TerriDoodle

Hi HH!!! Good to see you! I was wondering where you were! You sound a lot like me. Those are my issues too. For some reason I have a hard time eating with other people at the table!!? Maybe 'cause I"m rushing? talking? too big of a bite? If I PB a lot one day, I usually have the same problem the next day too unless i really pay close attention and watch what I eat and how I eat!! Slow down and smaller bites....that's all I can recommend to you! Thanks for the boobies, Pamela!!

Hi everyone! Well, I'm just now getting in from my day working for the charity golf tourney. I'm pooped. Speaking of palteaus...mine seems to be gone for now. I was down to 182.4 this morning which is like a 2# drop in a week! I'm eating crap and not exercising. Probably not a lot of calories, but not very good choices, either. Anyway...this marks the milestone I have really been waiting for: I am halfway there! I wanna see some dancing' banana boobies!!!

Hi Ya'll - Kat - I'm sorry you're having a bad day... I hope it worked out alright in the end. You have so much going on all the time. Do you EVER just get to sit down and REST? All this stress can't be good for you 24/7!!! Is there any possibility you can at least get 1/2 day of 'me time' in the next few days? I worry about you! It just seems like you are burning it at both ends all the time! Pamela - I'm sure Denise is right and knows better than all of us. You do need to get that gunk out of your head, that's for sure...so make sure you drink lots and lots of liquids and take a decongestant for a day or two as well (as opposed to only an antihistamine). Get some rest...and stay away from the tequila!! LOL That stuff'll kill ya!! The memorial service today was so emotionally draining.... there were easily 400+ people there. 5 of his friends got up to read letters or tell stories, one wrote a special song for Danny and played his guitar, his uncle broke down and practially had to be carried off.... OMG, I cried thru the whole thing. He was a very special young man and I didn't realize just how special until today. Not to mention that he was also a fine specimen of a man, too....just gorgeous. So, so sad. My boss looked 10 years older, tired and thin. His wife, who is normally as beautiful as a Hollywood star, looked terrible. There must have been 100 sprays of flowers even tho they requested donations instead. I've never been to anything like it. I came home and hugged my kids til their eyes bugged out.

Great news, Kristin!!!!!!!!!!!! What a relief!

to answer your question about quilting, if you cut all your squares beforehand and had all your pieces ready to go you could definitely sit there for 15 days straight and do nothing but hand stitch...you'd also need an Iron and ironing board close at hand. Look at the craft stores for mini-quilt patterns or kits. If you have sewing experience it should be a piece of cake for you. The hard part about quilting is getting everything to line up ... you have to have just about perfect 1/4" seams for every square or else at the end it's just like a big parallelogram...LOL. Or a trapezoid.... one of those weird shapes! You could do a counted cross stitch or embroidery that's all one color.... usually done in red (redwork). One of the many crafts I've done over the years was to embroider dish towels...like our moms used to have...remember those? I collect them as well. You can get the iron on patterns at Hobby Lobby...don't know if Michael's has them.

Good Morning! TracyK - why are you up so early this morning?? I had to get my son out the door to take his SAT this morning! <biting nails> He had arranged last night to pick up his girlfriend so they could ride together -- she lives about 15 mins away from here, but 1 minute away from their school. So last night he asks me what time he should leave the house and we settled on 7:00 to be there in plenty of time for 7:45a. Well, this morning he asks me where Langham Creek High School is! That's where the test is!!! CRAP!! I thought it was at his high school!! That changes everything and now we are RUSHING around trying to get his breakfast down him, his supplies and ID together, etc.... then throw him out the door!! Not the vision I had for him this morning! Well, at least he had a good dinner last night, 8 hours sleep, a hearty breakfast this morning and a healthy snack packed for later. I did my job!!! Well, I went shopping yesterday and bought a few things but not enough work clothes to get me thru the winter...I much prefer to shop for casual clothes and that's what I got!! I'll have to go out again on Sunday, I guess. It was nice to shop at normal stores...sure expands your choices! I'm teetering between a L and XL, or 14-16 pants. Nice. Well, I just got back from RUSHING my son's calculator to him...LOL. He forgot it. What a morning. I think I'll go do some beading. No wait, I have to go to the grocery store! Grrrr. See why I never get to bead? We have to leave at 12:30 to go to the funeral :confused: Ya'll have a good day! Judy....have a GREAT TRIP!!!

Very well said, Jacqui!!

Thanks, Jenn.... pardon my ignorance, but I'm an eggplant virgin. How do I need to prepare the eggplant before putting the mixture on top? I'm up WAY too early for a day off, eh? DH's CPAP mask is not getting a good fit and it sounds like I'm in bed with a tornado. I don't know why he can sleep thru it and I can't!! The promise of coffee always lures me out of bed!

Calories in & calories out.....that's the thing that counts the most by far. Good carbs are OK, bad carbs are bad!! Nothing white: try to limit your sugar, white flour, potatoes, rice, Pasta. Fat's really OK in my book... but good fats like olive oil and avocados are much, much better for you than butter and trans fats. If you are eating too much then go get a fill! Sounds like you're due!

Big chance there's nothing wrong at all. But if there is, it's certainly good that you're finding out about it now!! Take care of yourself!

For me it just helps me not eat so much!! I love being able to go out for Mexican or Italian food and order what I like, but only eating 1/3 of it (or less)!! I am very grateful for what the band does for me...and I was self pay too...$13000. Worth every penny for the self-control it helps provide.

Hi Ya'll! No, I haven't vanished. I have been reading posts but just toooooo busy to write! This is my busy, busy, busy season and it will be until Dec 7th (our Christmas party). It's like we're so slow during the summer we could sleep thru it, then BAM!!! .... time to go to work!! We have 3 conferences that I prepare slides for, hunting season (I'm in charge of the lease), 300 Christmas cards, and my company's Christmas party. Then you add the doubling of my regular duties because my exec's are now 2-3x as busy and it's just crazy in my office! I worked my tail off today from 7:00a-6:00p and still didn't get done what I wanted to accomplish. The good news is I have tomorrow off (we work a 9/80 schedule with every other Friday off). I get my hair cut, then I HAVE to go do some shopping!!! Maybe I'll look up some good resale shops. What is going on with our trip, Michelle? I need something to look forward to!! Haydee - can you do dinner on the 7th with me and JoAnne? Is it on your calendar? Congrats on all your great purchases today! Wish me luck tomorrow. I hate spending the money on clothes I know will only last me 1/2 year! ...not that I'm really complaining but it does make it harder to shop. I don't have much to report on the lapband front except that I'm damn glad I have it!! My eating has been so whacko that I haven't even logged my food...it would just take too long and I've been too busy to mess with it. Although I do still wear my body bugg, it's not really doing anything for me if I'm not following the program! I hope I get back on track Monday. I haven't been making horrible choices...just bad ones. LOL I"m one pound away from being 1/2 way there. I'm pretty darn sick of being such a slow loser...this is getting ridiculous. However, it IS normal for me. Sucky, I know. TracyK - sorry you had a bad day! What happened? Pamela - your costume was hilarious!! That's how you stayed dressed at school all day? Your students must LOVE your sense of humor. I'll bet you're one of the favorite teachers there, aren't you? TracyinKS - Tomorrow: 209, girlfriend!!! Judy, Ethan is a doll. I'll bet you spoil him rotten. Kat - I'd really like to see a pic of Kinsey!!! C'mon Grandma-- get with the program! Janie - only 1 more pound til you hit 100#!!!! Woooo hoooo!!! Maybe it'll be tomorrow!? Recipe question.... TracyKS I think you know....how do you make the ricotta cheese/marinara sauce thingy? I'm craving Italian ALL the time lately!

Ha! Check it out.... I 'googled' cottage cheese recipes and found this... Cottage Cheese Recipes

It's 8:20 here and our doorbell has only rung 5 times. sigh. Kids today just have no idea what they're missing...here in Houston, anyway. When i was little we lived in Lafayette, LA and every house was a different 'treat'.... hot chocolate, haunted houses, candied apples, home-made bean bags, fresh cookies, etc. We'd run from house to house and come home with 1/2 a pillowcase full of stuff. I guess every neighborhood is different. Hope everyone is having a great night with the kids!

No, it can't.

You can give it to local charities that give Christmas toys away...they use the candy to stuff stockings!!

Yes, it IS very good in Tomato soup...i'd forgotten that! I eat 4% (full fat) cottage cheese also....the 2g of fat you save eating the other just isn't worth it to me. I eat it with strawberries, blueberries, pears, pineapple or raspberries and 3 packets of Splenda. I eat it just about every day for one meal or another :-)

Just realized I didn't make my exercise goals this month! I was doing really well til a week ago, then all hell broke loose. It was a beautiful wknd (and all week) but I haven't been able to do a darn thing for myself. Oh well. Such is life.

Pamela - I hear you. I'll call you before I do anything. It won't be for awhile...we've got some time, I think! If necessary I can take a leave from work...I've been here 20 years for cryin' out loud. Time for a little payback. My kids are officially done with Halloween, thankfully. We have a rule that once you hit your teens your much too old to go trick-or-treating. Their schools didn't do anything special for it either. Those costumes you describe would totally freak me out!! Doesn't your school have 'standards' of appropriateness for things like that?? The school district we're in would never allow those costumes at a school function....they are sooooooo strict when it comes to dress code and showing skin or clothing (t-shirts) that is offensive, violent, satanic, etc. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that whether the school allows it or not, it IS within their culture and mindset. I don't blame the parents so much as I blame TV and the media. Even the commercials are sickening....erectile dysfunction and KY Jelly commercials. They all make me sick. As a result, i've had to be very honest about the facts of life with my kids from a young age....far younger than what made me comfortable. My recurring message over and over is "safe sex and only when you're ready for a family!" New low on the scale today...but just a tiny drop....to 183.4. I'll take it, especially considering I've been eating crap. Tonight it's fish and asparagus, dammit!! That is, unless i have to go to the hospital to retrieve my mother!

Hi Everyone! Well I feel a bit better after getting back from a visit with Mom in the hospital. She looks soooooo much better today! They pumped her up full of steriods, antibiotics and fluids and it's working! They did rule out pneumonia, which is always a big worry. Kat, she is a very good patient and doesn't squawk about having to go to the hospital. (I think she likes the attention ) I think she will be discharged tomorrow....hopefully will go to my sister's house for a day or two, then maybe back here. I dunno yet. We may just get by with making some modifications to make her house safer and a bedside potty for night-time...and a caregiver 2-3 times a week for laundry, errands, etc. Just not sure what she will be capable of yet. Nevertheless, we do need to come up with a PLAN as the level of her disability increases. A caregiver thru an agency is $17/hour. She doesn't have much money left, and I've got a kid heading for college very soon....I'm starting to freak just a little bit! One bridge at a time, eh? Work is just such a horrible, sad place to be right now. We got a few more details from the report that was in the paper, but still the exact circumstances of the accident are a mystery. What we do know is that he had taken a friend home, it was 5:00a on Sunday morning and he jumped the curb for 200 ft, then hit a tree, then a railroad embankment, then the car burst into flames. The body was badly burned before the VFD could get to him. The report said he was killed on impact. The body is being autopsied. The parents are not doing well at all, as you can imagine. There will be a memorial service on Saturday. It's kind of unfortunate that several of his close friends will not be able to attend as they play football for Univ. of Texas. I was considering asking my son to go with me to the funeral so that he could perhaps learn a valuable life lesson. He is taking the SAT that day, but I will make sure he hears allllll about it. I have been eating nothing but junk for days. The stress has been kickin' my band and I just have this 'who cares' attitude right now. Amazingly, I weighed 184.0 this a.m. Kat - Kinsey is in my prayers...poor baby. Did you say she was a preemie? So that's why she is so tiny, huh? I have a neice like that, too. Smart as a whip, though...and she's 15 now. Jenn - so glad to see the money is coming in! Did the state help you get it or what? Hi everyone else -- I'm tired and have to get to bed. It'll be another very long day tomorrow. XOXO!

Michelle - Did you get all the info you needed? What's next?

Morning Everybody - I'm at work, feeling exhausted and depressed as hell. I know everything will work out in time, but for now it's all just kind of surreal. I'm glad to have you all in my corner.

Hi Girls- Sorry...I'm just so tired I can't even remember what I just read. Judy, Denise & Jenn -- I do remember that you all looked so great in your pics!!! Major congrats to you all! The office was horrible this morning...everyone was so morose and the phones were ringin off the wall. Had to leave at 11:3o to take my mom to the hospital...they'll fix her up there. She's really tired. I can't keep my eyes open to type. I'll check in tomorrow. Ne!

Or you could blame your financial planner if you feel the need to "explain"...and just say that he's got it tied up in funds that would sustain heavy penalties and only have emergency funds in a liquid account. Or just say, "I'm sorry but I make it a policy to never lend money....I'm much too conservative for that."

Hi all. Well, mom is going to check into the hospital tonight, if they can find a room for her...waiting on a phone call now. She's not worse, but not much better either. It basically boiled down to the fact that both my sister and I HAVE to go to work tomorrow, and she probably should have been admitted Friday anyway. I did work hard on getting her rehydrated which is a huge issue for her. She is stubborn like a mule when it comes to getting fluids in and I finally got angry with her and said, "Mom, you're willing to feel like crap, willing to take 12 different drugs, willing to go to the doctor 2x a week...but you're not willing to do the one thing that will make you feel MUCH better and that is to simply drink more fluids???" I think a lightbulb finally clicked on and yesterday she drank. Today, not so much. She's weak and lethargic and is on oxygen 24/7 now. She's had several falls and fortunately none have resulted in broken bones, but it's just a matter of time! She had one Thurs. night (at home alone) in her bathroom and said she was on the floor for 2 hours before she could get up. So, obviously, we have some big decisions to make here in the next few days and weeks. Then....about an hour ago I got a call from my boss saying that our CEO's 22 yr old son was killed in a car accident last night. I work very closely with the CEO, too, and know his son well. This is a horrible tragedy, obviously... the boy's mother is what I would call "fragile" anyway and I can't imagine how in the world she will cope with this. It's just horrible, horrible news. So I HAVE to go to the office tomorrow because there will be all kinds of things that need to be done, and now my boss will be "in charge" until the CEO gets back....whenever in the world that will be. There but for the grace of God go I.... Not a good day in TerriDoodleLand.