Age 50+ - ~October Golden Girls~

We are about Fitness and Quality of Life after 50...
We are about Fun and Friendship after 50...
We are the Golden Girls...

There is Value in us
There is Power in us
There is Wisdom in us
And Laughter....
We are a rainbow of unique wonders,
There is love in us.
(poem by Dorothy Holmes)

Tell us a little about your life, family and goals. What keeps you motivated? What is the best thing that's happened to you since you passed the 50 mark?
Friends laugh, cry and stand by each other, we'll be that to you!

Good Morning Girls!
I'm sitting here typing as the lightning is shooting all around me, the dog is quaking at my feet and the rain is coming down in buckets. I usually unplug my cp at times like this but decided to live dangerously this morning. You know what a dull life I have if this is the only thing that excites me. I have to meet MIL up at the hospital, she has a hernia and someone has to be there. She's in middle stages and fast approaching the end of alzheimer's. Lately she's been calling us right after lunch to find out where her husband Woody is (He's been dead for 20 years) so it's getting worse. Usually she calls at night with that question, I've decided to start telling her Woody and DH have gone on a hunting trip and she's suppose to stay there overnight while they're gone. The nursing people said it's getting harder and harder to settle her down as she's pass reasoning with. Makes me wonder why some people get it and others don't, what causes it. Unhealthy eating comes to mind with all the processing and preservatives in food. My mom died from it 3 years ago and she never ate boxes or processed foods, everything was from scratch. On the other hand, my MIL did use short cuts in cooking from time to time and she has it too. I think DH and I are doomed to inherit something we don't want and it isn't money.
Other than my gloom and doom on such a rainy day, what's happening with everyone else?

Hi all...I've been here, but having so many issues that it was too overwhelming to write about and about 7 minutes ago i thought gesh dummy that's what your friends on Golden Girls can do is be supportive! I had to stop directing in May because I just about killed my knees taking that darn pill Dr Uhho recommended. It apparently dried up all the synolival fluids and after stopping slowly am uncreaking. Hey when you spend 20 minutes trying to figure out if you can walk to the bathroom things get hairy.

But i can deal with that kinda stuff what has me in this tail spin is that Dh is now in renal failure from his diabetes. I started him on a low salt low protein diet 2 months ago. Me, too....just can't see eating normal in front of him....that is basically a diet of cardboard and saw dust. Only to find he was cheating like mad. Then a buddy (retired heavy equipment driver) came up with this book that said you could just about cure diabetes with vitamins. Doctor in California and he instant went on that diet. Luckly it only was for a week before the renal doc told him that he had to get on this 50gram low protein/low salt diabetic diet.Which is exactly what I had set up 2 months ago. That means no diet cokes, decaf coffee, no tomatoes and no salt shaker. He is absolutely refusing to do it. His kidney function will go completely down the tubes! After 2 months of begging and nagging and failing I have decided that I will let him choose his way. I will cook his proper meals and not buy the garbage he wants. Tired of being the *itch!

I have regained a bunch of weight and not been exercising. Even just floating in the pool hurt my knees. So am back to step one. I would love to south beach it but that means 2 different meals....oh well, One step at a time...

I can do THIS............I HAVE TOO....Karen3

I went for a glorious walk this morning in the rain. Not a rain storm but gently falling warm rain. It was wonderful. I was listening to classical music on my MP3 (Music for the Royal Fireworks by Handel) and got totally absorbed in the moment and started conducting while I was walking. I was blissfully happy at that moment and it has colored my whole day. I feel great.

Well, October is here and although I don't like autumn (such a reminder that winter is coming) I'm determined to make it a good one. Canadian Thanksgiving is in less than 2 weeks but I'm not going to get thrown off track. I'll concentrate on the baby and forget the pie (or at least more than 1 piece :0).

Nothing on my agenda today except pie making for Thanksgiving. We're having the kids here that weekend and they'll expect pie. I'm still poking around with mom's room. I've got to rehang my diplomas and a few other certificates that we had in the room before it was painted. Then I have about a million photos to sort and possibly scan onto the computer. That, of course, won't all happen today.

Must go put my dinner into fitday and see what's left for supper. Catch you all later.

Karen3, welcome back. We've missed you so much. So sorry you've had such problems but you're right. We will support you. :hug:

Welcome back Karen3, we've missed you. i thought gesh dummy that's what your friends on Golden Girls can do is be supportive! You've got that right, you can talk to all of us about your troubles. I'm sorry DH is in denial, but as he gets worse he'll maybe start listening to you and the doc.

Today's my second day on the "journey".... I'm excited! A little story: I'm taking my very old aunty to visit my very old mom tomorrow. Mom is fixing spaghetti "with all the fixings". I told her I didn't want to fall off the wagon quite so soon, and she said "oh, pasta is good for you, and a little garlic bread and pie won't hurt you." Mom's sabotage, maybe??
I've asked several people several times and have never had a response from anyone (including moderators): how does one start a thread????

Jess1 - if you go to the main sub-forum page (in this case Age 50+), you'll see the list of all of the threads (topics). Look at the bottom left hand side of the list of topics and you'll see a little button with a red arrow that says "New Thread".

Click on that and it will open up the new post page -- add your subject title, and write your post and there you go!

Welcome Back Karen3!! We have all missed you. I am so sorry to hear of all that you are going through. I am pretty much back at square one too! Between the move, the death of my Dad and my kids moving away to Florida, with no jobs in site! But I think I may have my head back in the right place and am trying to get started on ME again. You take care and remember we are here for you.

Welcome Jess! You will really like it here. We look forward to getting to know you.

Everybody have a good day and I'll check back later.

Hi Everyone,

Ladies, shopping/cooking/eating right is such a mental exercise that it is VERY difficult to do when you are dealing with health problems (your own or your loved ones').

The people who have been in this group for a long time, can tell you that while I was dealing with my dh's problems, I wasn't losing at all. Everyday I would post my weight and every day it would be the same. I was embarassed to check in.

Don't beat yourself up & keep posting. When things are bad, you need your friends.

Lynn

Hi Everyone,

karen3, So good to see you back! The others are so right. We've all gone through times when it seemed almost impossible to deal with things going on and our health too. But, everyone here is so supportive. It's just a reminder that you are not alone.

Bobbi, I can relate with the problems with relatives with dementia also. My mom is getting worse. It's so sad to see. I'm not there to see her every day, my youngest sister is taking care of her. God Bless Her! She has the patience of a saint. She is not going to be one of those sweet little ladies that just has memory loss.

Isabella, How peaceful that sounds, walking in the gentle rain. My Gd and I went for a walk not long ago, with our umbrellas.

Karen31, I'm happy to see that you are getting back to taking care of YOU. We, as mothers, wives and daughters, are so used to taking care of everyone else, we always put ourselves last. But I think we forget that we can't take care of others if we're not well ourselves. Good incentive to keep healthy and take the time.

Lynn, We do the best we can, when we can. We've all stumbled and fallen. But the important thing is, we've all picked ourselves up and got going again.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I find that I just NEED this group. I've tried it on my own and it just doesn't work. I need the support, the careing the acceptance.

Freda

Just coming here and posting the little victories and even the failures has certainly helped me. And losing weight takes great concentration so when life gets in the way that's what has to be taken care of first. I wonder when all this eating right and exercise will become second nature and we won't have to think about it and just do it?

Sorry to hear about all you're going through, Karen. It's difficult to deal with a non-compliant patient (or husband) and still fend for yourself. On top of that, bad knees just wreck a body's ability to do most anything. I had my own bout with one of my knees and for a while could barely move around the house.

Bobbi, dementia can be very trying for caretakers. My grandmother had it and at the end of her life didn't even remember any of us, but could still speak perfect German (her second language as a child) and play the piano perfectly. The good news is except for a few known conditions, no one really knows why people get it. My mother, now in her 70s, shows no signs of mental loss at all. You and your husband might as well operate under the assumption you don't have a problem, until there's reason to suspect you do have one.

Hey, jess, maybe your Mom is Italian? My husband's family is like that. Anytime we eat at their homes, the women will ask how much of something I want and when I say only a little, they load up the plate! :eek: They don't even ask if I want seconds, just plop down some more pancakes, or chicken, or whatever. I started giving whatever I didn't want to my husband on the sly, now that he's reached his goal. He gets more points than I do, and it's his family, so he can tell them not to serve me so much! :D

As for me, my risotto last night turned out great! I combined a Julia Child recipe with another one I had and made a mushroom risotto that was just right. I think I can improve it, but at least now I know what I'm doing. Today being Thursday, I cooked for my father-in-law. He's easy, because he only eats seven things: fish, rarely chicken, potatoes, wax beans, and carrots or broccoli if they are cooked to mush. Seriously. Menus are limited but, thank goodness, easy for me to keep on the lo-calorie side of things.

Fall is absolutely kicking into gear here, so I brought up my box of autumn decorations and now the house is bedecked with pumpkins, scarecrows and harvest themes. My favorite time of year!

Thursday already! Another week has almost bit the dust, as my father used to say. I'm feeling better, but still have little sneezing/coughing/stuffy fits every so often. Very annoying, and that's the truth. Oh, welcome back Karen3 - I just got back here myself after a long period during which life forced itself on me. It's nice to have folks welcome you back, isn't it? I'm sitting here eating 20 seedless grapes very, very slowly, waiting for supper to be done. I left instructions for DH, and he apparently followed them, but later than he should've gotten started. Grrrrrrr. :( Well, I guess we'll eat when it's done and not a moment before. I'm too tired to fuss. I did a little shopping at lunchtime today - bought a lightweight woolen jacket that will go nicely with a couple different skirts that I have. I wore a skirt today that was calf-length a few months ago, but now hangs to my ankles because there's less of me to hold it up. That's kind of nice, but it also was a reminder that I'd better try things on before buying them now, because my inclination is to just buy what I usually (used to) buy, and that's not going to work anymore. It's my daughter's birthday tomorrow, and we're meeting her and her husband and my granddaughter and the little twins at her favorite restaurant for supper. Her husband called and arranged it. She thinks it's just going to be him and the kids. I'm taking her clothes shopping on Sunday; we always go clothes shopping for her birthday. We've been doing it together since she was a little girl. She really needs some new things after being pregnant all last winter.
One more work day, and then two days off. Whoopee. Is it time for me to retire yet? :^: Freda, how's your grandson doing? So scary. You just never know what's going to happen out there. If you really thought about it, you'd be afraid to let anyone you love go anywhere or do anything, you know? And how're those pies coming along, Isabella? Just thinking about them is making my mouth water. Damn grapes! I finished them and I'm still hungry! Oh, and welcome Jess1....you will absolutely love these women, I promise!
Enough for now...Bobbi, be careful on the computer when there's lightening outside! We need you in one piece, lady!

Hugs,
Z ;)

Hi Everyone! I just finished posting on the challenge. I figured I'd better get that done before I sit down to watch some TV tonight. I cleaned my Aunts house this morning (that accounts for the 4 hours in the challenge) I worked hard and fast this morning because they were saying we would had severe thunderstorms this afternoon with hail starting about 1:00. I got home at 12:45 and the wind and the rain got here at 1:15!! I didn't do any other workout this afternoon but I did go and get my flu shot! Anyway, I'm tired tonight and that accounts for the small calorie posting too--- slimfast shake with strawberries in the blender for supper tonight.... it hit the spot!!

Have a good night.

Hi Everyone, It has been a while since I posted but thought that I would jump in again. I am hanging in there with this life style change. I certainly do feel better when I eat right, and don't have all of that bloat. I am so determined, and I am having a platue right now, but I know it won't last forever so I am just going to keep at it.

Wilma

Hi everyone..a beautiful sunny fall day here its about 55 out and my dogs have followed the sun across the floor this afternoon all on their backs..they look so goofy..welcome back karen 3 u were missed and im sry for your troubles..i was really lazy today so do not have alot to share..i did get my blood test results back and im a ok there..even the diabetes is in good control..my dr was pleased and that means im doing something right :carrot: tonites my tv nite 3 shows in a row my dh isnt going to be happy tho as he likes control of what we watch :?: so we are going to get a 2nd tv so we can both watch what we want..an excellent idea i think :dizzy: hope u all have a great evening :wave: rosey

Rosey ~ is having control of the remote a "man" thing? My mom and dad have the same trouble. Dad controls the remote and poor mom doesn't have much say. Thankfully they have a 2nd TV, so she goes down the hall to get to watch what she wants to. :)

We have two tv's and we also DVR a lot of things. Thank goodness for DVR's!!

Isn't it funny that it's always we women who have to go to "another room" to watch tv?? It's like that at our house too, I have never heard of the man going down the hall to the other tv, EVER. lol lol ;)



Doris

It isn't just me? I love my husband, but he does seem to view the family room couch, bigscreen TV and remote as his personal "domain". Unfortunately, the DVR is only hooked to this TV. I try to watch the shows that only *I* like (like The Biggest Loser, the Food Network shows, and 18 Kids and Counting) during "off hours", but that's not always possible, so I have to insist on equal viewing rights! But most of the time, I just retreat to another room to read or watch what's on cable. And Sunday afternoons during football season? Fergedabboudit. Fortunately, DH has many other very wonderful qualities so I can forgive him this. ;)

Good Morning all,

My husband and i don't watch the same programs on TV either. But the "big' TV is in the family room. It's who ever starts watching it first, the other goes into another room. Guess i'm lucky. There are a few programs that we both watch together, but not that many. He doesn't like my cooking shows and just how many old westerns can one man watch?

I am doing really well with the challenge. I slipped, gained too many pounds. Mostly due to steroids, but once I got started eating it was hard to get back on tract. Thanks to the challenge I have. Only 3 more pounds to go now. I should change my weight but i'll be there soon, so i'm just leaving it alone. But it should be saying 118.

Zoe, hope you're feeling better and enjoy that Birthday dinner. I know you are anxious to see the little ones again!

Wilma, i find that checking in often helps keep me where I should be. if I have to "fess up" I do much better. Come often. and yes, you feel so much better when your body is getting the neutrition it needs. And that bloated, too full feeling is miserable. Why do we do that to ourselves anyway?

Rosey, Great news from the Doc.

Freda

Oh, Linda, just wanted to say that the MIL could be Southern too. You show love with food and it's all fried! And sooo good!

Good Morning Girls!
Another rainy day here and we so appreciate it. We have many fruit trees that are too numerous to water by the hose. I still didn't get around to switching my summer clothes for my winter things. That's my number one project today, then balance our checkbook.
DH and I don't ever fight for the T.V. programs. We both like the same shows, so often he asks what I want to watch and I always say 'whatever'. You choose! I do get irritated when we lose the signal when we have a few drops of rain, geeeeeezzz.
You all have a great day and don't forget to write down every morsel that goes into your mouth. :wave:

Morning all....Thank you! It helps knowing am not alone. Think we had a minor break thru this am. I asked if he would like an english muffin with egg and he said that he might as well since the doctor said they would be ban.????? What doc said was even egg beaters have (6gm) protein....So I quietly suggested that maybe he should reschedule his next appt so I can be there. He tanked and then agreed. He made the appt for 11/3 thats the day I leave for Daytona Beach regional tournament and have had reservations for self and team mates for 6 months.

Still mulling how to fit my diet needs with his and coming up short. Both diets are concerned GI and 1500 cals is doable, but after thats where it goes wonky. Guess i'll spend the weekend researching.

Be back later to do personals. Wonderful to see all your "old timers"...Sorry Zoe just had to say that. See Cat on South Beach site and she's doing wonderful. And welcome newbies....off to play on a bridge....what my 6 yr GD thought I did all day...Karen3

Hello everyone. And I believe Doris is new to 3FC. Come and post often. Soon you'll be one of the old timers, :lol:

DH will go to the bedroom to watch TV if I want to watch something. He usually falls asleep soon after a show comes on if it's after supper, ha, ha. So he's already in bed.

I got 2 pies made yesterday, 3 if you count the pot pie for dinner. So yummy. I made a blueberry rhubarb with a lattice topping and a large apple pie with full top crust. I didn't do pumpkin yet as I rather not freeze that one and didn't have pumpkin til today. It was selling for $4.49 for a large can last week. Yikes!!! I said I'd never pay that much, I'd do carrot pies instead if need be (no one knows the difference). But today the same can was $2.49 so I bought it. It should make at least 2 pies.

I had a delicious dinner today. As most of you know I'm vegetarian just to set the scene. I made Sloppy Joes but instead of using all veggie burger I substituted cooked brown lentils for some of the burger. Also had a handful of mixed bell pepper and half a large onion added to the mix. Then I just used a bit of bbq sauce to mix it all up. It would work with ground beef as well. So delicious and a bit of added fiber with the lentils. It's the only way I'll ever make Sloppy Joes again. I just finished eating and I'm almost drooling thinking about how good they'd be to eat again. :D

The weather is cold here. DH and I shopped today as he didn't have work today. When we got home the thermostat was down to about 15 degrees C. That's chilly. Glad we have a wood furnace. Nothing like wood heat spewing out hot air till the wood's all burned up.

Tomorrow is my weigh in. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Day 1 of vacation -

Did GOOD with eating - did NOT get any exercise (except for 12 hours driving).

Made a side trip on my way from PA to NC - stopped at Monticello in VA - how BEAUTIFUL!

Too tired to check out Raleigh tonight. Will sight-see tomorrow.

Lynn

MBM, thank you! And your picture is LOVELY....

Hi everyone another rainy day here..im catching up on laundry..my dh is getting ready to go to his cabin to winterize it so i will be alone for a few days..its intersting that the tv is a universal guy girl thing :dizzy: for all of us..however my dh and I have such diff tv tastes we are going to get a 2nd tv with our alaskan permanent fund check this yr :carrot:..i just talked to my dd and she is recovering from her surg,i miss them like crazy..karen 3 i always have to cook 2 diff ways as im diabetic..its easier now with lots of practice..the only trouble i have is when i bake esp choc chip cookies( my dh luves them) so i bake and eat one and then have him put the rest up on a high shelve where i cant reach it works for me as i will cheat if i can :^: well im rambling hope you have agreat weekend :hug: rosey :wave:

I just posted in the Halloween Challenge and I guess seeing it in B/W confirms what I really already knew. My eating isn't all that off track but I need to MOVE MORE!! I didn't lose not one pound this week. But maybe by seeing it now it will motivate me to get up and do something about it!!

Day 2 of vacation -

Met up with my DF in Raleigh. In the morning, I did my exercise in the hotel gym, and headed off for the state archives in search of information about my ancestor who died in the Civil War (aka War of Northern Aggression - as I was told yesterday). A VERY nice genealogist at the archives helped me & we found out that my ancestor was part of Sherman's march through NC. I actually felt guilty! Of course, I knew he was a Union soldier who died in Raleigh, but somehow, being part of Sherman's army sounds so much more ruthless!

During the afternoon, we walked around Raleigh & last night, we went to an International Food Fest - wanted to go to the U2 concert, but no way to get tickets. We decided to eat only foods that were unfamiliar to us - had milk bubble tea from Vietnam; some kind of delicious pork thing from the Fillipines; and a fried veggie thing from Bangladesh. Totally avoided all the fantastic pastries from France!

Today I woke up and did my 60 min in the hotel gym & we're getting ready to leave for Savannah.

Check back tomorrow.

Lynn

I just posted in the Halloween Challenge and I guess seeing it in B/W confirms what I really already knew. My eating isn't all that off track but I need to MOVE MORE!! I didn't lose not one pound this week. But maybe by seeing it now it will motivate me to get up and do something about it!!

Hi Karen,

I am so glad you joined the Halloween Challenge. It is definitely MAGIC! I cannot believe how much it helps me. I have not eaten sweets since I started & have lost 4 pounds!

Lynn

A Blessed Sunday Morning to you all!
Lynn...how wonderful for you, traveling sure agrees with you. Lots of temptations and you're doing great. I was ready for your challenge after sluffing off for a few months, it's working for me too!
Off to get ready for church, have a great day everyone.

Rosy, you'll get to watch whatever you want on tv while DH is gone. :D

Karen31, never too late to join the challenge.

Lynn, sounds like you're having a fantastic trip South.

Weighed in yesterday and even with such a good week behind me I didn't lose an ounce...sigh...there are weeks like that. But it was a good week and I have the satisfaction of knowing I did it all right. Even yesterday, my free day for dessert, I never went over my calories. That's the first time ever on free day that I stayed within my calorie range. Another thing to be satisfied about. So, surprisingly, I'm not discouraged over the scales.

Have a good day all.

Another glorious autumn day, perfect for kicking back and relaxing.

Yesterday we went with the whole family, including my 86 year old FIL, to the Renaissance Faire. It was a lovely day, cool and sunny, and we had a great time. I kept within my points, though barely, and I might have lost count, but with all that walking around am pretty sure the diet won't take a hit. I lost 2 lbs. last week so am feeling good. Not happy, though, that my just purchased and wonderfully fitting jeans are already getting loose!

Got another laugh out of talking with my Mom. She's funny and smart, and I love her, but she's always been weird when it comes to me and weight. She lost a lot of weight on WW when I was a young adult, and ever since then is fixated an what I weigh. She wants to know the NUMBER. And every time I have ever told her how much I weigh, she gets quiet and kind of judgmental--if I gain, if I haven't lost enough, if I weigh more than my sister. It's really strange and kind of infuriating all at the same time, because I end up feeling like I haven't lost enough.

So this time I've been not telling her anything numerical. Not what my weight was when I started. Not what my weight is now. I do tell her, though, how many pounds I have lost. That's all. She's still inquisitive and always asks, "But what do you WEIGH?" I just refuse to say. "I'm not telling, but I'm really happy to be down two clothing sizes!" It drives her crazy, probably because she can't compare me to my sister. :rolleyes: Anyway, I hope to pleasantly surprise her when I visit this holiday season. We haven't seen each other in six months.

Sounds like everyone is doing good and keeping busy.

Indeed, Freda, the bountiful MIL could be Southern! I'd forgotten about how generous Southern hostesses can be. It's been way too many years since I've been to Atlanta.

Good Morning! I thought that I would post a link to a video of the town that I am living in. It is really quite neat! In the video they will show you a BIG house that looks like it is white with a red roof. It has a drive under carport on the left side as you look at the picture. This house was my brothers house here in Carthage several years ago. It has 12 inch Marble walls and was built out of Carthage Marble. When he sold it they turned it into a Bed and Breakfast and they also have a vineyard with their own winery. A couple months back we went over there and they do give tours free of charge so it was really neat seeing what they did with my "Brothers" house. I will try to post some pictures of the that later..

Have a Wonderful Sunday!!

Oooops!! Guess I should put the link in!!!
http://www.visit-carthage.com/video.html

Hello all, just dropping by and happy to see so many of you that I remember even Z!!! I have been in a research study with a hospitial in Cincinnati since Aug. 3 to try to reduce my antibodies so I can receive one of my daughters kidneys. I have done 9 mild Chemo treatments & steroids (with all the side effects) and now doing the last of 3 Plasmapheresis (cleans anti bodies out of the blood) the last one is tomorrow!!!! I have this Cath. in my neck so they can attach the machine, doesn't hurt but I sure can't sleep with it there. Good news is during the first chemo round my antibodies dropped 30% but they were 98% they still have a ways to drop.

Had a nice weeks vacation on the beach in Florida and relaxed end of July just before the study started. The program has all been paid for by the research study which is a hugh plus. I won't know the results until after Oct. 28. Also on the plus side I am eating small portions, healthy, low protein, salt and my own kidneys are hold steady at around 14% function and no dialysis and I have lost a total of 25lbs.

I have missed you all but the last couple months have been filled with twice a week trips to the hospital, which is 4 hrs. each time and then dealing with the side effects from the chemo the rest of the week.....energy only spread so far. They just recently found out that a couple types of Chemo work on the antibodies, this is all exciting and will change the way kidney people will be treated if successful. There are 20 of us in the program and 2 are getting their donor kidney and 2 have moved the top of the donor list so they are seeing success, I plan on being the next success story!!! Phyl

Hi Phyllis. So glad you dropped by. You posted a few times when I first joined 3FC. Happy to hear that everything is going well with your medical problems and that your morale is so high. Best wishes for a successful transplant.

Hey, Linda. Don't be sad about the jeans. Lots more smaller sizes in the stores. What I did when I first started losing enough weight to go into smaller sizes was to buy from the Goodwill stores. They often have great clothing for next to nothing. I just 3 pair of jeans for the winter there as I have about 25 more pounds to go.

Karen31, I enjoyed the video. I want to move there now. See now you've made me restless to move. :D I've lived in this house for over 31 years.

:wave: Hi Bobbi.

Had a good walk today. It was chilly but the sun was starting to peep out. I had on a long sleeved t-shirt, a cotton hoodie and a hooded jacket over that. The wind was so strong that at times I'd pull both hoods up. Then I had a great dinner (black bean and cheese enchilada, black olives, baked potato and big tossed salad). Yum. I could do that over again. Ha, ha.

Hello all,

Hope you all are having a nice weekend. I had fun yesterday ~ watching Corbin play baseball. Got to hug on Maddie a little bit. Then Sara came over in the evening and we watched a movie together. Jason was here on Friday night and we watched a movie. So thankful to be nearby them and get to spend time with them.

Headed to work here soon ~ praying for good nights.

I think the challenge thing is helping me ~ the weight is creeping down, but I'll take it ~ even 1/2 pound at a time. Feeling hopeful :)

Take care

Hello all, just dropping by and happy to see so many of you that I remember even Z!!! I have been in a research study with a hospitial in Cincinnati since Aug. 3 to try to reduce my antibodies so I can receive one of my daughters kidneys. I have done 9 mild Chemo treatments & steroids (with all the side effects) and now doing the last of 3 Plasmapheresis (cleans anti bodies out of the blood) the last one is tomorrow!!!! I have this Cath. in my neck so they can attach the machine, doesn't hurt but I sure can't sleep with it there. Good news is during the first chemo round my antibodies dropped 30% but they were 98% they still have a ways to drop.

Had a nice weeks vacation on the beach in Florida and relaxed end of July just before the study started. The program has all been paid for by the research study which is a hugh plus. I won't know the results until after Oct. 28. Also on the plus side I am eating small portions, healthy, low protein, salt and my own kidneys are hold steady at around 14% function and no dialysis and I have lost a total of 25lbs.

I have missed you all but the last couple months have been filled with twice a week trips to the hospital, which is 4 hrs. each time and then dealing with the side effects from the chemo the rest of the week.....energy only spread so far. They just recently found out that a couple types of Chemo work on the antibodies, this is all exciting and will change the way kidney people will be treated if successful. There are 20 of us in the program and 2 are getting their donor kidney and 2 have moved the top of the donor list so they are seeing success, I plan on being the next success story!!! Phyl

Phyllis! I am so HAPPY to see you posting. First, I am sorry about the illness & treatments. Next I am thrilled to hear about the exciting new treatment.

Lynn

Yesterday we went with the whole family, including my 86 year old FIL, to the Renaissance Faire. It was a lovely day, cool and sunny, and we had a great time.

DiverGal - I LOVE going to a Renaissance Faire! We have a big one down here every year in Feb/March, it runs for 5 consecutive weekends. I go every year and - I must confess - I'm one of the geeks that like to go in "garb". It's a time when I can express my inner wench. :D Usually, one or both of my boys dress up too. DH just rolls his eyes and has just accepted this as one of my many little quirks. :p

Day 3

I got up and did my hour of exercise in the hotel gym. We left Raleigh & headed toward Savannah. Stopped at South of the Border - a funny, tacky, little group of stores, restaurants, and a motel. Had fun walking around there deciding what the MOST tacky item was - decided on a plastic swan with plastic/glittered red roses. Then, about 2 hours from Savannah, stopped at Walterboro - an adorable little artistic town. Went to the Artisan Center & saw TONS of things I would LOVE to buy (I refrained) and had a lovely lunch in a little Italian restaurant in the town.

We got into Savannah around 5 - just in time to visit all the dealers at the arts and crafts show along the riverfront. Topped off the evening with oysters (for DF) and shrimp for me. I did pretty good with eating - went about 100 calories over my targeted 1200 and had a little gelatto (broke my goal of no sweets). My real downfall was a bowl of "hushpuppies" (little round globs of deep-fried cornbread). Had way too many of those with my shrimp. Oh well, have to get in training for our Paula Deen dinner.

Lynn

Oh Lynn, thanks for the welcome, missed you.

I LOVE Savannah and that whole area and the food, oh my goodness how wonderful....love hush puppies. Let us know how you liked Paula's, which one of hers did you go to? the one downtown? Savannah is one place I would love to go back to, we were there in the fall also.

Phyl

Good Morning Girls!
Hi Phylis, so happy to see your smiling face again. I'm sending you a hug, :hug:happy to hear you're doing so well with your chemo and dropping 25 pounds is a huge bonus! Keep us informed when your test come back Oct 28th.
Lynn...don't make me hungry for Paula Deen cooking! I love her and watch her show often. Did you see Kelly Ripa (Regis Philbin show) when she dresses up as Paula Deen and put huge amounts of butter in her recipes, even munched on a stick of butter? It was so funny!
I saw a clip of Paula a couple of days ago with a diet recipe, she said it was diet because it only had 1 stick of butter in it.
Karen31... I started to download your video but it was taking to long, will have to come back to it later today when I have more time. I'm so impatient, need to work on that fault!
Karen and Rosey.......how's it going with you two? Maybe you two can give each other tips on cooking two seperate meals?
Isabella...I'm a huge meat eater but black bean and cheese enchilada sound wonderful to me. I wouldn't mind making a vegetarian meal now and again but we always have so much meat in the freezer and wild game doesn't keep forever.
(black bean and cheese enchilada, black olives, baked potato and big tossed salad). Yum. I could do that over again. Ha, ha.
Glynn...I think everyone was ready to bucket down this fall, everyone seems to be losing. Congrats to you.
I think the challenge thing is helping me ~ the weight is creeping down, but I'll take it ~ even 1/2 pound at a time. Feeling hopeful :)

MBM...okay, lets see a picture of what a geek looks like in "garb"!
consecutive weekends. I go every year and - I must confess - I'm one of the geeks that like to go in "garb".
I have to get a package mailed off now, I sold some spurs and straps from DH's cowboy shooting outfits. I've sold most of his old west clothes, they went like hot cakes on ebay.
Had a sad thing happen to one of my sweet chickens. They had pecked a hole in one of the window screens and a wild cat (we think, it's been hanging around all summer)got in. We have flower boxes with impatient plants under the windows, the cat jumped up on them, broke off some flowers. It pushed his/her way in thru that small hole and killed one of the chickens. He ate the head off and I felt like I'd lost one of my pets. Bruce shut the window after I put a new screen in. The next night it was back because we saw more flowers broken off and the water pitcher knocked over again. What terror the hens must have had being cornered in the chicken coop with no way to escape.:(
Now that I've cried again about my chicken, I better get busy.
You all have a great day!

Phyl! Really great to see you, and so glad that your treatment is progressing encouragingly! I popped back in here a week or two ago; been doing okay diet-wise, and busy with the twin grandbabies and work and other family stuff and so on and so forth, but miss the "Golden Girlies" and hearing about what's going on with everybody. Lynn, your trip sounds soooo boffo! I'm envious. I've never been to Savannah, and it's one of the places on my sister's and my "to do together" list. I hope we get to do it, but in the meantime, I'm really enjoying your check-ins. Oh, hush puppies! They really are yummy, aren't they? I think I could easily lose track myself if I had a dish of those in front of me. :o
Linda, I would be surprised if we ALL didn't have some kind of issue around our mothers and weight. My mother was always on the heavy side - a little round flamingo of a woman with relatively long skinny legs and a heavy, big-busted torso. I've got the legs, and could just as easily have the same kind of torso if I didn't always manage to catch myself before I get too far over the edge. On the other hand, my sister is a petite little woman who's never weighed much more than a hundred pounds soaking wet, and HER daughter tends toward being heavy and resents my sister's "naturally quick metabolism" - or whatever it is that allows her to eat like a truck driver and never gain an ounce. I have to admit to resenting her a time or two myself. :(
Congrats on the weight "creeping down", Glynne. At this age, I'm happy with "down", never mind how long it takes to get there. :)
Isabella, that enchilada sounds mouth-wateringly yummy. I think I'll try making some. I'm getting a little bored with our usual meals - they've become a little dull and uninspiring. Time to do a little more experimenting, methinks. Thanks for reminding me. Oh! The "methinks" is a natural offshoot to the discussion of Ren faires. I like them, too. I've never "garbed up", but who knows? Might be kind of fun...
Hi Freda! Hi Karens 3 and 31! Hi Lyn - have you moved into your new house yet? I bet you'll love being on the Cape year 'round! I know I would!
Oh, Bobbi! What a shame about your chicken! My dad raised banty chickens when I was a kid and I used to love them. They laid perfect little eggs - about the size of a robin's egg, if I recall right - but brown, like a regular chicken egg. You'd need about 10 of them to get a decent breakfast scramble.
I went to Sturbridge Village yesterday http://www.osv.org/museum/index.html with DH and my DD & SIL and the little twins, their big sister and my other grandson, who is 8. It was a beautiful sunny fall day - perfect for traipsing all around, and we really had a great time. DH and I are members so we get in free, SIL is a teacher, so he gets in free, the grandchildren are on DH's and my "family membership" so THEY get in free, and all we had to pay was 75% of one admission for my daughter as our guest. Then we took them all out to eat afterwards because it was her birthday weekend. I took her clothes shopping on Saturday and we got her some terrific winter outfits and a beautiful winter coat and two pairs of boots. A busy, busy weekend, but lots of fun all around. The babies were wonderful - never cried once, and really enjoyed looking around and chattering as we took turns pushing their carriage or carrying them. It's hard to believe they're already six months old!
ENOUGH out of me! Hope everyone is having a lovely Monday - I'm at work, but I'm not going to let that little problem spoil my day! ;)
Take care, all!
Z :dizzy:

Zoe, I visited Sturbridge Village years and years ago. I hadn't thought of it until you mentioned it. I think my oldest was about 10 months old at the time. We were on vacation with friends of ours and we hit some of the many tourist attractions in Massachusetts. I love New England.

Poor little chicken, Bobbi. I know you are so attached to your chickens as you post about them so often. What kind of a wild cat was it? A domesticated feral?

Lynn, I'm really enjoying your vacation entries. It's a cold rainy day here and just reading about the sunny South is warming.

Gayle, 1/2 pound lost is going in the right direction.

That black bean and cheese enchiladas were so easy to make. I steam fried onions and peppers together and added rinsed canned black beans. I mashed the beans a bit with the back of my spoon and then spooned the mixture unto small corn tortillas and sprinkled with cheese. I rolled them up and put them in a dish and covered them with mild salsa and a sprinkle of cheese on top of that. Then I baked them 20-25 minutes. We don't like "hot" food so I always use mild salsa. You could make these much hotter if you used hot peppers, etc.

I had an interesting walk today. It was stop and go for a bit--like walking a dog. http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/images/smilies/laugh.gif I stopped at the town hall looking for a map of the walking trails in town but they didn't have one. But I got a map of the town so I'll try and figure out the route from that. I'm taking a group walking on the weekend (weather permitting) as it's Canadian Thanksgiving. And then farther on my walk I came across a group of pre-schoolers and their teachers just coming back from a nature walk. I stopped and chatted with the kids and sang them a song about walking. They were happy and so was I. It's cold out today. I had on a long sleeved t-shirt, a hoodie, a jacket, a scarf around my neck and gloves on. I even had up 2 hoods at times. I was finally warm by the time I got back home. The leaves are falling and everything looks bright with the colors of the trees. I'll keep walking until ice forms on the streets. That should be sometime in late December or January. Sometimes, even in the winter the roads are clear enough to walk so I'm hoping for that. I fall on ice. I have traumatic memories. :yikes:

I have to get off my bum and hang a few diplomas and certificates in the study. They've been lying around for almost 2 weeks and today is the day for a hanging.

Catch you all later.

Day 4 -

Ooops where did the sunny south go? Rainy here today. Took the trolley around Savannah in the rain - saw all 21 squares & LOTS of mansions. Tomorrow we will walk around & go into some.

BC of the rain, we went to movies - Invention of Lying - don't bother.

Tonight is Paula Deen's - Uh Oh. I'll do my impression of a restaurant critic tomorrow.

Lynn

We spent from 1:30 this afternoon until 6:00 this evening at the VA Clinic getting Tim all set up for his medical benifits!! WHEW!! I'm tired and didn't get any thing done this afternoon. We ate at Arbys on the way home so that is why I didn't even try to calculate my calories tonight. I don't think it would be possible. Didn't get much walking done either. Tomorrow is a new day!!!

Good Morning, too busy to chat.
Isabella, I'm going to make your bean recipe for tonight, easy. thanks and bye everyone.
gotta check into challenge quick.

Report on Paula Deen's -

Small; NOT fancy; good service - attached to BIG store.

Ate -
Fried green tomatoes w red pepper & sweet onion relish
Cheddar butter biscuit
Cornbread pancake
Salmon
Green beans w onions
Wild rice
Chocolate mousse pie w chocolate chips & chocolate shavings

Result - REALLY sick - didn't get to sleet until after 3 am. My body is just not used to so much fat and sugar. Tasted good - especially the fried green tomatoes & dessert, but back on wagon today.

Yes, Lynn, you should have skipped the wild rice. That was just overload.:rofl:
Paula Deen should join 3FC.

Karen31, that kind of day is so tiring. You'll do better today.

I had a nice walk in the mist and little showers this morning. The temperature was a bit warmer than yesterday so I wasn't cold today.

I got all the diplomas and certificates hung yesterday so it seems I accomplished something more than making dinner. Now to sort the photos! :yikes: Actually, I'm just getting a photo box and stuffing them all in for another day. At least it will look neat on the shelf.

Catch you all later.

I'm down almost 7# on SBD this first week. I know I can't trust ALL of it, because of water weight, etc., but there HAS been progress! Is anyone else out there??????

7 pounds is great for the first week. You'll slow down a bit on the second week and those following. After a few more pounds your clothing will start feeling lose. Keep up the good work and come and chat.

Good afternoon ladies,

Today's the day!!! I have a Dr. appointment and hopefully I'll be able to quit wearing this "Moon Boot". Wish me luck.

I've had really good luck with my diet since the challenge. Or I suppose i shouldn't call it luck. It's planning and hard work. I'm looking forward to adding some exercise to it. I always do better when I exercise.

Zoe, I'd love to see pictures of the twins. So fun, aren't they? They are just about the same age as my brothers.

Isabella, You mentioned the Deploma's and Ceertificates that you are hanging. What are they for? I'm looking forward to trying your recipe too. I make your vegetable curry dish often. I'm found a lot of good recipes here. I like making things that other people have already tried.

Gayle, slow gets there too. I'm happy with every ounce that I lose. Really, at this age, it's just hard.

Lynn, Oh my, You've been eating some of my favorite southern things. I get the same results now when I over do. I had a piece of pizza for dinner last night, with a large salad. i was sick! And I love spicy things!

Bobbi, Sorry to hear about your little chicken. Being a farm girl myself, i know how attached you can get.

Jess, Wonderful!!! Just keep doing what you're doing, it's obviously working! Come tell us about your "journey"

Karen, Every day is a new start. And sitting in hospitals and Dr.'s offices all day is so stressful.

Phyllis, Good to hear from you. You know we will all be praying for you. Aren't the medical advances they've made facinating?

Freda

Freda, my diplomas are from college and university and the certificates are just little health courses or notes of appreciation I've gathered over the years. A couple of years ago I decided I'd hang them up in the study. Teachers rarely have their diplomas hanging in their classrooms and I don't know why. Every other professional does, even the dental assistant and hairdressers do. So I decided it was time I recognized all the hard work I'd put into getting those degrees and hung them up in my own study at home. :yes: Glad you're enjoying the recipes. I'm always on the lookout for new foods and recipes to try out.

I'd almost forgotten about your foot. You'll feel like your walking on air when the cast comes off. You'll probably have one skinny leg for awhile.

Must really go and put those photos away. I'm a #1 procrastinator.

Hello alll...My road to H*ll is still paved with good intentions and someday soon i will get back to doing personals.

Sunday afternoon dear friends of ours did a bit of intervention and told DH he had to get with his program for theirsakes. He spent Monday reading all the literature the kidney doc gave him and had the decaf coffee out ready to split with regular. (need I say I am in caffine withdrawl!) He has some things a little screwed up like 2 oz of protein aday when it is 5! but it is a start.

It is just impossible to try and combine his menu with my South Beach diet. He can not have whole grains...yipes they are hi in phoshorus and that includes all nuts, seeds and root vegies and winter squashes. Ditto tomatoes, broccoli, brussel sprouts, dried beans, bananas and even yogert. Cooked carrots are ok but raw nope, Fresh mushrooms okay but not canned. No chocolate, cola drinks or caffine. And that is all before we than start on diabetic diet. I actually feel that if I eat this way am gonna get so unbalanced and deprived....yuck! No bran, no cerals, So am gonna eat my diet and cook wonderful tasty bland meals for him. will get my caffine on the way to bridge hid my legal snacks in my desk.

Bobbi...when my kids were little we raised 2 steers a year to keep us under farm tax. We put one in our freezer and sold the other one to friends. Of course we named them. we lost many a company when my kids would ask if we were eating Sophie or Sonia or LBJ....Sally was the hog that was the other woman in DH's life. We ate her, too. Guess if you don't know where the meat/leather products come from it is easier to swallow. But we know what went into our meat and it was much healthier.
ps....LBJ was Little Black Joe...an angus steer.

We had 2-3 days last week with the a/c off. My Yankee genes kicked in and I need some Fall. It is back close to 90 and can't bring self to put up Fall door wreath. Gosh my pointsetta is still hang on the front porch. Tossed last year hanging pot of geraminiums Sat because they were so leggy. One more month until the azales bloom. I live in a strange land for sure.

House smells wonderful. I just made eggplant parm with just a dash of sauce. That should make himself a happy man. I don't like it so it's all for him. Did 4 eggplants! He eats it cold best. blahhhhhhhh.

Lynn....you must try everything at Paula's. I make her chicken bog all the time. Or did. sighhhhhhhh I always feel when watching her I know her. Well, I play bridge with a dozen ladies just like her. Those sweet southernbelles, who will polite you to death and are stainless steel underneath. Now that is not a putdown that is how the Charleston ladies kept Sherman from burning the city. They polited him to death. Just love that story.

Off to make a dessert for DH....apple and cranberries come to mind....Karen3

ps Renal dr's office just called and said they recieved his kidney sonogram and it was ok...meaning did not need a repeat and of course he took that as he is ok with no renal disease. ....I had to call the office back and let her explain....Gesh LUCY!

Hi ladies! Some days are just crazy, you know?

Tonight I'm popping pills and swigging water in prep for a colonoscopy tomorrow. Fun stuff. :dizzy: No problems, though. I had a colon resection five years ago (perforated diverticulitis) and this is my five year check up. The doc wants to see how his handiwork is holding up. Good, I hope!

Here's a funny story. Today I got a UPS package with two dozen camouflage baseball caps, complete with the word Rimydal and a black dog embroidered on the front. I used to work in PR and know what that's all about, but I'm retired now and I never ordered these babies. They came addressed to my maiden name, too, which is strange--but not completely strange, as I lived here under that name before marriage. So when I call the company on the box's sticker, they're mystified too, because they sent those caps to someone who works for Pfizer, the big drug company. Someone who just happens to have the same name AND lives in the same town I do. Well... this woman and I just keep crossing paths! Before marriage, I couldn't go to the hospital without having to double check EVERYTHING. She and I share: the same first name, middle initial, and last (maiden) name; the same birth year, the same birth MONTH; the same doctor (drove doc's staff crazy); indeed, the same doctors for a handful of sundry ailments. Medical personnel would show up thinking I was her, asking about surgeries, conditions and medications I never had in my life. I got some of her bills and she got some of mine. Gosh, I feel like I know her. Today I proposed a camouflage cap swap in a public location :D but the company preferred to have UPS just pick it up. Still, I think it's only a matter of time before this gal and I meet up.

Jess, I don't do SB so don't know much about it, but 7 lbs. is a wonderful start! Yeah, the weight comes off more slowly after that first surge, still it's nice to get such a nice jump, isn't it.

Karen, I'm checking out that Sherman/Charleston story. Love history!

I'm also checking out all the recipes you all are sharing. I tried a butternut squash macaroni and cheese I found on here that was quite good. The enchiladas sound like a yummy change of pace.

Greetings, all...

This week is turning out to be a busy one at work - more meetings than I need for sure. Feels good to get home, kick my shoes off and climb into my PJ's. Tonight, DH baked some pork chops and sweet potatoes for our supper - I taught him how, and it's paying off pretty nicely.
Freda, here are my twins...I call them my beanie boys. It takes a minute for the big picture to download because I guess it's pretty big - I don't know - no techno-genius here, trust me. :dizzy:
Wow, Linda...that must feel really strange. Having this other person who is so much like you...gotta wonder if she LOOKS like you, too, huh? Now THAT would really call for some Twilight Zone music!
Karen3, I've gotta tell you - fall is lovely, but WAY too short. I know danged well that it won't be but another MINUTE before I look outside and there's snow coming down! Used to like snow, but not anymore...and the Farmer's Almanac says we're going to have a very cold and snowy winter hereabouts. Yay. (Not)
Isabella, I wouldn't even know where to find my diplomas and degrees and such...haven't looked at them in years and have no idea whether they even survived the last few moves. You're right about the time and effort, though. I got my masters by going to class two nights a week while working full time as a social worker and with two little kiddos at home. Now, all I REALLY want to do is retire and do a little sculpting, sewing, reading, hiking and hanging out with my grandbabies. :) Oh, and I'm trying your recipe too...sounds too good...
Jess, seven pounds is seven pounds! That's pretty great progress. The other gals are right about it slowing down some as the weeks go by, but it's always encouraging to get a nice head start like that. Just keep up the good work!
Lynn, I know exactly how you feel....whenever I just say to heck with it, I'm going to eat what I want for a change, my body never fails to rebel on me. I guess we really have changed our eating habits, haven't we? That's gotta be a good thing. :)
Karen31, I hope today was better than yesterday...that waiting around for bureaucrats to do their thing can wear you out.
Hiya Bobbi....let us know how Isabella's recipe turns out!
And now I'm off to get my bath...have a great evening, everybody!
Z

Oh, Zoe, the babies are darling!!! How old are they?

Tuesday -

Started day at the gym; spent the day walking around Savannah - squares, houses, and stores during the day - riverwalk in the evening. Ate sanely & slept well.

Today is our last day in Savannah - leave for Charleston tomorrow morning. Maybe visit Tybee Island today.

Lynn

Morning Ladies,

Well, the Dr. didn't say what I wanted to hear yesterday. 2more weeks of wearing this bootie. My manager was not happy to hear that I wasn't coming back to work this weekend, but the Dr. said that I could mess my foot up really bad by going back too soon. I guess she'll get over it.

It's cold and raining here. Every day!! I guess fall is here, and you can see winter coming. Fall was just not long enough. It's my favorite time of year. I love to go for walks in the fallen leaves and listen to the crunch underfoot. I always take the Grands too and now they look forward to it. Hope i can do it this year.

Zoo, the babies are adorable! I taught my husband how to cook too. No dummies here!!!

Linda, That is just too weird! Being the nosey thing that I am, I would have to meet her. The prep is the worst part of the colonosccopy isn't it? Hope every thing was ok. And you really should have lost a pound or 2 there! ha!

Lynn, Sounds like you are really enjoying your vacation and getting lots of walking in.

Karen3, It's hard to find a happy medium when you have to accomodate 2 peoples diets but i'm sure you'll find some way to accomondate. For the most part, diabetic diets are really healthy. Kidney diets are very limiting though.

Everyone, make it a good day

Isabella, thank you for answering! I thought maybe I was doing something wrong, since no one ever responded. The up and down part makes me crazy, but I know that it's to be expected. 7# is a LOT for one week, but I have so much to lose that I want it done NOW. Again, thank you!

Morning everyone from rainy alaska..the dh came home yesterday and has kept me busy :dizzy: got the results of my a1c and other bood tests and my dr was very happy with me..thats a relief now have a colonoscopy and a pressed breast test yet to go and after i see the bariatric surg i will have more tests ugh i hate going to dr but preventive med is so important..i have been working a few xmas gifts, usually im done by now but am abit slower this year..bobbie im sry you lost your chicken,we had a hobbie farm yrs ago when we lived in minnesota and i hated loosing our critters they all had names and where pets and i couldnt eat them..zoe your gran babies are sooo cute i love babies..lynn i am jealous and i luv paula dean what a fun trip..karen 3 eventually you will get the hang of the cooking 2 diff ways.i found the tuff part was getting my dh to cooperate..he wants gravy on everything or mushrm soup,meat and tators..so i add vegies and salads and cook my meat like chicken for example seperate wrapped in foil..hello and hugs to those i missed hope your day goes stupendously :D :hug: rosey :wave:

Hi all! The colonoscopy went fine and my colon is certified not only healthy but squeaky clean. I'm REALLY happy there is no sign of more diverticuli, given my prior history with that condition. Anyway, I don't need another colonoscopy for 10 years, which is fine by me. :wave: The prep is, well, messy and unpleasant. On the plus side, I actually did weigh myself first thing this morning just to see, and sure enough I'd lost four pounds. On the not-so-plus side, I probably gained most of it back once I was allowed to start drinking fluids again. No such thing as a quick fix, I guess.

UPS came for the camouflage baseball caps. I guess the other Linda really wants the darn things (actually, they were kind of cute). I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for women my age wearing one in this area. You never know...

My FIL said today: "You're looking really good. I mean, really. For the longest time, I couldn't tell the difference, but now I see it." Mind you, I've lost 65 lbs., which is pretty much a sixth grader. Just goes to show, sometimes it can seem like no one but you can tell... because it can really take a LOT of weight loss to register with most folks.

Jess you're not doing anything wrong. :lol: Just keep posting and eventually you'll be noticed. Sometimes I feel a bit neglected on other forums so I know how you felt. But you'll be right at home here soon enough. Go back and read the posts and you'll see that others have also responded to your post. Tell us a little about yourself and family. You don't have to be too specific if you don't want to but we're all interested in what goes on in the lives of the Golden Girls. :hug:

a pressed breast test Oh, Rosy, that is such a funny way to put it. :rofl: Gotta get one of those myself as soon as I get the appointment from the clinic.

Hi Linda, glad everything is good with your plumbing.

Must go get supper. I'm never too busy to eat.

Good morning all. It's Thursday already. Where is the week going?

It's raining here, but not heavy. I'm between two minds on whether to go forth and walk or get on my bike inside. I guess I'll wait for an hour or so and see what happens outside. Plenty to do in the meantime with Thanksgiving looming on the horizon. Catch you all later.

Good Morning all,

Wet and cold here too. I'm sitting her wrapped up in a blanket, with my warm wooley socks on, trying to keep warm. Hubby turned up the heat this morning. Seems like we've went from air conditioning to heat in a week.

Rosey, it's time for my "breast press" too. I am so bad at putting things like that off, so I guess you are being a good example and I have no excuse now. I know you will make a good impression on the surgeon.

Linda, Glad the test results were good. When we work so hard to lose weight we want people to notice! Sometimes we just have to be our own cheerleaders though. Soon, everyone will be noticing!

Lynn, Hope you're having a great time! Waiting for more and we want pictures!

Jess, Donna, i did reply. Maybe you didn't catch it because I used Jess? We are glad to have you here, and please join in the discussions.

Isabella, it's rainign here too. I wish I could get out and take a walk with you too. But the wind is blowing and that probably wouldn't work too well. We've had some really heavy wind the last few days. I know we're having some power outages around the area, but thankfully, ours is still working. My SIl, who lives about 5 miles away, doesn't have power.

Freda

G'morning all!!! Today is my last day at work because I'm taking a vacay day tomorrow - my DD & SIL are going to a wedding, and DH & I get to stay with the twinnies and their lovely 9-year-old sister. Then of course we have Columbus Day off, so I get a four day weekend. I'll have five days at Thanksgiving and six days at Christmas. My son always comes for Christmas (for those who don't know, he lives in Los Angeles, where he designs games for Activision - my kid who was going to be an archaeologist. Go figure, huh?) He comes in June for ten days to two weeks every year, too, so that we can throw him a birthday party (June 16). He loves his birthday parties! He and his GF are real health nuts, so my daughters and I are always on the lookout for new juicer recipes to wow them with...ahhhh, well. Anyway, I really, really enjoy my time off, and especially time off when I can spend it with family.
Freda, my DH turned the heat up this morning too, and I was shocked. Not that he turned it on, but that we needed it, you know? These weather patterns - rainy summer, quick fall, and then all the cold & snow they're predicting for this winter - are really not my idea of a good time. I'm always threatening to move down to North Carolina (where my sis lives) or out to LA where my son is. Of course I can't -I don't want to miss any of the grandbabie's growing up years - but I threaten to all the time.
Isabella - Thanksgiving on the horizon, indeed! I know yours is earlier than ours, but ours will be here soon enough. And then Christmas. And then 2010! Good grief, it just doesn't seem like Y2k was almost 10 years ago, does it? Oh - and the twinnies are 6 1/2 mos. old now. I can hardly believe THAT! (There's a lot of things - mostly involving time - that I find hard to believe these days!)
Jess, I responded to your post - I guess you must've missed it? We all try to say something to all of our friends here in the "Golden Girls" club ;) but sometimes we just can't get to everybody every time we post. Doesn't mean we don't care...just means that we've run out of time, most likely!
Linda, yes it really is nice when someone notices your progress, isn't it? I had a colleague at work mention the other day that I was "really slimming down, wasn't I?" and yeah, that felt pretty okay. I still have a ways to go, but even that's not terrible, you know? I think that if I can start the new year 10 pounds lighter than where I am now, then I'll have all of 2010 to lose the last 20 that I want to lose. (I've changed my goal, but haven't gotten around to changing my ticker or the avatar thingie). I don't want to rush it at all. Just a nice, gradual pound or so every couple of weeks throughout the year and I'll be a very happy camper! Glad to hear your colonosopy results were so good, incidentally.
About that "pressed breast test", Rosey - they practically have to hog-tie me to get me to subject to one. Seems to me some sadistic MAN must've invented that danged machine! I've noticed that they don't press any of THEIR appendages in a vice to check them out. Not fair! :mad:
Well, time to do a little work, I guess. My mind is already off into tomorrow and not very focused on what I need to be doing today, but I'll muddle through.
Have a great day, y'all!!!
:hug:

Z

Good Morning Girls!
It doesn't seem to stop raining here, a blessing really. We broke a record in Sept with no rain and were getting worried about all our fruit trees. We're going to have a hard freeze tomorrow or I have to get outside and pick all the garden veggies, mainly the butternut squashes. Our local grocery store had whole chickens on sale for .88 cents a pound so I'm making that and a butternut squash for supper. We get tons of milage out of a chicken, usually two meals plus I boil all the bones and make chicken stock with the balance of chicken meat for soup, that's usually 3 more meals.
Jess...I read your great weight loss on SBD and was going to comment on it but the thought flew out the window like most of my thoughts when I have so much to do. Good job, DH and I went on it a couple years ago and we both lost weight on the program. (I always gain my weight back if I don't keep posting here), I did learn something very important on that diet, to use a good olive oil daily in our menus, very important. We loved the sassy water too. That program is excellent but kind of spendy.
Hi everyone else, sorry I can't respond to everyone today as the garden is waiting. We're going to put planks in between the rows so we don't get sucked down into the mud.
Have a good one.



I'm down almost 7# on SBD this first week. I know I can't trust ALL of it, because of water weight, etc., but there HAS been progress! Is anyone else out there??????

Freda and everyone else :) I did get out on my walk today. The street was starting to dry up so out I went right in the middle of a shower! But as I was dressed for the weather I didn't go back in the house but walked the whole 5k. I was soaking wet in about 10 minutes and dry again in about 30 minutes. The wind was blowing a gale so when the shower stopped the wind blew my jacket dry. I sounded like a sail blowing in the breeze.

Zoe, our darling GS will be 7 months old on Sunday. They'll be here this weekend and I'm almost tempted to get a birthday cake. Hahahaha. I was watching him on the webcam this morning and he's such a little butter ball. So cute. I can't wait to get him in my arms this weekend.

I can't believe the week is nearly over, let alone the year. I don't have the same reference points though the year as I did when teaching. My year always started in September and ended the last of June with the delicious months of July and August just floating in limbo. Now every month is floating. :D DH still works on the school bus so that does give me some structure to my days.

We don't have the heat on today, YET, but we will. It was still warm in the house this morning when we got up from last night's fire (in the furnace) but the temperature is starting to dip some but I do have on the oven baking a turkey roaster full of beans and that's sort of warming the kitchen. I often use the roaster as I do about 2 or 3 pounds of beans at a time and freeze them for quick access. We eat a lot of beans. Today, I'm using navy beans, lentils and a cup of left-over canned black beans. I'm kind of experimenting with different combinations.

Anyway, I'll catch you all later.

Gosh, it's a beautiful day here. Autumn is my favorite season, in part because I love cooking stews and braises, and walking the dog, which is always more fun when it's cooler.

You gals who are getting pressed breasts have my sympathy. I get one every year because my Mom had breast cancer (she's fine now), and I heartily hate the things. Got mine in August after putting it off most of the year. My husband doesn't understand my emotion. "But they're so soft and pressable!" he says about breasts. Not THAT pressable, I growl back. Truly, I think every man who scoffs at a woman's dislike of mammograms should have something of his compressed between two hard plates and see how HE likes it. Hmmmph!

Jess, I think your weight loss is amazing and would love to hear more as you prgoress. Picking up different tips from different weight loss programs is one of the ways to keep any diet fresh and interesting, and there's always more to learn.

I'm bummed right now because my SIL got so disheartened about her snail's pace weight loss (she needed to lose about 40 lbs. and lost 20 but has been stalled for two months) she dropped out of WW.

Hello all,

It is interesting hearing about the weather in the different areas where you all live. And I am feeling like some of you and wishing that at times I lived somewhere else. It is so hot and humid here in Houston. I want to walk outside, and it is just miserable out ~ so wishing I was in a place where it was a little cooler. Though, I don't wish to be in a place again (used to live in Maine) where I have to shovel all that snow :)

Divergal ~ I like that thought of yours (I think every man who scoffs at a woman's dislike of mammograms should have something of his compressed between two hard plates and see how HE likes it. Hmmmph!) When I came home after mine, he asked how it went and I told him ~ well you put your part in there and let them squish it and see you you feel about it.

Have a couple days off now ~ yippee. Getting to spend some family time tonight ~ Corbin's birthday ~ he is 12 today ~ where has the time gone? Next year a teenager ~ wow.

I'd better get off and get something done.

Hope you all are having a nice day.

Take care

It's me again. I'm busy getting food ready for Saturday's big dinner.

Here's a new recipe for you. Canadian Thanksgiving is on Monday and next month is the American Thanksgiving and sweet potato is usually on the menu. Most of the sweet potato casserole recipes are like a very rich pie without the crust. And the gooey marshmallow toppings on some of them are just out of the question for many reasons. So here's a nice "clean" sweet potato casserole that I'm making for the big dinner.

Sweet Potato Casserole
4 large sweet potatoes, cooked and sliced
1 large can crushed or tidbits or chunks unsweetened pineapple, lightly drained
1/2 chopped pecans
cinnamon
nutmeg
2 tablespoons brown sugar or sweetener of choice

Layer half sweet potatoes, pineapple and 1 tablespoon brown sugar in Pam sprayed casserole. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and nutmeg. Repeat layer. Top with the chopped pecans bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until bubbling.

The original recipe had 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 2 sliced bananas, rum, and about 1 cup of macadamia nuts. So as you can see the above recipe is really scaled down calorie wise but will taste really good.

Hi everyone..i agree about the men having their parts pressed :rofl: i asked my dh if he thought he was tuff enuff :fr: he looked like this :dizzy: hoping u all are having a great day, the recipe sounds yummy..i bake sweet potatoes all the time and top with i cant beleive it butter spray along with no sugar maple syrup or low sugar orange marmalade,or losugar apricot pineapple jam and a sprinkle of cinamon..luv it..:hug: for all rosey :wave:

Hi Everyone,

We left Savannah this morning & are in Charleston. Took a tour of the city this afternoon & spent some time walking along the river & through the market. We each took travel guides to our rooms & will each pick 1 thing we really want to do tomorrow. There is SO MUCH in Charleston!

Exercising in hotel gym every morning & walking/walking/walking every day. Of course also eating, but keeping it sane. We'll see what the scale has to say when I get home.

Lynn

Hi all,
New to this site, but good to read about others going through the same things as I do. I had a shake up visit to the doctor about my diabetes about a month ago, and am going to get my weight down so that I can hopefully go off the medication rather than onto insulin as my doctor wants. Karen3 I really understand what you are going through - it is hard to just always eat the right things. Just carry on serving the good stuff and then take care of YOU, and remember every day is the first day of the rest of your life.
I remember thinking that it would be easier to be diabetic and then you knew you couldnt eat certain things - NOT SO! It is all a mindset and I do know that I control what goes into my mouth and how much exercise I have. We cannot always control what our loved ones eat but setting an example and supporting them is the most loving way to steer towards change.
I love reading all this good positive advice, as I often find myself picking up the pieces and starting over again. I am finding myself using the WW(I think) slogan, which I modified a bit "nothing tastes as good as thin (and healthy) feels".
take care everyone and I look forward to being part of this group

:hi: Africanaussie. And welcome to the Golden Girls. Come and post as often as you want.

Hi all,
New to this site, but good to read about others going through the same things as I do. I had a shake up visit to the doctor about my diabetes about a month ago, and am going to get my weight down so that I can hopefully go off the medication rather than onto insulin as my doctor wants. Karen3 I really understand what you are going through - it is hard to just always eat the right things. Just carry on serving the good stuff and then take care of YOU, and remember every day is the first day of the rest of your life.
I remember thinking that it would be easier to be diabetic and then you knew you couldnt eat certain things - NOT SO! It is all a mindset and I do know that I control what goes into my mouth and how much exercise I have. We cannot always control what our loved ones eat but setting an example and supporting them is the most loving way to steer towards change.
I love reading all this good positive advice, as I often find myself picking up the pieces and starting over again. I am finding myself using the WW(I think) slogan, which I modified a bit "nothing tastes as good as thin (and healthy) feels".
take care everyone and I look forward to being part of this group


Hi,

Welcome to our homesite. You will find that there are several of us here with diabetes - there is also a diabetes site within 3FC. What I found was that I did REALLY well with avoiding carbs when I was first diagnosed - 3 years ago, but find that I slip over time. I still work on it every day.

Lynn

Good Morning,

Another rainey day here. I can't complain. Like Bobbi, we needed it. Can't ask for something and then complain because you got it! I went to see my Gd's last soccer game last night and afterwards the team went to Dairy Queen. I was hungry and that ice cream looked sooo good. But, I didn't have any. I'm hoping to drop another pound by the weekend, so I hope it pays off. Losing those last few pounds is so tiresome!!

Welcome AfricanAussie, Look forward to getting to know you. Most people (at least type #2 diabetics) can control their diabetes with diet and exercise. Or at least lower their medication dramatically. Sure worth a try, isn't it?

Rosie, Sweetpotatoes are a big favorite of mine too. I make them quite often and have to fight my little dog for them. he loves them too.

Gayle, Enjoy your time off. We know how precious that is!

Zoe, Hope you enjoy your time off too. Isn't it great when someone notices that you've "dropped a little weight"? I think lots of people notice, they just don't mention it. Why? Not sure, but i've gotten some comments from people when i did mention it. "what? did I look fat before?"

Isabella, Recipe sounds great, as usual. And includes one of my favorite things. I usually just eat them plain, but like to "fancy them up" a little for company. I'll use this one for Thanksgiving.

Linda, Too bad your SIl ran out of patience and stopped WW. It really is a good diet. I hope she will see how great you are doing and start back.

Freda

Good morning all...First off must say welcome to all the newcomers. It is the biggest help having a bunch of friends going thru the life changes you needed to do. Nothing you are confronting hasn't been dealt with by someone here on
3fc! The support and hugs will carry you thru every speed bump!:hug:

Now Africanaussie...you have gotta get a shorter name we can call you by...my fingers can't type that out!

I keeping reading about the changes in your weather and am green. It was so hot down here yesterday that the windows kept steaming up(92!). Need to wash the windows because of doggie nose prints, but they don't dry. Dog boogers make the windows blurry. :devil:

We had a really tragic thing happen Mon/Tues one of the bridge players shot himself. He did it Mon and wasn't found until Tues and died yesterday. He lost his wife 2 yrs ago and saw the dr Mon and came home and did it...twice???? They found him because he didn't take in the garbage can. So sad.

I am not doing well without my caffine. Have a monster headache this am. So will stop for a coffee on my way to bridge. Makes it feel illegal. DH is still struggling with diet limits and just eats dumb things. Like oyster crackers yesterday. Gesh, i believe if you are gonna cheat CHEAT! It is just as hard to get back on track after a nibble of blah stuff as something wonderful. So enjoy the CHEAT and get back OP.

Opppps just noticed the time...hugs be back later. Karen3

I'm really busy today getting ready for tomorrow's dinner. I've read all the posts, though (never too busy for that) and see that things are under control with the Golden Girls.

I haven't had a drop of water in my body yet--orange juice and milk but no water. Must go guzzle at the faucet.

I weigh in tomorrow but may not get to post here until Sunday but who knows, I may get a moment of peace. But our baby GS will be here and I think he'll occupy any down time.

Take care and have a good weekend.

I'm in Denver (getting to be chilly here, but still VERY pretty!)... the weight loss is steady... I'm going down a tad every day, it seems. The dramatic first losses were water, I'm sure, but I think I can now actually believe this progress! I do notice that if I vary from the "plan", I get smacked in the head the next day! Two more posts, and then I get a squiggly! I hope... Stay in touch!

By the way, I reread every post I've ever done, and I have to apologize for being so WHINY......! I want everything NOW. Even though I'm a "golden girl", one might not know that!

by the way, I've reread all my old posts, and I have to (HAVE to) apologize for being so WHINY! I want everything NOW!

Hi girls,
I was out the door early today, didn't even check into the challenge until now. Wow Lynn...the challege pages went from 3 pages down to two after you took out the added instructions to late comers. Thank you, now if everyone else could go thru and copy paste any stats they have on other pages and put them on their original page we'd maybe get down to one page. It makes it so much easier to spy on everyone to see how there're doing. It really motivates me, especially when a couple of you have perfect or near perfect scores. Waaaaaa!
After you copy/paste your stats from the page, you can hit the delete button and pfffff, it's gone.
Karen31, you made me giggle when I read about doggie boogers.
Need to wash the windows because of doggie nose prints, but they don't dry. Dog boogers make the windows blurry.
:welcome: Africanaussie, nice to meet you. I can't remember how many post you have to make before you get your slide bar, maybe someone can tell you. I've been here for years off and on and can't remember.
Isabella...What time do we come over and eat Thanksgiving dinner?
Try to remember to at least check into the challenge so you don't lose the check in point. P.S. Don't squeezed the baby too much!
jess...whine away, that's what we're here for.
Freda...good save at the Dairy Queen, I haven't been there for years and years. Not since 1st grandson was a tot and he's turning 18 this month.
Lynn...what yummy entrees are you eating now? I've never been there but I heard everything is french fried, true? I would love to be a food taster and travel to all the hot spots to test out the food. I'd probably look like a barrel too.
DH took all the tomatoes and squash out of the garden and put in our breezeway. We're expecting a hard freeze tonight, that won't hurt the carrots in the earth so we left those for another day. I worked on all the deck furniture, shade garden furniture, potted plants and bird baths. Got everything put in the shed for winter and I'm pooped.
Think I'll go put my jammies on and read the paper.
Have a good evening and eat popcorn if you get hungry with a large glass of water, works every time. If you have a sweet tooth, put sugar free sugar and cinnamon on the popcorn. I have a popcorn spray that makes the seasoning stick and no calores.

Dinner will be served at 1:00 pm. Casual attire. If you arrive a bit early there will be an appetizer tray of cracked wheat crackers, carrot and celery sticks and a semi-low cal dip.

So, let me know if you're all coming as I'll get extra chairs for everyone.

okay, stupid question, I guess. I have in my 20 posts, and now I should be able to get my squiggly weight scale thingie on my posts.... I picked out the one I want, but I can't seem to figure out how to get it into my posts. There was a URL address to cut and paste, but 1) I don't know where I'm supposed to paste it and 2) now the message says I have to have 25 posts to use a url. Can someone please guide me. That squiggly weight thingie is just too cool. Thanks!

Good morning from snowy (and COLD) Denver.... down another pound today! Yeah!

Jess...after you copy/paste your stats, go back up to edit signature. Down below you'll see a box just like the ones we post on. Paste your stats there and hit the save button.

I don't know where I'm supposed to paste it and 2) now the message says I have to have 25 posts to use a url. Can someone please guide me. That squiggly weight thingie is just too cool. Thanks!
Isabella...just package up large portions of each and air mail it to me. I don't mind heating it up once it gets here, I'll be watching for it and thanks in advance! :rofl:

Dinner will be served at 1:00 pm. Casual attire. If you arrive a bit early there will be an appetizer tray of cracked wheat crackers, carrot and celery sticks and a semi-low cal dip.

Thanks, Bobbi... I'll try that. I have my next two weeks' meal plans prepared and will start cooking and freezing tomorrow. It helps me to not have to think when I'm hungry; it's all ready to go! Lemon chicken... chicken enchiladas... chicken-almond stir fry, included... yum!

Bobbi.... not working.... I can't find any place to edit the signature. Sorry!!

Jess, just keep going back and eventually you'll see edit signature on the menu. It might take a day or two. Could be the weekend slowing everything down.

I ate and ate and ate. It was good and now I'm finished until Christmas (I mean eating big meals not finished eating). I didn't eat huge quantities of anything but the desserts added up and the hot rolls and butter/margarine. Calorie dense food tastes so good.

On a bright note, I lost 2 pounds this week so that makes me happy.

The baby is adorable. When he arrived he was wearing a little orange knit hat in the shape of a pumpkin. There was a little green knitted stem poking off the top of the hat. I could have eaten him right up. So sweet.

Morning all....Since the 1st of June, I automatically check the weather underground web page before anything else online. Am loving the note that keeps saying "No tropical activity". Gesh, they predicted a rough hurricane season and then said well maybe a little less....I'll take this 3H weather with no hurricanes for sure!!! We have a small refrig on the lania that iced up so bad with this humidty, spend all afternoon defrosting...carried a 20lb block out to the grass. Still have to do windows, wonder if I tack a windex wipe on Dash's nose if that'd work?

Need to write me a big notice...the city is turning off our water tomorrow at 9am to work on water lines. Need to be showered and brushed early. We will have to boil water for the rest of the week.

Am still struggling with the 2 diets and ticked off because am usually so organized and able to make a game plan quickly. DH is insisting he will never go on dialysis. We are a ways from that decision, but if he doesn't comply with this diet the time will come quickly.

Question??? Is Monday a Federal holiday? Columbus Day. Is the post office open?

Have a recipe starting up in my brain...wonder if mix nondiary sf french vanilla creamer with egg beater would make french toast? :devil:Have to read the labels at store today. Speaking of which I better get moving...Sunday is my grocery shopping day...Hugs, Karen3

Well, here I am, day 3 of my 4-day weekend, and still having cold symptoms - especially at night; I get all clogged up as soon as my head hits the pillow. Pretty much stinks, but I'm sure I'll be fine and dandy when it's time to get back to work...now that REALLY stinks, yanno? ANYhoo, we took care of the twinnies and their sister on Friday (I was actually feeling better, then) and wowza! I guess I'd forgotten how much work babies can be - and of course, in this case, it was doubled! Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed every last minute, but hoo, boy! I sure was tired when we finally got home! We had the kiddos from 1 in the afternoon until 11 at night. I sure can see why it's the yOUNG folks who do the child-rearing. I remember being tired sometimes when I was raising my own, but never flat-out exhausted like I was all day yesterday. Of course this lingering cold probably has something to do with it, too. Don't worry - I didn't breathe anywhere near those children, and washed my hands constantly. Like I said, my cold symptoms were pretty much in recession on Friday - since then, they've returned with a vengeance! Isabella, I know just what you mean with that grandson of yours - aren't they just so amazing? I think we miss a little of that "amazement" when they're our own, because we're so busy trying to take care of them and raise them and all. Oh, and you can be sure I'll be trying that sweet potato casserole - it looks really tasty, and we love sweet potatoes, but I usually just bake them, and something new would be a real treat - especially something new that doesn't add a ton of calories!
Freda, I really love the fall, as well. I just wish it weren't a precursor to winter. I'm getting a little sick of that, to be honest. I don't like being cold anymore. My bones must be getting sensitive as I become more and more of an old crone! I don't think I could live in Alaska, like you, Rosey. But I guess you get some nice weather too, right?
Karen3, I'm so sorry to hear about your bridge playing crony. How sad. I guess you just never know, do you, what somebody else is really thinking or feeling... Oh - and tomorrow actually is a federal holiday. No mail except overnight and priority, I think the local paper said.
Gayle, my DH grew up in Houston, and said that the humidity was just unbearable. He moved to New England 30-some years ago, and now I can't get him to budge when I want to go somewhere a little warmer...
Linda - maybe you should've held onto one of those caps and then if you ran into the other Linda, you'd know each other? LOL. That's quite a story...
Hope you're having a wonderful time, Lynn ....I'm looking forward to hearing more!
You sure do keep busy, Bobbi! No wonder you never have any trouble getting the weight off!
Well, Jess, I'm afraid that, techno-phobe that I am, I can't be of much help with your signature lines or whatever, but they're really not that big a deal, you know. We just come here to share our thoughts and such, you know? Feel free to jump right in...the water's fine! :D
And welcome to you, too, Africanaussie! I look forward to hearing more about you and having you join our little support group. I think you'll find that you have lots in common with most of us!
Okay, off for a nice hot (and hopefully decongesting) bath.
Have a nice holiday, y'all!!!!
:hug:
Z

Back on track today. :) Too tired to chat now. Catch you all tomorrow.

My DSL went down yesterday because of ice on the phone line... OMG, I had no idea that I'd have actual withdrawal pangs! It warmed up, though, and all is well for a while. I'm going to go try the squiggly thing again... I'm accessing it through the quick links at the top of this page. Is there someplace else that I should be going?

http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar-blue/bear01/lb/0/82/8/.png (http://www.3fatchicks.com/)

I'll be darned... now, do I have to go back every time or is this now saved?

Hello all,

Hope you have had a good weekend.

Had a good weekend here. Got to spend some time with the grandkids.

I've been discouraged ~ wanting/needing to walk, but it is so hot and humid here. I shared my discouragement with my husband and asked if maybe we could get a motor driven treadmill. Yippee ~ he said yes, so we went to Walmart and got one. Put it together today and I used it. I liked it pretty good ~ put a fan in there so I could keep cool while walking. Now, I can walk anytime that works for me. Not have to worry about getting myself presentable like I would have to if I was going out in the neighborhood or at the mall. And it doesn't matter if it is hot and humid outside or rainy. I feel hopeful again now.

Off to bed soon ~ back to work tomorrow.

Take care

Hi, Jess. Go to this thread and you'll get full instructions. Once the tracker is correctly saved you shouldn't have to repeat anything. It is automatically under your post. This link will tell you everything you need to know. Good luck with it. I was so eager to get my tracker too when I first joined so I know how you feel.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/announcements-forum-help/56332-how-add-weight-tracker-code-your-signature.html

Good going there Glynne. I have to get on my bike when I can't go outside. I'm having the opposite weather to yours--cold rain--but the results are the same--no walking. Glad you've got that problem fixed. I watch TV while I'm biking. I just moved my bike from the living room to the study so now I can peddle away to my heart's content without bothering anyone. Not that I cared if I did! :D

Zoe, hope you've beaten off that cold by now. I hate being stuffed up at night. I find Ibuprofen works better than a decongestant if I get to stuffed up to sleep.

Bobbi, I'm seriously thinking of actually mailing everyone a bit of dinner. I have so much left-over food in my frig my menus are out the window for a few days. Not only do we have left over dinner but yesterday we had a family day at church with a potluck supper and I have left-overs from that.(As a side note: I kept strictly to my plan and never ate dessert or any junk at potluck. I've been patting myself on the back for that since yesterday.)

I made soup and although most people had some when I went to take it home again and went to pour in in the container I'd brought it in there was more than what I'd brought over. You see I had added a jar of salsa and some water to the soup because it was way too thick. It's like the miracle of the fish and loaves but with soup. Ha, ha, at least it's not fattening. It was a vegetable soup with black beans and soy beans. My DIL said it looked like a Mexican soup so I added a little more corn and then the salsa. I served it with nacho chips and sour cream to top it off. Now, DH and I are going to have to eat it for a few days. I'd freeze it but there are potatoes in the soup and I don't like soup frozen with potatoes...sigh...Oh, well, I certainly won't have to wonder, "What's for dinner?" the next few days.

Karen3, I don't envy your task. But I'm sure you'll come up with some very inventive ways to serve the both of you. I remember in college taking a nutrition course and working on the menus for different medical problems. Most of the students in the class were taking nursing and many were friends of mine. We'd spend hours trying to get a balance diet using only the prescribed foods allowed. We'd have to look up all the nutritional data in books!!! No computers then.

Everyone has gone home, including the baby (we would have kept him, you know :) ) and we're home alone again. I'm gone to hang up a few more cups on the hooks DH just put up for me in the "new" dish cupboard in mom's old room (my study now). So glad to get all my dishes out of boxes and back in use. After that I'll bike (it's raining) and finally clean up the kitchen from the weekend's assaults. :dizzy:

Catch you later.

Hey Everyone........just a quick note then back to the grind-stone. It's been snowing here since last night, won't be over til late this afternoon. We still have our garlic and carrots in the garden, hope the snow melts and things warm up so we can harvest them. I have ironing to get back to, supper to cook, fresh broccoli and cauliflower to clean and home-made laundry soap to make. I managed to read everyone's post and will comment tomorrow maybe. I've got to take MIL to doctor in the morning for her appointment. The nursing home had to put her on a mild sedative, she gets really mean at night with Sundowners in addition to her Alzheimer's. I'd hate to be a nurse's aid.
Have a good one!

Hi Everyone,

Got home yesterday, but was REALLY exhausted. Should have read Zoe's post before I left here this morning to go to Library and Post Office - of course, both were closed for the "holiday."

I am pretty pleased with my behaviors over my vacation - made several good choices everyday & never really ate out of control. Got lots of exercise and ended up with only 1 lb gain (might lose that by tomorrow) for 10 days of vacation.

My DD & SIL took care of my crazy cats while I was gone (they have 1 of their own). When I got home, my DD had taken lots of photos and made a little photo album with their photos and really funny sayings. Was a REALLY nice coming home gift.

I am starting a new class tomorrow so I probably won't be posting much for the next few weeks. Looks like I am getting myself over-scheduled - supervising 2 Student Teachers, taking a class that meets twice a week, and teaching my online course. Will try to check in as much as possible. I get into trouble when I stay away.

Lynn

Isabella, thank you!!!

hmmm

trying it again...

trying it again.... if this time doesn't work, I'm giving up!!!!

I've given up!!!

Hi Jess. :) You sound somewhat frustrated. Try again with someone with a bit more computer knowledge. Sometimes an extra pair of eyes works wonders. There must be something you're missing. But lots of 3FC have trouble with that when they first join. Anyway, I hope you mean you're giving up on the ticker and not on the weight loss.

Good morning people. Hope you all had a good long weekend if you live in North America. Seems as if Canada (Thanksgiving) and USA and Mexico (Columbus Day) all had the same day off.

The rain has finally stopped and the sky is blue but it's a cold comfort, brrrrr. Snow is promised tomorrow but I think it's flurries. Don't want any of that storm stuff from the mid-west. How's the shoveling going, Bobbi? I don't envy you the snow but I know it's my destiny. And I believe Rosey, has had a dump of snow already. I hate the snow. But I'm happy where I live as we seldom have extreme weather. Our hurricanes are mild as they are usually downgraded to tropical storms or depressions by the time they reach us, our earthquakes are so rare I've never experienced one, we don't have tornados, and we don't have sweltering heat in the summer. And we don't have a lot of rain, drizzle and fog (known as RDF in Newfoundland and other coastal provinces) the area in which I live. Our big draw back is a long winter but there are people who love winter sports who think winter isn't long enough!! So it's just about perfect as places go. We don't have large cities and most people know all their neighbors and keep an eye out for each other. Unfortunately, we do have street drugs and our crime rate has gone up in certain areas. I guess no one is immune to drugs.

Anyhoo, I'm soon off for my walk--the first one since Thursday because of rain. I'm just waiting until DH goes back to work (school bus driver) so we'll leave together. I'll get home in plenty of time to prepare dinner (at lunch time).

Have a good day everyone.

Good Morning Girls,
I'm on my way out the door, have to meet MIL at the hospital for her test.
Jess... You posted your weight/slider on Sunday, I think you just forgot to save it.
Go up to User Cp
Click on edit signature
Top of page click here to get started (turns yellow after clicking on it)
The page shows starting wt....Current wt...goal weight. fill in.
Next step..click background bar...next step
click slider...next step
copy/paste the code, (In red, use this code)
go up top of page to forum so the User CP shows up on top of page.
Click back on edit signature, scroll down to box and paste the code in box. Scroll down to second box where it says SAVE.
That should work.

Hi Everyone,

We haven't gotten the snow that some area's are getting, but it's cold! And my niece said it's snowing where they are, about 2 hours from here. So it's headed this way.

Jess, I can feel your frustration! I know it took me HOURS ( I kid you not) to get it right. Wish I could help you, but i think I just stumbled on it accidently! You had it the one time, I think you just needed to hit "save". Let us know how you are doing with your diet.

Isabella, I know it was hard seeing the baby go. They are so wonderful!

Zo, Hope you are finally feeling better!

Lynn, Don't work too hard! And please stop in often to see us.

Karen, Drop in often and let us know how things are going. You are going through soemthing that kind of throws you off, but lots of people have to deal with it, and I know you can. It will become easier.

I lost another pound this week! Slowely but surely....

Everyone have a good day,

Freda

Bobbi, We must have been posting at the same time. Hope things go well with your MIL. And I think Jess will do ok with the signature now. You make it sound easy!!! But I still remember how much trouble I had with it.

Isabella, I'm actually very computer literate and, in fact, work with them all day. I'm also very frustrated, yes. And I'm up a pound today, and it makes me want to just slit my wrists. There's such a long, long, LONG road ahead, and I hope I can do this.

OMG, it worked! It must take an overnight or something for things to "gel" once you hit "save"..........

Morning everyone :coffee: rainey and foggy here this am but no snow yet..nothing new to report congrats to those who are loosing :carrot: i made halibut last night a new recipe..it was so good thought i'd share.. cut halibut about the same size as a deck of cards..with a pastry brush coat each top and bottom with melted butter..crush sour cream and chive potatoe chips and sprinkle over fish ( use a lite hand with butter and chips) bake in glass pan at 450*.. serve with lemon..it was soo good i deff will make this again..i suppose u could su bstitute the butter for a lower fat version like i cant believe its butter spray and seasoned panko bread crumbs ..il try that next..and i suppose this would work for any white fish..have agreat day everyone :hug: rosey :wave:

I'm back from the doc's with MIL, we had to wait 55 minutes in his examining room. MIL dozed off and when she woke up asked who I was. I said your DIL and she wouldnt believe me. She said I was the doctor and wouldn't be convinced. I had to take out my drivers license to prove it, told her I wished I had the doctor's salary. That seem to wake her up, she laughed. She is getting to the last stage of Alzheimer's so it probably won't be long until she's gone.
Lynn...what a nice surprise and DD & SIL are very thoughtful to think of that. Did the cats ignore you when you got home, just to show you how independent they are?
My DD & SIL took care of my crazy cats while I was gone (they have 1 of their own). When I got home, my DD had taken lots of photos and made a little photo album with their photos and really funny sayings. Was a REALLY nice coming home gift.
Glad you got your ticker working Jess.
Isabella...O.K. I'm ready to move there, you convinced me. Actually we have it pretty good in Minnesota, an occasional tornado and that's about it. I love the 4 seasons and the snow. I love shoveling it too, fantastic exercise. DH and I love to cross country ski and we really get a work out from that.
Our hurricanes are mild as they are usually downgraded to tropical storms or depressions by the time they reach us, our earthquakes are so rare I've never experienced one, we don't have tornados, and we don't have sweltering heat in the summer. And we don't have a lot of rain, drizzle and fog (known as RDF in Newfoundland and other coastal provinces) the area in which I live.
Rosey...we're suppose to eat fish 2-3 times a week to help ward of dementia/Alzh. We love fish and the recipe sounds yummy, unfortunately we live right in the middle of the U.S. and Canada and do not get fresh seafood unless we pay through the nose. Plus I never know what kind to eat safely anymore with all the tonic mercury in the fish.
Freda...congrats on the pound, I hit my goal last year and it's a constant battle for me. Up, Down, Up, Down!:devil:
Hi everyone else, hope you're all having a great day.

Bobbi, I have relatives and friends in MN, near Brainerd. The pictures look lovely! Since I'm a snow person, and NOT a summer person, I've threatened to move! So sorry about your MIL... that's a horrible, horrible disease.

Isabella, I'm actually very computer literate and, in fact, work with them all day. I'm also very frustrated, yes. And I'm up a pound today, and it makes me want to just slit my wrists. There's such a long, long, LONG road ahead, and I hope I can do this.

Hi Donna,

First - CONGRATULATIONS on your ticker - it is just BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Next - you need to lighten up about your weight. I've been tracking my daily weight pretty regularly for about 3 years and what I can tell you is that daily fluctuations are par for the course.

The important thing is the average over time - NOT the daily ups and downs. Most of us use some kind of program to track our daily weights and nutritional intake and exercise. I use DietPower, some use FitDay. These programs provide graphic presentations of our weight loss over time. The line is NEVER straight. Always has ups and downs.

If you look at the Halloween Challenge up in the Sticky area, you will see that we focus on our daily actions more than on weight. We can control our actions (dieting/exercising), we cannot control the outcomes (weight gain/loss).

Focus on what you do everyday - build good eating and exercising habits - and the weight loss will follow.

Lynn

I'm back from the doc's with MIL, we had to wait 55 minutes in his examining room. MIL dozed off and when she woke up asked who I was. I said your DIL and she wouldnt believe me. She said I was the doctor and wouldn't be convinced. I had to take out my drivers license to prove it, told her I wished I had the doctor's salary. That seem to wake her up, she laughed. She is getting to the last stage of Alzheimer's so it probably won't be long until she's gone.

Lynn...what a nice surprise and DD & SIL are very thoughtful to think of that. Did the cats ignore you when you got home, just to show you how independent they are?

Glad you got your ticker working Jess.
Isabella...O.K. I'm ready to move there, you convinced me. Actually we have it pretty good in Minnesota, an occasional tornado and that's about it. I love the 4 seasons and the snow. I love shoveling it too, fantastic exercise. DH and I love to cross country ski and we really get a work out from that.

Rosey...we're suppose to eat fish 2-3 times a week to help ward of dementia/Alzh. We love fish and the recipe sounds yummy, unfortunately we live right in the middle of the U.S. and Canada and do not get fresh seafood unless we pay through the nose. Plus I never know what kind to eat safely anymore with all the tonic mercury in the fish.
Freda...congrats on the pound, I hit my goal last year and it's a constant battle for me. Up, Down, Up, Down!:devil:
Hi everyone else, hope you're all having a great day.


Hi Bobbi,

I am VERY frightened that one of my DF's (person I scrapbook with) is in the beginning stages of Alzh. She is aware of her memory/thinking problems and is frightened also. She really cannot organize things sufficiently to do scrapbooking anymore. VERY sad.

About the cats - how did you know? Absolutely - also woke me up at 1:30 in the am this morning & then again at 5:30. Keep your fingers crossed that I get out of punishment soon.

Lynn

Well, down another half lb. Slow going but I'll take it. Turning cold here in Ohio tomorrow, too early to be this cold....missing Florida now!

Lynn, thanks. I needed that! Now, if I were a Sticky area, where might I be?? I know that ups and downs are par for the course, but I've been trying so HARD, and it just really upset me to show a gain. I know that happens... and I know that if I vary from the three meal, three snack SBD routine, that things get catywampous. I think y'all are going to be seeing me here for a LONG time! And someday I'll figure out all the hidden facets of this site, too!

Hi Jess, I'll answer the "sticky" question for you. When you come into the 50+ forum you'll see at the top of the page several threads that have the word sticky in red. Here's the link so you can go straight to the Halloween Challenge. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/age-50/181195-halloween-challenge.html

And, as Lynn said, don't get too upset about the fluctuations from day to day. I only weigh once a week because I had myself nearly drove crazy weighing everyday. I was getting obsessive over it so as much as I'd like to jump on that scale every day I don't. I weigh in every Saturday morning, stark naked and after going to the bathroom. :D

Glad you got that weight tracker up and running.

Bobbi, I've thought about taking up cross country skiing. The kids had the skis when they were young but I never took it up myself. Now, I'm afraid I'll fall and have a bad spill.

I'm waiting for The Biggest Loser to come on TV. I can't even remember what last week's episode was about....but I'm sure the recap will refresh my memory.

:wave: Hi, to everyone. Hope you all had a good day.
Catch you all tomorrow.

Next - you need to lighten up about your weight. I've been tracking my daily weight pretty regularly for about 3 years and what I can tell you is that daily fluctuations are par for the course.
The important thing is the average over time - NOT the daily ups and downs.

Words of wisdom!! You'd think that I'd have this diet/exercise/scale thing all figured out by now, but the scale still sometimes frustrates me. I've been trying to knock off a few extra pounds and have been very diligent the last few weeks and have been seeing progress. But the last couple of weeks, I've been kind of stalled, and actually saw the scale bounce up several pounds. Yesterday it was up. Today, down over 3 pounds! Now, I know it's related to fluid balance, it has to be. I just have to keep reminding myself that the scale is only one data point among many, and influenced by many factors. As you so correctly pointed out - we can control our daily behaviors, but we cannot directly control the number on the scale. If we do the right things consistently over time, we will get the results we want.

Now, I just have to keep reminding myself of that! (I want results, and I want them now, darn it!) :p

On another topic: my at-work fitness center is having one of their quarterly incentive programs. Teams of two earn "yards" by attending exercise classes, working out, doing a prescribed flexibility/stretching program daily, etc. My "buddy" is a 70-something retiree friend who is in awesome shape and works out daily, rides her bike long distances, and attends classes regularly. I work out vigorously every day and many days twice. I checked the scoreboard this morning, and at week 4 of 6, we are in the lead and kicking everyone else's behind! Old ladies rule! :D

Good Morning!
Nothing exciting going on here today, more snow over night. Still need to dig carrots, hope they don't freeze below ground.
Floridarusty...congrats on the weight loss, slow and sure is great if you have the patience. I want it now:mad:
Jess...you could spend all day here, so many interesting threads. I love to snoop over at the recipe section when I have time, lots to choose from if you're in a rut and need something different. Yesterday I cooked some SF vanilla pudding with 1 serving of raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg, it was really delicious. Tasted like old fashion raisin cream pie, I topped it with SF Cool Whip and a sprinkling of dry Fiber One cereal. Yummy! Don't use instant.
MBN...what a great motivator your 70+ friend is, wish I had a friend like that. You all motivate me on 3fc's, but having someone to exercise with would be wonderful.
My "buddy" is a 70-something retiree friend who is in awesome shape and works out daily, rides her bike long distances, and attends classes regularly
Isabella...DH and I took up sking late in life, late 40's? I read somewhere that you can cross country ski late in life and it burns up so many calories. It's just like walking and I never worry about falling because you're usually on pretty flat surfaces. If I do fall, I fall on soft snow plus the fat surrounding my bum!:rofl:
Lynn...That is scary and nothing anyone can do about it. I think I'd rather die of some disease than lose my memory. She is aware of her memory/thinking problems and is frightened also. She really cannot organize things sufficiently to do scrapbooking anymore. VERY sad.


Last Sunday was our Harvest Dinner after church, our furnace went out and we skipped church. I was saved from all those yummy hot dishes and desserts. Nothing taste better than the whole church bringing their best, tastiest dishes. I made a squash dish, full of real butter and brown sugar, then topped with more brown sugar, flour, sliced almonds and butter. I made it the night before, was going to bake it in the morning. But after our furnace went out and we had to run get a space heater it was too late to go. I put the squash dish in the freezer. I'll thaw it out for Thanksgiving and I won't be counting calories that day. All this food is making me hungry, think I'll eat my breakfast. Have a great day everyone.

I can hardly believe how quickly we move from one week to the next! This past weekend was a real bust for me - still with the cold/allergy/whatever thingie going on and hard to sleep and etc., but the past two nights I've slept better, and have been able to come to work (Oh, joy, huh?) Cross country skiing? Hmmm. I skiied for years - regular downhill skiing, I mean - from about the age of 10 until I was in my forties. Can't really remember exactly why I stopped, but I did, even though I know some people who ski well into their eighties and stay in amazing condition. Maybe I'm just lazy. I have no desire whatsoever to engage in vigorous exercise. I haven't even ridden my bike all summer long, and about the best I can muster is walking for a mile or so, and I really have to push myself to do that. Well, except when we go over to Sturbridge Village - I like walking around there, and probably do three or four miles in the course of an afternoon, but don't realize that I'm doing it, so it's okay. ;) YOUR routine, MBN - and that of your 70+ -year-old colleague wore me out just reading about it. I admire it, just can't picture myself doing it, despite knowing full well that I SHOULD. I'm happy that I've been able to maintain a nice, even (but rather slow) weight loss over time...I'd love to do it more quickly, but obviously don't have the discipline to do the accompanying exercise that would speed things up.
Freda, they are predicting cold temps and rain WITH POSSIBLE SNOW SHOWERS on Friday. I can hardly believe it! Snow in mid-October! I can remember a few years back when we were wondering if we'd have any snow for Christmas, and in fact there were a few Christmases when we didn't! I guess those are the "good old days", because the weather seems to be just getting colder and colder and wetter, too, in these parts over the past few years. Can't say I'm very happy with it.
Donna, your ticker is very nice. After all the trouble you had with it, though, I'm not looking forward to trying to change mine. Might just leave it as is, no matter how much more weight I lose. Oh, and yup. Weight fluctuates annoyingly. There's no way around it. I've started only weighing myself every two weeks, now. Usually if I give it two weeks, it settles into a number that I can tolerate.
Good going, Phyl....I'm glad to see you again!!!! :D
Check back in when you can, Lynn - sounds like you've got your work cut out for you over the next few months or more. It's always nice to see your posts, though.
Isabella, Rosey...all....have a great day, and keep up all that good work, you hear? (I'm going to do some leg lifts here at my desk - LOL)

Hugs,
Z

Morning all...Just a quick note today is our 51st anniverary! We eloped and were married in Elkton, Md right after he got back from Bierut Lebanon. See something is wrong with me...I married a Marine.

Love hearing about your changing weather. But admit that the pool is wonderful. Had to fill it yesterday, it is so warm here that it exporates and needs refilling every few days. Funny but the water coming out of the hose was warmer than the pool. The water lines are just below the surface and the sun heats up the water....hence in the summer my water tastes and smells like swamp! Yuck.

I keep studying the info that is available on the net about renal failure diets and just can't get pass the no whole grains. Guess my best bet is to wait until the dietian comes. I hated doing diet planning in school when doing nursing care plans.

But my biggest hurdle is that he could die if he doesn't start controlling this. I have even found web support sites that are not only for the patient but the care giver, too. And the one has an office here in town...they do home dialoisis.

2 weeks until we go to the Daytona tournament. That is my favorite tournament. Love every second we are there. Just 4 old gals giggling half the night away. This is the 4th year in a row we have gone.

Rosey...that halbot sounds beyond wonderful. Will try it this week thank you.

Lynn...when I come back in my next life I wanna be a cat and sit and put my leg behind my ear!

Bobbi...after a day with your poor MIL grab DH and dance in the snow. Make snow angels and dig up the carrots. They say the old timers keep carrots in the ground for months to preserve them...but then again they kept game birds hanging for weeks before cooking....blah

MBN and Isabella...you are both doing wonderful!

Jess....It Will Happen!

Boy good thing this was a quick note or I might have taken up 2 pages....hugs, karen3

ps..Zoe u sneaker inner...hi!

Good Morning,

No snow yet but we're supposed to get rain and sleet. At least you don't have to shovel that.

Bobbi. Yeah, alheizmers is the most horrible disease. To know that you are slowely losing your mind, and know how you are going to end up, is devistating. I was at goal last year too. I gained back some weight mostly due to medication, and i'm slowely getting it off again too. I think we get too cocky about it. Oprah said the last time she was sure that she "got it this time, and them regained the weight". I think a lot of us do that. It's always a work in progress.

Jess, YEAH!! you did it. Finally got that sticker. Cute!! And don't worry, we all want the weight to come off "yesterday", but it takes it own good time. All we can do is do what we know we should. It does help to make small goals instead of looking at the big picture. Like, walk every day. Things that you can control. We can't really controle when our body is going to let the weight go.

Isabella, I'd love to take up cross country skiing too, but i'm so klutzie! I would fall and break something else! But, what a great, fun way to exercise!

Karen3, Happy Anniversary! Have fun and enjoy. Hope you do something special. The neutritionsit will be a great help, give you some sample menu's and help you get through this.

MBM, Yeah for you and your exercise partner! Your guys show them how it's done!!! Just shows that it's never too late to get it shape.

Z, Hope you feel better soon. That pesky illness has been hanging around for too long!! I have to say, I am an exerciser. Mostly becaue I like the way it makes me feel, and look. But when I can't exercise I actually miss it. I think it's addictive!

FloridaRusty, Got to change that name now! Congratulations on the weight loss!

Lynn, Cats are like that! So independant!

Everyone have a great day,

Freda

SCREAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.....I JUST LOST MY LONG, LONG POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All I'm saying now is HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Karen3.

Have a great day everyone.

Good morning (well, early afternoon!).... Just want to say that I'm thoroughly enjoying being here. I think this is going to be a good and helpful experience... BTW, a little of yesterday's "gain" is off today. I guess I'll stay out of the sesame chicken and cheesecake for another day! Thanks, all...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KAREN!! Enjoy your special day!!

Happy Anniversary, Karen,

Taking a break from correcting students' "work." I swear that I spend more time correcting their assignments than they spend writing them!

Down to 151 today! REALLY happy.

Zoe, just ate a plate of Miracle Noodle with my veggie spaghetti sauce. I LOVE being about to eat "pasta" without guilt!

Lynn

wow, 51 years! Congratulations, Karen... what an accomplishment!
I looked up Miracle Noodles after reading your note, Lynn... are they good, really? Very intriguing....

wow, 51 years! Congratulations, Karen... what an accomplishment!
I looked up Miracle Noodles after reading your note, Lynn... are they good, really? Very intriguing....

You just need to rinse them REALLY well - 3-4 minutes under cold water (they have a kind of fishy smell that you need to rinse off). Then, just pop them into whatever sauce you want & enjoy - NO calories - NO carbs!

Lynn

Floridayrusty, think of that half pound as 1 cup of butter. Now, that puts a new light on things, doesn't it ?

MBN congratulations on leading the pack in your work place exercise class. "Old Ladies Rule" :D

Bobbi, that pudding sounds delicious. I like raisins and anything creamy has to be good. I mentioned skiing to DH as he was eating his cake and ice cream and all I got out of him was a grunt. Then he looked up and asked me what country we would be crossing....sigh....Well, at least I sowed the seed in his brain.

Zoe, leg lifts are good. Helps circulate the blood through the body.

Karen3, hopefully the dietitian will be able to take some of the worry out of meal preparation for you. Maybe you'll be able to make one meal and add different foods to yours.

Jess, soon you'll be one of the old-timers on the Golden Girls forum.

Freda, we didn't get the promised snow yesterday, just the wind and rain. DS got snow and rain and a leak in his dining room window. DH spent some time on the webcam with him trying to figure out what to do.

I got up early this morning and was on the road a few minutes before 7:30 am. It was crisp and chilly walking this morning but I had on a scarf and mittens so I wasn't in any distress. :lol: This morning all was blue skies. I'm going shopping this afternoon and wanted to get in the walk early. I have dinner already prepared, sheets off the bed and washed and are now drying and I'm going try and hem a few pair of jeans before I leave.

Catch you all later and have a great day.

Good Morning girls!
Raining here, better than the snow we were doused with. Congrats Karen on your anniversary, 51 years is a long time with one dude. We celebrated 44 years, well not exactly. We didn't do diddley squat but we've been married that long. Doesn't seem like it, but then once you hit 40, the years fly by.
Zoe...Maybe that's my problem too, lazy. I'd rather play games on my computer or cook.
Maybe I'm just lazy. I have no desire whatsoever to engage in vigorous exercise.
Freda...I hate exercising, how can you like it. I think it's soooooo boring. I do exercise every morning except Sundays, then I do it at night. Wish I could get some of your gumption, what's the secret?
But when I can't exercise I actually miss it. I think it's addictive!

Jess...yup, cheese cake is loaded with calories unless you make it low cal. I can't have cheesecake in the house, no control. Yummmmmy. Now I'm going to think about it all day.
I guess I'll stay out of the sesame chicken and cheesecake for another day!
Isabella...your weight is flying off, good job. As far as losing your long post, been there, done that. I think we all have!:mad:
Lynn...congrats to you too, nice to see your weight coming down. I think you like getting into smaller clothes too. I see you shorten up your challenge post, I do the same. I never re-read my stats from the past weeks and I doubt anyone else does either.
[quote][Down to 151 today! REALLY happy.
/QUOTE]

Freda...I hate exercising, how can you like it. I think it's soooooo boring. I do exercise every morning except Sundays, then I do it at night. Wish I could get some of your gumption, what's the secret?

I don't know Freda's secret, but mainly I exercise because it makes me feel good. The process of exercise can still be hard (especially the getting started part), but I ALWAYS feel great by the time I'm done. I feel happier, energetic, and somehow more in control of my life. On the days that I don't exercise, I feel depressed and sluggish. I guess I'm addicted to those endorphins, but it works for me. It burns calories, and I like having the strength and endurance that comes along with exercise. So it's all good. It's as much a part of my daily routine as my morning shower and coffee.

If exercise seemed like torture, then I wouldn't be able to stick with it either. If I start to get bored with my routine, I mix things up by adding different activities or setting goals around exercise. I am very blessed in that I am robustly healthy and I thank God every day for my health and the ability to do the physical things that I can do. I never, ever take that for granted. I think having an awareness that it is a blessing also helps turn what could be torture into a joy, because it is so wonderful just to move! I see so many people who just can't and I will do whatever it takes to preserve my mobility and independent functioning as long as I possibly can. I am working NOW so that someday I can retire and still have the capacity to hike, and bike, and swim, and run and have adventures!

Sorry, feeling philosophical today .... :D

Hey guys, no secret! I can't say I "love" exercise, I just love the way it makes me feel and look. I do miss it when I can't exercise. I get sluggish, I don't sleep as well. I do actually enjoy lifting weights. Maybe, again, because I have large upper arms, for my size, and I want them toned. It is easier to exercise when you keep it interesting. I love to walk outside in the summer time, and wave to the neighbors and check out all the flowers and plantings. Shoveling snow makes me feel strong! At times I am forced to exercise inside. I have the treadmill and bike in front of the TV and i wait untill something interesting is on and exercise then. it helps pass the time and makes something not so interesting, interesting. Yes, MBN, if you hate it you're not going to do it. Find something you do like. A walking partner is great. In the winter I can go to the local highschool and walk in the halls with friends and neighbors.

Lynn, You make those noodles sound good. I've heard of them for so long I think I have to try them. Congratulations on the weight loss!!!

Freda

Good morning.... gorgeous day here today! I'm so impressed with all of the weight loss and perseverance you folks show. At my one ounce loss a day (it seems), I despair of ever getting there. I'll be very, very, very old! However, one day at a time... thanks for the inspiration!

Hey guys, no secret! I can't say I "love" exercise, I just love the way it makes me feel and look. I do miss it when I can't exercise. I get sluggish, I don't sleep as well. I do actually enjoy lifting weights. Maybe, again, because I have large upper arms, for my size, and I want them toned. It is easier to exercise when you keep it interesting. I love to walk outside in the summer time, and wave to the neighbors and check out all the flowers and plantings. Shoveling snow makes me feel strong! At times I am forced to exercise inside. I have the treadmill and bike in front of the TV and i wait untill something interesting is on and exercise then. it helps pass the time and makes something not so interesting, interesting. Yes, MBN, if you hate it you're not going to do it. Find something you do like. A walking partner is great. In the winter I can go to the local highschool and walk in the halls with friends and neighbors.

Lynn, You make those noodles sound good. I've heard of them for so long I think I have to try them. Congratulations on the weight loss!!!

Freda

Hi Freda,

I agree about the exercise. I have become addicted to how it makes me feel. Also, I have a VERY sluggish metabolism. Without exercise, I can eat only about 900 calories if I want to lose weight - probably something to do with all the crazy diets I've gone on all my life. However, when I exercise, I can eat about 1200 calories & still lose weight. Finally, it REALLY helps with my cholesterol and diabetes.

Thank you for the compliment, but you are my hero. We started at about the same weight - I was about 10 lbs heavier, but I have NO hope of ever seeing 115 again. I will be happy if I ever get to 140.

Lynn

Good morning.... gorgeous day here today! I'm so impressed with all of the weight loss and perseverance you folks show. At my one ounce loss a day (it seems), I despair of ever getting there. I'll be very, very, very old! However, one day at a time... thanks for the inspiration!

OK, Jess,

What actions are you taking today? Remember, we can do this ONLY one day at a time.

Lynn

I don't know Freda's secret, but mainly I exercise because it makes me feel good. The process of exercise can still be hard (especially the getting started part), but I ALWAYS feel great by the time I'm done. I feel happier, energetic, and somehow more in control of my life. On the days that I don't exercise, I feel depressed and sluggish. I guess I'm addicted to those endorphins, but it works for me. It burns calories, and I like having the strength and endurance that comes along with exercise. So it's all good. It's as much a part of my daily routine as my morning shower and coffee.

If exercise seemed like torture, then I wouldn't be able to stick with it either. If I start to get bored with my routine, I mix things up by adding different activities or setting goals around exercise. I am very blessed in that I am robustly healthy and I thank God every day for my health and the ability to do the physical things that I can do. I never, ever take that for granted. I think having an awareness that it is a blessing also helps turn what could be torture into a joy, because it is so wonderful just to move! I see so many people who just can't and I will do whatever it takes to preserve my mobility and independent functioning as long as I possibly can. I am working NOW so that someday I can retire and still have the capacity to hike, and bike, and swim, and run and have adventures!

Sorry, feeling philosophical today .... :D

Hi MBN,

I recently started working with a trainer to "mix-it-up." I was doing ONLY aerobic & really needed to get into some weight training - hope to strengthen my shoulders (often have problems there) and to speed up my metabolism. I meet with him again tomorrow - if we don't get flooded out from Noreaster.

Lynn

I have to agree, exercise does make you feel wonderful, did not always feel that way, but I set out to find some routines that I knew I would push play everyday, Turbo Jam, started my love for exercising, then bought a belly dancing followed by a Yoga DVD, and on my cable we have on-demand, and tried jillians 30day shred, that was a very tough one for me, since I don't have much upper arm strength, I put too much pressure on my wrists, that I couldn't do any weight bearing exercises for about 3months, so I will stick to what I know works for me. I also agree, mix it up, don't let yourself get into a rut, make it as much fun for you as possible, the rewards are endless!!

I recently started weight lifting, now that I'm getting to that stage where the monthly should be leaving me alone, I find I needed some extra help to lose the rest of my weight. I saw an ad for that new ChaLean Extreme program, and the secret to this is heavy weights less reps. Hey, I love her TJ series, have alot of those that I still do, but just cardio and walking was doing a great job, keeping me from gaining, but I couldn't lose those extra pounds, and so far so good. Also I'm taking a closer look at my sodium intake, I can not believe how much salt in in just about everything. One big eye opener for me was FF/SF pudding has 480mg of sodium, I would usually have 2 per day, I did see that cooked FF/SF has 110mg of sodium. Still a bit high, but I will try to see if I make homemade pudding this way I can really reduce the sodium.

Well have a great Friday everyone

Hello all,

Yippee a few nights off. All kinds of things I need/want to do. The weather is supposed to be a little cooler the next few days. That is a welcome change from the heat/humidity.

Finally getting a chance to do the personals :)

Lynn ~ Enjoyed hearig about your trip. That was neat - the gift your daughter made for you - pics of your cats.

Donna ~ Welcome ~ glad you got your tracker thing to finally work :)

Freda ~ I think I'd rather have the snow ~ sleet and freezing rain ~ I dreaded driving on that

Bobbi ~ your pudding recipe sounds delicious. Snow up by you ~ I miss looking at it, but not shoveling it.

Isabella ~ cross country skiing sounds fun

Karen (Missouri) ~ How are you doing? Have you had a chance to use your woman cave :)

Karen (Florida) ~ Congratulations on your anniversary

Zoe ~ Hope your cold/allergies are better. Your grandbabies are so cute :)

Phylis ~ Congratulations you your weight loss ~ glad to see you here again.

Rosey ~ your fish recipe sounds yummy ~ gonna have to try that

MBN ~ congratulations to you and your exercise partner ~ way to go :)

Africanaussie and Doris ~ Welcome ~ glad you found us ~ you'll like it here

Linda ~ those Renaissance Faires are fun ~ and a good way to get in some walking

Wilma ~ Hope your plateau has ended

Lynn, MBN and Freda ~ You say that you like the way the exercise makes you feel. How does it make you feel? Just curious. I have heard that it is supposed to make you feel good, help you not to feel depressed, energize you. I have never felt any of these things with exercising. Am I doing something wrong not to experience that?

Well, guess I'd better be getting off to bed if I don't want to sleep too late to late in the morning.

Take care

Lynn, MBN and Freda ~ You say that you like the way the exercise makes you feel. How does it make you feel? Just curious. I have heard that it is supposed to make you feel good, help you not to feel depressed, energize you. I have never felt any of these things with exercising. Am I doing something wrong not to experience that?


Glynne - Most of the time, I finish an exercise session feeling happy and optimistic, pleasantly tired and sweaty, and energized at the same time. It rev's me up and makes me feel that all is right with the world. I still have my days when I don't want to get up and get going, and it's just hard, but I know when I finish, I always feel better than when I started.

I didn't always feel that way, though. At first, exercise was just a chore and I was glad to be done. Now, I've come to associate exertion with positive feelings, so I LIKE the the feeling of pushing my muscles hard, getting sweaty and getting my heart rate up. It's still hard, because I always want to do my best, but it's hard in a good way, not hard in a "good grief how much longer do I have to do this" way. ;)

I think it takes a while to get over that hump to begin to enjoy the process of exercise. Maybe it's that you have to get to a certain baseline of fitness first so that the act of exercise doesn't feel so foreign and stressful. It's like being a kid again in a way .. when children run and play they aren't thinking about the exertion, they are thinking about the wind in their face, and their friends, and the fun. For me it's not work, it's play. But, part of the secret is also picking exercise modes that I really enjoy doing, and not getting stuck in a rut of, say, 30 minutes on the elliptical every single day. I would hate that - can you say: boring! So I run with my friends, go to a lot of different group exercise classes, kayak with my husband, and hike on vacation.

Does that make sense?

Good Morning Again,
Isabella...I pulled your trick and lost my long messge:mad:
This one will be shorter as I've run out of time, Good Morning America just had a segment on this great weight lost plan called the 'Cookie Diet'. You eat 1000 calores of food and up to 6 cookies a day. Special cookies with who knows what in them,? Doesn't sound like anything I'd invest in.
Lots of good exersizing hints the last two days. Yesterday I started feeling guilty about my short exersize program. Last Fall when I met my goal, I stopped most of my exersizing due to sheer laziness.
I started back on them when my weight went up but not all of them. Yesterday I added my push-ups on the dresser that I use to do. Today I can't even lift a teaspoon, ouch! The front of my shoulders by my arm pits hurt, guess I'll lay off that today. Or should I push through the pain? What do you all do when you have sore muscles?
DH and I used to walk but I have heel spurs and Plantar Fasciitis so walking is out. We live out in the country and our road is all gravel which makes it hard even if you don't have foot problems. I used to use weights in the morning but find exercising bands work just as well and I keep them at my computer desk and use them throughout the day. Especially when programs are slow loading. I'm going to post a couple of recipes quick for sugar free pudding.
Homemade Vanilla Pudding
2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup Splenda
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I put more in)
1 Tablespoon butter (I leave this out)
(add one serving of raisins when cooking the mixture if you want raisin pudding, plus a dash of nutmeg)
Put all dry ingredients into a medium saucepan, whisk in milk. cook over medium heat, heat until bubbles form at edges. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal sppon. Do not boil, remove form heat, stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into serving dishes.
Hasty Chocolate Pudding
1/2 cup sugar or splenda
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups skim milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
(I add cinnamon sometimes for a Mexican chocolate pudding)
Whisk sugar, cocoa and cornstarch. Put in Microwave bowl and gradually whisk in milk. Cook for 3 minutes on high. Stir, then cook at 1 minute intervals, stirring between cooking times for 2 to 4 minutes more. should be shiny and thick. Stir in vanilla. Place in individual serving bowl and cover or put plastic wrap over top to prevent skin from forming.

Lynn, MBN and Freda ~ You say that you like the way the exercise makes you feel. How does it make you feel? Just curious. I have heard that it is supposed to make you feel good, help you not to feel depressed, energize you. I have never felt any of these things with exercising. Am I doing something wrong not to experience that?Take care

OK - I'm not the best at understanding feelings, but I'll give it a try. First, it makes me feel "proud" - a kind of patting myself on the back about doing something good.

Next, it makes me feel committed - I am MUCH less likely to make bad eating choices if I have spent the first hour of my day exercising.

Also, it enables me to eat more & still lose weight. Without exercise, I can eat only about 900 calories if I want to lose. With exercise, I can eat around 1200 & still lose.

For me, it is a pleasant part of my day - I wake up, feed the cats, get dressed, stop at the convenience store for my coffee and protein bar (eat/drink on the way to the gym), and watch my morning news shows while I exercise. It has become such a habit that I miss it if I don't do it.

Then, there are the outcomes - I have arthritis & on days that I do not exercise, I have more aches and pains. I have diabetes & on days that I do not exercise, I have higher blood sugar readings. Finally, I have high cholesterol. Before I started exercising, the meds could not bring it down to where my cardiologist wanted. Now, it is perfect.

Finally, I REALLY like charting it in my daily nutrition/calorie/exercise tracker (I use DietPower).

That's all I can think of.

Lynn

Hello Gals. Another lovely fall day here in Central Newfoundland. I walked later this morning and it was a bit warmer than yesterday's early walk. Such a nice walk. Met and talked with several people and met the pre-schoolers out for a walk and chatted with them for a few minutes. They remembered me from a couple of weeks ago when I ran into them out walking. The loons were out on the bay and the wind wasn't blowing hard. So all in all a nice walk.

Bobbi!!! I think I have that recipe for the cookie diet. It's somewhere in a bunch of clipped recipes. It's supposed to be a high fiber chocolate cookie. It's a take off on the commercial cookies. I don't even think I was clipping that recipe but it was on the back of something else I wanted. I think it was in a Women's Day magazine. At least the cookies looked like cookies and not like the "Bowel Buddies" cookies I've seen in the health food store. I'd rather eat 6 cookies worth of food and save my dessert for the weekend. Oh, and about your sore arms--give them a rest today and do it again tomorrow. You have to give the muscles time to heal in between the exercise. I've got to start doing my push-ups again. But I think I'll ease into them as I don't do the pain thing too well. :lol:

Jess, if you really only lost an ounce a day you will be at goal in 3.25 years. Now, that's not as bad as you thought. Hardly a very old lady by then. :D One pound a week is a good amount to aim for but there will be weeks when it will be more and some weeks when there won't be any losses at all. So hang in there, lady.

Institches, I left a recipe over in the Blue Team but I see Bobbi has posted a couple which are almost identical to the one I have. It's really hard not to eat sodium as it's naturally in foods not to mention what's added to processed food. My, it seems as if salt is the only seasoning in some foods.

Lynn and MBN, sounds like you have your exercise routine down to a science. I almost gave up all exercise while preparing for DS's wedding the spring and summer. I just started walking again in September and I'm just loving. The days that aren't suitable for walking I bike in front of the TV. I was doing a home circuit with cardio and weight bearing exercises alternating but I haven't gotten back to that. But I'm guessing on cold, blustery winter days the circuit routine will be added to my regime.

Freda, when I was still working I always used the school gym or halls after school to do my walking and running in the winter. The kids who stayed after school for extra curricular activities were always interested in what I was doing. And the teachers were always saying they were going to join me. Ha! That never happened.

Glynne, hope you're enjoying your few nights off. I'm sure you will find some exercise to fit your life style. Half the battle is starting. I find if I leave walking or biking until after supper it doesn't get done. For me I have to do it in the morning when I'm better rested.

Must go and make that carrot cake for tomorrow's dessert treat. It's a small one that bakes in a 8 or 9-inch pan. So not so many left-overs to tempt me later on.

Catch you later, chickies.

Good morning from beautiful Denver... Thanks for those pudding recipes! I forwarded them on to a friend who's on this "journey" with me. I think I need to keep my weird sense of humor to myself; y'all take my words so seriously! Lynn, I'm very limited on the carbs, of course. I'm trying to do the meal/snack/meal/snack/meal/snack routine, and that does work; when I veer off, I have no results. I prepare menus in advance and prepare them in advance, so I always have good food available when I'm starving. Exercise, not so much (well, not at all). It really, really hurts. I get shin splints almost immediately, and I'm too fluffy to bend and such for floor exercises. I keep waiting for some of this to drop off so that I can start walking. Any ideas for sedendary exercise? I'm very open to ideas!

Jess, you said you were waiting to lose a bit of weight before you started exercising but couldn't you take a short walk to begin, say around the block or up and down the street or even round and round the house and work up from that? Exercise really revs up the weight loss. I know shin splints really hurt so I understand your hesitancy to bring back that pain. I just found this web page that might give you a few ideas for chair exercises.

http://video.google.ca/videosearch?q=chair+exercises&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=Pa3YStnuNMvd8QbdprG3BQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCEQqwQwAw#

Good morning from beautiful Denver... Thanks for those pudding recipes! I forwarded them on to a friend who's on this "journey" with me. I think I need to keep my weird sense of humor to myself; y'all take my words so seriously! Lynn, I'm very limited on the carbs, of course. I'm trying to do the meal/snack/meal/snack/meal/snack routine, and that does work; when I veer off, I have no results. I prepare menus in advance and prepare them in advance, so I always have good food available when I'm starving. Exercise, not so much (well, not at all). It really, really hurts. I get shin splints almost immediately, and I'm too fluffy to bend and such for floor exercises. I keep waiting for some of this to drop off so that I can start walking. Any ideas for sedendary exercise? I'm very open to ideas!


Hi Jess,

When I had my hip problems (ultimately had hip surgery) and could not walk, I used to have weights that I could put around my wrists and or ankles. I would keep them by my tv watching chair & every time a commercial came on, I would lift my arms and/or legs with the weights. My weight things have little pockets that you can fill with metal weights - got them at a sports store - so I could increase the weight over time.

Lynn

Hi every one..happy weekend..the last few days i have been haveing a mamogram and a uterine ultra sound..becus my mom died from uteran cancer my dr was going a step beyond the normal female ck up..i have a question tho? when u have had a mamogram does it hurt? and are u sore the next few days as i sure am..was wondering if thats normal or just becuz im handicapped and the tech was inexperienced with how to move me about ..i can stand if i have something to hang onto but at one point if i did fall the only thing to save me was my boob clamped to tight in the machine..i guess you have to see the humor init all..but gosh i hurt even when i sneeze:?:..congrat to all who are loosing..im so proud of you all and its great to share.. my dh is going to his cabin with his guys friends tomorrow so i can get down to finishing my projects uniterupped..hoping you have a fun and happy weekend :hug: rosey :wave:

Isabella and Lynn, thank you!! You're right that I need to just put one foot in front of the other... and short distances shouldn't be that difficult. Too bad the dog died a couple of weeks ago; she would have liked this. Thanks, too, for the website address. I checked it out, and there's some good stuff there. It is SO gorgeous here today; if tomorrow is, as well, I think I'll trot outside. Have a good evening all!

Bobbolink and retiredone Thank You for the recipies, I do plan to try them. and yes darn that salt, why does it taste so good, but I guess everything in moderation!!

Jess how did the walk go? Shin Splints hurt, try to take it easy, but do give it a try. For me it was muscle pain, deep in my upper legs, it would wake me up with this, I could not move, if I did, the pain only got worse. My DH would have to help, by massaging it until it relaxed enough that I could walk on it again. I know stretching was something that I failed to do in the begining, after a great 40mins of exercise my muscles would be so sore, but I now know it was in part, not enough stretching, the other part was, my weight, now I make sure, even if stretching is part of the cool down, I get in 5-10mins of yoga stretches, my muscles are much happier with me now.

*****
well it's a cold and rainy weekend, perfect for cooking, and restocking the freezer. Any great weekend plans?

Hi every one..happy weekend..the last few days i have been haveing a mamogram and a uterine ultra sound..becus my mom died from uteran cancer my dr was going a step beyond the normal female ck up..i have a question tho? when u have had a mamogram does it hurt? and are u sore the next few days as i sure am..was wondering if thats normal or just becuz im handicapped and the tech was inexperienced with how to move me about ..i can stand if i have something to hang onto but at one point if i did fall the only thing to save me was my boob clamped to tight in the machine..i guess you have to see the humor init all..but gosh i hurt even when i sneeze:?:..congrat to all who are loosing..im so proud of you all and its great to share.. my dh is going to his cabin with his guys friends tomorrow so i can get down to finishing my projects uniterupped..hoping you have a fun and happy weekend :hug: rosey :wave:

Hi Rosey,

Always hurts me while they are doing it, but not the day after.

I have always thought that if this were how they checked for prostate cancer in men, a new machine would be invented IMMEDIATELY!

Another pet peeve for me is that men's undershirts now are made without the tags at the back of the neck - but NOT t-shirts for women!

OK - that's my feminist vent for the day.

Sorry it was painful for you. Hope everything is OK.

Lynn

Isabella and Lynn, thank you!! You're right that I need to just put one foot in front of the other... and short distances shouldn't be that difficult. Too bad the dog died a couple of weeks ago; she would have liked this. Thanks, too, for the website address. I checked it out, and there's some good stuff there. It is SO gorgeous here today; if tomorrow is, as well, I think I'll trot outside. Have a good evening all!

Hi Jess,

I don't yet know when you are kidding & when you are serious. If dog really died & you are sad, I am sending :hug::hug::hug:

If you are kidding, go out a rescue one of those greyhounds - that should increase your walking;)

Lynn

Morning all - wow, what a physically fit group!!! And most of you actually ENJOY exercising! Okay, so what's MY problem????? No physical barriers - just extreme laziness and low levels of motivation, I suppose. I'm going to give myself a (small) break here, and say that once I am well and truly past this cold/allergy mess - which is getting better in very small increments every day - I am GOING to start on some sort of regular exercise program, no matter how teeny-tiny! Maybe I'll just start with regular walking. We've all heard the phrase "Use it or lose it", (referring to body movement, not pounds, unfortunately) and I have to admit that I'm a little haunted by it. I definitely don't want to become an old slug, and some days I sure do feel like one. Some days, I have to admit, it just doesn't seem to matter all that much to me. Then, of course, I catch myself and remember that it really DOES matter, and then I just walk around feeling guilty. Bad stuff. I can do better even if winter is arriving prematurely and what a downer THAT is, you know? Hardly any nice fall days at all! Well, today it was supposed to rain - a nor'easter, they predicted, with high winds and rain, but surprise, surprise! It's sunny out there! (Maybe whoever is in charge of day-to-day weather realized that I couldn't handle much more GRAYNESS????) So, DH and I will bundle up and get ourselves outside for awhile. Rake some leaves, maybe. Tidy up the yard before we get hit with a real blizzard.
Lynn, you have just stayed on course for a long time, now, and really do inspire me - you and Freda - it was so nice to come back and find you both still here, and still walking the walk, so to speak. Oh, all of you others, too - Karen3, Glynne, Rosey, Isabella, Bobbi - good grief, where would the Golden Girls be without Bobbi??? Karen 31...and the newer folk, MBN (although I think I may remember you from before?), Jess, Institches...well, anyway, this is a good place to come for inspiration and support, that's for sure. Sometimes just reading everybody's posts is enough to give me some hope that I can do this darned exercise thing. (I USED to; no reason why I can't again). In the meantime, we (DH & I) are still eating a high fiber, low calorie, low fat, no red meat diet and we're both losing slowly but steadily - a half to a pound a week, typically, although one week I had NO loss, and was a little bummed. (Need to get over that in a hurry). I think I probably mentioned that I've gone to weighing once every two weeks - somehow, that works better for me.
Well, Happy belated anniversay, Karen3 - I hope you had a fantastic celebration for yourselves...that's a lotta years, lady! Oh, and Rosy? Um, yes...mammograms hurt like :devil: and can be sore for a few days afterwards. I hate the stinking things! And thanks, Bobbi, for those recipes - DH & I treat ourselves a couple of times a week with the 60-calorie jello puddings (we actually eat two apiece) and I just checked the sodium content. OMIGAWD!!!!! I DO believe I'll be trying your recipes, too.
Have a lovely weekend, everybody...I believe I'll be popping in and out.
:hug:

Z

Good Morning Everyone,

Rainy day here in PA. Have NOTHING planned!!!! Yea!!!!

Yesterday I spent an hour with my trainer & he gave me LOTS of new exercises to do. I think this will be REALLY good for me. I am sure my body had gotten MUCH TOO used to the ones I have been doing for the past couple of years. Need to mix-it-up.

Have a good day,

Lynn

Yippee-skippy.....I'm going to have an easy week-end too rosey, DH is leaving in a few minutes to scout out a deer hunting site. The owner of the woods he used to hunt in died and the property was sold to someone else. He's going over east of Rochester, Mn. where a lot of Amish people live, check out that area. He won't be home until Sunday afternoon, just in time for our grandson's 18th birthday. Wow, where did the time go.
my dh is going to his cabin with his guys friends tomorrow so i can get down to finishing my projects uniterupped..hoping you have a fun and happy weekend :hug: rosey :wave:
Speaking of time, I have to make sandwiches for DH, you all have a great day!
P.S. I made a batch of the vanilla pudding yesterday and added Watkins Butter-Rum extract.......DH loved it, me too.

P.S. Isabella.......forgot to tell you about my chicken soup. DH wanted some lentils in it. I knew I had a package in the pantry, must have purchased it a couple of years ago. (I've never made anything with lentils before) I cooked them up separately and then added two cups to the soup. It was delicious but more importantly was the amount of fiber in them, Thursday we had it for supper and my total fiber grams for the day was 65. We had it again last night for supper and my total fiber grams was 66.

Lynn, the dog really died. She was very old and very beloved, and it was very quick... and no, she won't be replaced. The cat doesn't seem interested in going on walks, alas! I put on my full-body condom (trash sacks duct taped together), turned on the sprinkler system, and flagged it for the aerator guy. Does that count as exercise? I definitely shivered!! I'm thinking of throwing the scale through the front window (more exercise?), because it hasn't moved, PERIOD, in three days. That just can't be right. I AM NOT CHEATING. When it does finally move, I expect a 25# loss! At the least.... However, it isn't going up, so I guess I'm grateful (I'm not)... Have a lovely day, All! I'm taking a tax preparation class, and I need to go study.

Jess, THROW THAT SCALE IN THE CUPBOARD FOR A WEEK OR TWO. DO YOU HEAR ME?!!!
Hahaha, "full-body condom" Hahahaha.
You're right about cats, though. They definitely do not take to being walked.

Zoe, no one feels like exercise when they're run-down with a cold or allergy. When you're energy levels are up you'll have a different outlook on exercise (or at least you'll say you do. :)) Start with a short walk. Get an mp3 player if you don't have one and listen to music or a podcast. Get rid of the guilt. You don't have to feel guilty because you're not exercising. Fiddle around with different exercises until you find something that fits you. Raking the leaves is a good workout.

Bobbi, you are now officially a new Lentil Convert. Next time you make something with hamburger or ground meat throw in some cooked lentils. You'll hardly notice them and you'll get that fiber that meat doesn't have.

Institches, it's raining here too. It was snowing this morning but t's turned to rain now. Everything was covered in thick, heavy snow this morning. The wind was howling and when I woke up it sounded as if we were in the middle of a blizzard (but we weren't). So glad for central heating and wood heat at that.

Lynn and Rosey, I can't say I've experienced any undue discomfort with a mammogram but I've heard lots of women talk about pain. I was dreading the first one I had some years ago but was relieved it wasn't too bad. I guess it's different for everyone.

Today was my treat day and I had a lovely, delicious piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting with ice cream on the side. Used up enough calories for a full meal but I enjoyed my indulgence. Now, I'm thinking of what's on the menu for next week's treat. :D

Morning all - wow, what a physically fit group!!! And most of you actually ENJOY exercising! Okay, so what's MY problem????? No physical barriers - just extreme laziness and low levels of motivation, I suppose. I'm going to give myself a (small) break here, and say that once I am well and truly past this cold/allergy mess - which is getting better in very small increments every day - I am GOING to start on some sort of regular exercise program, no matter how teeny-tiny! Maybe I'll just start with regular walking.
Lynn, you have just stayed on course for a long time, now, and really do inspire me - you and Freda - it was so nice to come back and find you both still here, and still walking the walk, so to speak. Oh, all of you others, too - Karen3, Glynne, Rosey, Isabella, Bobbi - good grief, where would the Golden Girls be without Bobbi??? Karen 31...and the newer folk, MBN (although I think I may remember you from before?), Jess, Institches...well, anyway, this is a good place to come for inspiration and support, that's for sure. Sometimes just reading everybody's posts is enough to give me some hope that I can do this darned exercise thing. (I USED to; no reason why I can't again). In the meantime, we (DH & I) are still eating a high fiber, low calorie, low fat, no red meat diet and we're both losing slowly but steadily - a half to a pound a week, typically, although one week I had NO loss, and was a little bummed. (Need to get over that in a hurry). I think I probably mentioned that I've gone to weighing once every two weeks -

Z
Hope you feel better soon. I agree everyone here is great, sharing of ideas, yummy recipes, and support has helped me so. As far as getting back into exercising, walking is a great place to start.

Good Morning Everyone,

Rainy day here in PA. Have NOTHING planned!!!! Yea!!!!

Yesterday I spent an hour with my trainer & he gave me LOTS of new exercises to do. I think this will be REALLY good for me. I am sure my body had gotten MUCH TOO used to the ones I have been doing for the past couple of years. Need to mix-it-up.

Have a good day,

Lynn
I also live in Bucks County, about 45mins from Allentown. Good for you, enjoy your weekend. I did get all my food shopping done, so ready to hit the kitchen, tomorrow, with all my weekly food prep. I do plan to get some soup in the crock pot, and going to make some yummy pudding :D Enjoy your new exercise plan, it's always fun to try to challenge yourself, it boggles my mind, to think, I wasted so much time, telling myself "I can't do......" fill in the blank.

Yippee-skippy.....I'm going to have an easy week-end too rosey, DH is leaving in a few minutes to scout out a deer hunting site. The owner of the woods he used to hunt in died and the property was sold to someone else. He's going over east of Rochester, Mn. where a lot of Amish people live, check out that area. He won't be home until Sunday afternoon, just in time for our grandson's 18th birthday. Wow, where did the time go.

Speaking of time, I have to make sandwiches for DH, you all have a great day!
P.S. I made a batch of the vanilla pudding yesterday and added Watkins Butter-Rum extract.......DH loved it, me too.
Enjoy your alone time, and I plan to make your pudding recipe, I think I might need to get some butter-rum, that sounds delish! Thanks for posted it

Lynn, the dog really died. She was very old and very beloved, and it was very quick... and no, she won't be replaced. The cat doesn't seem interested in going on walks, alas! I put on my full-body condom (trash sacks duct taped together), turned on the sprinkler system, and flagged it for the aerator guy. Does that count as exercise? I definitely shivered!! I'm thinking of throwing the scale through the front window (more exercise?), because it hasn't moved, PERIOD, in three days. That just can't be right. I AM NOT CHEATING. When it does finally move, I expect a 25# loss! At the least.... However, it isn't going up, so I guess I'm grateful (I'm not)... Have a lovely day, All! I'm taking a tax preparation class, and I need to go study.
sorry :hug:, about losing your dog, I know how you feel, it's been 9yrs and I miss my Amber Marie so much, she was such a special doggie, I don't think I will ever get another one either. Hang in there, the scale is only one way to measure your success, and You Have Not Cheater, that is a Big Success, your body might be holding on to some water, just put that scale away, and just be patient with yourself. Full body condom, :rofl: now that must of been a sight to see

Jess, THROW THAT SCALE IN THE CUPBOARD FOR A WEEK OR TWO. DO YOU HEAR ME?!!!
Hahaha, "full-body condom" Hahahaha.
You're right about cats, though. They definitely do not take to being walked.

Zoe, no one feels like exercise when they're run-down with a cold or allergy. When you're energy levels are up you'll have a different outlook on exercise (or at least you'll say you do. :)) Start with a short walk. Get an mp3 player if you don't have one and listen to music or a podcast. Get rid of the guilt. You don't have to feel guilty because you're not exercising. Fiddle around with different exercises until you find something that fits you. Raking the leaves is a good workout.

Bobbi, you are now officially a new Lentil Convert. Next time you make something with hamburger or ground meat throw in some cooked lentils. You'll hardly notice them and you'll get that fiber that meat doesn't have.

Institches, it's raining here too. It was snowing this morning but t's turned to rain now. Everything was covered in thick, heavy snow this morning. The wind was howling and when I woke up it sounded as if we were in the middle of a blizzard (but we weren't). So glad for central heating and wood heat at that.

Lynn and Rosey, I can't say I've experienced any undue discomfort with a mammogram but I've heard lots of women talk about pain. I was dreading the first one I had some years ago but was relieved it wasn't too bad. I guess it's different for everyone.

Today was my treat day and I had a lovely, delicious piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting with ice cream on the side. Used up enough calories for a full meal but I enjoyed my indulgence. Now, I'm thinking of what's on the menu for next week's treat. :D
carrot cake w/cream cheese frosting :drool: Snow :?: not ready for that yet, but a town by me did had snow, goodness it's not even Halloween yet :dizzy: I guess the one thing I dislike the most about winter is the Ice, if I could just hibernate for the months of Dec-Mar I would be so happy :D

well I stayed up way too late, had to watch the end of the Yankee Game, went into extra innings, ALOT of extra, but they won :carrot:, DH is happy.
and looking at the clock it's almost 3am, so need to go to bed. Hope everyone has a Great Sunday!

Institches, you're gonna have to get to bed earlier. :rofl: Now, if that's not the hypocrite preaching!!!! I never crawled into bed until 5:30 am this morning. I was watching tv-2 movies at a time and fell asleep somewhere around 2 am. I'm going to have to make a rule about bedtime. BTW, happy your team won. I don't follow sports at all so it's always a movie for me instead.

Going shopping today with DH. Probably a short trip as he's not one to linger over his purchases and browse down the aisles. DS is coming first to get winter tires put on his car so I'll take my walk then. By the time I get back they'll be finished.

Catch you all later today.

Happy Sunday! :wave:

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I also live in Bucks County, about 45mins from Allentown. Good for you, enjoy your weekend. I did get all my food shopping done, so ready to hit the kitchen, tomorrow, with all my weekly food prep. I do plan to get some soup in the crock pot, and going to make some yummy pudding :D Enjoy your new exercise plan, it's always fun to try to challenge yourself, it boggles my mind, to think, I wasted so much time, telling myself "I can't do......" fill in the blank.

Hmmm 45 min from Allentown - near Nockamixon? I'm in Yardley.

About trying things I thought I couldn't do - Actually, watching Biggest Loser has helped me with this. NOT that I would EVER put myself through the things those folks do on that show - however, it is motivational for me to see people break through the psychological barriers they have erected for themselves.

Lynn

S T I L L raining.

Maybe I will meet my sister for lunch today. She lives abt 2 hours north of me, so we meet about 1/2 way at a shopping mall in NJ.

Have a GREAT Sunday, Everyone,

Lynn

Good morning, All! Again, it is SO gorgeous here! We don't have the vivid colors for as long as you do in the East, but our weather more than makes up for it... mid 70s today! I'm heading off for a "berry salad" with a friend later today, looking forward to both the salad and the company. Life is good! And I did put away the scale, but I do go and check on it every few hours...!

Good Morning Girls!
We had a rainless/snowless week-end, yesterday DH got all the carrots dug out. He forgot the garlic, maybe today. We didn't plant garlic this year, it came up on it's own from missed garlic in 2008.
Does anyone other than Karen 31 play Farmland or FarmVille here?
I've been playing too many games, my right wrist is actually getting sore, time to lay off for awhile.
I just checked into the challenge and see Lynn and Isabella are doing really well. Everyone is working it, I think with the holidays around the corner we're OP more often than not.
I have to get 4 hats packed up and shipped out today, all vintage hats. (sold on ebay) I used to wear hats to church but stopped because I have hat hair all day and we're 'Sunday goin' to meetin' people. Or at least I am, DH loves having Sunday afternoon to himself. It's good to get away from each other once in awhile, especially after DH retired.
Anyone use Chef's Secret waterless cooking pans? Or any of the waterless cooking pans out there? I purchase one for my new kitchen range and really love it. You don't use any kind of oil or spray in it, no water. I browned a 3.5 Elk roast, seasoned it, threw in a sliced onion and put the cover on. Once it starts steaming the lid seals and you turn it down to low and forget it for a couple of hours. It makes it's own juice and WOW, I was impressed with it.
Hope everyone stayed OP this week-end, if not you can redeem yourself today and get back on plan. Have a great day.

Hello people. We've got snow flurries here today. I just got in my walk before they really started to come down. I don't think anything is going to "stick" to the ground though as it looks like they've almost turned to rain.

Bobbi, I've used waterless cooking pots before. And, yes, they do work well.

I believe Freda is doing even better than the rest of us in the challenge. I think she's only lost 1 point! I like to keep my older weeks up because it helps me compare then and now. I'm very competitive with myself. :lol:

I've talked DH into freezing the last 3 pieces carrot cake so he can have them for a treat later on. Each piece is over 400 calories and I told him to have a cookie instead. (80 calories) He's trying to loose a few pounds but he's not too motivated to exercise so I'm trying to help him watch his portions.

I made bread this morning and it's rising in the bowl. Must go put it in the bread pans. So catch you all later.

Good morning, All.... oh, I have to tell you about this berry salad I had yesterday... mounds (yes, mounds!) of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries; walnuts; blue cheese; grilled chicken on a bed of mixed greens, with a wonderful raspberry vinaigrette dressing. OMG, it was SO good! I took a picture, because it was so beautifully presented... really yummy lunch! All is well here... sounds like the weekends went well... Happy This Week!

Hi All,
No snow flurries here yet, but some really cold weather. Sunday morning we found the water in the bird bath frozen solid. Wo we've gotten our hard freeze already. Quite early for it.

Lynn, I hope your luncheon with your sister was fun! So nice to be able to meet. Wish mine lived closer, I miss them all the time!

Donna, So sorry to hear about your little doggie. We are big animal lovers and our little furr baby is part of the family. And PUT the scale away and stop looking at it so much!! Weight loss does slow down after awhile. I'm lucky now to lose 1/2 pound a week. By the way, i'm down another pound. Only 2 more to go to get back to goal. It has been so slow coming off. That last few pouns is killer! That salad sounds sooooo good. If you took pictures, post them. I will be drooling all over the computer screen.

Zo, No one feels like exercising when they are sick. I hope you get over than Illness soon. I know it tends to kick your Bu--!! maybe start out with some light walking. After awhile you will feel so much better it makes you want to add something else. I love my arm weights too. Well, maybe I love the way they make my arms look. I got such a nice comploment this summer that it made all the lifting worthwhile. We had gone to a family picnic and a niece I hadn't seem in some time (and her husband) told me how fit I looked and how good I looked in the sleeveless top I wore. Her husband is a runner and a health nut, so it was good to hear that from him!

Bobbi, I've never used those pans. I'm not sure i've seen them. They sound great. I'll have to look them up. Anything to make cooking easier.





Isabella, yes, i've been doing really well with the challange. I had a hard time getting started, but once I did it has really gone well. Once i get past the "craving" stage I find that eating well becomes second nature again. I still get those nights when I just want to grab a bag of "something" and eat the entire thing, but it passes quickly. Usually i wait for 20 min, and if i'll still starving i have an apple. Satisfies the crunch need.

Instiches, Shin splints hurt! And if you have pain you aren't going to exercise. I hate the time it takes to stretch, but it's so worth while. Not only are you more flexable, but long, lean muscles look better!

sorry.... the site wants a url address for my picture of the salad, and it's just a plain old picture, no address attached, so I guess you can't see it. It's quite lovely, though!

Where there's a will, there's a way... can you see the yummy salad under my name? I'll change it back tomorrow. I brought one home "to go" and just ate half of it with some sliced steak. I'm a ver', ver' happy person!

Good News for me -

1 cancer threat down & 1 to go. Saw the gyn oncologist today & he seriously doubts that my ovarian cyst has grown into ovarian cancer (what my regular gyn thought). He wants to re-examine the CD from the ultra-sound, but based on the report he says it is VERY unlikely.

See the dermatologist oncologist on the 28th about strange rash I've had since June. Biopsy results were inconclusive - possible lymphoma with this one.

Once I take care of these, I'll move on to the cataracts and the bone spurs in the foot.

Geesh - ain't these "golden years" great?

Actually, except for all these ailments, I feel GREAT!

Lynn

Good News for me -

1 cancer threat down & 1 to go. Saw the gyn oncologist today & he seriously doubts that my ovarian cyst has grown into ovarian cancer (what my regular gyn thought). He wants to re-examine the CD from the ultra-sound, but based on the report he says it is VERY unlikely.

See the dermatologist oncologist on the 28th about strange rash I've had since June. Biopsy results were inconclusive - possible lymphoma with this one.

Once I take care of these, I'll move on to the cataracts and the bone spurs in the foot.

Geesh - ain't these "golden years" great?

Actually, except for all these ailments, I feel GREAT!

Lynn

That's good news, Lynn. I hope everything else goes good as well.

Jess, that salad looks really good.

I just took an apple pie out of the oven and I could have eaten the whole thing. It's for my MIL who gave me so many apples from her tree. I should have made it last week but didn't. So now it's in the kitchen cooling down and I'm in the living room cooling down. :lol: I just love apple pie, well, just about anything in a pie crust.

DH brought me a huge bag of apples tonight from a friend of ours and I'm making a big pot of applesauce as I type. I'm trying to make this potful a chunky batch. That way it can double for a pie filling.

Newfoundland has had its third snowstorm in a week! The government is allowing studded tires to go on as of today. The usual date is Nov. 1 but the roads are so slippery in places that there have been several accidents. We didn't get a storm where we live today, more like falling slush but other places got dumped.

I'm going to check the applesauce. See you all later.

Oh, Lynn, thoughts and prayers! I hope all goes well for you!

Lynn ~ glad you got good answers so far for your tests ~ praying for good answers for the rest of the tests :hug:

G'morning all - is it already Tuesday? (Yup). I have a feeling that this is going to be another one of those "flying by" weeks. Oh, apples! Isabella, I don't know if being in another room would be enough distance between me and a fresh-baked apple pie! DH and I have been talking about going to the apple orchard to pick some for ourselves for a couple or three weeks, now. Every weekend has either been wet and rainy or my cold-allergy-whatever has been too nasty to hang around outside. I AM feeling much better - almost all better, I'd say, with the exception of a little coughing first thing in the morning - but we had a lot to do on Saturday, grocery shopping in the morning, then went out to buy a new chair for the living room, and then went to my granddaughter's soccer game in the afternoon. Then it rained on Sunday, so I gave in and bought a load of apples at the grocery store to bake with. Some Macouns, some Courtlands, some Honey Crisps...a nice combination of sweet and tart. I made two big pans of apple crisp because my son-in-law loves it, and we like it as well. I made their pan with the regular ingredients, and ours with Splenda brown & white sugar substitute. Ours tasted great, and they were raving about theirs, so I guess they both came out pretty well. I sent DH to the market to get them some french vanilla ice cream for theirs and some low-fat, etc. vanilla ice for ours. Naturally, he mixed them up, and had to go back over to their house to bring them their french vanilla and pick up our vanilla ice. We had ours for supper. Just the apple crisp & vanilla ice - nothing else - and oh my, was it ever delish! (Good thing Sunday is our highrer-calorie day). I'll be making apple sauce with the rest of this batch of apples, too. I like to leave the skins on, make it good and chunky, and add dried cranberries. Sometimes I do half apples and half pears.
That salad looks luscious, Jess! (Can you tell I'm a little focused on food this morning? Yesterday was our VERY low calorie day - :dizzy: )
Bobbi, that waterless cookware is really amazing. I used to have a couple of pots, but they seem to have disappeared over the past few moves. I guess I need to stop moving.
Lynn, Very glad to hear about your test results. Let's hope that the rest are just as good - and they will be, if feeling good is any indication, right? Be sure to keep us updated! :hug:
Freda, we've been VERY prematurely cold hereabouts, as well. Quite a snowstorm on Friday night, in fact. Great big fluffy snowflakes that didn't stick to anything, which was a blessing. It snowed for a good long time. I can hardly imagine snow like that in mid-October! This week, the temperatures are supposed to be higher - mid-forties to mid-fifties, maybe even high fifties on a few days. I guess we'll see. Seems like we went from 70's to 30's practically overnight!
Hi Gayle! We're headed for a rough winter hereabouts - you'll be glad to be in Houston, I'm betting!
Have a great day today, everybody!
:hug:
Z

Good Morning! I thought that before I get busy today I need to stop in and say Hello to everyone.

Lynn, so Happy to hear that your tests came back good. I love you positive attitude and know that goes a long way in helping you feel good.

Zoe, glad to hear that you are feeling better. You should post your recipe in the recipe section for those of us that need step by step instructions!! LOL! It sounds delish!

Things have been busy around here lately. I have been doing some cleaning for my Aunt and my brother (which gives me some spending money) But this past couple weeks that hasn't happened since my aunt went in for back surgery and my brother got the flu! I'll stay away from him for sure until he is better-- don't want that!

They came out yesterday and worked on the pool again. They got the liner in and it has been fillling all night long. I won't be happy with the water bill I'm sure-- but glad that it is being done now and not when we have a high air cond. bill too! They will be out today to do some more. They need to make sure it has no wrinkles and they still need to cut in for the inlets and all. I did take some pictures so I will post a couple. I can hardly wait until May now! I'm sure my neighbors will be happy when they get here today-- we had to keep two shop vacs going on it all night----that helps to keep it tight and prevents wrinkles--- but it was a little loud! Glad it is chilly enough to have the windows closed at night.

Well, I guess I need to get busy with my day. I am hoping that I can get down in to my "Woman Cave" (exercise room) and put in a good hour there today. :carrot: Been slacking way too much in that department.

Have a great day!

Good Morning all,

I've got another Dr. appointment this morning. Hopefully this is it! I'm really tired of wearing this boot. It's really keeping me from doing the things I want and it seems like I've been wearing it forever. whine, whine.......

Lynn, Good news so far, and i hope it continues.

Donna, The salad does look wonderful! Who says you can't eat healthy and enjoy it too!

Isabella, I don't bake pies. My DIL does but I seldom ever do. Like Zo, I usually just do the crisps. The smell of fresh baked pie is awsome though. with all the baking you do I don't know how you stay on a diet. You have will power of steel!

Zoe, I didn't get to go pick apples this year either, thanks to the "boot". I've had to buy ones from the store also. Love the honey crisp! My new favorite. I bake (when I do) with the splenda. I think it's just as good. I serve it to my company too and they don't seem to know the difference. I always buy the lf/lc ice cream too. I guess your taste buds adjust, because I think it's really good. And if you only buy the lf/lc things, that's what's in the house to eat.

Hi Gayle, Hope work is treating you right!

Where are our other friends? Hope things are going well with Karen.

Freda

Hey Karen, You were posting the same time as me. Glad to hear from you. Stay away from the flu! Looks like it's going to be a really bad year for it. That woman cave sounds great! What kind of exercise equipment do you have there? My #1 piece of equipment is a TV. Without it i'm not sure I could do all the exercise I need! ha!

Hi Freda, I have set up my basement with a treadmill, gazelle, mini trampoline, ab lounge and a TV with lots of fitness DVD's! I love the Richard Simmons and Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds DVD's. I just need to plan better and make it a HABIT to go and do that everyday! I set it up downstairs so that it will be nice and cool in the Summer to exercise. But it has been so hard to get back in the swing of things since we moved here.

I hope you get good news at the Dr. today. Keep us updated.

Good Morning Girls!
It's dreary here today, expecting more rain and all the corn fields surrounding us have not been harvested yet. Too Wet!
DH stopped and picked up some apples for me last week when he went over east looking for a new deer stand. He picked up a bag of Honey Crisp (over $10.95 a bag, yipes!) and a bag of Sweet 16. We have our own apple trees that I use mainly for applesauce, these bags are just for eating fresh.
Lynn... Oh My, I didn't realize you were having so many medical problems. Prayers for your second test. As far as heel spurs, I have them too along with plantar Fasciitis and the doctor said the heel spurs would just grow back and he didn't recommend the surgery. What does your doctor know that mine don't? Does that stop you from walking? One good thing about golden years, I never get colds any more, haven't had one for years. I think we get immune to a lot of the cold germs. I haven't had the flu for many years either, maybe it's because I don't work any more. We live out in the country so I don't see neighbors. We always take sanitary wipes with us to the stores and wipe off the handles of carts and promply wash when we get home.
Once I take care of these, I'll move on to the cataracts and the bone spurs in the foot.

Geesh - ain't these "golden years" great?
Karen...loved the pictures of your pool and the lengthy process of re-doing it. (Karen sent me Kodak slides, very interesting). I'm curious, why are you filling it? Don't you have cool weather in Missouri?
Freda...I know what you mean about the last few pounds, they are hard to get off.
Zoe... I've only tried the Elk Roast, I think I purchased too big a pot. It's huge, big enough for a small turkey. I should have purchased a smaller one. I got a fantastic deal on it from ebay, $32.00 and free shipping.Bobbi, that waterless cookware is really amazing. I used to have a couple of pots, but they seem to have disappeared over the past few moves. I guess I need to stop moving.
Isabella...Yum, I can smell the cinnamon and apples in my imagination. And you're down 10 pounds, WOW! :hug:
Glynn, Jess, how's it going with you two? Eating anything interesting?
Jane...I appreciate the new threads you started, you are a fantastic addition to us 'Golden Girls'!

Zoe, I love apple crisp, too. I don't know which I like better-the pie or the crisp. The apples I had were wind fall from a friend's neighbor's tree and they are great for saucing and baking. People will say we don't grown apples in Newfoundland but I beg to disagree. Those apples were grown in Newfoundland and some of them were huge. Most of the trees are wild that grew from an old discarded apple core years ago. I got 8.5 pint bottles of applesauce made last night and this morning I made 3 large pies. They are looking very tempting sitting out there on the kitchen table, cooling down. As soon as they are cold they're going in the freezer for entertaining later on this year.

Karen31, you'd never say that was the same pool you posted pictures of earlier. Wow, what a change. I'm coming down there for a swim in May. :D I love the idea of your "Woman Cave." You certainly have it well equipped.

Freda, hope you have good news about your "bootie." If I had any sense I wouldn't be making pies, either. I'm just about drove crazy with the smell and the look of those golden brown crusts oozing and bubbling with the cinnamon apple filling. Oh, just writing about them has me nearly half crazed.

Bobbi, you must be my double when it comes to flues and colds and feet. I can't remember the last time I had a cold or the flu. I think it's because I caught every known virus known to man when I was a young teacher and now I'm immune. I also have heel spurs and plantar Faciitis. I thought I'd be crippled about 15 years ago but everything just subsided. I have to wear good shoes and slippers and never walk barefoot anymore. I usually take slippers with me when I visit anyone just to be sure I'll have something on my feet inside the house. (In Newfoundland, most people take off their shoes when they enter a home.)

We've been experiencing cold winter-like weather with snow and slush one day and cold and clear the next. It's way too early for this kind of weather. Wasn't it just last month I was out walking with a t-shirt and a light weight hoodie that I had to take off to finish the walk? I was out walking in a heavy drizzle this morning but I worked up a sweat and didn't feel cold. But when I got home my legs were like 2 lumps of ice where they'd gotten damp. I'm going to look for waterproof pants for the winter. Something lightweight but warmer than summer gear. My body was warm enough as I had 3 layers of clothing on. I hate winter. Well, some days I don't. http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/images/smilies/laugh.gif Anyway, this isn't winter, it's fall, isn't it????

Catch you all later my delectable Golden Girls.

Hi Everyone,

On the run -- just dropping by to say, "Hi"

Lynn

Hi everyone..cold here today..lynn :hug: good luck on you tests..all this talk of apples and sauce and pies makes my mouth water and my blue eyes turn green..im jealous..we have apple trees that dont produce :?: congrats to all who are loosing..nothing new in my world..:wave: rosey

The Three Bears

A far more accurate account of the events of that fateful morning....


Baby bear goes downstairs, sits in his small chair at the table.

He looks into his small bowl. It is empty. 'Who's been eating my porridge?'
he squeaks.

Daddy Bear arrives at the big table and sits in his big chair. He looks into
his big bowl and it is also empty. 'Who's been eating my porridge?!?' he
roars.

Mummy Bear puts her head through the serving hatch from the kitchen and
yells, 'For God's sake, how many times do I have to go through this with you
idiots? It was Mummy Bear who got up first. It was Mummy Bear who woke
everyone in the house. It was Mummy Bear who made the coffee. It was Mummy
Bear who unloaded the dishwasher from last night and put everything away. It
was Mummy Bear who swept the floor in the kitchen. It was Mummy Bear who
went out in the cold early morning air to fetch the newspaper and
croissants. It was Mummy Bear who set the damn table.

'It was Mummy Bear who walked the bloody dog, cleaned the cat's litter tray,
gave them their food, and refilled their water.

'And now that you've decided to drag your sorry bear-asses downstairs and
grace Mummy Bear with your grumpy presence, listen carefully, because I'm
only going to say this once....


'I HAVEN'T MADE THE PORRIDGE YET"!!

Hi everyone! I decided to go ahead and fill the pool now because it is in between needing lots of heat or air conditioning. It is going to take 20,563 gallons of water to fill it and then it never needs to be drained. Once it is filled they will be here to hook up all the plumbing that goes to it. Then it will get winterized and covered until April or May. I will have to try to be patient until then. But as soon as I can uncover it I will and let the sun start heating it up! I just really didn't want to wait until Spring time to get started, when I can have it all done and just wait for the sun!

Hi ,

Great news, the Dr. said I don't have to wear the "bootie' any more and i can go back to work Saturday. Never thought I would be so happy to go back to work. It's raining and cold here this morning. I turned up the heat a notch to get the damp out of the air.

Karen, the "woman Cave" sounds very well stocked. Everything you need down there! I think it helps to have a set time to exercise. That way you just "do it". If I waited untill I wanted to, it might never happen. if you pick a time when you will usually be able to be there (first thing in the morning, noon....) you will be able to set a pattern. Watch a certain TV show every day? That's a good time too. Oh, are we all invited to a pool party this spring?

Isabella, We take our shoes off in the house too. Mostly because i work in the hospital and I hate to think that I would be carrying all those germs into the house. And shoes pick up everything! Roll call, how many of you take off your shoes? I know most of my friends don't.

Rosey, no news about the surgery?

Bobbi, never heard of Sweet 16 apples. i guess they are not sold in this area. But The Honey Crisp are very expensive here too. maybe they will come down in price late, since they are relativeally new. I got a sale on them this week for 1.25 lb. and bought several. They are selling for over 2 dollars here.

Hi Lynn, Hope you aren't working too hard!

Zo, Hope you're feeling better.

What happened to our new ladies? Hope to see you again soon,

Freda

Hi Everyone,

Cannot believe I did this to myself. Too busy! Try to check back tonight.

Lynn

Like Lynn, too busy to chat. On my way out the door, grocery shopping, etc. :wave:

:wave: To Lynn and Bobbi the busy ladies today.

Rosy, it it too cold a climate for apples or is it just your apple trees that are not producing?

Karen31,The Three Bears story was hilarious.

Hey, Freda, good news for you. My sister works in a hospital and she's almost OCD about changing her clothes when she gets home. She must be doing something right as she's hardly ever sick with flu or colds.


It's cold here again today. It's even cold in the house. I'm wearing a scarf around my neck that I had on while walking. I lit the wood furnace a while ago but it hasn't warmed up yet. By lunch it will be so hot I'll be ready to walk around naked. Although it was cold it wasn't windy this morning and when I walked by the bay the water was as calm as a mirror. There were 3 pair of loons floating and ducking and calling to each other and one lone seagull. I stopped and watched longer than I usually do because it was so peaceful this morning.

I'm home alone most of the day as DH has a bus driver's inservice with the school board today. School's out for the next 2 days for a district wide inservice for all teachers and school board employees. So no time constraints on me today to get dinner on the table by 12:15 pm. DH won't be home until 4 or 4:30. We'll have dinner tonight instead of our usual lunch time.

Must go and put another dish away. I'm slowly emptying the dishwasher. http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/images/smilies/grin.gif Catch you all later.

Here I am - feeling QUITE annoyed. I brought myself a packet of 100-calorie white tuna for my lunch today, and when I went down to the employee's lunchroom to make it, discovered that someone had cleaned out the refrigerator and my jar of Lite Miracle Whip was gone! Now, I ask you - how can a jar of Miracle Whip be bothering anybody? It's not going to go bad, smell, or leak. It just sits innocently on the door, minding its own business, and somebody has to snatch it? Well, I can't eat tuna without anything on it, so I'm left with a little baggie of seedless green grapes, a snack-sized baggie with exactly 8 Sun Chips in it (8 Sun chips = 70 calories) and a piece of pita bread (that my tuna was going to get wrapped in, but is now useless to me). Some lunch, eh???? :mad:
Luckily, DH is doing a pork roast for supper. And baking some sweet potatoes. So, I'll have a decent supper, anyway. (SO glad I taught him how to do the roasts). This is one time when I'm GLAD that he's home, and I can tell you that those times are actually kind of rare. I guess you could say that I'm STILL having some difficulty adjusting to me working and him not. The thing is that I kind of like a little time to myself now and then, and since he takes care of all the errands and such while I'm at work, he's ALWAYS at home when I get there. Always. I never have five minutes alone in that house. I've encouraged him to go places and do things - but if he gets away without me twice or three times a year, it's a miracle. I've gone down to visit my sister in NC without him for a week at a time, and out to see my son in Los Angeles, but unless I'm going with him, my DH doesn't budge - and if he DOES budge, it's only for a day or two. It's driving me a little batty, to tell the truth. So, am I the only one with this problem? I know some of you are retired along with your DH's - how does that work?
Well, Freda, I'm glad to hear that the boot is off finally - and I KNOW how glad you are! I'm with you 100% when it comes to the Splenda. I use it for anything that needs sweetning although I drink my coffee black, so I don't use Splenda every day. Just when I bake something, mostly. I can't tell any difference, either.
Karen31, that's some "woman cave" you've created for yourself. I don't think I'd dare put anything like that together - then when I didn't get down there to use it, I'd feel really guilty. (And you KNOW that I wouldn't get down there very often). ;)
Bobbi - it must be heavenly not to have to worry about colds or flu anymore. Maybe once I'm out of the workforce, I'll be a little less susceptible myself, but the way things are now, I usually get hit with at least one nasty, lingering cold-flu-allergy-something or other every darned year! Kinda stinks.
Isabella, I guess my ignorance is showing, but I wouldn't know WHAT grows or doesn't grow in Newfoundland.
Hi Lynn...let us know about those tests, okay?
Hi Rosey, yours too!

:hug:

Z

Hi all! Sorry for not posting the last few days, no excuse other than being immersed in the new book. When I go on writing jags, I put off everything, including laundry (thank the Lord my husband will do it) and housecleaning. Eventually, I come around to put things back where they belong.

Everyone seems so busy! All that cooking, too. Nothing quite beats apple crisps, tarts and cobblers. Makes me long for my apple tree back home in Wisconsin.

Sorry to hear you have plantar fasciitis, Freda. Like others here, I've also had that, years ago, and mercifully not since. My husband is suffering from it right now, and he has to walk to and from the subway every day. He says foot massages help. Or maybe he just likes having his feet massaged. :) Still, might be worth a try and if nothing else, it feels good.

I'm going to be reading through everyone's posts thoroughly now, with a pot of tea (sweetened with Splenda) at hand. I can't drink unsweetened tea and Splenda has been a godsend for the weight loss program. Anyway, lots to catch up on, looks like!

News about me... I had to buy a new dress. None of the size 22 ones from last year fit. So I went to Macy's and was shocked when size 18s were swimming on me. So I bought a pretty size 16 number that's perfect. I'm certain there's no way I should wear a size 16 at this weight (215). Would never have happened 15 years ago. Favorable sizing. *cough* Nonetheless, it was a psychological boost! So much so, I went back deep in my closet and fetched out my "before" jeans. Size 16s... don't fit yet. Even so, they're close, which is a bit mind-blowing. That, and having to buy all new underwear because the elastic in the stuff I had stored away had disintegrated. For the best, I'm sure.

Oh, and I want a Woman Cave, too!

Linda

Hi Everyone,

Hope to be able to chat tomorrow. Today is the course I am taking, grading papers for the course I am teaching, and doing household chores I have been neglecting (like paying bills).

Lynn

Good Morning all,

We've got rain coming tonight, and even cooler weather. I guess I'm going to have to get the winter gear out. Yesterday was a lovely day, sunny and just a little cool.

Linda, Sorry, I don't have plantar fascitis. I had a broken foot. But I can sure eympathise with foot problems now. Yeah for you for getting into the smaller sizes. Makes you feel like it's totally worthit!!!! Keep those jeans out to try on occasionally. It really helped me to try mine on to see how I had progressed. And time to hit Victoria Secret for new undies!

Lynn, You'll get into the swing of things soon, and have more time, busy lady.

Bobbi, You too, busy lady!

Zo, I can so relate to you! My husband lost his job in the spring. He was the top seniority, top paid, and he was the one let go. It came as a total surprise to all of us. He has had a really hard time adjusiting to not working. I am still trying to adjust too. Like you, I would love just a little time ALONE from time to time. We had talked about retiring soon, but it's different when you are thrown into it! And the nerve of someone throwing out your MW!

make it a good day,

Freda

Good Morning Girls...I have more time to gab today. Yesterday afternoon I made DH a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Did I eat a piece? Does a bear poop in the woods? The good news is I only ate a 2" piece and figured it into my Fitday. I always have plenty of calories to spare. It used very little oil and some applesauce.
Karen31...cute story of the 3 bears and so true!
Isabella...keep the scarf on while naked and surprise hubby when he gets home:rofl: I have a wooly lined vest I keep on the back of my computer chair that I often slip into, in the pocket of knit gloves with the fingers out. I'm always cold when my weight goes down. I'm a sight to see!
I'm wearing a scarf around my neck that I had on while walking. I lit the wood furnace a while ago but it hasn't warmed up yet. By lunch it will be so hot I'll be ready to walk around naked.
Zoe...Yes, I get a tad batty too. DH has been retired for 4 years now, he's 66. We aren't hook at the hip, he spends lots of time outdoors doing stuff. But we definely need our own space and I enjoy shopping by myself, usually to the grocery store. :p On Sunday afternoon's I spend visiting family, always have coffee at my dad's place where one of my sisters and both brothers/spouse are. DH likes that time to himself, I like the time to myself too. This is perfectly normal. I can relate to the mayo problem too, when I still worked someone cleaned out the frig and threw my bottle of Italian dressing and my no calorie butter spray.:mad:
It's driving me a little batty, to tell the truth. So, am I the only one with this problem? I know some of you are retired along with your DH's - how does that work?

Lynn...good job on the challenge, 6 days in a row with a perfect score of 4.
Freda...you too, you have only missed one day. Fantastic, it sure helps posting our goals.
Linda...My plantar fasciitis hasn't bothered me for quite some time but then I baby my feet. If my feet start getting tired, I pull a stool up to the kitchen counter when preparing supper. I don't walk anymore either. I used to wear a pedometer and get my 10,000 steps in, that was pretty easy to do. But it killed my feet, ouch! A few years ago I order from Feather Light a pair of custom fit stainless steel arch supports and that pretty much took care of my feet pain and heel spurs. I still have the spurs but they don't bother me anymore. (My S.S. supports have a indentation in the heel) Maybe you can google them for your hubby. I put them in what ever shoe I'm wearing except my high heels I wear to church.
I printed out the fronts only of halloween cards with Grand kids names and pasted them onto small brown paper bags yesterday. Today I'm going to bake some holloween cookies, add some candy and a $10.00 bill with each bag. DD doesn't like them to have a lot of candy and the GKids' like my little 'Tricks or Treats' packages.
I best get busy, you all have a great skinny day.
Hi to anyone I missed:wave:

Good morning, All! I've been AWOL for a few days (and did you all miss me?)... the STUPID computer modem went out, and I'm waiting for my replacement from, probably, Pakistan. So annoying. Thank God for good and sharing neighbors! Snowed here a bit yesterday, cold!, nicer today. All is well on the tummy front; I think I'm getting used to this (for today, at least!). I feel good! Hope you're all doing well... stay warm.

Hi everyone..another rainy day here..my dh planted apple trees 6 yrs ago and we have only gotton one apple :?: it could be the climate or we dont know what we are doing as others have apple trees that produce..lol..i sympathize with all who have retired hubbys for what ever reason..my dh gets under foot alot and sometimes we work around it and others we get on each other nerves..thats when he goes to the cabin.and .i am waiting for a call from the surgons office in anchorage..then after seeing him he will determine if im a good canidate for bariatric surg..then its 6 months and more tests both medical and phycological and to see if my ins will pay..then a surg date if i pass all that..im anxious and excited to get going on this..as in alot of things nothing moves fast tho..bobbie wtg on the sm piece of cake..lynn hope your tests results are good,jess glad u are feeling well,freda congrats on loosing th e boot,linda congrats on the smaller clothes,ella hope u get some alone time your not alone as we all have similar feelings..hope i dont miss anyone and if i did sry :hug:..congrats to all who are loosing.. :wave: rosey

Thanks all for the compliments on the new pool. I am anxious to be able to use it this summer. I have gone back and looked at the pictures I took as it was being worked on and it is so hard to believe that big ugly hole in the ground is now so pretty! I ended up taking 65 pics from the beginning to the finish.

I am in total agreement with you on having the hubby home all the time! It seems like I am tripping over him more than I do my two poms (and they never leave my side!) It has been a little over two years now and I may just have to go to work to get my alone time!!!LOL!! Actually, I clean my aunt and my brothers house and that gets me out by myself once in awhile. Sometimes though, I can hardly breathe!! Tell me it gets better??????

Oops, Freda, I think info got scrambled when I was trying to read all the posts at once. A broken foot is rough, though at least bones usually heal well. The only broken bone I ever had was in my wrist (fell on cruise ship, totally not the way to start a vacation) and that was painful for a while but now it's like it never happened. So great news on losing the boot and good luck on now getting back up to full steam.

Zoe, my first husband was a physician and he always told me that the worst thing that can happen to a woman's health is for her husband to retire. All of a sudden all of the woman's routines are disrupted. She doesn't relax as she used to, or exercise, or eat... she loves him, sure, but she misses the alone time. It's really stressful. He'd tell me lots of time that the woman's health would suddenly plummet and SHE would end up in the hospital. Sooo... the best thing you can do for yourself is make sure you take care of yourself, not him. Not any more than you already take care of him. Set up things so you have some of that time to yourself, doing your things in your way. It takes a while to work out a new pattern, but be sure to claim your piece of the pie.

It's hard, too, with so many people losing jobs. Half my family is wondering where the axe will fall next, and hoping their jobs will survive. So far, so good, but so many people are being affected, it's sobering.

Glad to hear you're doing well, Jess. Getting used to some diets can take a month or so. After my colon resection, when I suddenly had to start eating more fiber, and lots of it, my gut serenaded me for three weeks with rumbles and gas, but then settled down. Bodies, alas, aren't sports cars and don't turn on a dime.

Bobbi, thanks for the tip on the shoes. I'll look into them. Firm believer here in the virtues of a well-made and appropriate shoe.

Rosey, all that going for tests and waiting for the results has to be tiring. It sounds like you're holding up well, though!

Not sure if anyone here plays Civilization:Revolution, but I just completed winning with every civilization on the Diety level. Patting myself on the back here, as that means I have outperformed my youngest son. Not something every Mom can do at a video game. Anyway, I don't play video games all that much, but this one just hooked me.

Linda

Hello all,

I've had some good days off from work ~ got to see Corbin play baseball, went to the playground with Maddie.

Have gotten some little projects done I'd been wanting to do.

I was feeling kind of frustrated today. Had gotten a new treadmill ~ starting out slow with it because I am so out of shape ~ doing 1/2 hour in 3 ten minute chunks. I decided yesterday that it had been going pretty well so I would increase ~ do 2 fifteen minute chunks. Well all day yesterday after that and today, my knees were bothering me. I guess maybe I need to go back to the 10 minute chunks. Maybe I need to get some knee braces. I don't know ~ I hope I don't have to give it up, because I don't mind it and I can do it any time that works for me and it doesn't matter whether it is too hot and humid, or cold or rainy. It's always something it seems......

I can identify with you all with the retired husbands. We are able to sort of not get in each others way, but it is just different. Nothing is really ever said, but it makes you feel like you are being watched all the time or judged ~ what you eat and how often, rather you use that treadmill as you said you would. Rather you are keeping busy, or watching TV or talking on the phone more than the other person thinks you should. Rather you stay up too late, or sleep in too long in the morning. I think the biggest thing for me is I am just plain jealous ~ I want to be retired too. Can't wait for my turn to come. Oh well, I keep trying to remind myself that it could be worse......

Back to work tomorrow.

Take care

I'll give you a big AMEN on that one Gayle---- I feel like he is "lurking" all the time....Feels sneaky!

Hey Karen ~

I don't think mine is lurking on purpose ~ it just feels that way ~ maybe I have a guilty conscience ~ like I should be doing more, eating less ~ whatever.

We are so different ~ that is part of the problem. He is super disciplined and doesn't understand how I can mess up with the eating, how I can say I will exercise and then don't do it. I feel bummed sometimes, and that affects the choices I make. He is never bummed (or if he is doesn't admit to it). He is so cheery sometimes I could.......(fill in the blank ~ LOL)

It is nice to know others understand :)

Gosh--it sounds like we could be married to the same man!!! Of course, when he says anything I bow my back and just get more stubborn. I know ---that doesn't help

Whew. I've got to tell you that it sure feels better to know that I'm not alone in my difficulties with his retirement. Somehow, knowing others experience the same sort of thing helps, doesn't it? I was thinking for a little bit there that it was just me, being selfish or *****y. And I know that I am that way sometimes, but like you, Gayle, I think maybe I am a little jealous, and would like to have all the freedom and flexibility that he has for myself. I don't really want to retire until I'm 66, though - want to collect my full social security along with my retirement from work and my sad little savings. That way, I'll have a little cushion against any unforseen turnabouts. His losing his job two years back was pretty sobering. Like your DH, Freda, he was at the top rung, earning a nice paycheck that enabled us to pretty much do anything we pleased. Now, he brings in less than half of what he used to make, and has no desire to even work at something part-time to make up the difference. He could get consulting work very easily, but doesn't want to even think, he says, about software engineering. <gulp> So, he stays home and I work. I feel resentful that he can't be relied on to do any proper cleaning unless I specifically TELL him to - the house certainly isn't up to MY standards anymore. When he was working (and I was, as well) I kept the house clean along with going to work every day. Now that I work and he doesn't, I don't feel like I should be coming home to clean up after him, and I won't/don't. So, about once every couple of weeks I go on a real tear and sweep through like a hurricane cleaning and scrubbing and dusting and vacuuming, but the rest of the time it mostly just piles up. He cleans up the dishes and such after we eat - and he does more of the cooking than he ever used to before, and he does most all of our laundry - but even so, I feel like I'm pulling an uneven share of the weight around here. And I won't even get into the responsibility on weekends to do something "entertaining" even when I'm really tired and would like to just hang around the house some - because of course, he's been cooped up all week and wants to get out and do something. Grrrr. I can identify with the "lurking" as well. Gawd. I DO realize that I'm seeing things from a very one-sided perspective, and maybe need to try to be a little more understanding....:dizzy:
Well, at least we've been able to cooperate on our diet - he's been good about sticking with my eating plan, and of course we've both lost and are continuing to lose, which is a help.
Y'know, Bobbi, I wouldn't even DARE eat a 2" piece of carrot cake because I KNOW I could never stop at one 2" piece! Your willpower is amazing to me! That would actually be reaching the summit for me - reaching the highest priority goal I could ever have - just being able to eat a little tiny bit of something and have it go no further than that. I'd most likely eat half the cake if I allowed myelf that one little taste.
Rosey, would your husband have a spare spot in that cabin of his where I could send MY husband for a little getaway??? ;)
Welcome back Jess, congrats on the weight loss, Linda, and hope your schedule lightens up soon, Lynn.
Have a good day y'all...
:hug:
Z

A sad morning for us, another chicken died. It's like losing your pet, only a possum didn't get this one. She starved herself to death. Chickens sometime go into a roosting mood, won't eat or drink. They will just sit on the nest and brood. When we catch them doing it, we have to take the chicken out of the coop and put her in a cage for a couple of days. Since it's been so cold, the chickens haven't been outside so we missed it.
Zoe...I retired at 53 due to plantar fasciitis and heel spurs. I remember at the time my hubby being jealous that I got to be home and he didn't. I think he was just worried that we'd not be able to live the life style our two incomes brought in. It proved that all the money I made went on clothes, shoes, extravagant gifts. When I cut all the nonsense out, we didn't miss the money. I was basically throwing it away, I purchased whatever I felt like. Once you retire and adjust your life style a tad, you won't miss the money either. Our Christmas giving was cut back but my daughter put a stop to all the gifts we bought our grandkids a long time ago. She said they didn't need all those gifts and limits us to ONE ONLY gift to the boys. I cheat and give them one gift with a money check inside the package, :cool:
Rosey...can I send my hubby to the cabin too, or lets all us girls go there for a retreat. We can hire handsome Bunny Boys to give us massages on demand, cook for us and then leave. Where do I sign up?
Linda...why would you get rid of a Gem 1st husband with this great insight?
my first husband was a physician and he always told me that the worst thing that can happen to a woman's health is for her husband to retire.
Glynne...:rofl: I know people like that, smack him!
He is never bummed (or if he is doesn't admit to it). He is so cheery sometimes I could.......(fill in the blank ~ LOL)

Karen...that works for me when dieting, I get stubborn and refuse to go over my goal for the day/week. I love challenging myself.
Of course, when he says anything I bow my back and just get more stubborn.
Have a good one, see ya in the movies!

Good morning girls. You've given me some great insight on my husband's view of me being retired and under his feet. Hahaha. He's a school bus driver and comes home in between runs and always had the house to himself several hours a day before I retired. We've butted heads a few times as I've established my daily routine in retirement.

My MIL's birthday was yesterday and the family gathered after supper for a little party. I am proud to say I never touched the cake, ice cream, chips or pop. As a matter of fact no one had ice cream as I forgot to put it out. I brought a fruit tray with yogurt for dipping and that's what I confined my snacking to. I felt great after coming home.

Busy day today doing a bit of baking for the weekend. Catch you later.

It was a nice, cool morning, so I walked to the drug store for some get-well cards. The neighborhood has all older colonial homes and lovely trees, landscaping, etc., to the walk was really pleasant, a nice change of pace from the swimming I usually do for exercise. My bad knee didn't act up at all, so maybe I start doing more walking again.

Nothing much new except I'm trying a new color in hair dye, something a shade darker, the way my roots have been going lately. I've thought about going "natural" and letting the gray show, but my husband is a decade younger than I am and not quite ready for either a gray-haired wife (I know, I know) or a grandmother. He won't have any say in the latter decision, though. <hehehe> One of my sons is working on that.

One thing I think all women of a certain age can identify with is husband-boundaries. All my friends in my age bracket have become quite independent as they've entered their fifties and beyond, and how that dovetails with their relationships is something we've all dealt with, in various ways.

Bobbi, my first husband was a wonderful physician. Seriously, I've never met a better diagnostician and in many ways he was brilliant. He was, however, a miserable husband, never home, and liked to have affairs with young nurses, to whom he would compare me, always unfavorably. I wasn't thin enough, or classy enough, or smart enough. Getting out was necessary for my mental health, and his next two wives (pretty young nurses, all of us) ultimately agreed. He's on wife number 4 now. We stay in touch, though, because we were married for 20 years and have three kids to talk about, even if they are adults now. :)

I am so totally looking forward to getting my new lasagna pan in the mail. It has three compartments, so I can make one compartment of my diet lasagna (it's soooooo good!) and two of "regular" lasagna for the non-dieting, don't eat spinach or mushrooms family.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Linda

Morning everyone :coffee:..my dh has grand jury duty today so its me and the dogs :D seems we all have similar thoughts about retired hubbys..now if you want to go on a retreat to his cabin i have to warn u its very rustic and rural. load up the trailer and truck,drive 18 miles out north,park and unload..14 miles down the beach on a 6 wheeler..then up a very steep bluff and 4 miles of swamps mud bogs and rivers..then theres no running water(u have to haul your drinking water) bath from a rain barrel.. outhouse..wood stove etc he loves it but i have no wish to be dragged thru the swamps and such..my idea of a retreat is reno,roomservice..cute guys waiting on me well i can dream cant i :lol: thats why dh and i are diff as day and nite..do opposits attract?? ..yes its a long process befor ill even know if i qualify for the surg..im optimistic about it tho..hope u all have a fun weekend :hug: rosey :wave:

Trying to catch up with everyones posts. I hardly ever get a cold anymore since I'm retired. Yes, Z my hubby gets out of the house but makes up reasons to go just to run since he is retired, we go most places together anymore but I enjoy my time alone when he is off running his errands!. Rosey, my idea of a vacation is the same as yours. Good news my cholesterol is down to 181 because of the weight I have lost and diet I am on, my Dr. was thrilled and actually happy with me!!!!

Hello all,

Back to work tonight ~ sigh :(

I have come to the conclusion that I guess I will have to go back to calorie counting. I have been resisting it ~ though that is what I was doing when I had the most success. I guess what makes me resist is that I read that you have to choose some kind of plan that you can do for the rest of your life ~ and I just can't see myself writing it all down for the rest of my life. From time to time I see that I am just not getting anywhere and I go back to it, but after that first time, I just can't seem to get back to it and stick with it. I do it for a few days, then it kind of falls by the wayside.

But, I guess I'm gonna try again. My dr's appointment is on 11-16 ~ I have lost a little weight ~ but I don't know if it will be enough ~ and for the blood sugar number to be better so that I don't have to start on the diabetic medication. All I can do is hope.

Hope you all have a good evening.

Take care

Hola, All! My computer is fixed, and I am so glad to be at home with it!! It's amazing how much one misses the stupid thing.... anyway, all is well in Denver. It's absolutely GORGEOUS, in between two snowstorms. And I think I'm finally in the "groove" of this diet/lifestyle/blah blah blah thing. Last night at class, they had chocolate covered cherries and cookies for munchies, and I turned my nose up at them all! I felt very grown up! Every day is easier! Have a good weekend, Everyone!

Good Morning all,

I was supposed to work today, my first day back in 2 months. But I got a low census day. It's not all bad. i'm not sure how my foot is going to do, and 2 12 hour days might be a bit much too start. PLUS, I am limping. The Dr. says that since I was walking with the cast for so long that my hips are out of alignment and I need to see a chiropractor. Always something. Think I'll just wait awhile and see how it goes. I've had about enough of doctors for awhile I think.

Rosie, That is one rustic cabin! I think we should go to Reno instead, for our girls outting!! I'd much rather have a cute waiter bringing me drinks than trying to find the outhouse in the middle of the night. And hot tubs sound better than the shower under a barrel. Maybe we can send all the guys there. Still got my fingers crossed that you will be a good candidate for the surgery.

FloridaRusty, Good news with the cholestoral!

Gayle, I'm a calorie counter too. It just works better for me. Yeah, it's a little trouble, but it's something I can easily do. I make a menu the day before I go groceery shopping and work my calories out and that is the last day I have to worry about it. So, it doesn't take so long. And the tread mill will get easier. Just take it slow.

Donna, Congratulations on making such good decisions! Turning down food that you would normally have eaten just makes you feel so good, doesn't it? I have the "one bite rule" If it's something I really love, I will have one bite. if it's not truly special I don't finish it. And you know, most things just aren't worth it!

Zo, I don't think I'm jealous of my husband being home, I just want some time for myself. Breaking with routine is hard. And he wants to go everywhere with me, even shopping!!! And I wouldn't mind that, but I like to take my time and he is just "go and get it done". The man needs a hobby!!! I'm sure we will work it out, just was just thrust on us so quickly! I do, however, resent the housekeeping. I do not expect to come home from work and see a messy house. For someone that calims to be bored, there is plenty to do.

Bobbi, Sorry to hear that you lost another chicken. Farm life, but one of the unpleasant parts. Adjusting to not working is always a problem, I think. It's a way of life for most of us. And the unknown is always scary. And money is a big part of that. Wondering if there will be enough to life the way you want.

Karen, I need reassurance that it gets better too!!

Linda, How did the new hair color turn out? Always makes you feel better to get your hair done! I love grey on other people, but mine just looks "blah". And low calorie lasagna? I love lasagna!!! did you post the recipe?


Hope your weekend is fun

Freda

Hi Everyone,
Happy Saturday. Cannot go back to ALL the posts I’ve missed, but at least I can do the ones on this page.
My idea of a retreat is reno,roomservice..cute guys waiting on me well i can dream cant i :lol:
Hi Rosey, Sounds good to me – I’ll join you & the cute guys in Reno anytime!

Trying to catch up with everyones posts. I hardly ever get a cold anymore since I'm retired. Yes, Z my hubby gets out of the house but makes up reasons to go just to run since he is retired, we go most places together anymore but I enjoy my time alone when he is off running his errands!. Rosey, my idea of a vacation is the same as yours. Good news my cholesterol is down to 181 because of the weight I have lost and diet I am on, my Dr. was thrilled and actually happy with me!!!!
Oh Phyllis, this is WONDERFUL news. GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!


I have come to the conclusion that I guess I will have to go back to calorie counting.
Hi Gayle, After MANY years of MANY diets, I have settled on calorie-counting. For me, I know that eating carbs makes me want more carbs. However, bottom line – regardless of what the calories come from (fat, protein, or carbs), the bottom line is if you eat 3,500 more calories than you burn, you gain 1 pound. So, you can either increase your exercise, or decrease your calories (preferably both) if you want to lose weight.

Last night at class, they had chocolate covered cherries and cookies for munchies, and I turned my nose up at them all! I felt very grown up! Every day is easier! Have a good weekend, Everyone!
Hey Jess, GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!! – What kind of class?

I've had about enough of doctors for awhile I think.
Freda
Oh Freda, I could NOT AGREE with you more! I am so SICK of doctors. Plus, I’ve figured out that at this point of my life, they really cannot “cure” anything. The best they can do is get rid of some of the symptoms. All of the women with whom I am most close who are my age or older are going through a ZILLION medical problems – arthritis, alzheimers, cancer, heart problems….. And, for the most part, the most the doctors do is take tests & tell us they are really NOT sure what’s going on!

Oh well – on to more pleasant topics. My DD, SIL and I had a really nice dinner last night. My strategy was to eat ½ of everything. Didn’t work so well – up 2 pounds this morning. However, I think it’s mostly salt – cannot get my rings off this morning.

I went to look for a dress for an upcoming wedding & the one I LOVED did not come in a size SMALL enough – I needed a 12 & it started at 14!!!!!!!!!

OK – back to grading papers. Have a nice Saturday,

Lynn

Ditto everything Freda said in her comments! :D
I have a zillion things to do, just going to check into the challenge and leave my chats until Monday. Speaking of the challenge, we only have 8 days to go girls. Be good!

Good morning! I love reading all your posts... it sounds like you've all been friends for years! Lynn, I'm taking a tax prep class so I can at least work for a few months. At my age, there aren't many interested in hiring me, not to mention that there are many, many, MANY YoungTightPerkies applying for the same jobs! Even old ladies need money, and this is at least an option! It hurts my brain! All the knowledge going into my head makes the old knowledge seep out of my toes... it's been fun and VERY interesting, though!

I can't get fitday.com to work!!! I'm having withdrawal problems. How can I know how many calories I've eaten? DH told me to write it all down and I don't think I remember how to use a pen.

Jess, your avatar is a hoot. Just love it.

Good morning! I love reading all your posts... it sounds like you've all been friends for years! Lynn, I'm taking a tax prep class so I can at least work for a few months. At my age, there aren't many interested in hiring me, not to mention that there are many, many, MANY YoungTightPerkies applying for the same jobs! Even old ladies need money, and this is at least an option! It hurts my brain! All the knowledge going into my head makes the old knowledge seep out of my toes... it's been fun and VERY interesting, though!

Hi Jess,

Years ago my DH and I took a tax prep course. REALLY learned a LOT. This was before the days of tax prep software. I used to do my own taxes for years. Since I retired, it is too complicated for me to do.

Lynn

I can't get fitday.com to work!!! I'm having withdrawal problems. How can I know how many calories I've eaten? DH told me to write it all down and I don't think I remember how to use a pen.



:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Ditto everything Freda said in her comments! :D
I have a zillion things to do, just going to check into the challenge and leave my chats until Monday. Speaking of the challenge, we only have 8 days to go girls. Be good!

So, who's left in the running to win the challenge?

Guess I'll have to shoot for the "New Year's Challenge." I blew this one.

Lynn

By the time I figured things out (and I still have some questions about this site!!), it was too late to do your challenge. Next time.... Lynn, does DH mean dear husband? I figured out the MIL quickly, but I have some probably-bizarre interpretations for some of these other abbreviations! Also, I went to Isabella's fitday.com, and I'm having the BEST time there! It's really interesting! Thanks, Isabella!

Ditto everything Freda said in her comments! :D
Speaking of the challenge, we only have 8 days to go girls.

Hi Bobbi,

Actually, our challenge goes through 11/14.

Lynn

By the time I figured things out (and I still have some questions about this site!!), it was too late to do your challenge. Next time.... Lynn, does DH mean dear husband? I figured out the MIL quickly, but I have some probably-bizarre interpretations for some of these other abbreviations! Also, I went to Isabella's fitday.com, and I'm having the BEST time there! It's really interesting! Thanks, Isabella!

Hi Jess,

When I first started on these message boards, someone sent the following to me -

Commonly Used Abbreviations

OT = "Off Topic"
DH= "Dear Hubby (Or Husband) , Dearest Hubby (Or Husband), Darling Hubby(Or Husband), Dumb Hubby(Or Husband), etc
SO= "Significant Other"
DD= "Dearest Daughter, Darling Daughter, etc"
DS= "Dearest Son, Darling Son, etc"
MIL= "Mother in Law"
FIL= "Father in Law"
SIL= "Sister in Law" or "Son-in-Law"
BIL= "Brother in Law"
WI= "Weigh In"
ICBINB- "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter"
WW= "Weight Watchers"
WO= "Work Out"
IMHO- "In My Humble Opinion"
TTYL= "Talk To You Later"
BBL= "Be Back Later"
FYI = "For Your Information"
GMTA= "Great Minds Think Alike"
OP= "On Program"
FP= "Off Program"
OIC= "Oh, I see"
LOL "Laughing Out Loud" or "Lots of Laughs"
ROFL or ROTFL "Rolling on the Floor Laughing"
ROFLMAO "Rolling on the Floor Laughing My A$$ Off"
TGIF "Thank Goodness It's Friday!"
TG= "Thank Goodness"
TOM= "Time Of the Month"
BTW== "By The Way"
OMG= "Oh My Gosh!"
PITA= "Pain In the A$$"
POV= "Point of View"
WB= "Welcome Back"
TIA= "Thanks in Advance"
TMI= "Too Much Information"
ATM= "At The Moment"
GF= Girl Friend"
BF= "Boy Friend"
JK= "Just Kidding"
YMMV=" Your Mileage May Vary"
NSV=”Non-Scale Victory” (the very best kind)
TMBCITW=The Most Beautiful Cat in the World

Emotional BINGE!!!!!

I got FURIOUS (you'd think I still had RED hair!) at one of my students last night. Turns out that she has submitted 10 plagiarized assignments. Supposedly, she is a college faculty member!

Anyway, I am blaming her for my crazy eating binge. Now, I don't even have anything good to binge on!!!! Ate low-carb bread with SF jelly and Smart Balance margarine!!!!!!!!!

Of course, the fact that I ate only 700 calories yesterday (pre-binge) and that most of those were carbs had nothing to do with my binge!

OK - back to the drawing board.

Lynn

Lynn, I think you're just the best! Thanks for that list! And the 700 calories might be why you reacted so strongly to the plagiarist! Good you didn't have the strength to deck her.... What do you teach?

Hi Jess, If you go to the first page and look under "anouncements and forum help" you will see a thread there marked "acronyms" and all of the abbreviations are listed there. Kind of handy to have it there. It is raining here in MO. snowing in Denver??? I just moved here from Florissant, Colorado this summer.

Still can't get into fitday....sigh....DS was fooling around with my computer yesterday and he won't be back until next week. So, I am using a pen and paper. Hahahaha, it was so easy. It all came back to me when I took the pen in my hand.

Glad you're enjoying fitday, Jess.

Lynn, I'd have been furious, too. Wow, a faculty member. What a rotten role model for students. BTW, that list was a good review. I always have to stop and think about some of them. Sometimes I figure them out, sometimes I just can't remember, haha.

Bobbi, sorry about your chicken. I didn't know chickens would do that. I'm no chicken.

DH and I went to visit DS and DIL today. Boy, do they ever have snow piled up on the sides of the road. It's only an hours drive away but what a difference. It was pouring rain by the time we got on the road this morning and it rained all day. I walked this morning and got home just minutes before it started to rain. What a miserable October, weather wise, this has been. It's like we skipped a month and went from September to the end of November. It's going to be a longgggggg winter.

Lynn, I think you're just the best! Thanks for that list! And the 700 calories might be why you reacted so strongly to the plagiarist! Good you didn't have the strength to deck her.... What do you teach?

Don't bet on that - remember, I work out EVERY morning:carrot::carrot:! Good for her I teach online;)

I teach Educational Research for the University of Phoenix.

Lynn

Hi all!

The last couple days have been hectic mostly due to my husband's computer crashing. That meant he needed to use mine quite a bit. Because he works at least some of the time out of the house, he needed to get another, so we also did a bit of shopping around. We bought the new computer last night, complete with new (to him) toys like a flat monitor. He's upset about losing all his photos and music, of course (the work stuff is duplicated on the main computer at work). I was able to remind him that most of the photos are also on my computer, which helps. He's now working on uploading his music collection back into iTunes. Anyway, it's been fun.

I had a lovely Sunday, complete with delicious lasagna. Are we permitted to post recipes from other sources? Like cookbooks? This is a GREAT and tasty diet lasagna but it's not my own recipe. I got it from a cookbook called Cook Yourself Thin. Can I post recipes from it so long as I credit the source?

I talked with my SIL, who's no longer being strict about her weight loss program, and she admitted being tired of always keeping track of food, and she doesn't want to do it anymore. That's something I understand very well! All of us do, don't we? We're old pros at this dieting stuff. It's such a pain to always have to watch what we eat, and how much, and how often. I wish with all my heart I didn't have to do it, but I do, because I can practically gain weight just by looking at food. Look at it, eat it, so goes the slippery slope. Anyway, the talk got me thinking about whether I can ever reach that point where I don't have to be conscientious, and there's a little voice saying, "No, Linda. You can't." So I feel good about staying on program today, but am also feeling a little sad because I realize I really will be on a diet forever, no matter how delicious the food I manage to contrive.

Lynn, plagiarism is beyond the pale for that student. You had every reason to be furious! I've taught writing for communication at the college level, and always tell the students right upfront that I will be able to tell if they copy published work. A few have tried to slide it past me, not realizing that really good writing sticks out like a light bulb in a dark room: they'd better be able to repeat that level of work in class. Good for you for catching this gal.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Linda

Good postings today.... Linda, you sound just like me and my friend. We've been bemoaning the same thing. And I did forget that you're small but mighty, Lynn! Good thing for that person that you're teaching online. Can you get her booted from the program, at least? Karen, thanks for the tip... and, yes, Isabella, I'm having SUCH a good time with fitday! Thanks.

Wow - what a short, busy weekend it was! I DID, however, bite the bullet and weigh in on Saturday, and I am (Tah-dahhhhh) only 5 pounds from my Christmas goal of 150! Encouraging, since it seems to be coming from our *new* way of eating - which I guess isn't really all that new anymore, come to think of it - rather than meticulously counting calories. DH has gone down several pants sizes, and it looks like he's ready to drop another one, because his pants have loosened up again to the point of falling off his non-existent rear end. (It was the belly he needed to lose; he's never had any rear end!) I'm happy to be losing right around a pound a week these days, and have been experimenting with receipes that I can make lower-calorie, higher fiber substitutions for the fattening ingredients. I made some (more) apple crisp yesterday - the traditional kind for my daughter and her family, and the healthier, sugar-substitute with added Fiber One cereal kind for DH & I, and it sure was good!
Glad that you regained your skills with a pen, Isabella - sometimes I feel the same way, though. I do all my writing on the computer, and when I actually have to "write" something by hand, seems like I've forgotten that graceful old "palmer method" that we were taught in school. My writing looks like something Bobbi's chickens would scratch out across the chicken coop floor! And speaking of which, Bobbi, I'm awfully sorry about your chicken. I didn't know that sort of thing could happen. Darn - always something, isn't it?
Jess, I thought my DH could maybe take one of those income tax prep courses to give himself something to do - like you said - for a couple of months, at least, but no dice. He's not interested. Darn. Jobs for young retirees certainly aren't around every corner, that's for sure.
Lynn - wow. I think I'd be having a bit of a meltdown, myself over a student like yours. I guess we all might hope that educators are above the fray morally speaking, since they are impacting our children every day in the classroom, but of course they are just as human as the rest of us, and there are good and bad apples out there everywhere. My ex-husband relied on me to do all of his papers for school right up to his CAGS, which is where he was when I divorced him. He couldn't do a research paper - or even write a half-way legible sentence to save his life to be perfectly honest, and he's now a school principal!
How are you doing, Freda? Back to work yet?
We had snow here, Karen - it melted on contact, but it was quite a blizzard, all the same. That was followed by a week of temperatures higher than normal for this time of year. Go figure.
Linda, I'm sorry about your SIL's frustration with dieting. We all feel that way one time or another - many times or others, really, but at the end of the day, it's about health every bit as much as it's about appearance. I had a very sobering experience about six months ago when a co-worker of mine who was significantly overweight, but younger than I am, died. I think that made me more determined than ever to get myself under control.
OKay, Must get ready for work. I missed a few of you, and I apologize, but I just noticed that I'm fifteen minutes behind schedule here... :(

Have a terrific day, all,
:hug:
Z

Lynn - wow. I think I'd be having a bit of a meltdown, myself over a student like yours. I guess we all might hope that educators are above the fray morally speaking, since they are impacting our children every day in the classroom, but of course they are just as human as the rest of us, and there are good and bad apples out there everywhere. My ex-husband relied on me to do all of his papers for school right up to his CAGS, which is where he was when I divorced him. He couldn't do a research paper - or even write a half-way legible sentence to save his life to be perfectly honest, and he's now a school principal!
Z

Hi Zoe,

You know, I do not expect that every student will be able to write well. Some of us have trouble with math, some have problems with directionality, some with interpersonal relationships, and some with writing. I actually encourage all my students with writing problems to post what they have and I will help them get their ideas into passable prose.

However, this woman went into the internet & copied 200+ word essays on topics like "How do you feel about working in Learning Teams?" Some of them were written in the first person and discussed experiences like "living in Japan."

I also found out that in her biography, she claimed to work at a particular college in Montgomery, AL that does not exist. The name she gave is the name of a High School - NOT a college. This is obviously a person with problems.

Anyhow - beautiful day in the Northeast. I plan to meet my DF and go for a walk in a NJ state park.

Have a great day everyone,

Lynn

Good Morning Gals!
I had a terrible night, blew my perfect score for the whole week on the challenge. Last night around 11:30pm. I woke up to 'restless leg syndrome'. This happens once every couple of months. Any of you have that? The only way I got back to sleep was to eat something, therefore going over my 1200 calories. I have to go back and uncheck my 4 to a 3. Lynn...I'm not going to win the challenge either. Speaking of which, I thought the Halloween challenge ended the 31st? I've been seeing the dates you posted but it didn't register in my brain, I just saw the Halloween challenge. It still works for me, posting my goals and I win in the end by losing.
Linda...sorry to tell you dear, but you probably will have to watch you weight the rest of your life. Lynn had a great articles awhile back about this, maybe she can dig it up and post it again. I have no trouble losing weight, the hard part is keeping it off. I think in my tiny brain that I'll never, ever gain it back after all the months of calorie counting. It took toooooooo long and I'm usually sick and tired of writing everything down. HA!, I go right back to my old eating habits and I'm right back up there. I believe that I DESERVE that little bitty piece of cake or cookie. Then I think, I ate one, what's one more? Up and down, up and down. It never ends and I never learn. The one thing I did learn was to get back on the dieting trail before it gets too far out of hand. When my jeans start getting tight, it's time.
I talked with my SIL, who's no longer being strict about her weight loss program, and she admitted being tired of always keeping track of food, and she doesn't want to do it anymore. That's something I understand very well! All of us do, don't we? We're old pros at this dieting stuff. It's such a pain to always have to watch what we eat, and how much, and how often. I wish with all my heart I didn't have to do it, but I do, because I can practically gain weight just by looking at food. Look at it, eat it, so goes the slippery slope. Anyway, the talk got me thinking about whether I can ever reach that point where I don't have to be conscientious, and there's a little voice saying, "No, Linda. You can't." So I feel good about staying on program today, but am also feeling a little sad because I realize I really will be on a diet forever, no matter how delicious the food I manage to contrive.

Hi everyone else, gotta get going. Have a good one.

Good Morning everyone,

I went back to work this weekend, and while it was hard, I made it through. My foot is very sore this morning, but I don't have to work again untill Friday, so hopefully it will be feeling better by then. 2 of our nurses were "discussing" who made the best pie. So, they both brought in pie's on Sunday. one mixed berry and one apple. And, if that wasn't enough temptation, one of the PCT's brought in a box of those huge muffins from Sam's club. one muffin is enough for a full day's calories. I had 1/4 of a muffin and no pie! Yeah!!!! And to tell the truth, I wasn't overly tempted.

Bobbi, You said it lady!!! If you don't intend to make this a life style change, it's not going to work. There are temptations everywhere. But are they worth not being able to fit into your clothes, and feeling rotten? NO!!

Lynn, The girl must be disturbed. Did she even DREAM you wouldn't catch that?

Linda, I think you can post any recipe. After all, we all got our recipe's from somewhere. Sorry you're starting to feel sad about what you can't have. But, really, you can have anything you want. Just not all you want maybe, and not all the time. Thinking that you can't enjoy the things you love is too depressing. Pick and choose, and have an occasional treat, if that's what it takes to keep you from feeling deprived. I'm lucky, I guess, I love everything!!! I just think about all the things I CAN have, not the things i can't.

Z, Congratulations!!! You are so going to meet that Christmas goal. and I just know Santa is going to know (after all he's knows when we've been good) and you will get some great new clothes, maybe in a smaller size? I play around with my recipes too. Most of them can be altered quite well, with little or no effect on the taste. You didn't mention how you were feeling. I hope you are feeling great by now.

Isabella, I hear you about using paper and hand writting deteriating!! I used to have a nice handwritting (really, I got lots of complements), and now you can hardly read it. After years of writing fast and furiously at work, it's gotten more and more like the Dr.'s that I dispair at all the time.

Donna, Fitday is a real life saver isn't it? It makes life so much simpler!

Freda

Good Morning! Just a quick fly by this morning. It is raining here and I guess is supposed to rain most of the week. I need to get busy and get to the grocery store too.

Linda that recipe looks great! I will print that out to keep and make it. Looks like a good "comfort food" to have on a cold winter night!

Zoe, sorry about your snow....we haven't had any here. Hopefully, here in MO. we won't get the feet that we had in the moutains of Colorado! But I imagine we will still get some. Still haven't sold our house out there and I imagine there will be a trip out there soon to get it Winterized if it doesn't sell soon. Not looking forward to that.

Bobbi, sorry to hear about your chicken. My friend in Colorado has chickens and she is always fighing something with them. This past summer they got mites and she had a time trying to get them healthy again!

I know I missed a bunch of people -- so HI to everyone and I will try to get back later. Got to get some groceries in here.!

Afternoon, everyone! I was out walking this morning just before dinner (lunch time) and got caught in a rain squall. Wow, did it ever come up fast and the wind was wild. Fortunately, I was dressed for any kind of weather and it didn't last long. As I was fighting my way across the old seaplane airbase (left-over from WW II) I was almost air born. DH, was just going by in his bus and beeped and waved.

I finally got into fitday again but I had to go through Internet Explorer instead of Firefox. Don't know what's going on there but I'm happy to be back in. My short time with pen and paper was productive though. I used the calorie counter from 3FC in the Calorie counter forum. It's very comprehensive. Jess, if you ever have trouble getting online at fitday you can always use pen and paper and look up the calories right here at 3FC.

Linda, I can relate to the lifetime commitment to this way of eating. But I'm happier and healthier when I'm not overweight. I do eat just about anything I want but as Freda said it's the amount and the frequency that's important. I have one really good dessert once a week and that makes 52 desserts a year. No one would eat 52 desserts in one sitting so spreading them out makes me feel less deprived. I get to eat about 40 different kinds with a few repeats.

Lynn, sounds like you've got a problem "child" there with that student. I dare say she won't last the course. Hope that walk was nice today.

Bobbi, I sometimes experience RLS, but it's not a regular thing. Like you it's only occasional. I read that some researchers have linked it to low iron levels but there's nothing conclusive about any causes. I usually have to get up. Sometimes taking an Ibuprofen helps but I don't why that is, it just seems to help me. I wonder if it's hereditary as my father had it also.

Freda, glad you made it through your shift with your sore foot and pie and muffins coming at you from all sides. When I was teaching school, occasionally someone would forget their lunch at home but they never went hungry because someone was always bringing in the "goodies" (or "baddies" might be a better term, :D). There was one teacher who made it her mission in life to keep us all well fed.

Hi Karen31. Hope your day is going well.

Oh my, there are three police cars out on the street. My neighbor has been arrested again. Poor man is having so much trouble. His son (who was the same age as my youngest son who got married this summer) committed suicide by hanging himself in their garage a year and a half ago. His parents, my neighbors were holidaying in Florida at the time and they have not recovered from that horrible shock. My neighbor has tried to kill himself, has become violent with close friends and neighbors and with his wife. Every couple of months he's taken away in an ambulance or police car. I feel so sad for the family. He was a successful business man and owned his own company with his wife. I think she's left him as I haven't seen her around for some time. One car is gone with the neighbor and 2 cars and 4 RCMP officers have gone back inside the house. Poor, poor man. I said a prayer for him as the car went by.

Morning everyone..i agree some days you just dont want to deal with diet issues..but feeling guilty is a great motivator :dizzy: we had a really exciting evening here.. my dh let the dogs out late last night befor bed and the commotion started.. the dogs barking(all 3) one in mortal fear..my dh swearing and lots of commotion..it was dark and didnt see the bull moose that had jumped the dog pen fence and was chasing willie(my moms dog we in herited) in circles and he wailing in frieght..daisy the little jack russel chasing and barking at the moose..the retrever on the steps barking and watching(smart dog) and my dh trying to get them back in and stay safe himself..after a lot of noise the moose decided he was getting out of dodge :rofl: and jumped back out and was gone into the night..willie came right in and jumped in my lap.. daisy continued to defend the pen she weighs 6 # lol and my dh waiting for his b/p to come to normal..we are lucky as contakerous(sp?) moose can be dangerous..my dh was about 3 feet from this moose..but up on the deck..alls well now tho..too much excitement :o thought id share the episode with u all..part of alaskan life..have a great monday everyone rosey :wave:

Rosey, we have moose here too and they've been known to come right out in the city. Every year there are 3 or 4 stories about moose in someone's yard or running down a major highway. Moose hunting is big here. When my kids were little our dog would often come home with a piece of moose bone with flesh and skin still on it that someone discarded when cleaning their moose. The boys would always come running in the house to announce the dog's treasure. Lots of our neighbors hunt. Now the boys are married and the dog is long gone. The moose are still here.

Lynn, I wasn't commenting on your student's (or my ex-husband's) inability to WRITE well - you're absolutely correct about about all of us having different abilities. I was referring to the lack of character demonstrated by those who would pass off the work of others as their own. I wouldn't demand that every teacher also be a good writer, but as I said, one would like to think that those who choose to be educators would be passing good ethics and values along to the kids they are teaching. Sorry I didn't make that clearer.
Thanks for the "attagirl" Freda - lol - and Santa BETTER NOT bring me any new clothes, because everybody knows I like to pick out my own....now gift cards...that's a different story...;) I'm glad, by the way, to hear that work went well, but you'd better rest those legs as much as you can now. Omigawd...they bring in all those sweets? That's as bad as at my job: there are always sweets - cupcakes, pastries, doughnuts and what-have-you in the employee lunch room, which is here I have to go to get my coffee - and to heat up my soup for lunch or make my tuna roll-ups. It's like walking through an obstacle course, and what's worse, as you've undoubtedly noticed, is the way everybody wants to push this junk on you....Some days I just want to stop and give them a lecture on nutrition, but I catch myself before I do. They already know I can be crabby - don't need to make matters worse with on-the-run lectures. :dizzy:
Rosey, you sure do have your share of excitement out there on the tundra, don't you? (Oh, I know it isn't really the tundra; but doesn't that just SOUND so kewl? :D)
Oh, Isabella, how sad about your poor neighbor. How awful for his life to just end up so miserably. Some people sure do have an awful time of it.
Well, I need my bath and need to get my clothes out for tomorrow, so I'm off... have a good evening, everyone!
:hug:
Z

Lynn and Isabella, I took the scale out of the cupboard today for the first time in over a week.... and I'm up a pound! This really, really, really, really SUCKS. I'm not cheating, and I'm staying around 1200-1500 a day. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE????????????????????? I'm moving around a bit more than before, too... I'm so frustrated!! THIS is why people give up!

Jess I'm so sry u didnt get the result u wanted and u are dissapointed..but dont give up..consider it a life styl change..keep at it and you will loose (((hugs))) rosey

Donna ~ I don't have a lot of experience in the success area ~ so maybe my thoughts are not of any help ~ but I was thinking ~ even if you are not seeing scale move, do you feel good? When I eat too much or a bunch of junk, I feel crummy. When I eat better (healthier stuff and not too much) even though I don't see the scale go down, I feel better.

You're not alone. Hang in there.

Take care

Donna, just a thought or two from someone who has been there, done that far too many times: You might want to look at how much sodium you're taking in with those calories, because too much sodium can make you retain water, which of course results in very slow weight loss even if you have reduced your calories. The second thought is that maybe you aren't drinking enough water? Water kind of helps flush everything through, and definitely is a factor in shedding pounds. And the THIRD thought is that if you stick with it over this hump, so to speak, you're likely to see a big drop all at once in another week or two - or even three. We've all gone periods of time where the scale hasn't moved, and it's really, really discouraging, but please hang in there, even if you have to do it kicking and screaming (as I, and a lot of the rest of us have done) because your really WILL see results, even if you don't see them as frequently - or as consistently - as we'd all like.
:hug:
Gotta run,
Z

Good Morning!
Just a quick note, I have to pick up my brother and take him up for a colonoscopy in a little bit. His wife is working and someone has to take him and stay for the 3 hours it takes. I'm bringing my crossword puzzle book with to entertain myself.
Yesterday I baked a few different kinds of cookies for my grandkids Halloween bag. I sampled some of course and decided I'd go whole hog and make something I've been dying to try for supper. If I make it again, it'll be for hubby only. It was soooooooo delicious, Pizza Bianca. Carmalized onions in thyme, butter and olive oil. Top crust with shredded Fontina cheese, then onion mixture and cooked, diced chicken breast, bake. It was so delicious. I could have cut some of the calories by browning the onions and thyme in Pam spray and cut back on the cheese but it was a new recipe and I didn't want to experiment with it. I'm going to eat very light today and get back to 1200 calories so less. The cookies are all packed and in the freezer, I won't go there either.
P.S. We both got a laugh out of your dogs and the moose. Too bad you didn't get pictures. Speaking of pics, we had snow like you wouldn't believe a couple days ago. I got pictures, the flakes were huge. I'll see if I'm smart enough to post them. Nope, to big and I don't know how to make them smaller. Gotta GO, have a good one.

Good Morning all,

I'm trying to get back into exercising, slowely! I can't believe I am so weak! I am starting my lifting with 5 lb. and I'm use to at least 10,or more. But even the 5 is enough! Oh well, got to start over I guess. They do say that after you train your muscles they come back quickly. I hope,

Isabella, sorry to hear about your neighbor. it must be horrible to lose a child, enough to drive you crazy. I pray that he can find some peace.

Rosey, I have a friend that lives in Alaska and she sends me pictures of mooses looking in her kitchen window! And yes, bothering the dogs! Did I say mooses? Is that a word?

Gayle, I feel the same way. Even if I'm not losing weight, eating better and exercsing just makes me feel so much better.

Donna, Calm down, it will happen. patience is hard! When we do the right things we expect the right thing to happen! Our bodies do what they want. Like Zo said sometimes they hold onto the pounds and then you just lose several pounds at once. It's that stinking scale again!!!

Bobbi, Pizza sounds sooo good! And really not all that fattening.

Karen, I'm like you. Give me a little snow, especiall around the holidays. Not in FEET please.

Make it a good day,

Freda

Ellabella, the sodium tip is a good one, and I hadn't thought of that. Makes perfect sense... and, Glynne, I do feel better. There's something very satisfying about the self-righteous feelings of passing by the goodies (briefly, anyway!). I just have this horror of being a fluffy little morsel for the rest of my life! And horror IS the word! I'm hanging in there. I'm not up for surgery, and there's some pregnancy hormone being injected nowadays which is causing rapid weight loss... now, that's scary. Thanks for the support. You're all appreciated!

:hug: That's for you Jess. I think Zoe gave you some really sound advice. If you are doing everything right you'll eventually see results.

Freda, the body sure goes back to a limp rag when we don't get in our regular exercise. I was doing 50 counter push-ups in the spring and now I can hardly get 10 done. I'm going to work on that again.
OK, Bobbi, I almost licked off the screen when I read "caramelized onions." :drool:I must try that next time I make a pizza.

I spent most of the day shopping with MIL, SIL and Niece. MIL had birthday money to spend on new clothing and wanted to look for a new carpet for her living room and bedroom. We managed to find a very lovely and flattering pair of black dress pants, a couple of tops and a fleece hoodie. We also found carpet which I'll order for her this week. We had lunch at McDonalds in Walmart and I had a garden salad and just dipped my fork in the dressing. I squeezed out about a tablespoon of dressing in one of those paper ketchup cups and just used that amount. Everyone else had burgers, wraps and fries and soda. When I came home I was ravenous. I was so glad I'd make a pot of vegetable soup this morning before I left for shopping. Did that ever hit the spot with a chunk of corn bread.

Good Morning!
Hi Glynne, Karen, Rosey!
Zoe...I did that with my daughter when she was little, we'd pick out her outfit for the next school day and hang it on the door knob of her closet. Wow, did that save time in the morning with no decisions to make. I do the same on Sunday mornings for church. I'll bet your momma taught that to you when you were a tot.Well, I need my bath and need to get my clothes out for tomorrow, so I'm off... have a good evening, everyone!

Freda...I used to do weights but have exercise bands that I use while computing. It works great because anytime something is downloading, I grab my bands and get lots of exercising in.
Jess...hold that thought and make it your goal to become a tiny morsel with no fluff. :rofl:
I just have this horror of being a fluffy little morsel for the rest of my life!

Isabella...great idea, I'm going to make a pot of meatless soup this am to use for my lunches. I haven't made my special diet soup all year, I have a recipe for sweet/sour cabbage soup that's really good and low in calories.
. I was so glad I'd make a pot of vegetable soup this morning before I left for shopping. Did that ever hit the spot
I think I'll go make that soup now, have a good one!