Tonight is my dd's high school graduation. She didn't like the big high school here (2500 students) and transferred half way through her junior year to an "independent study" school. So the graduation is going to be small and personal and will be at a hotel with dinner. We have decorated the house and car, will have appetizers and champagne and then head out. Definitely won't be on plan tonight but I've eaten good the rest of the day and been to the gym....best I can do today.....

WaterRat: I am so with you on the carpet cleaners! We only have a small patch of carpeting as well, but I definitely feel like there are some things that are worth every penny. Paying someone else so that I don't have to wrestle with a carpet steam cleaner is definitely on that list!

Hi everyone!

Night off of girlfriend duty tonight Boy is playing with his 2nd favorite thing in the world--his jeep.

Just planned my college best friend's wedding shower. We're doing a brunch with a "home decorating" theme. However, since she is flying in from Witchita to Savannah, we're asking for giftcards to cut down on shipping gifts and all.

Has anyone here used Priceline's "name your price" feature to get a hotel? Boy and I are planning a trip to St.Louis in August and considering using it...

off to clean! Can this count as cardio? I did 20 minutes on the elliptical, 12 on the bike, and 5 on the treadmill plus light weights and abs.

Have a good night!

Dawg, I've not used Priceline, but I have used Hotwire. There you choose the rating of hotels. However, I was going to an area where I knew what hotels were available (this was for my FIL's funeral) and knew I couldn't go wrong no matter which one they gave me. Turned out to be one my DH had stayed in several months before, at double the price! It really was a good deal. These places do set it up so you don't know which hotel you're getting til you pay.

A nice evening here, much too nice to be inside. I just watered my little transplanted flowers. A couple aren't looking too good. I hope they perk up. I'm going to go sit on the deck with a book. DH is at yoga, so dinner is delayed til he gets home.

Hi everyone, I just now got to catch up on the chat. I see that Anne had her beautiful little boy.

We finally finished that dang roof and all the clean-up. It was definitely a PITA and something I will never do again. I do have a very nice suntan now though.

I took Lacy to OK City to her gastro appt. last Thursday. I'm now waiting back for a call to tell me when her appt's with the tummy surgeon and cardiothoracic surgeon will be. They are both trying to fit her in to have surgery before school starts back in the fall. Her kidney infection has cleared and she is in much less pain now.

Not much news here. I did housecleaning, laundry and mowing today. Tomorrows schedule looks much the same.

I will be out of town this coming weekend for my niece's wedding in Norman, OK.

WaterRat,

Thanks for the info...I'm thinking we may try it, just for the STL downtown area and only 4 star and see what we can get...I figure if I limit it to 4 star we should be ok.

Lily, I woke up this morning wondering where you were, so I was so happy to see you posted. Poor Lacy, my heart just goes out to her! I hope she can have a little bit of fun this summer amidst all the medical procedures.

I bought a Hoover carpet shampooer and it seems to get the job done nicely. And it's easier than renting!

Mel is coming here tomorrow on her way to visit her DD, and I'm so excited! The house is cleaned and I'm trying to convince the cats not to shed any more for a few days. I'll run to the grocery store after the gym and then do some cooking today. We're having a (mostly) healthy menu -- I'll post it when it's finalized. I don't know if there will be a chance for the gym or not. Too bad because I've always wanted to see the World's Strongest Woman in action. (I would look awfully wimpy in comparison!)

Pat, thanks for the tips on frozen fish!

I am official done with my wrist therapy. I have two more knee therapy sessions, during which the PT is going to give me an integrated training plan to get back in shape without hurting myself. My OT gave me an upper body strength plan, so pretty soon I should have all my upper and lower body strengthening workouts covered. That leaves me to pick out core exercises myself, and I think the PT is going to give me guidance on cardio since I told him I want to start running again. I am so excited about getting some good exercise!

My upper body strength program has me using 2lb weights to start with. Not too bad, at the height of my strength I could only do 5lb. The plan is do the exercises with the 2lb weight for four weeks, then bump up to 3lb for four weeks, then 4lb for four weeks, then 5lb. I told DH that he has to help me stay on schedule of doing this workout three days a week, so we will go for MWF and I'll make him do his own strength workout at the same time.

Carpet. I have a funny story. We put Miracle carpet in our new house. It stands up to just about anything (and cleans with bleach without taking out the color and it just won't stain at all). Well, we found out the hard way that there is one thing it doesn't stand up to--tar. The road out front was being repaved and the kids decided to take the dog for a walk. When they came home, fresh tar had been put down. Instead of walking down to the end of the street and doubling back (one house length) on the neighbor's lawn, they walked through the fresh tar. Now the kids were smart here--they then took off their shoes before coming in the house. Too bad the dog wasn't wearing shoes. DD took the dog into my bathroom shower to clean his feet (didn't work too well). By the time we got home we had permanent dog foot prints in the bedroom and living room. We ended up getting new carpet (miracle carpet again) because nothing would get rid of the tar.

Lily~prayers that Lacy's surgery goes well and that she's fully healed for school in the fall.

Dawg~I used Priceline once for airfare and loved the results, but that was 8 years or more ago. I don't know if I'd use them again or not because I didn't like the fact that you got what you got and couldn't name times or even exact dates. At that time, we were really flexible. Nowadays, I have a more strict schedule to maintain.

Michele~hope your DD's graduation went well! Is she planning to go off to college?

Allison-- miracle carpet?!? I've never heard of it. Hmmmm.....might have to check into it.

Yes, my dd will be going to college in the fall-- to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington on a partial scholarship to study Special Education (proud mom here). The graduation was so nice. Because the class was relatively small, they recognized each student by saying where they were going to college, other plans, and something nice about each one.

Food was definitely not on plan. I ate it though...... I will be working hard to get off a couple of pounds before my upcoming Houston trip.....

Michele~I remember you said she was going to Gonzaga (home of Jazz great John Stockton!!). Yes, I'm a Jazz fan! His years at the Jazz with Karl Malone were great.

Miracle carpet is wonderful. Especially for anyone with allergies. The carpet has no smell. You know when you get new carpet it smells for a few weeks or more? No smell with this. And there is no shedding of fibers. We got new carpet in our old house and I almost clogged the vacuum the first few weeks we owned it because the carpet shedded so bad. And it wasn't cheap stuff either. Anyway, Google Miracle Carpet--I think you can only buy it on line. They're really nice and will send a box of samples (for color and texture) for nothing (I believe).

I MOST definitely am not the world's strongest woman!

I can't wait to see the menu either. I'm sick of college cafeteria food, most of which I can't eat anyway. Meg, I'm sued to cat fur don't worry about it

Lily- good to see you again. Roofing never looked like a fun job. I've got it on my "avoid" list.

Dawg- I've used priceline for hotels when I knew the area and what the choices would be. I was happy with it. Not sure I'd go into in blind, tho.

Mel

I had to upload this picture. You know how I complain about going to game night at my boyfriend's office and being SURROUNDED by snacks? Here's a picture! They have a huge cabinet (with glass front doors, natch) filled with snacks for the designers to munch on all day. (I love playing games though, but resisting Nutter Butters is TOUGH).

LOL Glory, up until very recently one cubicle at my office was entirely dedicated to snacks, and looked similar but with about three times as much junk! Ours wasn't free, but it was very cheap.

Happy Friday all,

It is sooo annoying when you get a new computer, then months later realize that you don't have all the programs you had on your old one. I was trying to edit a picture of me in my Anne Taylor dress from the wedding to post for ya'll, but I'll have to search for the photo edit program CD at home and try again next week.

I'm happy to say the scale is back to 143 this morning after expelling lots of water over the past few days. I'm a solid 10 lbs. lighter than the holidays of 2007, but I need to lose a few more lbs. to get back in my maintenance range. But I can wear over 1/2 of my pants again, which is certainly nice. As I'm entering Stage 6 of NRLW I'm going to start re-thinking my weightlifting - I really enjoy NRLW, but what do I do when I'm done with the program? I'll be pouring through my old Oxygen mags, stumptuous website, and the exercise forum to come up with some new routines.

Glory, if I were in your place I would sit in that chair right in front of the cabinet, so my back could be to the cabinet the whole time! Resisting those snacks must indeed be tough! You definitely have my admiration for doing so.

Michele, congrats to your daughter on her graduation and scholarship. I can see why you're proud!

Allison, again, congrats to your daughter too! LOL about the tar. The carpet does sound pretty miraculous, other than that.

Jessica, it's great you've made so much progress with your PT. After struggling with pain for so long it's great to hear you're getting some relief and gaining strength.

Meg & Mel, have a great time!!!

Lily, you should come visit me, but not to re-do my house - you should come visit me to lounge on the beach and relax! I can't believe you re-roofed a house. You are superwoman! I'm sorry to hear about Lacy's surgeries. I hope she can enjoy her summer a little bit.

A friend/co-worker wanted her own steam cleaner for her birthday (we told her it was lame, but she said that was what she wanted and refused to give us other birthday ideas). My office chipped in and got her the one that Ace sells - maybe a Dirt Devil or something - for a bit over $80. She loves it and uses it often, as her carpets are off-white. She was renting a cleaner every few months so this was a good investment for her, and she says this vacuum is pretty easy to use.

Anyone have any exciting plans for the weekend?