Assuming that Grandma Meg was up all night walking the grandchild, we'll start the thread for the week.

My joy was to spend several days visiting relatives but to avoid the food pushers and the multiple desserts that remain on the table for the long duration of happy after-dinner visiting. And, on the evening when we selected dinner from the take out place, we chose some five different veggies along with the traditional meats - was fun to have people trying stuff like roasted cauliflower that they claimed they'd never had before.

Had the strangest experience at my client's house last night. I went to turn on a table lamp and there was a blue"crackle" and some smoke!. Apparently I blew something in the wiring. The circuit breakers were all fine - I reset them all anyway - but I no longer have either big screen TV or the computer I'm supposed to use. And there are lights that no longer work. Yikes! Thank goodness the AC wasn't affected. It's going to be hot and sunny for the remainder of my time here. Lots of front porch time in the evenings with the dogs and my book.

There is another computer and I'm checking email etc. on it but the keyboard is an odd one for me so excuse any typos I'll be making until I get used to it.

I wanted to be totally TV-less but succumbed on Saturday night. My brain wouldn't accept any more reading. As I went downstairs during a commercial in search of something to eat I was reminded of what a bad habit TV is for me.

I'm going to start listening to music with headphones when I get back home. DH will be mad that we're not spending any time together in the evening but TV watching really isn't time together. Maybe we can watch the news and comment to each other or something. Or go for a bike ride. Or kayak. Or a movie.

Have a great Monday all!

Dagmar (4 more days 'til home)

Great job avoiding temptation Bill! Roasted cauliflower, yummmm....

Dagmar, if the TV isn't working anymore you can't watch TV, right?

Sznn, great job on the half marathon!!!

The baby shower on Saturday went okay. I ate a piece of cake, but not much else, and didn't have dessert with dinner like I normally do on Saturdays. Then yesterday I went to run some errands and I forgot that the store I was going to was right next to Baskin Robbins. I caved and bought some ice cream, but it was a success as well as a failure -- I got two hand-packed pints to bring home and share with DH, but the hand-packed pints were actually more expensive than the pre-packed quarts. The kid behind the counter was like, are you sure you want me to pack you pints, the quarts are cheaper. I said no, I would rather pay more than risk eating a whole quart of ice cream. Another success is that DH and I only ate one bowl of ice cream and put the rest back for another day.

There were so many adorable little baby clothes that DH's cousin got at her baby shower! I was laughing because I was like, I almost want to have a kid just so I can dress them up in adorable baby clothes. Not a good reason to have kids.

At home things are kind of stressy. DH got over his ankle issue and is back running again. However, he didn't get the promotion he wanted at work and has been falling into his career depression again. It's the one where I tell him he should look for a new job and he says, "Why bother, any other job will be just as bad as this one." Then I say, why don't you just quit, I make enough money for both of us, and he says, "I'll just be more depressed if I'm unemployed." Sigh. There is no reasoning with depression. Why do I always feel like I have to do something to cheer him up, even though I know from 10 years of experience with him that it is a brain chemistry problem and there is absolutely nothing I can do or say that will make anything better? I know I just have to wait it out but it's really hard sometimes.

In other DH news, I have a question for you folks. DH needs to get more protein in his diet. The trick is trying to add protein without adding too much cholesterol or saturated fat, and without eliminating the carbohydrates he needs for running. Any ideas?

Jessica - we have struggled with adding protein without as much cholesterol lately, too. Anywhey protein powder is cholesterol free. Boca & Morningstar Farms patties have a nice protein number with no cholesterol and a decent carb number for the running. We have also done some veggie chorizo that was good. Beans work well for protein, though DH doesn't like them so we don't use them.

Bill - your veggies sound great!

Dagmar - I've done that with a lamp before. Ick. Though at least it means no tv for the rest of the time you are dogsitting. That is a plus, right? On the headphones in the evening, is there something you can do other than snack and still watch tv with DH?

Okay weekend for me - got in a decent but hot run on Satuday, cut the grass on Sunday. DH & I went to see "The A-Team" on Sunday - funny. I didn't expect to actually enjoy it, but it was pretty good. Funny.

Sznn, congrats on the ½ marathon. I cannot imagine running for 2 hours and 18 minutes. You rock!

Megan, I’ve been pondering the sunblock thoughts since I checked out the list. I decided I liked my sunscreen. I have not burned all year and my skin tolerates it. If I don’t get rashes and zits from it and it protects both UVA and UVB then I’m sticking with it. If something gives me a rash but a lab said it’s worse than product B, I’d be hesitant to try. Living in the desert, I see my dermatologist and have gotten glowing scans. So… maybe you might want to talk to your derm about what product is best for you.

Ah-ha Dagmar, the blue crackle was your conscience making sure you didn’t eat during TV commercial breaks.

Jessica, the solution for baby dress up is simple – volunteer to babysit DH’s cousins new baby and have the thrills without having the baby yet. I do that with puppies. I need a puppy fix so I don’t adopt another dog. So I find someone with a puppy and get my fix. I add designer whey French vanilla protein to my mochas or to frozen berries and diet cranberry juice for a cheap calorie smoothie. I don’t like meat and I was very low on protein. My quads were always tired and sore. Enter whey protein into my life, my quads are happy and I don’t have to force myself to eat meat.

Weekend was great. I got housework done on Saturday that I interspersed with fun stuff. Definitely the way to do chores. Sunday, DIL and I went over the mountain for biking and shopping. Then we lounged in my toast warm pool. She and I loved it. DH and DS moaned and groaned that it was 89 degrees. Ah, too bad. It’s my pool.
Marie

Excellent job, Bill! And thanks for starting the thread.

Dagmar, that's pretty scary about the wiring. Hopefully your client has smoke alarms in the house. It's always interesting when we discover that one "habit" triggers another. My Dad said when he quit smoking, the one time he really missed it was when he got off the streetcar. He always lit up then, and it was a really strong habit.

Jessica, I think you should just get a doll. I eat hummus and egg whites--few calories, but lots of protein and filing. I also make smoothies with protein powder, which is what the doctor told me to do because I've got a protein deficiency, too.

Shannon, I can't even imagine running (even walking fast) in the south in late June. I guess if you've lived there a long time, you get used to it.

Marie, sounds like a spa more than a pool. Sounds like a great weekend.

We worked on our townhome all weekend. Saturday we started painting at 9:00 am and worked until 8:00 pm. Dinner was a glass of wine--just too tired. Sunday was cleaning day at the townhome plus putting switch plates back on, that sort of stuff. We thought we'd be done, but still have stuff to do so we're going over tonight. My son's GF moves in on Thursday so we have to be done by then. My own house has been neglected as have the foster kittens I have (neglected socially, not physically--just want to clear that up so you're not thinking animal abuse).

Going to be hot here--maybe hit the century mark. So glad I have A/C.

Susan - Congrats on the 1/2!! Great time.

Jessica - good ideas with whey protein, beans, eggs/egg whites. ALso cottage cheese, Greek yogurt.

We had a rainy but okay weekend. Ended up going to the local Highland Games on Sat afternoon. They came with authentic Scottish weather! Fun though. Yesterday our church had a "worship in the park" services, and since we were in a pavilion (roof and concrete floor) we had it. It was chilly and I was wearing gloves as I have arthritis in my thumbs which cold/damp aggravates. Followed up with a potluck. The hot food was well received.

It's still raining off and on today. I've done my errands and gone to the gym. Am hoping for enough dry time for a short bike ride.

DH came over last night and fixed the electrical problem - to him. I was a bit anxious about the big screen TV. I really can't afford (nor should I have to but people are weird about their stuff) to replace anything that costs a gazillion dollars.

We are going to have the most gorgeous weather - sunny, relatively warm but not humid, with moderate winds - for the rest of the week. And I get 4 days off to enjoy! Kayak and bike, here I come!

I didn't watch TV last night (even though it's back) but finished my book instead. I don't know if any of you read Canadian authors but Margaret Atwood is one of our most distinguished ones. Her most recent two books are "speculative fiction" and I highly recommed them both. They are "Oryx and Crake" and "The Year of the Flood".

Have a great Tuesday all!

Dagmar

Dagmar, I love Margaret Atwood, although The Handmaid's Tale gave me nightmares.

Pat, that's amusing about the authentic Scottish weather. I keep telling my DH that real men do wear kilts.

Off to the shelter for my weekly stint of getting my arms pulled out of their sockets by wild and crazy dogs. Bringing my foster kittens in to see how much they weigh and why they are having digestive "issues."

Have a good one, everyone!

Hi everyone from hot and humid Houston!

I am missing my 3FC fix while staying with the in-laws so I'm sneaking on for a few minutes of computer/me time.

Since I've been gone, our big screen TV died. dh had a repairman out yesterday ($75) to quote us $550 to fix it. It cost us $2200 5 years ago but he priced new ones and thinks we can get one around $500! So looks like we'll be getting a new TV. I don't want to spend the $$ but we do watch it.

I've run every day here. I sure hope the sweat and tears are enough to counter all of the restaurant eating I'm doing. We've been eating out most lunches and dinners for a week and I don't go home until Sunday. I'm making the best choices possible but everything is bigger in Texas-- huge portions! I keep asking for my salad dressing on the side and they keep bringing the salads dressed. I said, no-- I want the dressing on the side and the waiter said-- ok-- I'll bring you more dressing. NO!! I'm anxious because I'm an every day weigher and I have no scale. I'm obsessing that I'm gaining tons of weight but I usually do better here than I think because I'm so focused. It's still hard. Today I'm having Italian for lunch and Mexican for dinner. Ugghhhh.....

I went to my high school reunion. It was okay. I went with my best friend who just had the baby (adorable 2 month old!). It was at a place with lots of restaurants so we were at a table with some people we knew and some we didn't (plus she brought the baby). She only went to the highschool for a year and a half so she didn't know too many people. After dinner, there was a wine bar that everyone congregated at. It was outside with live music and it was loud! We didn't stay too long because the music was too loud for the baby, there were tons of people smoking, and neither of us were drinking! But all in all I'm glad I went.

Tonight dd and I are going to a special sneak preview of the movie Eclipse! We were at Nordstrom yesterday and she got 2 free passes for spending $$. It is just a Nordstrom event and they have the entire theater-- every auditorium for the movie. I should be over run with teenage girls! I'm sure it will be fun though.

I should go back and read last week's thread to see what I missed.

Okay, this is it. I'm done. I have become a crazy person since 5/1 and have eaten whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. That ends right now. A solid month of clean eating coming up. I'm stocked up on veggies and healthy snacks, I'm back to making green tea at work, I have some light ice cream snacks in the freezer so I don't have an excuse to go buy Ben & Jerry's. Those were helpful to me during the weight loss process, so I'm going back to what I know. I'm giving serious thought to putting up a weight loss ticker - I haven't been keeping my exercise ticker up to date anyway... I weighed 133 this morning. Some of that I know is water from enchiladas on Saturday, Mexican/popcorn/frosty on Sunday, Chinese/ice cream on Monday, but as you can see from the foods I listed it isn't all water. My base is too high and it has to get back down. So I am done. I told DH I need us to stop going crazy with the food at home, and it will help him too as we have derailed his weight loss the last two months as well. So back on point today.

A news crew is coming to my restaurant this morning to film a human interest story. We have three customers, men aged 89, 90 & 96 who have been eating lunch together every Tuesday at our location for the last 10 years, and went to our flagship location for the 40 years before that. The youngest of the three is turning 90 this week and they are doing a little blurb for the news about the three of them eating chili dogs & onion rings together every week for 50 years. I think it is fantastic.

Sheila, The Handmaid's Tale haunts me too. Scary stuff, the thought of living in a theocracy....

Shannon, 90 yo and eating chili dogs every week! Wonder what they eat the rest of the time. That's awesome!

Shannon~what a cute story! If the news station has a website and they post the story, please post a link! Sorry to hear about your eating woes. Kind of sounds like the was I was for several months. I'm finally working on it, but last night at dinner I just knew that the bun I was eating would cause a weight gain this morning and I was right. I should have eaten my burger bun-less. I just didn't want to.

We've been having internet problems at the office and I couldn't understand what was going on. I posted here yesterday and kept checking back and there were no new posts to my subscribed threads. Turns out that my post didn't post and therefore I didn't get subscribed. Still problems today, but now I know about it and can do a work-around.

I've attempted only one Margaret Atwood book and got only half-way through it before I gave up. It's a pretty recent one, but I can't remember the name. Never read the Handmaids Tale, but have seen the movie once or twice. Very weird story.

Michele~we recently gave away our 4 year old Mitsubishi 63" TV that had broken 3 times in 4 years. We just weren't willing to put more into it. It was a DLP and the mother board kept going out on it. We spent far less on a new HDTV at Costco and aren't upset that it's smaller. The picture is so much better.

Susan~congrats on the race! I did post that yesterday, but of course it didn't post!

So I took DS to the DMV for his written test to get his learners permit. No go. You can miss 2-3 questions and pass. He missed 14! He has some studying to do. And I tried to make an appointment for retesting next week--appointments are 30 days out! Sounds like some doctor's offices! So next week I'll take Wednesday morning off and we'll take our chances. If he doesn't pass, he'll be in trouble for wasting my time!

Allison, about your son missing so many questions! Although sometimes they put tricky ones on there, like, how many inches away from the curb you're allowed to park.

Shannon, I want to hear the story too, do post a link if they put it online!

Michele, glad your HS reunion went okay. I'm extra glad now I had decided not to spend the $$ on plane tickets to go to mine because it just got cancelled because not enough people signed up! Maybe I can talk people into an informal reunion next time I'm in town.

Thanks for the protein ideas guys. This morning DH cooked himself some egg substitute and had some nf yogurt with fruit in it and a piece of ww toast for breakfast instead of his usual giant bowl of oatmeal and skim milk. I figure if he's going to cook it himself and clean up the dishes, he can cook all the eggs he wants! I can't stomach eating eggs in the morning every day so I won't be joining in his high-protein breakfast. I will try to pick out higher protein main dishes for us for lunch and dinner though (wouldn't hurt me to get some extra protein either), and I searched through 3FC and pulled out all of the recipes for protein pancakes, protein bars, and protein muffins. We might just buy some protein powder. Anyone have a favorite brand?

In other news, my mom is out in NJ visiting my grandma, who is fading rapidly. She's 95 years old and has been in poor health for at least 10 years, but she didn't really recover properly after getting shingles a couple months ago and now she is sleeping most of the day and not eating much. She has congestive heart failure, inflammatory arthritis, and osteoporosis (bad hip among other things), although mentally she is still fine. She is basically on home hospice care and my mom is trying to get the doctors to give her stronger pain medications. I guess most of her pain is from her bad hip (she had the other one replaced a long time ago) but there is no real treatment since she's certainly not going to have another hip replacement. In any case, my aunt lives with my grandma and has been her primary caretaker for as long as I can remember, so since it is so difficult to take care of her now and so stressful my mom went out to give her a break.

In any case, it is sad, but 95 years is a long time to live, and the past few years all she has been able to do is watch tv, read books, and do crosswords. I was never very close with this grandma since she lived on the other side of the country (I often felt like I barely knew her), and I feel kind of guilty for not being more upset.

Jessica~that's the other thing I "posted" yesterday--protein ideas. What about beans? Not only are they fairly high in protein, they're also full of carbs to hold him for exercise. And so versatile, you can put them in all sorts of dishes (ooh, and egg/bean burrito for breakfast= yummy!).