I was up and out the door first thing in the morning, to the doctor's.  I have a mole that is changing, so he is sending me to the surgeon to have it removed.  It's not big, but he likes to be safe.  My dear friend, Ruth, in Florida has a 26 year old daughter with Stage 3 Melanoma.  I am grateful that my doctor always plays it safe with stuff like this.  

Today is my granddaughter, Isabel's 5th birthday.  I have to get her gift in the mail.  Normally, I ship toys.  But, they are going to Disney World in December, and Isabel is going to a Dinner with the Princesses, so she has been saving up her money in a box she calls her Disney box.  I am sending her a check for Disney.  

My motherly instincts went into high gear last night, and I stepped into something I shouldn't have.  My son, Chris, called me all upset.  He wanted to come down to take his father into Philadelphia for dinner to celebrate Fathers Day and Dad's birthday, which is the 25th.  His Dad sent him an e-mail stating he didn't want to go to any of the nice restaurants Chris picked out, but wanted to go to a chain restaurant instead.  Then, my ex had the nerve to say, "It's my birthday, I get to pick."  He felt horrible, and was upset because of his father's childishness.  Chris has a horribly busy schedule, since he's an executive at Nielsen Company, the people who do the TV ratings.  To get time to come down from New York ro see his parents is a huge sacrificel  He planned a nice visit with his father, and picked a really nice restaurant that is highly rated, and my ex just acted like a spoiled brat.  So, after I talked to my son, and shared an experience with my Mom, I called my ex to tell him he hurt our son with his narcisstic childishness.  Well, he flew into a rage, yelling at me about it.  He acted like a spoiled child who insisted on having things his way..  Well, a little while later, my son called me furious that I talked to his father.  I was so upset.  I acted purely on my emotions wanting to protect my kids, and I violated my son's confidence in the process.

Hi Lynn,

Funny thing, while I'm not going totally vegetarian, I am eating more fruits (love the abudance of fresh fruits (particularly berries) this time of year and veggies (using things like fennel and red peppers as dippers for healthy protein rich dip), last night it was cool enough to use my oven, so I made crustless mock pizza with spinach, cheeses and egg beaters, quick, yummy and protein packed and I am finding that the scale has finally shown some movement in the right direction.  I am also finding and am wondering if there is a correlation between the exercise and feeling full a lot quicker than I was before. . .  this journey is one in which you never stop learning new things for sure. . .

Anyway, I am at work, working til 12:30 and then going to see an AA sponsee graduate from a program she has been in, a big forward step for her, after that I will head home and if it is not raining, I will take Roxie for the rest of the walk we started this morning at 4:50, but I had to shorten due to a passing shower, so instead of an hour, we only walked 45 minutes, I need to get the rest of my cardio in today. . .  then I may be going to my AA homegroup, which due to my current schedule I have not been at in a while, after that it will be bedtime. . .

Enjoy your new computer, I can tell you from my current experience with my less than 18 month old HP, it having been serviced 2x, my next laptop will be a MAC, the price for realiability, I'm realizing, is worth it.  Between what I spent on the computer and the extended warranty for my current laptop, for a little more, I could have bought a MAC, I have just been anti anything that limits your ability to do certain things.  Anyway, good luck with the shopping!

Hoping everyone has a great day!

Laureen 

What comes to mind reading it, is how important is it?  the stuff we fret over. . . 

Hi everybody!

I am kind of charged up today = have several errands to do before work and am making 2 big purchases today. One - a refrigerator. Not one of those "thrilling" purchases but it will be SUCH an improvement I can't tell you. Our freezer is on it's last leg. Secondly - ta da - today is the day I get my new computer! So excited! I am moving over to Apple with a MacBook Pro and am excited to learn about it. I probably won't be getting much sleep for the next few weeks! The frig is a must-do purchase obviously. The computer is something I have literally been saving for for months. (Good use for the cookie jar.)

Anyway, on the WLS front, I am actually eating vegetarian this week. As I had mentioned before, I was straying off the path a little too much and in talking with a friend decided this would be a good way to "reset." I am sticking with lentils, beans, fruits and veggies, and a natural whey protein that goes into green smoothies. I also have some sweet potato if I feel hungry The trick is to have twice as many veggies as fruits in those smoothies so they aren't too sweet. I am enjoying the break from processed/artificial foods.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Another day closer to the WEEKEND!!!

4.8 years post-op and this is my food plan for today:

B:  The last of my Ricotta Apple pancakes, made with 1/4 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup of ricotta, 1 cup of grated apple, 1 scoop of protein powder, 4 eggs, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, vanilla and I also put some almonds in. . .2 slices of turkey bacon

S:  Berries (strawberries and blueberries) and laughing cow cheese (1)

L:  Crustless mock pizza, made with spinach, l/f ricotta, l/f mozzarella, parmesan cheese, tomato sauce, seasonings and eggbeaters

S:  Unsure there will be one, attending a friends graduation

D:  Last of the bbq pulled chicken and some salad

Vitamins, calcium supplements and lots of water. . .