Nae~ Have a wonderful time on the trip and hope it is relaxing. I am so sorry to hear about your son and praying it works out. good luck. will be thinking of you both!(((((HUGS))))))

Holly~ Hoping the kiddies give you a break once and awhile!!!

Linus~ glad to see you here. Talked to the husband of the woman who mailed it and she said it would be 4-6 weeks at least. she posted it it March 3rd. She says that it's not a long time I am praying it makes it over there cause there is no way for us to track it!!! Hope you and Teel are feeling well. Bump too!! How are the boys?!?

Shad~ " You are the sunshine of my life......la la la"
I can just see you for the week off running around the house doing tiles, gardening and tossing! If I downsize anymore the closets will be empty! We have a similar thing here where you can put out all the big ticket items .like fridges and tubs and they will pick them up along with all the rest!
You'll get a kick out of this...the other morning my TV wouldn't work. the cable box turned on, the vcr and dvd would work on the tv but no picture for cable tv. No sound for that either. jen came to help and all of a sudden I got an idea....pull out the cable box and plug it back in so it would "reset" itself! it worked and I called the cable people. They of course knew nothing about this trick and this girl said next time someone calls, she's gonna try it with them while they're on the phone! man's newest inventions are a real PITA sometimes!!! Hope you get some hammock time in during the week of!

Mooz~going to look at your pics and pedal my way over there. UNIFORMS!! DID SHAD SAY UNIFORMS??? Consider me there already!!!! Thanks for coming back with that addie! I just could not remember the name!!!! I have always wanted to visit but was a bit nervous about actually doing it!! I know it's silly but some things I am shy about....if you can believe that I am shy!!! But nonetheless I am at times. Have a great day!!

Day 3 was a great one and 4 is starting off very well. I feel good and that is a plus since that last fiasco! I can honestly say that today I am 100%. I am going to do some exercising ang get my butt in gear. Go and watch Moozie's pics and pedal.....what could be better?!?!? I seem to have a new schedule....going to bed by 10 and getting up at 5!!! This morning I fell asleep again while thinking about getting up. Woke at 6:20!!!
Hope you all have a great day!

Suzi~ Somehow I missed your post till now?!?!?!? But I did say hello already in the journal glad to see you back here and don't be a stranger!!! keep that smile on your face and make the best of the time alone! and not just on the computer!!!
(((((HUGS)))))))

I also learned a new trick just now...When I posted it wouldn't go through. I usually hit the back button and lose it. Today I hit the refreash button and a sign came up from 3fc that said it cannot refresh with out hitting retry....I clicked the retry button in their box and magically the post appeared!!! I forgot I did this a few weeks ago too by accident!!! Hope this helps when anyone has trouble gettin the post to appear. I know Shad.....I forgot to copy before I posted!!!

A note for Happy.... Hope you see this.
I went to the original Skinny Post to see if anyone else ever posted there after we did. It felt good to see us both there where we first met. On there is a post that asked me to "tell" about myself and at the time I did. Pouring my heart out. I deleted that answering post a long time ago......because she never answered it and I felt like a jerk at the time. Well.....yesterday when I went back I laughed about the whole thing cause now her post is still there asking and no one is answering HER!!! Get it??? She is a nice person and probably just forgot in her busy life and I know this must sound nuts but I wanted to share this with you....don't ask why Funny too cause I went back to the Michael Thurmond Plan this week too!!!

Hi Ladies,
Geez it's so hard to keep up when you don't check the site on a daily basis...

Nae, prayers to you and your son that he can find the confidence within himself to get past these hard times. Honestly, I think one of the best things about getting older is finally getting to the point where you don’t give so much credence to what other people think about you. It’s very freeing.

Mel, I kind of thought you were on the Thurmond plan again. I took a bit of a bashing from one of the mods who insisted that plan was bad. Well maybe the rapid start program but I disagree with their comments on the main program. After a while you just learn to shut up and keep your opinions to yourself. We know it works for us, that’s all that matters. Funny you should go back to that again, I was considering it too. I am really noticing a relationship between aches and pains and too much sugar. DH made a roasted turkey breast on the grill last night. It was yummy! We are pretty much back to eating simple grilled and fresh foods again. Love it and notice a huge difference when I don’t eat that way.

Quick hello to Suzi flying by in the midst of her busy day. Shad, good to hear that you have landed another job tho the idea of you marching over to Linus’ and setting the place straight got me a good fit of giggles. As much as you are amazed by how many boxes I have in my house, I am amazed that you still find things to discard after the routine and period purging you do on a very frequent basis. Wouldn’t think there was much left in the house to purge but I suppose we can always find something. I will send you my new address in a separate email. Sorry for not responding quicker, sleep and probably too much TV time is winning over being on the computer. Do enjoy your week off next week!

We have several azalea buds blooming, the bushes are about to burst open, I’d say in another week it will be picture lovely. Trees are all budding too, lots of gorgeous purples, reds, yellows, pinks and whites. I am loving it. Thank goodness my allergies are to mold and grass and cats.

Hello Mooz, nice of you to pop in again for a visit. Guess it’s time to visit your webshots site too. Last I looked you had some new paintings posted – lovely pieces! Linus, sorry to hear that you are spending much of your time being tired and sick. When will you get some extra rest before the bump arrives? At least I hope that you have a little sleeper in there!

Holly, I had to laugh about your remark about going toe to toe with the DH and making for a long marriage. I think that’s the secret. I have had many a snappy comment (and so has he) in our long time together. I love kids but don’t envy you trying to keep track of all those little ones running around the house. I know some may say after 5 what’s a few more but I have seen them get worked into a frenzy

Meadow, loved your bunny blowing bubbles gif. Hope you’re doing well. Hellos to Tig too. Hope work is not so hectic but we all know how that goes.

I have been in a bit of a down mood. Adjusting to things I suppose. In all things are not that bad so I have no reason to complain. Treadmill and walking music are all set up, just waiting on me. I am trying to reason with myself to get up 30 minutes earlier in the morning so I can get my walk in first thing – does more good for the body than doing it an hour before turning in for the night too. That would mean going to bed even earlier and I am already starting to creep past my bedtime as it is. Shouldn’t be too hard to get up, it’s light well before 5am and with all the birds in the yard singing their good morning songs, it’s hard to sleep past 5 anyway – tho I do try.

I am getting my hair done on Saturday. That always makes me feel better about myself and get me motivated. Have a good rest of the day…

me again snapmel i phoned the sorting office today and he said the same thing 4-6 weeks ,so my mind is at rest now .hectic day today my sister and nephews are up fromw hull and are going away toworrow so ive been up there and im just home knacked but happy charlee is so funny had me in kinks {more trips to the loo}but good fun hes 18 months so things to come ?? tired now but happily so ibs seems to be on the back burner so ill go and have a shower and some much needed sleep and ill talk to you all tomorrow
bye for now
kirsty

Suzi~ is that really you!!!!??? I was going to send out a search party!! You sound happy and busy!!! Nice your friend is coming for a visit. Be good to YOU!!!!
Nae~ HUGS and LOVE to you and DS.
HI Happy~grilled turkey sound just peachy. Sorry you have been in the dumps. Enjoy thise flowers. I have about 2 inches of doffodil leaves poking out of frozen ground.
Mel you Chatty miss~You sound happy and OP for 3 days wooohooooo!!!
How was day 4?
Linus~ hugs to you and little bump!!!
Shad~ cleaning out stuff is soooo much fun!!
Enjoy your last day and have a lovely lunch.

I was a grown up all day and I am not done yet!!
Did the usual morning mad dash plus I showered and got spiffied up and packed a lunch for me.
I took the whole day off from babysitting. There is a workshop put on by our school council today and tonight at the school. I attended this aft as a participant and tonight I am taking notes for the parent handbook.It is a conflict resolution procedure that is taught to the kids , the teachers use it and is being offered to parents too. Way cool!!! That was this aft. This morning I went to court to support a friend. Apparently when your husband is killed by someone who didn;t see astop sign and you are left as a single parent( soul provider) of 2 young boys at 29 it is not enought to bear. Banks, insurance companies and your inlaws tie up all your free time and money in court for a year. GIGANTIC SIGH!!! How about greiving and supporting your family and helping your boys get through this.
The MIL is sueing for custody rights to the children. HELLO????? She was estranged from their father for good cause.
Anyhow, I went to court with my dear friend so she can fight for the right to raise her own children as she sees fit!
We had a sitter come tonight so we could both go to the workshop tonight.
DH has an interview tomorrow that he is keen about!!!
Life is good, busy and I am feeling blessed.

Oh, I was the same at TOPS. Better than gaining!

You know sometimes you think you just are not valued in the scheme of things? That is how I'm feeling. Just there, doing all the responsible stuff (except exercising for myself) I would be doing so much better on getting back to good if I didn't feel so overwhelmed by everything else. I guess I'm just tired from being sick, my sinuses have finally eased off and I had my period so the hormones where dragging me down. I was reading about housewives in the 60s who used to be medicated all the time on valium and stuff, sounded pretty good to me

Shad-Whoopee! New horizons for you. Thrilling to be starting fresh again, like a budding relationship, all goosebumps and blood rushing. No wonder you are so sharp having these experiences that keep you on your toes and figuring out new ways to motivate and educate. Congratulations and I hope your week break between jobs is sunny and enjoyable for you

Mel-Golly, aren't you clever. Just unplugging the aggravating device to get it to reset, inspired! Teaching the little techies at the cable office too, aren't you kind to share the knowledge It is good to hear that you have fully recovered and are feeling spry again, how far have you traveled on the bike? Are you still in the ocean or have you hit land?

Holly-You sound chipper! Glad everything is going so well and you are able to get a break from all the kids to do something you are interested in. Hugs for your friend and her dire situation, tough stuff.

Suzi-so are you getting in on any of these activities? Are you taking piano lessons. I was feeling decidedly untalented reading all those pies your kids have their fingers in. The energy level at your house must be through the roof! Shame you can't travel with hubby, that would be fun! Italy in the Spring, how divine.

Happy-have you found everything now? You will be discovering everything in your garden soon as they pop up out of the ground, how is the gardening coming? Have you had to tuck any bulbs back after a bit of digging? I'm sorry you are feeling a bit blue, me too, maybe it is just the blahs before the ah ha moment? Fingers crossed that something fabulous is waiting to happen to brighten your mood

Rose-I send you my warmest wishes for your son and his angst. Gosh to be 23 again, I thought I could do anything and had such wonderful plans to travel and just "BE" I hope he cheers up so you can go off on your vacation with a light heart and a big smile.

Linus- How goes it? Are you feeling better? Are you over all the morning sickness and enjoying the little flutters in your womb? Have you bought yourself a beautiful spring dress to make you feel like the glorious bringer of life? The goddess mom? I hope the family is giving you lots of support and hugs.

Mooz-cool that you came to visit. We enjoy your energy, you are a very nice influence on us with all your beautiful pictures and kind thoughts.

Teel-are you dancing yet? How are you? Have you opened the windows and let in all that spring air to revive and refresh? I've been doing that, trying to get out of my funk. Just sitting with a glass of orange juice in the morning before the kids get up and staring out the back door at the clouds and the birds and breathing. Very calming way to start the day

sorry folks i now have flu just didnt want anyone worrying ill be back tomorrow love to all kirsty

Meadow~ The graphic is adorable and cracked me up!!! I copied it to My Pictures! ROFLMAO Hope you feel better soon. It's been a tough time with the new place, winter and getting sick I'm sure. Hang in there and remember you are NECESSARY IN OUR SCHEME OF THINGS!!! ((((HUGS)))))))
I have to admit that I had forgotten all about the map!!!
How I could is beyond me...it's hanging right beside me!!!
Happy~ Yes....the old Thurmond diet again. It's the one I did the 31 lbs on and has been keeping it off since! I did get some flack from someone too when I first got to 3FC and I also gave a good review in the forum that was bashing and trashing the Plan. But it worked for me. At least I will see if there is still hope to move the scale once and for all. The new house grounds sound lovely and was reminded of the Garden of Eden for some reason when I read your post. I hope you enjoy it!!! PICTURES MISSY!!!! I NEED PICTURESSSSSSSS!!!!!! Get thy butt on that treadmill or bike whichever it was!!!! No slackers here!!! Especially when I am trying to be so good!

Holly~ the busy bee kid!!! hope the weekend will be a great one for you and all these kids that come and go glad the thing with you and DH went so well and he opened up and shared!! A real "lightbulb" moment if ever I heard of one! Congrats.

Linus & friend~ Glad the IBS is under control.....hope it stays that way!!! Take care my friend! Don't make Aunt Fannie have to cross the pond!!!! Hope you and Teel have a great weekend and feel much improved. Missing Teel!

Yesterday I cheated with a piece of flan(custard). A spanish woman made it for a neighbor's BD and when I went there......I ATE IT!!! It was delish and she is a great cook. Very rich flan it was! YUM! But the rest of the day was good and today too. I did a food shop that was much needed but left the office and cancelled Clara. Today's outing left me feeling tired....so one day at a time. Not rushing it this time. I think a trip to the Mall on Monday is in store for me! It's nearby and I want to go to walmarts. Have a small gift card for that store. Buy something to treat myself other than food!!! Getting nasty and cold here so I turned the heat up again. Rain for the weekend too.Lots to keep me busy! Have a great end of the day and a wonderful weekend to all of you!!! Take care!

Linus~ I now see you are sick again!! OMG!!! I can hardly believe this! I hope you will feel better soon! Please take good care not to be over doing it! Love and hugs I send your way!

Yes, get well soon Linus, we miss you when you are not here. Gosh this pregnancy is not doing you much good is it. But not to worry as you will have something wonderful at the end of it all.

I'm going to have to ring that Teel. It is annoying me now that we are not hearing from her. Get thee back here woman. What is wrong with the computer???

Suzi, good to hear from you again, I was wondering whether you had disappeared off the site. Glad to hear that you have friends coming to visit. So nice to get a visit from home. (well mostly anyway). The first year or so in a new place is always the worst. Sometimes this lasts into the next year. By the third year you get used to the eccentricities of the new place and fit in - or you have gone back. It happens. Been there, done that, if I can help in anyway contact me.

Happy, so good to hear from you and to know that the number of boxes are going down. Always something to do in a new place. The amount of junk in my place is amazing. It's only a small place. I am currently getting shot of the stuff that the ex had stored behind sheds and in rafters in the carport. I then have only the roof to go through and finally I can live without too much stuff. It's one of my eccentricities - too much stuff. Things that were necessary when the family was at home and all moving in their different circles are not necessary now. Keeping things for sentiments sake is not a good idea. I keep that which creates a record that we have been here, but little else. Besides which, I ain't a great housekeeper and the dust around here is legend - less stuff = less dust. Looking forward to pictures of the house and garden in the spring.

Holly - as usual rushing around doing things for people. Sorry to hear about the court case and your friend. As if she hasn't had enough grief. Maybe the ex-MIL is worried that she will never get to see her grandchildren. I don't know I don't know the full story, but I read about grandparents who are really grieving because they are also estranged from the children because of a marriage bust up or whatever. It's not usually their fault nor the childrens and both are deprived of a loving relationship. But as I say, I don't know the full story.

Mel, you little worker bee you. You are doing well with the OP and sound determined this time. I need to work out a new plan for myself.
Fancy forgetting the map! You may be in the water now, hope you can swim!

Meadow - glad to see you hanging in there and with your sense of humour seemingly intact. You have a lot on your plate what with the house, the girls being sick and easter. This too shall pass. Can you guess that that is my favourite saying. I use it alot on the job - mumbling and grumbling and used it in just about every single sentence while the ex was here. It gives strength and the consideration that anything is possible for a given length of time.

Lunch yesterday was yummy. I had a lovely pan searing Atlantic Salmon. Geez I love that fish. It came with an avocado salsa with a bit of dill and some shoestring fries. Then went back to work, wrote a couple of documents and an exit statement for the management and left at 3.00. Sad to leave the boys, but they are nearly finished now and will be going back to their normal jobs probably by the end of the month.

So it is Saturday morning here - the first day of my week off - and I have a list of things to do longer than my arm. Body balance class coming up in an hour or so. Bit of shopping for groceries and then finding the rubbish to put out for the clean up day. I hope a autumn flip in the hammock with a book might be on the cards.
There's footy on tonight for my favourite team and I will be cheering them on as well no doubt. Probably find the DB around the joint to watch it too. Haven't seen the DS2 since Thursday, no doubt he is quietly recovering as well!

Okay, time to go and do something other than sit here and think about what's new - which is nothing!

Here's the first of the azalea bushes which are finally starting to bloom. We have reds and whites and pinks and purples. Of course they are popping here and there and not all at once. DH took this just trying to capture the flowers - will take more pictures on Sunday when it's sunny out. Oh and the Bunny in the pic is not real. These are of the back yard, when I back up to take a wider angle, you'll see the bushes a bit better. Then I'll go around to the front of the house - Shad might like the front yard with the Japanese Maple and the yellow and purple pansies.

Shad, I think you could get a job as a professional declutter consultant when you tire of the training. You and Mel can come and Fly Lady the rest of our houses
Your lunch sounds delicious too. I love salmon myself. We rather I, had some grilled Norwegian Salmon this week and DH had yellow fin tuna. Both came out sooo very good. I had mine with sliced cucumbers in a dill and low fat sour cream dressing. Hope you enjoy your week off - I'm sure you will get lots done.

Ok Mel, there's some pictures - are you happy now Have a restful weekend, make your Thurmond menus ahead of time and decide on a lovely gift for yourself with that gift card.

Linus, good to hear that Charlie gave you a few giggles - you could use some de-stressing in your life - the past few months have not been easy ones for you.

Meadow, I think Miss Mel has to teach you how to have a "Meadow-day" like her Mel-i-day. When you get that overwhelmed, I want to run away from it all feeling, it's a sure sign that you're trying to make everything and impossible priority. Pick 2 or 3 things that absolutely need to get done and then take an hour to make some AB graphics - yes, perhaps that's it. We haven't seen any Antonio pics lately - you are suffering from withdrawal, no? Seriously tho, sounds like you need a few quite moments all to yourself. Tell the family I put you in a time out and go take one.

Holly, I am sorry to hear about your friend. More people are killed by people running stop signs and red lights than by all other accidents combined. It's getting to be a real epidemic here - more and more people are blatantly ignoring all the rules of the road. And of course no one thinks about how they destroy so much in a moment of pure foolishness. I hope your friend draws strength from you...

And finally to Teel, a warm and a nice footbath to ease those aching toes of yours. Hope you're feeling better.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I have an early morning appointment to get my hair cut and colored - I'm way over due for that and it always makes me feel better. Then there is a Saturday luncheon of the ladies of the neighborhood - I will get up and give a speech in front of 2000 people at a conference but I just wilt walking into a house with 30 ladies - all of them strangers. DH said I should go and meet the neighbors, I know I should but it will be torture for me. I'll come home and there's the usual cleaning and more unpacking. Got to get the papers together as the deadline for filing taxes is only 2 weeks away - must get moving on that. Sunday is supposed to be a gorgeous day - would like to enjoy some time outside for a change. And with that, I'm off to bed.

Have a good weekend everyone...

Happy, just love those azaleas, and the bunny is cute - is this a relative of the Easter bunny? Hmmm, ladies of the neighbourhood woo hoo - Shucks Miz Belle, yo sure are looking mighty fine this morning!!!
I'd forgotten that I had a dentist appointment today. Finally remembered when the phone made itself heard with the appointment time reminder. Thank heavens I had put the reminder in there. Anyway another filling later and with cleaned teeth and a lighter wallet, I arranged the next appointment for the rebuilding of a tooth and did my shopping.
Went to Body Balance this morning and caught up with Jason. I'm going to book some time with him next week and get the exercise stuff back on track. He is talking about trying Boxing!!!! - what does the man want, karate chops to the kneecaps?? Oh sorry wrong sport. I'm thinking of doing some Bodypump classes next week instead of the weights stuff. Will have to check the schedule and see when it is on at Browns Plains. I know Carindale has one at 5.45 on Mondays.
I've also put out the rest of the junk stuff. Old washing machine, old printers, old microsoft programs many of which are manuals and no disks, someone is going to be sorry when they get the box home!! Tomorrow I need to fish out all the old timber living in the rafters of the carport and out they go as well. Next thing to declutter is the shed. There is a lot of old paint tins and things in there that could go out but may have to wait for the next roundup.
Next week we are to get a new fence between me and the neighbours as well. The old timber fence has had it's day and has had termites in the retaining sleeper. We are going to put in a colourbond fence (metal) with a ridge cap to finish it off, cream and sort of reddish brown capping. It's $1800 to have the man come in, rip out the old, clear out the rubbish, put in a new retaining wall and the fence posts and finally the fence. That's $900 each but should be worth it. I'll keep you updated. My neighbours are Philipino. The daughter & DH rent the house off the Mum and Dad. Mum is nice but not as outgoing as Dad. He comes roaring up the path yelling my name and chats and giggles and pinches the chillis off the chilli bush when he thinks I am not looking. He knows that I couldn't care less! She is a bit more reserved, but she came round the back last weekend and spotted the roses. He's going on about the only good tree is the chilli tree, she is drooling over the Shocking Blue rose. Then she smelt the Radio Times rose and that was the end of that. I had to offer coffee and biscuits and they stayed for a while, she smelling the roses, he drooling over the tomatoes. Good fun tho.
Tomorrow is another day. Plenty to do. I have some new plants for the pots on the patio, the old petunias have done their dash and need to be replaced - pansies are in the shops so I got a few of those and some more herbs. And some more petunias as well. Should look okay out there in a couple of weeks. I also want to do some grouting and put up the shower screen tomorrow. So it will be another busy day.

That's it for the day. Time to check out the football, watch Monarch of the Glen and check on the football, then have a look at The Bill while checking out the (you guessed it) football. Phew, it's all go.

Shad, must you remind me of the dentist???? I better call next week and get this hole filled!
Your You're weekend sounds good and the hammock even better!! LOL So you are out and about meeting and smoozing with the neighbors???? I can hardly believe it!!! Hope the gfence goes up nice and easy...PICS!!! For when it's done!! LOL
Went to see Mooz's new pics and LOVED them! Wow...the windmills!! wish I could get to like fish but I am very limited in my choices of "likes"!

Happy~ If you took a day for yourself it would be a Happy Day or Hap-i-day! The bushes are gorgeous! Lovely colors and I like azaleas too. We had some here but they died. Can't wait to see your new yard in full bloom, trees and all. My Dad grew a beautiful Dwarf Red Maple. I never forgot how beautiful it was.
Hope the unpacking gets finished soon and you guys can just enjoy life again. have fun at the soiree with the Belles of the South! let us know the local gossip!!
Meadow, Tig, Linus, Teel, Holly, Suzi

Going to putter about the aparetment and get a bit organized. I really need to tackle the wash next week. Piling up again.
the new parts for the w.chair should be here in2-3 weeks. Talked to Carlos and they are coming with a rep too. He will be flying out as well. This loaner is nice but just not MINE!! Ya know?!
Well I better get a grip on the morning before it is gone! Have a great weekend!!!