OHMYGOSH! Did I ever blow it this week! This morning was my WI and I gained 1.8 lb. GAAAAH! I know that what I ate yesterday probably hasn't had time to affect today's weight, but I'm sure the two pieces of cake I had before bed last night can't have helped.
Anyhow, I took this morning's lecture to heart about Red Light foods and I'm not going to allow any more of them in my house. I also listened to another member who has had fantastic weight loss (75 pounds since last September) and on my way home I stopped at a greengrocer and bought a lot of low point veggies. Washed and cleaned them all and they are sitting in my fridge to be noshed on when the snacking urge hits me. I'm not really crazy about the dip I threw together with non fat yogurt and salsa. The salsa made the yogurt curdle so it doesn't look very pretty. This same person walks every day, rain, snow or sun. This is something I KNOW I should be doing too but I just can't seem to get my rear in gear. :?: How do people get motivated. I might do it once or twice and then lose momentum. Same with weight lifting and riding the bike at the gym. I need somebody to boot me in the caboose every day. Any volunteers? :lol:

Where is everybody? I'm rattling around all alone in here.

Hey Linda,

I'm here but the weather's been really nice so I'm trying to
garden, and do some birding, and spend some time outside with the dog, etc.

Doing my best to stay OP over the US holiday weekend.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

5:30 AM: time to go birding with some friends, then off to a parade!

I've been having computer problems so haven't been online nearly as much. My weightloss challenge material arrived, as did my Firm tapes (finally!) the challenge starts a week from today so I'm trying to gear up mentally. Have started easing into drinking water again and have noticed that I'm starting to crave healthier food like fruit and vegies again.

I've also posted some of my old exercise tapes for sale on eBay -- still working on eliminating clutter from my life. I've got Leslie Sansone's Walk Off Weight at Home, a set of beginning tapes from the Yoga Zone, and Groovin' in the House by Richard Simmons for sale under the seller name of MamaDobbs, if anyone wants to check them out. There have been a couple bids but the price is still under $5 so they'd be a real good bargain for somebody!

Working today transcribing tapes of a meeting -- yuck! boring! But it's one of my favorite clients so I felt obligated ...
Donna

Nice to know I'm not alone after all.
It's been very humid around here today. I did a couple of hours weeding my veggie garden. (Still haven't planted anything in it) I was red as a beet and sweating like an old plow horse. It's raining now but it still feels very muggy.
I went to a Weekender fashion party tonight and was able to buy a few things in a smaller size so that felt good. Too bad the price wasn't smaller as well. ;) Happily I managed to avoid the goodies the hostess had set out except for a piece of melon and a cracker. No big deal. So far I'm still on track this week and getting lots of water.
I know how easily I can lead myself astray and realize that I must be ever vigilant against my natural instinct (which is to pig out).
This morning I went to the pool and put in a good hour of fairly vigorous exercise. That plus two+ hours in the garden sweatin' should be worth a few points in my favor.

Today's menu (for anyone who's interested)
Breakfast
5 point breakfast cookie (a new purchase for me and very yummy)

Lunch
2 hi fiber bread
1 oz turkey
1 slice f.f. proc. cheese
a dab of light mayo
lettuce and tomato
raw veggies
4 points

Snack
Angel Food Cake
Strawberries
Light Cool Whip
4 points

Dinner
3 oz chicken breast
1/2 cup rice
zucchini, mushroom & tomato sauce
6 points

Snack
2 Wasa crackers
1 tbsp light Philly
2 pt

Total for day - 21 points
Forgot to add in for small piece of melon but I dont think it's very much.

I'm low on points today but no doubt I'll make up for it tomorrow. LOL

I'm back! I've been in a slump with WW and so busy otherwise that I haven't gotten downstairs to the computer in what seems a long time.

Work has been so crazy with the promotion and finishing old tasks and taking on new ones. Plus its been rather draining due to my boss for most of the last 14 years had decided to go part time and telecommute from Colorado. Last Thursday was his last day. A lot of feel like we lost our mentor but we're so happy for him to be stepping back and going home to where his heart is. I'm on vacation this week trying to relax.

I've finished phase 1 of the landscape project. I've got almost all the stones in place. I only have to cut a few to finish off that part. Now just have to figure out how to do that. Then its filling in the dirt and topping off with bark or stones. I have a futon frame about 1/3 of the way into a staining project and one of the bedrooms almost half painted. No rest for the wicked I guess!!

Our horse had her baby a couple of weekends ago. Mom's horse had hers at the same time. So there are two baby fillies that are so cute. Ours is named Glory. She's kind of a sorrel/orange with a white stripe down her face and a huge white blanket and white spots on her butt. She is most definitely an appaloosa. Mom's is a beautiful smokey gray. We've gone down to the farm the last three Saturdays to see the babies and help Mom & dad with the work.

Otherwise, I'm just trying to get caught up with everything around the house so that I can sit down at the computer and keep up with my online journal and here.

Starting today, I'm trying to get refocused on WW and hopefully start losing again.

I better get onto my next project or two. Have a great OP day!

Morning, all!

Today I'm back to my regularly scheduled life. California was very fun - I did some shopping in La Jolla on Saturday which included buying the absolutely coolest sock yarn! Its a German wool which knits up in a pattern when you make a sock that requires casting on with 60 - 70 stitches. I can't even explain how neato this is! Wow!

Today I'm skipping breakfast (bad me) because I anticipate a long, fun lunch with a friend and want the points for that. We'll probably have sandwiches and soup and frozen yogurt for dessert. Dinner tonight is likely to be Taco Bell - which will keep me under points if I don't snack too much. I need to get on the ball with my "watch what you eat" stuff because I know my weight will creep up otherwise.

Lots to ship today (our first shipping day in over a week) and more to prepare to list on Amazon and our website. Busy, busy, busy.

It looks like we won't get the kids back until next week (at the earliest) as my folks are enjoying them too much. My teen is going in to get her back checked (which has needed to be done for ages but we can't afford it - so my mom has decided to do it while she's there). She has a definite curve in the upper back - but its a forward curve (so she's always hunched over by a bit). I had a friend in high school who spent 6 months in a children's hospital with surgeries for a very similar looking condition (keeping in mind that I was a teen and so my perception of her illness may not match what was really happening). I'm worried - and have been for quite some time - but I'm even more scared of what happens if she needs significant (read: EXPENSIVE) care. Yikes.

I know some of us are struggling now, some are succeeding beyond all expectation. Thank you all for sharing that. :)

recipes!
 

Here are two recipes I tried this weekend.

Rigatoni Al Forno (a twist on mac and cheese and its a WW recipe)
12 oz rigatoni
3/4 cup reduced-sodium tomato sauce
1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half
1/4 cup shredded part-skimm mozzarella cheese
2 TBSP part-skim ricotta
2 TBSP crumbled gorgonzola cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Spray 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray.
2. Cook the rigatoni according to package directions; drain and keep warm.
3. Combine the tomato sauce, half-and-half, mozzarella, ricotta, and gorgonzola cheeses in a medium bowl. Add the hot pasta and toss to coat. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared baking pan and bake until bubbly and browned on top, about 7 minutes. Serve at once.

WW points = 5

Serves 6


This one I got from the new issue Taste of Home's Light & Tasty and its very good!

Strawberry Chiffon Pie

1 pkg sugar free strawberry gelatin (.3 oz)
3/4 cup boiling water
1-1/4 cup cold water
1 cup reduced-fat frozen whipped topping, thawed
2-1/4 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 reduced-fat graham cracker crust

In a large bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate until slightly thickened. Fold in the whipped topping and 2 cups of strawberries. Pour into the crust. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until set. Garnish with the remaining berries.

Makes 8 servies
1 piece = 138 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g fiber (adjust for your ingredients)

Hello all;
 

Hey Terri, I too am a horse person. CONGRATS on the new babies. This is such a fun time, isn't it? Mine is 2 now, so no longer a baby, although he sure is a youngster still. I have a Freisian/Morgan cross, so he is a registered Freisian Sport Horse. OUT of LENA WI. All black in color. And very Freisian in appearance. He goes for training in the fall for a 6 week stay, then a follow up in the spring as a 3 year old, and then I get him.... LOL. I am doing the ground work with him, but I want him finished with a real trainer. HE is gentle, loving and real intelligent. HE learned how to play fetch with me last week. What fun! HE takes a bit, saddle and ties well. I don't ride him yet, as he is still a baby! One reason I am setting a WW goal now is to ride him and be more forgiving on his back come spring. And for my health of coarse. I did well my first week on program. I lost, but no official weigh in til later this morning. I am not at work today, as my daughter and I are going to Fox River Mall in Appleton to shop for her Florida trip. She can't find what she likes around here. She is leaving for 2 whole months, and she is the last fledgling to leave my nest. SO today is special for me. I do have to run now, but wanted to check in and say HI.... kurly:)

My goodness, what interesting, busy lives you all have. I feel positively boring in comparison.
Horses yet!!! I've always loved the look of them....from a distance. The few times I've ever ridden one, we more or less went where the horse wanted to go, which was back to its nice warm stall and his oats. :lol: We did own a shetland pony mare when our kids were little and we had a couple of acres. She was a mean tempered thing though and the kids were scared of her. We had her bred twice to a purebred Arab stud and her foals were just gorgeous with that lovely Arab dished nose and fine conformation. They were bigger than their dam but smaller than their sire. Lovely sorrel with light manes and tails. We also had a quarter horse gelding who was very gentle but we didn't keep him long as he wasn't saddle broke and my hubby didn't have time to train him. Gee, that was a long time ago. How I used to love watching them racing up and down our field.

Hey, Determined, where do you get fat free half & half? I've checked all over our area and it's nowhere to be found. Of course, in Canada we often don't have the low fat products you get in the U.S. Just wondering if I could substitute fat free evaporated milk in that pasta recipe. BTW, I also get the Light & Tasty magazine and I saw that Strawberry Pie recipe but I've found that by tweaking the Key Lime Pie recipe we got from WW at the beginning of the year (in that menu pamphlet), I get a very nice strawberry (or any flavour) pie filling. Sometimes I make it with a crust for company and sometimes I just make it in a bowl for myself. Yummy stuff.

Bunny, good to see you back. Glad you had a good time. Too bad about your daughter's back. I don't know what to suggest except that you try to do whatever you can for her. Sometimes these things are best fixed while the bones are young. It is probably affecting her confidence too and we want our girls to grow up strong and sure of themselves. I realize expense is an issue but there really isn't anything more important than our health, is there? Not trying to make you feel guilty. We're so lucky in Canada that this kind of thing would be covered by our medical insurance (not sure how much longer though what with cutbacks, etc). Good luck.

Howdy!
 

Hello, Friends,:wave:

I'm here too and miss all you! Had a nice holiday weekend and birthday on Monday. Managed to lose another 3.5 pounds this week and am grateful for that. Love getting the recipes from y'all, especially desserts. More later.

Love,
Mel

264/244/237.5
mini-goal by summer
;)

Today SUCKED. Royally, totally, utterly.

*sigh*

Okay, so my mom sees her orthopedic specialist for a regular visit today and brings my teen along just to ask and see what we might be looking at. The doctor looks at her and orders x-rays immediately. "Thoracic kyphosis" - which appears to basically mean curvature of the back - is the obvious diagnosis (or symptom, depending on your point of view). The x-ray which shoes her spine from a dead-on back view is perfectly straight, aligned, looks great. From the side view, it looks like a giant spinal question mark. The "thoracic kyphosis" (HA! I'll call it a curve from now on) is serious enough to require (he suspects but didn't commit to it - he won't consider this an initial visit, recommends we find a juvenile or pediatric orthopedic surgeon in NC to see her next) both bracing and surgery. We're looking at tens of thousands of dollars (which is what I meant by expensive) with the potential of topping $100,000 by the time we're done if she requires PT post surgery. I'm headed down tomorrow to get insurance (sure, we can't spare the $100 a month, but we sure as heck don't have a spare $100,000 lying around). If worse comes to worse, we still have $20,000 coming to us from the sale of our house in Florida (we'd planned to use it as a down payment on another house but her back is infinitely more important).

I think I need a good cry. Then I'll be all better and ready to stay steady and helpful as my beautiful, wonderful, amazing daughter begins to face some of the short (not to mention long) term implications of this most recent turn of events. I mean, we're talking about putting a teen who is only just realizing how beautiful and special she is into a full pelvic-to-neck brace for *years*. Dammit.

All that and we don't know the "why" for the curve. That's for later, probably several doctor's visits, down the road.

Wow, I can't believe its Thursday already. My vacation is slipping away so quickly.

But first, Bunny you need a hug. I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter and how hard its going to be on her until this gets fixed. Yes, definitely get the insurance. Its amazing the small payments doctors will accept from insurance companies compared to what they bill if you don't. You must take care of your baby girl and be strong for her. We're here to be strong for you if you need us. You'll be in our prayers.

Linda - My grocery had Land O'Lakes fat-free half and half. I wouldn't see why you couldn't use the evaporated or even plain milk. The recipe is on the rich side (which is satisfying if you're craving that) with all the cheeses. Thanks for reminding me about the key lime pie recipe. I think I have that. I love those kinds of pie at this time of year because they are so cool and refreshing on a hot day.

Kurly - Your horse sounds like so much fun. I can't wait until we can get our two moved closer to home. Better yet, I can't wait until we can get our 5 to 10 acres. But alas, that's a few years off. After a difficult trail ride last year, I promised Ginger I'd lose 40 pounds before I did that to her again!!! That's why I have a very solid quarter horse. :lol:

Our garden is growing nicely. And the dogs have managed to leave it alone. I think Bear understands it when I tell him "do it and die" while Sadie just looks at me and walks away. She is definitely one bullheaded, bull in a china closet, bulldog. Bear prefers it when I leave her at the house when we walk!! :lol:

I haven't done as good with food as I had planned. But I have kept busy almost all day long. I have one bedroom painted with just a few touchups and the border left to do. The futon frame is about to kill me as its lots of crawling around on the floor. But I'm determined to get it whipped this week so I can move it upstairs when I get that bedroom finished. Plus I've been walking the dogs. I hope to get on the bike today. All that has to burn off points. At least with all this physical work I've been doing for the last month has helped me maintain and not gaining but I better get it back together soon. :o

Laundry is calling and I should get the dogs up and outside. Have a great OP day!!

Okay, I'm feeling better this morning. More I-am-woman-hear-me-roar, if you know what I mean. I had a good long cry (when I feel like I just need a cry to recover my equilibrium, I always have the cry in the shower under hot water so there's a time limit - I can't just cry all day, I'm done when the water's gone) and having vented that bit of out-of-control emotion I feel more in control. I'll get insured today, research the possibilities for pediatric and/or juvenile orthopedic surgeons (we're located only 45 minutes or so from the Billy Graham funded, internationally reknowned center for pediatric medicine) and get going on that.

I've finally lost (per my own scale, I'm pretty darn sure rejoining WW and paying weekly to be weighed isn't in the books right now) below the same 5 pounds I've yo-yo'd for months.

Today is all healthy food (as have been the days since we returned from LA). No exercise 'cause there's work to be done but I'll at least make time to walk a bit (park far from the buildings I visit today).

*whew*

Hello, Friends!:wave:

Bunny, I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter. I'll keep you both in my prayers and know you'll find the strength you need to get through this. Your daughter will need a lot of support; my brother broke his back in senior high school and had to start college and go through rush with a back brace and it was very hard for his self esteem. (Young people can be so cruel when anyone is "different"!)

Determined, What's you secret for keeping the dogs out of your garden? My dogs EAT my plants -- split leaf philodendrum, sweet olive, impatiens -- and DIG up any and all large plants -- sago palm, roses -- OY VEY! :s:

LindaBC, I'm with you -- boring:lol:! At camp the horses used to turn around and try to bite my feet :devil: or run full tilt back to the barn through bushes and branches :mad: ! I'll take a bicycle anyday!:lol:

Kurlytop, I do LOVE all animals though and horses too. (I just don't want to ride them!)

Hope everyone is fine and having a great day!

Mel