Nancia, you can say whatever you want. I appreciate honesty. I came to terms with this two years ago when Robert needed transportation downstate for thyroid surgery. At first, I laughed at him then I remembered I take in stray dogs and would transport anyone if asked by the right person. So I agreed, not because I have any feelings for him, but because I owe him for the 38 good years - he was a wonderful husband and father before he let his gambling get out of control - and for my five wonderful children. It's been made clear to Bob that any romantic gestures will result in his being left at the side of the road. 42 years of marriage and care taking becomes a habit. Right now with the cancer reoccurring, he needs help with decisions - I decided yesterday to have the freezing surgery. Almost non invasive and the freezing blows the cancer up - I like that picture. It's not okay for him to call me about every little thing, but that should stop soon if a certain home health care provider gets her head on straight. I've had her written up once and #2 is coming up.

Pam, I sold my houses myself so I didn't have to play the offer game. I simply told callers I wasn't selling a used car and the price was firm. You can't do that long distance. We put a for sale on the big oak tree in the front yard in Grand Blanc and some person came to the door wanting to buy the tree. :D BTW, I was positive daughter #4 was having a girl - I couldn't picture my little blondie with a boy - hah! Over nine pounds of healthy boy arrived. Then she had another, but no more. She had a heart attack at 27 weeks with the last one. Thank goodness, she is fine and so is Michael.

I'm enjoying my quiet house today though I have a lot to do get ready for my part of the open house. The first thing is to go see if the community room is clean. The girls cleaned my grill and outdoor furniture before they left yesterday. D will pick it up in the morning. Then I need to straighten my house in case any of my brothers or sisters stop in. Megan brought way too much so I had her just pack a overnight bag to go to her dad's house. He and wife will have enough to transport with three teens plus food and decorations for the party.

I have been very concerned about MJ (purplemen). The doggies and I have done our prayer list this morning, but we'll gladly add her. I'm sorry to hear her husband is ill, too.

Fresh green beans sound so good. I think I'll go to the farm market so I can make a GB salad tomorrow. The Farmer's Market had them yesterday, but the prices were terrible and mine aren't ready yet.

I'll check in later when I need a break. Meanwhile, I'm thinking good thoughts for all of you and eating clean and walking the dogs (in the rain).
Judy

Everose~I like the way the braids on the Christmas quilt turned out and I really like the spiral table runner!

Thanks Brenda! I am pretty pleased with the "Santa's Galore" (at least that's what I think I will call it). The spiral photo didn't do it justice. But I'm not happy with the binding yet. Will have to think about the next one, which I might get to start tomorrow.

Going to be part of the sewing/quilting thread tomorrow, so planning in my mind the things I want to get done.

Have a great weekend!!! Be good to You.

Out to lunch today at Mimi's - a nice restaurant in Knoxville. We had one in Colorado Springs when we lived there, but none where we now live. Have to travel to get to this one. While we were there, though, went to Joann's and got some small items to use in a swap. Dinner - when I finally do eat will be cottage cheese and jello. Didn't really pig out at lunch, just had more than I would normally eat with soup and main course. Have a few weeks to go and am trying to achieve the same loss as last month - 5#. We'll see.

BOM/Mystery Christmas in July quilt
Here is the link: http://justquiltin.wordpress.com/blo...-town-sampler/

The border looks like a town. Lots of work but I really like the quilt. 3 blocks a month so you will need to go to all the sites and print the pattern or directions.
Pam S

Pam, the quilt looks interesting. It seems a little confusing to get to the patterns and then you have to remember to go check each of the 4 blogs each month. I might print out the patterns but I doubt I would get it made before Christmas. We'll see. If I planned on it being a Christmas gift for someone I would probably get it done.
I finally got an album made with my Ireland pictures. Here's the link for the quilt album.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=83a0c91aff

For those of you who have trouble drinking enough water, maybe this idea will be helpful.

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/wp-...er-bottles.jpg

Taboo Tues. This week no fried foods.
Pam S

Hi, Pam. This one will be easy. BTW, I bought fresh green beans and lightly cooked them for a Mediterrianian type salad. It was delicious.

I've started the quilt for GD's deployment, but it's hard to find time to work on it. I still have two house guests. I made my first GFG flower by hand yesterday in a hospital waiting room. It's not too bad, but I'm thinking of switching to yo-yos.

My weight is going down slowly, not up like the last several months, so there is hope on that front.

I am losing weight and getting healthier.
Judy

now that i am back on the pain pills i realize i haven't sent any fqs for a while. guess i think better when i'm drug addled! lol. i would rotflmao, but i would never get up again! i promise to mend my evil ways soon:D as possible. hopefully i will be romping and stomping tomorrow! fingers, toes, legs, arms and eyes crossed! i am on a liquid diet today to counteract the sluggishness dilaudid causes. how wrong can i go? and the very best part, none of the beverages is fried! lol, i'm cracking myself up, guess i'd better get off the pc before i embarrass myself. have a good day/night and i will see you tomorrow!:o

hi honey, I'm home!!!

geeze, it's been awhile....anyone even remember me??? We finally got the house sold & we moved into our temp home while our forever home (please God!!) is being built. So life is finally slowing down but what a wild ride we have had!

Hi beach bound! Welcome back! There are still some of us oldtimers hanging in here. I haven't been losing weight, but the dr's scale says I'm an inch shorter. I wanted to lose inches but I meant around, not vertical! Sheesh, I could grow 18" in height and I wouldn't need to lose weight at all. My luck I'm in reverse! Glad to have you back!

Think I"ll use my neighbor's scale for the numbers it has. I weight on hers and am 8# lighter than on mine at home. I like that much better. I'll report in with my scale at the first of the month and use hers at the end of the month - sounds like a good deal to me - okay??? LOL. I need to weigh at the doctors one day, then at Betty's and at mine to see which is the number to really use. Don't know why there's such a difference in the two I've used. Had pot pies tonight with extra veggies, should be good. We'll see. Keep the faith everyone and watch those calories.

I got yours yesterday. Thanks so much.

Hope everyone is doing well. I've slacked a little with signing in. I'm staying on track, working out at least 5 mornings a week. But still hanging out at same weight I finished june with!

I bought a new scale Sunday. I've graduated to the digital world, but I'm leery of inputting the info so it can calculate my percentage of body fat. There are some things I'd rather not know. Yesterday it seemed a little off from my old one, but today they were exactly the same. I have a Dr app't Thursday so I'll weigh on the new one just before I leave the house. The old spring style one is very accurate.

Welcome back, Beachbound.

I almost ate a kettle type potato chip at dinner, which means it was fried twice, but I remembered in time. I don't even like them, but they were in front of me. I did enjoy my grilled chicken with cheese and the veggies - no bun.

Have a good evening.

Brenda, just read that you are working on doll quilts. Do you have pictures? I just started one today for a cousin. She is getting an antique cradle from her mother, so this will be for it. But my mind doesn't work on small quilts like this very well. Need inspiration.

Irish, I understand the digital unease. We step on it, it says one weight. We step off, step back on and a different weight. So which one should I believe. Now I just decided the first one is the one I write down. It should come out in the wash (I hope).

I already lost on this weeks taboo. We had pork steak in the frying pan. Also cooked zucchini. Do any of you have recipes for zucchini? Ours is growing like crazy and I don't want to make jam this time. Also don't want to make the bread/cakes, because I would eat it all.

I only get on my scale once. That's enough! You get different numbers with numerous weighings? Huh!
I made a good dinner tonight. I picked up a rotisserie chicken and then steamed some green beans, cut up cauliflower and stirred in a little ranch dressing and then sliced a peach. I realize the chicken probably has all kinds of bad stuff in it but with the slice I ate it couldn't be too many calories.
Hi Dody! Good to have you back.
My daughter had her first ultrasound yesterday. My grandchild looks like a little shrimp!

Pam H - did you go with your daughter? I never had an ultrasound with our DD. But I'll bet it was wonderful. Are they going to find out what they are having? Keep us posted.

It was a surprise for us. Had a boy's name picked out, but it took us 3 days before we came up with one for her. Today I read her facebook and found out that she had tripped over something in the apt and broke a toe. So wanted to put my arms around her. I must need a pill, I'm getting teary. Been a long, emotional day. Take care everyone - be good to you.

The new scale is consistent with more than one weighing - I've tried on the Dr's digital one to get a better number and it never works. Yesterday with it's first use, it didn't match the old scale. It's the fat percentage I don't want to see.

My visiting GD is ill. She ran a temp of 102 all night before her open house (Sunday) and had to go anyway as the guest of honor. Her stepmother thinks strep - no throat spots, just a sore throat, so i don't think so. Her father thinks flu and I think cat allergy - she has severe asthma and her Michigan family has two cats. She was fine here with the dogs and became ill there. The temp is gone, the throat is less sore, but today her hands broke out in a rash. Of course, she went to a small amusement park and drove go carts in a heat advisory. The humidity is terrible and it was in the mid 90s. As long as there's no temp and her breathing is okay, her dad and I want to just keep a watch - he did say no more outdoor activities for the rest of today. AC only. Poor guy, trying to be a mother from 8 hours away. The throat has to be better as she can eat and drink. I had given her some Chloraseptic lozenges, but I pulled those in case she's allergic to the benzacaine. Her mother who is in Albuquerque thinks sinus infection. That one is a definite no. M's hands hurt - it's a little strange.

Di, don't you hate when you find out things on Facebook that your daughter could have called and told you? I have a couple who tell me after they have surgery so I don't worry. Grrrr.

No worry about zucchini recipes here - the rabbits ate the plants to the ground just as the baby zucchinis were developing. I made a salad Sunday with green beans, raw zucchini, red pepper, Vidalia onion and celery with olive oil/basil/garlic/sugar dressing. If you left out the GBs, it would use a few Zs. I like zucchini, yellow squash and onions steamed with a little butter and Italian seasoning. That uses a lot because it cooks down so with the water content. Grate it and freeze it for muffins - they can be healthier than cake, but yummy with a few chocolate chips added. Oh, oh, this is making me hungry and I have already eaten my mini gingersnaps.

Goodnight. Back to my scrappy quilt.

No, I didn't go with her for the ultrasound. She went to Madison for the weekend to work on the packing for their move. Her appt was on monday and she drove back after that. I did not have any ultrasounds with any of my 3 so they were all a surprise. I say surprise but I had "a feeling" about each one and knew the sex. The surprise was that I was right on all 3!
A broken toe......ouch!
I'm pretty excited that it is only going to be 83 degrees tomorrow. This heat is really getting me down.

OUr favorite way to make zucchini is I use it instead of noodles in my lasagne recipe. I saute the zucchini in a little olive oil until almost cooked to get rid of some of the water in it.( I just slice it into rounds) Then I make my usual lasagne sauce recipe using fat free cottage cheese. I cook it down a little bit more than usual. Stir in the zucchini and cottage cheese. Bake about 30 minutes top with low fat mozzarella cheese and bake until melted. We like it better than regular lasagne.

Thanks for the welcomes! Only I could gain weight while moving & working my tushie off :thumbdown: but at least I did build some muscle & seem ro have a flatter tummy. All of the stress eating & eating at odd hours & places caught up with me. And just think, I get to do all the moving again in 3 months when our house is finished! JOY!!! LOL, no worries...the worst is over.

It is going to take me a while to catch up on all of the news but let me just congratulate Pam!!! A new baby to love & spoil....bliss!!!!!

Thanks, Dody. She is due Feb 23rd so we have a long way to go. I am so excited! I already bought a sleeper for it. (her?)!
We are getting some really nice rain this morning.

Here's a recipe I just saw on Pinterest for zucchini. I haven't tried it but they sound yummy.

Zucchini Cakes

July 24, 2011

I think it’s safe to say that the zucchinis have won. Dan and I are officially sick of the stuff — we’ve eaten zucchini in some form or another every single day this week. Roasted, mainly, but also sauteed, mixed in with scrambled eggs, and cut into strips for fries. These zucchini cakes were a last ditch effort to keep the fruits of last weekend’s labor from going to waste, but there’s still one gigantic squash left. Thankfully, my parents were happy to take that off our hands before it started festering in a dark corner of my fridge.Tired as I am of zucchini, these cakes were still pretty tasty. Kind of like crab cakes, only filled with zucchini instead of crab meat. I seasoned them with Adobo spices for a little zest, and that helped temper the intense zucchini flavor. If I weren’t so zucchini’d out, I would actually really be a huge fan of these — they’re tender, flavorful, and relatively healthy. Definitely a great way to allow zucchini to be the star of the dish.Zucchini Cakes (Adapted from The Life’s Ambrosia’s recipe)
Ingredients:
- 1 large zucchini, grated
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- Salt/pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp Adobo spices
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, gratedSteps:
(1) Remove excess liquid from freshly grated zucchini by placing them between paper towels and squeezing.
** There will be a LOT of excess liquid, so I suggest you squeeze over the sink.
(2) In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
(3) Heat a large pan on medium, and spray with Pam. Shape spoonfuls of the zucchini batter into 2-inch (diameter) patties, and drop onto the sizzling pan. Cook each side for about a minute and a half, or until the outside is golden brown.
(4) Finish the cakes off in the oven — stick them on a baking pan and broil them for 1-2 minutes.
** Note: I skipped this step when I made my cakes, so the sides were still kind of soft — not really a problem in terms of taste, but if you want a nice crust to form on the sides too, finishing them off in the oven should do the trick.
(5) Serve hot, alone or with ranch dressing.
** Hey! These cakes caught the attention of Glamour Magazine! And SHAPE Magazine!**

Pam H Just had an idea.......eat zucchini for next weeks tabbo...LoL LOL just kidding
Pam S

I'd be okay with zucchini or banana peppers or green beans (again) or grape tomatoes. I've got plenty of those coming from my garden. Anyone have ideas on what to do with banana peppers? They seemed like a good idea at the time!

Welcome back Beachbound. Yes moving is a pain but usually worth it in the end. My DH is talking of moving to a smaller place with more land. I don't even want to think about moving again. The last 2 times we moved he didn't help at all with the packing and unpacking except to tell me how to do it. We have a 6 bedroom house and only have 1 kid left at home. My DD is in college so I don't know if she will be back or not. Pam the zucchini cakes sound delicious. We have 5 medium sized zucchini in the refrig right now.
My DD talked me into making her a chocolate praline cake for her bday. It is my favorite. My DH saved me from eating more of it by dropping the leftovers on the floor. I did consider eating it anyway but I convinced myself that it would be wrong and quickly threw it away before I changed my mind.

Here is another zucchini recipe I found. I think I would add a few more vegies and then also some chick peas. That way it could be a whole meal.
[h=1]Clean Eating Raw Zucchini Couscous With Lime And Olives[/h]July 22, 2011 · by The Gracious Pantry ·
http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/wp-...ave_171_16.png

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Couscous is always an adventure for me. It’s so reliant on the flavors of what you add to it, that the main focus becomes all the extra ingredients. Good thing too, because they are yummy!
I should mention that this salad is incredibly light. Best served with some protein to fill you up. Eating this alone will leave you hungry again soon after. But paired with the right proteins and maybe some extra veggies, it’s the perfect complement to a summer-time meal. I mixed chickpeas in with mine and it suddenly became very filling!
The added side benefit of this dish is that you won’t overheat your kitchen on a hot summer night!
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
NOTE: Keep in mind that couscous is pasta. Not a grain. So when you shop for it, look for the whole wheat variety to keep things clean.
Clean Eating Raw Zucchini Couscous With Lime And Olives
(Makes 8 servings)Ingredients
2 cups dry, whole wheat couscous
1-1/2 lb. raw zucchini, chopped
1 (6 oz.) can black olives
2 limes, zest and juice
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. onion powder
Directions
Step 1 – Cook couscous according to package directions.
Step 2 – Chop your zucchini and olives.
Step 3 – Once the couscous is done, transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the zucchini.
Step 4 – Grate the zest into the bowl and add the spices.
Step 5 – Squeeze the juice into the bowl.
Step 6 – Mix until well combined.
Eat and Enjoy!
Nutritional Content
1 serving = approximately 1 cup
Calories: 208
Total Fat: 4 gm
Saturated Fats: 1 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 340 mg
Carbohydrates: 38 gm
Dietary fiber: 4 gm
Sugars: 2 gm
Protein: 7 gm
Estimated Glycemic Load: 24
Nutritional Information estimated at Nutritiondata.com. Data may not be accurate.

Everose that is such a hard decision to make. You have to think of what is best for you which is so hard. We have all been so programmed to think of everyone else all the time instead of yourself. We are getting close to this with my dad. He is 88 and mom is still alive and so far they are ok but not sure how much longer it will last. My dad is slipping fast. I wil pray for you. Don't let other family members influence your decision as you are the one living it 24/7. Good luck. Enjoy your break. It is a good way to test how it works out. I helped with my FIL while we made this decision and it is an exhausting job. I only had him here for a week and my SIl had him for 2 weeks while we worked on a place for him.
I am thinking about making the zucchini cakes for dinner. My DH has been asking for meatloaf for a week with baked potatoes. I promised it to him tonight. Not sure how he would react to zucchini cakes instead of baked potatoes.I have a couple of hours to think about it. Well back to work. My DS will be home from Japan next week, I haven't seen him in 1 1/2 years. I guess I better get my quilting stuff out of the guest room. The bed and floor in there have become my design wall. He will be here a month and his wife will be here a week. He wants all of his favorites while he is here. Scale watch out, it will be bad.

I sometimes put my excess zucchini in the blender and liquify it and use it instead of water in homemade bread and substitute it for some of the broth in soup. It freezes very well this way. The bread comes out a really pretty yellow color like egg bread. I figure it is another way to sneak in some vegetables.

Just kidding...... but I would have considered the 5 sec. rule..LOL LOL LOL

Pam I did consider eating it. It was the last piece. I think there are 30 WW points in a piece of the cake. Before I could change my mind I quickly threw it in the sink and ran water over it.

Proud of you for doing that!!!!!!!!!!!! But sometimes you just have to have a treat. I use to take one day a week and eat what I wanted. It was usually after weigh in... I figured.....just how much can one person eat from 6 pm until bedtime... well a lot sometimes. But then I was good to go til the next Thursday. Good Luck and have a good rest of the week.

I love zucchini pie -- it was the in thing several years ago and I just made it -- we have 2 plants and share with neighbors. If you use low fat cheese there would be very few calories and the flavors are terriffic

Mim

smart, smart girl!!!! You did give me a flashback to an old Friends where Chandler, Rachael & Joey ate the cheesecake off the floor in the hall.

Pam the faux crab cakes sounds delish....okay, I know you didn't call them that but if I think I'm eating crab...I'm happy :o

Everose, I know it was a tough decision to make but I think you made the right one. It will all work out eventually. The mistake in your baby quilt doesn't show up on my computer screen.:)
Mmmm I forgot about zucchini pie. I must make that this week. And the cakes. I haven't tried those yet.
Amber got moved today. Tomorrow I will be there all day helping unpack and getting things organized. I'm sure she will be happy to have her hubby here. My grandchild is now 2" long!
I did a mystery quilt class today. It was fun. There are hundreds of ways to arrange your blocks. I'm thinking mine will be in a chevron pattern. I do love my zig zags! I really, really, really want to work on it but we are watching a movie. A really stupid movie called Paul.