WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR AUGUST

: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

Hi ladies, thought I would check in with a much better post than the last one. Now I have 2 windows going so I can reply properly LOL. To begin with, today was a much better day as far as eating and exercising :drinker: I have to admit though, it was pretty ify:blushing: I woke up at 5 this morning with soon 2 b and got on the computer about 6 I think. Anyway, I went back to bed about 7 or 7 something. Can't believe it, but I slept until 11:00 this morning! :noway: :noway: I must have been tired huh? I was awake for about and hr and a half and all of a sudden I had a burst of energy :laugh: I got started on the house, geez, dusted and everything :laugh: What? Dusted? Not me lol but I did. Yes, a proud moment in my life :laugh: How sad is that? So to make a boring story less boring, I jumped on the treadmill and slow walked for 40 min and burned some calories then I decided to finish mowing the lawn that Bill didn't finish. Well, I only got about 10 min of that in before SIL came over after work. So much for burning alot of calories with that. I only burned 98, but that's just that much more I guess. Yey!

SuzyQ......... Your slaw sounds very delicious and yeah, I think Sophie is going to be a permenant resident LOL. Sounds like she is making your DH want to want her. Good for her

Robin...........Good Luck with your Sat. goal. I know it will happen for you.

Kackie.........Good for you :drinker: 4 hours of hiking, WOW that is amazing! I couldn't last more than 1 hr I am sure.

auntiebk......Sorry to hear about the coyote thing happening. I kind of know how terrible it can be to a neighborhood. We don't have them where I live, but about 30 or 40 miles east of us, they have coyote sightings and attacks on little pets yearly it seems. I think they come from Pennsylvania, maybe.

Barb.............Sugar free peach pie? MMMMMMMM, sounds great. I pretty much like anything that has to do with peaches.

Laura...........You made me laugh out loud at myself when you said something about wine tasting. Swishing and spitting it out. WHAAAATTTT? No way Jose, that wine hits my mouth, it's going straight down the hatch :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Bec...............You made me laugh at myself as well when you were saying what you used to think VFW stood for. I remember being young and sitting in the back seat of our car and seeing a sign about a flea market and asking my mom why would anyone want to buy fleas:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:


Pat................ Welcome aboard. This is a very great group of ladies, They are funny, supportive, and knowledgable. I know just reading their posts keep me focused.

Well ladies, I guess I'll go for now and go nosey around on facebook for awhile and talk to my grand daughter on there. I hope everyone has a blessed night.

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

15 and a half years, that is amazing. Great will be your reward. It must be strange to walke up and decide what to do. Will keep you in my prayers.
linda

Hello Chicletgirl: I just read your post and I don't pretend to understand everything that you are going through but I do know that how ever awful something seems to be at the moment...if you put one foot in front of the other for a while...it will be better after a time. I am so sorry that you are in this place right now and send you all good thoughts and energy that I can muster. Take care and be easy with yourself. Check in soon and let us know how you are. Thinking of you, Kackie

Poor Chiclegirl!!!
My dad was in so much pain for a while before they figured out he had cancer. Durning that time the Dr's put him on so much morphine he had no idea what he was saying. What day it was, who came to visit or what they said. It is very hard but you can't take it personally. Talk to her nurse and see if they can get her a calender the bigger the better and ask them to help her write down who calls her on the callender so she can remember. Also mybe they can help her write down when she calls you.
again, I am so sorry I know exactly what you are facing and it is so hard.

Good Evening,

When I weighed myself this morning, I was 199.25 lbs! :happy: :happy: :happy: I broke 200 and am in the one's! I am hoping to keep it under 200 from now on.

The friend I talked to at church yesterday regarding an office job called me this evening to tell me her office manager wants to see my resume. I wasn't anticipating such a quick response. I will be working on that tomorrow. The only thing is it would be temporary, which worries me, considering the financial struggle we're having. Is it better to have a full-time temporary job that may or may not become permanent, or is it better to have a reliable part-time job? That's something I'll have to give a lot of prayer and consideration to.

Bec - congrats on being taken off 2 of your 5 bp meds!!!! :bigsmile: :bigsmile: It sounds like you're on the right road to getting off the rest of them. Keep up the good work!

Chiclet - I'm sorry to hear about your mom. :frown: Hang in there, though. You're on the right track by recognizing that you are depressed. You certainly have good reason to be. I have found that a good cry can work wonders, so I hope you had one. With everything going on, you might want to consider taking your antidepressant on a regular basis until things calm down. When I went off mine, I noticed a big difference in how I handled things. Obviously, it won't solve anything, but it might take the edge off. I will keep you in my prayers. You know we're always here for you.

I tried to catch up on all the posts, but I don't have enough time to sit and read them all. I will try to read some more tomorrow. I don't respond to everyone, but I do enjoy reading about what you all are doing. I am living vicariously through you! :bigsmile:

I've planned my meals for tomorrow and I've posted, so I guess I really should do my dishes and put my sheets back on my bed. Have a great evening and a good day tomorrow.

Erica