Hey everyone! Hope you all are doing great this am. Once again I snoozed the alarm so I did not exercise this morning. I plan to get in a walk either at lunch or after work. I need to go down to Jacques Torres chocolates to get a thank you gift for this weekend so that's a great excuse to do my hill walk, which I WILL do today. I really need to switch it up between my rebounded and walking.

I want to thank everyone for their kind words about my situation with my sitter. Debbie, something you wrote really hit home to me:
"I hope your guilt and self torture subsides. You have made a decision which is based on the present and your concern for giving adequate notice and allowing her to get on unemployment is very thoughtful. Take care!"

For one thing, that is exactly what I was doing to myself (guilt and self torture) but I told myself that it was rational. I needed that clarification from someone else that it is not. And, yes my decision is absolutely the right one for the present and this reminds me of something I heard about people who keep clutter in case they need those items "in the future": those kinds of thoughts send a message that what you need will not be available to you when you need it, whenever that will be. I need to take a deep breath and have a bit more faith. I am always second guessing.

Anyway, I tried to get in touch with my sitter yesterday, but her phone was not working. I'll try again today, but I'm prepared to give her a month's notice. I'll keep you all posted. Hope everyone has a great day!

Good morning Matilda and everyone.

Is it just me or is it a crazy spring for bad weather? Had the closest tornado touch down ever while at the gym yesterday but it was just a tiny one. The ones in Joplin and Sedalia Missouri were not all that far away. (Thanks for thinking of me, Rose.) And lots of hail this year. I've always been a bit complacent about it all, maybe since I did not grow up in Tornado Alley.

Nothing much happening here besides getting ready for our company and party. Today I think I'll start cleaning although a lot will have to be done the day before so it STAYS that way.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Ahhhhh, there's nothing better than starting the morning with a good cup of coffee.

Matilda ~ I'm glad you are at peace with your decision to let your sitter go, and you are being very kind and considerate to give her a month's notice. Have a nice walk today, and hold onto your willpower at the chocolate shop!

I'll be so glad when all the remodeling is finally done at the farm. Normally I can deal with it, but now it's getting old. I can dust, and 1/2 hour later there's another layer of dust. And the noise! Besides the sawing and hammering, they have a boom box blasting, and a portable generator that sounds like a jackhammer. And add to that, they decided to adopt a dog that had been abandoned, and the other dogs are very jealous. Oh, well, one day at a time.

On the homefront, my mother is doing very well and my oldest granddaughter may be moving back home at the end of June! And today is my Friday and my payday! Life is looking good.

Good morning, Karen! I've been thinking of you with all the tornadoes in your area, and glad you are safe!

Difficult situation, Matilda. I hope it get resolved for you today. I am in a somewhat similar one as Donna is no longer very reliable. Her husband, Ted, has cancer and she is having to spend a lot of time with him so she certainly has a good excuse. Unfortunately we have become friends so this one will be hard to resolve. Heaven forbid that I should have to learn to run the Dyson!

WaistingTime, I imagine it would be very terrifying living in Tornado Alley. Exactly where is that? I have a friend in Indiana who is going through a terrible power outage which happened just last night. The weather is getting pretty scary all over.

Cottage, I can certainly relate to the mess and dust plus the darned noise from the working lads. My "mudders" had the radio on all the time and yelled over it at each other. I've never known guys to talk so much. The poor dogs must be going nuts. Any idea how much longer the house will be in chaos? And C. is coming home! You must be ecstatic!

A big T-storm roared through last night so things are too wet for gardening out there. The veggie garden was just starting to improve too! The lads were able to cut the lawns this week but the dogs are bringing in bits of grass. Disney looks like she is wearing pale green ballet slippers! I guess the clippings should have been raked up. I need a slave! If it dries up later, I'll tackle the job.

Today will be a nose to the grindstone day as I have to prepare for an audit of the Mill accounts. Of course everything is correct but I am behind on some postings in one of the accounts. A couple of hours should do it but I'll put the phone on call answer. One of my major character flaws is procrastination although I did get the Christmas garlands off the porch and into the barn ... last week.

I hope everyone's Thursday is productive and has lots of sunny spots!

Good morning!

Matilda
Karen, you, Anne and cathydoe have been in my prayers a lot this week, with all this scary weather. Stay safe!
Linda I'm so glad to know that your mom is doing well.

I was up most of the night with breathing problems, so I'm staying home today to catch up on my sleep and let my poor raw throat rest. I love spring but my allergies and asthma always give me a run for my money this time of year! We're picking up my friend cathydoe and her husband at the airport on Saturday so I MUST be feeling better by then!

It's back to bed for me - enjoy your Thursday, friends.

Good morning The sun is out again. Not sure what that's about but it makes me crazy happy. Yesterday I spent the morning in back yards and it was lovely. More of the same today - over the mountain and visits.

Phase 1 is actually proving much more successful than I expected. Of course that means my eating was even worse than I acknowledged I am moving in the right direction again though and that's the important thing.

Have a good day friends!

Good Morning

I'm up and at 'em....again. I woke up at 1130 and when I couldn't get back to sleep I got all my rescue paperwork done. We have a full day so we're going to try and get the veggie starts planted before we go to the pool this morning. Rudi and I went out for a little walk here (which he didnt really enjoy) so we don't have to factor in driving time to his favorite spot. It's beautiful here...I think we are over the hump.

Matilda, glad to hear you're feeling better today. Thanks for getting us started!

Karen, I hope your project progress in a fashion which is least stressful. How are the new appliances?

Linda, it sounds crazy over at Cindy's. Glad to hear your mom is doing well and that GD will be coming home soon.

Heidi, ouch for allergies. I had good luck years ago with allergies and local bee pollen. I'm currently taking some every day. Yay for a visit from cathydoe!

Cyndi, great that you're having such great P1 results and sunshine, too.

Ruth, I hope you get caught up with the mill work. You're in a tough spot with Donna. Any chance she could just do the vacuuming? My mom is doing everything but her vacuuming right now then once a month I do a spiff up in her kitchen.

Ok, time to get going!

Lovely morning to all!
Matilda - it is never easy to make decisions we know have the potential to cause another person hardship. That is one of those things that can eat at you! I kept having a cleaning person come to the house for 6 months after she stopped actually cleaning . . .
Karen - stay safe - one of my students actually just did a project on wind speed, and part of the presentation was the "twister" scene from the Wizard of Oz . . .
Linda - I am SO glad I am not cleaning up after all that dust - my patience would be gone.
Ruth - LMAO - "I did get the Christmas garlands off the porch and into the barn ... last week." TOOOO damn funny.
Heidi - sleep well!
Cyndi - POST more bird pics - I need a fix!

My day is looking SO awesome - at our high school the seniors are all out of the building for Senior Project, the juniors go to 6 Flags today for the Physics trip, the sophomores have World Language Day, and the freshman have Freshman Fun Day. Hence NO STUDENTS in my room - ALL DAY!! WHOO HOO - I am going to file all my back paper-work, organize my desk, and take myself out for a nice lunch.

The scale hit 158 this morning - I nearly fell over. I am actually trying to decide if I am going to change my goal weight. 155 was college weight, but I wonder if 150 is a better plan. Have any of you come to a realization that you needed to make a change to your goal weight? Did it make things hard to re-think those last few pounds - when you thought you were already done with them??

Be well - wow this was a long post . . .

bea, enjoy your totally awesome day and congrats on the scale moving down!

Veggie starts are all planted, watered and "Bing-proofed". I have a few seeds, yet, but that can happen later. We are ready so early...think I'll hop on my bike and try an extended ride before water aerobics.

Ultimatebea - what's 3 more pounds?! congrats and (I say) GO FOR IT!!! Based solely on what I've read in this post, if I were in your position, and did not push until I lost the last three pounds, I'd feel as though I let myself fall short. Then I'd continue to wonder whether I could have / should have and what if? and that I had somehow robbed myself of the sheer joy and elation I deserved from a fully-completed job well done! (Again, this is my two cents about what I'd do based on a little bit of info I read here; please feel free to ignore it and do what you think is best for you, and Congrats!)

Today I work all day. I had a huge breakfast from a deli... not good for my waistline but yummy. I think I'll run errands at lunchtime and take my vitamin with fruit and veggies when I get home. Although... their fresh fruit and salad bar looks so good! Gosh I love fresh fruits and vegetables in late spring/summer.

Have a great day everyone!

Chuckle - no, I was thinking about dropping my goal weight to 150 . . . definitely going to lose the last 3 for the first planned goal weight!

Just thinking if I am on a roll, maybe I should change my goal NOW rather than get complacent with the 155 . . .

Linda - Loved hearing that life is looking good.

Ruth - I'm not sure since I am very geographically challenged but I can say that Kansas is in it and Boston, where I grew up, is not! My husband has mastered the art of "productive" procrastination.

Heidi - Sorry you are not feeling well; hope you feel better soon.

Cyndi - It's amazing what a difference the sun makes.

Debbie - You sound busy today. My appliances... there is quite a learning curve with 4 new ones and lots of features. The hardest to master - the stove; easiest - the dishwasher.

Bea - LOL that you are cheering about an empty classroom. Enjoy. Congrats on your weight.

FassGal - I'm with you - seasonal fruits and veggies are the best.

Anyone else watch Oprah's final shows this week? I have to say I was a bit disappointed. But, I still have most of May's episodes to go back and watch.

Bea - my original goal weight was 170 because that's the lowest weight I'd ever maintained for more than a few weeks. When I kept losing I decided to let my body settle where it wanted to. That's how I ended up at 135. I can maintain that when I stick to plan most of the time. I"m actually trying to lose 5 extra lbs just to give myself a little more buffer and because my joints and back really like my weight as low as I can reasonably keep it. If I can't maintain that without making myself crazy I will return to 135. If you are still dropping without starving or feeling really deprived I say go for it as long as you are within a healthy weight range.

Excellent advice- TY!