Good Morning Everyone!

I've just finished making the Protein Oatmeal Pancakes recipe that I found on the 3FC recipes and they are really good!!! Just thought I would let you all know that if you haven't tried them before.

It is kind of cool here this morning--- in fact I have a flannel shirt jacket on over my t-shirt and sweat pants!! I looked up at Pikes Peak this morning and there is either lots of hail or S-N-O-W!! Up there!! Once the sun goes around where I can get a picture I'll see if I can post one.

Hey Gary!! Don't feel bad!! I call my "furbabies" the "girls" too and if they were golden retrievers they would have probably been the "golden girls" too. That is because we spoil them so much---I mean they have their own car seats, tents, toy box, and stroller!! And I have "snugglis" for them too. I know, I know!! I have them spoiled!! Probably more so than Tim!! Anyway......

Well, guess I'd better jump in and get some stuff done around here. I haven't done much yet and I'm sure if I don't that is when someone will be coming to see the house!!! Maybe that is the secret!!

Take care everybody and I'll be back later!!! Karen

Good morning Golden Girls....
I have a day of cleaning planned...you know, that heavy duty stuff you only get at once every 100 years or so.

Last night I was unexpectedly called into work. I thought that I would take my trusty old cooler, but was in such a rush I only put in a couple of cans of slim-fast. I found it just didn't do the trick like it should have, I developed a huge sense of the munchies......after work I knew I should just go home to the "safe" food items that were there and not blow the plan too bad....I thought long and hard and kept telling myself I didn't need grab something.... I could just make a left and go directly to the interstate...not a left and go to muchie heaven....anyway to make a long story shorter, I fell off the wagon and landed in hamburgers, pork rinds, candy bars, and ice-cream....even had to make 3 stops to accomplish all that, knowing full well that I would have a hang over in the morning and feel yukky all night. As I got closer to home I saw a bunch of red flashing lights, ambulances, cops, etc. etc. I was stopped by a terrible accident scene that they were in the process of cleaning up......I figured out that time wise, if I hadn't made the stops, but had gone straight home, I would have been at the intersection at about the exact time the accident occured.

Meowee...are the bengal leopard kittens....real big cats, or is that a breed of domestic cats? Putting our heads together to ward off the frizzes and the limpies would be cool!! The ricotta-peanut spread looks pretty good, I will have to give it a try this weekend and let you know. If the taste is good, the product is "only" 115 calories per 1/4 cup, and about 10 grams of protein, maybe if it is really good, you can borrow a tablespoon of peanut butter and see if it could fit into your menu. (I'm thinking 1/4 cup of that on some good old whole grain bread would be a terrific treat for a 200 cal meal.)

Pathfinder Peg....your meds for high blood pressure must have made you feel like you were fighting morning sickness!!! (Did you know that eggplant can lower your blood pressure by an alarming rate.....the recipe for that is interesting, but you would have to take your blood pressure frequently so that it doesn't fall too low.)

Paula...good luck with your dad....I need to send him a letter, he's probably tired of the old one!!!

EZ....hope the DIL's father is doing well.

Zoey....Today I am not Off Plan.....(Hmmm, I may even have to consider carry the horse!!) Glad the snoring problem found an answer.

Phyllis...sure envy your family reunion in Disney world. (I want to go with my family.)

Hello to the rest, Joanne, glynne, tennessgal, Lindad, and the rest.

I just got this in an email and it was too funny not to share!! Have A Good Day!!


I was walking down the street when I was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby looking homeless woman who asked me for a couple of dollars for dinner.


I took out my wallet, got out ten dollars and asked, "If I give you this money, will you buy some wine with it instead of dinner?"

"No, I had to stop drinking years ago", the homeless woman told me.



"Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying food?" I asked.

"No, I don't waste time shopping," the homeless woman said. "I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive."



"Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of food?"
I asked. "Are you NUTS!" replied the homeless woman. "I haven't had my hair done in 20 years!"



"Well," I said, "I'm not going to give you the money. Instead, I'm going to take you out for dinner with my husband and me tonight."



The homeless woman was shocked. "Won't your husband be furious with you for doing that? I know I'm dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting."

I said, "That's okay. It's important for him to see what a woman looks like after she has given up shopping, hair appointments, and wine."

Morning my GOLDEN GIRLS wow more interesting information and lots of good stuff going on.

I have to say my day didn't start well -- our commute is still messed up and we have to start 30 minutes earlier so combining that with an accident this morning I offered to be dropped off at the corner. Although as I made the offer I kept hoping he wouldn't take me up -- I had choosen to wear the absolute worst footwear in my wardrobe for doing any sort of walking. As we got closer he turned into the gas station and said sorry but time was running out -- so out I got and started my 15 minutes of painful walking (my toes are still cramped). Oh and they aren't high heels or anything that silly -- just pretty rather than functional flip flops. Anyway that was the start of my day and the fact that I went over my calories last night put me in a funk.

Big hi's to LindaD, Cat, Lyn, Trish and Karen (thanks for the giggle)

Phyllis -- I have my fingers crossed that you find your condo

Linda -- one of my best friend's is a doctor in Barrie -- I have tried a couple of times to visit her but had to cancel once because of the damn SARS scare a few years ago. One day we will get there as well as the Maritimes.

Paula -- I hope all goes well for your dad's test -- I know it sounds simple but its so important.

Zoe -- I love how you speak your mind and I never want you to change.

Gary -- I agree with her I also felt a bit affronted by calling attention to our name when referring to the dogs and I am a lover of the breed and just lost my darling golden last year. I won't be offended when you refer to menopause as drying up if you won't be offended by what I just said -- deal???

Margaret glad you got home safe. I felt that way about the accident this morning -- another minute earlier we could have been in it. But then 2 minutes earlier I wouldn't have had to walk LOL

LOL don't mind me like I said earlier my feet hurt. I was upset about my eating last night but I have decided to try something new for myself. If anyone else might be interested we can open a new thread but for now I might just leave it over on my blog. I created a lifestyle scale for myself. How was my day out of a score of 10 -- that sort of thing.

Here's to a great day.

Hello everybody,

Just wanted to stop in to say hi. About to head to bed here for a nap before going to work. Hoping the couple days of work go well ~ then looking forward to the days off and catching up here.

Hope you all have good days. Take care

Hello---- I just ran out and got this picture of Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak is the tall mountain that is just to the right of the "snow" !! Hopefully, when you look at this picture it may make you feel a little cooler!! Or maybe depressed that Winter is coming!!

Later...... Karen

Hi to everyone & thank you for the wonderful welcome!

Good grief this board is a bizzy one! Not since working in Boston have I seen such a close knit group of ladies that stay together, I love it.

I'll prefacethis with a disclaimer, I admire those of you who can keep up with this board... maybe with practice I can too. If I leave you out it is certainly not intentional!

Karen - Thank you again for telling me about these people, you're right they're all wonderful. The good news is that couple wants to buy your house enough to try to get the financing. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the contracts to come through! Still love your puppies, I'll try to find a way to show pics of 'the boys'. All of my pets truly are a delight. We consider the pups to be little bundles of love. You can see snow??? Sigh,that sounds so refreshing right now! I'm ticking off days until September hoping for a change in this weather.

Cat- Hi to New Orleans! I'm in Olive Branch with family over in Tunica & up in Memphis. We are thrilled with the area and I'm back to having my first 'Delta Summer' since I was a kid at my grandmother's home. You know this heat well.... step outside and you're sticky before you can get to the car. It's a little different from the Texas summers where you open the front door to be greeted by what feels like a massive blow drier on HOT. Either case we're down to running from houst to car back to buildings with ac going. I still line dry my laundry (only one in my neighborhood doing that) and now it's getting the stuff dry within 15 minutes. Dulaney is myfamily name in Tunica, got it's roots somewhere in Ireland... I should look that up eh?)

Lyn - Glad that colonscopy is over. Seems we all get one eventually & the best thing I can think to say is Yay! It's over and the results are negative, right? Good luck w/ the golfing.

Margaret- Thank you for the warm welcome! Hope all went well w/ the reunion. I went to an inlaw reunion earlier this summer and found myself nibbling on watermelon while everyone else ate stuff that was over the top. My mom in law cooks a lot like Paula Deen. If it dosent have enough sour cream & butter & bacon, she thinks it's worthless.

Tennessee Gal- I gave up trying to get a husband to do fitness/health thingheys with me. The only person I can change is me anyway, that's tough enough. Thoroughly understand about temptations. Since menopause chocolate no longer talks to me but things like cream puffs sure do, it's better if I just don't buy them. (and better if I just don't drive down the streets that have Krispy Kremes!)

Gayle - Hi & nice to meet you too! Moving bites. There's no way through it but it's still no fun. The Houston area is going to be a ball for you (I grew up all along I35 Dallas/Waco/Austin/San Antonio) The one thing I would suggest is as soon as hubby is back with you, jump in the car and drive south for half an hour to Galveston to spend a nice Saturday afternoon. We'd still like to someday pick up a retirement house on that little island, it's wonderful!

Linda Meowee - Cats? I love them! Someday will figure out how to share a pic of Romeo who is our Maine Coone & worth every dime. He actually owns us. Thank you for all of your kind words.

Paula - Thinking of your father with his swallow test,hope all works well for him!

Gary - Your life sounds busy! Would love to hear more about the roadwork you're doing. I'm trying to train for a walking marathon & trying to gear up to run my first 5K in September..... we'll see how that plays out.



As for this crusade I'm on to be healthy, still counting calories (max is 1200) still hitting the gym most days & I'm here to report that old fat is the toughest fat in the world to remove! It's a slow go but it's gonna go!

Have a great day to all!
Marylynn

Hi gang . . .

Sorry for another quick little fly-by . . . but this has been a really strange day . . . hopefully tomorrow will be better . . . see you soon. . .

Photos galore today...lovely mountain and more gorgeous doggies. Thanks for posting everyone. I'm just zipping by like Meowee...did my exercise today...45 minutes on the eliptical...also avoided an office gathering where there was cake and pizza.

Lyn

Hello again ~

Just popping back in a minute. Got a reprieve (sp?) census is down, so they don't need me until 11pm. Most likely I will then get floated to another unit. It maybe helps a little bit knowing that ahead of time instead of spending the next few hours with my stomach all in knots stressing about it. I'm struggling so with this job. I did it to myself ~ the change and moving here. I had a job I liked pretty good back in NC, but gave it up to move here so I could enjoy being able to spend time with my kids and grand kids. This job is taking away the joy I want to have about being able to be near family. I've been there going on 8 months now. I don't know whether I just haven't given a "new job" enough time ~ getting used to it and all, or if there are differences that I am never going to like. Not sure what to do. Just feel like life is too short to feel this stressed about it all the time and to feel dread every time the days off are over and it is time to go back to work. Oh well..... Sorry to have gone on so ~ thank you for listening. Off for another nap.

(Edited) Change of plan ~ they (work) just called. Now they have changed their minds, and want me to come now instead of 11pm. There goes the nap. Grrrrrrrr Frustrated with getting yanked around. Feel like a posession to be used ~ not a person that they care about. The other night ~ I had consented to do an extra shift on my unit. I get there and they tell me that I am to be sent to another unit. I was not happy ~ I agreed to do that extra shift on my own unit. I sure as heck won't be agreeing to any extra shifts again.


Take care

It is 100 degrees in Columbus!!!!! The air quality is also in the pits!!! With asthma, I've got to watch my exposure. To top it all off, work was the pits today

I am just flying through today. I need rest, relaxation, and some peace. I did manage to stay on program today, in spite of all the fun I've had today.

Trish

Hi Marylynn, Gosh, Your "boys" are really cute!! I am so glad that I found my poms! A friend of mine several years ago had a little pomeranian and I fell in love with her. She kept "escaping" from the people who owned her and finally they just gave her to them.. He was a BIG guy, probably about 250 pounds and was a painter. He always wore the bib painter overalls and she rode inside the bib everywhere with him! And that was when I first got hooked on poms! He passed away a few years ago and now his daughter has her and also got a second white one. When she comes up here or I go visit her all 4 furkids get to running and it sounds like we have a herd of pomeranians!!

Gayle, sorry you are having such a hard time with the job. I know that has to make it tough on you. Is there someone you can go to talk about this and get some answers?

Lyn, Great job on the elliptical!! I think I would like to get one of those but for now I will just work with what I have~~ I don't want to add more "STUFF" now to move when the house finally does sell.

Linda-- you should post some pics of your "kitties" I know I saw the other pictures and they are so beautiful.. I don't know what my 2 poms would think about kitties either. I don't know if they have ever been around any. Ginger was a rescue from the local shelter and Sissy was rescued from a puppy mill. But that is about all the background I had on them.

Joanne--- OW!!! I wouldn't make it very far walking in dress shoes either.. Gosh, I can't tell you the last time I wore heels!! I'm either in tennis shoes, flip flops or bare feet!!

Gary,How are you doing tonight? How is your DIL Father doing? Be sure to let us know and we will be saying a prayer for him.

Trish, Zoe, Theresa, Paula, Phyllis, Cat, Margaret, Peg, and I know I probably missed someone but I didn't mean to. I'll try to catch up with everyone sooner or later. Take care

Hello everyone. Looks like this has been a busy week filled with challenges.
Good luck on your potential sale Karen. How stressful for you not hearing anything. Hope all goes well.
Zoe, your comments remind me of the 60's and many late nights spent with friends. Wish I could go back again if only for an evening. Those old friends have long scattered - I wonder if they ever reminisce.
Gayle, it's hard enough being a nurse without having people treat you like an object. I hope things improve for you or you can find something better.
Hope everyone else knows that though we don't all comment, we hear you and understand. It's amazing how different everyone is, yet how similar.

Lily

Good Morning . . .

What a difference a day makes -- 24 little hours -- it's almost cold this morning. Temperature at 9:30 am is a mere 13C/55F. We also have heavy rain and high wind warnings.

Only reason I haven't taken any kitten pictures recently is that I still haven't downloaded and gone through the one hundred plus shots that my granddaughter took with my camera last month . . . sounds like a good chore for this weekend . . . so maybe there will be kitten pictures coming soon.

Here's a little FFFF for you . . . Melba toast, that mainstay of the dieter's arsenal for years, originated when several pieces of severly burned toast were accidently served to Australian opera star Nellie Melba at The Savoy Hotel in London. Instead of complaining, she tried it and loved it. The chef decided to put in on the menu and called it "Melba's Toast" in her honour.

Have a great day everybody. Keep doing the good stuff just as much as you can. See you soon . . .

Morning all...just dropping in for a quick hello..loaded down with work.

I am so jealous of those of you who are having the cool weather. When you walk outside here, it's like getting slammed by a wall. miserable.