Okay, I'll answer my own QOW question:

A.) DOING:
1: Moving into my new house.
2: Spending evenings making places in MY OWN yard into garden spots. The whole thing is dirt right now.
3: Going to Alaska on vacation. I need a break.

B.) SEEING:
1: My dad, when I go to AK in August. Since he had the heart attack in April, I am afraid I am going to miss my last visit with him.
2:My old flight instructor (I'm going to call him up and take him out to breakfast around Father's Day.)
3: My dear old gal pal from England, who's coming to the rock this month to camp for 3 days.

I. CAN'T. WAIT. for these 6 things.

Hi all! did anyone say rabbit?

I had a wonderful time on my Nashville trip - but of course I found that I missed my daughter a lot while I was gone.

I really want to go back with DD next time. Weather was beautiful, seeing old friends after 15 years apart - priceless.

Now I want to do more Facebook reunion trips. Good excuse to see the southeast, and see friends, too!

We realized - as 20-somethings, we really did tend to go with our impulse. Now, we overthink and overplan.

So she and I both resolved to go with our impulse more often, just like we did in planning this last minute trip!

Good afternoon.

If it's Monday, it must be Weight Watchers for me - another 3.6 pounds lost, total is now 36.4 pounds since January 5. It was a fun meeting - we are a comfortable group, and lots of laughter - if you can imagine at a WW meeting?!!

Some of us were talking about the boredom of coming up with new recipes - gosh knows I'm tired of pork and chicken. I might make a ground turkey meatloaf tonight, just to be different, but not sure how to go about it. Doesn't sound that great, does it?

Someone said they made a cake with 10 ounces of diet cola and a Pillsbury low-sugar devils food cake mix, and that it was very tasty. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it?

RE: Question of the Week - I know all I can think about is our upcoming trip to Chicago. Neither my husband nor I have ever been, so we're really looking forward to it. Sharing it with our best friends (the ones we do everything with) will make it even better, especially since they've been several times. Other things I want to do is continue to lose weight and eat healthier (boring, I know, but it's taken a long time to get to this "place," and I want to make it to the finish line (goal weight.)

As far as who I want to see - anybody and everybody! We love entertaining, and I'm trying to get my former neighbor and friend (pre-Katrina) to come and visit us before the summer's out, with her husband, of course. Their oldest son is getting married next month in Connecticut, so they are busy with that. I can't see my mother enough - she's 84, and every time we get together it's very special.

Hope everyone is back to feeling better and planning on a great week.

Rabbit! Rabbit! to everyone!

Sorry for being an MIA last week, but I was busy getting my part ready for the fundraiser at our community center. That meant hanging flyers all over town, collecting items and fixing 2 baskets from Red Hat for the silent auction, painting 12 birdhouses, and selling raffle tickets everywhere. I was officially through as of 5 o'clock Saturday afternoon!!!

Today is day one for me to get serious about losing the weight I put back on after Hurricane Ike last September. My niece's wedding is on July 11th, and I want to look at least as good as I did the last time my family up in north Texas saw me. My friend and I had fairly healthy salads today at Johnny Carino's. She ate all the bread and I enjoyed watching her. LOL

A.) What THREE things are you most looking forward to doing or seeing this summer?
1. Attending my youngest niece's wedding in July
2. Seeing so many family members while at the wedding
3. Spending more time with my DGDs now that school will be out

B.) Who are the THREE people you are most looking forward to seeing this summer?
1. My niece, the bride, in her wedding gown
2. My sons and their wives and DGDs
3. Again my close friends here
(Notice that I can't just list 3 people!)

Tonight's dinner is baked beef ribs which are slow-cooking in the oven right now. I lovingly rubbed them with this awesome rib rub that NHSuzanne included in my birthday box last year, and the aroma is heavenly! We'll have some kind of veggies to go with them.

I have a lot of eating challenges just this week, and I know it will be hard to resist the temptations at the Red Hat meeting at the Chinese buffet. That's a toughy. Friday night is Peso's and cards with our friends. I can barely resist the chips and green sauce, but I made it through last weekend ignoring them. That green sauce is just so delicious though.

TreKaren, glad you had so much fun on your weekend!

BJ, congrats on getting things in such great shape for your next move! Give that baby a big hug from one of his aunties!

Time for a quick nap before hubby gets home. I hope that lots of peeps come to read and post here this week!

Jan, you were posting when I was posting, so I missed you.

I make my cakes basically that way, but I use a 12 oz. can of diet drink. Works great!

Congrats on your awesome weight loss. You're my hero.

Dee - Happy June. How is the pain in your jaw area?

I don't remember if I posted or not last week but I feel like I have been MIA. We had the preview of the Adirondack Chair fundraiser last Saturday and had about 250 people come through which was a very good turnout. We also put the chairs on a float in the Memorial Day Parade, they looked wonderful and we received so many good comments.

I am so behind at work again and I don't see any relief in sight. DD#2 is coming home this weekend and I have a baby shower on Sunday - which reminds me I need to get to the store.

3 things to do this summer:
1 - paint more
2 - work less
3 - lose weight

3 people to see this summer:
1 - my sister
2 - my sister
3 - my 3 brothers

Gotta run have 2 meetings tonight and one tomorrow morning.

milkdud, thanks!

I understand completely about "hurricane weight gain!" I carried around Katrina's "side effects" for almost 4 years!

I can't wait to try the cake/cola recipe. Just snarfed down a Fiber One bar. Someone said today that Fiber One has pancakes now that are pretty good.

Now to find a turkey meatloaf recipe....

WODKA! You sounds so upbeat! WHEN IS YOUR TRIP? I used to make that cake with diet 7-up. It was yummy! And CONGRATS!!!!!!!! on the weight loss----WOWIE! I am starting my weight loss journey today, and I am so far behind everyone...I feel weird about that, but ya gotta start soetime and I can't letthis go on any longer.

TreKaren: Your trip sounds like SO much fun. What a dream come true!

Dee: I hope you have NO PAIN and NO GAIN--sorry, couldn't resist!

Milkdud, I love weddings and getting to see so many people. I haven't been to one in ages---are more people just living together ---or what?

RAEANNE: NO, YOU DID NOT POST LAST WEEK. >> That sound of spanking ought to bring John out, huh? lol. Gawd, I love that CHAIR-ity ida of yours! I want to join a group just to use it!!! Love your list. I am seeing my 3 sisters when I go to Alaska this August--I can't remember when the last time I saw them was.

I am on day one of eating what DD tells me to eat. She met me at the store on my lunch break to shop for healthy foods for the week. She is my hero right now. Our pantry will be so much healthier this summer because of her.

Okay, I'd better get back to work before my boss kicks me o-u-t!

Gotta love how the edit feature here deleted my s.p.anx sounds. Sheesh! Now I'll never see John.

WW Turkey meatloaf

Mexican Meatloaf (Freezer-friendly)

Source: Weight Wetchers
Core Recipe
Servings : 8
Preparation Time : 15 min
Cooking Time : 65 min
Level of Difficulty : Easy

1 sprays cooking spray
1 1/2 pound uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)or ground turkey
1 cup rolled oats
1 medium onion(s), finely chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 oz canned green chili peppers, mild, diced
1 large egg(s)
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
8 oz canned tomato sauce, divided

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.
Combine all ingredients, except half of tomato sauce, together in a large mixing bowl; set remaining tomato sauce aside. Spoon meatloaf mixture into prepared pan and smooth top.
Bake for 60 minutes; spoon remaining sauce over meatloaf and cook 5 minutes more. Slice into eight pieces

I knew I had one more meatloaf recipe, and here it is.

Easy Meatloaf (WW/Core)

1 1/2 pound uncooked ground turkey breast
3/4 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup ketchup
1 egg
1 Tbsp soy sauce (I used ½ soy ½ Worcestershire)
2 clove garlic clove(s)
1/2 tsp table salt (don't need the salt at all)
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup onion(s) (can use 2 Tbsp of onion onion spice instead)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients in large bowl; mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape meatloaf mixture into 10x6-inch loaf on rack of broiler pan.
2. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until meatloaf is to medium doneness (160°F for beef, 170°F for turkey), until not pink in center and juices show no pink color. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

milkdud, thanks for the meat loaf recipes - I will save them to use next time. I ended up finding one on WW website before checking back here - 6 points for two slices. The red sauce on top - it was tasty, and I fixed some baby limas as a side. My husband eats whatever I cook, but he tends to bolt when I mention "ground turkey." But he ate it and liked it, so it might be a keeper.

wild chicken, thanks for the supportive words. I really do feel good, physically and emotionally. Chicago trip is just a few weeks away! Good luck with your healthy eating!

Good morning!
Well I completely bombed at the community garage sale. I had crafts, baby quilts and other things hand crafted - no one wanted any of them. Everyone wanted things for under $1.00...right idea, wrong venue for me. I also volunteered to organize a Christmas 'CRAFT' sale for the community center - which my stuff should sell. I plan to advertise on local rags, kijijji, and bigger and more sale posters in the neighborhood. Stuff has to be lower priced for our neighborhood - blue collar, young families. Middle class, many working on contracts.

Anyhow, I've maintained my weight for the last 2 weeks. No complaints since my eating has been on a 'holiday'. Time for reboot.

Have a wonderful week,
Peggy

Peggy,
Try ebaying them! I know you wanted to benefit the community sale, maybe you still can!

Peggy~Have you tried etsy? My DD's friend sells there and she says it's a very nice community. I'd love to see your baby quilts, so if you have photos online somewhere, please post a link! CONGRATS on the maintenance!

I am on my 2nd day of healthy eating. Yesterday was pretty easy. It's so HOT in our office that all I do is drink coffee, tea, and flavored water. When I got home, I made choc-chip cookies with icing and ate about 1 tsp of icing---that did it for me. I hope I have this much will power until, at least, August. I'd love to look thinner and have more energy when I visit my family in AK.

Has anyone here tried peddle kayaking? They just started renting peddle kayaks in the bay (across the street) and it looks pretty fun and relatively safe.

Hey all you MIAs, check in. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

OUCH, my butt hurts.....OK, OK, OK, BJ I'll post more often.

Had a DDS appointment yesterday morning; she saw nothing. This morning I ran over to the endodontist, and he did 1/2 of a weird procedure around a post from a root canal. He is going to have to remove the post to finish part 2 of this procedure. It's frustrating, but fixable. No sign of the infection and I have no pain, so this gal is grateful.

My eating is horrendous. Need to get on board soon; however, we leave for South Carolina on Friday for a week with my sis and DBIL. That should be interesting. They are light eaters during the day, but they indulge in food and a bit of rum @ dinner! This is an opportunity for me to relax and get more exercise, so I could use it to my advantage.

LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING:

1) finishing our pond in our yard; complete with fish (thx to DH---who is going to feed them or they are on their own!) LOL!
2) going on a 3-night girls outing in Wildwood
3) going on a 10-day cruise with just DH--alone for the first time! (We've been on 24 cruises together, but always with other couples and/or kids)

LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING:
1) my sis and DBIL for a week
2) my cousin's daughter's @ her wedding
3) my mom's side of the family @ a reunion mid-June

TAKE CARE, EAT HEALTHFULLY, AND NEVER NEVER GIVE UP!
DeeMarie

Dee~ Where are you headed in S. Carolina? I have some once-removed kin in Mt. Pleasant... and a cousin in Greenville; I haven't seen her in a few years. Time flies.

A fish pond---how cool! I was going to say that if you feed the fish at *night* they'll stay alive longer. If you feed them during the day, they start associating a shadow over their pond with food, come out, and get eaten by the hunting birds, etc.

Well, I have been on my college DD's whip-me-into-shape food plan. Good so far---2 days down. No exercise yet. I'm waiting to move into the new place in 2 weeks when I will be living in the flatlands. Right now, in my rental, I'm on a SERIOUS hill and once I walk down, there's no getting back up again!

Okay, it's HOT here. We've EVEN got the lights off in the office to keep it cool! I feel like a mushroom, lighted by a computer screen!

Enjoy the day!

********************************************************
And check in if you're reading....LURKERS!

Jen823, Patti, Besh, Marci, John, NHSuzanne, Helen, Jan, AMY!, Gretchen (woman!),Sonu (wishbone), Happyto, ZIG-(Nancy), Maddie...who'd I miss?

I started back to the gym last night! Did sculpting class. Hope to make it to cycling today.

I find that when I'm going to the gym, I make better eating choices, the day after. It's like I don't want to undo any of my hard work!

Good rainy Wednesday afternoon!

We're getting a big bad storm right now. Figures! I have a dentist appointment in an hour, and I'll probably be sloshing through a puddly parking lot to get to the office.

I had the Chinese buffet yesterday for our Red Hat meeting/luncheon, and I paid for it for 24 hours afterwards. I could barely remove my rings when I got home yesterday, and no amount of water reduced the fatty fingers that I don't normally have. I was only up 1/2 pound today at my TOPS meeting, so I guess I'm glad about that. I've decided to return to my successful WW/Core eating plan, as of tonight. It wasn't broken, but I felt a need to fix it last fall, and I haven't done all that well lately. I know that there's officially no more Core plan, but I have all the literature from last year and tons of recipes that worked well for hubby and me, so that's what I'll be doing at home.

Peggy, start getting ready for the next sale. Maybe this just wasn't the right time and place for your crafts.

Dee, how neat that you're doing a pond.

TreKaren, I love the euphoria I experience after a good workout, and I notice that I eat better for the rest of the day, too.

I hope BJ's call to our MIA's works. We're getting down to a skeleton crew lately. I miss reading what everyone's doing.

Happy Wednesday to everyone!

Is it Wednesday already! This week is flying by.

Good results at WW yesterday. Down 2.6 lbs. I've been running 30 minutes every morning, and it's really helping. I do love running this time of the year. Once it turns hot and humid, I hibernate, and it will be back on the treadmill.

A.) What THREE things are you most looking forward to doing or seeing this summer?
1. Lake vacation when grandchildren are here.
2. Trip to Door County with a girl friend
3. Finally finishing the living room (stripping, refinishing, and repainting)

B.) Who are the THREE people you are most looking forward to seeing this summer?
1. Grandchildren
2. Grandchildren
3. Grandchildren

We currently have our big, old house up for sale, and hoping to build a smaller retirement home. My DH has decided he wants an open house in July, and I have SOOO much to do before that can happen! Sometimes he just "doesn't get it"!!

We have attended 4 graduation parties so far this year. 2 more to go next weekend.

Our village's summer celebration is coming up in two weeks, so lots of preparation for that. In a small community, everyone gets involved. I've spent more of my life in larger cities, and it is fun in a small place to be a part of everything that goes on.

Spending the day tomorrow with a girl friend. Shopping, errands,and of course out to eat. We both love this Thai restaurant, so I'm hoping she's OK with that. If I can have my favorite Pad Thai, I'll save up for days for it. I'm drooling already.

I've made a Dr. appt for the end of the month to have my cholesterol checked again. I'm sure hoping it has come back down to normal levels.

I think I'm blabbing -- !! Happy Days to all.

Joyce

Made it to cycling class today, yippeee!

My first time back since buying the gel seat, and it really helped!

I'm woefully out of shape, and was the fattest person in the room. I had a lot of trouble seeing myself in the mirror. But it is motivating, let me tell you!

Had a subway and a skinny cow for dinner, and am hydrating well. Ate pretty much on program all day, too, despite having a lot of work stress.

Hi,

Been MIA for a while, LOTS going on, haven't posted, haven't lurked and have to catch up.

Looks like some new peeps? Welcome!

Will be back in a day or 2 or 3.

Donna

Good morning...

Dee and milkdud, I've been to the dentist, too. Had to get a temporary crown on my back tooth. Filling and tooth chipped off while on vacation in Destin (while enjoying a shrimp quesadilla and glass of wine!) The sound of a drill still just sends me into orbit.....it really wasn't hurting but I had to interrupt the poor dentist several times. I know he was glad to be through with me! Even with insurance, I still had to pay almost $500. Sometimes I yearn for the good old (cheaper) days!

Joyce, congratulations on your great weight loss! You are doing so good. I'm like you - now that I'm on a healthier way of living, I almost look forward to going for my physicals/checkups!

trekaren, aren't Skinny Cow's delicious? As much as I love chocolate, I'm not crazy about the chocolate ones, but the vanilla and green/mint? ones are so good.

I haven't walked today, because of the dentist appointment, and it looks like thunderstorms are on the way. My exercise might have to consist of housework!

Enjoy your day!

Good Thursday afternoon from sunny SE Texas! We're ONLY getting up to 86 F. today, so that's a cool day here.

I've been to the chiropractor and to Curves to work out. Also bought some all-occasion greeting cards as I'm the new chaplain for our district and that's part of my job.

I'm enjoying a leisurely lunch, then I'll go help set up for the book sale this weekend at our library. One big perk of being a Friend of the library is getting to shop early! I'll work a 2-hour shift tomorrow afternoon, too. It's fun getting to see so many new faces in town. I still enjoy seeing so many people that I now know, but it's always fun to meet new people.

Dinner tonight will be leftover pulled pork, kidney beans with BBQ seasoning, and a big salad. Last night's unstuffed cabbage rolls was yummy, so I'll be repeating this one often. Hubby called it a keeper, so that's great!

Jan, I had chills the whole time yesterday because: 1. I wore shorts, 2. the scraping noise as she removed plaque, and, 3. hearing the drill going in the other room. UGH!

Wishing everyone a great day!

Happy THURSDAY!

Don't think I'll be around too much over the next week or so, but you will all be in my thoughts. We leave tomorrow evening for Myrtle Beach.

Hope you all enjoy the weekend!
Take care,
Dee

Dee--When you're in Myrtle Beach, I hope we're in your EATING THOUGHTS---lol. Remember, you have to answer to us upon your return!

I am almost through my 5th day of CONTROLLED EATING!!!! Hey, ya gotta start somewhere and I am doing well so far. The weather is HOT --for HERE, milkdud--lol--we're in the upper 70's and lower 80's. That helps me drink more and eat less. I'll have my FIRST weigh in on Monday, so I'll be here for that.

Wodka, I am on the same page with you and the dentist's drill. When I was a youngster, my dad and mom took me to an old military dentist friend and his novocaine was WAY out of date and didn't work. I never recovered from those experiences and every dental visit is MAJOR trauma for me, emotionally---besides pinching me in the pocket book!

DonnaSNJ! YAY! Good to hear from you! Stay in Touch!!!!! Whatcha been doin'?

TreKaren---You've got more guts than me. I went to ONE cycling class and quit---about 2 years ago. It KILLED ME! I do ride my "outside" bike in the summer though. I have padded seat bike pants AND a gel seat---hey! Even though I have extra *fat* padding on my fanny, I still need the other padding; I don't know why!

Joyce---You don't want to see your grandchildren, I gather! haha. I can TOTALLY relate to getting your house ready for an open house--it took me SO long--but I finally found I couldn't be a perfectionist about it. Just so the surface stuff and CLEAR it out into the garage or a storage bin as much as you can---then breathe, relax, and get ready!

REANNE, NHSuzanne,Marci, and Besh---Get in here---NOW. You guys are MIA too often lately. We're SISTAHS, remember. Ohana now. No one gets left behind...

What ever happened to PJ from CA? I wonder what she's up to???? Anybody remember her? Tikanas was her online name. I so enjoyed hearing about her busy and active life...

Okay, enjoy!

Oh, BTW, DH fired me yesterday at about 9:30am--WOW! I am back at work now, but I have to tell you, working FOR your spouse is a sticky wicket--in more ways than one. (I've only been fired once before, when my ex was having an affair with my boss and she wanted me out of the picture. They served me divorce papers on my birthday...but that was another lifetime ago...)

BJ - you could write a book! Glad DH came back to his senses LOL. You probably didn't realize it at the time but your ex gave you the best birthday gift he could have. Yes, I miss Tikanis too. When my house was for sale and got a call for an appt at a bad time. I would run around the hosue with a box and put all my clutter in it.

So our Dee is off exploring other parts of the world - what else is new? LOL

Suzanne - the crows were going wild at 5:30 this morning I had to get up and look out and sure enough there was a red fox grooming himself in my yard. He then curled up in a ball and took a nap right next the bird feeder. I had to finally chase him away because I didn't want to serve him breakfast on a platter.

Jan - I had horrible childhood dentist experiences. I always remind my dentist that he has to be extra gentle with me and he is but I still get myself worked up about going. Do you have an agenda for Chicago or just playing it by ear. I have to tell you that you should definitely take a boat ride architecture tour - very interesting. If you like art the Museum of Art is great.

Joyce - 6 graduations - that is a lot of celebrating.

Milkdud - Chinese is one of my many weaknesses and I also suffer from it too.

Leaving to pick up DD#2 at the train in a little while. Have a wonderful weekend.

Trekaren - you have inspired me I think I am going to start spinning. There is a gym that offers the class without joining the gym. I will get a gel seat first.

Peg - that is too bad about the craft items. I thought you had good prices. I bet Christmas time will show much better results.

I was in Myrtle Beach a year ago this week, the week we lost our dear friend. In honor of Gregg, my daughter and I did parasailing on that trip! (a story for another day, whe you guys want a chuckle -- but we DID IT!)

Now, upon the one year anniversary, I still fall back on the song, "I Hope you Dance" daily to survive without our dear friend - When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance!

So the spinning - I am such a dork! The instructor is helping me. And it is a killer. I'm doing modifieds throughout. But this last time, I had the seat, so my butt was happier, so I did up the resistance lever a bit, and did try and come out of the seat more, even though my knees and thighs were screaming.

Tonight, another first - I did the Latin Impact class at my LA Fitness. It just about KILLED ME! I'm so out of shape. By the 30 minute mark I was ready to throw in the towel. And yet again, I'm the fattest girl in the room!

But I keep telling myself that just like my WW meetings, every skinny chick in there started out like me.

I felt like I was in an episode of Dancing with the Stars, LOL but I did good, I think!

You guys should go for it, whatever "it" is!

I HOPE YOU DANCE!!!!

Good Sunday afternoon! It's a beautifully warm (90F.), sunny day here in SE Texas.

Dee, hope you're enjoying yourselves at Myrtle Beach.

BJ, good for you for sticking to your WOE for at least 5 whole days now!

Yikes, Raeanne! A red fox in your own yard? That would freak me out (and Lucky, too!)!

TreKaren, way to go on continuing your spin class. I'm so impressed with all that you're doing to help yourself lose weight.

Our library's book sale was a great success, thanks in small part to my own family. We all spent a small fortune at it. I had 3 days to shop, and DH and Dson and his family only had one, but we dropped a lot of bucks there and got wonderful books in exchange.

We had lunch yesterday at Chuy's, a unique Mexican restaurant, that my son and his family love. I had a grilled chicken salad. Last night, hubby and I met our friends at Peso's for dinner where I once again had a grilled chicken salad. *sigh* Then we played Canasta at Susanne's house. FUN!

Today, we had lunch with a new couple from church - seafood this time! We're seriously talking with them about joining them on a cruise in the very late summer or early fall. They've been on 25 cruises, so they know what they're doing, and we don't. (That about ties Dee in number of cruises possibly! LOL)

I'm taking a much-deserved nap in a few minutes. I stayed busy every day last week, so I'm going to take advantage of some down time today. Wishing everyone a peaceful day.