Please keep us posted on the results of the blockers CeeTee! Glad to have you back here too.


I'll send you a picture of the bike Renee when I get a minute, have to run now. Send us one of yours too!

I get sick of the HB eggs too CT, usually have 1/2 cup of oatmeal for breakfast on Saturdays. Ahh the life of the retired, I envy your stay in Florida this winter. Perhaps some day......

The downsized clothes really makes all this eating right and exercising worth it does it not! I'm happy for both of you, now we have to muster the will to defeat the holiday feasts, at least to some extent.


Yea Renee....part biker, part bayrat, part farmer wannabe , depends upon the reality I want to live in at the time. What H/D does DH have? Tell me it's a Panhead, my favorite. What seems to be the problem with it? I found one while I was looking last summer but it was sold by the time I got around to buying. It was on a choppers site, I am partial to those since that is what I cut my teeth on. I have seen many ladies on bikes these days, mostly Sportsters but many on full sized bikes as well. Not to mention numerous Japanese models that can be fit to the size of the person since there are so many of them. I really should stick to the electric start now, hurt my knee when the kicker on one of mine unmeshed with the teeth just as I jumped on it. Rolled on the ground in pain for a minute or two on that one, now I can always tell when the weather is going to change.

BRat

CT , I live in the vacinity of Palm Beach. We are about 1 1/2 hours from Key Largo I would say. We stayed in Key West a couple months ago, at the Southern Most BEd and Breakfast. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! Never stayed in Key Largo but thats the !st Key we pass on our way to Key West. Im sure its just as beautiful! On our anniversary we stayed in a hotel at Islamorada in the Central Keys. I cant remember which key that was. My momnlaw goes to the fantasy fest in Key WEst just about every year. She brings back some of the wildest pictures you could imagine. I would say much wilder than Mardi Gras!

Brat, I would love to see a picture of your harley. I will post a picture of our Harley maybe tomorrow or after the holidays. Its an 83 harley, shovelhead. Its older, but looks new. Its really been taken care. His mom gave it to him when we moved here. He said the problem is in the fuel line. I also will post a picture of his moms. Ill take a picture when were there for Thanksgiving. I think she bought hers in 2001.

Sorry, 83 Sportster, shovelhead design

Sportster was my first Harley. Actually a great bike, handles well and fun to ride, I used to take mine on short trips as well. I have bought and sold several others as well. Sounds like something you could easily learn to ride!

BRat ,We will see. I think if my DH knew I was serious about learning to ride he'll teach me. I cant drive a stick shift car so would it be just as difficult? We have a nice area to ride out here. Lots of harley riders travel A1A which is along the coast. The speed limit is low, because of the tourism and the ocean being right there.

CT, You guys are coming down for a couple months? Do you have a summer house, or your staying in a hotel that long? Retirement is wonderful if you plan for it. Is this your first trip to the keys. If you make it down to Key West stay at the Southern Most Bed and Breakfast(the one closest to the 90 miles from Cuba sign) because I think theres two. It is SOOO Nice! Its rather cheap*I think* this time of year also!

rr, Last year about this time my DH and I both decided that we'd had enough of working for major corps. We had planned an early retirement...but it was still scarey giving up those pay checks. Its worked out ok for us...you really don't need to spend a lot of money unless you have some major house, health, car or debt problems. It's the property/school taxes up here that are killers! So, anyway, this past Feb & Mar was the first long vacation we've ever taken. We went to Marco Island for a month and Orlando for a month (mostly because I hate winter). I found both places on this great vacation rentals website, as I did the town house we'll be renting in Key Largo. I found one condo in Key Largo last winter but it wasn't available for the entire month. I struck up an internet correspondence with the owner and she invited us to their place...so while we were in Marco we drove over. It was kind of weird (not having ever met)...but had a really nice day together. They took us out on their boat, to lunch and they showed us their rental units. That was our only visit to the Keys. I'm psyched about seeing Key West. Probably won't stay over night, though, as its only an hour or two away from our rental.
Your Mother-in-law sounds like a hoot!!!!

BRat- I was down two pounds this morning but I'll wait to post it until I've stayed there for a few days.

I made LC pancakes (3 carbs) for breakfast this morning. They weren't half bad!! Then I went and had HB eggs for lunch! Go figure!?!

Keto makes an oldfashioned oatmeal that is a nice change of pace for only 3 g of carbs.

I'm not too concerned about overdoing it on Thursday. I love turkey and salad...so I'll stick mostly with that. Usually I put little dabs of potatoes and squash on my plate, mush it around a little and nobody ever asks any questions. My family is so used to (and probably sick of) me always being on diets that it doesn't phase anyone any more!
Wishes to you both for a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

CT, My mother in law is a hoot. She has always had a childlike quality. She is also about 5'11 and did some modeling when she was younger. Shes been racing bikes since the late 60s. She is a harley woman. She and her fiance are in several riding groups. She has a nice bike , and I will have to remember to post a picture when I get back.

I dont know if youve tried the TGI Fridays spinach and artichoke dip from the store, but it has 0 carbs. Ive been eating it like crazy with bacon for several days now. I cook my bacon in the microwave until its crisp and use it to dip. I dont know how it has 0 carbs, but it definitely says 0. Sounds like your doing well on your diet. Hope it continues through the holidays. Dont stress if you cheat. It is Thanksgiving and it only comes around once a year. Enjoy it with your family.

We have a vacation planned in Ft Lauderdale in March. We had 2nights and 3 days but they gave us an extra night to do a timeshare presentation. We have done several of these to get free tickets to disney attractions, or hotels. The nice thing is Ft Lauderdale is only 45 minutes away, and we dont have to worry about coming home, and piling the sand in the car just for an afternoon, like we usually do.. It will be so relaxing. We only ended up spending 10 dollars for the vacation. PRetty Good , huh?
Have a Great Thanksgiving CT and BRat
Renee

CT good going! I have been bouncing up and down the last couple of weeks. This morning I am a pound heavier than I was a week ago, but the beers and jug at the pickin' party last night are not exactly on the plan. The pancakes sound great, I have a bag of buckwheat flour and when I go over the edge next time I will probably go for that. It looks like not much difference in the net carbs between the LC products and good quality multi grain stuff from what I have seen of them but then I seldom eat it so the real thing can't be that bad. How much dry oatmeal for the 3 net carbs? Regular is around 9-12 for a half a cup I think.

Not old enough to retire for some time yet but I am thinking of changing from the high stress environment I am part of now to something else when I reach the age which allows my health insurance to go with me. Just a few years to go.

Renee those vacations sound great, were do you find the deals? My SO and I have been tossing Florida around for a couple of years but I am not a big beach person. I would like to do the sport fishing one day and have a small sailboat such as a cat available the rest of the time. Would not mind trying my hand at scuba diving either! Near lots of stores and shops, I like to wander, can not sit around it drives me crazy. When my kids were younger I took them to the beach by boat, they learned to swim off the sand bars of the great lakes and fish wherever there is water. One skied all winter, the other body built and I did it on a shoestring budget. We have done the condo sales in Vegas, usually get a free show and dinner or cash but you have to hold your ground or you end up with something you may not want later. I have seen couples arguing about it when the pressure is on to buy one and newly weds putting the down payments on charge cards .

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

BRat

I got off easy today...only have to make a salad to bring to Thanksgiving dinner, so I thought I'd log on for a couple of minutes.

Regarding Timeshare presentations...my in-laws got the best one ever. They were put up for 3-4 days in Ft. Lauderdale (where they listened to the presentation), received a rental car and Disney passes AND a 3 day cruise!! Pretty good, eh?

This morning I tried on some clothes that I haven't worn in a while and they were almost comfortable. I think it might take a couple more lbs. It's been such slow-going for me ... I'm really trying not to get discouraged! Personally I think that all of the yo-yo dieting throughout the years has destroyed my metabolism. Plus I'm getting to be that age... But its just a constant fight for me!

BRat-My DH is a diehard fisherman! Tackle and poles are always included with our luggage on just about all of our vacations (probably not LasVegas!)
He used to fish for salmon in the "big O" when he had his 26' Thompson, but then we got a summer place up North and he traded it in for more of a run about fishing boat. The fishing up there's not as good as it was a few years back. I remember going out and having our limit ( of small mouths) in 15 minutes! He even caught a muskie one Sept. on half a worm! Good thing we have pictures.

Well, kiddies, I'm gonna go "toss my salad" and head out. Take care...catch up with y'all later.

Stopped by for a quick note, raining cats and dogs here so incentive to do the bucket work I had planned for the day went down the tubes. Been wiring inside my barn, trying to get enough in for heat and lights prior to the cold that will be here soon.

Sounds like a great life CT! Camp up north, then head south for the winter. Hope you did better than me yesterday. I had one spoon of potatoes, one of stuffing and was good though the rest until dessert. Ouch...ate that home made pecan pie AND some pumpkin. Don't dare look at the scale today.

BRat

I was soooooooo good yesterday!!
I had a couple of shrimp (without cocktail sauce), a slice of pepperoni, and a bit of cheese as hors d'ouvres then salad, turkey, a bit of aspargus and two brussel sprouts. I did have a few glasses of Merlot, though, but no dessert. The scale stayed the same this morning...so I can't complain.

Tonight we're having a few people over for dinner. I wish it would stop raining because I want DH to cook out. I'm making a LC cheese cake with a crushed almond crust for dessert and, Renee, I bought some of that TGIFridays artichoke and spinach dip that you raved about. Except...it does have 2 carbs per 2 Tablespoons...its not 0 carbs as she initially thought. Too bad

Not much planned for the weekend, how 'bout you guys?

Back in from wiring, hands cold now and a bit hungry. Will probably go for a fish and a wine tonight, might as well really screw it up. Have been good all day, very few carbs but did have craving for some this morning. No plans except work around here this weekend, trees to cut down if the weather permits. Otherwise I will probably work on the boat, at least it is dry in there.

Nice job with the eats CT, by the way. I let it go but since I am not that far from my goal it keeps me focused on staying with the plan. The last couple of months has been slow but mostly my fault due to the occasional cheats. Still see a loss of a pound or two at the end of each one, so I can live with that.

BRat-You have done really really well (according to your posted stats). Is the entire loss since August? I just wish I could loose the way I used to. I think I'll start working on more exercise for the next few weeks...then the challenge will be the Las Vegas trip, but I'm not as worried about that since my Disney vacation eating went so well.

My dinner party went well last night. That spinach and artichoke dip was great! I put it out with crackers and celery. I dipped with the celery. And although 2 Tablespoons didn't sound like much...it was plenty for an appetizer. And the cheesecake was really good! I had some blueberries left in the freezer and used that for the topping. I found this stuff called guar gum. Its an all vegetable thickener. you only use a little bit and it does the trick in sauces and soups or anything you want thicker (like the blueberry juice). Anyway, even with a few glasses of wine and all the extras I stayed the same on the scale this morning. Ya figure its the carb blockers?

Hey what did ya think of the white surprize this morning? I bet we had a good 4 inches by the time we got up. I'm not ready for that yet!!

Probably just gonna putz around today. Take care...

Hey Renee, where are you? Did the big turkey get you?