Panda I am thinking of you this weekend with your mom. I hope she is not too off the rails. Birds chirping? yes I go to bed after the birds wake up. The early birds are currently starting at 3:50 where I live. I love the sound. Especially when they go into full symphony mode. The only way around it I know of is to close the windows so you do not hear them. Or get a cheap white sound machine??

Holly sorry your car is having so many problems. I think buying older cars in areas that have a lot of salt can be problematic. I had to get rid of my 18 1/2 year old car. The sub frame was so rotted that it may have been too dangerous to drive. Man, I loved that car. I hope all works out with your car one way or another. If this one is not worth fixing, I hope you find a beauty at a great price. That's a lot of blueberry crisp you have to make and plate. I am sure things will go well with it. What kind of poppies are coming up? I have oriental poppies. I LOVE when last year's plants seed themselves. I have even had petunias do that. BUT my condo association now puts down mulch. So no more petunias from last year. Or pansies, and johnny Jump ups. I do not like mulch. But I have a responsibility to keep my garden looking "presentable" because of the condo association board :devil::devil::devil: I was in the garden with a knife and shovel trying to remove some of the more stubborn and prolific overgrowth of plants and weeds. I need to do that for the other plants so they do not get choked out by the bully aggressive plants :lol: The peonies are looking beautiful. I have 3 different colors. Iris are out. And wild rose too. Well, lots of plants are in bloom. For my birthday someone sent me money to buy flowers. I bought a bunch of petunias. Some are wave. Others are the kind that have to be dead headed. I too like dead heading. Its a great way to communicate with the plants. Ahhhhh i love summer.

Hi to everyone else.

Today the eating was in control. I have to be careful because of my digestive system. So that cuts back the possibility of foods I can eat. And I do not keep trigger foods in the house. eg if I bought eggs, I would end up eating cake, lol. So I live on just a few foods. On my birthday someone told me to go buy lunch from them. So I did. I had "hot smoked" salmon. It was amazing. Not too dried out. Of course now I want it every day. I also had some other good food. For dinner I made Chinese food with rice. So on Saturday I let my body rest.

I hope everyone has a good Sunday <3 Pat

Hi all,

Holly, sorry to learn about the car. Flower, I wish I was good at recognizing flower types- I will have to search online so I can envision your garden!

So I’m headed back now from the parents’. It seemed they were having a lovely time; I hope they are proud of their decisions. I’m proud that I made it through the day. And I don’t intend to visit them again. I’m done.

Originally Posted by VermontMom:
Lisa HI to you my friend!! :) :hug: You had some GREAT life advice for both PandaCupcake and Kathleen!

Thanks, Holly. I do try.

Lisa, I hope you’ve been getting better sleep and that your tummy is better.
I’ve been trying to reduce or remove various things from my diet to see if my stomach will get better.
In early May I was eating a rice bowl at a chain restaurant and started feeling ill after a few bites, then was sick off and on for 10 days. I can’t tell if I am still not 100% since that day or if I am sensitive to something. Could be lactose? Maybe some foods have those sugar substitutes that cause problems, or gluten, or fats, carbonated drinks, caffeine, combination? Not sure

Today was forecast to be nice but turned out to be chilly and I had to spend the day shivering outdoors by a fire.

I don’t have the windows open when I hear the birds. I have an air cleaning machine which acts as a white noise machine but doesn’t cancel the birds. The only thing I can do is try to get to bed earlier with no late night caffeine etc, and then hopefully be in deep sleep by bird time so that I sleep through it.

Originally Posted by PandaCupcake:
Hi all,

Holly, sorry to learn about the car. Flower, I wish I was good at recognizing flower types- I will have to search online so I can envision your garden!

So I’m headed back now from the parents’. It seemed they were having a lovely time; I hope they are proud of their decisions. I’m proud that I made it through the day. And I don’t intend to visit them again. I’m done.

Just because they are your parents, you don't owe them anything. Do what is best for you and your health.

Originally Posted by PandaCupcake:
Lisa, I hope you’ve been getting better sleep and that your tummy is better.
I’ve been trying to reduce or remove various things from my diet to see if my stomach will get better.
In early May I was eating a rice bowl at a chain restaurant and started feeling ill after a few bites, then was sick off and on for 10 days. I can’t tell if I am still not 100% since that day or if I am sensitive to something. Could be lactose? Maybe some foods have those sugar substitutes that cause problems, or gluten, or fats, carbonated drinks, caffeine, combination? Not sure

Today was forecast to be nice but turned out to be chilly and I had to spend the day shivering outdoors by a fire.

I don’t have the windows open when I hear the birds. I have an air cleaning machine which acts as a white noise machine but doesn’t cancel the birds. The only thing I can do is try to get to bed earlier with no late night caffeine etc, and then hopefully be in deep sleep by bird time so that I sleep through it.

I go through times when I have to take gas pills. I've yet to figure out what sets me off.

I'll have to think about your bird problem.

Mission Impossible : Rogue Nation

Watched this yesterday, really good action adventure movie.


Tonight, I'm watching
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

I'll watch it another time, I'm tired. Night all.

Is the tree on your property, panda?

I have PT today at 1 pm so I need to down some water. I always workout better when I'm hydrated and use my inhaler.

I'm going to read for a bit and catch a quick nap.

I'm worried, I can't find Lily. I crack the window here in the mobile home. I hope like **** the little turd hasn't taken off. I've got my neighbor looking for her too.

I didn't go to PT. I just wasn't in the mood.

I'm drowsy this afternoon.

I did go to the food pantry this morning so I have a little bit of food now.

I hope you all are well.

Hi Lisa,

I hope Lily pops back soon.
I think the birds are not directly in the backyard- just somewhere on the block.

I’m sad today

Originally Posted by PandaCupcake:
Hi Lisa,

I hope Lily pops back soon.
I think the birds are not directly in the backyard- just somewhere on the block.

I’m sad today

Me too. Lily is still missing. I feel awful.

Those must be really loud. Wow.

I found the little ****. She wouldn't come to me, she didnt want to come in. I finally coaxed her to me.

She's mad at me now.

Originally Posted by lisaloveshearts:
I found the little ****. She wouldn't come to me, she didnt want to come in. I finally coaxed her to me.

She's mad at me now.

Lisa, I’m glad Lily has returned safe.

Originally Posted by PandaCupcake:
Lisa, I’m glad Lily has returned safe.

Me too. She seems content to be back inside. My babies mean so very much to me.

Hi ladies,

I had a meltdown yesterday, bad. I called my therapist and used some skills to attempt to calm me down. I'm better today.

Not much else to report.

Sweet dreams.

Lisa, sounds like you have a good therapist. I hope Lily is behaving.

I had a good day yesterday. One of the few remaining people I can stand asked to stop by. He ordered food and we watched a documentary.

And today was a bit crazy at work- I accidentally missed two client meetings. But it will be ok. The rest of my meetings went well, and I was helpful to many. Someone on my team was out yesterday for a family issue and I felt bad that she was working today during a bad personal time. She worked a regular full day today because it’s very busy and some others are out of office and there’s several important projects happening with tight timelines.

I’m going to try to go to bed early. Oh I just realized tomorrow is Friday.

Hello friends! Lisa, I'm so glad Lily came back. It must have been awful worrying about her while she was missing. She knows where she has it good :cool:

Panda, your job sounds really busy! but isn't it good when you realize you have helped people. I once read something like, if you have made a good difference in someone's day, that is a day well lived :) I hope the pesky birds stop annoying you!

and HI to everyone else :hug:

I am really, really stressing about finding another car :( I'm on the edge of crying constantly, it sucks. Especially at work! I guess I should be glad I have at least my motorcycle to commute but yesterday was pouring rain and I really felt like life was kicking me. of course that's not true but you know. I should be thankful that we have the money, but just have to comb through ads, make calls that aren't returned, make appointments to see cars that are NOT truthfully respresented...you know. all while working full time. OK my pity party is over :devil: I hope.

Holly,
Yes it feels good when I get good work done and I feel it is appreciated.
Today was pretty good except just before 5 I got dumped some problem / issue that I will need to work out next week, but this type of issue isn’t really mine to deal with so it will be more about me bringing in the correct team to bring in for this.

Sorry about the car! I don’t have a bike or car, but not an issue where I am. You will find a better one; sounds stressful like similar to looking for place to move.

Happy friday all.

Tomorrow I’m going to an event to try to meet new people. I went to one last week which was casual and good to get out of the house.
Meanwhile my friends keep sending me various invites which I just ignore at this point because they know I am “unavailable”, so I don’t bother to decline.

Originally Posted by PandaCupcake:
Lisa, sounds like you have a good therapist. I hope Lily is behaving.

I had a good day yesterday. One of the few remaining people I can stand asked to stop by. He ordered food and we watched a documentary.

And today was a bit crazy at work- I accidentally missed two client meetings. But it will be ok. The rest of my meetings went well, and I was helpful to many. Someone on my team was out yesterday for a family issue and I felt bad that she was working today during a bad personal time. She worked a regular full day today because it’s very busy and some others are out of office and there’s several important projects happening with tight timelines.

I’m going to try to go to bed early. Oh I just realized tomorrow is Friday.

Hi panda,

I saw my therapist today. She is so smart and helps me see how to have healthier relationships. Her name is Kristine. Today, I learned about healthy boundaries.

Lilys doing really well.

It's really important to socialize but like you said, it's important to like the people in your life.

If I may ask, what do you do? It's ok if you can't say.

Originally Posted by VermontMom:
Hello friends! Lisa, I'm so glad Lily came back. It must have been awful worrying about her while she was missing. She knows where she has it good :cool:

Panda, your job sounds really busy! but isn't it good when you realize you have helped people. I once read something like, if you have made a good difference in someone's day, that is a day well lived :) I hope the pesky birds stop annoying you!

and HI to everyone else :hug:

I am really, really stressing about finding another car :( I'm on the edge of crying constantly, it sucks. Especially at work! I guess I should be glad I have at least my motorcycle to commute but yesterday was pouring rain and I really felt like life was kicking me. of course that's not true but you know. I should be thankful that we have the money, but just have to comb through ads, make calls that aren't returned, make appointments to see cars that are NOT truthfully respresented...you know. all while working full time. OK my pity party is over :devil: I hope.

Holly,

Lily seems content. I'm still being really careful not to let her sneak out, again.

Take deep breaths, Holly. Getting a "new" car is exciting. I love mine. It's a small hatchback, 2010 Hyundai Accent.
I know you'll find a car you love. I'm so glad you have your bike to use.

My Sasha kitty is pregnant. Hopefully, she has a small litter. She looks so funny running around with a swollen belly.

Anyone want a kitten?

Hi ladies,

I feel funny today. My head feels funny again. I'm not sure what is going on.

I hope you all are having a good weekend.

Hi ladies,

I feel better this morning. Im not sure what was going on yesterday. Maybe my sugar was high, I don't know.

I have been getting headaches lately so I may have to go see Trudy. I'll figure out what to do.

Did you all have a good weekend?

I've become so useless at stopping by, sorry all :(

Holly sorry you have to go out hunting for a new car again - it barely feels like yesterday you were looking for your last one! Salt is such a car killer!

Kathleen it's good to see you stop by :wave: I'm glad physio has helped your hip a little, shame they aren't able to offer you any more sessions - can they at least give you some good exercises to do at home? Hope your son's job goes well! And have a fantastic time in Ireland :) They'd expecting some lovely weather from next week!

Lisa wow, you've a lot going on! How far along is Sasha? I've been told that peppermint tea is really good for gas, it seems to help me! Another idea is to keep a food diary, and look at any trends when you get a spell. It can take 3 days for an intollerance to cause symptoms, but you could try cutting out the obvious things for a couple of weeks to see if you get any improvement.

panda I hope your family drama has calmed down a little bit now! Nothing worse than people interfering... Have you managed to get back to exercise classes? And are the birds any quieter yet? Some decent ear plugs might help you a bit...

Flower hope you're getting lots of lovely gardening time :)

I'm still keeping up with my weight loss, I've lost 52lbs now :dancer: but I tried on a bunch of clothes I wore when I was this weight before, and they're still far too tight... I need to lose about 20lbs more to get to a healthy BMI, and I reckon I'll be a size 10-12 of I get there.

I decided to treat myself to a few sessions with a personal trainer, because I need some new exercise ideas, and some help to tone up a bit. First session tomorrow!

We're going away on a hiking trip this weekend - I've not done an active break before, but I'm looking forward to it! And if the weather is bad, I've made sure there's plenty whiskey distilleries nearby :lol:

Hope everyone is having a lovely summer :)

Hi Coop! Glad to read you’re doing well. Congrats on the great progress and plan to get some new exercise ideas. I hope you have excellent weather for your hiking trip.

It was supposed to be 95 degrees today. I worked til 7pm then watched a little tv, so I never stepped outside to check.

I overslept a bit this am and was 5 mins late for a mtg.

I met some new people this month at a few events but no one I felt a connection with.
Everyone was welcoming though and some asked to meet up outside of the event but I don’t think its a good idea. Tomorrow though I am meeting a new potential friend nearby at a bar and that may be good. And some other options have surfaced today. I don’t know how to explain it, I know hundreds of people and many keep including me in invites to several things weekly but I am not in the mood. Want to meet new folks and do things in much smaller, separate circles.

So I am planning to just keep putting myself out there and If i keep trying I am bound to eventually find some good connections that work out.

I have plans for tomorrow night, Fri, and Sat. We shall see but at least i am not hibernating as much.

I keep forgetting I have upcoming days off from work. Yippie!

Counting down to summer, which i think starts this Thursday.
Have a great day everyone- sending happy sunshine to all

Also, based on Flower’s idea I have temporarily changed my own Avatar so people can see what I look like since in real life I’m not a Panda. The panda will return in a few days.

Panda: I pop in and read - beautiful pic!!!

Hi ladies, hi panda,

I finally got a bed. It's really comfortable. The fur babies all love it. Queen size. I need sheets down the road. I have 1 flat sheet to my name.
I'm thinking about moving my tv in here but I only have 1 so.....

I am reading a good book. 7th Heaven by James Patterson. Really good.

Watched "Man On Fire" with Denzel Washington. Excellent movie! Highly recommended.

I've been really sleepy all day. Weird.

Sasha still hasn't had her babies yet.

I love my bed. Did I mention that yet?

Have a great night.

Originally Posted by Coop27:
I've become so useless at stopping by, sorry all :(

Holly sorry you have to go out hunting for a new car again - it barely feels like yesterday you were looking for your last one! Salt is such a car killer!

Kathleen it's good to see you stop by :wave: I'm glad physio has helped your hip a little, shame they aren't able to offer you any more sessions - can they at least give you some good exercises to do at home? Hope your son's job goes well! And have a fantastic time in Ireland :) They'd expecting some lovely weather from next week!

Lisa wow, you've a lot going on! How far along is Sasha? I've been told that peppermint tea is really good for gas, it seems to help me! Another idea is to keep a food diary, and look at any trends when you get a spell. It can take 3 days for an intollerance to cause symptoms, but you could try cutting out the obvious things for a couple of weeks to see if you get any improvement.

panda I hope your family drama has calmed down a little bit now! Nothing worse than people interfering... Have you managed to get back to exercise classes? And are the birds any quieter yet? Some decent ear plugs might help you a bit...

Flower hope you're getting lots of lovely gardening time :)

Coop,
I'm not sure how far along Sasha Is? I would say within the next week.

Originally Posted by Coop27:
I'm still keeping up with my weight loss, I've lost 52lbs now :dancer: but I tried on a bunch of clothes I wore when I was this weight before, and they're still far too tight... I need to lose about 20lbs more to get to a healthy BMI, and I reckon I'll be a size 10-12 of I get there.

I decided to treat myself to a few sessions with a personal trainer, because I need some new exercise ideas, and some help to tone up a bit. First session tomorrow!

We're going away on a hiking trip this weekend - I've not done an active break before, but I'm looking forward to it! And if the weather is bad, I've made sure there's plenty whiskey distilleries nearby :lol:

Hope everyone is having a lovely summer :)

That is awesome about your weight lose!!!! Yay!!!!!

Enjoy your vacay.

Kathleen, Holly, flower,

Miss you all very much!! Come post when you can.

Sorry, if I've missed anyone.

Panda glad the new meetups are going a bit better for you, and you're getting to know new people. It's really hard to meet people when you get beyond school, so well done you for putting yourself out there!

I did see your photo too, nice to put a face to the name!

Lisa yippee for your new bed! So pleased you'll be sleeping so comfortably :) I keep meaning to watch your movie recommendations, so I'll see if I can get Denzel Washington up! Hope everything goes smoothly with Elvira!

Hey all! wow I've not been here for so long, that the interface is different!!?? :eek:

Panda, you are sane, the rest of the world needs to get it together! :)

Lisa, Hi and congrats on almost being a fur-baby-Nana! (grandmother)

Flower I loved hearing about your plantings also!! shame about the Assn. being so hard-nosed about what you can and can't plant though. And yeah buying all those annuals plus the containers plus the soil gets pricey so very quickly. We are so psyched that the 2 varieties of petunias that husband started from seed, "Magic Carpet" and "Burpees Best". The "best" ones are ruffled!! like fully doubled ruffled! and the Magic Carpet has an outstanding growth habit, they trail a bit but each leaf cluster is like a little rose cluster! I just love them all :D The poppies..I don't know what kind they are. They are not Oriental ones, I do recognize those. They are alot smaller and shorter but still red, with black centers. Very delicate looking petals, and leaves that are sharply ridgedy. Have found a bunch of pansies that self-seeded, with little flower faces :D and my zinnias are doing well! LOVE love summer growing.

Coop. wow at 52 flippin pounds gone!!! and more to come :cool:

So Kathleen must be in Ireland now?

We finally bit the bullet and decided to lease a car, first time leasing for us. Got a 2018 Subaru Impreza, we didnt get a color choice :tantrum: but red is okay I guess. I am happy for AWD for winter, and just having something brand new is wonderful and feels great. Yeah I rode my m'cycle to work for almost 3 weeks straight, 6 days/week! and only 2 days were pretty rainy.

Been getting lots of comps on my desserts at work!! :) I am finally a little more at ease with the new chef, he is pretty chill and I think he respects me. Today's offerings were - a chocolate crumb bar for lunch desserts, and for dinner dessert, a New York style cheesecake with a rhubarb-raspberry compote. I walked down the road 1/4 mile this morning at work, to pick the rhubarb, about 7 pounds of it!

Originally Posted by PandaCupcake:

:eek: that is horrendously long!!

I'm watching "London Has Fallen" with Gerard Butler. Good action flick. Add it to my list.

Reminder:

"The Accountant" with Ben Affleck. Very exciting.

"Man on Fire" with Denzel Washington. Really good.

Originally Posted by PandaCupcake:

I hope you slept soundly.

Originally Posted by VermontMom:
Hey all! wow I've not been here for so long, that the interface is different!!?? :eek:

Panda, you are sane, the rest of the world needs to get it together! :)

Lisa, Hi and congrats on almost being a fur-baby-Nana! (grandmother)

Flower I loved hearing about your plantings also!! shame about the Assn. being so hard-nosed about what you can and can't plant though. And yeah buying all those annuals plus the containers plus the soil gets pricey so very quickly. We are so psyched that the 2 varieties of petunias that husband started from seed, "Magic Carpet" and "Burpees Best". The "best" ones are ruffled!! like fully doubled ruffled! and the Magic Carpet has an outstanding growth habit, they trail a bit but each leaf cluster is like a little rose cluster! I just love them all :D The poppies..I don't know what kind they are. They are not Oriental ones, I do recognize those. They are alot smaller and shorter but still red, with black centers. Very delicate looking petals, and leaves that are sharply ridgedy. Have found a bunch of pansies that self-seeded, with little flower faces :D and my zinnias are doing well! LOVE love summer growing.

Coop. wow at 52 flippin pounds gone!!! and more to come :cool:

So Kathleen must be in Ireland now?

We finally bit the bullet and decided to lease a car, first time leasing for us. Got a 2018 Subaru Impreza, we didnt get a color choice :tantrum: but red is okay I guess. I am happy for AWD for winter, and just having something brand new is wonderful and feels great. Yeah I rode my m'cycle to work for almost 3 weeks straight, 6 days/week! and only 2 days were pretty rainy.

Been getting lots of comps on my desserts at work!! :) I am finally a little more at ease with the new chef, he is pretty chill and I think he respects me. Today's offerings were - a chocolate crumb bar for lunch desserts, and for dinner dessert, a New York style cheesecake with a rhubarb-raspberry compote. I walked down the road 1/4 mile this morning at work, to pick the rhubarb, about 7 pounds of it!

Congrats on the new car, Holly. Leasing sounds like a good idea due to the salt effect on your cars. Red cars are sharp.

Sasha's grumpy. She smacked me yesterday. She smacked Lily this morning. She smacked Hank this afternoon.
I think she's getting ready to have these babies in the next week or so.

I'm glad you are getting your due on your desserts. I know you take pride in them.

We missed you round here, for sure.

I hope Kathleen is enjoying her vacay.