I can just sense the smiles and relief in your posts, PQ...Way to Go, Bro!

OhMaGoodness...the weather man just said we need some cold weather to keep the dandelions away!! Too bad I've been too distracted with work this week to enjoy the nice weather .....and now the BBC news is showing a giant bag of insects and pointing out that we should eat more insects as they have the same carbon footprint as 200g of beef. So, there's your protein, PattyGirl! (The problem there for me is you eat their intestines.)

Whell...I've been getting up and going to exercise early in the morning, and I'm so proud of myself! Although, not early enough, so something there to work on...Oh gotta go back up and tell you what else is on the telly....There....Annnnnd I'm not losing. If anything, I'm on another upswing. If it weren't for that, I'd be in a pretty good mood.

Yesterday's menu...

Break - McD's sausage burrito w/hot sauce
Lunch - four leftover wings
Dinner - chicken fajita w/sour cream & guacamole
Snack - popcorn

My weight has been hovering around 199 and right now I feel as though I've gained, so I won't get on the scale until I feel "lighter" again. I'm not in the mood to see 2 again.

PQ so happy to hear about your brother's improvement. It will really help to go to the rahab facility. They know what treatment he needs. I see you're still doing well with your food.

Mars, I don't mind anchovies. Now you have me thinking that I might take a second look at the tapenade recipes. I could make it only using the ingredients I like and could cut the recipe down. I am ok with anchovies if I can control the quantity. I don't know if I've ever had capers.

Trish, I might have mentioned this before, but my father was also born on Christmas Eve.

It was surprising to me that we are supposed to get that much protein at each meal. I checked a 4 oz chicken breast and it has 32 gm, so that falls in line, but at breakfast I don't get nearly that much. 2 eggs is only 12 gm and I rarely eat more than that for breakfast. When I eat lunch it's usually vegetables which are very low in protein. So unless I eat a lot of meat at dinner, I'm below my daily allotment. When I first bought my whey protein I was drinking some in the AM but all I could think about was how many calories I was adding to my normal breakfast and I stopped.

EDIT: I checked some sites online and I think 30gm per meal is on the high end. Most sites have calculators that go according to your gender, height, weight, and activity level to determine your needs. The highest estimate I got trying several sites was 72 per day and that was the Kashi site. Since Kashi is a high protein cereal it makes sense that they would want you to eat more. I do remember when I had the home nurses coming every day, they always told me to have some protein at every meal, which I don't always do.

I love sardines. I buy them canned but the heads are gone. I like them canned in water so there's nothing there to block the taste. I get them at Aldi's. My mother always ate sardine sandwiches with mustard and onion. I like them right out of the can. You are supposed to eat the bones, but I just can't do that and they come out all in one strip.

SMF, our temps are supposed to go to 70 or above this weekend, but by next week they are showing some snow and highs in the 30s. It really doesn't feel like Christmas with this warm weather.

Look at the early Christmas present I adopted from a local shelter today! Meet my precious new kitty cat Barnabas. Like Ichabod, he is a darling, sweet loverboy.

jacqui he looks absolutely adorable! The kitty I tried to adopt last month was black as well.

Bro is doing fine but gets very agitated when we arrive as he still has vent in and wants us to get him out of there. We have to leave. I'm going back to Ohio tomorrow, and mom is only going to call nurse to check in with him tomorrow until vent is out. It's too stressful on him to have his loved ones there. He wants to talk and start hand signals, etc. I'll be able to video chat once the vent is out.

Today's menu....
Break/lunch - chicken fajita
Snack - crackers w/Swiss and turkey pepperoni
Dinner - Cinci chili 5-way spaghetti

Oh PQ, that sounds just awful for your DB. I hope he is getting some good drugs to help him through this. You are such a good and caring sister.

Well JacqiD, that big ole kitty looks right at home in that chair! What a pretty, shiny coat he has! (still jealous of your cats)

Mars!!! That is so sad! I like seafood, but I gather you and Jim Gaffigan have a different opinion.

I don't know what's going on with me...wide awake at 4am today...which fits with my goal to shift to an early schedule, so s'all good. And (finally) a little movement on the scale, and hoping it keeps moving down and not caused by the earlier time. Good day food- and exercise-wise yesterday. Eggs for Br; green beans for L; cashews (only 1oz) S; and Chipotle for D. So sad: we went out for a family dinner but could not agree on a restaurant, most of which were already crowded anyway, so we popped into a Chopotle and brought dinner home. I got a bowl without any rice. Then went to bed soon afterward...I'm feeling the effects of RA and have been popping NSAIDs this week for the first time in several months...living in fear of a flare. Hoping that's related to the big changes in my schedule, too. Even better news: I made it to the gym yesterday ....under extraordinary circumstances...well, kind of---extraordinary for me anyway.

Wow! Watching the Weather Channel....lots of crazy weather patterns going on. Record Highs. Big whirly thing near the Aleutians; snow and hail out west; warmth in the plains and east; and the Jet Stream is causing the strangest front moving slowly east with wind, rain and tornados. Y'all stay safe-n-warm-n-dry.....I like the Weather Channel...they have the most amazing photos on their website.

.....well, time to take more advantage of the earlier schedule and Get Things Done while the rest of fam is sleeping....

PQ, I think your brother's agitation is a sign that he's improving, but I know he needs to rest and take it easy for a while.

SMF, I wake up very early. Sometimes I can fall back to sleep but mostly can't. I want to try to get more sleep as it is a big factor in diabetes but I have only been able to get about 5 hours sleep in recent years. I don't want to take sleep meds because although they say they are not habit forming, they are. You get to the point that you can't sleep without them. Plus I want to be able to get up and function quickly in case of an emergency, not be groggy. Also, I fall asleep in a matter of seconds. It's staying asleep that's my problem, or falling back to sleep after I wake. I always have to get up to pee at least once a night. Believe it or not, Tylenol helps greatly. It just seems to relax me so I can sleep. But I don't want to do that every night either.

Mars, I love seafood. DH is like you. He can't stand the thought of the shell and the claws.

I wish I could get Bubbies Sauerkraut in a local store. I looked for Tapenade in a store that usually has everything and couldn't find it. I don't have time to be making it right now.

Jacqui, your new cat is beautiful! And so is your Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations. I better get moving and get my tree up.

Mobile site acting weird so just waving hi to everyone.
Jacqui what a heartwarming photo of your new kitty Barnabas by the decorated tree. Makes me want to jump into the picture & pet him.

BaHa WBH! If you come to visit, I'll have to put you and DH in the same room! When I woke up at 4am, I found him watching the telly with the volume down low because he couldn't sleep. Seems like someone is Always awake in this house! One DS needs very little sleep; another kid is an early bird. I don't fall asleep easily, and all this commotion at all hours of the day and night drives me nuts! In my younger days, I was an early bird, but after years of living with these people, I don't know what my natural schedule would be! Yeah, you don't wanna take tylenol regularly--hard on the liver.

Whehl, I spent the morning deep cleaning. I now have the cleanest bathroom this side of the Mississippi. And I got my exorcise in. Still got more to do, and I had a cuppa coffee (late) to keep me going. Hope I can get to sleep early and keep the early schedule alive.

OK, Mars, next time you're near a sweet, imagine one of us slapping your hand!

Are you all getting your exercise ?? I've been pushing myself, and it's done wonders for my mood. And makes me impervious to sweets....I think I'm turning into some kindova superhero.

You'll have to whack me on the head! Hard! (and make me cough it up!)

Hope your cold is better.

Today I baked cookies. Apricot Horns. I was taking a cookie sheet full of cookies out of the oven when I lost my balance and started feeling the tray tilting. Holding it with one ove-gloved hand, for a second I almost caught it with the other hand then realized that the cookie sheet was hot and that hand was bare. So the cookies went all over the place. A few landed on the floor, several more on the open oven door and the rest went into the oven, two of them falling through the vents in the bottom of the oven, down into the flame of my gas stove. DH came over and picked them up for me. He gets the ones that got damaged. After I was finished baking he opened up the bottom of the oven to take out the ones that fell inside. They look like charcoal briquettes. LOL I did end up with 6 1/2 dozen good cookies! Into the freezer until Christmas.

Mars, I found tapenade in a local store today. They had 5 different types, black olive, green olive, artichoke, and 2 others I don't remember. I had the black olive tapenade in my cart, then I saw Kalamato olives on sale and took them instead. I'm going to try making a small batch myself.

SMF, good for you on the exercise. The only exercise I've been getting is shopping. I love how exercise lifts my mood! But getting me to do it is a challenge.

Yesterday's menu....

Break - airport jalapeņo bagel w/ham, cheese, egg
Dinner - bourbon chicken w/broccoli on rice

Today's menu....

Break - McD's sausage burrito w/hot sauce, ice tea w/stevia
Lunch - leftover bourbon chicken w/broccoli on rice
Dinner - 2 mini cheeseburgers on toasted baguette, mashed taters, sprout slaw

PrairieQueen, I'm so glad DB is continuing to improve and that you made it back to Ohio safely! I knew when I went to the shelter that I'd be looking for a black kitty. They are the least likely to be adopted, yet they have the sweetest, most loving personalities.

SeeMyFeet, lol, you're so funny! I hope the NSAIDS worked and your joints feel better! Good job on the eating well and exercise! I'm glad the scale is cooperating!

Carol Sue, thanks! I work on decorating every day and it just never seems to get done! I've finished the kitchen, the dining room, the bathrooms, my DH's tv room, and the family room. The parlor is almost done. The outside of the house is also done. I don't do much decorating outside anymore. But I still have the foyer to do. That involves a tree and about a zillion nutcrackers! I haven't even started it yet. I'm not decorating any other rooms after that! (I tell myself this each year, but this year, I think I mean it, lol!) Wow, your baking is impressive! 6 1/2 dozen cookies, even after losing a batch?! That's a LOT of baking! I do hope you didn't burn your hand!

Mars, oh nooo, not outside. I go to the Y and do 2 miles around their track. I need to stay and do the machines, but there just aren't enough hours in the day right now! About the only ingredient I put in chili that others have told me they don't is a tsp of basil. I don't know how different it would taste without it. I've always added it. Yes, Barnabas is settling in nicely!

Hey Trish and Rennie!

Week 29: High 171, Low 170
11/29--171
11/30--170.5
12/1--170
12/2--170
12/3--170
12/4--DNW
12/5--170.5 Carb Day

Week 30: High 173, Low 169
12/6--173
12/7--172.5
12/8--171
12/9--170.5
12/10--169
12/11--170
12/12--170.5 Carb Day

12/13--172
12/14--170.5
12/15--
12/16--
12/17--
12/18--
12/19

Today's Meals:
Breakfast:
2 fried eggs
2 slices of bacon
Fage Greek yogurt with Mio
Mio water

Lunch
Tuna salad
Mio water

Tea Time

Dinner:
Loaded Cheeseburger salad
Mio water

Today's Exercise:
2-mile walk around the track

Jacqui It sounds like you are getting in quite a workout with the decorating!

Today
B whey shake/coffee
S protein bar
L salad, chicken, chickpeas, evoo, WF dressing
S whey shake, coffee, orange
D parsnip pancakes
herb tea, about 5 glasses

Jacqui, I didn't burn my hand. It was that or dump the cookies and I chose to dump them. Only about half of that tray were lost, and they were not totally lost because DH ate them anyway. LOL I'm going to make another batch of those cookies. Make the dough and refrigerate it until Wed, then bake. Tomorrow I am going to make some Rugalach, which is actually a Jewish cookie for Hanukkah, but we like them. I also told DH I would make ladylocks this year. That's a lot of work but he SAID he would help me.

I don't eat these cookies, mind you. I bake, and everyone else eats. Luckily I am not a sweet lover. Give me a second helping of beef and mashed potatoes any day! LOL

I used to do a lot of decorating but then I hate spending the whole day taking everything down so I stopped that. I put up a tree and a few other decorations and that's it. I'll be lucky if I get my house cleaned, let alone decorated. Our outside decorations have been up for a couple weeks but we've cut back on that, too.

I have a shower curtain that has Santa on it taking a shower. I put it up for the first time in years. I'm surprised it hasn't dry rotted. I hope my grandson enjoys it. It probably won't be long until he doesn't believe in Santa anymore.

This post is really off topic but I'm not in the mood to talk about weight and exercise. I don't think I've gained....much.