WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR APRIL 2012

anotheryearolder

Just a quick pop in as I eat a quick late lunch.

I'm In a rush as I have to get ready to go to the theatre this evening and I have a lot of driving to do to pick up some friends.

About the sweet potato fries - I'll second the high heat to get them crispy and will add to that - coat them lightly in corn starch. I know it adds a few calories but it helps keep them crispy. Also, don't overload the pan. They need to not touch, if you want them crispy.

Would love to comment more but the clock is ticking!

Faye

Laura80111

:flowerforyou: Loving my Saturday,

I've read the posts but no time to respond. It looks like everyone is really busy. Those of you that still have your Mom's (Mum's) enjoy your time with them, I was just talking with a friend last night and her Mom passed about 2 weeks ago and we were remembering our Mom's with the fun things that give you smiles when you talk about them.:drinker: Congrats to those of you posting a loss, that's always a GREAT feeling.

I've got my exercise in for today and dinner in the crockpot (veggie soup) Hubby & #3 son are watching DVD's and other things. #3 Son finished some of his homework and felt he could take the time to watch TV with his Dad. Then there is the NFL Draft and they are following that every now and then. #3 DIL will be back for dinner after her conference is done and for a special treat I will dip Strawberries in Chocolate.

#2 Son posted pictures of the Kiddos with him at Krispie Cream Donuts, since I didn't see DIL#2 in the pics maybe he was giving her a morning off.

I best get the dishes put away and hubby is saying it's time to get in the hot tub so I better get going.

Everyone have a good Saturday, log your food, exercise off those calories and drink plenty of water:drinker:

Laura80111

mazaron

Hello all,

I’ve been rolling around the house for the last couple of days. My reading material moves between books about the Silk Road/Central Asia/Middle East, philosophy and fiction. We think our next big trip will be a train journey along the Silk Road, the Istanbul to Beijing route (one way or the other). The list includes: Foreign Devils on the Silk Road (Peter Hopkirk); The Rood of Wild Madder (Brian Murphy); How Philosophy Can Save Your Life (Marietta McCarty): and for fiction, Half Blood Blues (Esi Edugyan).

The philosophy book is written for a book club but I'm just puttering through it on my own. I think I'd better download a few "Nancy Drew for grown-ups" books because that's a pretty heavy reading list. :happy:

Kackie, I hope your DH is feeling OK. As a recent surgery patient myself I am full of sympathy for you both! :flowerforyou: Good thing he loves to read.

Kat, AKA KatiJarr, Thanks for the hints about managing life without walking. I keep reminding myself that the best thing I can do it follow Dr’s orders. I have made sweet potato oven fries as you describe, they cook a lot faster than regular potatoes so sometimes come out mushy, I think cooking them at high heat is the answer. They turn out really well when done on the BBQ too.

JB Next week I am going to try beans on my salads. Roasted beets? One thing I could get, if I roll out into the yard, is dandelion greens. The yard is full of them, to the neighbours' despair. :grumble:

Msh0530: We used to live in Fort Nelson, along the Alaska Highway. It’s beautiful country. Glad to hear you are going to take your time along the way.

Barbie, I meant what show is DWTS? I don’t recognize the initials. Thanks for the author of the Chocolate Shop mysteries. I’ll look her up. Never thought of my murder mysteries as “Nancy Drew for adults” :happy: .

Joyce, Westernjoy: my foot surgery was for arthritis, very similar to what’s done for bunions, except the Dr put in a metal plate to fuse the joints of my big toe that were destroyed by arthritis. Definitely :sad: but don't wait too long, there's no point in being handicapped by something that isn't going to get any better.

Jellyfishjen, I read several books at once as you can see from the above. An unexpected benefit of the Kindle I bought a couple of weeks ago is that I can carry them all around at once. I got a leather cover for the Kindle that is really nice to hold, I didn’t want to give up the tactile feeling of a book either.

DH is bustling around the yard catching up on chores :explode: before the rain comes. The early morning promised a blue-sky day but it's clouded over now. Too bad for my plan to sit out on the lawn.

I made Thai Soup for lunch and pulled a bunch of left-overs out of the fridge to make a pasta sauce for supper. There's laundry in the wash to go in the dryer and laundry on the floor to go in the wash. Everything certainly takes longer when I can't skip around and multi-task. On the other hand, because I have to move slowly, I can practice the philosophy of "living in the moment". It's interesting.

Hasta pronto,

Nancy

scompton54

Greetings All

I gave been MIA on this board for a couple of weeks but have managed to keep on logging. The last two weeks have been very busy and I have not eaten the best, but I haven't totally blown it either. As a result, I am up 1 pound but it could be a lot worse. I have had a lot of caterings through the school and have been pretty much exhausted when I got home. Also, I have come home with the plan to bike to the gym but then haven't.....not so great, so I will go back to my drive directly to the gym after school routine because apart from walking, I haven't done as much as I usually do.

For those who wondered....my Nano survived the wash!!!! Three days in rice and a day air drying and it charged up fine. I am now an Apple fan

I had a week off, as suggested, between Stage 1 &2 of TNROWLFW. I did some walking but the weather wasn't very conducive for biking, Today I did yoga, weight training and went with a new group for a bike ride. Unfortunately, they are a lot slower than I like to go so I did some extra biking after the ride. It was a small group today so I am hoping that I will find another fast biker the next time out.

Last might I had a NSV when an acquaintance commented on how slim I looked, so all the hard work is paying off.

I haven't read all the posts from the last ten days (10 pages!) but I did read a few pages and loved the stories from the empty nesters. My kids are amazed with how much I am doing now that they aren't here and how I am often out when they call. Haha, it's funny how kids can;t imagine their Mama having a life without them.

Anyway, time for dinner but I wanted to check in. I will go back and read the rest of the pages later. Good luck and best wishes to all.

regards

Sarah

jellyfishjen

A nice sunny Sunday here in Sydney, but cold. Winter is fast approaching. My mum has been up and made herself eggs on toast. How she got down my heavy cast iron pan I don't know. How I didn't hear her I don't know. She was up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep. She also loves to read, and has a zillion books. So she is back in bed now reading and dozing. Its 9am. I love the way she lives her life. But I best be ready because once she decides to move shes fast and I better be ready.

Nancy, I can see the benefit of a Kindle, with carry many books around at once. No doubt I will get one eventually.

Sweet potato talk ; first never grow them, I did and they took over the vegie patch. I love them as chips too and have been trying to perfect the baking of them. I cut them in thin rounds, and bake in a very slow oven, watching them constantly. Be very patient. I first spray them with a little oil and often sprinkle them with ginger. I love them with ginger. Another way is to boil them with fresh grated ginger and mash them. I have to make the chip style and take them into my daughter weekly, she doesnt have an oven. She likes them instead of bisuits with a dip.. or she will add them to her salad. I will however try an very hot oven this week and see how that works. You can do the same with firm tofu,(bake in oven) but season first if its the plain variety. Makes a very nice snack, or some quick protein to add to salads.

Now does anyone know how to do baked ricotta?

djhobs

Happy Saturday...my favorite day of the week!! Had a good workout this am...after Mr hot flash (would not be a Ms...we wouldn't do this to each other! Lol) visited at 5:30am...6 miles on the bike (total 31 for the week) and then 1300 rowing. The rest of the am I spent in kitchen...made tortellini soup, chicken stock (still cooking as I type) an Irish farm bread and (Sorry) chocolate chip brownies. Saturday is always lunch with my sister and mom...sometimes mom is a chore, but after reading posts will be trying to appreciate her more and thinking "chore " less...thank:blushing: you for the reminder:flowerforyou:

Sweet potatoes - cube and toss with olive oil, sprinkle of brown sugar, Chili powder and cayenne pepper and kosher salt...bake at 400 for about 40-45 minutes...hubby liked them and he doesn't like sweet potatoes...

I have also done "fries " with butternut squash...a. ww recipe I think...slice into sticks and toss with olive oil, Chili powder and kosher salt. Bake at 450 14-18 minutes depending on how crispy you like.

Ok that's all I have....am a little beat tonight but am hoping to get back to that garden project tomorrow...I could really use a three (or seven! Lol) day weekend...my sister did mention tennis with two of our brothers tomorrow...maybe she won't call.....:laugh:

Jen

barbiecat

:bigsmile: :bigsmile: Jake is doing much better thanks to ice and taking it easy. Today he planted a few small plants and made a fabulous taco salad for lunch. We were watching a TV show we had recorded and a few minutes after we finished lunch I fell asleep in my chair so Jake suggested a nap. Bernie, Brandy, and Sasha joined us and we slept for almost two and half hours. I got up and walked the dogs and then we watched the rest of the show while I did my weight training.

:flowerforyou: Jellyfishjen, I’m reading “The Chocolate Snowman Murders” at bedtime, “The Happiness Project” in the bathroom, and “Strong Women Stay Slim” at other times of the day. I like real books and haven’t been attracted to the electronic readers.

:flowerforyou: Kat, I’ve been a knitter since I was about nine years old and I learned to crochet when I retired. I used to do a lot of both, but now that I exercise so much and hardly sit down except to eat and use the computer, I don’t do as much as I used to.

:flowerforyou: Kackie, I like the exercises in “Strong Women Stay Young”. I’ve made some changes but I started out with exactly what was in the book. I checked out “Strong Women Stay Slim” from the library to learn more…..sorry about your husband’s friend.

:flowerforyou: Fitz, congrats on the new grandbaby……I bake sweet potatoes like regular potatoes and eat them skin and all with a bit of “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” or salsa.

:flowerforyou: Nancy, I’m glad you’re finding ways to exercise while “rolling around the house”…..some of my other favorites in the “Nancy Drew for Adults” genre are “The Cat Who……”, books by Tamar Myers, Nevada Barr, Joanne Pence, and Janet Evanovich……DWTS is “Dancing With the Stars” I started watching it a few years ago when a favorite celebrity was dancing and discovered that I loved the show and soon Jake was watching with me. We both vote for our favorites and wait eagerly for the results show.

:flowerforyou: Sarah, your exercise program is inspiring.

:flowerforyou: The weather continues to be alternating sunshine and drizzle. I worked in the yard this morning during the sunshine phase and walked the dogs during the drizzle.

Barbie from NW Washington state.

exermom

Did the Jari Love 1000 DVD today (Fri). It's really a combo of cardio and weights, but she works a lot of the body parts. Tomorrow...yoga. PLUS...the farmer's market opens (yea). Don't know what they'll have, it has been warm, things are coming into season earlier than usual. After yoga I'll do some food shopping on the way home for the things that are on sale. Didn't get to stop there Wed (that's when I usually am able to go) because I went to the dentist.

In a few minutes I'll be leaving for mahjongg. But I'm definitely going to leave at 12. At 1 there's this guy who is supposed to be here to talk to us about putting in a pool. I've wanted a pool since we moved to this house 4 years ago, I'm not about to miss this meeting. Not on your life. Afterwards, I may do a bit of bowling. Update: there were only 2 of us who came to mahjongg so we had to leave, I just went bowling then home in case the pool guy was here early (I'm not taking any chances)

jb - thanks for reminding me that I will want to look for the golden beets at the farmer's market.

2youngatheart - we want you! Welcome back.

katie - you won't believe what I did! Right now I'm making placemats for Christmas (note that I'm not saying christmas of which year. I started them about 5 years ago). Originally, I was going to make 6, but now we have a larger dining room table so I'd like to make 12. Only the company (Coats & Clark) has discontinued the thread! I'm asking some other people who are in the thread industry to see if they can come up with something comparable. Anyway....what I did was for each placemat, I copied the directions so I can cross off each round as I'm doing it. Well....I accidentally kept the directions from the last placemat that I made in the bag with the new placemat. I took the old directions and saw that one of the rows was crossed off so I figured I'd already done that one. So I ripped out the work I'd done for the next row. Then I realized that I was looking at the wrong directions. I'm going to take it to a friend of mine who hopefully can tell me which round I'm on.

kackie - how horrible for your dh! I can imagine. A close friend of Vince's passed away from cancer about a year ago. It really affected Vince because this was very close, made him feel his vulnerability more. I'm glad your dh is going to the service, hopefully that'll give him some closure.

fitz - I bake my sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are sort-of high in calories, but they are so good for you. I bake them like baked potatoes. I have made sweet potato fries, but to be honest, they're more work than just baking a sweet potato.

luckycheryl - welcome! What are you studying in college? You joined just by posting, now you'll find this thread under "my topics". But I do have to say, when the thread reaches 500 posts it gets locked out. But...barbie is so wonderful, she ALWAYS makes a continuation thread. You'll find that link at the end of the last post.

Jen - love how you and your mom play for chocolate. And you are so right....treasure these moments while you can.

Yesterday it was so warm around here, today it has gotten really cool. Weird weather, wish it was warmer. Tomorrow, tho, it is supposed (key word) to be warmer. We shall see what happens

Went to the farmers market, got some real nice strawberries. He doesn't use any pesticides on them, and are they ever good! Have them in the freezer right now. Will have cereal with strawberries for breakfast tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll do some balance games on the Wii. After the farmers market went to yoga, then to a grocery store to get what they had on sale. While I was there a friend called me. See, last night I was working on the placemat I'm crocheting, and I realized I was using the directions from the one I'd already made. Well, I couldn't figure out which round I was on, so she counted it for me.

All crocheters: this is a stab in the dark. I'm making placemats, I'm using Aunt Lydia's Denim crochet thread in red and white (1 ball of the red 1 of the white). This item has been discontinued. By any weird chance, would someone have some?

Faye - never heard of putting cornstarch on sweet potato fries. Interesting. I wouldn't think it would add a whole lot of calories, does it?

Jessica came here last night. It was a last minute thing and I think we're going to go out to dinner tonight. I did make some chocolate chip cookies for her to take home.

Well, the guy came here yesterday and we talked about the pool. The things Vince thought might be a problem, he didn't think would be. So that's good. It'll be a few months, but looks like I'll actually get my pool before the year is over.

Nancy - DWTS is Dancing With The Stars.

Sarah - we've missed you, but I'm glad you've been keeping up with the logging. Glad your Nano made it OK. You know, when Jessica calls we usually get the "where are you, what are you doing" and there's the "why didn't you answer the phone?"

Went to Red Lobster tonight for dinner. I had a salad with the dressing on the side so I really didn't use very much at all, broiled flouner and steamed broccoli. Just had water (3 glasses) without ice.

jellyfishjen - what kind of seasoning do you use on your tofu? I never thought of baking it. I would think that'd make a quick low cal snack.

All this talk of soup, I'm thinking that I need to make some more. I think I only have one more serving of the tomato and one of the asparagus soup.

Here's hoping everyone has a great evening.

Michele

janemartin02

Hope everyone is enjoying their week-end.
Kat,love to crotchet too.Joined a crotchet /knitting group.We make prayer shawls and donate blankets to Project Linus.I also crotchet squares for the shelters to put in the animal cages.
Spent the day with my grand daughter.took her to the kid`s day at the y.Had my therapy.Will be doing home ex and meeting with the pt dr 1x a week See the ortho dr on Tues.
Looks like we will be living with son for awhile.Daughter will have to change schools.Rents are not affordable at this time.Hubby `s job is still one day at a time.
DIL did thank me for helping out.It`s not ideally where I want to be,but grateful for them for helping us thru this difficult time.
Once I change my state id,I can have access to the fitness center here and the pool in the summer.It`s just hard living with family.
Have a good night!
HUGS
jane

fitz1191

Laura the breakfast caserole sound delish I'm working on changing up my foods a bit and finding quick easy to grab stuff since I'm always on the go it seems that's a great idea to make it ahead & throw in containers

Kackie I'm sorry for the loss of your friend

Jb I too love the pic on your profile

Michele I used to crochet all the time dont get to do it much any more to busy and I learned to knot a few years ago that was fun to and easier than I thought it would be

Just trying to get myself back on track seems I have been slow all this week since we got back from the birth of our 11th grandbaby who by hte way is still perfect tee hee. Had a great work out this morning and I found a great spring salad last night at one of our favorite restaraunts. I am trying to increase my food pallet a bit I tend to eat the same old things all the time and I need to mix it up more find new foods was telling my hubby I need to take a nutrition class or a cooking class or something I know sweet potatoe are super good for you but the only way I know to cook them is like yams and I hate yams any way looking for new ideas have a great night all

I haven't tried this but I have heard that you can peel and cut a sweet potato like french fries, toss them in some olive oil and spread them on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with some sea salt and bake them in a hot oven (400 degrees F) till they are crispy...I have had sweet potato fries in restaurant and they are yummy and I have made this recipe with regular potatoes and they are great and low cal, so with sweet potatoes they may be just as yummy! Let me know if you try them

Love
Kat :flowerforyou:

that sounds great Kat thanks I will give it a shot

fitz1191

I have a lot of posts to catch up on and will read them later but for now I wanted to share my night with you all.


A night of cards and chocolate with my 81yo mum, something we do not do often enough but is a favorite time together. Worth every extra calorie. Some moments will not last forever and must be enjoyed. Soon it may all end. 1. she may die (as may I) 2. she will get tired of me always winning and refuse to play any more.
Chocolate use to be the reward for the winner, but then as we got more and more competitive, if one took a bathroom break it was not unusual to come back and find the chocolate eaten. So now we have a bowl of choclate to nibble on while playing.
Eating healthy and exercising is important but so are other things. Special moments in your life.

So i probably will have gained again this week in weight but i have also gained in beautiful moments. Sharing Anzac day with family (lunch and dinner out), going to the ballet with my daughter (had champagne), cards tonight with my mum, (cooked her a big roast dinner, then the chocolate). These days don't happen all the time and we must treasure them.

My mum is actually on her way home, in stages, she lives an hour away closer to the inner city. She has been out in the country to be companion for a friend (82) while her daughter went on an overseas holiday. Mum was only there 5 days when she had to call the ambulance as her friend did not seem well, she died that night. My mum handled this quite well, at their age death is apart of their life. My mum lives in a nursing home complex, she has her own unit and lives independently. But there is the home section with full time care. Death is a regular visitor. Mum is often called on by the nursing staff to comfort the frail (and sometimes difficult) she has the compassion and care to comfort them, particularly when the end is near. So to spend a night eating chocolate (and drinking wine, forgot to mention that) with her is what helps her get on with her life and such a small thing for me to do.

Jen this brought tears to my eyes I lost my Mum (she was a Brit so she was Mum to me) Feb of 2011 and if I could have one more day with her I would love to spend it just like your spent it with your Mum, what a wonderful memory you made! I was very close to my Mum, we lived about 2 hours apart but spoke on the phone 2-3 times a week, she was 85 and lived in the same house for 45 years since she came over to the states from England, the last 5 alone since my dad died and she was fiercely independent! I miss her everyday. So happy that you had such a great day with yours!

Love Kat

Jellyfish that is a very touching story made me think of my Mom and all the nights we have had just like that I am blessed she is still with us and I pray I have many more thanks for sharing and God bless your Mum for her compassion.

fitz1191

Wow so much going on here thanks to everyone for all the great ideas and info on sweet potatoes Im looking forward to trying them

jb congrats on your weight loss that is fantastic

exermom good luck finding your crochet thread I don't have any of that left it has been so long since I did any of that but I used to love it

Barbie that book sounds interesting may need to check it out

had a wonderful day watched my granddaughter play in the regionals in volleyball they won the 2 games we saw but ended up losing the overall tournament now on to track season I so enjoy watchimg them all in their various sports at all the various stages, have some in track some in soccer some in t ball and some in gymnastis so lots to choose from
Hubby took me out for dinner and before that we cleaned ou the garage nice full busy saturday love these days Tomorrow my youngest son and his family are coming for dinner can't wait we don't get them much he is always so busy so I am super excited going to look up some recipes before tomorrow so night all enjoy

TheOriginalGinging

Hi Ladies! I'm just getting started and could use some encouragers! Feel free to add me!

jb_2011

:flowerforyou: Ahh, Sundays, they're the best. Looking forward to spending the day gardening, I have so many seedlings that need planting and it looks like we're in for a dry day. Cloudy, though. Sure could use a dose of sunshine!

I'm on a mission to find a recipe for crispy sweet potato fries. I haven't tried either of these methods yet, but they both look interesting. I'd probably skip the dipping sauces, or make lighter versions with fat free plain yogurt.

This one has step by step instructions (with great photos) for "guaranteed" crispy sweet potato fries. She coats the raw potatoes with a little corn starch and drizzles with oil..
http://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/guaranteed-crispy-sweet-potato-fries-sriracha-mayo-dip/

And here's another using a 450 degree oven, baking the fries 20 mins on the lower rack then 10 more on the upper rack. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ingrid-hoffmann/sweet-potato-oven-fries-with-avocado-dip-recipe/index.html

Nancy, take a look at this recipe for roasted beets. When my friend made this she used carrots and a bit of bell pepper along with the beets and onions, and didn't add the balsamic vinegar until after pulling the pan out of the oven. She didn't use the herbs, either, and the vegs were absolutely delicious.
http://cookingwithmichele.com/2009/08/balsamic-roasted-beets-onions/

Good day to all, make it a beauty! :bigsmile:
jb

dianecasey1

so sorry

niecee56

Hello,

I'm just starting my diet program and my doctor told me about my fitness pal and I love it. So far I have lost 7 pounds and just started exercising. At 55 years old and still working a full time job it is hard for me to find the energy for exercise. I also have lupus and my joints don't like it.

It is nice to see Ladies my age also getting in shape, now I don't feel alone and I feel encouraged. I have 100 pounds to go and I have never been so determined. My husband has been very helpful and will eat all my low calorie meals with me, even though I think he sneaks in a few snacks, Lol

Nice to meet you all and I hope to make a lot of friends while on my weight loss journey.
Denise

KathyGSM

Found you again! I now have 5 pages of posts to catch up on......

I am getting ready for a 2 hour spin class today - I must be crazy to have signed up for it but I am ready for it. Tomorrow starts my new program at the gym - it's called Fit-traxx. It is a 4 week program that guarantees results so anything that will help me stay on track I am willing to try at least once. My new routine will be Fit-traxx on Monday & Thursday, Spin on Tuesday & Friday and Yoga on Wednesday. I am sooooooo ready for this!!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!!

jaks97

Happy Sunday. Looks like another nice day in Sunny California. Had a small earthquake yesterday, knew it was coming we have been having "earthquake" weather. Don't ask me to explain, but it gets eerie, and quiet.

Michelle, I too crochet and like you can sometimes take forever on projects. I did look thru my threads and i wish I could say I had what you are looking for. I am working on tote bag my daughter saw in the Jo-Ann fabrics sales sheet. Should be done soon.

Had my first alone time with Paisley last nite. She is now 4 weeks old, they took Trevor to a baseball game. DIL was not ready to leave her alone. Not that she doesn't think I won't take good care of her, just the first time leaving her. I think mom finally relaxed and enjoyed herself.

Wish I had a magic way to get past this 2lbs up 2 lbs down.
Enjoy your day
Sherry

katiejarr

Hi All!

Barbie My mom was an avid knitter and she used to make beautiful sweaters in fact I still have many of the baby clothes she made my daughter! I could never knit, I always dropped stitches :sad: Crocheting was always easier for me :laugh:
Michelle I feel your pain! I hate when that happens!!!!!:sad: :sad: Sorry love I don't have any of that thread! I can't crochet with thread anymore, too hard on my arthritic hands, I use thick yarn and big crochet needles these days :glasses:

Well busy Sunday today, lunch with my sister, a rare occasion :embarassed: then off to an Up Do Training for our stylists to get ready for Proms this month!

Happy healthy eating!!!
Love
Kat

MimawP

Hi all, been gone for a few days with family obligations. I'm exhausted, bad eating, bad drinking, and so many emotional roller coasters ... I'm glad it's done and now it's time to get back on track. I'll read through the thread now and try to catch up with everyone, but just wanted to say hello and I'm glad to be back.