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

[Suji]

Hi Guys,
Sorry to be so late posting. I went to the farm early today and when I returned had a monster headache from all the dusty and "heugghhh" in the walls. I was pulling down all the interior plaster on one of the walls that we are going to change in the downstairs bedroom I am working on. What a wreck! I also brought our caretaker friend back with me for a few days of "vacation" here in the other house.

Carolyn, well I can't say much for the sickie method of weight loss (grin) but it's one way to get started! I stayed with allowed foods today and hopefully I'll be below 30 carbs tomorrow.

Not much else to gab on about--I'm just beat! Got to review my book for tomorrow's meeting but reading small print with a headache promises to be "interesting".

Have a nice evening,
Sue
What has happened to Pam? She hasn't posted in quite a while.

[Dreamcometru]

Good morning Sue and Carolyn:

Yah, I'm with Sue. Pam, if you are lurking, give us a quick post to let us know how you are doing. We miss ya.

It was so cold this morning. I wish it would develop into a nice snow or something, but no. Just dry cold air.

Sue, the work taking down the plaster sounds so dusty! I don't know how you do it.

I reserved a few books form the library on the glycemic index. That's the next thing I'm going to check into. I waivered today and had oatmeal for breakfast instead of eggs. I just couldn't bring myself to eat eggs this morning. I have some sausage frozen and maybe that's what I will have tomorrow.

I spoke to DD1 last night. They are working her so hard in grad school, it sounds like the equivalent to med school. I can't believe some of the difficult projects she has to do. I hope she gets through this. She said this is the hardest term in the program. Then next term all she has to do is student teach which will be a load off for her.

Have a great day ladies.

[Suji]

Wow--
I just discovered green Darjeeling tea. Boy, that is yummy stuff! :-)
I can't seem to make it through a day clean. 2/3 of it, I'm fine and then my brain shuts off and I find myself eating something not LC. What the heck!

Looks like we've got 5 inches of snow on the ground. Now maybe comes the sleet. I was out shoveling the steps so that we didn't break our feet for a change! I'm waiting for DH to get home--I understand driving conditions are quite slow.

Grad school was very intense. I was pretty stressed out with all the work we had to do, but I managed A's in my classes, so it's doable. Your DD will get through it, never fear.

Bookclub was cancelled on account of weather--next week. I have no ambition today. I was looking at a country gardens book from the library and dozed off. Yup, yup.

Did I say that we found both a hidden doorway and a hidden window behind the plaster?

TTFN,
Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue: I envy your snow. We got snowflakes yesterday, but that's it. Nothing has stuck this year. Quite the change from last year. Still subfreezing temps though. I've been drinking a lot of green tea lately. I've never tried darjeeling green tea. I will because some of the green tea I buy tastes like grass or fish or something icky.

Wow, you found hidden treasures. I bet that was an eye opener! A window and a hidden doorway? What were the people thinking who covered them with plaster?

I can't seem to stick to a completely LC day either. My mind set that I had last year is gone. I try and try and then something creeps up or I plain eat way too much. Ugh! I did go to the gym again last night though. I love the treadclimber so I changed it up and did intervals. Its kind of fun because the machine changes speeds and intensity on you all by itself. Just when you think you can't go any harder, it drops back to a slower speed and a lesser incline. It was kind of fun in a weird sweaty sort of way.

Hi Carolyn. Hope you guys have a good weekend. I don't have much on tap

[Dreamcometru]

Hi ladies:

Brrr. It's so cold here. Supposed to get colder tomorrow.

Sue I looked for darjeeling green tea but couldn't find it. I need to go to a different store to see if someone else carries it.

I went bowling saturday. I must admit, I'm terrible! It was really fun though.

Not much new. DH and DS are fighting again. I'm so tired of being stuck in the middle. Its funny how it always involves DH. It used to be DH and DD1 all the time. DD2 learned how to play his game and stayed out of trouble, but DD1 and DS are so stubborn sometimes. Bleh. It makes for a strenuous weekend. Anyway, the good thing is DS has to go to Eugene this weekend and DH said he wasn't going to go. That means I get to go by myself which is awesome because its a two hour drive and I can crank the stereo up all the way. Whoo Hoo. I love going at my pace, listening to my music. It's a nice get away for me. Kind of a stress reliever. Now lets hope we don't get snow storms. I may spend the night at DD1's and leave to get back into town early the next morning because it will be dark by the time the concert is over.

Until later.

[Suji]

Hi Leslie,

My SIL called to say my FIL had passed away this afternoon. He had been getting physically weaker as time went on although he had upswings. He just wasn't eating enough. So, he was elderly, it wasn't unexpected but still it comes with a feeling of numbness that a major upheaval in the family has occurred and we will have to adjust to his permanent absence. At least he died at home in his own bed and his daughter and granddaughter were both there. Now we wait and find what the procedure will be for the week. My DH is going down there directly from work. My emotions are a bit removed since he isn't my own father, but I am aware of a feeling of loss if that makes sense.

I have not been able to LC successfully yet! ALways it is 2/3 of the way and then...something not allowed. I think my inner child is rebelling for some stupid reason.

Went to the farm yesterday and now the entire wall is down and the ceiling. What a mess! Both DH and I looked like coal miners afterwards plus black dust up the nose! It gets through the face masks... But now, it's clean up time which we didn't finish as it was like 8 degrees out there and windy as heck. THe front porch is covered with wood that we pulled out and bag upon bag of plaster. Next time, the wall studs come down and I guess we'll pull up the grody rug.

I like getting off on my own too though I haven't been into going to my clubs like last year--other than the reading group. Partly gas prices have spooked me. I have started volunteering at the historical society and spent several hours there on their database helping them get caught up. I'm going back in on Wednesday this week.

Well, time to jaunt over and pick a few roses online for spring planting! I'm looking at Pickering and Vintage Roses right now.

TTFN friend! Hi Carolyn! (waves)

Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Oh Sue: I'm so sorry for you and your DH and family for your loss. I'm sure you will be very preoccupied this week. Please take care.

I haven't been successful at staying at induction levels either. In fact yesterday, I had a mini pizza. DD2 and I went to lunch and that was really all they had. And I'm paying the price today, of course, but maybe the slight gain will leave me in a day or two.

I'm really stressed out about DH and DS. Stress causes cortisol and cortisol causes weight gain of course. I usually get worried and then things work themselves out. Each of them have said things that have me really worried. I don't like living in this situation. I will probably let it go for a few more days then have to step in, but I'm not sure how. I've tried to tell DS that DH will come around, but DS says it doesn't matter this time. He's given up on DH, so the saga continues.

Please take care, both you and your family. I know this week is not going to be an easy one for you. Oh 8 degrees! We were at 19 this am and I thought that was cold. Brrrr.

[Pcola Girl]

Hi everyone, just wanted to let you know that my doctor has delayed my knee surgery until I go through some rehab on it for about four weeks.
Wasn't looking to have it now anyway because we are going to be moving into our new house around the 12th. of Feb.

Not much going on here these days. The weather has been cooler than normal here and I do not like it at all, I love the warm sunny weather we usually have here. I even had to bring out some sweat shirts to put on theis last week.

My cat is doing better, she had a ear infection and she was scratching at it bad but the vet gave her medication and a shot and when I took her back he said it was better.

See ya all later, be good...........

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue: I hope all is going okay.

Hi Mary: Its good to hear from you. You are moving to a new house! Congratulations. I hope the move goes well. Awww, I've never heard of a kitty with an ear infection. Poor thing.

I bet you are glad you don't live where Sue and I do, even though on opposite ends of the United States. Today on my way to work, someone had turned on the sprinklers in front of this condominium complex. It was absolutely beautiful. Icicles everywhere. Some were really long. The trees were all coated. It looked so beautiful. I thought a pipe had broken, but then saw the sprinklers running. We have this huge water fall in the Columbia gorge that is frozen now. I may drive out to see it if the weather holds.

DS and DH are still not speaking. The tension is awful. I hate this. It's good to go to work to get away from it. My weight is still up and I'm sure its because of the stress.

Talk to ya later. Stay warm.

[Suji]

Aww Leslie,

Sorry about the family stress. :-( It's horrible to feel in the middle.

No icicles here, just cold enough to prevent the snow and ice from melting away.

The funeral will be on Feb 8, so my son away at college can attend.

Our friend is still here and I haven't really gotten back to LC. Man, I can always come up with an excuse. It's cold, it's hot, there's a party.... Geez. No, I haven't lost anything!

Bookclub today (it was cancelled last week), so I'll be away this afternoon. I think I'm next to choose a book, so I'll have to spend some time in the library looking to see what's available.

I've been spending a bunch of time looking through planting catalogs thinking about what I'd like to order (and wondering what finances will be like to do it!) I've been thinking about a rose arbor attached to the front porch, if I can figure out how to do it attractively and so that people going up the steps don't get grabbed by thorns. THings to ponder on...

Mary, my Dad is recovering nicely from his knee surgery. He's glad he did it and so is the rest of the family as it gets him out of the house and up to his shop!

I'm overdue to change my avatar... Done. This is one part of the creek on our property: Quaker RUn.

TTFN!
Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue: Ahhh, that's good it worked out for the funeral so your son can attend. Its always nicer to do it on an unhurried schedule. People can plan and not be quite so stressed so as to really take the time to remember the loved one.

Thanks for the kind words about DH and DS. They still aren't speaking. DH's demeanor about the whole thing was a little more mellow last night though, so I hope he's cracking. The problem is, it may be too late as far as DS is concerned. The separate rooms, the ignoring, the silence is killing me.

I had pulled a muscle in my back on Sunday so I haven't been to the gym. Heck, this would certainly be the week to go. It would get me out of the house. DS leaves at 5:45 am tomorrow for his band trip and won't be back until Sunday night, so hopefully I can work on DH a bit.

Sounds like you have great plans for the rose arbor. Would you believe we already have daffodils, well the green part, poking out of the soil? I hope they don't freeze before they bloom.

I've got tons of work to do today so I best get at it. Stay warm.

[Pcola Girl]

Well we got our new house and will be moving in around the 10th. of Feb.
Can't wait.

My cat just went crazy awhile ago, one of my neighbors cat came over and was in my front window and my cat jumped on the window sill and scared that other cat to death. My cats fur got all big and fluffy when she went after that cat so much that she looked like a fuzzy persian cat. It was so funny.

Not much else going on with me today, am making a ham and cheese bake for supper tonight and some green peas to go with it. Is there anything special you are making for supper tonight? I love getting new supper ideas since that is our biggest meal because my hubby is home then, at lunch time I just eat what-ever is left over in the fridge. So lets share some recipes if you want to.

Our Florida weather has been cooler here than normal and I was reading in the paper that we are into a global warming, well where is it? I am not a cold weather person so I think I can handle global warming ok.
Is it cold where you are?

Be good everyone and I will check back in later. Have a great afternoon.

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Mary:

What's for dinner? I put turkey thighs in the crock pot this morning. I seasoned them with celery, onion, sage and salt to mirror that thanksgiving flavor. Yum. I will probably cook up some cali or broccoli to go with it.

Recipes to share. Last night I made carmel flavored LC cheesecake! OMGOSH, its to die for. For a small recipe, it takes 2 eggs, 2 8 oz cubes of cream cheese, 1/3 c splend, vanilla flavor and toriani sf carmel flavored syrup to taste (about 3 tablespoons). Mix all until smooth. It helps to microwave the cream cheese until soft first. I just put it in a glass pie pan (no crust of course). Its kind of thin, so the smaller the pan the better, like an 8 inch instead of a 9. Make sure you spray the pan with nonstick spray first. Bake for about 1/2 hour or until firm. You can double the recipe if you want more. Delish.

I love hearing stories about your cat. That's hillarious. Its so cold here, when mine comes in from outside, his nose is red instead of light pink so I can tell he's cold.

Hi Sue. I hope all is well.

[Suji]

Hi there,

Busy birthday weekend! I made a German chocolate cake for my son and there's still a bunch left. It was one of the nicest cakes I've ever made from scratch--very moist. Sorry-that conversation is so not LC!!!

We went to Meadowbrook and cleaned up the mess from last week. Finally we could actually see the space without so much junk in the way and talk about what we are going to do. DH has a bunch of planning to do as far as redoing all the plumbing and electricals (not to code right now!)

DS2's birthday is this week, but since he's away at college, I reckon we'll celebrate it on the weekend after he comes back for his grandfather's funeral. Sounds weird to have them so close together, but my FIL had a good life and everyone will have gotten over the initial shock of his absence in the 3 or so weeks since he passed on.

I plan to get back on LC this week after I do my post birthday shop at the grocery store.
Just need to hit the meat aisle as my freezer is about out of choices. Today I am having leftovers--good for you stuff like vegan lentil stew--but not Atkins LC.

House clean up day and vounteering tomorrow at the historical society. Bookclub was cancelled until Feb. Gonna discuss the same book then (McCullers: Heart is a Lonely Hunter). I guess I'll look for some personal reading material before then.

Later!
Sue

House clean up today.

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue:

I love your new avi. Is that on your farm property?

The description of the cake has me drooling. It sounds so good. I'm really having trouble sticking to plan these days. I have to pound it in my head what my goals are and where I would like to be and tell myself I'm not going to get there if I keep misbehaving.

We have birthdays at our house too. DH and DD1 share the same birthday. We are going back down to Eugene on Sunday to celebrate with DD1. DS will be up in the Seattle Washington area on another band trip so it will just be me and DH. But we will stop in a little town called Keizer and pick up DD2 from college so she can ride down with us. Keizer is close to I-5 so all we have to do is exit, pick her up and get back on our way.

Sunday was fun. Eugene had 6 inches of snow so DH went with me to pick up DS. He didn't want me getting stuck. Although they didn't speak, and I couldn't play my tunes, it was a pleasant trip. DH behaved himself. The concert was wonderful and they had these marvelous plaques made up for the kids for their all state honors. DS has his proudly displayed on the mantel. The snow was so fun to see and the valley was absolutely beautiful, so it was worth going down.

I best get back to work. Have a great day.

[Pcola Girl]

Hope you all are not eating all those cakes that are being made. When we have birthday cakes around here it is always so hard for me to resist eating some of it. We have all our families birthdays from May all the way up to Nov. Sometimes there are two in one month. In Sept. there are four in our family who have birthdays.
Wonder who ever thought of baking cakes for a birthday? Why not just make something less fattening?

[Suji]

Yup--that stream runs along one border of our land. I keep meaning to put on waders and walk in it, but haven't done that yet.

Oh, Mary, I know! But there's this thing I have about traditions. On a birthday, you eat the cake that was requested by the birthday person and you eat it along with everybody since you're celebrating that person. If I go to the effort to make something (with nuts in it --Woohoo!) then I'm gonna eat it! Normally, I don't make sweets and it's only the rest of the fam that has 'em if they have been purchased. Anyway, all this will pass and there are no more birthdays until September. :-)

In the 40's and drizzly today, Leslie. Still snow and ice in patches, but lots of melt. Congrats to your son on his honors plaque and I'm glad you enjoyed yourself!

Where oh where is Carolyn?

later,
Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue and Mary:

Yah, where are ya Carolyn?

So its been snowy and rainy here. We have snow in every direction around us, less than 10 miles away, but we are in the valley which is the last place the snow falls. So nothing is sticking, its just really cold outside and wet.

DD2 has requested bananna cream pie for her birthday. Guess what? I don't have to make it. I'm going to pick one up at a local restaurant. DH loves ice cream cake from DQ so that's where I'm going for his. I'm going to buy a small one. He's been dieting since the first of the year and sticking with it. Yay. So I really don't want to discourage that, but we are having guests over on Friday night which is his and DD2's birthday, so I want to have something for them. I don't really like ice cream cake, thank goodness. DD2 lives about 120 miles away so we are traveling south for her birthday on Sunday.

DS's car broke down last night and without DH to help (stubborn idiocy), DS and I struggled to push it to the side of the road. We then worked it and worked it and got it started enough to get it home and into the driveway. Ugh! That means I'm stuck driving him around until we can get it fixed. Bleh!

I went to the crowded gym last night. Ugh, I'm beginning to hate that place. There are way too many people. Its ridiculous. I guess I need to hold true and go early in the morning. Just can't bring myself to get up at 4:30 a.m.

Talk to ya all later.
Leslie

[Suji]

No school today--the county is afraid of ice on the roads. My HS is now sleeping with a smile on his face. :-)

Leslie, I just hate it when we have car troubles. None of the kids ever have enough money of their own to pay for their cars as it is always too expensive for them and when one goes, you can be darn sure another one is going to break down in a matter of weeks!

I guess the gym is experiencing the post New Years resolution crowd. Like this place is always full of new posters after then.

Boy are they glad I am volunteering at the historical society. They have a backlog of data entry that needs doing. It's brainless, of course, but time consuming. Just the sort of thing for volunterring HS students. I'm going to make my HS go in for the interim between the end of winter indoor track and the beginning of spring track- a whole 2 weeks free. He's nbot thrilled, but he still has to finish up 15 hours for the requirements of public service.

I've got to give some thought to what to get for my DS2 birthday next weekend as he'll be coming home for the funeral on Thursday. Hard to know what to get him since everything has to go down to his college townhouse. Like Christmas, he doens't know what he wants other than money to pay utilities. Joy.

DH bought us a book and recipe book for Sugarbusters. Sounds like he is willing to commit to watching his weight now. Like I said, this birthday cake stuff has pretty much been all I've had anyway. But he's Mr. Sandwich. True.

Well, have a good one. We'll be going to the farm this weeked. I think I'm close to making my plant orders for the spring.

Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue: My DH has done pretty well sticking with a diet. Not necessarily LC, but close. He has no idea how much he's lost because our scale won't accommodate his current weight, but he says his pants are fitting much looser. I think some of his motivation is his work is promoting good health. They provide weight watchers and a gym membership, but I can't seem to get him interested in going to either. He works in Washington and doesn't want to stay there after work to attend meetings or go to the gym.

Let me know how Sugarbusters goes. I don't know much about it. I've been reading up on various diets similar to Atkins but always seem to fall back to good ol LC.

DH has relented and said he would help get DS's car to the shop. He has a buddy who works on his company truck who said he would do the repairs at the company rate. Any savings will help.

DS had a concert last night and left for Seattle this morning. He's due back Sunday afternoon, but we will be in Eugene.

As for gifts for college kids, yah, that's hard. DD1's apartment is so crowded right now, I hate to get her anything she has to store, so I got her a gift certificate to her favorite clothing store. We also have a unique grocery store called Trader Joes. I bought her a basket of awesome food items. There's enough stuff for a couple of meals. I'm also going to get her a gift card to Target so she can use it to pick up items she needs throughout the year. She hasn't asked for anything fun, so that's going to be it. I got DH a cordless drill. I know, boring, but its what he asked for.

Hope I can behave this weekend. Yesterday on induction went well. 1 day down, many more to go.

[sleepysue07]

I'm here. I thought that I had posted earlier in the week, but I guess I hadn't. I am not dieting at all right now. I know, I know...shame on me. I am quite pathetic. But! I am excercising.

Sue, I am so sorry about your FIL. You, and your family are in my prayers.

Leslie, I am glad to hear that DH is softening up a bit in relation to your son. I have had these problems in the past between my DH, and DS1, and they weren't fun. Fortunately, they worked through it, and now once again have a great relationship.

I have taken on another job. It's hard to diet in between jobs. I guess I need to spend more time in preparation. DH and I are now both working two jobs. It is not pleasant, but necessary for now. We have so many medical bills to pay, and of course college expenses. We just really want to get out of debt. If we can continue working this way for one year we should be debt free.

DS2 came home very upset tonight. He received his first traffic ticket. I told him that it isn't the end of the world. I think he expected to be grounded or something, but he wasn't speeding. They gave him a ticket because the light above the license plate had gone out.

Well, I am going to bed now. My son has a power-lifting meet tomorrow, and I plan to go early.

Have a great weekend everybody,

Carolyn

[Suji]

Hi you guys,
I just checked in early to see if anyone had posted yesterday. Hi there, Carolyn--so glad you're still here. What are you doing for exercise and for how long per day? I've *Got* to do something myself. WHy is it so hard to start that for me? My comfort level is too static, I think!

I'm waiting for DH to get up and get caffeinated so we can go to the farm--perhaps. It may end up being tomorrow as I don't know if he had anything going on here today. I want to look over my garden space to see where to plant the items I want to order. The issue is avoiding the Great Spring Drain Off. There are areas of the yard that get downright soggy and I don't want to put plants where they will drown in the spring! I've been looking at roses for the past few days, deciding what I want to put in this year. I had hoped for some climbers, but we'd better fix the front porch first and move the huge yews.

ANd who knows what else we'll get to--woodpile, tear plaster, take out ceiling or open cistern. Gah!

Leslie-good thing the calm is descending on the household!

Later gals!

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue and Carolyn:

Carolyn: Its good to hear from you. Great job on the exercise. I find I don't lose anything if I don't exercise. I managed the golf course trail on Sunday. My walking partner couldn't make it Saturday, but I didn't go to the gym on Saturday. Shame on me.

Speaking of tickets, I took DS to his lesson last night at the local community college. Since its sunday night the place is deserted so I blew through an on campus stop sign behind a security guard. What can security guards do, nothing. She stopped me and scolded me for running the stop sign. I explained there's nobody here so who cares (but I was nice). Then I apologized because I didn't want to seem disrespectful. Anyway, she had funny blond curly hair and DS said she looked like Miss Piggy. We laughed and laughed.

We had a good trip to Eugene for the birthdays. I think DD1 liked what she got. I ended up finding her some warm fuzzy PJ's on the clearance rack and no sooner did we get back from going out to eat when she put them on.

I did indulge and have a piece of banana cream pie and on friday, ice cream cake. Ugh! The good news is I didn't leave the 170's all weekend. Hopefully I'm done with the 180's for good. Today I'm hard at it again. I won't be able to hit the gym today, but tomorrow for sure.

Sue: Yes, I'm hoping DH and DS have sort of patched things up. No apologies, a few grunts here and there, but they are, at least speaking.

Talk to ya later.
Leslie