shell - you have FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get some SUN!

Good for you Shell!

Your story sounds like a Hootie & Blowfish song....

"And you wonder why I'm such a baby Cause the dolphins make me cry"

Thanks guys!  The sunniness here in Texas has been kind on my psyche too.  They don't lie about the effect sunshine has on Leo. =)

Goddess, thanks so much for the tips on food! I will try all that. I'm curious about spqghetti squash - does it really look like strings of spaghetti or do you need some kind of implement to make it so?

40 min walk

a gal on my facebook walks 4 miles a day - started 2 years ago and has lost 40 pounds.

I had a boss do that one time.Started walking every night after dinner and his body transformed before my eyes.

Lucky you shell, I've always wanted to swim with dolphins. I hope you have a lovely time away.

It's stringy inside already, Lunalie, similar to pasta. I don't have it often but it's something different and does work with tomato sauce just fine.

shell i hope you have a wonderful time! god i wished i lived somewhere sunny...oh well! one day i will be living somewhere hot and sunny! 

my mother started walking for 3 miles every day when she was 63 years old and it totally changed her life, emotionally and physically.

good to hear everybody standing behind and supporting one another. taking care of your physical body is something that will reward you til the end of your days. 

About a month ago I started to finally exercise,  I bought the EA Sports Active for my WII.  It appeals to my Aquarian sun more so than just going to the gym, it's basically doing regular excercises but doing them along with the video game.  Way more intense than the WII Fit.

I haven't lost any pounds, but have lost an 1" around the waist and 1 1/2" around the thighs.

Partially I think not losing pounds is due to gaining muscle, but also because I had a baby 7 mos ago.  ALL the women I know have told me that their bodies just wouldn't release the weight til they hit the 9 month mark.

walked 40 min this morning, yesterday when I met the soldier (briefly) the kids were the back of the cab of his truck - happy. I was standing on the ground, passenger side with the door open, he was in the driver's seat. 

I turned around and pulled my skirt so it was tight on my ass, I was out of sight of the kids.  "I've been walking," I said.

He stood, turned sideways, bulged his stomach out, pulled his shirt tight, "I've been sitting."

soldier sounds like a hoot

my progress is that I walked to work 4 days this week (2 miles) and quit eating wheat AGAIN.

no diet soft drinks since the 12th and I haven't craved naughty things!

tam that's wicked! woo hoo!

no diet stuff to report but my cigarette smoking is going pretty good--only smoking 1 or 2 (or none at all) a day, which is amazing considering the circumstances 

awesome kashmiri! smoking is a lot harder to give up than pop

55 minute walk..

Started a second dance class this week - samba! (And of course the tango continues)

I got there early to samba, and they were short women in the salsa class, so I did a half hour of the beginner salsa too.

and the million dollar legs didn't die!  They were sore that night and a little the next morning, but the walking on the way home must have done enough stretching that they did OK.

Plus I think all the exercise pays off in getting stronger and such.

Still got a big belly, but I'm getting in shape!  Gonna see if I can keep up two classes a week when samba is done.  I hope so, because it feels pretty good!!

Four miles today, and groceries on the way home.

*\o/* (cheerleader smiley)

I just quit smoking again.  I only had about a month relapse this time.  I was on the phone with my mom and she realized I had paused to take a drag.  She shouted "are you smoking again?! why don't you just drive a railroad spike through your lungs?!" I thought "hey thats not a bad idea." Every time I've had a craving over the past week I close my eyes and really try to feel the spike penetrating my chest.  If you can connect the craving with the detrimental effects of smoking you can start to divorce it from the instantly gratifying feeling and the sensation of withdrawl actually starts to feel good instead of torturous.

I RAAAAN 5K!!!! :)

... without breaking into an asthma attack.

Buwahahah! 

This trail

Crosses the road a quarter of a mile from my house.  

It is part of a program that cleaned up and made accessible a gorgeous wetland in this town.  

I don't really have an excuse not to get off my butt and go walk that trail so I'm going to put my youngest to bed and go take my border collie for a walk.  

Wow, Lupa that's beautiful!

I was lazy today and now I'm wrought with guilt. 

good stuff I ate today: a perfect nectarine; cannelloni beans & spinach with garlic, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, olive oil

marginal: a bowl of cheerios and 2 cups of coffee

bad: I didn't eat enough sodium or drink enough water

shadow boxed for a short time

did dorky PT hand exercises

did PT shoulder exercises 

2 miles!  The trail is gorgeous but even late evening in Georgia is like a sauna.  Oh well, it's good for my bones!

Walked the trail again tonight.  Another 2 miles.  I might be able to do this. 

I'm still walking almost every night.  Walking a little faster and a little farther every night now.  I've missed two nights because I just couldn't get away early enough and the trail is supposed to close at sundown.  I love it so much and Cash couldn't be happier. 

 Cash gets to do a bit of agility type training at the playground at one end of the trail and I run around a bit  more trying to get him to do silly things like jump up on the equipment and go down the slides.  He will go down big slides taller than me and tube slides that are fully enclosed.  He is also learning to walk offlead and is very very good at sitting or laying down on command.  Also non reactive to other dogs and bicycles which is an improvement over the first night when he tried to pop the bicycle cop's back tire. (exaggeration) 

Happy happy. 

Good for you Lupa!

One month without diet drinks!

One inch lost off my waist.

Tam:

It seems like the things that happen to you happen to me too lol!

One month with less carbs, more running and more yoga later - an ENTIRE INCH is off my waist... And then some. 5 lbs lost as well.

I should really start exercising again, but... walking many miles a day around the city while I scour places for cheap organization solutions for my home and for cheap fabric is considered exercise, right? I walk at least 3 to 5 hours a day! 

It all counts, Lunalie! I have some special exercise flipflops I wear shopping. They work your leg muscles extra and right now, that's the best exercise I'm getting. I count it 'cause I can feel it at night after I've worn 'em!

Lunalie knowing that I'll try to have positive things happen as much as possible!

I only walk on my lunch break for about 20 or 30 min. and I lift weights with dumbbells just so I can open jars!

When I drink the diet drinks I have cravings for things that I don't need to be eating.

Goddess is it the ones that are curved on the bottom?  I've wondered how those are but I'm afraid I might kill myself with them. 

Hey Tam :)

Many positive things (though very uncertain) have been happening to me, so perhaps a lot of positive things will happen to you too ;)

Goddess:

I heard of those exercise sandals and almost got them, but being the vain little kid I am, I couldn't find anything in my wardrobe that suits it! LOL!!!! Hmmm.. Although I'm thinking plain ol' yoga pants and a tshirt will do - yeah... typical Aries gear.. haha! Thanks for letting me know of all these!

they're called flt flops. I heard they are great (never tried). 

http://www.fitflop.com/ 

yep, it's the fitflop  you can't feel it when you're wearing them - they are just cushy shoes. but that evening, hell yeah you can tell! they are pricey for flipflops but they have definitely made a difference for me.

you can get them online at bath and bodyworks.

Thanks for the link, Goddess! I'll check these out. It's about time I give up on my flipflops due to the foot pain I have. 

Jealous of those of you who've lost an inch off your waist!  (I think I know where all those inches went. )

On the good side, I have started making my own yogurt.  Which, by the way, is ridiculously easy. 

How is the yogurt made, crackers?

I'm looking to invest in an ice cream machine so I can make my own in agave nectar. Perfect for (pre)diabetics! 

Lunalie - 

All you do is heat milk to between 180-190 degrees.  Then you let it cool back down to 115-120 degrees.  For every quart of milk, you use 2 tablespoons of starter which is just a store bought yogurt (any kind I believe - I used Dannon), thinned first with a little of the milk. Then you pour it into a container (I use an insulated plastic coffee carafe), wrap it in some towels and let it sit for 5 hours.  It needs to stay warm while it sets.  

Once you've made a batch, you can use that for your starter from then on.

I use whole milk, but lesser fat milks supposedly work well, too.  I've heard that every once in awhile a batch won't take, but I haven't had that happen to me, yet.  

I think one key is to make sure the milk has cooled back down before mixing in the starter, as the higher heat might kill the active cultures?

It's great - I'm eating it with blueberries for breakfast. 

I found this blog to be quite interesting and thought I would put my input in on Saturn in Virgo.   About a year ago I had Saturn in Virgo conjunct my Ascendant and natal Pluto.  Also I had progressed Mars making a slight connection to my Ascendant.   In February of last year I made the decision that I was going to get healthy.  I began walking 5 miles every other day and sometimes even more.  I was so full of energy that I could not sit still.  I ended up losing 55 pounds and felt great.  I still have Saturn transiting my first house but the weight loss has slowed down a bit.  I still want to lose 15 more pounds but a huge change in our families life has created some obstacles.  I would just like to add that this is my second transit of Saturn to my Ascendnt/plut conjunction.  The last time was in 1977 when I gave birth to my first son.  There was a huge transformation in my body and believe it or not after having my son, I became slimmer and healthier looking than I did during my childhood days, meaning I have always had a weight problem growing up.  I love Saturn in Virgo and wished he could stay just a little longer on my Ascendant lol.