Morning all.

Dee – Keeping you in my thoughts that your eye appointment brings about a clear diagnosis and effective treatment for your eyes.

Annie – Good idea not to lease another vehicle. If you take decent care of a car, it can certainly last longer than 3 years, so why pay all those payments to not have anything to show for them at the end of the lease? LOL re your grandsons’ vocabularies! Ummm, detox juice? What is it and why do you drink it?!?! Re jeans, you’re right – not all are comfy. But with jeans come more casual shoes, and more comfort for my feet. But no sneakers. Boo.

Susie – Good job on the exercise, and continue to take it easy!

Ceejay – Now I understand – smart to get on a list for an apartment if you’ve gotten to know the complex and think it’s somewhere you want to live.

Happy – That Whole 30 plan sounds like it’ll be a real challenge, but if you get nothing else out of it, becoming a better meal planner is certainly a positive thing for any type of healthy eating/weight loss program. ---I hope Hannah finds a good forever home! ---Re the shelter washing machine – yikes, why can’t they learn to use it properly!? Ideally, a commercial unit would be better – assuming they're heavier duty. But then again, how easy would it be to get it serviced if it needed it, and of course the cost would be higher… ---Congrats on getting the estate plan done! I haven’t made an appointment for an attorney yet, but I’ve been doing other things in that vein. Making sure the 401k has an updated beneficiary, same for life insurance, and completing Payable on Death (POD) forms for bank accounts. Better than nothing, but we still need to get a will done (at a minimum).

Hellos to the Shad, Terra & Michelle.
--
I watched Downton Abbey last night. The pre-show was a waste of time – rehash of old, blather by a bunch of people, sneak previews of the episode coming up (really??) and snippets of cast members counting down the minutes until the premiere episode. The episode itself was alright. I suppose I agree with Annie – there may not be the drama there was in past seasons because we know they will be wrapping things up. One new storyline got started AND wrapped up in that episode and I kind of wish it had gone another way… I hope they don’t continue to overdo the “times are changing” theme. There was a bit much of that IMO.

I made a tiny dent in Mail Mountain last night. I will just have to keep chipping away at it. And then there will be the Catalog Mountain to address next. This is something I need to address this year to avoid such accumulations. If I continue to not go to an exercise class on Saturday mornings, I think one of my new morning routines will be to go through the mail basket first thing.

Well, bf is getting his braces today, so I’m not sure how the next year and a half will go. We all know how men can be, lol! Wish me strength in dealing with whatever drama comes my way.

Hi Everyone, I have about 10 min left of lunch time so let's see if I can get personals done.

Dee: Praying for good outcomes and healing of your eyes. We love your sister!

Annie: Good idea to let that yucky report be just what it is. I'm learning this. Very cute store about Jacob and Royce...you wonder where kids come up with these things sometimes!

I have never leased a vehicle--if I did I would be like you about the mileage and it would drive me crazy!


Ceejay: I like the advice that Annie gave to you on handling those who want to put there 2 cents worth concerning your retirement or any other subject they feel to weigh-in on without you asking.

Good thoughts and prayers for your doctor appointment tomorrow.

Happy: I hope Hannah finds a new home...and a good one at that. I am sure she will.

Laura: I hope things go well (for the present and the future) with BF braces. Yes, I know how men can be! Just tell him that when he gets them off, he will have beautiful teeth like Luke Bryan (and that killer smile he has--gets me every time! lol)

My mail basket fills up quickly too. I'm trying to put all the important things away (like I set up a file for bills and am putting them in the file right after I open them so they are there when I go to pay them and I'm not hunting in the "mail basket"...catalogues are another matter.

Hello to the rest of the Wordlies...time to get back to work and get out of here on time, so I have me time at home!

Howdy chicks,

Happy Hump Day. I am glad to have the next couple of days to myself. My sister recommended a book she just read by an author with a tongue in cheek sense of humor about dealing with her elderly parents. It's called "Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?" It's a new book and I'm pleased that our library has it on the shelf. I also need to put away the last of my Christmas stuff and organize that area. I have to get papers to my sister to sign for the estate plan and I want to go to the other grocery store hoping they might have a few more things I need for this Whole30 plan. I have realized that you will completely crash and burn fail if you don't prepare ahead of time. Too many times in the last few days I have gotten to the point where I am starving and frustrated because everything that is my quick grab and go solutions - I can't eat any more.

I do think this Whole30 program is really a good one. On the positive side, it breaks the bad habits we have with certain foods - ie. have lunch, automatically reach for a soda, over doctor coffee with cream and sugar to the point where you are drinking a milk shake instead of a coffee and then I could go on and on about food as a pleasure sensation rather than fuel for your body. So it does reset a lot of bad habits. And requires one to think. The down side of course is that food is "ok" - you get more pleasure out of knowing you eat well rather than the tasty dish you are consuming. When done you are glad it's done but rarely have the experience of "oh that was really delicious". Which I guess is good too - natural portion control. I never over indulge with stuff that's just "ok". Food is also constantly on your mind because I think you never really got satisfied. To me stepping back, it's like fighting the addiction of quitting smoking. Lots of similarities. But I am encouraged enough to keep trying. My sister said after about a week you will get used to no sweeteners in your tea and you will begin to taste the subtle flavors of the tea vs the bitterness that is more prominent without the sugar or cream in tea or coffee.

My knees are still bothering me a lot - I have a nerve pinch in the front of both knees (the pain moves to various spots). Yesterday I almost fell down the stairs because when I step, it's a nerve pain that wants to make the leg give out. Fortunately I do stairs like a 100 year old lady - very slow and deliberate because I never know when it's going to suddenly give out on me. Today I broke down and took 2 Motrin - hope it will help.

The cats are back to their old selves. They look more relaxed and they are crawling all over their "daddy". I am back to the scullery maid.

Dee - I hope all is well with your eyes and I would not DEFINITELY NOT try to do any self diagnosis or self treatment with something so sensitive. Keep us updated - continued healing to you

Laura - from what I understand, anything with a named beneficiary like life insurance, bank accounts or 401K plans will not go through probate. However, there are many assets that don't have a beneficiary designation like a house or cars that can get trapped in a long, expensive and drawn out probate situation. Also because you and BF have been in a long term relationship, make sure you are covered - especially when it comes to things like making health care decisions for him if necessary. You just never know when the unexpected takes hold. As far as the commercial washing machine goes, in my opinion, people need to learn how to wash PROPERLY before we go spending big bucks on a commercial washing machine. You can wreck that just as easily by overloading it and using too much soap. And the drum in the commercial ones is 3.3 cubic feet - smaller than what we have now so in some cases they will have to wash only one or two blankets at a time and they will never go for that. Also as you said - the problem is getting service out here in our remote corner of the state. Especially for a place that can't be without laundry facilities. I hear you on the mail and catalog mountain. I also have an email mountain that I keep trying to tame. I have 3 email accounts for various reasons and the flood of emails for sales and things since the holidays is ridiculous. I just need to pitch it all - no problem filling up the recycling bin this month! Sending you lots of good vibes and superwoman strength to deal with BF and braces. Why at this point in life? There is going to be ALOT of food adjustment. Yikes! Be strong. And go out to eat a lot.

Annie - I am not doing 21 Day Fix. I am doing Whole30. They are different programs. 21 Day Fix is containers with portion control. It's more of a true diet. I did get the containers but never really got going on it because it was just before the holidays. Both programs require thinking, preparation and commitment. 21 Day Fix is good because you don't have to count calories - only containers. HOWEVER, with both programs if you are not used to eating fresh foods you make yourself and instead like a lot of quick packaged stuff - you will really struggle with it. ALOT. But if you are committed to spending Sundays planning meals, shopping and prepping your food for the week, 21 Day Fix and it's companion exercise program is a very good and nutritious diet plan. You also have to like a lot of vegetables because while you get ample amounts of protein and fruit, most of your bulk is from vegetables. Does that help any? Allrottin - you mean au gratin potatoes? Regarding the car - we leased a couple of our 4Runners because the price was so high and I liked them for winter driving. In the end, it's the dealers who make a bundle when good people like you lease and take good care of the cars. But the dealers feed you a line of BS. They offered us $1500 for our 2002 4Runner at first when it needed repairs and after I said I'd walk away they went up to $7000 for a trade in. I was looking online and 2002 4Runners with lots more mileage than ours had (and no accidents) are going for $12,000 - $15 on the open market. One of the things to be mindful of and not true if this is an issue on the Rav4 is the back window. They have a spoiler/overhang on the window that creates a wind tunnel that picks up every little bit of road filth and constantly keeps the back window filthy and hard to see out of. I spend almost as much in window cleaner as I do in gas. It's really a BAD design. And DH looked at Ford and they have the same design on their model. I am keeping the Avalon until the wheels fall off! Do a lot of research and read reviews for the next car. I also agree with you about the uncomfortable women's shoes. I did buy some booty type snow boots from both Columbia (Kohls) and Easy Spirit (Amazon) that are well fitting and comfortable to wear all day. Usually I have problems with achy feet and poor support and these have held up well.

Susie - glad to hear the back is on the mend. And good going on avoiding distractions and getting to bed on time. I need to work on that myself.

Ceejay - how is the flooding coming along?

Hello to the rest of the chicks. I need to get some lunch in me as I am already starving.

Just a brief note. I'm getting reconnect phone calls and need to pick up my mess from cleaning the stairwell.
Talked to my aunt last night. She sounded good except for the jitters from the high dosage of the cortisone.
Think I'm going to wait a couple of more months about getting a bank account in Jonesboro. This could get back to my bosses. But I may check into the apartment situation.
Will be back later.

Hello,
We got home from my opthamology appt at 6pm. I had a thorough examination. My retina/eye tear is healing well & it's smaller. My painful eye's are a type of a migraine he said, caused from the stress of my retina & my eyes straining... Because of my ulcer I can take only 1 migraine pill every 12 hours. He said the things I had stopped using are safe to use. I missed my long eyelashes from my mascara
I feel so happy even though my eye isn't healed yet & I have a migraine attack in my eyes, just knowing I don't need any surgery or a vision disease makes me very Thankful for everyone & our world I've been Blessed to see.

My loving grandpa from Charleston went blind in his 50's & lost his job & that's when they bought their 3 story boarding house on a brick street near the train station. Their home had a dumb-waiter, sitting parlor, formal dining room, pocket doors, etc & wrap around veranda. Their historical home was demolished in the 1980's, along with that section of homeowners for a new express-way exit ramp. My grandpa never-ever saw me with his eyes. Only by touching my long, reddish-blonde curls, my face & holding my hands when he sang southern gospel hymns & he'd try to teach me some clogging dances, sigh. I soo wish that he could've seen aLL the smilles we shared & the looks of admiration I gave him....

If I don't have eye pain/a migraine tomorrow I'll be back & post personals

My Love to you'all, Dee

Good Morning/Evening!

Thought I would post before I delve into my December end monthly reports. Makes for another busy day. Yesterday flew by.

Eating a sweet potato for breakfast. Not too bad either. Sprayed a little Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray on it and it is quite tasty. Last night was veggie pizza, which I ate entirely too much of. Was kind of nauseated after eating it. I need to get back with the program as pizza is not heart friendly, at least the kind I ate last night. Food is the hardest thing to overcome.

Will come back for personals...I hear my boss coming. lol

Ok...let's see.

HAPPY...yes that info on the diets was very helpful. The gal here at work said to thank you...so thank you! I think IF I were to do either of them it would be the Whole30 diet. It just sounds more like me. My son is doing the Paleo diet. He has been on it for two weeks and lost around 10 lbs so far. I had no idea he weighed as much as he does...310. His 6'3 weight should be around 215. He has a lot to lose. I have been researching cars for about 3 months now and will continue till I can make a decision I can live with for about 10 years. That is usually how long I keep a car. I like the years where there is no payment. Funny, Curtis is leaving this all up to me. Ask your DH for me to please research SUVs for me with 3 row seating. He will have to be my pseudo DH. lol. Plus he will be doing me a great service. The title of the book your sister recommended made me chuckle. Let me know how you like it.

DEE...glad to hear you got a decent report from the eye doc. Just keep trudging along, you will be fine. Great memories of your gpa. I have great memories of my maternal gpa also. SOmetimes the memories make my eyes leak.

CEEG...glad your aunt is doing better. Cortisone makes me crazy, not to mention the weight gain when taking it. My brother Michael has been on that since the cancer started as it helps him to breathe better, he has gained 30 lbs in the past 2 1/2 years.

SUSIE...the bill file, yes that one is always overcrowded. I did get one loan paid off in December. That was nice. I think I am going to have my deductible loan from last year paid off in June as I am making double payments. Fingers crossed. Good for you getting to bed earlier.

LAURA...detox juice was a spur of the moment in Aldi's buy. 2 bucks for a large container, made up of all these veggies and fruits to detox your body. Whatever, it tastes good but won't be buying it anymore. No real reason to buy it, just a dumb purchase on my part. Blonde move, I suppose. I get two magazine subscriptions a year. After I read them monthly, I pass them along to others so they do not lay around and clutter.

Hello to the rest of you sweet ladies.

Keep coming back, as I hear at the "meetings".

Hugs

Another brief note as I am getting ready for a trip to Jonesboro to the doctor. We got paid yesterday so I need to go to the bank also.

Dee
I'm glad that your eye is healing. I've had migraines but not in the eye. That had to be painful.

Just a quick pop in to say hello. The admin went home ill last Thursday morning, and just returned to work today. She was in the hospital several days while she was gone.

She should not have returned to work today. Due to her illness she hasn't eaten, or slept and she's just so very weak. Today she's was sick at her desk and she's so weak my co-worker and I will likely cab home with her in a little bit to make sure she can get to her apartment safely. Poor thing.

Back tomorrow.

Hi girls,

Quick hi for me. Lots to do today including prepping and cooking some meals. Already the day is getting away from me. It's chilly out and we are getting some light snow. The sun came out for about 7 minutes - we need more energizing sun shine. Going to get really cold Sunday - Wednesday with temps in the single digits during the day and very cold minuses at night. Brrr. I always feel sorry for the outdoor animals at this time.

Laura - that is horrible about the admin. Is she coming in because she has no more time off? Sounds like a liability if she collapses. I wish people would be more understanding in letting good employees slide a bit when they are that ill. You are so kind to help her get home safely. I hope she has someone to look in on her too. It's terrible to be alone.

Annie - Paleo is close to Whole30 except Whole30 is more strict and does not allow things like pancakes and fake ice cream treats because they are trying to break that sugar/treat monster in all of us that automatically reaches for something. Last night I was just in full on hunger mode - could not seem to get enough to eat - even the store bought meatloaf that was not that good. And I was pacing like a lion in a cage looking for something healthy as a "treat". Fortunately I had one of my Florida oranges in the refrigerator and it was incredibly delicious - more because it was cold too. I wish I had put more of them in the refrigerator (no room) - they might have kept better. I opened 2 of them in the box in a cool place and both had gone bad with that blight thing. I think you could do Whole30 too with some minor tweaks. You don't seem to be a big dairy/sweets person. I will ask DH about the SUV. Too bad my BIL is so overwhelmed with financial closings at work - he loves to research cars and it very good at it. Why do you want 3 seats - because of the grand kids? Glad your son is adhering to a diet - when someone is tall and stocky and muscular - they can hide weight better than most.

DH is calling me to help him move something so I'll talk to you later...

TGIF, however passover (no pay week). Next week is good Friday (pay week).

Last night was leftovers and binge watching 24, almost through the first season. That show is addicting. Takes the first couple of episodes to get the gist of it and to get sucked into watching. But well worth it if anyone is looking for something to watch.

My boss just walked in. He is extra early today, hmmm, stop entering my space. lol. Actually he is a sweetheart, I mean he did save my life. Today is more month end reports and a dental cleaning at 1 pm. Then have to leave a bit early as I have a hair cut appt at 4pm. Ahhh hair washing!!

HAPPY....yes, the third row seating is due to grandbabes, but also when we go as just adult groups places, two row seating is just cramped. I know why should I make the sacrifice to get a bigger vehicle to accommodate others? Sun has been shining on us here in Indy with 45-50 degree temps, however today is rain and this weekend is 20's and snow. Only 1" accumulation of course that could mean anything. THanks in advance for DHs help with researching a vehicle. C just has no interest in it or wants to take the time, plus he does not have computer skills to even google. lol. We still have that cat that drops in our backyard every couple of weeks to scare the pee out of Sassy. Now Sassy goes out and looks under the cover of the grill first thing before trotting off to potty as that is where the cat hides/keeps warm/waits to scare Sassy. Kind of humorous.

LAURA...what a kind thing for you to do for your admin. Did you get her home ok? God love her, if she is like me, she feels guilty missing work and feels the need to come in.

CEEG...how did the doc visit go? Take care of you sister.

Hello to all. Got to get busy.

Make it a great day/night/weekend.

Hugs

Annie - one of the places I most like to research cars is Edmunds.com - here's a link - hope it goes through to the SUV recommendations. http://www.edmunds.com/suv/buying-gu...row-pod-anchor Scroll down the page a bit to get to the 3 row SUV crossovers (a bit smaller than the big honking Ford Expedition and really large SUVs. They recommend 3 - Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, Ford Flex. As much as price and inventory are a factor, what is REALLY important to me is service. You get a place with lousy service or hard to get in and it makes the whole experience horrid. I can tell you that the Ford Flex is an UGLY box of a car. But people like the insides - say it is roomy and comfortable and I've been inside one and that is true. We test drove a Toyota Highlander back in 2014 - we did not like the back window - it sat up high and we both thought it was hard to see through in the rear view mirror. The Highlander and Ford Flex also get really low gas mileage of 22mph compared to the Honda. You can also do a comparison of several models against each other http://www.edmunds.com/car-compariso...atorId=2309081 and get approximate prices in your area as well as local dealers. It looks like the difference between a mid size 3 row and a full size SUV is about $15,000. Starting price of $30,000 for mid size compared to starting price of $45,000 for the full size SUV. That's a pretty hefty car payment.

This article from US News also gives a good description of mid size 3 row SUVs. http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com...s-with-3-Rows/ and you can compare 2016 and 2015 models. Are you looking new or used? Reason I ask is sometimes they make a lot of changes and while the 2016 model might be highly rated, the 2013 model might be a stinker. I think the US News article also lets you compare / find used cars in your local area.

Overall it looks like the Honda Pilot is ranked number one over and over. Toyota Highlander is ranked number 2 or 3 consistently. Another thing about the Highlander was the one we drove had the most putrid color of interior - like a mustard yellow - it was actually irritating. DH and I both agreed that we could NEVER deal with that color. It was the first time in our lives color ever really bothered us.

Other cars to consider are:

1. GMC Yukon
2. Hundai Sante Fe
3. Kia Sorrento
4. Buick Enclave
5. Chevy Tahoe or Traverse
6. Dodge Durango

Go check out a few of them to get pricing ideas and a feel for what you might like and then we can narrow the list down. Hope that was helpful.

WOW What a great review HAPPY. I will check them out. THank you!

Boy, Internet Explorer is REALLY getting to be a pain as a web browser.

I had a tough day yesterday with this eating program. I was really craving a sweet and tired that nothing tasted really good to me. I cooked up a few things yesterday - a "deconstructed" type of meatloaf dish with ground beef, canned tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and green beans. Not bad, can be eaten over a baked potato or loose meat pile on a plate. I also made some breakfast sausage with pork I am about to try when I finish this. But the winner, winner chicken dinner of the night was a beef stroganoff that I made in my cast iron pan with a can of coconut milk in place of sour cream. It was REALLY tasty - I made it after I had my regular dinner so I can't wait to eat it. I was wondering how I'd get a creamy texture and the coconut milk is perfect for that. Too bad I can't eat egg noodles but I'll be happy for what I have. I could make some cauliflower rice I guess. I don't mind that but DH will complain about the stink So far I see no difference in my joint pain and that's disappointing as it's the primary motivation for suffering through this program. But I will persevere. Some people said they had to do a second round in order to see more clear cut results. Yee gads, 60 DAYS of eating like this. I don't know... I know, quit your whining Happy.

Annie - that is funny about the cat tormenting Sassy. Some of them can be real devils. I smiled at your comment about your boss - "he is a sweetheart, after all he did save my life..." that's really cute. Now you have to be the one employee that is not a PITA - not that you would be anyway.

Laura - did you get the admin home safely?

I started reading that book "Can We Talk About Something More Pleasant?" and it's a good read. It's a memoir and a bit funny, a bit melancholy. It's done in a bit of a cartoon format (I guess the author is an illustrator) so you can easily pick it up for a bit and put it back down again. Great read for bedtime as it makes you smile and doesn't keep you turning pages until way past your bedtime. I also like that she refers to old time sayings and mannerisms that bring me back to childhood and I haven't heard in years and years. I guess I am nostalgic in that way. And it drums up pleasant memories of days long gone by.

We were going to go to the shelter this morning - DH to repair a belt on the old washer and me to do some laundry but I went to bed with a terrible headache which only got worse over the night. I woke up feeling like someone shot me in the chest and when I got upright I realized it was esophageal reflux as I felt an intense squeezing/ fluttering in my chest. Many people have reported feeling ill at about this time in the program as your body is releasing stored up toxins and adjusting to not being fed the unhealthy fat and sugar regime. I am assured I will not pass out and this is not something serious so I will pop an aspirin and get on with the day.

My friend who has live chickens is giving me 2 dozen very fresh eggs. I am excited because I want to try making my own mayo as well as a hollandaise sauce and both require the use of raw eggs so I need them from "clean" chickens. She said she made cookies last week and ate about 10 cookies worth of raw dough and didn't get sick so she's pretty sure her chickens are clean. The yolks are a deep orange too. Sure not like the factory farmed eggs.

Time for lunch - going to try those pork patties. Have a good Friday everyone and a good weekend.

My pleasure - anything to help!