Mary, it sound like you had a very nice day with your family, and will be having more when they all come to visit. I'm sure that warms your heart!

My grandson tried T Ball a while back but he wasn't really interested in it so they skipped it last year. Now they signed him up again for this summer so we will see if he likes it. He went for swimming lessons over the winter and did so well they now have him in advanced classes. He also tried karate but they had problems with scheduling so he quit that. It's hard to get to all these activities when both parents work. Sounds like your grandchildren are doing great!

Today I was reading online about Melatonin, and more than one site said that it raises blood sugar, so I have decided not to try it. I'll have to try something else.

It's a cooler, windy day today. Feels good to me ..as I like cool weather but for dh it is cold. After we got home from church, I cooked a small steak for me...grilled it inside on my kitchen stove, made mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. I enjoyed it and Dh was able to eat the potatoes and some broccoli and also ate some leftover clam chowder. I marinated much more steak hoping ds would be here but turned out he had other plans. Guess I will serve it again tomorrow night for my son and I.

We finally found a doggie spray that helps her odor! It is from Natures Miracle and they have two versions and I bought the strongest one. Dh sprayed her this morning so today I have been able to enjoy loving her up without the bad smell. Hope it continues to work.

It sometimes takes a while for kids to figure out what they like/don't like. Our kids tried many things. In these particular gc's situation though, they just seemed to gravitate toward things they like however I always figure they have time to change their minds later on if they want. Our gs so far is not interested in sports...perhaps because he is small for his age. He is very smart and does well in school and prefers academics(he's a perfectionist), building things (Legos are big), and dancing esp tap. His sister immediately wanted sports, she dances but is less enthused although she does like the pretty costumes, she does well in school but likes to chatter a bit more than teacher would like. And she has a bf who she is already talking about marrying one day! It's fun to see their different ways/personalities. What I really love is that they (these gc) are very close and protective of each other. I am praying for the strength to keep up with everyone. I need to pull out the sofa bed and the trundle bed and get them ready.

Carol Sue - I did not know that about Melatonin. I will warn dh to monitor his bs carefully, but his doctor recommended it despite his bs. Of course his bs are quite low right now.

I missed my squats and lifts last night but will try to do them today. So glad our son is home to take care of the dog at night. I was very tired, so took a Benedry and slept five or six hours straight. That's good for me to sleep straight.

Last night I bought and downloaded The Diabetes Solution Kit. I just bought the PDF version. It seemed like a scam type promotion but so far I'm pleased with it. I know all the info is in my many diet books as most of them are on the list they researched to create this "kit," but somehow it is easier to read the way they present it. I am printing out different parts of it that I am particularly interested in at the time. I am not yet following it exactly but it is giving me ideas and things to work on. My bs has been higher than ever recently and if what I'm doing doesn't help I will have to try the Phase 1 of this plan, which means living on 20 gms of carbs/day for a week or two at least! Not sure I can do it but I have to do something. It will be esp difficult while kids are here which is why I'm holding off for now. It also recommends several supplements (doesn't sell them), some I already take but I will research and perhaps buy some of the others. Let you know hot it goes.

Controlling blood sugar would be a problem. Hope each of you work that out well.

Seems we always have to limit something.

I tried a new group yesterday over at the Church, but the session was so structured it felt like a straight jacket, so I won't be going back to that.
I expected it to be like the prayer group we used to have that was warm, welcoming and yet we prayed, too. Oh well. . .

DH belongs to the Saturday Men's group that gets together twice a month. The men really enjoy that time just talking man talk and drinking coffee, and sometimes someone brings in cheese biscuits or egg sandwiches. He can afford to eat those.

We live so far out of town that our kids had to choose one activity and get help getting home. DH worked in town 25 miles away and had long hours. Lots of times I'd be picking up our kids and neighbor's when the activities or practice was over, sometimes around midnight.

Grandkids had moved out of our neighborhood before they were old enough for most school activities, but they had to choose one, and if that finished, a second one for the next season.

I'm glad I got to grow up with lots of freedom and free time to decide what I wanted to do. Safer back then, too.

Our vacations were biking, fishing, tramping in the woods type activities. We tent camped and all learned how to do without lots of things like showers, lights and TV at night, phones, etc. Kinda nice, really.

Mary, I hope the Diabetes Solution Kit is helpful for you. It's probably not a scam as long as you are realistic about it.

I slept a little better last night, but I still feel tired, like I need a nap. Maybe I'm coming down with something. I have the sniffles, but I thought it was allergies. I took a Benadryl at bedtime, then when I woke up around 2AM I went to the bathroom, then took 2 Tylenol and was able to fall back to sleep. The elbow hurt, but not too bad.

I made 60 stuffed cabbage rolls for dinner, so my step-daughter will be coming to get some for her husband and herself. They turned out good.

Hello ladies, I am finally facing my need to lose weight and get exercise. I sit at a computer every day and it has taken its toll. Not to mention that I use food for everything but nourishment...ha! I had lost a great deal of weight about 10 years ago, but have gained it all back and more...the same old saw. Anyway, I plan to come here to the site for encouragement and info, etc. Thanks for being there.

Good afternoon GG's,

We have finally had some nicer days ~ sunshine ~ the last few days. On Saturday we went to an outdoor arts festival ~ they had kind of a talent competition for kids ~ teen aged. Some sang, some danced, some played an instrument and sang. I love music out doors. The sun shone most of the time and it didn't rain, so it was a nice time. There were a lot of booths set up with people selling crafty things. Fun to look at.

Yesterday was another nice sunny day, so in the afternoon I rode my bicycle. I really enjoyed that. My head was starting to ache in the evening ~ I wondered if it was from all the pollen that is out there right now.

It is nice and sunny again today and I sort of wanted to ride my bike again, but didn't want my head to start aching again (I didn't want to take meds for it because I am trying to be more careful about how much of those medicines I am taking), so I walked on the treadmill. I only did 15 minutes, so I may go out in the early evening and ride the bike for 15 minutes. Hoping I guess that maybe a different time of day the pollen won't bother as much. I read that it is worse early in the morning.

I hadn't been on here much the last few days ~ didn't feel very good. After the bike ride yesterday, and one other day when I walked, I felt better and felt pretty good the day after. I felt pretty good this morning, but started to not feel quite as good after lunch, so I made myself do the walk. I almost feel afraid not to now ~ for fear that the exercise is helping and if I don't do it, I will start to not feel good again. Kind of weird logic I guess, but if it gets me moving, I guess it is a good thing. Hoping that what ever ailed me, is going to go away and stay gone.

We are getting a little break this week ~ Maddie and family are away for a few days for school spring vacation. I just got a text from DD Sara that they found snow ~ that is what Maddie has been wanting so badly, as she has never seen it or gotten to play in it. Hope she gets to make a snowman or some snow angels.

Welcome Elstyle ~ looking forward to getting to know you.

Carol Sue ~ wow ~ what an undertaking ~ all those cabbage rolls. The closest I have come is a casserole with all the same ingredients ~ I don't have the patience to make it like you did. Glad your elbow hurt a little less. Hope you don't come down with a cold. Glad you rested better last night.

Love2garden ~ your family vacations sound like how ours were when we were first married. We would camp (tent) every other weekend on my weekend off work. We didn't put the camping stuff away all summer ~ it stayed in our kitchen ready for packing up the next weekend. I think we hit about every state park in Maine over a few summers. Later when we had kids, we still tented, but went to places where we could do site seeing too. Good memories.

Mary ~ your dinner on Sunday (grilled steak, mashed potatoes and broccoli) sounds good. Can you offer any directions for grilling a steak. I don't know how and on the few occasions I have tried ~ it came out disappointing because I don't know what I am doing. How do you do it in your kitchen on the stove? I used to have a thing that you set on top of the burner and put water in the ring of the bottom, then the top was kind of a grill thing. Glad you had a nice time watching your grandkids activities. Maddie is going to be starting soccer in April and we will be the ones getting her to and from games and practices. It will be fun to watch her. We used to watch Corbin play baseball when he was younger.

Hope you all have had a nice day.

I got a good sleep last night. Went to bed at 11:30 and woke up to go to the bathroom at 5 am. That is great for me as I rarely sleep that long at a time. I also got back to sleep and didn't get up again until 8 am. But I've been working hard (for me) and I'm tired right now. I've been doing my weekly cleaning and am about 1/2 done with the house, probably little less actually. Had some extra things to do to get ready for the kids, like pull out the trundle bed and make it...that is really hard for me, also moved a few things around to make a little more room. I'm not sure when they arrive but it is a matter of days now.

Estyle - Welcome! You sound a lot like me, about 12 years ago I lost quite a bit of weight but gained it back, since then I've gone up and down, then recently had to take a med that actually caused me to gain weight, after that I got very discouraged about the whole diet thing and haven't tried very hard since then, yet I keep trying a little at least. I've reached a point with my diabetes that I know I have to get back to it and for once and for all beat this thing! On this forum, we talk about a lot of things including dieting but not exclusively. We just share our lives. I look forward to getting to know you better.

Carol Sue - Sorry you seem to have a cold...I sure hope our kids don't bring colds with them this time...I have too much to do to be sick and I take everything very hard when I do catch it...fortunately I don't often get colds/flu. So hoping they leave the viruses in AZ. Stuffed cabbage sounds good..I haven't made that in a long time.

Love2garden - I'm glad your dh enjoys his mens meetings. Dh used to attend a men's group at our church, but it was stopped for a while and since it started up again, he hasn't gone. Too bad because it was very good for him and he enjoyed it. But of course, he has had lots of things happen to him...three surgeries last year and I think it's taken it's toll. He talks about starting again though and I hope he does. I used to go to a weekly prayer group, I stopped when he broke his leg and haven't consistently gone since then however I am still on the prayer chain and get the requests by email and I do still pray for them. I just don't like to leave dh anymore as both times when something has happened, I wasn't here. However he leaves me to go fishing, shopping and sometimes to his retiree meetings. He is usually around other people though at those times (except in car) so I don't worry about him. I enjoyed hearing about your lifestyle when raising your fam. Sounds very healthy.

Glynne - Think we were posting at the same time. That's exactly what I used the other night to grill my steak. It was fast and easy. I trim most of the fat from the steak, spray the grill pan (or whatever type pan I'm using), cook it about 7 min on one side and then turn it over for another 4 or 5 I guess. This was a thick steak but I cut it in half, so will depend on how thick your steak is and how you like it. I like it mostly done...just a little pink. This steak I marinated in soy sauce and a little light OJ. I also have a cast iron grill skillet I use sometimes...it's really good cooked in it too. Also salmon is great cooked in it. But mostly my dh grills steaks outside on our gas grill. I just didn't think it was fair to ask him to grill something he couldn't eat.

Sounds like you've been getting some good exercise. I've missed three days now. We never go to the gym on the weekend and missed Fri due to dh's appt (I just didn't go). I wish I could get myself to consistently exercise here at home. Dh gets plenty exercise doing the yard work but housework isn't enough for me. You are smart to just get out there and do it...don't be like me.

Can you do these? I might not be able to do as many but think I can do a few.

http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/5-move-...Mblm0LgLXhM%3D

DH has a really bad cold now. He sounds and feels terrible. I still think mine might be allergies, because I don't feel terrible. Just sneezy and sniffly. I did the Benadryl and then the Tylenol again last night and it seems to be working to help me sleep. I just don't want to do it every night. I don't think the Benedryl is bad, but I'm not sure about the Tylenol.

Mary, I bookmarked the link to those exercises. I think they are something I could do. I really can't do anything where I have to get down on the floor. I can't get back up.

I never used to like cooking steak because it's hard to judge the doneness in the middle. I recently bought some very think NY Strip steaks. I don't eat much steak, but I like to keep it in the house for when I want to eat grilled fish, then I grill a steak for DH. He likes his steak well done, no pink at all, so it's hard to cook a thicker steak for him. I cooked these thin steaks on the stove on a grill pan, like a frying pan with raised grooves that give them the dark lines on the meat. I also use that pan to grill my fish, either Talapia, Cod,or Salmon. I can eat steak, but would rather have fish. DH won't eat grilled fish.

My cabbage rolls turned out great and I ate too many of them. I've done this for so many years that it doesn't feel like work to me. DH helps me blanche the cabbage. That takes about an hour, then rolling them takes another hour, then they bake for 4 hours. In the summer, I put them in an electric roaster out on the deck so they don't make the house hot. I could make just a few just for us, but I figure if I'm going to do it, make a big potful and share. I have made the casserole, too, Gayle, when I am in a hurry and just want to make a smaller amount. When I eat the rolls, I put them on my plate and chop them all up, so it ends up the same as the casserole.

Hi Elstyle! I think we have all done the lose/regain thing. I don't know why we can't maintain what we lose, but we still keep trying! You're welcome to join in and tell us more about yourself. We talk about things that go on in our lives, and also about diet and exercise that we all need.

Good evening GG's,

It was a pretty good day today. I woke up too early (around 4:30 am) and couldn't go back to sleep, so I got on the computer for a bit, until I was sleepy again, then layed back down and napped.

I had a weird dream though right before I woke up. I usually don't remember them ~ or at least not very much of them, but wanted to remember this one so I could tell my sister about it. So, I got right on the computer and wrote it down so I wouldn't forget it before I could tell her about it. It seems like a lot of my dreams have some part in them that is a sort of a version of something that has happened during that day or something I had talked about with someone. I don't have nightmares, thank goodness, but they aren't “sweet” dreams either. They are unsettling and make me wish I would hurry up and wake up.

Went out and made a run to Walmart to pick up some items for a recipe I wanted to try. Then to the library to pick up a book I had requested. I counted that as part of my exercise ~ walking is moving ~ right? I feel like even though it is not real fast, it is more than I would be doing if I was sitting in a chair.

Began reading the book I got at the library. Got to talk to my mom and sister. While talking to my sister, I rode the exercise bike ~ so got in another 15 minutes of exercise.

Mostly I felt pretty good today. Have some moments when I feel kind of “off” but mostly feel better than I did the end of last week. I am so thankful.

Carol Sue ~ sorry your husband is feeling sick. Hope you don't get what he has. Glad your cabbage rolls came out good. Enjoy.

Mary ~ how are you doing? How is Joe doing ~ are his gums/teeth feeling a little better? I looked at those exercises you put a link to. I might be able to do some of them ~ a couple reps at a time (start out real slow because I am so out of shape). The jumping one ~ maybe not. I was trying to show Maddie one day what jumping jacks were and after about 2 or 3 ~ felt like I ~ oh my gosh......all the flab flopping around ~ not a very good feeling.

Love2garden ~ have you had some more nice days by to enjoy?

Hello Elstyle ~ how are you doing.

Hope you all have had a nice day.

My weight has remained at the lower end of my range for a few days...hoping that will continue.

I did a little more cleaning in the main bathroom plus some extra stuff like decluttering the medicine box (we don't have a medicine cabinet). Then I weekly cleaned the kitchen and in general decluttered the house, throwing out stuff or putting in the "giveaway bag." I made a beef stew tonight in my slow cooker...it was good and dh was able to eat everything except the celery because everything was pretty soft. He also added some leftover rice to his. His mouth is still pretty sore though. He is supposed to go in to have the implants dropped in (only temporaries right now), so I sure hope it will be healed by then.

Our son is bringing two dogs ..chihuahuas, with him...and I heard our dd wants to bring her dog (beagle) with her...what are we going to do with all these dogs?!! I sure hope they are housebroke! Halo never has accidents and she tells us when she wants to go out, if they are all like her we'll manage but otherwise, I will not be a happy mama, so will need more grace that usual!

Glynne - Was your dream you had one of the unsettling ones? I hate that feeling when you wake up from that kind. I don't seem to dream as much as I used to but I still do some times. Like you, I mostly don't remember much of them, or think I will but then I forget them when I start to tell someone, but occasionally I will remember quite a bit for a little while. They can be quite intricate, I think I remember telling you all about my last one where I was tracking down a bad guy. That's all I can remember about it now. :dizzy I remember Carol Sue asked if I had been reading a mystery book, and I had to laugh because I read them all the time. Very rarely (these days, more in the past), I have had dreams that were very very real and I remembered them well (still do)....I feel like those truly have meaning and a few have actually came true. They are usually about my family or someone very close to me and I have had it happen since I was quite young.

Are you able to walk to Walmart and the library? That would be cool...we are too far away from any stores to walk...unless you are into walking at least 2-3 miles, maybe more. A couple years ago I could still walk three miles, but not sure now. I probably wouldn't feel comfortable walking alone anyway, but would love to be able to walk to a store just for the exercise. You are also fortunate to have a sister to share things with. I have a sister but she doesn't seem interested in talking much. We are nine years apart and probably have more in common now than any time in the past really, so it's really sad to me. I love her and feel we should be closer as at our ages who knows how much time we have left (I am 72, she is 81).

I did some of the exercises I posted and had no problem. Got distracted and never finished but I could do them. I did the jumping one, the push-ups, and the knee against the wall one. I think that's all I did and they really didn't feel like much exercise to me. I think if there is one that would be hard for me it will be the one where you squat in front of the wall and move your arms but I think I can do a few reps at least. I'm going to try again. I do other exercises for my arm and back so can just add them in. Your story about the jumping jacks made me think of one time at work when I jumped for joy at something...don't remember what...and a pain shot through my calf, hurt so bad! Now I think about that every time I jump....waiting for the pain I guess.....

Well I need to get up...been sitting too long.

I do not jump. It would kill my knee. I can barely run, even when I have to.

DH feels a little better today but still sounds terrible. Very congested. I really hope I don't get it, but we're together all the time and sleep in the same bed. I made a small pot of chicken soup yesterday for him and he ate that. It seems that's what he always wants when he's sick. He ate lots of noodles with it. I just ate the cooked chicken and carrots. I'm not much of a soup person. We still have leftover cabbage rolls. I gave a lot to my step-daughter and she said don't throw any away. So what we don't eat today will go to her. They seem to get better with time.

Mary, I wish you luck with all the dogs. The thing about dogs, when there are other dogs around, then tend to want to mark their territory. Especially any un-neutered males. A dog who never had an accident might start when there are other dogs around. It seems that if one dog pees on the floor, the other pee on top of it to get rid of the smell of the first dog. I can't say that this would be the case with all dogs, so you might get lucky. I hope so!

I dream a lot and my dreams have no rhyme or reason and mostly have nothing to do with anything that's going on in my life. Last night I dreamed that I ran into a woman I haven't seen since I was 20. In this case, I recently saw this woman's picture on Facebook, so that could have put her in my mind. Only occasionally are my dreams scary.

I feel a little hesitant to mention a dream I have over and over, especially on a public message board, but it will make you laugh! I have dreams that I have to go to the bathroom and I go into a public restroom and all the toilets are clogged up. When I finally wake up, I usually have to get up and go to the bathroom, so I think that's what makes me have the dream. LOL

We went to the gym this am and then came home and I was hungry so ate some fried chicken my son had leftover from a work potluck. Not the best choice and it wasn't even very good...kinda dry but it was just two wings at least. There was also some leftover macaroni salad but I don't much care for that so was not tempted by it. I got a good workout and was able to walk with a friend who walks at about the same pace so the walking and later the biking went fast. She's the one I got the idea of 10 min of each thing from. One of the older men (80s) who is usually there when we are died a few days ago. We weren't there when it happened so just found out today. We heard they cleared the whole top level of the gym when they took him out. He just walked a lap, sat down to rest (his usual pattern) and a little later someone noticed he was slumped over and gone. I guess not too bad a way to go. Told dh we are going to see this sort of thing a lot from now on at our ages. Dh actually already lost a lot of his friends/co-workers. Not so much me yet, but I did come back from our 3 mo RV trip once to find a friend had passed.

Carol Sue - I'm glad your dh is feeling better...but I hate it when they are so congested. Our son was coughing a lot last night, offered cough drops but he didn't want them and he did finally stop and sleep. He is exposed to so much where he works, I hope we don't catch it. Oh you are scaring me about the dogs! I hope they don't start marking anything in MY house!! Our last house dog (of our own) was not really house broke...if we watched her carefully we could get her out in time, but she did not always show clear signs so I would find little gifts she left me from time to time and I actually worried more about the ones I couldn't see. Once I had someone over and we were sitting in the living room chatting, after she left I noticed a little pile under an end table. Well that is life with dogs I guess, which is one reason we have never wanted another one. I don't know what gender their little dogs are, but Halo is female which may help Our dd's is male but she won't be here long as far as I know.

Carol Sue - I have that same dream now and then!...haven't had it for quite a while though. Usually I'm in a place like a school or some other big building or even outside like a park and looking for a restroom and when I find one it is either an open area (no privacy) with both men and women (that could happen these days I guess!) or when I finally find one the toilet is filled or clogged up and disgusting. Like you, when I wake up I have to go. When my kids were young, sometimes they'd walk in their sleep or even fall asleep on the bathroom floor, and I always knew they had to go but were so sleepy they couldn't find their way. I'd get them up or guide them to it and then they'd go back to bed and sleep. Oh, the memories!

Well much to do so better get started. Besides the usual weekly cleaning in the family room I want to get the sofa bed ready for son and dil. They were to leave Phoenix this morning. You all have a good day.

Mary, I can't believe you have the same dream!!!! LOL DH tells me I'm obsessed with going to the bathroom, but when ya gotta go, ya gotta go!

One place I used to work had a small gym and a sauna room that was used for warehouse workers who had an injury. If you brought in a doctor's note, you could use it before or after work or on lunch breaks. Before I worked there, one guy used the gym every day during lunch then went into the sauna. One day he never came back after lunch and someone went to check and he was in the sauna, dead. He wasn't a young man, but under 65 because he was still working. Two men that I knew fell over dead while walking. One in his 50s and one in his 60s. After that I decided that walking is not good for you. LOL Just kidding! You never know when your time will come, and we all hope we go quickly and do not suffer.

My grandson is coming next week to stay overnight. We have a roll-away bed in the spare room for him to sleep on, but I seem to use that room for storage in-between his visits. That room needs to be straightened out. I have some books and magazines in there that I have to donate to the library. We have small closets so I keep my clothes in that closet. I also have a vanity table in there where I fix my hair and do my makeup. My grandson always says that's his room, but Grandma uses it, too!

I'm sorry I have you worried about the dogs, but I think it's better to be prepared for what might happen. They are pets and they can be trained, but they're still animals, after all.