Hi Everyone Aleka hope your trip is going well and the lastest "storm" hasn't effected you. Hi Anne,hope you are ok. Nikki, I sure hope you are back on line soon. I will write more when there is somebody back on line. Soon I hope!!

Hi,
My computer is still in the shop. I think they should rename that place, the slowest computer repair west of the Mississippi. They haven't even got into it yet. I checked at Walmart and can get a new emachine for $700 and a compac for $600, so may have to do that. What a waste, my old one cost $1600 all together. I'm still hoping they will fix it, I hate to take it somewhere else, since they say we already owe them $54 for just trying to get into it. When I got my computer, I had to enter a password. I had never had a computer before and the instructions were pretty unclear, so I never did write down my password. I have no idea what it was and they need that to get into it. It has a lot of security set up inside to safe guard it, so I guess they are having a hard time hacking into it.
Lynn, that had to be really scarey about Mya. Dogs seem to get into all kinds of trouble and it never is what you think it will be. Vets are a lot more expensive anymore. I spend more on my animals than on myself for health care.
I have had no problem sticking to my woe. SS is so delicious and filling. But, I gained 1.5 pounds this week when I weighted today. That was pretty disgusting. I am doing body flex every day and I'm up to 25 min a day on the gazelle. Plus, I'm trying to add extra things in during the day, like parking farther away from stores, that kind of stuff.
Anne, are you ok?
Aleka, I am really worried about you too. I just saw all the people without power and the devastation down there. I hope your safe and sound. Lots of people will be without power for a month they were saying.
I'll stop by in a day or two to catch up on my email, unless by some miracle my computer is fixed.
Take care everyone, Nikki

Hi Nikki and everyone else: Sorry to hear about your computer Nikk, I hope you get it back soon. Is there a point (moneywise) that they will say it is going to be to expensive to fix it? Your computer prices are so much cheaper than ours. Glad the diet is going well. I have not got back on the daily exercise program, soon I hope. I have been off diet for 2 days . Well not off really, Saturday went to a b'day party and had a piece of cake. On Sunday went to friends for dinner and she had corn, peas & potatoes with her roast. I took a little of each. Today I am back on track. Wednesday or Thursday I leave for home. DH will come the next Tuesday. I am looking forward to getting back into my winter routine. Mya goes to the vets this afternoon, I hope for the last time for a while. Well that is it , will talk to you in a couple of days

I'm Baaaack!

We made it to FL all in one piece. We got to the house around 5:00 pm on Thurs. They had been in to lay the new ceramic tile, but hadn't grouted it. We had no bathroom facilities so we had to find a motel room that would let us bring Lacee. We did find one, but they weren't taking reservations, because of all the displaced people and work crews from Charley. DH explained our situation so the desk clerk said that they had 2 rooms available and if we got there before they were taken, we could have one. We rushed right over and snagged a room. We were there for 2 days. We finally got into the house on Sat. before Jeanne hit us. We made out ok, we were just south of the storm so we got very high winds and some rain. Thankfully, no damage. Because of Jeanne our furniture is sitting somewhere in North Carolina and we don't expect it to be delivered until later in the week.

Nikki, I am so sorry about your computer problems. I hope you get it fixed or get a new one soon. That's great your diet is coming along for you. I still haven't started dieting yet, everything is still in a turmoil. I do plan on starting to walk again.

alynn, what happened to Mya? I haven't looked at last week's thread yet. I will look it over when the computer is in better position, I am now sitting on the floor. I only hope I'll be able to get up again.

Anne, how are things going at work for you? I hope they've hired a replacement for Tanya.

More later.....
Aleka

Goodmorning All: Welcome back Aleka, we missed you and I am so glad your house is okay. Some people up here didn't fair so well. Two people can't find out how their homes faired, but since they can't reach anybody suspect the worse. The Panama City bunch ( they go to the same townhouse complex ) did okay just lost some shingles which will be repaired when they get there around the end of Oct. Aleka when we went to DD's for a few days Mya was running in the bush and a branch went into her eye leaving a little hole. All is well now, her vet appointment yesterday was great so hope we don't see a vet anytime soon!!!! I will be off line for a few days as I am going home tomorrow for a few days than back up here till Monday. If I get hooked up I will post on Thursday. Nikki, have you heard from Anne in a PM message? Well bye for now

Hi Everyone

Sorry I haven't posted before now but I have been going through ****. One
week ago (Sylvia)came into the office. She must of asked me a
question and didn't like the way I responded and yelled at the top of her
lungs "DON'T YOU BE SNIPPY WITH ME", well, I yelled back I am no being
snippy with you, my behaviour is a mirror of the way you treat me. She
yelled 'WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME" I answered "you heard me". Well, even I
couldn't beleive I spoke to her like that. I was a wreck, I was teary, shaking,
hyperventilating, you name it. She then yelled "go to the health unit" I said
my pleasure!!
Well, when I got down to the health unit they made me go out for a walk for
20 minutes then come back to talk to them. I told them my little story and
expressed I was fearful that would turn the entire story around. Health Unit nurse said "she can't " she told me had a history of this sort of behaviour. (remember Tanya was off on stress leave")
I was instructed to go back to work and come down each day to check in
with the Health Unit.
I went back to the office and handed my little note saying I had to
check back with the Health Unit each day. She looked really worried. The
story doen't end here ladies, later that same day I was called over to HR.
When I arrived Syliva was there with an HR rep. who happens to be a friend
of . Sylvia made up a few lies about me, one being I was throwing
things around the office. I said Sylvia you are a liar. The long and short of
it went like this. The HR rep wanted to come with me to the health unit the
next day. I though that was very inappropriate and phoned the nurse in the
health unit and stated just that. She agreed with me and when the HR
rep came in the nurse told her off. She said it was very poor judgment on
the part of and herself to have me called to HR on the day when
we had been through this nasty state of affairs.
I went the next day and spoke to boss. We are having meetings now
on a daily basis on cash office procedures. I am fed up to be sure.
I am sorry this dragged on sooooo long and I hope you can kinda follow the
story.
Nikki, so sorry to hear about your computer!
Aleka, glad you are safe!
Lynn, talk to you when you get back.
Anne.

Hi,

The guy finished laying the carpet. Of course our vacuum cleaner is in route, so DH went out to Walmart and got a little Dirt I vacummed all the little fibers with that Dirt Devil. It was a long hard process, but I managed to do all the rooms. I have carpet burns on my knees. Yes, I'm still in shorts.

Anne, good for you for speaking up to Maybe that is just what she needed. Now that other people are involved hopefully something can be done about her. I wish you the best of luck with the outcome.

lynn, oh, poor Mya. Did the vet stitch her eye shut? We had a Boston Terrier many years ago and somehow she had scratched the cornea of her eye. He had to stitch the eye shut for a few weeks. But, the sight in that eye was never the same. Will she be able to see well out of that eye when it heals? I wish Mya good luck and hope her eye gets better soon. Good luck with your move home.

nikki, hope everything is ok with you.

Have a good evening everyone.
Aleka

HI,
I am still without a computer. The guy said they would have to reload windows, but that was days ago. I'm wondering if I will ever get it back.
I started to lose weight again. It was my stupid TOM and I gained water. I was starting to get a little nervous, DH was beginning to say things like, you can't lose weight eating fat, I'm not going to keep eating that high fat food because it makes me gain weight. I love the support I get sometimes (not)
Anne, I'm so sorry to hear about all that turmoil and stress. I was starting to really worry about you and I'm glad you posted everything you did. It helps to get it off you chest and we do care what happens to you, so never feel like it's too long.
Aleka, glad you safe and your stuff is ok too. I just about here in the library when I saw you wrote dirt which made me instantly think of Anne's so I was thinking dirt Sylvia. I guess I'm feeling goofy, it just struck me funny.
Lynn, I'm still sticking to my diet, but will have to go off tonight. DH has bought some rum and diet coke for me. I know it's carb free, but it converts to sugar I think. I will find out tomorrow when I hit the scale.
I have run out of time here, will write again soon. Nikki

Hi Everyone!!
Nikki I had to laugh dirt Sylvia. Good one . Today wasn't
too bad. I have to go to a stupid meeting with on Friday to see
what short cuts management can come up with for the cash office. This
place is a nightmare. Constant interuption, 2 phones ringing off the wall,
employees wanting there petty cash, patients wanting their valuables back
and posting the A/R , Research, Foundation, Trust and food services monies.
to give you an idea, my cash deposits and posting for today was 1.4
million dollars.(and I'm suppose to be able to handle this on my own ) Hope your computer is working again soon. We all
depend so much on our computers now.

Aleka, its sounds like you are really starting to settle in. I am sure its a huge
amount of work, but well worth it, now that you are home How is
your little dog doing in his new place? Did he find it strange at first?

Talk to you all later.
Hi Lynn!!
Anne.

Good morning,

We heard from the moving co. that has our furniture. The truck is still sitting in NH. They were on their way to FL when they got called back to NH because of Jeanne. Since the drivers had already driven their allotted driving time, they can't start moving for another day or so. Now we may not see our furniture until Sun. or Mon.

DH & I went to TG Friday's for supper last night. We split an appetizer from the Atkins menu, spinach dip w/ veggies and I had sizzling chicken & broccoli, with onions, peppers, & melted cheese from the Atkins menu. As a matter of fact I couldn't eat all the chicken so I brought some home and I'm going to cut it up and put it into our salads for lunch today.

Anne, hopefully the meeting you're going to on Fri. will be a good opportunity for you to tell management just how chaotic (sp?) it really is in the cash office. Will let you speak, or is she the type who will do all the talking and not let you say anything. It's too bad that you have to go to the meeting with I really hope things will get ironed out so that you're not under so much stress. As Nikki said, we do care about you and what happens to you. Lacee seems to be doing ok getting used to the new house. We left her alone for the first time yesterday. I think it was more traumatic for us than it was for her. She is starting to bark at noises and things she sees outside now, so we think she's starting to feel more at home than she did at first. Also, the previous owners had 2 dogs, and with the new ceramic tile and carpet throughout the house, their smell has gone. Now she has her own smells.

Nikki, Dirt Sylvia I got a big chuckle out of it! You really are having an awful time with your computer. I remember when we had that virus not too long ago, it didn't seem that they had the computer this long. Are these reputable people you took your computer to? I read the posts from last week. You really are coming along fantastic with SSizing. Congratulations on your weight loss! 6 lbs. is great Keep it up!! I can't wait to get all our things so that I can start cooking again. Did I say that?? I am trying to SS most of the time.

lynn, how is the move coming along? How is Mya? Miss your posts.

Have a wonderful day everyone.
Aleka

Goodmorning All: I'm back home and just set up my computer and was glad to see everyone had posted. Anne, stick up for yourself!!! What a b---- she is. Aleka, they didn't sew her eye shut, it was so freaky. The eye had turned and when she looked at you you saw a half black and half white eye. I didn't go to first vet appointment but DH mumbled something about a dog having 3 eye lids so the turing was natures way to start healing. The exposed white part got very irritated and had to be treated with a ointment and the hole was treated with medication. DH got to see the hole in vet's office. We were at DD's and thought maybe the puppy had scratched her when they were playing. Mya is so acting strange since we got here. We can't let her go in the river here as the current is so strong in front of us. We took her to the beach and let her go in there and run off some energy after the 3 hour drive here. Anne wasn't that some road closure yesterday? We had to go miles around it but at least we kept moving. A friend from Buffalo left 15 min ahead of us and hope she listened to a road report before she was in the middle of it. The diet is going good. I'm not exactly SSzing, but am low carbing. With closing the trailer and coming back here the cupboards are bare. I went out and bought a low carb bread as it is easier to make a sandwich for lunch. I had a nice surprise when I got back here, DS and D-in-law had bought me a membership at Curves which is just up the street. I was thrilled!!!!!!! as I would probably never bought one for my self. So now there are no excuses not to exercise this winter. Nikki rum and diet coke is my drink of choice and we went out to dinner last night and I had a couple. When the Atkins diet first came out everyone went on it and it was known as the drinking man's diet so I don't think moderation is bad. Besides I want this to be a lifestyle change and to be successful you have to not deprive yourself of everything. The battle is to feel in control to feel good about yourself. Well off to walk the dog and go shopping. Have a great day all

Hi again....

I found this recipe in my travels today. Thought it sounded interesting.

Spaghetti Squash Primavera

1 teasp. olive oil
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced zucchini
1/4 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup sliced green onions
2 cloves garlic minced
1 plum tomato, diced
1 tablesp. red wine or water
1/4 teasp. saalt
1/8 teasp. black pepper
2 cups spaghetti squash
2 tablesp. grated Parmesean cheese

Cook spaghetti squash by placing in microwave for 10 minutes after poking with a knife Let cool and remove shell.

Heat oil in medium skillet over low heat. Add bell pepper, zucchini, mushroom, carrot, green onions, and garlic; cook 10 to 12 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in tomato, wine, basil, salt and black pepper; cook 4 to 5 min., stirring once or twice. Serve vegetables over spaghetti squash. Top with Parmesean.

Serves 2
116 calories, total fat 5 g., carbohydrates, 15 g.

lynn, glad that you've made the move back home ok. When one of our Boston's got scratched on her cornea, that's why the Vet sewed her eye shut to let the 3rd eyelid do the healing. She was blind in that eye from then on. Do you have any idea what is wrong with Mya? Do you think it may have something to do with her eye? A membership to CURVES is a very thoughtful gift. Let us know how you like it. I'm sure you'll make a lot of new friends.

Have a great afternoon.
Aleka

Good morning,

Can't believe it's October 1st already. DH & I have already gotten our new drivers licenses and registered our vehicles. I hate doing those things, so wanted to get them over with.

Nikki, I remember you saying you had bought a lot of packaged shredded cheese. I was into SS site earlier and someone had posted a question about using processed cheese and the packaged shredded cheese. Someone answered her question and said that you can use the packaged shredded cheese. So enjoy! I was happy to read that because there are a few cheeses I hate to shred.

Anne, how are things going with you? Today is your meeting and I will be thinking of you throughout the day. Hope it all goes well for you. Please let us know how the meeting went.

lynn, sometimes making a sandwich is a lot easier. Are you counting your carbs? If so, how many are you eating a day? I hope I'm not repeating myself but, one of my cousins lost 47 lbs. by creating her own low carb WOE. She didn't count anything, but ate Atkins mixes and things like that. I have tried some of the Atkins things and they are very good.

Take care and have a good day.
Aleka

Hi,
I was thrilled to see so many posts. Being a slow reader, I don't have much time left to post though I'm still at the library. They said they might have my computer done by tonight. Something about having to reformate the hard drive or something like that. I think they are reputable, they also have a an internet service here and have a lot of customers. They apologized for keeping it for 2 weeks and said it was unacceptable. I think, they spend a lot of time going out and servicing other people, then come into the office and work on what is there on their down time. My computer, is in the office. I sure do miss it. I never realized how much I"m on that thing until now.
Anne, good luck today. I really will be sending all my best wishes and thoughts your way.
Lynn, I've wondered about Curves, let us know what you think about it. I would think in the winter, it would just be a good place to get to be around other people once in a while.
For bread for sandwiches, I make a recipe that is posted on the SS site. It's called profat buns, I think and is posted by DebB. It really does turn out like a bun and is great for using with tuna salad or lunchmeat. I'll have to look it up later and post it. It's mostly made of egg and cream cheese I think. You can make it a variety of different ways, the best (in my opinion) is with parmesan and garlic.
Aleka, thank you for the recipe, I'll have to print that off if I ever get my computer back. I am so disgusted with that computer. It's never really worked right, I've always had problems with it. The guy said it works, but doesn't really work right, so he's trying to get it to the point that it really works right, which is what I"ve wanted all along. If that makes any sense.
I think the problem with the shredded cheese is the potato starch that is added to it to prevent it from clumping. It's a small amount, but I decided to shred my own this time when I bought groceries. Now, I have two huge blocks of cheese in my fridge, but I've not shredded it yet. It seems like such a lot of work. I have a food processor and can do it with that of course, but I think, I will go back to preshredded next time. I'm apparently a lazy person about some things
I have to run, take care, Nikki

Hi,

I'll start another thread.
Aleka