BJean

Lucy I can tell just by reading the recipe (thanks for posting by the way) that it is great. Your recipe includes the basic barbeque sauce recipe ingredients that I use. Whenever I use it, I get rave reviews. I will print your recipe, try it out soon and give you my report. Btw, have you ever slow-cooked a roast (beef or pork) for most of a day and then shredded or chopped it and smothered it in that basic sweet/spicy barbeque sauce, heated it throughly and kept it warm in a chaffing dish and served it with soft mini buns on the side, as an appetizer? You'll make friends and influence enemies. Mark, for your purposes, use half a cow or a whole pig.

green: Not to worry - if you found a Scotch maker, I'm sure you'd only use it for medicinal purposes.

Did you all miss me? Probably didn't notice I was gone. Ahem. I went on a girls only trip to Scottsdale. Stayed at the Phoenician from Thurs until last night. Had the most incredible facial ever! The accommodations were awesome. Everyone was friendly and happy - I would be too if I worked there. It was 112 degrees one day, but not all that uncomfortable by Florida standards (the standard by which I compare all weather) or even most Texas standards. We met another group of girls who were there from Austin. My group was from Texas, North Carolina and California. Fun! We went to an Italian restuarant one night where they have a staff of hunky guys who put out a calendar. Yes, we came home with a signed calendar. But that's all, hee, hee. My purpose for bringing this up, other than just plain ole' bragging, was to say that they started serving coffee every morning at 6 AM in several locations on the beautiful grounds and the coffee was so strong I couldn't drink it without at least half milk. Today we're all having withdrawal from the stout doses of caffeine we ingested every day. Anyway, glad you brought up the ice cream maker because I'd nearly forgotten I had it. July 4th is a perfect day to put it back into service! Hope you have a great day. I came home to many of my neighbors flying their U.S. flags and draping red, white and blue bunting from the railings on their porches. Cool! I better get busy before I get drummed out of the 'hood.

Have you all been reading or hearing about all the products we're importing from China that are tainted or unhealthy in some way? Dog food was just the tip of the iceberg. I'm all for requiring foods and all products imported from other countries be labeled with the country of origin.

But let's face it, the one person I wish I never had to lay eyes on again or ever hear speak publically again, is George W. Bush.

Bubble and L8BloomR- You are obviously both much more qualified than I to discuss the immediate problems with illegal Mexican immigrants flooding our hospitals and the other problems that having so many illegals sapping our resources is causing. Of course I'm a taxpayer and an American citizen so I have a vested interested in the problem. My comments earlier were made because it seems to me that many people are condemning the illegals themselves and I just don't think that enough responsibility is being laid at the feet of the politicians who are able to do something, but don't. Can you even believe that our president could think that building a wall is the answer? As far as employers are concerned I know that bogus documentation is a problem for them, but it sure seems like if there were very stiff financial penalities for hiring illegals, it would sure help. Hit them in the pocketbook which is what benefits from them hiring illegals in the first place.

This is funny. I just posted on another thread that I have been trained to order the Starbucks way - it is sooo very irritating to be corrected when you're trying to order! I was shocked the other day when I went online and read that my tall decaf latte was over 200 calories and the slice of zuchhini loaf is 380 freaking calories!!!! I mean I can have scrambled eggs for fewer calories. No wonder I've not been losing weight well. I've been going to Starbucks about twice a week. Undermining the band. And yes, I do have a lot of trouble eating the zuchhini bread. It is a very slow process, but so tasty that I have just taken lots of time with it. I need to give it up and have more nutritious and lower calorie breakfasts. sandras96: I got a Keurig machine. I think it's a lot like a Tassimo. Using pods. It makes an amazing cup of java. So incredibly convenient too. Do you buy cappuccino pods? Dunkin Donuts ANY DAY over Krispy Kreme!!! But no more fat balls for me! I'm pretending they don't exist.

Good points being made. Except for the Bullseye Barbeque Sauce report. I don't know about that. I will have to do a taste test and report back. The "chocolate" underwear remark is pretty dang funny. But Bush, he's not funny. He's a train wreck. And he's taking our country down with him. Have you been reading about the things that his appointee to the Supreme Court (mostly Roberts, although the other one is nearly as bad) has been saying lately?

Yeah, you're right. She does talk about her surgeries and she definitely can afford to have a trainer.

Are you talking about the one that makes and dispenses soft serve ice cream? Or the one that you place the container in the freezer and then mix up your ice cream and it only takes around 30 min. to make? I've had one of those for ages - probably 10 years. Often I use it when company comes. I make some kind of fruit based sauce, or a brownie or something, then while we are eating dinner, the ice cream is making. Nothing like it! You can make the best guilt free sorbet too. I use Stevia for sweetner. Your ability to make Starbucks coffee has me intrigued. I am a freak for their grande (or tall) decaf latte. Of course you order it "their" way - "grande decaf latte" in that order. And when they're out of zuchhini loaf, I'm out of sorts! So what I need is the Barista, some training on making Starbucks coffee and the recipe for their zuchhini loaf - believe me it would save me some $$$ too!

Jay Leno. I have a good sense of humor and can laugh at just about anything, but too many of his jokes are too perverted - at least the ones having to do with children. Not funny!

Those are all very good points. I think the reason I decided that she might have had the surgery is because she's always been pretty quick to use surgery for cosmetic problems. Btw, my scars are very faint and I had my surgery in Sept. '06.

Thanks, Bubble. I really appreciate it. Remembering Lucy sure brought tears while I was typing. I'm glad I was able to get my point across to someone with such a good heart. If one has never been through it, they probably can't understand the dignity part. I know that you deal with this quite often in your life, and your patients are fortunate to have you on their team.

I have a friend with a lever/piston type machine. It is a lot of work, really, and does not produce as good a cup of Cappuccino as my little Krups. Your machine is handsome! I feel a little like that guy on the sitcom who was really into men's work tools - only about coffee machines!

At first I didn't think she was banded either. I figured she just had lots of Lypo. However if you look closely, there are some dark areas in just the right places that might be indicative of the LB. I am curious though, why do you think she did not have LB surgery? Any particular reason?

I still take HRT and haven't heard that it thickens your blood and that's why there is a danger of blood clots with estrogen. I am afraid to get off of it, although I am way past the menopause age range. I had a hysterectomy many years ago. If I thought getting off HRT would cause me to lose weight, that would certainly be incentive to try it. Both my mom and my sister died from breast cancer, however neither of them took HRT, so go figure.

green:Any domectic assistant, exotic or regular, will be greeted with open arms! Beaucoup de fun, especially for me! Thank you for the lesson in arabica quality caffe beenos. Marimaiu: I am curious to learn which of the machines would qualify for your definition of a really nice machine? One of those huge copper and brass ones that is complicated but always guarantees a quality espresso? My neighbor in Orlando was from Lebannon and she had her family send coffee from there in a lidded jar that was unlabled that she added hot Water to for an incredibly strong and addictive tiny cup of Joe. It sort of looked like large grains of instant coffee, but it was something quite different in taste and quality. Anybody know what the heck it was?

Can you begin to imagine what it would be like to have lived a beautiful dignified life, where you respected others and they respected you, but to die crippled in pain, totally dependent upon strangers? It doesn't matter if you are a highly educated professional, or a poor migrant worker. If you have conducted yourself with dignity and been a kind person and have the respect of others in your life, but are reduced to being at the mercy of others (whose beliefs you may not share) during the course of your illness and death, possibly forced to be kept alive against your wishes, with respirators, feeding tubes, dialysis, etc., with no chance of making your voice heard, how grossly unfair and undignified your death would be. The pain would not only be physical, but psychological (emotional) as well. How unfair of us to treat human beings that way. My son and DIL adopted a puppy when they were first married. An American Staffordshire Terrier, as their vet suggested they refer to her, or pit bull, as they're commonly known. They did everything that an excellent set of pet owners could possibly do to mold that puppy into a fine, upstanding, beautiful creature residing in their neighborhood. They worked with Lucy endless hours to teach her love and how to behave in every situation, and Lucy responded beautifully. She was a model citizen and beloved member of their family When Lucy was 14 people years old, she developed several conditions that caused her incredible pain. One was cancer, one was degenerative bone disease and a sort of arthritis. They administered several very potent and expensive drugs for over a year. Eventually Lucy was in so much pain, in spite of the drugs, that she had trouble getting in and out of her bed, eating her meal and just plain walking. They loved her so much, but they knew that they had to think of Lucy, not themselves. My DIL made the arrangements (my son was too emotional to attend) and took Lucy to the vet to be put out of her misery. DIL and the doctor and his assistant were there when he administered the drug that would stop Lucy's huge, wonderful heart. After the injection, the doctor and assistant left DIL with Lucy to say their goodbyes. My DIL said that she just spoke softly to Lucy and stroked her sore muscles and assured Lucy of her love and the fact that she would soon be out of her misery, and Lucy let out a long sigh and just went to sleep. We all cried sad tears but it was such an selfless and endearing thing that my DIL did for Lucy. It was beautiful. We continue to have fond memories of Lucy in life and feel good about how she died - respectfully, quietly, with dignity and with someone she loved at her side. Instead of the alternative, being kept alive with drugs way beyond when she should have been, simply out of selfishness. How can we not treat human beings with similar sensitivity and dignity?

There are places that look to me that they could be LB scars. And her diet - shakes and fish and veggies? That's exactly what I was eating for the first 4 months after the band. With approximately the same weight loss. But who would do a LB surgery on a woman with only 50 lbs. to lose? Oh yeah, a Beverly Hills surgeon of course, silly me.

TOM, don't make me come down there! Take a moment (although I know you, like I, love to get a little long-winded in your posts) to tell us that you are still around!!!!!! I miss you dreadfully. Either I had fun agreeing with you or I had fun arguing with you. Either way, you are missed!

Just finished Jeffery Deaver's "The Cold Moon." It gets 2 thumbs up.

You are right. And they will continue to govern us until we wise up and start paying attention to what they are really doing to us and stop buying into the stuff that their talking heads tell us. For intstance, this president is backed by the religious right - even to the point that they have an agenda that is systematically being met the longer the man is in office. They are extreme in their approach to many things and do not operate in the truly Christian way that most mainstream American Christians believe. But because they put the words "Christian" and "moral" and "right" in everything they do, we feel guilty if we don't support them. We need to take a hard look at what the record tells us (for instance, we have been at war, declared by the president without the using the normal governmental provisions for the declaration of war and have continued to be involved in war practically since the man took office and thousands of Americans have died, as a result; we are in debt as a nation deeper than ever; we are thinking about building an 800 mile wall between us an our southern neighbor but we are considering granting most of the millions of illegal aliens from that country amnesty, including gang members; they have fought the right for medical research to use stem cells in finding a cure for deadly illnesses; they are against any gun restrictions; they have decided that it is okay to hold people in prison, without even charging them with a crime which is against the law, if they decide those people could be connected in any way to terrorism, etc., etc., etc.) If we as individuals do not make our voices heard, and unify our votes to get rid of this kind of government, we will continue to be governed by the very rich, who are getting richer every day and not only that, we will continue to lose our precious rights that we thought were protected by our founding fathers.

Green, it's a good thing because you almost can't see out of mine lately. My housekeeper refuses to do windows. She's excellent in every other way. She does the plantation shutters but not the windows. Thank goodness for plantation shutters. I can louver them at an angle and pretend it's foggy outside. Oh Juli: Half decaf doubles over ice, eh? Never tried one of those. You have to be right about Starbucks. How else could they have hooked so many people on paying 3 bucks for a coffee?

Raven I know just what you mean. METALBAND: Your MIL sounds like a seriously messed up person about food and exercise (if she goes twice a day and thinks purging would have been okay if it han't messed up her makeup.) I've been really surprised at my MIL and her daughters - all very skinny women with naturally big boobs, and relatively tall. (It was a curse marrying into their family.) When I lost 40 lbs. within a short amount of time after being banded, they didn't even notice. No one said a thing. It was like, well since I'm still fat, they don't feel there's anything good to be said about it. OR THEY COULDN'T EVEN NOTICE 40 LBS. They don't know I was banded. No telling what they'd say to me if they did. They're not hurtful people, really, but they can't understand why I have gained so much weight since I married her son and their brother. When he and I got married, I weighed 105. I'm sure they think he's been ripped off. :tired

I'm with you all. I didn't tell many people either. But I sure don't look at it as cheating in any way. I couldn't do it on my own and needed some help and I had the guts to go and get it. So much better than the alternative of just growing fatter and sicker by the year. Best wishes to you tomorrow Cblancha!. I think you may be surprised at how quickly you recover. We'll be thinking of you. Let us know how you're doing as soon as you feel like sitting at the computer. (Most people feel like it right away.)