Shrinking Violets -- April 07 Bandsters

[Daisalana 33]

Ughhh.. I'm getting really frustrated with the tightness of my band. It's so painful!!!

I made 3 meatballs and 1/4c of white corn.

After eating a nibble off of a meatball and a bite of corn.. I could feel my band squeezing it shut. It was painful. Spit up slime and meatball. It's 9:30 at night, and I am this tight. YEESH. So decided I'm not eating it. Tried to eat a ritz chip (which normally go down with no problem). Stuck, pain.

I guess it's on to SF pudding next. I need dinner. We had that Soup for lunch, I could reheat it, but after the meatball incident I'm afraid it'll get stuck too.

[TerriDoodle 6]

Laura - get on strict liquids for a day, then mushies for a day. You should be better after that. Your babies are soooo cute!!! Poor Cassy...she does not look happy with you!

I signed on to post my dinner recipe too! Pamela had asked what I was cooking and here it is! This was so thrown together but turned out great!

Italian Sausage & Lentil Soup

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1 pound hot italian sausage (ground, not in links)

1 pkg Alessi Sicillian Lentil soup mix

1 can diced tomatoes

grated parmesan/romano cheese

Brown the sausage in a skillet. Drain onto paper towels. Don't clean the skillet....fill with a cup or so of Water and reheat to de-glaze the pan. Put aside.

Cook Soup according to package directions. Add cooked sausage, tomatoes (and juice), and the water from the skillet.

Re-heat to simmer, then serve with grated parmesan cheese. Makes about 4 servings, 300 calories, 5g Fiber, 15g Protein, 14g fat.

I served with a small salad and whole grain dinner rolls.

[Kat817 19]

Must have been a Soup kind of day!!!

I did a cream of chicken with green chile and cheese....it is Rick's favorite.

I buy bags of cream of chicken basemix at a local restaurant supply store, and use the chicken base for lots of things. The recipe on the bag just calls for it to be added to Water to make the soup---it is like a creamy bullion type of thing. I always make it with chicken broth and some half & half. I had leftover chicken, so I diced it, and simmered it with some green chile for several minutes while the stock cooked, then tossed them all together, threw a lid on it, and let it sit and get aquainted for awhile. Then when he said he couldn't stand it anymore---the smell was yummy---I turned the heat back on, added some cheese, let it melt, and called it soup!! If I hide it well, there will be enough left to send to work with him on Monday. We are going to friends tomorrow for a burger cook out. I have to make baked Beans for that....so maybe that will take his mind off of the soup!!!

I love getting new ideas for dinner....I have to watch myself or we seem to get in a rut of eating the same things over and over again!

Keep the ideas coming!

Kat

[Daisalana 33]

It was a Soup day! I woke up really craving homemade chili.. And settled for the chicken soup which was good.

I had a hard time getting pudding down. I mixed benfiber in it (debating mixing some of this matrix chocolate Protein Powder in it, but couldn't risk ruining my taste for pudding). Benefiber is so amazing. I put a full tbsp in a little pudding cup, and it really 100% dissolves into absolutely nothing. YAY! They need to just add this to EVERY food for the sake of having it.

"Sugar Free Jello Pudding, 3g of fiber in every cup!"

Without bein too graphic, my poos have been horrid lately. Between constipated, and really hard. So trying to remember my fiber!!

[Teachlady 3]

Good Morning, Violets..

I'm up early to get dressed and ready for church. Then Bob and I are going to DD's house to work on the boat we bought. We'll spend the afternoon there and then go out to eat before we head home.

It's been yet another plateau week for me. Weighed in this morning and the scale hasn't budged. But then again it didn't go up either so I'll just keep plugging on and hope for a loss next week. I'm following the bandster rules and I upped my exercise lately so I should see some results soon. At least my clothes are fitting better and better and I can't complain about that at all!! Plus I'm getting more compliments each time I'm out and about.

We had a very, very lazy day yesterday. I didn't even get dressed until noon and then just putzed around the house til we left at 4 to go to a memorial service, then out to eat at 5 with our cruising friends and then to the local community theatre to see Guys and Dolls. It was a very nice day and now back to reality and church and babysitting and all those other good things.

The weather has turned really chilly and the furnace is on all day now. It's 37 here right now. We are enjoying the hot tub just about every night now and 3 weeks from today we'll be leaving for our next cruise. woooo hoooooo!

I better go let the garage dog out and then have my Breakfast. Everyone have a relaxing day today..

Patience, trust and WWJD!!

[lunasa 1]

WWJ(udy)D...LOL that's GREAT!! Inspirational indeed!!

I knew WWJD was what would Jesus do..I thought there had been a christian conversion while I was away!! LOL

Laura..Cassy is such a CUTIE!! OMG... I'm not much of a cat person, but they look like lovely cats too..how do you keep them all while you work? Boxers are a lot of work! Oh...she's so cute!

Ouch on the boobie!! Yikes! I'm glad the work account may not be lost on you.

tracyK..that's very sad about that young man!!

I was raised Catholic (I can't even spell it!) And IRISH catholic at that..in my opinion it's about as far from Christianity as you'll get..but we're moving as a country and getting over the "dark times" our people suffered at the hands of our catholic priests.. I was very upset with them for a long time as many of my friends had been "interferred" with by priests growing up, and for a long time I couldn't even look at any man wearing that collar!!

I remember Terri, you mentioning a book you said changed you're whole notion of faith.. I read one too called "into the light" and it really influenced my thinking. I'm much more of a spiritual person than religious, there's a lot I don't agree with, a lot I don't believe, but funnily enough I have great faith at the same time.. I certainly don't believe in "nothing", and as I say to all my aethiest (can't spell that either) friends.. there's no such thing as a non-believer

Even if you believe in nothing, you are believing in something!!

Hey..I'm an eternal optimist / philosopher!! LOL:heh:

[TerriDoodle 6]

Judy - It's hard for me to imagine temps of 37. We just are finishing up summer!! Our 'fall' lasts from mid-Oct to mid-December where we have beautiful weather, probably a lot like your summers! So we're just now enjoying dry, mild weather and people are going outside again! I rode my bicycle all around our huge neighborhood stopping to hit the garage sales along the way. It was so fun! I tell you, if I had a baby to buy for it would have been a great bargain day! I didnt' find any beads or jewelry to buy, nor a dresser for Evan's room. We did buy a bunch of 'manly books' for Richard to read for cheap. I bought The Color Purple for Hannah...she's probably already read it :Banane10: ...she's a voracious reader.

I set up and started wearing my BodyBugg....so the experiment begins. I'll keep you posted!

Another beautiful day here...I think I'll start off by riding my bike again. It was lots of fun yesterday!

[TerriDoodle 6]

Amanda - I read that book too....I read everything I could get my hands on for the 1st 5 years of my 'awakening'!! LOL You really should put this book on your must read list: Journey of Souls by Michael Newton.

[lunasa 1]

ohh..lovely..thanks terri..I'll do that!!

I'll let you know when I get my teeth into it!:kiss2:

[TracyK 3]

Good morning everyone....beautiful day here again today!!

SO, with that being said, I am going to enjoy it. Don't know what we will do, but I will find something!!

Nephew is back at home and one his regular meds again. I have not spoke with my sister this morning to see how the night went....hopefully seizure free.

Have a great day everyone!!

[Daisalana 33]

Lunasa- All the cats and dog are indoor animals. So when we're at work, we lock the dog in her bedroom (lol, the 'guest room') with her toys and a tv. Cats have free reign of the rest of the house. I always leave tvs on in a room for everybody so they hear talking and stuff. That's why I know Cassy likes that I take her walking now. We put her out in the backyard for 5 minute intervals and she runs around, we're just scared she'll get out. In the history of everywhere we've lived, she's gotten out.. but now we live near the interstate and directly in front of a HUGE cotton field.. so I'm afraid if she gets out here, we'd never see her again. She's very well trained too, our only problems with her, is her excitement level when people visit. She can't contain herself, even if I make her sit down, her whole body is wiggling with anticipation. She's 2 years old, so hopefully that'll change in a year or so!

[mdrai 3]

Hi everyone!~~

I wrote a nice, long, chatty post last night that went "whoomp" into the cyberozone... very frustrating!

Today is the day that our guests from Germany arrive! In fact, they'll be here w/in the hour!! Everything is done -- AMAZING! 3 rooms painted, moved, re-decorated; carpets cleaned; house powerwashed; pictures hung (finally after 9 years!!)... we should've invited them YEARS ago! LOL!

I also have cooked all the meals for the 8 of us for the week & frozen them, so dinner prep will be minimal & I can try to enjoy myself while I'm tending to 7 other folks! + I did all the grocery shopping yesterday for b'fast, lunch & Snacks (BIG BILL!) so we can take it all & not waste precious relaxation time grocery shopping once there.

+ I set up & prepped & previewed the Book Fair @ the ES last week & got my sub chairpersons all "trained".

No wonder I'm tired!! (Was up 'til 1:30am last night putting out all the Halloween decorations, tidying up, etc...)

We will be leaving tomorrow morning for Deep Creek Lake in Western MD. We'll be back home Fri, and then our guests fly back to Germany on Saturday. I am soooo looking forward to relaxing at the Lake... reading, knitting, sitting by the fire & in the hot tub... aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh! These last 3 weeks have been VERY stressful & I thought I'd never get it all done... but here we are, and it's done! Amazing!

The Lake cabin is supposed to have Internet service, so I'll try to check in. In the meantime, everyone have a great week, make good choices, and remember: Patience & Trust. That's my mantra this month as I'm STILL going up & down on the same 3-4 lbs... I've barely been eating these past few days & I was *sure* I would see a new number today... but no... SAME! I missed last month's fill, and now am paying for it! I go for my next one on Halloween!

Ok, gotta go, dh, ds, & guests should be here any time. + my mom is coming w/us, too! A full house!

Make it a great week, everyone!

[Kat817 19]

Good Morning~

Getting going slowly this morning. I wimped out and sent Kinsey to church with my folks. I know we should have went and taken her, but I could not get moving. I am so tired! In 2 weeks I think we will go to the next town over and go to church there. The pastor is much more jovial, and makes us feel welcome anytime we go. I was sitting the fence with our new minister until my Dad had his surgery, and she come to the hospital finally....only after Mom called her 3 times. She made the comment she would be in Albq. seeing her parents, and going camping with them, and that she would try to get to the hospital. She come finally, and found out they had postponed Dads surgery, then acted like it inconvenienced her! If she did not have time to come, be honest, tell my parents. I hate when someone does something and then tries to make you feel crappy for them having to do it. So she stayed a few minutes, not even long enough to sit down. Offered to say a prayer with us. Mom invited a man we had been visiting with to join us, he was all alone, and scared for his wife---she never aknowledged that he was with us, or ask who he was with or said a word to him. And when she left the hospital, that was that. She took 2 calls on her cell while she was there, but she never used it to call and check on him, or anything. She had no idea how he was until he showed up at church the next week.

Now if my Dad never did anything for her I might be able to see it. But he works hard for the church. He and my brother do all the lawn maintenance, and building maintenance. My brother uses it as his tithing---not my Dad. He also works at the parsonage steadily....doing general home maintenance. He is a 74 year old man!!! The church has younger members, but they don't DO anything. He teaches a Sunday School class, and holds small group classes at his house that he teaches. This pastor is someone he is in touch with on almost a daily basis. Yet when he was having something this serious done, she couldn't be bothered with him. Made me feel like we intruded on her. I have not been back to the church since. Today is a pastor appreciation dinner---I just could not bring myself to go. I feel guilty, SHE is not the church. And I know I would have felt better for going---but let my bad feelings overpower me. I think us going to Bloomfield to the church over there will be best. It is sad to me.

We are definitely into Fall here, leaves are gold and red, and absolutely beautiful!!!! The mornings are crisp and chilly, we usually build a small fire. By afternoon it is warming some, and pleasant. Talked to my SIL in Denver this morning and she is dealing with freezing rain---so I will take the falling leaves!!!!

Will be back in awhile, have to go make my Beans to take to dinner.< /strong>

Thanks for listening to me vent.....again!

Kat

[kity 2]

Hey Violets~

Thanks for the props on my scale number. I am sooo freaked out about that number, sooooo, in true fashion to what would Judy do...I am putting the scale away until next Sat. I am only gonna weigh once a week (like Judy). Doing it daily is too stressful, and I would hate to see 254 again. Soooo, the long week begins. But I am better enough to go back to Jazzercise class!!! I've missed it.

Laura~ Love the pix of the babies. I love cats and dogs...Susanne is allergic to cats, so we can't have one. I used to have one in college, Gypsy...she was my baby!

Kat~ High five on the Bill Clinton dream. My hot sex dreams w/ him were so hot...I can remember them vividly!

Michelle~ Have fun! Do you speak German? Susanne lived in Germany the first 20 years of her life. She is fluent in German and uses it everyday w/ her mom. Enjoy your week!

TracyK~ Keeping your family in my prayers. I know this is tough for you. Thanks for my boobies!!!!

Terry~ Thanks for the Soup ideas (Kat and Laura too). It is just too hot here for soup yet, gonna be 90 today. I love the idea of riding your bike around the neighborhood and doing garage sales. Now that is my idea of fun!!! Please keep me posted on the Body Bugg. I am really on the fence about buying one. Is it convienent to wear w/ work clothes? I want to know everything about it. If no one else is interested in the info, I'll pm you my email!

Gotta run and do some work for Walden! I just drove home this morning, and need a short nap too! I made turkey spaghetti sauce (no pasta) for lunch this week. The whole house smells good!

xoxoxox

[Teachlady 3]

Lemme get this straight, Michelle... You did ALL that work for 2 nights??? YIKES!! But I totally understand. When we had guests from Germany we redid the guest bedroom and had it looking nicer than our own bedroom!!! But all the cooking and planning you did. WOW.. you deserve a relaxing week at the lake. Sounds like paradise. Enjoy yourself and your company!!

Kat.. Shame, shame, SHAME on that minister for acting that way. I don't blame you at all for not going to the dinner. But I also know that someone should be told what is happening. That is just not right. The minister that was hired after Bob left the church here tries my patience a LOT. Bob retired from that church 4 years ago and then took a little church under his wing 40 miles from here. I went there with him for awhile, but then the church here wanted me to come back to direct the choir and I agreed because I do love the people so much. We spent 19 years ministering to them. But the new guy just doesn't have it. In his pastor's report for last month he told how many home visits he made. 1!!! 1 home visit in 30 days???? I couldn't believe it. AND we have a sister church in Germany and the relationship had dwindled away after Bob retired. A group of us are trying to get the relationship back on track and we were told by the minister that he "couldn't lead this project because he just has too many other projects to do". ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!! It's his JOB to oversee ALL the projects. Oh well.. nothing I can do by myself cause it will just sound like I'm tattling. There are times I wish Bob had never retired from there, but we both knew it was time. Just sorry they didn't take more time making their choice for the new person.

There.. I've vented too. And on Sunday too... I'll probably get struck by lightning this afternoon while we're working on the boat. :faint:

That's where we're headed now. Everyone have a great day. It's a beautiful one here. Bright sunshine, 57 degrees and lots and lots of color on the trees.

Patience, Trust and WWJD!!