Just a quick note. I tried the toast with the sweetened ricotta. I used 2 tbs part skim ricotta, splenda (I used 2 packets), vanilla (splash) and cinnamon (several shakes). I was surprised how good this way. Aleka, I've been putting cinnamon into everything lately (whatever I think it will work in anyway), so that's how I thought it up. It is suppose to be very healthy, plus, I love the taste. Ricotta has calcium, so it's a win-win situation all the way around with this one.

Hi Gang:
Work has been nuts. We are now in our fiscal year end so we are
absolutely swamped :( It is hard to be a "front line person" you are
suppose to be charming and upbeat. I look like a frustrated hag by
the end of the day in that place.

Nikki, I have not done my body flex in quite some time. My son and I were
so good there for a while.......It is so hard to jump back on the band wagon
when you have been off it for awhile. The prayer is lovely.

Aleka our snow is almost gone. We are suppose to be having huge rain
on Friday though. Are you hearing that too Lynn?

I will pop back on tonight. I gotta go and try to pull myself together for
another day of St. Mikes and :devil: :rolleyes:

Anne.

Goodmorning Ladies: Well arriving back was as bad as we thought. She is everywere so we have made plans everywere for the next few days to get past the silence. The snow has really gone down Yesterday was very very windy so didn't get our walk outside but today we are going to get our the mountain bikes. We are going to Collingwood today to do some shopping. Yes Anne I heard about the rain, it should clean up the last remaining ugly dirty snowbanks.Well I will be back later, you all have a great day.

Sorry about typo's!!!!!

Hi ladies,

I missed checking in for a day or so. Only have had time to read posts, not make them! You have such great things to say...all of you. We have a group of philosophers here who spread a little wisdom, tempered with a little self-deprecation, and sprinkled with a lot of laughter. I like that!

Lynn, you honed right in on a problem that DH and I had after losing Sally. People grieve in such distinctively different ways. He simply closed up. We had four other children who needed to be able to talk about things and he said if they needed to do that, it would have to be with me. He would not discuss our daughter at all except with me and if we were gone on a football trip. He was able to handle it in his own way but not the way the rest of the world needs to. It was very difficult not to pull away from each other and still keep the rest of the family reasonably on keel. It has been quite a few years now and life has made its adjustments with all of us. He still doesn't mention her to anyone else and physically tightens up when it inadvertently happens. But the two of us are truly soulmates and could not be closer. Our kids still have the need to talk about their sister...good and bad things...and still wonder at DH's stubborn attitude. DD mentioned it while we were mulching last Sunday. I told her that sometimes you just have to accept what you cannot change and move forward...however difficult. I am so grateful that I know her memory still lives on in them...even her father deep in his heart.

I think my fever of mulching is spurred on by the fact that our youngest son will be married here at our home, in the gazebo or by one of the flower beds that surround it, the last of May. Only about 16 people will attend and it will be followed by a brunch a'la Mom in the house. Oh my! I wish you could find a prayer for good weather for us, Nikkic!!!!

I am so discouraged with the new WW plan DH has us on. Tomorrow is weigh day for us. I am afraid I will not have done too well. Deli chickens were on sale yesterday at our little grocery store and they smelled sooooooo good. I ate two legs, thighs, and wings last night!!!!! with salad. I was one stuffed toad! I have given up the pretense of being on Fast Track. I am just plain old counting those darned points and trying to use the food list for high protein/low carb things. WW and Low Carb doesn't work together easily. Just a few carbs and I start wanting them all the time. That wonderful Atkins bagel sandwich a couple of days ago really unleashed a torrent of desire. Are you all like that? I am so afraid that if I weigh and haven't lost (or kept that pound off) that I will dispair and want to go back to eating SS or Atkins...which we all know was NOT getting off that weight I need to manage the blood sugar problem. Oh darn! Wish I could live up to my commitments!!!

Is Boots still on your doorstep or has he been reclaimed? It is so inconsiderate of others to make you wait all day. Life really is full of that!

Good evening,
Lynn, I'm sure this has been a hard day for you and tonight will be difficult too. I admire you, getting out your bikes this early. I haven't ridden a bike in years. DH and were looking at them this past winter, I sat on one and tried to pedal a ways, kept falling over. He just laughed and said, I guess you can forget how to ride a bike. It's true, I tried to ride one a few years ago and couldn't then either. DH rides his a lot when we're camping.

Anne, I am slowly trying to get back in the swing of things, as far as exercise goes. It is a daily struggle.

Sugardrop, how exciting, a wedding. I prefer small gatherings for weddings for lots of reasons, but mainly because it is more personal that way. Plus, when you have a large wedding, it begins to over take the couple getting married (and family too) and then everyone is glad when it's finally done and over with. I can't think of a prayer for good wedding weather, but will say a prayer for their happiness ;) Congratulations to your son, his bride and to you and your family!

I am starting to like this new diet I"m on. I just bought up a bunch of Healthy Choice dinners, because I was so disgusted about having to change my woe, I didn't want to think up a menu for low fat food. So, DH hasn't followed this diet plan either, he eats DQ and cookies. I made him some ham and beans (his request, I can't choke that down, I ate it too many times as a kid). He ate 5 bowls in one sitting. What I'm liking about this diet is, there is no cooking and few dishes. DH is starting to realize that he made a mistake. Before, I was cooking fabulous food. Now, when he says what's for supper, I say, frozen dinners. :D :lol: :lol: He is not totally against them, but I don't think he is ready to commit to any diet plan. At least now he can't say it's the high protein/high fat food that is making him gain weight.
Boots is still here. I have no idea what they will do. DH's dad stopped by tonight for a visit. He only stops by a few times a year, even though he drives by our house everyday.

DD #1 and I are going to the mall tomorrow and do some shopping. It will be the first time in a long time that I will shop just for fun (my shopping anymore involves groceries only). I'm looking forward to it.
Take care, Nikki

Good morning,

Woke up this morning to the sounds of a very distraught crow. Evidently his/her mate didn't show up in time with breakfast. :lol: He/she would set the other crows off. It wasn't too annoying because it's nice to hear birds outside in the mornings again, no matter what kind they are. ;)

lynn, it's hard coming home because then it hits you again. Hope it went well for you and your DH last night and hope things are a little better this morning.
DH & I have mountain bikes too, but haven't ridden them in years. It bothers my knees to pedal. When we bought them I had been doing a lot of walking so figured riding a bike would be a piece of cake. My knees were screaming by the time I got home and I hadn't gone very far. Enjoy your bike rides. Hope you had a good shopping trip yesterday.

sugar, low carbing is very difficult on WW. I'm doing the same, just counting
my points, and using a few of the ideas from the Fast Track. When I eat carbs I usually am satisfied with what I eat. Every once in a great while, usually when it was my TOM, I would crave a candy bar. But, haven't had that in a long while. The only time I ever craved anything was when I was SSizing, and every couple of months I'd crave cookies and would sit and eat practically the whole bag. Haven't had any of those cravings since I stopped SSizing. That is so nice having your son's wedding at your house. DH & I had a small wedding, just immediate family and friends, so I'm partial to small weddings. Everything will look lovely, and everyone will enjoy themselves. Are you taking estrogen by itsself? I am, and there was an article in the paper that they aborted the study of women taking estrogen alone because it increased the risk of stroke. They said that if women needed it for hot flashes, etc. to take the lowest dose in the shortest period of time. I'm going to talk to my Dr. the next time I see her and see what she has to say. I may get off it.

nikki, glad that you're liking your diet better. I would love to have frozen dinners all the time, I hate to cook. :s: I'm able to stick with WW because there are no forbidden foods. They make it more difficult to eat full fat foods by giving them a high point value, but to me it's worth it. Maybe if your DH realizes it wasn't the low carb diet that made him gain weight, you can go back eating that way again.

ANNE, how is work going? Hope you're not too stressed out with the workload for the end of the fiscal year. Glad that most of your snow has gone. We still have quite a bit, but it is going. I don't know why, but where I live we're usually the last to see the snow leave, even towns farther north see their snow gone before we do. Sometimes it can be disheartening.

Take care and have a great day.
Aleka

Aleka,

I am taking Premarin...next to the lowest dosage...because I had to have a hysterectomy in my very late 30s. My doctor seems to be emphatic that I am receiving far more benefits from taking it than I would from not. After all these years, I would probably grow a beard without it!!!! I am sure that it has some effect on low carbing. Do you try to do low fat on the WW as well? I have not changed my cottage cheese from the 4% or stopped using olive oil on my salad. I did try to cut it down from my usual generous swish across the bowl. My my! How I love olive oil. I do find having no forbidden foods is a great aspect of WW.

Nikkic, I think your frozen dinner idea is great. Wish that would fly here. After raising 5 kids and all the cooking involved, I am more than ready to taper off to the simplest things for breakfast, lunch, and go out for dinner. Unfortunately, DH thinks Casa del Sol (our name for our home) is the best restaurant in town so he never wants to leave it!!! I think it is the most Convenient!!! and that is what reels him in.

The girls are upset today because of the rain. They hate the sound on the skylights. They would like for me to sit by their bed and hold their paws all day!

Hope you all are having a good day wherever you are. I'll check in later to see how being home again is, Lynn, and what's going on with you, Anne....and get an update on all of you.

Sugar

Goodmorning All: A dull over cast day here. We are to receive a lot of rain. Before I forget I watched a cat on the river yesterday. How he got on it I don't know because the edges are open water. So my question stupid as it seems can cats swim? She looked for a way off for a long time and when I lost sight of her she was still looking. It has upset me ever since. I have never had a cat and no nothing about them. I prefer small weddings also. My son and daughter-in-law's wedding was big. She took a transfer to Europe for the best part of a year and lived on her expenses to pay for it. It was incrediable to say the least. It was what she wanted and worked on the plans for 2 years. Now my daughter is going to fly to one of the islands with a few of us were everything is planned for her. Different strokes for different folks. A lot of people have problems with their knee's on bikes, my problem is how sore my butt gets from the seat LOL. My DH is sick today. I don't feel sick but have been in bed for the last 18 out of 24 hours so must be fighting something. In fact havn't eaten since 4 yesterday so maybe I am sick!!! Picked up Coco's ashes yesterday, still can't beleive that all that is left of that warm cuddly being is in a little pint size urn. Anyway time to get something done before I go back to bed. Talk to you all later.

Morning,
I'm just waiting to leave to go shopping. I good thing to do, since it's gray, cold and kind of wet out. DH went to the Dr (finally after months) and got an antibiotic and some new allergy medicine. He was running a temp. I think he's had this sinus infection since Nov. I wish he'd go to the Dr when he doesn't feel well, he thinks I go to often.

Lynn, I had my old dog cremated too. He was around 23 when I finally had to have him put to sleep. I finally buried his ashes inbetween a couple of pine trees and built a shade garden over it. It's hard to deal with the loss of a good friend. Sometimes when I'm sitting in that garden (I have a swing right over him), I can smell him (that old dog smell). I like to sit out there and think in the summer, it's a peaceful place.
I don't know, I think cats can swim, but I've never seen one do it. One thing I do know, they can figure out how to get into more trouble and also, out of it. Eventually, that cat found a way to shore, I'm sure. I am often troubled by all the stray cats there are, especially kittens in parking lots. That is how we got Stripe. He was a little guy, following people all over. I knew he'd get run over eventually, so I took him home. He's a wonderful cat, I don't know how someone can throw away cats like that, like they're garbage.
Hope you feel better, take care.

Sugardrop, I love to cook, but I"m tired of washing dishes. My kitchen is the size of a small closet or a hallway, so there's no room for a dishwasher. I think when they built this house, they never even thought about the kitchen.

Aleka, I am enjoying that there are no forbidden foods now, too. I was tired of trying to figure out how to substitute things all the time. I do like to low carb, because it's filling. I will do this woe for awhile and give it my best. I have to lose some weight, my skinny jewelry is no longer fitting. I have sets of rings (like some people have different sizes of clothes) one is for when I'm fat, one is middle, one is small. I am wearing my fat jewerly right now :lol:

Better run, take care, NIkki

Hi Everyone:
I have been going like gangbusters :o I can't believe this cash office
job :faint: I will be sooo glad when Friday arrives!!

To add insult to injury I have a killer sore throat. I will probably have to
go to the walk in clinic on Saturday if it does not improve. My son Sean has
a bad throat too but is much worse than me. He is running a fever of 101
my temperature is normal.

Sugardrop we are expecting big rain here on Friday. I hope we don't get
any flooding :fr: We got married at my parents house and we are still
living with them 25+ years later :) It was a small wedding (our choice)

Nikki, I am wondering about my own diet. I'm really not getting anywhere.
On one hand I like all the food I can eat low carbing on the other hand
I weigh 210 and its not like I'm making any progress. I keep telling myself
its better than my old weight of 309.

Lynn, I am sorry your DH is under the weather. You are down yourself
undoubtly because of your loss. It will take time of course.Time is the
greatest healer.

Aleka, are you satisfied with your program? I need a change thats for
sure.

Talk to you all Friday.
Anne.

Good morning,
Hope you don't get too much rain up there Anne and Lynn. We've had a steady downpour since yesterday, but so far, no real flooding, except for the usual river that runs through my basement every time it rains. Some day, we will have this old house remodeled, the driveway will not tip into the house and the water will no longer run down my basement walls like Niagara Falls :lol:
Great news, the kids are coming to get Boots this morning. I asked DH when, he said they should be here around 8am, we'll see, they are not very good with clocks. I will miss Boots a little, but after the all star wrestling that went on all night between him and Stripe, I will be glad he has a new home. As DH so carefully put it, "There will always be another damn stray that comes to our door and you will feed it. Then, it will never go away."
Anne, I know what you mean. I'm glad I lost what I did with low carb. I will probably go back to Suzanne's woe after I've finished losing all the weight I want. Right now, counting calories seems to be working for me. I think your body gets real use to what your doing and then you stop losing weight. It might start up again, and let go of the weight, but it might take awhile for that to happen. I found exercise is real important, but I realize, you have so little time to do it. I'm glad you see you are better off now health wise (and you look fabulous, BTW). I really want to get to somewhere else too, but I look around and think, I'm not that big anymore. Maybe that's not the right way to think, but at least I don't stand out in the crowd. I don't have people making comments about how fat I am or how bad I look, so being average feels better. Some day, spectacular might be nice. I told DH, we have to start a savings account for my face lift and tummy tuck. He says I'm going to have to get a job. What a funny guy. ;)
Well, I'll check back later, got to get some coffee in me and take a handful of vitamins and supplements, Nikki

Good morning,

It's another gray day here, we may see some rain tomorrow. ANNE and lynn, that may very well be the rain you're supposed to get, and I hope it misses the both of you.

sugar, I don't know why I asked you if you were just on Premarin, I do remember you saying you had a hysterectomy..senior moment I guess.
:doh: The only thing low fat I eat is cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, and occasionally salad dressing. As far as hard cheese, I eat regular cheese because the low fat and fat free tend to have a lot of fillers in it. I still have a SS mentality when I'm eating certain things. Lacee doesn't mind the rain, only thunder storms. It's awful when one comes in the middle of the night. Sometimes she will settle down if she lays in my arms. Ya, she's got me trained really well. ;) Having no forbidden foods is the only thing I like about WW. :s:

lynn, hope your DH is feeling better today and hope that you're not coming down with anything. I'm sure the cat got off the ice they seem to be able to get out of really sticky situations. We have our dog Shamrock's, ashes too. I have them in a sealed container along with her collar, last license tag, and her last rabies tag. On the front of the container I glued a photo of her. DH had to go get them from the Vet, I couldn't go, and I cried all over again. Hope things are getting a little better for all of you.

ANNE, how is your sore throat? The last really bad one I had, I was on antibiotics for a while. I am satisfied with my program. I seemed to be hungry a lot at first, but now I'm not. If I do get hungry, I usually grab a few almonds or soy nuts and the hunger goes away. Nikki is right about your body getting used to eating a certain way. You've got to shake things up a bit from time to time to start losing again. You have really come a long way and even if you are at 210, you have accomplished a lot and you look great. :bravo: How much longer is work going to be so busy?

nikki, glad that calorie counting is working for you. That's the only way I can lose weight, plus I do need a variety. You look great too and should be proud of what you've accomplished. :cp: It's funny that introducing certain foods that were forbidden on low carbing feels like a real treat. When I eat carbs I choose the right kind. I bought a small paperback book from the author of the South Beach diet that gives you a list of good and bad carbs along with good and bad fats. Speaking of carbs, I bought some Thomas's whole-wheat low carb bagels. They're not as dense as a regular bagel, it look like they took out a lot of the filling. They weren't half bad. I didn't find them as chewy as Atkins bagels.

Have to go upstairs and vaccum. :p

Have a wonderful day ladies.
Aleka

Well, they came and took Boots. Funny, I"ve been tearful about it ever since. Stripe has been sad, looking around and crying. I wasn't too happy to find out that she will keep him outside, but he will have a shed to stay in when it's rainy and the weather is bad. I sent his bed along for him. He will enjoy hunting, they live in the country and have a big field for him to play in and catch mice and things. One thing about cats, they can survive anywhere and get along just fine.
Nikki

Anne, you frightened me to death with that revalation about getting married at your parent's house and still living there 25 years later!!! Eek!!! :eek: Unfortunately, the woman our son is marrying is not my personal choice for him, but he seems perfectly happy so who am I to comment aloud. As a note of curiosity, a question to all of you who have married children. How many of the selections for mate would have been YOUR choice for your child? I've been down this road with each of our four and wouldn't have chosen any of their mates at the time :rolleyes: but have grown quite fond of them since. I have faith it will be the same this time. We just need to get to know this one better.

Poor Boots is relegated to the barn now? Nikkic, he's going to miss you! Probably will want to come back for a visit. Bet you'll miss those nocturnal battles as well! :sp:

I hope all the sore throats are better today. Don't let them go on too long...it can really get nasty and sap your strength and enthusiasm for life.

Our weigh-in this morning turned out pretty good for me. :dance: I was down one pound but DH gained a half!!! Seems as though someone may be making too many trips to the pantry to check his Hershey kiss tin!!! :sssh: I do hate this WW and felt like such a schmuck the way I am trying to keep low-carbing and NOT low-fatting while counting points this last week. Every day I would end up with about 27 or 28 points...way over my set point of 20! But I was so delighted this morning that maybe I could hang on another week.....

I got some Atkin's bagels yesterday when we were going to the city for our doctor's trip. Nothing like that available here in our little home site, but we whiz through where a Super Walmart is located when on the road to Kansas City. A friend shared one of the cinnamon raisin ones with me last week and it was pretty good. All they had was plain and onion yesterday so I got plain. I liked toast with cottage cheese on it for breakfast when first we did WW. Thought it might be good on the bagel. The Atkins bagel is the only low carb one I have ever had. Are there better ones?

Aleka, you must have bought the South Beach book that DD gave me for Christmas when we had just gotten the news that I had to severely restrict my carbs because of the diabetes looming. It lists lots and lots of foods and tells about their glycemic index and carb counts. I have found it pretty useful.

While we were in the city yesterday, my DH (who has extremely bad arthritis) had a bad fall in the parking garage. He has had a lot of pain and weakness on his whole right side recently and they have been trying to adjust his pain meds to accommodate it. For some reason he couldn't negotiate the single step up to the elevator and lost his balance, going all the way down banging and cutting and scraping his whole right side, severely cutting his hand, and banging his head on the concrete floor. Even his ribs were battered on the iron hand rail. :yikes: It was such a nasty day...four inches of rain that never let up played a part, I'm sure. It could have been a lot worse...broken ribs instead of just bruised, etc. However, it cut our outing off immediately and sent us on the way home...100 miles of slow driving. He was so glad to see Casa del Sol and get in a hot shower. The girls, who are usually not pleased to be out in the car in the rain, were so solicitous because they knew he didn't feel good. They climbed up on their perch in the back seat and were brave as can be, sticking their little heads over the back of his seat to give him a kiss or inquire about his bloody hand. :sorry: Rosalee loves to nurse (lick) any tiny bit of blood but this was far too serious for her to tend! It was quite deep but more a huge piece of flesh torn completely off instead of a deep cut that stitches could repair. She is gazing at the bandage longingly today, waiting for some healing to happen so she can take over at the very end with her tiny little tongue.

Hope the rain has moved out of the area for all of you today. :rain: It seems to be gone from here but the grayness is still with us. Come on sunshine!

Sugardrop