It is totally Edwardian looking! I LOVE IT! Thanks for posting that schoolhouse!!

Good morning, gang! This week was week 4 on the South Beach diet and I am holding at 8 lbs. lost. Not as well as I had hoped, but I'm going to stick with it. When I did the Atkins plan two years ago I lost 11 lbs. the first month and 11 lbs. the second month - but couldn't stick with it beyond that. I have added a slice of homemade whole wheat toast and one serving of fruit to my regular low carb eating plan for the day. I try not to have either of those at my evening meal, but keep to protein and vegetable or salad. No elimination problems here, and I have found I have more gas when I stray off the plan than when I follow it closely. Am leaving out cottage cheese and V-8 juice as they may contribute to my stall. Ditto too many sugar free items, although I tried the Crystal Light raspberry lemonade this week and consider it my "soda pop" treat - I make it weak and like it that way, plus, I'm getting some "flavored" water in my system. I needed to use up some carrots in the fridge, so I made my marinated spice carrots last night subbing Splenda packets to taste for the 1/2 cup sugar. I know carrots are higher in carbs, but I just don't waste food. Am going to make a marinated vegetable recipe today and sub the Splenda for the sugar again. It has been very hot here, and these cold veggies will hit the spot. One thing I am trying to learn is to listen to my body. It will tell me what fuels me or what makes me sluggish. I have some stress on the job and quite a bit of physical activity for my age (at least I think so!) and I am trying to balance this with eating healthy and trying to lose weight. In other words, I'm trying to take care of myself for myself! This is sometimes hard for women to do because we have been the caretaker of others for so many years. Many times I have to decline activities after work because I'm just too tired - something other people don't understand. But I listen to my body and try to do what it needs. Sorry for rambling on like this, but I hope y'all here will understand as maybe you are in a similar place in your life. Stay focused and enjoy your weekend. Teresa

While this is a great idea of checking on Google and planning your restaurant choices prior to leaving your home are great ideas. I recently read an article that about different types of diets. It actually mentioned about using a low carb diet, but not totally cutting out on all of your food for calorie count. Also here is a new diet plan that I found online, I have not tried it, but it reads like it will work out really well for anyone. I am pondering taking it on myself, but do not know yet. Here is a link that might be useful: Have not tried it, but read on it.

Okay, I'll post something so it will sink. But you folks should check it out, it is full of energy-saving ideas. For a laugh, check out the ideas they did not use, too.