Hufflepuff Common Room

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  • carolinagirl7
    carolinagirl7 Posts: 435 Member
    I was a little confused, looking at the Week 3 & 4 Month Challenges - Are there NO NEWTS to earn in Wk 3, but healthy snacking NEWTS in Wk 4, or was that just a transcription error? :huh:

    Thanks in advance for clearing that up! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

    Sorry for the confusion. So much for the wonders of copy and paste :) We do have both the OWL challenge (stretching) and NEWT challenge (healthy snacking) for this week! I have updated the spreadsheet.
  • carolinagirl7
    carolinagirl7 Posts: 435 Member
    Drum Roll Please...................

    The prefects of Hufflepuff are BeeJ and skinnysuzie

    Congrats to the both of you!

    BeeJ can you message me a NEWT challenge by next Wed, and Suzie can you message me a OWL challenge by next Wed.
    And don't forget as an added bonus in 2 weeks BeeJ starts off with an additional 10 NEWTS and Suzie will start off with 10 OWLS
    WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!
  • skinnysuzie
    skinnysuzie Posts: 169 Member
    Thanks Carolina Girl, I will put my thinking cap on. I had a wonderful Mother's Day, as always, but this year I was blessed with an unusual and unexpected gift. My daughter is pregnant with her first baby, and we just found out on Friday that she is expecting twins. She had an ultrasound and my son-in-law recorded it with his phone and fowarded to me. I got to hear those beautiful heartbeats. Technology has come so far, it absolutely amazes me that I was able to share in this experience even though they are in another state. I felt like I was in the room with them. PS. these babies will be my first grandchildren, and I cannot wait to meet them. Have a great night everyone.
  • shreddin_mama
    shreddin_mama Posts: 1,076 Member
    Congrats on the twins Skinnysuzie!!!
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    I feel very privilaged to be named a prefect so soon after joining this House! I have thought of a NEWT and will be sending it to carolinagirl7 shortly.

    Today is also my "Golden Anniversary" on MFP - 50 consecutive logins in a row (which is also 50 days since I signed up :bigsmile: )

    Congrats to skinnysuzie on being a grandma-in-waiting. Isn't technology wonderful? :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

    Except, of course, when it doesn't work ... and the same sentance goes like: Isn't technology wonderful! :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: (hard to show tone-of-voice in a posting :laugh: )
  • keyboardwench
    keyboardwench Posts: 121 Member
    So much good news in here! Congrats on the twins skinnysuzie and also the golden anniversary BeeJ! And for the prefect stuff, that's awesome! (Although I'm new I still get that it's a good thing, yay being prefect right?)
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    So much good news in here! Congrats on the twins skinnysuzie and also the golden anniversary BeeJ! And for the prefect stuff, that's awesome! (Although I'm new I still get that it's a good thing, yay being prefect right?)

    It's British Boarding School Speak for Hufflepuff Student Body Co-president (sort of). Means you scored highest in accumulated NEWTS or OWLS since the last prefects were announced. Be sure to log all your exercise hours and completed OWLS and NEWTS in the Hufflepuff spreadsheet! 'Cause even new-comers like us can wind up ahead of the pack! :bigsmile:
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    Read this article! It is about activating the psycology of delay between the brain realizes you are full, and when you over-stuffed your stomach capacity by eating too much too quickly.

    http://www.vancouversun.com/health/empowered-health/Minute+Diet+tips+losing+weight+without+even+trying/6567363/story.html#ixzz1uxk8c7d2

    Read ALL the captions under each of the 14 photos, pick a combination to try, and let me know the results!
  • Molly_Louise
    Molly_Louise Posts: 503
    Hey everyone.

    There's a problem on the spreadsheet which I have attempted to fix, but please check that your name is still on it someone's name as been deleted but I can't work out who. Please add yourself back on and any details that are missing.

    The last week of May (week commencing May 27th) will be a week off from inter-house competitions. Karen and I have not discussed what will be going on within the house that week so we will keep you updated about that. We will not have a spreadsheet running that week but it will start up again the first weekend of June, with weigh ins being able to be posted 1st - 4th and OWLs/NEWTs challenges starting on the 3rd. I hope this makes sense! I am letting you know early so we can all think of ideas about what we'd like to do in that week.
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    My boot camp class has moved out doors. plus I have signed up for June and July. The breeze was great, but the bugs were getting bad by the end. Only a week and a half more, then the classes (starting in June) will be earlier in the evening, in order to be finished before the worst of the bugs come out.

    I also did 20 mins of Wii Fit Yoga for my stretching.
  • danizaga
    danizaga Posts: 293 Member
    good times on the article molly. today i got back into the swing of things at the gym with my cycle class.
  • carolinagirl7
    carolinagirl7 Posts: 435 Member
    Yea! We made it to page 3!!!!! Alright... waking up at 3am is never a good way to start the day! I am the culprit of the spreadsheet. So sorry for the confusion. I had just tried to take off members not participating and must have messed up info.

    Suzie congrats on the twins to be! I agree technology is amazing. I loved looking a pictures of my niece and nephew less than 30 minutes after delivery posted in facebook

    BeeJ bugs here are horrendous as well. I am taking a running clinic in the evenings, and invested in a can of OFF after my first week. We had no real winter cold down here this year (even by southern standards), so I think the bugs are twice as bad this year. Great job with bootcamp! Love the article, thanks for posting

    Dani great job spinning, my favorite. I burn the most calories by far with spinning/cycling! How is the running coming? any races coming up?
  • skinnysuzie
    skinnysuzie Posts: 169 Member
    Carolina, I also have been awake since 3 Errrrgh!!! Makes for a long day. Thanks for the Congrats everyone. Have a great day.
  • skinnysuzie
    skinnysuzie Posts: 169 Member
    What is a quick and easy way to access the spreadsheet? I find myself going back through pages to find the link.
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    News from Boot Camp instructor on best way to maximize fat burn: Interval Wind sprints. Even better than single-pace endurance cardio!

    (can be done by running / walking pairs, or on any cardio machine such as eliptical, treadmill, Stairmaster, exercise or Spinner bike - whatever)

    After warm-up - go (almost) as hard as you can for as long as you can (say 1 min) then slow to catch your breath (say 30 secs) then repeat. An advanced version is to sprint flat out for 20 secs - 10 sec walk - sprint for another 20 secs ... etc We did 8 pairs of this at the end of boot camp yesterday.

    I will be setting up an "interval Training" routine on my EA Sports Active (that's how the "outrun" goes" - this may be what I replace endurance step bench with once I finish "climbing Everest"
  • Jenn_W
    Jenn_W Posts: 229 Member
    Hiya Folks!

    I don't have much to add, really need to catch up on life in the Hufflepuff Common Room! Geez! I am so behind!
    Congrats to our new Prefects!

    Xoxo!!
  • danizaga
    danizaga Posts: 293 Member
    carolina- no races planned yet but i'm planning on volunteering for the runforyoulives race in october. it's that zombie race series, all the heats are sold out and the volunteer page doesn't open till 3 months before the race. i'm so excited.

    i haven't been running lately just trying to walk 2x a day at work with a co-worker. we have a set route which is a little more than a mile.
    and i'm been working with one of my dogs in an attempt to train her to walk off leash which isn't going as well as i hoped. i'm trying to train her so when we go to dog beach or the dog park she is a decently behaved dog. my problem is she gets distracted and starts sniffing around instead of walking next to me the only good thing is that if some one approaches her she runs back to me. i swear she thinks someone is going to kidnap her.

    i'm back up to 300# basically gained back 8# but people keep telling me i look like i've lost weight. i think it's mainly because i've embraced ASSETS by sara blakley for target and some power undies i got from marshall's so i'm all smooth.
  • Molly_Louise
    Molly_Louise Posts: 503
    I am just quickly checking in - it's very late here so sorry if my posts make no sense, I just wanted to say hi to you all!

    The issues on the spreadsheet have been resolved but please don't move any of the data or adjust the cells. I know there are a lot of gaps and it doesn't look too good, but it's where we have removed inactive members. In the spreadsheet for June it'll look a lot nicer as there will be no gaps! :)

    The spreadsheet can be accessed here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArisWe6qmbHrdENZWmNPTVpOT2lzVWlnTS1hdUdTOUE#gid=0, and there will be a new link for June so look out for that towards the end of next week. Though this link will be posted several times, I'm sure.

    Also..this is a message to any new members joining as of now..please add yourselves to the bottom of the spreadsheet and please don't try and rearrange it so it is in alphabetical order. Actually that last bit goes for everyone! I will ensure that everyone is in alphabetical order when I make the new spreadsheet but for now, I don't want there to be any issues when the data is reorganised as it could create big problems. Thanks! :)
  • keyboardwench
    keyboardwench Posts: 121 Member
    Just got an unplanned swim in! If only that was this weeks challenge, haha. I'm not going to deny it team, I'm absolutely awful at this stretching thing. I just don't have the effort plus from what I heard from my physiotherapist, I'm not really supposed to as I'm hyperflexible and it does more harm then good for me - going way past what I should, etc. I don't know, I just thought I'd mention I won't be raking in the points for that.
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    Just got an unplanned swim in! If only that was this weeks challenge, haha. I'm not going to deny it team, I'm absolutely awful at this stretching thing. I just don't have the effort plus from what I heard from my physiotherapist, I'm not really supposed to as I'm hyperflexible and it does more harm then good for me - going way past what I should, etc. I don't know, I just thought I'd mention I won't be raking in the points for that.

    Doc's ruling trumps temporary challenge for sure! (If you had bad knees, you wouldn't do extra running, if that happened to be the challenge du jour either) So aim for high minutes of whatever exercise you do, and save racking up OWLS until it is something the Doc says you can / should be doing.
  • skinnysuzie
    skinnysuzie Posts: 169 Member
    Well I got out of work late last night (again) so didn't get my run in. Working is really putting a cramp in my exercise routine 8 / --Well hopefully, I will be able to Zumba tonight. I am part of a race committee that puts on a race for fundraising for our community free health clinic, and our race is Saturday morning. Always an enjoyable time. Hopefully the weather will be nice. Have a great day everyone, and I promise to get our new challenge in tonight.
  • amber10101
    amber10101 Posts: 100 Member
    Hey Folks,

    I'm back if you'll have me! Fell off the wagon for a while there and my weight started going in the wrong direction. :(

    Those 2 little pounds I worked so hard to gain are now gone, but I'll get 'em back.

    Life's been busy here.

    Saturday, I'm running a 20 mile race and am really looking forward to it. I think I'll end up running most of it with a friend, so it'll be nice to hang out with him for the 3 hours or so. Then, in a month, I'm running another marathon in Duluth, Mn. I'm excited for that one too as my training has been going very well.

    I've also been back out at the farm. Yesterday, I planted around 5,000 onions! That's a lot of onions! In exchange for my efforts, I brought home a grocery bag stuffed with spinach, fresh eggs and the promise of more free food when the season picks up. For now, I'm going to blanch and freeze the spinach to eat later in the season - and make some spinach dip for now!

    Looking forward to catching up with all of you again!
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    We've been "warned" to bring hand-weights to Boot Camp tonight ... I am expecting sore arms tomorrow! (judging by past experience :cry: )

    Oh, and I am now 63% of the way "Up Everest". I hope to reach the summit before the end of May. (For newly returned Hufflepuffs who are going ":huh: :huh: :huh: ???", check out http://stairway.hc-sc.gc.ca/users/login.aro )
  • danizaga
    danizaga Posts: 293 Member
    Hey Folks,

    I'm back if you'll have me! Fell off the wagon for a while there and my weight started going in the wrong direction. :(

    Those 2 little pounds I worked so hard to gain are now gone, but I'll get 'em back.

    Life's been busy here.

    Saturday, I'm running a 20 mile race and am really looking forward to it. I think I'll end up running most of it with a friend, so it'll be nice to hang out with him for the 3 hours or so. Then, in a month, I'm running another marathon in Duluth, Mn. I'm excited for that one too as my training has been going very well.

    I've also been back out at the farm. Yesterday, I planted around 5,000 onions! That's a lot of onions! In exchange for my efforts, I brought home a grocery bag stuffed with spinach, fresh eggs and the promise of more free food when the season picks up. For now, I'm going to blanch and freeze the spinach to eat later in the season - and make some spinach dip for now!

    Looking forward to catching up with all of you again!

    glad your back amber. how does the farm and free food work? i'm really curious to know more.
  • amber10101
    amber10101 Posts: 100 Member
    Hi Dani,

    I'm doing a worker share on a farm that offers a CSA. I've basically found a farmer who is willing to pay me in food rather than money. My back is sore today though! But, I'll have a spinach salad with dinner. :)
  • skinnysuzie
    skinnysuzie Posts: 169 Member
    Good morning, I have been thinking and trying to come up with something a little different for our owl challenge. I keep going back to my jump roping efforts. With our challenge of trying to add 10 minutes to our workouts, I thought I would try jump roping for the extra ten minutes and was surprised at how quickly my heart rate rose, so I had to slow my pace down a bit. What a great work out though. I have been trying to do 5 minutes here and there and hopefully will be able to increase the time gradually. So, how is this for our owls:

    1 Owl for each five minutes of jump roping,
    1 Owl for each five minutes of jumping jacks (if you don't have a jump rope)
    5 owls for each 60 minutes of cardio done for house points.

    Not very imaginative, have a great day Huffies.
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    Hi Dani,

    I'm doing a worker share on a farm that offers a CSA. I've basically found a farmer who is willing to pay me in food rather than money. My back is sore today though! But, I'll have a spinach salad with dinner. :)

    I looked up what a CSA was :huh: (Canadian Standards Association did not make sense in this context :laugh: )

    Community Supported Agriculture - neat concept!
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    For the NEWT - I am going with "natural vs refined sugar awareness"


    1 NEWT (one time only) for making the "Sugar" tracking column visible on your Food List for at least this one week;

    1 NEWT per day monitoring how much came from whole foods (fruit, veggies etc) or healthy sugar substitutes vs refined sugar (white sugar added to coffee or used in recipies; processed foods; sugary snacks etc;

    1 Bonus NEWT per day if more ENTRIES IN YOUR LOG were for "good" (sugars from whole foods) than "bad sugars"
    So if you replace white sugar with Stevia in your coffee or applesauce in a recipe (for example), you might end up with the bonus point


    (The emphasis is on awareness only, so:
    * no penalty if more entries were for bad sugars, or

    * what the proportion of "total grams good vs bad" was since 10 "good source sugar" entries might have far less total gms sugar than 1 "bad source sugar" entry, or

    *whether you were over or under whatever the MFP target setting is for you)
  • cowsstealmythong
    cowsstealmythong Posts: 173 Member
    Hey hey everyone. :)
    Been staying busy with mini vacation after mini vacation, so sorry I haven't been on much, just been busy. And you can't blame me for that. :)

    Been trying to eat better. Been cutting out extra carbs where unnecessary, and substituting it with fruit (or trying to anyway.) Hopefully the scale will move DOWN. Also been making a conscious effort to drink more water.

    This weeks Newt sounds perfect for me. I'm ALWAYS over my sugars. So I'll be making a conscious effort to have less refined sugars. I normally don't count fruit sugars anyway. Well, I don't beat myself up over them.
    But my morning coffee isn't going to be as enjoyable, and I won't be able to keep my mouth busy with Nips... :\
    Time to get in gear though.

    Glad to see everyone else trying. :)
  • skinnysuzie
    skinnysuzie Posts: 169 Member
    Hi Amber, glad you are back. We missed you! Well, my foot was hurting today, right at the base of my 2nd and 3rd toe, and all I can figure is I must have bruised it during Zumba last night, It is only painful when I am walking, so I figured I better not run tonight 8 ( --and it was so beautiful outside. Hopefully it will feel better tomorrow. Hmmmm, it is strange when you end up with weird pain for no apparent reason. Well just have to be extra good on my eating, and I am going to 2 parties tomorrow..Double Hmmm. Well everyone have a great weekend.
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