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Old 03-06-2001, 11:54 AM   #31  
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Lori, it was great to "see" you up there. (Not sure how I missed you earlier.) Good job on keeping off 50#; that's no small feat. I hope your shoulders, etc., feel better soon. And good luck with the cutback in sugar and caffeine over Lent! My tummy has definitely noticed the change in diet and doesn't quite know what to make of it. But this is nothing compared to how it will react on Easter when it gets reintroduced to all that meat and dairy again! You don't want details.

Woo-hoo, Lin! Eight pounds in a month is terrific. Being OP for all this time is even better. Way to go.

ITry, you're awfully close to that magical 199 number. That must be exciting. Your attitude sounds wonderful.

My attitude has definitely improved since I looked backward and took the bigger view. (That sounds like I just looked at my butt, doesn't it? )

I've decided to up my exercise to 4-5 times per week. That would be up to 220 minutes or so. At least two would be strength training combined with aerobics and the other two or three would be straight aerobics. I'm finding the strength training is really helping me feel more limber and, well, stronger. (Duh.)

And, weirdly, I'm looking forward to my workouts these days. I'm going to try not to think too hard about that.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
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Old 03-07-2001, 11:43 AM   #32  
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Hi,

Here's the basic soup recipe I promised:

Creamy Any Vegetable Soup

Recipe By : Linda Sprinkle
Serving Size : 8


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 pound frozen and/or fresh vegetables -- thawed and drained
1 medium onion, scallions, leek, shallots -- minced (optional)
1 clove garlic -- minced (optional)
1 pinch olive oil spray -- (optional)
4 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock
1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
1 pinch salt -- to taste
1 pinch pepper -- to taste
1 pinch herbs, spices, condiments, flavorings -- to taste

1. Saute onions and garlic, if using in a large saucepan sprayed with oil. For a flavor variation, some or all of the veggies also may be sauteed.

2. Add remaining vegetables, any desired seasonings, and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender.

3. If you want a totally creamy soup, puree all of the soup in the blender. Or use a stick blender right in the pot. If you want the soup thick and creamy, but still want vegetable chunks, puree half of the veggies. To use a stick blender, remove half of the veggies and puree the rest of the soup. Then add the chunks back to the pot.

4. Add the milk. If the soup has cooled too much, heat gently over low heat for a few minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.

NOTES : This basic recipe can also be used as a main dish by adding beef, ham, chicken, turkey, beans, lentils, cooked pasta or rice, and/or other cooked grains. Beans, small pastas (like orzo), rice, or potatoes also make the soup thicker without the addition of cream. Another way to make a great soup is to pour beaten eggs into the soup while you stir it in one direction to make threads of egg. Most people know it as an Asian recipe called "Egg Drop Soup", but it's also commonly made in Italy. It was one of my grandmother's recipes that I loved as a child.
Obviously, the point count varies depending on what you put in it, so when I make variations, I keep them in a file on MasterCook with the point count and serving size. I created a cookbook called "Point Counts" that just lists the ingredients and the point counts for food I make without a written recipe.

Copyright:
"2001"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thanks, Lauren. I have a suggestion that might help with your annual tummy issue. I've recently been recreating some of my recipes to omit part of the meat and adding some beans. I've also been using a couple of tablespoons of beans in salads a few times each week. And I've been eating more oatmeal and using more whole grains in my baking, etc. I'm doing this because it fills me up more and is a healthier way to eat. But I wonder if you try using more beans and vegetarian dishes throughout the year and if you taper off meat and dairy gradually before Lent and reintroduce them gradually at Easter your tummy might not react so strongly.

It's so great to hear about your exercise program. I know how you've struggled with exercise over the years. It's great to hear you say that you're starting to look forward to your workouts. Congratulations!

I'm still OP. It's taking a lot of work to stay OP, though. My family seems to be going through one of those inexplicable changes in their appetites that cause my well-laid plans to go awry. Sometimes I plan for leftovers and they eat the whole thing. So I make more. Then they leave it sit for days and days and I end up throwing out perfectly good food. There's no predicting it either. It's not particular recipes that they gobble up or leave. Often it's the same one. It just depends on their appetite at the time. So, I spend a lot of time adjusting my meal plans to accommodate what food happens to be available. I'm beginning to see why it's so hard for me to stay OP when I'm working or going to school. I just don't have the time to tweak my plan, do extra cooking, etc.

OTOH--I seem to do better with exercising when I'm working or going to school. I walk a lot more. This neighborhood is boring compared with my old neighborhood. The mall near my house is not very interesting. They don't even have a decent bookstore. They have two of them, but they're both really small and have a very limited selection of stuff to look at. The rest of the mall is clothing stores and fast food stuff. YUCK! Anyway, it's not a place I'm attracted to walking around. I'm looking forward to when they open the pool and I can swim. It's actually large enough to do laps, which is a real change from any other apartment complex I've lived in.

This new forum has a much better clue that the thread has gone over into multiple pages. Do you prefer that I continue to change threads when we get to 2 pages? Or ? I'd love an opinion on how often to switch to a new thread.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
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Last edited by Lin S; 03-07-2001 at 11:51 AM.
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Old 03-08-2001, 08:05 AM   #33  
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Having good days. Hope to hear from you all soon.
Newest Slo Turtle.
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Old 03-08-2001, 08:09 AM   #34  
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LIn,
Thanks for posting the creamy soup recipe. It looks great and I'm going to make a batch. We're expecting snow this weekend again.
Great advice about Lent and the changes in eating habits. Take care everyone and have a great day.
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Old 03-08-2001, 11:51 AM   #35  
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Hi,

I'm still OP. I'm facing a challenge the next two weeks. Due to one of those unforseeable circumstances, my food budget is about half normal for the next two weeks. I'll have to get creative, but it often seems as if no matter how much I cook, planning to stretch a recipe over two days, my sons get extra hungry and eat it all before the second meal! I'll survive. I always do.

I think I'm either facing a mild case of depression or the onset of menopause. I don't have the severe symptoms they talk about when they tell you what to look for if you're clinically depressed. But it's not usual for me to feel like going back to bed and doing nothing all day. I've always been able to find interesting stuff to do, even when I didn't have an outside job or classes to take. I have a bunch of interesting projects to work on, but I can't seem to get the mental energy going to do them. This is NOT me. Last night, I thought I was going nuts. I seriously considered packing my clothes into a backpack, getting on a bus, and leaving. I had no real plan, no destination, no resources. I just wanted to get away. I only thought about it for a few minutes, but it really scared me. This is NOT me, either. I was never one of those adolescents who just did stuff without considering the consequences. I kept my adventures fictional. Anyway, I'm calling today and making an appointment to see a doctor. I don't want to do nothing and have this get worse. Wish me luck, turtle buddies.

I hope things are going well for all of you. Lauren, I love your picture. I saw it on Dotti's forum and meant to tell you how flattering it is, but when I got to this thread the next day, I had forgotten what I wanted to say. (See how wierd I'm getting?) You're a really gorgeous woman and don't let anyone tell you otherwise! BTW--If you don't mind my asking, what's behind your handle on Dotti's forum?

Glad to see that you're having a great day, ITryHarder. Hope you like the soup. It's hard to dislike it becasue it's so customizable to individual tastes.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
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Old 03-08-2001, 04:54 PM   #36  
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Lin, thanks for the soup recipe. It looks great. I plan to try it right after Lent.

About the depression ... yeah, it could be hormonal, and you're smart to visit the doctor. But it seems to me that it isn't out of line with your current circumstances. You've had a pretty big upheaval recently which has kaboshed some plans you hold dear. You didn't want this change to happen; it was forced on you. You're not doing what you want right now. You're not where you wanted to be. You're in a new place that wasn't of your choosing. It's a lot.

Just moving alone is ranked up there in the top 5 life stressors. Add to that all the other factors, and it sounds to me you're ripe for fantasies of getting on a bus and leaving! I dunno; I think you'd be superwoman not to be feeling these things.

Also, as we get older, we get less resiliant in some ways. I've seen this happen -- things that would've rolled off your back when you were in your 20s become much harder to dismiss lightly when you're in your middle or later years. It makes sense; our brains age right along with the rest of us. My stepfather had struggled with depression on and off during his life, but it wasn't until he hit his mid-50s that it became life-threatening. (He literally couldn't move.) He now has to take medication.

So it could be that it will take you longer to bounce back than it once did, and that you just need to be patient with yourself and keep journaling. Talking to someone wouldn't hurt either.

But as you say, it never hurts to rule out hormones.

In any case, I'm thinking of you and rooting for you. I know when I moved to Michigan, I was depressed (not clinically, just down) for about a year. I didn't know anyone except my new husband; I didn't have a job; I'd left good friends and a good job and a city I adored in order to go to a dumpy, awful suburb on the border of Detroit. It was a very tough time. I gained a lot of weight, too. At least you're getting a good handle on that!

Thanks for the kind words about the photo. Nothing that a professional hairstylist and one of the happiest days of my life couldn't do! (It's from our wedding reception.) My handle over on Dotti's is "Twitchly." I sign my name to actual posts, though.

Lauren
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Old 03-08-2001, 05:28 PM   #37  
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Lauren,
Not only do I admire how pretty and happy you look, I also admire that you figured out how to get a photo onto your name for posting. It really personalizes you and makes it easy for me to connect with you. Thanks.
Lin, you're going to feel better. I'm so glad you are getting to a doc. I suspect I'm a lot older than you and went through instantaneous feelings like that that I am sure were hormonal for me when I was getting nearer to menopause. You are super smart to get to a doctor and see if there are physical causes behind this. Also there may be simple medicines that can help you out temporarily. Good luck.
As far as eating and your boys' appetites--will they eat split pea soup? I just bought a bag of peas for 49cents and the soup I made was so filling. So--good luck with everything. Take it easy on yourself and be kind to yourself. I'm thinking and praying for you.
Itryharder--aka Judy
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Old 03-09-2001, 10:50 AM   #38  
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Judy, here's how you get a picture of yourself up.

First, you need a small picture of yourself. It needs to be on your computer rather than on a paper photograph. If you know someone with a scanner, they could scan it onto a disk for you. My scanner is on the blink, or I'd offer to do it for you. Anyway, for these boards, you need to get the picture down to about 70 by 70 pixels. (A pixel is a unit of measurement on a computer screen.) I used a computer graphics tool to do this.

Next, you need to put the picture on a web site somewhere. If you don't have any space on the web, ask your friend with the scanner! :-) Many people have web sites that come with their email accounts. There's also a web site that will store your photo for free. I can't remember the name, but if you like I'll find out for you.

Finally, here on this board, you go up to "Profile" at the top of the screen. Then click on "Edit Options." Scroll down until you see the "Avatar" option. That's where you can select to use an "avatar" -- or a picture that represents you. You'll want to select "custom" and then type in the web site address of the place that's storing your photo. You'll also need to type the location of your photo. For example: http://www.mywebsite.com/myphoto.jpg

You can also just pick a cartoon to represent you and be your avatar. There are a bunch of them; you'll see them when you go to "Edit options." That way you can skip all of the above rigamarole!

If you have any questions, just ask.

--Lauren
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Old 03-09-2001, 11:52 AM   #39  
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Hi, Turtles,

Thank you both for your supportive posts.

Lauren, what you said about not being as resilient as I used to be--That kind of hit home because I keep expecting myself to pick up and move on, the way I used to. It's really thrown me for a loop that I can't seem to do that this time. I haven't given up, but I do think that a trip to the doctor is in order. I sure would hate to be miserable for months only to find out that part or all of it is physical. I think that if there is a physical component to this and I can get help with that, it will make it much easier to deal with the situation in general.

I knew that your handle was "Twitchly", but what I wondered was whether there was a story behind it or if you just got tired of trying to find a handle that no one else was using.

Judy, thanks for the split pea suggestion. We do love split pea soup and that's definitely one of the things I'll plan to make. French onion soup is another good one, but the cheese can be a point problem. I'm going to add some beans to the soup and limit the cheese to a smaller portion. Baked potatoes topped with stuff is another inexpensive meal I like to make.

The biggest problem is that I hate listening to them complain when we go more vegetarian due to budget constraints. I guess it's too much to ask for them to just eat what we can afford and stop complaining. Their complaints make me feel bad that I can't feed them what they want. But, if they plan meals they either choose junk or massive amounts of meat. Their veggie of choice is potatoes. If I let them do it, we'd blow through our budget in less than a week! A complete, balanced meal doesn't occur to them. They complain that they get "too hungry" if they don't get enough "protein" (meat or massive amounts of cheese). I feed them protein, just not always animal protein and I think their problem is all in their heads! It's that cave man thing!

Just for the record, I'm 47 years old. And I'm not unhappy about my age, per se. I do get bothered when a younger person dismisses me as being unworthy of even a simple, friendly conversation just because I'm his (it's usually a guy) mother's age. My defense? I talk video games and computers very knowledgably. It saved me when I worked in a place where all of the staff (except me and one other manager) was under 21.

I don't know how I'm managing to stay OP the way I feel this week, but I am. Probably because it's not PMS. Plus I'm determined to keep something under control. I'm sure that feeling like my life is out of my control has a lot to do with my present state of mind. But I do believe that I will eventually hit on something that will work to get me back on track with my life.

I don't want to come here and just spout depressed stuff. I'm doing pretty OK, considering. And I'm really pleased that I'm sticking with my healthy lifestyle. I believe that eating a healthy diet, exercising, etc. will help me cope with the rest of it. And I don't want to let that go. Have a great day, turtles!

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
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Old 03-10-2001, 11:12 AM   #40  
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Hi, Turtles,

I'm starting thread number 24 this morning. See you all there.

Lin
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