Panning and chat for Sept. 17 - 23
Wow! First official day of fall this week. Vegetables and fruit being preserved, stews being made, and what about our friends in the warmer zones? Do you do anything different in fall?
And welcome to the new names I noticed in the "welcome" and "what's your story" threads. Please feel free to post here with any questions and thoughts, your plan, dieting tips etc. Have a terrific week everyone! :D Dagmar :spin: |
Good morning!
I am a terrible planner this week. I'm not even sure when I work. I think I'm doing a favour for someone and my schedule is a bit mixed up. I know I have to buy some groceries and household supplies and have a cleaning at the dentist at 1:30 today. I should be able to walk 4 or 5 days. I should be vigilant because we have a dinner party on Saturday. There ... thanks to Dagmar, I have a rough plan. |
There's planning too
Good morning all!
I'm off to a good start - sorry for the typo in the thread heading. I keep hoping they'll put a spell check in here somewhere. I made a couple of yummy "one pot" meals on the weekend which I'll be eating for the next couple of days. DH has "stuff" every night except Thursday so I'm dining avec les chats. One vegetarian stew with eggplant, peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes, and a turkey chili with all the regular chili stuff plus charred corn and ground turkey instead of beef. I don't find salad appetizing when the cooler weather hits so I tend to eat my veggies cooked. I have a bag of green beans which I'm probably going to steam with herbs to go with the veggie stew tonite. I'm getting really excited about New York! I'm trying on different outfits for the different events I'll be attending. I'm not a dress person so I'm doing upscale velvet pants and silk blouses things for the Broadway shows. Not sure what I'll wear to the Clowns Festival - probably a plastic poncho (my seat is in the 6th row front and centre) Happy Monday everyone (my DH hates me on Mondays 'cause I'm so happy to be back with the dogs at work) Dagmar :spin: |
Good morning, featherweights!
It's fall-like around here this morning. Crisp, clean, and cold air. Tired leaves, some starting to turn. Stressed out students approaching their first set of "prelims," i.e., any exam taken in weeks 1-13 of the semester. Before too long the trip to the bus stop will be made in the dark. Last night I went out for dinner at a new French restaurant in town for a work function. I made reasonably solid food choices: a green salad as appetizer, 2 oz. of herb-encrusted tuna steak (1/3 of a serving, and it seemed like plenty!), and nicoise salad for the main course. I passed on dessert and the bread. The off plan foods, then, were limited to the salad dressing, of which there was too much for my tastes, and ahem two ahem glasses of wine. Curiously, I'm having leftover tuna for lunch today. Go figure. I've already been to the gym this morning, for leg and ab day. Hit some new personal bests on squats. Paid for it on the three flights of stairs up to my office. I'm not looking forward to later in the day, when I start to stiffen up and try to walk home. Luckily, it's mostly down hill! Have a great day, everyone! Kim |
Thanks for welcoming me back girls. I knew that you would, and I also knew that when my visits became less often that I was headed for a world of hurt by not being accountable to someone.
Allison, I revel in your joy of making it 20min!! That was a big milestone for me last summer, and by the end of the year I was doing consistent 3miles every other day - even doing my very first 10k last November - C25K rules:cool:. I do get upset if I dwell too much on, not only gaining some weight back, but losing that achievement and love in my running. I was able to run/walk the Peachtree Road Race this past summer, but only because it was something that I had promised myself and I didn't won't to regret not doing it. Well, here's to a new week with new determination :cheer: |
Good morning everyone. Welcome back softballmom. Yes, here's to a new week!
I am still struggling with the no smoking. It's been awfully stressful but I'm not giving in. Today is day 13. Tomorrow will be two weeks since I quit. I still crave them everyday. I am breathing much better during my workouts and that is a great feeling. I continue to workout and eat well. I even lost a pound and am off the plateau, hopefully! These last pounds are the hardest. I sometimes want to give up but I know that I won't. I had a gig on Sat. night (I sing in a band) and my bandmates complimented me on how "thin" I'm looking. I wore a size 6 dress that was very snug, but hey, I managed to get it on! lol. I was on cloud nine. We are a retro 60s band and sing girl group songs. We wear mini dresses and go-go boots. I've got some pretty cool vintage outfits. So this weekend, I tried on many of my costumes that haven't been pulled out of the closet in ages and most are starting to fit. I feel so close to my goal. This is when it gets so exciting! |
Good morning everyone!!!
Dagmar~have fun in New York!! Oh, and if you switch to Firefox rather than Internet Explorer you'll get spell check (it's built into that browser). Susan~how is that salsa? I had to Google your phrase to see what on earth you were saying! Needless to say, I don't speak Spanish (but I love Mexican food!). feelingroovy~wow, go go boots. You must have thin calves! I can't get into any boots myself. softballmom~I agree--C25K rules! I'm still amazed at myself for running for that long! Now to increase... Kim~we're actually getting fall weather here, too. No leaves changing, but it was below 70 this morning. I may have to start buying long sleeved running gear! (Oh, would DH hate that--any excuse I use to buy more clothes HE uses for buying more toys for his Jeep!) Have a great day everyone! |
Last week was a doozy so I hope this week goes better! I went swimming on Saturday morning and when I came out afterwards I discovered a flat tire. Upon taking a closer look, I realized that all four tires were almost bald. Alinnell, wasn't it you that had to replace a tire recently? I guess I should have taken a hint and checked my tires at the same time. :o But the good news is that the tire didn't go flat until AFTER I swam (otherwise I would have missed my only opportunity to swim--that would have been worse) and, given the sad state of the tire (just completely split open, metal thread showing and everything), I'm really lucky it didn't blow out on the freeway on the way to the pool.
So I spend Sat afternoon making an emergency purchase of new tires. I decided to do some errands while I was waiting for tires. When I handed over my credit card to pay for my purchases, it was denied! I was shocked. I pay the bill off every month and I have some ridiculously high credit limit (they keep raising it), so I knew I hadn't maxed it out. I called the credit card company, gave them my name and account number and they told me that it wasn't my name on the account. I looked down at the card and sure enough, they were right! I had someone else's credit card. We went out to dinner last Wednesday and the restaurant must have given me back the wrong card. Nothing to do but cancel the old card, which is a huge hassle because I have all sorts of automatic payments set up on it, etc. etc. With the emergency tire purchase, my eating was all screwed up on Saturday. We went to a dinner party and, going into it, my calories were pretty low, but they sure weren't low coming out of it. Only two glasses of wine, but a lot of cheese, bread, crackers, and a big piece of cheesecake. Then when I got home, I got into the Chocolate Chex and some other chocolate that we had sitting around. The whole day ended up being pretty high in calories--I estimate that I gained 1/2 lb. So this week I am focusing on getting back on track after all the off plan meals last week. The exciting news is that I have figs and I'm getting more on Thursday. A friend's neighbor has a fig tree with a branch that extends into her yard and apparently it is loaded with figs so she is pawning them off on anyone willing. yesterday for lunch I had a salad with spinach, chicken, roasted fennel, roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, lite chevre, and figs. I dressed it balsamic vinegar mixed with a little dijon mustard and 1/2 tsp of olive oil. It was awesome. I'm going to have it again today. |
What a cook our Barbara is! Delicious!
Allison ... my rosy mind picture of you is shattered. Tall, slender, sophisticated and she speaks Spanish ... alas ... she's a googler! Where's Ilene? She can probably fix that "L", Dagmar. I just had sooo much fun! Silly fun. My appt has been postponed until Oct. so I went bargain hunting instead. I took all my Canadian Tire money and a bag of change for that coin sorting machine. All told, I got about $26.00 worth of free stuff. |
Barbara, after your day with the tire and the credit card I would have headed right to the grocery store freezer for the extra, extra chocolate ice cream with all the doodads in it. You did really well considering what a beast :devil: of a day you had. Your salad recipe sounds scrumptious :drool:. I can never figure out what to do with figs except eat them as is. Now I'll try that salad for dinner tomorrow.
feelingroovy your band sounds like a lot of fun. Quitting smoking is not but you'll find the cravings really start to diminish in the 3rd week, and you'll really start to get your senses of taste and smell back. Kim I know what you mean about the stiffening of the legs. I used to do weights and found getting in and out of the car (which I do about 60 times per day) really painful the next day. Good choices for the restaurant - and wine doesn't have THAT many calories :p. SusanB I do the Canadian Tire money thing too. And it's always something that I don't really need, like another doodad for the garden or kitchen. I have to go and play with some sad, lonely little cats now - Mud just bit my foot to tell me they're bored and have had a long busy day napping and grooming and napping and . . . Dagmar :spin: |
Barbara - gosh, that sounds like a wonderful salad. DH's parents have fig trees, and they were thrilled that I like them. Apparently, most of their figs just go to rot. We don't live close by, so I only get them when we are visiting in season, but they are a sweet treat for me. I would LOVE to have a tree! Enjoy them for the rest of us! And don't worry about that one bad day of eating. I know you'll get that half lb. off in no time.
Groovy - I agree with Dagmar; your band sounds like a blast! I'm sure you're looking pretty smoking in your size 6 - good inspiration, I bet! DH is in a band (drummer), and I love when they have gigs. He quit smoking in the past year too (after many previous 'attempts'). Chantix has helped he quit for good... or at least we hope it's for good. Before Chantix, he had tried cold turkey, he had tried the patch, and he tried Zyban once. With each attempt he fell off the wagon... guess when? Yep, when playing with his band, especially on gig nights in bars. The other band members smoke, and after playing for over an hour, he would eventually cave on break after a beer or two. It sounds like you are doing great, but if you falter and don't mind getting some pharmaceutical help, Chantix was a tremendous help to him. Glad to hear everyone else is enjoying the cooler weather. Looks like many of you are dropping the pounds steadily. You'll be looking great in your jeans this fall! Well, I'm going to do some 'homework' now (grading papers), so have a great night all... and a healthy day tomorrow. |
I bought jars and dish soap ... so mundane!
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The fig salad is awesome! :drool: I had it again for lunch and I swear it was even better today. It's huge too! I put in 2 oz of spinach, 2 oz broiled fennel (broiled after weighing), 3 oz red pepper (roasted after weighing), 2 oz fig, 1 oz light chevre, 2 cloves roasted garlic, 4 oz chicken (weighed raw then broiled), 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1-2 tsp dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp olive oil, and sea salt and pepper. That's a 14-oz salad yet the whole thing is less than 300 calories! I can't wait to get more figs when I see my friend on Thursday; I can't believe I've gone my whole life without eating them!
Mudpie--Luckily, stress doesn't really make me eat. If anything, it's the opposite--my inclination is to not eat when stressed. So I did great on Saturday, despite the tire and the credit card incidents--that is until I got to the party. But I suspect I would have done badly at the party even without the stress. They didn't even have a vegetable tray! :eek: And I offered to bring one and the host turned me down! Who doesn't have a vegetable tray at a party--for Pete's sake, you can buy them already prepared at any grocery store! groovy--stick with it on the not smoking. When I quit, I remember the first two weeks were the hardest; after that it got easier. I hope you live in an area where smoking is banned in bars, otherwise I'm sure your band gigs (which sound way cool-BTW) are a struggle to get through. SusanB and Mudpie--OK, I give up. Canadian Tire money--what is that? Does that mean that if I lived in Canada, I could have gotten money for my completely bald tires instead of having to pay the tire place to take them off my hands? |
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I wish it were so re tires. Canadian Tire is a dry goods/automotive supplies chain that gives out paper "money" with each purchase. You can redeem the money for cash or use it in place of cash to purchase something. I think you get about one cent on every dollar or something. It's a Canadian tradition (like wearing toques and eating maple syrup ;)) to save up the Canadian Tire money for awhile and then go cash it all in. Yes, we are a bit "different" up here :D Dagmar |
Good morning.
If Barbara had purchased her new tires at Canadian Tire, they would have given her Canadian Tire money and then she could have gotten cheap gas to drive home. It's kind of like air miles that clutter your purse. I think I got 20 new cents for the $20 I spent. DH and DS#1 buy tools and car stuff so we often have a nice little bit. |
Hey Guys,
So it seems I have some things in common with a few of you. Softballmom - I live in the south as well. I am presently training for the Atl Thanksgiving marathon. How did you like running the peachtree? I have always considered it but not big on the crowds. I ran the ATC Stonemountain 5 mile run. Do you ever do any of the ATC events? Susan and Mudpie - I am originally from Ontario. Born in TO raised all over, mainly in Markham. It's been a long time since I heard about Canadian tire money. How's life in Ont? Groovy - Don't give up. I was where you are and I let myself slip. Now I am fighting to get back to where I was. You can do it. So will someone tell me what C2K is? I have heard it several times and I'm still trying to figure this out. I am writing from Philly. It's been a busy week. I think I have been making solid food choices. I don't want to see the numbers go up like it did week before last. Managed to run my 3.5 miles this am. It was tough to do at 6 am. I wanted so desperately to stay in bed. Luckily I was able to drag my butt out of bed. Well that's all for now. |
American wannabe
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I grew up and lived in the beach area for years when it was a mixture of blue collar, students, seniors, etc. Now most people who live there are millionaires (and my clients - I still work there every day) and I rent a little bungalow in East York. How is life as an American? I always wanted to live in America but just couldn't figure out a way to get there. My mother originally was on her way to Minneapolis (she was a DP who came over after WWII) but got waylaid by my father in Toronto. Dagmar |
Stress and eating
I'm having a problem keeping away from the food this week due to a really hectic work schedule - my own fault for booking so much stuff. And next week will be even worse - 12 hour days every day :faint:.
I was so tired last night I didn't even turn on the computer :tired:. Just plopped in front of the TV and started snacking. DH is also away almost every night this week so there's no "formal" dinner time or meal. I'm kind of afraid :fr: that I might gain back a lot of what I've lost before my trip. Any suggestions? Thanks Dagmar |
Good morning.
Of course we have things in common rswlchic. The more folks I meet on the 'net ... the more I find that folks is folks and it's a pretty small world. Tell us more of the places you've lived. |
Good morning ladies!
rswlchick, If you are already running 3.5miles then you've already graduated from the C25K without even realizing it:lol: The C25K is a program that gradually gets non-runners to build their endurance and strength over a period of weeks to be able to run 3miles without interruption. The Peachtree was a fun experience, and this year it happened to be very low humidity which is not normal for July 4 in Atlanta, as you probably are well aware of. So if I don't train in the heat and humidity prior to the race next year, I will probably forego that one. I've been back to journaling for a week now, and I have happily lost two pounds:carrot:. I knew that this tool would have to be used, I just didn't want to get obsessive again about every morsel. This time I'm not keeping count of everything (ie Fat, Protein, Carb, Sodium, Fiber etc), just the calories and Fat grams. Hopefully that will keep it simple, but still mindful of my choices. Hope everyone has a fun hump day. |
Good morning everyone! It's been so long since I've been in here and I haven't even been keeping up with reading :shrug:
I have started working swing watch instead of nights and I'm actually really liking it. I've worked mainly nights for 15 years and have never worked swings before (except once in a while on OT). I am getting so much more sleep, about 6 hours in a row :faint: We change shifts every 4 months so I know I'll go right back to nights but it's a nice change. Not too much different in my eating/exercising. I have lost 2 more pounds and I think it's because I amped up my exercise just a bit and have done a few different things for cardio. Just that little bit seems to help. It had been so hot here for a while (hot to everyone except Allison!). We turned our air coniditioner on for the first time this year on Sept. 2nd. It is very hot here too but our house seems to stay cooler than most so we just don't use it but it was brutally hot. I had to keep throwing the dogs in the pool! Hope everyone is doing well. I'm going to go back and try to read. Talk to you later. Jane:sunny: |
Hi Jane!
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Hello Everyone,
This is my last night in Philly so me and one of my colleagues went out for dinner. Everything was going great until she ordered fries. This is my ultimate yummy. I am such a potato person it's scary. I don't care how you present it (fried, mashed, baked, scalloped etc.). If it's a spud it's in my mouth. So of course I ate some (a lot). Now I feel retched especially since I had dessert two. Strawberries and vanilla ice cream. Hopefully, this won't be my downfall for the week. I will have to run very hard on the Tmill tomorrow morning. Mudpie - I love living in the US. I miss home every now and again but you just can't beat the weather and the economy in the south. Everytime I consider going home my sister asks me why? According to her I will never get the life I've become accustomed to in TO without spending a lot of money. I bought my first house for 79k 8 years ago. You could never get that kind of deal in TO. Now I am married to a bonafide GA peach who has no intention of ever living any where but the south in winter. He loves TO but wants no part of the cold. Actually, we have even considered buying a condo downtown for vactions but realized we need a few more pennies in the bank before that dream can happen. Susan - My parents were big into the house flipping so we lived in just about every city in and around TO. Scarborough, North York, Richmond Hill, Weston Rd area, Barrie and finally Markham. Believe it or not I went to 10 different public schools. It wasn't until I was high school that I was able to finish a one school. Consequently as an adult I HATE moving. I have been living in GA for 12 years and have only lived in 4 different places. First place 1 year, 2nd 2 years, 3 rd 6 years and this last place we've been in for a little over 2 yrs. The only other places I have lived are Michigan for a couple of years then I went to Western and finished my degree. Softball - Thanks for the info on C25K. Who knew I was so ahead of the times. Do you do much running now? Jane - Glad to hear that you are getting good sleep. |
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Dagmar |
Good Morning!
I have nothing of note to report. I have been fooling with some of Dr Oz's ideas and am having trouble being 'whole hog' with the fruits and vegetables. While I'm embarassed to have had only 10% protein yesterday, I'm not craving that. I'd like some grains. |
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I've been looking for a new breakfast cereal to stir into my yogurt and thought I'd give Cheerios a try (well, actually Trader Joe's O's, but it's the same thing). Big mistake. These things are highly addictive and I've been eating way more than I should. The good news is that they are fairly low in calories, so it's not as bad as overindulging in, say, chocolate covered espress beans :o. But I think I'll be going back to my old standard, Trader Joe's High Fiber Cereal, next week.
alinnell--I'm with you on the raw vegetables! I like a good salad as much the next person, but otherwise I'll take my vegetables cooked, thank you! Our local paper ran an article about people who eat entirely raw veggie diets (even their kids!) and I'll I could think was blech! :p But these days I also couldn't survive in veggies alone. I need my meat (which is odd because 10 years ago I was practically a vegetarian without even trying but this whole diet and exercise thing was completely changed the way I feel about meat). rswlchic--I think C25K stands for "Couch to 5 Kilometers," the idea being that it's a training program designed to get you from your couch to running 5K (5 kilometers is just over 3 miles). SusanB--Ah grains! Nix what I said about not being a vegetarian. I'm always craving grains--rice, bread, pasta, polenta--I :love: them all. If I could survive on pasta and grains, that is all I would eat. |
I just saw him on Oprah and was very impressed by those gorilla food people. I can go for days and not eat anything even remotely fresh or raw. It's definitely a direction I could lean more toward.
I was going to have sardines for lunch but fell asleep. We're having salmon for supper. Lean proteins and things that grow ... and the polenta I made earlier. |
Polenta phooey??
Maybe she made it wrong but I've had polenta just once - made by my cousin's wife who is an excellent cook - and I found it disgusting. Is it just basically mushy corn meal or am I missing something?
Otherwise everything in my life is quite same old, same old. Except there's a really amazing fire about 6 blocks over from us with tires burning and smoke billowing which has been going on for about 4 hours now. I went to the grocery store one block over from it and there were about 20 fire engines (secretly I'm a 12 year-old boy) and all of the commuter trains next to the auto wreckers that's burning have been stopped. The smoke has drifted approximately 30-40 kilometers north but we are unaffected here - thank goodness!! STINKY!!! Dagmar :spin: |
Oh, we have a budding arsonist in our midst? :rofl: secretly a 12 year old boy!!!
I've had polenta a few times and it didn't strike me as anything special. The last time was at our next door neighbor's 50th birthday party (they're Italian, so all the food was Italian). It was good, but somehow I felt it needed a sauce or something. |
That's what my DH said "Needs sauce or something." I just fried it in a little olive oil to kinda get a feel for it. I think it could be about as versatile as potatoes or rice.
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I love polenta and it is as versatile as potatoes or rice. One thing I like about it is that I find it more filling than any other starch. Half a serving is usually plenty and comes in at a mere 70 calories (compared to 160 calories for a serving of rice, 100 calories for a 4 oz potato, or 200 calories for a serving of pasta). But I don't eat it plain (although I certainly could because I like it so much).
I always keep a couple of the pre-cooked tubes of polenta that Trader Joe's sells on hand (they are also available at some more mainstream grocery stores). They come in handy for quick and easy lunches, here are a couple of my favorites:
I also use regular, uncooked polenta, usually when I want polenta that is mushier than what comes in the tubes. I often serve soups and stews over it. Just last week I served broiled halibut with a yogurt-caper sauce over polenta. I also have several casserole recipes that call for polenta--one uses green tomatoes, one is for tamale pie, and one is a Mexican casserole. I have found that the easiest way to cook polenta is in the oven--trying to cook it on the stovetop is a mess and you have to stir it constantly. In the oven you just put it in and forget about it until it is done. I also cook my polenta with chicken broth instead of water and always add a little salt. Sometimes I add other spices as well. I'm thinking of experimenting with it as a crust for quiche. Mudpie--polenta can be range of textures from very mushy to so solid that you can slice it with a knife and serve it as finger good. It's all a matter of how much liquid you add and how long you cook it. It sounds like maybe your cousin's wife didn't cook it long enough. It will also firm up as it cools. But it is made from cornmeal, it just isn't ground as fine. |
Polenta maybe?
After reading all of your suggestions and Barbara's yummy recipes I will give it another shot. I think I'll try the cooking in the oven method and serve it with my chicken and eggplant stew.
Sorry I don't post recipes here but I don't cook anything really low cal for dinner (DH rebels when given "diet" food). I just eat really small servings and fill up on salad/cooked veggies. I tend to use low-fat cooking methods (broil, bake) and use lots of low cal veggies in everything. DH likes veggies but not when presented as "diet" food. Men - ARRRRGGGHHH!!! Dagmar (not playing with matches, I swear! ;)) :spin: |
Morning everyone!
I just plunked it on the table and said "Experiment food. It's called polenta and I fried it in a little olive oil." They tried it. I had to get DS#2 to stir it for me for the last little bit. It gets stiff! And my loaf is nice and firm for slicing. I think little cubes would be good, instead of tortilla chips when I make taco salad. |
I love polenta. Especially when it's hard enough to slice. Barbara thanks for the recipes. There is a Trader Joe's about 5 miles from my house. I will have to look into them. I have never actually made it myself.
Well so far this week has ended well. Lost 1 3/4 lbs. :woohoo: Plan to run 6 miles towmorrow. Hopefully I can shed another 1/4lb by Sunday. |
Woo-Hoo!!!
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Dagmar |
Thanks Dagmar,
I am really trying to put in the effort to lose the weight again. So I ran my 6 miles this morning with a good time of 1 hour 1 min. I am almost at the half way point for the half marathon. It doesn't seem that hard right now but I know I will start to feel it when I get into the 9 and 10 mile range. |
I'm very impressed with the 6 miles!
Morning everyone! |
Me too! I run/walk for an hour, and I feel that's a good workout for me. Six miles is intense! Hope your run today is a good one Dagmar. You are really on track for your New York trip!
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My exercise routine
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I don't ever post about exercise because my job takes care of all that. I do walking, sprinting, jogs, weights, wrestling, flexibility, cardio (screaming NO! NO!), and a bizzare form of agility that involes rapidly scaling up and down large masses of tumbled boulders. I've yet to have to swim into the lake in pursuit of one of my charges but that day may come. :D Now you have to guess what I do for a living. Dagmar :cheer2: (The one legitimate exercise routine I do is 30 mins. of yoga every morning to prepare me for the day's action) |
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