JULY FATBLASTER CHALLENGE

[CarolynF]

Hi...everyone..

I was askeered to say I was 152 this morning.. Maybe it was a fluke..

No...I was working today.. Dianne and I met a very nice young man who might be working for Amazon. He wanted to move to a bigger city than Indy, so we took him to Bartlesville, OK and gave him the tour, etc..He is a peach of a guy..I gave him the name of one of Beth's friends who is on facebook to look up in case he moved here.

Sandy: is your dd and her dh going with you??? I think they will love it..There is no beach in KCity, remember???? How fun. We will be beaching in Southern Maine in August..the water is quite a bit colder than Mexico..

I will be floating tomorrow I think.

Had a Wendy's salad for lunch and iced tea. Nothing terribly exciting.

I love the richness of real cream. However, I started using organic whole milk in my coffee just to cut back on calories. I can use 1/4 of a cup for 3 carbs worth.

[sjl330]

We do have a local beach at our park but it's just not quite the same. And they charge a fortune to go swim there. Yes, DD and her DH are going with us for the first week then we'll be by ourselves. They're the ones who first got us started on Mexico. I bet they never thought we'd become so fond of it.

Woo hoo on the loss!!! Now that I have a beach in my future again maybe I can get back to some serious dieting! I can only hope, lol.

Have fun floating tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you.

[TuscanGirl]

Morning!

Well DD25 needs me to help her clean today.
Oh joy.
Didn't I do that at my own house yesterday?!

Anyway - I'll drive the 40 minutes to help her clean her apartment!
At least she promised me lunch!

DH and I went to see Public Enemies last night.
It was . . . . OK.
Johnny Depp was cute as was Christian Bale, but not enough character development. I didn't really care by the end.

What's everyone up to?

Sandy - I haven't been to Mexico since I was a kid!

[Buffy45]

Morning gang.

Oh, disappointing to hear that about Public E, it looked so good.

MK, you are a saint to go help DD clean, I used to do things like that but am getting to the age now where I just let my kids help me do things, I let them work, although I am always glad to provide babysitting if someone is moving, painting, etc.

I have been running around, goofing off, running errands all week so today is stay home, do laundry and work on the house day. I need to change some light bulbs, timers, put things away, etc., etc.

Weight went from 207 to 212, 211, 210. Realized it was that time in my cycle so that should be gone in 2-3 more days. I knew I hadn't eaten much differently except for the one night I overdid it on the Italian.

Sandy, do you usually go to the same area in Puerto V? Same condo complex? We have some acquaintances that go to the same resort in Cancum but they go in July or Aug each year b/c it is cheaper, but yikes, it must be hot then.

DD#2 who is expecting a new baby in Jan. and has DGS 13 months just asked me to put next Mar. on my calendar to go to Vail with them to help with the kiddos. I had offered to go along if they needed me. It will be a very pretty place to go as there will still be snow.

DH has a brother who owns a ranch out in Colorado who goes out there from July through Oct. each year and they have asked us to come out there to visit so we want to get out there in either Aug. or Sept. We haven't seen the ranch yet, they have another house in CO we have been to though. This is our "rich" brother, LOL.

Carolyn, maybe your weight is going down b/c you are running around with young men, woo lah!!! LOL. Keep up the good work.

I looked at the mimic cream once, wondered what it would be like.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Tomorrow I am going to the casino about an hour from here for the day, hope I am lucky!

[TuscanGirl]

Buffy - Wow! And people say I'm busy!!
It all sounds wonderful!

[sjl330]

Good morning!
Buffy, we've stayed in 2 different condo complexes but they're both within a block of each other and are both right down on the beach in an area they call Zona Romantica or Old Town. We love it down there. We've also stayed in all inclusive resorts 3 times that we've been there. We prefer the condo life much better. There's so much good food and things to do that being at an AI you tend to miss out on.
And we've been to Cancun in July and to PV in June and July and yes it's hot. But not a bit hotter than Kansas City or Texas during that same time, plus at least there you're on a beach so it's not so hard to deal with. We decided not to go to Cancun anymore in the summer since last time we barely made it out of there before they closed the airport because of Hurricane Emily. That was a very harrowing day!! And the Pacific side hardly ever gets hurricanes, especially back in the bay where PV is.
We love CO in the summer too. So beautiful and cool up in those mountains. If we were rich we'd have a house here, in MX and in CO. And who knows where else? We'd be rich! So we'd have them everywhere hopefully. Lol. I don't think that's going to happen so I can just keep dreaming anyway.

I have stayed stuck at 145 almost all week. I'm not really complaining though b/c I really haven't done too much to change it this week except I've kept my workouts up.

DH is working today so I'm on my own. Maybe I'll go up to the market and see what they have. I better check my Hen House fresh produce list for Monday though before I go.

[CarolynF]

Hi ladies and Gord..

Was up a bit to 153..but I'm taking it..Maybe I'll bounce between 152-153 for a while..Slow..slow..slow..

Yup, Buffy..Atkins said that you can retain up to 7 pounds of water sometimes and this summer heat is bad sometimes.

In our little town, we have a mini-waterpark for the town kids..It's like 3 dollars, but everyone loves it. Too many kids for me..Our church is having a swim night tomorrow night. Gary doesn't like to get into his suit, so we might not go..

Did a WW call this morning, got some coffee, ran a few errands. Gary is working today as usual, so I may "float" a bit..

We have been to Mexico 3 times..Cancun in February, Manzanillo in Feb,
Mexico City in the summer time. All trips were business related and free, which is very nice. Never been to PV, but would like to do that sometime.
We loved the ruins near Cancun..amazing..Gary and I were the only ones who didn't get sick. We didn't eat the lettuce or drink anything with ice cubes in it..

Yup, like Mary Kay (our fly lady who flies to her dd's place) said, you are one busy gal, Buffy.

My friends loved "My Sister's Keeper"..I didn't go..but they thought the ending was perfect...sad..

Gosh..........I had the best burger..McDonald's Angus Burger..hold the bun..
I have to check it out on the website as to the nutritional stuff..I think it was very Barry friendly..

[TuscanGirl]

Hi!
Ended up not going to DD25's because my mom had an episode!
She was packing all her stuff ready to move out of her "hotel".
She didn't recognize me and kept asking where my dad was - um . . . dead for 27 years!


I stayed and got her to rest and eat. She's napping so I came home.
I have to go back tonight.
I'm just not sure what to do with her!

Can I go to Mexico?

Carolyn - what do you know about the burger?

[CarolynF]

Okay...looked up the burger without the bun..around 450 calories with the cheese included.
31 grams of protein with the cheese..It would be 25 grams of protein without the cheese.
That includes the mayo, too.

[TuscanGirl]

Nice!

[sjl330]

We tried that burger last week and it was awful! We're afraid to try another one, lol. But I might get brave. We had it with the bun of course. But the meat was very dry. I think it was an old one, lol.

MK, I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. I watched a show last week about a family whose mother had Alzheimer's and it was very sad. I can only imagine how stressful it is for you. I'm sure it's probably very stressful on your mom too. That's just a horrible disease, isn't it? Did you watch the HBO special series on it? That was very informative too. And if you do a search for Dateline Alzheimer's they have some very interesting information on there. I'll certainly add you and your mom to my prayer list.

Carolyn, I think our bodies have acclimated to Mexican Cuisine. We eat everything!! And we never get sick. The first couple of times we went we got a little M. revenge, but since then, nada, nothin'. And that's great by us!! We even eat beach vendor food and from the taco stands! We're very brave, lol.

I'm so excited I made a big bowl of pico de gallo this afternoon to have with tacos tonight, lol. From my very own home grown cilantro too. And I think I'll whip up some SF margaritas too. Boy, it's going to be a long 6 months, lololo.

[sjl330]

Carolyn, I forgot to ask you something. McD's is having free Mocha Mondays. Do you order those SF? And if so how? One of my Coffee Klatch friends wanted to know and I knew you would.
Thanks

[CarolynF]

No..Mochas cannot be ordered SF.. They only have sugared chocolate syrup in them with the milk, etc..Just checked the medium mocha: 270 calories and 43 carbs. The chocolate syrup has the mostest..and the milk has 9 carbs. I suppose you could order a mocha with no chocolate syrup and put in splenda on your own. It would be expresso, milk, ice, whipped cream...

The only SF specialites are iced SF vanilla Latte or hot SF vanilla latte or hot SF vanilla capacchino (?). What I order is an iced coffee with cream only..then I add splenda.

Let me find the mocha information.

PS: I have had 2 iced mochas in the past year..They are very good...of course.

Oh...my heart goes out to you, Mary Kay. My mother was the same way when she had AD..She was always packing her suitcase, etc..So, my sisinlaw removed the suitcases and hid them.
One time my mother called a number on the phone asking someone to come get her cuz she wanted to go home. I have heard that AD patients go back to the time when they were around 22.
So, they remember their siblings, their parents, etc..but usually not children.

[sjl330]

Ok, I'll share that info with Deb. Thanks.

[CarolynF]

You're welcome... I think you definitely should "think" Mexican for the next 6 months..Sure is hot enough to be in Mexico, but it will feel good in the winter, won't it?

[sjl330]

Oh yes!! I just heard from some friends. They're going to be there for 2 whole months!! I'm sooooo jealous. And another friend will be there for 2 months, 1 1/2 months w/o her husband and another friend who stays for 6 months. Her DH comes off and on to visit. He works all over the world so she says she can be anywhere so she chooses someplace warm. And she's from way up north where it's really cold. It's nice to have all those contacts there though even if I can't be there that long. Someday....maybe.

[CindyCRNA]

My boyfriends mother has Alzheimers. She lives in a tiny town in Iowa and has caretakers come in 3 times a day for meals and meds but the family is thinking she may need a full time caretaker as occasionally she tries to fire up the stove for the company she thinks is coming. She is very sweet and funny.

DC 15 had an emergency run to the vet when I noticed blood in the litter box and on the floor. $300 later, we have a diagnosis of a UTI so it could have been worse. DC 14 is still a ball of fire. DHOR 27 is doing well. Her weight is great and she is fat and sassy. We are just starting 2nd month of antibiotics (this is the last round). I am running an assisted living complex for elderly pets!

See hormone doc Monday to discuss labs, ask him about Armour and ask when I might expect this hair loss to end! My weight is up also, about 128 pounds, up 5 pounds so I'm sure I just need hormone adjustment but I feel better on the Synthroid.

[TuscanGirl]

Mom is doing better this morning!
I should probably still take her to Urgent Care though . . . .

[CarolynF]

Hi gang..

Oh Cindy...Wow $300 for the vet bill for a UTI diagnosis.. Yikes. That's more than a doctor, but of course DC can't describe her symptoms. Does she drink lots of water???

I didn't realize your bf's mom had AD..Well, I think it's time to unplug the stove. My mother's stove was gas..so my brother put a shut off valve in the cupboard next to the stove, so she wouldn't turn it on and set fire to herself and the whole place. If they can get a fulltime caretaker as opposed to the nursing home, that would be great.

Well, I was at 153 this morning...........If I would only cut back on my portions, I could probably drop a few pounds..Hmmm..

Armour is hard to get right now, but I take Westhroid, which may be easier to get. I'll be anxious to what the doctor says.

Off to church..Gary is going up to the farm to see that it hasn't burned down. I'm staying home..

[CindyCRNA]

Carolyn, why is Armour hard to get? I'm going to ask for a free T3 tomorrow at my doc's appointment. I may be fine with Synthroid.

[CarolynF]

They are reformulating the armour..However, Westhroid and Naturthroid (or something like that) is the same thing. I am on Westhroid and it is available. It's the same thing as Armour, but made by a different company.

Many peeps are unhappy with the new formulation of Armour and have had different results.

If your Free T3 is in the upper third of the range they give you, you are probably still
converting your T4 to T3. My thyroid doesn't convert the T4 (Synthroid) to T3, so I need both.

Mary Kay was in Urgent Care with her mom today..anxious to hear how it went..

[sjl330]

Hi all,
Using DH's computer to say hi and let you all know I won't be on for a day or two. We got a lightning strike this a.m. and are finding all kinds of things that aren't working. We were gone all day to the birthday dinner for DSIL and DGD so we didn't realize the AC wasn't working until we got home. Three TVs are messed up, the computer modem is fried so no phone or internet. Cable was messed up this a.m. Several of our outlets don't have power including one that was used by the spare fridge in the garage. Yi yi yi!! And the desk top computer is acting up too. I hope it's just something to do with the modem but if not I'll have to get that fixed too. It was so loud it woke me up from a deep sleep this a.m. DH was already up and was standing at the window looking out when it happened. We had a couple of smaller limbs blown out of the trees too but one almost hit our bay window in the kitchen. The AC guy is coming first thing tomorrow and then if he's not here all day I'll maybe go to the cable store and pick up a new modem so I don't have to wait until Wed. for a service man. I can't do w/o internet!!!

[CindyCRNA]

I take it MK's mother has Alzheimers. These don't appear to be stroke symptoms, just worsening AD. I'm not sure if Urgent Care will help as she may need a med adjustment that only her doc can do. It's an insidious disease.

[CarolynF]

Oh Sandy...Wow..so sorry..The same thing happened to Beth's motherinlaw..lightening fried her modem and phone line. Gosh...I hope everything gets fixed soon..

On facebook, MKay said her mother had a UTI and was home..I think they had a harrowing time at the ER..So, we are happy that's she is okay. UTI's can make an older person kinda
crazy. Happened to a friend of mine's elderly aunt..Cindy knows this, I'm sure..

[TuscanGirl]

Yawn.
Morning.

I want my weekend back.
It was a UTI. She's on Cipro-something and should be fine.
TGIM!

Lunch out with a GF today . . . . . I think that's it for fun.

[Buffy45]

Morning.
Another weekend has flown by, but all days fly by for me anymore.

Sorry for those of you who are dealing with family who has Alzheimers, it is such a terrible disease as it takes a persons personality away from them in the last stages of their lives. We have had some in our family and it worries me, I don't want to have my kids see me go through that, I want to be my goofy self until the end.

Today is stay at home and work in the office day. I got all the house stuff and laundry caught up, now to attack the office.

DD#1 and DGS 16 are driving down here from NE on Wed. and will be here for a week so I want to be caught up and able to enjoy every minute with them. We will be driving to Austin on Thurs/Fri to see DS and DDIL. There will be lots of comings and goings so I will be shot by the time they leave but it will be great. Don't get to spend very much times with DD# since they live in NE and lead such busy lives.

[CarolynF]

Hi ladies and Gord.

Did my exercise, chiro, etc..Meeting at 1:30..have to type up the notes..

I was still at 153, but, like Sandy says, that is good for a MONDAY..

MKay: Gosh..your poor mom. I'm sure she will be her old self soon with the antibiotics.
Hopefully, someone is helping her to remember there. They must have CMA's at the assisted living place, right?

Buffy: Glad you are staying home today to get caught up. You will have fun with your dd/dgs..

Sandy is not connected yet..Maybe she is..

Cindy: How did your doctor's appointment go?

This is my little advertisement for Mona Vie..that acaia drink. Honestly, that stuff really
helps me sleep soundly. I take an ounce before bedtime...We had a huge storm last night, and I slept right through it. It's not cheap ($35), but it lasts for about a month or so.

Time to type my notes.

[TuscanGirl]

Carolyn - I'm glad you got a good night's sleep!
Yep - they have CNA's there, an RN on staff and the director is a nurse too.
I'm sure she'll get her meds.

[sjl330]

Still out of commission. Stealing a few moments on DH's laptop. He has an air card so he can use his anywhere! Still dealing with the cable peeps. Not happy. AC cost close to $400 but at least it's now cool in here. One of the TV's is better now. I reset both cable boxes. It fixed one and partially fixed the other. Hopefully we won't have to buy a new TV right now anyway. The other computer is still messed up but I don't want to take it in yet in case the cable guys need it there to do???? Who knows, lol. It's running. It's just not showing up on the monitor? Maybe a bad video card or graphic card. Or maybe it's totally fried. Who knows? This almost makes me want to get lightning rods!!

[CarolynF]

Sandy: LOL on the lightening rods. Gosh, $400 is alot..I talked to Shawn's nieces who live near Lawrence and they said it was terrible yesterday all around your area.. Good luck, Sandy.

MKay: Glad to hear your mom has "pill aid"..

I'm making soup for dinner....It's in the crockpot so it's not heating up the stove or the kitchen.