Hi Everyone,

My DD is up here (staying at her NJ condo today). Tomorrow we are going to northern PA for a kind of memorial lunch for my sister. I am a little apprehensive - we have a family crisis & my DD and I seem to be on different sides.

I will keep you posted.

Lynn

Hi everyone, another nice day. dh is hard at work on my craft room. the neat thing about it is its not costing anything but time. we are using materials we have on hand and a friend is giving us the lights we need. its a work in progress.
Lynn hope things work out Bobbie and others who have reading devices.i have never really wanted one. I love the feel and the smell of a real book. I guess old habits die hard and I have enuff trouble with the puter and cell phone lol Im not technically savy and my grkids help me when I get stuck.

Im posting some pictures of the work in progress. ttfn rosey
1st pic my craft corner now
2nd living room craft stuff piled up
3rd craft work tables
4 th steve putting up shelves in closet
5th what my hallway looks like till it all gets organized

That is exciting Rosey

Just a quick post to say I've been busy with the gc. They sure keep me busy. I didn't get much sleep last night (just my usual insomnia), so was very tired today. Dh helped a lot. He watched them outside, fixed one of the big wheels that the little one had broken last time, and also took them to the park and school playground near us. Gave me time to recup a bit. As usual when they are here I've been just grabbing and eating and not tracking. My bs has been higher but so far not too bad. I don't think I have eaten as badly as I usually do when they are here but still too much. I have been eating a lot of veggies but also other kind of carbs as well...Dh bought doughnuts and it's not his fault as he asked first but I said yes to one for me too and I eat it too. I feel like I'll be starting over again. Story of my diet life. But I even forgot to weigh myself this morning.

I'm tired tonight and hope to go to bed at a reasonable time and get a good sleep. I have a feeling that my carby evening eating is related to my insomnia though. We will be eating out tomorrow. I will try to eat a balanced 1-1-1 meal and then we will give the kids back to mama...and hopefully I will get back to my eating plan again.

I did start back to entering sweeps again, so am hoping I'll soon have some more wins to tell you about.

Bobbi - I think the Paper White Kindle would be great for you since you only use it for reading. I have a Nook and I love it, but I think the Kindle is the best choice because most free or low cost books come in Kindle format. The battery lasts longer when there's no color.

Rosie, You have a very nice craft area. Somewhere to work, and keep all your supplies organized.

Gayle, congratulations on the new grandbaby!

Lynn - Mothers and daughters are always clashing, it seems. Hope the visit goes well.

Maryea, it seems that losing weight is always going to be something we have to work at. You have good control and will get back on plan right away.

Rosey.. thanks for posting your craft room photos..can I vicariously craft with you? The one drawer I had in my kitchen for my craft things has been confiscated by my youngest for her "things" Even my sewing table is now a storage unit for DH's junque. ( junk that I am forbidden to give away/throw out).
Yesterday I had a NSV after walking 2.5 miles to synagogue and then 2.5 miles home again I was not exhausted! I used to have to sleep once I got back home and my knees used to throb. Since losing the extra weight I am more fit!

Hi Everyone,

Things went better than expected. My niece (48) is leaving her husband, her house, and her 1 grown son who lives at home. They have 2 other grown children who do not live at home. My DD is sympathetic to her husband and son. I am VERY understanding of my niece - sometimes you need to do what you think will make you happy.

Unfortunately, this is all happening within a year of my sister (her mother & business partner) dying.

The family event went smoothly. No drama. Lots of good food & memories of my sister.

Lynn

Lynn, glad to hear things went smoother than expected. It is always sad to see a family break up but like you say sometimes you just gotta do what makes you happy..

Rosey, I'm loving the craft room! that is going to be so nice for you.

Very interesting article Donna. Lots of food for thought.

I'm running out of energy and still have one load of laundry to do and then get stuff packed for us and the divas!! Yes, they have their own bag and in it they will have a few of their toys along with their food and treats!

Don't know how much I will be on here in the next few days but will catch you when I can

We just got home from church and lunch with dd to transfer the children. It was fun having them here. I hope to get back to normal on my diet, but it sure wasn't this lunch. Started out well...ordered some sliders (there were 4 but I expected to share), and a small garden salad. But then got tempted by the spring rolls so ordered them too (to share but no one else ate them). Brought home 2 of the sliders (dh ate one) and most of the spring rolls so will likely have them tonight. So the diet restarts tomorrow I guess.. At least so far I haven't gained...my weight is stable, but still two pounds above my sig weight.

I wore one of my new tops this morning...sure like it. It has a cowl neckline so is a little different as it's the only one like that I have right now. It is white, beige and black print and I wore it with black pants and a black jacket but it is so warm today the jacket soon came off.

I finished a book called Coverboys. It's a mystery but I wasn't crazy about it.
Couldn't relate to the characters much. Still reading Angel of Death by Jack Higgins, it's not really interesting either to me either. I think a man might like it more. I prefer more personal mysteries where I get to know and understand the characters. We watched the first episode of House of Cards (Season 1). The politics and main character was interesting to me but otherwise not so much for us. I guess because I know it is TV I don't care for the language and glimpses of nudity. We have so few channels and are a bit sheltered that way with our TV. I am a little more tolerant with movies I think, because I think of them as one-time viewing, but the TV shows are ongoing. At least I tend to rationalize it that way I guess. I hope to get some time tonight to watch Downton Abbey. I really enjoy it and it is my own secret pleasure as don't think dh wouldn't care for it. Too much conversation.

Our son is here and he and dh are working on his pickup. It's a beautiful day.
Think I'm going to take a nap soon.

Lynn - Hoping for things to work out for the best for your niece and her family. It's not easy...all we can do is love them all...and be there for them if they need us. Glad you had a nice time with family.

Donna - Interesting article. A few years back I heard a doctor (not sure if same one) talk about how particularly with women it was the inflammation that caused the problems, so this is more on that.

Lucinda - Glad the walk is getting easier! I admire you for doing it. I walk one mile most days I go to the gym but this week I only got there once.

Bobbi - If you only want your Kindle for reading and esp if you like to read in bed, in the dark or in sunshine, I think the White Paper Kindle would be ideal. The Kindle Fire like an iPad would probably have glare in sunshine. The Kindle Fire can do more (similar and cheaper but not as great as the iPad), and it is faster than the White Paper. The told me at Best Buy that the White Paper refreshes itself now and then (not sure if it's every page or not?). My iPad Kindle app does that and it's annoying to me. They said the Kindle Fire doesn't do it. But if I were buying something just for reading, I still would probably buy the White Paper because I don't need anything more since I already have the iPad. So that's my pros and cons.

Good afternoon GG's,

It is kind of a dreary overcast day here today. Just kind of puttering around. We did errands yesterday ~ groceries and such. Wanted to try a new recipe, got ingredients needed for that and just made it. Working now on dividing up some of the food into smaller portions before freezing.

Lucinda ~ way to go on the walking ~ that is great that you are feeling more fit since losing some weight.

Tam Tam ~ glad you have had some nicer warmer weather

Mary ~ glad you got to spend some time with your grandchildren. Also glad that Joe can help you with them. I can identify with that ~ Maddie (and there is only one of her ~ LOL) is a two person job.

Rosey ~ I am excited for you about your own personal space ~ craft area. I like how it has windows to let in the sun. What a happy cheerful place it will be. Thank you for sharing pictures

Lynn ~ glad you are getting to see your daughter. Sorry for the uncomfortable feeling of disagreeing about something. Glad the family gathering went off nicely with no drama.

Donna ~ I like your new avatar ~ so cute. Yes, I have a lot of deleting to do ~ didn't realize it needed to be done ~ gota figure out how

Bobbi ~ you don't have to apologize for being AWOL. I might be able to be thinner if I kept busy like you and didn't spend so much time on here.

Karen MO ~ hopefully maybe this weekend you are able to catch up a little on your rest. Still praying.

Deelou ~ hope you won the battle of wanting to stress eat

Cajun ~ hope you are having a wonderful anniversary trip

Liana ~ like your new hair cut

Carol Sue ~ hope you have good lab results and good for you ~ your plans to resume taking better care of yourself

Welcome Junem

OK Lizzy ~ sorry you have been feeling depressed and having sleep issues ~ hope you begin to feel better soon

Karen FL ~ how is the recuperation going? It must be so good to be at home now.

Delmarva ~ hope your hip gets to feeling better

Dgramie ~ glad you got to enjoy some time with your new grandbaby

Hope you all have had a nice weekend.

I'll be back later to chat, just wanted to post this first. I haven't tried it yet, it was rated 4 stars out of 5. Go the the allrecipes.com site to check out the reviews and why some didn't like it. I don't have the time at the moment.


Vanilla Granola

Servings: 16
"Save money by making your own homemade vanilla-flavored granola with this recipe using oats, almonds, and applesauce."
INGREDIENTS:
non-stick cooking spray
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup granular sucralose sweetener
with brown sugar (such as Splendaź
Brown Sugar Blend)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
2 tablespoons white sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly spray large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Mix oats, almonds, sweetener, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. Stir applesauce and sugar together in a small saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat and immediately remove from heat. Stir vanilla into the applesauce mixture; pour over the oats mixture and toss to coat. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, 20 to 30 minutes. Place baking sheet on a cooling rack until granola is completely cooled.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2014 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com

Saturday was a warm early spring day here in NY, sunday it dropped 20 degrees and now Monday it is bone chillingly frigid. My dh is miserable my sons are rambunctious and always hungry, my teen aged daughter is moody! I will be so happy when the weather finally stays warm and everyone goes outside.
I am the official dog walker of the family, so I do get to go outside and inhale the fresh air twice a day and to see nature awaken from its winter slumber..
I have been able to stay away from binges, from booze and from bad energy!!! Although I have given up on the 4 minute/day exercise routines I have been dancing around the house and kicking up my heels so that has to count for something. I will get back on my spin bike today too.