Yippee - 4 miles done for today.

BUT I have a blister Any good advice on how to make it feel better?

Lucky! Is this country walking or around town? You're

2Cute - Woohoo for the girl! Have a great week with her. We'll look forward to seeing more of you after the 16th. Hey, still coming to the KC area in September?

Pat - Good to see you checking in too. Has your sis moved to Springfield yet? Is she enjoying it, if so?

I'm off to being as active as I can today. I'm limiting time spent at the barn and was hoping for boating today but no such luck as its going to be a sort of rainy day.

Who are the scrapbooking gals? I've bought my first scrapbook and a few tools. I want to make books of special events. Without going insane (read....expensive). Plus I'm not wildly creative. Do you write captions directly on the page or do you do them on the computer and attach? Or do you do captions on the digital pic then print? I think it was BarbPA who uses "Picture It"? Any hints on how to get started? I want to make a 3FC book with pictures from here and from the Spring Fling; a book of my trip to NYC; etc.

Country walking on tar!!! I don't like to go off the road when I am alone - too many critters - and WAY too many skunks this year!!!!

Terri, thanks for asking about scrap booking !!! I was just sorting through some papers and thinking I should start doing that will all the family geneology stuff and pictures of all of us. I just feel too overwhelmed to start and don't want to spend a ton of money either.

LISA!!!! We are calling your name...HELP!!!!!!

Hey chickies - this is my 2nd time typing this reply. I had one almost done and it was, oh so nice, when I LOST IT!!

So, my days have been filled with cleaning up camping mess, and water mess from when I was gone. Friday I was Mrs. HearMeRoar again when I pulled up the carpet and baseboard in my bedroom. Doesn't stink in there now. Dh painted it after it dried out more with Kilz. Yesterday we went to Menards to get new sheet rock, well the dummies, they keep it outside and it was damp. Wasn't wet wet, but still damp enough that we don't want to put it in the house. So, now we have to wait 'til he can get to a Home Depot to get stuff that's actually kept inside. Then we can get that up and recarpet. Today has been spent cleaning and baking. Now I have some quiet time to myself.

Thin - How was Collateral? I'm thinking of going to see that this afternoon. And I'm so glad that your mom is on the mend. Sure takes a heap of stress of you to have her getting better so quickly!

Terri - So, what's up that girls butt? Did ya tell her to remove it!? I'm with you, though I wouldn't have ridden along either!

Lucky - Way to go on the walking - send some of that energy on up here, would ya?! I hear ya about the skunks on the road. We had on in our live trap and I woke up to that smell the other day - YUCK! We have a Curves here in town, but they have really stupid hours. They're not open at all when I have time to go. So . . . I'm not impressed with the one here. I'm sure that they're not all like that, though.

Pat - Hi!

Barb G - Glad to hear that your work load will be less stressful. That's always such a relief. And food at a church function - isn't it supposed to be GOOD?! What's up with that?!

BarbPA - Glad you and hubby had a nice getaway. Did you ask the magician if he has a trick to make body fat disappear too? Anyway, glad you had fun!

Kat - I thought that Saturdays were for sleeping late?! I don't know about Carpal Tunnel, but I had Tendonitis in my right arm and it hurt from my wrist to my elbow - anytime I would move it. It was from the repititious movements I had to do on a job. Once I quit it went away. So . . .

2Cute - What a woman - your daughter is! A MsHearMeRoar it sounds like!

Okay now for scrapping - I have my table set up in my living room so that I can keep an eye on my kids and watch tv etc with them if they want me too. As far as starting a project, I go by starting on the most recent one first. That way you have the freshest things in your head when you're doing it. For captioning I have done it several ways. You can write it, use stickers, cut outs, printing from computer or any other thing that you want. It all depends on what you're in the mood for and how it's going to look on your page.

Terri - I'm not overly creative either and my books have turned out pretty good, I think. I just follow some of the examples that come with the stickers and papers that I've purchased. There's also books that you can buy with ideas, though I haven't bought any myself. I just tailor the idea to my page and go from there. There are also a ton of websites with ideas that you can look at. Some are free, some aren't. Also, if ya really want look for a consultant in your area that does workshops. My sister holds scrap workshops at her house and we go scrap for hours. And, it's not just Creative Memories that does things like that. A lot of the scrapping stores will hold those things too. One thing I know is that it's an addiction for me. Once I start I can't stop!

Gotta run - dh is digging out more in the egress window and I need to get him something to drink.

Love to all!

Well hello all.

I have finally gotten to read all the posts from the past few days and catch up. Ugh. My sweetie has been off for the last couple of days and has taken me out everyday. He is trying to help me get back my energy. But I tell ya, I was pooped everyday.
Tomorrow is the day that the staples come out. YEAY!!!!
I am a happy person.
I should get to go back to work on Tuesday. I tried earlier this week but I never realized how much I get up and down and work. And it wasn't a good idea.
I will be asking the doctor tomorrow if it is ok to start my diet. I am doing the Michael Thurmond 6 week makeover. The only thing I don't like about this is the fact that you can't have dairy. Now I live in the cheese state, for me not to have cheese, milk, icecream, sour cream, butter, yogurt, etc, will probably be harder then me not having candy.

Ok so I pressed enter before I was finished. Such as life. Anyway, it says that you should take a multi-vitamin, which will be hard as they usually make me nauseaus. And it says you should take some Calcium Citrate. Which I will do no matter what. And I'm suppose to drink 100 ounces of water a day. That is how I am going to be losing the weight, I won't have time to eat, I will be busy running to the bathroom to pee. I have to eat 5-6 times a day, and looking at the setup it is pretty good, but man, it is going to be tough to measure out the food. I hate taking time to do all of that. And I am hoping to get the ok from the doc to start exercising. However, I am afraid also, cause I don't want to rip my abdomen open. So I know I am going to be very leery of everything I do. Right now I just want to go swimming.

Lucky, I don't really know how to get rid of blisters other then popping them. My husband does that every time he burns himself at work. He says it heals faster. I do know that to prevent them you should tape the spots prone to get blisters or that may be rubbing for a while with duct tape. That stuff is good for anything. It will stay in place better then a band aid, and won't really fall off if you sweat like a band aid would. I read that in a book some where. I am going to try it with my renfaire shoes this year.

Thin, I can't believe how big your machine is. At least it is not like those original pilates contraptions that looked like torture devices, where you needed someone to help you. You hung from your arms and legs and stuff, Madonna use to do that. I wish you luck with it though, let me know how it goes. So I can decide whether to buy one or not. I have the Mari Windsor pilates dvd, oh gosh, that is hard.

When is this Spring Fling II? How long does it last? Do I have to dance? Do I have to bring a date?

Well I am off I have some writing homework I need to get done.

Busy day today. Boring day today. Housecleaning, laundry, trash to go out. All those things that have to be done that I hate to do. On top of that the puppy pulled apart 15' of 4" PVC drain pipe and knawed on the end that fits inside the next section. Now I can't get to to fit together the way it should. Thank God for duct tape!!!!!

Today is the best day I've had all week. I've controlled my chocolate urge and been able to prepare meals with normal size portions, eat slow and feel full. Now if I can just get thru tonight I'll be able to feel good about myself in the morning. Who knows, I may even get on the scale. Maybe.

SKITTLES: Glad you're beginning to feel better. I know what you mean about dairy. I'm always looking for excuses to eat butter. No dairy + no carbs =No Judy


LISA: I sure don't envy you having to redo your room. The thought terrifies me.

LUCKY: WOW, you really are getting into walking. I'm proud of you. I was driving, a couple of miles from home, last week and saw a raccoon that looked really bad crossing the road. (Rabies???) There was a young woman power walking in that direction so I pulled over and told her where I'd seen the critter so she could cross the road and walk FAST when she got near that spot.

KAT:I work with someone that just had carpel tunnel surgery done on both wrists. She whines as much now as she did before but now it's about how the Dr. screwed up rather than how her wrists hurt. Don't know how she got CTS as she never worked long, or hard enough at the job for her work to be called repetitive. (I'm being catty .... I can't help it.)

BarbG: Glad you SIL was able to step into the job and help out. Sounds like a good deal for both of you.

Darn, gotta run.
Hi to everyone I missed. I'm reading the posts but time just seems to fly.

HELP!

BarbPA - I tried your suggestions for posting my pictures and my files are too large. How can I change that? I consider myself pretty computer savvy, but I can't seem to figure this out!

Later ladies!

Lisa -
Ack, I don't remember what my suggestions were....are you using a photo editing program to reduce the file size and saving them as .jpgs? If that doesn't work then you would want to try linking the picture from a photo site. For example, I have an account with picturetrail.com and I can post a photo there and then link it here without worrying about file size.

If you want you can e-mail me the picture(s) and I can try for you. Send me a PM is you want to try that option. We'll get it figured out!!!

Lucky,

Check out this web-page.

http://scrapbooking.about.com/


Its felt good to get caught up on some things at home this weekend. On the physical front, I did get my bike out for a 30 minute ride. I was distracted the first half about whether or not the back tire was too low and then being irked because I couldn't get the hand air pump to make much difference. Guess I'll have to fork over money on a new pump.

I'm ready to get refocused to make the next 10 pounds disappear. Now, I just have to consistently behave my way to success.

Hi everyone! I worked all afternoon getting stuff posted to eBay. Dang, that's time consuming! I started about 2:00 and worked until 7:00. Finally just couldn't sit any longer and needed food.

Dinner was very disappointing. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings. I ordered the chicken club. The bun was hard as a rock so I ended up using a knife and fork and just cutting the stuff up. Ate more fries than I intended because I didn't have the bun to fill me up. Oh well. Tomorrow's a new day. I have to jump on the scale, however it won't be pretty because I had far too much salt today.

Movie Review: Collateral: I wouldn't spend money seeing it. Sorry, ladies, but it just didn't do it for me. Thin plot, slow story line, lots of shoot 'em up. Just wasn't there for me. I suggest if you want to see it, you rent it or wait for it to come to the $1.00 show.

Only have time for a quickie post tonight, so here goes.

Katrina: Saturdays and Sundays are made for sleeping in. No Guilt!!! *What did you decide to do with your evening? I bet it was hang out with your son. Am I right??? * Couldn't tell you much about Carpal Tunnel, but I'm with the others that those I've known who've had surgery do not feel much better afterwards. You could always try to stop doing whatever causes you pain. I know, easier said than done.

BarbPA: Sounds like you had a wonderful get-away! How cool to be a part of the show. What a neat treat!!!

Lucky: Great job walking! OMG, girl, you are really going to town! * Yes, it is weird to talk "exercise" with you. *Curves, ummmm, I liked it. I know Andria's out of town or she would answer and I know she likes it. I've already wrote my reasons for quitting. I had joined on a summer special too: last 6 weeks of the summer free, 1/2 price registration ($75) and $29 a month if I signed up for direct withdrawal for a year. I checked into some other options at the Woman's Expo this Spring and found another place that has "weight driven" machines. You customize the weights to your ability level so the workout actually gets more intense as you progress. Of course the people at Curves claim that your workout gets more intense as well but their machines are done with hydraulics and in order to get a better workout, you do the repititions faster. There was quite some discussion on threads in another area some time back and the girls that are really "into" exercise, didn't think much of Curves after the initial visits. Basically not much challenge after awhile. As for me, I didn't stick with it long enough or consistently enough to be much of a judge.

Terri: Sounds like the horses are taking up most of your free time and you're not getting out on the lake much at all this summer. That's really too bad. Hope you and DH can get a routine down that will allow you to do some of both real soon.

Barbg: That's wonderful that you can put your SIL to work and save yourself some headaches. How cool. *Good for your mom, trying to get out and stay active. *OMG, you expect to see MY house when you come in the Spring??? I guess I better get cleaning NOW!!! I might be done by then!

2cute: Aren't you sweet, saying I'll be a good "second mom"! BTW, if #2 daughter is going to be staying for a few days when she gets up here, maybe I can meet up with both of them and take them to lunch. Make sure you give them all my contact information, ok?

Pat: Thanks for checking in. YIKES, my fingers go numb all the time. My Chiropractor says it's because the vertibrae in my neck are crimping the nerves that run down my arms. Usually an adjustment will fix that.

Arabella: Thanks for your 2 cents worth too. That info is good to know. I use vitamin E for my leg cramps and this is very effective, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to add vitamin B for all the other stuff that ails me!

Lisa: Sorry to hear that you're having to tear your room apart and redo it. That sounds like a real mess. *Thanks for the comments on mom. Geez, she's driving me nutts! She turned 83 in July and she's never had to rely on a cane, walker, or wheelchair. She still drives, so she never needs a ride. Well this little episode (clipping her wings) has just about done her in. She didn't go out to play cards all last week. Her excuse was that she was just home from the hospital, even though she was walking around by herself and wasn't in any pain. She had a friend in yesterday and they played cards and then went out to dinner. So today I was supposed to take her for a little grocery store walk and she begged off saying that she didn't think she should go anywhere this week either. Now I don't know what the deal is. She said she didn't get up until 12:15 today. My guys went over to install a raised toilet seat and handrail. When I called her she said she went back to bed after they left. Then she says "one of these days I'll catch up on my sleep." Well, sleep is all she's been doing for 3 weeks (2 in the hospital, and 1 home). If she doesn't get out and moving, all the PT in the world isn't going to build her stamina back up.

Skittles: Glad to hear the staples are coming out. Maybe that will be what you need to get back to the pool. WooHoo. Good luck with your new program, I know you'll be a great success even without the dairy! *The dates for Spring Fling II haven't been set yet. I probably won't do that until around Christmas time (it's far too early for people to make arrangements anyway). Mostly because you might not know til then if there's a wedding in your future (cough, cough) or not this early so as it gets closer if there are dates that people CAN'T make it, I'll ask for those and try to work around some of them. I know I have a wedding on April 16th (NO, not one of my boys!) Anyway, the Fling was Friday afternoon/evening arrival, Saturday, and then Sunday afternoon/evening departure. Of course, if someone wants to come a day early or stay a day later, that's fine too. I had to laugh: "do I have to dance?" NO, but you can if you want to!!! No, you don't have to bring a date. I'm not telling anyone to leave anyone home. Terri's husband came this year and pretty much amused himself all weekend. The girls will definitely be taking some "girlie" time to get to know each other.

J-ann: Well, gosh, doesn't sound like you did anything FUN this weekend. But staying on program and being all the more healthy for it is always a good thing. Now, bite the bullet, jump on the scale (get it over with) and let's just get going! Whatdayasay????

Well, my dears, I'm about done here, so much for the "quickie post". Just wanted to mention, if you haven't seen them before, Walmart carries wonderful long handled metal measuring spoons (cup, 1/2 cup, 1/4 cup) that are great for serving up portions of veggies, rice, potatoes, etc. They're very reasonably priced too. I know WW carries some, but theirs are like $15 and they're plastic.

Ok, after midnight, must sleep. Love ya bunches.

It's Motivation Monday!

Let's jump up and get some enthusiasm today!

Andria has dipped into twoterville. Who will be next?

I'm so close to dropping into the 240's but have been hanging out at the same point all summer. Time to make the scale move.

As Dr. Phil would say....require more of yourself this day. No sabotage. No self-medicating with food. No laying around in a pity party.

Set your mind on a small milestone and plan on how you're going to behave your way to success.

I'm not going to achieve my goal if I don't get more consistent and persistent about intensive exercise. Yesterday, I walked the dog in addition to my 30 minutes on the bike. This morning, I've already done 30 minutes on the airdyne stationary bike. Which is pretty good considering how much I hate that thing. Great overall exercise but its a mental challenge to stay on it. I've never really been able to hang in there for 30 mins before so this is good.

Any time you reach for the bad food or turn a blind eye to the exercise equipment today, just picture standing right behind you.

Good morning ladies - no time to stay and chat, just wanted to pop in and say HI! . Have a wonderful Monday - hope I'll have time to get back later . . . maybe when the kids are sleeping . Tata for now!

Good moorning ladies. Sneaking a peek while my daughter is PACKING.
We load the moving truck Tuesday.
She is staying until Sat morning.

Thin... yes both girls are driving up together. Then Staci will fly home.
I definitely plan on giving them your phone number in case of any emergencies too. Hope you don't mind. I don't know their schedule. There are preset days for moving van and cable guy and such they have to be there. Then I know they want to do a little sight seeing too. Kelli has a friend in Lansing who is also coming to see them too.

Okay... better get going. Have a great day. OH... my computer is acting up... or rather broken down AGAIN. Grrrr I sure hope we get this thing fixed before she leaves. I won't have her computer to use anymore.

Well girls we are all packed and the car is loaded. We leave in the morning. I am taking sons laptop so maybe I can checkin . I will try to eat sensibly