'Cafe Eclectic - Monday, March 13th

[diane]

Welcome to Cafe Eclectic! The Cafe is a place to come and share good times and bad times. We are a group of women and have been together since 2002. The Cafe is open to everybody. Newcomers are always welcome - just jump in and post. Some people are regulars and visit daily, some pop in now and then, some stay to chat, some just listen. All are welcome. Post a personal message if you can. If you can't, that's okay too. You will find lots of support and encouragement here, and hopefully you will enjoy this thread as much as the rest of us.

(Optional, but encouraged)

Goal for today:
Activity for today:
Yesterday's achievement/struggle:
Yesterday's menu:
Yesterday's exercise:

Quote of the Day:  "Whatever course you have chosen for yourself, it will not be a chore but an adventure if you bring to it a sense of the glory of striving, if your sights are set far above the merely secure and mediocre."  David Sarnoff

[kem1956]

Challenge March 1 - June 21

Karen 195.8 goal 180 (one pound per week) this challenge is 16 weeks.
Lauren 158.4 goal 154
Sue 193 goal 179
Janet 164.8 goal 157
Barb - 201.6 goal 193 rather modest as well knowing my body's love of staying where it is.
Annie - 230.6 - 219 picked that because I just really want to get out of the 220's where I tend to camp out
Frieda 204 goal in 16 weeks: 192

Week 1 - March 6

Karen 192.4 down 3.4 (keeping my Monday WI day since I will be out of town this Friday and another Friday. I really thought about changing to Friday to join the majority of you but Monday just works better for me.
Barb - 200.8 - down 0.8. I'll try for the Monday WI, but you know me and my schedules. At least it will be sometime during the week.
Peggy down 3 lbs - I really feel this is water wt...I've been retaining fluids...we'll see if it stays gone next week!
Janet 163 down 1.8
Annie 232.8 up 2.2
Lauren 158.4 same
Sue 190.8 down 2.2
Frieda -201.3 down 2.7

Week2 March 13

Karen 191.2 down 1.2

[kem1956]

Good Morning Friends,

I have a busy day and am already out of time to chat. I was at 190.4 yesterday morning but keeping it honest and putting what the scale said for today down. I know I will see 190 again probably tomorrow. LOL

I will try to get back with my menu later if time allows.

I am off to count then I have to clean good today. My TLC teaching group is meeting here tomorrow at 4:00 I am only providing the house others will bring refreshments. I am subbing tomorrow so have to have everything ready today for that meeting. We have farm bureau directors meeting tonight.
I am off to exercise after I count and Doug wants to visit a couple of his widows this afternoon. So super busy today. He is going to help me with the cleaning chores which will not take long because the house is in good shape thank goodness.

have a Blessed day.
Karen

[marwood8]

Good Morning Cafe Friends,

It has been a crazy busy morning already. Just as we were leaving the house for our morning dog walk, the plumber who is here to fix the gas stove connection pulled up. Not the friendliest human being who said he doesn't start work until 8am and it was only 7:40. DH walked with us for a bit and then turned back to the house. Jessie was very unhappy about this and when we completed one loop, pulled to go home. I gave in so my step count will suffer accordingly. Plus rain is supposed to start later this afternoon into the night so long walks may not happen. Speaking of step count, I had 21K on Saturday and 22K yesterday! Good weekend walking wise. We took Jess to the county park yesterday and we did two loops. Exactly 3 miles. With our morning walk, I had over 5 miles by 1 PM.

The rest of the day flew by. I know it's only an hour that we lost but the day seemed so much shorter. Dinner was Olive Garden where I chose comfort food of lasagna. Oh well, wipe the slate clean and start again. One good thing, DH and I have had at least one salad every day of this craziness. I am weird that way. I do not like to eat salad if I prepare it. But give me an already prepared salad or a restaurant salad and I love it. I've always been this way.

We FaceTimed with Mike, Beth, Miles and Devin in the afternoon. OMG, Devin got so big! Miles was talking so much, his speech is perfect! He was busy using new markers at the kitchen counter on a white board. Jessie gets nuts when she hears his voice and I turn the iPad on her so Miles can see the dog. Hopefully when they are here in April the little boy/dog relationship will be better. They are expecting MAJOR snow tonight into tomorrow and maybe even Weds. Mike is counting on school being cancelled!!!

Not sure what today will bring. DH has a re-ceheck on his dental implant so he will be out of the house which means I am here. Jessie went to Doggie Day Camp today so she's not around to play with. I should reorganize my bathroom cabinets. We had work done on those sinks a month ago and everything is in baskets but not organized. Sounds like a good project. They are currently taking up the tile in the laundry room and under the fridge and the noise is bad! Tomorrow will be worse as they demolish the tile in the front of the house where our bedroom and office are. Week 2 and although I know the end is in sight, it's enough.

Have a great day everyone.

Lauren

[mcmoff]

Good morning all - recap first

Today's goal - stay on track with the lower carbs, and get a walk in.
Today's activity - walk(s)
Yesterday's s/a - was in a funk, over that car deal falling through.  But I did stay on track with the lower carbs, just didn't exercise any.
Yesterday's activity - Nada!
Yesterday's menu
B - egg & vegi scramble w/cheese
L - salad w/marinated mozzarella balls, prosciutto, tomato, red onion, spinach & balsamic dressing
D -one filet tilapia, breaded with a almond flour & parm cheese mixture and then pan-fried in olive oil & butter.  Roasted Brussels sprouts w/red pepper, dash of salt & olive oil drizzle.
S - 2 popsicles, 1/3 of  a serving of cranberry soda mixed with sparkling water.
Total - 1238 calories, 66 g carbs, 61 g fat, 99g protein.

I hate the first few work days after this spring time change - it totally sucks!  OK - that is out of my system - I'm sure I'll complain with my co-workers at work though!  Greg is taking me to work today - I'll let my co-worker deal with her time change issues on her own this morning!  And it will get Greg up early today!  (evil laugh occurring softly).

I'm in a funk - gosh, I wish that car deal worked out.  Greg found another - up in Vacaville, one town closer than Fairfield, but still 2 hours away.  What is with all the Mustangs being sold in the Central Valley?  I really don't want to drive up there again - he said I didn't have to!  Not sure if he plans on getting a ride there and doing the deal himself or what.  I did give him permission to do so - we will see.  And this 2nd one was a few thousand more than the one we looked at - out of his "budget".  Honestly I'm surprised that he showed it to me.  But it would be like my birthday with a new car sitting in front of my house when I get home from work one day - just like those commercials during the Christmas season - he'll need a big red bow!

Food wise, I have lots of choices in my fridge and pantry to eat low carb.  The Spiralizer got here yesterday - we'll have pasta sauce tonight, and I will use it to make curly zucchini noodles!   I also need to slow roast the salmon I bought for salads, and I have the ingredients to make egg cups for breakfast.   I pulled that fish for dinner out of the freezer - and found that recipe that was pretty low carb.   I have a bag of almond flour I can use in sub of regular flour for some things. 

I gained 1.2 pounds with Saturday's high carb fest - that is a bit worrisome in that I'll really be stuck eating low carb long term.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  It may be healthier, but life is life.  Hopefully getting back on the low carb train, I'll lose the weight, and I hope it becomes a way of eating I enjoy.  I'm not convinced I can do this long term, but I'll play the game for now.  But I really don't want to yo-yo back up to the low 200's which is my MO.  Guess I'll worry about that if & when I get to goal!

I'm late, have to run - have a great day all - remember to eat with HOPE and Dignity and be sure to MOVE!

Sue

[Grammaof4]

We awoke to a couple of inches of snow today. But the roads are fine. Just stuck to the trees and grassy areas. I kind of wish the kids did not have school today so they could play in it a bit. For me, I am not at all sad that we've had no snow this year. I don't enjoy having to drive in it and always worry about how to get ours and mom's snow removal done without ending up at the chiropractor's office!

I am in such a funk (I'll use Sue's words there. It fits perfectly.) No clue what's wrong with me but I can't get my head in the game with this weight loss. The scale is higher than it was at the start of the challenge. I'm crabby and everything annoys me. I just need to snap out of it!

Saturday we took mom to the 70th birthday party for my aunt. It was so nice seeing her side of the family. Cousins I hadn't seen in forever. Just really nice.

Yesterday I spent the day in the kitchen making mom's birthday dinner. I had a lot of roast beef left from Doc's funeral so I pulled some of that out to go with the parmesean chicken I made. So that part was easy. I bought 2 heads of cabbage and hand grated those to make cole slaw. That's an hour of my life I'll never get back! My brother's girlfriend does not eat mashed potatoes (a texture thing) so I made scalloped potatoes and those were a big hit. I just bought a DQ ice cream cake and cut up some fresh strawberries to go on top for those who wanted that. There were 15 of us for dinner. And the biggest accomplishment was that the grands actually ate what I made for supper and didn't request chicken nuggets or hot dogs or grilled cheese. Yes! I don't know if you saw the photos on FB but the one of the girls opening mom's dvd/vcr is priceless. I looked high and low for a new one for mom. Hers is broken and she has lots of VCR tapes she would like to watch. Amazon has them but they are like in the $300-$400 range plus shipping. Ebay was the same way. I called several places and since VCRS are no longer made, you just can't find them. I scored this one last week at Walmart for about $200. The last one they had in stock! More than I wanted to pay but at least I got one. So when Kate saw what it was when the package was opened, she said "Oh Granny, now we can watch our moobies!" ha! She was more excited about mom's gift than mom was, I think. ha! Our kids and grands left about 8pm and my brother and his girlfriend stay another 90 minutes or so and visited. I really like this girl. I hope this one sticks and makes him happy.

Karen: You're doing so great with this challenge! Keep on keepin on!

Sue: Yeah, my scale is up more than that. Just can't get my head in the game. Have no clue what's wrong with me!

Lauren: I hope your kiddos stay safe in that snowstorm. Wow, a foot of snow is crazy!

Peggy: How is your momma?

[peggy]

Good Morning Y’all,

Outage activities are moving along. I’m trying to get an additional test done on one of the heat exchangers that the shell was replaced on (due to shell impact on the tubing)…hoping they’ll do it on an existing work order and not make me go to scope add. The scope add folks don’t like new work added, especially this late in the outage…but…it is what it is…better to find and fix an issue now than to have to come down midcycle and do it!

Yesterday was a cold day, but once the wind quit blowing, was pleasant outside. I took a walk around my property (Frieda, I live in an old farm house, on 7.5 wild acres) and took a few pictures. My camera battery died, cutting my photo session short. The chili I made for dinner was good…spicier than I expected…you just never know how hot those jalapeno peppers will be. But wasn’t too spicy…just had to drink plenty of water! Lol Spicy for me is probably mild for most of you…I was raised on a very bland diet…salt and pepper were the only spices my mom used…lol You would think Ed was raised in Mexico for how spicy he likes his food. I’ve learned to spice things up over the years…especially my chili.

(((HUGS))) all,
Peggy ^..^

[aviemore03]

Morning, Everyone,

Today will be a challenge for me not going to work. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed getting back in the work force....just when most people think about retiring. I get it - when you've worked full time your whole life, you're probably ready. Because I was a late one into the work force because of stopping to raise kids, I crave my time out of this house and feeling productive. I was Suzy Homemaker when my kids were home but now, I really dislike being home full time, looking forward to nothing but cooking or cleaning. If I could afford it and could justify having one, I'd hire a housekeeper. Nothing in my genes screams homemaker, unfortunately. Working part-time is perfect for me.

They're getting ready to shoot a pilot for a TV series and the studio wants the C-47 as part of it so robin has to go out to the airport and meet with the production people to see if it's positioned properly. It's not certified for flying yet so these will be static shots. His normal days at CMA are Tues., Thurs., and Sat. He also has his retirees luncheon today so he'll be scarce which suits me fine. He sits at his computer most of the days when he's home. I'm so glad he has something to get him out of the house occasionally.

Recap:
Goal today: buy ingredients for the low carb English muffins/rolls and make them, have lower fat protein choice for dinner. I guess I'll be doing a bit more cooking now that I'm home. I make better choices than Robin when it comes to dinners. I swear every time the grill gets lit, he cooks some kind of sausage. These were really bad, but I ate one anyway like a dummy.
B - BPC, sirloin burger with and egg and cheese
L - can of tuna, mayo, dill relish and seasonings, 18 almonds
D - boneless pork rib, chicken sausage, no BBQ sauce, asparagus
S - Golden milk (unsweetened vanilla almond milk, turmeric paste, fresh ginger, cinnamon, stevia)
Totals: 1482 cals, 125gP, 12gC, 103gF

Off to get my coffee and maybe some breakfast. I want my English muffin so I need to buy the golden Flaxmeal to make them. Only 2 carbs per muffin. Hi and waves to all - have a great day!

[anniehewgill]

Good morning friends. It's hot here already. Heading to 91 today. I'm not ready for it to stay hot yet. We're going to have to go back to an earlier walk time if this continues. At least at the park though there is lots of shade. David and the kids went to an Irish Festival in Upland yesterday (about 15 minutes from us) and wanted to know if we wanted to go. Since it was a street fair and it was going to be 90, the idea of walking around on black top in those temps did not appeal to us. So they came by for breakfast and then back for dinner (which, of course, was pizza). It was nice to see them.

This is Michelle and Shawna's Spring break, so I'm going to try to see a lot of them this week. I'm going to be watching Shawna this afternoon while Michelle has an appointment. I'm looking forward to that. Greg just called to say that the power is off at work and he's coming home for a while. Nice to have some free time off.

Goal for today: Hit that 10,000 step goal.
Activity for today: walking
Yesterday's achievement/struggle: ??
Yesterday's menu: 1 waffle with fruit and whipped cream, 3 breakfast sausages / homemade chili cheese dog / orange / 2 skinny slices of pizza / 1/2 cup light ice cream
Yesterday's exercise: nada

Have a great day everyone.
Annie

[happysavta]

Goal for today: Go to pool
Activity for today: Walk in water
Yesterday's achievement/struggle: Put down the bag of chips
Yesterday's exercise: None
Yesterday's menu:

B: 1 hummus wrap in a low carb tortilla with lettuce and pickles, 1 orange
L: 1/2 chicken shwarma wrap
D: 1 Gardenburger veggie burger
S: 1 apple, unknown quantity from a bag of Trader Joe Black Bean Chips I happened to find at DS#1's house while I was babysitting last night.
Pudding - 2 c. milk

Very busy day today. DGS age 7 didn't have school today. His parents asked me to keep him so they could work. DGS has a name for this: "Savta Camp". (Savta means Grandma which is what all my grandchildren call me.) His Dad (DS#1) dropped off about 9 am and we all had breakfast together. Then we went out to get him a haircut which he needed badly. I always plan activities, usually more activities than we have time to do. Our fun was going to the YMCA pool with him for 2 1/2 hours! I could hardly get him to agree to leave the pool; he stalled for 30 minutes. That boy must have fish DNA in him! While he was playing, I kept moving in the water, just doing some exercises, jumping in place, walking in a circle, etc. I just kept moving. I hope I burned some calories. Then we went to a playground, where he happened to meet up with from school friends and to the library. The little bookworm brought 10 books with him in his backpack, just for today. I dropped him back home at 4:30 pm and went home. I went straight to bed, ladies, totally exhausted. I don't know why I think I have the energy to keep up with a 7 year old. I got up at 9:30 pm because I have to get a packet of forms ready for DS#4 tomorrow for an appointment at a social services agency.

It's supposed to be 90 degrees here tomorrow. Crazy weather.