Hello everyone! These continue to be very busy days! Today I had two appointments back-to-back, PT and my 4 mo diabetes visit with the doctor. The good news is I managed to get my A1C down to 6.8! It was 7.2 last visit. That said, I continue to have high bs and know that is not good for my body. However he did not think I should take more medication (which I expected I'd have to), but did say I need to lose weight. Well, I know that. So will keep working on that...you'd think all this would give me incentive so why I haven't done it by now, I have no clue, but I will never give up. PT says my back is much straighter today and I can see it but know I still have a ways to go. It is getting easier to hold good posture. They keep giving me more and more exercises to do at least 2x day (too many for 3x!), so those plus the gym means I'm exercising a lot, plus almost 2 hours at PT 3x week! I will have a weeks break between the next two appointments though as couldn't get in any sooner. So, I'll just have to work extra hard at home. That's what I'll have to do when traveling too so might as well get used to it. I'll probably do them 3x a day during those times if at all possible.

Seems so strange (but nicely strange!) that I'm not planning Thanksgiving dinner this year! Our dd will be doing the cooking. I'm taking pumpkin pie and whip cream...probably from Costco. How easy is that?!!

Cajun - Doubt I'll be shopping Black Friday either..I rarely do as I hate the crowds and my back gets tired. I buy very little anymore anyway. I'm going to send cash to most people again this year. Crass it may be but they don't seem to mind and it's sure easier! I will buy gifts for the younger gc that live elsewhere. So here in our area it will be just two children and 4 adults to shop for. Well 5 counting dh.

Glynne - Black scrubs just seem a little creepy to me...what do the patients think about them? Good idea about the trim.

Signey - Welcome to our little group! I had no clue about the hoops either...but I'm sure proud of you for hooping! I was just thinking about trying it again today...doubt I could even do it now...I never was very good at it as I remember.

Donna - I get the emails from RecipeLion...haven't tried any yet though. I like cabbage too.

I've never heard of hulless popcorn but I have seen the puffy "popcorn" so maybe that's it.

Very little time these days to be online and esp to spend time posting on the forum but I will check in from time to time. Don't enter many sweeps these days either. Only had one win last month..It was a $75 GC (love these kind of wins!) and a free for one year email service (normally a paid service) which I'm giving to my dil for her dd. And this month so far only one win..it's a lash liner tool...whatever that is...haven't got it yet.

Take care you all...

Nov. 19, 2012
So today is my day to log my weight and this week I averaged 1.8 lbs. lighter than last week. This week was emotionally harder for me. I’ve been on Weight Watchers since October 1st and think I am starting to relax. On one hand, I should relax, this is supposed to be a lifestyle change, not a life sentence. I should be able to use my Weekly Allowance Points during the week when I want to have a little “extra” without remorse. They are designed into the program for that purpose. I don’t even abuse them just a couple a day....but they make me feel uneasy as if I’m cheating. They make me nervous that the scale won’t show any change and I will have wasted a week. Now Thanksgiving is here and Christmas! I’m so afraid that I will lose all sense of control. I tried to cut back on what we were having for our Thursday feast but the family rebelled. I guess I need to accept what I cannot change. My family feels that Thanksgiving dinner is not negotiable. Portion control must be my defense.

Carol Sue - Thank you for the kind welcome! Isn’t it something? Every so often I would encounter a hula hoop and I couldn’t get it to work either. The muscle memory was there but it just wouldn’t work. It’s all about getting the right size. There are detailed instructions to be found online and it’s worthwhile looking them up if you are interested. Tons of information out there. What is neat is that it’s such a good workout and it isn’t expensive at all.

Gayle - I am the same way when it comes to moving. It is way too easy to sit and not move. I have to make myself be more active. The great thing is that it feeds itself and the more active you become the more active you want to be. I love the little bib that you made for your scrubs. Very clever! You can buy so many different patterns and just have fun with it. Maybe finish the edge with a contrasting ribbon. Cute and practical. You can have one for every holiday.

Karen - Thank you for welcoming me! You really sound like you know what you are doing with a hula hoop! I have no doubt that you could pick it up again. I did see that site that you referenced for making the hoops. That is the one that I used to make mine. You can buy them in all sorts of sizes, pre made. There are even ones with LED’s in them that look like a light rainbow in the dark. I made mine because I wanted to keep the price down while I figure out if it’s something I want to do. Plus, shipping to Alaska is obscene. You being in Missouri would have no problem getting hoops delivered to you for a very reasonable price.

Mary - Thank you! Everyone is being so welcoming and kind. You sound very busy with your daily routines. Improved posture is wonderful! It’s something that I really need to work on. When I do stand with correct posture my body feels so much better. I just need to develop those muscles like you are doing. Thumbs up!

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Thanks again everyone! As we roll into this very busy week I want to make sure that I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’m sure I will be checking in before then but you never know. It could get pretty distracting around here. Take care!

Good morning GG's,

One day down ~ three more to go. Yesterday, ended up being a decent day. Hope that holds for the rest of the week. Especially Thursday. I am working and hope that I can get out on time. My family is having the Thanksgiving dinner in the evening so I can come too, and I don't want that to be one of those crazy days where I am 2 or 3 hours late getting out.

Mary ~ I don't know of anyone that much likes the black scrubs. Maybe you missed my months of whining here as I was counting down to having to wear that awful color. My apologies to the rest of you who had to listen to that.
Mary ~ they took a vote and tell us that black won the vote. I can't imagine anyone who would choose that color. I have my theories ~ that we were lied to, or that people voted on that for a joke and it back fired. The reason for the change it was said ~ that we all needed to wear the same color so we would look more professional. Our charge nurse took an informal poll of patients and families and they did not like the choice of black. They were not listened to. We origianlly were supposed to have "free Fridays" and be able to wear any scrub we wanted. One man/patient, when asked ~ smarted off and said ~ oh ~ so you don't want to look professional on Fridays? They listened to that jerk and we lost our free Fridays. It makes me wonder ~ how did that one man be allowed to have such power that they listened to him and totally disregarded the opinions of so many others.

I'm pretty much back on track after my trip. I had a slip up in the night time last night. I was having the munchies in the evening, but resisted. But then was having trouble sleeping ~ just laid there and laid there and could not sleep. Got up and got on the computer for a few minutes. That would have been ok if I hadn't had a snack to go with it. I have such a hard time to sleep, I don't want to fall back into that bad habit of eating in the middle of the night. I fear that my body will get hungry every night and make me wake up.

Ok, got to go finish getting ready for work. Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Take care

Karen3 - Ask the DR about glucosemine and condroiten. It might keep you from having to get those shots.

Gayle-I love black and wear a lot of it, so I would be very happy at your job! At our local hospital, they made the nurses wear navy blue and the aides, royal blue, so people could identify who was a nurse and who was an aide. I remember when my MIL was in the hospital she differentiated by gender. A male was a doctor and a female was a nurse. Period. LOL She was amazed when a male nurse told her he was a nurse, not a doctor.

Maryea - I'm glad to hear your are gradually getting some relief for your back. PT takes time, but it works.

I think if your A1C has improved, then your overall BS has improved. My reading are not good either, but my doctor isn't worried about them because my A1C is good. Who am I to argue with him? Sometimes, I blame it on the meter being off.

Hi....Had a long wait for Doctor and then he decided that it was definitely a torn cartilage and needed an MRI. That is scheduled for next Tuesday. Good news so far is mini surgery not the whole full blown replacement. Bad news is more time hobbling around. But at least no shot.

Carol Sue... I already take Glocosamine and Condroiton and even Calcium for leg cramps. Started Dh on them 20 yrs ago when his hips first got wonky.

BBL...Dh has put the hose on the garage sink so Dash can have a hot shower. He is hiding under my desk....Dash not DH......k3

Karen3 - Good that you found out what's wrong and can get it fixed with mini surgery. Booo on the hobbling around!

My DR just called and they are putting me on synthroid. Might help with the palpitations that have the cardiologist stumped. I hope they know what they are doing.

Hi Golden Girls-

Missed you all. Got back from our travels on Monday afternoon after being gone for 11 days. I had left my bedroom a wreck from trying on clothes and packing. I hate that I did that. I had to pack some dressy clothes for the trip to Savannah and some things didn’t fit. I hate unpacking. Also, my DB basically did nothing with my parents while I was gone. He called once or twice and asked if they needed anything. No? Ok! Then I get home and get the complaints when I returned. Basically, my mom wants to get out to a store once a week or so. I thought my brother would do it. My mom doesn’t like the lady that I have go over 3 times a week. She’s too nice. “I don’t need someone hugging me.“ I said, “Yes you do! I do!! We all do!! And she’ll take you to the store!“ She forgot. (She is actually jealous of her.) They are in super duper assisted living, “assisted living with memory help” which does more than the regular assisted living so they were fine.

Enough about me. I’m trying to catch up on posts/

Gayle - I enjoyed reading about your trip to see your DD and family. Very descriptive. I bet your DGD really enjoyed your visit. I had one grandma that was kind of “fancy,” and one that was hard working, and sweet. Guess which one was my favorite? Guess which one I think was my best role model? Yep, the beautiful, down to earth, pleasantly plump, hard working one. I bet your DD and SIL enjoyed your visit too. You are so intelligent and loving. At some point she’ll get tired of having to be fancy and just appreciate being loved for herself.

Rosey - glad you’re okay. I haven’t had to have paramedics often, just a couple of times for Dparents but it’s always so good to see them that they all look good to me. My DS is a fire fighter and an EMT. He goes out on a lot of calls with the paramedics. I’m biased but I think he’s cute too. They all are!

Trips with DH (and DS) don’t involve resting. What do you want to do? REST! Really? Don’t you want to see this and do that? And let’s walk to this place, it’s just a few blocks away (really 12.)

I have Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will have 13 people this year. Usually a couple more for Christmas. DH helps me a lot these days. Kind of evolved over the years. My mom used to make the sweet potatoes and jello mold and bring the pies from Bakers Square - better than anything I could make and better than any store or bakery I’ve tried. After she had heart bypass surgery in 2005 I let her off the hook. I have:

Turkey
Stuffing
Mash potatoes
Gravy
Sweet potatoes
Spoon bread (corn bread kind of thing)
Broccoli Casserole
Cranberries
Jello mold
Rolls
Pumpkin pie, apple pie

I also started ordering these delicious whipped sweet potatoes from local store. So fluffy and unhealthy - more like a dessert but more of my people will eat them. And this year due to a mix up I ended up with regular mashed potatoes along with my sweet potato order. DH said, "KEEP THEM!" Hope they’re good.

Bobbi - I love the way your family does it.

Better go start the jello mold. Hugs to all - whether you need them or not! And happy Thanksgiving.

Hi everyone finally had a moment to wish you all a very happy thanksgiving. I'll bet everyone is scurrying around like me. i'll be glad when the kids get here as they take over lol. i made pies this morning ,carmel apple cake,deviled eggs and 2 diff salads and one turkey n the oven and will cook the other in the morning. our # have grown to 36 right now im resting with tootsie in my lap its -8 below zero this am. im as ready as im going to get. ttfn rosey

Couple more things.

K3 - glad you don't need knee replacement - and that DH wasn't under the desk.

Carole Sue - I'm on Synthroid and another med for thyroid (T3 and T4.) A number of years ago I had "premature ventricular contractions." I would have described them as heart palpitations. Is that what yours are?

Welcome Signey! I was like Karen 31 when I was a kid on the hula hoop. Wondered why I couldn't do it when I got one for my kids. It was depressing cuz I figured it was being out of shape and weight gain.

Karen 31 - hope the pt does the trick. Don't mop the floor or pick up a big turkey!

Cajun - great that your son got a new job. I admire that he took the high road. I also admire the way you handled the whole situation - despite your worry you were there for him but let him figure it out for himself. That is hard to do. I need help from my husband to do that!!

Good evening GG's,

Three days down ~ one more to go.

DD Sara is having the thanksgiving at her house at supper time. We (when I am not having to work that day) usually have it late afternoon, but she is doing it later so I can come too.

I was feeling badly because I won't be there to help her with the cooking. But it worked out ok. She needed stuff at the store, and I told her I had to stop on the way home from work, so I might as well just get what ever she needed since I was out already anyway. The list started out with half a dozen items and kept growing as she remembered stuff she had forgotten. Sara is a kind of fly by the seat of your pants/spur of the moment kind of girl ~ LOL. Anyway, I feel better ~ like I was able to do something to help her. She said she hates, hates, hates grocery shopping, so it turned out ok.

I think the menu is:

Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Corn casserole
Green beans (a Paula Deen recipe)
macaroni and cheese
cranberry sauce
Dinner rolls
A juice mix (cran/raspberry with gingerale mixed in)
Apple/cranberry pie with vanilla ice cream
Chocolate cake

Sara puts the turkey in a brine mixture ~ water with salt, oranges, lemons, rosemary and thyme. It makes it come out really tender and moist.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families. Have a wonderful day of family and love.

Good morning, all, and Happy Thanksgiving. Haven't been here in a while so catching up on reading.

glynne, I agree about the black scrubs and to me "all looking alike" is very old fashioned. My doctor wears regular pants and blouse, and the nurses in the clinic all wear colorful scrubs of all types. It feels far more personal there and I love it. But I guess you wear what you are told.

Greetings to all. I am headed out to the pool soon for an early workout; they are open half a day today

Misti ~ the reasoning behind the "color coded" scrubs is not a bad thing. Most of our patients are elderly and many are confused, so for them to know that the ones in black are the nurses, and the ones in gray are the aides, and the navy blue are physical therapy and so on ~ is helpful to them ~ to sort of know what the person approaching them might be there for. I'm not so sure that the color coding is grasped by some of the more confused ones though.

My gripe was the black ~ geesh. When people are there and sick ~ it would seem as some other cheery color might have been a better choice.

Ok, off to work.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my good chicks! k3