Wow! The Beach is hopping these days! Welcome to all the New Chicks and the MIA Chicks who are lurking. C'mon in! The water's fine! And the coffee and tea will be ready in a few minutes.

I seem to have snapped back into regular early morning waking after a couple of long sleeps. I guess my body needed it. The reminder to gather the garbage for the Dump run just popped up but I'm going to wait for daylight before trudging garbage and recycle stuff to the edge of the road. I have two huge boxes of empty wine bottles which will cause some talk, I'm sure. We used to make wine at home and saved bottles. I'm gradually clearing stuff out! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

The Social Worker visit went fine yesterday. The Girls were outside almost the whole time and were very polite when brought in to be presented. The SW will get us a homemaker who adores dogs so that will be great. No approval is needed, she said, as I definitely qualify for 4-14 hours of respite care per week! Geez, I could almost get a job! For now we will go for 4-5 hours (an afternoon) which means I could go to Kingston for lunch with my sister or to shop or just go to Claire's house and sit by her woodstove and knit! It's just amazing what our great Health Care in Ontario can do as this wil be free! I still feel a bit uncomfortable about it but I'll get over it.

Today will be the day Hershey goes back to her job at the Clinic as she's over her heat, I hope. The Clients are anxious to see her again - two weeks without a dog is too much! Harry wants to go to the Library today and I may drive him in to Brockville with me to pick up some TVM posters. Maybe we will finally go out for dinner while we are there.

Time for coffee, woodstove tending and dog cuddles so I'll be back later.

Hi Ruth and everyone else still sleeping...!
Well, your home maker sounds as if she will work out well and give you a good break. Dont feel guilty about it. My mother resisted getting any assistance for years and years and finally gave in to just have a cleaner come in two hours a week and she loves it! (especially the bit when she gets to say 'of course, her standards are different from mine, and I have to re-do under the table/behind the fridge/whatever' )

I am off to Boston for a long weekend tomorrow and very excited about that. I hope I can resist the airline food - I know that sounds silly (I mean - yuk - airline food?!) but when you are captive on a plane for 7 hours or whatever it is, and bored, and they come along and put food in front of you in interesting little packets to open.......I am going to have a huge protein breakfast before I leave the house in the morning, and pack some brunch in to a container which should get me through. I dont eat nuts, otherwise I would pack some of them, but I can pack other stuff. I am very much hoping I will get upgraded to business class (I am travelling alone and will wear smart clothes) so maybe the flight wont be so bad. The seats are so small in aeroplanes. You never realise that until you hit your first 100lbs overweight..... But not for long! Soon I will svelt as a sixties air hostess, gazing devotedly at my Captain in my high heeled shoes.....(that is me in the high heels, not the captain, although I am very broad minded about that sort of thing).

So today is tidy up day. I have a couple of clients this afternoon (I work as a psychotherapist) and off to college this evening (could do without it really). I am working on an MA, and although I enjoy the research, I am a bit tired by the grind of college. Still - we are focussing on dreams this year (I was reading the SBD dreams with interest!) which is one of my pet fave subjects, so I expect I will be all fired up by the time I get home tonight.

love to all

By the way, 'Hump Day' has rather different implications this side of the Atlantic.....

Good morning, girls!

Ruth, I'm so glad you're going to be getting respite care. Don't feel guilty, and take full advantage of it! And, PHEW! You're going to have someone who will love Hershey and Lucy!
Have fun with Harry in Brockville.

Clovey, I know exactly what you mean about airline food. It's not good food, but just having someone else "cook" for me and bring it to me on a tray (and yes... all those little packets to open) is such a treat.
Have a wonderful time in Boston!

I should be going to the Y today. Yes, my mommy is taking me, Ruth and Sharon. I'll walk there in the summer by myself, but in this weather, I insist on a drive.
Oh, DARN! My DD is home all day studying for an exam. Curses. Exam week. No time to myself.

Have a wonderful day, everyone! Love and hugs to all...

Good morning, all!

The sun hasn't even come up here yet and we're all up getting ready for school. Well, not me, I'm just sort of "supervising"

Ruth, I think it's great that you can get some assistance and it doesn't cost anything. Don't feel bad about that! I wish our system was more people friendly. I would love to have some additional help becuz of my back and knees. Right now the kids pitch in but soon they'll all be grown up and out on their own! I'm still kinda new so I'm wondering ... is Hershey a dog and what is her job at the clinic?

Clovey, you are braver than me about airplanes. I get claustrophobic so I don't think I could handle seven hours in a plane, never mind the size of the seats. I know what you mean because I have a hard time getting into movie theatre seats, fast food table seats, and some doctors' offices becuz they use nasty folding chairs pushed close together.

I am feeling so much better with SBD. I am surprised that I feel full on so little and if I get hungry, I have a little string cheese or broccoli/cauliflower and I'm okay again for a few hours.

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Cassie

P.S. One of these days I'll learn to use the smilies. I know they are there but I forget to use them, lol!

I thought I'd get up early this morning to workout, but my husband decided to go in late for work and I won't do it while he's here. I told him I would exercise if he would join in, and well, I 'm sure you can guess what kind of "exercise" he suggested!

Ruth dear, what is hump day? This name excited my husband as well!

My thermometer on my back porch says 22F. I wish it were 22C! Hmmm a nice warm day would be great right about now!

Hey Clovey, have fun on your trip to Boston! A seven hour flight, huh. That's not fun. My longest ever flight was from LAX to Heathrow (and back, of course). It was just over 10 hours! No stopover! Which is surprising, normally they'll stopover in New York. I tried sleeping, but I couldn't do it. So when we got there most of us had already been awake for like 14-15 hours and it was only noon in London! So they trapsed (sp?) us all over the city until 8 pm! Damn, I was tired, but this kept us from getting jet lag! So it was worth it.

Talk to you ladies later!

Jennie

Good Morning Darlings!
Everyone sounds very spunky today (afterall it IS hump day!)...and I subscribe to BOTH interpretations of the vernacular! (Wednesday is date night, too!) LOL.
Clovey, wear your long undies if coming to Boston...it's FREEZING here!
Finally above 0...but not by much! The weekend is going to be warmer tho..in the low 30's..it'll feel like a heat wave!
I saw a product at the drugstore yesterday and was wondering if you all had seen/tried it and what your thoughts were on it: Carb/starch blocker pills that you take before a meal...supposedly blocks any carbs from being absorbed...sounds a little too good to be true, but wondering if anyone knows about this...
Well, I guess I better start the piles of work my boss has thown on my desk so early...
Happy Hump Day!
Jan

Ruth what great news about the homecare helper, I wish they had a better system here for folks that need it. Now you can be a lady of leisure

Ellis dear, you might want to take it easy today after whipping up that elegant gourmet meal last night you must be exhausted

Clovey have a safe trip

Jennie your husbands suggestion is good exercise! It's really the only kind I don't absolutely hate.

Irish when you are replying just click on one of the smilies and it will insert it for you. Keep up the good work!

I go for a new dye job today and can't wait..I am rather skunky looking right now. I think me might get a little trim whilst I'm at it. I must get going on the exercise! Maybe this being hump day I will get lucky after my new hair do. Have a warm & sunny day dearies

Hi Jan we posted at the same time. No never heard of the stuff...but sounds like what those fiber pills do...any idea whats in the stuff?

Hi Sflake...
It looked like it was mostly fiberous stuff in the tablets...
Probably the same as having some Metamucil!
Jan

Questions:

January, save your money for new clothes! Starch blockers are not worth it. Do a search in Buyer Beware to see. If they have to advertise, they can't be that wonderful.

Clovey, Yup - dual meanings for Hump Day. I was shocked when a guy wished that to me once - I thought I'd got lucky. However, he meant Wednesday is the middle of the week and we were throught the uphill part.
Drat! Lots of different expressions. Maybe we should have a UK/NA lexicon for things like aubergine=eggplant, courgettte=zucchine, etc. Just don't get ellis started on that gunky brown stuff - Marmite!

Cassie/Irish coda. Hershey is a dog for sure - a gorgeous Portuguese Water Dog who is a real charmer. She has been tested by Therapeutic Paws and now has a job visiting some elderly people in a Day Away Programme at our Country Roads Clinic. She also visits nursing homes and psychiatric facilities on an ad hoc basis. She's a breeding female and will have one more litter next fall before she retires from the puppy business - 27 so far! (Porties are a rare breed and we are breeding to improve the line.) Her daughter Lucy In The Sky is a darling too but full of beans. She will be bred for her first litter in February and we are hoping that will calm her down a bit. She turned two the end of October but still acts like a silly puppy on occasion. But then, so do I!

By the way, when I refer to The Girls, I do mean my darling doggage. A while back I referred to The Girls giving me grief and someone send me a very caring email suggesting I get a breast examination!

Are there any further questions? I don't see any hands up so I'll go start the day again. (It runs fine for a while and then the engine dies - must be the cold! )

You guys are cracking me up today! All this talk of "hump day" and "the girls!" I just read yesterdays posts and am still laughing about "Big Jim and the Twins!" Sounds like a great name for a jazz TRIO!

Ruth, so glad you are going to avail yourself of the help you are entitled to and need. My MIL needs help with my FIL, as he as a degenerative neurological disease and can't really speak anymore. He is all but confined to a wheelchair and soon won't be able to eat solid food. But my MIL doesn't want anyone to come in and help as she doesn't like strangers in the house! We are trying to talk her into just having help getting him showered and the like, as she really shouldn't be tackling that on her own. Oddly enough, my SIL has a severely handicapped child so she has caretakers in and out all of the time, so my MIL is familiar with the process, if you will. My FIL's health will only get worse, so she needs to get some help before it is at a critical stage. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox.

My new, fancy ladder came yesterday! It is SO cool! I know...odd to get so excited by such a mundane item. But I keep thinking about the new heights it will take me too! :wink:

Well, chicks..today is the day! I grocery shopped yesterday and stocked up on beach friendly goodies. I even bought some salad fixings and am going to try and relearn how to eat the stuff. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE salad but I haven't been able to chew lettuce since I got my bite plate last year. My molars are almost touching (YEAH!) so I may be able to manage it now! Just couldn't face phase 1 without my baby spinach salads! I'll let you know how today goes!

It is almost 9am and I am just now crawling out of bed and having my coffee. It felt nice to have a bit of a sleep in, so i'm not feeling too guilty about it. Hopefully I'll make up for it by being productive the rest of the day.

Okay, I'm off to color my hair. Never did get to that yesterday. Have a great day and I'll check back in later!

Good Morning Y'all!! Oh this thread is too funny!! Thanks for a much needed laugh btw. I am sooooo tired this morning. Evidently my daughter has the croup (which I cant spell) and was up all night. Just waiting til 11 to take her in for breathing treatments, poor baby.
Ruth, that is so cool about Hershey! We were thinking about working w/ Gavin (my other baby, a sun conure) who is so sweet and gentle to work in a similar program here.
Oh and I'm looking for a recipe you had mentioned (found it in a search but couldnt find the actual recipe), frozen pickle spears, I think. Does that ring a bell? Thank you Ruth!!!!! (Made w/ cucumbers I believe.)
Last night I did the Firm Ab Sculpt video for the first time. Wow!! I can feel it today for sure. I'll update after I workout w/ it 9 more times! (Visible results in 10 workouts, we'll see!!!)

Good morning Everyone!

I have good news today, down 3 pounds from yesterday! Hurray! I know it's probably water weight, but who cares???? Yippy for me!

Morning chickies I am so glad that I had time to get in here today I really needed a good I have been so stressed lately that I have broken out in coldsores all over my top lip. This commuinty center is going to drive me to one huge coldsore. Tell me why I volunteer I was so tied up with things yesterday that I did not even get in here. I went to bed a 9:30 and by 9:45 I was up and on the phone with yet another phone call dealing with this s**t. Sorry girls I really needed to vent. Thanks for listening.

I Love hump day. Eating has been going well I am starting to add some high fiber carbs, well just my cereal. Feels good to be able to have a bowl here and there. I do however need to find some new things to have for lunch.

Glad everyone is doing well. But I have to run for a second the kids are throwing all the toys out of the toy boxes all over the play room. Which I spent 2 hours yesterday organizing. Why do I bother.