PEEPS on Sunday!

[Boilergal]

Guten Morgen!

Well, I survived Houdini's B-Day party yesterday. We had people there from 2PM until 5PM!! (I didn't think anyone would stay that long, but they did!) Houdini had a good time--she now has a crush on a little boy named Gavin and spent the party chasing him around and trying to shove cheese cubes into his mouth. Ah, if only catching a boy was that easy...LOL! My sister was the official photographer, so as soon as she sends me some, I'll post them on my site. Will not be posting pictures of what the house looked like after 15 people under the age of 4 had at it. Let's just say Nicey Nash of "Clean House" would be yelling "FOR SHAME, PEOPLE!" HA!

This morning I did Patrick G's Play Ball. LOVED IT, LOVED IT, LOVED IT! 30 minutes of functional cardio, sculpting, and core work all rolled into one. It was fun and mostly low impact, yet I broke a sweat and was breathing hard. I had to modify the core work at the end, because I could not keep both hands on the medicine ball and do a jog in the plank position, so I did it without the ball. There were pile squat, lunges, side lunges, squats, tricep extensions, bicep curls, overhead shoulder presses (NOT EASY with when you pass the ball from side to side, over your head, one handed!), single shoulder raises, push ups with one hand on the med ball, then you roll it to the other side, do a push up, and ab work. I highly recommend it for something differend/or a short workout.

Jerry--I think you will be able to manage your hypertension--you have such a committed, positive attitude and dedication to fitness and this will role over to managing your blood pressure. If you need low sodium recipes, let me know--a friend of mine has been helping her father manage his blood pressure through re-tooling his diet and she has loads of them.

Ellie--You sounded very much Ellie like yesterday!! I'm glad to see you in such good spirits.

Dani--How are you feeling today? Still struggling with the wrath of DOMS?

Vilma--Good to see you back at check in.

Heather--What about herb roasted sweet potatoes? You cut them into chunks, drizzle with olive oil and fresh thyme, and bake? If you want to give savoy sweet potatos a shot, let me know and I'll post the recipe for you...

Shout outs to Karin, JJ, and other peepole to come!

And WHERE is Catherine and Robin? Robin, our leader who brought us together? Robin? Come back, we miss you..............

Wendy

 

[BelovedHeather]

Peeps Check-in

Peeps:

Good morning! I had a blast in Austin last night. We returned to Whole Foods again while we were there. I love the produce in that place. It is so vibrant looking. Picking out produce in the regular grocery store takes so much time. Everything at Whole Foods looks fresh and beautiful. While I was there, I sampled cranberry cheddar cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, and cheesy potato soup. I sampled some chocolates too! I missed the chocolate fountain last time. I am a people person, and I had so much fun talking to people. There are a lot of friendly and interesting people who work and shop there. Austin does not feel like a big city.

I went from wishing we had a Whole Foods closer to home to thinking that might not be such a great idea! Talk about sensual indulgence. I walked in for "healthy" snacks and walked out with white chocolate lemon rolls, a bite-size key lime tart, a bite-size lemon tart, dark chocolate almond butter cups, and the most divine dark chocolate-covered caramels with sea salt on top. Oh, I bought a bottle of that wonderful root beer for the road. We got pulled over on 6th Street because the police officer thought I was drinking beer. LOL! It is a good thing I am not a drinker because I did not know that passengers could not drink.

Austin is beautiful this time of year with all the Christmas lights. There were beautiful horse-drawn carriages in the streets last night, and people were ice skating at the Whole Foods holiday rink. I had fun watching Texans learn to ice skate. Most of them spent more time on their buns than on their feet. LOL!

Rebecca’s husband went with us for "security" because he did not think we should be alone in Austin on a Saturday night. He treated us to a very nice meal at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. I ordered a baked potato and shared Rebecca’s steak. It was a huge baked potato with half a stick of butter and a whole tub of sour cream plus cheddar cheese! Oh my! The bread and sweet cream butter were amazing. I am not a big meat eater. Just give me carbs! I will say that it was by far the best steak I have ever tasted. Even well done (no pink for me!), it melted in my mouth.

I drank plenty of water at the restaurant, but I still feel bloated today. It is time for my cycle to start and time for another detox. I have been invited to another party tonight (with fajitas), but I decided to skip that indulgence. I am at capacity with rich food.

It is time to get ready for church. I am looking forward to the Christmas music this morning.

Wendy, I was thinking in terms of butter and cinnamon on my sweet potato! I just need to figure out how long to bake it! P.S. I do not like olive oil either.

Karin, I met a woman from Colorado last night and thought of you. I posted my review of Cathe’s tubing in yesterday’s thread if you are interested.

Blessings,
Heather B.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).

 

[ShyWolf]

Good Morning Hellos to All The Peeps!


Sitting here with the fireplace on and biscuits in the oven. My husband put some in as he just got home from work.

I am trying to stay away from the biscuits and have some healthy oatmeal instead.

I have to go back out and do more shopping. It was so much easier to buy for my kids when they were small now as teenagers its just so hard. I don't want to give money or gift cards as I enjoy seeing presents under the tree, but as they get older the gifts get smaller and more expensive. My 10 yr old dd said she wants Santa to get her a PlayStaion 3 - Um yeah good luck with that one

Yesterday was tree trimming day, cookie and holiday cake baking and this momma needs to start eating cleaner.


Wendy looking forward to Houdini's birthday photos - sounds so cute she found a little friend to give cheese cubes too.

From reading about your workout I can guess you had a great workout -eh? lol Good for you.


Heather I love reading about your adventures in Whole Foods. I need to find one next time I leave our town. Too funny about the rootbeer and police.

 

[berry99]

Hi everyone! I picked up DH at the airport yesterday and we did a bunch of errands. Nothing too exciting. I also cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms yesterday.

Today I am going to brunch with my book club. We are trying a new place that DH would never go to (he likes places like IHOP ) and I am totally excited to try it. It's a little pricey but we only do brunch once a year during the holidays.

After book club brunch I think that I am going to try to go to the grocery store. We have no food in the house at all. Since DH was gone I just kind of ate whatever I found and didn't really do much shopping. I guess it was a good thing in terms of cleaning out the cabinets.

DH was in Boston and went to Trader Joe's. We don't have any TJ in Colorado and I have been to one once in Santa Barbara and loved it. Anyway, he brought home some goodies. Most memorable are the pretzels filled with peanut butter. YUM!

Wendy - glad to hear that you survived Houdini's party and that she had a great time. Can't wait to see the pictures. Was yesterday her birthday? Thanks for the Play Ball review. I have been eyeing that one up and am thinking of asking for it for Christmas. I love functional fitness and Patrick is so good at it.

Heather - I did read your resistance tubing review. Thanks for posting it. Did you purchase the medium resistance tubing? I am thinking of purchasing all three because I think they would all be useful in their own way. I'm jealous of your Ruth Chris meal. YUM!

Vilma - good to see you again.

Ellie - like Wendy said, you are sounding more like the old Ellie and I am so thankful for that. It's good that you are getting back to normal.

Hi to all the other peeps that stop by today.

 

[dbelden1]

HI Peeps!

sorry I was MIA yesterday, but trying to get the house cleaned a bit and a bunch of stuff to work on the yard... need to cut back some of our creaping bushes and scrubs for the winter... no workout yesterday as I was still nursing my tweeked back, but am feeling better today, so will do something not too bouncy and twisty... guess KPC is out! HA!

HOWEVER, I did manage to pick up my High Step yesterday!!! I took back my Cathe weighted vest (10#'s just will not be enough for me when STS comes) and now that I have the full sized Original club step AND the High Step, I have enough risers for a Cathe sized workout bench! So, apparenlty I just found my answer for my workout today!!! HSCircuit! Wow, you work out so much on these forums and check-in's!


Wendy: what a day you had yesterday! I, too, look forward to seeing b-day pictures... I have been trying to plan my DH's surprise 50th b-day party on the 27th so I feel your pain... I"m gonna have to check out your Play Ball workout and Patrick G... sounds interesting...

Heather: Your trips to WF and Austin sound devine... I, apparently, take our WF's for granted.. DH loves that place, but I still fight the urge to indulge in "organic" (interpreted expensive) foods... guess when I get away from eating my canned (salty) veggies and such, the regular grocery store produce department will be my next step, but I DO get all perky when you start mentioning all the desserts! I was drooling at the mention of the Lemon Tart!!! I'd definately like your opinion on the chocolate/lemon thing... for some reason it just doesn't sound appealing together.. hmmm... guess I should at least try it!

Vilma: So HOW do you really drink that much water? I have kept a mini fridge in my office, a case of Dasani under my desk, a water cooler outside my office door, but STILL can't manage to make myself drink water... until I get home and do my workout each night... then I crave it, then time to go to bed and I wake up in the middle of the night to pee!!! UGH!!! if I could only force myself to drink more during the day, I wouldn't crave it at night... MAYBE WE SHOULD START A H2O DAILY CHECK-IN!

Karin:: my DOMS are finally subsiding and apparently the strain in my back was my bodies way of telling me to take it easy for a few days... at least I can sit to potty, and can lift my arms over my head to dry my hair! Now if I can only get my knees to cooperate I'll be great! OMG! PB pretzels!!! those are my FAV! Our office used to buy those in big Costco sized containers (they reminded me of little salty pillows!) and I would eat them by the bowl full!!! probably better that they don't make them from our office supply company any more, but I have seen them at CVS and other stores... I don't miss what the salt does to me though!!!

Ellie: I sent you a PM regarding your other OD post about DH! I, too, am happy to see the Ellie that we all know and love! Did you survive DS's b-day? Hope you have a wonderful time during your trip to see Cathe! I am completely envious...

Jerry: Sorry about your hypertension diagnosis... as everyone else has said, you can beat this... it doesn't have to be a forever thing! You are well on your way to better health so this will be one more thing that will fall in line and under control the longer you maintain and committ to your fitness journey! I have to admit to being a salt-fiend as well... DH just shakes his head... I have tried the no-salt substitutes but eventually I always seem to go back to sea salt... I have a DR. appointment to get an update on my cholesterol and other stats, so hopefully I have managed to make some progress. LIsten to your DR and make better choices as you are doing now, and you should be fine!

Laura: How's things in Uganda? Hope you have had a great weekend and will be back to the Peeps soon... Sorry if I missed the reason for your absense if you had something planned

JJ: hope you are having a fabulous weekend as well!

hugs to any peeps I missed!

BBL

 

[elliemom]

HI Peeps!

It's freezing cold in NJ today!!! And I love it. We are having a pJ day!! We put up the Christmas tree and decorated it. And we are home until church at 5pm. We played Christmas songs and took pictures and had a lot of fun. Something we needed as a family. Tooooooo cooooool to put light up out front, but that's okay. And I must confess, I took a NICE LONG nap afterwards!!!! DS got a game of Zingo yesterday so we are getting ready to play for the 5 millionth time!!! But he loves it, even though his brother seems to win everytime.


Wendy: Houdinin and the Rooster had a party on the same day!!! Did she have a blast. I have to say, ours was short but sweet. The boys were all well behaved and the parents were very nice. I only had 5 little guys and we played games like hot potato and musical chairs.
After the last few weeks it was fun to just be at home and relax.
Did Houdini enjoy her big day????

Heather: We don't have a whole foods nearby, THANK GOD!! Because if I ever saw that bakery case up close, they would have to pull me out of it. Sweets are my major downfall. I could skip eating real food all week and survive on junk foof alone. I guess that tells you why I started cathe in the 1st place. Is Austin not a safe place??? I have never been to Texas but always assumed it was all pretty country. I need to get out more

Vilma: Thank you for getting me back on my water habit. It has made me feel so much better and I'm finally past the peeing every 15 min thing. As a nurse, i was used to holding it for up to 8 hours, but not with this much water!!! Now I don't drink past 7 pm because girlfriend here needs her beauty sleep!!!

Karin::A book brunch club!!! I'm so jealous. Before I had the boys I used to be in a book club and loved it. It was nice to get out with other people who enjoyed talking and reading as much as I do. What are you guys reading?

Dani. I got your PM and am totally up for it. I'll get back to you in a little while. Dani, did you say 10# vest won't be heavy enough for you? I tried one on and almost collapsed on the floor. And i was just standing in the store!!! Yikes, I am really getting way behind. And A behind!!! need to get back on a regular routine.

Jerry: Next week at this time, you will totally forget about the high BP because we all be together for a salt fre lunch, a nice walk thru the mall with my and gayles and Phyllis' kids. Oh wait, that might raise your BP. ha Ha
Then Monday am Cathe will whip your butt and by the time you get home you will feel much better!!! And you'll be with me, and as they say...............
Laughter is the best medicine!!!

Laura: Looking forward to hearing from you soon!!!

JJ: Where are you??? I hope you are having a great weekend

hugs to all Peeps who follow
ellie
PS I prefer the "other Ellie" to the "Old Ellie" Ha Ha!!!!!

 

[dbelden1]

Dani, did you say 10# vest won't be heavy enough for you? I tried one on and almost collapsed on the floor. And i was just standing in the store!!!

Hey Ellie:

about the vest: actually I wanted it to help me with lower body weight when doing squats, lunges, etc. so I wouldn't have to have such a heavy barbell or handle heavier dumbbells... so I want an adjustable (and washable - I sweat stinky ) vest so I can load when needed and have lighter when I just want for walking and other cardio activities... make more sense now? it wasn't that 10#'s wasn't enough for some activities, just wanted the ability to adjust when wanted so my search continues... they are expensive locally, and if you find one for a decent price online you pay for it with shipping charges... so guess it will just depend on what I find I guess...

Stay warm and snuggly today!

 

[berry99]

I’m back from book club brunch and it was so good. The place was so cute and decorated so nicely. It has a CO theme, but not over-the-top and gaudy, just really classy. Very nicely done! I had vegetarian eggs benedict and it was so good. I just love restaurants that aren’t chains and have a great atmosphere. I try not to be snobby like that, but really Applebee’s does nothing for me. They actually have trunks of real Aspen trees throughout the dining room and the guys that own it did all the workout themselves. We got to chat with them and it was a great time. Here’s a link to the restaurant.

http://www.beatriceandwoodsley.com/

Dani – I am so glad to hear that your DOMs are manageable. I hope that your back continues to heal as well. That’s great that you got a high step. I was so excited to get mine because then I had 4 more risers to play with. Do you have the high step workouts? I really like High Step Challenge the best with High Step Circuit coming in a close second and I’m not really a huge fan of Leg Press Max, oops I mean HSTA. Where are you planning on having your DH’s surprise party? How is the preparation going for that?

Ellie – your day sounds wonderful. I hope that you enjoy every minute of it. I’m glad to hear DS’s party went well yesterday. I am sure you are glad it is over . I love my book club. We have been together for 8 years now and it is an amazing group of women. We are reading Three Cups of Tea for our meeting in January. I haven’t started yet but with all the traveling at Christmas I am hoping to get through quite a bit of it.

 

[berry99]

PS I prefer the "other Ellie" to the "Old Ellie" Ha Ha!!!!!

I was thinking that as I wrote "Old Ellie" the other day. I couldn't think of another adjective to use though

 

[Boilergal]

I’m back from book club brunch and it was so good. The place was so cute and decorated so nicely. It has a CO theme, but not over-the-top and gaudy, just really classy. Very nicely done! I had vegetarian eggs benedict and it was so good. I just love restaurants that aren’t chains and have a great atmosphere. I try not to be snobby like that, but really Applebee’s does nothing for me. They actually have trunks of real Aspen trees throughout the dining room and the guys that own it did all the workout themselves. We got to chat with them and it was a great time. Here’s a link to the restaurant.

http://www.beatriceandwoodsley.com/

Seriously, Karin, are we long-lost relatives or something???? I feel the same way about chain restaurants and only go once in a blue moon. (I do have to admit, the chains are good once you have small kiddos because they like all the color/signs/activity/loudness of them.) But I digress. LOL! OK, so after looking at the menu I've decided I'm meeting you in Denver for brunch some weekend!!! I would LOVE to eat at this place! The tea service looked amazing as well--you need to go back and do that sometime, because the cheese plates looked outstanding!!!

Ellie--You were much smarter with Rooster's party. I invited everyone in Houdini's play group, thinking it's December, there will be people with plans, I'll probably get half that amount which will be perfect, etc. Do you know what I ended up with???? 24 adults, 10 kids under the age of 4 and three babies!!! It was madness! My house is semi-cleaned up, I will tackle the rest tonight. But I still have Curious George plates on the table, if that tells you anything...

Heather--Heather, Heather, Heather! You are a cooking challenge! No olive oil? But I'm not giving up on you just yet!! The simplest way to do a sweet potato is to prick it all over with a fork, put it in the microwave for 9 minutes, then split it open and season with a little butter and brown sugar/maple syrup/cinnamon and eat it like a baked potato. Is that still too mushy for your taste?

My day's update: So far, while avoiding cleaning, I made a rustic Italian soup for lunch this week, and prepped chicken for tonight (it is marinating in a blend of apple juice, soy sauce, maple syrup, a cinnamon stick and garlic) and then all I have to do is dump it in a pan and bake it for like 45 minutes. Thank you, Nigella Lawson, for this delish "dump and bake" dinner! I read some of the NY Times and took Houdini to Belk's (department store) so DH could get new pants. Then we went to Pet Smart because Houdini likes to look at the cats and the birds. DH found a dog and at least three cats to take home, but since we have Mr. Needy and Ms. Snaggletooth, we sadly left them behind. (The downside to going to Pet Smart on the weekend--adopt a pet breaks my heart!) Houdini has been down for two hours now, hence the long post, LOL!

BBL, all!
Wendy

 

[BelovedHeather]

Peeps Check-in

Peeps:

Good afternoon! I am peeping in again with time for more personals! We had a beautiful candlelight and communion service with Christmas carols this morning at church. I felt so triumphant when I left. We will have another one on Christmas Eve. We like to have one every year before our college kids go home for the holidays. I just took a long nap, and I am resting at home this afternoon. This Peep is too old for all these late nights. LOL!

My friend Rebecca called me after church to share that God answered our prayers. I shared in my update this morning that her husband went with us last night for "security" reasons. We really had a mission. Rebecca and I both need to lose 100+ pounds each. Her husband desperately needs to lose at least 200 pounds. He is diabetic and around 400 pounds. His doctor told him that he will not live if he does not change his lifestyle. We wanted to show him that healthier choices can taste good. Rebecca also wanted me to talk to him about exercise. It makes a big difference. Even though I am still this size, my cholesterol and blood pressure are excellent. Yes, I still need to deal with this fat, but exercise is beneficial at any size. Rebecca’s husband got up this morning, drank several glasses of water, ate a healthy breakfast, and went to the club as her guest. He did a few minutes on the elliptical and got in the pool for 30 minutes and talked to a trainer about scheduling a session to teach him how to use the weight machines. It will not cost her much more to add him to her membership. This is a big praise! She has been trying to get him to start exercising for years. It will help her to have him on the same page with eating too so she is not tempted by junk in the house.

Wendy, I am waiting for the birthday pictures! I laughed out loud at the image of your little princess trying to feed her crush cheese cubes. Speaking of crushes, there are a lot of fine men in Austin!

Vilma, we need to start checking in with clean eats after the holidays! I hope you enjoyed baking and decorating!

Karin, your brunch sounds like fun! I ordered the medium tubing and the heavy tubing. I believe Cathe actually uses the light tubing in the instructional DVD, so I am sure it would be good to have too. Enjoy those peanut butter pretzels. Yummy!

Dani, I hope your back feels better soon. The organic foods are worth the cost. I would eat 100 percent organic if I had the money for it. I am never tempted to binge on the Whole Foods goodies. A tiny portion satisfies me. It is amazing. I am convinced that the obesity crisis in this nation is linked to the addictive junk like HFCS in food that makes you want to eat, eat, eat. Oh, the white chocolate lemon rolls are good! They have dark chocolate orange rolls too. I bought one of each last time and prefer the white chocolate lemon, so I bought the last two last night! It is a roll (think dessert and not dinner roll) with small white chocolate chunks and a lemon glaze on top. It has just a touch of sweetness and is not rich at all. I ate the tarts for dessert last night. The key lime and lemon were both yummy. I tasted a sample of almond butter cup and "pink" caramel with sea salt at the store. The almond butter cups are good. The dark chocolate-covered caramels with sea salt on top are divine. At $1.60 each, I could not afford to buy many of them!

Ellie, a pajama day sounds like fun! I am glad you enjoyed decorating your Christmas tree today. Have fun at church tonight. Girl, I only posted a picture of one small bakery case. The Austin store has around a dozen cases if you include the chocolate display! They have a big chocolate fountain and tons of truffles and caramels and dipped apples and all kinds of goodies! Don’t even get me started on all the cheeses or the brick oven pizza! Austin is a big city and the state capital, but I feel much safer there than I do in Philly! It is a college town and has a reputation for being a party place. We really wanted him to go with us for reasons I shared above.

Wendy, I do not have a microwave. LOL!

Hugs and waves to Jerry, JJ, Laura, and any other Peeps who visit today.

Blessings,
Heather B.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).