saef~I certainly thought of you when hearing about the house that the owner has decided is a total loss. A total loss at over $5 million. I don't think any homes up there cost less than that.

And as for boards--the homeowners association where we own an RV lot which DH's parents live on recently hired a new general manager. Wow. What a difference! Suddenly, for the first time in all the years we've owned it, we are getting news. Good and bad news. Very informative news. We finally felt connected. It was wonderful. And the board fired him yesterday and refuses to tell the owners why. This man (and we met him outside of the park--didn't even know the connection) has had numerous years of experience in doing this kind of thing and no one can fathom why he was canned. Many, including us, contacted the board to ask why and we were all told that they can't say after conferring with their attorney. So many owners are upset at this we don't know what to do. We all feel the board is acting against the owners. It's so sad.

Wow, Andrea. 10 vegetables only? Crazy! But then you hear stories of kids who eat nothing but mac and cheese and chicken nuggets and get by just fine. I can't imagine it, though. I like food and I like variety. I don't know if it is a good thing or not, but DH and I bought a panini press this weekend and I've been collecting recipes. I know bread isn't the greatest when dieting but when it'll just be the two of us, sandwiches and salad (or soup) sounds so much easier.

Beware the sandwich Alison. I gained 5 lbs. on a holiday in NYC by eating mainly sandwiches (it was incredibly hot and salad buying options were limited), I don't think the panini press adds any cals but the buns you start with are usually pretty large.

Bargoo sending : your way.

I am back up 1 lb. above redline. Have started drinking the energy drinks and eating the bread and margarine sandwich in the evening again. I think all of this is related.

I am going to go off the e drinks this weekend . DH will be over at the new house working on the painting so I can take naps and be b*tchy and no one will notice. The new flooring is available Sept. 5th so he wants to get everything done before then. It would go a lot faster if he didn't feel compelled to fix every little nick and ding in the walls and ceilings. And to then sand and redo it. We will have "perfect" walls and ceilings and DH will be the only one to notice (I only look closely at ceilings when hunting down the big spiders ). Let's hope the walls have paint on them too.

Going for my "puppy" interview tonite. He's a 10 week old golden retriever named "Maximus". I haven't looked after a young puppy for close to 2 years now - this will be a treat!

Dagmar

My sister was a vegetarian for about 10 years (I'm guessing approx. ages 14-24). She went vegetarian for ethical reasons, and went back for health reasons. She has always had GI issues and had to reduce the amount of beans she was eating because of them, plus became lactose intolerant so not much dairy allowed, and has a gluten sensitivity which makes protein from grain sources a little more difficult. The doc basically said if you can't eat beans or dairy, you'll have a heck of a time getting enough protein as a vegetarian, so you should just eat meat.

I officially got below goal today, whoo hoo! Of course I had already set a new goal before I even got here to my first goal, but I'm a goal-setting kinda gal, what can I say!

Plus, under 150 is really my overall main goal. Everything under that is like icing on the cake. I'm aiming for 139, but will allow myself to fluctuate all over those 10 pounds as long as I am under 150. For me, the hard work starts now, as I've lost this weight repeatedly, and seem to have a hard time not back sliding!

I tried to be a vegetarian when I was a teenager a few times because it was trendy. I never lasted that long. Mostly because I had no idea how to cook many vegetarian main dishes and would just skip the meat and eat side dishes, and be hungry (probably not getting enough protein). I think I would be a much better vegetarian if I wanted to now since I'm much better at making beans tasty and have a better understanding of macronutrients. But I like meat too much. I also love my veggies and can't imagine only eating 10 of them, over and over. Thanks goodness BF loves veggies and salad as much as I do. Even our dog loves vegetables. We were meant to be a family, lol.

Great job Mrs. Snark!

Dagmar, GL on the puppy interview. Puppies are just so cute and fluffy. I want another. (Not really, not right now. But they are cute.)

Allison, doesn't someone have to vote these board members into office? Like the owners? If I were an owner I'd be reading those bylaws right about now. Sorry you lost such a great GM.

Jen, sounds like a great weekend of fitness finds!

Dagmar~I know sandwiches can be the devil! I don't intend to do many with the thick bread. I've done these with the 100 calorie sandwich thins and they turn out fine. I don't usually use butter on the outside--I spray with Pam. If I do end up doing it with big bread, I'll eat half of one instead of a whole one.

Megan~it confounds me (and most of the other owners) how the board can act like that. Furthermore, having this done when 80% of the owners are gone (most leave during the summer) upsets a lot of us. Really, until people return (October and November), I'm not sure what anyone can do. There's already a recall election going on for two board members who the park voted to be relieved of their duties. One person (who we voted for in the recall) is clearly on the side of those of us who are upset by the firing of the GM.

MrsSnark~way to go!!!

Awesome Mrs. Snark-- what a great feeling!!!!

Congrats, Mrs. Snark!

Bill, Has the packing begun ? Enjoy your trip West, I hope it is everything you are hoping it to be.

Why, yes, yes it has. I'm wearing my gym shorts and my least favorite, paint-stained, shirt. It's the old on the day before, wear nothing that you might want to pack for the trip, LOL.

I've threatened to bring ropes so that we can climb the Redwoods, after reading the book The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring. Alas, it's illegal; I'm not trained; I'm not skilled; and I'm not stark raving mad like the folks in that book (male and female). So we'll just look.

Bill Awesome trees! Enjoy your trip!

Dagmar

Have a wonderful time Bill! I hope you'll share a few photos when you get back.

Ah, the last week before school starts. DS is busting butt to finish the summer essays he owes on Tuesday. Little bugger is just like me - he waits until the last possible calculated second to tackle something big, and then the whole world falls away until it's done. It's tough to see your most troublesome characteristic show up in your kid! He is much more disciplined during the school year so I'm not giving him too much grief. I didn't have to "helicopter" at all last year and I'm hoping that the transition into the big public school won't throw him off track.

I'm pretty geeked about getting back onto a swim team. Running this summer made me realize that I've reached the point in my life where I absolutely must get back to a base level of fitness, and I would rather do that in the pool than anywhere else.

Oh my. I just got an email from my brother detailing an issue with my dad. Apparently Dad was in an accident and told no one. He took his car to be repaired and rented a car for the duration. My SIL noticed the rental car and asked my dad about it and he said that his car was in the shop to have the fan replaced because it had been overheating. When the car was fixed, she went with him to pick it up and to return the rental. The guy at the repair place mentioned that he hadn't been able to get a new headlight yet. My SIL questioned this and Dad's story changed to "he was in a parking lot and had to suddenly swerve to miss not hitting a car head-on and he hit a pole." Hmmm. I wonder what he really hit.

My sister is thinking we need to schedule an intervention and take the car away completely. I've told him pointedly that he should be driving and he complains like a teenager.

Such a tough one Allison. Been there, done that... is he due anytime soon for a driving test? We took my dad's car away and he was MAD. He kept asking for it back. I think we told him we were getting things fixed on it and put him off.

I need to do a rough blueprint drawing of my library for a scavenger hunt. I am the world's worst artist. I was wondering if there is a website where I can either have it help me, or I enter dimensions and it does the work? Anyone know if such a thing exists?

Any plans for the long weekend? Not much for me. Dh is in China so I'll be working out, doing stuff around the house, donating blood Monday, possibly getting a massage for my niggly back....

About to have the first fire drill of the year....