Happy Monday Everyone
Hope everyone had a great weekend. I am having a weeks vacation
starting next week so I am looking forward to that

Tonight my son Sean is graduating from grade 8. Sean is Davids twin brother
so this a really special day for us. When Sean first went to JK he couldn't
talk. He was in a "grey area". The experts at that time were unsure what
Seans capabilities would be particularly because his twin brother was
severely ******ed and autistic.

Low and behold, Sean is perfectly fine with many grades in the 80's. I am
hoping he will win an award tonight. Lord knows, he deserves it.

Talk to you all later.
Anne.

Hi,
Anne, what an exciting day for your family and for Sean. He must be very happy. Congratulations to him and to you too, your such a good mom.

Lynn, how's the puppies? Did you all have a good fathers day? Ours was pretty low key. DH's son didn't visit and the only card he got was from my daughter. It's really just another day for him, but I know he was kind of disappointed. He was able to spend some of his day with his best friend that is back from AZ, so that made him very happy.

Aleka, when are you moving? I bet your just busy as a bee getting ready.

Hi, Adrienne. How's the new house going? I had an aunt that lived in Toledo. Mom and I use to ride the Amtrak over to visit every summer. All I remember is, my cousin was a no it all, and I couldn't wait to get home. He was a no it all too, he went to MIT eventually

I came home and spent the night here. I have to take DD to work and pick her up, so at 1030pm, I just figure it's not worth it to drive back to the campground and face all the deer on the road. I'm going out in a few minutes to cook lunch. I get to do all the fun stuff At least, I'm still losing weight, so that is the good news. There are lots of trails to walk on and I'm getting my share of that in. Man, was it busy there yesterday, lots of people out enjoying the weather and fathers day.

Take care, Nikki

Happy Monday all. Thanks for your warm welcomes... 'preciate that.

Anne - how old are your boys? I'm crossing my fingers for some awards for him!

Jazz festival was fun but the pop/water tent was right near the entrance - we couldn't see any of the bands! We could hear them, but not see them! But I bought my husband a membership to the Toledo Jazz Society so on Sunday our whole family got in free. Not easy taking 2 1/2 year olds to the jazz festival for the day. Their "new" chairs (barbie for her, matchbox car for him) only kept their attention for, oh, 5 minutes. I spent all afternoon chasing them, corraling them, preventing them from bothering other people. I don't even remember enjoying any music!!! I feel like I"ve been hit by a bus I'm so tired and my muscles ache from chasing them! But hubby had a nice father's day.

I did diverge from my low-carb lifestyle because of the festival atmosphere. I'm back on the "wagon" so to speak today. No real plan, more Atkins than anything else although the weight loss is slow. I do stay generally under 20-30 carbs a day but I don't exercise enough and a lot of my food comes from Atkins "products" like the shakes, the breakfast bars... The sugar alcohols kill me but I really am not a big "meat" eater. And being on the road all the time, it's hard.

Well, anyway, big work week for me today. Got a break in between court hearings to log on and remind myself that I'm really back to diet mode today. Talk to y'all later!

Good afternoon,

Having puter problems. For some reason our internet service keeps disconnecting, but we can still use it. DH called our IPS and they won't be able to send anyone out until Wed.

ANNE, congratulations to your son, Sean. What a special day for everyone. He does deserve to win an award.

nikki, that's wonderful that you're still losing weight. I stayed the same this week, but I don't care. At least I didn't gain. I broke down and bought some of SS fruit flavored ice cream mix. I thought I'd give it a try. I had HSN on last night, she was hawking her wares and I promptly fell asleep. I'm not that crazy about her anymore. We're hoping to move sometime in Sept. I've got a lot of my fall clothes packed. I put a lot of my winter stuff in a bag to Good Will. I've kept a few things that I may need if we ever have to come north in the winter.

Adrienne, sorry you weren't able to enjoy the music. But, think of the exercise you got. You get enough exercise chasing those two little cuties around.

Hi lynn

Have a good afternoon.
Aleka

Good Morning Everyone!

Adrienne, my sons are Danny 23, Michael 20, James 18, Sean and David 14.

First the good news, Sean won his achievement award! We were very proud
and happy for him. We were at the graduation from 6:30 pm until 9:30 pm.

Now the bad news, When we arrived home with Sean, David had turned the
house upside down. My 18 year old son James was minding him but David
went out of control. He dumped bottles of shampoo, sunscreen, my good
treasor body lotion, broke perfume bottles, huge damage. We were hours
trying to clean up, then on top of all this he stayed up until 4:30 am, so I
am at work today without having a wink of sleep needless to say I
am exhausted.
This is the first time David has done something of this nature. I don't know
what prompted him to behave this way. He would no sooner dump one bottle
of shampoo then he'd be running down the hall to grab something else to dump. I just hope the day goes quick.

Talk to you later.
Anne.

Goodmorning Everyone: I don't know were my time is going. I never seem to have anytime for just playing on the computer. We had a great weekend. On sunday here at the park there was a antique car show and a rescue helicopter from the nearst air force base did a show at the harbour than landed at the driving range and allowed people to see the inside and answered a lot of questions. The pups are great!!!! they are starting to move around a lot so DH has had build a sort of pen for them in which I am sitting to type this. Mya is back to normal and even went for a swin yesterday. She didn't want to get out so we had to get her back with her favorite ball. DH is golfing today, so will enjoy my time alone. 24/7 is sometimes to much, we all need space. Step-father as gone to visit a niece in Nova Scotia for a few weeks so that will be a pleasant break for all of us. DD is coming up at end of week for a few days than I will go back with her to see my mom, aunt etc. I also want to vote. Anne did you see any of the debate? Aleka are you packing yet? Nikki when do you go camping again? The weather has been so chilly and windy, the park is very quiet. Well must go, I have a lot of pics the kids emailed me so am going to try and get one on posted Later

Good morning,
Lynn, we're still camping. We will be out there until the 24th, then move the camper to DH's hometown and camp there for Coal Miners Day over the weekend. I would rather have all my teeth pulled out than go to that, but sometimes, you have to do things for DH's that aren't what you want to do. As you know, I'm not a people person and this is really a crowded, long event. For me, it's a big headache.
The weather has been so beautiful, it's a pleasure to walk and be outside right now.
Adrienne, I seemed to gain weight using Atkins products. It was pretty frustrating for me. I sure do understand how you'd not have time to prep a lot of food though, you must be busy all the time. You are so pretty, I assume that is your picture below your nic. As you can see from my picture, I'm a cat (person ).
Anne, do you think David was feeling jealous or angery? It must be hard for him especially, since he's a twin. That had to have been a roller coaster of a night for you and your family. So sorry to hear about the turmoil, but that is still great about Sean.
Aleka, I hope you like the ice cream. I still have lots of her stuff sitting around. Some I love, some is just icky. The HSN boards have turned upside down, have you been following them? Remember all the political posts? Now everything is 911'd and there can not be any controversy. But, there are some posters that are troublemakers that are still posting and causing trouble. Lots of the old time posters have stopped posting there. The reading is not as interesting as it use to be.
I have to get into my garden, it's a beauty of a day and I have tomatoes to tie up. Talk to you all later, Nikki

Good Morning Ladies:
Hope everyone is having a good day. Our weather is lovely, not too hot
and not muggy. Dad is having his check up today at Princess Margaret.
We are all hoping the news will be good.


Nikki, I know exactly what you mean about not being a people person. Meet
your twin There is a staff BBQ event in the middle of July and you'd
never guess who the volunteer was to stay back and keep the cash office
open

Lynn, I didn't see the debate but I was reading about it. The big day is
Monday.

Adrienne, that whole Atkins bar thing confuses the heck out of me. I had
a top weight of 309 and I currently weigh 220. I have put on a few and
I need to follow Nikki's example. She is doing just great.

I don't know about you folks, but all that awful news from the middle east
gets me down. I have the bad habit of falling asleep with the TV on and I
hear all this awful stuff in my sleep. No wonder I have insomnia.

Have a good day.
Anne.

Hi,

Our computer problems have been fixed. The Tech. was here earlier and discovered that indeed there was a problem. Then he took off hunting for it. He discovered some bad equipment nearby, fixed it, and now everything is working fantastic.

Yesterday was a miserable day, damp, humid, and a lot of rain. My girlfriend, who is up for the summer, & I went out to lunch and did some browsing in stores afterwards. I bought a new diet book, The Dish, well, it's not a diet book per se, but a book about adopting healthy eating habits.

ANNE, do you think that David was acting out because of all the attention Sean was getting? Did he calm down after a while? Congratulations to Sean for winning his achievement award.

lynn, can't wait to see the pictures of the puppies. They must be growing fast. I've got one good sized box filled with clothes and my purses. I have more clothes and my shoes to pack yet. Then I have to work on DH's stuff. can relate to being with DH 24/7. It wasn't bad when he was working in the machine shop, but now that he's not working it's wearing thin.

nikki, hope you're enjoying camping. You are like me, not being a people person. I would rather be by myself curled up with a good book. I have been in HSN's BB recently and noticed all the changes. Before we left for FL there were a lot of heated political discussions going on, and some of them were turning rather nasty. I have noticed that most of the familiar names are gone. I agree, it's not interesting reading anymore, and I don't go in there as much as I used to.

Hi Adrienne hope you're having a good week.

Aleka

HI,
Today, I've been home and cooking. Tonight, we are having a big final dinner together and I volunteered to make the chicken in the roteserrie. I have to make 3 chickens and can only cook 2 at a time, so I'm cooking one now and will put it in the crockpot to keep warm. I also made a broccoli salad and for dessert a chocolate mocha triffle and 3 kinds of cookies. I know, it's not all diet food, but it only happens once every few years. The triffle is simply the best stuff I've eaten in a long time.
When I'm around too many people for too long, I get so stressed out, I get a headache. I can tolerate it for a little bit, but it just overwhelms me after awhile. Last night, it wasn't too bad, but I didn't stay past supper and came home. DH is just basking in it. He loves being the center of attention.
Thanks Anne, I'm just kind of watching my portions now and trying to eat what I think is healthiest. Also, walking. I need to get back into the routine of working out daily though. I miss it and I know it really burns the calories. I was at 209 this morning, so I've lost 1.5 lbs since last Sat. That was a surprise, since all week there has been fabulous food everwhere and I've been sampling it. And the alcohol is practically pouring out of everyones ears, they've drank so much. I've only had a few drinks and that sure helps me to not over indulge with the food. It's always a big downfall for me.
I rarely watch the news at all. I find it so depressing and there is nothing I can do to change the world, so I try to just keep my world in my home peaceful. The stimulation from the tv does seem to make me hyperactive. I just watch it a few hours a week, mostly on Sunday night. I enjoy The Soprano's, Six Feet Under and Deadwood. Six Feet Under is the only one on now though. Oh, I do watch Discovery Health Channel and the Science channel some. DH says I like the gorey stuff. I like to watch the surgeries and see the results.
Aleka, glad your pc is back up and working again. I'm still finding glitches in mine on occasion.
Well, got to get moving. I need a vacation from all these vacations. DH just sits and talks and sometimes rides his bike, I'm running from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep.
Nikki

Anne - I jsut read your post about David. How is your family doing now? Has David calmed down? Have YOU? Oh, my, I really feel for you. I, too, fall asleep with the t.v. on and I've been having horribly vivid dreams the past couple weeks. Not necissarily nightmares, but very REAL dreams that are just plain weird. I wake up so disoriented and confused...

Nikki - camping AND surfing the net... we've come a long way, eh? Haha!

Aleka, are you moving? I need some motivation to start packing up my entire household. Moving date is August 12-13th or so. If I start packing now, I know I'll need something the minute I've taped the box. Of course, if I dont' start soon, it will be misearable!

Changed my pic because the one of the twins was from last year when I was here, my kids are a whole year older and look nothing like that anymore. I need to find a more recent picture of them.

Have a nice Thursday all!

Good morning,

Sitting here with my shot of coffee, just enough to wake me up, before I go for my walk. For obvious reasons I don't have a full cup.

Adrienne, I didn't notice you changed your photo until you posted. It is a very nice one. I usually just go to the very last post, hit "reply", then read the post of the person I'm posting to at the time. Are you moving also? DH & I are moving to FL. We had a machine shop for 20+ years. For the past couple of years we haven't had any work since everything is being sent overseas. We've gone out of business, and since we have to start over, DH wants to do so in a warmer climate. The winters in our area can be brutal. We have been living in our house for the past 10 yrs. and have accumulated quite a lot of stuff. We have to weed everything out. Good luck with your packing.

ANNE, how did your Dad make out with his check up? Hope everything was ok. You have done fabulous losing weight. You should be really proud of yourself. I think we were posting at the same time yesterday. I too am disturbed by the news reports coming from the Middle East.

nikki, how did your final dinner turn out? Do you have the rotisserrie that you see all the time on infomercials? I can't think of that guys name. You have done a great job losing weight and have come so far. Congratulations on your weight loss. I sorta got sick of counting calories, so I've also been watching portion sizes, eating healthy, and walking. Whenever I'm with people, it doesn't matter how many, it wears me out. I need to be by myself just for a few minutes to rejuvenate. (sp?) My girlfriend is a talker, I'm not. By the time we head our separate ways from lunch and shopping my head is spinning and I enjoy my solitude on the way home.

Well, better go. DH is pacing back and forth indicating to me it's time we went for our walk.

Have a good day!
Aleka

Good Morning Everyone:

I am thrilled to report my dad's check up went well No sign of his tumour.
He goes back again in October.

David has calmed down. He is still looking for bottles of shampoo etc.
to pour but I have hidden every bottle of anything I have until this phase
has passed by.

Aleka, I think he was probably upset we went out and that was his way of
showing his displeasure, although, he was running and laughing as he was
pouring according to James.

Adrienne, I too often have vivid dreams. I hate having weird dreams, I
wake up exhausted. I often have recurring dreams of being on elevators
going in every direction you can imagine and escalators that zig zag and
jump around like a snake. Bizzare eh?

Nikki, you go girl 209, Wow!!

Hi Lynn!! how are those puppies?

Have a great day everyone.
Anne.

HI,
The dinner went ok, everyone liked the food and there is a lot leftover. The triffle was just too good. I ate too much of that. Today, we're home. DH is so drug out from partying every night, I think he will sleep for days. He had a cold when the camping started, now I'm afraid it's pneumonia or bronchitis, it sounds like it's in his chest and of course, he refuses to go to the Dr. He's the most stubborn person I've ever met. We were going to bring the camper home today, but it's cold and rainy, so we may wait til tomorrow. I have to go out there anyway, to pay for another night and I need to pick up some stuff. There is lots of leftover chicken, so I will freeze it for later. I gained a pound, but I can work it off pretty easy. Today, I decided to just eat raw veggies and fruit to clean out my system.
Anne, great news about your dad. I'm sure your all relieved about that. Is he feeling any better? The last I knew, he was feeling kind of down or not himself.
Aleka, yes it's the Showtime rotesserie from Ron Popiel (sp?). It makes a great chicken. Recently, I made a steak in it and it turned out fantastic also. The outside of it gets incredibly hot, so it won't be a good thing if you don't have a place to sit it that is safe from children and curious pets. It has to be at least 8" away from anything flammable. I like using it when we camp, it is more relible than the campfire.
Adrienne, when we camp, I have to come home everyday to feed the animals, take care of the garden and take my DD to work and pick her up. She doesn't have a car or a DL. She has had a few problems and is just really anxious about driving. We're working on it, but it's not going too well. She is 26, lives in her own apartment and is doing well otherwise. So, I get to use the computer everyday when I'm home. Wish I had wireless at the camper, I'd probably be on it a lot more.
Well, despite the fact that DH will probably sleep all day, I must get going. I plan on starting back with regular exercise today. I'm going to do another round of Slim in 6, it really gives me a good workout.
Have a great day you guys, Nikki