rose, i was surprised--and thrilled!!--that you posted.

Hey Chicks! Jim just went to get our dinner. I'm VERY hungry which is not good. I was afraid I might eat something non-Core while he was gone so I came here instead. The sun came out this afternoon and, although chilly, it is a pretty afternoon.

Sandra, you are a competitor and there is NOTHING wrong with that! I guess I missed the meeting about being kind to myself. It's funny that you talked about the Chicago Peace rose. My Mom used to have several of those bushes and I love them myself. Aren't they pink tipped with some yellow? Remembering made me cry but in a good way. I miss her so much. Maybe I should get a Peace to help me think of her. I just know that I'm not good about taking gare of plants. Right now my peonies are blooming which was her most favorite plant and I love them too. I so miss my friend.

Afternoon chickies,
Welcome Rose from another fellow canuck!!
Happy belated Mother's day to everyone.......yesterday was a me day for me...got up , went to church, went home (didnt stay for the potluck) and went straight to my greenhouse and puttered away all afternoon in there. Most of the time I thought of my mom who passed away 8 years ago and it was her birthday yesterday as well.. got two phone calls from my dd's so all in all it was a great day. Now that my girls are grown Ive decided Im spending mothers day whatever way I want to. When the girls were young they always made me breakfast in bed...(cold toast haha colder coffee) we would go for picnics etc....but this is the first year they are both gone. So I thought its time for me to be alittle selfish and do whatever I want...I didnt even look at housework yesterday...ahahha felt ssssssso good. Course just means I have to do it tonight but thats ok.
Vickie Ive started back hard core again as well. We can do this...
Fouf, I love James Blunt..and yup that words in there!! they change it for radio..lol.
Sandra I would love your roses........I dont plant them. I always thought they were alot of work and we live in such a cold climate.
Hurry back Melissa!! Drive safe.
Kathy, WOW great picture.......you look fantastic!!
Ok off to check on my potatoe and cook a piece of lean ham for supper..
ttyl chickies!
ps it finally warmed up here today....

Vickie, my heart goes out to you, I am very close with my mom and I don't know what I would do without my best friend. Maybe planting a Chicago Peace Rose will make you smile & think of your mom when you look at it. I lost my Dad 5 years ago and I think about him every day.

vickie, i agree with nikki. plant you a chicago peace. my mother's fav rose was "tropicana." i have one in her memory. also, my paternal grandmother (who taught me to love flowers)--her fav rose was "queen elizabeth." i have one in her memory. my other grandmother who was a very loving, caring person who couldn't grow a weed's name was daisy. i have daisies in her memory. i think of them when i'm tending their plants.

patti, you are right about their requiring a lot of care. we call them our pets.

Well I am off to join WW tonight (again), I am really motivated to get the weight off and I think joining will help.

you're smart to go to the meetings, nikki. i am a "pro" ww'er. know the program from top to bottom and sideways but i was spinning my wheels trying to do program without meetings. it's hard to explain but they are very, very important.

Hi all: Gosh I do not know where to start so many have posted since I was last here.

Vicki with a personality like yours I am sure your friends just love you. Think of how well you have done so far and get back on the track. Just think of how good you will feel. (Hey, I should follow my advice) Don't fret about it and just move ahead.

Sandra have you ever seen "New Dawn" it climbs and pretty light pink and it blooms and blooms and blooms all summer. I can not have it any more as I have so many trees in our yard. I call our yard, green park.

pa: I did not know they took the "word" out for the radio. I heard it first on Oprah's and of course it wasn't there either. lol You are a Canuck also, gosh 4 of us now, right?

Gosh, I am not the only one that misses there Mother so much. I can not read the cards in the stores or I get all upset.

Oh phone, I will come back later.
Blue Skies,
Rose

donna, i haven't seen that one. i have 5 climbers--3 dynamite and 2 don juan. both are dark red. our house is yellow so they show up really well. i'll go check out "new dawn" on the net.

donna, i found it. the article says it's the most popular climber of all times. it's good down to zone 5. i live in zone 4.

okay, i've stalled long enough. it's still 83* and the sun is bright hot. guess i'll head on out and prune the last 2 rosebeds. (i'm just pretend complaining. i actually love working with my rosebushes.)

That is it Sandra, it is absolutely beautiful and you can not kill it. Have fun in your garden
Blue skies,
Rose

All this rose talk makes me want to plant some! There were three gorgeous bushes when we first moved in, and they had trellises behind them, but the trellises were starting to come apart and the bushes were too leggy so we ripped them up after a year or so. We've never put anything back in their place and so I'm thinking I should do that.

This morning (and yesterday morning too) I was back to 144. I just can't stand this yo-yo! I guess it makes me realize once again that maintenance is harder than losing, at least for me. It's like balancing on a tight-rope. So ... sigh ... I suppose tomorrow morning I get back on 100% Core and we'll see how long I can last. I only want to lose 5 STINKIN' POUNDS! Geezalou, is that TOO much to ask???? I know I'm below my goal weight but I had set it high. I really want to see what's happening in the 130s, plus I'm between sizes. The 8s are loose but 6s are a little snug. When I'm able to start back exercising, hopefully before summer is over, then maybe it'll happen. Until then, all I can do is watch my intake.

Today was Kate's 20th birthday. No more teenagers here! Only people who act like teenagers -- guess what she and Devan bought themselves at the mall? Baby turtles. Yep. Turtles.

I am LOVING Grey's Anatomy tonight. Just LOVING it! I will definitely be getting this season on DVD.

i didn't prune roses afterall. i vacuumed and made dinner instead. i did do some watering, though. i will prune later maybe tomorrow morning when it's cooler. we're having record heat today.

kathy, i used to plant rosebushes in jan or feb when i lived near you. i don't know if they would live if you planted them now.

i'm watching the apprentice. guess i'd best close. night night.

Good Morning Chicks! It's 6:00 and I'm up early because I had to help Jim get a urine sample from Cassie. Yes, there I was, running around in the back yard with a coat over my nightgown and my shoes with no socks, Cassie on leash being walked by Jim, with a rectangle metal pan in my hand trying to "surprise" Cassie. The deed is successfuly done (I'm as much a terrier as Cassie) and now we will await the news. We are still trying to find out if she has kidney disease. It seems at last test that her urine was too dilute which could be a sign of kidney disease. Sheesh.....we are quite the medical family lately. I was supposed to get this taken care of weeks ago, but frankly, she seemed ok and we had bigger problems with Jim. Evidently, there are no symptoms until it is too late. Great.

Anyhow, I had a horrible night of sleep. I woke up about every hour and it felt as if it took 20 minutes to get back to sleep. I was also disturbed about my best GF. She is no longer making platelets and must have transfusions twice a week. She learned yesterday that her brothers are not a match for her bone marrow and now she awaits the news to find out if anyone in the bone marrow bank is a match for her. She is positive and upbeat and has more faith than anyone else I know. She one of those bright light people that it has always been a joy to be around. The Doctor says there is an 80% chance of a match from the bank. She is not dealing with the other 20% possibility right now. Her 25th wedding anniversary party is on June 24th and she plans to take her vacation at the end of June after the party and get her transfusions while on vacation. Jim and I will be at the party since I was a bridesmaid all those years ago. Isn't it grand that she and I have stayed such close friends for so many years. We met at work when I transferred departments. She came up to me at about 10:00 on my first day there and said, "Hi, I'm Cindy. Do you want to go to lunch with me?" The rest is history! Is she amazing or what? She'll also have her 43rd birthday this Wednesday. Anyway, she could use some prayers. I ask because I know that most of you are "quite" connected.

So I worried about Cassie and Cindy all night long. Oh yeah, I also watched 24 before I went to bed last night which is also not good for a sensitive soul like me. As you all know, I'm an emotional eater. Needless, to say, this morning I would just like to go out to breakfast and eat until I'm ill. I've decided to let the intelligent part of my brain rule and I'm going to try to beat the emotional eating. I know that eating until I'm ready to burst will NOT help anything and will only hurt me. I really want to have a good week.

Sorry for the vent, but this was what was flowing out of my brain this morning and I KNOW that it is all going to be something I'll have to fight to control my eating.

Jim and I have eye doctor appointments this afternoon. I can no longer read my books without my glasses (or with them) since my right eye has gotten very blurry. I need to decide if this is a treadmill day. I think it is not.

Ok, I'm off to read posts while I drink this absolutely wonderful smelling cup of coffee that my husband brewed for me. At the moment, my life is good and I need to enjoy it.