Afternoon
Sounds like every one is in a good mood today.

I had a nice surprise last night. My cousin Jack and his wife came for a visit. They haven't change much through out the years. It was good to catch up. I know they were hinting for a room to sleep but with knowing they wanted to talk all night I could not do that. I'll plan a week end for them to come back.
The boss has been here this morning. He's in the rearranging mood. It looks a bit different. I'm not sure if I cleared the pedometer this morning but right now there is 18,635 steps on it. I did help the boss and work up a sweat.
More later.

Well the dust storm has hit here and everything is a horrid shade of yellow/ brown. The wind is getting up and its pretty airless. Good day to do nothing but read a book or cook or something. I'm needing to come up with something for the loo room to finish it off. The jellyfish suncatcher is good but I need something to make it look brighter. Pink didn't meet with a very good look from the blokes here last night so I have will have to look for something with oranges, yellows and reds in it. I'm sure I have something in my stash of pictures.

I think the dust is giving me a headache. Time to go drink the water and get some tablets. See you

Geez Louise Shad - that's pretty scary looking! Hope you will be ok. Guess you don't want to be outside breathing that dust in.

What about using some bright accessories in the loo? Or window or shower curtains? People here seem to be on a kick for a dark loo - deep grays or greens with granite with black flecks in it. I guess that's ok for a small powder room but would not want my large bath done in those dark colors. I am not a decorator, yet I look at what some people do with very simple things and it looks great.

Morning chicks,

Shad - loved the DS comment on FB about the storm - he's got wit that boy does :D Right now does not sound like the ideal time to visit you!

Ceejay - that was nice with the family visit. Hopefully you can catch up again this weekend.

How are you liking the You on a Diet Michelle? I have the book too - one of the many collecting dust on the shelf. Shame on me :nono:

Annie - I must have read your post too fast - you must have one of those high end deductible plans - $2700???? Yikes - if you're reasonably healthy that's almost like not having insurance. However, if I think about it, for what I'm paying each month for Blue Cross/Blue Shield - your plan is probably still cheaper. I used to take coverage for granted because DH's benefits were so good nothing else can compare. And I had to rush things to pick up coverage this year after he got cut so I didn't have much time to compare. I know it's costing us alot more now. CVS sounds like a busy place at night -where all the happening people meet :lol: Then again the Walgreen's parking lots are full too. Everyone must be attracted to a drug store! I miss the combo stores they had in Chicago - could get everything I needed in 1 trip. Of course I spent way more too.

How many forms did you fill out on others behalf Mel? I think you need a hunky volunteer helper trying to get some community service points in. You could rub his back as he takes down the seniors info. :rofl:

Gotta get rolling here. Hellos to the rest of the ladies. :wave:

GOOD MORNING CHICKS. I AM OFF TO GET SHOWERED AND DRESSED. BUT I AM NOT GOING DOWN EARLY. WAITING TILL THE BULK OF THE CROWD LEAVES. YESTERDAY WENT WELL AND NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE CAME TO THE DOOR. THEY SNEAKED TO MY DOOR AND NO ONE TOLD THE OFFICE. WITH THE NEW INFLUX OF PEOPLE OVER THE LAST 2 YEARS, THERE IS LESS ILLITERACY IN THE BLDG....IN FACT IT IS ALMOST GONE. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THE LANGUAGE BARRIER AND I HAVE ENCOURAGED THEM TO HELP EACH OTHER. HOPEFULLY NEXT YEAR WILL GO EVEN SMOOTHER...SENIOR WISE THAT IS. THE "MANAGERS" ARE ALL AMOK :dizzy: THEY CLAIM SOMEONE IS COMING AN HOUR EARLY TO HELP OUT. WANNA BET THEY ARE A NO SHOW?!
HAPPY WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY :moped:

HAPPY~ OBAMA IS RIGHT IN THAT IF HE DOESN'T GET SOME KIND OF HEALTHCARE GOING, THEN THE GOVT PROGRAMS WILL BE OVER USED AND THUS BANKRUPT. WHILE THIS IS ALL GOING ON...LATER THEY REALLY NEED TO ADDRESS THE WELFARE SYSTEM. NOW THAT'S A WHOLE OTHER SOAPBOX!! :rofl: HAPPY, I LIKE THAT IDEA OF THE HUNK!! I CAN DO BACKS!! :belly:

ANNIE~ IT ALWAYS AMAZES ME THAT YOU CAN SEE THE LINES OUTSIDE SMALL STORES GETTING READY FOR THE GAMES :rofl: PEOPLE ARE NUTS. THE ADS ON TV SAY WE CAN'T WATCH THESE GAMES WITHOUT THE FOODIES SURROUNDING US ON THE COUCH AND WE BELIEVE IT! :lol3: AT LEAST YOU GOT HEALTHY THIS WEEK. GOOD FOR YOU!!

LAURA~ HAVE FUN AT THE MOVIES. WHEN I TAKE MY LUNCH "TO WORK" DOWNSTAIRS, THEY LAUGH!! :rofl: YEARS AGO MY DD BOUGHT ME A METAL LUNCHBOX!!

MICHELLE~ SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE THE HIBERNATION BUG LIKE JEN AND I HAVE. SEEMS EVERY FALL WE GET SLEEPY-ISH AND THE ENERGY DRAINS. HOPE YOU SHAKE IT OFF. NICE STEPPING ANYWAY!

SHAD~ GOD IT GETS HOT THERE!! PAINT DRYING ON NTHE BRUSH HOT! :faint: GUESS I WILL HAVE TO STAY OVER HERE THEN. :rofl: WHEN MANKIND IS GONE...THE BUGS ARE GOING TO TAKE OVER THE PLANET. THEY LIVE THRU ANYTHING. HOPE YOU GUYS GET SOME RAIN THIS YEAR AND KEEP THE FIRES AT BAY. WHEN THEY SPOKE ON TV ABOUT CALIFORNIA...THEY SAID AS MUCH FOR AUS. SEEMS LIKE THESE FIRES GET WORSE EVERY YEAR. THE PICS ARE GORGEOUS AS ALWAYS. TOUGH CHOICE!

JEANETTE~ NICE FOR THE VISIT AND GOOD FOR YOU STICKING TO THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU...LIKE PEACE AND QUIET! HOPE YOUR DAY GOES WELL AND CONGRATS ON THE STEPS!! EVEN FOR 2 DAYS THAT IS GREAT.

Happy Hump Day!

It was raining most of the day yesterday, and I had a class/workshop after work, so I couldn't get to the gym....so I only got about 6300 steps in (walking around and between buildings) but no extra exercise. Oh well, given that I walked almost 18000 on Monday, that still puts me well over 20,000 for the two days. I will walk more at work today and am going to the gym tonight.

Shad - Sorry to hear about the dust storms! That must be awful! The photos look so weird and eerie. I hope your headache goes away soon. As for the smell of ciggies...I quit nearly 20 years ago, and now I can't even be around it. Even outdoors, if someone is smoking near me, I can feel my lungs tighten. It sucks because so many people here smoke. But hopefully when the new laws go into effect that ban smoking in all restaurant and bars and some outdoor venues, I'll be able to breathe easier.

Ceejay - How nice of your cousin and his wife to drop by! Over 18,000 steps? You rock, sista! Great job on getting so much walking and exercise in!! :woohoo:

Happy - I haven't cracked open the You on a Diet book yet, but I listen to the audiobook in the car. I really like it. Some good info about the body chemistry and why things work the way they do, and some good common sense advice. I'll still follow WW, but I am gleaning some good tips from this book. BTW, is the presentation this week or next...or did I miss it? You don't sound as stressed about it.

Mel - I admit that I'm one of those who likes to munch while watching football. Normally I munch on pretzels and diet soda...but this past week's game was frustrating and I wanted to keep on crunching...and didn't have enough points for a whole bag of pretzels...so I crunched on carrots instead. Good on you and Jen for getting your shots. I'm getting mine in a couple weeks.

Lots to do today, so I'd better get on with it.

Love and hugs to all,

Hump Day/Trash Day..............

Well as it turned out last night, T called me here at work around 4p and wanted to know if I wanted to meet him at Good Fellas for dinner. Heck yeah, no cooking for me. They make oven baked pizza's. OMG it was so tasty. It had pepperoni (which I picked off, doesn't settle in tummy to well), sliced meatballs<---weird thing on the ZA but was good, green pepper, black olives and jalapenos (yep, can't live without those). I had 1 1/2 pieces of ZA, a side salad, and a full glass of water (probably a 30 oz glass. Not so bad, I guess, could of been worse. The ZA was so good, I wanted to keep eating it, but tummy said no ma'am. T started OT last night too, now he goes in at 8:00 pm and gets off at 7:00 am. Poor baby, altho he didn't really look all that tired.

****I have set a two night record**** Two blissful nights of sleep in a row. Is it the eating healther? or am I just plum tuckered out from all the excitement of life and work. LOL

Shad...wow the dust storm pictures look like something out of a nuclear bomb movie, or the end of the earth. Yikes! Stay inside and read, cooking always leads to overeating. wink wink.... Maybe you could place one of your beautiful pix of flowers in the loo. I love your pictures. You should go into some sort of photo business.

Ceejay....18,635 steps by this am. Me thinks, you forgot to erase yesterday's count. Or maybe not...just could be hopping around a lot.

Happy....Yes, CVS is a hopping place, filled with ALL kinds of people. I have been hit on about 8 times and asked out twice. WHere were all these men before I met Tony? Not a soul paid attention to me before and I was begging for a date. Life is funny like that.

Hidee Ho to Everone...Chelle, Patty, Laura and anyone else I have missed. Oh and the sneaker inners that will have posted before I could hit reply.

Love and Hugs

Ok MEL and CHELLE are the sneaker inners...back to post to you shortly.

MEL...let's see, you are a "No Show Sneaker Inner" NSSI- sounds like a cop show. It is sad about snacking during football/sports, but it is certainly job security for those of us who work at CVS...Most of the sales is alcohol. I think I may have mentioned on here before, but CVS did 2 million in the alcohol aisle ALONE last year. Wow, that is a lot of booze. Plus CVS has such awesome sales on alcohol, people tend to shop there instead of the typical liquor stores. At least in our area. Hmmm, all the fires, I wonder if that is how this all ends???

Chelle...I was raised in cigarette smoke, bad stuff, my dad was a 4 to 5 packer a day. It was like walking through a smoke wall. I blame all my medical and mental (lol) probs on my dad's 2nd hand smoke. I was never a smoker, so the smell has always grossed me out. For no walking and exercising 6300 steps is quite good. You are doing wonderful.

Better get on with this job. Played entirely too much this morning already.

Love and Hugs

I'm not in a good mood today. My hip is still very painful. I almost called in sick. I've told the boss that I'm taking it easy today--Not going up and down the stairs every hour either. I will be going back to the doctor tomorrow. I'm hoping he'll make an x-ray.

I'm going to agree with Annie that I didn't reset my pedometer yesterday. However, the boss and I worked like toe heads rearranging stuff.

Shad
Those pictures are spooky. Hope it doesn't last long. Stay inside as much as possible.

Ceejay, maybe you need one of Chelle's shots in your hip?

Ceejay - I hope your hip is feeling a little better. I'm glad you're going to see the doc. Does ice or heat help when you get home and can rest?

Annie - Until I was 10, I was raised in a smoky household. My mother smoked like a smokestack. I totally understand the wall of smoke, and I do blame my asthma on growing up in that environment. When I was 10, I went to live with my dad and step-mom who don't smoke (well, my dad smoked cigars occasionally...but not too much).

Tomorrow is the Worldlies check in day. I have a feeling I either stayed the same if not up one lb. Just a feeling, nothing to base it on.

Chelle...Go Figure..I raised my kids in a smoke free environment. Now my daughter has smoked since she was 20 she will be 24 in November. My son chews and has since about 17 he is 21. It breaks my heart too and I tell them that. I know I shouldn't say that to them for making them feel guilty, however I just hate that about both my kids.

Morning all,
Well our skies are clear again but it is a bit hazy out there. Everything is covered with a layer of orange/red dirt and we are being advised not to exercise outside today or for the rest of the week since it will take that long for all the dust to settle. Today the dust cloud has moved north to Cairns and Townsville. We should also wash the house walls and not let water into the rain tanks (should it ever rain) until the guttering is cleared and cleaned. Mother Nature sure is showing her temper this week. Fire, dust, wind, hail and snow. This continent has had it all in the last 7 days.
I've been looking through my photos and have sort of picked three to take to the store and have printed. I'll attach them at the bottom so we can take a vote on yes or no or if you think there are others in the collection that would be better, let me know. I'm not sure about the orchids. I might prefer another picture of a subject which is closer.
I'm thinking of printing them around size 10x8" and either putting them in a silver frame or maybe on a block and no frame at all. Either way, they are to go on a deep aquamarine wall. The paint is actually called Dashing Green but it really isn't green.
Weight unfortunately is up this week. It's because I have been eating too many carbs and not enough veges. I'll have to work on that. Not good.

Mel - Take care and avoid the officials. Otherwise you will be back in the thick of it. They just love volunteers. Take your lunch with pride in the metal lunchbox. Did DD decorate the box?

Happy - good to hear you are moving easily in the new shoes. I really need new trainers myself. I might have to take a trip to the States to get some. They are so incredibly expensive here. Bah Humbug.
I've seen the dark trends in loos and bathrooms over here. Can't imagine showering in black granite with splashes of red and having to have the lights or candles burning all the time just to see your way around. My loo - which is separate from the bathroom is in white, black and aqua. It looks a bit clinical (but clean) that is why I need to brighten it up a bit. If it was black and red, being the size it is (small - about 5' by 3') it might just be like the inside of a coffin - closed.

Michelle - Sometimes a day off from the gym is beneficial - gives the muscles a time to heal.

Annie - dinner sounds good if not on plan. Helps sometims.

Ceejay - Probably all that rearranging didn't do the hip much good. Hope it feels better today.

And with that it is time to get on with the day. I've wasted enough of it already. But that's life.

Today is not a good day for me emotionally...I'm worried about my dog. He's having problems with his gums. They are bleeding and sore and he's having trouble eating. Since he is diabetic and on insulin, we need to make sure he eats...so I'm giving him softer foods. I'm going to call the vet today and see if I can get him in tomorrow. They'll have to put him under anesthesia to examine and clean his teeth and fix his gums. He's such a sweetie. I hate to see him in pain.

I got about 17,500 steps in yesterday, which included an hour on the treadmill. And I did well eating within my points. Hopefully, weigh in today will be good. After work, I plan to go to the gym for 1/2 hour of cardio, 1/2 hour of weights and maybe 1/2 hour of Tai Chi.

Shad - Mother Nature is sure taking it ALL out on the land down under, huh? The photos are lovely!

I'll catch up with everyone later...lots to get done this morning, including trying to get out of this worry funk.