Karen, I'm glad to hear your dad is doing better. We will keep him in our prayers and prayer for his continued healing. I trust the sale of your house in Colorado goes through and wish you the best as you settle into your new home.

Laurie - Glad to hear that your are feeling better. Allergies can really be a bugger. I have allergies too and I know how miserable they can make you feel. Do you take any kind of allergy meds? I take Allegra every morning. I couldn't make it without it.

Today I got up and walked for 1.5 miles. It has been a long time since I did any exercising, but it felt so good. I always feel much better about myself when I exercise. After my walk I came home and lifted weights and used the Ab Lounger. My goal is to exercise 5 days a week. The harderst part is getting up at 5:15 in the morning. If I waited until I came home from work it wouldn't get done because I am so tired when I get home.

Trust you all have a good week.

Kathy

HI GALS ~

EDIT ~ I just copied and pasted for the first time from one thread (my bologna one) to here to save time...Guess the little smileys faces don't come along...oh well heck!

Well Angie and I didn't make it to the harbor last night for dinner. We got busy in the yard, then the fog rolled in just a bit, so we decided to go to church and out to our fave Mexican joint for dinner. However, we did make the harbor this morning for a 3 mile or so walk. We didn't eat there though because there was a bazillion youth soccer kids there, for the annual beach soccer tournament, which meant the only place to grab coffee and something to eat at 7am was...well, let's just say FREAKIN' BUSY! Mom's and dad's needing their fix! We headed up the coast to the place we normally go to for croissants when we take the dogs for a walk along the beach wall in the morning.

We did have fun "remembering" our grown-up now youth and their beach soccer tournaments...and how, although we miss those days , we don't miss the loooooong days out in the sun!

Angie took off for a yoga class after we got home and I headed to the grocery store for a nice surprise! My daughter and her husband...aka kidnapper were there! They live about 45 minutes away but are up here for the kidnapper's mom's graduation from college nursing program. Angie and I will be attending the party after the ceremony...looking forward to it! It will be a taco bar The kids were in the store buying turkey for the tacos. I don't hate telling anyone that will listen what a looooser my son in law is (although everyone ignores me ) but I will tell you he is one outstanding cook! Of course I will tell you but never-ever him

Feeling a bit old today since my little sister turns 50 this week...ouch!

Well my LAKER game is coming on and I still need to load gear on my truck for tomorrow. I will catch up with all of you soon!

Angie will be home soon and then it's off to Kohl's....she has a 30% off coupon and I need new pants....ripped out the crotch in 2 pairs of pants this week! Stop laughing I caught one crotch on a tie wire climbing up scaffolding in an elevator shaft and ripped one climbing through some duct work to get to another shaft to work on...it's not because I ate too much pizza Friday night!...it's not

Hi everyone,
It's has been raining here like crazy for the last few days, guess we will get those tomato plants in the ground sooner or later.

Laruie, sorry you were feeling bad and glad you are feeling better now.

Wow Gary, two pairs of pants in on week. Thank goodness you have
Angie and Kohl's. Enjoy your dinner from the good cook!! LOL

Kathy, I know how excited you and your DH are about his new job. God is good. Glad you are back.

Bargoo, hoped you enjoyed that vacation, I will get one one day, not just staying home from falling. LOL

Rosebud, will be keepin you lifted up in prayer. Difficult people come and go, I hope they go soon.

Karen, hi there, can't wait to get to know you. Be blessed.

Ronni, I think of you everyday, you are always in my prayers.

Bevie, hi there baby girl? How is Dennis and your Mom. Tell Susie hi for me.

Has anyone heard from Annie? Miss her.

Hope everyone has a blest rest of the day and sneek back in soon.

Hugs and much love,
AGGIE

Kathy Congrats on the exercise! It makes such a difference. It IS hard to get up early, but the results are worth it!
If I have to exercise after work, I come home - grab a big glass of water and a protein snack. I change immediately into my workout clothes and get moving. If I sit down, it is ALL over

Once I get going, I find that I actually do have the energy to work out. It also helps me release some of the stress of the day.

Allergy meds - um yeah, I take generic Claratin when I absolutely have to (like this week). I usually don't start taking it until my symptoms are pretty severe, so it takes a while to kick in. I have a real aversion to medications and only take them when ABSOLUTELY necessary. (I know, a strange philosophy for someone married to a pharmacist )

Gary <HINT> When copying from one post to paste in another forum, hit the edit button on your post, and copy the text. Then hit cancel. Go to the new forum and paste. That way all the smilies come with.

New pants huh, likely story DH is very thankful we don't have a Kohls close by. I got that same coupon and the combination of 30% off AND their 70-90% sale racks is - well We actually program the location of Kohls into our GPS when we travel, just so I can stop and shop.

Ags - how are you doin' girl? Are your bumps and bruises healing? Here's hoping for a good weigh in again this week for you!

I did get in some shape boxing this afternoon. The wii chastised me for missing 3 days of workouts. I really don't appreciate being lectured by my computer game I can't even talk back to it - well, actually, I do. In fact I can throw back some pretty snarky comments, sometimes.

Enjoy your week all!
Prayers continuing!
Blessings,

Laurie

KATHY ~ did I hear you right? Did you say that allergies can give you boogers? Gee, I'm so glad I don't have too many allergies right now; well, as long as I avoid strong soaps and wool, that is ...

LAURIE ~ glad you told that computer game to mind its own business, and I'm glad you didn't catch any boogers from Kathy either!

GARY ~ I think you and my DH must be distantly related; he is slim, but invariably, he still ends up ripping out his crotches all the time. He says it is from squatting too much! Yah, right, sure ... I think it's from too many muffins! ... and puddings!

HI AGGIE ~ I hope you get a real holiday sometime soon; and not from any more falling. We really do hope that all your bumps and bruises and breaks are healing up well! You have kept your sense of humor; thankfully, that didn't get broken by the fall!

KAREN ~ yah, that was some mix up; I thought you were closing on the old place, and going hunting for a new one! Haha! Funny how words can get mixed up. Prayers for your DAD and his kidneys: so glad he is perking up. We hope that those people from Texas can buy the other place with the Lord's help. Those car seats sound so cute, and what a good idea for your little furrybabies. Do you strap them in; and I guess you can train them to adjust to anything really?

Well, our day started out cold and we even had some light *****, which melted as it hit the ground; but by late afternoon, the clouds cleared away and made way for sunshine for the rest of the day. We had a nice chicken dinner (I bet you guessed that); then DH moved our clothes to the spare room closet to protect them, as they are starting to put the new flooring down in the bedroom tomorrow morning.

Spent the afternoon downloading free songs (Aaron Neville's AVE MARIA and AMAZING GRACE); I tried to find LeAnn Rimes' Amazing Grace, but they didn't have it yet (I got those free music cards from Hunt's pudding cups that are Dh's favorite). It was nice to get them free too; DH says he's gonna go out and buy some more so he can have the puddings and I can get the free songs!!!

Now it's time to put my legs up and rest for the evening. HI to all our other CE friends and all our MIA's too! Take good care and I hope you all have A MARVELLOUS MONDAY!!! ^^Prayers^^ continue for you and yours ...ROSEBUD

Rosebud- I hope all that awful **** is gone. The weather around here has been crazy lately too. Yesterday after noon i was in a t-shirt and shorts and a little hot. This morning i wake up to a frost advisory and have to scrape ice off my car! Yuck! Hope everything goes well with the floors this week.

Laurie- Good for you to have that will power. Eating only half of something is one of my hardest battles. Hope you are feeling better!

Lauren- Welcome back!

Bargoo- Glad that you had a nice couple days with your son.

Karen- Prayer going up for yur father and family. Glad to see you go everything off the truck. Hopfully you arent too sore from it.

Gary- I tink you would make a great rachel. I could just hear that voice in my head when i read YUM-O. BUT your salad was missing 1 important thing that she NEVER forgets to use... some EVOO. GLad to see that the kidknapper brought back your little girl for you to see. And you know if you werent break dancing and dong splits in your pants you woulnt have holey jeans.


Hi Everyone! Looks like we were a chatty bunch this weekend. Thank you for all the prayers. My family made it home safe and without any confrontation. The weekend started off well. My boyfriend worked on my car for 14hours yesterday so i could get to work today. He saved me a LOT of money doing it himself. Im so thankful that he is mechanically inclined. My sister got a job already! Im so happy for her. She filled out the app on friday, i took her to the interview on saturday and she starts today. Thank you Lord.

I do have one other prayer request. Last night when DB was finishing up my car his mom walked over to our house to talk to us. (we live 5 houses down from her.) His aunt went into the hospital last night. Her heart stopped beating but they brought her back. Some type of infection has sprad through her body and she got septic shock. As of 2am when we left the hospital she was in critical but stable condition. Please pray that the family can stay strong through this. She is the youngest of 7 and im worried that she wont make it because she no longer wants to live. Even if she doesnt have the strength to pull through i hope his family has the strength to get through this.

My monday is starting off very slow here at work and dragging with the little sleep i got. HAppy Monday!

Hi, Everyone! So much going on here over the weekend-I hope I don't miss someone.

Nspired2lose, Lauren, & Kathy-glad to have you back! Hoping to get to know you all better in the future.

Laurie-sorry you were feeling poorly and glad you're now getting better. Allergies are a bummer, but I have the same aversions to meds and rarely take anything for mine.

Courtney-been praying for your family and very glad that everything went well. Prayers for DB's aunt and all of you. Seems that it never rains but it pours sometimes, huh?

Karen-prayers for your dad and your family. Glad you were able to get all the stuff unloaded, though.

Bargoo- You are already doing such faithful work here that I know God has much more in store for you. Glad you had a good visit with your son!

Gary & Aggie-thanks for thinking about me. It's been a long couple weeks. As far as the college things go, he's prepping to take the ACT again and improve his score to help with any scholarships he applies for. Fortunately, he's just finishing up his junior year and we have a little more time to do more searching and researching.


Been feeling a little better, but sure wish I could get this latest MS issue out of the way. And, of course, my systems that are affected are always embarrassing and not to be talked about in public, so I won't shock you all with details. We did have a busy weekend with several graduation parties to go to. The whole huge graduation party thing they do here in MN and IA is totally different than where I came from-everyone in whole towns & churches are invited and lots of food is prepared and it's considered an insult if you don't EAT! Then, DS1, DIL, and the grandkids came down yesterday, so we grilled brats and burgers and had a really nice time. Of course, DH and DS1 worked on their vehicle and DIL and I cooked & played with the kiddies . Pray for DS1. I don't remember if I told you that he had had an injury to his leg, but the skin and tissue started to die around the wound (he almost tore off the kneecap and originally had over 150 stitches to repair the leg), so he had to have surgery last week to remove tissue and close it up again. It's still not looking right and he sees the doc again Wednesday. But, he had been laid off and called back the day after the injury, but hasn't been able to go to work(it's now been almost 4 months since he had a paycheck), so pray that his leg is healing and he'll be able to report for work next week, as he hopes.

Beyond that, not much going on here. I was going to plant some annuals today, since our hopefully final freeze came last night, but it's very, very windy so might not be able to.

DH found out last week that his company is making all management take week-long no pay furloughs in the near future, and they're trying to get the union to agree to the same with the bargaining employees, which will really hurt (as the salary discrepancy between management and union is huge). We really don't need a week with no paycheck right now and I know many others have been in worse situations, so I hate to whine, but when there's only one paycheck in the household and we've been trying to help out DS1 and others, this will really be an issue for us if the union agrees. We're hoping they can negotiate 1-day-a-week furloughs for a series of weeks rather than having to take it all at once. This is where I know my faith is being tried and I'll keep praying for wisdom and patience. Thanks for listening!

Hope you all have a great day!

Hi Everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!! I did. Church was great yesterday and I ate lunch with a couple of friends at my favorite restaurant (mexican).

It was pretty cold here this morning. Usually not cold at all by mid May here in south Louisiana. The sun is shining out now so I am hoping that it warms up pretty quickly.

Kathy, I know exactly how you feel about getting up early. It's the hardest part for me too! I know that if I wait until after work something else will come up. It really helps me that my husband is getting up and walking with me.

Happy Monday everybody!

Hey guys, thank you so much for the warm welcome. I have been very busy this weekend and it's all running together! We kept our niece this weekend, she is 11 months and already walking. Life with her should get real interesting real quick. She is such a joy to keep and so good and so happy. Please pray for her parents though, they seem to like the idea of having a kid but don't want the responsibility and Grandma is the main caretaker for her.

I received an unexpected phone call yesterday morning while getting ready for work. A lady that I know called and asked for prayer for her grandfather. He is a pastor of a local church. Sunday morning he suffered a severe stroke and the last I had heard on Sunday afternoon was that he was doing a little better and had begun talking. The family is asking for prayers of complete healing.

Also, I am having a hard time right now. I know that I need to make a commitment to God about treating my body as the Temple of God that it is. I am afraid to make that commitment b/c I am afraid that I won't keep it. But then I think to myself that if I don't make this commitment based on that reason then my faith is lacking and I'm not trusting God that He CAN help me through this struggle. I am so frustrated with myself. ARGH!!!! I don't understand why I allow myself to be so easy going with something that is so life threatening. I guess it's because I feel like I'm healthy other than the fact that I am morbidly obese and my female issues, which that alone should concern me. DH and I are really wanting a child and have been trying but with our weight we are both usually too tired to ya know and also with my female issues it makes it harder to time it. ugh.... I'm sorry I didn't mean for this to turn into a pity party, I just had to get it out.

If you made it this far, thank you for listening.

ronni, thank you for your kind thoughts. I will be praying for your son that his leg will be healed. Also will be keeping the financial situation in prayer, a concern for so many.And of course praying for a touch from the great physician for your MS.

Courtney - prayers going up for DB's aunt!

Ronni - Grad parties are the same here. My tried and true excuse to turn down food is - "oh, my - it looks DELICOUS! But, I can't eat another bite. We have xx number of these to attend - you know how it is <wink>. When the dust settles, will you give/send me the recipe for xxx? I would love to try it when I can really appreciate it."

It works every time.

The unpaid time off is happening here too. Our local paper has been running a lot of articles on how to weather the economic crisis. So many folk are hurting right now. If you can, try to set aside some of each paycheck into a "fund" that you can use to weather the upcoming furlough.

Continued prayers for your health and healing, girl!

Tammy - sounds like a lovely Sunday - I love Mexican food!

Lauren Girl, you need to just give it over to God. He ALREADY KNOWS how successful you will be, what trials and bumps on the road you will face. I absolutely PROMISE you that you WILL FAIL - at some point you will stray off your plan a bit. It is OK. God does not ask you to be perfect, he only asks that you follow and trust. You CAN do this, girl! Every step in the right direction causes God to delight in your actions. You CAN'T disappoint him - NOPE!

Bargoo - prayers continuing for your health as well! Your grace and spirit shine through - even as you face such a difficult challenge.

I'm still struggling with this nasty allergy/cold/flu thing. I went back to work today, and sneezed and coughed my way through the day. Everyone made sure to comment on how awful I looked and sounded. They really know how to lift a gal's spirit

I'm off to take a nap - maybe I can shake this thing, who knows.

Blessings to all - and prayers continuing for each of you!

Laurie

Wow! It sounds like everyone has a lot going on in their lives. I'm so glad that no matter what are needs God is able for each one of them. He is

Jehovah Jirah - Our provider
Jehovah Rapha - Our healer
Jehovah Shama - God is with us.

He is all this and more. I myself fail to remember that God knows our needs and desires and He is there we just have to call on him. My prayers go out to all of you who have physical needs or have family members that need a physical touch from God.

Lauren - God loves you and here is there even when we fall down. But when you fall down, you don't just lay there you get back up and wipe the dust off and move on. I have fallen down on my diet for about 6 weeks, but I've finally dusted myself and getting back on track. As Laurie said, you will fall, but you will get back up and move on again. You can do this. God love you for who you are and not for who He thinks you should be. You are loved!

I walked yesterday and again today and my body is screaming at me. My plan is to get up again in the morning and walk. My husband has been walking with me so that helps.

Have a great evening everyone and God bless you all. May His presence be real to you tonight.

Kathy

HI GALS ~

Well the party at my son in law's mom's house for her nursing graduation went well...too well! The kidnapper sure is a good cook! From the fruit kabobs to the salads and guacamole dip to the tacos....turkey, black bean or refried to the (which I skipped) awesome dessert table. The guy outta swing a skillet rather than a tennis racket for a living! Of course...I am probably the reason he is such a good cook....I am the one that gave him all my old Rachael Ray mags and gave him a subscription for Christmas...so it is ME!! That is the hero...me-me-me!!

SCOOTER ~ Did you just sneeze on me? I hope you feel better soon and get that nap in. Angie just loves Kohl's! Seriously, my wife is not a mall person or one that loves to shop (notice I didn't mention the word jewelry ) but she never seems to mind going to Kohl's....as for me...I can buy cheap pants for work anywhere...I did pick up a new Hawaiian shirt though Great advice to Lauren. Now go roomba.

KAREN ~ I hope your dad is better today. Such a mix of emotions you must be going through dear...how are your "babies" holding up with the move? I hope when things settle in you will be able to join us more often...and still find time to treadmill!! Funny...your dad and the swimming pool....sounds like something my dad would be saying if he was still with us!

COURTNEY ~ Again, I just love your posts! I am so happy things seem to have gone well for your sister so quickly!! Send that boy over to my house Angie and I both need brakes jobs!! My mechanic (my ex-wife's SO) is out of action with his back...it is tough finding a good mechanic! Prayers as you requested.

BARGOO ~ DITTO what Ronni said...you have helped all of us so much...God has big plans for you Miss Elder

TAMMY ~ I can't get enough Mexican food here!...well...I can... and I do...too much sometimes! So happy to hear DH is walking with you...Angie and I make a point of doing that with each other and the dogs of course, several times a week...it has really given us strength in our relationship...2 things we always do...no matter how mad we may be (which hasn't happened for several years now) at each other...and that is we make sure we get our 3 mile walks in and make sure we get to church and we always no matter what...hold hands during the sermon....so many times just that touch has healed many a hurt feeling with each other. God is good...but as you know being a Pastor's wife...you need to be where He can reach you!

LAUREN ~ Laurie gave you great advice...especially the "you will fail" part. You will...we all do. But that is OK because Jesus didn't fail and never will. It is on His strength and what He did that we succeed....not on anything that we do or try to do. All He is asking is for that personal relationship with Him...that's it. You don't need to account to Him every single thing you do or say or eat...as long as you keep looking at Him as your strength through HIS WORD and HIS WORK. He gives you the resources to do what you need to do. He gives you the strength to do it. He gave it to you before you were ever born! If you take what He has given you and use it to lose the weight that He wishes you to for your own health it will not be magical....nope...it will be much, much more than that! But regardless of the outcome of your weightloss journey...you will not fail God...you can't...IMPOSSIBLE! as long as Jesus is your Savior....We go to God through Him...He will not fail you. You can do this! We are some of His resources in your journey

RONNI ~ My neighbor has MS so I got it Your son is on the right track....having time to re-take tests and time to research scholarship options. Because both my kids did very well in college...both magna cum laude/with honors for my daughter...I know a little bit....and I will say that after knowing so many of their friends...it really matters more on the person and not the school as far as success. My kids have friends that did not have the grades to get good scholarships...but had the effort...they are doing OK...other kids that had the grades...went to good schools....are not doing quite so well....thinking the grades would carry them through....gotta have that effort!

ROSEBUD ~ Dont'cha just love LeAnn's AMAZING GRACE! on the crotch story! Enjoy the new floor. Prayers for the legs and for healing within the family for the struggles that concern you all.

AGGIE ~ I hope your days are less crazy!!

Gotta get dinner going...be good gals!

Hi all!

Wow what a week.Lots of things to do and never enough time to do it.Life is like that at times.I did go to the coast and have that fish and chowder lunch that I have been planning and looking forward to,with my dh and dd,But we got caught up in a big Festival crowd and so we I didn't make it to the beach as planned.But at least I got away for a while.Next time Ocean here I come!

Rosebud:Regarding the post 5/14, Thanks for the encouragement.I do deal with sabotaging people in my life at times.Im in a christian recovery group for co-dependancy and food behaviors and anything else that God need to expose to the light.So I agree and fully am with ya on what you said.I also buy and keep on hand "My Foods".Post 5/17 I love Aaron Nevilles voice.

Lauren: I also am going through a similar thing with the treating my body as a temple.In my support group we talk about this at times,and it helps me some in that.I also had female issues,severe ones! So I sympathize.I went to Doc and resolved mine.I will pray for you.Message me if you want to talk about it.

Kathy: Thank you for the blessing for us all.Those words are very inspiring.

Gary: Was your mother's name Judi?

Goodnight all.Its early evening here and a warm one at that.It was in the 80's today.Nice to have sunny weather.God bless all.

Judi

Had a good, but tiring day; and the new floor looks fab!

COURTNEY ~ glad everything went so well for you sister and family; prayers for DB's Auntie as well ...

THANKS, JUDI ~ glad to be of help; yes, I am a big fan of Aaron's voice too: awesome tones!

Time to rest now though; the other floor gets done later in the week. Have a TERRIFIC TUESDAY ... ALL!ROSEBUD^^PRAYERS^^ ascending for you and yours ...