Thank you Patty and I wish you all a wonderful 4th of July too! And while we celebrate our freedom, let's remember the soldiers who are still in Iraq and Afganistan and remember that freedom isn't free.

Happy 3rd of July everyone! (I am not procrastinating this year)
Well another challenge for my stress eating. On Thursday we were experiencing some tropical rainfall. Suddenly the roof started leaking. I knew this was coming as I noticed some loose shingles earlier. <Did I mention that I qualify for low income help?> Fortunately I do, and am enrolled in a program that helps seniors repair their homes at no/low cost to them. However the roof cant wait. Will be hiring someone and I hope the temporary patch will work.

I must admit I did go for some comfort food. Counted that as a meal and watched myself yesterday and today. .5 pound loss for week. not much but sumptin'. grrrrr dang plateau.

Mary thanks for the heads up re: the soldiers/ and lets also remember all those who volunteer to work on a holiday so others can be with their families.

live well and enjoy tomorrow my sisters in support.
Coralee

Hi! Jane.

Thanks for the welcome. I know it took me a few days to finally come by. I think procrastination is my middle name.

My name is Colleen, and chronologically I'm 44, and my hubby is 40, but we're both on disability (hubby calls it "forced retirement"), so people tend to assume we're older.

For as long as I've known hubby (nine years, we've been married almost 8), he's been offered senior discounts. It really upset him when he was 32, now it's become a joke he takes in stride (usually embarasses the heck out of waitresses though, when hubby jokes he's got another 15 years before he qualifies).

You could say we've aged prematurely, but I prefer the term precocious.

We don't have any children, but baby our fat, middle-aged cat. She was 8 years old and weighed 20 lbs when we got her. We couldn't help but add her to our household. In the two years we've had her, we've been able to get about 3 lbs off her, but apparently dieting isn't any easier on fat, aging cats as it is on fat, aging people.

Reading, writing and crafting our my main hobbies. I tend be a hobby collector. My craft room is overflowing with assorted craft supplies and half-finished projects. I do complete projects, but I tend to start about twice as many projects as I finish. I do plan on eventually completing them all (and probably could if I were granted three or four lifetimes).

I have fibromyalgia (and assorted other health issues), but one of the symptoms is periodic problems with cognitive function and short term memory. It means that I can do and say pretty strange things when I'm "in a fog." Fibrofog is a term you'll see people with fibromyalgia talk about - it's a bit like being the sterotypical absent-minded professor. I'm always misplacing things in the oddest places (I once put fish sticks in the cupboard and ice cream in the refrigerator).

When I first started having problems, I thought my new hubby was playing mindgames with me, because he'd claim we'd have conversations that I didn't remember. Thankfully on my medications, it's not so extreme (for a while I thought I was losing my mind).

I tend to warn people though when I first meet them, because I can seem like a genius one minute and an idiot the next. I used to have excellent spelling and grammar. When I read other people's grammatical and spelling errors, I'd find myself mildly annoyed. Now I annoy myself. I'll spell a multisyllabic word correctly, and then spell a three letter common world phonetically and only realize later that I wrote wuz instead of was.

And now, I'm starting to ramble (this is probably most characteristic of me, and it's just me not the fibro. I've always been a long-winded chatterbox).

I do sometimes tend to get confused by chat threads though. I've never completely caught on to the proper ettiquette of the multiconversation format of chat threads. So if it seems my posts are a little odd or off topic (and of course long), well I'm sorry in advance.

Happy Independence Day!!

Mary - seems the more energy we spend, the more we want to spend. Once I get going, I can get all sorts of things done. Some of those Stephen King books are too scary for me, but others are so good! Like Misery - that one was great, and I loved the movie, too, with Kathy Bates.

Trish - happy 4th to you, too. ((HUG))

Coralee - you crack me up, lol, glad you aren't procrastinating. Yowza! Sorry about the roof. Guess it's out of the question to call the agency and plead an emergency to get a new one for free? Hey, .5 is better than a gain, and all those little ones add up!

Colleen - I'm so glad you made it! Thanks for sharing your info, and when you feel like it, please fill out a Daily Chatters' Bio in the Sticky area. No apologies needed for talking all you want here. I love reading about everyone's lives. Even with your health challenges, I can tell you are an upbeat person, and look forward to knowing you better. This group is so friendly, you'll fit right in.

Today we are having dinner at my sister Mary Lou's house, then meeting DD Mary and her bunch for the fireworks. I'm taking a green salad and a low calorie raspberry fluff pie to my sister's. She's serving chicken, so I think I will be able to stay OP just fine.

Have a glorious holiday!

Colleen - welcome to our group!! I look forward to hearing more from you. And don't worry about the "fog" as at my age my thinking gets pretty foggy too even though I don't have the dx.

Jane - I liked Misery too. One of my favorites although I forgot it when I tried to list my favorites in my bio.

Hope you are all having a great day! It is cooler today that we expected but the sun is beginning to come out finally. I hope to get my dh outside for a little while today if it warms up enough. We were suppose to get really hot weather, then they said only in the 70s. Our church is having a picnic today, of course we won't be going, but I was hoping for a nice sunny day for them.

Good morning ladies!

Colleen - thanks for sharing your bio with us! Very interesting, and fun, to read. I had forgotten that you are from the Midwest, too.

Mary - what a nice surprise, to have cooler weather when you were expecting hot. Was your DH able to get outdoors for a bit? I hope so.

Hello to anyone else reading this.

Ahhh, another holiday come and gone. The dinner at my sister's was full of old standbys - loads of calories and fat! I brought a big green salad, and a lite dessert, but still ate too much of the other stuff. Then we met Mary and her bunch at the parade, and after that, went over to the fireworks site. All in all, it was a great day. Now it's back to reality, lol.

Have a good day!

Hello Everyone,

Colleen Glad to have you here and look forward to getting to know you.

Mary Glad you had good weather. We can use all the cool days we can. Our weather is beginning to get warmer and I dread the really hot weather.

Jane Glad you had fun with the children and the fireworks. I miss those days not being around any of our kids these days and being with family for holidays. Glad you are able to do that.

Tony rested most of yesterday, but I think that is good for him. I think his some of the swelling in his leg is going down, slowly, but it is happening. He is awfully tired, but I told him that his body is healing itself and that he might be tired for a while. I woke up yesterday in time to go to church. It was so good to be back and the people were so great at welcoming me back and asking about Tony.

I finally have my weight back down to where I'm out of the recycle lbs plus I've lost a lb. So for the year I have finally lost a total of 11 lbs. Not much for the year, but at least it is going in the right direction.

Nothing planned for today. Just stay on plan and hope to be able to get some exercise done. Y'all have a great Monday.

Colleen A hearty southern welcome. Any friend of Shrek is a friend of mine.

Trish love the term recycled lbs. I will have to remember that. Good for you for keeping going. Eleven pounds works for me!

I realized that I haven't set my goals for the month. last month worked for me, so: do a minimum of 24 hours of deep house cleaning - going through boxes eliminating stuff. Start swimming after 21Jul and stick to plan to swim a minimum of 3 times a week. Try to garden when temperature is below 80.
Record food and try not to get discouraged if the dang plateau continues.

What about any one else? Goals? Plans?

I am flying up to Milwaukee for the day tomorrow. I will be meeting someone that I have known online for about 5 years. I am excited. I will report back on Delta's airline food.
Coralee

Just a quick flyby. Busy week ahead with Tony's procedure tomorrow and lab work Thursday and see doc to get results Friday of the tests done tomorrow.

Coralee Have a fun & safe trip. Only goal I have at the moment is to stay OP through all this stuff with DH. I am glad to report that I am doing that. I've had been OP for a week Sunday. I hope to get to exercising again very soon.

Y'all have a good week and I'll check back in the weekend if all goes well.

Hello eveyone...promises to be a nice warm day today reaching 80s by late afternoon. I got out early (well, reasonably early for us!) and took my dh out to sit in the sun while I watered the flowers and gardens. The gardens are only three raised gardens. My dh built them a couple years ago to make gardening easier for him. We also have a hanging tomato plant and a row of beans although I think we may have lost the beans. I moved my dh from front to back as I went and we both enjoyed the time out there...about 2 hours total including a little time chatting with a neighbor. I mowed both lawns yesterday and it looked so nice. Now in the house but it is a lighter housework day for me.

Last two nights I have been getting hungry around 9 pm which hadn't happened for a while...I don't want to eat then but my hunger has driven me to giving in and eating. Last night it was crackers with butter spread on them...quite a few. Not good not only due to the calories but also the carbs although could have been worse and my bs was food today despite my eating. There are only 11 carbs in 5 crackers but as I said I ate quite a few and before eating I knew I was at my limits. So you see I don't always follow my own rules but at least these days it is the exception rather than the usual. Hopefully today I will do better. Because of this eating I am up 2 lbs but hopefully if I do better today it will drop down by the end of the week.

Yesterday was a little rough on both my dh and I. Guess we are bound to have a few like that...I went to the store and shopping wears me out..then came home a mowed both lawns which takes me about 1 1/2 hrs by the time I dump the clippings etc...plus the housework. I'm such a wimp as I am not quite used to doing all that yet and I was beat. I could hardly move my feet by later afternoon and it was time for dinner. Everything became a bit too much for me. But even though our sleep was interrupted I feel a lot better today and working in the yard was again invigorating rather than tiring.

We are thinking about having the tree ...the one my dh was working on when he fell...removed. A neighbor and his son are willing to do it for firewood which would save us a lot of money but we are kinda concerned for their safety and our liability. So looking into a professional just taking it down and then allowing our neighbor to chop it in pieces and hauling it to his house for firewood. We have plenty of firewood and we can't do it anyway so that's fine for us. Anyone know how much a professional charges for just taking large (evergreen) tree down?

Patty - hope things go well for your dh's appt and lab work. Glad he is healing but I understand how long it can take. I'm hoping my dh understands that too as he is getting kinda antsy I think. The swelling in his leg is much less now. Glad you got back to church, I am hoping we will be able to go again soon. I won't take him though until he can bear a little more weight.

Chicpanda - have fun on your trip!!

Jane - glad you had a nice holiday. Holiday meals are difficult when you are trying to stick to your eating plan, aren't they?!! I'm sure you did the best you could and it's only one day.

Have a good day everyone!!

ETA: I love the term recycled pounds...think that was you Trish? I'm still recycling but hopefully I'll be getting into a new area before long! Of course I have dieted so much if you went back years ago...it's would still be recycling until I get down to 140! LOL

Hi ladies,

Trish - YAY for getting the 11 pounds off so far this year! That's great! I think you'll be able to stay OP while all this with Tony is going on. as long as you can resist emotional eating. Restaurants have healthy choices, and you can take healthy snacks with you, too. But that emotional eating is a whole 'nother thing! If it hits, come here, or call me, and we'll talk you through it.

Coralee - your exercise plans sound great! I don't really do monthly challenges because if I fail to meet them, then I feel so bad about myself, even if I was close. But I do have a long-term goal of wanting to lose a total of 75 pounds by the time we go to Florida early next May. I've lost almost 30 of it, so that leaves 45 in the next 10 months. Should be doable if I don't mess up over the holidays. I fly Delta a lot, because they are one of the few airlines to leave from Evansville, Indidna.. They are one of the last airlines to serve peanuts. Not so good for those, like my DGD, who was allergic. But they have those crisp cookies that taste like they have molasses in them. I like those! I've been in the Milwaukee airport, on my way to San Fransisco last year. Milwaukee was just highlighted in AARP magazine and looks fun! Have a good time tomorrow! Next time, plan a stop in Indiana, and I'll bring you here for a visit.

Hello to anyone reading this.

I've been getting some cleaning done, and plan to hop in the pool after supper. Neal says he'll join me, but I'll believe it when I see it, lol. The water is pretty cold yet, and he's very cold natured.

I've got garlic chicken in the crock pot, and fresh corn on the cob, with a fresh-from-the-garden salad to go with. Did I mention we live smack dab in the middle of watermelon and cantaloupe fields? The cantaloupes are ripe now, and so sweet!

Have a good evening,

Hi all,

Neal DID join me in the pool, lol. By the time we jumped in, the water was just right!

My food plan is all set for the day, and I will try and drink plenty of fluids today. My rings are tight!

Wanted to share - here's a picture of my 5 feet tall summer phlox which is right off the front porch. Hummingbirds and butterflies love them.

Hello all. Today I am going bring my dog to the vet, she is almost 12, has back and leg problems and is now urinating blood, I think the diagnosis will not be good, but I will do what I have to do for her comfort, I think the decision I have been dreading will have to be made, but I am so grateful for having had her in my life. Pleas pray for me. God Bless. Tammy

Just came for a quick fly-by to let you all know I'm still on the face of the earth, but

Tammy: I'm so sorry for your news. It's been about a year since we had to release our dear Dobie, Stella and it still hurts. You know that you are doing the right thing for them, but it doesn't make it easier. You'll be in my thoughts today.

Missed you all; I at least should read what's going on with your lives.

It's been about 3 weeks since vacation and I've been trying to keep up with the garden and my renewed interest in flowering cacti. Even though everything was covered, I had a hard frost one of the days we were gone and some of the peppers and tomatoes got hit hard.

Vacation was bitter-sweet. Disneyland was very crowded because of World of Color and DH just wanted to lay around the pool. This is the first time I didn't feel like it was worth the money and I really didn't enjoy myself. I think I'll wait a few years before I go back. San Diego was lovely, we walked a lot in the 4 days we were there.

Weight is fluctuating; working in the garden is great, but still eating too much at work because of boredom. We will be gearing up for the next session soon and then hopefully I'll be too busy to snack all day.

Oh in case anyone is interested, there is a peahen with 3 chicks and one with 1 chick. My DH is so thrilled- NOT. And I have the cutest little bunny living in my front yard. I wonder if it's a hybrid because it has the fattest cheeks I've ever seen on a wild bunny. I probably won't be so fond of him if he ever finds the garden. No bear sightings yet.

Healthy day to you all.

Doris

Hello all. Well my little Precious Mary is gone. We knew this day was coming, but you are never prepared, to those of you who love animals and have lost them you know where my heart is, God gave us hearts for love and that includes our fur babies, thank you for the prayers and thoughts, don't think I will sleep good tonight. God Bless. Tammy