Faith Based Support Groups - Christian Encouragers - July

You've found a great place to come and vent, share or ask for prayer support. This is a great group who will be very encouraging, caring and loving....anyone is welcome to join!

A Servent's Prayer

Jesus, My Jesus....How marveleous your ways....
Far more splendid than my mind can envision.
What an honor to be chosen by you.
A lowly child I am, but empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the great hope to which you have called me.
I give myself totally to you, Lord.
Take my imperfect heart and make it perfect.
Peel away the hardness.
Close the doors I have opened to the temptations of this world.
Gently remove the roots of painful memories, sins, doubts and fears.
Discard anything that separates me from you.
Lord, fill the emptiness with the light of your love that I might be a beacon calling the lost back to you.

To love as you love.....
To serve as you serve.....
To forgive as you forgive.....
Always mindful of my nothingness while doing great and marvelous things in your name and for your glory.
This I pray, Jesus, in YOUR name.
Amen

There you go Gary. It's done!!

It is absolutely gorgeous outside today. We in Canada are celebrating our independance today. I have celebrated by having a healthy breakfast out on my new deck watching DH work on the stairs. He's been up since 6 and kindly let me sleep in.

I am very thankful for the free country that I live in and that I can worship freely.

Enjoy your day!

Wilma, Thank for starting us off!

My parents are taking me out to lunch today, and then some shopping. This is a weekly get together. We are going to a new place which everyone remembers where it is but not what it is called. LOL! We'll see how we like it.

I'm having cateract surgery on my left {bad} eye July 6th. This isn't the first eye surgery I've every had but each time I get a sick feeling and dread it. When I wrote July 1 in my prayer journal and food log this morning it hit me that the surgery is only a few days away. {I've been in denial!} Please pray for me to be calm about the upcoming surgery. Thanks.

Wilma! God made you the brave one to start off for July.

BTW Thank you EZ for that cartoon. I've printed it out and will keep it with me! So cute!

Patchwork: I will keep you in my prayers and pray that everything will go just fine during your surgery. I know how it is the stress and anxiety of having surgery. I am 26 years old and already had 3 major surgeries in my lifetime. I've had my gallbladder removed when I was 19, knee surgery when I was 22 and I had a laprodomy for ovarian cysts removal when I was 24. Fun eh? I pray for no more! So, dont feel to blue. God almighty helped me recover and kept me health through all that, I will pray that He be with you in this time. No worries, just strength from our loving Jesus :)
Hugs for you!:hug:

~suga!:carrot:

Hello All,

Wilma great work darling starting us off for the new month JULY...

Wilma, isn't it nice to seat and enjoy the fruits of his (DH's) labor. LOL

It is a beauitful day her in Virgina and I am flying high with God in the drivers seat.

Patch,
I will certainly be praying for you, for comfort, peace of mind, and a full and speedy recovery. With God at your helm, you cannot go wrong.

Suga,
THe Lord has blessed you in your lifetime and He will continue to do so because you have Him in the right place. FIRST. You go sweetie.

Will try to check in later this evening. Blessing and much love to all,
Ags

Wilma - Happy Canada Day! Thanks for getting us going for July.

Penguin - prayers ascending for you! Stay strong! You are in God's hands!

Suga - oh, my! I'm over 50 and never had major surgury!

Ags - it's always a good day when you check in :) I love your posts!

A quick fly-by tonight. I am chairing a personnel committee meeting tonight, and it may get heated. Keep me in prayer!

Blessings to all, and prayers continuing!

Laurie :scooter:

-- HAPPY CANADA DAY --

to all our Canadian friends ...

THANKS WILMA! For getting us started this month :hug:

HAPPY CANADA DAY GALS...whatever that is :^:

WILMA ~ So the deck is done? :carrot: Now you can enjoy the summer!

PATCH ~ Prayers for your surgery. Enjoy your lunch date. I used to have a dog that looks just like yours does in the picture. I will post a picture of my 2 golden retrievers at the bottom.

SUGA ~I have had knee surgery...severed my ACL in '89 and 2 ear surgeries. Glad you liked the cartoon. No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13..You can do this :)

SCOOTER ~ I hope all ended on a :cool: cool :cool: note tonight :hug:

AGGIE ~ I am happy the weather is nice for you...last time I was in Virginia it was "buggy"...;) How is Cake Batter and the other kiddos doing?

Outta here ~ Bless you all, Gary

Hi all, hope you are having a blessed day!

Thanks for the prayers - the meeting went well, and we sowed some seeds that may grow in a positive way. We still need to nurture them along ...

Today is another vacation day to spend with my Mom :)
I do have to pick out new glasses, which is always daunting.

Actually - it is a NSV. I USED to go in and pick out a frame that helped disguise my chubby cheeks - usually the same frame style every time.

Now, I try on glasses, and I can't decide - I want all of them :o

Prayers continuing for all!

Blessings!

Laurie

Good morning all,

This is the day that the Lord hath made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Laurie,
Hope that meeting of yours went well, I know whatever and no matter how heated it may have become, you withstood the heat. Just think of how God saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and I know that firey furnace was 100 times hotter, so I know He had your back. Smiles.

Rosebud and Wilma,
Sorry I missed Canada Day, but here it is late, "HAPPY CANADA DAY". As my dad use to say, A Day Late and A Dollar Short. LOL

Gary,
I am loving your morning devotionals and great start to a great day.
Cake batter is doing great, she is down about 50 pounds and is soooo fit. She is averaging about 15 to 19 miles and week and has done two more races. She has one this 4th of July to celebrate Independence Day. Now she is in a spinning class and her first day almost, mind you I said almost, kicked her now little butt. Talk about a determined child, she is it. Trying hard to follow her lead. Oh yeah, the skitters are here and I am not liking them at all. I wonder what was God's purpose for them, He must have had a reason, maybe I will ask Him that when I see Him. LOL!!

Well I got an extra day off this week since the 4th is on a Saturday and that is one of my usual days off. So I am bright eyed an bushy tailed and get things done. Already have read the daily devotional, gotten two loads of laundry done. Now what is next. Oh yeah, can I ask for a small prayer from each of you today, just for and extra boost, today is my weigh in day and I need all the help I can get. Will let you know how it goes.........

Oakie dokie, I am off to find something else to do. Oh and so happy, my DH finally got his motorcycle fixed and is back on the road, boy is he happy, and when he is happy, I am happy. Since he is in a good mood I am going to ask for him to order my Trike early for my b'day. We shall see cause one never knows.

Later gators,
Aggie

Hot day it is ,in Texas. It rained 2 inches across the road yesterday.
I have a baby monitor connected to the barn ,for varmints have been getting in and killing my chickens . They attacked last night but got nothing that I know of. The chickens sounded off the alert sound they made and I was out the door at 3:30 this morning armed and ready to fight for my chickens lives. The varmint took off like lightening but at least I scared him off! He came back and my dog alerted me this time and he took off again!
I hope he gives up and goes somewhere else, I sure hope he doesn't bring back some reinforcements!
Patch I will be praying for you in Texas.Everyone have a great 4th of July!

Laurie,
I was typing as your post came thru. Glad that meeting went well. Enjoy your day and your mom. If you can't decide, buy em' all, that's my motto. LOL

Now this is the second time I have seen you use NSV, what does that mean. You know I ride the slow bus. Help a sista out.

Oh yeah Gary, if he says yes to the Trike, once I get it can I get my new name, Trikerbabe? LOL

Have a super blessed day!!!!
Ags

Morning all! I lost another pound! I think this is just that beginner's quick drop, because I have made changes in my eating.{not sure how many calories I've dropped but I'm losing at between 1800 and 2000 a day. I'm sure it will level out soon. sigh. I asked Hubby to keep track of his food intake yesterday and he ate over 3000! Mostly fat/carbs and a tiny slice of protein in the piechart. I think it was a wake-up call for him. Hopefully! Especially when I got onto him about potato chips {even baked ones} don't count as a vegetable!

Cardio for today, probably kickboxing!

Colormerd, NSV= non scale victory. Such as old pants fitting again! Praying for the weigh-in!

Bootsie, Thanks for the prayers! Good luck with the varmint!

CountingDown, I like how the eye doc dialates your eyes so you can't see THEN tells you to pick out frames! Good luck!:cool:

Gary, I like your warrior! Looking forward to seeing your retrievers. We call them 'golden recovery agents" someone in the paper make a list of politically correct titles as a joke and we remembered the 'recovery agents"

Thanks ALL for your PRAYERS. I'm feeling calmer today. Lets just get this over with already!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July weekend. Thank you again for all your prayers and encouragement.

Happy Thursday

~suga :)

PATCH ~ your furry baby looks a lot like our NIKO; they could almost be twins except yours looks a lot bigger. NIKO is only 19" tall at the shoulder, and he is full grown. NIKO has a bone just like that but finds it too heavy to carry around. I bought him a huge one for Christmas a while back that was 13" long, but he couldn't carry it; so DH came up with the bright idea to put it outside; and the neighbours giant puppy (a huge beige lab mix) came over and nabbed it. I saw it through our back spare bedroom window, but we decided to let him have it becuz he was sooo lonely and it keeps him from howling. DH finally went over and gave the kiddies some tips on how to train him and keep him happier; it all worked out well becuz we hardly hear him cry anymore. Golden 'recoverers' is an appropriate name; labs like to fetch things too and that is NIKO's favorite game.


HI AGGIE ~ NSV is non-scale victory; anything that shows you are still losing inches or weight that isn't related to a scale. Those pants fitting would fit the bill. I'm with ya on the skitter issue; I always say someday, I gonna ask GOD why they are here, but I suspect he will say to feed the birdies, bats, and dragonflies ... :D

BOOTSIE ~ many years ago, when we lived on a farm, we had turkeys and chickens and the foxes stole a few our our big fat laying hens; finally we had to keep them in their pen, locking them in their house each night and that stopped the problem. I even had a talk with one of those foxes one day; he was so pretty, but I told him that he had eaten enuff of my chickens and I realized that he was hungry too, but there were lots of garter snakes and moles and mice around for him to catch instead. Sometimes, we had lots of extra duck eggs so DH would put them out in the high grass far away from the hen house for the foxes to eat; I think they appreciated that too (and that's a good decoy as well).

GARY ~ Canada Day is Canada's birthday or the same as your July 4th Independance Day. Our birthday is on July 1st; and is the day we all celebrate living in this beautiful country; we had lovely fireworks here last night to celebrate too. Yes, and I think that your warrior, Angie, looks very fearsome too; or is that one of her yoga moves??? ;) :lol:

LAURIE ~ I'm with AGGIE about the glasses -- my DH rolls his eyes when he sees how many different pairs of glasses I have. He asked me why do I have so many? I told him that some are different strengths and some are for different purposes: some are for formal outings; some for home; some for reading; and some for sewing, some are for sun, and some are for fun, etc. Some people like shoes; I like lots of glasses ... :lol:

HI SUGA ~ hope things are going better for you today ...

:wave: HELLO ~ to all our CE's; hope you all are having a great week and a wonderful JULY 4th celebration this Saturday and weekend. Our birthday fell on Wednesday this year, but we celebrated just the same and all the stores and gov offices were closed for the day.

It nice and cool here tonight; a bit humid today, but it's nicer right now. Take good care ... :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

Ags - prayers ascending for your WI!

Penguin - hey, it only took until I hit 50 for me to realize that about eye doctors. Now I go in a couple days ahead of my appointment and try on frames. I don't feel as rushed and I can actually see what they look like. I picked out a very "trendy" frame (http://www.bestbuyeyeglasses.com/img/product.ashx/o?0f2a1050.jpg) that I never would have chosen before.

Congrats on the loss! AWESOME!!! Keep it up!

Suga - Happy 4th to you too! So glad to have you posting with us :D

Bootsie - using a baby monitor - what a GREAT idea! I never would have thought of that!

Rosebud - we have cooler weather here too. I'm actually hoping it warms up a bit.

Gary - awesome warrior II pose there in your avatar! I just finished my workout and feel GREAT! Yoga is awesome! So why don't we have YOU doing a pose in YOUR avatar? ;)

Hope you all have a blessed weekend and holiday! Stay safe!

Prayers continuing!

Laurie :scooter:

Here is the picture of my mutts I promised Patch and forgot to post. I am having a lot of trouble posting pictures I have posted before...don't know why...and Angie is at yoga...oh well...here is one after a grooming and one a few years back...

their names are Spoiled and Spoiled Rotten ;)....aka Reba and Rylee

Gary, I can't believe how much "Spoiled's" smile looks like Mozart's!
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6895/momo4ui9.th.jpg (http://img4.imageshack.us/my.php?image=momo4ui9.jpg) http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5516/momofa1.th.jpg (http://img4.imageshack.us/my.php?image=momofa1.jpg)

HI GALS ~ :)

Angie took off for yoga tonight...she is working the desk tonight. I think it is the last one she is doing, she did it for a while in exchange for lessons. She has been asked to teach the teachers during the school year, one night a week. She ended up co-teaching this year after she got her "credential?". She has also been asked to sub for another instructor at the studio she trained at. She is gonna be busy with that and the classes at church...which makes her very happy :)

And it frees me up to visit you gals...a win-win ;)

Yes she is my warrior!...I took the pictures a few weeks ago when she asked me to. She wanted to check out a few poses to see if she was doing them correctly. She "shrieked!" when she saw it as my new avatar :D She does check in on me from time to time to make sure I am minding my manners.

I am off tomorrow so Angie and I are going to the beach early, around 6:30 or so, doing 3 miles with the dogs, then stopping at the beach cafe for croissants. We were thinking of going later in the day and having lunch there but we expect a big crowd and a guy is coming to look at our washer later in the morning...having trouble with the turn on-off knob...I might be able fix it...but I might be able to break it beyond repair ever too ;)

Our 4th will be a bit "less" than usual....my daughter just called and has made it safe to her destination with the :p kidnapper :p...his grandparents for the long week-end. Brother and family are visiting another friend for part of the day but my son and daughter in law and sister will be here, my ex-wife for a bit, her sister and a few other folks...around 15 or so. We will have fun...we are postponing the shuffleboard tournament until the end of the month when more can make it.

SCOOTER ~ The reason I don't pose in any yoga postion that my friends here can see is because there are not enough :lol::joker::rofl::lol3: icons to sow it justice :D Love the frames! Enjoy the time with mom.

TRIKERBABE ~ I am glad you enjoy the devotionals. So happy to hear Cake is doing so good! I haven't seen her around my 5K threads ;) That trike is a given for you....you just have to use your ";)" on the 'ol man :)

PATCH ~Great job on the loss....I had trouble trying to send pictures but I was able to get those off.

ROSEBUD ~ Glad you enjoyed the fireworks, I am not sure we are having any around here with the cuts. Enjoy the cool weather. How re the legs doing?

BOOTSIE ~ Sorry to hear your chickens getting killed :( I am glad you are enjoying the devotionals too.

SUGA ~ Have a great Friday :)

ENJOY YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS THIS 4TH AND EVERYDAY!

Mozart is beautiful!

Gary & CountingDown, Thanks for posting the pics!

Gary, Tell Angie good idea about the pictures of poses, I've thought of that but don't exercise much when Hubby is around to take pics, and I don't think April would take a good picture. I'm also on an exercise forum and got the picture idea from someone there.

CD, I like the frames you picked. I wear one contact normally so my glasses get me from the bed to the sink! I have a much greater range of focus with the contact, with the glasses my feet are blurry.

2BHealthy, Niko sounds very cute! The bone is April's favorite chew toy this pic is actually a year old and she's been through a few bones since then. It nylon but she chew little pieces off until the end is pointy and we replace it.

Penguin

:wave: HI FOLKS ~ we have cooler temps with some rain right now, but that's good becuz my flower bulbs are coming up today and I know the rain is helping them. We just stayed home today; and I did laundry, dusting, tidying up, and other light housechores, while DH tackled his shed. We had fish with baby cucumber & tomato salad. I had homefries and DH had regular baked fries with his. I just cut up a small, new potato and baked it with some olive oil and seasonings.

I've been trying to get some pics up for the last 2 days; managed to get these three. I keep getting this message saying my pics are not a valid file, but they are. All my own pictures are either jpg or jpeg files which are OK. Even the ones that I have managed to get to the right size, are not accepted sometimes. No rhyme or reason as to why though. Hopefully they will get this function fixed up again soon.

I have tried going to the photo sites but can't seem to maneuver my way around them either. I have no idea how ANGIE & GARY put up those thumbnail images either ...


Here is a picture of NIKO, those yellow Irises in our front yard, and some pink geraniums I grew last year in baskets. I tried to put up many more but couldn't get them to go small enuff; OR I couldn't get the right-sized ones to upload -- only three came up so far tonight. Hope you all have a great Friday night and July 4th weekend ... :wave:


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Quick one tonight gals ~

Angie and I were off today. Took the mutts to the beach for 4 miles and breakfast this morning. Went shopping for tomorrow and a new portable awning.

Spent the day doing chores and Angie made an apple pie....strawberry lemonade and potato salad for tomorrow.

Rosebud ~ That is what I keep getting...not a valid file... Love the pics you did get up.

PENGUIN ~ My dogs love the nyla bones too!

back to the game...

Hi, Everyone! Just popping in to say Happy 4th! We just got back from our vacation to see my dad, aunt, and cousins, but have to leave tomorrow to see DH's dad, as his birthday is the 5th and it's sure to be his last, so we're going to take him to see the fireworks on the lake and have cake and ice cream. Also, have to start cleaning out his apartment and help take care of some other issues.

Hope you all have a great holiday weekend! I'll try to catch up in the next few days. God bless!

Enjoy the day dear...enjoy the day....hugs

Ronni, Alright this is weird! MY Hubby's father was born on July 5th also. We are going to his parent house for a party FIL has alway been very mad that he missed being born on the 4th by one day. Does you FIL feel the same??? Have a great holiday dispite the events.

2BHealthy, Your doggie and my doggie do look alike! Thanks for the pics.

As we come into the FREEDOM weekend, we are often reminded of those that gave their lives for our freedom in the US. There are many that I think of, especially Adrian (my nephew was KIA Iraq 2007). But the most profound One to have given His life for us worms, was Christ.

God is one of three. The Father (God), the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit (the comforter). God sent His Son to earth to be born as a human, to feel the pains, the temptations, to understand the struggles that we feel. Yes, He was God, but He still felt what you and i feel. The only way He could truly be our sacrifice was if He became like us.

See, we had messed things up so bad that God had to send us a Redeemer. The Jews had always used an animal for the sacrifice of their sins. But for us to be truly set FREE, One without spot or blemish had to be sacrificed.

Christ (which means Messiah or Anointed One) was sent to not only be our blood sacrifice to redeem us from our sins, but to set us FREE and to give us authority over ****.

Everyone that will read this, knows the story. (If you don't, please write me and i will be HAPPY to tell you all!) Jesus Christ was born as a baby, raised by human parents, learned in the temples, played with his friends, ate dinner, did chores, was human, yet was GOD.

He knew when He came into His ministry that His mission in life was to die for us. For those that loved Him and for those that HATED Him or simply refused to believe in Him. HE died for you, regardless of your love for Him. Regardless of how you have slammed Him. Regardless of the fact you don't believe in Him. He loves you. He believes in you.

Have you been rejected? Abused? Hurt? Abandoned? Shamed? Are you sick in your body?

Did you know that He took all of that on the cross so that you could be FREE from it forever?

He was rejected by those he knew...arrested.

He was abused...beaten, 39 lashes by a whip that contained bone and metal shards.

Hurt goes without saying.

He wasn't clothed on that cross. He was naked. It was cold. He had dried blood on his naked skin. He was hammered onto that cross and the people laughed at him. He was SHAMED.

His Father, the One in whom He always trusted and knew to be there. TURNED His back on Him while He took our sins and disease on that cross. Jesus was ABANDONED

I know that I have been rejected and abandoned by the ones meant to love me and protect me. I have been beaten and abused in some of the worst ways. I have felt the shame of those things. Molestation creates shame...some of the worst shame. It doesn't matter who says it wasn't your fault. It still hurts and causes you to feel less than. I've been raped. I've hurt. I've been sick, in my body and mind. I've hurt others. I've abused others. I acted on my hurt and hurt others. I was suicidal. I had virtually no hope. Drugs, sex, alcohol, outrageous lifestyle choices...yes, I was a stripper, yes I did a lot of drugs, yes i had a lot of sex, yes i hurt many that tried to love me. Why? I didn't feel loveable. I didn't love me.

I finally came to a place where I made a choice to live and not die. It was that desperate of a place. I sought God. I had played with Him so much over the years. This time, I had to TRULY seek Him. He didn't make it easy for me. But He says that when we seek Him with all of our hearts, He will be found my us. (jeremiah 29:11-14)

I was so determined. I wanted Him more than i wanted anything. because all i had left was death. nothing mattered to me anymore. i wanted to die, but that small hope was there...calling me to cling to life.

It has been five years since I finally quit playing with God and looked for Him and gave Him me. (i had quit most of that stuff before then, but was still playing with God, not going after Him with my whole heart) In these past five years, I have stumbled, fell and He picked me up. I've learned to die to my desires, die to myself, die to my worries. Anyone that knows me WELL knows that I struggle with the voices in my head often. I've gotten where I know how to shut them down with the Power and Authority Christ gave me, but sometimes...those voices are more difficult to shut up. It's like each level I go to in Him, there are new battles and new victories! :)

He took my (and your) shame, rejection, abandonment, hurt, abuse and sickness on that cross. It's not mine or yours, to carry around anymore! HE TOOK IT! It's time for you to let it go. You weren't created to carry that junk. He said "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and i will give you rest" (matthew 11:28). He wants you to give the worries and pain to Him.

Is it easy to live for him? No. But it's easier than living for yourself. He gives peace, joy, a purpose and a plan (Jeremiah 29:11 "For i know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.")

At this point in my life with Him, it is easy. Easier than it was two years ago. As with anything, you learn how to let go, you learn how to lean on Him, you seek Him in all things and rely totally on Him instead of trying to figure it out all the time. I'm analytical. I like to figure it out. I like to make it happen. That's been the hardest part for me, letting Him do it and not doing it myself.

Because of my life before Christ, i was very independent and did not trust anyone. (so, i'm still pretty private and kinda freakish about people getting in my life) But He took away my independence! He made me dependant on Him. I had a preacher give me a Word once that said "So step out on the water, go to jesus, put your trust in Him and let go of those things you call security and totally trust God to be the One who makes a way for you, you will see His Glory unfold, His Glory revealed and your prayers answered." and you know what? I have.

God supplies all my needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. He takes care of my every care.

people comment on here and in my daily life how FREE I am. It's because of Him. Because He died for me. I walk in that FREEDOM because I took Him at His word. I have died to myself. I am a corpse, the pain of this life can't hurt me now (read the note on here called I AM A CORPSE for better understanding on that). I love, I laugh, I live, not like I used to...but now i do it in His FREEDOM! I am His child and He is the King of the Universe...of EVERYTHING! You just have to have a tiny seed of faith...(mustard seed faith - Matthew 17:20). Hebrews 11 talks about all of the ones before us that walked BY FAITH.

It is by faith that I travel like i do. It is by faith that I pay my bills (thank God those are not many!), It is by faith that I know God has my future, my husband, my children. I walk by faith not by sight. I can't trust these human eyes, but I trust Him. It is by faith that I walk in His glorious FREEDOM and love!

Join me for FREEDOM? He loves you so much.

Peace!

-BBurns july 3, 2009

We love you here BEV :hug:

Good morning all,

And what a blessed day it is. Bev, you have said it all and said it all so well. We are truly free indeed. Thank you for putting it all out there.

Love you so very much.
Aggie

Gary - thanks. Mo is OLD, we most likely won't have him with us for too much longer. He is a very spoiled furbaby!

Ronni - enjoy! My SIL's birthday is the 4th. OOOH, gotta remember to call (makes note to self).

Bev - thanks for the post! Good reminder!


We had a nice "3rd" yesterday. I cleaned in the morning, worked on church stuff and then we went down for the parade. We took Mom out to our favorite coffee house for dinner and then went to the park for a concert of patriotic music. Then, out for dessert, and back to the park for the fireworks display. We got home about 11:30 (it doesn't get dark here until about 10:30 right now).

The great thing about living in a small town is that normally, DH and I would have walked to do all that. With Mom's health, we drove down to the park, but then walked the rest of the time :)

I'm off to make a HEALTHY pasta salad because I need to minimize the damage from yesterday.
http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/7520/1patroticanimatedfirewo.gif (http://img39.imageshack.us/i/1patroticanimatedfirewo.gif/)

Happy 4th everyone!

Prayers continuing for all! Have a blessed weekend!

Laurie :scooter:

Bev: Wow! That was awesome! I don't what more I can say. You really touched me. Thanks.

HAPPY JULY 4TH!!!!!!!

It is a beautiful day in central PA. My husband ran in a 5K race this morning and now were just relaxing. I should be going out and continuing to mulch, but after doing it for 3 hours yesterday my body is screaming at me. My DH has to go to work later so I may go work on it then.


Hope you all have a great day!

Kathy

Thanks for all of the positive comments! :) I just realized that I really DID put it all out there!!! lol...oh well. guess you might as well know me! :D

You guys all give me so much encouragement and love. THANK YOU!

Ya'll ROCK! :carrot:

oh! i got into my plaid size 12 shorts mom bought me last year that i couldn't wear! :) oh yeah!

Kathy - hope you got some rest today!

Bev, keep it up, we LOVE your posts here :D

Hope everyone has a blessed Sunday!

Had you all have had a wonderful day and I have also.

Laurie, I forgot to tell you, I really like the frames. Your day sounded grand. Glad your Mom could share it with you.

Kathy, Hiddo ho friend, glad to see your face. My daughter ran a 5 mile race today too, she did it in 54.55 and she was so happy. My kid really loves running these days. You take it easy on that yard work. K?

Bevie, what can I say, other than YOU ROCK!!!!! And into your size 12 shorts, girlie strutt your stuff!!!

Today has been wonderful and I am off to bedie bye, must be bright eyed and bushy tailed for Church in the morning.

Peace and blessings,
Ags

Laurie, Aggie, Gary, Wilma - ya'll inspire me. thank you! :) thank you for your words of encouragement!

all of you inspire me!

oh...and anyone wanting to read the "I am a corpse" it was in the june folder...around the 4th or 5th of the month. if you can't find it, ask me and i will send it to you.

be at peace and know that He who started a good work in you will be faithful to complete it! :)

Happy 4th!

For anyone who's interested I was able to figure out how to put up a profile picture {truth: Hubby helped a little!}, if you guys want to see the 'real' me.

I bought a food scale today to see if that would help me, I'm kind of a 'gadget' person:D. I registered for FitDay and they ask me all sorts of questions like how much food did I eat?? I can figures measurements like cups and TB spoons but grams and ozs confuse me.

I'm not sure what I'll be able to do or not do after the surgery so I'm trying to get my 'list' done this weekend. Hubby took Tues and Wed off to stay with me. Yay!

Good night all,
Penguin

Aggie - I will try to remember to post a picture once the frames arrive (couple of weeks). Hope you got a good night's rest and that church went well!

Penguin - LOVE the profile picture - your hair is so cute! I also love the quilt rail and quilt in the background! What a nice way to display your quilt!

I love my food scale. It is more accurate than measuring cups and spoons. I still weigh things like nuts and cereal (occasionally) to make sure my portions are still correct and that I'm not underestimating my calories!

We had a nice church service today - Mom sat in the booth with us (DH runs the sound system, and I did the PowerPoint for today).

I made wonderful multigrain waffles with fresh strawberries and blueberries, topped with plain homemade yogurt and a bit of Splenda. AWESOME! Sometimes the simple foods are the best :)

Hope you all have a WONDERFUL, Blessed Sunday!

Laurie :scooter:

HI GALS :)

Taking a few minutes here to catch up while I watch my ballgame. Angie went to see her mom this morning. I went to church and my ex came in and sat with me :D The church entry was lined with flags from all the states and flags from military campaigns. Inside we had several flags of the United States. Very impressive! We sang patriotic songs....so cool. Pastors sermon inter-weaved with the "what happened" to the men that signed the Declaration Of Independence and how they set us free, along with all our troops since and how Jesus sets us free. A lot to look at up on the screens.

We had a great time on the 4th. Had 17 people here, so it was a bit less than our normal crowd. Played bean bag toss and shuffleboard and watched the ball game off and on. We had traditional 4th food of hot dogs/burgers/macaroni/potato salads with watermelon/cantaloupe, plenty of chips and dips and salsas. Angie made an apple pie and crisp from apples she got off a tree that hangs into my son's yard....I didn't have any but the reviews were very impressive :) She used her agave nectar stuff instead of sugar.

My eating wasn't too bad...beer was a little extra ;)

We got 2 walks of 4 miles in over the week-end, one at the beach and one to Starbucks and bunny poo park. taking the day off exercise today, I think the dogs and I need a rest day.

SCOOTER ~Angie would love that breakfast....me...not so much...too much sweet stuff. Glad mom could pitch in with support :) Sounds like a very nice evening with the concert and activities.

PENGUIN ~ Nice to "meet" you :) Prayers for surgery.

BEV ~ My son loves plaid...Angie got tried on a pair of plaid shorts at Kohl's a few weeks back, comes out to show me and says "how do I look?"...I said "Like Ryan"...she busted up :D She did get them and looks cute in them. My son is very athletic and loves sports from reading/watching coaching and playing...still plays organized basketball...anyway, he is also a bit "prissy"...always had his shirts organized in his closet by colors...even his plaid ones...lighter to darker! He has a lot of clothes too! Which is great for me 'cause he gives me his hand me downs :) We all share things here we may not share other places :hug:

TRIKERBABE ~ I hope you had a great church service and 4th too! Wow, Cake is doing so well!! She is always off and running....cool.

KATHY ~ Great job on your husband doing the 5K. Take it easy on that yard work.

HELLO to BOOTSIE ~ WILMA ~ ROSEBUD ~ BARGOO ~ TAMMY ~ SUGA ~ RONNI ~ KAREN AND ALL!

Just a note for those that may not know ~ Our 3FC friend Karen's dad passed away yesterday. She was able to move back to MO. to spend the last month or so with him. Keep her in your prayers.

:wave: HELLO EVERYONE ~ we have had a couple of busy days. Gorgeous weather yesterday, so we spent the entire day at the lot and DH got one & half rows of crossbraces done, but he sure was tired when he was done. I got some walking in with NIKO; and spent an hour or so clipping in between all my spirea bushes, which are all blooming right now -- they are very pretty. I am so glad I got those bushes; every single one of them is doing well. One of my lilacs is growing but the other one has no leaves, so we may have lost it; sadly, we had a bit of a drought this spring, and I lost several trees too.

We finally got home at 7:30 pm and had a late but easy dinner (we just had hamburglers). Today, we woke up to sprinkles, so it was a perfect day to have a very good rest; and boy, did our muscels need it too. We all went to bed early last night and slept well too.

Just had a peaceful and very restful day at home today. Tonight, I made one of my favorites -- roasted Chicken and veggies; it was yummy. Had a bit of l/f yogurt ice cream as our dessert, but had it tonight as our snack instead, as we were so full from dinner (roasted veggies are very filling).

Glad to hear that everyone is doing so well; hope you all had a lovely Sunday. HI TO ALL OUR OTHER CE'S and MIA's out there (I know that you still lurk here); may GOD bless you and yours today ... :hug:ROSEBUD :hug:

RONNI ~ hope HAROLD has the best birthday ever ... :hug: to you and yours ...

:hug:KAREN :hug: ~ prayers going up for you and yours at this time ...

Karen - prayers ascending! Stay strong! We love you!

Gary - don't tell anyone that the rocker chick/hippie preacher has plaid fetishes! :) i LOVE plaid! these are pastel blue with purple...so cute! ruins my image totally! LOL

We had a great 4th of July. We were in a parade I decorated my husbands pickup and rode in the back and threw out candy to the kids. Took some great pictures and visited with everyone but missed a-lot of people I wanted to visit with! Then some friends called us up and asked us to come eat some fish with them . So we did , then came home and gathered the chickens up. Made david and me a diet shake and he wanted to go see if we could get a good view of the Fireworks they were putting on at Krause Springs. We went up in the hills and all around thinking the higher we got would be the best .....but no, so we came on home and the closer we got to home the better we could see them! Ha! We ended back in our field for the best view of them ever! Looked like they blowed the whole place up! It was so beautiful but what a cloud of smoke!

Hi All!

Thanks for the prayers and well-wishes.. My surgery is over and wasn't as bad as I expected it to be! They told me pre-op that the actual surgery would take about 10 min!!!!! They gave me some lovely drugs, I don't remember the surgery at all, just waking up {stoned} afterwards. I have a clear plastic patch on my left eye and can see marvelous colors but even better I can read a clock from 12 feet away just with my eye. No contact, no glasses, I've never been able to see this well! Things are blurry from the eye drops, and gunk they put in my eye and I have double vision, too. But really this is amazing! I can't wait to get the other eye done.

No bending over or straining today, maybe for longer. I get to go see the Dr tomorrow, so he can check his work!

Hubby went to buy a new sink faucet, of course, ours broke last night. Hubby fixed it so we can at least get water out of it but grrr!

Off for another nap!

Bev, I like plaid too ;)

bootsie - we live on a hill. Sometimes we can see the fireworks better from our 2nd story deck than we can at the park. I know what you mean! Glad you had a fun time!

Penguin - so glad it went well! Hope you get your faucet fixed soon!

Well, back to work today - the training went well, and the people from our district are feeling better about moving to a new student information system.

I got in shape boxing after work. Now, I'm trying to come up with something yummy for dinner. Gotta think on that a while!

Hope you all had a GREAT start to the week!

Prayers continuing for all!

Laurie :scooter:

LAURIE ~ today is what we now call MEATLESS MONDAY, and I made some MUSHROOM & ZUCCHINI CASSEROLES (we ate one tonight and put 2 in the freezer, plus we have 2 lunch dishes too). DH loved it -- I am slowly winning him over with some meatless meals. There was a time when he wouldn't have wanted a meal without meat in it. The casseroles do take a bit longer to make, but you could just have a chunky vegetable tomato sauce on a pasta of choice, with some cheese melted on top becuz that is what a casserole is essentially (I just layered it with zucchini & sliced mushrooms, but it could have all been chopped and put into the sauce too).

I also found a nice easy recipe for Florentine stuffed pasta shells -- just stuff the cooked shells with a mixture of cottage or ricotta cheese with chopped spinach, green onions, and a bit of garlic; and serve hot with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella over top. This can be baked in the oven for about 30 minutes (put tomato sauce on bottom and top).

Just stayed home and did stuff around here (more laundry; comforters), cooking and other small house chores. DH brought home another load of wood to take to the lot; plus some other stuff we need as well. Kept us both pretty busy.

PENGUIN ~ glad your surgery went to well for you; often we think that it will be a lot worse than it is. I had a friend that had that procedure done with great success and she just had wished that she could have had it done much earlier in her life, but it was quite new at that time.

BOOSTIE ~ DH watched the fireworks at the park and got bitten by skitters; little did he know that I watched the whole thing from my kitchen window. My neighbours watched it from their back deck too. All in the comfy of my bug-free home ... :D

We've had a mix of drizzle, sunshine, clouds, and pouring rain all day; but it was nice most of the day; and we are very grateful for that. I don't mind at all when the rain falls in the evening or night-time. Not much else going on here for now. Hope everyone is well and hope you have a great week too.

:hug:to KAREN and RONNI ~ prayers continue for you and yours ...

:wave: to all our other CE's and MIA's out there ... :hug:ROSEBUD :hug:

Hi Gals ~

Zucchini and mushroom casserole sounds awesome!

Congrats on surgery success!

Boxing for women....humm...look out dh

Riding in trucks throwing out candy....sounds like fun!

Pastel blue and purple? If you bought them at Kohl's Angie has a pair just like em!

Later ~ All is well here ~ Gary

Hi all! I'm more awake now, and have been mostly laying on the couch watching TV, between naps.

I've been watching TV out of my left eye, the surgery eye with no glasses or contacts. My surgery replaced the lens in my eye and apparently I'm now wearing the contact on the inside! I can't wait to get the second eye done. I've never seen this well in my life. I'll be one of those fortunate people who can wake up being able to see!!! I will still need reading glasses. I went outside for a few minutes to talk to Hubby and I can see the individual blades of grass while standing and leaves on the trees in the yards across the street, which is amazing to me. I'm going to try to get an appointment scheduled for the second eye while I'm at the dr tomorrow! I figured out that my distance vision hasn't improved but the clarity of that distance has improved. And the colors are amazing!

I got two Netflix in the mail today. Both workouts I've been wanting to try for a few weeks! Now that I can't workout for a week or so! I guess I'll preview them at least! Such great timing!

I found a cookbook entitled Not Your Mother's Crockpot Cookbook for Two. The secret is it uses a 3 quart crock pot, which I don't have but I borrowed one from a friend. Since its just Hubby and I, I thought that would be better than making so much. I"ve tried a steel-cut oatmeal recipe so far, which I've heard of on my exercise forum, but never tried in a crockpot. It was good; and I'm looking forward to trying some other things. I priced a 3 quart CP at Wal-mart and it was $11. LOL, probably worth it. I have a large cp but hardly use it.

Good night, all!

Gary - they came from either Kohl's or Goody's. mom got them last year. i love KOHL'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laurie - i bet you look great in plaid too! :)

man, now everbody knows i love plaid...next they are gonna know i love ann taylor and ll bean flip flops. geesh. ;)

I don't know nor do I care what you may think of Michael jackson. I do, however, care greatly about the 3 kids he has left behind. Their world was so strange, so different from our view of normalcy, but for them...it was normal. They loved their father so dearly. Right now, there are 3 small children with broken hearts. children who need prayer, who need JESUS! please pray for them. pray that they will know the love of God, submit to the call of Christ and feel the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

peace!

Hi All! Trust you're doing well. I'm still mulching, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. I think we can get it finished tomorrow. The exercise has been great.

Tomorrow I have to have blood work. I am taking the advice you all gave me the last time and that is to keep hydrated. I've been drinking a lot of water all day. I'm trusting they can "poke" me only once and get it the first time. They are doing 5 different test. This will show if my thyroid is out of whack. I'll geth the results when I go to the doctor on Monday.

Penguin - Congrats on a successful eye surgery. We take so much for granted until we hear of others like you who have had problems seeing and now with surgery can see things you haven't seen in a long time. I wish you best with your other eye.

I would appreciate your prayers for a very dear friend of our family. His name is Warren. He is like a second dad to me. He has cancer and is slipping fast. They don't give him much time to live. Prayer for his family that God will give them the strength and comfort they need.

Have a great Wednesday.

Kathy

Rosebud - that casserole sounds wonderful! Definitely something I would make for our family!

Gary - :wave:

Penguin - glad you are still doing well! The crockpot cookbook sounds interesting! Most of my crockpot recipes are laden with meat. I have been able to make some of them meatless, but not all.

Bev - I love Ann Taylor too ;) And the cool thing is that they carry small sizes, so you can continue to love Ann Taylor - right to goal! (Though Ann Taylor Loft is more compatible with my budget ;))

Kathy - prayers continuing for you!

Well, my day started out rough (had to fast overnight to get my labs done, so no breakfast or coffee :(, and the dog was not feeling well and left "presents" beside my bed when I got up), but it dramatically improved throughout the day. Work was intense, but productive. We took "MOM" to a local coffee house and wine bar for dinner and a wine tasting. She had never done a wine tasting before. Then, we went to the park to hear a local band, which she really enjoyed.

Overall, a very balanced day. I love days like that.

Hope you all had a great day as well! Prayers continuing for all!

Laurie :scooter:

Laurie - yeah, ann taylor loft is my favorite! i find A LOT of it at the thrift store! :)

I went to the eye doc today for my post-op check-up. The Doc was very pleased with my progress but because of my history of eye problems he warned to take it very easy for the next week or so. No lifting anything heavier that 10-15lbs, no stress, no strain. He even told me not to clean the house! Yay, doctor's orders! So I'm going to sit on the couch and supervise Hubby; I get to be the guy for a while. I have eye drops to take for a while, but nothing really bad. I had one eye surgery that I had to lay on my stomach for almost 2 weeks afterwards. I could get up to eat and go to the bathroom, etc.

I have to go back to the dr in two weeks and I have made the appointment for my second surgery for Aug 17th. My vision has improved greatly in my left eye. I had the lens replaced so basically I'm wearing the contact on the inside now. I've wore glasses since I was 3 and contacts since I was 12 and this morning was the first time I have ever gotten up and not had to funble for my glasses to see what time it was. After the second surgery I probably won't need glasses or contacts again. Well, I'lll still need reading glasses, but I can live with that.:D

Thanks, for the prayers and well-wishes!

Praying for you Karen, so thankful for you that you had some time with your Dad. Kathy will keep your special friend in my prayers also and Rayne i will keep Michael Jackson's children in my prayers, I feel for them , everyone fighting over them, the grieving over loosing their Dad is hard on one much less people fighting over them for the wrong reasons. I just hope that God interferes and finds the perfect couple that will love them and raise them with Jesus. So glad your operation went well Patches, hope things keep going well.

I totally forgot to put in what happened today. Will try this again, disappeared on me. A friend had told me about this place to go to find out how to do house keeping fun. I went there today and first thing to do was clean and shine your sink. I have two kitchen sinks so I started with the one in the hot part of the house first ,it had a leak and for some reason it had stopped leaking because the bowl was always empty. Well I learned today why it was always empty. I finished cleaning it and i thought I better check and see if its leaking. I opened the door and there curled up in the bowl was a large Chicken and Rat Snake! I guess it heard me running water and it was thirsty!You know earlier I asked God to give me some energy but I just gotta watch what I pray for! I shut the door and ran to find my cell phone could not find it, so used the line phone. I asked my husband how do I kill this snake but should I ,it may be the reason we don't have any mice? He said go get the hoe and chop his head off. Ya know , I just got this feeling that was easier said than done. I looked back under the sink and God must of been thinking of me again because the snake was gone.......now the question is...........Did he go back in his hole under the house or did he go out the cabinet door[ because it was part way opened] and is loose as a goose in my house??

Bootsie: You are creeping me out with that snake story. There is NO WAY I would still be in the house if it was me. I think it's great that you were willing to get rid of him yourself. I could not have done that. Did you find out where he went?

Patchwork: So glad to hear that your surgery went well. Enjoy the downtime. It never lasts long enough.

Rayne: I agree with you. Those kids did lose their dad and I myself lost sight of that. Thanks for the reminder to pray!!

Laurie: It's so much better when a day goes from bad to better than the opposite. Sounds like you had a great evening.

Kathy: I'll be praying for your friend.


I actually exercised yesterday. Not a lot but I did get started. I did some weights and exercises. I plan to alternate days with weights and walking. I'll let you know how that works for me! I see the DR on the 21st again and hopefully this will already show a decrease in my BP.

Have a great day everyone!

Buenos dias! :hug: FOR ALL!!!!!
It feels like I haven't posted in FOREVER! I'm back?!?! Did ya'll miss me! LOL

So much has been going on after I got back from being out of town for my aunts funeral. I'm wrapping things up at work today, being my last before vacation. I made some major decisions for my wedding, and I'm going out of town, AGAIN, for my cousins wedding. So many birthday celebrations,
(including yours truly) and weddings this month. Regardless of so much going on, everything seems calm right now, and I praise God for that. One thing that hasn't changed is my weight loss, I haven't gained or lost anything. I lost my 9 pounds and havent moved from there yet. I know what it is though, no exercise :( I'm promising myself that when I start my vacation, I will start my exercising, whether its swimming or cardio or just walking, I GOT TO DO IT! From there, hopefully I can start a schedule and make it an everyday thing. So pray that that happens.

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well. I've missed ya'll.. but I am back!!

God Bless ya'll and I'm happy to be back!
~Suga:cool:

HI EVERYONE ~ lovely sunshine today; but it got a bit hotter than they predicted. We were planning on going to the lot today, but as the next paragraph explains, car trouble came up again, so we couldn't go anyways ...

PRAYER REQUEST ~ gonna put a request in the Prayer Warriors Thread about our car. DH went to hook up our trailer last night and discovered that we had NO BRAKES; so they had to come and tow it to the garage this AM, and DH is stressing out about the cost. So we would appreciate prayers that it gets fixed up quick and for a fair price ... thanks!


DH is cleaning out his back shed to keep his mind off the car for now; we should know what is wrong for sure tomorrow sometime. We are pretty sure it is a busted brakeline, but DH is worried that it may mean an entire new brake job as he said it kinda looked to him like there has never been a brake job on this car since the factory. :yikes:

I told him not to worry as GOD will provide, as HE always has. I'm just glad that he noticed it here in our laneway and we didn't end up stranded on some highway today. I'm keeping myself busy doing my weekly chores; I set aside little jobs for each week day morning to spread them out over the week. That makes it easier for me.

BOOTSIE ~ I'm with WILMA on this one; I would have been out of that house so fast -- and I would not have returned until DH or GOD got rid of that snake somehow. I think is must be a she snake becuz she was smart enuff to take her showers under your sink, and then she took off as soon as she heard you shreiking ... sure hope she went down the hole and not into your house!

We had one that kept coming into our greenhouse; he/she kept sunbathing on the logs, and gave me quite a fright when I'd do my daily watering. DH didn't kill it (it was just a grey gardener snake), he just took it to a farmer's field behind our place. The first time, he didn't take it far enuff and it returned; so he learned the second time and went miles down the road.

He said he told it 'Don't come back a third time, or you're a gonner!" :lol: And, as my heart was pounding, all I kept thinkin' was how much enmity there was betwixt me and he/she from the beginning of time ... ;)

:wave: HI GARY ~ :hug: Just wanted you to know that we enjoy your comments here, and that most of the ones I have read are very positive. Some people don't understand that just becuz we have a question about something or someone; or becuz we may not agree about everything in this life, it doesn't mean that we don't care about others or how they feel. :hug:

Well, this post has become much longer than planned, but just wanted to come by and say HI to everyone ... take good care; and we hope you all have A THOROUGHLY ENTHRALLING THURSDAY!!!

:hug:ROSEBUD :hug: Prayers continue for you and yours ...

I had put this recipe in the last post, but it made the post way too long ... so I decided to take it out and put it in a separate post instead!


LAURIE ~ here's that recipe for the Mushroom & Zucchini Casserole. I put my chopped mushrooms right into the sauce to make it simpler.


SAUCE INGREDIENTS: simmer for 1-2 hours to desired consistency.

4-6 x fresh tomatoes, chopped
28 oz can diced tomatoes
14 oz can tomato sauce
7 oz can tomato paste
1 cup water, or more,as needed
1 chopped medium onion
6 x sliced green onions
2-3 sliced celery stalks
8 oz sliced mushrooms or more
1/2 cup chopped sweet green peppers
1/4 cup minced green olives and/or juice, opt
1 tsp onion powder
1-2 tsp black pepper
2-3 garlic or 2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbl onion soup mix
1 tbl fat-free beef soup base
1 tsp oregano leaves
1 tsp basil leaves
1 tsp thyme leaves
2 tbl parsley flakes

PLUS Casserole Ingredients ...

2 x thinly sliced zucchini (or dice & cook in sauce)
3 x cups pasta of choice (cooked & drained)
340 gram pkg shredded skim mozzarella cheese
24 pkg thin L/F cheese slices OR (cottage or ricotta cheese)
Parmesan or Romano for top
salt & pepper, to taste

METHOD -- cover bottom of casserole dishes with chunky tomato sauce; then spread 1 cup cooked pasta & more sauce (about 1/2 cup, or as needed to cover); cover with cheese slices & then zucchini & then sauce; then more cheese slices and 1-1/2 cups more cooked pasta. Top with more sauce, then sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. You can decorate top with any
remaining zucchini. Bake at 375 F for 45 minutes; let sit 5 minutes before serving. Serves 2-4 persons each casserole.

This made 3 casseroles (1 each: 1 qrt, 1.5 qrt & 2 qrt) + plus 2 x individual lunch dishes which can be heated in the microwave. Put 2 in freezer for another day. If for more people, make only 2 x 2 quart casseroles instead.

This is a creamy and very yummy casserole, but you can sub the cheese slices with low-fat cottage or ricotta cheese if desired, but it will change the flavor a bit. The method is similar to Lasagna and you can use any kind of pasta you want in the casserole including lasagna noodles (rotini, elbow, egg noodles, fusilli, and Kraft dinner type pasta; or use whatever you have on hand).

This is a very versatile recipe; it is also easy and economical. If you are in a hurry, you can just use any chunky-style tomato sauce you have on hand; this will speed things up a bit for you as well ...


Enjoy ... Rosebud

Bootsie - If I would have seen that snake I would not be going back to look for it. Snakes and spiders are the 2 things that I dislike the most. Just the thoughts of them makes my skin crawl.

Suga - Hang in there, the pounds will start coming off again. I know it is not always easy getting exercise in because I'm in that rut too. Doing yard work has been the only thing that has kept me moving.

Wilma - Way to go on getting started on your exercise routine. Keep up the good work!:carrot:

Hello to Gary, Laurie, Rayne, Penguin, and anyone I may have missed. Trust you all are doing well.

Have a good evening!

Kathy

KATHY ~ prayers going up for your friend, WARREN, and his family and friends, at this time ... :hug:

Penguin - glad you are doing so well after surgery! Listen to the doc!

Wilma :cp: Keep it up! It WILL help your PB and everything else too!

Suga - welcome back! We DID miss you! And same advice as to Wilma - get back on plan and keep moving! :hug:

Rosebud - thanks! I put zucchini on my list for the farmer's market this week! I will give it a try this weekend! It looks marvelous! Thanks for posting it!

Hi to everyone else :)

Another intense day at work, but the weather is glorious! I have had to scoot this week since I'm traveling so much for work, but it has been fun to be on the scooter again :D

Shape boxing tonight, and then a fire outside. Hope you all have a fun evening planned as well!

Laurie :scooter:

Hi Gals ~ :)

Angie is off at church teaching yoga and I am watching my Dodgers...getting beat right now :(

Things are going well here. My daughter came up yesterday after work and we did our 2nd annual Father Take Your Daughter On A Walk Day, she stayed for dinner....an awesome one I clipped out of Rachael Ray this month :)

Work is just nuts! We are on a very big high pressure job...my boss, the general contractor, tells my brother and I that if we can pull off an unrealistic completion date, we will get a large bonus...we take that with a grain of salt because we know our trade and explain to him...NO WAY! It will take longer than that unless you allow us to hire more guys....a lot more guys. Today he comes in and tells me..."Gary, pick your 7 best....the rest gotta go on Friday, don't ask...." Now, I know it is for payroll purposes but we have A LOT to do....and the guys know it....I know they were counting on another couple of months on this project...I will have to give them the bad news tomorrow...man it just sucks! Good men.

ROSEBUD ~ I am so sorry for your car trouble. My brother is going through the same thing. Thanks for the recipe...I am going to make it! Thanks for the support about the MJ thread. You know me well enough that I like to stir it up a bit ;) on some of the other threads...but I find it fascinating some of the things that "people" thought I said. I was accused of hating him...disliking his music...wanted him to not rest in peace...accused him for indecent situations with children...and judging! I find it fascinating that people accuse me of judging when I state my opinion (claiming it to be MY opinion)...but others are not accuse of it when they state theirs...Of course I know where the judging comments come from....I wonder if sometimes I may spread more "weeds" around here than seeds!

BOOTSIE ~ OMGoodness...yikes! Funny story...lol...you sound like you are taking it well...with concern of course! I'll take a snake any day over a rat....ewww!

WILMA ~ YOU DID WHAT?!! Exercised?....oh my...the world is changing fast ;)...oh wait...something pops up in my head and says you had an exercise room made after the niece left...probably right next to my treadmill in my gym....with dust growing on it :)


KATHY ~Prayers for Warren. I hope the blood work went well :hug:

SUGA ~Get after that exercise girl!!!

PENGUIN ~ Glad to hear surgery is still going well and you can see better!

BEV ~ How ya doing girl?

TRIKERBABE ~What's going on?

HI EVERYBODY!!!

:wave: & :hug: to everyone! Feel like I've been gone forever and I'm so far behind-both here and in my home:dizzy:. I've been praying for you all-for Karen, inexpensive brake repair, friends with cancer, healing from surgery, and everything else mentioned. I've really missed being able to be here daily. We had a really nice vacation, but now issues with DH's family and dealing with his dad's things are causing much stress. I just don't know what demon comes into people when it's time to do this (and DH's dad is still alive-I can't imagine how much worse this is going to get-turns out DH's sister is a huge control freak). Adding to the stress, my own dad finally went to the doctor and they found a large mass just above his larynx. They are doing a ct scan of his chest Friday and a biopsy of the throat mass on Monday. This is when I really hate living so far away.

One good thing is that I didn't gain any weight from the vacation, even though I didn't even try to keep track of what I was eating:carrot:. I think I've finally learned now to eat realistically, even if we're at a buffet-I chose lots of veggies and salad and lean meat. Now, back to weight loss mode and getting rid of this last 47 or so pounds.

Well, must go. You all take care and have a great Thursday!

Ronnie: I'll be praying for you. Stress is a big problem and you have your share of it right now. Good for you for making good choices.

Gary: HA HA! Yes, I do have exercise equipment in my basement and I used it. I used the bike, weights and the exercise ball. AND tonight I used my feet! DS and I went for a nice walk around the neighbourhood. HA HA!

Gary be praying that God helps you choose the right words to tell the men. Or better than that another job for them! The snake went through the hole in the floor, the reason I know this is because I put something heavy up against the cabinet and peeked in this afternoon and there it was! So at least i don't have to worry about it crawling into bed with me. Today has been a tiring day, I am really ready to hit the sack. Still praying for all of you.

Hi ladies and gent,

I am here, but my booty is draggin'. THis week so far has been very hard and stressful. I am in the building for two weeks (this one and next week) and my knees are not liking it one bit. God has shown me favor and has carried me thus far through this week. I will be off tomorrow and back in for Fri. and Sat., and then off on Sunday. Hoping DH will get to wrap my legs up for at least a day. I am taking this one day and one week at a time.

Gary, I am sorry you have to be the deliver of bad news and even though it is bad, God may have a Ram in the bush. What a blessing that would be. I would like to say in my opinion, your boss is a whimp leaving that burden on you. But that is just my opinion.

Bootsie,
A SNAKE, it could have my house, I would be gone until someone found it and sent it packin', hopefully to another country. LOL Sweet dreams.

Wilma, great job on the exercise.

Ronnie, you are in my prayers. Back on track is a beautiful thing.

Penguin, Happy your surgery was successful.

Laurie, slow down and let the intenseness fade away. Enjoy.

To everyonelse hi there and I will catch up with the rest of you later. Gotta go and lay this noggin down.

Love you all,
Aggie

Gary, praying that you will have the right words to tell the men. It is difficult to do, I know.
I followed your comments on the other thread, I just knew that someone would get bent out of shape because of them., They don't know you as well as we do. Frankly, I would like to move on to something more important. They were still all over it all day today.

Gary: I forgot to let you know yesterday that you are also in my prayers today. Having been a supervisor I do know how difficult this can be. Prayers for you.

Thanks for all the congrats and well wishes! I'm excited! I'm walking around looking at things. I went to my friend Renee's house last night and noticed things like there are flexs of a darker color in her upstairs carpet, just little funny things like that, which is interesting to see what I've been missing.I just realized I'm slouched back in my computer chair and still reading the screen. Unprecidented!

Bootsie, EEEK on the snake! I wouls hope that the snake made a break for it and went under the house again!

Gary, sorry you have been put in this difficult situation. It seems that everyone wants more work out of less people.

Gary-prayers for strength and the right words for your men. Sorry you're in such a situation. And prayers for your co-workers as well.

Bootsie-I forgot to mention that I'd have been long gone from the house upon seeing the snake, not one thought of going for implements to kill the darn thing. Hats off to you-you're one brave chickie!

Penguin-glad the surgery went well!

Wilma-thanks for the prayers-we're going to need them!

Bargoo-:wave:

Rosebud-how's the car?

Hi to everyone else, too! Wish I could do personals for everyone, but I just feel totally wiped right now-can't sleep at night with all the issues running in my head. You're all in my prayers, though. God bless!

New and nervous ...... Are you out there?

Lauryn, Welcome and good luck !

Thank you so much O2BThin, I will definately try my hardest not to get discouraged.

For Rosebud, prayers for you and your hubby. I know about car problems and I have had miracles happen in Jesus name. I pray that the repair is not a burden on you.

Today is my first day of my vacation... yeaaahhhhhhhhhh.. just doing some laundry and cleaning up before we leave to San Antonio tomorrow for my cousin's wedding. I am so happy and excited for him. He was getting discouraged because he was reaching 40 and hadnt found anybody to share his life with. Thanks to God, he sent them a great person, just took a little longer ;)

Pray we have a safe trip please. Will post later.

Have an awesome and blessed day!
~Suga

:welcome: LAURYN ~ I know how you feel; felt the same way when I first came here. No need to be afraid of this group -- just jump right in and post away. Tell us a bit about yourself, your life, and your goals ...


GARY ~ yes, prayers have gone up for you having to tell those men bad news; but also prayed that GOD will get each of them a job to replace it as well. And I agree with AGGIE -- your boss whimped out, but lots of them do that ...

:hug: HI RONNI ~ prayers going up for you and yours; you sure do have your plate full right now, and GOD knows it right well, and HE will send you the extra strength you need to deal with all of this too. The mechanic called this AM and says that on the outside, he plans to keep it to no more than $300 bucks, so we will be able to pay it; it just takes away from other plans for this month (no holidays; and no fun stuff this year). We spent about $100 bucks last month, and I am so trying to get a fund built up, but things keep coming at me so fast, that I can't seem to get ahead. I'm sure you can relate to that right now; but we will survive, and remember all HIS Blessings and Benefits too ... :hug:

We have nice sunny and HOT weather here today; but since the car is in the garage, we decided to make the best of a bad situation and use this time to get some work done around home this week. DH put up my huge wind chimes today (will take a pic to show you later) near the front deck and I can hear them with the breeze -- they sounds just like church bells. I have another set that will go up at the cottage when it is built too.

Then he did more work cleaning out his shed while I cleaned out the back porch. Then, we tackled the spare room again; I feel the LORD gave me an idea last week how it could be arranged much better, and it worked out even better than expected. We put all the cupboards along one wall (that divides us from the neighbours, so that makes a good sound barrier too) and we have so much more space in there now that it's fabulous.

Then I put up some more books on the shelves; DH put up another smaller shelf as well, as we have lots of books. I have a few more boxes to do, but we were getting very tired and decided to call it a day at 1 pm and have some lunch. Boy, did we work up a good sweat today; I felt like I was in a sauna, but it felt good too, in a strange kinda way.

HIYA BARGOO ~ how's it going down your way? You know, we immediately prayed for MJ's children and his family, from the minute we heard of his passing. I am the exact same age as MJ, and many of my friends and I were big fans of his too, but it's time to let his family mourn him and get on with their lives, in peace....

HI AGGIE ~ prayers going up for your legs; and strength to carry you through your work days too. Is there some way that you can put your legs up on your breaks? Maybe up on a chair or a box or something like that. That helps me a lot, as does the exercises I found from a caring doctor -- rotating my feet in circles at the ankle to the right and left, and up & down; plus calf curls by lifting your heels up and down). DH says that he can notice that my legs are looking better -- I finally have a scab on that scrape on the front of my right shin too, so we're praying that it is also healing from the inside out now.

I sent DH on an errand to get the mail and to give a message to a lady we know. She told DH that a small cockapoo showed up at her house last week, and we noticed that an elderly man we know put an ad in the paper saying that he lost his dog, and it sounds just like her. So DH is doing a good deed today; and if he is the rightful owner, hopes to arrange for her to be returned to her own home ...

HI TO EVERYONE ELSE ~ BOOTSIE, WILMA, LAURIE, PENGUIN, BEV, KATHY, and all our other CE's and MIA's out there in PC land!

Well, that's all the news from here for now; do take care everyone and we hope that you have A FANTABULOUS FRIDAY!!! :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:


THANKS SUGA ~ DH just came home and the car is fixed; wasn't too bad -- the mechanic kept his word @ $275.00, so we have no extra money for this month, but we aren't in the hole either ... so PRAISE GOD and thanks for all your prayers too! Prayers for "Travel Angels" on your holiday and hope your cousin and family have a wonderful time at his wedding too ...

Welcome, Lauryn! Happy to have you with us.

2BHealthy, Glad the repairs are over and didn't cost too much.

Suga, have a good vacation and a safe trip!

Ronni, hope you get a good nights sleep and feel better.

Gary, prayers ascending for the work situation. Lots of the same going on here in MI.

Penguin :) hope you continue to heal quickly!

Ronni :hug: Prayers ascending for you! I hope things settle down soon!

Lauryn :welcome2: Glad you found us! This a GREAT group of Christian encouragers! And they are AWESOME prayer warriors! Come back often - we LOVE new folk!

Suga - enjoy your vacation!

Rosebud - so glad that you got the car back and it wasn't any more! What a blessing!

Not much news from MI - the weather is gorgeous and we are heading out to a jazz concert in the park :)

Hope you all have a blessed evening!

Prayers continuing!

Laurie :scooter:

The guys from work are coming fro dinner tonight and my bil/sister and brother/sil...rubber match of the shuffleboard tournament!

Thanks for all the prayers with the guys...I will explain later that it was not quite as bad...but also...it is a position I have been in many times and am used to it...but it is never easy to lay-off good men. My boss allows me to hire and fire anyone I want...as many as I need...until it becomes a "payroll" issue. We have quite a few guys on this project overall in various trades that work for us...we all had to let a couple of guys go....every 3 guys is $5,000 off the payroll each week with all the benefits...so cutting back 10-15 guys makes a big difference...gotta go

Prayers!

Good evening darlin's little darlin's,

It is nice to be here and there is almost a full house, hot dang!

Gary, I am relieved that your speaking your fellow workers and friends was not as bad as we thought it could have been. God is so good. Hope your dinner turns out well and you all have much fun.

Ronie, well you know, you are always in my prayers, please take care.

Lauryn, WELCOME, glad you are here and hope you stay. This thread is just like family, I love it. Again, WELCOME!!

Suga, don't get too tuckered out before you even leave for vacation. Have an absolute ball and come home safe. We will miss ya!!

Rosie, at long last the car is back on the road, that deserves a WOOT WOOT. Good thing it did not drain your pocketbook either. WTG!!! I hope you don't mind me calling you Rosie?

Laurie, hey there and how are ya doing girl? It's so cool to me that you are going to a jazz concert in the park, Friday I am going to a smooth jazz concert in the courtyard of our church. I will be wonderful and I am so happy because I usually don't go anywhere so this is a big treat for me. The best of two world's for me, church and jazz. Hot dang!! Enjoy yourself.

Oh everybody, I have got to say, I got my new bathing suit in the mail today and it is so pretty. Pink and black. Now all I have to do is to get up the nerve to put it on and actually go to the pool. I am going to one about 35 miles from my home where nobody knows me. HA HA HA!!! Now I must share this news with all of you, I RELEASED 2.6 POUNDS THIS WEEK. PRAISE THE LORD. I thank Him for the strength to keep me going on this journey and not letting me quit.

Okay sweet taters, I am outta here. See you all tomorrow, Lord willing and the creek don't rise.

Love, hugs, and blessings,
Ags (Trikerbabe)

Hey Gary! I'm good...mom and i are going to see dennis this weekend. did i send you the new addy??? you make me smile :D

Hi Ags!!! girl, i bet that swimsuit is smokin'!!!! you are such a wonderful lady!

:welcome: Lauryn!!!!! you will love being here!

I have released 3 more pounds...then i drank some corona light (I've been talking to Gary too much! lol jk) last night and gained 2!!! but, i am sure it will fall back off. I am doing 25 mins on the elliptical for 2 miles and then 25 mins of the treadmill at a little over 1 miles. EVERY DAY! then doing the weights too. I found out i was not eating enough!!!! so, i increased my protein and the weight started falling. weird.

i hope all is well. i need to go to bed. it's like this late night hour is my ME time. well, me and God. :)

peace!

Way to go, Rayne and Aggie on the weight loss! Keep up the good work!!

Gary, glad to hear things went well with work.

I didn't exercise last night but I also didn't snack! I did bake cookies though for our weekend away. We are going to a cottage for a few days. :carrot::carrot: Lots of relaxing! I plan to take berries and nuts to snack on instead of chips, etc. I am so looking forward to it.

Rosebud: God does care about our finances doesn't he? So glad to hear you're back driving again and that it didn't cost too much.

Suga: Enjoy your holiday!!

Have a great day! I'll be gone until Tuesday. See you then!

Hi all - a quick fly by. I gotta get crackin' on the presentations for Sunday. We will be gone most of tomorrow (family friend's wedding).

So - hope everyone has a great weekend!

Blessings!

Laurie

Money problems are always with us , I ordered a prescription filled, I have been paying $70 , it is now $348.80 ! I nearly hit the floor when they told me that. I am going to go to a prayer retreat tomorrow. That should take my mind off my pocketbook.

Hi all,

Just got back from my date with hubby and the was so nice. The jazz concert was wonderful with Christian muscians and music as well as smooth jazz. First date in a long time, it felt good.

Glad everyone is okay. Enjoy your weekends, it is off to work for me in the morning.

See ya'll later,
Ags

That is just not right BARGOO! Not right at all!

BEV...you "pulled" the last address from me...

Hi Everyone! It sounds like you all have been doing well. Congrats to all who have lost weight this past week. Keep up the good work. My WI is on Monday, but I got on the scale and was down 2.4lbs. I hope that is the case when I get on the scale Monday.

I haven't been out walking since my scare, but all the yard work has kept me moving. Thursday I mowed the entire yard and finished up the mulching. My legs are still sore today from all of that. They keep cramping up so I took so Ibuprofen in the hopes that will help my legs to relax. I plan on getting back into walking next week.

Bargoo - I can't believe how much they charge for medicine. Are you able to get a generic brand of the same meds? That's what I do for my thyroid medicine.

Hi to Gary Ags, Rayne, Laurie and anyone else I may have missed.

Have a great weekend all!

Kathy

I sure am having a bad weekend. I can't seem to say anything right or help anyone. Does anyone else have those days?

Welcome Lauryn, Gary so glad things went alright with the men. I am so glad you got your car back Rose Bud, y'all have a good weekend i am going to go drown myself in Housework and work this sad feeling off.

WHOAH, BARGOO ~ that is HIGHWAY ROBBERY -- they are taking advantage of you; I agree with KATHY, maybe there is a generic brand that your pharmacist can sub for you (all he has to do is call your doctor and OK that). Also, do you get help from the CANCER SOCIETY? My mother did -- she said that they almost paid for all of her cancer-related meds and supplies (she survived colon cancer and lived with a colostomy).

ALSO, we have something here called THE TRILLIUM FUND -- it is an extra provincial medical fund that can pay for expensive drugs. You may have a STATE or FEDERAL MEDICAL FUND that is the equivalent of this fund. We had a friend who accessed this as he had diabetes and many other health problems and they helped him. You apply and they notify your drug store to charge meds to the fund that you can't pay for thru regular sources. Hope you have something like that in your community/state/country ... will send prayers up about this too ...:hug:


HEY BOOTSIE ~ yes, we all have days like that ... when everything goes wrong or people are tired or just irritable for one reason or another and we get the backlash. WE have to back away, and make a retreat (Like BARGOO is doing) so we can be protected from that and heal from misdirected hurts. DH and I were just talking about that this morning -- how when some people are hurting, they lash out at others without even realizing they are doing it, so we have to ask the LORD to help us forgive them, and move on. Housework is a good way to keep our minds off things, and do remember to SING glorious songs of Praise while you are doing this, as that always lifts my spirits too.


AGGIE ~ good idea to have a date night with your DH -- we know so many couples who have Friday night as their date night. DH and I try to do this too, but sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate or we have a hard time finding something to do. You are blessed to be able to go to a concert. We are so isolated up here -- not too much going on in our small town and I don't really want to tackle the buggies in the bush either (that's some guys idea of a date: goin' fishin'). Yes, I can here you all laughing, but I'm not kidding! :lol:

We were going to go out last night, but we had bad thunderstorms and :rain: here all day yesterday. It's nice and sunny here with quite a breeze. Did I already mention that DH put up my large WIND CHIMES and they are ringing like crazy today as we have lots of wind today, but they are so pretty too! Just hope all my neighbours think so too; not sure if they can hear them though ... :shrug:

Anyhow, hope you all have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND; sounds like some of you have some fun plans. I'm just resting as I spent all morning sorting out DH's music tapes, as he just doesn't have the patience. Will be sending a couple of trays to goodwill, but this place is starting to look very organized ... finally!

Take care and have a BLESSED SUNDAY tomorrow ... :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

bargoo :yikes: OUCH! Prayers go with you on the retreat!

Ags - glad you enjoyed the concert!

Kathy - hope you are able to get back on your routine soon! Hang in there!

Bootsie - yup - I definitely have those days! :hug:

Rosebud - the wind chimes sound GREAT. We had those nasty winds too, but they have passed. Hope you have w nice Sunday!

Well, a beautiful Saturday in MI. We attended a wedding today. It was beautiful. And it was definitely a NSV for me. I just pulled a beautiful black and white floral lace peasant style dress out of the closet, threw a scarf around my shoulders as a shawl, and put on some beautiful black and silver heals. No fretting over my wardrobe. I went and didnt' give a second thought about looking fat or frumpy.

I definitely do not miss the 95 lbs.

For everyone struggling right now, hear me here - EVERY SINGLE THING that you must give up or moderate is worth it. Absolutely, positively without a doubt - it is worth it! Keep at it. YOU are WORTH IT! Do not let some insidious food come between you and your health and fitness.


Prayers continuing for all!

Laurie

Rosebud, thanks for the suggestion for the cancer society, I will check it out I don't want to change to another drug as the oncologist says if this works ( and it seems to be )
I can avoid chemo. This drug doesn't cause hair loss and doesn't have the terrible nausea that chemo does. Thanks for all the suggestions and prayers are always appreciated.

Hello everyone. Thank you all for the nice thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement. It has been kind of a tough week but I know my Dad is no longer in pain. He said several times over the last few weeks that he was ready to go home and we all knew it was just days away.. still hard. We will be taking his ashes to the lake that he always loved to go to, this is what he wanted, on Monday so I know it will be another tough day. Our son his family are here and have been for the last month or so and my Dad totally fell in love with his great-grandkids. I was so glad that they were here.
I will try to get back to a more regular posting soon. I really havre miised having all of you to chat with. And Gary, Thank you for all your kind words. They have meant so much and have helped me a lot. And they really helped my brother get through his birthday! I'm sorry I guess some of you didn't know that the 4th was my brothers birthday too. And it was especially hard on him until I got a WONDERFUL email from Gary that I shared with him.
Again--Thank so much to all of you.

Good evening , actually morning,

I am so late for yesterday but bright and early for today. Go figure....

Bargo, Have you tried to get prescriptions filled at Costco, there prices are usally better than other pharmacies? That was outrageous.

Karen, I will be praying for you and your brother. He made a great choice, the lake has to be such a sireen and peaceful place for rest.

Kathy, I am sure your WI will be fine, you have really been staying busy, that should have burned alot of calories. Now rest little darlin'.

Bootise, all I can say is oh yeah, I have those days too. But this too shall pass. Keep looking up.

Rosebue, the whime chimes sound marvelous, I have some also. Hope your neighbors are enjoying the melodious sounds, it not they will get over it, LOL.

Laurie, I believe you looked beautiful and so glad it was a nice. I am sure you do not miss those 95lbs, can't wait to say that. Now you have said NSV a few times now in your post, what does it mean. You know I am not always up on the most advanced lingo? Help a sista out!!!

Here is a big hello, to Wilma, Gary, Bev and everyone else I may have missed. Please charge it to my head and not my heart. Love to all and sweet dreams,

Ags

After bad storms last night and a tornado sited 2 miles north of us today is beautiful. The sun is shining and every thing looks fresh.

I got up early to take DH1 to work and decided and needed to take advantage of this beautiful morning and go for a walk. I ended up walking almost 3 miles. My plan was just to take a short walk to get back in the groove, but I began to pray and have a long talk with God and so I continued to walk. I needed this quiet time with God. I feel refreshed and renewed.

Bootsie - I trust you are feeling better today and the blues have past. "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Karen - I'm sorry to hear about the passing of your dad. We will keep you in our prayers.

Hello to Ags, Rosebud, Laurie, Gary and everyone else.

Have a great day in the Lord!

Kathy

bargoo - prayers continuing for you, hopefully this drug will work!

Karen :hug: prayers continuing for your family. It is great to have you back here with us!

Ags - NSV = non scale victory

Kathy - congrats on your walk! It sounds like it was EXACTLY what you needed :)

A good day here - not much opportunity for rest today, too much to get done since I was gone all day yesterday. BIL is coming in from New Jersey today. Mom is still here for another couple weeks.

DS2 is still home and his friend is still staying with us - it could be an interesting week. Oh, and my brother's kids and grandkids are coming over tomorrow.

Hmm, my posts are starting to sound like Gary's with all this family visiting!

;)

Hope you all have a blessed day!

Laurie :scooter:

HI GALS ~ :)

Angie and I just got back from Kohl's in time for me to see the end of my ballgame :) We went to look at the Dyson vacuum she wants to get...for pet hair :) Sale starts Wednesday...like her and I tease each other when we open the paper..."look babe...Kohl's is having a sale!"....they are ALWAYS having a sale.

Work has been brutal all week! And it is going to get worse...boss says he needs us to work 4-5 hours a night...after our regular 8 hour day...on another project....a new office the company is moving into. I did have to lay 3 guys off this week but it wasn't as bad as I thought...right before I did it one of my main guys told me he was going to have to quit due to some personal problems at home....he lives about 500 miles away and it was just getting too hard on his family....which meant I needed to just get rid of 2 guys...my last 2 hires...and one was an apprentice. I felt bad for them but I will use them in the future if I can. It is very difficult these days...every single day I get guys coming in the building looking for work :( It is a very large project but the "looking for work guys" numbers are staggering...for all trades.

So what happens?...I lay 2 guys off...1 quits and I end up having 5 of us work (bosses orders) on Saturday for time and a half...money is always good but we would rather have had the day off...at least I would have ;)

By working Saturday we missed our Starbucks walk so Angie and I went to church last night....then took off for a 3.5 mile Starbucks walk this morning about 6:15. We shortened our trip a little so she could go to a yoga class.

I will get back later...going to help Angie for a bit.

Gary, gotta laugh. I love Kohl's and we don't have one close. I spent the last hour on the website ordering several items that were part of that "sale".

I did get some amazing pieces for fall, all at 80-90 percent off :D

I think I need to buy some more hangers :o

Oh, and
The new glasses have arrived.
As promised, here is the pic
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/7489/glassesi.jpg (http://img44.imageshack.us/i/glassesi.jpg/)

SCOOTER ~ I hope you have a great time with all that family around! I am not sure Angie shops anywhere else! Shhh...I don't think she knows she can order on-line....;)

KATHY ~ Glad the weather is better and you were able to get that walk in! That is a great way to start the day.

TRIKERBABE ~ Awesome date night! Angie and I are going to walk 1.5 miles to my son and dil's house next Friday and join him and a few of his friends and walk over to a concert in the park...should be a nice evening.

KAREN ~ I hope Monday goes as good as it can. We will keep you in our prayers. Nice that you are back with us from time to time. I am glad your dad had some great memories to take to heaven with him!

BARGOO ~ Prayers the medicine works wonders! Praying for low costs!

ROSEBUD ~ Prayers for your leg. I hope you had a pleasant day sorting through the music. We have a wind chime at our front door that we can here if the door is open to the screen....outside of our bedroom window, on the lower level outside, is a small fountain that runs continuous...I like it most of the time...sometimes the water running annoys me :)

BOOTSIE ~ :hug: I hope the week-end ended up much better than it started! Has the snake returned....yikes!

WILMA ~ I hope you had a great time at the cottage...snacks sound right up Angie's alley...Angie's...;)

BEV ~ I hope the trip to see Dennis was rewarding for all of you. I will get a letter to him this week. Great 3 pound loss! Never had Corona lights..I will have to try one...I do like Corona, we usually have some in the fridge...and limes.

RONNI ~ Hoping things are going smoother in the family situation :hug:

PENGUIN ~ How cool to be able to see so many new things!

SUGA ~ I hope you had a great time at the wedding...congrats to the new bride and groom!

HELLO TO ALL OF OUR MIA's :)

:wave: Well, the day started off a bit cloudy, but then the :sunny: peaked out, so we decided to deliver a load of wood for the shed to our lot and have a picnic lunch. We were gonna stay for the afternoon, but big, dark clouds and winds rolled in -- and just as we drove away, big :rain: came down too.

Next week, we hope to take up some more new wood and finish the frame; we are keeping to a good pace -- lots of time left, so we are not in a hurry at this point. Have to go to timberland and buy some more anyways.

LAURIE ~ thanks for all the encourging words to keep going. I try to remember times that I felt so good when I was slimmer before; and that helps me too. I weighed-in this week and did have a 3 lb loss, but I'm concerned that it may just be a water fluctuation; I won't know for sure until the next time, so I'm not gonna move the #'s until then ... and oh, your glasses look great, and so very sophisticated too! ;)

GARY ~ that almost doesn't make any $$$ sense -- to lay off 3 people, but make 5 regulars work 12-13 hour days and Saturdays @ $ x 1.5 ... the only possible benefit may be that the job might get done faster, but that still remains to be seen. I don't understand employers who wouldn't rather give 3 more men a job when they can, esp in hard times like these. PS ~ you posted while I was typing; thanks for the prayers for my leg. I think DH was kinda getting a bit annoyed with all the clatter; these chimes are quite large (2-4 feet long) and they sound just like church bells too! ... hehe ...


HI KAREN ~ :hug: prayers going up for your brother and you, and your whole family at this time. Nice to have you back here posting: we love your posts! :hug:

AGGIE ~ I like your attitude -- if they don't like it, they will get over it. :lol: DH tied them with a flowered piece of cloth until all this wild and windy weather moves along.

KATHY ~ we have been having some storms up here too, but I'm not complaining becuz we need it for our trees; we have lost way too many already. I'm so glad that we planted so many or we may have been wiped out. The Spirea bushes we planted are doing well though ...

HEY BARGOO ~ that sounds great; I'm glad your present drug is working so well for you. Is it just for Leukemia or can it be used for other kinds of cancer, or do you know? My uncle TOM was on one that was milder, but now what he is taking seems to have a few more side effects (this is his 2nd or 3rd round, I think). He is on a respite right now while they are on holidays, but his oncologist wants him to take chemo for three years in total, but the rounds go for 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off, so he isn't on it all the time.

Well not much else going on around here, except that our back door won't close; it almost seems too big for the door frame, and it seems to have slipped our LL mind for almost 4 months now. :?: Anyhow, we lock our porch doors instead for now. So, we praise GOD for all the things that are going right for us today; and all the many blessings that we have here, and we'll ignore the rest, right? ;)

Hope everyone is have a SUPER-DUPER SUNDAY!!! Take good care and :wave: to all our CE's out there, and all our MIA's as well ... :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

Hi Everyone, Well, another thing has happened and tomorrow won't be happening for us. The man from the morthuary had a heart attack last night and so the whole day has been cancelled for us. Don't get me wrong--- I feel bad that happened but I have tried to talk to my oldest brother and my younger sister to see why we couldn't just do this by ourselves but they don't want to do that. So now we are all in a holding pattern again just waiting to see what will happen next. I was in a very melancoly mood all day just knowing that tomorrow we would be able to put some closure to this chapter but now it is all in limbo again. I just seem kind of lost right now and don't quite understand why they need someone else to do this when it would be so much more personal for us to do it ourselves. And I think it would mean so much more to all of us---but I guess I am the only one of the 4 of us kids that feel that way. Just trying to bite my tongue a lot but it is sure getting sore!

SCOOTER ~ Love the new look! Angie has new glasses too...wide on the side...love 'em.

ROSEBUD ~ Working Saturday on the job was one of those situations where we needed to so that we could complete an area so that another trade could continue to proceed without having to pull out for a few days...those things do happen from time to time...and the night job later next week is not part of our "normal" jobs...it is on the "side" of our regular work...we are remodeling an older place that will become our new office evidently...it is kind of secretive...me thinks our company is about to split partners...so glad they both like me! Our chimes are much smaller ;)

KAREN ~ Personally I agree with you on that one. But as far as closure goes...the day you send dad to the lake doesn't matter....we waited months before we "celebrated" my mom's passing with Grammi Judi's Chili Memorial...and even then it was awesome.

At our second one this year we focused on saying and remembering something about many of our passed on loved ones...my dad and brother, grandparents...it was awesome...and I must say I "killed it" on the chili again :) :hug:

Thanks Gary, It has been really hard for me these past weeks. My older brother and my younger sister have decided that they they need to have all the power and control over everything--- I mentioned on my "facebook" that it is really sad that because of some people needing to control everything that others end up feeling isolated and all alone It has been hard, but I know I Loved my Dad, and he loved me too. I am trying so hard not to stoop to levels that he wouldn't be happy with. But my gosh, I can't remember when I have cried as much as I have in the last month or so. But I'm still holding my head high and know that my Dad would be proud of me. But sometmes I just want to lash out and scream! I don't remember it being like this when my Mom passed away 9 years ago.. But I am still going to try to keep smiling.

Karen my heart goes out to you. I went through the same thing with my family, I never thought my sister could be so thoughtless and mean. My brother was known to try to try to get what he could but my sister?But my sister I was not prepared for. I have decided that money is evil if you have it or if you don't have it. It can truly change a person for the worst if the person lets it.

Karen,I pray that our Lord Jesus wraps his arms around you tonight and opens a new door for you.

Karen I am so sorry that you are going through this.

I am fortunate that my brother and sister and I are close...and they look to me for authority on the "final" decisions, being the oldest and most responsible. Now my parents didn't have much when they passed...I took an old Laker sweatshirt out of my dad's drawer...my inheritence...wink

When mom passed my sister wanted her ashes...no complaints from us brothers...she did take care of her...my brother has my little brother's ashes...cool for him. I see things different....to me those are ashes...nothing more...nothing less....to my brother and sister it is important. For me...making Grammi Judi's chili is important!

We all see things different. I was lucky my folks had little and my mom and dad's parents had little when they passed. It is not the end of the world if your b/s want to wait...for whatever reason to spread the ashes...but dear...they may be able to control the situation but they can't control you!

My neighbor that passed away several years ago really loved my daughter...gave her close to 10 grand for college...car...etc...long story I can't go into on how many times and how hard I tried to not accept the $$$...anyway, he had a daughter that was estranged...before he passed...I notified her he was very ill...she came to me to tell me what an A$$ he was and an abuser...she was just going to forget about him and walk away. Long story short....I explained how he "repented" his sins by way of my daughter...because he was not able to reach out to her...I asked her to "do the right thing" as her dad was passing....take care of him....be there for him...(really a bit more involved but the basics here)...she did...he passed and she thanked me from the bottom of her heart....knowing that what she did was good! what he did was bad...but she walked out, head and heart held high....as he was laid to rest.

Hang in there....do the right thing...you will, I know....they can't control you dear...not saying they can't make you miserable at times...when the time comes you will walk out heart and head held high!

Gary - you never cease to amaze me in how you relate to people and what you say! I bet you are the best dad!!!! And yes, corona light with limes are superb! of course, my body has been hanging onto those 2 pounds...it did let one go so far! :)
The visit with Dennis was awesome! No glass, we could hug him!!! I just loved how all of the men that had kids there, were just loving on their kids, the kids hugging on dad, lying on him, it was precious. i bet that is REALLY good for morale! dennis says it feels more like rehab than anything! :) he is PRAYING that his daughter's mother will allow her to go see her dad. he needs to see her and she needs to see him. I thought it would be hard, but after seeing the joy and love in that room with all of the men and their kids...i think it would be great! Can everyone be praying that Dennis can see his little haley???? She is 4 and LOVES her daddy. Her mom needs prayer, she is well...just pray for her to have a heart change. her name is jennifer.

Laurie! LOVE the glasses!!!!! :D

Karen - i will be praying for your family. there is never an easy way to deal with death...and everyone handles it differently.

peace! :)

Karen :hug: prayers continuing for you and your family!

Gary - congrats on the chili - may your rememberance of "grandma Judi" be one of special times and special feelings! I'm sure the party was AWESOME!

Bev - so glad that you are able to turn the whole situation with Dennis into a joy! Prayers continue for you and your family!

A good day here! The last medical test at 7 this morning, then 9 hours of work, and the whole gang (nieces, nephews, SIL and all the kids) was visiting when I got home. I was able to spend several hours with folk I haven't seen for a couple years.

Hope you all had a blessed day!
Prayers continuing for all!

Laurie :scooter:

DEAR KAREN ~ :hug: You have been thru a lot lately -- many major stressors in your life facing illness, moving, and the passing of dear loved one, all in such a short time. Prayers goin' up that the LORD will wrap His lovin' arms around you tonight and touch your heart with His Peace that passes understanding; His Love that casts out all fears; His Grace that brings serenity in the toughest of circumstances; and His sweet comfort that exceeds all our expectations ...

DH and I have been thru similar experiences and learned that we are not responsible for what others do or how they behave, but only for ourselves; and like GARY says, as long as we do what is right, that is all that matters to GOD ... you are a good person and you can set a good Christian example for your family by focusing on what really matters -- love and kindness ... :hug:

BEV ~ glad you had a nice visit with your brother; and that they are providing some rehab for him too.


Just a quiet day at home; it rained all day, so I was trying to rest up a bit more today. Had to soak my leg today; back to the old routine but it needed it and it is a bit painful tonight. Thank you all so much for your prayers -- I need them and appreciate them very much.

^PRAYERS^ ascending for everyone tonight, esp those with heavy hearts, illness, and family issues -- just remember that GOD loves and cares for us all. I really love singing songs of peace and praise from a hymnal that I ordered some years ago from a book store. It has all the popular hymns and some gospel songs from many denominations; it called the Celebration Hymnal. I love to spend some time on Sundays and sing some of them.

Take good care; and may GOD BLESS you all with peace and serenity tonight ... :hug: ROSEBUD:hug:

BEV ~ What a great day with your brother! Prayers for being able to see his daughter!

SCOOTER ~ You must be busy with all that family and tests!

ROSEBUD ~ I am sorry for all that rain! And that "healing" as we wish it is still on hold for that leg...hugs.

KAREN ~ I got to thinking at work today, if it doesn't work out soon with your brother and sister and your dad's ashes...what about you going out to the lake to say "good-bye" as you wish...something that you will remember every time you go out there to pic-nic...fish...remember. When your sis and brother are ready you can join them too, as they do their thing...take care.

Thanks for the prayers and joy about my brother, Dennis. please keep the prayers going! :)

Gary - what a great idea for KAREN...

going to bed early...that means before 3! :) i am BEAT!!!

peace

Thanks again Gary, I never thought of that and I really haven't been thinking that clearly anyway. But that does make a lot of sense. I think I will mention that to Tim and then maybe us, my son and his family will just take off and go and do that ourselves. My son wants so much to be a part of this too before they leave and move to Florida. I think it is a great idea. I'll let you know how things go.

:wave: .

HEY BARGOO ~ that sounds great; I'm glad your present drug is working sowell for you. Is it just for Leukemia or can it be used for other kinds of cancer, or do you know? My uncle TOM was on one that was milder, but now what he is taking seems to have a few more side effects (this is his 2nd or 3rd round, I think). He is on a respite right now while they are on holidays, but his oncologist wants him to take chemo for three years in total, but the rounds go for 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off,

:wave: ... :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

Don't know about Leukemia, I had breast cancer that has spread to my bones, and maybe lungs, although the lung thing looks better, now. The drug I am on works for a specific kind of breast cancer. My oncologist is quite pleased that it is mostly contained in my bones . I pray for anyone as we , as Christians should do, but especially cancer, there are so many different kinds. It was many years ago that I had breast cancer and was shocked to find it had spread, No one knows why this occurs. I continue to trust in God,and as I told my pastor I rely on prayer and as much laughter as I can find. That is why I love this forum, I went on some breast cancer forums and found them to be too depressing. The differance, of course, is that if you don't know God, you have no hope.

Hi Everyone!

It sounds like so many are facing great trials in their life. I'm so glad that our God is the Great Physician and He cares about everyone of our needs.

I had my doctor appointment yesterday. My thyroid was good, but my cholesterol was high and I have a Vitamin D deficiency. My sister also has a "D" deficiency. I have been taking 1000 mg of D now he wants me to take 2000. I don't have another checkup for 6 months so I'm praying that I can get the cholesterol down and the D up.! I do feel a lot better than I have been feeling.

I have a prayer request. I had mentioned before about the friend of our that is like a second dad to me is dying. I found out today that he may not make it through the night. The Hospice nurses are staying all night tonight and he didn't wake up all day. They said he was moaning all day though he is not suppose to be in pain. Your prayers for the family would be appreciated. Their daughter that lives in Florida is flying in tonight. Prayer that she arrives before he passes.

Again, I'm thank full that God understands all our needs. Have a great week.

Kathy

Looks like a trend on this forum right now - But, our God is a great and AWESOME God - who can conquer ALL things!

Prayers continuing for all! And - an unusual addendum from me - my medical tests came back with unfavorable results (mammogram), so I am scheduled for additional radiology and ultrasound tests next Friday. Prayers requested!

Thanks to all - I appreciate every one of you :hug:

Laurie :scooter:

Hi Laurie, I'm sending nothing but good thoughts and prayers your way!

Also I will continue to send prayers up for everyone here. You have all been so supportive and I look forward to when I can get on line and check with everyone

Gods Blessing for everyone

Hi Gals ~

Taking in the All-Star game...Angie was with me playing on the computer while I watched, she is taking a yoga break right now.

Had our black bean and feta cheese tacos tonight...I sure do like them!

All your prayer requests are being sent up over in the Prayer Warrior thread!

BEV...I will send out a letter I just wrote fro Dennis tomorrow...

back to the game....wink

Hey everyone,

Back at home again until Mon., doc says to keep my leg wrapped and Daddy is doing a great job of that. I do love him.

Bargoo, I will be praying for you. My sister is going thru also. She had breast cancer and has pretty much beat it, now she has leukemia, she just keeps trusting God for her healing, but she certainly has her down times. My niece had breast cancer, and before she or we knew it , it had spread all over her body, bones, lungs, liver and brain and more but It was amazing, we never ever heard her once complain, she knew that she was in God's hands and she was never affraid. She is now with God and lives on in us. I pray for everyone and anyone with this diease and pray for your strength.

Laurie, I will be talking to God about you tonight and asking Him to give you peace and rest. He is in control and that is the best we can ask for. I love you very much, you are always there when I need advice as well as many of you are. Now it is my turn to stand in the gap for you. Rest my friend.

To everyone else I will return tomorrow to talk more, not feeling too great right now. Love to all of you and please have sweet dreams.

Ags

:hug: TO EVERYONE ON THIS THREAD ~ you know that I really believe that GOD has sent us all to this place for a reason (to this site and to this thread), so that we can give and get support, plus pray for one another; and meet good Christian people here ...

Prayers going up for each and every one of you and your health concerns -- AGGIE ~ you & your legs, plus your sister's health too; KAREN ~ you and your family's well-being; LAURIE ~ your test results & your health; BARGOO ~ your health and well-being; RONNIE ~ your DF & FIL and you and your family too; KATHY ~ Warren and family; BEV'S brother & family, plus mom.


:hug: Prayers going up for you and yours tonight ... :hug:

Good morning everyone!

I'm back from my weekend at the lake. It was really nice and relaxing. The weather was perfect. Came home to rain but that's okay. We needed it!
Now it's back to work and back to getting into a routine again. Tonight it's grocery night so I can stock up on the veggies, etc.

I've been reading through all your posts and have added the concerns to my prayer list. Even though I'm not mentioning anyone by name right now I do keep you in my prayers.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Looks like a trend on this forum right now - But, our God is a great and AWESOME God - who can conquer ALL things!

Prayers continuing for all! And - an unusual addendum from me - my medical tests came back with unfavorable results (mammogram), so I am scheduled for additional radiology and ultrasound tests next Friday. Prayers requested!

Thanks to all - I appreciate every one of you :hug:

Laurie :scooter:

Laurie, I will be praying for good results for your tests. I understand completely what you are going through.

Hi Everyone!

I haven't been able to make it on here in a little while. Our crazy summer schedule continues!:dizzy:

I have been reading over everyone's posts and boy there is a lot going on! I will be adding all the concerns/health issues to my prayer list. I'm sorry to hear that so many are having struggles. Praying for God's comfort, peace, strength, and healing!

I probably won't be around much in the next couple of weeks. We are taking a trip to Florida next week to visit all our family and friends. I'm hoping this short vacation will bring some refreshing for me and my dh, we really need it. After we return from Florida me and my daughter will be heading out to Oklahoma to the ASA National 14-U Softball Tournament. My daughter's team won the State ASA Tournament and now they will compete Nationally!

I will be keeping you all in my prayers and stopping back in when I can! (((Hugs))):hug:

~Tammy~

Hi All! Thank you everyone for your prayers for our family friend. He passed away this morning at 7:30. Yes, it is very sad, but he is no longer suffering and he is with his Lord. Would appreciate your continued prayers for the family.

Our prayers go out to each of your for physical healing, rest for weary bodies and encouragement for the discouraged.

Have a great day!

Kathy

Hi all - a quick post. Crazy day at work, and then making dinner and the usual. Things are going well here. Your prayers are appreciated.

It is amazing that I am at peace - I FEEL your prayers and know that God is an AWESOME God. May God's will be done :)

Prayers continuing for all!

Blessings!

Laurie

Hi di ho everyone,

Just stopping by to say hi and to say I love all of you so much, you are my family.

Kathy, I pray comfort and peace for you and yours.

Everyone else be blessed as I know you will. Sweet dreams,
Ags

I am so sorry KATHY....hugs....and prayers for the family

TAMMY.... Angie and I have so been there! My step-d won state twice for her age division in ASA...fun and busy times...

Prayers and hugs for all ~ Gary

Kathy: My condolences and prayers to you and your family.

O2BThin: May the Lord give you comfort and peace in your heart. You and your friend's family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Thank you to all for showing love!! I am back! :hug:
The wedding was beautiful and alot of fun. I felt so good about myself because alot of family said I looked good having lost a little weight. :carrot: YEAAAHH!! I have gotten some exercise in. I downloaded some upbeat Christian music and some old 80's dance music that are in those cheesy workout videos, but hey they work!! :) So my exercise regement is coming in slowly, but its coming.

I turned 27 on Tuesday and I didnt do so bad when it came to eating. Even thought it was by bday I didnt go nuts! I treated myself to a tall strawberries and creme frap from Starbucks, but my lunch and dinner for very healthy :)
Anyway, just wanted to share what I've been up to.

Hope everyone is having a great week so far. The weekend is almost here!!

Will post later, I am cleaning out my closet for our yard sale this weekend!

God Bless,
Suga~:D

:hug: and PRAYERS for you and your family KATHY ~ as well as for WARREN's family too! :hug:


We had a busy day yesterday; went to the lot and DH put in some more crossbraces for a while. I picked a 5 gallon pail of Rhubarb which I put up in baggies this morning (got 15 baggies) plus I cooked some with some apples for a nice mock apple pie (no crust, of course): just Rhubarb, apples, 2 tsp honey, art/sweetener, cinnamon & nutmeg. Very yummy ...

We also transplanted some hostas and some pretty tall blue perennial flowers we picked up from an old abandoned homestead along the roadway. I put them in our furry baby's stone garden (where they were buried last year); sure hope they take. I also got some short walks in and was very pleased about that too.

We came home early as heavy rains came in, but we got a lot done anyways. Hope everyone else is feeling well today. As always, ^PRAYERS^ are ascending for you and yours ... so take good care ...:hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

Hi all,

Going to bed. so very tired, but wanted to say I am down 1 more pound and to ask for your prayers. Had a very very stressful day yesterday with Morgan. A horrible arguement, Satan is trying so hard to steal her from me,I am praying for the Blood of Jesus too keep and bring her back home. Gonna cry if I say any more. Gotta go.

Love,
Ags

Hi Gals ~

My dil just called and said she and my son shook Julie's hand on Big Brother tonight at the beginning of the show...maybe they will be on TV.

TRIKERBABE ~ Prayers for you and your daughter! My brother is going through a rough patch with my niece right now...mostly the being a teen-ager stuff...but very hard on him.

ROSEBUD you have been busy!

SUGA glad you had fun and "they" noticed the loss!

All is well here GALS! I have to work Saturday again...dang...but the after work job blew out for this week...it's coming....

We are meeting my son and dil and a few of their friends tomorrow night for drinks and appetizers, then walking up to the park for a concert. Should be fun...we have done this many times before but the first time the kids WANT to go!! They are getting so old...wink...26-28ish!

Be good ~ Be safe ~ Gary

Ags- I WILL BE PRAYING!!!!!!!! I am here if you need me. You know how to get me.

I'm a little stressed. Susie and her NEW husband are here for a week...let's just say there are too many people and too much HORMONES here. Did i mention they are NEWLYWEDS? you can only imagine. its not a good scene. please pray for us! and her little boy who is hearing all of the (ahem) sounds...

HA! Grab the kiddo and head for the ice cream store BEV ;)

Yeah....i wish it were that easy! :) they said he needs to get used to it. i have an issue with that. but what can i do? no one wants to hear what i have to say about it. oh well. PRAY!
i'm taking him to 6 flags and to a movie next week. i have an exam this weekend, so this week's been stressful.
i'm happy for them...just too much i guess. i feel overwhelmed and stressed. so i am not eating. when i don't eat...I GAIN weight! go figure. 3 pounds this week.

mom just called BAWLING! i can barely understand her she is crying SO hard. one of her cats just died and she is absolutely hysterical. pray for her.

Kathy, my thoughts and prayers are with you and the family.

Kathy and Rayne it is hard to loose a good friend rather it be human or animal, my heart goes out to you Kathy and Rayne your precious Mother has lost a friend too, I pray that Jesus wraps his arms around her too and gives her some comfort. Our animal friends are so precious they are there for us, listen to our woes and never expect us to be perfect.

Hello, Everyone! So sorry it's been so long since I've posted here, but you are all in my prayers for health, support, and God's blessings. Sad to learn of the passing of family, both people and animal, and I pray for comfort for all of you affected by death right now. Our God is truly wonderful and He will provide peace for all.

I've been having difficulty remembering to give praises to God lately, with all that's been going on in our lives, but trying to get back into focus. We decided to take the boys to the neighboring county's fair tonight to see a large cat show (lions, tigers, etc that have been rescued from abusive environments), so we're all looking forward to getting out and away for a little bit. And, the weather couldn't be better for a fair if we'd asked for it-nice and cool! Might even let the boys have corndogs for supper :barf::lol:! But, I'll have to find the 4H booth for something less corndoggy to eat;)

Hope you all have a great weekend. We're going back to MN to try to finish moving FIL's things out of his apartment and do cleaning. Hoping to actually get to go to church on Sunday (it's been 4 weeks since we were able to go:(). Take care and God bless you all! Wish I could just reach out and give big hugs to all of you!

Kathy :hugs: Prayers ascending for your family!

Ags - prayers continuing for your daughter. Congrats on the loss!

Ronni - glad to see you here, hope you do have an ON PLAN weekend!

Bev - prayers ascending. I know how it is to lose a cat. Sad indeed!

Rosebud - you sure are keeping busy! I hope the leg is healing!


Well, the two weeks of training is complete - it was very tiring, but I am done and certified. :)

Now on to the real work of converting all the schools to the new system.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I hope the weather improves so we can take mom to the Arts Fair in the park tomorrow.


Prayers ascending for all!

Laurie :scooter:

:hug: and ^PRAYERS^ going up for peace and comfort for all those with troubles and griefs to bear right now ...

AGGIE ~ prayers that the LORD is keeping MORGAN in his lovin' arms wherever she goes; trust in Him to look after her, and we'll cover her with prayer too.

We went to the old farm and picked a bit more Rhubarb; should have enuff for the winter now. DH picked up a few things and we took a long drive home by a friend's new place and they are doing great.

Had nice weather here today; so it was a good day for a drive. HOpe you all have A WONDERFUL and BLESSED WEEKEND ... :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

Met up with son and dil and 6 of their friends...walked up to hear an EAGLES cover band at the park...good food...beer for me and the guys...wine for the girls...

Prayers for all - Gary

Just a reminder here...we have many people checking out our Prayer Warriors thread...there appears to be a need (according to the views)...let's keep it going strong....

Greetings to all! I'm a new member of this forum and am looking forward to getting to know each of you as my brothers and sisters in Christ. Prayers for a refreshing weekend for all.

Hey everyone! Wow i have missed you guys so much the past month. Sorry i havent been around. I promise ive been thinking of you all. My appendix burst so i had to have what is a pretty common surgery. Well my body didnt heal very well and the incision got infected to ive been in a lovely hospital bed for a while. Today is my first day back on track and back to work. Sadly i have gained 10lbs but im determined to get them off as quickly as possible. Hope all of you are doiing GREAT! See ya monday

Hi all - a quick fly-by before we head out to the arts fair.

Donna :welcome: Glad you joined us! We LOVE new folk! This is a great place to come and the posters here are AWESOME!

Candy - glad to have you back! We missed you! Get back at it girl, and those 10 lbs will be gone quickly!

Gary - good reminder on the prayer thread. There are indeed a lot of folk peeking in over there!

Blessings to all - hope your weekend is going well. Prayers continuing for all!

Laurie

Candy so happy your back and glad you are feeling better.

Welcome Donna so happy you have joined us!

Rosebud how do you fix rhubarb?

Sounds like fun Gary!

:welcome3: DONNA ~ glad to have you aboard ... come back and tell us a bit about yourself; wonderful group here -- you'll like them!


HEY COURTNEY ~ was thinking about you a while back; must have been the Lord puttin' you on my mind. Glad that you are feeling better now; and LAURIE is right, you can get that 10 lbs back off in no time cuz you are young and strong ... prayers going up for you too! :hug:


BOOTSIE ~ the MOCK APPLE PIE was prepared like this ...

1-1/2 cups rhubarb chopped in 1-2 inch pieces
3 x large apple cut in chunks
1/2 cup water
2 tsp honey
3 packets artificial sweetener (becuz I have to watch my sugar)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Put into pan in the order given and cook with a lid on medium heat until all is soft; it takes about 30 minutes. Eat warm or cold as desired. Now, if sugar isn't a problem, you can use 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar to your taste, instead of the honey and sweetener. This has a sweet-tart flavor but it gets sweeter the longer it sits (the next day); store in fridge. I just serve it in small fruit nappy (dessert) dishes. Some people like it with a bit of light cream, but I eat it just as it is.

You can also prepare the rhubarb by itself and/or add other fruits to it alone, or a mix according to your likes; I love adding apples or strawberries, or blueberries, or raspberries, or even cherries ... whatever I happen to have on hand or in my freezer.


:wave: to ALL OUR CE's out there; and ^PRAYERS^ continue for you and yours ...

Thanks Rosebud will have to try some rhubarb never have ate any.

Hello All. I was on 3fc and in this group a while ago...I am returning with a slightly different name and am ready to use this support to lose. I look forward to losing with you.

McMama , welcome back !

HI GALS ~ :wave:

Well I am just sitting here watching my ballgame...it is too hot outside to do anything! Angie and i went to church last night so we took the dogs to the beach, parked at the beach cafe, walked 2 miles down and back. Had our usual breakfast there, one tomato/basil/egg and one egg/swiss croissant which we split.

I took off for the grocery store and gas station and paid bills, while Angie did a yoga class then the produce market.

I just finished cooking meatballs for spaghetti I am having on Wednesday, probably...always make extra for next time.

I had to work yesterday but we did not work nights last week like my boss thought we would...maybe this week....darn. So many out of work...I shouldn't complain...just tired ;)

Seems like I post the same thing every week-end :)....I lead such an exciting life :D

BARGOO ~ :)

McMAMA ~ Welcome back :)

BOOTSIE ~ the concert was fun! It was at our park which is small for the summer concerts...probably 1,000...one of the ones we go to has easily over 4,000...so many we quit going as often. Fun to take in things when the weather is nice and experience summer experiences!

ROSEBUD ~ I never had rhubarb that I know of.

COURTNEY ~ Sorry you had health issues dear :hug: So glad to see you back here..we sure do miss you! P.S. been playing corn-hole/bean bag toss quite often this summer...everyone loves it!

DONNA T ~Welcome :)

SCOOTER ~ How is the "family" doing? Still all there? Hope you enjoyed the arts and crafts fair, Angie and I love to go to them. There seems to be one almost every week-end around here, we had a small one on the beach route this morning...paintings. One we go to, that is held twice a year, has over 100,000 for the one day event! It is right on the route we took this morning for our walk.

BEV ~ I hope all is well with you and your "honeymooners" ;) I did send Dennis a note...don't remember if I told you.

RONNI ~ I hope it wasn't too difficult moving out fil's stuff for your family :hug: I hope the fair was fun.

WILMA ~ Busy exercising?

SUGA ~ Happy late birthday :hug: You are right between my 28 yr old son and 26 yr old daughter!

TRIKERBABE ~ I hope that you and Morgan are finding a way to meet each other. My wife had just a terrible time with her daughter for many years...it is getting better...day by day :hug:

KAREN ~ I hope things are going better for you and you had a chance to "celebrate" your father's life in a way that will be a wonderful memory for years to come :hug:

KATHY ~ Continued prayers of healing for the passing of your friend :hug: Are you still getting out there for walks?

TAMMY ~ I hope you are doing well in the tourney! :carrot:

Heavenly Father, Please continue to bless my friends here in Jesus Name.

Rosebud - thanks for the recipe - it sounds so easy and delish! Just the thing when I'm craving something sweet :yes:

McMamma - glad you are back! Hope you will post often!

Gary - Mom is still here, the rest of the family has gone (except for the usuals that live here of course :lol:) She flies out on Wed. The house will seem quiet without her!


A good day here, church went well this morning (It was my week to be liturgist) and our parish assistant gave the message - she is an awesome speaker, and I just love it when she preaches!

I spent much of the day cooking, I had way too much prepared/processed stuff last week. Between that and entertaining all the relatives and meals out :yikes: While my weight held steady, I just feel different, and not in a good way.
So today was devoted to making rosemary whole wheat focaccia bread, aquinoa/mushroom/feta dish, and wonderful lentil/chick pea burgers.

The house smells WONDERFUL! :D

I hope everyone had a good weekend! Prayers continuing for all!

Laurie :scooter:

Hello Everyone!!!!
I will continue to send prayers for all of you!!!! Bienvienida (Welcome) Donna and welcome back Candy!

I had a very blessed weekend. We celebrated by birthday on Sunday. I was surrounded by my family, my fiancee and his family. It was so much fun. My sister surprised me with this awesome Astros cake. I LOVE THE HOUSTON ASTROS :) I just had to have some. It was as delicious as it looked. I was so excited. I had been wanting an Astros cake for a while and it finally came true. I am back on track today, still exercising little by little.

Mom wants to invest in an elliptical machine, but I do not know much about equipment. Any suggestions or things I should look for? Hope everybody had a great weekend.

Many blessings,
Suga~

Laurie- Thanks. My 21st b-day is this week so im dreading the 3 dinners in a row. Im going to try to make healthy decisions. The quinoa, feta and mushroom sounds amazing. Yumm

Bootsie- Thanks!

Rosebud- Thank you and you are right the Lord works in mysterious ways. Oh and i love rhubarb. Im on a mission to make a yummy low cal strawberry rhubarb pie.

Mcmama- Welcome back!

Gary- Ive only gotten in a few rounds of cornhole this summer... and lost most of them. Oh well ots still fun and im glad everyone is enjoying it.

Suga- Well happy belated birthday! As far as elllipticals go cheaper isnt always better. Also if you are going to buy one i would check out the different i guess you would call it stride lengths. Some are shorter than others and if you have any problems with your knees or if you have short/long legs you might want to make sure you get one that will fit you well.

Hope everyones weekend went well. Mine was long but nothing too crazy. I worked all weekend and had a family dinner sunday which was nice. Things are getting a little busy here at work so ive got to go. Happy Monday!

COURTNEY ~ well, HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY, in advance. Glad everything is going well for you right now; and how nice that you have 3 parties/dinners to go to. Yes, you can try and just choose the healthiest, but yummiest things they have to keep on track.

ABOUT THE PIE ~ you could do a healthier crumb crust and make the pie smaller (the right size for two: about 6 or 7") and have only one crust on the bottom to lessen the calories even more. You can use part sweetener to lessen the sugar too; every bit helps. I just make the fillings and have them alone or with a bit of light whipped topping; it's like pie but without a crust (you save 100's and 100's of starch and fat calories this way).

MCMAMMA ~ welcome back; glad you decided to come back and join us here again.

SUGA ~ I agree with COURTNEY, you should try an elliptical out at a gym before buying, if you can; and buying a good one, even if it costs a bit more. OR, maybe the store would let you try one out before buying too. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY too!

WOW LAURIE ~ sounds like you make lots of stuff from scratch; I do too, but it's been a while since I made any homemade bread. I have been thinking of trying it again becuz the prices here are atrocious for one good loaf of whole grain bread.

GARY ~ you would have to have a Rhubarb patch or know someone that does, to give you some. We left a good one behind and hope to have another one in the future on our lot. My SM told me to use the Rhubarb that they have on their lot; and there was some on the old farm too, and it was gonna go to waste if we didn't use some of it. You are very helpful just like my DH is ... he loves running errands and such; I think he just loves driving around in the car and the social aspect of it all, but that is A-OK with me (at least I don't have to do it). ;)

BOOTSIE ~ oh yah, by all means, try it. It is very easy to grow -- it prefers to be grown along side a building (a shed or garage or greenhouse; loves the east side), and does best there. It is very low in calories too, and has other health benefits as well. :D

Well, we picked up some more new wood for DH this morning, so he can finish up that floor; he hopes to have it done soon. Just doing a bit at a time, but we'll get there. I am taking progress pictures throughout the process so we can look back later on, and marvel at it all! :lol:

Hope you all have a great week; take good care of yourselves too! As always, ^PRAYERS^ ascending for you and yours ... :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

Today was my first day of 2 weeks of classes for my Master's Degree...so not a lot of time to post on 3fc...but I did eat the right things for the South Beach diet today...I just felt like I ate a lot. I do believe I need to check out some of those forums and see if I went wrong somewhere!
I have been struggling with so many issues, weight has just been secondary so I am excited to begin focusing on that.

Has anyone had experience feeling restless at church? Thinking there was a better place for you? I am having some trouble with our present church and hubby is not too supportive about a possible move (or some church shopping) I just feel a church closer to home with more to do for our kids, for us might bring me closer to the Lord and where I need to be...has anyone felt this way or acted by finding a place you were more at home at?

I know that kind of came out of nowhere but I feel like if I had that issue worked out, some other issues might come a lot easier to me. Well, have a great Tuesday tomorrow...I will check in again tomorrow night! -McMama

Hi All. This past week has been a very emotional time. I appreciate all your prayers for my friends family. Please continue to pray for them as they are struggling with some major family issues.

Gary - I have only walked once in the last couple of weeks. With all the mulching we did I was to tired to walk. I did buy some pepper spray so I'll be taking that with me when I walk. It is probably false security, but at least I'll have something if I'm spooked by someone driving past me 3 times.

I did get a lot of walking in today. We took our kids to Dorney Park which is an amusement park. The only ride my DH and I rode was the 2 train rides. The rest of the time we walked or just sat on a bench and enjoyed each others company. It was relaxing to me because I was not at work and I didn't have to hear the phone ring or have people always wanting my attention. In spite of not doing much I'm exhausted. I'll sleep good tonight.

This week I lost 2.8lbs. I was so excited when I got on the scales. YEAH.

I trust each of you are doing well. Hi to everyone!

Have a great week!

Kathy

Hi everyone,
It was back to work for me today and It was only by the grace of God that I made it. I woke up with head so stuffed and nose a running, but He saw fit for me to make in anyway, for if it had been left up to me, I would have been home again. When I got to work, the warehouse manager, asked How I felt, he could see it all in my face, and I told him blessed, to keep me in prayer. THE MAN RESPONDED THAT HE DOES NOT PRAY!! I was speechless and just walked away.

I do have some good news, my daughter here that goes by cakebatter, Got engaged on Saturday. The guy took her to the beach and fell down on one knee. She said her heart dropped, but she said yes. It was the weekend of a Fairy Tale from the beginning to end for her and this kid so deserves it.

This is all I want, for my kids to be in Christ and to have a wonderful full of love with one who cares and loves them.

Morgan and I are still not seeing eye to eye and we won't until she stops putting herself first. She has turned into a very selfish, hard headed, disrespectfull child and I say child because even though she is about to be 24, she is acting like she is 16 with no respondsibilities. She wanted Malaki (this is how she spells his name) and now she does not want to put in the time. He is such a good an sweet baby, you could not ask for one better. Please keep her in prayer and me, so as to I do not kill her.

I have posted on the Prayer Warriors thread for all of those in prayer and prayers are ascending.

I love all of you and thank you for always listening and being so caring.

To McMomma, I have not met you, but cannot wait to get to kow you.

Candy, welome home.

I cannot remember if I shared that last week I released one more pound. I will take it and be happy.

Hugs, love, and blessings,
Ags

suga and candy http://www.smileycollector.com/images/lotscandles.gif

Rosebud - I "cheat" when I make bread. I love to bake it in the oven, but I often use the breadmaker to knead the dough. There was a time that I made bread twice a week totally from scratch, but my arthritis makes kneading for 15-20 minutes very, very difficult.

McMama - if I get restless with church, I usually find a place/way to plug myself in. That usually takes care of it for me. Staying connected through small group ministries helps me feel more balanced.

Kathy - congrats on the loss! :woohoo: Prayers continuing!

Ags - congrats on the loss. I will continue to keep Morgan in my prayers!

Hi to everyone, hope you had a good start to the week!


A balance day here - very intense day at work, but I got in shape boxing when I got home, then we took Mom out for dinner and then finished the evening on the patio :)

Prayers continuing for all!

Blessings!

Laurie

Hi Gals ~

Not much going on here...I did post a picture of me...28 years ago on our baseball thread if you want to check it out :) http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/general-chatter/173556-baseball-2009-2nd-inning-9.html#post2835613

SUGA ~ You may want to join us over at the baseball thread...as long as you root for my Dodgers from time to time ;)...your 'stros are looking pretty good!

TRIKERBABE ~ great news for CakeBatter...tell her I said hi...she doesn't come around my "threads" much.

SCOOTER ~ Balance is good!

KATHY ~ Small steps dear! :hug:

COURTNEY ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BE!!!it is a biggie :hug:

McMaMa ~My kids have gone through the master's stuff in recent years...hold on dear! :)

ROSEBUD ~ Here in California we are used to buying our veggies/fruits...no rhubarb patch!....although Angie has grown some killer tomatoes/basil/parsley/oregano/ this year! Had most of it tonight in salad!

See ya later gals :hug:

We have clouds outside and watched it lightening and thunder but hmmm...where was the rain? Never seen it like this before and now people are beginning to sit up and take notice now. Got to go take care of my goats and go to work . Everyone have a wonderful day!

Good Morning! Things are still going along pretty good here. They have rescheduled the spreading of my Dad's ashes for tomorrow at the lake. We should be there at 5:00 tomorrow evening and then afterwards we are going to go and eat at his favorite cafe down there and it should be nice. We all have so many stories and memories to share.

My son started reroofing my younger brothers house yesterday. They were glad to finally be able to get started. But that means that when they are done with that they will be headed back to Florida. They have been here for a couple months and I really am going to miss them and my grandkids. My son is studying to be a chef, and my daughterinlaw is a hairstylist. So I have only cooked about 3 meals since the 17th of May. My DIL has cut my hair for me and also my husbands. AND we also cut the Ginger and Sissy's hair. We kept their mane and tails but shaved their bodies so they would be cooler. So when they leave I will be losing my chef, hairstylist and dog groomer!!

It started raining here last night in the night. Lots of lightening and thunder and we have over an inch right now in the rain gauge and it is still raining! Of course, that means no work on the roof today.

I hope everyone has a good day and I am having good thoughts and prayers for all.

We got no rain but I still have HOPE! Our Uncle told us if the well went completely out where we have our cows that we could move them to his place till the sale the next week! So I still have HOPE!

We have over 2 inches now..... Wish I could send some your way.

BASEBALL THREAD!!??! Gary you made my day!! I will check it out right now. That is so awesome. The Astros have been doing pretty good, hope they keep it up.

Thank you all for the elliptical advice. I will keep reading some reviews online and try some out on the store. I hadnt thought about it affecting the knees and thats important since I have one thats not too good.

Prayers and good thoughts for everybody here.

Thank you all for being such an awesome group of people.

God bless you all!!!

Much love,
~Suga :carrot:

Hope everyone is having a great day! I actually got out of work on time tonight - we are taking Mom out for her last night here to her favorite restaurant, and then to the park to hear a band (bluegrass/gospel) that she enjoys.

She flies out tomorrow. This month sure has flown!

Gotta fly!

Prayes continuing for everyone!

Laurie :scooter:

Hi All ~

Had to work some overtime tonight. Watching some baseball now...what's new!

SUGA glad to see you over at the baseball thread! I forgot to tell you...we had an elliptical...a very nice one...it hurt Angie's knees all the time...and after awhile mine...I gave it to my daughter....she is fine with it...and got a treadmill instead. Really do your research!

SCOOTER sounds like a great way to kick mom out!...jk...

BOOTSIE I am still praying for rain!

KAREN it sounds like you have found a great way to "close"...hugs! Sorry about the kids heading back...I can tell they will be missed.

Later Gals!

:wave: HI EVERYONE ~ we got up really early and went to the lot today; good thing as it was a scorcher :sunny:. I planted some flower bulbs; not the best time, but we'll see if something comes up, as I got them for a very low price. The rest I will plant here in our front garden. DH did well considering the heat; but he had to take lots of water breaks, and finally the heat was just too much, so we came home early (he had also used up all his nails).

Now, we'll gather up some more supplies, but will wait to go back on a much cooler day than today was; we'll have to watch the forecasts. Had a late dinner tonight as DH had a 3-hour nap when we got home becuz of the heat, but things are starting to cool off now ...

LAURIE ~ many people make homemade bread that way; let the machine and oven do all the work, but I bet it's very worth it. The Rhubarb-apple compote is very easy and delish; just finished off that last batch today ... it gets sweeter each day!

BOOTSIE ~ prayers goin' up for rain for your part of the world. England has too much, as do some other places, so maybe we can pray some to go down your way soon ... :hug:

HI KAREN ~ your new coiffe looks fabulous! Nice to see you drop by -- hope you and yours have a great Celebration Day for Dad tomorrow. I'm sure that is what he would have wanted you all to do in memory of him. :hug:

AGGIE ~ One lb is one lb -- take it! Congratulations to CAKEBATTER; and ^PRAYERS^ continuing for MORGAN and MALAKI ... :hug:

GARY ~ ahhh, that's a cute pic of your baby; which one is that? He's wearing blue, so I guess that's a hint. You look like a hippie there; are those locks I see, or is that just the background camouflage? ;)

:congrat: KATHY ~ that's the direction you want it to go; keepin' pretty steady for you too!

HI SUGA :wave:

and MCMAMMA ~ Yes, I think we all go thru that sometime; I know our RONNI has been struggling with this topic too, and this is something that we have been and are still discussing on and off these days. My mother used to go to two churches (took turns), as she felt more needed and comfortable in a small country church, but would go to the bigger one near here home on occasion too. Just be sure to keep your DH's feelings considered becuz you don't want him to stop going to church out of frustration; and the kids need his strong example as a church-going father.



HELLO to all our other CE'ers and MIA's out there ~ hope you are all having a great summer and great week too! Is it hot enuff for ya'll? ^PRAYERS^ are ascending for everyone's requests ... :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:

....
GARY ~ ahhh, that's a cute pic of your baby; which one is that? He's wearing blue, so I guess that's a hint. You look like a hippie there; are those locks I see, or is that just the background camouflage? ;)


:D Yep...that is all my hair...could be why I always had to play Jesus in the church plays...even though I was a baby Christian!

OH...and that is Ryan...now 28...but Amanda wore plenty of DODGER BLUE!

Did somebody close this thread? ;)

hellllllooooo anybody there?

Rosebud- I appreciate your take on the hubby's position. That is so true and should be a huge part of my prayers and consideration!

The days have been filled with donuts, breads, bagels, and muffins but I have continually walked past them...I am working on getting to a place where I can have 1/2 a donut and not three. That will probably take a while so until then...None at all. I usually am okay so long as I don't feel hungry and I am trying to develop a taste for more fruits and veggies.

I am reading some of the posts and trying to get to know you all...Take care and see you soon! -mcmama

HI Justwanna :)

Thank you all for the elliptical advice. I think we may invest in a treadmill instead. We had our eye on one but Walmart does not carry it anymore, so we were bummed. It seemed to be a good machine. I will probably go to Academy with mom on Sunday.:)

Thank you Gary for the suggestion on the baseball thread. I just got back from the game, it was awesome.

Hope everybody had a great day. I have a good friend visiting me so we have a couple of days planned out for them in the city.

God bless each and everyone of you!! :hug:

~Suga :carrot:

Hi Gary I am here!

Thanks for all the prayers , it drizzled here tonight. Wish it would drizzle for 3 days and 3 nights then come a down pour! I just thank the Lord for really sending some down pours around Round Mountain, Texas and Marble falls, I just know soon our turn will come up! I pray he blesses everyone with rain and turns his land back to flowers and grass and green trees! Go God go! You can do what no one else can do!

YEAH McMamma22! Go girl! Keep right on walking! I have to do the same thing at our feed house those guys bring them donuts in sitting right in front of me. I have got where hey, I really don't want one for I know exactly where it will go and I have worked to hard for that ! So have you so keep on walking! Those donuts are poison to you and me! One thing that makes them easy to pass up is when I look at them I try to think of something I can't stand and that is something my Mother in law loves! Pig brains and scrambled eggs! Yuck! Keep us informed , how it goes McMamma22!

Hi, Everyone!

Courtney-so sorry you were ill-I had a similar experience as Rosebud, as you were brought to my mind several times over the last couple weeks and was wondering and praying for you! Happy Birthday:bday2you: 21 is special-I don't remember it, but I know someone told me it was special-lol! Have a great one! (Oops!-just realized how that sounded-no, I didn't get so drunk that I don't remember my 21st, as drinking age was 18 back then-yes, I'm that old! I just can't remember that far back and no, I still don't drink...)

Aggie-congrats to your daughter on her engagement and prayers for you and Morgan. Hope you're feeling better too. :hug:

Kathy-great weight loss! You are in my prayers as well.

Karen-you've been in my thoughts and prayers. Hope you had a blessed day yesterday.

Laurie-glad you had a great time with your mom! Prayers for safe travel for her.

McMama & Donna-:welcome2: So glad to have new people here to get to know!

Gary, Rosebud, Wilma, Bargoo, suga-sounds like everyone's been so busy! I guess that's just typical of summer-trying to enjoy the weather and get things accomplished that can't be during the long, cold winter (ok, for everyone except Gary and Bargoo:lol:).

Hi also to anyone I may have missed-I'm in kind of a hurry as I have a lot of housework to catch up on (but don't really want to do it, if you know how that is). Haven't been able to be on here, but you've all been in my prayers. Things around here seem to just keep getting more depressing all the time. FIL not doing well (end probably not far off now), my dad has definite diagnosis of throat cancer, but needs PET scan yet to see whether it's spread. We may move him up here near us, so I can look out for him during radiation/chemo, but not sure yet if he's even going to treat (depends on whether it has spread). My sister's hubbie had a couple irregular blood tests last week and there is some concern about cancer there (he's only 41). And, then she kinda shocked me by declaring that if our dad dies, she won't miss him, so it doesn't matter whether he treats or not-I know he wasn't the best dad (he drank a LOT), but that seemed really cold to me and makes me very, very sad. Then, last evening our 12yo son had another run-in with the local 15yo bully, who caused him to crash his bike-3 staples in the head, both knees and an elbow skinned, and badly bruised everywhere else. I'd like to know what you all would have done, but we called the sheriff and made out another report on the kid. We don't have a police presence in our town, so it seems like this bully just keeps getting away with doing whatever he wants to whomever he wants. I guess we have to see if the juvie judge thinks it warrants charges.

I just feel drained. Sorry to go on and on, but as you all know, sometimes it's the best therapy to be able to vent a little here, then go on with normal life. Love you all! Have a great day!

mcmama - I still have to walk right by the donuts. Thankfully, they don't call my name any more when I pass :)

Suga - enjoy your visit!

Ronni :grouphug: Prayers continuing for your family! You are dealing with a lot right now! You are in my thoughts!

A good day here in MI - beautiful weather, and we finished the evening off with a WONDERFUL jazz concert in the park. This year's series has been outstanding! We are so blessed to have so many wonderful musicians from Chicago, NY, etc. come to our little town :D

Prayers continuing for everyone!

Laurie :scooter:

Sorry, I have been pre-occupied with susie moving and what not. I'm actually packed LIGHTLY for my trip to San Antonio...again. God keeps sending me to TX this year...hmmm...

Ags - :woohoo: for the engagement! :) And I am still praying for Morgan. No news on my whatever it is yet... :) But I trust God.

Gary - got your news that you sent Dennis a letter. thank you! :) you ROCK

I am feeling overwhelmed by folks pulling on me...so i am going into seclusion again. i will still post here...no one here sucks the life out of me! :D

Keep the prayers coming for me, mom and dennis. I so appreciate it! Still no word on jennifer letting Haley go see him. She won't respond to my messages at all. :(

Well, take care. i have to MAKE myself go to sleep. I have to be up in 5 hours and trying to get out of the house and to the airport. I can never sleep the night before I fly out...

PEACE!

:wave: YES, it's the good ole summertime ~ :lol: and that means posters are scarce; I do remember this happening last year too. Everyone is really busy in the summer, and/or away on holidays too.

:hug: RONNI ~ don't feel bad at all; we understand that you are going thru a really ruff patch in your life right now, and you need all the support you can get. We are sending up continuous prayers for you and your family, esp your son tonight (and you really didn't have any other choice but to report that assault, becuz that's what it was); plus for you Dad, your FIL, and the rest of your family as well. Also praying for that bully, becuz there's something wrong there too. Here, they get the bully and the victim to do impact and healing counselling together; it actually works. :hug:

MCMAMMA ~ I am very fortunate (like BOOTSIE) that I am not that fond of donuts, so I can resist them fairly easily. Yah, that is a good solution -- look at the sugar as a poisonous coating that makes your body sick, and that might help (I do this all the time too). For me, that is my reality; the sugar does make my body sick (pre-diabetic under control right now by avoiding sugar whenever possible). Can you make up a few baggies of healthier snacks to have around instead?

BOOSTIE ~ glad your state got some rain; we have been praying hard for you all. I just know that it's a coming ...

BEV ~ prayers for a good sleep, safe trip, and for your family ...

Just picked up some more nails and a few others things we forgot earlier in the week today. I have been getting my days all mixed up this month; not sure why, but we're all straightened out now. This month seemed to whiz by for us. Dh wants to go to the lot again tomorrow if is looks nice enuff; it was much cooler today than yesterday. Hope it stays that way for us too.

:wave: to all our CE'ers and MIA's ~ hope you are having some fun this summer too. There is supposed to be a summerfest coming up soon; the first one put on by our new recreational committee, so hope it turns out well for them (esp as they do all this work volunteer too).

Take good care, it's very late and DH just came out to see where I was. Time to hit the hay ... :hug:ROSEBUD :hug: ^PRAYERS^ ascending for you and yours ...

Bev - prayers continuing for your family and for you! I hope you have a great trip!

Rosebud - hope you have a productive trip to the lot and that you don't work too hard!

Thanks again all for your prayers. The second mammo was all clear - PTL!

Gotta fly - the garden is calling!

Hope you all have a blessed weekend!
Prayers continuing!

Laurie :scooter:

Yes our state got .....some rain....2 tenths here, none where our cows are, but i still have hope next week giving rain out all week! Thankful though some got two inches! We are just one day closer!!

I got my eyes checked today been 8 years since I had them checked. Eye doctor said that for 8 years my eyes have not changed very much at all ,just a slight change and that is it. There is a new test that you can get and see if you are up for heart trouble with your eyes and they did that, it was good and then they dilated my eyes, gosh that stuff stung! Then he told me to walk around some so i went in walmart , started to get blurry went back and he took me right in and done all the test. Then I went to get my glasses and I got the cheapest pair everything came to 233.00 but my last pair that lasted 8 years and has been knocked off my head by a cows tail, helping a calf nurse, found hung on the cows tail just a swinging, knocked off by a hoe when I stepped on it, did not even relize they were gone till 8 hours latter , stepped on etc, poor glasses but tough cost me 435.00. Doctor told me I could go ahead and drive, as long as I kept my sunglasses on. I stayed at Walmart and walked around there for two hours because I was still having a blurry vision. When it cleared up that I thought it was safe for me to drive , I started out, everyone always passes me up on the road and no one was passing me up so I looked behind and everyone was behind me. I slowed down to 55 I was going 65 and they passed me, I got home and thought about that maybe I was not driving as good as i thought I was??? I just don't understand he said I could drive right then and there as long as I kept my sunglasses on. Hmmm. I went to sleep when I got home. Hubbie wanted me to come stay at the feed house so I did I had to even think how to run the cash register! Then a man came in to buy 12 bags of corn and instead of giving him 7.00 dollars back I gave him 7 cents!!! He caught that right away! Ha! Oh man I had no business working or on the road! I am home and tomorrow is another day, I am beginning to wonder if I had an allergic reaction to that dilating medicine. Because he did not see any reason why I should not drive home as long as I kept my sunglasses on as soon as I left his office.

Bootsie - you may indeed have had a reaction. Make sure you mention it next time you have your eyes dilated! I drove home right after my appointment with no trouble (needed sunglasses of course).

A quiet morning here in MI. I will try to send some rain Bootsie's way since we are getting more than enough.

Thankfully, I have lots of chores to do inside today. And, I better get to them :lol:

Hope you have a fun day!

Blessings!

Laurie

Hi Gals ~

It is a warm one here today...79 right now. We are having our monthly family dinner today. We are having our 2nd annual shuffleboard tournament. We are having hot dogs and side dishes.

We weren't sure if it was a go with all the work this week and a possible Saturday work day....boss went to Alaska and didn't call...so we ran out of the building at 3:00 ....brother and I shutting our company phones off at 3:00 even :D We don't mind working week-ends if we have to....and who has enough money? ;)...but those 3:00 calls on Friday are killers!

Andie and I took an old route this morning, no traffic, a nice pleasant 3 miles in the cool of the morning with the spoiled ones ;)

Well off to clean my bathroom for company.

Prayers have been sent up for all concerns...eyes ~ tests ~ dads ~ brothers ~ rain ~ trips ~ donuts and elliptical advice :hug:

:wave: HELLO EVERYONE ~ well, we did go out to the lot yesterday, it was :sunny: but way too hot; the morning was nice though, so DH got lots done. He was very happy that by lunch time, he had half the entire floor crossbraces finished. This is a slow, tedious job when you are working by yourself, but he also wants to make sure the floor is very secure and will last our lifetime. He said that he had to correct a few booboos he made along the way; but he is ahead of schedule, so he needn't worry about it too much.

The weather got way too hot by mid-afternoon, so we packed things up and came home, just in time for dinner. I managed to get 2 walks in today (one long and one short); credit moi! Plus I also put some bagged black earth on my stone garden and clipped some grass around my bushes (more exercise; kudos to me).

I have been studying various plans and am instilling all the best tips from them that I think will help lead to success. I like the positive affirmations from the BECK Plan, so you will notice me using them here and there. We already say "congrats for this or that; or kudos to you" but I will also be adding "credit moi or you" as well.

LAURIE ~ as you were saying that your garden was calling; I thought that it's better that your garden is calling than junky foods: credit you, that's a victory! I also now look at almost any activity as an opportunity to use up some energy (as in calories); gardening is a great one. This is becoming well incorporated into my psyche! I just finished brushing down NIKO; and boy, that gives your arms a good work out -- I even found myself wondering how often I could brush him to burn some more C's ... :lol: I may have a bald dog by fall. ;)

I shared in the Physical Challenges thread "My Circle of Success" strategies; and thought it was funny how so many us are learning the same things from our weightloss journies. We are all changing and growing in many similar ways ...

BOOTSIE ~ I agree with Laurie that you may have had an allergic reaction becuz DH and I had that test last year and my blurriness only lasted for a few minutes or so. STill prayin' for rain; we had a doozy of a storm last night -- maybe that will head your way!

GARY ~ hope you and yours have a great family day together; you are blessed indeed ...

So, I made a list of mini-goals for today and got most of them done already (another tip from Dr. Beck; am really liking some of her ideas): 1) made a container of snack veggies; credit moi. 2) made a fruit salad; credit. 3) had homemade soup for lunch; credit. 4) made mock banana icecream; kudos 2 me. 5) brushed NIKO very well; credit. 6) did stretchy band exercises; kudos. 7) did tummy tucks first thing this am; credit. 8) posted here; credit moi. :D

Gee, when you look at things from a positive point of view, and see all that you got right -- you are much more encouraged. Too often we focus on the negative (what we didn't do); I am loving 'patting myself on the back' for all that I achieved today!

Maybe I will try and pick up one of Dr. Beck's book the next time I am near a bookstore; might be well worth it, I think. Lots of folks here say that her books have helped them immensely, esp from a psychological point of view. I think that is one advantage we as Christians have too; we can count our many blessings and benefits as well.

The weather here has been really nice all day; perfect for Dh and his hobbies and very comfortable for me. I just stayed home today and did my own thang. Hope you all are having a pleasant weekend; and that you all have a very blessed and peaceful Sunday tomorrow. :hug:ROSEBUD:hug: ^PRAYERS^ are continuing for you and yours ...

Gary, sounds like another fun day around your place! Good balance, good times :)

Rosebud - I absolutely LOVED your post! I agree, Dr. Beck has some really good stuff in her book! And, all those little, day-to-day things really do make the difference.

I do believe that successful weight loss (like success in any other area) is a series of choices. Each one doesn't amount to that much, but together - WOW!


Church was great today, with the exception of wearing too many hats and running around like a crazy person :lol:

We got lots of rain today, which makes it a perfect day to stay indoors and enjoy a quiet Sabbath.

I hope your day was blessed as well!
Prayers ascending!

Laurie :scooter:

HI GALS ~

Shuffleboard went well although Angie and I lost early in the match....dang. We lost to my sister and brother in law (who eventually won it all) by a couple of points and then to one of my nieces and her boyfriend by 3...dang...oh well...life goes on!

One of my son's friends that I haven't seen for awhile came....he is a great kid, I have known him for years, went in the Army then Iraq....we used to hook up when he came home but since he got out he has been busy with his life...finding it....he was glad to be here. We have a family picture wall...all races! of "our family"...he is Mexican and isn't on the wall yet, although we do have pictures of him in photo books from high school track/cross country teams....I told him he needs to make 2 family gettogethers to make the wall!

The party went well. Even though we didn't win the trophy!

Church was bittersweet as our vicar and his wife were here for their last day. They head "home" to Washington state then in Sept. off to Fort McMurray Canada for his call. A big change. A very nice man, 55 yrs. old...Angie loved having his wife in her yoga class each week.

SCOOTER send some of that rain over to ROSEBUD and BOOTSIE!

I am getting ready for the big family reunion August the first. We have it at the Community center but I have to get everything together. The meat,paper goods, fighting tools(silver ware) It is the 15th reunion we have put on and my friend is going to put on the program this year ,suppose to be very special.
Today I am going to make a new dog pen for one of my dogs under a bunch of shade trees, hope it helps her stay cooler. She is a border collie and she always wants to work but she is not trained yet. I was hoping she would mellow out some before i started to really training she does not have much patience in being still for any length of time. Wish I was more like her. Well best hit the road before it gets any hotter.

Gary - glad the party went well! Sounds like it was a lot of fun!

Bootsie - still trying to send some rain your way. Sounds like you are keeping busy!

A productive day here. Work went well, and I got in shape boxing after I got home :) And, I did get in a two mile walk today too :D

I gotta come up with some dinner ideas since DH is working until 6.

So, I'm off to scour my cookbooks. Hope everyone has a blessed evening!

Prayers continuing!

Laurie

:wave: HI ~ we have had :rain: and :sunny: on and off all day; interesting really. We have :sunny: right now. DH is making himself some of his favorite -- chicken super dogs; and I am gonna have leftovers from yesterday ... noodles with mushroom sauce with meatballs (just have to reheat it in the microwave).

Got up early this AM by a phone call that DH's neice was on her way here from down south for fly-in fishing trip. We spent the morning doing our spiff chores and they were supposed to come by and visit, so we waited and waited and no show ... DH was none too pleased, I must say. They might show up after dinner, so I guess I should get that over with too.

Gee, company should come more often, this place shines ... :lol: Actually, it stays pretty good becuz there is only two of us here. DH is burning something; our alarm just went off and scared the daylight out of me! :lol:

So, I got lots of exercise in today; was even working up a sweat -- kudos 2 me! So later, I will have a nice cool shower and do my hair. Yesterday I made a big container of veggies snacks and still have some for today too. KOP (kepted on plan) today too; credit moi for that. I am stoked and doin' very well lately.

BOOTSIE ~ will be sending some of this rain down your way. Our NIKO is part bordie collie and black lab; he gets ansy to do his own thang too. He knows every word we say though, but sometimes, he wants to do things his way; and we have to remind him who's boss by raising our voice tones a bit. Other than that, he's a good boy.

Well, gotta go join DH for dinner right now ... have a good night! :hug:ROSEBUD :hug:

I'm home and tired. But it was a great trip! God continues to amaze me in His goodness!!!!

I hope all of you are feeling His love and blessings along with His blanket of peace that surrounds you. Enjoy the moments with Him and never be in a hurry to leave the King's presence. I'm trying to remember that right now. I want to feel Him as intimately as possible. I want to have that to nourish me and strengthen me.

Peace

Hi Rayne! Glad you had a safe trip and back home but had a great trip! get some much needed rest. Missed you!

Good Morning. I just thought that I haven't been here for awhile and I really needed to let you all know how much I appreciated all the prayers and thoughts. We did go down last Wednesday to the lake and spread Dad's ashes. I've attached a couple pictures. The first one is the man from the mortuary out in the boat spreading his ashes. That is Honey Creek Bridge in the background. The second one is my son and his family standing up on the deck the restaurant we ate at. We walked down to the docks just to the left of my son there on water so I was able to get some pictures. My Dad said he wanted to be between the restaurant and Honey Creek bridge. I would have rather been able to do it myself but was out voted so at least I know my Dad is at rest now. Afterwards we all went to the restaurant and had dinner and told stories and shared memories. It was fun hearing some of the stories again.

I'm hoping that things will get better between my brother and sister now. They have both been over once since then so it is a positive step in the right direction.

Everyone have a great day.

Rosebud - :D :cp:

Bev - glad the weekend went well!

Karen :hug: prayers continuing for your family!


A quick post tonight. We walked downtown and took in a wine tasting event at our favorite coffee house and wine bar. They serve "samples" of three of their menu items - perfect size for staying OP :D

The weather is glorious, so we also had a fire outside and just relaxed and enjoyed the evening. A nice balance for a crazy work day :yes:

We are starting to get prepped for our next excursion (next weekend), planning our stops throughout Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I'm really looking forward to all the hiking and waterfalls :D

:wave: HI FOLKS ~ we had lots and lots of :rain: today, so we prayed that it would go down across NA and to the lower states to fill up their wells too. It cleared up and the :sunny: came out from dinner time til dusk. DH's sister came by for a visit this afternoon; and our niece and BIL got off really early this AM for the fly-in fishing trip: hope they don't get eatin' up by buggies. Hope they catch some nice Pickerel or maybe something even bigger? :shrug:

Did laundry this AM and besides visiting and chatting; did some stuff on my PC today. I made up a 'Daily Exercise List'; credit moi ... and a 'Daily Sample Menu List' as well; that should be helpful to give me some ideas when I'm stuck for ideas; kudos to me! :lol:

I tried to make a dentist appointment becuz part of an old filling fell out, but they changed my appointment 3 x times. I dunno what the problem was; I had an appointment to go in tomorrow AM and she cancelled that to the 9th, and now it's set for the 14th of September, putting it off even more. My SIL says that they double booked her and cancelled one today. DH says that maybe I should go to the city where they have a lot more dentists and they may appreciate the business more. He has a point. When I was in college, I went to a really nice dentist there; I may yet see if I can get in there. Part of the problem is that we only have 2 dentists here and one only works 2 days a week in this town; and that's why some of my friends go to the city. I just thought it would be handier to go here, but maybe it's not necessarily better. hmmm... what to do? what to do?

LAURIE ~ thanks so much for the encouragement; it's much appreciated really ... wow, you and your DH are always doing such fun things; and sounds like you have so many great places to go in your city/town too. We used to have bonfires all the time at our old place, but DH doesn't think they would let us have them here. However, we saw a neighbour just down the street, have one just last Friday night. He is a Christian youth pastor, and did this for the young people's group, which was quite fun for them, we thought ...

HI KAREN ~ nice to hear from you; glad that your special day went so well; I can see why your Dad liked that place, it looks really serene. I love lakes myself; DH and I often go and just sit there and enjoy the scenery. When we were kids, we practically lived at the lake (actually we did for a while); and we had picnics there regularly. My mom used to say what a better way to spend a day, especially when you have 6 kids and it's free ...

HI BEV ~ glad you had a fun and safe trip ...

:wave: HI BOOTSIE ~ any rain yet?

HI to all our other CEer's and MIA's too; hope you all have a WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY tomorrow!!!

:hug:ROSEBUD :hug: ^Prayers^ continue for you and yours ...

Bootsie, Karen, Rosebud - thanks! :)

I feel like i never include personals...
hoping for rain for those that need it! gary - shuffleboard???? :D

pray for my dog-pumpkin. she misses susie's dog Rudy... :(

Gary,sorry that you are losing your vicar, praying that God will send the right person to take his place. We had good news from our pastor. He is 42 and just been married 18 months, he announced that he and his wife are expecting a baby , everyone is happy for him. A number of years ago he had a romance with a young woman and proposed to her but she didn't want to be a minister's wife. Of course he would not give up the ministry even though he had a broken heart. It was a long time before he met the "right one" and everyone is so happy for him.

bargoo - such a sweet story! Thanks for sharing it!

Bev - prayers ascending!

Rosebud - I'm trying to send sunshine your way. It is glorious here today!

School is calming down a bit (only a bit) and hopefully, my schedule will be "normal" for the next few days. Then chaos breaks loose again when all the staff come back.

With so many budget cuts and layoffs, lots of folk will be moving around and taking on more responsibilities. On top of training 170 teachers a new grading and attendance system, I get to train those folk too. It should make for a very interesting fall!

But, I'm not complaining - just happy that I still have my job!

I gotta fly, my turn to make dinner tonight. I'm thinking a nice ww pasta dish with grilled vegetables, but I'm not sure on the sauce. Maybe something from scratch ...

Prayers continuing for all!

Laurie :scooter:

Rosebud are not the border collie amazing! Sunny is sitting when I tell her to now and not getting up till I tell her, that a do, then she is off again! I give her something special to eat and she buries it, hmmm...I want her to eat it to gain weight not bury it. She is something else , she does love poached eggs though, eats them like she is starving! She puts dirt over her dog food ,how can that taste any good like that. Yuck!

Still no rain, cloudy 30% chance but no rain drops. So happy you got some rain Rosebud! Thank you all for the prayers, I just know God will send some sooner or later, just one day closer!

Went walking this morning with a friend of mine, 2 miles , nice to be able to walk and talk and the walk made me feel really good even though I sweated . I think when you sweat it does a-lot of good for your body. My clothes were solid wet!

I will put this on the prayer page too...i have a few:

Al-the neighborhood dad will undergo surgery friday for an aneurysm in his stomach. he's been having awful back pain too...maybe the 2 are connected. Either way, i know he and his wife, sadie, are scared and need prayer for healing and peace.

Tracy - old friend of mine since elementary school. she has been separated from her hubby for 3 years and desperately wants a divorce. he's addicted to pain killers, won't work, has severe panic attacks, etc. He is refusing a divorce and is just making her life miserable. She also just graduated with a teaching degree and can't find a job. She has 2 children...he provides NO support at all.

Mom - well, just peace, making the right decisions, and joy.

dennis - get to see Haley (which means her mom-jennifer-must let him) and protection while being where he is...and get closer to God.

Brian - special friend of mine. peace, discernment and wisdom regarding his business and those involved in his business. he also needs peace, healing and restoration. revelation, wisdom, knowledge and immediate obedience. also the enemy must be SHUT up and no longer speaking to him! only GOD!!!! (brian is also in ministry...reaching those that others don't...like me) no confusion. peace

me to know what God wants me to do...lose this darn weight! peace and shut the enemy up and no longer in my head!!!! no confusion.

barbara - this is the lady that was addicted to crack...continue praying for her healing, restoration and continued sobriety!

i think that's it! :)

Hola a todos! (Hello to all):hug:

I've gone MIA again :) My visit with my friend was awesome. We had so much fun during her visit. I went to places in the city I hadnt even visited before, so that was great. I even got on a carriage ride.... ;) haha!

Now, I've just been hanging out at home and making decisions for the wedding. Gotta stay on track so I can be slimmer for the wedding :D

Hope all of you are having a great week.

Blessing to all,

Suga~:carrot:

Bootsie - good job with the exercise :)

My dog (part shelty) does the same thing. One time he took a whole box of Balance Bars (16 of them) off the table while we were gone. We are still finding them buried in the yard, in flower pots, in the garden ...

Bev - prayers ascending for all mentioned!

Suga - glad your visit went well. And, yes - extra attention to staying on plan while the wedding is approaching. So much to do, it is easy to get off track. I sure wish I had lost weight before DS1 got married. I cringe every time I look at the pictures!

Gotta fly - jazz concert tonight :) Hope you are all having a blessed evening!

Prayers continuing!

Laurie :scooter:

Hi Christian Encouragers!
I was briefly here a few months ago and wandered away. I'm back and still fat. :dizzy:

I've been struggling - up and down - with my weight. Just popping in looking for some motivation.

:welcome: BACK, MAMADUCK ~ glad you decided to come back and join us. This weight control thing is going to be a life-long journey. Hang in there, keep coming back; it really does help.

This afternoon, I was busy working on my plan of action lists (credit moi). I've been making up list of tools to help myself on this journey: Daily Mini-goals list; Daily exercises (things I can do, starting with 5 minutes & up); Daily Menus (made out enuff for 31 days +); and next job is to make a list of MOTIVATORS (listing all the things that I know will be better in my life once I get this weight off) ... anyone want to share some of their ideas?

PRAYER REQUEST ~ just a small request here among friends: the BIBLE KOPS are loose on another thread; I would appreciate your prayers for that, thanks!

You know, I read my bible every day; and I have spent a lot of time memorizing scriptures in my life: that is, ones that I think would be helpful to others, but I have not memorized the entire bible verbatim, scripture and verse (I mean, how many people can claim to do that?). I have never claimed to be a bible scholar or a theologian either; but I did learn one trick though: to say the book & verse numbers BEFORE & AFTER the actual scriptures, and I found that helped me remember them much better. Do people really think that all Christians should have to memorize the gazillion words in the bible word for word, and where they are? I use search tools to find many scriptures, but they are limited too.

BOOTSIE ~ yes, our NIKO like to bury things too: like his balls and bones and other goodies we give him. I think it is becuz they want to save them for later. Our poor NIKO was a rescued, abandoned dog, so he had many days without food, so I am not surprised to see him burying extra food now. Also, I think that they are trying to hide it from competing dogs. Sometimes, he hides them behind the couch, so we have to watch for that too. :lol:

BEV ~ wow, lots of prayers needed there; will put them on my list.

GARY ~ I agree with BARGOO, I am sorry that you are losing someone that you are so fond of; it seems that your loss, is Canada's gain. Thanks for sharing him with us: often those towns and cities in the far north have a terrible time getting ministers to go up there. My sister and her husband (an ordained Anglican Priest) are working in Manitoba, fairly high up also, but that place is in the Territories (very, very, far north). You know though, that it will be an experience that he and his family will not forget, becuz they say it is very beautiful up there too ...

:wave: HI SUGA ~ nice to see you drop by; glad you had a nice trip and that carriage ride sounds fun. We have a stable here that does that too; they do rides for weddings and special festivals that we hold here too.

THANKS, LAURIE ~ the sun showed up today; we went up to the lot yesterday and I got so many black fly bites on my face ... :yikes: We went up town to pick up a few things; and picked up a regular apple tree to go with the pollinator (crap apple tree), so then we went up and planted it yesterday afternoon. It kept raining on and off, that's why the bugs came out in force; but PTL, we got it planted and mulched too. We put them right beside each other in the back yard, so they pollinate better; and now, I will be sending prayers that they both grow really well.

HI BARGOO ~ nice to see you drop by ...

Well, just stayed home and did stuff around here, becuz I got lots of walking in yesterday (kudos to me); I'm happy that I did but sometimes it tires my legs out and they feel like jelly by the evening. I put them up for 2 hours this PM; so that should help a bit. Just having some tea right now too.

:wave: HI TO ALL OUR CEer's and MIA's out there ~ hope you are feeling OK, and have a FANTABULOUS FRIDAY!!! :hug: ROSEBUD :hug: ^PRAYERS^ are ascending for you and yours ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BARGOO!

:bday2you::bday2you::bday2you:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BARGOO!!!

Rosebud-forget the folks that think you need to have it all memorized! I can pull certain scriptures...but a lot of time they are paraphrased...but I get the meaning across. What is more important? to know scripture and feel proud? or to KNOW God and feel loved and redeemed? :)

love ya

Dennis' baby momma is being VERY difficult. She won't tell me where she is living. and MOST definitely won't let Haley see Dennis. this is icky.

Mamaduck - welcome back! Glad you joined us!

Rosebud - prayers ascending. Let us know if you need some backup.

Bev - prayers continuing for Dennis' family situation!



Hello to everyone else. Happy Friday. DH and I took the scooters out to a favorite restaurant/brewery. The weather is glorious and we had a delightful evening on the patio. Time to get some weeding done before we have a fire on the patio. I wish I could invite all of you over. Northern MI has the BEST weather this time of year :D

Hope you all have a great , on - plan, weekend!

Prayers continuing!

Laurie :scooter:

I will :tantrum: NOT start a new thread for August...will :tantrum: not....will :tantrum: not....:tantrum:

THANKS, BEV ~ I think you are right on with your advice (which BTW, is exactly what my DH said too), and I prayed a lot about it last night and today. I felt impressed with this answer -- it is not wise to dispute or debate scriptures or doctrine, becuz the bible is so subjective to the dozens and dozens of different 'translations' and the 'individual interpetations' of them, that it is futile to waste endless energy and time on semantics: words and meanings of words (becuz that's usually where this goes).

A friend we know (who is a bible teacher in her church), did a piece in our paper about this subject this week; and that is an awesome coincidence really -- and she said that when all is said and done, it comes down to one thing ... what do YOU believe?

Now, I have been doing a study, so I am learning a lot through this process; not just in studying the scriptures, but also how to handle this kind of situation in the future. I'll let others do their own bible study, becuz that's the way it should be. I believe that we won't ever agree about everything; and we do have the right to our own beliefs about different things. So some good is coming out of this, and that's what matters. Thanks for your encouragement; and prayers continue for your family.

THANKS LAURIE ~ It's so nice to know that we have so much support from Christian friends here. Yah, too bad we weren't closer, we could all go over to your place for a bonfire!

We went up town to pay some bills; and pick up just a few things we were out of (basics really). Picked up a BBQ spit chicken for dinner but made my own veggies and had salad with it; so stayed on plan today (credit moi). I also baked DH some blueberry bran muffins this AM (credit). I also got some walking in today (purposely walked around the entire perimeter of the store and uptown a bit; pllus I sat up town on the benches in the square where all the flowers are, just waiting for DH and enjoying life and some rays :sunny: (kudos to me).

:wave: HI TO ALL OUR OTHERS CE FRIENDS AND MIA'S OUT THERE -- hope you all have a great weekend! Take good care .. :hug:ROSEBUD:hug:^PRAYERS^ continuing for you and yours ...


THANKS GARY ~ for reminding me ... I have to go over and start a new thread for the Physical Challenges, and if no-one starts this one for you, I'll do it too ...

thank you ROSEBUD!

Hi All!

It has been such a long time since I've been here. Life has been very hectic, but I plan on getting back to posting.

Football practice has started and on the 24th school will start. This summer has gone so fast. I can't believer school is going to start. DH1 graduates this year. Last month we went and looked at a college he is interested in. It made me feel sad, but excited too. I want the best for all 3 of my boys.

I will write more tomorrow. Have a good night of rest to all of you and a blessed Sunday.

Kathy