Morning all,
Well the 'droid was just about right, but the biggest hurdle was that I landed up with his 'sky is falling problem' So it was a 12 hour day yesterday and looks like another today. Life goes on - just count me out till Saturday. If you don't hear from me, I probably in the same position as Ceejay.

Right better get back to it.

Oh, so sorry to hear Shad is inundated just like Ceejay.

I just learned that a woman in my online writing/creativity group has created a photography blog called "Meet Sydney" (http://www.meetsydney.net/) as in Sydney Australia. She's just starting it, so she's focusing on the town where she lives which is a suburb of Sydney. I'm sure (or at least I hope) it will expand to include more interesting towns/villages and of course Sydney itself. I think it's pretty cute, so I'm sharing it with you. She created it as a birthday gift for a friend who is homebound.

Ok..to finish the personals for today.

Ceejay and Shad: I know what what it is like to work those long hours...take care of yourself and I hope that you get a lot accomplished.

Michelle: I love using the recumbent bike at my work gym. I really want one in my fitness room before the end of the year.

Laura: Your blood pressure is great! It means you are doing something right...good for you!

Ladies: I haven't been focused at all this week with weightloss and I know it is going to show tomorrow. I have no idea why I can't stay focused. I did so well last week...and now this. I'll get it turned around.

I have been using the shakes a day here and a day there. They are good and I like that it is easy to change the flavor by adding fruit to them, or extract flavoring, or pudding mixes and jello mixes. I haven't gotten any of that stuff yet. I did use a banana one time and berries another time.

I will see you all tomorrow.

Morning all,

Woke up last night in really bad pain. I switched beds but could not get comfortable. Before I knew it, the alarm was going off. Early start today as I have an early morning physical therapy appointment. I think I may skip the 2nd yoga class today if I'm not feeling better as that is a far more strenuous class. Then I have an all afternoon meeting with the Thrift shop so we'll see how that goes.

I am wondering if my super achy body is the result of the next bad storm that is due this afternoon. It's going to start snowing about the time the meeting starts and will get really heavy once it lets out. Supposed to snow heavy all night long - anywhere from 8 to possibly 15 inches if one is unlucky enough to be in the narrow band of intense snowfall. Oh brother, no one wants this!

Sorry no personals right now as I have to jump in the shower and get ready. Have a good day everyone.

Morning all. Rainy morning. I guess that's very spring-like. Maybe we’ll get some green around here. I do have some flowers in the backyard flower beds starting to peek out.

Happy – Sorry you woke up in pain and are short on sleep today. I hope the PT goes well for you. Sorry you’ll miss your other yoga class. Our car dealer has a very nice waiting area, but no lake view, LOL. I could very easily see myself becoming a night owl in retirement and staying up late reading and watching tv, but those early AM appointments sure would be a bear! Ugh, sure hope you don’t get too much snow. Enough already!!

Susie – Glad the cleanout is going well. A stroll on a pleasant spring night sounds so nice. Glad you both enjoyed it. Re my BP, what I’m doing right is taking my bp med, LOL. I’m on the lowest dosage and would love to get off it someday. Even when I get to my goal weight, I don’t know if that’ll be possible, but we’ll see. PS - I like your new avatar!!

Michelle – You’re really keeping busy with your PT exercises, the PT class, the yoga class and the gym visits. Bravo to you! I meant to get to one gym class during the week…hasn’t happened so far. Maybe tonight. I took a quick look at the link you posted – I’ll have to get back there, it looks like a fun tour through that town. What a nice gift for the creator’s friend!!

Hi to Terra, Ceejay & Annie!!

Shad – Happy Friday to you!
==
Nothing much to report. I tweaked my goals and got them into the proper format yesterday. Now to meet again about them this morning.

I have a lunchtime webinar today. The new boss is also doing this one, but I hope he doesn’t want us to participate together. I just feel like sitting at my desk today.

Tonight is up in the air. I really should go to a class at the gym, but other possibilities include making the pork tenderloin recipe I found yesterday while catching up on a Parade magazine from a couple weeks ago, and going w/ bf to test drive the car he thinks should be our next car. Since we plan to buy a "pre-driven" car hopefully from a private party, he doesn't want to waste a dealer's time on the weekend when we have no intention of buying from them.

That’s about it for me. TTFN!

Laura ~ Hi to you also

Im about to walk for the first time today and then I walk again after dinner tonight.

My company, friend left this morning to go back to her home. She collected some more payments. Not sure she will get all of them or not but she's trying. She may have to garnish some pay checks. She has a doctor's appointment in Memphis next week so she'll be staying with me again. She's no trouble.

Made reservations this morning for a show in Branson for May. My favorite television minister will be there. It will be my short week end so I'm taking off Sunday and Monday. Hopefully my niece will have delivered her baby too. She's due April 26. Oh and by the my step niece has a baby girl last week end.

Running one tank has really been stressful with all the air that got into the pipes. I don't remember that happening last year. But I do remember us having to watch the tank indicator/level instead of the monitors. My first mistake was to listen to the bosses. Will not do that next year. I'll do it my way. They told me wrong. I'm both mentally and physically exhausted from this. My lower back had been painful this past work week and had been taking Tylenol arthritis strength but that didn't phase it. I took a Mobic last night and it's a lot better. I got my exercise running up and down the stairs and out to the tank this week. 14,000 steps per day this week.

I'll come back later as I need to run some errands that I need to get done as we'll probably be under a tornado watch later this afternoon. It's already in western Arkansas.

Good morning ladies,

Well, I didn't get to the gym yesterday as planned. My oil light came on, and since I needed an oil change anyway, I went to a Jiffy Lube and had them change the oil and check all the car's fluids.

Santa and I did go for a walk last night and I did my PT exercises, so at least I got a bit of activity.

This morning I woke up at 4:30. Not sure why. Then I couldn't fall back asleep. I finally got up at 6:00 and decided to go into work early. My boss said she had some Word docs that she needed transformed into marketing brochures/datasheets. She was just waiting to get them back from the copy editor. I knew she had a tight deadline, she wanted to get the brochures to the printer by 10 or 11 this morning. But when I got to work, she still hadn't received the copy editor's changes.

I'm planning to go to the gym after work. I really need to get and stay focused.

=====================

Susie - I'm having trouble focusing too. Thanks for the info on the shakes.

Happy - Sorry you're having so much pain. I noticed that my back pain got worse with the cold/damp weather we had here a couple days ago. I hope the PT session helps with the pain. Be careful driving in the snowstorm.

Laura - I'm with you on not being sure what I want to do. I should go to the gym, and there's a workshop on goal setting/achieving that I'd like to attend. We'll see.

Terra - Good for you for getting two walks in today. If my workload isn't too crazy today, maybe I can get a short walk in at lunch time.

Ceejay - I'm glad you're friend is no trouble. Is this the same friend who was annoying you or a different person? So nice that you're making plans for Branson! Definitely good to have something fun to look forward to. Wow you're really getting a lot of steps in. Sorry that work has been so stressful...and it's no wonder your lower back is hurting. I'm glad the Mobic is helping. Are you off work today? If so, I hope you get to relax a bit after your stressful week. And I hope the tornadoes don't get near you.

Annie - I've been sending you lots of good vibes and positive energy and prayers for your interview today.

to Shad!

Well, gotta get back to it.

Much love,

Michelle
This is the same friend. Think she learned her lesson from the last time. I'm not looking forward to the stormy season at all this year. We had some heavy lightening last night before I came home from work. I think the last lightning strike hit something. We heard something sizzle.

Happy
I can't believe that Wisconsin is getting more snow. I thought about you today when I saw the tulip tree in bloom. Have fun at Yoga.
And every thing is turning green. Some one mowed the front lawn last week but not the back. I may do that next week end.

Susie
It would be great to walk outside but the wind is really blowing to hard for me today. Today is going to be a rest day. Would you send me the information on the shakes. Thanks.

Terra
Good for you in getting your walks in.

Annie
Think we are all anxiously waiting news about the interview.

Morning all. Happy Friday.

Ceejay – Glad your friend has been a good houseguest this time around. Glad you’ve got your plans started for May. It would be nice if your niece’s baby arrives before your visit, and then you can see two babies?? Sorry work’s been so stressful for you lately!! I hope your back pain eases up. That’s a lot of steps you’ve been getting!! I hope you don’t get any severe weather in your area.

Michelle –Did you get to the gym last night?? I didn’t go. The 7 pm class was cardio kickboxing. When my core was really strong from taking Pilates and barre classes, I felt more confident doing that class, but now it seems like it might be too much for me. There’s a Mat Pilates class at 8 pm, but I’ve never done late classes – by the time I get home and shower, it would be late. Excuses, excuses! Now why should an 8 pm class be a problem?? I go out to the movies and get home late from those sometimes, and at home afterwards, I stay up late trying to wind down. How would an 8 pm exercise class be any different?! The only real issue might be eating before class…I could probably get away with eating something light as soon as I get home from work. I'll have to give that a try.

Hellos to the rest of the Worldlies!
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Nothing much to report. I was supposed to have my mammo appointment tomorrow morning, but now there’s a conflict because bf needs the car to get to a funeral. I’ll have to reschedule.

I guess it’s a good thing I already had planned to skip my Jazzercise class tomorrow morning because I wouldn’t have been able to go to that either. The class was moved to a different location (just for tomorrow morning’s class) in which I don’t want to go. The location isn’t much further away, but it’s got a linoleum floor (probably concrete underneath), not wood, so that would be hard on the feet/joints.

Tomorrow afternoon I’m going to take the train out to my friend D’s place and stay overnight. We’ll probably share our cruise photos, but I’m not sure what else is on tap. And I’m not sure about which train I’ll get. Bf has the funeral and the luncheon afterwards, so I don’t know when he’ll get home. I suppose I could walk over to the train station instead of getting dropped off, but I’ll have an overnight bag and probably my laptop as well – no fun dragging all that for 5 blocks. This is when having one car between two people is no fun.

Okay, enough of my whining. Back to work. Everyone have a good weekend.

Morning all,

Woke up to a foot of new snow this morning. We all were hoping it would pass us by but this storm was too big. It's still snowing and I think it will continue until mid afternoon. DH went out to feed the turkeys in the yard and said it was quite deep. Last night he counted 27 - yes 27 deer in the yard. That's a bit much, even for us. We have a momma and her 2 babies - one a year old the other a 2 year old. They are regulars and the one year old is the one who is least afraid of DH and actually follows him around. DH said it looks as if momma is getting thick in the middle which means she is pregnant. Guess we will be seeing some little spotted fawns again early this summer.

I went to physical therapy yesterday - he worked on my back and spine. My neck was bothering me too. I didn't feel well enough to hit up the Thursday yoga class (which is more intensive) so I skipped it for a nap as pain kept me up a good part of the night before. I then went to the Thrift shop meeting. They narrowed it down to 4 possibilities. One nice big place was ruled out as it was expensive with the rent and sort of off the beaten path with regards to main street traffic. One lady said that location was the "kiss of death" for 2 recent businesses - not enough retail in that location to get the foot traffic up that way from casual walkers. Another place looked nice but the building was up for sale - not cost effective to rebuilt (especially to a specific space) and then possibly have to spend more to relocate if the place gets sold. Another nice option was located outside of town near to the casino - again rejected as it's too far out of town. We all agreed that while we have some loyal regulars who come into the shop when they are in town, we rely on the casual tourists of summer for a bulk of our sales. Having a place you have to specifically drive to would just not bring in enough business. That leaves one place in town that has a couple of issues to be resolved. We took a vote and they are going to do more research. We also attempted to do an inventory of the thrift items for the insurance adjuster. 2 guys took pictures of the shop's interior and we worked in a panorama view of shots. I did the front desk with another guy from memory. It was really sad to see the pictures - there was tremendous damage - some of the shelves you could not even tell what was on them. Apparently there was fire in more than the ceiling as plastic items like the kitty litter scoops and food can lids and Frisbees melted. We had a big rack of hooded and crew neck logo sweatshirts - they can't sell them new but might be able to salvage them as thrift items. I don't know. I took a piece of paper - yes paper - in order to reproduce a form and that paper smelled so bad of smoke - reminded me of a smoked ham it was that strong. I'm not sure you can salvage anything from the store. People will have to get cracking if they want to reopen May 1 - whatever retail space we get will have to be cleaned up, probably painted for a fresh look and shelving will have to be ordered or built. The good news is that there is an army of people, all willing to help. They also had a wine/beer/cheese/sweets fundraiser on Sunday that was very successful.

I'm just glad we don't have to go out today. We're going to wait until the snow subsides before we start the big clean up. Last night I watched the movie Kramer vs Kramer with a very young Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman. Good movie - thinking about how much family dynamics have changed in today's society - it's interesting to remember when that movie came out how much of a villain Meryl was for the part she played in the movie.

Laura - an 8pm class? Even for a night owl like me, that would be kind of late. Maybe if it was hatha relaxing yoga but then you run the risk of falling asleep on the mat at the relaxation point at the end When I would get home from work, I'd start to unwind and then I'd have to fight myself to drag myself to the gym at that time. And Pilates is a rather strenuous class too - you would not want to eat a substantial meal and then tighten everything up for "the 100" So I don't know - depends on how much gumption you have. I wouldn't do anything later than 7 but that's just me. As for eating, I guess on class days you could have a bigger lunch (and risk the 2 o'clock pasta coma ) and then have a Lean Cuisine type meal or wrap at 6pm which would give you enough time to digest before your 8pm class. Certainly easier to do as we approach the warmer months. Sounds like you could also use one of those wheelie type bags to stow your laptop and overnight belongings for your walk to the train station. That's where having a tablet computer would come in handy!

Ceejay - what's a lawn??? I see you got some weather yourself yesterday. Must be spring, pollen in the air, tornadoes in the forecast Glad you were able to come to an agreement with your friend who is staying with you. Much easier that way, isn't it? Glad the Mobic is helping - I took that for a while - it really helped a lot with relieving the pain - much better than over the counter stuff.

Michelle - was probably a good thing you got to work early. Did you get the brochures converted? I know what you mean about motivation and focus - not sure what the hang up is (other than 12 inches of fresh snow) - but I agree with you. We just have to pull together and get it done. I'm trying to eat more mindfully also - get this weight off if we have to beat if off I hope you can make it to the gym. Nice that you were able to finally spend some time with D. Thank you for the link to your friend's blog. Very interesting...

Hi Shad buried under her work - hope by now it's the weekend and you are able to escape for a bit and not have to work extra overtime.

Hi Annie - how did the interview go?

Terra

Susie - I find that sometimes when there is too much going on in life, it's easy to drift and flit from thing to thing. You have a VERY busy life and demanding work schedule - so you will probably have to work extra hard to keep your focus. As for the shakes, while they do sound like a good idea and heaven knows they are convienient - sometimes you just don't feel like having a shake as a meal. I guess it takes a lot of discipline. It is nice that you can switch things up and change flavors and such. I guess make a commitment for 3 days a week to start -go slow and build up momentum. Whatever you do, don't get down on yourself as that does no good. Just tell yourself - time to get back on track again. I find that as the day goes by, I will ask myself - is this the best decision I can make for the moment? Sometimes I change my mind, sometimes I just agree that yes, for the moment I'm going to skip yoga class and not chastise myself for it. As for the composite decking - I'm sort of wondering what are the cons about it - I generally like to know the bad stuff when I make a decision - the good stuff is obvious but often times it's the bad stuff that one never knew about or considered that made the difference between happy and sorry I made a bad decision.

It looks like we are going to get weather in the 50's next week. I am really nervous about the basement once this snow starts melting in earnest so one of the things I am going to focus on this weekend is cleaning up my hobby room as well as the storage shelving and pantry in the utility room just so that I have as much as possible off the floor. Just in case...

And with that I'm off to get some lunch and get busy. Have a good weekend all - it's snowing harder than it was this morning

Happy Friday!!

I didn't get to the gym yesterday...but I did my PT exercises. By the time I left work, my back muscles were in spasm, though I'm not sure why, unless it was due to a stressful day at work. I spent the morning rushing to get two brochures created so they could go to the printer. They were based on existing brochures, but we didn't get the content from the copywriter/editor until the last minute (of course). My boss was pleased that I got my part done so quickly and she was able to get them to the printer on time.

Last night, I did my stretches and core exercises which helped my back loosen up. Tonight is the poker game and it's my turn to purchase the snacks, so that's what I'll be doing after work.

So tomorrow's plans are up in the air. I'm supposed to go whale watching with some friends, but with the storm front that moved in last night and this morning, that may mean for rough seas tomorrow. The whale watching charter boat company sent out an email that if the conditions are deemed to be unsafe, the whale watching trip will be cancelled. I hope it's not cancelled...I'm really looking forward to it. But if the seas are really rough, I'd rather postpone. Keeping my fingers crossed for calm seas and good weather.

Sunday I'm meeting up with some friends at a dog park in the morning, and then doing a yoga class in the afternoon.

========================================

Ceejay - So nice that you're friend is being a better houseguest this time around. I heard about all the severe weather the south was getting. Stay safe. A tulip tree? I've never heard of that, so I had to Google it. So lovely! Is your back doing better?

Susie - In case I didn't thank you before, thanks for the shake info. I'm going to look at it this weekend, specifically to see how many carbs per serving.

Laura - I'm with you when it comes to late classes. I don't even like 7 pm classes (I prefer classes that start at 6:30 or earlier). When there's not a class I like at a convenient time for me, I sometimes go just to ride the bike. Eating something like would be a good idea before a late class, and then maybe eating a healthy snack after, some kind of fruit or veg and some protein. So sad that your bf has to go to a funeral tomorrow. I hope you're able to get a convenient time for the mammo. I know what you mean about the different between linoleum/concrete flooring versus wood. Is the Jazzercise class high impact, or mostly low impact moves? Getting together with your friend D sounds like a great time! In my household (D's house) we have 3 cars for 3 people, which is great, except when it comes to parking. Our driveway is 1 car wide. And since I tend to get home earliest (and also have to leave the earliest), we're always moving cars around. And since we're near a university, on-street parking is difficult to find, so my roommates and I park on the street when we can. Last night, my roommate still wasn't home by 10 pm, and I wanted to go to sleep. I didn't want to get blocked in the driveway, but didn't want to be woken up to rearrange cars. Luckily, there was a spot on the street, so I moved my car there.

Happy - A foot of new snow?! Ugh! And it's still coming down? Yuck! I definitely picked the right year to move back to CA. 27 deer in the yard?! They're so beautiful! Were you or your DH able to get photos? I'm glad that PT is helping, and I'll bet the nap did you a lot of good. Bummer that so the majority of the available locations for the thrift store aren't ideal. It's amazing how much damage fire can do. Years ago, I helped a friend try and salvage and clean items from her apartment after there was a fire a different apartment. She didn't have any burned items, just melted candles and everything covered in soot. It's good you have a whole lot of people ready and willing to help. Oooh, I'd forgotten about the Pilates "100"; made my abs hurt just thinking about it. Good for you for cleaning out your hobby room and the shelves/pantry. Two really good projects! I hope you don't have any problems in the basement once the snow melts.

Shad - I hope you're able to get a little bit of relaxing in for the weekend.

Annie - Sending you lots of love, sista. I hope you're and your family are doing well and that your interview went well.


My project for the day is to figure out the video webinars we need to have on the site aren't appearing on the page when I put the code in place, yet I can put other video URL code in the same location and it plays just fine.

That's today's blood pressure raising frustration.

Much love to all,

Hi all,

Quick check in for me. I spent the entire day (about 8 hours longer than I thought it would take) pricing out the inventory from the thrift shop fire. Boy was that an ordeal. Sad also to see the pictures of the burned and ruined interior. DH has been working hard all day long (and not done yet) to get our battery back up sump pump installed as the big melt is about to happen. They are warning people to take precautions against flooded basements. I was just about to shut the computer down and get a late supper started. Figured I'd pop in and say hello.

Just a brief one for me. It's been a long day. I did take a much needed 2 hour nap this afternoon. Lunch with my uncles was good. Still haven't heard back from my sister, but she has a busy schedule. My uncle who had knee surgery was there today. He was using a cane, but doing very good. Thought he would have been on a walker. I was impressed with his cane. Some one of his friends made one in the shape of a hand saw.
Not much else is going on.

Morning all,
Was not feeling at all well yesterday, so apart from a couple of chores spent most of the day on the couch. It's my own fault. I have not been eating enough veges and fibre and it eventually catches up. Also not enough water being drunk or any fluid being drunk for that matter. Have to do better otherwise the plumbing gets sluggish and blocks - sorry if that is TMI. I really need to do better. Might have to get Susie to wield the virtual cattle prod and get me back on track with MFP. As a consequence I ate little yesterday - that won't do any harm, but exercise was lacking and to a minimum.
I'm a bit more with it today, but as I have visitors for dinner tonight I figured that I better get on with life again. Think I might need to have some vegetarian days as well as fish, chicken or meat.

Well I seem not to have posted this and it is getting late, time for bed. So I will be back (from work again) tomorrow