WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR DECEMBER 2012

Good Morning Ladies,

The tragedy in CT hit a nerve in us all. My first thought was "that could happen here." Sadly, it can and is happening. I am heartbroken for the town and families.

Hopefully mental health will become a priority as others mentioned. Anxiety is a four letter word and is so often brushed under the carpet. Stress is so prevalent in children and adults. Often we overlook many do not have coping mechanisms we have learned and developed over the years.

On Friday the school counselor and I had our first group meeting with some fourth grade girls in a new club focusing on RAOK. We will meet once a week and find ways to make someone's day on the elementary school level. One small way to give back. The "ME" attitude needs to change....

Thinking of you Jolene as you embark on your new job and praying for your health.

Love the encouragement and support and thanks for my dose of Vitamin F!!!

Carolyn

I agree that mental health needs to be a priority. The systems we had once upon a time have been dismantled ever since the Reagan administration. I'm a retired middle school teacher, and I had many kids that needed more help than was available. We did the best we could, and had community allies including the police who helped even more. The need is great and so much more support is needed. What is RAOK?

Good afternoon ladies,:flowerforyou:
Saw the doctor this am and I can keyboard 20 mins per hour. Made an apt to see the hand doctor on Jan 17th. Still not working as work will not accept the restrictions. Waiting for the disability check to show up. Girls have finals tomorrow and Wednesday, then off for the Christmas break! I have to get off of the computer now as DD#2 needs the computer to study for finals. Wishing you a stress free day, and the strength to take care of yourself nutritionally!
Hugs Linda S

Jolene-:flowerforyou: thinking about you and praying for you!

BigPal:flowerforyou: - praying for you also, speedy recovery.

Nancy- :flowerforyou: have a great trip and I too am glad that you are going in that big Ford!:drinker:

Kate-:flowerforyou: Love you posts as they are so descriptive! Congrats on being called “skinny.” Even if you are not feeling it, this is how your friend saw you!!! :drinker: That is a great NSV!

Katla49-:flowerforyou: Hope your knee is feeling better, and you able to get back in the saddle again!

Robin,Ritter and Bodi- :flowerforyou: my chocolate lab is just like your Ritter. I did the same thing and had her checked for diabetes.

Gail- :flowerforyou: thank you for your rant, which I did not see it this way at all. I found it to be very supportive and helpful. Thank you for your support and motivation!

BarbaraC47-:flowerforyou: Happy belated birthday! Congrats on your 58lb weight loss! That is amazing! I hope your resolve to continue on the journey starts today!

Meg-:flowerforyou: why would the students have stunned looks on their faces? Yes, love tamales:bigsmile: . They are quite the chore to make!

Jen-:flowerforyou: I agree with you about making sure that the true meaning of Christmas is what is focused on, instead of all the commercialism etc. That is so cool to hear that you and your daughter were up until 0230 catching up! How lovely that must have been!

Lynocourse,:flowerforyou: Vermont 06- :flowerforyou: welcome, come often read and chat!

Rebel-:flowerforyou: so what do you think about sugar now after watching the video?

Michele-:flowerforyou: well, at least your husband help with the Christmas lights.:drinker: My Dh has done nothing for the last 16 years. I am feeling better now because my DD’S help me with the tree and everything else!

Colleen-:flowerforyou: hope that your foot is healing up and you are able to move around ok. How exciting to see family that have not seen you since your weight loss! Hugs and kiss those grand babies!

Lila:flowerforyou: -have fun bowling, that should be good for some calories burned.

Cathyb60-:flowerforyou: good to see you back on MFP! Do what you can, but stay in contact even if it is only reading the posts!


Liz M-:flowerforyou: I can feel your happiness and sense of accomplishment for your DD.:drinker: I know exactly what you mean about the eye contact and standing up in front of people, as this is something that my DD#2 will not do secondary to her anxiety. I am so happy when a teacher tells me they called on her and she answered out loud in class. Every year I have to tell the teachers again that she has anxiety and it is just not a defiant or manipulative behavior. She really is afraid! I am so happy for your DD and you too! Hugs!:bigsmile:

DeeDee-:flowerforyou: good luck with cooking that turducken! That sounds like hard work to me! I hope you get all of your presents wrapped and you will be done soon!:bigsmile:

LinC- :flowerforyou: glad you had one little helper! Tell me about those pies you made- are they like chicken pot pies, but just filled with other types of meat?

Carolyn,:flowerforyou: what does RAOK stand for? What a great idea to spread positives behaviors. When my DD#1 was in 5th grade her “friends” were being mean to her. She was crying at school. I spoke to the teacher about it and I suggested that they girls meet with the school counselor to work with them on being nicer to each other. It was just my daughter’s turn to be left out etc. Well, the parents of the other girls had a fit and called me up and yelled at me, accused me of saying that I called their daughters bullies. So, even if the children are willing, the parents can be the ignorant ones. So now my daughter and I were the bullies. I had to make the principal of the school write a letter to each of the parents involved to calm them down. The word counselor is equal to bad kids here in this part of California. So sad that they did not see it as a good learning experience to help their daughters grow and learn conflict resolution.

anehadji-:flowerforyou: I would not be able to keep out of any fudge although it sounds yummy. Your daughter’s friend, that is tragic, but at least they diagnosed it and were able to give the treatment she needed. I would say if you wanted to go to the hospital and talk to her parents, then do it. People really need other people and even if you can’t help out at least they know that someone cared! :drinker:

Cheryl-:flowerforyou: I read that same article on my facebook too. It is so tragic, but true!

Lentigogirl-:flowerforyou: glad your sons are home!

Barbie-:flowerforyou: do you have to put booties on the dogs feet if you go out for long walks in the extreme cold? I was wondering if their little pads get too cold?:laugh:

Sorry if I missed anyone. It took me a few hours to get this done with my restrictions. Sending blessings to all MfP friends!
I got my vitamin F for the day!:drinker:
Linda S

Happy mon.
Yesterday was our church`s Christmas dinner.The soups and salad were awesome.
We played a game with our white elephants and ended up with a napkin holder and clock.
Today our lady group,filled candy bags for the school kids to hand out wed.
Writing out cards for the church people.We have mail boxes in the church to save on postage.
have a good night!
HUGS
jane

We're on our own this Christmas. We celebrated with our kids on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. They're both with in-laws this year. Today we brought in my prize upright rosemary bush and decorated it as our tree. It is very cute. I'm hopeful that the move indoors won't be too shocking. It hasn't dipped below about 40 outside. I'll need to move it back out gently and in stages when the time comes. We're considering the outside of our house. No lights feels like we're letting our neighbors down, but we really aren't up for the full deal. I'm not sure what we'll end up doing.

TexasGal - I used to have a favorite Christmas pin with that phrase, but it has gone missing. Thank you!
Gail

Bump

Liz - so happy you feel good about MFP.

Yesterday for the first time I didn't do any of the holiday baking, etc. Just cleaning. I was sort-of careful about what I ate and I felt so much bettter. I did make bourbon balls for ds, but I don't care for bourbon myself so I wasn't tempted by the raw dough. Maybe I should make those more often....lol The only problem is that no one else will eat them. And that's not exacdtly something that I can give to the soup kitchen.

Colleen - so sorry to hear about your foot. What part of NC will you be in?

Did about 20 minutes of yoga, will go buy gas and then take the extremepump class then go get my hair colored. I'd already made butterscotch chip spice cookies to take to them.

Lila - good luck bowling.

Cathy in NS - come in any time at all. We love hearing from you


Liz - tell me about how hard it is to keep from eating and eating. That's one of the reasons that as soon as I make a cookie, it goes into the freezer. I just have the apple pie to make. I'll make it tomorrow and probably won't bake it until Christmas Eve.

Just found out the place where I take the extremepump class will be closed next Monday so I'll do a DVD at home. That works, anyway, since Denise should be here. I can get a workout in earlier in the day

Liz - I think your daughter probably gave you the best Christmas present ever

Lin - can Amelia come here? I really don't like cutting out the cookies, and I sure can use help rolling cookies into a ball.

I put those bourbon balls that I made for Bryan yesterday into a plastic bag. The lady who gave me the recipe told me not to put them into a tupperware container. As I sort-of feared, it looks like the sugar isn't as powdery. Anyone know how you can keep them fresh but also powdery? I put them into a plastic bag, but it looks like moisture from the plastic bag made the sugar not powdery. I can only think that if I make them again, I can make them ahead of time and then just roll them in the sugar before I give them to someone. But how can I do that when I'm sending them to Bryan? I'll have to roll them in the sugar before I send them.

Went to the extremepump class then got my hair colored then went to the bank and stopped at one food store on the way home since they have the low sodium cottage cheese. I found out that lobster tails will be on sale next week. This week they're full price, and there is no way on this green earth that I'm going to pay full price for them. I'll wait until the sale starts on Wednesday and buy them then.

grrrrr.....we were invited to another get together and Vince really wants to go. Personally, I'd be happy not going. But...glad I have some cheese sausage balls in the freezer, I was going to take them to Mexican Train next time we have it but I can make more. I'll make some fudge tomorrow in addition to the apple pie.

I'll go exercise tomorrow (I'm going to do a downloadable workout for the spin bike) and then go to WalMart. Vince needs milk, and they price match, so I'll take the ad with me and get it at a lower price. Then come home and put the popcorn on the tree. Then Vince is going to a guy's house to help him set up his computer and while Vince is gone I'll make the pies and fudge to take with me Friday noight., put the pies in the freezer until Christmas. Also, I need to get the things ready to take to bowling since Bryan will be calling and we need to be at bowling early.

Played mahjongg tonight. Maj'd twice

I think just about everyone reads all the posts but is running short on time, and I'm no exception. Forgive me if I've missed anyone. Why do I feel so much like I just can't wait until these holidays are over with? I sometimes feel like such a grouch. Maybe it's too much preparing, being sure everyone is taken care of and all.

Well, gotta get going. Hope everyone has a great evening.

Michele

Good morning ladies

A crisp day in London - but not as cold as it was last week (thank goodness!)

As it is getting towards the close of 2012, my thoughts have been turning to what I want to do next year. I don't make new year resolutions as such - it just sets me up for a fall / fail. However, I am going to attempt to do more core strengthening exercises and try to get my back to be a little stronger.

I also want to try to rein in my spending! Losing the amount of weight I have made me go a little crazy for a while, but I have to start to shop in my closet rather than buying new things that I really don't need.

It is my sister's wedding anniversary on 23rd (this Saturday) and I was contemplating buying a new dress for the party. I then double-backed and looked in one of my closets. I have at least twenty cocktail dresses that I haven't even worn yet! I really was behaving like a child in a sweetie shop, buying pretty things just because I could fit into them. In my larger past I would buy things that I didn't really like, but could squeeze myself into them. In a way it is just as bad! Do I REALLY need three dark green sequinned party dresses??? How about the two black sequinned jackets, three blue sequinned jackets and one silver sequinned jacket?? Honestly, it's not even as if I go to that many parties or occasions that I could wear them. I think I just turned into a bit of a magpie, attracted by bling!

So, although it's not going to be a 'resolution' as such, I am going to make an attempt to not buy myself any more clothes until at least March. Of course, there might be the odd pair of tights etc, but no 'proper clothes'. I am also going to attempt not to buy myself any 'party clothes' for the whole of next year. Or coats! Lordy, I have enough winter coats, spring coats, summer jackets, autumn coats to last a lifetime! Disgusting!

Right, now I've made myself cross so I am going to get on with some work.

Have a good day my friends.

Love to all.
Amanda x

Good morning beautiful ladies:flowerforyou:

I so enjoy reading all the posts, got a great dose of Vit. F in this morning ! Thank you all for being here!!! One meeting this morning and I`m done for the rest of the year:bigsmile: !!!! Now I have to tackle getting the house in order for the party on the 23rd, I have so much I want to get done...and I have a feeling only part will be done by then:ohwell: . I just have to remember what my mom said " they are coming to see you, not your house". And it`s not like they don`t drop in from time to time and see the kitchen counters a bit cluttered, laundry folded on the dryer etc...plus I don`t think they`re going to go in my closet and see the mess that`s in there:embarassed: ! I really would like to tackle my closet, maybe I`ll do that the week after Christmas! Amanda , I`m looking forward to the day I can do a lot of shopping for clothes!

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

Hugs,
DeeDee