If you have 50 or more pounds to lose, jump on in and join us! You'll be sure to get a warm welcome!

Found this tip on the "Food and Point Issues" thread, and we tried it; it worked great! Since we've talked about the No Pudge brownies here before, thought I'd pass it along:

For one serving (2 pt) brownie, combine 2 T brownie mix and 1 T yogurt in a custard cup or microwave safe teacup. Microwave for one minute exactly.

It worked! (I mixed it in a separate cup, sprayed the custard cup w/Pam, and spooned the mixture inSomeone else said she did the same with regular brownie mix. And here I'd stopped making No Pudge brownies, because I couldn't stop at one when I made a whole panfull ...

Everyone have a great OP day!

Jan

Another quick post to say HI!
Still busy with work, studying and all this paperwork stuff... I just received some stuff from Utah today, and now I have to fill in my housing application and contract. Also I have to start looking into what kind of classes to take... whew, I have no idea, yet. I guess I have to email my advisors at the U of Utah.

well, I have 6 days off after tomorrow, and will be going to a rockfestival this weekend. This is my only 'vacation' this summer, and I'm so excited!!! All of you Moms, don't worry, I will behave and won't drink too much.

I have a little problem, I'd like you guys to help me with. I have to choose a meal plan, so would you check out: www.orl.utah.edu/dining.html and comment whether I should pick plan 19, 15, 12 or 10. The price doesn't make a difference, but I'm just more concerned about this all-you-can-eat thing, and I don't know if it would be better to have less meals at the cafeteria and have those 'flex dollars' and buy stuff with them from the store... (I think I unrestood correctly that this is what you can do)

Well, I have to run again. But I would be most grateful for all your help! Saara.

Hi Everyone,

Well the rain is gone. We did not get any in my Dad's house but my neighborhood gets flooded so that you can't get in or out. It was just miserable. Well, I went to the GYN yesterday, said everything looks fine, probably just perimenopause. DUH!! I was so worked up by the time they put me in the room though, that my blood pressure was really up. It was 160/100!!! It is usually a little high and I didn't have my medicine all weekend so that also had something to do with it I'm sure. My sister took it again yesterday evening and it was 140/90. He was very happy to see that I lost 22 lbs.

Beth - Hope your water has gone away by now too!! I don't know if I could have passed up that Remoulade, I love that stuff. We got a whole ice chest of shrimp last week and I would love to make some but that is really dangerous.

Janet - The corporate office for Entergy is in New Orleans. I've been here 15 years. I know lots of people that work in Jackson. Valerie Gaines, Becky England, Kathy Stephens to name a few. My son is doing fine, but will be doing much better when he gets his car back - maybe by Thursday. We were at the mall the other day and he was buying some shorts and T-shirts and I said, You know, Matt, you can wear this stuff to school when you start, and he looked at me and started grinning and nodding his head and said "OOOOHHHH Yea" He is just thrilled that there will be no more uniforms.

Carol - still sending prayers your way.....Keep your spirits up.
LOVED the "hairspray" story. I would have been screaming!!!
I've done that before but with deodorant - YUCK!!

Liz - try to stay upbeat. I know going back to dating is very scary. I did it after being single for quite a few years. But the vibes you give off have alot to do with it. I was much slimmer back then, but still had self esteem issues and my good friend finally told me that I made myself unapproachable!!! She said I looked miserable when we went out and who wants to talk to a miserable person??? So I started getting myself psyched up and started smiling and looking like someone who anyone would like to have a conversation with and it worked wonders - I started getting asked to dance, sometimes even before my skinny friend. So really your attitude that you let show is what most people will look at.

Saara - you must really be excited about Utah. I always wanted to move to Utah when I was younger. Of course, I had a HUGE crush on Donny Osmond!!! But my Mom wouldn't allow me to move at 13, imagine that!!!

Merri - I know you are going to have a great time here. My son is going to a club in the French Quarter tonight to hear a concert by Alkaline Trio (??) at the Shim Sham Club (???) He is only 18 but they stamp the under 21's on the hand so they know who can drink and who can't.

Joyce - This whole not mentioning God, really gets me mad!!! Thank goodness all of our football games were against Parochial Schools because the priests lead everyone in prayer before each game. Well, I guess the federal govt. better start printing new money, because "in God we trust" is just not politically correct I guess!!!! My son's class had a baccalaureate Mass and it was a complete Mass.

Well I'd better go. Hi to everyone I missed.

Talk to you later,
Patti

Patti, so glad you had good news from your doctor, and that he was so pleased with the 22 pounds you've lost; sounds like you have a doctor who really cares! Good to hear that the waters have receded, too, and that your son will be getting his car back soon. Sounds like things are really looking up!

JOYce, almost missed your last post in the previous thread, sorry.. yep, we catch the scallops in Florida just off the west coast, where the Steinhatchee river flows out. Seems they like a little fresh water with the salt water. They're lots of fun to "catch," but hard to clean! Sounds like you and your mother had a good time together; I'm so glad that she likes her retirement home, too. An upbeat attitude like that will do wonders for her health, too!

Saara, I looked at those plans, but I'm not sure which one I'd choose in your shoes; you don't want to skip meals, of course, but you'd also want the flexibility to choose a different dining hall if you wanted to. Hmm. That 15 plan with flex dollars sounded good, since you might not be spending weekends on campus. You could still have 3 meals a day during the week with that, and use the flex dollars to compensate for the $ you'd spend off campus.

Guess I'd better get back to cleaning out this office! Everyone have a good evening ...

Jan

Boy, this has been an active group lately!! I hope everyone's had a good day.
Beth Your trip sounds fun! How did you and dh get interested in astronomy? A belated Happy Birthday to your youngest! Were you able to get to weigh in last night? I sure hope your water problems have subsided!
Linda , it's too bad about your sister's attitude- sounds like she's a bit jealous of your success! Good for you for having the spirit of forgiveness- as they say, life is too short, etc. Thanks for the prayers for piece of mind- I haven't gotten there yet- always a new problem or complication being added this week it seems ! Had to squeeze in my 2nd back infusion yesterday in the midst of everything else- my blood pressure was lower during that than it had been all week! Sad state of affairs when the most relaxing part of your week is having a large needle inserted in your spine!
Joyce , it sounds likeyou have a hectic week ahead!!! How does one get rid of baby skunks, or even walk past them, without incurring the wrath of bigger, more aromatic skunks?
Texaslady , I'm glad you made it safely to work, and that you had no water damage. I enjoyed talking to you!
Janet , how's the rain doing in your area? My cable's out so I haven't a clue what's going on in the world today! How sad about your nephew's minister's family! I hope we get a chance to talk in the next day or so.
Jan , boy, was I glad to hear from you! I was afraid something was seriously amiss! I'll bet you really miss your dad now that he's basking in Florida- but how nice that you'll have a little down time and time for just you and dh before your surgery! I'll be in Florida 6/29-7/4- hope to try to get to Homosassa again while there. Does your sister have a regular schedule? If so, if you can email me her name and when she works I'll try to look her up in the children's museum. When are you and dh going to San Francisco? I'm glad to know that trick with the No-Pudge works well- I had seen that posted somewhere a while ago, but never tried it. Now I think I will!
Saara , I'm glad you are going to keep your "mothers" happy while you are at the rockfestival this week! Have fun! Re the dining plan, I'd think the 10 or 15 plans would be best. This would enable you to eat in other dining areas aside from the main one. And evn 10 meals a week is 2 meals a day, 5 days a week. I'll bet that most days you wouldn't be eating more than 2 meals a day in the cafeteria anyhow- 19 a week would be a waste. Anyhow, that's MHO, which is worth little if anything!
Patti , glad the house was okay!!! I know it made you feel good that your doctor was pleased with the 22 pound loss! And the more you lose, the better your blood pressure will be! I've sprayed deoderant on my hair before too- and have nearly brushed my teeth lith hand cream!

Ladies, I'd better run. I need to work on getting myself a ride to and from my surgery Friday, and people can't call me back if I'm online!
Thanks again to all of you for your continued thoughts, prayers, hugs and good vibes!
Carol

Hello Ladies!!!!

How goes everything?? I thought I would send a note before things got hectic around here... I had weigh in today and unfortunately gained 2 pounds . I guess that cheesecake & pizza caught up to my hips!! I am going to try to stay on program until I leave next Monday. I have a feeling I might step off program when I get down to New Orleans. I think you guys might get a kick out of this I started tanning this week and of course theres this really hot guy that works there and I forgot to lock the door and he walked right in on me while I was getting dressed of course he saw my big old butt!! Then I go again today and was in there way too long and got a little too red!!

NawlinsLady What other clubs are good down there.... I got one of those tourist books and it just lists the gay clubs and seeing I'm not I may have a problem... How hot is it down there??

Carol and Jan can you guys show us your 3fc get together pics I want to see what ya'all look like. So I can put a name with a face....

Well, I better let you guys go....

Merri24
236/211/140

Merri, I sent you a private message on how to access my photo site. If you don't get it, let me know and I'll ty again.
Carol

Hello Ladies

The rain has stopped and we are finally drying out around here. There is still quite a bit of water around but the roads are open and I was able to get out today. Since there was no WW meeting around here today, I am going to weigh in tomorrow afternoon. I have done so well this week and I am anxious to see the scale.

Merri - You are braver than I am! I'm not sure I would have the nerve to show my face (or other body parts ) again at that tanning place! How long will you be staying in New Orleans? We DO have some great food here but if you plan it right you can still stay on program. But then again, how often do you get to eat great Canjun and Creole foods? Just have a great time and deal with it later!

Carol - My husband is the one who got started in astronomy. He always wanted a telescope. Since the kids are basically out of the way now and there's no more tuition to pay we invested in a really nice scope. We belong to an amateur astronomy club and go to "star parties" a couple of times a year. I hear there will be a "star party" at the Grand Canyon the week we are in Arizona. I think we might make that trip to the Canyon next year and attend the star party. We have pretty dark skies where we live (in the country away from city lights) but I know the skies in Arizona will be awesome!

Janet - What an awful story about the Music Minister's family! It's a reminder of how quickly our lives can change and that we need to count our blessings and thank God for the gifts He has given us.

Saara - I think probably the 15 meal plan would be best. College cafeterias usually have salad bars which wouldn't be too bad. Sometimes the alternative places to eat on campus have lots of fattening things like pizza and burgers. Campus food is not known for being very healthy.

Patti - I have the recipes from the food fest and the Remoulade sauce for that shrimp recipe probably could be converted to low points. All it has is mayonnaise, Zatarain's creole mustard, chopped celery, chopped green onions, and lemon juice. You season to taste with Tony's, Lea & Perrins, and Louisiana Hot Sauce. I'll bet you could make it with light or fat free mayonnaise and it would be just as good.
Glad you made out OK with the rain.


Jan - What is no pudge brownies? The recipe sounds great. I'm a terrible chocoholic! I'm not sure I could handle eating just one. It would be too easy to make another!

Hello to everyone else!! Hope you all have a great OP Wednesday.

Beth

Maybe I'm really losing my mind!!!
I read too fast, I guess, and missed Jan's remark about starting a new thread, so posted on the old one!
This on top of thinking I have lost 12 pounds instead of 6!!
Maybe I better slow down and take a deeeep breath!
I'm glad to see a couple of you read it anyhow.

Carol, I don't know that you CAN get around skunks, without enduring their wrath! It is better to just wait them out. sprinkling chili powder in the flowerbeds, seems to stop them from digging there, though.

Merri I will send you a PM with my home page. My picture is under "Family". do you have a picture of you available?

I must say good night, will try to catch up tomorrow.

~~~~~

Joyce

Hi Girls,

Just a quick note - I'm waaaay behind on work. Wanted to respond to a couple of people.

Merri - it is pretty hot here - upper 80's, and the humidity is pretty bad. Some other places that are pretty good and in the French Quarter: Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Cafe, Tipitina's, Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, The Howlin' Wolf, and of course Pat O'Brien's (for Hurricanes) and there's always the House of Blues. They also just opened a placed called the Mardi Gras Cafe (it used to be Planet Hollywood). Now, mind you I haven't been to all of these, but these seem to be the most popular. And if there is ANY way you have time to stand in line for it, you should try to go to eat at Galatoire's (pronounced Gal-a-twa's for you non cajuns) on Bourbon, I have never been there either, but from what I hear it is a must do. The line is always pretty long when I've passed there but nobody seems to mind standing in it. Hope you have a great time.

Beth - Thanks for the ingredients, I think I will try it with the Miracle Whip Free. I have loads of shrimp and they are beautiful. I grilled some on my George Foreman Grill with some onions and peppers and it was wonderful.

Well, I'll try to get on again later.

Take care,
Patti

Carol, that is pretty amazing that your BP was low when you got your back injection! I know it must not be any fun to get those, but if even the first one started helping, surely the series will do wonders. Be sure to let us know as soon as you can how things go on Friday! Re: Florida, I'll email you her name. She usually works there every Sunday morning, but I'll ask her about her schedule during those days. I know she'd love to meet you!

Merri, this may sound weird, but sometimes it's actually a good thing to have a small gain after straying from program. When the results don't show up until a couple of weeks later, it's too easy to think we've gotten away with it! At least, that's how my mind works, silly me ... Y'all have a great time in New Orleans! And I agree, you should definitely sample all the fantastic cuisine there. But maybe you can use this trick my dh and I use when we travel: we order either from the appetizer menu, or we share an order between us. Also, we ask for substitutions for ordinary stuff like french fries and onion rings that seem to come with *everything* nowadays. If they won't substitute veggies or fruit for the fries, we just ask that they be left off. Drinking lots of water will also help, especially in this Southern heat!

Beth, No Pudge is a brand of brownie mix that you can get at Trader Joe's, some H-E-B stores, and maybe at some specialty stores. Or it can be ordered at their website, http://www.nopudge.com , I think... Glad the water has subsided, and that you'll be able to get to a WW mtg after all! I know you'll have a good loss!

JOYce, I didn't know that about chili powder and skunks; thanks! We have lots of skunks around here ...

Patti, the shrimp sounded so good; that Foreman grill is terrific, isn't it? Speaking of sauces for shrimp, have you ever tried those Alfredo mixes (can't think of the brands right now, but will look ...) that you can make with skim milk and no butter, for one point per serving? They work great with shrimp and mushrooms; we made that just a few nights ago.

Hi to everyone; hope you have a great Wednesday!
Regards,
Jan

Hi girls. Just wanted to check in for a few minutes.

Carol - Just wanted you to know that you are still in my heart and in my prayers. I didn't know you had decided to do the injection before the biopsy! What a week for you.... Please try to keep up your spirits although I know how difficult that is.

Merri - I also sent you a pm about my photos. Some are the same as Carol's but some are different. Please check them out if you want.

Joyce - Guess you are immersed in graduation activities! It is such a fun time - tell Melissa congrats for all her accomplishments.

Beth - That star party at the canyon sounds wonderful! But I wouldn't be able to stop looking at the canyon long enough to look up in the sky! Or well, I guess when the sun has gone down, you can't see the canyon anyway. It is so amazing. Don't you sometimes wonder what went through the mind of our country's early explorers when they "came upon" the canyon during their trek west!!

I have been offered a new job. Actually, I am thinking about taking it but I really hate to leave the people I work with here! My job has slowed so much since we lost one of our big clients and I really don't have much to do (As you can tell from my regular daytime posting in here!). This new position would be a little different than anything I have done but is in the same field. I have been agonizing over whether to take it or not, and I must make a decision soon! What you do girls think I should do? Its a little bit more money (not much) and the hours are a little better (7:30 to 4:00). It's about the same distance for a commute, too. I know the office manager there, which is how this all came about. Gosh, I am going nuts with this! I have made some great friends here, but I just don't feel challenged anymore.

Mom is having another lens replacement in her eye tomorrow morning. Hopefully this one will go a little better than the last one!! You will remember how disappointed she was when her vision didn't improve as much as the doctor had promised.

About time to start back home so will check in again tomorrow.

texaslady It sounds to me, in reading between the lines, that you do know what to do.
Change is hard, but so good for you! It sounds to me like you want the challenge.
And yes, we are in the middle of the festivities! making sure everybody has their tickets to get in, etc...I still have to shop tonight for food for tomorrrow night. She would like to go out to dinner, but we only have about 2 hours between ceremony and when she has to go back to get on the bus to go to the all night grad night party. So we sill have a "buffet" here for family and friends that are going to the graduation.
Then her big party is Saturday nite at her boyfriends home, I'm doing half the food for 75-100 guests.

Good luck to your mom and her procedure! I pray that it will be successful!!

{{{{Carol}}}}}, How you doing? I'm thinking about you!

I must go get dinner started for the "troops"!

~~~~~~~~~~

Joyce

Hello all!!!

Well, I want to thank you all for the pics you let me see.... Nice to see what you all look like... Once I get my pics on disk I'll have to email them to you- maybe I'll do it from my trip @ New Orleans...

Nawlins Lady I heard about Pat Obriens already my friend was there last year for a day and said I really need to try a Hurricane, I am getting super psyched for this trip... I think me and my friend are going to try a couple dance clubs and stuff....

Janetmae Thanks for the advice on the fries... I'm hoping I can stay on program 1/2 the time so we'll have to see.... Check out my goal the for week I want to get my pic taken with at least one hot guy for each night I'm there... (I am SO sad.....)

Well, talk to ya all soon...

Merri24