I hope I didn't come across as being ANTI-guns because I am not. I believe that all mentally safe, non-criminal adult citizens should have a right to bear arms to protect themselves, their families and property. But I didn't grow up around guns and am not comfortable knowing one is around for fear of them being wrongly used or getting into the wrong hands. Today however, I did ask my dh where the gun and bullets were and sure enough they were not (to me) in a safe place. So I insisted that he hide them better although still within fairly easy reach if he really needed it. The bullets are in a separate place but not far from the unloaded gun. I hope that is the way to do it. I think it is safe from the small grandchildren. When our older gs comes to visit, I may ask him to move it somewhere he isn't at all likely to find it. I know nothing about the safe procedure for a gun. I do know that dh knows how to shoot and I don't think he would be impulsive with it.

I am not anti gun but have in my past profession been stalked by a few folks who did not like me much lol. One especially, carried a perfectly legal unconcealed rifle around town and that did indeed put a perspective for me on the topic of gun control.

I have nothing but respect for those who use guns to subsist hunt or for protection or recreational target or skeet shooting in a safe manner, although personally I would do none of those things for various reasons.

Concealed weapons, though, I think should be not allowed other than those who use them professionally, like a police detective, etc.

Had to jump in on such an interesting topic, tiptoes out again.

Amara, although I forgot to mention it, I too believe people (mentally stable, non-criminal types) should be able to have guns to hunt and I also tend to agree with you on concealed weapons. If this gun were taken out of the house I guess it would be a concealed weapon, but we don't plan to do that (as far as I know!) and my dh would have to get a permit for it if he does. I hope he doesn't.

I feel if someone wants to keep a gun and uses it properly it's their choice.But me I'm afraid of them.

Good Morning! Getting ready for church but I just had to do a little "bragging" on my little sister... She and her hubby got their first trophy last night and it was Best In Show! They left here on Thursday and did a Hot Rod Power Tour and drove in yesterday from Dallas, then did this car show here. Gosh I think I was as excited as they were!!

Be back later to try to catch up.. everyone have a great day!

best in show? for a car, not a dog?

Morning Gals, or I should say afternoon. Today I'm going to do something I've never done before. DH will be with me but just watching. I'M GOING TO MOW THE LAWN!!!! Yes, that's right. I've never done that before. DH's surgery won't allow for lawn mowing for another few weeks so it's up to the "little woman" to fill the breech. Now, just to put things in perspective. He's never made homemade bread and I do every week.

Gotta go. My new endeavor calls....

We way overslept today...I think because dh didn't sleep well then over slept and I often depend on him to get me up as I get my best sleep in early morning. So we missed church. I will listen online but it's not the same. It is a beautiful day..the sun is shining. My yellow roses should be out soon...looking forward to seeing them as I've never had yellow before. Think it could be today or this week at least.

Isabella - When dh broke his leg I hadn't mowed the lawn in more than 30years and never did mow it often. Only when dh was deployed and I actually had to. When they were older, I made the kids do it. Dh was there this time to instruct me at least and with the newer type mower it was actually easier. Really wore me out taking care of our big yard but I actually enjoyed it and it made me feel more confident about what I can do. You can do it!!

Nothing much going on here but just wanted to say Good Sunday to everyone!

Good evening, all! Had to chime in to say that I am going to do all my own yard work from here on out, including the weedeating, which is the equivalent of mowing the lawn in these parts for most of us with natural desert lawns (which mostly in my case means dirt and weeds lol).

I used to do it but a lot happened and have hired people for years but for one reason and another have decided to do it myself. Happily it is not time for weedeating right now as it is heating up out there.

Isabella, hope you had fun doing the mowing. Wish I knew how to make homemade bread like you do. Huzzah!

Maryea, your yellow roses sound lovely. Enjoy!

Have a great week everyone!

I am getting alot out of the books...100 Days of Weightloss and If I'm So Smart Why Can't I Lose Weight?!! It seems like they complement each other although by different authors.

The 100 Days is mainly motivational (so far), but the other one is more informative and gives you basic tools for how to listen to your body. So far I recommend these books. I read one chapter a day of each. I cannot type all the info but I am paraphrasing some of it in the chapters I read today.

100 Days was about doing what you need to do to keep to your eating/exercise plan regardless how you feel. That's the big difference between being interested in losing weight and being committed.

The other book teaches you how to recognize your body's "whisper" of hunger before it becomes a scream and when to stop eating..when satisfied and light but not stuffed and bloated. It gives you the below structure to help you learn this but says some won't need it. While much of what she says about the hunger scale I've heard before, the way she explains it makes more sense to me than what I've read before. I can't type it all but here are the very basics. I think most of you know the hunger scale where -10 is starved, 0 is neutral and +10 is stuffed. She says to be sure to eat when you are -2 and stop eating at +2. Then she gives this structure to help you do this. She says some may need it and others not. While I do something similiar this opened my mind up to doing it better.

1. Eat 6 small meals almost every 3 hours (2 can be high-grade nutrition bars/shakes).
2. Eat a serving of fuel carbs and a serv of fuel protein at each meal.
3. Make sure at least 3 of the meals have a serv of vegetable.
4. A serving size is the size of your fist (actual size of stomach)
5. Drink an 8 oz bottle of water every 2 hours.

I am going to try to follow this as some of this I have not been doing. The vegetables at THREE meals is hard for me! She says if you follow this most people will automatically stay about +2 on the hunger scale not to hungry, not too full.

She says even when you are keeping to +2 you will at times want to eat and not to panic about it. Anytime you want to eat food when you are not physically hungry is an opportunity to learn something. She says her clients find it helpful to categorize their eating so they can evaluate and understand when they are not eating for their body's nourishment. Sometimes we want to eat for fuel and sometimes for enjoyment (yes!!). She suggests categorizing food into 4 different types. Fuel eating, joy eating, fog eating and storm eating. Fuel eating is eating for good nutrition and she recommends the book by Bill Phillips..Eating For Life as it is based on 6 meals a day. She also recommends any good healthy eating plan...WW, Body for Life, e-diets as guides, but not any diet that severely restructs calories or disconnects you from your body (you don't listen to that whisper). Fuel eating should be 90% of your diet so you will feel energized, healthy and light most of the time. Besides meeting the -2 to +2 requirement, and the 90% requirement, it must be food your body wants and needs. And how much of this fuel food you need must depend on what your body is saying. Trust your body when it comes to how much you eat. Also: Eating too much processed food and simple carbs can alter the natural communication of the hunger scale. High sugar foods cause a spike followed by a dip in bs which will send you a false hunger signal. Eating simple carbs with a serving of protein will alliviate this issue.

So some of this I know but the way she explains it does help me understand better and also I like her tips. I can see that I often don't eat right for healthy weightloss. I think I am keeping myself at that -2 to +2 range MOST of the time but not always. I used to eat a lot of veggies, but I am definitely not eating enough of them these days. I think I get plenty protein but often get too much fat. Overall I think I'm going to learn a lot from these books and I HOPE I put it into action. I think as she describes that over-dieting has actually in some ways made me a worse eater than I was before!! However I do not overeat nearly as much as I used to so that has been a good thing I've learned from diets. I also learned from my diabetic teaching to always have a protein along with high carb foods. So dieting for me has been both good and bad. This time around I want to learn all I can about eating healthy long-term as everytime I diet I gain it back quicker and it's harder to lose. It has to be something I can stick with for the rest of my life.

ETA: Forgot about Fog Eating...this is eating unconsiously, like reaching for popcorn or something at work or while watching TV or when on the run. See this as a waste of your life and reconnect and pay attention.

Storm Eating is when you aren't hungry, know that you are doing it, and feel unable to stop even though you want to. It's like binge eating. She calls it storm eating because all storms end. (I like that!). It is usually caused by depriving yourself and passing up too many forbidden foods. When you fuel your body regularly and allow some joy eating (up to 10% a day if you want), usually storm eating disappears. When you are in a storm eat and feel you can't stop...stop and see what happens! Storm eating may be brought on by intense emotion that feels out of control. The important thing is to remember iln a storm is NOT TO JUDGE YOURSELF. Every storm is caused by a good reason. Be kind to yourself and find out what's going on. Try to observe yourself to understand why you are doing what you are doing. Rememer the damage during the storm is not the amount of food you eat, it is the damage of disconnecting from your body, filling it up past what it is requesting and then beating yourself up for doing it. (I can SO relate!). Be kind and gentle with yourself. It's a learning situation. After a storm wait until you are hungry then eat your fuel food again. This may take a while after a storm. Be patient and trust your body to let you know.

For fog eating, make a list of foods you normally fog eat. Is there a common time or place where you are likely to fog out?
For storm eating: write a description of the last time you storm ate. What triggered it, How did you feel afterward?

Waste some food. Try to buy only what you will eat but don't overeat just cause it's there. Consider the reasons behind your fear of wasting food. They can be deeply rooted. In our excess food culture some food will be wasted. (I never thought of it that way!). When you eat food your body does not require for fuel, you are wasting it...attaching a doggie bag of fat to your hips. (Wow, that makes me think!). She then repeats what we already know...track your food, a food journal is a powerful tool to keeping you awake and connected. Marie has helped me realize how important a tool it is and it is really helping me.

I hope I am not boring you all with this but I think a lot of us can learn from it. ETA: Let me know if you don't want to hear this stuff, I won't be offended but just want to help. I need to learn these things as much as anyone.

Mary, those books sound very good and I appreciate you taking the time to type it all out to share.. I am going to print out this for my own self and also share it with my sister.. Thanks so much... I may have to find these books for myself now!

I am one who believes that when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. I have shot guns in the past, but I don't like the shooting range the guys go to so I haven't shot enough to be considered experienced. Before DH had his carry permit, he could take his gun to the range but it had to be unloaded and in plain sight. He had it in a case on the seat of the car. I don't think you need to have a permit for the guns you keep in your house. The laws probably vary by state.

Maryea - Those books you are reading sound good. They are the type of "diet books" I like. I don't like the ones that tell you to eat this and eat that, but more the ones that explain the how and why of it all.

Isabella - I have cut grass once in my life. We used to have a big flat yard and I told DH I wanted to cut the grass, so he let me, but watched me like a hawk. I was so much younger then. Now we have some little hills in our yard and I wouldn't want to attempt to cut it. I would have to hire someone else to do it, just like your DH would have to go to the bakery to buy his bread. LOL There for a while DH bought a new lawnmower every year for 5 years straight. He kept seeing a different one he wanted. One he sold to the neighbor, another he sold to his brother, and another he gave to his son. He would buy them and then see something else he liked better. Finally I put my foot down and told him "Find the one you like and be done with it!" He told me he wanted self propelled and if he fell over with a heart attack from pushing the push mower it would be my fault. So he bought a self-propelled. It ended up to be front wheel drive and he wanted rear wheel drive so he had to sell that one and buy a rear wheel drive. Now he's had that one for about 5 years, and no more buying new ones each year. If we are shopping and he stops to look at them I just grab his arm and drag him away.

Karen3 - When I had my heart bypass surgery in 2008 they were prepared to replace my leaky valve with a bovine valve if necessary, but after they got in there they said it didn't need it yet. They said for my age I could get either one but I didn't want the mechanical one. I think they wanted me to wait as long as I could to get a new valve because they don't last that long and they don't know how long I'm going to live. I wouldn't want to do that twice. I'm hoping that by the time I need it they will be able to do it laproscopically. My step-son has a mechanical valve. He was 42 and had no choice. They don't really know what happened to his valve. It was because he has to get a complete physical at work every year that they caught the problem, otherwise he would have been much worse off. He had no symptoms.

Maryea, thank you for taking the time to post info from the books. This is very interesting reading.

Good morning to all! Woot! I am off to walk and then work!

Good morning GG’s,

Two days down, one more to go. Off tomorrow ~ need to go back to the dentist. The temporary crown they put on, has a rough spot on the top and is raggy feeling along the side at the gum line. My tongue feels sore from it. I have been eating soft stuff, because chewing (even if I don’t do it on that side) hurts my tongue. Talking hurts my tongue. My DH probably likes the less talking part ~ LOL. Diet wise, I should probably put up with it until the permamant crown is ready ~ and hopefully the discomfort would help me eat less. Not very realistic. And stupid head games ~ as I was trying to think of soft things to eat and headed to get some pudding, passed a display of snack cake things ~ Twinkies ~ my head thought ~ Twinkies are soft ~ and I listened to it and had a couple.

I was dreaming this morning. Dreaming I heard the alarm going off ~ grrrr ~ bad enough to hear it for real, but to have to hear it while dreaming…….It seems like I dream (or remember my dreams that I have) right before I wake up. I don’t like dreaming. I wish they were “sweet” dreams like people wish you when you go to sleep. I don’t think I can remember ever having a nice/pleasant dream. They aren’t night mares, but are unsettling or weird. I would just as soon not have to be bothered with that. I don’t understand either ~ I thought I had heard or read that dreams happen during your deep sleep, so I sort of thought dreams would be a good thing then ~ kind of a signal that you were in a good deep sleep.

Mary ~ thank you for sharing what you have been reading ~ it is helpful.

Hello to everyone else ~ I’ll be back later and hopefully get to the personals.

Hope you all have a good day.

Take care