Cristi---

I must have been posting the same time... I just took longer to submit!! Hello to you!!

A comment on the wedding day....I only think Holidays should be omitted. Any other day is good to me. Like James and I want to get married on my grandparents anniversary...I believe their 46th or 47th....I think it's neat that you were married on your birthday.

Ok....I have a request from Jhanai about Strawberries...they're HUGE!! I will chat later.

Marti

Hi Marti~I think Angie & I were posting at the same time and then when you and I must have been posting as I was posting to her. I agree with the holidays. Our second choice was Christmas and then thought no, no, no. Even though we did marry on my birthday and it is special, I just like the two events to be special and seperate, but they are not. DH doesn't know what to put on the cake-Happy Mothers Day, Happy Anniversary or Happy Birthday! Last year he did put all three. Of course I definitely would NOT want three different cakes so in that respect it is a good thing. This year I am planning something special since it will be our 5th. I am going to order the cake-a wedding type cake and focus on "our anniversary" rather than my birthday. He has no clue! So if any of you ladies have any ideas PLEASE tell me. I am going to buy some luminaries (sp?) and line the walk from the porch to the front door and try to recreate our wedding flowers for a center piece. That's all I have for now. Except a nice family dinner at a nice restaurant.

Okay, I am outta here for real now ladies. See ya later

Yes girls- that's what happens when you're sick on Valentine's Day! I think I've gone through a whole 10 pounds of chocolate by myself!

Angie- I say you go and kick his little butt! O.k.- O.k.- I know you can't really do that, but I know I sure felt like it when Landon got sucker-punched. What did his parents say? They should make him come clean up the mess. How many did they throw? About the other kid- my SIL had some parents who would literally drop him off in front of their house and be halfway down the road before she realized he was there. They continued to do it even after she asked them not to. After a couple of times of this, she had to get kind of ugly before they would stop. Sometimes you just have to be a witch to some people.

Cristi- Oooooooo- your anniversary plans sound lovely. I can't even remember what my flowers looked like. And I love luminaries. They make everything look sooooo romantic.

Marti- O.k. now you've got me drooling for some scrapbook supplies. I had a huge collection before our fire- papers- scissors- calligraphy pens- dies- you name it. Now I'm missing it all! I guess I may start haunting the Wal-Mart isles and stocking up.

Jana- Weight loss AND bling bling? You go girlfriend! I think I'm jealous!

Hi Susan, Katie, and Shann! Did I miss anyone? Since I've been sick, I've been having major brain farts! (On second thought, I was having those before falling ill! ) Thanks for all the get well wishes and the valentine cards. ACK! I think I'm gonna go crawl back under the covers for a while.

Oh Kaycee you make me laugh,,,weightloss and bling bling? Too funny!

I called his mom's cell # but it was not on...so I called the house again and actually talked to the kid....he says 100% that it wasn't him. I personally don't believe him,,he made some remark about being in trouble for sneaking into a bar recently. And then made a comment about seeing us at Blockbusters last night and blamed us for his flat tire. hmmm when I know his parents aren't goingto be happy when they get back from their weekend away. He said he was home all night and has a witness some girl name Alison...hmmm and the hole gets deeper. I warned him that by tonight I better have a call from him about who it was...I know it was him but I warned him that its a $150. per egg fine for vandalism.
Monte and I finished the tax stuff we had started like 2 months ago...nothing like procrastination at its best.
Notice my ENTER key is working again?
My natural hair color is dark brown. When I was young it was mousy brown then went redish and darkened over the years till I turned 26 and started going grey. For a few years I colored it as close to my natural color as possible to my crazy cousin without telling me colored it a deep red. And Ive kinda stayed that way till Oct when I did the rooster thing. Right now I have it colored a deep plum or as Monte says,,,purple,,,Brandon calls it black..(poor kid is colored blind) and says great his mom has gone Goth...lol
Well back to the taxes...*sigh
Angie

Hi

Trying to catch up!!

SO, sorry about your cat, Kayecee.That sounds horrible,also that you haven't been feeling well.Hope the coming week is a better one for you!

Thanks, Cristi & Jana on the pound lost! I feel better already, also though I wos going to add that I stopped my nasty habit of diet pepsi chugging.

I usually had some in the evenings to boost my energy for the evening shift that I work.So, while I came to JL at 160, I was up to 164, I think stopping the soda helped a lot, also the water in take.

Today I had 5 slices of bacon....lol.Pretending to be on the Atkins diet or something. Just couldn't get away from sucking that bacon grease, tasted great!!! I got a hold of myself though.....course I ran out of bacon.I think I ate Rachels share because she got mad......lol

I must say Angie is a beauty!! She really is , especially when she is all dolled up.My thought is she has a heart shaped face?? Anyway, until she post a picture just wanted to say that she is very,very pretty....

I will just send you a picture of Gaby, Cristi. Tomorrow is her birthday and we just are planning a small celebration.I think when I get my taxes we will go on a trip, the girls & I.
The movie Rachel & I saw yesterday was "Stand up and be served" ???? think that is the way it went.Lots of music,she enjoyed it.
I would like to see Somethings Gotta Give, or Mystic River.......

Would LOVE To go to Disney World, Jana!! You are so lucky!

I am glad you and James are having a great holiday weekend Mari!! Sounds like you and Jhanai are having a super mom & daughter weekend as well,that is nice to read.

Hi Katie, Hi Shanna!!
Oh, Ang. The little brat sounds like a brat!!! lol Went through a thing with Rachel a while back where a group of kids followed her home and started a fight. Her dad went outside to try and break it up and was knocked down.A big to do with the kids at school throwing her clothes in the toilet.
Anyway, what I am trying to say is you really have to keep track of these kids now a days. Watch them like a hawk. I don't think I would leave my 16 year old alone.

Good luck on the over nighters too!! Sometimes when I pick up Rach she has other girls with her wanting to come home and I say no. One rule my dad had when growing up is that if we asked if other kids could spend the night in front of him the answer would already be no, he didn't like the pressure....
blah,blah.......


Oh.........do you live on a farm, Jana???? Sounds like you might or at least with land around you?? Must be nice??

Best get back to the girls.

Susan

Hi everyone! Hope you had a nice Valentine's Day. Hubby the Technogeek had to work, didn't get home until 11:30 pm. Spent the day with my almost-13-year-old son, shopped and went out for coffee, then came home and fixed a late-night dinner for Tim (I know, gotta stop eating late, but this is his last week on these hours).

Susan - Hot Topic is popular with my kids, too. Noah has taken to wearing a lot of black, dyed his hair black, and loves T-shirts from Hot Topic -- especially with pictures of Invader Zim, this weird cartoon that he loves. I actually like shopping at Torrid, which is the Hot Topic store for us "curvy girls". My favorite bean? I dunno...maybe little white beans like for ham and bean soup. Actually, the last time I made it was with a 11 bean mix, and it was really good.

Jana - Whoo hoo! 12.75 lbs? That's almost 13 BOXES OF BUTTER!!! Way to go! I bought brown rice; I'll just make some for me, and see if Tim likes it...I made wild rice for Valentine's dinner and that was a big hit. I love sapphires! My birthstone, too....my wedding ring is a heart shaped sapphire

Marti - I usually dread Friday the 13th, but this one wasn't too bad. I filled in for the senior rep on our team at work, and my supervisor wasn't there, which meant I got to take escalated calls from angry customers -- you know, the "I want to speak with your supervisor!!!" calls. But it went pretty well, over all. I think those rub on pictures are called "transfers"? My latest scrapbook vice is the 3-d stickers from Jolee's Boutique -- they are soooooooo cute! Have you seen them? As for holiday weddings, we got married on St. Patrick's Day -- but it was really fun, and it's not like people do anything special on that day, other than drink green beer and eat corned beef We try to do something fun on that day though -- one year, I managed to get tickets to Riverdance, and that was a blast.

Angie - You have to take a picture of that bathroom...I want to see the daisies! Well, I haven't been finding the pounds that everyone is losing, but my own pounds seem to be happy and comfortable living where they are... I think I need to tell them to go get a job or something, and quit hanging around my tummy and thighs... I love Finding Nemo -- I have quite a collection of Disney movies.

Cristi - 5th anniversary coming up? That's wonderful! And you'll get to celebrate it in your new home. Do the two of you have a special song? Ours is probably - believe it or not - "If I Had a Million Dollars" by Barenaked Ladies.

Kayecee - I am very sorry to hear about your kitty. I was starting to wonder if you were sick, after taking care of everybody else. We've missed you! So, take your medicine, lay around on the couch, watch TV, read trashy romance novels, and make everybody wait on you hand and foot until you are better!

Finally got my checkbook balanced today, and the budget done for this month. Tomorrow I'll pay the bills and hopefully get our taxes done. Hate doing 'em, but it's such a relief when it's finished. Talk to you ladies later!

Katie

Hello--

Doing another quick pop in.

You know something....the 12 boxes of butter is a great way to think of what Jana has lost so far...but get this for my visual...my son was 6lbs. 4oz. when he was born....Jana you just had twins!! Soon you will have triplets...then quadruplets...and so on!!

Katie--You are right...transfers. In fact my daughter was telling me that after I had already posted. Where was she when I needed to know the word?? I haven't really paid much attention to the stickers yet...just been getting the basic stuff....only because...I could go crazy on everything! I already have a list for my next trip to the crafts store!! Also...I'm trying to think of a way to rearrange my office room to add a crafts table. I'm constantly going back and forth to the coffee table to the dining room table. I need to get it out of the living area all together!!

Susan--Do YOU have a photo of Angie that you can share!? (ok, I'm trying to be sneaky....I wouldn't post someone elses picture w/out permission either) BUT I TRIED!! You have described Angie as another Romance Novel Character! Boy it's going to be a great book!!

Angie--Without being told what color hair you have...I had already pictured you as a Goth Chic. I'm not sure why. I think it's because how you described your clothes. Me....I'm am as plain as you can get. Nothing stands out on me..besides the fact I'm short.

Kayecee--You've mentioned before about a fire.....when did that happen??!! And I'm so sorry that it happened!! I can't even begin to imagine that happening. So I'm not going to.....but speaking of scrapbooking....I'm always trying to think of the perfect look. Jana's right....I HAVE become obsessed!! I MUST slow down!!! (after I buy more stuff!! )

Please everyone....tell me if you're getting sick of listening to me!!

Cristi--Idea's for the 5th Anniversary...hmmmm.....you're going to be home so let's see......I like the luminary idea. How about playing "your song" on the stereo, have rose petals and chocolate kisses all over the floor in your bedroom and on your bed, with lots of scented candles, a bottle of Champaign (or Sparkling Cider if you don't drink) chilling on ice with two glasses with each of your names etched on the sides. ......-----oh wait...is there going to be more than just the two of you? Then maybe I better do some more thinking.... I will have to get back to you.......

Ok ladies...I've spent more time on here than I expected to. I will check back in the morning.

Have a good night!!

Marti

Hiya ladies,

Kayecee - sorry about your cat. And I hope you are feeling better and that the family is taking real good care of you.

Angie - did the kid come up with a name? He sounds real guilty to me! His mom and dad will be very intersted in knowing what has gone on.

Susan - Happy Birthday Gaby!! About what your dad said, I always would tell my kids that if they asked if someone could stay for supper and the friend was standing right there, the answer would be NO automatically. I hated being put on the spot! Btw - yes, I do live in the country on a farm. We don't have animals except our dogs, and we rent the land to a neighboring farmer. I love it out here! Mary and her family lives in the old homestead, which is about 100 feet from me. I get to see my grandkids everyday, thank God. I don't know what I will do if they ever move.

Katie - your wedding ring sounds just beautiful! Good luck with the taxes. Ours are done. Guess how I sign them? Where it asks for your occupation, for the past two years, I have written Domestic goddess instead of Homemaker, I swear to you! Neal says they may audit us because of it, and I said let 'em! We don't have anything to hide. But last year there was no problem, so I'm sure this year will be okay, too.

Marti - Neal's and my wedding anniversary is the day after my birthday. My niece made him promise that he would always get me something for both days and not try to combine them, and he has always done a good job with that.

Cristi - speaking of anniversaries, for one of ours, I lead Neal on a scavenger hunt that ended up in a nice hotel. I arranged for an overnight babysitter (my sister) and when Neal came home from work, she gave him the note with the first clue on it. That one lead him to the 2nd, and so on. When he got to the hotel, I was waiting with candlelight and white wine. But now, if you're talking about a big group of people, this idea may have it's flaws, lol. o:

Regarding the weight loss, just think of the butter in sticks! My 12 3/4 pounds would be 48 3/4 sticks!! That's a lot of butter! Before long, I'll be in a smaller size. At my height, 5' 9", it takes about 15-17 pounds to switch sizes, but my clothes were really tight, and now they fit me nicely. I stayed OP over the weekend, which includes a few extra points on Sunday. Since I have stopped Spring cleaning, I'm going to get out the Walk Away the Pounds (WATP) video again.

Have a good day,
Jana

OOOOo Katie I so love the ideas the ladies are coming up with. Jana,,,Im stealing yours. Well I have done it before but for the kids and Skittles. Yes the dog was involved.. She was the gift at the end of the hunt. What I had done was taken a pic of her,,gone to Staples had them photocopy it onto thin cardboard. I got home and cut it up like a puzzle and then wrote on the back all these clues. Really hilarious since we were relatively new to the neighbourhood. And I had them going into the grocery store for some gum...the clue was given by the cashier. Then to blockbusters,,had a movie put on hold and the clue was attached to it. And the thing is all these places really got into it.
Now Monte has done exactly what Marti suggested. And thats all Im going to say on that...*blush
12 lbs of butter...or a bag of potatoes or flour. Anyway you look at it, it makes you wonder how you carried it around...and yet theres still more butter or potatoes that need to be dropped...lol I used that anology (SP) also too when I lost my big weight. Back then Tanner was like 60 lbs...so I lost 1 Tanner and 6 butters. *gulp

Well the Cops could not do anything cause this boy has an alibi. The kid called another friend of Brandon's and told him what was going on...how I was accusing him of doing this. So in other words,,,until some kid cracks nothing will be done. I need some advice thou. Shoulld I call the school and talk to one of VPs about what has happened and it may eleviate potential problems or explain certain behavior?
Marti,,,Im not Goth...really...I hardly wear black. Reds and browns are my colors.
So today is Family Day,,,no school still (small voice *help me*) Im thinking Ill take the boys to see Haunted Mansion..
Angie

First off I have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY Little GABY!!! Susan I hope you guys have a fun birthday party!

Second, great ideas ladies and but I have to nix the romance ideas. well sort of, the hotel yes but I think it will still be somewhat romantic. I have thought about that but I want to include the kids in the celebration since they were a part of the wedding also. Katie we do have a favorite song, actually two (Give Me Forever (I Do) by James Ingram & John Tesh and also Now That I Found You by Terri Clark) and I am going to make a CD of the songs that were played on our wedding day, plus add a couple of new ones that fit us now. The champagne-there definitely will be some Marti, we are not really drinkers but once in a great while when there is a special occasion. There is a place (Personalized Creations) that will put the names, and date of a birthday or anniversary on the label,a nd I think a message-I think that is a great keepsake. Of course I need to be ordering it soon, takes a while if I remember right. That's about all I have for now though. I REALLY appreciate the GREAT ideas ladies.

Katie~your ring sounds gorgeous!! I love heart shaped anything. Sapphires are so pretty too! My wedding ring has emeralds in the wrap-because we married in May of course and it is also my birth stone-of course.

Jana~I never thought about weight loss in terms of butter sticks etc. Makes you really think about it doesn't it? WOW, I mean just imagine those 48 3/4 sticks of butter glued to you. I think I need to start thinking like that, or bags of flour/sugar etc.

Marti~you will have more fun when you discover using stickers when scrapbooking-so much fun!!! I am a sticker addict!

Angie~sorry the cops couldn't do anything to the kid. Do you have any idea what his parents said about it all if anything?

Hi Susan, Shanna & Kayecee.

I weighed in this morning and am very disappointed, I gained 1.5 lbs. Jana, I haven't started the FT as of yet I am hoping to next Monday once things have settled down somewhat. Things have been hectic the past few weeks and I know that is no excuse but I have been scatterbrained. I will be glad when this is all over. I will try to post pictures of the house later this evening, been meaning to since I got the pictures. Also scrapbook pages will have to wait. Talked to DS about using his camera and he said it is not working for some reason, he can take pictures but he can't load them to the computer. I told DH this and he is wanting to get a digital camera so we may do that in the next couple of weeks. I didn't think we really needed one before but I guess they do come in handy sometimes. Anyway, I will try to post as much as possible this week ladies but I am afraid my posts may be sparse. I know tomorrow I won't as we will be busy all day and into the evening. DH and I are making a trip to the dump first thing in the morning. We have a walk through with the builder at 1 pm and then close at 3 pm. Then off to pick up new beds for DD & DS to take to thenew house and then start painting. I am going to line all the shelves while there also. Busy, busy, busy. I will definitely check in later and if I get up early enough in the morning. Anyway, have a WONDERFUL MONDAY LADIES!! Gotta go for now.

Good Afternoon!!

I have a quite moment in between the storm! The kids are home here in the US Angie, just like it is in Canada

Jana- It sounds lovely where you live, I grew up on 5 acres myself.We had animals every now and then. We had a calf, a horse, and chickens, tons of dogs and cats......not all at once, over the years ....lol.I think I can live anywhere, though this city life is wearig on me. I miss a simpler life, with some quite in it. I must say though seeing Mt Hood & Mt St Helens every morning is rather nice.

Cristi- Happy Moving Day!! I always thought renewing your wedding vows was a romantic thing, it would include the family.To make it more personal you and your husband could write something to say?? Just a thought.....

Marti- I would LOVE to write a romance novel!!! Yahooooo.......you can be my agent and push the book...lol...I was reading in the paper about a lady from Cottage Grove that is 36 and wrote a book that is coming out about being a nanny in Hollywood. Curious if you grew up in Cottage Grove?

Hi Shanna!!! Don't hear much from you but was reading your bio this morning.lol.....
Hi Katie!! Sounds like fun down there in California Was it you that belonged to WW and was unable to do it because of time?? I read that in a bio too........I like the idea of WW but it cost $12 a week......TOTAL tight wad, I know.lol
Carree,Kayecee a BIG hello too! Hope you are feeling better Kayecee

Thanks SO much for the Happy Birthdays for Gaby!! VERY sweet, loved the icons!! We are doing a swimming party I guess. Just ending up that way-lol-.We, of course have our Clifford theme going, cause mommy LOVES Clifford!! With the older girls it was Barney.
Finished that darn Lima Bean soup!! Thank goodness.....I am making tuna casserole,because that is what the girls voted on.Gaby loves it too..........whoever though tuna for a birthday party?? lol

Anyway, going to enjoy the cake today and bust butt tomorrow!!Oh, ya. Love tax (( I know, I love everything) time, I am just waiting for my refund now, hope in the next week or so.......the treadmill comes first before anything else.

Best go.

Susan

Oh yes Cristi happy moving day tomorrow! Or is it painting day?

Well Kaycee has given me so many ideas..... Im making soap tomorrow. And Im thinking to cut it like you would cheese...with wire...and if you let it sit in hot water for a bit it would cut throu easier right? Im thinking use a paper bag,,,cut the edges,,,a little note who made it,,,tie it with rafia and TADA! A present!
Well gotta finish supper...then go get some goats milk.
Angie

Hi ladies,

Angie - maybe since you can't prove anything, even though you know the kid did it, you might want to let it go. Give him enough rope and he'll hang himself, ya know? Have fun making soap tomorrow. What's the goat's milk for??

Cristi - sorry about the weight... I know how it is. Maybe it's water retention? Hope you get a digital camera. I sure love mine, and feel like I'm saving a lot on film and development costs. Plus, I can share with you guys! I don't recognize your songs, but they sound real pretty. Neal's and mine is "When a man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge. We dance to it everytime we hear it.. he even pulled over on the highway once, onto a commercial driveway so we could dance to it. Mary was about 12 at the time and was totally mortified, lol.

Susan - Neal is an Earth Science prof, and visited Mt. Saint Helens in '80 during the eruption and has a bottle of the ash. They were working on the dam at the Columbia River at the time and has pictures of that, too. Yes, I do just love the peace and quiet out here after living in town all my life. It wasn't a big city, but still noisy. Hope you're enjoying tuna casserole and Clifford cake!

Hi to the others!

I bought a pair of jeans a size smaller than I'm in now, and can hardly wait to be able to fit into them! I am thinking about doing the FT the last week of every month just as a boost. Neal said he will do it too if that's what I want. Is he a sweetie or what?? I'm not sure I can face that many salads so soon after last time, though.

Gotta run,
Jana

Hi Jana
Thats exactly what we are doing, let the boy deal with having all those other people knowing..someone will eventually will cave.
Kaycee said she used goats milk for the soap.
Angie

Hi Jana,

I must have been 18 when Mt.St.Helens erupted,remember it was a Sunday and was listening to Dick Clark count down
We lived probably 20 miles south of Portland but still got ash on the ground, not much , just a dusting.It was rather amazing.
I took the girls up there 3 years ago and we went on a hike.It was very pretty, actually, very peaceful.
I had a little house on the coast ,close to the marina.I just loved mornings there, could smell the salt air and hear the seals from the harbor.
Now, I just hear the sirens and garbage trucks!! lol

Anyway,lovely party! Gab was born at 11:14 tonight.
We are going to head home now,she is pooped.

Have a great Tuesday!

Susan