GOOD MORNING

TONITE ARE THE MONTHLY MEETINGS INSTEAD OF THURSDAY. SOMEONE IS GOING ON VACATION AND CANNOT BE HERE. YUCK. I HAD TO TURN THE HEAT UP A WEE BIT AND TAKE THE CHILL OFF. YESTERDAY WENT BY SO FAST THAT I GOT NOTHING DONE. SITTING HERE AND CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING TO SAY. MY MIND IS A BLANK. LUCKY YOU! HAVE A GREAT DAY



HAPPY......I HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER TODAY HOW'S THE EARACHE??? IT MUST BE FUN DECIDING WHT TO TAKE AND WHERE TO PUT STUFF IN THE NEW HOUSE. AS MUCH AS I NEVER LIKED MOVING, THE PLANNING PART WAS ALWAYS FUN!



CEEJAY....GLAD TO READ THE MEDS ARE WORKING. I HAVE NEVER HAD THE STEROID PACK . HOPE YOU'LL BE FEELING 100% VERY SOON NOW.



MICHELLE....I AM NOT A FAN OF ART. SWEETENERS AND/OR JUMPSTARTS. BUT YOU SHOULD DO WHAT YOU FEEL IS RIGHT FOR YOU. BECAUSE IF YOU YOURSELF DON'T "BELIEVE" IN SOMETHING....THEN IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK. MAKING A PLAN AND FOLLOWING IT THRU NO MATTER WHAT IS THE ONLY WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT. CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY. (this from someone who consistently eats carbs....LOL) WHEN I DIDN'T MAKE SXCUSES I LOST WEIGHT. I THINK WOMEN AS A WHOLE BELIEVE THE ONLY WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT IS TO BE DRASTIC AND SPEND LOTS OF MONEY DOING IT. WE'VE BEEN BRAINWASHED BY THE EVER GROWING DIETING INDUSTRY AND BILKED OUT OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
I AM TRYINGTO STICK TO WHOLE FOODS (some already cooked by TJ's) AND USING PORTION CONTROL IT ALWAYS AMAZES ME HOW MUCH ONE PORTION ACTUALLY IS I MUST HAVE BEEN EATING ENOUGH FOR 10 MEN!! WHATEVER YOU DECIDE...SENDING LOTS OF SUPPORT FOR STRENGTH!!



LAURA....THE STORY OF BF'S DM REMINDED ME OF JEN. I SOLD MY INS POLICY TO GET A DOWNPAYMENT FOR A CAR AND SHE HAD TO QUIT WORK WITHIN A YEAR'S TIME FROM THE SALE. NOT THE BEST PLAN I EVER MADE!! HOPE THE WOMAN DOES OK. NICE TO HAVE FRIENDS FOR SO LONG AND MAKE MORE PLANS. GLAD YOU HAD A GOOD TIME. HAPPY ZUMBA-ING!! THE COAT SOUNDED VERY NICE....I'VE BEEN BUYING A LOT OF GREEN STUFF ON AND OFF LATELY. DISCOUNTS ARE A GOOD THING ENJOY IT.



ANNIE....IF MICHELLE DOESN'T ANT TO TAKE YOU UP ON THE OFFER OF CLEANING...THEN I WILL. I AM NOT TO PROUD TO LET YOU SEE THE STATE OF THE APT! LOTS TO KEEP YOU BUSY HERE AND I'LL WALK BELLA!! GOOD LUCK FOR THE 15 DAYS STINT. SENDING YOU LOTS OF ENERGY HUGS AND THOUGHTS



SHAD....HOPE THE SIT TESTING WENT OK. I OFTEN WONDER WHAT ANIMALS THINK WHEN THEIR "PARENTS" GO AWAY. GLAD TO HEAR THAT EVERYONE'S FRIENDS & FAMILY ARE DOING OK AND ARE SAFE & SOUND. SCARY TIMES. on my desktop, I HAD ONE OF YOUR FLOWERS ON MY OLD PC TO KEEP SPRING IN MY HEART THRU THE WINTER MONTHS!

SHELLEY....FORD SAID IT BETTER THAN I TRIED TO DO BUT HE IS RIGHT. GLAD YOU GOT TO TALK TO SOMEONE AND GET STUFF OFF YOU CHEST. IT'S NOT EASY TO ACCEPT THE PRESENT AND JUST GET ON WITH LIFE.
PLEASE TRY AND REMEMBER.... BY ACCEPTING TODAY'S BODY CONDITION, IT IS NOT GIVING UP ON TOMORROW'S POSSIBILITIES. IT JUST MEANS TAKING ONE DAY AT A TIME. PUT TOMORROW OUT OF YOUR MIND AND JUST PUT ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER!

Morning all. Back at work, and not happy about it. I think the rain and gloom today are making it worse than it is.

Happy - Yeh, outlet stores are generally not my thing (well, shopping in general is not my thing), but I'm accustomed to Land's End products, so I pop in there every once in a while. It's convenient to make catalog returns there instead of having to ship a package.

Michelle - Sounds like you had a productive visit w/ the wellness coach. I know you can do this!! If anyone has the drive, it's you!!

Annie - I hope you were able to catch up on your sleep last night - you must have been sooo tired. Be good to yourself during this 15 day run at cvs!

Shad - Hope you get through that testing and can soon get on with doing the work you prefer. Glad the crops are coming back and prices going down - all these disasters have a domino effect.

Ceejay - Glad you're enjoying the weather. It's so nice to have milder temps.

Mel - Hope the meetings go okay tonight. I used to love the color pink, but green is the color I'm drawn to now.

Hi Ellen - Your area has been getting milder temps than the rest of the Chicagoland area - hope you're enjoying it.

Not much to report. We went to TJ's yesterday and they had the dog treats Coal likes, so we bought two bags of them. JoAnn's didn't have the buckles, so I'll check out Hobby Lobby & Michael's at some point. If not those, might do some checking online. Not too worried about it. Doesn't seem like the weather will be nice enough this week to wear my new trench coat anyway...

I got to the library last night to pick up the book club selection, but didn't get to the Cardio Fusion exercise class. I'm skipping the movie tonight, so I'll go to a class tonight.

TOM this week. Weight has been up and so has my bp. I'm thinking water retention is to blame for both. Also wondering if the exercising is also causing my muscles to hold water. Time will tell.

Well, nothing else to blather on about, so I better get busy w/ work. I keep getting reminder e-mails from our compliance folks that I need to complete the fire safety online training, so I'll do that so I don't get the reminders all week up til the due date.

Later Worldlies!

Good Morning....High today 72 but with T Storms coming in by evening....I can handle the rain if it is warm outside. Hi on Thurs will only be 38...dang no wonder everyone is sick.

Chelle...I don't give a hoot what condition your house is in for cleaning....DUH that is why I want to come clean....I love cleaning...and besides...I CAN take vacay days...~smiles~ Funny, my fav color used to be lavender now it has been pink for the past 30 years. Go figure.

SHaddie...that dang report stuff has been giving you the arse of late. Bah humbug. Hope it all works out and you can move on...

Happy....you just might get preggers...you know all this strange stuff going on in the world...before the coming of Christ...lol

MELLIE...guess I could come clean for you too! You would have to back that chair up in the corner cause I fly through the house like a tornado. and you will walk Bella,,ha ha...she would pull you around in that wheelchair....lol

Ceejay...glad you are feeling better.

Not much else going on......hello to the rest of yuns.

Have a marvy day..

Love and Hugs

Laura...you are the sneaker inner.....what book are you reading for club this time? What movie did you miss? During TOM I could gain anywhere from 2-8 lbs. How funny...I got Hella B her fav cookies/biscuits from Walmart on Sunday...they had them for 3 bucks a bag so I got two...I will have to make a run to Pet Supply Plus here in a few days as she is just about out of dog food...she is so picky. Later, my friend.

Oh, I had to call the doctor to get my new BP med changed it was causing me all kinds of problems. Sweating, sharp stomach pains, TIREDNESS, additional bathroom issues....and get this CAN MAKE DEPRESSION WORSE...well no wonder I have been an emotional basket case with issues (more than normal). It took be 5 weeks to figure out that it was the BP med. It just dawned on me this morning that as long as I had been having issues was about as long as I had been takeing the med. DUH...blondie..

Mel - I really hope the meetings don't run too late for you. Good idea to turn the heat up, you definitely don't need to get chilled. It's really rainy here today...cold and damp. And just a few miles north of where we live they're having snow, so I'll stop complaining about the rain. Thanks for your advice, and the reminder to just put one foot in front of the other, and take it a day at a time. You're right that accepting where I'm at now, is not giving up on the possibility for improvement.

Laura - Shopping is not my thing either. I like green a lot, too, and I wear a lot of green. Our dogs really enjoy TJ's treats...but we don't live about 45 minutes away from a TJ's, so they don't get them often. Good luck on your search for buckles. What's the new book for the book club? I hope you have fun at class tonight. Exercising, especially strength training, will tend to cause your muscles to hold water. But it usually flushes out in a day or two. Don't forget your fire safety training.

Annie - I wish we had 70 degree temps. It's in the mid-30s here, which is why some areas in the state are getting snow. I'm glad you figured out that your new med could be causing some of your symptoms. I hope they can prescribe something else. My doc took me off my BP meds while I had bronchitis because my BP had improved over the last several months to where I no longer needed meds, and a rare but possible side effect of the BP med I was on was a dry cough...and I sure as heck didn't need any more of that while I was sick.

I'd better get back to it. Two hours 'till time to go home.

Morning all,
I didn't finish the testing yesterday - in fact I didn't do any testing. I left it up to P and got on with my own stuff. I now have a deadline to get my first course more or less completed by Friday. I can see me working some extended hours here and I can also see that what we in the training team thought would be the complete courses is only half the story. I've been around long enough, I should have seen this coming.

Happy - ah yes a magic pill - well apparently according to our scientists there is one. Breakthrough! Marvellous!! Well done, world first. However it will be apparently some years before it hits the market because it has some strange side effects in rats and monkeys. Who'd have thunk it!!!!! I'd rather be overweight and relatively normal thanks all the same. Besides which there is another apparently simple formula for losing weight - move it, eat less of everything, keep it simple and fresh, and keep your mouth zipped at any time other than the regular eating times. That's my doctors version of the truth - simple isn't it, only problem is that he is talking from the aspect of never having put a pound on in his life. I'll bet he weighs much the same now as he did at 21. Bah humbug

Michelle - good to know that we are on the right track in the advice we gave you. Now we all need to challenge each other to just get on with it! I will really have to stop going to all these morning teas and lunches that are put on in this office. I did make a stack of lunches over the weekend and they are in the freezer, however today is pizza with the big boss and I am going to have to try to do as well as you did with your one slice.

Mel - blank mind? Not like you. I had better get to and send you a USB for the new JOE with flowers and things on it. Then you can set up a rotating slideshow for the screensaver.

Laura - my weight used to vary with TOM as much as 3 kilos - nearly 7lbs. It will all come off in a week or so. Hope you did manage the class instead of the movie.

Annie - glad to hear that the meds were causing the problem with your moods and life. Just another reason to hate having to take regular medecine - finding something that a: works and B; suits. A better and brighter Annie to follow???

Ceejay - I think the lack of progress annoys the heck out of all of us. It seems that I can eat bad and it displays today, or I can eat good and exercise and it doesn't show up for a month or so. That doesn't seem fair to me.

Okay - time to go get on with the day and get another couple of documents onto that b*st*rd program - uPerform. It's a documentation program that does several things at once - creates a document to include in the manuals we write, does a simulated version of the transaction - you get to sit and watch the machine do the transaction all by itself and arrows move and cursors flash - etc. It also creates testing material as well. However it causes me no end of bother because it needs cleaning up and making useable at the other end. The unedited version is to my mind rude and crude and probably invented by an Indian from India.
So I'll get off the and go wrassle with it some more

Good morning ladies,

I have an early morning eye doctor appointment so can only stay here for about 3 sips of coffee.

Shad - Uperform? Sounds like another good concept gone bad in it's rush to market. Sounds like you have a busy few weeks ahead of you. Fill the coffee pot to the brim and bring in a sleeping bag

Annie - glad you put the link to the medication - goes to show you how alert we have to be in order to doctor ourselves. Those are some troublesome side effects - would not have associated them all to BP meds. Hope you get something that works better. Seems now a days these new meds cause a whole wealth of crazy CRAZY effects.

Laura - what are you reading for book club? Is this a once a month get together?

Mel - I'm sitting here wondering who the heck is SHELLY?????? Then it dawns on me I liked your Ford quote AND you new avatar! Is the new computer working yet?

Ceejay - we've got the mild temps but oh so windy all night long. My sinuses are really bad. Have you ever tried a neti pot? I'm getting desperate here...

Hi Ellen

I somehow hyperextended my knee and it's really sore now. I don't remember what I did but I vaguely remember something about ... don't hyperextend... what a goof!

Gotta run, chat later.

I WOKE UP SINGING "I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE EASTER" THIS MORNING. I CANNOT BELEIVE IT ACTUALLY SNOWED LAST NIGHT. JOHN & THE GUYS MUST BE SICK OVER IT. DIDN'T AMOUNT TO MUCH ...ABOUT 1-3 INCHES DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU MEASURE. INCREDIBLE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT FRIDAY'S 81 DEGREES.

AFTER I POSTED I GOT SO SICK SO FAST I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HIT ME. CALLED IN SICK FOR THE MEETINGS AND WAS FORCED TO VOTE BY PHONE. ALL I CAN THINK OF WAS THE MILK MUST HAVE BEEN BAD AND I DIDN'T NOTICE IT WHEN I SMELLED IT?? DON'T KNOW BUT I THREW IT OUT ANYWAY. SO YESTERDAY WAS A PREPARATION H KIND OF DAY I SHOULD HAVE REALIZED SOMETHING WAS WRONGWHEN I COULDN'T GET WARM.

JEN WENT TO THE STORE WITH THE DD AND THEY PICKED UP SOME GROCERIES FOR ME. GOOD THING CAUSE THERE IS SUPPOSED TO BE MORE BAD WEATHER THURSDAY TOO.

I AM JUST RESTING TODAY. I FEEL ALL BEAT UP INSIDE MY STOMACH AREA. MAYBE SOME CAMMOMILE TEA.
HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A SUPER WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY


LAURA.....THE HUNT FOR BUCKLES REMINDED ME OF HOMESEW.COM......I USED TO GET A CATALOG FROM THEM AND ALSO FROM NEWARK DRESSMAKER.COM.
YEARS AGO I MADE AND SOLD CROCHETED BABY SETS COMPLETE WITH BLANKETS ETC AND NEEDED A LOT OF DOODADS TO KEEP THE CUSTOMERS HAPPY. LIKE DUCK BUTTONS AND APPLIQUES. HOPE YOU FIND THE BUCKLES LOCALLY. HOPE TOO THAT OL' TOM COMES AND GOES AND TAKES THE WATER WITH HIM. ENJOY THE EXERCISE CLASS. WHAT'S THE NEW BOOK??? ANYTHING WE SHOULD BE READING TO IMPROVE OUR MINDS??? IS THAT NEW WOMAN STILL IN IT?? INQUIRING MINDS NEED TO KNOW THIS STUFF WHICH DOG TREATS DOES COAL LIKE? THE FIRST TIME I WAS IN TJ'S I WAS SHOCKED TO FIND THE PET SECTION



ANNIE....I WAS SORRY TO HEAR THE DATE WAS A WRITE OFF. MEANT TO SAY THAT YESTERDAY!! I AM HAPPY TO HEAR THAT YOU FOUND OUT IT'S THE NEW BP MED SCREWING THINGS UP AND HOPING THAT A CHANGE IN MEDS WILL LIGHTEN YOUR WORRIES
IF THESE PILLS DON'T KILL US FIRST I GUESS WE STAND A CHANCE!! WHILE YOU'RE CLEANING MY APT I CAN TAKE BELLA FOR A RIDE AND SPOIL HER I HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER SOON. IT'S HORRIBLE WHEN CHEMICALS IN OUR BODIES DON'T DO WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO DO AND HAVE TERRIBLE SIDE EFFECTS.



SHAD....I CAN HEAR YOUR PAIN WITH uPERFORM
I HAVE FAITH IN YOU THAT YOU WILL GET THE BUGS ALL CLEANED OUT AND UP AND RUNNING TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS!! SOMETIMES I AM VERY HAPPY TO BE DISABLED AND HOME COLLECTING FUNDS READING YOU GALS HERE PUTS THINGS BACK INTO PERSPECTIVE FOR ME AND REMINDS ME OF WHAT I AM MISSING...NOT!!!!!! HOPE THE WEEK IMPROVES



HAPPY.....HOPE THE KNEE FEELS BETTER. SO WHEN DID YOU HYPEREXTEND THE KNEE?? WAS IT ON YOUR ANNIVERSARY?? THE PC IS UP & RUNNING....WELL WONDOWS IS BUT IT NEEDS AN INTERNET HOOKUP. WAITING FOR CABLE GUY TO COME. IT WAS MICHELLE'S FORD QUOTE AND HE SAID IT MUCH BETTER THAN I COULD. HAD A LAUGH AT THE "SHELLEY"
GOOD LUCK AT THE DRS & HOW ARE THE LUNGS DOING???I FOUND THE SMILIE AVATAR BY GOOGLING "GARDENING GIFS".

Happy Hump Day everyone!

I have decided that despite the headache brewing, I'm going to have a fantabulous day! I'm feeling very optimistic about my weight loss plan...it'll be slower than I'd like, but I'll get there.

Today is my last day (for this week) of commuting into the office. I'm taking tomorrow off to do some cleaning, and am working from home on Friday. Tomorrow I'll get DMIL's room cleaned and ready for her, get started on the rest of the clutter in the house, so there will be lots of pitching and tossing...I guess it's good timing to get some pitching in as baseball season is about to start.

Shad - I'm glad you left the testing up to others so you could focus on your tasks. Don't ya' love it when you only get half the story?! That happens so often! I build a report to the initial requirements, and then when I send it for approval, more requirements are added, which makes for stressful, last minute, fast paced development...which is never good. I hope you get the whole story so you can deliver what they "really" want, instead of what they asked for. Love the doc's advice. People who have been thin their whole life make it sound so easy...and yes, logically it is. One of my physical therapists is like that. He doesn't understand the concept of using food for anything other than fuel. He doesn't understand how when you're feeling down or stressed, you might want to dive into a gallon of ice cream and eat your way out. Could he be a weight loss coach? No. But he and the other physical therapist are both highly skilled in their field, and they've helped me a lot in terms of reducing pain and now focusing on regaining strength, flexiblity and movement. I hope you did okay with your pizza lunch. Pizza is really one of the toughest foods for me to resist. I think it's because I haven't found an "acceptable" alternative. I can enjoy a FiberOne or FiberPlus bar instead of sweets, or yogurt instead of ice cream. But I haven't found a homemade or store-bought low-cal alternative to a really good pizza. Bummer that while the program you're using tries to accomplish several things at once, it does none of them very well.

Happy - I hope the eye doc appointment goes well. I agree with you about the side effects of some of the new meds on the market. I hear them on the commercials listing all the potential side effects of these new meds they're touting, and some of the side effects are downright terrifying! Yes, Happy, I'm Diyana, Michelle, Chelle and Shelly. I've also been called Mish (and a few other things that would likely be censored if I typed them.) You can call me pretty much anything, as long as you don't call me late for dinner! Ouch on the knee! I hate it when that happens. Have you used a Neti pot before? I've got relatives that say it's a lifesaver. Hope you feel better soon.

Ellen - How are you doing, girlfriend? We miss ya'.

Mellie - You got snow too?! Yuck!! I saw on our 7 day weather forecast and while there probably won't be any more snow after this morning, we're not going to get above 35 degrees for at least a week! I want the 50 and 60 degree temps back! That's awful that you were so sick yesterday. I hope you're feeling better today. Nice of Jen to get some groceries for you. Peppermint tea or ginger ale also helps soothe the tummy. Hang in there, my friend. I hope you get to enjoy a relaxing day.

I'd better skeedaddle. Lots to get done.

Love and hugs to all,

Still here ladies. Been out of touch for a wihle. I am trying to catch up on all your posts. DD3 is having her surgery today and I am off work, so I should have time to get in a few posts with personals over the weekend. Hope everyone is doing ok!

Ellen - Sending prayers and : for DD3's surgery and for a complete, speedy and relatively painless recovery afterwards.

Feel like crapola from the neck up, came home early, took some OTC meds and now going to bed...

Hugs to DD3 for a quick recovery.

Love and hugs...

Morning all - barely.

Annie – Glad you made the connection with the BP med and will get it changed. Hope you start feeling better very soon. Heck, you probably already feel better knowing it’s the meds and can be fixed! Aww, just read you've come home sick. Feel better quick, kiddo. You're going to stay home from cvs too, right????

Shad – Sorry the uPerform doesn’t perform to your liking. I guess that maybe the “u” part of the title refers to all of the cleanup “you” have to do with it. I have enough trouble with weight loss making my own unwise eating choices – let alone the temptations that business and social events present.

Happy – Hope your knee feels better soon! I researched a neti pot, but never went forward with it. Funny how when you forget all about it when you start to feel better…

Mel – Ugh, snow and bad milk – not a good day for you. Hope today is much better for you! Thanks for the suggestion – I’ll have to check out homesew and Newark dressmaker. I sure hope the new woman will attend the next book club meeting. I think the dog treats Coal likes are the beef rolls – we break them up into thirds and cram it into his treat ball. For a while, TJ’s didn’t have them, so we were happy to find them on Monday. Now I wonder if my double chocolate biscotti will ever make a comeback, LOL… Anyway, we give the treat to Coal before we leave the house because he gets “upset” when we leave the house – separation anxiety. Bf and I need to learn to be low key when we come and go.

Michelle – LOL re pitching. Nice to have the time at home, even if it’s to do housecleaning and work. Besides, the weather’s getting crummy again – nice to be indoors. And at home w/ your doggies!!

Ellen – Best wishes for dd3’s surgery, and a speedy recovery to her!!

Hi Ceejay!!

I did skip the movie last night (“Beastly” – a high school version of the story Beauty and the Beast) to do the exercise class. The Tighter Assets class was a killer! I wasn’t expecting a cardio class, but this definitely got my heart rate up!! When I said that to the instructor after class, she said the first part is like an interval workout - get the heart rate up, then bring it down a bit - continually. All the while working the lower body - squats, lunges, jumps, mountain climbers, etc. The last part of the class was more like Pilates, working the core. Great class. And as challenging as I’ve found the Zumba classes, this one made me wish I was in a Zumba class, hahaha. My muscles are tired today, but not sore - YET. I’m sure later today I’ll be feeling it in my legs and abs.

My next book club book is The Accidental by Ali Smith. Haven’t started it yet, but it’s about a young woman who ends up involved with a vacationing family and about the impact she makes on the various family members – very common premise, but I hear the writing style is “different”. Our book club gathering intervals differ. It just so happens that the woman who offered to host the next one couldn’t do it until sometime in May –a large gap between the last one in mid-Feb., so another woman volunteered to host one in the meantime.

Nothing planned tonight. BF will be out, so I’m going to finish my other mitten. The one I finished Monday is not attractive at all, partially due to the design and partially to my sewing. But they’ll do the job – I can expose the fingers to use my iPhone’s touch screen and not have to remove my whole mitten. Looks like I’ll need them for the next several days – boo!! Guess I’ll just appreciate spring all the more when it finally arrives.


Sad about Elizabeth Taylor passing, she was such a legend, and did a lot for the aids/hiv community.