ANDREA IN THE NEWS!

Here is a copy of a news item that includes Andrea! Way to go, Andrea! Besides your great success at weight loss right now, you are also making us proud in your chosen field! Great job!! (USC is University of Southern California)

The Importance of Doing the Math

10/15/08

With the national shortage of math teachers, a new fellowship program offers graduates incentives to remain in the classroom, including graduate education and a five-year stipend.

By Andrea Bennett

Andrea Hodgson, a Math for America fellow, works with a student.
Photo/Stephanie Erickson

Few can dispute that capable math teachers in the classroom are keys to the next generation’s ability to keep the U.S. economy healthy and globally competitive.

But the pool of highly qualified math teaching talent has been shrinking, and there are incentives for math-savvy instructors to pursue fields other than teaching.

Math for America Los Angeles launched this year to address the shortage of high-quality mathematics teachers by attracting top math majors to greater Los Angeles area classrooms – and keeping them there.

The program, which is primarily funded by the Simons Foundation, recently held an informational luncheon in Los Angeles hosted by philanthropist Eli Broad. The USC Rossier School of Education is a member of the Math for America partnership along with Harvey Mudd College and the Claremont Graduate School.

Math for America originated as a pilot for New York City schools and is the vision of mathematician, businessman and philanthropist James H. Simons.

While Los Angeles is one of the most expensive cities to live in the United States, the starting salary in the Los Angeles Unified School District for a credentialed teacher with a master’s degree is about $46,600.

In contrast, the starting salary in other mathematics-related fields for recent master’s degree recipients was on average between $60,000 and $70,000.

Math for America aims to curtail the trend of fleeing math teachers by offering its fellows an annual stipend of $20,000 for five years, in addition to paid tuition and teacher salaries.

In the first year, students pursue a master’s degree and teaching credential from USC or Claremont Graduate University.

Mariam Youssef, one of Math for America’s 11 inaugural fellows, said tuition to attend the USC Rossier School of Education was more of a selling point than the stipend.

“I think I would’ve still taught and been OK with the (teacher) salary being less, but the issue for me was paying for grad school,” Youssef said. “I wanted to go to a good program, but they’re expensive.”

During the subsequent four years, fellows teach in the greater Los Angeles area and receive the annual stipend in addition to their teacher salary, reducing the urge to drop teaching for a better salary elsewhere.

Stephanie Erickson, another Math for America fellow, said she earned her bachelor’s in math and applied to USC with the goal of teaching in Los Angeles when site director Pam Mason told her about the new program.

“I got a phone call that felt a little like Christmas,” Erickson said. “I was going to put myself $80,000 in debt to do this, and they were going to pay me to do it.”

Each fellow is assigned a master teacher, who mentors him or her during the process and provides the support and encouragement many teachers never receive during their challenging first years.

Professional development opportunities are provided through Harvey Mudd College. By the end of the five-year fellowship, every Math for America fellow is expected to strive for national certification – the highest achievement for an educator and one that generates larger pay raises.

With new sites opening in Los Angeles and San Diego this year and another due to open in Washington, D.C., in the near future, efforts to expand Math for America nationally are under way.

Lee Umphrey, interim executive director of Math for America, said John Ewing recently was appointed the first president for the national office.

Future sites may take longer to come to fruition due to the financial climate.

“Many cities and states are interested in starting MFA sites, and everyone agrees there’s a definite need,” Umphrey said. “Federal funding is tenuous for the next couple of years because of budgets in Washington. And given the recent financial situation, private funding will be scarcer, making it more challenging for new sites to start up.”

Andrea Hodgson, another of the first crop of Math for America fellows in Los Angeles, said her experience in the classroom has been positive thus far, and she sees the program making a real difference in math education for the area.

“I’m learning so much, and I can really just focus on learning how to teach and being a good teacher,” Hodgson said of the fellowship program. “(Math for America) has the potential to change the area with the talent, drive and education from USC. It’s helping the math curriculum (in local schools) get stronger.”

Long Over-due Introduction of Amrita!

The intro to Amrita is coming in a couple of parts! Quite awhile ago I started reading her blog because it was so different from anything else I was following and I just felt so refreshed by that! But I think it was this post (which I snatched by a copy and paste from her blog) that really caught my eye and I was hooked as a regular reader from then on! More next time ... in the meantime, enjoy her post:

The Highs and Lows

Today was a day of highs and lows.The high point of the day was when I received a gift check for our church building fund and when India defeated Pakistan in the first one day cricket match.

The lows were when I went to the bank stood in a very long Que only to discover that my ATM card had expired and I did not bring my new one along.

My washing machine 's dryer gave out on me after the first cycle and the repairman did not come after I phoned him.

I also had a few "run ins" with mama.The generation gap is getting longer and rockier and slipper-ier (coined a new word here).

Aunt S was quite disturbed, she has her moments.

And my old girl- maid (female Jeeves) tries my patience too.Her hearing and eyesight is weak and her IQ is low.But because she is a very poor widow and is very faithful and honest I just can't let her go.

I felt quite ill and stressed out in the evening.Stress causes vertigo in me,but I went out to get medicines. And I bought a book by Joyce Meyers called The Secret Power of Speaking God 's Word.Its a compilation of Bible verses we can speak out during different situations of life.My verse for stress is-It is God 's desire that I be free from all anxiety and distressing care. I Cor 7;32

The Holy Spirit calmed my soul otherwise I was telling Mama that I am going to call Sonia in Lucknow and tell her to ask her hubby 's uncle who is the Director of a famous Christian Psychiatric Hospital there to book a room for me.My Mom agreed.

What were your day 's highs and lows?

Coral's Birthday Update!

Coral has been celebrating to her heart's content, and since we have not mentioned one of our members -- Elmo -- for quite awhile, I thought I would give him a little space! In fact, he is the only one of us who is maintaining his ideal weight! (See the bottom right sidebar!)

We celebrated at Uncle Gord's and Aunt Paula's usual Monday night open house with this birthday cake which is perfect for Coral! That is one of her little Elmos standing in the middle, propped up by the plastic card holder from a floral arrangement !

(And yes, I ate too much!)

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Coral!

Love and hugs and kisses from Aunt Carol-Ann and Uncle Bruce and Kinza!
(Make Elmo behave today because it's your birthday!!!)

Update!

It's time for me to acknowledge my gaps here on The Winners' Log! First of all, we have a new Winner who has not yet been formally introduced ... most of us know her already, but I hope to have her post ready on the weekend.

Jeanette asked me by email this morning for an update re my exercise and BP and stuff! Regarding the "exercise" let me say that I don't upgrade it because I don't know what to put! I haven't done specific "Now I set me out to walk" exercise but ...

Last week was the "Take Our Kids to Work Day" in Ontario when Grade Niners get to go with a parent to work. I've waited for this day for oh....shall we say....14 years! At the end of the day Kinza and I had visited my clients, been to the office, she made a call for me to the nurse at the Day Treatment to let her know something about one of the guys we saw, we'd been shopping for a toaster for a cancer patient, we went to several different stores to look for insolation to pack around a window unit airconditioner for a client, we went and packed it around the airconditioner, we dealt with the traffic nuts in North York and we finished off with buying coffee and going to visit one final lady (who loves her coffee and this is usually my ticket in the door) but she refused to open and see us. At the end of it all I still hadn't done my charting or statistics ... (oh yes, and I was fired through email by another client so I had that to deal with) ... when we got home she flopped into the easy chair with a little white face and declared she was beat. Anyway ... all that to say ... does any of that count for my exercise chart????

For my 52nd birthday, Mama gave me a BP machine and according to it, my BP is back down to its usual sub zero! You'd think that would have an effect on my general weight because now I am light-headed! I have finished all my sinus meds --except the puffy stuffy -- so we shall see. It's hard to notice a big diff there right now.

We have had snow predicted in Toronto for later today. I can hardly wait! I just love my snow!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Yet another one!!

Happy Birthday, Andrea!

This is just amazing having this many birthdays in a row!

Have a wonderful day, Andrea! We wish we could be with you and have a great big party, but we hope these long distance best wishes will let you know we are thinking of you!

CELEBRATE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ANOTHER ONE!

Can you believe it? In our little group, we have birthdays two days in a row!

Today is Pat's birthday!

We all hope you have a WONDERFUL and HAPPY day, Pat!

(And please eat a little birthday cake for all of us!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

This is Carol-Ann's BIG day! She is a whole year OLDER than she was yesterday! When we were kids, we could hardly wait to be older, but these days... well, it is just not quite as exciting as it used to be, is it, Carol-Ann! However, we do like to celebrate, so today we are celebrating you!

Have a WONDERFUL day... and, of course, don't eat too much!

NEW MEMBERS!

This has been a VERY exciting week for the Winners! If you have not already noticed, check out the new additions to the sidebars. I'm going to introduce my friend Renae to you, and actually, there is a connection between her and Amrita.

Some time back, I began visiting Amrita's blog (which I really enjoy reading, I might add), and one day I left a comment there. Renae saw my comment and clicked on my name to visit my blog! She and Carol-Ann and I all got into lots of interesting conversations there and became good friends just chatting.

Of course, I then stopped by Renae's blog, Morning Coffee, and found out that I love reading her wonderful devotionals. She is an excellent writer; in fact, she has articles published in local and national magazines and is writing mysteries for girls 8 to 12. She also writes a weekly column that is currently carried in 4 newspapers. For all the scoop on Renae, click here. One of the biggest surprises of my year (maybe even this decade!) was when Renae invited me to be a guest writer on her blog, so now I have 2 posts over there on Morning Coffee which, let me tell you, has stretched me right out to my limit! It has been good stretching, only I haven't been able to claim it on the exercise chart!

Welcome Renae! I am SO glad your are joining us!

Wake-up Call!

Sometimes "wake-up" calls do happen in a series of events like this crazy "clock" portrays!
I had the ball fall on my chest and pull the stopper outta the keg this week when I realized my blood-pressure was high! I won't bore you with all the chain reaction series of events leading up to it. The long and the short is that it has come down on its own without meds to still being high but not in the danger zone. In investigating it, the doctor at the emergency walk-in clinic thoroughly checked my sinuses to see if that might be the reason why I have a headache that won't go away even with tylenol. I have been to my regular doc several times with my hand over my right eye saying that my face feels like it's going to fall off. She always looks thoughtful, writes in her book and suggests I quit drinking coffee! OK, so today I made no mention of my eye and my face because I didn't want another doc to tell me that! Without me saying anything, he started poking different parts of my face and then looked in my right eye with his scope. He kept going round and round the eye till I wondered how long I could take the spot light. But when he shifted to the left eye he just did a quick glance there and turned the light off. "AHA!" I knew without him saying anything that I would do whatever he told me -- even to quit drinkin' coffee! It was kinda like Daniel telling the king what his dream had been as well as giving him its interpretation when the doc found the point of concern without being told the symptom!

Regarding my eye and face, he said I have a sinus infection for which I need two weeks of antibiotics and a prescription nasal spray.

Regarding the BP he has no idea except to say, "Cut down on salt, avoid caffeine (yes sir!), and go for a brisk half hour walk each day. As you do that, we'll just have to keep an eye on it."

So I went today for a 40 minute brisk walk! Can you believe it?

Thanks everyone for taking the time to learn your way around posting exercise time and weights! I plan to post the instructions and put a link to it right below the window containing the exercise log sheet for future reference (if we suffer memory lapse) and new members.

Also, I shall eventually move the archives into the new Google document window and then it will be up to each person to decide how much you want to keep and show and what you want to delete. As it is, I have simply been archiving the last entry for each month.

'Nuff techy stuff! Get exercising BEFORE you get a wake-up call!

Yawn, Stretch, Run, Fetch!

Ok y'all, it's time to shake things up here!
If ever I felt the drowsies in a project, it's here on our bloggie! Yes, I was the main contributor to the dull-drums! We all have our times, ya know!

For the first "shake", I decided to add our start weight to the front forehead of our profiles. And, as expected, it was startling. What was your reaction to seeing your start weight side-by-side with your present figure?

Michelle, you have done so well! This is very impressive! But, we are not going to be out-done by the new broom! We shall all start to sweep well and see impressive efforts at maintenance! Yes?

Welcome back to Roger and his courageous new start!

Re the Exercise Club, I have joined officially as of today. Help us all! What is this coming to? Carol-Ann actually plans to exercise? I may have to jog out to Mississauga and drag Pat out for a run. Let's see -- where could we go ... we could run over to Artisano's for a lemon-cranberry cloud and a cappuccino all dressed up with whipped cream!

Great stuff, Jeanette -- you've kept us going here lately.
Andrea, you are still below your start weight so let's kick some butt and hope that Grandma doesn't stop by to read this steel-hearted approach!

Exercise Update 3

The "Get More Active" Club!

Jeanette: Unfortunately for me, my exercise this week has not been of the helpful kind. Yes, some of my muscles are being stressed -- over and over and over until they are aching...

Ka-choo! Ka-choo! Ka-choo! Ka-choo!

I have had the sneeziest cold ever, and my head has been dopey. I've just wanted to go to bed, but that hasn't happened because everything has been taking me longer to get done than usual due to my fuzzy brainpower. This probably is working against me because I've had to work late and then Coral still has to get up in the morning to get to her day program... Well, you get the too-fatigued-to-even-think-about-exercise picture! So I have nothing good to report for exercise this week. I am beginning to get better, though.

Andrea: I don't think Andrea has had any better week than I have. She has been very tired, and so I'm guessing we are both in the same boat.

FINAL REPORT: Andrea and I are both hoping to report a much better week next Saturday! We are still hoping for exercise companions! (Hint, hint!)

Exercise Update 2

The "Get More Active" Club!

Like it or not, it is already a week since our last update...so here goes. I don't have anything to report for anyone else, so it is just me this time.

Jeanette: On Tuesday, I walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill, and it was quite a workout! As I mentioned several months back, my treadmill is not working right. I cannot control it manually except to slow the speed down, so my only choice is to pick one of the preset workouts and let the thing go! I picked the first workout today, and it just ran away with me! It tilted up to an 8 percent incline and had me jogging! I slowed it down, but that incline took its sweet time to come back down, and there was nothing I could do about it! I had to step off to the side two times for a minute each time in order to make it through, but I felt like I REALLY pushed myself, so that was good.

On Saturday, I tried a different auto setting called "Light Jog." That sounded a lot scarier than the Tuesday one, but was actually much better because the incline never increased, and so when it got too fast, I just slowed it down to a more comfortable pace. Even so, it was fast enough to really get my pulse going. I might save that incline one for another day -- a long time from now! (I have to be honest, the only reason I got on the treadmill on Saturday was because I had to give this report.)

So that is it for this week... I have to admit it feels a little lonely on here these days, so I hope one of you will soon join this little Get More Active club!

Writing it ALL down!

Today's weight loss suggestions have been submitted by Pat. This article gives some very helpful info and ideas. (Click on the picture below to see a larger image that is easier to read.)

Exercise Update!

The "Get More Active" Club

So far, it is just Andrea and me who have joined the "Get More Active" club! So here's the update...

Andrea: Andrea walked 3 times this week for a total of 5 to 6 miles. This was intentional exercising over and above the walking she might normally do with all her school and student teaching activities. Since she lives right by the Pacific Ocean, she loves to walk on the beach, so this is a real plus for her! I just wish I could run over there and walk with her!

Jeanette: On Wednesday, Barry and I rode the train from Denver to Glenwood Springs where we stayed overnight. We had to do a lot of walking -- from the train station to the motel (got lost and walked a LOT longer than we really needed to!), to the restaurant, back to the motel, back to the restaurant, back to the train station, and then up and down the main streets while waiting for the train back home on Thursday. Barry estimates we walked at least 5 miles, so I think that was a definite increase in activity this week.

Anyone want to join us for next week?

Some more info: Weights will be posted by Tuesday morning, and this Tuesday's main blog post will be by Pat!

CLUCK-CLUCK UPDATE!

Well, we two chickens have been bolstering each other up this evening! We (Andrea and Jeanette) have been burning up the computer keyboards with our instant messages. We admit our failure, and we are ready to step on the scales on Monday morning, actually open our eyes so that we can read the weights, and then sheepishly post them here for all to see! Ouch!

At the same time, though, we are also prepared to take ourselves in hand. Our big question to each other is: How can we be exercise buddies at a distance? That is hard, but this is the plan we came up with:

THE PLAN: We have to make exercise a priority. For starters, we are going to add walking to our weekly regimen. We are hoping to walk at least 3 times a week, hopefully at least a mile each time. We will send each other a quick email each time we do this. Then on Friday evening or Saturday, Jeanette will leave a quick update here so that we can also be accountable to our group. We are hoping that our exercise plan will catch on, so please join us if you can. Feel free to walk or be active in whatever way you want and be exercise buddies with us! Let us know in the comments section if you would like to join in, and we will work out the details!

Summoning all Losers!

We have here gathered at the chicken coop to discuss our issues!

In the previous post, our Senior Blog Administrator (SBA) has called the meeting to order and appointed the Junior Blog Administrator (JBA) to bring us up to speed by reviewing the minutes from our last general meeting:

"10:15, 10:16, 10:17, 10:18, 10:19, ... adjourned at 10:45."

Thank you, Silly Goose! But why are you in with the chickens?!

New items for today's agenda are requested from the floor. Um, since there is nothing worth mentioning on the floor in this chicken coop ... the Executive decision is to keep moving right along!

Stop and think about it: there are few things in life to match the level of exhaustion provoked by trying to run down the up escalator! Yet we are faced with just such a challenge here as we strive to be winners by losing! The greatest difficulty we encounter on this moving staircase is not actually r/t to the impossibility of achieving our goals so much as to succumbing to fatigue in the process on the way down!

It is my personal observation that incredible momentum can be achieved through a great deal of flapping and squawking! We must be ready to make the feathers fly as we cheer each other on to the bottom step!

And this, dear friends, brings us to a brand new item on the agenda:

It has been suggested that each member in the sidebar be promoted from having squatter's rights to squawker's rights! There has been a lot of clucking over the summer about this.

We know that all chickens in the coop at this point are of true, pure Leghorn brand. Any posts submitted by any of the current members would certainly be up to scratch (should Mama happen to Google the site)! But .... what if a new member turns up with uncouth in their beak?

And then, there is the pecking thing to keep in mind! What if Charlie spends a great deal of time putting together his flap and two point three seconds after he posts, Esmeralda lets loose with a wide stream of chortle that moves Charlie's post clear outta sight?

No good! No good! This worm has too many twists to be swallowed whole! So, for now, your Junior and Senior, Charter Member Blog Administrators will continue to publish the posts but we are asking for submissions! We'd like to put up a new post every Tuesday morning (a goal -- not a promise!) so that with one click in a week the rest can see how the others have weighed in and can read the Flap-'n-Squawk!

Continue to submit your Monday morning weights as usual for posting by Tuesday morning and send along, by email, any submissions for front page posting as well! Suggestions for consideration as to how to make this "Squawkers' Rights" thing happen will also be welcome!

C-H-I-C-K-E-N!

Yesterday was the BIG DAY!

The blog was going to be up and running again, with all of us weighing in and getting back in the groove, having had great success with weight loss during our break!

REALITY CHECK: I was too chicken to get on the scale! Andrea got on the scale but was too chicken to post her weight! Well, she would have, but I was too chicken to make her do it, since that would have meant I would also have had to post my weight (which, let me remind you, I was too chicken to find out in the first place!)

We know what we have been doing. We have been busy bloating up! I, for one, have been eating everything in sight because -- guess what! -- No one was watching me!

And now I would definitely prefer to hide my head in the sand and act like all is well in my weight loss world...

H-E-L-P!

Where is everyone?? We really do need each other!

Calling Carol-Ann... What do you have up your sleeve, girl?

Olympic Medals are Handed Out!

Well everybody, today Barry and Jeanette left for a few days of relaxation and I am inclined to think (since I just turned around and put on a pound right after breaking down into the 150's) that we all might do well with taking a little break!

Actually, Jeanette and I have been discussing some possible changes to the format of our little connection place here, so let's just kick back for a few weeks and then start up again with a will in a month's time. I'm suggesting our next weigh-in day be September 15th. That gives us just over a month to decide what kind of a surprise we want to present on the blog on the 15th!

STOP! DON'T CLICK AWAY YET!
THERE'S ONE MORE THING TO DO:

In order to go out with a bang and come back in with a swoosh, we need predictions! Please submit your hopeful prediction for September 15th in the comment section of this post. No specific numbers! Simply state your prediction of having gained, having lost or having earned the "Elmo Award":

And to close this Olympic round, let's take a look at the scores:

Jeanette: ....Started with ... 187.4 ...... Ended with ... 182.9 ......
Total lost ... 4.5
Carol-Ann: Started with ... 164.7 ...... Ended with ... 160.8 ......
Total lost ... 3.9
Roger: .........Started with ... 233.4 ...... Ended with ... 229.4 ......
Total lost ... 4.0
Pat: ..............Started with ... 160.5 ...... Ended with ... 157.5 ......
Total lost ... 3.0
Andrea: ......Started with ... 186.4 ...... Ended with ... 182.2 ......
Total lost ... 4.2
Michelle: ...Started with ... 213.0 ...... Ended with ... 214.0 ......
Total gain ... 1.0
Elmo: ..........Started with ....... 3.8 ...... Ended with ....... 3.8 .......
Total lost ... 0.0

Three Cheers for the winners of GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE
And because the Gold medalist has been both a Canadian and American citizen at different times of her life, we are all standing at attention while both anthems are played and we are ALL WINNERS!

By a special note of encouragement, Michelle, if you look at our scores you will see that we have all taken turns going up and down! Next time we tally up for our medals you shall have more than one week's worth of points to count!

Congratulations, all! Don't forget to enter your prediction in the comment section! See you in September!

Oh Poo-h!

Alrighty, everyone together now: "Oh Pooh! Oh Phooey!"

Michelle is up a pound on her first week! And not only that, but she put her back out and has not been giving much attention to food choices!

Well, we all know what this kind of a week feels like -- um, not quite -- I don't think I've ever put my back out! Doesn't sound good!

Hope you feel better soon!

It is so hot here!

I am taking a break from weeding in the garden... This is our 19th day above 90 degrees, and no rain where we live at all. The runoff from the mountains is really good this year, though, or we would be in trouble. I know some of you would not think it is hot right now because it is so dry!

How are you all doing on your self control this week?? I feel like I have been partly successful and partly not. Probably a little less eating and a little more exercise, which is moving in the right direction. The only thing is, I have been trying to chew more gum as I deal with work stress (I can do that since no one can see me sitting at my computer here at home!), but since it is almost impossible anymore to find gum that does not have Nutrasweet in it, I am going to try to cut that out until I can find something more healthy. I'm going to go visit the health food store and see what they have.

The doctors I transcribe for are having a light week with vacation and stuff, so I have been working in the garden (that's the "more exercise" part!) Last evening I picked and froze some beans, and today I have been weeding the eggplant and peppers. We have the worst bindweed that wraps itself around the plants and up the stem and then on to whatever it can hang onto, so that is time consuming because you have to unwrap these annoying stranglers. If you just pull on them, they will bring the whole vegetable plant with them or rip off its leaves while hanging on for dear life.

I'm really glad for the very healthy environment around our house. The earth is dark and rich in the garden because of all the composting and so forth that Barry has done. Worms are everywhere. Daddy-long-legs, beetles, ants, bees, flies, and who knows what all scurry out of my way. What a blessing to have so many bugs! (Not that I am personally in love with them or anything...)

Do I have to go back out there? It is so nice and cool in here... but duty calls!

Introducing: Michelle!

One of the most fun things in my summer thus far happened yesterday! Michelle sent me an email and put down her authorization to be signed up as a Winner! So here is her official introduction!

Although she lives in B.C. and is married to John ...

... the happy Mama of Isaiah ...

... and of Baby Hannah ...


... when Michelle and I first met, she was three years old and living in Ontario! She and her Mom came walking into our church during choir practice (as I recall) to ask when the Sunday services were held. I won't go into all the details now, but further on down the road (when Michelle was all grown up and in Grade One), she and her Mom invited me to live with them for a year while I saved up to go to Bible College. During that year, I discovered that little red-head could sing harmony! Can you believe it?! She was just adorable!

Welcome to our blog, Michelle, and the introductory blessing we bestow on you is: may you be the biggest loser!

Oh, by the way ...
I'm not sure if I have spoken yet on this blog
about my daughter: Kinza Michelle.

Anniversary Week!!

Barry and I have spent the week celebrating, and you know what that means! On Monday night, Paula had a delicious spread for us at her usual Monday night open house with Chinese food and several pies. On Tuesday, which was our actual anniversary, we went out together to have a lovely meal. That would have been way more than enough, but for some reason I kept telling myself that the whole week was for celebrating, so there you are...I'm scared to get on the scale! And what's more, I might just plead "anniversary bloat" and skip the weigh-in tomorrow. I'm giving that some serious thought!

Pat has had some really good suggestions, though, and I have been trying to follow her good example, and that is to be more active. The fact is, I enjoy being at my computer, so even when I am not working, I might be blogging or emailing or researching...all great things, but not necessarily in the best interests of my health. So...

• I have added in some hiking with Trent. We have been hiking in the mountains twice and once closer to home. This is good for both of us, and it is really nice just to spend time together.
  
• I have done significant weeding outside (Andrea, my flowers still don't look as good as yours!) which made me stiff and sore, but I was really pleased to realize that my low back did not bother me with this activity as it has before. I'm sure this is due to my weight loss thus far.
• Barry usually does all the laundry, but since he has so much work in the garden in the summer, I have taken it back over (at least for awhile) and have been running up and down the stairs. (Surely that counts for something??)

I might just give in and weigh tomorrow just to make the rest of you feel really good! Do we get an award for gaining the most?








Me eating -- 30 years ago!

Writing it all down...

Yesterday we all decided to write down what we eat, as the experts agree this is the only way to really keep track of what we are doing. I decided that I would not change my eating habits today but would eat whatever I felt like eating, just keep track of it, just to see what I need to change...

You know where this is headed, right? Breakfast was good...2 scrambled eggs, fresh tomato slices, and a cup of coffee (sweetened and milked...ah, generously). Lunch was okay, and then the rest of the day was a total loss...well, actually, I'm sure it was a gain, if you know what I mean!

Today was definitely an object lesson for me. I am getting out a fresh notebook (don't you just love writing on that first clean sheet??) and starting a serious diary of my eating habits. I have done well with this method before, but after a few days I seem to get lazy or think I have it all in hand or something, and then before I know it, I have lost all track of what goes into my mouth. I've decided that what I need most is a good dose of self-control!

How about the rest of you?

Ideas, anyone?

Well, everyone, what are we going to do? Carol-Ann has not weighed in yet, but she may be like me -- scared to get on the scale today! So far, we have not had any huge gains, just little ones that keep adding up, so I'm hoping we can come up with some ideas that will help all of us get back on track. Perhaps we could compile some of these and post them all together. I'm going to start us off. Andrea and I have a distance to go, and Carol-Ann and Pat are not all that far from their goals, so maybe the approaches need to be different.

1. Set mini-goals of 5 pounds. My last goal was to have the scale give me a number under 180 no matter what time of day I got on it. I met that, but now I will have to work on it again.
2. Come up with strategies that work to divert our attention. For example, I find that chewing gum sometimes helps me forget about chewing on actual food. I once knew a lady who decided that, instead of eating when she shouldn't, she would pray for her children until she forgot about the food. I thought that was very creative and served a very good purpose, as well. That might not work for all of us, but can we think of something helpful like that?
3. Is there a competition we can have going among us that would spur us on? Most weight loss in a month? At least a pound a week? Could we have a rewards section on the sidebar or at the top somewhere where we can earn (or lose??!) stars or points? Maybe several different kinds of little medals for different things, like consistent exercising?
4. How about giving ourselves a non-food reward for reaching our final goal, something we can look forward to? Maybe for reaching significant interim goals, too.

What do you think? We have to push each other somehow, but how? Tell me what you are thinking!

The Artisano Experience!

Now you just have to understand what happened when the Stress Triplets got together at Artisano's!


Of course, I'm not about to tell ALL!
But you do need to know that I was standing at the coffee bar fixing my 2nd refill of "bottomless cup" when a worried waitress walked by. She was carrying a frothy-topped cappuccino and calling out, "Cappuccino? Cappuccino?" As I stirred my tasty but regular, she visited each room and table looking for the customer who had decided to take a load off their feet while their cap was being puccino-ed.

When she passed by me I smiled and said, "I'll take it -- if it's been paid for!" I thought my humor was quite fitting but I detected ever such a tiny upward tilt of her chin and a slight narrowing of her eyes as she continued on her way! I was embarrassed! I had risked bringing a laugh into her doldrums shift and she had coldly walked away without a twitch of a smile! So I turned back to my little job of measuring out a squeeze of honey and a slurp of cream, hurt! Real sad!

But as I lifted my cup and turned back towards our table, she closed in the pattern of her final figure eight around the rooms and approached me with my free cappuccino! "You may as well have it," she said! "By the time they come to get it, it will be cold and I'll have to redo it anyway!"

Pat had just picked up a second cappaccino and I had just fixed my refill, so Jeanette was the recipient of the freebie! Hey! Ya gotta watch out for us when we get together -- a joint sum of more than 150 years of living experience! I'd say it was time we cashed in on a cuppa something!

THE STRESS TRIPLETS!

Carol-Ann, Jeanette, and Pat at the coffee shop!


I just got back from a wonderful visit to Canada to see my mother and Carol-Ann and her family, as well as Pat who also lives in that area. What a great time we all had! I loved every minute of it.

Before I left home to fly to Toronto, Carol-Ann, Pat, and I were joking by email that we were all having so much stress (mostly work-related) that we should call ourselves the stress triplets!

Last Sunday evening the three of us got together at Artisano's, a wonderful coffee shop and eatery near Carol-Ann's, and spent a great 4 hours gabbing and at times laughing so hard that we could not see for the tears! I fear we drew a great deal of attention from other patrons, but they were very kind to us! When we started taking pictures of each other, one nice lady came over and offered to take a picture of all of us together, so here it is. I'm pretty sure that this past week has gone better for each of us because of the great fun we had on Sunday evening and the friendship and support we gave each other! The stress triplets are old enough to know that stress shared is stress divided, and the support of understanding friends is priceless!

Carol-Ann and I have certainly wimped out on weighing in this week, haven't we! I haven't even been brave enough to get on the scale to see what I weigh, let alone post it here! We really did not do too badly when I was visiting her, but since I came home I have been eating everything in sight as I try to catch up on my work.

Sometimes all my best plans are useless. I had hoped to keep up with my client's dictation while I was gone (an internal medicine doctor), and so I had my laptop with me to do just that. All was ready, and then his recorder malfunctioned! He could not send me his dictation until the night before I came home! For just a minute, I wavered in deciding whether this was yet another irritation to ruin my day, or if it was a blessing from God which allowed me to forget all my work and have fun! I decided to count it a blessing and it really was!

But...there is definitely a downside to coming back to overwhelming non-stop hours sitting at my computer trying to catch up, typing until the bones practically start poking through the ends of my fingers. I am almost caught up now, though. All I have left to do are the records for Friday's patients which he sent me last evening so...(deep breath)...I am feeling pretty good about it.

Now if I can just get my weight loss back on track...

What is Andrea up to??

Yesterday Paula (Andrea's mom) forwarded me an email with some pretty impressive attachments!

I think Andrea's first event at school was today, and then things are going to be in full swing starting next week, if I have it right. With demanding class schedules, teaching assignments, and tutoring jobs, her own car is a must, and she has taken the plunge! What a beautiful car, Andrea!




An inside view of the dash (and Andrea in the mirror)!



Andrea, pleased as punch with her very own wheels!


CONGRATULATIONS, ANDREA!

Quick! Weigh now!

Quick! I have to weigh now before I even LOOK at any more food!

Let's see...Last week we had Will's birthday, Barry's birthday, a wedding, Andrea's graduation party, and the terrible mistake I made of buying a bag of pretzels. How bad could pretzels be, you ask? Well these are little pretzel sandwiches squished together with peanut butter and dipped in chocolate! Ooooo, that sweet and salty combination is just what I've been longing for! I have sabotaged myself by having that bag in the house at all.

And now today is Memorial Day and Trent's birthday all rolled into one big happy barbecue event! This morning I rush to the scale, and it says 180.4!!!! What! I cannot tolerate having broken the 180 mark! So I consider taking off my glasses...nope, won't work, as I would not be able to read the scale and could make up any old number. So that tiny little clip in the back of my hair has to go, and guess what! I would have never believed that little thing weighs over a pound! But now my scale says 179.2! I'll take it, I'll take it! Quick! Before the scale changes its mind!

Now I'm off to the kitchen to make the potato salad!

Andrea is here for a short visit!

Andrea came home late Saturday night, so she is here for 10 days before going back to California to start in on her Math For America program. She is going to be one busy girl for the next few years! We had a great time yesterday, as she and her family came over for lunch, and then we all went to look at the flowers in the local nursery shop. Andrea wants to plant a few things in her front yard while she is here. Later today, she is coming over for a little step onto my scale, so hopefully it will be nice to her!

I am feeling a lot better now, so I think the Candida thing is getting under control. The bad thing is that once I start feeling better, I start cutting corners here and there on what I am supposed to eat. Just a little of this won't hurt, and eating this wouldn't be as bad as eating that, and so I start my downward spiral of rationalization! Besides that, some of the things I am allowed to eat are not low-cal at all. For example, I can have avocados, any kind of beans, and blue corn chips. I bet you know where I am going with this! Open a can of cooked black beans, smash some of them up with a fork, add that to some mashed up avocado, season it a bit, get the bag of blue corn chips, and I'm good to go!


This week will hopefully be less stressful than last week was with a lot of extra things in it -- neurology appointment for Coral, playing the organ for a graduation processional, etc. -- so maybe this week will be better for weight loss! You know what they say about hope springing eternal... It is hard to feel positive until I look at my stats history and realize that I do have a slow but steady progression in the right direction. I still have a long way to go just to reach the others though!

Hey, wait for me!!

Congratulations, Andrea!

Tonight at 7:30 Andrea will be graduating with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. Her mom and dad (Gord and Paula), her sister Stephanie, and her brother Nathaniel have all traveled to California to be there and help her celebrate.

Last night was the baccalaureate service, and Paula sent me a couple pictures taken on her cell phone. One was of the huge pipe organ and another was of Gord waiting for the service to begin. Later the phone rang, and I could see it was Paula calling. She was letting me listen to the music including the organ that was going on in the service right then. It sounded like it was really great, but of course the phone sound didn't begin to do it justice, I know.




We couldn't be there to see you graduate, Andrea, but we are thinking of you today! You have done such a great job, and we are very proud of you!

A price for weight loss...

I have this picture on my blog (link to the left under my picture), but I'm posting it here as I promised Amrita. Our apple trees are covered with blossoms, so I went out and snapped a few pictures on Saturday.

Now to the price for weight loss...There is a reason my numbers are good this week. I had a root canal done at the beginning of March, and I had to take an antibiotic. A couple of weeks after that, I began not feeling good, feeling like I have a lot of air in my stomach after eating, and then it progressed to weakness in my arms and legs and some strange sensations, too, and extreme lack of energy. I have been feeling worse and worse and finally figured out that I needed to go to the doctor who confirmed my suspicions that I have systemic Candida (overgrowth of yeast from the antibiotic use). Fortunately for me, I know a chiropractic doctor who helped me to overcome it once years ago, so now I am on the very strict diet that refuses to feed the yeast and also on a supplement that replenishes what the antibiotic destroyed and restores the balance of all the good stuff needed in my tummy to do proper digestion. It usually takes 1 to 3 months to get everything back to normal.

This diet is so restricted that you cannot help but lose, although it is not really low on calories or fat. I sure don't recommend getting sick to lose weight, but if you get sick, hey, look at the bright side! I sure hope that I can keep dropping my numbers for a few more weeks of this!

(PS: If anyone is interested in more specific info on the treatment for this, just let me know.)

Spring!

Our backyard is just beautiful with apple blossoms covering the trees and the lilac hedge with buds that will soon be in full bloom.

How are we all doing on our weight loss?? Monday is coming...

Now is the time we can start to get out in the fresh air, get rid of weeds, plant flowers, and make a new start on any weight loss plans.

Good luck on Monday!

Andrea's Wonderful News!

I told Andrea I would copy her comment and make a post, so here it is!!


I just wanted to announce to some of my closest and most encouraging friends that I have officially been accepted as a member of the Math for America Los Angeles Fellowship! I'm very excited about this opportunity! This entails a five year commitment; the first year will be spent in school earning my teaching credential and masters. The next four years will be spent teaching in the L.A. Unified School District. One of the best parts of this program is that I do not have to pay for the schooling and I will be receiving a stipend each year. This means that where I would have been accruing more debt by pursuing these degrees on my own, now I will have the finances to pay back the debt I have from my undergraduate years. Not only that, the University of Southern California has a great reputation, and I know that I will be receiving a great education in the next year. Needless to say, this is a great blessing from God!


Congratulations, Andrea!! You have our permission to celebrate with food if you want to!!

And the Winner is ...

...drum roll...

The "Elmo Award"
goes to ... Pat, AGAIN!

SAME
SAME
SAME
SAME
SAME

Honorable mention to Andrea too -- for accomplishments other than weight-loss! Hey, there IS a life, girls, apart from our scales!

From Andrea!

I just got Andrea's email, and I decided to post it here for you to enjoy...


"This week I have some personal bad news... my current weight is: 181.0!!!
Between stress and PMS food cravings this is what I deserve. I hope you all fared better than me!

By the way, my presentation went fabulously and I got an 'A', so I suppose a few extra pounds isn't too bad! haha! Me and Michal had the goal to drop 10lbs by graduation and yesterday, as we were feeding our faces, we decided we had heard each other wrong! We actually want to GAIN 10lbs by graduation!!! Well, if we keep it up that will be exactly what has happened. It's funny until you step on the scale!"


This is a new week, all, so let's try again!

Hanging in there!

Barry left on Wednesday to visit his mother in New Jersey, so Coral and I and Najee the cat have been on our own, rattling around in the house and keeping each other company. Najee is a pretty little thing, but she is really just a big bundle of nerves wrapped up in way too much fur! However, for the last few days she has been my silent little shadow. I don't really see her come and go, but everywhere I am, there she is nearby. She seems to feel that someone is missing and wants to make sure that I am not going anywhere!

Coral really hates it when Barry is gone. She sits with a worried expression, and when she sees me look at her, she says plaintively, "I miss my daddy!" So I say, "Me, too, Coral!" After a few minutes go by, she says again, "I need him!" So I say, "I know you do, Coral. So do I, but he will be back on Sunday night." In a few more minutes, I hear her again, only this time she is talking to the people she knows on her TV programs: "Cosby, I need my daddy!" So I say, "Cosby knows it, but he says Daddy will be home soon." That makes her happy for a little while, but then she says: "I need him to come back here!" Thinking to branch out a little, I ask, "Why do you need Daddy to come back here, Coral?" and she answers, "I need him to yell at Elmo!" Elmo, all innocent, is sitting in Daddy's computer chair and certainly needs to be yelled at!

All I know is, Daddy better get back here soon!!

Here's hoping for good numbers on the scales. I'm feeling a bit gloomy about it...Not enough proper cooking while Barry is away and too much picking, I'm afraid.

Spring is a wonderful time to be losing weight!

We had a quick winter storm this week. It was here one day and gone the next. Oh, how I love those cold gray blustery days! (Is it the African rainy season I am longing for??)

Look at the bushes by our front porch! Yesterday, all covered with snow, they looked like they were still sleeping the winter away...







...but look at them today! Look what was really underneath that white blanket!! Beautiful cherry blossoms!

This cherry bush has sprung up underneath the evergreens. A little bird must have eaten the sour cherries from the hedge in the back yard and then dropped a pit or two in the front just to give me special joy with the first delicate flowers of spring.


We are cherry blossoms bursting out from under the snow! Take heart, friends!

A Correction!

Unfortunately, we have to change Andrea's weight for this week. She emailed me to say that she is really one pound up from what I had posted, so I have changed it. Still, this is wonderful weight loss for her this week.

Way to go, Andrea!

Up, Up and Away!

Well, I guess it should really say, "Down, Down, we're all down!" Now Pat, don't get stuck here again! Give your scale a tap on the side before you step on!

Good work, Andrea! Three pounds! Wow!

And as for you, oh thou 'umble "sickly-ickly", we're sad you've been up-chuckin' and actually hope that you'll have put something reasonable back on by next week!

I was happy to see myself at 159.0 until I came gleefully to post and realized that I have actually gone down only a twip over 5 pounds in FIVE MONTHS! At this rate it'll be almost a year before I reach my goal!

Oh well -- 2009 is coming ... do I want it to arrive and weigh 150 pounds or at best, still be at 164.7!

Midweek Report!

Here is the update I promised!

I just came back from my tax appointment. Good news! We have a refund that will pay my first quarterly self-employment taxes for 2008 so that I won't have to pay any more until June 15th, the end of the second quarter!! I am so pleased!

Now for the REAL important stuff...

Sleep: I have made it to bed by midnight 2 out of 3 nights. Not total success, but definitely an improvement.

Water: Every day I have been able to drink 64 ounces or more of plain water, so that is success.

Food: Any snacks eaten (which have been few) have been fresh fruit or vegetables. Overall food intake has been less but might still need a bit of improvement on quantity. Quality has been good. I think I am going to call that success!

Exercise: Every morning I have been up by 6:10 to walk on the treadmill for 20 to 30 minutes. It was a struggle this morning because of working later last night, but I have felt quite a lot better during the rest of the day because of making myself do that, I found out. Total success!!

Best wishes to the rest of you, and thanks for keeping an eye on me to help keep me on the straight and narrow!

Am I having fun yet?

I can't believe a whole week has gone by since Carol-Ann's last post and almost two weeks since mine! I don't know if it is good or bad to be this busy, maybe a bit of each.


For the past couple of weeks, I've been fighting to keep my head above water! A new doctor to learn how to transcribe for, new equipment to conquer for the other doctor's work, getting all my tax ducks in a row... I want to eat!



I better be honest...I HAVE BEEN eating!

I'd love to be very successful at this weight loss, but I feel like I am treading water and can't make any progress. Explainable, yes. Understandable, yes. Good, no! Not enough water, not enough exercise, too much stress, too much food -- there it is in a nutshell. Not a pretty sight!

This evening I have been taking stock of the situation. I'm having a rare moment. All my work is done. All the receipts and documentation for my tax appointment are carefully assembled, organized into beautiful spreadsheets, and in the manila envelope ready for me to grab and go on Wednesday morning. So, back to the situation at hand...

I hate to admit it, but I have gotten off the track and need to figure out a good way to get back on it. I know how the dominoes began to fall. Work became overwhelming because of the learning curve I have been in on two different fronts. This meant that to get the work done, I had to be up until 2:00 a.m. routinely without much time to catch up on the missing sleep. Exercise did not happen, I forgot to drink my water, and I needed snacks just to keep going. I don't see the end of this just yet, but things are definitely getting easier, so...

I'm trying to put my thoughts about this on here as a way of giving myself the needed push in the right direction.
Exercise: Since I am getting to bed at a better time tonight, I am hoping to start on the treadmill again tomorrow with some stretching midday. Barry said he is thinking about getting up and exercising at the same time, and that would REALLY help!
Water: I am going to remember to measure out my water to make sure I drink enough.
Food: I'm just going to have to write down every morsel again!
Sleep: I'm hoping to get to bed by midnight each night this week.

So that's the plan, and I will let you know midweek how I'm holding up!