Pull up a chaise out on the deck. The cushions are a bit wet but sit on your towel and have a coffee! There is not much of a view because we are in thick fog. Hershey disappears into the mist at the end of the dog garden. Hound of the Baskervilles!

I'm hoping the fog clears soon because we have to leave at 7:15 to take Madame Hersh for more bloodwork. I will be picking up Lucy when I am in town. That should be a great reunion. It has been so strange and quiet with just one dog here. I can't imagine what it will be like when they are off at the kennel with their puppies. I'll visit of course but it's not the same.

I had a busy day yesterday with odds and ends around the house. It sure felt great to not have my splint on although the wrist is still a bit sore. The knee feels a bit better too - I can now get into the car without having to lift it in by grabbing my pant leg! Things are improving. I even managed to do a bit of deadheading and watered my porch jungle.

Drat! Just checked my calendar and I have to go to a farewell dinner tonight for our minister and his wife. Mike is leaving under a bit of a cloud so there will be some tense moments, I'm sure. Poor Mike just doesn't know how to chose his battles and the Bishop has moved him to a very small Parish effective September 1.

Breakfast anyone? I'm doing Canadian bacon and scrambled eggs. There are blueberries and raspberries for the Phase II folks.

What's happening at your place?

Morning Ruthie!

Breakfast sounds great-

Got up a bit earlier today so I could skim posts and get a full cup of coffee in.

Staff training today- I am actually leading it for my team, which is nice b/c it is a small group and I can pace it how I want.

Hope you all have a lovelt OP day- I am starting on Day 3!

Morning Ruth and Kiko you both sound like you have a full day ahead of you. Glad you getting Hersh back today and glad to hear the wrist and knee are feeling better. I too have a list a mile long of things to do today. I already have the laundry started and drug all the sleeping bags,tent, tarps and lawn chairs down from the storage area. The kitchen looks like a camping supply store. We plan to have the car packed tonight so we can leave first thing in the morning. DH got yet another route from one of his passagers yesterday they told him with should go through Omish country. So I guess we are going to add another hour to our trip and do that as well. I am so excited. It will be nice to get away. With the exception of crossing the border it is always a nerve wracking experience. Well I must go get the laundry switched over. I will be back a little later.

Good morning, Chicks~~

Ruth, glad you're feeling better. Always nice to get out in the garden. When I was in Canada and asked for Canadian bacon for breakfast, the waitress looked at me like I had lizards crawling out of my ears. Is it called something else north of the border? Oh, and thanks for the reply on Hershey and Lucy. I figured there must be some logical explanation for their peregrinations.

Kiko Hope you have a great training session...what are you training them to do?

Little Chick, sounds like your vacation is becoming quite an expedition. We'll miss you while you're gone, but have fun and come back to us all relaxed and refreshed.

Not much going on around here. Quiet day at the lab yesterday. BIL is painting DD's old room and will be taking it over for himself. (It's bigger) So, I'll be taking over the other spare room. I'm moving my dad's rocker/recliner in there, a table and my fiber stash. It will be my retreat. Happy Happy!!

Ok, ladies, have a great day on the Beach. Remember your sunscreen and a good book!

Mamacita

Good Morning Chickies! The coffee is hitting the spot. Wow everyone is so busy during the day. Hope you get to take time for yourselves!

Ruth: Glad to hear you are feeling better.

Kiki: Good luck with your staff training. You are a better woman than I. I freak out if I have to talk in front of people.

Little Chick: Sounds like you quite an adventure ahead of you. I used to live in the Amish Country. From what I remember of it it's beautiful and serene. Where is your final destination?

Mamacita: It'll be nice to have your own retreat. Wish I had one here.

Not much to report here. The weather looks like it's finally clearing up. Hopefully it will be a nice weekend her in the Nation's capital. This will be the first weekend staying home in quite some time and have a long laundry list of things to accomplish. Clean the apt, cook things for next week's meals, wash the cars, take oodles of stuff to the Salvation Army, laundry,file paperwork,go through closets to see what fits now and what I can donate, grocery shopping.....the list goes on.

Got our paperwork for the mortgage....gotta tell you buying a house and everything that goes with it is a little overwhelming. Can we say panic attack!!!!!!I can barely keep this place clean....don't know how I am going to keep anything bigger cleaned. Might be a good tme to invest in a cleaning service.....at least once a month....

My dad's going back in the hospital to have a small tumor removed from his bladder. The drs are optimistic that they got it early, but still it stinks being so far away from him. He is MA and I am in VA. Keep your fingers crossed that things going ok.

Well I need a onther cup of coffee and a shower. Have a wonderful day chickies!

Hey, girls!

Ruth, I'll take mine with six slices of buttered whole wheat, please.
I'm glad you're starting to heal, sweetie.

Karen, I hope the staff training goes well!
Don't you sometimes wish you could just go to bed RIGHT after supper so there'd be no danger of snacking later!?

Little Chick, have fun camping! And good luck at the border. I hope those guards don't want to go through all your stuff. I hope they're not as nasty at home as they are at work. (hope I haven't offended anyone here... someone's Aunt or brother is a crossing guard...)

Mamacita, it's called backbacon.
How lovely that you'll have a room to yourself for a retreat! Enjoy it!!

I had my last session with my trainer at the gym yesterday. What a workout! Lots of weights, and then he "surprised me" by making me run up 10 flights of stairs. At seven, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

Going to make myself a protein shake... have a lovely day, darlings!

Shequila, we posted at the same time... I'll be praying for your dear Dad. Please let us know how things go.

Thanks for your kind words Ellis...I will let ya'll know when I hear something.

Hope you aren't hurting too much from your training session. I don't thinkI could do 2 flights of stairs walking without being winded.

Have a great day.


Sheila

Hi everyone,

I doing my monthly weigh in today because I head ouot for my vacation Friday morning earlier then I want to. My weighed for today is 217, that is 6 lbs down for July. Not the 10 I wanted but not bad. I have lost 27lbs since May 1 and 20 lbs since May 23 (my dr appointment). I would like to loose 10 lbs by September 7th whne I go bakc to see my dr. If I do I think she will take me off the high blood pressure medication.

Besides the jogging I am doing when I get back from vacation I am going to start lifting weights.

Well I am off to clkean the house, mow the lawn, back, and go to the library. The work before the vacation!

cac

Morning, everyone. I pick up the newspaper this morning to read that significant layoffs are likely at my company as part of a $3 billion cost reduction plan. They have 7,700 employees in the Dallas area. A few years ago they had over 12,000. I've been here since 1985 and I hate it every time they do this. Oh, well, there isn't much I can do about it but pray.

Brian's swim lessons were cancelled last night due to the thunder so I did get time to exercise. Then we lost electricity for 45 minutes. Brian's biggest fear was that his fish would not have enough oxygen and would die. He was so happy when the lights came back on. Heavy rain is predicted all day so we'll have to see what happens tonight with his lessons.

I'm up a pound but it is TOM so I'm not too worried. Now that I am off the diuretic, I'm likely to retain a little water.

Time to go get my tea. Talk to you later.

Morning chickiedoodles. So, when the alarm goes off, I have a tendency to not wake up immediately.....takes me about 7 seconds before I realize it's not some noise in a dream. So DF likes to let me know it's going off by giving me a swift elbow to the spine. He does this daily, but today he did it twice, and it bloody hurt. So I got up, went to the bathroom, stewed about it for a minute while I used the potty, then came back in and said "When the alarm goes off and I'm not awake, you can gently shake me, you can say 'Honey?' but if you EVER put an elbow to my spine again, I WILL haul off and hit you back, because it hurts. Don't EVER do that again."

I can go from 0 to B*+&h in less than 2 seconds, so it probably was no surprise to him that I snapped. And he knows I'll smack him good if he does it again, too.

So I woke up a crab, but I feel better now. Just caught the tail-end of Three Men and a Baby. I love that movie.

Ugh, now he said "You gonna be on the computer all day?" Wooooooo he needs to stop! I even showed him the oddtodd site and he laughed at those.

Midol all around!

Happy Thursday!!

All of you women are so busy with full lives. Its wonderful and an inspiration. Reading your daily tales helps remind me that this is a lifestyle change and not a diet.

Checked in with the scale this am. No change. A blessing given my bad behavior. Maybe I will get lucky and drop another pound by my August 1 weigh in? One can dream...

Not much else to report. A full but not too busy day here at work. Made the kids banana bread with blueberries last night, DS will not eat fruits and veggies so I hide them in other things. MAN was that tempting. But I made sure to go for a power walk before baking and that helped boost my resolve. If you are still sweaty from exercise, it makes turning down a snack easier. Also hard-boiled some eggs, I use those plus a string cheese for a speedy bfast and then have a bigger mid-morning snack. Speaking of which...time to go get some yogurt!!

Morning chickies!

I am doing ok -- a bit tired though!

Need to try to work a bit today, so have some coffee and breakfast for me!

Ruth, I am so sad to hear that the puppies won't be born at home! I thought you were going to be able to help and see them born...when do they and your pups get to come home after the birth? Glad you are feeling better, though, and figure you are thrilled to have your Lucy home. Does Hershey usually act differently when she is pregnant?

Kiko, congrats on day three! Hope that the training goes great.

Little Chick, good luck on packing...I think you'll lose at least a pound hauling all that stuff into the car! Enjoy the vacation...Amish country is beautiful...but stay away from the food (It's awesome and full of fat and sugar!)!

Ellis, you ran up TEN flights of stairs???? Wow...your trainer really wants you to remember him, huh? You are my hero!

cac, congrats on your loss! You sound so very active! Have a great vacation...I think the idea to start lifting weights sounds great!

Barb, big hugs going out to you My DH's company went through seven different lay offs last year and it was devastating and very, very stressful. I hope that this doesn't affect you at all and that you have no survivor stress, either!!! Brian is so sweet to worry about his fish!

Weezle! I am proud of you for standing up for yourself! I don't think you were being rude...just telling him how it is. He is being fairly inconsiderate to you considering how extremely hard you are working for both of you. He needs to chill! Just tell him about Ruth's bookends she makes out of mean guys...that oughta get him in a better mood!

smilintwins, sounds like you have a full and busy life, too! Chasing twins around is not easy...I helped my mom do it for most of my life, so I know! Congrats on not eating that bread, which sounds delish! Did your DS like it?

Jenn, hope you are having a great day!

Me:
Finished SR, and it went great, foodwise! In spite of temptations and even a conversation between some people about how aspartame gives you mock symptoms of MS and can cause permanent nerve damage. Oy! :P

Going to Jazzercise tonight then meet up with friends to hang out...a treat I haven't enjoyed in a long time! Should be fun. :

Not much else going on. The sun is finally shining after a huge downpour yesterday. It was really spectacular!

Have a great afternoon, chickies!

Good afternoon ladies!

Not much is going on around this part of town......I got my payment coupons for my college loans today....UGH........not fun.......I was gonna help my mom clean out our guest room.........but I decided to watch instead lol......I now have a pair of capri pants.....I never thought they looked good on me....but they were my mom's...she bought them but they didn't fit so I tried them on and WOW! They fit just right! I now have a new outfit! YAY! So How is everyond doing? Jenne I hope you're not too tired from all that working out! You're doing GREAT!!!