Morning . . . :wave: . . . enough said, for now . . .

Back from up in Canada
 

We had a WONDERFUL time along the Georgian Bay Lake Huron) in Canada. How to describe it...blue green crystal clear water just outside our little hotel, the sounds of the Thornbury harbour as we drank coffee on the deck...views of the "Blue Mountains" as we drove to a country market...shopping (of course!) in the little town of Collingsworth...I'll post some photos soon. We met a lot of very very friendly people - all Canadian - I don't think many in the US know about the beauty of this place. it sort of remidned me of Cape Cod 50 years ago.

My DD is home from her stint as a camp counselor and is planning her next "adventure". She is looking into a theater internship at the Merced Theater in CA. Any of you CA people heard of it? I'm very apprehensive about having her go all the way across the country on her own..she has a chronic medical condition that needs regular prescriptions and as of today - no health insurance!! I know, I'm just a worrying mom, but these 20 somethings (she's almost 24) are hard to let go...she came home with just $900 for a whole summer of work! She's not interested in going back to finish her degree at this point...just wants to get out there and act. How will she ever support herself? Arggh! Thanks for letting me rant here.

I did read all the many posts I missed. I loved them all. Thanks for the jokes and wonderful photos. Sorry I can't repond to all right now.

Lyn

1 pound down.........FINALLY!!!:carrot::carrot::carrot:

This month has been very slow in weight loss for me.......hummmm could it be the baked potatoe with butter and sour cream I had last week!;) Still plugging away. Think I'll weigh as Zoe suggested.

Theresa that joke is too funny, thank you.

Trish, glad to have you joining our "loose fitting clothes".....I actually gave some away yesterday that were too big but then again I tried on some still way to tight.....they better watch out I'm on my way!:D

Lyn, your vacation sounds so very nice and what a great place. Looking forward to some pictures. Did you get to walk a lot?

Gary, congrats on your weight loss. 16 lbs. is very doeable....is that a word?
Having a senior in high school living with you must keep you young.

Bobbi I am just the opposite, having people in for dinner makes me a nervous wreck.....I'm more a BBQ person at heart. But I do love setting the table and making it look beautiful.....after it is all over I am quite happy having done it.
I envy people that can entertain easily.

Morning Linda :wave:.

Joanne, size 14.....wow that is great. I have followed the story of you and your friend, I am happy that you talked with her....maybe you can move on in a different level with her still in your life.

Hey Zoe, good looking family there. My first dh was 6'7" so I know how tall your son is.....that is tall!

Off to change my ticker, Phyllis

Glad you had a good time, Lyn . . . think maybe you were shopping in Collingwood, though. :lol:

Right you are, Phyllis . . . I'm beginning to think that is the only 'weigh' to go. :lol:

Okay, Trish….you’re down for backrubs and facials. Just let me know when you can make it in; with your schedule, it looks like we’ll have to book you WAY in advance!
Lynn, I’ll be interested in knowing how those muffins affected your blood sugar levels. Keep me updated, please?
T, somebody sent me that little joke in an e-mail a while ago. Ole’ Rick is most likely pushing up daisies in the back yard, eh? :lol:
Hi Lily…oh, I’m so glad your son is visiting you! Yes. Yes, I love my “little boy” dearly, but your voicing it made me realize that I didn’t identify that little aspiring ballerina who is standing to the right of DS & his GF – THAT is my soon-to-be-seven-year-old granddaughter, Morgan! (My youngest daughter’s daughter). I’m embarrassed that I didn’t include her in my description of the picture! I really do spend time with, and pay attention to my other “babies” and their babies, and love them all like crazy; what is it about SONS, I wonder, that mothers (or at least THIS mother) like to rave on about? :dizzy:
I haven’t heard about that tea mixture, but did find an article a week or so back that says tea drinking is not a good methodology for weight loss. Who knows? At worst, it couldn’t hurt, I wouldn’t think? :shrug:
Bobbi, yup…I’m one of the “love to entertain” types, too. When we redid the dining room in maroons and navy blues and deep golds (to match the oriental rug that I picked up for a song to put in there) I bought new dinnerware and chargers and some gorgeous Cape Cod water goblets and dessert dishes in that sort of goldish-colored cut glass. It looks so pretty all set up with the candles lit and the centerpiece and all. When I do it for family dinners, though, my kids just move the centerpiece and in general, mess up my “artistic arrangements”, so I usually save that sort of thing for when we have friends over as opposed to family. :p
Lyn, that vacay of yours sounds like paradise! Glad you enjoyed yourself so much! (Bet you need another week off, now, just to readjust to being home!) ;)
Oh, nice job on the pound gone, Phyl! I’m seriously hoping to see a loss this coming Saturday when I AM going to weigh myself (and not upside down, either). This is my second day counting WW points, and so far, so good. I’ve made myself an excel chart with point values for all my typical foods, and I’m finding it fairly easy to stay within the proper point range. I even had enough left last night for a 2-point WW ice cream sandwich! (Yum!) Now, whether or not I lose some more weight on the plan is a whole other story…I guess time will tell, eh? :?:
Jo-annie … :hug:

TTFN,
Z :spin:

Hi All! :D

Karen why didn’t I think of using my Word while I read? Sometimes the simple answers really fly over my head. Thanks! Looking at the pic of Ginger it makes you want to reach through the pic & just hold her until the storm goes away. One of my puppies (Furbie) is under the bed every time he hears thunder but Rocky’s trying to charge through the window to attack the weather. On a totally unrelated note, nice to see that you stock healthy foods!

Gayle – Any ugly weather in your neighborhood? I know Houston is notorious for heavy rains, just don’t want to see you on the national news sitting on top of your house waiting on the Coast Guard. Years ago I worked for a private MD practice and got the job by telling the doc that while I’d never done that before I was a quick study and had a ton of energy. Turned out to be a really fun place to work. Pulling for you lady!

Bobbi – You’ve been through enough. Pack up & head over to Zoe’s spa. Seriously, it’s getting close to time to consider doing special things to take care of yourself. Here’s hoping the rains back down before you have to put an outboard motor on your car.

Zoe don’t you think it’s interesting that just about every time karma catches up with these ex-husbands? (I stopped referring to the one in our family as my ex & starting calling him the father of the children, just couldn’t stand to associate him with me any further). They misbehave in the world’s worst ways then are surprised later on when their lives fall apart. Here’s an idea, the next time you’re stuck in a room with him. Smile your absolute best, make eye contact then look lost when you ask him ‘I’m sorry, what was your name again?’ That made ME feel better when I did it (and we were married for close to 20 yrs) Life just gets better & better in my book. Then there's that thing about making pate from cat food & serving it to him with the best wine you have. Secret pleasures are so much fun!

Phyllis I need to follow your example and just start cleaning & decluttering. I can’t stand clutter but before you know it, the stuff is everywhere. I was one of the original Sidetracked Home Executive fans & now follow the Flylady on my good days.(sounds really bizarre until you realize that these are clutter buster/organizers that help the really distracted population like myself) www.flylady.org. I really admire people that can just walk up to something and poof, they know how to clean & reorganize it without stopping to make drapes, rearrange the furniture & try out a new recipe in the same process. Staying on task has always been a task to itself. Thanks to your inspiration, perhaps today I’ll start the process by looking in my closet & thinking about what to do next. After I fish the dogs & cats out of there I’ll wander through the garden & plan the next thing to plant then wash the car. By then maybe a plan will form! Wish me luck.

Cat – A Stevia plant???!!! There’s such a thing? I just picked up a Venus Flytrap because I’ve never seen so many insects in my life than here close to the MS River in this weather. It’s like living in a terrarium. Now a Stevia would be a wonderful thing because it’s really useful! I’ve done a lot of vegan cooking from Christina Pirella cookbooks and she’s good about introducing alternate foods to the table.

Joanne you’re smaller & you just proved it! Wish we could have all been there in the store when you tried on the smaller clothes and they FIT! In chorus we could have all sang in the corner like the church choir finally hitting the crescendo (at my house we call that the Enya moment, I don’t know why) when you discovered that you’re smaller! :balloons:It certainly deserves celebration. Quick! Go buy more clothes! All I can say about your cake is proudly wave a well manicured hand over the mess and say this is exactly what you planned, isn’t it beautiful! At this age, I found I can get away with a lot of goofy thinking and my family just smiles at me tolerantly.

Theresa thanks for the giggle, my dh’s name IS Rick and oddly enough he can’t remember any important dates. Poor guy even forgot his own birthday. I did enjoy the joke.

Hi Lilly! No, haven’t heard of mixing oolong & green tea but the benefits of green tea just go on & on. I try to work in a cup or two just to make me feel like I’m doing something constructive. I hear all of the teas have a ton of antioxidants, which is good to keep the rust out of our plumbing.

Gary that had to be a horrible experience for Brenda’s family! They are in our prayers as well. This is nephew’s senior year….. there’s light at the end of the tunnel!

Lyn look at you! Almost in Onederland! I understand the nail biting if your dd is planning to cross country to try something new. What’s worse is that she’s old enough to do it but young enough not to look forward. When my dtr was 18 she decided to take her Pet Smart earnings to buy herself a ONE WAY ticket on Amtrak to go meet a man in Canada. Everything eventually worked out & she grew up some more in the process & now lives with me with her little girl. Keep us posted how she’s doing.

In other news, the bug we all had is gone. The best advice I got was from a group of nurse friends in Boston who swear by Ginger Ale for any stomach problem. They’re right! Back in the gym and life moves on. Down another 2 pounds (those were cheater pounds from being sick but hey, I’ll take em) Looks like I’ll be taking Muay Thai Boxing lessons with daughter & husband in September. Might be a good time to check my insurance benefits.

Everyone take care & have a wonderful day!

Marylynn

Good Morning Everyone,

Hi Phyllis, I hope your foot is feeling better. I'm not distressed about the diabetes. In a way, it has been good for me - enabled me to get serious about eating in a healthy way. Actually, after 12 days in the 164's, I started dropping the weight VERY quickly - I'm down to 161.4 today!

Hi Joanne, You wrote, "-- so I yelled at the rain gods to make up their mind because I had to make choices about 4. Would you believe the rain stopped almost immediately and everthing went according to plan." Have you read/seen "The Secret?"
Essentially the message is that you will get what you really want and believe you can have.

Hi Theresa, we're getting your rain (yesterday & today & tomorrow?). Hopefully, it will get nice on Thursday - I'm supposed to take my Little Sister on the Circle Liner - cruise around Manhattan.
About "Rick" - I say "good riddance to bad rubbish!"

Hi Zoe, I love your photos. Thanks for sharing. You have a good-looking family.
2 hours after eating the 2 muffins, my blood sugar was 145 - not too bad. Tonight, I'll have just 1.

Hi Trish, you wrote, "...When I was in my 20s, I was married to a very violent man..." I had one of those also. Aren't we lucky to have dumped them?

Hi Lily, I don't know about the green tea helping with weight loss, but it seems to be good for just about everything. Couldn't hurt.

Hi Gary, I'm sorry to hear about your relatives & the bus accident. Here's hoping they will all be OK.

Hi Bobbi, I haven't had any company (more than 1 person at a time) since my dh died. I'm lucky I can fix stuff for me - just can't get it together to fix stuff for other people.

Hi Lyn, I'm so glad you had a good vacation. I will tell my dd & sil about that area of Canada. My dd is 44 & I still worry about her!

On this rainy Tuesday, I'm meeting my sister for lunch - she lives almost 2 hours north of me - we meet halfway. I'm early & there's a Lord & Taylor near where we'll meet, so, I guess I'd better check out their sales.

Hope Everyone is having a Happy and Healthy day,

Lynn

Hi Marylynn, we were posting at the same time. My mother always used to give me ginger ale when I was sick. Worked for me.

Is "Muay Thai Boxing lessons" like Tai Chi? Whatever it is, sounds like good exercise.

Lynn

Good Morning GG's:

I'm back from my business trip and so glad to be home again. I haven't read the posts yet but will try to catch up today and tomorrow. :)

Disappointed
 

Well, the search begins again ~ I heard back about that job I applied for, and the position has already been filled. I
guess that one probably wasn't meant to be. So, I will keep on looking.

A little more
 

...just had my official WW weigh-in here at work and only up 0.5#. Compared to a gain of 3# the last vacation this is terrific. I'm going back to keeping my WW points as of right now. Zoe, humm..an excel spreadsheet souns like a good idea for tracking points. I just had a salad for lunch and am going to the fitness center now. I'm determined to get to onederland!!

Yes...Meowwee..it was Collingwood that we shopped in...I am wearing my new linen pants and new shirt that were 75% reduced. Hooray for summer sales!!

Marilyn..glad you recovered with the ginger ale. My mom gave us that too. Thanks for encouraging words about DDs. I know I've got to let her go...but it's hard, isn't it? I also checked out the flylady.org site. I printed out the de-cluttering instructions. Thanks.

Got to go exercise.

Lyn

Hey Buddies..
Just flying by on my broom to say hey. Busy, Busy, Busy...loaded up to my eyeballs and beyond with school/work etc. The first few weeks are so hectic and clients are demanding right now.It's funny that it seems that my only "relaxing" time is now spent at the gym every afternoon between 5 and 6..other than that, I have been ripping and roaring. I never thought I would really enjoy a treadmill. Thank Gawd for iced coffee.

My daughter finally got a job in LA and started yesterday...she was getting worried about finding a job and has been beating the pavement. My oldest son is on a road trip with some buddies before school starts back (LSU) He called last night from Las Vegas. He got to visit with his sister some in LA also. The youngest started back yesterday(SLU)...he has 3 more semesters.
Time to grab my shoes and not so clean socks and head out to the gym...ya'll have a great day.

Well, she can always go bartend with my daughter! So much for all that money for college. But...I have a degree and 2 jobs and my daughter can make about 3-500 a night bartending...so who is really smarter? Ok, I guess that should have been who has the cutest butt?:o

Okaaaay. I finally got back on that darned bike! Only rode for twenty minutes, but I guess that’s better than twenty minutes NOT riding, eh? PLUS I earned a little over ONE Weight Watcher’s point! I’m actually LIKING this WW point system...I’m on my second day now, and am getting a pretty good (oh, alright...maybe just an introductory) feel for it, and I actually like being able to add up points (and credit myself with one today). I feel more in control, somehow. I wasn’t keeping good track of my calories, and this is easier, somehow, for me. :D
You know, Marylynn, it feels real good to have somebody else acknowledge that they can’t stand their ex...I tried for a long time to “let bygones be bygones”, “be the bigger person”, forgive and move on, etc., etc. But on those rare occasions when I’ve HAD to see him, I can’t seem to maintain my cool at all. OH - I don’t lose it around him, trust me. NO, I manage to behave in a perfectly civilized manner. It’s later on that I have the meltdown. He’s just SUCH a phony....and about twenty or thirty other adjectives that would probably get me banned from 3FC. I’m liking the cat food pate idea tremendously :D, and see real potential for gaining some REAL SATISFACTION by finding a way to serve it to him in the future. Thanks - for the support, AND the recipe! :carrot:
Congrats on the additional weight loss, Lynn! You’re doing a great job! I’m glad the muffins worked out for you. :)
Welcome back, LindaD. :wave:
Awwww, Gayle...you wouldn’t have liked that job anyway. You’ll find the one you REALLY want pretty soon. I just know it! :hug:
Omigosh, Lyn & Cat - you and I are ALL going to have our chickies way out in L.A. Yep. Working in bars and clubs seems to be the best way for these young people to make decent money out there. And yeah, Cat, I HEAR you. Maybe if my butt were a little cuter I wouldn’t need a masters degree to earn my piddling salary, either.

Supper time, and I’ve got a whole nine points left to play around with! Looks like I’ll be able to have my WW ice cream sandwich again tonight! YAY! (And I’d BETTER have lost a few pounds by Saturday!) :club:

Tah,

Z :dizzy:

Hello Everyone, It has been a busy day here today. I washed my Blazer yesterday on the outside and then today I spent a lot of time just getting it all vacuumed out and washed the windows inside and out. I actually was hoping that being outside away from the phone would make it ring :callme: --- didn’t work! But at least the car is clean once again and back in the garage! :)

Ginger doesn’t usually go inside the cabinet but I just happened to open it and she figured it was a good spot! She usually will go under our couch. We have a couch that has recliners on both ends so she is able to get under the middle part from the back. That is where she is usually when it starts to storm. But this one was just a little different and she was wanting to stay right beside me so when she saw the open door in the kitchen she figured that was a good spot too!

Lynn, I like your idea about being “underheight” ! ;) I’ve always considered myself to be vertically challenged but I like that term better!!

Phyllis, Have you been to the slim fast.com site? They have some really good meal plans there now. It isn’t just 2 shakes and a meal now. I think the minimum calories they want you to have is 1300. I kind of bounce around from 1000 to 1300. Very rarely am I able to eat 1300 calories though. They also have some really good recipes on their website. When it is storming real bad here I end up having to walk outside on the porch with both dogs before they will do anything. But I would rather go out and get a little wet if that means they will do their business before I go to bed! My little sister has a Chihuahua and the vet gave her a prescription because she is so scared of storms too. But even giving her just half a pill really makes her super out of it. So I really don’t want to go that route if I can help it.

Theresa, are you still getting the heavy rains there? We’ve had 3 days now without any rain! YAY!! I was telling Phyllis about the slim fast site --- if you haven’t checked it out lately you might want to see about it again.

Zoe, Sounds like you are feeling better now. I haven’t tried the bran muffins yet but I want to. I still need to make the meatloaf but it has been to hot to have the oven going. But I will do that when it cools off. It is supposed to get down in the 70’s over the next few days so that will be kind of nice. Great pictures of your son and his girlfriend. I love having the digital camera and I always have the batteries charged. When my son sees me it is like “here comes Mom with the camera!! “ Just can’t have too many pictures!!

Hi Trish, I’ve got the WATP’s too -- I just need to get back in to the routine of doing them. I’ve got the Muscle Mile One, Walk Strong, 30 Minute Walk. That is on 1 DVD. Then I have the Get Up And Get Started, High Calorie Burn and Super Fat Burning on another 2 DVD set. I was doing pretty good with those until we went on vacation, I was doing the 30 Minute Walk, which is 2 miles then I would do the Super Fat Burning which is 3 miles. I also got some wrist weights that I use when I do those. BUT like I said I need to find the motivation to get back into it again. I really like them.

Hi Lily, I never heard of the green tea mixture either. I wonder if that would help. I guess it really can’t hurt.

Gary, So sorry to hear about Brenda’s relatives. I hope everyone is all OK. I never heard anything about it and we do get Colorado Springs news. Will keep them in our prayers and please keep us posted on how they are doing. :hug:

Bobbi, I have my Mom’s china now and I love to put that out when we have special dinners. But mostly it is Thanksgiving and Christmas. But it looks so pretty and I remember how proud she was when she got it. Just one more reason that I will be so happy to get back with my family. My Mom is gone but Dad is still here and all my other relatives are back in MO. I’d love to have people over more often.

Linda-- Have your kitties settled down any yet? I’ll bet they keep you on your toes!

Lyn, sounds like you had a wonderful vacation. I was only in Canada once and I was only about 10 at the time. I’m sure I didn’t appreciate all the beauty that is there. My Dad sold mining machinery to 13 states plus Canada and Old Mexico. So we got to go with him on a few of those trips for vacation. Sure wish I would have paid more attention!

Marylynn, I can’t take the credit for figuring out about using Word while I read--- I can’t remember who but someone else mentioned it from here. But it sure helps! Usually when it storms here Ginger doesn’t want to be held close but she doesn’t want you to be far away. When I try to hold her she fights me but if I will lay down on the floor with her that will be just fine with her. Sissy doesn’t seem to mind to much at all.

Gayle, I’m sure that something will come your way soon.. We’ll all send good vibes your way! :goodvibes

Joanne, :congrat: Way to go!! A size 14--- I can’t hardly wait ‘til I get that size. I have everything from a size 8 to a 20 in my closet so I keep trying things on. I did move the 18’s and 20’s out of the closet now and am in the 16’s and sometimes the 18’s still fit. But so glad for you. That is great!

Well, guess I’d better go and get finished up around here tonight and then just kick back and relax a bit.

Catch you all later.