Ann: My work is going to send me to Vancouver Washington. Thats where the Main office is.
And no Hubby doesnt have a job yet. Still looking.

Maria: Moving again already? Wow! Hope you get to stay in Hamilton for a few minutes

Peggy: That site was wonderful! My what i wouldnt give to paint like that!
Your memory boxes sound great! Its a great thing you are doing!

Karen: Oh my what a mess to come home to from Vacation. Glad your hubby got it all fixed. He certainly is a keeper!

Slavika: So did you find out what caused Princesses rash? Certainly hope so.
Hope it wasnt the stawberries she deserves them after what the prince did to her Kids are so funny.

Been real crazy here and Im tierd. Gonna watch some tv and go to bed early

Night!

Lily: Didn't know there was a Vancouver Washington. Only thought there was one in Canada. My Ed. has been neglected.
Went to the Dr. to get the results of my most recent blood work. I was happy to find that my cholesterol and triglycerides had dropped significantly. And my white blood count had gone up a little. Nothing else showed anything wrong, so we are beleiveing that taking Cardazem for so long had compromised my bone marrow production. So we are waiting until another blood test in 6 months. If the white blood count hasn't gone up some more, then I guess he is going to send me to a hemotologist just to be sure there isn't something else going on. Say a prayer or two please.

enjoying a day with nothing special I have to do. Those seem to be rare. See you later. Ann

G'day all,

We are still Hamilton, New Zealand!!!!

Where do I start, it is a very pretty country town. Everything is very green and almost looks pristine.
We have hired a car for 4 days and have been doing a bit of exploring. It was a public holiday here yesterday so we were off to Rotarua, what an unbelievable place to see all the thermal activity.

http://www.viewpointimages.co.uk/New..._thermals.html

It was quite an eerie feeling to actually see what takes place inside the earth. The heat from the escaping steam really had to be seen to be believed. I had visions of perhaps having a bit of a shower under one of the geysers, well it would have cooked you alive within minutes!!!!!
Here is also a website of one of the villages we visited

http://www.whakarewarewa.com/index2.htm

The mountains almost look as though they are draped in velvet or satin, very different from Australia.
DH is at work again today and I have done a bit of driving around but thought I would stop off at a cyber cafe to 'see' you guys.
It is very disappointing that it is extremely expensive to access the internet from where we stay. So I have had to be a bit smarter about the use. I can access my service provider from Australia here but at a cost of $8.00 per hour on top of my normal monthly fee. So far so good as local calls here are free but......not if you are a business and of course where we stay is a business and they are charged by the minute for local calls and in turn charge me plus a bit extra it all works out to 10 cents per minute just to use the phone line to access the internet.
So now I download my emails, go off line and answer the emails and then log back in to send them. As far as coming to this site, it has been so slow and by the time I have read everything many minutes have ticked away..........
So from now on I will call in at an internet cafe from time to time and catch up with what you are all up to.

Slavika fantastic effort with what you have lost. I am well on track and I am determined to come home with my clothes 'falling' off me I don't have scales but I feel better in myself being back on track.

Ann good to hear your blood tests showed everything is working ok except for the white blood count. What is 'cardezem'???
My aches and pains are considerably less here, it is again a very humid climate which is probably the reason. I will keep a bit of a diary and hope to get to the bottom of all these aches and pains when we are home again.

Peggy I will have a look at the site when I get a chance, the memory boxes are just a beautiful thought. I have never heard of it but it is nice to know some Australians are doing a similar thing.

My time is just about up, so will love you and leave you......

Till next time,
Cheers
Maria

Just saw on the Travel Channel that they are having a special on New Zealand Monday eve. I hope to remember to watch it or tape it. Was wondering if Maria was going to do some of the things they quickly showed. Slavika glad that the Princess can have the berries. It is snowing again here. I am so ready for spring and nice weather but it was pretty walking in the park this morning. Been busy painting.

All - I am so confused! I have told everybody, but maybe not you all. If I have, forgive the old granny. Last Monday night at 8 o'clock I got a phone call from Joel. They were in the hospital. Shanna's water had broke--4 1/2 weeks early. Joel told us to hurry, that it wouldn't take long. You should have seen Leon and me leaving the house, like Lucy and Ricky throwing clothes everywhere. We got lost going down there and finally my bil got on the phone and directed us block by block to the hospital. We got there at 10 and waited and waited. Finally at 6:16 our baby girl arrived. I got to see everything. Such a wonderful dil to be able to share the joy with me! It was awesome! McKenzie weighed in at 5 lbs 1 oz. She never had a problem, just was so little. She nurses like a trooper and is doing very well. We will be going there tonight and helping them for 4 days. Will be back at work on Wednesday. I am so looking forward to this. She is just beautiful.
Glenda

Slavika: Any more word on the Princess, or hasnt she gone back for the other test yet?
Glad it want Starwberries. That would be sad to be allergic to them as I love them! You are doing good on your weight!

Ann: Yes there is a Vancouver Washington. Its right next door to Portland Oregan. Good that your cholestrol dropped. Wondering why he is waitng 6 months for the other test? Seems like a long time to me. I will keep you in my prayers.

Maria: Some great places. That vilage was so pretty. The geysers were awesome! No you wouldnt want to take a shower under them
We have geyers here in Yellowstone, Wyo. They are awesome to see. And it is amazing that the stuff is going on under us.

Glenda: Congratulations Granny on the New Baby girl! McKenzie is such a pretty name!

Later!

Hi all

I have had a bad week and have got back to lurking again. I started on the Low carb program and felt OK at the start but gradually the old body was Just crying out for fruit and veggies, if I ever have to look at anything fatty again I will just be sick. So as to redeem myself I have gone back to the Low Fat way of eating that I was on before and I feel human again

I will read through the posts to see what has been going on.

Take care all.

Ash/Jenye

Jenye,
I know hat you mean. I could not exist on just meat and cheese. Got to have those fruits and veggies. A couple of my Aunts and several cousin do that low carb diet and swear by it. Me I just stick to my Weight Watchers points

Hi Everybody
Maria I have to say with all this travelling you are doing you certainly get to visit some interesting places......then the rest of us on the board are able to get a glimpse of them too via the computer. Thanks for posting the sites.
Jenye I think just sticking to a healthy eating plan is better for us then trying these other "diets" where so many things are not allowed. In the past, when I have tried some of those diets, it seems I always crave what I can't have. LOL I guess that is human nature, to want what you can't have. To sometimes jump start my weight loss I will make a big pot of home made soup....chicken, or veg. I add 2 tbsp. of rice to the broth and a couple of tbsp. of pot barley and the rest vegs. I boil pasta in separate pot and then when I want soup I take some of the cooked pasta and put that in my bowl first and then pour the soup over it. It tastes great and it is very filling. Today is a cold day, and "talking" about the soup, makes me want some.
Glenda Congrats to you my friend on the safe (somewhat early) arrival of your new little grandbaby. I love the name McKenzie, and I am sure she is as sweet as you say. I can tell you are on cloud 9.
Lily you can be sure that I gave a big container of fresh strawberries to the Princess on Thursday evening. I am so happy that she doesn't have a food allergy. I think my son and dil and their doctor are pretty much settled on the antibiotic being the trigger that caused her to get this rash. She has had antibiotics before but not that one.
Went out for lunch to one of our gambling casino's with a friend yesterday. On Friday's they have seafood, and I ate my share of shrimp and oysters. We put a few quarters into the slot machines......would win a few, lose a few, then went home before any damage was done.
I can't believe it, but those flowers that Trudy gave me are still alive and doing well.

Hi all:

Lily: I think the Dr. feels it is positive that the white count is going up gradually. And nothing else seems to be showing as a problem. I took that cardiazem for about 8 years and one of the side effects,(in small print) has to do with possibility of compromising the bone marrow. So he feels that it took a long time for this to happen, and so it will not recover quickly. Made sense to me, and I'm not tired, don't bruise, all that stuff. so will go along with what he says.

Maria: I took the cardiazem for an irregular heartbeat. It skips a beat now and then. But I think I didn't really need it. Now that I have been off the med. it still skips now and then but is is not troublesome. A Dr. up north is the one who put me on it. And my Dr. down here didn't change it until I started having the low white count. Then he started looking into it more.

Glenda: Congrats on the new grandbaby. Mckenzie is a nice name, and I'm sure you are justs thrilled to be able to be there for 4 days and help out. Really great that coming so early was not a problem for her.

Slavika: By Now Princess has enjoyed her strawberries, I bet. What a nice Gram you are.

Oh Maria: Your sight seeing must be a lot of fun and very enjoyable. Too bad about the cost of using your computer. We'll be glad to hear from you whenever you get the chance.

We had a Flea Market in our club house today. It was a really busy place, and I think most everyone did very well selling their 'treasures' I believe that our social club will clear around $600 when everything is in. We served lunch, and sold everything. Also had a big bake sale, and sold everything. It was a cool rainy day, and what else for people to do but come inside, and check out the treasures. But I didn't weigh in again today. I'll have to 'bite the bullet' next week.

Hi everyone- Trudy, Karen, Peggy, Ash 'See' you tomorrow. Ann

Slavika Thank you so much for the hint about a quick start. I have found that I have been at a plateau for many weeks now and just don't know why. Last night I had a large plate of both salad and veggies and wow they were wonderful. Your soup sounds really great and what a wonderful idea, even although the weather is still warm I think that I will make some as I have all the ingredients. How is your little "Princess" now? I hope that she has recovered now.



Karen Your Aunt and cousins must be younger?? to have lost a lot of weight. As I said above to Slavika the salad and veggies were wonderful and I think, like you, I will stick to what I am comfortable with.

I still haven't read all the posts so I'm not up to date with what is happening with everyone so until next time I can get to the computer.....


Take care all.


Ash/Jenye.

G'day all,

We have just come 'home', from a 'rubbernecking' weekend

DH had to log on for work so I am now taking advantage of his connection to post! Never one to miss an opportunity

We had a lovely time and amongst many other things we went to the highest mountain in New Zealand where there still was some snow. We took a chairlift to the area of the mountain where there was still snow, awesome.
The weather has been superb and I have been quite sunburnt The thermal areas of New Zealand are quite unbelievable, I am not much into geology but this certainly has given me an interest to find out a bit more, it is fascinating.
We also went to a bungy jumping place, for one fleeting moment I wondered if that would put my back etc. right once and for all, as I said it was for only a very fleeting moment and then I saw someone jump

Glenda congratulations on your new grand daughter, how wonderful to actually witness it all. Love the name

Peggy be sure to watch the travel program on New Zealand, it is a wonderful country. I am probably wrong but I sort of picture Canada to be a bit like this, everything is green, magnificent mountains etc. etc.

Slavika I am a bit with you, a healthy eating plan based on WW is about the best. I guess we have all tried just something a little different to get that quicker result. It is interesting that I have found some different WW products here in the supermarket, one is pasta in a mushroom sauce for only 3 points
This morning we had breakfast in a restaurant and I ordered a ham omelet. It was huge and I only ate 3/4 of it, I was amazed that I never started to feel hungry until about 3.30 in the afternoon I am well within range today.

Jenye Don't be too hard on yourself, you have to find what suits you and it is hard to go past the WW philosophy.
I am amazed that in NZ they advertise Xenical on TV as a wonderful aid to weight loss, there are a number of pharmaceutical products they advertise on TV, you have to see your doctor but you can get free samples!!!

Ann great result for your social club from the sales at your flea market.

I must say I am quite pleased dh has to go to work tomorrow so I can have a rest, he just goes non-stop. There is a garden show here next weekend but we have no car, so now he wants to hire bikes and we can ride them there , it is quite a distance so I did suggest a taxi instead.
I hope to get my website updated next week with some pictures of New Zealand, I will let you know when I do.

Hi to Lily, Trudy, Karen I hate doing this, I always worry if I have forgotten someone

'See' you soon,
Cheers
Maria

I sure had a lot of reading to do in order to catch up with all of you. Maria New Zealand sounds facinating. It seems that for such a small country you can experience everything from snow to sunny beaches, thermal activity and farming.. love to see it sometime. Canada is so big, you would have to travel it from Pacific to Atlantic, summer and winter to see everything.

Congratulations Glenda on your little McKenzie's birth. How wonderful to be there when she arrived. Happy times.

My little angel is doing great. She is 1 month old now and we see her as often as possible, trying not to wear out our welcome. She had 2 baby showers so far, and 2 more are coming. She received such sweet little outfits and toys... so much fun shopping for a baby. Our Slavika made such a lovely afternoon for my DD and GD. She set us up in her dining room, with the good china, everything was so special. Slavika gave my angel a pair of jeans, with a turtle neck t-shirt, all hand decorated in pink ribbon and roses, hair clips, matching bracelet, and just in case she is smart enough to tell time when she is 1 yr old... a wrist watch.., plus a couple of receiving blankets. Slavika tells me that the correct name for receiving blankets is "NICEIES".. and every baby need 100 of them to last them through their childhood.

I went to see my dentist on Jan 29 for a check up and cleaning. There was a chip out of a filling and when the denturist started to scale around the tooth, the darn tooth broke in 1/2. It almost stopped my heart. Last Wed was Part I of my root canal, this coming Wed will be Part II. (I need some sympathy here...)

I have been taking Fosamax for going on 4 months now. I take 70mg on Sat morning, and I really do believe it has stirred up my IBS. I am hoping the side effects will gradually get better. It is always something.

Karen We would love to go back to Las Vegas for a few days again. So much going on when you look down the strip. At night time the streets were so bright from all the lights we could read our guides.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend... bye all.

Good morning Ladies,

Today has dawned a beautiful day, the weather forecast predicts that it will only get to 25 C or 77F and this to me is perfect. Because of this I have made an early start as I am going out to lunch with my M.S. friends. This is a monthly occassion for about 10 of us in this area that all suffer with M.S.

Maria You sound as if you are loving NZ - it is the only place that I have been too other than Australia and I just loved it Thanks for the advice about the Xenical - but I don't like any of these things that you can purchase as I tried many of these products many years ago and, even although you get them through a doctor, I am sure they are not a substitute for a balanced diet. WW is a really good example of that as we can all see by their prime example "Fergie" but low fat seems to suit me and I have got used to eating in this way.

Glenda Congratulations on the arrival of little McKenzie. I am sure she will be a joy to everyone. New born babies usually are as they are so fragile in our eyes, we just want to look after them and I am sure that you feel his way with your new grandaughter. One of the first times I witnessed a birth I just stood back and cried as if I hadn't seen it before - the miracle of birth just gets to me every time.

Well, I have caught up on all the old posts and send my regards to all.


Take care,

Ash/Jenye.

I can't believe how cold it is Brrrrrrrrrrrrr.\

Slavika so glad your Gd doesn't have a food allergy. But the testing they do for that is the pits. unless they have a new way to do it than when my DD had to have it done. Any way hope the hives are gone now and her poor little face is back to normal.

Glenda have you come down from yet? Those little bundles sure do have a way of turning our world upside down. And I too love the name.

Trudy I don't think your dd would ever think you are around too much when it comes to helping with the new baby. My DD didn't want me out of her sight for a few weeks.(with the first one) By the time she had #2 she was old hat at babies. And her DH was a lot of help with that one .

Jeyne eating balanced is the best thing I think . Some of the other ways out there don't really make sense. Like how could you not miss fruits and veggie and only eat meat and fat. doesn't seem like you could do that for life. My aunts and cousin who do that are always either on or off their diet. With WW you eat normal and never are really off. Some times you might eat a little more of one thing or another but you can quickly correct the situation at the next meal. Everything in moderation. Of my soap box now

Maria Ever the traveler. You get to see so much. And I think this was said before " we also get the benefit from all the sites you post

Well my work week starts tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to going out in the cold. Good thing my car has the remote starter so at least when I get I it is warm.


Karren