WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JULY 2013

Good Sunday Morning, Ladies! :flowerforyou:

Sorry to hear about all the rain in NC. We love our monsoons here in Az, but we do not have basements! I do have horror stories from living in MN when basements would leak and flood, so I do have great sympathy for you who are in that situation.
-So, I just had to go back and change my food log from yesterday because I binged last night. However, I am finding that even my binges are healthier because I know that I have to report in writing with my diary open to readers what I have done. I was craving popcorn last night, which is really bad for my tum, so I ate 5 popcorn flavored rice cakes. It was a binge, but I still came in under count. However, I am not happy with myself because I gave in to the craving instead of staying with the plan. I am not really sniveling, but I find it interesting that it is really bothering me that I could not hold to the plan. I guess that is called awareness and growth.

Sue- I am glad that your arm is getting better, but don't overuse it too soon, or you'll be in that sling for a whole long time!

SubZero- (What else may we call you, please?) Congratulations on the 2.5 loss! :flowerforyou: That is awesome. I have never heard of that diet, but it sounds very interesting. I have a wonky stomach, so .... I am going to google this! Have fun on your canoe trip, I have never felt safe in one of those.

Heather- I would love to be there in Winchester with you! You mentioned DH's books. He is an author? or a book addict like me?

Liz- I am so sad for you and your sister, please, take care. Prayers, prayers and more prayers.

Melfitnesspal- Congratulations on the loss!:flowerforyou:

GrandMallie- Sounds like a wonderful party! Glad you enjoyed it. You only took one cupcake home for later? I would have stolen the whole batch! :embarassed: Oh, my that sounded yummy!

Jodios- Have a wonderful trip!

Michele- I hope nothing was ruined in the basement. It is hard to explain what kind of cards I make. I use various techniques. I will try to take some pictures and post them. I am just a beginner, do not expect anything professional

M- The quinoa salad sounds good..... which leads me to my confession.... I have had a bag of it in my cupboard ever since the Dr took me off gluten. Yup, it's there, sitting there, getting dusty because I really am afraid to try it. Does it really taste good? What else can you do with it besides salads? Help me, please!

For today: I have a friend coming over to visit and meet the cat that I am care-taking. It was her house & cats I was taking care of for a while, and she is a crazy cat lady just like I am. We may go to a movie, or we may just hang out here. Either way, for today, I will get some of those nasty greens into my meals, and I will stay away from popcorn flavored rice cakes in such great numbers!

Have a wonderful and Blessed Sunday!
Pat

Hello, ladies!

"TRAMPLED ON THE BED BY MY NAKED SON"... That got my attention, lol! Funny & creepy at same time! Glad you were not hurt!

Enjoying the cooler weather. Spent morning weeding my waterfall that leads to the koi pond. We have about 70 fish. Some eat from my hand! Sitting there lowers my blood pressure, so relaxing. I love the frogs too. They are pretty tame at this point...

Liz, so sorry about your sister. I hope you can have some quality time with her...

Barbie-fabulous picture-so inspiring!

I bought some tops on sale one size down from my usual-and they fit with some extra room. I was shocked, but happy!

Off to give a kitty client some fluids. He is an older kitty that has an infection and isn't eating well.

Hope everyone meets their goals and has a great week ahead!

Critter Sue

Stomped on in the middle of the night by a naked 34 year old son.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: That can never be duplicated by anyone. That would be a video to send to Americas funniest home video.

When I can't sleep at night I put my pillow down at the end of the bed and put one of my favorite quilts over me. But that is my cats sleeping spot. So in the middle of the night my face was being stepped on by Miss Melody getting settled in after some night time wanderings.

Joyce, Indiana

Good morning ladies – and a lovely Sunday it is as well…..I slept in, must have been the extra dog walking (which I forgot to log anyway). It’s a little cooler today, nice fluffy cumulus clouds and a light breeze to keep it pleasant. Good day for dog walking – good thing seeing I volunteered for this. Bought myself a new pedometer yesterday - I know the old one is somewhere in this house but I have no idea where I placed it (you know, that place where you put things so you know where they will be when you need them - lol).

I’m taking advantage of that nice breeze and all of the linens are drying outside today.

Deb (ileen) – yup, double duty on both fronts, good thing those plastic shopping bags breed in my broom closet. I wonder if there is a calorie count for bending and scooping?

Michele – the broccoli mango salad is just one chopped up fresh mango, a fresh apple and about a cup of blanched broccoli broken into about 1 inch florets. Mix with homemade coldslaw dressing (mix together tablespoon of half fat mayo, tbsp. white or apple cider vinegar and sweetener to taste – I use Stevia but about a tsp of sugar or Spenda whatever works). If fresh mangos aren’t in season I use the frozen, seems to work just as well. Ah yes, new fridge – it is a GE Profile, bottom freezer, French doors. And I am so mad I could spit. I spent the morning pulling out this old heavy monster, stacking and sorting stuff, cleaning the monster top to bottom and back and underneath because even if it’s being taken to the dump, it must be CLEAN before it leaves my house (go figure but I’m sure a lot of us have this affliction) and then at 1:00 PM I phoned Sears just to check and see if the delivery was going to be much later as it was already past the morning. Bless their little cotton socks, the delivery man never showed up, can’t be reached and Sears had no intention of even phoning me. Not impressed big time. I'm sort of the opposite of you, stress makes me lose weight, calm makes me gain.

M – if the quinoa, peaches and pickled onion salad was good, please post the recipe. I, like Phoo, am always trying to find ways to use quinoa, other than just a substitute for rice. (oooh, and the tea poached plums and cardamom pound cake sounds amazing!) I get a magazine here called Taste (comes free to the Liquor Store with wine and alcohol pairings/adverts) and sometimes the recipes are wonderful but I do wish they would post calorie counts. I have a magazine subscription that always posts nutritional info on all their recipes and I love that.

Dee – my hair has that “naturally curly” – read frizzy, nature as well. Today I decided to let it dry naturally so I look like I have a head of feathers at the moment. At least you can wear a ponytail, I would look like a taxi with the doors open (ears – not so good!) Enjoy the coffee time with friends – one of life’s little pleasures.

Meg – cracked up about the brick bread. I bought a breadmaker (which is still in my corner cabinet way at the back) and the 3 loaves I made probably would have rivaled your brick bread. However, I threw them away immediately so as not to have to face the failure. I think your kids (and you) must have a great sense of humour to have it show up as door stops and book ends. I can't decide if I like that better or the mental image of your husband stalking the dog with a cup for the sample.

Barbie – I remember when you posted that last time and I found it so encouraging as I was just starting on my journey. I too have a photo that I plan on using as a before and after as soon as I hit my goal weight. I think I was in serious denial about what I looked like. At least my sister says I take a bad photo at the best of times, so that makes me feel a little better – not much, but a little. And you look amazing, and I know even better now from other photos you posted. You have been an inspiration for a lot of us on here.

Liz in Halifax – words fail me to say how I feel for you. Just try to cherish the time you have with your sister and build more memories. Life is a gift but we all have to return it at some point. Love to you and your sister. I have long talks with both of mine every weekend and can't imagine them ending. There is always hope though. Some of the other ladies on here have some truly inspirational stories about their or their loved ones journeys through the disease.

Sandy from Oshawa – I lived in NWO 200 km east of Thunder Bay in a little town called Schreiber but spent a lot of time in Toronto because both of my girls were in university there. I was one of those people that had to see as much of Ontario as I could so I travelled almost every weekend (put the dogs in the car and off I went). Did a fair amount of flying too! Did trips as far north as Attiwapiskat, Moosonee and Moose Factory and south as far as Point Pelee, east to Ottawa and west to Kenora. You may have guessed I love exploring. Just give me a couple of weeks to spare and a cross Canada trip is in the cards. Now I live back in BC in a little town in the Kootenays called Fruitvale (but no, we don’t grow fruit) but as DD1 is now heading back to Toronto again, I guess I’ll be spending more time back there in the next couple of years. Originally I’m from Vancouver Island and plan on retiring there. You have a beautiful Province and I love it all except for the southern humidity – lol.

Kathy – yes, raccoons are adorable looking but can be very dangerous critters. If only they didn’t look so cute! In a previous house I had a grape trellis they used to climb around on and pick the grapes to wash in the pool. If you went out there on the deck while they were there it could be quite unnerving to see a whole tribe of them peering down on you through the leaves. I understand they can be quite ferocious with pets. They are quite curious so if you had opened the door, you might have had a house guest. So glad about the market research job, hope you really enjoy it.

Time to go, dog walking calls again. Salmon for dinner – mmmm.

Bye for now
Lila in the comfortable Kootenays, south east BC Canada

Hello ladies!!

I just got back from visiting with two of my sisters for a long weekend. It was great to laugh, play, and remember the past. We all had a great time and would have loved to extend the visit, but each of us had other obligations to return to. We are going to try to get together at least once more this summer.

Tomorrow I will need to catch up the housework and laundry. I also have to go into work to help interview for a new teacher for our department. I am going to get up and go to the gym early so that everything else doesn't get in the way of getting in my exercise. I really need to step it up!! Tuesday will be kayaking for several hours with friends up north. I WILL do some form of exercise everyday this week, including at least two days of weights.

Michele and DeeDee- Wow it sounds like you are getting a lot of rain!! The weather has been crazy this summer! Michele- I hope there wasn't any damage in your basement.

Jane- Congrats on DH's new job! Sounds like things are starting to fall in place for you. I hope all goes well!

Robin- I am so glad to hear that your job is going well.

Liz- I am so sorry your sister is going through so much. I am praying for peace for both of you.

Barbie- I love the pictures! You are such an inspiration! It helps a lot to see that we can reach our goals for healthier living- and maintain them!! I knitted a wool sweater with cables when I was in high school. I only wore it once or twice before Mom washed it and shrunk it!! I couldn't even get it on after that.

I guess I had better call it a night. Hope everyone has a restful night and wakes up with lost of energy for the new day!!

Deb A in CNY

Morning everyone;

Well I finally weighed in this morning. I am .8 up from the last weigh in in April. About 21 lbs heavier than I would like to be. This week I want to continue to focus on exercise but also back to journaling my foods.

My husband and children and I went yesterday and looked through a quaint little farm house that is up for auction. My son and his new bride would live in it and we would have a much bigger space for a garden and hopefully some laying hens. We are planning to go to the bank today and then make an offer. It is within walking distance of our house. We've prayed about it and if it is to be I'm sure God will open the doors to make this happen. I know the kids will be really disappointed if it doesn't go through but I know God goes before us.

OK off to exercise. It is a nice cool morning so I will go walking.

BBL to read posts.

Cindy

Good Morning, Ladies! I hope everyone is safe and dry this morning. NC people, how are your basements today? It sounds like you got blasted again yesterday.

I have been out on the web reading lots of articles about everything we are not supposed to eat because it is dangerous. No artificial colorings, flavorings or sugars; no genetically mutated vegetables; no pre-formed meat patties, lunch meats, smoked meats, chickens( arsenic in feed), pork (chemicals to make them lean), beef, farm-raised fish, swordfish, canned fish, canned meats; no magoes from Hawaii, no apples, no strawberries; nothing with wheat or gluten; nothing w................ It is truly fightening to think of how we have ruined the pure gifts we were given. Is any of this true? Is the truth really that everything is ok, but they are trying to manipulate us into buying the organic (expensive) foods? Whom do we trust? Anyone else have any thoughts on all of this? Or am I just being a Chicken Little this morning?

Heather- You certainly know how to capture our attention! :laugh: My oldest son sleep-walked when he was younger, and he often had night terrors. He was a tall, strong young man, and more than once I had to wrestle him back into the house because he would be walking out the door in his skivvies. You would have thought the cold snow on his feet would have woken him up, but it didn't! I am glad that your son stayed in the house!

Lila- I know where Thunder Bay is! I grew up in Duluth, MN, and, of course, used to love the drive up to Grand Marais and Grand Portage! Beautiful country! Did you ever get down to Duluth?

Barbie- That lily is gorgeous! :flowerforyou:

Michele- I just had a friend down here spend thousands to take all of the tile out of her house and put in wood flooring because of the sore back/sore feet/ sore everything from walking on the tiles. If the flooring in the exercise room is ruined, what about looking at a composite wood flooring? They look like natural woods, but are made for hard traffic areas.

Cindy- You have set good goals for this week to help you back on track. We are all pulling for you!

Robin- It is so nice to hear you sounding so happy and positive!:happy:

Have a great Monday!

Pat

Happy Mon.
Have a good one.
HUGS
jane

Just another manic Monday…..

What a crazy weekend! Saturday was just beautiful and we finally finished power washing our deck. I scrubbed all of the railings, which get green algae on the bottoms…eewww! No matter what I do, it always comes back the next year. Anyhoo…what a difference! It looks great. Now we have to have a party (DH says maybe Labor Day). The weather this year hasn’t exactly been cooperative. Either we are having severe rainstorms or excessive heat! :huh:

Speaking of weather….we had torrential downpours on Sunday, and I mean torrential! My SIL planned a BBQ for the family July birthdays (3 of them) and because the rain came in pockets, she grilled when it stopped. The sun would come out for a bit, and then….BOOM….thunder, lightning and heavy downpours would start again! Philly had a record rainfall total of over 8” in a few hours. It was just CRAZY!:noway: We gave Milo two benedril before we left to calm him down because he has major anxiety issues and gets so scared when there is thunder. He was hiding under the table when we got home, and no amount of coaxing could get him outside for a walk even when things calmed down. Poor thing is just a big 100 pound furry baby!:laugh:

Still haven’t caught up with the posts, but just wanted to check in. Mondays are payroll day so I must get to it!:grumble:

Welcome to all of the newcomers. You will feel the love and support of all who post on this thread.

GOALS FOR JULY:
Consistent logging (Pretty good except on vacations)
Drink at least 9 glasses of water a day (90%)
Find an exercise class I enjoy (NOT YET!!!)
RUNNING OUTDOORS (Yep)
LOWER SODIUM FOODS (NOPE, but working on it!)
STOP OBSESSING ABOUT FOOD (Hmmmmm…..)

Congrats to all on their success, and (((hugs))) to all who are struggling. Hang in…..it gets better!

Hugs,
Lucy in DE. :bigsmile:

Hi All! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

I had made some notes, but that was over a week ago! I've been keeping up on reading, but do find it hard to keep up on responding. So my goal today is just to write something about me and to keep my foot in the door!

Saturday my husband and I helped my nephew and his family move from Camden, NJ to Philadelphia. They have 2 babies - a 27 month old and a 14 month old, and a 3rd on the way (due early Dec)! I got the impression it's starting to dawn on them what they've taken on, having 3 children so close together, and will (hopefully) wait a bit before having more (which, apparently, they do want). At least I got my exercise in, although I also ate - a lot.

Yesterday, though, I stayed in and did nothing. I have depression and anxiety and I find that after an event where I have to socialize, the next day I really can't do much of anything. I am on medication and in therapy, but I get rather despondent at times, as it seems that, overall, I'm getting worse as I get older rather than better. Other times I'm optimistic, however, and today is one of those days!

The binge eating has continued, but I'm hopeful that today is a new start. I finally went walking/running again this morning - I'm on week 5 of Couch to 5k. This is something I really want to complete. I've never been able to run - always got very winded very quickly. Even in HS, when I took a little mini-class called "Run, Run, Run" I couldn't get up to running a mile. But there was no real program - we all just ran around a track as far/fast as we could. I love c25k!

I continue to derive inspiration from you all, you lovely and strong women! My thoughts are with you, those who are suffering, those who are celebrating.

Kate in Brooklyn, NY

Greetings from cool and misty Omaha! We finally are getting a LITTLE rain, not much, but it’s a nice change.
Saturday we went out with friends for Mexican and I was happy that I limited my chip intake to 12 chips and only had 2 margaritas and NO wine at their house playing cards. Usually card playing with them entails LOTS of wine.:drinker:

Yesterday we never did get out to the bike trail, so I ended up doing calisthenics during the ads between innings on the baseball game! It wasn’t much of a burn, but it was something anyway. Baby bird Peter has died….Benny found him on the deck and promptly gave him to DD#2 who got home from the mission trip safe and sound. We had a record low last night (50!) so maybe he got too cold. I baked 8 loaves of zucchini bread (all from one zuc! :glasses: ) and froze it. Today I will vacuum seal it. I used plain yogurt for most of the oil and Truvia baking blend so that calorie count won’t be too high!

Our brisket was amazing. DH took his first bite of it and burst out laughing in sheer happiness LOL.:laugh: It was only his second attempt at smoking and OMG was it good. It was all I could do to only eat 4 ounces!

I’ve been to water aerobics and enjoyed my favorite thing in the morning…reading the paper with my coffee then a little snooze with various animals on top of me! It’s one of those cool grey days that just lends itself to sleeping. We have slept with the windows open for the last 3 nights.

Yannie jannie: I hope by now your headache is gone!

Jodios: have a safe and fun trip. Watch out for Flossie the storm.

Sandy not gaining is a victory in itself!

Michele: oh no water in the basement! How are you going to tackle that problem? Oh, and congrats on the weight loss but sorry it came about due to stress.

Terri: those lazy days are the best, aren’t they?

Joyce: what a great outcome for your sister!

DeeDee: hope the boys were compliant…I know your hair wasn’t! :bigsmile: LOL

M: what is your favorite cooking magazine?

Grandmallie: your shopping list sounds very healthy….I can’t afford a lot at Whole Foods either (or Trader Joes for that matter)

Pat: isn’t that great that your binge was something not bad and you logged it? I wonder about the same things in our food that you do. I can’t afford organic; around here it’s nearly double the price of non-organic, but we do have lots of meat brands that don’t have antibiotics or steroids, etc in the meat and I do get that. All those chemicals are a double edged sword; we would not have nearly the amount of food we do without them. I try to eat “clean” by not eating much processed foods.

Heather: I think you should say it again. That story was hilarious!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: And it’s a better excuse for almost anything that “my dog ate it”!!!!!

Critter Sue: yay for the smaller tops. I’m worried about the old man (18 year-old cat). He had lab work done Saturday and I’m holding my breath because I don’t want to give him daily fluids if he is in renal failure. UGH I hate that.

Lila; what a funny mental image of those eyes staring down at you from inside the grapes!

Vicki: enjoy the cooler weather at your end of Nebraska!

Barbie: stunning lily!

Deb: glad you had a nice visit

Cindy: let us know how the bid on the house goes!

Robin: we are all excited for you too. It is so nice to hear about someone who likes her job!

Bj: nice to see you again!

Lucy: I have been hearing about all the rain up your way. Stay safe!

Kate: couch to 5K sounds intriguing! Is it a special plan with increasing activity?

Well I should get some work done on the books. Tonight I am looking forward to leftover brisket! I may have to eat some of my exercise calories back and get 6 ounces today! I also need to highlight my hair...coloring is a 2-day process for me! Take care all, Meg from Omaha.:drinker:

Good afternoon dear ladies. I went to the Y today!!!!!!:happy: :happy: I rode 4 miles and then worked on one strength machine. The doctor has told me to take it easy going back and only do the strength exercises 3 times a week, once back into it and do as much cardio as I feel like I can. My sister also belongs to the Y but we are there at different times. But she was there today:happy: Even though we both live n the same town we don't see each other that often. She is so self focused it is hard to be with her. But I still love her and my internet is her only frequent way to keep up with the rest of the family. Her husband has a computer but she has always felt like she would never know how to operate it. He doesn't feel comfortable in giving me the wi-fi password so I can take my laptop over there:grumble: So she has to come over here. We live in a bilevel and has so many injuries that she frequently has restrictions. I had a little insight into why she falls so often. She got to the Y today at 10:30, on the way she ate one of the prepackaged bowls of Honey Not Cheerios. She ate it dry. Then she did 2 different Silver Sneakers aerobics water classes and she stays after and walks several miles in the pool. I got there at 1 PM and she was walking. When I finished at 1:30 she was just then finishing. And all of this excersize of one dry cup of Honey Nut Cheerios. We sat out in the car talking for about 30 minutes and then she was heading off to Walmart. Still not eating anything.

Well I could talk all day long about my sister's problems but then I would feel like I am my sister so I won't.

My blood sugar was 98 again this morning. I just don't understand it.

I just love the idea of buying an old farmhouse. But I would want it already renovated! I love the charm, the history but not the work in getting it modernized. Plus I like living close to shopping centers!!!!

See you later, Joyce, Indiana