Well I wore the pants to the suit jacket also. Didn't naked.

Coping with stress issues at work.

Need to make a call to the ent and to gyn for appointements. I have a dentist appointment today at 3 for a cleaning.

Hi to every one, and congratulations to those who have lost pounds this week

CEEJAY~ SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT STRESS AT WORK. WAVING MY MAGIC WAND AND HOPE IT HELPS

SHAKER~ CUTE STORY ABOUT THE BABIES OUTINGS!! I CAN JUST SEE THEM ALL FOLLOWING BEHIND YOU AND MEWING!!! MAMA DON'T LOSE US!!! SLOW DOWN!!! YOUR LEGS ARE LONGER THAN OURS!!!

RENNIE~ I CAN THINK OF A FEW I WILL SEND TO TOSS DOWN THE BASEMENT BEFORE THE ESTERMINATOR COMES CONGRATS ON THE LOSS TOO!

SHAD~ WHATEVER YOU DID YESTERDAU...I HOPE IT DIDN'T REDUCE THE KITCHEN MAN TO TEARS!!! THE PRICE MIGHT GO EVEN HIGHER!! GLAD YOU AND DS HAD THE TALK AND HE GOT TO GO TO SLEEP EARLY

HAPPY~ I WOULD LIKE TO RELOCATE ALL THE BUGS IN NJ SOURTH OF THE MASON DIXON LINE WHERE THEY BELONG. DON'T THEY KNOW THEY'RE NOT CITY BUGS?
GLAD THE WEATHER IS SO GOOD FOR WALKING AND CONGRATS ON GETTING THE BUTT IN GEAR!! TOGETHER WE WILL ALL GET 'ER DONE!!
HOPE YOU LIKED THE NEW HAIR TOO!!

MICHELLE~ WTG ON ALL THE LOSSES YOU'VE HAD!! CONGRATULATIONS NO COOKIES!!!
BUT THAT WAS NICE OF THEM!! KEEP THOSE LITTLE FINGERS OUT OF THE PILE!! I AM TRYING SOMETHING NEW NOW. WHEN I GO ANYWHERE, EVEN AROUND THE BLOCK, I TAKE A SNACK I KNOW I CAN HAVE. I FIND IT LESS TEMPTING NOW TO EAT WHAT OTHERS THINK IS GOOD FOR ME !

ANNIE~ REUBENS!! I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT THEM TODAY!! HE CAN COOK FOR ME ANYTIME!! I ALSO HEAR YOU ON THE GOOD WORK ETHICS. SO FEW PEOLE SHOW THEM TODAY! GOOD FOR YOU!!

THE DAY FLEW BY AND I DIDN'T DO ALL THAT MUCH. BILLS, PC GAMES, QUALITY TIME WITH THE BIRD
SOME DUSTING AND THAT'S ABOUT IT. OH AND I AM REARRANGING THE CUPBOARDS IN THE KITCHEN. BRINGING THINGS DOWN THAT I'D USE MORE OFTEN IF THEY WERE LOWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I MISSED THE BUS THIS MORNING. OVER SLEPT. I WAS IN A SINUS MEDS COMA! THERE IS TOMORROW. I STILL HAVE PLENTY TO SEE ME THRU THE WEEKEND ANYWAY.
HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY TOMORROW AND THE WEEKEND AS WELL!! GOTTA LOVE WEEKENDS
LET'S ALL MEET AT THE POOL AND I'LL BRING THE DRINKS

Melody
I knew it was time for the man to come out and do a visit to my basement when I saw one of those Sp*****. It saw me and chased me out of the basement lol. You take it easy and don't do to much at one time.

Annie
They do surprise us sometimes don't they.

Di
Nice going on the weight loss. No, I don't feel anywhere near close to goal. Heck I don't see all that much difference in how I look now and how I looked 50 lbs ago lol. I suppose sooner or later I will see it and it will hit me like a ton of bricks lol.

Happy
You are a better woman than I. One of those nasty things and I can not live in the same house. I never mind to iron. I do it while I watch tv. Heck I iron our sheets lol. I love crisp sheets. I think I watched one show of TBL. Don't even think I watched the whole show. I didn't like how they treated each other. Do you have any idea how much fat is in that many nuts. My gosh that would be the fat for my whole meal lol.

Shad snuck into South Beach and posted an orchid picture just to make me feel badly and remind me I've not been in here for a while. I do try to read but sometimes Life intervenes and I don't post.

Snow is making me *****y and lazy and a tad miserable! It doesn't help to know my (rich) sister is leaving for Vancouver for a short visit tomorrow and the daffies are in bloom out there. This time last year my snowdrops were in bloom!

I had a two-dog day with my grandpup Bailey here while the Hyper Pypers went to Toronto. Hersh and B. are just terrific together although Bailey thinks Delta is a metropolis and barks at every car or truck that goes by - maybe 15 a day? She lives on a farm that's far from a road so this is pretty exciting for her. Right now she is waiting for her "people" to come back and I'm about to break training and go pick up pizza for their supper. It'll have to be reheated as the drive from Toronto will be about four hours tonight. Pizza at nine anyone? Bob's Diner aka Dinner closes at 7.

By the way, MY orchid is in bloom too! I got it a year ago for a wedding we were doing, it died off and I got it back in bloom! (Pats self on back!)

Ruth
Just step back and put down the pizza lol. The flower is beautiful.

Morning all,

I am sitting here in the computer room watching the wild life out of the window - there is a gecko (small lizard) going about his business in the garden. They pick up small snails, slugs and numerous beasties and control the population of bad insects in the garden. I have quite a number of them running around and sunbathing on stone borders or pavers. There are a number of butterflies flitting from leaf to leaf as well. We mostly only get the black ones with white spots, but there is the occasional one which is much bigger and while still black has irridescent blues and purples in the wings. There is a few yellows and a few whites around too as well as the orange/brown one. Spiders are fairly prolific here as well. There is a couple of nasties but we see few of them around the yard. I don't mind them outside at all, but I don't share space with them and I will catch them and put them outside rather than kill them. They are very good at keeping the fly population under control. Now if someone could only suggest to the grasshoppers that they are relatively unwelcome on my roses, I would be a happy bunny. DS2 was giving a big one a cuddle last night. I was suggesting getting the secateurs and chopping it in half. We put it over the fence and told it to stay in the neighbours yard.

Ruth - I was going to suggest to Carla that she cast an eye southwards and see if she could see some short legs sticking out of the snow pile. Thought maybe the extra movement in the leg and the ability to drive again might have sent you over the edge with excitement and you had gone out into the garden.
Nice Orchid - actually phaleonopsis (or some sort of spelling like that) sometimes known as moth orchid. It is doing well.
Are you picking up pizza for the dogs supper or for your supper? Can they wait until 9.00pm.

Rennie - such a shame all these folk are nicking your peeps. You'll just have to go and let down Mel's tyres and throw frogs in Happy's pool and put more snow on Carla's balconey.

Mel - the Kitchen man and I got on really well. We discovered we are both Kiwis - he from the north and me from the south - so we discussed mountains and valleys and clocks etc. for around an hour and then measured and wrote up the plan. I have to go in next week to check the colours and benchtops and sign off the final plan, then the fun begins. In the meantime I have to go buy the last of the appliances - oven and cooktop - so that will lower the bank balance a bit more.

Ceejay - rise above those stresses and keep on track. Stress won't much for the you that's good.

Annie - glad to hear that you wore both bits of the suit to work today. You might get a lot of business not doing so, but it would be much more uncomfortable.
What are Ruebens??? I gather from Mel's reaction that they are not good for you and therefore yummy??

Diyana - the kitchen will come when they have done the joinery, cabinetry and painting. Around four weeks from order although usually it comes earlier than that if the sizes are relatively standard and the colours don't take too much mixing. It will take 2 days to put it in and for the benchtop to harden or whatever the benchtop does. My colours are fairly standard - classic white 2 pack paint with s/s handles and the bench tops will be a 3x resistant laminate in a slate grey. So it should all be over around the end of the month. Yes you will get some photos. I'm notorious for it.
Good going at the gym by the way and the weight loss is fantastic.

Happy - muu muu, not moo moo. Shakers got the moo moo cats. I can lend you one of my sarongs. Don't go out and buy one specifically. Knowing you lot, we will be off to somewhere cool in April because the heat will be getting at you all.
Have to agree about the Biggest Loser at times. It is so staged for television, and when one keeps track of them through the Biggest Loser club, so many can not cope on the outside. They let things slide. Only the truly dedicated seem to get on with things and completely change their lives around. This is the third show here, and you only hear anything about 3 people from the 1st show. The guy who came first went on to have some cosmetic surgery done and is a personal trainer/ public speaker and is doing very well for himself. The woman that came third in that show is making a name for herself in the west with public speaking and is the face of the local womens fitness gyms. The girl who came fourth in that show was very attractive and started doing a lot of photographic modelling work, but she is finding it very hard to maintain and so is no longer the photographers dream girl and has disappeared from our social columns. Those from the second show haven't been heard of publicly since the show. The idiot that won it (he was only there for the money) did feature in a magazine once and no one has seen or heard of him since.

Okay - time to move it. Things to do, junk to get rid of, etc. Hello to those I haven't had time to greet - have a great day/night

Shad
Thank you so much for the wonderful ideas lol. I have been wondering what I am doing to do to them lol. We were watching the squirrels today. Isn't it nice to get to see the wild life again. I can't wait to see my humming birds.

Hey kids. I'm baaaccckkkk... A bit sunburned and with stories to tell and not all of them good. We had a great time in Mexico: the weather was terrific and we did a lot of swimming and lying around reading and just taking it easy. Yes, I did wear suntan lotion but I managed to get a burn the day we went to the eco water park and had to wear this useless biodegradable stuff.

The vacation was wonderful; trying to get home was another matter. Our flight back was delayed for 5 hours due to snow at home and just as we were ready to board, the sweet DH came back from the bathroom sweating and in horrible pain. We had to abandon the flight, call a medic and take an ambulance to a local hospital. The DH had an impacted kidney stone... so I spent the next two nights sleeping on a couch in the DH's hospital room. Luckily, we did manage to get a flight home and we are back now hoping that the out of country medical insurance will cover the costs. I'm sure one day we'll look back on this and laugh - but for now it’s a good story.

Anyway, I'll have to take a while to read all the posts. Be back later. Now that vacation is over it's time to get the motor back in gear.

Mad

I am glad you had a wonderful time. I am sorry you didn't have a wonderful time. Seems your nice time turned into a nightmare. Sure hope he is feeling better and you remember the great time you had over the nightmare.

Good morning chicks,

Madcat - so sorry to hear about your vacation. Poor DH, hope he is doing better now. I guess it goes to show you that you never know when something will happen. Hope he got good care and that all will be well. At least you enjoyed yourselves UP to that point.

Shad - what a relaxing picture outside your window. I love watching the birds, so relaxing. My favorite time of year is now, it warms up enough in the morning to go have coffee on the patio on the weekends and watch the birds at the feeders. Will soon be time to think about planting and put out the hummingbird feeders. Of course with the birds comes the "other stuff" - it's also that time of year to park the car far out from under the tree in the driveway right now

Beautiful orchid Ruth.

Yes Rennie, the nuts have fat in them. The difference is that there are good fats and bad fats and that your body needs a certain amount of fat everyday. Many people are quite misinformed on the subject and think if too much fat is bad, and low fat is good, then no fat is even better. Not true. Your skin, hair, organs need a small amount to function properly and be at their best. The trick is to know what are the good fats - salmon, avocado, olive oil and nuts for example. And I'm not talking cocktail peanuts here - I eat raw or dry roasted no salt almonds, pecans or walnuts. A serving fits quite nicely into my snack allowance of WW points. And it does help to curb the appetite for dinner when eaten as the afternoon snack. In fact one of my favorite snacks came from South Beach - slices of fresh apple with a dab of freshly ground peanut butter And without a gall bladder any more, my body is quick to tell me if I've had too much or the wrong kind of fats.

Good morning Mel. You should be getting your little package any day now - I am eager to get started, pacing at the starting line here

Ceejay - hope today is not as stressful for you.

Annie - glad you wore the entire pantsuit to work yesterday Isn't it a wonderful feeling to leave the winter coat in the car? That's an interesting breakfast. I will have to try it. We had some good grapes for a while but the last few weeks they have been terribly sour - both the green and the dark red ones. Can't wait for them to get yummy again. How do you store the rest of the avocado without it turning brown?

for you Michelle for avoiding those cookies. AND you are doing so well in the weight loss department! on more pounds down. And here you started out so worried - just had to find your groove Stella Keep up the good work.

Got my hair done yesterday. We didn't do as much color wise - she said it's keeping my hair healthier. Wish I could change the style more but until I loose some substantial weight, nothing more that a mid length bob looks right. I picked up some chinese food on the way home yesterday. Tho tasty and not bad calorie wise (I made sure to get lots of veggies as well as shrimp - not fried - and a lean beef dish) - when I stepped on the scale this morning - big disappointment. Will have to drink lots of water and tea to get the fluids flushed out today.

And with that, let's go get the last workday of the week out of the way. Happy Friday chicks.

Good morning ladies --

I'm SO glad it's Friday!! Just a few more hours 'till the weekend!! Yesterday was sunny and warm (51 degrees). It was wonderful! Today will be cooler with highs in the low 40s, and the weekend temps will be in the mid 30s. Winter hasn't left yet, but it was nice to get a taste of spring. I went to the gym last night and had a good workout.

Annie -- How nice of your DS to make dinner! And it's good that you wore the pants with the suit jacket...otherwise it may have been a bit drafty.

CeeJay -- Sorry to hear that your work is so stressful. Good for you for taking care of yourself and making those appointments. I hope the dentist appointment went well.

Mel -- I like the tip about taking OP snacks with you. Great idea. I think I'll do that tomorrow when I go to the fishing expo. We'll be there a few hours. All the booths have candy bowls and the snack bar there is loaded with fattening food.

Ruth -- Beautiful orchid! I'll have pizza too - make mine all veggies - just a little cheese and whole wheat crust....diabetes educator said that there aren't any foods. I've got to learn M-O-D-E-R-A-T-I-O-N. Which I am working on. Although until my next blood test in 4 weeks, I want to stick to the program like glue just to see how good I can possibly get my new BP, Cholesterol and of course glucose.

Shad -- I would love to have geckos in my garden. They are so cute. My friend that is moving to Florida today said that there are geckos running all over down there. I've only ever seen them in Hawaii and in pet stores of course. I'm looking forward to seeing more wildlife in my yard. It would be nice to see red wing blackbirds and robins -- a good sign that spring is coming. They haven't arrived yet though. It's great that everything went well with the kitchen man. Thanks for explaining the steps in your kitchen renovation. It sounds very exciting!! I'm glad that you'll be posting photos!

Madcat -- Glad that you had a great time in Mexico before the trip home. Sorry to hear about your DH. Is he feeling better now?

Happy -- You are absolutely right about good fats versus bad fats. A snack of 20 or so almonds is good for you. I'm learning SO much about nutrition now by reading books on diabetes and how a n eating plan that helps diabetes will also help my cholesterol! Having a bit of protein as a snack is really filling. I'm sure your hair looks great! I need to get my roots and a little bit of gray covered one of these days. Right now, my hair is the longest it's ever been - down to the waist. I want to wait until I lose much more weight before I get it styled. So for now, I just leave it long....not very stylish but very easy.

Just a few more hours 'till the weekend! Can't wait!

Here's to a fabulous Friday and a Wonderful Weekend for all of us!!

HOME MRS MADCAT
I AM SO VERY SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT MR. MADCAT. GOD, WHAT AN AWFUL THING TO HAPPEN. SENDING HEALING THOUGHTS HIS WAY....AND FOR YOU BOTH. NOW YOU CAN REST UP WITH US IN MAUI AND USE "REAL" SUNTAN LOTION!!!

RUTHIE...PUT DOWN THE PIZZA AND NO ONE WILL GET HURT THE ORCHID IS BEAUTIFUL!!

ANNIE~ SO GLAD YOU WORE THE "WHOLE" OUTFIT!!

RENNIE~I AM BEING CAUTIOUS. DON'T WANT TO END UP IN BED. HOPE YOU'RE BEING CAREFUL AS WELL.

SHAD~FOR ONE MOMENT THERE, I THOUGHT THE GECKOS HAD BEAUTIFUL IRRIDESCENT WINGS!! MAYBE THAT'S WHAT THIS BUILDING NEEDS...A PET GECKO! GOD KNOWS THER IS PLENTY FOR HIM TO EAT!! GOOD TO HEAR THERE WAS NO BLOOD SHED WITH THE FELLOW KIWI. LITTLE DOES HE KNOW HOW LUCKY HE WAS. HAPPY KITCHEN APPLIANCE SHOPPIN!
PS: DID HE CUDDLE A BUNNY? OR A GRASSHOPPER?

HAPPY~ I HEARD A THUNK OUTSIDE MY DOOR YESTERDAY BUT WHEN I GOT THERE...IT WAS A BOX OF SHAMPOOS I ORDERED! I AM PUMPED UP MYSELF. WAS TALKING TO A FRIEND TO SEE IF SHE WAS INTERESTED AT ALL BUT SHE NEVER OPENED THE BOOKS THAT DAY AND I BROUGHT THEM UPSTAIRS. CE LA VIE!
I AM REALLY TRYING TO CURB THE CRAVINGS I HAVE THAT AMOUNT TO ADDICT-TYPE STRENGTHS. SOMETIMES THEY SCARE ME HAPPY LAST DAY OF WORK TO YOU ALSO!!!!

MICHELLE~GOOD FOR YOU WITH THE EXERCISING. WE CAN ENJOY THE MILDER TEMPS NOW AND I LOVE THE WEEKENDS!!!!!!!!!
HAVE FUN AT THE FISHING EXPO. I HAVE A THIN LEOPARD INSULATED BAG THAT CAME WITH A VERY THIN ICE PACK. I STICK CHEESE STIX, PROTEIN BAR OR SHAKE AND CRACKERS IN THERE. EVEN A FRUIT. I USE EAS BRAND "ADVANTEDGE" SHAKES AND BARS CAUSE THEY HAVE LOW CARBS. (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH ATKIN'S ADVANTAGE BRAND) EAS IS EXPENSIVE BUT I AM LOW BLOOD SUGAR AND WANT NO PROBLEMS WHEN I TRAVEL!!!

I WISH I COULD SAY I HAVE BEEN 100% OFF THE ICED COFFEE BUT ALAS I HAVE HAD MY SETBACKS. I JUST MIGHT MAKE IT THROUGH TO THE END THIS TIME IF MY BRAIN STOPS SWELLING AND PRESSING AGAINST MY SKULL TRYING TO ESCAPE!!!
JEN AND RICHIE CAME HOME. JEN PAINTED THE WINDOWS WHILE WE ALL CHATTED. SHE WILL FINISH THEM TODAY. I WAS SO WOUND UP LAST NIGHT THAT SLEEP WAS HARD TO FIND!!! I KNOW SHAD WILL HAVE A GOOD LAUGH AT THIS: JEN PULLED UP HER SHIRT TO SHOW ME HER TUMMY. SHE PUT ON MAYBE 2 LBS. I OF COURSE OOOHED AND AAAHHED OVER IT WHILE TRYING TO ACTUALLY FIND THE DANG THING!! BUT SHE WAS SO EXCITED TO NOT FIT IN HER "SKINNIEST' CLOTHES. THEY ARE PROBABLY 00 MINUS ANOTHER 0!!
EVEN RICHIE KEPT A STRAIGHT FACE. HE'S A GOOD MAN. HE IS REALLY STRUGGLING WITH ALL THE DEATH AND DAD STUFF. WE HAD A GOOD CHAT. I HOPE IT HELPED. HE WAS FEELING BADLY ABOUT NOT COMING TO MY PARTY. BUT I TOLD HIM HE WAS THERE IN OUR HEARTS.
HE'S JUST NOT READY TO CELEBRATE ANYTHING YET.
I TOLD HIM TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS. WHAT ELSE CAN YOU SAY? LOTS OF HUGS AND SMOOCHES AND SENT THEM OFF TO BED!
THEY ARE DOING THE FOOD SHOPPING AND I SLEPT IN AGAIN.
HAPPY FRIDAY/SATURDAY AND WISHING US ALL THE BEST OF WEEKENDS!!!

RECIPE #47.

Saute sliced onions in a little oil in a large skillet until tender.
Add frozen mini-pierogis and sliced kielbasa.
Saute until browned.
Stir in rinsed sauerkraut; heat through.

JEN MAKES THIS WITH CUT RED POTATOES AND IT IS DELICIOUS. YOU CAN EVEN ADD A CHOPPED UP GRANNY SMITH APPLE.YUM!

Good Morning Chickies.....

Shad...Ruebens are grilled corned beef, sauer kraut, swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing between two pieces of marble rye bread, then grilled like a grilled cheese sandwich, so the swiss melts...yum yum....

Madcat...ohh sorry about the trip to the hospital, but otherwise the vaca sounds wonderful. I would much rather have a sunburn in Mexico, then a windburn in Indiana. lol

Happy...I shared the other half of my avacodo with my co-worker buddy. We share food around here like we are a bunch of scavangers.

Ruthie...beautiful flower, helps me think spring and lovely weather. Thank you for that.

I felt like crap yesterday. I ate entirely too much for a bariatric person. Felt like a tidel wave in my tummy, then puked last night. Had a crap attack on the way to work, didn't make it to the toitie, crapped my pants. Went to change them and had also started my monthly. What a mess to have first thing at work. Thank God I had extra panties, baby wipes and tampons at work. My MALE boss looked at me as I came in and said are you alright? I said, yes just some issues this morning. HE said, is there anything I can help you with? I should of said well, I crapped my pants and start my period, do you have any clean undies I can borrow. That would of kept him from asking for a while. hahahahhahahah lololol.

Getting hair colored and cut tomorrow, hard to believe 4 weeks has gone by already. Thank God my hair dresser is a buddy and it doesn't cost me much.

Have a marvelous weekend everyone. Hello to those I didn't mention.

Love and Hugs.