Good morning! Phew, that was one busy week. Thursday I attended a business seminar -- almost a complete waste of time. I got a couple things out of it, but not much.

Looks like things are really going to be picking up for me by the end of this coming week or the next week. Because of the extra people we're hiring for this major project, we've had to reconfigure our entire workspace to fit in more people. Think "10 pounds of sh|t in a 5-pound bag" and you get the picture. I was hoping for an office with a door. I'll probably end up sharing a large cubicle with one of the new people. At least the new people will be on the road much of the time. Also, the new person I'll probably be with used to work at the company several years back, and he's a real sweetheart.

So it sounds like some of us are struggling and others are having success.

Robin, sometimes it takes a good long while for anyone to notice. I lost 35 pounds and still no one at work noticed (other than the one or two closer friends). Then one day I wore black fitted slacks and a black fitted sweater. The men's eyes about jumped out of their sockets! Too funny! Then came all the questions about how I lost the weight, and then several people tried it and failed and then blamed the plan.

Don't worry, just keep going. One day everyone will notice, you also. Everyone is different. Some people lose from the top down, others don't. I lose from my face first, my butt second, then my hips and thighs, and finally (at least this is the theory, since it hasn't happened yet! ) from my belly.

Kristine, hope you find something nice for your date tonight! DH and I are going out tomorrow night. We've never celebrated Valentine's day (mutual decision). It doesn't mean anything to me, and he doesn't even know what month it falls in, so it works out ok!

Acipenser (Michele), don't worry about those three pounds. It's three pounds of WATER. Once you lose and get down to a particular weight, anything you might gain overnight is just water.

What follows is my interpretation of what happens. It may or may not be scientifically accurate (maybe Kristine or Renee can help me out here), but it's what makes sense to me based on my reading.

Your body doesn't want to give it up. The fat cells in your body are filled with ... you guessed it ... fat. When you metabolize that fat, your body doesn't want to give in so easily, so it replaces the fat in those cells with water. So you might not actually lose any pounds. Well, your body eventually lets go of that water, and you lose some pounds. The war's not over yet, though. It's easy for your body to "grab" that water back to fill up those cells. So, you've still lost the fat, but the weight may have come back. Your body will again give up that water. Make any sense whatsoever?

Ellie, you have a real romantic man there!

Lissete, how awful about your mom! Keep us posted on how she's doing.

My eating has been pretty good lately, with a slight bump in the road yesterday. Not a total blow-out, just little bits throughout the day that probably added up to a bit much. Doing better today. Already had breakfast (buttered Dobie muffin and coffee). That should do me for a while. I only have 2 muffins left, so I'll be making more probably tomorrow. I need to buy some maple extract to get that nice maply flavor.

So what recipe does everyone want to try this week? I think I might try this one tonight:

Brown boneless chicken breasts, add a can of cream of broccoli soup, 1/2 cup cream, some basil and pepper, and simmer until almost done. The recipe then calls for adding 1 cup of cauliflower and 1 cup of broccoli. I think I'll make those on the side, since DH hates cauliflower but will eat some broccoli. I'll make him noodles on the side. If this is good, and there's no reason to suspect it won't be, it will be a nice, quick, easy dinner in a pinch. I'll let you know.

See ya later!