Marie-I have a Tom Tom. Got it last year for Christmas. I'm one of those people who can get lost going around the block so its a great thing for me. My new car has a built in GPS. The navigation system includes all the cool stuff like the voice activated phone, audio system etc which is why I got the navigation system. Glad you got home safely. As for the stress, I'm not so sure it burns calories. It drives up your cortisol levels which tells your body there is a crisis and you need to conserve resources including calories. This is probably one of my biggest issues with weight loss since I live in a constant state of high cortisol I think. One of the major benefits of yoga for me.

ICU-steel cut oats in the crockpot overnight work great. You can throw in dried fruit, cinnamon. You can also just soak them on the stove overnight and cook them in the morning. Some of my other favorite cold morning breakfasts are 2 eggs scrambled with green onions, canadian bacon and a little cheddar and 1/2 a pita, or 2 eggs scrambled with green onions, green pepper and a little cheddar in a low carb whole wheat tortilla with a some salsa.

Welcome ladysnanny-lurkers are always welcome. You may get more out of posting.

I had a challenge last night. There is a lady at my church who invites her friends over to get their haircut and invites a hair dresser over too. She lives in this beautiful huge house right on the beach. It got severely damaged in Katrina but they have rebuilt it almost completely. Anyway, she serves hor d'oerves, wine, etc. I ate a snack before I went because I knew what would be there but I still had more than I should have-cream cheese with chiplote, spiced cider with brandy, chicken quesidillas. You get the idea. I skipped dinner when I got home but it was not exactly on plan for me.

I did learn something interesting. She apparently has not always been wealthy although clearly she is now. She talked about how much she struggled raising her children and how people have this idea they have to give their kids everything today.....whole other topic. But she has grown into her social role rather gracefully. I really struggle with where I am now. I grew up dirt poor and often feel like I am trapped between two worlds. I may have to talk to her about that some time. I still feel like the girl from the projects inside. I have resented priviledged people most of my life and now I am one.

I feel like I have a to-do list as long as my arm. I've been putting things off because I've been sick {sinus infection} but also because I've been LAZY! Why do anything today when I can put it off until tomorrow. Guess What?! Its tomorrow! Deadlines are approching!

ICU, I've done the oats in the Crockpot thing. Hubby even ate them! I'm still eating cereal in the mornings although by now I've usually switched to oatmeal or something equally warm1

Petra, The buffet sounds wonderful! Good for you for not eating dinner too! I think it would be nice to talk to the woman about your pasts. I'm sure she can offer some good advice.

Marie, Glad you made it home safely, glad you had a good trip until the drive home! We reformatted the computer a while back. Not fun. I voted for shooting the thing at dawn! and getting a laptop!

Lambchop, Great job on the weightloss and that the skirt fits.

Hmmm, slow cooked oats in the crockpot -- maybe something from the crock pot my boys would actually like! And I bought a bunch of small crockpots for Thanksgiving, to use on the counter to keep food warm (I didn't cook in them), so I could easily do this. Will have to check out the recipe. ICUWishin thanks for the pointer!

Marie sounds like quite a harrowing drive; glad you made it home safe!

Penguin love the new avatar!

Petra good job at the buffet... and what a complex position to land in, growing up to be the person you resented -- ack! But, maybe that gives a little more compassion to the objects of your resentment in the past and you can let some of that angst from your childhood go...

WLW, good luck with the financial stuff for DS. I have hated doing FAFSA in the past and think they should just be able to pull my tax returns into the FAFSA since I have to get all the old docs out.

ICU, to me, cross country skiing takes more balance, at least for me. I have so much trouble with it because I expect my heels to be locked down like in downhill. And yes, I think the single digit size is like a decade. I truly believe it is all a mind game. And I still love my cold protein shakes year round. Iced mocha this morning and the thermometer said 0.9 degrees.

Petra, I just looked up the tracking number on my Tom-Tom and it’s out for delivery. I’m very excited about that. I was liking ICU’s idea that the stress burned calories. I understand your explanation – bummer. I know only only overate about 700 calories so I can get rid of that pretty quickly. If you reframe your situation, I’m guessing you are more empathetic to people from the poor side as well as people that are privileged. Your background gives you a much broader empathy than those stuck in the same rut.

Penguin, it does seem like you have had a long history of computer problems (I remember this past summer). Perhaps it is time for a Mac (says the Apple stockholder chickie…). I know since I converted and since converted DH, the computer woes have stopped. DH no longer blows his up. In April I told him it was the last time I was fixing his PC and in July I bought him a Mac. It’s now December and his computer is awesome. Aka no work for me.

NewLeaf, you said small crockpots? Where did you get small ones – are they single serving? That would be cool. :D


I’m back at work and am trying to find a reason to return to Reno/Tahoe before New Year’s Eve-eve. Because of my knee problem, I couldn’t ski last year – spent the winter at Physical Therapy. So this past weekend was like this gigantic gift and was a thrill. Sitting at my desk isn’t even remotely as fun. I’m doing good on calories even after a brunch I was commanded to attend. I had one quarter of a homemade lemon scone. Oh so worth the ~115 calories. :o

Marie

The one thing really unique about me is that I don't believe in special treatment. This has actually caused some hard feelings at work but it goes both ways for me. I don't expect any and I don't give any. If I go to the ER, I expect the same treatment as every other patient and if I have a physician's family member in the hospital, I treat them just like every other patient.

I have had a much better on plan day today. I may have a protein shake for dinner. I was planning to make something in the crockpot today-curried lamb in fact but the lamb wasn't quite defrosted this morning and the recipe called for more carrots than I had so I had to stop at the grocery store on the way home and pick some up. I can look forward to that tomorrow.:drool:

Wow, high 70's today and 40 mile an hour wind gusts! Going to be fun bus-hopping around town. Hope the rain and thunderstorms hold off! Learned a hard lesson yesterday - no more trading in my cottage cheese and fruit for a snickers bar! Caused a nasty blood sugar crash before lunch : ( Trying to figure out why I can't drag myself out of bed on workdays so I have time to pack my food, but on my day off I was wide awake at 6:30am?! My endocrinologist never called back to reschedule that appointment I missed, so I called yesterday - she can't see me until the end of january. Not real happy with that situation but there are only a few in town and they are all hard to get in to see. Today is my DS phone interview for unemployment then off to the tax office and financial aid appointments. I hope everyone is having a great week!

Marie the crock pots I found were 2-quart, which I can't find online anywhere. But I got them at Wal-Mart, they are the Crock Pot brand, and they were only $10. The one flimsy thing about them is they have a plastic, rather than glass, lid. But for my purpose, and at that price, they were perfect.

I picked up steel cut oats yesterday, and will try making them overnight tonight. I've read mixed reviews about how the slow cooker can scorch them, so we'll see...

newleaf: sounds interesting. since I make oatmeal for breakfast almost every morning that may be a great timesaver for me...and I won't have to drag DS out of bed to eat when it's on the table : )

Petra - it's funny how we carry our identities inside of ourself tied to things from long ago. I hope she can help you find a new comfort level.

Penguin - did you get your stuff done? Deadlines...deadlines...

NewLeaf- neat idea on the smaller crockpots...i'll need to remember that for future use

Marie - i hope you can fit in another trip for skiing, but let's hope for clear roads next time!

WLW - can you be asked to be put on the "cancel" list...so you might get in sooner? if they have a cancellation, they could call you to see if you can fit in the appt...
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We went out and I had filet and asparagus for dinner last night..YUMMY! was so good...and this morning was totally caught off guard that it was TOM!!! Why? No bloating, no cramps, no nothing going on....LOL

stuff to do today, but lacking motivation. I usually don't find it until after 11am anyway..it will kick in..

on dock - 3 mile run

LC: it's kinda of hard to jump on a last minute appointment since I ride the bus, takes two buses to get to the dr. after the 1st of the year I'll at least have sick time available so I'm not limited to weds and thurs. At that point I'll give them a call back and see if they can fit me in any earlier. Hoping I get a decent bonus in march so I can get a new car! way to go on the running, even when I wasn't overweight I couldn't manage that : )

Petra, you sound like me – good dinner plans that take work, then after work coming home and finding a simple solution. That’s why I don’t pre-plan meals. I have to be in mood to put effort into dinner.

WLW, 70 degrees – sounds like heaven. My Jeep said it was -2 degrees on my way into work. I’ve now lived here for 10 years and have never seen temps like this. I’m envious of your weather. Enjoy your days off and all the DS appointments.

Newleaf, I google a mini crock pot and found a cool one at Amazon for $16.99. I’ll keep that one in mind. I can see it would be handy. The Maxi-Matic is 1.5 quart with a glass top. I really liked that the crock is removable for easy clean up. Hmm, I see another amazon purchase coming my way.

Lamb, I never have PMS symptoms when I’m eating healthy and on plan. That could be why you were surprised. DD has the 24th off now so she’s coming up a day early and we’re going to ski on the 24th. YEAH!!!

The driving eating over-indulgence is history. I stayed on track yesterday and have every intention of being angelic today. On Saturday I did do the final increase in my elliptical minutes. I do pretty hard intensity but started at 20 minutes 5 times a week last March. In July I added 5 more minute and last Saturday I added 5 more. As I huffed my way through the routine I kept thinking, I don’t have to do 30 minutes, 25 is enough. Then I remembered thinking the same thing in July but at some point the 25 minutes because routine. Life changes sure are interesting when you try to look at the overall picture. I think I'm finally figuring this journey out.

Hi! :wave:

Looks like everyone's working along and doing well! Nothing much to report here - the next 2 Saturday night dinners are challenging to the max, but I do have access to the online menus and can do a bit of planning.

Have passed a couple of notes back and forth with DS10's 5th grade teacher, and I'm finally waking up to why public schools are criticized for teaching to the lowest common denominator. Ugh. Spouse and I are considering a private school. Won't be pretty - close to $10K a year. I think it would be worth it to see him excited about school and surprised by what he can do.

Marie: -2???? Yikes! I'll bet even YOUR dogs prefer not to be out in that. Or do they love it?

Patch: Welcome back; glad you worked the bug out of the computer! There were plenty of bugs on 3FC while you were gone - most of us were unable to post or even get in here.

LC: I've got a weird one this month too. 3 mile run ... very, very cool! You've really cranked that program!

I did buy a bag of steelcut oats, and I'm going to give it a whirl tonight. My crockpot is a big ole beast - it has an insert that can go directly from freezer to oven. Can even be used on the stovetop, which is kick-butt convenient for those stews that need to have the meat browned or the veggies carmelized. I'm really curious to see how well it works because I'm not in the least bit picky about my breakfast - if it's warm and it's not moving or fuzzy, it's a candidate. Convenient (and healthy) is a key requirement! Spouse kind of turned up his nose as expected, but I'll bet he tries it! :lol:

We have a winter weather warning for tonight - it's blowing about 45-50 mph and snowy-ish. Probably a good night for that first glass of spiked eggnog, and to get the lights on the tree!

petra: Being a doctor, I'm sure you see the entire spectrum of humanity, including the "flyers" in the data. I can't imagine what it's like. Kudos to you for recognizing the role your roots play ... most people need years of therapy to accomplish that (and are usually still stuck in the past).

Curried lamb for dinner at my house tonight. Awesome!

Glad to see people are doing pretty well staying on plan. I'm planning to go to pilates tonight. Got to get that in while I'm not on call. It comes around faster than I would like.

I see a lot of you are in for some serious winter weather. Keep warm and safe.

Great temps, heavy winds and rain so got a good soaking and did lots of walking today. Since DS was an emancipated minor at 17 he is an independent student and his financial aid has nothing to do with me or my income. so it's all wrapped up and he starts school on monday : ) happy dance!!!

I've had a great day today, calorie- and exercise-wise, and now I'm just holding on for dear life until bedtime! I've already declined a late-night bourbon with DH, who is coming home from a business trip, and am going to brew a nice pot of Moroccan mint tea instead.

Cold and blustery here, like in many other places... I've got the fire going, just in case the power goes out. It's a read-by-the-fire kind of evening. But first, to the basement to get the little crock pot, so I can make the oats. I'll let you know how they turn out.