So sorry about Willy, Rosey, but at least he will suffer no more pain or indignity. I know it must have been a very difficult decision.
Karen31 - love the roses! Ours are still blooming but won't be for long. They are at our front door and it always makes me happy to see them bloom.
Very quiet day here. I had trouble sleeping last night so got up late again. Hope I can get back to my usual rhythm soon both with sleeping and eating and wonder whether there is a connection.
Amazingly my blood sugars have actually been better recently even though I know I have been overeating way too much. I really want to get my weight and A1c down again before my doctor's appt in Dec.
Tonight is leftover night for us and we usually just fix our own. So I'm planning on going for really good nutrition if I can...broccoli and red pepper soup perhaps.
Karen, I'm glad you provided the Rainbow Bridge link.... I was looking for it. It's a lovely poem. Rosey, I know how much it hurts! I have tears in my eyes, just typing this! Your baby will be so glad to see your mom again, though!
Went grocery shopping, have a turkey breast in the crockpot. Yum... gorgeous day!
Rosey, how difficult this must have been for you, but as you said, it was the humane decision.
Hi Bobbie, sorry to hear about your migraines, lets hope they finally figured out what will help.
yes I am from Minnesota - Go Vikings! Or at least give it your best shot tonight.
Ta-dahhhhh! News. Unfortunately, not good news. First flash – my dgd broke her arm roller-skating on Saturday for the third time, now. She’s 9. She first broke the (same) arm falling off a jungle gym thingie at her preschool program. My daughter was on a business trip in Michigan, and I was with my sil at the hospital with dgd. So scary, and so traumatic not only for dgd, who was 4 at the time, but for my dd, who had to get back as quickly as she could, and was stressed to the max trying to do it. The second time she broke the (same) arm was when she was 7 – fell off a bunk bed playing at a friend’s house. A VERY bad break, that time. And now, two years later, she broke the (same) arm in just about the same place, but not so badly as the last time. Still bad enough, though. Still broken. Pink cast with soccer balls – her favorite sport, and one in which she excels. Her team has only one game left this season; they’ve won every game so far, and she’s worried about not playing. She was all set to transition into basketball, but that’ll be out, now. Not such a bad thing, so far as I’m concerned. The child is over-committed from my perspective. Seems like all the kids are, nowadays – never have a chance to loll about like I did, chewing on blades of grass and lying on my back watching the clouds. She is an all-A student, does interpretive dance, plays soccer, basketball, roller skates, swims competitively, belongs to a girl’s college prep discussion group, is active at church…..too much, too much! Only my opinion, obviously. The prevailing philosophy in child-rearing these days seems to be to keep them too busy to get into trouble. My kids turned out alright, and although they played some sports and belonged to some clubs and such in school, they also had some time to themselves, and it didn’t result in their getting into trouble. Well, who am I to question? Every generation figures they’ve got the right answers, after all.
Okay, the next not great news, although definitely second on the list, is that my slothful, mindless consumption (without writing anything down) of way too much junk over these past few months has taken its toll and I am back up to 162 pounds . Yes <sigh> I finally stepped onto the scale, and saw pretty much what I had expected to see. I KNOW when I’m messing up. I suspect that I’ve lost and gained that same seven pounds at least three times this summer. I feel myself gaining, put a curb on my eating, and then when my waistbands start to loosen up again, I get lazy and lacksadaisical again and start eating stupidly. I have attempted to make a *lifestyle change* numerous times, talked myself into believing that I really PREFER small quantities of healthy food choices over large quantities of junk, but eventually, the junk seems to always win out in the end. I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet. I wish I was. It would make my life so much less stressful. But here I am, pulling out my winter wardrobe and knowing full well that I am NOT going to look my best. Auuurrrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!! It’s back to Fitday and counting calories every day for moi. But how do I make the loss permanent???? I really feel like tantrumming, y’know? It just gets so monotonous. Anyway. There it is. A really rotten tah-daaahhhhhh!
And then, with all my um, peeing and moaning, I KNOW that there are worse things than my weight fluctuations. Rosey, I am just so, so sorry about Willy. Sometimes I wonder if we’re better off just not having any pets at all because of how attached we get, and how difficult it is when anything happens to them. But of course, despite the pain of losing them, they do bring so much joy into our lives that NOT having them is unthinkable! I’m sending you my very warmest thoughts right now, and thinking of dear Willy free of that hated wheel contraption and running free again where there’s nothing to hurt him. Lily, it’s good to have you back! Yeah. I, for one, am still here, still fighting the same battle. <groan> I guess I’ll probably be here for the rest of my life! Heck, even if I lost all the weight and managed to keep it off, I’d need to still check in here to keep up with the Golden Girlies, doncha know?
Turkey breast in the krock pot, hmmm, PT? That sounds pretty darned good! Care to share your technique? I’m a little tired of the same old, same old, and would really love something a little different that wasn’t going to be crazy-high in calories and such - OR take huge amounts of preparation.
Okay, so DH and I have been reading the Outlander series aloud to each other…I read them all (with the exception of the very last one) some years ago, loved them, thought DH would, too (we have done a lot of reading aloud to each other; neither one of us is too into watching TV), he does, and we were up until 11:30 last night reading up to the end of “A Breath of Snow and Ashes”. One book left.I had to get up at 5:30. Not so smart. I swear those books are addicting! Actually, Mary, your comment about a connection between sleeping and (over)eating is what made me think of my late nights and early mornings. I do believe that research finds that getting a good night’s sleep is an important factor in weight loss. I just seem to have so little time in the evenings as it is – I get home from work, we have dinner, and then I should really be getting off to bed if I really hope to get in 8 hours. I hate going to bed early, though, and when I do, I often toss and turn and don’t get to sleep until 11 or 12 anyway. I don’t know what the solution is, but if anybody has one, I wish you’d share it! (The melatonin didn’t work very well for me, Bobbi – I know that one at night works for you. I must have an extremely resistant streak, you know?) Lynn – hope you enjoyed Williamsburg. Must be beautiful there this time of year. Hello to you, Freda, and Sherrill, and Gayle, Karens 31 & 3, Janet, and to you as well, Isabella, wherever you are! Z
PS - I changed the weight on my signature, but can't remember how to do it beneath my avatar picture. help????
Benefits of Chia
1. Lose Weight Without Starving
The Chia Seed is a dieter’s dream come true. The tiny, healthy seeds can be made to taste like whatever you want, and their unique gelling action keeps you feeling full for hours. Hunger is a main enemy of real weight loss, and you don’t want to fight it with jittery expensive pills. When a chia seed
is exposed to water, it forms a coating of gel, increasing its size and weight. Since the gel made of water, it has no calories. It’s also difficult to remove from the seed, meaning that it helps your body think it is full, without adding calories!
2. Balance Blood Sugar
Keeping balanced levels of blood sugar is important for both health and energy. Blood sugar may spike after meals, especially if you eat high-starchy foods or sweets. This can lead to ‘slumps’ in your day where you feel tired and out of energy. By balancing your blood sugar, you not only lower your risk for type 2 diabetes, but you also ensure steady, constant energy throughout your day.
But how does the Chia Seed help with this? Both the gelling action of the seed, and it’s unique combination of soluble and insoluble fiber combine to slow down your body’s conversion of starches into sugars. If you eat chia with a meal, it will help you turn your food into constant, steady energy rather than a series of ups and downs that wear you out.
3. Help Prevent Diverticulitis / Diverticulosis
With the abundance of over-processed foods and white flour on the market today, rich sources of fiber are harder to come by. These foods of convenience have contributed to the rise of diverticulitis. Irregularity is a
big factor in this risky condition. To help ensure regularity, you need plenty of soluble and insoluble fiber in your diet. If you don’t want to eat celery, and whole-grain everything…or piles of bran flakes, the Chia Seed is here to help. Each seed is coated with soluble fibers which aid its gelling action. The exterior of the seed is protected by insoluble fiber. The insoluble fiber is unable to be digested (it does not contribute any calories, or break down) so instead, it helps keep food moving smoothly through the digestive process. Soluble fiber, and the gel coating of the seed keeps the colon hydrated and ensures the easy movement of food.
4. Add healthy omega-3 oil to your diet
Omega-3 oil is usually thought of as “that healthy stuff in fish”. But, what if you don’t want to eat fish every day? What if you’re a vegetarian, or simply worried about pollution adding harmful substances to your fish dinner?
Chia is the richest plant-source of this healthy oil. By weight, chia contains more omega 3 than salmon, and it still tastes like whatever you want! Omega 3 oil is important in heart and cholesterol health. It’s also recently been targeted as a weight-loss helper. USA Weekend magazine also reports on a study where overweight dieters who included omega 3s in their eating plan lost 2 more pounds monthly than the control group, who did not.
5. Feel more energized all day long
Don’t want to feel like taking an afternoon nap? Your energy levels have a lot to do with what you eat. Chia is one of nature’s highest plant-based sources of complete protein. Usually protein from items like peanut butter
and some beans are incomplete, meaning you have to combine them with other foods to get the full benefit. Not Chia though, it’s protein is complete to raise your energy levels. The combination of complete protein, vitamins, minerals and blood-sugar balancing gel all work together to make sure you have steady, never jittery energy.
6. Bake with less fat
Do you enjoy making baked goods at home, but hate all the butter and oil that has to go into them? Chia gel can substitute for half the butter in most recipes! The food will bake the same and taste the
same (or better) from the addition of the chia gel. All you need to do is divide the amount of butter or oil in half, and then use the same amount of chia gel to fill in. The anti-oxidants in chia can even help keep the food tasting fresh longer. Everything from cookies to cakes to muffins, pancakes and waffles can be made with chia gel as your butter replacement. Which recipe will become your new favorite?
7. Add age-defying anti-oxidants
Anti-oxidants have been in the news lately due to their super healthy benefits. You know that blueberries and several exotic fruits (that aren’t always in season) have them, but did you know that chia is extremely high in anti-oxidants too? These helpful substances are what makes the Chia Seed stay .
fresh for so long. At room temperature, they’ll stay fresh and ready to eat for over two whole years! And that’s all without a single chemical or preservative. This amazing ability is not found in other seeds like flax or sesame, because those seeds don’t have the same rich anti-oxidant content.
Anti-oxidants help prevent free-radical damage in your body. Free radicals lead to problematic conditions such as premature aging of the skin and inflammation of various tissues. Fight free radical damage by staying fresh and healthy with nature’s anti-oxidant powerhouse
8. Cut cravings for food
Being deficient in minerals or vitamins can create a craving for food. For example, if you’re low on calcium, you may feel compelled to eat lots of cheese and ice cream. This happens because your body knows that cheese is a source of calcium, and it hasn’t been getting enough. But what if dairy and whole
milk are a “Diet don’t”? You can always add calcium to your food by sprinkling on the chia. By weight, chia has more calcium than whole milk. It also has magnesium and boron, essential trace minerals used in the absorption of calcium and other vitamins. By balancing your vitamins and minerals with chia, you can curb cravings that might tempt you.
9. You can pack in more flavorful punch
How can a seed with NO flavor help the foods you already like to taste better? First, because they have no taste of their own, chia seeds will never cover up or add to the flavor of your food. Second, when the seeds hydrate, they magnify the taste of whatever they were added to. Put them in pudding?
Chocolaty! Swirl them into a smoothie? Fruity! The same thing goes with dressings, dips, salsas, sauces and more. These two factors combine to let chia seeds take on the taste of whatever you add them to. They distribute and never dilute, the flavors you love.
10. Save your money
Why should eating less cost you more? You already know diet pills are expensive, and ‘box meal plans’ can run up to $500.00 a month. If you’re buying ‘calorie counting packs’ or other individual portions in the store, you can also end up paying more because more preparation and materials go
into these foods. More than enough chia for 1 month costs less than a dollar a day. You can use as much or as little as you want to achieve your own desired results. There are no preparations required for these simple seeds, not even pesticides need to be used to grow them. They’re always safe and 100% chemical free. A measuring spoon is all you’ll need when you’re ready to take advantage of chia for yourself. It doesn’t get any easier or more inexpensive.
Zoe......go to the Control Panel on left side of screen, go to Edit Profile and that's where you change the weight under your picture. It was time for me to get honest too, I changed mine back to what it's been teeter-tottering all summer.
Back from Williamsburg & back teaching - class began today.
Most surprising things I learned - Mount Vernon is VERY close to Washington, DC; Mount Vernon is on a river; George Washington punished 2 of his slaves who ran away by taking them from their families and sending them to a sugar cane plantation where the life expectancy was 2 years (slaves had to work 22 hours/day); Jamestown was settled by a group (about 300) soldiers - women were sent two years later - of the original 300, about 250 died within the first two years.
The only way I know to maintain is to weigh/count/exercise every day. I use PowerPoint & whenever I stray from recording my weight and my calories and my exercise, I gain.
From MANY years of focusing on my weight, I know that I need to eat fewer than 1200 calories/day & exercise at least 60 minutes/day to maintain my weight. When I stop recording my actions, I start gaining.
Good Morning, All!
Ah, PT/Zoe, my dear, dear, DEAR PT.... life isn't fair, is it? For what it's worth, I think you're gorgeous!! I'm so sorry about your dgd and her arm! I can remember lolling around, too, seeing faces in the clouds.
The turkey breast in the crockpot couldn't be easier. Usually the bone-in breast is big, but I stuff it into the pot, frozen, and cook it on high for about 4 hours and on low for about an hour or until it hits 175-180 degrees. I prefer the boneless breasts, but it's hard to find them this time of year (except at WalMart, which isn't convenient). It would be a lovely meal for you to cook it all day on low and then come home to that yummy smell! After peeling off the skin, it makes a low cal and good meal (and many of them!)....
Rosey, how are you and DH doing today? Is it daytime, this time of year? And when do you change to the six month's of darkness? I think that would be so hard to get used to!! Are you rooting for Bristol on "Dancing with the Stars"? I think she's been overshadowed by her mama; she's definitely not a limelighter! She seems sweet and shy.
Just finished #3 of Outlander. This was the best yet, so far! OMG, they're busy, busy people! And she's got to be at least 50 now. Can you imagine mucking about with the crocodiles and etc., etc., etc. at that age? She doesn't seem to have an eating problem.......
Enough! Life is good, and my bro and his family are coming from AZ this week for an impromptu visit. Yea! They were here in July, and this will be short and sweet. I'm looking forward and now I must heigh.....
PT, you are WAY too kind! And Bobbi.....I am off to find out where to get chia seeds and what to do with them once I get them! <---- Me, off to find Chia seeds. Lynn, yes, of course you're right. Eat less, exercise more. (And incorporate chia seeds into one's diet). I'm on it. We DID (DH & I) incidentally, do a little hiking at a nature preserve on Sunday. It was great! We just need to do more of it.
Z <--- RED for embarrassed at my lack of will & won't power!
By Cynthia Measom, eHow Contributor
updated: September 21, 2010
People choose to incorporate flaxseed into their diets for health benefits such as reduced risk of heart disease and certain cancers, according to Caring 4 Cancer. Flaxseed, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, is an oilseed that is available in ground form. Because ground flaxseed is a product that contains vegetable oil, you will need to take care when storing it for best results.
Things You'll Need:
Airtight opaque container
Refrigerator or freezer
1. Place the ground flaxseed in a container that is airtight and opaque. No air and limited light should reach the product.
2. Seal the lid tightly on the container and place it in a refrigerator or freezer for storage.
3. Use the stored ground flaxseed for up to 90 days.
Tips & Warnings
Discard stored ground flaxseed after 90 days and replace with a fresh batch.
You can buy whole flaxseed in bulk and grind it to store as well.
even though I know I have been overeating way too much. I really want to get my weight and A1c down again before my doctor's appt in Dec. 
Or at least give it your best shot tonight.
First flash – my dgd broke her arm roller-skating on Saturday for the third time, now. She’s 9. She first broke the (same) arm falling off a jungle gym thingie at her preschool program. My daughter was on a business trip in Michigan, and I was with my sil at the hospital with dgd. So scary, and so traumatic not only for dgd, who was 4 at the time, but for my dd, who had to get back as quickly as she could, and was stressed to the max trying to do it. The second time she broke the (same) arm was when she was 7 – fell off a bunk bed playing at a friend’s house. A VERY bad break, that time. And now, two years later, she broke the (same) arm in just about the same place, but not so badly as the last time. Still bad enough, though. Still broken. Pink cast with soccer balls – her favorite sport, and one in which she excels. Her team has only one game left this season; they’ve won every game so far, and she’s worried about not playing. She was all set to transition into basketball, but that’ll be out, now. Not such a bad thing, so far as I’m concerned. The child is over-committed from my perspective. Seems like all the kids are, nowadays – never have a chance to loll about like I did, chewing on blades of grass and lying on my back watching the clouds. She is an all-A student, does interpretive dance, plays soccer, basketball, roller skates, swims competitively, belongs to a girl’s college prep discussion group, is active at church…..too much, too much! Only my opinion, obviously. The prevailing philosophy in child-rearing these days seems to be to keep them too busy to get into trouble. My kids turned out alright, and although they played some sports and belonged to some clubs and such in school, they also had some time to themselves, and it didn’t result in their getting into trouble. Well, who am I to question? Every generation figures they’ve got the right answers, after all. 
. Yes <sigh> I finally stepped onto the scale, and saw pretty much what I had expected to see. I KNOW when I’m messing up. I suspect that I’ve lost and gained that same seven pounds at least three times this summer. I feel myself gaining, put a curb on my eating, and then when my waistbands start to loosen up again, I get lazy and lacksadaisical again and start eating stupidly. I have attempted to make a *lifestyle change* numerous times, talked myself into believing that I really PREFER small quantities of healthy food choices over large quantities of junk, but eventually, the junk seems to always win out in the end. I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet. I wish I was. It would make my life so much less stressful. But here I am, pulling out my winter wardrobe and knowing full well that I am NOT going to look my best. Auuurrrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!! It’s back to Fitday and counting calories every day for moi. But how do I make the loss permanent???? I really feel like tantrumming, y’know? It just gets so monotonous. Anyway. There it is. A really rotten tah-daaahhhhhh! 
<---- Me, off to find Chia seeds. 
