sparkly jewelry. LOL How true that is Robin. I think we each have our own little "perk me up" thing. One of mine is looking at mandalas and the other is going outside into nature. I can always find something that grounds me instantly. Don't ask me why,I haven't a clue other than it brings me to the present moment. I don't do exercise videos Florey. I've tried but it's too regimented for me. I like yoga because I can do anything I want,I do the treadmill with rock or whatever blaring in my ears..need that beat,and I really need to do some weight bearing in the winter but I don't. Foodwise..well I've tried most of the diets and everything works temporarily. Low carbs really knocks the weight off fast but i can't sustain it to any great degree. The thing that works best is eating whatever I want in smaller amounts,mostly whole foods,and a disgusting splurge a couple times a week.Disgusting doesn't mean a couple of cookies,it means the entire bag,or maybe 1/2 pound of fudge,or half of a pecan pie..GROSS. But...twice isn't going to affect my weight and it really gives me my sunny disposition.( Winking here) Robin...here is one of thousands of mandalas. This is what many Hindus and Buddhists focus on when they want to meditate.I just happen to think they're beautiful. Hey..they'd make great jewelry wouldn't they?

oh I'm glad I checked in - my ears were ringing! LOL. Shaun, I am so happy that you found the thing that works for you. That is what this is all about. You too Sherry - WW is a program that works well for many! gardengirl - nice to know about Ambien. I've wondered about it at times. And have fun in Niagara Falls! Hi Lisa - ditto what I said to Sherry - I know a couple people who have great success with weight watchers, and it sounds like it is the program that works for you! Me? I'm doing my second round of P90X and continuing to eat mostly clean. Lots of fruit and veggies, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, lean meats, steel cut oats, whey protein...and although my workouts have lightened up a little with this round, I still am getting regular exercise including weights, pushups/pullups, yoga, cardio, kenpo karate, and lots of core work. Since the beginning of the year, I lost 7 inches off my wiast, and the scale is down 14 lbs. - even with the decreased workouts, I've maintained. I feel great and with a gorgeous weekend last weekend, I kept up with the little kids playing baseball - YEA! I've got noticeable definition in my muscles and it feels good! I gotta run - today is Legs and back and I didn't work out this AM - gotta go get it done. Stacy

I was ill for years and lost a lot of muscle mass, and my knees just killed me. I asked my doctor for some simple exercises, which she provided. After that, I was able to move on to a stationary bike - no resistance - and a treadmill at about 2.5 miles per hour, and that strengthened my knees right up. Here is a link that might be useful: simple knee exercises.

Wow Ivette - $4K! That's outstanding! How can you call yourself 'a mess' when you've done that? What's the cause? And taxes?... Celtic, how can you call yourself a procrastinator when you've got them done? I haven't even started yet! I positively *hate* doing taxes. An update on the school 'thing' -- I talked with the director of our private school, and she pretty much nixed the low-functioning class as too low, and the high-functioning class as already full. She said she'd look into the various class mixes, but I didn't hear much hope. I've started the process toward public school enrollment, and brought DS by the school yesterday when I dropped off his information. He got to meet the diagnostician and the principal, and was thoroughly charming, shaking hands, saying "nice to meet you Mrs. ___" and remembering names. It'll be interesting to see what kind of placement they propose for him. It could be a great opportunity for him - being around more typically-developing children in a typical classroom for the first time ever. But it will also be a challenge to his self-esteem, and if we go that route, he will be forced to confront his differences. Scary all around. Is everyone still here? KitchencrazyChris? Starpooh? Lori? Claire?