Perhaps you could do some baking as Christmas gifts, Karen?? My DH and I were married on January 16, and at the time we both had very low paying jobs. So as our Christmas gifts just before our wedding, he went scuba diving and caught all our family members a crayfish (you may call it a lobster there). We packaged them in a basket with some baked treats and candies and wrapped in cellophane. They were nice cheap gifts.
I had something removed off the side of my face this week, and had stitches, so I haven't done any swimming (have to keep it dry) and for the first couple of days no exercise either, because I was feeling a bit BLAH!!! I'm about to go walking with my SIL right now.
I will be doing some baking to send as gifts, but I am not even quite sure I have the money for ingredients.
I really just have to buy something for my daughter's baby (she will be one year old in January). I am going to get her a baby's first Christmas ornament and I also have to find some sort of toy for her. Everybody else will have to wait until after January.
Yesterday was a pretty good day at work. There was some kind of a football game in town. I was a bit disappointed with today, it was kind of slow and there were five of us there, whereas yesterday it was just three of us. Oh, well, tomorrow through to Wednesday it will be just a few of us. Three tomorrow and two on Tuesday and Wednesday. If we have some business those few days I should be able to do pretty well. I usually do.
Is anyone else getting the Twelve Days of Cookies Newsletters from Food Network?
I will be doing some baking to send as gifts, but I am not even quite sure I have the money for ingredients.
I really just have to buy something for my daughter's baby (she will be one year old in January). I am going to get her a baby's first Christmas ornament and I also have to find some sort of toy for her. Everybody else will have to wait until after January.
Yesterday was a pretty good day at work. There was some kind of a football game in town. I was a bit disappointed with today, it was kind of slow and there were five of us there, whereas yesterday it was just three of us. Oh, well, tomorrow through to Wednesday it will be just a few of us. Three tomorrow and two on Tuesday and Wednesday. If we have some business those few days I should be able to do pretty well. I usually do.
Is anyone else getting the Twelve Days of Cookies Newsletters from Food Network?
I've had the flu all weekend 
The good thing is that I haven't eaten as much 
but haven't had the strength to exercise either 
Karen I am getting the 12 days of Christmas cookies. I love it. Some are ones I wouldnt even try, but there are some that sound very goodHope things get better for you
I think this is my forth or fifth year getting the newsletter. Things are alright here. Yesterday I brought home eighty dollars, today was sixty. On Tuesday and Wednesday there are only two of us. On the weekends it is five. We really don't need that many.
Hope you feel better soon, sonia. I hate being sick at Christmas time.
Does the newsletter come by mail, or email??
email, I signed up at the food network web site. I used to get some from somewhere else last year, but I cant remember where that was now.
Not doing werll with eating, other than eating everything in sight and anything I want. I have made it up at least 4 days a week to work out. The afternoon will have to wait until after Christmas, too many things going on after work right now.
All recipies has a newsletter, too. You can look at their recipies on their website, too. I'm going there now.
I've ended up getting sick, too, now. I've been coughing for about a week now. I am finally off work for today and tomorrow, so I am hoping to feel better on Saturday when I go in.
I am going to have to work on Christmas this year. I hate that, but in this economy you can't just go and get another job. It sure does seem awfully greedy and sensless to ruin the holiday for all of your employees.
Have a great day everyone!
Karen
Sorry you have to work, Karen! If it's any consolation, I'll be working too - making a cake, that is!! I agreed to make a cake for a gentleman from my church who is turning 80. His birthday is the 24th. Then his party was changed to the 26th. I didn't feel I could turn it down, as he's a good friend, and I've been too busy with other orders to make it any earlier.
Anyway, I hope everyone has a great Christmas!!! I'll be going away Boxing Day and will be away for a week, so I'll check in again then!
Hey I'm back. Where is everyone???
We had a great time, camping on the beach for a week. Came back quite suntanned.
AND I didn't put on any weight over the holiday period. Yay!!!!!
I'm here. I've been wondering where everyone is, also. Personally, I've been working. Six days both Christmas and New Year's weeks.
My weight is still fluctuating between those two to three pounds but I've not gained any weight, either.
Hope everyone is doing well. Glad you had a good time, sonia.
Karen
Hi everyone!
Again...apologies for my absences! I took the first two weeks of December and made a ton of cookies and treats for gifts for teachers, neighbors, DH coworkers. Then we drove to Florida and we were gone for 13 days over the Christmas Break. BTW it takes us about 22 hours to drive to Florida with 3 boys in the van 
. They actually did wonderfully and it was a nice vacation. But I am happy to be home and ready (again) for a fresh start. I went to work out this morning to get back on my routine. 2 weeks off took a bit of a toll on my endurance, but oh well, I am back at it.
I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Your vacation sounded very nice, Sonia..and congrats on not gaining weight!
Sorry to hear things have been slow at work Karen, and to hear you have been sick.
Wow, that's a huge trek for the kids, Merissa!! Mine had trouble containing themselves for just 2 hours!
Karen, how did you go with your Christmas baking??
it was definitely a huge trek. My parents have a condo there (so obviously we stayed free while we were down there). They also got us tickets to two of the parks as our gifts. We took the kids to Busch Gardens and Sea World. I don't know if I'd go to the parks at Christmas time again though, just too busy! Sea world CRAZY busy. The kids had fun though. They got to swim a lot in the pool and improved greatly with swimming which makes me very happy.
What did everyone else do for the holiday? Good gifts? My DH and I decided not to do gift since we took the vacation instead. Plus we could really use an new computer and a snow blower.
We didn't do gifts this year either. We just bought for our kids. Mostly because we're struggling financially at the moment, and my husband is looking for a high paying diving job away from home. He says when he comes home after his first stint away, we'll have OUR Christmas!
My baking was fine, thanks. I had to make two rounds of cookies.
Merissa, you should have stopped by while you were here. I'm working at the IHOP on Clearwater Beach. You probably drove past several times.
We didn't get to have presents this year. No money for gifts. I was lucky to have a tree, and it wasn't much of a tree, either. Less than a foot tall. It was nice, though. Fiber optic.
I still have to mail the gifts for my daughter and her family. They were out of town for Christmas so we figured it wouldn't do much good to mail them if they wouldn't be there to receive them. We will be mailing tomorrow.
I think it has been a tough year for a lot of people, financially. Hope things pick up for you Karen...and everyone! I feel A LOT better than about a year ago. They had to let a lot of people go where my DH works, but he made it through. He joked that he stayed in the bathroom on the lay-off days. LOL He is actually taking a new position soon, which is probably a bit of a promotion, however, they say they can't afford to increase his salary.
I guess I don't really know where Clearwater Beach is. Is it North of Ft. Myers?
Worked out today and pushed myself through 4 miles on the treadmill. It is tough getting back after not working out for two weeks. I had intentions of working out while we were gone, but it just didn't happen. Some how i think I lost a couple of pounds. I weighed 161 today. I havent been below 160 in a year or more. I just can't believe it! Well I do feel a little more hopeful and encouraged that I lost some weight. I feel like I can stick with a plan if I see some progress. I bought a lot of good fruits and veggies yesterday. I plan on munching on that during the day.
If you took 75 to 4 from Ft Myers, You picked up 4 in Tampa. Just west of there is Clearwater Beach. Not sure exactly how far it is from Ft Myers, but you should have come past on the way to/from Disney or Seaworld or Universal, wherever you went in Orlando.
Things will pick up within the next month or so here for me. Spring break is coming up and from there it is smooth sailing until next November. We are planning on ways to save up more money for a security net next winter season. Also, they are working on the road out front of the restaurant and that is not helping business any. That should be finished in February or March.
I feel like I lost about 10 pounds of hair today. A friend from work took me and paid for a haircut for me. I got a really short cut. I think it looks good.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Have a great day!
Karen
We'll be looking forward to your next weight in then, Karen! 
It is SOOOOO hot here today. 34 C which works out at 93 F. Mainland Australia is used to that sort of temperature, but here it is very rare. Everyone else is just lazing about the house doing nothing, but being "Mum", I still have lots to do! I'm so glad I don't have to deliver a wedding cake this weekend (I have one for every other Saturday in January)
I'm doing pretty well with my diet at the moment. I RE-started my gluten free diet this week. I've just had so much pain in my joints over the Christmas period, that I need to find out once and for all whether this is what's causing the problem. I've just found it so hard to stick to for more than a week in the past, but this time I'm determined. My tummy was flatter after the first day off wheat!
To be in Tasmania, Sonia! It is verrrrrrrrrrrry cold here in Florida, 35 degrees Ferenheit, almost freezing, and we are having a cold drizzle. I went to work and then came right back home. As a matter of fact, I climbed on the bus this morning instead of walking the mile. I did walk the mile back home because the timing wasn't right for the bus. I was home before the bus got up here.
Hubby has the cold I had the last couple weeks, so I came home and made him a bed on the sofa and told him he was not allowed to leave the apartment (he takes care of the dog during the day and had planned on doing laundry today).
Have a great day, everyone!
Karen
That sounds SOOOOO cold, Karen! Hope your hubby is feeling better soon.
I've been 9 days now without gluten, and I've lost about 2 pounds. My joint pains have not disappeared, but I've been told it will take 3 weeks to see a difference.
Glad to hear of your loss, Sonia. Hope the pains go away for you. It will be three weeks before you know it.
I think it would kill me to be allergic to wheat products.
Yeah, it's been pretty hard. We went camping for the weekend because it was our wedding anniversary and DH said "how about an icecream??" and I said "Sounds great!......oh, no I can't!" I can see why coeliacs are generally thin people!! It's been almost 2 weeks now, and I'm still hanging in there!
I had a supervisor at the probation office who was a celiac. She had trouble keeping weight on. She was gaining weight last I heard.
Hubby is feeling better. My manager gave me some of that acai berry vitamin C drink. I think it is called Emergency C. That seemed to help him quite a bit.
I had the worst customer come in today. Suffice it to say that the OTHER SERVER'S customer gave me a tip, told my manager NOT to yell at me, and called my customer a rude name before he left. I also think a few other tables gave me a larger tip because of the way this woman was acting. It all turned out ok, though. My manager said that she wasn't coming in tomorrow is all, thank God.
Tomorrow will be a much better day, though.
Talk to you later. Keep up the good work, Sonia!
That must be hard Karen, if your manager has the "customer is always right" attitude. Hope your day goes better tomorrow
My manager is a good guy. He knows. Actually, I have been told that the only reason I was given the job in the first place is that I was the most polite person to walk in the door for a long time. I didn't have experience waiting tables at the time.
My day went much better today, thanks. I had a lot of tables come in today and greet me by name. That's the thing, most of the people who come in are very nice.
Well, it must have made your day, hearing a compliment like that, Karen!
How is everyone doing?? Not much action here lately!
I've got a terrible toothache! I rang my dentist on Wednesday and managed to get an appointment on Thursday, and had a tooth filled, but I'm still in a lot of pain and constantly taking painkillers. I'm wondering if the tooth beside it also needs filling. I'm going to have to ring and make another appointment I think.
Hi y'all. I think I must have missed an update way back and I got a off track here.
Things are okay with me. The good news is that my exercising has been going well. I can now run 5 miles if I really push myself, but I feel more comfortable doing 3 or 4. I was doing REALLY well with my eating. THEN I got a little busy and I got all off track with my eating. I am thinking I really need to work on planning out meals and snacks ahead of time and stick to it. I am a little less busy this week, so hopefully I can get back on track.
Sorry to hear about your tooth Sonia! ouch.
Sorry to hear about your mean customer, Karen. Some people are just unhappy.
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