mdrai

Hey girls, busy day & now m @ the barn posting from my phone... will leave here & go to ds's new soccer team parent mtng (an hour away) tonight. Always on the go! Pam I pm'd u back. Hope u feel better soon janie! Haydee the drinks sound good but not so sure about the food... lol! I'm sore from the past 2 days of workouts... no time today... hope I feel less sore tomorrow. Have a good eve!!

Yes, in the yogurt section, there are a couple different brands, the one I got is called... wait a sec, let me go look in the 'frig... Chobani! The greek yogurt feels thicker than American yogurt... & I don't know why it's so much pro, but it's between 14 & 16 grams... try it! It took me a couple times to get used to the different texture, but now I enjoy it! Ha ha, Haydee... maybe you can "wax" the hair w/the post-it note! No Judy 'til the 18th?? Ack! & then for me it'll be 'til the 24th... 2.5 weeks w/no Judy?? Wah! I don't know how I didn't cave this afternoon... I know that the thought of having "just 1" tortilla chip or "just 1" forkfull of ds's burritto DID cross my mind... but we had JUST worked out, for goodness sake... I guess it was too soon to go & wreck it for me! Good thing! I am on a roll, that is all I know! & I'll take it! Ok... off to watch The People's Choice Awards... altho I'm sure no one's speeches will top that Mariah one... what a HOOT! G'night, dearies!

"DS & I went to the &." We also went to the Y. Duh.

Yep, I love my kids (most of the time! My cats get all wacky when the suitcases appear... must be their animal instincts! DS & I went to the &. I got to do the "good" elliptical (where I work arms AND legs) today... did it for 20 mins... which is 5 mins longer than yesterday, so yay... + a little arm work. Then after ds wanted to stop @ Cali Tortilla so we did -- ack! -- but I brought in my van/honey greek yogurt w/ 16 g pro & ate that while pretending it was soft-serve ice cream (yeah, I know, I'm pushing it w/that, but what's a gal to do?). Again, yay, me! Adios, Judy, in case I don't post again before you unplug from cyberspace! Have a FANTASTIC time!!

M sitting in the hs carpool line... just had a nice 2 hr lunch w/a friend... we went to Panera, so I checked out nutritionals online this a.m. I had a bowl of broc chz soup & an apple + hot green tea... now ds & I r going to the Y to work out... yay me! Glad to see u posting, Laura! Pam, I told my kids about the girl & fire & they want to donate their allowance to help. I'll send u a check! Bbl...

Pam, dh came home from his back pt this a.m. w/one of those stim machines! What is it w/back problems lately?? Judy, you must be getting so excited!! Your countdown is into HOURS now, not days! :thumbup: Haydee, b'fast is the most important meal of the day... is there a 'frig @ work where you could put a few days' worth of items... maybe yogurt, oatmeal, low-fat cheese, fruit? Janie... at least your heading in the right direction w/the organizing... I keep meaning to, but... so kudos to you! Off to get ready for lunch...

Good Weds Morn, Vi's~~ Another freezing day here today... on the USA weather map, it looked to me like the only warm spot was in S. Cali where Pam is! Enjoy it, Pamela!! One more day & then you're on your way to blue skies, gentle seas, and balmy warm temps, Judy!! Just a regular day here... stuff around the house, then lunch w/a friend (@ Panera, I'm planning on getting the tomato soup... I love tomato soup!), then the Y w/ds... Everyone make it a great day! :thumbup:

"I was so tempted by the chocolate covered cherry that is sitting on the counter, but when I was reaching for it, I thought of you, Michelle and I said.. Nope.. not gonna do it. So now I can thank YOU!:thumbup:" Voila! & that's how all this is *supposed* to work! Yay! You motivate me, I motivate you!! After 3 years we've finally figured it out! :tt2: "From here on out I'm going to be doing everything I can to try to get my weight down. Not only to look awesome in my wedding dress but we are going to start to try to conceive on our honeymoon so I want to be at a healthy weight..." How exciting, Haydee... oooh la la!! May I suggest you check out the Eat-Clean Diet program... that's what I'm looking into... right now I'm kinda Protein shake/Atkins-ish/fruits & veggie'ing it for a quick start. I picked up a mag about it @ Borders the other day... the "principles" are: * Eat 5 or 6 small meals every day. * Eat every 2-3 hours. * Combine lean protein & complex carbs @ every meal. * Consume adequate healthy fats each day. * Drink at least 8 cups of Water each day. * Never miss a meal, especially Breakfast. * Carry a cooler of foods to get you through the day. * Avoid all over-processed, refined foods, especially white flour & sugar. * Avoid chemicals, preservatives & artificial sugar. * Avoid saturated and trans fats. * Avoid sodas & juices (& margaritas, I think :thumbup:) * Consume adequate healthy fats each day. * Avoid alcohol (oh, here it is, drat!) * Avoid all calorie-dense foods that contain little or no nutritional value. * Depend on fresh fruits & veggies for Fiber, Vitamins, & enzymes. * Stick to proper portion sizes. Sounds reasonable... & pretty much what we're supposed to be doing as bandsters... Off to switch around the laundry... everyone have a great night!

Judy! Just noticed the new avatar -- love it, so cute!

You're doing great, Pam... KUTGW! Just got back from the Y... whew!... I hadn't been since 9/9! Yikes! No wonder I packed on the lbs! Funny, that, huh? lol! I managed only 15 mins on the elliptical (the just-leg one, which feels too much like a stair-stepper to me (they're evil!)... I prefer the one where you do the arms & legs (like skiing kinda), but they were all full) + upper body weights. The place was packed -- you can tell it's NY Resolution time @ the Y! Piehole report for today... B = van caramel pro shake L = 1 100 cal piece of cheese, handful of baby carrots in 2 T spicy red pepper hummus, 1 pomegranate (sp?) greek yogurt (have you tried these? 140 cals, 14 g of protein!!) D = small salad w/tuna, feta, sundried toms, kalamata olives, sunflower seeds & Newman's Own Greek dressing (mmmmm) Snack = 1 grapefruit or orange & hot green tea w/splenda 6+ glasses of h20 Biggest Loser starts again tonight... I try to watch when I can... I find them very inspirational... Everyone have a great evening!

Pam... check your e-mail for the hotel info! :smile2:

Excellent reminders, Pam! I've copied them & added them to my little "2010 positive energy journal" that I'm creating and carrying w/me in my purse so I have motivation @ my fingertips for when I need it most! Some of those are definitely harder than others... I might even argue w/a few! LOL! :thumbdown: (Figures, huh?) I believe Judy's cruising the west coast of Mex... we're going to Isla Mujeres, an island off Cancun, on the eastern side of Mex... I think she comes home the day I leave, or something like that, so the country will be ok w/only 1 Vi visiting @ a time, lol!! It's flippin' freezing here, too... I think it's high in the low 20s today, not counting wind chill -- & it is WINDY! Basically, it sux. I'll just keep staring @ my avatar pic & knowing that I'll be on the beach soon!! Time to go grocery shopping... woo. :smile2:

Good Morn, Vi's~~ Another loss on the scale today... I've updated my siggy, so you'll have to keep an eye on that for my periodic updates... the first one is the day before we leave for MX... having a short-term, 1/2-month goal is working well for me... it's short enough to keep me motivated & on track without staring at the ginormous end-result goal and feeling like I'll never make THAT. I'm psyched! The kids & I are going to the Y today... I'm going to do the treadmill & upper body circuit... my arms are the worst, & probably always will be, dang it! I came across this in "Off the Couch," a special edition of Oxygen mag & wanted to share: Tips to Steer Clear of Sabotage: 1. Become committed to living a healthy life. 2. Envision yourself as the lean person you want to be and start living lean today. 3. Surround yourself with like-minded people who know how to take care of themselves in a healthy way. 4. Be true to yourself and your commitment to living a healthy life. 5. Surround yourself with positive messages and images. 6. Celebrate small victories like losing 5 lbs as if they were big victories. 5 lbs is a big deal! Everyone make it a great day!

Oh Pam, such a tragedy! But good for you for sticking to your w/o schedule! And wowza to Judy for passing up that cake -- it sounded wonderful! Will it work that you two hook up in Cali this weekend?? I woke up @ 3am for some unknown reason today & never did manage to fall back to sleep, so after spending the morning working on our Winter activities schedule -- and more than an hour of that w/ds's goalkeeping coach! -- I crashed on the couch at about 2pm... didn't wake up 'til 4pm... both kids came home but they didn't wake me! Now it's off to get ready to go to dd's riding lesson... Piehole report: B = vanilla caramel protein shake L = tomato bisque soup D will probably = another protein shake I've done well w/water today, but didn't make it to the gym, w/all my gabbing & e-mailing & planning this a.m. DS & I are going to go tomorrow, Weds, & Sat this week... it's now on the calendar! I'm down 9lbs since last Monday! Will update my siggy @ -10 & then @ 10lb increments thereafter. Watch out goals -- here I come!

Good Monday Morning, Vi's~~ Everyone got off to work & school a-ok this morning... & now I have the house all to myself! What to do first from my many options?? I'm sure it will involve cleaning SOMEthing! Judy -- Thank You! Are you wondering "For what?" Last night when we got home I started cutting a piece of pumpkin pie... and then I thought of you & stopped, covered up the pie, put the knife away, and stepped away from the pie. THANK YOU! Everyone make it a great day!

Brrrrr... I still can't feel my toes after 3+ hrs @ the barn @ the jumper show! DD did ok... I spoke to the owner about Lady & she came up w/a plan for dd to ride several horses to get her confidence back up... she's calling it her "special project"... we shall see! Judy, that just sux about your church... are they waiting for lightening to hit the steeple for "the" sign to get rid of that guy? I can feel your frustration!! Tomorrow I get to organize! Yippee! (& the next day... & the next...) It's back to work & school tomorrow -- everyone make it a great day!

Oh Pam, that is just devastating! It breaks my heart. My prayers for her... So far so good w/the trees... it's just at night when it gets me all worked up, because that's when it's quiet and I'm just laying there, listening to it... wind, wind, go away! Yes! The kids go back to school, & DH goes back to work tomorrow! Hallelujah! Of course, I'll be here cleaning up the debris from 2 weeks of holiday celebrations... but that's ok... I'll take it for a little "me" time and getting back into the normal routines! Because the kids had their "surprise" extra 3 days off before Xmas break when we got the 2' of snow, we weren't able to give the teachers their Xmas pumpkin breads, so I'm baking 12 today & will send them in w/the kids tomorrow. Only 2 weeks left in the grading period, though! Then it's off to Mexico! Judy, your day sounds lovely... so glad that you can be w/Bob today & avoid the unpleasantness @ your church. That Kindle is better travelled than I am! :wub: Off to put more pb's in the oven & hit the shower... then off to hours @ the barn @ the jumper show! Brrrrrrrrrrrr!

Oh crap... I just came upstairs after watching a loud movie ("Inglourious Basterds") and I forgot that there was a wind advisory for tonight through tomorrow morning at least... we have a vaulted ceiling in the bedroom and you can really hear the wind whipping around out there... it freaks me out... remember last New Year's Day when we lost a bunch of trees over our neighbor's fence? We do *not* have $ to clean up that kind of mess again this year! Yeah, buy a house on the side of a hill on a heavily wooded pine tree lot... great idea in the summer... not so much in the winter! Wah.

Oh dear. The horse we're leasing, Lady, has been giving dd a lot of trouble lately... being a "butt" as dd says... she doesn't want to work & at first was just kicking out a lot before dd got her to do what she was supposed to (trot, canter, jump), but the last couple weeks it's gotten worse... Lady's been bucking & we even had a couple of the experienced older girls get on her and they've had a hard time w/her... it's really frustrating to dd, who loves Lady and dotes on her... she'll ride her in the show tomorrow and we'll see how she does... but we may need to lease a different horse... one that will actually let dd ride her and not put up such a fight... poor dd... :smile2:

Hey from the barn... waiting for dd to finish up... we' ll be here again tomorrow for a jumper show. A sort of lazy day here... I worked on food/meal planning stuff to keep me on track. Need to do that! Sorry I can't help u Judy... dh has spent all day working on my desk computer... I m useless w/that. Dd just got in the car & is crying... Bbl...

Janie! Go have some fun @ the casino!

Thank you! It's just been eating properly so far... funny that when I'm not consuming sugary holiday goodies the weight drops, huh? But I still need to add in the moving part. Pam, I think that you & I together make a whole bandster: I've got the eating down & you've got the exercising! :biggrin: I chose that avatar to remind me that I'll be going to Mexico in 2 weeks so I HAVE to keep on the wagon! Plus, it's just nice to look @ in this cold, snowy winter. Would folks like to share NY's resolutions? I'll start... even tho it's a biggie... & I'll need ya'lls help: ONEDERLAND by Haydee's wedding; GOAL by the end of the year! Plus living as balanced, positive a life as possible... ...Is it 2011 yet? :tongue2:

Happy 2010, my true Violets! Chai and I are snuggled up on the couch, enjoying the Tournament of Roses parade... the floats are always just amazing! I managed to lose 5 of my holiday lbs by the end of the year... now on to the new year! Positive thoughts and actions will lead to success! Here's to a positive-attitude 2010 for each of us! ((Violets))

Judy... the game wasn't broadcast here! I even had my camera ready to take a pic of the screen w/you guys on it!! Wah. Hope your team won! Heather... Where will you be travelling? When we travelled on planes w/babes, kindly fellow passengers would play w/them & help keep them entertained... Everyone have a safe evening... see you next year!

Happy Last Day of 2009!~~ This is it! The last day! Tomorrow is a brand-spankin' new year AND.... most importantly... Haydee's wedding year!!! So excited to rip the wrappings off 2010 and see where it takes us! When 2009 started, I didn't know I was going to get a fabu trip to Cali this year -- or a Disney trip -- so you never know where we'll end up this year!! Anything is possible!! HAYDEE!! Santa must've finally recovered from his trip around the world last week and made a second round, because when we got home yesterday, a certain package was waiting for me on my porch! THANK YOU!! How did you know that my hands are a mess this winter? All dry and flaky and cracking... ugh! But I love the soap and lotion! I never splurge on things like this for myself... they're perfect! Thank you!! Woke up to another inch of snow on the ground... crazy winter so far! We're working in the office today... changing out the 2009/10 files and working on my biz reports for taxes, etc... fun, fun! No plans for tonight... probably watch a movie, watch Rockin' NY Eve... I'm feeling so old! DS & his g'friend are going to their first NY Eve party... & so it goes... Pam, rock it out w/KC tonight! Judy, I'm going to watch the game & look for you!! Laura, the floors look great!! Haydee, Janie, Heather, Suzy... have a great day, eve, and everyone -- Embrace the New Year!