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Good Friday-eve Gang!! I made a big pot of chili last night and got my black garlic going. Can't wait to watch the Pats and Jets tonight. It should be a good game. Not much else going on today work has been slow for once.
This cold weather is doing a number on my drying out my hands even though I use gloves when outside. I've got to get some good hand lotion.
QOTD: What protein do you eat the most? While I eat a variety of proteins my main one is chicken done different ways. I find ground chicken and thighs are the easiest to eat.
B: tea and protein shake
L: chili and cheese
D: oven baked chicken thighs
Hitting the Y for water aerobics.
Have a great day everyone!!
Dr. Sanchez Lapband 9/12/2003
hw305/revision w280/cw197/gw150
Revision from Lap Band to Bypass on 2/4/2015 by Dr. Pohl
Holy Moly...that was a huge stretch of landscape work to do! It looks great and by next spring it will be very pretty.
You are so right about postop eating. So many benefits to having our nice little pouches and being able to take a long time to eat what we used to gobble.
You deserve a relaxing day, enjoy it!
Melody, I'm sorry so much is dumped on your shoulders while you are handling health challenges too. Congrats on getting a surgery date finally! Hopefully you'll recuperate quickly and get a lot of relief from it.
Glad you are getting a new sump pump. Sewer backups are the worst! Disgusting cleanup and worries over drywall damage. One of our neighbors had a tree whose roots got into our ancient sewer pipes and at least once a year we had to deal with that in our basement too. We finally just got smart and paid extra for extended rootering that went out past our sidewalk where the roots were the worst. They got rid of the tree eventually and after a few years the roots finally died but we still get rootered every year just to be safe. We can't afford new pipe or even those liners because the break is technically in the street and when you get the city involved all prices triple.
Sorry you had to cry. Whoever said crying is therapeutic was mental. It just makes you feel horrible physically and does nothing to resolve the problems that caused the crying in the first place. Hope you are feeling better by the end of the day.
Is that a pic of your dad or granddad? Handsome dude! Also the dog sculpture is beautiful and so playful.
Happy Hump Day! Hope you get to see the Northern Lights tonight. Too much light pollution to see them here. When Hubby was stationed in Alaska he saw them a lot and said they are really beautiful.
Wish your post came with Smell-O-Vision! Your garlic powder looks great. I can't dehydrate garlic because Someone here had a hissy over the smell in the garage when my dehydrator was in the freezer room off the garage and the smell travelled. I couldn't choose on the QOTD you posted earlier, food would be so bland without either one. If I had enough garden space I'd grow onions too but settle for my Music garlic which is delicious.
QOTD: Used to but after my parent's and inlaws died most of my aunts and uncles did too so there were very few left to mail.
So far, so good with this week. Shocking visit to the dentist: no cavities despite basically no tooth brushing for two months after that sinus surgery. Successful visits to thrift stores and found another pair of jeans and a few choice garments to harvest fabric. Did a bunch of bulk cutting for garment sewing and started another pile for donation. Today I have to suit up and get more ripping, trimming and raking done outside since today seems to be the last dry day then rain moves in. Only two more weeks of green bin collection, I've got to hustle.
Food: still fighting the nighttime sweets cravings. Need to make another batch of protein pumpkin pie bites or something else safe to fight that. The replacement for my Vitamix container came so breakfast is either a big frappe shake that lasts morning till dinner or the stale Click protein and fake coffee hot protein drink. Sliced off those chicken breasts I poached plus a Costco rotiss chicken picked very clean and frozen portions. 3- or 4 oz servings of that for dinner plus making myself eat a veggie. One weird dinner that was good was 3 oz chicken, 1/2 c ff cottage cheese, 1/2 c marinara and 1/2 c home canned carrots for the veg.
What I've been trying for the evening cravings is a cup of sf hot cocoa with a Pure Protein bar or sometimes a mug of ho****er with two sf chocolate candies. Costco got in a Chocxo dark chocolate low sugar type and I love that they are individually wrapped. Helps with self control.
My online tracking site (Nutritionix) has been down since the weekend but their app still works, it isn't easy to use. If they don't bring back the website I'll have to switch to something else. I never remember to use my phone so a lot of tracking isn't being done properly.
Hope the rest of your week is great and enjoy your lovely new furnace!
Aww Mel ! 
We all feel 4 U, admire ya 4 handling this and wish U and Ur family all th best .
Did U make that cool sculpture ? Like it !
Peeple ( especially old people ) get very nervous when their living cir****tances r threatened ... b proud that Ur the strong one Ur Mum ( and other family ) depend on .
After stuffing myself 
w high fat food .. I think it was the cold that made m crave it I had SO MUCH energy ...
so this morning started chainsawing n hedge trimming and clipping vines ... got 1/3 of the 200 foot streetside hedge clipped and devined on both sides .
Then fell TOTALLY asleep lol 
So today is a well deserved relax-a-cat-day .
No eating yet ( except finished the Mickey Ds ) and nibbled on fresh herbs no dressing .
Buying Chinese lunch special extra spicy very little oil - between the Wonton soup the lean beef w snap peas n pork flied rice - its plenty for three meals .
Finished Payday bar Ive been nibbling for the better part of a week - before surgery could hav eaten three !
And I savor the flavors and textures guiltlessly much more now .. who knew it was even possible ?
Trying 2 complete the phragmite ( and City ) permit from the DNC ... but jes TIRED.
Homegrown powdered garlic looks amazing .. bet it tastes awesome too !
on 11/12/25 5:18 am - Amarillo, TX
Mornin everyone.
last night, and this morning has been complete garbage. I don't want to go all into why but it involves money and my mom. If I had a peen I'd be treated with more respect. Just really disappointed.
Today we have to run and get groceries and maybe the thrift store or one of em anyway. They are coming tomorrow to install the sump pump and redo the pipes around it. I ended up crying last night...a lot and it made me...of course...feel like **** I hate crying. It sent me into a migraine level headache and my eyes are still puffy this morning...booo
QOTD: I tend to but the list gets smaller every year. I never get any other than one from a certain doctors office. Not sure I'll do em this year.
B: egg burrito and cofff
L: not sure of the rest of the day.
Happy Hump Day Menuer's!!! Halfway through another week. It's a bit warmer today than it was yesterday and no wind. I missed the Northern Lights last night, but I believe they will show up again tonight due to solar flares happening. We don't usually get to see them in CT unless there is some odd solar thing going on. Last year I saw them for the first time, and it was rather interesting to watch the sky go from the normal dusk color to bright green and pink.
I got the garlic powder done last night. I dehydrated 7 trays of homegrown garlic, food processed them and then use my coffee grinder to make the powder. This year I used 3 different types of garlic and one of them was a spicy type that really makes it strong smelling and tasting. Can't wait to use it.
QOTD: Who here sends out Holiday cards? I do every year to family and friends, but this year I think I might mix things up and send out Yuletide and Krampus cards to some people. I know they will get a kick out of them instead of getting the typical Christmas or Happy Holidays.
B: coffee and protein shake
L: 2 slices of chicken loaf
D: bowl of chili
Not sure if we are going to the Y tonight or not as Irvin has something to help his son with.
Have a great day everyone!!!
The garlic.
Dr. Sanchez Lapband 9/12/2003
hw305/revision w280/cw197/gw150
Revision from Lap Band to Bypass on 2/4/2015 by Dr. Pohl
Im so happy U successfully handled Ur basement nightmare Mel! 
Its incredibly cold here too both in the city and on the island . This morning it was snowing !! 
b- nips of beef stew meat, carrots, potatoes, lemon chicken n guacamole
l- 1/2 pint white chicken chili , a small handful Doritos
d- 1/2 Mickey D s double cheeseburger , med fries
herbal tea ff st latte
decaf coffee ff sf latte w a little booze
guilty snacks - 1/5 payday bar, maybe ten Doritos, a couple of bites of the burger, a couple of bites of cinnamon roll
exercise- drove from NYC trying to finish chainsawing overgrown small trees inback of sidewalk hedge -unfortunately couldnt find anyone to show m how to tighten chainsaw belt so it doesnt come loose and fall off 
so binge watched tv series " White Lotus" on phone instead - such entitled , profoundly booring and essentially useless peeple!l and slept in car in own driveway jes 2 stay warm !
b tomorrow will be Dunkin Donuts special- egg n bacon sammy on English muffin w hash browns n custom coffee then drive back into City 2 try to arrange higher 911 subsidy 2 help pay 4 new apartment .. schedule moving for Monday and hopefully finally visit n real estate tour potential setting for planned tv series.
And I plan 2 finish signing a retainer 4 attys to finally represent m getting a payout for 9-11. THAT too is long overdue .
May jes hav enuf savings left 2 secure building and buy camera and editing equipment ... thinking it might be a far better use of my time and energy to make this creative project happen and sell the finished product and put off fixin n sellin the Long Island house 4 another year ...
It will b probably prove a win win financially n creatively rather than throwing everything I have into a frustrating munny pit ( the house) and probably being unable to complete it with a very reluctant crew .
Without th real insurance munny a lawyer needs months and a retainer 2 sue for for I cant complete it 2 sell next spring at a high price so it might prove a better decision 2 pay the taxes n wait .
Also I need to regain titular ownership FIRST so I can really control it n sell it. 
These r luxury problems I keep reminding myself ... I mean 2 actually DO a film industry creative project ... WOW! 
Even th fact that Im seriously running th numbers - planning distribution and eventual sale .. AMAZES m and makes m profoundly happy . 
Even a handful of UA , Artists and Creatives Anonymous and BDA meetings WORK !
on 11/11/25 6:33 am - Amarillo, TX
Good mornin y'all.
yesterday was a VERY long day. I am going to have surgery on December 17th. So at least 4 more visits to Lubbock for now. I also have an appointment with the rheumatologist on January 22nd. So a good news day overall.
I am feeling very blah though. We got all the trash out of the basement this morning. I hate poop...I will yell that at the top of the mountains.
Not sure what else today'll hold.
QOTD: could never pick just one. Never!
b: breakfast burrito and coffee
l: chimichanga
d: ?????
I NEED THESE!
Good Tuesday Morning Gang!! Oh boy was it cold out this morning, but the new furnace is great. I told myself I wouldn't stay up to watch the entire football game, but I got sucked into it and now I'm paying for the price of not getting enough sleep. LOL
I have to get my butt moving and finish cleaning up the corner of the basement that I want to set up my meat "cooler" to make different dried stuff. I did get my garlic dehydrated and now just have to grind it up into powder. Now to just make some more black garlic.
QOTD: Onions or garlic which one do you like better? I love both and use them all the time in different dishes. They are either fresh, or ones I dehydrated and turned into powder.
B: coffee and protein shake
L: roast beef and cheddar on an onion bun
D: beef stew
Hitting the Y and then going to bed early.
Have a great day everyone!!!
Dr. Sanchez Lapband 9/12/2003
hw305/revision w280/cw197/gw150
Revision from Lap Band to Bypass on 2/4/2015 by Dr. Pohl
