Got my workout in today, even though I am still sick, I just decided to tough it out. Otherwise I have been able to rest over the past couple of days. I will go to the doctor if not better by Wednesday. My husband took our son to his Futsal game tonight and I stayed home to rest and took a hot bath.
Anyone ever do a detox bath with Epsom salt, baking soda and lavender oil? I got the idea from The Ultra Simple diet book and bought the stuff months ago to try the bath and am only just now trying it. It was nice and reminds me I need to do this MORE OFTEN. Also has anyone tried drinking warm lemon water in the mornings to detox the liver? Going to try that tomorrow. They say it also helps with digestion and weight loss. Also got that idea from that book, but they actually recommend mixing 2 tbsp of olive oil with lemon, yuck! Not sure if could do that.

Hope you all have a nice, restful evening.

Vikki

Busy day here and alarm goes off at 5:15 so I can get to 7 AM car service appointment, which means I'll be there several hours. Will take fruit and get coffee on the way and make chili when I get home. It'll be laundry day too.

Doc says I'm coming along great and will see me next week. Still draining some fluid from three spots but no biggie (she numbs me first). As soon as she feels I'm ready, we'll have two rounds of minor revisions and she wants me to be "ready to go" this spring. She is just a jewel and today was her birthday so I sang when she entered the exam room.

Diane, I really see both the Dane and the lab in Tucker and I want to scoop him up into my lap and just hug him!

Karla, because I rarely use recipes I'll have to think of one to post -- usually I just improvise (because it's just me, failure IS an option!) but I love what's on the thread so far.

Love the pet pics! Need to take one of Sadie (9 yr. old yellow lab) and Kelly (Irish Setter). Today is Kelly's 6th birthday, so I posted an old image I had on file as my profile picture. Right now they are sleeping nestled beside one another on the couch ... close to "Dad".

It will be an interesting week to see all the new recipes. The current ones look tasty and I will have to do a search through mine. Agreed with Patti and Janet about using them as "guides". We end up collecting so many and write in the cookbooks with our edits and comments. Looking forward to the smart food challenge for the week. It will be tough for our traveling participants.

Janet, I agree with Patti on the kudos for your excellent surgeon. Sounds like you are getting everything on track and pleased that you are feeling somewhat healthier as a whole too.

Diane, your feline friends look like litter mates... such cuties. You sure have an exciting and super busy week ahead of you. May your travels bring you safely home as well! Hope you find some "down" time for yourself to just be alone and quiet. Skiing can bring that, as I recall.

Vicki, getting in that workout when you felt under the weather was an act of courage for you! Hope tomorrow bring some relief and that bath probably helped considerably. Get well soon.

This is a wonderful group of women! Will catch some more of you specifically in another post.

MaryLynn

Good Morning.....I just ate and logged my breakfast. It is yet another cold day here. My "laps" are coming along nicely. I'm hoping to get out this evening and go to the store with Mike. I've been working on jigsaw puzzles during my recuperation. My daughter sent me a round 500 piece puzzle of wild animals. It is SO difficult, but I'm up for the challenge. Have a good day, all.

Morning ladies!

MaryLynn: I have an affinity for red dogs and your Kelly is beautiful! I often say our red LH dachshund looks like an Irish Setter with sawed off legs, lol. When I called the breeder about him, I specified I wanted a deep, dark red coat and she had two in the litter and kept the other one for herself. Cagney actually has a little bit of a black overlay, which makes him look like a darker red. I was lying on the couch night before last and he fell asleep in my arms lying on his back, just as I was, with all fours sticking straight up in the air! They are so human sometimes and he is such a comfort to me and often wipes away the stresses of my day when I can just grab him up like that and relax.

My plan today is to go the gym for my cardio and lower body strength training and come in under my calorie goal. I am a little sore in my upper body from my workout yesterday, which feels good! Our son is THRILLED to be on a 2 hr delay this morning and I'm happy for him It is 10 degrees here and there is a wind chill advisory. Just awful!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Vikki

Morning everyone. I just fed my egg addiction...I swear I could eat eggs for every meal and be happy. Headed to the gym to lift after I fold a bit of laundry.

Vikki- my daughter created her own two hour delay today...sleeping in because she has a bad cold! Have a great workout. Oh, and there is NO WAY I am drinking olive oil. I use it (and butter) for cooking and already have a problem staying under my fat macro. I don't think we need to detox our liver.

Cindy - sorry that your scale is not cooperating. Stick with the clean eating, as that is very healthy for you. Do you think portion size might be an issue? What deficit are you shooting for?

Bert - glad your exercise routine is going well! Keep it up! Good luck with your puzzle! I just read a short story about a cleaning woman who had to find a puzzle piece before she vacuumed.

MaryLynn - great observations!!

Diane - good luck on your travels this week! I used to travel a lot on business and I miss it. The client visits, not the airports. The solitude of the hotel room, but not the being away from the family...guess it's a mixed bag!

Janet- lt sounds like you have a great doc!


--- Lisa

Another frigid morning here in the Ohio Valley. I usually go to Mom's on Tuesdays but just can't face going out more than once today. So we chatted on the phone instead and she was very happy that I was staying in. I was looking out the back window while we talked and there were 2 red headed woodpeckers and 5 beautiful cardinals, all at the same time in my yard, on the fence and on the trees. Cardinals are said to be angels visiting and I thanked those angels for stopping by to brighten up my day. I know who they are, I called them by name as I thanked them.

Cindy, I'm glad you did the research. I was going to give you that same info. Any time we are under stress, whether it is emotional or physical, the body will hold on to EVERYTHING. Our fat stores are what the body calls on when we become depleted for any reason. So they tend to bulk up for any threat the body feels is coming. I hope you find some ways to destress. Meditation or just moments to take deep breaths when you feel your stress levels rising. You have seemed like you are on a hamster wheel for some time now. I think maybe you are adding stress to yourself over the exercise. If you have time AND truly feel like doing it, go for it. But don't do it because you feel like you HAVE to do it to lose weight. I pray that you make a date with yourself daily to just BE, even if it is only for 5 minutes. Or maybe one of those detox baths that Vikki was talking about. Whatever it is that will help I pray you will make time for it. Sending you hugs. Maybe put the scale away for a couple of weeks, you just don't need the added stress. Focus on your clean eating and finding ways to relax. Oh my, but I did get long winded. Hope you know how much I care

Mary Lynn, you are so eloquent and on point with your observations. Love your insight and so glad you are here to share with us. Your Irish Setter is gorgeous and give her a big birthday hug from me. I love labs too. Heck, I love all dogs. I was just thinking about my family and friends and just about everyone of them has a pet. Actually my Mom and sister are the only ones I can think of right off that don't. My Mom would dearly love to have a dog but knows she really cannot care for one.

Bert, you are getting stronger every day, so nice to see you stopping by. I know Mike is treating you like a queen. I love jigsaw puzzles but can get obsessed and rarely allow myself to start one.

Lisa and Vikki, enjoy your workouts. I will be doing TRX tonight, I just love this class. If you have one at your gyms you should give it a try. Great strength and cardio in one.

Diane, thanks for the taco seasoning mix. I hate using the packets too. Safe travels.

Going to go make some soup. Mexican soup, much like black bean chili but with chicken and corn, homemade corn broth, homemade tomato sauce and lots of seasoning. Need to run it thru the tracker to get nutritional info. My broth is just cooked down cobs, the tomato sauce is just cooked down tomatoes....no salt or seasonings other than black pepper. Hope I can find something comparable in the tracker.

Patti

Jasper and Griffin at camp- wanting to go out and play..... Jasper is the cream mini- Grif is a *kitten* Zu mix

wow, just read a statistic that 80% of premature deaths are at least partially attributed to low fruit/vegetable intake! Eat your fruits and veggies!