Hey chickies! Just popped in to say hi. I read some posts and saw that Rhonda mentioned "comfort foods". There is a very good potato chowder in the crock pot recipes on this board. I made it a few days ago, and dh loved it. TTFN

Good Morning Ladies:)

WOO!! is it cold:brr: our this morning,have to do some grocery shopping for stables and come back in doors.Not going to attempt to go down to the beach or any where outdoors for walking. Weill have to rely on my bike or exercising tapes.

SANDRA-Glad that you had a great time at the tournament. Don't do too much,a little at a time is my motto.Thanks for your hugs I W-I tomorrow.

PAULA-Sorry :sorry: about your.2 but to me thats a maintain not a gain,so you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I can't believe that winter is upon us,hope this isn't a sign of a cold winter up here this year.

SLOAN-Woo!! Wee!! thanks for telling us about the potato chowder comfort food that appears in the recipe section. Sound so yummy. Is Leeks allowed on the Core???


Have to go,will be back later

Good Morning Chicks! So you all know I've been missing in action for over a month. I'm struggling with my health and not following the program as I should be. I've been trying to get a diagnosis for the "smokey smell" in my nose. It got to the point where it came and stayed.

We went downtown Tuesday to see the fancy schmancy Smell and Taste Disorder Doctor, Allen Hirsch, since neither the Internist, Allergist, or ENT could figure out what my problem was. I have some smell loss in addition to the smokey smell.

So......the Doc says the horrible head cold virus I had that lasted for 4-6 weeks in May damaged/affected the receptors in my nose that tell the brain what it should be smelling. When my nose smells certain things instead of telling my brain to smell the....maybe cleaning supplies....instead it tells it to smell smokey smell. It also caused a loss of smell, although it's not a complete loss. I don't know for sure what the triggers are and I'm not sure what I'm going to do. His diagnosis was phantosmia (phantom smell), hyposmia (loss of smell), and dysosmia (distorted smell). He did a basic scratch and sniff smell with me and then a very elaborate smell test. He says I have loss of smell and, in fact, cannot smell natural gas. He advised us to get natural gas detectors for the house. I didn't think my loss of smell was that significant. Since I told him that I twice drank spoiled milk in the last month, he told me to have someone taste my food. Jim said that he's not trying some of the weird stuff I eat! Oh well. He thinks tuna and cottage cheese are weird.

Here's the scary part. It may fix itself, get worse or never go away if left untreated. His suggestion is to have me take a drug called Neurontin for 6 months. He says they have a 50% success rate with this. It's an off label use of the drug since it is normally used for epilepsy. He made me sign a release saying that I understood it was off label. The medicine has a lot of side effects and I'm quite nervous about using it because of that and because of the off label thing. I desperately want my smelling to be normal again so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'm definitely going to make an appointment with the Internist that I've been with for about 20 years, whom I know is VERY cautious about medicine, and talk to him about it. Jim says he would take it if he were me. I think Jim is wondering why I went to this guy if I wasn't going to follow his advice.

The worst part is that this medicine can cause WEIGHT GAIN!!! I'm not going to use it as an excuse though. He says exercise will help with the smell so I'm starting AGAIN tomorrow. Sigh.

That's it in a huge nutshell for me! Talk about TMI, huh?

I just wanted you all to know that I'm reading what's going on with all of you, celebrating when you succeed, and understanding when you don't, and feeling proud when you dust off and get back on the wagon. I just don't feel much like "talking" right now. I hope soon I'll be back to my old self.

Vickie - I'm so sorry to hear about your smell issues. At least you finnally have some answers as to what is going on. If you take the medication, how soon could you see improvements? It not long, it may be worth trying it to see if it helps.

Maryann - Leaks are core, just another veggie!

I was watching 30 minute meals last night and Rachel made a pumpkin soup. I have made a butternut squash soup in the past that I do like a lot, but I hate peeling the squash. What she did was sautee onions, carrots, celery until soft, added chicken stock and spices then a can of pumpkin. She then topped it off with cream, but I could use ff evaporated milk instead. I'm going to try it this weekend. Leeks would be good in this one as well. I'll let you know how it comes out - using the canned pumpkin, it should be quick. At least less than 30 minutes!!

I am looking at my small gain as staying the same. My scale actually was down a pound this morning compared to yesterday morning. (Yes, I do weigh my self daily, it helps me stay on track or adjust as needed :) )

Well, got to get moving. BBL

Vickie, I'm glad you found out what's wrong and I hope all gets back to normal soon. You're smart to go to your internist. Let us know what he thinks.

We worked in the yard most of the day and are pooped. Our place is starting to shape up so the hard work is worth it. However, I am sooooo tired of dragging around those darned waterhoses.:witch:

Hi All:

Vicki, I'm sorry you're having these problems but glad you are seeking advice. I recommend that you go to the website of the Mayo Clinic and search the terms the ENT doctor used to describe what you have.

Chickies, I saw those water hoses Sandra is lugging around, and how big the area is. She is working up quite a sweat, I can tell you that!

I did great with my eating today until I went to a meeting where there were fantastic cookies. But, I reigned myself in by the time I had to go to a wine and cheese reception: had only 1/2glass of wine and no cheese or crackers. When I got home I ate a small and all Core dinner.

I hate it that I just hypnotized by cookies! :cookie:

I'm going to try the soup recipes. I really like soup. DH isn't so keen, unless it's avocado soup made with a ton of cream!

Rhonda

Rhonda, congratulations on stopping your hypnosis before you got to the cheese and crackers. Hmmmmmmmmm......we still have one bottle of wine. If we weren't shooting this weekend, I'd get Curtis to open it.

That's good advice to Vickie about researching those medical terms. You should do it, Vickie.

Thanks Chicks. I have read the Mayo site and others. They're scary and I'm not reading any more. I have an appointment with my Internist in the morning.

Good Morning Ladies:)


:witch:HAPPY HALLOWEEN:witch:


Its a cold :brr: one today and I'm not going out.Leo & I are going to relax by the fireplace and enjoy the the warmth of being indoors.

We're ready for the trick & treater,as this year we now have little kids in our complex than we had years ago. I have popcorn balls & mini bags of potato chips,cheese whiz and dorito's for them an if anything is left over I can use them as topping on casseroles.

VICKIE-I'm so sorry:sorry: that you have to go though so many health issues right now. Wish:wizard: I knew what to tell you,but I don't,so the next best thing I can do for you is to send you some prayers you way & hope the problems will resolve.

PAULA-I love:love: Rachael Ray shes my food network guru.I have several 30 min cook book by her,and I do use them along with my WW cookbooks. I have a passion for cooking but only for 30 mins tops .The recipe sounds so yummy I must look in my cookbooks:book2:
and see if i can find the recipe. Thanks:thanks: for letting me know that Leeks are a Core Veggie.

SANDRA-Now that you yard is done,:yes: get some well deserved rest.I sure your yard look pretty,I still have to call the gardener and get our front brushes trimmed.

RHONDA-You did great not be temped:devil: into eating those cookies,cheese & crackers. I'm lucky I don't crave the sweet :cookie:stuff, I'm more a less a sodium :corn: lover with salty treats. Thats where I would have watched the salty crackers.


GOOD LUCK:goodluck: VICKIE AT THE INTERNIST


Have to go and some house work done,like the dishes & the beds made

:haphal: everyone!

Hi Everyone
Just wanted to stop in and tell everyone:haphal:
Hope everyone is doing ok.
We are not doing Trick or Treat this year. For the last 2 years. I have gotten stuff. And no one came. So didnt get stuff this for this year. And that way. It wont be here as a temptation.
Kinda miss the little ones coming.
Well gotta go. Need to check on the dryer and washer.
Will be back later.
coco :witch:

:sklol::bat::witch: Happy Halloween chickies! Hope everyone is happy about their candy consumption or lack there of.

Vickie-I don't know if this helps, but my dh took neurontin for a short time and was fine with it. The only side effect he had was drowsiness. He only stopped because it was not effective for the symptoms he had.

Maryann-I like your idea of using your left over halloween treats as casserole toppings.

Paula-DH and I went to the farmers' market last week, and I got a small blue pumpkin. The vendor said that a chef had been there the day before and had made a soup with it. I'm going to use mine as decoration for a few days then I'm going to cook it! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Rhonda-I had a similar hypnosis experience a few minutes ago. My classes had collected candy for a halloween festival that was held at school last night, and the leftovers are in my room. Before I knew what was happening, the miniature Reece's Peanut Butter cups (my all time favs) had placed a hex on me, and I ate FIVE!!!!! Then a funny thing happened. I was able to tear myself away, and I came to the computer to check on the chicks. Almost immediately, the little devils had me again. I went to the closet to get more, and I had accidently locked myself out! My guardian angel must be stronger than the Reece's Devil!

Coco-We never get any spooks at our house because we live out in the sticks. I miss seeing the little ones, too!

Sandra-You should save that bottle of wine to celebrate your victory after you shoot this weekend! I think it's awesome that you and Curtis are involved in archery together!

I hope you all have a great weekend! I'll talk to you all on Monday!

:sklol::haphal::bat:

Hi!

I just got home from a concert I went to with a friend. We went to see Richie Havens and Buffy St. Marie. All of us old peaceniks were there and it was fantastic!

DH stayed home for the trick or treaters. Of course, he gave out the lollipops first and there is a LOT of chocolate left, including Reece's peanut butter cups, Sloan. :stress:

I'm going to really have to curb the eating this weekend, my dinner was NOT core at all. Bad, really, really bad.

Oh well, I'm still focussed on my one pound a week loss! Got to do it.

Hope you all had a great Halloween.

Rhonda

HAPPY NOVEMBER! Where in the world has the year gone by??? Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Halloween. I did very good and stayed in control all day! There was so much candy at work -- we allow you to bring your kids to trick or treat in the office.DD did it last year, timing didn't work this year with school. There were over 100 kids that came this year. I am thrilled to say I had NO candy at all at work. Never even wanted any either.

Then came home had dinner and took dd trick or treating. We left at 6 and got home at 7:45! Earned 6 activity points. I did treat myself to two small almond joys (my favorite) and a glass of wine. I logged it all in today and I still have 30+ WPA left. Now I just need to stay away from the bowls (yes, we now have 3 bowls of candy).

Vickie, how did your appt go?

Maryann, What I thought was a pumpkin soup recipe on 30 minute meals was actually a pumpkin pasta sauce. I did make it and it was very tasty -- dd helped and LOVED it! DH would not go near it.

Well, got to get moving. Need to clean the house a bit and get dd to gymnastics. BBL