What a charming little fellow! Joanne, I'm praying too for your sister. Modern medicine can do so much and I'm hoping they can give her a good quality of life for many more years. Mima, glad the condo is sold and you can look forward to your new place in FL. So terrible about the area's damage and glad your son is safe.

Meme, hope you've been able to get some rest. Happy, loved the kitty looking throught the blinds.

It's a year yesterday since my mother died and i have been having a difficult week. Even having the granddaughters here yesterday didn't seem to have quite it's usual magical effect - or only while they were actually here - it didn't carry over. Have been pigging out = no other word for it.

Weather's supposed to be nice today (it's a wonder we're not floating with all the rain lately) and I think dh and I are going to drive to a small and old fashioned amusement park a couple of hours away. Not that we'll ride rides or anything. Just as sort of a mini outing. I've gotten very "disinterested" in riding in a car a lot so do have some reluctance about that part. But I think we both need to get a little further away than we've been this year since we got back from Florida.

Good morning-I am 1 year older today but really only 1 day older. Going out for breakfast and dinner with the kids. Yes Joanne, we are praying. There's a lot of hope in today's medicine. ps-I waited 14 years for my second grandchild-hey thanks Meme-you even got the red eye out. We have had some bad thunderstorms but today is beautiful!!!!!Alison finally goes back to school tomorrow. I have been making things on the sewing machine but it broke right in the middle of it~~~~nice guy said to bring it to his house today and he would fix it pronto!!!!Bye for now Mima

undefinedundefinedHAPPY BIRTHDAY.........MIMA

I NEED SOME LESSONS IN DOING THIS STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway Mima you know what I tried. It was supposed to be large red letters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I will get to something sane.
Angiegram ..That is what the Dr. told her.. She just has to get to that point..
I need to watch my points a little better. I was 1/2 pound under goal and that is to close for comfort.
Hello everybody....Joanne

Thanks Joanne. I had a great birthday-we went to a restaurant where Brad and I went for our first date and then we went there for our first date when we got back together-food is awesome there-our 3 kids who live here-beautiful Vera Bradley bag from daughter-the wallet and dinner from hubby-gift certificarte from son. Then a cake that daughter had brought=it was so nice-course the men yakked abot men stuff so Suzanne and I had to talk together about real stuff. I need to get back on my points-I don't dare get on the scale-I will walk today because it will be cooler. Hope Eleni heals fast to get that test. What an ordeal!!!!!Talked to son and family-they have been cutting trees for 3 days. Their pool is green. Monday is catch up for me. Mima

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIMA! Yes, it wasn't hard to get the red out of his eyes ... he looked 'scary' with red eyes! Next time, if you'll hold your shutter button just 'part of the way down' for just a split second before you push it ALL THE WAY down the people in your pictures won't have red eyes! Least ... that's the way MOST digital camara's are set up. They have a 'split second' focus on them. Try it next time.

I got my blood test results back today ... 31 and 10 ... guess that's why I'm so tired ... no surprise.

I'm like anagram ... need a vacation! But I don't know where to go!!!

Had a few too many sweets over the weekend. Went to friends for a cookout yesterday and had choc. cake and then had strawberry pie last night. Feel the sugar today. Plus it's rainy. Not a good combination! Oh, well, you only live once, I guess! It'll wear off. That's the price I pay for having a life. Kind of like my allergies. I take Allegra ... I've tried EVERYTHING out there (just about). Allegra seems to help more than most ... but still doesn't completely do the job. Everytime I go out, my eye starts running, then my nose will start and sometimes (depends on where I am) I'll start sneezing. My mom used to stay indoors (or wear a mask!) she killed me. She didn't even have an allergy. Most of hers was put on if you know what I mean. My left eye will start running and run all the way down my cheek before I can catch it. I'd start mopping up my face and she'd grab a kneenex and say, "me too" when there wasn't anything wrong with her! She'd even wear a MASK to the mail box ... it was hilarious to watch her. And I've watched her sit in church and hold a kleenex over her nose and 'pretend' she was sniffing ... I could tell she was putting on ... I lived with her too long! I know people who really have allergies, though, who let them take over their lives. They just stay indoors. (And some people have SEVERE allergies who HAVE to ... I'm not talking about them!) I take my Allegra and just go on out with my kneenex and runny nose and sneeze my way through life!

I take Allegra too but when it's sinus, it doesn't help. I didn't take that picture-my DIL e-mailed it to me. One time I took a bunch of pics and didn't get the focus button down first and they were terrible. Getting a massage today an going to the mall to use my gift card from my sons and also buy gifts for the triplets and for my cousin's grandson whose bd we are going to Sunday. A couple from Brad's church also invited us to dinner Sat night so it will be a busy weekend. That's when my allergies act up because I eat things I'm allergic too. Brad and I finished off the birthday cake last night-lemon mousse-deliscious!!!!Got a call that my sewing machine can't be fixed by the person we brought it to-might get a small new one. I only need to sew a straight line and zigzag-I pd 1500 $ for that machine 21 years ago-it's all computerized, can monogram etc. But I only do quilts etc now. I am making some thimgs for the fair-gotta slow down because I am starting to hurt. Take care everyone. Mima

Happy Belated Birthday Mima!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Had my yearly mammo yesterday and ran some errands...got home at 3AM and unloaded the car and did 2 loads of laundry and put a meal in the crockpot...didn't get much sleep so hope today.............

We still have our skunk living here........he is digging up our yard looking for insects!

Thanks Candice!!!!I have to be at the car place at 8 am this morning-getting it thoroughly cleaned with a gift certificate my son gave me 3 years ago. Then to my girlfriend's house-walking distance -for a visit and a lunch at a tearoom for my bd-she also has a pool=wicked sinus today-that's what happens when I eat wheat and milk. Gotta be good. Bought a sewing machine at Target-nothing like my Elna but it works -I'll get used to it. It's very simple. I also had fun buying outfits for the triplets and also a birthday present for Jon Peter who will be one. He;s my other cousin's grandson. Yikes!!!!!!!So many babies. Can't wait to see mine again. 3 more months-that;s all. Joanne, how are you doing.? Everyone seems to be very busy-not a bad thing. We have a lot of free miles with Amtrak so we are planning a trip towards the rest-possibly when we are in Fl. Bye for now Mima

MAN ... THERE JUST AIN'T NO WAY!

The eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're satisfied - I 100% agree with but the rest of that junk is for the birds! I have to eat what I want and pretty much what everyone else is eating if I'm at a 'sit down' meal. I'm not going to 'cut out' any certain foods unless they are actually causing me PAIN ... like Mima was talking about her sinuses and stuff. Now, I know too many sweets will cause me to hurt more so I try to limit my sweets somewhat but I'm not even going to cut those completely out because I'll start to feel deprived and I'll pig out eventually. When you start eliminating any one food group from your diet you begin to feel deprived and you WILL eventually go off that diet and all will be lost. I still maintain that eating a BALANCED diet and I hesitate to even call it a DIET but staying on a blanced meal plan where you are eating NORMALLY 'for you', and normally doesn't always mean the same thing for every person, is the best thing for weight loss and weight maintance. You will lose more weight if you just eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full and only eat what you REALLY want and DON'T eat what you really don't care about! You don't even have to exercise to lose weight that way! It just comes off!!!

My daughter has been going to Weight Watchers for about 4 months now and she lost 12 pounds at the beginning but the last 6 weeks she hasn't lost any. As a matter of fact, I think she gained a couple of pounds back when she went on vacation. It's just too hard to stick on a 'diet' when you're out there trying to HAVE FUN! But if you're only thinking, AM I HUNGRY ... if that's all you have to concern yourself with ... and - what is it I REALLY want to eat? Then, HAVE THAT ... and ONLY that! I know, you're thinking, I'd only eat chocolate, but that wouldn't last for very long, trust me!

Hey Candice-thanks-my girlfriend and I were interested in what the core plan was. I was on the birthday plan-we went to a tearoom and I had melon soup-yum!!-and a small seafood melt with cheese-yum-and we split a chocolate trifle 3 ways. Yum-yum. Betty gave me the book Purpose Driven life and then remembered I was the one to recommend it but I said I would pass it on. And Sandy gave me the makeup bag to go with my new Vera Bradley pocketbook. And Brad had given me the wallet. And I had my car cleaned while we were out-it looks awesome. So I had a good day. Pray for Brad's cousin's daughter-she's 15 and ran away. They know where she is but she is mixed up with some bad kids. Going to catch up here today and rest but I slept later because I didn't have a nap!!!!!!Bye for now Mima

SOUNDS LIKE MIMA'S EATING WHAT SHE REALLY WANTS!

Meme..I thought the plan soudned restrictive too, I'm sticking with what I have been doing.....my hunger thermostat does not work any more so I can't go by that or I would either be over eating or under eating so I need to just journal and count pts which is fine with me. I eat anything too, just need to be more active..had a bad day yesterday, so much pain and laid on heat the whole time..............no workout for me when I'm like that.

Made a wonderful roasted tomato and eggplant pasta.....yum! 4pts

My girlfriend didn't like the plan either. They came and stripped the roof last night and I was getting an anxiety attack because a couple of guys were standing around watching and drinking beer-then they are going to drive away-not the roofers-I went out there a couple of times and tried to say something-too many bad memeories of living with drinking-Brad doesn't drink. Brad thought we should have a cookout tonight after they are done and I said no way-I'm not going through that-I don't have to watch it. Anyhow-they don't drink while they are roofing. Glad that's the last project. Going over to the church this am to work on the fair. I made 2 doll quilts-and I am making too big ones. Machine-easy. Bye for now Mima

Mima - first off, I want to wish you a belated happy birthday. Secondly, that is a beautiful little baby. You are keeping yourself busy and that is good.

Meme - I hope you are feeling better now. Allergies are not fun, that is for sure. I don't take anything, usually. However, my eyes and nose run and I am forever reaching for Kleenex. I have been putting Cortisone drops in my eyes the past few days.

Candice - Gosh, that new ww diet looks kind of brutal. I thought you were keeping pretty active with moving between 5000-10000 steps a day. That is a LOT of movement. Didn't you say one day, you were up to 17000? I hope you are feeling better today as well.

Anagram - I hope you are feeling less "down" this week. It is hard to remember our Moms at times, but it is necessary to healing. I know you hold good thoughts of your Mom. Hope you and hubby are out and about, doing what you enjoy.

Joanne - where are you? Congrats on your son getting married. My son is getting married on 16 October, so we will have a wedding to go to. His, Jackie, is a nice girl, and she comes with a 5 yr. old son, named James. He is a high spirited child to say the least, but sweet. He and Ashley are 6 months apart.

Not much new to report at this end. Still fighting the battle of the bulge, only doing it Meme's way. It is just plain easier. Hope everybody is having a good day.