Good morning! Anybody else in a cleaning/organizing mood? Yesterday I sorted winter coats and accessories. Mine went to one closet and hubsters in another. 4 old coats hit the dumpster. I can see the floor in my coat closet again. It tends to be the place I put junk. DeeMarie - I can see where that all you can eat stuff could be a problem - they don't know how much I could eat... Well I posted on my "lonely" thread about the doctor - Up 3, water weight - no lecture. BP down 10 points. No other problems. I am the healthiest fat woman I know. Doc wished me a Merry Christmas and happy NY and said - see you in January haha. No excuses! Yeah he is very funny.... Welcome back MaryAnn! I guess you have your points link - eh? Hmmm time to dig out my pumpkin dessert recipe. Isn't it funny how certain seasons make you think of foods? I don't look at pumpkin pie until cooler weather and now....and I won't thinkabout those dang gingersnap cookies in the bag. Well I went absolutely food crazy for 2 days (after the doctor), felt full and miserable for 2 days so now it is time to straighten out and eat right. It's funny how sluggish bad food makes you feel. Does anyone have a slush machine? Would it work with diet soda? I had 2 frozen Cokes and that is what I miss the most - pure empty calories.. This morning I had a ww bagel - much better.Well I am busy today so must run. Bye, make today a good memory Kathy

Beverly, thanks for keeping this weekly challege going. Two days ago I put away my sewing machine and cleared off the dining room table of all fabric. Since the 8 months that I have gotten into quilting I have practically given up all physical exercise. I have put on 20 pounds. No, make that 25. All the while I continued to sit and sew, watching in horror what was happening with my weight. Last night I awoke at 1:30 and couldn't get back to sleep, for thinking about my weight gain. I decided to look on my bookshelves for an inspirational diet book, and I pulled out "The Choice is Yours, A Practical Guide to Take off and Keep off Pounds Sensibly," by TOPS. I joined TOPS about 12 weeks ago in a fit of desperation, but stopped going to the meetings as I continued to put on pounds (pretty sensible, right?). As I began to read through the book, I realized it was quite excellent and provides techniques that I have not heard of before. Sometime this week I will come back and share one of the techniques that I am going to try tonight at bedtime -- it has to do with imagery, and it makes great sense. Anyway, today, I brought out all the clothes from my closet and piled everything on the bed, and set aside all the clothes I can no longer get into (which was quite a hunk of clothes). I am putting them into vacuum bags to seal up until I get rid of 15 pounds. Then I will open them up and see how I am doing. I'm sad to say that I haven't been able to manage sewing and keeping physically fit at the same time. Having the machine out of easy access definitely helps, and in the last two days I've had much better energy, and the house and DH are the beneficiaries. I'm going to give myself a two week break from sewing and then go back to it a little at a time to see if I can maintain a balance. I like the closing the kitchen after dinner idea. I absolutely have a problem snacking after dinner. Good luck to everybody this week! Mel

I think I am doing "mostly OK" on my fabric diet. I already have so much fabric that there's not room for much more, so that keeps me from overindulging. I think about it this way: If I ever fall on hard times, I will not have to stop quilting. My main criterion is that I will only buy something to complete a particular project, or if it is one of those fabrics that I am going to later regret not buying. The latter is becoming relatively rare. I am starting to clearly recognize those "have to have" fabrics, and differentiate them from the fabrics that will just make more work for me, finding matching fabrics. I admit, I have purchased fabrics to start a few new projects, but only because I have discovered that I love hand applique so much, I am going to be doing a lot of it, hence, I will actually use that fabric after all, rather than just admire it lying there in my stash. But as much as possible, I try to "make do" with my extensive stash. Of course, all that applique means that I had to buy many different hues of 50 weight thread. And I have been doing more actual sewing--not just dreaming of sewing--since I added this new dimension to my quilting hobby. Money well spent, I say. My hubby actually is encouraging me to spend the money for a walking foot for my Viking. Anything that makes the tops hanging on the railing turn into finished quilts. I am going to take a class on Quilt As You Go, and this requires me to get the walking foot. I can use a 25% off coupon, and birthday money that my mom gave me. Money well spent, if I end up finishing quilts more quickly and with less procrastination. I think it's all about wise choices. That's a diet I can stick to.

I know that I don't drink enough water. But, I do believe it helps in dieting, and I am trying to drink more. I sometimes freeze our regular tap water----my husband is convinced that tap water is bad. He buys the bottled water. I used to work with a lady who had a son that worked for the water company-----she says the water there was safe to drink. This was another county. I've also heard that bottled water has as many bacteria, if not more, than regular tap water-------since it sits on the shelf for weeks or months at a time. I'm trying to get into the habit of telling myself----If you're hungry, maybe you need water.