About ? of the day: my dogs ALWAYS makes me smile. We're taking them to the vet this morning, and before we're taking them for a walk at the park so everybody can admire them.

Amarantha, I use the oat crust so I don't "overdose" on wheat. It's really easy and I'll post the recipe later. On to the vet!

what always makes me smile is my four-footed friend, mack. kaylets-the quote of the day sure resonates with me. my sense of humor and ability to laugh easily have certainly gotten me through some challenging times.

arabella-congratulations on your promotion! how wonderful! enjoy your vacation in ny---it sounds like it will be great.

well, i am off to do some errands before it heats up much more. i just wanted to say top of the morning to you all. take care.

QOD: What always makes me smile is a "How is your day going?" e-mail from my Irishman...having a friend take the time during a busy work day to check in on me makes me smile all over.

Yeees. And if that friend happens to be a handsome and charming Irishman, it can't hurt either, right?

Why, I'm smiling all over, myself, just thinking about it (whew! is it hot in here?)

It's FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our office closes at 2pm on Fridays now. So, 6:30-2pm feels like a 1/2 day, seriously! I don't know why that 1 1/2 hours off early feels like that, but it does!

Kaylets, mums is doing good... she's really been mourning the loss of my stepdad for years. He hadn't been himself in a really long time and wasn't able to do much of anything with, or for, her. She's slowly adjusting to living alone for the first time in her life and asking me (!) for advice on how to do things (like cooking for one). She's out harrassing the horses right now...

WSW, what is it about dogs that just makes life so much better??? I can't wait to get a dog - as soon as I have fencing. Good to see you!

Amarantha, I'll be thinking about you Saturday and hope it goes as well as possible. I have a wedding to go to - one of my best friends - and they always make me weepy/happy and being hyper-emotional I'm hoping I don't blow the blessing from her family that I'm supposed to stand up and read...

Oh, just noticed a new smiley - - he's cute, and gross - all in one!

Wildfire, geez, how old is Jace now? My niece and brother flew up from LA for everything and I swear she's almost as tall as me now! And talking about driving (she'll be 16 in Sept.). Nothing like kids to make you feel old!

Arabella, congrats on the promotion!!! Your vacation sound wonderful - one of these days I'm going to make it to the east coast area. There's SO much to see! I think there's a trip to Boston/Salem in the my future - but Fiji's first!

Ok, what makes me smile... watching my cats play, being able to witness nature (I have an owl nest in my back yard) and the love of my family and friends.

Have a great weekend everyone! I'm off to car shop with my mom after work (for her) and then home to get cookin' for the potluck/handfasting tomorrow afternoon!

Enjoy!
Terri

Ok -- two things I forgot:

Amarantha, sending you strength vibes tomorrow for that difficult situation!

Punkin, what is handfasting?

There! Happy weekend, All!

Arabella, congrats on the promotion!!! And the vacation place looks really nice. What kind of wood is that that gives some places that golden look?

wsw, it's neat that you're still visiting with Mack. Dogs are just the best!

Wildfire, one day you'll tell us the whole story about your charming Irishman...I hope! Are you still in love with the new house?

Punkin, let us know how the handfasting goes. I love weddings too!

Where's Anagram? Ceara? And I'm still hoping Cerise will find her way back--I miss her.

I like the MayDay sprint. [Thanks, Empress!] It seems that it gives us better focus.

Rice milk w/ blueberries and strawberries, vanilla whey protein

coffee w/ 1/2 and 1/2
ww tortilla w/ peanut butter, lettuce, carrots, cucumber

salad w/ lite Italian, beans
2 slices home made ww pizza [garlic, spinach, cheese]
strawberries***1 fruit-sweet. choc. cookie

brocolli, spinach, peppers, onion, garlic w/ boca burger, lite swiss, tahini dressing
apple

1/2 cup roasted potatoes and onions

Calories: 1765
protein: 75 grams
exercise: 35 min. Pilates machine
10 min. yoga
25 min. dog walk

I love having a day with tons of fruits and vegetables!

Hi, all! Back from the unpleasant situation, which was, well, unpleasant!

But some clarity came out of it and a further extension of the realization that I am responsible not only for my actions and mistakes, but for the thoughts I put in my head and the food I put in my body, as these impact my actions and these impact others.

One nice thing that happened today is that I stayed Sugar Busters "legal" and ate the food I packed as opposed to some really bad choices I could have made. Didn't do as well with the eating pattern per se, as didn't really have an appetite but it'd been easy to eat a candy bar, cupcake or corn chips ... and really, s, this would not have helped me in the uncomfortable situation in which I found myself today.

This 97-day (I think it's 97) sugar-free (plus refined flour-etc. free) existence is maybe the most monumental positive decision I've ever made in my life. It's the one shining path that is now gonna lead me out of this period of negativity and back to being the person I was meant to be.

E, I think you know what I'm talkin' about here!

I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE THAT ON MAY 2, WE BEGIN A NEW THREAD WITH A NEW MIND/BODY CHALLENGE OF SOME KIND ...

Re my exercise today ... it was two walks, one when temporarily freed from the unpleasant situation and one with Old Dog at night.

I'm posting my eats on a private journal right now, not sure of the menu or cals from today. Just put some low glycemic items in a cooler and ate some of 'em now and then.

I'm not sure when I'll do my weigh-in, but probably not Sunday.

P.S., my Old Dog makes me smile, always.

Actually, it's Day 98!

I am braindead!

Good morning, s I had kind of a trying day yesterday. Nothing catastrophic, just Website issues because they'd done some work overnight on Friday (so things weren't working and I spent a lot of time working without getting much accomplished. And my son had a few friends let him down (as I type this I'm thinking it sounds too petty to even write about, but it affected me) and was in a terrible mood. It was just that kind of day where I felt like obstacles were rearing up in front of me and I got not much done and also didn't enjoy myself. Hate to waste a day like that! I swear I'm taking next weekend off! I'll have a production assistant, so I won't have to do all the Website tasks. That'll make life a bit easier. Also, I'm thinking that with the former site editor working more with the promotion/marketing aspect of the site, I'll save a lot of time that I'd been devoting to e-mail and instant messaging with her. I think...

Today is another day! I didn't manage to exercise yesterday, but did meditate. Off for a walk soon.

Amarantha, so glad you got through that unpleasant business, also that you came out of it with more clarity and understanding. Bet when you've recovered you'll feel better for not having crashed and burned in a sugarfest.

Eydie, the cottage does look nice, doesn't it? Much grander than my house, albeit in that rustic kind of a way. I'm afraid I'm not going to want to leave...

All right. The continuing stoooooory... Off to walk, have breakfast. Spend a couple of hours working and then ... maybe? Get some of the painting done in the kitchen? It apparently isn't going to finish itself. No elves working on it while I sleep, alas.

Love to all! Let's take this day and do the best we can with it...

Finally...a moment to myself.

Arabella, seems you and I had parallel days yesterday. I wanted nothing more than to spend the weekend puttering around the house, doing some sewing and laundry and organzing, with a few movies thrown in for good measure. I ended up going to help a friend is who is way in over her head with trying to set up financial books for her BIL who is starting his own trucking company. What I thought was going to be an hour-long consultation turned into five hours of preparing financial statements for 2003-2004, based on the guy's memory! SO frustrating. My friend has NO accounting knowledge but seems to think she can maintain books for her BIL using Simply Accounting. Yes, the program is basic and will keep track of everything, but one has to know where they belong in the first place!! (You know, that whole debit/credit double-entry accounting logic? )So I sat in this guy's apartment with the two of them smoking like chimneys...I sat next to an open window all day so I could attempt to breathe while it was only 5 degrees out and raining. I got such a chill I couldn't get warm when I came home. Finally had to go to bed, and eventually got warm again under my duvet with space heating provided by three cats. I have to finish up the statements this morning because he needs them for Monday morning....wouldn't you think he would have asked someone to do them earlier than yesterday? *sigh*...and after I had completed them on a calendar basis (as he wanted) he decided it would be better for them to be fiscal periods. I'd had enough by then, so e-mailed them to myself and said I'd send them back today.

So I felt cheated out of what was supposed to be a weekend just for me, which I really, really needed after having company for over 2 weeks.

Punkin, Jase is 11 months old tomorrow and weighs 17 lbs. His adjusted age is more like 9 months because he was premature. He has three teeth and was cutting two more when he left. He is a really happy baby, and still very cuddly, and has the most beautiful blue eyes...well, here are some pictures...one of Jase with DH, and one of Jase with me.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17...k/100_0869.jpg (Jase and Bill)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17...k/100_0860.jpg (Jase and me)

Amarantha, glad you survived the unpleasant situation and stayed on course, to boot! 98 days?

Eydie, stay tuned. I'll fill you in on my Irishman.

Punkin, how was the handfasting? Did your mom find a new car?

(Arabella, a handfasting is a pagan wedding ritual.)

Where is anagram? Not like her to be absent for long...hope her DH is okay.

wsw, hello there! Mack sounds like such a treat...you get to play but don't have to clean up behind him constantly!

Kaylets, how is your weekend going?

ceara, lovely weather we're having...you must love all those muddy doggie paws for days on end...

Better get at those financial statements so I can get rid of them.

Ah, the Irishman, Eydie... I've attempted this before and it always goes *poof* into cyberspace...but here goes...(I'll copy the post before I hit Submit this time!) I met him online in 1996 in a chat room that no longer exists. (This was long before the chat rooms were populated meat markets for teenagers and perverts.) I had recently separated from my first husband and went back to finish my Computer Science. It was during those long hours in the computer lab that I ran into him, and we clicked almost instantly. He lives in Indiana. He had such a great sense of humor and seemed so genuine and caring. The more we chatted and learned about each other, the closer friends we became.

During that period of my life, he was the one thing that inspired me. He never doubted my abilities despite the challenges I had, in fact he admired my strength, which I thought was ridiculous...what strength? My life was a mess. I was a single parent living in my sister's basement, trying to survive on $700 a month and finish my education, while dealing with the emotional trauma of ending a marriage. I had little support from my family, both parents were deceased, my first husband was addicted to crack, and even my sister found it in her heart to charge me rent...half of that $700, which left me with $350 to pay bills and feed us. It never quite worked.

Well, my classes were over in January of 1997 (graduated with Honors), which also meant I no longer had access to a computer. I spent a lot of time at a friend's place, who let me use her computer while she was at work, and we hung out in the evenings chatting online, too. After a few months, the job search wasn't going well, I wasn't online much, and was getting really depressed. It seemed like there was no end to it all, no way out. My Irishman would call to check on me since I couldn't get online much. Talking with him gave me relief from the daily financial and emotional stress. One day in particular, my daughter had gone to play with friends, and my sister was going for coffee with another friend of ours and asked if I wanted to go. I didn't have the 95 cents for a coffee...and she didn't offer it...at that moment I really felt like I'd hit as low as I possibly could go. I sat on the edge of the bathtub for probably an hour, thinking there was no point...no one would care if I wasn't around, they certainly didn't seem to when I was...I was tired, and lonely, and just wanted peace. As I sat planning my next actions, the phone rang. I ignored it at first, but when it wouldn't stop I reached for it, and it was my Irishman. Said he was thinking about me, missed me, and wanted to know how I was...whether it was coincidence or not, he prevented me from doing something very permanent. He made me realize there was someone who cared and would miss me if I wasn't around any longer. He saved my life.

I did go on to find a job teaching at a private college, moved to Ontario, married DH...all the while staying in close contact with my Irishman. In 2001, he was involved in a car accident which left him with a serious back injury. He shut down all communication, concentrating on getting himself well physically and dealing with running his business while in recovery. I was devastated. I wanted to be there for him as he has been for me, but he was gone. My e-mails and phone calls went unanswered. I felt like he had died, and I actually grieved for him for a very long time. My heart was truly broken.

In November of 2003 I came across his last e-mails to me. They were hurtful and filled with the pain he was going through. Figuring it would go unanswered as all the rest had; I e-mailed him and asked if we could talk. This time he answered me. I can't begin to explain the joy I felt. If any of you have lost a loved one and wished that you could have them back, even for a moment, imagine how you would feel if it came true. That's how I felt. The sun shone brighter, and all the world was clearer and more beautiful to me, and has been since.

We are closer now than we have ever been. We talk pretty much daily, either e-mail, MSN, or phone. I am closer to him than I am with my best girlfriend. He is my confidant, support, truly my closest friend, and I love him dearly.

And because I'm sure your inquiring minds want to know...he is married. He and his wife were separated when we first met, but reconciled later that year. My DH knows fully my relationship with my Irishman. I was completely open about it when I first met DH, and made it very clear that nothing or no one was going to interfere with it, not even him. It was a condition I insisted on before getting involved with DH. Unfair? Perhaps. But he accepted it at the time, and it has never been an issue between us.

So, there you have it. Now let's see if the cybergods want me to post it.