a workout. I know I feel worse when I dont work out, and I know the result of working out are going to be great. I had a bad run last time I went and now I'm just not in the mood to do it but that means ive not been in the mood for anything

2) CRAVINGS! I try to eat healthy, been cooking healthy things, eating my breakfast, but at the end of the night I crave a cookie or for lunch i want a frozen pizza. Or for dinner I crave ramen. I'm just having a real problem controlling cravings.

3) Just remembering how important this is and not letting the stress get to me really having trouble with that.

Other than that I'm doing great haha!

Coming here to chat with us is a great way to get back on track! Plan your meals for the next few days and hopefully a few days back on track with help you continue to stay on track!!

Real life ways, lots of family drama as usual. I also need a new computer after best buy couldnt fix mine and after lots of fighting with them they are giving me 1500 dollars to replace my computer (it wa under warranty), I had 8 months left on my warranty so they paid me the $124 they owed me (which I had to fight tooth and nail for), and they are sending me a $250 giftcard because of all the trouble I had to go through and because their employees were so rude. So i'm trying to decide what computer I want, thinking about switching to a mac (actually pretty much know) but its 600 more than I have and thats been the point of quite a few arguments around here haha. but I;m waiting for them to send the money so i'll be with out a computer for awhile and school starts on monday!

Yikes! Could you borrow one or rent one?

Scutter (my dog) has a haircut at 8am cause his mom (me) is insane and made him an appointment at 8am on a sunday oh well he DESPERATELY needs it and boyfriend offered to pay for it! That's great since I don't work at petsmart anymore and dont get a discount

I'm sure he'll look adorable after his trim!

Visiting my parents this weekend so it's taken me a while to come and catch up. I was down 1 pound this week which I am a little disappointed with. I know it's a loss and I should be happy about it but I was hoping it would be bigger.

Maybe next week it will be. Keep your chin up!

I'm having a really hard time coming up with a great accomplishment. I guess the time I felt the best was when I lost 30 pounds about 8 years ago. It was the first time in my life I was actually thin and I felt amazing about myself (for the first time ever). I'm hoping to feel like that again soon though I have a lot more to lose this time.

That is great, but it doesn't have to be a weight-related accomplishment. How about something in school or in your personal life??

My favourite disney memory is our most recent trip. We had a rough first 3 days getting there and on our first day we went to MK. We watched the opening show and our 2 older DDs were dancing and singing. Our middle DD had such wonder in her eyes as she waved good morning to all her favourite characters. And as the show ended and we started walking in the waterworks started. I was just so happy to be at my favourite place with my now complete family and I knew it was going to be a magical vacation.
I also loved our M&G with Tiana. It was just me and my 2 month old DD and Tiana took her and cuddled her and talked to her and it was just a nice moment seeing the disney magic translate to even the youngest of babes

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Wonderful memory! I loved visiting with Tiana and Navene with MY DD on our trip..... still magical even with a big girl!

Sounds about right! Sorry it's crazy for you right now but hang in there.

I've not been around hardly at all I've been so busy w rotating sick kids and spouse. Momma don't have time to be sick! Managed a few workouts in - not as much as I wanted but better than none I guess. I was proud of one day this week I had a day off and had my workout planned then forgot I had to volunteer at ds school. I had only 15 min before I needed a shower so I walked up and down my stairs for 11 minutes! Much harder than I thought and muscles are still sore from 2 days ago!

Stairs are a killer! And good job getting in what you could of the workout!

I'm down a few pounds this week I think. I actually can't recall from this morning! I feel so overwhelmed with things I want/need to get done I'm already panicking about summer break coming all too soon and kids being home all day!! Not that I kind that its just projects tend to come to a halt over the summer.
Anyway. Focus on the now, right!!

I know that overwhelmed panicking feeling! I seem to have it at least once a week when I think about starting my new job, getting stuff done around the house, getting ready to send DD off this fall, and just keeping up with the daily stuff! You are right though... FOCUS ON TODAY!

Got a lot done today... It was actually freezing here in AZ so we stayed inside all day, all of us except DF as he went out bow hunting with his friends. Silly men, wouldn't catch me wandering around the wildness in 30 degree weather! Anyway we got all the household chores done (well, still working on laundry), DS got his school work done, DD and I made cookies (for everyone but me to enjoy ), made yummy apple cider braised pork chops for dinner, got a quick workout in on the treadmill, and even played some Go Fish as a family when DF got home (empty handed, which I was happy about... poor deer). Tomorrow we will be off to the YMCA for a real workout! And my first weigh in is tomorrow. I know the numbers will be good, mostly because of water weight, but I will still be happy! Alright, good night all! Have a great OP weekend!

Sounds like a good day! Enjoy your time at the Y!

I haven't been around in a week or so. I have had a horrible sinus infection. I didn't have an appetite so eating wasn't too bad, but I just couldn't exercise. So that was a struggle. Lost a pound so I will take it.

Get well soon!!

QOTD: Best Memory at Disney: I have so many but a few of my favorites are when my daughter was chosen to be in the Lion King show in our first ever visit in 2000. She was the voice of the sheep. We were with 30 family members and it was really "Magical". She also danced twice down Main Street with her school band and DS's girlfriend sang in the Processional this year. Just so many great memories.

Hope everyone is doing really well. My headache is still horrible so I am not going to read back yet. Here's hoping for a great week for everyone!

You have LOTS of wonderful Disney memories!

Prayers that your headache will disappear.

Hi everyone! Just wanted to stop in. I'm sort of lurker, but know that I read everyone's posts and it helps keep me motivated.

We are glad you are here, even as a lurker!

Had to share my best Disney experience:

I went to WDW in the mid 90s when I was a kid. I had a magical moment that had everything to do with my dad.

We had spent all day at MK. My feet were tired and remember having achy feet. But I was the kid in the family who never complained and let my siblings be the "squeaky wheels."

My dad was standing behind me, but then I remember he was gone for what seemed like just a second. When he came back, he gave me a Mickey Mouse stuffed animal and a pack of Goofy stickers.

I remember thinking they came from Mickey himself, my dad took no credit. I still have that Mickey plush. Pure magic.

Sweet! Sometimes it is the people WITH us that provide the magic, not the Cast Members or characters. I know that just being there with my kids make it magical!

I know, I know, I disappeared for far too long. Things have been really busy lately. My grandmother spent Christmas night at our house. Wow, was that difficult! She has Alzheimer's and lives at a nursing home and really didn't understand that that day was Christmas. It was heartbreaking. There has been some continued drama surrounding that day and the subsequent death of her godmother (she was almost 100). Work has been very busy so I've been finding myself there longer and longer.

Oh my. Sorry about your loss.

Allergy testing revealed a few things. I testing positive to 4 of the 29 tests. That equates to 6 (I think) new allergies. One of these new allergens requires me to avoid it and latex. I've been told to say I'm allergic to latex, but now my doctors and I know why. I am also allergic to 2 things I can't pronounce that are in the shampoo I was using. I switched to a very allergen-friendly shampoo and my face is so much less red, itchy, and scabby. I have easily 50% less acne too. I have lots of products I need to be careful with now, including glues (not so much of the standard school variety), paints, and hoses. My favorite potential source of one of the allergens is root canal disinfectant.

Wow! Lots of new allergies, but glad your skin is healing up!

In more exciting (or less boring ) new, I am going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding this summer. Definitely a motivator to lose weight. I rejoined WW yesterday and the bride and I are thinking about going together. She has had previous success as have I and we are both hoping this helps. I will continue going if it doesn't work out that we can go together. I would love to, but our schedules are tricky.

Hope everyone has a great day today! Cannot wait for updates from our runners!

Congrats on returning to WW! The plan works if you let it!

*********************

Happy Sunday friends! It was a slow start around here today, but I'm finally on! Today's brunch was pancakes and fruit.... high fiber whole grain pancakes with real syrup for the kids and flaxseed/almond flour pancakes (Dr. Oz recipe) with fruit spread for me (and with real cinnamon butter for DH). Plus I made a fruit salad with cantaloupe and berries and another bowl of grapefruit. Since we ate late I told the family it was BRUNCH and not breakfast and don't come looking for food again at noon!

Ready for the QOTD??? Here it comes......................P

 

[pjlla]

QOTD for Sunday, January 13, 2013:

For most of us, our busy week starts up tomorrow. What kind of things are you going to do today to make SURE that you have a successful week, both with regards to eating OP and with exercise?


(Shamelessly stolen from the BL QOTD archives)
BONUS QOTD:What is your "go to" healthy-ish dinner to whip up when you have little time (or energy)?

 

[pjlla]

I knew I was missing some quotes! Sorry to those I missed the first time around!

Good morning everyone.

I don't know where the last couple of weeks have gone. I still can't believe that it Jan already in our school year. This entire school year has been a blurr.
QOTD for Saturday, January 12, 2013:

What do you consider your greatest personal accomplishment (other than your children)? Can be work, school, life-related, etc.

My personal accomplishment is all the education I have gotten since I started teaching. I have a Masters plus at least another 45 credits over it. I wish I had gotten a PhD but I found one I wanted when I had 30 credits and I still would have needed the 60 credits the college wanted. It would have cost me $50,000 and I didn't have that money and ds1 was close to going to college.

My other accomplishment was from the first one. I took a lot of the extra credits turned them into workshopsthat I have given to other teachers. In 20 years I gave over 40 workshops. I have been able to give a great deal of information to other math teachers.

I am also happy that I have been able to help several charities due to my handcrafts. I have donated blankets to Project Linus and pillowcases to ConKerr Cancer.

You have accomplished SO MUCH both in your professional life and your volunteer life!

Bonus QOTD: What is your top #1 favorite family Disney memory? You know, that special moment that brought tears to your eyes!

It is the love my dh has gotten for Disney. There was the year I was recovering from bunion surgery and him say to me "Let's go to DW"

It was a couple of weeks ago when he said to me "We have to decide where we are going to stay for my 60th birthday (3 years away).

It was a couple of weeks ago when he came home with 2 books about Disneyland. We plan to go in 5 years for our 40 anniversary.

Off to stretch out my back and then get ready to go to church. I don't have to go to the nursing home because of the flu. They don't want anyone there so my communion group don't have to go.

Have a happy and healthy day.

How wonderful that DH has developed a Disney love!

Good Morning to everyone and welcome to all the new people! Seems like we had quite a lot of people joining over the last days!!

So, I am up half a pound from yesterday so it seems that my weigh in yesterday was not totally incorrect. Still that means that within one week I lost 4.5 pounds. Still quite unbelievable to me since I am normally not losing weight fast. But I just happily take it for what it is and now will try to just use it as a huge motivation to continue on and hopefully top my January goal of 5 pounds significantly!!

WOOHOO!

It's a grey winter day and I need to get going with sorting through some papers and bills - but thought answering yesterday's QOTD would be a nice way to put that off for a little while...

Biggest accomplishment:

I would say it was my exchange year in Denmark. When I was 17 I took part in a program by an exchange organisation that sent me to live with a Danish family for a year. I went to school there and learnt Danish. I think it was a huge challenge to be abroad for a year with people that were strangers at first and having to speak a new foreign language. Especially since this was before the days of the internet and besides weekly letters my only contact to home would be a monthly phone call for 10 minutes which cost my parents half a fortune. But it was also a year that had a tremendous influence on my personality, it gave me confidence, I learned how to get through difficult situation and it manifested my general interest for other countries, cultures and people. I am still involved with the organisation as a volunteer until this day as I think it is such a wonderful opportunity for young people.

WOW!!

Disney memory:

A lot (if not most) of my Disney trips have been together with my sister ever since our first trip to DL in 1992 while we visited my aunt in California. So Disney trips are very much full of memories of having a wonderful time with my sister. But it is very difficult to pick that one moment.

I guess it would have to be the one morning during our first trip to Disneyland Paris in 195. That was the year they opened their Space Mountain - which is very different from the American Space Mountains as it has inversions and a soundtrack. We stayed at a Disney hotel and therefore had access to an early opening of Tomorrowland. We were there at 8am and proceeded directly to Space Mountain where we managed to get on without a wait. When we arrived back at the station after a fantastic ride on that wonderful coaster (the story was that you are in teh Jules Verne novel "From the Earth to the Moon" and are travelling to the moon, including seeing the smiling moon just above you at one point), the CMs were making strange signs and then my sister realised that they were asking whether we would like to stay on our "rocket" as there was no one in line. So we said yes and around we went again. We finally got off after our fourth ride in a row! And felt rather wobbly for one hour or so afterwards...

The sad thing is that this version does not exist anymore, they did an "update" called Mission 2 which to me was a downgrade of the ride. In addition the coaster has become very rough so I can't ride it that much anymore.

I've ridden in CA and in FL and I think overall I prefer the CA Space Mountain. We were there in 2005 for the grand re-opening and it was a WONDERFUL, exciting day to ride!!

Thank you to Fran (Mary°Poppins) for pushing me through MFP to get going again and especially to popping back on the DIS to join the challenge.

I am Christopher. I am American but have lived in Switzerland for 9 and 1/2 years now. Ride the weight roller coaster too much. First half of the year is good and then by summer I am slacking and fall into holiday season I pack it all on again......ugh.

Other than my weight goal for the month, I have some new pants I got for Christmas that do not fit....so those are my first size goal....get into the clothes that I have received.

I need to get my head around this new challenge format. The initial page appears easy enough and I have PM'd Rose&Mike. Will read through a bit to see how coaching and discussions are running.

Cheers

CHRISTOPHER!! So glad to see you back again!! You have been missed!

Just stopping by to say good morning and vent a little. Since the beginning of December I haven't gotten a good nights sleep. I've been sleeping an average of 5 hours a night and nights where I get a little more are interrupted a few times a night by either my 3 month old or 1 year old... I'm running on fumes here and can't handle it much longer! It's also annoying because I'm doing everything right to lose weight (eating well and working out 6 days a week) but I'm sure this lack of sleep is stalling my weight loss (I'm still losing though).
I know it's temporary and really soon my 3 month old will be sleeping through the night but I'm just so tired!!!!
That's it. Just wanted to vent a little after a 4 hour sleep night

Well.... I've been awaken at 4 am frequently by my baby.... and she is 17 years old!! :rotfl Swim practice, hockey practice, early school mornings.... lots of things to wake you early when you have teens! But those baby years are TOUGH. It will get better. Take a nap today when the baby is sleeping. The laundry/dishes/vacuuming/cooking/dusting will wait!

On a positive note this weekend I'm at my parents' house for my dad's bday and its been my first real test of how well ill eat when faced with temptation. I did really well and allowed myself to enjoy a couple of my favourite things but I tracked every bite and only went one point over my daily total (so I used a weekly point). So I'm pretty proud of myself for that

Have a great day everyone!

Good for you!

******************
NOW I'm caught up! Off for a cup of tea, empty the dishwasher, throw the clothes in the dryer, and hit the scrapping table!.................P

 

[pjlla]

QOTD for Sunday, January 13, 2013:

For most of us, our busy week starts up tomorrow. What kind of things are you going to do today to make SURE that you have a successful week, both with regards to eating OP and with exercise?

Later this evening I will pack up my bag for the gym tomorrow morning (work clothes, towels, make-up etc), as well as packing lunches for the kids and myself for tomorrow. That way, when I get up, I can go straight to work from the gym and everyone will have everything they need for the day. I will also try to plan my outfit for Wednesday's work day as well and have it ready to pack up and take to the gym. I will plan my dinners (at least, as well as I can considering the crazy schedule) and try to have a crockpot meal nearly every day if possible. Makes the evening SO MUCH EASIER!


(Shamelessly stolen from the BL QOTD archives)
BONUS QOTD:What is your "go to" healthy-ish dinner to whip up when you have little time (or energy)?

Eggs are a great choice! Egg white omelets with lowfat cheese and spinach, toast or Vitamuffins, and fruit. Quick, easy, and light.

Rice and beans (although the rice takes 45 minutes to cook... but not much energy). Don't eat that much around here, as DH won't eat the carbs and DD won't eat the beans.

Salmon burgers/patties and steamed broccoli..... ready in 15 minutes. Eat the burgers plain or on a roll (I prefer the low carb sandwich thin type things).

Veggie burgers.... lots of flavors to choose from. DD and I like the Morning Star Farms California T'key burger, I like the MSF tomato and basil pizza burger. I also like any of the plain veggie burgers (both MSF brand and Gardenburger brand). Side salad or green veggie and I'm good to go! ..........P

 

[araes2102]

Biggest accomplishment:

I would say it was my exchange year in Denmark. When I was 17 I took part in a program by an exchange organisation that sent me to live with a Danish family for a year. I went to school there and learnt Danish. I think it was a huge challenge to be abroad for a year with people that were strangers at first and having to speak a new foreign language. Especially since this was before the days of the internet and besides weekly letters my only contact to home would be a monthly phone call for 10 minutes which cost my parents half a fortune. But it was also a year that had a tremendous influence on my personality, it gave me confidence, I learned how to get through difficult situation and it manifested my general interest for other countries, cultures and people. I am still involved with the organisation as a volunteer until this day as I think it is such a wonderful opportunity for young people.

Wow, that is an amazing accomplishment. Growing up I always wanted to be an exchange student but life didn't work out that way. And I totally admire those that can jump into such an unknown way of living, learn new things and meet new people... have those great memories! A friend of mine from work was an exchange student in Costa Rica for a year and she has great stories and photos from this time as well!

Thank you to Fran (Mary°Poppins) for pushing me through MFP to get going again and especially to popping back on the DIS to join the challenge.

I am Christopher. I am American but have lived in Switzerland for 9 and 1/2 years now. Ride the weight roller coaster too much. First half of the year is good and then by summer I am slacking and fall into holiday season I pack it all on again......ugh.

Other than my weight goal for the month, I have some new pants I got for Christmas that do not fit....so those are my first size goal....get into the clothes that I have received.

I need to get my head around this new challenge format. The initial page appears easy enough and I have PM'd Rose&Mike. Will read through a bit to see how coaching and discussions are running.

Cheers

Hi Christopher! back!! I am right there riding the weight roller coaster with you... Thats why my goal this year is small and steady success Looking forward to hearing more from you!

Just stopping by to say good morning and vent a little. Since the beginning of December I haven't gotten a good nights sleep. I've been sleeping an average of 5 hours a night and nights where I get a little more are interrupted a few times a night by either my 3 month old or 1 year old... I'm running on fumes here and can't handle it much longer! It's also annoying because I'm doing everything right to lose weight (eating well and working out 6 days a week) but I'm sure this lack of sleep is stalling my weight loss (I'm still losing though).
I know it's temporary and really soon my 3 month old will be sleeping through the night but I'm just so tired!!!!
That's it. Just wanted to vent a little after a 4 hour sleep night

On a positive note this weekend I'm at my parents' house for my dad's bday and its been my first real test of how well ill eat when faced with temptation. I did really well and allowed myself to enjoy a couple of my favourite things but I tracked every bite and only went one point over my daily total (so I used a weekly point). So I'm pretty proud of myself for that

Have a great day everyone!

Oh my goodness I remember those days! Glad I only had one at a time at the "wake you up all night" stage! My BFF and maid of honor at my wedding this summer has a 1-yr-old and a 3-yr-old, she has called me practically in tears about her lack of sleep. I always offer to keep the kids, even if just for a nap! Maybe there is someone who could help out and watch them so you could get a nap in a few times a week?

Allergy testing revealed a few things. I testing positive to 4 of the 29 tests. That equates to 6 (I think) new allergies. One of these new allergens requires me to avoid it and latex. I've been told to say I'm allergic to latex, but now my doctors and I know why. I am also allergic to 2 things I can't pronounce that are in the shampoo I was using. I switched to a very allergen-friendly shampoo and my face is so much less red, itchy, and scabby. I have easily 50% less acne too. I have lots of products I need to be careful with now, including glues (not so much of the standard school variety), paints, and hoses. My favorite potential source of one of the allergens is root canal disinfectant.

In more exciting (or less boring ) new, I am going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding this summer. Definitely a motivator to lose weight. I rejoined WW yesterday and the bride and I are thinking about going together. She has had previous success as have I and we are both hoping this helps. I will continue going if it doesn't work out that we can go together. I would love to, but our schedules are tricky.

Hope everyone has a great day today! Cannot wait for updates from our runners!

Sorry to hear about all the new allergies, but at least now you have some answers and can hopefully address the issue with allergen free products!

Good job on rejoining WW I am planning for my wedding on 9/7/13 so we can keep each other on track!

Happy Sunday friends! It was a slow start around here today, but I'm finally on! Today's brunch was pancakes and fruit.... high fiber whole grain pancakes with real syrup for the kids and flaxseed/almond flour pancakes (Dr. Oz recipe) with fruit spread for me (and with real cinnamon butter for DH). Plus I made a fruit salad with cantaloupe and berries and another bowl of grapefruit. Since we ate late I told the family it was BRUNCH and not breakfast and don't come looking for food again at noon!

You always make such wonderful meals! Wish I lived at your house...

QOTD for Sunday, January 13, 2013:

Salmon burgers/patties and steamed broccoli..... ready in 15 minutes. Eat the burgers plain or on a roll (I prefer the low carb sandwich thin type things).

Veggie burgers.... lots of flavors to choose from. DD and I like the Morning Star Farms California T'key burger, I like the MSF tomato and basil pizza burger. I also like any of the plain veggie burgers (both MSF brand and Gardenburger brand). Side salad or green veggie and I'm good to go! ..........P

I love MSF too! How do you make the salmon burgers? I love salmon and would like to incorporate it into our meals more.

QOTD for Sunday, January 13, 2013:

For most of us, our busy week starts up tomorrow. What kind of things are you going to do today to make SURE that you have a successful week, both with regards to eating OP and with exercise?


(Shamelessly stolen from the BL QOTD archives)
BONUS QOTD:What is your "go to" healthy-ish dinner to whip up when you have little time (or energy)?

I plan to go shopping to make sure we have an ample stock of romaine and chicken for salads, as well as other veggies, in the house! Also, I want to get some work done from home today so that I can maybe get a workout or two in at the Y during the week... Oh, and get to bed on time tonight so that I can get up early tomorrow and workout before getting the kids up and ready for school!

Bonus QOTD: My go to dinners would be salad with chicken (only the time it takes to chop everything up as long as the chicken is pre-cooked like rotisserie from the store or left-overs), or grilled chicken and steamed veggies (20 mins tops), or grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with tomato soup (though I am off bread so I would have to make myself a ham and cheese lettuce rollup as a substitute). Oh and a new fav around here is chicken tortilla soup. Again it depends on thechicken being pre-cooked to make it quick, but as long as you have all the ingredients on hand you can throw it all together and let it simmer 20 mins. I like to simmer it at least an hour when I have the time though.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-tortilla-soup-i/

 

[Eliza32]

QOTD for Sunday, January 13, 2013:

For most of us, our busy week starts up tomorrow. What kind of things are you going to do today to make SURE that you have a successful week, both with regards to eating OP and with exercise?


(Shamelessly stolen from the BL QOTD archives)
BONUS QOTD:What is your "go to" healthy-ish dinner to whip up when you have little time (or energy)?

I'm on leave this week, revising for an exam at University on Thursday. I have all meals planned out until Friday morning, when I will be able to relax and go shopping!

My go-to meal is spag bol....always have a couple of portions of bolognaise sauce stashed in the freezer. Made up 4 more today just in case!!!

 

[mikamah]

Good afternoon everyone!!

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend. Busy here, but I had a really good first week on weightwatchers. I'm still on track, and making tracking my priority, and planning to continue that way.

Want to send out a huge congratulations to all our Marathon and Half Marathon runners this weekend!! It was brutally hot down there, and they all did amazing!! Congratulations everyone!!

Have a great week, and remember, we all can do this as long as we keep on trying and NEVER GIVE UP!!!

 

[donac]

QOTD for Sunday, January 13, 2013:

For most of us, our busy week starts up tomorrow. What kind of things are you going to do today to make SURE that you have a successful week, both with regards to eating OP and with exercise?


I have been grocery shopping and now I have to clean out the frig. I am making chicken soup for dinner. I am thinking of packing my lunch tonight.

(Shamelessly stolen from the BL QOTD archives)
BONUS QOTD:What is your "go to" healthy-ish dinner to whip up when you have little time (or energy)?

It used to be a jar of sauce with macaroni but many sauces have cheese in them and they bother dh's stomach. I haven't worked out a go to dinner yet. The easiest one I have come up with is a roast beef sub. We get it with only lettuce and tomato.

Now I have to pull myself away from an old movie I got into "The Last TIme I Saw Paris" with Elizabeth Taylor and Van Johnson

Have a happy and healthy day.

 

[mikamah]

Amanda-Congratulations on your engagement. Those pictures are priceless. How wonderful to have the kids there too. So special.

 

[trinaweena]

Good Morning to everyone and welcome to all the new people! Seems like we had quite a lot of people joining over the last days!!

So, I am up half a pound from yesterday so it seems that my weigh in yesterday was not totally incorrect. Still that means that within one week I lost 4.5 pounds. Still quite unbelievable to me since I am normally not losing weight fast. But I just happily take it for what it is and now will try to just use it as a huge motivation to continue on and hopefully top my January goal of 5 pounds significantly!!

It's a grey winter day and I need to get going with sorting through some papers and bills - but thought answering yesterday's QOTD would be a nice way to put that off for a little while...

Biggest accomplishment:

I would say it was my exchange year in Denmark. When I was 17 I took part in a program by an exchange organisation that sent me to live with a Danish family for a year. I went to school there and learnt Danish. I think it was a huge challenge to be abroad for a year with people that were strangers at first and having to speak a new foreign language. Especially since this was before the days of the internet and besides weekly letters my only contact to home would be a monthly phone call for 10 minutes which cost my parents half a fortune. But it was also a year that had a tremendous influence on my personality, it gave me confidence, I learned how to get through difficult situation and it manifested my general interest for other countries, cultures and people. I am still involved with the organisation as a volunteer until this day as I think it is such a wonderful opportunity for young people.

Disney memory:

A lot (if not most) of my Disney trips have been together with my sister ever since our first trip to DL in 1992 while we visited my aunt in California. So Disney trips are very much full of memories of having a wonderful time with my sister. But it is very difficult to pick that one moment.

I guess it would have to be the one morning during our first trip to Disneyland Paris in 195. That was the year they opened their Space Mountain - which is very different from the American Space Mountains as it has inversions and a soundtrack. We stayed at a Disney hotel and therefore had access to an early opening of Tomorrowland. We were there at 8am and proceeded directly to Space Mountain where we managed to get on without a wait. When we arrived back at the station after a fantastic ride on that wonderful coaster (the story was that you are in teh Jules Verne novel "From the Earth to the Moon" and are travelling to the moon, including seeing the smiling moon just above you at one point), the CMs were making strange signs and then my sister realised that they were asking whether we would like to stay on our "rocket" as there was no one in line. So we said yes and around we went again. We finally got off after our fourth ride in a row! And felt rather wobbly for one hour or so afterwards...

The sad thing is that this version does not exist anymore, they did an "update" called Mission 2 which to me was a downgrade of the ride. In addition the coaster has become very rough so I can't ride it that much anymore.

That is so great that you go to study in Denmark. Denmark is at the top of my places to visit in Europe (next to Germany) because my first big research paper I ever wrote was about the Nazi occupation of Denmark during WWII and I kind of just fell in love with it. I actually have a little Denmark flag hanging over my desk so when I get discouraged I look at it and remember what I accomplished with that paper. I'm hoping to study abroad for 2 weeks this summer in spain, but money is a little tight and i would have to use student loans, so we will see.

Just stopping by to say good morning and vent a little. Since the beginning of December I haven't gotten a good nights sleep. I've been sleeping an average of 5 hours a night and nights where I get a little more are interrupted a few times a night by either my 3 month old or 1 year old... I'm running on fumes here and can't handle it much longer! It's also annoying because I'm doing everything right to lose weight (eating well and working out 6 days a week) but I'm sure this lack of sleep is stalling my weight loss (I'm still losing though).
I know it's temporary and really soon my 3 month old will be sleeping through the night but I'm just so tired!!!!
That's it. Just wanted to vent a little after a 4 hour sleep night

On a positive note this weekend I'm at my parents' house for my dad's bday and its been my first real test of how well ill eat when faced with temptation. I did really well and allowed myself to enjoy a couple of my favourite things but I tracked every bite and only went one point over my daily total (so I used a weekly point). So I'm pretty proud of myself for that

Have a great day everyone!

As someone who has suffered from insomnia for 7 years, I feel your pain! Getting to no sleep in the absolute worst! I would have suggestions for all natural ways to make yourself sleepy that i use, but i have no suggestions for dealing with children who dont sleep! Havent hit that stage in my life yet! (Although my boyfriend says i'll be a great mom cause i dont sleep anyways). GOOD luck, hope you find some rest soon

I'm sure he'll look adorable after his trim!

I have my netbook i'll be using until I get the new laptop, plus the desktop, the ipad, the nook, etc. We aren't exactly wanting for technology around here haha! It's just frustrating to wait to get my own thing!

And he does look very handsome!

QOTD for Sunday, January 13, 2013:

For most of us, our busy week starts up tomorrow. What kind of things are you going to do today to make SURE that you have a successful week, both with regards to eating OP and with exercise?


(Shamelessly stolen from the BL QOTD archives)
BONUS QOTD:What is your "go to" healthy-ish dinner to whip up when you have little time (or energy)?

So far I'm doing nothing, but I do plan on cleaning out my backpack for school and packing up my gym bag and putting it in my car so I can go right to the gym when i get out school at 7:10 tomorrow.

I don't really have a healthy go to dinner, but I really need one so uh...all ears!!

---------
Haven't done much today, have a bad case of the lazies. Of course, I always feel this way right before the semester starts. I've had a bit of a downer of a day, realizing that I'm broke (i knew this, but sometimes you can forget), and that the only way i can go to spain (which i was planning to do for two week this summer as a part of a school program) is to pay for it with loans, which i will have to pay back. trying to decide if its worth it. if anyone has any advice i would love to hear it, since i am young and niave and just really confused about what to do.

The dog got his haircut and looks very nice so i'm glad at least one dog is clean now. I talked to some people i used to work with and im still very happy with my decision to quit petsmart despite the fact tht im broke

My boyfriend is (hopefully) on his way over and im trying to coerce him into helping me clean the fish tank, which involves carrying buckets of water up and down the stairs...wish me luck!

 

[Eliza32]

Hi Eliza,

welcome! I am happy to see another European on this thread!! At least I think that so far I haven't notice anyone else from Europe - sorry if I missed someone else!!

I used to live in the UK for a while and always loved the way how people measure their weight in stones! It seems to be such an accomplishment when you can say that you lost "a stone" - very impressed by your previous success of losing several of them! I hope you will be as successful this time round!

Flossbolna....not only am I a fellow European...I've actually been to Nuremburg!!! Visited in December 2011 for the Christmas Markets (not good for anyone on a diet!....beer, sausages, fruit bread, gluwein) We were staying in Munich and took the train to Nurenberg for the day. Bought my little Bavarian Lion in a shop there.

Hope you are doing well with your personal targets for weight loss and fitness

E