Happy Valentine's Day! May you joyously celebrate it or joyously ignore it.

Here's hoping that this is the week for Carter to return to being a full time dog. I visited friends one evening this past week; their Black Lab got excited about something going on so they just opened the door of her cage, she walked in, latched, she lay calmly, the exciting thing passed, door opened, a calm dog emerged. I was impressed that I'd just read about such behavior here.

It was a weekend of de-cluttering for me. Some 9 boxes are at the front door for me to get to the steps to be picked up by a charity this morning. It continues to amaze me how much pain and joy is felt by digging through boxes untouched for decades.

More decluttering, Bill? Really, when are you going to get bored with your house and get started on mine?

Because I have the attention span of a flea, I can't remember how we wound up last week's chat, so I won't try to respond to everyone. I hope everyone has a fantastic Monday. Mine is workout + meetings + work (notice how those two are separated) + The Boy's school party + skiing + leftovers at home. No fancy-pants V-day meals for us: we leave Friday, so its Clean-Out-The-Fridge week.

Scale read in the 140s today. I know it will bounce around over the next few days, and rounding takes me to 141. But the goal of 140 is in sight, and better still near enough to provide that little bit of extra willpower to pass up on the V-day treats. I've never much liked conversation hearts, anyway.

//b. strong

Good morning! Thank you for starting the thread, Bill.

I've just had a blood orange and some cottage cheese for my morning snack. Very nice.

Let's hope it's a healthy week all round. Good vibes beaming to Carter across the Atlantic.

Hey, I thought Bill was coming to my house for decluttering! I have about 2-3 years to get all of our stuff sorted before we move across the country (if all goes according to plan ).

Vday is not celebrated in our household (due to birthday 2 days before) but I give DH a card and a small box of chocs (which he shares most times).

I am at that "fluffy body" point in winter. I bought a lot of salad stuff on the weekend and am determined to get below my red line for my actual birthday.

Great Monday all! We are expecting rain and gusting winds today so I'm gritting my teeth. Better than snow tho'! (no room left on the front lawn for more).

Dagmar

Good morning guys. The snow and ice is finally starting to melt away here which is nice. It's a lot easier to handle getting the dog outside in the middle of the night at 35 degrees than it was at 13 degrees.

I'm waiting for the surgeon to call me back right now so we can discuss Carter's progress. I'm hoping he can give us some insight into what is going on with his bladder and whether there is anything else we should be trying to do. Even though I know he's capable of getting up, Carter seems hesitant to do it today and last night. I know he needs his rest so maybe it's no big deal. He did wag his tail a little when I came to pet him this morning which was nice to see.

DH is going in to the office today so I'm alone working from home with the dog. I'm probably not going to bother putting him in the play pen since at least right now he doesn't seem to have any inclination to try to move around much so it doesn't really make much difference. With the diaper on I don't have to keep him on top of pee pads so that's okay too.

Good morning one and all, and hoping Carter regains some strength while resting up. I want to take the tail-wagging as a good sign.

I wonder how many people will blow off my circuit training class in the gym this evening? Also, I'm curious about whether my evening commute will be easier. This is generally not a night to ask people to stay late to work on a project.

I've committed to bright red lipstick today. Very annoying, because it has to be reapplied periodically & it looks badly when smudged. (This may actually keep me from drinking enough water today.) But it looks so good with the red cashmere, it was a natural choice.

Anyone been to Charleston recently? I'm traveling down there in a few weeks for a family wedding & plan to stay on a few days. My chief interests are historical & architectural, antiques, art museums, birding, hiking in national parks, and maybe a bit of shopping. I like good food but preferably extremely healthy. If anyone has any recommendations to pass along, please do.

Good morning and Happy Valentine's Day to all.

I felt quite drained yesterday after having a most wonderful Saturday. I'm afraid I'm coming down with a cold. I relaxed a lot yesterday and took a nice nap (which normally interferes with nighttime sleeping but didn't this time). I still feel rotten today which makes me think I do have a cold or something. I blame my FIL who was sick with a cold last week (rather than blaming my son who had a cold three weeks back).

I made chicken ala king for dinner last night and it didn't turn out right. The sauce was way too thin and runny. I was disappointed because this was something I've wanted for a long time.

Hope Carter continues to get better, Jessica! Buddy had a bout of diarrhea last night and DH had to clean up the garage. This morning he seems better but obviously had some sort of problem in the garage again (not poop, though). When he came back in he had a big black smear on his face. I think he must have fallen into one of the cars' wheels.

saef~I refuse to wear lipstick! Just a little gloss or chapstick is the way I roll!

Well, time for a banana and then I'm off to work.

Allison, LOL, I misread that last sentence as "Well, time for a bandana and then I'm off to work" and I was wondering why you needed a bandana for work!

Saef, I have never been to Charleston but it sounds like a nice place.

I spoke with the surgeon this morning. We are going to make some changes to Carter's medication and see if that helps. On Wednesday when we go in to see him they may do an ultrasound of his bladder to see if there is an obstruction if the medication changes don't do the trick. At the moment he is conked out on his doggie bed dreaming, and even twitching his back feet.

Darn! I'm so far down the line for Bill to come to my house. Wish I'd gotten in line sooner. Do I get to jump the queue if I tell you my Dad's name was Bill?
I keep having grand ideas about cleaning and decluttering, but alas, I find a million other things to do instead.

Allison-- hope you don't get sick. I'm also wondering if I'm fighting something. Totally exhausted and I have a headache. I have a sore in my mouth that keeps disappearing and reappearing every few days for about the past month. Thinking it might be time to check with the doctor about it. I hate it when I cook and it doesn't turn out well.

Saef-- I'm also curious about the gym tonight. I'm planning on my 7:30 pm bootcamp and I suspect I will have plenty of room for my equipment!

Jessica-- very good sign that Carter is wagging his tail. Hope the surgeon can give you some positive news or advice.

Dagmar-- rain has started here as well. We had beautiful weather for a week but it is due to be cold (for us), rainy and blustery for a couple of weeks now. Yuck!

Good morning Silverbirch. Yummy sounding snack. I just recently started snacking again on cottage cheese (sometimes with grapes). Another of those foods that I'm hot and cold on.

kaw-- I will keep strong with you today against any Vday treats. Working in a school, I expect to find little chocolates and goodies making their way to my desk today. The break room is a whole other story!

No special Valentine's Day for me. My dh is in London on business. Just a regular Monday here except the kids at school will be all hopped up on sugar from Valentine's parties!

I understand tha Bill is organizing a North American decluttering tour. When do you think you will make it to California ? I will try and hold on until you get here.

I checked the CVS circular this morning and found myself thinking, "Ooh, Digourno pizza, $5! Yum!" Right, never a good start to the week. I'm just tired I think. I will eat my healthy lunch and snacks, and stay away from the candy jar. BF is coming home tonight, but we don't usually do much for Valentine's either. He stayed w his DS and said her whole household is sick, and now he doesn't feel great either. Snot and congestion, very romantic.

Yesterday I went with friends to see "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee". Very funny show! Besides walking Emma/taking her to the beach and other exercise, I spent most of my weekend trying to pull a cast together for my directorial debut, and making a lot of phone calls. I've nearly got it, rehearsals start Wednesday night. I'm both nervous and excited. And tired already! After this I'm going to take a little break from the group...

Who needs to declutter? I cleared off my dining room table last night so that I could actually see the table and maybe even eat on it. That's good enough for me! Jk, actually, Bill, I'd appreciate it if you fit me in somewhere. I live in Florida and it's winter where you are - does that boost my spot in line?

Bill will probably never speak to us again since we've volunteered him for all this work!

Alison, sorry the chicken didn't turn out right. I've never made ala king but don't give up. Maybe try a different recipe and see if it works better for you, or could you add some cornstarch or arrowroot to the sauce to thicken it or something like that? Cooking failures are disappointing. I hope you're not coming down with something.

Saef, sometimes we must make sacrifices for beauty! If Shane was still around I'm sure she'd tell you the same thing.

Jessica, I'm glad Carter is wagging his tail and it sounds like he's whining less. I'm sending more positive vibes your (his) way!

Have a good Monday all.
Megan

So, I get into work this morning and from the time it took for DH to drive to work from home, he seems to have come down with a cold and he sounds horrible. He said he is amazed at how fast it hit him. Mine seems to be a much slower moving thing. I still feel rotten, but no more worse than yesterday. Other than really itchy eyes right now, I'm doing ok. But I really don't want to be sick. We have a party Friday night and we were planning on golf Saturday and Monday.

Since the state budget cuts here, my DS's school district had to cut a few days. So DS gets a 5 day weekend this weekend! 5 days!!! Wish I could do the same. I really need a day to get all my tax stuff ready for our CPA. I probably should have brought in the stack of papers to the office and work on it here. It's going to be a really slow day...

We're expecting rain this week which isn't going to be any fun with golf. At the car show we went to on Saturday, it was hot and sunny and I got a sunburn. And now it may rain and get cold. Weather sure is weird.

You know how it can be when you're in a group of people (usually family) and someone calls you by the wrong name? Last night we were cleaning up from dinner and suddenly my DH says "Adrienne" (my sister) and I said, "No, I'm Allison" thinking he was having a sudden lapse in memory. Turns out it was my sister calling on the phone and since we switched to cable phone, her name comes up on the screen for caller ID. It was pretty humorous once I figured out what was going on!

I'm going to be one of those skipping the gym tonight - I'm making a special dinner for the BF and I and it will take some time (beef wellington... mmmm).

Jessica, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Carter to improve quickly. Sounds hopeful, just slow.

I sure need to declutter too. I hate getting rid of things but sooner or later I have to face the fact that some things just need to go.

Saef, my brother lives in Charleston but I haven't been there in several years now. He works at an Italian restaurant called La Tabella, but I don't imagine it's too healthy! There are some neat walking tours of downtown that would hit on your interests for architecture and history.

I went to Charleston for a work conference several years ago. I had one afternoon off where I went to the aquarium, walked along the waterfront, and I ate at a restaurant called Poogan's porch. The restaurant was very good but I don't recall it being particularly healthy. The waterfront downtown might be what you're looking for, Saef. There is a huge sidewalk that runs by the water, and just happens to go right by the historic district - exercise and history, architecture all in one. Walking through the Charleston city market is nice, too, though it's got lots of restaurants and sweet shops that aren't low-cal. Charleston is known for its pralines. But there are art places, jewelry, all that kind of stuff too.

Anyone else checking in several times a day just looking for Carter updates? Hope he's had a good day Jessica.