Hang in there Kappy. Maybe it will be a terrific job. (((((hugs to you))))

Diane, I wish the dog would have ate my daughter's. She had 3 questions for Social Studies she was having trouble finding...let's just say, " I am not smarter than a 5th grader!!!"

Hi there girls.

Go Cards. Diane I'm about to watch the game

It was a busy weekend. We were moving furniture up and down stairs. Very tiring. When we got to her new place I was shocked. It's a duplex, 3 bedroom with a basement. She asked me to bring up the hoover as the carpets were needing cleaning. They were manky. I don't think they had seen a vacuum cleaner since the previous occupants had moved in. As I was hoovering the carpet was changing colour in front of my eyes. The bathrooms were not very clean either. Lots of dust and cobwebs. She came home with us and went back sunday with loads of cleaning supplies. We are going back on Saturday with our carpet cleaner. That will be a big job as they've been doing it by hand and not getting very far. They were all cleaning last night when I called so hopefully it will be a bit better.
That was 4 girls that had the place before them and i'm surprised they lived with it like that. My room may have been untidy when I was younger but it was never dirty.

We were late getting home so I never saw middle daughter going off to the prom. They took lots of pictures and they all looked very nice. She will get to go to hers next year.

I love IKEA but there is not one near me.

Kappy good luck on your new job.

Lovn I like the sound of the sweet potato and chicken recipe.

I'm off to watch the baseball.

Great game, very entertaining.

Slash
I want them to do chores because I am not the maid nor the slave. I want to do them myself because they are done the way I want them done the first time lol. The kids don't mind doing the lawn, what is to mind, you sit on a lawn mower and listen to a mp3 player while the machine does the work lol. The first time of the year and the last time of the year I do. I want it bagged, I want it trimmed just right. I want the yard to look just how I want it to look. I still haven't gotten it done the way I want it done. The lawn mower broke down at the end of the season and I hadn't gotten it fixed. So it wasn't bagged and cleaned just the way I wanted it for winter. Now it is thick and the leaves are still there here and there. I worked on it 3 hours the other day and 3 hours today and have mowed it a couple of times already and there is only one section that meets with my inspection. It is going to take me another week or two working on it every day to get it done the way I want it done lol. It won't stop raining long enough for the grass to dry out so I can bag it real good. Then, the kids can take over the job.

kappy
You are right, you never know you might love the job. It is going to be a big change from what you were use to. Hope you find you really like it.

lovn
I think it is so nice how involved you are with you children and the church. We have a few things we do together still but as they get older we do less and less together except our volunteer work. Chores, there are days that they have stepped on my last nerve that their to do list is very very long lol.

letsgo
How dare she do something like that. She should have taken you with her so you could enjoy the trip and not miss a workout lol.

Silly
You enjoy your golf and take the time to remember all the good times you had playing with your dad.

I had a terrific walk and visit with a friend yesterday and got some laundry and housework done. Not much else, a slow day for a change. DD is not feeling well this morning and is planning to stay home from school. I hope she chooses to go later today, because the honors banquet is tonight, but that stuff always means more to me than her anyway. It's sunny for now, but their talking rain later. I'd better get the dog out for a stroll right away this morning.
Have a great Tuesday!

Another tough baseball night. My son's team played well and it was close, but they lost again. My son got hit by a pitch on his second time up to bat. Nice bruise coming there. He had a great hit on his first time up to bat, though, so that was good. Then they told us that they scheduled another game for tonight. what??? We have a makeup game, but I would have thought they'd give us a little time to prepare. So, back to the ball fields again tonight....
Oh, and the Rockies lost.... but that's not too surprising. Congrats, Clyde!

Howdy all. Another brilliantly sunny day here in Connecticut, it's about time.

My son's got a ball game tonight...I really, really want them to win, not because winning is the be-all, end-all, but because they are good kids, they try SO hard, and it would just feel SO good for them. My husband's traveling for work, so I'll be the one-woman support unit tonight. Luckily, I'm off-duty as far as chores, so I can sit and watch the game and enjoy the company of the other parents. It's a very social scene - last year, we did some nice tailgating, which was fun.

I weighed myself last night, breaking my own "only on Wednesday" rule, and was surprised to be down 3 pounds. I hope I can hold on to that; I won't be able to exercise tonight and since the ball game's at 5:45 p.m., we'll grab something to eat for dinner after the game. There's a local pizza/pasta place we always go to - we know the owners, etc. - so I'll have to control myself. I try to just get one slice of pizza with veggies on it, plus a small salad. And I will try to have a relatively modest lunch as well...one meal at a time!

Still processing the whole Kentucky Derby situation. I am too afraid to contact my friend at the Nat'l Thoroughbred Racing Association; I'm sure he's up to his eyeballs in the whole controversy and I don't want to say the wrong thing to him! Hopefully things will simmer down.

Mother's Day is fast approaching! I always host the festivities - nothing too grand, just my parents and my sister and her family. Weather permitting, we'll sit out on the deck and grill up some burgers/dogs/chicken/veggies. I'm looking forward to it. My husband always asks me what I want for Mother's Day - he long ago stopped trying to surprise me by buying something w/o supervision! I can't seem to think of a single thing, though. I guess I don't really "need" anything.

OK, I'd better get back to work...

Good Morning Everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, but most of you know, I went to the Shrimp Festival over the weekend and had an absolute BLAST! I got there on Thursday night and we immediately went downtown to watch the parade. I must admit, I liked them better when the kids were smaller. So after a few minutes of that, we decided to go to the Palace Salone in Fernandina and have a few cocktails. I swear, it's like old Fernandina reunion time during Shrimp Boat weekend. I saw so many people I hadn't seen in a long time and they all told me how good I looked (guess I never realized how bad I looked) but the weight loss was definitely noticible. Made me feel really good.

On Friday, we layed out by the pool all day and Friday night was the big cocktail party's on all the charter fishing boats at the dock. I've never seen so many people in my entire life! Again, it was like an old reunion. Very fun.

And the best part of all... I had to weigh in yesterday and I just knew I'd gained at least 3 - 4 pounds back....AND I LOST 1 POUND INSTEAD!!!! Talk about a real motivator...I was really please. One more pound and I'll be at 20 lbs. Yippeee!!

Sounds like everyone has had a very busy weekend as well! I guess it's that time of year when the weather is nice and everyone is outside. Baseball season is here for a lot of you and I must say....those were the time of my life when my kids were in baseball. I always kept the scorebook and did the announcements over the intercom. It was like a good family time for all of us back then...so I can definitely relate to you ladies who have kids in baseball.

Rennie - how are you? Seems like your the one always giving the advice and I just want to tell you...if you need someone to talk to instead of everyone talking to you, just let me know...I'll be there for ya!

Photo - I'd really love to see some of your shots - Photography totally intrigues me. Do you have a website of some of your work?

Let's Go - Sorry about the Derby, hopefuly they'll find out why this happened. I always dread that something like this will happen because occasionally it seems to. My thoughts are with you and your friend.

Clyde - congrats on the new place for your daughter...I'm so glad your helping her because there's nothing like a mother's touch to make a new place feel more like home!

Well guess I'd better stop rambling - that's what happens when I don't post for a few days, I'll try to be better about that.

You guys all take care and keep your chins up!

Cheers!

Hey everyone - I'm really bad about doing callouts in posts, so I hope you'll all forgive me for being a slacker there!

I love that you are all so into baseball. I have tickets to the Braves - we buy them in packs of 4 games at a time, since I can't afford season tickets! A friend of mine and I want to take his 3 kids to a game some weekened when I'm not shooting a wedding. They've never been to a live pro game and I think we'd have a blast! (Oh and Diane, my husband is from Colorado originally and I'm a big Rockies fan! )

I've been following the Derby incident and it's just so heartbreaking. I hope they find out what happened, but I'm afraid that they never will. It seems like it could be one of those freak things that just happens ...!

The weather here has been gorgeous and I wish I were outside enjoying it. But I have 3 weddings still to edit and a bunch of marketing stuff to get going with. And I don't even want to think about taxes - I'm working on my extension now. *sigh*

I'll post some images on my flickr site here in a bit to share. I'm still getting organized with my new website and blog!

Weight: I'm up 1.2 lbs today, but I'm also due to start my period on Saturday, so I'm not too stressed. However, today is the day that I get back on track again. I've been a little bit of a slacker and it's kept me in maintenance rather than losing. Today I planned out all my meals and snacks for the week and made sure my gym bag was in the car. I'm back to very strictly maintaining 1700 calories a day. I've let myself slack and slide up into the 2000 and 2100 range, which is fine for maintenance at my current weight, but it won't get me to the 135 that I want to be at before the end of the year.

That's my update for this morning.

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Morning all. Life just keeps getting better. VP told us last week that my group would go from 4 to 1, 3 of us were reassigned. She said there was no need for such "overkill," one could do the job.

Her new organizational chart was released yesterday afternoon. There are 4 employees in my old group. The one who was left and 3 big time major butt kissers.

In other words, the 3 of us that were moved were not because there was no spot for us, it was because the VP specificially wanted us out of her group. There are a lot of ways to take that. Including thank heaven I no longer have to deal with her. Unfortunately at this moment that does not negate the feeling that I just got *itch slapped and have been sent to the corner for indefinite punishment.

I still have not spoken to my new boss or 3rd level, still have no idea what exactly the new job will be nor the group specifics like hours and dress code. This change was so massive and so extreme I'm not alone, nearly every one that was assigned a new job has limited to no idea exactly what the new job will be. Although those that sit around me have at least spoken to their new bosses. One person here called his new boss on Friday, he was told when she was ready to deal with him she would call him. I decided to give it until noon today, then I'll call. What the heck, if I'm being punished what difference can it make if it irritates the new boss?!

I have a job. I will be pretty secure at least through next June or so. After that all bets are off. But who knows. Maybe it will be good and this punishment will turn out to be a pleasure. Maybe when all is said and done I'll still be standing and that VP who treasures her butt kissing subordinates will be toast. I can dream.

Kappy- what a horrible sounding situation. You sound like you at least are hanging in there and trying to keep a positive attitude. Bleah. This is another reason why I much prefer working for myself - the hours are long and the pay and benefits aren't always great, but at least I like my boss.

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Hiya everybody-
Finally made the big move from Phoenix to Albuquerque. Boy, sure missed all of you!!! I don't have a job yet-soon tho. Glad to see everyone is doing well!!

Kappy - We're all behind you - just stay strong. I know as hard as it is, in business, sometimes you have to play the game in order to stay in the ring!!!

Welcome back Janny! I hope to get to know you better soon!

Jan, nice to have you back....are you all settled and loving the new home and city? Update soon!

or maybe it's just my lack of patience at this point.. who knows.. getting a bit bummed out as it seems that i lost a LOT the first 3 months and for the past month been a bit stagnant.

Kappy - sorry about the job situation - but that is the way it is in corporate america. Let's face it people take care of their relatives and friends and tend to surround themselves with butt kissers - sad but that's the way i've observed things going...

All we can do is try to make a difference in the areas we have some influence.


Photo - i remember working for myself - and you are so right there are LOTS of positives.

Keep going everyone!

lovn
My daughter is the same way. Her freshman year she broke all the schools tennis records. A big deal of it was made at the banquet. We didn't go lol, she wasn't interested in going and getting awards and such. The coach gave them to her later on lol.

Slash
Sorry they lost again and yes, you would have thought they would have given you a little notice. My son couldn't bat worth anything. He was so darn small that they never could hit his strike zone either so he walked all the time lol. Boy could the kid steal bases. He was fast and small and hard to get to lol. One kid didn't like this. One time on purpose that kid thru a ball and hit my son in the middle of the back to keep him from stealing a base. Do you know that kids parents cheered him on and yelled get the kid out any way you can. Not the right thing for them to say I guess lol. He was tossed off the team and wasn't allowed to play in the summer sports program for the rest of the year. My son has had problems with his back every since and they can't find out what is wrong with it. They keep telling us soft tissue damage and this was 10 years ago it happened.

Letsgo
I can't think of a thing I want either. Am still saving for the front porch and that is all I want right now lol. Mothers day, we will go to the camp grounds and all us woman will let the men do all the work all weekend. Sounds like a great present to me. This is what we do every year.

Gt
Glad you had a great time. It isn't how bad you looked you silly lol it is how great you look now. Nice going on taking off more weight instead of putting some on. Sounds like a blast where you went. It is always nice to run into old friends. Is the reason I love the camp grounds. I only see these people a few weeks a year and it is great to get together with them. I have been ok. Busy here with yard work and remodeling. I am sick of remodeling lol. We have been remodeling for almost 9 years, since we got the house and we will be remodeling for at least another few more lol. Things cost so much it is save up for a project and then save up for another lol. I get down when I know they are going to recalibrate the scale at the docs office lol. I always have to add a few pounds to the ticker. Not because I have gained weight but because the scale wasn't right. Oh well, I weigh less today than I did a year ago. I can't believe Friday it will be one year since the doc told me the meads were pretty much out of my system and I could TRY to lose weight. She didn't give much encouragement and told me it could take years to get the weight off the meads had put on me. I have done better than TRY. I am eating better and exercise. I am proud of the changes I have made for the good. I always hope I have something nice to say that helps someone along with this journey we are all on.

I couldn't believe what they said to me when I was at the docs with my son a few days ago. They told me they were going to recalibrate the scale this week. I said oh that is great. Friday is my 1 year anniversary of losing weight and I will know exactly what I have lost. The nurse said ya well, we have to do it several times a year now because there are so many big fat woman that come in here and get on the scale and then stomp on it to make it weigh less. I couldn't believe she said that. I just looked at her and said I don't think grown adults heavy or not are going to stomp on a scale to make it weight differently maybe you should keep the kids from jumping up and down on the thing ( I have seen them do this several times while their parents just stand there and let them ). Can you believe someone in the medical profession would reduce someone with a weight problem to a " big fat woman "

Photo
I don't even bother to weigh in a few days before my DOT is due and until a few days after it is over. Oh my gosh I can be up as much as 5 pounds during that time. I am sure you will see that extra weight gone as soon as your DOT is over. Slacking, this must be the time of year I think it is normal to get back on track. I to have found I haven't been sticking to things as closely as I should. I haven't gained any weight but I haven't been losing like I was. I am watching where I am taking in my carbs. Everything has been within the ranges I allow myself but I have noticed I am taking in more carbs for the things that aren't as good for me as I have been for foods that are good for me. Just time to tweak things a bit and eat a bit better. Those Cinnamon Gram crackers have to go lol.

kappy
It is so hard out there now. Use to be you worked hard and got rewarded for it. Now, if you aren't one of the butt kissers, a friend or a family member. It doesn't always matter how hard you work or if you are the best person for the job. You never know. You might like the job you are given and won't have to deal with some of the people you didn't like to deal with to begin with. I want a job that I sit at home and glue little magnets onto refrigerator decorations lol.

Janny
Glad you got the move done. Let us know how things are going. Do you have any ideas on a job yet?

Sillycat
Oh I do understand. Maybe, like myself, you need to sit down and look at what you have been eating. I was staying well within ranges I have set for myself but found while I was eating the required amounts of the four basic food groups a day. I needed to once again, start picking better foods in those food groups. After awhile the body might just need a little shake up to get things moving again.