!
 

Morning all, I'm trying to play catchup again. Yesterday was busy, followed by a nap. I didn't sleep well so only got a few hours of sleep Wed night, which didn't help my busy day on Thurs. I decided I needed a new bag to carry my books around in, so I copied the old one in size, but adding more pockets inside. Making the outside was easy, making the lining was easy, but putting the two together is where I get frustrated! I finally had to sew the lining down by hand. I haven't been able to to hand sew in years, much less thread a needle so that was amazing, if teadious!

I get to clean house today! There's a compound miter saw on the floor in the dining room, tool bags here and there, and a 15 foot piece of trim laying on the floor of the living room because that's the only place it will fit in the house. We have a garage! I can't move the saw because I'm still only allowed to pick up things weighing under 15lbs. This is going to be interesting!

Tanya, Welcome back. Kudos on surviving the roadtrips!

Joy, When I started to exercise several years ago after being a couch potato, my leg 'restlessness' went away, my migraines became much less severe, and I just feel much better; I'm not sure why.

Splashes, Congrats on the 184!

Cruise, I like the new avatar! Good luck at the dentist!

Newleaf, I buy most of my clothes at Ross, which is like TJMaxx! I love those stores!

DMC2009 - I so understand that need to eat, after a long day with the kids. You know what I have tried to do? I've tried to redirect to making a pot of tea. I don't mean a tea bag. I mean, I have a nice little glass tea pot. I put in the tea leaves, I boil the water, I let steep for 4 minutes, I pour into a big mug. I drink from savoringly. It may sound silly, but having this routine, the aesthetic nature of it, the feeling of decadence, really helps. When the boys come home from school, I usually turn the kettle on to boil the water. So I don't snack along with their snack, or snack b/c they are stressing me out. Instead I have my own relaxation and own treat -- all for 0 cal. Maybe you could try something like this at night (herbal or decaf tea).

ICUWishing - I think we're saying the same thing about Denali. If we aren't going to see the mountain, and if the bus ride is long and torturous, then maybe the best thing is to go back to our idea of RVing / camping in the park rather than taking the bus in. So as to really feel the beauty and the rhythm, etc.

dancerindenver: Hope the run chased the demons away for you. Everything that came before was learning experience and made you the determined lovely dancer we all get to enjoy in this community today.

Marie: Cancun in February sounds like an excellent cure for winter blahs!

dmc2009: yay for being back on track and the food diary! My favorite evening treat is homemade fresh fruit sorbet. Have you seen those newer ice cream makers? No more rock salt or hand cranking! I put in two cups of pureed fruit, about a quarter cup of sweetening (my favorite is honey or maple sugar because I'm on an all natural kick, but artificial sweetners would work too), and a quarter cup of egg whites. One batch makes dessert for about a week. The last two batches were watermelon -- yummy and such a pretty shade of pink!

weightlosswanted: good job on the walking! So sorry for your little grandson. I hope they can give him a good outcome.

newleaf: I don't think even skinny people get that kind of confidence of pulling clothes off the rack and knowing they fit -- it's the insane and inconsistent sizing that's at fault, not you! Which isn't to say that you shouldn't lose 10 more pounds and 10 more after that if you want to. I'll be interested to see you take that journey since I hope to be there in a couple of years. I've set a goal weight, but I have no idea if it's "right" or how I will determine rightness when I get there. And congrats on losing the vacation weight so quickly!

CruiseCAT: Love the haircut! And good luck at the dentist -- good for you for doing the research and standing up for yourself. I don't have that sort of problem with the dentist, here, but I have to be careful at the opthamologist's office!

Hotsplashes: Yay for the new number!

ICUwishing: pears are on the SuperfoodsRx list so I guess there's at least good nutrition in those calories. Apples share the same slot in the Superfoods system and are also around 100 calorie, something to remember as apple season comes rolling in.

Onmyway: do you make it to any of the Farmers Markets? Centennial Orchards has the honeycrisps--they are at Tower Grove on Saturday mornings and Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood on Wednesday evenings. Also, of course, in Augusta all the time. Sorry, everyone else, for the Missouri references.

Jacque: does your mom nap? When my mom was alive and I was with her, I found that I always had an hour or two in the afternoon when I could get away for a walk without her even knowing I was gone.

patchworkpenguin: I hope the house cleaning goes well. Don't be tempted to pick up anything you shouldn't! Clean around it and wait for help. Maybe you could put a ribbon on the saw and dress it up a bit while you wait? :-)

I finally made a food plan for myself. It's a bit odd -- a mix and match meal plan with 3 breakfasts, 6 dinners, etc. I think it will work for me.

TGIF!!! I Love Weekends!
 

I'm back from the dentist and not very happy. The dentist really wanted to take care of the right side first because of the severity of decay on my back molars. I need to say here and now I really like the dentist but not the office staff.

Anyway, the right side needed THREE crowns and a couple fillings and once in to my very back tooth the decay was so deep I need a root canal..... OH JOY!!! Apparently my dentist refers root canals on molars to a specialist so here I sit waiting for my referral.... I HATE INSURANCE COMPANIES!!!

I got my workout in this morning so I'm planning to hang out at the pool and do nothing. Since I don't think I'll be able to eat much (smoothies) I think I'll have a couple beers to dull the pain before the Novocain wears off.

DUH.... no wonder I wake up in the middle of the night with stomach pangs when I eat fruit. I know I do better with higher protein but didn't even think about my late evening snacks. Thanks for the wake-up call.

Hang in there DMC.... Don't give up.

I love your enjoyment of tea. Not just the drinking of it but the joy you take in making it.

Woo Hoo for DH coming home. Mack will be going to Mexico the first couple weeks of Oct. and I once again will be the crazy lady with the dogs; but then again I'm that even when Mack is home.

Mack and I are hiking tomorrow so I guess I better go figure out where.

Cruise, I hope the beer kicks in soon.
Marie, I will trade you formorning vs night eathing
Garden, that sorbet sounds good.

I just got back from the store, I picked up a few things to help out. I bought some sugarfree sucker candies, like lifesavers and werthers, I will put them by my bed, since they take along time and taste good, maybe that will do it.

NewLeaf, I bought some almond butter and had to try it. Never had it before. So for my snack, I just ate a half banana with a spoonfull and some honey. I LOVE honey. it was awesome. I think it will be perfect night time thing with some tea! Thanks,

I also bought some agave nector to sweeten things up, some cheerios and lots veggies and eggs for breakfast!

I went to a step class too! So... here I am no excuses! I am ready to drop some serious poundage! :carrot:

Oh.. and I bought some Whey powder to drink. Its about 130 calories, but supposed to keep you full.

Anyone here try that?

Cruise and all, thanks for the support! YOU guys rock!:hug:

dmc2009 - hi! I don't know if we've "met" before?:)

CruiseCAT - I wonder if the carbs before bed is what causes my intermittent insomnia? I'll have to keep track and find out. I do try to avoid carbs after dinner, but sometimes I don't manage it. Sorry about the crowns. I had to get 5 last year and I had that twilight anesthetic - that made it much easier. Unfortunately, I'm one of the 3% who remembers a lot while under, but it's still better than being totally conscious for hours on end while in the chair.

Marie - what kind of knee problem did you have? I have a genetic (my mother has the same thing) grinding noise when I straighten it and it's bearing weight - like lunges, etc. It aches a bit at times, but nothing major, yet. I've been thinking about a PT referral, as well.

gardenerjoy - in your sorbet maker, is there any way to make sorbet without egg whites? I'm allergic to them, but I'd love to have real fruit sorbet.

newleaf - your redirect with tea idea sounds pretty good. I'll have to try that. I also find it stressful when the boys get home from school because their transitions are always so noisy.

patchworkpenguin - glad to hear your vision is so much better. It must feel wonderful to see well again.

ICUwishing - about fruit flies - I saw that you mentioned some kind of vinegar traps? How do you do that? We have an inside bucket for fruits and veggies for composting and no matter what we do, it always has quite a number of fruit flies hovering around. I'd really like to find a way to do away with them without chemicals, etc.

Jacque - thanks for the info on the spinning. I've been considering it, but I don't know if I'm fit enough, yet.

dancerindenver - you're doing so well on your weight loss! Congratulations!!

I'm not feeling too good today. It seems that as I get older, I have one day a month when my hormones are going a little crazy and I get really tired.

Even though I haven't been posting, I've been keeping up here every day. This week I had two final exams and some very difficult stuff to deal with in our family. We're in the process of adopting our younger son from foster care and the social workers want us to get him to slowly learn to deal with the abuse that he suffered until he was 4. It's really hard to hear the details; I can't imagine what it must have been like to live through it. At the same time, we have to teach him how not to be a victim for the rest of his life. It's pretty emotional. Anyway, at least I haven't gained any weight. That's a positive.

newleaf: love your tea ritual! not only am I a hot tea drinker but I collect teapots as well. my two favorite aunts taught me to drink tea, one aunt was part irish and part english, she believed "a hot cuppa" could cure anything that ails you : )

dmc: speaking of hot tea, I love agave nectar in either green tea, white tea or herbal tea for breakfast (along with my fibersure). it has a lower glycemic index then honey or sugar and I prefer the taste to that of honey. sounds like you're off to a great start!

cruisecat: love the hair! I've gone from red to darker myself. the red bleaches out too easily in the sun here. sorry about the dental work, I hate going to the dentist!

maggie: wow, that's a tough thing to deal with! kudos to you for both the foster care and the adoption. melatonin is a great way to deal with insomnia, I couldn't survive without it.

marie: I would be happy even to just lose some water weight : ) I'm impressed by your skiing prowess! cross country is more my speed.

jacque: I liked spinning except that I can't stand due to arthritis in my knees. as a result I had bruises on my bottom in areas I had forgotten could be bruised from the hard seat! I tried for a couple of weeks to see if I could get past it, but even with my own gel seat cover it just didn't work. I was really disappointed!

The doctors are in disagreement as to what they see on my grandson's mri, apparently nobody has bothered to read the actual report. His regular pediatrician says no fluid on the brain, his head is just not shaping properly and wants to put a helmet on him to correct it. So my poor daughter is on a rollercoaster. We're waiting to get a copy of the report so we can read it, as opposed to each doctor giving their opinion based on what they think they see on the films.
Apparently I ate something yesterday that I really shouldn't have, was up and down all night and ended up getting a ride home early from work. Between the stomach and not being able to eat dropping my blood sugar I was a mess. Planned on the usual cure, chicken soup, yogurt, oatmeal and gatorade for a couple of days. Then I read the ingredients on the gatorade - loaded with hfcs and sugar. Argh! Water and herbal tea it is. One bonus of having a messed up stomach is that I usually lose at least a couple of pounds while I'm getting it back under control. Not sure how the blood sugar issue will handle it though. A friend on FB posted a fairly recent pic of my 1st boyfriend. He used to be heavy but appears to have lost a good bit of weight over the years. Looks better than when we were teenagers - talk about motivation!

hatLady, I hope you feel better quickly!
Maggie, nice to "meet" you.

Today, got an early dinner, I burger and salad. No bun, just the burger.

DD got a bun, she loves her burgers! I did the G. Formen thing, its too hot to go out BBQ... but that is my favorite method.

I had some of the agave nector, boy is it ever sweet, I think sweeter than honey or sugar!

Thanks so so much!!! Me too!! I always hate going to the dentist too, but it's something we all should do twice a year. Glad you like the dentist now....I love mine, but I would rather see him out and about then when I'm lying on my back with his hands in my mouth. Also, love my hygienist, which is a good thing since I spend more time with her then the dentist.

My mom doesn't take a nap per say but she will be knitting or reading and fall asleep so it's not like I can plan something...The problem will be keeping her down and resting. At almost 75 she is VERY active. She is always running somewhere, doing something, for herself or most likely others. She plays golf, although I think she will have to wait awhile on that activity....so I'm thinking when she gets home, she will be thinking about all the things that needs to be done and won't rest. That's what I have to make sure she does, plus schlepp her everywhere she needs/wants to go. It should be an interesting week.

Even though the instructor yells what we should be doing, yes yells since the music is so loud, I found that I could still in a way go at my own pace...it was motivating, however I did take a few small breaks.

Also, good for you on adopting!!!:carrot::carrot: Good luck!!!


I know if I continue I will have to get one of those seats...my rear and other area hurt for 2 days!!! :) Sorry it didn't work out for you :(

CruiseCAT: root canals suck and insurance companies are worse. I hope it all works out for you.

dmc2009: wow! you're going great! I love agave nectar -- especially in tea and with chocolate. Another thing I do with that ice cream freezer is make chocolate frozen yogurt sweetened with agave nectar. Yum!

presmaggie: yes, you can skip the egg whites. The texture is nicer with them, but the taste is just as good either way! I only discovered the egg whites recently, so I've made lots of sorbets without them. Without the egg whites, the sorbet is a bit on the icy side from the beginning and gets more icy as it's stored (sometimes approaching solid, at which point, I usually eat it like a popsicle without the stick). With the egg whites, it's pretty smooth at first, but still gets icy if it's stored awhile.
That sounds like quite a process that you're going through with your son. I've been wondering with the Jaycee Dugard story what kind of help is available. I'm glad smarter people than me know something that might help. I hope it goes well for all of you. What a wonderful thing you are doing and he is doing to work through this.

weightlosswanted: hope you're feeling better today. Good for you for reading the label on the Gatorade. I hope tea sweetened with agave nectar works just as well for you.

Jacque9999: wishing you and your mom well -- she sounds like a wonderful lady.

I get a quiet day today. I'm planning to try out some of the workout videos I've discovered that I can play for free on my computer under the Watch Instantly tab of my Netflix account.