We just keep racing through the summer! Every week when I type the dates for the thread, I'm just amazed at how fast the weeks are flying by.

Being tired all week caught up with me yesterday. It was our monthly visit to my MIL's farm and I slept all the way there, all the way home, and then went to bed at 9 pm. And am still tired! (but feeling better) Sleeping (or not sleeping) has such a huge impact on my eating since I still can't tell tired and hungry apart. Hopefully today will be one of the easy days since I got some sleep.

I was all set to go shopping for a home elliptical on Friday until our dishwasher started leaking into our basement on Thursday. Come to find out that we're looking at a minimum of $200 to repair it and it's 12 years old, so we decided to replace it. Once I get the finances sorted out from that fiasco, we'll see about the elliptical.

Our oldest kitty (18) is back on antibiotics for a kidney infection. His kidneys have been failing for a few years and he gets bloodwork every six months. The numbers get worse and worse, but so far he's happy and pain-free and is the first one at the food bowl every morning. The other four are still in major shedding mode.

I didn't have a chance to do my usual Sunday cooking for the week since I was gone yesterday so will do what I can before work today. The plan is to marinate and grilled two pounds of shrimp and make some Fiber One muffins. My latest favorite dinner is grilled shrimp, a little brown rice, steamed broccoli in a bowl with a few shakes of soy sauce (I'm a simple soul! ) and that will probably be my dinner after work every night this week. Good thing I don't mind eating the same stuff all the time! Hopefully I'll have time to branch out and try some new recipes next weekend.

Speaking of weekends, I really could use one to catch up (looking around the house in dismay).

How was everyone's weekends? What's going on this last week of July?

Good morning!

Meg - ouch, sorry about the dishwasher!

My Saturday wound up busier than I planned, but Sunday was nice and relaxing. I should have done some cleaning, but opted instead to lie around and rest, catch up on some reading. Went to the park on Saturday for a run and came home with a pretty decent sunburn which still hurt yesterday, so I used it as an excuse. Food was okay over the weekend, splurge dinner on Saturday, Sunday stayed more or less in line. Had some popcorn with a little salt as an evening snack so feeling a little water weight today.

Got up today to exercise! Three workdays in a row so far! Woo hoo!

Good day everyone!

I'm in a good mood at the moment because I have my iPod on shuffle and it just put on Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," which is totally catchy and I haven't listened to forever.

Meg, bummer about the dishwasher. On the other hand, I bet the dishwashers you can get now are much nicer than the ones they had 12 years ago!

Shannon, great job getting up to exercise! I planned to, but slept instead. Will work out tonight instead.

I did go to the park to try swimming in the reservoir and biking the hills yesterday. They only have an area 4 feet deep marked off for swimming normally so I didn't get to test out the really deep water, but I have to say, not being able to see underwater is kind of scary, and that combined with not being able to touch the bottom would probably overwhelm me. Or, if I made it through the swim okay, I would die biking and running the hills! There were a couple other triathletes checking out the reservoir water too who I chatted with a little. In the end I decided I don't have enough confidence in my swimming for the open-water swim, and I haven't trained for those hills, so I signed up for the downtown triathlon the day after the wedding instead. I figure it will be a good excuse to leave the wedding early! We can leave as soon as the cake is cut and probably be in bed by 10pm. I'll avoid the alcohol at the wedding.

My plan is to work on my swimming and hills and do the series in the park next year and convince DH to do them with me (I've got him doing all three sports now so we'll see).

Meg~we recently replaced our leaky dishwasher. We went to Home Depot to check them out and fell in love with the LG unit--listed at the time for $999, but the salesman said to wait a month as they would be having a 10% off appliance sale later. We waited and meanwhile found the same unit at Best Buy for $799. We printout out the Best Buy ad to take along when we went to buy the dishwasher (prepared to have them meet the price) but they had already marked it down to $799. So we got it for $799, less 10% and then the salesman gave us a coupon for an additional $30 off. What a deal! Good luck with replacing yours.

I've got less than 2 weeks to go before I leave on my trip. I'm still apprehensive but I'm sure everything will be fine. I just get nervous travelling.

Last year I moved in to my first home with a dishwasher... I grew up in an old farm house and the places I've rented previously haven't been the nicest. Not having one never bothered me, but if the one I have now broke I think I'd be pretty upset! It's easy to get used to convienences like this!

Meg, sorry to hear about your kitty, but glad he seems to be doing well under the circumstances.

Jessica, good luck getting your hubby to join you in a triathalon. I'd like to get my boyfriend to work out with me, but he's so much faster that it's embarrassing. Good luck on your upcoming tri and stick to your guns with avoiding drinks at the wedding!

Shannon, way to go on the exercising! I've been pretty lazy recently... I'm starting to feel soft again. It's just so hard for me to get up in the morning. Was that really hard for you at first?

I'm taking the MCAT next week (eek!!) and getting ready to drive back across the country afterwards. It was much harder than I expected for me to be so far away from my family last year, and I'm honestly not entirely looking forward to going back... my parents are getting old and I hate not being around.

Jessica - I've gotten into Pandora lately, but I do miss being able to pick a specific song on my iPod. And, sounds like a good decision on the triathlon - don't want to find yourself in trouble in water that makes you nervous.

Allison - You will have a great trip! I always get a nervous traveling, too, especially now.

Iris - it is still hard for me to get up in the mornings to exercise! I was doing it regularly a few months ago and then got out of the habit. I am just now trying to get back in. It was easier today than last week, though. Good luck on the MCAT next week!

Good morning everyone!!

Iris-- good luck on the MCAT's. I've heard of them but what are they for? Law school, med school, something else? I took the GRE for grad school-- there are so many acronyms it is hard to keep track of them all!! So, are you moving back home after you take the exam or just visiting your family?

Allison-- you did get a great deal on your dishwasher! You can join me with the nerves regarding traveling... I'm going to elaborate further down....

Jessica-- glad you made your choice. You need to do what you are most comfortable with and swimming in open waters does sound scary! I would like to have the ends of the pool to hang onto if needed!! So, do you swim in a pool then and just swim a certain number of laps? How many do you swim? I'm still wondering if/when I will ever get up the nerve to check into doing one of these some day.

Shannon-- hope your sunburn is better today. I got burnt on my face yesterday while walking with dh. Sometimes I forget about the sun if I'm just out walking but dh and I walked for about 90 minutes in the heat of the day.

Meg-- hope your kitty feels better! Glad you got some rest too. Sorry about your dishwasher. Hope you can still shop for an elliptical.

I can't believe this is the last week of July....wow!!

Had a pretty decent weekend overall. I am leaving for my Alaskan cruise on Sunday and I am doing what I ALWAYS do before a trip. I get nervous and anxious and end up getting sick. So, I worked Saturday morning, came home and started feeling sick to my stomach. Felt lousy Sunday but had to work again, felt somewhat better in the afternoon so walked with dh and went to see Hangover (hilarious), and then started feeling lousy again. I guess I have a touch of a tummy bug. Dh knows I always get sick before a trip so he isn't sympathetic-- he is sick of it! I have so much to do this week and no time to be sick. I hope it goes away soon!! I had a strange thought yesterday that I don't think I've had in my ENTIRE life. I actually thought "I hope I don't lose anymore weight while I'm sick". I know.... what a crazy thought!! I was at 122 this morning though. The minimum I can weigh to work for WW is 120 (though I can weigh with shoes and clothes so I doubt I would ever be below that). I was hoping to be at 123 or so before my cruise so I would have a little wiggle room so I may get my wish.....

This week I have so much to do! It is insane. I made my list of "to do's" and don't know how I'll get it all done-- especially because I am totally nauseous and want to stay in bed. We dropped dd off at camp for the week so my house is very quiet. Saturday (August 1) is dh and my 22nd wedding anniversary. He is going to be driving to pick up older dd from her camp (work) for the cruise and I will drive to pick up younger dd from camp so we won't celebrate Saturday. I made a dinner reservation for Friday so hopefully I will be 100% then. I am winding down with the class I am taking but I have TONS to do this week so I don't have to try to figure out and pay for the internet on the cruise. Plus I took on extra work shifts because I'm going to miss so many while on the cruise. Still gotta find another dress or some more clothes if possible... guess I better suck it up and get busy-- gotta work today too....

Hi everyone, sorry so long since I last posted. Our computer had a major virus and took forever until Lacy finally figured out how to fix it.

Lacy's home from the treatment center. She is doing less than I had hoped for and I fully expect she'll end up being re-admitted for her problem with depression and anorexia. She is doing out-patient counseling twice a week, but it doesn't seem very effective.

I take Shelbey today for a consult on a root canal! She is scared!

My son left back to the military. If anyone has the time, you might check out my post under General Chatter. It's about being Wronged by a company!

Things aren't going so well for me. Majorly stressed out over everything. My eating hasn't been bad and I have maintained my weight. My only stress reducer has been smacking golf balls and it seems to help a little.

Hey Lilly - I was just thinking about you earlier, saw your post under GC. What the cable company is doing to you is totally unfair... I'm glad Lacy is home, sorry she is still having trouble. Hope Shelbey's root canal goes well - dental work always makes me nervous, too. And to you.

Michele, the first triathlon I did was in a pool. Basically you started at one end, swam across, ducked under a lane line, down the next lane, then up the next, until you got to the other side of the pool. I stopped at each end to catch my breath in that one. The one I just signed up for is somewhere in between "open water" and pool -- it's in a canal. The canal is full of river water, so it will be murky, but it is only 4 feet deep, so if I get tired I can just stand up. I'm told that for the actual open water ones they have jetskis, kayaks, and boats going around the whole course to pick up anyone who's having trouble.

Lily, welcome back! Glad to hear Lacy is home, but I'm sorry she's still having problems.

Shannon, thanks for your support. As for Shelbey, I've never had a root canal, so I can't really say how bad this is gonna be.

Last week our dentist recommended Lacy for a consult with an oral surgeon to have all her wisdom teeth removed. I don't know if we should wait or go ahead and get it done. She has no cavities and is not in any pain with these teeth. I'm more inclined to just wait since she has so many other pressing issues going on right now.

Jessica, Hi and I'm glad to be back. It really helps me to be able to come here and talk about everything.

Financially things are really tough right now. Lacy's care is costing a fortune and insurance only reimbursed us at 50%. Add to that Shelbey needing the root canal and no child support or help from her mother whatsoever. Considering all this I think the wisdom teeth removal is something that can wait.

Hi Lily! Sorry to hear that Lacy is still having problems. While it seems like a lot to pay, I know you really want to help her. As for the wisdom teeth, maybe you could save up the part not covered by insurance? I waited on each of mine until they had problems, and it was much more cost in the long run as I had infections, and lots of pain. ANd I would imagine that they would knock Shelby out for a root canal, rather than just use novacaine. THey're painful, but not awful that way.

Michele - sorry you get so stressed over traveling. How about just focusing on how much fun the cruise will be, and how nice to have people waiting on you all the time. Aside from the formal nights, the dress is pretty casual, as it turns out.

I started a new exercise routine this morning. It was a LBWO, and has just 5 exercises, and one was just a variation of what I'm doing in PT anyway. I was sure I could just knock it out. Ha! I walked out of the gym a sweaty mess of jelly. We've moved to 4 days of weights, 2 of cardio, and rest only on Sundays. We'll see how the UBWO goes tomorrow..... I may not be able to stand or lift my arms by Wed......

Dishwashers, hmmm. Mine's been non-functioning for about 6 months. I really need to get Sears to come out and look at it. It's only about 2 years old, but it makes a really funny electrical type sound. WIth just the two of us doing dishes by hand isn't usually bad. DH does the breakfast dishes during the week.

Well, we finally have the definite answer on the riding mower - it had a blown head gasket. It's fixed and ready to be picked up. And it only cost $175, rather than $600 or so he was quoting if we needed a whole new engine! I'll be riding again soon.....

Hi everyone,

My weekend was sort of nondescript, though I did get some rest and finished putting the kitchen back together around my new fridge. I spent some time w/ BF's family Saturday afternoon and they left town Sunday. Apparently they'd started calling me "the phantom" since they hadn't seen me since Sunday/Monday, even though they knew I was working all week. They meant it to be funny but I just felt guilty I hadn't seen them more, sigh. My co-worker's going-away Friday night was just okay. We went to a restaurant I like for dinner (excellent boiled shrimp!) but then to her favorite bar that is loud and smoky, so I skipped out after I'd made an obligatory appearance. I feel terrible, but I won't miss her that much (this is my co-worker who's my former roommate that I didn't get along with...yeah...). Does that make me a bad person?

I'm starting a new workout series from some of my Oxygen magazines today. I need a change, I'm stuck in a rut! It's like 3 days of strength training and cardio other days, so this will give me more time to do cardio - definitely need to do more cardio!

Lily, I've been thinking of you! I'm glad Lacy is home but I'm sorry to hear she isn't doing as well as you hoped. You should pretend that those golf balls you're thwacking are a body part of the cable company employees - smack! smack!

Pat, glad the mower only cost $175 instead of $600!

Jessica, glad you've chosen your triathlon and can start surveying your course. I totally understand getting nervous in murky water. Swimming in the gulf off a boat I still sometimes get nervous. If I have my scuba gear on and can see down around me with my mask, I'm ok, but if I don't and just have to hop off I still get nervous about what could be around me that I can't see. Good luck training! Let us know how it's going.

Michele, sorry to hear you're sick/stressed about your trip! Just breathe and take your "to do" list one thing at a time. Ask DH to help you check things off.

Iris, gl on your MCAT!!! You must be in study mode like crazy right now! It's really hard being far away from your family, I agree. At least my parents are pretty e-mail savvy and we talk on the phone a lot - do your parents email?

Allison, your trip will be great!

Shannon, good for you for working out 3 days in a row. You've been doing great getting all your exercise in lately!

Meg, sorry to hear your dishwasher is kaput. It's a bad week for appliances. I know from my searching last week that Lowe's, Home Depot, and Sears are all having lots of sales and I think all 3 are offering 10% off of all Energy Star appliances. I hope you still get your elliptical shopping too!

I hope everyone has a great week.

Why is the dentist recommending removal of the wisdom teeth, lilybelle? Are they growing in badly?

The reason I ask is that I still have mine--they have never caused any problem although they are harder to keep clean, of course. I have to make sure I take care of them.

Watch out for dentists who just recommend yanking them "because they are there." There are some of them around. Also, having all four done at once is really hard to deal with, although for some reason some dentists think that's a good idea... My sister had that done and had a terrible recovery.

OK, that is all.

Jay

Meg, what a bummer about the dishwasher. Glad to hear that despite bad numbers, your older kitty is doing well.

Shannon, remember that sunscreen!

Jessica, I saw an interview with Glenn Close (the actress) who did her first triathlon in a pool. She said she wasn't a good swimmer at all so a pool was perfect for her.

Allison, sweet deal on the dishwasher. I hear you about travel nerves.

Iris, good luck on the MCAT studying. Where do you want to go to school?

Michele, reading what you have to do made me want to go take a nap. Good luck!

Lily, I'm sorry Lacy isn't doing as well as you'd like. Hopefully the outpatient therapy will help. About the root canal, it's not as bad as it sounds. I've had several and the anticipation is worse than the actual root canal. About the wisdom teeth, keep an eye on them because they can move the other teeth around if they start to grow in.

Pat, glad your riding lawnmower bill was lower than you thought. Usually it's the other way around.

Megan, nope, definitely not a bad person. You can't like everyone.

Lots of yardwork for me this weekend and today. The previous owner had Virginia creeper on the chainlink fences that separate our property from both neighbots. I hate that stuff--it starts growing along the ground and also blocks my view when I back out of the garage. So I took our new trimmer and cut the heck out of it. Then I trimmed the espaliered crabapple tree and some other bushes, and pulled weeds. All that work was done in 90 degree weather so I was wringing wet by the time I was done. But I got to go in and relax in my air conditioned house so I was quite happy.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!