South Beach Diet - Tucking Into Tuesday Chat

:coffee: The house is freezing! We haven't turned on our heat yet, and it was so hard to get out from under the nice, warm covers. It's time to stop being thrifty and start thinking about comfort! Brrrrrrr! It's a hot oatmeal morning!

I talked to Cindy last night about those late evening piano lessons, and she agreed with me. Richard was home, too, and he said he was going to look into either having the teacher come to their house, or look for another teacher. It would be a shame to have to change teachers, as theirs is highly acclaimmed and excellent with the girls. But at least something is being done about it. By the time I got home it was too late to eat a big supper, so I just had a cheese stick and a cup of tea. :(

Cyndi, I am keeping your DP in my thoughts and prayers daily. :hug:

Barb, I really enjoyed seeing your pictures and especially the recent photo of Brian. What a good looking son you have! You must be so proud of him!

Schmoodle, I loved your vacation pictures, too, and you're looking fabulous! You look even slimmer than when got together this summer!

Loriann, congratulations on the new puppy! I hope he's easy to manage while you're at work each day!

Well, I'm pouring my 2nd cup before heading to Curves. What's everybody doing today?

Good Tuesday Morning to all! I hope you are warmed up now, Cottage. Yes, it's time to put comfort before thrift. I'm even considering flannel sheets. I do hope Cindy can fix the piano lesson situation.

I seem to be back on track with sleep but still didn't beat Cottage in here. I need to read the rest of yesterday's posts and catch up on the news. I went for a two hour nap and kind of ran out of time. I must admit that's about all I did yesterday - didn't even go down for the mail.

Today will be different with things to do. First Claire and I will be packing the Good Food Boxes for 10:30 pickup. It's like the CSA except we buy through a wholesaler. People just order a box or bag of fruits or veggies and take what they get. Lots of trades happen. I'm constantly swapping bananas for romaine or mushrooms.

I finally finished my fourth quilt top for Victoria's quilts and have figured out the next one - dogs and ducks in deep colours so it will be for a man. We seem to forget that men get cancer too and need something warm and comforting. This will be the last one I piece because I'm way behind on my own stuff and Christmas is coming - sorry to mention it!

Hope your Tuesday is warm and healthy. Now to read yesterday's daily and maybe move some crockpot recipes into the new section.

Good morning early birds :coffee2:

Cottage - We finally gave in and turned the heat on last weekend. When I was home baking it was tolerable but cold the rest of the time. Have fun at Curves!

Ruth - The quilt sounds lovely. What Christmas projects do you have in mind? I used to make lots of mine (I also baked for weeks and brought huge boxes with 20 types of cookies and 12 candies and made everyone plates. I'm better now ;) ) but don't have the time or motivation now. I am thinking about making jars of the apple chunks for hot cereal for my oatmeal eating friends. They turned out to be a good idea and I know a few people who will enjoy them :)

I've got a long and busy day on tap. I plan to take Thursday & Friday off to be with DP (surgery & recovery) so need to squish work into two days. It's good for me to be busy.

This week's bread experiment included buckwheat flour. It made a dark, dense bread - quite yummy. I have discovered that I can use 1/2 c gluten and 1/2 c of garbanzo flour in a loaf and it doesn't have any negative impact on the bread. It does keep the carb count in the reasonable diabetic level though (about 10 - 14 g for this variety). Obviously I'm enjoying my bread experiemnts :)

Thanks to everyone for the PMs and wishes. Sometimes it feels like we are a bit isolated and you all remind me that there are more people out there keeping us in their thoughts than I realize. It means more than you know.

Have a good day everyone

Cottage... hmmmm we don't really get that cold here, I am always romantic about super cold weather. I am sure that it isn't so in reality :) Hope you got warmed up.

Ruth... Don't mention xmas. We usually make family hampers, but I haven't even though of it this year. The quilt sounds lovely. I would love to get some made for our family as heirloom items. I have a friend who's grandma makes them and they are personalised and just magical to look at - some are complete with extended family trees or intricate patchwork of their favourite things as a child, or other family members. Just beautiful artwork.

Cyndi.. will be thinking of you and your partner on Thursday and Friday. Our family will keep you in our evening blessings. I hope that you get all your work done. Lots of love.

Well, it looks like I might get a research grant from my university for the summer break. Which is wonderful. I also put in my application for what the USA call grad school - but we have a different system where we do an intensive academic prep year then start a PhD. I am really excited about it.

Must keep studying though.

take care everyone :)

GOOD MORNING ALL....

I'll do personals soon (in next day or so!) But wanted to say hi to my friends, I miss you ALL!!!

Yes, puppy is SO easy to train! He doesn't mouth the hand (which is awesome)... he hasn't gone once in his crate and yesterday my son didn't come over till 3 to let him out, so from 7 to 3, pretty darn good for first day! He's already learning "sit".... and off (he is a puppy and likes to jump and put his front paws on my legs for attention, I simply tell him off, sit and praise for it! he's learning what the leash is for and the word walk! I'll have him trained in no time!

In meantime, work, BORING! But, I'll take it (though days are LONG!)... I don't see where they even need me! let alone for two weeks! LOL oh well, I'll take the pay!

Love you all,
Miss you all (yes, even you Jellybeaners)
Lori

Wow! Just ploughed through yesterday and feel a bit more caught up.

Cyndi, I just sent you an email. I used your registration addy - hope it gets to you.

Loriann, a puppy! Sounds like a darling. I hope to see some pictures soon. I'm sure Jade will recover.

Barb, I love the pic of Brian and of you too, of course. It's nice to put a face to the people I have grown to feel I know.

Schmoodle, you look great and all of you must have thoroughly enjoyed Disney. I hope to do that with my grandbabies one day soon.

Jenski, I have known several children with Aspergers (used to teach school) and all of them have turned out just fine. Keep us posted about your new doc and stick to your guns. Squeaky wheel gets the grease, etc.

The house has warmed up and my joints are moving better so I'll get cracking on my day although it's still black as night out there.

Good morning everyone!!! Seems like I've been a ghost around here...things have been super busy...but a good busy. Unfortunately my eating hasn't been the best...but am getting back to good now!

Today is date #2 with the PTA...we shall see...seems like the long delay has built up a bit of suspense for us both....geez how I love dating...haha....at least my friends get a kick out of it! They think I'm being a picky witch when I say I probably won't date anyone shorther than me...as I'm 5'11 and already feel like an amazon!! haha

Not much time for personals....

Cyndi....please know that you and your DP are in my thoughts and prayers!

Happy Tuesday everybody!!

Hi! No time to read personals but wanted to say I'm two for two with veggies with meals so far today! I've got sweet potatoes in the crock pot and a salad waiting for dinner (with fake chicken and not-so-legal-but-made-with-whole-wheat-flour corn bread), so we'll be good there, too.

Have a good Tuesday!!!

Kara

The sun is finally up! We have turned our heat on in the last couple of days but I may have to break the fingers of whomever keeps turning it up! ;)

Cyndi Many thoughts, prayers and hugs for you and DP.

Loving seeing all the new pics, everyone looks great!

Lisa Hope you get good news on the job soon!

Looks to be a busy day here at work followed by some shopping for clothes for DD's senior pics on Saturday. Beyond that nothing new in my world.

Hope you all have a great day.

Morning girls! Just a quickie today. One more request for prayers for the job. Haven't heard yet, which makes me hold my breath for long periods of time when I think about it. Literally. I'll either find out via email with a "nope" or phone call with a "yep" sometime early this week. Being that it's Tuesday, I hope I hear something today. I really want it to be a "yep" but the suspense is killing me!!!!!

I will help with the crockpot recipes after work today! Going to slam my Irish Breakfast Tea and hop in the shower. Have a great day girlies!!!!

Lisa

Morning, girls! Same ol' same ol' today. Cable was finally fixed yesterday, although apparently they need to run a bunch of new wires under the house.

off to make french toast...I can hear them *starving* downstairs.

Good morning!

The crazy scale has me up 2lbs this week which is understandable with a weekend out of town.

Did day 1 of the 30 day shred video and boy thats a tough workout. Day 2 is today and I am ready.

Cyndi :hug: prayers and well wishes coming your way

A bit busy here this morning so gotta run but hope everyone has a great day!

Good morning all!!! Happy Tuesday!
Cottage - Glad to hear that the piano lessons are going to get changed. It's just too late for everyone involved. I hope they're able to keep their instructor.

Ruth - That quilt sounds beautiful. I'd love to see pics of some of the quilts you've done. And don't worry about mentioning Christmas already.....I bought a few Christmas gifts over the weekend.

Cyndi - Know that you and your partner are covered in prayer this week. The bread sounds fantastic!

Marianna - I hope you're able to get the summer break you want. Keeping my fingers crossed :crossed: that you get that grant!

Loriann - Congrats on the new pup. So glad to hear that it's working out so much better this time. And good that the job is bringing in some money. Hopefully things are on the up and up!

Mandy - Have fun tonight....and remember, we want details afterwards!!! Have a great time!

Kara - Good job on the veggies! Keep it up!

Stephanie - Have fun shopping with the DD today!

Lisa - Prayers for peace are headed up for you! I hope that what ever the decision, you're able to find that you're ok with the choice. But more than that I'm hoping they choose you!!!!

Zeff - Hope the french toast was yummy!

Gonnabe - I did Jillian today as well. We get day one on the exercise-on-demand. It's a good workout. Hope day 2 goes as well!!!

Me - So yesterday I hit a wall at work. There were so many people out, I"m already doing 3 people's jobs. I took on someone else's yesterday and it all came crashing down. Spent a good 30 min. in my boss's office in tears. We talked about prioritizing and making sure that I take care of myself, and delegating when I can. I hope today is better. It's been a rough first quarter. And it's not like everyone else isn't pitching in as well....we're just all swamped. But it felt better just to vent.
This week is Red Ribbon Week, and today we're all supposed to wear red. I couldn't find a shirt I liked, so I went looking in the back of the closet last night where I keep the clothes that don't fit. Found a shirt I used to love to wear.....tried it on and it fit!!! Hopefully that will also keep my spirits up today.
Have a great Tuesday, ladies!!!
BLESSING!!!

hmac :bravo: on that back of the closet red shirt - ya gotta love wjen that happens. Good luck with the video

Morning Ladies!
I had to scoot to work this Morning as DH took the new fuzzy to get fixed. Poor Fuzzy So I'm finally beginning to thaw from My Kiercicle Status.
Hmac taht's the best feeling woohooo!
Gonna thats probably just road food induced bloat
Zeff I'm coming to your house for breakfast!
Weez you're in my prayers lady!

ARG time has gotten away from me
Cyn thoughts and prayers for DP!
Barb Great pics!!
ok gotta run Mgmt is swarming this way!
Kierie
PS I will post what a swamp rescue is I swear!

Heather - :bravo: :woohoo:

Lisa - :crossed:

Busy day here as well. We are still catching up on schoolwork and spent all last evening working on it. Very stressful for DS. DD let me know at 7PM last night that it would be nice to have cookies or buttons to hand out at school today (she is running for class president). Yeah, right. This was just AFTER I finished grocery shopping. I remembered I have a bunch of bookmark blanks in my crafting supplies, so I'll dig those out today and she can decorate tonight and hand out tomorrow. But I have two loads of laundry on the line, Loriann's crockpot stuffed cabbage is on for dinner, so I think I'm ahead of the game. Today is Phase I definitely.
Otherwise SOSO around here.

KO, I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see a swamp rescue.
Hmac, Happy red shirt day! Hope things settle down for you at work soon.
Weezle, I hope you get a positive response soon. I am so impatient, waiting is just the worst.
Don't worry about those 2 lbs. Gonna, just flush them away with water.
Good morning zeff!
Barb, loved your pictures. You and Brian both look great! I already had a picture of you in my head but I was way off.
Happy shopping Stephanie. Hope you and DD have more fun shopping together than me and my DD!
Great job Kara!
Hope the date goes well mandy. Be sure and let us know - I enjoy living vicariously!
Wow, Ruth, you are a quilt factory. I haven't made a quilt in so long, I'd love to have time to get back to that stuff. My Christmas project this year will be aprons - quick and easy!
Cyndi, I thought I was all caught up reading the dailies, but I must have missed something somewhere... I remember Julie wasn't feeling well a couple of weeks ago. What is the surgery for? My thoughts are with you both.
cottage, glad Cindy and Richard are willing to arrange things so you don't have to work late.

I am looking forward to seeing how the crockpot thread develops. I don't have much to contribute as I am not too skilled with mine. I usually turn to the pressure cooker instead. But I'd like to learn to use it better. Seems everything I put in mine turns out overcooked or tough.

I just ordered tickets to Sesame Street Live in November. There was a special pre-show where they could meet the characters, but $35 a ticket!! I think we're just going to stick with regular tickets at $16 a piece.

Good Morning,
Everyone sounds so stressed out today. From grownups to children in school. Frost on the ground here too.

Ruth - you seem to really enjoy quilting. I only quilt baby bibs. Make nice little presents.

Cottage - enjoy your day. I love Brandywine Valley.

Mandy - There are lots of tall guys these days.

Kara - glad you are settling in and on track.

Schmoodles - I am so in awe of women engineers. My DH is a retired engineer and when he was in school there was only one girl and she only lasted two weeks in class. Here is Canada professional engineers wear an iron ring on the pinky hand of their predominant hand. It signifies the Sons of Martha. So you can alway recognize an engineer.

hmc - keep your spirits up.

Zeff - how is the new home.

Cyndi - prayers with you.

Lisa - hang in there.

Sorry if I missed anyone. Me - pumpkin baking in the oven and then I will can it later and this afternoon hopefully I can play on my loom.
Sophie


Me -

Hmac congrats on the shirt, hope today is a much better day for you.

Zeff my DS at 21 is still a HUGE sesame street/muppets fan, we have every possible DVD/VHS out there is our collection. When he was about 4 I had to hide the Follow That Bird tape because I couldn't possibly watch it one more time without commiting a serious crime! ;) Now he uses the neices and nephews as an excuse to pull them out along with The Monster at the End of This Book Book! Have fun!

Stephanie--One of my mom's favorite stories is that when we went to see "Follow That Bird" in the theater I made her sit in the front row. I think I was about 3. Apparently I was pretty forceful. ;)

Schmoodle--I'd love to see some of your pressure cooker recipes. I don't use mine very much because I really don't know how to use it!

I love cooking in the crockpot...a roast sounds so yummy right now. Especially since we've been eating Frankenfood because I have no energy to cook. My mom comes tomorrow--hallelujah!! ETA: I follow this blog: crockpot365.blogspot.com (http://crockpot365.blogspot.com). She is cooking a new crockpot recipe every day for a year. She is very health-conscious and cooks gluten-free, so many of them are SBD-friendly or adaptable.

Jessie - Do you have any of the make and take supper places around you? We have one by us called Super Suppers. I'm planning to have at least 2 weeks of food on hand in the freezer for before and after the baby is born and I'm going to do at least a weeks worth of food from that place.

Sophie - the new house is wonderful.

-
UPS just showed up with a big, awkward, heavy box for DH. DH said that if I open it, it's going back. :(

It looks like a Dyson box. :)

Is it wrong that I'm this excited about getting a vacuum cleaner for my birthday? I've been wanting a Dyson for months now and when I told DH that I wanted it for my birthday, he looked at me *stunned*. I had to make it clear that I don't want appliances for every birthday from now on...just this one ;)

ooooh, I hope I hope I hope! :love:

Zeff--We do. But between moms being here and Sunday School class bringing us meals for a few weeks, I think we'll be OK after baby is born. It's been the last few weeks where I wish I had frozen food while I still felt good!

Good morning chickies:

Cottage - Glad to hear that the piano lessons are going to get changed, not good to be working such long hours.

Ruth - The quilt sounds great you will have to post pictures.

Cyndi - You and your partner are in my thoughts and prayers

Marianna - I hope you're able to get that grant.

Loriann - Congrats on the new pup. Sounds like you are enjoying training him.

Mandy - Have fun tonight on your date.

Kara - Good job on the veggies! Keep it up!

Stephanie - Have fun shopping with the DD today!

Lisa - Have my fingers crossed for you today.

Zeff - Hope the french toast was yummy!

Gonnabe - I am sure the scale will go down for you.

KO Barb and Schmoodle hello. :wave:

HMAC congratulations on the shirt wheewho

As for me: The scale has finally moved down- I changed it to reflect one down but it is actually down two down for past two days but I will not change it down further until it sticks for a bit. Busy at work and at home.

Have a great day Ladies

Zeff--We do. But between moms being here and Sunday School class bringing us meals for a few weeks, I think we'll be OK after baby is born. It's been the last few weeks where I wish I had frozen food while I still felt good!

I guess that is where experience comes in handy :) When I was pg the first time, we didn't have anything prepared in advance and ended up getting take-out or going out every night for the last few weeks. It got old.

Now, when I make a meal that is easily frozen - I double it and freeze some. I have a bunch of bolognese sauce, some chicken manicotti, some vegetable lasagna and chicken taco filling in the freezer right now. It's tempting not to pull it out and use it now. :)

Wow...you're close!

Pearl - the french toast was really yummy. The recipe called for cream cheese filling, but it is a little heavy for breakfast so I subbed ricotta cheese that I had mixed with some greek yogurt and chopped, macerated strawberries.
-

ok....the most annoying thing in the world....seriously....my two year old telling me that his favorite cartoon is on (he gets to watch sesame street at 9:30 and Dragon Tales at 10)...over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over....ad nauseum...and if I don't say "YAY! _____ is on!!! YAYAYYAYAYAYAYY!!!! each and every time, he'll just keep repeating it.

oy.

When my daughter had my most wonderful beautiful grandson last year out West, that's 3,000 miles from here. I went and stayed with her for six weeks and between her DH and myself we did all the cooking and cleaning. It was so wonderful to be with them. I miss them so much.
sophie

Weezle, you got me thinking about the dark nail polish. I went to the grocery store last night, and while I was there I picked up 2 new bottles a dark purple and a black with shimmer. I figured now is the time of year to play around with these shades. If it looks bad, I can blame it on Halloween!!
I tried the dark purple this morning, it looks like black. But you know... I think I can pull this off. I am having dinner with friends tonight, I'll get their opinion. I'll keep you updated!

My appetite hasn't returned. I can't seem to stomach much food. Breakfast was a cottage cheese cup and a string cheese, with my cup of coffee... what a horrible combination!!

Thank you to the person who thought of the crock pot thread! LOVE the crockpot, especially this time of year. I printed off 3 soup recipes from this site and I can't wait to try them. I'll wander onto the crockpot thread and check out the goodies there too! I do have 2 to-die for crockpot recipes... although they are from before SB. Wonder if they could be easily converted?!? One is a pork roast (is that SB ph2 legal?) with cranberry sauce and apricot juice... hmmm, how do you lower the sugar on that combo?!? Another is a beef roast cooked with a little red wine and italian seasonings... bet that one would be legal.

I went shopping for Halloween candy last night. I bought things I don't like! Tootie rolls and suckers. And I requested to all the grandparents that they not give the kids candy. They get too much from school and trick-or-treating. I said a coloring book and new box of crayons would go over just as well. It will be better for all of us in the long run! And no candy to tempt me!

Zeff- appliances for your birthday! I see nothing wrong with it... I have done that in the past. The year I got my vac (not a dyson though!) I was thrilled!!

Heather - congrats on the shirt! That sometimes feels better than watching the scale go down!!

Jen- can I steal that crockpot pork roast recipe from you? My mom is coming to stay with us next week and I want to make some fall food for her.

**Disclaimer - not SB, I know. I would like suggestions on how to make it more SB friendly though if anyone has any suggestions. If I could find low sugar cranberry sauce and apricot juice, I would be in business! :D

Zeff - It is super easy. A pork tenerloin, a can of whole berry cranberries and 2 cans of apricot juice. I don't always find the apricot juice in cans, so I just add enough to fill the bottom of the crockpot. The original recipe called for diced dried apricots too... I add them occasionally. Set on low 7-8 hours, the longer it cooks, the more tender it gets. When we eat it, a fork just breaks it apart. We eat it just like that, but I have friends that make it into sandwiches too.... Everyone raves about it when I make this. This is a fav in my house.

Also, while we are on the topic of crockpots. Has anyone tried those crockpot liners? They sell them where the foil and saran is. You line your crockpot, fill it and cook like you normally would. Best part, when you are done, you gather the bag, thow a twist tie on it, and you can almost put your crockpot back in the cabinet, it is that clean!!

Jessie I too follow the crockpot blog and have made some of here recipes - very tasty and easy

Jen - You could probably make something similar to it that would be SB friendly. Instead of the canned cranberries, use fresh ones. Instead of apricot juice, use chicken broth and diced, unsweetened dried apricots.

It does sound yummy, though.

RE: the crockpot liners...I use them all the time. They make cleanup a snap. Just pull the liner out and toss. Rinse the lid and put away. We have a huge crockpot and I hate washing it.

Zeff where would one find those crockpot liners

cranberry sauce - http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45300 is the link to the thread where I posted a cranberry sauce recipe made with Splenda a few years ago. I use a huge pot and triple the recipe and then freeze it in small single portion sizes. It's easy and tastes great. The pot is a pain to clean but that's why I make so much at one time.

I have lots of crockpot recipes that I love. I know a few are posted here but I probably don't have all of them posted. I'll have to look. Eating has been bad lately with lack of time and with all the stress.

I know I mentioned we had 4 people from my group cut last week. Another friend was let go yesterday. She's the sole support of her disabled sister. I heard 1,000 people got let go yesterday. It's so bad that the cafeteria cashier is asking people how many got cut from their groups.

That's scary stuff Barb. I see people around me starting to be affected by job cuts, etc. We have some friends who have an auctioneer business, and also licensed as a real estate agent, and both of those areas are being hit hard. Things are really starting to get tough for them. Nothing so far in my company, but govt funding for the program I work on was cut about $85 million for FY09, so who know what's coming down the road?

Did you end up using anything to thicken or gel, or just the recipe as posted there? I want to try this when I get out of Ph1 lockup.

I know I mentioned we had 4 people from my group cut last week. Another friend was let go yesterday. She's the sole support of her disabled sister. I heard 1,000 people got let go yesterday. It's so bad that the cafeteria cashier is asking people how many got cut from their groups.

Barb -- My job is scheduled to be eliminate in Dec 2009 but the way things are going right now I expect the date will be pulled in. My big concern is getting employment after the RIF. I've worked here for 20 years and pretty rusty on the interviewing process and was hoping it would be easier to find a temp position once I’m released that would evolve into a perm position but with the economy slowdown I’m really pretty worried that even a temp position will be hard to come by. It’s not enough stress knowing your job has been eliminated but now I have to worry about the economy slowing way down.

Oh well, if I can keep my nerves in check hopefully I will land in an even better job, right??? I actually am a bit frightened about the whole thing.

BTW -- I started making the SF Cranberries last year and just fell in love with them and didn't think about freezing them ahead. This year everytime I go to the store I buy 2 - 3 more bags, to cook and freeze. It is so easy to make cranberrie sauce and it is sooooooooooooooooooooooo good over the top of cottage cheese. Yum yum yum

Gonnabe - I think I find them by the saran wrap and foil...maybe by the plastic bags? I bought a ton of them at Sam's a long time ago and haven't had to buy any since. They are in that general vicinity, though.

Thanks Zeff

STEPHANIE - I love love love The Monster at the End of This Book!!!! You can send your son over here any time to read it to my kids! My mom gave us the copy they had for us when we were kids!!!

Kara
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Lookie! Two carrots!!!

A golden retriever male, I'm thinking to name him Jesse.... What do you all think? I'm trying to think of other names.