Support Groups - Steel Magnolias #44

Good morning everybody! It has creeped back up warm here in the south. It wasn't too bad yesterday while we were out, but it was still pretty humid. It did rain though so we got some moisture for the plants and grass and such. I imagine the leaves will be falling soon so Jack and I will have to tackle that deck.

We went out for a ride yesterday and got caught smack dab in a town festival in one of the suburbs. What a mess! We turned down a residential street and got stuck because people had parked on both sides of the street and the moving cars could only go one way. We had to sit until those cars coming towards us all cleared out so we could proceed down the street and get out of there.

I am happy to say after posting on the clothing website again telling people my experience, she contacted my by email and my clothing, all of it is being shipped out on Monday. First off, this company does their own appliques and such on t-shirts and makes a lot of the clothing they sell. So to be far, it does take longer, but it has been three weeks getting the run around. Come to find out, she was out of a couple of the colors I wanted the screening on and instead of emailing me and telling me what was going on, she ignored me. If she had just told me the t-shirts were "back ordered" and explained she would have gotten no complaints of out me as long as I had them in my hands before vacation. On top of that, she buys several different brands and they all have different chest, hip and length sizes. The ones I sent back actually were a couple different brands so they fit differently. She finally emailed me yesterday, in fact, three times and we got it all straightened out about which brand I wanted in what color that was offered so the shirts fit. She is sending them priority tomorrow and I decided rather than fool with getting my money back as I don't have any clue how long that would take, I just took the refund in a couple more t-shirts and a pant set all of which will go out tomorrow. I should have them Wed or Thur at the latest. It is cutting it pretty close, but I will have enough time to launder and such before the trip.

Maggie: Thomas uses the flossers that are sort of slingshot shaped with the floss running between a U shape and the end coming to a sharp point. He is an electric toothbrush boy and uses Rembrandt toothpaste. Glad you are doing better with WW. You will show another loss next week. I have really enjoyed the two pair of flip flops I bought at LL Bean. They are high quality and easy to walk in. Oh and when we were talking about shoe brands, for sandals I really like the shoes Land's End puts out and I buy Clark sandals too. I have a pair of Clarks that are probably near to 10 years old. Being totally flatfooted my whole life there are shoes I just don't wear even though I would love to. I can't wear Mary Jane types or those little ballet flat style shoes. They look awful on me. I like loafers, but for the most part don't wear them because of how my feet look in them. I used to have a pair when I was in high school that I wore everyday. They were the "blood" color leather they used to call it, it was kind of a deep maroon and the shoe over the instep was shaped weirdly so they fit my foot perfectly. Of course, back then I weighed about 200 lbs less and was nearly 40 years younger so my feet hadn't been through the wringer. Nowadays, I wear Keds plain white sneakers, New Balance walking shoes for exercise and I wear my Crocs a lot. Those things might be plastic and ugly but they sure do treat my feet well.

Jean: Wow you went all out on sales yesterday, one balloon! :lol: Did you ever find your list? I bet it was still in your purse somewhere hiding. I do that sometimes and tear it apart and still can't find it then go back later and voila there it is. I take it the tea kettles you were looking at were electric? I have a big one that sits on the stove I have had for a long long time. I had this adorable little one that I got as a wedding present and it lasted me probably 25 years before it finally gave out. I don't use them much though with the microwave being available. Yes, Jack has some aches and pains sometimes with the knee, but right now he is contending with that hand. He has to have work done on it, but wants to hold out until after the first of the year so he has plenty of sick time as the doctor told him about 6 weeks off for surgery with it. His anniversary date for his job is August so he went from earning 8 hours to 12 hours per month for sick time, which will give him several more days between now and the first of the year. He is thinking about waiting until the end of May and that way we can go to Indiana for Jackson's birthday next year and not have to use vacation time. I just may have to drive the whole way, but that's ok we will drive half, spend the night then drive in the next day.

Well, Fortune is whining behind me and will keep it up until I get into the recliner so he can sit with me. I finished another of the books I bought for vacation, they just call to me, so I ordered 4 more in paperback which should be here Tuesday. I still have one hardback I am going to try and keep my hands off of. Maybe I will try finishing up Kelly's sock and start the blue and pink ones for me. Have a wonderful Lord's Day today! Faye

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS :wave:

It creeped up to the 80's today but I am so glad we have air cocditioner that works good.;) Went out to eat for lunch and I only had a bit of what I ordered. I don't like the place we went to but we wanted to be with the group and we didn't complain. I just picked at my food and Will did the same. Tonight we are taking a gal out for her birthday and to a nice steak house where I can order and stay OP.:o We stopped on the way home and I got a sugar free, fat free latte and it was sooooo good. It is just about time for me to walk over to the Church building.

DONNA FAYE I think he uses the same things that Susan uses and next time Will makes a run to Wall-Mart I will have him pick me up some. I have some of those little brushes that fit between teeth yet and like them a lot for they brush but I would like those floss thingies to use also. I am glad you have gotten your clothes ussue straightened out.

I need to go now for we have company. :wave:

Good evening, ladies! It's been raining since last night, just a nice slow soaking rain that we needed. Its supposed to last until around noon tomorrow.

I just got back from my strength training at the Y. I made a Walmart run this morning after church so that's over until next month.

Jean, I have an Proctor Silex electric tea kettle I just love. It's quicker than the stove and nearly as fast as a microwave. It was less than $20.

Faye, I hope the clothes are actually in the mail tomorrow. She sure doesn't know how to run a business.

Hi, Maggie!

Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's been an absolutely gorgeous day in my corner of the world! We spent most of the day at church as it was the mortgage burning ceremony this afternoon. Bob had to sing at both services as well as this afternoon; we skipped the noon potluck. The bell choir played for the afternoon service, and we spent 2 hours, singing hymns, doing responsive readings, and listening to past pastors and different remodeling committee chairmen each speak, as well as a sermon by the 'grand poobah' bishop. He was pretty good, but it was warm and over 2 hours long. We both took a nap when we got home!

"Gma" -- I don't know if I ever shared this story but your tale of getting stuck in a town festival made me think of it. It was the first time we were going to the MN resort; my dad was a great one for taking short cuts and gave us a route to take. We almost ended up in the middle of a small town parade because where we had to turn was the beginning of the parade and the parade had just started. Bob did a quick u-turn and went down an alley for a couple blocks. Needless to say, we never went that way again. I hope your clothes come when the lady said they would. I don't understand why she just didn't explain what the problem was in the first place. Nope, never did find my list. I'm thinking I threw it away with some scraps of paper I didn't want any longer or else dropped it in the grocery store and didn't realize when it happened. I still don't know if I remembered everything but time will tell. I knew you would be reading your vacation books before vacation! ;) The two I picked up from the library I'm sure I have read. The tea kettles were not electric. Everyone in the craft group drank tea so I thought it would be easier to make a bigger quantity than one cup at a time.

Maggie -- There's nothing worse than eating out and not enjoying the food. :no: Enjoy your meal out tonight.

Susan -- How big is your tea kettle -- like the first electric coffee pot size? This store didn't have any electric ones and I was so shocked at the price of the regular ones I just kept walking. They did have some interesting flavored teas though. One that I used to be able to get at a local shop here is ginger peach. :T Congrats on going to the Y today.

Needless to say I am feeling really lazy right now! Have a nice evening. :D

Jean -- :wave: from Iowa!

Good morning to you all! I am sitting here watching that Janice Dickenson Modeling Agency program and she is talking to one of the models who is eating cake all day long and is saying she just has a very high metabolism. She had empty carrot cake boxes under her bed and throat spray, which Janice says indicates an eating disorder. They have cameras all over that house and she would see her eating cake at 2 in the morning. She talked to the girl, who of course denies it, but I mean even with a high metabolism you can't pork out on cake all day long and remain model thin. Sad, really because she was quite adamant about not having a problem.

I am a bit peeved with Jack. I have been trying for 2-3 days to get him to talk to me about an alternative to Florida if the storm that is on the south side of the Caribbean moves into the gulf. He does his best to ignore me when I ask him where he would want to go instead. We have had a couple arguments about this and he is being extremely stubborn. I warned him that if we go to Florida and it rains the whole time we are there I am going to make his life miserable! Everything and I mean everything we want to do there is outside and because it is basically a beach resort there isn't much to do inside. They have a mall but that's about it. I am not trying to change his mind, I am trying to have a backup plan but he is being obstinate about the whole thing. I think it is because this was his idea from the get go and not mine. We are not beach people because I get sunburned extremely easily and I wear 50 sunblock protection. I love to swim, but Jack will get in the pool and spend maybe 15 minutes. I told him straight out I am not going and spending hundreds of dollars to sit in our room and he play games on his laptop. I just hope we have great weather because if we don't I imagine we are going to have a bit of an ugly scene.

Maggie: When we attended the church in Indiana and went out to lunch every Sunday with our group, they would pick this one restaurant that Jack and I hated. We usually would beg off that Sunday because I just couldn't abide it. One of our friends from that group just passed away a couple months ago. I miss them all but don't get to see them when we go to Indiana.

Jean: Wow, you were almost a parade entry! lol You could have gotten on the hood of the car and rode and waved right through! ;) I got a giggle out of the "grand poobah" comment. Everytime the church would have their anniversary it was like that. Past pastors would come and speak, etc and you ended up being at church forever because unfortunately I have found most pastors with a bit of an ego and can't seem to stand before a congregation and talk for just a few minutes. On top of that, our church would have the current pastor get up and preach a whole sermon so you would be there like 3 hours or more. I am sure the music was wonderful though. Does Bob group do current gospel stuff, more Gaither kind of stuff or the old stuff? I cannot believe a plain ole kettle is that much money. That is highway robbery.

Susan: The only good thing about the whole clothing issue is I owed her a difference between the swimsuit refund and the two t-shirts and the pantset and for shipping back to me and she called it even. Personally, I think it was the least she could do considering it has been three weeks since she received my stuff and she does all the shipping and whatnot. I know one thing, there is no way I am buying anything else from her. I do find it amusing that everytime I would go to facebook and post a comment she would email me that same day.

I have scads of work to get done today. I did laundry and sheets yesterday and put all that away and made the guest bedroom back up and our bed. I need to get to housework this morning and get some stuff accomplished. It is very cool here this morning so the house isn't hot.

You gals have a good beginning to your week. I am going to go and check out PCB's weather for the next 10 days and see where that storm is headed if I can. faye

Hello all...just passing thru and saw the note about Florida weather...and just had to stop and answer. We live here on the West Coast of Fl above Tampa. The weather for the next ten days is hi in 90's and some afternoon showers(normal sea breeze wall showers) and The 3 storms....Igor is heading for Bermuda, Julia too, and not named 92 is heading to Cancun. twelve is just off African and won't be a factor for 2+ weeks....So come on down!

Moved to Florida from the Eastern Shore of Md and check in here to find out whats happening with the lovely Yorktown chick. (dh was stationed at naval mines depot many many yrs ago)

Guess better explain sea breeze wall storms. There is imaginary line right down the middle of the state. Rt 75 kind of...where the Atlantic Ocean breezes meet the Gulf of Mexico breezes and hugh thunderstorms flare up alot of afternoons. Some days they go East to the ocean other times they head into the gulf. Which why Tampa is sometimes know as the lightening capitol. Immediately after the storms the sun comes back out and everything steams dry. Doesn't interfer with much but do get off the beach when they are coming....

Karen3

ps thats a drawing, but our dog Dash looks exactly like that

Good Afternoon, Flowers! We spent most of the morning at church for a funeral which was long! Now I need to regroup, make a list of what I forgot at the grocery store, and stop at the library. It's another beautiful day in my corner of the world but guess rain is on the way. The farmers won't be happy about that!

"Gma" -- I have a sweet tooth (too many actually) but think I would get tired of eating nothing but cake all the time. I hope for Jack's sake the weather cooperates for your vacation. :yes: I certainly can see why you would want a Plan B just in case. You were right about the pastors talking to long as each had a personal story to share as well as their Bible verse readings. Bob's group does sing some of the Gaither music and some more upbeat Christian songs. They stay away from the type that the Praise singers sing at the contemporary service as some of that is almost honky-tonk, twangy music.

Karen -- Welcome! Thanks for the weather report from Florida! I hope that none of the bad weather lands on you. I've never been there but know many Iowans who love to winter down there. I have to ask . . . is the dog in your picture your's? :twirly:

I do need to get a move on or the day will be gone and I will have accomplished nothing that shows. :o Have a great "rest of the day!" :D

Jean -- :wave: from Iowa!

Good morning to you ladies! I hope to get upstairs and get some work done first thing this morning. I see a few things that need some attention so I will go up later and get things done.

Karen: Thanks for the info. Our plans are across the state, Panama City Beach, but as of right now the storm that was crossing the Caribbean isn't any kind of threat at all and the weather channel is showing sunny skies.

Funny, Jack called yesterday morning to talk about the weather and I guess because he was more of a captive audience without a tv he could zone out with I was finally able to get through to him about a plan B so I worked it up, showed it to him last night and all things are set one way or another. He is even thinking of changing his mind since I found us something he would like to do. Men sure can be stubborn creatures and mine especially. He hears what he wants to hear. I don't know why men are like that but they are. They hear what they want to hear and tune everything else out. Don't be surprised if he changes his mind completely now. I told him I wash my hands of the whole thing that was we do is up to him. I found the hotels, the restaurants, the things to do and laid them all out on spreadsheets and he picks and then he can't say he didn't do what he wanted! :lol: I think that is the best way to go since I don't care one way or another.

I got an email at 1 AM that my clothes have been shipped so I am hoping they will get here Friday at the very latest. She shipped them priority mail and it took two days last time to get them so hopefully she got them out in time for them to be here early again. It is sure cutting it close! lol

Jean: I am not much of a cake eater. I am just not much on frosting. It is too sweet and usually upsets my stomach. I will take a chocolate piece of cake occasionally and put strawberries over it and make it into shortcake! lol I am a pie lover for sure but then my grandma always had pie available. She made a mean custard pie and I loved any of her fruit pies. I like my chocolate cream pie better than what she made though. Of course, my cream pies are made with sweet German baking chocolate and heavy cream! lol I am glad they take a lot of time so then we don't have them in the house except on holidays. It is the same basic recipe for coconut or cream pie or chocolate, banana etc you just change up the flavorings. I kind of go in spurts with sweets, but I am a sucker for donuts and breakfast pastries. Give me a danish and you have me hooked! :D With that being said, I stay away from the donut shops and the bakery section of the grocery stores!

I am bound and determined to get in some good exercise swimming and walking while on vacation. I am coming back and hitting the treadmill now that the temp is down. Even if I have to start with teeny tiny amounts, I am getting on the thing everyday to build up my stamina and get things going. One of the good things is we have no trips of any kind until next summer after this one so no restaurants and such to be tempted by. It is one of my failings. If I stay home and eat I will not veer from the WW, but I have a hard time going into a restaurant and picking healthy food to eat. My mind tells me you are paying for this so eat what you want and then the other side is saying you need to stick to the plan!

I get back from vacation and I am going to have to get into the doctor. It is time for my annual physical, but also want to get a handle on this female thing. Maybe a new doctor will have new insight. I did read a long article about menopause and such yesterday and basically this could be just that, but criminy I hope it rounds up soon! :^:

I need to go gals. I want to get morning chores down here done and in an hour or so get some breakfast in me. Have a wonderful Tuesday all! Faye

Good Morning, Flowers! It's a gloomy cool morning in my neighborhood with more rain in the forecast. I noticed it is foggy over the lake. We did get a 10 minute downpour last night right after Bob started to mow. He's hoping to finish this afternoon before it rains again. Later today we are meeting Jason to exchange vehicles. He is going hunting in Wyoming and borrowing Bob's pickup to haul his dead animals. I need to do another load of laundry and chase some dust piles around.

"Gma" -- I've decided men have selective hearing; the older they get the worse it gets! :lol: At least if Jack picks the vacation activities he can't complain if he doesn't enjoy them. I hope this round of clothing will arrive in time and fit properly! Pie is my favorite dessert too. :T My grandma used to give me the leftover crust with a little sugar and cinnamon on it. Sometimes I would use a thimble and cut out little circles. The dough was pretty grungy looking by the time it went into the oven. :lol: Speaking of desserts, did you get the pecan pie bar recipe?

I do need to get busy since I didn't do squat yesterday. When I'm gone in the morning the afternoon is a bust for some reason. Have a terrific Tuesday! :D

Jean -- :wave: from Iowa!

Good morning, ladies! A lovely day- 78 degrees.

Yesterday I went to Applique Bee at Bella Fabrics, then to the Y for an hour on the treadmill and elliptical, home to shower and get clean clothes and a quick supper, then Bible study. Needless to say, I got nothing done at home. I know what I'm doing this weekend - cleaning! Tonight is Guild meeting. I'm taking my camera so hopefully I can take a picture of my entries in the challenge and post them for you to see.

Jean, the tea kettle I have is 12 cups. Of course, they count 6 oz. as a cup like the coffee pot people do. I love mine. I'm like you, I have to get started on my housework in the morning or it is a play day.

Faye, I hope Jack decides before you get on the road! LOL. Men, they only hear what they want to - all of them. I hope the new doc can get you fixed up. Enough is enough on this stuff. Ask the doc about bioidentical hormones. There is a lady in the building at work that ended up going this route and it has helped her a lot. Basically, the hormones are compounded to your body's requirements at a compounding pharmacy. I hope your clothes get to you quickly. USPS bills Priority Mail as 2 days but they don't count the day they pick it up or deliver it so who knows. You'd love the water aerobics at the Y and the open swimming. Surprisingly, I'm enjoying the weight training and try to do a little more each time. I'm starting to see some results in my arms and belly areas. I've had to figure how to eat in restaurants and still be on program because I'm eating out a lot more.

Enjoy your day!

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS :wave:

It is in the high 80's as I type but the air feels good inside. Will is out mowing since it got such a good watering yesterday with that gulley washer we had. Nice and steady it came down for quite awhile. Gracious sakes this month is already half over. Time sure flys by or is it just me. They do say that "time flys when you are having fun." They also say that "time flys when you get older." I am getting older and having fun also so go figure. Tonight we are having dirty rice with burger meat in it and cottage cheese and pineapple along with a fresh green salad with garden grown tomatos. Sounds like a nice easy meal. I have some extra lean burger meat that if I make inside burgers I have to spray the pan or it sticks it is so lean with out any grease.:o Good stuff. There is a fly buzzing around in here and Ragg Mopp will be catching it when it buzzes low around him. He is good at it. :p

DONNA FAYE I do hope your "stuff" gets to you in time to try it on to make sure it fits before you leave for your vacation. I like Clark shoes ~ I have a pair of their sandals. Yep, men do have selective hearing which works for them. Always remember that men see what is in front of their nose and we see the big picture. That's just the way things are.

JEAN We always called the left over pie crust "vinegar cookies." We rolled it out and spread balsaimac vinegar over it and then sprinkled it with sugar then cut them out and baked them. Will loves them that way to this day and I make him some once in a great while. Before this weekend I am going to make a big batch of chocolate chip walnut cookies. I will send most of them home with JD when he leaves this time. He comes to visit us each weekend and is still working for the candadite he came here to work for before mid term voting took place. Will will probably want me to save half of the batch for him, even though he is really trying to lose weight. I have a good lightened recipe I like to use.

SUSAN Sounds like you keep quite busy. That is a good thing isn't it. I have an electric thingie that heats water quicker than the microwave which is great when a recipe calls for boiling water or I want to make tea. It looks like a white plastic pitcher. I've used it for years and it still works great.

Everyone have a lovely afternoon this day. :wave: Type at y'all later.

Good morning gals! My puppy dog got into something the squirrel dragged into the yard yesterday and though I got to him in time and got a piece out of his mouth, I think he was able to eat some of it (some kind of meat) and back we went with the diahrrea again. I noticed it right away yesterday and gave him one of his little pills and a half scant tsp of Pepto and he is right as rain this morning. I did hold back his regular food and made him some scrambled eggs and rice to eat today so it would sit lighter on his tummy. He went out this morning and came back in for his treat and I gave him one of his favorites, these little tbone looking things. He plays with his treats and so was throwing it all over and then licking it and throwing it and licking it, etc for about 10 minutes so I know he is feeling better. Being the doggy mama that I am, I slept in the recliner with him in my lap all night so he would feel better. I know, I am pathetic, but he is my baby now! :lol: I got up at 1 am to let him out and then couldn't go back to sleep so we watched a John Wayne movie together and then I went out and fixed him some food, and then we went back to sleep. The next thing I knew Jack was coming down the stairs with the light shining in my eyes from the hall. I couldn't go back to sleep while he was home so when he left I decided I would read the online paper, balance my checkbook and post then back to sleep I go for a couple hours.

Jean: My grandma used to take her leftover dough, roll it out put melted butter and cinnamon suger and make tiny pinwheels. They were as good as the pie! Oh, and thanks for the bar recipe. I did get it. I thought I had told you. DUH! Jack was telling me one of the electricians flew to Maui today I think. They were originally supposed to fly out yesterday but got bumped. They are using frequent flyer miles I guess. I was telling Jack how you and Bob have to go to get to Hawaii. His friend and his wife are flying straight to LA and then to Maui.

Susan: I keep forgetting to tell you the story about one of my water aerobics classes. It was when we lived in Indiana and my sister from California lived in Indiana at the same time and my older sister lives there of course. Well, the three of us decided to take a water aerobics class together. I had done it before and knew what it was like. My older sister is as round as she is tall (barely 5 foot) and my younger sister is quite tall and only about 25 lbs overweight. So we were three troublemakers for the woman. We cut up like nobody's business. We weren't trying to be a pain, we were just having incredible fun like jogging in a circle we would try to outrun each other and stuff like that. I have been to three different classes and loved everyone of them. I did dislocate my knee in one of them one time from an exercise, but thankfully I popped it back in. I really do love the water, which is unusual for someone my size. They usually shy away from swimsuits. I on the other hand just care about getting into a pool and swimming. I noticed they closed up the condo pool johnny quick this year. I imagine Kelly and Tom will close theirs in the next few weeks, but it is still really warm here during the day and we have gotten little rain. Eating out for me is one of those habit things I have to change like eating while reading or watching tv and that kind of thing. I have to learn to make good choices when I go out to eat. My problem is more finding restaurants where I don't always have to have the same thing or that there is nothing on the menu that is in anyway weight loss friendly and boy do we have those kind of restaurants here. I do try to get online with chain restaurants and see if I can find a meal ahead of time to eat.

Maggie: Looks like Bob and Will had the same idea. We were watching House Hunters the other day and Jack was talking about if he had a lot of money having a big yard, etc. I said no way unless we are rich and can hire someone. I told him if he remembered right every house we ever rented or military housing we lived in either Jay or I cut the grass and not him. I no longer have a teenager so that is OUT! lololol We can buy the 97% lean stuff at the commissary. It comes in those rolls either 1 or 3 lbs. I usually buy the 1 lb and come home and cut them in half and freeze them in ziplocs. It is perfect to make a couple burgers or whatever. Truth is, if you put it in prepared stuff like Hamburger Helper or with something like Manwich, it really doesn't take away from the food except for the calories. We don't really use the HH but I do like the Manwich. The sauce is very lowfat and WW friendly and when you use half the meat and ground sirloin with a wheat bun, a sloppy jo sandwich isn't too bad on pts. It doesn't lend itself to regular burgers all that much, but then Jack is a cheeseburger man so I use ff slices and it gives it a bit more richness.

I am not a reality show watcher, but I do listen to videos online and such sometimes. I saw that little 10 year old on America's Got Talent that sings opera and boy how amazing is that. Then there was the guy who dresses in like Louis the 14th stuff and sings opera and he is pretty amazing too. I don't think anyone will beat that little girl though he and the girl are pretty close in points from what I heard.

I saw a piece of an Oprah show online this morning with Naomi and Wynonna Judd on it. That mother is a piece of work. She lauds Ashley and how smart she is, how humanitarian, how proud she is then sits there and does her little southern belle act and viper tongue to trash Wynonna. The first time I saw her do that is when Wynonna went on with the three of them and discussed trying to lose weight. Her mother was all sugar and spice and butter couldn't melt in her mouth and then took jabs at her the whole show. She puts Ashley up on a pedestal and Wynonna in a garbage can. It is disgraceful and she is driving a wedge between the two sisters. I can see it plain as day. If it were me, I think I would say byebye to mama or stand up to her and tell her off. Maybe not on camera, but I sure would afterward. She does try, but Naomi acts like she doesn't even hear her. It was really sad.

Well girls, time for me to go. I hope you all have a great hump day! Faye

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS :wave:

I have a late start this day waking up to the world. I am still sipping on my first cup of coffee for the day.:o We had another real gulley washer during the night and a big clap of thunder which had to be right over the house gave me a startling wake up about 3 am. Living in the heartland is a treat. We are having a cake and ice cream party after services tonight to celebrate a couple of the gals birthday. I have resolved to watch it and take just a taste for I don't feel like squandering any points. At a yard sale Will picked up a neat bright yellow upright Eureka vacuum for 50 cents which works great and I will use it for just in my office. It has a 12 inch cleaning path so it is a good one for in here. ;) He is at the store as I type getting a tub of vanilla ice cream for the party tonight. Ragg Mopp is sleeping at my feet and all is well. Funny thing, the great toe on my foot always feels like a sock is too tight on it. When I wore those close toed shoes for years I really thought that was the case and I would take my shoe off on occasion to pull my sock looser across the toes. Well ~ since I have these great sandals that leave my toes free ~ guess what ~ my toe still feels like the sock is too tight across it & I am not wearing socks. :o At least I do have feeling in my toes. :cool:

DONNA FAYE I am glad your little pooch is now back to exact. You are such a good mommie for him. Hope you are able to get in a good nap. That story of you and your sisters was a hoot. I can imagine the look on that instructors face.

JEAN & SUSAN I do hope your day is going well with you.

Got to get going now. :wave: Type at y'all later

Good grief you are not going to believe this. I received my clothing today and what a mess. :( They shorted me one shirt, sent another one in the wrong color and sent a third on in the wrong color with the wrong picture on it! I even got an email from this woman the day after she shipped it stating what she had just mailed out to me and the list was correct. She must have packed it with her eyes closed or absolutely pays no attention to her staff and what they do. I am so fed up there is no way I will send the wrong shirts back. I will just have to wear them as is, but I want the other shirt. Unfortunately, this dingbat won't get it to me for weeks so now I have no shirt to wear with the turquoise capris I bought especially to go with the shirt! GRRRRRR!:mad:

Good Afternoon, Flowers! The sun is playing hide 'n seek today with rain predicted for later this evening. I made a quick trip to WM this morning and have bell practice at 5. We are polishing the bells so it could drag out longer than usual -- they should have been polished before we played on Sunday. :rolleyes: We bought tickets for a Rotary Club bar-b-q supper but think Bob will do a drive through and bring it home.

Susan -- I can tell you are back into the fall swing of things with the Applique Bee, Bible Study, and Quilt Guild. ;) What exactly does the elliptical machine do for you? One of our church members has one at home; she goes to the second service so I rarely get to see her, but we were together Sunday afternoon. She looks great and says she owes her weight loss to journaling and the machine. We didn't get to really visit, but I'm tempted to call her to see how she uses the machine.

Maggie -- Time does seem to fly by faster the older I get! :( I guess that means we should be thankful for each day not knowing what the next day will bring. I like to freeze cookies that I buy from the bakery; it's sort of "out of sight, out of mind" for me. I'm looking for a new vacuum that has a long extension cord, is bagless, and doesn't weigh a ton! I do have a disposable bag vacuum but it is so heavy to haul up and down the stairs. It sounds like Will got a bargain for you!

"Gma" -- I'm glad Fortune is feeling better today. I would probably spend the night holding my sick pet too. I chuckle at his special people food menu. We could have flown from LA to Maui, but at the time the route took us through Denver and we wanted to avoid that stop in the winter. I think there is a nonstop flight from Mpls. to Maui, but we live 5+ hours from there. There are no short cuts! :lol: I did see the little opera singer on America's Got Talent! She is good! I can't figure out why they show the same acts the second night and then say the voting is closed. I'm sorry about your clothing mess! I hope you will eventually get it straightened out! I wonder if the owner has an online boss that you could complain to.

I need to do some more cabin laundry so had better get a move on. Have a nice "rest of the day!" :D

Jean -- :wave: from Iowa!

Good morning all. I came in on IE this morning and noticed it is working better than it was. They must have been able to fix the issues with the advertising. I am sitting here eating a ff pudding pre breakfast. I like to wait until around 8 for breakfast but I woke up really hungry so I grabbed something with low points to tide me over.

I have the rest of the upstairs to complete today and will lay out my outfits together in the spare room since my clothing came. I washed and dried them all yesterday and darn if the the one shirt that is black and that I didn't dry because it ran a lot smaller than the others has the little palm trees already peeling off! This was a total screw up from the beginning. I guess you live and learn though and boy have I learned about this place!!! When I folded the clothing last evening I noticed that the dragonfly shirt I ordered has the wrong dragonflies on it. I think they only got three things right in the whole deal. The dragonflies I ordered were smaller and were different shades of like olive and dark green and such that I ordered to go with a pair of olive capris I have. Well when I laundered them and was folding it last night I saw that the dragonflies were really much bigger and they were all aqua and pink! I checked the website to see if maybe the computer colors were just off and I was imagining the size thing, but nope, there are several different dragonfly shirts and one is the olive color and there is one that is aqua and pink and much bigger. So, the good thing is now I have a shirt to wear with the turquoise capris which was my biggest worry. You know, this is like being on Laugh In. You know you shouldn't laugh, but then the stuff is so ridiculous you just have to! So here goes.....:lol::rofl::lol3:

Jean: I have checked all I can check and found out that until about a month ago, this company was completely an online one. She then opened an "outlet" store as she calls it in Sherman Oaks, CA. She has no boss. She runs the whole show and is lock, stock and owner. What she does is order cotton shirts and such plain then has people who put transfers, rhinestones and such on them. She also has a couple people who actually make some of the clothing, as in the disasterous swimsuit. She tends to aim most of her business as the super obese putting them in stuff that is inappropriate IMO like a lot of sexier stuff, but she does have a large line of tshirts. If she was better as what she does, I would order other things as you can get anything from size 16-18 up to clothing that will fit people that weigh probably 500 lbs. Unfortunately, her shoddy way of doing business and no apology for the screw ups has not endeared me to her and as I have said there will be no more ordering from her. Of course, you know that she didn't contact me last night about the order I received yesterday. We shall see how long it takes. I was telling Jack about the fact that from where you are, you had to fly into Denver and went to Hawaii in February so that wasn't such a good idea. He said he hope you and Bob knew how to ski, just in case! :D:D
I would love to buy a good stationary bike. I found one, but for awhile I will have to wait because the weight limit isn't in line. Until then I will get on the ole treadmill.

Maggie: I love my vacuum except for one thing, it weighs a ton. It will suck the lips right off you though! :lol: I may have to get one of those stick type vacs to use upstairs because hauling that thing takes it out of you. With the heat receding I have noticed less swelling in my feet. It isn't all gone, but it is better. It sure makes it easier to walk. Jack has been working on my feet every night. He patiently works this really good foot cream from Gold Bond into them to try and get them back in shape. He swears by the stuff and uses it all the time. The heat and the intense swelling has dried them out terribly. I just have to be careful because wearing footies around the house on the linoleum makes them slippery. He has started putting it on at bedtime so that I am not walking around the house.

Fortune is definitely feeling better. He is driving me nuts wanting to go outside all the time. He does that when I sit at the computer. I think he is a bit mad at me because I put out all dry dog food for him. It is better for his teeth and keeps his weight in check too. He just has been stubborn the last few months and quit eating the stuff. I changed him up to a couple different things, but they put weight on him fast, more than likely because he doesn't get a huge amount of exercise and is almost 11 years old.

Well girls, I need to get to chores downstairs and finish my book. You all have a great day ! Faye

Good Morning, Flowers! It's dark and gloomy (50 degrees cold!) in my corner of the world this morning. I have the usual chores I could be doing but nothing sounds like "fun" without the sun shining. It could end up being a lazy day for me. My car goes to the dealership tonight as we had a rear seatbelt recall. Bob also wants them to check the alignment since he says it "nibbles" in the wind which means it pulls one way or the other out on the highway. Since I rarely drive on the open road I never noticed. :o

"Gma" -- First of all I don't think manufacturers make quality clothes like they used to. I wish they ALL had to use the same universal size patterns! I thought there was always "someone" who oversees what is going on in online websites. People who sell anything online should be held accountable! :yes: That goes to show how much I know, which isn't much where technology is concerned. On our very first trip to Maui, one of our travel options was Omaha to Atlanta, then Dallas to Maui. I think that trip was 19 hours if I remember right. It was quite a bit cheaper but we sure didn't want to spend all that time either waiting in airports or in the air. It's 6 hours from Phoenix to Maui; I thought LA would be shorter but at the time it wasn't. It's a long day of travel no matter what. I'm glad Fortune is feeling better again. He probably wants eggs for breakfast everyday! :lol:

Maggie and Susan -- :wave:

I need to get busy! Enjoy your day! :D

Jean -- :brr: in Iowa, and fall hasn't even officially arrived!

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS :wave:

It is a warm (hot) day here in the heartland. Will is at the museum doing his volunteer work going through and posting all the neat stuff in those old court documents. There are a couple hundred ledgers for him to get through the 1800's and he is finding out some real interesting neat things. Walt Disneys dad lived here in this area. People think Dorthy and Todo lived here also but that book was writen that her Auntie Em & Uncle lived in SD. KS gets a lot more tornados is the reason for the switch. ;) I have been a bad camper this week and failed to write what I ate in my book.:?: I do know that I don't lose unless I write what I bite so what in the world got into me to not write it down.:( I sabotage my program and it is no ones fault but my own.:mad: Well I have a grip now so maybe this week isn't lost. I showed a "maintain" last week so will be very happy if I show another one this week likewise. I asked myself if I am stressing about anything and said, "No." So that isn't it. Well just go forward from here is all I can do about it.

DONNA FAYE I can't figure out for the life of me how that woman stays in busness if she handles all her customers like she does you. Places have the courtest to contact customers when they are offering a replacement for what ever the reason may be. She is dumber that a box of rocks if she doesn't learn that real quick. I am glad you can make some of your things work for you anyway.

JEAN Your weather sure took a change quickly. Ours is up and down but not much below 75 yet. Sounds like a lot of traveling first before you can just go to another state.:p

SUSAN Hanging in there?

I have got to go do something useful ~ :wave: Type at y'all later

Maggie -- I did go to WW this morning but didn't weigh in. Enough said about that! I haven't had a good week (or several weeks) at all. :( Like you, I have no one to blame but myself. On a sad note, our receptionist drove an hour to work our meetings. She was gone last week and again this week. The leader said she had had elective hernia surgery, was home, and dropped dead. She had lost 197 #s and we called her our Cool Whip Queen because she thought everything tasted better with CW on it. She had lots of helpful hints for low point foods. Sad!
Good luck on a GREAT OP week next week!

Good afternoon, ladies! It's 90 degrees today but the humidity is very low - in the 30s - so we are under an alert for fires.

Yesterday I spent the morning at the Y and then made a Trader Joe's run. I was out of the Salmon burgers, Greek yogurt, goat cheese and walnuts and I consider them as staples. Last night was my applique bee at the library. And that took care of the day. Today was work, the Y, and nothing more this evening but some quilting. I'm making spaghetti and turkey meatballs, wax beans and salad for dinner. Tomorrow will be the Y and then quilt lock-in tomorrow night.

Faye, I'm glad you got something for your money even if it was exactly what you wanted. Has Jack decided on what your are doing for vacation? Poor little Fortune! You are a good mama.

Jean, you know, it is the better clothes that have the smaller sizes that fit bigger bodies - vanity sells expensive clothes. It seems more stores are carrying larger sizes and not many "regular" sizes.

Maggie, Will's volunteer position sounds like something I would enjoy a lot.

Biggest Loser starts next Tuesday. Maybe we should challenge ourselves to be OP for the next 13 weeks. We can do anything they do. This has not been one of my best weeks. I didn't plan my menus so I've been eating on the fly and it never works for me. I will still WI this week. I need to own up and get back on track. Starting my menus for new week after dinner tonight.

Have a great evening.

Good morning all! Looks like it is going to be a rainy day here today. It is really cloudy and dark outside but we can really use a good rain I think. I have found the bugs are just horrible this year. The flies are bad as are spiders and we are having a problem with roaches for the first time ever. I see them out on the deck in the evening skurrying around and have to really keep on top of things. The people on each side of us aren't nasty and such, in fact much much cleaner than a couple renters that have lived next door so I am chalking it up to weather. I can't have them spray inside because of Fortune and they don't use pet safe stuff so I just have to do what I can myself when I see one inside.

Susan: I had goat cheese for the first time when we were in Indiana in July. I really like it. It isn't a strong cheese and very creamy. I hear the Greek yogurt is really good to because the texture is really nice. It is hard to find her unless you go to the more expensive places like Fresh Market or Whole Foods. I think it is a great idea to do a 13 week challenge. I will try my darndest to do what I am supposed to do on vacation but I guarantee all the rest of the time I will be dead on. I think it is supposed to be really hot today and with the cloudiness the humidity is liable to be up. I have been having a lot of hot flash stuff because Jack says the temp in the house has not been hot.

Jean: Oh my gosh, what a horrible thing to happen. You decide to take care of yourself and lose all that weight than something like a hernia operation triggers something in your recovery. I took a "real age" test recently and I am about 3 years over my chronological age. I Have some big work to do, but considering the two surgeries and the menopause stuff and the bp meds etc it really isn't too bad. Some good nutrition and exercise will improve it quite a bit with the weight loss.

Maggie: I agree with Susan, Will's work sounds very interesting. I did look up some info on L Frank Baum wondering if he grew up in South Dakota and that was why the book was written with the plot starting in South Dakota. First, he was born in New York, the book was pubished in Chicago in 1900 and he lived in California when he died. I don't know whether you heard this somewhere or Will found something, but Wikipedia says the book has a Kansas plot not South Dakota. He wrote 13 sequels to the original novel and eventually Walt Disney purchased the rights to all 14 books. Interesting. I got an email from the clothing owner. No apology, just an "I can't believe it!" Oh she also gave me the excuse that the day the stuff was shipped she left specific instructions because she wasn't there on Monday. The t-shirt that was not shipped was sitting in its bag on the desk of the woman who was supposed to do the shipping! She said she would replace the wrong shirts and the one not shipped and ship them out so I had them on Saturday. She tried to tell me the t-shirt that I ordered in off-white and was shipped in gray that the gray really is the off-white. Yeah, right, she included a link to the t-shirt in the off-white and it is hardly a gray color. It is more the eggshell I was expecting so we shall see what she sends the second time around. She didn't even look at the order number for the one t-shirt she just thought she knew what the picture was and that was the one she shipped. She said, "I thought the "hot pink" shirt was the one with the flamingos as they had on hats!!" Well, the one I ordered were flamingos playing volleyball, surfing, playing in the sand, etc because of the beach reference. I mean, the order number title of the shirts is "Flamingos on the beach!" We shall see if it is here by Saturday or not.

I imagine I will start getting things ready to pack this weekend. I have to decide what shoes I want to wear with the white pantsuit. It is comfortable and looks nice except the pants are too long. It will be a roll up the waist sort of thing because the pansies are on the bottom of one leg and bottom of the shirt so they can't be hemmed at all.

Have a good weekend everybody! Hope the weather is great where you are! Faye

Good Morning, Flowers! I'm waiting for my oven to preheat so I can bake a pasta lunch. I'm hoping the points won't be too terrible, but I had the ingredients on hand and wanted to get them used and out of the house. I have a perm this afternoon and then it will be time for supper. It's a cloudy day in my neighborhood; I noticed the weather map shows a bit of rain every day for a week! The farmers will be beside themselves if that happens. Some have been combining and are anxious to keep going.

Susan -- I think the clothes around here are geared towards the younger set with low necklines and flimsy fabric. :( Guess I will be wearing most of what I wore last year; I had a few too tight things then and they should fit now. Have fun at the quilt lock-in tonight! I am up for the 13 week challenge! :cheer: I have got to get back on track!

"Gma" -- We've had a lot of bugs this year too. :( I'm beginning to see the ladybug look alikes since the farmers are combining beans and that's where they live. I think that :dizzy: dame should send ALL of what you ordered FREE and with NO shipping charges! She won't be in business long at the rate she is going if she treats all of her customers the same as you.

My oven should be ready so I'm off! Have a GREAT day! :D

Jean -- :wave: from Iowa!

Good morning, ladies! A beautiful day in the 80s today. I have the windows open.

I went to water aerobics this morning. I thought I'd take a little break for a cup of coffee in the lounge and then do more exercise, but I was beat. We did some new exercises to day. We go nonstop for 60 minutes. After class its just like being back in high school with ladies lined up for the showers and then getting dressed at your locker. The chlorine is bringing out the red in my hair...and I was afraid it would turn green.

Faye, I don't try to lose weight when I'm away from home but I do try to maintain (doesn't always happen). Enjoy your vacation. If you get something on the menu that you can't get at home, enjoy and don't worry about the calories. Maybe you can get a little walking in. I've had problems with ants until I found this recipe for ant killer on the internet that uses sugar, water and borax. It solved my problem in days and they haven't come back. I'm keeping the recipe handy. I had try all kinds of ant traps but they didn't work. Before they started spraying, we had huge mosquitos but the Air Force sprays from the air and York County from trucks so they are annilihated.

Jean, wouldn't you think they'd have more clothes for the older women now that the baby boomers are getting there. I'm with you, I have a hard time finding age-appropriate clothing. I guess I'll just live the rest of my life in jeans and t-shirts.

There was the following link on the AARP Fat to Fit forum today.

http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/vinegar-clinically-proven-to-destroy-fat/

They have actually done research and say vinegar really does help break down fat and keep glucose levels even. I'm going to give it a try for a month and see what happens. At least it can't hurt me.

I need to get a project together to take to work on at lock in tonight. Glory and I are going to the Crab Shack for dinner tonight before we go.

Have a great day!

Good Morning, Flowers! It's windy, rainy, and cold in my corner of the world this morning. Ernie wants the window open but doesn't like the rain spatters; besides that it's too cold to have windows open! :brr: I've got laundry going and should vacuum; without the sunshine the dust doesn't show. :o I need to return library books and stop at the grocery store after lunch. The pile of ironing is growing again. I wonder how that happens? :rolleyes:

"Gma" -- It sounds like you are getting your "ducks lined up in a row" for vacation! :) I would love to take a short trip when the leaves are changing colors, but with "farmer" Bob and harvest going on I know that won't happen. I never did like to shop for clothes but when there is absolutely no variety to choose from it is discouraging. I really could use something new for church or whatever comes up that requires something besides jeans and sweatshirts. :lol:

Susan -- :congrat: on your loss this week! A loss is good incentive to keep working the program! :cp: I guess you did find some great bargains at the thrift store! I haven't tried the vinegar yet but am thinking I will. Thank you for sharing that link. I like your vacation eating plan; it is really hard to stay 100% plan unless one is doing the cooking themselves. I love the names of your eating place -- Crab Shack and Happy Belly always make me :) . We are eating leftover pasta from yesterday for dinner today. I know you enjoyed your quilting fun with Glory last night.

My first load of towels if finished so need to get the next load going. Have a nice day -- I hope the sun is shining on you! :D

Jean -- :wave: from :rain: :brr: Iowa!