WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR MARCH 2013

Oh what a great photo of the Colorado Contingent - smiling faces all, love it! Rori, Laura, Brooke and Jane, it's great seeing you all together. Fun fun!

I've been swamped for the last several days, relatives came to stay for the weekend which meant plenty of cleaning and cooking, plus staying up late talking. :yawn: I went to a dinner party on Saturday to meet another MFP friend for the first time which was really fun. Our guests departed yesterday morning after breakfast, then I had to face a long work day and boy, was I tired last night. I feel pretty good this morning, I think. I'll know more after another cup of coffee.

Looking forward to lowering my food intake again starting today, :bigsmile: and I'm thanking my lucky stars that hubby finished off the lemon cake and boysenberry pie last night. Now I won't have to see it when I open the fridge, which, by the way is quite emtpy after feeding the group all weekend. Must go grocery shop.

Phyllis, :flowerforyou: I'd love the curried soup recipe, thanks!

Wishing everyone a great Tuesday! Be good, be kind, be happy and fun - before you know it, Spring will have begun!

jb in chilly Portland

:flowerforyou: Oh my gosh it's Tuesday and I've been so busy ever since our lunch on Friday it's been go, go, go and this is the first time I've been able to sit and get a quick post in.


http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af28/Laura80111/MFPLunch3152013003.jpg?t=1363702880

Jane asked me to post the picture and I'm NOT sure if I remember how:blushing: ...so I will see if I can get this to post.

It's Rori, Me, Brooke and Jane at the Red Lobster for lunch last Friday.

Once I'm sure I have this done I will post again later.

Laura80111

:flowerforyou: what a great picture of our Colorado friends. I loved that you 4 got together.

:flowerforyou: Robin - I sure hope your complaint will have a positive outcome. What a stressful process.

:flowerforyou: Cheryl - I doubt if any bad picture of you would scare your friends, pretend scare perhaps, but not truly :bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: Welcome to our newbies. Feel free to come back and tell us how you're doing.

Feeling much better after a great night sleep. Work will be better too, as "Mr. Liar" is off for a couple of days. Maybe putting his pants on fire will be the button to push :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

My daily email quote received for today was this: "Truth will always be truth, regardless of lack of understanding, disbelief, or ignorance."
~W. Clement Stone

How appropriate!

Renny
Vancouver Island, BC

Good Morning Ladies,

For those that have asked...the Jacob's Ladder is quite a workout. There is a belt that you wear around your waist. It is attached to a cable that is adjusted according to your height and connects to the machine. You just climb the ladder on all fours like you would any other ladder. It is continuously moving the rungs so you don't run out of ladder to climb. You climb faster or slower, however you have to keep a pretty good pace or it will stop.

I stayed on for 1 minute again last night, but I did it at the end of my workout and was really winded. I know now to make it the first thing i do.

Hope everyone is having a great day.

Jolene

JaneH- Happy New Year:flowerforyou: Sounds like you have the tradition well in hand and the food sounds wonderful. To resize the pictures you go in to edit and resize and I just changed the first number to 600 and it adjusted the whole picture.

I've only skimmed the posts as I have so much to do (when do I ever not have a lot to do:ohwell: ) and people are sending me emails asking for certified payroll reports that I have to get caught up on today.

The one exciting thing happening in our lives is that son #2 is in Washington DC auditioning for the Presidents Own Marine Band. There were about 150 resumes sent in and they chose 14 to come yesterday for the first round of auditions. He is in the second round today there are only 4 and by the end of today he will know if he has been selected. This is the #1 Military Band in the country and they are looking to fill the third piano position, specifically someone that plays jazz. The other two pianist play mainly classical and they want someone with jazz as their speciality although the auditions have a lot of classical to be played too. My son can do it but it's not his love like jazz is and from what my DIL has said about yesterdays interview and audition it went quite well...so we wait for the end of the day to find out if he's got the job.

I best get back to my reports.

Have a great day all.

Laura80111 in Colorado

JaneH – Happy Norouz!! The traditional meal sounds delicious, and how cool that you keep the tradition going for your husband and son. Sorry you’re having to deal with a “cold war” - - been there, but do know that “this too shall pass” . . . Hang in there!

Laura – How exciting for your son (and your whole family). Be sure to take a sec to update us on how it all went. It sounds as though he’s got an excellent shot!

Another Colorado Chica Checking In,
Brooke

Laura my Dad was a huge fan of the Marine band.I went with him every time they were in town. Now that he is gone I go just to honor him. Also any time they have an air show or any other type of military vehicles, i am there because dad would have been.

My husband is pretty stable. All of his Iv drips are off. He is jsut really tired since he didn't get much sleep last night. His only other time to the ER was about 11 PM also. Why did men do that???

Hi wonderful ladies!

Just bumping to save my place for a less hectic time to post more personal responses to everyone. So for now a more generic post to wish everyone well. Am more or less keeping up with reading posts and am answering you telepathically!

So just a short motivational tip which you may or not find useful. When I am in a "what is there in the fridge/ cupboards/ anything I want to put something in my mouth" mood wear an elastic band around your wrist. Every time you think of wandering off and mindlessly put something in your mouth to regret it later, ping the elastic band first. It is a sharp reminder that your decision might hurt later! Eventually I found nibbling was associated with a sharp pain! Lol !!!!

However one personal message to Jmkmomm - thinking of you and your husband. Such a dreadful life changing thing for you both. A virtual hug flying over the Atlantic.

Keep smiling
Jo
UK
WALES

JKM - Hope things are getting better with your husband - how scary! What a blessing you were there when it happened -

Just have a moment so I will be quick! My daughter got home last night for spring break - so thrilled to have her home We are planning to take a small trip while she's home in search of some sun and warmth! :laugh: We are all getting cranky with the cruddy, cold, gloomy weather we've been having here. I saw a loss on Saturday - down 3.5 pounds - however, I may have picked it back up again! We'll see next week! Have a good week everyone :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Good afternoon everyone. I just have a minute so don’t know how much time I’ll have to respond individually.

Took DS to the airport this morning. Now the house is so quiet.:sad: It was so good to have them home. Unfortunately my efforts to put some weight on my DS added weight to my DH and my self. I’m only a pound up (all the sodium from the Japanese food yesterday may be contributing – or at least that’s my story). I’ve been back on track all day and hoping to get back to my low before we go on vacation this weekend. We are going to AZ – can’t wait for the warmth. :glasses: It is so cold here today and I’m tired of big coats, sweaters and snow!!!!:grumble:
Been busy with the sale of my Dad’s condo. We’ve got to run over there tonight to check some things out for the buyer, but I’m thinking this will go through. Yeah.:happy:

Glenda – was a great thing to do with the grands!

Robin – good luck with the complaint and hope you and DH feel better

Carol – love the Ellen quote:laugh:

Meg – I love that points competition at work. Hope you win a prize:drinker:

Linda from Tasmania – welcome and great weight loss!:flowerforyou:

Jane – you are back on track and that what matters. I was reading Women’s Health last night - there was an article on trigger foods. Seems once you take even 3 bites, you can lose your self control – it’s a brain chemistry thing. Walking away must have been tough – but you did it:bigsmile:

LuAnn – great strategy and planning on portioning and packing your food. Enjoy your visit:drinker:

Ohiomom – congrats on keeping your weight in check while in TX. I hope I can do the same in AZ. It must have taken great will power and determination:flowerforyou:

Michele – also impressed you brought food along and made such smart choices in the restaurant. I’m going to keep reminding myself of you and ohiomom while on vacation and likely very tempted by food

Jane – thanks for posting the pic of the Colo ladies who lunch. You all look great!:flowerforyou:

So can someone post a quick set of instructions on how to post a picture or email me with that info…thanks!

Liz – I’m a moderator so I can’t cut a whole food group out of my diet - I just end up going a bit crazy and craving it like mad. :huh: I have switched to almost exclusively whole grains and try not to eat any processed carbs if at all possible. That has helped a lot. I also try to have fruits and veggies with every meal. They are low cal and really help fill me up. I also think all the nutrients in them have done wonderful things for my skin

Renny – I hope you get some resolution with this person. It is awful to be lied to. :explode: This is a good place to explode. Good luck

Joyce – OMG. Good luck to you and your DH. He will obviously need to make lots of changes to his lifestyle. :smokin: Thank goodness he has you to help show him how. You will be partnered up in making healthy choices - which does make it easier (I’m always looking for the silver lining – my kids say I’m disgustingly optimistic and cheery)

Jolene – congrats on the Jacob’s ladder – I don’t think I would brave it given how the others have described how it works. I’d probably fall flat on my face:blushing:

Sharon – welcome – you found a great group

Cheryl – we’ll have to have a MFP lunch ourselves. I doubt you are as unphotogenic as you say! Just read today’s post. Your family has been ravaged by drugs. Why can’t people understand how devastating they are? Especially when they see first hand. I hope Jackson comes through and changes his life.:noway:

Jane in CO – your celebration sounds pretty cool and the food interesting. Hope things warm up with DH

Laura80111 – how exciting for your DS#2. Please let us know if he got the job:drinker:

Monet13 – have a great spring break with your DD

Wow - I actually got caught up and wrote to almost everyone. Now I've got to do some work and head over to the condo. Have a great evening everyone.:flowerforyou: smile: Jodios

Laura: I’m sending good thoughts that your son is selected for the President’s Band. What an honor that would be!:flowerforyou:

Joyce: I’m happy to know your husband is stable and resting. I hope you’re able to get some rest, too. You are both in my prayers.:flowerforyou:

Cheryl: Drugs are everywhere and easily attainable. :devil: In my college days, we did pot and psychedelics. Neither is actually addicting. :noway: There were people doing heroin and various forms of speed back then, and not everybody made it to adulthood. The problems came when the same dealers that sold illegal pot also sold heroin and speed.:explode: My daughter was unknowingly slipped something awful by a supposed friend at a party ten or more years ago, and took months or longer to get back to normal. She was rightfully furious and never socialized with those “friends” again. :mad: I don’t have a solution, just fervent prayers for Jackson and your whole family.:flowerforyou:

Jo: Thanks for the snappy tip.


I started thinking about my swollen self, and realized that DH has had a major problem with blood pressure at the same time I’ve had swelling. Sodium came to mind. I checked out the recipe for Irish Soda Bread, and can tell you right now that it has salt, soda, and baking powder in it. All of them contain significant amounts of sodium. :frown: The remaining soda bread went into the garbage. Then there was the meatloaf, which contains homemade Italian breadcrumbs that also have several salty ingredients--including the gluten free bread. :embarassed: Mystery solved, and new cooking habits needed. :ohwell: I doubt I’ll ever eliminate salt from my diet, but I can sure do a better job of keeping it at reasonable levels. Poor DH. My worst outcome is swelling. He gets high blood pressure. :blushing:

Katla in NW Oregon

Katla, Irish soda bread!!! For three days now I couldn't understand why I am so bloated around the middle - and for 3 days I've been eating Irish soda bread. So I should be back to normal tomorrow hopefully!

Also, you said your daughter didn't get back to normal for 10 months. Was she in a coma? You can pm me if you wish.

My daughter was never in a coma, but she did lose her ability to experience pleasure for a long time, likely much longer than 10 months. She didn't tell me any of this until long after it happened. I'd been wondering why she dropped her friends and moved away. She's doing well now.

Hello to all. I had an interesting but exhausting day:yawn: I start clinical tomorrow and the rehab unit I take my students to moved 1 month ago into a brand new unit in another part of the building so I stopped by today to get acquainted. OMG the place is not only sparkly new and state of the art, but HUGE. It covers nearly 1 square block! IT took over 30 minutes just to walk through! Of course all my passwords to everything had expired so that took about an hour to straighten out; all the doors are locked so I had to get an employee ID badge to go anywhere…blah blah blah. That on top of a very nasty and cranky co-worker and a shopping trip to walmart exhausted me.:frown: Cranky and nasty is very out of the norm where I work. IT was exhausting just on its own. I count myself blessed to say that a bunch of nasty emails about did me in because it was so unusual!

Linda from Tasmania: welcome to our site. I recently watched a nature show about your little devils (the Tasmanian devils) which seem to be having trouble adapting to cars!

JaneHadji: don’t beat yourself up! :flowerforyou: Even when the “lifestyle” kicks in you may still have some off days, either by choice or by …..hmmmmm not sure what to call it…a fall off the wagon? What counts is that you know you made bad choices and did something about it and now you are ready to jump back on the wagon again! What a great picture of the Colorado bunch! You all are lovely! I want a Nebraska contingent….I’m jealous! Thank you for sharing your holiday plans with us! Happy new year!

Michele: I love your car analogy! Good plan at country kitchen. We used to have them here, but they have been gone for a while.

Liz; lots of different opinions here. I think the best approach is a balanced one, so I have never tried the paleo diet. I have some friends who have, but fell off that wagon as we all do too. I’ll be interested in hearing what you think of it!

Renny: best wishes to you and your situation!:flowerforyou: I guess it depends on the person and the lie. Our DD#2 learned to lie in the orphanage as a survival skill (stealing too), which made it hard to discipline her and establish rules when we knew that used to be adaptive behavior for her. It has taken her a very long time and she still lies, but at least now she knows she shouldn’t and has no reason to, so that’s progress. The last time (it still continues) we put her to work at goodwill to learn that life is not all about her and what she wants. Discipline with these kids has been very interesting; they already lost everything, so taking a doll or something away is meaningless to them.

Katla: we had sunshine today too!!!! Still cold but so pretty and at least it looked warm! So glad your daughter has recovered from her experience.

Jmkmomm: oh my goodness! Sending all my thoughts and prayers to you and hubby! Good thing you reacted quickly and he got taken care of!:flowerforyou:

DeeDee: I beat you! I was at work before 7!:bigsmile:

Jackie: hooray for opening day coming soon! Ihave had baseball withdrawals

Sharon: I really like the competition too. It’s a nice change from the biggest loser thing and I like that it incorporates spirituality. Where is Geelong and where are you now?

Wessecg: rehab is not my area of expertise, but having taken students to a rehab unit for 17+ years, I can tell you that those docs say you won’t know the total outcome for a year. Of course the sooner the person wakes up the better, but I have seen people make HUGE strides after weeks and months. Hang in there! It is disheartening to hear people make negative comments like you have heard. You are a kind soul.

Renny: your comment about Mr. Liar made me think of the ad for progressive insurance where the two guys’ pants catch on fire as they tell lies. :laugh:

Jolene: thanks for the explanation! Better you than me on that thing LOL:laugh:

Laura: how exciting for your son! Let us know what happens

Phyllis: thank you for sharing your recipe. I am in Nebraska. What is masala and do you think they would have it in a Middle Eastern grocery?

Jo: **looking for rubberbands!

Jodios: I’m a big fan of winter but I am also getting tired of heavy sweaters and cold weather!

Ok ladies I’m out for the night. Still eating too much but at least with the cals added back from exercise I’m under “goal” but I’d like to not be so hungry! Oh, I thought of a question. Those of you who use the 30 day shred….is that a DVD and how/where do you get it? Online? Thanks. I’m thinking of that for when school is out! Take care and hugs to all. Meg in Omaha where at least the sun was shining today.:drinker:

Joyce – hope your husband is doing well tonight. Saying prayers for him, too.

Colorado – nice picture of you gals. We need one in Atlanta, then, if ya’ll are going to start meeting up all around!

Cheryl – RE: your BIL’s nephew, I didn’t recall the specifics, but then saw your post about drugs – I’m still praying. Don’t know if you were on the thread when I posted about our DS’ brain injury and subsequent FULL recovery. Miracles absolutely DO happen! (His situation, BTW, was drug-related – a rare, but known, side effect of a prescription drug for his Crohn’s. And he did change his life style to be more healthful overall.)

JaneH – Happy Norouz!!

Baseball – love it and it sounds like there is quite a group of fans here. I tried to get DH to go to FL for some spring training time, which I think would be great fun, but it didn’t happen.

Met a friend for lunch at Applebee’s and had one of the less than 550 calories meals, and also asked for it to be prepared without salt. They got pretty close, I think, but tomorrow’s scale will tell me for sure. Sodium is definitely my biggest challenge these days. After work went to the Y and walked on the TM for a bit, then came home for dinner since DH was off today. Most times he works until 9 or 10 p, so I don’t mind staying longer at the gym.

Gail, metro Atlanta

Keeping it short tonight,
Jo UK, What a great idea about the elastic band! :bigsmile:

Monet13 , I am so relating to “getting cranky with the same cruddy, cold and gloomy weather”:frown:

Katla, Irish soda Bread, was the culprit for me also, shot the weight up 1 whole pound, for the past 2 days ! I’m hoping it’s back down tomorrow!:grumble:

JaneH, Happy Norouz to you all!

Mary, from TN I wondered where you were!:happy:
Good night friends:yawn:
Bump 18