We have some snow here in PA - nothing serious - just pretty.
I'm doing this new zig-zag (Kind of Wendie plan) way of eating & today is a high day - over 1600 cals!!! I feel like I've been eating all day!
Hi LindaD, my df & my sister & my dd have similar illness to yours. It seems to be taking everyone ages to recuperate. Hope you're feeling better soon.
Hi Zoe, that stuffed acorn squash sounds delicious. Can we find the recipe online?
Hi Joanne, you wrote, "I would never be able to do a low low calorie (nor would I want to) diet ..." What have you done to lose all your weight?
Hi Linda (Meowee), I'm so sorry about Jazz. Please know that my heart is with you in this time of loss.
Joanne & Zoe, I've been getting rid of all the clothes that are not too big for me. My closets are clearing out to the point that I can actually see all the clothes that fit me. I don't think I'll ever need to buy clothes again - unless I lose a lot more weight. I have so many clothes at this size & I actually wear about 3 or 4 sweat suits everyday!
I kept all the dresses/suits that fit me now, but I probably ought to get rid of a lot of those also. I'll get through this winter & then, if I haven't worn things all season, I'll give those away also.
Have a lovely evening - I have to go eat more food,
Hi GG girls.. the wind quit blowing and its warmed up and snowed a bit..i have finished my craft projects"gifts" and am now baking..being diabetic i try not to sample to much and my sl have been low so far so good..but its hard not to try a few of the things i have made meowee another for you chickie i know this is a sad day for you,i am sry..hello and ((())) to all rosey
Hi Rosey,
Our posts passed each other. I am impressed that you are baking. I used to be the family Christmas-cookie-maker. I found out I have diabetes this summer. I told the family - no more cookies. I know that I couldn't bake them without eating them.
What kind of craft project gifts did you make? I'm making my sister 1/2 of a photo album of photos she had from before her children were born. I gave 1/2 the photos to her granddaughter & I took the other 1/2. We're each scrapping our photos & we'll put them all together on Christmas Eve when we get together. I'm giving my sister an archival pen so she can label who's who in each photo.
Hi all,
Got a little bit behind with all these posts. We're looking a lot like Christmas up here in Rochester. About a foot of snow since Sunday. I'm trying hard to maintain my weight. The work-sponsered fitness program for the month has us striving for at least 30 minutes of exercise a day and so far I'm averaging 45-50 on the days I make it.
Marylin - WOW - a Marathon - You're amazing! And wonderful that your DH is helping Zoe's DH.
Cat - Size 8!!!??? Fantastic. You are so inspiring.
Meowwee - so sorry about Jazz. I know he had a good life with you
AKrosey - Must be mighty cold up there in Alaska. Stay warm. Me too - no cookies or fruit cake baking this year. I end up eating most of it!
LindaD Thanks for the inspiring web links. Hpe you're feeling better.
You too, Freda!
Karen - You sound like a busy bee lately. You stay warm too.
Anyway, my big news is that my oldest DD announced her engagement last night. Got a beautiful ring - no definite date or plans yet..but I'm happy for her.
Hi to all I missed....my DH wants the computer now...got to go.
Linda, I just want to say how sorry I am that your Darling Jazz died. But remember, he was so loved and had a wonderful life, thanks to you. Here's a big.
Lynn, My health problem is in my back. I have a lot of bulging discs and from time to time they flair up. This was a bad flair up, worse than I've had in awhile. I'm taking therapy and it seems to help some. The only permanent solution is surgery and i'm not ready for that untill there are no other options. thanks for your concern.
Zoe, i so agree with you about clothes for around the house. My husband says I look like a bum. he threatens to burn my wonderful, comfortable, baggy sweatshirts! I always tell everyone that the resason i went into nursing is because i could wear my PJ's to work.
Joann, Not good to get too hungry. I do the same thing. Especially at work. I worked yesterday, and thinking back now, didn't have time to take a last break and had nothing to eat from 12 untill 8. That's probably the reason I wolfed down a piece of pizza when I got home. You made a better decision than I did. I love those Sweet and Salty bars, especially the peanut ones. Have you tried the Fiber One bars? They are wonderful and have 9 grams of fiber.
Rosey, I admire you for doing crafts for Christmas. I start them, have good intentions, but they never get finished.
Linda. Congratulations on DD getting engaged! Have they set a date yet? This gives you another reason to exercise. Got to look great in that Mother-of-the-bride dress!
Well, in spite of the pizza, which was my dinner, I didn't do too bad yesterday. Work was easier than I though, but I worked with a great crew. It makes so much diference when you work with people that work together and are pleasant.
Here's one more hug for Jazz. LindaMeowee I'm so very sorry. Our pets are a very important aspect of our lives & he was wonderful for bringing so much charm to you. Hugs to you.
LindaD glad to see antibiotic therapy is in play. Here's hoping that bug is kicked for once & all & you can get on with the business of holidays!
Busy busy day since spare time is spent running an online store in the holiday season. Everyone take care & have your best day ever.
There is a bridge connecting heaven and earth
It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colors.
Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge there is a land of meadows,
Hills and valleys with lush green grass.
When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this special place.
There is always food and water and warm spring weather.
The old and frail animals are young again.
Those who are maimed are made whole again.
They play all day with each other.
There is only one thing missing.
They are not with their special person who loved them on Earth.
So each day they run and play until the day comes
when one suddenly stops playing and looks up!
The nose twitches! The ears are up!
The eyes are staring! And this one suddenly runs from the group!
You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet,
you take him or her into your arms and embrace.
Your face is kissed again and again and again,
and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet,
Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated.
Hi GOLDEN GIRLS took me a bit to get here today. What with other people off and I had to attend a meeting in her place it really got in the way of "my" computer time. Actually I am trying to put out some fires so that I can take Friday off. Still doing well counting my calories and wish I was doing as well with the exercise. Wasn't able to get to my fabulous Cardio Pump class today, but hopefully I set my mind to exercising in the morning before I head out for the day. LOL best laid plans!!!
Linda - I am sooo so sorry about Jazz - we just love our fur babies so much but its always good that we know they are no longer suffering.
Zoe - I can get away with jeans for work -- sometimes its even a necessity in my job depending on the work that needs doing that day. I always try to dress up at least one or two days.
Rosey -- take care with the "sampling" I bake cookies for my sweetie then he has to stash them away where they are out of my sight. Like I mentioned earlier I am definitely and out of sight out of mind eater.
Lynn -- when I did lose last year it was eating in the 1600 range but moving lots and lots of exercise. It truly is the key and a mix up of exercise like you are doing. I did a very low calorie "diet" back when I was in my 20's it was ugly!! And I wasn't worth living with -
Lyn - congrats on your daughter's engagement -- how exciting for her. Its been so much fun starting our plans - I have lots of online resources if you would like me to share. My first wedding went rather smoothly but it was long before all this HUGE wedding shenanigans that seems to be the norm.
Freda -- I will take a look for Fibre One -- but we tend to not have a lot of the good stuff here in Canada. Ohhh bulging disks so sorry. Mine are just severely degenerated and so far my combo of massage therapy and chiropratic is keeping free from pain. I still have numbness in my arm and I will check with my doctor next week when I get the results of my CT scan.
Thanks again, gang . . . and I love that Rainbow Bridge story Lynn.
Wow . . . if it doesn't rain, it pours (as the saying goes). . . had to take Frack to the Vet this afternoon. She did something to scratch the conjuctiva of her right eye (at least Vet doesn't see any scratches on the cornea), but the eye and inner lids are very swollen and it's extremely runny. So now I have ointment to put in her eye three times a day for the next week -- should be just about as much fun as trying to give a pill to a cat.
My driveway still hasn't been plowed and it keeps on snowing -- the idiot who does/did my drive finally called to say "gee, I forgot to tell you I wouldn't be doing snow this year". Now I have to find somebody new on short notice. Thank goodness I have four wheel drive. But at the rate it keeps adding up, even my 16 inch wheels will be in trouble soon. And, the earliest appointment to get my 4 snow tires on I could arrange is for the 12th. Please, please make it stop snowing for a few days, somebody.
I finally got a bit of good news -- the main reason I didn't book a flight to go to Ontario for Christmas (where most of my family lives) this year was because I didn't want to have to ask my friend to come twice a day to give Jazz insulin (especially since she's shudders at the thought of having to stick a needle into anything) -- so now that he's gone, I decided to take a look at the prices for last minute flights expecting horrible, horrible numbers. I lucked in on a one day seat sale for a return trip on just the right dates for only $198 (plus all those awful taxes, of course). So I guess it was meant to be. I know LouLou won't mind coming over to do the feeding, etcetera routines for the rest of the zoo inhabitants every day or two. So now all I need is some decent weather on the 22nd to get to the airport -- a two hour trip. And on January 2, to get back here again, of course -- but one bridge at a time.
My exercise routines are not doing well either and I've been overindulging in the food areas a little too -- and have a luncheon thing tomorrow. Got on the scale this morning and was pleasantly surprised that I'm only 1 pound above my ticker. Going "home for Christmas" is NOT going to make things any easier.
Hope everybody has a great evening and I will see you all later . . .
So sorry to be MIA. I had a fall a few days ago, and, well, it's just been too hard to sit up.
Meowee, my heart breaks. I lost Powder, Gizmo and Sugar Baby in the last 18 months to breast cancer. They were all indoor cats and all related. Another sibling, Idget, will follow in the next few months. Since my children left home, they've been my constant companions. Many nights I sat watching tv and xstitching with them in my lap, on the arms of my chair or sitting on the back of my chair. I know how it feels. Time helps, but it takes a long time. My thoughts are with you.
I know everyone is so busy this time of year, and I just want to wish you all the best of a safe and love-filled holiday season. I want to catch up on all of you in a few days when I can sit up longer. Nothing is broken, but man am I black and blue!! Maybe I should ask Santa for a laptop????
Popping in quickly between completing work assignments to say hey.
Meowee...so sorry about Jazz. Having just lost my little Murphy, I can sympathize.
Freda, hope your back is better soon. Back pain is so immobilizing. I had surgury on mine about 19 years ago and other than a very occasional backache if I over it, it's just fine now (herniated disk)
Nothing terribly exiting happening here. You all know how I just LOVE restaurant supply places. Bad news...I found out there is one about 5 minutes from my house. Who knew? I thought it was just a refridgeration place and found out they added restaurant supplies 25 years ago (where have I been?) I lost my mind in there yesterday. Got some great small oval plates, mugs and boullion cups I've been wanting for a long time and could not find anywhere. Last night I made brownies for the family and served them along with ice cream on the plates with the bowls on the plates. looked great. (I had my sugar free fudgesicle with peanut butter and cool whip dessert and didn't miss the brownies much)
Lots of work to do today...I'm taking the day off tomorrow, so we can take my Mother to St. Francisville for a belated birthday present. Just going to tour some homes and eat somewhere. We were orignally planning on also doing the b and b bit, but I can't get away from work that long. I have a client who is running a daily sale for the entire month (a different product each day) and I have to be here to code and upload the sale info each morning.
Last edited by femmecreole; 12-07-2007 at 06:43 AM.
Wow . . . DEBBIE . . . you take care, chickie. So sorry about your pet losses, too. It's always hard; we become so attached to them. Sometimes I think we should all have parrots (they usually outlive their humans).
Hey . . . CAT . . . so glad to hear that you've been buying yourself some Christmas presents, too . . . Enjoy.
I was up too early again this morning, and it's going to be a long, long day . . . Oh well . . . at least there was no additional snow overnight and (hopefully) the forecast for a pretty calm and relatively 'precipitation-less' day will hold true. However, it is not going to be warm, with the high predicted to be -9C/+16F. I have lined up a new 'plow-boy' and hopefully he will show up sometime today, too. So far I've also managed to get two doses of at least 'some' of the prescribed ointment into Frack's eye and only have one major scratch (on the palm of my hand) to show for it -- luckily she is small enough that the "wrap cat in towel" routine almost works.
Hope everybody else has a great day . . . see you all later . . .
Have a couple of minutes left before I leave for school, so thought I'd post a recipe I came up with yesterday....went over very well.
I took some tilapia filets and "painted" them with a mixture of dijon mustard and lemon juice. Then I dredged them in a lite coating of a mixture of ww flour and creole seasoning. Then I pan fried them in big saute pan with a very small amount of olive oil. After I turned them, I sprinkled terragon, parsley and small pecan pieces on top. Not something I'd have every day because of the flour, but I didn't have any bread at all yesterday. It was yummy and tasted very similar to Trout Meuniere. Served it with a big salad with a variety of vegs in the salad.
Last edited by femmecreole; 12-07-2007 at 08:25 AM.
Hello, hello, hello to all on this frigidy morning in New England (hello to you wherever you are, of course!) I have changed my work hours for the time being – instead of working 8:30 to 4:00, I’m working 7:30 to 3:00 at least through the holidays and maybe beyond that. We’ll see how it goes. So far, so good. I’m getting in ahead of the worst of the morning commuter rush, and leaving ahead of the evening one. The commute isn’t so bad in summer, when there’s no school, but when there IS school, what can be a 45-minute commute on a particularly good day can become a TWO and a half hour commute – and there have been a few times when it’s been worse than that. I still drive in some traffic, but it moves right along, and doesn’t clog up at the toll booths quite as much. I have a “fast lane” transponder that lets me drive right through, but later in the morning – by 7:30 or so – the “fast lane” isn’t moving any faster than the regular lanes.
Well, our annual luncheon was interesting yesterday – about 350 people in one of the baroque ballrooms at the Copley Plaza hotel. People, mostly, who have scads of money to throw to charity and like to dress in their (aurrrgh) fancy furs and diamonds and feel virtuous as they eat $60 a plate lunches (for which they paid $500) and talk about how important it is “to give back” Don’t get me wrong – their money DOES accomplish a lot, but just once I’d like to see one of them with their sleeves rolled up working alongside the people who are out there every day doing jobs that nobody else wants to do. Myself included, I suppose, since I haven’t been on the front lines for a very long time. I USED to be, but not since I started being a social services administrator rather than a worker bee. When I think back to when I first went to work for the Massachusetts Department of Social Services (right after getting my BS degree) I never fail to be struck with how much time has gone by. I volunteered as a grief counselor out at ground zero in New York for a couple of weeks after 9/11, and THAT was six years ago! My granddaughter has my gas mask (which I never wore – how do you talk to people with one of those gadgets covering your nose & mouth?) hanging on her bedroom wall. It should be an interesting bit of memorabilia for my great, and great-great grandkids, don’t you think? It would make me immensely happy if the generations to come in my family remember me as a “tough old bird” who didn’t let age stand in the way of doing what she wanted to do in life.
Oops. Sorry for running on like that. On the WEIGHT front, I have still not weighed myself, but seem to still be enjoying a few NSV’s. At yesterday’s even, I wore a spiffy little black woolen suit – short, fitted jacket, long A-line calf-length skirt and dress high-heeled boots – and it’s a suit that I haven’t been able to get into for three years! Couldn’t even pull the skirt together at the top, never mind zip it up, and yesterday, it zipped up with room to spare. Yay!
Lynn, I’ll post the squash recipe sometime today. It was SO easy. I just don’t want to use up a whole lot more space in this post. Thanks again on the AARP info, too.
Rosey, I love to bake – my pies and cookies are better than my cakes. It’s always seemed to me that the people I know are either good at one or the other, but not both very often. I’m not diabetic, so trying not to keep sampling what I bake is a weight, rather than a health issue, but it’s very hard for me all the same. I especially love chocolate chip cookies when they’ve cooled enough to bite, but the chips are still warm and oozy.
Congrats, Lyn, on your daughter’s engagement. I guess our own experience is proof enough that we all have to make our own choices in life. Are they planning a big wedding? It's such a fun, crazy time, you know? But then the day finally arrives, everything falls into place, and it's just a beautiful, beautiful time.
Oooh, Deb, I’m so sorry about your fall! I took a slight one yesterday – in those stupid high heeled boots that I wore for the annual luncheon. That’s what I get for trying to look stylish, you know? Anyway, I twisted my ankle and it was a little swollen, but nothing serious as I’ve been able to walk on it. I know how much it can hurt, though, when you get badly bruised as you have. Take care of yourself, lady!
I certainly wish, Jo-annie, that I could “dress down” for work these days. I mean, there are days when I’m in my office writing all day and barely see anyone except for the admin. assistant that I share with two other folks. But, all I’d have to do is show up in a pair of jeans, and before you know it, they’d be calling me eccentric and trying to figure out how to ease me out as efficiently as possible.
Glad, Freda that your work day went well. You’re certainly right about work going so much better when you have a good team to work with.
I hope your health is improving, LindaD – are those heavy rains affecting your area?
Cat, you sure keep busy! I’m not the gourmet cook that you are, but I do love kitchen gadgets and dinnerware, and I like to set a pretty table. I can’t resist sales – and every year Pier I has a big clearance. At the last one they had, I bought twelve of the most beautiful carved wooden chargers for $2.10 apiece, marked down 70% off their original price of $30 each. I would’ve bought 20 if they had them, but there were only 12, and I drove to three different Pier I's in three different towns around us looking for them.
Hi Karen, hope all is well with you! I need to start packing up small stuff that we don't use every day, too. I hope we get some done this weekend.
And MaryLynn – good luck with your store, and you already know how much we appreciate your caring – and your help!
Well, Meowee-Linda – it sounds like your holidays are shaping up nicely. You deserve to relax and just have a good time, you know?
Hi Gayle..hope all is well with you. That little granddaughter of yours must be growing like a weed!
meowee another 
for you chickie i know this is a sad day for you,i am sry..hello and (((
And wonderful that your DH is helping Zoe's DH.
You are so inspiring.
Hpe you're feeling better.
And, the earliest appointment to get my 4 snow tires on I could arrange is for the 12th. Please, please make it stop snowing for a few days, somebody. 
I know LouLou won't mind coming over to do the feeding, etcetera routines for the rest of the zoo inhabitants every day or two. So now all I need is some decent weather on the 22nd to get to the airport -- a two hour trip. And on January 2, to get back here again, of course -- but one bridge at a time.
