RUTH ~ nice to have you back with us again; glad that you had a great time and with no WL damage either. Wow, what a lucky lady you are -- going off to Italy in the fall as well! Have you ever been to Paris, France; I always thought that might be a nice city to see as well.

MADELEINE ~ that sounds like a good idea: to start with 100 grams of carbs and work my way downwards. A long time ago, a friend of mine lost weight on 60 grams a day, so I know that could work. I think that might work better for me in the long run; so thanks for the suggestion.

We are having very cold weather up here right now too ~ it's -10 C right this minute; but we did have beautiful all day long, so that made it seem much warmer. Like others though ... we had some ferocious winds last night and this morning -- they woke me out of my sleep in the middle of the night. Plus we found our garbage can rolling around on the street in the morning, but DH managed to rescue it before it got damaged or lost or hit by passing vehicles ...

They are predicting a really cold -16 C for us tonight so I just turned up the furnace a bit ... Hope you all have a fabulous Friday tomorrow ... Rosebud

Rosettastone, I don't know what iron supplement you are taking, there are two that I recommend that have been helpful.
One is palafer CF, its iron with vitamin c and folate, and the combo helps your uptake of iron. The other is liquid floradix, which is an herbal supplement, and is quite expensive, but seems to work brilliantly. It is usually found in health food stores, is from Germany.
I myself have sleep apnea (I love the biggest loser, seeing how everyone has a cpap machine in their bedrooms....) and do find that the breathe right nasal strips do help. I hope you don't have to drive for work. When I was chronically sleep deprived I had to stop driving for a bit, it got dangerous, especially on longer drives.
I hope you can get into a sleep clinic soon, sometimes if you tell them you can come in on a moments notice if they get a cancellation, you can get in sooner.
If you ever get chest pain, be sure to tell them and your doctor to bump you up in the schedule too.

I am having a very bad day today, have been grumpy and on the verge of tears all day. have gone off call for the weekend now, and am just gonna let grief take over. eating off plan again, hope I can back to it.
GOnna go back to 60g carbs again for the weekend until the funeral is over, no need to lose weight, just get through the weekend I think

Rosetta, sorry you have sleep problems to deal with. Fatmad's advice may get you an appointment sooner. I love Italy and have been there several times. This time I will be in an old hill town, Amelia in Umbria, for the week but may extend my tour a bit after the course.

Rosebud, I adore Paris! We have your wind and cold weather today and I need to sell daffodils OUTSIDE late this afternoon. Oh joy! We may have to cancel as it'll be flower freezing weather.

Memoree, glad you like it here. We do have some recipes posted. I use lots of the Phase I recipes in the South Beach Forum too as they are all diabetic friendly. Spinach and chick peas will be happening tonight.

Mad, I will be thinking of you as you get through this weekend. As I said before, be gentle with yourself - tears are a good thing.

The scale is cooperating at last and I'm down to 193 this morning after a day of clean eating. At my meeting last night, they had brownies AND birthday cake! What are people thinking these days? One of the good things about being diabetic is you can just say no. Some people still insist but I ignore them.

Busy day ahead so I need to get going. See y'all soon.

Hi, all. Sunny but chilly here. Slept better last night than I have in a long time. Makes all the difference in my outlook.
Fatmad - losing your mom is a major trauma and it will take awhile to come to terms with it. Don't worry too much about what you're eating right now, just allow yourself to grieve, and as Ruth says, be gentle on yourself. Thanks for the info about the iron supplements. That german one sounds interesting. I'll look for it. As for the sleep md., I've asked them to call me if they have a cancellation. If he wants to do any testing, there will be another delay in getting insurance authorization.
Ruth - That trip sounds wonderful. The only parts of Italy I've been to are the Lake Como region, Milan and the Riviera. I long to see Venice. I also love Paris. Was there a long time ago and I would love to go back. Good for you resisting the sweets at the meeting. Being diabetic is good for something. I once used it to jump the line at a restaurant. lol.
Have a good weekend everyone.

Drat! 2.3 this morning.....and I know why. After sitting in the below freezing temps yesterday selling daffodils, Rob and I warmed up with a bottle of red wine. Had a proper breakfast and feel more normal now. I won't be doing that again for a while.

MADELEINE ~ will send up some prayers for comfort for you during this weekend; it will take some time to grieve your mom's loss. At first, you are in shock, then as some time goes by, it hits you -- then you really begin the grieving process, which is a good thing ... Yes, just trying to maintain right now is a great idea!

RUTH ~ I see a pattern there -- have wine, BSL dips in the AM ... I can't really blame you and Rob for trying to keep warm whilst selling those daffodils. I always want to get some but seem they seem to miss us for some reason. I haven't seen anyone selling them around here yet; not sure why as they announced they would be, but just not WHERE!!!

HI ROSETTA ~ hope you can get some help with that anemia and your sleep apnea very soon. I sent up some prayers for you, so I'm glad you got a little better sleep too ...

Well, old man winter paid us a visit overnight and today: we got a steady stream of ***** all day long as well. It is quite light right now, but it is pushing towards 2" right now, but the temps held at 0 C all day. That's not too bad really; we were very spoiled this month, so can't complain really.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend ... Rosebud

Happy last week of March. April should definitely be Spring unless March sneaks back with her normal weather of cold and snow. Easter weekend looks glorious!

Ticker is being truthful this morning and BGL was good today. Now to carry on! Italy, here I come!

RUTH ~ glad everythings back in order, but you did very well really ...

We had a good day; just did stuff at home and some personal pampering for the day. That's nice to just take a day and give yourself some attention just for fun (manicure, pedicure, hair, etc).

We ended up with about 3" of snow the other night but it finally stopped by yesterday afternoon, and was all clear by the time we went to bed. We had a lovely day today and there's a big, beautiful moon out there again: nice and close too. We are supposed to get sunshine all this week, so that should take care of any of the remaining snow out there.

Hope you all have a terrific day tomorrow ... Rosebud

Its a short work week for me, just 3 days, and then a long weekend off, but a lot to cram in there. I was feeling stiff and sore on the drive back, so stopped at the chiropractor for an emergency appointment and then went to hot yoga for some stretching. got so relaxed at the end of class, the tears were flowing, but not noticeable since the sweat was dripping too.
Ate quite badly on Saturday and Sunday, off plan today but a balanced diet.
I will need lots of support to get back on track I think. I'm not blaming myself, but am worried about the cravings getting to me. TOO many carbs and chocolates.
Dad will visit for Saturday and Sunday, first holiday without mum and his birthday to boot. A friend and her son will also be visiting, so it will be good to have some younger kids for us to hide eggs etc.
The weather is fabulous, and that helps, getting out for a walk in the sun will be good and I plan it every day.
love to all, thanks for every kind word.
madeleine

MADELEINE ~ that was a tuff weekend to get through -- when we went thru my mom's funeral, I felt like I was in a warped time zone. Just before going into the funeral home, I asked DH for a reality check, "Is this really happening?" And, he said, "Yes, it is really happening; and I know how you feel too, becuz I had that same feeling when my first wife died." I think some of us were still kinda all in shock at that stage.

It hit me more after we came home. Don't worry about the tears, that is all part of the grieving process ~ you will find yourself crying at the oddest places and times. I had a beautiful dream about my mom a while after she passed: she came to show us that she was in a heavenly place, where she and others were living -- it was very comforting.

I think that is a great idea to spend the Easter weekend with your Dad and your friends; I think that will help you get through this time even better. I have had those off plan times, and it would take me about a week to get back on track perfectly. Just take it one day, one meal, and one snack at a time. I found writing down what I ate really helpful at those times too.

I think we have a nice shoulder ham in the freezer for Easter as we had turkey at Christmas; gonna have a look tomorrow to make sure I'm correct or I will have to go back to get one. When we were at the grocery store today, I noticed the "closed" days sign on the door.

BTW, I was able to get some sugar-free Chapman's ice cream today. They just started carrying it and they just had one left but the girl found me a maple walnut one on the skid she was unpacking. So I will be trying it out to see how I like it. I will try the vanilla one next time; so far, they just carry two flavors. Since it is one of my favorite desserts, it is nice to finally have that here.

I picked up a whole chicken for dinner and am cooking it with piles of veggies including a peppernut squash which were on sale for about $1.00 each today. First time trying them; hope I'm baking it right. I cut it in half; cleaned out the seeds, then put it cut side down on a glass baking dish with a bit of water in it.

We had another lovely day -- it was quite windy and cold this AM, but by this afternoon, it was getting much warmer so I was able to sit on the deck with NIKO for awhile. Then I came in to put my legs up to rest as I got lots of walking in today too. Hope you are all well and having a great Easter week ... Rosebud

Did ok today, did about 80 g carbs, sugars are a bit high, but coming down.
Tomorrow will try for 60 g and keep it there for the rest of the week.

Got out for some fresh air and a short walk with the dog. Will tune into the biggest loser for a bit tonight to get re-inspired I think.
Too tired to go out. Feeling exhausted, even though I slept well last night.

Such nice weather, hope I can enjoy it more tomorrow. thanks

Mad, "firsts" are difficult and this one is so close to your Mother's passing. I hope the family time helps.

Rosebud, we were very cold here yesterday - the wind more than the temperatures. I was back in my winter jacket. Well, March has been so gentle that he must have figured he needed to go out like a lion just to keep his reputation. No snow all month was a miracle.

Weight still holding steady (darn it!) and BGL finally stable. This weekend will be a bit of a challenge. I am trying very hard to not make eye contact with chocolate bunnies and Cadbury mini-eggs! I am going to my friends' house for Easter Dinner and will watch my portions. Margo is a terrific cook so I'll have to be strong. I am skipping the church Seder Supper tomorrow night although my chicken stew turned out really well.

Happy Hump Day to us all.

well I did get on the treadmill for part of biggest loser, and fast forwarded through most of it, so only watched tv for about 45 minutes over all. Will have friends and family around all weekend so am planning meals for me, they can just add carbs like potatoes or rice. I will make some low carb desserts too or I will feel deprived when all the chocolate is around. Can't have that.
Rosebud, how far north are you to still have it snowing?
We get frost overnight, but very warm sunny days now. Going to the trail with the dog after work today.
have a good day everyone