I'm here to help...

[Meredith2424 0]

Good Morning!!!

I was so tired last night, I could hardly function! I feel better now after a good nights rest. I needed it. Bad. Just thought I would ck in real quick before heading off to work.

Apples~ I am not going to overeat. In fact, since I've had discussions with all of you on here and since I went to my support group meeting, I've been doing so much better with my eating and really watching it. I think I was just really stressed out after my last Dr visit that I started stress eating. Now, I am actually back on track and have lost a pound since Tuesday. So, I suppose with the right mind set, I should be ok. I will get to talk to my dietitian more tomorrow since she is coming in with me to get her hair cut, colored and styled for a holiday ball she is going to.

Arlene~ Thanks for the positive encouragement! It really helps! I've been going to daily plate (now livestrong.com) and tracking my meals and calories for the last 3 days. It helps. Also, tonight I'm going to go to my 24 hour gym and ride the bike and do some dumb bell exercises that I learned in my sculpt stretch and tone class at school. My dad and I have discussions about men leaving their wives after 30+ years or whatever and he blames it on Viagra. Maybe thats why they think they are 30? SO glad my parents are still together. That would be hard as an adult to go through a separation of parents (if your friend has children).

Kelly~ You go girl on the two walks per day!!! Thats awesome! My sister has a weiner dog too. His name is Brady and he is long haired. Adorable.

Speaking of dogs, some of you may have seen on my fb that my sisters other dog Wallace had to have surgery yesterday. Please keep him in your prayers as I love this pup sooo much! They thought that he had a blockage in his colon (they thought it was fabric) and it wasn't passing for days, so finally they decided to open him up and get it out. Turns out it wasn't a blockage at all and his spleen had flipped around in his belly (spleen torosion). They removed it. Thank God they opened him up because otherwise he would have died. We were very nervous because he is also epilleptic and has to take a pretty large amount of phenol barbetol to survive and not have seizures.

Ok, off to work! Have a great day. It is freeeezing here! Not as cold as you apples, but this cold snap hit us fast!

~Meredith

[ladykcusa 1]

Like Jodi, unable to change font and color. Oh well......

Lots of very busy ladies (and Chris). I'm leaving for Water aerobics. M,W,F with a friend. It's about time. Janet will be proud of me.

[Charlene K 1]

Joyce, If you will just click the box of "fast reply" at the bottom then click on size( i use 4) you should be able to change size and color. I click color then size and start my reply.

Meredith, there is some truth to the Viagra thing. My friend has two children in their mid twenties. They did not want their dad at the Thanksgiving get together. He is already suffering the consequences of his actions.

I am boiling eggs for Snacks. CBL!

[Apples2 19]

Oh Meredith...I hope I didn't hurt your feelings with reminding you to not over-do because of your open band. I just don't like to see ppl undo the hard work and the good they have done. And, we all know things can snowball within a week's time. Good to hear that you feel good about where you are at with your food choices and getting to the gym. I am sure it is not easy to stay on task if you are hungry. Keeping track of your intake is such a good way to remind yourself where you are at. How about a gift cert from GNC for your trainer???

Arlene...this friend of mine lived with us for 5 months a couple of years ago. Her live-in BF was cheating on her....actually never did leave is old GF alone. Was seeing her the entire relationship. Well, after leaving here she went back to him and it has not been good so she left again. Don't know if he was still cheating but a very selfish 63 yr old that dresses like he is 19 and LOVES the attention from anything that wears a bra. She's better off not to be his live-in maid. I'd rather not have a man the rest of my life than deal with any man that did not respect me.

Sandi....way to go on all the exercising. We do the family gift buying through social services. I would rather do that than buy for ourselves. I could not feel good about getting gifts if I knew there are families and especially children out there that have no gifts. It just melts my heart because most of the lists that are made out by children are clothing. Just necessities...it is rare that there are toys on these children's lists. We try to do two familes a year. It is a very rewarding feeling to know they had at least one gift to open.

Better go...DH has a couple of friends that came for coffee. Better find some muffins or Cookies or something to throw their way.

[kellyodoran 12]

Good Morning....

Jodi...Happy Chanukah. I see you spell it differently than most. Gosh...your post about everything going on during these days just makes me want to learn more about your traditions, etc. I feel like I'm taking a peek into a whole different world. Take care of yourself. Don't get run down. Sounds like you do not have troubles turning down food that you feel you should not have. Good for you. Hopefully you can fit the gym in somewhere like you want to. Sounds like a crazy/busy week for you. At least your time is limited to a number of days...the rest of us drag out Chrismas for way too long.

Melissa...congrats on the new nephew. Hope you don't wake up sick from that cold.

Meredith...advice your nutritionist gave you sounds like a plan. Don't over do though...you don't want that to be your ticket to overeat...your "Get out of Jail Free" card. It would be nice to hear that you do not need band repair but it sounds like that is what the plan is. We'll all be here for you holding your hand throughout this.

Kelly...wish we were neighbors...I would absolutely love to go on walks a couple of times a day with you. It's so bitter cold here that there is no going out to walk or ride bike. I have a nice treadmill but just not the same and have a hard time forcing myself to walk on it. In a month we will be in warmer weather and plan on working off some of this stress with walking. If I bundled up, I could walk but we have so much ice under the snow that it's not worth a fall.

We sure do miss Janet, don't we? Hope she is having a great time.

Phyll...are you down and out with the cold????

"Hi" to everyone else and good morning.

Have a busy day ahead. Some Christmas baking, some decorating, some cleaning, some bookwork, some laundry. Have to take DH to doc in early afternoon to have a growth cut out of his face by his eye. He did have an appt at 4pm and then we were going to stick around town and go out for dinner. Well, appt was changed to 1pm and will just come home. I doubt we will get out once we get home. Just so hard to force ourselves to go out in this cold. And, just heard a severe winter storm is expected for our area for later this afternoon. DON'T WORRY, GREAT, IF YOU ARE READING THIS. MPLS IS NOT IN THE WARNING...JUST SNOW FLURRIES LATE IN THE AFTERNOON.

Have fun with your DD, Great. Times like this, I wish I had a daughter to do things with...No...would be dangerous with both of us shopping.

Trying to plan a girls night for me and my friend and get out of Dodge for a bit. She is in a real funk (relationship breakup, moved, financial stress, was laid off 18 months ago and still not a job) and needs a break from it. Well, the only night that works for both of us is Tuesday. Soooooooooooo gotta figure out some things to do that do not involve spending $$$ and a Tuesday night not much entertainment options. My plan so for us to rent a Holiday Inn room (my Chrismas gift to her and she Ok'd it....didn't want her to feel bad), pack a picnic lunch, bring a couple of board games and cards and a bottle of wine (gosh...almost sounds like I should be taking DH instead), and just giggle and have fun and hopefully leave our troubles along the way.

Better get moving...been up for 1 1/2 hours and the only thing I have accomplished is to make coffee and oatmeal...You all have a great day.

Apples I think your girls night out sounded like a great idea, so I am going to go out Sat. night with one of my girlfriends...I know we will have a good time! I will take my camera maybe get some good pics to post!

Kelly...wish we were neighbors...I would absolutely love to go on walks a couple of times a day with you. It's so bitter cold here that there is no going out to walk or ride bike. I have a nice treadmill but just not the same and have a hard time forcing myself to walk on it. In a month we will be in warmer weather and plan on working off some of this stress with walking. If I bundled up, I could walk but we have so much ice under the snow that it's not worth a fall.

Apples, I am the same way. Maybe try putting your treadmill right in front of the picture window. I find if I can daydream out the window the treadmill becomes easier for me. I know, I know, it isn’t very attractive to have a big old clunky treadmill in the frontroom but who cares? Remember, it’s all about you. Your girls night out sounds wonderful! Don’t forget your swimming suits – the hot tub is wonderful this time of year.

I am doing great. I haven’t posted much lately because I have been really busy Christmas shopping and going to exercise. I have the shopping almost done. We still have some kids to buy for from the letters to Santa program out local paper runs. My husband gets such a thrill from this. I enjoy it too but it has special meaning for him because when he was a child he received presents through the church and sadly, those were the only presents he received. His family was very poor. Believe it or not, this program makes his Christmas! He even buys extra presents to take to the school just in case a child does not have their letter answered. It warms my heart to see this side of DH.

That is one really sweet story on paying it forward aaaaawwwweeeeee!

Exercise has been going well. I have worked with my trainer 2X a week since April and I can’t believe the difference it has made in me. I can’t believe how weak and out of shape I had become. I am so grateful for the trainer I have. I feel like she has given me a new life. What am I saying, she has given me a new life. The little things amaze me and make me happy. For instance, I went to Sam’s club to get dog food yesterday and I was able to pick up the bag and put it in the car without asking for help. It has been many years since I could do that. Silly, I know, but it thrilled me.

I am going to start TRX classes. My trainer teaches them at our gym and she told me yesterday that the classes were hard but I was ready for them. Who would have ever thought I would be taking “hard” classes. I have to think of a good Christmas gift for this girl.

Good morning gang! I got up early. Apples, I had my oatmeal too, but I am going to go Protein the rest of the day. What a cool "girls day" for you and your friend. I have a friend in the same situation on she has a marriage of 28 years that is up in the air. Why do old farts near sixty start thinking they look forty? UGH! I pray God will restore her marriage. She is such a sweet giving person. Her DH is stuck in a fantasy. He needs a reality check. Sorry to vent.....she is on my mind.

Meredith.......Hang in there! Keep journaling. You will stay on track.

Melissa......Congrats on the new nephew. I hope you got that cold stopped.

Kelly.......I want to walk with you too! Sounds beautiful.

Sndy......are you still training for anymore 5k's?

Jessica.......thanks for your menu.....reminded me to eat more Protein.< /span>

Jodi......have a great weekend! Just Celebrate and enjoy! You know what you can eat and what you can't.

Off to the dog groomers! Then we bought my mother a TV. We may go across the city and take it to her. Later!

remember, Protien, protien, protien! I sing that little diddy when I'm thinking I'm hungry (keeps me focused) And I notice that my total calorie consumption goes down if I have just a protien day...and no protien drinks, you know get it all from food.

Good Morning!!!

I was so tired last night, I could hardly function! I feel better now after a good nights rest. I needed it. Bad. Just thought I would ck in real quick before heading off to work.

Apples~ I am not going to overeat. In fact, since I've had discussions with all of you on here and since I went to my support group meeting, I've been doing so much better with my eating and really watching it. I think I was just really stressed out after my last Dr visit that I started stress eating. Now, I am actually back on track and have lost a pound since Tuesday. So, I suppose with the right mind set, I should be ok. I will get to talk to my dietitian more tomorrow since she is coming in with me to get her hair cut, colored and styled for a holiday ball she is going to.

Arlene~ Thanks for the positive encouragement! It really helps! I've been going to daily plate (now livestrong.com) and tracking my meals and calories for the last 3 days. It helps. Also, tonight I'm going to go to my 24 hour gym and ride the bike and do some dumb bell exercises that I learned in my sculpt stretch and tone class at school. My dad and I have discussions about men leaving their wives after 30+ years or whatever and he blames it on Viagra. Maybe thats why they think they are 30? SO glad my parents are still together. That would be hard as an adult to go through a separation of parents (if your friend has children).

Kelly~ You go girl on the two walks per day!!! Thats awesome! My sister has a weiner dog too. His name is Brady and he is long haired. Adorable.

Speaking of dogs, some of you may have seen on my fb that my sisters other dog Wallace had to have surgery yesterday. Please keep him in your prayers as I love this pup sooo much! They thought that he had a blockage in his colon (they thought it was fabric) and it wasn't passing for days, so finally they decided to open him up and get it out. Turns out it wasn't a blockage at all and his spleen had flipped around in his belly (spleen torosion). They removed it. Thank God they opened him up because otherwise he would have died. We were very nervous because he is also epilleptic and has to take a pretty large amount of phenol barbetol to survive and not have seizures.

Ohhhhhh I hope the pup is o.k. I will say a little prayer for him....I am a huge dog lover if you can't already tell...Oh the unconditional love they give us!

Ok, off to work! Have a great day. It is freeeezing here! Not as cold as you apples, but this cold snap hit us fast!

~Meredith

Well, speaking of dogs, I have to go to town and get wee-wee pads for my little girl.....Do a tad of grocery shopping, still to get the good deals, I end up going to 4 different stores ugh! Well that is all for now check back this afternoon!

[phyllser 3]

I can give you my diet for the last week I am low carb.

Sat

eggs,cheese

turkey and cheese

egg omlete with sausage and cheese

Sugar free candy

Sun

Protein shake

shrimp and salad

Chicken, lettuce, sour cream and cheese (kinda like a taco salad)

Sugar free popsicle

Mon

Potein shake

tuna

turkey

tues

Protein Shake

Fish, salad

Sausage

Wed

Egg and cheese

tuna, soy crisp

Bunless cheese burger, soy crisp

Thursday

Protein shake

tuna

Wings are in the oven as I type.

I keep this all written down which has made the differnce in me losing weight and yoyoing.

I also have done atleast 30 min of exercise each day. I run a 5k every other day but on my off days I play wii, or tennis or ride a bike. It is kinda my optional day where I get to pick and choose. Keeps it fresh.

I hope you can start fresh and not let the past hold you down.

I have lost 6 pounds since saturday. Also had a visit with my suregeon and opted not to get a fill.

Wow! That is really impressive, Jewel! Good for you! You're doing GREAT!!

Good Morning....

Jodi...Happy Chanukah.

Melissa...congrats on the new nephew. Hope you don't wake up sick from that cold.

Meredith...advice your nutritionist gave you sounds like a plan.

Kelly...wish we were neighbors...I would absolutely love to go on walks a couple of times a day with you.

Phyll...are you down and out with the cold????

Have a busy day ahead. Some Christmas baking, some decorating, some cleaning, some bookwork, some laundry. Have to take DH to doc in early afternoon to have a growth cut out of his face by his eye. He did have an appt at 4pm and then we were going to stick around town and go out for dinner. Well, appt was changed to 1pm and will just come home. I doubt we will get out once we get home. Just so hard to force ourselves to go out in this cold. And, just heard a severe winter storm is expected for our area for later this afternoon. DON'T WORRY, GREAT, IF YOU ARE READING THIS. MPLS IS NOT IN THE WARNING...JUST SNOW FLURRIES LATE IN THE AFTERNOON.

Trying to plan a girls night for me and my friend and get out of Dodge for a bit. She is in a real funk (relationship breakup, moved, financial stress, was laid off 18 months ago and still not a job) and needs a break from it. Well, the only night that works for both of us is Tuesday. Soooooooooooo gotta figure out some things to do that do not involve spending $$ and a Tuesday night not much entertainment options. My plan so for us to rent a Holiday Inn room (my Chrismas gift to her and she Ok'd it....didn't want her to feel bad), pack a picnic lunch, bring a couple of board games and cards and a bottle of wine (gosh...almost sounds like I should be taking DH instead), and just giggle and have fun and hopefully leave our troubles along the way.

Better get moving...been up for 1 1/2 hours and the only thing I have accomplished is to make coffee and oatmeal...You all have a great day.

I'm going to steal from you a little, Apples!!

Yes, Jodi! Enjoy reading about all your comings and goings. Take a deep breath!! HAHAHA!!

Melissa..... there seems to be a miserable cold going around all over the country!!

Meredith.... hang in there!!

Kelly.... I will be glad when I get over this cold so I can walk Zoey in her stroller again!!

And, yes..... I am pretty much down and out with this cold! No Water aerobics ALL week and I really miss it. And I just had to send a message that I'm going to miss choir practice again this week. Out of town last week. I am not proving to be very dependable!

Hope you have a successful day and not hit too bad with the storm! My family in Buffalo is getting hit hard. At least some of them! Funny but the niece that most wants the snow has very little. And my sister in Cheektowaga only got 3 inches, but the one out closer to the lake got quite a bit. Two nieces got somewhere around 4 ft! I re-posted a lot of pictures and some video on FB.

Hope DH makes out okay with that eye thing! One of my sis' had to have something like that removed a couple of months ago.

GREAT.... hope you have a GREAT time with your DD today at MOA!!

Girls' Night Out sounds FUN!!

Arlene..... whassup??

And "HELLO" to everyone I missed!!

Have to go to Starbucks today and try to straighten out a mess from earlier this week.

I went to my unfavorite one the other day to buy a few Christmas presents and collect my free birthday drink. Well, I got a newbie at the cash register. I wanted $70 on my SBX card and then take out what I spent on the gifts.... a little under $40. Well, I don't know what the heck she did but I ended up with $179 charged to my AMEX card and only $102 balance on my card. So she charged WAY more to my card than I told her to, and charged me about double for the gifts.

[ocotillo 0]

Hi ladies and gent,

I haven't read everything, but wanted you to know I'm back home....drove in a little after 11pm last night and I'm trying to catch up stuff. I'll sit down and read and catch up in the next couple of days.

DH has changed my computers and I'm typing on a little laptop and not thrilled about it. It would be good for traveling but not as my primary computer.

Talk to you all soon.

Eva

[Apples2 19]

Get lots of rest and fluids, Phyll (I'm pretty sure wine is a fluid). I would be so ticked about the Starbucks overcharge. Hope you can have it reversed. We have a supermarket that my "mom" went to every morning to have Breakfast with her friends (at the deli). We gave her a $50 card for Christmas one year. The first time using it, the clerk somehow used it all up. Took her months to get that straightened out. Hope you have better luck with a credit back than she did. DH and DS have been suffering with that crud for a week. I seem to be immune (knocking on wood). Get better

[Apples2 19]

Hi ladies and gent,

I haven't read everything, but wanted you to know I'm back home....drove in a little after 11pm last night and I'm trying to catch up stuff. I'll sit down and read and catch up in the next couple of days.

DH has changed my computers and I'm typing on a little laptop and not thrilled about it. It would be good for traveling but not as my primary computer.

Talk to you all soon.

Eva

Woohoo! Eva's back!!!!!!!!!

[NYSparklegirl 1]

Melissa....Congratulations on the new addition to the family. Always nice to have newborns around...so cute and cuddly. sorry about the cold. Feel better soon.

Good Morning....

Jodi...Happy Chanukah. I see you spell it differently than most. Gosh...your post about everything going on during these days just makes me want to learn more about your traditions, etc. I feel like I'm taking a peek into a whole different world. Take care of yourself. Don't get run down. Sounds like you do not have troubles turning down food that you feel you should not have. Good for you. Hopefully you can fit the gym in somewhere like you want to. Sounds like a crazy/busy week for you. At least your time is limited to a number of days...the rest of us drag out Chrismas for way too long.

Melissa...congrats on the new nephew. Hope you don't wake up sick from that cold.

Meredith...advice your nutritionist gave you sounds like a plan. Don't over do though...you don't want that to be your ticket to overeat...your "Get out of Jail Free" card. It would be nice to hear that you do not need band repair but it sounds like that is what the plan is. We'll all be here for you holding your hand throughout this.

Kelly...wish we were neighbors...I would absolutely love to go on walks a couple of times a day with you. It's so bitter cold here that there is no going out to walk or ride bike. I have a nice treadmill but just not the same and have a hard time forcing myself to walk on it. In a month we will be in warmer weather and plan on working off some of this stress with walking. If I bundled up, I could walk but we have so much ice under the snow that it's not worth a fall.

We sure do miss Janet, don't we? Hope she is having a great time.

Phyll...are you down and out with the cold????

"Hi" to everyone else and good morning.

Have a busy day ahead. Some Christmas baking, some decorating, some cleaning, some bookwork, some laundry. Have to take DH to doc in early afternoon to have a growth cut out of his face by his eye. He did have an appt at 4pm and then we were going to stick around town and go out for dinner. Well, appt was changed to 1pm and will just come home. I doubt we will get out once we get home. Just so hard to force ourselves to go out in this cold. And, just heard a severe winter storm is expected for our area for later this afternoon. DON'T WORRY, GREAT, IF YOU ARE READING THIS. MPLS IS NOT IN THE WARNING...JUST SNOW FLURRIES LATE IN THE AFTERNOON.

Have fun with your DD, Great. Times like this, I wish I had a daughter to do things with...No...would be dangerous with both of us shopping.

Trying to plan a girls night for me and my friend and get out of Dodge for a bit. She is in a real funk (relationship breakup, moved, financial stress, was laid off 18 months ago and still not a job) and needs a break from it. Well, the only night that works for both of us is Tuesday. Soooooooooooo gotta figure out some things to do that do not involve spending $$$ and a Tuesday night not much entertainment options. My plan so for us to rent a Holiday Inn room (my Chrismas gift to her and she Ok'd it....didn't want her to feel bad), pack a picnic lunch, bring a couple of board games and cards and a bottle of wine (gosh...almost sounds like I should be taking DH instead), and just giggle and have fun and hopefully leave our troubles along the way.

Better get moving...been up for 1 1/2 hours and the only thing I have accomplished is to make coffee and oatmeal...You all have a great day.

Thank you for the chanuka wishes...yes there are several different ways to spell this holiday..depending on how religous you are...pretty silly to me but seems to be something that hasnt changed over the years. No spelling I found is wrong so far so you are also correct!! lol.

Yes, this is the holiday of keeping the jewish traditions alive...unlike during the haloucaust times where they wanted to kill all the jewish people here...the greeks wanted the jewish people to give up their practice and assimilate and they didnt so that is one reason we Celebrate the other is because when the greeks or romans came into the temple to destroy it there was only a bit of oil to light an menorah that stayed lit always and was never extinguished....so this little bit of oil that was left until they can make more lasted eight full days as apposed to only one day. This was the miracle of chanuka....so we Celebrate twofold. As to where presents came from?? Its only an american tradition. We do because we dont want the children to feel bad about not getting presents at the same time each year when christmas falls out and everyone gets presents at that time...so the kids shouldnt feel bad or jealous this traditon started. Not a good precedent that was started lol. It used to be one present for all of chanuka ...now its one per day and then some....lol. You know how out of control the holiday season makes us all...but the real celebrations is families getting together and lighting the candles everynight together, singing and eating and partying....Shabbat Chanuka is especially celebratory so lots of stuff goes on in the community in each synaguage to celebrate. We are going to famiily dinner tonight and a big lunch tomorrow...where for both all the kids are invitied to bring games and stuff to play after dinner and lunch tomorrow. No cooking yea....so hence this posting. lol

Sounds like a fun time with your friend....have fun and remember....watching a good tear jerker movie is fun to do as well...I have my friend Renee who sometimes we just go and find a hotel somewhere outside of NY just to get away from it all and wing it for the night or two....havent had one of these in about hmmm two years....since we went to Fire Island this summer. No extra cash for either of us and Dassi is pretty much home most shabboses any ways....

so sounds like you have a fun plan...enjoy!!!!

What sort of baking do you do for christmas?? I know the nurses from St vincent and St. Lucia bring me every year a fruit cake that they make which apparently takes about a month two make...with liquor and such. cant wait to have a piece of....oh wait a minuet...hmmm. Ill have to think about this one real good. hmmm. okay then...perhaps ill just have one bite of a piece and give the rest to Dassi....oh you know that isnt happening....illl have to plan that days food and exercise real good. lol.

Kelly...wish we were neighbors...I would absolutely love to go on walks a couple of times a day with you. It's so bitter cold here that there is no going out to walk or ride bike. I have a nice treadmill but just not the same and have a hard time forcing myself to walk on it. In a month we will be in warmer weather and plan on working off some of this stress with walking. If I bundled up, I could walk but we have so much ice under the snow that it's not worth a fall.

Apples, I am the same way. Maybe try putting your treadmill right in front of the picture window. I find if I can daydream out the window the treadmill becomes easier for me. I know, I know, it isn’t very attractive to have a big old clunky treadmill in the frontroom but who cares? Remember, it’s all about you. Your girls night out sounds wonderful! Don’t forget your swimming suits – the hot tub is wonderful this time of year.

I am doing great. I haven’t posted much lately because I have been really busy Christmas shopping and going to exercise. I have the shopping almost done. We still have some kids to buy for from the letters to Santa program out local paper runs. My husband gets such a thrill from this. I enjoy it too but it has special meaning for him because when he was a child he received presents through the church and sadly, those were the only presents he received. His family was very poor. Believe it or not, this program makes his Christmas! He even buys extra presents to take to the school just in case a child does not have their letter answered. It warms my heart to see this side of DH.

Exercise has been going well. I have worked with my trainer 2X a week since April and I can’t believe the difference it has made in me. I can’t believe how weak and out of shape I had become. I am so grateful for the trainer I have. I feel like she has given me a new life. What am I saying, she has given me a new life. The little things amaze me and make me happy. For instance, I went to Sam’s club to get dog food yesterday and I was able to pick up the bag and put it in the car without asking for help. It has been many years since I could do that. Silly, I know, but it thrilled me.

I am going to start TRX classes. My trainer teaches them at our gym and she told me yesterday that the classes were hard but I was ready for them. Who would have ever thought I would be taking “hard” classes. I have to think of a good Christmas gift for this girl.[/i

WOW..this is such a special traditon that you do...what a special thing to do for giving presents out to families that are in need around christmas time. Im sure it feels good to give back to the church and you are keeping this tradition alive to more children and famiilies can benefit. What a special gift.

Good going on the exercise.....I also didnt think I was ready for the classes at the gym but the trainier basically said you are! So, listen to the trainer she knows you and your capabilities....try them you will feel awkward maybe at first but...then youl get it...it will take a while and many classes but remember there is no rush...you dont have to look and wont like everyone else at first....after a while you wont feel different at all and even then if so so what???? No one is going to be looking at you but you!!! Have fun enjoy and get the epson salts ready.....and clean that bathtub youl need it lol.

Good Morning!!!

I was so tired last night, I could hardly function! I feel better now after a good nights rest. I needed it. Bad. Just thought I would ck in real quick before heading off to work.

Apples~ I am not going to overeat. In fact, since I've had discussions with all of you on here and since I went to my support group meeting, I've been doing so much better with my eating and really watching it. I think I was just really stressed out after my last Dr visit that I started stress eating. Now, I am actually back on track and have lost a pound since Tuesday. So, I suppose with the right mind set, I should be ok. I will get to talk to my dietitian more tomorrow since she is coming in with me to get her hair cut, colored and styled for a holiday ball she is going to.

Arlene~ Thanks for the positive encouragement! It really helps! I've been going to daily plate (now livestrong.com) and tracking my meals and calories for the last 3 days. It helps. Also, tonight I'm going to go to my 24 hour gym and ride the bike and do some dumb bell exercises that I learned in my sculpt stretch and tone class at school. My dad and I have discussions about men leaving their wives after 30+ years or whatever and he blames it on Viagra. Maybe thats why they think they are 30? SO glad my parents are still together. That would be hard as an adult to go through a separation of parents (if your friend has children).

Kelly~ You go girl on the two walks per day!!! Thats awesome! My sister has a weiner dog too. His name is Brady and he is long haired. Adorable.

Speaking of dogs, some of you may have seen on my fb that my sisters other dog Wallace had to have surgery yesterday. Please keep him in your prayers as I love this pup sooo much! They thought that he had a blockage in his colon (they thought it was fabric) and it wasn't passing for days, so finally they decided to open him up and get it out. Turns out it wasn't a blockage at all and his spleen had flipped around in his belly (spleen torosion). They removed it. Thank God they opened him up because otherwise he would have died. We were very nervous because he is also epilleptic and has to take a pretty large amount of phenol barbetol to survive and not have seizures.

Ok, off to work! Have a great day. It is freeeezing here! Not as cold as you apples, but this cold snap hit us fast!

~Meredith

Like Jodi, unable to change font and color. Oh well......

Lots of very busy ladies (and Chris). I'm leaving for Water aerobics. M,W,F with a friend. It's about time. Janet will be proud of me.

Joyce, If you will just click the box of "fast reply" at the bottom then click on size( i use 4) you should be able to change size and color. I click color then size and start my reply.

Meredith, there is some truth to the Viagra thing. My friend has two children in their mid twenties. They did not want their dad at the Thanksgiving get together. He is already suffering the consequences of his actions.

I am boiling eggs for Snacks. CBL!

Yes, thank you...you have reminded me...went to Trader Joes and forgot to buy my bag of cage free hard boiled eggs so needed to cook some up.

Okay.....must run to light chanuka candles and shabbos candles and give out presents and then.....dressed for dinner!

Have a great weekend all

happy shopping!!!

Jodi

[Charlene K 1]

Hey Gang, just got back from my mother's place. My DH just set her up with a new flat screen tv. She can see it better than the old one. I helpled push stuff around and yep, my back is hurting, but not as bad as before I started exercising. We went to lunch.....I ate tuna salad, and some zuchinni . I did eat a boiled egg for snack.

Phyl, How's it going? Did you get your go cart running? I hope you got that Starbuck's place straightened out. Take care of that cold!

Eva's back!!!! Woohoo!!!

Janet.....missing ya! I hope you are home soon.

Apples, You know I got that recipe. Can you freeze that cake? Can I freeze the Cherry one? I just want to get some stuff done before Christmas. I do not like to rush.....then I start forgetting.

Okay, I hope all of you have a great evening! CBL

[Apples2 19]

Jodi...thank you for explaining your celebrations and traditions. We have had absolutely no exposure to the Jewish customs as we live in a very rural Catholic/Lutheran area.

As far as the baking goes...YUCK...fruit cake. Never have liked it. Same with lefsa and lutefisk. I usually make about a dozen different kinds of pretty little Christmas Cookies, fudge and candies. We indulge in some but give most away to friends, family and landlords. My DH is of normal weight and is very health conscious but he has high cholesteral and he has quite a sweet tooth. As does DS who works with us daily. I try to put just a few out along with other healthy choices (fruit/veggies) and hide the rest so they are not tempted. DH and DS have always tried to stay within a certain range of weight and do a pretty good job of it. I always wished I had their willpower and now, with the help of the band, I developed the same healthy habits. Yeah!

Have a wonderful weekend with family, church family and friends.

Back from "the procedure"....cyst removed from DH's cheek up by eye. He'll have a black eye but all went well. Such an easy thing to get rid of and he's been dealing with it for at least 5 yrs if not more. Men!

[Apples2 19]

Hey Gang, just got back from my mother's place. My DH just set her up with a new flat screen tv. She can see it better than the old one. I helpled push stuff around and yep, my back is hurting, but not as bad as before I started exercising. We went to lunch.....I ate tuna salad, and some zuchinni . I did eat a boiled egg for snack.

Phyl, How's it going? Did you get your go cart running? I hope you got that Starbuck's place straightened out. Take care of that cold!

Eva's back!!!! Woohoo!!!

Janet.....missing ya! I hope you are home soon.

Apples, You know I got that recipe. Can you freeze that cake? Can I freeze the Cherry one? I just want to get some stuff done before Christmas. I do not like to rush.....then I start forgetting.

Okay, I hope all of you have a great evening! CBL

Arlene...both cakes can be frozen. If you are concerned, frost them when you take them out of the freezer when they are still frozen. I like doing it that way. I do not like a lot of goopy frosting. I put the frosting in a baggy, twist the top and cut a tiny hole in a bottom corner. Makes it easy to just drizzle the frosting and make a nice design. Less calories that way too. I always have a tub of homemade cream cheese frosting in the frig. It goes a long way if you just drizzle it.

Well, I sure hope Great does not get stuck in MPLS. Weather report stated last night that the winter storm warning was more for West Central part of our state. I drove DH home from appt in white-out conditions and it has gotten worse in the last hour. Thinking we are housebound for a bit. I know DS (who is out working in the shop) will take off from here after dark to drive the 15 miles home. He had talked of driving to Southern MN tonight. I mentioned to him that would be a huge risk. Not sure if he changed his mind...but...at almost 30 yrs old, what mom says does not register. Not sure.

Thank goodness I got my four new books from Amazon. I also think that this will be the weekend I get all of my Christmas baking done.

[sndycnrd 1]

Charlene, I am still running however, because of the cold weather I am running indoors. My new goal is to run a 10K in May. Until the weather gets better or any day that is over 32 degrees I will be indoors trying new things. I thought the TRX would be different enough to give me the change of pace I need. One thing I have noticed about exercising is that you need to change it up every now and then. Are you still walking?

Joyce, way to go on the Water aerobics. I love Water aerobics. I am always so tired (but a good tired) after class.

Jodi, thanks for the encouragement on the TRX class. It doesn't start until January so my trainer said she will take me into the room during one of my sessions and teach me the exercises before the class starts. That way I won't feel so intimidated. I have watched some of the classes and they do look a bit scary but it is time to step it up a bit. Oh boy, here I go. Your description of your holidays takes me back to when I was little. My girlfriend who lived across the street was Jewish and I always loved the parties and holiday at her house. I really didn't understand what was going on at the time. All I knew is that they had the best parties and that I LOVED chopped liver on matzo. Her mother would shape the chopped liver in the shape of a chicken. Happy memory.

Go get 'em Phyl!!! I hope you got the Starbucks thing straightened out. Is that golf cart charged up yet? Have you worked out Zoey's place in the cart?

[phyllser 3]

Hi ladies and gent, I haven't read everything, but wanted you to know I'm back home....drove in a little after 11pm last night and I'm trying to catch up stuff. I'll sit down and read and catch up in the next couple of days.

DH has changed my computers and I'm typing on a little laptop and not thrilled about it. It would be good for traveling but not as my primary computer. Talk to you all soon. Eva

So glad you are back! Forgot where you went, though!

Get lots of rest and fluids, Phyll (I'm pretty sure wine is a fluid). I would be so ticked about the Starbucks overcharge. Hope you can have it reversed. We have a supermarket that my "mom" went to every morning to have Breakfast with her friends (at the deli). We gave her a $50 card for Christmas one year. The first time using it, the clerk somehow used it all up. Took her months to get that straightened out. Hope you have better luck with a credit back than she did. DH and DS have been suffering with that crud for a week. I seem to be immune (knocking on wood). Get better

Yes, I am having some wine now! And I had 2 cups of coffee this morning, Soup and another cup of coffee for lunch, a free latte.... 20 oz, at Starbucks, and now my wine.

Starbucks was frustrating. First, I was not feeling well and my cheeks were red from fever, so by the time I got to the manager, I was a little heated and sort of slammed my copies of the AMEX statement on the counter. So he told me I needed to settle down and if I slammed my hands on the counter again he was going to ask me to leave. So I told him if he asked me to leave I would be calling the police because I had "fraudulent" charges on my credit card from that store. So we both settled down and I showed him my paperwork and explained what happened. Showed him my SBX card transactions on my phone and what the girl did on Monday. So he told me to sit down and he disappeared for about 10 minutes. When he came back he told me there was nothing he could do and I needed to call this 1-800 # for Starbucks and if they did not resolve my problem I should call his personal cell phone #. So I came home and did that, and the rep told me I needed to contact AMEX and tell them to take one of the $70 charges off my credit card. So I went online and did that, but site said it could take 8 weeks to resolve! Plus I still had over $100 put on my card when I wanted $30! We'll see what happens now! So I asked the manager, "well, can I have a drink??" So he gave me a free latte.... so I ordered a quad shot 20 oz!! LOL! So at least I got 2 free drinks out of this! That ditz who waited on me Monday gave me a free drink because it took her so long (to double charge me!!)

Hey Gang, just got back from my mother's place. My DH just set her up with a new flat screen tv. She can see it better than the old one. I helped push stuff around and yep, my back is hurting, but not as bad as before I started exercising. We went to lunch.....I ate tuna salad, and some zucchini . I did eat a boiled egg for snack.

Phyl, How's it going? Did you get your go cart running? I hope you got that Starbuck's place straightened out. Take care of that cold!

Eva's back!!!! Woohoo!!!

Janet.....missing ya! I hope you are home soon.

Apples, You know I got that recipe. Can you freeze that cake? Can I freeze the Cherry one? I just want to get some stuff done before Christmas. I do not like to rush.....then I start forgetting.

Okay, I hope all of you have a great evening! CBL

You better take care of that back!!

Cart is running GREAT!! Took it to get the mail when I got back from SBX today.

I have not yet done ANYTHING for Christmas!! I am going to do mostly giftcards for our mostly teenage/young adult grandchildren.

Jodi...thank you for explaining your celebrations and traditions. We have had absolutely no exposure to the Jewish customs as we live in a very rural Catholic/Lutheran area.

As far as the baking goes...YUCK...fruit cake. Never have liked it. Same with lefsa and lutefisk. I usually make about a dozen different kinds of pretty little Christmas Cookies, fudge and candies. We indulge in some but give most away to friends, family and landlords. My DH is of normal weight and is very health conscious but he has high cholesteral and he has quite a sweet tooth. As does DS who works with us daily. I try to put just a few out along with other healthy choices (fruit/veggies) and hide the rest so they are not tempted. DH and DS have always tried to stay within a certain range of weight and do a pretty good job of it. I always wished I had their willpower and now, with the help of the band, I developed the same healthy habits. Yeah!

Have a wonderful weekend with family, church family and friends.

Back from "the procedure"....cyst removed from DH's cheek up by eye. He'll have a black eye but all went well. Such an easy thing to get rid of and he's been dealing with it for at least 5 yrs if not more. Men!

Glad things went well with DH! I have always liked fruit cake. When I was growing up my Mom always ordered some from the door to door bread man... can't remember the name of the company. But it was good fruitcake. Hardly ever get any recent Christmas'.

Charlene, I am still running however, because of the cold weather I am running indoors. My new goal is to run a 10K in May. Until the weather gets better or any day that is over 32 degrees I will be indoors trying new things. I thought the TRX would be different enough to give me the change of pace I need. One thing I have noticed about exercising is that you need to change it up every now and then. Are you still walking?

Joyce, way to go on the Water aerobics. I love Water aerobics. I am always so tired (but a good tired) after class.

Jodi, thanks for the encouragement on the TRX class. It doesn't start until January so my trainer said she will take me into the room during one of my sessions and teach me the exercises before the class starts. That way I won't feel so intimidated. I have watched some of the classes and they do look a bit scary – but it is time to step it up a bit. Oh boy, here I go. Your description of your holidays takes me back to when I was little. My girlfriend who lived across the street was Jewish and I always loved the parties and holiday at her house. I really didn't understand what was going on at the time. All I knew is that they had the best parties and that I LOVED chopped liver on matzo. Her mother would shape the chopped liver in the shape of a chicken. Happy memory.

Go get 'em Phyl!!! I hope you got the Starbucks thing straightened out. Is that golf cart charged up yet? Have you worked out Zoey's place in the cart?

Our oldest grandson just moved in with his girlfriend, so DD #1 cleaned out his room and made an exercise room.... put our treadmill in there (we don't have room in our condo), bought an elliptical and put their stationary bike in there. Oh... and their daughter gave them a small flat screen TV to put in there!! Her and her boyfriend just bought a 65 inch at the Black Friday sales!

ZOEY has worked out her place in the cart!! I keep putting her in the little plexiglassed area behind the seats, but today, on the way to the office, she jumped over the seat so she could sit next to me!! So I assume that's where she prefers to be! LOL