Free and Fit February - Week 4

[rustop59]

Good morning everyone

Yes, it is the final week of February and I thought I would get us started.

It is also the beginning of lent. Like you Star, I will be giving up sugar. I really need to get a move on to loose those final few pounds. I was down .5 of a lb this week but feel I am getting nowhere fast. I am also going to take up meditation again. With all the rushing around I have let it drift and I know it will benefit me. What about everyone else any plans, apart from staying AF that is.

Sooty - so sorry about Draggy, may she rest in peace.

Everyone else big hello. Rushing as I have swimming this morning and need to get my stuff together. Happy hump day.

Rustop

[Stargazerlily]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Good morning to all....

Chill, hope you are feeling better, kind of concerned about you. Let us know when you can.

Another gloomy day, snow and rain. I don't mind working when it is so crappy out, I just try and create my own world.

Cyn, it amazes me that anyone would want snow for an extended period of time. I mean, I don't mind it in the late fall, but now, want spring.

Yes, it is Ash Wednesday. Lent begins and there is a lovely daily word today, that talks about preparing ourselves for the rebirth of Easter, letting go, releasing things that don't work, reaching out for all the good things that will bring peace love and joy. I loved it and it is setting the attitude for my day.

Dill, I am loving the Budda's Brain and am getting so much out of it. I love that we share our resources here.

Lav, you are super mimom, and it sounds like fun.

Dew, where are you?

Sped, sending you encouragement.

To all, have a great day.

[Lavande]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Good morning Rustop, Star & everyone!

Waiting for the sun to break through, it will I hope as it's supposed to be quite mild today.

I am doing to do a bit of work, then hit Curves then the outlets for birthday gifts.
Super MiMom needs today to herself

Glad to hear you are enjoying Buddha's Brain Star - I thought it was great because it helped me work through a lot of my troubles.

Greetings & thoughts to Chill, Dew, Shelley & everyone!
Wishing all of us a great AF Humpday!

Lav

[spedteach]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Morning all,
Lying around making plans for the day. I feel best when I'm out of the house, hiking, at the gym, at the homeless shelter volunteering. Staying home alone is always such a trigger for me but I've got things to do around here so have armed myself with Antabuse just to be safe.
Planning on putting a new spring garden in my cold frame today. Maybe try to get rid of some closet stuff. What do you do with 1000+ baseball cards, Little League trophies, cross country and marathon medals???

Thinking of all of you daily. We should do a chat room thing some time soon.

[BlondeAFAmbition]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Hi gang,

May I jump in on this last week? I so need to! Today is Day 1. Back on the horse so to speak. I'm not going to beat myself up to much and need to just start over. So, here I am! I hope you have all been well. I have some catching up to do but just wanted to jump back in. Since I just joined a gym a few weeks ago, I'm loving the Free and Fit name of February. Any ideas for March?

[dill]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Happy af Humpday everyone, and thank you Rustop for getting us started this week.

Welcome Blonde, I look forward to getting to know you. You came on the thread during my hiatus when I thought I'd give moderating a try. I was so grateful this thread was still here when I came to my senses!!!

First day of Lent and my target is to remain af. I really can't take anything else on right now!

I took Sooty's advice and started putting af money in a pot. Each af day I put away what I might have spent on wine. So, what do I do with the $$$? So far, I have used it to pay a cleaning lady to come twice a month! And we don't even feel the pinch from our cash flow because this particular cash has always been flowing (under the radar). We don't feel a difference in our budget at all. Isn't that magical? And I feel like a queen when I arrive home from work and the house is spotless!

Star, Lav, Cyn, LBH, Sooty, Dew?, Cassia?, Rusty, Sped, SD, Papmom, Chill, Kaslo,:h

[papmom3]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Blonde!!! :l :l I've so missed you!! I hope we help you stay on the horse from now on!!

Sped-keep busy!!! being without a specific agenda is a trigger for me too which is why I am so insanely busy with my 2 jobs, agility, the dogs, quilting and family. The nights I come home early I feel so lost!!

Dill and Star-I'll have to see if I can download Buddha's Brain onto my Nook. I'm on the waitlist for Breakfast with Buddha which my coworker loved. Hope the sun comes out for you!!

Lav-enjoy your day to yourself!!

Rustop-thanks for starting our last week in Feb off!!

Dew and Chill, Cass and SD-please check in!!

[Dewdrop]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Apologies I haven?t been around guys but I have been staying at my parents for the last 10 days while I was recuperating. I?m feeling better but still tired however I am on the mend. I purposefully didn?t take my laptop or my mobile phone and really appreciated the time away from any distractions, I really was able to relax. Lots of time to meditate, read and think things through in peace and quiet. I?ve decided to go with redundancy ? big decision and I?m sure I?ll have my doubts at times but at the moment it is the right thing for me. I have no idea what I will do but I?m going to take this opportunity and run with it. My health and happiness come first; it?s almost a relief to be honest. I finish work at the end of March so not much time, yikes!!

I?ll catch up with all your news as soon as I can.

Dewdrop :h

[papmom3]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Congradulations Dew on that momentous decison!! You are very very lucky to be able to do this even tho it will be a bit scary. Glad you're feeling better. Don't push it tho. Pneumonia can take up to 6 months to recover from and I'm not exaggerating. (right nurse Lav?).

Glad you're back tho! :l

[Lavande]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Mission accomplished
Got some great birthday gifts for Lily (and a couple pairs of jeans for myself).

Shelley, glad to see you. Stayingbusy is a good, good thing!
If any of those baseball cards are 'special' you can probably find buyers on eBay. The trophies, etc. just need to be shipped to your son's homes

Blondie, just said hello to you in the Newbies Nest - glad you are back on board!

Dill, the housekeeper idea is a great gift to yourself - love the idea
I keep spending on the grandkids (my newest bad habit...)

Hey papmom, I'm going to send you this month's issue of Harvard Women's Health Watch. The front page has a big article about RLS. Did you know that the RLS Foundation voted unaminously last year to change the name to Willis-Ekbom disease? Interesting...

Dewdrop, so glad you checked in & have gotten some much needed rest :l
I think you've made a great decision to take care of your health first & foremost. Try to keep your focus on today & doing what is best for you today. Recovering from pneumonia can take quite a while especially for us >29 yr olds......

60 beautiful degrees here today - certainly can't complain!

[papmom3]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Yes I did lav. Terrible decision as far as I'm concerned. Noone's going to be able to remember that name! And just when RLS was finally being recognized by most physicians as a common malady and something that can be treated. Stupid execs.

Off to agility.

[cyntree]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Hello dear ones - for those who observe lent, I wish you a fulfilling 40 days. I so remember my childhood years in the Episcopal church, first the Shrove Tuesday pancake supper, then the Ash Wednesday service - the weather was always blustery, but with a hint of spring (depending on when the day fell) and the light was just enough to make the stained glass windows glow for a little bit. My parents would come back to the pew with ash marks on their foreheads, a sign of a journey about to begin, like an ephemeral boarding pass. It always felt like we were inhabiting some borderland, the way station to an interior journey. On the other hand, it was quite an everyday journey, and my mother would always give up potato chips, her great weakness.

Have been trying to finish up with 'My stroke of insight'; now overdue. It is occurring to me in flashes that her 'step to the right side' of the brain is what possibly we were looking for in AL?...no thoughts fully-formed yet, but intriguing. I look forward to Buddha's Brain....

Hope all have a good evening - so good to see you, Blonde, Sped you are a brave warrior, keep at it. Dew, brava to you on your courage, Chill - hope you are OK. Best wishes, all --

[BlondeAFAmbition]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Hi Fit and Fabulous Feb Abbers!

Awww, Papmom3, I missed you too my friend! :hThought of you often and how we are enjoying the tropics here this winter in MA! Today was sunny and warm...kind of eerie in a way. Did we break the earth or somethin'? Well, I'm enjoying it whatever is going on. We're almost to March and NO SNOW! Geesh!

Dill, I look forward to getting to know you as well!:l Nice to see you on this board!

Hi to Cyntree, Dew, Spedteach, Lav, Rustop, Star et all! So good to be back in the swing with you guys, I wish I had come back sooner...:upset::upset:

Now I've got to check out this Buddha's Brain thing...

Tonight, I'm about to settle in with a cup of tea and read a good book I started last night called "The Happiness Project, Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun", by Gretchen Ruben. I like it so far and I'll like reading it sober even more

Night Night Gang, this Blonde's off to cuddle with her cats, dog and book in bed!

[ladybirdheart]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

I too am joining in and just ordered Buddha?s Brain as well as a companion book Just One Thing. My thinking can readily be so stress inducing, and this fellow?s approach as well as Tolle?s seem to cut through the chatter and leave behind something sweet and clear. I was struck in reading recent posts by how different our temperaments are and how we have to discover and honor what works best for us in remaining AF. While some are drawn by nature to activity, challenge, and stimulation, I spent so much time pushing myself in order to meet personal and career goals that I now completely associate being really busy or intense with turning off the switch at the end of the day with alcohol. What works best for me at this time would probably bore a brick. I trust you will let me stay here anyway. Welcome back, Blond. I love what you said about the Christian practice of Lent, Star, copied it to my keeper file, and I have decided to join in with that also and see what I learn! Love, Ladybird.

[sdlovespackers]

Free and Fit February - Week 4

Hi Fit Friends!!

Well I had an interesting phone call yesterday...I answer my phone at school and hear, "How bad, SD, do you really want to be in A-town?" (This is repeated twice)...I finally figure out it's my principal from 5 years ago...he's now in the town that i just applied to. He called to let me know that there is now a position open in his building and he's wanting me to put in my application....I let him know I already did....he says, of course you're on the ball! :H Tells me he's going to call the Assist. Super and put in a good word for me and ask to be put on the interview committee!!:yay: Should hear something I'd think maybe by next week...it closes on the 1st or 2nd??

Blondie--:l Hey girl!!! Sooooo glad to see you're back!!!!! I missed you!!! Wasn't the same without those pink bunny slippers when I scrolled down the page! How's your mom?

Cyn--my mom always TRIED to give up diet coke...not sure she ever made it very long. She always had us try to "give up" fighting with each other (me and my sister). Yea, that didn't last long either!:H I think our main goal for Lent was not to eat meat on Fridays...that I remember the most!! Today I had my Filet o'Fish from McDonald's...or I should say..half my Filet o'Fish, until I found a long hair in it!! ((UGH!!!))

Dill--I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the housekeeping idea!!! I SO want to do that!!!! I wonder how I'd find someone here??? So you aren't there when she/they come over to clean? How did you find your person? Did you ever go get your pedi??

Lav-60 degrees eh? Well I just heard we were in for 4-8 inches of snow tomorrow??? What the heck..that will honestly be the first snow (that is of any real amount) all year...if we actually get it!! I may get to bust out the new snowblower for the second time...

Dew--Glad you are feeling better!

Rusty-You asked if I was still planning on having a baby...I'm still in the process of tests actually...I had to go off the pill and then wait for another month until I got my period so they can draw blood to test to see if I'm fertile??? I believe is what this one is for??? I'm now waiting for my period...which I would think would be here this week (one good reason to be on the pill...you can keep track of this stuff better). What stinks about all this now is if I would get this job....it would probably put all this stuff on hold...going to a new town, starting a new job-with no sick/maternity leave built up wouldn't be good. Seems like it's always something...maybe THAT'S a sign!!! I just so badly want to be married again and have more children and a "family".

Speaking of kids...it's just about 6:30 and I haven't started super yet, I'm sure I'm going to have a hungry boy wandering in here shortly!! I'll have to check back in later...hello to everyone i may have missed!! Have a super evening!!
SD