Pam ...I am so glad you got checked out and finally got the doctor to
do something about the BP. That is scary to have all that happen while your husband is out of town. Your eating routine sounds great ...
I never thought of making enough oatmeal to have another day..smart ..

Sloan...about the job hunting... We are close to being able to retire which is making me drag my feet about going to work.. In the last week
I have adopted a puppy for grandson, nursed it back to health ,
sold a car, made 2 trips to get son from college & return him (6 hour round trip) gotten grandson from school (another town)when stepdaughter needed to go to Dr and gone to her house to get puppy & care for them both til next day, and I am taking grandson to Fair on Friday.
I am going to hate not being able to do stuff like that..

Today I was wondering if we can do without me working full time , since we are downsizing our house in the spring. We hope to be able to sell it for enough to get a smaller house or townhouse and not have a mortgage.

Jojo..It sounds like we are both selling our homes in the spring. We are trying to do some updates like bathrooms , painting ect. Ours is an older home and
is the official Money Pit . Hard to cool & heat & no matter how much we do to it ..it still needs more.

We are thinking about maybe a townhouse for 3-4 years until we are ready to build & retire on the land in Va that we bought.

Since my husband is rather tired of hearing my new diet plans I'll bore you guys with it...Everyone' s input about what they do has helped...

Breakfast .. any combination that is 300 calories or less. I like the idea of
being able to do eggs, cereal, yogart & fruit, tortilla with cheese & egg , oatmeal , or even a low calorie fast food like Egg Mc Muffin.

Lunch ..Protein Shake 250 calories (easy to carry with me , good calcium )

Dinner.. 400 calorie meal .. healthy recipe , lean cuisine , subway , salad .

Snacks ... 100 calorie snack in afternoon & about 9 pm.
nuts, cheese, celery & peanut butter, yogurt, fruit.
.....I need snack ideas here....

What do you think ????

Nancy, you're not boring us at all. I know what you mean about hubbies getting tired of hearing it, though. What about fruit for snacks? Today I had fresh grapes. Just an idea.

Your eating plan sounds good to me. And your retiring? Go for it! It sounds like you don't have time to work anyway. But then are you elligible for retirement benefits? Just wonering.

It's almost time for "Survivor". I'll be back tomorrow.

Evenin' chicks! I have had the usual today. Not much exciting going on. I'm just relaxing right now, but I have to get some laundry done so I'll have clothes to take with me for my girl's weekend. We will go to a little town for lunch, antiques, and walking around the square then we will go to my friend's sister's house for the evening where we will have a wine tasting party and will make some yard art projects called "totems". The next day we will attend an annual craft/artisan fair that takes up about four city blocks. It is awesome! That evening will be spent relaxing, we will stay the night then we will come home on Sunday. My sister will going with me, and we both really need this getaway!

Sorry I'm going on so, I'm just very excited. I hope you all are having a good evening. I'll check in tomorrow evening. TTFN

Sandra..I like the fruit idea..I need to up my fruit & veg intake anyway.

If I had a 60 calorie cheese stick I could also have 40-50 calories of fruit.
I am going to check online about what amount that means for different fruits.

Nancy, fruit and cheese sounds good.

Sloan, I love reading about your girls' weekend--and I'll be waiting here t hear all about it after you get back home.

I just had some sf hot chocolate. I made it with 2% milk instead of water. It was rich and tasty.

Not much else going on. We had company tonight right after Survivor. Archery friends. We had a good visit. It was short because it was a father/daughter and this is a school night.

Night night, everyone.

Pam, I'm so sorry to hear your health news and I hope it improves for you.

Yes, those steel cut oats are great. I think I'll put some in some milk to soak overnight and have them tomorrow. Yummy.

Nancy, your plan sounds good to me. Snacking is always a challenge. If you need more protein there's always a boiled egg, or slice of turkey breast.

Not much happening here, for a welcome change. I did spend 90 minutes on the phone with social security and medicare trying to get enrolled. Believe me, it's all a LOT easier in Canada.

'night

There is a fun website I thought I would share..

It is called 43 Things.

It is just a fun organized way to set goals ,
track your progress, find others who have the same goals ,
and share how you accomplished your goal.

I would put the link but I don't know if that is allowed.
It should be easy to google

Gosh Pam, that experience was enough to make the BP go even higher. What a frustrating experience.

I first started bee keeping Sandra because our daughter had rotten hay fever every spring and the tables the doctor gave her, did very little good. I read in a magazine that if you take a teaspoon of local honey everyday (the bees have to have collected local pollen) it will gradually desensitise you to the pollen. Local honey here was an exorbitant price so I bought my own bees It has been a fascinating hobby and also cured the hay fever.


Know what you mean Nancy. Ours is a 3 storey Victorian one over 100 years old (yep it has a ghost too!)


The class went better than I expected. It was a mixed group 22 of them ranging in ages from teens to 60’s. For the first 20 minutes we had a chat about comedy writing; timing, credibility tempo etc. and then for the next hour and 40 mins I asked them to each write a short account (max 500 words) or simply bullet it, about something funny that had happened to them. If they wished they could read it out to the class and we could all suggest changes, if any. It was a lively session I can tell you, with loads of laughs. I had to set an assignment for next week so I asked them to take what they had written in class and write a short in a different genre to comedy.
Although I was nervous I thoroughly enjoyed it. Before I went, I couldn’t help wondering if, when my old friend was scrapping the barrel to find someone to stand in for her, I might have been sitting firmly on the bottom of that barrel!

Mark picked me up afterwards and took me to a little country pub we like. I wish you could have been with me girls. Genuine country pubs are dying out. This one is black and white, low ceilings with huge oak beams a real fire in the inglenook, the flames reflecting off the horse brasses. No music and real ale. You would have loved it.

Here endeth the first lesson... Sorry this is so long

Good Morning Ladies

I'm back for a little while,went to MV for the last time this season on Monday and than to the Toyota dealer to get my new stirring column done and yesterday I went on my walking tour in the next town next to us.

Today I'm heading for Plymouth Ma with one of my friends. We're going to have a bad northeaster tonight into Sat morning. Looks like whatever in the ocean and the mass that's coming from the west is going to hit,guess we""" have to hold onto our hats"

I promise I'll be back tomorrow morning,until than have a wonderful day

I went for my pedicure today but found out I was there on the wrong day. I'll go back next Wednesday. Lucy lives!

Curtis and I are watching "The Thing" now on TV. Are we bored? It's a gorgeous day and I could be out planting pansies we got today at Lowe's, but I'm in a sit on the recliner frame of mind.

JoJo, I would love to hear more about your ghost. Your writing class sounds amazing. Those students will be talking about it for a long time. And the pub? Wish I'd been there with you.

Maryann, I am curious about MV. What all do you do there? It sounds like you really enjoy going.

Rhonda, I have Texas Teacher Retirement and don't qualify for SS. Do your years in Toronto count toward SS? Just wondering.

Nancy, thank you for the info on the website.

Got to go. The "monster" is attacking.

I have no idea about whether the years in Toronto count, but am investigating. There is some agreement with Canada and it may work in my favor.

My eating has been totally weird. I had a good oatmeal breakfast, then turkey breast and cheese, then snacking. But, will stop it before I do damage!

Rhonda, I hope it works out in your favor.

My eating has been all right. I just need to remember "fruit only" the rest of the evening. (I'm really hungry for cheese and crackers.)

Have a good evening, everyone.

Hey chickies! Tomorrow is the day!! Girls' weekend starts, but first I have to attend a leaders' meeting for BSF. Since I can't attend the Saturday morning women's leaders' meeting, I will be attending the men's leaders' meeting at FIVE AM!!! I will have to get up at 3:30 and leave at 4:15 I just hope I can stay awake. I'll check in when I get home on Sunday. Have a great weekend, y'all.

Sloan, your weekend sounds like a fun time. I love to shop the antique stores, crafts, etc. Can't wait to hear about it when you return.

jojo, I would have loved to sit in your class. From your description, sounds like you were a hit with the students.

Maryann, have fun and hold onto that hat.

Nancy, I have never had protein shakes. Not sure how long that would stay with me, before I was hungry again. I made a huge salad for lunch with leftover chicken breast. I added a hard boiled egg, slivered almonds, avocado, and lots of veggies. Keeps me full until dinner time. I usually have fruit at night. Grapes or an apple with pb. You are doing great.

Rhonda, hope you will be able to get your SS benefits from Canada. I start my SS next Sept.

Sandra, how are you liking Survivor? I'm still trying to keep the names straight.

Slowly trying to get the house dusted. Worked in the living room today. Was a little short of breath and took me forever. I moved the furniture and wet mopped the hardwood. Hope we walk tomorrow. My sis wasn't feeling great today so we took the day off.

Have a good evening