Senior Golden Sneakers -May 2011

When I went to work this morning, half the road was cordoned off. A boy was stabbed outside the nightclub a few doors down. His poor parents! I have'nt been able to get them out of my mind.

I have been trying to sort out a holiday with Kerry my daughter, today. We have decided on Turkey, but my head is is spinning with looking at hotels. We gave up and will look again later.

Phoebe: Hope your dh is feeling ok after the accident. It must have shook him up.What a nice thing that your community are doing. It makes me think how lucky I am. I have my health and my family. What else do I want?

Gigi: Glad to hear you had fun with your friends. It's always so good to look back and laugh with people who were there with you. Did you get out in your garden (yard)?

Buzz: When is your appointment? Hope it goes good for you. Have you eaten all those chops yet. Do you have mint sauce with yours? mmm

Barbie: Has Jake fixed your bike yet?

Shirley: Enjoy your pig roast!

Marie: My dh will wash up but not dry up. The things he refuses to do are washing and ironing! After 32 years I don't hold much hope that he will change now lol.

Irene: Glad you popped in. Hope all is well with you.

Does it seem really quiet on here lately?

Have my weigh in tomorrow urgh! I stayed the same last week. I dread weigh ins. I am always full of 'if only'. No-one to blame but myself!!

I have really enjoyed all the jokes on here recently. Keep them coming!

So proud of you all and I feel very lucky to have you all.

WOW !!!:grumble: :grumble: :grumble: Where to begin?
MADDIE, so happy to see you back here, even in this state of despair! And my heart goes out to you, DD, as you are so in need of comforting rather than confrontaton, and we both know that comfort you are getting from food jest ain't gwine to work, baby!!!:noway: as you now see, it just makes you feel too awful, which you feel already!
All our friends have given you good advice from the heart, and because we all love you. Now I'll add mine for what it's worth!
"Our sons are our sons till they get them a wife"...remember that old saying? Your son will (and unfortunately should) side with his wife, since that is nature's way with husbands. He has to agree with her so HIS life won't be miserable! :ohwell:
Your DIL probably has no idea she is practicing MIL abuse!!! Or that you are really still in a deep state of mourning! Not because she doesn't care, but because her generation simply doesn't take into account your generation's needs. She's just not been through the experiences you have had, and the world is her oyster! It revolves around her and she "hasn't walked a mile in your shoes"!!!:frown:
She love those kids as much and more than you do,...she knows she holds the upper hand as far as your baby-sitting goes (I doubt it's meanness, more like self-centeredness), and if you want to protect yourself, you must take the chance of saying to her
" I appreciate you need time for yourself, in the same way I need time to take care of MYSELF" ...I love you, and I love those babies, and I must learn to love MADDIE, just as much. I must protect my own space and time, so please give me more consideration as to time limits and promises, or I agree you might wish to make other arrangements. I want to be there for you, darling DIL, but I resent when I feel taken advantage of, and since it's difficult to control that feeling, please lets discuss the alternatives "!
Sweetie, I hope she would be willing to talk about your needs as well as her own, and I think that's a better way than drowning yourself in food, with the added weight, and the need to go through all the darn dieting to lose what you have already lost and regained! And the possibility that your breathing problems will return from the stress! Would you consider asking her if getting together for all of you could be limited to only social outings or visits awhile? Believe me, if she agrees to a loving relationship, she will soon miss the advantages of a wonderful MIL being there to help, but unwilling to be taken advantage of ! Easy for me to say, since it concerns YOU, and I'm not in the middle of it! But you asked for help, and yes we've ALL been there, and I, for one, have said things in anger I wished I could take back, and then had to struggle to mend the relationship, so this is simply coming from an older but not necessarily wiser former MIL!!! ( Yeah, mine got divorced !)

GIGI...I know exactly where you're coming from! Been there, done that! Made matters worse for me, though! Her world revolved around herself and her kid! I didn't really want to lose them all, and almost did by letting off steam!:explode:

PHOEBE: love your own "Talking to",,, very clever!

SHIRLEY: if that's a new picture, you look lovely! Glad you enjoyed "the works"!:smooched:

DONNA...super advice, and lovingly administered!

DEB; good advice on the exercise, and we ALL join in that [[[[[[hug]]]]]] ! And yes, I finished the chops last night, without mint jelly(British touch?), since these were Greek-flavored, whatever that means! Delicious, though, and I yearn for more! My appointment is Monday, and thanks for asking!

ELLI, was it you who raised little lambs? Another talent to add to your long list!

SANDY, looks like that long-awaited trip is turning into a dream away from home! Were all concentrating on weather being perfect for you Sunday!

IRENE, sorry I missed your post, so I'll have to hunt for it, but great you return when you are able!

CONNIE, are you sleeping? Miss you! :yawn:

Buzz

Buzz: I remember that saying very well. I have to keep reminding myself of it (although she is not officially my DIL, they live together). It is very hard. You gave such good advice. I hope Maddie will take it.:bigsmile:

My weight stayed the same again this week. My own fault. I have been very lazy with the exericise, so I must step up a gear or two this week. Not making excuses (or maybe I am lol) but I think I have felt tired & lazy due to 'seeing' again after almost a year!
I have'nt measured myself yet, so I am hoping that will have moved just a bit.:frown:

Good luck Judz with your weigh in, you have worked so hard, I am sure that you will do well. Good luck to anyone else who is weighing in today:drinker:

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: good morning all :bigsmile: I got up this morning with a great plan that included a walk in the neighborhood with the dogs followed by a long visit to the dog park :laugh: but it's raining :sad: :sad: I could go for a walk by myself with my umbrella but how could I leave the house and not take the dogs :laugh:

:bigsmile: yesterday we went to a memorial service for a friend, a man Jake had been close to years ago but hadn't seen too much lately. We had to drive 100+ miles each way and take the ferry so it was a big event. The nice thing about ferry travel is that there is time to walk while you wait for the ferry and time to walk on the passenger deck during the 30 minute crossing. We stopped for lunch at Subway on the way. We saw many good friends at the service but didn't stay for the potluck. I brought bananas and oranges as our contribution and I was able to grab two bananas as we left. Even so, we didn't get home until almost 8:30 and then drive home was in rain.

:bigsmile: :bigsmile: Maddie, I hope you found something you could use in all the suggestions from the loving Golden Sneakers friends. Remember that no one can take advantage of you without your permission.:bigsmile: Now, get up and get moving :bigsmile:

:bigsmile: :bigsmile: Phoebe, I loved your two part conversation between Maddie and her higher self. Giving oneself a good talking to is always a healthy strategy.:brokenheart: I'm sorry to hear about your husband's wreck. Will things get fixed quickly ?

:bigsmile: Shirley, you look fabulous in your picture. Thanks for telling me about the border crossing. We live in NW Washington so we've have occasion to cross the border and it still feels a little scary. The worst was when we crossed in our motorhome and I was mostly concerned about whether I had all the right document for our pets and instead, they asked us to take the dogs out on leash and they search the RV and never asked to see any pet documents :laugh:

:bigsmile: Marie, I didn't train Jake to do dishes. He learned that from someone else.:laugh: I wish I could figure out how to get him to get busy finding a way to get the exercise bike fixed.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

:bigsmile: Donna, your suggestions to Maddie were right on. Taking care of our health has to be the number one priority.

:flowerforyou: Sandy,I'm glad you were able to check in and tell us that you are having a great time.:bigsmile:

:bigsmile: Buzz, once again, you are so wise and right to the point

:bigsmile: Deb, staying the same is still a victory......but you are right about exercise....get up right now and get moving

The dogs and cats can't see that it's raining so they are pestering me and acting like they can't understand why I don't take them somewhere :laugh:

Goodness me, a couple of days go by and I miss so much!

Hi Marie, I'm fine sweetheart and making the most of dry weather in the UK by gardening every available hour, some of it on the allotment. Here are the first small but delicious radishes and leeks!!:bigsmile:



Irene ~ Great to see you checking in with us. I do hope everything is going in the right direction for you. Do let us know when you feel up to it.

Maddie ~ I can only ditto what everyone else has commented. I also think you should call her bluff but know that's the most difficult thing in the world just in case.... Tomorrow will tell if you can resolve this amicably and if you haven't heard anything I'd say you are more than likely baby sitting because it should be difficult for your DIL to find anyone else at such short notice. You've had to deal with enough heartache this past month so stay strong!!

Buzz ~ That lamb sounds wonderful but like Deb, I have to have mint sauce with mine. All you need is a few leaves of Moroccan mint chopped, a half-teaspoon of sugar and a drop of malt vinegar. If you make it an hour or so before the meal the vinegar draws the flavour out of the leaves ~ delicious!!

The bees from one of my hives swarmed earlier today and settled on a bush the other side of the fence between my garden and the farmer's field so I couldn't reach them. So much for offering them a highrise to live in because just when you think you've done everything to keep them happy they do their own thing. Here's a photo of the naughty little girls heading out the door!!



Must go and cook some supper but should be back later to log in my meals.

Jackie:flowerforyou:

:bigsmile: Buzz, we only take the ferry when we have some place to go on the other side of the water........driving around the south end of the Puget Sound takes several extra hours so in many cases, the time on the ferry is far less than the long drive around would be. From Port Townsend to Seattle and any place north would take much too long to drive around....the ferry would be the most direct and shortest route.:bigsmile: when we are on the ferry we look around and think that many of the people have saved all year to come to NW Washington to take a ferry ride that we take casually as the only way to get where we're going.

:bigsmile: Jackie, your photos are fabulous.....how great to have something so useful growing in your garden already.:bigsmile: the photos of the bees make them seem much more personal:bigsmile: usually I see bees only buzzing and threatening around me and don't have a chance to notice how beautiful they are and then you make it even more personal by calling them "naughty little girls"

:laugh: After a few minutes of whining about the rain while the dogs sat next to me looking sad and wondering why we weren’t going for a morning walk, I put on my coat and hat and got my umbrella and went for a walk by myself to contemplate what to do with the rest of the day……imagine my surprise when I remembered that I had made the decision months ago to take the dogs to the dog park no matter what the weather.:laugh: So I came home, changed into my walk in the mud shoes and loaded the dogs in the car and went to the dog park where they chased birds and ran or more than an hour. They wanted to stay longer but I was getting soaked and still had to stop at the market on the way home. So now the dogs are asleep, I’m showered and wearing dry clothes and my pedometer has recorded over 12000 steps.:bigsmile:

Hello everyone,

Same old here, has been raining for two days, can't do anything outside. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Phoebe - Lovily picture, so glad to see your pretty face.:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Jackie - The vegetables are beautiful, so early, will be sometime before I can pick anything out of the gargen, great job, and the bees are so awesome.

Debz - Don't worried about the scale maybe you should measure yourself and you will see results like Donna, she was disappointed and now she is losing weight and inches. I believe in doing both, so if you loose inches instead of lbs is ok, the cloths will be looking much better.

Next week will be a busy one, leaving on thursday for wedding:noway: :noway: :noway: and going over my list of things to get for the trips, you guys know without a list I won't remember if I'm coming or going.:grumble: :grumble:

Have a great night sneakers.

Gigi

Hello ladies, I am needing to appologise for not being here every day. I have been getting sore and swelling, the work at Tim's is very hard on me in that respect so as to avoid another visit to the hospital I laid on my back for a few days reading to give me some rest and reduce the swelling.

I have lost some drive to get back into shape, not really knowing why other than maybe what my back trouble has dumped in my mind. I will though keep plugging away, no bad foods. I am trying to stay on the raw vegetables and fruits, with chicken or fish as the main meats and dairy goods as other protein sources. My body some how responds to those foods better and I can loose the inches with out the exercises. I also don't have cravings. Yes and water!! Two to three litres a day.

Until I can be organized in my work and home days I will be in and out of here like the sun peaks through clouds, however like the sun, I will be here. Anyone who would like to give me a shout via e-mail please do. I would appreciate some conversation, and keep up to some topics. It is hard to read all the posts and remember the next time I get in the who's and what's, writing notes can work however page 5 is different from page 15.

Take care ladies, I do think about you all even when I'm at work or taking a break from reading, my hopes you all get through and to your goals. Keep on plugging and be true to yourself!

Love to all...

Marilyn

Good morning sneakers
This is the kind of food I will be eating this week no bread, sugar, potatoes icecream, cereal. no high carbs.

Hi everyone - I just came across these 2 interesting articles. I think a lot of us can relate to this link.. Serious stuff this morning.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=3926473

and this article.

Effects and Advantages of Bananas on the Brain....

A Professor at CCNY for a Physiological Psych Lecture on Bananas explains to class the expression
'going Bananas' is - from the effects of Bananas on the Brain. Read on:

NEVER !!! put your Banana in the Refrigerator!!!
This is interesting.
After reading this, you'll never look at a Banana in the same way again !..

Bananas contain three natural sugars - Sucrose, Fructose and Glucose combined with fiber. A Banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of Energy.

Research has proven that just two Bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the Banana is the No.1 fruit with the world's leading Athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a Banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a Banana. This is because Bananas contain Tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into Serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a Banana. The Vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia : High in Iron, Bananas can stimulate the production of haemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of Anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the Banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of Blood Pressure and Stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating Bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including Bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a Banana milkshake, sweetened with honey.. The Banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn: Bananas have a natural Antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from Heartburn, try eating a Banana for soothing relief.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing affected area with the inside of Banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B Vitamins that help calm the Nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 Hospital Patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded to avoid panic-induced food-cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high-carbohydrate foods every 2-hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The Banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see Bananas as a 'cooling' fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. InThailand , for example, pregnant women eat Bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer Tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking ! The B6 + B12 they contain, as well as Potassium and Magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our Potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium Banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating Bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of Banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a Banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and Iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say - ' A Banana a day keeps the Doctor away ! '

PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the Banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth Amazing fruit !!!

Once again, thank you all. I had to call my son to tell him that if his wife didn't talk to me, there would be no babysitting. He started to apologize for her and I said no, no...that's for her to do. Well, about 3 hours later, she finally called. She didn't get any of it. She thought that when she was an hour late and said "I'm sorry but I had things I wanted to do" (with an attitude) that was the apology. Ummmm, NOT. Anyway, we did get it straightened out, mostly because I'm so damn nice and Nate was here bright and early and laughed at himself all day. She was here by 2:10.....close.

I see that Sandy and Gigi are still running around, Marie is still changing her diet, Buzz's picture looks like she's growing pot......some of you are working too hard and some not enough. Eating was better today but still not good. Little more active thanks to Nate!

The banana info was great! I will be eating more of them!! And did you know that they can dance, too?????



Maddie :glasses:

Yes Mattie I am on a new diet.for me. It is the paleo diet. I am posting on the No grain No pain thread. No grains/ , no sugar no process food. etc.I made it 2 says being below 100 carbs.. they weigh in every Tuesday I want have a lost since I just started yesterday. I have order the book.
So glad you and your daughter in law. got things streghten out.. I know you enjoy having Matt back.
Hello to all of you sneakers.

Happy birthday elli. It plum slip my mind. So invole in this new diet I just wasn/t thinking.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Love' ya

You know what Phoebe i did not like it either. I like the veggies but the meat raw meat turn me off. What made me do it. Just cause I could. I don't even like to cooked it. I had canned salmon patti tonight with just an egg in it and some season with my 1T. olive oil. I might have left the oil off o my dairy come to think o it.Didn;t miss the corn meal and cracker crumbs. Have a good night.