Good morning, everyone!

Dag: I've been reading your posts about DH for several years now. I hope you can both find a positive way to deal with DH's latest bout of existential angst.

Saef: I've also been posting a lot (this board and others) recently, and realizing that it's turning into a bad habit. Many times (like now) I'm just procrastinating the inevitable trip to a job that right at the moment isn't going well. Other times, though, I go on line because I'm bored. And then I feel bad because I realize that I just don't have many hobbies, other than going to the gym. And that's a pretty lame hobby, in many ways. Gee, so I racked up more miles on the Elliptical to Nowhere this week. Whoop-te-do. Moreover, there's only so much time one can spend at the gym, especially when you reach an age when recovery time slows to a snail's pace.

Shannon: Glad Atlanta is finally getting back to normal. We're in "normal" weather mode here, too, which means 20 minutes of sleet followed by 25 minutes of freezing fog followed by an hour of soft light snow followed by an hour of sunny melt-age followed by sub-zero temps. Gotta love central NY.

OK, enough procrastinating. Off to the gym, then to work.

//b. strong,
Kim

saef and kaw: Yes, I know what you mean. Where are the real people in my life? Not that people here aren't real--but what I mean is, if I died tomorrow, none of you would even find out. I'd just be another poster who stopped showing up. And the same is true for all of us. Lilybelle is a good example--people wonder about her, but we don't know what happened to her, and we might never know.

Jay

I have been worried about Lilybelle, last we heard from her she was waiting for a liver transplant . Don't know if she had it .

Dagmar, I hope everything works out with your DH. If the job really is what is causing all the problems, maybe a change is just what is needed. Is he planning to get another job just doing something different?

Speaking of DH's, mine is still on his health kick. He's been faithfully logging all his food for nearly two weeks now. I've been cooking recipes where I can keep the sauce separate, so he can either have no sauce or less sauce depending on what he wants (he is watching sodium very carefully to try to lower his blood pressure). It has been pretty enlightening. When I log my food, I only really pay attention to calories, and a bit less attention to protein/fat/carb content. I never even looked at sodium. It turns out that although we don't feel like we eat a lot of processed foods, they sneak salt into nearly everything! Did you know that most of the raw chicken you buy in the supermarket has been injected with saline solution? Or that jarred pasta sauce has massive amounts of salt? Even some veggies have a lot of salt naturally!

I had heard this, Jessica. When I was still fat, and in the early stages of losing weight, and my blood pressure hadn't yet come down -- it's excellent now -- my doctor once told me that he saw no reason why anyone should ever eat celery, given the level of sodium it contains. To this day, I'm afraid of raw celery sticks.

But the prohibition ends there, for me, as celery seems to me to be a critical part of that essential triumvirate for starting so many good & healthy dishes: Sauteeing an onion, two diced carrots & two sticks of diced celery in a bit of really good olive oil. The celery seems like an elemental part of that blend of flavors. I'm just not worried enough about that to cut it from my diet. I've cut out plenty of other stuff, but celery is staying in my mirepoix.

You scared me a little, there saef. About celery, I mean. I really like celery and lately have been having 2-3 stalks for my snack. I just had to look it up. One large stalk (11") has 51 mg sodium (2% daily value). Whereas an 8" long carrot has 50 mg sodium. I guess the better choice is sugar snap peas with 3 mg (but more calories than celery)...I don't think I'll give up the celery.

I came home to a near disaster yesterday. Thank goodness I left work early or it could have been even worse. Buddy is on arthritis meds and sometimes they mess with his insides. Monday night he'd been having what we call a bad night. He couldn't get comfortable and he was in and out and wheezing and coughing and falling for over 2 hours. He finally settled down and had a good night's sleep, but obviously something was bothering him as I came home to find he had had explosive diarrhea--in the garage, laundry room and into the living room. I had to wash the laundry room rug (on sanitary), use bleach to clean up the tile (and walls!) in there and the living room, then into the garage where I had to pull the carpet runners to the front driveway to spray them off. What a mess! It took me over an hour to get it all cleaned up. Meanwhile, he went inside, laid down in the living room and fell asleep. He's fine today (but as a precaution he's eating pumpkin with his meals and I skipped his dose of meds last night to give him a break).

I have to thank the kids, though. They came home at the same time and DD cleaned up the kitchen and emptied the dishwasher while DS built the new kitty box (we bought one of the automatic ones).

Today should be better. I'm going for a hair cut so my day will be nice and short!

Yuck Allison! I've certainly come home to that more times than I care to mention! I've never heard of giving dogs pumpkin. Is is supposed to settle their stomachs? My girls are usually pretty good to help too but they never know quite what to do!

My Vet told me to give my dog pumpkin.He was having a lot of irritation and yelped when he had to do BM. I aslo find that sweet potatoes work, too,

Pumpkin (and probably sweet potatoes) have a lot of fiber and that helps the diarrhea (and constipation and I think upset tummies). I buy it canned--the 100% pumpkin. Don't use pumpkin pie filling as that has sugar and spices in it. Dogs love it! I actually have to give it to both (even if only one needs it) because the other one feels left out if he doesn't get any! You can Google it, there are a lot of pages that recommend it.

Cats love it too! They sometimes need fiber for constipation problems. We buy the organic version but that's just us.

Jay

Not much to add today--just wanted to say hi. We're supposed to get snow tonight and tomorrow.

Hmmmm... I should try this with my kitties. They are on a special diet that causes major constipation. Dh makes the food. Perhaps he could even mix some pumpkin in. We'll have to experiment.

Oh, the topics we discuss here!:dizzy:

BTW DH will be looking for a new job just as soon as he gives notice (6 weeks). And he will also be doing all of the housework, snow shovelling, errands, cooking, and cat care while he's "at leisure". He doesn't for a moment think that he will get away with sitting around surfing (TV or online).

And he still has to complete his CMA studies. So he will be a busy guy, even without, for the moment, gainful employment.

Whatever negative things I say about him I can't fault him for anteing up his half of the rent, food, entertainment and cat costs every month. He has done so faithfully and will continue to do so.

I have several friends who have had bad experiences with live-in partners quitting and then sitting around. DH has been through one career change while with me and he did not sit around.

He's always studying something and planning his next course of action re career.

Now I just have to get him to redirect some of that planning energy into weight loss and exercise.

Have a good night all!

Dagmar :coach:

Whatchu sayin' bout goin to the gym??? Ok, this struck a chord with me because I've often considered the fact that other than sleeping and going to work, I probably spend next most amount of time each week working out, mostly at the gym. I've always shrugged, thinking to myself there are worse hobbies. :shrug:

Celery has sodium, who knew? Oh well... no BP problems here, not cutting it out! BF has BP problems, but he doesn't like celery anyway. I like celery. Ants on a log was my favorite lunch in third grade.

Glad I just told you all that, I'm sure you wanted to know... I'm going to sleep now. I've just finished 2 very long days of field work. :dizzy:

Good Morning!
 

Megan What is "ants on a log"? (yes, I'm obviously culturally deprived)

I got on to a great website last night! I joined up and can watch epis of TV shows I've missed. Also movies. All on my computer. Imagine that!

Unfortunately it's as easy to snack :o sitting at the computer screen watching as it is in front of the TV.

I have veggies ready in the fridge. Yet I crave crackers. I can eat 2 lbs. of broccoli and am not satisfied in any way re snacking urges.

I know it's a question of retraining the mind about what snacks are but my mind :crazy: doesn't seem to want to get with the program.

Speaking of TV I watched American Idol last night just to :drool: over Steven Tyler. That man is sizzlin'! Yowza!

Dagmar (dream on)