Sugarbusters Weekly Support Board 3/7 - 3/13

[Ellen]

http://members.aol.com/eldemila/sb_sign4.jpg

This is the
SUGAR BUSTERS WEEKLY SUPPORT BOARD where all of you who are following this WOE, or are thinking about doing so, are welcome to come join in and be a part of our wonderful group.

Other than finding support and friendship on this board, we also try to do something during the the week to add a little difference to our board.

MONDAY-MOTIVIATIONAL MONDAY
TUESDAY-TUESDAYS TIPS & FACTS & CHAT AT 9:15PM EST
WEDNESDAY-WEIGH-IN WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY-TASTY THURSDAY (RECIPE DAY)
FRIDAY-FRIDAY FUNNIES


Please take some time to check out our extensive recipe boards. Our RECIPE BOARDS can be located at the link below:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=89

Look for our QUARTERLY RECIPE BOARDS to post your favorite recipes and to see the most recently posted recipes. Recipes from the quarterly boards will be archived in proper categories at some point.


We have SEVEN INFORMATIVE BOARDS!!!! Please take a few minutes to visit them! New information is continually being posted, so please make sure you visit them often!!! The boards are listed below as well as the link that will take you to the boards:

THE RECOMMENDED READING BOARD
THE TOOLS & TIPS BOARD
THE FOOD INFORMATION BOARD
MOTIVATIONAL & INSPIRING THOUGHTS BOARD
MY FAVORITE SB LEGAL FOODS
SB 2002 BIO BOARD
SB 2001/2002 PHOTO ALBUM BOARD

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=87

We also have a SB WEEKLY EXERCISE BOARD that you can log your daily/weekly exercises on which is located on our weekly support board:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?p=792967#post792967




Then there's our latest addition to the SB BOARDS which is called OFF THE EATEN PATH This board is for everything NOT related to SB. You can use this board to post questions or comments on just about anything (okay, within reason). A book you recommend, a cleaning tip, a great website deal, etc. etc. Here's the link:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=90


NEWBIES! (aka new members) If you would like to REPLY to any of our threads, please hit POST REPLY not NEW THREAD, then type your message in and hit SUBMIT REPLY. If you need to edit your reply, just click on edit located in the body of your post and make changes as you need to, then hit SUBMIT NOW.


WELCOME! :D

[Ellen]

Weekly Challenges:

1. Drink your water!!

2. Exercise at least three times and post it on the exercise board.

3. For every day you are totally on program, give yourself an X or an O on your calendar. See how many you can get this week!

4. Think of some way you can encourage someone you know. You might send them a note, or give them a well deserved compliment. You can do this secretly too, if you wish. When we encourage others, we feel good about ourselves, which can help with motivation. :)

Make this a great week!

[Ellen]

Good Morning! I slept hard last night. I really think the walk was good for me. I am contemplating putting on my shoes and heading out this morning. I have a meeting though, and I still need to do some research and study before I go to be prepared. I should have done it before now...

I need to get back on the straight and narrow, with no excuses this week. I also need to get back to Curves, and to walking. I plan to go grocery shopping today too. I need to pick up some veggies.

On the way home Saturday, we stopped at an outlet center, and I found two new cookbooks I bought. One is by Helen Chen, Joyce Chen's daughter. The recipes in it are really interesting. I can't wait to try some of them. I also picked up a Tapas cookbook. Tapas are bitesize dishes popular in Spain. There are things like marinaded olives, and chili shrimp. In Spain, the bars serve the Tapas with drinks, for free, so people will get a light meal of them while they drink. They are beginning to get popular here, and you can find Tapas bars opening here and there. I think a lot of the Tapas in the book I got are very adaptable to SB.

I need to go find some hot tea and something to eat..

:wave: Later!

[Toni48]

Just having my morning coffee and trying to talk myself into getting on the treadmill. Think I'll have to take it one hour at a time today to get myself back on track. How in the world did I get so far off SB.... I sure don't know. This week end was so nice. We barbequed some steaks and had scallops with them. And just enjoyed the lazy days. But guess I'd better get busy on some cleaning now. Have a great day!!!

Monet- Tapas sound good. Thank you for starting the board and I accept the challeges.....

[Solly]

Good morning ladies. This is a new week and a new us. Let's do this thing this week and get ourselves back on the straight and narrow. We can do it and it's not even hard. Wha't wrong with us. I keep putting what I want at the moment (sugar, carbs) ahead of what I want most (to get to goal). I have 4 months until vacation and I want to lose 30 pounds by then. So this is it.

We got our wall painted yesterday even though it took all day. I cleaned house while DH painted. It looks good. I have enough border left of my old paper if I want to use it. I just may do that. I hate looking for wallpaper.

We went to the grocery after church yesterday and I don't know if I carried too much or what but my back is killing me. I wore my brace all day yesterday and used the heat pad all evening. This morning I could hardly move. DH got the heat pad for my last 1/2 hour of sleep but I didn't get much sleep it hurt too bad to lay. I can't sit or stand. had a hell of a time getting my underwear one (Bob that's for you) and my socks. Think I will try some ice now. Don't know how I will sit through the Easter pagent tonight.
it was a nice day yesterday even though we spent most of it inside. Today is it raining and they are calling for snow tonight.

BF Special K low carb with strawberries, skim milk.
Snack: celery with peanut butter.
Lunch: ham and swiss cheese sandwich with 1 pc of wwlc bread. apple
Dinner. steak salad.

I am going to do my wts at lunch today sicne we won't be home tonight. Think I will try to do that every day this week.


Cindy, congrats on your DD wedding. Shame you missed the ceremony though. Kids. They just don't think.

Bob, I'm with you on the cleaning thing. Before each holiday tha I host, I clean myself to deatha nd 5 minutes after the brood arrives the house is a disaster. It's better to wait until they leave. I knowyou will have a ball with little Jay. How long will they be staying?

Gator, how was your dinner party? Between you and Monet you put most of us to shame with our cooking. I wouldn't even attempt to cook any of that or probably eat it either. I am boring. Congrats to your Gators on their big victory. I was yelling the whole time at the TV. I think we may have lost our #1 seed with that loss.

Minsnotux, Welcoe1 I hope findingthis board will be the motivation and support you need to finally kick the sugar addiction. I know it worked for me. I was so tired of starting a new diet every Monday. I was embarrassed to tell my friends I was dieting the whole time knowing they were thinking "how long would this one last, a week, two?" I was determined any my health was suffering. I had horrible headaches (from the sugar). I hated myself. I started SB and never looked back. After losing about 40 pounds I started exercising with wts and walking. I lost 105 pounds. I have never been happier. I have gained about 20 back after going through breast cancer and chemo. But I have retained those good eating habits and am much more conscience of my eating. Hang in here and we will help you through it. Good luck.

Toni, did you get started on your painting job? We got our wall painted yesterday.That was the first time I have ever takne wallpaper off. It was interesting and time consuming. I don't have a lot of patience and I like for things to be done quickly. Now go get on the :treadmill:

Monet, nothing like a walk int he fresh air to make you sleep. Let's all make a pack to get back on the straight and narrow this week. No fooling around. I was thinking about you int he grocery yesterday. I was getting some fisha nd looking at all the other stuff there, thinking how I wish I would eat more things like scallops,talipia, etc. Just like plain ole cod. I am a boring eater. I will say I have ventured out into more veggies with the WOE.


have a great day. Be back later.

[GatorGal]

Monet--Thanks for starting the board. You are so faithful. Thanks also for the challenges. I will aim to fulfill them. After ditzing around for the past several weeks, I need to get back on track, so this is the week to start. In fact, this is the day to start.

The tasting dinner went fabulously. I only had one minor snafu, which I will tell you about. All the food was wonderful--not bragging, just a fact. The guests came at 6:30 and left at 11. We started eating at about 7. The other couple brought the wines as the husband is really knowledgeable about wine and loves to select good ones. He outdid himself. They were all French wines and complemented the food wonderfully. In fact, they enhanced the food, and I hope they feel that the food enhanced the wine. I used 3 different patterns of china, depending on what I was serving. For example, the roasted red pepper tart was on a more elaborate pattern, the fish dish was on a simpler pattern. I used new forks for each course, and new knives half-way through the dinner. We had knife rests. The husband served champagne with the first course, the paté with French bread or toasts, and it was the best champagne I've ever tasted. I could have drunk the whole bottle, and normally I don't like champagne. So--that set the stage for the rest of the meal. The only snafu was the beurre blanc sauce for the fish. I was trying to cook too many things at the same time and I let the pan get too hot, so the butter totally melted and separated, so it was not the lemony butter emulsion it should have been, but more just like melted butter. :( We ate in the kitchen, as in a true "chef's table" and it worked out great. I used a poppy colored tablecloth on our round breakfast table, (our kitchen has poppy colored wallpaper) and it looked great because the dishes really stood out well on the table. The "funnest" food we had was the sweet potatoes julienne fries. Each course took only a few minutes to prepare because I had done all of the major stuff earlier. So, generally, I just had to heat something up, do the last minute sautéing and serving the plates. The fries took the longest and that was near the end of the meal. We had 5 bottles of wine total between 4 of us, so by the next to last course--the cheese and fruit--I was starting to get tipsy. Also, just a little full. All the courses were small, 2 oz. or so of meat, except for the filet. I purchased a pound of meat expecting to have some left over, but we ate almost all of it. The dessert was my favorite (of course, for this sugar addict), vanilla ice cream with sour morello cherries in a red wine reduction over the top. Divine. It was a perfect evening.

Then, to finish off a perfect weekend, we drove up to Gainesville on Sunday to watch the Mighty Gators play the Kentucky Wildcats in basketball. It was a fabulous game with the game neck and neck. The Gators went in at the half 1 point ahead. Kentucky's defense was almost inpenetratable. The final score: 53-52 with the Gators coming back from a 4 point deficit with only 20 seconds left in the game. It was our last h ome game and wonderful to watch. Almost as exciting as football. Jackie--your wildcats are a great team and it was fun to see them go down in Gainesville. Doesn't happen too often.

I haven't been walking much this past week or week and a half. It's easy to get out of the habit. On Saturday I got in 19000 steps because we went to Winter Park, a village near here and walked for over an hour, and then worked in the yard building an arbor into the butterfly garden. My DH did all the dishes and pans for our Saturday tasting dinner, but I still have to wipe off the counters. I went to bed IMMEDIATELY after our guests left, and haven't worried about it till now. I have a ton of stuff--laundry, folding clothes, cleaning up, preparing for ANOTHER French test, going to the store, etc. etc. so I need to make sure I get my walking in. I also have my appt. with my trainer today, so have to squeeze that in. I fell this weekend when I tripped over the boards I was using for the arbor. I have a few scrapes on legs and elbows and my wrist is bruised or something. So, I'm wearing my wrist brace until it gets better. I don't know how that will affect my lifting weights.

So--I'd better get going. It's almost 9:30 and I'm still in my nightgown. Hope everyone has a great day. Drink your water. Eat right. :) :lol:

[woodfrogs]

Hi everyone,
Now that the weekend is over and life is back to normal, hopefully I can back on track. DSs had their birthday over the weekend, and we had a party Friday night, college kids, what a blast! And I've managed to have my cold wander over to my sinuses, so I'm living on cough drops, tea, and tissues.
We watched Return of the King(the extended version) last night, I definitely liked it better than the regular version.
I plan on doing the treadmill tonight. And I'm going out of town tomorrow for 3 days, but the hotel has a fitness room, so I'll be able to squeeze in something while I'm gone.
food: bacon, egg and cheese on toasted bagel
shrimp/chicken w/ rice pilaf
not sure about dinner yet...
Have a great day everyone!
PS: Gator - feel free to come cook at my house anytime :)

[techwife]

Hi guys...just a quick hello!! We're back from Vermont. No, not moving. I was bad on my eating...very, very bad. Let's just say I started off going to the breakfast buffet the first day and brought back two hard boiled eggs and an orange...but the kids got those delicious cinnamon buns that they have at Holiday Inns. Let's jsut say that by the time I came back I had a Shamrock Shake on the way home with my Big Mac. BUT, the good news is that I only gained two pounds...which brings me back to 170, but no worse for wear as far as I'm concerned. So, today it's back on the wagon...for Breakfast I had two poached eggs on one slice of WW toast, two sausage links, 1/2 a grapefruit and two strawberries. For lunch, half of a ham and provolone sandwich (1/2 so I could keep the bread down to one slice) wiht a kiwi and half an orange. For a snack I just finished 6 triscuits and some cheese, will wash it down with 20 oz of water and for dinner we'll have tbone steak with broccoli and some cantaloupe or maybe a salad with blue cheese dressing.

Will add replies later...but wanted to welcome Minsnotux!! :wave: We are all sugar freaks on this board and struggle with is every single day. BUT, just like quitting smoking, every day you spend away from it, the easier it gets to deal without it. AND, sugar busters, ironically, is one of the best diets I think, to have with a tendency towards a sweet tooth. YOu can have yummy things like smooties and add an extra capful of vanilla or have lots of fruit or cheese and triscuits...peanuts are good for snacks as long as they don't have too much salt. Stick to this diet, drink lots of water and do even moderate excercise at least three times a week and watch the pounds just melt off!! You can do it!! I'm stuck at a plateau, but as you can see from the above, I cheat regularly and blame myself totally, not the diet. But even though I"m not loosing actual pounds, I still feel the difference in my clothes AND my energy level. If you love sugar and eat it regulary, I'm confident that sugar is the culprit to our weight gain and I'm even extra confident that if you remove this from what you eat, I'll bet my week's paycheck (LOL...I'm a stay at home mom!!) that this diet will work for you. Sorry, it's not a diet, but a way of living!!

Anyhow...talk to you guys later...I have a dirty, dusty house to clean!!

Kris

[Ellen]

Flying by....went to my meeting. Now I have tons to do. I spent an hour and a half doing some research online for a sister ministry in Guatemala. I found some good resources, and now, if I can motivate some folks to help with the $$, we can send them the supplies they need.

I am going to be busy over the next few days working on this curriculum, and writing a puppet script for their ministry Easter Egg hunt. I am kind of feeling around in the dark, as they don't have puppets, and so I don't know what I am writing for. :)

Once I get this stuff taken care of, I need to go full steam ahead on the plans for the arts festival. I really don't like being so busy, but I always seem to rise to the occasion and meet the deadlines.

I did not get my walk in yet. I hope I can in a bit, but its beginning to look overcast again. I am SO sick of rain!

Will check in later! :wave:

[THE BIG ORANGE BABE]

GOOD MONDAY AFTERNOON EVERY BUDDY!!


I came home early today to get the rest of my work done. The major task at hand this afternoon is the bathroom....we had the plumber out to do some things and he left a mess like you wouldn't believe! I'm going to have to get down on my hands and knees and work around the sides and back of the "POTTAY" I HATE CLEANING THE BATHROOM!!!!!!

Did anyone watch the movie last night on ABC....THEY'RE EYES WERE WATCHING GOD ??? It was probably one of the better TV movies that I've seen in a while! Now I want to read the book...

GATOR...you're dinner sounds like it went off without a hitch. Everything sounded so good...you had my mouth watering!
Y'ALL SHOULD SEE GATOR'S KITCHEN...IT'S A WOMAN'S DREAM! SHE HAS SO MUCH COUNTER & CABINET SPACE!! IN FACT, HER WHOLE HOUSE IS BEAUTIFUL! AND HER YARD....WELL...I DON'T WANT TO EMBARRASS HER...LET'S JUST PUT IT THIS WAY...GATOR'S GOT A WONDERFUL PLACE TO LIVE AND ENJOY!
KATE WATCHED THE BB GAME...I COULD HEAR HER COACHING FROM HER CHAIR, BUT IT DIDN'T DO ANY GOOD...TUBBY AND THE BOYS STILL LOST ....ONE POINT!!!!

MONET....Girl...you are busier than a one armed paper hanger! How's your ankle? Be careful..just when you think it's doing better.....

JACKIE..sounds like a busy weekend for you guys...are you done with everything you were going to do? Where are y'all going on vacation this year? AND OH MY GAWD....DERBY WILL BE HERE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!
Cathy and Jay will be here for only an extra long weekend, but it's better than no visit at all! He's so excited about riding on the plane...

KRIS...they don't have those SHAMROCK SHAKES here in FLA...which is a good thing...when I lived in KY...I stopped for one every day that they had them available! Get to dusting girl....I'm right there kicking some up down here too!

POOR BARB.....HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER!!!

TONI...did you get on that TM??? Scallops sound good...I usually do mine under the broiler...I first melt some butter and then add a lot of garlic...when it's good and hot, I put my scallops in and OH MY GAWD ARE THEY GOOD!!!

Well, I'm off for now..will be back later

BOB

[Solly]

Good afternoon ladies.

I didn't think I was going to get back as our internet service was down. But alas, here I am.

I have discovered something about me. We went out to dinner at a steak place Sat. Ran into some friends and they joined us. She is a nice size and shape, not too thin. I know she does the TM a few times a week. But I noticed she only at 1/4-1/2 of her salad. We both ordered aspargus and she only at 1/2 of her steak. Now here I am, devouring everything. But I do that with everything I eat or drink. Unless it is something I don't really like. I think I need to somehow learn not to eat everything. How do you do that? Maybe I'm afraid to waste it as someone would be starving somewhere (mainly me). So I didn't eat my whole steak, gave it to DH, so I wouldn't look like a pig.

Gonna go home and try to find some pain pills so I can sit through the 2 hr Easter pagent tonight. My back is still killing me and I am alternating ice and my back brace.


Gator, Oh my gosh your dinner sounds like something out of the highest quality restaurants. I hope your guests appreciated all your hard work. It sounds so elegant. Hope your boo-boos heal quickly.

Wood, College kids can be fun. My DD and her friends love to hang out with us. I like to think we are fun, but realistically, they are just looking for someone to pay. :lol:

Tech, glad you are back home safe and sound. Didn't you like Vermont? It is so hard to be good when everyone around you is being bad.

Monet, we have 28 people from our Church going to Guatemala. Two of the ladies in my bunco club's daughters go on a regular basis. One stayed for 6 months. It seems you work well undre pressure so you will be fine. How about socks for puppets?

Bob, I watched that movie. They really hyped it up all week and I was a little disappointed. But I stuck it out to the end just to see what happened. I made my DH watch it with me and he was totally bored. In July we are taking the girls and son in law to either Aruba or Punta Cana. One graduates from college and the other with her Masters so that is their graduation gifts. Plus I want to do a family vacation before it is too late.

have a great evening everyone.

[Cindylcing]

Happy Monday all !
Sounds like you all had busy weekends !
Work was busy today, usually Monday & Tuesday are always like that.
Tomorrow I have a dentist appt after work so my day will be longer than what Id like.

GatorGal- wow Im impressed ! I love to cook but Im not very organized and that sounded like it took some organization to do all that cooking.

techwife- welcome back from Vermont !

THE BIG ORANGE BABE- I hate cleaning the bathroom too but I have to cause nobody else here does .

Mondays menu:
b- 1 cup kashi cereal, 1 slice ww lc toast, 2 bacon
s- 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
s- lc yogurt
l- romaine/spinach salad with 3 oz turkey meat and LF ranch
s- tangerine
d- 1 lc tortilla with diced chicken breast, tomato, green onion, 1/2 avacado, romaine/spinach salad with LF ranch

[Ellen]

Evening everyone! I just finished up my after dinner chores. I made Tom's smoothie, and chicken salad, and gave the cats the broth from the can of chicken. They love it...and as soon as I open the can, I usually have four cats going in and out and rubbing up against my ankles. The three girls are contained in James' rooms right now, so I took a bowl of broth to them. They all escaped a bit later, and we had to catch them and re-contain them! Dinner tonight was beef and broccoli stir fry and brown rice udon noodles. I ate some sliced strawberries with a bit of whipped cream on them too. Eating was just so so...I dipped into some potato chips that were on the counter this afternoon. :o

CINDY: I was supposed to have a dentist appointment on Wednesday, but they called while I was out of town and cancelled since the dentist's wife had a baby. The dentist is a friend from church, so I was excited to hear the news! :) How is the weather up there in Indiana?

JACK: Forgive me for laughing at you not eating your steak so you would not feel like a pig. I know how you felt though. I love food, I love cooking it, experimenting with it, eating it, smelling it, shopping for it. I wish I had an answer. I do know when I get really engrossed in reading, or painting, or some other artistic pursuit, I can forget to eat. I guess I ought to do that kind of stuff more often, huh?

BOB: My ankle is much improved. In fact, its hardly bothered me at all. I think that brace I bought was the reason... I do tend to let my alligator mouth get my jay bird fanny into trouble. After I committed to doing the writing, I realized I gave away a bunch of my reference books..... duh!

TECH: I am glad to see you back! I missed you! Are you happy NOT to be moving to Vermont? Don't worry about the bad eating...just jump back on the wagon! Shall I send Bob over? Listen for Rocky Top...she always plays that as she drives! ;)

WOOD: Where are you headed for three days? Is it a business trip? Its really nice when the hotel has a fitness center! Enjoy! Will you be able to post while you are gone, or are we going to have to miss you!?!

GATOR: I am more than happy to start the board! Thanks for the kind words. I am so glad your dinner went so well. At least you were not like me, who forgot to fix the dessert soup course! :lol: I imagine the beurre blanc sauce tasted good, even if it separated. I know you feel good, and a bit relieved that its over and went well. What kind of champagne was it that you were drinking?

TONI: Did you get your treadmill in? I never did get my walk in, and now its raining! I hate rain! I am so sick of it! Your weekend sounds so nice and peaceful! When do you start painting your room?

That is it for me! I think I got everyone too! :) I am going to go do research online for two projects. I want to raise $$ for dishes to send to the ministry in Guatemala, and I need to plan crafts for the summer VBS teams, as well as work on curriculum. After a bit of work, I am going to have to climb in bed, as I am getting awfully tired already! Night everyone! Sweet dreams!

:wave:

[Ellen]

Oh, dear. Here I am talking to myself again. :(

I slept well, and the sun is shining. Yay! I am hoping it will be a wonderful day just because it is sunny. :)

I am off to finish my morning routine...wake James up, make my bed, shine my sink... drink another cup of hot tea...

[Solly]

Good Tuesday Morning.
The Easter Pagent was wonderful. It is quite a production. It is the largest drama production in the state of Ky. They had live camels and donkeys and everything.

My back is mysteriously feeling better today. I'm glad but don't know why. I didn't do any exercise yesterday just to give it a rest. I will try at lunch today maybe. I'll see after I sit most of the day how it feels.

Bf: Special K lc with skim milk and 5 strawbeerries
1/2 cranberry juice
SnacK; celery and peanut butter
Lunch is a small chef salad
Orange
Dinner: Hamsteak, green beans and mixed veggies

Cindy I have an appointment after work today today, but mine is more enjoyable than the dentist. Nails. Even though I hate doing it afte work. It does make for a long day and then still have to fix dinner when I get home.

Monet, Do I need to come down there and salp your hand? Stay out of the chips. We made a deal for this week and you are letting me down. Make today a better day.

Better get busy here. Be back later. Have a great OP day!

[Ellen]

Breakfast was legal. WW English muffin, with 1 T polaner all fruit, 2 egg omelet with light cheese and some ham, hot tea.

James is staying home again. He used to get pneumonia easily as a kid, and feels like he has bronchitis, though he is not coughing much. He does sound congested though. I need to get writing, but I have little motivation. :(

JACK: Wow...ok. I promise no chips! The temptation to make you come down here is pretty big though. It would be great to meet you! haha!

[techwife]

Jack/Monet: About not eating when you're supposed to...I get the same way when I write. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I love to write...romance novels, in particular. I have about three I'm working on and will submit one to a publisher if I ever finish one. I've put them all on hold for the time being, though, because like most artistic ventures, it becomes all-consuming and I end up skipping meals, skipping cleaning and the kids end up neglected...so....once the little one goes to school (sept 2006) I'll take up my writing again.

And, Monet, I'm so jealous of you being involved in VBS. I loved being involved with youth programs at church when I lived in Rochester. Here, though, they see me coming and make me be in charge of the whole thing...I think because I'm a stay at home mom, they think I have all the time in the world. Really frustrates me because I'm NOT a leader or a planner by nature and the mere thought of being the ring leader for such an event just makes me panic-stricken. Then, if I'm just involved to help out to do just crafts or snacks, I get attitude like, "Don't know why you're not doing more...next year, this puppy's yours" ...and so I just stay away completely.

BOB: I wanted to watch that movie on ABC - that was the one with Halle Berry, right? But we don't watch too many movies here...my husband can't stand not pushing remote control buttons that long. :lol: Although, we did watch Forrest Gump the other night...believe it or not, I hadn't seen it yet. Mostly because my daughter's father gave me a tape with it on it and said, "you have GOT to see this movie" at a time when I was not in the mood to listen to anything he had to suggest, so I kind of rebelled against it. Wowowow!! What a great flick!! And...I'm not regretting my shamrock shake one bit!! Sometimes ya just gotta have some 'soul food'...meaning, food that's good for the soul, not for the waistline. And since I was on such a bad streak with eating, I figured, what the hey!!

WOOD: I love the LOTR trilogy. What is different in the extended version? My husband and I were laughing when we saw the normal version at the end...we kept thinking it was over and then they'd put in another scene! I just love Viggo...have I mentioned that his parents live in my little bitty village? Well, his father lives around the corner and his mother lives in the next town over. Brightens up the drab, boring days knowing that this is where Viggo goes to go home to his parent's houses. He graduated from HS in the town I go grocery shopping in and whenever we drive by his HS, my dd goes, "Oh, gawd...here we go by there again..." because I fan myself as we drive by. And Viggo's father's farm is on the way to dd's best friend's house and whenever we drive by there (there's a sign out front that says 'Deer Valley Farm...Mortensen'), dd says "Oh, Gawd...here we go by there again" because I'm telling her to look for signs of Viggo visiting his father. I just love to give her a hard time and I tell her, 'imagine if the boy that plays Harry Potter lived there...I'd never hear the end of it!!' :lol:

Now, regarding Vermont...it's not that we didn't necessarily like it, but the cost of houses there is through...the...ROOF!!! For instance, my house, a 1600 sq ft house, 100 years old, 3 br, 1 1/2 baths, 1/2 acre of yard, fenced, goes for about $75,000...in VT, comparable houses are starting at about $175,000!!! A new-ish three bedroom colonial, basic, like you'd see in a new-ish housing tract, would go for somewhere in the vicinity of $275,000!! So, even if we wanted to move, it would be too expensive to even consider. Plus, my husband was having fits with the speed limit only being 50 MPH...when you drive for a living, it's a real drag. So, anyhow...I've moved so many times while in my 20's and early 30's that when I moved here I vowed that the next time I move it will be to the Sand Bay Cemetary and I'd like to keep that vow!! :lol: I HATE moving!! The good news is that we got to take the Ferry Boat across from NY to VT over Lake Champlain... through the ice!! Which was VERY cool!! They have three boats going over all the time and it keeps the ice to a crushed-ice consistency...like we were driving through a margherita!

AND, the ice breaker ship is set to start breaking the ice on the St. Lawrence, which is our very first real sign of spring on the way up here in the north country!! Yay!! I can't wait for spring this year...it's a whopping 8 degrees today and I'm really getting sick, sick, sick of it. But this should be about the last shot of old man winter for the year, then we enter the 'mud season' for a month or two while everything dries up from the melting snow. But at least you can walk outside and hear birds chirping and watch the ships go by again!!

Anyhow...I'm down a pound from yesterday, in spite of the pizza I got for dinner!! Good news is this is the LAST time I take dd to skating as the year-end show is this weekend and then its OVER!! Praise Be!! And this is dd's last year of skating...she's sort of 'reached her potential' and didn't learn one new thing this year. She has flat feet and that gives her poor balance adn that really limits what you can do on ice skates. Next year she goes to middle school, and I'm hoping they have other groups/clubs she can join like in the art department as that is her strong point.

It appears I'm over my plateau, so it's down to seriousness today and the rest of the week!

Hope everyone is having a great day!! Kris

[Pancho]

Hi ladies:

I don't even know where to start. On a scale of 1-10, my eating has probably been about a 7. I got 5 days of exercise in last week. I plan to get at least 4 days in this week. I've also been working my abs 5 days a week. I've heard that it is the one muscle group that can be worked everyday, and I've also heard to let it rest like your other muscles. I'm gonna try this for awhile and see if it makes a difference, since that is my only REAL problem area. I can accept the other areas.

I am going to a Mom's Night Out tonight (Bingo & pizza). I am sure there will be desserts too. I am going to eat a little in moderation, but not go overboard. My weight has been staying around 122-123#. There was one day it got down to 121.5#, but that didn't last long. I wonder why it's so hard to get those few pounds back off again.

Today, so far:

BF: Legal oat clusters w/ blueberries & skim milk
Snack: 1/2 chocolate chip cookie (not legal), and a handful of cheetos (not legal). We were shopping at Trader Joes, and they had samples!
Lunch: 1 boiled egg, two large strawberries, stone-ground pita chips w/ Laughing Cow Lite wedges (all legal).
Dinner: Will be pizza

Hmmmm....should I have posted that menu? I will eat another healthy snack....yogurt, dried apricots, celery...something like that.

Our weather is getting warmer, we will be in the 70's & 80's this week. It feels like Spring.

I was playing with Lane the other day and landed on my neck wrong. I heard it pop about 6-7 times. I have been getting really bad headaches since; I'm not sure if that is coincidence or not. I called my chiropractor, that I only use once in a great while, if I sleep wrong or something. But, he said he can get me in today to take a look at it. I almost had to stop working out two days last week because my headaches were so bad.

I REALLY THINK WE NEED TO GET ON THE WAGON AND STAY THERE; SPRING IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER AND THEN SUMMER!! Yes, this is a pep-talk for myself too.

This is such a tough month for me; I want to just do the best I can. My DH's parents will be here Sunday evening. I bought muffins, cinnamon rolls, bagels, bacon & eggs for BF foods. I also bought some cookies, caramel corn, nuts, chips, etc..for snack foods. For dinners, I plan to make BBQ sandwiches, lasagne, meatloaf....so dinners will be the easiest to stay OP. Then they leave and it is Britt's Spring Break. We will be going to Magic Mountain for a few days. I'm sure all the food there will be legal ;) . Once we get back, I have to make my niece's birthday cake, and we will go to her party the day before Easter...it will be a pizza party. The next week, we have to make cupcakes for Britt's class for her birthday, and then I will be making her cake for her birthday party on April 3rd. I didn't get the kids much candy for their Easter baskets, just a lot of play things. There will be a lot of temptations this month; I've gotta do my best.

Well, I don't have time for replies right now. I'll try to get on again sometime this week. My Dh's parents will be here Sun-Thurs next week, so I doubt I'll be on at all then.

I hope you all have a wonderful OP week!!!!
I think of you all even when I don't have the time to post!

Take care,
Nat

[GatorGal]

Kris--Homes like that here in suburban Orlando go for $300,000+. We have 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, fam. room, l.r., dining, kitchen, back porch and 3/4 acre and a house down the street similar to ours went for $450,000. It's really amazing to me, because just 3 or so years ago houses here went for $200,000, which also seemed like a lot since we paid less that $75000 for our house 32 years ago. Our house is only 35 years old. So, maybe the houses in VT aren't as expensive as they could be. I'm glad for you that you don't have to move. I'm an Army brat and moved all my life until I got married.

Monet--the champagne is Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin. It's French and the couple said that it was not terribly expensive. I don't know what that means. Everything is relative. For me, $25 is a lot to spend on something to drink, but then, this champagne was really good and might be worth it. The price might surprise me.

Fruit--My Dh and I and another couple--friends from Gainesville--are coming to N.O. in October for the LSU game. I just made reservations for the Segway tour there. We had such fun on the one in Paris that we wanted to do it again in New Orleans. How is your team lookin' with your new coach? I know y'all will mist Saban.

Eating has been OK today except for one slip when I had an overly abundant handful of cashews. I just love those and we had part of a can left. I grabbed a handful as I was throwing the can away. It works better for me not to have temptations around. So out it went. It probably was SB legal, but too many calories for me. Water is doing OK. Have had half of my allotment so far today.

I have a phone appt. with my holistic doctor in a few minutes, so will have to go. My DH is having hernia surgery tomorrow. I hope it will be an uneventful proceedure.

Bye.

[Cindylcing]

Ok all done with the dentist... quick and I have a A+ report ! Now thats done until six months , thank goodness.
Monet- the weather here in Ind isnt too bad right now. Still cold, but no snow at the moment and thats a good thing.

Hope everyones have a great week. Spring will be here soon, I know I can hardly wait.

Tuesday menu:
b- 2 eggs, 4 bacon, 1 slice wwlc toast
s- 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
s- lc yogurt
l- spinach salad with diced chicken breast & LF ranch, 1/2 ww bagel with 1 tbl LF creamcheese
d- pork chop, 1 cup steamed brocilli
s- Atkins indulge bar

[Ellen]

Hey everyone! I went to Harry's Whole Foods this afternoon and spent way too much money! I did get some of their beef, which is hormone free, so I did not feel too bad. :) I got a fennel bulb too, for a recipe I want to try in one of my new books. The recipe only uses the feathery fronds, so I am trying to find ways to use the bulb end. I put some in the stew beef I am cooking for dinner, and tasted it while I was cutting it. Its really good! I have had fennel seeds before, but never the bulb.

GATOR: Veuve Cliquot is the champagne that Babbette served with dinner in Babbette's Feast! Tom said he thinks it runs about $40 a bottle. I don't think my palette is sophisticated enough to appreciate a $40 bottle of wine. I am awfully happy with Asti Spumante, or Fonseca Bin 27 port. :) Can you imagine spending over $100 on a bottle of wine? I know people who do it. I can't imagine why... ;)

CINDY: I am glad you got the dentist out of the way for another six months! I need to call and re-schedule mine, but I keep forgetting!

PANCHO: Its good to see you posting! It sounds like you have an awfully busy month ahead! Enjoy all your company and travels. Post when you can, we miss you when you are gone!

TECH: Please don't be jealous of my involvement in this VBS. I will not be working with it, as the teams that come in for summer mission trips will do the actual program. I am re-writing the curriculum to fit their time schedule. I am feeling kind of overwhelmed at taking it on, even though this is what I did for ten years, and I usually enjoy it. I just have so much on my plate, and I should have said no. Have I told you I am a closet novelist? I have started several romance novels, but I tend to get bogged down somewhere about the third chapter, and never get any farther. I think its because I have such a sieve brain. I forget what has happened so far, and I have to re-read it every time I sit down to write! :lol:

JACK: I did better today... Not perfect, but much better. :)

Ok, I need to go check on the dinner. We went for a walk, so everything is running late here. :(

:wave: Later!

[GatorGal]

Monet--that's so funny, because my DH and I watched Babette's Feast just a couple of nights before our tasting dinner. We actually own it. Don't you just love that movie. I felt a little bit like each of us were Babettes as we were contributing to a feast. I just never connected the Veuve Cliquot as being the same. It was truly delicious w/o any "bite" or overpowering sweetness. At $40 I don't think it will be something I'm gonna run right out and buy. :lol: I'm sure, then, that the other husband spent several hundred $$ on the wine. He is a connoisseur of wines and they all were just excellent. Probably the best I've ever had. No tannin texture, but just mellow and rich with flavors. I'll have to watch Babette again. My DH will be fascinated.

[drumflower]

Hello! Remember me! lol :D Sorry I haven't posted all week! Things are crazy around my house right now! But I did stay on the plan all week ! No cheating! But boy is my grocery bill high! :dizzy: I think I might have lost 5 lbs so far in 2 weeks! I am happy with that because it is better than gaining 5! I am going to take it slow ! :cool: Today I had oatmeal and cranberry juice for breakfast, ham role ups with cheese, salad,for lunch, apple,for snack, ham and cheese omlet, 1 slice lc bread with no sugar grape jelly, low carb fruit coctail. Then I had frozen berries with splenda for dessert. (is this too much fruit?) Maybe I am cheating and don't know it! :^: Have a great day tommorrow! :D

[Ellen]

DRUM: In my opinion, no, its not too much fruit. If you find you stall, then try dropping down to maybe two or three servings. My only comment is that you need to eat more veggies. I hope the ham and cheese you are eating is low fat. :) You will learn shortcuts and cheaper ways to stay on program, I am sure. :)

[Teensybean]

Just a fly by.........painting is coming along. Hallway is completely done. Not sure yet if I really like it. The color was Swiss Coffee, but it sure looks white to me. I wanted a cream color, oh well....... Bathroom will be finished tomorrow. I just have to paint the trim. Then I will be starting the spare room, which I dread because I have to take my puter apart and move the whole thing to get to two of the walls. I really like the way my bathroom turned out. Dh said he liked it too, so that is an added bonus. I am waiting a bit before I put the splash of raspberry in......(letting dh get used to it a little at a time) then I will spring it on him, lol.

Hope that all of you are doing well, I manage to get up and get my exercise in before doing anything else. Eating for me has been mostly on plan. Have had a couple of days when I am so busy painting and not wanting to stop that by the time I do eat I am famished and have eaten a couple of minature Butterfinger bars. Then I feel like crap and get down on myself.......will I never learn??

Will stop in when I can........sweet dreams all.

[Ellen]

Good Morning, all my bustin' sugar friends! I hopped on the metal monster this morning. I was the same as last week, which pleased me since we were partying with the aunt and uncle and eating kind of badly. :) I feel encouraged because my swelly belly is much improved the last few days, and it actually is smaller. I am thinking I may be able to wear a pair of my jeans, or capri jeans soon! Yay!

James is still sick...this is his third day out of work. He sounds worse this morning. He used to get pneumonia really easily as a kid, so he is going to go to the doctor, if he can get in, today.

I have to write a few scripts for a ministry Easter egg hunt that will present the gospel to the kids. It is not going to be easy...most of the kids are Hispanic, and I have never written for that culture before.

Breakfast this morning was ww waffles and sausage patties, with hot tea.

I hope you all are a bunch of losers today! :lol:

:wave: off to write!

[techwife]

Man, am I sick of cold weather!! It's only 2 degrees out!! At least it's above zero...but, enough's enough already!!

Is it weigh-in-wed? I'm in at 170. I haven't been exactly true-to-plan. For breakfast I had oatmeal with WW toast...I'll go have an apple in a minute to go with it. Both are legal, but I need to balance it out and that does it for my starchy carbs for the day, I guess... The rest of the day I'll try to be better. I have a hair appointment (I only go once every six to nine months, so it's an event for me!!) and then I'm taking ds to the fish store to buy a couple of platies for our newly renovated fish tank. Then we'll probably go to McDonald's where I WILL NOT get a shamrock shake. I can do it...I know I can!! Plus, I want to go to the mall and buy a new sweater or top or some pants or something...I want to try on a size 14 and see if they fit. My 16s are getting loose and I made the mistake last time of getting low rise jeans (not reeeeally low rise, just boot cut and a touch lower than, say, the old fashioned chic jeans that go all the way past my navel! I have a short waist and I don't like my jeans to go two inches from my bra) and man, do they look terrible on my butt!! Half of my underwear shows and when I sit down, half of my butt shows!! And no matter how many times I pull them up, they always seem to be half way down...the pockets are on my upper thighs!! Anyhow...I'm thinking if I get just normal jeans, but not the turniquit style high rise jeans...you know..those jeans that fit nice inthe legs and hips, but then come in about four inches so you can't possibly breath once you button them up...I just hate that...so that's why I get the low rise jeans because they don't cut off my circulation, but I never looked at the rear view until just recently. Ugh...I can't wait to be 130 again so I can just buy the clothes I'm used to buying all my life.

Anyhow...enough rambling about jeans...Will add replies later, hopefully, after I get back from town. I have to get started on a quilt my girl scouts are making as part of a stitches and knots badge...they had to embroider their names on some quilt squares and I'm incorporating them into the quilt and then the girl that sells the most cookies gets to keep the quilt! :D I'm also teaching them to crochet, which is hilarious in itself.

Well, gotta run and get ready for my annual haircut!! I really liked Martha Stewart's hair when she came out of jail, so I'm going to ask for that. Talk to you guys later!!

Kris

[Solly]

Good afternoon ladies.

Just got back from my meeting and it is lunchtime. I had scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese this morning and boy did it hold me over.

Didn't get to exercise last night either. By the time I got my nails done and dinner over and starated dinner for tonight it was 8:00. I was ready to get in the hot tub and crash on the couch in front of a nice warm fire. Plus I was leary of working out since my back did not hurt yesterday. Will try it tonight.

WIW was same as last week. Next week I WILL SEE A LOSS. Promise.

Lunch will be 1/2 ham and cheese on wwlc bread, carrots, dip and strawberries.
Dinner is stuffed shells and a small salad.


Tech, It's s shame people are not taking advantage of your talents and your willingness to help by expecting you to do it all. But I think that is the ususal scene at most volunteer places. Sounds like the housing in VT was way overpriced. Glad your prizza binges are over. We are counting on you to pass onthat shake today. Just keep thinking we are watching you. :fr:

Nat, I have heard that you can work your abs everyday. They seem to take lots of work and go soft so quickly. I'm jealous of your warm weather. It is cold and raining here. You are aware of your temptations this month so just be prepared and you will be fine.

Gator, sending prayers for your DH's surgery tomorrow. Phone appointment with a doc? That sounds great. Wish more docs would do that.

Cindy, glad the dentist was uneventful.

Monet, glad you are behaving today. That's great about getting into your jeans. Bellies are the pits. Hope james is better soon.

Drum congrats on your 5 lb loss. You don't want to do it too fast. I think 3 or fruits a day is good. I wish I could get in that many. Just not too many I like.

Teensy, sounds like a major undertaking. Glad you dropped in. We miss your regular posts.


Gonna run to lunch. I have some intresting news about bananas I want to post later.

[Ellen]

Just flying by. I sold another book on Half, and was able to confirm the sale and pack it up and put it in the mail box about five minutes before the mailman came!

Lunch was an open face ham and cheese sandwich on dark German ww bread, hot tea and a about four doritos. (hit me hard Jack!) For a snack this morning, I had an orange.

I am about to head out to the Farmer's Market. I just could not bring myself to pay Harry's/Whole Food's prices for veggies yesterday. I can't see paying 99 cents a pound for nappa cabbage when its 29 cents a pound at the Asian market. I will be thinking of Kengjw when I am there...I am going to the one she shops at.

Ok, Jack...what is the news on bananas? I wish you had posted it, cause I am very curious. I love bananas, and hate that we can't have them.

[Solly]

Monet, do you have to keep those snacks in the house? Maybe you should hide them?

I wanted to get more info first,but someone heard on the radio the smell of a banana tells your brain you are full. They said smelling this fruit can help you lose 17 lbs a month. Heck, I'm gonna get a necklace made out of a bunch of them if that's the case. I want to do some more research on it. Sorry to disappoint you.

[Ellen]

I am back from the farmer's market. I almost stopped a couple there to ask the lady if her name was Julia! The woman was Asian, the man looked Jamaican, and if he had SAID something and sounded Jamaican I really would have! They had a little girl with them, but I thought she looked too young to be Julia's Jess. Guess I just had them on the brain...but wouldn't it have been hilarious if I did it, and it WAS her?

While I was at the FM, I found black tapioca pearls. That is what is used in bubble tea. I got some to experiment with. We want to serve bubble tea at the arts festival, so I need to figure out if this stuff will work. I went ahead and bought all the big straws they had on the shelf so I would have them. Now we can serve 300 glasses of Bubble tea! And if we do, that would be wonderful!

Dinner tonight will be Lion's Head casserole. Its pork meatballs with nappa cabbage. Chinese food names are rather descriptive! Its legal, and a family favorite. I might fix some brown Jasmine rice to go with it.

JACK: I don't buy those things. Laura does, and leaves them laying around. The stuff I got into was leftover from their party Saturday night. Its all gone now. She took what was left to work. Yay!

[GatorGal]

Thanks, Jackie, for the well wishes for my DH. Everything went OK, and he is home resting on the couch and in a little bit of pain. His pain med wore off before 4 hours so I gave him the next one at 3.5 hours. He is not supposed to be in pain. The surgery site looks OK. I didn't take off the bandage, but there is only a little spot of bleeding. No fever, just sore and painful. He will be OK in a few days. So, I've been sticking around here all day. It has been cold and raining all day, so a good day to be indoors, unless, of course, you are waiting for your DH in a surgi center.
No walking today for me.
Monet, that would have been so funny if it had been Julia.
There was a big article in the paper about Whole Foods trying to make shopping fun. One example: they will fix your mixed greens salad to order while you sip on a glass of white wine.

[Cindylcing]

Hey all! We are back to winter here, about 18 degrees and snow in the forcast :( . No loss on the scale for me this week! Im stuck again.

Smelling bananas huh? LOL. Well that would work for me cause I hate bananas and the smell would definitly make me lose my appetite.... :dizzy:

GatorGal- glad to hear everything went fine for your DH!

Wednesday menu:
b-blueberry smoothie, 1/2 ww bagel
s- yogurt with 1/4 cup blueberries
l- turkey sandwich on wwlc bread, 1/2 cup cottege cheese
s- apple
d- pork tenderloin, romaine/spinach salad with LF ranch
s- 1 oz pistashios

[Ellen]

CINDY: Snicker...I will take your bananas! :) Hang in there. You seem to lose in spurts. Sorry the weather has taken a turn for the worst. Its cold here too, but supposed to clear off and warm up Saturday. Like I can wait that long!

GATOR: I am glad your hubby is doing ok. Hernia repairs can be no fun! I had one done when I had my hyst, and it hurt more than the hyst incision for a few days! I hope he mends quickly! YOU are in my prayers too! I know what its like to deal with a man after surgery! Tom has had three, and boy was he high maintenance! :lol:

[Ellen]

I was wasting time on the board, and looked at the last page of posts...how depressing! It makes me wonder...where are they all now?

Kengjw, CountryMom4Him, Rosalie, Melf, Yellow Rose, Trishaloo, Gracious, JenninMn, MusicTeach, Sheann, Sef, J Red, Kimmythekid, Tranquil, Serene, Nancemeister, Quilter, Solshine, Frog, Zanne, Beth, and of course, our Dungeon Mistress, DEBELLI

If any of you or anyone I missed, are lurking, ...please check in! I really miss hearing from all of the folks who used to post. I wonder how they are doing. The internet is great for meeting people with similar interests, but its sure hard to keep in touch. :(

[Solly]

Good Morning Ladies

The sun is shining and it looks like a spring day and then you go outside and it's 35 degrees and you are depressed again. Of course the rain and snow are back tonight. :sad:

I did get in 30 minutes of exercise last night. It bothered my back some, but I'm just gonna have to suck it up. These thunder thighs can't go w/o exercise. I was quite depressed this morning. I have been 100% legal all week. had lost 3 pouds since Monday and on Wednesdays I can't take my water pills as I have a 3 hour meeting and I refuse to use the restrooms there So I either don't take them at all or I take them when I get back in the afternoon (which I always forgoet to do). The scale was up 3 pounds. I know it is water and will probably be gone tomorrow, but it is frustrating to think I have to take 3 water pills a day to combat this fluid retention. UGH!

BF; ww waffle with SF syrup, 3 pieces of bacon 1/2 c skim milk
lunch - small chef salad, peaches
dinner? probably left over shells or ww pizza


Monet, that would have been neat if it had been Julia. The next time, give her a call and heve her meet you there. That next time you are tempted to dip into those snacks, think of me and maybe you will be deterred. I miss all our old posters too. Especially with Deb. I swear she won't be back. I can't imagine where Country is.

Gator, take care of your DH. I know that can get old real quick. Men can be such babies when they are sick. Glad the surgery went w/o any problems. You can make up your walk another day. When does Fla play next? We get the winner of the Ark/TN game.

Cindy, I'm not a big banana fan either. Of course I never ate fruit until I started this WOE. I haven't found any food that ruins my appetite.

Off to post on the exercise board for the first time this week, Yeah!

Have a great OP day.

[Ellen]

Morning! I am deliberately being lazy this morning...taking a "Mono" day. I am laying in the bed, in my nightgown with the electric mattress pad on, reading a romance novel. Its not a very good one, but its new and fun. I have a yellow fur ball with me. He gets irritated with me when the phone rings or I move much. He probably wonders why I don't just tuck my head under my feet and sleep like he does! :)

I just got off the phone with FILLISE. She was on her way to Montgomery to see the prez.... She said she has been swamped, and the lack of warmth and sunshine has been getting her down. We did not talk long, as she got another call she had to take.

Breakfast was granola, and hot tea. I also ate a small green tipped banana. I just ate a small hunk of 70% chocolate with expresso in it. Very yummy!

I have a meeting of my arts team here tonight. We really need to get busy knocking out some stuff now. The festival is only 6 weeks away. :yikes: I need to fix dinner, but I am not sure what I will fix. The vegetarian will not be at the meeting, but the Kosher (no pork or shellfish) one will be. It sure can be hard to fix dinner for all these different diets!

I am off to get some tea and read some more. Will check in later!

[techwife]

MONET: I hear ya with trying to cook for people with special diets. I used to share a driveway (we had adjoining townhouses) with a, I think Muslim couple and their little girl and his mother. The nicest family I think I've ever lived next door to. Anyway, they were always inviting me and dd over to try some really awesome Muslim-ish dishes and I forever wanted to invite them over for something American, but they don't eat meat and all I could think of was spaghetti or a salad...other than that, this was when I was a single mom with dd and we mostly ate fish sticks, chicken nuggets and french fries or spaghettios. Not exactly impressive to American culture. So, I just bought their dd cute dresses and things if I saw something in exchange for their being so neighborly. BUT, I was just remembering how hard it was to come up with a menu everyone can be happy with. I'd go with salad. Nobody can complain about THAT...except that its incredibly boring.

Anyhow...I just got back from my monthly coffee with some other moms in town. Their kids are all older than mine and I learn so much of what to expect down the pike with dd. I've heard so many horrible things of how clicky Middle School can be here...our school district teams up with a neighboring town for MS and HS and our town only has 14 kids to attribute to the class, the rest come from the next town and they have about 80 kids and I've heard that the kids from the other town can be real rude to the small number of kids from this town...but then I've heard from some that say that that is not true at all and that the kids from this town really enjoy such a huge amount of new kids to be friends with as the small amount they know here tend to get old and boring after 6 years of elementary school with the same old faces. So, I have to just wait and see what the change will bring for us. DD is a pretty good natured kid and still hasn't found a 'best friend' in her class here, so I think she'll be one of the ones that looks forward to some 'fresh blood' if you know what I mean. I didn't meet my 'best friend' until middle school, either...and we're still best friends after all these years!! So, hopefully she'll be the same.

Anyhow...BF was legal for the most part. Only had one half slice of WW bread that was actually made with white flour (you know, after a while you can just tell the difference!!) and two eggs over easy and a sausage patty. I'm on about my fifth cup of coffee!! :coffee: I'm rambling because I'm avoiding folding a load of wash in the basement. I should go because it's not gonna fold itself!! Talk to you guys later...Kris

[THE BIG ORANGE BABE]

AFTERNOON ALL YOU BUSTER BUDDYS!!!

I'm off today and tomorrow, finishing up my cleaning. Got to go to Publix and get some sandwich stuff at the deli, then to TARGET to pick up a THOMAS THE TRAIN item that Cathy wants Jay to open while ETHAN is opening up his
birthday gifts. She's afraid that he won't understand why he isn't getting anything.

MONET....I've got some of those MIA's email addresses and will get in touch with them after my family goes home. I know that Kim isn't following the plan anymore and that's why she isn't on here. I'm in touch with SEF every now and then...Nancy I heard from after they moved to Kansas. I'll get her arse back on here too!

Sorry there are no replies...I'll be MIA until SUNDAY late evening...


BOB

[Ellen]

TECH: I smiled at the trying to figure out how to share American style food with non meat eaters. Its a big puzzle! Salad would not fly with this group, unless the one young man does not show. He doesn't eat anything green, but green beans! His mother never made him or his brother eat vegetables or fruit, so they don't! He has never eaten a strawberry! I keep telling him he is missing a lot of great stuff, but he just smiles at me!

BOB: Enjoy your company! We will see you when they go home I guess! :)

Lunch was ok...eggs, sausage and a bit of grits which are NOT legal. I need a kick in the kiester, I think. I am going to go hide under the bed, where Jack-K can't find me! Shhh! Don't tell her where I am!

Dinner tonight will be Chinese. I am not sure what, but one thing will be soup of some sort. I may make chicken stir fried with veggies. Like a Moo Goo Gai Pan. I have all the stuff but mushrooms, so it would be tasty. I am still lazing about. James spent 2 hours talking my ears off. I love spending time with him, but boy can he talk! :lol: I wonder where he gets that from? Certainly not my quiet husband! It couldn't be ME???

:wave: Later all!

[Cindylcing]

Evening all. Well I had to weigh again today and Im down 1 pound but I was up 2 so Im still up one. Thats how its been going ...up a few down a few up one down one. But Im sticking with it. At least the clothing size goes down...slow .. but nontheless. It is snowing like crazy here right now. I have no idea how much we are to get. At least Im home and not driving in it.


Thursdays menu
b- oatmeal, 4 bacon
s- lc plain yogurt with blueberries
l- 1/2 cup leftover pork, 1/2 cup cottege cheese
s- apple
d- chicken parmesean ( lc version of course), green beans
s- 1 oz pistashio nuts
s- tangerine

[Toni48]

Howdy all. Sorry I've not posted much this week. I've been so lazy. And DH has been home with his back out. So I've not been on the computer much. Tomorrow I grocery shop and need to get some healthy things in here for me to eat. I'm running out of everything. Taking my chenille bedspreads to my sister's tomorrow so she can get started on my bedroom curtains. Hope they make my shabby chic bedroom look nice when they're done. I guess I won't really get to get started on it till next month as the Grandkids are coming for Easter and I don't want a bunch of painting going on. I think I've the color I want my room but not sure yet. Well guess I'll go start dinner. Have stuffed flounder fish and baked sweet potato.

[drumflower]

Good evening girls!
Boy is it snowing here in Indiana! 3 inches just in a couple of hours! When will spring really be here? I want to garden! lol I have really noticed this week that I am no longer having cravings plus it seems like I am stable all day with no periods of wanting to sleep in the afternoon. I think this is the plan for me!
For breakfast I had oatmeal with raspberries, milk
For lunch WW mac and cheese, spinach salad with 3 cherry tomatoes and no sugar applesauce.
For dinner I had steak, broccoli and cauliflower mix, ww couscos mixed with a can of tomatoes and basil. I need to cut back on my carbs. :dizzy: At least they are whole wheat, when in the past they were the high carb white stuff. One step at a time! Thanks everyone for your support! It really makes a difference to have you all to talk to! :goodscale :cheers:

[Fillise]

Monet is relentless!;)

Sorry to be AWOL, but as she said I've been swamped and the winter funk has not lifted. Weight has stayed the same through this even though eating has not been 100%. Last weekend was my annual spaghetti luncheon for my church, so I was in the kitchen all weekend. Saturday precooking 24 pounds of pasta and Sunday making the sauce and serving the dinner. We made over $2,000 for the HS youth group, but I was wiped out after it was over.

Yesterday the presdient was in Montgomery so I was down there all day. It was a town hall meeting for this Social Security plan. The gym was small, so I was pretty close to the stage. It was pretty exciting.

I just finished breakfast. I finally found the 100% Pepperidge Farms WW english muffins, so had one with margerine and some SF grape jelly. I'll eat a SF FF yougurt in a minute for my protein.

I hope everyone is doing well. I think about you, but have been avoiding the board--which is a metaphor for all the other things I'm avoiding in my life right now.

I really, really need warm weather and sunshine. I can't imagine how folks like Tech are holding out where there is REAL winter!:lol: The other day I opened my closet and was gazing at my shorts longingly. . . sigh.

So here is the $64,000 question. What does everyone on the board do to get themselves out of a funk?

Susan

[Solly]

Happy Friday :D

I managed to get my exercise in afterall last night. Ended up just eating the left over shells from the night before. So that was pretty easy too.

Tonight we are going to the Toby Keith concert. DH love him and I had given him tickets last year but it ended up being the day of my surgery so we gave them away. So I got him tickets for Valentines Day and it looks like we will make it.

Bf; oatmeal with skim milk, 1/2 c oj
lunch, tuna salad with ww crackers, apple
dinner, fish. slaw?


Monet, I found you under the bed! I just don't know what I'm going to do with you now.

Tech, switching schools is always hard. Will there be some of the kids in her class going to the middle school too? That should help. I think we worry about that stuff more than the kids do.

Bob, have fun with your company. I'm sure you will be hugging those kids way to much. Now don't be out-yelling Kate tonite during the game. I thin TN is going to be geared up for us.

Cindy, the clothes size going down is a big boost. The scale can be so fickle. Stay in in the warm and out of the snow.

Toni, take care of your DH. My back has been bothering me too. Getting old really sucks.

Drum, glad you are liking this WOE. Just keep all that snow up there and dn't send any to Ky.

Susan, the Pres was in Lou too yesterday. The interrupted our soap to show him landing and leaving. That sounds really shallow doesn't it. Maybe you need to plan winter vacations to get out of the gloom. I don't have the answer to your question. But I guess I try to count my blessings and it seems I can always find someone worse off then me.Hope you perk up soon, we have missed you. I think coming here would really help. We are such a lovable group.

Got to get some work done. Hope to be back later.

[Ellen]

Good Morning!


I think I have discovered something. I am hesitant to mention it, because in the past, it always doesn't pan out and I get frustrated. I started taking massive doses of Vitamin C when I was sick recently. Then, a week ago, Tom made me read up on it on the vitamincfoundation.org web site. It peaked my interest that they say the RDA is way, way too low. So, I started taking 2 500mg vitamin Cs three or four times a day. Since then, I have been awfully naughty, eating things off plan, and only getting in two walks, but I have lost 5 pounds! Today, I was reading an article on about.com's thyroid pages that cited deficiencies in C and B vitamins can be responsible for slow metabolism. Hmmmm...seeing that I have Lupus and joint problems, which can be improved by massive doses of Vitamin C, I am intrigued. Could it be that some of my health problems are all the result of a deficiency in vitamin C? So, I am continuing my vitamin Cs, and I hope the weight loss will continue.

I fixed breakfast for James, who is still home with bronchitis, and Laura who is off today, and myself. We had eggs, sausage and grits. Grits are NOT legal, and Jack-k is going to come smack me for sure. I just ate a bit, and now there are no more in the house to tempt anyone! I just love scrambled eggs mixed with grits....its a southern thing.

I have my meeting here last night. I fixed hot and sour soup and a mandarin orange chicken dish. I found mandarin oranges packed in water at Harry's the other day, so I used them. It was delicious! It called for chilies, but I used crushed ones. This recipe is a healthier version of the orange chicken you see at restaurants...it is not breaded and fried, but just stir fried. It was great...and legal! Yum! I fixed enough for Patton's army, but they ate every bite. :yikes: The meeting went well. We actually got somethings decided. Yay! Then a few other bothersome things were brought up and I am pondering how to handle it. :(


GATOR: I am wondering how the Gator guy is doing. I hope he is mending well, and comfortable now. I am praying for his speedy recovery and for you to be able to deal with having a sick man around! :lol:

FILLISE: Did you give W my message?? :lol: Good to see you back. Let me think...I get in funks a lot. In the past, they have been pretty serious stuff that changed the course of my life in many way. The last one threatened to be the same, but it seems to have passed without any permanent results. What helped me with the last one was reading Steve Brown's book, When Being Good Isn't Good Enough. I think any one of his books would help, because the theme is often the same. If you don't want to go out and buy a book, listen to some of his radio broadcasts. You can listen on the internet at his web page, keylife.org. He is pretty cool. I purchased one of his books for Tom for Christmas, and then got another one for me to read now that I have finished WBGIGE. I read it really slowly, which is unusual for me. I just could not digest more than a small chapter at a time. The sun is shining today, so I hope its as nice in Auburn as it is here. Another way to get out of a funk is to visit Atlanta, and spend some time with someone crazy like me. :s:

DRUM: I am sorry its snowing up there! You could always move south. I probably ought to get out today and start pruning my 50 or so roses. The Forsythias are in bloom, and that is when you prune down here. I hate pruning roses, just for the record. I love the blooms, but its hard to get nice ones down here. You have thrips, and aphids, then Japanese beetles, then blackspot, then thrips and aphids again, then winter. I am contemplating giving up a good bit of rose real estate in the yard and letting my husband plant lilies or something. My rose garden is horribly weedy too. I just seem to have fizzled out on them. :( My latest gardening interest is the vegetable garden.... ;)

CINDY: I am glad you are not out in the snow. I have no idea what is going on with the scale, but you might consider trying the vitamin C. Your menu looks good. The thing I would change is perhaps the bacon and pistachio nuts. Snack on carrots, and celery. You really ought to be eating more vegetables.

TONI: I bet your bedroom is going to look great! I hope you can post pictures when you are done! What color paint did you decide on? Are you doing your treadmill???

That is about it for me. I have a terrible headache this morning....Tom has been complaining of one for a few days, so I must have gotten the root cause from him. I need to run over to Publix and get a prescription, but I don't have a car. Wish me luck in getting Laura out of bed to go for me, or in letting me use her car! Kids!

:wave:

[techwife]

Fillise: What do we do up here in the North Country to get out of a winter funk? When I was a kid, I used to sit in my room and sniff suntan lotion and blacken out the days on the calendar till spring. Other than that, medication comes to mind... :lol: Actually, my brother goes into serious depression this time of year and takes meds to keep an even keel till the sun comes out and we can open windows and clean the cobwebs properly. THEN, you get overloaded with spring fever, which is wonderful and makes the long winter months almost seem worth it!! We're actually having a slight heat wave today...it's all the way up to 29 degrees!! This winter has been brutally long and cold for ALL of us, north and south, I think!! I can't tell you how many times my poor mother in Florida has had to bring in her geraniums!! :lol:

Are Jelly Beans considered a protien? Sorry, had to ask...they are beans, you know...

Cindy/Drum: your menus sound great!! I wish I had your guys' will power.

Toni: Your shabby-chic bedroom sounds really cozy. Do you happen to watch Trading Spaces/Changing Rooms a lot? I'm a junkie for both shows and I've learned a ton of new ideas and have gotten so much confidence in putting a plan for a room together watching them. I even make my own curtains since watching...

Monet: Jeez...ya got me where James got his gift of gab!! :lol: Probably the same place my daugter got hers!!

BOB...have a wonderful weekend with your visitors!! I'm sure you'll have plenty of tidbits to fill us in on when they leave!!

Well, I'm off to go prepare for the Girl Scouts today. We're working on our quilt and embroidered quilt squares today. Did I tell you they all did well on their ski trip? Everyone except me...I got everything from a bruised up arm to sunburn!! Gawd...better me than them, I suppose...I may not be back till after the weekend...so if I don't stop back, everyone behave yourselves!!

[Ellen]

JACK: We were posting at the same time. Have fun at the concert! My daughter would love to go with you. She loves Toby Keith. It drives her brother and older sister to distraction. They want to get her a psychological examination, as they can't understand why anyone likes Country. And they tell me *I* am narrowminded! :lol:

TECH: You posted right after me...have fun with the girl scouts. I don't think jelly beans are counted as a protein. They are one of those high glycemic beans, unfortunately. Enjoy the heat wave. I remember those days growing up in Chicago...couldn't wait for spring. Then it would get all nice, and then snow again! I love not having snow here. I just can't imagine dealing with it regularly. I am so spoiled! Have a good weekend! Check in if you can!

[techwife]

MONET: <snigger> I was just kidding about the jelly beans...I was trying to reason away the large handful I had yesterday when my hubby came home with bagful yesterday...they are truly a weakness for me. Especially the black ones....just LOVE them!! And this is the season for them...AND, I'm going to try your Vitamin C theory. It sounds like a healty thing to try even if it doesn't work for me for weight loss. I'm totally bad with vitamins. I buy a bottle and by the time I finish them they've actually expired!!

Okay...back to GS preparations!!

[Ellen]

TECH: We have a lot in common...I too love jelly beans, and would eat a whole bag full of the black ones! I used to work at a cake decorating store, and the owner was a retired man who also loved black jelly beans. He would stock bags of JUST black ones..I loved it! As for vitamins, I might be like you and never take them. My husband has a degree in biochemistry and has great faith in vitamins, so he has helped me to create routines that work in remembering them. I take a multi, calcium citrate, vitamin E, C, and evening primrose oil. I can actually tell a difference if I don't take my calcium. I get restless leg syndrome when I don't take my calcium. We always take our vitamins just before bed...his theory being your body can use them to rebuild. I have been taking the vitamin Cs through out the day, because it only stays in your system for about 30 to 45 minutes. Timed release C is not good. There was some article about it recently that said it did not release as it was supposed to. You can read up on C and its benefits at www.vitamincfoundation.org Interesting stuff...

[GatorGal]

Tech--LOL :lol: :lol: jelly beans a protein! :lol: that's great.

Fillise--I agree with Monet that any book by Steve Brown might do good for lifting your spirits. Also, get one of those special lamps that mimic the sun's rays. Use it for a little bit every day. You might have SAD symdrome (seasonal affective disorder which comes when you don't get enough sun). Another idea, talk to someone about it and get accountable to them for doing at least one thing each day to help keep you out of the doldrums. Another--take time for yourself to get out somewhere and do a hobby--painting, flower arranging, sewing classes, knitting classes, a walking club, etc. etc. That way you are with other people, and also are doing something fun and relaxing. My DD is coming over for dinner tonight. We haven't seen her for several weeks. She has been "hibernating" and I think she is having mild depression.

Monet--I LOVE the black jelly beans, and, in fact, any black candy. I love good n' plenty and could eat them by the gallon. I don't, of course. Good luck on the vitamin C protocol. I take 2 X 1000 mg. of C every day. I take 12 vitamin pills in the am. and 12 in the pm. I hate taking pills and sometimes just pass, but that is my usual routine.

Eating today:

Shredded wheat with 1/2 C. sk. milk and 1/2 peach.
Lunch: salad with lo cal dressing, cheese, ham, tomato, broccoli and 2 baby carrots. 1 melon wedge, 1/2 C. tomato basil soup (3 gm sugar per serving).
Dinner will probably be baked chicken.

[kengjw]

Monet, I am here!! I just finished reading some of the posts so I know I am on the MIA list...LOL. Sorry the board has been slow and I am trying to make it a habit to get online now that I am feeling much better. Eating is getting better but not all legal yet like today I took dd out to get her Spring/Summer clothes and shoes and actually planned to eat off plan with her. We had hot dogs with chips...naughty! Anyway, I didn't feel too bad afterall it was a planned cheat...LOL. I will try to do some replies but I know I won't be able to reply to post too far ahead so I am going to start with the recent ones.

MONET : If I were you, I would think that family in the Asian Farmers Market was mine since how many families do you know happen to be chinese and Jamaican and shop at that market? LOL. Okay, actually more than I know...:) Fyi, dh don't have a trace of Jamaican accent at all unless he purposely trying to speak Jamaican otherwise you can't tell the different if he is Jamaican. Thank you so much for your email. Since being sicked, I hardly check my email..shame on me so I didn't realize you sent me an email until a while back. Thank you again. I need a flavor...how do you make the braised Lion's head and nappa cabbage dish? I didn't grew up with this dish although I have heard and saw it being cooked at Food Network. It sounds yummy. How do you make yours? When I was sicked I missed my home-food so much which comprise of chinese and malaysian dishes so I told myself as soon as I am better I am going to cook more asian dishes and so far has done so but am constantly looking for recipes to try.

FILLISE : I usually love winter until this time and I know it has to do with my morning sickness etc. A vacation in warmer state like Florida maybe a good planning at winter time. Sorry, I do not have much to offer on how to feel better.

TECH : Even if I tell you JellyBean is considered protein, would you actually believe me?? LOL. Thanks for the laughs :) I am not a candy lover so I can't say I have tried jelly beans before. Maybe I do but I just don't remember it. My dh is candy lover....oh my..he can eat bags of candy at one sitting. Good thing he doesn't do that anymore, well, at least not few bags at once.

GATOR : Hello, hope you are doing well.

For some reasons, it won't load page 3 for me so I will stop my replies here now. A good news is, dh has finally ordered DSL so, coming online will be so much easier and not to mention doing replies. Woo Hoo..!!

Hope everyone is well. Will check in again tonight or tomorrow.

Julia

[drumflower]

Hello everyone! :D Today is a good day but I cheated a little! :devil: :devil:
For breakfast I had bran cereal with milk, lunch was cambells Jimmy Neutron chicken noodle soup(not legal), a couple of triscuts, and for dinner I had cajan baked chicken, butternut squash, and zucchini , garlic and pea pod stirfry. It was good but I need something sweet to get rid of that garlic taste! lol Maybe some bananas and jelly beans! :devil: :devil: :lol:

Monet :p :p :p I am so jeolous of you! I would love to come help you with your pruning! Anything is better than shoveling snow! I love foryshia sp? and it also when we prune BUT they are all covered with snow! lol I planted 2 of them last fall so I am looking forward to the bright yellow this spring! At least your posts are giving me hope from this long winter ! I have spring fever!

[Rosalie]

Hi Everyone

I've just written a long post but I'm not able to copy and paste it into the reply window. I've never had this problem before. Any ideas on why I can't do this? I've gotta run as I am going out to see a movie.

Will check in when I get back.

Marie.

[GatorGal]

Rosalie--HELLO, it so great to "see" you again. We've missed you a lot. Welcome back. How are you doing?

[Cindylcing]

Hi all. Just a quick stop by. So glad the week is over and moving on to the weekend. We spent the evening out looking at ceramic tile for our kitchen. Brought home a couple of samples and think we decided ( or agreed) on one and will go pick up everything we need in the morning. We are doing it in stages so Ill still be able to have access to the kitchen. ( Well we are hoping this theory works). Hope everyone is having a great day/eve! :)

Fridays menu:
I had a free meal today .
b- blueberrie smoothie, 1/2 ww bagel
s- protein shake
l- leftover chicken from last nights dinner about 3-4 ounces
s- 1/2 oz almonds
d- bowl of hot n sour soup, 2 pot stickers, 1 crab ragoon, romaine salad with LF ranch

[Ellen]

Evening everyone! Dinner was Amy's pizza with Ricotta salata and black olives. Yum! I ate two pieces.

We went to Publix to get my prescription, and as soon as Tom is done with his shower, we are going to watch the Incredibles. Its a new movie that Laura got for us. She and James are really pushing for us to watch it, so it must be good.

KENG: Wow, its great to see you on here! Now tell me, were you at the Buford Hwy Farmer's market yesterday? (thursday) That would be just too funny if you had been! Lion's Head is pretty easy. I mix together two pounds of lean ground pork (I get it at Harry's Whole Foods) with 1 can of water chestnuts minced, 2-3 scallions minced, 2 t minced ginger, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 T dark soy sauce, 1 T wine, 1 small clove garlic minced. Form it into 8-10 large meatballs. It helps if you wet your hands in cold water. Roll it in a bit of cornstarch, and pat off the extra. Brown the meatballs in a pan, then put them in a large heat proof casserole dish and add 1/2 cup water, and 2 T soy sauce, and a dash of agave. Cover the casserole and put in the oven at 350. While the meatballs are cooking, slice a medium head of nappa very thinly crosswise. When the meatballs are almost cooked, add the nappa to the casserole and cover and continue to cook until nappa is wilted and meatballs are cooked through. Carefully remove the nappa, and arrange on a serving plate. Put the meatballs on top of the nappa, then reduce and thicken the sauce with a bit of cornstarch and pour over the meatballs and nappa, and serve. If you have any questions about that, just email me. That was just off the top of my head, so I am not positive it makes sense! :) I am glad you seem to be feeling better. When is the baby due?

ROSALIE: Hey! Its great to see you on here too! We sure have missed you. I am sorry you lost your long post. I hate when that happens! I hope you will not be a stranger and post again soon. What have you been up to?

CINDY: Are you remodeling your whole kitchen? I want to do that, I think.... how much snow did you end up getting?

GATOR: So you are a Steve Brown fan too, huh? I just love listening to him! He is SO funny! His books have been very helpful to both Tom and I.... He is from your neck of the woods, isn't he? This web site on vitamin C says you should take more like 6 grams a day. I take a lot of vitamins too, and sometimes I just rebel and crawl in bed and refuse to take get up and take them.

DRUM: Come on down! You can prune to your hearts content! I will make dinner! haha!

Time to watch the movie with my hubby...later!

:wave:

[GatorGal]

Monet--Yep, S.B. has his headquarters about 1.5 miles from my home. Or he did. It's been a few years since I've been there. I took a class from him when I was auditing classes at a Seminary close to my house. And my DH and my DD went to one of his seminars on grace when she was going through a bad time in her life. Something took somewhere along the line because she is a member of the King's family now, if you get my drift. :)
Re the vitamins, I hate to take the pills and take them one at a time. My DH takes about 15 of those big suckers all at one time. Yuck. So every now and then I take a vacation from them. It ruins a nice meal for me when I am swallowing so many of them one at a time.

I have a recipe for lions head stew also. Keng, it's called that because it resembles a lion's head, with the big meat balls being the head and the cabbage served all surrounding it like a lion's mane.

My poor dh is still feeling bad, sore, tired, and pain in the surgery area. He can't do much but lie around. He is trying to stick to just Tylenol now because he wants to get off the codeine meds. but he probably should take the strong pain pills for at least another day. But, he is gonna do what he wants.

Gotta go.

[Ellen]

Ok, everyone, if you have NOT seen this movie, the Incredibles, you need to. Its wonderfully funny, and well done. Its animated, and I just loved it. We laughed so hard....its cute and clean. Get it!


GATOR: Please tell your hubby to take meds to handle the pain and not be a stoic. Recent studies have shown you heal better if you are not stressed by the pain! I heard that from multiple sources when I had my surgery and I think it makes perfect sense. Interesting that Steve Brown's center is right there near you. He still has a Maitland address...so I guess he has not moved. Are you talking about RTS there in Orlando? Have I ever asked you if you go to a PCA church? I do...

[heartmom]

Hey, guys! It's late and I'm tired so this is a quickie. I'll do a more in-depth post tomorrow. Here's Boogie's article that came out on the 2nd. You do need to register, but it's free and they won't bother you anymore and only takes a sec..
http://www.meridianstar.com/articles/2005/03/02/local_news/news_stories/a1-disneykid.txt

[Rosalie]

Evening All

I was just browsing and saw that Monet was putting out an alert for all the MIA's this week. Well I am one of them and haven't posted on this board since about last August which was the time when I started working - the job was only for about 10 weeks but I just never got back.

I've been staying mainly on plan - but not 100%. I do sometimes like to sneak a little sugar in my tea and coffee as I can't always drink it without and do not like using artificial sweeteners. I have found a way though to drink tea without sugar and that is if I add a couple of cardamom pods. With the flavor of the cardamom I don't need sugar but sometimes I just feel like a cup of regular tea with milk and sugar. But apart from that most of the time I do not use any added sugar. I have managed to lose a few more pounds. I can't remember exactly what I was last August but I am down to 192 pounds (a few days ago it was even down to 190.5). It was sometime last year that I broke the 200 pound barrier - which I had been trying to do for a couple of years. I've been reading the Canadian book the G.I. Diet which is similar to SB. They have some good recipes which I have been trying. One I particularly like is the bran muffin recipe which has chunks of apple in it. Plus I have been making some oatmeal bars with lots of seeds and nuts which are very good. I will try and post a couple of recipes soon. Another recipe I have tried and liked is Carrot Millet Pilaf. I don't know if millet is legal. This is a recipe that I found in the local newspaper and have tried it a couple of times and it makes a good side dish.

I must be doing something right as apart from losing a few pounds I have more energy. I still play badminton about 5 times a week and I am able to run around a lot more than I used to be able to do. I also do 5 pin bowling a few times a week.

I'll have to scoot off here soon as I am going out to see the movie/documentary Born Into Brothels. I saw The Aviator last week and it was one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. I almost walked out in the middle of the movie but did stay to the end. Another movie I saw last week was Bride and Prejudice. It's based on Jane Austen's pride and Prejudice but set in India. It was very entertaining with lots of music and dancing.

I went on a trip to Louisiana and a Western Caribbean cruise in Jan/Feb. We spent a few hours in New Orleans before and after the cruise. Unfortunately I didn’t see any of the Mardi Gras floats. A couple went by while I was in a café having a coffee and some beignets (we were told NOT to call them donuts). They were delicious but of course I had too many of them. Each order was three of them and not knowing how big they were my friend and I both ordered some. Of course I had to eat them all. I did gain a few pounds while away but they came off easily once I got back to sensible eating. I did get quite a few beads – and no I didn’t have to do anything to get them. :D. Some guys were throwing them over the balcony above one of the restaurants. We also went to Graceland and had a tour around Atlanta. I was thinking of you Monet while I was there.

Monet - Glad to see that you have lost a few pounds. If taking more Vit C works for you then go for it. I'll have to check out that site later.

Luckily I didn’t lose my post earlier – just was not able to copy and paste so I am hoping it works this time.

I may not be posting regularly but I will drop in once in a while to see how y’all are doing. My ds just this week set me up with a laptop computer. It’s nice to be able to sit in the dining/living room using it (my other computer is in my bedroom). The first night he set it up I sat at the dining room table with music blaring loudly, tv on and the phone ready to use. Talk about multi-tasking! Maybe it will give me an incentive to post more often.

Take care everyone.

Marie.

P.S. I'm back from the movie. It was quite interesting but I was a little sleepy and had trouble staying awake. :(. Of course now it is after midnight and I am wide awake.

I still couldn't paste in the regular reply window so I tried pasting into the Quick Reply window and it worked.

[Cindylcing]

Morning.
Monet- we woke up to I dont know how much snow but theres alot out there and it sounds likes its blowing it up so Im sure there will be lots of drifting. How fun. We are not really redoing the whole kitchen just the floor. Our house is only 4 1/2 years old so everything is quite new but the kitchen floor is linolium(sp) and we liked it ok but about a month ago a plastic foot thing we had on the bottom of our kitchen chairs cracked and came off ( theres a nail head there holding it on to the leg) and unknowing to him my son scooted back on his chair over a fews days ( without anyone noticing) and the nail just gouged into the linolium so we are kinda forced to redo the floor. We wanted ceramic anyway and should of had it done when we had the house built but for whatever reasons we didnt.

We take my dd and her new hubby to dinner tonight to celebrate their marriage . We are trying a resturant only my mom has been too but hear its very good. Its called the Oyster bar so you know there will be some seafood there lol. I have no idea what Ill be getting but will edit my menu later.

Saturdays menu:
b- 1/2 ww bagel with 1/2 tbl lite creamcheese
s- apple and 2 celery stalks
l- 2 oz roast beef slices- romaine salad with red peppers, brocilli, and diced chicken with LF blue cheese.
d-Ok dinner was, romaine and some other kind of greens ( dont know what) salad with ranch, a peite filet and 1/2 lb king crab legs, and steamed brocilli. Oh and a glass of red wine.

[GatorGal]

Marie--It is Soooooo good to hear from you and read your post. Congratulations on your weight loss. Sounds like you are doing great. You probably had the beignets at the Cafe du Monde (The World Cafe) where they have the most wonderful donuts. Actually, the word beignet is simply the French word for donut or fritter, which is a fried piece of dough. So you could have called them doughnuts. They are my favorite, and worth going off plan for when in N.O. The coffee there is also gooood.

Monet--Yes, RTS. They used to be about 5 minutes from my home, but now have moved about 45 minutes away. No, we don't go to a PCA, but a C & MA. Do you know what that is? Very conservative. Thanks for the info on pain meds. I'll read your post to my DH.

Dinner last night was baked chicken and broccoli and snow peas stir fried in sesame oil. All on plan, but not low fat, I don't think, because baked chicken can be oily. I just ate the white meat, though, with only a couple of nibbles of the crispy parts. :)

Hope everyone has a great SB day.

[Fillise]

Thanks so much for the tips on beating the funk! It is sunny here today, but very windy. I'm hoping to get out of the house for a long walk if I don't get blown away . . . March has been coming in like a lion for 12 days now!:lol:

Marie--It is GREAT to hear from you! Monet is pretty good about kicking some a**--no? Glad to hear that you are still loosing!

Gator and Monet--I've never heard of Steve Brown, but will check it out. It sounds like just the ticket! I go to a USA church. Too liberal for me on some things, but I need to be in a church where women are allowed to have leadership (ministry) positions. Plus, I love the people in my church. I guess that's why there are all different kinds! I'm not sure what C & MA stand for.

Tech--I had to laugh when I read your tip for getting out of the winter funk and I used to do the very same thing when I was young. I've got a bottle of Coppertone on my shopping list for this afternoon! I know it will help! Are you getting any of the nor'easter today?

Gator--I'm pretty sure I have SAD because I go through this every year and it always lifts with longer days and warmer weather (which is how I know it is not clinical depression--which I have also had). I do have one of the lights and sat under it last night for a couple of hours. They says it's best to do it in the morning though. I hope your DD will come out of her hibernation soon too!

Monet--I just took an Airborne--it's a big vitamin and anti-oxident hit. it was created by a teacher that got tired of catching all her student's colds. You take this at the first sign of a cold and it really does seem to boost your immunity. It's a fizzy tablet that has no sugar, so it is ok for us. I gave W your message! It will probably be April before I can get to Atlanta--I have to be in Birmingham next weekend and then I'm going to NC for Easter. But I'd really like to get up there before we go to Italy!

Jackie--What soap do you watch? If I'm home at lunch I'll turn on All My Children! Enjoy the concert! I am thinking that next February it would be great to take a cruise. Or maybe a beach in Mexico. Gotta do something!

Julia--Glad to hear you are feeling better! You must be through the first tir-mester? When is your due date? The next time I come to Atlanta, I want Monet to call so we can all meet up!

Alright, I've got to do some house cleaning. I KNOW that will make me feel better!

Thanks everyone!
Susan

[Ellen]

Hey everyone! Just a fly by. Went for a walk after cleaning some, and now my mother in law is here. We have already gotten into it on a controversial subject. I don't know how I am going to make it until Monday. I need to cut my tongue out!

The weather is gorgeous here. 60's and sunshiny with blue skies. Its breezy, but just lovely!

All you poor northerners, up there in the cold, come visit me for a few weeks! :) You can help me get the garden in! :lol:

:wave:

[Toni48]

Hello all from sunny 75 degree weather in Missouri. My gosh its like spring here. But tomorrow is supposed to get down to 47. So we're soaking up this happy day. A friend just came over for tea and we opened the kitchen door and let the sun in. My eating has been pretty good for today. And tonight we're grilling some steaks. Wish I had a nice sweet potato to go with it.

Julia- Its so good to see you back and posting. I'm so happy to hear you're feeling better....

Rosalie- Wow you're here. I'm so excited to see you girl back. I miss your recipes.

Fillise- I hope you get out in the sun today so you can soak some of it up.

Gatorgal- A big Sat. howdy to you....

Cindy- sorry for your snow. Won't be long now till spring...

Hi drumflower....

Monet- Hope you can hold your tounge! EEEEkkkk Mother in law...

Well off to enjoy the rest of my day.....

[Ellen]

A fly by before I head to bed.

Dinner was pork roast, baked sweet potato, broccoli and sauerkraut. Then we had some cinnamon flavored decaf coffee for dessert, while my mother in law scarfed down a piece of Chocolate overdose cake. Its a wonder she is not a diabetic, she loves sugar so much!

I spent a lot of time tonight looking through one of my new cookbooks. There was a recipe I wanted to try where she had given some information on a particular type of vinegar used in the recipe. I was so delighted to find that vinegar at the Asian market, and bought a bottle. Now I can't find the recipe! Grrr! I KNOW its in this book, but I feel like I re-read it cover to cover tonight and can't find it. I am SURE I did not dream it! :)

Tomorrow I am going to fix my rainbow trout that the church admin gave me. He is a fisherman, and had more than his family could eat. Three of them are nice big fat fishies. The other three are a bit scrawny, but all were frozen right after cleaning, so will be nice and 'fresh'. I am going to pan fry them, I think.

Not much else going on here...

Sweet dreams everyone! :wave:

[Toni48]

Just a howdy to all... Hope you are having a nice Sunday!

[Cindylcing]

Today has actually been quite nice.
The suns been out all day. Very pretty day out. Cold , but pretty.
Been shopping almost all day with my dd. We had a great time. Got lots of walking in.
Hope everyones weekend has been great !

Todays menu
My eating was kind of off today, since I was gone most of it shopping...

b- slice of ww lc toast
s- couple bites of roast beef, 5 macadamia nuts
s- sm sfwhite choc mocha coffe with skim milk
late late lunch- cobb salad with ranch, spinach/artichoke dip with celery stalks
d- doubt it lol
s- plain yogurt with 1/4 cup blueberries

[Ellen]

Hey everyone! Only have a second... Dinner was fried trout, nappa and fennel slaw, hush puppies, and tea. I used cornmeal...trying to please the mother in law, so it was not legal fare. :( Good though...

I have a few things to get done before we leave for church in a bit. I am cooking dinner for church leadership tomorrow, so I have tons to do.

Hope everyone is doing well!

:wave:

[GatorGal]

First of all, to Jackie, great game the Cat's played. It's always fun to play a competitive team like Ky. but especially to come out the victor. Go Gators! This is UF's first SEC tourney win in BB. :)

I went to a French Alliance picnic today. Everyone has an interest in things French and most spoke French--even me! Several were native Frenchmen. We played petanque, which is the frrench version of horseshoes. Some of you may know this is boules. It was fun, and it was my first time playing.

Monet, I read your post to my DH and he agreed, and is behaving himself. He is taking his pain meds and has been able to reduce the amount. He is now down to one pill, instead of 2 every 4 hours. He is not feeling bad at all. Thanks to you.

I'll see y'all tomorrow.

[THE BIG ORANGE BABE]

AFTERNOON ALL YOU BUSTER BUDDYS!!!

Well, I'm back from the Tampa airport and everyone is in the air and Cathy will be home in about 30 minutesl. Unfortunately, Jimmy hasto go to Washington, DC on his way home, so he won't be home until late.

We had such a good visit with everyone...anD the good news is. TRACY IS PREGNANT!!!! DUE IN SEPTEMBER!! After everyone left and only family ws left, Jeff asked me if I was will to come back and do it again next next year,,,I told him of course...I wouldn't miss Ethan's BD party...he said...no, I mean he "new baby"...I was floored..SUCH GLEE AND YELLING..Of course....I was the last to know! But it was good all the same!

Needless to say, I didn't eat on plan this weekend. We wen to SHELS, a reaaly goo seafood place and I had a huge combo platter. I didn't eat thefrench fries, but I've never seen so much food on a plate n my like. We brought home two huge ppieces of hite fish and a whole order of shrimp. When I got home from the airport, Kate was chowing down. MONET... when you and Tom com down, we'll go there to eat....I promise, YOU WON"T BESORRY!!!!
tt
I'm fixing STEAK for supper..YUMMY!!! I just happen o have some avacados to along with them..Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm http://pages.prodigy.net/indianahawkeye/newpage21/15.gif
Sorry for no replies...I'll be back laer..got to get that laundry done FOR THAT.

BOB!!!!