Happy Monday to you all. Well, today was a very tired day. We worked like crazy all day yesterday. The kitchen walls look great. But they do need a second coat. We have to wait til Wednesday to do that because we’re busy for the next two nights.
I’ve called the plumber and he’s coming by on Friday morning to check out this gas line in the kitchen. I’m so excited and keeping my fingers crossed that it’s in proper working order. If it is, we’ll go shopping for a new range this weekend.
SOLSHINE---Your new family member sounds great!!! Do we have pictures of our “precious” yet? I don’t envy you though. Puppies are adorable but a lot of work. Good thing you aren’t in your own house yet so that the initial peepee stains will be ancient history. One GREAT spot remover is an aerosol can of cleaner called Hot Shot or Hot Spot. The Queen of Clean said it was great for pet stains and I second her vote on that. I just got it at the grocery if you’re really in the need of a good stain remover. Hey, girl, you’ve got a lot going on, so don’t beat yourself up about your workouts. You know what you’ve got to do, so you will be back on track in no time!
FILLISE---I’ll vouch for the telephone version of the DETOX dungeon. It works. Got me back on the straight and narrow. Try it out if you need to.
KIMMYTK---Glad to hear that you made it safely through the BG visit on Thursday night. And so happy that you are now a downtown regular. Three times! That’s great! I heard it was wonderful. Saw a bit about it on the news. You MUST elaborate on the Quiet Riot picture! That sounds too good to pass up on! LOL
BOB---The paper towel on the GF is a GREAT idea! Thanks for sharing. I can’t wait to tell Paul about that, because cleaning GF is HIS job!
SERENE---I knew I liked you and TRANQ and now I know why. I love dogs and I love people who rescue dogs and who make dogs part of their family. I have a great admiration for greyhounds. They are beautiful creatures. Good friends of ours have a greyhound named Swap and he’s so precious and loving and gentle. Truly a joy to be around. We’ve always wanted a greyhound, but we don’t have a fenced in yard. Maddie (our German Shepherd Dog) is a wonder dog who knows exactly where to stop along our property line. Truly amazing! I’m so glad you got over your nervousness and joined the SB group. Now if you can just survive your workouts with TRANQ, you should have lots of success.
FLYGIRL---I don’t remember any whining from you . . . EVER!!! (Does that make you feel better?) Keep up the good work. You are back and eating the right stuff. I was just thinking the other day that I’m truly NOT hungry. Tell hubby that as soon as he detoxes from all that crazy sugar (especially those Pepsis) he will see a difference. My cravings are really gone. I hope that happens for him. You keep strong. You both can do it!
DEB---Thanks for the motivation. Very good. I like the idea of being strong and in control!!
Well, I hope you all have a great day! We’re going to a sneak preview of Men in Black II. Our neighbors gave us a free pass for two. Very cool, since we never go to movies because it’s so expensive. Since we worked so hard this weekend we really need a night of relaxation where all we can do is watch a movie. Take care.
VAbutterfly-My DH is in management for the City of Austin Emergency Medical Service. They were notified by the FBI several weeks ago to be on high alert. Sounds like everyone is taking it pretty seriously. I'm not going to let no stinkin' terrorist slow me down though!
SOL: Cngrats are becoming a new "Mom". What did we ever do without some of the products that are available now?
FILLISE: How nice we have a celebrity in our midst. It wasn't more than we anted to know, it was interesting!
KIMMY: For a second there I thpought we had a Playboy girl!
SERENE: Great story! A sleek Greyhound? Fluffy?
TREE: Another celebrity! Glad your mouth is better.
Would it count as celebrity if I graduated with Jack Nicholson and was friends with Janet Schweickart, whose brother an astronaut was a class ahead of us?
I know many of you are not of the "older" generation but these thoughts might help when you reach that dubious distinction.
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. _
I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. _I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. _
She said, "Hi handsome. _My name is Rose. _I'm eighty - seven years old. Can I give you a hug?" _I laughed and enthusiastically_responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze. _
"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. _She jokingly replied, "I'm here_to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel." _
"No seriously," I asked. _I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
"I always dreamed of having a college_education and now I'm getting one!" she told me. _
After class we walked to the_student union building and_shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. _Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. _I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and_experience with me. _
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends_wherever she went. _She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up. _At the end of the semester_we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.
I'll_never forget what she taught us. _She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. _As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her_three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! _ I'll never get my speech back_in order so let me just tell you what I know." _As we laughed she cleared her throat and began:
"We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop_playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success.
"You have to laugh and find humor every day." "You've got to have a dream. _When you lose your dreams, you die. _
We have so many people_walking around who are dead_and don't even know it!" "There is a huge difference_between growing older and growing up. _If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full yearand don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and_never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. _Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. _
The idea is to grow up_by always finding the opportunity in change." _"Have no regrets. _The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets." She concluded her speech_by courageously singing "The Rose." She challenged each of us to_study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
At the years end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. _One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. _Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman
who taught by example that it's never too late to be all_you can possibly be. If you read this, please send
GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY, _GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. _
I hope I have grown up, but still have the wonder of my younger years!
Bear with me guys, trying to get a post on here before the night is gone. Will be writing it off line and then catch up with the latest posts before I submit it.
SEF.....WONDERFUL POST!!!! I really enjoyed it plus got a lot of meaning from it!
KIM...I LOVED "I AM SAM...." GOSFORD PARK was just ok..it was comical to watch everything taking place...I thought from the start that STOCKBRIDGE was her son...but didn't catch that she killed him ...didn't catch that they two were sisters until the very end..
MARIE...I agree with you on THE SHIPPING NEWS...it was slow and long..but I stuck right in there till the end!
TRISH...OH....MY....GAWD!!!! Is the DUNGEON MISTRESS every going to be after you...watch out for her whip..it stings a bit if you don't move as fast as she thinks you should be!
SERENE...It's not that I don't WANT to tell you about the dream, it's that I CAN'T remember anything but the scream...
Going to the DR in the morning so we'll see what she says..
Gracious - Happy Canada Day. Hope you had a fun day. I'm glad you mentioned the videos yesterday. I was actually motivated to get off my butt and start on the 2 Mile Walk. I didn't quite finish it, I got a bit tired after 1.5 miles but at least it is a start. It's been quite a while since I have done any "walking".
Solshine - Sounds like you are having fun with the new addition to the family. Aren't they adorable when they are so small.
Jenn - Here's hoping you can get the scale to move down by WIW. Doesn't it make you wanna spit that the guys can lose so much easier than we can.
Trish - Canada Day is to celebrate when the provinces united to become a country. This year is Canada's 135th anniversary.
Tree -Glad to hear the mouth is getting better. That's the first I have ever heard of wisdom teeth growing back. Thanks for posting the milk/calcium article. Maybe I will just concentrate on getting enough dairy and forget about taking calcium pills. Most of the time I forget to take them anyway.
Quilter - Enjoy the movie tonite. Glad to hear the painting is coming along. It's probably just as well that you will have a couple of days rest before putting on the next coat. Hope you are able to have the gas stove your are hoping for.
Sef - That was a great post.
I made the Sweet Potato Quiche again tonite and now have to go and get some of it ready for the freezer.
Just thought I'd drop by again.... This last week has been bad for me - not that bad I suppose, but I did have a medium sized portion of bread at Macaroni Grill on Friday, and followed it up with eating Mexican on Saturday. Of course, there is a donut shop (my favorite local chain) that opened up right down the street THREE DAYS after I started SB, and I said if I was ever going to cheat, I wanted a donut to go with it. SO, that's what I did, and I recommited myself as of yesterday....
Needless to say, I am happily going through DT, and ready to be serious about losing weight! The scales were up 4 lbs. today, but I am having a particularly painful mid-cycle episode this month, so I hope it's just water weight. I suppoe I could always pretend that it was muscle gain, right
Anyway, I'm not spending much time online nowdays, but I wanted to drop in for a quick hello to everyone!
Glad to see all of you are doing well. I'm still trying to get it together so I can reply to diffrernt post. It's really hot here the humidity is very high. I think I'm going to try and do my walk video tonight. I had a great dinner I made brown rice with mushrooms and onions and I made chicken breast on my GF grill. I also made a salad.
Bob and Debbie- thanks for the hummus recipe. also Bob thanks for the tip on cleaning the Gf grill.
I have a 4th of July BBQ to attend so I'm bringing 2 SB legal sides. That way if nothing else is legal I can have those and a piece of meat.
I'm looking forward to chat tommorrow night. I hope to get to meet a few more of you. Have a great night!!!
I just got back from a walk - and it is absolutely gorgeous out! A wonderful breeze ..... I had grouper for dinner with a salad, and everyone else had grouper, shrimp and squash.... I really got the exercise in today and I still have not gone upstairs to do my tummy crunches... I am becoming a fiend!!!
I am going to do my best to catch up now
Gracious - OH CANADA!!!! HAPPY CANADA DAY, and to the rest of you wonderful neighbors!!!!!
Deb - Eager for a date to when we can visit Miami!
Mercy - Your dinner sounds absolutely yummy - perfect!
Adrons - I saw a Macaroni Grill in Orlando, but don't know much about it - what type of menu?
Rosalie - a 1.5 mile is a very good start! I think that was about all I could do when I first started walking - if even that far!!
BOB- I have been wanting to tell you, I take Paxil for anxiety, and I have not had a problem with the weight gain.... I think it is just different chemical compositions in people - because I have read some people gain, some lose.... Hope you find the right stuff! I cannot tell you how wonderful it feels to not be so panicked all the time!
Sef - that is sooo cool that you went to school with Jack Nicholson and knew an astronaut - and also I loved your post!!!! The reason my sleek girl is named Fluffy, her racing name was Task's Lemon Fluff. Lemon just does not work well when calling a hound, and she responded really well to Fluffy! hahaha
Quilter - How did you like the movie??????? By the way, I was listening to NPR on my way home from work one day and they discussed how dogs can help your social life... it was so incredible how a dog, any type of dog, attracts attention - people will talk to people with dogs! My girl is my pride and joy! I adopted her when she was already 4 years old, and she was a bounce back - nobody wanted to keep her, but I could NEVER understand that - she is the best - she is my soul dog!
Gator - What a nice mom!!!! Buying a home to help your child!!!
Tree - A regular movie star aren't you!!!!
VAButterfly - I have not noticed that our base is on high alert - they must be keeping a low key and hush hush about it - usually there is a lot of traffic, now I am going to have ask friends that work there what is going on....just out of curiosity - I live 2 miles from the naval air station...
Trish - Mexican and Margueritas sound absolutely wonderfully BAD!!!! hahaha
Jenn - Good luck with your hair cut - and with the up and coming WIW!!!!
Serene - I won't make fun of the Bozo the Clown show! hahahahaahahahahahahaha - but I do remember you being on PBS during the drive with the hounds!!!
Kimmy - I remember Quiet Riot - during my highschool days - defiitely a far cry from Billy Graham!!!!
Gosh, it is getting late now, have to make sure DS is tucked into bed and that his piggy roommates are content....then off to stomach crunch while I watch some mindless tv..... July 4th cannot get here fast enough - I just love the fact that I have a 3 day WORK week!!! YEAH!!!!
Well, it's the morning after the long weekend here. It's only 6:15 in the morn and gross outside. Hot, and humid. Feels "close" like the air is kind of squeezing you. Looks like it will be a day inside with the AC.
We started our "mini" vacation Thursday night. DH had had a great day at work (he had done such a good job on a project that his boss gave him Friday off with pay ), DS got a good report from school and everyone was in a good mood. That was the start of being off plan. We went out for dinner and I was BAD I started out ok with water and 2 bowls of salad, but it was downhill from there. Big bowl of pasta, a drink called strawberry shortcake made with ice cream and topped with whipped cream and a dessert calzone--apple and toffee filling.
It's been very warm here so Friday we went north to the inlaws to swim in the lake. I ate everything MIL made/put out. Potato salad, white bread. Saturday we went to friends for dinner. More potatoes and corn on the cob. Sunday and Monday we spent north east of here with my cousin. Made more "strawberry shortcake" drinks ( I just HAD to look it up on the net) and drank those by the pool. Lots of pasta salad for dinner and bad-for-me snacks while playing cards. I did make a legal mexican dip, but I ate corn chips even tho I had brought triscuits.
We came home yesterday and I feel sooooooooo big. I've felt stuffed since Thursday night. We just had some barley soup and grilled cheese for dinner. I'm finally feeling less stuffed. BUT the damage has been done. The scale was up 4 lbs from last WIW. I've been drinking water like crazy--I've actually been craving it, guess cause I didn't drink too much these past few days. I also have NOT done any exercise since Wednesday! YIKES!!!
I'm getting back on track today. I'm going to make some hummus and cut up some celery to scoop it with. I can eat lots of salad with the lettuce in the garden. We have nice ripe strawberries to pick too. And I have to find something to do with the swiss chard that's growing. So I have a lot of healthy choices, I just have to CHOOSE them.
DEB I like the look of the new boards. If you need help with moving stuff, give me a shout. I'm better at answering emails.
CANADIAN GALS--I can't remember who, but I had it stuck in my head that one of you wanted to do a cake with semolina flour. I picked up a recipe booklet from Loblaws and there was an ad from Robin Hood flour. They showed a bag of semolina flour amongst their other products. I skimmed their website, but couldn't find any recipes for it. Maybe it's a new product and they haven't updated the website. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I saw commercially packaged semolina flour in a Canadian ad. I haven't yet checked the stores for it. I hope it's available.
Ok, the munchkin is coming downstairs. I better go. I wish all my neighbors to the south a WONDERFUL July 4th weekend. Try to stay OP as best you can, cause I don't want y'all to feel yucky like I did during/after our long weekend.
Just wanted to check in and tell you that Men In Black II was GREAT!!! We really liked it. I think it was even better than the first one. There's is the most adorable Pug dog in it along with a lot of bizarre, slimey looking folks. DH got popcorn and I passed on it!!!! Had my ziplock with one serving of the Organic oat bran pretzels. And that was enough for me.
P.S. Let's all try to lower our starchy carbs today and see if that helps with our WIW for tomorrow!!! I may have already blown it . . . had Special K this morning. Oops! My kitchen is a mess still and I'll admit, it's really hard fixing food in there. I'm grabbing the easiest thing that's legal.
Have a good day, everyone! Hope we are all able to get on the chat tonight. DEB, can you give us a link incase the old one no longer works with the new update? Thanks!
Mornin'. Just wanted to check in before we take off to my mom's for a few days. I'll go ahead and post my weight today since I won't have access to a puter for a few days. No change from last week. I guess that's OK. TOM is here with a vengeance and making my life miserable. Plus I went to the Upward Bound banquet last night. My girls that I taught at the beginning of the summer were performing. Of course, nothing there was legal but the salad. So.....I ate. Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy and rolls. So back on track today. Walked my 2 miles and downing lots of water. Maybe I'll have better news next week.
QUILTER: I would love to see MIB II. I loved the first one. Had to settle for seeing Scooby Doo last weekend. It was OK. The kids liked it anyway. Sounds like y'all are doing a big redo on the kitchen.
ZANNE: I know what you mean about feeling big after eating off plan. It's not a good feeling. You're back on track tho now.
BOB: Hope the new meds are working better. I know I can't do without my Prozac. I wish I were one of those crying depressed people. Instead I get mean and ugly. I think that's when I started gaining some weight - when I started taking the med. But it made such a huge difference in how I function.
SOL: Congrats on the new baby.
James is bugging me about playing on the puter so I'm off. I'll check back in when we get home. Happy 4th.
I'm in Annapolis and resting from my grand adventure around D.C. yesterday so I thought I'd post a little something, go back and read the posts from last week and this week, then respond to everyone.
I did get to meet Beth last week. If she hasn't posted since our meeting, it's because her cable went out and she has a cable modem, so she can't get on the Internet.
We had a lovely visit over Starbucks coffee on Tuesday evening. It really is true about feeling like you're meeting an old friend instead of a stanger when you meet someone from this board. Everyone who has that opportunity should do it.
Beth asked a guy to take our picture and I will post it as soon as I get home and download it from my camera. That should be sometime Friday night or Saturday.
It's a LONG way from Dallas to Annapolis! The drive to Huntsville didn't seem so bad, but from there to here was a killer. My butt and my back were killing me by the time we got here. We had rain off and on most of the way, too. But it sure is a pretty drive. At one rest area while we were looking at a map of VA, I asked my son if he wanted to hop over to the Blue Ridge Parkway and drive on that road. He actually told me no way!
Yesterday I went into DC to tour some of the sites we missed two years ago. I started at the Lincoln Memorial (that statue is HUGE), went to the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Smithsonian castle, the Air and Space Museum, then the National Gallery of Art. There's a new Egyptian exhibit called "The Quest for Immortality" It was very interesting and if it comes your way I highly recommend it. I know it will be in Ft. Worth later this year but don't know what other cities. It was hot and my feet and legs were numb from all the walking. You don't realize how far it is from one end of the Mall to the other. I think it must be two miles.
So today I rest and read this board. My son will have leave from about 1600 to midnight so I plan to hit Trader Joe's this afternoon. I found a Fresh Fields, but don't think they have anything I can transport on a plane.
Eating has been very good. I did have crab cakes the other night and they probably had some breading that's not OP, but they were good and I held off on the starchy carbs in preparation. If my house hosts' scales are correct, I may have actually lost 3 or 4 pounds. I'll hold my breath until I get home to mine.
That's my week in a nutshell. I'll go back to last week's board now and catch up, then if there's time, will respond to everyone.
Bright and Sunny morning here - and hopefully my mood will catch on to that - feeling irritable today.... oh well.....
Quilter - That is great that you were able to pass on the popcorn - not me - I am a popcorn fanatic - I am just going to have to do the same and pass on it and bring myself a legal snack! Today I have decided to do as you say - no starchy carbs today Instead I have some low fat cottage cheese, and I had 1/2 an orange first thing when I got up and moved around...hopefully that will have my metabolism moving - and I will burn off some unwanted pounds....
Zanne - Wow, you had fun being off plan didn't you! hahaha - well at least you are back on track - you can fix the damage!! I dont think I have ever had Swiss Chard.
Music - Wow you too - Mashed potatoes!!! Oh my gosh - well you can get back op and feel better!
Last night when I went to Fresh Market to get dinner, I cannot tell you how much the BREAD was calling to me, it kept saying "Sabrina, I am delicious, I am fresh, you need to eat me!" - well I picked up some ILLEGAL bread, put it in the basket and then this loaf of Peasant Rye jumped off the shelf at me and saved me from disaster.... I threw the ILLEGAL loaf back on the table and took the SF Peasant Rye home with me, had one slice with dinner, and the rest went into the freezer for a later date....
Good Morning!!! I'm up and about a half hour earlier today. My DIL and GD left this morning to visit DIL's parents in FL. My DS was supposed to go also but but at the last minute something cropped up at work and he had to stay home. It's a shame but some things can't be helped.
So as long as I got up at 7 to say goodbye I emptied the freezer to defrost it. It is out on the garage, is old and frosts up easily. It is pretty low right now so a good time to do it before I go shopping again.
I am glad we are having sporadic rain but it doesn't feel good!
DEB: New forum is great! QUILT's idea of posting a link for chat is a good one. I have been unable to get into chat for the last couple of weeks, basically tells me I'm not registered yet says "Hello sef" so it knows me!
BOB: My DIL gets terrible nightmares if she takes coedine. Doctor had to find another painkiller for her. There are so many meds out there that do the same thing that he should be able to find you an equivalent that doesn't cause you bad dreams.
ROSALIE: Thanx for explaining Canada Day, I meant to ask what it commerates. I feel that anything you can get from food is much better than getting it from a pill. More satisfying too! I'll have to try the SP Quiche. If I remembr right it takes feta cheese and that's about the only cheese I don't like, perhaps mixed with the potatoes the flavor blends and it will have a different taste.
ADRON: Don't lose touch. The board helps so much, even if you cheat. We don't approve of cheats, but do encourage each other to get with the program. That's the only way the wor will work for us. Believe me I speak as a sinner!
MERCY: Dinner sounds delish and OP. The poor states that aren't used to humidity are really complaining, but they will only have it a few days. Now here in LA...............! I'm still not used to it. I've learned to volunteer to bring a main dish or dessert to any pot luck food function then I am sure I will have something to eat. It's hard to say no when you are hungry and everyone else is eating!
TRANQUIL: It does get easier to stay OP the longer we are on this woe. It just takes planning sometimes doesn't it? Interesting how or why we name our pets. When my GD got my cat he was a little kitten and of course had blue eyes> At age 3 she thought that was the color they would always be so named him Blueberry, which was eventually shortened to Berry. By the time I got him three or four years later he was a monster size and I shortened it to Bear. Which really fits him. GD got him in Turkey where every trash can has it's own cat. He was found abandoned at about 10 days old and they adopted him. Then a couple of years later when they had to move to OZ they would have had to quarantine him for one year. That is expensive and sad. The USA only requires a 48 hour health certifcate before takeoff so he came to me. I've had him ever since. More than you needed to know isn't it? Most of us are sappy about our pets and can was eloquent about them!
ZANNE: How cruel, describing such a luscious sounding dessert!! I had to wipe the drool off the keyborad before I could continue!! Now the time is for correct choices. It can be hard to get back on OP but when you have been uncomfortable from your bad choices it helps motivate us.
QUILT: I am looking forward to MIBII. So proud of you avoiding the popcorn and taking a snack with you!
Well, will go and see how the defrosting is coming. In this weather it shouldn't take long!
Monday afternoon
Is the DUNGEON MISTRESS every going to be after you...watch out for her whip..it stings a bit if you don't move as fast as she thinks you should be!
The Morning After
I started out ok with water and 2 bowls of salad, but it was downhill from there. Big bowl of pasta, a drink called strawberry shortcake made with ice cream and topped with whipped cream and a dessert calzone--apple and toffee filling. 
It was OK. The kids liked it anyway. Sounds like y'all are doing a big redo on the kitchen.
