WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR OCTOBER 2012

glendalight

Sorry. MFP not cooperating...again

2youngatheart

This is my first post in October.....sometimes I take on more than I should. I decided to go back to college full time...while maintaining a part time job, and taking care of our parents.....sometimes I think I am crazy.....but I want this for me...even if it seems crazy. I seldom just do what I want....but this is for me and I am going to make it work. I feel guilty over the dust bunnies in my home...but something had to go...and my house is it...lol. I am sure all the dust bunnies will be there when I get to them!

You all amaze me keeping up with each other! Just awesome! Love to see the friends his that have formed....hope to do better and get to know you all better.....some of you are great supportive friends on my page...and I really appreciate you!

I still have about 12-15lbs to go....just taking it slowly....hoping not to be took saggy when I am done ..lol. I was down anther 1/2 lb this morning...would like to go faster...but am fine with that.

Off to chase my dust bunnies...I am actually home today...got to make the most of it.

Have a blessed and happy weekend....will be back soon to read more.!

glendalight

Grrr! Is it possible to remove a post on here?? Mine went in to one LONG paragraph and I couldn't edit it!?!?

glendalight

Fri 10/26/12 08:51 AM
Whew! Finally got on here ! MFP was not cooperating with me this morning!!

and a cold frosty morning it is! No Deedee, this is not normal weather for us. Just another blip in the whacky weather events. We might get a dusting of snow that is gone by afternoon at this time of year, but this has stayed all week with below freezing temps all day, treacherous streets for driving and walking and lots of bundling up to go outside!!

Cheryl, your new photos look fabulous. Great work. You have experienced some real success the last few months - great weight loss, smaller pants - and I love your attitude -"can't wait to see what the next 90 days bring!" Maybe some scuba diving??

Michelle - my heart goes out to you with all the sickness and ill health in your family right now. I find for myself that these 'stress events' tend to pile up on top of each other and exponentially increase my distress. Praying that you stay strong and healthy your self, and for good treatment and recovery for all!

Lila - it sounds like your body is craving some rest and rejuvination time Be sure to look after yourself so you can completely kick this bug and get back to optimum health. Your workshop sounds interesting - I too will have to google that and see what it is all about. And how nice of you to rake up all those leaves for the leaf bandits As long as they are gone, right?

Linda (sundance) - I so related to your statement "my minds picture ...and what I really look like are so different" I used to say that, in my head, I still saw the thin woman I used to be, and it allowed me to deny the reality of where my body was heading and to keep piling on the pounds. But don't be discouraged - keep celebrating pound be pound of loss and look at how far you have come. See those 35 pounds in a concrete way - almost two 20 pound bags of flour!! - and remember that you were carrying that around all day every day. Your body thanks you today with better health!! You are on the right path – congratulate yourself!

Barbie - okay, I chuckled out loud at the pumpkin to pumkin stem transition! Thanks for the laugh.

Kate - Hey, congratulations on the breakthrough in the scuba training. it sounds like there might be some warm weather water adventure in your future! so nice to get your sewing machine fixed so quickly and cheaply - Spread the word on the good service - there is sometimes so little of it! I admire your work in doing the alterations - it always seems to be so much more work than it first appears but what a wonderful job to have to do! Progress and success! Have a great trip - how many more sleeps?

JaneH - It is a dilemma - to travel or not. I do like the idea of jaunts that are a month or two long - it lets you get back home to parents from time to time and still have the adventure. How fun would it be to settle in to your own rental spot for an extended time and really explore an area and its culture! You could probably find some short term arrangements available to support your parents here if they are in reasonably good health. I think an RV limits you to continental travel and it sounds like you are looking at farther abroad. And RVing is certainly not cheap - initial investment, gas, space rental! We have friends who sold everything, invested in a self sufficient RV set up and have been travelling back and forth seasonally between here and the So Cal desert. He has recently had some serious health issues and they are now faced with the problem that they do not have a 'home' (it is already too cold here for the RV) while he undergoes surgery and recovery. A bit of a complication for them. I know you will find a compromise that works for your own situation.

To all of you losers of one/ two pounds - great work...keep it up!

I am heading in to a busy couple of weeks - a wedding this weekend, babysitting 24/7 for the four grandkids for a week, company next weekend, hubby's work retreat the next week and flying off to Ottawa for mom's birthday (straight from the retreat). I also have two boarders that I will have to prepare food for before I leave. And then it is the middle of November Yikes! I get a panic attack just typing it out!! So I am going to have to work HARD to stay on task and on plan. I am not sure that there will be space for much exercise so I am really going to have to watch the food choices!!

Have a good day all. Go well. Stay well
Glenda

barbiecat

:drinker: :drinker: We had a Halloween party at line dance today and I wore the same pumpkin costume I wore yesterday…..there were many dancers there who weren’t in class yesterday and a lot of great costumes..we danced more dances to Halloween music.

:bigsmile: Texasgal, you asked about the Halloween music……Thriller, Purple People Eater. Witch Doctor, The Munsters, Spooky, Monster Mash, Little Red Riding Hood……none of them actually Halloween but each had a theme that could be loosely considered Halloween (spooky, monster, costumes, etc)



:happy: :happy: In a few minutes I’ll be heading out to teach a two hour beginner line dance class (no Halloween music). This is the last class of the six I taught for my friend (the one whose husband died in June) so she could go on a trip to visit family……I’ve enjoyed the teaching but I’ll be glad to not be so busy for awhile.

Barbie from NW Washington

rjadams

busy week. stressful work. TGIF. Time to chill with my DH and fur kids. Life is good.

Take care dear ladies!

Robin, Bodi and Rittere.

kathyszoo

Happy Friday!

My first week at the temp job done! I love the job and people there are great! I'm sorry it's only for 4 weeks but hopefully might be asked back next year and I have an interview for another temp job next week that might start when this one ends. I am doubly blessed at the moment because I also have a great physical therapist that isn't just focusing on my injured calf but also trying to help me with foot pain (residual from surgery) too! Really feel like this will have a good outcome!

Linda-I feel the same way! I don't think I would have come as far as I have already without everyone's support and encouragement! I have quite a ways to go but know I can get there because of all of you! Thank you all for sharing your ups and downs and thanks again Barbie for keeping us going!

Have a fantastic weekend!:flowerforyou:

Kathy

exermom

Barbie - now we have a new name for you -- "stem". Weren't you doing your pushups on your feet? Can you maybe do them on your knees? I usually do mine on my knees just so that I'm more comfortable knowing that I'm most likely in better alignment.

Well, today was a sad day in part. I did an hour of a spinning downloadable workout and my heartrate monitor died. So I'm in the market for a new one. One of the features it MUST have is a customer replaceable battery. It should also have large numbers in the display since many times when I exercise I take my glasses off and I do want to see the numbers. I need either a stopwatch or a countdown (that's what my Polar had). What I liked about my Polar versus my cardiosport was the fact that the chest strap on the Polar was much more comfortable. Any suggestions of which ones anyone else is happy with? One thing I wasn't too happy with with the Polar was the fact that there really wasn't a way to shut it off so the battery wore down much more quickly than otherwise.

I sprayed some of the weeds/grass in the areas where we are going to put riverrock with weedkiller. Then Vince and I watered the backyard, I came in and changed my clothes to take Loki to the vet. Jess, Vince and I went to dinner at Golden Corral. Actually, their buffet is sort-of decent. I had a salad of romaine lettuce, spinach leaves, a tomato, raw carrots, mushrooms, onions, grilled chicken breast (a bit on the dry side I thought). Then my dinner was baked fish, a SMALL piece of the pizza (I cut a slim sliver but didn't think it tasted really good) pork, veges (broccoli, green beans, cabbage, more onions,) a piece of roasted chicken. Dessert was cottage cheese with sunflower seeds, cantaloupe, and grapes. Then I splurged and had a LITTLE mint chocolate chip ice cream and a LITTLE cookies and cream ice cream, a piece of fudge, and more grapes. When the girl was scooping out the ice cream, I kept saying to her "oh, that's too big". Finally, I think she got the idea that I didn't want a whole scoop, not even half of one, but just a tiny bit.

Linda Sundance - you are a beautiful person, never forget that. Was there something in particular that you wanted to know about substituting applesauce for the oil? I use a 1 to 1 combination, like if the recipe calls for 1/4 cup butter, I substitute 1/4 cup applesauce. In dark goods (like brownies, chocolate cake) I've used prune puree, same 1 to 1, I've also substituted pumpkin puree, but I must say that you can taste a hint of the pumpkin. I do make pumpkin spice muffins and you really can't taste the pumpkin in them. Let me know if there was something else you wanted to know.

Liz - have fun at the party!

wessecg (Cheryl, is it?) - congrats on the loss! A loss is a loss, the difference might very well be because of water weight. My weigh in day is tomorrow. I'm consistently around 130, this is getting boring. But I also know that if I go too low, I start to feel horrible and I don't want that.

It's so hard to order things in a restaurant here in the south. Their idea of "a little butter" is to use 1/4 of a pound versus the 1/2 pound. I've learned to ask for the veges without butter. Or at the very least, the butter on the side.

Does anyone know what's up with mimi? Did I just forget something? Haven't seen her in a while.

Keeping Dixie in my thoughts. Anyone know how she's doing?

Lin - what a job you have selling your parent's home! I certainly don't envy you, that's for sure!

Tomorrow is the last day for the farmer's market. Then I'll go to yoga, then Lowe's hHardware to get a few more gallons of the ground clear stuff. I want to have it on hand, there's just so much that needs to be done. To be honest, putting in the border and then the river rock -- honestly, I'm a bit worried about Vince. Even the landscape fabric. It WOULD be nice to hire someone to do it, this way I know that Vince won't hurt himself. But I also know him and he feels "why pay someone to do something you can do yourself?" To me, one of his problems is that he wants to do everything at once, now I take things and break them up into mini-jobs. But at this point, I can't change his mindset.

jolene - I, too, wish that I could tailor clothes. Especially since I need petite sizes and they seem to be so hard to find. What a wonderful post you made to Linda! I totally agree with everything you said!

2youngatheart - what are you taking in college?

Glenda - enjoy the wedding!

Hope everyone has a great evening.

Michele

wessecg

Typed a long post and lost it darn? Where in the south do you live Exermom? I'm from New Orleans but am displaced in a northern Chicago suburb. I don't even think about Calories when I go home!!!

And yes, it's,

Cheryl

barbiecat

Barbie - now we have a new name for you -- "stem". Weren't you doing your pushups on your feet? Can you maybe do them on your knees? I usually do mine on my knees just so that I'm more comfortable knowing that I'm most likely in better alignment.

Michele, the pushups I do full length with my hands on the seat of my very sturdy dining room chairs are very challenging (more than the knee pushups on the mat.....I also do triceps pushup using the seat of the chair with my legs straight out with heels on the ground.


****************************************************************************************

the line dance class that I taught this afternoon was great.....there was another new student who learned quickly so we did all the dances from last week plus two more...I loved doing it but it made for a very long day.


When I first started on MFP I didn't think I'd ever lose the weight.....my first NSV was when my underwear fit better, something only I could tell...one day at a time, putting one foot in front of the other, and checking in with this thread, the pounds came off and thanks to all of you, they are staying off.

hugs to all of you
Barbie

junekaatz

Good evening,

Darn the hurricane! New York conference has been postponed! We’re not leaving Sunday, rats! Rats! Rats! No holiday in the big apple! I was hoping to get away from the snow! Maybe I’ll go see Mom at the coast, it’s been a while and I have the time off work. I’ll call her tomorrow and see what she thinks (always better to ask permission at this age). She will be 89 this week and I would love to be there for her birthday! I mailed off her gift just today, had I only known!

I spent the day altering clothes after a failed attempt to buy some at my favourite ‘big girl shop’. I take the smaller size there now and there was none to be had! All I wanted were some jeans and some underwear but instead I am darting bras, taking in panties as well as taking in the seams on my dress pants and LBD. I am taking this b reak because my serger is arguing with me and I am wanting a big hammer again.... . Mumble, mumble……

Wessecg – wow! 400 dives! I’ll be happy just to get a few in on a holiday, my hubby wants to take us diving the Great Barrier Reef where he has had previous dives.

Janehadji – used this device for going over lumpy seams today boy, do I love it. It looks like an ‘H’ shape slightly bent in the middle; each side is a different thickness. Love it! My hubby and my girlfriend are not swimmers at all, that is why I was so surprised when they began scuba diving. I swim all the time; again, I was surprised when I couldn’t.

Deedee2011 – I have had NYC on the brain and have been altering clothes for that so much so that Halloween hasn’t even entered the picture. I hate to say it but I might not even have a costume for it which seriously goes against the grain. I did however locate my giant purple fairy wings…..and I have a moth-eaten purple wig…. Maybe I could come up with something…….

Sundance – I have to tell you that hell would freeze over first before I would ever go scuba diving by flashlight!! No-no-no-no-no!!! Not even murky water is going to get me into scuba gear! It’s got to be clear. I still have occasional nightmares of being wrapped in hidden tree branches and being pulled down into the depths of the lake, the water is greens and gold where the sun is shining through and the rest is murky dark green with arms of more trees reaching out for me. So it’s definitely clear water, see-for-miles kind of diving that is the only I will don scuba gear in the ‘wilds’.

I don’t fear water but I have a healthy respect for it. I have white–water rafted through the boiling waters of Hell’s gate and China Bar rapids in B.C., great fun but it’s the ‘other stuff’ in the water that now bothers me. I went para-sailing one time and I was up about 500 feet sailing around the lake, it was so gorgeous but then they cut the traces and I plunged into the lake after a glorious ride. Those ropes wrapped all around me and in a split second I almost went mad! I had on a life vest and luckily the instructor’s words over-rode my panic, he said “Go limp, don’t fight it and you will rise to the top.” He was correct of course, but that split second was one of my most terrifying recalls.

Lin - So sorry about all the stuff you are having to go through with your father. Wishing you strength for the process.

Well, that’s it, times up and I know I am missing so many of you. Wishing you all success,

Kate

Sasha4427

Good evening lovely ladies, Friday night and I’m finally over this bug – back to normal (well as normal as I get anyway).

Linda – next year you may be a smaller woman but I guarantee your heart will still be as big! Please do not be so hard on yourself, we are all getting there and being kind to ourselves is part of the journey. OMG, you had bunion surgery at 18 – I can’t imagine that. It took me 50 years to screw up my feet that bad. I’ve now had both of them done (and still refuse to give up heels, but I do wear low shoes much more often now). And yes, I agree, it hurts like %)^*@ . Aha, Sundance is the dog! I used to do the napkin trick too, only with turnips and parsnips. My mother used to try to hide the parsnips by mashing them in with the potatoes, didn’t work, just made me take the potatoes to the bathroom in my napkin too.

Liz – glad you had fun at the corn maze. Wouldn’t a cup of hot chocolate be nice to warm up to there – lol. How about hot apple cider, probably less calories. I haven’t been in a Victoria’s secret for 12 years, that was the last time they actually had a bra I could fit into. Funny thing is that now I’ve had reduction surgery, I probably could wear them again – hmmm, will have to go into one next time I’m in a mall.

M – never thought of iron deficiency – nice to know that there was a reason for the liver craving – I just thought I was losing my mind. I went through menopause about 6 years ago so it can’t be that, but I could be low on iron as I’m not big on red meat (but I do eat a lot of greens, spinach and chard). I had my blood work done in February but a lot can happen since then so I’ll go have them done again just to find out. Thanks for the advice.

Laura – funny – that’s how my mom camouflaged the liver too! Another way was to lightly pan fry and then finish it in consommé, which made the gravy sort of edible anyway. I second the thought on your dream bracelet.

JaneH – what a great idea for a Christmas gift for your brother. I’m sure he (and his family) will love it.

Joelene – no secret on the sleep, just really tired lately. I did have insomnia for a couple of years and a doctor taught me that only using the bedroom for sleep was important (well, within reason), no TV, radio, minimal reading etc. And if I couldn’t get to sleep within a half an hour, I had to get up, have a warm milk (which I absolutely detest) a warm bath or shower and do the whole going to bed routine all over again. I don’t know if it worked because of the ritual, or whether I just disliked getting up and down etc. and consciously went to sleep to avoid it.

Glenda – better you have the early winter than me – bwahahahahaha. The leaf bandits may have taken my bags before the Public Works guys, but I can see I probably have another 10 or so to do this weekend for the Monday pickup. Whatever falls after that I will just use on my gardens for mulch. Wow, it sounds like you are going to be running at full tilt for the next little while.
Robin – that is a very succinct post – sort of the Ernest Hemingway school of blogging.

Kate – NO, that’s not fair, curse you Mother Nature (or at least the hurricane). Are you sure that’s not a butterfly-eaten wig to go with your fairy wings?

Well, the weekend awaits …. more leaf raking and bagging and I have been co-opted on Sunday to help the Communities in Bloom group plant 3000 (yup I did mean 3000) narcissus (or is that narcissi?) bulbs in one of the downtown gardens. I shouldn’t’ complain because I feel guilty for not helping out with the weeding this summer. What I really feel like doing is sewing so maybe if I get the outside work done early both days I can have the afternoons for myself. I went to the health food store today and bought all sorts of interesting stuff – dried apricots and peaches, Himalayan salt, flax meal, roasted soy beans etc. I actually went for some bulgar for tabouleh and flax meal to make Deborah’s Cinnamon Muggin and got carried away with all the interesting stuff.

Hope you all had a wonderful evening and will have a great weekend. Catch you later….
Lila

tiarapants

TGIF~~Going to pt this am,then to see Alliyah and her parents.
Hope everyone has a great day!!
We got cold from 70`s to 30+.
HUGS
jane

Look at your gorgeous little Princess! She's a beauty x

tiarapants

Good morning ladies

It's a very cold day here in London and I'm finding it hard to type. I have poor circulation in my fingers and they are always cold apart from my index finger on my right hand which burns up all the time. Not sure about it and will mention it to the doc next time I go.

I spoke to my aunt about my young cousin with the perforated bowel. They had to take him back down to surgery and discovered that, during the first operation - nearly 3 weeks ago, they had left a pad of wadding - this is what was causing the septicaemia. Fortunately they found it and he is now on the road to recovery - although slow. They have warned him that it will be a slow process.

The gallery continues to be busy - hurrah, so I'd better plod on with my work.

Love to all.
Amanda x

DeeDee2211

Good morning beautiful ladies:flowerforyou:

Okay same thing happened this morning:mad: :explode: ! Iwas ready to hit the reply button and poof the post disappeared:noway: :sad: :explode: ! It has been that kind of week !!! Please know I`m thinking of you all, wishing you well, and hoping the pounds keep coming off, remember even one ounce gone is a good thing ( that`s what happened to me this morning), every ounce counts!!!! Hopefully I`ll be able to repost later!!!

Have a great day! Drink your water:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: and log your food!!!

Hugs,
DeeDee

lizmil79

Good Morning Ladies,

The Halloween Party was a success for them. They had a great time dressing up. We had the normal silly dances Chicken Dance, limbo , some week forms of line dancing than free for all. To help them stay involved we take turns being out on the floor dancing with the shy ones or those needing more help. I dance all of them poorly but they didn't mind we all had fun. By the end of it my feet was so sore they still hurt this morning.

Today I think its going to be about relaxing a bit but I do want to get a good walk in. I didn't record exercise yesterday but if I pay attention to how many steps i walk in a day thing I know it was at a good range. I just didn't stop moving all day yesterday. Sort of paying for it But I am ok with that the party was worth it.

@Amanda, --- Good to hear that your cousin is on the road to recovery. I understand the cold thing I don't like it either,

@Lin --- You sure have a lot on your plate. I hope you can get some rest & relaxation and me time in before your "Dad Trip on Monday" .

@ Lili-- Glad to hear you finally over that bug! You are right a big mug of something hot would have been nice after that corn maze.

@Dee sorry about your post disappearing that has happen to me before .

@M-- I do think iron deficieny plays a lot into things.

@Kate- Sorry to hear about your conference/


Everyone know that I read your posts such a supportive group enjoy it very much so. Wishing you all a healthy day. Stay warm.

Liz

mch1956

Happy Saturday, the week went by so quickly, just caught up on everyone. You are such a great group of women. Sharing our successes and challenges really helps to gets through the day. The Strong Women Stay Young book arrived Wednesday and a iread it right away. Lots of helpful information, the exercises look like something I can do. Went to Walmart yesterday and got the 20lb ankle weights. $24. I was struck by how heavy carrying the box was and how I was carrying much more than that in body weight for years. Those visuals really are a motivator for me. Today I plan to start strength training and get in a bike ride. Took a ride after work yesterday, a little chilly as the temp had dropped a lot from Thursday but I want to get the outdoor rides in before it gets too cold.
Keep coming back,
Mary

megblair1

Good Saturday morning to you all. I am feeling a total lack of motivation the last several days. I’m hoping it’s my work schedule. The last 2 months of the year I do 3 10-hour clinical days a week then teach the other two days. I have no time to keep up so I end up working each weekend. Tomorrow I’m going in to do a review for the first test which I don’t normally do but with the events of last week I think the students could benefit from it. I feel like my life is spiraling out of control and I feel totally over committed with all my book projects. That will pass…it’s normal starting in October, but I am worried about my lack of motivation and concern about getting back on track here. :sad:

I also have developed total compassion fatigue for DD#1. Two nights ago I threw away the grilled cheese sandwiches she ruined and DH and I are at a loss for what to do with her. :sad: She broke up with the boyfriend, and although we really liked him, I think this may be a good thing because she was obsessed with him. She didn’t handle that relationship well and I think she drove him off. So maybe now she can concentrate on other things.

I am so far behind in reading posts I will try to catch up but may not respond to everyone. I was good last night at the Indian restaurant; I got the tandoori grill.

Janehadji: wow what a great idea. But I do understand about your parents. Could you leave for a month at a time, returning in between? I only have my dad left and he’s in a skilled nursing home about 2 minutes from me. My only sibling lives in Nashville. He takes care of the business end of things I and handle health care and of course someone visits daily . So I think it’s divided pretty evenly. I don’t think I’d be able to just pack up and leave him either. We are in a tough situation….those of us in that sandwich generation, arent’ we? I was reading your post to Linda and wanted to ask if you or your family are from Iran? My brother’s best friend is Iranian (or Persian as he says) and when we go to Nashville he has us over for the best food! He and his wife are great cooks! Can’t say I like the coffee though!

Barbie: love the happy dance. Benny Beagle used to drink about a gallon of water a day and peed in the house constantly. Now that he has gotten over his pancreatitis and gallbladder problems he doesn’t drink so much so the house issues have gone away, so Benny joins your puppy and Ritter in the sad doggy house, but says it can get better! I love that stem story!

Michele: I think I missed out on hearing how the pool is coming. Are you swimming in it yet?

Kathy: yay on the weight loss!:happy:

Micki welcome back!

Eileen: praying for your son to get home soon!:flowerforyou:

Amanda: oh my gosh! I will keep you and your family and your dear friend in my thoughts and prayers so all will recover and be well. :flowerforyou:

Grandma Jane: CONGRATULATIONS! She is a beauty! And love the name

Nancy: your travel ideas are wonderful.

M; my hubby had bunion surgery not too long ago and after his total shoulder replacement, he thought it would be a piece of cake. So he didn’t really prepare mentally for the pain and decrease in mobility. IT really hit him hard…caused him to be depressed and everything. He is just now starting to feel better about it. Then this week I talked to a nurse where I do clinical. She had the same surgery six weeks ago and didn’t’ take a single pain pill the whole time. She was walking in 2 days. So I guess everyone is different.

Kate: glad I have a partner on the hamster wheel. :laugh: Good for you to conquer your fears about the water.

Laura: snow in Denver??? That is too close to me! I’m not quite ready. In 10 pounds or so my coat will fit LOL:bigsmile:

DebA: Glad the news from the doctor was not bad. Stay well!

Linda: our minds do play funny tricks on us don’t they. I have not been able to get anything from Victoria’s secret on in years and years. I keep tellling hubby when I lose a ton of weight I will buy lots of “skanky” underwear, so he should encourage me LOL. Actually new lingerie is my goal for 30#. My bras are horrendous. Great job on losing so much weight. You will get there!

Glenda: so glad your post finally showed up! Nice to hear from you.

Robin: have a good weekend and kiss those puppies of yours. Benny Beagle sends his regards to the “naughty” one.

Kathy: glad you love your job!

Well I best get busy. Everyone else here is working hard and chapter 9 is calling me. Take care everyone and for those of you east, stay safe in the coming storm. Meg
:drinker:

mazaron

Happy Saturday! :happy:

My big window is framed with yellow maple leaves and the clouds are resting on the valley floor, it must be fall. It’s a day off from the gym for me, but I think leaf raking is on the agenda so I will have a reason to wear my HRM.

I am having a very exciting time with my new blender. It’s an immersion blender, a stick blender, the kind one can put right into the mix, and it came with it’s own special big blending cup. It’s been smoothies for breakfast and snacks for the last two weeks. The best part is how easy it is to clean compared to my conventional blender.

A couple of days ago I spotted a recipe on the “Skinnytaste” website for green smoothies. Now I am really done for…there’s a cup or two of spinach going into every one. It doesn’t change the taste at all but it turns the drink bright green. This morning I had green pumpkin pie smoothie – pumpkin puree that I made with pie spices, Greek yogurt, milk and spinach. It was lovely! Weird looking, but lovely.

I am not going to try and reply to everyone, but I’ve read the posts and feel the excitement, energy, frustration and joy. New babies, new clothes, lost leaves (weird), busy work places, rascally dogs, applesauce, liver (my mother did the onion and bacon thing), sloppy men, busy careers, cold hands …

LindaS, what were you doing in the Middle East for all that time?

We snorkeled in the Red Sea, it was one of the highlights of our trip for me. Morocco (not quite middle east) Egypt and Jordon were lovely countries to visit, people were so friendly and kind, the food was fantastic and the cost of living was low.

J’boy went to his first high school dance last night. I was asleep by the time he came home, must get the details this morning – or this afternoon, he is 15, which means he most likely won’t get up before afternoon!

Michele, my HRM is a Polar S4, I can replace the batteries myself. The chest strap is cloth and I find it comfortable. I’ve had it for a year, replaced the watch battery once and the transmitter battery is still going strong. The read-out display is quite large.

Hang in there Meg, the big rush will pass. :flowerforyou:

Oh ho, must get off to the Farmer’s Market (which is mostly crafts and baking these days) and Saturday grocery shopping. Have a lovely day, my dears.

Nancy

Yardtigress

Ok, someone tell me what is going on. I go to the Doctor's on Mon and my blood sugar has gone sky high for the last week? Not doing anything different. This is awful :sad: Well, just ranting, must get back to work.

Oh Carolyn, how did the kitten give away go? Are your eyes swollen shut? It will get better, I promise. My kitties are sending love.

Tigress