Need to get to bed, so this will be short and sweet. SUCCESS, Rie....using the same methodology you're suggesting. They are completely revisiting the budget piece with the understanding that the grant will not be submitted unless the budget meets with my approval....after all, I AM the expert, here, right? I don't often throw my weight around, so I guess that when I do, they know I'm serious. Thanks for "getting" it, and thanks for sharing. Whew! What a relief!
Will catch up with everyone tomorrow...just wanted to let you know that things have been resolved for the better....
Z

Good evening GG's,

Got out of work late tonight ~ so not able to spend much time here. It is almost time for bed already.

Ended up with a darn headache at work. It didn't seem like a bad day ~ but guess maybe it was a little more stressful than I realized. Or maybe it was worrying about Jason, or maybe feeling growly at DH that he acts so immature or what ever you would call it ~ that he will not get along with Jason. Or, maybe eye strain ~ can't see the computer with my regular glasses - have to wear reading glasses and switch back and forth. Who knows ~ maybe a combo of everything.

A couple quick things ~

Zoe ~ glad that you got your work dilema worked out in a way that makes you feel better about things. It made me feel sad that you were feeling so upset by that.

Rosey ~ I hope the stuff Sadie shredded wasn't anything important.

Re: the Facebook thing ~ I think that would be neat, but would feel better if it was which ever choice it was that was not available to the general public. I wouldn't want it to replace what we have here either. I do think it is easier to see pictures that way. Also ~ for those times when 3 Fat Chicks has gone down and we have not been able to get on there (remember when that happened?) and we used the regular e-mail and that Spark People thing. Facebook would be easier during those times.

Ok, headed to bed ~ headache be gone

Take care

Mary, I’m glad you talked to your DH about the cooking problem. That’s the best thing you could have done. Definitely try the sea salt.

Rie, that’s a bummer about the fireworks. Our little town did a nice job. I’m unsure how they could afford it. Did you enjoy your strength training today? Thanks for doing my reps. I did way too much aerobics so you can have half of it. We hiked, I ellipticalled, we swam and we biked. I can honestly say I’m tired. I’d have been bummed too if I missed the baby colts. Baby animals are breath taking.

Bobbi, like your baby, two of my huskies are terrified of thunder. They never were until about 2 years ago. We’re guessing lightening struck very close by, maybe the chain link fence. I feel so sorry for Kody, the one most scared.

Koala, I probably am too harsh about American customer service, aka helpfulness from one person to another. The town I live in is notorious for the nastiness to everyone but those inbred here. OK, I’m being nasty again although not much of an exaggeration. With the economy, customer service can be hard to find. But alas, on Sunday and today, the baristas at the Starbucks I went to were incredibly nice. BTW, I live smack dab between Portland and San Francisco except about 60 miles east. And your kitty pics are so cute.

Zoe, great news that you had a fun, relaxing 4th and ignored any thoughts of work. As a plus, you’re a day closer to retirement. BTW, I was lazy at 25 years old. Still loved skiing, rollerblading and the such but nearly croaked when I do it since I was so pathetically out of shape. I do appreciate being mistaken as 25 though. Too bad the body doesn’t recover like when it was 25 (and fat).
NCNancy, I LOVE your dining room and the wood deer. Bambi eats all my landscaping. I could send you a herd to keep the wooden one company. I bet our deer would love NC. BTW, not only are your tomato plants growing tomatoes, they’re starting to ripen.

Lynn, sounds like you have a busy week. Good luck with the AC people. Perhaps you could suggest they fix it right this time???

Donna, I’d never consider traveling lucky. Military rarely moved us and my parents have their roots cemented in MN. Skiing and beaches are the reason to travel in my view and hardly at that. I hate being away from my dogs. I cry on the way to the airport and start a countdown until I can come home again. Why I end up traveling so much, I have no idea. I can say I do not have one trip scheduled except the SF for my 50th b-day. If I could, I’d be staying here but DD thinks we need to roller coaster to mark the half century.

KarenFL I hope you’re doing better this evening. Don’t take a chance – go to the ER if you need to. We want you better.

KarenMO, I like the idea of a group so it’s private. It sounds most what we’re looking for. What happened with your buyers that were talking to bankers?

Rosey, oh my gosh, I’m in love with your puppy of destruction. Those 3# will budge soon.

Highlights of the day: Morning iced mocha sitting by the peaceful pool – need the umbrella and a BAT is hanging in it when I opened it. It actually was sort of cute but DH was brought in to chase it away. Later, I lightly rang my bike bell as I passed 2 walkers pushing a stroller with 2 dogs. The b!tch starting yelling about all the annoying bells (they are for HER safety so I don’t plow her over or startle her when I passed). The evil Marie came out and started playing the bell non-stop as I pedaled away. DD gave her the finger and I told her my method was saying the same thing. I must admit I had fun. Later when I saw her, I did not use the bell though it was sorely tempting. She’d been the instigator in our first clash and I couldn’t sink that low. The good Marie had returned. DH, DD and DGS are watching Harry Potter 6 and I refuse. So I get to play here. Not bad!
Marie

Oh My Marie! LOLROF That was so funny.

Hello GGs

I've got a work seminar today and tomorrow which is a nice change of pace from my usual frenetic work day Of course, morning and afternoon tea and lunch are provided, so a few challenges eating wise for me today. I think I made OK choices for lunch - a small piece of frittata with salad, but I did cave and have a couple of small squares of cake for afternoon tea. I think my brain needed a sugar hit after a long day of intently listening to the very interesting presentations and participating in the discussions. I guess not so long ago I would have not been as mindful about my food choices, so I'm not going to beat myself up too much for a little stumble. I had another run-in with the wii today - for some of the exercises the wii tells me I'm unbalanced, yet I get a good score for the yoga poses The kittehs had a nice walkies - they had a lot of fun running to and fro on the reserve and climbing trees. Thank you for more welcomes, and compliments on the kittens - as you can tell, I'm a very proud kittehmummy =^.^= =^.^=

Bobbi - we must have been posting at the same time - oops! I haven't heard of Celtic Salt. I rarely use salt, but if I do I use Himalayan salt. It's a very pretty pale pink colour, and the guy at the growers' market convinced me of its healthy properties. Are you able to get that in the US? Hope your DH went OK at the chiro.

Z - sounds like your family day at the lake was good for your soul. I'm so pleased that you negotiated an outcome that you can live with at your work.

Rie - wow - great effort on the exercising! LOL that you and Marie outsource the parts of your exercise routines you don't much like! Glad you recovered from your migraine quickly, horrible while it's happening however. I hear you on the eating normally, but I've got a lot of weight to shed, so I decided to be pretty strict for the first few weeks to quickly set free a few kilos and get some positive reinforcement. Then, I'll have to face the fact I'm in this for the long haul and I will have to break my bad habits and develop a long term eating style that keeps me healthy.

NCNancy - it would have been beautiful seeing the fireworks across the water with all the reflections. I started walking the kittens when they were a few months old - they have been fine with the harness and lead (leash) from the start. Taking them for a walk is a compromise between my peace of mind and their peace of mind - I can't bear the thought of them being outside unsupervised and something untoward happening, and they love love love being outside, hence our daily walk! Your home looks very cosy, and the deer is soooo cute!

Lynn - sounds like you are busy busy busy! Hope all goes well with the ultrasound and the aircon repairs. I'm very envious of the Shakespeare Festival - it seems ages since I've seen any live theatre. Must do something about that ...

Donna - sorry to hear your sleep was disturbed - quite apart from the noise, there's always the nagging worry that a fire might start and any thoughts of relaxing fly out the window. Sometimes people are just thoughtless. I agree, the carbo-blahs are no fun. Luckily I really enjoy vegies, salads and fruit, and it's no great hardship to go easy on the high starch foods - especially when I know that it will all end badly if I don't restrain myself

Karen3 - sounds like you are doing it tough at the moment. Keeping you in my thoughts and wishing you a speedy recovery.

Karen31 - thanks for finding out all the information for a FB page. I'm a bit of a nut about privacy on the interwebs, so I vote for the most private secure option.

Rosey - Sadie and Daisy are adorable! Maybe just a teensy bit naughty to wreak such havoc in your house They bring you much joy, I'm sure. Good luck on kicking those 3 # to the kerb!

Maryrea - hope you enjoyed your perfect day in paradise! Also hope your DH's cooking is tasty for you

Tea Granny - I like your mantra, I might take it up too!

Gayle - hope your headache didn't last too long.

Marie - you live in a gorgeous part of the world - stunning scenery. Sounds like people's attitudes are not so nice - don't they realise it takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown?? Good on you for ringing your bell as you passed the walkers - I've been startled out of my wits on a shared path being overtaken by a silent, fast, aggressive cyclist.

Cheers!

Good morning GG's,

Headache is better this am ~ I felt guilty whining about it when Bobbi has them every day. Bobbi ~ you're my hero

DH shared a cute story about Maddie last night. They go to the neighborhood pools now that they are open for the summer. They pack a lunch and spend most of the day there. They ride their bikes there ~ DH on a recumbent that is somewhat lower to the ground than a regular bike, and Maddie on her little two wheeler with training wheels. (We have these beautiful bike and hike paths here). By riding along with Maddie on that recumbent, DH is low enough to hold on to her handle bars when they cross the streets. Anyway ~ on their way home yesterday ~ they were almost home ~ Maddie got sleepy and was falling asleep pedaling her bicycle. All that fresh air I guess

Two days down ~ two to go.

Jason was able to get in to the dr for his ear yesterday. His ear was too swollen for the dr to be able to "vacuum" it out like they usually do, so he has to go back on a few days. They gave him a shot in the rear (antibiotic I think) ~ which he wasn't liking so much, but between that and pain medication he is feeling better.

Is sunny here this morning ~ and is to be up in the 100's again today.

Had an interesting thing for me this morning ~ I actually quit eating something ~ part of a peach I had cut up for breakfast ~ and put it away to finish for later. Now if it had been cake, cookies, ice cream, candy, pizza, chips ~ I might not have pulled that off.

Guess I'd better quit playing and finish getting ready for work.

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Take care

Good Morning! I created a group for us on Facebook this morning... it is under 3FC Golden Girls----the members I have added so far are the ones that already have a FB account that I could find. They are--KarenFL, Nancy, Freda, Phyllis, Rosie, Lyn, Gayle and Donna. I set it up for the most privacy which is SECRET : Only members see the group, who's in it, and what members post. Let me know if you think this will work or if you think the name needs to change.. I thought that I would make it easy for us to find.

Marie, I haven't heard anymore about the people that were talking to a banker... I kind of figure with the 4th of July it might be sometime this week--or not! But I think if something hasn't happened by the end of the month we will take it off the market..Which will be fine too.

Got to get busy----

Morning,

Pushed myself to go for a walk last night. It was a bit warm and I was really beat when I was finished. Just under a mile but it was my best effort. This morning I woke up with a severe headache. I think I got dehydrated. It is letting up a bit now. I did my Wii walk this morning. Not feeling the best today for some reason so that may be it. Oh, and last night I had a banana bar with ice cream on top. Hubby offered it and I said yes without even thinking. I wasn't even hungry. I need to be better prepared in the evenings!

Rie, I have it set to "SECRET" so only members of the group can see anything on it at all! I don't have it set up that I would have to approve the members but I can do it that way too if you think I should. Right now I added the members that were on facebook that are friends of mine too, my facebook is: http://facebook.com/KarenSwaine.

We may need to do some tweaks to it as we learn a little more. Let me know if you have any suggestions at all.

Back. At work, yes. Busy? Not so much. Stuff to do, but no impending deadlines to worry overmuch about, and not so motivated. Supposed to get VERY hot – 90’s – here today, with quite high humidity. It was bad enough yesterday, in the high 80’s, so I’m not thinking I’m going to like going outside today…well, I WOULD like it if I was on the beach, but that’s not happening. Dh drove me to work today so that he could use my car – his is in the shop – and he was floored at the length of my commute. HELLO. He hasn’t been to my offices since we moved out of Boston a year and a half ago. No reason for him to. Today is very unusual – normally, if his car needed repairing or anything that would take more than a day he would rent a car, but this time he’s feeling frugal – and I suppose he’s right. We have an inordinate amount of extra expenses this year, what with my daughter’s new baby coming in August (just had the shower), and now a bridal shower for son and his fiancée, then the wedding, plus the regular birthdays (ds, dd2, dh, dd3, sil, all within a few months of each other this summer) and the grandkiddo’s field trips – a whale-watching cruise is on the calendar for August, and that will cost a couple of hundred dollars+ just for the cruise on top of overnight at a bed & breakfast and meals. And the beat goes on…anyhoo…yeah, I DO have a long commute, and dh’s surprise kind of took ME by surprise. I’ll certainly expect extreme deference from now on in how I am treated when I get home from work. Oh – he’s already very accommodating, but perhaps now he’ll be even more so. I hope I can stand it….I do so hate being fussed over, but bringing me my iced tea and such is perfectly acceptable.
So, yeah. I like the ultra-private FB option. I’ll go ahead and open a FB account, and then what? How do I get access to our group, KarenMo? Instructions, please?
Glad your headache is better, Gayle. I always wonder how our Bobbi gets as much done as she does with those constant headaches of hers…I’d want to just stay in bed with the blinds down and the covers pulled up over my head. I’m not very good at suffering in silence or “pushing through the pain”…cute about Maddie falling asleep on her bike; now that’s genuine tired, isn’t it? Good kind of tired from an active and fun day!
You know, Marie, reading your posts – and a lot of the others – makes me feel like the only thing holding me back from learning to enjoy exercising is my own bad attitude. And I know that the more I do, the more I’ll be able to do. I’m getting ready, I think, to experience an epiphany – and what you have to say is, I think, pushing me more and more in that direction. I’m not entirely sure that I’ll be taking any 20 mile bicycle rides, but I’m sure I could manage 5 (I already have a few times without crippling myself for life… ) and I bet I could work my way up to 10 if I put my mind to it. Yes, I can feel it….I’m leaning more and more towards doing it…
Oh, Rie…baby colts! How lovely, and I am sorry that you didn’t get to see them, but surely you’ll have another opportunity? Baby animals of any variety are so appealing, aren’t they? They must bring out the maternal instinct in all of us, no matter what they are. Hmmm. Okay, maybe not baby bugs so much, although I have always called my grandkiddos little “baby bugs”…go figure.
Koala, I like that you're on the other side of the globe and often post while we are sleeping. I love waking up to a new post from you.
Oh, I hope you’re doing okay, KarenFla. Be sure to check in with us, please?
BBL,
Z

Bobbi--I tried to find you and couldn't-- If you go to my page you should see the link there I think/

Zoe- Go to my page after you have set up your account and the link should be there. I know Nancy has already posted on the 3FC Golden Girls group. Maybe she has some more info too. I'm kind of stumbling along trying to make sure that I have done it right

I tried to find you again Bobbi--what name did you use?
Zoe, let me know when you are set up and I will add you to the group too