YAY!!!And you are back Mrs.Shad so that is very good news indeed. As I write this (or should that be type?} I can smell my potato baking in the oven, I was SO organised today I put the oven on timer but quite what I want with the finished article I have as yet no idea!!
It is 1 degree here but sunny with it. Nice if you are in the warm indoors looking out, I think...
Shad, I hope you are safely ensconsed in Perth by the time you read this, and that you manage to change your flight back home to a few days later so you can "do the tourist bit" round Perth over the national holiday.
how terrible for those people stuck on the broken down ride on the Gold Coast.Frightening and very frightening. Me, I never go near them! I don't even remember liking them as a child so I probably never went within a 100 yards of them then!! Oh! And the big news of the day is that I have some money in my account!!!!! No not a lot, don't get too excited.The Benefits Agency PROMISED my s/w that the back paid lump sum right back from last May would be in the bank by close of business Friday, and my new fortnightly payment was already there. Hmmmn. Yes well you already know the answer to that one! The 2/52 was not there till close of Friday's business and the lump sum has got lost down the Bank of England vaults somewhere!!! Good job I was not going to pay off a large bill yesterday!!! So the wheels of finance are turning. ...(in reverse I think )
Now for my final thought of this post....I like mango juice, but not the fruit itself!!! I know, those little men in white coats are knocking on the door.....

Bye bye, keep well, love from Teel.

Welcome back Shad, how lovely to go to Perth, my SIL lives there, or was living there, they are now moving to Brisbane shortly so we will see them more often I would think. I am on leave after today and I won't be back until the 28th.. we are just pottering aroung, DH has built a pergola so we have that to finish.. and yes he still has the bike although he says it is too small and needs to upgrade but I suppose your DH can relate to that happy!!!

Miss 6 has had a few bad mozzie bites and has a terrible reaction to them so she is a bit swollen and miserable DH has rung and said she is tired and looks quite unwell so will be nice to be home with my babies for a bit. So I have lots of stuff to do today at work and I am very tired and feeling unenthused. On the other side of the coin congrats Teel on getting some money out of the corrupt system - I would say that money is just one thing that we all worry about at certain times and it sure gives you a headache so I hope it gets better for you. The oven timer sounds a challenge I certainly have never used mine, need a manual.. hey Shad you could write one maybe??

The w/end was lovely, am a bit fried from the beach but the kids did well and heaps of swimming and boating. I am off to ww tonight I do love my meetings but will not tell them about the low carb thing as they don't like that sort of thing, they have a new program and it does encourge the high GI foods but doesn't cut out carbs altogether. I think that most foods are addictive, the more you have the more you want, escpecially for us kind of people that battle this type of thing. Carbs manage to give you that very FULL feeling and I think that is also what we crave as well because it tell's our brain we can be happy now cause we are full.. I am trying to eat smaller meals until I am not hungry anymore - but not bursting and then not eating until I am truly hungry again - can be quite a challenge as I eat when the clock says lunchtime not the body.

Well have a good week all I will try and pop in when I can depending on waht we do.. bye all..

Have a great holiday Shaker. I hope you can get this before you go home! Are you planning lots of beach trips and such or are you going to get cultured and go to museums and zoos etc.
Perth seems like quite a nice city. After getting lost in it around midnight last night I think it will be fairly easy to find my way around in the daylight - daylight always brings out the fun bits. Not a huge city, but the hotel is right beside the river. I went for my walk this morning by using the walkway to get to the beach, running down to the next pedestrian overpass and then running back to the hotel. Took about half an hour and no I did not run all the way! (before you all ask).
Hotel seems quite nice and I have managed to change my flight home to Monday so I can use the weekend to explore and take some photos.
The restaurant seems quite good too! They have some good options for breakfast anyway.
Gotta go. Be back later

Shad, good to hear from you again. Hope you have some sunny weather in Perth and chance to dry off a bit and raise your face to the sun. I like your attitude about the "to do" task list. Yes indeed, some things are worth procrastinating over and forgetting about. Others we bother with and then wonder why we did them at all. Enjoy your extended weekend and have some fun.

Teel, hope you enjoyed your roasted potato and found some suitable companions to go along with it. Yum. And good to hear that you have finally been given a few pence and a bit of hope. Of course they will find ways to stall and play games with you and your money. Wack them with a stick I say.

Yes Shaker, I can imagine DH being a big strapping guy that he would decide the bike is too small for him if he got a smaller model. Not only uncomfortable to ride, but the bigger ones hold the road better. However, as you say your choices are limited. Is your daughter having a bit of an allergic reaction to the mozzies? Poor little thing. I must say that it is a bit dissapointing that WW would push their own plan and disregard other types of eating, particularly since more people are finding that their problems are not so much fat related as carb related. But pretend you are just a points counting maniac and do what you see works for you. I too have tried to go back to smaller, more frequent meals. It's an odd thing, you don't feel full and you don't feel hungry. And sometimes when you are supposed to eat you don't want to. Hope you enjoy your holiday time off too.

As I sit here it is -13C. We had an ice storm Friday night, not as bad as it could have been but quite dangerous if you had to be out and about. Saturday morning it warmed to just a few degrees above freezing and the sounds of us all out scaping the ice away was echoed all throughout the area. Some people of course did not clean at all and when the wind shifted Saturday night (more bitter cold air from our friends in Canada and the North Pole), there are now huge sheets of dangerous icy walks. And bitter cold. January is here. New furnace is keeping us nice and toasty warm and we have a humidifier that finally works putting some moisture in the air. Is quite nice not to have to go through a winter where it is dry, everything metal that I touch would give me a stunning static electricity shock and I can brush my hair without it sticking all up the top of my head. Sometimes I would have to use one of those clothes drying static sheets and run it over my head just to hold the hairs down. Not so with the new equipment this year. Worth the price of it. It was another weekend that flew by in about 6 hours total. I did get a bit of cleaning done in the basement. 2 large trash bags and a bag of clothes for charity. DH and I ran some errands today, I went grocery shopping and poof the night is over. As DH said tonight, time to go to bed to just get up and start another week of rousing fun and adventures. Said tongue in cheek of course

Have to go journal my stats for the weekend. Happy Monday - be warmer than I.

Someone go and give MEL a bit of a push to be brave enough to come visit us in our thread. She is a bit hesitant because she has had some knockbacks where people haven't answered her or welcomed her. Happy can I delegate this to you please? I issued the invite but she is very nervous!!!!! Who MEL???

Would be my pleasure to fire up the welcome wagon. I remember when I first came here how nervous I was about joining some threads. And I too, encountered some that were rather tight and unfriendly. But then I found you guys.

Ok I bit the bullet and came to post. Then I lost the post! Somehow that seems fitting! I am very happy to have been invited. I have been all over looking for a place to call home. I just about gave up. But I am here now.

I have not read back a few pages to get to know everyone but I will try. I guess I should say my name is Mel and I am almost retired and looking foward to full retirement. I could use more time for Mel now. I love all these smilies!! lol They alone are worth the trip.

It's getting late for the eyes so I better cut this one short. Nice to meet you all. Sweet dreams and see you all tomorrow.

Thanks Shad and Happy for the caring! Makes me feel really good.

Mel

Hey Mel, it is great to see you here. We are only a small group, but we all rub along pretty good. I'll let each one introduce themselves. One thing about here is that you get a prod once in a while if you haven't posted - so watch out for it!
Good to have you on board -

Gotta go. Catch up later

Melody????? No wonder you are singing all the time But a big welcome to you - so glad you decided to chum up with us here.

I guess I'll start with my introduction. I've been on the boards here since June 2002. Was lucky to find these ladies here. I am still trying to lose the extra poundage even after all this time. I would like to get to a size 10 again - don't care what I weigh, my goal is a size and to be fit and healthy. I have a long way to go but after losing my drive for a long time, I think I've found it again. I am going to be 50 in April which I dread although I am getting used to the idea. I am a web programmer by trade and I'm in school now trying to keep up my technical skills. Am married, will be 27 years in March. No kiddies. I was born and raised in Chicago. Still here but looking for a place to semi-retire to in a few years. After I get the eating and exercise under control, I tackle my next huge battle - to quit smoking. Other than being an old fart, I'm still pretty cool (at least I think so ) even if every 6 months a major body part breaks down - at least I'm learning some new exercises in physical therapy

Glad to have you with us.

And some good news from DH today. Another group offered him a job as a database programmer so his recent worries of getting laid off in the spring may be put to rest for a while. Hahahaha - HE will also be going to school like me. Misery loves company.

Well, I am failing poorly on my resolve to get to bed earlier so I'd better scoot. Have a date with the dentist tomorrow to fix that tooth of mine that is giving me alot of pain. ALOT. G'night ladies.

So now you can make faces at him through the window when he is doing his tests.
Not much to report here. Iwent to the gym last night and did some weights and treadmill. The fitness gap between Friday and Tuesday shows unfortunately but will come back fairly quickly. It's difficlt when you really have not much idea where the nearest shop it so you can pick up some fruit and veg and protein for the pretraining meal! Perth doesn't have the little shop run by Indian on every corner as does Sydney or Brisbane or Cairns - or maybe it does, I am just standing on the wrong street corner!
Anyway, I have a lot of people to get through today and tomorrow so best go get my list and strike a blow for Microsoft. And show the natives that JDE really isn't that difficult!

I'm 57 and as you know I'm in a motorized wheelchair since 1991. I can no longer stand or walk and have a Muscular-dystrophy condition known as a progressive myopathy. I am divorced and have a daughter Jennifer who is 35. I am semi-retired but am a night emergency personnel of 1 for 100 senior citizens in this high-rise. Kind of laughable when you type it but I actually get around better than them I also have been so reliable that the office cannot seem to function without me since they have lost all their dept heads. It is impossible to explain this but somehow they were all happy to dump it in my lap and I needed to keep busy. When busy, Mel has no time to think about the future. Get it?! Now after 16 years, I am trying to dump it back but can't seem to find an accommodating lap!
But it's time for ME now and I will accomplish this in 2004 along with further weight loss. I gained weight sitting in this chair and eating all the wrong foods. I was 104 all my life till the non-walking started. I am on a slippery slope in my life that will continue to ice up and I have this year to get a jump on it. If I lose weight I can take care of myself longer. If I don't I know it's a nursing home for me. I am an optimist and know I can get there. Jennifer also has this disorder and she still walks but is no longer working. She retired last year and is holding her own at about 100 lbs!!
This is probably more info than any of you ever dreamed of getting!!
So I better get out of here and let someone else talk! I have to say it felt good to know that when I came upstairs from a very hectic day, that I had a place "to go". Thanks again

PS~ Happy it was good news about the DH and funny about the school thing. Will you be going to the same place? That would be even funnier! I lost my drive but Shad helped me find it again. I only temporarily misplaced it!
Shad I don't know why you are standing on street corners anyway?! People are gonna start talking about you!! And must it be with an Indian? Or is this a new hobby of yours when you go out of town? You, Lady,have done more for me than anyone knows.

No I haven't. I simply pointed and showed you the direction of where you knew deep down that you wanted to go anyway - so don't blame me for finding your get up and go - which temporarily got up and went (so to speak). Every one has it in them to think, act and depend on themselves. Some people get this fact earlier rather than later, some have it forced on them and others like Happy manage to rub along nicely with a complementary other half and still be a strong independent person.
I only said Indian because nearly every 'Convenience Store' (Australian) or 'Dairy' (NZ) seems to be run by Indians ( of the India variety - not the Red variety).
Besides which, I don't think I would make much business standing on street corners these days.

Evenin' ladies,

I daresay we lost Kim. Hope she's not crushed with work and responsibilities or frozen solid out her way. C'mon back Kim. And the same to you Missy Teel. Shaker, hope you had yourself a fine holiday.

Shad, both of us this semester are taking online classes so we can make faces at each other from right across the room. If he likes his database course, he will do his homework without prompting, if not I shall have to beat the drum by his head . Will be no problem with my homework as I shall have to build a website for the class and I promised him I would make his website that he's been pestering me about. I know what you mean about looking for a small grocery shop to pick up some healthy munchies. Sometimes I was in little towns or in more residential areas where they didn't have much more than a gas station which was good for only coffee. Some of the gyms have protein bars or fresh fruit - none too cheaply I might add. I suppose the next time you travel you can bring along a few protein bars with you for your workout. It does make a difference working out on a totally empty stomach vs having a little something to fuel the energy. Or maybe you could salvage something from the prior day's dinner to store overnight in the refrigerator if you have one.

Mel, I saw in your profile that you were following Michael Thurmond's plan. Are you still? I started that back in June of 2002 and for the time I stuck with it, it was the only one in a long, long time that worked for me. A combination of the mini meals, no processed foods or simple carbs and avoiding the salt. I use the salt shaker minimally in cooking as it is but many things like canned tomatoes and soups are really high in sodium. I did well on that as a summer diet with simple meals of grilled meat or fish and lots of raw fruits and veggies but ran into problems following it once winter came and I wanted more hot meals like soups and stews. I am trying to go back to something like that again. Good luck trying to find someone to toss back your duties to - once they find a willing *ahem* volunteer, they are not likely to raise their hands and take back their worries again.

I started my day at the dentist. He worked for a long long time on the nerve in my tooth. Said it was going to hurt after the anesthetic wore off. He NEVER says it's going to hurt (even though sometimes afterwards it does) so I was expecting the worst. He did give me some pain medication. I had to run over to the office to drop off some paperwork. My manager and I both like soup and when we're in the office together we often plan a lunch of soup and salad that we bring from home. I had made a nice creamy vegetable soup with asparagus but was so numb I was afraid of chewing lest I chew my mouth up. So I ate my yogurt while she enjoyed the soup. I was going to stay for a while but the novacaine was wearing off and the pain the dentist warned me of started as a steady growing ache. I picked up my pain meds and by the time I got home I was Laid down on the bed with a heating pad. DH woke me 3 hours later when he got home. The prescription pain meds didn't do a darn thing and I was in intense pain. He was nice enough to run out and get me some won-ton soup for dinner and I cut the noodles into tiny pieces so I could basically just drink it down. I know now I would NEVER be able to handle gastric bypass surgery just trying to sustain myself on soft foods! Around 7pm I was sitting with a hot pack on my face and I took 4 regular standard aspirin. About 1/2 hour later the pain finally dulled to a managable overall discomfort. I had several plans for the evening but this was definitely a down day for me. Dentist said the pain should lessen substantially by tomorrow morning and I hope it does. So that was my day.

And now it's time to fire up the electric blanket and get a good night's rest. Talk to you in the morning...

Hah Shad, is true here too - the convienience stores and gas stations are generally staffed by people of Indian or Pakistani descent and I really don't know why that is. The American Indians run most of the casinos - except for Las Vegas!