[auntie g]

Good evening... I'm in blue for the cold tonight. Brrrrr... It's much too cold to walk outside more than necessary now, but luckily, inventory is almost done, so I've been getting more steps in at work for the past couple days. Still on soup, so I'm behaving. I actually was drooling for the spaghetti I thought I was having tonight, only to find out I took the wrong bowl out of the freezer this morning. I mean, the soup is good, but my heart was set on spaghetti... Oh well. So, does anyone eat Vita Tops? Oh man, I only recently bought them, and now I need to have one every day. Mmmmmm...

Marie, I can't stop thinking about your french fry thing. I'm not sure I could do it, but the next time the occasion arises, I'm gonna give it a try. It's been a long time since I've had any fries. Hmmm, maybe I'll make some sweet potato fries this weekend. I hope you got your couch in! Oh, I remember the pain when we got ours and it didn't fit through the front door. So much cursing... Eventually I figured out a do-able angle that the two men could not seem to grasp, but it's in and it's staying forever!

Penny, adzuki bean ice cream sounds interesting. I'm sure it's not as "beany" as putting a can of black beans in brownies, blecch! We have a nice Asian market nearby, but I've only been there once. I was intimidated by not being able to read any of the signs. It was kind of fun, like I was on vacation out of the country, but I really didn't know what I was doing. Seriously, nothing was in English. Maybe I'll try it again some day.

Mariana, wow, sorry to hear about the fires! I do, however, love that term "bushwalking". I think I'll start using it! And yeah, your pants will loosen up again. I know how you feel, for sure, but you are so active, sometimes you probably just need to relax and carb up. You'll be back on track before you know it!

Judy, woo hoo! Yes, I'd say a size 18 can be a little black dress! My highest was a 26, so I figure anything under 20 is downright svelte! Have a great time at the inauguration parties, and don't worry too much about the diet. You will soon be reenergized!

Kathy, holy cow, they give you cheesesteaks and pizza for lunch meetings? That's just cruel! Congrats on going with the carrots, though, and glad you had a good doc visit!

Time for bed. Have a great Friday, all!

[Marie]

Oh my gosh!!! Friday is really almost here!!! For some (mazza) it's already here. And it's a 3 day weekend. I'm pleased beyond belief.

Auntie, I would never thought 6 fries would do it, but I kid you not, my taste buds really don't get the whoosh of pleasure after that and now that I noticed it, it made pushing them away easier. Now, if I could find the point with other foods I'd be so happy. I haven't tried HungryGirl's Vitatops as I don't want to have to order my foods. They sound wonderful though. My fave recommendation from there is Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze. My mochas have only 105 cals so I can enjoy them daily. They were 160 or so with skim milk.

Penny, I'm so glad I'm not nuts about the 6 fries. My co-workers and hubby think I'm nuts. But next time, have your hubby order them and steal his. It's so much more rewarding to take from others.

The couch - oh what a mess. No it didn't fit in the room. Currently the hide-a-bed is in garage and DH's Durango is in the driveway. But there's a plan in place for the weekend. Long and convoluted but basically DH is going to put in an exterior door in the side of the house for the guest room. I asked for one last week before the couch fiasco. Once he's cut the BIG whole, we'll move the couch in and then he'll do the home improvement of adding a door out to the doggie kennel. Since he's the one that wants bad boy Kody and naughty girl Kai out there while I'm at work, then he needs to provide easy access. To be honest, once he picked his jaw off the ground in astonishment, he liked the idea so we will get summer breezes though the side of the house that there's no windows or door. So that's this weekend's project. He hit home depot for the wood as we already had the door.

Kathy, on the cholestrol drop. That is FANTASTIC. Give yourself many pats on the back.

Mazza, sorry about your bushwalking plans were burned. Penny and I live in a state that is routinely on fire. Penny's area much less than mine. I was actually turned down for changing home owners insurance because of the fire danger and we're rural. Last summer, major fires burned for two months about 70 miles south of my place and made my asthma really angry. And get on that new toy (bike) and show the pants who's boss. Since you're an exercise fanatic, I know you can do it even when the carb monster is lurking.

Judy, I bet the city is just electric with the inauguration. I so wish I was there. I'd even dance in the streets. I can take my magnetic bumper stickers off on Wednesday!!!! One is just a Peace/Obama but the other really conveys my thoughts. It says: 01/20/2008 - The End of an Error - I truly love that one. Enjoy the 18 as it's smaller than in the past and go party for me.

Well, time for a little TV before bed.
Marie

[penpal]

Mariana - Yes, I do have a big garden. We're on 3 acres with woods down by the river and my DH has 2 acres of grass to mow - so he's enjoying a break from that with the winter season. I have several large flower beds to take care of and that gives me lots of exercise in the warmer months. I remember the terrible bush fires in the Blue Mountains when we lived in Sydney. We were also close to bad fires in California. So far (thank goodness) we haven't had any bad fires near us here in Oregon, which is good because we're surrounded by trees.
I love mangoes too and they are so good for you. We have a store here called Trader Joe's that has excellent ice lollypops made from mango pulp (all natural) that are only 80 calories each.

Judy - You must be so excited with your celebration events coming up. I heard that all hotels are booked out in DC - you could probably rent your couch for a fortune!

Kathy - I'm glad your tests results were good. I'm also on thyroid meds and my results just came back good too. My cholesterol is also down quite a bit - which is a relief as I didn't want to go on meds. That was a good choice having carrots instead of fries. It's little changes like that which make a big difference in the long run. I hope the weather warms up for you soon. It's still foggy and cold here but it's supposed to be nicer on the weekend.

Auntie G - I know what you mean about being disappointed when you take the wrong thing out of the freezer. It's hard to tell sometimes when it's frozen. I've been eating the Dreamfields pasta which is supposed to have less carbs. It tastes the same as regular pasta. Actually, pasta isn't all that bad so long as you don't have a huge portion with creamy sauce and it's very filling. You're so right about dress sizes all being relative. You hear some people who are size 10 complaining they were a size 6 and now they feel fat. I used to be a 22 and now 16-18 and would love to be down at 14 again which I was a year ago. I know I'll never be in the single-digits - but that's ok so long as I go down and not up.

Marie - I'm so excited that you and your DH will be in town on Monday. My DH and I are looking forward to getting together with you again. In a way, it's good that the couch didn't fit - this way you are getting a handy door instead. As you said, it will be nice for a cross breeze in summer. Your DH is a real handyman. My DH is good with anything electrical or computer related and he can do just about any plumbing job, but flooring, woodwork, painting etc. are not his forte. We recently had a new back door installed and it cost a small fortune. I didn't realize Almond Breeze had much less cals than nonfat milk. I'll have to try it in my lattes.

Have a great weekend everyone!

[Marie]

It's Friday and I am so thankful. OK, I'm very thankful I have a good job but I really love weekends. As Penny mentioned, it has been cold and foggy all week (frozen fog on the roads that you can't see that it's icy). But today I'm sitting in the sun, enjoying blue sky.

As Penny also mentioned, we are meeting in Portland on Monday. We met about 2 years ago and the couple other times my hubby and I were up there, she had medical emergencies. So this is so cool as that mean Penny is healthy!!! BTW, both Penny and her husband have the coolest accents. I can listen to them all day.

My DH is very handy. He wouldn't let a repair person into our house. If he can't fix it, then it's not fixable. And so far in 25 years, he's resolved everything. Knock on wood.

Food is good so far but the munchie monster is starting to knock. I set a walking time at lunch with a co-worker since I didn't bother moseying out of bed in a timely fashion this morning. But it's Friday and the sun is shining.
Marie

[mazza]

It was a gorgeous day today! Kinda overcast and chilly in the morning, but now it's sunny and not too hot. I worked all day but it was cool - my boss is only 3 years older than me and she's easygoing, so we can work and chat at the same time.

Forgiving pants aren't tight any more One small step. But really, it made my morning when I put them on and found that they slipped on with ease.

Marie and Penny - It's so cool you girls are meeting up! I hope you have fun! I've been reading up a little on Oregon - and Klamath Falls sounds like a nice city. (Bigger than I thought - 19 thou pop.) Are either of you close to the Applegate trail?

Happy weekend, ladies!

[auntie g]

Happy Saturday! I'm down another 2½ today, which leaves me still 3 above ticker, but I'm getting there. We're supposed to get into double digit temperatures today, so I'm hoping to get out for a good walk. Otherwise today is puppy food cooking day- oh, the exciting life I lead! Ah, but I did have good news yesterday. We finally got the repairs done on DH's truck, that I complained about a couple months ago. The original guy wanted to charge $700, then my regular mechanic estimated $450. Well, when all was said and done, it only cost $325, so I have been doing the happy dance!

Marie, I found the Vita Tops in the grocery store- I would not have mail ordered them either. They are a little pricey for every day use, so I'm going to have to wean myself off, and just save them for an occasional treat. (They were on sale the day I found them, so I bought several boxes.) Hope the new door project goes well!

Penny, mmmm, I love pasta. DH won't go for straight whole wheat, so I usually mix together a box of whole wheat with a box of whatever "whole grain white-type" is on sale. I don't think I've tried the Dreamfields. Then I just make sauce out of only veggies, nothing creamy. So it is very filling, but not a lot of cals. Couldn't stand to be without it. I'm going to Trader Joe's for the first time today! I'll have to look for those mango pops. I do have trouble getting many fruits in, but maybe I could do it that way.

Mariana, glad you had a good day and looser pants! Have a great Sunday!

Penny and Marie, have a fun visit!

[Marie]

Happy Saturday Everyone,

Here I am, sitting on my couch, looking down the hallway. I can see DH has the sheet rock cut in the guest room and has pulled the insulation out. We carried in the door a little bit ago, so the project is underway. DH agrees that we'll build a little deck off the door in the summer because Kodiak would be happy in the kennel all day if he could be on a deck.

I was on track food yesterday and today is my attempt at 1900 cals again. DH pulled our packaged 4 oz steaks from the freezer so I'm going to grill those and make sweet potatoes. Yum!! I'm trying a new ice cream recipe that uses no heavy cream, just half-half, whole milk skim mile (1 c. of each) and 66% less sugar. I'll let you all know how it is.

Auntie, have fun making the doggie's chow. I love my babies but I could not handle doing that. Besides, they love their food but I am in awe that you make it. So I tried a new hungry girl recommended item. I bought a package of Laughing Cow original. I took one wedge, sliced it onto my burger last night and it made the burger so rich and yummy. So my 320 cal burger went up to 355 but man oh man, it was TREMENDOUS. I'm going to have more today. So I can highly recommend the stuff.

Mazza, way to go on the pants not being snug still. You got on track so quickly. The weather sounds delightful there. It's cold again this morning but the doggies and I are going to go walking in a bit (before the magic 32 degrees when the dirt roads soften). Kody isn't feeling well but I bet he'll prance about the entire time, then crash when we get home.

Have any of you ever een to Thailand/Bangkok? If so, what's it like???
Marie

[auntie g]

Marie, yay for the couch and underway project! You guys don't mess around! We'd still be thinking about it for another 6 months, at least.

I'm on a quick break from cooking. Blecch! Too much in one day for me. Puppy's stuff is still in progress, and I made corn chowder for today and tomorrow. Now I have to brown up a little ground beef to make chili. I'm using mostly fake meat, but if I put in a little real stuff, DH doesn't complain.

Oh, the Laughing Cow cheese! That stuff is awesome!!! I use it on my fake burgers all the time, and it really makes such a difference. I've also made mac and cheese with it - mmmmm... And I've bought it in little cubes, too, that are only 7 calories each. You can just pop one in your mouth any time you need that sensation. What an invention!

I've never been anywhere as exotic as Thailand. Bermuda, Bahamas, Jamaica, and both coasts of Mexico are it for me. Are you thinking of doing some traveling?

Hope Kody's feeling better. Back to the kitchen... Have a good one!

[O2Bthin]

Hi Everyone!

It sounds like everyone has had the frigid temps. It was -6 this morning in central PA and only got up to 16. I wasn't outside anymore than necessary.

Today after I got groceries I decided to try to get some of my meals ready for the week. Hopefully that will help to relieve the pressure of having to cook after getting home from work.

I'm glad this week is done. All of our meetings are over and no more pizza or cheese steaks. I stayed on plan today and feel much better because of it.

Hope you all have a great evening.
Kathy

[Marie]

Happy Sunday everyone!

Auntie and Kathy, my fingers are crossed for an all Pennsylvania Super Bowl. That would be really cool. So I'll start cheering in about 1/2 hour.

Auntie, how do you make mac and cheese with the laughing cow and is it satisfying?

Kathy, stay warm and congrats on feeling better. I won't tell you how warm we've been the last week. No deep freeze here. Even the fog has been gone for the past 3 days. I'm hoping it stays away as DH and heading to Portland with a great lunch planned with Penny and her husband.

I didn't make 1900 cals again yesterday. Heck I didn't make 1500. Oops. But today will be 1900 cal day as it's football Sunday. I've already made sourdough crust for pizza so I should be able to try the splurge day out better. And I had a waffle for breakfast. I usually don't make those as they have butter in them. I do admit I cut the recipe from 8T down to 2T and to be honest, I couldn't tell. So why put the extra fat in it???

I think it's time to bring the doggies out for a walk. Don't worry, auntie, I will set the DVR to get the game and I'll start in about an hour (missing commercials is my favorite reason to DVR).

Oh, the guest room project has turned out perfectly. The door is great and the doggies bounce out of it into their kennel. It's pretty much all cleaned up except a few more of DH's tools. We cleaned out the closet that was stuffed with DS2's garbage. Literally there were 2 bags of garbage. Anyway, we did store some of his stuff, but DH is at the dump right now getting rid of it and lots of other piled up stuff. We snowballed this morning and cleaned out the garage as well since he had no choice but to make a dump run with DS2's nonsense. So now even the garage is organized. BTW, the hide-a-bed couch looks beautiful in there and DH set up the weigh unit. It's really an exercise room that will house guests.

Marie


PS auntie - green font for Eagles cheering!!!

[penpal]

Food is on plan so far. I haven't lost any more, but haven't gained either, so that's good.

Marie - It sounds like your new door worked out great, plus you've got an early start on spring cleaning by clearing out all the unwanted stuff. I wish my DH would clean up our garage, "cluttered" doesn't even begin to describe it! We're looking forward to seeing you and your DH tomorrow for lunch . I can't believe it's been 2 years since we met.

Mariana - I'm glad your pants are fitting looser - that's always a good sign. I think the Applegate trail is closer to Marie, but we're right near the Oregon Trail and there's an interesting interpretive museum nearby in Oregon City http://www.historicoregoncity.org/HO...=75&Itemid=80/
Boy, those early pioneers had a tough life!

Auntie G - Yay for the 2.5 lbs. loss! Thanks for reminding me about Laughing Cow cheese, that stuff is great - so creamy yet not many calories. I've never seen the little cubes, I'll have to look out for them and I'll also try making some mac n cheese with it using the Dreamfields pasta.

Kathy - I hope it's warming up a bit in your neck of the woods. Good idea to make some meals ahead - it's always nice to be able to just reach into the freezer for something yummy and home made.

I hope you football fans enjoy the game today and that your team wins!

[judydc]

Hi, chickies! It's been a wild few days. I spent Friday getting my hair done, running errands in the desperate cold, and doing last-minute things to prepare for overnight guests (a rarity for me). Saturday I went to one of the inaugural ball, where I volunteered at the door for a few hours before plunging into the crowd. It was neat to see the folks decked out in their black-tie best, and a few celebrities. I didn't brave the cold today to go out to the concert on the Mall, but I wished I was there! I bought fancy fingerless gloves/mittens that supposedly will help my hands stay warm, so maybe I will go the the inaugural on Tuesday.

Sounds like everyone is doing well, except for those whose football teams lost....

[auntie g]

Oh what a sad day for the Eagles. It was fun while it lasted, but man, did I do some calorifical damage yesterday for the game! Maybe I knew deep down that I wouldn't be eating for a Superbowl party - lol. In any case, yesterday's over and today is another new start. It's supposed to be all the way up into the 30s today, so I'm going out for a good long walk. Cooking for the week is done and it should be a good OP week!

Kathy, hope you're having good OP days, and GO Steelers!

Marie, I'm pretty sure I got the idea about the Laughing Cow mac & cheese from Hungry Girl. I never made a whole batch, just single servings (cause DH wouldn't eat mac & cheese if you paid him- silly boy), but it was absolutely satisfying! I just let a few wedges sit out to warm up a little while and then smooshed them into some hot noodles. Nothing fancy, but they sure do have the right creamy texture. Mmmmmm, now I want to make some today. That might be lunch! Congrats on the new house addition and clean-out! That's got to be inspiring! And thanks for the green, but alas, there's only so much we can do without some help from the team...

Penny, congrats on breaking even- yep, it's better than gaining! Hope you girls have a nice lunch today!

Judy, look at you, rubbing shoulders with celebrities now! Have fun with your guests, and get out there tomorrow! The inaugural excitement is what's going to help us recover from the football devastation. A new beginning is upon us...

[mazza]

Wheeeeew early morning today. 6am boot camp. It was fun.
I feel like going back to bed now even though it's 8am.

Not much to say right now.

Hope you all had a pleasant start to the week!

[O2Bthin]

Hi Everyone!

Autie G - I too am sad about the Eagles losing, but happy that the Steelers won. That will make watching the Super Bowl more fun.

It has finally warmed up here. It was in the high 20s which felt like a heat wave compared to the temps we have been having. Since I didn't work a full day today, I took advantage of the beautiful sunshine and warmer weather to take a 2 mile walk. He felt goog to get outside and get some exercise. My legs are screaming at me, but it's "good pain".

Today I took my Doberman to the groomers for the first time. She did a good job on him, but she cut his toe nails to short and he bled all over my car. I did have a blanket on the backseat, but it went through and got on the seat. I also had it on the carpet in the hosue. What a mess. He tends to be a nervous dog so this adventure wore him out. He has slept almost all day and has been very quiet. By tomorrow he'll be back to himself.

I need to get going. I want to get to bed early so the DH and I can get up early to exercise. Have a great Tuesday!

Kathy