Penpal match? Just turned 50, want to lose 75!

[Pam in TX]

Morning,

Wow, it has really gotten cold here..... Isn't supposed to get out of the 40's today.... and wet.... and tomorrow is supposed to be cold as well....

Even with the fish fry, I managed to stay on track... and the pie was a big hit... nothing left is a good sign.....

Leslie: I haven't put Vista on my computer yet..... DH has it on his new one though..... so far he hasn't had any issues...

Decided since it was going to be so cold and wet today that I would spend time working on my inlaws video for their anniversary....

Hope everyone has a fantastic Easter.......

[Suji]

Hi Guys,

GOt up late today and am waiting for the coffee to perk. It won't get above 37 degrees today according to weatherbug. I am so glad I didn't set Mom's plants out yet!!! I shudder to assess the damage north of here at Meadowbrook.

I am still so off my diet! (Blush) Again, I am not pigging out--just not eating straight LC. Hopefully, my system will be shocked into reperforming by the Monday following this one! I am so happy for those of you who have the presence of mind to stick to the program whilst I have been off it. KUDOS to ya!

Got my grocery shopping for Easter done, but got to get the basket goodies for the boys. Yes, they still want baskets! Nothing for my away to college guy though! I'm going to send something with DH to give to S2 when he drives to VT next week for the awards ceremony. :-)

Well, coffee must be perked by now, Mom is up so I'd best go pour.

C ya!
Sue

[sleepysue07]

I have spent this morning splitting up the graduation invitations and the little vellum inserts, name cards, envelopes and seals. Now I am panicking because I have lost the brochure that lists the available packages and price list for my son's Senior portraits. We have to order them by next Friday and I need to pass them along to my ex-husband so he can order whatever he wants, and get them back to me before Friday. I guess I may have packed them in a box or something! I spent this morning splitting up the graduation invitations and the little vellum inserts, name cards, envelopes and seals. Aack!

Just a quick post to say that it is really snowing here. I am in shock! I cannot ever remember it snowing in Central Texas in the month of April, and the day before Easter, no less. We were at 90 degrees on Monday, but that is Texas weather, you never know what to expect from day to day.

Phooey! This is messing up my moving! Oh well, I guess we will get moved when the weather decides to cooperate. If I can't do what I need to do today, I am just going to do what I want. I am going out for lunch and go to the mall.

I've gotta run now, my DH is telling me to hurry so we can go!

Happy Easter girls!

Carolyn

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue, Carolyn and Pam:

I hope you all had a good Easter. I had dinner for everyone. Mom came over. DD2 brought two college girls home with her who are too far away from home to be able to go home for Easter dinner. It was actually really fun. DS was upset at first, but the girls were so nice, he warmed up to them. They had a great time. I ate way too much though, but all LC. I did have strawberries, but they are only 10 carbs per cup and I stayed pretty low on carbs this weekend despite the berries. I got my golf course walks in on Saturday and Sunday. I didn't do too well with exercise the rest of the week though. I hope to be able to get more in this week.

Pam and Carolyn: I can't believe the weather you are having in TX. My walking partners and I were laughing about it. Then we got hit with a cold snap today. It was 80 on Friday. Weird spring weather, but that's normal.

Sue: I think this is the first year I didn't do baskets. With the extra people at home, I just bought candy and put it in a dish. Since none of us are eating it much these days, we have a lot left over which is really unusual at our house.

Have a great day everyone.

[Pam in TX]

Morning,

We had a good Easter, just too cold.... and now today the high will be in the mid 70s..... tomorrow supposed to be in the 80s

Have stayed on track with eating and drinking... scale was down 2 lbs yesterday.... Did my weight and measurements at CURVES yesterday also... for the month I am down 3.50 lbs and 3.75 inches.... not great but I will take it....

Leslie: sounds like you had a some good family time.... We went to a baseball game after lunch and then to the inlaws for a family dinner.... I did get to work on my video project on Sat... figured since it was so cold and wet I would just curl up and work on it.... got quite a bit done.... still looking for a couple of songs for it though.... I don't want to use the same ones I used for my parents video... Did find a good one that I can save and maybe use for my kids weddings....

Time to go get ready... have a good day everyone....

[Suji]

Hi gals,

Oof, I am *so* exhausted. I honestly think some of it and my poor sleep has to do with changing my diet over to a more "normal" food consumption these past few weeks. It seems to make me feel so tired and energy-free. Not good for getting things done. I am going to totally clean out starting Monday!!!

Took Ma to a Red Hat meeting (informal) which is usually at the coffee house (closed) so we went to Friendly's. Can you say "ice cream sundaes"? (I knew that you could! Grin:-) ) Another diet assault that was way more sugary than I recalled. Got Mom out to talk with a few more people anyhow. If I could just get her conversation (to me in particular!) to turn away from how cold she is all the time!! Seriously, what makes people feel constantly chilled? My grandmother from upstate NY would have laughed off the temps Mom is complaining about. She is always concerned about whether she will be warm enough when we go somewhere. Sigh. When did this happen?? And will my kids say the same about me someday? :-)

My order from Nourse is arriving tomorrow--blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.! I have got so much ground to prepare!!! ANd still the tree holes to dig tomorrow and it is supposed to rain. Darn--can't get a break!

Guess I'll go check on things upstairs--dishes to do and all that.

TTFN!
Sue
(Hey, Carolyn! Good luck on that move. I feel your pain-my DH left me to manage everything from preparing the house for sale, sorting, readying for the moving company and caring for 3 kids while I was in TX in the 90's and he was at his new job in VA. Came home for weekends once every few weeks. I remember my inner screams! Hugs to ya!)

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue and Pam.

Sue, I can relate to the weather. My grass has gotten so tall in the back yard, I don't know if I will be able to mow it with my little manual push mower. We no longer own a gas powered mower, so I may have to weed eat it before I mow. Now that's a chore. DS has laid claim to flower bed no. 3. He loves to plant and is going to clean it out and put what he wants to plant in it. He shares it with my rose bushes though. I want to finish flower bed no. 2. There has been too much rain. I can't wait to get some color in it.

Pam: Way to go on the lbs lost and inches. I really need to start measuring. I went to exercise, well to walk the mall yesterday cause it was nasty outside, and ended up stopping and buying two skirts. I couldn't resist, so I didn't get much exercise in at all yesterday. I've got to bite the big one and hit the gym in the evenings. Even if it's just 30 minutes of hard core cardio and 15 of muscle toning.

I don't feel like I'm exercising enough when I walk with my walking partners. They don't go fast enough to suit me, so I need to add in something to push myself a little harder.

DS was called up to the JV golf team yesterday. I don't know if it's permanent, but he's participating in a tournament today. He was so psyched. Evidently the coaches just golf themselves while the kids are golfing on practice days and they watch from a distance. The varsity coach approached DS and told him he had improved so much so he was selected for the tournament today. I hope he proves them right.

Have a fun day.

[Pam in TX]

Morning all,

Only have a couple of minutes....

My mom called last night and my dad was admitted to the hospital with high blood pressure, pressure in his chest, and bleeding from his nose that wouldn't stop.... He had bypass surgery about 10 years ago.... So I am on my way there to check things out.... It is only a little over an hour away..... Earlier in the day he was taken by ambulance to the hospital from work and they let him go home and then mom had to take him back late last night....

Will check back in this evening.....

[Dreamcometru]

Good Morning:

Pam: My prayers are with your dad and your family. I hope everything is okay.

I weighed in yesterday. I'm down 1.4 lbs. Not much, but it's better than a gain. Oh, and I measured my waist. When I started this I had a 48" waist. I'm now down to a 38.5" waist. I haven't been in the 30 inch bracket for years!!! So I can't get too down about not losing very much this week.

My group is down to once a month meetings, so my next weigh in won't be until May 8th. I'm going to get a digital scale. While my dial scale works, I want to be able to see exact progress. I'm a scale junkie.

I packed my gym clothes today so I can stop by for a quick 1/2 hr. hard workout on the way home. I will go lunch hour walking, but it just doesn't do for me what it did in the beginning.

DS did fabulous at the JV tourney yesterday. They golfed 6 kids and kept the 4 highest scores. His was one of them. And, he had to chip up to the green from 20 feet away. He was the last golfer in so everyone was watching. He chipped it up and it went in the hole. He was so psyched. He got an offical uniform golf shirt and wore it proudly. It was so cool.

Pam, take care. Everyone else, have a wonderful day.

[lovinlowcarb]

My name is Teresa I turned 50 in Sept. and I need to lose about 100 lbs. I would love to be a pen pal with someone who is doing low carb to help keep me motivated. I live in Talladega, Ala I have 2 boys ages 9 and 14 I have worked for BellSouth (AT&T) for the past 22 yrs. I would like to have a pen pal who can give me some suggestions of things to carry to work to eat I usually brown bag my lunches because food in the cafeteria is very expensive. I look forward to hearing from you.

[Pam in TX]

Morning all,

Got home late last night.... Nothing new to report.... They did an EKG and echocardiogram yesterday on my dad and will be talking to the cardiologist today.... he is experiencing a "tightness" in his chest and retaining a lot of fluid... His feet are so swollen, they look like little balls.. He was in pretty good spirits, but broke down when I left to come home... apologizing for the inconvience....

Did manage to stay on plan with eating and drinking, just no real exercise.... Scale is down 2 lbs this am..... hope it sticks...

Leslie: congrats to DS for doing so well.... what a great ego booster that has to be.... Good job on the loss for you... You are really doing so well... You should be proud of yourself....

Lovinglowcarb: aboard.... great to have you here... My 50th was this past Sept also... 29th.... I take my lunch to work almost every day.... It is easier and I know exactly what I am eating.... Do you have a way to heat things up at work? If so then the sky is the limit....

Our weather here yesterday was great.... Sunny and warm.... hard to believe that it was sleeting and little snow just a few days earlier... Not sure why that surprises me, it is TX after all....

Need to get some emails taken care of before going to work.... Hope everyone has a great day....

[Suji]

Hi Guys,

Pam, I sure hope your Dad gets all the care he needs to get better! It's scary to see our parents in the hospital!

Leslie--send me your weather! Puhleese!!!
It's great that your son is liking his foray into golfing. These teens can be so up and down about sports and their relationship to the challenges in there. My own DS doesn't like competitiveness in other people--he gets really turned off by that aspect of personality and it takes away what he considers enjoyable about sports. He is complaining about the agressiveness of others in his fencing class. Me, I was always stimulated to give as good as I got--but he just wants to leave that aspect behind. I don't know what to do about that...

LLC! Welcome to you. I haven't been posting as much lately since my Mom is visiting. She returns to SC on Sunday, so by Monday I should be back to normal. I had about 90 some pounds I wanted to lose when I started LC. I have got to get back on the plan next week so I can "walk the walk" again.

Got a NFF coffee tomorrow to attend. I'm blowing off Saturday's lace group since DS3 has a track meet and I need to be around to pick him up in the afternoon. Not sure what we have planned for Mom--she wants to go to a German theme restaurant and maybe my Sis and family can handle that. :-)

Talk to you later!

Sue

So, this "Spring"--so called--is driving us gardeners crazy in MD/PA. Too cold, too wet, too windy! I managed to take advantage of one OK overcast day and got stakes driven to place the orchard, planted all the gooseberries and currants plus all the blueberries. Potted up (temporary until they can get in the ground--it started to rain and ended my efforts!!!) raspberries, blackberries, grapes, nut trees and pear trees. Two of my orders arrived in the same day! I am still expecting two orders to arrive and one to pick up. Meanwhile, perennials we bought are sitting in pots since the soil is only 40 degrees and they are too unacclimated as yet. I've been setting them outside on the picnic table during the day.

[Dreamcometru]

Good morning everyone:

Lovinlowcarb. It's great to have you join us. Not only do we talk a lot about our status and low carbing, we also enjoy talking about our families and activities and the like. You will like it here.

I bring my lunch to work every day. It saves money and I know what I'm eating is on plan. My problem is I tend to bring the same thing every day. I always have my dark green leafy salad. I usually add chicken, tomatoes and mushrooms. Today I added black olives. Yesterday I had some leftover chicken wings. Sometimes I make up a crustless quiche or fritatta, cut it in pieces and bring that for lunch. It usually lasts a couple of days unless the rest of the family eats it. Sometimes I will just bring HB eggs and celery. I also bring LC yogert. If I have cooked some type of meat the night before, if any is left I bring that. So, it really depends, but mostly I bring my staple, a salad.

Sue: Although it has been rainy the last couple of days, we are supposed to get sunshine over the weekend. Yard work here I come. Your orchard sounds like its going to be wonderful. Good weather will be here before you know it. My DS loves competitiveness. He can't wait until the next tournament.

Pam: Well wishes for your dad. We are at a difficult age when it comes to our parents, aunts, uncles, etc.

Congrats on being down 2 lbs. You are losing like crazy. I need to adjust somewhere, some how. I did double exercise yesterday though. I did a 40 minute walk, 120 crunches at the gym and 30 minutes fast on the elliptical. My body can feel it today, so I will probably just walk at lunch and bring my gym gear tomorrow to go after work again.

Hope everyone has a good day.

[Pam in TX]

Good morning all,

Well the cardiologist doesn't think it is his heart but with his history, he is going to schedule him for a heart catherization to check everything out..... It is scheduled for the 23rd... and it will be here in Austin.... Unfortunately, that is one of the busiest days at my office so I probably won't be able to be there... which is pretty upsetting as I didn't get to be there when he had his bypass surgery years ago.... Oh well, the important thing is that he get it done and we find out for sure what is going on.... He may get to go home today.....

Am hoping to get some work done in the flower beds this weekend.... supposed to rain some this evening....

Still on track with eating, drinking water, and exercise....

Sue: your gardens and fruit trees sound like they will be so pretty.... Do you do a lot of canning and such? Hope the weather cooperates for you....

Leslie: I too take my lunch almost daily.... When making dinner I make extra and take that for lunches.... Many times my coworkers are envious of my lunches....

Lovinlowcarb: Sometimes on the weekends I will cook up 4-5 lbs of chicken breasts in the oven, seasoning them all different ways.... then freeze them and pull them out for lunches during the week.... they act as an icepack in my lunch bag.... I will also make up several ground beef patties(very lean) and freeze those as well..... then add a salad, or some frozen veggies and I'm good to go for lunch.... I also like the LC yogurt for snacks...

Well, time to go begin getting ready for work.... Hope everyone has a good day....

[kayan]

Morning All

Sorry to have been missing in action again, but have been working a lot of extra hours and last week on my day off, The server was down due to the blizzard we got. We also got another 8 inches last night!!! I don't remember an April like this. At least I didn't have to work today. Last Thursday I had to work. It normal takes be about 30-35 minutes in the am ( less traffic) and 35-40 at noc. It took me an hour and 20 minutes

I am attempting to do a meat and egg diet for a few days to get rid of a few pounds and this ice cream binge. Haven't had ice cream for a week, but who's counting. My pants were tight again and I felt hugh, I am trying to remenber the disgust I felt when I tried on a pair and couldn't hardly button them, Talk about painted on!!!. I have set up some small goals to get by. Hopefully this will help. Next week, I am having dinner with some girlfriends, some I haven't seen for a couple of years, so I want to show that I have kept the weight off. Then I have DD2 hooding ceremony May 11 , then We fly down to see DD1 May 18, Then my BB June 2, and DD2 graduation on June 7.
So hopefuly, with these mini goals I will be able to keep things undercontrol. I can't believe after all this time (4 years) I am having such a hard time now.

Pam: hope all is well with your father

Sue: If it ever stops snowing here, I hope to do a stone patio and landscaping with all the extra $$ I'll get from the extra shifts I have been pulling

Leslie: Congrats to your son. It makes a Mom feel so good when their child feels good about themselves. alos congrats on your loss. I avoid the scales but I did measure myself a couple of days ago and next week I will measure again to see if there is any difference. Like I said above, I am doing real short term goals.

Carolyn how is moving going??

Teresa: Welcome, I also do Brown Bag. Actually, for 3 meals, when I work
breakfast varies, sometimes a shake, protein pudding, eggs, homemade"english muffin". Lunch is usually left overs (I cook extra) from supper and supper is eggs and sausage scramble in the microwave quick and easy as I am lucky to get a break at all at supper. We eat a lot of chicken, chicken tenders cook up fast, I also make chicken salad. salads, even hot dogs chopped up with string beans and a little cream and shredded cheese makes a wonderful "soup" for me.

Everyone have a good day and think about me shoveling out one last time

Kayan

[Dreamcometru]

Hi everyone:

We are in for more rain today and saturday. Sunday is supposed to be nice. I hope. I've got to mow my lawn.

I didn't exercise much yesterday and DH asked why I didn't go to the gym. I told him my workout clothes were dirty (which they are), but I should have gone.

I'm trying to change up what I eat a little. I was reading a thread on here and someone said they ate an apple about every other day to keep the body guessing. It ups the carb intake for the day but it kept me out of the nuts and seeds. The apple is 74 calories whereas the nuts and seeds are about 500. I cut it up just before leaving the office and ate it on the way home from work when Im usually starving. I hope it works.

Pam. Well wishes to your dad.

Kayan: Good luck on M/E. I hope it works for you. Sounds like you have a busy month or two ahead of you.

Bye for now.

[Pam in TX]

Good Morning,

Had some pretty large storms move through last night.... quite a bit of damage in some places, but looks like we dodged it here....

Still on track with eating, drinking and exercise....

Dad's doctor never came by yesterday, so he didn't get to go home... He wasn't happy.... He hasn't seen him since Wednesday.... said he will check himself out if he doesn't show up today... and he will too..... Thank you all for your kinds words, thoughts and prayers.....

Kayan: good to see you back girl.... you stay so busy.... those look like some great mini goals....

Leslie: will be interesting to see if the apple helps..... it is lower in calories but higher in carbs... be careful....

Got some of the microwave pork rinds.... Now I don't normally like them, but these aren't bad... and I am going to crush some up this weekend and try using them as breading on some chicken.... will let you know...

Have got to get things ready for DHs trip this week....

Will be trying to also get some yeard work done today.....

Hope everyone has a great weekend.....

[Suji]

Hey Everyone,

Wouldn't you know it--another storm system moving through and this time a whopper for many areas! Mom is supposed to take a flight back to SC around 5 PM tomorrow and it is entirely possible her flight could be delayed or even cancelled. We're still going to pack up today and hope for the best. I know that although she has enjoyed her stay, she is looking forward to getting back to relatively warmer SC and to the tumult and noise of that household with 5 additional females. I think we are *very* quiet compared to that bunch. (ANd she misses grits...)

Pam, your Dad sounds like my Dad-IL--very determined not to stay in hospital any longer than he can help it! I hope the swelling in his feet has gone down.

Kayan--you poor kid getting walloped up in Maine!!! I've been watching those weather maps. Guess I should stop whining now!!

Leslie--that statement you made about eating an apple to "keep the body guessing" reminds me of something I read about concerning a Diet for Dummies book. The premise was that the body had no chance to make patterns from eating all kinds of mixed up combinations, so the person would lose.

Carolyn--are you in the new location yet??? Is the spring cooler than normal and do you have TX bluebonnets out?

Went to my New Friends coffee yesterday-whoa! Nice house on the golf course! Turned out to be the abode of a lady I met at my table the first general meeting attended and also in the stitchery group I go to. It was a great drive to get there (sunshine for a change) but windy as all getout. It was whistling down her chimney!

My son2 got his scholarship from the physics department in an award ceremony yesterday. DH sent cell phone photos of him so I could enjoy vicariously. Son3 has a track meet all day today and I have no idea where the heck Son1 is since yesterday. Crashed at a friend's house, no doubt.

I hope you all have great weekends whatever you're doing.

Later,
Sue

[kayan]

Morning All

Your not going to believe this, but we are bracing for another storm here tonight the same storm that battered Pam in Texas has formed with another low. We are to get another 10 inches of heavy wet snow, then 2-4 inches or rain with winds over 50 miles per hour. The storm will stall and be here till Tuesday into Wed. So we are preparing for power outages. I have to work Mon & Tue. Tormorrow am commute will be horrible

Have stayed on track so far

Sue: Congrats to your son on his scholarships. It helps to reward the hard work that kids do.

Pam: hope all is well with your father

Leslie: Good Luck Its so hard to find whats works for a person. I know I keep trying different ways.

Well I will check in later if we have power!!! Have a lot to do to get ready for the storm DH works for the power company so I am on my own

Kayan

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Everyone:

Oh Sue and Kayan, I feel so bad for you guys and that awful weather. Yesterday, it wasn't perfectly sunny, but it didn't rain so I got to mow my lawn. Today it's just overcast, but supposed to rain this afternoon.

Sue I hope your mom makes it out of the airport okay. Congrats on your son's scholarship. Yay. DD2 got her financial aid letter last week. Her big scholarship continues, but she also got a subsidized loan. Go figure. DD1 never got any subsidized loans except a very small one for this last year. DD2 got enough to go with her scholarship so she won't have to pay any interest on the funds she borrows for next year. Yay! I was so pleased, because we usually don't qualify for anything except parent loans and some unsub loans. She hasn't heard back on her blanket scholarship app yet. If she gets anything else, we can cut back on the subloan.

Pam: The apple did the trick as far as appetite suppressant. I wasn't hungry when I got home from work and didn't go for the nuts. I think the 74 calorie trade for 500 was worth it. But you are right, it ups my carbs considerably. My unreliable scale at home said I was down Fri, Sat and Sun. Yesterday I upped my carbs to "trick my system" and am falling way back today. But sure enough, the scale was up this morning. Those darned carbs. The funny thing is yesterday, to get the additional carbs I ate another apple (74 calories) and two slices of LC bread (80 calories). You wouldn't think that would do any damage, but it isn't the calories, its the carbs. I'm not done with this experiment yet. Like I said, I'm dropping back to my usual 30 to 35 carbs a day for the next few days to see what happens. If it doesn't work, I need to do something else, but I'm not sure what because the losses are so slow.

Did your father get out of the hospital yet? I hope that dr. showed up.

Kayan: Hope your commute isn't too bad and that you don't lose power. Ugh, there's nothing worse. Good luck to your DH. I'm sure he has is work cut out for him.

[Suji]

Hi Guys,

Mom went back home via plane yesterday, so I have to get used to not having her around again. Waaah!!

My goal for today has been to drink water-- a habit sadly left behind the last couple of months. So, I'm starting back with that and cutting the caffeine with decaf all the way to 100% by next week. I have to build my good habits back in after indulging in Easter and such!

As you may recall, by DS2 goes to VaTech and hearing the news today about the massacre there has kept me glued to the news. We sent our son there because it was supposed to be SAFE and far from the crazies that seem to inhabit the areas around cities. It just goes to show you that insane people can pop up anywhere. There is no "safety" and the process of trying to make us all safe in every conceivable situation is impossible. Luckily, even before I heard about the first shooting, my son had contacted me by e-mail to know he was all right and hunkered down in his dorm room. That initial shooting was in the dorm right next to his. All day long people were calling him and at our house to see if he was OK. A lot of people had a hard time making contact since the lines were overloaded there. I don't know what makes people crack and believe there are no other options and that life cannot go on for them when their worldview/relationships alter--enough to snuff out the lives of their significant others, strangers and their own... I JUST don't get it!!!

Sue

[Pam in TX]

Good Morning all,

Have stayed on plan, but the scale is up 2 lbs yesterday and still there today.... Even drank almost 4 liters of water..... So I got a hold of something wrong....

Sue: OMG.... I had totally forgotten that you son was in school there... I am so thankful that he is ok.... What a scary time this must have been for you and your family......

Leslie: Glad to hear that the apple experiement is going well for you..... That is great that the funds for school are working out for your family... We have been luck to not have to take out loans so far for either of the kids schooling... With only a couple more years to go, we might not have to.....

Kayan: Hope you weren't hit too hard with the storms.... This has been the craziest spring season...

Dad did get to go home from the hospital on Sat.... but not until about 5:00 that evening.... The dr finally showed up after the nurses had called him a few times that day.... This guy isn't his regular dr, and even if he was, he probably wouldn't be any longer.... We now are just waiting until Monday for the next phase.....

We have had a couple days of really p