Shad~ nice orchids! Good to hear the sil is home now. Hope the weekend had some Shad time as well! lol YOU should have gotten the pedicure/manicure too!

Meadow~ The fridge got a fast wipe and i did find a cantaloupe that was ready to explode!!! How did you know!?!? It somehow got pushed to the back a few weeks ago!!! I got it out and in the trash VERY carefully!! I had a giggle at the 4 hour cleaning job and the short visit. Deja vu for when my MIL used to come. I would clean for days and she would come a want to leave right away to eat or shop, drop us all off and GO HOME!!!
Yes i put the chili over the rice. my Gram served it that way too although she served curry and rice not chili.

Happy~ I think I meant I needed a seamstress and not a sewer I thought "sewer" was a person that sews and not the pipe that takes the waste products away!!! ;lol3:

I had a good lie in again today and feel refreshed. Guess I was more stressed than I had first thought. Feeling pretty good considering. I am going to make this week a bit slower and find some time to dance on the roof Hope you all have a great week and Happy Sunday.....sweet dreams Shaddie.

Shad~ I vote for the Canadian, of course!!
Mel~ I wondered what you were going to do with a sewer, LOL!! You could roll the cantelope down it.HUGS!
Meadow~ you made my morning. You are a breath of fresh air. Maybe we shoudl make a morkg date for exercise and then pop in here to confess. My 10 am would be your 7am, work for you????
Ceejay~glad the Bday was nice. Babies are wonderful!

Long, wet and nice.
That was the day yesterday. I did take the morning off, just had coffee relaxed, chatted with DH. At 11 the kids and I went to the lake. It was overcast and we had a thunderstorm in the aft and then it cleared. DS and the boy I sit rode bikes during the whole rain event through huge puddles for about 3 hours. They were so caked in mud you could only see their eyes. What fun!!
When it cleared we went swimming, sliding and splash padding. We went for dinner at a lakeside restaurant a friend owns, then back to the campground. At 9 both kids started whining.Into the van.They were asleep before I hit the highway. They both slept 12 hours and peed their beds LOL.I slept 10 glorious hours.
I have a list of things for today I need to priorize.My garden is calling me. SSSShhhhh!! I have “work” to do.
Is their anything better than getting your hands in the dirt?
Anyhow, I have eaten out for dinner for 3 days. My choices haven’t been spectacular BUT I have been so busy that there has been no snacking or late night comfort eating. I did a fair amount of walking and gardening this week so I am feeling more active. When school is back I will be able to work in the WATP dvd during the day.
I will clean out the van and go get allergy meds. Then housework!

LONG, WET AND NICE
I GOTTA FIND ME ONE OF THEM

Thought you would like that Mel
shocking, I know!

WELCOME BACK NAE i was beginning to think we were gonna have to send mellie out to find you {and whatever spare firies she could find}sorry about the friend and happy to hear about the doggie glad were not close neighbours cleo doesnt like wee dogs.,actually cleo doesnt like much of anything apart from her grub and comfort {mainly my bed under the duvet between my feet}
MEL i think you need a total body scan hunny im kindae hoping that your resting now ??? hope so
SHAD busy weekend ??? more like busy life ,glad sil is home and db work sound wonderfull
HAPPY im glad you dont have my kids and dogs or youd never be done cleaning ,i know im not
MEADOW my in-laws and laws take me as they find me now i gave up years ago trying to please anyone but me
HOLLY you must have the patience of a saint ,you truly must my 2 drive me round the twist god knows how im gonna cope when the new one comes along
CEEJAY sorry i missed the birthday but many happy returns for you
well ladies ive ran around like an idiot all weekend and im now paying for it big time very sore back and pelvis but im now sat down and destined for a very early night ,its now 19 days till i have my little gymnast ,and i honestly cant wait ,to be able to eat and sleep and go longer than 1 hour between loo visits love to you all
kirsty+bump

So it's Monday morning and back to the grind again. Still didn't get the lady's claws clipped - everytime I thought about it, she disappeared but this morning - thank you Sunday - she is in full view, sleeping on the end of my bed.

Didn't get as much done as planned yesterday, due to the fact that the DB1 was on the phone several times to ask questions about e-mail. Then the DB2 arrived for coffee and cake (didn't get any - tea instead, no food).

Been to the gym this morning. I have rescheduled my days/ nights and am now going early mornings for cardio on Monday/ Thursday and afternoons for weights/ resistance on Tuesday/ Friday. I find that cardio late in the afternoon is absolutely no good for me at all. I shall also do the Body Balance/ Weight routine on Saturday or Sunday. I have a list of all the jobs to do on the board separated now into easy, medium, hard/ expensive. So hopefully I will get on with things in a more settled way. I have a couple of weekends coming up where not much will get done, so it is best to do as much of the housework as possible during the week.

Roses - I've been searching for a rose bush for this Golden Wedding Anniversary as you know. Went to the biggest rose nursery down our way and all I could find was a climber - Gold Bunny, a couple of standards - Golden Girls and Friesa, and a bush called All Gold. The latter two are fragrant. Spoke to the lady at the nursery about Golden Jubilee and Golden Anniversary and she referred me to another rose nursery about 20kilometres away. I rang the place from home (after I brought an All Gold and a Friesa) and chatted to the owner about the said two roses. She doesn't recommend Golden Jubilee at all. Has Golden Anniversary and another one called Golden Years. She also has one called Happy Anniversary which is orange (also known as Orange Kardinal as opposed to the Red Kardinal which is popular down south). She says they are both okay for the climate however Golden Years blooms much more profusely than the Golden Anniversary. So next Saturday she will bring all three plants into her shop and I am going to check them out. So now I have 2 new roses for the garden. Where am I going to put them?? I'm sure I can find somewhere.

Ceejay - what do you do with Okra? I have seen it in the shops here and never known what to do with it. What does it taste like?

Meadow - The white one is the Canadian. You are right. It's real name is Innocence - Pastoral. I call it the Canadian orchid since I brought it with the money given to me by a couple of young Canadians whom I took around Brisbane sightseeing a year or so ago.
I would be a bit worried that I was putting in enough intensity if I didn't feel the muscles after a workout. You don't need to exercise for long periods of time if you have the intensity right. I never do more than 45 minutes a day. Usually I am dripping with sweat at the end and absolutely worn out. But a shower, dinner and a bit of snuggle with the cat soon puts all that right. The cat is a great warmer of cold or tight muscles - if you can get her to sit in the right place. I always sleep well after a good bout of exercise as well. Another bonus.

Mellie is out roof dancing - is that better than lap dancing?? Rest up well friend. There's time for everything. Sometimes it just needs a bit of planning. Yesterday I had planned to have a couple of hours in front of the box watching a program I like on UKTV however I find it has finished and now they have put Henry VIII on. Not one of my favourite characters.

Holly's idea for morning exercise is a good one. Maybe a bit of a challenge coming up to make us all accountable to a bit of exercise every day. Start gentle work up.
Long, Wet and nice - the mind boggles. Wonder if that is the only thing that 'boggles'.

Linus - 19 days. It's coming up fast now. We will be waiting with bated breath. Are you going to write the script for the DH so he just has to upload it to here - or is he going to ring Teel who will of course be on the computer tout de suite to tell us all about it - not like the week long silences we have at the moment??!!!!!! : Yooooooooohhhhhhooooooo calling Teel.

Okay time to get on with the day. Reporting. Reporting training. Report documentation. 52 reports - 6 down 46 to go.

Shad--Okra can be boiled but it is very slimmy that way. I cut the okra into bite size pieces salt and pepper it and then put it in a plastic bag or container with a lid with corn meal to coat it. Then it's deep fried in hot oil. Yummmmm. Most of the time I put the fried okra on a paper towel to absorb part of the oil.

Mel--I like that ticker.

Hello to Holly and Happy.

Linus--You are counting the days. I know that you will be glad when bump gets here.

Ladies I have some tidying to do before I go to bed. Good night.

CEEJAY~ THANKS! I LIKE IT TOO. LOL FRIED OKRA I WISH FRIED FOOD WERE ON MY DIET!

SHAD~ I SAW THE END OF THE MOVIE "THE WHALE RIDER" ON PBS. DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE SEEN IT BUT I WAS GRIPPING MY SEAT AT THE END!!! I'LL WATCH FOR IT TO COME BACK SO I CAN SEE IT FROM THE BEGINNING. KEEP THOSE ROSES COMING!!! LOL HAVE A GREAT WEEK.

LINUS~ I'M AFRAID OF A FULL SCAN CAUSE THEN THEY MAY FIND THERE IS NOTHING IN MY HEAD!!! SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU COULD USE A REST TOO!

GOTTA RUN....THE TIMER RANG AND IT'S TIME TO GET MY 2 LOADS OF WASH PUT INTO THE DRYER. HAPPY MONDAY........

Looks like Hurricane Katrina is making it's way over for a visit. Should hit tonight by the looks of things. Just enough to really mess up the commute home. At least the worst of it isn't due until later this evening and overnight. I dread to see what the yard will look like with all the leaves and "gumballs". We have 4 trees - sweetgums - that have seed pods they call gumballs. They are about the size of golfballs and are all spiny when dried out. There are literally thousands of them in the trees overhead and with the winds coming I'm sure there will be many of the hard green ones falling about. I will tell DH to pick up some of the loose things in the yard - flower pots and trash can and things that may blow about, we'll see if he listens.

Saturday night I heard some thunder - it's been a while since we had rain. I looked outside and there was one massive thunderhead out north. Just one tall, white, billowy cloud in a night sky full of stars. And whoo boy, what gorgeous lightning out of that one cloud. No rain - well maybe far up north but we got an impressive light show. We took some videos with the digital camera and are trying to figure out how to grab a frame at a time as we did get some night lightning shots. Saturday was pretty much a take it easy kind of weekend day I needed. Sunday we had coffee on the patio and watched the hummingbirds. They are cute little creatures but extremely aggressive in guarding their food supply. There were 5 in the yard - 2 sets of adults and one baby. They were chasing and dive bombing each other like mad. It was very entertaining to watch. I think they were playing more than "running the others out of town". This went on all day yesterday. Got my cleaning and laundry and shopping done yesterday. Didn't get to the ironing or pants hemming. Maybe tonight if we don't lose power.

Hmmm... how would you describe the taste of okra? It's true everyone batters and deep fries the stuff so it tastes like crusty breading. I have tried it as it is a true southern staple here - but it, like cooked dandelion greens and fried corn on the cob, I can just say no to.

Pretty orchids Shad. I imagine the new roses are good looking too. But where's the one with the lime green center you spoke of earlier - or did I just not see the colors right?

Gotta run, time to wake up DH and get me out of the house. Might be back later depending on how the rains hit...

hi folks just a quicky for me tonight ,spoke to tell shes gonna get on and let you all know how she is ,im knackered not sleeping very well but fine all the same
lots of love
kirsty+bump

Yep it is raining, a soft gentle rain which will wet the ground nicely. If it hangs around a while then it will actually do some good in the garden. Water is getting desparate around here.

Ceejay, Mel and Happy - thanks for the information on Okra. I think I can live without it somehow. It's obviously a southern dish and maybe like choko's an aquired taste! Eeeeewwwwww choko.

Mel, I saw Whale Rider some time back. Very spiritual at the end. Probably a bit deep and meaningful for a lot of caucasian folk but like the film Once were Warriors, it is a slice of Maori life - now all too often being buried in the over riding race for the almighty dollar. Don't know if any of you saw Once were Warriors??? Ooooh Aaaaah that Temuera Morrison swoon. Okay enough already, it is only 07.45 on Tuesday the 30th August.

Happy - the orchid has definite shades of lemon and lime in the throat. Must be the angle from which I took the photo. It's very pretty at the moment. Maybe I will bring it inside to admire for a while. Roses are in pots on the patio right now. I shall get back to them during the week. Meantime it is raining so they are happily soaking it up. Did DH go to the rose website I sent him. If so, he will discover all of those pics are on black backgrounds as well. Must be the best way to display flowers. Stay safe while Katrina is around.

Alrighty then, better go check the classroom, get the water jugs, sort the doco, ensure the little darlings are catered for in the lolly (sweets, candy for those who speak in different tongues) department. I'm about to go blow their socks off with BW Reporting. Yep, Happy I'm now into BW reporting.

The worst of the wind and rain is just about to hit us. I got lulled into a false sense of this being just a better than average rain storm. NOT. Of course it's not as bad as being on the coast when the storm comes ashore, but it's pretty windy out there. Thank goodness it's moving fast AND we are quite west of where the tornadoes are spawning. I can't imagine anything worse than a tornado in the black of night. The lights are flickering, I hope we don't but I'm sure we'll lose a bit of power sometime during the night. A/C is off - DH doesn't want to risk electrical problems. The pool is filled with leaves and sticks. And the gumballs are falling out of the trees and clunking the roof which startles me each and every time. Doors are pushing a bit in the wind too - spooks

Thankfully this should be over by morning. Tho I may be whining - this is a new experience for me, at least I am grateful we don't have it as bad as the people who have lost their homes and possesions down along the coastline.

I will chat later, just wanted to pop my head in and say I was ok - I'm sure tomorrow will be a sleepy day from a restless night with things that go BUMP and we don't mean the soft sounds of Linus' bump cooing

HAPPY~ HOPE YOU PUT ON YOUR SEAT BELT FOR THE BUMPY RIDE!!! I GUESS IT MUST BE PASSED BY NOW? OUR SKIES ARE GETTING DARKER AND DARKER! BUT THE HEAT!!!! I COULD "FEEL" YOUR POST AND IT DID FEEL SPOOKY

sHAD~ I COUD DO WITHOUT OKRA TOO. HAD IT ONCE AND NEVER AGAIN. AND WTF IS CHOKO?! VEGETABLE OR ANIMAL?!?! i THOUGHT THE GIRL IN THE MOVIE WAS GREAT AND YOU COULD SENSE ALL THE SPIRITUALITY IN IT. I WAS VERY DRAWN TO IT RIGHT FROM THE MOMENT I WAS PASSING BY THE CHANNEL. I MUST WATCH FOR THE OTHER MOVIE CAUSE ANYTHING THAT CAN GET YOUR BUT GOING LIKE THAT HAS TO BE GOOD OR GORGEOUS i SHOULD SAY!!! WHILE I AM TYPING THIS, DIANE KEATON AND JACK NICHOLSON ARE HAVING SEX IN "SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE"!

LINUS $ ~ GLAD YOU AND BUMP ARE FINE EVEN IF TIRED. REST WELL! THANKS FOR KEEPING TABS ON TEEL. HOPE SHE'S OK AND WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE GOT IN THE POST!!!

TO TIG, NAE, MEADOW, HOLLY WHO SHOULD BE ON ANY MOMENT AND CEEJAY. I AM OFF TO BEGING MY DAY AND HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT ONE! SWEET DREAMS MISS SHAD.
GOT SOME WASH DONE AND SOME OF WHAT RUTHIE CALLS NIGGLES. EVEN GOT A JUMP START ON THE BILLS! LOL
I HAD GONE OUT EARLY CAUSE THE WEATHER WAS TOO HUMID EVEN AT 7AM!! GOING INTO MY CLOSET TO SEE IF I CAN FIND MORE JUNK TO TOSS. I FIND IT SOMEHOW VERY "FREEING" HAPPY TUESDAY!

Here I am Mel!!! Had to feed the troops first.

I am almost too good at what I do. Now I am pooping my pants.
SO, I pitched Avon catalogue sales to the local playschool for fundraising. They said great( used to do regal) .I will earn 10% to cover my expenses and they will earn 30%.The sales count towards my total which will put me into President club and I will earn bonuses and get free product etc. I have 20 families buying and selling for me now.
Breathe!! Exciting and scary.
I also have 3 more people potentially on the hook for leadership.I could earn a $200 bonus. Yowza.
Our grocery order came yesterday. the “boys” moved our 2nd freezer to the basement from the shed. Very nice. Canned goods go on shelves in the basement and dry good go on shelves in the laundry room. I still need to truck the cans downstairs. Good exercise.
Tonight is my TV night. Canadian Idol and Tommy Lee. My Avon order goes in at 10 pm. I did 25 calls yesterday and received 8 more orders.
School council meeting was great last night.
Tomorrow night I go to the bulk store and do Grandma’s perm. She has had an infection and is on antibiotics. They make her really sick. She says she is feeling better now.
8 kids today. My helper is coming.
The house is pretty tidy. Lots of laundry to get started today.
Okay, soy shake and face the day!!

Have a profitable day! LOL!

Hang on Happy!!! Hugs Chicks!!

A little Antonio? http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...althoughts.jpg

((((HAPPY)))) Watch out for those bouncing gumballs! Hope none of them pick up speed and crash through the windows. Do you have some lovely candles to burn? A nice bottle of wine? A fireplace? Maybe you and hubby can think of something to occupy your minds beyond the storm outside? "though the weather outside if frightful, inside it is so delightful" sing with me...

Mel-aren't you a busy bee this morning! Humidity is yucky, hope your air conditioning is working well. What did you discover in the closet? Anything that might be fun? Like your paints? Mind how you go now, don't overdo!!

Holly-gosh, you are going to be a millionaire soon with this Avon! Do they give you pink cadillacs like Mary Kay? Do they still do that at Mary Kay even? I hope you are getting some good energy via all this, you have so much power! Use it wisely, blue eyeshadow doesn't even look good on the tweenies, ask questions when someone tries to order it

Shad-so you are starting a sock collection? How many have you blown off so far? Did the little dears eat all the sugar and become active in the conversation? Ask lots of questions and show that they were listening? I did some upper weights with Kathy Smith the other night, my kids were trying to get whacked in the head but I managed it (my little sweethearts are like flies when I start to do anything) sigh, it isn't easy to get stronger but it isn't going to happen osmosis, shame Send me some of your determination will you

Linus-jeepers, if you aren't sleeping well now! Hopefully you are getting some little naps in during the day and are keeping your energy up. We had a big thunder and lightening storm Sunday night here. I had both the kids in the bed with me and hubby got bumped downstairs to try and find a place to get some kip that didn't involve a tangle of legs and arms

I have seen a rainbow, two days in a row... good sign

Hey chicks of the world...what are you going to sing today?