Hi gals!

This is my last day in Chicago. Its been a good trip. Except for my traveling partner. She is completely obnoxious. This is someone who I worked for when she started at the company and I hated her; then I got out from underneath her and we more or less became friends over the years, and now she works for me and she's not handling it well. She loves to be the hero and everyone everywhere just loves her and is her best friend. She talks about her horses and dog with EVERYONE up here constantly. She was going to ditch me for dinner last night to go out with relatives here in town. However the relatives were too tired to come see her. So she said we'd do to a restaurant here close to the hotel. She kept talking about how tired she is and I told her over and over that she didn't have to go and I'd be happy to have something brought to the room. No, she would go out. So all the way across the parking lot she kept saying, I'm not hungry. I finally said to her, then why are we doing this? Because she'd seen enough of the inside of her room. We get seated and again, she says like four times, I'm not hungry. I keep saying then why are we there? So I order and she kept sighing and slumping down and having that woe-is-me look on her face. Then all of a sudden her phone does something and she just waves and gets up and walks off. Leaving me to sit there and have dinner by myself. I was pissed. Not so much because I had to eat by myself because it was better than looking at her hang-dog face and listen to her sighing; I had really wanted to stay in and hang out in the room last night. Everytime I tried to engage her in conversation, she either had something nasty to say or else would say it so low, I couldnt here her - she was so exhausted she could barely talk. :rolleyes: I would pretty much consider that there is no friendship left. She's been treating me like crap since she was given an end date on her job - yet she told me that she wanted an end date. I think that she wasn't kept around because of her brilliance was a blow to her hero ego (or massive insecurity). So it was been an experience. I will probably make sure that she doesn't travel anymore.

Well, none of that is diet related. Food was okay but not great yesterday. Yep, I brought dessert back from the restaurant last night. Cheesecake.

Lilion - :bravo: You've broken into an new set of numbers! Congratulations!!

I need to finish packing and get going. Have a great day.

Hi Chickies!

Thougt I'd better get my butt in here before it gets deleted! :o I'm still holding steady although i've been to lazy to get my butt out to walk. Need to get moving!

Been doing a number of all nighters trying to get papers and projects submitted. This was the last week of classes and just have to cram for finals now. :dizzy:

Hope everyone is doing well! :hug:

I'm home. I'm :tired: I got home at 12:30 am. I'm hoping to make this a short day at work!

Good Morning Ladies!

Karen! I've been wondering where you were! Glad to see you and hope you start posting more.

Terri - Welcome back to MO...and hope you have a relaxing weekend away from that :witch: Supposed to be beautiful this weekend.

Ruth-continuing to send you and your mom :goodvibes: good thoughts and prayers.

Got to run ladies. No time today! Hope all is well with you and if I don't see you again this weekend, have a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Hi,all
Terri, do what I do whenever i go anywhere. Take a book.That way if you ever again get stuck in such a situation you can bury your nose in a book and ignore the rude person. I can't believe she just left yoiu for a phone call throughout the meal.That is sooooo rude. You are better off without her around.

I had a nice experience this week which was a kind of object lesson for all teachers. I was out working in my yard and it was not pretty. I was cutting and sawing lower limbs from some trees that had overgrown and were clogging up the front of my yard. I was trying to figure out where I was going to dump all the yard trash since the local trash haulers will no longer take away yard waste. Down the street comes a woman and her son. Now I recognized the son because he was a student of mine a few years ago (one of my lesser lights, I must admit). They came up and offered to help haul away all that underbrush I had cut and before you know it they had come with a lawn tractor and wagon and toted it all away. In the course of our conversation, it turns out that I had also taught the mother some 35 years ago. She couldn't say enough nice things about teachers in general and how underappreciated we were etc... all the nice things we like to hear. Now I taught English so I know I taught her writing and grammar and all the normal things you teach in an English class, but do you know what she remembered after 35 years and that made her feel so good about school? At some point in my class, i had complimented her on her make up!!! For that young girl it must have been really important for an adult to have noticed and mentioned such a thing to her! Now I always tried to connect to my students by asking them about themselves, and compliment them on their appearance, clothes etc. because i know those things are important to teens, but who knew that 35 years later, this lady would remember that! It's an object lesson I will pass on to the young teachers I mentor. It's not the first time it's happened to me that I've had a student tell me something similar, but it never gets old. We never know what we say will make such an impression on a youngster.Or how many years later it can come back to either haunt us or help us.
I am only 3 weeks away from camp! Yea! When I go to camp I will only be able to check in here about once a week or so. There is no internet at camp and I usually only go to the local county library once a week. I'm looking forward to spending the summer teaching arts and crafts to all ages of girls. I've been doing it for 31 years and I love it!
Have a good week all.
Ruth, I'm thinking of your mother! I pray all goes well. :hug:
Bearcub

Hello!
 

I just wanted to pop in here and thank all of you for remembering my Mom in your prayers. Thankfully the bleeding has stopped. The meds must be working. :) She seemed more alert the last couple of days. She has dementia, but most of the time she knows what is going on. There are those times when nothing she says makes any sense at all. Some times you just have to laugh even though it is not funny to see her like that. She says things now that she would have never said before. My Mom was always prim and proper and such a prissy thing, you know the kind, the complete southern belle. Ever hair in place etc.

I know you girls in Mo. have had enough of the rian, so how about sending some to Ga? We haven't had rain in weeks now. My husband planted the garden as usual, but I don't think we will see much out of it. We also have a water restriction so we can't water it enough to do any good. I do hope my tomatoes make it. Love those things! Especially fresh.

I would love to stay and chat, but honestly I am so far behind in everything, I need to get busy and see if I can catch up on laundry etc. Take care and I will be back before you know it......I hope. :love: Ruth

Hey Karen, are you done yet? My classes and finals are finished and I'm at loose ends.

About to lose my internet connection, so just a quick hello.

Lilion, you're a weight-loss goddess dear.

hi all!

Wow. Friday. I'm taking the night off!

Bearcub -- That's an interesting memory after 35 years! I wonder what my students will remember...

Angela -- This is the time of year when our term is inTERMinable. We just finished week 7 of a 10 week term... and then exam week. So I have another month to go!

I'm organizing a college wide student symposium which takes place next week, and I'm hoping things will go back to being just crazy after that. The past 2 weeks, it's been beyond hectic. 12-14 hour days and falling further behind in my grading. *sigh*

But I hope you can get a good start on your summer!

Oh my stars, Heather. What a crazy term! A college wide symposium sounds exciting but exhausting.

I'm teaching during the summer, but I have 3 more weeks "off" (with a conference in between and a new graduate course to prepare).

Terri - Chicago is such a great town, although if you were there for work, you probably didn't get to do too much fun stuff - And it probably is a lot better without an annoying co-worker!!

Karen - hope your finals went well.

Heather and Angela - you reminded me why I don't teach anymore :-). It's so exhausting, although I do miss the schedule.

Lilion - congrats on the weightloss!

And to everyone else - hi and I hope all is well.

It's been a busy week here in Lake Woebegone. We took my MIL and her husband out for brunch today. She's starting to have some memory issues, but she started a medication for it, so I hope it helps. I got REALLY lucky in the in-law department - she's a sweetheart! The plant sale I volunteered at Thursday was amazing - more than 2000 varieties of plants. Who knew there were so many kinds of Johnny jump ups? I got kiwigold raspberries, high bush cranberries, a William Baffin climbing rose bush, 2 Veeeeery tiny bridal veil bushes and some groundcover type plants. I wanted blueberries, but there was a crop failure for those. It was so much fun to spend the day there. For Mother's day I have hinted strongly that I want a weeping kitty willow tree.

I finally busted through my plateau and lost 3 pounds, which made me happy and when my husband hugged me this morning he thought I felt skinnier, so that was nice to hear, since I don't LOOK much smaller yet.

I hope you all are having a fantastic weekend!!

Angela -- Being "off" equating to "a lot of work" is one of the many quirks of academia. Goodness. I hope it's a fun conference in a fun location!

I am not going to be teaching this summer. But of course will not really be "off" like everyone always thinks we are!

Hi, Everyone!

It's been a really busy past couple weeks. I did check in here a few times, to see how everyone is doing, but I just didn't have time to post until now.

We had some friends from the Boston area come visit us. They wanted to go see the Boston Redsox vs. the Minnesota Twins baseball game, and of course, go to shop at The Mall of America. Friends from out of state (or country) always love to go to The Mall of America! We don't mind taking them there, - plus you get a lot of exercise walking around the big Mall!!

Today a nearby city had their city-wide garage sale, - where lots and lots of houses in that city have garage sales. It's kind of fun to just go walk around and see if you can find any "treasures"! I did get some lillies from one of the garage sales, so I'll be adding them to my garden. Anyway, I spent all morning going to these garage sales, and then in the afternoon/evening did some errands and shopped for a gift for my Mom for Mother's Day. I was on the go from 8:30am until 7:00pm! It was a lot of walking today, and I have to admit my feet were pretty tired and aching by the time I got home!

Tomorrow, my husband and I will be celebrating Mother's Day with my Mom and family. There will be 16 of us and we are going to a Mother's Day Brunch at a good Mexican restaurant. It's a BUFFET!!! That's going to be a challenge! I've kind of resigned myself to the fact that I will be eating more than I normally would, but I hope I don't do too bad!

I did have a good week last week, I lost 3 pounds, for a total of 23 pounds so far. :D

luja - I can sure identify with you having lost some weight but don't really see much of a change! I don't see much of a change yet either, except some of my shirts seem a bit looser and baggy at my chest/shoulders area. My husband did comment the other day that he thinks my rear looks smaller, - so that was good to hear! I was just remarking to him today while we were out walking that if I was out walking and had to carry a bag that weighed 23 pounds (the amount I've lost), it would be very heavy and hard to do - so, why is it that even though I've lost 23 pounds, I don't feel lighter or any different??? :?: I guess when a person weighs this much, you have to lose a LOT of weight before you feel/look different!

Wishing everyone a great upcoming week!

Julie

Good morning ladies,

Its Monday, time for a fresh resolve. Again. I was up early enough to get in 25 minutes on the stationary bike. I WANT to get my focus again and stick with it this time. Darnit, I'm tired of yo-yoing and not being happy with my physical condition.

My biggest 3 yo boy (horse) went to the trainer on Saturday. I will be able to ride him soon! DH took me to a nearby equesterian park and I am so excited to have such a cool place not that far from home. I am so ready to get to trail riding again.

We had a scare on Friday night. Ginger was limping so badly, she could hardly walk. We were sure she had foundered again because of all the rain and being on the grass too much. Plus one eye was all cloudy and watering. We discussed that this might be time to put her down because we won't keep her around for our sake if she can't have a quality of life. DH called the vet on Saturday morning to see how we go about doing it and what to do with her afterwards (because over my dead body will she go to a rendering plant alive). DH asked the vet to stop by just to give us his opinion. He looked at her eye and watched her walk and said that she was in good enough shape otherwise, to give some meds a chance. After a couple of days on bute (pain meds) she is doing much better. He thinks I'll be able to trail ride her on short, easy rides. Whew.

Yesterday, my exercise was using my favorite yard toy. The string mower. I mowed the fenceline and down at the front by the road. That entailed lowering and pulling back up the mower in the ditch. Good for the arms.

I better get out of here for work. I'll catch up on replies tonight! Have a great OP day ladies!

Good Afternoon Ladies!

I feel VERY good today! :D (Better stop that before I jinx it!) I had a very good, but very busy, weekend. Since the in-laws were coming I realized with a bit of a shock how bad the house and yard were! So, Saturday at about 11 a.m. I started the yard work. DH gave me an advance on Mother's day-two big planters for the front yard, so I got to work. I worked on our compost pile and mixed some potting soil and planted. Then I weeded, then I watered, then I cleaned, then when he got up I mowed the yard and trimmed (with SISSORS!-The string trimmer broke!) :faint: Finally at 9 p.m. I was at the grocery store getting the stuff for kabobs and then got home and got the meat marinating and finally got to bed about 11 p.m. Sunday was WAY better thanks to all that work though. I bit of cleaning in the house and food prep and everything went very smoothly. Food was great, (if I do say so myself) best of all it was OP and good for my FIL who is diabetic. We had a nice visit and a beautiful day out on the patio! :beach: (I turned off all the downstairs lights so they couldn't see the part of the house we didn't get cleaned. :lol: !)

DH spent WAY too much $ on me though. He got me the planters, two CD's and an MP3 player! He knew I wanted one so I could organize my work-out tunes! I was so tickled! He even already had some music on it. He got me a card too, along with one from DS and a third card from Mac and Suzie and Boo! "From your kid in the fur coat." :lol:

I needed that OP Mother's day since Friday we ordered Mexican and I ate WAY too much! Steak burrito covered in yummy melted Monterey Jack cheese! :T Only about 20,000 calories there I bet! :p

Heather – Wow! Craziness at work, huh? Somehow I just never imagined teaching/education to be that much work. Sorry about that – (Angela too) – I know better now!

Luja – I'd LOVE to go to a plant sale like that! How neat…did you get your kitty Willow? And congrats on the loss!

Sparkles – I have a sister-in-law in Minnesota near Mall of America – or so I'm told – I've never gotten to visit yet in the seven years we've been married! We've been invited up this summer to their "cabin" – which I'm told sleeps something like 20 people comfortably – cabin indeed. Then again, I'm told you must own a cabin if you live in Minnesota or they make you move! :lol:

Terri – I'm so glad that Ginger is going to make it a while more at least! How awful to have to make that choice, I'm sure it'll be so hard when the time comes. How is little Spice? We haven't heard about her for a while. I hope you had a good Mother's day. :)

Well all, guess that's about it for me, I need to run. I'll get my left-over kabobs and have my lunch and then TRY to do something resembling work…hard to do after a nice weekend. :wave:

Morning ladies,

Okay, so I lied about getting caught up with replies last night. That's because I came home, changed my clothes, greeted the dogs and headed outside. I got sidetracked in the garden. My cukes are coming up! And my red onions! I spent time out hoeing the weeds so that counted as exercise. I also planted zucchini and a few marigolds. Its so fun to see it beginning to come to life. I also planted three more pots for the front deck/porch. Those are plants that will come inside when it gets hot and for the winter. I swear the only thing I have left to plant now is the hedge. AND NO MORE! Ah crap, I just see that I have ornamental grass coming. Forgot about that. :faint:

This morning I did 25 minutes on the stationary bike again. I'm going to have slimfast, yogurt, fruit and a half sandwich today while at work. Not sure what dinner is going to be. But this seems to be working well.

Lilion - Scissors?! :eek: You are a weekend warrior! Glad to see that you had such a nice mother's day.

Julie - Congrats on your loss!! You've done great. How was the buffet?

More replies later tonight. The rain has stopped for the time being so I better dash for the car and head off to work. :( :wave: to all and have a great OP day!

Just popping in to say Hi! Hope everyone is having a great day!!

Morning gals!

The sun is shining and its a cool morning. The birds are singing and we have a bunch of finches flocking around the feeder. How can a person be in a bad mood when it is such a beautiful day? Probably won't be hard once I get to work. :lol3:

25 minutes on the stationary bike again this morning. That's three days in a row. Today begins our six week Step it Up program at work. They gave us a pedometer and for six weeks, we have to log how many steps we do each week. If we complete the program, it helps us get 10% off our health premiums next year. My problem is that I have problems with pedometers actually recording my steps. I've had this problem with a number of them. Very frustrating.

Okay, I'm off to badmoodville. Got my slimfast and snack bars. Have a great OP day!

Good Morning Ladies!

How's everybody? Terri, you are absolutley right! It is a BEAUTIFUL day!:sunny: It's not supposed to get over 71 here and barely a whisp of cloud in the sky! My favorite type of weather. :)

I have a HUGE NSV to report. I was SO GOOD last night! I was still hungry after dinner, but out of points...after much debate, I chopped up some carrots and zucchini and broccoli and mushrooms and stir-fried them with a teeny bit of olive oil (really teeny, like a trace) and some soy sauce and had that - instead of the pie that's still in the fridge from Mother's day, or the lowfat brownie in the cupboard, or a sandwich, my usual snack when hungry! Very proud of that.

WI today. So I'll bbl!

Luja - Hello back at ya! :wave:

Hi Ladies ~ :wave:

Gee ~ it seems like I haven't been here in ages, though it has just been about a week; we've had a lot of stuff go'in on over the last while that has taken a lot of energy and time. However, we have had wonderful weather here for the most part; and we have been very busy, like many of you. Tried to post the other night and kept getting DATABASE ERROR MESSAGES; they think they have them solved now.

Everything has been going well for us; so, it seems now it's time for car troubles. We have a nice car but it's getting older; but, my wonderful DU (Dear Uncle) came over and helped DH fix it ~ for FREE; so we'll have to do something really nice for them in return! Had a nice visit with DA at the same time. My DF (Dad) is coming up next week for awhile; they come up north two times a year and stay about 1-2 weeks each time, so DH will be busy helping him with lots of stuff.

MORE GREAT NEWS ~ My Dear Sis is sending me up a better PC this month ~ and we all know that FREE IS GOOD, very good! They bought a new one for her work; and are generously sending me her older one, which is better than mine ~ LOL! I like this PC; I only got it last fall, but she says that the newer one has lots more memory and stuff; and I can keep this one as a back up; how sweet!

I find it's not the PC so much as keeping up the fight against all the viruses that jam things up. DH gets miffed by it all; and wonders why those hackers don't find some other way to get their kicks. Personally, I think it's more about $$$! I'm sure that the real reason for all of this to keep you buying more stuff and hiring techies to fix your PC and on and on.

ANYHOW, glad to see you are all in positive mode! I'm a little miffed that I haven't lost any weight, but it wasn't a good winter for me. I'm gonna have to cut back and tweek my plan for this summer through fall; I hope that will help. Went for a nice walk today; but I was in pain all the way. The victory is that I made it all the way there and back. I am going to try diligently to walk everyday, if I can! /\:^: /\

GARDEN UPDATE: so far we have just spread the compost and done one tilling; no planting 'til around May 24th here; last year I started on May 17th (it all depends on the weather here; which is still a bit cool, but that's OK).

TO ALL YOU TEACHERS ~ summer will be here soon; and I know you'll get some holidays and rest then. I remember and admired the teachers that made school interesting; and who were kind, caring, and fair!

Well, I hope all of you are in good health, and staying OP as best you can. Have a great week and take good care of yourselves; and keep on, keepin' on ~ your fellow encourager ... ROSEBUD. :hug:

Morning gals!

Another a beautiful day here in Missouri. I've been out to feed the horses, wrestled with the dogs and vacuumed the living room. Oh yeah, and sat on the bed and watched all the birds at the feeder. We have a bunch of finches and two very beautiful red-winged blackbirds. Two other birds we couldn't identify which may be doves or they may be the females red-winged blackbirds. That was all more interesting than going to work. Which I have three minutes to finish getting ready and hit the road.

I got my haircut and new highlights last night. I really need a manicure and pedicure. The acrylic nails just won't work on the farm and with the horses.

Tonight I need to take Bear to the vet. I am going to change my mind and have them do x-rays to see what kinds of tumors are growing inside. While it may not be causing major organ damage, he labors to breathe a lot more down. Plus his eyes have this green gunk that just started this week. We need to decide if this is it or what.

Rosebud - Great to see you. Free stuff is always great!

Lilion - How was WI?

Now that the dogs are ready for the morning naps, I'm off to work!

Have a great day!

Good Morning Ladies!

Here I said I'd bbl and instead I'm back today...but this is later, right?

Rosebud - Howdy! I love free! Free is good! You've done well lately! About your PC - do you have a good virus scan program? We pay for McAfee and are very pleased.

Terri - WI was okay. I wanted a loss. I maintained. Not too shabby given that I ate a metric ton of Mexican food on Friday and left-overs on Saturday. :rolleyes: I'll get 'em next week. :shrug: I'm so sorry Bear isn't doing well. Give the big boy a hug from me :hug: and sloppy doggy kisses from Mac and Suzie!http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...n20terrier.gif

Garden update for me: My tomatoes are blooming! :D In fact, my Tiny Tim in a hanging basket has a few little marble-sized tomatoes on it! Everything is coming up and looking good with the exception of my butterhead lettuce. All the seeds had migrated to the center and I was told I could move the little plants to space them out, but when I did they went bleugh! So I only have one of them left. I still have to get that second planter done and my cucumbers planted! I'm determined to get that done this weekend!!!

Other than that, not much to report. Still OP and hanging in there! And now I must run. Later Ladies! :wave:

Good morning gals!

Another fabulous day in the making. My boss is gone today so guess who is leaving at 3:00? :D I have to finish cleaning house as we're having DH's cousins over for dinner tonight. This morning I was up early to finish shampooing carpets (again). I'll be glad when Duke is fully house trained. It is getting much better though.

Last night was hedge planting night. I was determined to be able to cross that off my list. I was wondering who the idiot was that ordered 20 plants but was grateful that the idiot didn't order more. :lol: And yes, I am the idiot. But if these all take off, I think I will really like it. That was my exercise for the evening.

Food has been pretty good. I've been pretty active this week. I've been wearing my pedometer but not logging up that many steps. No way close to 10,000. Got to make that a conscious habit.

Lilion - Hey, if you've maintained, you're still under 220 so :bravo: !

:wave: to everyone. Come out, come out wherever you are!

Good Morning Ladies!

Anybody out there??? Heelllooo! :listen:

Terri - I think we're all alone! :( Come on ladies! I know you are out there - I can hear you breathing!

Ah well, I had nothing much to say anyway. :dunno: I was okay on the food last night, but not as good as I have been, dipped into those activity points. We built the trellis for our little garden last night. Here's a picture, taken this morning from our kitchen window.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...y/100_0697.jpg

I'm just waiting for the pole beans and cantaloupe to start climbing! I don't think I'll do tomatoes that close to the trellis again though, they almost cut off the climbers!

Nothing of merit to report, so I'm off.

Terri! Enjoy your bossless day! :D

Hello all. Not typing much this week - I hurt my arm digging up sod to put creeping thyme in. Just wanted to see how everyone was.

I love the garden picture Lilion - and your tomatoes are already blooming? I haven't even planted mine yet - and a good thing, the nights got coooold this week. I have Zone Envy!! And good for you for maintaining!

Terri - hope you enjoyed your early afternoon off. I love hearing about your horses.

I hope everyone else is doing well.

I'm off to weed and water the garden. I've been pretty good with exercise this week - the treadmill still works with a sore arm and after a carbohydrate binge last weekend I've done well this week, although I'll probably be at the same weight tomorrow thanks to the carbohydrate binge. BEtter than gaining. I did have some nice compliments from some former co-workers about weight loss, so that's motivating. I was starting to wonder if it as noticeable at all after all.... And tomorrow my very dear friend is coming into town for the weekend and I am looking forward to seeing her.

Hello all. I haven't been here in about a month and a half. Tradgedy struck my son and daughter in law, well the whole family really. We lost a baby boy due to a genetic inutero stillbirth in the second trimester. Very sad for all of us. I am having a difficult time getting back on track and thought I might pop back in here for a while and see if it helps. Thanks in advance for all of your much needed support.

Karen - I am very sorry for your family's lost. What a sad thing.

Karen - I am very sorry for your loss. :hug: to you and your family. My prayers to you to help you in this very sad time.

Hello, Everyone!

This week seems to have flown by so quickly! It seems like I've been busy every evening after work, so it's nice to have today to spend some time relaxing and unwinding. The weather was really beautiful, nice and warm today, so I spent some time out walking.

Last Sunday, Mother's Day, my family went to a Mexican restaurant for their Mother's Day brunch buffet. I knew I would eat more than usual that day, and sure enough, I did pay for it when I stepped on the scale the next day and was up 2 1/2 pounds. But, I got right back on track and lost those 2 1/2 pounds, - plus, much to my surprise, - I went on to lose another 5 pounds this week! :carrot:

My challenge in this upcoming week is that it will be my 49th birthday on Friday, the 25th. Some friends want to take me out to dinner at a restaurant this week to celebrate it, my family is having a birthday party for me, and then there is the birthday lunch celebration at work! Who knows what my weight will be at my weigh-in on Friday!! I hope it's not too bad! I do have this little hope in the back of my mind that I can lose another 2 pounds by Friday, then I would be down 30 pounds on my birthday. My BIG goal is to be under 200 pounds by next year's birthday, - the big 50!

Terri - Sorry to hear that Bear is having problems with breathing and the stuff in his eyes. I hope there is something that can be done to help him. On a happier note, it's great that you've been doing 25 min. on the stationary bike several days in a row. It's also great that you are participating in the "Step It Up" program at work. I know what you mean about having problems with pedometers, - I've tried using them in the past and they didn't record my steps very accurately either! I wonder why?? Yes, it sure is frustrating! But keep up the good work, - you are inspiring! :cheer:

Lilion - I enjoyed seeing your garden picture. That's a nice trellis! Also, good for you - in making a veggie stir-fry when you were hungry instead of eating the pie in your fridge, or other food! A wise choice! :bravo:

Karen - So sorry to hear your sad news. I'll be keeping you and your family in my thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Whenever you need to talk, we're here for you. :grouphug:

Well, must go for now. I hope you all have a good week ahead!

Julie

Good morning ladies,

Its been a beautiful morning. I enjoyed a early morning out feeding the horses, watering the front plants, and letting the dogs enjoy being outside. And listening to the birds. Very peaceful. I allowed myself that time to ignore all the other work that has to be done today such as weeding and using the string trimmer.

I ended up not being able to get Bear into the vet until yesterday. His eyes looked terrible and he was coughing up fresh blood splatters. He just didn't act like he felt good. DH and I talked about it and decided that if the vet thought it was bad, then to go ahead and put him down. I was convinced that it was time. I cried all the way to the vet's office. Cried in the vets office. He looked at me and looked at Bear and said, its not time and then gave me a paper towel to wipe my glasses off. I love this vet. He's young, he's personable, and just a good country boy. He even gave me a hug. He gave Bear antibiodics again and meds for his eyes. The blood he said was from the tumor having small erruptions into his lungs but Bear wasn't suffering and is still having a good quality of life. DH was surprised, but very happy, to see his big dog in the back of the Escape. I told the Doc that last Friday I thought I was going to have to put the old mare down and now Bear that it maybe I should just get chickens instead.

I was a waste the rest of the day. That trauma really took it out of me. I spent all day inside working on the computer and bill paperwork stuff. More of the day was spent looking for things I couldn't find. Like the $50 JC Penny gift certificate that I wanted to use to order a new bedroom quilt set.

There is a red-headed woodpecker sitting outside our window. How beautiful! I am going to have to get a good digital camera because I want to take pictures of the birds.

Duke is growing like a weed. Danni and he have become friends and they play together. Which is good, she needed that. She's also been really good about taking him outside to potty or getting his attention to bring him back from wandering off. I do think she doesn't like it that he kisses her in the face so much. :lol: He's been up playing since about 7 am. Now he's crapped out on the floor beside my chair. He is such a sweetheart.

One of my projects for today is to create a better irrigation system for the garden. Sounds fancy doesn't it? It really means get out in the garage and find the other hoses and better situate the soaker hose around the garden so that I can water it all at once without having to move it. :lol:

DH wants to go shop for a swimming pool. I'm not sure I want to leave the place today.

Oh, and I did leave at 3:00 on Friday. However, just as I was packing up to come home, DH called to say that his mom was on the way to the ER again. I headed to the hospital instead of home. He came up too. She's had fluid building up again. I sat with them until 5:30 and came home to take care of the beasts. DH stayed until 7:30 and she didn't get checked into a room until 9:00 pm. And there weren't that many people in the ER! But she's doing okay and will probably go back home tomorrow oce they get the fluid off.

Lilion - Loved the picture of your garden. I saved it for ideas for next years garden. I like how you've got it sectioned off.

Julie - :bravo: on getting back on track and having a great loss. Turn that little hope into a strong determination to meet that goal. What will feel better? To have hit 30 pounds by your birthday or food? Just keep that in mind and make healthy choices or just have small bites not portions. You can do this!

Luja - Sorry to hear about your arm; hope its better soon. Good job for not letting it keep you from other exercise.

Valerie - Happy Belated Birthday! I saw your post on the other thread.

Karen - :hug:

:wave: to everyone!

Good Afternoon Ladies!

I should try to be productive right now but I think I've run out of steam today. Stayed up to 1:30 reading and then have been up since 8. It is absolutely beautiful today. I did a little bit of yard work and took a long, 40-minute walk. I need to hop in the shower pretty soon as DH and I have to go to two memorial services today. One is in a park in town from 2-4 and the other in a neighboring town from 3-5. Such a lovely day to have to do sad things.

Terri, I'm so glad that Bear is still with you! Give the big boy a hug from me! Here's one for you. :hug: Thanks for the compliment on the garden. I really like raised beds, definately the way to go. About the "sections" it's a square foot garden. Have you heard of that? Basically, make a grid (no more than 4' wide so you can reach to the center, and you plant a certain number of things per sq ft. 1 tomato, 1 pepper, 9 onions, 16 carrots, 4 heads of lettuce, etc. It's great for a small family that doesn't really want to have tons of food to freeze or can and perfect for us. There's a ton of info on line.

Breathless, I'm so very sorry for your family's loss. :hug:

Luja - hope you are having a good day!

Sparkles, Good for you getting/staying on track and I hope you get thru all those birthday celebrations! Happy Birthday by the way! :)

Well, I must go, time to get in the shower so I'll be ready to get dressed while DH is in at 2. :grouphug: to all!

Sparkles – Happy Birthday! And WOW on the weight loss – that’s wonderful!

Teri – Hope poor ol’ Bear is going ok. Pedometers don’t measure my steps well either. I always thought it was because of my big stomach impeding their ability to work. I want one that goes on my shoe! How did you irrigation system work out?

Lilion – hope you were up late reading something good!

Hello to everyone else. I hope all is well with you all.

I had a weekend of fun. A dear friend came in town and I got to spend yesterday with her and then we went out to dinner with other friends last night. Do any of you remember a Mexican fast food joint about 20 years ago called Zantigo’s? They were bought out by Taco Bell. Anyway, much to our happiness (it was our favorite college place to go after, um, studying, yeah, studying) they are back here in MN – a former franchisee of the original chain has 5 or so of them now. That’s were we went. It’s tasty, fattening, and I ate too much. I also spent a lot of time in the garden. I am having quack grass problems in the garden and burdock problems in the yard. It’s a never ending weed battle. I got some more stuff planted and am really happy the tomatoes and peppers I ordered haven’t come yet. They would not be happy with MN weather this week – brrrr.

Terri -- Sounds like a very traumatic weekend with Bear and your MIL! My pups are so precious to me and hearing stories like that about Bear breaks my heart! :hug: to both of you!!

HI LADIES ~ :wave: ~ We've had really weird weather here lately; just yesterday we had SNOW; ya really! DH and I spent Friday doing the final tilling on our gardens (DH more that me); while I refereed between DH and three little munchkins who kept running all thru his rows. DH was about to commit hary cary after fixing them five times; lost his cool, and the kiddies (boys @ 2, 4 & 5 y/o) just scattered in all directions like bugs ~ LOL!

Seems they had no chaperones that day; guess 'ole gramma and grampa next door (that's what they call us) were nominated to be free sitters for the day; but DH was not amused ~ LOL! We decided to build them a small sandbox of their own, so poor DH doesn't end up in THE HOME FOR THE BEWILDERED by summer's end ~ hehe!

GARDEN UPDATE ~ However, we did managed to get three rows of potatoes and my salad garden planted. We decided to wait for the rest. Then we had snow Saturday, so it was just as well; there's lots of time yet.

TODAY ~ we went on a wee car trip; picked up some chicken on the way home, and didn't get to eat 'til after 7 pm. Stopped to visit my widowed DU who's bachin' it these days; he's doin' pretty good from what I can see!

LILION ~ your square-foot raised garden looks fab; it's really progressing well. We have AVG & Ad-Aware Spyware & PestPatrol & a Firewall on our PC.

TERRI ~ glad Bear gets to stay with you longer; we love our furry babies so much; can't bare the thought of not having them with us.

KAREN ~ sorry for your family's loss; my niece also lost a boy in the last trimester in January; poor darlin'; she was devastated. We're all trying to encourage and uplift her spirits; prayers for your kiddies too! :hug:

HEATHER ~ your before and after pics are so great; what a difference! If I can just get over this hump and get losin' again, it would be so great!

LUJA ~ we have always mulched to kill the quack grass and all other weeds; but this year we got a roll of black mulch paper ~ 100' for only $7.00; enough to do our whole gardens' aisles and then some. The rain goes thru but the weeds die off and you don't have to do any weeding. We thinks its well worth the price since they are guaranteed to last at least 10 years. Also, plant your stuff really close together; so the plants crowd the weeds out!

JULIE ~ CONGRATS on the weight-loss; you are doing so fab! You can still celebrate your b/d with healthy choices like BBQ chicken or a nice lean steak; after all, it's your birthday; you deserve it!

ANYWAYS ~ just wanted to get in here and post; hope you are all well ~ take good care of yourselves and keep on, keepin' on ~ your fellow encourager ... ROSEBUD. :hug:

Good morning ladies,

Now this is spring. Another beautiful morning in the neighborhood. Too bad its Monday.

We went pool shopping yesterday. I relented and left the place. We're investing in a better grade above ground pool. This will be much better for DH to be able to use and will be set up professionally so no sloping like last year. It was hard to accept the price but at least we didn't buy the 33 foot pool that was absolutely gorgeous. We would have had to cut down two trees in the back yard. :lol:

I watched The Guardian while I sorted laundry and ironed. Really fun. Loved the movie. I did redeem myself by spending almost two hours working in the garden last night. I hoed the whole thing to get rid of weeds and smooth it out more after all the rains. Great for my arms. I also worked on the irrigationi system which will be really cool because DH will be able to water and get the whole thing without him hurting himself trying to move the hose. I just need to make some placement tweaks and its all set.

I treated myself to a soak in the whirlpool tub. You know you're dirty when you have to wash off to take a bath. :lol3:

One of the things I have to remind myself is that when I'm busy accomplishing these things, then I'm not moping around and wanting to eat. So today at work, I'll make a long list of things to do this week.

I'll catch up with replies tonight. My battery is about shot and I need to get to work. Have a great day!

Hi everyone!

Still going through finals...

Karen - So sorry to hear about your loss. Your family is in my prayers. :hug:

See a lot of gardening going on in here. Wish I didn't have a "black thumb"! :o

I'm still holding steady on the weight and still comfortable with it. Maybe for the summer it'll change.

Have a good day everyone. :carrot:

Hi,all
Karen, I'm so sorry to hear about your family's loss. i know the love and support of the family will help your son and daughter-in-law through this.

Teri, it's always hard to know what to do with our beloved pets. My kitty Pawl is still with me, but his back feet have been swollen - from fluid. He still walks okay and his appetite and box habits are normal, so I'm not going to drag him to the vet until I need to. He's 93 in people time, so maybe swollen ankles is just what it is with people who are 93. LOL. I just thank goodness for each day I have him, and I know you feel the same about Bear. You have a good vet. He hasn't given up him!

Diet-wise it's been a challenging last 2 weeks - graduation parties, Derby party, etc, but still I did better at the doctor's office than I expected - down 7 pounds. I've almost broken the 300 level.

Camp is around the corner and I'm in crazy mode, cleaning, organizing and packing to get ready.
HOpe you all have a good week!
Bearcub


http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt...Reg/weight.png

Hi Ladies!

I am new to the site and someone referred me to this thread for over 40 with a significant amount to loose -

that's me!!! Here I am and I am most grateful!!

Susan

Hi Susan, glad you made it! Welcome.

I just want to thank you all for your much needed support. I know we will all be fine over time. It's so nice to have a place to actually "feel" your emotions without having to "brave-up" for anyone.

I see there are a bunch of new names here since my last post a month and a half ago. Welcome to all the newbies and :hug: to all the "oldies...but goodies! You all seem to be doing well and are staying on track as much as possible. I also see lots of hard work out there on flower and veg gardens. I, too, have been getting in the dirt with my flowers and very tiny veg "area"...can't even call it a "garden"...too small....one or two giant pots with tomatoes and whatever else I feel like having. It's wonderful therapy for me. My mud pies days and me go way back!

I will try and get back to do "personals" maybe today or tomorrow. But, I do want to say that I am happy that BEAR is still with us.

Have a great day everyone!

Wyllen, the new pic's are remarkable! What a tremendous accomplishment! Kudos to you for all of your hard work and determination! GREAT JOB!