2017--This Year is Our Year!!!

Helene610

Pam, since I have so much trouble posting on this site, I've gotten into the habit of copying any long posts before I hit post. Then if I lose it, I just paste it into the box and try again. It saves frustration. Perhaps your neighbor might like a stew that you could make in the crock pot. When she says she doesn't like casseroles, I'll bet she means the things you add a can of cream soup to. I like a broccoli cheese stata that I used to make. You line the bottom of of pan with slices of bread minus the crusts. You put layers of ham, broccoli and shredded cheese and top it with slices of bread that have the centers cut out with a biscuit cutter. You put the cut circles back inside the bread slices and pour a mixture of egg and milk over it. it sits in the refrigerator over night so all the egg milk gets absorbed by the bread. It gets baked until the egg is set. When done, the bread cutouts make a fancy touch on top and it looks more gourmet than it really is. Cut into squares, it looks nothing like a casserole. I love that you're paying it forward for all the meals people brought you when you were recovering.

Helene610

Maryanne, I'm sorry for your loss. And I'm glad your sister is able to come, even if it's a quick trip.
DH finally got the scale we have here working. I have no idea how it compares with the scale at home so I'll just consider this the first weigh in of the quarter. It was a lower number than home but who knows how accurate it is. Anyway, I'll just track the difference week to week and not worry about the actual number. I've got a follow up with the chiropractor in a few minutes so I've got to run.

mdubbs1

I always ignore when doctors weigh me because I know their scale and mine at home could be two very different things. Plus I've always eaten before I go.

I'm not going to the pet expo today so I can grocery shop and hopefully get some work done.

KonaKat

I am tired and fighting a sore throat. Out of the 30 days in January as of January 30, I will have worked 15. Basically, I have worked nearly all school days with perhaps one or two days off.

Maryanne--I weigh myself on the morning of going to a doctor's office. Yes, the clothes and food eaten before the appointment add to the weight there. l determine the difference to project how much the doctor's scale might reveal if I were being weighed there.

Pam--It is hard to switch manicurists. I do a simple American manicure that lasts a month to five weeks. I'm not a fancy cook so I have no suggestions for you.

KonaKat

We are having a snow day so school is closed as are the schools in the adjoining counties. I was to have worked today but hopefully that will be made up later. I lost a pound the past week. For breakfast, I had the Quaker Weight Control oatmeal with some ground flaxseed added, and one of those individual serving cups of sugar free fruit added to it.

Helene610

The day off also gives you another day to recover from the sore throat. We're going to be heading into town, over the bridge. We thought we had paint left over to paint the bathroom door. When DH opened the can, the top said the right color but inside was the gray paint we used on the front porch. We must have used the wrong cover when we put it away last year. The off white paint must have been empty.

mdubbs1

Jean - I hope you get a little rest on your snow day. We were supposed to get snow last night but it didn't happen.

We made it through the pet expo, leaving me, anyway, quite tired. Financially this show doesn't make much sense so added to the weather uncertainty I think this was our last year. Probably wouldn't have done it this year if they hadn't credited us from last year when we didn't go because of the snow.

I was almost late to the funeral on Saturday. Sort of forgot how long it takes to get there and I didn't rush. That anxiety on top of the concern about the weather and the pet expo sent me looking for food. For once I KNOW I was stress eating. Luckily thanks to the physical labor of the show I only gained 1/2 pound. Not good but should be "losable" (if that's a word).

It was good to see my siblings but going to that funeral was like stepping back in time about 50 years between the church and the relatives.

mdubbs1

mdubbs1

I'm well known for the (over)use of spreadsheets. And I LOVE business cat. So this meme was purrfect. It's now hanging in my kitchen.

Helene610

Business cat is new to me. Thanks for the introduction. DH is painting the bathroom door while I'm at the library picking up requests. He planned to do it yesterday and when he opened the paint can from last year, the paint was light gray instead of off white. We had to make a trip off island to get the brand of paint he uses. I personally think he put the wrong lid on the paint when we were leaving and perhaps w'd used all the off white. The color on the porch railings is similar to the color in the can. He asked the paint clerk if the lining of the can which was gray could have tainted the paint color. The clerk looked at him like he was nuts. I explained my theory and the clerk said that was more likely. After all, who remembers what we did last March? Today was the last day to get my books so I figured I'd log on because this site gives me problems on my own computer. other than that, nothing much happening here.

mdubbs1

I actually bought a business cat t-shirt on ebay. Came from overseas believe it or not!

I'm off this morning to take Jessicat for her monthly oncologist appointment. Tomorrow I'm taking my car to the garage for its annual checkup - after I feed the colonies.

Excitement all around!

mdubbs1

Business cat: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/business-cat

I especially like the "stay late; we really need to catch the red dot" one.

Helene610

I'm having a run around errand day, I started with the chiropractor. He's been treating my knee and lower back and I'm making progress. I had some crock pot cookbooks to return to the library. I made copies of a few recipes I'd like to try plus I'll have a list of ingredients without having to write it down. I transferred a prescription to the local CVS so I need to pick that up. the Post office is just around the corner from CVS so I'll pick up our mail. I'll end up at the market and pick up ingredients for one of the crock pot meals for the weekend.

PamS53

I'm having major back pain today, so I'm not sure how coherent this will be. It's been a difficult week as a very good friend's husband is in the hospital and not doing well. He has kidney failure, congestive heart disease, uncontrolled type I diabetes, and yesterday 3 stents were placed in his heart. He arrested twice last night and is unconscious and on life support today, so his prognosis isn't good. I'm very worried about him and for my friend, but because of my back I can't go and be with her.

The rest of my week has been uneventful. I finished a knitting project last night and have one more small one to complete then I can mail them off to my niece and her fiancé. They live in NYC and I've made scarves for both of them and a beret for her. I need to make his hat and then I'm retiring the needles for awhile. I wanted to get them done and mailed before it gets too warm to use them. The fiancé does guided tours of the city, so I figured he especially could use a warm hat and scarf.

Helene610

Pam, I'd noticed you hadn't posted in a couple of days.I figured you'd been busy. I'm sorry to hear you're having back pains. Using Ibuprofen and icing the area might give you a little relief. You probably have some inflammation going on in there. Both will help reduce any swelling. That's so sad about your friend's husband. Maybe you can send texts of support since you're not up to being physically present. DH had 6 stents 18 months ago and had a very bad case of pneumonia at the same time. He was very ill but managed to recover. So even though your friend's condition is grim, there may be hope. I'll be saying prayers for him and his wife. Please let us know what happens.

mdubbs1

Pam - that is horrible news all around!! I feel so bad for your friend. At this point, it's probably far harder on her.

PamS53

Today I'm taking Aleve and using Thermacare wraps on my back and it is a little better. Typically, heat makes it relax faster than icing for me.

My friend's husband coded again this morning and he is currently in the cath lab again for a temporary pacemaker. Her daughter just arrived. She lives about three hours away. Their son lives much closer, but it's taking him longer to clear his schedule and get over here. He assists in orthopedic surgeries as a manufacturer's rep for prosthetic devices, so he can't just leave unless there is someone there to take over. One of our friends was staying with her until her kids could get here. It's such a helpless feeling knowing they are going through this and there's nothing I can do to help except pray.

Helene610

That's good that you are getting some relief from the Aleve and heat. Does stretching help at all? I hope your friend's kids arrive in time. Maybe the pacemaker will help. I wonder if it's the type that gives him a shock if the heart goes out of rhythm. Because he's coded, it makes sense they might be putting in that type. DH's pacemaker is the type that beats 60 times a minute but doesn't include a defibrillator.

mdubbs1

I just ordered big bottles of generic aleve and generic zantac 75 from amazon along with a part for my car. Is there anything you can't buy on amazon? The meds were cheaper than going to the store.

One reason I want my dad to move home is so I can be of more help to him, both now and should anything happen. I'd love it even more if he'd move to Baltimore so I could really help. I did screw up my courage one day and mentioned it but he just ignored the mention.

Helene610

Good luck with convincing your dad to move. Maybe you could get him to visit for a few days and acquaint him with the area. As he gets to know the area, he'll be more comfortable. Plus, it would let him see how far away from family and help he is now. I have a friend who was in a similar situation. She lived in PA and her dad lived in RI. She tried going up to help him out as much as she could but the distance was too far to go as much as she needed to. She finally convinced him to try an assisted living community in PA. Guess what? He loves it. But it was a long process convincing him to try it.

mdubbs1

I think dad doesn't want to leave his golfing buddies and is concerned about feeding himself. He has several restaurants he frequents and somehow doesn't think he could do the same thing in Gettysburg. Or maybe all of that is just cover for inertia.

Everyone but dad and my brother thinks dad moving home would benefit both of them - dad has funds and my brother doesn't - my brother cooks and my dad doesn't. - my dad drives but only certain places and my brother can drive anywhere.

The late wife's family really wants him gone from her house although he has the right to live in it forever. They had the nerve to offer to sell it to him. I put my (large) foot down at that (and I seem to be carrying the day go figure). They've also said something to my younger brother about getting him moved. He thinks they love him.

KonaKat

Good morning, everyone. I've been MIA. I've been working while fighting the bug, so when I got home in the evening, I just didn't want to do much. I took Nyquil last evening and slept 10 hours. I know Midnight got me up at one point but I went right back to bed for another round of sleep. I've lost 5 pounds but this past week has been comfort food time.

mdubbs1

Jean - here's hoping you are feeling better soon!

For some reason I just checked the egg beaters web site. I can stop looking for the Florentine flavor because it no longer exists.

mdubbs1

Packet day today. Got distracted and burned my first batch of pancakes. Drat! Luckily no colony feeding today so I just started over. Also luckily I only put 1/2 of a banana in the first batch so I still had the other half.

Lost 2 pounds last week so I'm headed back the right direction again.

I am resisting all impulses to buy/order food to work on cleaning out the freezer and using up some of the pantry!

However, I did fall for an email from Cheryl's offering 7 valentine's cookies for 6.99 S&H. Hopefully DH will eat a couple and I'll eke out the rest one a day or something.

Helene610

Maryanne..I wonder if you could make your own Florentine EB. I'd heat a little bit of frozen spinach in a pan and add the EB when it got hot. Ot you could add spinach to the Southwestern style EB which is still for sale. They were probably skimpy on the spinach so you could add extra for more veggie oomph.
Jean..I hope the sleep helped. I saw something on TV yesterday which said sleeping in doesn't do that much for you. They suggested going to bed earlier and getting up at the usual time. It had to do with the circadian rhythms.

mdubbs1

Another beautiful warm day here. A strange winter for sure. Just went down and spent time with Indy. Now I need to do my daily quoting of counting (I'm trying a new system - counting out part of the next mailing every day for a week - my hope being I'll get less bored and thereby screw up less).

mdubbs1

Helene610

I'm making a crock pot beef stew today and hopefully DH paints the bathroom. We ran into a problem the other day trying to re-hang the door. He replaced the hinges with the same size hinge but for some reason, it's not lining up. I made DH stop because he was getting stressed and I'm sure that's not good for his heart. We'll figure that out another day. We have a pocket door between the living room and hallway outside the bathroom so that's providing privacy for now. It's another beautiful day here. I'm loving it.

PamS53

Were having a beautiful day here today as well. I think our high temp is supposed to be around 85. I went out to run a quick errand and it was really nice. I think the groundhog got it wrong for this part of the world.

It must be a crock pot kind of day, lol! I'm also making dinner in mine today. We are taking dinner over to my neighbor again, so this was an easy way to do it. This dish is one of our favorites and couldn't be any easier unless someone else makes it. I place three boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the bottom of the pot, then in a separate bowl mix two packets of Good Seasons Zesty Italian dressing mix with a can of cream of chicken soup and a can of cream of mushroom soup. Pour over the chicken and set the crockpot on high for two hours then drop it to low for another four hours. About half an hour before serving, stir in half a cup of sour cream and shred the chicken with a fork. Let it heat through then serve over cooked egg noodles or rice. Add a salad and bread, and it's a really good meal. I made some raspberry almond bars for dessert this morning, so hopefully they will enjoy this meal. I know we will.

My friend's husband is still not doing well he remains on a ventilator as his lungs have too much fluid for them to extubate him. They had a scare this morning because he was so unresponsive they feared he had a stroke, but the CT scan did not show a bleed, so now they are assuming that his nonresponsiveness was due to the meds. It's going to be a long road back if he survives this.

Helene610

When DH was intubated, he was heavily sedated. The doctors told me a person wouldn't tolerate the tube in the throat unless they were sedated. That's probably true for your friend's husband. That may account for some of his lack of responsiveness. And I'm sure the fluid in his lungs is a contributing factor. it sounds like he is in the best hands. I'm sending prayers that he'll start to show improvement but I agree it sounds like a long haul ahead of them.
That crock pot meal sounds really good. My sister and her significant other are coming for a visit later ths month. I may try that. He's a good cook. I don't intend to compete but I'd like to serve something they enjoy. He made prime rib when we visited wit them on our way down the coast. We also had a lovely day in the high 70s. I love this kind of weather.