Dieting with Obstacles - PHYSICAL CHALLENGES ~ November's Monthly Thread #003

WELCOME EVERYONE ~ this thread is for anyone with any kind of physical challenge like SB, CP, MS, PK, Lupus, Osteo, Arthritis, Rheumatism, or any other condition (whether genetic or acquired), that causes physical limitations and/or difficulties.

Please join us in this special thread ~ to give support and encouragement; and share ideas, or just chat with one another ... Rosebud.


*** Time to start our new thread for the month ***


:flow1: HI LADIES ~ :flow1: Happy November everyone ...

:flow1: HAPPY NOVEMBER LADIES :flow1:

~ I think it's gonna take me some time to remember to restart our thread at the beginning of each month; so for now, I'm gonna blame it on the MOP ~ LOL! ... Rosebud

Good Morning All

Well it is a beautiful day here with lovely sunshine and blue skies. The weather folk were right about the rain we had a right down pour around lunch time yesterday. Going to the work unit of his brothers today as the firm owes us some cash as we filled up the van we had before taking it back to the hire company. She always takes a bath early around 7.30pm and gets into her night clothes. So she did not have to stay up for us we said we would fill it and they could owe us the money. The work unit is due to move about a mile away sometime this month is plans go alright. Were they are at the minute they are in rented and now they have bought their own unit. Before looming over their head was the landlord of the property could give them 1 months notice to move out. Which in all fairness would have about finished them. At one time they made covers and curtains for aircraft but after the disaster of 9/11 it put them into massive debt as the aircraft companies did not want new stuff. But they changed to making bean bags and now they are getting back on their feet.

This Sunday is remembrance Sunday. On the 11 of November every year we remember those who gave their lives in serving for our country. If the 11th does not fall on a Sunday still the 2 minutes silence will be observed at 11am. But the big parade with all the military will happen on the nearest Sunday. Red plastic and paper made poppies with green leaves go on sale to raise funds for injured service personnel and widowed families. The day 11 November was chosen as that is when the peace treaty was signed ending the first world war and the 2 minutes silence is observed at the time the peace treaty was signed. The reason why the poppy was chosen for the occasion was even during the awful battles of the first world war still the only flower to grow was the poppy.

ROSEBUD :~ Well I had to educate my self what a cockapoo was so went and put it in on a search engine and then also looked for some images so I now know what breed of dog you have. What colour is your cockapoo and terrier? Our staffy is tan and white but it is sometimes know as red due to the brown being very red in colour. Did you get the ariel (antenna) up on your home yet?

I am afraid I do not know what MOP is we very seldom use abbreviation, many I can work out but that one baffles me :?: But since using this site and my ms site I have sure learnt a lot along the way.

Time to go and wash the lunch pots now. I had to stop in the middle of writing this so hence it starts in the morning and finishes in the afternoon.

Bye bye :hug:

Happy November! Winter has set in, my mukluks are out in full force and I bought a great down filled parka to keep me warm. My parents came into town yesterday and even did the first fire of the winter in our fireplace! Wood heat is diffenitly a perk of winter.

My work conference is wrapping up today - thank goodness! I have been pulling 12+ hours the last couple days... and I'm going home early today pretty brain dead. I'd like to stop the merry go round and catch my energy before it takes a vacation.

Mo :hug: good thoughts your way for you and yours! Like Rosebud's sig... 'one step at a time' for the next while. take care :hug:

Purple I notice your former PM on CNN news wearing a poppy like you have described. We in Canada wear poppies in remembrance for the 11th as well - but ours dont have the plastic leaf. I remember when the centers used to be green but the last couple years they have been produced with black centers to symbolize wars around the world. I think I have the poem 'In Flander's fields' memorized just from services I attended as a child.

My grandfather was a POW in Japanese internment camps in WW2 when Winston Churchill asked Canada to send a few battalians to Japan to make a symbolic stand for the country as part of the British empire... the stand was a flop and my grandfather came back to Canada and never spoke of what he went through to his nine kids. I had to research it to learn about what he went through - our office will be closed on the 12th as well. It is important to remember the sacrifices made so that I could have the life I live today.

Rosebud Thanks for starting the new thread! I hope all is well with you :D

TGIF!!! finally!
take care all,
Val

Good Morning Everyone


Well the last 2 days since DH has been on the mend we have managed to do a walk. Yesterdays walk went OK for me but todays was something else my leg really hurt and so we stopped off half way had a drink some medication and waited till it wore off. I must admit I have really missed my walks never thought I would be admitting that I missed them :D

Have rented a couple of DVD with pilate on I thought over the next few days I would give them ago and if I really get on with any or all I will buy the DVD. One seems more vigorous than the other 2 but when I feel up to it, (don't think it will be today though) I will run through them in turn. I know Valpal does pilate so maybe you could recommend a DVD.

VALPAL :~ My friends father was also Japanese POW in Burma and he worked on the famous Burmese railway. He would never talk of his experiences there either and at times he need to be hospitalised due to disturbed behaviour resulting in his time from there.

I have visited several of the commonwealth war graves from the first world war and the German graves. It really does bring it home to you and I was deeply moved by this.

Sound like you have been a real busy bee with all these 12 hour days. Hope it slows down soon so you can recuperate. It must be very tiring for you. It is bad enough doing your regular hours but extra hours can be draining.

bye bye all and take care :hug:

Good Afternoon Everyone

After playing nurse maid to DH for the past few days with him being poorly today he took me out for lunch. We went to a pub that we had not been to before. We ordered Sunday lunch oops big mistake ordered adult the meal that came could have feed both of us. So next time we go I think I will be having the child's meal. One think I did like was there was a big selection of vegetables on your plate with brussels, peas, cauliflower and carrots. Plus potatoes. With all those vegetables I was able to eat a good quantity of those to fill up on rather than carbs. Would certainly go here again but unfortunate it is due to change hands with new management so I hope the quality still remains with the cooked food which I could not fault.

After a big dinner DH and I went for a lovely walk in the crisp autumn weather, I really enjoyed it and kind of did not feel so bad for maybe eating more than I should have done. I think for tea all we will have is a portion of melon mainly so we can both take our medication which we must have with food. So over all we will just level out with calories as we will eat light for the rest of the day.

Today I have a big joint of gammon (ham) to cook of which I will cut in half once cooked and freeze the other for another time.

I have to go to the dentist on Tuesday for just a 6 monthly check up, at one time I absolutely hated going but we have found a kind dentist who takes his time and puts you at ease. If you do not go regularly here you can lose your NHS place and then have an awful job of trying to get another NHS place. NHS dental places are getting as rare as chickens lips ;) So when you have one you cherish it and do everything you can to keep it. To have to go private for dental care it is very expensive. I have in the past when recommended to have a crown I have offered a gold crown on the NHS for teeth towards the back of your mouth. But because I have wanted a white one I have pay private prices. Also as I want to have white filling if I have to have any they are also private they offer amalgam on NHS. Even on the NHS you still have to pay for treatment or check ups but it is at a reduced price. Fingers crossed I will not require any treatment and given the all clear for 6 more months.

Hope everyone is well, take care all catch up with you soon :hug::hug:

:wave: HI LADIES ~ glad you found the new November thread; sorry that I was away for a couple of days; I have been under the weather a bit, and we had some added outside stressors to deal with, that in time, will resolve themselves, I'm sure.

The furnace in our complex went down Friday, so we went out on Saturday and bought a portable heater, as I had a bit of a cold, and was getting too chilled with the wet snow and rain here. That fixed us up in no time; it's called a 'Turbo Heater' and wow, it heated up the whole place. The furnace was turned on tonight for a while, I guess they'll do the final repairs tomorrow though; but we'll be OK now.

VAL ~ yes, today is our Remberance Day for our Veterans; sure hope they had a good day. I love John McCrae's Poem 'In Flanders Fields' the poppies blow, beneath the crosses row on row ... I got to visit his childhood home in Guelph, Ontario (that's where we used to live). Every year, we take out his poem and read it; I first learned it in grade eight as we had to memorize it; but now, I just remember the first lines. Of course, being a poet myself, I cherish works like that; and the meaning behind them as well. Hope you get lots of rest over the next couple of days to make up for last week.

PURPLE ~ MOP is my short form for MEN-O-PAUSE ~ LOL! Short-term memory loss is one of the symptoms of MOP. Yes, we did get the antenna up and the TV is hooked up again; now, I just have to get him to hook up the VCR so I can look at the exercise videos I picked up. Honestly, I think that he's avoiding it; we both seem to forget how to set it up after awhile. Most are for low-impact stuff, yoga type, and gentle TAI CHI; I even have a couple of RICHARD SIMMONS tapes.

Our cockapoo is white and the terrier is light tan; they are both pretty girls: we even call them 'Cute and pretty Cute' ~ lol! They were the opposite at birth though; one is the mother of the other; and each has a whisp of the other's color in them, here and there ... They are both gems; well-trained, but also a little spoiled, I have to admit.

I went ski-walking on Saturday; but today only went for one short walk, as it was raining and yucky out. Tonight, we played games for a while; then I thought I'd better get on here to update; and I answered a couple of emails as well. My uncle is on his way to a specialist for a consult tomorrow.

MO ~ you are always in our thoughts and prayers; I agree with VAL, one step at a time, and you'll be as good as new in no time ~ LOL!

We had fish on Friday and then roast chicken dinner this weekend; having the oven on helped keep us warmer too. Well, that's all for now; gonna get to bed earlier tonight as my naps are really helping me to feel better. Take good care, your friend ~ :hug: ROSEBUD :hug:

Hi everyone and good morning

It seems to a lovely sunny morning here but with a sting in the tail as there is chilly wind. But if you wrap up warm it is quite pleasant when going out for a walk.

Last night I watched a programme by per chance, I just switch on to watch something that I had taped and saw this on so continued to watch. It was about the first world war poet Wilfred Owen. When I did English literature exam many moons ago we had several poems by the poets of the first world war. So it was nice to hear his biography. Our theme for our year was relationships and the war poetry was as I recall the relationship between King and country. (it was King then as we had a male monarch) We did both sides of the coin those pro war and those anti war. When I was doing my English literature we were an experimental group doing more modern literature even reading television scripts. I am glad that I was given the opportunity to read more modern literature rather than some of the usual classics.

ROSEBUD :~ Aww your furry babies sound so sweet. Sorry about the added stress in your life right now. It always seems that life likes to throw you a swing shot now and again to put a spanner in the works.

I will keep your Uncle in my thoughts and prays and hope that the news is positive. Trust the heating system to go up the spout just when it is needed most. I hope it is mended soon and you do not have to rely on your portable heater for too long.

Must shift myself just going to town to see DH sister to give her some DVDs that she lent us. Catch up with you soon :hug:

:wave: HI LADIES ~ well, this November is turning out to be somewhat gloomy; nothin' but dark grey skies today, and more rain ~ blah! I sure hope we see some sunshine soon; I'm not looking forward to a dull winter. The repairmen came and fixed up the furnace; our little heater held us up til it was done, thank goodness.

Dh and I are making some new plans; I am really wanting to make a move away from here. I think we stayed too long and put up with way too much crap. I guess we all end up in one place in our life that just has one problem after another; that is what I was alluding to in my last post. And, we are contemplating going away somewhere this Christmas season: for at least part of it anyways. I really need a change; and they say 'A change is as good as a rest!'

PURPLE ~ A 'spanner' sounds like what we refer to as a 'wrench' in the works; it is interesting to see the differences in the language terms. You were mentioning some type of dental plan; that may be like dental insurance plans that we have in Canada, I guess??? Without one, teeth can cost way too much. I have been fortunate to have pretty good teeth, but I am missing a couple now!

Just did housework today; went for one short walk outside, but may go out again later if the rain stops. Well, I got run for now, cuz dinner is ready. Take good care, your friend :hug: ROSEBUD :hug:

Hi Ladies

Sorry I dont have time to post much... I took today off work and I've been sleeping through the last few days. Last week's long work days really wore me out... by Friday afternoon I slept through half the day.. then went to bed early for the night and have been doing 12 hr sleeps since then. I have to be at work early tomorrow so I'm off to bed!

:hug: take care all
Val

Hi Ladies

Been raining off and on today so looking like a right horrid winters day. Last night the temperature dropped to near freezing.

Done the shopping today so now my fridge no longer looks like old mother Hubbard's cupboard :D By the end of the week I tend to have used most of my refrigerated goods I try to be careful what I buy as I hate to waste food. So I try to always shop for 8 days so if my weekly shop day gets changed due to different circumstances. I have bought some lean beef to make a casserole and then put the rest in the freezer so I am now doing very nicely for stocked meals in the freezer. I hope next week to buy some minced turkey to make a Bolognese with and portions left over for the freezer. I am making the most of my "feeling well" spell as I know these do not last for ever.

Been to the dentist today and given the all clear both DH and I. So that is it for another 6 months. Unfortunately my teeth are not the best due to a course of antibiotics I was given. As you can guess it was not one of your run of your mill ones but I had a stubborn infection which was very resistive. So a culture was done to find out what would kill it and it came out one of the rarer sorts. I can not remember the name of it now but I seem to think it may not even be used now unless you have dentures just because of the damage it can inflict. But all in all I have not done too bad considering it could have been a lot worse and I would have maybe lost more of my teeth. (I have lost 3)

VALPAL :~ It is so important that you get as much rest and sleep as possible to let your body recover. Maybe your work routine has caught up with you or it just would have happened any way. It is something we will never know.

:congrat: on now losing over 50lbs you are doing great keep up the good work. I bet with that weight loss people are starting to comment on your weight loss. Also maybe you have noticed your change in your body shape. I think it was around 50lbs before I had comments plus I had a shock when I saw a full length mirror image of myself and though gosh I can tell the difference. (i don't have a full mirror in my home). Not sure how clothing shops are where you live but when I had lost about the same weight has you I could go into many more shops as they stocked the size I was in. I was nearly in tears because I have never had so much choice before. I only had 2 shops in realistically in my price range. Now with having more choice the price is cheaper which is good because you find that soon you will not have to lose much weight before something you bought a few weeks ago is now very loose. So I try and not buy too much at one size whilst I am losing weight.

ROSEBUD :~ Yes I think a spanner is what you call a wrench. Yes another of our language changes.

Yes sometimes a move from where you live is the only way to make a fresh start and get away from hassle in the neighbourhood. Only a year back we had a bungalow over the road with Dot the elderly lady who had emphysema. She was great but oh boy here family were the family from ****. We had a car windows smash numerous times. We had our place robbed twice (once the house and the second the garden shed). They were trading drugs from the premises so there were coming and going all hours. The family often fell out with each other so we had public slanging matches in the street and the language was colourful to say the least. Many of us complained and we think they were evicted or told to move out by the council. We now have a lovely couple living there with there furry baby called Betty. During this time I was so unhappy as I love peace and quiet and that was gone. Plus I lived in constant fear of further robberies and damages to the car.

I hope the matter resolves but in the mean time I think a break away will do you the power of good and destress you.

Right must get some housework done and sort some tea out. bye bye ladies :hug:

:wave: HI LADIES ~ Well, Mr. Sunshine tried really hard to come thru for us today; it was a bit misty, but I'll take it. I have caught something, maybe a cold or stomach flu, felt quite queezy today. It could be low sugars or my hormones, or a flu; sometimes, it's hard for me to figure out what is causing this; the doctors sure don't know. I have to be careful to eat enuff becuz I have a low sugar problem, but I want to lose weight as well; so, it is a balancing act for me.

PURPLE ~ thanks for your encouragement; you seem to be very intuitive. I am trying to be strong, and not let stressors bother me; I just wish I wasn't so overly sensitive. I need a tougher shell, I think ~ LOL! It's funny how other people go thru similar things, but just somewhere else. I come from a very tame, quiet family and upbringing; and we always lived in our own homes (just can't get used to rowdy crowds).

I really like your idea of making extra healthy meals and throwing them in the freezer. I often do the same, but you have encouraged me to do some more, esp for those days when I feel under the weather. Last night, I made what we call an oven stew: lean round steak cubes + carrots + onions + turnips + a few small tators + a cream of mushroom sauce. Yummy! Tonight, it's chicken stir-fry with rice.

VAL ~ :congrat: I agree with PURPLE ... you must really be noticing the weight-loss differences now. WOW ~ 51 lbs: PURPLE has a good eye and she notices everything! I can also go to the store now and buy clothes off the rack; that is so amazingly wonderful. I still have a long ways to go, but I am in this for life; for now, I am taking one step and one day-at-a-time. I am doing much better at keeping on plan, and doing my daily walks. I try to do at least one walk a day, even if it is shorter.

YES, do take care and gets lots of rest; I am so glad that you have such a flexible job, where people care so much about you. They sound like a very kind and understanding bunch too. I hope you had a good day today ...

I also just decided to take it easy today; didn't do any big chores, except tidy the washroom (wash the sink, etc), dishes, and meals. They are calling for *** again for later in the week; right now, we have grass again. This seems to happen every year now, so we are waiting until the end of November to get our outside Christmas tree. So far, we have just done some of the outside lights.

Last Friday night, Dh and I went for a drive around town and counted 19 houses that had all their lights and decos up; and turned on. By Saturday, we saw some more taking advantage of the good weather and putting up their lights. Some of us seem to be in the Christmas Spirit early this year; I just love this time of year: it's so very cheery!

WELL, that's all the news from here for now; HELLO TO OUR MO & family! Take good care everyone, your friend :hug: ROSEBUD :hug:

Hi ladies:
I am back. I joined Jenny Craig last week. It is expensive but I need a kick in the butt/jump start. It is nice not having to make a decision about what to eat. Anyone else find decision making more difficult when they are tired? Sometimes I just don't have the energy to cook and clean up afterwards. Although it is easy as I just have to worry about myself.

Good afternoon all


Been for a short walk this morning as the weather for November is particular good and so I am taking advantage. It is still nippy out but clear blue skies. So as long as you wrap up warm the walk is pleasurable.

Been watching a programme where 3 Welsh families are send to live in 3 miner cottages which have been restored to how they would have been in 1927. So all the families are dressed in the clothes of the day and are living and working as if it was that time. Another added difficulty they have gone back to what is referred to the old money now. But before our currency became decimalised when I was about 7 years old we had still pounds and pence but how many pennies to a pound etc was changed. Cooking is a nightmare on the old black ranges which took for ever to heat up and keep lit. None of the cottages have inside toilets, no running water or electricity. The bath was a tin one which was filled up with hot water and you had your bath in front of the kitchen black range as it was the warmest place in the house. I love history so anything like this is right up my ally.

ROSEBUD :~ Thanks for your kind words. I don't think you need a harder shell else you would not be the kind, thoughtful and beautiful lady that you are today. It seems that your up bringing was similar to mine. I have always been sensitive but was good at hiding it until I had MS and now I end up crying at the drop of a hat. This is because the plaques from the MS have damaged my emotional centre so hence the crying, also damaged my speech centre so I can not remember the word for every day items or get the wrong word all together. Getting the wrong word for things has caused some right laughs over the years.

I love anything that saves you cooking from scratch every single day. With the difficulties that we have any labour saving is right up my street. Plus it helps me stay on plan in stead of going to the chippy for a take away which would have about 1000 plus calories for just one meal. Another thing about a chippy dinner there is not overly a lot of nutritious food and no vegetables either. Today I had a meal that I just reheated in the microwave which I had made a day ago. So all home cooked and only takes a few minutes. I was grateful for it today as I have had to take a lot of pain killers in the past 48 hours. With feeling sorry for myself because of the pain that just would not go last night I got the munchies. Fortunately it was not too damaging I ate 2 bananas and an apple which was not on plan. So it could have been far worse. Today touch wood the pain seems much better.

I use to suffer frequently when I was working from a low blood sugar even though I had eat well still my blood sugar on testing was in my boots. My blood sugar was often between 1 and 2 when normal is 4 to 7. I know these figures may not mean a whole lot as I think another system maybe used by Canada and USA. To right it I had to keep a chocolate bar in my work bag for such emergency. I have not had many of these attacks since I finished work in 1999. So I do feel for you with that queasy feeling, then becoming clammy your legs feel like jelly and you feel cold. It must be really difficult for you to control something when you don't know what the cause is. When I was working mind was brought on by a particularly busy shift with lots of manual work involved.

yes I still remain fairly observant this is a side effect from my days of working :rofl: Sometimes I am too observant for my own good, DH says he can never do anything without me knowing ;)

SILVERSTAR77 :~ Welcome back to the thread good to have you back. You joined the thread before myself. I will just give you a brief synopsis of myself I am 43 up to 8 years ago I was a psychiatric nurse. I had to retire from work with MS as I could no longer do my job properly.

Glad that you have renewned motivation to start your weight loss journey again that is to be commended. I wish you all the best in starting Jenny Craig programme. As you say it may be expensive but you feel that is what you need to get you back on track again then it will be worth it.

It is nice not having to think about what to cook or prepare. Plus not heaps of washing up. I love cooking but I have to now be very conservative with my energy and try and get the most out of my time in there. Like I was telling Rosebud I make meals and put one in the fridge minus any sauces and have that one a day or so later in the week. Or I made double portions and freeze one for another day when things are not so great. I do understand about having so little energy that wash and cooking takes absolutely everything you have left. Fortunately DH will wash up for me if I am so shattered to help me or take over in kitchen if need.

Right time to go poor rizzie is crossing his legs and doing the pee pee dance :D bye bye and catch up with you later.:hug:

:welcome: back, SILVERSTAR ~ nice to hear from you again! Many people like to use programs that help with the planning; do whatever works for you, cuz that's what matters. I have to plan everything out too, or I mess up; but lately, I have been doing really well. I like to have those pre-made frozen meals once in a while; I like to have a day off from cooking too. So with my homemade frozen meals and one bought one a week, that gives me a break on the cooking for a few days.

GOOD, GOOD NEWS ~ yesterday, I found out some very good news; I didn't gain a bunch weight this past winter (Jan-May) after all. Actually, I stayed the same with a small water-weight fluctuation of about 3-5 lbs. I found out that when I switched from an analog scale to a digital, your weight can be very different: anywhere from 7-20 lbs HEAVIER ...

I couldn't understand how I gained so much weight (8-12 lbs), cuz I just wasn't eating that much. It takes 3500 extra calories to gain just one pound; and I didn't go off plan that much. Hardly at all, in fact; Dh kept saying, but you look smaller, not bigger. I am smaller, but I adjusted my ticker weight to reflect the new digital weight a while back.

What a shame I didn't know that in June. Now, I know what happened, I can just go on from here and realize that I have been on the right course all along. My doctor is quite impressed how my sugars are now keeping in the normal range; actually, I have to be careful they don't get too low now. So, he told me to eat a piece of fruit when it dips too low.

From reading about all these successful ladies; all of them hit a plateau after a major loss; it seems the body wants to rest awhile (this is a natural kind of maintaining). As someone told me, this is good practice for down the road; PERSERVERANCE IS KEY, just like VAL says ...

I am learning how to deal with the up and downs of weight issues; which in reality, is just mirroring life: we have valleys and peaks. We can enjoy the peaks, but we must also learn how to march thru those valleys to the next peak as well. Well, I be back later tonight; just wanted to share that very happy news with my friends ... ROSEBUD :hug:

Hi again

I am back again and had to come and post after I had seen Rosebuds post.

ROSEBUD :~ Wow great news glad that you have come to share it with us. You would never think that there would be so much weight difference between an analogy and digital scales. Maybe a pound or so but up to a whole 20lb that is a whooping amount.

So I bet you are relieved that you did not do badly as you once thought and it was the blessed scales which had gained all the weight not you. At the moment I have digital scales but they don't measure losses under 1lb. If I flick a switch underneath it goes from pounds, to kg's to stones and pounds. I have it on stones and pounds as that is the weighing system that I am most familiar with but since being on 3fc I am becoming more familiar with just pounds.

I forgot to mention earlier to you how well that you are doing that you are managing a walk. When I started it was a very short walk but never the less it was a walk. I did that as many days as my body would allow and when I was doing that comfortably we would increase it slightly. We continued the process of doing the walks and increasing when I felt I was ready till I could do a mile. It took a very long time but never the less I got there. I would some days do 2 walks of a shorter distance to increase my exercise. Looking back now I know it has taken a long time but I am proud how far I have come. Now I am trying 1.5 miles but I can only do that with resting so far but looking back at the beginning that would have looked impossible. I am realistic I know I will never be able to walk as far as people with no mobility problems but I will go slowly and see how I get on. There were and are some days when my body really does not want to do it but by the end of it I normally feel good for what I have done. There are other benefits apart from getting fit. 1) it makes the body produce a chemical which is a natural mood elevator. So if you are feeling down it will make you feel better. 2) it makes the body produce a natural pain killer 3) decreases the bad cholestrol and increases the good cholestrol 4) reduces the risk of getting type 2 diabetics There are many other health benefits as well which I can't remember all of them of the top of my head.

Right time to get some tea bye bye :hug:

Wow Rosebud - I've had the same experience with my analog scale. It reads very differently than my digital. I'm glad you could get some encouraging news - it always helps :)

Welcome silver! I completly agree with you're statement about being tired and not wanting to throw something together. In all honestly, I keep several low fat ready to serve soups in my cupboard, depend on lean cuisine meals and hit up subway pretty often -- Jenny Craig does it's own food though so you should be set for awhile right?

I hope you are doing well Purple :) I'm hoping to do as much walking as you in a couple weeks. My sports therapist gave me the okay to exercise again so I'm doing what I can.

I found out today that the 'winterization' of our used truck cost $375! And that we need a new water pump among other things.. so that's frustrating because the truck is the defination of the word Junker. Flakes of paint and body fall off to the tough and I dont know how much I want to put into the thing.

I need to get going.. the week is only half over and I havent had the time to catch up here. Have a good night everyone!

:wave: HI LADIES ~ I'M BACK AGAIN TOO! We managed to get my VCR hooked up; Dh said that he just kept forgetting and apologized for not doing it sooner. So today I did RICHARD SIMMON's SILVER FOXES low-impact workout, and now I am completely sore ~ LOL! BUT, I really enjoyed it; will definitely be doing that one again.

PURPLE ~ yes, I have been trying to do the shorter walks, but more often as I find that I don't tire as much as if I try and do one very long walk. I know that I have to start slow and work my way up; Dh reminded me of this with the video, when I told him that I'm sore already tonight. I'm just glad that I now have something else that I can do indoors for the winter.

VAL ~ sorry you are having problems with your truck; I once heard someone say ' IF IT HAS TESTOSTERONE OR WHEELS, YOU ARE GONNA HAVE SOME TROUBLE WITH IT! ' I certainly agree with those sentiments; but don't tell Dh on me ~ LOL! Vehicles are hard on the pocket book $$$, but someday you may have to invest in a newer one. Ask yourself if this one can be fixed for cheaper than a monthly payment??? My Dad says that if your car repairs go into the four digits (1000's), then it's time to get a better one. Your lucky in one way, here in Ontario, if you have body problems and mechanical ones, you could have your vehicle towed away by the inspection fairies (police road checks). Hope that never happens to you.

YES, it great news that I didn't gain any weight, but I still have to get that difference off! I am working from a higher starting weight than I previously thought; but really, I am just glad that puzzle was solved for me. I still made some improvements in my plan and will keep workin' that too.

HELLO TO MO and family ... hope you are feeling better!

WELL, it's very late; I gotta go get some shut-eye (very tired), so take good care ladies; your friend :hug: ROSEBUD :hug:

:wave: HI LADIES ~ well, we had an eventful day again; our furnace wasn't quite working right yet; I guess after repairs, it takes some fine tuning to get everything running smoothly again. The repairmen had to come to our place cuz we hadn't had any heat for a couple of days. They found the problems, but I hope that this is the end of them, cuz the really xtra-cold days aren't even here yet (-30's).

ANYWAYS, Dh and I got some serious fall-cleaning done; and we are just getting started. We are going thru our place one room at a time and getting rid of stuff that we don't really need or use anymore. After many years, stuff just seems to pile up and since our rooms are smaller, it make things look more crowded; and I like the roomy look myself.

WE did get some *** snow *** last night; the very light kind; almost kinda looks fake, but the cold's not. Then later this morning, the really pretty big snowflakes started falling. Our day was pretty well over by the time the furnace guys got finished, so I came on to do my daily check-in after dinner, but no-one's been here 'cept me ...

UPDATE ON MY UNCLE ~ the specialist is a bit puzzled about the xrays pics/scans; he says his lungs look a feather pillow burst all over them, with some tiny nodules spattered here and there; he says he doesn't know what it is. They are going to a do a biopsy next week. That almost sounds like scarring to me and he has one spot, which can very be that too. They are in better spirits now, cuz the big 'C" word never came up in the conversation at all; and I think that's great!

WELL, that's all the news for my day; I'm off to make some tea. Take good care, your friend :hug:ROSEBUD :hug:

Good Morning

Well a quick drop by this morning before I am off out to mum and dad's. This next week we are going to have a busy schedule of hospital runs not for either of us I hasten to add. On Monday we have to go to Grantham (town of my mum and dad) and pick DH brother up from hospital there after having his hernia operation by day case. Why an earth it was not scheduled at either of our hospitals in Nottingham I am not certain. The only thing I can think of was the waiting list to have this operation was too long so the hospital asked a neighbouring hospital if they could do it. To keep the waiting time down for my BIL. Then on Wednesday night going over to Grantham again ready for Thursday as my dad has an appointment in Leicester hospital. He had been referred to the local Grantham hospital but it is very complicated and will need plastic surgery during the procedure. Plus has added risks of being diabetic and has had a triple heart by pass.

Another sharp frost this morning but does not look so nice out there as Mr sunshine has not made an appearance as yet.

ROSEBUD :~ Glad there was more positive news about your Uncle I have really been hoping that there would be. Lets hope that the news continues to be so, he will still be in my thoughts and prayers.

I have a job for you and you DH, when you have finished spring cleaning I have a bungalow that needs doing :D Like yourself we end up going it every so often with living in a small home you need to be careful of what you save. Plus my DH is a bit of a hoarder he will keep boxes from everything electrical etc when we just haven't the room, he says just in case they go wrong. But as long as you have the receipt and all the parts of the item that is all that matters not the blessed box :D

We have never had a furnace for heating. Our form of heating to the bungalow is gas central heating and a gas fire. Though we are very fortunate the bungalow is overall quite a warm place. So our fuel bills compared with our old home is much cheaper.

Time to run as it is getting late here, but glad I dropped by. Hello to MO, Val and Silver (sorry if I have forgotten anyone but my brain is not working it is on strike ;) ) hope you are all well and so are your loved ones.

Catch up with you all soon tara for now :hug:

:wave: HI LADIES ~ WELL, we had a great trip into town; did lots and lots of walking, but my feet held up today. We bought some SPIT BBQ CHICKEN for our treat; we have enuff leftover for dinner tomorrow too. Man, the stores of full of junk (chocolate candy stuff); I did great: resisted it all and didn't buy a thing ~ YEAH FOR ME!!! :broc: :carrot::cb::broc:

PURPLE ~ yes, I agree; that's great news for my uncle; I keep saying 'Let's be postive and maybe it's just something minor like scarring'; so far, so good! Hope you have good trips this weekend; and that you have good weather too. Hope your BIL and DAD both have speedy recoveries; and all goes well with your DAD'S surgery; and I will send up a wee prayer for both of them. Thanx for your thoughts and prayers too; much appreciated!

My DH is a bit of a hoarder too; he also wants to keep all the boxes. His favorite line is 'Oh, we may need that someday' ~ NOT!!! We did some more sorting and tossing this morning; I think this is going to take awhile! He's even resorting to taking some of the stuff to his shop ~ LOL!!!

Just got finished putting all my groceries away; I remembered everything this time, but just forgot to get some boxes and go to the library for the walking off pounds tapes; checked at our only department store, but they said they haven't seen any yet. Well, that will just give us another excuse to go for a drive; maybe tomorrow or Sunday???;)

HELLO TO VAL AND MO ~ hope you girls are well; have a fab weekend, and take good care, your friend ~ :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

Hello all and good afternoon.

Been a cloudy day so far but rain is suppose to be on the way by Sunday. Still a nip in the air but not as cold as it has been in previous few days. Already snuck in my daily walk in case the weather folk have got their forecast wrong. I wrapped up warm and I have enjoyed it. Several of the houses are decorated outside with lights, Santa Claus and snowmen. I bet they will look pretty once it is dark.


ROSEBUD :~ :carrot: Well done you for resisting all the sweets and chocolates. It is hard at times like this and they all seem to be calling you. I find it a bit easier now as I look at the calories in a bar of chocolate now and I think gosh I could eat a meal for that and feel much fuller. I do have things like skinny cow ice-cream and finesse cereal bars double chocolate I think it is called helps satisfy my chocolate urges. Both of these are under a 100 calories so won't do too much damage.

Thanks for your well wishes regarding my family. Not sure when dad will have his surgery yet as on Thursday he is going for a consultation with the top urologist. At least I think that is the specialist. I am sure we will know by Thursday a time scale for the operation hopefully.

Your Uncles scan which revealed a shadow it maybe something innocent as you say it maybe scarring or even a pocket of infection. But I will keep your Uncle in my thoughts and prayers for that positive outcome and good news.

VALPAL :~ Glad you have been given the all clear on your knee. Walking has been my exercise since the beginning. But it has been slow going it has taken me since March to get where I am today. If I miss many days in a row it takes me a few days to get back up to where I was as I seem to go backwards very quickly. But I am proud of how far I have come, at the beginning I would have never thought it possible so to have achieved what I have is good feeling for me. So good luck in your walking programme but is a balancing act of how much to push yourself and when to take it easier. Not saying that I get it right all the time and then I pay the price. I hope your more successful at listening to your body than myself.

Time for me to put my programmes for the week in the DVD recorder. I usually do it on Saturday. Then I will prepare the vegetables for tomorrows dinner. bye bye ladies :hug:

:wave: HI LADIES ~ well, we did get some more snow on and off throughout the day, but it was light and didn't really amount to much; but the sun did shine for us today; yeah! We went all the way into town to the local library, BUT they didn't have one single 'Walking Off Pounds' tape; and they only had one exercise tape of any kind, and it was out.

Heck, I have more exercise tapes than that ~ LOL! I have to admit that I was quite surprised by this. At least, I did get to look up my backyard birds while I was there; and I also looked at Amanda's article (MANDALINN) in Women's World magazine; wow, our library had a copy of that, when the stands were sold out ~ lol!

That's all we did today; I did get a wee bit of walking in. The wind is a bit cold tonight so I decided against going out again; I'll wait and go out tomorrow instead. I try to take the weekends off; doing all my chores, cleaning, and laundry during the week. On the weekends, I just do cooking and dishes as needed. I think we all deserve some time for ourselves to do what we want, and have some fun.

PURPLE ~ I agree; those goodies do seem to be calling our names, don't they? I'm sure they put them up by the cash registers on purpose, cuz that's all you see while waiting in the check-out line. Now, I just turn my back to it all. :D

VAL ~ I'm glad your knee is on the mend now and you can do more walking again; I know how frustrating it can be as my knee acts up too. I just do what I can each day ...

HELLO to MO and family!

All in all, we had a great day; hope you are all well, take very good care of yourselves, your friend :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

Hi all and good afternoon.

Well the weather folk are right about rain, it has not stopped since I got up this morning just been pouring all day and no let up. Well just going to have to brave the elements and wrap up but at least I can change into dry clothes after the walk.

Well I managed this morning to bang my toe against the bed and now it is very sore and bruised. I fairly certain there is no breakage just tissue damage. Hoping that it will stand up to a bit of gentle exercise. Otherwise I will just have to rest it up for a couple of days till the worst has gone.

Just watched a 2 hour drama today that I had taped from a few days ago. It was about Rudyard Kipling's son Jack or John Kipling. It was a brilliant drama and I hope that it gets shown abroad as Rudyard Kipling was a renowned author several which have been put to the big screen. Never really knew what Rudyard looked like till I had a look today it was very eerie how alike the gentleman who was cast as the part looked like him. Though do not know how much Daniel Radcliffe ( the young man who plays Harry Potter ) looks like his son Jack.

ROSEBUD :~ Pity the library did not have any walking exercise videos that you wanted. But at least you saw Amanda in the copy of the magazine and different birds visiting your backyard. I saw a robin at my mums on Friday but I think I know all the birds that visit her garden so no books needed. They have got a hedgehog in the garden which visits on a regular basis. They think that it lives under their garden shed. They put out food for it so it stays around.

I wish supermarkets would not put such tempting items near the checkout tills. I would like to see them replaced by magazines or newspapers anything really rather than junk food. But turning your back on them it a big achievement and one to be proud of. I have found things that I find not so fattening but not high in calorie. It is a bit like changing our favourite recipes to a more healthier version so that we do not go without.

My swift pit stop over that keeps me on the straight and narrow over for today. Not sure how much time I will have left tomorrow so might not drop by for a couple of days. Catch up with you soon and thinking of you all. bye bye for now :hug:

:wave: HELLO LADIES ~ It snowed a bit last night (light fluffy stuff); but then we had beautiful, sunny weather today, and the stars are out with a bright half moon tonight ~ how lovely for us! I got my walks in today, but when the wind picked up, I had to come in; no use overdoing it anyways!

We just spent a nice, quiet Sunday at home today; had lean steak and piles of veggies for dinner (broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, corn, and summer turnip, etc). Have lots of housework and laundry planned for tomorrow.

PURPLE ~ Sorry that you hurt your toe; that sure smarts! Hope it is just minor and heals up quickly for you. I picked up a couple of comedies for Dh at our local second-hand store; he needed them as he seems to be hurting himself a lot these days as well. Just same old; same old ...

ANYHOW, I'm just checkin' in as well, to keep myself in line; doing very well staying on plan these days. Hope all you ladies had a good weekend; and we wish you a pleasant week too. Take good care, your friend :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

:wave: HAPPY MONDAY LADIES ~ might as well celebrate the beginning of a brand new week. We have been hit with a lovely snow storm all day; but it really is pretty out there. The winds were severe though, so I only got in two shorter walks today; but at least, I got out there.

Today was laundry day here plus did a few other odd jobs; not too busy. Just had a quick lite dinner tonight: nothing spectacular. Some days, I just don't feel like eating much. We had big dinners for the last three days, so it's nice to change things up a bit; had a nice mushroom omelette for breakfast today; haven't had that in a while.

DH is resting his back; but he is getting better. Sure hope this trail of injuries doesn't last, or we'll be having a dreary winter. But alas, no, we won't go there girls; we are going to have a great winter. And the snow fiends are out there on their machines and having a ball tonight; I'm surprised they are braving those cold winds though. :nono: Not me ...

ANYWAYS, I just came in to check in and keep this thread movin' along. We had a good day, all in all. My niece called from a big southern city; she just moved there and wanted to let us know where they finally settled. She's growing up; had a nice long talk :blah::blah::blah:; only two hours, that's not too bad ... LOL!

I guess I'd better get some stamps this week, and then I can get started on my Christmas Card List; get a head start this year. Well, that's all the news from here; as you can tell, we have an amazingly exciting life out here in the country near a very small town with a library that doesn't even have exercise tapes in it ... LOL! Take care, be back soon; your friend :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

Hello all and good afternoon,

Well just dropped by don't know how much sense my post will make so I make apologies before hand. Not on planet earth this morning did not realise till lunch time that i had not taken my morning medication. Hence I feel a bit rough at the minute. Hopefully as the day pans out I will come round.

Well good news my BIL operation yesterday by keyhole surgery so they are in and out the same day went well to repair a hernia. In away the operation came with bad timing as the business of his is moving premises by the end of the month. Some of the business has already the moved the machinery such as sewing machines but the offices since remain at the old place. But fortunately he has good staff so they will all help out with the move. We are meeting up with BIL again on Wednesday for a meal and a chat.

ROSEBUD :~ My toe is on the mend now. Gosh it was painful at the beginning. I do not have a lot of feeling in my feet but I sure felt that ;)

We had a sprinkling of snow the other night. But it was gone by morning. It had been raining all day as well so was a shock to look out and see snow on the lawns. Mind you on that walk that day in the rain it was freezing cold with the rain beating in your face was so glad to get in and get warm and dry.

Good for you staying on plan it gets so much harder at this time of the year with all the naughty goodies ( yes just going to wash my mouth out with soap :D ) on sale. I have had 2 birthdays this week and I was not so good as you and had a piece of cake at each. But in my defence i have stayed on plan since and been exercising regularly so hopefully my scales won't be too horrid to me this week ;) I will be pleased if the outcome is no gain.


Just going out to post my DH Auntie birthday card and Christmas card ( she lives in Cyprus) so I send it very earlier so I know that it has arrived in time for her birthday 1st December.

Bye bye for now going out to the post office now to mail my cards but I will have to have the letters weighted for postage. :hug:

Ahhh I've missed so much! I need a pause bottom on this thread! I'll try to come back and read later today.

My parents have been in town since Saturday. Totally messing with the routine my brother and I have but thats life. They leave today so things can go back to normal finally!

Hi My Friends

Good news got me cast off last week so l can type again YA!!! I am feeling so much better, rest is the best medician for a sore body. I am having phiso on my arm 3 times a week for the next 3 weeks and then l should be able to start working out again, just before Christmas. I miss it so much.

DH wants a WII for Christmas as it is a video system that you have to use your whole body to play the games, good exercise he says. So l bought him one so l am looking forward to playing bowlling and tennis and doing the work to see it work on the TV screen. Shold be afun way to get exercise over the winter. I have all my shopping done now and l am so thankful cause l hate crowds and the stores are so busy already. Eric of course is getting spolied, but he needs alot of new toys for theraphy. ( they use toys as a reinforcer) If he does what they ask he gets to play with a toy for a few minutes then it gets taken away till he floows the next direction. So most of the toys we bought he will only beable to use in theraphy. So they stay new and fresh. We bought him an indoor trampoline ( the exercise ones) hoping he will jump on it instead of our couch and it goes up to 300lb so DH can jump with him so he will love that. I can't jump cause of my balance.

Do any of you guys play games on pogo.com? if you do and want to add me in your friends list let me know and l will tell you my name on there.

I have read all the posts and boy there were alot, and all l can say is well done on everyone's weight loss and doing great finding new ways to excerise now that the weather is turning winterized.

I have to run now and pick DH up from work, so take care friends and keep up the good work.

Love your friend
Mo

p.s. l am only 2lbs from my goal now who hoo

:wave: HELLO LADIES ~ nice to see you all here again! We actually got about six inches of snow yesterday; by tonight it was freezing into balls that resembled rocks. Our poor little SWEETIE slipped on the deck and has got a bad goose egg on her belly; sure hope it heals quickly. She doesn't seem to be in any pain though. This is the hardest time of year for us all to get used to: the wind was horrid again today so I only did one walk today.

PURPLE ~ so glad your toe is on the mend. Hope you remain the same with no gain too. I weighed in yesterday and I am the same. Well, I was hoping for at least one pound; but maybe next month as I get into these tapes a bit more. With this sudden cold, we are feeling more aches and pains than normal. Does the UK get much snow in the winter???

VAL ~ glad you stopped in hon and that you are feeling better. Hope you had a nice visit with your parents; I know they change things on you, but you are fortunate that they come to see you. I luv it when any of my family come, which is tres, tres, rare these days. When my health gets better, Dh and I want to go visit them down south.

MO ~ so nice to hear from you; glad your arm has finally mended and you got that nuisance cast off. Boy, you are doing great to have all your Christmas shopping done already. I have some of it done, but still have a few things left; haven't done much for Dh and myself though (only one Comedy Christmas Video). That trampoline for ERIC sounds great; and the exercise box thingy for DH sound interesting. I sometimes play on POGO, but not much lately; used to play with my sis, but my pc was too slow. This pc is supposed to be much better; haven't been there in a while though.

Good for you keeping the weight off and without going to Curves in a while too. And hope you managed to ignore all the candy out there; there seems to be more than ever these days. We were surprised last Saturday how few shoppers there were. Over 400 + workers have been laid off this year. One plant closed and the other announced an eight week lay-off right thru Christmas; not nice at all ... boo ... hiss ... on those humbugs ...

ANYWAYS, I got a lot of stuff done today: baked some muffins for DH and make a big pot of lean beef and veggie stew; have enough for two more meals, so I'm putting some in the freezer for later on. DH and I played some games tonight; I won the series 3-2 ~ lol. Well, I'm going to go make myself some tea and then get ready for bed; pretty tired tonight.

It's so very nice to hear from all of you; and that you are all well. Take good care of yourselves, your friend :hug:ROSEBUD :hug:

Hello everyone.

Well I have landed on planet earth today :rofl: much better today remembered to take my medication at the correct time so feel much better for that.

It has looked like rain all day but none has appeared but the skies have been very dark all day. Just come back from a meal with BIL and done my shopping so glad of a sit down to drink my coffee and relax.

I see that lots of post for me to read which is nice that all the ladies are OK or are on the mend.

VALPAL :~ I understand having parents over is really nice but there is a pay off that your routine is put to pot. The same happens with me also. I have to consider very carefully what to cook for each meal as dad is diabetic and mum has a low cholesterol diet. With Dad being diabetic he must eat at a regular time else it is a recipe for disaster and his blood sugar drops dramatically.

MO :~ Glad that you are on the mend now and are having physiotherapy on your arm. But as you say time is the great healer.

Yes your DH Christmas present sound like an excellent way to burn off calories in winter. Not a great deal of room in my lounge to be able to do such activities not enough room to swing a cat as the saying goes.

Great to hear how Eric is getting on in therapy and how toys are incorporated into the programme to get him to follow instructions. This way it makes it fun for him and he may not think this is therapy more like play. The indoor trampoline sounds an excellent way for him to burn of energy and stop him bouncing on the furniture.

Wow good for you Mo only 2lbs from your goal you have done so well and the goal is within reach now. How have you lost the weight which programme have you followed or was it simply watching portions and eating more healthier foods.

ROSEBUD :~ We do not get much snow here in the UK the only places that are likely to get any amount of snow is parts of Scotland and Wales. Our winter weather if anything tends to be rainy and much colder temperatures. Also more easterly winds which are very chilling. But we are very lucky that we do not get hardly any snow and that we do not get the really hot summers either.

Aww your poor baby who slipped up and now has a goose egg on her tummy poor thing. Though dogs are very resilient and seem to bounce back quicker than we do when we hurt ourselves. Our staffy is a real tough nut but they are renowned for being so. He can also pull the wool over our eyes ;) when we lived in our previous house we had him neutered we thought he could not walk upstairs so DH was carrying him and at about 40lb that seems heavy up steep stairs. During Rizzie's convalesces my parents came to stay. Oh there he was bounding up and down the stairs following my Dad like glue. So needless to say DH did not carry him up the stairs any more :D So the crafty devil was milking his operation for all it was worth ;)

But Rizzie has been very brave at one time he cut his front paws in glass and it was pouring with blood and he let me clean them and dress them every day. It was if he knew I was trying to make him better.

Time for me to go an pack an over night bag as we are stopping at Mum and Dads over night as my dad has an early hospital appointment in Leicester which is about 40 miles away. Yikes will be struggling in the morning to get up as I am not much good in the morning but will try my best.

bye bye ladies and catch up with you soon may not be tomorrow as I think I will be short on time and tired.

:wave: HELLO LADIES ~ Well, has winter settled in or what? -10C at the window right now, but with the wind chill factor, it's much, much lower than that! I did get out SKI-WALKING today (twice); one short one; and one long one down to the next farm and back. Was pleased that I made it, and with only cold toes ~ lol!

PURPLE ~ glad you are feeling better; yes, our poor little 'SWEETIE' had a bad slip, falling right on her lower belly. When I looked at her last night, she had a big goose egg there; we're praying that it will heal up all by itself, just like as if we bumped ourselves. I have been feeling achey too, maybe from the sudden cold, so I took a Tylenol tablet and that helped immensely; I know that it's a lot worse for you and VAL though, becuz of your MS.

Makes sense that you would get snow in the hills and mountains in the region of WALES. Have I told you at least ten times yet, that my grandmother's family was from there? Our family tree research says that a lot of people in Wales were originally from Italy (immigrants), plus a few from Hungary and France, and a very tiny group were from Germany.

Hope you have a good trip with your Dad tomorrow and the weather is good for it. I'm not a morning person either; it takes me quite a while to get going. I feel much better in the evening; have always been this way, even when I was a teen. They used to call me 'The Night Owl' ~ lol, but now I try to get to bed around midnight most nights! Some of my siblings are worse than me; they can almost stay up all night; but, I can't do that anymore!

HELLO to VAL AND MO; hope you ladies are feeling well tonight. Tomorrow is the American Thanksgiving Day; it's not even on our calendars anymore.

ANYWAYS, just reorganized my sewing room; sorted out a couple of closets; and cut up some old clothes for rags today, besides meals and dishes. See you soon; and take good care of yourselves, your friend :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

:thanks1: TO ALL OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS HERE :thanks1:

:thanks2: :turkey: :thanks2:

:D HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY AND HOLIDAY WEEKEND! :D


:hug: ROSEBUD :hug:

:wave: HELLO LADIES ~ well, it has been really crispy cold here; went down to -17C last night, but with wind chill factor, was probably close to -27C! And it's the same tonight too. :yikes: NOW THAT'S COLD BABY!!!

We went to a Christmas bazaar/sale today and I got some really fabulous bargoons. That's a favorite Canadian pastime, as some of you already know. Picked up some large red bows to put along my garden fence; a nice new linen table cloth, tartan placemats, and napkins to match (all in Christmas colors). Picked up a couple of sets of outdoor lights and some other odds and ends like a few pretty ornaments for the tree. Every year, I try to pick up a few small new things to add to my collection.

Got in some walking today around the stores; I count that as my cardio for the day. We had a late lunch, and had fish tonight for dinner with salad and veggies. I am rotating my lunches with soup, or salad, or fruit; and have found that I feel fuller this way. Baked some apples today as well.

Everyone seems to be in the holiday spirit now; lots of people shopping and chatting it up in town today. I'm so glad that all those layoffs hasn't put a damper on people's spirits; actually, I think it is making them even more cheery.

Times like these, seem to help us appreciate the small things in life more, I think. GOD bless us all; there is less than five weeks til Christmas day. DH still hasn't told me what he wants; like me, he says he pretty much has everything he wants in life. Isn't that nice??? We indeed are so very blessed in this country ...

Well, that's all for tonight; hope all our ladies are happy and well! Take good care, and see you soon; your friend ... :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

Good Morning Ladies.

Looks a nice day outside even though I have not poked my nose outside the door. It maybe very cold so wrapping up is essential. After my day in the pouring rain last weekend I decided to buy a hat to keep my head warm. Never really been one for wearing hats but there again I did not exercise either. So being practical I decided I would wear it if extra cold or wet. I would win no fashion parades anytime soon that is for sure :rofl: But I did not want cold or rainy weather to be an excuse not to walk. The only time I will not go outside if it is snow or ice as I have a bad enough time standing on my own two feet as it is with out adding that into the equation. I would be like Bambi when he was on the ice or snow.

Been to Leicester yesterday to take Dad to an hospital appointment. The day went smoothly without a hitch. Although by the end of the day I was shattered with all the walking the corridors. Had lunch at the hospital and they provided lovely meals with lots of healthy choices. I was spoilt for choice for once what to have now we don't have that luxury very much when you eat out. This is because there is usually maybe only one or two healthy options and thats your lot. Here there was imagine upwards of 10 or more to choose from. The food was very nicely cooked and presented I could not fault the food and very reasonably priced also.

ROSEBUD :~ -17C :fr: never experience temperatures that low, not that I want to any time soon either :D The lowest I can ever remember was -8c many years bad during a very cold spell that we had. I know that temperature to you must seem like :beach: So you can see how much milder we have weather here in the UK. It may drop lower than that for some of our residents who live in the remote Scottish islands of which there are some 90 plus of them.

I Know that you have mentioned about your family or part of it originating from Wales but it is good to be reminded as my memory at times is like a colander it seems to have more holes than enough ;) My family tree of which I have been researching (gosh it takes time) all seem to come from virtually the same county which is Lincolnshire so we have not flown far from the nest :D . I have managed to go back to about the late 1790 but there are still gaps to fill in with siblings children of my decentants it is such a big job. I have done the research so far without having to pay anything to see documents but I think there will come a point if I want to go further I will have to pay to move on. The trouble is that nearly all documents are now pay to see. I started this too late as such as at one time you could see cencus records for free that was 100 plus years old. But folk have jumped on the band wagon and made a industry to make to pay to see information. I would not do this when my Grandmother was alive as when I asked her about the past family history she would not tell me and said I don't want you to look into it either. I respected her wishes until she passed away. Unfortunately time I did not have at that point to do the history due to futher nurse training. So only in the past few years I that i have done this. The reason it looks as though my grandma did not want it to be researched was an illegimate birth. We think nothing of it today but not back many generations it was so shameful and could even get you put into a psychiatric hospital if your father wanted. Thankfully times have changed.

At once upon a time I could get up in the morning no trouble and go to bed late. i was one of these lucky folk who did not need much sleep. But I need every minute now and more :D Morning are my worst now take me an age to get going. My DH even has to do breakfast now as I am useless. You would not be guaranteed to get milk on your cereal or coffee in your cup. You took pot luck what you would get and just hope that it was right


:turkey::happ3::turkey: for all our USA 3fc. I hope you had a lovely day. We do not celebrate anything like this in the UK, I know there is a similar day in Canada, pity we do not have a day like that maybe in years to come.

Right off I go to make some potato and leek soup ( a variety without no cream in ) never made it before so guinea pig DH is need again :rofl: Poor DH has had to taste so many new things since we started healthly eating. Fortunately I would say 99% of my new dishes have been a success. I would love to try many more new recipes on here that I have seen but we just don't have some of the products listed. So I have to wait whilst we catch up here with Canada and USA with some of your low fat or fat free products.

bye bye ladies hope you are all well and your family are OK. till next time take care :hug:

Hi Ladies
Boy it is cold and wintery here going down to -15 tonight and we have about 5 cm of snow on the ground. Thanks for all the get well wishes, l am doing good.
Purple to answer your questions We are following the Sugarbusters style of living, no white sugar, white flour. And for excerise l go to curves 2 times a week and just chase Eric around so that keeps me on my toes.

Rosebud I hope your baby is feeling better today and that the gooseegg is going down. I know what you mean about windchill. I asked my DH for a electric blanket last christmas and now l turn it on about 30 minutes before bed to warm the sheets and it is so nice. I don't leave it on all night cause we have big furry warm blankets on our bed , l just hate cold sheets in the winter so this way my side of the bed is warm and DH's is cold the way he likes it and we met in the middle to cuddle.

Valpal l hope your doing ok out there in Thompson l know you guys get real cold too. I seen they have slippers that are heated and have massage built in l am asking Dh for a pair for christmas, they sell them at Walmart in the pharmacy.


Eric is doing so good, he is like a different little boy. We have taken away his sippy cups starting yesterday and it was rough, but today he is drinking from a regular cup with hardly any spillage. I am so proud of him. Yes his theraphy looks like a fun day to him so he hardly cries cause he has so much fun playing with the therapists and toys that he only gets to play with when he does what they ask.

Well ladies l am going to go and have a hot bath and watch a autism special on CNN.

Talk to you later.

Love Mo

Good Morning Ladies

I cound'nt sleep so l figured l would get up and wait for Eric to wake up. He has music class this morning and then we are going to go visit a friend with an autistic little boy for a play date. It is only -4 outside so it feels like summer compared to what we have been getting. Going up to +2 today so l am excitted.

We are having lamp chops and fresh green beans and cawliflower for dinner. Tomorrow we are going to another family with twin autistic boys from Ontario for a turkey dinner. She wasn't here for our thanksgiving weekend she was back home in Ontario visiting so she wants to celebrate the American weekend and have friends over for turkey. So my weekend is full and l was hoping to put our tree up but it might have to wait till next weekend now.

So l hope you all have a great Weekend and get plenty of rest and relaxation.

Love Mo

Hello ladies - thank goodness for weekends hey?

I hope you're managing the cold okay Rosebud! Talk about settling in for winter - I had to go buy some long underwear a few weeks ago - how are you managing the cold? We have a fireplace in our house... and wood heat is so beautiful when I have the time to get it going.

Purple Researching family trees is practically a business in Manitoba too. I am Metis - an Aboriginal person in Thompson with half of my hertiage being French and half being First Nations -or Indian to some. I had to pay to have researchers in Winnipeg go through the records so that I could have my own legal status as an Aboriginal when I turned 18. Times really have changed and I'm glad. My grandmother was denied her status card as a First Nations person because her skin is too fair -- this was many years ago and has changed now but she wont try again. It's a shame to see what our elders had to endure!

So you've been looking everything up on your own?

Mo I've had my mukluks out for some time up here. Funny thing is I work in an office that promotes Thompson's extreme temperatures -- I've sent out hundreds of dollars of markteting material bragging about our winter weather testing facilities for automakers :| I cant believe I had to come back here from Vancouver sometimes. lol

It's good to hear things are getting better for you and your family Mo! Hopefully it will be a relatively smooth Christmas too :)


I had some excitment in the house this week... On Thursday a neighboorhood drunk came pounding on the door because my very religious parents used to let this person in the house at all hours when I was a child and let her sleep on the couch when her own family locked her out of the house.

I remember being so freaked out by this person as a child... so when she showed up at the door one night and pushed her way in because she had no winter clothing on.... I was forced to call the police. I didnt want to send her outside but couldnt trust her in the house. I was upset that she thought she could push me around and talk down to me like I was still the child she knew. I guess living in the hometown has it's down side.

That the excitment that's been going on. I've been able to exercise a bit more... but some MS symptoms decided not to go into remission quite yet... so I'm waiting it out.

Thanks for reading! all the best ladies :)

HI LADIES ~ Was under the weather with the flu ? on Friday; today, much better, even had a hoe-down tonight. BUT, just came on the net and found out the bad news that my uncle has been diagnosed with cancer in both lungs by the specialists.

That's not the answer we hoped to hear, but we are trying to be optimistic and praying for a good outcome. Becuz of the quick answer though, they are already looking into treatment options.

We would appreciate any prayers for him (his name is TOM) and his family; thanks so much. We've been so rushed; will come back and talk more tomorrow. Take good care, your friend :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

Hi Ladies

I have spent I think too many "spoons" (rememeber that senario with spoons to describe our energy) so this will be a very short entry. I have read all your posts to keep myself upto date. I hope to reply soon when I feel better and not wanting to sleep all the time.

Yesterday my neice was taken into hospital with apenditisis and was operated on the early hours of this morning. She is 11 years old. So should bounce back quickly.

I could not go without sending special prays for you and your family for Uncle Tom. I pray for a positive outcome. I send you love and your in my thoughts :hug: take care Rosebud.

Bye for now I hope to reply to your posts soon. :hug:

Rosebud and Purple


I am sending prayers for both Uncle Tom and your neice, I hope they both bouce back from there treatments and god bless them.

I hate to say this on such sad postings but l reached my goal this morning when l got on the scale actually l surpassed it l was 149.5lbs this morning and was coming on to share the good news with you guys, but now l am sad thinking about both your family members.

I am sorry for both of you and willl be praying.

Love Mo

:congrat: MO ~ Never, never be sorry for good news; that's just what we all need right now to lift our spirits. We are so very happy for you; not only reaching your goal, but surpassing it!!! WOW ... that is so fantastic; and it couldn't be happening to a nicer gal !!!

PURPLE ~ prayers for quick recovery have gone up for your little niece already; and thank you for yours as well; they are very much appreciated by the whole family. I hope that you can get some rest this week; and we will pray that GOD will send you some extra SPOONS today ...

I have sent TOM's name out to three prayer groups, plus all our family and of course, all our friends here at 3FC's. We are remaining optimistic that there will be a positive outcome, even though we know that this was a tough diagnosis for the doctors; they were so puzzled at the start.

But, we have a big faith in a great big GOD and He has pulled him thru two cancers already; why not a third??? What a miracle that would be right at Christmas. In the meantime, we are also praying that our family will become even closer than we before; and that something positive will come out of this experience for everyone.

VAL ~ hope you are feeling good today; sorry you had that unexpected late night visitor, but don't feel bad about it; you have enuff on your plate, as it is. Our police understand these problems and can always find a more appropriate place for people in these type of situations.

The other night, it went down to -27C and that's not counting the wind-chill factor. Last night and today, it is back up to 0C, so we got more than 6 inches of snow since last night. We are keeping warm; the furnace is working well again, but we still have that Turbo Heater as a backup.

Someday, I am going to buy myself a really nice electric fireplace; the new ones that have that new technology that looks like real flames. They are encased in real wood mantles and you can have just flame and or heat for your home. I know that a real fireplace is nice too, but we won't have to go cut or lug around any messy wood; been there, done that ~ LOL!

EVERYONE ~ Thank you so much for your prayers and well wishes; my family has asked for prayers and are very, very, grateful for each and every one of you. We are a family of believers and our faith is strong, but that kind of news can be a bit shocking at first. But my step-mother was healed of two cancers last Christmas, so I do believe in miracles!!!

We are very blessed and grateful for all that we have in this life, esp my good friends here. Take very good care of yourselves and your families; your friend :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

Mo - congrats! That's so great!! :cheer: (I'm jealous!)

:hug: Rosebud and Purple sending love and good thoughts for your families!!!

:wave: THANKS VAL ~ appreciate all the prayers and good thoughts we can get. I know that it is simply wonderful to see MO reach her goal; that gives us some inspiration to keep on chugging along ...

DON'T WORRY, we will get there too, it will just take us a little longer becuz we started at a much higher weight to begin with; BUT you are doing great too, you are almost halfway there, so just hang in there kiddo! :D

It snowed all night again, and we ended up with another 6 inches or more; we have quite a bit of snow piling up out there. Thankfully we had some help from our younger and stronger neighbour to clear our porch and pathway today (GOD bless him, for having pity on us older folks ~ lol).

We had a good day, all in all; keepin' in positive mode and staying on plan; really well. I didn't go out today though; just stayed in cuz I want to get over this cold (or whatever it is). Maybe I'll do some more dancin' tonight; that's a great indoor cardio exercise too.

It's getting close to the end of the month; so we have decided instead of an outside tree, we may just put something else up like LED (lighted) giant candy canes or a star. That way everything is near the building and easy to do. We are going to go looking at the lights as many, many more people have theirs up now; there's a great Christmas spirit this year!

HELLO TO PURPLE AND MO; take good care ladies ~ talk to ya later, your friend :hug: ROSEBUD :hug:

Hi Ladies

Thanks for all the congrads, and yes this morning l was still 149.5 so l wasn't dreaming. :) I am feeling so good about my weight loss but l had to come on and share even better news

Eric feed himself 5 spoonfuls of baby food tonight he picked up the spoon and got it in his mouth l am so excited my little boy who is almost 4 and a half years old finally feed himself I am in shock. Not only that but the theraphy team took away his sippy cups last thursday and he can now drink from a regular cup l can't beleive all the things he is doing it is so amazing and l just had to share.

Rosebud l can't beleive you have that much snow already, keep it there please as Calgary doesn't plow the streets here and they don't use salt they use gravel and l hate driving in the winter. Good luck on your dancing tonight and getting in exercsie any way we can when it is freezing out is great.

Valpal thanks for being happy for me and your doing great also so keep up the great work, Rosebud is right l wasn't that heavy so maybe thats why it only took me 8 months.


Purple l hope your doing great and getting well rested, miss your daily updates.

Love Mo

Hi Ladies,

I am still taking things very steady and spending my "spoons" very wisely. The trouble is with feeling under the weather my housework has built up a little but we are tackling it together. But my DH laundry is not his forte ;) so that has had to wait. When I am so tired like that I can not even think about daily tasks that are normally done so can not ask for someone to do them for me. My DH will do anything providing he is prompted ;) Mind you he was brought up in a house were mum did everything and dad did nothing in the house as that was "womens work". But I was not brought up that way my dad cooks and cleans like the best of them. He still cooks to this day.

I am going to hospital next week for my annual MS check up but I think time has come to add in the medication for fatigue I have waited another year as I had added in another pain medication which might add to my tiredness but that has been well established. So Tuesday is when I go but the hospital is only about 3 miles if that from me very close so I am very lucky and it is a specialist hospital in MS and only one of 16 hospitals in the country which have this MS centre.

I will apologise if I miss anything out when answering your posts but I will try my best. Also at times I am struggling for the right words for things so you may have some strangely worded sentences :D

MO :~ :congrat: on surpassing your goal weight oh what great news it really pleased me when I read this. It gave me inspiration that we can achieve our goals despite the fact we have other hurdles in life to jump with our health issues. I am very near one of my goals, the number may not mean anything to you but we use a different system for body weight we use stones and pounds. So my next goal is to lose 6 stone which for everyone one else that will be 216 pounds and 84 pounds lost so I am nearly there for this goal. Setting myself mini goals like that makes it easier to work towards rather than looking at the whole total which was 100+ pounds.

Your news about Eric is fantastic how well he is doing in therapy. He seems to be coming along in leaps and bounds now. It is sure paying dividends for Eric, I bet you and your DH are over the moon with the progress so far. So a big well done to Eric for doing so well :carrot:


ROSEBUD:~ Thanks for your well wishes for my niece Shannon, good news she has come home today. After her appendectomy and she has dissoluble stitches which is nice for her.

Lets hope our prays are answered with Uncle Tom, But Tom has a positive attitude which is half the battle and he has won the battle twice before so is strong.

Is the snow fall normal for this time of year for you? To me 6 inches sounds an awful lot. When we get about 2 or 3 inches our country nearly comes to a standstill as we are not prepared for it.

VALPAL :~ It must have been scary for you with the drunken lady coming to your house. I do not blame you for calling the police. It is an awful disease alcoholism but it can make people unpredictable which is the scary part. I have had limited contacted with nursing as it was part of mental health nursing here in the UK it came under one of the specialities of drugs and alcohol.

Here in UK many of our ancestors hid there true nationality when in actual fact they were Anglo - Indian ( not north American Indians) as at one time it was encourage to marry ladies from Indian as it was good for business. But then it became out of vogue and looked down upon. So then people then tried to hide there ancestry by saying that there dark skin came from Spanish or Portuguese ancestry. Fortunately that is no longer the case and people are prouder of who they are. But I do not blame our forefathers as it was just how things where at the time and they were doing their best.

Must go as I am really tired now, bye bye for now :hug:

:wave: HI LADIES ~ We have had some lovely sun the last couple of days. Yesterday was another one of those "UNDER THE WEATHER" days for me too. So I just take it easy, wrap up in a nice, thick comforter and rest. Today I felt better, so I did some housework and laundry.

PURPLE ~ don't feel bad if you miss a few things, that's OK; we understand very well. I have some days each week where I just don't even go out of the house. Housework and laundry can always wait; our health is much more important and we must make it a priority to look after ourselves. YES, we have been getting a lot of snow over the last week (including a bit more today); DH is even marking it on the calendar ~ lol.

Glad your neice has recovered and is back at home. I'm trying to go for 5 or 10 lbs units now to encourage myself a bit more; theses mini-goals are more achievable and it will help give me some more motivation. Your DH sounds a lot like mine; lately, he has been trying to do a bit more on his own, without me having to ask ~ it's a nice change.;)

:congrat: to you too, PURPLE ~ you have achieved some great milestones yourself ... 25, 50, and 75 + lbs; that's tremendous! Pretty soon you will be at 100 lbs and that's a biggie for all of us. What program or plan are you and your DH using? You both are doing very well too!

MO ~ it's nice to see that loss stick around; and that's terrific news about ERIC. The therapy is paying off for him big-time, and in the end, I think he will be happy that he can do more things along with you and dad.

Usually the snow comes here from out west, and we joke and say, 'those dang Albertans are sending us their snow again cuz they want summer back' ~ LOL! It is all in fun though. This year the same clouds seem to be going north and dropping snow as they go; then the next day, they go back south, dropping some more on us again ... haha!

VAL ~ hope you are feeling well and work is going OK for you. How much snow do you have up in Thompson right now? What are your temperatures like? I think it's probably colder than here. We're at -17C again today, but that's on the building; it's likely colder out in the windy areas. What kind of plan are you using, VAl? I thought that you may have mentioned a semi- vegetarian plan, but I'm not sure ...

ANYHOW, just wanted to come in and check in too; now, it's time to go and make my evening tea. Take care ladies; talk to you real soon, your friend :hug: ROSEBUD :hug:

Good afternoon! Just popping in quick over lunch.....

Mo - it's great to hear Eric is making progress like that I cant even imagine how estatic you must have been when he picked up the spoon and ate like that! It's always nice to share good news :)

Purple - keep us updated about your annual check in k? You must have gone through a lot of them by now but they are always a more stressful time for me. Do you have your concerns written down or are you taking DH to make sure you mention everything? It's good you have a centre so close to you - that must make things a little easier.

Alcholism is a problem in my region of the country - largley blamed on the remote Aboriginal communities - where the mom's drink while pregnant and give birth to children with severe Fetal alcholol syndrome/disease. The way the Canadian government has/or hasnt treated these communities became a big reason that Canadian dropped from a top position on the United Nations 'best countries to live' list.


Rosebud - It pretty much stopped snowing last month. We've got over a foot, I think - but it only snows 'when it's warm' in the fall and spring usually. We've yet to hit -40 though... that wont happen until January I hope! It is -36 with the wind chill right now so I guess that's close enough. heh

The only plan I'm following right now is calorie counting. I stay away from red meat and dairy but it's not always possible. I had been vegan for a year - but my main diet was junk food so I switched to vegetarian and then eased into a more balanced diet.

Lunch is over - I need to run but take care ladies! Stay well :)

:wave: HELLO LADIES ~ well, we are having a nice, big snow storm out there again today; DH is laughing cuz he can't remember us getting that much snow in such a short time; me either ~ LOL!

Had a pretty good day; started off with the sniffles, but felt better as the day went along. Did my dancing last night and some indoor walking/marching and other stuff today. Didn't bother going outside.

HI VAL ~ thanx for stopping by; glad you are feeling well. How's work going? Your temperatures are colder than ours; with wind chill, we are about in the -20's on average right now. It snows more during the day when the temps fall to around 0C or a little lower.

PURPLE ~ hope your yearly exam goes well for you. You are doing just fine; we understand you quite well. One of my grandfather's was part Indian too, but they told everyone they were Scottish ~ lol! People thought we were Jewish, but my family was actually Irish & Italian/NA Indian + Irish & Euro-Indian. What a nice, eccentric mix ...

HELLO to MO and family ~ have a great weekend!

Tomorrow, we are supposed to go to town to do some shopping; but they are calling for more snow again. We'll wait and see how bad it is and make a decision then; we could always go on Saturday instead.

Well, that's all the news here; pretty quiet on the home front right now. Take good care ladies and let us all make the most of each day ~ your friend :hug: ROSEBUD :hug:

Hi All and Good Morning,

Seems as though it will be a lovely day as we have some brilliant sunshine. No real heat in the sun but never the less it is very welcome and helps you feel better.

I have been careful in what I do the past week as I do not want to relapse back to where I was. I am putting things on the back burner that are not important as I value my health. Although I do not always listen to my body and push it but then pay the price. I must admit I am better at listening to my bodies need rather than ignoring them and then end up good for nothing for days.


ROSEBUD :~ Thanks for the congratulations. My weight loss programme is mainly following the food pyramid system which allows so many grain, protein, dairy, vegetables and fats. To be honest the only thing I am strict about is the amount of protein and grain. We use dairy sparingly also. We have for example flaxseed and weetabix for breakfast, Then baked chicken, 2 very small pieces of potato (for me) as many vegetables as you would like (different things like say carrots, beans, cabbage and cauliflower) to fill you up and served with gravy. Then have a low fat yogurt for afters. For tea we may have 1 oz of turkey with salad and wholemeal bread (1 slice for me) then a bowl of mixed fresh fruit unsweetened. Then for supper have 4 cracker breads ( high fibre variety ) with a smidge of margarine or maybe 2 teaspoons of peanut butter and a banana. Now if you get hungry take any piece of fruit to eat or if you get the munchies for chocolate a skinny cow ice cream fits the bill. That is about it if I do not know where to fit an item in on the pyramid I just try to make sure that it is about 100 calories or less so that it is not breaking the bank. I am steadily losing 1 or 2 pounds per week most weeks.

I do not live like a nun we do have meals out which are off plan but it is just that meal and not an excuse to blow it for the whole day. When I went on holiday this year I still had the odd treat during the week but did not go silly. I gained only 2 pounds but lost it the next week with being back on track.

You are doing the right think breaking it down into smaller sections for you to lose that way it is achievable. If I think about how much I have to lose in total it is so depressing and seems so far away. But 10lbs or 20lbs is more likely to be in your grasp. Plus in a few months they can be achieved which gives you encouragement for the next little goal you have in mind. I am more fortunate than most I have my best friend my DH doing the same weight loss journey as me so we are good at motivating each other when the going gets tough. Also great of for motivating you to do that walk when it is blowing a gale outside and you rather stop inside.

Sorry to hear that you have had one of those days where you are under the weather. It is not pleasant those days. Although in a strange way now I draw comfort that on this thread there are friends here who know what I am going through rather than just empathising. I hope today is a much better day in the big scheme of things.

I think many of our ancestors hid their heritage due to the times they were living in and may have been persecuted or looked down upon. So to get by in life they lied but hopefully that in our countries is a thing of the past.

VALPAL :~ I will keep everyone updated on the visit to the hospital this next week. Like you I keep a list with me to ask what I want when I am in there. I know that doctors can be daunting and you can go to pieces when you are in there. Although being armed with your list to ask questions or tell about symptoms can be useful. Please try to remember they are human like you. You might not be a doctor but they could not do your job either as you are trained in different skills. You know your body as well and how it feels or what it s doing or not doing as the case maybe. Keep a diary just for symptoms or problems with MS. It may show a pattern that could be useful to know. I put also what sort of things I had been doing like cooking, working or exercising. You may see trigger factors. Then when you are about to visit you have something for reference. Try to keep entries brief so easy to flick through. I would put down if I had to take extra medication and what for. Pain I was experiencing and where. If parts of me did not work right or feel right. I hope this is useful for when you go to the doctors.

I have heard of foetal alcohol syndrome when mum drinks whilst pregnant. It is so hard to treat alcoholism as the person must want to try to come off the drink. Often before they get to that point they have lost everything home, family, friends and maybe have been in trouble with the law for stealing. So hitting rock bottom is often the point they get to. One thing that makes it difficult when coming off alcohol is that it is legal you can buy it relatively easy, it is used in social circumstance so that make is difficult even when you are sober.

Time to go and prepare some vegetables for lunch. Bye bye ladies :hug:

:wave: HELLO LADIES ~ just a quick run-thru tonight; we did get to go shopping today; the snow didn't even start until we were on our way home. We had fun, but it was a long day for me; and my feet and legs are throbbing. We didn't get home until late afternoon, just in time to make dinner ... ugh!

So we just had something quick and lite; a banger on a w/w bun with tomato chow chow (a banger is a large medium hot sausage made by a local man here). I had a nice big fresh pear for dessert. Only missed the veggies tonight, but just didn't feel up to any!

PURPLE ~ my plan was originally based on the new pyramid, and I also count calories mostly (watching my portion sizes is important as well). We only dine out about once a month; have been looking for healthier options, like spit BBQ chicken, which is a favorite of ours.

VAL ~ many Canadians are not happy with how the Native Indians have been neglected in our country. We think it is shameful for such a rich nation to let so many minority groups down. In the northern town we live in, the federal government has set up some new hiring programs to help the natives and other minorities get real jobs, training, and education. It is nice to go into almost any business in town now and see Native Indians working there; and they are doing a great job, I might add. They offered these companies financial incentives to hire natives and other fringe workers. I hope this new program continues for some time becuz it is working fabulously here; and I'm glad the feds finally took this challenge on!

Well, gotta get off to bed as I'm very tired; so take good care everyone, your friend :hug: ROSEBUD :hug:

Hi ladies

Went for a walk this morning it was one of those that was hard going but made it. Glad now that I made the effort to do it rather than give in. I was in some pain when I started but the exercise must have kicked in the bodies natural pain killer so now it has all gone and a feel not too bad.

Going on Monday to deliver bean bags to a national cinema group. It could be 2 places if they fit in the van if not we will go to just one. Will not know until DH has collect the hire van and the staff at BIL company packs it. BIL company now has moved site so this will be my first visit to the new unit. They were in rented premises but they have now bought this unit.

Saw a recipe somewhere on this site but I do not know which section or the poster. So I take no credit for it what so ever. But all you do is freeze fresh banana slices and then when frozen put in the blender until soft and have an ice-cream texture. If you use quite ripe banana you have to do nothing else as you have a banana ice-cream to have on its own or a very small portion with fresh fruit. I have tried it today with less ripe bananas and I am going to put a dash of vanilla essence in it and see if it is like vanilla ice-cream. DH loves this as it is so like ice-cream and he is a bit of a ice-cream fiend. Will let you know how the recipe goes with vanilla essence in.

I forgot to tell you all my small NSV that I achieved on Friday. When into town at my Mum and I got a couple of pairs of trousers and 1 pair of jeans. The good news was that I now bought my first few pairs in size 20 UK (18 USA) not sure what dress sizes you use in Canada sorry otherwise I would have put a comparison for you. Really pleased that I have gone down another dress size. When I started this journey I never imagined that I would ever get to this size in my wildest dreams. With dropping a dress size i decided to measure my waist and was pleased to see that I had lost another inch from there. I have a funny shape :dizzy: my waist is narrow compared with my hips. I carry my weight mainly on my hips and thighs. So often I have to buy trousers for my hip size and then have a belt to keep the trousers sitting where they should but.

ROSEBUD :~ Well I don't blame you for making a quick meal after all your shopping. When your tired and your feet are killing you from all the walking. You just want something quick easy and no faffing about.

Yes watching your portion sizes especially on things like meat and carbohydrates is very important. If I do not make a conscious effort I can quite easily find myself putting portions that I used to. I try to fill up on steamed vegetables at a meal time. That way I do not tend to stray so badly. It is nice to have a few calories left over every day for a treat such as an ice cream or hot chocolate. That way I do not feel so deprived. My sister gave me a great boost this week when she found how much I had lost now. She told me how well I had done because she knows how hard I have worked to get so far. My sister has a figure of a stick insect and she often jokes about that because I was the eldest I nicked all the chest:D. Has you may have now guess my sister is flat chested and I am far from it.

I hope that you got a good night sleep and feel rested today. I must get down into town and finish my Christmas shopping which is nearly done just another 3 presents to sort out. But I do like to get it done fairly early so that I am not pushed and shuffed by all the crowds in our city. With not having the best balance in the world I hate really crowded areas.

Well must finish now as my furry baby is bugging the life out of me as his ball has gone under my desk. He lives for his ball. It is the first thing he looks for in the morning or if we come in the house after being out. To put it mildly he is obsessed by his ball. :D

Bye bye ladies time to shoot off as it is nearly tea.:hug::hug:

:coach: NOW HEAR THIS ~ we're on the move again ...


:nono: STOP! DON'T POST HERE ANYMORE!

Please go to the new PHYSICAL CHALLENGES DECEMBER'S MONTHLY THREAD #004 -- see you there ... and thanx!



:hug: ROSEBUD :hug
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