Happy Friday ladies!!

TGIF fo sho! Dang, this was a long week. Yesterday, Santa and I had arranged to meet up with some friends at the dog park, and since I got an excellent on-street parking place across the street from my house, I didn't particularly want to drive to the dog park and lose the primo parking spot. So I google mapped it, and since it was just 1.5 miles (though it seems like it's further away), I decided we'd walk to the dog park - I needed to get exercise anyway.

We were about 3/4 of the way to the dog park when we walked by one of my other doggie park friends' house. His wife had to work late, and he was in the back of the house...but his dogs were at the front window greeting me and Santa. In fact, his "little" 14-week 21 lb puppy was trying to climb through the window to say hi. All this commotion brought my friend Don to the front of the house. He invited us in, and then decided to take his dogs to the dog park with me and Santa.

After a nice time at the dog park, Santa and I left to walk back...but our friends said that if we got too sore, we should text them and they'd pick us up and drive us the rest of the way home. No worries though. We made it home ok. Which is good because if I couldn't walk the 1.5 miles each way to the dog park, how was I going to run/walk tomorrow's FroYo 5K race?

Tonight is WLS support group. I'm going to be carpooling with a really nice woman who lives near me. She's about 4-5 months post-op.

Tomorrow is supposed to be super hot (over 100). I just hope I finish the 5K before it gets too hot. Unfortunately, they arrange your starting order by how fast you'll complete the race, with the fastest runners going first and the walkers going last. I'll be somewhere close to the rear.

====================

Happy - I'm glad the eye surgery went fairly well, despite having more pain/irritation. I hope you don't have any more headaches. How wonderful it will be to not need glasses for distance! Enjoy your road trip today. I think I missed the details about your cruise, so now I'm curious. I'll try and go back to read up on it.

Laura - Glad you arrived safely. I hope the only adventures you have now are the "good" kind. Hugs.

Annie - Today is my pay day too! Glad the Habitat for Humanity project went well.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Much love and big hugs,

Ceejay52 & Susie ~ I'm not taking computer class anymore, I learned Excel and thats the only one I didnt know besides Word and I was told that Excel and Word were the only programs I needed to know to go into Data Entry.

Michelle ~ Hi, I also use a C-Pap machine at night

Laura ~ Yeah I like both the Chinese buffet and Golden Corral too.

Susie ~ Yes I finally got to go to the Chinese buffet tonight. It was sooo good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Guys and Gals,

Good Evening, I'm about to head to bed for the night. I didnt take a nap today like I usually do so I'm more tired tonight then I usually am. I've decided that I'm gonna do 20 mins of VB's work out during the day and 40 mins of VB's work out at night before bed. I think its easier then doing it all at once. Mom is on a mini vacation until Monday. Her vacation started Thursday afternoon. Its nice to have her home during the day. Usually if its not Wed or Thursday I'm usually home by myself which can get lonely so its nice to have her home during the day until Monday anyway. We cleaned the house together today and went shopping together and then tomorrow I'm gonna help her transplant a few of her plants so that should be fun. Hope everyone had a good Friday. Take Care Everybody.

Not sure where this will go. I'm using my phone.
Have not felt 100 % this week end but getting better. Started antibiotics on Thursday. Intestinal issues, cramping, burning. At least I caught it this time around.
My tablet was giving me fits while ago. I will post more tomorrow when I have access to the work computer.

Afternoon all,
Been off work today - thank goodness. Went in for 4 hours yesterday and ended up there for 8. Today, no one was going to get me near the place. Instead I stayed in bed and finished a book, then went to do some shopping and had breakfast out. Then came home and cleaned the house and did all the laundry and finally can see the finish line on my taxes. Just got to put the income in there now and that will be it I think. A final check and I can get it over to the accountant. Lot of expenses this time around. Hope that means I can get some cash back.

We start training next week. Better start saying your prayers for me, since I am not ready and doubt that I ever will be. Have to start thinking about putting data in this week and god only knows what that we be.

Forgive the no personals. I am worn out. I just want to finish watching the world netball champs (where NZ is playing Aus) and then I am going to bed.
Should really have gone out for a walk, but I can't be bothered.

Back during the week as time permits

Shad – Sorry you're worn out and there's so much more to do. I feel the same right about now re helping out my mom.

Ceejay – I hope you feel better now.

Terra - Nice having your mom around during her mini vacation, huh. Hoe are the VB workouts going?

Michelle - How'd the 5k go? And what did I see on fb about a half marathon?? YGG!!

Hellos to the rest of you.
***

Been keeping busy at my mom's. Today we went through a bunch of stuff in the garage & boxed a lot for donations to charity. Yesterday we trimmed her purpleleaf plum shrub/tree. We went out for a decent lunch. After that I did a couple minor plumbing things (faucet fixes).

Day before that was spent with the realtor & changing out some kitchen cabinet handles.

That’s about it for me. Gonna get a Sunday dinner going now. Bye for now girls.

Laura ~ Yeah it has been nice having mom home during her mini vacation. My VB work outs are going good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good Evening Guys and Gals,

I hope your evening is going good. Mine is going well. I'm home until Tuesday and then Wed. and Thursday I have school and then I wont get out of the house again until Sunday when we go do our weekly shopping. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I'm not sure why I schedule it now, I scheduled it so long ago but I'm keeping it so I can have a weight management check up. I hope I've lost weight, Last time I weighed myself which will be a week ago tomorrow I was 298 so I really hope I've lost weight. We'll see. Take Care Everyone!!!

Hello Worldlies! It was another busy weekend. We had a Family Reunion yesterday so that takes up most of the weekend. It was a lot of fun. It was at my cousin's house (who most of us hadn't seen in about 5 years). He has a pool so after the food and taking pictures and waiting out a 30 min rain shower with lightning, everyone was in the pool. The kids had a blast and so did the grownup.

Putting on a bathing suit in front of my family was terrifying..but I did it. I did keep the towel around me until I got right in the pool. I promise myself that next summer I will strut in that bathing suit!!

I was so looking forward to TOPS on Thursday. I had a great week, did what I do the week before, and we within and under my calories most days. Did the exercise and showed UP a lb! I just didn't even know how to feel. But the first thing I said to myself was I wouldn't undo what I had worked so hard for that week. I reminded myself that I was feeling great and that next week it will show. I did have 2 cokes this weekend but other than that, I didn't pamper myself with food.

Happy: I understand how weird it feels to see far away without aid of glasses or contacts. It has been like that for me ever since I had my lasik about 10 years ago. I have to wear reading glasses a lot more now to see up close. I only wear a 1.25 strength and the eye doctor said I don't need really glasses for that yet so cheaters are ok.

Shad: so sorry to hear that this job has been so stressful. When does the bloody thing end? for this week and the training.

Laura: How long will you be at your mom's. I hope you get a lot done and the house sells quickly.

Annie: The wedding will be hear before you know it! You might not be able to lose 20 lbs but I bet you can lose 5-7 and maintain it. Doing that will give you such confidence as every looks at you too as "mother of the bride".

Terra: Both Word and Excel are excellent programs to know. Good for you for learning them. I hope you doctor appointment shows a loss on the scales for you.

Michelle: I'm so sorry to hear about your friend and your step-brother.

Ceejay: feel better soon and take care of yourself.

Hi Dee! I miss you!!!

Ok..got to get a load of laundry out and then head to bed. I think I will read a bit to relax and sleep soundly.

Hi all,

Well it seems like I have not posted for a few days now. I guess the days just got away from me. DH and I decided to cancel the day cruise we were planning on as they are talking about rain for the few days surrounding that trip and since he wants to take pictures of the lighthouses, no sense in spending so much money for possibly nothing. So we will try another time even if it's later September and a bit cooler out. We did drive up to the area to scout out some hotels. There is one island you can ferry over to - we decided to do an overnight trip and spend the night on the island and walk around during the day and maybe catch some nice sunset pictures on the beach in the evening. I spent just about all day researching hotels and places to stay. VERY tedious. But I'm looking forward to it - we have not had a vacation in 4 years and even though it's just an overnight trip - it will be something nice for a change. We don't want to leave the cats alone for too long. Eric thinks the young one is chasing the older one around when we aren't looking. Last night we went out for pizza in a nearby town. The pizza place we had here got pretty bad - probably summer help. But this new place was really, really good. It's about a 35 minute drive from here. Nothing exciting is going on. My eyes are still adjusting. I miss my close up vision a lot. Even with cheaters, I can't see some things clearly and probably never will again. I had a pinchy thing on my finger, could not see if it was a splinter or what. I just had to randomly stab at it with tweezers!

Susie - I'm glad you had a good time at the family reunion and good for you for getting in the pool! Don't let the pound up mess with your head - as long as you know you are sticking to the plan so many things can fluctuate. Just keep doing the good stuff!

Terra - you said you are staying in the house - are you not going out for walks anymore or just doing videos? Did you get all of your re-planting done?

Laura - I guess I missed that you are at your Mom's now even though you said you would be. It sounds as if you are making some good progress. It's really nice of you to help her out, especially since you are handy with repairs also. I hope you enjoy your time with her.

Shad - I hope you get a refund on the taxes also. Good luck with the training next week. Deep breath! Are the seasons starting to turn yet - any more warmth or are you still in the fleece?

Ceejay - is that a picture of the uncles on your Facebook page? It's a very nice photo! I hope your innards have calmed down and you are feeling better.

Michelle - how did the race go? Do you walk Santa when you go to the dog park or just let him romp with the other dogs? That's great that you did the long walk to the park although I am totally with you about walking over giving up the primo parking spot

Annie - did you spend the weekend doing more wedding planning stuff or did you have the kids for the weekend?

Hi Dee

Time for me to go to bed so goodnight all. Sleep well.

Monday and here it is again. Howdy all.

Baby boy came up on Saturday afternoon and spent the day and night with us. We got up and went to church on Sunday with us. Lunch at Olive Garden then he had to go home and cut his grass and do some chores around his house. Pretty nice weekend.

LAURA...sounds as if you are getting things accomplished at you momma's house. Good for you.

SHADDIE...glad you got at least one day to rest.

CEEG...hope you are feeling better.

TERRA...sounds like a good plan for the VB workouts.

CHELLE...how did the run go?

Hello to all. Hugs

Well some how I skipped this page of postings. My mind is shot, hate to see what it will be like in ten years. Sheesh.

HAPPY...The best place to get cheaters in any strength is Dollar Tree. I have about 10 pairs, one in every room in the house, two at work, one in my purse and one in both vehicles. lol. I just hate to get stuck not being able to read from bank receipts to menues. I even have a pair over at Sissy's house...just in case. No wedding stuff this weekend nor kiddos. Sis and Chris went over to his parent's house yesterday to lay mulch and make the "garden rock patio" look nice and weeded. Hopefully they got that done. I have not talked to Sis this morning yet to see what all was accomplished. How are the eyes feeling today? Glad you can see better at distance.

Chat later chicko!

Morning.
Work yesterday was nice and quiet. Not one phone call. Made my day. Had a personal phone call on my cell phone from my sis in Missouri. She has plans for me to stay the week. Hmm don't know what she has planned, but I do need to find a bank. I'm going to start receiving my SS benefits in January but try to work till May-August. She did tell me that they were taking me to see a show but wouldn't tell me which one. Oh well. I will see when I get there.
I am feeling better. I'm taking antibiotics. Remind me NO nuts of any kind.

------
Happy
Yes, those are my uncles. The one in the reddish jacket is the one who broke his hip. He turned 82 on August 1. The one in the middle is the uncle I visit on the week ends. He's 84. Uncle Vic is almost 87. His birthday is the day after mine. Hope your eyes are settling down. I know now what I have to look forward to when I have to have my cataracts removed.

Susie
I understand the feeling about the gain. But you have the right attitude and just keep going. Can't believe that I've logged my food this week. It helps to have the app on my cell phone.

Annie
Sounds like you had a nice visit with your son.

Terra
I'm curious. What is a VB work out?

Shad
Hang in there. It's almost done.

Laura
Glad you made it to your destination. I'm going that way In September.

Dee
We miss you. Hope you are feeling better.

Good morning ladies,

Happy Monday! Today might've started out better had I gotten more sleep last night. It was so hot yesterday (over 100), and supposed to be nearly that hot today. And unfortunately, it didn't cool off much until nearly 11 pm. I decided last night that since it was taking me so long to fall asleep, I'd work out with my trainer this evening, rather than at 6 am so I was able to sleep in for an extra hour...still not long enough. I really wish we had A/C where I live. Yesterday evening, rather than going to the dog park, Santa and I went over to the home of a dog park friend of ours who has air conditioning and whose backyard is well shaded so it wasn't that hot. Another woman came over with her dogs, so it was a nice doggie play date. Other than that, yesterday was pretty boring. I went to the gym to do some cardio and weight training in the air conditioning. I did some laundry and watched a couple DVDs when I got home.

The FroYo 5K run was great! I was able to run for about 2/3 of the distance (so roughly 2 out of the 3.1 miles). At the end of the race, all participants were given a medal and a dish of frozen yogurt (I made mine sugar free). It was really yummy! My next 5K is this coming Saturday...it's the Color In Motion 5K (where participants get covered in various colors of powder - here are some pictures taken at other races: http://colorinmotion5k.com/gallery).

And in a moment of impulsiveness, I did something crazy on Saturday night, and I'm still having second thoughts and self-doubt...but it's too late now. You see, I've been wanting to do a Run Disney event ever since I first saw one on the Extreme Weight Loss TV show. I mentioned this to my nephew and his girlfriend at the family reunion last month. We figured we'd do the 5K or 10K, but both were sold out fairly quickly after registrations opened up. So...my nephew, his girlfriend and I registered to do the TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon at Disneyland on May 8, 2016. Yes...that's right....a freakin' 1/2 marathon! I still can't believe it. WTF have I done? WTF was I thinking? At least I feel better knowing that if for some reason a runner/walker can't finish, they have carts that come around and transport people to the finish line. At least we have 9 months to train, and there are good training programs online (Couch to 1/2 marathon). It would be a tremendous accomplishment to be able to finish a 1/2 marathon, and in a crazy way, I'm looking forward to it and also scared. At the suggestion of a friend of mine, I've already reserved a room at one of the Disneyland hotels. It's actually at the park and within walking distance to the finish line. The race starts at 5 or 5:30 am (which is a great way to beat the May heat), so a room within walking distance of the starting line is important. It's too early to book airplane tickets...and it's going to be a heck of an expensive weekend...but what amazing memories I'll be making with my nephew and pushing myself to do something incredible.

I have to sign off for now. But here's to a great week for all of us.

Much love,

Hi ladies,

Just returned from the farmer's market. I was going to skip it but glad I didn't. Got napa cabbage for pot stickers and some coleslaw. 2 kinds of potatoes - some will become potato salad. Pickling cucumbers to try a small batch of refrigerator pickles but I forgot to pick up fresh dill. Also got kale, summer squash, sugar snap peas, green bell peppers, red peppers - long ones and of course some fresh tomatoes. Last week they had some really nice looking baby carrots - I'm sorry I didn't get any because they sold out. We are going to be eating REALLY good this week. Yum. It makes me sad that there is only about a month left for the farmer's market. I have gotten used to the fresh food and will miss it. Tonight we are having roast chicken with fresh corn and some veggies and I will use one of my jars of canned peaches for a cobbler or another pie. Sorry if I made you hungry.

Michelle - a half marathon - that's 13 freaking miles!!!! Actually you deserve a a BIG one. I think we can talk ourselves out of anything but we have to keep pushing. That's amazing. AND you know you can't just sit in a chair until the day before you run so you will be motivated to train. That's just awesome!!!! Really, considering how a year ago you could barely walk and now to running several 5ks already. Take a bow girl!

Ceejay - the best I can say about the eye surgery is that it's a crap shoot. Or like Forest Gump's box of chocolates. It's still not perfect. There are residual issues but it's MOSTly good. And that's what's important. My newer eye is definitely giving me more pokes than the other one. I can only say that I'm glad it was the second eye that was tougher. It sounds like you are laying the foundation for your retirement. I think it's really good to think things out ahead of time. And plan for expenses you will need to lay out now while you are bringing in more money. I'm glad you are feeling better. Got to keep notes about those things that really knock out the stomach.

Annie - we don't have a Dollar Tree here - we have Family Dollar I think but that's good advice about having the glasses all over the house. I'm thinking it's just going to be easier to wear glasses all the time again as it seems like I always need to see up close. They had some really gorgeous perennial flower beds in a rock garden of sorts at the nursery we were at this weekend. They looked so nice, were low maintenance and it reduces the amount of lawn to mow - plant them once and they come back each year. What's NOT to love??? Did you ever find shoes for the wedding? Glad you got to spend time with your son. Is he all better now?

Hellos to the rest Weird not to see Laura posting and then I remembered, she is visiting. And cleaning. And trimming.

I guess that catches me up - I need to make my fresh tomato on toast lunch sandwich before it's too late and get the fixings out for dinner and make my menu for the week. Happy start to the week all.

Happy - Your farmer's market produce sounds wonderful! Luckily, I'm eating lunch as I read this or you would've made me quite hungry and craving the cobbler/pie. I need to get to our farmer's markets here more often. Thanks for the applause and encouragement. And you're right...since I don't want to injure myself (back or legs or anything), I am going to train A LOT for the 1/2 marathon. I realized on Saturday after finishing the 5K and watching so many people heading off to do the same course loop for a second time (they were doing the 10K), that I really need to "train up" for the 10K I have coming up on September 26. Luckily there are all kinds of online training programs for Couch to 5K (C25K), Couch to 10K and even Couch to 1/2 marathon! RunDisney.com even has their own training programs for the various distances of their races. And 3 people I know (my cousin's daughter and two women from my weight loss surgery support group) have all done the TinkerBell 1/2 marathon and they said it was awesome and so "magical" to run in "The Happiest Place On Earth"! I used to love planting perennials...plant once and then forget about them (except to thin them out). Here, because of the drought and global warming, a lot of people are pulling out their lawns and replacing them with either nice looking artificial turf or native grasses and drought tolerant plants. As much as I love the feel of grass beneath my feet, I think this makes a lot of sense for California. The state is even offering rebates to encourage people to replace their lawns with options that require little or no watering. Sorry that you're still having trouble with your newer eye. I hope that eases up soon.

Hi Ladies. So, they did a update on our systems over the weekend and last night we received calls that there was/is a global email, and SAP outage. It was supposed to be fixed by 1:00 pm today, but not yet.

I have cleaned out files most of the day.

I'm stressing out a bit (ok...a lot) because I got a call about 1 p.m. from my DH's cardiologist and DH is back in afib.

He doesn't know that he is and so tonight I will have to tell him. I was hoping to hear back from the doctor to know what he wants to do (DH is off blood thinners so that puts him at a risk for blood clots). DH is going to be so depressed about this happening again.

I'm going to try to get him to see the good side that he has had almost a year of being in rhythm and hopefully they can get him back in again. But I get why he would feel that way.

Michelle: you can do this half marathon. You will have time to train and no one says you have to go fast. Also I think you will be running on a pretty flat surface. I would check to be sure...that will tell you how to train.

Cincinnati has a huge marathon event every May, called The Flying Pig. It is ran through the city but Cincinnati is very hilly and some people aren't ready for that.

Happy: So, on this trip that you took up to check things out, did you stay overnight on the island this time? I think I'm reading that correctly?

It's nice that you now have something to look forward to in September as well.

I buy my cheaters like Annie does. Either at Dollar Tree of Family Dollar. I have them EVERYWHERE and sometimes a couple of pairs on my head at a time!

Ceejay: Is the "no nuts" rule due to diverticulitis? My DH can't have them either, or popcorn, or corn. I am glad you are feeling better.

Anne: It sounds like you had a very nice time with your son.

I'm going to get off her and head out. It's 4:30 and I have had enough for the day.

Hugs to all!