Well, let's hope they are amusing tales anyway. It never hurts to be optimistic.

New digs, new day, same plan...except ACTUALLY executing said plan would be helpful. Today was an ok day, tomorrow can be better!

Breakie: coffee, toast, fruit. Lunch: turkey Reuben minus swiss. Dinner: whole grain pasta with zucchini, tomatoes, olives, garlic, fresh basil and a sprinkling of feta. yum! Evening snack: bing cherries Exercise: Walking (only 20 minutes though! More tomorrow!), digging big hole for new shrub, hanging and re-hanging pictures on barren walls in two rooms (included climbing, measuring, thumb smashing and subsequent mini-fit).

Friends always welcome -- please stop in. I usually serve pretty decent coffee. ~o)

Hi Ivory :wave:

I will take :water: instead of coffee thank you :)

welcome to your new digs :up:

Hi Beth -- K, sure, be good and have water. That's just un-made coffee, you know. :rofl:

Feeling pretty peppy today. Weather has cooled off, got a mani this morning (badly needed, been a long time) and haven't acted like a piglet even once. I have decided that I have a diet coke problem though. Is it normal to CRAVE the substance? Do they put something in it? I decided to switch to herbal decaf iced tea. Made a pitcher of celestial seasoning blueberry iced tea with splenda this morning. Was pretty good, actually. Not as good as a diet coke, but decent.

Actually visited my poor abandoned office. It needs organizing BAD. Planning to put it off for the time being... HATE the idea of that task.

Breakie: toast, boca sausage Lunch: sammich (variety yet undetermined) Dinner: making roast chicken, yukon gold herbed smashed potatoes, and array of awesome fruits and veggies that I picked up at the farmer's market this morning.

Speaking of the farmer's market -- I got a big bag of pomegranates. I have no idea what to do with them besides sucking the little juice globules out and enjoying -- anyone have some ideas?

oh, good news, new shrub still appears to be alive!

MUST get to the store, my kitchen is turning into a barren waste land. Should go to the Farmer's too but I am feeling so tired and pathetic! Friends stopped by last night and I realized that I had virtually NOTHING to offer them. How embarrassing. :o In other tasks, I have to search for a florist in a *very* small town half way across the country so I can send flowers to my auntie who's in the hospital. May check out online florist thingy to see if they deliver same day. Still have to send a package to a friend who got married. Managed to get it packed up and labeled last night. Should send out some actual WORK out this afternoon too. Work? Work!

Painted the wainscoting (sp?) in the kitchen and a window frame last evening. Looks much better, I think.

Unfortunately, I am all bloated and pissy, so I have very little energy to do much of anything. What a time to go off diet coke! Looked in the mirror and was disturbed at what I saw. grrrr.

Foodage today: cereal, pasta with veg, 4 glasses of herbal iced tea.
Exercise: nada thus far

K, time to get my butt up, put on a happyish face and get some crap done.

No diet coke today and it's close enough to bed time, that I think I'm safe. :ninja:

Still hot outside. Turn down the heat out there please!

Managed to go to the store, send auntie flowers, hang a drape, make dinner, read paper and obsess over news coverage of plane bomb (I have at least one friend flying today. Yikes! :O ), make 3 batches of zucchini bread for the freezer (cooling now...), pay bills, clean up a bit, do laundry, NOT bite anyone's head off.

snack: sf iced latte. Dinner: roast chicken with veggies, yukon gold potato, asparagus. 4 large glasses herbal iced tea 1 glass water. Didn't have anything BAD, but I feel FULL. I rarely shrink when I feel FULL. Will shoot for merely *satisfied* tomorrow.

I have decided that tomorrow is the day that I want to be *REALLY* pleased with how I took care of myself. 24 hours from now it would feel great to say "hey, good day chickie!"

This is going to be quick because I am exactly *ONE* exercise session away from saying "good day, chickie!" :D

Eats have been great, water great, no diet coke

Got some stuff done, got the package sent I wanted to get out, and my auntie was happy with her plant. OH and my friend who was flying yesterday made it to her destination safe and sound. Not much else to speak of.

OH, except that my friend stood me up for dinner!!! And because of a BOY!!!! :O How do you deal with a thirty-something "teenager" obsessed with boys? Here is the deal: we made plans several days ago to go out to dinner, which was no small task, since we have been trying for almost 2 weeks to find a night that works for both of us. Well anyway, late this afternoon I get this message "hey, boy and I are going out tonight and I don't think I can make it back in time if we go out to dinner so call me and we'll set something up another time" WTF????? This is now the second time she has done this. Peeves me especially since getting together is usually her idea, and I USUALLY have to change other plans to make it happen. It is so bizarre, we used to chat easily and now we barely have a thing in common. From my perspective, all she wants to do is talk about this guy and that guy and I have to MEET the guy and hear how he's the ONE. I have counted the last four times we were together she never once let me discuss what's new with me, asked about anything, and she changed the subject back to the current boy within a sentence or two of my trying to discuss something. So, I either have to get up and leave or make the effort to respond to the boy stuff. The real cherry is that after all the effort and crooning, I always discover next week that they (usually HE) broke up (usually because she is putting on too much pressure). So frustrating! I should be nice since she is obviously going through some sort of desperation/depression/self-validation thing but in my crotchetiness I just find myself being bored (and PO'ed). 8-| I have no clue how to "break up" with a friend but seriously, the effort is way much ...

Whooooo, venting is fun.

OOOOH and I can't believe I almost forgot, as I was getting ready to pull the car out from oil change place -- WEIRD guy (think it was a guy anyway...big gut, hairy boob-like-protrusions) comes up to the front of my car as I'm waiting for traffic and starts taking off his shirt and dancing and humping my car! Remember, I MOVED from the city (and the bizarre people on its street corners) and I'm in the sticks! This sort of thing NEVER happens in the sticks! Anyway, weird guy finishes his gyration and looking quite please with himself he does the "man rub" on his gut, then WHIPS OVER TO MY WINDOW (which is CLOSED of course and the locks tested umpteen times by this point), holds out his hand, and thinks I'm going to open it and give him money! Thank goodness for a break in the traffic so I could pull the hell away. It was actually pretty hilarious. Sorry dude, it's my personal policy, no tips for a half strip from big-gutted, hairy man-boobed sportin', weird guys in the sticks.

K, now I am GOING to exercise. Lata!

ack, that wasn't quick... going to exercise FOR REAL now!

WOAH WOAH WOOOOOOOAH, scale says I'm a pound down this morning!!!! :O Can it be???? :cheer: I am going to weigh again tomorrow to make sure Mr. Scale is SURE. (Hate it when the scale is positioned weird or something and you get a FALSE hope-raising-yet ultimately happiness-crushing reading)

Eats today: Latte, turkey and sun dried tomato sammich, few chips, share organic cookie with DH, dinner planned: turkey meatballs, lf broccoli casserole, fresh tomatoes, corn on the cob, fresh blueberries and peaches for dessert.

Confession: :lapd: Fed my diet coke addiction. Shared a HUGE diet coke with DH. Hanging my head in shame. Tasted SOOOOOOOOOO good though... icy sweet bubbliness all slurpin' up through the straw giving you that awesome "bite" as it hits your tongue. shiver. :crazy:

Gotta go finish my furniture project. DH promises to take a walk with me this evening.

Hey there! Thanks for popping by my journal--I had to come and find you! I'll have to look and see if you have an old journal somewhere I can catch up on as well.

Some of your menus are making my mouth water!! The pasta/zucc/olive/tomato/feta thing makes me want to go to the store for all of that stuff right now! As for the pomegranates, I don't know how to eat them in bulk like that but when I can find them I love to sprinkle a handful of the seeds on salads--it adds just a little sweetness and makes it prettier too. :laugh:

I don't know where exactly you're located, but the Farmer's Market sounds fabulous. When I'm "home" I always go on the weekends but at school I don't know where the market in this city is. I may have to look into that!

Hmmm...gotta do a google search--have a great day!

Oh My Goodness about the weird guy ! lol :laugh:

see I would have called the police out of shock factor lol

Oh I like your GOOD DAY CHICKIE idea :up:

Wow, VISITORS! :dc Hey friends, glad you stopped by!

Long time, no post…

Have had a stressful last few days. My mum is in the hospital with some sort of virulent infection. (She won’t tell us the details of what’s REALLY going on) While I feel bad for her, I am pissed off too because she REFUSED to go to the doctor earlier (as usual, she ALWAYS refuses to go, as long as I can remember...) and now it has gotten bad enough that they had to put her on IV antibiotics and pain killers. Who knows when she will get out. We are hoping by the weekend IF she responds to the drugs. Man she drives me crazy. When did we switch roles and I became the responsible one??

Engaged in retail therapy to soothe my woes -- well, actually just broke down and bought some new work clothes. New jacket, two pairs of pants, few shirts. I reaffirmed that clothing continues to come with an ever more alarming price tag.

Over the weekend, eats on Saturday and Monday were ok, but Sunday we went to friends’ house for dinner and they made AWESOME food (fattening, luscious, way too good…). I did ok with dinner but then they brought out dessert and we all made PIGS of ourselves. It was embarrassing. *NOT* a good day! As soon as I’m done here it’s time to get in an extra hour on the exercise bike – penance for my sins. If I do the same every day for the entire week I *might* have some hope!

Beth, I KNOW! I was so shocked my first impulse was to get away. It seemed sort of humorous afterward for some reason. You never feel more together than after an encounter with a nutcase. :laugh:

Ava, welcome! Sit down, have a cup of java. OH I LOOOVE the idea of the seeds on salad! I will definitely try that tomorrow at lunch time. Still have a little leftover feta from the other day, and some pea pods -- mmmmmmm. Now to figure out what kind of dressing. :shrug: Ah, the challenges never end. We had awesome Farmer's markets in Minneapolis, but since we have moved to the boonies they are much more seasonal and harder to find. Worth the hunt though -- good luck in finding yours!!!!

Must get back here daily. I know I am vulnerable to bad health behavior right now because I'm worried. K, I move and second the motion.

Until tomorrow --

Arg. I talked to dad and was like "hey, why didn't anyone call me about mom?" (my siblings and I had to find out she was in the hospital through the GRAPEVINE!) X-( He had no good answer, of course besides "she didn't want anyone to know." Well THAT is the problem if you ask me. I can't figure out why she is so anti-doc/hospital and everyone LETS her do it! Anyway, sounds like not much change in her status although they are optimistic that the antibiotics will kick in within 48 hours or so.

Got in a nice bike ride last night and mapped out a new walking route. It's only 2.5 miles but a good morning stroll, nonetheless. Going to try it out as soon as I'm done here.

Was hungry last night late, but didn't want to pig out, so I had a fresh peach sliced up with a dollop of lite whipped cream on top. Was juicy and luscious! No eatage plans for today yet. Well except for awesome salad plans for lunch, of course. (Thanks Av!)

Tonight, want to say "GOOD DAY!" Gold star, smilie face, all that. I'm off...

speaking of things annoying, I STILL have not heard from my "friend" who stood me up! That girl is on my nerve, I swear. Especially since she will probably call and boohoo when this guy dumps her. Whatever. OH, need to send an e-card to another friend for her birthday, then get some WORK done! Gotta go!

Funny about the bum car/lap dance. Boo on your friend. Poor form!

Corinna

I know, right? They must have broken up, I got a boohoo-ey "please let's get together" email. Resisting impulse to say naaa, too high maintenance and I've got sh*t going on.

Another call from mum, says she's feeling better. Still don't know when they are letting her out. Got a call from one of my other friends and her dad is in hospital too! What a crummy week for parental health.

Lunch today: chicken, mushroom, rice thingy. Dinner plans: chicken, fresh corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes, yukon gold potatoes (lightly crisped), and the last of the blueberries and cherries. Oh, those berries were TOO good, want to eat them all the time!

work, um yeah, who authorized this school-starting thing so early anyway? The nimrods are starting to trickle back on to campus as we speak with their brightly colored dorm decorations and harried parents. From the looks of things, pink and brown are big this year. The big nimrod rush will actually be next week. So long as they leave my office alone for a week or so I'm good ... gotta get some work done, man!

Talked to mum this a.m. -- they think they may have found an abscess. Still waiting to hear if they will go in and get it. That is, of course, if we can convince her to STAY in the hospital. Switched roles, I tell you, switched roles.

Ran some errands, worked a while, bought overpriced fundraiser discount card thingy from neighborhood kids, looked around the house and decided all trim and doors must be painted white. The wood is too dark and suddenly struck me as unacceptably sucky.

Breakie: golean and coffee
Lunch: subway sandwich
dinner: spanish chicken/potato/yummy thingy, side of greens. (yummy thingy includes spicy chicken in light cornmeal coating oven "fried" then sliced and placed ever-so-neatly on a bed of browned spicy yukon gold potatos, onions. olives, topped with salsa, sprinkling of cilantro and dollop of lite sour cream) Even though I skip the spanish sausage that is supposed to flavor the potatoes (VERY bad for me!), this dish is GOOOOOD. Hope it's still as yummy as I remember. fruit for evening snack.

MUST work out tonight. In my cowardly ways, I skipped Wednesday weigh-in out of fear. Progress next week anyone? YES!

So sorry to hear about your mom being in the hospital--I hope they can get to the bottom of it, and I hope she'll stand for it. It sucks when the tables are turned on the parent/child relationship, huh? I've got some friends going thru it and it's not an easy road to travel.

Have you emailed boo-hooey friend back? That type of thing really pisses me off. I am a firm believer that you never ditch your friends for tail--even if it's the cutest little firmest tail you've ever seen in your whole life...that will come and go. I hope you run her thru the ringer a little before you give in and get together with her, but I'm just kind of mean like that!

What do you do at the university? I'm guessing it's a university that you work at with all the talk of the dorm kiddos. Sounds like things are about to get busy for you!!

Take care--I'll check back in on ya soon!

Hi there sweetie........remember me? I am still stuck. I am so glad to see you back posting regular. My treadmill broke.......boo hoo, wore out the belt, good news is the new one arrived today hopefully DH will get it on over weekend. I too need a new journal, the old one just doesn't seem right anymore. Fit by 50..........more like Fatter by 50 ! It's only a few short weeks away and all my cute clothes dont fit, I am buying 14's again, I really need to do something here. Any suggestions? I have put together a group of girls to walk for March of dimes on 9/16 ........it's only 3 miles but better than none. If you or anyone reading your journal care to support me with anything you could spare it would be greatly appreciated it is a very worthy cause. http://www.walkamerica.org/Sandi56

Heard from Sophie? I see Mikey poppin in to visit, that is great. I will try to be regular again too, really need to get a grip, if ya know what I mean. Well gotta scoot, hugzzzzzzzzz my friend. Sandi

I FOUND IT!!! yea!!! lol

Okay gotta say the strange hairy guy story had me falling out of my chair b/c I was laughing so hard!! Have never had that happen or anything like it...glad it was you! lol

And as for the friend, I would be certain to remind her, via email, that you have been here much longer than the pieces of booty she is after and she needs to understand that and respect you and the friendship. I have a friend who thinks she can't live w/out a man and was always cancelling plans for us, only interested in her new guy and I finally had to say chill out!! I'm tired of hearing about it, tired of being stood up, and informed her that we women can exsist w/out a man and to call me when she realized friendship was a two way street. she was torqued for awhile but then she came around. she still thinks she must have a man to exsist but at least is not cancelling our plans anymore and is trying to be a better friend.

wanna come paint at my house?? I've got some weird thing where I won't paint unless I can open the windows and air the paint fumes out and since it is easly over 100 degrees or close to it every day still, yea we haven't shut off the a/c yet! but then I'll be getting busy w/ it. The previous owner had painted all the wood trim white but it is dirty and peeling so think I also will paint it white just to make it look better, but a creamy white not the bright flashy white, ya know.

Blue, I am so happy to see you!!! Iv and I have talked about how much we miss you and Sophie and wondered how you guys were doing. Did hubby get the treadmill up and running? I gave in and purchased one last month and although I am not a fan of them, I am learning to enjoy them.

I know it seems like I've :hijacked: your thread so I'll just say one more thing that I LOVE HAVING YOU BACK AND POSTING REGULARLY!!!! woohoo!!! together we will kick this excess weight in the butt to the curb!!!

Just a quickie, more later

First, HI FRIENDS! Blue, what a happy surprise to see you back visiting 'round these parts!!! Now take your coat off and stay a while missy, we miss you! Individ replies soon, but want to thank you ALL for stopping by. Always wonderful to see you!!! :D

This was a GREAT day eating/exercise-wise!!!! I feel like quite the triumphant warrior after this one lil ole day of all out health! :dc Had about 1 hour of good cardio, food was all within/under limits, good nutrition, enough water. Awesome!

Yay to a good day! I hope your mom is feeling better and your boohooey friend gets a clue. :)

Corinna

:caf: woohooo!!! good job on the eating and exercise!! 1 hour is so AWESOME!!!!

And you are right, it is so nice to see Blue back!! :hug: I've missed her too.

Thanks friends! It WAS nice to have a good day. Although DH turned into a total butt today and made me want to NOT have a good day. Where are the fries and ice cream? NOOOOO! Gah. How can a man with so many good qualities turn into such an ass on a dime? Pick pick pick. SHUT THE HELL UP!!! :caf:

K, venting over. Safe reading from here.

Mum is still in the hospital. This infection thing is NOT going well. She got a central line yesterday and was feeling awful about that. I guess all the IV anti's and painkill's were irritating her veins. Lots of people visiting say she looks like she's improving though so that's good. Ick. Can't think about it right now.

Got the bedroom set painted. Went from aged old yellowey yuck to clean black with new silver pulls. It's an old set, so the black actually gave it an awesome new face lift and I saw almost exactly the same set in a department store the other day for WAY too much money. Made me happy. Eeek, now I need new bedding no? What a shame...

Boohooey friend emailed and called. I've been avoiding her like the coward I am. I have stuff to do and don't feel like the confrontation, but not ready to be happy happy friend friend, so I'm taking a cue from the man book and just not calling the girl back. How LAME am I???

Mik, good god girl, you are going to get a headache bouncing around like that, eyes all bugged out! :rofl: It is nice and cool here so the paint fumes are just breezing out the window. Hope it cools down for you soon! Stopped by your journal, keep up the good work DESPITE the evil scale. That's an order. :whip: hee hee

Corinna, thanks for stopping by! So, the sick parent thing blows. Not that it's the same as your situation, but it definitely helps me sympathize with you, nonetheless. At least we can try to keep ourselves healthy. K, that's today's goal.

Blue, stopped by your journal too and want to say again -- GREAT TO SEE YOU! Come back soon!

Ava, I am SO with you on the tail issue!!!! That is one of the cardinal rules of the Girl's Code! If it was the first time, maybe. If she had just said "hey, I'm busy chasing tail pro'ly won't be seeing as much of me", fine. But this is like the 3rd time she made plans and cancelled!!! They should teach the Girl's Code in grade school to eliminate so many dysfunctional adults. :laugh: Speaking of dysfunctional, as I said, I'm just passively-aggressively avoiding her. As for work, yeah, I used to be in administration but I decided to leave the dark side and now they let me teach. :O Can you believe it? I mold the minds of young people. God help us all...

Eats: NO diet coke all weekend! Today, another story. Breakie: zilch. Lunch: roast beef sammie, several BAD BAD BAD potato chips, huge diet coke. So, not too swell thus far. I have no idea why I think a potato chip will make me less irritated at DH. 8-| It's all health for the rest of the day if it KILLS me! :tongue:

Back to work...

p.s. I saw my half-strip dude walking down the street over the weekend! Gotta love small towns!

One last complaint. My office is SUCH a ******ing mess!!!!!!!!!!

Oh so now he's YOUR dude eh? Possessive much? Ha!

Hey, it's not the same, but it's hard... This man is not my mother (Ha!).. things are hard in different ways!

Corinna

Bleck, slip, slip *THE* dude!!!!!!

Hey there.........so glad to see you back again, now, to get me back on track. Anyone heard from Sophie? I see Mikey, need to stop in for a holler. So are you working again? And don't feel bad about the DH, I think they all have that irritating mode built in. It was an option I didn't order but have had to learn to deal with........lol. Thanks for the upbeat words in my journal. Really looking forward to the September walk. Will be out fundraising in the upcoming weeks so that will be some extra miles. Have a good evening. Hugzzzzz. Sandi

Okay...you can tell us...you've been secretly fantasizing about half naked lunatic guy all week!

Yep, the Y chromosome sometimes drives us all to a bag of chips.

I don't blame you for letting Girl Code Breaker sit on the back burner for a little while. Call her when you feel like it and not before!

So sorry to hear about your mother's continued problems. With systemic infection the central line might be the best thing that they could do for her--some of the more high powered meds they have to administer for that can be rough on the vascular system and the central line might make her a lot more comfortable. I hope she continues to improve!

Happy healthy day--you can bounce back from a few chips!

Ava, laughing -- yeah, THAT'S what I need right there baby!!!! :rofl: Thanks for the advice on mother and the post-chip (and ice cream, did I mention that?) pep talk. Brought my turkey sammich today. Always do better when I bring my own stuff. So, I looked up central line. Um, yeah, that freaked me out! I have no idea how you science junkies do this stuff. Glad for it though!

Sandi, yep, back at it ... but making sure not to work *too* much! :) I haven't seen hide nor hair of Sophie but I miss her terribly and wish she would come back!!! I am with Mik on being worried about her. I know everyone has to work stuff out in their own time/way though. In any case, how goes the training? Treadmill back up and running? How about eats -- you need your spinach for this one!

Office is still a mess. Mum is still hooked up to tubes, no clue when they will spring her. She apparently isn't allowing dad to call and give us the scoop, because he hasn't said a peep. Medical sis went to visit and so I'm waiting for the *real* report on what's going on. Hoping she got a peek at her chart. I told her to bring an ether mask if necessary. :laugh:

Today is a new day and despite my annoyance with DH (the world?), I have officially decided that chips, nor ice cream, nor other tasty culinary item will cure what ails me. Edict: health food reigns. Breakfast: coffee, bagel with light cream cheese and jam. Lunch: Turkey sandwich, 100 cal pack. Dinner: pasta with marinara (hold the meatballs!), salad

Goal for today: Get in a great walk, drink enough water!

:wave: Just thought I'd pop in and say howdy do!!!

Hope you have a wonderful day!!

Bah humbug. I am feeling totally crapola right now. DH has been a complete asshole this morning AND I discovered that I went back up a couple pounds. Hopefully just water but it ticks me off anyway. As for DH, I'm really sick of tiptoing around him and dealing with his criticism. No energy for that crap. Long walk down a short pier.

In other news, mum is going home and the hospital has arranged for an at-home nurse. She keeps the central line in and at least someone will be there to make sure she takes the treatments she needs. Step in the right direction, anyway.

here's something to hopefully make your day better :hug: Sorry dh is being such a pain...men!!! arrrggg!!!

but sounds like good news about your mom.

and don't stress about those pounds dear. You are on the right track, you know it, your body is just fighting it and trying to make you give up. But ya know what...YOU ARE STRONGER THAN THAT!!! YOU WILL KEEP FIGHTING AND YOU WILL WIN!!! I have total believe in you and I know you can do this!!

Thanks for the encouragement Mik! After today, I needed it, let me tell you.

You have to know me. My existence is fairly mundane and after years of studying too hard, working too hard, and playing too hard, I LIKE it that way. I try to avoid problems, and I refuse to let my boat rock too easily. This makes it especially weird that I seemingly find myself in some sort of “crazy” orbit at the moment. There are SUCH bizarre random things happening. Today's misadventure has got me STEAMED (and upset) beyond belief! I can't say details, but the gist is this: used to have to deal with crazy psycho at work. After hearings, witnesses, etc., was assured psycho was gone. (all this occurred in the midst of major health problems to boot). Problem dealt with, over. Fast forward to today: After going through all that, paperwork galore, after a bunch of time has passed, yada yada -- lo and behold, PSYCHO IS BACK!!!!!!!! WHO INVITES A PSYCHO BACK????? What kind of a person WANTS to come back to some place that they were asked to exit??? And where the hell was all that paperwork during the interview process? Lots of people are shocked. Especially since when this all went down, it was like, a restraining order level problem, to say the least. So now I have to start a whole new round of meetings, discussions, etc. I DID NOT NEED THIS!!!!! Naturally it happens when I don't have time. I feel like I have been thrown into a cold vat of water in some sort of parallel loony land. Why am I attracting the loonies??????? :caf:

Food was ok today (maybe even a little under), no exercise because of LOOOOONG work day, but will make a point of having a better weekend. couldn't get scale to work this morning -- kept flexing all around up, down -- Could need a new battery. Yikes, perhaps part of crazy orbit?

Fighting the good fight. Maybe I can keep a handle on my health, at least. It could be one point of rationality in my world that has suddenly turned rather irrational.

Sigh.

Oh sweetie!! I'm so sorry that your world is so upset right now :hug: wish I could something to help ya. Just stick to your guns and stick to your health plan..you know that will help make you feel better no matter what else is going on.

Does the Ivory wet noodle :coach: punishment helps?? lol Okay maybe not something to joke about just wanted to get a smile out of you.

Take care dear friend!!

Yeah, I needed the laugh -- thanks Mik. I'm coming to terms with the time committment/aggravation this is going to take. It's not just me, either -- lots of people are going to be forced to flush time on this crap. I need to put it out of my mind and get the pile-o-crap done for right now. Powers that be assure me that they will handle it. Gah. I know there is some sort of big meeting going on today. I think everyone around is waiting to hear something. Hopefully they will step up to the plate and take care of it and not fiddle with the issue for weeks on end. Lop off the tumor, don't pick at it, I say! Management can be bad at that.

Good news, got a battery for Mr. S, and it appears that one of the two "regained" pounds is gone after yesterday! Happy to see that!

Need to get some things done here Have some new ideas for a research project, so need to keep working on that. Also need to stop off at the pharmacy and pick up an Rx -- I'm WAY sneezy without my allergy stuff. achoo. oh, excuse me.

Hi there! I'm so sorry you're having to deal with all this poop at work. It sucks when work starts consuming your "free time" with stress and worry. Hopefully the management types will step up to the plate and handle this issue without a lot of bureaucratic BS.

You know, you could always sic your strange new nude-humping friend on the offending party and see what happens....

Have a good weekend and try to chill a little and decompress, if possible. Yay for that lost pound!

Better day today. Last night we went out with friends, blew off some steam, had some fun, and drank too much wine. Felt great and I am mucho decompressed. I had to be at work for a reception thingy today and didn't see psycho, so it was a much better time than it otherwise might have been.

Eats yesterday: yikes!

Today: Breakie none -- sorry. lunch -- chicken breast, rice, veg forbidden snack -- split an ice cream with DH (better than not splitting it, but still not good! need to stay off sugar if I am to have hope of keeping control of my gargantuan sweet tooth) dinner -- dunno yet. getting kinda late, maybe be a cereal night.

movement: only about a 10 minute walk, need to get on the bike tonight for a while!

Ava, yeah, :laugh: if the loonies are going to be in my orbit, they might as well entertain each other right? EEK!

crap, doorbell ringing -- back later!

Busy day at work today. MY work stuff is going very well, although there seems to be several stressed out people buzzing around me in the office. I talked to mum's nurse and SO FAR she seems to be doing what the nurse tells her to do with her treatments. That is GOOD news. I think having the at-home nurse is making a big diff. No WAY would she be cooperating with several-times-a-day treatments if she had to go back to the clinic on her own.

Psycho update is not good. Blah. Manipulative psycho is not squarely in my orbit, just hovering on the periphery. Call me paranoid, but I think psycho is nuzzling in and trying to set up people I like/care about. I won't be surprised when he tries to screw with them and/or use them to get back at me. I can see the foundation of a potential plan being built, but nothing to be done at the moment because not much has actually HAPPENED. At least I can hope that if something else happens, that there will be a swift response. I’m not holding my breath. I'm sure that makes no sense to anyone, but bottom line ... I'm trying not to be freaked out. I'm so steamed at this place.

Eats: mucho workee, no time to snackie. B: 2 toast topped with reduced fat PB&J, yogurt. L: sammich, 100 cal pack, crystal light. D: planning to make orange chicken recipe from new Sept. "Cooking Lite", teriyaki rice, and mixed veg. (pea pods, carrots, onions, mushroom, red pepper) mmmmmm.

Movement: Need to, no GOING TO move for 40 minutes on the bike. MUST accomplish this. Will reward myself with a "Take me away" bubble bath. :dc

Hi there!

You will hit that 40 min.......if for nothing else but the Take me away bubble bath! Sounds like a great plan! Be sure not to let yourself get to hungry or it may lead to binging! I know it does me for sure. Just wanted to quickly post. Have a great evening! Sandi

I think your thoughts on the psycho situ make perfect sense--I know just the type of personality you are talking about, where they are always plotting and manipulating situations and people around you can't see what's going on until it's too late. It makes you feel paranoid, but trust your instincts in this situation. It sounds like you've already dealt with plenty with this guy so I'm sure you know what you're doing. I'd be steamed about it too!

Way to go with the biking! The bubble bath reward is a good idea--I may have to borrow that one.

I'm glad to hear your mother is doing well with her treatment protocol--does she have to go to the clinic to receive these treatments or is it done through the home healthcare plan? What types of treatments is she getting? Sorry--just curious. 8-|

Have a good one!

I am having SUUUUUUUUCH a hard time resisting the sweets! I am a sugar head to begin with, but I have been having too many "tastes" of sweets and now I am back in full blown craving mode. Made the mistake of sharing another ice cream with DH. Seriously, it feels like an addiction. As I try to do other things I am thinking about sugar! WTF??? This can't be normal. I'm resisting -- but it's incredibly uncomfortable. Maybe I'll try some fresh fruit. Ya never know, it could fool my brain into thinking I went ahead and indulged. 8-|

On the good side -- proud moment -- got my ass up and exercised for a half hour this morning! For those of you who don't know, I am NOT, really really really NOT, a morning person. I hate the friggin morning. Brain shows up for work about 8:30 or 9, sometimes a little earlier if the coffee is good enough.

eats: kashi cereal, turkey sandwich, 100 cal pack, grapes, cajun sausage w/bun, yukon gold potato, fresh tomatoes for dinner. Too much starch, not enough fiber, but at least I didn't do a sugar dive today.

Blue, you are SO right! I did that yesterday and I think that's the reason I have been snacking on the wrong stuff. My plan is great, but I have to stick to it! Y'all come back soon now, ya hear?! :D

Ava, that kind of psycho makes me crazy! I think I am just too "put it right out there" to deal with all the politics and manipulation crap. I can't think about it or I start to stress. I still say, I fear that it's going to turn out bad and I or someone I like is going to end up hurt out of this situation. AAAAA! As for mum, she has at home care, but she has to go to the clinic every few days for the docs to take a look at her, run tests, etc. She won't give me or doc sis the full scoop on what's going on (long story, and she lives a long way away so I haven’t seen her) but I know she's getting antibiotic and pain killer drips. She keeps talking about some sort of blood thinner stuff too. She won't admit it, but I am SURE she is going back to her "alternative medicine" types...which in my opinion are the reason she got so sick in the first place. They were trying to treat a serious infection with tea leaves and crap like that! I just hope they aren't giving her anything that counteracts the "real" drugs!

Work today was good enough. I helped a couple kids get ready for a big promotions thing they are doing for their clubs/organizations, which was fun. They seemed pretty in to it, so I hope they have some success. Also went to a couple meetings, solved a couple problems, and got a teeny bit of *real* work done. I made the decision that I have to start looking more closely at the crap I wear. I really shouldn't look like crap if I can avoid it. Biggie in the scheme of things, I know. :laugh: OH! I promised a colleague of mine I would go with her tomorrow night to do some research for a book she's writing on rural America. I don't know if she's interviewing people, or just observing stuff, or what, but I know we have to go to some sort of boonies fair thingy. I have no idea what the nature of my role will be, but I was promised food on a stick. I wonder what you wear to a fair in the boonies? :shrug:

Still thinking about sweets. Off to try to soothe horrid burning urge with fruit. :caf:

Ended up with a bowl of peaches. Wasn't the same, but at least got my mind off sugar so that I could go to bed. When in doubt, sleep through cravings. :shrug:

Eats: toast, rf pb and sf J, COFFEE, left over sausage, veg, and potatoes, dinner plans? dunno yet.

Movement: two trips up and down four flights of stairs. going to boonies fair, so I figure we'll be walking a lot, no? I am afraid I won't have any time after work to take a real walk, so I need to consciously make an effort to do a lot of walking there. If not, I'll HAVE to work out tonight when I get home. Banish the thought...

I have decided to officially define a reasonable first goal. The one that I *MUST* reach. This one focuses on poundage, but when I reach it, I will reassess from there to determine an appropriate final health goal.

Progress: 52 to goal. no change this week. Bah. I had too many "slips" though so I couldn't have expected any different. Next week WILL be different!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back to the salt mines...

Hi there sweetie.......Lol pardon the pun I couldn't resist! Good news. I sent Sophie an email and she let me know she is well just working to damn many hours. Will send me more info as soon as she can. Also said she misses everyone and will try to make time for a visit! Good job on the fruit, I know it is not chocolate but it did satisfy your urge. Good going on the morning workout, sounds like your focus is on track. Have a nice night my friend.

Sandi

Blue, that is GREAT news about Sophie! I posted in her journal a minute ago. Also made a little trip over to yours as well. :D

B: Kashie, L: sandwich, baked lays D: cooking at home if it kills me! Some sort of lean protein, complex carb and veg. Lo and behold (despite food on a stick) I am down a little this a.m. 51toG.

Boonies fair was actually both funny and interesting! It had many of the characteristics of the things they depict in movies. Yes, there was food on a stick -- it wasn't Taste of Chicago -- but people seemed so happy with it nonetheless. Rides, animal displays, trinket booths, teenagers in lust, kids running around seemingly COMPLETELY unattended, it was all there. The thing that surprised me is that there were SO many people, yet they all knew each other! For generations, it seems. We were clearly overdressed, as the outfit du jure was t-shirts (with varying stages of wear from crisp white to those with mysteriously placed snags and holes) and jeans. Which probably added to the suspicious eye we were initially given. There was a clear sense of "neighborhood watch" going on, which I thought was quite admirable. (especially given that the kids run free!) Once people found out why she was there, they were happy (and even proud?) share the stories of their town and lives. I think she got several cool stories. Course, *SOME* of the stuff fell under the category "too much information." :laugh:

Back to work today though. My lunch date cancelled (which actually frees me up a bit) so I am going to try to get a presentation done during that time.

Sophie peeks head in....HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How you doing? I am working crazy hours, but I will have to make time for DT and you ladies. I need it, nad my weight needs it...lol. Right now, just checking, I need to leave soon and get to work. Lots going on there, I will be on more now. Talk to you soon!

Hey there! Glad you had a good time at the fair. It sounds like fun! How is school going? Any more issues with the psycho, or are things calm in that arena? What do you teach, by the way?

Gotta run, but I'll check in on ya later!

Quick stop in before I head off for a holiday weekend WOOHOOOO! I feel like I haven't had a weekend in forever. Crazy, I know. Still trying to get hubby to look at new furniture with me this evening, but no luck yet. Will probably just go out to dinner. Tomorrow we are going to keep our nephew for a day and take him along when we visit the zoo with some friends and their kids. He's usually a monster so I may have to threaten to leave him in the monkey habitat. :laugh: Speaking of DH, he's looking *such* the hottie today, if I do say so myself. AND he brought me my ~o) this morning WITH the stuff I like in it! :dc

Eats: so busy, no time to be naughty! B: balance bar, yogurt, coffee L: roast beef sandwich & salad. D: if we go out, I hereby promise, swear, and affirm that I will order some sort of grilled chicken. Scout's honor. Amen.

Sophie, HEY YA BABY! :D I always make better progress with support too. Can't wait for the new thread! Perhaps we should have a summit with the other musketeers and finalize a name. I'm good with whatever y'all like!

Ava, hi smartie! How did the test go? Glad you are still living and trudged through the mud! While you studied your head off on *real* stuff, I listened to my little demons request spoon-feeding (and a blankie too, no doubt...8-| ) as they tried to process the one measly journal article I made them read. My deal is mostly business management stuff. Dry to most, ever so interesting to me. :D

Ick, I think some Nimrod brought in a birthday cake. I can hear them singing the song, which is usually only trotted out when accompanied by cake. Stay cool, JUST SAY NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! B-)

Good grief, gone for a long weekend and journal ends up on page 5! Thought I'd lost it forever. :(

Weekend was busy -- didn't pay enough attention to diet, but had several great exercise sessions! The weather was so beautiful that I got a walk in every day, plus got on the bike for a while, worked outside, and did a few weights. woohoooo! It helped too because I'm feeling rather pms-ey so I needed to work out my aggression. :lift: ha! Also got out some cookbooks and tried some new recipes that DH and I liked a lot. We made Thai chicken wraps with mango on the side. We are trying some sort of chinese pork tonight with snap peas and rice. It's supposed to marinade in the sauce 24 hours, so we'll see how that bakes up!

Still fighting with sugar -- the bane of my entire existence.

Have a lunch date today, then have another work thing tonight! GOING to order salad/veg, right? right! I fear that this will be a loooong day, unfortunately. I have no idea what I am supposed to do for the evening meeting. Guess I will have to figure that out at some point. 8-|

K, enough rambling for now.

Bike...ahhhhh yes, bike, I got a new one as well, plan of getting my booty on it tonight while I watch a movie. Hicks bought me a new one awhile back, I guess nows a good time to use it. Hope you had a nice lunch and dinner, and hope the day wasn't too long.

SUCH a lump. SUUUUUUUCH a lump, I have been yesterday and today. Plus, I overate last night. :shrug: Who knows why. I am super pms-ey so that might do it. Had a late meeting too, and y'all KNOW what happens when you get too hungry. Control, um, yeah, out the window!

TODAY WILL BE BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cheer:

Brought breakie and lunch. It's all health food today baby! Whole grain bagel w/ ff cream cheese, yogurt, grapes, and a lean cuisine. Dinner: baby greens salad with sliced lean beef, tons of veg, and a vinaigrette dressing. THAT'S IT. If it kills me, I am NOT NOT NOT having sugar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Exercise: Mantra -- I WILL MOVETH MYSELF oooooohmmmmmm

Good stuff from yesterday: former student called from grad school to thank me for what we taught him and tell me how changes we made in the program helped him out in the grad program. WOW! That's the moment you always hope for but never actually expect to receive!

Hey chic! Sorry I've been MIA for so long over here--just been in a bit of a funk for no apparent reason.

It is easy to fall into the lump thing--must be something in the atmosphere, as I've been feeling it as well. I hope you're back on track today! I think I might be turning the corner on my lumpiness.

Way cool about the grad student kudos--isn't it nice to know you made a real difference, enough for someone to look you up and tell you about it? That's a really BIG deal!

I might have to get that Thai chicken wraps with mango recipe from ya--that sounds absolutely FAB. I'm the same way when I go too long without eating. Once my blood sugar dips too low there's no control to be had, and it takes longer than a few hours for me to recover from the urge to eat. Bah. I try to avoid those circumstances, but when it happens it always pisses me off.

Have a great day with lots of movement and good eats!

NOOOOO sugar. None. No sugar allowed. I just have to admit that I can't have a little, I've got to ban it altogether at least for a while. They have a candy dish out by the secretary's suite (must pass to enter, naturally) and absentmindedly I have been digging in...yesterday I realized that I was on my SECOND mitt-ful of M&Ms. NOT EVEN THINKING! NOT COOL! So, my antsy self is sitting here REFUSING to indulge. I wish they had a nicoderm-style patch or something for this. 8-|

Today has been pretty laid back so far. I should have accomplished more, but hey, I'm fighting an addiction here that's taking up my time. :laugh: I forgot to go to the store to pick up my pictures from this summer. Also have a few other things to get. Need to do that this evening. Have a waste-o-time meeting this afternoon, too. Guess I have to go, but wasting time with inane meetings makes me nuts. They always serve FRIGGIN COOKIES at the meetings around here too. X-( Unless it's before noon, then, of course, the donuts make their appearance.

Eats: whole grain bagel w/ lt. strawberry cream cheese, couscous salad with lean beef, sundried tomatoes, fresh herbs, mozzarella and fresh sliced tomatoes on the side. Way good, sorta fattening though. Dinner: herbed chicken sammiches with veggies.

Ava, thanks for stopping by! Yeah, I think the fall health funk is some sort of nesting/beefing up for winter impulse that is wired in. You know, like a squirrel or a bear. :( Post-first-cold-snap, boom, beef stew and cookie time. 8-| The Thai Beef Salad Wraps are from an old edition of Cooking Light (my fave cooking mag!). Here's the recipe:

1 lb. flank steak, trimmed (I used chicken, tasted good, although the beef is more flavorful yet!)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Cooking spray
1 c. cubed peeled cucumber
1/2 c. grape/cherry tomato halves (I chopped up regular fresh maters from the farmer's market)
1/4 c. thinly sliced shallots (I used some awesome sweet Vidalia onions, also from farmers)
1 T. chopped fresh mint
1 T. chopped fresh basil (used more, like basil!)
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro (ditto)
2 T. brown sugar
3 T. low-sodium soy sauce
2 T. fresh lime juice
1/2 t. crushed red pepper
1 T. olive oil
10 flour tortillas
12 bibb lettuce leaves

Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
Sprinkle steak with salt and black pepper. Place steak (or chicken) on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 4 minutes each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let rest 5 minutes
cut meat into thin slices. Combine meat, cucumber, and next 5 ingredients (through cilantro) in a large bowl. Combine sugar, soy sauce, juice, red pepper, and olive oil. Drizzle over steak/chicken mixture; toss well to coat.
Warm tortillas, arrange 2 lettuce leaves on each tortilla. Spoon 2/3 c steak mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up.

I served with a big ole pile of sliced mango, garnished with mint.

Nutrition: (with steak, less with chicken I would assume) 399 cals, 12g fat, 22.4g protein 48.5g. carbs, etc.

I am going for my second big glass of water. And, ahem, I have NOT eaten any candy today. :up:

GREAT JOB on the no candy!!! It's hard to do when it's in your face all the time. I'm exactly the opposite--I can't stop when I start in on crunchy, salty stuff (potato chips, popcorn) so I'm not allowed to have it at all because I can't wrap my little head around this whole moderation thing. Bah.

Thanks so much for the recipe! My mouth is watering just reading it...I think I'm making it this weekend for a special treat!

Have a good one, and good luck staying clear of the candy dish!

What a song to have running through my head. Bleck!

Down to important business:
Stand back!



Farther back, this is going to be shocking ......




I, yes me, sugar-head-fat-ass over here ... I have not had ANY sugar today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :O


AND, AND, AND it gets better -- I managed to take a long walk after a long day!!!!!!!!
(falls flat on the floor in disbelief)

Yeah, go ahead, you can be a little amazed and super jealous. :rofl:

Hey! Congrats on the no sugar thing! I am on day 3 or 4, too..

I have to admit, I almost got a twix bar 2 minutes ago.. but the machine ate my money. Good thing, eh? :)

Corinna

Well, color me amazed and super jealous!! No sugar, and you're walking??? Are the planets realigning? Maybe this has something to do with Pluto being taken out of the mix...

Keep it up! Any big plans for the weekend?

STILL NO SUGAR!!!!! :caf:

Holy moly, I think it MIGHT BE the Pluto thing! I can hardly believe it myself. Then, oh holy crap, THEN after now three (almost 4) days of no sugar, friends came by this morning to drop off a huge, gigantic plate of fresh made pastries. :O WTF is the cosmos trying to DO to me????? :c( But, I have resisted. I'm not liking it. But I'm resisting! I can't break the trend now, it's too empowering. I SOOOO want to throw that damn plate of gooey goodness out the window. Do you think DH would notice/mind? Every time I walk through the kitchen it's *there* taunting me.

Decent weekend but have to get off here now if I'm going to have any hope of a) getting necessary work done for tomorrow's paying gig AND b) exercising my sleepy bod out of this rain induced funk.

individual replies tomorrow.

NO SUGAR PEOPLE!!!! For a whole weekend!!!!!!!!! :dn

p.s. I think fried crap might be the next thing to go.... just thinking ahead.

Day 5, no sugar war. :dn Made it past the pastries!!!!!

Managed to get in a 45 minute workout last night. Didn't get all the work done I needed to tackle, but put out all the major fires. The phone rang in the middle of the night and for some reason I had a hard time getting back to sleep. No idea who called, but I want to box them at the moment.

This a.m. had multigrain bagel for breakfast w/ ff cream cheese and a sf vanilla latte. Lunch, brought pasta and red sauce. Trying a new soy pasta, smells good. Dinner we are having left-over beef stew. I put mostly veggies in it and made a loaf of wheat bread in the bread-maker. Made the house smell homey on a rainy afternoon. (sigh. wish I were napping now, in fact!)

Ava, :rofl: Yeah, moderation always manages to elude me. Seems that cold-turkey is more empowering. Once I get comfy with the idea of control, then maybe I can try moderation. For now, I have to be all obsessive and "just say no".

Corinna, whoooaaa, a sign! Take it as the machine helping you out. Twix sounds really good though. :D When do the cravings go away? :shrug:

Better get back to work -- more later!

:O :caf: :dance: Holy cow girl!! Was going to post hi to you, but think my heart needs a few minutes to recoup from the thought of you going 5 days w/out sugar!!! :rofl: I am so very proud of you girl!! you are so awesome!!!! woohoo!!!!

Thanks Mik!

Weird quasi-dinner -- yogurt and three pieces of toast. :shrug:

Very sleepy. I-)

Do cravings go away?

Congrats on the no sugar! I am back to day 2 myself.. no, wait.. day 1. :o

Corinna

Gah...I HOPE cravings go away. :O DON'T they go away? Please, someone tell me they go away!!!!! This is mucho sucky-o!

I declare victory on day 5. No exercise, but no sugar either. Take the little victories where you can get them, I guess. Now on to day 6. :mus:

I think the cravings DO go away! The carb cravings do for me anyway, unless I mess around and eat something uber-processed or sugary and set it all off again. Hang in there!!

Whoot for day 6 tomorrow!

There is hope!

Day 6 -- still at war, no lost battles :ninja:

Last night was difficult. After we went home (waaay too late to eat, btw) and chowed down some leftover stew, I wanted dessert. BAD. I had some fruit, but I must confess, it wasn't satisfying. Thank goodness we didn't have any available treats in the house. We had put the leftover pastries in the freezer (wanted them in the trash, frankly) and I was glad they weren't out. Bottom line, I didn't have sweets, but I'm disgusted that I still WANT them!!!! X-(

Ava, yeah, I'm trying to get it out of my system. It's so weird to think that I can't eat a piece of pie without messing up the next week of my life! WHYYYYYYYY? Hey doc, should getting rid of sugar have an, uummmmm, "ill-effect" on my digestional tract? I seem to have frequent flyer miles to the loo since the day after I started operation sugar reduction... (SORRY, TMI, I know!)


Corinna, hang in there with me girl! Dr. Ava says their is hope, so that's my story and I'm stickin' to it! :)

Eats: whole grain bagel, ff cream cheese, my beloved java. bless the java gods. lunch: dunno yet. dinner: making soft shell tacos with ground turkey (white meat). Anyone tried this before? I'll let you know how the DH-meter ranks it. (usually the best "is it good?" test anywhere!) :D

Movement: Got home so late that I didn't get the workout I wanted in. I am determined to leave early today and WORK OUT. I need to accomplish a sweaty heart-pumping blood stir to get all these dang toxins out of my system.

want candy. going for :water: Me X-(

Hey there! Hang in there--you've come this far...you can DO IT!

As for the loo, for some people (me included) any change in diet will produce that effect. Your body has to adjust to a different intake. In this particular case, I think the fact that you are replacing your normal sweets with snacks of fruit (very high fiber content--good for you!) makes it totally normal for the system to be a little revved up. There is a lot of fiber in fresh fruit, which is one of the reasons it's so good for you! Your body will adjust to it and stop the "running"! :-)

Keep up the good work chic--you're on a roll!

I did NOT have sugar today either. :)

Corinna

:rofl:

Last night, NO SUGAR, but I am disappointed with myself nonetheless because I ate way too much. I think I was trying to quash my sugar craving with volume. Stupid. It defeats the purpose. Eliminating sugar, but eating just as many (maybe more) calories, DUMB. 8-| Back today though, right? right!

Whole grain bagel, ff cream cheese, chicken sandwich with reduced fat cheddar on light bread, 100 cal pack, serving of grapes, sm. protein bar for snack. Dinner will be leftover turkey tacos (didn't turn out too bad! little dry...not bad)

Last night, 43 minutes of movement. Must repeat tonight. :mus:

Corinna, WHHOOOOOO! You go marching right on through that hell, sister!

Ava, hmm, I bet that's exactly what's happening to me. I'm getting pretty sick of it though so I'm hoping that the "adjusting" part happens soon!

In other news -- strangely, psycho person at work seems to have dropped straight off the face of the earth. Haven't heard a peep. Family stuff, Mum is still receiving regular nurse visits and claims to be keeping her clinic appointments. All of this leaves me suspicious, but hopeful.

Time to go ...

:O Color me shocked -- I received news hat one of my program budget lines at work is *MUCHO* bigger than I anticipated!!!!!! WHOOOOOOAAA!!!! (Hand out the parkas because hell has frozen the F over and turned into an ice cap) :frosty:

pffffflllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllltttttttt:tongue:

when do these friggin cravings go the hell awaaaaaaayyyyy????

Having a hard time tonight?? Sorry chic--I know it sucks--it usually takes me about 10 days to get rid of crappy food cravings when I get back on my program, and then there is still the random hormonally-induced craving. It sucks, however you look at it!

Hang in there!

Oh no! You've gone missing...I hope the craving monster hasn't kidnapped you and carted you off to the land of sugar and honey.

Just checkin' in...

he he, naaaaa, just a larger than usual buttload of junk to do. Had to go with DH to pick out some stuff for more home improvement. Last night I actually DIDN'T have bad cravings! It was awesome!!!!! No feeling horrid, no thinking about it, just a regular night. It *may* have been because I broke down and tried to trick my mind with a trick dessert! DH was feeling snacky so I made sugar free pudding and enjoyed a little. I was trying to get out of the habit of dessert altogether, and now I am even more convinced that I am an addict. I enjoyed the sweetness, even if sf, WAY too much to be normal.

Got home late and fell into bed last night so no exercise, unfortunately. Have time this evening though so hopefully DH will take me out and walk me. :laugh:

eats:whole grain toast and uber-yummy coffee (if I do say so myself! :D ) , going to lunch with co-workers...gotta get in the chicken breast mindset -- wish me luck!!!

FINALLY the daily cravings seem to have gone away for the most part. I still WANT sugar, but at least it's not that overwhelming crazy-driving sort of craving. So that's the good news...

the bad news is that I am UP three pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!! Goal+54. I'm PISSED. p-i-s-s-e-d. Mad. furiouuuuuuuus!!!!!! How can I have gone through this much torture, yet didn't get good results. It went the OTHER way! I must say, I'm at a loss. Er, well, no pun intended there.

The ban sugar plan WAS my plan. Not sure what to do from here except maybe keep better track of what's going in and exercise to see if maybe I'm eating stuff I'm not aware of. I expected that getting rid of sugar would be enough to bring the cals down and so I wasn't doing the math. Even if it's not sugar, it still has energy. Who knows, maybe I had more than I thought. :shrug: I still feel sorta defeated...:(

Weekend was fine -- got some stuff done around the house. Need to get some work done for tomorrow. grmph.

Oh man! I'm so sorry to hear that you're not going the right direction on the scale. Is it possible that you are replacing some of the sweet with salt and it's just a water gain? I hope so--it's so frustrating when you're working so hard to lose and it's just not happening. Hang in there--it's a numbers game and it has to come off if you keep doing the right things. Your menus always sound very healthy--I can't imagine you're eating too many cals.

Y'all, I found a gray hair. :caf: Seriously. Not pleased. I know, I know, everyone is going to say "join the club" but it's my first, it's a cloudy Monday, my anti-sugar plan has gone all the wrong way, and I'm in mourning. Sniff.

:whip: demon scale!!!! It is possessed and must be thrown against a wall to be shown who is boss! :rofl: hope that helped a bit!

So sorry that your scale isn't cooperating. Maybe your body is revolting since you are winning the sugar war and is using this to try and get you to give in...ahh that's it. Stay strong!! don't let it win!! :coach:

Repeat after me "I am strong and I will win this war..nothing can defeat me"

:console: Hang in there! That can NOT be a gray hair! Did a paint fleck perhaps flake off the wall and land in your hair, giving the illusion of one lonely gray hair? That must be it. You are a sugar-free-hot-tamale-diva and there will be no talk of gray!

Seriously, hope your day is looking up. Has the sun come out at least?

Tuesday. The day after Monday, thank goodness. Mondays are always my longest days at work.

So, back down two of the three gained pounds. Which seems good, except I’m still pissed that I have gone through this torturous sugar-free hell and managed to gain weight? Sigh. I guess the good news is that the cravings are reduced, if not subsided. I NEVER would have thought that I could experience such a thing. Official reading: G+52. Oh, and I pulled out the damn gray hair.

B: protein bar, latte L: sammich, 100 cal pack, WATER D: dunno yet

Av, yep sister, it was definitely a gray. The bastard. As I said, I yanked it out by the root and felt the sting of age. I think it bled -- or at least my soul bled. Maybe I should try the daily-weigh-data-collection approach to keep myself more accountable for a while. My fear is that I will get too obsessed with numbers rather than healthy choices. Ack!

Mik, thanks girl, I needed that! I wonder if it is a body-revolt. Is there such a thing?

Gotta head over to the buddy thread to see what's cookin with the girlies.

Hiya! Been lurking from time to time, thought I should "out" myself. I did Atkins last year and went through sugar/caffeine/carb withdrawal all at once. NOT something I'd recommend! It's back in my #2 journal if your misery needs some company. :D Sounds like you are getting over the worst of it.

Don't fret over the gray hair. I'm only 37 and I'm surprised to see a colored one coming in at the roots!

I am having a "happy place" moment -- thought I would share. Or, I'm in the twilight zone. If you don't hear from me again, you'll know it's the latter. Picture it: everyone has left the offices in my hall. It's QUIET, the sun in shining in my window for once, I have soft music playing, a protein bar at my side, and a diet coke to wash away my cares. No one is in my office, waiting outside of it, or scheduled to come in. The phone isn't ringing, I have no urgent projects remaining today, the e-mail service (primary method of interruption) is down for the next 30 minutes for updates. I think this might be heaven. :D

Eats: toast w/ jam and rf pb, latte, turkey sandwich, cherry tomatoes, 1 1/2 servings whole wheat crackers, planning to make roasted chicken, veg, and acorn squash for dinner.

Sea, I am incredibly jealous of your location! :D I venture to the sea from the great land-locked North (U.S.) as often as possible. Glad you outed yourself -- I do enjoy visitors so. You are still alive after such a thorough purging? :O I MUST read the journal account of this horror. I tried cutting out carbs altogether once and turned into the devil incarnate. I felt awful and got a weird headache/dizzy thing. As for the gray -- I'm fretting. Fret. Fret. Fret.

DH stopped by to get my car earlier, so he's supposed to pick me up later. I have no idea WHY he picked up my car, but he better remember to come get me. :shrug:

Back in a bit to explore journals.............

Still G+52. Whyyyyy? Whyyyyyyyyyyy can I not manage to get all the pieces of the puzzle together in the same place at the same time? Pffft. I need to fling myself, even if ungracefully, out of this ridiculous rut. I'm still off sugar, a big first step. If I can manage to take the next one I could *actually* make some progress. I think this cold dark weather is giving me seasonal disorder or something. Makes me want to curl up under a blanket with a creamy hot beverage and do nothing but veg with wonderkitten.

Whilst procrastinating, ordered bulbs for the yard. Tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths. I think I'm going to try impatiens under the pine trees. Better to go with starts from the greenhouse next spring...my thumb is not nearly green enough to contemplate dealing with SEEDS. This having a yard thing is kinda fun.

Eats: strange combo. part of a beef & rice burrito, part of a piece of chicken, pile of veg. It even looked wrong on the plate. Should have picked one or the other. Better make something very healthy for dinner. Got rid of that bag-o-spinach I had in the fridge though, so that's out!

Last night, after the world's healthiest dinner, I made a box of sf pudding. No sugar, but does that matter when you eat the WHOLE g-d*mn thing????? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA It's not even that good -- what on earth possessed me to do such a thing?

Movement: nil. I suck. Perhaps the afternoon will open up a pocket of energy for such pursuits???

I'm making coffee. wish me luck!

Reading about your happy place made me actually, physically relax. I'm all keyed up over the car situ and this rapid testing training tonight, and I could actually FEEL myself calming. You really rock at explaining all of that.

All the pieces WILL come together--it just might be a slow process is all. You have made a huge step with the sugar, and you don't want to go off the deep end so just take baby steps from here. No pressure!

Have a good day!

Miss Ivory Rose... I'm new and after reading your journal I feel like I know you! Hee hee. At the ripe young age of 23 I have now found 5 grey hairs. It never gets easy! Nasty buggers!

Buy pudding already made and in the little cups. You can eat one, have someone hide the rest, and enjoy your little devlish moment! :D

It will get better. Focus on what's going well and the rest will come together.

It has been a long week and I'm glad to have a couple days to catch up.

Stand back...I have an announcement that will blow you away. Well, three actually. 1) I exercised last night. It caused me to sweat. I enjoyed it. 2) I did not have sugar again today. I think we are on day 16 or 17 sugar free. As part of my anti-sugar campaign...I found my very favorite chocolates buried in my drawer and I GAVE THEM AWAY!!!! Wait, I'm not done,.......... 3) I drank decaf coffee this morning. Yes. Me.

K, start the party...I knew you'd be blown away!!!!!!!!!!!!! :dc :dn :cheer:

Plan for this weekend: exercise, relax, grocery shop, eat well, work around the house, get some grading done. Today: 1/2 rf/sf PB&J, turkey sandwich, 100 cal pack, about to eat yogurt. Dinner will be yukon gold potatoes, roast chicken, and veg (carrots, green beans, tomatoes). Sound yummy to me!

Visitors...

Mommy, BRILLIANT! I caught your post just before leaving, so when I was at the market I picked up one of the sf packages of individual cups and it worked like a charm! Thanks for the idea. Hmmm, maybe you DO indeed know me! :D

Ava, I am glad I could provide a calm moment, even if it was teeny weeny. :D When you are busy, you appreciate the little moments of peace when they come. It was awesome, let me tell you! Thanks for the pep talk -- I have to remind myself that I am doing things that are good for my health, even if I don't see the immediate result on the scale. I hope your car deal works out and I'm confident that your training will go off without a hitch. Here's wishing you an WONERFUL and RELAXING weekend with your friend who's flying in! :cheers:

WOO HOO! Way to go Girlfriend!

Glad I could help you out!

Ivy sneaks in...looks left and right...what a BAAAAD Ivy posting here when she is supposed to be at a meeting. But is she there??? Nooooo, she's not. But wait, there's an excuse, er reason...the reason? I have too much crap to do! They have jammed up my ENTIRE f-ing day AGAIN with these administrative crap meetings! How the hell am I supposed to get my actual JOB done if I'm always at these stupid useless meetings that accomplish nothing? So, I'm taking back Tuesday morning...if I get scolded I guess I will take my stripes. In the mean time, I'm sitting here with a warm non-caffeinated beverage, tinkering on the puter, and getting ready to conquer this pile of papers that need my attention. For now, it feels SO worth it!

Phew, after a long Monday, the weekend seems like an eternity ago. Still no sugar or caffeine. (falls on floor) I managed to exercise twice on Sunday, which felt really great. I needed it too, since I figured out that part of my slow progress is due to too many calories. (I know, it doesn't take a genius to figure that out...but I had to see it for myself). After spending some time on fitday, it turns out that I'm not eating BAD foods, I'm just eating too much of them. So, that's the next mountain to tackle.

Need to go get a new battery for Demonscale. Keeps reading "Lo" -- so I'm pretty sure that my psycho-stress over a four pound gain and blissful fuzzy feelings after a subsequent 5 pound loss is pretty much wasted energy all around. Hopefully if I get to the store today I'll have an official reading tomorrow.

Note to self: DRINK WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!! :water:

Eats: 2 weight control oatmeal, peach, turkey sandwich w/ veg and lite mayo, 100 cal pack, orange chicken (made with chicken breast, reduced orange juice & white wine, herbs), 1 c. pasta, veggies. 1379 calories

OH, p.s. I got on the bike for 40 minutes this morning!!!!!!!!!! :dc

Naughty naughty Ivy.... :lil:

Hee hee, just kidding! Orange chicken sounds YUMMY! Way to look closer at the situation and assess what needs to be done to get you on the straight and narrow!

Now get to powering through all of that paperwork! (Hint hint, there is a trash bin very near your desk) :laugh:

Have a great day!

1463

That's the calorie total for today, and I'm sticking to it if it kills me. I am a terrible night-snacker. But, I'm satisfied, my tummy is full from a nice dinner, and I am *NOT* snacking! NOT NOT NOT NOT. X-( (Yes, that's me trying to convince myself.) I am pissed with myself for yesterday -- a well laid plan, foiled by an extra 200 calories worth of evening snacks. pfffft. Today will be better, no?

Eats today: Breakfast -- 1/2 bagel w/ ff cream cheese, 1 pkt. weight control oatmeal, 1/2 c. OJ, decaf java
Lunch -- Healthy choice entree, pear
Late snack -- wheat saltines and a sf pudding cup
Dinner -- chicken breast, pasta (1 c.) with sun dried tomatoes, huge pile-o-veg.

Exercise: still pending. Must find interesting music or TV to keep me on the damn treadmill!

Had a pretty good day -- put out most of the major fires. I need to work on some papers, but alas I don't think I have it in me tonight. Why am I so tired, anyway?

Fell asleep on the couch yesterday evening and woke up to a nutrisystem info-mercial. Has anyone tried it? On the one hand it looks very convenient for me, personally, ... but very inconvenient and ill-fitted to a life with a DH, friends, plans, and the like. Maybe I'm just excusing...

Mommy, bless you for your insightful analysis of my paperwork problem. The round file is now full. amen. :laugh:

Yay for staying in calories!!! Great job! I'm in love with that weight control oatmeal--it's got me eating breakfast again which is always a problem for me. I don't know enough about Nutrisystem to say much about it, but I've found that any structured program always blows up in my face. Some people swear by it around here, and I'm glad if it works for them, but it doesn't for me. I've done structured programs in the past and lost a lot of weight, but inevitably i have to go off the program and it all goes to hell and I gain it all back PLUS some. Bah. Enough about me--you do what works for you! I do think it would be tough to do when you are eating with someone else a lot of the time, but that goes for any diet.

Hope you have a fabulous Thursday and work doesn't suck too much. It's almost the weekend! Any big plans?

Gah, someone needs to dust around here -- the place is looking abandoned. :o

Here is my confession: I am a hog. An uncivilized beast. I scarfed down food in unreasonable amounts, nary a calorie counted the entire weekend. I ate sugar. Twice. And as a consequence, now I WANT sugar again. I failed to move my body in an exercising motion. Except to walk across the room to retrieve more calories, of course. Disgusted. I could claim PMS, but in reality, it's just lazy piggie-ness.

On the other hand, we did have a nice time. The house was full of people, we got some things done, and the cleaning service is there as I "speak" to clean up the mess. Thank goodness other people are willing to clean my sty for money. Since I am apparently, after all, a hog.

Plan: stop eating like the world is coming to an end. No time to move today, but going to get up early and make sure I move before work tomorrow. Today so far: 4 glasses of water, whole grain bagel, ff cream cheese, serving roast beef, carrots, 1/2 c. mashed potatoes, yogurt. Dinner: turkey burger, broccoli. projected calories: 1395

p.s. thanks for stopping by Av!!!!! :wave:

Terrible evening to report. Was doing sooooo well, then, just when dinner had worn off and I was starving, pms-ey, and frustrated with grading...DH came home late *WITH* a pizza!!!!! :O The man brought home a bubbly, luscious smelling, yummy looking supreme pizza. I think he has done that maybe half a dozen times, total. WTF? Are the gods conspiring against me? Do you think that I was strong, able to resist, and stayed OP? Do you think I was able to stop and think, "what is the right thing for me to do here?" No. Of course not. I ate pizza like it was my last meal. BAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! X-(

Other than that, I'm being a crab in other areas too. <apologies all around> I don't know why, but I am feeling a bit frustrated with work at the moment. There is too much of it, and well -- I'm just not in the mood to tackle it. It's a beautiful fall day, I have a ton of crap to get done outside of work, and I want to leave! Maybe I will sneak out and work on stuff somewhere besides my office.

Gah, I better get off here and find a new attitude! Maybe a quick walk around the block will help. I'm off to give it a try.

Your DH obviously has a side job as a professional saboteour. Don't beat yourself up over the pizza...he is a trained assassin. You didn't stand a chance.

It's done. Move on. (preferably in the other direction from pizza)

Hope your tomorrow is better!

ha ha ha Seaweed, I needed the laugh this morning! Thanks for that. He IS an assassin. Guess his punishment will be looking at my non-shrinking bum for another day. ha!

Hiss Hiss, I woke up in a foul mood this morning AGAIN. What is going on with me? It's like I have exaggerated PMS or something. Can't figure out why. I did break down and have coffee because I am so tired. Also doesn't make a lot of sense because I got a relatively normal night's sleep. Maybe just too much activity over the weekend. :shrug:

My friend was taken to the hospital last night to have her gall bladder out -- scary! She is in good shape and doesn't eat crap, so it's strange to have that happen to her. We took the kids for a while so her DH didn't have to chase them around the waiting room. We made "get well mommy" cards and created the world's biggest mess making cookies. I think there is frosting from the ceiling to the floor. Somehow, keeping track of children wielding sprinkles and frosting tubes caused me to NOT eat even one cookie! Go figure!!!! As for you moms out there -- I have a renewed respect. You are amazing creatures. After only a few hours one evening, I needed a nap! At any rate, things went well and friend is recovering nicely.

pfffft, have someone at my office door -- back later.

Hey Ivy, Glad your friend's doing good. Little ones can be
a handful but they're wonderful too.

Just bumped my journal up so I could get started in it
again. Got to get accountable here. I have been
having such a hard time getting back on track.
Anyway, since I was in journals , thought I'd visit
and say Hey. So.............Hey!

Talk to ya later,
PS: I Love Pizza Too. Why can't good food taste bad?
Well, I guess it wouldn't be good if it did. Oh well.

You don't have kids?

Cori, nope, lots of little ones around on both sides (nephews, neices, cousins, friends kids) but none of them my own yet. One day we will get around to trying, just seems like we get busy with work and time keeps flying by! Ark! It has been a long time since there has been a grandkid though -- guess it's our turn.

River, journaling does help keep us on track. Glad you are getting back to it -- you won't regret the effort! Good luck and take care.

Today I'm doing better. Seems that my funk is under control, thank goodness. Got in some good exercise yesterday, and food choices weren't half bad either. Today so far: wheat bagel, ff cream cheese, coffee (w/ sf/rf creamer), healthy choice food-cicle, yogurt, 3 glasses water. 890 cals. Still need to plan dinner. DH isn't feeling too hot so we probably aren't going out. Sad me. Don't wanna cook!

Better run. I need to go get my eyes checked and pick out new contacts and specs for my peepers. I'm overdue getting that done, naturally, so my contacts are kind of ... I don't know ... itchy maybe?

What did you cook? I love hearing your menus--you're much more creative in the kitchen than I ever will be, that's for sure.

I keep going back and forth on the kids thing. I was sure I didn't want to have any, then I met Nana and I was sure I DID want to have some, then I spent the last week cramming 200 genetic diseases into my brain and decided I'm too scared to have any!!! Ack. Is there ever a "right" time?? Does your sister (the doc) have any? I can't imagine when I'll have time.

Glad to hear you're feeling better. Any big plans for the weekend?

Well, it has been a domestically productive Saturday. I know, it's impossible to imagine, but I figured out the secret ... get up early. Yeah, the thing I hate most. BUT for some reason I fell asleep REALLY early last night, so it wasn't too bad. I have managed to repot a couple of plants, water all the growing things in my yard, rearrange the sun room, do some laundry, get groceries AND a manicure (had a bosses day certificate that was going to expire...might as well take the pampering!), picked up some X-mas trinkets at a charity auction I went to this a.m. for the moms on both sides, the sisters on both sides, and three of my friends. They are just little stocking stuffer things, but the important part is the fact that they are CHRISTMAS presents that I (yes I, me) managed to pick up in OCTOBER!!! I will look like such the warm fuzzy one when I email them all and tell them that I picked up something for them so early! :dc I hope no one falls on the floor in shock and hurts themselves. DH is in sports heaven this afternoon. I wonder if he knows what a productive day I have had. Hmmm. I also wonder if he will notice that the tacos I'm making later are made of turkey rather than cow. In this case, what he doesn't know will actually HELP him.

Have been pretty good food-wise today. If I were a *really* good girl, I would move my too-wide bum in an exercising motion. sigh. Menu: egg beater s.w. breakfast burrito w/ lf cheese, toast, coffee, fruit, subway chicken breast sandwich (no cheese, no mayo, yay me!), 1/2 yogurt, another toast, making turkey tacos for dinner.

Ava, I doubt that's true -- you are SO creative, you are just funneling it into something much more important right now. :D The food last night would have tasted oh-so-much better if someone else made it. We made calzones with a salad. (premade dough from the tube, couple spoons of pesto, shredded cheese (light if you can stand it), mushrooms, olives, artichokes, chopped onions, sprinkle with salt/pepper if you like, fold over the dough to make a pocket & bake. I like to dip it in warmed marinara. Newmans Own is my fave.) It feels like something decent, but because everything is premade or canned (except the onion, of course), it only takes like 10 minutes to put together. I just tried the Athenos dressing (Greek w/ feta), yeah, it's full fat, but it's good. What a shame. I didn't need another good tasting food in my life! Oh, and we did open a bottle of wine, so that was super-swell. Too bad we were both tired and he was sickly, it *could* have been romantic. :laugh: As for kids, I know exactly what you mean. It's a time/concentration/priority problem. I am just now getting to the point where we can legitimately think about it and I STILL have no idea how it would work! Everyone tells me that you just adjust and it's the best thing you ever do. Shoot, when they put it that way, how can I turn it down? :shrug: My doc sis is the youngest (only 28), so she hasn't even thought about getting that far yet. The boy she's dating now has a wee one though and they seem sort of serious (for her at least) ... I totally can't think of her as a step-monster!!! :rofl:

Geeeeeesh, sorry about the book-long reply there. Gah.

K, off to turkey-taco-making world. Wish me luck!

Good day so far today! Now, HERE is my challenge.... we have to go out with several people from work for some sort of reception/dinner thing with a presenter. And don't you know it; the secretary that arranged the dinner picked a Mexican restaurant! There is almost nothing at that place that is good for me. My only hope is to get a burrito plate and tell them make it with chicken, no cheese, no beans, no guac, no sour cream. Otherwise I am toast. Those damn "free" chips and salsa get me every time too.X-( I looked up the calories on the taco salad once, um yeah, WORSE than if I got a chimichanga! No way! Maybe I'll eat oatmeal before I go so I don't gorge myself. Yep, that's what I'm going to do.

Today so far: 1/2 bagel, ff cream cheese, egg beaters, sm. amount of potatoes browned in pam, yogurt, weight control oatmeal. Dinner plan: chicken burrito (no cheese, no anything except meat, tomato sauce, veg in a soft non-fried non-greased up shell!), 10 chips and salsa, diet coke. THAT'S IT. Not a side-o-rice and beans shall entereth my mouth. It will sit there on the plate, abandoned. That would make my daily total 1135

I AM NOT GOING TO RUIN THIS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Um, a tractor just drove by my house and it tootling down the road in my neighborhood. WTF????

Maybe he's lost?

Corinna

How did dinner go? You are a brave woman to go to a Mexican restaurant and stay on plan.

Your calzones sound good. Must put that on a future menu.

I saw Christmas decorations at Wally World (Wal-Mart) today. It's Thanksgiving weekend here, Hallowe'en yet to come, and they have CHRISTMAS stuff out already! Hmph! I am cancelling Christmas at our house this year.

Just dropping in to say Hey Ivy!!
So...................Hey Ivy!! Have a great and wonderful Day!!
Be Happy!! :party:
:dn
Later, :wave:

Ahhh, visitors, my heart feels warm and fuzzy. :o

Yesterday was my typical long day at work, today has been almost as busy. DH is suffering with some sort of virus and is in a WAAAAY bad man-mood. He was OK the first couple days now he's getting tired of it. Like a little kid, really. :( In the last 48 hours, I have slept 13 hours, sat in 17 hours of meetings or classes, done oodles of paperwork junk, worked on stuff for my seminar, sympathized with sickly DH, stopped at the grocery (twice), did stuff around the house, paid the bills, and did a mountain of laundry. I'm now officially tired. Hopefully I have something in the freezer that will cook up quickly and easily for dinner. I had to leave a meeting early at about 3:00 today because I hadn't yet had a chance to visit the loo!

I have been told I look smart in my new specs. I don't imagine people would feel free to say the opposite, so I'm taking it as a compliment...although one could argue that the librarian downstairs looks smart in her glasses with the cool metal chain and knitted holder. Hmm. DH said they are "terrific" (unfortunately, this was immediately after he hacked ad blew unmentionable things into a Kleenex). I definitely scoring that as a positive, despite interference of hack and blow. The office mail dude said I look like a "funky feministic" today, as he handed me the mail. WTF does THAT mean??? :shrug: Kind, lovely co-worker down the hall says I look glamorous. (Totally don't get that one, as they are most definitely more brainy than glam) Three people in the hall who I don't know said "like 'em" or something to that effect. Pardon me, but I think it's extremely unusual that so many people have an opinion on my vision-correction-wear. It makes me feel unusually on display. I didn't tell anyone I was getting them. I didn't ask for opinions (except from DH, of course). I don't usually notice these things when other people acquire them. Is this unusual???? These people need more to do. I'm going back to contacts tomorrow. 8-|

In good news -- I am down two pounds! G+51, woohoo! I DID stay on plan at the Mexican place. The food was bland as hell that way, but I didn't walk out bloated. Score one for moderation.

River, :wave: hey yourself lady!

Sea, I am similarly disgruntled by the commercialization of Christmas. We have had Christmas stuff up in our stores for a month already. Crazy! Dinner at the Mexican restaurant went well, can you believe it? As I said, it was bland, but the company was decent so I'd call it a win.

Cor, perhaps. Although, you have to work to tootle down into my development -- not a place you are likely to end up accidentally. I think tractor-man was intentionally cruising my 'hood. :ninja:

Crap, it's 6 and I'm no where with the piles on my desk. Gotta fly!

The tractor-man is working with your saboteur-on-the-side DH. It was the pizza delivery man in disguise.:ninja:

Whoohoo! 2 lbs gone where lost pounds go! :cheer:

Your glasses look fab. How do I know? Because your witty, charming, intelligent self wouldn't buy glasses that looked dorky. :D

Hope DH feels better soon so the world can go about its business again!

I think maybe Seaweed might be right about the tractor-man. Look out
for those pizzas.

:up: :ribbon: :cheer: :cheer:
Good Job on the 2 lbs. gone. Wish it were me. But if
not me then I'm glad it was you.

I think you just looked really great in your new
glasses and that's why people noticed.

So.........just Smile.
Strut your stuff.
Hold your head up high........
so your glasses don't fall off. :laugh:

Have a good one Girl,
Later, ~o)

Hey chic--how's it going?

Clearly you are ONE HOT TAMALE in those new glasses and that's why everyone is commenting on them. Just shake that money maker on down the hall and make it worth their while to stare.

I am also irritated with the bastardization of Christmas. I've decided that I will be giving my immediate family (mom, dad, brother) the KU sweatshirts I already bought them, and then the additional money I would have spent on gifts I am sending to my family in Ghana to help with the kids' education. $100 will pay tuition for my sister over there for a full semester at university! Here we just end up buying stuff that we don't want or need. Bah.

Hope your Thursday is treating you with kindness--

HAAAA HA HA HA :rofl: You guys crack me up!

Just stopping by for a sec since I have soooooo much to do before I can catch a puddle jumper in the morning for my conference. Aaarg! Today has been pretty good so far -- toast and egg beaters with a coffee for breakfast, lunch was a turkey sammich, and dinner will be a yummy-ummy salad. I am going to try a mixed baby greens salad topped with grilled chicken breast. The interesting part is next: Add some walnuts, thin apple slices, and raspberry vinaigrette and call it done! I dunno if it will be good, but I have high hopes. Got the recipe from a girl here at work.

Plan for tonight: oodles of laundry, get papers together for seminar, finish panel presentation junk, hope like hell the printer is working, print out some maps so I know where I'm going, pack, relax. I'm beat. Wish I could say I have time/energy for exercise, but I have a feeling there is no way that's happening.

Ava, nice idea but if I shake my money-maker...it is likely to hit some poor bastard in the eye and make him think he's been attacked by jello! Love the Christmas idea. I am *almost* to the point of being blunt and ordering everyone to tone it down. It is POINTLESS to go looking for a bunch of crap just to meet the quota for folks who already have too much stuff clogging their basements anyway! I LOVE giving gifts, but they have to mean something or be uniquely perfect for *that* person. So, that is my goal this year ... to find small things that actually fit into the lives or reflect the personalities of the recipients. Wish me luck!

River, you are a nut! I love it! Thanks for the props -- I'm glad to have those 8 sticks of butter melted off. Any time you can leave a big old blob of fat behind, it's the good choice. Oh, I went back to contacts today -- too much pressure. :laugh:

Seaweed, I hadn't considered the possibility of a conspiracy. DH, pizza, tractor-guy, it's all making sense now. This is war! :ninja: aaaah, my ego thanks you for the compliments most affectionately :D However, I must confess that I am severely handicapped when it comes to these things. I know when I think other people look good. And I am pretty sure I know when I look like complete sh*t. But the gray area confuses the hell out of me. I have to buy entire outfits or just stick with neutrals in the hopes that maybe I will match. 8-| Left to my own devices, I'd wear black, gray, khaki and navy all the time. Add a white top of some kind, call it matchy. My little sis & one trendy friend (everyone needs one of these) are in charge of telling me what to buy, the cosmetics girl tells me what makeup to smear on, and the hair genius works his magic with my locks. Yep, it takes a whole team. It's ok, I know where I'm weak -- hire experts, I say. :laugh:

growl. gotta go get something done. If I have a wireless connection in the hotel and find a few minutes to veg -- I'll be back this weekend. :wave: tootles!

How was the conference??? I hope you were able to have some fun and unwind a little. I'm guessing you have at least one funny story from this deal that we would love to hear, but you're probably buried at work now that you're back. Bah.

Hope things are well in your corner--I'll check back in on ya soon!

BTW, did you wear your sexy new glasses to the conference?

I know you're back.
I know you're tired.
But enlighten us with some great
funny lines. Afterall
you are our Iv, the one that makes
us:rofl:

Later Girl,

Are we playing hide and seek?

Olly ollly oxen free!

You can come out now!

:D

I could really use one of your amusing tales right now, just so you know. If you're keeping it all bottled up, you should know that's not healthy! Your public demands you!

Y'ALL are craaaaazy funny! I love it! :laugh: Thanks friends, for stopping by and checking in. Yes, I am back and have been running my fat ass off morning until night! I finally had time to email my girls in their various corners around the country yesterday, so I'm fiiiiinally on here today to catch up. WHEW!

First things first -- GOOD NEWS, I'm down a pound! :dc :dn :cheer: G+50 This is a great triumph in the face of fast food, eating out, appetizers and happy hours, and of course the exercise challenge. Score two for good choices and finding a way to take a walk, even if it's only 10 minutes at a time. On Saturday I did this 4 times (walked around outside, took the long way, whatever it took to build up 10-15 minutes) and WOAH it felt great to move my stagnant bones around!

As for the conference, the seminar was good and the best part was that we had a chance to USE what we learned in the training portion. Very cool! It was one of those conferences that gets you all worked up with creative energy. I think it has something to do with being around other people in your field and the opportunity to collaborate, see the work they are doing, and actually find that people are interested in YOUR work. (unlike the sleepy students who could care less most of the time.) I left exhausted, but I was fine with it because it was "good exhausted" rather than just "worn-out exhausted."

The OTHER thing I love about professional conferences, particularly in academia, is that it provides an opportunity for the world's wackiest people to converge. Don't get me wrong, there were lots of "normal" people, but those are not the ones who are interesting. I ALWAYS look for the wack jobs -- passes the time during boring lectures and makes me giggle. Goofy humans on this trip? Well, one woman who was catapulted forward from the renaissance and plopped down in the 21st century (WITH her furry boots and floppy hat from the former life), the conspiracy theory guy was good for a laugh, the betty-crocker turned economist (gentle soul, soft-spoken, super-smart. Members of this crew are always underestimated) gave a great presentation, the bulldog-turned-man guy scared everyone but turned out to be super-helpful on practical application issues, the guy with strange mannerisms and a body odor problem was lurking, and of course bizarre braniac types (I always give them a pretty hefty social handicap) were in abundant supply. I was accosted by only one asshole on the panel, (serious case of Napoleon syndrome) but after a swift intellectual pummeling, he disappeared for the remainder of the time. Poof. Be gone, pinhead, be gone.

Now, for the return home. I got home late, of course and have been running to and fro ever since (my assistant is on vacation – I think she did this to me so I will appreciate her more next time I leave for a trip) getting paperwork done, getting caught up, yada yada. Anyway, that’s not important. I got home late, come in, have dinner, and after dinner DH brings out this present in a gift bag. I was like huh, strange. I looked in and it was filled with a bunch of teeny weeny cute little baby stuff. My weenie self is thinking, who did I forget to get a shower present for and woah, that is cool of DH to remember. My weenier self asks DH “did I forget a shower?” DH laughs and says “no, you smell fine.” I of course, laugh, and say “no, I mean whose BABY shower?” DH says “no ones, this is for us.” STILL not really catching on and totally NOT believing he might be saying what I’m wondering if he’s saying I say in a split second “are you pregnant?” DH dies laughing, gasping, holding his stomach, eventually calms down and finally says “no, but I thought maybe you might like to be.” :caf:

Oh Iv, that's so sweet how DH did that. Well????????????? Do you
want to be? Will I get to be an Auntie River, Will I Will I? :pass:

So glad the conference was good. And so glad you're back.
As you can tell from our post here. We miss ya when you're
away. I think maybe you're rubbing off on us, making us crazy
people. Hey, What would the world be like without us Crazy People.
:rofl:
You have a wonderful weekend!!
Later, :wave:

OMG how very, very sweet!!! DH is such a romantic--that gave me chills! Are you excited? Are you thinking along the same lines??

Way to go with losing the pound as well! That's pretty impressive with traveling and all that good stuff. I basically ALWAYS pack on a couple of lbs if I leave the city limits--that's just the rule. I bow to those who can travel and lose. Very impressive, for sure.

I'm sure you've been buried at work and you're tired of it. I hope you have some downtime this weekend and you're able to relax, maybe start on that project with your man...:D

Have a great one! I'll be back to check in on your progress soon!

ahhhhhh how sweet ! :D

and the answer is???????

drum roll....and the answer to dh is.....??????

so excited for you IV!!!

and lets not forget :dn for the pound :beam: woohoo!!! you are such a stud to be able to loss that while gone!!! :cheers:

Hi everyone! I am STILL in a dither over all this. As you can imagine, I have been thinking about it constantly ... I mean, a LOT ... and even though it's scary as hell, every impulse I have keeps coming back to one thought ........I think I WOULD like to be a mom! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! :caf: Again I say AAAAAA AAAAA and double AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! :caf: :caf:

I must admit, I can't *really* imagine myself in this role, but yet it feels natural to seek out something bigger than my job and my own self-indulgence. Not that those things aren't important or that they are wrong, but I don't know, maybe my brain has gone soft. This is SO STRANGE!!!!!!! Ah, but the thought of a little DH is completely AMAZING to me. Gah, I don't even know where to start. I made an appointment with the doc this morning to make sure everything is still a go health-wise and get a script for all the vities I am told I'm supposed to take to prepare. Multi, folic acid, I dunno what else but the nurse rattled off a bunch of stuff. I hear my friends talk about this whole fertility process -- temperature taking, and fertility prediction kits, and counting days -- is this really necessary??? I feel like they have a medical degree I forgot to get! I was thinking that throwing away the bc pills and having at it was the way most people got knocked up. Am I an idiot to think it's that easy? I have spent my entire adult life successfully avoiding pregnancy, and NOW I find out that it is apparently so difficult I need a blueprint and a flight plan? Help!!!! Someone give me a flight plan!

Besides all of this on my mind, I have had a relatively uneventful day. We had a day off today for in-house conferences and by some miracle I only had to attend one short one this morning and spent the rest of the day relaxing, cleaning up, hanging out. It was AWESOME! Ate too much naughty food with DH today though -- his appetite never stops, so he eats all day, but unlike me he has the athletic build to burn it off. Totally not fair! Will have to be really good tomorrow. Need to burn off that extra helping.

Thanks for stopping in everyone. It's comforting to have you all here. I feel like I'm jumping off into a big cold river without a life jacket. Yet, I'm pretty ok with it. :D

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW F-ING COOL!!!!! Sorry about my potty mouth, but AWESOME! Umm, good luck, get to work, I am so happy for you! WOW, your DH sounds so awesome...WHHOOOHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO I can't wait to see where this goes from here, hugs many time over. AWESOME!

Remember this is just mho but I would certainly just stop the b/c pills and try that for a few months and see what happens. That is my future dh and I are going to do as of next spring. I think the rest of that stuff is for people who have tried and are having some trouble so they are then planning for the best, most fertile time of the month. Don't worry your pretty head about that just yet unless you and/or your doc know of a reason that you should expect trouble and from the sound of your appointment didn't sound like that to me. I am so happy for you!!!! This is such a great thing!!!wooohooo!!!!

I'm so excited for you!!! With the number of unplanned pregnancies annually, it can't be rocket science, ya know? If you've been on the pill for many years it will sometimes take your body a few mon