Support Groups - Steel Magnolias #24

Good morning gals. I have put off cleaning the upstairs bathrooms and now the weather is going back to being hot again so I am going to zip up there after I am done here and get them cleaned before Jack gets home. I need to go to WM and get my contacts and find that yarn and go to the store today too, but if all else fails I will do it tomorrow.

Tonight is the finally night for all this!!!! :carrot: Jack texted me last night and said the official word was out Friday night is it. He and I are thrilled. I think he realized working nights is not for him anymore as he is too old for it. He even pretty much said that to me and 12 hour shifts and no time off isn't easy for someone his age either. That should be left to the young! :lol:

I worked a pattern on the leg of this sock about 12 rows, enough to see what I thought then ripped it out. With the coloring of the sock, you couldn't see it very well anyway and it goofed the way the coloring of the sock was supposed to be so frog it I did. I have enough to keep me busy to the end of the year, that's for sure. I can sit and knit at the pool when we go to Branson in Sept. They have an indoor and outdoor pool and the outdoor pool has drink service and food service so I can lather on the sunscreen and enjoy some sun and knit or read. That I am looking forward to. We haven't planned but a couple day activities and left the rest of the weekdays open to do as we wish. We have a lunch cruise on a paddleboat down the lake one day and an afternoon show on another because we couldn't get a night show squeezed in and that is it. There is a wonderful open mall across the street from the hotel so it will be nice to get some exercise there and maybe do some shopping as well.

Gail: Hope nothing to serious with your computer. They are like children, so booboo or other is always happening to them. :lol: Hope too see you soon back in here with more gab.

Susan: I do have AARP and have since I was 50. I use the discount for hotels a lot if I can, but there are still a lot of hotels who require you be 62. Jack turns 62 in Oct so I told him he is my ticket to cheaper hotel prices soon! :lol: I will have to check into the vision discounts because I would love to be able to stay in bifocal contacts. I found it amusing that both the tech and the eye doctor were amazed at how healthy my eyes were and that I have exceptional eye pressure. I told them I do my eye exercises with little tiny barbells. :D They both just laughed. I hope you have a lovely day for your church picnic on Sunday. We are expecting rain again for a few days here too.

Jean: Glad things are drying out. Guess it gave you an opportunity to do your famous "pitching." :lol: I would have thought in all the years I have known you now, you would have pitched your whole house out and left nothing there. Ernie and Bob are safe from the pitch though I imagine! :lol: Did you notice prices going on for your vacation next year? We were pricing our cruise and boy oh boy, you aren't getting much of a deal anymore. You can still get good deals going crappy places but who wants to go crappy places? :lol:

Maggie: Your salad/dessert thing sounds nice, but since Jack won't eat anything in it, it would go to waste at our house. Allrecipes.com has some great jalapeno jelly recipes you might like. Again, I don't make stuff like that because I am the only one that would eat it. Fortune was quieter last night that goodness so I got some sleep. I still had to get up with him twice, which I don't mind if he has to go, but the second time he just went out back and wandered around, I imagine looking for Jack since it was around 5 am.

Well I see it is 6:30 so I bet hop to it. I have downstairs chores done and will be glad when I can start making the bed. When you have bed hoppers like we have been it is stupid to even do it. Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend. I am going to shampoo the dining room and den this weekend sometime and will probably do that early in the mornings before it gets hot. Faye

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS :wave:

It is currently 67 and cloudy here in the Heartland. Wow did we have the thunder and lightening show last night and a gulley washer of rain. Ragg Mopp has always been afraid of storms but Beanie went outside and stood on the covered patio with his head out in the rain. Such two different personalities in those dogs. A friend from here is visiting somewhere in CO and called Will to say that he went into a glass shop there and was bragging about my glass houses. The gal there wanted to know how to get in touch with me so he gave her a phone number. Be interesting to know what she wants ~ probably to sell me some glass. :p We shall wait and see if she does even call. Schwan man came today and we even had some more discounts to reap so we are happy campers. I am glad they are in competition for the dollar for it benefits us.:o I think today for dinner we will be having grilled steak, baby bakers and tossed green salad with purple onion, cubed tomatoes and cucumbers in it. Sounds good doesn't it.

DONNA FAYE Thank you for starting a new thread. I am so happy for you! :cp: Jack and you will soon be back in your nice familiar routine. Makes it easier on both of you and your little one. It is nice that you have your vacation all planned out like that. Sounds like a good relaxing time to me. I can just see you now in my minds eye ~ sittin' and knittin' by the pool. Stop the world and let me off. Just relaxing. We belong to AMAC because they don't support all that whackey stuff which AARP does. Isn't it grand that we have choices. Choices are good. Something for everyone that way. Life is good.

Hello other Magnolias. Hope you are all fine this day.

Off to see what I can get into. Probably re-arrange my freezer again. Seems I do that every time we have a visit from Schwans.:p I have it arranged with like foods together that way I am not standing with the door open for long periods. Veggies in one area, meat in another, fruit in another, etc. and the beat goes on.

Type at y'all later. :wave:

Good morning, ladies! The rain seems to have ended, at least the sun is out. It's 70 degrees.

I went to my water aerobics class this morning, did the treadmill and elipitical and that was it for the Y. This afternoon is for quilting.

Faye, doing the happy dance for you and Jack. You always plan such nice vacations. You missed your calling!

I'm feeling rather wierd this week because my weight is still going down. I've added 10 DPs already. I do want to lose more, but I am supposed to maintain for 6 weeks withing 2 pounds of my goal weight.

Have a great day.

I am sitting here "cookin" with dye on my head and can't do anything until it is finished so thought I would just peek in and talk abit. I felt better today than I have in awhile, certainly since this nuttiness started. I did get more sleep last night though and nothing better than sleep. He got my up twice, but once wasn't until 5 am so that was ok.

I went out, got an egg mcmuffin and a diet coke, picked up my contacts, did some grocery shopping, found some nice soft nightgowns for $12 so got a couple of those, and then came back home and unloaded it all and put it away. I put a couple rolls on to rise for dinner. We are having boneless loin pk chops, some hash brown potatoes, roast asparagus and a roll. For dessert if Jack want he can have an ice cream treat. He is now down 15 lbs so he is keeping up with me. He will more than likely be at goal when we go on vacation so like he said his 36 in waist jeans will all fit him again. He said he will only need new shoes and those cost us $100 because he only wears New Balance and has for years and years. I remember the first pair we bought him I think I paid $40 for them and now they are around $100. He does use the old ones as he wears the old ones to work so recycles them out as the new ones get old, he puts them back to wear to work and then has his new pair.

Maggie: I don't agree with a lot of the politcal stuff with AARP, but I have my life insurance through them and like Susan use them for a couple other things, so I keep it up to date. Fortune only reacts once in awhile to the thunder, most of the time he acts like it is no big deal. He doesn't like rain though, that's for sure so you sure wouldn't see him sticking his head out in the rain off the porch. :lol:

Susan: It is great how much you have lost overall, but in the last year getting to your goal. You had a goal of WW 155 and yours as 150 so the fact you are below that is wonderful. I am hoping that I finally have a handle on things. We just have to keep on track. For an obese woman, I don't overeat, when I am gaining it is because I eat high fat crap, I don't get enough exercise now, and my hormones are all over the place. I am amazed more people don't realize how much sugar drives their hunger though. I know that was something I clued into big time. Cut out the sugar and you cut out feeling hungry all the time.

Well gals, I am about done so will get out of here. Kelly forgot to tell me and just emailed me this morning that Thomas's summer piano recital is tomorrow morning at 10 am! Jack is going to be one tired puppy to go, but I know he will go and probably sleep during most of it! :lol: Faye

Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's another windy gloomy day in my corner of the world. We got up to rain but it stopped midmorning. I did my church office duty this morning; it was quiet except for a couple phone calls and a guy begging money for gas. I called the senior pastor and he met the guy at Casey's to put gas in the car. We never give money. Bob went back up to the lake in hopes of finding where the water is coming in through the cabin roof. He thought he had it fixed until he went up yesterday. I felt sorry for him because he and Jason had put in new ceiling sheet rock and painted it. :hyper:

"Gma" -- Thank you for the new thread today! I imagine it is a toss up as to which of you three is happier that Jack will be back on his regular work schedule. ;) I don't think anyone could be mentally 100% working a 12 hour shift but what do I know. I'm sorry you didn't like your sock turning out the way it did. Our Maui room rent is "free" because we are owners and pay a yearly maintenance fee which, by the way, did go up this year. It really isn't free at all considering what we paid when we bought into the program. I just had to :lol3: at your bed hopper comment. It sounds like you are one of Susan's Ladies of the Night! :lol3:

Maggie -- I don't think the Schwans man came this morning either. If he did he didn't leave any evidence. :dunno: I had to :) at you rearranging your freezer again. :p With my freezer on the bottom of my fridge I try to organize but like things don't always fit together so the drawers will slide shut. My other freezer is on top and easier to organize.

Susan -- You are so dedicated to your :swim: :tread: :workout: exercise! Good for you! Are you doing anything differently to keep losing weight? I didn't know that you had to stay within the 2# limit, for 6 weeks, when you reached goal. Is that for everyone or just WW employees?

Gail -- What are you up to today? I hope you get your computer back soon! :comp:

I need to sort some laundry and do a load or two. We are going to Sioux Falls tomorrow to celebrate Zowie's 6th birthday. Have a GREAT rest of the day and enjoy! :D

Jean -- :wave: from Iowa!

GOOD LATE AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS :wave:

I am back taking a break. I did something I have been putting off too long. Looking up charms on my favorite silver charm site that I have bought lots from in the past. Anyway one of the little gals that has moved away to a land far away called PA. I did tell her and her sis that I would continue to buy them charms for their birthdays and the smallest of the two is having one in June. I found several I know they will like and have saved that information for I may get them ahead of time so I will not be rushed at the last minute. I found several that I want to get for my bracelet and will surely find room for them. One of them is an absolute "must have" for it really fits me to a T. It looks like a license plate and the message on it is 2-BZ-2P and that is surely me. I have to end up setting the timer so when I get involved with my whatever I am into it will remind me to take a break. Will is going to crack up when I show him the picture of it for he knows how I am. The other ones I want are a frying pan, log cabin, and a travel trailer. Surely I can make room for the four of them on my bracelet.:p Life is good.

DONNA FAYE It is time for me to dye my hair again and I am waiting till this evening to do it. Guess I will stick to my favorite red since my hair has only turned gray on the front edges and not on top or the back. So red it will be. I think a lot of us gained our weight with just eating food prepared the good old way and not paying attention to the particulars. Now we are more educated and eat better.

JEAN Our freezer opens like a fridge and is easy to see what is in it but I like it organized. Plus there is a bin at the bottom which catches what ever won't fit on the shelves that I need to constantly be at to move things up when there is an opening. Do you have your Schwan mans phone number? If you don't ask for it so you can call him if he forgets you. If you order on line he is sure to stop. :p Sometimes when we forget to get something Will gives our guy a call and he stops back when in the area and calls to make sure we are home then. When we lived far out in the country we gave our driver a key and he put the stuff in our freezer for us. They are bonded so they can do that.:cool:

SUSAN What can they do to you at WW if you do lose down to where you really want to be now instead of later after the 6 week is past. Your goal weight must be set at a lower number than WW has you ~ is that how it is? Like I have mine set with WW at 150 but my real personal one is 144 because that is a gross and I will no longer be grossly overweight but at a gross weight.:o

Type at y'all later ~ :wave:

It is raining again ~ yep loud on the roof. We need it for our gardent to grow. It sure perked it up from yesterdays rain.

Good evening, ladies. It rained again and we to have storms tonight. And I was so sure it was over.

The +/- 2 pounds is for maintenance. You cannot achieve lifetime until you have spent 6 weeks in that range. (Since I'm already lifetime, that doesn't apply to me.) After that, if you are consistently more than 2# below they will tell you to change your goal weight. I really want to be 140 but I'll change it again when I'm closer to 145. I originally had a goal of 155 when I was 5'6" tall but now I'm 5'3" and can't use that anymore. I can see I still have a ways to go when I look in the mirror. When you work for WW, you have the same +/- 2" as regular members and you weigh in before you work each day. It only counts once a month at the district meeting however. My training is next week and then June 4 will be my first working with another receptionist. I do that 2 meetings and then I'll be on my own. I'm going to do all the Saturday meetings (4) and I'll fill in if someone's sick or on vacation and I have the time.

Maggie, those charms sound so cute.

I'm going to watch some Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this evening.

Faye, part 2 comes out July 15.

Good morning gals. A quick peek in as I have to get upstairs and shower and dress as T's piano recital is this morning at 10. I told Jack he will probably sleep through everything but his grandson's and I promise to nudge him if he starts to snore! :lol:

We had a thunderstorm last night, but it is nice and cool this morning. It isn't supposed to stay that way though. I wouldn't mind the heat, but the humidity is just so awful here.

Maggie: I have long wanted a charm bracelet so maybe that is one thing I will buy myself at goal, who knows? I love the Pandora bracelets, but they can really be expensive, besides half the fun is picking out charms suited to you. I do have a charm bracelet bought for me by my mother when I was a young teen and could just extend that, I don't know. I tend to wait to long a lot of times myself when I am knitting so join the club. Unfortunately, at our age, it doesn't want to stay inside as well as it did when we were young! :o

Susan: Have you seen the trailers for the last part? Jack and I are going to pay the extra and go see it in 3D we have decided. I am excited to see Voldemort get his just desserts. Been an exciting series of movies and books that is for sure. I have never reread books but I have probably read these over 20 times each. They are just interesting. Fun to see how the kids have grown up from youngsters into adults now. Emma is a college gal and model, Daniel is always working in something or the other and doing broadway now I think and Rupert does his own thing. These kids wouldn't have to work another day in their life if they didn't want to they have so much money so it's nice to see them want to do something with their lives.

Jean: Can't believe Zowie is 6 already. I knew you had a time share condo or whatever, I just wondered if your airline stuff had gone way up. I can't believe how much tickets have zoomed up to go to Vegas. I think our next trip out there will be by car.

Well gals, I have to run. I need to get shower before Jack gets home so he has it all to himself. Have a wonderful Saturday. Faye (for those of you who belong to my facebook page, I posted a video of Thomas playing if you would like to see it. Maggie, I can email it to you if you would like.)

Good Evening, Flowers! I am seriously thinking about heading off to bed! We got up to rain and wind; the sun came out as we were driving up to Sioux Falls. The birthday party was as much of a success as it could be with 4 grandparents, 2 parents, and 2 children. Beth and family had a wedding to go to so couldn't come. Five plus hours is a long drive for a few hours of togetherness. Hah! We could have gone to a graduation reception tonight, for a kid I don't like, but decided to pass. I did send him a card and money so I'm sure he could care less if we showed up or not.

Maggie -- You have so much fun looking for new charms! ;) You might have to start a second bracelet if you run out of room. No, I don't have the Schwans man's phone #. He only comes every 2 weeks while another salesman comes on alternate weeks.

Susan -- Do you think the WW training will be much different this time than when you were a leader? I assume that being a leader one would also have to know how to do the receptionist's job. :D

"Gma" -- I haven't really priced airfare tickets. If it were just Bob and I, we could fly any time and could get some really cheap tickets. The other couple are both still working so they are locked into certain vacation dates. I will have to check T's video. :yes:

The lights are flickering so I'm going to turn off the computer. We are in a storm watch until early morning. I'm heading off to bed! It's been a long day! :D

Jean -- :wave: from Iowa!

Good morning all. We are getting thunderstorms this morning, like we need more rain and it is very humid and going to be near 90 today. I am doing morning chores, washing sheets and then vegging for the rest of the day to get to know my husband again. I feel like we haven't spoken 2 words in forever. He did quite well yesterday at the recital, only dozed off twice. I told him we could sit in back and leave after Thomas played, we don't ever do that, but he hasn't been up for 24 hours either, but he said no it wasn't fair to the kids. Bet he wished he had when the last 4 played. They were older, high school maybe even college and played concertos and such which were long. One guy game out and spread out 4 pages and I groaned to Jack and it got worse because someone sat next to him so I knew something was up. The guy played the first page, second and third then the guy in the chair next to him kept turning pages in the middle before he finally got to the last page. When I saw the kid's head go to the right I knew he was on the last page and hoped there was no more. :lo: It was great don't get me wrong, but we were both really tired. Kelly didn't come she was home urping her guts out, poor thing, and Thomas's Pops had a flea market thing and his aunt was on a business trip so it was just us, his dad and his Nana. We usually are the ones who have more than anyone else there. His graduation from 5th grade is Wed so I imagine we will all be there again, except maybe Holly if she is still traveling.

Jean: Boy, sounds like a long trip for cake and ice cream. Hope she enjoyed her birthday though. One of my great nephews first birthday's was yesterday. My sister posted a picture with him have green icing all over. He looked like those little kids on Nickolodean who get slimed! :lol: I laughed at you and the graduate. I imagine kids who like you and you like them could care less if you are there, just "show me the money!" :lol: Graduation parties unless the parents have a lot of money are usually open houses and are pretty boring to begin with unless everyone knows everyone else and such.

I spent an hour and a half untangle my yarn last night. I have a ball winder and had wound this but somehow the end and the beginning got tangled inside and wow what a mess. I finally got it all straight and had to rewind the whole thing. I had to cut the yarn to the sock to do it though and I hated doing it, but it was the only way.

You gals have a great day. Tonight is lasagna night and I make it lowfat way so it is good but not devastating. Besides, I am on a roll losing weight and I am not giving any of it back so to speak! Faye

Good morning, ladies! The sun is shining and it is 72 degrees!

I DID IT! I did the WW 5K this morning! We had over 200 people and I finished 73. I'm not even tired.

Faye, I'm with you on the graduation stuff. Mostly they want the money and you can stay home. I know you will be happy to get your life back to normal.

Jean, when I was a leader, we used the card system and only took cash. Things surely are different now with the computer, items to sell, and all the ways to pay for things.

This is going to be short because I need to get in the shower so I can get to church and the picnic. Have a lovely day!

Good Afternoon, Flowers! The sun is playing hide 'n seek right now and a slight breeze making it cool outside. The air conditioner was "on high" this morning, at church, and I about froze to death even with a sweater on. :brr: I wish I would have taken my jacket. We went out for breakfast and have been doing some more sorting in the basement. I swear the stuff multiplies when I'm not looking! Bob just left to purchase another birdbath for the little birds. He tried to bend our old one and it broke. The little birds don't like the big bird bath because the edge is smooth, rounded, and bigger so we aim to accommodate! :lol:

"Gma" -- I'm sorry Kelly was sick and couldn't make it to T's recital! I hope she is feeling better today. I've tried to untangle yarn just making a ball out of a skein; finally gave up and used the hunk that would come more out easier. Lasagna . . . my favorite! What time do you serve? :T

Susan -- :congrat: on completing the WW 5K! :cheer: :cp: :cb: I am so proud of you! I know you will enjoy the church picnic this afternoon!

I have laundry going and came upstairs to find a box for basement stuff I'm getting rid of. I'd better get back at it or I'll lose my motivation. Have an enjoyable rest of the day! :D

Jean -- :wave: from Iowa!

Good morning ladies. Back to the normal routine now, thank goodness. It rained again hard last night though nothing like poor Missouri got. That hospital picture on the web was horrible and so many people have died. So sad.

Weigh in this morning and down another 4 lbs! :carrot: Just keep working at it. Jack was down another 2 so we are going to be in good shape for next year's vacation for sure. I told Jack this morning as soon as I finish all the birthday and Christmas presents socks, I am going to go back and finish my vacation sweater I started 3 years ago and has been sitting in a bag. I just have to figure out where I left off because it is a lace pattern. I don't think I marked on the pattern where I left off! :lol:

I am almost to the toe of the sock for my girlfriend. It has been a fast knit for some reason. I made the two ladies at Jack's work their cozy and sent them with him this morning. I hope they like them. I don't know the electrician at all, but she and Jack get along really well and I feel for her. It is a good ole boy network out there and most of the men won't have anything to do with her. One of the great things about Jack is his respect for women and I think that is why the receptionist likes him so much. He always sees to it she gets a plate of food if they do a carry in or I make some dessert for them to pass around. She is a real sweety and always asks how I am and such when I call out there.

Yesterday was a quiet day. It was hot and very muggy and humid. You didn't want to move and do anything so we didn't! :lol: I did my chores, washed a load of sheets and a load of laundry, went upstairs and made the bed and put the clothes away and that was about it. Oh, I fixed dinner and cleaned it up. Most of the day I either knit or read.

Boy the worms are coming out of the woodwork about this Schwarzanegger thing. Even a celebrity has come out and says she knows of at least 2 other kids he has fathered. Brother! I really feel for those poor children as they must be so humiliated by all this especially being in the public eye so much and the media charging right in. Disgraceful man is what he is and pathetic.

Jean: When we went to the recital they had the air cranked way up and it was cold in there even for me and I am always hot. We about froze to death, but it kept us awake I guess! :) You might not like my lasagna, as Jack hates ricotta or cottage cheese and I only use mozzerella and cheddar, which would give a coronary to some italian grandma. We like it though and I cheat and lower the fat a lot by using half as much ground sirloin, those no cook noodles, heart smart prego pasta sauce, garlic, onion, and the two cheeses. I use half cup of each of the cheeses one of which is lowfat skim and the other is 2% cheddar. It is stupid to use ff cheese as it just does not melt and to my mind then tastes gritty. I only use 4 of the sheets and it makes just enough for the two of us as we split it when it comes out of the oven.

Susan: Wow that is great! Congrats to you for sure! :bravo::cp::hat: You came in at a great # too! I remember when I did my 5 k I was over 300 lbs but durn it I did it even if I was close to the end of the pack. Hope you had fun at the picnic and you had nice weather for it.

Maggie and Gail: Hope your week is starting out well. Gail, hope your ailing computer comes back soon as we miss you here!

You gals have a great day. I am going to figure out what I want for breakfast this morning and do my points for the day. Have a good one all! Faye

Good Morning, Flowers! The sun is shining, NO wind, and it's a beautiful morning in my corner of the world. The weatherman says "possible" rain showers later today. I've been to church; not much money so it didn't take me long to finish the computer posting. I have lots I could do today; I really need to get out in the garage and regroup the things we brought up from the basement last week. All of the wet cardboard boxes, newspapers, and school papers went out with for recycle today.

"Gma" -- :congrat: on losing another 4#s! :cp: You are making the scale go in the right direction! I have a ripple afghan I started knitting in 1970, never finished, :o and now have no clue how to figure out where I left off. That is definitely going to the SOS store and maybe some talented person can finish it. I'm sure you can figure where to continue your sweater pattern. It's a good idea to stay on good terms with the secretary at work! I think it is wonderful that Jack and the female electrician are on good terms. I wonder if the other guys feel intimidated by her expertise. I mix my ricotta cheese with eggs and can't tell that there is any taste to it. I also use Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. I can't say I've ever had lasagna that I didn't like. :T I just clipped an Olive Garden coupon out of the paper and we will be going to Sioux City before it expires! ;)

I need to work on something for lunch. I never know when Bob will be home so it will be quick and simple today -- no leftovers. :( Have a marvelous Monday and enjoy! :D

Jean -- :wave: from Iowa!

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS :wave:

It is gonna be a hot one here today in the Heartland. It is already 74 and expected to get up into the 80's. Should make the garden grow. All the plants are looking good. Since we tied strips of plastic in the apple tree that is above the strawberry patch no birds have bothered the apples or the berries. My new knee brace for when my artiritis flares :mad: up in my "good" leg came and it is a humdinger. It should do the trick because it was a spendy little sucker. I don't get flare ups often but when I do "ouch." The doc said I am a good candidate for it to be scoped and scraped or replaced. Well, we decided to wait on that one till I lose more weight and the knee gets to flaring up constantly, if it in fact will. It has to do with the humidity in the air now when it gets swollen. I showed a maintain at wiegh in and am happy with that. We ate out twice yesterday because folks wanted to treat us. I watched it close though. I will make the Schwans meal I had planned to do yesterday for the noon meal, today for dinner. A nice salad is in the planning for my lunch this day. :cp:

DONNA FAYE :bravo: another chunk gone! You go girl and I too believe you will make it come vacation time for you and Jack. You have the gumption and the determination. Jack is a true gentleman. Shame on those other men that can't appreciate a "smart" woman. :rolleyes:

JEAN Someone will like getting that afgan and finish it. Olive Garden ~ yum ~ we like that place. :hungry: Have you ever eaten their Chicken Alfredo Pizza? It is sooo good. I remember when we had it we split one and had their never-ending salad. It is probably a good thing :shrug: that you had that flood in your basement for now you can pitch stuff that you really don't need to keep.

SUSAN :congrat: :whoo: on your walk-a-thon. You go girl. I would enter the 100 meter :snail: mosy if they had one here. I am so very proud of you. :cp:

GAIL Hope all things are well with you and you will have your computer back. When life gives you lemons, make lemonaide. :flow1:

Have a great day Magnolias. Do with this day as you wish. :wave: Type at y'all later.

Good afternoon, ladies! We had a shower this morning but the sun is out now. 92 degrees and humid. We are under an extreme thunderstorm advisory until 11 PM. It's the storms that have already done so much damage in the Midwest and Plains. There was a special on TLC last night about the April tornados. It sure was an eye opener. One woman was home with her 3 small children and the tornado picked up their house with them in it, spun it around and around, and set it down a block away. They were unhurt. That sounds like a miracle. Between the tornados and the floods, this has been a terrible spring. Hurrican season starts next week and I hope this isn't an indicator that it is going to be a bad one.

I went to get my teeth cleaned, came home for lunch, went and got my mammogram and the shopped at Kohl's and Trader Joe's. On the way home I decided it was too hot and humid for my hair so I went and got it cut extra short. It looks cute, if I do say so. I'm hoping the mammogram turns out okay. The tech did it and then said she needed to look at last year's again and then came back and took another xray on the right side.

Faye, congratulations on the weight loss. You can do it!

Jean, I love the apricot chicken at Olive garden.

Maggie, maintaining is good!

Gail, that computer still giving you fits?

Have a great evening.

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS :wave:

We just got back from a nice drive in the country and stopped at our favorite plant nursery. Will bought a climbing rose plant to put at the corner of the church building where there used to be a plant that didn't make it. Needs something there and a climbing rose will look great there. We got some herb plants and I will start a small garden in the kitchen window again. My last attempt didn't do so well because of the grow lights. I am going to try it again without using them much at all. Today we only got parsley, chives, oregano, sage and basil. I think I will not grow any rosemary this go round.:p I have some of that in the freezer from a little tree I got at Christmas time.

SUSAN Join the club of short hair ~ I love my hair short. Isn't it a wonderful feeling after getting your teeth cleaned. And I certainly your mameogram comes out with a good report. It really isn't unusual for a tech to have to take a couple shots at taking the x-rays.

Have a lovely afternoon Magnolias. :wave:

Maggie -- :congrat: on your maintain this week! There is nothing wrong with that! I get to eat at Olive Garden so seldom that I either order lasagna or have their soup and salad depending who is with me. I could make a meal of just their salad it is so good.

Susan -- That is a miracle that the mom and children survived the "ride" in their house! I'll bet your haircut is cute and very practical with the hot weather moving in. I wish my hair was thicker and had more body to it. I haven't tried the OG apricot chicken; guess I should study the menu more carefully to see what I've been missing. :yes:

Just looking at the calendar and can't believe the month of May is almost gone. Why is it the "nice" weather months fly by so quickly?

Another day gals and hope it is a good morning for you. It is going to be hot and humid here today though at the moment it is nice and cool. Jack's pay slip should be up on the site today so I will get to see just how much all that non sleeping will pay us. :D Jack didn't sleep well on Sunday night and came home tired so he crashed in his chair yesterday afternoon after dinner and snoozed for a solid hour then I woke him up so he would sleep last night. He said he got a good night's sleep last night so feels better. Guess we just have to work out the kinks because Fortune wouldn't sleep and was antsy last night so I brought him downstairs so Jack would sleep so now I am pooped.

Jean: I like OG too especially their chicken alfredo, but whoa the calories and fat in that dish. I am a fettucine or linguini gal myself and like their spicey marinara sauce which is really low in pts. Sometimes I have their salad and sometimes I like their pasta fagioli or minestrone soup. My downfall is the Zeppoli those little sugar donuts! :lol: Jack and I ate at Corky's bbq after T's recital and actually bypassed dessert there. He loves their pecan pie and I love their banana pudding or their fudge pie but we were good and didn't get a bite. They make a good spaghetti and pork plate and that's what I got. I left half of it though. They make these great sour dough rolls you have to watch out for or you make a meal of them. Jack and I did ok eating out actually.

Maggie: Yeah on the maintain. Forward or remain the same is always better than backwards! :carrot: I too have a problem with swelling when the humidity is high. Now that I am off the Norvasc it has improved a great deal, but I still am working at getting it down more. My right knee needs repair as it pops out, but like you it is silly to have it worked on when your weight can cause all the work to come undone so to speak.

Susan: I am determined not to screw this up this time. I have to keep from going back to bad habits as that is the problem not overeating. I go back to eating junk. You are going to have to make that quilt yet! :lol: The bad thing with me is when I first color my hair for about a week, when I sweat on my neck if it is really hot the red will run into the neckline of my clothing. I have to be careful of that. I use a really vibrant wacky red and I guess that's why.

Nothing else going on in my part of the world today. I may try and get some cleaning done, but it is going to be so hot don't know if that is going to get done. Will be glad when Friday gets here and I can get the ac man in here and fix our ac. Of course our utility bill will go sky high, but I don't care.

Have a good one gals! Faye

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS :wave:

It is a cloudy day in the 60's this day. We had a gulley washer of an inch of rain during the night that was loud. Much thunder and lightening and hard blowing rain that hit the side of the house with a thud. They say there is a chance of rain this day. So far we have not had to water our garden much. :p Kansas used to be tornado alley and it has shifted somewhat in this behavior over toward the east it seems. Those poor folks sure got hammered. And it isn't over. It keeps coming at them. Life is not the same for any of the survivors. It is hard to imagine losing all your friends and stuff at the same time. Having to start fresh with nothing. Hard to imagine lsoing everyone and everything. Here in the heartland life goes on. We were going to grill some steaks outside today but I think I will do them in my indoor grill. It is so damp and humid outside this day. Beef Tenderloin Steaks with shiitake Mushroom Sauce ~ 8 Points+. Green salad with tomatoes and a nice baker. Yummy, yum, yum. Will has gone to the market for they are having a sale on thier plants and it will be interesting to see what he comes home with. There is still room in the garden plot to plant more veggies. School is out and our neighbors have asked us to keep their boy busy. He loves to come over here and do what ever work Will assigns him. He also loves to play with our dogs. They have dogs but they are big german sheppard kind and not very playful. The other day the woman was home alone and heard the dogs barking up a storm and some talking in their back yard. There were four older type teens out there looking at their "stuff." She asked them kindly to please leave her yard and they refused. She went back inside and reappeared carrying a shot gun (which was empty) and cocked it loudly and the boys left in a hurry. They may have been the boys that scared the kid that night he spent with us coming back to get a better look at what they wanted. Car parts for the guy does work on autos back there. I don't know how those guys got into their yard for they have a high fence facing the alley and fence all around ~ well a low chain link on this side that faces our house so they probably hopped it easily. Anyway I don't think they will be back anytime soon, hopefully. At least she got a real good look at them. I don't think we have anything in our back yard that they would be interested in unless they are interested in the garden or Wills grills.

DONNA FAYE It won't take Jack long to snap back into his regular sleep pattern. :cp: Yep, it is best in my humble opion to wait for knee surgery. However, I was amazed at how Will had his scraped and walked out afterwards and not have any trouble with it since. I want mine to go that way.:p Yes, dear do leave those old habits back there where they will be history. You now have a new mind set of how to eat and that is helping you to achieve your goal.

Every one else have a wonderful day :wave: Type at y'all later.

Good Afternoon, Flowers! The sun has disappeared and the rain clouds are moving in. :( Judging from the tv weatherman's report, we will have rain and "breezy" winds the next few days and through the weekend. I've done my squirrel, bird, duck, and bunny chores, then endured another perm this morning. I need to make a grocery list and return some library books when I finish here.

"Gma" -- I hope Fortune gets back into a regular sleep pattern with you and Jack. Playing musical beds is not fun! :no: The day started out sunny and it felt warm outside, but the temperature is dropping as I type. I've never even looked at OG desserts. I look to see if they have any new pictures and then order my "usual." Zeppolis sound yummy! I just had to :lol3: at your wacky red hair color!

Maggie -- I'm wondering what kind of ****ake mushroom sauce you are talking about. :?: ;) Evidently the site didn't like whatever it is. I wonder what the kids thought when the lady came out with the gun. It's too bad the dogs didn't take off after them. We will have groups of 3 or 4 middle and high school age boys trooping all over town this summer. They don't usually come out as far as we live from town . . . too lazy to walk that far.

I need to get a move on! Have a terrific rest of the day and enjoy! :D

Jean -- :wave: from Iowa!

LATER IN THE DAY MAGNOLIAS :wave:

JEAN In that steak recipe you saute garlic, shiitake mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper for a few minutes ~ then add some balsamic vinegar, water & soy sauce and cook until the liquid almost evaporates. This is the mixture that is put over the steaks. If you want the recipe I can give you the exact amounts of the ingredients. Around here we couldn't find fresh shiitake mushrooms so I will reconstitute some dried ones for this today.:p LOL you probably didn't type both the i's in the mushroms name. With just the one i's it thought you said a bad word. ;) Actually we are in a tornado watch this day here in this part of the heartland. I hope it just stays a "watch."

Have a great afternoon Magnolias :wave:

Maggie -- Your post had the **** in it. :lol: I just copied it. Thanks for offering the recipe but we don't eat/fix mushrooms (because I don't like them). I saw on the news tonight where a tornado hit OK -- scary the storms that are happening. Jason was in Mpls. and said it looked like a war zone.

Good morning ladies. Up early as T has his graduation at 9 this morning and wanted to get things done first. Had to drag the trash out at 5 anyway just in case them come early. I sat and paid bills this morning and will head upstairs and get a shower and get dressed in just a bit so Jack has a nice hot shower when he is ready.

It never cooled off here last night and we both stayed downstairs where it is cooler to sleep. I am calling the guy tomorrow about coming out and fixing the durn ac and hope he can get here soon. Jack doesn't like the door open at night so it stayed pretty warm in the house all night as it didn't cool down much.

I didn't even work on the sock and probably could have finished it, but it was too hot to fool with yarn last night. I imagine I will finish today when we get home. We have to take Jack's FMLA papers out to the ortho surgeon's and get them filled out. They charge you to fill them out anywhere from 10-50$ can you believe it. The doctor doesn't even do it. We then need to run by Super Target and get Jack some work socks and I need a couple grocery items. We are eating a lot of sandwiches at lunch and go through that 98% ff ham and we need some more. I am going to see what fruits they have to because I am slim on them.

Maggie: Our Fresh Market here has probably 10 different kinds of mushrooms and even the commissary carries several varieties of fresh including the shiitakes.

Jean: I do have a wacky red on my hair, but I love it. It is a bright red with some purple hues in it. I use Feria hair color because it has such great highlights and vibrancy to their colors. If I am going to have to be an old woman, I am going to be a shining old woman! :lol: I kind of wish our temps were cool this week just to get through until the ac man gets here.

Hope everyone else is doing fine. I am outta here so I can showere and dress. Have a wonderful middle of the week all. Faye

Good morning everyone! My laptop is home and working. We went to Va. Beach to check on the Dads. My Dad looks frail and going downhill. My father-in-law looks great; however, he is getting a bad case of cabin fever in that transitional hospital. Wayne is tired...from working, then driving to and from Va. Beach. He told his Dad that he wasn't coming back this weekend--he needed a break. His Dad did not like that and didn't understand why he's tired. Wayne needs a break. He gets a 3-day weekend and I told him to relax and not feel guilty. We got back to Delaware late Sunday. Monday, I met a friend for lunch, picked up my computer, and then raked the front yard. Yesterday, I went to a dermatologist appointment and came home and did chores. And here I am!

I feel like I've been on the run doing something or other. And I need to do catch up. Again.

Good Morning, Flowers! It's pouring rain, windy, and gloomy, gloomy, gloomy in my neighborhood this morning. I won't complain since we've managed to avoid any of the tornados around the area. I've been to get a new set of nails, and now I am home for the day.

"Gma" -- Thomas is growing up so quickly! It's hard to believe he will be moving on to another school already. I guess I'm not surprised there is a charge for filling out the FMLA papers; there seems to be a charge for every little thing these days. :( I had to :lol: at you being a "shining old woman!" What a great description even though you are not old!

Gail -- It's good to see you here today! :yes: Driving back and forth to VA Beach, on the weekends, is tiring enough; I'm sure Wayne is REALLY tired after working long hours all week. I'm glad you have your :comp: back so you can visit with us more often.

Maggie and Susan -- What is going on with you today? :dance:

I have to work on my ironing pile today. Bob wore long sleeves today and I've been ironing short sleeves. :rolleyes: Have a wonderful Wednesday and enjoy! :D

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

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS :wave:

It is a cold windy day here in the Heartland. The tornado that had us on watch last night touched down further east from us so all is well here. We were in the edge of it and got lots of the rain pounding us but none of the hail. We do have a closet at the bottom of the stairs designated for us to spend time in if one does hit here. Got water and "stuff" in there to help us and our dogs survive and insurance to replace all our things if lost "if" we want to replace them. :cp: I certainlly would not like being caught here in my office if one hit since I have all that glass. This seems like a good day to have baked chicken for dinner. That jello cottage cheese and pineapple salad I made yesterday goes well with parmesan :chicken:. Beanie is entertaining right now for he is running up and down the hall and when he reaches my office he comes and flops on the floor then up again and down the hall and back. He is such a character. They are tearing up one of the main roads that runs through town and are breaking it up now and the pounding is not pleasant to hear. The sound reverbrates though the air to here. Thank goodness while they are doing that there are roads we use so we don't have to go on that street. They are doing just one block at a time pouring the cement. My eyes sure are itchey today:( ~ something in the wind ~ probably cement dust from all that breaking up the street. Wouldn't you know it ~ my knee hasn't hurt since I bought that rap around brace for it. That is a good thing but I still haven't tried it out to see if it really does work like "they" say it will. :o Life is good.

DONNA FAYE Well It certainly does not surpirse me that you have fresh shrooms of all varieties there in your markets ;) but you must remember I live in the sticks in a small town that hardly has the things I want to purchase. I am just glad they had some dired ones I could reconstitute and use which aren't as good :no: but they did well. But I love living in the sticks so I put up with the inconvenience of not being able to find products that I want.:chef: BTW there is a restaurant that is owned by and has a chef in a little town down the road that used to work for "The Donald" as his private :chef:. The food there is excellent and I wonder where he buys his products. Probably just gets in his plane and off he goes shopping.

JEAN The tornado season isn't quite over yet so lets hope :crossed: we all stay safe. I got a chuckle about your getting a new set of nails. Mine (that I grow) got too long and I had to trim them today. :snooty: My mother has great nails and I am the one of the three girls that inherited that from her.

GAIL So glad you got your :comp: back. Wow you have been a busy gal. Now this weekend you and Wayne can relax a bit. :D It is good that he tells his dad no :nono: once in awhle. Slow down and have a great weekend. Memorial Day is Monday. Oh let us remember our troups. Hope it is a nice day and we can grill :burger: outdoors.

SUSAN How are you doing on this Humpday?

Too hip gotta go. :wave:

Good afternoon, ladies. The sun is shining and it's in the middle 80s today.

Yesterday was a different story. We had rain in the morning and then about 4:30 had a terrible storm. They didn't say it was a tornado, but 2 semi trucks were blown over on the bridge and one went into the water, man trees down, flooding, and 19,000 without electricity. We had more storms in the night but not so bad. Supposed to be more tonight! Hurricane season startes June 1. I hope this isn't an indicator of what to expect!

Today I did my water aerobics and water zumba classes and then attended National Senior Day at the Y. We had health lectures, free health screenings, and lunch catered by Subway consisting of ham or turkey subs, tossed salad, pretzels and strawberry shortcake. I won a very nice stainless steel coffee mug. We also got goody bags. Fun for all!

Faye, Gosh, T will be going to college before we know it! I know you are so proud of him.

Jean, I have terrible nails due to all the time they are in the water and asthma. They split and break so I keep them very short.

Maggie, I hope those kids had to go home and change their underwear after she came out with the shotgun.

Gail, I'm so glad your computer woes are over and you are back with us. It's sure tiring and no fun to be driving between DE and VA every weekend. I'm with you - enjoy the long weekend at home. Your FIL is getting good care.


Tonight I have my quilting bee and then work tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Bob's 94 year old aunt just called and invited us to come down for lunch sometime. She loves to go to the Red Lobster so we will try to make that trip soon, and take her out to eat. She lives in Ames which is about 2 1/2 hours from us.

Maggie -- The wind is still blowing but the rain has stopped finally. It rained all day long and enough is enough! What kind of milk do you use in the Jell-o cottage cheese salad? I had a different Schwans man come tonight. I asked where the other one was and he said "they" redid the routes and my former salesman doesn't come here any more. Wed. night is not a good night during the school year because I will have bell choir. I told him that and he said he could come on Tue. night so we'll see if he remembers. My mom had nails as hard as a rock, but mine have never been that way. Beth has hard nails too. I guess that must have skipped a generation like pie crust making did. :lol:

Susan -- You've had more than your fair share of rain and storms. I'm glad you were able to go to the Y and :swim: . The Senior Day sounds fun. I hope you got good things, that you can use, in your goody bag. Enjoy your new mug and have fun at quilting bee tonight.

Good morning ladies. It is nice and cool this morning but it was hot and extremely humid yesterday all day. You would come out of an air conditioned building or car and immediately feel wet. Then we had horrific thunderstorms with high wind, hail and heavy rain last evening, but it cooled it off and quick. It is supposed to be low 70's today. I am calling the ac man today and have him get out here as soon as he can as it is supposed to climb back up over the weekend and be 90 on Memorial Day. I told Jack maybe we ought to pack up Fortune and go somewhere, anywhere there is an air conditioned room this weekend. :)

Thomas's award ceremony was long and drawn out and we had to sit on the cafeteria benches so my behind hurt about halfway through. I had to go pee too, which didn't help and I was on the inside aisle so it would have been a big disruption to get up. Kelly looked funny. They had had field day the day before and she is really fair skinned. She had a sunburn, but though her neck was burned other parts of her were blotches of burn. It didn't look like a burn where a tshirt sleeve ended of where her knees peeked out of shorts or something, but she have a section that burned then white skin then a half circle of burn, etc. She had spray on sunscreen and she said the wind was blowing so that is why she had a puzzle look. :lol: Bless her she finally got her hearing aid. She says it helps her, but not in situations where there are a lot of people close together like in that cafeteria yesterday. Thomas got an award for several things, but I was most proud of his award for straight A's from first through fifth grade. He has never gotten anything but an A on his report card and he had all E's for his conduct too. He is driving his mother to distraction though. A few months ago he decided he was going to let his hair grow. Well now, the back of it curls up on his neck and the rest is shaggy around his face and down in his eyes. He loves it, she fights with him about it. Ahh, being a mother with a son and long hair, brings back the days! :lol:

Darn Fortune got me up because he needed to go out then promptly peed next to the couch so I have to get he shampooer out and clean that up later this morning. He is worse than a little kid! I gave him what for though.

Susan: I imagine hurricane season is going to be dicey this year. The weather has been so very volatile and unusual this year already. I figure we are going to end up with a very hot summer. Sounds like you had a nice time at the Y. The Navy retirement seminar/convention is soon in Millington at the base. They have it every year and we have yet to go, but with permanent retirement closing in, we need to go as they have booths about Tricare changes with regard to Medicare and stuff like that besides things that the military offers to retirees and such.

Jean: I am sure his aunt gets lonely for company if she is in her 90's. My best friend's mother lives with her and she is mid 90's. She has her sleep mixed up and keeps them up all nights than sleeps all day. Her doctor says they have to get her turned around, but it is easier said than done. He told her that she is going to have to face having to put her mom in a care facility soon because her mom is starting to wonder and has some dementia now. Well, my girlfriend is an only child and is very attached to her mother so it is going to be doubly hard for her to do it soon. Hope you Schwann man gets you on a good routine now.

Maggie: I imagine it is difficult to get some of the things that most people use little or none of in a small town. I lived the small town life I know what it was like. We didn't have much of a produce section at all in our store. We did however have fresh butchered meat that was great, wrapped in white paper, and the butcher would write on it what was inside and how much with grease pencil. Takes me back, especially since the grocery owner was my great uncle, then his son took it over when his dad retired.

Well gals, it is almost time for Jack to get up now so I am going to get out of here. Have a wonderful weekend. We are going to be busy trying to get things done. Jack wants new running shoes (New Balance all he wears, but he no longer runs because of his knees) though we did get him some new socks finally and I got a start on Jackson's birthday presents yesterday. Faye

Good afternoon, ladies! 88 degrees right now but it's not raining!

I had work today and nothing on tap for tonight. Tomorrow I have English Paper Piecing bee and lunch with the ladies so that will be fun.

What an accomplishment for T to only have As thus far! I didn't realize Kelly had trouble with her hearing. Fortune keeps you hopping. I need to get at and do my carpets now that it is hotter. I still haven't turned on my AC.

Have a great day, everyone.

Good Afternoon! The sun is shining brightly but it is cool outside even though there is NO wind blowing. The next four days are to be rain, rain, and more rain which we don't need. :no: I spent the morning working with some other auxiliary ladies putting together hospital history: newspaper clippings, pictures, and articles saved over the years into 3 ring binders. We finished them today; the hard part of sorting was mostly done earlier in the week. We all wondered who is going to go back and read this stuff. It was fun to look at old pictures of people, we know now as being "old," taken when they were young.

"Gma" -- I wouldn't blame you for checking into a motel if the ac guy can't come soon. There is nothing worse that hot humid weather and no air! :no: It's too bad T's program couldn't have been in an auditorium with comfortable seats or at least have folding chairs. Our high school will put chairs on the gym floor for people who can't climb the bleachers. Long hair was one issue we never had with Jason; his hair starts to curl as soon as it has any length at all and he hated the curls. Ian's hair is very curly (and clipped short!) while poor Zowie's is straight as a string. Bob has a cousin who lives in the same town as his aunt so he takes her to church or anywhere she wants to go. This is a gal who worked until she was 85; traveled thousands of miles to oversee 8 or 9 Hallmark stores the family owned. She's a go-getter no doubt about it! I'm sure you and Jack are looking forward to the long weekend!

I have a WM list started and need to add a few things so had better get going. Today seems like Friday; I wish it were because I would have been to the dentist and home again by now. Have a great rest of the day and enjoy! :D

Jean -- :wave: from Iowa!

Good morning to you all! I have to hurry and post as I have to get up and dressed in a few minutes and take Fortune to the groomers so he will be all nice and clean and be out of the way of the ac guy. Jack is still upstairs snoozing away.

We are putting the deposit down today for our cruise next year so that will be fun. I think we are going to go the end of Sept next year on their big new ship Allure of the Seas. Jack will be 62 but wants to to all the stuff they have like the rock climbing wall, the flowrider, which is basically surfing or waterboarding (he is gonna break his neck either way) but for me it is the pool, pool, pool. They have 4 of them not counting the kids area so I can change each day then start ove again! :lol: We are getting a balcony room that looks out over the boardwalk as that is what Jack wants. I didn't want one as I was afraid of the noise from the people on the boardwalk, but about 6 months ago we watched a program about the sister ship and they showed how the doors to the balcony are air locked and no sound comes in so I aquiesced.

I had a rough night again last night. I sure will be glad when my sleeping evens out. I am ok first thing in the morning, but by about 2 pm I am so tired I can't put one foot in front of the other and need a nap, but Jack gets home at 3:20 or so and I like to start dinner around 4 so I just trudge along until bedtime.

Jean: Kelly had beautiful board straight corn colored blond hair as a little girl. She now has very curly red hair!!! It changed in college. Jay was always a dark blond, but he shaves his head close so you can't tell much except he isn't dark headed. I have had several classmates post pictures of us being in grade school and such like I posted here. It is fun to look at stuff especially high school pictures and you wonder, "what was I thinking?" :lol:

Susan: I got both the rugs done, but one spot just would not come out and I scrubbed it good with the hand part of my shampooer. Fortune vomited something up that was pinkish, I think it was a dog treat and it stained the carpet. You can barely see it, but I know it is there. :lol:

Well gals, I know it is short today, but I have to get up stairs and get dressed. Have a great day and weekend (like Jean I kept thinking yesterday was Friday and jumped the gun) Pool here should open on Monday so we shall see. Faye

Please go to #25 to post, thank you.