Good morning gals. Boy, I am tired of Fortune's antics so I am going to start picking up his food and water around 3 pm and try and get him on a schedule so he doesn't need to go out at night. I have been noticing he is drinking a lot and eating around 4 pm so no wonder he wants to go out in the middle of the night.


I finished a project. I am being mysterious because it is for a friend who lurks here and doesn't post so I don't want them to know what I made them. As soon as I give it to them, I will post a pic. It turned out really well I think, but I am glad I am done with it and can go on to more stuff.

I am getting the pillow forms and yarn today for the wedding present as well as get my hair cut, get color for it and get some lunch. We are going out to eat, but I have it figured into my points so no problem there.

I got my book club stuff and thought this cookbook looked interesting. It got 5 out of 6 stars from the readers. All said the recipes tasted great.

Susan: Glad you got your install done. I look like a science experiment gone wrong. I have an incision from navel to you know where and on the left side a big puckered scar from where the ostomy bag was. On top of that, he took part of the staples out early to let it drain and so I have a deep crevice about halfway down on the scar when it caved in and heeled. Ahh well, a good swimsuit will cover it anyway. I think I just have to make sure I don't lose too much weight because I need to take into account the skin will weigh about 10-15 lbs probably so need to keep my weight including that. I want to be at about 145-150 so I think 160 would be a good goal weight for me. I am not short, 5'7" and am a big boned gal anyway so I can carry more weight.

Thomas is going to meet Jay and Alicia and Jackson in Washington DC soon, not sure of exactly when they are going. I know he has to be excited about riding on an airplane by himself and then touring the nation's capital. I think they are still going to China in July so he will have a busy busy summer vacation. He has scouting activities all summer too and usually has a piano recital but they may not have one until fall this year. His mom called me yesterday and asked me his birthday budget and I told her. She said everything he wants is expensive. I told her no surprise he is growing up. So it looks like we are going to buy him a Nintentdo DSI for his birthday. He has a DS and another handheld game system along with Wii, Playstation and something else at home. He is the video king, but considering he gets straight A's in school it is obviously never a problem. Besides, his parents make sure the schoolwork and instrument practicing are done first.

I bought Jackson the cutest electric riding toy. It is like a little atv and the "hood" opens up and he can put stuff in it besides he has a cup drink holder. The nice thing is no brakes etc to deal with. He pushes a button to go and releases it and it stops. He will drive his parents mad running around the back yard. He has a push style car that he loves so I am just upgrading him to a newer model. I just wish everyone's birthday's and anniversaries weren't over the next two months. I have Thomas, Jackson, Alicia, Tom and Tom and Kelly's anniversary between now and August and then my sister's anniversary is August 4. She may just get a card this year.

Well, I need to go shower and get dressed. I have had my banana nut cheerios and need to get out and about soon. Have a wonderful weekend all. We have commissary tomorrow...UGH!
Faye

Good evening, ladies! It was cloudy this morning but the sun game out this afternoon -- and the humidity is high. Sigh!

Faye, we'll be the first contestants on that new reality show - Show Those Scars! The boys are lucky to have you be a their grandma! It's time for a haircut for me, too. The bangs are in my eyes.

I had a busy day doing nothing. I went to the Chiropractor this morning then went to Big Lots and Ollie's Outlet and Wright - just to see what the bargains were. Bought a couple of books but that's all. Then I went to lunch and finally to the dentist. Three hours later I had to new temporary crowns. Just as I came in the door from there, my friend called and wanted to go to dinner so I met her. Second bite, one crown came off. Friday night - no dentist until Monday. I went to the drugstore and found some stuff to stick it back on. I'm not getting the permanent ones until June 25. My crowns are extra work because one anchors my bridge. Dentist has OCD, I think, he didn't like any of the standard colors so next Friday I have to go to the dental lab so they can custom mix the color. One thing I know, the permanent one will never come off. He does really good work.

Well, I'm watching "Walk The Line" so that's it for tonight.

Good Evening, Flowers! I don't know what I did but have a stiff sore knee. I have felt a "twinge" during the night, off and on, when I get up to go to the bathroom and figured I was getting a charlie horse, so didn't pay any attention to it. Yesterday morning it was a little more sore and by the time I got home from school it was really sore. I spent from 1 until about 11 in the recliner with ice packs on it. It feels better today but I still know it is sore if I bend it too far. We took the boat up to the lake this afternoon. Jason and the kids met us so he could help Bob get the canopy on the boat hoist. It was a beautiful day with no wind so took a long boat ride to the other end of the lake and had supper at a restaurant where you park your boat and eat on the deck watching boats come and go under the highway. All the fresh air made me tired!

"Gma" -- Does the school district do a monthly newsletter that tells activities, etc., going on in the different grade levels? We do and they advertise for volunteers there. I'm surprised T's school doesn't ask for volunteers at registration. I know the boys will enjoy their birthday gifts! I want a Wii game and Bob thinks I have scrambled marbles for brains! Then he says I can have anything I want, but I can't hook it up to the big TV! Men!

Maggie -- There are no cabins around Storm Lake. It is all private homes and farm land on the south side which is owned by a banker who will never ever sell the land to be developed. There are two campgrounds on the east side of the lake and they are pretty full during the summer months. There was a construction company who was going to build condos close to the waterpark/campground area but went bankrupt. Now it is a major eyesore there because they had started construction when it was shut down. Bob is not going to retire any time soon. I keep telling him he can't retire until he has a part-time job lined up. Actually, he would like to keep selling Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Federal Crop, then let the rest go.

Susan -- I just gave a bunch of weight loss strategy books to the Relay for Life garage sale. Some I had read and some I hadn't. I'm glad you got the computer up and running. I'm sorry about your crown! I hope whatever you found will hold it in place until you get the permanent one.

I am heading off to bed. Have a nice weekend!

Jean -- from Iowa!

Good morning everyone. Today is commissary day so you know i am looking forward to that. Actually, since they remodeled the store it is not so bad. The aisles are wider and they are carrying more stuff too. I just want to get it over with. I don't really enjoy grocery shopping.

Jack has to get the oil changed in the car so we are dropping it off at Firestone before we head off to the commissary. We have 2 coupons one for $20 off a $30 purchase and the other is a survey I did and it is $10 off a $25 purchase. Since they put in oil for a high mileage car, it is more expensive so I imagine he will get to use the $20 coupon.

I ordered the baby's riding toy so it should get to him the week of his birthday sometime. It won't leave the warehouse until next week, but I did save a bundle on it. They had a sale that ended today and the regular price of $130 they cut back to $60. Of course when they add in the delivery charge and the tax it was $83. Too bad I can't get a deal like that for Thomas's birthday but the price is firm everywhere.

Susan: We went out to Olive Garden last night and Jack had salad and had his dressing on the side and I had the Pasta Fagoli soup then he had angel hair with marinara and I had the fettucine with marinara so we both stayed within points. Jack did look longingly at the next table at the chocolate cheesecake, but I brought him home and gave him one of my strawberry shortcake skinny cow ice cream sandwiches and he was ok then! Unfortunately, he loved them so I imagine I am not going to get many of them! Wonder what we would get for a prize? Of course, if Jack competed against us he would probably win. He has a scar throat to navel and then 4 puncture looking holes where they had tubes comin out of him after his surgery. He sort of looks like a morris code! The nut took off his shirt after coming home from dinner as he got some flecks of sauce on it and as I was spraying Shout on it he said, want to see how much weight I have lost and proceeds to pull his jeans down off his hips with the belt still buckled and them zipped up and buttoned. I don't think he thought it would come off like it has and he is pleased as punch. We both are. Enough stuff about that. Did you enjoy "Walk the Line?" I thought it was ok, but I guess I didn't feel either of them were right for the part. For one thing, Reese is not southern enough. June Carter was very hillbilly south speaking and not gentle drawl like Reese has. Jack and I have always been fans of his though so the movie was interesting. I have been wanting to go to the movies again but can't decide what to see. There are a couple movies. The Matthew McConahey one where he is a womanizer and all his prior girlfriends come back and haunt him like in The Christmas Carol looks funny. Angels and Demons looks good, but I didn't care for the first movie when it came out on DVD. We are anxiously waiting for the next Harry Potter movie which comes out in July.

Jean: Hope your knee is feeling better. You didn't by any chance get bit by a spider did you? I know that has happened to me and it is enough to cause a sore stiffness. We need those knees so hope it has loosened up for you. Do you guys have a motorboat or those pontoon style? I rode in one of those pontoon ones when we were in California several years ago and it was so nice to be out in a boat but not getting sunburned.

I guess I better get myself some breakfast then get upstairs and make the bed and shower and dress. It is going to be another hot one here and I think we are going to take Fortune out for a ride in the car today and a walk down by the river.

Have a wonderful Saturday. Faye

Good Morning, Flowers! It's a bright sunny day here but the breeze is pretty "stiff". I am feeling sad! My "mom" called this morning, as usual. My AZ "sister" that has the tumor in/on the liver hadn't been feeling well so went for her regular bloodwork and then an appt. with her doctor. He ordered a CT scan which shows that there is cancer in the stomach cavity, and there is nothing they can do about that. The size of the tumor had not changed at all and the doctor said it was highly unusual for this type of cancer to leave the tumor site. She still wants to come back for our week in MN, but will see how things go. She was in the hospital last summer so didn't get to come. Needless to say, my "mom" is a wreck.

On another "sad" note -- Beth called and Will has been laid off. His boss said they would call him back as soon as business picked up. I'm not sure what he "made," but he is/was a machinist making "something" that was going to Iraq for the military.

I've had 4 phone calls, this morning, asking how retirement feels. I have to admit it doesn't feel any different than the usual end of the school year. I'm sure it will become a reality in August when the workshop days begin.

"Gma" -- I hope the commissary trip went smoothly. I need to make a WM and a grocery run this afternoon and dread both. My knee is better but can tell it is sore if I try to bend it too far. I don't think I have any spider bites although I have seen a few spiders around. We seem to get more than our share because of the lake. Our boat isn't a pontoon -- just a boat the kids can ski behind. It has an open bow, some bells and whistles like a CD player, hidden coolers, etc., that really aren't necessary because we don't spend all day out on the lake. Around here people call pontoons "party barges" -- I would like to trade ours in, but would have to invest in a new hoist and that makes no sense since we had to go larger with this boat we have now. As the kids grow I think we will need more room if everyone wants to go out at the the same time, which is most of the time.

I have a load of laundry that is done, and I should be thinking of something for lunch. Have a nice day!

Jean -- from Iowa!

Surprise! I am here. Typing. Posting.

It's been awhile I know. What with the new job, getting used to going back to work, traveling a long commute each day...well, I've been tired! I'm starting to have more of the good days than the bad ones so that's progress. Do I like my job? Not sure...really. But the paycheck is needed right now...so this is the right thing to do. For now.

I haven't been dieting. However, my weight has gone down and I'm down a size in pants. Found that out this morning when I shopped at Kohl's so that was permission (in my head) enough to buy something new. I have become very very frugal in the past two years. But I could not resist. I have been eating three meals a day. No snacks at night when I come home. Here is my eating pattern...may be something to this:

Breakfast: cheerios, fat-free milk, coffee, no sugar, no creamer
Morning Break: grapes
Lunch: mini bagel sandwich (lean ham, 2% lf swiss cheese, mustard on a mini bagel), 100-cal pack of something crunchy, 100-cal pak of something sweet
Afternoon Break: more grapes
Dinner: whatever it is but one serving
And I drink a lot of water throughout the day. No soda.

I haven't been knitting. But knitting is waiting for me patiently to return to it. And I will.

I haven't been reading...much. Too tired.

I haven't been on the computer hardly any when I'm not working. At work I have TWO monitors...one for each eye I guess...but I cannot be surfing the web on company time. That hurts...but then again, I don't have time.

Maggie, we are having a cookout later today. The whole family is getting together. We are having some really good thick angus beef burgers. Corn on the cob. Baked beans. Yum. Thanks for sending me emails. Good for you for getting your focus back and the scale is going down. Wonderful!

Jean, happy retirement. Every day is a Saturday! Yes...at first it doesn't feel like retirment but when school starts up again and you're still home, then it will hit you, "Hey, I'm retired!" I'll be retired again one day...maybe next spring. I don't plan on working any longer than I have to--it's just the right thing to do...and sometimes doing the right thing is not always the easiest thing to do. Enjoy your retirement!! I'll say a prayer for your sister tonight before I go to sleep.

Donna Faye, love banana nut cheerios! So nice of you to knit something for one of your friends. You're a sweet lady. My cousins went to China and loved the trip.

Susan, I thought of you when I was in Williamsburg back in April. I was there with two of my cousins. We went outlet shopping and spent a lot of time in the Yankee Candle outlet store...which turns out not to be so much of outlet-like prices. Spent money in the Eddie Bauer outlet store though and then in the afternoon we walked and walked and walked some more in the historic district (which I have a zillion times). But while in the area I thought of you.

Wellllll....I just wanted to "pop" in and say hello to everyone!

Good evening, ladies! A beautiful day in the low 80s and no humidity. We ended up having a hailstorm in the night!

Today was clean the family room day. Took everything out and took all day to clean thoroughly. I moved the furniture back in, didn't like the arrangement, so moved things around some more, making room for my exercise bike. I'm done, but I'm tired so I ate a bowl of multigrain Cheerios and strawberries for supper.

I'll write something personal for each of you tomorrow. I'm going to head up the stairs and get in the shower and go to bed - early church tomorrow.

Good morning gals. Hope your Sunday is starting out well.
We did the commissary shopping to the tune of $306. They sure rip off us fatties that buy diet food. I don't mean the commissary I mean the manufacturers and grocers. I know that a lot of times they have to do special stuff or use special equipment they change out to make diet stuff but come on! It is like the manufacturers and sellers of clothes for large women use a yard more materal and charge $30 more for the same thing. Jack eats Lean Cuisine's etc during the week at lunch and you would think if they can sell the Banquet regular meals for anywhere from $1 to $2.00 they could sell the smaller ww and lean cuisine stuff for the same. WW is worse than Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice. At least it is here. They charge more for their stuff I noticed. You also pay about $1.00 more a bag for things like baked chips and such. Ahh well, it is what it is. I found some nice fresh cherries, beautiful fresh pineapple and melon. They had blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries, but I have most of those frozen so need to use them up first.

Jean: Oh, I am so sorry your knee is bothering you again. I can sure sympathize. I have trouble doing anything when my knee is messed up. It is hard to get into the suv, hard to bend, hard to sit down and get back up, hard to walk up stairs. I hope you can find out what is wrong with it. I am trying to find a cute pair of black sandals to have for this summer and next and the cruise. I found a pair at QVC last night but they had sold out in my size. I will probably go to Zappos and find something. I want to get a pair of Skechers, which make sneakers and they put their sneaker soles on sandals and make them more comfortable and easier to walk in and such. I have white, tan, lavender, beaded thong, brown thong and a sort of taupe suede pair I bought at least 5 years ago from Land's End and just love but want black. I want to buy a pair of their water shoes to wear when we go cruising to walk in the ocean. I don't like to walk in the ocean or lakes barefooted anymore. Gives me the creeps and Land's End has these cool water shoes that sort of look like sneakers you can wear on land and in water. I will get them next summer and wear them around to see how they are to walk in then if they are comfortable I can just wear them on any excursions and use them at the beach. We are planning on going to Magen's bay in St Thomas then do the shops and the site seeing so I need something I can walk around in. Jack keeps going on and on about how beautiful the water is. I may even talk him into snorkeling in St Maarten's. We are planning on doing an excursion where you get into the water with the dolphins. I have to live a little when I am at normal size since I haven't been able to for at least 25 years. It is just too bad it took me so long to finally get my mind in the right place to stick to something. Oh, poor Will and his family. I hope he can either find something new or they put him back to work real soon. The white house is finding out that it takes a long time to turn a country around and they are getting serious flack for basically lying about how the president's stimulus plan is working. I saw a news blurb about how they put out press releases about $$$$$$$$$ they spent to update housing stuff then the media discovered that the money they said they spent on upgrades like new water systems, toilets and such and bigger stuff like heating systems and such was already done before. HUD finally had to admit that instead of the whatever millions of $ the releases said they spent, the fact was they only got $44,000 for the project, that most of the stuff they said was replaced, had been replaced before the stimulus and that the millions was for ALL the projects. I just hate politicians!

Susan: I love cheerios of all kinds. I even eat them dry for breakfast. I have never been a fan of milk so why waste it. I get my dairy in cooking, and eating other dairy products. I bought some berry cheerios to try this time and some honey nut. I actually can't wait until I am able to do that sort of cleaning. For now, I have to be happy getting the basic cleaning jobs done. Hope you had a good rest last night. I ripped out Jackson's sweater and am starting over. I didn't like how they wanted to attach the sleeves on it. I think it would have looked icky with the hood and the hood didn't have anyway for it to stay on so it is no use for a toddler. I have the back almost redone now so it is coming along. I am still working on a pillow, a throw and will start T's sweater when I am done with Jackson's. I just like lots of projects I can switch around. Susan, have you done other sewing like clothing? Let me know if you have, I need a ? answered.

Maggie: I was talking to another grandma at the school last week who saw me knitting in the clinic. She said she is a knitter too (she looks more like the grandma in the rocking chair knitting that I do with the red spiky hair! ) I told her that I rarely do anything for myself and she said the same but sighed and frowned when she said it and left. Later I was talking with a teacher about basically the same thing and told her, I truly get great joy out of making stuff for other people rather than myself. I guess I have to admit though that I feel bad when I never see it worn by them. At least my dd tells me that T's sweater didin't fit if it didn't or she told me several months back that one of the first sweaters I ever knitted and never fit Thomas properly she gave to one of her friend's little girls and the girl wears it all the time. I mean, I have stuff I make that never turns out right like those stupid red striped stocking caps. They were way too big after I washed them so they will never get worn and that is ok, but when I make something that looks nice I like to see it worn unless it is something the wearer truly doesn't like. I did get to see a sweater I made for a friend for her birthday on her. Last time we were in Indiana we made a date for lunch and when we went to pick her up she had the sweater on. I laughed and said to her "Wow, it hasn't fallen apart on you?" She said no she loves it and wears it all the time. She had lost some weight so it fit her perfectly. I am sure there are some people who just don't like getting stuff that is made no matter how it is made.

Gail: Oooh it is great to see you in here. I know that when you are working and come home wiped out, sitting at the computer is the last thing you want to do. Just peek in from time to time and let us know what is going on with you. We miss you here! I know what you mean about reading. I will sit down and read and if I am tired, it just will not work. You end up reading the same thing over and over because you lost the train of thought or you fall asleep reading it.

Well, I am going to sit and read until Jack wakes up then we will make breakfast together. Now that Jack is losing weight he is participating in the cooking and he is funny about it when we shop.

Have a great day today! Faye

Good afternoon, ladies! It's been a lovely day.

I went to Mass and stopped at the grocery chair on the way home. Georgia peachs are in and 99 cents a pound. I had decided I wasn't getting any apples, pears, grapes or banana regularly until fall because it was time for the good summer fruits and berries. YUM! Had a load of laundry to do today and I went to the library to pick up a book on hold. I talked myself out of a Dairy Queen goodies so score one for me. I stopped and got some sugar free/fat free vanilla ice cream instead so I'll have a scoop tonight and feel virtuous.

Faye, I have made clothing. I have made winter coats, suits (even one for my dh), pants, dresses, blouses, shirts, curtains, drapes. I've been sewing since I was 7 years old. When I was at my heaviest, large sizes were practically nonexistant and very expensive. I had to make my clothes. I love to make things for other people, to. It is such a good feeling. Usually Kroger has either Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, or Smart Ones on sale. Smart Ones were 6 for $ 10 today. I like LC best. I often freeze leftovers from supper for lunches. I like to make a breakfast parfait with yogurt, Fiber One, and berries layered in a sundae class. Makes me feel decadant. I don't like sweetened cereals. I lost my sweet tooth a long time ago and don't want to encourage it to come back. Congratulations to you and Jack on the weight loss. You can do this - it's your turn to reach goal.

Jean, I hope your knee is getting better - no fun! I think you are right - you won't feel like you are retired until it's time to go back to school and you stay home. Now it's still like the same old routine. I put your sister and Will on the prayer chain this morning. I hope he gets back to work quickly. Unemployment is down in our area - lots of seasonal jobs. Even McDonalds pays $11 an hour here, with benefits.

Maggie, I wish we had a butcher like yours around here. I have both Hungry Girl cookbooks and make stuff a lot out of them. You'll like the smoothie section on the new one. Congratulations on getting your focus back and a great loss this week. I with they would standardize the size of clothing. It varies so much from one manufacturer to another. My size 14 Route 66 Jeans a pretty lose and I can almost fit a 12 but if I get Levis I have to get a 16. Guess which ones I buy.

Gail, It was great to see your post! Sorry you had to come out of retirement! I have 3 computers in my office - the one I use all the time, the server for our network, and a third I use when I am writing changes to the database program so I can debug before I put it on the server. Looks like you've found a good way to divide up you food since you are getting results!

Well, ladies, it's time to think about some dinner and start getting things ready for the work week. Have a good evening.

Good morning to you all! It is hot and sunny already this morning so I do hope they open the pool. I want to start working out in the pool to get my metabolism going. I can only do about 15 minutes on a treadmill but I can do an hour of exercising and swimming laps in a pool. Like Susan and her jeans, which do you think I prefer?

Susan: Ok, here's the thing. I am making a sweater for jackson that zips and I need to know how to go about buying the zipper. When I measure the front end to end, will that be the length I buy? On the other pattern it said what size to buy but this one says to buy the appropriate size. I will request further help once it is done and I am ready to put it in, ok? I appreciate the help as sewing is not my thing. Well to be honest, I haven't tried. My mother used to sew my projects in jr high for home ec. I know, I know, but I would make a royal mess and she would get mad and take over. I love summer fruits and veggies nothing better. Wouldn't it be nice to live somewhere you could get everything all year round and the cost wouldn't skyrocket?

Maggie: Nothing worse than a boring preacher. I want to learn something about the Bible when I am in church not listen to a drone. I have surely been to a bazillion churches both ways. Sounds like you had a good time with your friends after church. I miss our friends and lunches after church. I am trying to get involved in things to make new friends. I am actually making some friends with a couple teachers at T's school. One of them and I got along great and she would come in and visit during her lunch everytime I worked.

Jean: I have made a zillion things in cross-stitch, several givento my mother I never got back. I did get something I was most proud of when my mother-in-law died. It was a poem about "his mother." I have it hanging along my stairwell with her picture. I did do things for myself when I cross-stitched. I have several things still hanging up around my house. I can't cross stitch anymore unless I take out my contacts and don't wear my old glasses. That is the funny thing. Like I told Susan I can't sew a stitch on a machine, but I can handsew nicely. Wow your weather has sure been funky this year. Yes, I noticed that about clothing too. I usually wear an 8 but seems like I since they have made clothing smaller I have to buy a 26 or 28.... Heavens, I haven't worn an 8 since grade school! I work an 18 when we got married. I am setting my goal at a 14-16.

Well gals, I want to knit on Jackson's sweater. I would love to get it done and sent to him for his birthday instead of Christmas, but it is on the 10th so not likely. Thomas's is definitely a Christmas present. Can't whip his out that fast.

Have a great start to the week!
Faye