DEAREST SISTERS & BROTHERS IN CHRIST ~ I love to celebrate lots of things -- with the aim to bring a good and Godly and fun spirit into everything that we do. If Christians don't set a good and wholesome example for others, then who will? I am showing people that they can celebrate and have fun in this life without negativity and anything dark added into it by celebrating ALL SAINTS EVE or Halloween as it is now called, in a nice way.

I don't think denial and hiding from life is always the best answer, esp for young persons who struggle so much these days. If we take all the fun out of life for our children, teens, and young adults -- then they run the other way as soon as they can and rebel. Oh, how often have I heard this lament by Christian parents -- why is my Johnny or Suzy rebelling so much? Well, just ask Johnny or Suzy ... :rolleyes:

When we were children, we celebrated Halloween in a good way too; we dressed up in fun costumes like clowns and pumpkins. I told DH that I may even set out my Angel this year too; why not? Something is only bad if you think it is; something is only bad if you make it bad. Something is good when you make it good. The same thing goes for any celebration or holiday and that includes Christmas or Thanksgiving or Easter or birthdays or whatever.

Still I say and believe -- "TO EACH HIS OWN" -- on this matter and any others. I have prayed about this and believe that it is perfectly fine. I have been complimented many times by parents and others on how pleasant and uplifting my display is. We have to keep some good in this world or it will all go to pot ... literally.

I remember discussing this with my mother many years ago -- some people thought that GOD should take all the Christians out of the world. If GOD does that, then who will share the gospel with those who are left? Who will set a goodly and GODLY example for others? Who will show people how to have fun and celebrate in a nice way?

I would rather show them something good, than have them think that ALL Christians are a bunch of boring, old fuddleduds who don't know how to laugh or have any fun; or a bunch of self-righteous, judgemental snobs -- which just isn't true!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!


Oh yes, it is "HAPPY" Halloween, not gloomy, boring, sad, evil, dark Halloween. BTW, I am not trying to change anyone's mind -- I am just sharing another point of view. GOD BLESS ... :D

BTW, one of our local churches has a HALLELUJAH NIGHT at their church and give out treats & stuff for the kids and families as an alternative; which I think is a wonderful idea. Kudos to them for being creative and finding a way to bring Christ & His church into this celebration!

I'm home!

WELCOME BACK, GARY ~ you've been gone a couple of weeks now, it seems; hope you get to spend some time home with Angie and your girls for awhile now. And, we are glad to see you drop by here as well; have a restful weekend ...

We had a busy day shopping today; boy, I walked my feet off, but I still feel pretty good. I must have exhausted DH as he said he was tired and has gone to bed already, so I am alone here just cruising the net ... :lol:

I picked up a couple of 'SCARED CROWS' for my display today; they were on for half-price at the cash (what a nice surprise) -- only $3.97 each. Actually they are not really "scared" crows; they are happy, smiling straw Crows. I put one on each end of my deck and they look like Sentient Guardian Angels standing out there! ;)

My Bonhomme has angel wings too, so he looks like an angel as well -- I still think I will put my Angel in the corner. DH wants to put our other pumpkin out there too. We'll wait and put that out that night. Oh, I think I am having more fun than the kiddies this year ... :D

Well, we have had some ***** twice today after the temps dropped down to 0 C and it sure looked pretty, but I hope it won't stay for the weekend. I tried to find a new outdoor thermometer and they were sold out; do we love monitoring the weather here or what? :) So tomorrow, we'll go searching at another place and see if they have any or not.

Hope all our CE friends have a HAPPY & FUN HALLOWEEN WEEKEND ... or, just a nice, peaceful weekend! Rosebud :flow2:

Ah... I love to see people have fun in a good way. I decorate, this year got an old wheel barrel and put a bale of hay in it and a girl scare crow with braids like mine and her pumpkin basket sitting on the front and got a standing fan bottom part and stuck another scare crow ,boy standing up like he is wheeling her. When I think of Halloween I think of the end of harvest time, good times, good friends, time change and Thanksgiving right around the corner then the birth of Jesus Christ!

But there are some that make it scary and no I don't like that part. It is just like money can be made good or bad.

HEY THERE GARY!

Hi all! It's been a crazy week here. We got our son married off on Saturday and had a great time with family on Sunday. Then I went into relaxation mode. I did a lot of sleeping (catching up from the weekend) and reading. Lovely. I did try a bit to stay eating healthy and exercising but didn't do as well as I hoped. Back at it now though.

I'll post more when I have more time.

HI GALS ~ :)

Well I think I am finally home for a while and work has finally let up so I can breath :) but...it just might get slower than I want it too :( Not too worried, we have work coming up..a couple of big projects and we are working on getting some remodel work. The BMW delearship is almost finished and I just completed my end of the Mercedes delearship until the last phase, but that won't be for several months.

Angie is upstairs carving her pumpkin for Trunk or treat at church tomorrow night. We will be costumed in prate gear, same as last year...my kids and their spouses are coming this year too :carrot: I will post some pics of last year at the bottom.

Good to see new people here :carrot: WELCOME! :carrot:

I will try and catch up more later...missed you all :hug:

:wave: HI GARY ~ yes, I remember that you and ANGIE won a prize(s) for the best costumes last year; and they really did look great too. Sounds like another year of fun for your church again this year. We put the finishing touches on our display yesterday; and just have some pumpkins to set on a table tomorrow.

We went searching for a few things we couldn't find yesterday like an outdoor thermometer as the one we had on our porch was finished. We did find one today and even got a couple Christmas gifts today as well. DH bought me an adorable porcelain Angel girl that bows her head and prays as she sings "SILENT NIGHT". Her hands clasp together as in prayer while her fiber optic wings change many colors of the rainbow ... she is so lovely!

I'm trying to pick up a few small things here and there when I see them too; to get ahead of the mad rushes in December. Some stuff you have to get in November becuz they sell out so fast here; you have to be on top of things for sure.

We had lovely :sunny: all day today, so of course, all the snow was gone today, but tonight we had a light sprinkling again, and it looks pretty. I wouldn't mind if it stayed like this for another week or so; but will it though -- only GOD knows? :shrug:


HI WILMA ~ oh, a wedding and working full-time would be a lot at one time; congrats to your son! Glad to hear from you too; long time no hear! :lol: We all have some up and down days; the most important thing is to keep chipping away at it. Persistence and perseverance for the long-haul is what really matters ... :D


YES, BOOTSIE ~ our Thanksgiving is held earlier in Canada: usually the second week of October as our growing seasons are shorter here and by then, the harvest is usually in or close to it. Some hardy root veggies can be harvested through October here. So we put up our fall display then and just leave it up for Halloween; then we leave the lights up and switch to the Christmas stuff.

NO, we don't ever put out anything goulish or scary (I don't like that either) -- we have our Pumpkin Man, with the two straw Crows, two straw Ladies, two Pumpkins Kitties, and the Bonhomme Clown (our carnival friend). We also have a bunch of other pumpkins in varying sizes that will go on our porch table tomorrow night as well. The porch itself is lined with green, orange, and yellow lights wrapped in between with red & orange Maple Leafs.


They are calling for more :sunny: for the next fews days, but we may get a few light ***flurries*** in between. Hope you all have a pleasant Sunday and good week coming up too ... Rosebud :flow2:

HI GALS ~

Angie and I just finished a tostada dinner, she is behind me on her new laptop...sure saves fighting over computer time :D We are watching old TV shows ~ Family Ties, Doogie Howser and Happy Days :)

I have been off work for a couple of days...I really needed it!...but have been busy with chores that have needed done. I also am re-doing the garage gym and storage area.

I have been able to get my dogs out for 3 miles every day...the weather has been absolutely gorgeous...cool mornings and evenings and high 70's during the day.

Halloween at church was fun...we took second place this year instead of first :(....:D....my kids and dil showed up to help out all dressed in their pirate gear...way fun! I told Angie we will shoot for 3rd next year so we can sweep 1-2-3 trophies then go on to another theme. We had a great time then the kids all wanted to go to our Mexican food joint...fine with me! :carrot:...even though Angie and I had just gone two nights before...but seriously...I can't ever have too much Mexican food :)

Well, I have read all your posts...will catch up more later....back to my recliner next to Angie's...

Prayers!

:wave: HELLO TO OUR CHRISTIAN FRIENDS OUT THERE ~ We had a loverly day today ... full :sunny: all day long, so we just had to get out and enjoy it. We went up town to run some errands, shop a bit (hunting for some more good books), and picked up a few fresh salad stuff for this week too.

I picked up another Thomas Kinkaide Christmas book, and some more Lavyrle Spencer's books (2 of them), plus some others as well. I will have a nice supply of good stories to read for the winter; oh, I can't wait.

GARY ~ I think that's cute the way you and ANGIE have matching recliners to relax in together at night. We don't have room for that in our livingroom; our couch takes up one wall and the piano and organ another. Then the computer desk is on the third and our big picture window the fourth. So, we don't have anymore space. Our livingroom could probably fit in your front foyer ... :lol:

Well, that prompts me to dream of a bigger home with a bit bigger rooms for the future; hope GOD hears my thoughts about that ... ya, I'm sure He does and he has only heard my prayers for umpteen years. ;) And, I know He has heard those too ... now, we don't want it too big, then it would be harder to heat, but adequate is good! :)

You sure have some good temps down there: high 70's -- hmmm, you are so spoiled. The temps have fallen tonight, but I just cranked up the ole furnace a notch ... ah, that's better. Gee, it's just past midnight; didn't realize it was so late -- time to go get some rest now.

Hope you all have a great day tomorrow; take good care now ... Rosebud :flow2:

Well darn...my post from yesterday didn't happen...guess I forgot to submit it...dang...

Angie is teaching yoga at church and I have leftover turkey/mashed potatoes/gravy/green beans and sourdough bread ready to warm up for dinner....yum-o!

I have been busy at work the last 2 days but should have a short day tomorrow then some time off...

I will catch up tomorrow or this week-end...

PROMISE!!

Received this from a friend today thought I would share it with y'all.




IT IS A WONDERFUL MESSAGE!! ENJOY!



Once upon a time there was a girl who had four boyfriends. She loved the fourth boyfriend the most and adorned him with rich robes and treated him to the finest of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the best.


She also loved the third boyfriend very much and was always showing him off to neighboring kingdoms. However, she feared that one day he would leave her for another.


She also loved her second boyfriend. He was her confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with her. Whenever this girl faced a problem, she could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult times.


The girl's first boyfriend was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom. However, she did not love the first boyfriend. Although he loved her deeply, she hardly took notice of him!

One day, the girl fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, "Now I have four boyfriends with me, but when I die, will I be a alone?"

Thus, she asked the fourth boyfriend, "I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing, and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No way!" replied the fourth boyfriend, and he walked away without another word.


His answer cut like a sharp knife right into her heart.


The sad girl then asked the third boyfriend, "I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" 'No!’ replied the third boyfriend. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to marry someone else!" Her heart sank and turned cold.


She then asked the second boyfriend, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the second boyfriend. "At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave. “His answer struck her like a bolt of lightning, and the girl was devastated.


Then a voice called out: "I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." The girl looked up, and there was her first boyfriend. He was very skinny as he suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the girl said, 'I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!'


In truth, you have four boyfriends in your lives:


Your fourth boyfriend is your body. ! No matter how much time and effort you lavish in making it look good, it will leave you when you die.


Your third boyfriend is your possessions, status, and wealth. When you die, it will all go to others.


Your second boyfriend is your family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for you, the furthest they can stay by you is up to the grave.


And your first boyfriend is your soul. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power, and pleasures of the world. However, your soul is the only thing that will follow you wherever you go. Cultivate, strengthen, and cherish it now, for it is the only part of you that will follow you to the throne of God and continue with you throughout Eternity.


In essence, it's the REAL YOU....... Thought for the day:


Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray. Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect.


It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections.

BOOTSIE ~ that's a good story; yes, we mustnt' neglect our spiritual soul ... I read this the other day about our lives here on earth -- "We aren't human beings having a spiritual experience; but spiritual beings having a human experience."

HI, GARY ~ busy, busy, busy ... as usual! Glad your work days are more reasonable now ... have a great weekend! :D


We had beautiful, glorious, loverly, :sunny: all day long today -- what a pleasant surprise for us, so I sat in my rocker and caught as many Vitamin D rays as I could. Took down my leaves today, but now the porch is all ready for the Christmas decos. We leave our lights there from the previous holidays; and now I can just change the bulbs around as I like.

:wave: Hi to all our other CE friends out there; hope you are all having a nice weekend too. We're just having a quiet night at home; DH is watching old DUKES OF HAZZARD shows that I got him for Christmas last year ...

Have a blessed day of rest tomorrow ... Rosebud :flow2:

HI GALS ~

Just sitting here watching Andy Griffith reruns while Angie goes from knitting a sweater for our soon to be GRANDdaughter, KAIA FAITH.

She went on a hiking/yoga trip with my daughter this morning while I went to church, joined by my son and ex-wife...my daughter in law was out of town for a USC alumni cheerleader baby shower for another girl.

I spent most of the day, after church, in the family room watching my NASCAR race and my RAIDERS...and my sil's Chargers games....lay-z :D

but I loved it!

I may meet up with CBMARE this week as she is in my area...

tomorrow Angie and I are meeting a Pastor that was our Vicar 3 years ago, he is here from Indiana for a convention...I am excited!

well....better get back to TV with my wife :)

I will be off a lot this upcoming week....I will catch up then :hug:

I had an interesting morning in church today. I am fighting a cold but went to church anyway as I had to attend an important meeting afterwards. I had a coughing fit and just couldn't stop, I was digging around in my purse trying to find a lozenge and the pianist got up and got a glass of water and brought it to me.Of course I was sitting near the front so everybody saw him bringing my water. Embarrasing !

I think this cold must be hitting the road and finding everyone. I think the Pianist knew what you were going through and just wanted to help you. I have been trying to stay away from people myself for I am afraid this is not allergies but a virus. For if it was allergies my husband and I would of had it at the same time but he had his last week. One of my friends said she had hers for 5 weeks! I am better today but still not up to par, it has settled in my chest now. My husband sneezed around 200 times but I have only sneezed 5 times. But been coughing like I have the whooping cough. Praying for you Bargoo, to get well soon.

BARGOO ~ am sending up some prayers for your cold & cough. You know, that pianist will be blessed for bringing you that cup of cold water. You needed it, so no need to be embarrassed ... :hug:

Thanks, Bootsie and Rosebud , yes it was very kind of the pianist to do that. I was just thinking the people around me were probably thinking . I wish she would stop coughing so we can hear the service. Still have it today but I am trying to do all the usual things we do to try to get rid of a head cold. A cold is not that serious but they can sure make you feel lousy.

After being under the weather a bit and recovering from the wedding I am back in action again. I'm going to my monday nite class and am going to exercise in the mornings before work. Feels so good.

There is so much sickness in my family and I ask for prayer for them. Three members are fighting cancer and my mom is recovering from a car accident. It's wierd for me to feel such elation at what's going on with my kids and yet the exact opposite when I think about other family members suffering.

I'll be praying for those colds and coughs. Tis the season!!

:wave:HI WILMA ~ will definitely send up prayers for your family members who are so sick; but glad that you are feeling better as well ... :hug:


Yes, this is the time of year that many people catch colds & flus; although I seem to notice people with colds during the summer months as well. Our local papers and such are reminding us all to wash our hands; wash our hands; wash our hands ... whenever we have been out in the public as a precautionary measure.

UPDATE ~ Well, I finally got my call about the colonoscopy test -- it will be on Monday, November 22, 2010 but not sure of the time yet. I have to go the Wednesday before for the pre-op consult for preparation, and they will tell me the exact time then ... eeks, I will try and not be too nervous about it. I would also appreciate prayers about this test too; thanks so much. I am feeling better and the symptoms seemed to have eased off, but they want to make sure and check anyways ...

DH had some pictures blown up of his parents and grandparents; we finally got them back today, but we had to make 4 trips (for only 2 pictures) becuz they made a mistake (did the wrong picture). So I put them in some nice frames for him and we put them up on our livingroom walls today.

Other than that, I just did my usual light housechores today, plus meals & dishes. Of course, I did lot of my early morning exercises upon waking; I too feel so good that I get them done first thing and don't put them off. This was the best exercise strategy that I have ever tried. I have also seen huge payoffs for the toning exercises as well in smaller clothes too.

We have been having awesome weather here -- :sunny: again today (that's 4 days in a row) and they are calling for another day or 2 more. We are finally having our fall, after all. We had a heavy Jack Frost last night, but then things cleared up nicely.

I was explaining in the PRAISE THREAD yesterday that I had some kind of MALWARE incident with my PC the other night. Some kind of BUG erased all my images, including pictures, emoticons, smilies, and worst of all -- the SUBMIT REPLY buttons. So, I can't post here using FIREFOX yet, so I had to come in through IE. However, I did get a reply from the Mozilla people quite promptly; they were quite sympathetic, and felt it was likely some kind of MALWARE program that caused the problem, and gave me a few hints how to remedy it. Still workin' on it though ... ;)

Hope all our CE friends are having a great week ... Rosebud :flow2:

Going to gather pecans tomorrow with my friend down at my brother in laws. I gave my friend some eggs to put in her incubator she bought at a garage sale for 1 dollar and four of them hatched she watched two hatch , she was just like a Mother hen she would turn them each day. She was so excited watching them come out of the egg. It is so nice to listen to people who really enjoy life. Those 4 baby chickens are already spoiled rotton, she brought them up to the store this afternoon for me to see . She says she is not going to get attached but lets see........think she already is.
I tried to post here earlier but it would not let me for some reason......

HI GALS ~ :)

Happy Veteran's Day ladies.....thanking God and our Troops for our freedom!

Angie and I just got home from a 4 mile walk and breakfast at the beach with Reba and Rylee....the weather was absolutely gorgeous...the sun was out and the weather cool as we started walking at 6:30...real warm by the time the walk was over. I had a really good bacon/spinach/swiss omelette.

We are meeting CBMARE and her husband from 3FC for lunch today, hoping it is pleasant for all.

Well I went and blew it yesterday..a fast food disaster :D Very rare that I fast food anymore....even though my journey the last 3 years has taken a bit of a hit from time to time, fast food is not normally an issue....but yesterday I used a buy one get one free at Jack In The Box for a grilled pastrami sandwich and a large fry...plus the 2 taco special...I did split the meal in half for my lunch but ended up killing it a couple of hours later...dang! :mad:

Thank goodness for new days :)

BOOTSIE ~ I love pecans! So cool with the baby chicks....spoiled rotten :D

ROSEBUD ~ Prayers for the anxiety on the colonoscopy...I understand the concern and situation you are having for the results but seriously the procedure is nothing! The prep is the worse and it really isn't that bad....as long as you have enough reading material in the bathroom ;) :D

We had an issue with our IE the other day...was down all day until Angie walked through the re-set up steps when she got home from work.

WILMA ~ Prayers for your family...how sad. We had so much anxiety with my sister's breast cancer....thank God for all of us she is doing well in recovery but we all know the "dangers" that can be ahead. We have been through it before in my family several times :( Congrats on the son and dil and to you for your exercise!

BARGOO ~ :D Over the years I have had a couple of those sneezes out of nowhere during quiet prayer time :D My son fainted during confirmation and we had a deacon fall asleep and fall out of his chair on the altar one Sunday :D

Did I :ghost: scare all the NEW KIDS away? :shrug:

Well gals...off to new adventures :)

HI GARY ~ ya, it has been kinda quiet here lately, hasn't it? I was busy helping a friend out (emailing back & forth) the last week or so. Then the last two nights, I spent the evenings reading a new novel to give me a change of pace; get my mind off things. I know that you are right that the test is nothing -- the anxiety is the results thing really, but I have been getting lots of "TRUST ME" impressions from the Word lately ... ;)

I'll have to get my jello & drinks ready; I think you are right that the prep will be the hardest part of it all ... :dizzy: I was wondering if I should get DH to bring my PORTA-POTTY indoors and set it up in the livingroom ... :lol:


DH'S & HIS ADVENTURES ~ On Thursday, DH went out on a run and got stranded for awhile -- his bike broke down on him a couple of times, and then he only had one gear, so he had to pull his bike & wagon back home himself (on foot). I was getting quite concerned becuz he was gone over 8 hours; no food or water (doesn't ever learn); and it was getting dark, so our landlord went out hunting for him. DH got home just before he got back; and he felt kinda bad about it, but I am glad that he went looking for him anyways. It's too cold at night to be out in the bush hurt or lost somewhere. I got a bit stressed out about it, and made some unhealthy food choices, but not too many calories, thankfully. Then I got right back on the wagon the next morning -- and yes, I did use the PRAISE TOOL to get me through the day! BTW, no more road trips for DH this year ... house rules! ;)


HEY BOOTSIE ~ that's a cute story about your friend & the chicks; we loved raising the chickens & ducks. They were the easiest to raise, and she'll love getting the eggs down the road too. They are funny to watch for sure ...

Well, hope our friends here all have a lovely Sunday tomorrow ... Rosebud :flow2:

HI GALS ~ :)

Taking a few minutes before dinner. I have a roast, potatoes, carrots and onions in the crock-pot and brussel sprouts in the oven roasting. The brussel sprouts are all mine..Angie won't touch them :D

It has been a beautiful week-end here...in the 70-80's! We took the dogs to the beach for 4 miles yesterday and the sun was already out at 6am and warm :) Spent the afternoon on the garage....we are re-organizing it and the gym.....making room for future GRANDbaby (KAIA) stuff ;)

An easy day around here, we went to church then I took the mutts out for 3 miles while Angie went to a yoga class. The rest of the day we spent in the family room, Angie on the computer with music stuff and me watching NASCAR and football....interacting with each other on stuff.

Pastor's sermon (on my Facebook page today) was on "slackers"...how it is easy for us in these times to "click" and give $$$ to a worthy cause instead of getting out and doing something for the cause.....all along stressing that giving $$$ is not a bad thing but sometimes we need to dig a little deeper in ALL ways.

I think I may be off work most of the week so I should be able to check in daily....

Prayers for ALL ~ Gary

Hi Gary and Rosebud, I been moving back in our bedroom . The guest bedroom bed is much nicer to my back and my husbands that we been sleeping in there plus our air-conditioner went out. We got company coming so got to give them the good bed. Those two cats think they been helping me all weekend Gee.... they can do the funniest things! I was un packing grocery's and dropped a plastic bag before i could reach down and get it either Cabbage Cat or Rattie grabed it and took off running and the other cat went in the hall way switching her tail and went in and out she came with the other cat with the plastic bag on her back like a cape running after the other cat and I bet they were hitting 40 miles and hour. I took out after them to help the poor cat who had the monster on her back and they came out from under the bed wide eyed and scared to death. I just cracked up and laughed till I had tears and tried to tell my husband and couldn't for laughing so hard it was so funny!
Try to make or unmake a bed with those two around, I finally got fed up and caught them and put them outside the bedroom door.
Then I cut holes in a box for them to play in , they love it! I have some peacock feathers and they can jump 4 ft up in the air after it. Those two are better than TV!
We wormed the goats today and hubby helped me for they banged me up last time.
I cleaned out one frig yesterday and the kitchen closet, neither one look like mine anymore to clean!

LOL BOOTSIE....one of my dogs always helps me do yard work or work in the garage...took me 3 times longer this week to repair a wall I took down to move a weight machine out of the gym! But I love every minute of it!

:wave: HI FRIENDS ~ we had a nice, quiet day today. Those light flurries very quickly turned into :rain: last night, so that didn't materialize into much -- overcast and in the 40's most of the day. It has all cleared up now though -- just after dinner, I saw the half moon and some stars out there from the front window.

You two are right -- NIKO constantly tries to help me and/or watch me whenever I am cooking dinner, so I am forever tripping over him. If he gets stepped on or bonked, then he gets smart and goes to sit & watch from the hallway instead. :dizzy: He is just like our dear old SWEETIE, at 5 pm on the dot, he wants to go outside but first he comes over to nudge me to see if I am going to start dinner or not ... :lol:

Funny thing is, we put our clocks back last weekend, and his internal clock got a bit mixed up for a few days. He was waking up too early and bugging me to make dinner too early and so on. He'd come and get me at 4 pm, instead of 5; and get up at 6 am, instead of 7 to go outside! :dizzy:

GARY ~ that dinner sounds great -- I had cabbage rolls with green beans & knib corn, plus a smallish salad on the side. Boy, was I full; filling up on veggies and salad is really working for me.

I changed my breakfast this month to oatmeal + natural cream of wheat for at least 3 days and really have found that it takes away hunger cravings I used to get at 11 am; so I am switching for good. I am reading a new book about healthy eating called "WINNING THE FOOD FIGHT" and there is a plan in there called "The VICTORY Diet" and I am using many of the ideas and tips from it and finding them helpful.

I am going to try them for a while -- he challenges people to try the oatmeal fiber breakfast for 3 weeks, if they have "Constipation" issues, as this food plan helps cure that problem. So far, I am seeing much improvement in that area. He challenges people to try the main plan for 7 weeks to see if they see health improvements for cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight-loss.
We'll see how I do ...

Hope all our CE friends have a wonderful week coming up; take good care too ... Rosebud :flow2:

Good Morning to all! I been up all night, with my two kittens helping, cleaning on my Mother in laws kitchen, moving my stuff out. It looks so much better. Today washing clothes and putting clothes up , sure have a lot to get done before Thanksgiving . Plus my friend and I are going Garage sale hopping this Friday and some Christmas shopping. We are going to a store that you can buy stuff you got when you was a kid, that you can not find anymore. Found out some more of my friends are headed that way too, so we will more than likely see them out and about, should be fun!

Then clean on this house this weekend and the outside of the house. Thank the dear Lord I got that cactus cut down and hauled off. I trimmed what I have left up and it looks so pretty. Well y'all have a great day!

:thanks2::thanks2::thanks2:

:thanks2: Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Hope all our American friends had a HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY ... with lots of good healthy food and friends & family gathered 'round ... :D


HI RONNIE ~ nice to see you drop by; missed you! Still sending up prayers for you and yours ... :hug:


We got a big dump of ***** the last 2 days with blowing winds; the good thing about this is that it helps keep us warm and the snow around the building stops the winds coming in too. It is kinda like a snow cocoon of sorts; and it is a lot warmer in here too.

My eating has been pretty good this week (well, I was on liquids from Sunday to Tuesday at dinnertime), but I ate too many nuts tonight -- oh well, I will learn from this and do better next time ... I had a lean burger and a salad for dinner tonight; so the day part was good. :lol:

We got our nativity creche up this week plus our candle lights. I have to find something heavy to put in my snowman as the winds keep knocking him over; I may put in birdseed, then feed it to the birds after Christmas ... ;)

Hope all our friends here have a wonderful weekend ... Rosebud :flow2:

Hi GALS :)

I hope this finds everyone doing well :hug:

It is early Saturday morning here, I will send the dogs in on Angie at 6 and we will go out for 3 miles then come home and get ready to go up to her moms house for the rest of the week-end. Her family is getting together for Thanksgiving this evening.

With the kids schedules ~ son/dil visiting her side in Florida ~ daughter/sil having lunch with my ex-wife and then dinner with sil's mom ~ step-d with Americorp in Utah ~ nephew with NAVY duty ~ sister with my bil's family ~ brother with my sil's family......Angie and I had a very nice quiet Thanksgiving to ourselves....well....a couple of begging dogs ;) ....we were invited to all the other dinners but declined with respect.....

We didn't want to miss the marathon of Cake Boss :D

I took Angie, my daughter, nieces, sister and sil to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra yesterday. Boy did they seem louder than a few years ago....or am I getting older? ;)

A very nice way to "rock" the start of the Christmas season. They also played some of their new non-Christmas stuff which was cool.

Things are going well here but I will say work for the future is sketchy....I am off now but that is ok because I was really going hard for a few months. Our company has work but I have a few guys going that really need their medical benefits so they HAVE to keep their hours up. I do have work in the future AND we are picking up jobs but just not anything to keep everyone involved with us busy at all times...which, will be the road we travel for years to come I am afraid.

So happy to be walking that road with CHRIST! :carrot:

Have a great week-end :hug:

Hello, it's me again, and I would like to ask for some prayers for my Aunt and her family.
Been a tough Holiday already.. My oldest Aunt had a stroke on Thanksgiving and is not doing well. Has been in the hospital since then and is not expected to recover. She will be 94 on Tuesday and has had a Wonderful life, just still hard on everyone. She really has never regained consciousnes but we all gathered in the ICU room where she was and sang gospel songs ( she loved to sing and has a beautiful voice) and read bible verses. She opened her eyes several times and once even had a smile. Been a tough few days. Lost an Uncle on Thanksgiving 11 years ago, and this Aunt is having a really hard time this year. Her daughters were here from Colorado from last Saturday until yesterday. So at least they were with her when she got the news about her sister on Thanksgiving evening. She will be 84 in April and is the last living sibling.
Appreciate all the prayers. I hope everyone is doing OK and having a good evening. I will try my best to get back here more often... I really do think of you all often.

Karen-prayers going for your aunts.

Gary-prayers for your work. It's good that you can keep as many as possible busy for as long as possible, but must be hard figuring out who goes where and when, especially with Christmas coming.

Rosebud-so glad to hear your tests went ok for the most part. DH had the same in the summer and had a good report, too. You've done well getting your Christmas decos up already! I'm lacking motivation to get the stuff out and put it up-everything has been more difficult this year since Dad's death and it just takes more effort for me to get anything done at all, so I may downsize quite a bit this year (probably won't get rid of anything, just won't put all of it up).

Stresses have been taking over our lives here lately. DH has 'bid' a new job in his plant, which would put him back on rotating shift, but his managers are sooooo incredibly bad that they decided they had to repost the job, because no one could agree on when the 10 days of the original posting ended:?:, so DH has to re-bid, but is the only person with the seniority for the job. It'll be a little more difficult on the shift work, but the stress of the job he's been in is making him crazy. There are other employees who are supposed to be doing some of the tests when DH is off (and are being paid more than him), but they don't actually do the tests and just make up numbers to record, and the manager knows it, but there's too much favoritism at this plant, so he does nothing about it.:mad: So, anyway, DH may be starting rotating shifts-7 days/nights on, 7 off, starting in about 2 weeks, just in time for the holidays-yippee.....

Otherwise, it's just same-old, same-old here. Weather is starting to get icky, with cold and freezing rain and snow moving in tonight. My 30 year high school reunion was this past Saturday, but couldn't go, because we can't plan on traveling this time of the year (it was in IN). Only about 80 of the 213 I graduated with went, so maybe they'll rethink the November reunions before the next one.

Well, hope you all have a great week! Trying to get back on plan now-I was able to maintain through Thanksgiving, so happy about that. Take care:hug:

We lost my Aunt this morning and it is very sad. But how neat is that to be able to go and meet Jesus on your 94th. Birthday!! We loved her and will miss her a lot.

I am so sorry Karen for your loss, So happy for all the precious memories she and God left for you and your family. It is a blessing to live that long with a loving family that loves you as much as you and others loved her. Praying for comfort for you and your family this day.

Praying for your family, Karen:hug:

Prayers for all of you!

Spent the day doing some work on my stairway hand rails and shopping for an Elf On The Shelf for my little nephew....what a cool idea! He is gonna love it....gave it to his grandma, my sister, to start it up in the morning.

Well gotta go....Angie and I are getting ready to watch Happy Days reruns.

be good....