Mel
Nice going. Bet you are going to find something to use that money on. Glad you had a nice rest and feel good this morning.

Di
Hurry and get that work done so you have the weekend to yourself. Have tons of fun fishing. Going to be stuck inside here all weekend it is just going to down poor for 2 for 3 days.

Ruth
So happy to here your little one is getting back to her old self.

Di
Oh I do understand your worries. Around here most bow hunt and arrows, while can go a nice distance, do not go that far. Everyone that I know of around here that hunts use the meat as a staple of their diet. They count on it as part of the food budget. Deer are funny things. They feel trapped and yes they can get aggressive. I wouldn't try to walk up to one trapped in my fenced in back yard and try to pet it lol. They are lovely creatures and I enjoy a great deal sometimes at dusk being able to see them in the way way back yard. Around here there are so many they are always getting hit by cars. I have lived here 9 years and there hasn't been one year that at least one isn't hit either in front of my house or in front of the neighbors hours on either side of me. There are woods behind the 3 peoples houses across the street from me and behind mine and my ones neighbors house. They cross here all the time. One would think, people would figure out to slow way down for a couple of miles and watch out for the deer.

Ruth
Glad to hear that Hershey seems to be doing well. Have fun in NC. I hear it's beautiful country.

Mel
Congratulations on winning the lotto. That reminds me I have two small tickets I need to cash in or buy more.

I can't believe that I had a total melt down today. Even hung up on the boss cause I'd started crying. Cried for an hour. Thats not me at all. Its the total of 264 work hours during the past month. Believe it or not I think I scared him. He came up to the plant to check on me. He doesn't know it yet but I'm going to the doctor Monday and explain to him what's going on and ask him for a medical leave until Sunday. I deserve it. I'm going to the doctor here in town just because he knows me a lot better.

I was about to have a 3fc withdrawel. I typed in the url wrong and of course it would not bring up the page. I even weent to parental control to see if someone had blocked the sight.

Morning all,
I'm back home and looking forward to a good sleep tonight. DS2 is doing the washing and hanging it out. I'm about to have a bit of a lie down. I'll be back to regale you with the tales of Singapura - which is around 40000 light years away from Jakarta and apart from being somewhat expensive, is a good place to be. I enjoyed it.
Just caught up with all the posts. Haven't got a brain to reply with at the moment. So I will be back.

Hello Ladies,

My town has missed the brunt of the Hurricane Ike. Gots lots of wind and rained all day. But that was about it.

Michellez (Diyana) Thank you for thinking about me & Blackie and giving me a call. It was really good to talk to you. I appreciate your prayers.

As for me so much as been going on.
First of all I passed my last test. I am now eligible for my C.P.M. certification. That is a Certified Purchasing Manager. Yea...
2nd. Last week I got sick, broke out in hives. Had to go to doctor on a sunday and got a steriod shot. They also gave me a steriod packet to take for six days. Today was my last day.. NO more breakouts. Don't know what the cause was, whether it was food, environmentally, or stress. I'm just glad it's gone. Trying to take it easy this weekend and destress. Oh, and with the hives, I have not been able to workout, but that's ok.. Sometimes we just need a break. But I am committed to get back on track.

Happy - I hope your niece is ok. If i would of know, i would of told you to tell them to come stay with me. I have a sprare room. Many Houstonians have made the trek all the way up to Dallas. A 4 hour drive turned into a 6, but your right last time, it took some as long as 11 hours.

Hope everyone is doing ok and I'm making a committment to post more often.

Sure hope all of our friends in the path of the storm are ok.

1day
Sure glad to hear you are ok.

HAPPY/....HAVE YOU HEARD FROM THE FAMILY YET? THE WEATHER CHANNEL IS SCARY. STILL SENDING GOOD THOUGHTS OUT TO TEXAS. WONDER WHERE PAINTER WOMAN IS AND HOW SHE FARED.

MICHELLE...THANKS..IT'S AMAZING WHA SOME MONEY AND SLEEP WILL DO FOR A GALS MOOD!!

RENNIE...AS I SIT AND EAT MY STEAKS, I FORGET THERE ARE THOSE THAT HUNT FOR THEIR FOOD!! IN THE CITY IT'S ALL PACKAGED AND DOESN'T LOOK LIKE ELSIE THE COW!!

CEEJAY THAT'S WAY TOO MANY HOURS AND YOU DESERVED A MELTDOWN. HOPE THE VISIT TO THE LOCAL DOC WILL GET YOU THE MUCH NEEDED BREAK!

SHAD... WE'LL WHISPER TILL YOU HAVE A GOOD SLEEP! HOME!

PATTY...GLAD TO HEAR YOU ARE BOTH OK. YOUR POOR STATE NEEDS SO MUCH HELP. I HOPE EVERYONE GOES THERE AND WE DON'T HAVE ANOTHER KATRINA MESS. SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT THE HIVES. SENDING GOOD THOUGHTS TO YOU FOR DESTRESSING! CONGRATULATIONS ON THE TEST!! WAY TO GO

GOOD MORNING. I WAS ON A ROLL FOR A FEW MINUTES THERE AND NOW I FEEL BRAIN DEAD. MAYBE I NEED FOOD. NOTHING IS NEW ANYWAY. SPENT SOME TIME WITH THE KIDS AND DID SOME LITTLE BITS OF STRAIGHTENING AROUND THE HOUSE. PLANNING ON THE SAME FOR TODAY!
HAPPY SUNDAY/MONDAY

Melody
I have one rule about hunting. When meat comes into this house it is in butcher paper. That is all I know about it and all I need or want to know about it lol.

Hi ladies,

Thought I posted yesterday, guess I just breezed through reading. We had a gusty night, not much rain but alot of wind. I'm glad I asked DH to move the planter with the caterpillars into the garage for the night. We had some tree branches down this morning and DH worked very hard yesterday to clean the driveway and patio only to have it completely leaf covered this morning. My mom is getting innundated with rain, lots of flooding and the remants of hurricane Ike are making their way up to them today. I have not heard from my niece yet, I'm sure she's ok. Will probably be in the dark for a few days, I will have to call my SIL (her mom) later to get the scoop. I'm sure she's squandering her cell phone battery for now.

Patty - that was so sweet of you to offer a spare room. They got caught on the road when evacuating for Rita and she was quite scared that they were going to get caught out on the open road. This year she moved 45 minutes away from the beach front area so it was less of a threat this time. Congratulations on getting your certification! Hope that leads to a big raise - have to do things like that to give yourself a leg up on the job market. Sorry to hear about the hives - I understand stress can do that. Glad you are feeling better.

Shad - what a relief to hear about Singapore being better. Glad you enjoyed yourself. Get some rest and come back and tell us of your adventures. I look forward to hearing about them!

Mel - Painter is from the Dallas area, they got a direct drift of the hurricane but by then it downgraded to a tropical storm. Nothing to sneeze at but not quite the force as it made landfall. Hope she's doing ok too. Congrats on the winning lottery ticket hope this won't turn you into an addict But that is very exciting - I'm sure you can use the money and sometimes things appear when you need them most. Spend it well and set aside 2 bucks for something fun

Ceejay - I'm sorry to hear about the meltdown but there is a point in which you can try and push yourself and the body or brain will no longer respond. Good for you to push back and take a step aside for a bit. They will have to figure out how to better schedule people at the plant. Feel better!

Shy, I agree with you. I have no problem with hunting if people use the meat for food, I am completely against killing for sport only. It is really sad when the deer herd gets too big and they compete for not enough food. Must be sad to see so many dead ones out by you. And I agree with the butcher paper. If I raised animals I would have to have a very large vegetable garden because I'd never be able to butcher and eat something whose eyes I looked into. I even had a hard time eating a whole lobster when we had a family New England cookout with DH's family.

Ruth, I'm surprised you still have hummingbirds - would think it's getting pretty cool at night up your way by now. Sounds like you're going to have a nice cupboard full of yummy summer stuff to tide you over the winter.

Michelle - how's the fishing? How's the rain? I hear you are getting blasted up your way. Probably can launch the boat from the patio How's your back feeling?

Ok, well there's just something about Sundays that get away from me. 2/3 of the day is over with and I'm still in PJs. Terrible I did get half the laundry done so far and I am going to warm up some veggie pizza from last night for a quick late lunch. Then it's over to the grocery store.

I'm really glad I gassed up the 4Runner mid week. With my grocery discount I paid $2.51 a gallon for my fill up. (Gas was at $3.55 a gallon). I worked from home Friday and didn't go out but apparently they hiked the prices up in anticipation of both higher prices and a lack of supply from the hurricane. My friend called me and said they were lined up 5 deep at the pumps. I checked gasbuddy.com and sure enough, the gas has gone up an average of 30 cents a gallon since Friday afternoon. So I won't be making any unneccesary trips today. Luckily DH doesn't drive much, if it weren't for going to the gym he might get by all month on one fill up.

Enjoy your Sunday chicks...

Hello Ladies,

Mel - Painter is about 15-20 miles North of Dallas. I'm about 20 miles east of dallas. Like Happy said, we got the drift from the storm. I got lots of wind, (no damage) and showers. My sister who is 20 west of dallas, just got a little wind.

Keeping my prayers to all who are now having to recovery from this. The news is showing such devasting pictures..

Happy
Glad you survived Ike. We have some big tree limbs down in the back yard.

Called both of my sisters today to see if they survived. My sister who lives in Dallas was in Denver CO for the week end, and my nephew who lives in Houston was in Abilene so they are both okay. I'm not sure what David will find when he gets back home. The news showed his street sign laying down and water in the road. My sister who lives in Mo was okay too. My bil said that they mainly had rain. My aunt and uncle suffered some down trees and shingles blown off the house.



I've been outside for a few minutes picking up after the storm and visiting with the neighbors who were doing the same thing. I have inherited either a chiggar or tick one. I think it's a chiggar.

Glad to hear all our Chicks are okay after Ike and Gustav. Life is good. One might think that the absolute craze for seafront properties might start to wane at this time, but knowing people it probably won't. We could be in real trouble hear if a cyclone ever hit - just all of the population of Australia is within a 100 miles of the coast.

Now, before I try for personals, let me tell you about Singapore. It's not a big island, fairly heavily populated, hot, steamy, clean and green. It's about 40000 light years away from Jakarta. You don't see the beggars, you don't see people sitting around all day doing nothing, physical workers use PPE gear - hard hats, steel toe boots, etc. There is a lot of building going on in both Jakarta and Singapore, but the Singapura worksites are neat, tidy and safe - well more or less. Singapore has a neat underground train system. It's very clean, gets crowded and geared for tourists. I went around the Island for S$2.80 and then got a dollar back when I redeemed my ticket!! On the streets the traffic is bustling and they don't like giving way to pedestrians but it is orderly. I would happily drive there. On the Wednesday, I just wandered around the hotel area - which was right next to Orchard Road - the shopping mecca of the East. You name the courturier and they are there. Valentino, YSL, Armani, D&G, Cartier, Tiffany. Big money and not cheap, although some of the stuff was very nice. I didn't buy anything except a couple of Esprit tees. I wanted to buy some capri pants but couldn't find a size big enough. More incentive to lose weight. On Thursday I wandered up the hill to the Singapore Botanic Gardens and the National Orchid Garden. Just to whet the appetite.



and



On Friday, I went to Sentosa Island joined to Singapore by a land bridge available only on certain tides (no I didn't see it) and a road bridge. I stood on the southern most point of the Asian continent and could have thrown stones at the equator.

Saturday, I went to Raffels Hotel. It was so exciting. You could just imagine all the stars and celebs of the 30's and 40's entertaining there. Very expensive. I would have made an entry from their internet, but it was going to cost me more than the cab fare to the airport! Then I went to meet up with a friend now working in Singapore and we had a Sushi lunch together, admired her new furniture and went to Chinatown for a wander, before I had to go back to pick up my luggage, grab a cab and get to the airport.

Okay - much as I should get to personals, there is a lot to do today. I have to organise a new contract with my mad mate Mick, get some shopping done, clean the house and get stuck into the plaster and painting bit. I'll be back tonight.

To be continued........

happy
That is how I feel about hunting. We have no deer heads hanging on the wall. We thank God for the bounty he has provided for us and are thankful for the food. It is very sad to see the poor deer hit by cars. I don't know how many times one of the neighbors ( this is illegal ) have gone out and shot the deer to put it out of is misery before the police could get there. I totally understand that. One time it took the police 45 min to get there. Who would want that animal to suffer that long.

Melody
I guess there are quite a few city folks that come out and hunt with the group. I see no difference eating a cow or a rabbit. I won't even tell you what another of my daughters shirts say lol.

Shad
Beautiful pictures.

Hi ladies,

Off to the gym in the morning so not sure I will be able to post.

Shad - your flowers are GORGEOUS. At last, you have come upon a place which illustrates why it can be FUN to travel. I look forward to seeing more of your pictures. Did you toss a stone at the equator and make a wish?

Shy - I have seen a few posts of yours where you talk about the 4 basic food groups and the required amounts. What are the 4 food groups and their amounts you talk about? It seems like there's more than 4 in the food pyramid so that can't be it. I am always looking at plans so just asking out of curiousity - same goes for the "required amounts" - ie recommended portions. Thanks.

Today flew by. I can't believe half of September is over. Mel's ticker is about to drop from triple digits to double digits. Zoom, zoom, zoom

Happy
You have
1. Dairy, at least 2 servings
2. Meat, at least 2 servings ( if you don't eat meat you can have other proteins )
3. Veggie, at least 3 serving/Fruit, at least 2 servings
4. Bread/Cereal, at least 6 servings.

Not sure why it was always called the 4 basic food groups since veggies and fruits could be their own group lol. I called an old school teacher and asked her about this one time. She said it was
1. Dairy
2. Meat
3. Fruits/Veggies
4. Grains

I found this quote on the net. " You may have grown up with the "Basic 4": dairy group, meat group, grain group, and the fruits and vegetables group."

I think maybe veggies and fruits were put in the same groups because in many cases they have the same things in them that are good for us.

Here is a new food pyramid and amounts of servings that came out in 2005. It is basically the same as the old pyramid except it breaks fruits and veggies into their own groups. http://www.usaring.com/health/food/FOOD.HTM

The dietitian/nutritionist said I don't have to eat that many since I don't need 2000 or more calories a day I could go with 3 Bread/Cereal, 1 dairy, 1 or 2 lower fat meats, 3 or 4 veggies, 2 or 3 fruits but to watch out for the carbs

HAPPY...GLAD MOM ONLY HAS THE RAIN. WHAT A STORM! THAT SYSTEM ACTUALLY PUSHED 2 STORMS AWAY FROM US BECAUSE OF IT'S FORCE. WE'RE ONLY GETTING WIND. THANKS FOR THE NIECE, PAINTER AND PILLAR UPDATE. LIKE TO KNOW MY FRIENDS ARE ALL SAFE
THE GOVT SAID THEY ARE GOING TO PROSECUTE GAS GOUGERS THIS TIME. HOPE THEY ARE SERIOUS ABOUT IT.

PATTY...THANKS ABOUT PAINTER. I LOOK AT THE MAP AND CAN'T JUDGE GLAD YOU AND THE FAMILY ARE SAFE AND SOUND SUCH DAMAGES I SAW ON THE TV!

CEEJAY...HAPPY TO HEAR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY DID OK ALSO. WHERE IS THIS CHIGGAR/TICK??????

SHAD...LOVE THE FLOWERS. THE TRIP SOUNDED GREAT. MUST HAVE BEEN NICE TO GO SOMEWHERE LESS HECTIC. A NEW CONTRACT??? AND WHERE IS THE DESTINATION THIS TIME?? INQUIRING MINDS NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS SO I KNOW WHAT TO PACK!!

HAPPY & RENNIE....DON'T CONFUSE ME MORE THAN I ALREADY AM BUT I THOUGHT WOMEN WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GETTING 3 DAIRY SERVINGS A DAY TO WARD OF OSTEOPOROSIS?!

I THINK I'LL BUY MYSELF A NEW KEYBOARD. THE LETTERS ARE WORN ALMOST ALL OFF AND JEN CAN'T SEE TO TYPE WHEN SHE COMES DOWN! "Maaaa, how can you type on this stupid thing?" OHHHH I JUST REMEMBERED I HAVE A SPLIT KEYBOARD IN THE CLOSET. I STUCK IT IN THERE WHEN I GOT THE REMOTE FROM A FRIEND WHEN I HURT MY BACK. I SHOULD TRY THAT AGAIN BEFORE I GET ANOTHER ONE.
I AM JUST RAMBLING HERE......CANCELLED THE MALL TRIP. IT WAS ONE I AM NOT INTERESTED IN. SO I AM A FREE SPIRIT TODAY.
HAPPY MONDAY/TUESDAY