[gma22]

Good morning to you ladies. It is going to be a beautiful day here up in the 60's. I might just ride around with the moon roof open! lol

I have had it with Petsmart's grooming. They charged me $49 to groom him yesterday and he looks like all he had was a bath. The groomer told Jack he was matted, but I always check him before he goes to the salon to make sure and I could take my fingers and run through his coat on his belly area and legs from skin out and my fingers not get tangled but he charged me a dematting fee. Jack is such a wimp he didn't want me complaining, but I told the guy he was an idiot in front of everyone and that he didn't know crap about grooming an animal. There was an asst manager standing there and I told him I was done and going to a new groomer. They were more expensive than anyone in town, they didn't do their jobs and they seemed to all be brain dead as three different times they canceled Fortune's appt when I called and scheduled it instead of going into the store. So, I am going and looking for a groomer today. I have to take Fortune to the vet for his yearly's so I am going to ask them if Paula is back to grooming full time and if she is, I will take him back to her. She was only working every other Friday as she was recovering from breast cancer. She does a spectacular job on him and it costs me $35!

Jean: No, I have less hair than Fortune and I colored it so I am now beauuuuutiful! lol Poor little guy will have to go back to a groomer in 2 weeks since they only cut around his face. The game sounds a bit like Euchre with a main and off jack being the biggest cards though the joker isn't used. Wish I lived near you and we could play cards together. I love to play cards and miss not living in Indiana where I can play. Jack cracked the thing that screws onto the pipe and it was spraying water all over. He actually got a better one that was all metal and has two heads, one handheld, one permanent, rotates easily instead of stiffly and we like it a lot. The other one set the spray so high it would hit the back wall and when I went to get in, it would spray me right in the face before I even got in. That was ok for Jack, he's 6'2" but I always got blasted right in the face for the whole dang shower.

Susan: I am so sorry you lost another friend. She was very young to have passed away. I imagine when I die, I will go into a national cemetary, probably on top of Jack as I can be buried free that way. Jack will probably enjoy me being on top..... No one plays whist anymore and Jack knows how to play it. I love to play pinochle, but haven't played since Jack and I were first married so I have pretty much forgotten how to play. Jack keeps wanting me to take bridge lessons, but I figure I am too dumb for that! I can't keep anything straight. Of course, I could use the method I used to memorize stuff in college, I would put it to music. Jack is amazed that I can't remember something, but I can sing practically any song that comes on the radio without even thinking about the words. The only thing I couldn't put to music was french! lol

I am almost done with the sweater. I have a few inches left on one side to sew up then do the crochet around the neck and it is done. The sleeves are too big I discovered but ahh well. It sure turned out pretty. I will take a pic when it is all finished.

Have a nice weekend y'all! (that seems criminal for a yankee to say y'all! lol)
Faye

[Maggie]

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

Gracious sakes I started a #6 thread yesterday and obviously it has gone missing. I don't have the ambition nor the inclination to rewrite all the cutzie things I wrote to each of you in that posting. I know it has happened to y'all and so I will quit whining. It is fixin to be a beautiful day here in the heartland and I will get to work on a glass house when I finish here. Seems we are all builders of something or another which is a good thing.

DONNA Thank you for starting a new thread that stayed around for us to post to. Shower heads can be a literaly pain. Ours has a very stiff hose and I much preferred the older kind that was metal and flexed so easily. This thing has a mind of it's own and when I twist it around where the spray is in the right direction the head unscroos and then the water squirts everywhere. This is a hand held model that is supposed to be one of the "best" HA. They just don't make them like they used to. I do hope the groomer that you do love so much is back in business so Fortune can get a proper do. The groomer we found for Ragg Mopp just charges $27 for the works and she does a great job. We take him every two weeks in the summer and every three in the winter. He stays cleaner in the winter since he doesn't go out much in the cold. Plus hair growth is slowed in the winter.

EVERYONE Have a lovely day and weeked. WOW the time sure goes by fast doesn't it. Type at y'all later.

[QuilterInVA]

Good evening, ladies.

Eva's funeral was today so I went to that with 5 of my friends. It was a lovely service. She had a beautiful coffin and a lovely velvet comforter in it, but her husband took it out and covered her with one of her quilts. After the service we went to Olive Garden for Soup and Salad.

This has not been a good week and I know the scale will be up this week. Too much eating out and the choices slipped into the realm of too many calories, too large portions. Back on track tomorrow. I ate bran flakes and strawberries for dinner tonight.

Faye, coloring my hair is on the agenda for this week end. I'm not getting it cut for another month. I think I'll need a perm then. I just got tired of wearing my hair so short but I don't want anything that takes a lot of upkeep. It still has to be wash and go.

Maggie, I'm sorry your post has joined those of ours that were lost in cyberspace. It seems to always happen when we have taken the time to write a lot of profound wisdom.

Jean, I know you are glad it's the weekend and you are away from the school.

Have a good evening!

[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers! The wind is blowing, it's been a cloudy gloomy day, and it is back down to 0 right now. At least when the sun shines it doesn't seem like it is so cold. After yesterdays thaw the parking lots and streets are a mess of frozen tire ruts. We finished reading the tests this morning and the kids will have to finish what we can't read in study hall next week. I've had my perm (too short, I think) and been to the "party." I snoozed both coming and going!

"Gma" -- Thank you for starting the new thread! I'm sorry that Fortune only got part of his grooming and you got charged for extra. I don't blame you for giving the groomer your opinion. I hope that the vet gal will be able to work him in again. I love to play pinochle and we haven't played for years, ever since our card club fell apart. Bob's parents tried to teach us to play bridge when we were first married. I like to visit while I play cards and you can't do that with bridge. MIL still plays when she can find 3 others who will play with her.

Susan -- I'm so sorry about your friend's death. Some say that funerals come in threes; I say you've more than had your quota! Bob used to play Canasta with his grandma when he was a little boy. My grandma also played Canasta, but I've never known anyone else who did. I love Olive Garden!

Maggie -- I'm sad that your words of wisdom got lost. I'm glad we don't have to worry about groomers . . . Ernie grooms himself! He does need his claws trimmed and so far I haven't been able to talk Bob into doing it.

I'm ready to head off to bed. Have a great weekend!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning to all of you. Well so much for the warm weather. I noticed it is pretty cold when I let Fortune out early this morning.

As you can see, my tunic sweater is done. Now I have one problem. I washed it and dried it and the sleeves stretched badly so they are tremendously long. I don't know if I want to tear them both out and redo them or see what hemming them up looks like to wear it. If it were for someone else, I wouldn't have a choice, but since it is for me, I can take the least resistance so to speak.

Maggie: Sorry you lost your thread. I looked for a new one, but I didn't see it so I started another one. I did find out the groomer at the vets office is back to doing full time so I am going to start using her again. She does such a great job on him. Fortchy got an A+ at th vets so he is ready for another year having had all his shots, blood and fecal tests now.

Susan: The one thing that I hate about weight loss is it is always an ongoing thing. It isn't something you can ever be sloppy about. I like to watch that "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" on the food network and Guy Fieri eats all that stuff and though is a bit overweight he isn't totally porked out. I would think he should be 500 lbs doing stuff like that because he is always eating fatty foods. Even a taste of something when you are taping dozens and dozens of show should put the lbs on. He also owns two restaurants and he doesn't cook light either. He must really put in the gym time or something. I just think it is sad we have to always be vigilent and never let our guard down. If you have noticed, at least 2 of former contestants for the biggest loser have gained back tremendous weight. One guy gained back 200 lbs and one of the ladie's 100. One thing is losing so quickly isn't good and they stress eating properly and exercise but they don't work on the head. You know my opinion about the head. I think it is where the most work needs to be done. I told Jack just the other day that most people lose weight with the thought, "I will lose this weight than I can go back to eating the good stuff." The truth is, we have to learn to make the "good stuff" the good stuff! lol Years of being taught to clean the plate, eating lots of starches, little veggies and fruits changes your brain and you have to change it back. It isn't just a matter of eating the right foods because you have to, it is eating the right foods because you enjoy them as much as you enjoyed the junk and that is the hardest part. Unfortunately, fat tastes wonderful! lol

Jean: Sorry your warm up was short lived. Here too! Hopefully you won't get pounded with a lot of snow. I read an article yesterday where a scientist says there is a huge major fault under Little Rock, Ar and that he says he thinks a major +7 earthquake is in the not too distant future, effecting us too. Well, we sit directly on top of the New Madrid fault line and an large earthquake two hours from us might make it act us. I surely hope not. I guess back in the early 1800's the New Madrid fault quake made the Mississippi River run backward! The river runs right through Memphis so that would be a problem too.

Well gals, I need to go. You all have a nice Saturday. We are having dinner with Thomas and the kids tonight. Thomas has his pinewood derby today so I hope he does well.

Faye

[Maggie]

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS OUT THERE

Well folks I have done it once again. Started an exercise program and going at it real easy. On Tuesday I started walking around in the house and was only able to do 5 minutes. I added some each day and did 10 minutes this day. Next week my plan is to do 10 minutes twice daily. Then work up from there. By spring when the weather is nicer I just may be in condition to take walks outside. I will slowly incorporate work with my weights. This is my plan and I am sticking to it. Will never did get rid of his cold completely and it has come back on him with a vengence. I sure hope he doesn't reinfect me since I did get rid of mine. I tackeled mine seriously and ~ well he didn't. Now he has gotten serious about getting totaly rid of it. I got my new WW cookbook I ordered which is the "5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook." Looks like some yummy recipes in it. Ads came with it for the "WW 5 Star Recipes" and the all new "Cooking Light Complete Cookbook" which I will be ordering.

SUSAN Sorry this has not been a good "OP" week for you but am so happy for you for getting back on track now. My hair is getting so thin I don't think I will ever be able to have a longer style. I am sure glad, though, that what I have still has it's natural curl and doesn't take much fussing to make it look the best it can. Hope you find a style you like and is easy to care for when it gets grown out.

JEAN Wind and ruts are not the fun part of winter are they. I like the being inside watching it snow from the warmth of a room. Why is it that you have to read the tests for those yahoos? Can't they read it for themseves?

DONNA Your sweater is absolutely gorgous. I love it! Makes me want to knit something. So glad for your little doggie that you can take him to that groomer. That is so true about losing weight is such an ongoing process. I get so bogged down sometimes.

Everyone have a wonderful what is left of this weekend. Type at y'all later. Stay warm and out of the wind because it can turn your head around.

[GailR]

Hi. I am home.

My mom passed away on January 17. I am thankful I was sitting by her side. My dad, brother, and my uncle were in the room also. She fought a valiant battle to stay with us but it was her time. It hurts. Badly. And yes, I know with time it will get better.

Wayne will be retired at the end of this month; next week is his last. We plan on him taking some time off to help his dad with projects and at the same time I will help my dad with things. Thankfully, they only live 20-25 minutes from each other. So we will be back and forth there and also between VA and DE.

My daughters are trying to get some normalcy back in their lives. Their children need that badly. I need some kind of normalcy also.

Donna Faye, I don't suffer fools either especially when spending my hard-earned money. Good for you for standing up to those at Petsmart. Sounds to me you were tactful and to the point. Wayne also doesn't like to "rock the boat" so to speak. Perhaps that is why I open my mouth! I need to start knitting again. I would love to see your knitting in person--I'm sure your sweater is beautiful. Do you think if you wash it or soak it again and then block it to size it would help the sleeves? I'm sure you've thought of this.

Maggie, I hate when that happens--losing a post...or a whole thread! It seems to take the energy right out of me!! What are you working on now with your glass?

Susan, I'm sorry about your friend passing away. I love that her husband covered her with one of her quilts. That is special. ....I love the Olive Garden. That was where my mom and I last ate lunch out. I can remember what she ate as she always ordered the same thing--minestrone soup and salad...and don't forget those breadsticks!

Jean, it's cold here in DE but not as cold where you live. The weatherman is predicting snow next week. Just in case, I bought ingredients for chili and the vegetable soup.

I need to start dinner. I'm grilling chicken breasts on my indoor grill. Also having a vegetable medley which Wayne will not like so I'll think of something else for him. Everyone have a nice evening...

[GailR]

Maggie, you posted again while I was typing my post! I love new cookbooks! My mom collected all kinds of cookbooks. Healthy and unhealthy! Vegetarian, seafood, and meat cookbooks. All kinds. Sadly, they are mine now. I brought home the very first cookbook she received as a wedding present back in 1950. It is so worn the cover is not attached. Inside, I found a letter to her from her mother dated 1964--a beans and rice recipe. The cookbook is so used--I can see food stains on a lot of the pages. I also brought home her Bible from her childhood.

[QuilterInVA]

Good evening, ladies! It's starting to get colder again and rain is on the agenda for tomorrow.

I did gain this week, but I came home resolved to get back on track and get it off before next Saturday. I made a Trader Joe's run after WW. I love the plain Greek Yogurt but is a little pricy for my purse so I got a pint and also a quart of Europen Style. Both are thicker, creamer and less tart than regular nonfat yogurt. They also have a crustless quiche that is 4 points. Their fresh produce is always less than other stores and very fresh. They had a fruit that was new to me called a Cocktail Grapefruit - a combination of a grapefruit and a mandarin orange. Very sweet and tasty, more the size of a really big orange. I made a double batch of the Garden Vegetable Soup, a pot of Black Bean Soup and a pot of Split Pea. I love soup and it is good to take to work for a hot lunch. I decided to follow the menus in the Week 1 booklet for the next 2 weeks. They are really good. If I have a written menu, I don't have a problem. There was a new cookbook at the meeting - "Then and Now" - It has a recipe on one page and a recipe using the leftovers on the next page. The recipes look good and I like the idea because it's hard to cut a recipe down and just make one serving and the freezer can only hold so much.

Faye, I agree with you about the head and weight loss. That's why I find Beck's Diet Solution so helpful. Your sweater is beautiful. I really should make a sweater. I used to enjoy knitting, but quilting took over! When I was living in Akron, OH, one of the astronauts that was on the capsule that blew up lived there. The day of her funeral there was to be a fly over by the Air Force. I was walking down the hall at work and all of a sudden I was stumbling all over and I realized the building was shaking. I thought the planes had come too close, but it was an earthquake! I never knew there was a fault line through Ohio. There is a big one through NYC and down the east coast.

Jean, Cupid is declawed but he still scratchs like he had claws. That cat sheds enough for 10 cats but he does let me brush him, in fact he likes it and will sit starring at the basket his brush is in until I do it.

Maggie, congratulations on your exercise plan. I feel so good when I exercise regularly. I've been going to Curves for 2 years now and still can hardly believe how much I like it. The oldest member at our club is 83 and walked a half marathon last summer. She looks like she is 50.

Gail, I'm was so sorry to hear of your mother's passing. Know your friends are praying for solace for you and your family in this time of sadness. I love my George Foreman grill.

Have a good evening, ladies!

[Buttercup]

I really like this thread of being held accountable. I have never told anyone about my treat stash or eating late at night...until now. It clears the air for me and I know that I will have to let everyone here know when I cheat. The after hours eating is the worst for me. It is like I am possessed by the eating demon and do not fully realize what I have done until I am done eating. It is never good for you food either. Except for the cereal but then it is a HUGE bowl of cereal or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Geez. I will promise to stay on this so I can get it off my chest. Thanks again. I am so glad to have found this site.

[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers! We've been gone most of the day. This morning we went to Bob's office to print pictures that Beth wanted; she is making a calendar with the kids' pictures and took some on my camera. Rather than mail them we made a trip to Sioux City. After visiting with them we headed to Sears to look at tools. I knew there must be an ulterior motive when Bob suggested delivering the photos to Beth. She has done the calendars since the last two were babies; it is cheaper to do them from March to February rather than January to December.

"Gma" -- Your sweater is beautiful! I don't understand why the sleeves would stretch and the rest of the sweater didn't. Be sure to let us know what you decide to do. I sure hope an earthquake doesn't happen! I didn't know there was a fault line down your way. I hope you had a nice evening with Thomas!

Maggie -- I hope that Will if feeling better by now. It sounds like you have a workable exercise plan in place. Good for you! We have to read any test or assignment for any special ed. student who has it written in their IEP (Iowa Education Plan) to do so. There are many accommodations for special ed. students and not all students will have the same ones. Some have to sit in the front of the room for hearing and seeing the board. Some can have extended time to take their tests with a special ed. teacher. Some can have extra help by the material being read out loud. Our group, for the ITED testing was sophomores, and they are to have the tests read. However, that doesn't mean that they follow along and stay with whoever is reading the test out loud.

Gail -- I'm so sorry about your mom. I still miss my mom and she's been gone almost 15 years. She loved cats and I always think of her whenever there is an article or picture that I know she would enjoy. I know how much she would have enjoyed my grandchildren and all the special times we get together. My dad and I were closer after my mom was gone and I miss him a lot too.

Susan -- I didn't know that Ohio sat on a fault line either. I'm glad I didn't know that when we lived there! Ernie has a different kind of fur than "Mom" did. She would shed just walking across the room and every piece of furniture that she sat on would need to be defurred before anyone else could sit there. Ernie sheds a little but his fur is a finer texture; I'm not sure if that is the right description, but he isn't crazy about being brushed. "Mom" loved it and all I had to do was show her the brush and she'd come running. I'd get handfuls out of her.

Buttercup -- Welcome to our group! Post often so that we will get to know you and you will become better acquainted with us. Losing weight is a never ending challenge, but the rewards are great!

I'm heading off to bed. Have a super Sunday tomorrow!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning to you all! I hope your weekend is going well. We had great time with the kids last night. Thomas and his dog are coming to stay overnight next weekend so that should be interesting. Marty is kind of hyper so I hope he settles in with laid back Fortune ok. We are keeping him for a week in March so we want him to get used to everything here and Thomas is just a bonus! lol Thomas had lamb for dinner last night and so I tasted it and they prepare it very well. No "spoiled" taste like I have had before. He is so funny. He sure isn't like other kids. He actually picks and eats food that is good for him. He did chow down on the peking dumplings and the crab wontons for appetizers though and then he and granddad shared a piece of chocolate cake. Kelly and I each ordered a different dish then shared and boy was it spicy. I knew the chicken would be, but the noodles we ordered weren't supposed to be all that hot, but boy were they. They had ground chicken and veggies in them with garlic, onions and chili peppers but it was spicier than I expected. We had a really nice long visit with them before we said goodnight.

Jean: Men are a sneaky bunch! lol I don't know why the sleeves stretched either, but Kelly is going to ask a friend of hers who is an expert knitter if I can do something about it. It would be a shame if I can't wear it after all that work. I used to brush butterscotch and have tons of hair when I was finished. Fortune doesn't shed so I don't really have to mess with him. He isn't too keen on being brushed anyway. At least the vet praised me that his teeth looked nice and clean, but I have to tell you I am kind of spotty about brushing them. I think they stay that way from his dog food and his little crunchy treats.

Buttercup: Welcome! Let me tell you something important about losing weight. Shame is useless and so many people who are trying to lose weight give up partly because they are ashamed. That is bologna. We are not perfect, can't be perfect, so when we overeat, eat the wrong things, or even binge it is a waste of energy to be ashamed about it. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and go on from there. Just don't make excuses for yourself. Own up to bad eating (I am not talking about to others, I am talking about to yourself) know you have to reteach yourself the right way and the proper things to eat and enjoy. Like I said it is a lifelong thing not a quick fix. Everyone here knows that my biggest thing about weight loss is fixing your head. How you look at food, when and why you eat it, what triggers you to go off and eat bad stuff or overeat stuff. You have to relearn to eat properly, eat the right things and most important teach yourself to like the new things as much as you like the old. I think our friend Susan, here is a great example of that. She has really learned to eat good healthy things to keep her weight off. One of the hardest things for me is to permanently give up certain things I know I can't control eating. For me it is soft drinks. Even having one once in awhile will start me down the path to drinking them all the time again so I have to commit myself to giving them up forever. Look at what you have in your life that you give up when you are dieting, but seem to always slip back to and start eating again and when you do, you eat a lot of it. THAT is addiction and you have to cut out whatever you are are addicted to. People will disagree with me, but I have never been one to believe people are "addicted to food." I think they are addicted to certain types of food, but not all food in general. There are probably things in your life that are high fat or sugary that you can sit down and every once in awhile have as a treat, but it doesn't start you off to binging and such, but there are things that when you eat them you eat the whole bag, the whole box, the whole carton, whatever. There is your addiction and it is what you have to cut out of your life and that means the lower fat version too. For example, I can sit and eat an occasional serving of french fries, but I am not all that keen on them so if we go somewhere that they serve fries with like a burger or something, I almost always just leave them on the plate. I never bring them home. Now soft drinks are different. I will order coke for breakfast and even get them to give me a to go cup to take a serving home with me even if we live a couple miles away! If I were you, I would sit down and list all things that you can't seem to handle by eating occasionally and one by one rid them from your diet forever and never eat them or their lowfat counterparts.

Maggie: Hope Will is getting to feeling better. Sometimes htose ole colds do hang on. Good for your. Just stick your exercising in the day where you will always do it and not give yourself an excuse not to. For me, it is the very first thing after Jack leaves for work.

Gail: I am so very very sorry for your loss. Be sure and take all the time you need to grieve. Don't let anyone rush you through it. It takes time to get over parents' deaths even when you are grown ups. Just know we are here for you if you need to talk.

Susan: We now have Trader Joes here as Wild Oats market was bought by Trader Joes. I can't wait to go in and see the changes.


Ok, I have changed strategies again. I made this cute list of monthly type icons, ie a heart for February, etc and put 10 lb loss next to each. For every 10 lbs I lose I am going to cross off one of those. I am not doing it month by month, just using the icons to give me something interesting to look at with a lot of color. I am also going back to WW weigh ins after we get back from Indiana. I know I will stay on the program is I have to get on the scales every week and that I have paid exhorbitant money to stand on them! lol In the meantime, I am making sure I figure my points every morning for the day and then eat that.


I need to go. I don't know if it is my computer or the site, but the posting isn't keeping up with the typing and it is driving me nuts.

Have a nice Sunday!
Faye

[delafax]

Buttercup - When I tried to "diet" in the past I found that I would have cravings and then give in, then have bad feelings about it and then start the cycle all over again. I started eating every three hours on Jan 1, 2009 and to my delight I have not fallen to cravings or binge eating. As I ask myself why I realized it's because I eat every 3 hours...I am never hungry and also feel satisfied. I also decided when I started my new way of lifetime eating that I would have no food restrictions - if I want it I eat it. Of course in moderation. I also switched from Coke to Coke Zero. Finding a "way of eating" that works for you will be the key to losing weight.

Gail - So sorry to hear about your mother.

I have had several people at work ask me about my custom wristbands..now everyone knows about my weight goal of 150 lbs by 8-15-09. I am a school teacher and even had a custom purple wristband made (Our school color)

[QuilterInVA]

Good afternoon, ladies! Cold today - 32 degrees right now.

I went to early Mass and then to Kroger to drop off my prescriptions. Ran in the Dollar Tree to get some lunch bags (which I use for everything but lunch) and they had the Glad Steamer bags so I got a few boxes. I really like them.

Buttercup, I am so glad you decided to join us. There's lots of wisdom from these ladies here. Plan your foods for the day the night before. I find this helps me the most. When I'm just eating whatever is around, I end up having a bad day. And get some exercise in - work up to everyday and try to mix up what you do so you don't get bored with it - same with food, try different foods and recipes to keep meals interesting. I, too, have foods that I just can't have around or eat - even one bit leads to way to many. I don't believe in giving in to cravings, that just keeps the cravings going. They do go away if you don't feed them.

Delefax, you must be lurking! It was good to hear from you.

Jean, the calendars must be really cute as well as useful.
Now I understand why you read the tests. I forgot about the Special Ed requirements.

Maggie, between us, we must have nearly every WW cookbook out there.

Faye, I forgot what kind of yarn you made your sweater out of. Is it something you could cover with a press cloth and steam and maybe it would shrink? I'd probably hem it and wear it. I'm glad you are getting to have Thomas more now. I haven't been to a Chinese restaurant in a long time. I like lamb. Trader Joe's has New Zealand lamb and it is so good. I think what you had before was mutton - sheep. It has a strong taste that I don't like.

Well, I have to unload the dryer and then I can do some quilting.

[Jean]

Good Afternoon from sunny, but cold Iowa! Went to early church this morning; the sermon was good and held our attention for a change. For whatever reason most of the lights/lamps on the walls were dark. They all have 2 light bulbs (I think), so I don't know what the problem was. It was Bob's last Sunday to usher until next year when there are 5 Sundays in January. (I'm thinking ahead to next February and Maui, so have been checking the calendar.) I have done nothing except read the Sunday papers and take a nap! This "should I or shouldn't I" about retirement has made me more tired than I realized, I guess. I have to make my decision this week.

"Gma" -- I'm glad you enjoyed your dinner out with Thomas and his family. We have two Chinese restaurants and they both have buffets where they label what is HOT. I always look to see what is there and if nothing looks good I order off the menu and bring half of it home for lunch the next day. When are you going to Indiana again? You probably said and I skimmed over the date.

Delefax -- I know a couple of teachers who try to eat mid-morning and mid-afternoon so they aren't so hungry for lunch and dinner. I think they do more crackers, dry cereal, and fruit type things that are easy to eat with fingers. What is the difference between Diet Coke and Coke Zero? I haven't checked the cans as I don't buy pop very often.

Susan -- We have a Dollar Store that I have never been to. It is in a building that housed a grocery store and then was a warehouse of sorts after the grocery store built a new building. I just never think about going there and should check it out. There is a Dollar Tree on the way to the lake, but we just whiz on by because "you know who" is driving.

I need to get busy on the laundry again. Have a nice "rest of the day" and a marvelous Monday tomorrow!

Jean -- from Iowa!