Morning all.

Mellie - Have a good relaxing day, do some medication (lol, I meant to type meditation - whatever works!!). Just let whatever stress and negative emotions you have float away.

Shad - Hope you had a great day digging around in the garden.

Ceejay - Hope the bad weather has passed now and you don't have to deal with power outages and phones. Re the elk - I feel bad that they are fenced in, but it is a pretty large area. The one by the fence in the photo wanted me to feed her!!

Happy - Sorry your mom's last day was marred by the ER visit for the bp spike. I'm glad it was nothing more serious. Hope your sis can help her get a new tooth!! What kind of furniture are you looking for? Re the headboard, I like the look of those upholstered ones, but with the allergies I have, I'd rather not have another thing to collect dust.

Annie - Hope it stays cool for C until his AC is repaired. We have an attic access in our garage, but it's just an opening. I think the opening for the other attic access inside the house used to hold a whole-house fan (because there was a switch for it on the wall below), but previous owners removed it and replaced it with a set of attic stairs. Very convenient vs. the garage access.

Michelle - Glad you had some time for fun over the weekend. Hope your project is going well.
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Skipped Jazzercise last night, but did the remainder of Sunday's squats and then did all of yesterday's scheduled squats.

Bf made orange roughy for dinner and he oversalted it. Bleh. Other than that it was okay, but it really stunk up the house. Also had boiled new potatoes and steamed green beans. I was generally annoyed about dinner because when we make fish, bf needs to have it seasoned. He asked me to find a recipe, but rejected the one I picked. Grrrr. He wants to eat more fish and be healthy, but I get annoyed when he insists on needing to have some sort of recipe to season it every time. What's wrong with just grilling it, or poaching it with wine or lemon? Of course he doesn't want more than salt & pepper when we have steak....

Finally picked some cherry tomatoes from the garden. Yum! Need to be prepared for the onslaught going forward! With all the hot weather we had the past week or so, everything's growing pretty well. Had to tie the tomato plants in some spots.

Skipping the movies tonight. I might dig out the mouse sander and get going on the powder room ceiling. It needs painting, and it needs to be done before the walls.

WW meeting today. Bleh. Scale at home was up this morning, so I'm not optimistic.

Hi ladies -

Still behind on the project, so this will be quick. The learning curve for this job continues to be steep, but I'm giving it my all. I'd really like to keep this position, the people are great, the commute is wonderful, and working from home two days a week is so very nice.

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Mellie - I really hope you are able to relax and feel better, whether through meditation or medication!

Laura - I'm in awe of all your squats! You go, girlfriend. The scale might be up due to the muscle you're building in your legs from the squats...but ultimately that will boost your metabolism.

I've got to get back to programming. Hopefully I'll be able to check in later or this evening.

Love and hugs,

Michelle
You can do it. Think of all the knowledge you will have when finished.
Sending you good vibes.
Mel
Good for you in relaxing. I'm sure the emotional aspect of thing can do the body harm.

Laura
I admire your ability to do that many squats. Wish I could. Even riding the bike bothers my knees.

Shad
I forgot to mention yesterday that I thought about you when I heard about the earthquakes in NZ. Glad your family is okay.

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More rain this morning but not the 4-5 inches we got yesterday. We needed the rain. Nothing new in my corner of the world.

Hi all,

It's a beautiful day out there. Nice and cool in the 60's starting out but warming up as the sun gets overhead. Today would have been a great day to go berry picking. The strawberries are about to peter out, the raspberries have just come into bloom and we're about 2 weeks from blueberry picking. DH is working outside and I'm doing some inside housework. Maybe we'll try and schedule an ATV ride this week. I love the cool weather but I fret for the tomatoes. Don't think this will be a good season at all for them.

Laura - this is my favorite recipe for fish. It's not too bad on the calories and you can skinny it up a bit if you like.

• Wash the fish fillets and pat dry. We mostly use cod but any whitefish will do.
• Season with a bit of melted butter, a couple of squeezes of lemon juice and some black pepper and paprika. I generally don't add salt because there's enough in the next step so add it to taste if you desire.
• Melt about 1/4 cup of butter in a microwave safe dish. Add 1 cup panko bread crumbs and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Stir to coat and spoon on top of the fish fillets. Can add more of any of these 3 ingredients to taste just don't make the crumbs too wet and mushy.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily. The parmesan cheese will cause the bread crumbs to brown slightly and crisp up.
• Serve with lemon wedges for additional juice if desired.

This is a never fail method. We use it all the time and everyone who has it loved it and shared it with others. DH also is fond of grilling fish in aluminum foil with a bit of salt and pepper, lemon and diced bell peppers and onions - honestly it's not my favorite prep but sometimes I let him do things his way

Michelle - I'm sure it's not easy trying to keep on top of the programming but at least you are learning and keeping your skills current. I don't envy you as I'm sure the deadlines are always quicker than seems feasible.

Laura - we had a whole house fan in AH and I loved it! Wish we had one here - it's great for sucking the hot air out of the house, especially when it's been warm during the day and cools off nicely at night. I suppose having attic access inside the house is convenient also. I am also in awe of you with the squat challenge. That's one thing I can't do any more - bad knees.

Mel - sorry to hear that you are feeling under the weather. Is it that things are catching up with you? Try to think good thoughts - such as Igor giving you a nice once over and feel better soon.

Shad - whatcha digging up outside? Not the bodies of ill mannered guests I hope

Ceejay - send us some of that rain if you will. We haven't had more than 5 minutes from a passing cloud over the last couple of weeks. I don't blame you for not wanting to drive in the rain, I never saw it rain as hard as it does down south - might as well attach a fire hose to the car windshield for what little you can see. Sounds like your brain is excited about the idea of retiring - who can blame it? Although retirement brings it's own set of challenges.

Hi Annie

Not feeling too great myself today. My back is pinching and it gives me a sciatica type feeling in my hip and the back of my knee. Gives me that side to side old lady waddle I hate but it hurts like the dickens. I think it's got a lot to do with how I am sleeping. I guess DH and I will just have to rub each other up with linament I do have a couple of books to read, perhaps I will just take a heating pad and toss the kitty out of the recliner and relax after I change the bedding and finish this last load of clothes. Ta ta for now.

Top of the Afternoon to you all!!

Not much to report since last night. C had leftover bbq pulled pork and baked beans. Not me it sounded disgusting. I skipped dinner all together, then made me some chickpeas sprayed with butter Pam sprinkled with garlic baked in the oven till crispy. YUM!

It is a boy for the Prince and Princess! I can't wait to hear what they name him. I am sure something a mile long. Too bad it wasn't a girl so they could use Diana's name in there somewhere. I loved her and was very sad when she passed.

Sissy and lil man came up for lunch. Sis had to run off to the toitie to puke. I am thinking this pregancy is a go!! Lil man was as good as gold today. We went to Kohl's and he kept waving his hand and saying Hi to everyone. Cracked me up.

HAPPY...I will post the recipe tomorrow. I left it at home and will have to bring it to work to post it. Too busy at home. lol. Glad momma got back safely, that dang BP is a PIA all the time for me. Glad it wasn't too serious. I have not had any "chruchies" since I put my homemade no-soliciting sign on the door. I don't even get Girl Scouts. There are the ocassional people who cannot read, of course. I am just assuming because they knock on the door anyway.

LAURA...good luck on the WI. Maybe sometime make the recipes you like instead of what BF likes all the time, of course if he is doing the cooking it might be a little hard to do. I like orange roughy but it has to be prepared correctly for me to eat it.

CEEG...No rain for us today. Yeah. We had quite a bit the past few days. Back to work? That was a quick 3 days off.

MELLIE...whew girl you do what you need to do to take care of you. Meliday it is. Feel better sweet sister....hugs.

CHELLE....keep striving away at the programming, you will get it. Have faith and confidence in yourself!! Hugs.

SHADDIE...enjoy your beautiful day of sunshine, I really miss having a clothesline. I throw rugs over the fence but that is about it. We cannot have clothes lines in our community. Bleh!

Have a great evening/morning all.

Hugs.

HAPPY...you snuck right in above my head. Your fish recipe sounds very similar to mine. GMTA. Think I will make that for dinner tonight. Sorry you are not feeling up to snuff. Feel better, my friend. Hugs

Thanks Annie! You cannot have clotheslines in your subdivision Annie???? That's horrendous. Just as bad as us not being able to have chickens in TN. Actually Shad's comment about hanging the wash reminded me that we never did put in the clotheslines that I wanted. Sometimes I throw bedding over the deck railing but on days like today when it's gusty windy - perfect for airing out stuff - it just blows it over the deck unto the dusty driveway.

I made some meatloaf for dinner tonight. I debated about it because I didn't really feel like fussing but now I'm glad I did. The smell is wafting up through the house and it smells HEAVENLY. I love meat loaf and pot roast and all the traditional good stuff. It's cool today too so the meatloaf will taste just grand (I hope). Told DH I thought that it seems more like a mid September day than the end of July. He said that's great but our summers are short enough as it is so the hot weather doesn't really bother me. You should have heard the people in town complaining last week. Would have thought we lived on the sun the way they were whining. I just think it's God's way of making us drink more water.

Posting a picture of the kitties. The young one follows tradition as all cats we have ever had just bond to DH like he's their king. Any where he goes she runs after him or meows loudly until she finds him. He went up to practice on his guitar and she grabbed her toy mouse (the red and orange thing you see in the picture) and decided to lay down and take a snooze while he played. Didn't take long before Meadow (on the left) decided to join her. I'm glad the cats match most of my bedding and upholstery - so much easier to clean up

Cats on the bed. Bet that bed didn't get made until they moved!!!

Just been up to town and handed back the baby gear we borrowed for the royal visit. Now have few reminders of their holiday.

Finally just about finished the big filing cabinet clean out. Still got the last of the old stuff to put away and that stuff that you don't know what to do with but can't throw away.

Happy - meatloaf. Yum yum. I can imagine the smell. Hope you are all back to normal now and are not snapping at each other.

Annie - congratulations to Sissy. Your fish sounds nice. Not so keen on the baked beans. Never been much of a dried bean person.

Michelle - head down, back to work. Brain always feels better with a workout.

Ceejay - Brought myself a new mower yesterday so I've been mowing lawns too. No rain down this way. 2 brilliant days in a row. Love it.

Mel - Rest up, come back all renewed.

Laura - don't like oversalted fish myself and I find that orange roughy has plenty of flavour without it.

Okay - got a list of things to finish before the end of the week. It's already Wednesday. Better get on with it. Dump run first up.

sorry this is short.
I am on the fly this morning and still not up to snuff body wise.
i'll try and get back here tomorrow.
keep well and stay happy!

Good Mornin' All...

MELLIE...you get to feelin' better sister...I miss your posts.

HAPPY...the kitties sure are cute. Looks like they rule the house or at least that bed..lol. Meatloaf is one of my favorite meals, so comforting. I forgot the chic n noodle recipe again today, I will staple a note onto my purse handle. That is the only way I can remember things.

SHADDIE...the royal visit, what a hoot. Funny how babies can rule the entire house. Good thing they are so dang cute and adorable.

Not much going on here to report. The weather is perfect today. Cool, no humidity, and a lil breezy.

Hello to the rest of yas,

Hugs

Morning all. Another nice day here - sunny, cool, low humidity.

Annie - Thanks for the coupon! Never tried those before so it's a good time. Probably good to do that to alleviate boredom with my treats! Lol re the note on the purse strap. When I need to remember something, I put a note or whatever in the little bag where I keep my contact lens & eyeglass cases. Things might get buried in my purse, but I definitely see what's in with my eyeglasses!!

Mel - Have a good day. Hope you feel better as the day goes on!

Shad - Cheers to another good weather day! Enjoy your new mower.

Happy - Love the pic of the kitties!! BTW, that's a nice headboard! Bf and I will probably end up with a dark-colored metal/iron one, since we'll probably never find a good match for a wooden one (with our BR set). That fish recipe sounds delish and easy. So the crumbs just go on the top of the fish (not coated all over), right?

Michelle - Keep chuggin' girl!! You can do it!! Re the squats - lol, I wish that was the cause of my weight gains!!!

Ceejay - Wow, that was a lot of rain you got the other day!!!! Sorry the bike bothers your knees. Make sure the resistance isn't set too high and your seat isn't set too low! Your leg should only have a slight bend at the knee when that pedal is at the lowest point, otherwise you could be straining your knees. BF and I see way too many people on the street riding bikes with their seats too low. We think it's because they feel more secure being able to reach their feet to the ground without having to get out of their seat when they come to a stop. Obviously with a stationary bike that's not an issue!
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It was so nice after work that instead of doing the ceiling sanding in the powder room, I finally got out and trimmed the three bushes that were growing into one. They don't look so hot now due to my lack of skill, but hopefully if I keep on top of it as they grow back in, it'll look better soon.

I had a gain yesterday at my ww weigh-in - 0.6 pounds. Like I said, wish I could blame it on the squats or on the oversalted fish, but it's much more likely from me eating too much. I'm really going to try to crack down on my tracking this week - including the weekends!!!

At lunch I'm going to Sears a few blocks away to pick up a pair of the sport slide sandals I ordered. Been wanting a pair to wear around the house as slippers and be able to slip on quickly after workouts, etc. Cetainly much better than the cheapo rubber flip flops - you know the ones - and easier to put on take off. Talk about lazy, lol!!

Have a great day everyone!!

Quick post today ladies,

I'm way more than half asleep today. I didn't fall asleep until after 1 am, and I did not want to get up at 6:30. 5.5 hours is not enough sleep for me. I'm having lunch with the account manager from my placement agency...no doubt to hear how I think I'm doing at my job and how I like it.

I wish I could've just stayed in bed.

And last night, my step-mom asked me if I could go over to a friend of her's house to help her with her computer. Normally I would happily do this, especially since I'm so grateful to my step-mom for letting me stay with her. But the friend is having trouble with Windows 8, and I don't know much about troubleshooting Windows 8. That combined with not enough sleep last night, makes me really hope that the friend just takes her computer back where she bought it.

Hope you all have a great day!

Much love,

Hi ladies,

Thanks for the kitty comments. That's the day bed in DH's "guitar" room aka second guest room. It's his domain. I actually fixed the bed nice and neat and when the cats came in looking for him he unmade the bed and created a cat haven. Lucky cats.

Shoowee as Annie would say - it got doggone cold out there last night. While many of you are sweltering in the heat, someone turned the thermostat way down over here. Yesterday was a lovely day hitting a high of 71 but it got as cold as 43 here last night. I knew it was chilly because I put an extra blanket on the bed last night though sometimes it feels colder than it actually is. I actually turned the FURNACE on for 30 minutes this morning just to take the chill out of the house. It's very gray and overcast so we won't be getting any sunshine to warm things up. I'm not sure I will see any big tomatoes from my garden this year as they start to go dormant when it gets chilly at night. My wild berry bushes did not push out a lot of berries this year either, although it still might be a bit early for them. Last night I refilled the hummingbird feeders - the birds are swarming (lots of birds jockeying for a feeding position) which is typical of their behavior in mid September as they are bulking up for their big trip down south for the winter. They cleared out 2 bottles of juice in just one day which is quite unusual. Makes me wonder if we're going to get an early fall and winter. Hope not.

Laura - yes, the crumb mixture sits on top of the fish, not rolled and coated on the fillets. I totally get what you are saying about the bicycle seat adjustment - I probably have the wrong ratio too - comes from the fear of not being able to stop the bike in a hurry I think We have one of the original Bally Life Cycles and while DH loved it, I could never get the seat adjustment quite comfortable enough so it always bothered my knees and therefore I never really used it. Now my legs are embarrassingly weak so that riding a bike would be tough work. Come on squat challenge Don't you work downtown? Did Sears put a store back in there? My first job was at the original store on State. 5th floor toys. Do you find with the weight gain that you have to consistently stay on plan - even a little deviation will set you off kilter? Good luck finding a metal headboard - I can't believe how expensive they can be. But you are right about trying to match wood to wood.

Annie - yes, the pets do tend to rule the house but you already know that, don't you? Actually the older cat has her spot and it happy with her little place on the couch. It's the kitten who is a sassy diva and thinks everything is hers for the taking. She can't stand for DH to pay attention to the other one such that if he's petting Meadow, Nina has to run in between them and put herself in the front - which sometimes results in a cuff from Meadow. I had to laugh at you stapling notes to your purse handle - I would do the same except I taped mine in a circle link like one of those paper chains we used to make. Are you going to be putting Dad's house up for sale? What's going on with C's house? Maybe you should get a real estate license

Mel - sorry you are still out of commission. Rest up and take care of yourself. Gentle to you. And a snort for what ails you

Shad - "stuff that you don't know what to do with but can't quite chuck" - boy can I relate to that. And I have to admit consistently when I decide to chuck it, I need it a week later which doesn't help things any. Are you glad to have your house back to normal again?

Hi Michelle and Ceejay - hope the work day is being kind to your today.

We're off to go pick up a TV table so I'd better sign off. See yah later chicks.

Mel
Feel better soon.

Happy
I was thinking about meatloaf yesterday. They do make the house smell good. The cats are pretty as can be. Maybe when I retire I can get some kind of an animal.

Annie
We are having better weather today also. However we've only had a couple of day near the 100 mark.

Michelle
Hope things go well with the review. I know how you feel about not getting enough sleep.

Shad
I didn't want to buy a new lawn mower but may any way. That's one chore I don't mind doing if it's not extremely hot. I wish I could find one with an electric starter on it. But not have to drag around a cord.

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Had a raunchy phone call yesterday from a customer who was bound and determined to get her utilities restored. She said that she had paid her part and that the EOC office had just faxed her part over. Da lady it was almost 5.30 p.m. when you called. The light office goes home at 5 p.m. She was ranting on and on and finally told me she was just up there in a pink blouse and that she saw me as you/me were standing by T. I told her it wasn't me that I work in the water treatment plant and I haven't left this building to go over there. I had to get a bit stern with her. Told her I did not have access to the computers or the accounts. Luckily I had my nerve meds with me and took one. I was literally shaking. She finally hung up the phone but 10 minutes later she was calling again but this time wanted to talk to the person in charge. I told her that I'm the only one here. She'd have to wait till 8 a.m. in the morning. I told my supervisor this morning that I got stern with a customer yesterday. He said not to worry about it. They all know how things are. We should not have to deal with this. Sorry for the rant