THE JUNE BUG CHALLENGE THREAD

[Buffy45]

Morning friends!
Cindy, hope DC is fine now, poor little kitty.

We have lost almost all of the stray cats we were feeding. The neighbors didn't like them being around and had complained to us and then they started trapping them and sending them off with animal control. Since they were so wild we couldn't catch them to have them fixed or tame them anymore than we had, which was just to get them to come eat when we put food out. We miss watching them outside. The 3 kittens we did get a hold of this year and are now in the house being tamed will be fixed, vaccinated and then become kind of indoor/outdoor kittys. We can't keep all 3 of them and Tinker inside, not that we couldn't but then they begin to take over your house and your house smells a little catty! I am very upset at the neighbors who did this but I know it was within their rights to do so.

My eating is not perfect but quanity is so much less now that I am on Byetta. I only eat twice a day, which I already did pretty much but I can't eat very much when I do eat and I have trouble thinking of something I want to eat. It is good but as one lady on my Byetta board pointed out, she kind of missed her old friend, her appetite, as she had really enjoyed food in the past. My BS continues to do great on the byetta so in 1 1/2 weeks I will move up from the 5 pen to the 10 pen and then stay there if all stays well.

DGS 9 is coming to spend the night with me tonight.

[sjl330]

Buffy, that's great news about your food and appetite. But I know what your friend means about missing her appetite. There has to be a happy middle ground somewhere. But I do think truly thin people have that phenomena of really never having an appetite or a craving. As 'foodies' our lives have revolved around food and eating issues so long that when that's missing we feel a little lost and don't know what to do with ourselves.

Sorry about the neighbors. That's a bummer but I'm glad you have the kitties anyway.

[CindyCRNA]

Buffy, that is NOT a nice neighbor! The cats probably weren't even bothering anything. I remember when i brought an 8 week old stray in. I put him in the bathroom with a litter box. He was walking around in distress but when i would put him in the litter box, he would just walk around and jump out. So I went to the big cats litter box and got a peice of poop and a bit of pee (it was hard as it was scoopable litter) and put it in his litter box and put him in. You could see the light bulb go off! He used his box after that. The big cats had a HUGE litter box, probably 2' by 2 1/2' but I would put his little baby litter box next to it. NO, he wanted to used the BIG cats box so he would scale the sides of this huge litter box. He looked so tiny standing there in the middle of the Sahara Dessert! He grew up to be 24 pounds.

[TuscanGirl]

[CarolynF]

I love kitty stories...but I can't imagine peeps stealing kitties who don't belong to them..

We are in Manhattan..I found a nice organic food store..The People's Grocery..LOL. I got some dried chickpeas to try to make falafels..(?)

Had a nice (portion controlled) dinner last night..This is the key..Eat less, lose weight.
Eat fat, you aren't as hungry..

My little Alex is all by himself today..I'm sure he will be happy as I turned the air higher so he doesn't have to snuggle down to keep warm.

Sandy: How was dinner???

Hi Mary Kay and Hi Cindy...and others..

[Buffy45]

Morning everyone!
Yes, I am very upset at those people I used to call neighbors. I now call them the people who live in the house on the lot adjacent to ours
I could rant on and on about them, but I won't.

Cindy, that is so funny about your kitty and the huge litter box. The kittens use Tinker's now and I have to scoop it a couple of times a day to keep it decent. Tinker is so upset to have these 3 in the house but I keep telling him he has to be nice to them.

Carolyn, I love to find new food stores, they are so fun to look through.

Yes Sandy, I also miss my appetite, I so loved to eat but that is what made me fat and then caused some of the health problems, so, I guess I am very happy to have finally found something that zaps that appetite, I worry that this side effect will vanish but for some people it doesn't and they go on to lose 50-75 lbs. If it continues I can see that it will happen b/c I truly can't eat nearly as much as I used to. I like to get the rueben sandwich at Arby's and I used to eat all of it, the fries and a couple of turnovers (pre diabetes), now I will get the sanwich and I can only eat 1/2 of just that, nothing else. So, I save the other half for the next day. It has lots of meat in it so it works ok with my BS. I have enjoyed Mr. appetite all these years, I can certainly live the rest of my life with what some would consider a normal appetite.

MK, cute picture.

Lise, thanks for finding Cleo for us.

Have a great Sunday everyone. DGS is still here with me, we had fun just hanging out around the house last night.

[CindyCRNA]

Carolyn, I can't believe you want to make Falafel! I had a sample at Costco and they were fabulous! Then I read the ingredients. Soybean oil so I put them back but I have a recipe off Recipezaar.com for them. I also have LC pitas also that I use with my lamb. I think I would like my homemade Tzaki sauce with it also. I would love to see the recipe you use and how you like them. This one rated well but I have yet to try it. Now I'm motivated but I was going to use canned chickpeas. Your doing the whole 9 yards!

There is a recipe over on the recipe threads that is a chocolate cake made with black beans. I made the brownie one but I'm going to do the chocolate cake today for the BF. I am going to poke holes in it after it is baked and pour SF choc. pudding over the top, refrigerate it, then put thickened pudding on top. I bet it will be good.

OK, all I'm talking about is food. Very humid here today. My tomato plants are taller than me with a bunch of tomatoes. Basil is doing great. I have 3 1-gallon bags frozen. We are getting a medium sized upright freezer in a couple of weeks for our 1/4 cow. Ok, just realized I'm STILL talking about food!

[sjl330]

Our dinner was luscious! The scallops anyway. The rizotto was a bit too al dente, i.e., seriously undercooked! They brought us some new that was better but we were full by then. We didn't need the extra carbs anyway. The service was good, the decor a bit gaudy, the appetizer shrimp were ok, the salad was ok. The scallops were the best part. We also had white sangria which was very good too. I bet they were only at 25% capacity which is not good for a high end restaurant on a Sat. night so I don't know how long they'll survive unless this recession turns around fast.

I've never had falafel but I'd be willing to try it, lol. That's my problem, I'll try anything so I don't miss anything good, lol.

I signed up for the food coop at Hen House. I get my 1st delivery tomorrow night!! It'll be like Christmas every week with new surprises to check out. They try to give you something from every dept.; meats, eggs, dairy products and cheeses and of course produce. I'm really looking forward to it a lot.

DD cooked breakfast for her dad this a.m. Then we went to see The Proposal. Our pup is just like the one in the movie. She's grown now but she used to look exactly like that one. It made me want another puppy. NOT!!! Lol.

Then DS came by and stayed a couple of hours. I'm waiting for my Dad to get back from my brother's so I can see him. I hope they just drop him off here and then we can take him home.

I've been having terrible reflux for the last week or so. I can't think of anything I've changed in my eating but it's killing me!! I sure hope I get it under control soon. I really don't want to go back to the ENT right now.

I have a dental cleaning in the a.m., massage Tues. a.m., my dad's Dr. appt. Thurs. a.m. Busy week here for me.

The kids got 1st place for their brisket at the BBQ contest and took 5th overall! Woohooo!!!! It's their first blue ribbon so they're very proud, of course.

[CarolynF]

Hi gang,

We made it home safe and sound..After church, we took Brett LCarb shopping at Dillons..Hmmm..$125 later.... I was happy that he got the "right" bread and
"right" spaghetti sauce, etc..Plus, I found some carbmaster yoggie. We bought some for ourselves..I'm sure you guys in KC have tried this..It is not organic or pure, but it only had 3 carbs, so we enjoyed it.

Buffy: Honestly, that is fabulous about your Byetta killing your appetite. Peeps pay big money for that. Tinker is a good sport..bless him. Beth fostered some kitties and her Sylvie was not pleased. She would bop them on the nose when they came close to her.

I'm excited to try to make falalfel..I love them at the Greek restaurant..The recipe is from Cook's Illustrated, so I will have to read it 50 times before I get it..

Sandy: Glad you enjoyed your scallops..Reflux??? Too much coffee??? or soda? That is what bothers Gary. Can you get some prilosec??? OTC?
I had some nuts on Saturday and I had heartburn after eating those..Do you eat nuts? Yeah, for the brisket recipe..Any secrets you can share?? I'm all about brisket..

Lise: How are you doing?????????

Well, I hope Mr. Scale will still love me in the a.m. I was pretty good today with Portion Control..

[sjl330]

I take reflux meds every day, twice a day but I upgraded to Prilosec for a few weeks. I'm not having any more coffee than usual, no soda. ??? It's out of the blue. Hopefully it will pass.

The brisket......all I know is they smoke it low and slow for about 10-12 hours. I'm not sure what they season it with or what wood they use for the smoke. But I do know it's delicious!! But so's the rest of their meat. Those competitions are pretty much crap shoots, if you ask me, lol. There are so many variables to smoking. I'm just glad DH got it out of his system and that we don't compete anymore. It's a LOT of hard, hot work!!

I'm glad you got Brett all settled. And next time hopefully you'll see less of him, lol.

[CarolynF]

On the brisket, (we ate lunch at Famous Daves'...so I'm barbecuing by proxy)..it all depends on the meat, the amount of fat, etc..I hear ya. My neighbor smokes it, but I always do the way I told you..(liquid smoke)..

Brett runs 2 miles a day..then he swims 1000 yards at the indoor swimming pool, which is right across the street. He is very disciplined..unlike his mother..

Sandy: Could it be your exercise??? I don't know, but I hope it all stops for ya..Gary had to give up coffee..

[sjl330]

Can exercise cause reflux???? I sure hope it's not that!

I love your brisket and it's so much easier and neater and cleaner. And cooler too! I just told DH last night how much I loved that recipe you shared with me. He likes it too.
I do think I might smoke a pork butt on my electric smoker this Friday. The big BBQ is in the park about a block away from our house this weekend so I'll fit right in, lol.

[TuscanGirl]

Morning!

My DH LOVES brisket, but it's really hard to find around here. My MIL in KC makes it all the time - but I never really thought of it as regional!

This is DD22's last week at home!
(Is everyone sick of this yet?)
So who knows when I'll be around this week and probably not at all next week - but I'll try to peek in.

[sjl330]

No, I didn't think brisket was regional either. I'd ask the butcher. I love brisket!! It sure has gotten expensive though for having been a "throw away" meat all those years. I guess the BBQ'ers brought value to it, lol.

My weekend sure showed up on Mr. Scale this a.m. Hopefully it'll be all water and flush away today. (insert fingers crossed smiley here)

[Buffy45]

Morning gang.
Well, it's official, I am getting the cold DH had all last week! Woke up this morning with more symptoms so cancelled dinner tonight with DD's and DGS's as DD#2 is pregnant and don't want to expose her or DGS 1. I just saw my other DD and DGS so afraid I already exposed them. DH was sick with it for over a week.

Reflux, well along with all my other health problems, I have that bad as well. I have taken nexium for years and when I try to get off of it I have to get right back on. Mine is the kind where you have heartburn while up but it will wake you up in the middle of the night with what feels like battery acid in the back of your throat that burns and burns and burns. It is awful. I had gotten down to where I could take the nexium every other night if I ate very very low carb but if eating normally, then I need it every night. Now, the one thing about the Byetta which is not good for me is that one side effect is heartburn and yes, it has made mine worse. I now take a zantac each night along with the nexium. There is a surgery you can have which stops it and I need to look into that. I am afraid of the damage I have already done to my esophagus. Coffee doesn't seem to bother me but I only drink it in the AM, but carbs sure will bother me.

I don't trust cookoffs, b/c I have been asked at random to judge at them and they just grap people who happen to be there to judge, so it is really a matter of personal taste, not really based on much else.

I like brisket too but along with the byetta cutting my appetite, it has also really cut my desire to eat meat, I eat a little but meat just doesn't sound very good to me now.

Good thing, I was done another lb today. I just hope this continues, it is like a miracle.

Well, off to get lots of rest and fluids today to try to beat back the cold.

Have a great day everyrone.

[CindyCRNA]

Buffy, it's not time for surgery yet. You haven't exhausted the meds yet. Have you ever heard of Protonix? It's a proton pump inhibitor and is often coupled with Zantac or Prilosec. Give it a try. A lot of people have found relief with it.

I will admit I have never made a brisket. I would like to, just never gotten around to doing it.

It is hotter than Hades here! About 95 degrees and humid. Ok, I'm done with summer!

[CarolynF]

Hi ladies and Gord..

Yup, after I had my gallbladder out, I was put on Protonix..That is great stuff..My dh has it from time to time cuz his flap in his esophagus doesn't shut sometimes and things can back up.

Gosh, Buffy...hope your cold is better..DH had a bad one, signed his life away for Sudafed and some good cough meds, and he was better in a couple of days. Yeah for your pound "down"..I'm sure you will be disappearing into Onederland anytime soon.

I used to be able to get brisket in Illinois, MKay..Ask the butcher at the grocery store..
They used to be cheap..until peeps starting smoking them..

Hot here...100 in OK..Went to Dillards and got some white pants for $11.70!! They were lined and everything..70 percent off is about right.

MKay: Enjoy your dd's last week..She is growing/grown up..It's a great thing and an exciting adventure for her..You still have your ds home.. and of course, your dh..

Okay...I got all my falalfel stuff for tomorrow..I will post the recipe if they turn out okay..

[TuscanGirl]

Morning!

Yep, trying to enjoy her!
We're going out together (with friends) tonight to see The Proposal.


And I promise next week will be less "all about me"!

[CarolynF]

MaryKay: We lub you...Let me know how the movie is..I want to see "UP"..anyone seen it??

Hey, I was 153 this morning.....................(am I a broken record?)..Yesterday my chiro asked me if I had lost weight.. Maybe it's all those lunges I have been doing on my Wii Active..LOLOL..

Tonight is homemade falafel night..My dried chickpeas are soaked..Can't wait..I hope I'm not disappointed. I'm making a tahini sauce to go with them and some of that yogurt sauce too. I'm having them with a salad..

I'm sure all of us are having hot weather..(maybe not Gord)..I'm sure Texas is hot, Buffy, isn't it?

Have a great day everyone...........

[TuscanGirl]

The heat is crazy! I feel bad for my boys working at the pool!

I've seen UP - it's cute!

Anyone know what to do with all the dill I have growing?

[sjl330]

Make pickles or dip!! Both sound yummy. Or cut it, tie it, hang it upside down in a dry place and then put it in a jar to have all winter. I love fresh dill!

[TuscanGirl]

Make pickles?
Don't pickles come in a jar . . . .

Dip - now there's an idea . . . . tofu sour cream or cream cheese . . . .

Hmmmmmmm

[CarolynF]

MKay: How did you know I need dill for my Greek taz dip tonight??? It's Greek yoggie, cukes, garlic, and dill..

[sjl330]

I used dill in my mashed turnips for tonight! No, not dill, it was chives, lol. It came in my food bag from Hen House. We did get a LOT of food. I'm afraid part of it will go to waste but I'm thinking I can share with DD and her family. And my dad. Tonight I'm fixing Swiss Chard, Italian style, called scolota. We love, love, love it!!! And mashed turnips and a pickled onion and cuke salad. With leftover roast beef. That's quite a few carbs but all veggie ones.

[CindyCRNA]

Ew, yes Carolyn, Tzaki dip for lamb! I also put lemon pepper and chopped dill on broiled fish. Carolyn, let us know how your falafel comes out.

Sandy, what all did you end up with from Hen House? I need to go down and do that. Were you able to pick the stuff out yourself?

[CarolynF]

Okay..Falfalel is done..I had to sample it..It was quite easy to put together. I used peanut oil for frying. I think it's pretty good. I made some tzaki sauce and also the tahini sauce..Hmmm..on the tahini stuff...I love tahini, but I bought a brand at the People's Grocery Store (don't you love it?) in Manhattan..I don't think it was the best kind, but it was the only kind. It wasn't the kind recommended by the Cook's Illustrated peeps..

[sjl330]

Originally Posted by CindyCRNA

Ew, yes Carolyn, Tzaki dip for lamb! I also put lemon pepper and chopped dill on broiled fish. Carolyn, let us know how your falafel comes out.

Sandy, what all did you end up with from Hen House? I need to go down and do that. Were you able to pick the stuff out yourself?

This is what we got this week. You check in, they hand you a card with a bar code on it, you go pay for it and when you come back they have your bags filled up. So they fill them. And it's right inside the front entrance at our Hen House. Which one would you use?

What's in the Bag:
1 dozen Good Natured Family Farms Eggs
16 oz Good Naured Family Farms All Beef Hot Dogs
16 oz Pepper Relish
2 Hydroponic Cucumbers
8 oz Snow Peas
bunch Leaf Lettuce
head of cabbage
bunch chives
basket - 2.5 lbs Yellow and Zucchini Squash
basket - 3 lbs Good Natured Family Farms Turnips
Bunch Swiss Chard

So far we've tried the eggs, pepper relish, cucumbers, chives, turnips and chard and cabbage! It was all very good and I don't even like relish! But this relish was very good.

[CarolynF]

That sounds great..I like that they give you lots of veggies..I love Swiss chard.. I think dd Beth still gets theirs.

[CindyCRNA]

I have never cooked Swiss chard. Do you steam it like spinach? Sandy, that all sounds good. I'm going to sign up.

[CarolynF]

Yes, you can steam it and serve it with butter..Or stir fry it in a little olive oil..It is very good.