Okay, I just have to get this off my chest.  Once again at one of my many yahoo groups, another member has posted a “Friendly Request.”  Posts like this are often entitled “Polite Reminder” or “Can I ask a favor?” 

While most of these requests ARE quite politely worded and friendly, they never fail to tick me off.  Here’s the latest post:

Could we all remember to cut and paste just the portion of the digest that we’re replying to? I’ve just had to scroll through an almost complete previous digest as I’ve been reading through this one.

Thanks in advance.

OMG!!!  The horror!!!  She had to scroll!

Just for the record– Personally, I do try to remember to cut and paste.  I’ve even turned off the “attach message” option on my Outlook to try to make sure I remember.  But for God’s sake!  Is it really worth it to make some members in the group mad about being (even politely) reprimanded because they didn’t cut?

Could everyone please remember to either include the entire message or at least enough of it so that I don’t have to go hunt down the previous post?  I get so tired of wondering what the heck people are replying to. 

The bottom line here to me is that everyone has different preferences.  And some people find it time consuming to cut and paste.  Granted, it’s only a few seconds, but how long does it take for someone to scroll through them on a digest.  THE SAME FEW SECONDS!  And whether they choose to cut and paste or not, I still want to hear what they have to say.

There have been lively and sometimes ugly discussions about this on many of my Yahoo groups.  There have even been people, including myself, who have left groups over the disagreement. 

Is it really such a friggin’ big deal to people on digest that they would rather alienate other group members than just scroll through the duplicates?

Your turn.  What do you think?

Nita 

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while.  There’s really not much going on.  I’m still waiting to hear from that agent.  It’s been almost 7 weeks.  She said to allow two months, so I figure I should hear from her soon.  I’m trying not to bite my nails over it, though.  LOL

I’ve lost maybe two or three pounds now.  Okay, it’s possible that it’s really closer to 5 or 6 pounds, but I’ll never know for sure since I had to buy the new scales AFTER I’d already been dieting for 2 weeks.  I can’t really tell it, but the tape measure says I’ve lost a little over 1/2 an inch around my hips.  That’s not much considering how many inches I would like to lose there, but hey, I’ll take what I can get, right? 

My tan is beginning to show.    I’ve been going frequently trying to get tan enough that I won’t burn if the sunscreen wears off. 

Other than that, there’s not much happening.  I’m just counting the days till vacation!  Oh, and looking at international weather, watching the forecast for the Bahamas. 

Nita

Two weeks from today.  Two weeks from right this moment, I will be in the car on the way to Florida.  We leave on the cruise from Port Canaveral on St. Patty’s Day.  I can’t wait!

OMG, I need a vacation so badly. Vacations are good for the attitude.  You know?  And right now I seriously need to up the positivity factor on the attitude.  Dieting and exercise without results have combined with rejections to really take a toll.  It’s enough to give even the most faithful optimist a case of doubts and depression. 

And the worst thing is:  Usually when I get like this, it’s nothing a good piece of chocolate can’t fix.  But I’m dieting.  There’s no such thing as GOOD low fat, low carb chocolate. 

I had a friend who put it pretty clearly.  She said her grandfather is a diabetic.  His rule is: If it tastes good, spit it out.  

Okay, to be fair, that’s a little extreme.  But it’s true to some extent.  All the really good tasting food is too high in fat and calories.  It’s been chemically proven that fat is what carries the flavor of the food.  Take out the fat, you lose flavor.  Period.  That’s why I can’t drink anything less than 2% milk.  I grew up on fresh cow’s milk.  This stuff they call whole milk in the store is NOT whole milk.  And 2% is just that… 2% of real milk flavor.  I simply cannot drink skim milk.  Skim milk is nothing more than colored water.  I like my water filtered, thank you. 

So I drink water and black coffee.  That’s it.  Juices have too many calories and too much sugar, even if it is natural sugar.  Milk has too much fat and too many calories.  Don’t even mention anything with fake sugar.  I’d rather go thirsty than drink a diet drink.  I can taste that fake sugar for hours afterward.  Yes, I’ve tried Splenda.  Granted, it’s not as bad as Sweet-n-Low or Equal, but it still has the after-taste. 

Of course, I’ve had several people tell me I should cut back on the black coffee — something about the caffeine causing you to retain water.  Part of me says, “Hey! Leave my coffee alone!  There’s no calories.  And if caffeine is so bad for dieters, why is it in every diet pill on the market?”  Another part of me says, “Sure.  Why not?  I’m not allowed to have anything else I like.  I might as well give up coffee, too.”

So anyway, as you can see, the attitude needs a serious adjustment.  I think this cruise is just what the doctor ordered.  It’s also my ”light at the end of the tunnel.”  It’s the only thing keeping me on this diet and exercise regime right now.  I remind myself constantly–

Nita, you are going hiking and snorkeling in the Bahamas and Grand Turk.  You need to be able to enjoy the activities without getting too tired.

So… I climb the stairs.  I ride my exercise bike.  And I eat low fat, low carb, low calorie food.  Although the scales, the tape measure, and my clothes refuse to acknowledge that it’s doing one damn bit of good, surely it will help me enjoy the physical activity during our cruise. 

And enjoying this cruise vacation will do wonders for the attitude.

Nita