NO FOOLING AROUND APRIL CHALLENGE

[TuscanGirl]

Morning!

I watched Rachel Getting Married yesterday.
Normal is suddenly a very nice thing to be!

Anyone awake?

[sjl330]

I'm here!!! I was so disappointed in that movie. Depressing!! But I do have to say it had some good acting. It just was NOT what I thought it was going to be.

[CindyCRNA]

We watched "28 Weeks Later" it's a ZOMBIE movie! I'm like, hon, this is a bit much before bed!

Girls, I know what you mean about the cats. I have learned to type with one hand. It is sunny here today. Yeah! I'm going out to weed the flower beds, go to the gym, possibley run 2 miles and see how my knee does, plant some hostas, whew, that's plenty!

[Buffy45]

Morning gals!

I was gone most of yesterday but had taped Gray Gardens, I think that was the name of the Drew Barrymore movie that was on Sat. night about Big Edie and little Edie. It was pretty good but not as wonderful as I had hoped it would be. I didn't read about Rachel getting married? Also, a friend told me yesterday that she and her DH had seen the new Russel Crowe movie that came out friday and that they loved it.

Ok, 2 weeks before I go on vacation so I need to hunker down and eat right. Also have a doctor appt. next monday, my diabetes doctor so I am getting ready for that and to talk to them about the meds I am on, or want to try. My son in law who sells insulin for a drug company thinks I might want to try Byetta, so I am going to talk to my dr. about that. A side effect of that drug is weight loss, so some, not all who go on it.

Cats sit where they decide to sit, not where we tell them or think they should sit, LOL.

We feed stray cats that come by and now our neighbor is beeching about cats getting in her garage or on her precious car and she says???? they are going to the bathroom on her garage floor, which I know is not true as cats will not use a hard surface for a bathroom unless there is no dirt or anything around and there is plenty of dirt around here. She does not like cats and she is just an old bat. There! Pooh! DH and I cannot see a starved animal and not feed it.

[jem51]

here's a funny cat story; i have 3 senior cats one is very picky and beechy (thanks cindy). she's been struggling w hairballs and refuses the treatment so i smear some on her paw thinking she'll lick it off.
she finally does but not before limping around the house for an hour.
not just a little limp but like she's been seriously injured.....the expression is of severe injury, as well....so sad/

[CarolynF]

Hi everyone..

Cat on lap..of course while typing. I am down in the basement, so I put an afghan on my lap, so I won't get too much hair on me..

MKay: Yes I am on Facebook..I barely go there, but one kid from highschool found me.LOLO..

Well, I was still at 154 this morning..Of course, Monday is always a bad day to weigh..However, I didn't gain over the weekend cuz I was "high" anyway. Weigh more = eat more..Hmmmm..

It's gorgeous here..going for a walk with June. But, I'm waiting for the plumber to call..grumble..I hate waiting, so I think I'll take off anyway and call him back. I had my first shower in our newly painted bathtub..I was afraid it would be slippery, but it wasn't so that is a good thing..

The asparagus is wonderful. I think I will roast some with some peppers and onions tonight with our leftover beef from Friday night.

[sjl330]

One of the companies I'm getting bids from for my countertops came today and it's really amazing how good that spray on finish looks. It's like that company who did your tubs Carolyn, just another name. The other company is coming too. And it's so reasonable. I'm just afraid of it's durability. I need to research some more.

I was still up today too. 148.5!! Yikes!!! And this is a bad week. Lunch with the girls, dinner theater, yada, yada, yada, lol. It's always something, isn't it?

[Buffy45]

Hi again. jem, so funny about your cat, yes, they can really put on the injured act, we put a halter on ours when he was young, he splayed out on our fours and acted like we had hog tied him, would not walk until we took it off, LOL.
Carolyn, do you have fresh asparagus? I bought some yesterday, found a new quiche recipe that called for it and sounded very good. I got all the stuff to make it, now just have to get it done.
Sandy, my daughter corrected me, she said that her countertops didn't look like granite when she had them sprayed, it just gave a new more textured surface to her plain formica ones. I am fairly careful of my countertops, never sit a hot pan on them, etc. nor cut on them, so I have never had one that wasn't very durable under my type of useage, and, if the price is reasonable and you like how it looks go for it, reasonable priced can always be redone again if needed.

[wifezilla]

Hi everyone

Been super-busy doing printing projects for the city. Just wanted to stop in say hi. Unfortunately I do have a bit of bad news. JJ died on Saturday. She contracted some type of respiratory infection. It hit her really fast. I guess ducks are just susceptible to these things.

All the other ducks are fine and nobody else is showing symptoms. I think our horrible weather may have had something to do with it.

[sjl330]

Oh Linda, I'm so sorry about J.J. I hope all the others stay healthy.


Buffy, that's how I'm thinking. But I'm also thinking I might just be happy with a new sink and faucet, lolol. My counters aren't in too bad a shape. They're just boring white, lol. But the sink is awful! The finish is totally worn off.

I love asparagus!! I used to have a huge bed of it and we got so sick of it back then. Boy I sure wish I still had that bed.

[CarolynF]

Hi..

Is the company, Perma-Glaze, Sandy? Let us know what you find out.

OH NOES...Zilla..our first grandduck has crossed the rainbow bridge and is with Tipsy and of course, Janet. Do you have a little duck cemetery in back of your house? But, Bungie and Uno are doing okay, huh? Nice to see you..

Maybe you should have them do the sink, Sandy?

Yes, I have fresh asparagus..I just love it so much..We still have some strawberry pie left for dessert. I posted the recipe on the Bulletin Board under Fresh Strawberry pie and there is Easy Strawberry Pie, too.

We saw Slumdog..gosh..what a violent movie that was..It was very "good" though. Honestly, I have no desire to go to India after seeing that movie, do you? It's just
so sad what those children have to go through.

[sjl330]

No Carolyn, the other co. is called NuLook. Nobody I've talked to will do kitchen sinks. They say they get too rough of treatment?

Slumdog was pretty violent. I even had to hide my eyes a couple of times. But it was a good movie; just not one to drum up tourism to India.

[wifezilla]

No...no duck cemetery. I have enough cats buried back there already

I just one on of these years when digging a garden bed I am going to be unpleasantly surprised

Bungie, Uno, Jack, Lana and Chrissy are all fine. We were a little worried about Bungie being lonely without his(? - still not sure about this, but it is most likely Bungie is a boy) bestest buddy. I just did the same trick I used on JJ when she was in the brooder and put a mirror in his pen. He has been talking to the "other duck" so I think this will work. Once Uno gets a little bigger, we will put those two together. Right now Bungie is so big, he could easily squish Uno on accident.


I saw slumdog last week. Great movie, but like Sandy said, not something the tourism board will be handing out any time soon

[CindyCRNA]

Oh, Z, I am so sorry ! I get attached to everything! I could have never been a vet. Too soft hearted. Hopefully it's not contagious.

I just bought a can of sardines packed in olive oil to eat tomorrow. I thought I would just lay the on an Oopsie, little tails hanging off the bun! Anyone do anything else with them?

Jem, I have 2 elderly cats, one is 15 and 1/2 and one is 14. The best thing I have found is called the Furminator. It is a metal comb thing that you de-thatch your cat with. Cats will always clean themselves so if you can eliminate the loose hair, you eliminate the hair balls. It has cut down on ours by 90%. My oldest loves it! She flops all over as I comb her and I practically get another cat off of her. My younger one doesn't like anything that involves holding her down but is learning to like it. You do it good about once a month and it is the only thing that works.

[CarolynF]

Hi..

Yup, you are right on the kitchen sinks..It would be chipping all the time. They are very fussy how you clean the tub/shower..No scouring..no suction cups..

Gosh, Zilla..I love that trick with the mirror and the duck so little Bungie won't get lonely.
Where is Uno in the mix? Does she/he hang around with the big ducks?

I, too, got the Furminator for Alex..I think I furminated too much on one portion of his back. He is a shortish hair kitty. It works great..And, we could spin the hair to make sweaters, too. However, my dd's long hair kitty needed it more, so I gave it to her..
Do you think that would stop the shedding?

I made some LC blueberry muffins and ate one for a snack..Now I'm not hungry for my dinner...................

[CindyCRNA]

Carolyn, it will definitely stop the shedding. I like taking the cats on the back deck when it is nice and let the hair fly! It will take care of loose hair. Both of my cats are short haired but still have loose hair. Too windy now or it will all end up in my mouth!

[sjl330]

The birdies love all that free nesting material too! Cindy, stand on the other side of the kitty. I so need to defur my Bailey.

[CarolynF]

Yes, that cat fur sure does fly..The deck is a great place..Although Alex doesn't go outside at all..So, we would have to find another spot..

Well, tonight we put up most of the bathroom hardware we have, so towels can actually
hang on rods now..and the tp has its own special place.

[TuscanGirl]

Morning!!

One of those busy days yesterday and I'm tired!
Still.

I have a cardiac score this morning, a few errands to run and then I hope to clean before Book Club tonight.


Great conversations yesterday!

Carolyn - "friend" me! Do you have pics of your new bathroom?
What is a furminator?

Linda - I'm so sorry about JJ!!

Cindy -

I thought I would just lay them on an Oopsie, little tails hanging off the bun!

Great mental picture!

Sandy - I don't think I want to see Slumdog!

jem - poor kitty!!

Buffy - I'd heard Gray Garden's was good. Sorry to hear it wasn't!

[Buffy45]

Morning all!
I didn't mean to sound like Gray Garden wasn't good, it just wasn't quite as good as I thought it would be :-)
I have a furminator for Buffy and they are great, he just lets me do it for short periods of time and then nips at me to stop, but it really thins out that loose hair and does really help prevent furballs. Little metal comb on a handle MK, you can buy at pet stores. It does help the shedding, I used to hair cat hair all over, now as long as I keep at this on a regular basis, it really cuts down on that.
Zilla, sorry about JJ. Wow, ducks have a delicate health don't they? Also, there is a little pond nearby and I have heard people talk about when the baby ducks start swimming the turtles are waiting to snatch them, horrible turtles.
Been trying to call my sis in AZ and MK, I swear she has as busy a schedule as you do. I told her DH yesterday that she needs to send me her electronic calendar so I know when to call. She does bridge, pickle ball, golf, hiking, church newsletter, mission meetings and all of this on a weekly basis. Whew, she wears me out from her going.
I am going to be in all of today I think, at least so far. Office work and maybe a load of laundry, plus, I need to make that asparagus quiche I bought all the fixings for. Just can't get into cooking here lately, and sometimes I love to cook. What is wrong with me?
Tonight for dinner we are having steak salad though. We had leftover steak from that nice restaurant we went to Sat. night and I never have any luck heating up leftover steak, so going to slice it super thin and put on salads. Need to hardboil a couple of eggs for them as well. That is almost cooking I guess.

[sjl330]

That's my fav thing to do with leftover steak Buffy. With a bit of blue cheese, yumm!!

Busy day for me and night too but I'll be popping back in later I'm sure. This whole week is pretty busy for me. Now for MK it'd be a walk in the park, lol. I do like staying pretty busy though. Idle hands and all.......lol.

[CindyCRNA]

Morning all! I can tell i'm feeling better as I worked 3 hours in the yard yesterday and a week ago, that would not have occurred to me.

MK, I got my Furminator at Valleyvet.com. Even with shipping, it was about $20 cheaper than Petsmart or Petco. I buy my horse vaccines and stuff from them also. They sell a ton of pet stuff.

Well, more weed pulling this morning, then to the gym. Dang, it feels good to have energy again. And after only 4 days of hormones! And I love the melatonin. Finally sleeping well.

[jem51]

i'll have to get the furminator.
i do brush my pets and they love it. i go out on the deck and tap the brush on the floor...they come running and line up.
i get unbelievable amts of hair.

[Buffy45]

Cindy, so glad you are feeling better. Amazing, isn't it?

[CarolynF]

Hi everyone..

Plumber is done putting the fixtures on the new "colored" shower..Yipee..

I really do have to get some pictures, etc. for the walls, so the bathrooms look better..

Beth and Shawn are coming this weekend, so I need to do a bit of cleaning before they come here..Gary is leaving on Sunday for Washington state..so it will be a crazy weekend. We have the Inge Festival here..William Inge was brought up in our town, so they make a big deal about him, etc..He wrote
Picnic, Come Back Little Sheba, Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Splendor in the Grass. He killed himself in CA years ago..

How can I friend you, Mary Kay??

Well, I got the latest Cook's Illustrated mag..and made some chocolate chip cookies by tweaking the recipe. Then I made a 15 minute quick tomato sauce for my eggplant tonight. I immediately froze the cookies (after eating 3 for lunch).

Well, I was down .5 this morning...........so, I'm only 154.00000..Not a good thing.....

Thanks for the furminator tip, Cindy. The one at the vet's here was like $38..

[phatgirl18]

Hi all, how are you? Please have a look at my fit day.
Please make April 18 (april 17th) and April 19 is for April 18 and 19.
What is wrong? HERE
Thanks in advance!

[CarolynF]

Hi..I looked at the one day that you had over 200 grams of protein. Were the other days complete days? There were no veggies there..Is that what you intended to do? Just do fats/protein days?

Basically, you need to find the amount of protein you need..Take your lean body weight and multiply it by .6 and you can add 10 grams or so for good measure. Most women shouldn't eat over 90 grams of protein..Does that help?

[CindyCRNA]

Ah, but Phatgirl, I have done that before. Went to Costco, got a package of King Crab legs and eaten the whole thing myself! Oh, those were the days! Bad when I can get hungry reading someones ******! But seriously, Carolyn is right. I have done high protein, low fat in a miss guided attempt and felt like hell. You have to have fat. There is a thread called No Fooling Around Food and Exercise log (a couple of threads under or above this one) with a bunch of menus to look at. Look at that and we can go from there.

Which brings me to my next point. my carbs have been creeping up and here come the cravings. Tomorrow starts strict 20 net carb max. It seems to be the only way to get them under control.

Carolyn, I LOVE Cooks Illustrated. I have made their speg. sauce where you take an institutional size can of crushed tomatoes and put in a large fry pan and simmer it for about 2 hours with oinion's and garlic that has been sauteed in olive oil. You continue to simmer until it is so thick and cooked down you can literally push it to one side of the pan and it stays put! Then i transfer it to a large pot where I have pureed 3 cans of stewed tomatoes and a few handfulls of fresh basil and stir the stewed toms/ basil in to the thick, crushed tomatoes. Heat and serve. By not cooking the stewed tomatoes and basil, it gives it a really fresh bright, taste. Obviously, this makes a lot and I usually freeze 1/2. I have Cooks Illustrated baking book, Baking Illustrated and love it. I make pie crust using their recipe that calls for vodka which is fabulous (the vodka evaporates and you don't taste it)

[phatgirl18]

Oh my God, I feel like my eyes were just opened. Sooooo I shouldn't have more than 59.4 grams of protein a day. I have been having triple that, Carolyn (thanks a million).
So my protein has prob. been turning right into carbs because it has been so excessive.
Thanks for all the advice from both of you. Now I really have a few things to think about.
I felt so cloudy...but now I see the light::::Hallelujah::::
Cindy you are so cute, when you said that you were hungry from reading my ******. ***giggle***that is just too cute. Reading stuff makes me hungry too. ha ha

[jem51]

well, i finally gave in and decided to try some BHRT. actually i already use a compounded vag cream.
so, anyway, the deal is; i have to go back to work and realized that i wouldn't be able to unless i start getting more sleep. it is mostly related to hot flashes, i think. but whatever it is it is.
i already know my hormone levels so don't know if she'll want more.
my appt is tomorrow at 1115 then will fly over to my noon dentist appt. hmmm, may have to stop at starbucks on the way.