Hello all!

Very very humid here this morning.... a real shock taking the trash to the curb...
Veg garden looks like its loving it,actually can see real growth overnight...
a couple of plants that were touch and go look like they've decided to make a real go of it. The eggplant leaves almost look like they doubled overnight....

Frogger..... are you still in anti clutter mode??? I 'm feeling slow in the humidity and am only getting 1/2 done what I expected....

Empress... Have I told you how much I appreciate the firecracker thread?
Thanks... saw the weather forecast for Tucscon and I thought of you.... and shuddered....

Wsw-- spoke w/ my sister in Winston Salem and she says any rain would be welcome... that grass is brown... is it the same way your way???

Wildfire and WoodNymph.... forecast you way shows its warm your way too....
guess most of us are in the midst of summer

Ceara-- How are you doing? Counting on you not to over do it.....

Anagram??? I am sending another big hug ((((((((((((((((((((hug)))))))))))))))))

Eydie.... Would you believe I took Body for life from the library again but was so sick last week, had to return unopened... ( its new enough that its on the 7 day only, n o renewal list).... I'll grab it again...


Aria ! You just keep adding those days up don't you? You are an inspiration!

I know I am forgetting someone... our other musical royal... Hoping all is well !

I'll look in later!

Thought of the day :

"Love comes first."
-- Cassandra 8 yr old child cancer survivor seen on ' Extreme Home Makeover '


Question of the day :

"What is your favorite beverage?"

I thought I would have a longer post...But there is absolutly nothing going on here. I'm about ready to fall out asleep here at work. Will need to nap on the train home.

OH!! There is one thing! Sydney is now crawling!!! She learned on Friday. I went ot pick her up from my mom's house and she crawled right over to me! It's so cute! But now she's getting into everything!!

frogger: Enjoy you little Sydney!

Kaylets, you have a sister in Winston-Salem? We love very close and go there often. Maybe sometime when you're visiting your sister we could meet somewhere? That would be great!

Today starts my 4th week of BFL . So far so good, but I'm wanting comfort food for some reason. Thankfully my idea of comfort foods have changed anyway. I'd rather have crusty whole grain bread with cheese instead of chocolate and cupcakes. That's progress!

frogger-that is so exciting that little princess sydney is now crawling! that just put a big smile on my face.

kaylets-yes, we definitely need rain here.

today, i overshot my mark with total 1750c (but ate healthy foods); exercised; and worked on a little paperwork/de-cluttering.

anagram-good thoughts going out your way. take care, all.

Flybye as have had day from heck ... involving tires and driving again ... my reward for staying on my challenge today was two new tires ...

Yea, K, it's hot here in beautiful torpid, polluted and steamy AZ, although I'm not sure what the forecast is for Tucson (I'm not in Tucson but wish I were as it's a nice city) ... we've sorta been in and out of the monsoon, except it's dry and it's also fire season and there's already been one bad one ... my house is hot despite skyrocketing AC bills and I had to buy new tires because tires don't last here all that long ... I keep askin' myself why I live in this oven we call a state ... except I ask that every year and here I still am, so there it is!

Hi to wsw, frogger and lil froglet, E the BFLer (E, I really want the chocolate and cupcakes instead o' the bread n' cheese ... but I'm readin' "Licking the Sugar Habit" and I will not cave), Aria (GREAT WORK TODAY AS ALWAYS, keep a'trekkin'), Anagramatic (thinkin' of you), Wood Nymph, Ceara, Cerise (where ARE ya? Om shanti!) and all other s, past or present, mentioned or unmentioned!

HOW IS EVERYONE'S CHALLENGE GOING? We only have SEVEN MORE DAYS!!!! Report, report, report!!!

Hmmm. I like this smilie!

Or is that smiley?

Hello all,

We too had rain most of yesterday, heavier showers at night. Which made it feel like a steam bath.... DH and I just "reviewed the garden" and are amazed at the overnight changes.

Biggest accomplishment for me yesterday was that I let myself take a nap ... wound up nealy 2 hr nap...... which didnt seem to effect my evening routine much so I will assume I needed the rest.

Dh and I did get to the gym both Sunday and Monday but we only had time for the sauna on Sunday. Am thinking that maybe this tropical humidity is really the same as the sauna.... but not really I guess since I don't enjoy slogging thru the humidity fully clothed.... big part of the sauna is the shower right after.....

Sydney is crawling.... it won't be long before she starts school at this rate! Where does the time go??

So, went to my WW's meeting last night to take advantage of my lifetime status and to show my support for my friends in the meeting..... The theme was "Knowing your finish line"... which really meant... how to avoid getting so hungry, tired, stressed that you make poor food choices and tempt a binge....
A good theme but the leader got lost a couple of times .... I am starting to think I initmidate her... could be the reaction on my face when she asks something totally out of the blue that makes no sense to me....
I didnt get weighed as I wore jeans but am curious how long the lower numbers on my home scale will hold.... I am pretty sure the lower numbers are due to my stomach virus and recovery but would be thrilled if I only regained about 1/2 so I had a 1-2 lb cushion below my goal weight.
I suspect it will all come off because it looks like my quick sick loss was all muscle loss. I was rubbing BenGay into my shoulder last night and realized I felt lots of bony pieces I havent ever noticed before...... I'm still nowhere near "too thin" -- ( scale this morning ready 134 and I'm 5' 3") but as far as I'm concerned, my plan is now maintenance.

DH and I tried Quinoa ( pronounceed Keeen-wah) this weekend. It cooks in aprx 15 minutes and is mild enough (like pasta, rice or barely) to let you mix whatever you like in... The beauty part is that it is chock full of protein and actually is very filling as you eat it. We mixed it w/ roasted vegetables initially.
And enjoyed it.
Yesterday, I accidentally sent DH to work w/ all the leftover quinoa but w/o the vegetables. He took a can of pineapple from his desk drawer and stirred it in and enjoyed it all. We paid aprx $2/lb but it makes at least 8 servings if not more which I think is good value. And is filling, has lots of great vitamins and amnio acids and is a protein too.....

Let me put the kettle on ....

hi amarantha-sorry you had day from heck yesterday, but glad that you have 2 new tires. i want you to be safe, empress! congrats for staying on challenge!

this challenge is more challenging for me than i thought it would be, but i'm hanging in there, albeit by my dainty little fingernail, but that counts. i will continue forging ahead!

it is getting harder for me to get around physically (due to ms), and it feels pretty frustrating, and creepy sometimes. i got a nifty little walker with a seat on it, last week, and that has been very helpful as an assistive device which i can use when my cane is not enough support, but do not need my wheelchair. i have had to miss out on a lot of social events lately due to ms "technical difficuties" and that has been disappointing. my condo. is feeling pretty tiny to me now. (it is very small, but has been feeling even smaller because i have been here so much of the time in the past 6 mos.) i think that is where some of my need to de-clutter started. i have also been checking out independent living situations(senior/retirement communities) recently, which has been hard emotionally. (i'm 52, and the average age there is 85.) it is becoming harder physically, for me to live alone, and i am starting to check out some options. fortunately, it is not as though i have to move tomorrow, but realistically, i do need to be starting to think about all this, since i am single with no family. it stresses me out on many levels, including financial, because all the places i have seen so far are not ones i can really afford, not to mention the emotional level. as i said, i don't have to make any decisions this minute---which is a good thing! i am proud of myself too, for starting to deal with this, even though it is pretty difficult.

on a much happier note, a friend is coming over to visit this afternoon, and i need to clean up my tiny, almost nearly de-cluttered condo. hello to all in our summer royal palace. hope it is a good day for one and all! take care.

... don't worry, I won't be usin' up space here with journal entries often, just my way of sayin' what I'm doin' challenge-wise ... I use a different name on the journal forum but you all know what it is:

Well, no sooner did the Demon wake up poor (Amarantha) before dawn today, that A spied it!!! IT being the Magickal Walkin' Stick o' EDN's cronelike twin sis (crone being a good thing, meaning a magickal woman in the fullness o' her beauty, strength 'n prime o' life, but gae scary nevertheless)!!!!

"Get up, (Amarantha)," saith the crone (no one knows her name, as she's THAT scary), wavin' the walkin' stick 'n mutterin' incantations 'n imprecations o'er our depressed heroine! "Ye need to EXERCISE!!"

"Go away," saith (Amarantha).

"None o' that now," saith Exercise Crone!!! "I've been down to Diet Town Square and entered thee in a surprise event they've organized for the Firecracker Challenge Festival. To win the prize ya only need to DO ANY EXERCISE FOR 30 MINUTES A DAY ON TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY of the remaining distance to July 3!!! Ye can break it up anywhichway ye please ... a few minutes at a time if need be. Now wasn't that nice o' me!!??"

"What's the prize," inquired (Amarantha), hopefully.

"It's a surprise prize," saith the crone, innocently.

"I don't believe there is a prize," saith (Amarantha). "Ye be makin' it up!"

"Well, see here, Ms. A," saith the crone, menancingly wavin' the Magickal Walkin' Stick a bit closer to A, "I DON'T think ye wanna know what I'm gonna do with this stick if ya don't cooperate!!! Me credentials as a Certified Exercise Crone are on the line here. I need to MOTIVATE ya, so get up and go for a walk ... ye can take this nice Magickal Beginner's Walkin' Staff w'ye," saith the crone, pulling out a lovely golden stick o' light balsamy wood out o' her cronelike robes.

Sighing, A DID get up and walk 35 minutes around the neighborhood and the crone did NOT beat her with the stick.

Now, she realizeth that in addition to the until Sunday calorie challenge, she's gonna hafta please the crone and do 30 minutes o' EXERCISE (oh hedoublehockeysticks) per day also.

"Or there will be DIRE consequences," saith the crone, meaningfully.

"Grrrrr," saith (Amarantha).

Dinna worrit, s, no violence was used in the preparation o' this upliftin' vignette ... it is an allegorical magick stick.

And then, The Crone magikally appeared on the other side of the shore, in the Kingdom of Kaylets......
The Crone stood there nodding as the Queen Kaylets rubbed her eyes and then rubbed again... "Yea, its true, you are seeing me, its not a dream.", said the Crone....
The Queen Kaylets said "I thought you were only a character in A's imagination."
And the Crone nodded...... " So does A...... I like it that way, then I can come and go as I please."
"But why come here to my kingdom? " asked Queen K....

"Because you too need motivation. So I have brought my stick and have entered you in a challenge too." said the Crone grinning.

"You're on vacation and are recovering from the stomach flu...., but you need to still get more activity in.... and declutter too."
The Crone waved her stick and pointed at a pile of papers and books and etc at the foot the Queen's throne..... "You have 30 minutes.... sort, purge and relocate....THIS IS A ROYAL HAZARD!" and as she gripped her stick even harder ... "or do I have to.....!"

So the Queen Kaylets, grabbed 2 boxes and a waste basket and as soon as she finished hanging the laundry, set her timer to sort, purge and relocate."



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

"Anyone can quit. It takes a winner to keep trying."
--Unknown


Question of the day :

"What's your favorite way to beat the heat?"

****************


KETTLE IS ON!

June 27

Calories ~ 2050
Walking ~ 65 minutes
Decluttering ~ no

Today, I am very busy, but my legal matter is now behind me, so I am less stressed out.
I might do some decluttering later in the day.

Hello, all you talented and amazing Royal Folk. I am missing y'all so much. Am home on short break as dd & ds are with dh. 21st day in hospital, 19th in ICU. Did a trach on him last night, talking of moving him to a "long term acute care" which is NOT a nursing home but a rehab to wean him from ventilator and all the things that accompany that. But this is PROGRESS. Everything that could go wrong seems to have but I'm looking forward to seeing him less sedated and anxious to come home.

Then I can come home to the Court.

I too had a visit from the mysterious staff-weilding Crone today and I didn't even know it. I came home weary from work after a long day of giving tours and
I was doing everything I could to talk myself out of exercise----you know what I'm talking about! And a stern [yet kindly] force came bidding me to rise up and walk on the treadmill for just 30 minutes, telling me I'd feel better and proud of myself and I could put that all-important sticker on my calendar. So I did as the kindly spirit asked and I really do feel better! A shower of blessings on her ancient [and robust!] form!

Aria and wsw, you're doing so well! Special kudos to wsw for being attentive to her own needs!

Kaylets, I've been applying FlyLady pricples to my veg. garden this year---simply going out every morning and weeding and attending for 15-30 minutes and it looks beautiful. No more being overwhelmed by weeds. And a good way to start the day too.

Thanks for the progress report, Anagram. Thought of you this morning while I was having breakfast out on the deck and told Garry about you and how it was so clear that you and your DH had a great marriage. It was an appropriate conversation 'cause it's our anniversary. 19 years!!!