happy VALENTINES DAY my friends!
I thought this would be a good place to start our new thread.
I hope you all have a wonderful day today.

I'm off to work, from 5 AM until 1 PM, but, I'll enjoy the rest of the day.

Good Morning Ladies!!

Just making a very brief stop to wish you all a very

"Happy Valentine's Day!"

May you all have a day just overflowing with Love...

Love for God ~
Love for your Family ~
Love for your Friends ~
Love for your Neighbors ~
Love, Love, Love

God Bless you ~ALL~!!!

*******

Hey, back at you, SunnyD! Absolutely love the dog with the rose. So tell us what romantic things you and Joe did today.

I put a card with a piece of chocolate in the envelope on my Dad's placemat this morning. He came into the dining room and saw that and turned around and went back to his room. When he came out again, he had a bag of Hershey's miniatures and put them on my placemat. Ack!! My DH thinks that he probably got them for himself (what every diabetic needs on Valentine's Day) and when he saw I'd given him something, he gave them to me. Luckily, with Weight Watchers, eating candy isn't that big a deal as long as I count it, which I did.

We went to Pike Place Market today before it got too crowded. I was buying some little gifts for my secret pal on a bulletin board I've been on for a long, long time. We've been doing secret pal things for quite a while now. We also got some bread from a good bakery and some peel and eat shrimp from the fishmongers in the Market. The market is famous for the "fish catchers," but I usually patronize another fish place. The fish catcher place is too crowded with looky-loos.

On hopefully a positive note, my daughter isn't married yet. I guess they got some misinformation about licenses and forms and such so I'm really hoping she goes back to Virginia a single woman. I'm having a hard time with this marriage thing, although I'm trying not to show it. My youngest son is going out on a double date tonight. I'll have to press him for all the details tomorrow when he comes over to do his laundry. My oldest son is trying to fend off advances of women who want to take him out for coffee. He's good looking, really nice, and separated (divorce should be final this week) so he's a prime catch, I guess. But all he wants to do is take care of his daughter and study hard. He knows his emotions are too raw right now for dating.

We got a chance between rain showers to take the dogs for a walk. They appreciated it! Hope everyone is having a lovely day! I'm especially hoping that Charlotte's SIL left Kuwait and arrived home today. That would be so special!

I worked yesterday from 5 AM until 1 PM and then went to the health food store and got my buffalo burger patties and a small roast. I also picked up 2 patties of ground Elk. Never had it before, but, it's grass fed, so I wanted to try it. Geez! That stuff is expensive! But, I think it's worth it because it's also half the calories of beef, and I love the taste of the buffalo.

Anyway, I started washing clothes after I got home from work because I figured as long as I had already been working all day I'd finish what I had to do around here then take a rest for the next couple of days. I'm off work today and tomorrow, and I'm going to spend a lot of time lying down and reading to give this hip a rest.

I was so tired last night that I forgot I was reading posts here and layed down on the couch to read after taking a load of clothes out of the dryer and fell asleep. This morning I discovered I was still on here.

I weighed myself this morning and I'm back down to where I was a little over a week ago. So, onward!

I get a weekly newsletter from Mayo Clinic and they had this recipe in there and I think it would be very good.
They have dieticians who take everyday recipes and make them over to be low fat/low sugar.
I think I'll try this one without the pasta even, maybe add a little more greens to it instead.
Now, I hope it pastes into this site alright for me. Sometimes when there are 2 collumns, it somehow puts it into one collumn and you can't make head nor tail of it. Here goes;

Original Article:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=NU00108

Tossed greens with pasta, fruit and balsamic vinaigrette


Original Modified
1 teaspoon rosemary (or 1 tablespoon fresh) 1 teaspoon rosemary (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil 1/4 cup olive oil
6 cups mixed greens 6 cups mixed greens
1 - 9 ounce package refrigerated cheese tortellini or ravioli 2 cups cooked spiral pasta
2 large fresh pears, cut into slices 2 large fresh pears, cut into slices
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts 1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts
1/2 cup feta cheese 1/2 cup golden raisins


Cook spiral pasta until al dente. Combine rosemary, cinnamon, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Blend. Drain pasta and cool. Add to greens, sliced pears, water chestnuts and raisins. Add dressing. Toss to mix well. Arrange onto plates and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutritional Analysis
Original Modified
Calories 410 250
Fat (grams) 25 10
Percent calories from fat 55 36
Percent polyunsaturated 12 4
Percent saturated 16 7
Percent monounsaturated 27 25
Cholesterol (milligrams) 42 14
Sodium (milligrams) 480 100
Protein (grams) 12 4
Carbohydrate (grams) 34 36
Fiber (grams) 2 2


NOTE: Diabetics or those on calorie-controlled diets may count one serving as: 1 vegetable, 2 fruit and 2 fat servings.


By Mayo Clinic staff

NU00108

November 21, 2000


© 1998-2004 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "Mayo Clinic Health Information," "Reliable information for a healthier life" and the triple-shield Mayo logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

It looks so beautiful here today when you look outside. The sun is shining in a clear blue sky, but to go out in it is a different story. -4 degrees this morning. I still might go out in that sunshine for a few minutes though. I think we need as much of that as we can get, both for our health and for our moods.

Sunny, thanks for the valentine.

Sheila, awwww, that was sweet of Dad. He really meant well, especially if he had originally gotten them for himself.

Good news that your daughter isn't married yet. Does she know that you would prefer a normal, home town wedding? It makes them just as married I guess, but it's an event that every mother wants to be a part of and a witness to. I would think there must be blood tests and waiting periods just about any place except Las Vegas, isn't there?

I think your oldest son is very wise in being cautious. Don't want to get caught on the rebound and confuse emotions. He has a lot to think about with your little granddaughter too.
My son was separated for about 2 years before he divorced, then was divorced for a year before he dated. He just started dating a woman about a month ago. I hope it doesn't turn into something ugly, because my other son said this woman doesn't want her former husband to find out she's dating because he might become physical. He didn't want the divorce, I guess.
I think I'd back away from that situation in a hurry, and I don't think my son will waste much time on a relationship that she wants kept secret.

Hello to everyone else. Hope you're having a great weekend!

He DID Sheila!!
Chris got to Fort Sill at 7:30pm Valentine's Day evening!! They are so happy! I wasn't going to bother them today, but gave in a few minutes ago & called. Seemed like I just had to hear his voice. But, not home. They probably went out to eat. Will try again later. I talked to Gina & the kids as they were getting ready to go meet him last night. They were all so excited. Gina was glad I called. Said she was so excited she was almost sick. I had to calm her down! Thank you all soooo much for the prayers, & for encouraging me these past few months. There were some rough times. His dad is leaving to go to Iraq this week. He's been in Kentucky training. The unit that's replacing Chris's unit is leaving this week from around here. His unit will be home soon. We need to keep praying for all of them.

We finally got some snow!! It sleeted also. Had a winter advisory, so stayed home from church. We have a lot of elderly people in our little church, so have to take care of them.

I took a couple of pics of the snow...one is the mailbox showing the ribbon I kept on it for a year. Now I can take it down! I'm going to put a new one on it for his dad & the rest of the military.
The other pics are me & DH with my flowers he sent to the TV station! Romantic!! He also took me out to eat last night & today in the snow.....even! I have on the same clothes I wore when I went out with Gina, but DH didn't see me in them that day.....so, showed off to him last night. He LIKED!!! Everyone have a good Sunday!

P.S. Just talked to Gina & Chris. They sound great!!]

Hi girls, sorry for another absence but hopefully that will be the last for a long time. I finally confronted the biggest downer in my life (won't do any good in the long term but I made me feel much better!). I confronted DM the other night on the phone about what she has been like for the last 2.5 years and how she doesn't give a flying fish for anyone but herself etc. I told her she is the most self-centred person I have ever met etc and she said she knows how awful it is for my DB and me etc etc (just another form of "poor me"). She said she knows there is only one way out of it (same old rubbish) and I said it will be the only positive thing in 2.5 years if she does kill herself but I am sick of hearing it and why doesn't she get a grip, stop feeling sorry for herself and get out there and volunteer to help people who have real problems. Won't make a blind bit of difference, I know, but I feel more empowered for saying it. I really have had enough of this selfish, domineering woman. I couldn't understand why I am eating like a starving man every day and after that phone call the hunger for any food abated. I must have been feeding a right old rage, ha ha. Today, I felt more like my old self for the first time in ages and tonight, when I call her, I am not wasting any more time listening to the same old rubbish, I really have had it and I don't care anymore. Sheila, thanks for sharing about your mother with us, I can't imagine what mine would be like with alcohol as well!!! Thanks for listening my lovely friends, I promise you the old Fatpuss will be back from now on.
I will get round to reading old posts but meanwhile, take care all of you. (This has been like a trip down that old road to Damascus for me, the phone call , I mean, ha!)

Good for you, Fatpuss! I know it was probably difficult, but the fact that you discovered that you were "feeding your feelings" about your Mom is such a lightbulb moment. Do not let her make you feel guilty either. I really hope she listened to what you said, but even if she didn't, you were doing what you needed to do for yourself.

Well, my prayers were answered this weekend. My daughter did not get married, although they tried. She and her BF did get engaged, though. I guess they made it official, with a ring, today. I can deal with that, I suppose. At least now that they're officially engaged, I believe that he can request assignment to Norfolk, where she's at. I don't know, though. And the best part is that they'll have some time to think things through before they really do get married. Whew!


Oh, Charlotte, that's so wonderful that your SIL got home on Valentine's Day. What a gift!

Willow, congrats on getting back down to your previous weight! I still have another pound to go, but I'm hoping I can be back there by Friday. So do you like the elk patties? My son brought home some elk sausage that someone gave him, I cooked it up, and not one person in my family would eat it, including me. And I'm the more adventurous one in the family. I'm just not big on game. I do like buffalo, though.

Last night I cooked the ribs my Dad bought from Omaha Steaks. I'd thought they were pork chops, but it turned out they were barbecued ribs with 21 g of fat per serving. I let my Dad, DH and DS eat them, and I ate some Thai veggies from Trader Joe's. I did mention again how much I like their fish. Since my Dad can't remember my son's name from week to week (he has dinner with us twice a week), I doubt he'll remember my fish comment, but I'll keep on trying.

We could get several inches of rain today. My DH is off and we went grocery shopping. Normally I park far away, but this time we got as close as possible to the door. He's off to see Lord of the Rings, which is a movie I'm just not interested in. Mostly because it's three hours long. That sounds more like torture than fun to me!

Hope all of you still experiencing the "winter wonderland" will stay warm! Have a great Monday!

I spent the day reading for a while, then on the 'net for a while, did dishes, then transferred recipes from one place to another.

They are saying the really cold weather is behind us now for the season. It's suppose to be in the 30's most days now and even in the 40's possibly towards the end of the week.

I finished reading THE LOVELY BONES, and started reading ODD THOMAS last night, but couldn't get into it so, I started reading Dr. Phil's book, THE ULTIMATE WEIGHT SOLUTION today.
I bought this book about 6 months ago but never got around to reading it, so thought I better get my money's worth out of it.
I just started reading it, so haven't formed any opinions yet, but, he always makes sense.

Back to work tomorrow. UGH!

Thursday they do the MRI of my hip. Hope they come up with a solution to the problem.

My phone hasn't rang once today. Everybody else must have had to work.


I should get my stuff ready for tomorrow now.

Everybody have a nice evening.

Whoa! Where'd we all go?

So, Willow, how is the Ultimate Weight Solution? Everybody says you either love Dr. Phil, or you hate him. Don't know if that's exactly true, but I do think he brings some good insight into people's problems and he doesn't pussyfoot around at all. I watch all the weight loss challenge shows--they can be inspiring. I do get ticked when he lumps Weight Watchers into the fad diet category. I think people can make anything into a diet if they have the mindset that they just want to lose the weight, then go back to their old way of eating instead of changing their lifestyle.

Had one of those days at aerobics when I didn't feel all that motivated, mostly because I didn't like the music. It was kind of slow and old timey (which makes sense because most of the participants are old timey--except me!). I'm not a big country fan, but she plays this country music with a great beat and it's a great routine so that's my favorite. Wish she'd play it more, or at least a bit more upbeat stuff.

So what's everyone doing these days? My friends left this morning for six weeks in Hawaii. She called last night to find out if my daughter had gotten married so I was pleased to be able to say NO. I told her since she was going to be there for six weeks, I still had time to get myself a ticket and come stay on the couch in her condo. She's so cool, she'd let me! For someone who never had the desire to go to Hawaii, I sure got hooked by my visit there last year. When my DH retires, I want to have enough money to go there for a month every winter. Wouldn't that be great!?!

Hope everyone is doing okay--come back, come back! Have a great Wednesday, and remember the work week is half over!

Hi Sheila and everyone else too.

I'm not going to post much tonight because I'm hurting pretty badly.
I'm just going to clean up and get into my PJ's and go lay down.

I'd give anything to be able to do aerobics right now. I wonder if I'll ever be able to again.

A woman I work with just came back from a 10-day vacation in Hawaii. Lucky devil!

I bought a lottery ticket on my way home from work today. That's about as exciting as my life gets these days.

Tomorrow they are doing the MRI and Monday the aspiration and injection. Please pray it works.

I'll see you all later.

Hello....tired tonight. It was a long day.

Thanks Sheila, for the happiness of my SIL's arrival. They are doing well. He's getting some much needed rest. His dad left this week for Iraq. He never got to see him.
I do hope your daughter has more time to think about the marriage. He may be the right guy for her...but, I agree she needs more time to get to know him. Either way, just accept what you have to...& we'll be praying.

Fatpuss...I'm glad you talked firm with your mother. You're going to get really stressed out, if you don't lay down some kind of rules with her. I'm so sorry you go through this. I don't know if I could take it. But then, I don't think I can take another day of living in this house like it is! I guess we all have our burdens to bare!

Willow...I'll be thinking of you tomorrow & Friday. The best of luck & my prayers! I do hope it helps you.

Well...gotta go get rid of my beautiful Valentine flowers. They died already. Glad I took pics. Everyone take care!

Found us on the second page again.

Fatpuss, SunnyD, and Bluet, where are you?

Willow, I hope the MRI went well. I freak out in that thing, but maybe you just have to stick the lower half of your body in when you're getting photos of your hip?? Either way, hope you don't have any trouble with it. I am claustrophobic and it was a real hardship. Then they screwed up the pictures so I had to come back the next day and do it all over again. They gave me Valium.

It was a day for doctors because I went to see my neuro and get Botox injections. We're going to go to every two months for the next six months to see if that helps. For some reason, I had a hard time today and started to feel like I was going to pass out. I screwed up the doctor's schedule because I had to lay down for about 10 minutes before he could finish. He's a really nice (and VERY cute!) guy, though. After the injections, I went to the physical therapist who's part of the neuro department. I'm going to see her twice a week for the next couple of weeks and then we'll see. She gave me some stuff to do at home. Right now I'm pretty sore from being a pincushion and doing the PT as well as lifting weights this morning.

We went to a nice restaurant that gets lots of write-ups in the paper. I had two skewers of satay (one chicken, one prawns) and it was pretty darn good. I was kind of amused by the fact that we paid more for parking than we did for the satay.

Well, my DD called today and her BF, now fiance, finally told his parents. He feels much better now that he did, which I told him he would. They've set the date for June 2005 here, and I will have to plan the thing. I'm not putting a deposit down on anything, though! Actually, it will be kind of fun to plan a wedding. Paying for it is another story.

I hope everyone is doing well on this Thursday. Is this Survivor night, Bluet?

Hi girls, haven't had much time to post this week as I have been office bound doing a duty which comes around every six weeks or so for all of us and it means I don't get home until late. By that time, DH is hot on my heels on the motorway coming from the opposite direction and is usually so starving he could eat a scabby rabbit.
I was queing at the deli counter of our supermarket on Saturday with DH and a handsome Moroccan-looking chap was buying all different kinds of cheeses. He was holding the queue up I suppose but I was facinated by his choices - never heard of most of them. I sneakily sent DH off to get some frozen peas and started chatting handsome chap up by saying I would love to be adventurous in cheese selection and what a healthy shopping trolley he had, all fresh stuff. Handsome chap explained that he was a chef and started telling me about all the different cheeses etc. By this time DH had returned with the peas and was not best pleased to find handsome queue-holder-upper and me laughing and chatting, ha ha. I explained that DH could not boil an egg and handsome chef said "yes, he can boil an egg, he just doesn't WANT to boil an egg, ha ha". I think by this time DH was ready to wack both chef and I with some celery from chef's basket, hee hee. What really topped it was that the following morning, Sunday, DH pops out into the garden where I was inspecting new shoots and says, " thought I would make breakfast. How long do you boil an egg?" He was totally serious and the look on my face said it all. So funny.
Willow, Sheila and Angel, you all seem to be going through painful times right now with your ailments. I really hope that you get some relief soon, I can't imagine living with pain.
On a downside, one of my best friend's daughter rang to tell me her mum may have ovarian cancer. This was last week and tests now indicate it may be lymphoma but until a biopsy confirms it we just hope it's not. I lost a very dear friend from lymphoma a few years ago and couldn't bear to see this lovely girl go through the same thing. My mother is behaving herself and every other night tells me she is feeling wonderful and has had a very good day - now why does that scare me even more than the downers she always has??
Must get to work,
best wishes to all friends on this site x

Hey, it's good to see you, Puss and SunnyD. I'm sorry you've been feeling kind of blue. Sounds like a touch of SAD perhaps. I'm glad you're seeing signs of spring. This has been kind of a crummy winter for those of you who live in the midwest and east. I've heard more reports of people just feeling yucky from not seeing the sun. And I know what you mean about smiling outside even though inside you feel like crying. I'm glad you had a place to vent and that Charlotte was able to help you. Hope you had a good time at your tea.

Puss, you really killed me with the chef/cheese story. I was sitting at my computer laughing away. And your DH, how funny! I'm glad your Mom is behaving herself--enjoy it, woman!

So I finally lost a "virgin" pound! I was down 2 lbs. today so I'm now at a number I hadn't seen before Christmas. I'm going to keep on trying for that downward trend.

Has anyone here planned a wedding before? I have no idea what to do, and where to start first. I thought maybe my daughter should go to the paint store and pick out some color chips of the colors she'd like and send them to me. What do you think? I'd like to get started now only because I want to know how much this little caper is going to cost me! They want a wedding at some place that overlooks water. I don't think the roof of my house is the place they'd want to be, but you can see water when you stand up there and it certainly would be cheap! You can actually get married on a cruise boat in Puget Sound, although I'm thinking they'll both be sick of ships in a year.

Did a little shopping at Trader Joes, something I do every Friday after weigh-in. Does anyone else shop there? They've got some great low-fat, high-fiber stuff, which is what I try to eat. Also noticed they're getting on the low-carb bandwagon, too.

TGIF!