WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR FEBRUARY

SallyCC

Thank you for the welcome.
I just got in from chopping some ice off the sidewalks and driveway and decided to see what was up. My husband has Fridays off and he loves to go out for breakfast. We went to IHOP and I got a Simple and Fit omelet. As I plugged it into this site I see that the sodium is really high....so tough to eat out. We were supposed to have a friend over for dinner but she just had to cancel so we will have a nice dinner tonight....I was feeling like I needed to have something for a light lunch and decided on a greek yogurt with some blueberries and kashi go lean crunch (like a granola). I really find that having more protein helps me stay even throughout the day. I know I need to get moving and get my glasses of water in......it's so hard when I want to hibernate.

Trying to deal with weight and health (wellness) issues is definitely a change with each decade. I find that I definitely need to move...alot, not only to lose weight but to feel good. Five years ago, I retired from teaching (public schools) and now I have three part time jobs that I love. I am at a good point in my life and focusing on my food choices as well as getting consistent exercise into my life regularly has been time consuming. (I really would like it to be automatic!!)

Mary....I hope the plumber arrives and fixes the problem quickly!

Have a great day all!

Sally

lyn54

Hello Everyone
Wow! There are a lot of new people ...Welcome all!:flowerforyou:

Well we are under a winter storm watch for tonight with 2-3 inches of snow...we narrowly escaped the snow the last storm..we'll see about this one, I suppose.


Let me tell you about my night and day. My grandson(6) has an extensive dental procedure done this am that had to be done in the hospital. He was put to sleep. My granddaughter spent the night with me. She will be 4 next week. It was her first sleepover, ever. She was very excited to be coming to Grandmother's. She was packed up with her sleeping bag and backpack, 2 blankets and 2 pillows, teddy bear, Mr. Moon and a flashlight, from the time she was out of bed yesterday and was aware that she was coming here.

She arrived about 8:30. She wanted to take a bath here so we did all of that. She put her pj's on and we had to have a snack, drink bedtime story ..etc...She was so excited she just couldn't go to sleep. We had Mr. Moon's picture on the ceiling and a flashlight, flashing on and off every few minutes. I rubbed her back, her head, and scratched her back. We sang "me and my teddy bear" several times.
This went on to about 12ish. She finally went to sleep The sleeping bag, flashlight, 2 blankets and 2 extra pillows were all in my guest bed with me. By the time 12 got here, I was wide awake from singing, scratching, rubbing, and having the flashlight shone in my eyes So I was wide awake untill 5 am. COULD NOT go to sleep ...there you are knowing that at 7 or so am...this is little curly-head,coppertop will be awake and expecting you to be smiling and ready to do whatever Grandmothers are expected to do.
Well...thank goodness for the other DIL, who came with the 3 year old little boy! We fixed smiley-faced pancakes and bananas, strawberries,etc. Having another child to play with gave me a small break.
Now, back to the grandson who had a dental procedure, before coming to my house GD and GS were having a conversation about dying. My Great-Aunt died last year and that was the first the two were aware of anyone dying or what it might mean. So the two were discussing what dying was about. DGS told DGD that Aunt L was in Heaven. DGD said, "will she open her eyes." DGS said, No, but she can see anyway." DGD said, "That doesn't make any sense."
After surgery, when DGS was in recovery. The nurse came out to get my DS and DDIL and she was laughing. She said DGS opened his eyes in recovery and the lights were bright and she had on white. He ask the nurses..."Am I in Heaven?"" That thought that was very funny. They had never had a 6-year old to do that one before.
I decide to unwind and get on the pc for awhile... I am going to have to crash for awhile. To be honest, I hope I cn even remember what I ate today...I have had 2 hours sleep in 48 hours.

welcommmee all you newwbiies

Have a good one

delightful2

so glad to find a place where women are my age, not all obssessed with spandex ( although I would be happy to look good in it at 59!) Angry with myself for watiing to long to face what I've been doing -- eating too much -- and not doing -- exercising! How did someone who used to run marathons start looking and feeling like this.
First job is to get off the bad and start focusing on the good stuff -- I loved the way I felt after going to the gym the last two days. I can go back and I don't need to stay hours -- I JSUT NEED TO GO BACK!!!!!!!

msh0530

Just got home from work. Husband says a plumber came by, but he had bad knees and didn't want to crawl under our house, so he left. He couldn't guarantee anyone else would show up today because so many people had these problems today from the thaw after the extreme cold. I hope they come soon!

mrsanderson404

msh0530....a plumber with bad knees...wow....I can't imagine a plumber NOT having to be on his knees or bend down once in awhile.....how frustrating...hope he didn't have to pay for the service call

phyllisjean58

January had it/s ups and downs also. managed to gain and lose same pounds! My work is slow and you would think it would be better for me. Unfortunately I have been home too much and feeling sluggish and bored. Plus watching my grandson alot which means i eat alot of what he does.
My feb. goals Lose 5 pounds. walk for 30 min 3X a week. try to fit in regular exercise, even if it is only 10 here or 10 there.
My plan is to reward myself with facebook time for a good day. I love facebook but find i spend time there that should be put to better use.

purplefreak60

Hello! I'm in my 2nd month of MFP...LOVE THIS SITE!

My goal for this month is to lose 7 lbs.

graceUR07

Hi there: I am new. (three days) Just got a SmartPhone and found this APP for my phone. Two years ago I lost 25 pounds and kept it off for a long time, but it's been creeping back. When I lost it the first time I wrote down everything I ate and it worked. Computerizing this task has just made this easier. I just have to get back into the routine.

I am 65 and at my age, height and weight the App figured I should only have 1200 calories a day to loose, but today I've actually had alot to eat and am not hungry and I still have more calories to go to reach 1200. It's all about choosing the right things to eat.

I love the fact that you can check how much fiber you've had or how much protein you still need to eat to make your quota. Balanced diets and smaller portions are just the smart way to loose.

Looking at all the entries here are very encouraging. I will visit this blog daily. I read somewhere that people who eat the same thing (similar meals) for several weeks and keep eating them consistently will loose more weight than those people who don't have any consistency to their diet routine. That's certainly easy to do with breakfast and lunch. Figure out the calories and vary the days with just a few "standard" meals. The My Meals section of this will make it easy.

This is just so much fun. Who would have thought? Love this.

exermom

I remember reading now that restaurants do keep it cold so that you'll eat more. Actualy, it makes me want to get out of the restaurant even faster into the warm car! I remember once one of my girls asked the restaurant to turn up the heat.

Deborah - welcome back!!!!

I did an hour of yoga today and then an hour of a band workout DVD (Thurs). I had my Reclast infusion today, so if I'm achey tomorrow I may just do a Leslie Sansone walking DVD on the rebounder.

Some of the ladies usually go to lunch after they play mah jongg. I'm thinking that I may get into mah jongg, if only for the socialization. I'm not "into" card games, so canasta isn't really for me. I was thinking that mah jongg was a card game, but it's a tile game. Maybe I'll give it a try. Anyway, some of the ladies are going out to lunch afterwards and they've invited me. To be honest, the place where they're going, I'm not crazy about. It's quite small, the menu isn't all that great, and the parking is the pits. Even if I'm not achey, I just may use that as the excuse not to go to the lunch.

TSO will be playing in Ashville on their Beethoven's Last Night tour, we got first row seats! So I'm psyched.

Robin - your daughter is breathtaking!

Welcome Boomerof51 and rschmmidt along with SallyCC and Emily

mj - what is kinesis Wall/Weights???? Sounds interesting. Is it something that you do at home or do you have to go to a gym to do it? I'm like you, I have to constantly change things or I get bored to tears. I'll be looking forward to your posting about your workouts, maybe it'll give me some new ideas?

Welcome bmorrow....boy, so many new people!!!! Wonderful!

Blue - which HRM did you get? What part of FL are you in?

Mary - I sure hope everything works out for you

Wouldn't forget snugglepuss, welcome! Delightful too.

Did an hour of a step DVD today and then 15 minutes of yoga. I'm going to try doing a little bit of yoga and we'll see how that goes. Tried it once before and failed, so I figure I can't do much worse.

Question: we went out to dinner with friends before we went bowling. She suggested we go to this B-B-Q place next time we go bowling. What are good foods to pick at a B-B-Q place? I may have to go there and get a menu to see if there's something decent. I guess I'm somewhat leery of foods here because I've been burned (figuratively speaking) many times. Now I know that you have to ask specifically how the food is cooked, many times they fry it but will grill the food if you ask for it grilled. So what are some good picks?

Tomorrow I'll go to a yoga class. Jessica is supposed to be coming here tonight. I think she might have a dentist appt tomorrow.

Fortunately, I didn't get real achey from the Reclast. Not sure if it's because I had the Reclast last year or if it's because I got a flu shot this year. But whatever....I didn't go to the lunch, tho.

Here's hoping everyon has a greaat evening

Michele

jam0525

Mary, I hope you get water soon. Good luck finding a plummer

Michelle, I don't think there is a "good thing" to get at a BBQ. I believe that chicken will have more sodium, so I'd try turkey or beef. My only advise is to stick to salad, veggies and meat and stay away from any breads.

To all the new people - Wow! There are a lot of you and from all over the world. Welcome and it's going to take some time to get to know you all.

Robin, Your daughter is beautiful.

I got all of my errands done today and look forward to staying home tomorrow. Next Monday will be a real shocker after us all being off due to the weather.

The terrible cold did have one casualty in our house, Sandy Fire, our bearded dragon did not make it through the extreme cold weather with how cold our house was. We just couldn't get it warmed up a good part of this week. For those of you who have been in this forum for years, this is the lizard that loved to be on my neck under my hair. He was a real sweetie and will be missed by all of us. He was only 3 years old.

sveltewisher

Dear Michelle,
Thank you for talking about "Reclast" in your e-mail yesterday and today. I looked it up on google yesterday and after-wards, I took my nighttime calcium dose which I usually forget. I have osteopenia. Therefore, I am trying to be mindful of building my bone density. I was exercising better but I have this nuisance cold which leaves me ineffective for my weight training.
I am proud of myself today - I ate Chinese food out in celebration of the year of the rabbit with 2 glasses of red wine. Plus I was out all day...Ate my lunch in front of Home Depot. However, I stayed under my net calorie limit today including my exercise by walking and running subway steps!! Off to take my liquid calcium.
Warmest Regards, D

izzy214

Hello Everyone my name is Izzy and I love this site. It looks as if this is a great forum with lots of support and great ideas.
I am have about 60 lbs. to lose and hoping to lose 35lbs. before May 7th. My youngest son is getting married and I would love to be excited to buy a dresses. I have lost about 5lbs. in January and I feel it should be more. I know it takes time.....I am just not so patient. I have done pretty good this week but really need to do better. I look forward in getting to know all of you and hope with your help, maybe I will be buying that dress and looking great in it too!

barbiecat

:bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
I am happy to report that I finished gathering all the numbers for my income tax and mailed it off to the accountant today so now I can be more active helping DH with the packing.......he has been fabulous packing and cleaning and getting the house ready to be shown in hopes of selling it.:bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: one of the best things about his packing is that he is being mindful of asking me about things so he doesn't accidentally pack something that is essential to our daily lives......another great thing is that he is labeling all the boxes on top and on all four sides :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: it is so exciting to see so many new faces on the thread.:bigsmile: :bigsmile: I hope you all stay with us and become part of our family.

:drinker: about my goals for January..........I am doing well at maintaining a "complaint free attitude" and it is becoming almost automatic.:bigsmile: :bigsmile: I found lots of ways to exercise indoors although it's been a bit of a challenge since DH is using the guest room where I did a lot of my exercise as the packing room so finding space has been tricky.....even with doing the income tax I managed to average over 10,000 steps a day, many of them indoors.:bigsmile: I did some working in the yard except for the time that the temperature dropped below freezing and digging was impossible:laugh: and I managed to eat at home most of the time (certainly better than November and December)

:drinker: :bigsmile: goals for February are posted in my signature........I'm continuing with exercise indoors and work in the yard and added finish packing and yoga.....I am determined to get the packing done without sacrificing exercise and taking the dogs to the dog park and going to my line dance classes.... exercise and healthy eating must continue to be top priority.:bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

AliceLMS

Home from work at last.

A whole new neighborhood moved in while I was away. Welcome to all of you wonderful new neighbors.
We are all on the same road to better health and hopefully weightloss. You will find this a great supportive group of women, and several of our biggest losers have great tips and motivation to spare!

A long day today ,happy to be home by the fire and take a little break before bed. I did get some quick exercise in this a.m.. I have been exercising every day. Weights, power walking, intervals, Biggest Loser power walk, and a couple of dance dvd,s. I did get a wii, on the cheap off craigslist. Found it locally, it works great and I am having fun learning all the neat things I can do with it. Have not picked up Zumba yet, sounds like MJ loves it. I love techie items and this one is fun.

I have lost two pounds, but not logged it yet. I don't think my brain believes it!

Mary I hope you get a decent plumber soon, how frustrating!

Robin your daughter is lovely, she looks so serene. I can't wait to see more photos. How about a few of the MOB in her dress.
Did the iris open in time?

Can't stay awake any longer, my best to all, Alice

hooah_mj

mj - what is kinesis Wall/Weights???? Sounds interesting. Is it something that you do at home or do you have to go to a gym to do it? I'm like you, I have to constantly change things or I get bored to tears. I'll be looking forward to your posting about your workouts, maybe it'll give me some new ideas?

Michele

Hi Michele :happy:
A Kinesis Wall is a system of weighted pulleys....it takes traditional exercises (like chest press, lat pull, row) and combines them with functional movements (like reaching, squatting, bending), wh/ develops balance, core/overall strength, and flexibility....

"360-degree training system that uses cable resistance and multiplane motion to combine cardio and weight workouts"

I love how with this one system I can perform movements that imitate sit-ups and push-ups, especially....those are so difficult for me. Kind of a new technology....guess everything is nowadays.

Give it try if you have an opportunity :happy:
This brochure gives a some of the highlights & images:
http://www.terrelarmstrong.com/TheWaveKinesis.pdf

Happy workouts,
mj

MacMadame

Hey, everyone. I am really enjoying my BodyMedia FIT. Even though I don't take the numbers as gospel, I find them a bit more reliable than using the online databases to guess at calories burned in exercise and assuming non-exercise calories are exactly the same every day (which is unlikely, but how do you know, right?)

I'm trying to decide whether to log my food there or log it here and just put the total calories there. Their site has some cool reports but they are all PDFs so I'm not sure how to get them into my excel spreadsheet. Plus their database isn't nearly as complete as the one here. There is no forum either, at least not that I can find. :sad:

One interesting thing is that I was eating about 100-200 calories more than the formulas said I should to maintian, but I was maintaining. Well my FIT says I'm burning that much extra so that makes perfect sense.

I've only been wearing it a week and I've already lost 2 of the 5 pounds I put on during the off season. Though I am also picking up my exercise so it probably would have happened anyway. But I feel more in control now and less like I'm guessing.

weaklink109

..

Peggy, our Dalmatian/Lab cross took my mother's bra from the bedroom and brought it outside this morning. No one remembers her going out with it in her mouth. Nothing like a white on white scavenger hunt in 1 foot of snow with sub-zero temperatures, but we managed to find it.

I will leave you all with that as a comment. There is really nothing to follow it up with.

Stay safe and warm all,

Jeannie

Well, just when you think you have heard every story about snow that you could hear.....LOL!!

Glad you found it.

I have been under the weather today, and just got on here to post my food. Have lost 2 of the pounds that rejoined their friends after Christmas. Stay safe and warm everyone.

Welcome newbies!!

Barb

rjadams

I am still waiting for my daughter to get all her pix on shutterfly. the photographer was awesome but he took of 800 pictures so it is taking her a while. Once I can see them I will post at least one of me with my fancy hair and fancy dress:laugh:

some of the Iris opened in time and I bought some full blown ones at a supermarket the morning of the wedding.I think that the flowers all turned out very nicely.

I am up about 3 pounds but for two weeks of complete dissaray I will take it. It is a challenge to figure out my routine now that I am working. I get up at 4 in the morning and ride to work with DH. he starts at 5 I don't start until 6 so I walk for half a mile and then have breakfast and check in here before I start working. we get home around 4 and I am pooped. I need to start walking on the dreadmill again when I get home and I hope to start that again this week.

Welcome to all you new ladies. this is the best thread in the world.

Have a great day all!

mynyddisamrs

:flowerforyou: Hi all .....
I've found February and will try again!!
Weight still the same but I reeeeeeeally need to lose those pounds . 6 weeks to the cruise .Oh for some sunshine!! and clothes that'll fit just that little bit better!
So ....if at first you don't succeed eh?
:ohwell: It's been a bit busy too as Mum's not too good. Apparently she's had a cerebral bleed and that's made things worse, dementia and ability wise. But.at least she's warm and safe here and can sleep/rest in comfort. The CH will need to reassess her for when we go away as she can't feed herself or hold a cup etc.
Hope all you lovely ladies are doing well. I really must lurk a while and read the posts.

:flowerforyou: Take care all
BFN
Jackie

jam0525

Izzy- I hope you get to find shopping for clothes for your son’s wedding to be very exciting. Five pounds in one month is pretty awesome. Good luck this month.

Jackie- It is good to hear from you again. Sorry to hear your Mum is not doing well.

I've updated my ticker to show my commitment to update my weight weekly. I use to do that before I had a ticker for the world see, so since it worked before I'm sure it will work again.

Today I start back on the Wii for strength training. The stationary bike has a fan and it is still too cold to have the fan blowing on me and everyone around me. lol

If my day goes as planned I will not go anywhere except to bring my DD's friend home from the sleepless sleep over they had here last night.

Have a great day all,

Jeannie

graceUR07

Mahjong is fun and great for socialization. I took lessons with some gals and met other women in the class. Now that the class is over we play at least once a month. More if possible. (Only problem is the snacking that goes on while we are playing....)
Diane

SallyCC

I did finally get to the gym this afternoon. I got a Polar FT7 HRM but I didn't use it at the gym. I feel like such a dummy. I have programmed the time and I have not yet practiced with using it while I am working out. One thing I am not happy about with this aging stuff if how crappy my eyesight has gotten. I can just imagine falling off the eliptical trying to get the readings!! ha.... I tend to worry about way too much. I think I'll wear this around the house. I have to wet the chest strap and I was going to try it the other day when we were shoveling but I thought there is no way I need a wet strap around my body in this weather!! Mac Madam...I read about you using the BodyFit tool ...that sounds great. I have been tracking my food and exercise for a long time (about a year) and I think its an important part of the information I need to really know what's going on with my body. I have done many other programs and after a while....I get sloppy or I don't see the changes I want and lose my motivation. I think for me having all that information may help me stay on track.
Do you find the numbers of calories burned on the exercise part of MFP close to what a HRM or your program says??

LM_105

Hello All,

It is Saturday evening around 10pm here in England.

This week has seen me have my first experience of the gym, my daughter took me and showed me some basics. I have now booked a proper induction for this coming Tuesday. I am still mentally a little resistant to it, but am hoping I will grow to love it (!?!).

Unfortunately my daughter ended up in A&E on wednesday with abdo pains, its all sorted now but it was a worrying time.

Hope everyone is well. Healthy eating!

joylaut

Mary - hope you have water
Robin- can't wait to see pix. Your dtr is beautiful. 800 is a lot to go thru.
Barbie - Are you staying in the same community and moving farther away?

Welcome new people.

mj - I echo what everyone else said, you look like a kid!

I'm psyching myself for the weigh in on Mon MacMadam. I'm pretty sure the holiday indulgence weight I gained has stayed off. I'm hoping that a little more left me too.

I have been very consistent in walking at least 3-4 times a week. But now that I found out my cholesterol is up (first time ever in my life) I must be even more serious about bringing my weight down and watching the quality of what I eat.

Gotta go work on those pesky taxes, today. Hhmmm, maybe I need a nap first:yawn:
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, ladies. I hope those of you getting blasted this winter can soon have relief. I haven't heard but I'm guessing the groundhog didn't see his shadow and there is more winter to be had.

Except here in SoCal -- my daffodils and hyacinths are in full bloom already!

Joy

weaklink109

Hi hopeful--don't recall seeing you before, so "welcome!!"

Hope your daughter is ok. I have the feeling that your A&E is equivalent to the ER (emergency room) in the States. Over here, when you see A&E, it refers to the Arts and Entertainment network. Well, I guess if there was a show on that one didn't like, THAT could cause a pain!!!:noway: :noway: :laugh: (Those on the thread who know me realize that I can spot an opportunity for a joking comment from 100 feet away. Those who don't need to understand, as I don't want to be accused of making light of someone's health problems.)

Good luck with your healthy eating, and your introduction to the gym.

Barb

mimi7grands

Hi everyone. I’m just skimming today, trying to catch up.

I spent the last week with my sister and my folks. We had a wonderful 85th birthday party for my mom. She was awesome, swinging the bat at the piñata like a mad woman! I can only hope…

Amanda, I echo what you say about maintenance. It IS the hardest part. Every time I visit my folks (or anyone), I gain 5 lbs. Then I spend the next 2-3 weeks losing it. Eventually I hope I can maintain within a range of, oh, 1-2 lbs.

Renny, so good to see you! This is a great place to be and a great place to come back to. How’s the job front?

Mary, I love the story about David (aka Buzz) politely saying “no thank you” to your request to pick up his things. Kids are so darned cute, to paraphrase Mr. Linkletter. (Boy, does that make me feel old!)

Robin, your daughter is beautiful. She looks so much like you.

Assandra, the Solomon Islands – sounds so romantic. I’m glad you didn’t get hit too badly by the cyclone and that it missed the more populated areas in Australia. 185 mph winds…scary.

Chiclet, congrats on the weight loss. You’ve done an awesome job.

Bmorrow, what a great start.

So many new people…so many old friends too…I love this site and all the encouragement. Thanks, Barbie (and everyone) for keeping it going.

hooah_mj

Happy Saturday Ladies,
The scale is forever stuck...but I won't let that stop my efforts to force it down. Made Zumba early & had a round on the Kinesis Wall, so good day so far.
Sure wish I could feel better about our family meals. I usually grill 2 - 3 days a week, but it's the other part of the week that gets me into trouble! The family requires/requests so many more calories than necessary and they love their take-out, so I'm slowly trying to ween us all from the fat and grease.

I sure could use some advice on how to substitute the rice and pasta...brown rice is a no go w/these silly kids & wheat pasta is great for spaghetti, altho they prefer white & creamy w/anything else.

We're trying every "Baked" chip we can find, with 1 or 2 tolerable. I also keep a gallon of Crystal Light in the fridge, but they always wanna reach for the cokes....the diet versions have helped, but not for us all.
I've decided to get mean with all this...so I have set some limits where the cokes & snacks are concerned - weekends only.

I'm very thankful that the family is very aware of my health issues and are trying to follow in line, however, I sure do wish they would take their waistlines and lack of energy more seriously. My son (w/t1diabetes) & I (high BP & bad family history) are the only 2 that workout. I know full well that working out in itself, WILL NOT help with significant weight loss, so that means we gotta eat better and eat a lot less. Everyone is overweight (except youngest).

With that said, I can't imagine what SuperBowl will be like. Will it be the usual pizza, wings, & endless chips? I hope not! To the gym first thing 2mrw :laugh:

Hope everyone is staying warm (it's 60 degrees today) & enjoys the weekend festivities :happy:

mj

mimi7grands

MJ, try spaghetti squash for your spaghetti. It's easy to cook and delicious. Even my grandsons, who are not veggie eaters, raved about it. I used Classico spaghetti sauce and doctored it up with diced artichoke hearts and a few kalamata olives. Yum.

weaklink109

MJ,

I was supposed to be going to a Super Bowl gathering tomorrow, but the friend who was going to have it has a dog breeding business and she has two females due to deliver in the next couple of days, plus one of her Sphinx cats is about to pop, so after a phone conference last night, we decided to forgo the gathering for now.

Nevertheless, since I always buy and prepare all the food, and she pays for her share, I had already developed a menu, that took into account one guest's diabetes, my host's need for non-spicy fare, and my own desire to not fall too far off my program for the day. Since I have introduced healthier options into the potlucks we have 3 or 4 times a year, my host and hostess actually REQUEST certain things that they would have turned up their noses at if they were shopping for themselves.

So for your benefit and anyone looking for food ideas for tomorrow.... here goes:

Veggie tray--carrots, plum tomatoes, celery, broccoli, cauliflower.
Dips-low-fat ranch, hummus, and peach mango salsa.
Chips--Trader Joe Flax Seed Tortilla Chips to eat with previously mentioned dips
Home made Chili--made with 1 parts 7% lean ground beef to 3 parts ground turkey BREAST (If you are not familiar w/ground turkey, don't make the mistake of buying any ground that does NOT say BREAST or WHITE. This has a light enough flavor that you can season it properly and no one will be able to tell it is there. If you use unspecific ground turkey, it will be mostly dark meat, and have a very strong taste that is impossible to overcome, unless you spice it to the hilt.) I also use reduced sodium diced tomatoes in my chili, as well as reduced sodium canned beans.

I season my meat while it is browning, but keep it pretty mild. I chop up jalapeno peppers as a side, so anyone who wants to feel steam coming out of their ears:noway: can make their chili to suit their taste buds. I also have shredded low-fat cheese, chopped sweet onion, and light sour cream as sides. I bring small whole grain dinner rolls to eat along w/the chili.

My hostess LOVES lemon meringue pie, so I get a sugar-free one from WalMart that is always a big hit. That takes care of her and my diabetic friend as far as dessert is concerned. Her hubby and I are partial to ice cream, and since he doesn't spend anytime in the kitchen, all he knows is the reduced fat no added sugar Dreyer's (AKA Edi's in certain parts of the country) Butter Brickle is just fine with him. I also planned to bring fresh blueberries along as they go well with the pie as well as the ice cream.

For beverages, everybody brings whatever they want.

So, I don't know if this helps anyone with last-minute ideas, but I hope so. As for me, I have to figure out what I am going to have around here tomorrow for ME. I am not making chili just for myself, so I think I will get some thin sliced roast beef and a parmesan jalapeno roll from the bakery and make myself a hot beef slider with low sodium broth for aus jus. A little beer, and some of those TJ chips with hummus and I can party with the best of them.

BFN

Barb

PS: Go Packers!! Go Pittsburgh!! Doesn't matter to me who wins, since both teams are at the other end of the country from me, but I do think it is going to be a very interesting game because they seem pretty evenly matched.

hooah_mj

MJ, try spaghetti squash for your spaghetti. It's easy to cook and delicious. Even my grandsons, who are not veggie eaters, raved about it. I used Classico spaghetti sauce and doctored it up with diced artichoke hearts and a few kalamata olives. Yum.

Thx mimi7grands:flowerforyou:
but what exactly is it? pasta or can you buy squash already spaghetti'ed
would love to try...I'll check out some recipes on-line