:wave: HELLO EVERYONE ~ well, we did go out to the lot yesterday, it was :sunny: but way too hot; the morning was nice though, so DH got lots done. He was very happy that by lunch time, he had half the entire floor crossbraces finished. This is a slow, tedious job when you are working by yourself, but he also wants to make sure the floor is very secure and will last our lifetime. He said that he had to correct a few booboos he made along the way; but he is ahead of schedule, so he needn't worry about it too much.

The weather got way too hot by mid-afternoon, so we packed things up and came home, just in time for dinner. I managed to get 2 walks in today (one long and one short); credit moi! Plus I also put some bagged black earth on my stone garden and clipped some grass around my bushes (more exercise; kudos to me).

I have been studying various plans and am instilling all the best tips from them that I think will help lead to success. I like the positive affirmations from the BECK Plan, so you will notice me using them here and there. We already say "congrats for this or that; or kudos to you" but I will also be adding "credit moi or you" as well.

LAURIE ~ as you were saying that your garden was calling; I thought that it's better that your garden is calling than junky foods: credit you, that's a victory! I also now look at almost any activity as an opportunity to use up some energy (as in calories); gardening is a great one. This is becoming well incorporated into my psyche! I just finished brushing down NIKO; and boy, that gives your arms a good work out -- I even found myself wondering how often I could brush him to burn some more C's ... :lol: I may have a bald dog by fall. ;)

I shared in the Physical Challenges thread "My Circle of Success" strategies; and thought it was funny how so many us are learning the same things from our weightloss journies. We are all changing and growing in many similar ways ...

BOOTSIE ~ I agree with Laurie that you may have had an allergic reaction becuz DH and I had that test last year and my blurriness only lasted for a few minutes or so. STill prayin' for rain; we had a doozy of a storm last night -- maybe that will head your way!

GARY ~ hope you and yours have a great family day together; you are blessed indeed ...

So, I made a list of mini-goals for today and got most of them done already (another tip from Dr. Beck; am really liking some of her ideas): 1) made a container of snack veggies; credit moi. 2) made a fruit salad; credit. 3) had homemade soup for lunch; credit. 4) made mock banana icecream; kudos 2 me. 5) brushed NIKO very well; credit. 6) did stretchy band exercises; kudos. 7) did tummy tucks first thing this am; credit. 8) posted here; credit moi. :D

Gee, when you look at things from a positive point of view, and see all that you got right -- you are much more encouraged. Too often we focus on the negative (what we didn't do); I am loving 'patting myself on the back' for all that I achieved today!

Maybe I will try and pick up one of Dr. Beck's book the next time I am near a bookstore; might be well worth it, I think. Lots of folks here say that her books have helped them immensely, esp from a psychological point of view. I think that is one advantage we as Christians have too; we can count our many blessings and benefits as well.

The weather here has been really nice all day; perfect for Dh and his hobbies and very comfortable for me. I just stayed home today and did my own thang. Hope you all are having a pleasant weekend; and that you all have a very blessed and peaceful Sunday tomorrow. :hug:ROSEBUD:hug: ^PRAYERS^ are continuing for you and yours ...

Gary, sounds like another fun day around your place! Good balance, good times :)

Rosebud - I absolutely LOVED your post! I agree, Dr. Beck has some really good stuff in her book! And, all those little, day-to-day things really do make the difference.

I do believe that successful weight loss (like success in any other area) is a series of choices. Each one doesn't amount to that much, but together - WOW!


Church was great today, with the exception of wearing too many hats and running around like a crazy person :lol:

We got lots of rain today, which makes it a perfect day to stay indoors and enjoy a quiet Sabbath.

I hope your day was blessed as well!
Prayers ascending!

Laurie :scooter:

HI GALS ~

Shuffleboard went well although Angie and I lost early in the match....dang. We lost to my sister and brother in law (who eventually won it all) by a couple of points and then to one of my nieces and her boyfriend by 3...dang...oh well...life goes on!

One of my son's friends that I haven't seen for awhile came....he is a great kid, I have known him for years, went in the Army then Iraq....we used to hook up when he came home but since he got out he has been busy with his life...finding it....he was glad to be here. We have a family picture wall...all races! of "our family"...he is Mexican and isn't on the wall yet, although we do have pictures of him in photo books from high school track/cross country teams....I told him he needs to make 2 family gettogethers to make the wall!

The party went well. Even though we didn't win the trophy!

Church was bittersweet as our vicar and his wife were here for their last day. They head "home" to Washington state then in Sept. off to Fort McMurray Canada for his call. A big change. A very nice man, 55 yrs. old...Angie loved having his wife in her yoga class each week.

SCOOTER send some of that rain over to ROSEBUD and BOOTSIE!

I am getting ready for the big family reunion August the first. We have it at the Community center but I have to get everything together. The meat,paper goods, fighting tools(silver ware) It is the 15th reunion we have put on and my friend is going to put on the program this year ,suppose to be very special.
Today I am going to make a new dog pen for one of my dogs under a bunch of shade trees, hope it helps her stay cooler. She is a border collie and she always wants to work but she is not trained yet. I was hoping she would mellow out some before i started to really training she does not have much patience in being still for any length of time. Wish I was more like her. Well best hit the road before it gets any hotter.

Gary - glad the party went well! Sounds like it was a lot of fun!

Bootsie - still trying to send some rain your way. Sounds like you are keeping busy!

A productive day here. Work went well, and I got in shape boxing after I got home :) And, I did get in a two mile walk today too :D

I gotta come up with some dinner ideas since DH is working until 6.

So, I'm off to scour my cookbooks. Hope everyone has a blessed evening!

Prayers continuing!

Laurie

:wave: HI ~ we have had :rain: and :sunny: on and off all day; interesting really. We have :sunny: right now. DH is making himself some of his favorite -- chicken super dogs; and I am gonna have leftovers from yesterday ... noodles with mushroom sauce with meatballs (just have to reheat it in the microwave).

Got up early this AM by a phone call that DH's neice was on her way here from down south for fly-in fishing trip. We spent the morning doing our spiff chores and they were supposed to come by and visit, so we waited and waited and no show ... DH was none too pleased, I must say. They might show up after dinner, so I guess I should get that over with too.

Gee, company should come more often, this place shines ... :lol: Actually, it stays pretty good becuz there is only two of us here. DH is burning something; our alarm just went off and scared the daylight out of me! :lol:

So, I got lots of exercise in today; was even working up a sweat -- kudos 2 me! So later, I will have a nice cool shower and do my hair. Yesterday I made a big container of veggies snacks and still have some for today too. KOP (kepted on plan) today too; credit moi for that. I am stoked and doin' very well lately.

BOOTSIE ~ will be sending some of this rain down your way. Our NIKO is part bordie collie and black lab; he gets ansy to do his own thang too. He knows every word we say though, but sometimes, he wants to do things his way; and we have to remind him who's boss by raising our voice tones a bit. Other than that, he's a good boy.

Well, gotta go join DH for dinner right now ... have a good night! :hug:ROSEBUD :hug:

I'm home and tired. But it was a great trip! God continues to amaze me in His goodness!!!!

I hope all of you are feeling His love and blessings along with His blanket of peace that surrounds you. Enjoy the moments with Him and never be in a hurry to leave the King's presence. I'm trying to remember that right now. I want to feel Him as intimately as possible. I want to have that to nourish me and strengthen me.

Peace

Hi Rayne! Glad you had a safe trip and back home but had a great trip! get some much needed rest. Missed you!

Good Morning. I just thought that I haven't been here for awhile and I really needed to let you all know how much I appreciated all the prayers and thoughts. We did go down last Wednesday to the lake and spread Dad's ashes. I've attached a couple pictures. The first one is the man from the mortuary out in the boat spreading his ashes. That is Honey Creek Bridge in the background. The second one is my son and his family standing up on the deck the restaurant we ate at. We walked down to the docks just to the left of my son there on water so I was able to get some pictures. My Dad said he wanted to be between the restaurant and Honey Creek bridge. I would have rather been able to do it myself but was out voted so at least I know my Dad is at rest now. Afterwards we all went to the restaurant and had dinner and told stories and shared memories. It was fun hearing some of the stories again.

I'm hoping that things will get better between my brother and sister now. They have both been over once since then so it is a positive step in the right direction.

Everyone have a great day.

Rosebud - :D :cp:

Bev - glad the weekend went well!

Karen :hug: prayers continuing for your family!


A quick post tonight. We walked downtown and took in a wine tasting event at our favorite coffee house and wine bar. They serve "samples" of three of their menu items - perfect size for staying OP :D

The weather is glorious, so we also had a fire outside and just relaxed and enjoyed the evening. A nice balance for a crazy work day :yes:

We are starting to get prepped for our next excursion (next weekend), planning our stops throughout Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I'm really looking forward to all the hiking and waterfalls :D

:wave: HI FOLKS ~ we had lots and lots of :rain: today, so we prayed that it would go down across NA and to the lower states to fill up their wells too. It cleared up and the :sunny: came out from dinner time til dusk. DH's sister came by for a visit this afternoon; and our niece and BIL got off really early this AM for the fly-in fishing trip: hope they don't get eatin' up by buggies. Hope they catch some nice Pickerel or maybe something even bigger? :shrug:

Did laundry this AM and besides visiting and chatting; did some stuff on my PC today. I made up a 'Daily Exercise List'; credit moi ... and a 'Daily Sample Menu List' as well; that should be helpful to give me some ideas when I'm stuck for ideas; kudos to me! :lol:

I tried to make a dentist appointment becuz part of an old filling fell out, but they changed my appointment 3 x times. I dunno what the problem was; I had an appointment to go in tomorrow AM and she cancelled that to the 9th, and now it's set for the 14th of September, putting it off even more. My SIL says that they double booked her and cancelled one today. DH says that maybe I should go to the city where they have a lot more dentists and they may appreciate the business more. He has a point. When I was in college, I went to a really nice dentist there; I may yet see if I can get in there. Part of the problem is that we only have 2 dentists here and one only works 2 days a week in this town; and that's why some of my friends go to the city. I just thought it would be handier to go here, but maybe it's not necessarily better. hmmm... what to do? what to do?

LAURIE ~ thanks so much for the encouragement; it's much appreciated really ... wow, you and your DH are always doing such fun things; and sounds like you have so many great places to go in your city/town too. We used to have bonfires all the time at our old place, but DH doesn't think they would let us have them here. However, we saw a neighbour just down the street, have one just last Friday night. He is a Christian youth pastor, and did this for the young people's group, which was quite fun for them, we thought ...

HI KAREN ~ nice to hear from you; glad that your special day went so well; I can see why your Dad liked that place, it looks really serene. I love lakes myself; DH and I often go and just sit there and enjoy the scenery. When we were kids, we practically lived at the lake (actually we did for a while); and we had picnics there regularly. My mom used to say what a better way to spend a day, especially when you have 6 kids and it's free ...

HI BEV ~ glad you had a fun and safe trip ...

:wave: HI BOOTSIE ~ any rain yet?

HI to all our other CEer's and MIA's too; hope you all have a WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY tomorrow!!!

:hug:ROSEBUD :hug: ^Prayers^ continue for you and yours ...

Bootsie, Karen, Rosebud - thanks! :)

I feel like i never include personals...
hoping for rain for those that need it! gary - shuffleboard???? :D

pray for my dog-pumpkin. she misses susie's dog Rudy... :(

Gary,sorry that you are losing your vicar, praying that God will send the right person to take his place. We had good news from our pastor. He is 42 and just been married 18 months, he announced that he and his wife are expecting a baby , everyone is happy for him. A number of years ago he had a romance with a young woman and proposed to her but she didn't want to be a minister's wife. Of course he would not give up the ministry even though he had a broken heart. It was a long time before he met the "right one" and everyone is so happy for him.

bargoo - such a sweet story! Thanks for sharing it!

Bev - prayers ascending!

Rosebud - I'm trying to send sunshine your way. It is glorious here today!

School is calming down a bit (only a bit) and hopefully, my schedule will be "normal" for the next few days. Then chaos breaks loose again when all the staff come back.

With so many budget cuts and layoffs, lots of folk will be moving around and taking on more responsibilities. On top of training 170 teachers a new grading and attendance system, I get to train those folk too. It should make for a very interesting fall!

But, I'm not complaining - just happy that I still have my job!

I gotta fly, my turn to make dinner tonight. I'm thinking a nice ww pasta dish with grilled vegetables, but I'm not sure on the sauce. Maybe something from scratch ...

Prayers continuing for all!

Laurie :scooter:

Rosebud are not the border collie amazing! Sunny is sitting when I tell her to now and not getting up till I tell her, that a do, then she is off again! I give her something special to eat and she buries it, hmmm...I want her to eat it to gain weight not bury it. She is something else , she does love poached eggs though, eats them like she is starving! She puts dirt over her dog food ,how can that taste any good like that. Yuck!

Still no rain, cloudy 30% chance but no rain drops. So happy you got some rain Rosebud! Thank you all for the prayers, I just know God will send some sooner or later, just one day closer!

Went walking this morning with a friend of mine, 2 miles , nice to be able to walk and talk and the walk made me feel really good even though I sweated . I think when you sweat it does a-lot of good for your body. My clothes were solid wet!