New and would like a buddy

[slendercate]

HI, y'all,

I have been working like a "dog" at the old house on the inside, so it's allmost ready for the painters, tilers; the carpet guy is coming to measure for the upstairs today. DH has been with me, also working. We will both be glad when it goes on the market & will be estatic when it is finally sold. Thank goodness the houses in that area are still selling pretty fast.

Each night, I thought, "I must post" but then, showered, fell into bed.

I haven't weighed, but feel lighter, so I guess I will see when I step on the scale. I have carried food with me while working to stay on plan.

D- hang in there with Hannah. My prayers are with you. Glad they are sending x-rays to profs for them to have a look at.
I have and love that book Living low carb that your bought on sale. She has a lot of great ideas and tips to help with the low carb lifesyle. She is a chef and has several other cookbooks that have great recipes in them.


C- I have been to the Splenda web site, have made a sf frosting from it before. When I have a minute tonight, I will look for the recipe I used and post it if I find it. The sf canned one D talked about sounds good.

Protein Power, lets you have veggies, fruit most anything as long as you stay within your "carb-limits" of either 30/day, (intervention, when you first start) or 50-55, after you have lost most of your weight. I tend to lose better when I stay at 40-45, but under 45 for sure.

T- sorry you are under the weather. Get to feeling better. Order those clothes, you deserve them.
Had to LOL about the toilet for your last birthday. Men are all the same when it comes to gifts. For Mother's day, I got a garage door opener. (we needed one, but gee....).
Thanks for the input on the "skinny jeans" . Since I am an apple shape with the "muffin" top syndrome, I really have to watch what I put around my waist.



Gosh, I can relate to feeling stressed and then eating off plan.
And also, wanting to drop 10lbs overnight. I have only known one person who could almost do that. She was a dear, sweet co-worker, but a real life "skinny-mini". She was my height, but was a size 4 ; she would "forget" to eat lunch, (which was usually raisonettes!) and drop down to a 2!
Go figure!

Well, off the work on the old house the last day of vacation.

Will check in later, I have missed you guys.

Hugs,
Slendercate (some day, I hope that will be my true name)...

[Denise78]

It was a nice surprise to hear from you, YH!! Somehow my chili and chicken strip fiasco seems mild in comparison to your first day on vacation!! Of course, you do weigh A LOT less than me so I guess you can get away with it better than I can. Enjoy the rest of your vacation, maybe not quite as much as the first day though, you don't want to be plugged up your entire time there! Sorry you ran into troubles with the flight and such. Hope the trip home will be smoother!!

I started to read that book last night and it's probably what I need to get me back to feeling better about my eating and give me the push I need. Although C, you did a pretty good job yourself this morning, thank you! I needed that!!

I think I have too much coming at me all at once, with Hannah being sick and apparently taking on that responsibility 100% on my own. My friend was great to go with me, but she is a handful herself, and it was tough spending 2 days in a row with her. Almost felt like I was babysitting a toddler -- the trouble she gets herself in.

Anyway, I guess it is a new day. Stepped on the scale this morning -- sorry C, you knew I was going to -- wasn't happy with the number I saw so I guess it's time to plug my nose and jump in the deep end! No more testing the water with my toes. I need to get stricter and really concentrate on losing now.

SC, boy you are really putting a lot of work and effort into your old house. Good for you. We moved here 6 yrs ago and still have not sold our other house. We haven't even put it on the market yet because we have so much stuff over there still and not enough storage space at our new place. Six yrs. I keep harping at dh that we need to get that place cleared out and sold once and for all. We are such procrastinators.

T, did you order the clothes yet? What catalog are you ordering them from? I love to browse the catalogs online. Find lots of great deals that way. Hope you are feeling better today!

Ds2 called from the ranch and asked that I call the school. He left his wrestling shoes in the locker room. Well school has been out for 2 wks. I called the principal and he checked -- no shoes. Just great. He has 3 wrestling camps to attend this month! I told ds2 that it's a good thing he has a job -- those shoes are not cheap, probably close to $100. Not a big deal to him, he says he will just buy another pr. Kids.

Sun is shining today. Maybe that will brighten things up for me. A week of rain does make for a dreary mood!! So what are everyone's plans for the wkd? I wonder if I can talk dh into taking me to the movies, we shall see.

Happy Friday Gals!! D

[Teresa3]

Hi, Gals--

Y, if you are reading this, I hope now you've gotten the goody binge out of your system! And if not, well, you know where your diet buddies are! Drink water! You get dehydrated while traveling, hence constipation. Hope you took your fiber drink stuff with you! And hope you are having a good time in spite of the travel problems.

C, that was a great pep talk you gave D--it was good for me, too. Maybe you have a vocation as an inspirational speaker, C! Your family loves cake, huh! I think it's a midwestern thing. We hardly ever have cake around here, but I love cake. Too bad I can't eat much of it now. (Feeling sorry for myself now.) If it's not too hard to find out, I'd like to know how many carbs are in a serving of the Splenda cake mix? The German choc sounds delicious--that's dh's fav too.

Good to hear from you SC--kudos to you for staying on track all week, esp. with all the cleanup work you've been doing. That always makes ya hungry!
A garage door opener for Mother's Day--that's the best one I've heard yet!

D, you've sure been going through it with Hannah! Nearly hit by lightning, having to go back twice, waiting for hours and still no diagnosis, dh being gone--makes ya wonder how the stars are being aligned this week! Is dh at home this weekend, and the boys? Hope everyone is going to be there with you tonight to lend comfort and moral support. Does Hannah seem to be responding to the meds at all?

Hope you are enjoying reading your new cookbook, D, maybe that will give you something to keep you occupied and give you some new ideas for some new dishes.

I have no plans for the weekend cuz I'm still under the weather. Boring! We never do anything anyway. But I always enjoy going to the gym on Sat. and having the buffet at the hotel. Doesn't look like that's going to happen. What movie would you want to see, D? We finished Into the Wild last night. It got more interesting as it went along, and the scenery is good. Also there were scenes from the desert that were familiar to us, so that was fun. Tonight we are going to watch Michael Clayton. I always enjoy watching George Clooney.

I have watched way more tv the last few days than I care to, but it's all I can do. Not feeling like doing much reading, too hard to concentrate. Anyway, I've gotten into watching those medical shows on the discovery health channel, like the mystery diagnosis stuff, and the emergency room shows. OMG! I have a morbid fascination with those! Even watching Dr. G medical examiner--I don't know how anybody can want that job, but it is so interesting! Guess a lot of people have that fascination or it wouldn't be on tv! I never watched any of those csi shows, but now I see how people could find them interesting. On a healthier note, I've also seen some shows about diet and weight loss and improving your health, which are kinda motivating.

I've stayed on plan while not feeling well, but I'm not losing weight because I still feel like eating and I'm getting no exercise whatsoever. So no progress but no backsliding either. I haven't ordered any of the clothes yet--they're from Nordstrom's online sale, D--probably will get the 2 summer jackets that are on sale, they're a good buy, and maybe one top. Hope you all have a nice evening. T.

[Denise78]

Good morning ladies.

Sorry to hear you are still feeling sick, T. Hopefully you'll get to feeling better over the wkd. I think the Splenda cake mix has around 28-30 carbs per serving. Or close to that. So while it's lower than a regular cake mix, it's still high-carb. Are you still eating your lc chocolate? I haven't seen that on your menu in awhile and I know you loved it. How did the panna cotta affect you? (Trying to figure out if there is a little dessert you could have that doesn't raise your sugar levels). Have you ever tried ordering from Netrition? They do have a lot of premade cookies and cakes that are low-carb and taste pretty good. Or maybe for a change you could make a smoothie with the berries, cream or lc milk and some ice in a blender, and give yourself a "frozen" dessert. I don't think I've ever bought from Nordtstroms but I know they are a good store. Do they have plus sizes for someone big like me? A lot of those finer stores don't, so I may have to wait on that.

My new book is not a cookbook. I guess the author has written some cookbooks but this is more of a "self-help" book. She discusses the do's and don'ts of low-carb eating and compares several of the latest low-carb diets. It's been interesting so far, but I haven't come across anything insightful that I didn't already know about low-carb eating so who knows what I'll get out of it.

I'm having a hard time with Hannah today. She wouldn't take her meds, wouldn't eat the dogfood the vet gave me (although yesterday she gobbled it down) and we woke up to find she had an accident (pee) in the laundry room. First one in the 8 yrs we've owned her. She's just going downhill. The vet said to wait till Wednesday for test results, but I'll be calling on Monday if this continues.

I think the movies will be put on hold again since I don't want to leave Hannah alone at night while we're gone. I wanted to see Sex in the City but I'm sure this will be the last week it's there so guess that ain't happenin'. We need to go to Alliance earlier today to get a dog run. The vet doesn't want her running loose anymore. She can come with us since we won't be gone long and I think ds1 will come too, so we'll probably go out to lunch. Ds2 works on Saturdays at the ranch so he won't be home till tonight.

I think I did better with my eating yesterday. Tried to eat more veggies and less snacks. I made "loaded" cauliflower. Saw the recipe on this site and decided to try it. Wow, tasted just like a baked potato with toppings. I steamed the cauliflower, mixed in softened cream cheese and topped it with shredded cheddar and baked on 350 till the cheese melted and then topped it with sour cream and bacon bits. Delicious!! Same thing can be done with broccoli so I'll have to try that next. Dh and ds1 had spag. & meatballs. Dh made my meatballs w/o breadcrumbs and I didn't miss the spaghetti at all since I had the yummy cauliflower treat.

Yesterday's menu:

B-zucchini, cabbage, coffee
S-mini dill pickles
L-soy burger patty, lc pita, lettuce, tomato
D-meatballs, loaded cauliflower
S-cottage cheese

I don't know if I'll even get on the scale today. I'd like to eat like this for a few more days and see if it makes a difference, cutting out the nuts and sf candy for awhile. So I may wait till Mon or Tues for my weigh-in.

Hope you had a good day yesterday, C. Missed your daily post!!

YH, if you're peeking in....hello, hope you are having a great time! I'm thinking today/tonight is the wedding -- can't wait to hear all about it.

SC, still working on your house?? Have you talked to your son since he moved? How is he doing in his new home?

Well ladies, that's it for now unless one of you pop in and get me to thinking about something else I can ramble on about.

Have a great day! D

[MI CHICK]

Good morning D!! Sorry you had no post to read this a.m but my puter wasn't reacting to the heat well last nite. One of the problems of getting the old broken hand me down LOL

I slept like a log again Have been a lite sleeper my whole life--inherited trait from good ole mom. But the last couple months I have been sleeping so sound & it is so wonderful!!! My body takes me 8hrs now. Matter of fact I've had to quit going to bed later on the nites I have to get up early in the morning cause I've even slept thru my alarm a couple times that I'd only allowed for my usual 6hrs So the past few weekends dh has been so surprised when I didn't stroll out of the bedroom till 9-10
Lucky people who sleep this way thru their whole lifes!!!

Sorry to hear that Hannah is still struggling!! So hard to have them sick & your helpless....

Yes the splenda cake mixes are only for a "better treat" if you're doing lc T. Works better for those doing ww's. I just thought on the occasions that I have to make dessert
for our family dinners it would be nice if I'd knocked some of the bad things out of it. Over the last 12yrs we have mainly had pies or things like cheese cakes as mom always brought dessert and she's a grand pie baker. Good crust. But the last year I ended up making dessert too so I decided to try some desserts from the past.

I think that loaded califlower was one of my recipes D. When I first made it dh was like are you sure this is legal for you?? Haven't made it in a long while. Got kind of confused when I started trying to lower my fats & dropped some of those dishes.

Well 'puter is already not liking the heat so I should stop before I loose this. It's already 80 out this morning...

[Denise78]

I was thinking it might be one of your recipes, C, but wasn't sure. It's a good one. You're right about the Splenda cake, better than a regular one for a special occasion, but definitely not a substitute for an everyday low-carb dessert (especially for T or me with the Diabetes).

We made an emergency trip to the vet this morning. Poor Hannah's front legs swelled up overnight and she was panting non-stop even though it wasn't hot. Dh and ds1 went with me. This was a different vet although he had been there the other day and had seen her x-rays. He was a little more pessimistic than the first vet and told us that if she is still alive in a week, he'd be very surprised. He gave us a couple of choices. He would insert a shunt in her chest to rid her of the accumulated fluid to make her comfortable but he said that was very painful and he'd have to sedate her and she'd be sore and uncomfortable afterwards. With it being Saturday, there's no way I wanted to leave her there overnight, especially since she'd be alone, with him only checking in on her from time to time. He said the alternative would be to give us Lasix injections to take home and we could give those to her every 6 hours to make her comfortable. It would do the same job as the shunt, just at a slower pace. We opted for that choice since if she's going to pass, we'd rather she do it under the shade of her favorite tree than in a cage with strangers around her, ya know? He's not sure she'll die because we're still waiting results from the x-rays but it doesn't look good. We were all sobbing and it was very sad.

Anyway, I think I'll check back in tomorrow because we're all very upset here.

D

[Teresa3]

Oh, D, I feel for you...this has been such a hard week. We went through the same thing with Jenny. We were bereft; I cried for days, and on and off for weeks. I know how much you all love her! At least you are all together this weekend to help get through this. We will be thinking of you and keeping you in our prayers.

Well, you did eat really healthy yesterday in the face of this. The cauliflower dish sounds really good, I will definitely try that one. Thanks for your suggestions for dessert. I have been able to eat berries and whipped cream, so that is a good thing. And I have been eating my lc choc. It just gets a little boring. Actually, the panna cotta did not seem to up my sugar much, since I didn't eat any other carbs for the lunch. It was only 132 two hours after. So it's something I could have once in a while. I did order some lowcarb fruit spreads from this site. But the riot was, when I got them I looked at some nonsplenda spreads I got from the health food store, and they were actually lower!

C, we heard it was awfully hot in the midwest and east today, with storms and tornados! I guess that will keep you pretty much indoors this weekend, huh! Hope it tapers off so you can get out for awhile and do something nice. Otherwise, I guess it's back to the airwalker, eh?

I'm glad you mentioned Father's Day, C. I didn't realize it was coming up so soon, so I got busy and sent my dad a box of four different kinds of sausages! He'll like those. Wish I could be back there to see them, but it's going to have to wait until fall, I think. It's so nice you are able to see your folks so often.

D, you probably can't even be thinking about Father's Day right now. We don't really celebrate it. Dh's sons sometimes call, but are not into those things. Dh's birthday is on the 24th, but I doubt that we will be doing much because of the graduations. The oldest grandson's is next Friday, in the evening, so we're going to have to go up and spend the night for that one. So I don't think we'll be making a third trip up there this month for his birthday; his kids are going to be a little burned out by that time, and I sure don't want to have to drive up there three times in one month! I wish we all lived in a more rural area like you, D!

You doing anything for Father's Day, SC?

I am still trying to get better from this virus. I did go with dh to lunch today at the gym. I just sat and read while he did his workout. I still feel really tired, and my chest hurts. Not bad sick, though, just real tired. At least I can get on the computer! We watched Michael Clayton last night--pretty disappointing for one of the top rated movies of the year, we thought. Not a great plot; I've seen tv shows with much better ones. But I do like to watch Clooney--he's easy on the eyes! Well, take it easy, everybody. T.

[slendercate]

HI, just got in from all day at the Scottish Festival. Great fun. DH always looks great in his kilt. ( a 30th anniversary gift 5 years ago).

I had tons of sf limaeade, (refillable glass), a bratwurst & saurkraut sans the bun while out there, few pecans, (I suspect they had some sugar in them, so I didn't eat many).

No lc booths at the Scottish Festival, one has to make the food fit the lc lifestyle.

I was excited as I have long wanted a period bustier with a peasant blouse, full skirt, etc., but I haven't had the shape or felt I would look very good in it for several years. Today, I tried on one (over my shirt) and it looked great. I had a tiny waist, but who wouldn't with all that boning in it.? Maybe for my birthday present in October when I will hopefully be down in weight even more. Also, very expensive, so I will have to save for it.
What a motivator!

D- wow, I have you and yours on my prayer list, Hannah, too. This has been such a hard week for you. Pets do become like our family members.
If your new lc book is the one I am thinking of, (by Fran McCullogh?) she has written several cook books with some great recipes. My favorite is 500 low carb recipes.

C- hope the weather isn't too bad your way. What a great pep talk you gave D. You're terrific.

T- hope you are continuing to get better of the virus.

We finally heard from DS (about a 5 minute call) last Wed, he got there ok, but borrowed a phone as his cell doesn't work there, he will have to get a new one. He sounds happy, but of course, it is still the "honeymoon" period.

Fathers Day- glad you live near your folks, C. We live near my inlaws, (my parents are dead) and will probably have them over next Sunday if my MIL feels up to it, if not, we will go over there.

Though my DH woundn't say anything, this will be the first time ever that our son is away on Fathers Day. Sometimes he is not too good at remebering b'days or hollidays, so I hope he will at least find a phone and call his Dad.

Well, it's late, got to hit the shower and eat a small bite for supper.

Menu: today
before leaving home:
chocolate milk, lc hood carb countdown
at the festival:
bratwurst & sauerkraut sans the bun
lots of lc limeade
dinner: cold chicken, homemade cole slaw, cup of watermelon.

[MI CHICK]

Well D I am very sorry to hear about Hannah. I agree it's much better that she be at home with you--feel the same way about people, no one should die alone in the hospital. Like T said we cried for days. But what a grand thing for her if she can die being held by you guys under her favorite tree! Can you bury her there? We have all these city codes & couldn't do that.

Sorry you are still feeling a bit slow T. Keep resting.

I made a new recipe today that was easy & so good in this hot weather. I poached salmon fillets & then made this lemon dill sauce. It was very lc. They chilled in fridg all day & served w a green salad. Gave dh cottage cheese & mandarin oranges too. Need to get some lc ice cream for these hot days.

You did great w/your eating at the festival SC!! Proof that we can do this for the rest of our life. Sounds like it was a fun day! Are we to assume your dh is Scottish? LOL
Your son is a true young man with the normal concerns about such things as father's day & birthdays--meaning zip, ha! Sons are never as good as daughters for that kind of thing I think.

Was Y's wedding tonight? Hope she knocks 'em dead with her 136lb body! Bloated w/vacation goodies or not she is so much slimmer than when she saw them last.

No exercise in this heat. Makes me so lethargic. We watched a couple movies on tv (saw Chocolat for the first time & it was good!) & just putzed.

My mom called to tell me that my one first cousin is full of cancer--she is the one cousin I was the closest with, the sister I don't have. She just turned 56 in April. I was in the middle of writing her a letter (good ole snail mail kind-only person left that writes) when I talked to my mom. Told her in the letter that I knew & will call her the first of the week. She has 4 siblings & 2 grown kids so they will all be calling her non stop all weekend. Will give her a chance to sort thru it with them. Will also give me time so that I can hopefully talk to her without sobbing all the way thru the conversation. She moved to AL a couple years ago so I can't hop in the car & drive up north to see her. Didn't tell dh yet. Just didn't want to actually have to say the words Cora has cancer just yet ya know....

It's almost 11:30 so I am off to bed. Took a Tylenol pm so that I will sleep not just roll around in bed consumed with memories.

[Denise78]

Good morning! I see I beat everyone here this morning, which is a good thing, since you all were here last night and left me posts to read.

Thanks for all your kind words about Hannah. We made it through the night and her breathing today is about 50% better than yesterday. I suspect that is the Lasix kicking in. She is pretty much laying on the floor and refuses to eat, just sips water from time to time. Dh has been walking her outside every so often, hard for her to walk now, but she's holding her own. And yes, we plan to bury her under her favorite tree, seems appropriate and our town is unincorporated so we don't have zoning laws or anything like that.

C, I am so sorry about your cousin. What a sad thing to hear, especially about a loved one. I'm sure she will be glad for your call so you and her can have a nice long chat. Sorry she is so far away from you. Would be nice if you could just sit in her kitchen with her and have a cup of coffee. But a phone call will be sure to brighten her up too. My thoughts and prayers are with you both.

T, that panna cotta really didn't affect you all that much, did it? Normal readings 2 hours after eating are around 120-140 I think, so if you were 132, that is right on the money. Maybe that can be your once-in-awhile treat, so that you don't binge on other things? It's nice to have a special treat you know you can eat, when you are sick or just feeling blah with your menu. I hear ya about the fruit spreads. I really read labels before I buy anything anymore. So many things claim to be sugar-free but have more carbs than others. It's very deceiving sometimes.

SC, sounds like you had an awesome time at the Scottish Festival. What fun! And to fit into the bustier and look so nice. Woo-hoo!! Yes, my new book is by Fran McCullough. As soon as she mentioned Protein Power, I thought of you and figured you had read this one! Glad to hear you got to talk to your son and he's settling in. I hope he remembers to call dad on Father's Day. We have that same problem with stepson. Last year he called to say he was spending Father's Day with his mother. Just had to twist that knife a little deeper. Oh well.

My sons tend to treat my dh better than his own son so depending on how Hannah does this week, we'll probably have a little cookout here at home, just the 4 of us, for Father's Day. I'll try to get out this week and pick dh up a present and the boys usually get him something too. Doubtful stepson will even join us or give a gift/card but he may call. My dad is in Florida. I send him a subscription to our little town paper and renew it every yr as his Father's Day gift. My kids are always in it and I also write a weekly column for the paper, so it's a nice gift for far away relatives. I give a subscription to my ex-husb (from the kids) and their grandpa also as Father's Day gifts and one for my mother as a Mother's Day gift. That way everyone can keep up with what our family is doing in our little town, even tho we live 1800 miles away from them. I even send ds1 a subscription at college. It's such a fun little paper with all local happenings and a nice way for him to keep up with what's going on while he's away at school.

I plan to get on the scale this morning and weigh-in. I feel like I've lost the extra lbs I've been hanging onto the past week so it's best I make sure before I do anymore damage. We stopped at Wendy's drive-thru yesterday, and I stayed on plan this time.

Yesterday's menu:

B-egg substitute, cabbage, 3 sl bacon, coffee
L-triple burger (no bun), caesar side salad
D-2 burger patties, broccoli & cauliflower casserole

I've cut out the sf candies and almonds for the time being. I think they were stalling me. I'm really trying to focus on veggies and hopefully it's working! I'll let you know in a bit if I get the nerve to step on the scale. I guess with YH gone, I'm the only one weighing in this week??

Another rainy day here. Looks like a good day to throw a roast in the oven. Hope everyone is enjoying their wkd. D

[Teresa3]

Hey, D, you sound relieved today. I imagine you're feeling better now that the lasix helped Hannah, although we know you don't have all the answers yet.

So what kind of a column do you write for the paper? That is a wonderful gift to send all your friends and relatives! Is is hard to come up with things to write about, or is it just a lot of fun?

Your Father's Day sounds nice. That is so weird your dh's son spends the day with his mom! Go figure! Some people just don't get it. They don't want to take responsibility for their own problems and it's so convenient to blame the parents. It's wonderful he has two boys there who do love and respect him.

C, I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin's cancer; that is so tough to bear. Is she going to have chemo or anything? I'm sure she will appreciate getting to talk with you.

The salmon fillets sound delicious--what a great hot weather meal! Dh got some lc butter pecan ice cream a few weeks ago that was out of this world, and it was just the Safeway brand. Er, do you have Safeway stores in your area? He got the ice cream with me in mind, two cartons mind you, and ate both of them! I had one small serving!

SC, the Scottish festival sounded like a lot of fun. A bustier is a great motivator, and I bet your dh is all for that one! He probably would have bought it on the spot rather than have to wait to see you in it! You did fabulous to not eat all the possible goodies that were temptations there! Hope your ds will remember to call on Father's Day.

Even though I'm STILL under the weather, !, dh and I went to our usual Sunday lunch at the Greek restaurant, and I had my usual Greek salad and moussaka sans the potatoes. I think it perked me up a bit, but not as much as I would like. I can't believe this thing is taking so long to leave! Oh well, enough grousing. It's a beautiful day here, and I can't complain much about just laying around. I got dh to watch Knocked Up with me last night. He'd been resisting the "chick flick" for some time, but couldn't help laughing once we got into it. So I've been enjoying a lot of movies lately!
Hope you all are enjoying your Sunday! Of course, we're all dying to know how Y is doing! T.

[MI CHICK]

Well it was a day of nasty storms--the tornado siren even went off. I've only had that happen one other time in my life. So we headed to the basement for about 20minutes. But the heat blew out & temps dropped from 90s to 70s.
Am taking a Tylenol pm so that I sleep despite the humidty as I have a long day tomorrow. Didn't take it last nite & didn't sleep well plus a big thunderstorm blew thru at 3:30a.m.

My client that had the heart attack & was home & went back wants me to bring clothes to her at the hospital tomorrow morning--that's all fine but I didn't want to drive to the nursing home that she's going to for rehab as it's a bit of a trip. Told her that was the only one out of the long list the hospital gave her that was really to far to come too---& of course Murphy's law that's where she ends up. They are always so stressed out when they make that kind of a trip; plus you are a bit at odds with the staff so it gets complicated. Trying to help w/whatever it is that your client wants & yet not hinder the people from doing their jobs. Hate these situations. She has a large group of friends to draw on for support so I was really surprised when she wanted me. Her son is in CA so is of no help.

Sorry to hear you are still dragging T! That is too funny about dh eating your ice cream!! We don't have a Safeway here. Butter Pecan would be a nice change in lc ice cream.

I had ice cream too but it was regular. Dh got himself a bowl & brought me one too. It was so bloody hot & so I ate it no excuses. Had a few french fries at lunch too. Just in a crummy mood. Dear cousin is a diabetic & has always been so careful w/what she eats & walked all the time cause it helped with her sugar #'s etc. And she's full of cancer. So it's just that you deprive yourself & struggle so hard and something else takes you mode I was in. Am hoping to sleep well & not be hung up in the mood tomorrow too. Still haven't told dh yet, or anyone actually. Just don't want to say it out loud yet...don't know if that makes any sense or not...

The paper sounds like fun, & of course you would be writing for it too LOL!!! You are the active one D! Hope Hannah is resting peaceable today. No weight report so the scale still must be reporting bad news...with your fluid problems I'm not sure how you tell the truth?

Well I am to bed as it's after 11.

[Denise78]

Thought I'd jump on quick. Ds2 has been on/off the computer all day long so I didn't get much time here today. Guess I will leave you a post for the morning, gals!

Weight is finally down again. I was up about 3-4 lbs at the beginning of the week -- was driving me nuts but I cut out the sf candy and almonds and I think that moved me along. Was down to 292 when I checked this morning, which means I got back down to last Saturday's weight AND lost 1 more this week (last Saturday I was 293). You can physically see when I am retaining water -- ankles balloon up unbelieveably, so there's not much guesswork involved. I don't get on the scale if I am too swollen because I know the numbers won't be accurate.

Today's menu:

B-egg substitute, cabbage, coffee
S-drink potion, babybel lite
L-few sl kielbasa, lc pita
S-SB protein bar, babybel lite
D-roast, cauliflower, lc pita, lettuce

I don't think I am relieved, T, but just trying to adjust to the fact that we won't have Hannah with us much longer. I try not to think about it because it's so devastating. She spent a good part of today laying in the shade of her tree, so I have to hope it's what she'd want to do with her last few days. I'm glad she survived the wkd. Ds1 and ds2 told me they can't bear to be home when she passes. They got to spend a good amount of time with her this wkd and got their goodbyes in, just in case.

It was rainy this morning but the weather got better as the day wore on. Dh worked in the garden this afternoon so he was happy about that. Ds2 just left to go back to the ranch. Ds1 will leave at 6 am tomorrow. Dh is taking tomorrow afternoon off as I am about out of insulin and I can't take Hannah with me to get more (hour's drive and she needs to be lifted in and out of van now and I can't do that alone) nor do I want to leave her home alone for that amount of time. I need to get dh a Father's Day present anyway so that will work out that he doesn't come with me.

Sorry to hear you are still feeling ill, T. When I get sick, it seems to take forever to get over it too. Must be our weakened immune systems, don't you think? Are you taking vitamin C -- that might help.

Our little newspaper covers 3 area towns and my column is about the happenings here in Ashby. I call or email ppl for their news....maybe a visit from a distant relative or their son won first place in the spelling bee...small-town stuff like that. I put it all together in a column every week, appropriately called "Ashby News." I'm the roving reporter during the school year. I write articles and submit pictures covering the high school wrestling meets, One-Act and Speech competitions, awards night, field trips, things like that...mostly because I am at those events watching ds2 participate so I may as well take pictures and write about it too.

We have Safeway here in Nebraska but not back in New England, where I'm from. I don't shop there often but I do like their variety of fruits and vegetables. It's an hour away so I don't buy their ice cream. Even on dry ice, I don't think it would travel well in this hot weather and I'm not wanting ice cream in cold weather. Sounds good though.

C, I wish I could give you a big hug in person. Guess sometimes we don't want to say the really bad things out loud because then that makes them real. It might make you feel better to talk with dh. Sometimes we need that support to get thru hardships like this. So if your client goes to this new nursing home, will you have to commute there to run errands for her or take her things? That would be stressful if it is a long drive for you and you didn't plan on it. Hope your weather gets better tonight and you can get a good night's sleep, maybe forget about things for just a few hours.

Well I guess that's all I know for now. Good night ladies. D

[Denise78]

Good morning C! Saw you pop on for a minute -- you must be headed out to work. Hope you slept well last night.

Stressful day for me and it's not even 8:30 am yet!! Yesterday, ds1 took our car out to the country to do some target shooting. Don't know how he did it, but he somehow managed to shoot a hole in the roof of the car, leaning on it and shooting over it. Anyway, he was all upset that he had done something so stupid and it was truly an accident, albeit, a stupid one. He tried to patch the hole up with putty but it went clear thru the roof and damaged the wiring. It's an older car that the kids drive -- not my van, thank goodness. Problem is that ds2 drives this car since he is still saving up to buy his own, and they couldn't get the inside dome light to turn off last night, so ds1 had to disconnect the fuses. Which means no interior lighting at all. Ds2 can't plug his cellphone charger in, can't see the speed limit he's driving at night, etc. He has 2 wrestling camps he's driving to, one on Thurs & Fri this week and the other Sun thru Wed of next week and I'd really like the wiring to be fixed before he makes those long drives alone. Ds2 called from the ranch this morning to say he woke up to find a flat tire on the car this morning. Boy, when it rains, it pours! He has a spare and will change it, but doesn't know how good the spare is to drive the 2-3 hours to camps this week so dh is going to take time off tomorrow to go check the car out and try to fix the wiring (since that's something ds2 doesn't know how to do) and see if we need to buy a new tire before Thursday. Of course, it would be easier if ds2 was living at home but he can't take time off himself to get the car to us and he works long days at the ranch, till 6 or 7 at night and by the time he'd drive home for dh to look at it then, it would be too dark. Ugh.

Anyway, I think I will need a day of shopping by this afternoon! Trying to figure out what to get dh for Father's Day -- he's so hard to buy for. I'm wondering if I can find some kind of gadget or tool for the garden or bbq?? I'm really shopping for a gift from my boys. They usually shop for dh themselves but we didn't get to the stores this wkd like we normally would have so I'll have to do it for them.

How are you doing, T & SC? Hope you had a nice wkd and are ready to get back to a new week! I'm really missing going to Curves but I think that is on the back burner for now. Will focus on my eating this week and maybe try to get some home exercise in if I can. Goal for this week is to get under 290, which means at least a 3 lb loss. It should be do-able since I stayed the same last week and only lost 1 lb this week and scale is already moving down again today. Wish me luck!!

Hello to YH if you're peeking in!

Have a happy Monday Gals! D

[MI CHICK]

Another 90's day with thunderstorms rolling in tonight...am sick of this already! Went from spring to dog days of summer...what happened to the nice 75 degree days??

Clients schedule got all messed around today so I'm going tomorrow. She sounds really bad on the phone. Don't think she'll be coming home anytime soon. But at least she did get into a nursing rehab that's much closer.

Well that was one of those funny but not funny stories D~ you all will be teasing ds about this when he's 40 LOL!!!
Hope they can get it all repaired---it's hard to have them driving around in older cars! We found w/ds that the costs for a young male driver were completely nuts, so they always end up in that older iffy car. I've felt much better the last couple years that he had a good bike & helmet & has biked everywhere.

No exercise today again w/the heat. I did get all the bedding changed & laundry done. Made a dish of potato salad for dh. Got the linen closet in my bath cleaned out.
Little things I could do with the fan blowing on me

Been doing so much drinking that I feel so bloated I bet I could really move those #'s up on the scale. Ate too many cashews the last 2 days cause I wanted the salt. Calorie wise I think I would have been better off to pop one of the single serving bags of lite popcorn. Dh has almost finished off the ice cream so I'm not buying anymore--he doesn't need all that either. He's getting a spare tire...

Dh is not my dad so I'm not buying him a gift. I did that when ds was young & couldn't on his own. When he hit adulthood I left it up to him. He's pretty broke but he can buy a card & give his dad a big hug--that's really all dad wants anyway.

That would be so great if you could get below 290 D!! If I keep draggin my butt you may be slipping past me...LOL

Well nothing else to report that's of any interest. Hope you all are resting comfortably by the fan in front of the boob tube for the nite!

[Teresa3]

Wow, I've been reading about all the storms, tornados, and heat in both MI and Nebraska (what's the abb. for that?)--you gals have really been hit hard the last few days, huh! I sure hope this passes and you get some nice weather soon!

Well, at least you got a lot done in the house, C. Congrats on doing some of that crummy stuff that always needs doing that no one ever wants to do! cleaning out the linen closet--you really deserve ice cream for that, C!

C, I agree with D--I think you will feel better if you can unburden yourself to your dh--that's what they're for, right? I imagine he'll be upset for you, but it will help to talk about it.

D, oh the trial and tribulations of automobiles! At least ds didn't shoot himself in the process! We'll take the wiring! What a couple of weeks, huh!

I don't get dh a present for Father's Day, either, but I did just order him a set of foreign films by Satijat Ray (sp?) I found online. Maybe that's where you could get some ideas if you don't find anything today, D. But I bet you'll find something he'll like--you always come up with the nicest things!

Hey, congratulations on losing some more weight, D! You're going to get into the 280's soon--won't that feel nice!

Glad Hannah is able to spend time out under her favorite tree, I'm sure it's a comfort to her. When Jenny's time came, I asked her vet to come out to our house and I held her underneath the rhododendron bushes where she enjoyed laying in the shade. It was hard, very emotional, but we all felt good that we were able to do it that way.

I seem to be doing better today; still a little under the weather, but feel I'm on the mend now. I even went for a little walk up at the arboretum, hooray!
It was warm here and I got dizzy and upset stomach but glad I got out for awhile. The first exercise I've had all week. Haven't been eating that much, but not losing anything because of no exercise. Hope I can get going back to the gym tomorrow.

Dh got the best scallops at the farmers' market this weekend and cooked them last night--yum! I don't usually like scallops that much because they often have sand in them, but these were really tasty, mild, and no sand. What a treat! And I just steamed some cabbage, carrots, and green beans to go with them. A nice simple meal. Tonight he's cooking seabass, broccoli, and cauliflower and maybe some chard, all from the market. should be good! Hope you all have a calmer evening than last night! TTYL, T.

[Denise78]

Wow C, you really are getting some hot weather, aren't you? I won't brag about how nice it is here. I'm sure we'll be getting your weather soon enough!! It's good that your client got into a closer nursing home, but sorry that's she's doing so badly. Is it her heart again?

T, glad to hear you are on the mend and were able to go for a little walk. You'll be back to your old self soon enough. I scallops!! They are my favorite seafood. I bet they tasted good. I've never tried sea bass before, although your dinner tonight sounds very yummy. Dh appears to be quite the cook!! (Nebraska = NE).

I don't normally buy dh Father's Day gifts either but this will be from the boys, not me. I got a gorgeous diamond and gemstone Mother's ring from the boys for Mother's Day that dh had a little hand in so I'm just returning the favor. I ended up getting him a battery-operated grill brush, a new sprinkler for his garden and a little outdoor table to put next to the grill so he can set his ashtray down and have a smoke while he's grilling. Nothing exciting but I couldn't find anything else and at least he can use these things.

I had so many errands to run today, between stopping at the pharmacy for my insulin, KMart, Pamida, Dollar General, and the grocery store. I was exhausted by the time I stopped for gas and then I couldn't get the darn cap off the gas tank. I had to ask some guy to open it for me. Geesh, how embarrassing.

I grabbed dh a couple of double cheeseburgers from McD's for supper on the way home, but I decided it would be better if I didn't eat fast food tonight since I am really trying hard this week to lose a good amount. I think I have a long way to go before I pass you up C, but wouldn't that be something??!! Maybe that can be your new motivation -- don't want big ole D sneaking up on you!!

Today's menu:

B-coffee
L-roast, cabbage, lc tortilla
D-2 soy burgers, lc pita, loaded cauliflower

As soon as we finished eating, we went out to the ranch and dh used the air compressor on our van to air up the tire on ds2's car. I followed dh home and we dropped the car off at the mechanic's to be worked on tomorrow. Hopefully he will get the wiring fixed too. We will bring it back to ds2 at the ranch tomorrow night.

Yep, when all was said and done, it was pretty comical about ds1 shooting the car. The rancher & his wife teased ds2 about how Ashby doesn't get many drive-by shootings. The funny ending to it all -- ds2 absolutely HATES sloppy joes but when he started working at this ranch several yrs ago, he was too shy to tell the rancher's wife he didn't like them the first time she made them, so she thinks he loves 'em and makes them often. Now it's been years and he's too embarrassed to come clean so he suffers silently everytime she serves them. Ds2 pulled me aside tonight and said, "Mom, you'll never guess what we had for supper -- sloppy joes!!" Poor kid. What a way to end an already bad day!


My feet are killing me but I bet if I head to bed now, dh will massage them before he falls asleep. Hope you get a better night's sleep tonight, C!! Maybe take a nice long soak in the tub to relax you beforehand.

Catch ya tomorrow, gals! D

[Jennypsw]

Hi I am new here and would like some new friends in my struggle with weight loss. I started eating healthier about a week ago and have lost 3 pounds with the help of PGX. Has anyone heard of this? It really is an amazing product.

[Jennypsw]

I would be great to support and be supported with weight loss efforts. I started eating healthier one week ago and have lost 3 pounds in my first week. I use pgx which supports weight loss and dimished appetite while leveling blood sugars. Has anyone heard of this.

[MI CHICK]

Good morning! It's raining still--has been all nite. But at least it's cooled off. Am hoping to plan my trip to clients home & re hab between rain drops since I'll be carrying her suitcase.

Not anything to report since last nite. I did sleep pretty good since the temps dropped some.

Ds called last nite & he's helping some friends move on Sat which means they will pick him up & then drop him here after the moving is done. So that's good. Was going to take him to do his big grocery shopping Sat afternoon so not sure what we're going to do about that since there won't be time Sun around dinner & church & getting him back to campus.

I still feel so full this morning so I think I won't eat right away. Not bad eating but nibbling since it's been to hot to eat much at once. Guess with all the drinking it's added up. Your scallops sounded great--does dh cook alot? Seems to be good healthy food to. I like scallops but dh doesn't so don't cook to often.

Jenny! What is PGX?

Ta tah for now

[Denise78]

Good morning, C. Glad you got a good sleep last night. I hate when the weather gets that hot. We have central a/c. I couldn't live without it here in Nebraska, it reaches 110 degrees on some days!! Heat worsens my MS so I cannot even sit outdoors on really hot days.

Is your son still in school or did he get out for the summer already? I'm sure it will be nice to have him around for Father's Day. Will you guys stay home or go out to eat? I think maybe I will pick up some ribeyes and have a little cookout. Would be less expensive than going out and there's nothing like a good steak on the grill, even if dh has to cook it himself on Father's Day. Can ds give you a list of what he needs and you go shopping before he gets there on Saturday?

Good morning to you too, T, although I think at this hour, you are probably still snuggling in bed with your dh.

I am so happy --- the scale is finally moving down every morning that I step on it!! I am 290 this morning. Woo-hoo!! (Sad that I am excited over THAT number, but I guess it's been awhile since I weighed it, so yep, it does make me happy to reach it again). I told dh that as of today, I've lost 46 lbs. He said, "great, just 4 more lbs and you'll have lost half a century."

YH comes home tomorrow, right? I so miss her middle-of-the-night posts. Especially on the days I beat everyone here in the morning! Glad you were an early-bird this morning, C!!!

Hi Jenny. I have never heard of pgx. Is that a Canadian thing?

I'm going to run to Hyannis later this morning (the little town 9 miles away) and give Tanner's mom his presents. They're leaving for Texas on Thursday. He loves super heroes and his mom said he also likes Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Carribbean. So I got him a pillow with a Spiderman pillowcase. Figured that would be a good gift for a 12 hour drive. Plus I got 4 dvd movies (all on different super heroes), an Indiana Jones magazine, an Indiana Jones action figure and a little Pirates of the Carribbean case to put everything in. I think he will enjoy all that. She said he's taking a portable dvd player in the car so the movies will keep him entertained for a few hours. She said she will hide them till Thursday otherwise he will want to get into everything before they leave on their trip.

I also need to buy some bread. We have a sorority blood drive tomorrow and I need to make ham salad sandwiches for the donors. I bought all the ingredients yesterday but guess I forgot the most important one to make sandwiches. I was supposed to work the blood drive from 8 to 2 but I can't leave Hannah alone that long. Dh will drop off the sandwiches as he has an 8 am appt to donate blood, and then I may pop over at the end of the day so I can meet with my Executive Board quickly.

Well I guess I need to swim through ds2's room today and find some clothes that need to be washed so I can get him packed up for his wrestling camp. He always runs around at the last minute if I leave it up to him. The trials and tribulations of mothering a 16 yr old. I bought him a gym bag at Pamida yesterday. It was a really nice one by Wilson but I couldn't find a price tag on it. I had searched KMart and they had nothing. This was the only one Pamida had in stock. I was praying it wasn't $30 or $40 when I got to the register. Figured if it was under $20, I'd get it. I asked the gal to scan it and it came up as $4.99. Wow. I love deals like that!

Have a great day ladies!! D

[Denise78]

Dh sent this to me. Thought it was appropriate for our gang here!

The High-Stress Diet

This is designed to help you cope with the stress that builds up during the day.

BREAKFAST:
Grapefruit
1 slice whole wheat toast
8 oz skim milk

LUNCH:
4 oz lean broiled chicken breast
1 c steamed spinach
1 c herbal tea
1 Oreo cookie

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK:
The rest of Oreos in the package
2 pts Rocky Road ice cream, nuts, cherries and whipped cream
1 jar hot fudge sauce

DINNER:
2 loaves garlic bread
4 cans Coke
1 large sausage, mushroom and cheese pizza
3 Snickers bars

LATE EVENING NEWS:
Entire frozen Sara Lee cheesecake (eaten directly from the freezer)

RULES FOR THIS DIET:

1. If you eat something and no one sees you eat it, it has no calories.

2. If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, the calories in the candy bar are cancelled out by the diet soda.

3. When you eat with someone else, calories don't count if you do not eat more than they do.

4. Food used for medicinal purposes NEVER count, such as hot chocolate, brandy, toast and Sara Lee cheesecake.

5. If you fatten up everyone else around you, then you look thinner.

6. Cookie pieces contain no calories. The process of breaking causes calorie leakage.

7. Things licked off knives and spoons have no calories if you are in the process of preparing something.

8. Anything consumed while standing has no calories. This is due to gravity and the density of the caloric mass.

9. Anything consumed from someone else's plate has no calories since the calories rightfully belong to the other person and will cling to his/her plate. (We all know how calories like to cling!!)

10. Chocolate is a universal food and may be substituted for any other food.

REMEMBER: STRESSED SPELLED BACKWARDS IS DESSERTS.

[slendercate]

Hi, y'all,

I've been mia lately due to electric power problems in the house we are trying to sell. Finally, the power will be re-turned on tomarrow. We have one last border in our old house we are trying to sell, our son's friend who has asked to stay untill the end of June when he leaves for Austin for college.
He has been staying with friends untill the air is turned on.

D, congrats on the 290 numbers! You are going to do it! Keeping Hannah and you in my prayers. Wow, an author for a paper, too cool.
Had to LoL about the car and your son. Bless his heart.
Love your stress diet!

T, sorry you are still under the weather. Hang in there girl. I don't know why some bugs seem to hang on so much.

C, my prayers are with you and your cousin. I know she will appreciate your call. Sounds like you are having "Texas" hot weather. God Bless you.
Even though I am a native, over the last few decades it has gotten progressively hotter here, we really don't have any real seasons like when I was growing up. I am an inside person from June to the end of September.
The heat just kills me.

Jenny,
I have never heard of PGX either? What is it?

Well, better go and finish dinner. Cooked a roast last night, we will have cold roast beef on lc bread sandwiches, steamed brocoli, sf/lc chocolate chip ice cream for desert.

Todays: menu:

b-poached eggs, hood lc milk, 1/4 small pear
s- montery jack cheese, few dill pickles
l- deli ham, tossed green salad, sf jello
s- lc ocean spray cranberry diet juice
d- cold roast beef sandwiches on open face lc bread, brocoli, sf/lc chocolate chip ice cream for desert.

Will talk to you all tomarrow.

Hugs,
slendercate

[Teresa3]

Hi, Gals--

Well it was hot here today, too, although probably not as hot as TX or NE or MI! I like the way it makes my back feel, though. I am feeling a lot better and went to the gym and shopping downtown to look for a pair of sandals. Didn't get any sandals but did go to the kitchen shop and came away with some new potholders and dishtowels--the really cute kind with the sort of French designs on them. Carrots and stuff.

I freaked out when I saw my reflection in the door entering the store. Since it was so warm I did not wear my usual jacket which hides the wide hips, thighs, and fat stomach. Yuck! Saw it like it was, and not a pretty sight! the pants were a 14 and my shirt was an XS! That's like, 4 sizes smaller on top than on bottom! I think that although I can wear smaller size pants now I am actually carrying more fat because it weighs less than muscle. I can't stand getting old!!! Can't decide whether to keep fighting this or give up and let it happen, and start wearing smocks or something. Grrrrr! Well maybe this will motivate me to really get going now.

Dh is cooking prawns tonight, and we're just having leftover vegetables. Yeah, C, he does cook frequently. Out of necessity because I don't do it very much! He's pretty good on fish, not great on vegetables, he usually burns those. If I'm feeling up to it I'll cook the vegetables before he gets his hands on them!

C, how nice you're going to get to see your ds this weekend! You must miss him. What year is he in school? What is he majoring in? Sounds like you're going to have a real nice Father's Day.

D! Congratulations on getting to 290!! Fabulous! To what do you attribute this recent drop? Do you think it's from not eating the sf candies? Getting rid of excess water? Staying busy? You haven't actually been doing formal exercise lately have you? My, I'm full of questions, huh?

Got a big kick out of the anti-stress diet. That's about what happens to us a lot of times--we do great in the morning, and it's all downhill after lunch! Love ham salad sandwiches, BTW. Do you make them in such a way that you can eat the filling? In my hometown (small IN town) I used to get them for lunch at a certain cafe. It's still there, so when I go back to visit I always have at least one lunch there so I can have a ham salad sandwich. Your sorority is always doing such nice projects, D. Hope you have a very successful blood drive.

SC, your menu sounds delicious for a warm evening! I'm still craving ice cream, but even the sf seems to stall me. Sounds so tempting though! Hope you get your power problems fixed soon. I guess you must be getting in a lot of exercise working on your house, huh!

I have to take our car up to San Jose tomorrow morning to the dealer because the mechanic here messed up the stabilization control and then didn't have the computer program to fix it! So I imagine I am going to have to sit around up there for quite awhile--bummer! I just hope they can fix it while I wait so I don't have to come all the way home and go back again tomorrow.

Goodness, I have been chatty! Guess I better say toodle-doo--hope you all have a nice evening. T.

[Denise78]

Starting over here. I had a nice long post and then the batteries in my optical mouse died and for some reason, the internet went down and I lost my post!!

Dh had to go into work tonight so I have some time on my hands. Glad there were a couple of posts to read. Thanks ladies!!

We had a gorgeous day today. I did a ton of laundry. I love the smell of fresh clean clothes hung to dry in the summer breeze. It hit 93 this afternoon but didn't seem quite so hot with the breeze. We went out to the ranch after supper and dropped off the car to ds2, good as new. Fortunately the tire was flat because it loosened from the rim, not because he ran over anything that popped it, so it was just a matter of taking it off and putting it back on. The mechanic fixed the wiring too.

I really think it's the Splenda stalling me. I went back thru my menus and it seems my stall started right about the time I started eating those sugar-free candies and now that I've stopped, I'm losing again. I've read on this forum that lots of ppl stall when they use products with Splenda. So I'll cut it out for the time being, except for a diet pop here and there, and see if it makes a difference at the end of the week. So far it's working! I don't think it's the water since I'm still not drinking as much as I should and I really haven't been exercising at all either. Actually, I'm less mobile than normal since I've been staying home taking care of Hannah. (She is not doing any better but thank you all for your thoughts and prayers -- I really appreciate it).

Hey T, I've read that having a "pear" shape is healthier than an "apple" shape so at least you have that going for you. But seriously, you've gotten into a smaller size pants so you must be doing something right!! Have you thought about trying out the Callenetics that YH & SC do? If I can do them, so can you. No impact, no huffing & puffing, nothing strenuous at all. Just the way you stretch and move parts of your body in slow, steady motions and you can target problem areas, so it might be worth looking into. Just a thought. You Know I Won't Let You Give Up. So you may as well resign yourself to keep plugging along. Hope you get your car fixed and it doesn't take all day!!

Dh actually made the ham salad. It's so delicious. He grinds up the ham with an old-fashioned metal crank grinder and adds seasonings, carrots, relish, pickles, onions and mayo. I won't let him add celery since I hate it but if I wasn't around, he'd put that in too. I can't eat too much of it since he uses sweet relish but a little doesn't hurt me if I put it on a low-carb wrap.

SC, sorry to hear you are having power issues, especially in this heat. Our climate is pretty drastic. I feel like we go right from Winter to Summer and then back again, with not much Spring or Fall at all. But I'm glad you are dealing with it and coming back to check in with us! Your menu looks so cool and refreshing!!

C, how are you doing? I hope the rain let up and the temps cooled off a little for you.

Dh has been coming home for lunch the past couple of days to give Hannah her injections and it's actually been nice to have lunch together. Of course, he's not interested in eating what I'm eating but it's company.

Today's menu:

B-coffee
L-soy burger, lc pita, cabbage
D-meatloaf (no breadcrumbs), loaded cauliflower

Well look at that, dh is already home. Guess I've been sitting here longer than I thought. He just asked me if the internet went down for a bit -- and here I thought it was my mouse giving me a problem, when all along it was my own husband testing some local internet connections at the office!!

Have a great night gals! D

[alsie989]

Hello ladies - have you room for a guy in here? I am facinated by the posts so far. My name is Alan and I live in central Scotland. 2 years ago I lost 120lbs- in 6 months but sadly through lack of activity and going back to my old eating habits - I put it all back on again plus more like so many of us do. This time i have been dieting seriously for around 10 weeks and lost 42lbs. My favoured excersize has always been step, i dont feel clumsy for a fat bloke but I would never go to a gym with all the body beautiful types oiled up and drugged up too probably. This time around tho i just could not get back into doing my step that is untill 6 weeks ago , any of you with kids will know what a nintendo wii is - anyway i noticed as i was playing this that i was stretching - and sweating - so i hit on a novel idea - put the wii sports on to bowling - play someone - between shots - take 10 - 20 steps up and down - by the end of each game you have completed 100 - 200 steps. I have a proffesional step but any stair could be used - or something rigged up - the bowling takes the monotony out of excersize. By the end of an hour i am soaked through with sweat and heading for the shower. Just think if you did this to make 1000 steps its the same as going up and down stairs 100 times. Wii have a step themselves out - but i am still to big - to think about buying 1 - just thought I would share that with you all - thankyou Alan - PS - the pic is after my 1st weight loss - I dont have anything current as I hide when people have cameras.

[MI CHICK]

Alan! Of course you can join in---your struggle w/the lbs is the same struggle we face as females. You'll have to tolerate the occasional crack about goofy dh's though...LOL!! Just read somethings about the wii for exercise & of course they are going to come out with some programs for it. Always the money maker machine is running Ds got one 2years ago & the bowling program was unreal it was so real! Only thing missing was the smell of smoke & the gal coming around for drink orders LOL!!! My parents even joined in & bowled w/ us & they are 80 an 71. They haven't been able to be on a league for a # of years due to health problems, & had a great time playing. Keep up that good routine & you will continue to loose at a good rate!!

D I think you are right about the Splenda. When I did this 4yrs ago I lost consistently till 40lbs & then started in w/the wonderful new lc splenda treats that were out. I always counted them & didn't over do on them but did have them regular. My stall started almost right away & I was afraid that was the problem---read others comments about it on different threads too. But that was it and I was on a downhill slide thereafter. Was just reading a couple days ago (it wasn't a diet article) that dr's/scientists think that the brain does not know how to process the calories that come thru the product of splenda. Gave more info that was scientific about the break downs that I don't know how to pass on to you as I just read the article quickly wherever I was at. So I was thinking wow maybe that was why I stalled before. But I can say that the splenda in my pop does not seem to stall me??? What a mess it all becomes huh need to just bite the bullet & eat veggies/fruits/proteins and let all the rest go. The faux bread products were also a part of my weight stall too.

Well I broke down & got out my fat capri pants today....they were all in a stack on the floor of the closet while I was dreaming that I would get up tomorrow all ready to go buy a size 12 I guess...

D is right about your shape actually being heart healthier than ours T. Small consolation I know LOL!! My ex sil had the same shape as you, tiny above the waist & large below. It is a bad shape to have I will agree w/you. The 2times she got down so that the bottom was also small she just looked sickly cause of the way she had to starve to even them out. Haven't seen her in years so I have no idea how it's turned out for her. She was never "fat" but always dieting trying to even out her porportions. It's the only thing I ever felt bad about for her...LOL!!! Her shape sure didn't stop her from running around on my db...

Glad ds car is all fixed up & you can relax now D. Sorry that Hannah is still struggling. Would be so much nicer if she would just lay down under the tree & go to forever sleep--you just hate to see them suffer!! Your dh could make the ham salad for you w/ the pickle relish that is made w/ Splenda...LOL see we are back to it...it is good stuff, you can't tell the difference between it & regular. Guess I shouldn't buy anymore of it or the wonderful little sweet gherkins made w/splenda either. Just hate it hate it when I loose a long post, & I love love the smell of fresh dried laundry. You can't do that in my sub...ah city life, isn't it great.

Now that stress diet...think that's one I could actually stick with long term ya know

Ok I need to get off here & get things done before I head out to work. Have a great day everyone!! Hey Alan what is the time difference from Scotland to here??

[Denise78]

Good morning ladies! Glad to see a post from you, C. I love drinking my coffee and reading you gals' posts first thing in the morning.

The diet pop doesn't seem to be stalling me either. And the lc tortillas and lc pitas definitely don't. I've been drinking/eating those things for a long time and never had a problem. I've been consistently losing 3-4 lbs every week since I started this WOE in February and it's just been the last 2-3 wks that I've stayed the same or had a small loss. So maybe there is something in cutting down on the Splenda. I don't know for sure but I'm off my stall (finally!) and ready to move on. Of course, wouldn't you know I got my tom this morning!!! Hopefully that won't slow me down any. My short-term goals are to get into the 280's and hit a 50 lb loss (I'm just a few lbs away from both). I've dropped down from a 3x to 2x but I want to get out of the plus sizes altogether by the end of the summer. I don't know if that's do-able but I sure am going to try. Problem is, it's been so long since I've been an XL or even 1x, that I don't remember what I weighed so I don't know how far I have to go till I get there.

C, if you had thrown out those fat capris, you wouldn't have them to fall back on now and you'd HAVE to lose the weight. (Isn't that what we were telling YH about her piles of fat clothes??) Course maybe it's good you kept some so you aren't running around nekked and stirring up all kinds of trouble.

I was thinking we'd use up all the ham salad for the blood drive so I didn't think to have dh use the Splenda relish. I made up a few doz sandwiches, some on mini rolls, some on sourdough bread and some on wheat bread, and I still have ham salad leftover, so I probably should have done that. Oh well, dh loves it so he can have it for lunch if he comes home today or tomorrow. I probably won't have more than a taste because I sure don't want to fall off the wagon now!

YH comes home today! I miss her. Can't imagine how it will be when you go on your long vacation in the Fall, C. I think I'm going to make a new rule --- none of you can travel unless you bring a laptop with you!

I am home with Hannah today. She can't put weight on her back legs so she's not walking. I don't know if it's a permanent thing or something temporary but she's staying in the house with me. Dh said he'd come home at lunchtime and try again to get her outside as she hasn't peed since yesterday when we brought her in. I'm afraid for him to leave her outside now because I don't have the strength to lift her if it gets too hot or starts raining and she needs to get back indoors. We didn't realize she couldn't get around until he had to leave for work so he didn't have time to stay outside with her and then bring her back in. It's probably getting close to making a decision about her but I'm waiting to hear the xray results from the vet first, just to make sure there is nothing we can do to help her, before we give up totally. I called there this morning and am waiting for a return call but somehow I don't think it's going to be good news. Okay, I better end this now before I get too sad.

Happy Wednesday ladies -- halfway thru the week -- we can do it!!

D

[MI CHICK]

Well today flew by! Got lots done so I'm happy. Was cool enough this a.m to finally get back to my front side bed. The few days it was cool enough it was pouring rain. So I got the last shrub dug out & raked the dirt all good. Sprinkled my Preen & then sprinkled all my wild flower seeds. It's a narrow strip by the front sidewalk so I hope it fills in quickly. I do have a few bulb flowers in there too. I am not a real good gardener--have to keep things simple. Spread one bag of mulch by the driveway. Oh I also put in my little fence. Then I came in & tackled the inside chores. Still need to get to the bathrooms but want to do that closer to Sunday. Dh is going to trim the front shrubs Sat a.m so I'll be busy bagging then. I can't hold the hedge trimmer anymore so I have to wait for him & he hates yard work & really drags his feet on getting to outdoors chores. Opposite of your dh D....if we only ate what dh grew we'd be nice & thin LOL!!

Switched today's client to tomorrow so that I could keep on a roll. Plus it's better gas wise to do 2 of 'em tomorrow. Will do the ironing tonight while watching the baseball game. Didn't fit in any exercise cause I was too busy doing every thing else.

Today's menu was:
Bk=coffee w/ cream
L=2sl lc bread tky cheese slice small apple
S=fiber drink
D=plate of veggies w/sauce from the cold salmon dish I made the other day--was a great dip for the veggies
2 boiled eggs & 6 shrimp

Feel pretty satisfied now. Have some lc ice cream I can have later on tonight. It's hard to give that up...what else feels like a snack?? Am trying not to do the nuts w/the diverticulitis (sp?). Now that I think about it I did eat a lot of the sf jello w/whipped cream when I was losing so well. Huummm...maybe it's not all the splenda treats. Have to play around & see what works for you I guess.

Yeah I am anxious to hear about Y's trip!! Hope she comes in & tosses her suitcase in the bedroom & turns on the 'puter LOL!!!

To help you with the sizes D at 235 most 2x's are loose but the 1x's are tight. A 20 is too big & an 18 is tight. So I need to drop 10 or gain 10..... Most of my carpi's are 1x's I think but have elastic waists so they fit nicely. The one pair that actually zips is a 20 & it's baggy. But that's all I have. There's no way I could get into the others in the basement that are 16's anytime soon.

Well I need to get the dinner dishes in the dishwasher & get the ironing board set up. At least there is a great breeze blowing thru the house.
Later--

[Teresa3]

Hi, Gals--

Welcome back, Y, if you are back now--hope you get some rest and had a wonderful time. I know you must have had some of those terrible storms in WI--hope that wasn't a problem for anyone with the wedding, or your visits. We really missed you!

D, when I eat stuff with splenda, and even stevia it stalls me. but anything stalls me! Glad you are making great progress now. You know, actually, sometimes I noticed I lost better when I wasn't exercising hard; I think it overstressed me physically. I tried callanetics many years ago when I was in my 30's before I had physical problems. The exercises made me sore then! Maybe they were harder back then. I don't recall that they helped me, but maybe I didn't do them long enough. Do you think they have made the exercises simpler and easier? The book had just come out when I did them.

Sorry to hear Hannah is not doing so well. You've done everything you could for her so far D. If it's her time, you at least know you've made her as comfortable as possible and given her a lot of love. Bless you all.

Glad you got ds's car on the road again. I got ours fixed today--only had to wait an hour and a half! Lucked out. All they had to do was reset some computerized thing. It made me really tired to go up there today though. Maybe I'm still recovering from the virus. It was a gorgeous day, and I had lunch in beautiful, upscale Los Gatos at a Greek restaurant. It was kind of fun to go by myself, I had a good book to read while I ate a leisurely lunch of salad, moussaka, and a little panna cotta.

When I got home, a dear friend comes to the door asking to borrow a leash for her dog because there's a big fire up in the hills where they live and they had to suddenly evacuate! I look out the door and the sky over our house is filled with blood red smoke billowing from the hills about 6 mi. as the crow flies. Terrible. Scary. The second bad fire in the last few weeks. Everything is bone dry here. We've had the driest spring in over 100 years! I hate to think what it's going to be like in late summer and fall which is the usual fire season! The entire state's going to be on fire!

C, it sounds like you had fun planting and arranging your garden today. What kinds of things are you planting? You're putting plants in the ground, not growing from seed, right? It will bring you such pleasure to watch your babies grow and bloom! Did you plant any vegetables?

Well, it's heading toward time to be turning in, so I'll say goodnight. Hope you all have a splendid day tomorrow! T.