WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR OCTOBER 2012

Hi Ladies,

I am borrowing a line from my cousin’s post on FB; somehow it embodies all the things I am trying to do.
“Living one day at a time and loving it. New choices, new solutions, new humourosities!” (Love that word, humourosities!)

For My Fellow Canadians, Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

We are having our big dinner on Saturday as that is the one day we can all be together. I am making my pumpkin pie tonight while the guys are at football. I have been logging my food but haven’t been here for the posts for a couple of days so I am way behind. Hope all is well with each and every one of you.

Hugs, Kate

Did 30 min of HIIT on the elliptical today then 30 min of speed intervals on the treadmill (30 sec run, 30 sec fast walk). Tomorrow yoga. I'm thinking that I may pass up the farmer's market, there really isn't anything that I want or need.

Came home, had something to eat then went to mahjongg. If I'd known that so many people were going to be there, I wouldn't have gone. It was such a nice day today, I could have been putting down weed killer in anticipation of getting the river rock.

4 guys were here today working on the pool. They cleaned it and the spa (which was a REAL mess), were burying pipes, put up the water slide. The concrete needs to set up longer before we can use the water slide. Tomorrow at least 3 guys will be here cleaning and finishing up the pipe work. It doesn't appear that the tile came in yet. Then we have the fencing, and then LOTS of landscape work for us to do.

Thanks everyone for your answers about hiding things on the homepage. I still want to be able to see the daily diaries, I get so many good ideas from them. Guess there isn't a way to just show that. Oh well......

timo - I try to buy candy that I don't like. As the trick-or-treating nears the end, I give handfuls of candy to kids. Wish I could be of more help. Many times I will either return the candy or donate it to the soup kitchen

Janie - LOVE your attitude "I refuse to regress". Keep up the great work!

jane - happy birthday to your son! Busy month for you, that's for sure

I had a recipe for an applesauce cake but instead I made mini muffins for the guys, then I had a small package of sugar cookie mix which I know that Vince won't eat so I made that. In one sense, I'll be glad when all this baking is over. Then lucky me gets to start baking for Thanksgiving! Well, I will get somewhat of a break. They cleaned the pool and will clean it again tomorrow, the idea being that I can use it this weekend. But it's supposed to be rainy (or at least cloudy) Sunday, then cooler on Monday (but hopefully they'll be tiling anyway which translates into the pool will get filthy again, or so they tell me. My guess is not as filthy as it was now)

Lynn - what a wonderful NSV you had!

Laura - so glad you're better. Stay that way, gal

Vince is at a gun club board meeeting right now. I just took the oven racks in the backyard to try to clean them. Only I thought I had some grill cleaner but I didn't. So Vince stopped at Lowe's Hardware for me and got a can. I'll finish up tomorrow. I did have about 1/2 a can of this degreaser, so I used that. Only the racks aren't totally cleaned.

Robin - that's WONDERFUL that you refused that cocktail. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised that your dh even suggested it.

When my kids were little and they had Halloween candy, I would take their candy, they could eat all the Skittles, etc. But anything chocolate I would freeze and then give them a piece or two in their lunch box.

janie - hooray for you!!! How wonderful that he's going to refer you to a trainer. I'm sure those pt people really like seeing someone like you -- someone who is determined to get better, not just waiting for it to happen.

DeeDee - yes, Denise is my third child, Jessica, then Bryan, then Denise. Really, I'm not feeling all that bad about having Christmas a week later for Jessica. It's not like she didn't try, she actually had things planned so that she'd be here for an extended period of time. But the company changed its policy (not for the future, but taking away half of her vacation). She does come here about once/month. It's just that I never get to see Denise. She doesn't make any attempt at all to come here. I had a Panasonic vacuum (well, it was about 20 years old) and I had the hardest time getting the pet fur up off two rugs, one in the sunroom and the rug in Vince's office. We got a new vacuum, a Kenmore. Consumers Reports rated it one of the highest in vacuuming up pet hair. It works fantastic. I'm planning to take the old one to the condo. At the rate I'll use it down there (maybe 2 or 4 times/year), it'll probably last another 20 years!

Speaking of the condo -- Lynette called the other night and Vince answered. She said they were going down to see some launch and asked if there was something in the condo we needed they'd bring it back or take something down that we needed. Truthfully, what we think she was really trying to get at was us saying "oh, just stay at the condo". But to be honest, when I leave, I make sure I wash the floors, vacuum, wash the sheets. I don't think she realizes that there are quite a few things that have to be done, it's not like you can just walk in and everything is working. For one thing, we turn off the hot water. There is no way Ken could bend down and reach where the valve is, and I don't think she could either. All of the breakers are off except for the one for the a/c and one for a living room light that you can turn on when you walk in the door. The refrigerator is unplugged as are the TV's, etc. Then, of course, before you can leave you need to do these things in reverse. Vince just told her "oh, the head of the condo association lets the exterminator in each month and he checks the condo for us", which is really the truth. Last time they came down, we went down a day or two before them just to get the condo ready.

Is it just me, or does it seem that lately restaurants are putting salt on the outside of baked potatoes? Anyone know why that is, what is the salt supposed to do?

Hoping everyone has a great evening.

Michele

Liz,
your soup sounds sooo GOOD!!:happy:

i'm looking forward to trying it! it's finally FALL down here in Arkansas, and i just LOVE making soup!

i really enjoy reading everyone's posts~ it encourages me sooo much!

thanks! :flowerforyou:

janie

Mostly marking my place. I cannot decide on my October goals. Seems like I'm stuck in a rut. I may need some Vegameatavitamina to get me going!

Vince is at a gun club board meeeting right now. I just took the oven racks in the backyard to try to clean them. Only I thought I had some grill cleaner but I didn't. So Vince stopped at Lowe's Hardware for me and got a can. I'll finish up tomorrow. I did have about 1/2 a can of this degreaser, so I used that. Only the racks aren't totally cleaned.

Michele, is your oven self-cleaning? If so, you can leave the racks in the oven and they will clean along with the oven. I do that with my racks, my pizza stone and sometimes a really disgusting cookie sheet (although it will take the coating off of coated pans).

Also, you asked about the salted crust? It's a way of cooking - my husband loves to make lomo al tropo, which is salt-encrusted tenderloin. For the item, potato or roast, you coat it in or lay it on a layer of salt, then roast it - the salt forms a hard shell that can be cracked off. I think it makes an even way of heating along with a crust that keeps the inside moist. Generally, the food doesn't absorb a lot of salt.

So Friday nights have always been the unwind and let lose kind of nights so I thought I might cave on my Sober October but I am proud to report tha I did NOT give in. Now I love my wine and I won't become a tea totaler but I need to prove to myself that I am in control. I do feel better this Saturday than I have in a long time of Saturday's and I need to remember this feeling.

On the down side I needed to occupy myself and I needed to use up the last of my blackberries so I made an absolutely delish bread pudding last night. with a decadent blackberry sauce. Oh well.

Today we are back on the garage project that was supposed to be done 2 years ago in February. We are by far the worse home owners when it comes to completing projects. :laugh:

Robin, Bodi and Ritter

Just a quick post today.......it's cold out there so I was glad to have lined up a coat, gloves and scarf earlier on! I grabbed them and went out to do a few errands. Can anyone say crazy??? Yep, I went to Walmart on Saturday. Duh. I had to return a book to the library today--it was due and I could not extend the checkout as it's a new book and other people are waiting for it. With all the walking it's harder to read a book now........:glasses:

Anyway, I came home and decided to move a pair of too large pants to another closet. (I admit it, I have a 3-bedroom house all to myself with the most important part being ALL the closet space.) I was going to hang them up in the office closet when I thought, what the heck is on that upper bar of the closet anyway?

OMG---treasure trove. I found all 24 pieces of Misook clothing that I purchased over the years when I was working and making good $$. I use to go to Von Maur all the time and scout new pieces, what was on sale, any tips on what was going on sale.....yes, I was obsessed with the brand. Anyway, I disposed of almost all of my smaller clothing but apparently I tucked this away because I couldn't bear to part with it.:bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

I am so motivated now!!!! I want to wear these things again. I don't care if it takes another year or whatever, THEY WILL BE MINE AGAIN.

In case you're wondering, no this is just me being excited, I did not stop at Starbuck's today. :laugh:

I hope you're having a great weekend. Gotta walk some more.......

Lin
:drinker: :drinker:

Good Morning Ladies,

The sun shone brilliantly this morning lulling me into a fall sense of a warm, fall day but the truth revealed a killing frost had finished off all my flowers overnight, my garden now reduced to carrots and beets. I must go out to the market pick up a bouquet of flowers for the table instead of one I had envisioned from the garden (oh well). The turkey is about to go into the oven to be finely tuned and everything else is just waiting its turn to chime into this symphony I call Thanksgiving dinner. I did a lot of my cleaning up yesterday and the pumpkin pie and angel food cake were prepared last night (hubby doesn’t eat pumpkin). I bought a bottle of raspberry wine from the farmers market for our dinner. My only regret is that there are only three of us for this special occasion, I do miss our families most at this time.

I sat down with the food calculator wondering if I should even log my supper tonight and I realized I can have a pretty decent dinner (including pie and ice cream) without guilt if I get out and do an hour of gardening while the sun shines. Bonus! Oops, I forgot to figure in the wine in my calculations.... hmmmm, maybe a little longer in the garden?

---

Timo113 – I like the idea of sending the candy to the Seniors center! Great idea!

Genealace – gorgeous lace making! My grandmother tried desperately to teach me bobbin lace and tatting amongst other things but I was just too impatient as a child. I did pick up knitting and crocheting but didn’t actually use that knowledge until the family came along.

Wanda – you are too young at 51 to retire unless you have a whole new career you want to venture into? You were very brave trying to ride your bike, good for you. It is rather scary getting back on that thing after so long; I did it too and when I didn’t fall over or get run over and didn’t expire from over exertion, I was elated! Have been several times since but now my ancient bit of metal needs new brakes and I have yet to toss it into the truck to get it to the repair shop.

Stardancer – snow? Way too early, yes I know its Canada, but it’s still too early!!!

Cathy – yes come to us for moral support, we all need from time to time, we aren’t alone in this battle! 2 years for knee surgery? I can believe it, it took two years for my hip replacement and that was after discovering that my condition was severe!

Kathy, congrats on the scale moving, that is always a wonderful feeling.

Jb_2011 – all those tomatoes! You sound very industrious! I must admit that I am only freezing mine at the moment hoping to feel industrious during the cooler months. B complex vitamins are wonderful for helping your stress levels too!

Wesseg – good on you for choosing a small treat! You mention the holiday goodies; yes that is always a mine field isn’t it?

Glenda - you are way ahead of me, I am not sure I will ever catch up! You did have a good day, how lovely! Did you say you had snow too? Please keep in the south, p-l-e-a-s-e!

Robin - Olivia is so sweet! Wonderful picture! You are so lucky to have a supportive husband who gives neckrubs!

My apologies to anyone that I may have missed, I try speed read to catch up and it’s almost impossible. Miss a day and sooo much has happened!

Again, Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian pals,

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Cheers, Kate

Sooo I woke up this morning, washed my face, looked in the mirror and went AAAAKKKKK!! :sick: both eyes are completely bloodshot and swollen :noway: so I think it is a reaction to a new eye cream that I used last night...I have used it in the past but it is now in the garbage!! :grumble: hopefully it will be better tomorrow..,we are headed to a niece's house on Seneca lake (one of the finger lakes in NYS) and then for a romantic weekend at an inn in Skaneatles (also a finger lake)..will be more fun without the zombie eyes look....I guess if anyone is looking for Halloween ideas...but I don't recommend it!! LOL!! :laugh:

Had Saturday lunch with mom and sister...mom inspected my knitting progress...she only found 3 dropped stitches and said she could fix them...then asked me for a small crochet hook...I don't have one of those either...she also showed me how I was doing it so hopefully I can correct going forward...all in all the review went pretty well...mom is not known for her tact and diplomacy...LOL!

I am not discussing my eating...one of those I know what I need to do its executing I am having a little trouble with..I do continue to log because it makes me accountable and actually keeps the dumb choices from becoming really, really really dumb choices.

Enjoy the rest of Saturday. Happy Thanksgiving to our friends in Canada...it is my favorite holiday!

Hugs, prayers and high fives..I know I can't live without them!

Jen

Hi to all, I'm just taking a small break to eat my lunch before I continue doing all the prep work for tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner. So far I've made a wonderful marinated salad with brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, turnip, and red cabbage. Everyone loves it but it takes forever to cut up all the veggies. Also cooked up my turkey legs today. Next was the stuffing which is now made and ready to put into the turkey in the morning. I had to quickly whip up my Mexican bean salad for lunch and made a double batch so there is lunch for a couple of days. It's nice to sit for a bit and read the posts today before continuing.

I will start on the crustless pumpkin pies next. I checked out a recipe for Pumpkin Trifle with Ginger Snaps and it was far too high in almost everything, especially fat, calories, and sodium. And that's after I tweaked the ingredients to use healthy alternatives. Definitely not worth it for me. Lastly, I'll clean and wash the turkey and repackage it until tomorrow ~ such a messy job! Then a good brushing of the dogs, dusting and vacuuming. Tonight DH and I will just watch something we've taped and I'm sure I'll sleep well.:yawn:

Glenda, your DGD must have loved the fact that the main character was a cute little redhead too! My DD and I took the little ones to see Brave (the 6 year old's choice) and it was really good. It's so much fun to take them ~ they always have a hotdog, kiddie popcorn, and small chocolate bar. Oh, and of course a small pop which they do not get at home! That is enough to keep them quiet as little mice...

Lin, it's always such a treat for us to go clothes shopping in your own closets, especially when you find beautiful things that you've been saving!

Kate, I felt the same way as I was logging in tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner but it worked out fine. I worked backwards from dinner to ensure that I had a taste of everything I wanted. Now I'll do my best stick to the plan!

Jen, sorry to hear about your reaction to the eye cream! We have to be so careful of the products we put close to our eyes. Hope it goes away over night so any photos will have you looking your best!

Linda, at lunch the other day my GF told me that she still suffers with terrible hot flashes and she's 62!

***
Well, lunch is over for me and DH just brought up the turkey. Such a sweet guy to offer to unload and load the dishwasher before I start back up again! A peaceful evening to all...

Deborah:flowerforyou:

We're back!

For those that remember my stressing about driving by myself with a big pickup truck and a trailer to pick up my DH in Indianapolis, I made it with no mishaps. :laugh: I did end up going through downtown Atlanta instead of catching the by-pass, which I did NOT intend to do. :noway: I was not a happy camper (pun intended) but I made it.

We had an absolutely wonderful time - camped in Yellowstone for 18 days, then 3 days in Island Park, ID before we went on our elk hunt.

The weather was beautiful and we found a good place to camp in Norris campground. The mud pots in Yellowstone were not in great shape due to the dry weather but everything else was great!

I think the part we enjoyed the most was the 2.5 mile walk in to Fairey Falls (weird but that is how it's spelled - must be named for a person instead of a fairy) and then on another .7 mile to Imperial geyser. You can get right under the falls if you want to and the colors in that geyser are amazing!

We came back a different route on our way back out and saw a buffalo skeleton back in the woods. The skull was all bleached out and quite a sight.

I am so glad I have been going to the gym for a couple of years. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to do some of the back country hiking that we did. Some of those trails and cliffs were quite a challenge! Several times there were places where we went up or down between 500 and 1000 feet in 1/2 mile or less.

I could go on and on and bore you all to death but I'll stop there.

On the way home we came across a road called "Sheep Creek Geological Loop". It is in the Flaming Gorge area of the Unita mountains in Utah.

That place is amazing and there were hardly any people there. The cliffs were more impressive than anything I saw in Yellowstone because you are right in the middle of them, not seeing them from above and at a distance.

I got a 6x6 900 pound elk on our hunt. :bigsmile: That was quite an experience!

I am in the middle of unpacking and doing laundry, so I'll leave it at that for now.

I don't have my gazillion pictures downloaded to this computer yet. When I do I'll put up a pic of me and my elk.

I don't think I gained or lost weight while we were gone. I'll find out when I get to the gym on Monday.

Faye

Good evening Ladies. Its been crazy weather here in Tennessee. Yesterday, it was in the 80's, but last night a storm swept through and it dropped 30 degrees in an hour. Tonight its rainy and will be in the very low 40's.

I got up this morning and brought out some clothes I had purchased at the close of the season in February. I purchased two different sizes smaller HOPING I might be able to get into those by this fall. To my amazement this morning I could not wear the larger of the two pairs of jeans at all, while the smaller (XL petite:happy: ) actually fit! YAY! That was the pair I had hoped to be into by February 2013. I was so happy I went out and treated myself to a manicure.

Some days I don't feel like 90 pounds lost is much (when compared the to big picture is really isn't:ohwell: ). But I try not to focus on that enormous goal and just work on the short term. I am shooting for 10 pounds this month. That would mean I lost my first 100 pounds before the 1 year mark!! Here's to hoping and praying and working hard:drinker: .

I'm so very glad I found you girls. I hope I don't bore you with my posts, lol. Have a great evening.

Jolene

Jolene, you're amazing! You have accomplished so much in such a short time. Bravo, my dear ~ bravo...

Deborah:flowerforyou:

Good evening beautiful ladies:flowerforyou:

Jolene Congrats!!!! You're doing an amazing job!!!

Faye Welcome back!!! Your trip sounds amazing! Looking forward to seeing your pics!!!

Polly Good to hear from you!!! Congrats on dropping 2 pants sizes, avoiding cookies and candy , and making it through the inquisition!!!

Sorry this is so short tonight. I've been out all day enjoying this beautiful weather!!! Tomorrow is supposed to be chilly and rainy:sad: , I wanted to get in as much outdoor time as possible today. Now it's time to get a shower, crawl in my comfy bed and maybe if I can keep my eyes open, read a bit:yawn: .

Hope everyone has sweet dreams!!! Until tomorrow....

Hugs,
DeeDee:yawn: :yawn: :yawn:

Hi again,

Twice in one day! Well my stomach must have shrunk because I had a measured plate complete with turkey, old-fashioned bread stuffing, gravy, mashed spuds, broccoli and corn (forgot the cranberry sauce!) and I was too full to have more than a ½” sliver of pumpkin pie without the ice cream I had planned. I do love turkey and all the trimmings!

The raspberry wine was a disappointment, so incredibly bitter! Blech! Luckily we had an Argentinian Malbec as back up to toast with!

I didn’t get my bouquet of flowers that I wanted, I spent a good deal of time running around but it seemed that everyone and their sainted aunties were out shopping today for their celebration on Sunday or Monday. The line-ups were insanely long and most of the flowers were gigantic potted mums that would cover an entire table top on their own, most of them 2 feet across with a thousand blossoms! I am still strapped for space as it is so I finally settled for a small, modestly cheerful, 4 inch potted yellow mum with a stubby shaft of wheat stuck in it for decoration from Walmart.

No gardening for me today by the time I finished going from store to store it was time to come home and put the finishing touches on supper.

The lovely thing about having our dinner tonight, well, there are enough left-overs to have a repeat performance tomorrow night without the cooking.

Oh the turkey enzymes are kicking in, why is it that we all want to snooze after a turkey dinner?

Weigh-in is on Monday and I harbor no illusions about the results or lack thereof, after Mr. Sodium did a lot of cooking this week while I worked and of course the Thanksgiving weekend. Sigh…

Cheers my lovelies, sweet dreams,

Kate

DeeDee, good that you were able to ge out and enjoy the outdoors. The mop won’t go anywhere. It was cool here in Dallas but we didn’t get any rain like the weather man thought we might. I got out to do a little shopping. I am waiting now for my grandson to call as I am picking him up from work tonight.

Kate, your dinner sounds wonderful. I am sure I will over do somehow when Thanksgiving comes here in Texas. I’m already telling myself to eat small servings and I can eat it more than one day. Sorry you didn’t find the flowers you wanted but Walmart always seems to come to the rescue. I’m a Wally World shopper too.

Gail, you are a wise woman not to overdo the gardening. I keep reminding my DH that he is the muscles and I am the brain...lol. Sometimes it works! As for the chair, I find myself snoozing more frequently in them too.

Polly, there are so many wonderful posts here that I find it next to impossible to stay “caught up”. It must of been wonderful to go shopping and buy 2 sizes smaller. I’m hoping to experience even just 1 by Christmas - that’s one of my goals. Good to chat with you.

Jolene, fitting into that smaller size sounds like a good reason to me to have a manicure. I treated myself to a new shade of polish the other day which I am enjoying. I had a good loss that week but no where near a size smaller yet. I was overstuffed in the size I’m in now. DH said tonight he could signs of a change...hopeful! Your Tennessee weather sounds like our Texas weather. Quite a drop! It’s 45° here as I type.

Hi Faye, looking forward to getting to know you and welcome back! Good to read that you didn’t suffer any mishaps on your trip. I’ll be looking for the pic of you and your elk too.

Deborah, hope you have a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. One thing about having it before the U.S. is that you can sit back and relax while we are busy prepping ours. Hubby’s can make themselves useful when they want, huh?!

Well, this grandmother is getting a bit antsy. I am thinking I should have heard from my grandson by now. It’s getting well past the hour I expected to hear from him. He works in a restaurant so maybe they are slow to close. Whatever the reason this grandmother is ready to hear from him. Guess I will close here so I can pace the floor...sweet dreams to all.