Good afternoon Well we're finally done with all our summer orientation sessions...can I say again how happy I am??

The weather continues to be the 3 H's (hazy, hot, humid) with temps hitting up near 90. We're hitting the "oppressive" range for comfort feel outside so it's run to the car/house/work to get out the heat.

Had a half busy weekend--and this week will fly by with tying up loose ends from orientation. The best part is that I'm off to Chicago for the weekend (my quarterly meeting) and then off on vacation. Woohoo!

So how's everyone else doing?

Hi Melissa same whether in my next of the woods. Very uncomfortable to say the least. I'm glad your orientation sessions are over and now you can look forward to vacation. Did you finish painting your porch?

I had a pretty calm weekend. Went to a local zoo on Friday with my daughter. She fell in love with a squirrel monkey that so was cute and had such a personality. I think the little critter weighed all of 2 pounds. Saturday was spent doing household chores. Sunday the weather was so unbearable we stayed in with the A/C blasting and watched the British Open...yeah Tiger!

This week is going to be long since it is the only week this summer I have to work on Friday. My assistant is going in for minor surgery on Wednesday and will be out the remainder of the week.

What's up with everyone else????

Hi everyone.

Nice here, can't say much more than that. Will go do a quick blackberry reconnaissance at lunch to assess ripeness. Should be good by the end of the week I hope.

Short week here - at Woods Hole Thursday and Friday to help DP do some archival work. Leave here on the wednesday night redeye (ugh).

Then to SD ... the same day of return. Double ugh.

Was in Vancouver this weekend for the Folk Music Festival. Started out cold and rainy and ended up very very warm and sunny. Could have used a better mix, but the music was pretty good and we got lots of walking in along with the normal gym workout.

Melissa -- sounds like you had a very busy orientation this year. I honestly think that if I was a student I would need another orientation at the end of the summer.

Lisa -- I'm hoping my mom's surgery goes smoothly. It happens on the 27th of July. I'll be in San Diego that week for a meeting, but running back and forth to the hospital.

Susan -- yeah on keeping on track. Have fun in New Brunswick.

Hi to Pam.

lala

Hi, everyone. I was absolutely swamped yesterday, so could not visit the board. I had my WI last night and was not happy. I was up 1#. I just don't know what is happening. I have great days of watching what I eat and then I go off and buy a cake for DH and me. Stupid!

The weekend was busy. I attended an all-day meeting with my professional group taking minutes. I'm not the secretary, but the secretary was getting married and so I subbed. On Sunday I saw the play, The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare. It was very funny. Then I went to the beach and that was pleasant.

Our weather is the same as yours--90 degrees and humid.

lala, I'll keep your mom in my prayers.

Melissa, that has to be a relief to have the orientations done.

Pam, I've always liked the zoo. We actually have a small one here and I've never been to it. I think it's because it's so small (but growing) and I'm used to great zoos, e.g. National Zoo and St. Louis Zoo.

Gotta run!

Hi everyone.

Pam I also love zoos. Definitely great for landscape stuff and boy how they have changed. We used to get a family membership to the San Diego Zoo because it was cheaper than buying two admissions a year and we're down there quite a bit. The walk in the zoo is great and I love the hippos. Maybe Lauren will become a wildlife biologist or a zoo vet! I would say a zoo vet makes better money though.

Funny zoo story -- one of the pandas at the San Diego Zoo had an uncontrollable nosebleed. My brother was the chief resident at UCSD Otolaryngology and was brought in to help make the bleeding stop. Some pretty interesting pictures of a panda with packing up its nose. The panda survived and my brother is back to cutting people up.

Lisa -- ugh on the weight gain. I can't even comment. My skirt is new, the same size as last years (eddie bauer catalog) and its soo tight. I am sad and mad and trying a few things (eating less, walking and doing crunches to get rid of the middle).

Today is chopped up, many things to accomplish and starting to freak out as to the amount of stuff that needs to be done in the next 12 hours, part of tomorrow and the 7 hours I am home on Saturday.

Hi to Melissa!

lala

Hi Ladies,

The weather here is still unbearable but hopefully an anticipated thunderstorm this afternoon may cool things down. Work is very hectic.. too many meetings with too many things on the agenda. I think I'm going to take DH up on his offer to go out for dinner tonight.
I have be staying up late reading a book I started 2 days ago. It's title is Twelve Times Blessed, the author is Jacquelyn Mitchard. I can't put it down..I highly recommend it for your summer reading!

Lala I have always wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo. Lauren loves animals I could easily see her going into either one of the fields you mentioned.

Lisa don't stress too much over the 1# gain it will probabaly be gone tomorrow. My weight is up a little too and I'm blaming it on the humidity. Oh..I forgot to answer your question last Friday, my son is doing an internship in the marketing department for a minor league baseball team. He was very excited about it.

Hi Susan and Melissa.

Well I should get back to the stack of papers on my desk. Hope you all have a nice night and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Pam, What is Twelve Times Blessed about? Your son's internship sounds interesting.

Well, I have found my new red light food--salted nuts. I hit them big time yesterday. Oh well, today's a new day.

Had our first rehearsal last night for the play. The cast seems really nice. I have a lot of lines to learn (sigh).

Good morning!

The humidity has finally broken and it's a comfortable 75 out today--I'm not sure how long this will last but it sure is nice!

Pam: No, the porch isn't done yet...it's been too hot/humid to paint; the worst part is the next couple of days I've got things going on and then I'm going out of town for the weekend.

Lala: The week that classes start we have Preview GU which is a continuation of orientation so they do get a "refresher". We had record numbers attend this summer so who knows what next year will bring! DH and I visited the San Diego Zoo on our honeymoon and we were impressed. Are you making headway on what you need to get done? I know what you mean about being overwhelmed--I'm stressing just thinking about what I need to do before I head out of town this weekend!

Lisa: That 1# will disappear; I find myself doing the same things (i.e., buying chips for the kids) and it's frustrating. I'm really working on watching the night time snacking. I'm hoping to get more walking in the next few days while the temps are bearable.

Susan: Hi! Hope things are going well in your neck of the woods!

I'll post after my WI at noon...I'm hoping for a loss.

Morning glories.

Nice here, but bracing myself for Mass heat. Yech. No offense Pam. I love Boston, just hate your summer, winter weather.

Book sounds good, I'll put it on my library list.

Which Minor League team? I think minor league baseball is way more fun to watch.

Melissa -- this is a vacation you are going on or a meeting? I would hold off on the porch too if it is humid. That would be awful.

Lisa -- I would also not worry about one lb. Stay away from the salted nuts, but they are not that bad for you at least you are getting some protein and good fats out of it. Better than a bag of chips I say.

Well, today is crazy. Running around here. Need to go pick up friend who can't drive to take her to a concert tonight. We leave around 11:15 for Boston,so I figure we need to be on the road by 9:15 to get to the airport, get a nice decaf bittersweet mocha from Dilletante Chocolate before getting on the tin tube. I think the next ten days are going to be ****.

At least I get lobster for dinner tomorrow night.

Hope everyone has a great day!

lala

Lala: Meeting on Saturday and then the rest of the week I'm on vacation. They say it's not good to paint if the temp is in the upper 80's and is humid so it'll have to wait...the first part looks great though Enjoy the lobster!

I went to my meeting and was up .2; this is getting old quick. I'm really trying to stay focused and this weekend may be a bit of a chore but I can do it.

Maybe Pam hit it on the head--maybe it's the humidity that's making us heavier!!

lala, as usual it sounds like you will be very busy with all of your travels.

Melissa, I so enjoy Chicago; I'm envious. You're right, hold off on painting the porch or you'll have to redo it. Sorry about the gain.

Morning ladies!

I have to admit I had a really good day up until I got home last evening--my washer decided to take a vacation--it wasn't spinning so the clothes were soaked and I had to wring them out in order to put in the dryer. I called a repairman this morning and he'll be out this afternoon. I'm hoping he can fix it so I have a little time to look for a new one. He said he'd try--the washer is 18-19 years old so I've gotten a lot of years out of it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

It's dreary here this morning--light rain and the humidity is starting to rise. I hear it's going to be in the high 90's and possibly 100 in Chicago on Saturday. The only good thing is that I'll be inside!

Lisa: Yep, I'm going to blame the weight on the humidity--my rings have been tight since the beginning of this humid weather and I haven't been wearing them because they feel so tight.

Hi to Lala, Susan, Pam!

Hi Ladies,

The weather is a little better today. Still hot, but at least no humidity. A little quiet here, my two office mates are out so there's no one to talk to

Melissa your picture looks great! You very much resemble a woman who works in my office. Do you by any chance have a sister who lives in Springfield Mass. . Hope they can temporarily repair your washer. I ended up replacing both my washer and dryer last February. Getting 18 years out of your current one is excellent.

Lala I hope you have safely arrived at Woods Hole and will be enjoying a lobster dinner tonight.

Lisa salted nuts are my red light food too. I don't buy any type of nuts anymore because DH is allergic and I just love them so end up eating them all myself! 12 Times Blessed is about a 43 year old widow who gets involved in a a whirlwind relationship and marriage with a man 10 years her junior. It's pretty funny at times. I have been reading this author for many years and really enjoy her books. She also use to have a column in the newspaper that I enjoyed.

Hi to Susan.

Well ladies I must get some work done here. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Melissa, love the photo. You're a pretty lady! 100 in Chicago--that doesn't sound like fun. I think your washer has served you well.

Pam, that book sounds very interesting. I'll check it out.

lala, have safe travels. Don't eat too much lobster.

Susan, where are you? I'm still running, but I still don't know how to tie the running together. I'm up to 4 3-block segments with a walking block in between. I so look forward to that walking block. : )

Had to post that my washer is fixed...it was a broken belt so I'm really happy! It was much cheaper ($61) than having to go out and buy a new one on short notice. He did say that I should probably think about replacing it. I'll start looking.

Pam: It's gotten sunny here and the temps are holding around 81 but you can feel the humidity creeping up. They say we have a twin... My sister lives in Virginia and doesn't look like me (she's olive complexion and green eyes), but rather takes after my dad's mother who was Hungarian.

Lisa: Thanks I won't be spending much time outside while I'm Chicago so it shouldn't be too bad--I'll just pack light. My walking has been nil lately with the temps being so humid--I went out on Tuesday at noon and got a nice walk in over the lunch hour but it was really warm on the return and I came back dripping...there's nothing worse than damp bras!

Anyway, I'm happy I'll be able to do some laundry this evening before I pack for Chicago. Have a great evening!