Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

...And this is what he came home from work with today, Chocolate Covered Oreos by Godiva!

Oh and, my Christmas Stargazers came yesterday!
Thanks Tom You indeed are the BEST

Wednesday Wish: That I get right to work on my to-do's at home tonight after work and we have the basement all set for tomorrow's new flooring installation. We're getting new carpet and vinyl down there. It was probably time for the carpet to be replaced soon anyway, but as a push, our sewer backed up and got onto the carpet on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Yuck! So, the last few weeks have involved packing up all of the kids toys that are down there and all of our other junk so that my husband could start ripping out the old stuff and we still need to make room for the new. The flooring guy is coming tomorrow, and it still looks like hell down there. And the main floor is full of Christmas. My inner neat freak is freaking out! I hope the installation is quick and painless so I can get my house back to my neat-nik standards!!

@hansea~Hooray for the loss! I’ve found that if I have something to do when I get home I need to get to it immediately—once I hit the couch it’s all over!

@Camille~Welcome back!

@Amy (Mrs. Morgori)~Any cookies left?! Shame on Tom for bringing home such indulgent foods, but yum! Flowers are beautiful. Such a lucky girl.

@Pedi~Welcome! Its good to set small goals for yourself, I did that at first also—makes this whole process seem less daunting.

@Niki~Soup looks delish, thanks for sharing the recipe.

@Mara~Snacks for me usually involve some kind of carb and a protein. This morning it was non-fat yogurt with almonds and this afternoon it’s an apple and Luna bar. Other good options are veggie sticks with hummus, celery stuffed with peanut butter or a low-fat veggie cream cheese.

AFM~Not much to report. My Wednesday wish is for things to let up at work, too much going on—don’t see that happening any time soon though. Looking forward to some down time next week—we only get Christmas Day off so taking the 26th off to have a long weekend.

@Robin... No, technically not a new doctor. They pooled all the doctors who have offices at the county hospital into one health team recently. So when they called to book my physical they gave me the option of using my own doctor or the female nurse practitioner. I chose the NP instead of my GP, I think I would feel much more comfortable with any doctor other than my own. (Plan next year is to change doctors for sure).

I am happy to say that I had a very good day today! For the first time in months I turned on the radio, sang along to the songs on my way home from work. I smiled more at work, I laughed. I am finally lifting out of this depressive fog I've been in since September. A friend posted something on Facebook this morning that really struck me and made me think about how I was handling the breakup and loss of my boyfriend. I've clung to his memory too long and I've finally let go... and am moving on. This post is about anything you get out of it. The first time I read it, only 2 lines jumped out at me. Later after reading it again, I found an entirely different meaning.

"HEY YOU"

yes, you. stop being unhappy with yourself. you are perfect. stop wishing you looked like someone else or wishing people liked you as much as they like someone else. stop trying to get attention from those who hurt you. stop hating your body, your face, your personality, your quirks. love them. without those things you wouldn't be you. and why would you want to be anyone else? be confident with who you are. smile. it'll draw people in. if anyone hates on you because you are happy with yourself then you stick your middle finger in the air and say screw it. my happiness will not depend on others anymore. I'm happy because I love who I am. I love my flaws. I love my imperfections. they make me me. and 'me' is pretty amazing.

Hi guys!

@lauriek--that sounds like a really great project. I'm wondering if you find that teaching the kids to use the technology takes away time to teach the science content. Has there been any decrease in the amount of content you are required to teach to allow for that time? In my district we are really struggling with integrating the technology skills is challenging. I can learn to use it, but finding the time to teach the students to use it cuts into the time I have to teach the English skills that they need. I'm wondering how schools in other areas are handling the same issue. Hope you get that grading done--hang in there! Just a few more days!

@mara--I think everyone else covered my "go to" snacks. Hummus is one of my favorites--love it so much I sometimes eat a double serving with triscuits as my meal instead of just limiting it to snacks. I also love cottage cheese, goat cheese and crackers, and nuts as savory snacks. If I'm in the mood for something sweet I'll have a small piece of dark chocolate, a little peanut butter mixed with hershey's special dark chocolate cocoa powder, or a frutare mango bar.

@kelley--good for you for taking the extra day to get a long weekend!

@camille--welcome back!!

@hansea--I hope the flooring installation goes smoothly. Those types of projects are always such a mess, but it's so nice when they are finished.

I think I missed a few of you but will catch you next time. I'm also wondering how susan's move back to Atlanta went. I may have to text her if she doesn't pop in to update us soon.

AFM--today was a pretty good day at work. Still navigating all of the absences as my AP kids try to finish their group presentations--2 of the 3 classes are done. I also can sympathize with laurie about how tiring projects can be. After running up and down the stairs for all of my AP classes last week so they could work in the library to research these presentations, this week it's my juniors who are doing research. The library classroom wasn't available, so I'm using a laptop cart and book cart to allow them to research in my classroom. It's a lot of running around to gather the carts from other teachers who are using them other class periods. Then during class I feel like I'm being run ragged as 30 kids vie for my attention/help throughout each class period. I will be glad when they are finished on Friday.

Despite that whirlwind, it felt like an easy day b/c I actually got to come home after work instead of heading to a meeting. I went to the gym and did some lower body and core work, then 2 miles on the treadmill. My shoulder has been suspiciously not hurting the past few days, so no upper body work in hopes that it's finally healing. If not, then it's off to the doctor over the break.

Foodwise, I ate a lot of crap today but still managed to stay under calories. Tomorrow will be another challenge b/c there are a lot of leftovers from today, plus I'm going to dinner with a friend before we go to the BOE meeting to take notes.

Wed Wish:
That everyone who has been ill or hurt is on the mend and all better for the rest of this holiday season.

December All-In:
Under calorie goal: 16/17 days (goal is 28/31 days)
Workout: 4/17 (goal is as much as possible)
8k over Winter Break (not sure what day) in 56 minutes (Thanksgiving 8k was 56:49)

Grading Goals:
1. 64/66 AP essays
2. x/16 analysis activities
3. x/66 Tone tests

Exercise Goals:
Sun--rest day
Mon--meeting
Tues--meeting
Wed--walk gunner NOT DONE + gym DONE
Thurs--meeting
Fri--rest day
Sat--walk gunner + gym

Okay, I'm almost ashamed to be posting another cookie recipe. But this one comes from a healthy newsletter I get--the nutritional stats aren't horrible and these are super easy. Besides, who doesn't Nutella?!

I think peanut butter could easily be substituted if you don't like almond butter. Also, you can use regular sugar if you don't want to go to the expense of raw turbinado sugar.

EASY 5-Ingredient Nutella Almond Cookies

Servings: 12 • Size: 2 cookies
Calories: 158 • Fat: 10 g • Carb: 15 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 4 g • Sugar: 13 g
Cholesterol: 16 mg • Sodium: 43 mg


Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 1/2 cup chunky almond butter
• 1/3 cup raw sugar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• cooking spray


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and place the racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. Spray two nonstick baking sheets lightly with cooking spray or use a silpat.

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients with a spatula until well combined. Spoon 1 level tablespoon of the mixture about 1 inch apart onto baking sheets.

Flatten the mounds with the tines of a fork, making a crosshatch pattern on the cookies.

Bake until golden around the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes, switching the position of the sheets halfway through baking. Let cool before removing.

Makes 24 cookies.

Good morning everyone.

Happy Bake Cookies Day
When: Always December 18th
'Ya gotta just love Bake Cookies Day.........
..... Christmas is for Christians
..... Hanukkah is just for Jews
.... Ramadan is for those of Islamic descent
..... Kwanzaa is for those of African origin
..... Native American Day is for American Indians
But, Bake Cookies Day is for EVERYONE!
Bake Cookies Day comes at an opportune time. It arrives amidst the major December holidays. It serves as a reminder to bake holiday cookies, if you haven't done so already.
People, young and old, celebrate this day by baking their favorite cookies. Make a party of it, and bake cookies in groups with family, friends, kids and grandkids. Don't stop at baking just one kind of cookies. Plan to bake a number of cookies. Try a new recipe, or two, or three, or....
If you bake more than you can eat, good for you! Wrap up gift trays filled with cookies for friends and neighbors. Most cookies freeze well, too.
Important Note: we are very surprised that Bake Cookies Day is not immediately followed by "Eat Cookies Day". We did not even find an Eat Cookies Day. So you can, and should, eat them everyday!.

“The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs…one step at a time.” ~Joe Girard

Tom

Good morning everyone. I just wanted to pop on and say hi and let you know though I am not posting much at them moment I am keeping up with all of you and happy to see everyone doing so well for the most part. As usual with hubby home and the holidays this time of year I barely get a moment to myself but I have been steadily taking off some of the weight I gained back over the last six months so keeping so busy must be working for me. I hope you all continue to do well. Have a great day everyone.

@Marsha(GW)~Yuck, I’m so sorry for the flu. This year’s flu vaccine is less effective because of the mutation of the virus, it only covers us for two strains—people that are testing positive have H3N2 which is not covered under the current vaccine (figures). People are dropping like flies at work—I want to stay home in a bubble. And for it to turn into pneumonia, I’m sorry. I can empathize with pneumonia, I used to come down with it anytime I caught a cold, until I got the vaccine several years ago. Wishing you a speedy recovery! I think Sam’s or Costco is a great idea for the open house this weekend--they should be able to take care of everything. I think you can order ahead of time, then maybe send your son to pick it up. Take a look at their websites.

I have pushed the wrong button or something. I'm getting strange horizontal display of your posts, but can't figure out how to get out of here and back to where I can log food and exercise.
One thing about being sick is that I am losing weight, about a pound a day. I'm sure it will only be temporary.
Onward and downward. Kaye