[ellabella]

Back…needing a little shot of the GG’s to keep me on the straight and narrow. I did well yesterday – had my usual 1 package of oatmeal in the morning with raisins and a few tablespoons of Benefiber added in. (Had the same this morning). For lunch yesterday, I had a very small – no more than 4 oz. – serving of my award-winning homemade turkey chili (okay. Not award-winning; it’s never been in a contest, but it IS pretty good) and a slightly larger serving for supper with a piece of 60-calorie pita bread on the side. Today I’ve brought my instant black bean soup (bought it in a styrofoamy cup; just add water and microwave). I tried it for the first time last week, and really enjoyed it – 250 calories, 19 grams of fiber. Love that!

Okay, so enough about my pitifully erratic eating habits. I am aiming for a 1 pound loss each week from now until next April. That should be do-able, and not overly fast, so I shouldn’t be starving myself and ready to binge after a month or so. (Who am I kidding? After a WEEK or so!)

K3, oh, I swear, those hospital parking lots and garages are designed to cripple visitors just to drum up business for their ortho department!!! The hospital we most often frequent, though, has valet service…it’s only like $5 plus whatever tip you want to throw their way, and to me, it’s absolutely worth it! Maybe you should pull up to the main entrance and see if there’s a valet service at the hospital your dh is in. (I’m glad to hear that everything went well with him!).

Sounds good, Donna Marie. Glad to hear you got such good news.

Red, it’s always nice when someone notices that you’ve taken off the pounds…good motivation to continue, unless you’re like me, and think, “Oh, I look good enough now…I can cut myself a little slack.” It’s that slack that piles the pounds back on in my case. Sometimes, of course, nobody even has to notice…I just notice that the waists on my pants and skirts and such are looser, and therefore feel entitled to “a little treat”, which then morphs into a full scale binge. Woe is me…I must try harder at this!

The water bottle works for cats, too, CaddyK…but I always got mad at dh for using it, so now our cats just do whatever they want.

Glad you’re enjoying you dh’s return home, Rosey. Mine got in late last night from a consulting gig, and I was already in bed. I had a wonderfully relaxing evening taking care of “me” stuff.

Chickadeee, I think what I need is a bigger house. I need a REALLY big house so that we can come and go as we please without disturbing each other. Okay, without HIM disturbing ME! Maybe we should consider buying a two-family and each have our own apartment. I’d be happy to invite him over for dinner occasionally. Well, for Thanksgiving, certainly! I do tend to be tired on weeknights, and then there’s just so much to get done on weekends…but I’m sure I could have him over for Thanksgiving if he brought flowers and drinks.

Mary, Qi Gong is, apparently, similar to Tai Chi. I can’t find any place near enough to where I live to go to any classes. I think I’m going to have to buy a DVD and try to teach myself from that.

Marie, your stained glass work is amazing! How lovely and magical it must be to live in a home with stained glass in all the windows!

Well, that’s everybody who has posted since I last did….I don’t want to be redundant, although I am thinking of my Golden sisters PT, Val, Freda, Gayle, Bobbi, Carol Sue, Nancy,Lynn and hoping you all have an utterly fabulous day!

Z

[Bobbolink]

Good Morning
Nothing exciting going on here today, run into town for groceries and RX filled.
Donna...thanks for asking all the questions I had for Red, what an exotic place to live.
Donna Marie...We're happy your MRI showed a benign cyst, one less thing to worry about.
KarenFla...my meyer lemon plant wasn't looking so good, then I noticed some tiny mites on it. I snipped them off and medicated the plant only to find more mites this morning. It really needs some Florida sun, it'll be years before I get to try a meyer lemon. (They don't sell them around here) I'm thinking of you, dash and the huge gator.
Red...when I picture Japanese, they are all small and slim due to good eating habits. Have you taken on their food preparations and customs?
Michelle: Nice to meet you!
Rosey...when our naughty "Tess" was a puppy, we tried putting pebbles in a tin can, taping the opening closed and shaking it when she was stubborn and nasty. It worked for awhile, then we went to the shock collar. We could set it to give her a little tingle. We know because we tried it on ourselves and it was no big deal, didn't hurt at all. It only took a couple of times and she learned not to be so rough with us. But little did we know at the time that she turned out to be a biter. She got so protective of me that she wouldn't allow anyone on the property. It was so sad that we had to put her down after she starting biting people. We talked to more than one dog trainer and they said to keep the dog away from my grandkids, hard to do. (They all told us to put her down) I'm thinking your puppy will grow out of her glee in being a rascal. I like your idea of canning your game, I've never tried that but my MIL used to and it was delicious.
Carol Sue...funny you're the one making the Czech foods, same here. I'm 100% Danish but like to make traditional Czech foods. I was visiting with a gal at the nursing home last Sunday, she was 100% Swedish. Since I love cooking all kinds of foods, I asked her what her favorite recipe was. She said Sat Ost, two dots over the a and o. A sweet cheese that took awhile to make. I thought I'd google the recipe and make some for her next time I went to the nursing home. I couldn't find the recipe, anyone Scandinavian among the Golden girls that have this recipe? What's your favorite Czech recipe?
Webgal...I love hosting Thanksgiving, it's so much fun getting out the good china and crystal, cloth napkins and place mats. I always print out little baskets to put goodies in on our place settings, the grandkids love it. What are you serving?
I think we should all post our favorite side dish we're having/bringing to the table.
Zoe...I think of you every night when I eat my dessert treat, I use a tiny baby spoon like you do.
Chick...Zoe and I are dual president of the "I don't exercise" club. We both know we should, we have the same motto: LETS NOT AND SAY WE DID
Val...I screwed up, the breakfast at church wasn't last Sunday so I was saved. I did eat a chocolate/whipped cream/cookie crust treat at the nursing home and I don't count calories on Sunday. That's probably why I'm not losing very fast.
Marie...love the stained glass windows, you're very talented. How do you cut the glass, with the same type of glass cutter the window people use? I'd love to do that since I'm a tad artistic.
Freda...isn't it getting cold in Michigan to sit outside at football games? Brrrrrrrr! My youngest grandson is just starting hockey again, he's the goalie. I hate sitting in that cold arena. But they're only young for such a short time, I'll endure.
Glynne...I've got my stepper up for sale right now, it hurts my knees. I've a bad back too and can't use lots of the exercise equipment. Too bad we don't have pools in our back yard.
Speaking of pools, Karen.....why are you selling your home? I must have missed that other than it was built in 1957.
Mary...I made notes so I could ask you something and I can't read my writing. My scribbling says, "Amin Race or Rag" ? I'll have to post this and go back a page to see what I meant. Meanwhile I have to get ready, my sermon is on and I fill in the cracks on my face and curl my hair at this time.
I'll come back later and correct my bad English.

[Wannabehealthy]

Good Morning All,

Michelle - Welcome! Low Glycemic is good. Keeps you away from the sugary starchy carbs. Tell us more about yourself!

Donna Marie - Good news about the cyst. Are you still having pain? Are they going to remove the cyst?

Karen3 - When I retired I was concerned about the togetherness, but it's working out fine. We are together, as in the same house, but we do our own thing. We have always gone places together so that hasn't changed. And his household skills make up for any annoyances!

I'm glad your husband's surgery went well and he will be home recouperating soon.

Maryea - I'm not sure that I understand the short sale. I thought that the bank accepted whatever you got for the house as final payment, since they are glad to get something instead of nothing. Am I wrong about that? I thought that's why they have the final say on accepting the sale.

Marie - DH uses the treadmill....and sometimes the weights. And when we go to the mall, he walks up and down the mall while I shop. He likes that. So many people sell their exercise equipment at yard sales and on Craigslist like I did some of mine. I wish I had bought mine used. It would have saved me a lot of money! But when I want something I want it NOW so I went retail.

Zoe - You can surely steal my quote about running late. That would really apply to you because you don't like to exercise. It's time for me to find a new quote anyway. But maybe we can gradually get you into exercising. I exercised faithfully before I got married but then quit for 30 years or so. That was a big mistake because that's probably what caused all my health problems. You can't imagine how sorry I am that I did that. What's going on inside your body isn't something you can see, but in time the effect of not exercising will manifest itself and really put a damper on your quality of life. I learned that the hard way.

Bobbi - I make stuffed cabbage, haluski, horseradish and beets, Easter Cheese, bobalky. My mother-in-law used to make the mushroom soup, but I didn't like that so I never learned to make it. She also made what we called dough ball soup, but I later found out it is really called Caraway Seed Soup. I tried it once and couldn't get it right. I asked if I could come over the next time she made it to learn, but she never let me know when she was making it, and I was still working then anyway so I couldn't have gone during the week. I also have a tablecloth that was embroidered by one of the relatives in the old country. When my mother-in-law passed away no one wanted it so I took it. It isn't really pretty, it's actually very crudely done with odd colors. But I use it on the holidays and tell everyone where it came from, so when I pass away, maybe one of them will take it to keep it getting passed down. I don't know how old it is. I will try to find the recipe you want online.

[Bobbolink]

Okay, I forgot to post my menu from yesterday and I went back to see what you said Mary, you were talking about the Amazing Race. (Amin Race) dud! We watch that too and for a long time I couldn't decide who my favorite was. I'm leaning toward the two Christian guys, they are pretty happy guys. I like the big football player and his sweet wife too. I'm glad the bossy dad got eliminated, he had a nasty disposition. Hi Nancy, glad to see you posting more. Sorry anyone I missed, gotta get into town.

Monday’s Keep me Accountable menu 1224 calories + 43grams fiber

Breakfast - Fiber One, apple cinnamon yogurt , Flax, Chia
Lunch- Veggie Soup
Snack - Pumpkin muffin
Supper- Italian Spaghetti with Elk meatballs, parmesan cheese and 1 cheese bread stick
Snack Coconut pudding, sf cool whip, topped with Fiber One
One last Pumpkin muffin, shouldn’t have because it put me over my calorie limit.

[chickadeee55]

Thumb Report: Went to the doctor today, they took an xray of my thumb, decided to remove only 8 stitches (left 6 stitches in) plus put on some tape stitches as well. I have to go back next week, and he is now telling me I will probably need therapy, since my thumb hasn’t been functional in so long. Nope, they didn’t mention all this before I had it fixed. They don’t know what the mass was that they removed; it was not cancerous, which they thought it was. (how can they not know what it was, he told me it is something my body was forming) It was in there long enough that my body started to build a protected wall around it and that is what was adding to the problem. Looks like it will be awhile before this is over. But I am on the good road now.

Rosey, I had canned deer meat for the first time last year, it was very good. Your sounds real good, nice variety. I agree, treats are a good way to train.

Red, I take any comment I can get. I think it should make you feel good when someone says something.

Michelle, welcome, you have come to the right place for support.

Donna, good news, now you can breathe easier.

Karen 3, gator, forget it. I won’t go outside at all, Are they always around or are they more seasonal?

Carol Sue, Elliptical that reminds me I have a treadmill (with clothes on it) and a elliptical that I haven’t touched in months ok, maybe years!

Zoe, you know they love us. Sometimes when I am sewing or working on a quilting project, my DH will come up behind me and start making suggestions or telling me how it should look. I turn and look at him and say, don’t you have your own hobby????

Bobbi, can I join the "I don't exercise" club? But I know I really need to exercise. I feel good that I took the dogs for a walk yesterday and today. Yeah, for me!

Hope everyone has a good evening.

[Karen3]

Evening GG's....Day is done and tomorrow is almost here. Shot me now. Dh is not a great patient. He thinks he is funny when it is sarcasm. Doing good with my level one. I do South Beach but cross ref by checking calories with fitday. Have eaten 1041 so far with a cup of ffcottage cheese waiting.

Had: egg poached this am
tossed salad with chickpeas for lunch
4oz pork tenderlion wrapped with moz cheese laid on spinach.
bowl of vegies

Biggest problem I have is vegies.....5-6 serving aday esp with BEANS. So my vegie pot of soup covers that well. night k3

ps gators are always here...they grow a foot a yr!

[redballoon]

Well, getting ready to go off and up to Ibaraki, north of Tokyo, for some teaching. Making my usual steelcut oats and yesterday I bought a little jar of raw honey (which I allow because it's raw) that is just delicious! It was taken locally and was expensive, but I've found that since I've been careful about what I eat, I don't hesitate to buy good food, organic or locally made, humane eggs and such (I'm lacto-ovo vegetarian). And I'm sure that in the end it works out cheaper. When I think of all the garbage I used to scarf down from the convenience store, sweets and snacks. Ugh!
Long day ahead with all the teaching, but it's private teaching up in the homes of some jockey friends' wives. The one jock fell off in work and is still hospitalized but OK. And, the 5-year-old daughter declared after hearing her mother speaking English to a French jockey riding here that she too wanted to learn English! Too funny. Precocious little girl.

**************

ellabella -- I SO hear you! I am exactly the same. A bit of success and I slack off. Aren't I grand?! I've lost weight. Back to start. The same over and over. This time, I'm trying to keep pushing the envelope so to speak by keep making new goals. Got this far, a little bit more, a little bit more. You too, good luck! But from the looks of your photo, you don't look like there's any much more to lose! A one pound loss per week is excellent if you're exercising and not too overweight. Anything more and you'll be taking off muscle, which really just makes you a smaller version of fat. I am always around bodybuilders and I know how they prepare for a contest. That is the max amount per week otherwise they will lose the treasured muscle. Heh, you're an oatmeal person too! But a "package. It's not that pasty, gooey stuff that's instant, is it? If so, get into the steelcut mode. Takes longer and you have to cook it for about 15 minutes but it is so good and really sticks with you for hours.

Bobbolink -- Glad I answered some questions. Thanks for asking! I guess Japan is exotic. I've been here so long that it's too familiar to be exotic but when I start seeing it through the eyes of others who aren't familiar with it, I can certainly see how exotic it is. As far as small and slim goes, yes and no. The Japanese are very small-boned, like sparrows, really tiny in general. When I first came here in 1982 I never saw fat Japanese. Now, I see them. Bad skin too was never seen. Now, it is a lot. Fastfood joints were not around and now they are everywhere. It is a shame. They have totally lost what they had in the traditional way of eating. People who do stick to that look trim and healthy. The old people look so much better than the young. Still, being thin is extremely important here, especially for women, so they starve themselves down. I see truly anorexic types in the gym all the time. Also, because they are so tiny, they can put on a lot of fat and still not seem fat when clothed. I see them in the locker room (can't stand communal bathing) and there are many that are quite chubby. As for me, I never was a huge fan of Japanese food, but can eat it, certain things I love, like the buckwheat noodles. But, being a vegetarian I won't eat the fish, which is in everything, and used as a soup and sauce base a lot. I prefer a bit more spice, Indian and Italian, but really I just kind of eat simple things,

chickadee -- Yes, I take the compliments too. It's just rare that I get them! Japanese don't say much or they say too much. I get the most comments in the gym where everyone is aiming for contests (it's a bodybuilding haven) and everyone is attuned to fat loss and muscle gain. However, actually, it's very hard to tell when I've lost weight because I always wear baggy clothes. For one, they're comfortable, and two, I don't really like showing my body too much....something that may change if I get the body I want...hmmmm, but maybe not.


Hello to everyone else! Good luck and have a great day!!

[redballoon]

Hmmm.....just weighed myself and though it was lower than yesterday, it is still not less than my recent low. This is a pain. I never know if what I'm doing is enough to take off the weight or too much or too little. I think it's the not knowing that is my biggest enemy. I've been doing well with my efforts..I think. I guess I just have to give things time, but giving them time without knowing what will come of it, is such a pain. It makes me really angry, actually. Anyone else feel like that? I mean, maybe I'm NOT doing enough and even counting food isn't a failsafe solution because what if my exercise is way over the top? You can't calculate everything. Well, I'm just ticked.

[Riemontana]

Hello Goldens!

I think I might have missed being here yesterday, sorry I don't see my post. I am having a really busy week and it is only tuesday! The licensing agent showed up for an impromptu visit and took up most of my day. I have just been running amok (as Donna says) and not in a good way.

My eating has been really low today as I am saving everything for the meal that I plan to eat tonight. Fried shrimp, potato, and salad. I might even have creme brule'. Then I will be extra good til next week. I have worked out yesterday and today, also.

Zoe, I don't think that you MUST excercise as a part of weight loss. You might find that gentle movement like tai chi or something will be helpful to stave off some of the less appealing aspects of our aging. I know that I MOVE so much better than I did a year ago. Although, for me, I don't have a choice unless I want to end up crippled up.

Red, I am really enjoying your posts. So interesting.... You hang out with body builders, jockeys.... How fun. I try to take a longer view of losing weight - I only weigh once per month.

Karen3, OK, NO GATORS! Scary! Your dh sounds a little like my dad when he is a patient. I am aways chanting (to myself) I will NOT hit him while he is already injured. Hang in there...

Chickadee, so glad that the thumb is not cancer! I don't think that they ever tell us the whole story. Hoping good thoughts for your recovery.

Bobbi, I love your menu from yesterday. Sounds so good! I don't have any baked goods around or I eat them. On sunday, little gs was sitting next to me eating fritos - my favorite. They smelled so good. I wanted to mug a 4 yr old for his snack!

Michelle, welcome to the golden girls! I also like low glycemic.

Donna Marie, so happy about your test results! Such good news.

Carol, I think you made really great points about being healthy on the inside, as well as the outside.

Marie, I am in awe, total awe with your stained glass. Is there anything that you don't do? You are amazing!

Karenmo, still looking at houses? I think you are just a "change em up" girl at heart!

Freda, brrrr on the football games. But, as you and I both know, it is so important to be there for them.

Gayle, are you in the home stretch this week?

Donna, what's up! How is your pain? My bff from Denver is going to be here next week and I am so excited!

Well, I am off now to play hostess to the state people who are here in Billings. I would rather just go home. Sorry for my brief post and I am sure that I missed people. I just wanted to make sure that I made it here today. It is amazing how much I miss you guys when I can't make it here to pull up a chair and join you for a while. to all!

Rie

[Karen31]

Hello everyone. been cleaning house all day today and still have bunches to do. I never did get the carpets cleaned the other day so that is still on my to do list. My brother is holding an open house here on Sunday!! I don't think there will be much activitiy from it but that's OK. I will be just as happy to stay here.

My hubby gets on the internet and finds houses that look like they could be good deals but still need to get this one sold before we could really do anything. Now last weekene he did find one that was really pretty nice but by the time we got over to look at it it was already under contract to someone else. But it was 2095 sq. feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage with a workshop on an acre of land and all brick with a fireplace and beautiful hardwood floors for $80,000!! That would have been tempting! Didn't know it was already under contract when we went to see it.

But like I said--I will be just as happy to stay right here...... can't figure out how I can move that pool and my Holly Berry tree anyway!!! I am on the countdown, only 24 more days and the listing will be up! It sure seems like ith as been a LONG 6 months! I'll be glad and then I an get back to just doing things without wondering if someone is going to want to see it!! I really do like my house here and will be more than happy to stay here. I just need to talk DH into putting some money in to this one to update it a little bit.

Well, I think personals are going to have to wait for another time. I'm really tired and still need to finish cleaning up tomorrow and then have the Dr. appt. on Thursday.

Welcome to the newbies and I look forward to getting to know you.

[glynne]

Good evening GG’s,

Yippee ~ I finished the education stuff. Feels good to have that behind me and not hanging over my head anymore. Have gotten most of my stuff ready for work tomorrow. Now just going to “Gork” for a while.

DH and DS are on their way home from the airport. Jason has been in Kansas City, Missouri where we used to live ~ visiting friends. He was due back in Houston at 3pm, but bad weather here caused a delay. He had a stop over in Oklahoma City ~ then couldn’t leave there because weather was bad in Houston. Arrival time was backed up twice. He finally got in at 5:10. Just got word ~ they are almost home.

I am so wanting to munch today. I have done good though with the tracking. I have written down everything and figured out the points. I had gotten kind of sloppy about that. I am kind of like you Red and Zoe. I will do pretty well one week and have a nice little loss, then I slack off and either don’t lose or gain a little back. One step forward ~ two steps back. I am over on my points today, but at least I know by how much. I almost threw it all out the window today at one point. I was feeling stressed ~ the education thing on the computer would not work (it had been ~ go figure) so I had to use the desk top computer instead of my laptop that I am more comfortable with. Then Jason was calling me and texting me ~ he was stressing because of his delayed flight. When he is stressing, it makes me feel stressed. But thankfully somehow, I managed not to give in to the urge to stuff my face.

I feel better today ~ my joints and stuff. I think it helps being able to get up and move around (more than I am able to at work).

Sorry ~ I’m kind of pooped ~ forgive me for not getting to any personals today.

Back to work tomorrow. Three days then off the weekend.

Hope you all have a nice evening.

Take care

[Marie]

Chickadee, I hope you dig yourself out of the work pile. I miss one day and I’m overwhelmed lately. Two weeks is a lot and you have boo boo thumb to deal with. Thank goodness the mass wasn’t cancerous.

Rosey, I love your description of your time with your DH. Comfortable like an old pair of slippers. That’s the way I feel about my DH. He is my best friend and I’m very comfortable sharing and doing all.

Red, glad you had a good day with your horse. That would be hard when you love your animal.

Welcome Alwayshungry. Without a doubt you have a lot of company in that crowd.

Donna Marie, that’s awesome news. Benign cysts are definitely the preferred variety if you have to have one.

Carol Sue, welcome back to the world of ellipticalling. I bet yours missed you.

Zoe, you are so entertaining. A duplex and you’d invite DH over for Thanksgiving. Too funny. BTW, I started stained glass because I love light through colors. Always found it erotic. Sort of like Northern Lights. I love them too. DH was bummed when we moved from northern MN where we’d see the lights often. Hahahaha!!!!

Bobbi, I know you asked Carol Sue her favorite Czech recipe but since I’m ½ Czech, I’ll answer too. I love Houska. Fattening, sweet holiday bread. Oh, what’s that you way – the holiday’s are coming. I’ll be making some soon. Cutting glass is pretty much universal. I have a carbide cutter that stays sharp. Glasscrafters dot com has great tools and prices. Take a look and you’ll see the stuff. Minimum is cutter, grinder, specialized pliers, copper foil (or lead came), solder, soldering iron. And of course there is much more that $$$ can be sunk into.

KarenFL, we love our DHs but men stink at being sick or injured. I’m darn sure it’s why they don’t have the ability to give birth. They would whine and cry and never push the baby out.

Val, I’m so proud you didn’t mug your GS for his Fritos. You showed wonderful restraint. And there are MANY things I can’t do – mostly because I don’t want to. What I want to learn, I learn because I don’t like not knowing how to do something. Oh, except ballroom dance. DH has three left feet, his expression, and it seems that way. So I gave up after the beginner class we took. My feet couldn’t take the pain. BTW, did you catch my Packers kickin’ butt last night? Of course this is the year I finally cancel NFL Sunday Ticket. But listening to the Packer Radio Network on Sirius is wonderfully entertaining. They aren’t politically correct or objective. I laugh through much of the games.

KarenMO, I’m darn sure you really don’t want to move. I empathize with the “how would I move my pool” problem. I think my roots are here in cement. Literally…. Or fiberglass (since the pool is fiberglass and the deck is cement)

Gayle, I hope your 3 days at work fly by and you don’t stay a minute over.

Mary, I know you’ll get your 149.8 back. You know what works for you and you can do the MF way without their food. Vigilance.

Today was a fine day. Drowning at work but got to leave early for a dentist appt. Who’d ever have thought going to the dentist would seem like an early day off??? I did get home early but now have been working from home. Easy stuff so no big deal. I did the interval training on the treadmill this evening. Might not have been a good idea. I forgot (maybe chose to forget) my knee brace for the morning doggie hike. The hills, rocks and potholes aggravate my knee. But it was feeling good. Of course that lasted only about .25 miles and the other 1.25 miles were painful. It’s strange but my knee is usually good on the treadmill, even jogging without the brace. Not so tonight. But like the idiot I am, I didn’t stop and add the brace. I bet I don’t forget the darn thing tomorrow morning. Kodiak is not feeling good today. Heck, he’s a husky and didn’t show enthusiasm to go on the daily hike. Of course, I conned him into it. Poor boy sulked the rest of the day. I probably gave him a chicken treat and he’s allergic to chicken. Lamb for boy-oh. And Kai is allergic to lamb and can only eat chicken. I’m a slave to the puppies. I do love them so!
Marie

[maryea]

I have been cold all day. I have a meeting at my church on Tues mornings and the room was way too cold but some people were warm. Maybe somethings wrong with me, I don't know...even my dh who is usually so cold isn't as cold as me recently. Where are my hot flashes when I need them? I still have them but they don't last so long and are much less often. I'm thankful but now I'm cold all the time! What happen to normal

I dropped a pound of that water I was retaining, and I'm hoping I will drop the other pound or two tomorrow. So far I've been OP today..only a few more hours to go.

Karen31 - I have a house in AZ I'd LOVE to sell you!

Red - I noticed the same thing in the PI. We were there around '99 then went back in '09. The first trip I saw very very few fat people, but this last trip I saw quite a few! I was amazed at the difference. Of course the PI is still a very poor country so there are still a lot of very thin people due to malnutrition as well. They do have more fast food restaurants now but really they have always eaten a lot of unhealthy (animal) fat. When my dh was growing up there, and even for many years after he came to the states and would go back to visit, the sellers would be offended if they were asked to trim off the fat. When he was growing up, he was very poor and his family ate very little meat. They ate mostly rice, vegetables and sometimes fish, but when we went back together (both times), although his family (who
were still very poor) didn't serve much meat unless we bought it, there was an abundance of meat...beef, pork.. in the restaurants (not just fast food). In fact it was difficult for me to get enough vegetables! Do you have trouble finding food to eat there, Red, esp since you are vegetarian? Maybe not because I think the Japanese eat a lot of vegtables, right? If you can keep the fish out of it...or cook yourself?

Bobbi - I have no clue what you could mean? Now you have me curious...maybe you will think of it later. Oh, it's taken me so long to type this and I see your other post now. The two teams you mentioned are my favorites too!

Slmn - They would rather do a short-sale than let the house go into foreclosure because that involves the legal system and lots of paper work (yes even more than I had to do from what I hear!), and it takes a long time. It also means they will have to maintain and try to sell the house themselves. With a short-sale we have to maintain the house and keep the utilities on etc so we're paying for all that plus making the payments until it closes. Since the bank will get less than what is owed, they sometimes expect the seller to pay the remainder depending on whether one meets the criteria. If it doesn't sell, we will have to hope to meet the criteria for a Deed in Lieu. Since we have no other debt it is iffy.

[redballoon]

Well, it's going on 10 p.m. here. Wednesday is almost over. I was scared by my door shaking earlier but after switching on the TV for quake reports (the script comes on the screen almost immediately) I think it was just the couple upstairs...

Well, the day was long, a lot of teaching, including the little girl, only 4 years old she is! It was very hard holding her attention for long but I did it in spurts and started with some body parts and pronunciation work. She was eager to show off her writing skills by writing all the English words down in Japanese, an impossibility because Japanese doesn't have a lot of the sounds English does, like "th, "l," "v" or the American "r." But she learned how to make the difference between "mouse" and "mouth" when I showed her how I had to see her tongue sticking out between her teeth for the latter. Quite fun all around. She had surprised me at the door with a rendition of "She'll be coming 'round the mountain" that she'd learned in school, with however no idea what she was saying. Her daddy, who's a jockey, might be able to relate to the "six white horses" though! The other student's husband is also a jockey and still in the hospital with the broken collarbone that was operated on. I learned how it happened, and sure enough, the horse he was riding in morning training was wearing some kind of legging (not wraps) that slipped down and he tripped on it, went down and broke his leg. The jockey went down so fast but they are trained to immediately go into a protective rolled position. He was on an artificial surface though and there was no "slide" and so suffered the break. The horse, sadly, had to be put down. So tragic. You see the things I learn in a day!

So, now, home and just finished writing an article on the three horses who just arrived in Japan for the big race next week, the Japan Cup. Three fillies from Europe, including the Arc winner Danedream. Any of you know anything about racing? Well, if not, don't worry, you will soon!

Now, I have to finish up a caption for the newspaper here I used to work for. I try to help animal welfare groups here and when I was at the paper started up a photo box each week to introduce a cat or dog in need of a home. Other weeks I would run a photo and caption with the person/people who gave the lucky ones new homes. I quit the paper but still do the caption for them.

Sooo, babble babble, that about sums up another day. Eating was good and I even went to the convenience store and wanted some junk but RESISTED! Hurrah! I knew I wanted SLEEP most of all, not junk, and eating it would just be a shame, make me angry and set me up for a damn-it-all-throw-all-cares-to-the-four-winds BINGE!

Tomorrow, I want to get up and out early and to the gym before going to the office, a parttime job I have three days a week at a German law firm. I'm the only native English speaker and rewrite and check all the correspondence in English and contracts etc. It's so boring and I HATE sitting but it's a good place and regular income.

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Rie -- Yup, the jockeys came after getting into racing here as a reporter, teacher, agent for foreign jocks etc. and the bodybuilders came after I started going to a little gym soon after I first arrived in Japan. I lived in a tiny room with no bath and only a communal toilet, so I either had to go to the public bath (no, thank you) or work out at the gym so I could use the shower. I found out I loved weight training and so have lots of friends into it. Nothing like checking out the muscular young guys. Hope you enjoyed that meal!

Karen31 -- Who is that cute couple at the bottom of your post?!

glynne -- A fellow slacker, eh? No, we can and WILL do it (the crackdown, that is, not the slacking).

Marie -- Take care of that knee! Yes, a husky that doesn't want to walk/run is definitely under the weather. I used to have a husky and it was the only dog that we couldn't let off the leash. He just would run and run. We'd have to get the car and he'd run next to that and we could catch him.

maryea -- Yes, I've heard about how high in fat the Philippine diet is. I had a lot of Filipino friends when I was at the Stars and Stripes because the U.S. still had the base there. They don't now, right? I think they eat a lot of coconut oil too, right, which is not supposed to be very good for you, something like that. Well, finding food is hard and yet not. I don't eat out much, but when I do, I can find things. Yes, there are always vegetables to be found or I'll ask them to take the meat or fish out when they prepare it. That's a shame that you can't find the vegetables easily anymore. The poor man's diet is often far the healthier one. Cold? Try some fresh pumpkin or grate some fresh ginger in a cup of hot tea with fresh lemon juice and honey. Great warmeruppers.



Ok, outta here! Good night all!

[Bobbolink]

Marie...I forgot you were Czech too. Never heard of that sweet bread you mentioned. Houska, that sounds like the Czech jail cell. DH's dad always teased our daughter that he was going to throw her into the Hauscow? Not sure of how to spell it or pronounce it. Anyway, speaking of all the Czech food made me hungry for Caraway Pork Roast, Knedliky (Bohemian dumplings) and Zeli (sweet sour cabbage). I picked up the roast while in town yesterday and made the zeli. Tonight I won't be counting calories as I'm pigging out. It's not that often I made this. Oink, oink!

Tuesday’s Keep me Accountable menu 1307 calories + 30 grams fiber

Breakfast - Fiber One, apple cinnamon yogurt , Flax, Chia
Lunch- 2 strips turkey bacon, sliced radishes on Flatout “Fold It”
Snack -
Supper- Large lettuce/napa cabbage salad with fresh apple, salmon, ff Italian dressing
Snack Coconut pudding, sf cool whip, (too lazy to add Fiber One on top like I usually do, my fiber is low for the day too)
DH wanted some caramel rolls and I ate not one, but two. (sugar‘s an addiction to me since we quit the booze)