Enough with the giant Atkins ad already! I know the Chicks need them for revenue, but didn't I see Suzanne say somewhere that you only get them a couple of times per user? I get them EVERY time I come here, on EVERY page load.

I got the cutest birthday card this morning from a website I subscribe to. This quote was on it (the card was full of singing cats) and I immediately thought it was something I had to share with you all, as it applies to us!

"Would you tell me,please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

"I don't much care where --" said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

"--so long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.

"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

~ Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland


Eydie, next time I'm in the grocery store, I'm going to look for a Crenshaw melon! I do get tired of canteloupe, and although I do eat honeydew melon, it isn't my favorite. Perhaps the Crenshaw will be just right!

Kaylets, can't help you on the Black Cohash. I'm not at that stage yet! Two cups of coffee a day surely won't hurt. I think it's the people who have 10 or so that need to cut back. Two sounds like moderation to me!

Favorite evening entertainment is watching movies at home, which we do every weekend. I prefer my couch, chenille blanket, soft pillows, and light popcorn to a crowded theatre where people eat like pigs (really, have you HEARD some of them???) and popcorn drenched in fat and salt.

Kettle is boiling...tea anyone?

Yo! In brevity mode big time, so ...

Arabella, yup, the trashy novel thing has merit!!! I may just do it!

Kaylets, I just sort of wish WW would come up with a non-points option so calorie counters like me could join their groups!!! I just can't deal with the points system ... tried, failed. It seems artificial to me, as I will always hold that the calorie is the unit of measurement that COUNTS in weight issues ... it's simple physics to me!!

Hope the above statement doesn't offend anyone ... no disparagement meant of WW ... I like the focus of that organization and would love to participate with them, but they only have the one program!!1

QOD: Mostly my fav evening entertainment is working, but if it were not, I'd say reading!

Gotta go post on the 21-dayer and then outta here!! Yowza!

Happy Friday eve!

Fair warning.... I'm feeling verbose this morning!

Yet another thunderstorm last night, got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep. That made 3 nights in a row - and they expect more today. Sheesh! Hard to sleep with all that flash n' boom going on!

Amarantha, a bench is an *excellent* idea! I used to have one in my past life - ex and I sold it for some unknown reason - probably to make more room for motorcycle parts... I'll have to keep an eye open for a deal!

Wildfire, love the Alice in Wonderland quote. You're right, it applies - we're bound to get somewhere if we keep going!

Kaylets, I agree, the accident with your friend is a good sign that her vision could be to blame. I hope she's receptive to help, God forbid this happen again.
Lovin' the idea of women shepherds in a nativity too!
About your caffeine - it's not just a breakfast beverage, it's a damned good drug. When I was going through my cluster headache episode in '99 and morphine didn't work, Mountain Dew soda would sometimes take some of the sharpness out of the pain. It's very, very high in caffeine - they also were going to prescribe Caffergot if I ever go out of remission - it's some sort of mega-caffeine type pill used with CH and migraine. I don't think your 2 cups a day is extreme - I know someone who drinks ONLY coffee - day in, day out, exclusively. Ick.

Eydie, brilliant? Moi? Nah, I'd almost say it's laziness! Easier to do it all on Sunday afternoon in 30 minutes than make a salad every day of the week after work - that would never happen! But thanks for thinking it's a smart idea!

Arabella, funny how menopause works. My mom had a total hysterectomy in '91 and was put on HRT (a very small dose). When the breast cancer stuff hit the fan, until they could find out what was feeding the cancer they took her off the estrogen and would you believe it - no symptoms of menopause! Nothing. Bizarre.... I hope I have it so hard when my time comes!

Ya wanna know about da' clothes? Ok, in a nutshell:
First I have to tell ya about the amazing jeans Avenue has that have stretchy sweat pants-type material around just the waist. I was able to get the smallest size to better fit my non-existant butt (not bragging - I have FBS - flat butt syndrome) and still be able to stretch the top to button around my still shrinking mid-section. Usually to fit me around the middle, my butt ends up baggy!
I got 2 pairs of these in regular jeans, 1 pair in jean capris. Then, there's the tan cargo skirt and long black denim skirt, flared at the knee (thankful for my 5' 6 1/2 height with these!). I also got a pair of dark brown denim-type material leggings. Then, 2 nylon fitted eastern Indian lookin' tops - feel like you're only wearing a bra when you have them on! AND 2 short sleeve shirts (green & tan) that go with a pair of capris that I drove to a 2nd store to buy and also go with a pair of casual capris that Bo-Beena owns too (we could dress as twins!).
The bestest outfit is a fitted burgundy/wine colored crinkle shirt, long sleeved - I look like Elvira when I wear it with the black skirt. Then a couple other tops, a purpley-wine colored henley type 3/4 sleeve shirt and another that's green/dark orange/beige.
And - almost everything goes with everything! Perfection! Take a bow Bo-Beena - my shopper/helper! I think that's it (like that's not enough????)

Looking forward to Weight Watcher's tweaks. I'll probably sneak in on a meeting in a couple weeks to see what's up. I enjoy the changes, but if I don't like what they've done I'll stick with what I'm doing now.

Enough babbling!

Terri

Hello,
So today I am atempting a little domestic goddess time. My house is so out of control since both my boyfriend and I were studying all summer and uniquely lazy about housework stuff. So now the house has reached critical crap mass and I have decided to deal with it to avoid insanity. Starting with the bathroom becuase it is small, then the kitchen becuase it is necesary and then the world (insert maniacal laugh).

Food thing is going ok. Went to the movies yesterday and ended up eating some junk, but at least it was junk in moderation. They should sell carrots or something at the snack counter for those of us who do not want to eat chocolate covered lard. At any rate, if I can get though the birthday party that I am going to tonight without totally caving then all is well with the world.

Amarantha - I also calorie count and could never make the points thing work for me. Maybe it is just a little too much magic becuase there are calories and fat and fiber and then WW makes it into this number that I do not know where it actually comes from. I like the calories becuase it is one number and I can get it from looking on the package or in my little book. I figure that people who do WW feel the same thing with their points and it seems to work really well for some people. I am just not one of those people.

Re: menopause
After my surgery I was on HRT (just estrogen becuase you only need progesterian if you still have ovaries), but I went off after about six months becuase I just did not feel like thaking it any more. I have some hot flashes, but for me the real killer is the night sweats (which I had even on HRT). They went away in about a year. So not so bad. If you do not want to do the HRT thing, there are some natural sources of estrogen like compounds such as in soy. The biggest thing is to take your calcium becuase your body will stop absorbing it as well when you no longer have estrogen in your system. I was really bad about remembering to take it for a while, but now I take between 1500 and 2000 mg a day.

At any rate, my duties as domestic goddess await.

Yo! I'm confused because I can't find Kaylet's reference to female shepherds, but anyway that IS a good idea! I won't go further with this, but probably you can guess where I'd really like to take this discussion ...

Punkin: Yard sales, yard sales, yard sales ... they ALWAYS seem to have weight benches ... I think a lot of people buy them and never use them, but of course WE are not like that ...

Zadie: If you run out of places to clean, you could come over to my house ... just head south a bit, then west ... bring lots of water ...

Zadie: I totally agree on the calorie counting thing ... I just like the one number! Simple, basic, adheres to the laws of physics!

Gotta go. Gonna buy new gym clothes as the old ones are baggy. Gotta work tonight so need to avoid the couch syndrome.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR WILDFIRE!!!

Doing anything crazy today, O Goddess of the Red Retro Bike?

Hope you have a fabulous day, of Cape Breton, and all good things in the year to come!

I got a job!!! Yes, after only two weeks of sweating over being unemployed, one of the temp. agencies I signed up with sent me out.

I'm a temp-to-hire (which means they'll hire you eventually if they like you and still need you) at a local investment firm. I'm part of a 6-person (counting me!!) support staff that serves about 20 people. I think they really like me and after the 3rd day, signs are good that I'll stay on. Ramon's still looking. Summer's a lousy time for an art framer to be looking for work. Slump season for framing shops.

Here's the Grrrreat part: I can walk to work!! It's a tall office building downtown (I live on the fringes of downtown), about 1.5 miles from my apartment. I get to walk waaaay downhill TO work, then aaaaall the way back up the hill (very steep) to get home. A hill that lasts about a mile. I haven't blacked out yet... It's quite a climb. I'm jazzed, though, because that's like 45 minutes of walking every week day! I am SO going to melt away. I walk in the middle of the hustle and bustle of downtown, zooming, honking cars, people trotting to reach their bus on time, powersuits and cell-phone graftees hurrying here and there. I'm in heaven. They have a lunch room, Tazo teas, coffee, filtered water, clean workstations - luxury, from someone who's had to work jobs in dirty warehouse offices for so long. And everyone's NICE! No racial labels, jokes that demean women and homosexuals, snide remarks. This job is a dream come true. Thanks for your good thoughts, loves.

Arabella, I LOVE Barbara Kingsolver. She makes me feel such strength in the beauty and frailty of humans. So much compassion and understanding in her work. Have you read her essays, "High Tide In Tucson"?

I also love Wally Lamb for nearly the same reasons, and my all-time favorite fantasy writer is Robin McKinley. She's wry, down-to-earth, and her dialogue is top-notch. You may have noticed that a common problem in fantasy especially is shallow characters and facile dialogue. She blows that out of the water.

I had a bad day yesterday, too! I was SO tired from my walk home from work that I had two soy dogs, a WHOLE package of Ramen soup and a bowl of premium ice cream. A GREAT cure for fatigue.

Anagram, Chinoiserie? You're the coolest person on the planet.

QOD: my favorite evening entertainment is going out to eat (or anything, really) with Ramon and my brother, Nate and his wife, Elisabeth. They are the 3 most fun people on earth.

Good for you, Kaylets, on finding peace with your coffee. It's important. I did the same thing a while back, going from total abstinence to having one cup in the morning. It's a great picker-upper at work, and a treat on the weekend, when I can make myself a pot of French-pressed. Lovely ceremony in the mornings.

Jenn, I didn't like the Adkins idea even before I was a vegetarian! Now that I am one, it's a non-issue.

Amarantha, you've almost got me convinced to go back to calorie-counting. I did it for a while last year with great success, but broke loose after a while and gained all the weight back. Couldn't stand the....whole thing, you know? Deprivation, portioning. Wish I were more of a control freak. Still, you've lost 100lb, and if you say you wouldn't have done it without the regimen, than I'm sure as **** going to listen to what you say. Drat! Hate it but think I have to do it...

WW also didn't do it for me. My issue was spending the money, honestly. But I enjoyed it OK. Again, though, the portioning and counting got to me eventually and I staged a coup against my WW scale and ate myself into oblivion.

Qu'est que c'est? Ah, oui, c'est Wildfire sur sa nouveau bicyclette! Avec du pain et des fleurs. Quelle jolie!!! Don't even go there, Punkin. I know my French ain't what it used to be...

I wish I could have seen you with your bike anfd your baguette and flowers, darling. What a picture you must have made! And happy birthday to you.

OK, dears. Have a marvelous day!

P.S. Tomorrow's Ramon's and my fifth anniversary. I still loooove him, love him, love him!!!!!

Thanks Eydie, Arabella, and Cerise!

I did my favorite thing today...shop! Bought fabric to make drapes for my living room. Bargain that I am, I got it at 75% off, so what would have cost $400.00 only cost $100.00! BIG window! Now I have to get sewing.

Hubby bought me lovely 14k gold earrings, and we had Swiss Chalet and watched a movie, Bringing Down the House. It was hilarious!

Cerise, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Your new job sounds terrific! I hope they'll keep you on full-time! Je comprende ton francais, pas de probleme...cependant, mon est un peu rubigineux! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to you and Ramon!

Punkin, sounds like you and BoBeena had a blast shopping! Quite the wardrobe you have now! How is your Mom doing?

Arabella, you deserve a vacation! Pack your stuff and head out to Cavendish to that little private beach across the road from Cavendish Country Inn and Cottages...the footpath that runs though the field takes you to it....and relax and listen to waves. I'm there in spirit just about every day, and would love to have your company!

zadie, how did the cleaning go?

Well, I'm off to answer a few e-mails and toddle off to bed. See you in the morning!

Did someone say Tucson?

Mais oui, Cerise, calorie counting is the only thing that works for me! I did have some success with points last year, but I realized it was because my calories were low ... but we are all different ... some people just don't like to weigh and measure ... I thrive on it ... it's when I DON'T count calories that I start gaining again ... and BTW, CONGRATS on your job ... sounds like you really like it!

Wildfire: How lovely this Cavendish sounds ... I wish I were there and it were fall and the leaves were turning red, yellow and orange (which I presume they do there).

Beam me up, Scotty!

Flyby only as I SHOULD be in bed after long day trekking to nursing home. Actually dh insisted on going along and on driving or it would have been worse. But I am tired. So enjoyed reading all your posts and would love to comment but can't keep my eyes open.

Do have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO WILDFIRE - long may she reign as of Cape Breton. Cavandish sounds so marvelous to me right now too.

Hello all!

Count me in too! I'm ready for any type of break - let's go!

Happy Belated Wildfire! I need my sewing machine tuned up and not even sure if its worth the tune up or just needs to be replaced.
I need to make slipcovers -- And Trading Rooms is making me think its not as complicated as I originally thought.

So, I was wondering if we could do a Round Robin Novel. Just for fun. Each person would pick up where the other left off--
and of course, our heroines would be mindful of their health,.. etc.


Cerise-- I am so glad you found a job! And that you are so excited about it is even better!!
Yes, offices are nicer than warehouses- Be careful though-- sitting all day can be deadly--

Got to go -- One of the beagles is trying to wake up the neighbors--


**********
Thought of the day :

"If you can't hear opportunity knocking,
try another door."
--Unknown

Question of the day :

"What qualifies a person as "old" ?
--Table Topics

***********

Take care!

Healthier than I've been in years and its really SHOWING!

Hmmm. I keep trying to go back to bed but just keep typing. Very bad headache, maybe I'll just stay up now that I'm awake, though!!!

Wildfire, if I didn't wish you then here's a belated banana from me as well!!! Have two!!! It's so great having you on the 21-day challenge with me!!! You're doing super! :dancer;

What qualifies a person as old? Well, you'd have to ask somebody older than me! I refuse to be classified according to age and I will NEVER define myself as an old person.

Later, gators!

fly by postie!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO WILDFIRE!!!!!!!!

Cerise-Great news on the job (and the subsiquent daily walk!) Good going girlie!

Finally got the inlaws stuff out of the house, I can now feel 'at home'

I'll post later!