Good Afternoon!
For once I paid attention and started a new thread before the previous one hit page 2. Be sure to read the "rest of the story" on #168. It is a sunny day in my neighborhood . . . windy and a little on the chilly side but I will take this weather any day!

I am doing last minute laundry and trying to get my things located in one area so that I can start packing tonight. I guess whatever I forget I will just have to go shopping and buy!

Have a nice afternoon, Flowers!

Jean -- from Iowa!

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

It is another lovely day here. We are going to girll a lot of different kinds of things this evening ~ so handy to have in the freezer for a quick lunch during the week for Cowboy mainly. A little goes a long way with me on my point schedule.

Steaks are for tonight but the other things being grilled will be polish sausage, burgers, teriyaki chicken breasts. Good thing this is a HIGH point day for me for I am going to enjoy that 5 point steak and that 1 point corn and some garlic mashed potates and a green salad. I am currently carmelizing a couple of vidalia onions and they sure smell good. For those of you who may not know what I am talking about: slice sweet onions up and get a non stick skillet hot then spray it with cooking spray then toss in the onions. Stir them occasionally and they will turn a nice carmel color after cooking awhile and the natural sugar makes them so yummy.

JEAN thanks for starting a new thread timely. I never worry about things I may have forgotten to pack. Always make sure I have my meds and that is what is most important. Have yourself a lovely trip and let us know how it went when you get back. I'll miss you!

Have a great weekend my friends.

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS
It is a rainy Saturday here in the East. But Happy Weekend, anyway. Just finished the ironing and shortening a pair of slacks for DD#1 and thought I would take some time for me. Has been a short week for my first week back from vacation but a successful one. Lost 4 lbs.. I think it was that I am back drinking my water. That is so hard to do while traveling. Think from now on it will be slower going but if I FOCUS I am sure it will happen.

MAGGIE A great weight loss! You are my inspiration. That's a great way to prepare for the week, cooking ahead. I will have to try it.

JEAN Have a fun time in MN. It will be nice to get away. Never mind if you forget anything...shopping can be fun, too.

Just got the pictures back from the trip and that Catalina is so photogenic! I am enlarging the picture and putting in on the mantle along with the others.

Welcome to all the newcomers and join in our fun! We are a great group of supporters. DH and & I will be married 45 yrs in September and have 4 grown and married kids and 9 GKs. We are retired and love to travel. I made goal in 2000 but put on a few since then and now am working to get back to goal! It is always a struggle.

Gloria in MA.....of to get some more housework done before the sun comes out, if it ever will.

Hi Flowers!

Last night my daughter and I went shopping while the "guys" (hubby, son and son-in-law) went to the Giants game! It was fun shopping with someone who didn't think the whole thing was over once we ate and went to the bookstore!!

I have been very faithful about swimming (or doing some kind of exercise) for at least 1/2 hour a day! And this is 7 days a week!! I went to a nutritionist who specializes in working with diabetics..
I'm NOT diabetic, but I am carb sensitive as they are. Anyway, the short of a long story is that after years and years of "dieting' (as opposed to a WOE plan) I have basically "killed" my metabolism and even staying under 1000 calories a day now doesn't enable me to lose weight. The body is smart and it will NOT let ANY fat go if it thinks it is in a starving mode. SO...the plan to bring my metabolism back is this:

First month...I eat 1500 calories a day made up of protein, dairy,fruits, veggies whole grains and nuts. Yes, I DO eat carbs on this plan but they all are simple carbs and come from fruit, veggies and whole grains. Also...there are SERVING sizes I must follow...AND I must exercise AT LEAST 1/2 hour EVERYDAY...all 7 of them!! She said I probably won't lose weight on this plan...I might even gain a couple of pounds, but I have to give my body calories so it doesn't think it is starving and I have to exercise to stimulate the metabolism and give it a reason to USE some of those calories.

Second month...Follow the same eating plan but drop to 1200 calories a day...continue the daily exercise. Now I should start to lose weight...1-2 pounds a week. I stay on this plan until I reach goal...then I can adjust the daily calories to a level where I won't gain, and can cut back on the exercise to 3 times a week.

I go back every two weeks...at least for the first two month...to make sure things are working right. Being Hypothyroid complicates matters a little, but it is controllable.

As with all WOE plans...I will always have to watch my weight and when I gain 2-3 pounds I should IMMEDIATELY add another day or two of exercise until I loss it. She says, ALWAYS increase your exercise...never just decrease you calories alone. She said a moderately active person "my age" should be able to consume between 1200-1500 calories a day with 3 days of exercise without gaining weight.

So...here is to the "rebirth" of my metabolism!! This all makes sense to me...sorry to go on and on...

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!
Jackie

Good Morning! I see by the time that it is Sunday in Iowa! I am up late packing and just couldn't leave without saying "good-bye".

The wedding today was an interesting one to say the least. We drove two and a half hours for a 7 minute wedding! It was in the fellowship hall of the church; they used a trellis divider with two boquets of flowers sitting on flower stands -- no cross, altar, or Bible. The usher asked which side we wanted to sit on and then pointed in the general direction. There were no programs and the only music was a bad tape on a cheap boom box. The relatives just sort of came in willy - nilly and sat down. The attendants and bride walked down the aisle w/o music. The minister started out by saying that in The Church of Latter Day Saints, they believe in doing things very plain and simple but they get the job done! There was a tiny mini sermon but no vows (as I know them) except agreeing to take each other as husband and wife....nothing about the symbolism of the rings, etc. The bride wore a white dress which was short in the front and long in the back -- western style -- and cowboy boots. After they were pronounced husband and wife the minister invited everyone to the other side of the room for cake and punch. The end! We were back home in time to go to Sat. night church.

Maggie -- When you grill lots of different things, at once, do you freeze them and reheat in the microwave? I never thought of doing that . . . good idea!

Gloria -- CONGRATULATIONS!! ON 4 BIG #s that are gone forever! What a nice surprise! What day is your anniversary? Our's is the 3rd . . . same day as our son's birthday!

Jackie -- What does WOE stand for? Going to a nutrutionist was a good idea and the plan sounds workable. Good luck!

Well, if I am going to walk at 5:30 AM, I best get myself to bed! Have a great week . . . I will miss you all! See you on Sunday, probably.

Jean -- in Iowa!

Jean: You have probably already left, but WOE stands for: Way of Eating...as opposed to "diet"

Hope you have a wonderful trip...you are right...that was a very strange wedding!!
Jackie

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

My neice and her husband and 3 children came to camp this weekend and it was great fun. In fact they are till here.

JEAN well you have to look at it this way ~ that short wedding did the job as well as those long 2 hour ones full of pomp and circumstance. I do prefer the shorter ones ~ never been to one that short though but I am sure it was totally acceptable to the bride and groom for they are the ones that get to choose the type of ceremony. We have done enough weddings to know that they can be of all lengths and such.

GLORIA that is a great loss to have had after your long time gone. I am so happy for you and know that that will help your body to stay in the losing mode for you.

COOKIE let us know how that WOE works out for you. I have a friend here that did that so am interested to get your take on it. I do hope you have found the way that best suits your system and allows you to lose weight. We all have to find our personal way and it ain't all easy. My program has me eating between 1050 and 1500 calories on average for my week.

Have a great day ladies..... on this Fathers Day.

Hi Maggie,

How did your friend do on this WOE plan? I would be interested in the results. I really hope I can reset my set-point to a normal amount of calories. Your plan sounds great 1050-1500 spread throughout the week should give you leeway for "splurges" yet keep the weight off...or even going down like you are!!
This first month will be hard because I probably won't see any results on the scale...but I've already seen improvement in the swimming...It used to take 1/2 hour to do 44 laps (1/2 mile) but now I have to do 48 laps to fill the 1/2 hour. I'm going to have a cholesterol , tricycerides, blood pressure, and weight check at the end of Sept (make it yearly on my birthday!)...it will be interesting to see the changes (if any) from last year. Everything should be down.

Enjoy your Sunday...and I hope the scale brings good news tomorrow!!
Jackie

COOKIE well since you asked ~ my friend had lost a lot of weight at WW and decided to hire a nutritionist and followed that plan you are going to undertake and gained almost all she had lost back so she ended up fireing her nutritionist and came back to WW and is now a leader who has lost 80 pounds. I hope that doesn't happen to you. Her system did not take well to it at all.

GOOD EVENING MAGNOLIAS

What a wonderful day this turned out to be. We planned to go to my folks house around 1:30 and told my niece and nephew that we were going and they said they were also going there. So we all went and my older sis and her husband where there and then in came my nephew, his wife and their 4 boys. One of which just graduated and has the looks of ~ WOW ~ is he ever handsome. They will have a son graduating from high school now every two years and they are all such good looking boys. Then in walked my brother and my other nephew and my other sister and her husband ~ so it was like the Christmas gathering. We had not planned all to be there it just happened and what a great time we had. And of course out came the cake and ice cream and since I had Thin Within along with me and my FOCUS I declined to have any. Also I didn't have any of the candy and nuts that were also provided. No ~ my folks aren't overweight. But several of us there are attending WW. When I hugged my nephew he said - OH ~ we are closer than we have been in a long time. Between us we had lost 80 pounds so you can imagine how much closer we were. Life is good.

JEAN I didn't answer your question earlier and I apologize for it. Yes we do freeze the meat that is grilled and then zap it in the microwave when we want it. It is so much easier and I make different dishes with it each time and so a good variety of meets being cooked at the same time is great for us. Like for lunch today it was so easy to make rice, grilled teriyaki chicken and green beans because the meat was already cooked and the other things were a snap to get ready. The grilled polish are great when chopped up and placed in a non stick skillet with some bell pepper and green onion (which I have also chopped and in freezer bags) and sauteed then a carton of egg-beaters poured over the top and scrambled then placed in a tortilla ~ a wonderful tasting breakfast burritio is had in a matter of a few minutes. Along with that a smoothie makes a wonderful brunch. That is certainly a company pleaser.

Everyone have a wonderful week...... it is almost Monday.

Youall have been busy the past couple of days! My "doggie underground railroad" was a huge success. We picked up a half Bassett/Dachshund named "Kevin" Saturday morning, brought him back here, and met the lady who was taking him the last leg. She was a little late, and we were ready to "bolt" and keep Kevin. What a sweetheart for an animal who's been shoved from pillar to post most of his life. Seems there is a Dachsie breeder who had a "whoops" litter sired by the Bassett. There were 8 pups, and she basically ignored them. Three died from Parvo, and the others had it but survived. The five remaining were rescued be the Dachshund Rescue League and have been placed in homes as far away as Canada! They can transport an animal from Florida to Canada in three days with the volunteer Rescue league.........amazing. I got on line and discovered that practically every breed has a rescue group, and they are always looking for foster homes and drivers. Don't think I could ever foster one, because I'd become too attached. We had trouble letting go of Kevin after only three hours!
Camp's getting underway to day with the arrival of Senior Staff. They'll have a week of precamp training, and the girls will arrive next monday. It will be fun to have my summer sisters here.
Lost it yesterday, and my son and I had a thin Veggie pizza. I had enough points, I think, but what a waste! I've been good today, and pushing around the stinking vaccuum cleaner........trying to avoid the Health Dept condemning the house Jimmy and I will hit the river trail in a little while. It's supposed to go down to 40 tonight, so we'd best get out there before it starts getting cold.
Have a good one!
Bubbles

Nanacas,
Have I asked you where you are in MA? I have two favorite cousins on the Cape, one in Falmouth year round, and the other in East Orleans almost fulltime. I was up there for the first time last summer.........busy place! I was there the first week in June, before school was out, and it was still crazy! When does the water warm up? August? Guess I've lived in the south too long. I know WV isn't considered the south, but we're only 7 miles from VA.

Graybubs,
We live about an hour north of Falmouth and about 20 min. south of Boston.
We love the Cape and have a good friend in Falmouth and visit her often. She lives directly across from the beach at Falmouth Heights. We hope to spend the Fourth of July with her and see the fireworks that are set off from a barge opposite her house.
The Cape is crazy any time of the year. We try to avoid going down on the weekends and it is almost impossible getting on and off as there are only 2 bridges as exit routes. The Cape is an island but one time was connected to the mainland. The government dug the Cape Cod Canal many years ago so boats and especially commercial vessels did not have to go all around the Cape to go from NY to Boston.
I don't go, too often, to Orleans as that is quite a ride from home. It is beautiful country on the outer Cape.
Yes, it is almost August before the water really warms up but I think our 'warm' and your 'warm' are miles apart. We recently were in Myrtle Beach and the water Temp was 75 deg. air 85 deg.
I can't remember when the water on the Cape was 75 deg. It is all a matter of what you are used to.

I consider anything past Maryland, Washington,DC to be South.
DS lives in Raleigh, NC (which was the reason for our trip) and he and his family are gradually becoming Southerners

That is a nice thing you are doing in helping relocate the dogs. DH is a dog nut and since we lost our 12 yr old Golden Retiever last winter he has been walking all the dogs in the neighborhood. He is up to 10 dogs (one at a time) and they range from 2 mineature poodles to a 200 lb. Newfoundland. They love to see him coming as, for some, that is the only walk they get.

Maggie
What a wonderful day you had. That was a great impromptu get together. Sometimes when we don't plan things they turn our better.

Gloria in MA....getting ready to peek in the fridge for ideas for dinner.

GOOD EVENING MAGNOLIAS

I showed a loss of 1.6 this evening which suits my fancy just fine. I had great news at the doc's office today and really didn't expect anything different because I feel fine but all my tests are great. Cholosterol, tirglicerides, blood sugar and the whole shootin' match that folks think heavy people should suffer from. So while I continue to lose weight I just get better and better. He was especially thrilled with the way I have chosen to lose weight and how I am doing it. He keeps saying he will join WW.....

BUBBLES think there are any Old English Sheep Dog puppies out there?

GLORIA that was exactly what it was.

Have a great evening folks.

Good Evening!!

Fantastic news Maggie...There is no stopping you now!! It is so nice when your efforts are rewarded!! That is what I'm hoping will happen when I finally get my metabolism back up and operating. So far...I swim every day and eat the "right" things but so far the only theing happening to my body is that it is getting browner!! Well...she said that there would be no weight loss the first month...but the swimming is firming me up some.

We finalized all the travel plans for the wedding in Hawaii next March...seems like a long piece away, but our first choice of hotels was all booked!! So now I just have to concentrate on getting my body ready!

My daughter and SIL went away for the weekend and we kept Freia...their puppy...these two are going to be basket cases when they have kids...they called 4 times to see how she was doing!! She and Hil had a great time...but poor Hil is VERY tired today!! LOL

Hope everybody's Monday was good...for a Monday!
Jackie