My colonoscopy and endoscopy went really well. My boyfriend, Pete, took really good care of me. I am just catching up on the pc and relaxing. I hope everyone has a good holiday weekend! :flow2:

It didn't rain as much as I had expected it to so I was able to get outside and weed {again}, repot some indoor plants, and move a few hostas. April came very close to catching a squirrel again, but I'm glad she missed. Eww!

Nothing very exciting happening this weekend. But hope you guys have a good holiday.

Hydra, Glad everything went well and you had someone to take care of you.

So true...so true!!! Sorry you have meetings all weekend...but think of it this way....you have a job and you are making money!!! :)

Well it better be REALLY, REALLY funny because I pretty much HATE onions!!! :)

Seems like you are coping pretty well....it's hard but we do what we need to for our pets....even if it hurts us to make them at peace.

My 2 dogs I have now (one from the humane society and the other a stray) are the best. Out of all the dogs I have had over the years, the best ones are the ones that come from the pound...the ones that REALLY need us to step up to the plate. Although I must admit, my mom's dog Sophie, is pretty darn good too....and she came from a breeder. I think pet store pets have a lot to be desired. Just MHO :)

Glad everything went well...and thank g-d for Pete!!!

Good morning ladies.... I think it's Saturday... yep Saturday. The last two days have been a blur with raw emotion. It's weird I think this is the first time I did not turn to food for comfort, I went the other way a bit but did force my self to eat. Even weirder was the fact that Mack did turn to food so it was in the house.

dmc - Mack and I are also going for a little hike/walk this morning. It's one of our local 3 mile loops.

Hydra - So happy to hear the procedure went well and that Pete took good care of you.

Hope you all enjoy the weekend. Mack is home until Tuesday so lots of together time for us. The only problem is when we have this much time together (5 days this time) I go through withdraws when he has to go back to work.

Rain here today. We could use it but why does it have to come on the weekend? Had a very good eating day yesterday, finally feel like I am back in the mindset from when I lost most of my weight. Managed to avoid snacking after school Thurs. and Fri. Last night my neighbor brought over a big bag of cherry tomatoes, I went straight to the kitchen to make my tomato salad! Yum!

Thursday night took a killer walk with DH. Very hilly, and I mean hilly. Kicked my butt! Felt good when I finished. :carrot:

Our master bath project is moving along slowly. I keep telling myself it will look great when it is done but we were told 5-7 days, it has now been 10 and there is still a lot to do. :dizzy:

Add us to the list of families with strays. Our Rosie is 8 and she has the sweetest personality. She is laying with her head on my feet as I type this. They really add something to our families. Cruise, You did the right thing for Tucker. :hug:

Hydra, glad your tests went well. Pete sounds like a great guy!

DMC, hope you see a loss today! Have a fun day hiking!

Presmaggie, Sorry about the pound in the wrong direction. I too hate all this peri stuff. Really wish it would just be done!

Patchwork, Hope you enjoy your nothing weekend! I think it's good to not have a lot planned! Too much on the weekends feels like work sometimes!

Gardener, Congrats on the new low! Hope the scale keeps moving in a downward direction!

Auzzie, You sound very focused on your goal! You CAN do it!

Hotsplahes, We are just starting to get tomatoes in our garden. We have been graciously accepting them from our neighbor! Ours always seem to start late and go til about October!

ICU, I have not heard of Novasure but now am curious.

Newleaf, Loved your hair story! It's nice when people notice a change! Even if they don't quite get it right!

Hope I didn't miss anyone! Have a great weekend!

Penguin, you and my son share an electrical magnetic field that destroys electronic toys. He kills ipods, iphones, stereos, computers, you name it, just by owning them. Best part in the military he does ground radar. He’s really good at his job but the equipment just fails around him. It’s truly a joke in our family so as I read your electronic woes, I decided you share that magnetism with him.

Hydra, it’s Saturday so your tests are completed and you’re free to be yourself again. I bet you are relieved. I’m glad it went well. Have fun at the festival. I hope you have great weather for it. You deserve it.

DMC, stay away from the wine and go to the gym. Sounds like a very good mantra to me. I loved your description of how mommy and baby kitty love each other. Animals are so amazing. And the thigh ache – I had it a lot when I wasn’t taking in enough protein. My quads were always tired. Hence the introduction of whey protein powder into my iced mochas or fruit smoothies for an influx of protein. The quad fatigue disappeared nearly overnight.

Jacque, I hope your mom is doing well and that you were able to use her gym. You look so great in your avatar.

ICU, is the appt with the dermatologist for the veins? If so, let us know how it goes. I thought of you when I went walking with my friend. She just did the derma for brown spots on her face – ok about 6 weeks ago. I saw her right after and it looked weird but yesterday I was amazed how wonderful her skin looked. Nary a brown spot in sight. I’m keeping that in the back of my mind.

Hots, I totally agree with feeling more confident in my 40s. Even at the highest weight, I was still proud to be in my skin. And now 60 pounds less, even prouder. Can’t beat that feeling.

Diane, you can lose those 7 pounds but don’t get down if it’s not in the one month. One thing I have learned about my 40s body is that it loses weight at its own rate. So I stopped setting lose by date goals. My goals are to be on track for the week or to eat more veges for a week. I have no problem staying at 1400 cals so that stopped being a goal about a year ago. But when I started it was the daily, weekly and monthly goal.

Joy, excellent job on the new low. And I hope you feel better.

Cruise, my thoughts are with you. My doggies thoughts are with your pack. You’ll be reunited some day in a place where our doggies have no pain.

Presmaggie, I’m glad the new kitties are quieting down. You’re household has been in flux lately so it’s cool that it’s starting to settle.

OMW, I bet the tomato salad was fabulous. You've made me a convert. I plan on buying fresh mozz at Costco today as it was a tad spendy at the local grocery. I'm glad you're back in the losing weight mindset. Taking the summer off didn't hurt you in the least. Isn't that wonderful to know?

DH and I are going out into the mountains to berry hunt. My doggie behaviorist wrote out directions to where she went so I'm hoping to find a big haul of marion berries. I can freeze them and have excellent berry protein smoothies all year. She had gone 3 weeks ago but all the bad life stuff that had happened made it so we couldn't go until today. Then we're going to Costco where produce reigns king. Yeah!!!! No weigh in today and that feels weird since I'm a daily weigher but I got up at my normal 5 and DH was still sleeping so I exited the bedroom out of niceness. It's scary when I'm kind. :o
Marie

patchworkpenguin: sounds like you have a lovely yard! I also started with herbs in pots. In just my third summer, I'm grow eggplant, zucchini, and peppers in the ground. This year's new skill was growing salad and cooking greens from seed in the ground. It's ridiculous how much food I get from a $2 pack of seeds.

dmc2009: I make the pesto from my basil using this Sonoma Diet recipe which is lower fat than the typical version:
Pesto
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup pine nuts
4 ounces basil leaves (about 4 packed cups -- it's easier to weigh)
6 Tablespoons olive oil
Food process the first three ingredients, then gradually add the oil while continuing to run the processor.
I freeze it in an ice cube tray (this recipe fills about 3/4 of a tray) and then pop the cubes into a freezer bag. They can be thawed in the microwave to top pizza or stir into pasta.
I love rosemary with potatoes so I stir it into potato salad or sprinkle it on roasted potatoes.

presmaggie: hang in there -- that really good eating will show up on the scale eventually!

Hydra: thanks so much for reporting in -- I was thinking about you. I'm glad it went well and that you are being well cared for.

CruiseCAT: hope you and Mack are able to experience some healing over the long weekend -- a hike might be just what the doctor ordered!

Onmyway: yeah, I'm finding the rain kind of sucks, too. Took the wind out of my sails on a planned trip to the Tower Grove Farmers Market. I'm afraid that if I make the effort, I'll discover that my favorite farmers didn't bother to make the trip because there are bound to be so few customers!

Marie: good luck with your berry picking!

I have allergies, so no animals, but I love other people's pets and I appreciate all of you who are getting pets that need you from the rescue operations and/or the pound.

Living in the same region as Onmyway, I've got a rainy day ahead. I think I'll find a way to relax into it and enjoy a quiet Saturday.

Marie, there's a scene in the movie Twilight where the Mom calls the daughter from a payphone {are there any left??? only in the movies} because she lost her charging cord for her cell. The daughter comments, and the mom replies "I repel technology, I didn't lose the cord, it ran away screaming." I can relate. I have trouble with coke machines, automatic faucets, and those touch screens ATMs, forget it, they don't acknowlage me as a living human. SIGH.

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for all your helpful hints.

Gardenjoy - That sounds like an amazing Pesto recipe, I have some basil that I need to pick before it starts freezing, so I am giong to give that a try. I like that it can be frozen in the ice-cube trays.

Marie - Have fun with DH on your hike. And thanks so much for the advice on goal setting without a number, I too find that more effective and measureable.

CruiseCat - My heart goes out to you on the lose of your family member, life really stinks when we loose a loved one.

Onmyway - Don`t you love it when you get into `The Zone`, its great to be in control of our own decisions.

Well, we are off to Rocky Mountain House as my oldest son has a football game there. Maybe DH and I will go for a walk while he`s getting ready for the game.

Diane

Just a quick note - more later...
 

No loss today, same ol, same ol.

I am a bit discouraged, but I knew it. I have had a few glasses of wine and I think that blew it.

I just have such a hard time getting my calories down to 1500 or 1200 a day! I just can't get under 1800 or more with my night eating especially.

Okay, that's it. The minute I go to bed, KITCHEN IS CLOSED!!!! I talked to my mom and my sister who is older and usually a lot heavier than me now weighs less than I do! GAHHHHHH!

Anyway, will check in tonight for personals!

Have a great day.

dmc - I tend to snack at night too. I made myself a list of 100 calorie snacks, like carrots and celery with a bit of dip, a lite yogurt, a big handful of raisins, a banana, and apple, a small serving of nuts. I plan for about 200 calories after dinner, so that way I don't feel like I am depriving myself and I look forward to that evening snack.

Thanks to everyone for all your well wishes and encouragement.

We just made out our grocery list and will go shopping later. At first I thought it was more expensive to eat better but in the long run it seems to be less expensive. I am buying fresh fruits and veggies, reduced fat cheese, cottage cheese, frozen veggies, seafood, pork chops and lean steak to grill out, some gluten free frozen meals, dressings, coffee and turkey breast. I love a nice variety of foods to eat. I like healthy food but I also like the stuff that is bad bad bad for you, lol.

I have a weakness for having a glass too many at night sometimes too. I LOVE wine, but I always regret it in the morning. Seems I always realize I need to stop after 3. One glass is about 100 cals, so 3 glasses = 300. Yikes, that's like one frozen lunch entree! (Not to mention that it RUINS my morning run...)

Hi, everyone! Looks like lots of fun things going on this weekend! After piano lessons, DS10 and I made a Costco run for ribs for tomorrow, and then we did some weeding. He took off for a friend's house - I weeded some more until my back said "Nuff!". DH ... still canning! Peaches, peach jam, peach syrup. Bread and butter pickles (spicy!), banana peppers, and dill pickles. Raspberry jam. Stewed tomatoes. I cannot believe how much he's doing! We need to reinforce the shelves downstairs - some of them are bowing under the pressure. :) And he's still working on tomato juice. Whew!

Ticker on the move, finally. I think I can kiss that last setpoint goodbye!

I'll be back this evening to catch up on everybody's goings-on. Have a great day - and send some of that rain our way!!! (for Monday, though!)

Hubby and Dad worked on the car today while Mom and I went to lunch and shopping. I bought another pantsuit at Ross; this one was royal blue but a different brand and a better quality suit for $40. Worth it! This one had pockets in the pants and on the jacket. which set my little heart to fluttering. I know, it doesn't take much to impress me!

I went to Michael's crafts store with my Mom and found a little booklet that had knit and crochet shawl and wrap patterns. I pulled out some peacock blue faux-mohair yarn {Lion Brand Jiffy} I has stashed away and started a pashimia sp? type wrap. After several starts and stops I have completed two inches. Hopefully this will go more quickly as I progress, LOL. I followed the instructions but didn't feel the wrap was going to be wide enough so pulled out what I had done so far and started over while adding another four inches to the width. I haven't knit anything but baby booties and hats in several years so I picked an easy pattern, but I think its going to be pretty.

DMC, Rosemary and Thyme are my favorite herbs! I have rosemary in the badk but its not doing well. {I need to threaten to compost it! That should perk it right up!] I have a huge creeping thyme in the front but its more decrative than anything. I love rosemary with potaties and chicken, and thyme in vegetable soup! I've grown basil but since its a semi annual it drives me nuts, and I keep forgetting to pinch the flowers before it blooms. I've rediscovering some of my old hobbies since my cateract surgeries.