LWL #101! Week of May 5 - 11
 

Good morning, chickies! Hope no one minds that I started our new thread for the week. I didn't want to get lost in last week!

I can’t believe that somehow it got to be May and my yard is so green (partly with weeds — must get out there this week). So it’s time to plant my herb garden. It looks like the oregano has taken over the garden from last year and the chives and thyme are fine. This year, I’ll put in huge amounts of basil, rosemary, parsley, and some others, though fresh basil is my favorite. I think it smells like perfume — and I use it a lot in marinades.

Which reminds me of cooking — I have a cooking challenge for those of you who like to cook: marinara sauce, so simple but I can’t make a good one! Do any of you make a great spaghetti/marinara sauce? (I’m not talking necessarily diet friendly here, just good, though most aren’t too bad) I made one last night with crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen), fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, onion, little sugar, salt and pepper, but it still was missing … something?

I’m curious to hear the results of everyone’s programs — the CKD, 50/20/30, and all. That way I get ideas on what to try and what to skip. I’ll go first: on cranwater — I think it did help get rid of excess water but after that, it’s no different than ordinary water, so I think it’s good for bloating but not for every day. Last week I tried to stay between 1200 and 1400 calories and around 100g of carbs per day. Reviewing Fitday, I averaged 1358 calories and 120g of carbs per day for the week. My weight has varied from 137.4 down to 134.6 and is at 136 today, so the net result is 1.4#. This doesn’t mean a lot to me though because these are the pounds I am always playing with (I always seem to be between 134 and 137). One thing that may have affected this is that I did far less cardio than I would ordinarily due to bad life circumstances. So my plan for this week is to try the 1200 — 1400 calories again, really keep the carbs down to 100g or below, and an hour of cardio a day (which is what I typically would do). We’ll see if I can bust out of this weight range and move down to the lower 130s! I will report back next Monday.

Sel, I love my All-Clad! Since it is pricey, I keep adding a piece here and there. I have the LTD and use the non-stick fry and sauté pans, but the regular saucepans clean up so well too! My favorite is the 7 quart pasta pan with the colander insert — I use it for so many things besides pasta, like making chicken stock. I love making the perfect meal, too, and Friday nights are special nights for DH and me because it’s our time together. He’s too tired to go out after a long week, so I make a special dinner and we just sit and relax and drink wine and talk (well, he drinks the wine). It’s a nice way to reconnect. I often make something our of the ordinary and he loves Asian or pasta, so it’s frequently one of those. Asian noodles (and I have a cookbook by that name!) are the best, combining the two favorites! That’s why I was making Pad Thai last Friday, but it made enough for a small army.

Re baking and eating the batter or dough: I had a neighbor who ate half of a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough and then drank a big Pepsi. Apparently the Pepsi reacted with the baking soda in the dough and gave her tremendous … problems!

Adriana — I hope the carpal tunnel is getting better. My trainer at the gym has developed it and wears a brace most of the time, especially at night, which seems to help.

Have a great day, all! Today is shoulder day — not my favorite, but I think I’m still skittish about re-injuring it.

Meg

Good Morning!

Meg, I start ABC's 13 week plan today. I'll be cycling 1903 calories for the first 3 weeks. Today will be my second lowest day at 1803 calories.

I'm about to head out the door for spinning...

Deb

Hi All -

Oh, count me in on the LWL Cook-a-Rama...I love to cook. I just got a rear quarter of organic beef in my freezer, so last night I cooked up a roast tenderloin in my new stone roaster. It was fabulous - so tender you didn't need a knife, fabulously lean. Our 5 year old son ate 3 big pieces himself.

Next weekend is the 10k fun run on Sunday, so I'm going to manipulate my workouts to get in a rest for my legs before then. Not that I'm a serious competitor by any means, but just want to give myself a sporting chance to finish in good form. (it can get pretty ugly by 9k for my runs).

I haven't been terribly clean this week on my eating, but got an email invitation to a university reunion the last week of June which we'll probably travel to - seems to be the motivation I was lacking. I really need to get rid of all the leftover Easter candy in the house!!!

Adriana, hiking in the desert sounds wonderful. We travelled to Eilat on holiday once, Israel is such a beautiful country.

Hope everyone is having a great week.

BethO

Hello girls :wave:

Hope everyone is having a good Monday... I certainly am so far... I've gone to the gym squated an all time best of 165#... I just keep going up 10# at this rate...:lol: I'm cleaning the basement and the garage for a yard sale that some nuns are having at an old convent next week. So I'm getting rid of ALOT of junk... Does anyone have junk? Stupid question I know!! :lol:

Food wise I have been just downright aweful since last Thursday... So I'm back on track as of today....

Meg -- At least your scale fluctuates... Mine doesn't even do that... Maybe with the biking it will, who knows?!?!?...

Deb -- I was reading the 13 week fat burning plan and my gosh but it seems complicated... Am I missing something? Or reading too much into it? So for today I will stick with 1800 cals 50/30/20...

Later all, gotta go clean, clean, clean....

Me too on the 13wk Program from ABCBodybuilding.com, but I have a few more calories to cycle. 2500 for me to be exact, which will be my higher level, initially I'm going to drop to between 2000 and 2200.

Going to be a toughie mainly because of my work schedule, but I'll do my best.

Hope all of your programs are going well on this rainy, horrid MOANday.

Meg, try adding some oregano to your sauce.

morning ladies,

it is raining like crazy this morning. i did a tremendous workout yesterday. my gym offers circuit training on sundays for an hour. however, since there is not another class scheduled after that one, the instructor will sometimes let the class go long. Well, it went long yesterday to the tune of 45 additional minutes. We did cardio, kickboxing, laps out on the track, worked with free weights and dumbells, obstacles course work, you name it, we did it.

then i went home and cut and edged my lawn. my lawn mower is one of those old fashioned push mowers, no gas, no electricity, just human exertion. I LOVE IT and my son can help out without me worrying about him cutting off a toe or something.

my goals for this week are to get in ALL the protein I am supposed to take in, get in the cardio, and not let my kids schedules screw up my workout schedule. cheerleading practice for this fall has started and football practice will start next month. these take up a big chunk of my time so i will definitely have to plan better for both exercise and diet.

I will have to pass on the cook challenge as I am barely adequate in the kitchen. i would rather be outside playing dodge ball with the kids than in my kitchen making a meal. in fact that's what i did yesterday afternoon.

Good Morning,

Well, survived my trip down memory lane this weekend, but my disco days are over until I lose a few more pounds. Huffing and puffing on the dance floor after three songs is not a good thing. :nono:

Good news on the transformation front-measured myself and found that there have been some big changes: 2 inches off my bust, .5 inch off my waist, 1 inch off my hips and 1 inch off each thigh. It’s amazing how things work, because I only lost 7 lbs of scale weight during this challenge. :cp:

Meg, I too only purchase All-Clad on sale. They are pricey, but so well worth it. I own several pieces of their stainless steel collection: a braiser, Dutch oven and a chef pan as well as a few pieces from their LTD collection: a saucier and a small stockpot. I own other pots, but these five are my favorites and get used almost everyday.

As for the marinara sauce, I use 99% fat-free chicken or beef broth (Swanson or Butterball brands) as a base then add the tomatoes and seasoning. Otherwise it just tastes too bland and my husband complains. He's Trinidadian by birth and is under the impression that all food must be extremely spicy to taste good. He’s easy to please 99.9% of the time so I make it the way he likes. Though Mindi’s idea of adding oregano to your sauce is a really good one. I also love any kind of Asian food, Chinese, Indian, Japanese or Thai. My current goal is to find a really good, authentic Vietnamese restaurant.

Adriana, Hope your Carpal Tunnel is better.

Tika, I envy you. Apartment living is fine, but I really miss having a backyard to mow and relax in.

Ilene, , Congrats on your new PB in Squatting.

Betho, What is a stone roaster? Sounds interesting. Is it like the clay pot that East Indian’s use to cook Tandoori chicken in?

Well, off to do the laundry and then some work. Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Sel

HELP!! I HAVE BEEN ROBBED!!

some troll here at the office is eating my food. i am not the most organized person in the world so instead of trying to remember to bring in my fresh veggies everyday, i bring in enough for about a week or so. i went to make my salad at lunch and someone has been eating my lettuce. they put it back in the bag backwards and i guess they tore off more than they actually wanted so they folded the extra leaves up and stuck them in the bottom of the bag. i couldn't believe it.

Hey all

Tiki, how rude!! We have tons of food here in our fridge, and people don't touch each others food. Yikes!!

Meg - I would love to get my mits on some All-Clad!! I love the Food Network and I am so jealous of those chefs!! :chef: As for Marinara sauce, can't help you there.....I usually use the canned or jarred stuff. However, check Food's website they usually have a lot of great recipes.

Well, as for me, getting back on track with eating.....kinda had a lax weekend. BRx is going well though.......still struggling a bit with the protein intake though. But, all in all I like the plan :):spin:

Robin:cb:

Goooooooooood morning :)

Finally we're having some decent weather here for a change. Another monsoon weekend :( which of course meant NO RIDING. Bummer! Oh well, we had to wait for the washer repairperson to show up anyways - and it WAS Kentucky Derby weekend. I rarely miss it, but Jim was just about burnt out on Derby stuff because I started out by watching the pre-race show on ESPN2, then turned to NBC for the Derby itself, THEN back to ESPN2 for the wrapup...the next morning the Travel Channel had a couple of Derby-based shows. So it was heaven for me on TV. (what surprised me though was that Travel Channel actually showed a breeding in progress...not something you'd want to kids to see, if you know what I mean...)

Meg and all you chefs - I hate to say that I have very little interest in cooking these days. I did break down this weekend and buy a new nonstick frypan at Safeway for $13.00. I like the cheapies - once the nonstick surface is toast, I just throw 'em out!

Tiki - AACKK! how dare someone eat your food?!? I was just in the freezer here at work getting ice, and noticed it was packed full of Jenny Craig's cuisine...hmmm...someone must have won the lottery or something... :lol: Personally, I've gotten really lazy about making and packing stuff. I'd just as soon go to the cafeteria or Safeway and pick up something, no big deal. Our cafe has chicken ceasar salad, premade with dressing on the side...I just pick out the croutons and do the old 'dip and stab' with my fork, so I get just a taste of dressing. A new lunch place just opened up next to our building too - called Baja Fresh (yummy). They have a HUGE "Baja Ensalada" which is your basic charbroiled chicken salad - I tell them to leave off the cheese and instead of using the dressing they provide in a cup, I just load up on the salsa at the salsa bar, get a side of pinto beans and mix everything together...yum yum...enough for TWO meals.

Gotta run...getting ready for tomorrow's early-am meeting...I have to be here at 6 AM TOMORROW so that means I'm waking up at 3 to work out!!!

Beth the 10k sounds great! I've never done a run, but keep thinkibng it would be fun!

Ilene, I think the 13 week plan sounds more complicated than it is. Once you sit down and figure out the meals it's not so bad. I'll have to alter the order of my meals a bit because of work. I'm using Method II to figure my calories. The other ways gave me more calories, but I wasn't sure what numbers to use. It doesn't say what ratio to use, but today I am at 49/25/25-that's because they want you to count Udo's.

Tiki, how awful that someone would steal your food!

I've been meaning to thank you for your comment in my journal the other day! I love that quote!

When my dad bought an electric mower, I refused to mow the lawn anymore! I like the push mowers, too!

We should get all these cooks to make our meals for us!

Sel, congrats on the progress!

Karen if you have to get up at 3 to workout, how much sleep are you getting? There's no way I could workout at that hour!

Same old stuff...

Over the weekend I got a rejection letter from my other job prospect.

I was washing my face this morning when I noticed something in the sink-my contact case with one compartment open. How it got there I don't know; I had put it in the medicine cabinet. One very expensive contact down the drain. I need new ones anyway, but with no insurance it's not going to be easy. Rather than replace the one that got lost I am going to get new ones-hopefully I'll be able to see better out of the new ones. This is likely to cost $400-500. :stress:

My boss is supposed to give me more hours. If not this week, it should be on the schedule for next week. If not, I will have to complain again. They're supposed to be training me to open and be full time, but my hours are next to nothing. That won't pay the bills.

I work til 9:15 tonight! :(

Deb

Deb - Bummer! That's happened to me - the contact lens down the drain thing. Actually I have not worn my contacts since January - glasses are so much easier (I'm also hoping that my corneas get a bit thicker so I can get the laser eye surgery - we have a great vision plan here and my company pays a good portion of the surgery fee).

I'll be going to bed right after Seinfeld (8:00 pm). I've done the 3 am thing before, that's actually the time that Sparky first wakes me up anyway every morning with his meeowwwing request for fresh food! :lol:

Eye candy!!!
 

Just a little May eye candy...saw this posted at one of my equine boards and couldn't resist (even with the misspelled last name).

http://awhitehorse.i.master.com/texi...002/Tammen.jpg

:eek: :love:

Nice stallion huh?!? :lol:

(Okay I confess...I'm a Patrick Swayze fan...how could you resist a guy who is incredibly graceful, looks to die for, and loves Arabian horses to boot?!?)

hi all

just an "im not dead" post
nothing terribly interesting on my end of the world. ate badly last week so must do better this week. still losing inches by the looks of things tho.

Tidey

Hello Ladies,

I am new to the LWL as of last week -- when I got some wonderful responses to my plea for help about soreness.

I have been working hard to combat the symptoms of PCOS since March 5th. My first goal was to be off all meds -- whoich I have now accomplished through proper diet, exercise and herbs. I have also lost 20 lbs. and dropped one size. From the beginning, I have tinkered with weights, but nothing major. Last week, I started kicking it up a notch and today started a new program from Bill Pearls' book which kicked my patootie. I LOVED IT!!

I have a lot of weight to lose -- I started at 290; am now at 270 and want to get to 150. I am very committed, though. Something clicked in me in March and it is for real this time.

I am eating according to what I have found works for me -- very little sugar, 50% high quality carbs; 25% high quality protein; 25% high quality fats. I eat about 2000-2200 calories a day.

I do cardio daily (except I just decided to take Sundays off), usually walking or biking (mostly biking) or bellydancing on rainy days. Before I did ab crunches daily and door poush-ups and some bi-cep curls and tri-cep curls. Now i have a whole arsenal of 16 strength training things to do M-W-F from Bill Pearl (all with dumbells -- since we cannot afford a gym right now).

My main motivation is that DH and I are expecting 2 children through the process of adoption. We have been working to bring our children home since last February. The first year was very tough (especially since we had already had 2 failed adoptions up to then) -- not a good time to try and lose weight. But now I am ready to ge tto where I will enjoy my family and be able to play with them and be active with them (our daughter, BTW, is 3 tomorrow and our son is 19 months. They are currently in an orphanage in Haiti -- where i have been 3 times to visit). PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) can sap the enrgy out of a person, but I have so much energy now that I have been eating clean and exercising.

So that is me. I LOVE the LWL part of 3fc and look forward to learning so much more from you all.

OH -- Meg...try adding maybe a tablespoon of cinnamon to your marinara and a little red pepper

Peace,
Paula

With Tidey - I am not dead either....

But soooo tired!

JC

Hi Paula,

Welcome. How wonderful that you are experiencing so many life changes at the same-adopting and losing weight. This is the best place to be for inspiration and encouragement. Everyone is so friendly and knowledgeable that I get inspired in a new way each and every day. Like you, I still have a lot of weight to lose-it’s exactly 100 lbs to my goal weight and being a part of this forum has given me the drive to really push for my fitness goals. Believe me, the feeling is contagious and it will have the same influence on you.

Congratulations on your pending adoptions. I love to hear adoption success stories, so please keep us informed of your progress. I know first hand how stressful the adoption process can be (hubby and I tried to adopt in the past) and totally agree with you that it’s very hard to focus on losing weight or anything else for that matter while going through the process. IMO, it's as if your entire life is frozen in time until you can hold your child in your arms. Hope you are able to bring you little ones home soon.

Sel

Welcome Paula! It is a pleasure to meet you and hear about your exciting family. When do you expect to be able to bring your sweethearts home? They will be a wonderful focus for you as you lose your weight.

Don’t even think about how much you have to lose or how long it will take because you are changing your life forever. You WILL reach your goal weight, but the journey never ends, so, as Sel quotes: “Fall in love with the "process" and the rest will take care of itself.” I’m coming up on the one-year anniversary of losing 122 pounds and I know I’ll never gain it back because I did precisely that — I fell in love with the process. The fat, unhappy 257-pound Meg is gone forever (I can’t even remember what I looked like without photos — isn’t that strange!). Now I can’t imagine living my life any other way and I hope that you will feel that way too. Enjoy every minute of the journey!

MrsJ … ummm … is the eye candy the horse or the hunk???

Thanks for the marinara suggestions. I will try them all. Finally I have perfected (to my tastes) BBQ sauce, so on to marinara. For the All-Clad fans, it is made here in the Pittsburgh area and once or twice a year they have a scratch-and–dent sale where you can pick it up at a huge discount. It is often in almost perfect shape. Anyone want to visit for the next sale?

I did a super shoulder workout with the trainer today. We tried doing most exercises seated (overhead presses, side laterals, front raises, shrugs) and it makes some a lot harder (like side laterals). It takes all the back out of the motion and also the little knee dip I tend to do. We did the rear delts standing, though. Then abs. Tomorrow will be back and calves and cardio.

Bummer on the contacts, Deb. I love my two-week bifocal ones because when I do something like that (frequently), I can grab a fresh one and not feel too bad. And I can read the small print, which is a big deal for us old ladies!

Meg

Meg, just going through your posts, I am a glorified cook, not quite a chef but close. Everything in your sauce is right, I don't remember if you put garlic in it, but that is necessary, a little fennel seed, parsley, and some parmesan cheese, it needs to simmer at least an hour, I sometimes find I put some extra sugar in, it cuts some of the bitterness. I don't use recipes so I can't tell you how much exactly. It's all by taste. oh also green pepper and onion . sauted in a little olive oil. Mushrooms if you like.
I have started BFL a few weeks ago, I feel great. Need alot of work though.

hey everyone ! good to hear that mostly everything is just fine.

Deb -- what a bummer about the contact ! but you do need new ones anyway so this just might be a blessing is disguise.

Meg -- i would throw a bit of sweet paprika in that sauce, along with a pinch of cumin...... but then we have a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern kitchen here :D

Karen -- working out at 3am ? okay, who am i to talk when i sometimes get up and work at that hour ! good luck with the early meeting.

Paula -- you are soooooo impressive ! please keep us updated on the adoption. i'm sure that everything will turn out just fine this time and that soon you'll be holding your precious children.

Tidey -- you just keep plugging through those great workouts and the questionable eating will even itself out! you're doing great :D

i'm still in pain. seems that everytime i get on the computer something different hurts. i guess that's better than everything hurting all the time :eek:

i'm working out real good and eating super great too. i've been following BFL eating and doing 2 upper body and 2 lower body workouts per week, plus tons of cardio. i'm in super PMS mode right now so i don't see any weight loss this week, but i feel wonderful and i have tons of energy and that's what's important to me.

okay...... gotta go take my little munchkins to school :D

have a great tuesday everyone!

adriana

I did it! I ate 100% clean yesterday! :D :D

I know I can do it, so I intend to! hehe

I also manged to keep my calories low (its the day after free day) so Im pretty pleased with myself.

Today is UBWO and cardio (missed yesterdays due to chiropractor appt. and school) Im definately seeing more muscles in my arms and legs but waiting for the fat to leave is making me a crazy woman. Ah well *shrug*

Anyways, off to get some breakfast!

food.. right.. Meg! I would add tomato paste and parmesan. I would also go to "allrecipies dot com" and do a search for marinara and compare your recipie to the ones there. Might give you more ideas :) Sorry I cant link it, but it is a commercial site.

Tidey

good for you Tidey :D

we've all seen the great things that you're doing with yourself so we have no doubt that you'll keep doing the same :D

have a great day,
adriana

Hello Irish! Welcome to the board!

A brand new set of All Clad is in my future as well. I'm looking at the different sets now. I see that All Clad makes Emerial Lagasse's workware as well so I'll be pricing those too.

The quandry is, stainless? Non stick? Copper bottom? what to choose??!!!

I stuck to the 13wk hardcore diet plan yesterday by the book, day one and while the plan to me is bland and boring, foodwise, I'm already less bloated soo...as for blandness, I'll have to spice up the selections and make it more tasty. Mel said I'm probably spoiled by the huge variety of the BRX plan and no doubt I am. I'd not vary from BRX if I didn't need a faster way to shed the fat and when this wedding dress deal is over, I'm going back to BRX and finish my fat loss slowly and methodically.

Being a planwhore as I am and trying nearly all of them out there, for me, BRX w/SPII thrown in will most likely work for me as a lifestyle. I'm not going to be a bodybuilding competitor..(do they have the menopausal 'don't ef' w/me category yet?), I just want to be strong and healthy.

But vanity is playing a part here..I will NOT wear a fat girl wedding dress!!!

Have a good and healthy day everyone. Keep your eye on the prize.

All-Clad
 

Only time for a real quicky before I run to work.
Workouts-great

Eating- could be better, not the plan's fault, but mine. Will I ever GROW UP???

All-Clad: I bought a full set of circulon professional about 5-6 years ago, which is now dying and I don't like it now anyway. I've been getting a few calphalon pro non-stick whenever they have the "try me" sales. I'd love to pick up some All-Clad on sale so MEG- when they have the next sale, let me know! It's probably worth the drive across the state! Besides, then I could meet you too :)

Mindi- I live about 2 miles from a QVC outlet (and the QVC headquarters). The outlet has the emeril line (copper bottom, 18/8 stainless) REALLY cheap! Let me know if there's a particular size you want to try and I can send it to you. I think they have the whole 11 pc. set now for $ 128. I didn't know all-clad made it. I may go back and take a second look. It's in the same shopping center as my gym. Very convenient.
OK, off to work (YUCK!)

mel

good morning all,

loved the swayze photo - went home and watched dirty dancing. it is so HOT in our building today. i hope i don't fall asleep at the computer.

i have always been resigned to the fact that i lose in the winter and gain in the summer, but never really put a lot of thought into why. however, i don't want to repeat this so i need to plan for this. my little diva is trying out for an all-competition cheer squad and we were out so late at practice. i ate before i left work but by 7:00 PM, the machine was growling for food. the kids were also hungry and it is easy to grab some junk to tie us over till we get home. so any suggestions on food that i can keep in the car that is still healthy would be appreciated. on practice days we are out and about until around 7:45 PM.

Tik: Get a COOLER! Pack it with what you would normally eat at those times. I do a lot of week-end traveling and schlepping kids around, and couldn't live without one. I've got at least 3 sizes: the one meal, the couple of meals, and the all week-end size. It's amazing how long you can live out of a cooler. I pack chicken breasts, oatmeal pancakes, apples, cut veggies, cold sweet potatoes, pp shakes, hard boiled eggs already shelled.... Not only can you live out of it, almost all these can be eaten while driving, and I drive a stick shift.

mel

Welcome Paula!!! :wave: Congrats on your success so far and on your growing family!

My top weight was 282.5 (lost 127) and I agree with what Meg says. I love the lifestyle changes I've made. It's an amazing journey we're on. Enjoy it!

re: cookware ~ I swear by Ultrex from HSN! It's got a lifetime guarenteee and is the #1 selling cookware in the world. You can get the same thing in good stores under different brands but you'll pay a lot more for it. I finally broke down and tried it a few yyears ago when I got tired of going through cheap cookware so fast.

Karen, both my DBs one SIL have had the surgery. I'd love it someday.

Meg, I like the idea of disposables, but I've been told that my eyes are too bad and I'll see better with gas-permeables. I've got an appointment for an exam & new contacts on Monday. They've come out with some new kinds of bifocal contacts, so hopefully I'll be able to see better than with these.

No tips onm the marinara sauce. I've never made it! :eek:

Tidey, isn't it amazing how motivating that one clean day can be? Congrats! Keep it up!

Mindi, I agree with you on the plans. I think we're all planwhores at heart! But for longterm I'll most likely do the same as you-BRx with SPII ideas.

I'm a lot less bloated today, too. Now to keep the scale continuing it's downward trend at a steady pace!

I am hoping to be able to help you shop around for that dress in Chicago sometime this summer!

Mel, I noticed you live in WC and thought of the emeril line!

BTW, did you get my e-mail about coconut oil a while back?

Tiki, definitely get a cooler! You can take whatever you want that way.

Got a new lead on a job at the Children's Home Society. I'd prefer working with geriatrics, but I've got experience with kids. Maybe this will work out.

I talked to my boss about more hours. He says he will work on the scedules next week. He'd better. I've seen the schgedule for the next 3 weeks and I'm not happy. Someone else makes up the schedule, though. Things need to change fast. We lock the gate on the store at closing by sliding a lock over with one foot. All my shoes are mules and fall off when I try to do it. The manager told me I need different shoes and I told him to give me more hours so I can afford them!! He laughed and siad ok! :)

I don't work today, but I've got lots to do. Running around, shopping for a new answering machine, among other things. I wanted to get a scanner, but it that has been put on hold because of the contacts. Lots of housework to do and spinning tonight!

...ooops! Just got a call from work! They want me to come in tonight. If I can get a ride home I will. THe bus won't pick me up with this short notice.

Deb

Grrrr!

Anyone want an extra mother? I'll pay S&H and throw in 5 lbs. of protein powder free!

Deb !! LOL -- one mother and four daughters is more than enough estrogen for me ;)

besides, i can be a mother to about 1,000 other people myself :eek: !!

i'll take the protein powder though :D :D

take care,
adriana, *swimming in estrogen and looking for more testosterone*

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

I just finished eating the best meal-nuked white potato seasoned with saltsense, black pepper & cumin, breakstone cottage cheese and a little kuchela on the side for added flavor. Kuchela is a Trinidadian condiment made with mango, vinegar, vegetable oil and hot peppers. Just a little goes a long way because it's rather spicy.

Meg, You are tempting me so much with the All-Clad sale. What is the usual mark-down and when do the sales take place? Have to behave though, hubby and I are planning to spend Old Year's Night (New Year's) in Key West.

Deb, I'll take the protein powder. Oh, BTW my mother swears by Ultrex from QVC. We had a rather heated discussion about the differences between Ultrex and All-Clad and finally agreed to disagree. Good luck with the interview.

Tika, I am the opposite of you-gain in the winter and lose in the summer due to all the extra activity. Getting a cooler seems to be a good idea.

Mindi, You will luv All-Clad. They handle high heat, especially when cooking on a gas stove, amazingly well. Everything cooks evenly and the pots are easy to clean up. I stay away from copper pots because of the constant cleaning to keep them looking new. I cannot abide grundy looking pots and pans. IMO, they totally detract from the flavor of the food.

Hello to everyone else. Have a great day.

Sel

Am I the only one here who isn't into cookware?!?
 

For my wedding (almost five years ago already!) I asked for TOWELS. I'm a towel freak. :lol:

Mel - I must admit to being a former QVC junkie... ;) I used to watch it ALL the time...this was around 4 years ago I think. I ordered sooo much stuff...I lived for 9:00 pm when the "Today's Special Value" would first appear (on the West Coast that is). My favorite QVC 'shows': AM/PM Style (do they still have that cute girl - I think her name was Lisa - doing those shows?); Denim & Co.; In the Kitchen with Bob; and those Breyer horse shows (I used to collect those Breyer horses back when I was a kid...no room now :( besides those models cost a mint nowadays!).

Speaking of horses...glad y'all liked the Swayze pic...from all I've heard, he's a great guy (I heard this from my sister and BIL, who met him while he was filming "Letters from a Killer" in Ione - before breaking both his legs...) and his wife Lisa is a super sweetie! Maybe I'll run into him at a horse show one of these days...

There is a rather interesting story behind that photograph...from one of the horse boards I frequent...

So much for crazy Arabian stallions!!

Meek wave!
 

Hello all,

I thought I'd peek in here since I hardly ever post with you guys. You're all such an inspiration. I still such a newbie to the whole weightlifting thing.

Robin - I caught the Director of our Non-Profit (the BIG WIG) stealing my lunch for a VIP that was visiting. I was so livid I lit into her like nobody's business. Her response was, "Well, you're name wasn't on it." My response was, "Did you bring it in? Was your name on it? Then it wasn't yours! Grow up!" I was very angry because I thought I was an adult now and didn't have to worry about people stealing my lunch.

Deb - I'll trade you one wicked step mother for yours. She's 29. Gotta love a step mom only 2 years older than me. :rolleyes:

I think I'm going to start swimming again. I used to swim on a team in high school but stopped once I got into college because I wasn't good enough to compete.

I have a human society walkathon this saturday (I'm even skipping my philosophy class to do it). I'm very excited and one of my dogs is going to accompany me. Woo hoo!

Ahem! Goddess Jessica!
 

Since when do goddesses do anything "meekly?" :lol: Seems to me that a goddess should be imperial or regal or supercilious or something other than "meek" ... :D

Now that you are a Lady Who Lifts, you have to jump up and down and wave your arms over your head to catch our attention (the better to work those triceps, ya know ....)

Meg

Hello girls!! :wave:

Contacts v. glasses Because of the Keratoconus I have, eyes are a very sensitive issue for me.... In hindsight I would never ever tamper with my eyes, whatsoever, whether it is wearing contact lenses or laser surgery (there is NO WAY I would ever get the surgery, although I CAN’T). Eyes are just too sensitive an area to play around with. I presently wear gas permeable contact lenses, not by choice, but because this is the only type of lenses, I can wear, and glasses aren’t even an option because I can’t see with them at all....Here is the link to a site I visit frequently: http://www.kcenter.org/news/what_is_keratoconus.html Don’t read the whole thing but just the first few paragraphs to give you an idea..... It’s truly a disease that is a pain in the butt!! Also in a few years, I will need a corneal transplant... FUN!!

Karen I don’t think the cornea can thicken, but I will ask my specialist next time I see him, I’m curious myself... Karen fear not I am NOT into cookware either, although I love to cook..... I had no idea what All-Clad was either, I was going to ask the question, BUT today I saw some in a specialty boutique my Mom and I went into.... It is really nice stuff, but........ don’t think I would ever spend that kind of money on cookware, but there are plenty of other things I would spend my money on...:lol:
Oh and Karen the Swayze pic..... Yikes!!!

JEC Nice to see you come up for air!!

Paula Welcome!! And Congrats on your new additions, how exciting it is....keep us posted... I’m with Meg... Don’t think about it ... Just Do It!!! ”Lifestyle” is the key word here....

Meg -- Do you have a specific recipe for your BBQ sauce? Tonite I made some broccoli in a way that I haven’t done in ages, and it was delish and extremely easy and quick. It’s a recipe I found in a Prevention mag years ago by Dr. Weil..... I love that guy!

Broccoli:

Bunch of broccoli
¼ c. water
1 T. olive oil
¼ tsp or to taste hot pepper flakes
pinch of salt
fresh garlic cut in large chunks or dry flakes

In a pot bring water, oil , pepper, salt and garlic to a boil, add broccoli and cover tightly, take off the stove, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Try it!! You like it!! :lol:

My friend has a great Marinara sauce, I will get the recipe from her and post it in the recipe section.... she adds capers and black olives I think to hers ....

Adrianna -- I had to get the carpal tunnel surgery on both hands a few years ago... They are fine now but if I used the mouse and click, too much in a sitting I still get achy.... I was to the point that I could not feel the weights in my hands anymore.... Very scary in the gym when you have 35-40 lb and are doing dumbbell presses!!!

Deb Hope the boss give you more hours!! Good vibes going your way on the new job prospect too...

Well I guess I’ve babbled long enough.... Had an EXCELLENT food day, 50,30,20 on the nose almost... and the EDT workout was PERFECT too....

Later all....

Hey guys,

Well this week I thought that I could get more mouse time on here but it looks like it ain't going to happen in the end. My Dad is sick - his cancer has flared back up again and things are tough right now. I may have to go to Melbourne to see him before things get worse. Sorry to be a bummer.....

Take care everyone

JC

JC!! Hope you're Dad's okay!!! I know we're all thinking of you!! :grouphug: :(

Ilene - actually my optometrist didn't exactly SAY it would happen...but I wear (or was wearing :) ) gas-perm lenses which are basically a hard lens...eww...I would love to be able to wear those disposable ones. One of the reasons I DON'T wear contacts more often is having to disinfect and clean those things. Glasses, well, you just take off and polish 'em a bit. Anyway, he didn't hold out much hope, but said it was worth a shot - to wear my contacts as little as possible and see if my corneas improved. I know at least 4 people right off the bat - including my mom and my boss - who have had the surgery and don't regret it for a second! They've been doing it so long that they've got it down (yup, I know there's errors made sometimes...but the success % is VERY high). I remember the first article I read about eye surgery, it was RK back then, where they basically used a scalpel and cut the eye up like an orange...it was an article in Health Magazine about the surgeon in Russia who had like an assembly line going...pretty scary let me tell you! :yikes:

Another PERFECT day...even with getting up at 3 am this morning! But nice and quiet in the gym...just about five other people on the second floor (where I spend most of my time). I can already feel myself fading...

YOU GUYS ARE ON A COOKWARE AND COOKING JAG AND YOU'RE ALL MAKING ME VERY, VERY HUNGRY...fortunately just in time for Meal #5 so I'm going to EAT!!!

:s:

JC - Prayers are with you and your Dad.....

JC -- my prayers for your father and your family during these difficult times.

ILENE -- thank you for sharing your carpel tunnel experience with me. i know a few people who've had the surgery, with different results. i'm nowhere near needing any kind of surgery and i'm going to do my best to keep away from it for the rest of my life :eek:

KAREN -- a 3am workout is incredible dedication !! thanks for the tid-bit on the picture :D

COOKWARE -- uuuugggghhhhh !! i've been cooking for too many people for too many years and the thought of cookware and/or cooking makes me nauseous !! i do like to cook, but who cares what i cook it in? whatever i cook comes out good ;) i'm not sure at all that highly expensive cookware actually makes food taste better; i've got some SUPER expensive stuff in my kitchen and food comes out exactly the same as it does in the super-duper cheap stuff that i've bought at the big markets in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. it's more a matter of the quality of the ingredients than the cookware.


no weights yesterday since the gym was closed. today i'll be doing legs and swimming afterwards :D :D they close early today because of the holiday so i should get my butt in gear here.

food has been great ! i'm happy with the way that i've been able to stick with the 40/40/20 way of eating. it really does work the best for me and it's something that is easy to follow from meal to meal.

hope you all have a wonderful wednesday :

adriana

Good morning! I was so tired last night that I hit the sheets at 8:30 PM! But it meant that I got eight hours of sleep before DH’s alarm went off, so this is almost a record — and it feels great! Note to self: sleep is good ...

Contact lenses: my interesting experience with contacts — I wore the original hard lenses, then gas perms for 30 years. When I started with the trouble reading little print (early 40s), I switched to the soft two-week disposable bifocal lenses. I LOVE them — they are much more comfortable than the gas perms and never accidentally go flying out of my eye. But the interesting thing is that apparently the hard lenses had reshaped my eye (my cornea?) and actually improved my vision because in the four months following the switch, my prescription gradually went from a -7.5 to a -9.5 (which made it **** to be able to see on a regular basis!) My ophthalmologist said that this is not unusual after wearing hard lenses for a length of time So my experience was that my eyes got worse, not better without the lenses. (keep in mind that most people are not as near-sighted as I am) (side note: DH is a –13.5!!! We never should have been allowed to marry and have — yep, you guessed it — very near-sighted children). BTW, Karen, with the two-week lenses, you don’t have to clean and disinfect — just take them out, squirt solution over, and store them until the next day, more solution, and pop them in. (I use a solution called “Complete” that does it all).

I will watch for the future All-Clad sales and let everyone know. They have one sale site at a huge racetrack (Karen can come for the horses!) near their factory in Canonsburg, but also at selected local cooking stores in the area. I would love to have all of you come to Pittsburgh for an All-Clad party! I’m with Sel and would avoid the copper — it is a huge pain to take care of. I originally got the fry and sauté pans with the nonstick interiors, but the regular finish cleans up so nicely that I’m not sure that nonstick is necessary (but they’re great for my egg whites and pancakes etc). I think that if you are into deglazing for sauces etc. you might want the regular finish. I think they’ve come out with a new line: MC2? I don’t have any experience with the Emerilware but it is cheaper.

Tidey — I really like allrecipes.com, too. They have the usual ones that use cake mix or canned soup (snob that I am, I refuse to use either) but they also have some very interesting ones. There’s one for Reese’s PB cup cookies that is one of the best cookie recipes of all time, and one called Cowboy Potatoes (I think) that everyone flips over (mashed potatoes with cheese, jalapenos, and corn). Oh, and the best biscotti recipe ever (Biscotti Toscani). Congrats on eating clean for a day — I think it gets easier as each day goes by.

My abs are totally killing me — I did them with a friend on Monday and he put me through some nasty stuff. Today is chest and abs again(!) and lots of cardio.

Later!
Meg

PS -- another great quote, Sel!

Hello girls!! :wave:

Meg -- My gosh Mel we’re in the same boat.... I too wore the original hard contact lenses for 30 years till 3 years ago when they discovered the KC... Yep my cornea was reshaped by the hard contact lenses too... but would not go back to it’s original shape when I stopped wearing them, this is when they discovered the KC... KC develops in your teens most of the time, but because I was wearing hard lenses, they were chalking up my misshaped cornea to the hard contact lenses, but in turn, the hard lenses were helping me see along because they would flatten the cone... I also attribute the KC to allergies and eye rubbing, I used to rub my eyes after taking my lenses out soooooo much, gosh, when I think about it I cringe... SO don’t rub your eyes girls, I flip-out a bit when the kids rub their eyes.... Hubby and I are both near-sighted too Mel!! DH isn’t that bad but I am terrible, and I can’t remember what my numbers are, but we have a digital clock with 3 inch numbers about 8 feet from the bed, and I cannot see it at all.... D wears glasses and S has perfect vision so far...

Karen -- The problem that I can see with the eye surgery is that they slice off some cornea, and many people at the forum of the site I visit, have had the operation and now they have KC!! Because their doctors didn’t see the thinning cornea, and KC develops after the operation..... I also wonder what will happen with most folks who have had this operation when they are in their 60’s and cataracts develop and they have a thinner than normal cornea. But the technology by then will be so advance that I suppose it will be just fine....
Karen are you almost done CKD? How did it go? Let us know enquiry minds wanna know!!
AND, where are those pics of your new and improved butt and legs??? :lol:

I didn’t go to the gym this morning, the EDT program I am following you need to take a break so I take mine on Wednesday, but I have Yoga tonight and I always enjoy that... Also if the weather can clear up I will go biking...

Later all have a good day...