TALITHA: We were posting at the same time! Wow...a spinner! I have a friend who went to a folk school in NC to learn to spin. She has an antique wheel. I will have to introduce you two...she lives in Decatur and I think you would like each other. :) I had a bit of spinning experience with a drop spindle in college. I have a length of yarn my roommate gave me back then.... I would love getting together, but you will have to promise not to laugh at my ignorance! I can't even follow a pattern! It has to be a square or a rectangle! I may push myself and try a triangle. woo woo!

KENG: I am glad you liked the pix! :)

Talitha--Welcome back. We missed you. I have a friend who has several dogs and cats and uses their fur, that she gets by brushing them, to knit things.

I am taking it a little easier today after walking almost 8 miles yesterday. I don't feel the driving need to get out there and walk after my "marathon." I do have a lot of chores. I need to press the new dust ruffle for the new bed and get the headboard ready to be raised, because our new bed is much higher than our low waterbed. I also have to drive across town to pick up a pump to empty our waterbed first thing tomorrow morning.

I had a great day foodwise yesterday. I felt like I ate a ton, but didn't have a ton of calories.
BF--Shredded wheat n' bran with strawberries and 1/2 nectarine, sk. milk.
Snack--I strawberry protein shake--made at home and then taken with me in the car.
Lunch--8 oz. stir fried beef and broccoli and carrots. Got it at a Publix with a Chinese food counter, and ate it at the store at about 2 pm.!! It was the last of the batch, and I didn't see any oil in the bottom of the pan. 8 cherries
Supper--2 3/4 oz. roasted pork tenderloin. Oven roasted lo carb potato slices seasoned with garlic salt, pan sautéed Vidalia onions and apple slices. Green salad of Boston lettuce, 1/4 avocado and tomato slices with lo cal dressing.
Was down 1/2 pound this morning.

BOB--Get better soon.

Teensy--You doin' OK?

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Talitha: What skincare products do you sell? I'm a 'retired' hairdresser. I had to quit because of a serious reaction to the chemicals in the perms, colors and sprays. I suffered, hoping it would go away, for ten years. It was horrible, my hands were always bleeding and infected, so I went back to college and became a secretary. Anyhow...I MISS hairdressing (I stopped in 1993) and would love to get back into some sort of 'appearance enhancement' feild, whether it be nails or pedicures or facials/skincare. I love talking to people and making them look good and feeling better about themselves. And that yarn spinning...I would LOVE that!! You sound like you had a wonderful trip. I wish I had a relative to visit like your aunt!! :( I crochet TONS and specialize in baby sweaters, bonnets and booties...and two-strand afghans for my neices and nephews going to college. My favorite hook is my N hook for this.

Monet: While I admit that Splenda isn't all that regular sugar could be for me...it's definitely better than aspartame. Just the aftertaste of aspartame is gross, not to mention the headaches I'd get if I ate too much of it...which is easy to do because it's snuck in so many things that are 'low fat'...which I don't eat anymore on SB!! :smug:

Bob: Cute age test...it worked for me, too..and I had a laugh after I got my calculator and read, "I'll wait for you to get the calculator..." :lol3:

Julia: Glad Junior is growing per doctor's orders. You're so lucky...I loved being pregnant. Especially just after DD went off to school and after MY junior was born, I had all day while she was at school to tend to the new little one. Now I'm panicking with him ready to go to preschool and then...next year...kindergarden!! I'll be left home all alone with nobody to coddle. I know...I'll get used to it...but it isn't going to be easy...at ALL. :(

Okay, so I think we've decided to go in our own backyard and enjoy the pool and sandbox today and go to the beach tomorrow after clarinet lessons, which are across the street from my mom's house. As long as I have water to get wet in and a breeze, I'm fine. Of course, the pool only goes up to my hips...but it's better than nothing. My DH says that next summer we're getting a permanent pool with some substance to it and a deck. We'll see...

My tomatoes are finally getting the slightest bit of an orange tinge to them. Finally. The plants are all falling over with the tomatoes. I know...the wire tube thingies. This is my first year and I'm considering it a learning year. Next year, I'll have wire tube thingies...this year, everything's growing so much, I can hardly keep up!! The green beans are nice and controllable. ;)

Boy I didn't think I would ever get here today. Pedometer is working better today, almost 5,000 steps. It is amazing how much "extra" food we eat when you count calories. It really makes you think about what you eat. Even though we are eating OP, the calories could be way out of control and that could cause a stall or gain. This journaling has made me very aware of what I am eating. I think it is working as the scale was down 3 pounds this morning. Where is WIW when you need it. :lol:

Got my workout in last night and all my dinners and lunches fixed. Boy it takes a lot longer when you measure everything. I am trying to stay at 1400 calories. I hope that is a correct number to use. Last night I only had about 1300 if that is correct. It is hard to figure the calories for casaroles and stuff that is mixed up.

Sure didn't want to get up and workout this morning, but the more I layed there the guiltier I got and knew I didn't want to do it tonight so I pulled myself out of bed and on the TM. Then someone messed up the TV (satellite) and I couldn't get it fixed so I had to walk in silence. Made it longer. So I played a game about jogging a minute and walking a minute. It made it go faster.

BF; 2 hardboiled eggs
Lunch, tuna, cottage cheese with peaches, carrots and dip.
dinner: Rigatoni and maybe a salad.

Nat, try not to worry (easier said then done). It is probably nothing just something that needs to be followed up with a specialist. I hope you can get an appointment quickly so you don't have to agonize for a long time. Take your DH with you and line up a sitter. This is you time. Sending many prayers and hugs your way.

Cindy, great going joing the gym. We have a home gym, but always think I would do better it I belonged to an outside one. I hope it helps. Sending prayers for your DD and family. Keep us posted.

Gator, thanks for the recipe. Next time I'm at the store I will get some. That was one thing I liked about SB is that you can have regular dressings withint he 3 gram limit. But they are loaded with calories and fat. It is amazing the calories we take in and don't realize. Fixing my lunch takes a lot longer, measuring and weighing and recording. But it really makes you think about putting something in your mouth. I was going to fix eggs this morning and I ususally add a dab of cheese. Thought about the calories and decided on hard boiled eggs instead. My pedometer was not right yesterday. After I got home I got about 2000 steps in 2 hours compared to all day. So far today I have almost 5000. Now it beeps at me and goes blank then comes right back to where it was. Can't figure that out yet.

Thin, The Sou Beach wheat crackers are great. They come in individual packages and taste like wheat thins. How about nuts. Oh I love a pedicure. Never had my eyebrows waxed as I don't have much there to begin with and after chemo and the drugs for my RA, they won't grow in.

Monet, I haven't tried the 7-Up with Splenda yet. I never like any diet Sprite or 7-Up so I am hoping it is better. The coke isn't bad. Seems like a little aftertaste. Still don't know what is wrong with the dryer. DH looked at it but couldn't figure out how to get the back off. (time to call a repairman I think). He will look at it again tonight and hopefully it is just a belt or something simple. I sure don't have money for a new dryer right now.

Bob, Sorry you still feel so bad. :grouhug: Hope you feel better soon.

Tech: Is your tea decaf? I thought it only counted toward your water if it was decaf. I normally stick to water. it is easier. But love ice tea. I love spaghettios. You had to mention them now I am craving them.

Talitha, I live in Louisville, KY so let me know when you are coming and maybe we can meet for lunch or something. Hope you are feeling better today.

julia, Your bodyis telling you to get some rest. Listen to it. Northing wrong with having lazy days. You deserve them.


Got to go. Be back later I hope.

I'm getting very lonely on the exercise board. Where is everyone? I know many of you are exercising.

Jackie--Sounds like you need to get a better pedometer.

Tech--Your summer sounds like a summer in Florida. Hot!! It is raining here and has been rainy all day, with bursts of dry weather. I have class tonight, so probably will be driving in a traffic mess, which happens every time it is rainy during rush hour.

Food today so far:
Breakfast--homemade meusli with fruits. Skimmed milk
Lunch--1 egg salad sandwich (1 oz. WW bread with chopped egg, 1/2 T. lo cal mayo, mustard) 1/2 C blackeyed peas, 1 Cup tomato basil soup, 20 cherries)
Dinner--It will not be a lot since I ate a lot of calorie dense foods for lunch. Probably 2 0z. WW noodles with spaghetti sauce.

Jack: My iced tea is decaf. I make sure so the kids can have it or else they'll stay awake forever!! :lol: And spaghettios are pure evil, I tell you!! :devil: EVIL!! Especially the ones with the little hot dogs :lol:

Gator: the big difference between NNY summers and Florida summers is ours only last about a month!! :lol: July is the hottest, then August has lots of rainy days mixed with some warm ones and then Labor Day is like Mother Nature hits a switch and shorts/Tshirt weather is fast history. I'd rather have it like this...I get repusively angry when I'm hot and sweaty. I'm a new woman with our new air conditioner!! :lol:

Tonight DD has her first soccer game with her new age level. She's nervous because she's now the youngest...She's used to playing with the little kids and, let's just say she's not really athletic. The only time I"ve ever seen her kick the ball was when it bounced off her legs by accident. So, I'm nervous for her now because with the little kids, if you do poorly, it's okay, but now with the older kids, she might get some jeering if she's not too great. She wants to do it, though, so more power to her. Let's just hope for the best.

She's doing great with her clarinet. Which I'm glad of...she loves music...

Okay...of to make my WW pasta with sauteed veggies. Kris

Well, being stuck at home all day was a good thing afterall. Ididn't get my sales call in, but the lady actually decided that she will drive to me tomorrow so that I don't have to worry about the car situation. Her daughter has severe acne and is desperate for some help. I'm so glad that she's that eager.
I got some unpacking and cleaning done, spent some great time with my babies, and had someone drop by for a hearcut. Rather than paying me, she stopped at the store and got me some rice milk, fresh veggies and a rotisserie chicken for dinner. What a friend!! It was her 1 year old's first cut. He looked like such a big boy when I was done! And now I at least have dinner taken care of. I plan to go grocery shopping with my DH's car after the kids are in bed. I'm leaning towards splurging on some of that 7UP with Splenda. I don't typically drink any sodas, b/c I'm allergic to caffeine. But 7UP is ok for a treat every now and then.

It's just started thundering outside. Jake is sleeping and Selah is watching Juana La Iguana on TV. (The spanish version of Barney, but an iguana instead)
I'm going hard core tomorrow. I did well on my trip until Friday when I started heading home. I can't even tell you how much junk I ate! I feel gross.

I'm going to soak some black beans tonight for tomorrow. I love them. They are on, aren't they? I really need to get my SB book back from my mom to refresh my memory. I've just skimmed through the Weigh Down Workshop and the Maker's Diet. I'm really liking the MD, but not sire If I can afford to go full force with it yet.

I'm so glad that so many of us are into 'yarnwork'. I especially love to make gifts. We made a decision several years ago to stop buying gifts. We make almost everything, and are known for it. Birthdays, weddings, baby showers, holidays. we have so much as Americans and there is just so much wast. If I'm going to bless someone I want it to be by my work and my time, not by how much I spend. Even with Selah at 2yrs old we will get crafts and make something for her friends parties. People will actually reqest something that they saw me give someone else, b/c they know that I will make them something. It's really fun.

MONET- Where do you shop for yarn? There are some great little yarn shops down here near Decatur. I got the wool from a specialty shop in Illinois, but I LOVE working with different yarns.

GATOR- My aunt had spun pet fur for people before. It's much more difficult, she says, and I don't know how I would do with my allergies. I would like to try it sometime, though.

Jack- The conference is OCT 6-8th at the Kentucky International Convention Center. I'd love to meet you :)

Tech- That's so similar to me! I started an apprenticeship as a cosmotoligist and could not continue because I had reactions to so many products. That's what has been so amazing about this! My sister owns a salon here in Buckhead and also had problems with allergies. She is considing adding the whole line to her salon. The website is www.arbonne.com . It is a network marketing company, but nothing like MK. THey have health and nutrition products, too. There are many ways to sell them. Send me a PM with your address and I will send you a 'curiosity pack' with some samples to try out.

Good afternoon:

I went to the cardiologist this morning for my scheduled stress test. I am really kinda upset; they gave me a nucleur medicine test without me even really knowing it. They told me that they were going to hook me up to an IV (I thought this was to keep my hydrated while on the treadmill, since they told me no food or drink this morning prior), and then take some images and then put me on the treadmill and then take more images. Once they took me to get the images, I asked them if they were taking x-rays. The tech then said, "no, it's nucleur"....I said, "what? Is that what is in my IV?" He said, yes, and then tried to reassure me that it wasn't enough to be harmful, and that 1/2 of it would be out of my body in 6 hours. I've heard enough about that to know that it can be harmful....dyes running through your blood stream...how could it not be? I will take an epsom salt bath this evening to pull out some of it.....any other suggestions? They then did the stress test, and nothing too much out of the ordinary showed up on that, but they will call me tomorrow with all the results. I then go in for the echo on July 27th. He told me for now to cut out all caffeine, including chocolate, which I already have, and to run all supplements I am taking past my doctor. I will make a list and bring that to her on my follow-up appt. next month. They want me to continue wearing the event monitor for the next 2-3 weeks to continue to monitor me. So, it's a wait and see situation.

My Dh met me with the girls after my appt. and then I took them to the dollar store, and then to Whole Foods. I bought 5 bottle of light agave, and 3 dark. I don't get to Whole Foods that much, so I like to stock up when I am there. They also have the Nana's cookie bars; those are great; we all like them here. I bought some more of the spelt sunflower crackers that I used to get. Britt has her pom/cheer class tonight at 5:30, so it will be a late dinner for us.

Lane has her 3-yr check-up tomorrow and her Hep A shot; I haven't told her about that yet!

Ken: Thanks so much for the sweet post and prayers. I read yours and Tech's yesterday evening and it brought tears to my eyes....it's nice to know that people I "don't even know" can care so much. I am glad to hear that JR is doing well. Is Jess going to preschool again or to Pre-K this year?

Tech: Thanks for the kind words and prayers; it means so much! The pool sounds like fun; we hope to get a "real" pool put in in the next few years as well....I can't wait. It will sure make these summers a little more bearable. Have you tried Agave yet for a sweetener? You should; it is delicious!

Cindy: In case I forget tomorrow...have a FANTASTIC BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you enjoy your gym experience; it will be nice to have a workout partner. Thanks for the prayers.

Gator: 22,000 steps? Is that a record for you? That is awesome!!

Thin: I am envious of your girl's day out; it sounds like a lot of fun. There are triscuit wedges too; I don't know if you have tried them. You can get yogurt, lowfat cottage cheese, Kashi granola bars. Do you have Whole Food near you? They have some spelt crackers, and Annie's natural crackers. Trader Joes has a multi-grain pita chip as well. Have you tried the Laughing Cow Lite cheese wedges?

BOB: Sorry to hear you are still home and not feeling any better. I hope you are back on your feet soon!

Talitha: A spinning wheel? That sounds so neat and like such fun. What skincare products do you sell? Sorry to hear about your car; what a piece of work! We have a '98 explorer that has 240,000 miles on it that is just plugging away just fine. We also have a '02 Tahoe that we just spent $1,600 on repairs/tune-ups. You just never know when you get a vehicle if it will be reliable or not. Are you feeling better today? Have fun with your travels over the next few months.

Monet: Those are such logical words...you sound reasonable like my DH. He said to me, "you can't change what's happened to this point...you just need to take the next step and figure out what to do from here." One step at a time. You'll get the blanket done in time and it will be beautiful!!

Jack: Glad journaling is working for you. Congrats on the loss. Way to go on the treadmill even with no TV/radio; that's dedication!

I gotta feed the kiddos....I'll check in later!
Nat

Just a fly by... I went to Costco and walked. I mean, walked! I did shop some when I was done walking, but I had a blast! I got in 4000 steps while I was there, ran into a lady I used to see at Curves all the time who is trying to talk me into joining the gym she goes to now...all in air conditioning! :s:

Lunch was leftover eggplant, and some nuts. After lunch, I talked Laura, who was being unusually talkative, into helping me pick blueberries. We got half a gallon, and then I picked tomatoes and cukes. I had to stop when I ran out of room in my bucket! :yikes: I will probably go out later and pick more. There are tons of cherry tomatoes I missed.

I am sore, and stiff this afternoon. I think when I lose any pounds, it releases the toxins stored in the fat cells into my system. So I am drinking tons of water and trying to keep moving. I already took my cod liver oil.... (its not too ewwy! its lemon flavored)

Ok, gotta go help get Tom ready for a meeting...will return later! :wave:

First.. Here is something that my Dad sent to me. Thought it was good for a laugh!

WORDS WOMEN USE


******************************
FINE
This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.



FIVE MINUTES
If she is getting dressed, this is half an hour. Five minutes is only five
minutes if you have just been given 5 more minutes to watch the game
before helping around the house.

NOTHING
This is the calm before the storm. This means "something," and you should
be on your toes. Arguments that begin with 'Nothing' usually end in "Fine"

GO AHEAD
This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it.



LOUD SIGH
This is not actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often
misunderstood by men. A "Loud Sigh" means she thinks you are an idiot and
wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you
over "Nothing"

THAT'S OKAY
This is one of the most dangerous statements that a woman can make to a
man. "That's Okay" means that she wants to think long and hard before
deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

THANKS
A woman is thanking you. Do not question it or faint. Just say you're
welcome.



Send this to the men you know to warn them about future arguments they can avoid if they remember the terminology!
And send it to your women friends to give them a good laugh


Bob- Glad to hear you're feeling better! :cheer:

Pancho- Monet and I have discussed getting together for some shopping, but I don't know when I am going to come up with the time. I think the nearest Harry's is about 1 hour away. :(

Tech- my daughter moved up to a new dance level this year and has told me that she is the youngest and shortest ofthe new group. She and her best friend moved up together and are the only two not on pointe yet. I think that means it won't be long. We will get to see them perform for the first time in September at this huge arts and crafts fair that they go to every year. :dance: :cb:

Jack-I will have to look for those crackers. Thanks!

Everyone else- Have a great evening and stay cool! :sunny: :wave:

THIN: And Monet is still willing... it would be worth the time, even if it is a ways...how far are you from Cumming? I can get there in 30 minutes.... You just come, buy a couple of the stuff you can't get anywhere else and when you run out, stock up again with another trip. Once you know what you need from there, it is easy. Also, they are building a new Whole Foods at State Bridge and 141...I am willing to bet that will be closer for you. I have not seen the stuff Pancho mentioned but then, I have not looked for it yet. I just love their olive bar, and dairy stuff...to mention a few things.

Monet- I live in Ball Ground. North Cherokee, almost in Pickens County. I can go out Hwy. 20 and be in Cumming in maybe 30-40mins. Do they have a whole foods there? I was thinking of Marietta or Roswell for Harry's.

Me, too! Me, too! I would drive to Cummings to meet at Harry's :) I'm just all about meeting people.

I had Corn on the cob for dinner with the rotisserie chicken and fresh green beans. Yumm.....