Good morning, Chickies, on this last day of July. "Whew" because I survived my fun and busy month of July and "whew" because I solved my big accounting problem using checkpoint restart which restored the programme. Now I can send the 2012 financial data and send it off to the Auditor.

Today will be a normal day if any day can be normal with four crazy dogs. They really are wonderful guests and are getting along well. Quite interesting to see that Jazz, smallest and youngest, seems to be pack leader. At the moment he is sharing "his" couch with Casey the hound.

Today I do pet therapy with Jazz and leave the others home with the door open to the deck. The Pypers have dropped in everyday since Sunday to see their pets - any maybe check up on me. (They invited me to dinner down on the Lake last night - a lovely evening and a good antidote to the stresses of the day.)

Just started the August Weightloss target thread. If you have a goal for the month, please post it. September is on the horizon.

Enjoy your day. It feels a bit like fall so I am planning to suck the juice out of every day this month.

Come and chat.

Good morning!

I'm sure glad you got your accounting problem straightened out, Ruth! Now you can really relax and enjoy the Bark-Pack without that hanging over your head. How is Disney doing? Is she fully recovered from last week?

We had planned to spend the next two days at the shore, but Jake is suffering from a toothache so we decided to cancel. I tried to get him to go to the dentist yesterday, but he's insisting it will eventually go away on it's own. Grrrrr. At least he's not grumpy, so I can be thankful for that.

Good morning chicks!

Ruth, glad you fixed your accounting problem. I bet it's fun to watch the four dogs when they're feeling frisky!

Cottage - Grrrr. Go to the dentist, dear!

I am out the door in a few minutes, meeting a friend for breakfast. It's more of a business meeting for church, but still a good excuse!

Good morning. I have my annual appointment with the allergist today, gearing up for ragweed season. The summer is flying by! This afternoon I work. Not much else happening here today.

Enjoy your day.

Morning! The air definitely has that fall feeling to it the last few days. We've had a few chilly nights but lovely sunshine today.

Ruth, congrats on fixing your software issue. Just remember to repeat: "computers make my life easier".

Cottage, Tammy and Karen have a great day!

Yesterday DH and I drove to the 1,000 Islands and took a cruise on the St. Lawrence. (Did you see me waving, Ruth?) It was a beautiful day and the trip is always enjoyable. I think the last time we went was when we took the kids almost 15 years ago. I will not wait that long until I go again.

Of course that meant food on the road. Lunch was okay: salad with shrimp but I was SO glad I had packed OP snacks for the late afternoon and drive home. Let's hear it for planning ahead!

Good morning Slow start to another work day here. I can't believe it's the end of July already. Summer is just flying by. We are expecting the SO's son and family for a couple of days and, of course, there is rain in the forecast. I've been researching indoor stuff for toddlers. I don't think the dog and cats can handle being stuck inside with a toddler so we need to find some fun things to do away from home! A possible work event Friday night and Saturday round out a longer than usual week.

Ruth - Bet those dogs are having a great time and they are fun to watch

Linda - hope the magical ignoring cure works or he goes quietly to the dentist. Sorry you are missing the beach

Beth - I haven't been to 1000 Islands in years. We loved that trip when we were kids. Do you go to the Renaissance Fair? My brother and SIL are going for the second time this year and I'm so jealous.

Twynn & Karen

Okay, time to get this day moving. Happy hump day Chicks

Ugh, it's a gorgeous day but I had to close the windows because of all the noise. The construction crew were at it at 7:15 this morning with their heavy equipment, digging up the road and wreaking all kinds of havoc. I know they have to get this job done, though, so I'm not going to complain. Too much.

Beth, you sure did pick a perfect day for your river cruise! We took that cruise two years ago and it was just lovely. I would have loved to go again when I was up there last week, but we had a pretty full agenda. The St. Lawrence is such a majestic river; I get goosebumps every time I see it.

Cyndi, you should take 5 minutes and check out the Boldt Castle website. I could not believe the amount of renovations they have completed!! The entire 1st floor is now restored as well as most of the 2nd floor. I cannot imagine living in such splendor!

Hey girls! Wanted to pop in to say hi! Ate clean yesterday. Made black bean quinoa burgers... Didn't bake them long enough so they were crumbly but good in a ww tortilla. That will be dinner again tonight.

Cool and overcast/foggy here again today. I'm feeling some definite nerve pain from it. Where's my nice hot, pain-free summer!? Stupid global colding.

Hope everyone has a fabulous last day of July! (Hump DAYYYY!!!)

Lisa

Good morning,

Am I the only one who noticed that the title for today's chat is a month in the future

Ruth glad you got your accounting glitch fixed and done

Cottage men can be so stubborn sometimes

Cyndi toddlers are so much fun to have around for a visit enjoy

Beth glad you had fun on the river cruise

to Tywnn and Karen

I was planning on taking the train in but traffic terrible and I pulled in the parking lot as the train was taking off so I ended up driving into work today so that gave me an extra 20 minutes this morning Nothing on the agenda tonight which is a nice relief.

Have a great day everyone!!!

Duh! Just fixed it. At least I got the date right! I guess I was wistfully looking forward to August when some of my pressures should ease. Last year I took the month "off" and am going to try to do that again. Hmmm.

Morning ladies! Just poking my head in quickly- phone interview in T-minus 30 minutes!!!

I'll be back after that.

... (time elapsed "shadow changing as sun moves across the sky" thing)

Hi! The phone interview went pretty well, I think. If I'm hired (it's just a temp position, but it's something!) I should find out next week, to start the following week. When I was in high school, I was NOT under the impression that finding a job with a good 4 year degree (accounting) would be this stinking difficult! (whine.)

Craving HARD today. It's day 11 of phase 1, and I'm about a thread and a half of willpower away from going to Panera and doing some serious damage. Has anyone else had bad cravings this far into phase 1? I hoped I'd be over them by now

Ruth- I'm glad you got your computer issues fixed!
Karen- Shh! Don't say the "r" word! I'm allergic too.

to everyone!

Evening, ladies. Stayed busy the past 2 days and didn't get to check in. Got my yearly gyno appointment out of the way, though, so I feel accomplished. I don't know what it is but my right leg cramps up EVERY SINGLE TIME it initially touches that stirrup. So weird.

Anyway, back on track from my beach blunders...feeling SO much better! Hope everybody is doing well!