Welcome JOJO..:welcome:

I don't post as often as others but try to check in every few days.

I just took my youngest child to college so I am :cry: about that
but also seeing this as a good time to explore more hobbies & see my friends
more.

I am so sorry for the loss of your daughter.. This group is great at listening
& encouraging so feel free to tell us about the good & bad days !!


Everyone ...
I am doing good this week at eating a strict 1200 or less . That was the plan
to get back on track when my son was off to college. I was afraid I would
eat more because I was depressed but I seem to be doing good with the eating .

I am doing better than I expected after taking my son to college.
I am either in denial , dealt with it ahead of him leaving (cried a lot this summer just knowing he was leaving ) , or it is going
to hit me ..We'll see.



My brother got good results on a heart murmur procedure today to
rule out anything serious. They said it showed some cords that were broken
causing the murmur ,which sounds bad but they said it isn't dangerous unless it gets worse.

We had the same heat yesterday as Rhonda. It's very depressing--and dangerous. Looks like the heatwave is breaking. Life is good.

I stumbled this evening and ate a larger dinner than I should have. On a positive note, I did not eat any of the homemade brownies that I baked for Curtis. (I had pimiento cheese on buttermilk bread. (tasted decadent)

Vickie, one of my former students just had the same problem with her AOL account. I hope you get yours settled soon. Don't let it get you down.

Nancy, sounds like you're doing well with your eating and also with you adjusting. You're a steel magnolia.

Maryann, you're a lot like I am. I like to know exactly where I'm going and what to expect when I get there. I like your "dry run."

JoJo, that's great that you and your dh are exercising together. Makes me smile.

Got to go. I may fling some arrows in a few minutes when my gf gets here. But I may just watch her shoot and visit.

OK, Nancy, I'll join you in the 1200 calorie routine. But, no more protein shakes for me, after realizing that they are unregulated and that some have heavy metals, and, are you ready, hormones (!) as "fillers." Really, this is ridiculous.

I ate well today but did not go to the gym. I will do a few core exercises tonight, and I will go to aquafit in the morning and see Todd in the afternoon.

It rained for 2 hours this afternoon and we got a break from the heat. It feels very nice outside, finally.

Rhond

Rhonda ....

The whole protein shake info was while I was not paying attention .
I have the Optimum Nutrition Gold standard Whey from GNC.
Do you know how they scored???

Hey chickies! I'm still alive :D I have been very busy with school, cleaning at my mom's house, cleaning out my MIL's things, and my new painting class. I am still eating like a maniac, but have made some plans. This weekend I made and froze about 18 meals that were all core. I now need to make some snacks like the yummy pumpkin bread and/or some oatmeal cookies to freeze for when I get home from school. I plan to make a triple batch of a core meal every weekend, so I can stay ahead with pre-cooked dinners. I really hate to come home from school and start dinner right away. Hopefully having these meals available will keep me on track. I'll keep you posted.

Jojo-:welcome3: I'm so glad you are here!! I'm sending you hugs as one who has suffered a recent loss, too. About 12 weeks ago, my father passed away. Three weeks later, my mother in law passed away. Needless to say, it was a difficult summer, but the chicks here were awesome through the whole ordeal. I am a 51 year old registered nurse who teaches high school Health Science subjects. I hope you stick around; sounds like you have a lot in common with us.

Nancy-I'm proud of your resolve! I don't think anyone has won the five pound challenge, so you are jump starting us! I'm glad you are feeling better. Maybe you are not in denial at all but are realizing that you will be just fine, and that your DS will be just fine, too.

Maryann, I smiled so big at your "singin' in the rain". I'm glad your veggies will be happy, too :) I'm also glad to hear that your neck is not hurting as much. Maybe your fingers will feel better soon as well.

Rhonda, what is your new class like at the gym? Is it some kind of dancing? I am always so amazed at your strength and energy. Also, I hope your weather gets better soon. We have been in the upper 90's for a few weeks, but this morning was actually a little bit cool. Hope that keeps up, and that y'all cool off soon, too.

Sandra, sounds like things are going well for you. How was your visit with your friend? Have you done any subbing, yet? My classes are going pretty well. The students are behaving, so that's always good ;)

Vickie, your stories about Brodie are so cute! I know he is awesome. My DH and I always marvel at how you can love a little creature so much. Since I remember how you love technology, I wanted to tell you that my DS just gave me his iPod touch. I have already started to put new "apps" on it. I have been using my little nano to listen to books, so now I will listen on my new fun toy.

Thanks for missing me, y'all. I sure have missed you chickies! I'll try not to be away so long, next time. Nighty night :dz:

Hi, Sloan. I am subbing this Thurs/Fri Senior AP English and Concurrent College English. Should be fun. I had a good time with my gf tonight. We stayed out till after dark shooting. Fun!

I'm ready to "eat right" again tomorrow. I feel really bad about the way I ate tonight. Guess I need to get over it. Tomorrow's a new day.

Night night, everyone.

Wow Sloan !!!!

You never cease to amaze me !!!!

How many different recipes did you make to get 18 meals.
Are they individual meals or family meals??

Sometime when you have extra time I would love to
know which Core recipes freeze okay.

Me too, Sloan!!

Nancy, I didn't read the Consumer Reports article but I saw the chart on-line. Now, I can't find it. But, you might search to see if there has been a recall. Costco recalled Muscle Milk, which was my favorite. Anyway, I'm going back to the straight goods...skim milk, low-fat, no sugar yogurt, with fruit, etc.

Anyway, there are lots of ways to get protein.

Rhonda

Hey Nancy, I just googled "once a month cooking" and looked for recipes that had only core ingredients. I also made diet coke sloppy joes and bbq chicken. I used a total of six recipes and tripled each one. It ended up being 3 chicken and 3 ground beef. Besides the sloppy joes, I made a shepherd's pie (you can successfully freeze mashed potatoes), beef and noodle casserole, chicken with a sauce made with sun dried tomatoes and ff evaporated milk, and lime marinated chicken for grilling. I have a large stand up freezer, so I have plenty of room. If you look at several sites, you can get a lot of ideas.

I have been doing this type of cooking since my kiddos were little, and I was working in surgery. Back then, it was not unusual for me to get stuck in a case, so I had food ready for my DH to pop in if I could not get home on time. Even though it is hard work (some people cook to have meals for one month), it is worth it to come home to dinner that is almost done. I got the idea for making the triple batch meal once a week to keep the stock up from a site that I visited.

Hope that helps!

Good morning all.

Hope your cold came to nothing Tejas. A summer cold is an absolute misery.

Vickie I feel your pain! For me, a computer is a bit like a car. OK until something goes wrong and then I don't have a clue.

Beachbum I'm on Yahoo here in the UK. In my experience, I've found that the more they improve it, the bigger the problems become. When my husband was in the navy he sailed past Cape Cod many times and said it would be a lovely, lovely place to live.

On Target Don't you worry about being bossy. My brother in law and his wife are, or were, both teachers. Instead of bossy I call them good
Organizers. They live a good 300 miles away and can still be very
Organizy on the phone. We both love them to pieces.

Nancy That's really good news re: the heart murmur. I like to start the day hearing something nice

Sloanie Could you find your way out of the kitchen after all that cooking? When my family was bigger, I used to have a 'cooking for the freezer day' once a month. I made my own bread in those days, and the smell made us all feel very hungry

I have a lovely (not) day in front of me. Washing down paintwork prior to decorating. What my husband and I need is a Lottery win so that we can pay someone to come in and do it all

Good Morning Ladies:)

Its unbelievable how its raining right now,I had to ware my slick to take the garbage out to the curb. I guess its going to be another day of using my bike for exercising.

Lost 1.5 this morning so I don't think it was the method of counting calories w) portion control that was doing it, It must have been that I was too high on the carbs. that was causing me to stall. So I'm planing lean more on the Core Plan than the Flex.

SANDRA-Oh my wish it would cool down for you guys we feeling comfortable with all this rain dropped the temps to a wonderful 75-80's with no HUMIDITY,that the killer. I also did that when I was going to a place that I never been before.

RHONDA-Glad you had some relief from the heat.You're really the exercising queen with all the exercising your doing. Wish I could be as active as you but with this arm shoulder I afraid to do so.

SLOANE-I can imagine on how busy your are now that school is started again. and than you still have time to find Core recipes to boot. You're amazing.Glad that I made you smile,just came into my head when I was typing.Thanks hope so,that the doctor will be able to help me one way or the other.

JOJO-Moved to the Cape 13 years ago when we retired.Love it up here,but we never visited here during a married life,the only thing we knew was Patty Pages song "Old Cape Cod" My DS is going to put me on Google instead he says it safer there. Hope he right.


Well I guess it about time to get going,have a nice day

OK, I've had 800 calories so far today. I think that I will actually eat more than 1200 on days when I exercise. I've been to aquafit and still have Todd and the recumbent bike to do.

I joined "fitday" and that will really help keep track of nutrients and calories. I've already had enough carbs, so that is interesting in itself. I would never have guessed it.

Rhonda

Hi there, Chickies. We are enjoying much cooler weather today with our high around 90*. (That's our weather report for August 25, 2010.) :lol I am OP today after a bout with higher calories yesterday. (That's our news report for August 25, 2010.)

Seriously, all is wonderfully cooler and I am OP again. Life is good. My gf is coming out to shoot shortly. Curtis is working with a new male friend now tweaking his bowhunting gear.

Just saw on the news where they are making "fried margaritas, fried frito pie, and fried beer along with fried chocolate for the state fair. Hmmmmmmmmm.....wonder why there's an obesity problem around here.

JoJo, I love "Organizy." I'm going to use that tomorrow when I'm subbing. And as to winning the lottery--sounds good to me.

Sloan, you're wise to cook ahead. Sometimes I make a big dish of something to have on hand especially when I'm subbing. We like having Taco Soup on hand. That's one of our favorites and it's almost CORE.

Rhonda, I hope you're feeling better. Those summer colds can be really miserable.

Got to go. I'll catch ya'll later.

Hey chickies, I just got home from my painting class. I started a new painting tonight. It is of some little birds chillin' in a puddle. I hope to be happy enough with it to hang it over my bed.

Sandra, glad you are having cooler temps. Fried margaritas? How do you pull that off? Let us know :D

Rhonda, how many carbs are recommended on fit day?

Maryann, congrats on the loss!

Jojo, I love the term organizy, too. It is a really good term to use for my mom! Her motto is "somebody's gotta be in charge, and it might as well be me". I'll admit to being a little organizy myself:o

Hope you all are having a relaxing night. TTFN

Sloan, I don't have a clue how they do the fried margaritas. They just mentioned them on the news. I found the following on the net:

"Deep-Fried Margaritas: Coming Soon to the State Fair of Texas?
By Sarah DiGregorio, Wed., Aug. 25 2010 @ 6:30PM
Categories: DiGregorio, Edible News

'Dallas's State Fair of Texas is officially the Fried Food Capitol of Texas (TM!), and every year it throws the Big Tex Choice Awards to determine what new batter-dipped concoction will join the fried peaches and cream, fried pecan pie, and fried butter that now tempt fair-goers.

Eight finalists have been announced today, and they all sound impossible!

The deep-fried s'mores Pop-Tart is definitely the easiest one to get your head around. But then it gets more...interesting: Pretzel-coated fried beer, fried Frito pie, fried club salad, fried lemonade, and yes, fried margaritas. Drunk and bloated? Where do we sign up?

We don't know how these things are made, but the fried Coke that won in the past was actually Coke-flavored batter that was then deep-fried in balls and topped with Coke syrup and whipped cream.

The winner will be determined on Labor Day weekend by a panel of members of the media, hopefully those with hardy constitutions.'"