Good Afternoon, Gail:

II had a productive morning. I baked a btchof cookies! Actually I seldom bake cookies since I won't be eating any, but I have a meeting at church tomorrow afternoon, and I wanted to take cookies for the occasion. I baked molasses cookies, and they came out very nice, according to by DH, who had one for lunch. He likes anything I bake.

I have never liked to bake cookies since it messes up my kitchen and I can't eat them anyway.

So yu worked for SkyWest? We have a niece who is a stewardess for United on the LAX to Tokyo flights. Actually she was in Tokyo when they had the earthquake a couple of years ago, so we spent some time worrying about her until we heard that she was OK. Actually Aiko is a Japanese native so she has the two languages for that flight.

Wyoming is much like both Colorado and Montana. Casper has a mountain right south of it that I can see out of my picture window each day. We are the most sparsely settled state in the nation. Mostly our income is based on minerals such as oil, coal, and natural gas. This is not farming land. It is more ranch land with cowboys. Our home sits right on the old Oregon Trail where the western-bound pioneers rested for a bit before they crossed the North Platte River on they way to California, Oregon, Utah, etc.

It was the oil industry that brought us to Casper, and here is where we will stay. We are happy here, our son plus his family live just a couple of miles from us.

Our Walmart is a Super Walmart and it is just about 3 years old now. We were so happy when it was built, and we shop there a lot.

Recently we had a new sewer line put in, which left a pile of dirt and rocks in our front yard. My DH has been working getting the mess ready for seeding, and now that the seed is in he is busy watering it to keep it moist. So this morning he found fresh deer tracks in the freshly seeded lawn. Do you have deer where you live? We seldom see them, but their tracks let us know they have been by.

Have a great rest-of-the day.

I have made molasses cookies. I like them. I am not much of a baker, partly because of the mess.

No deer here, but we do have wild burros. They are rumored to be the descendants of the burros brought along by the early Catholic priests who traveled around California. I haven't seen the burros, but they left a "calling card" the other night, so I know they are around. One night I heard horses, but thought I must have been dreaming, but now I think it was the burros.

We have road runners, in fact, we saw one today. One of the cats was walking across the yard pretending he didn't see the bird. Those guys are big and mean.

One night I heard some strange scuffling noise on the front porch. I tip-toed out to the window and there was a little spotted skunk clinging to the window sill. Probably the dogs scared it. He had the cutest little hands.

The desert has it's own beauty, but I think there is more beauty where you live. I have seen pictures in the SkyWest magazine. They always have stories about the places they service.

I walked a mile this morning. It was very hot. I have only eaten around 1000 calories today unless I forgot something. I try to enter everything as I eat it. The night is still young - I will probably have something more. Yesterday, I weighed 181.5. Today I was up to 183. Darn, I want to see 179!

For dinner, I had 3 oz of grilled salmon, 1/2 C of mashed potato and a gigantic pile of Romaine lettuce with peaches and grapes. I wish I had a dollar for every head of lettuce and every peach I have eaten this summer.

Good Morning, Gail =

The problem with cookies and me is that if I eat one, I want to eat more. If I could stop at just one I would be OK. LOL

Wild burros, that's interesting, and historical. Here in Wyoming we are in 'big game' country. We can see the mule deer and the antelope quite regularly in this part of the state. Our Casper Mountain which lies just south of town is home to mountain lions and black bear. Occasionally one of those critters will come down into town and cause consternation until Game & Fish tranquilizes them and takes them back up onto the mountain.

Other part of the state have lots of wild game - in fact hunters come from far and near to hunt in Wyoming. And of course Yellowstone Park and the area surrounding it is home to many species of wild animals.

I don't think I have ever seen a spotted skunk. At the time we built our church we found a baby skunk trapped in one of the window wells of the church building. So we brought it home. It was a cute little thing. But the fee to have it descented was more than our budget would allow at the time so we released it back into the wild.

Members of the animal kingdom are all very interesting and worthy of respect. I enjoy watching them.

Do you feel like a bunny rabbit as you eat all that lettuce? I occasionally do. But those fresh greens are good for us, not all that expensive, and fill us up without adding a lot of calories.

Last night for supper we had slices from a little pork loin. My DH also had a potato. We had a mixed salad with iceberg lettuce, Roma tomatoes, green peppers, carrot shreds, celery slices and some shredded broccoli. There was also a fruit salad containing greed and black grapes plus banana slices. My DH had cake for dessert, and I had a sugar-free fudgsickle.

I've got my meeting later today, and I'm all packed and ready for it.

Let's make today a Fantastic Friday!

A spotted skunk is smaller with spots instead of stripes. They don't smell as bad as the big stripped guys, but still I wouldn't want one as a pet unless he was de-scented. We also have bobcats. Some of them are fairly brave as far as humans are concerned. I like all animals, even the snakes and bats and tarantulas. They are interesting and they are all so innocent.

Yesterday we traveled about 200 miles to visit Jerry's mother who lives in the central valley as does Jerry's brother. She is 95 and in a rest home. She can't remember much about anything. The happy news is that she seems quite cheerful and was glad to see us. She is a good woman and it would break my heart if she were miserable at this point in her life.

We got lots of really nice tomatoes and some Armenian cucumbers from the brother. They also served us tamales and beans for lunch. Great stuff, but very high calorie. The Tamales are hand made by local Mexican women, and who knows how much lard there is in each one...

Then we stopped at Taco Bell and had tacos. What I had were 170 calories each, so not too bad. After that I ate two Fiber One bars [140 calories each]. Jerry got them at Costco and I just had to try one or two. That was just dumb. They are tasty, but really candy and not anything that is good for me.

So, I ate too much, but if my estimates are anywhere near correct, I ended up at about 2000 calories. Not good, but not devastating either.

Tonight my supper will probably involve some tomatoes and cucumber. Like you say, rabbit food. We have probably thousands of cotton tails and Jack rabbits around here, too. They are hard on the garden.

It was 97* when we got home around 9pm last night. On the way home we saw lots of fire trucks heading out to various fires in the area which were started by lightening. Today we have quite a bit of smoke in addition to cloud cover and predicted 111*. I didn't walk because I couldn't stand the smoke and heat.

Remarkably, on the way out, we saw a deer dead on the highway. I now think the deer had come quite a long way to escape a fire. Funny to see one right after we talked about deer.

Good Afternoon, Gail -

That sounds like a nice little trip to see Jerry's mother and brother. It's nice that his mother is so contented in the rest home. That's so important for her, and also for you and Jerry's brother.

Tomatoes and cucumbers, that's great food to be bringing home from a little trip. I consider eating on a trip to be a plus - you didn't have to cook it and you didn't have to clean it up. LOL Yep, we always overeat a bit while we are away from home.

We have mule deer in the area around Casper, they are the kind with the big ears. In the Northeastern part of Wyoming white-tail deer can be found. We got to church in a church sort of on the outskirts of Casper, and this time of year we often see deer on the lawn. We have several big crab-apple trees at the church, and the deer love to feast on the ripe crab apples. But many of our members also like those crab apples in order to make jelly. In my younger days I would harvest a basket of those crab apples and make jelly, too. It was mighty good. The trees are Dolga crab apples, which are larger than the usual little crab apples.

The meeting that I baked the cookies for went well yesterday. Everyone liked the cookies and iced tea I had for them. This was a planning meeting as our Ladies Auxiliary prepares for the upcoming program year.

It rained last night, and we are enjoying a bit of a cooler spell today. It is still hot, but not as hot as it has been.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend -

I enjoyed your little vignette about the crab apple trees. I get a mental picture of those trees growing as your church grew from its start 50 years ago. I can see the ladies picking the crab apples and they are wearing different clothing as the styles change over the years. I like your writing and I hope you have done some for your church history archives or for your own personal archives.

I awoke at 5am and went out and walked a mile. The temperature was 86* already. I really am motivated to do the walking, but it sure is a challenge in this weather.

In our house we have an evaporative cooler, popularly known as a swamp cooler. These coolers work pretty well when the air is dry which it almost always is in the desert. It costs much less to run the swamp cooler than to run a refrigeration unit. Unfortunately with all the humidity we have been having, it gets really hot in the house, so exercising in the house isn't much of an option either. Anyway...enough whining about the weather.

Yesterday, I consumed 1300 calories. For supper I had a gigantic tuna salad on romaine lettuce with lots of tomatoes and cucumbers. I like tuna, so it wasn't a punishment or anything like that. I wish I could find a really tasty low calorie salad dressing, but so far I haven't found anything I really like, except the real thing, of course. One of my plans for the future is to reincorporate real salad dressing into my plan.

I keep thinking that someone else will join us here. We can't be the only ladies of a "certain age" who need to get fit and loose/maintain weight.

Good Evening, Gail -

Yes, I enjoy chatting with you, but I had hoped that more would be chiming in on our little conversations. Of course so many people are on vacations this time of year that the whole board is a bit slow. I'm sure there are more 3fc members who are in our age bracket that have insights to contribute.

The crab apple trees n our church yard are big now for crab apple trees. Fortunately the deer can only reach so high, we humans can use step ladders to reach the higher branches. I no longer am interested in making jam or jelly but I'm sure many of the younger women of the congregation will be harvesting all the crab apples they want. They are nice apples and make very good jam or jelly.

I do like to write. I have always been drawn to journalism and in 19 46 I headed off to the University of Missouri School of Journalism. But the war was just over and the ex-servicemen were also enrolling in college under the G.I. Bill. So I married one of those returning servicemen and did other things with my life like raising a family. I have used my writing abilities in various ways such as doing a church newsletter for many years, and I also wrote the story of my life and gave it to our son on his 60th birthday last month. I've actually had a pretty good life, lots of joys and not all that many sorrows.

This evening we went to Wendy's for supper, nd it was actually very tasty. We don't go for the fast foods very often, so once in a while it is a real treat.

I'm acquainted with the swamp coolers, our son and DIL have that arrangement. Several years ago when our furnace needed to be replaced we added central air conditioning while we were replacing the furnace. We also have a nice, big cottonwood tree in the front yard which shields us from a lot of the sun. I certainly will be glad when autumn cools things off.

So let's keep taking it all a day at a time, every day and every day.

You mentioned pork loin a while back. That reminded me that I had some in the freezer, so we had it last night. I grilled it, along with some peaches, grapes and red onions. Then I put my three oz portion of meat and the fruit on a huge pile of romaine and cucumbers. I know it sounds a little strange, but I like fruit with pork and I like almost everything with onions. I brushed the peaches with real maple syrup - about 1.5 tsp total. That gave a nice flavor and helped with browning. Jerry had his meat with mashed potatoes,
green beans, and a lettuce and tomato salad. He doesn't like all the "wierd" stuff, as he calls it. LOL! He is a meat and potato man.

I was down another half pound this morning, so I can add a total of one more pound lost. This is not going very fast, but in the right direction.

Here's the abbreviated weather report for yesterday. 110* - Rain - Sauna - Yuck!

Good Afternoon, Gail - We like pork loin here, and it is one of the staples that we serve at church, I'm a member of the Kitchen Guild, which means that I am often involved in the preparation and serving of meal to various groups. Our District Office is located right across the street from our church, so meetings of pastors from around the state will have their meetings at the District Office, and then walk over to our church for lunch. Our chairman will stock up on pork loins when they are on sale, and then we cook them for whoever needs a meal.Pork loin is a food that can be cooked in so many different ways.

Congratulations to you on your continued weight loss. You seem to be shedding those lbs. slowly but surely. Keep up the great work.

We're having a bit of a cool spell here in Wonderful Wyoming. It feels so good to have the hot weather be a thing of the past, at least for now. I'm sure we will have more hot spells, but today has just been very pleasant.

However I have had the "munchies" today, and I never seem to yearn for a carrot stick! LOL Potato chips are what I am yearning for, but I don't really dare to dig into that stuff. The trouble with potato chips is that I never can manage to eat just one!

Hope you have a pleasant evening, and a cooler tomorrow -

Wouldn't it be nice if carrots were a favorite binge food? I always want starchy/greasy food when I have the munchies. I like sweets, of course, but I don't get cravings for cake; it's always something like potato chips or bread and butter.

Nothing new here. Yesterday was my long day at work and I knew that Jerry was making spaghetti for supper, so I really ate lightly during the day so I could have a nice big serving. I kept my calories to 1350.

I slept until after 7 this morning. It's already too hot to go outside to walk. I had good intentions, but we all know where those go.

It looks like I am down almost a half a pound again this morning. I don't change my ticker until I go down a full pound.

Good Morning, Gail:

Well, you are certainly on a downward trend with your weight! Good for you! It is never easy, but stick to what you are doing because it is sure working for you.

It is so smoky outdoors from the fires on out west that I don't think I'd better do a walkabout in the neighborhood today.

Do you still work? I had figured you were retired. If you can still work, that is wonderful.

Speaking of snack foods, I've often though of experimenting with some thing like chocolate covered carrot sticks. Recently I've been snacking on popcorn, and that helps. It's fairly low calorie, and I just add a bit of salt. But I do yearn for potato chips. LOL

My "maintenance" weight hovers between 129 and 133 lbs., and I work to keep it right there. My doctor doesn't want me to lose any more, and I certainly don't want to regain any weight that I have lost. It is a daily battle for me, but I keep at it.

Let's make today a Wonderful Wednesday!!!!

Chocolate covered carrots? I needed a laugh! Thanks. Why is it that chocolate covered strawberries sounds so good, and chocolate covered broccoli sounds so bad?

My computer and our ice machine are not working. I am trying to stay calm and find a solution. Actually, I am quite proud of myself for becoming the ice machine expert that I am - I have been doing repairs on it for years. This is a stand-alone unit, not the kind in the refrigerator. However, right at the moment I am very frustrated and that makes me want to get out a loaf of white bread and a pound of butter and eat it all right now!!!!

I am using my little netbook computer to write this.

You made a good decision to avoid the smoke and stay in. We periodically have smoke from fires some distance away. I always feel sad for the people and animals who are destroyed, especially in fires set carelessly. Our recent ones have been from lightening.

My job is working part time as a telephone operator on the Navy base. It is fun and not very taxing. I always say the job provides me with money to buy things I don't need. I work 10 hours on Monday, and 4 hours on Tuesday. I chose to work the long Monday hours so I can make one less 70 mile round trip.

It is not quite as hot today as it has been. I hope it stays this way.

Last night my girlfriend and I went out for Chinese food. I figured I would gain five pounds of water, but I didn't. I am up less than a pound and that's good for having eaten Chinese. I was really thirsty after eating, so I drank a lot of water. I didn't overeat, either.

Good Morning, Gail -

I can sympathize with you and the Chinese foods - I always have a bit of a weight gain when I eat Chinese due to the sodium therein. But Chinese is so good, nothing wrong with a little indulgence upon occasion.

We ate out yesterday, too. Olive Gardens was the choice, and I had their grilled chicken salad and Bob had spaghetti & meatballs. So I'm up 3 oz. this morning and Bob is up 3 lbs. The food was delicious, as always.

So I can't talk you into chocolate covered carrot sticks? But chocolate covered peanuts are tasty, and at Christmastime I often make things like chocolate covered pretzels dipped in sprinkles. The grandkids like them.

This losing weight, and maintaining a weight-loss just takes constant vigilance, doesn't it? I know I could gain back all I have lost in just a couple of months if I weren't careful. So I'm as careful as possible.

It is still cool here today, and much less smoke. Hope the wild fires are under control. They can be so destructive.

Your job does sound interesting. I think it is so important to stay involved, keep our brains working, stay positive about life. Life is good, let's remember that.

Have a great day!

For us, going to the Olive Garden is quite a trip, but I enjoy the place. My favorite is Fettuchini Alfredo, but that isn't exactly a low calorie item.

The ice maker and the computer are both working as of right now. It is hot and sticky again. When will this ever end? October, probably.

Yesterday was not my best day as far as calorie consumption goes, but I think I kept it under 1500. I was frustrated, which makes me want to eat, and I just kept having that gnawing feeling in my stomach. I can't tell if it is hunger or anxiety. We have been eating that spaghetti that Jerry made and I am beginning to think it is some kind of trigger for me - the high carbohydrates maybe. I certainly haven't been eating too much of it, and last night I mixed in about 2 cups of stir-fry veggies and had about half a cup of the spaghetti/meat sauce mix. It was good with the veggies mixed in. I didn't fry them, I steamed them.

I'm sure it wouldn't take long to gain back all the weight you've lost. Doesn't seem fair, does it?

Good Morning, Gail -

I just got home from my little walkabout in the neighborhood, and I actually wore long pants and a jacket. It's warming up now, but it was quite cool and nice when I started out. I always have a feeling of accomplishment when I complete my little walk, I really have to talk myself into doing it regularly.

Sorry the nearest Olive Garden is not so close to you. Actually it is across town from us, but the town isn't all that big. I don't think much of anything at Olive Garden is low cal. My grilled chicken Caesar salad was absolutely drenched in dressing. Oh, well, it was mighty good.

Glad your ice maker and your computer are working OK. We don't have an ice maker but in our modern world we are all so attached to our computers that it is hard to imagine getting along without them now.

It's hard to deal with it when the munchies strike. I try to fill up with veggies, but the urge to eat carbs can be very strong. One of the things that helps me deal with the evening munchies is after supper I chew gum. That's probably not the best habit in the world, but it seems to help distract me from nibbling everything that isn't nailed down.

Let's make today a Fantastic Friday!