HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAUV!

:hb: :hb: :hb:

Hope you are out celebrating and having fun!!!


Ellis-Still waiting for a sign? You need to get a big Sunday paper with lots of inserts in it. THAT will have a sign I bet!!! I agree with you about spraying down all the rooms. I used to do that in the back (laundry & cat litter) room of my old house. It was on a slab and had a drain in the middle of the floor. But now I have a basement, so THAT makes me happy too!!! Thanks for the compliment about the jewelry. I am so far behind at work right now it isn't funny. And today I slept until 11:30!! I haven't left the house yet. I got some done yesterday, but I'm going to have to get on a better schedule.

Soozie-Thanks for the input AND the encouragement! He had a few panic attacks at school, but has already found a way to calm himself down before they get out of hand. He found getting up and getting a drink of water helped, and luckily most of his teachers are good about letting him do that. He also still likes to cuddle, which is kind of unusual (but wonderful!) and that helps with closeness and starting conversations. Sometimes he also tries to "play" us, so I have to be careful about whether he is really anxious or he is angling for a way out of certain responsibilities. This past year was particularly bad. He started middle school, which is FULL of bullies, and after 9/11 in particular things got worse. His therapist says that 6th grade is always the worst, and that this year was particularly bad, so I'm hoping things will start improving. He has such a warm heart, and of course he is still my baby despite the fact that he is now almost as tall as me. It is really hard seeing your kids in pain of any kind. I'm hoping that by dealing with all this NOW he will have an easier adulthood. (I didn't start therapy until my thirties, which in my case was partly rebelling against my parents! Wish I had done it sooner like you!) Oh!! The ice creams were at Costco (the food court) They are WONDERFUL, but HUGE.

Ruthxxx-And you say you have a boring life? Yours seems more exciting than mine!!! It sounds like the family reunion was a lot of fun!! I would LOVE to be served a single malt scotch by a man in a kilt and no undies!!! I think DH would look GREAT in a kilt, and I've told him he could wear my tartan (my Mom is a Macpherson), but he refuses!!! They are pretty expensive though!!! We took the kids to the highland games a few years ago. What a blast! Actually, yesterday while we were at Costco, he said, "What do I have to do to get that Lemon Cheesecake into the cart?" ....hmmm...

Squeak-Hope you have a WONDERFUL time on your trip!! I know it will be good for you to get away for a while and see your friend.

Shel-How are you? Is everything still going okay?

Hey, Mauvais Rouge!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

:hb: :hb: :hb: :hb: :hb:

Hello everyone! :D

Thanks for all the birthday greetings! It feels great to be 29 again!:lol: I got a card and a song from work and taken out to lunch by my friend. A visit with my parents who got me a beautiful chinese urn and a swiffer wet jet kit:?: When you get older you tend to get more practical gifts I guess.

When I got home there was a lovely bouquet of flowers waiting for me courtesy of DH (what a sweetie) and he has promised me a day of shopping on Saturday, what fun! I am so not looking at bathing suits though:eek:

Phew! I just spent forever trying to read all the posts from the last two days.

Soozie- the G-8 summit is a meeting of world leaders to discuss policies, economic trade, globalization, industry, etc,. It was held in Ottawa (where Ellis and I both live) last year and thousands of protesters marched on the city. There were some incidents of violence involving protesters and police, vandalism, a McDonalds had its windows smashed in. This year it was moved to a remote location in Calgary so that the same thing wouldn't happen again. The protesters decided to come to our city anyway since we are the nation's capital and the most logical place to protest if you can't get to where the world leaders are meeting out west, but the marches remained peaceful. We just had heightened security in the downtown core where I work and a prominent police presence, it was a little unsettling.

Ellis-there was a home decor supplement in the Saturday paper, it had ads for Sears, the Brick ect. That should have been your sign.
You should check out Futureshop they have some nice black ones and my stainless steel appliances that I swear I will own someday, I just visit them once in a while:)

My dream (and if I'm gonna dream, I'm gonna dream big) kitchen is painted a golden colour wash, old world Italian style meets modern convenience,with the slate tiles, stainless steel fridge with icemaker, dishwasher, professional cooktop with grill, double oven, wine fridge, double sink with high faucet, an island counter workspace with seating, a floor to ceiling corner cabinet for my exotic spices and hot sauce collection, and double doors that lead out to my herb garden...If I had this kitchen Martha Stewart would eat my dust! I like the idea of the drain for easy clean up.
Now if only I could find that winning lottery ticket!

Tiggerdiva-good luck with the papers! Just remember you will have a degree when it is all over.Your BF sounds like a sweetheart, my DH says things like that too he is very encouraging and supportive.

Ruthxxx-Wow! That sounds like a great weekend! Especially the part about the kilted man serving you single-malt scotch!;)

Squeeker- I am a city girl too, I don't mind hiking to the nearest coffee shop for a latte. Have a great time on your trip!

Hi Shel! Thanks for the Fly-By greetings! Your neice is a total cutie!

Christina- Yay! see I told you that you would drop those few pounds!:) Don't feel guilty about enjoying your time alone, it doesn't mean you love them any less and hey, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Dentrassi-the BBQ went great! We sat around talking and eating and drinking beer, then we all walked up to Parliament Hill and
watched the fireworks. It was great!

Well gotta go- can hear a popsicle calling my name from the freezer, slightly muffled, somewhat anxious sounding but I can still hear it:lol:

Mauvais

it was a scorcher
 

Hi ladies I'm experimenting with this feature. I was jealous of your spiffy birthday greetings to Mauvais. So, I thought I check out the options. Okay, I'm over that, on to news of the day.
Den, I know what you mean about seeing your child in pain...today was incredibly hot here and I was racing my daughter into the babysitters house joking that we had to get out of the heat and into the air conditioning...she ran full force into the rear view mirror of my car. unfortunately her head was right at the height of the mirror. she smashed her head and fell down to her knees. I felt awful. She is a very low-key kid and very rarely gets hurt and she was bawling. I just scooped her up and carried her into the sitters to check out the damages. She settled down quickly because there was no blood. She was bruised more than she has been with other boo-boos but because there was no blood she was calm more quickly. She freaks when she sees even the tiniest droplet of blood.

She hit her eyebrow close to the bridge of her nose and it looked like she might get a shiner. We'll see what tomorrow morning brings. Anyway to make matters worse, I was dropping her at the sitter's house at about three o'clock and heading to work my partner was due to pick her up there at about four-thirty and dd would be asleep when I got home tonight. .. gosh, I know that i'm tired and mixing tenses and stuff but I hope you can understand this...my spelling also goes when I'm tired...

so, my little DD didn't want me to go to work...I said I really have to go now honey and she said, I just have to tell you one thing...that went on for awhile, with her having to tell me, "one more thing" and "one more thing" the last "one more thing" was, "Mommy, I really love you and when I'M home I want YOU to be home." I knew that she was just feeling like she needed me because of the boo-boo but she definitely tugged at my heart strings the little bugger.

I told her I'd come in and give her hugs and kisses when I got home and she said, "when I wake up in the morning will I see you in my bed?" so guess where I'm sleeping tonight???? Well, she'll only be my baby for so long. Though like you said about your son, Den, he'll always be your baby and he still likes to cuddle, but, I know someday she'll be too big for all this snuggling so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts!!!!!

Den do you make jewelry as a profession or a hobby?? tell me more.... My undergrad degree is a bachelor of fine arts in printmaking...what was i thinking that i'd do with that degree?? I've gotten into quilting of late but have put my project on hold because of focusing on our renovations here.

Mauvais, your parents gave you a chinese urn and a swiffer??? what a combination...:lol: Though I have to say I have some friends who get really excited about swiffers. Talk about a normal life, Ruth. Can you imagine getting hot for a swiffer? Uh-oh, I suspect at least one of you out there is passionate about her swiffer and its intense cleaning ability and convenience of design. If so, please excuse my ignorant judgemental attitude!!!

and I do remember that whole rioting in the street in Canada thing from last year, I just didn't remember the name of the conference :^:

Ellis you said Chris lives in Ottawa also...just her vacation cottage, right???
I'm clueless when it comes to converting C to F. When I was in high school they told us that we needed to learn the metric system because the US would be converting to it so we could be in step with the rest of the world. Hello, never happened....??????? good thing too because I never really learned it. :)

All this talk about kitchens....did I mention that we're getting our kitchen remodeled???? They start the renovations on July 15th. My partner is very stressed about all the prep work and clean up we'll have to do. In addition to the kitchen we have to have some structural work done to the foundation in one part of the house. The house will be jacked up because a support beam is over-spanned and failing...so, in addition to emptying the entire kitchen we have to take down pictures and empty the china cabinet in the dining room and basically secure anything that might fall and break when they jack up the house a few inches and everything shakes, rattles, and rolls.

we decided to start packing things up on the fourth of July since we're both off. We're also invited to a bbq. and our daughter's sitter asked if we could check in on her animals that day...can you say "over extended" ?? Our sitter
has two cute little dogs,(combo of dachshund and chihuahua) one is about a year and one is four months old. She has six cats and currently five kittens. The kittens are eight weeks old and totally adorable. They are chinchilla silver persians.

anyway, I'm sleepy and feel that i'm beginning to ramble. Wanted to tell you more about my kitchen, another day...didn't go for the dream kitchen tho, too expensive, but its going to be really beautiful and clean and new and functional, can't wait.....

Soozie

ps. Shel got to see your little neice today. What a total cutie she is...

BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am off to a half a day of work (which is probably going to be more then I can handle :p). But by 11am I will be on the road. But because it is a 7 hour drive I am treating myself to a small pk of Tims. (For the rest of the US chicks that would be Timbits - The most amazing donut holes ever that also originated in Canada and are named for a hockey player. It is good to live close to the border. ;) )

Take care of yourselves, you wonderful women.


And soozie - I have a Clorox Ready Mop and I *love* that thing but don't quite have the hots for it. :lol:

:wave:
:spin:squeak

have fun squeakie!!
xo
ellis

good morning darlings

another alternachick is off to vacation wonderland. Timbits, Squeak? I'm glad to hear that Canada has SOMETHING to be proud of. :)

Listen, it's cooled right down to 80 F in here.

Soozie, your poor little girl! How's her eye today? Oh, and isn't it devastating when they don't want you to leave them? I don't blame you for sleeping with her last night... you're right, that's not going to last forever. My six-year old still seems like such a baby to me. (compared to his almost 13 year old sister) I was visiting my parents last night with my sister and daughter. I got a phone call from my DH and son. Had a lengthy conversation with my son. He's recently discovered a love for talking on the phone. He was asking when we were coming home, and suddenly he said, "I'm going to pee now mommy." I said, okay... hang up, you go and pee and I'll talk to you later. "No mommy, I'm going to pee NOW!" Suddenly I hear this tinkling noise! "I peed mommy, and now I'm going to POO!!" geez. What a treat... talking to your child while he's taking care of his bodily functions. :lol:
Soozie, Mauvais lives in Ottawa... I think that Chris has a cottage around Kingston. Is that right, Chris? Kingston is BEAUTIFUL!!

Mauvais, I'm glad you had a good birthday. A swiffer. heh heh. I don't have one, but I've heard they're fantastic.
I think I'd better check out those fridges.. thanks. We'll probably end up down at Leon's for some "Don't pay a cent" event. My biggest concern now is, what the heck do we do with the old fridge?
I love the sound of your dream kitchen. Just one thing you left out... The live-in maid to clean up after you cook your gourmet meals. :lol:

Den, I'm sorry you're getting behind at work. This heat doesn't help. Listen, there's got to be a faster way to earn some quick cash. I mean, keep your cool jewelry job, but what do you say we do a bank heist or something? A couple of chubby ladies with big straw bags and a couple of plastic guns. Do you have access to any guns? We don't have any in Canada. (oh, that was very low... pardon me, PLEASE!) No one would ever suspect you and I of doing anything bad. We look so innocent. :devil:
Did I tell you it's 80 in here? I think my brain is fried. Am I the only one without air conditioning?!

I'm going to sit in front of my fan. Darn, I thought it was supposed to cool down a bit today... we've still got a humidex warning and it's going up to 33 today. damn.

Hi everyone else! Kat, Ruthie, Shel, Chris. :wave:

Evening all!

Phew! It is so hot here, all I could think of on my walk home was the air conditioner better be on when I get there! BTW, I managed to walk up to the 5th floor today and I took the 14 flights down when I was leaving, Huzzah! I should have calfs( calves?) of steel in no time at this rate!

Soozie- your poor daughter! Hope she is better today and doesn't have a shiner. I am not that passionate about swiffers but hey if they make cleaner easier, then I am all for it. DH put the thing together and took it for a test drive, I said" well now that you know how to use it...." He just gave me a dirty look:D

Ellis-gee thanks for sharing that anecdote, glad I wasn't eating while I was reading it:lol: BTW-Timbits rule and Tim Horton's has the best fast food coffee ever! Canada also can be proud of the culinary delights known as buttertarts and Nanaimo bars:T

Den- I would help you with the bank robbery but they would suspect me in a minute, unlike you and Ellis who are the innocent looking ones I am the quiet aloof looking one and we all know you have to watch out for those quiet types:lol:

Ruthxxx-maybe you could lend your chicken purse to Ellis and Den for the bank Job!

Shel- are you hiding out on us again? Please check in so we know you are okay.

Tiggerdiva- did you get your papers done yet? ;)

Squeek-I know you are away but you will read all the posts when you get back-so at least you will know that you are not forgotten!

Must dash-I am cooking dinner and I think I smell something burning:eek:

Talk to you all later!

hey all. :) am here, not hiding out. crazy couple of days. thanks for all the nice things you've said about Niece Hayley. :) Kind of a drive by again today.... OFF TOMORROW!!! HURRAH!

Mauv- sounds like you had a great birthday. :)

Soozie - *hugs* for you and your little one.

happy 4th to all the US chicks.

MMMMMMMMMMMMM Timbits............... love Timbits. love Tim Horton for opening a shop and selling timbits. love them enough to drive crosstown to get them. :spin:

did i mention that i love that smiley?

okay. off to be productive. (brand new box of Swiffers*weg*) *hugs* to everyone. more tomorrow.

Shel
:spin:

Ok, now you girls have done it! When Hubby & kids call home tomorrow I am telling them "BRING HOME NANIMO BARS, MACINTOSH TOFFEE, ALL GOOD THINGS CANADIAN!!!!" :ink: YOu know I have never stopped into one of the Tim's. I should have known that they must be very good, since there seems to be one on every corner! Hubby always jokes that there are more doughnut places than Gas stations!

I just got home from helping my girlfriend & her partner painting some of their new house. Hardly seems fair that these 2 women have a larger home than my family of 4! :mad:

I hope that everyone is doing better than I have this week on this blessed diet!!!!!!!!!!! Not counting the 2 pounds that I went up & then came back down, I have lost less than a pound in the last week! :( I am OK with that if I am not being careful, but I have been! Not eating poorly or too much of anything! I can keep at this as long as there is some sort of progress, but it gets tougher each time I see no budge on that scale!

I actually live in PA, our cottage is in Kingston, Ontario. I would love to live there year around, except for 1 thing....WINTER!!!!!!!!! I hate the cold! PA is cold enough for me, but if I had my way, I would live somewhere that would not dip below 60! Course today's heat of 101 was just a bit much! On the news tonight they were talking about the heat in Canada too. I bet hubby is having a ball with 2 kids, his parents, Grandma, Brother, Sister & Sister in Law, at a cottage that is really only made for 4 adults max, & No air conditioning!:devil: Boy I really feel bad, not only do I not miss them, but I am sitting here chuckling just thinking about it. (Actually I am starting to miss them a little now....Not a lot, just a little tad!)

Well the WInsor Pilate tapes came today, guess that I will go try one of those tonight since it was entirely too hot to do any other form of exercise & my hips & calves hurt too much from dance class to try anything anyway!

Have a happy 4th everyone!

Oh BTW, I have a Swiffer, best $25 I ever spent! No more nasty buckets of water to mop the tile floor!

Sorry ladies!

I tried posting on Tuesday to wish Mauvais a HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Unfortunately, my computer at work wasn't agreeing with me! I can't talk long now, so this is a quickie! I'm leaving out of town tomorrow, and I won't be back until the 16th. My support and warm hugs are with all of you, and I'll post when I get home. Until then, take care!

Kat

:hb: :hb: :hb: :jig: :jig: :jig: :hb: :hb: :hb:

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY !

HI!!!

Okay, last night I tried to post TWICE. And I hit the wrong button on my computer and erased it TWICE. At that point I gave up, but HERE I AM< BACK TO TRY AGAIN. (Don't TRY, DOOOO........as Yoda would say.)

Thanks for the good 4th wishes!!! I hear a bunch of BANGS outside, and I just hope they are fireworks and not guns. YES!! To all you Canadians, some people think the best way to celebrate the 4th (or ANY holiday for that matter!) in th US is to go outside and shoot their guns in the air. No thought for where the bullets come DOWN though!!!

Shel-FINALLY got to see your neice! She is a cutie-pie!!! That is one thing about c-sections, BEAUTIFUL HEADS!! (I had both mine by c-section, and all the doctors kept telling me how beautiful their heads were. It drove me crazy.) But she really is a sweetheart.

Mauv and Ellis-Here is the plan. Ellis and I go into the bank (since we are so innocent looking.) We wear chicken bun warmers on our heads as a disguise, and put the loot in Ruth's chicken purse. We use rubber chickens instead of guns, and throw rotten eggs if anyone gives us a hard time. Mauv, you drive the get-away-car, which should be some kind of Chickenmobile. I mean, if we are going to do this, it should be done in style!!

Soozie-I cringed just reading your post!! Your poor daughter. Is she okay now? I hope she didn't get a black eye. I can't sleep with my kids. Not only are they too old, but they have loft beds, and I'm afraid I would break 'em!! They are cool though! It is interesting that your BA was in printmaking. Mine was in Psychology!! Never got an advanced degree, and when I got out of school the state was busy laying off everyone with 10 years or less experience!! So I picked the wrong thing too!! I am making jewelry with a friend. She started the business (Pa Pa Mo Ju, named after her grandfathers papa Moshe and papa Julius), and I "helped out" one day and have been doing it ever since!! She pays me, so I am doing it professionally, but let's just say it is a good thing I'm not a single parent!! I have a lot of fun doing it though, and after all the **** jobs I worked over the years, this has really helped me regain some feeling of self-esteem and worth. We work mostly with copper and silver sheets, which we cut, mold, stamp, pierce, drill, solder, shape and VOILA!!! JEWELRY!!! At some point when we have the money I would like to take a welding class, since I have a few ideas for sculptures too.

Christina-Wish I could have alone time too!! I stay up on the computer to get mine!!!

Squeak-Hope you have a great vacation!!!

Ruthxxx-Still drinking that scotch? After you've had a few more tell us how you know they don't wear anything under their kilts.

Tigger-Hope you have a great time also!!!

Okay, I'm signing off before I delete this one too!!

Hello everyone! :wave:

I can't believe not one single one of us posted yesterday! Must be a record:lol:

I went grocery shopping last night with DH and got in a small argument over my diet. I wanted to buy brown rice and whole wheat pasta as I am trying to cut down on white flour products.
Then I spent 10 minutes looking for a loaf of wheat bread that did not contain sugar, glucose or fructose (wasn't easy finding one but did eventually-oat bran) and DH got irrated as he wanted to get our stuff and go home. He was still crabby by the time we got home and chewing me out for going on some other crazy diet when I had been doing WW for the last year.

We are both in better moods today and spent the day doing errands and shopping. I bought 3 new sundresses:) and a new purse. We also went and signed up for a 1 month trial membership to the gym at the office tower where he works. If we like it and are faithful about going then we may sign up for a year.

We are going out to a combined birthday dinner for four different people so I will probably treat myself to some cake:devil: just a small peice though.

Ellis- did you get a new fridge yet?

Den- I will steal a fast food chicken delivery van, the kind that is bright yellow and has a giant chicken head on the roof...no one will ever suspect us....:s:

Hope all of you are having a great weekend, I will post on Sunday.

THE ROOSTER CROWS AT MIDNIGHT!!!!!

geez, are you robbing a bank without me?

Hey there. Been doing okay with my food. Took the paddle boat out again for a short spin today but haven't been to the gym this week at all. Hope to do more paddle boating tomorrow. We're also packing up the kitchen which is intense !!! We're getting rid of alot of junk which feels good.

I changed my schedule at work, condensing my hours, which should give me more time to go to the gym and more time with my family. We'll see how it works...don't want to make less money. Have to pay for that new kitchen somehow !!!

Never knew how many boxes it would take to pack up my entire kitchen...a gazillion...thats not in the metric system.

Seeing an old friend tomorrow. Hate to see those folks who knew me 70lbs ago. I did see her once last year but I'm sure her mental image of me is still how I looked then...I'll feel awkward for the first ten minutes or so...with one old friend I actually commented on my weight, just bringing it out into the open...don't feel like doing that tomorrow tho...just want to pretend I don't notice that I'm 70lbs heavier than I used to be. :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Can't say that I'm up for a bank heist but I can offer all of your kids and better halves reduced rates for therapy after you're in prison...and they're struggling to survive without you while attempting to discern where you cunning ladies stashed the cash.

Talk to you soon. Soozie :wave:

Hi everyone! I hope that everyone is having a good weekend! Hubby came home with the kids yesterday morning, we ended up going back to my aunts. (They are actually, with my whole family on that side, at a neraby camp ground. It is only 15 minutes from my house & when they are home it takes over an hour to get to thier place, so it is so nice to visit them there) Anyway, Jeff & the kids wanted to go visit, so he went fishing with the guys & the kids rode bikes & played all day! I actually overheard him talking to my cousin. My cousin commented how I looked better than I have in years, Hubby commented, "Yes, she insists that she wants to lose another 10 pounds, but I don't think that she has it to lose" Ok first of all he is wrong, I actually have 10-20 that I could lose, but it is still nice that he feels that way! Irratates me though, he just kind of goes with the flow, & celebrates with me with each 5 pound loss, yet, never really compliments. I guess after 11 years I expect too much romance!

HMMMM, I wonder how I can contribute to this heist? I know I can save all the chicken skin & fat that I trim off, we can cook it & make a fatty stock to put it into squirt guns, we douse any trouble makers with chicken fat if they get in our way! Although since my Dad is cop, perhaps I should remain more behind the scenes, I could stay back & watch all of the kids & dogs while you guys are out casing the joint!

Well everyone I better go do my pilates while everyone is sleeping!

hello chickies!!!

well, what a holiday weekend!! we were swamped at the market... very nice!! and we went to a pow wow that some friends were involved in Saturday.... TOO MUCH FRYBREAD!!! (if there is such a thing....) but it was fabulous! got lots of sun, so now i'm tanned.... gonna join the gym this week, i think.... hopefully will have lots of tanned skin to give to ellis soon! :)

christina - love the chicken fat idea... *giggles* and hurrah to your family for noticing all your hard work!

soozie - how did seeing your friend go? well, i hope... you're a fabulous person, just as you were 70lbs ago.... never loose sight of that.

mauv - mmmm.... birthday cake.... *grins*

everyone else? good holidays?? i know not everyone could have been slothish like i was. :)

sooo.... we were talking about the not being where we thought we would be in life... so i have yet another quote from my handy "Simple abundance" book. hope you enjoy it...

June 21 - Blooming where you're planted

... Being a late bloomer means that you have the time and the opportunity to revise and revamp if you experiment with life and fall short of your dreams. We late bloomers can risk more because at this point nobody really expects anything spectacular from us anymore. We can reinvent ourselves or give birth to our authentic selves as we rediscover and reclaim our essence.
As I have tried and failed and tried again, I have discovered that if we are to flourish as creative beings, if we are to grow into Wholeness, we ~must~ bloom wherever we are planted. Right now, you might not have the perfect career, home, or relationship. Few of us do. But you have the gift of today, you've got another chance to re-create your circumstances and make them as perfect as it's possible to do with the resources you have. Today, you get another chance to get it as right as you can make it. What more could you desire?

my friend cancelled and is coming here on Thursday with her two little girls to cavort in our lake with my daughter... how much weight do you think I could lose by Thursday...??? just kidding...going to focus on accepting myself and get excited about how well I'm doing.

Lost 4, count 'em one, two, three, four pounds this week. Yahoo. Thanks somewhat to medication change I'm sure, but, my eating has been better. I'll probably lose more weight when I have no kitchen, no kitchen sink, no oven......unless we start eating at McDonald's out of desparation. :lol:

Took the paddle boat out today, are you sick of hearing that ??? Its so much fun you hardly feel like you're exercising. And its so pretty out there, you'd hardly think that you were in New Jersey. ;)

Planning to go to the gym tomorrow.
Still packing up the kitchen stuff.
Hope everyone is doing well.

Soozie.

ps. Shel, thanks for the wonderful quote about blooming...its never too late to live fully.

Sozie, Congats on the 4 pound loss! Soon we will be saying that on hitting goal! :) Also you don't have to keep thinking you are 70 pounds heavier, only 67. Your friend probably won't even notice, OK so she may notice, but since she is a friend, she won't care! ;) We have a paddle boat at the cottage, somehow I have not fallen in love with it as you have! I wish that I did though, it would be a fun way to be active. Although I haven't taken it out since I started being active, Maybe I would like it now since I can probably go out for longer than 5 minutes without feeling like I am going to die! :lol:

Realizing last week that I will need an entire new wardrobe when I am all done with this, I started looking on Ebay for some cheap shorts. At least a few pairs so I had some to wear at home. Well a few came today, since I am in a 10 now, I bought 8s. Just for fun I tried them on to see how far I had to go, 1 pair fit! I wore them all day, just because I could. OK, so the others are still too tight, but jeez, this is the first time in single digits since highschool!

A question for all the canadians....Today it was really hazy & smokey looking here, you could even smell a hickory smokey smell. Then on the news tonight they said that this smoke was actually from all the way in Ontario, a forest fire, but they didn't say where in Ontario. Have you heard anything about it?

OK just got home from a bike ride, need to go shower, before I stink the whole house up!

Good evening everone!:)

I had a great dinner last night with my friends and only had a small slice of cake:smug: then we all left the restaurant and went for a walk together as it was such a beautiful night.

Today has been as shlep Sunday. Went to my parents for a cup of tea and a chat, but pretty much hung around the house reading while DH played his video games.

Congratulations Soozie on those 4 pounds!!!:D I wish they had a clapping smiley we could use. I am finding the last 20 the hardest to get rid of but now I only have 10 to go to reach my goal. Keep up the good work, I know you can do it:)

Way to go Christina on the size 8 shorts!!!! :D In no time you will be wearing the rest of the pairs you bought. Chicken stock guns-how ingeniously yuckky! :p

Both of your paddleboats sound great, I used to love going out in those when I was a kid.

And yes there is actually a forest fire but it running along the Quebec/ Ontario border, I'm not exactly sure where but here in Ottawa a haze was hanging over the city on Saturday, we thought it was smog but it was smoke blowing over from Quebec. The air stilled smelled slightly smokey on Saturday night.

Ellis-you supposed to be in on the heist or have you not been reading the posts/plans? Tch! :nono:

Hey Ruth what are you been up to these days?

Have a good night everyone!

Hey girls!

The bank heist was doomed from the start. I figured we'd better rob an American bank as OUR dollar is worth zilch. I have no sense of direction. Couldn't find little Dentrassi ANYWHERE! I have no idea where Michigan is. In fact, I got lost on Thursday driving to an old friend's house. She lives in Quebec, and my DH left me without any gas in the car so I was forced to pull into a French gas station. I sat in the car waiting for someone to serve me (hoping that it was a Full-serve... couldn't read the sign...), then hopped out and discovered that the gas dispenser was some new-fangled thing and the instructions were in French. After about 5 minutes of frantically pushing buttons, I finally hit on the right combination. (thank you VERY much mom and dad for making me quit French!! curses.)
Anyhow, I couldn't find Michigan.

Soozie, console yourself, honey. You may be 70 pounds heavier, but you're intelligent, beautiful, totally cool, and this fat is only temporary. Your friend actually wants to see YOU. If, on seeing you she sucks in her breath sharply, just put your hands on your hips and say, "HEY!! I've lost 4 pounds! Feeling pretty damned good about myself!"

Mauvais, you're just making us ill. You're thin, you're buying new dresses + accessories, you've got a swiffer... WHAT NEXT!! ;)
Haven't bought a fridge yet. Payday is this coming Thursday. We're still using the backup fridge on the second floor. I'm actually checking out a site right now on troubleshooting your fridge.
"1. Make sure the cord is plugged in and that the breaker hasn't tripped. "
Oh, for cryin' out loud!!
I'm glad you had a good birthday! :)

Chris, get out on that paddle boat!! You don't want to be thin and flabby!! Soozie is making massive muscles under that extra weight, and when it drops off, she is going to be TIGHT!!
You got that smoke too, huh? Just when the weather was starting to cool down, we get smoke!!

Hey Shel... I'm glad the market went well! That's a great quote... thank you for sharing it with us. I think it applies to all of us... even those of us who feel that our life is "complete". We're changing/evolving all the time, and we have to learn how to deal with the crap when it knocks us for a loop. I think I'm babbling... it's a little hot in here.
How is the boyfriend? I hope that things are going okay for YOU!
Thinking about you, sweetie...

Den, are you serious? People shoot their guns in the air? That is so... so... strange. And dangerous.
Hey! I want to learn welding, too! In fact, my dad still has a bunch of welding equipment, and I've asked him to PLEASE teach me how to weld this summer. Except he doesn't have one of those mask thingys, so he told me I'll have to learn how to "strike blind". Sounds scary.

Ruth, my garden is parched. I just emptied my entire rain barrel onto it, thereby jinxing us all. (sorry) I figure if I leave it full, it'll rain in torrents. If I empty it, it won't rain for weeks. You have quite the reputation for whiskey, don't you? :lol:

Hey Kat and Squeak! :wave:

Listen, can someone loan me a tenner until Thursday? I just had to rummage for change so I could get a little snack to cheer me up.
xoxo

Woke up this morning to smokey smell and haze... thought there must be a fire in the pine barrens until I heard that you girls sent it down from Canada...

all these shrinking women out there...and need for new wardrobes...you go you girlies...keep up the good work...

Ellis, Ellis, what kind of snackies are you buying ???? I never knew that you Canadians had so many interesting snack foods that we don't have in America. Why did your parents make you drop French, was it a political statement ??? Timbits ????? Gotta try one someday. Anything that is popular even though it is called a timbit has to be good. :lol:

And yes, under this poundage lies a woman of steel, totally cut, muscle diva, hopefully she'll find her way through and come out of the padding...;)

Have a great week ladies. I'll be in touch. Might not make it everyday with all the kitchen craziness but I'll try to get in here if I can. They don't start until next Monday but we're heavy into preparations.

Soozie

Hi Girls! Yea, we definetly want to hit a US bank, if we try Canadian, they may make us pay just to get out the door! Hubby said he was thinking about buying a new boat since our $ is so strong now...then he remembered the taxes!

I know that I have to do some more toning! I think that last 10-20 pounds is all in my thighs & rear. I also think that I could cut a little slit in the tummy where all that loose skin is & I would never need a purse again, could carry a basketball in there! I keep hoping these pilate tapes help, although she is so boring, I could choke her till the 50 minutes is up! Hubby, kids & I are going to the cottage in 2 weeks, maybe I will just have to dust off that paddle boat & give it another go!

Soozie, good luck with the kitchen! It will be tough living with the mess, but you will love it when it is done, I am sure! I agree with Ellis, if she has a reaction that she can't control, inform her how well you have done! (Besides, I have found when I am especially worried about seeing someone from my skinnier days, I am always shocked to see they look nothing like I remember either! 10 year reunion...walked in & thought How could I have gone to highschool with all of these fat bald men! :lol:

Ok as much as I hate to, I have to go get to work! See you soon!

Evening everyone! :wave:

Well I made it to the 5th floor today without collapsing, maybe I will make it to the halfway point of my stair climbing odyssey by August 1st! tomorrow is day one of gym :eek:

Christina- I have the same problem as you, my weight is in my butt and thighs :rolleyes: I think I will focus on these parts at the gym and hope the rest of my body goes along for the ride:lol:
my arms need some toning too. I am planning on using the rowing machine tomorrow.

soozie-we have already given you the best snackies! Butter tarts are amazing (another one of my can't resists) we also have something called bumbleberry squares which are crumbly on top like date squares but are filled with a mix or raspberries, blueberries and blackberries-delish! I know Ellis likes vietnamese spring rolls and I totally agree with her. Don't know what else she snacks on other than chips(my other downfall*sigh*) I love timbits too!

Ellis-what else are your favorite snacks/guilty pleasures?

Shel-glad you had a good day at the market. The pow wow sounds like fun. I have gone to a few in the past and you are right about the bread, can't eat just one piece!

Tiggerdiva, Dentrassi and Squeeker-hope you are all having a good holiday!

Ruthxxx-come out, come out ,wherever you are! Hope you and your doggies are okay!

Have a good night everyone!

HI EVERYONE!!! Things are nutsy around here right now. I am TRYING to work more, as we are LOW on stock, and have orders to get out. DS #2 is freaking out daily, and alternately wants me to leave him alone and cuddle all day long. I guess he is being a normal 12 year old!!!

Ellis, no way we'd do it without you!! You are the brains behind the operation after all!!! I was kinda thinking a Canadian bank. We could hide out in Christina's cottage and have a nice holiday afterwards!!!

Mauv-I'm not on holiday (sob) just house cleaning and trying to make it to work......

Soozie-Hope you have fun with your friend, and CONGRATULATIONS on the weight loss!!!

I'm going to cut this short since I'm exhausted. Hope everything is going well for everyone!!!

Good morning dear Alternachicks.

I have not been posting much lately because I am too damned busy. I hope you snoop on the LC board to see that I'm still among the living.

Delta Fair is cranking up and I'm working my *** off in the Office - it's still as fat but is firming up. I have decided the thing to do is NOT answer the phone when I'm doing accounting - it's usually sombody wanting to know when the Monster Trucks are on or someone with a heavy accent wanting to set up a fortune telling booth!

Usual home stuff - dog training, picking up dog poop, judiciously watering the garden, weed pulling, minor housework, BBQ, the odd beer and have been out on the Lake a couple of times for a cruise. I am also getting ready to go to Wisconsin for a Garden Biddies "meet" - we usually sit around and yack - sometimes about gardens. It's all very casual and unstructured which suits me fine!

Anyhow, have to get into some city (Smiths Falls?) duds - like clean jeans, a t-shirt and sandals - and go pick up a rental as my Focus is at the dealer getting a new door! Must be a cheap car if the wind can bend the doorframe!

I DO lurk, of course, but may not have much posting time until after July's hustle bustle. Never mind, I won't be doing this next year!

Have a great day!

Oh yes, I know the guys were nekkid under the kilts because they mooned us and a couple flashed at the reunion. They were pretty cool - waited until the kids all went outside with watermelon and bubbles! :D

hahahahahaha!!! They flashed you, Ruth!?!? That's hilarious!! Oh my gosh :lol:
My oldest friend got married in a castle in Scotland a couple of years ago. Her hubby wore a kilt. I never thought to ask if he was wearing anything underneath. I hope so. Imagine dropping pubic hairs on the lion-skin rugs in the drawing room?! BLAH!
You know honey, you may be older than the rest of us, but you're a **** of a lot more active than we are. You never sit still!!

Den, maybe you're right about doing it in Canada (sweet compliment re:the brains, however you'd be wrong. I'm totally reliant on YOUR brain!). I understand there was a bank heist in the States the other day and they shot the guy. With great justification, Americans no longer ask questions first and shoot later. You know that movie "The Inlaws"? With Peter Falk and whatisname. They lifted an armoured truck with one of those magnet thingys. And welded the guards inside the truck. Listen, once we've learned how to weld, we can do it!!! We just need one of those magnet thingys. Probably Ruth knows where we can rent one of those.

Mauvais, you're doing great on the stairs!! Good for you!! What are my snacks/guilty pleasures? Ha! Loaded question. BIG carbohydrate problem. (major slip up on Sunday... had 6 slices of WHITE bread toasted with real butter. Geez, it was good.)
Chips, popcorn, chocolate (bridge mixture/major problem). Crepes. I make a mean crepe. Chicken in white wine crepes, oyster crepes, ...
And when I make crepes, I figure there's no point in just making enough. I have to make at least double to make it worth while. And then I end up sampling a couple before the guests arrive (have to make sure they're edible). And then there are lots of left-overs afterward (I hope) and I'll eat 6 of them when the guests have left. And the remainder for breakfast the next day.
And a good turkey dinner is my favourite. That combination of turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing.... I could eat it forever... screw dessert.
Hey, good luck at the gym today, girl!! We want to know what you do.

Chris, 50 minutes of Pilates!? Good for you! I can't stand any exercise video that's longer than 20 minutes. I get so mad when it goes on and on. I start looking around the room wondering how I can redecorate it.

Yeah, Soozie... quitting French was a political statement. Good guess. My parents are British. No need to say anything more.
As stupid as I am for not learning French, I'm amazed at the people just across the border in Quebec who CAN'T SPEAK ANY ENGLISH!! That's just slitting your throat.
You know what I really like are those new Dorito chips. I think they're called Tostitos. They're round. The cheese ones. They're wicked.
Your kitchen must be a nightmare. It's going to be so wonderful when it's done, though. We stripped our kitchen floor a few years ago. It had linoleum atop OLD, thick, glued-down tiles atop hardwood. It took forever to chip away the tiles and melt off the glue. I whitewashed (pickled) the hardwood so it looks like new, unstained wood. I love it. And it's funny... at the time the job was so awful and took SOOOO long, but now we can barely remember the inconvenience.

DH is home today, so I'm going to take advantage of him and play the lame female. I need to cut 6 inches off the legs of a massive metal shelf that my dad made (welded) for me when I was a teenager. I'm taking it up to our bedroom in the attic, and it's too high for the ceiling. I COULD cut the legs myself, but... what the ****.

Hi everyone else! Shel, Squeak, Kat... :wave:

longer post later.... wanted to share this though.... from my best friend (the one i work with) in my mail this morning.... boy, does she have great timing. :)

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Virtually everyone raised her/his hand. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do
this..." He proceeded to really crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants this bill that's all crumpled up?" Again, almost everyone raised her/his hand. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it and really ground it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants this dirty, crumpled up bill?" Still the hands went into the air. "My friends, we have all learned a
very valuable lesson. "No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. "Because it was still worth $20." He went on, "Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way, and we may
begin to feel as though we're worthless. "But no matter what has happened, or what may happen, you will never lose your value: Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you're still priceless to those who love you. "The worth of our lives comes not in whom we know, it comes from WHO WE ARE. "

HELLO!!!

Ruthxxx-Been missing you! Glad to see you here, no matter how rarely (sniff). You DO sound busy!! Ellis is right, you are more active than any of the rest of us!! Wish I'd been there to be flashed!!

Ellis-Pubic hairs on the rug? HORRORS!!! I'd want him reclining on the rug and I'd find out for myself if there was anything under that kilt!! Did I tell you I want DH to wear one? He'd look great, but NOOO!!!!! (Probably too afraid of how I'd react!! :devil: ) Have you found an increase in your sex drive since you reached your mid-thirties? I'm 44 now, and it shows no sign of decreasing, despite my meds (which sometimes decrease sex drive.) I keep on telling DH that I am going to have to put him on a beeper. I think he is starting to be scared of me.

Shel-Good quote, and I am glad you are taking it to heart! You are a wonderful woman.

I'll check back later (I should be polishing!!)

My gosh... don't tell my husband I'm supposed to be extra horny!! I dunno, Den. I know I'm supposed to be, but I think something went wrong. I'm tired. (remember, I've got a six year old) And I'm ashamed of my body. And I'm nervous. People (mostly six-year olds) keep dropping in on us at inopportune moments.
Hmmm, maybe if I were to go off my meds I'd be hot. I mean, not that I'm NOT!! Don't get me wrong!! But I'm still waiting for the big increase in desire. According to my mother (who should NOT be telling me about her sex life with my dad!!), 77 is a pretty damned hot age, too.
I've definitely noticed a decrease in old you-know-who, though. On the night of conceiving our six-year old, we did it 6 times. Hasn't been the same since.
Frankly, I can't believe you're talking about sex. :lol: You're overworked, aren't you. heh heh.
Uh huh... I can see your DH in a kilt. Hmmm, I wonder about mine...

Oh and Shel, that is lovely. You are the Queen of Quotes. Thank you!!
xo

Hello everyone! :wave:

Well today was the first day in the"Gym from ****"...actually it wasn't as bad as I had envisioned. Wasn't meat markety although I was the only female there at the time and I got checked out when I first walked in the door but I ignored everyone and got on the rowing machine for 15 minutes(felt like the longest 15 minutes of my life:p ), then I swam for 1/2 an hour in the pool and sat in the hot tub for 10 minutes cooking like a lobster:lol: So day 1 of new exercise regime-tomorrow I will go back for more, or so says me today;)

Ellis, Ruthxxx, and Dentrassi-:o you dirty girls! :lol: Personally my sex life has gotten better with age, whoda thunk! Geeze Ellis... 6 times! I have never got past 3!
BTW we seem to have the same carbo/junk food addictions...I had a french toast craving on Sunday am but tried to be good by using oat bran bread to make it, it was actually pretty yummy.

Shel-that was a lovely and inspiring quote! I will have to jot that one down and keep it at my desk at work for when I am having a bad day.

Soozie, Tigger, Christina and Squeeker hope you are all doing well and taking care of yourselves:D

Goodnight Chickies!

arrrrrghhhh! I just deleted my note to you all before I sent it....
can't write now gotta get the kid ready for camp....
see you later
Soozie

HI EVERYONE!!

Ellis-6 TIMES!!! Okay, I'm jealous. Yup, the guys are past their prime. I love turning to DH after sex and saying, "Let's do it again." He just groans and says (in Southern Belle accent), "Us poor men folks just can't keep up with you women folks." Look, having a six year old is somewhat inhibiting. At this point I know that the kids would knock first!! In terms of body image: BEEN THERE!! But you know your hubby loves you, and isn't worrying about that like you are!! And YES! I'm overworked, in more ways than one!! Always am lately!!

Mauvairoux-Sounds like the gym is going well, and the stairs too!! A friend and I went to a gym for a while when we were about 19. We'd exercise for about 15 minutes and then spend an hour or more going back and forth between the sauna and the whirlpool!! I've got those carb cravings too. For me it is mostly deep fried salty stuff!! Or REALLY good bread, or a baked potato, or ice cream (if it has huge chunks of chocolate in it), or trifle or.......AARRGGHH!!

Soozie-I do that about once a week. Seriously! Ask Ellis, she always teases me about it. (She is SO cruel, but don't tell her I said so!!) How did getting jr off to camp go? Are you ready for kitchen rip out?

Hello Fab Femmes!

Well I made it to the gym today again:smug: I used the rowing machine for 15 minutes and then tried this stepping thingy that is supposed to mimic climbing stairs...I couldn't get the darn thing programmed right and gave up after 5 minutes. Then I tried a machine that works like cross country skiing and managed that for about another 10 minutes. Felt kind of lame as a workout but then I realised that it was only my second day and that I power walked for 25 minutes from work to the gym, so hey I did better than I thought:) Tomorrow is a day off from the gym and then back to it on Friday and Saturday. It is quieter on Saturday so I think I will get one of the gym attendants to show me how to program the machines properly:o

My mini-goal is to lose 5 lb by August 1st and I have lost 1 so far.

DH is going to the gym with me so that is a big motivator, and he thinks I look hot in my bathing suit even if I don't think I do:D

Hope everyone is doing well and is staying OP.

Have a great evening!

*hey! I just notice that the number of posts I have made is the same as my current weight (155) it must be a sign from the gods of nutrition and fitness:lol:

Starting weight- 185 lbs:eek:
Current weight - 155 lbs :)
Goal weight - 145 lbs :D

hello darlings!

You mean I win the sex contest? (you didn't know it was a contest, did you? :lol: )
Mauvais, you are doing GREAT!! You're going to have those 5 pounds off in no time!
How do you like being "checked out" by a roomful of guys? I suppose it would be worse if they DIDN'T check you out, but still... do you think they were checking out your brain capacity?
You hope we're "staying OP", do you? :lol: We're not even ON OP!!

Soozie, Den loses her messages WAY more than once a week!! :lol:

Listen, it's 11 at night, and my entire effing family is in here with me JUGGLING!! And squealing with laughter. I'm serious!! They're all juggling while I'm trying to type. I'm losing my effing mind!!! This is supposed to be quiet time!!!!
Back tomorrow...
xo