Good morning GG's,

Wow ~ here it is after 10am and I haven't really gotten anything done yet. Well, anything that someone else would feel important.

I have read my e-mail, FB (reconnected with a nursing school classmate ~ responded to her) 3FC, and responded to a couple work e-mails.

The work one I sent to my boss ~ was because of stupid surveyors who came around again yesterday and said that we could not have the fan at the desk. Several of us are menopausal age women with heat wave issues ~ LOL. That plus the previous go round where they said I could not have my table (the one by the copy machine) ~ this was my response to her:

I'm sorry ~ I don't mean to be cranky, but I feel like handing those people a chart by the copy machine with no table there and say to them ~ ok ~ copy it. I would like to see what they do when there is no where to set the stuff while you work. And the people who said we could not have the fan were probably men who don't have a clue what it is like to be a woman with hormonal heat waves.

I hope I don't lose my job over my message ~ but darn it ~ those people are ridiculous and unrealistic. Have they never heard the phrase ~ work smarter not harder. Seems like they don't care about that at all ~ heaven forbid that we should think up anything to make our job easier. Grrrrrr.

Thank you all for your different suggestions about walking devices. I think for now, I will just keep using the little cart at the grocery store (and hope that those boys don't call the police on that the little old lady they think is trying to make off with one of their carts ~ LOL). It is free, and I feel comfortable holding on to that. I don't want to approach DH about spending any more money on fitness stuff. He has gone along with several of my ideas and probably feels that it would just be one more of my hair brained schemes ~ another piece of equipment that I will use a few times and then sits around and gathers dust.

Ok, I'd better get something done. I want to treat myself to a bike ride to the little pond with the fountain later.

Hope you all have a good day.

Take care

Joe went to the gym this morning but again I stayed home. With my back and this UTI I really didn't feel up to it. It's mostly the UTI though and I have started on my antibiotic so hopefully I will feel better soon. Poor Joe, I spoke too soon on the tiles...he was cutting one and it cracked. He may hire someone to do the cutting for him. With his eye not completely healed seeing things close up is not easy too. His eye is much better though than it was.

I won another book...Gun Games by Faye Kellerman...she's one of my favorite mystery writers so I'm happy to win this. Funny thing is I was just about to check on amazon about this book as I'd seen it in a magazine and then I saw the email notification. Right now I'm reading Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay. Don't think I've read any of his books before but so far this one is very interesting.

Zoe you make me hungry reading your healthy food! Sounds so good. So far all I've had is a Slim-Fast shake. I planned on having scrambled eggs but didn't feel like fixing them. wow, I'm glad you were able to help your dd as that is scary! Yes I feel much better about the house in regard to the maintenance. Now just hoping the deal will go through soon! It will be 30 days since our files went to the underwriter on the 16th. Zoe I finally got a KitchenAide Mixer after wanting one for years and mostly it just sits on the counter gathering dust. I keep a cover on it but it still gets grimy and I have to clean the bottom esp often. I wish I'd had it when the children were all home but now with our diabetes and my weight issues I don't bake much so it doesn't get much use. I should give it away but I wanted it for so long that I'm just selfish enough not to want to part with it now, but I'm sure I will in time.

Lynn - Yes I am well too aware of the otc meds that make your pee orange. I'm using them too, but I did start my antibiotic this morning. The doctor gave me a long-term prescription. I usually give it a day to make sure but decided since it was still there this am to get started. I hate the burning and it's been pretty bad even with the otc Pyridium. Lynn, of course sites run the sweepstakes to get you to their sites and hope you will buy something but you do not have to buy to enter. Their are some magazine sweep companies that have forms you have to be careful with or you can easily order a magazine without realizing it. I think most sweepers have done that a few times but I have always been able to cancel without any charge. I don't do the sweeps that require participation in offers or long surveys. I just enter the straight forward easy entries. It's just a fun hobby for me but it is time cosuming and some days I don't do much and other times I do more. I've been entering more recently so that's why I've won more. I only won 11 prizes last year and there were three months I didn't win anything. It's a numbers game..you usually have to enter a lot to win...and the more you enter the more you usually win. Plus there are dry spells regardless sometimes but usually it's all about how much you enter. Yes you can google but I'd use sweepstakes or giveaway. Contest often means you have to do something....like upload something. Those typically payoff better but I'm way too lazy for that. There are lots of sites devoted to sweeps. sweepstakesadvantage.com is one site I use a lot but I enter sweeps where ever I find them. Those Atkin bars are really good. Maybe a little too good it's best I don't keep too many on hand.

Lyn - WTG on the exercise. I really miss going to the gym and am hoping I can get back soon.

Marie - Yes I thought of selling the ipod but only briefly because my dh really wants it. He liked his old ipod and it isn't working well. I have sold a few wins on ebay though in the past.

Awwww ~ Donna ~ I'm sorry you got your snout wacked. I'm glad everything was straightened out, but still sorry you had to go through that. {{{{{{hugs}}}}}}

Hello Goldens!

After waiting almost a week, I changed my ticker today. I am finally past the 80 pound mark. I hit my ticker weight for three days in a row so I am ready to trust it. Of course, I have been eating so little these days with my sore mouth that I thought maybe I would lose a little more. However, I will take it.

My day was boring today. I worked on financial reports in preparation for mid-year budget hearings next week. I am not looking forward to that meeting.

My gs has been in a terrible mood the last couple days and it is starting to wear on me. Ds is trying to keep him contained as much as possible but he is uncharacteristically defiant and ornery. He has been sick all week so we are hoping that it is due do not sleeping well and being stir crazy. I hope so.

Donna, I am so sorry that they hurt your feelings. I hope things get better. Let us know if we need to rally for you.

Marie, maybe the dr would be interested in seeing you during one of these episodes? I sure hope that you feel better. It is a shame to be heading into the weekend with that kind of pain. BTW, we have a football pool for the playoffs. I had to pick the teams all the way through to the super bowl. I picked Green Bay.

Zoe, I am loving your menus. Of course, probably too many carbs for me but yum! I wish I could find 60 calorie pita bread here. That would be sweet for when I need to pack sandwiches. I am glad that you were there for your dd.

Gayle, you go girl. You have found something that works for you and it sounds like you enjoy it. I think your day sounded productive. I don’t use my walking stick when I walk on level ground – just when I am in the mountains. You can make a game with the shopping carts, making those young men think you are stealing them.

Karenfl, don’t you just hate how complicated they make cars now? It is so frustrating – too many things to go wrong. Did the cold weather there do any citrus damage? It is nice to have you here all the time. I like it and I am glad that you feel better off the meds.

CaddyK, it sounds like you really enjoy the slim fast menu. Like you, I like to have the same thing so I don’t really have to think about it. Glad to hear that you are back in your woman cave…

Lynn, I sure hope you feel better, and that your dr has a good plan for dealing with the high blood pressure and medication. You have been having a rough time of it lately. And bless you for spending time with your friend.

Mary, if Joe can get help with cutting the tiles, he can still save lots by installing them and he will still enjoy looking at the floor knowing that he installed them. Here’s hoping that your uti heals better quickly.

Lyn, nice to have you back. And your ab work makes me envious. I really need to get back to that.

Chickadee, I hope things have improved for you.

Carol, how are you feeling? That peanuts thing is scary! And give up cucumbers? Oh my, that would be hard for me.

Well I am off to watch some tv and play word games on facebook. Tomorrow afternoon, my friend Kenny’s wife is having a Tupperware party and apparently I have to go. Yuck.

See you later. Rie

Rosey, I used to have a recumbent exercycle and it killed my lower back. Just a tidbit of info as you decide what exercise you’d want to do.

Gayle, you can succeed this time. It’s a way of eating, sadly for life so I know you will get it right. Just remember you don’t have to be perfect every single day.

Carol Sue, that makes since about the foods that are bad for diverticulosis. I hope you’re getting better.

Lynn, you are a good friend. Enjoy Kohls and the coffee. Alzheimer’s is a NASTY disease.

Lyn, on the exercising. It sure does make one’s happy meter go up, doesn’t it?

Go Gayle Go! I love your email to your boss. Really? No fan? That’s like saying to me no heater. I can’t work if I’m cold. I would imagine you can’t work if you’re having a heat wave. BTW, Gayle, didn’t you join the Y? Did that not fit your needs? It didn’t fit mine as I like to exercise at home and chat with my dogs. They wouldn’t allow them in the Y.

Zoe, totally agree with you that the world will end when it is darn good and ready. I guess I don’t believe in fortune tellers, no matter who the teller is.

Mary, I had a co-worker in MN that did sweeps as his hobby (before online…). When he pulled up in a new truck, he grinned at me and said it was one of his wins. Pretty cool. He’s an accountant and did it to relax.

Donna, tell them the next time they smack your snout (especially in error) your PT/Zoe will be coming to visit and her wallop is more than a smack.

Rie, I think the Packers are a fine pick but their defense is shoddy. But if you win the pool, I will be happy. Very, very happy. But I do not envy you the Tupperware party. You have my sympathy.

So I did call the dr office this morning but they weren’t open. I meant to call back in the 20 minutes and talk to her nurse, but alas I got busy and then the wonderful TOM started so I knew relief was on the way. Yesterday was about a 9 on a 10 point scale of pain. Only giving birth ranked up their and they’d given me so many drugs that I’m think yesterday beat it. Anyway, I convinced myself to call another day. Today is down to about a 5 at the moment. I’d guess Monday will have it all gone. Because I can actually move without my back/leg buckling, I am going to Zumba. I want a fun exercise because I’m quite sure riding my bike would really irritate my back and hip. I’d hate to miss a day of exercise so after I feed the doggies, time to exercise. I could not in any way exercise this morning. Instead I made bread and will enjoy a grilled cheese sammy for my dinner. Yum.
Marie

Good evening GG’s.

Well, it has been a pretty good day off. Got the cushion cover done for my niece’s daughter. My niece had bought a toy box for her little girl and kind of got some little decorative things for her bedroom. She wanted a cushion to go on top of the toy box. I had hoped to get it done and sent today too, but a surprise visit from Maddie set me behind. But I love getting to spend time with her, so that was ok. I got the cover finished, but not in time to send today. I had also forgotten the box I wanted to use to send it ~ at work, so can’t get it mailed until Monday now. I had hoped to get in a bike ride, but ran out of time. Next time, I guess I will have to do it earlier in the day, so that if I run out of time, it is something else that gets left out.

Maddie told me her name is not Maddie, but Kaitlyn. She was hungry and wanted some cheese and crackers. I fixed that for her and she told me that I had cut the cheese wrong, but that she loved me anyway. You never know what is gonna come out of her mouth, but always it is pretty sure to make you smile.

Rosey ~ I have had the same experience as Marie with a recumbent exercise bicycle. It made my low back hurt terribly. That was a disappointment. It looked so comfy. It didn’t hurt while I was riding it, but after.

Marie ~ yes I had joined the “Y”, but my work hours don’t work out well to be able to get there on a daily basis. My husband asked about it today ~ I told him I think that the only time I will be able to use it is on my weekends off. They had helped set me up with a program for me with the weight machines, so that is what I think I will do there. And maybe on the other day of the weekend ~ maybe water walk in the pool. Glad your pain is a little better. Sorry it was so bad.

Rie ~ hope your mouth gets to feeling better. Hope your little GS gets to feeling better too.

Mary ~ hope you get over the UTI quickly and your back feeling better. Glad you have worked out some things for the care of the AZ house. Hope you get some good news on that soon.

Zoe ~ your meals sound yummy. I’m glad for you that the winter has been mild so far so that you haven’t had those awful icy roads to travel.

CK ~ way to go getting back to doing the Wii

Lyn ~ way to go with the exercise.

Bobbi ~ your meals sound yummy as well.

Lynn ~ you are a wonderful friend.

Trish ~ way to go with the weight loss and it must have helped to have someone notice.

Chicky ~ sorry you have been having a bad week. Hope the next one is better.

K3 ~ glad you are done with your antibiotics so maybe you can get back to feeling better.

Isabella ~ is your tummy feeling better? Hope so.

Darcy ~ how is little Noah doing?

Freda ~ hope you are feeling better.

Nancy ~ thinking of you.

Carol Sue ~ how is the recuperation going?

Donna ~ {{{{{hugs}}}}}

Hello to Misti, Andi, Connie, Emaline and Redballoon.

Well, it is almost time for bed, gotta pack my lunch yet, so I’d better get going. Hope you all have a good rest.

Take care

Am so happy I found this site today! Like it was meant to be. I haven't entered all my info and weight stuff yet but will in the morning. I live in Reno, NV....age 57...weight gain started when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. I don't have siblings and they live on the Monterey Bay...Spent 2 months down there through the surgery and caretaking. Mother is well, but couldn't handle the pressure. I guess I couldn't either....packed on 40 pounds of worry and powdered sugar donuts. Got up to 175 on a 5'4" body, then my knees couldn't handle the weight. UGH! Down to 160.3 at the moment by eating little meals all day long. Maybe 6 meals. Still feel like doggie poopoo. Well thats part of my story and I am sticking to it. Hope to keep in contact with y'all. This is so hard to do by yourself. My dear friends are stunners and I feel like the lone wolf. I hate it when they say...Oh, you'll get it off "eventually". Pound sand!! We are all going to do it! Right girls?!
Til next time.................................

Good Morning Goldies,

Today is a good day, I had migraines for 4 days and nights. I have to figure out why and get that taken care of, I think it has to do with loss of body fat and hormones. (but at least I know how to go about adjusting things). I told my doctor, so if I stay fat I am better off. I think not! But I feel good today.

There has been a lot of conversation about glasses and I am sure I missed most of it, but I go to a eye doctor that also handles frames and lenses, I will not go to a discount center. I have had two times where my glassed just weren't right and I can't afford to cut corners in that area. And this has been since I started wearing bi focals. Glasses are expensive (at a eye doctors office or a discount center), so I want to make sure they work for me in the end.

We are back to no snow again, and 30 and 40 for temps, unbelievable weather, we are kinda like waiting for the big one to hit.

I have been shopping for a Singer Featherweight sewing machine, one from back in the 50's, not for the collector item, but because when I look at them I think of my grandma and her house aprons she always wore, silly huh! So I figure if I can find one, I will sew only quilts that use 1930 fabrics or like feed sack fabrics. Hey, this keeps me sane, when work is just to unbearable.

Everyone is busy busy I see, I love just coming here and reading the posts. Life goes on in the new year. I take one day at a time and am happy with my lifestyle change and SB. And I think being able to come here and read and post really helps me stay focused on my goal. Thank you ladies.

Hope everyone has a great Saturday.

Welcome Whitelight This is a wonderful group ~ look forward to getting to know you.

Chicky ~ sorry that you have had those darn headaches. Glad they are gone ~ head aches be gone and don't come back.

Good Morning GG - I used to get an email when there was a new post in GG and starting in January I don't get it anymore. Why? I always used that to click on the link to get here. Now I have to go the long way around. I guess as long as I get here that's what's important, but I still get emails about threads I no longer read.

Yesterday when the nurse was here she said the opening to my Saroma got bigger. I thought it was supposed to be getting smaller. She noticed that the 3 staples that the doctor had left in had come loose and were only sticking in one side, so she took them out. Ouch! The seeping had let up a little but this morning I saw that the bandage was saturated so I changed it with a small one until the nurse could get here. I get different nurses on the weekend because the weekly nurse works M-F. No one has called yet to schedule, and I'm getting nervous that they forgot to schedule me with someone for the weekend. I don't think dh and I can change this packing on our own. I sure hope someone calls soon.

I feel good other than this Saroma which scares the heck out of me, having a 2 1/2 inch deep hole in the middle of my belly. I don't go to the doctor until Thursday. The nurse mentioned that she wished he was seeing me earlier in the week, which tells me she is concerned about something, too. I hate this. I know there are people who are a lot worse off than I am, it's just the not knowing that upsets me.

On a happy note, I am still losing weight. I am 1 lb away from my lowest weight in years. I get hungry for something, but after I eat a small amount I feel nauseated and can't eat anymore. I have been to the grocery store twice and just looking at the food as I walk through the aisle nauseates me. I am not real big on hamburgers or any ground beef for that matter, but I will eat a hamburger made with really lean meat on the Geo Foreman grill. DH mad himself a hamburger one day this week and offered me a piece and I almost gagged at the thought. With the last surgery I lost 15 lbs before the nausea stopped. Right now I'd be happy to make it to 179...cross over into the next bracket. I'm going to take advantage of this while it lasts.


Zoe - it never entered my mind to add Fiber One to my baked goods. Sounds like a good idea that I will try.

Gayle - One of our local grocery stores have those little shopping carts. They are cute and convenient when you only want a few things, but I always take a big cart because with DH along, a lot more things end up in the cart than I intended! I have gotten into the habit of always taking a cart in any store to use as a walker, even if I'm going in for just 1 thing. And I always hold on when using my treadmill and elliptical, even though they tell you it's better for you if you don't. If you could get a used baby stroller somewhere you could use that at home, as long as your neighbors don't think you're nuts pushing an empty stroller. I'm one who doesn't really care what the neighbors think of me.