WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR AUGUST

Morning everyone,

Well, Our Good & Wonderful God has finally given Granny rest. She passed away Saturday afternoon around 4.

I went in to get her up Friday morning and she had had a bought of diarrhea & vomiting. We got her all cleaned up. She went downhill from there. She died here peacefully with all of us with her.

I've taken care of her for 15 1/2 years so I am at loose ends.

I know things will be okay, this will just take some getting used to.

Cindy

Just back from our trip and marking for later

Cindy ....

So sorry Grannie has passed away. She was so lucky to have such a wonderful carer as you. Take care of yourself now too and fill the time left by her passing with great things.
My thoughts are with you and your family.

Jackie

I have been out of town since the middle of July, Plan to start over with my workouts at the Y tomorrow,

Just finished making a huge bowl of C*** of the Walk style slaw to take to my nephew's 30th birthday supper/fish fry. Actually all contains is cabbage, sweet onions, black pepper and a sweet sour slaw dressing. Soooo good! Shhhh! Don't tell anyone I use Splenda when I make dressing. :laugh: Had to laugh when I saw MFP deleted part of the restaurant's name. Its a 4 letter term for a rooster. LOL! My plan is to fill at least half my plate with slaw and other veggies, only eat one piece of FRIED catfish and pass on the birthday cake.

I still have Sophie. I've had several calls on my lost dog ad but so far they were all looking for a dog very different from her. I still think she was dumped out instead of lost. When hubby finally gives me the green light, I'll post a picture of her. He has her sitting and shaking his hand now. I'm trying not to push.

Cindy--I'm sorry to hear of your granny's passing. She had a good life with you and I know you'll miss her.

Chiclet--Be sure to follow through onyour mom's care. Her welfare and health is so much more important thatn your brother possibly getting into trouble! She's his mom, too, though, and I am sure she loves him, even if she doesn't love the way he's acting toward her.

Linda (tcac)--it sounds like you had a great time with your daughter! I am happy for you.

shiddleson--Welcome! You've found the BEST group around!

Everyone--I'm sorry I'm not answering everyone individually. Not enough time today. (Mimi--roasted veggies on the menu tonight!)

Take care, all.

Good evening, All,

Just a quick hello...I tried to catch up with all posts but still in MT so have little time to myself. Did another VERY beautiful hike today...4 hours with a pack...so I hope to sleep well tonight! Still eating more than usual but am now logging in and with the exercise I am ok, it seems.

Cindy: I am so sorry for your loss. What a wonderful thing you have been doing for 15+ Years! I am sure it will take quite a bit to get used to not being the caregiver you have been. Take care of yourself now, please.

Question to all of you who live in and around Victoria, BC (or have vacationed there): DH and I are trying to plan a road trip to that area from Montana in Sept when I am back out here. We have never been and really want to see it. We also would like to go to Lake Louise etc. What do you recommend? What should we absolutely NOT miss? I am reading a bit but there is SO much country between us and there that we want to see that I am overwhelmed! I appreciate any advice you may have.

Sorry not to respond to more of my dear MFP friends...I am thinking of all of you and appreciate you "being here". Take care and have a good week! Kackie

Good evening ladies,

Wonderful warm day. Eevening thunderstorms arrived just as I was re-painting the faded garden globe... that will teach me to procrastinate!:ohwell:

Shiddelson :flowerforyou: welcome to the warmest funniest caringest group of women you'll ever meet.

Terri :flowerforyou: welcome back and congrats on your sponsor.

Cindy 15-1/2 years what a gift you gave! Usually it's the caregivers who miss their charges the most. :brokenheart: When mama lost papa after 17 years caring for him in a wheelchair, she slept for the better part of 3 months... part exhaustion, part as a way of handling the loss.

Mimi, thanks for the tip on the asparagus, will try it tomorrow night. As for spray butter alternatives, have you tried avocado oil in a pump sprayer? It's the most buttery tasting of the mufa oils to my taste... Then again, me I'd probably just melt a little real butter and have at it... :laugh: Neither am I a zucchini:sick: (nor any kind of squash) fan but you make it sound so appealing I may have to try to change my tastes!:noway:
Your trail sounds lovely and YES you do need a little dog (or two ) to keep you company. http://www.petfinder.com/index.html will help you find just the right one that needs a forever home. That's how we got the General. You can search on gender, size, age, geographic range and breed-in-the-mix. It will be one lucky pooch for sure!

Think of you with gratitude every time I remember "There's nothing as good as the first bite. Savor it."

Michele, was going to look up pissaldiere:bigsmile: ... until you implied it contained anchovies...:sick: :noway: :sick:

SuzyQ your slaw sounds yummy, share the dressing recipe? Sounds like DH is bonding or Sophie is charming him... couldn't be happier for you all!:happy:

Robin have you told DH how you feel about taking Bodi on this camping trip? This is a vacation for you both. Young dogs need careful monitoring out in the wilds. That might not be relaxing for anyone. :noway:

:sad: We had a tragedy in our neighborhood last month. Cody, a friendly, sturdy, 10 yr old Bichon was attacked and killed in his front yard by a coyote. The whole neighborhood is shocked and grieving. :brokenheart: He was about the same size as the General (Robby). Joe and I are now checking the back yard before letting our dogs out in the dark. We're only 3 blocks from sagebrush foothills and frequently see deer, foxes, skunks and raccoons, but the coyotes are usually too shy of people to come in.:sad: :sad: :sad:

Hope the DH will give you the relaxing gift of letting Bodi stay with Keira.:flowerforyou:

Kathy every time I see your QUIT SMOKING signature I get a big silly grin. :happy: Well done!

smwert toured a lot of wineries and only up 2 pounds? :noway: WOW! You must have walked and swum MILES!

Kackie Hiking 4 hrs with a pack? Are you sure you're not Robin?:laugh:

Gutt'n'butt 7th try day 7. Still can't get shoulders off floor for crunches:noway: , but could that plank be getting a little straighter?

:yawn: And now to sleep:yawn:
Hugs,

Good Evening, Everyone,

I was going to try to catch up on the posts, but I only made it to page 4! I had vacation bible school at church this past week, with today being the big family celebration after service. I was paired up with a 5-year-old autistic boy who was fun to be around, but it was draining having to keep my eye on him for 3 hours. I came home exhausted every day, which is why I've been MIA. I will try to catch up with the rest of the posts tomorrow.

I have a doctor's appointment first thing in the morning, so I'll be up and out early. It's the exam I dislike more than the mammo. Oh, well, we do what we must to make sure we stay healthy.

I talked to my supervisor Monday and was reminded that the hours I had last year weren't my hours. I had forgotten, so I won't complain about that anymore. I talked to a friend at church today who is going to keep her ears open for an office job. She said they might be looking for someone in her office in a few months, and she would keep me in mind. It would mean leaving the school district, but it would be full time and year round, so we wouldn't be struggling too much during the summer. I'm not holding my breath, however. Counting chickens and all that, you know.

Obviously, I didn't meet my goal of logging on every day, but now that VBS is over, I have high hopes that I can accomplish that goal for the remainder of the month. Tomorrow is weigh-in day, so wish me luck. It's been really hard, because we haven't been able to afford many groceries, so there aren't too many healthy choices right now. I'm hanging in there, though, and doing the best I can. I haven't gained, so that's good.

bkrbabe57 - Welcome! I know you will enjoy this group of ladies. I turned 53 on the 3rd. Happy Birthday on your special day. BTW your goals are very doable. Just keep telling yourself you can do it.

McMadame - Happy Birthday to you, too!

Tiarapants - Congrats on the 80 lbs lost! :happy: I'm sure you will be able to get the rest off in due time.

Well, as usual, I have dishes to do, and I want to get to bed soon, so I can exercise before going to my appointment. I will try to catch up on the rest of the posts tomorrow.

Goodnight all!

Erica

:flowerforyou: Sending hugs to Cindy in the loss of her Granny. What a storehouse of memories you must have! I was never privileged to know any of my grandparents as my parents were old enough to BE my grandparents. I've always wondered what it would be like... Be kind to yourself and allow some down time to rest and regoup. After years of insomnia and only sleeping with Ambien, I slept for days and days after we buried Moma. It was like i could finally relax. Between kids and parents I had been the caregiver for over 30 years so to me the hardest part was not having anyone who needed me to take care of them anymore and finding something else constructive to fill that void.

THIS is the week we had planned to be visiting my son and his wife. So since my heart is there, I have volunteered to work VBS in an effort to stay focused on life the way it is instead of the way I wish it could be.

Time to get outdoors and get some mowing done before it gets too hot.

:flowerforyou: Had a good weekend and watched what I ate. It's good to do my exercises this morning and get off to a good start.
Cindy- I will be praying for you. I cared for a friend for just two years and it was a real empty place when she passed on. Find some projects to work on to keep your mind busy. And remember, food doesn't really bring the kind of comfort you need right now. You'll make it through this with a little help from your MFP friends.
A good day to you all! Keep on keeping on!:flowerforyou:

Good morning ladies, I have just read all the posts from yesterday and this morning and my mind is jumping back and forth from different ones, sooooo, what I am going to do is just try to remember some of what I read and reply to that. My memory is horrible :grumble:

First of all, Cindy, I am sorry for your loss, but like it has already been said, you must have alot of good memories. No one can take those away. It seems even though my memory is bad, I still can remember the good times shared with loved ones

Sophie sounds like she has a permanent home and has nothing to worry about.

The only time I have been to Canada was when I was pretty young, maybe about 10, sorry to say that I can't remember much about it except the hotel we were staying at LOL, and the fact that my hair turned real blonde, probably from swimming in the pool. Sorry

All this talk about roasted veggiesis making me want to try some I had just put my toaster oven away in the cabinet space because I haven't used it in over 4 yrs! I think I will dig it out this afternoon and try the veggies in that. It is way too hot for my oven to get turned on, even with the air on, it gets hot.

I posted in the comment area of someone elses status that I was going to have 3 goals for this week. They are... 1) Eat lots of veggies this week, 2) Drink lots of water, and 3) atleast excercise 4 days this week!!!! I have not done too good over the weekend, no exercise and yesterday I pretty much ate anything and everything that I wanted to, UGH!!! Here's the bad stuff I ate.... sausage and one whole egg, leftover sausage sandwich, spaghetti, and a stupid stupid klondike bar icecream. Oh yeah I also had about a cup of Munchies. I told you all it was bad :blushing: :blushing: So here's to a brand new week :drinker: :drinker: With all the junky food and no exercise, I have gained 1 lb!!! Ocourse I only drank 6 glasses of water instead of my normal 8-10!!!!

Well enough babblin' on, I have some housework that is screaming my name :sad: :sad: :sad: so I better get to it. I hope everyone has a wonderful and happy day :drinker:

P.S.. Chiclet..... Glad your mom is getting the care she needs. The reason I can remember your name so well is because my mother always went by Chick. and that was because when she was a very little girl, the gum chicklets came out and her dad, my grandfather nicknamed her Chick. She was called Chick her whole life. Another pleasant memory

Hello All,

Elizabeth--Congrats on being a "granny" again. I know you will enjoy your visit with Mason and family when they arrive.

Welcome to the newbies. There are at least a couple that I think I missed acknowledging. We are getting to be such a big thread, it is hard to keep up.

As for me, I weighed this morning, expecting the worst, due to the "Attack of the Irresistible Peach Pie" at the fair, (not to mention the soft serve that came with it!!), but to my amazement, I did NOT GAIN!!!! So I am back on the horse today with no real harm done.

Have a good day all.

Barb

Well, after 2 hours, I have finished catching up on posts after 3 days. I did eat lunch and take 2 bathroom breaks during that time (See, I am getting in my fluids :drinker: ). I find myself crying, smiling, laughing, applauding, and even shouting at my computer when I read all your posts. Thanks to you all for sharing. I get such inspiration and practical ideas from you women!

From Friday till this morning we had a house full: DD, her boy friend, their dog (my grandpuppy) Mac, DS and my DGD. It was glorious - we had so much fun. Some -/+
1.:frown: My son and my granddaughter's mother are not together (What a story that is - for another time), so he took her to her mother's this morning. She lives about 3 hours away.
:happy: However, her mother is going to Germany next week on vacation, so I get to babysit for 5 days beginning next Sunday. I don't even have to go a week without seeing her!
2. :grumble: I didn't exercise at all yesterday, and just did a little cleaning on Sat.
:happy: I am taking up Donna's attitude: This is a whole new week! I think the best way for me to handle saying good-bye to my family after a great week-end is to get active.
3.:grumble: I am sure that gravity is affecting me more & more. As close as I am to the ground, you would think that I would not have such saggy body parts!
:happy: There is less of me to sag now-a-days.
4.:grumble: Colonoscopy this Thursday. I bet (hope!) you have all had one, so you know how awful (I really wanted to use a different adjective to be clever, but figured it would get bleeped) the prep work for that is.
:happy: I am being pro-active.

Speaking of proactive: BarbieCat - Hurray for helmets! I do not understand why bike riders who obviously are interested in a healthy lifestyle would NOT wear helmets, but I have seen many. Thank goodness you did! :drinker:

Hannah - good to hear you're healing from surgery. 2 of my aunts had that surgery done. I have the same problem with my eyes, but, since my vision is not obstructed, insurance will not pay. I find myself lifting my brow constantly!:noway:

Laura & Chiclet - For several years, I kept clothes of different sizes, fearing that I would gain lost weight back (I could rival a duncan yo-yo with how often I have been up & down) and those clothes that I love would no longer fit if I had them altered. After being this over-weight for so many years, I not longer have skinny clothes. When I read Chiclet's post about that, it made me realize that if I want to kept this weight off, I am going to have to change my mind-set: no longer assuming I will gain the weight back. That was a real revelation for me. This is my goal: When my clothes get unattractively baggy, I will have them altered. I WILL NOT go back to larger sizes. If I start adding on pounds, I will post it here and you all have permission to do whatever it takes to help prevent that yo-yo from going back up!

Chiclet - My heart goes out to you. My sister is an RN who has a geriatric specialty. She has dealt with people just like your brother & sister-in-law. I am so glad Barb is helpIng out. In Iowa, we have agencies that can help. Your mom needs an advocate for her. Does she have a power of attorney/medical designated or a living will? You should be designated as that so you have a say in what happens to her medically when she no longer can make those decisions for herself. I quake at what would happen if your brother was the lone decision-maker! You have my prayers! By the way, my cousins had the same experience as SuzyQ: my aunt was so resistive to moving into assisted living (they moved her there as she was essentially kicking & screaming), but once there, she LOVES it.

Cindy - I am so sorry for your loss; it is difficult to say good-bye no matter what the circumstances. Take care.

Linda - You are living my dream - going in to try on jeans having them be way too big!! Great job! What a lovely day you described.:flowerforyou:

Mimi - I copied off your recipes:Yummy! Thanks for sharing those.

Smwert - Both of my parents are gone. For my dad, it has been 20 years. Every once in a while I catch myself thinking, "I'll call Dad; he'll know". I think that is just the way we know that they are still a part of us.:ohwell:

Barb - peach pie numnumnumnum... Guilt free!

Erica - I hope good things happen for you in the job-hunt. :happy:

Elizabeth - Happy new grandbaby in the making! Another spoiling opportunity!

Barbara (auntiebk) - Thanks for the tip on avocado oil. One way I can get my family to enjoy zuccini is to saute' it (I use spray olive oil) with onions, fresh tomatos, garlic, & sometimes green peppers. I am upset about that poor neighborhood dog - coyotes - wow. When I was young, someone poisoned several dogs in our neighborhood. Our dachshund made through, mainly because my father was a veterinarian and he stayed up with him all night, giving him shots to keep him breathing and his heart beating.:ohwell:

Viv - adorable grandson!:flowerforyou:

Robin - You can do it! Here's to -.8 lbs by end of the week!:drinker:

Terri - I am with you about change! I find that change is so good for me in all parts of my life. Even itsy-botsy ones.:happy:

To all of you: Thanks for all your posts! I read every single one!

Couple of Random Thoughts:
1. When I mentioned my dad being a veterinarian, it brought to mind when I was very young. He was a member of the VFW. I thought that the initials stood for Veterinarians of Foreign Wars. I could not believe there were so many of them!
2. I have a tendency to use many exclamation points. I am not shouting, but can be overly perky at times in "real time" when not practicing the art of sarcasm.

Plan to survive the school year:
Yoga! My teaching buddy/ lunch pal and I are going to start doing yoga after the students leave to help relax after the school day. It was that or become alcoholics...
Eating Healthy! Definitely plays a role in keeping the energy level up.
Prayer! I am going to start each day in my classroom saying a little prayer to myself that I remember that these students are someone's children & all humans have dignity and worth. Hopefully, that will prevent me from strangling that student who, in the middle of a involved discussion of black holes, raises his hand and asks what for lunch!

Patting myself on the back:
Many of you know that one of my goals in weight loss is to control my bp without so much medication. Well, I have taken a step that direction!:happy: A few weeks ago, I saw my dr. & talked to her about that and how I suffered from edema in my ankles (too humid & hot for those stockings). I have a family history of varicose veins and wanted to know if I should have anything done about that. The varicose veins are deep, so aren't evident, so it would not have been a cosmetic advantage to have them done. Well, she said that one of my medications could aggrevate the swelling. Since my bp had been doing well, she took me off 2 out of the 5 meds for bp on a trial basis. I went to her today & I am off them for good!!! Swelling is reduced; bp staying down there!:drinker: As I continue to exercise & reduce my mass, I hope to eliminate the other meds: 2 down - 3 to go.

Question about sweeteners:
My husband uses nurtrisweet for his sweetner. He was borderline diabetic, but since changing his eating habits (which he still works on!!), increasing exercise, and losing weight, he is off meds for diabetes and has wonderful blood work reports for that. Anyway, I read a post (sorry, can't remember whose :frown: ) about stevia. Would that be good for diabetics? Also, I am asking all of you what types of sweeteners you have found that good. What can be used as a sugar substitute in cooking and baking? Thanks!

Well, enough of the novella - Hope you all have a wonderful week!
Bec

Hi everyone

I woke up this morning with a new determination to exercise and cut out snacking (which seems to have crept up on me the last few weeks!) {the snacking not the exercise} :bigsmile: :bigsmile: I managed 15 mins of low aerobics before breakfast and hopefully will continue every morning with at least10 mins but more if I have the time/ can manage it. But my aim is to exercise for at least 10 min (I should be able to do that surely!)

:flowerforyou: Becca well done on reducing your BP meds (and I love your accenuate the positives eliminate the negatives slogan) and I also have a tendency to use exclamation marks :bigsmile:

Cindy sorry for your loss, sending best wishes to you and your family at this sad time.

:flowerforyou: Barb I'm glad the "attack of the peach pie" didn't add pounds onto your weigh in. :bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: Laura good for you out biking your hubby :bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: Welcome all newbies, I'm sure you have already been told that this is a great group to belong to.

:flowerforyou: Jeannie welcome back from your vacation.

:flowerforyou: Everyone else thanks for sharing I love reading all your posts.

I'm hoping my new determination will last longer than a few days this time. I had a plate of roasted veggies for lunch with a beef and tomato cuppa soup. I need to buy some more fruit though so I can snack on grapes or strawberries instead of biscuits. It's funny isn't it but I also think of you Mimi when I am roasting veggies :laugh: I think someone else mentioned that they think of you too when roasting veggies you are our veggie queen:drinker:

Well I have a few chores to do before I go to bed, so better make a move as I'd like an early (ish) night tonight, haven't been sleeping too well so thought an early night might help.

Take Care everyone

Viv