October Healthy Living Thread

[marcy]

Hi everyone. Can you believe it is October? Like 2 months from Christmas? This month starts the holiday festivities – Halloween candy, then Thanksgiving eatathon and then we are in to Christmas parties. How do you try to keep those calories at bay? What tricks do you use to try and maintain during the holiday?

I saw a commercial today that was quite funny. It said the worse part about Halloween was giving away your Reese’s. I for one take all of my left over Halloween candy to work and it disappears rather quickly that way.

As always watching portion control usually works but some things are best left alone if you can’t stop eating them once you start.

We’ve had a very busy few days. Marty got back from his business trip on Thursday. I picked him up at DIA and we went to a Comedy Works in Denver that night. It was quite fun. We didn’t get home till after 11:30 that night but we enjoyed ourselves.

Friday we went out for dinner. Saturday I cleaned house (I always like to say I clean my house once a month whether it needs it or not) then we went to Best Buy and got me a Kindle 3. I really like it. Once I realized I could read all the books Marty has already bought it was a no brainer which reader to get. The contrast on it is SOOO much better than my Sony Touch. I sold my Sony Touch to a lady at work. Last night was movie / popcorn night. This morning I headed south again to meet up with a friend of mine and her mom who are here from Montana visiting relatives. I spent a few hours with them. I made tacos for supper.

Michelle, has your heat wave eased up yet? Marty was in Phoenix last week and said it was very hot. We are still hitting near 80’s in the day which is pretty warm for us this time of year. Congratulations for being under 150 pounds. How exciting! I think you’d really like the Kindle. I put the reader ap on my iPod Touch and it works great on there too. I am sure you’ll get a lot of attention at your family reunion with your new, svelte body. I did pick up my ring on Thursday and the diamond is nicer than the one they put in their first but just barely. I will probably put the sapphire back in.

Somethingshiny, congratulations on losing another pound and being good sore. That shows you are showing your body who’s boss.

Lisa, I hope your chaffing is better now. Wasabi mashed potatoes sound good. I know you can identify with family stress. I hope you do get a chance to veg out from it.

Beach Runner, way to go having energy after running 20 miles. Good idea to stay of I-25. We were on Pena Blvd and went on to I-225 Thursday at 5. We were stopped quite a bit. I was glad Marty was driving by then.

Take care and have a great week.
Marcy

 

[BeachRunner]

Happy Monday ladies! Last week just dragged on by and where did my weekend go? We have friends coming in on Friday, so I’m sure this week will crawl by as well. My weekend was busy but uneventful, really. Friday I relaxed and watch a movie with salmon and broccoli for dinner. Saturday morning I did a 12 mile run, which now seems like a “short run”. I guess I forgot to charge my GPS watch all week (whoops) so my watch was dead by mile 1. So, I had to wing it, but fortunately I’ve been running the same spots for awhile now so I know the distances pretty well. Sunday I SLEPT IN! I got a text at 7am, as I was tracking my friend running the Twin City Marathon. YAY for her! Hubby and I went on a scavenger hunt for bedding and let me tell you; all day of shopping makes husband cranky! And to top it off, we didn’t find anything. We looked in Macy’s, JCP, Target, BBB, even Wal-Mart. Nothing. We did find a duvet cover for the master bedroom, and will just buy a random bed in a bag for our spare bedroom. We’ll just buy one from BBB; it’s not our favorite but it’s cheap and OK. I had 4 miles on my schedule for Sunday, but we got home at 6:30p and I was exhausted. I threw on my running clothes and prayed for SOME daylight. By 7p it was dark and I ended my run praying I wouldn’t trip over cracks in the sidewalk. Oof. I’m beginning to wonder how I’m going to fit in my runs come winter, but I did it last yr so I’ll find a way to get them done this winter. I love morning runs; crisp air, cool temps, and not a lot of people out.

We have 3 concerts on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday and we’re SO excited! We have friends coming from all over the country. We’re having a BBQ at our house on Sunday, then we’re taking a limo to the show! My marathon is the Sunday after that madness. I’ll have 4 days to recover from that, so I hope to be OK.

Marcy- Thanks for the opener! I was just thinking about holiday season, as we were in Macy’s at there was Christmas décor up already! I just get over myself, and come to terms with the fact that I’ll probably gain weight during the winter months. I enjoy holiday food way too much. But, portion control is always something I do, esp now because if I eat too much sweet things loaded with butter, etc I’ll get sick.

I’ll by picking my friends up from DIA on Friday at 4pm, so I’ll experience Pena Blvd at it’s finest. Blah! It’ll be worth it though!

Lisa- It’s HERE!! Are you ready? (to get it over with!) My friend who ran her marathon will be at my BBQ so I’m sure we’ll talk about her race a lot. I’ll surely be thinking about you Sunday morning! What are you wearing in the am to keep warm? I STILL don’t know my race day attire! I actually read that you can use men’s tube socks for arm warmers and toss em when you warm up but my husband said they would be too big for my arms. I still may try that.

Hello to everyone else! Hope everyone has a quick Monday and a healthy week!

 

[appletini]

A friend of a friend posted on her blog a challenge of 31 days of exercise in 31 days, I think its a great way to kickoff the holiday season. I was not so good about exercising last month, but its a new month now! So far I am 4 for 4 and I was even out of town this weekend. We have a new trainer teaching the Total Body class so I had a tough workout today, we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

 

[lliang_chi]

Morning all my Healthy Friends

I'm SICK!!!! I'm staying home today in hopes of getting better before Sunday. Also another coworker is running (he's in the elite group, finished last year at 2:45) so I don't want to get him sick. BOOO!!! Talk about lousy timing!!! Other than that it got *COLD* in Chicago this weekend! 50s!!! But it's supposed to be 70s this weekend so I'm happy! That's the perfect running weather for me. 70s and Sunny

Beach, wow, sounds like you had a crazy exhausting weekend. How's the house coming together?

Marcy, Glad Marty's back from his trip. Ooohh ahhh, the new Kindle THat's fantastic!!! I live in a condo in the city so we don't get a lot of trick-or-treaters. But the portion control tip is huge. I am really trying to make myself justify why I'm eating something. "Am I hungry? Why do I want to eat this." Most of the time it's "Just to eat it." I have a tendency to mindlessly snack. Which is not reason enough. That sometimes works. The chafing is all better now. THanks.

Beach, it's supposed to be NICE, 70s for my race, so I think I'm just going to run in what I've always run in. shorts & tank. And my hat. The charity team sent me a shirt, I might run with that on top. I'm so glad it'll be warm. I hate hate HATE running in non-nice weather. I'm such a running baby. James just shakes his head when I whine "It's cooold! I don't wanna run " Holy cow your concert bonanza sound fantastic! Take it easy though I'm going to be DRINKING this sunday!!! Sis and I gave up booze for 4 wks before the race. Sunday, we're hitting a bloody mary and wine. Sis is doing a lobster boil for the people that helped her fundraise. I raised $1,435! But there's too many people to thank so I'll be writing them cards and maybe sending cookies.

Apple, 31-31 wow, that is a challenge. We'll cheer you on!!! Don't overdo it though. Make sure you balance out your hard days with some other easier exercising like yoga or walking.

 

[appletini]

Wow I'm sore today...hip flexors and inner thighs. He had us doing jumping jack squats yesterday as part of our routine and lots of stuff with the ball.

Today's plan is yoga during lunch and then do a walk/jog after work so I can enjoy the wonderful weather.

lliang, sorry to hear you are sick, especially the week of your race. Maybe you should go to the Dr. DH had a bad sinus infection last week.

 

[somethingshiny]

You crazy workout-aholics! Once again, I feel like I'm a total lazy butt! Glad you're all doing great!

lliang~ Hope you feel better!!

Not much from me. Just trying to maintain some semblance of order at home and working out. I bought my first Missy size sweater the other day! It's been years since I've been able to shop "regular" clothes! Of course, I only bought it at the goodwill since I don't want to invest lots of money in a wardrobe I hope to be too small for next year.

I made my first big crock pot of chili for the fall. DH has already eaten half and when my sis found out I made it, she came over too. Well, that'll make sure I don't eat too much of it!



My holiday eating: I pretty much avoid Halloween candy. I don't have to give it out since I have kids to take out so I don't have leftovers. I don't let JT go to a thousand houses either. We get enough candy to enjoy for a few days and that's it. My only Halloween vice is candy corn. But, in the grand scheme of things, not so bad. Thanksgiving, I only eat real food and 1 piece of pie. I don't partake in all the crap. Thanksgiving is probably one of my healthiest eating days of the year. I pretty much eat turkey and veggies! As for Christmas, there lies my downfall. I will try to not make as many cookies this year for the simple fact, they're hard to live with! And, I'll try my best to only eat Christmas goodies for a few days and then be done. With the way my family cooks and bakes, you could have a different treat every day between Thanksgiving and New Years so it's a challenge!

 

[marcy]

Hi kids! How is life treating you this week?

I was very good on calories today – yesterday wasn’t bad but I did eat one piece of a big cookie at work. Marty is in sunny California so I am trying to eat very sensible while he is gone. I had 2 fast food tacos for supper tonight but they are still in my calorie range.

Tomorrow 3 of the people who developed that stupid software program I’ve been fighting with are coming to see the product in production. Keep your fingers crossed I don’t leap out of my chair and choke them. They seem to have the attitude of “we don’t see that problem here” or “you never told us that”. I might have chocolate and wine for supper tomorrow.

Beach Runner, I am sure you’ll enjoy your company and concerts. We both get cranky chasing around for house items. It’s not nearly as much fun as shopping for clothes, watches and of course jewelry. We got some very nice sheet sets off overstock.com. Land’s End has nice bedding and the downtown Sears has a lot of their stuff there. I was thinking of trying their towels. We got some awhile back from BBB and they shed like a long haired cat; I actually put them up and kept using our old towels. I can’t believe Macy’s has Christmas things out already. I sure notice I can’t take the rich or greasy food anymore either.

Appletini, great idea to go for 31 days of exercise. Good luck.

Lisa, I hope you start to feel better and have a great run this weekend. Mindless eating can sure add up calories. Marty will bring a bag of chips in to the living room and eat the whole thing and he usually says ‘oops, I didn’t mean to eat that much”. I try to get myself one serving in a bowl and hopefully stop there. Great idea to justify what you are eating.

Somethingshiny, how exciting to buy a missy sized sweater. Chili sounds delicious. I am thinking about not handing out candy this year. Last year we didn’t get a lot of kids at our house. I love candy corn. I bought some a few weeks ago and ate some on Sunday then took the rest to work on Monday. I don’t eat much at Thanksgiving either but mostly because I can’t eat turkey. I am like you with Christmas though – cookies are a major weakness for me. I am planning on cutting down my cookie baking this year too.

Well, take care.
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Hi all! Sounds like everyone is keeping busy.

marcy - Yay! You got a Kindle!! I love mine. I've been coming home every evening, sitting by the fire after dinner and reading until I fall asleep. I never would have guessed that I would use it so much. Good luck with the programmers tomorrow. The computer project I'm going to be stuck on for 3-5 years is working with programmers to develop new software for our agency, and I don't like that kind of thing at all. I like the idea of chocolate and wine for dinner!! Although I think my dinner would be chips and beer.

lisa - ooh, I hope you're all better before the weekend. We've had that cold weather too - rainy and in the 50's during the day, 30's at night. BRRRR!!!! One of my coworkers has to travel to another part of the state (WV) to give a presentation tomorrow, and it's snowing there today. I hope it warms up for your race!

beachrunner - All day shopping makes ME cranky! Matt is killing me with football this year, so I'm boycotting football on Sundays. I'm determined to get things done. Last week I spent the day shopping for desperately needed winter clothes (didn't get much), and this week I spent the day shopping for paint and home stuff. I don't know if I can keep up the all day Sunday shopping much longer. It's exhausting! Although, I am kind of liking the "me" time.

shiny - I have a serious problem with candy corn and those little pumpkins. I can resist so many other things, but I LOVE those! Matt buys a bag every time we go grocery shopping. I have been snacking on those way to much, and I have also have a serious addiction to diet dew. My only two vices (hee, hee!). Yay for buying a smaller size sweater!

appletini - good luck with the exercising for 31 days. I bet you are sore - I probably wouldn't be able to move!!

I have been down with my back so far this month. We have only been able to walk a couple of times, and not very far at that. Not good. This always seems to happen when there is a drastic change in the weather. It was 95 last Friday, 71 on Saturday, and then in the low 50's and raining ever since. I stayed home from work yesterday and didn't wake up until 1pm. I guess I got caught up for all those nights I try to get in bed by 11, but don't make it until 1:30-2! Tonight Matt made chili and grilled cheese for dinner, and it was super tasty. He is heading out of town for work this week, and then on to Cincinnati for the weekend. His brother has luxury box tickets for the first Reds home playoff game, and Matt is beyond excited about going. I'm not up for the trip, so I'll be content to stay here and read. At least I won't have to go running around on Sunday to boycott football for the day! I may see if my nieces want to come & stay for a girls weekend. Have a great day tomorrow everyone.

 

[somethingshiny]

deegee~ Totally hear you on the Diet Dew and pumpkins. OMG, I could eat and drink all night! I have eaten candy corn/pumpkins until my teeth hurt! My other vice is the Cadbury egg, but we have a few months until that hits!

Marcy~ Yay for a Kindle. I have been debating an e-reader for a long time. I hate the thought of spending a bunch of money to download books though. There are very few that I reread. It seems that once I read a book, it doesn't matter if I don't see it again for ten years, as soon as I read the first chapter I remember the whole book. So, obviously, I only reread ones that I absolutely love and of course I already own those. I think I'm loving the IDEA of a reader. Good luck with your program! Chocolate and wine is definitely a step up from Diet Dew and candy corn!!

Today, my workout consisted of trekking about a mile and a half through a freshly combined field twice. Some of you may not realize what that's like so I'll describe it. Put on heeled shoes (because you didn't plan this excursion), head out across broken corn stalks and the heaped up rows, now go into the bean field. This is much smoother terrain but there is so much junk left behind that you catch your foot and heels in it and nearly kill yourself. Good, now you're started. You have to go faster to get out of the way of the oncoming tractor and combine while dragging a 4 yr old with you. 4 yr old is now tired and really wants you to carry him. Um, no. Okay, finally reach the combine where 4 yr old climbs aboard. great. Now turn around and get back out. A couple hours later, do all this again.

Well, it's always good to mix it up, right!?

have a great tomorrow!

 

[BeachRunner]

Hey everyone!
Our office had an "out of office day". It was OK; the training activities we did were kind of lame, but it was nice to not be in the office. I got home and did 4 miles; had veggie burger for dinner. I don't have much for today.

Lisa- $1400!? That's so awesome! I'm glad you are predicted wonderful race weather! Denver weather is so unpredictable; it could be warm this weekend and snow the next. I've been running my am runs in tank and shorts/skirt so I may just have to be cold for a minute. I've read that many long distance runners get sick during their taper weeks due to the body repairing/restoring itself. You'll be fine by Sunday! And bloody mary's sound excellent after the marathon!

SS- I've been telling my hubby that I can't wait for "chili weather". It's still fairly warm here and just not chili weather yet. I'm sure it'll get chilly within a couple weeks.

Marcy- Awesome job with your caloric intake today! If I worked from home everyday it would be so much easier to not eat crap. I had a donut yesterday; oof! Oh well, it was good. We found bedding at BedBath and Beyond; we got some good deals and I printed out a couple 20% off coupons so we saved about $40.

deegee- Hello! Snow already? Wow. A friend on FB said it was snowing in Snowshoe today. Crazy! I was in the mtns today for my out of office day and there were white mountains far away.

Have a good evening, ya'll

 

[lliang_chi]

Apple, how's the 31 days going? Good I hope

SS, congrats on the smaller sweater! Your story about the tractor & combine are hilarious. But couldn't you make the combine come to you guys? I mean you have such a cute JT, "Please Mr. Farmer, can I ride the combine? Can you like drive it over here so Mommy doesn't have to ruin her nice shoes?" Hee hee.

Marcy what new books have you read nowt hat you have your new Kindle? Great job on sticking in the calorie range. Sis and I made a pact we're going to keep each other food accountable. We've done a reasonable job with the training part, so hopefully it'll work. We both have problems with portion control. My parents were always like "Just finish it, it's not worth saving." Ugh! If it's not worth saving, then don't save it. Because it's definitely not worth gaining lbs for... So we'll work that that this holiday season...

Deegee, yes, it should be a nice sunny 70F for my race. So fantastic. OMG I totally know what you mean about boycotting football. Sis and I are sooo tired of having football on in our houses, we just take off somewhere together. It'd be so nice if James and her BF can just watch together so we have 1 football apt and 1 non-football apt. Hope your back is feeling better. *** Dust *** to you.

Beach, nice low key day for you. Sounds great. I really hope you're right about runners gettign sick before races. mmmm... nothing better than a nice warm bowl of chili on a cold winter day. I totally know what you mean by that!

Well, ladies, I'm still laid up, didn't go to work today either. I didn't get much rest yesterday, I took one of those day time cold decongestant and was wide awake all day yesterday. Today I didn't and was able to get some decent zzzz's during the day. My boss etc still bugged me a bit durign the day. I was like "C'mon! I'm sick!!!" Booo! ANywya, I think tonight will be grilled cheese & tomato soup. Sis might come over since she's solo tonight, her BF is out it the suburbs doing stuff. I'm hesitant to have her over since I don't want to get her sick, but I suppose it's OK as long as she doesn't hug me or anything.

 

[deegee]

Hi everybody!

shiny - I'm totally drooling over here thinking about candy corn/pumpkins and diet dew. YUM!!!!! I guess it's evident that I like the finer things in life! I had 5 pumpkins and a bottle of nut brown ale for dessert tonight. Totally hit the spot. The backyard of my house in Ohio ran right into a corn field. Corn stalks as far as you could see in any direction. I have to say, I never thought to go trapsing through it for exercise! Then again, I don't have kids...

beach - Snowshoe is where my friend is heading tomorrow. She has to give a presentation at a conference for work. I think she's in the clear for no snow tomorrow. There was an article in the paper today about how early our first snowfall was this year!

lisa - Matt always sets his remote to flip between a bunch of games, and it drives me nuts. He'll watch a play and then flip to another game. Watch a play there and flip to another game. He does it so much I can't remember who's playing! I wish I lived closer to family & friends so that I could hang out with them. My closest friend in WV and her hubby spend lots of time together on the weekends working on their house or shopping, so my one person to hang out with here is unavailable on weekends. Boo!!! That stinks getting bugged while you're out sick. I was out so cold on Monday that I don't think I would have heard the phone ring even if it was sitting right beside my head and the volume was on max.

I'm waiting for Matt to get off the phone with his brother so we can take a walk tonight. It's going to be hard to drag my lazy rear off the couch (and away from the fire) to go out in the 45 degree weather, but I'm determined to do it. Dinner tonight was grilled chicken, potatoes and veggies, and dessert was those tasty little pumpkins. I'm also determined to get in bed by 10:30 tonight, so sleep well everyone and have a great day tomorrow!

 

[appletini]

lliang,

31 days is going well I am 6 for 6 so far. Yesterday I ended up having a reunion workout with my old workout partner instead of going to yoga. I'm so excited she is back in my building. We did the jillian 30 day shred 2 and 12 min walk/jog as our warm up. Today I had a birthday lunch for a coworker so I did my increased walk/jog routine this evening. This fall weather definitely helps. I'm still store fro my Monday class but tomorrow will be going back for more torture. I hope this new trainer keeps it up!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone! Do you know what the best part of my day was today? Now – it’s almost over. OMG! What a day. The software people came to observe. Many of the things we’ve complained about were working just fine today. Go figure, eh? Then I found a new “bug” in the software where I entered an item on the wrong day and it wiped out 3 weeks – count ‘em – 3 weeks of data. D’oh! I was there till 6 getting it all entered again. I sure wanted chocolate and wine tonight but I didn’t give in to temptation. I am sure those software guys think I am a total dolt. The reason I clicked on the wrong date is so many of us were at my desk I was shifted to the right about 2.5 feet and I was crossing my arm in front of me to work on my computer - I simple clicked on the wrong calendar date and didn't notice it.

Marty gets back from California tomorrow and it’s his birthday so I will drag him out to dinner. He got a new stereo system for his truck so he’ll be busy this weekend installing that.

Deegee, I am enjoying my Kindle but I keep trying to touch the screen to open a book and the backwards and forwards buttons are throwing me off. The Sony had only one place for them so for some reason I keep hitting the left forward button to go back. I’ll get it figured out soon. I am glad to hear you enjoy your Kindle so much. Reading by the fire sounds divine. I am reading more on mine than I thought it. Good luck with your project over the new few years. Chips and beer are always good after a rough day. I am so sorry to hear your back is bothering you. I hope it gets better. Temperature changes can sure get your body’s attention. Good for you going out for a walk in chilly weather. This weekend I was at a friend’s house and they were going to eat out on the patio. As soon as I saw some people were staying inside I decided I would too since I get cold easy. My friend came looking for me and asked me why I was still inside and I said I didn’t want to get cold and she said “what are you – a sissy little princess?” I said "maybe". I am sure the people at work who tease me about being cold all the time would fall on the floor laughing over that comment! And for the record I did go outside then and was warm as long as I was in the sun.

Somethingshiny, I think you would enjoy the ereader. You can find classics to read for free and some of the ereaders can check books out of your local library. I am very much like you in that I rarely read a book more than once. Your trekking through the field sounds like quite the adventure. I am sure I would have tripped more than once. I am sure it burned off some calories though.

Beach Runner, working from home sounds so fun but the few times I’ve done it I get a little stir crazy. Glad you got in a nice run today though which would be hard to do while you are at the office. Yes, the chilly weather will be here before we know it. The bedding from BBB looks very nice. Woo hoo for getting 20% off coupons for it.

Lisa, how wonderful you and your sister made a pact to help each other on food intake. That will be helpful for the holiday season. I’ve finished 3 of the Michael Connelly Harry Bosch books and 2 of the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum books. I just started another Harry Bosch story. I think I can read Marty’s already purchased books well in to the next year. He’s my library but of course he had to pay for them I am just getting more mileage out of them after the fact. I hope you are feeling better tomorrow and yum to soup and grilled cheese for supper.

Appletini, that is great you had a wonderful workout today and are looking forward to the new trainer.

Laters,
Marcy

 

[somethingshiny]

lliang~ Um, yeah, "hey Mr. Farmer (aka, DAD) could you please come to me?" Response, "Get your A$$ moving. I've got a field to combine!" If I drove a truck I would have driven all the way over there, but couldn't see taking the car barreling thru the field, at least not anymore! lol. I hope you feel better soon! I'm actually surprised that you're still sick.

deegee~ "The finer things in life" is right!! Plus, you have the fire to cozy up by!! Hope your walk with hubby was nice. That's one of the things I really miss with my DH. Most of our marriage he's worked either 2nd or 3rd shift so our moonlit strolls are few and far between.

apple~ Sounds like you're doing great with your 31 days! Kudos!!

marcy~ The freebies and classics are the reason I've never completely nixed the idea of the ereader. I wouldn't buy a lot of them and haven't read a lot of them (Jane Austen for example, or the original Frankenstein). I didn't know about the library thing. What do you do?? Glad your crazy day is over. Have a great birthday dinner with Marty!

As for me, not much to report. No workout of any sort yesterday and probably not today. I'm just too tired. Lily was not happy most of the day yesterday and was up until midnight. Then JT woke up with growing pains in his legs (he's grown 1.5" in less than 3 months!) So I laid with him and rubbed his legs for a while until he fell back to sleep. Had to get up early to get JT ready for school, he was dragging because he was up late last night for Awana (church thing for kids) and being up for an hour in the middle of the night. Anyway, My candy corns are gone and I'm trying not to buy anymore. We'll see how long that lasts!!


That's all for now, Have a great tomorrow!!

 

[lliang_chi]

Deegee, OMG, I'm really happy that James does flip like Matt does. DirecTV does NFL Ticket channel where they keep switching to channels in/near the endzone. Sounds like Matt would love that. I call it the ADHD channel. James watches so much sports that was one thing I totally had to get used when he moved in. When Sis adn I lived together we'd listen to music and cook together. Sorry you don't have someone you can hang out with during football. I think you were also "complaining" about March Madness with me, is that right???

Apple, 7 for 7 today? That's great! So nice your workout buddy is back. I want sis to join our gym. She's the best workout buddy ever! We spot each other and stuff. And then we hit a steam afterwards. James is kinda boring in the gym, but he does spot me when I need it. I always feel weird asking random people for a spot.

Marcy,wow, you're a reading machine! I'm so jealous. I think I'm going to get myself a Nook for Christmas. Definitely good of you to get more miles from Marty's books. I also very rarely re-read books. The Great Gatsby and 100 Yrs of Solitude are the only exceptions. They're tied for my all time favorite books. Happy birthday to Marty!!! Are you going to make him a cake? Sorry you had such a tough day. Don't worry about those software people, they probably more scared of you than anything else. Since you find bugs and stuff in their work.

SS, HA HA HA!!! I love your request/response from your husband. Soo funny! I'm FINALLY feeling a fair bit better. I think I'll be able to bump this by Sunday the way it's going. I'm taking it easy though, have't done any of the running I was supposed to this week.

James came up with a plan for marathon cheering for him, Sis's BF and our mutual friend. They're going to catch us at least 5 or 6 times. Drinking the whole time while waiting for us. I'm starting to get really excited. For Marathon Day dinner, Sis is having a Thank You for Helping Me Fundraise Lobster Boil. Surf and turf actually. And wine. MMmmmm!

Work today was quite good. I had to drag myself in today because we had a Production deployment and I'm point person on the PROD environment. Everything went a-okay we even finished earlier than our declared outage window. And I managed to give my boss 3 other bits of good news, so all in all I made him pretty happy for being out for 2 days. Tomorrow AM I pick up my marathon packet.

That's all for me.

~Lisa

 

[BeachRunner]

Just dropped by to say GOOD LUCK to Lisa!! I can't wait to hear all about your big day! Enjoy the experience, and enjoy your after party lobster boil! YUM!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone! I spent most of my weekend either in the kitchen or reading. Yesterday I ran errands and went grocery shopping so I just made a pot roast for supper. Today I made homemade spaghetti and meatballs. I just go my second batch of dishes going in the dishwasher. We’ve got lots of leftovers for lunch now too. Woo hoo.

Marty spent most of his weekend winterizing the 5th and installing a new stereo system in his truck. I think he worked harder than I did.

Somethingshiny, the Sony ereader store has a link to libraries and all you have to do is have a library card and you can check out ebooks from them. Sadly our local library doesn’t have any. The google ebooks has thousands of free books to check out though. It sounds like you, Lily and Jt had a few rough days. I hope all of you are doing better.

Lisa, you can add me to the hate March Madness club. I used to think it was just a reason to have a sale in the spring. Sadly, I was wrong. I hope you do get the Nook for Christmas. I am sure enjoying my Kindle. I got my pink cases for it in the mail this weekend too. I got a hard cover and a neoprene so I feel safe carrying it around in my purse. I didn’t make Marty a cake but I got him a little piece of German chocolate cake this weekend. I am sure your boss enjoyed getting some good news.

Beach Runner, it feels like fall has finally arrived in the mountain west. Rats.

Back to my book!
Marcy

 

[lliang_chi]

Beach!!! THanks for thinking about me!!! The marathon went well. I told James there was never any point where I felt I couldn't finish. We took it really slow, finished ~5:53. It was quite hot when we got to the South Side of Chicago, so I think that's where we lost a lot of time. And Sis had to walk almost a mile at one point, she wasn't feeling too good. But we finished!!! Afterwards I did a massage, and compression tights. THe massage I wouldn't suggest RIGHT afterward since they can't do anything deep tissue. We might go again next week. I have 2 purple toes, one's pretty bad. And a giant blister on my big toe. But other than that, nothing bad. Took the day off to recover today.

Marcy, aw pink covers for your Kindle. Awesome! Hee hee about a sale during March Madness weekend. I should go shopping too. James might not like that too much though... We made spaghetti & meatballs the day before our big run. I have a little bit packed up in a tupperware, but that's really for James. I might snarf it for lunch tomorrow though...

That's all for me!

~Lisa

 

[deegee]

Howdy all!

Lisa - yes, I was definitely groaning with you during March Madness. Matt is such a sports freak that it has kind of made me not like sports so much anymore. He gets so stressed at work, so he comes home and totally loses himself in sports. It's the only thing he wants to watch on tv in the evenings & weekends. Glad to hear your race went well. It got really hot here over the weekend - hope you didn't have the heat!

marcy - your eats sound yummy!!!! I love having leftovers for lunch. I have burned myself out on frozen meals for lunch. I can't stand the thoughts of them anymore! I'm doing a bunch of testing right now for our in-house programmers, and it's driving me nuts. About two weeks ago I did nothing but test for 3 straight days and took a list of things that aren't working correctly to one of the programmers and haven't heard a peep back from him. One of our programmers has a way of talking to you like you're a complete moron and dismisses the fixes you ask for as totally unnecessary, even though the program isn't working. The other programmer will listen to what you him, and then proceed to tell you why he can't do anything about it. They seriously drive me nuts.

shiny - poor little JT. I bet his little legs have such cramps. When Matt and I lived in Ohio, I was an AWANA leader. I worked with the Sparkies. They were such little cutie pies!

Matt isn't back from Cincinnati yet. He went to watch the Reds choke last night with his brother, and then hung out today with his family. I ended up with 2 of my nieces this weekend. My back has been acting ugly the past few weeks so I had planned a weekend of rest, but my 11 yr old niece called begging to come up for the weekend. I couldn't resist "Aunt D, pleeeeeaaassseeee!!!!" My sister would get upset if she knew the kids called & invited themselves, so I called back and asked as if it was all my idea - a girls weekend while Uncle Matt was away. We had a great time, but wow! They wore me out! Today was a state holiday and I sat around reading all day with my feet propped up. Oh, and I FINALLY upgraded my phone to an iPhone 4. LOVE IT - should have done it sooner!!!! Have a great day tomorrow everyone!

 

[deegee]

Hi everyone! Matt got home from Cincinnati last night around midnight and wanted to take a walk, so we didn't get to bed until really late and I have been half asleep all day. The holiday on Monday clearly messed me up because I was on the wrong day all morning. I thought I had to go to the Legislature today for an interim session meeting, so I actually dug up a decent looking dressy outfit complete with accessories. I realized right before I was going to leave for the Capitol that I don't go until tomorrow. D'oh! I only have one other jacket/blazer in my wardrobe for winter wear because I had to get rid of everything last year due to weight loss. I bought the one I am going to have to wear tomorrow over 65 pounds ago, so it's going to be a tad bit roomy. I kept it because it was more fitted so hopefully I won't look too terribly bad. We had spaghetti and salad for dinner and just took our walk. I HAVE to get to bed before 1 so I can get up early enough to put some effort into getting ready tomorrow! Have a great day everyone!!

 

[somethingshiny]

Cleaned g'mas today. Played hard with JT over the weekend and teaching DH some yoga! Yay!

Will try to catch up later!!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone! How about those miners in Chili? I am very excited for them to all be rescued.

Work hasn’t been too bad this week and next Tuesday my employee who has been on maternity leave will be back. I am very excited to have a full staff again.

Marty had to go to Denver today for work so I rode home with a friend. We decided to go have a drink and chips and salsa. We also had a taco. I ate too much I just had to have an alka seltzer cocktail. That will teach me, huh? Marty is going back tomorrow but he will take his truck this time so I can have the car.

Lisa, I am so glad to hear your marathon went well. Congratulations to all of you for finishing. I am always looking for a good time to go shopping so March Madness is as good of reason as any. Spaghetti and meatballs are a great way to get some carbs before a big race. I like my Kindle better now that I have the pink covers for it.

Deegee, I am not a big fan of frozen meals either. Of course poor Marty had to have a frozen chicken pot pie tonight since I didn’t plan on anything for dinner. It sounds like our programmer’s must be related; it is so frustrating when they act like your fixes or requirements are unnecessary or don’t make sense. Who is the customer here? It sounds like we’ll both have fun for quite awhile getting our programs running they way we want. I hope your back is feeling better. How funny your niece wanted to spend the weekend with you. Woo hoo for your jacket being too big. Another reason to go shopping.

Somethingshiny, I am sure your grandma enjoyed you cleaning her house and your visit.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[marcy]

Deegee, Verizon is going to have the iPhone early next year. I will have to decide whether I want it or a Droid. I am glad to hear you like your new phone.

 

[deegee]

Hi everyone! Is it Friday yet?

shiny - I hope DH catches on with the yoga thing. Like the exercise ball, I have a yoga tape that I've never tried!

marcy - I'm loving my new phone. We had considered a few different phones, the droid being one of them. In the end we got the iphone because we had a previous version and wouldn't have to learn much new stuff. Radio Shack has a trade in program, so we traded our old iphone 3's for the 4's, and got $115 per phone - which made our new phones only $85 each. We were pretty happy with that! On Tuesday of the programmers brought the list of the corrections I had asked for, and had marked a big NO beside one of them. I said, "Okay fine. Let me show you what it does since you won't fix it." When I showed him, he said - "Hmmm, I'll think about it." I haven't heard back from him. Grrrrr!!!!!

My day at the legislature was not fun. I was supposed to be there to supply information to our director, but ended up getting called forward to answer a question. Podium, microphone, a committee of lawmakers staring at me. I repeat, not fun! And the issue was in the newspaper today. I felt like a big goof up there in my ginormo blazer. I do need to go shopping to buy some dressier outfits for such occasions. I used to always wear suits to work, but I have been much more casual since I lost weight since being really dressy isn't required. Live and learn, I guess. On my way out, the Senate Clerk gave me a pretty lapel pin of the state seal. I wasn't in the best of moods at that point, so that really brightened my day! Today was a long day so we stopped for dinner on the way home (turkey & dressing, yum!). Matt is watching football and I'm in my cozy spot next to the fire getting ready to start a new book. Have a wonderful Friday everyone1

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone! I am with Deegee - is it Friday yet?

Thursday night is our date night and Marty finally has his stereo system all set up in his pickup so we took it tonight to go out to supper. He said he feels like a teenager being so excited about it. It does sound great. There is a steak house about 7 miles north of town so we drove out there for supper. I ate 1/2 of a filet, salad and some fries. We split some chocolate cake. It was a nice evening.

Deegee, very cool that Radio Shack takes trade ins on your old phones. What a deal. Marty has a Droid incredible and really likes it. I can get a new phone on December 11th but since I am not the primary phone on the account I won't get as good of a deal as he would get for an upgrade. I swear it sounds like the programmers you are dealing with are the same ones I have working with me. It's like - DO MY JOB THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND!!!! Grr. At least we can come vent here, right? Sorry to hear you had such a rough day at the legislature. What new book are you starting? I am on the third Stephanie Plum novel by Janet Evanovich. Those books have some major LOL moments.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[lliang_chi]

Is it just me or did Friday take FOREVER to get here??? Ugh!!! Anyway, my mom came into town yesterday for the weekend. She's staying with Sis and her BF. We picked her up from the airport and had dinner at Sis's. James came over too. Today worked from home for the AM and had breakie with Mom and Sis. Then headed to work, they met me for lunch. Indian buffet. and after lunch.

Tonight dinner at my place. making some grilled fish. A friend of James's write, directs and acts in a sketch comedy show, so we're doing that after dinner. Tomorrow Mom, Sis and I are going to the ballet! Hooray!

Deegee, glad you like your new iPhone I have a Droid. LOVE it. Sorry you had a rough day at the legislature.

Marcy, aw your date night sounded nice. I need to tell James we need to go on one. We've got our 1 yr anniversary coming up. We're thinking of renting a cabin in Door County and bringing the dog and just chill out. We're boring...

I've been doing absolutely nothing in terms of working out, but I'll start next week after Mom leaves

 

[marcy]

Rats, I lost my post.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. We were lazy. Friday night was our astronomy club meeting. Saturday Marty played golf and I met him for drinks and lunch after he was done. Yesterday was grocery shopping and laundry. Marty made us chicken parmesan and it was delicious. It has been about 2 months since I had chicken so I took a hefty dose of food allergy medicine and was able to eat a little of it yesterday. Mmm.

My stiff neck reared it's ugly head yesterday which isn't as bad as the headache it gives me. Sigh. I spent a lot of my weekend with the heating pad and my Kindle.

Lisa, it sounds like you and your sis had some fun activities planned with your mom. We do enjoy our date night so yes I think you and James should try it. We eat in front of the TV so going out to dinner once a week gives us a chance to just talk. Your trip sounds like a wonderful idea.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!
Marcy

 

[appletini]

Quick check-in. So far I have exercised 17 out of 18 days this month. I didn't exercise on Friday...I have been so busy with work that I made a date with the couch and got caught up on my shows instead.

We had another new instructor for my Total Body class today, so we'll see if I'm sore tomorrow.

lliang,
congrats on the marathon!

 

[somethingshiny]

Just a fly-by. That's all it seems I have time for anymore.

Sis taught me some new arm exercises that I'm going to start. I don't know if I'll ever get rid of my bat wings! I'm able to do more sit-ups now but still getting pretty sore from them. Today is my birthday and I only enjoyed a small piece of cheesecake. Most of my day has been doing laundry!

Yay for marathons, couch dates , and date night!!

Hope you're all doing well!!