Fabulous Freedom February

[paulywogg]

Morning friends,who's LBH? I miss a lot of people who used to be here Lav,I agree that pharmaceutical companies shouldn't advertise anything, I remember in the 90's the Zoloft ad with the sad little ball and after he took Zoloft he was happy,guess what I thought I wanted?also in the end it says stuff like"tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney disease before taking" uh shouldn't my doctor already know if I have a disease before prescribing? Stupid!Star,I think that's a great idea,I do the same but donate to the women and children's shelter,they've left an abusive situation with probably just the shirt on their back so I like to give my cute clothes to them,I tried some oatstraw again yesterday and everytime I've taken it,it makes me sick,but it is supposed to have all sorts of benefits,not for this chick I'm chucking it,hello to Cyn and Dill,let's make it a great Thursday

[paulywogg]

X-Post Cyn, still no card hopefully it ends up back here like the one did last year

[dill]

Hello Friends, really late check in for me. I got off to a running start today and didn't have my usual morning time with the computer. I had a great day tho.

Pauly, I remembered that you asked a couple of days ago about my ex-DIL and I'm sorry I forgot to respond. She is still hard to read for me. She says all the right things to me when ever we talk, but I never see any real signs that there is any truth to her words. I just hope for her sake that she is telling the truth and is in treatment and moving forward.

Have a peaceful night, all.

[SnoopyC]

Good morning all...

Having a hard time waking up today, need more coffee. Ha! It is cold and snowy, busy at work so my day will fly by.

Lav, any plans this weekend?

Dill glad you had a good day. Sounds like you are reading your DIL correctly, so sad. She doesn't realize everyone has had to move on, without her. She is being left farther and farther behind.

Cyn, I found a good recipe to make but not from weight watchers. I couldn't find it but will look later today and post it. It does include a steak and bacon though, so I don't think it is for you. I decided I am going to cook at home too. My husband has the worst cold every and we don't need to wait in line and all that stuff. So, tomorrow I will find something and share with you.

Pauly, unbelievable about the card. Geez. I read on another thread you are giving up all artificial sweeteners and wonder how much better you are feeling? It is so scary what is pushed on us nutritionally. We really have to research and decide ourselves what it good for us, we can't trust the establishment. It is all guided by money and profit. Doing anything nice for Valentine's Day?

Off for another cup of coffee. Have a good one.

[dill]

Hello All,

Yesterday at this time I was in the middle of making 3 casseroles and a batch of brownies to take over to my son's house. After fixing all those and doing a few other things around the house, I met my girlfriends for lunch. From there I drove to my son's. Mr. D decided to come along this time so I had company on the drive which was nice. We had a good visit with our son and went to a specialty electronics store that my hb needed to go to for some parts for one of his projects. Busy day.

For Lent I think I will focus on the positive by trying to be more patient with Mr. D. Recently I have found myself being very short with him so that will be my effort at self-improvement. Also, I will spend at least 20 minutes a day in meditation.

Pauly, LBH was one of our regular posters years ago. She was a very unique person with a quirky sense of humor and was a good writer. I too still miss her but it's nice to know she is healthy and enjoying life. Thanks for the update, Lav.

Star, are you doing anything special for Valentine's day. I don't have any special plans. It falls on the weekend so my granddaughter will be here. Maybe we'll bake together. Will you be seeing your grandson anytime soon?

Cyn, that was really interesting about your friends glaucoma improvement! I hope the trend continues. I'm glad the meditation practice is making you feel better too.

Lav, how awful about that shooting! I know it's a local story, but I would have thought that a story like that would have been on national news. If it was, I didn't see it.

Nothing on the horizon for today except maybe a walk. Have a great AF Friday everyone!

[Lavande]

Good morning friends, happy Friday to all!

It's sunny & 7 degrees here - COLD!!!
It's supposed to get even colder over the course of the weekend too.

My plans for the weekend mainly involve getting my granddaughter here on Sunday so she can stay overnight & spend Monday with me. I guess I will be in the kitchen figuring out what to feed everyone as usual. I spent some time yesterday baking heart shaped cut out cookies for the kids. I bought cute little Valentine's boxes (look like Chinese takeout boxes). I think they will be happy with their cookie & Hershey Kisses treat boxes :heart:

Star, I hope your day goes quickly. Be safe on the roads.

Dill, are you getting this artic air too? Incredibly cold!!!

Cyn, I hope you are staying warm too during this cold streak

Pauly, I have never been able to use artificial sweeteners, they always gave me headaches. When they came out with NutraSweet I figured I would try it in diet Coke. It didn't bother me so I drank diet Coke until I had my accident/head injury 15 years ago. Long story but I was unable swallow anything carbonated afterwards. So I have had to stick with unsweetened iced tea or water ever since. I make a lot of herbal flavored teas at home & use a lot of lemons, ha ha!! All of the recent research shows that artificial sweeteners contribute to leaky gut syndrome. Now that's another reason for me to stay away from them.

OK, I need to go check on my chickens & make sure they didn't freeze together overnight or anything.
Have a great AF day everyone!

Lav

[treegirl]

Hi all - busy day here. I just sat down for my second cup of tea of the day...

Pauly - Good for you for ditching the artificial sweeteners! No good! As Lav said, there's a connection to Leaky Gut, and also they are really bad for the brain. So sorry about the card... hope it shows up soon.

Lav - so sorry about the cold - how did your chickens do? I can't imagine having anything in a non-heated area with this cold. Although, after 25 years in the upper midwest, to me a couple of days below zero doesn't seem like it's too horrible. I guess it's the wind chills that are going to be deadly this time.

Dill - wow, you are super-grandma! What a lovely thing to do for your son and gkids. Sounds like a ton of work. I hope that you had some time to yourself today. What a nice Lenten thought to take up for the next weeks... I'm sure that meditation will help as well. I feel as if I am becoming less 'reactive' - I used to have quite the trigger-hair reactions (even when I mostly kept them to myself!) Good luck.

Star - sorry HB has a bad cold - take all of your stuff so you stay well! Thanks for thinking about the recipe. When I hadn't heard back from SD about what she wanted, I just googled some sites that have recipes and the 'point' system included. I found a 'skinny chicken enchiladas' recipe - only 3 points, and the chicken is done in the slow cooker, so hopefully I won't have to do to much cooking. I did find the WW brownie recipe, so I'll probably make those too, since it's Valentine's Day. We always try to make it a festive time for SD, as she doesn't have anyone in her life right now.

PS Lav - thanks so much for turning me on to Pinterest! It was so easy to send the recipe to SD - I pinned it, then emailed it to her. She replied right away. And what cute boxes you fixed for the kiddies - they will be so excited.

Well, all the planning, plus grocery shopping, taking wood and kindling over to my dear neighbor, feeding my dogs their 4th meal of the day and feeding the birds (before it gets too cold) took up all of my day, aaargh. (though I meditate early early first thing so that I get it in). So now it's time to clean off the dining room table (taxes spread all over it) and get ready for Mr Tree's arrival back home. Shoot, I was on a roll with the taxes -- hope I get some more done over the weekend.

Wishing all a great AF Friday night - take care, stay well and stay warm!

[SnoopyC]

Good morning all...

Wow, everyone is so productive, that is great!

Cyn, here is a great recipe I may make for Valentine's Day, I am ditching the steak and bacon idea. I feel better when I eat light. She posts lots of great recipes, and she is a super good cook. Enjoy. How nice of you to make Valentine's Day Special for SD. Very sweet. I keep telling myself, cause it is true, I have a strong immune system, regarding everyone's colds, viruses, etc. Also, lots of hand washing and water drinking.
Healthy and Easy Chicken Marsala...A One Pot Meal - Girl and the Kitchen I know this calls for wine but I always buy cooking wine, and use the entire little bottle, it cooks away and is not something to drink, at least for me. I don't know if that is acceptable to you but it is a delicious recipe.

Dill, wow, busy lady! No special plans for Valentine's Day, although my husband sent me flowers, which I love, especially at this time of year, when it is freezing and gloomy. We may drive over to see grandson tomorrow after we go piano shopping. My daughter does not seem to mind having us over to dinner so it is fine with me. Both he and my husband have had colds, so we have to see how everyone is feeling.

Lav, hope you are staying warm, it is no easy task in this below freezing weather. February is almost half over, thank goodness.

Pauly, working today? Anything special planned for the weekend?

I am going to exercise, plan meals, shop, then come home and clean. My house is not that dirty, so it is not a big deal. We keep it picked up so a little dusting, vacuuming, and kitchen and bathroom clean up and I am done for the week. I like having a smaller house, it makes it much easier. Have a good one.

[Lavande]

Good morning friends, happy Saturday!

Still freezing but sunny
The chickens were fine yesterday, haven't been out to them yet this morning. They really handle this extreme cold weather quite well but I still worry a little.

Star, your chicken dish looks good. I can't use cooking wine because of the salt content though & I won't buy a bottle of wine. I just searched & found this:
Non-Alcoholic Marsala Substitute

Although most of the alcohol is evaporated during the cooking process, some people prefer to cook without using Marsala due to its alcohol content. According to the Reluctant Gourmet, you can use this non-alcoholic substitute:
•1/4 cup of white grape juice
•1 tablespoon vanilla extract
•2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
I just may give this a try I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Cyn, I really need to finish gathering my tax stuff too. I am a total procrastinator, ha ha! Maybe I will give myself a kick in the pants & get it done today......maybe. I hope you have a good weekend & stay warm!

Dill, it's great to cook for the kids & grandkids as long as we have some extra time. I am always cooking extra to send home with my daughter, she's been so busy with school. I had to smile when you mentioned wanting to be extra patient with Mr D.
I have been having nightmares about YB's upcoming retirement this spring. He has been moping around & basically getting on my nerves lately. I still feel the need to protect my mood & personal space so I really hope he's pulls himself out of his self-imposed funk. I will treat him with respect, I always have but he needs to do the work on his moods & thinking. I can't let him throw me down the well again.

Pauly, how's life in your 70 degree weather??
You asked about LBH. LadyBirdHeart was one of our regular posters here years ago. She's a wonderful, kind hearted soul. I keep in touch with her on Facebook.

OK, time to go check on my birds!
Have a great AF day everyone!

Lav

[paulywogg]

Hello friends, I swore I posted yesterday, read back and realized I hadn't,what a lazy bum! This chicken Marsala recipe sounds amazing, I looove mushrooms and was actually gonna Google a non-wine version but forgot,thanks for the post Star I'm like Lav though and will not buy al,actually when we did our beer batter fry on new years I used sprite,to me its just a mind thing plus I gave the al industry too much of my money over the years I'm not giving them anymore haha,I've read Ladybirds posts before,that goes way back,Dill,I do hope ex DIL is getting treatment but like you said who knows for sure, I was reading around the boards and in a thread a group was saying they"hope" they'll be AF in a month or two and I thought what's hope?we have to "do" not "hope" I hoped for too many years Cyn,I don't even want to think about taxes right now,grrrrr,speaking of Kell got her refund back and treated us both to new pairs of scissors for work excited to try them today,Louie kept saying that they were going later to what sounded like"diareah" I was like?? I guess he was saying"pizzeria" Hahahaha! Ugh gotta dry my hair,hope we all have a super Saturday

[Lizann]

Just reading around the boards this morning and this recipe I will definitely try! Thanks

[dill]

I agree Lizann, that recipe looks YUMMY! Thanks Star!

Yes Lav, I am in the arctic freeze zone and not liking it one bit! I was getting really spoiled by our mild winter. But, from what I can tell, our temps will moderate this coming week and we are even supposed to maybe get up to the 50's on Friday! Fingers crossed!

Star, I have always thought that alcohol cooks off or evaporates during cooking but when I was looking up alternatives I found info that says differently. Here's the link: Alcohol Doesn't Really "Cook Out" of Food in Most Cases Of course if you have no problems eating foods cooked with alcohol, that's great! IMO it isway different than pouring a glass of wine while cooking, which inevitably leads to drinking a whole bottle or two.:egad:

This link gave similar info but also gave suggested substitutes for various types of alcohol in recipes if one doesn't want to take the risk of using alcohol: Alcohol in Cooking - Food Reference Kitchen Tips The suggested substitute for marsala was orange, peach or pear juice. Interesting.

Pauly, looks like sprite was a good alternative for your beer battered fry. Ginger ale was the suggestion on that foodreference website.

Cyn, shoot! Did you have to remind me of taxes! LOL! So sweet of you and Mr. Tree doing something festive for SD. How old is SD? I hope she finds someone to share her life with.

Off to pick up granddaughter. Have a great af Saturday everyone.

[treegirl]

Hi all -

Star - thanks for the recipe, looks great! Thanks everyone for the substitution ideas as well, and the sites. Always wonderful to have these tools at the ready.

Dill - have fun with gdaughter -- I hope you don't get worn out!

Lav - oh no, nightmares!! I think you should suggest that he builds a 'tiny house' on the property and he can live there and visit you when he can be nice. Otherwise you're going to have to smudge that house everyday! I'm glad that you have your emotional safety at the top of your 'protect this' list.

Pauly - how sweet of Kell to get you both new scissors! I hope you had a good time using them today.

Lizann - nice to see you here - welcome!

Well, I did the morning cooking, got the dogs covered, then made minestrone for lunch. Got the skinny chicken enchiladas started in the slow cooker. Off now to make WW brownies for our V's Day dinner. (BTW, SD is 45! It's complicated, but no, she's not in a relationship... we don't see her as often now as we used to, and we're trying to support her weight-loss efforts, so it's all good for us to have a festive meal together.)

Hope everyone has a great AF evening, and stays warm!

[dill]

Arctic Air Greetings from frigid southern Ohio! I thought I'd pop on here before the little one wakes up.

Cyn, I think it is fantastic that SD is going to WW. I hope she keeps it going and starts to feel better. It's great of you and Mr. T to plan a menu that celebrates her positive food choices. Mr. D is trying to change his diet too. We never did sign on to the WW, but he is trying to cut back on fats and acid producing foods. He want to get off the acid blocking medication he has been on for years. He has been experiencing a rebound effect tho and it has been rough going so far.

Pauly, I agree with you about "hoping to be af". That won't work. I used to listen to a radio shrink named Dr. Laura. She frequently declared, "Wishing, hoping, wanting; none of it has power." Doing has power. But we all were stuck in the hoping stage for a long time, at least I know I was.

Uh oh, I hear the patter of little feet!
Star, Lav, Lizann, have a great AF Sunday.

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Lav, thanks for the alcohol substitutes, I did not know they existed and will definitely use them. I did not end of making that recipe, instead made seafood and this great asparagus recipe: You searched for asparagus - Girl and the Kitchen
It was delicious. YB retiring sounds like a bad idea, for him and you. Yikes, what can you do? Encourage him to keep working? My husband would not know what to do with himself too, his work is his identity, like many men. Good you are considering this now to get a plan.

Dill, thanks too for the substitute ideas, I will try them. Hope you and granddaughter had fun! I am sick of this cold too. I was happy to hear that the forecast predicts a warm up. Yay!!!

Pauly, good idea about the sprite, I have never heard of this before. How sweet of your daughter to think of you.

Cyn, sounds like you cooked up a storm. I did too and it was fun. Today, Healthy Italian Wedding Soup, I bet it will really hit the spot today. I think that Valentine's Day makes people without a partner conscious of it, and I was a little worried about my son, but he is a big boy and there is nothing I can do. This is funny, I bought my husband a Valentine's Day Balloon and my kitty chewed the attached string, where it floated to the ceiling! Geeze, I have to keep my flowers at work, now the balloon too.

Hope you all have a great Sunday, peaceful and warm.