Hi Anne,

Glad to hear that you got past this one as well. I'm thinking of you. Are you off work yet or do you have to slouch further? As far as I'm aware you should be well into the last strech now...less than 2 months to go! Overhere we can quit working at 6 weeks before ETA, and I remember that I just made that with DS, and I did not make it with DD.

Take care,

Sending good vibes across the pond...

Rabbit

Anne -- this has been one tough pregnancy! Glad to hear that everything is OK and hopefully you and the boy can hang on just a little longer. How much longer do you have to work?

Allison, perhaps "lifting my spirits" wasn't quite the right phrase to use with finishing my taxes. I was just so happy that they were finally DONE ... until I got the mail yesterday afternoon and there was a bank form that completely changes one return. Literally, I had the forms, checks, and stamped envelopes spread out on the dining room table to be signed, and then this. So today will be spent redoing one of our returns, to the tune of $$$. Let me join you in saying that I hate taxes too!!

I'm excited about our 3FC 5K tomorrow (thanks to Gary ) and am trying to figure out how to translate that to the elliptical. Maybe I'll just do an hour?

Got a bazillion things to do today, so one more mug of coffee and then into the shower!

Anne, I'm glad to hear you and the babe made it through this scare ok. I'm thinking about you!

I'm 25, have been living on my own and paying my own bills for almost 4 years now. Except for two things: my cell phone (was my college graduation present), and my mommy still does my taxes! She finished/I signed and mailed them in 1 1/2 weeks ago. I tell my sister that she can't have kids for a few years so that I can be the baby a little longer. I'm terrible.

I will definitely be working out this weekend, so I must join the 3fc 5k! I think mine will be a combo of running and walking. I hope to get up early Saturday and run outside at home, if the weather's ok, so I can come to work early too. Sometimes waiting for the gym to open at 9:00 AM Saturday seems so late.

Meg, the ellipticals at my gym have a "number of strides" counter on them. If yours does too, maybe you could figure out how many strides is in a 5k. I'm sure an hour more than covers it, though!

Meg-- the ellipticals at my gym measure distance. I did 40 minutes last night (I go pretty fast) and it was 4.25 miles, so I'm sure you would get 5K in less than an hour.

I'm sorry I've been MIA for a while, but I've been off track (although I never stopped exercising) and felt like I didn't belong anywhere anymore. I finally got my head on straight. I even joined the 5K Marathon for "extra" inspiration. I already did a mile this morning. Going to get back to the treadmill in a few minutes. Just stopped by to say "hello." I've been thinking of you guys!
Hugs, Dena

Anne~prayers for you to hold tight until 38 weeks is up.

Meg~I would think 30-45 minutes on the elliptical would be sufficient for a 5k. I have walked a 5k in 45 minutes and usually half walk and half jog in 35 minutes. Really good runners can do it in 18-22 minutes. Sorry about having to redo the taxes.

Pill bugs~yes, they do prefer decaying vegetation (and dampness). I didn't think about saying you should clean out any dead leaves and such from the garden.

DH and I had dinner last night with some friends. Wow did I stay on plan (except for the wine and one dinner roll). It felt good to see the scale down a bit this morning.

I "forced" DD to do her taxes this year. She got it all back (a whopping $10.75 combined federal and state!). I don't think she's managed to put the checks in the bank, though. I don't get my kids. They don't think that $5 is a worthy amount of money. Just wait until she goes away to school and realizes what groceries cost!

Anne - Glad to hear you and the baby are okay!

Michele - When did you move to CA? I was 11 when we had the big Northridge earthquake in 1994. I hadn't been too scared of earthquakes before but that one knocked my socks off and I was terrified for a while. I still remember it really vividly, although the fear has gone away. On the other hand, I learned a lot about earthquake safety from that one. Honestly the worst part of that earthquake was when we were sitting on our lawn at 4am afterward listening to the radio and they kept saying, "We repeat, that was NOT the Big One!"

Dena - you should definitely still post even if you are off-track! Posting may actually help you get back on track.

I signed up for Gary's 5k too. I'm hoping the weather will hold out this weekend -- I'm tempted to just do it tonight instead. We're supposed to have a freeze this weekend and we're hoping our seedlings won't get killed and the buds on the trees and shrubs don't get zapped. Last year a late freeze happened after everything was blooming, and all the blossoms got zapped. In the fall the apple orchards looked really sad because they had so few apples!

Thanks, Jessica. I think it's time for me to post on your "accountability" thread.
Hugs, Dena

Paperclippy-- we moved to California in 2005. We have felt a few quakes but they have all been minor ones. We are near several faults so I know it is a possiblity but I'm hoping a small one.

BTW-- where does your name Paperclippy come from? Just curious.

Michele

Michele - I had to choose a screen name for livejournal at one point, and at the time I happened to be unbending a paperclip (one of my bad habits of fidgeting). So, Paperclippy came to be.

Michelle and Jessica (Paperclippy), I'm from CA, so I know earthquakes well. When I was little they always seemed fun to me, like a ride. But I'm from Santa Barbara, so they didn't hit as hard as LA or SF. What part of CA do you live Michele? And where did you live, Jessica?
Dena

Dena,
I live near San Francisco in the "East Bay". We are about 45 minutes east of SF in a small town (small to me anyway after living in Houston and Johannesburg-- there are about 55,000 people here) called San Ramon.

Michele

Dena - I lived in the San Fernando Valley, kind of in between Woodland Hills, West Hills, and Canoga Park. So the Northridge quake was pretty close to us! I also went to college in Claremont so I spent four years living there, plus one summer in Livermore and a while in Long Beach. Santa Barbara is a gorgeous place, it must be nice living there!

Michele, I love the bay area. At least, San Francisco isn't too far away from you to visit! But I bet you miss home, though. I recently moved to Las Vegas and I miss home a lot.

Jessica, I know the San Fernando Valley well... especially Woodland Hills, West Hills and Canoga Park. My hubby and I use to drive down and stay at the Hilton or Marriot, and then go to our favorite restaurant, "The Cheesecake Factory." Plus I loved going to Topanga Mall, where Nordstorm's is located. We also went to LA a lot... Beverly Hills, Century City, Hollywood, West LA. I loved it there. So exciting to me! We recently moved to Las Vegas, where you can get a really nice house. (And it's exciting here, too) Houses became too outrageous in Santa Barbara. Or otherwise, I'd still be there. But I can't complain. It is fun here. Lots to see and do. In fact, I better get ready to go out. It's Friday nite afterall.
Oh by the way, I just finished the 5K on my treadmill!!
Hugs, Dena

Sometimes ya just wonder why things have to be so hard.... I am praying for you dear!