[upswife]

Good morning ladies!!! YOU are a chatty bunch, will try to catch up reading this afternoon. Dh is working evenings for the rest of the week, so we are going this morning. Other than that things are normal here. have to do laundry and vacumme the whole house...even have to move things in my kitchen as we have been getting ants. will have to move the refrigerator and the stove...at least I will get double exercise. I hate having carpet in my kitchen...can't wait until we can replace t he floors. still cold, but the snow they predicted for yesterday never came, supposed to be cold all week, then warm up to mid 40's -50's next week. Can't wait!!!

Happy~hope you are not too banged up!

[annie175]

SHuweeeeeeee, finally made it to the beach. Got delayed a bit, but made it.

Aloha everyone, oh what fun we will have.

Had a blast on Friday night dancing and whatnot. Slept in till 11:00 on Saturday, then took a nap in the afternoon, then went to bed early. I am getting too old for this buiness.

Spent Sunday with my parents, it was their 60th wedding anniversary. I can't believe they made it as both are in terrible health.

Have a super, fantabulous day everyong.

Hugs & Love

[diyana]

Aloha ladies --

I was kinda busy the last few days and was late for the flight to Maui. But I'm here now. It came down to....go to the gym or post. So I went to the gym. Things are a bit less stressful today at work, so I'm taking a moment to catch up with my Worldly Chick friends. Sounds like you all have enjoyed the Maui sun! Ahhh, I can feel the warm breezes and sunshine now.

I've been doing GREAT with my WW points. And I've been getting to the gym about 5 days a week! And I've never felt better! My pants are starting to get very loose, but I'm not seeing huge victories on the scale yet. The NSV are wonderful though!!

I just heard some sad news for me and millions of Packer fans....Brett Favre has decided to retire. He's had such a long successful and legendary career. And he's such a hottie (IMHO). He will definitely be missed by all Packer fans. I'm sad, but I will keep this in perspective. It is, after all, just football.


Happy -- Happy, I sure hope you're feeling better from your awful fall. Yikes! And I loved the photo of your bake off entry! I would've voted for you fer sure! Good for you for volunteering at the humane society! Now that my work schedule is much less crazy than it used to be (40 to 45 hour work weeks instead of 65 to 70 hour work weeks), I am going to volunteer too. Almost nothing brightens my mood more than spending time with animals, which is why DH took me to a Pet Expo a few weeks ago and a local dog show this past weekend. I got to pet all kinds of loveable doggies (and kitties at the pet expo)!

I'm so envious of your warm weather. I'd love for it to be in the 70s and be able to work in the garden. I'd even settle for temps in the 50s. Looks like we've got another month or so of snow. I'm SO looking forward to spring and seeing the crocuses, tulips and daffodils.

Shad -- I have laminate countertops too, and not even scratch resistant. I'm sure yours are a lot better. Please post photos of your new kitchen when it's done. The only corian thing I have is an AWESOME corian cutting board in the shape of a penguin (DH and I collect penguins). The corian makes it not absorb food bacteria or stains, and easy to clean. It's wonderful. I've had it for 10 years and looks as good as new. You are definitely motivating me to clean out all my closets and cupboards. My house has limited storage space and it's full of stuff I hardly ever use. Thinking good thoughts that your DB2's life continues to improve.

Ruth - Congrats on the successful drive! I'll bet it feels wonderful to have your wheels again!

Hollyhock - Glad to see you got out with the kids despite the wintry weather. I think all of us northerners are all very tired of it.

Rennie - 65 degrees yesterday in Ohio....oh I can feel spring coming up here...I just know it is. Especially since the other day, we listened to baseball on the radio (okay, spring training baseball, but it still made me feel a bit warmer). You should've at least gotten a thank you for all the work/help you did for your friend.

Ceejay - Congrats on the purchase of the new outfit. It sounds lovely! I'm not ready to purchase new clothes just yet, but I'm going to go through my closet and see if I have smaller sizes still, as my pants are getting very loose. Yay!

Painter - I'm glad no problems were found after your ER visit. What a scare though!

Annie - Your weekend sounds like it was lots of fun! That's awesome that your parents celebrated their 60th anniversary!


Well, I'd better sign off now. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to catch up.

Here's to a great day for all of us!

Hugs,

[diyana]

Hey chicks --

Some of you may already know about this, but I just found it this past weekend at the grocery store.

Progresso has 5 different Light Soups that have 0 points per serving.

Italian-Style Vegetable
Vegetable & Noodle
Homestyle Vegetable and Rice
Savory Vegetable and Barley
Southwestern-Style Vegetable - This is the only one I've tried so far and it's excellent! (just a warning, it's a little spicy)

[Shy Moment]

diy
Many of those sound yummy. The only reason I don't eat anything but homemade soup is because can soups have so darn much sodium in them. Wonder if those are lower in sodium than other soups? We still have a few weeks here that the weather can turn horrid. You don't even count on spring in my neck of the woods until the second week in April lol. Oh don't you just love when spring training hits. The balls, the bats, the cute bums in those uniforms makes life worth living. GO INDIANS.

happy
I have to admit sexy pool guys would sure cheer me on lol.

Painter
What I got was my husband yelling for what seemed forever that he is sick and tired of me being a mat for everyone to walk on and that he is putting his foot down. I am loved lol.

[Ruthxxx]

Quickie to just say the red car driven by a wild woman with a curly dog and a wiggly knee is now home from her trip to the surgeon in Brockville - pop. 22,000. (You'd think it was a trip to Toronto rather than a 30 minute drive!) I must admit I'm pretty tired out BUT....................my surgeon is "amazed and delighted" with my progress. (No, I didn't table dance for him.)

Once again he went over the massive amount of work he did and showed my my X-ray and the X-ray of a patient with a regular knee replacement. There's still lots of flex needed but he is really pleased with my progress and nearly swallowed his teeth when he realized I drove there myself! I'm on my way so will just stop whining! Next check-up is April 15 and he guarantees there will be signs of spring by then.

My life is slowly getting back to normal.

[diyana]

Rennie - Spring may not hit here until middle to end of April, but I'm SO hoping it comes early!! I'm tired of the snow and the cold. It's been a long winter. I'm looking forward to going to some Brewers games and tailgating when the weather is warmer. The boys of summer will be back home soon.

Ruth - My DH had knee replacement surgery about 5 years ago. It helped him a lot. He has an issue with scar tissue messing with this one particular nerve in his leg. But other than that, he's a lot more mobile than he was before the surgery. Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery. Are you doing physical therapy?

[ceejay52]

This is quick. Had a terrible night last night. The power went out while the plant was in operation. Had about 4 foot of water down stairs and the phone was constantly ringing. Had to call the boss. L had to come inside this totally dark building.

I finally got to see it snow. Mind you it was very little but at one time the flakes were big enough to enjoy.

The past couple of day's a couple of water/waste water guys have been in training. Think the boss is expecting the unexpected from my "know it all" co-worker.

PainterWoman--Enjoyed the blog.

Hello to the rest

[Shad]

Mel - don't know much about Tempeh but here's what I got from the 'net.
Tempeh is a fermented food made by the controlled fermentation of cooked soybeans with a Rhizopus mold (tempeh starter). The tempeh fermentation by the Rhizopus mold binds the soybeans into a compact white cake. Tempeh has been a favorite food and staple source of protein in Indonesia for several hundred years.
But tempeh is now rapidly becoming more popular all over the world as people look for ways to increase their intake of soybeans and isoflavones.
They discover tempeh's versatility and delicious taste. Especially vegetarians and vegans find the structure and protein content interesting. Tempeh has a firm texture and a nutty mushroom flavour. Tempeh can be used in different ways. Normally tempeh is sliced and fried until the surface is crisp and golden brown or tempeh can be used as ingredient in soups, spreads, salads and sandwiches.
Sounds like tofu gone wrong. Rooibos is a South African tea which is minus caffeine. I've tried it - all the S.Africans around here drink a heck of a lot of it and are for ever trying to get you to have some. I don't have any at home. I look forward to Happy's tea reviews. I'm into the linen cupboard soon. We can toss together.

Happy - you can come to the dump as you please. It is not very exciting. Here we have the wheelie bins for the everyday rubbish and once in a while the council has a rubbish clean up day for stuff that is too big to go in the bins but I can't wait for that to come around - always provided I knew when the next one is. So I bung things into the back of the car and trundle off down the road and recycle some, ditch some. They have a recycling plant and market down there. All profits go to the Mayoress' charity fund. They raise around $2million per year through that. Just goes to show what some people throw away.
Well done on the perfect ON-PLAN day. Let there be more of them.

Rennie - sexy pool guys Must send you my picture of the local car wash - that is if I can shrink it enough to fit into the limits here. You'd have thought the husband could have said thanks anyway even if the friend is too sick to notice. Oh well, there's nowt sa quare as folks as they say in Yorkshire.

Painter - I went and read your blog. No wonder you get a bit down and despondent from time to time. Glad to hear there was no DVT. My SIL had that and was nearly dead when they got her to hospital. It has taken her a long time to recover from that.

Ellen - carpet in the kitchen. Wouldn't do in my house. I'm a messy cook. I need gumboots in there some days.

Annie - big congratulations to the folks. Sixty years is some achievement. Glad you enjoyed the concert.

Michelle - good news on the NSV - that always makes one feel as if something is happening even if the scales don't move and sometimes they move upwards for no apparent reason. Darn things.
I have a small house and a big collection of stuff. However I am learning that I don't need most of it to live so everything has a shelf life now. If it is not used within 6=12 months and it is not antique/ valuable/ sentimental then I don't need it. I have the memories.

Ruth - well done. You have taken hold of the barrow and it is going at breakneck speed again. Remind me to have you over for the Anakie to Sapphire barrow race next year. I reckon you might take out a prize.

Ceejay - you finally got snow. Yeehaa. You've been hanging out for it for a while.

Yesterdays list got finished so now I have to dream up a today list. And breakfast, gym and coffee are done for the day. Tough going at the gym, but I managed to burn around 640 calories (according to the machines and my maths) - that's the end of gym for the week. So I weighed in before the shower and am down to 78.1. I did see 77.7 once this week but alas no more. I'd better go change the ticker.

[PainterWoman]

Thanks to all who went and read the un-DVT saga. I'm a bit shell shocked still, but will see the primary MD tomorrow about pain management... and exercise/stretch/flexibility plan I think I've found a yoga instructor/PT specialist. I'd at least like to keep the kinks in my hip and ankle from getting worse.

I'm a bit surprised at the Primary results here in Texas. But apparently the Democratic hinterlands went either for Clinton, and the cities went for Obama. Texas has LOTS of hinterlands. And cows.

[MELODY525]

MICHELLE...I JUST SAW THEM ON OPRAH WINFREY YESTERDAY WHEN BOB GREENE WAS ON. I'M GOING TO CHECK THEM OUT. WELCOME TO MAUI!

ANNIE....THE BIG 6O! CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM

RUTH...MAYBE NOT A TABLE DANCE BUT DID YOU LAP DANCE???? I AM SO GLAD THINGS ARE GOING SO WELL!! HOPE THE PAIN LEAVES AND THE FLEXIBILITY ARRIVES SOON!

CEEJAY....SNOW, 4' OF WATER AND POWER OUTAGES!!! WELL WHEN YOU GUYS DO IT...YOU DO IT BIG TIME! WHEN THE SNOW FALLS ISN'T I JUST SO CALMING? I LOVE THAT FEELING. HOPE YOUR PLACE IS DRYING OUT NICELY. HOPE TOO THAT YOUR BOSS ISN'T DEPENDING ON THE WRONG PERSON!!!

SHAD~ WOW! GOOD THING YOU GOOGLED THE TEMPEH!!! THAT'S THE LAST THING I NEED IS MORE YEASTY, MOLDY STUFF. I ASSUMED IT WAS LIKE TOFU AND NOT FERMENTED STUFF. WELL I WON'T BE MAKING THAT DAGWOOD SANDWICH ANYTIME SOON!! IT TOOK ME 5 YEARS OF DANGEROUS MEDICATION TO END AN OB-GYN PROBLEM AS YOU RECALL(?) CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO UPSET MY OWN "ECO" BALANCE I NEED TO BE MORE CAREFUL!!! CONGRATULATIONS ONN THE SCALE CHANGE nice job!! I WILL MEET YOU AT THE LINEN CLOSET

PAINTER...I AM WONDERING IF THERE ARE CERTAIN FOODS TO AVOID WHILE ALL THIS IS GOING ON. MY MISTAKING TEMPEH AS A GOOD FOOD CHOICE FOR ME JUST MADE ME THINK OF IT. THOUGHT I READ ONCE SOMETHING ABOUT THAT. BTW...YOUR PICTURES ARE COMING ALONG VERY NICELY. LOVED THE CAT AND THE TULIPS...WILL WE SEE THE END RESULTS TOO?

IT JUST CANNOT GET ANY DARKER OUT THAN IT IS. BANG BOOM...THUNDER AND LIGHTNING LAST NIGHT. TONS OF RAIN. LOTS OF WIND. MAYBE THE WORKERS CANNOT POUR CEMENT TODAY THEY DID ALMOST ALL OF YESTERDAY BUT THANK GOD HAVE SWITCHED TO A DIFFERENT MIXTURE MY LUNGS AND NOSE ARE FOREVER GRATEFUL AND ALSO FOR THE CONTINUQL WIND THAT BLEW IT ALL SOUTH AND I AM EAST!!! THEY ARE SO CLOSE I COULD SEE ONE GUY NEEDED A SHAVE!!
I THINK AFTER ALL THE WASHING AND CLOSETS, THAT ME AND MY SINUSES WILL TAKE A DVD BREAK TODAY. EVEN THE GRANDSON IS TIRED. STILL HE SLEEPS.
I HAVE TO TRY AGAIN AND GO BACK A PAGE. DIAL-UP IS A BIT SLOW THIS MORNING. HAPPY MUST BER BACK THERE SOMEWHERE..............
HAPPY WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY

[MELODY525]

I HAVE FOUND OUR HAPPY HERE ON THE OTHER PAGE...
HAPPY YOU MADE ME LAUGH. TOMMY LEE JONES
AND IF I WERE YOU, I'D HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR MY RACOON GUN AND SHOT THE D A M N BIRD RIGHT OUT OF THAT TREE!
I HAVE HEARD A LOT ABOUT STEVIA AND AGAVE BUT DECIDED AGAINST THEM AFTER A TALK WITH ONE OF THE DRS ABOUT 3 YEARS AND WENT WITH THE UNTREATED RAW SUGAR. I USE IT ONLY ONCE IN A BLUE MOON AND STILL PREFER HONEY WHEN I NEED SWEETENING UP! LOL STAY DRY MY SOUTHERN FRIEND. LOOKS LIKE STORMS ARE FLYING ALL OVER THE COUNTRY THIS WEEK! THE MARCH LION IS ROARING!!

[Ruthxxx]

We have ice coated windows on the east side of the house and more is happening. Hershey came back from potty all covered with ice pellets which she immediately shook off all over the kitchen floor. Today will be an at home day because it's pretty crappy out there. Stupid Irish ancestors for deciding to settle in this part of the world!

I read your log, Painter. Scary stuff! I do enjoy your paintings although they make me feel a bit guilty for not keeping up with mine. Quilting sort of side tracked me.

Not much on today's agenda, thank God! Hersh and I are going to cozy in with some sewing and other wee tasks. I do have to write and print the Church Bulletin and start some Fair stuff but nothing is pressing.

I do have a phone call to return from a woman who wants me to train her dog! It's a Portuguese Water dog but not one of mine - she was too impatient to wait for a Lucy litter and bought from another breeder. I think I'll take my time returning her call. The dog is two now and sounds spoiled rotten. I also eats eyeglasses which makes me wonder if Lucy is in there somewhere!

Off your butt, Ruthie.

[happy2bme]

Good morning chicks,

Michelle - I did see the Progresso soups and I actually have a few. However, as Rennie said - the sodium is high - actually Campbell's soups have less sodium. I did have one can of Progresso low sodium minnestrone but it's twice the calories of the 0 point soups -which comes out to 2 points a serving so still not that bad. And a quirky thing about the 0 point soups. They are 0 points for a half can - 1 serving but if you have the entire can which is about 2 cups - it's 2 points. So how can 1 serving be 0 points? Bottom line, they are good in a pinch but it seems the scale is always up the next day because of the salt. I'd agree with Rennie and try to make my own (Swanson's FF low sodium chicken broth is a good base) and freeze some portions or make 2 pots and alternate them all week long. Congrats on doing so well living within your points and you're making good progress on the weight loss too!

Ceejay - 4 feet of water and in the dark - sounds like you had a miserable day yesterday hope today is better.


Mel - I'm glad you averted an almost disaster with the fermented stuff. I remember the troubles you had a while back. Sounds like a good day to stay inside and pedal. I too had heard about Stevia. Mixed reviews for me. I have a friend who switched to raw sugar and said she noticed a difference too.

Painter - I saw the election results this morning. Looks like the 2 candidates just about split the delegates with Hillary barely squeeking ahead. I hope you can get some pain relief. Your painting are coming along nicely - glad you're back at it again.

Shad - for the calories you're burning you are really doing an intense workout at the gym - for you - no slacker there! I like the word "bung" - I need to change my password today at work and I'll have to work that in there somehow

Ellen - I could never live with carpet in the kitchen either - hope you get those new floors soon.

Annie - congrats to the parents on 60 years together. That is amazing!!!

Today is my wedding anniversary. 31 years and still going strong. I can't believe that much time has passed so quickly.

Time to go earn a few bucks so we can go to dinner tonight.

Hellos to Shaker and Rennie and Ruth and anyone I unintentionally missed.

[Ruthxxx]

Happy Anniversary, Happy! 31 years is a record in these days. Here's to 31 more of the same.