WOO HOO!!! I can't wait!! 12 weeks until time in the sun:)

Can't wait either! I live in sunny Florida so it feels like summer here all the time! We didn't even have much of a winter this year. My goal is to feel confident in my bathing suit at the beach or pool this summer!

This is our Spring Break in Arkansas...9 more weeks starting Monday. We had four days of grey yucky rain. Today was sunny and it is supposed to be sunny most of next week which means the girls will not have appropriate clothing on. High school math teacher!

So looking forward to summer...last year we missed 10+ days due to crazy winter weather. We did not get out until June 10th and I had to return on August 1st for PD.

We have not had a winter to speak of this year so we are slated to get out on May 24th....the earliest we have gotten out of school in 16 years.

Hi. I'm Megan. I live in Wisconsin. We had a really mild winter and so far spring has been get. The only problem with this warm spring is the kids a re wild and crazy with spring fever. Dying for spring break to get here!!!

Hi! I'm Liz from Colorado. Right now I'm a teacher without a class. I'm in my second year of subbing after getting laid off due to budget cuts.
We are on spring break now and the weather is supposed to great! We had the 2nd snowiest February on record and this March will probably be the least snowiest with only a trace of snow at the beginning of the month.
I LOVE mfp. Although my "ticker" says 17, I have actually lost 20 pounds since Christmas. I have NEVER lost this much weight at one time before (short of actually giving birth!) and I am super motivated! We are going to Florida in June and I want to wear a cute suit to the beach!
What I want to know is...how do you fit in excercise with school, meetings and family? I've been "lucky" that with so much to lose, I have just had to watch what I eat for the weight to come off, but soon I will have to be intentional about excercising and even without having to do planning and grading at home, I don't know when to squeeze it in.

Hi Liz! Kat from Oregon, here... I'm not a huge fan of exercise for exercise's sake (yeah, I've taught health and PE and I KNOW where my thinking is haywire...) :laugh: I prefer to find activities that I love...ping pong (I can not only work up a sweat, but am probably the only person in modern history that has had a "ping-pong injury" and had to seek medical attention! LOL! I learned from my fit/slender mother that there are so many ways to stay in shape... Scrubbing a kitchen floor on hands and knees is great for a flat tummy, and my personal favorite - which I do currently ...lay on your bed and do your exercises! I make/use rice bags to heat our bed, and make different sizes. The heavy ones make excellent leg weights - and I'm currently up to 4 heavy bags while doing my leg lifts...you can really work up a sweat - all before you get out of bed in the morning! (No funny jokes there...) :laugh: I use dumbbells on a hit/miss basis, and try to do ab crunches in front of the bathroom mirror before I hop into bed (Leslie Sansone "Walk at Home" tapes are great inspiration) We had an early spring - and then winter came back with snow off/on the past couple of weeks...and now spring is back! Yard work is a great workout, too! Yesterday was so beautiful, I had to go for a walk... In the past, when feeling sluggish...have stopped by the local shopping mall that opens really early for people to come in where it is safe and warm to walk. Other than that...did do the gym last summer, and was able to pick up another 3 month gym membership at our school auction for cheap (this local gym also does cheap specials for students/teachers on summer break)... My children are both at university, (but will utilize gym membership with me over summer) hubby works long hours...and while they are encouraging and supportive, don't really need my mothering. Life is just busy all over (teaching is only one facet of my life) and I'd rather be immersed and not miss a minute of it - rather than be a gym rat. I'm not looking to be a buff pin-up poster girl...just wanted to get back to what I was when I married (120lbs) and am working on toning up.

Hi,
I'm new. Isn't this site great? I'm a secondary school (11 to 18 years) teacher in the UK and since beginning my career 12 years ago ( and giving up smoking 10 years ago) have put on nearly 40 pounds. I love my job but the stress and limited personal time make it hard to concentrate on me, so I really need help to maintain my motivation to stop comfort and convenience eating and find the time and self-discipline to exercise. I have a target loss of 55 pounds and I'd dearly love to achieve a good portion of that before July as I'm off to the South of France for a family holiday. French women are mostly very slim so last time I went I got funny disapproving looks off people , which was not nice I can tell you. I live in the UK so like most other Brits have a taste for chocolate, cheese, pastry, beer and wine...all the things that I'm going to have to radically cut down on. Thank goodness spring has finally arrived in the UK, a bit of sun and longer days definitely help matters. Roll on summer!

Hi! Whereabouts in the UK are you located? I have visited a couple of times (my ancestry is Scots/Irish with a smidge of Welsh thrown in for good measure), and a gal that I met from the Orkneys is totally addicted to cheese and chocolate! When she came over to visit, Sees chocolates store was a frequent stop! :laugh: If you're gonna have an addiction to something besides high heels - cheese and chocolate is definitely high on my list!

To solve my problem of healthy lunch food during my workweek, I prepare on the weekends, and package the food up for my hubby and myself. Not only is my morning simplified (no food prep) but I know exactly how many calories are in each container...and it is much cheaper than stopping and buying quick but potentially disastrous lunch items.

We've got 8 more weeks of school left here in Western NC!

We have had hardly any winter this year and hardly any breaks. In one more week we'll get spring break - thank goodness!

The warmer weather lately has made me more motivated to exercise, especially outdoors (but this means I don't want to go inside to the gym!)

I'm a Kindergarten teacher (this is my 6th yr teaching, mostly K and a little 2nd grade) and I'm also finishing up my Master's degree. I graduate in May! and I cannot wait to have my time back. So so often lately I've had to forgo exercise so I have time to get all my work done.

Hi!
I'm located in Wales but we are all Celts in the places you mentioned. ( Just a point of interest, Google "Celtic toe" you may have it!!!) Your idea for prepping lunches is a good one indeed. Our school canteen is a total disaster area for dieters, mayonnaise seems to be a compulsory ingredient of children's lunches. Do you freeze lunches or is there some other canny way of keeping it all fresh 'til Friday??

Oops! Should have mentioned... My school is a Mon-Thurs onsite classes school (we're a public charter school) and so my lunches are fine if packaged on Sunday and refrigerated. My hubby hasn't keeled over yet (or complained) and he eats them through Friday...I will say that about 5 days in the fridge is the limit though. Do you have a small fridge? I know when my friend from Orkney (now at St. Andrews) was here...she was surprised that we have a "normal" sized fridge...she thought everything was super sized in the states! Not sure at what point in her 3 week visit that I confessed to having another fridge in the laundry room, and a another complete full-size freezer in the garage! LOL! (Used to have TWO out there!) I do freeze meals...and of course when I was going to school, would freeze about 3 months worth at a time (a school term)...I was known as the casserole queen...and to this day have a hard time (with exceptions!) looking a casserole in the eye... :laugh:

Wow! you are super organised! My grocery delivery isn't coming 'til tomorrow so I'll have to wait until then to try and start thinking ahead a bit. Luckily most of the supermarkets here do low cal everything so I was able to swing by on my way to work this morning and pick up calorie counted stuff. So I've had a good day. Just took the dog for a long walk - feeling very virtuos right now:bigsmile: How's your day going?

Wow! you are super organised! My grocery delivery isn't coming 'til tomorrow so I'll have to wait until then to try and start thinking ahead a bit. Luckily most of the supermarkets here do low cal everything so I was able to swing by on my way to work this morning and pick up calorie counted stuff. So I've had a good day. Just took the dog for a long walk - feeling very virtuos right now:bigsmile: How's your day going?

It doesn't come natural, I assure you! (organization) Weather is beautiful here today! (They're calling for rain) think I'll join you and take my puppy for a walk...

I was at a restaurant a couple of days ago...the guy at the checkout counter said he liked my outfit. I said thanks and he said he was trying to get his girlfriend to dress more like me, like a teacher. I did not know this person so he had no idea that I was a teacher. What's a "teacher outfit" ? It was kinda funny.

Megan! I am from Wisconsin as well!!

Had a parents' evening tonight, which went on a bit. Have missed walk and sunshine for today - booooo! Had a good calorie day though so still feeling upbeat. What dog do you have? Mine's a crossbreed of saluki and collie, called Kizzy, and she's adorably bonkers.
Just realised I'm doing this a bit wrong. Am I supposed to use the quote function to show who I'm answering?...yep...I think I am...sorry ladies!