Mary, bite your tongue. Not like rosey’s and my mochas??? Sacrilege. For mine, I really like adding the Torani SF flavors. OK, tonight I added real Kahlua and took the 100 cal alcohol hit. But oh my it was worth it. Yummy!!!!

KarenFL,

Rosey, too funny DH already reserved one. At least he talked to you about it. So does my DH but there are a bunch out there that don’t.

Bobbi and Karen31, I love the picture!!!!! I adore flowers. Doesn’t Mother Nature give us precious things to admire?

Rie, give your DIL a way to go from us. That’s awesome. I only count calories and ignore the rest. I’m not fond of skim milk and I love the Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze on cold cereal. I buy it at Fred Meyer because they routinely have it on sale nearly always (don’t know if Freddies is in Montana but it’s part of the Kroger chain). It’s less expensive there (in our town it is the spendy grocery) than the cheap, yucky grocery store. The scant heavy cream gives the mochas a much more decadent creaminess no amount of skim milk could do.

Gayle, I’m glad you could help Sarah get copies of her pictures. FB and MySpace compress them and reduce the dpi but something is better than nothing.

I am off work until July 11. It hasn’t really sunk in. Anytime I’m gone for that length it is to travel – not this time. It’s going to be awesome. I had to work from home this evening to tie up loose ends but I’m now free. My email has a vacation auto-responder and my voicemail says to call a different number. I just love that!
Marie

Hello! Hello! Hello! My internet is finally back up and running- what was supposed to be a 2 day down time turned into a 13 day gong show. We now have a new and much less expensive internet provider, but what a PITA to get it set up. Been OP mostly, given holidays and conventions etc. Haven't lost any more weight in the last 2 weeks, but haven't gained either. I'm going to catch up on all of the GG's posts It's good to be back

Oh I like both your mocha recipes! They are definitely keepers but I just need to tweak them a bit more. Mostly it's the coffee...I don't like coffee so have to use much less I think and I need a bit more sweetener and also prefer a thicker texture...so working on that. I've had enough coffee today..LOL I may never sleep tonight it was NOT decaf!

Rie - I think you are referring the PB I mentioned? If so, please let us know how it is. I'm holding off on ordering it cause I'm not sure I'll like it.

Glynne - not much housework happening around here recently. I cleaned the master bedroom that's about it. Too busy testing mochas! LOL

See you all tomorrow!

Tea, welcome back. Very cool your internet is cheaper now. That is always good.

Mary, the links I put up yesterday by Gosh that’s Good also has a blender base (sugar-free) for making thick drinks. I haven’t tried it but I have a sample so I’ll try that today and let you know. I hope you did sleep. Go decaf! That’s my motto. I do admire the reason you skipped the housework.

Already enjoying my lazy stay-cation. Dear doggies and I went for a hike this morning. It was supposed to be raining and the sunny blue skies were beautiful. Gotta love forecasts that are wrong in that direction. There was a big fog blanket over the basin (low part between the mountains – I always thought it was a valley but here it’s elevation is still high so they call it a basin – I think of a bathroom whenever newscasters mention the basin). Anyway, there are all these pretty brown mountains (ok, I’d rather green or snowy but I’ll take brown) and in between them is this pile of fog. My “neighborhood” is a bit higher than town so I’m standing at the top of one of my hills, my four huskies by my side, watching the sun rise over the mountains and lighting up the fog. A beautiful blue sky as a backdrop. Can’t start a day better than nature putting on a show.

I plan to play today. Chores, smores. Nope, I’m playing. I am going to get my fluid trainer out and get my bike set on it then pedal away. I’m trying to decide between Bruce for a concert entertainment or Shania Twain. Such monumental decisions.
Marie

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][/FONGood Morning!

Well, I woke with the sun this morning, AGAIN! Maybe I am just gonna have to accept it! At least I enjoy that time of day. I lifted weights today. Not my favorite activity but necessary. I use the Basic Training Workout with Ada - a dvd. It lasts about 36 minutes and it is a killer. Then there is a nice stretch routine. I have gotten a lot stronger over time but I still can't make it through the darn pushups! I have a goal to be able to do 15 perfect (on the knees) pushups. I am a long way off! Anyway, after I worked out I took my coffee out to the back steps and enjoyed the cool morning. It is supposed to be in the upper 90's here today - that's what I get for complaining about all the rainy/cold weather!

Obviously, I am feeling better. I still have this weird pressure/fullness in my upper belly. I hope it goes away. My appetite is definitely back, with a vengence! I was really wanting something sweet last night but I held off and kept to my usual yogurt snack.

Mary, the tillapia dinner sounds good. We eat it about 3 times a week because it is so cheap and quick to fix. Maybe you should just think about a chocolate smoothie instead of a mocha? Same thing without the coffee.

Marie. We don't have krogers stores here. But I have used the almond milk when I first started on plan. I will have to get some again for recipes. 11 days off with no plans - what a luxury! Enjoy!

Tea Granny, so nice to have you back! Good for you on maintaining!

Gayle, maybe there was tired energy in the universe last night? I was so tired but I wanted to watch a show - Chopped, on the food network, so I fought sleep. Of course, I ultimately fell asleep on the couch. Duh. I hope you have good work days.

Bobby, that little wagon is absolutely beautiful!

Rosey, I understand your thing about not excercising when people are around. I have always been a solitary excerciser. Even now, after months, I like my son and grandson to stay downstairs until I am finished. But, it sure makes me feel better.

Karen31, Hi. I liked the song. It was really cool.

Karenfl. Hi! I hope things are better every day. I enjoyed all your stories so much that whenever I see your avatar, I just smile I hope that your sense of humor is staying with you.

I was thrilled last night to notice that i have 4 tiny little cucumbers hanging on my plants. Yay! I can't wait!

I have pool league tonight. I am planning to catch a subway chicken breast on flatbread loaded with veggies for supper. I will save for this today. Have a great day!

Rie T]

Be back later....on my way to chiropractor. I took 38 pictues of my gardens, can't post them? You'll just have to use your imaginations.
I'll get chatty later today. These tips on your pets is from Dr. Weil's web site.
Yesterday's Daily Tip covered four foods that are fine for dogs to eat. Today's tip is a more extensive list of foods; ones that dogs shouldn't eat. Each of these can have harmful effects on a dog's health, ranging from allergic reactions to vomiting, diarrhea or even death. Be on the safe side and restrict your dog's access to these foods - he or she will thank you!

1. Alcohol, including beer, wine and liquor
2. Avocados
3. Caffeine, such as tea, coffee, cocoa, chocolate and colas
4. Dairy products
5. Grapes and raisins
6. Macadamia nuts or foods containing macadamia nuts
7. Meat fat or bones
8. Onions and garlic - raw, cooked, dehydrated and powdered
9. Pantry staples such as baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg
10. Fruits with pits, such as peaches and plums
11. Raw eggs, meat and fish
12. Salty or sugary food and drinks

Also be aware of anything containing the sweetener xylitol, such as candy, gum, toothpaste and baked goods, as well as human medications, especially acetaminophen and ibuprofen - all can have serious adverse affects on your dog's health.

In case your dog does eat any of the above, it's a good idea to always have on hand the number of your vet, an emergency clinic and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (888-426-4435). If you think your dog has consumed something toxic, call for emergency help at once.

Morning girls,

Bobbi, can't wait to see the garden pics. I garden too. Lots of work...I mean good exercise...but so worth it.

I did my workout yesterday but find it hard to commit to 30 minutes or more. My mind wanders to all the other things I "should" be doing. I also pulled some weeds in the garden so that counts too.

I made myself some hard-boiled eggs for a protein snack.

Donna, I used to have a 200 day contract and they bumped it to 220, then 240 then 260 (year round). I HATE it! The money is not worth it. You wouldn’t like my “sewing” room any more that Karen’s woman’s cave. It houses the elliptical and treadmill. There is a weight bench that routinely gets dusty as I HATE strength training. No endorphins there. Why bother?

Rie, maybe the upper belly pressure is the ulcer. Have you followed up with your doctor. As I mentioned, I hate strength training. Would you mind doing an extra round of your Basic Training workout for me today? I’ll do an extra aerobic workout for you…

Bobbi, I think I’ll wander to Dr. Weil’s site for the good foods. I knew about the items on that list. My dogs hate that they all discovered grapes/raisins are bad for dogs. Instead of letting them munch on the grapes I drop, I now dive to the floor to beat the four pups who are also diving. BTW they’re quicker but I have the knowledge the grape is going down and have a head start. Also, do you know how to zip your pic file and FTP? If you can do both, we can have you upload the zipped file to my website and I’ll post them for you. For FTPing Filezilla is really simple and free. Or you could email me 5 at a time and I’ll take care of it. That way they don't have to be as tiny since I'll post more normal size images.

Cindy, let’s see pics of your garden!

Mary, so I made my morning mocha and added 1 tsp of the blender base and it is thicker. The nutritional info is 35 cals for 10 grams. I just weighed 1 tsp and it was 2 grams. I’m thinking 7 cals is not bad. Here’s the web link. Also I have found vigorously shaking the almond breeze is a really good idea. I mean the shaking being equivalent to a strength training workout at the level I don’t mind. See above…

I decided to share a picture of my iced mocha. It’s in a humungous mug (32 oz) but I like LOTS of ice. I think total, there is about 14 oz of mocha. The second picture is of my “garden”. My cherry tomato bush that is crawling on my ceiling. When Miracle Gro says the plants are twice as big, I now believe them. I do believe a few of my ripe tomatoes will be on the lunch menu.

I chose Shania’s Chicago concert to pedal to and played Man I Feel Like a Woman three times. Each time when she says “Let me hear you” and points the mike at the audience, I yelled out, “Man! I feel like a woman!” Such fun. Easy to entertain my brain today.
Marie

So much news –

First, I earned my bronze Presidential medal for physical fitness (exercising 40,000 points) - Bronze Medallion
Description: Made in America, this 2.5" solid metal medallion, attached to a white cloth ribbon, features an engraved bald eagle on the front and the presidential signature on the back.

http://www.presidentschallenge.org

About Asheville – of all mansions I have been to in Europe and Rhode Island and NY State, the Biltmore has the most open rooms and the most original furnishings. The restaurant is LOVELY and the staff was wonderful. We were in Asheville for 3 days. The first day we took trolley around the city and jumped off and on at various locations including the Grove Hotel for lunch. The second day, we did the Biltmore and in the evening, saw Midnight in Paris (I really liked it – especially the scenes of Paris). The third day we did a train ride in the Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee Casino (my least favorite day of our trip). Came home to 145 lbs. on the scale – gained back the 2 lbs. I keep gaining and losing.

We got home on Monday. Tuesday I took my SIL and DD to the Mann Music Center in Philly for concert and dinner. Music was WONDERFUL (the conductor is VERY dramatic and interesting) – I was a little disappointed with the dinner. The last time we were there, we had a GIANT smorgasbord. This time there were about 6 kinds of cold salads with cookies and brownies for desert – DEFINITELY NOT worth the money. However, my SIL loved it & we were celebrating his birthday. Also, I was not tempted to eat too much.

I signed up for the LLS ½ Marathon in Philly in the fall. I have begun the training. My DD will walk it with me and help me raise the required funds. After the last one, I thought I would NOT do any more, but, I like doing the training because it enables me to eat more. Strangely enough, it also seems to keep down my arthritis aches and pains.

Today, my DF and I went to local Community College to sign up for the Digital Photography course this summer. It was cancelled. I guess there were not a lot of college students who wanted to take a course two days/week starting at 8:30 am. Oh well, I will work on my project this summer and sign up for the course in the Fall.

I read everyone’s posts for the last week. Wishing good health to those with problems, congratulating those who have lost, wishing peace and happiness to those with worries.

Karen, I am so happy to see your face and your posts. I was sorry to hear you had to go back to the hospital. Take care of yourself.

Lynn

Hi....Am still super loopy from the pills. Haven't taken anything today and still walk like a jimmy crab(sideways). Figure if I wave you know I'm still lurking and reading between the spots. I don't recommend openheart surg for weight loss....heck have gained 20bs which is going at about 5lbs every other day. You can figure out where am running to! Start card rehab tomorrow. My goal this week is to sleep in my bed instead the lounge chair. Have lost June! GONE! hugs,k3

Hello everyone! I hope you have had a more productive day than I have! Went to the gym doing our usual but it was all down hill after that as far as getting anything done. We ran around to several places as dh needed some things and I ended up buying some things also of course. So nothing done here at home...dh is mowing the lawn as I type this so at least he is achieving something. Perhaps I will this evening, but I doubt it.

Lynn - Congrats on getting your medal...you certainly deserve a medal as you are so persistent at your fitness activities and I admire that! Sounds like you had a great trip! You seem to lead a very interesting life and I like hearing about it. Always look forward to your posts.

Marie - Your mocha looks good but it is much darker than what I am used to. Of course that's just a matter of lightening it up so I just need to find the proper proportions. I will consider the Blender Base but it sure costs a lot esp if I would end up not liking it. The ingredients sound like what's in my usual mix minus the mocha. What I buy is only $8.65 for 38.88 oz so cheaper than any mocha mixes I've found online. I found some mocha Splenda in my cupboard so think I might try adding a little in my "light" version of my usual mocha as my only complaint about my light version is that it is rather bland...but the calories and carbs are ok and it is very easy to make...just the mix and milk or even water. Using water would help with the cals and carbs but I want the milk for the nutrition. So I will continue to experiment.. I bought some chocolate SF syrup and some SF chocolate syrup in case I could use it somehow. Today I made a Hungry Girl Frap and couldn't drink it...made me sick. I have to be really careful with coffee as I'm sensitive to it. Even the smell can cause a headache and often mochas will upset my stomach. My usual mocha is very light in color. All this experimenting is keeping me busy! But I did sleep last night. I didn't want to go out and buy decaf so just used what dh had on hand. He doesn't like decaf. Like the pic of your tomato plant! I'm going to look into that. Of course we don't get nearly as much sun as you do. Glad you are enjoying your time off...sounds like a good day.

Rie - I know that I am more into the shake or smoothie thing than coffee but somehow I like that slight coffee taste too and the mix I usually use is just the right blend. Just trying to keep the taste and lose some of the calories and carbs. Never satisfied, that's me! Nice that you are starting to get cucumbers already! I love them and they are fun to watch grow too. I love how you can find the tiny ones and then a day or two later they can be so much bigger! We got quite a few last year but everything grows later here.

I have been doing a lot of stretches at home (in addition to the gym) and I realized today that I am getting a little more limber. I lose a lot of agility on our long winter trips. We walk but there isn't much room for stretches unless I do them outside and I kind of get away from it.

Jess - I don't dare let any rust build up...at my age I'd never get rid of it and would probably get sick or die! So gotta keep going! I love my life with my wonderful dh and when God calls me home, I'm alright with that, even good with it cause I know where I'm going, but I intend to enjoy every minute I have on this earth in the meantime!

Well, it's time to fix dinner. We are having beef with carrots and dandelion greens tonight. It's a new dish for us and I hope my dh likes it. I used to eat dandelion greens as a child but haven't had them for a very long time. I wish I'd thought to pick up some crusty bread to serve with, but I rarely serve special breads due to us both being diabetic so didn't even think of it. I'll let you know how it turns out..

Have a great evening, all of you and hi to those I forgot to mention.

Mary

Good evening GG’s,

One day down and two to go (work). Today was not so bad ~ had its crazy moments, but mostly pretty good. Some more of the new chart covers arrived today. I get excited about silly stuff. They look so much better. The old ones were looking pretty ratty and some had broken.

Got off on time ~ that lifts my spirits

Uh oh ~ there was cake in the break room and a box of Whitmans chocolates. I had a small piece of cake and 3 pieces of candy. Hopefully the salad I chose to eat for supper tonight and fruit for snack later will balance things out.

I sort of think that is the answer for me ~ instead of having a pig out meal (I don’t have enough self control for that) I think letting myself indulge when there is stuff at work is a better solution for me. I don’t want to look like a pig in front of my coworkers, so I just have a little. That works out better than trying to do it on my own at home ~ where no one is looking ~ I lose control.

Also, I think I won’t plan to have treats, just kind of try not to have them until I really want something, then if I am wanting chips or cookies or something ~ have the single serving size ~ enough to satisfy my taste for those things, without having a big bag or box that is calling to me. I know ~ that is not very economical ~ but if it helps me not to over indulge ~ to me it is worth it.

When I got out of work on time tonight ~ I was thinking maybe I could fit in a bike ride ~ but it was so hot out ~ car thermometer said 108*. I have a little battery operated fan that you can hang around your neck ~ maybe if I used that I could ride even though it is hot.

The mochas you all are talking about and experimenting with sound so yummy. I had thought maybe I could do some kind of iced coffee. I found these little iced coffee milk mix packets ~ similar to those packet stix that you add to a bottle of water. There was mocha flavor and French vanilla flavor. I add some splenda ~ they were pretty good.

Lynn ~ I got to go to the Biltmore once when we lived in NC. It was neat there ~ kind of like a step back in time.

Marie and Karen MO ~ I hope Bobbi will e-mail you her garden pics so that we can see them.

Karen MO ~ I understand also you rethinking moving ~ for me it would be letting that pool go that would be hard.

Marie ~ enjoy your time off. Your mocha looks yummy.

Donna ~ thank you for the info on the Vit-D, and thank you for your concern ~ I don't think I was feeling down last night so much as just tired ~ drained sort of. Better today.

Cindy ~ way to go keeping up with the workouts

Bobbi ~ glad to see you back. Hope you got some help from your appointment today.

Rie ~ Glad you are feeling better. And way to go to you too for keeping up with the workouts.

Tea ~ glad to see you back and that your internet is working again.

Karen FL ~ I think maybe you are feeling a little better ~ your post today was a little longer. Hope you get feeling a little better each day.

Mary ~ I hope you hit on a combination of mocha ingredients that come out tasty to you.

Hi Rosey, Sherry, Nancy, Freda and anyone else I missed.

Wow ~ personals two nights in a row ~ you all are going to faint

The evening flies by so fast ~ soon it will be time to head to bed. It has been a nice and relaxing evening though spending it with you all.

Take care and have a good nights rest.

Hi Ladies.its been a busy day here and sunny and warm. mydd and family are coming thurs nite for the 4th so we had to go to the groc store and stalk up. teens eat alot esp boys im excited they are coming. besides the parade we plan to go to the pool and my dd and i are going to bingo which is one of my fav things to do.i used to go once a week(sigh) but not any more.no one to go with and dh hates it. i got a real surprize in the mail today. we subscribe to Country magazine. several yrs ago i submitted a picture of my grkids taken on the 4th.they were all little then. well surprize they published it in Julys issue of Country Extra. we got an old fashioned dinner bell(triangel) and a new subscription.. i was really tickeled about it but its been yrs since i sent it in. my dh also has his new toy picked out and has financing at agood interest rate. want to bet tomorrow i have a new machine in my yard?Karen3 im so glad to see your post and your quirky sence of humor,you have been missed,take care of you. Lynn glad to see you are back and had a good time. Bobbie hope your headaches go away and u can relax with that beautiful garden.there are so many of us that if i miss you in personal know its just crs,um if you dont know what it means ill message it to u wishing you all lighter days,will power, and (((hugs))) rosey