SHAD~ GLAD TO HEAR THE DUST STORM IS MOVING ON. HOPE IT ALL SETTLES DOWN QUICKY. WAS THINKING OF YOU EARLY THIS MORNING...WE HAD MORE SHOWERS. MORE RAIN THAN WE HAVE EVER HAD ON THE EAST COAST THIS YEAR. MUST BE SOME OF YOURS!! WILL SEND STORMY THOUGHTS YOUR WAY HOPE THE HEADACHE LEAVES WITH THE WIND!!! THE FLOWERS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND I LIKE THE CLOSE-UP SHOTS BETTER. BUT I AM NO JUDGE OF DECORATING WHEN IT COMES TO PICTURES!

MICHELLE~ WOW!! THAT IS A MESS OF STEPS!! YOU COULD HAVE WALKED HERE BY NOW I AM NOT A SPORTS FAN BUT GIVE ME A GOOD MOVIE AND I CAN MUNCH MY WAY ALL THRU IT!!! TV WATCHING IS HUNGRY STUFF!!
* JUST READ ABOUT THE DOGGIE. HOPE ALL WILL BE WELL WHEN THE VET SEES HIM. SENDING YOU ALL A BIG

ANNIE~ 2 MILL IN BOOZE!! WOW!! YOU AND I ARE IN THE WRONG BUSINESS!! WE SHOULD BE MAKING HOOTCH IN OUR BASEMENTS AND BOTTLING IT UP FOR THE BIG GAMES!! GLAD YOU GOT OUT TO EAT AND EVEN HAPPIER TO HEAR YOUR 2 NIGHT RECORD SETTING SLEEP! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

CEEJAY~ HOPE THE DR CAN HELP WITH THE HIP. NOTHING WORSE WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO WORK THAN HIP PAIN. SENDING A YOUR WAY.


I CANNOT TELL A LIE...I ENDED UP SETTING UP THE ROOM FOR THE NURSES WITH 2 MAINT MEN. IT HADN'T BEEN DONE YET AND NO ONE KNEW WHAT TO DO. SIGH. THEN I GOT OUT OF THERE FAST. MY FRIEND CALLED JEN AND I DOWN WHEN THE CROWD THINNED OUT. NOT THE CROWD THAT WE EXPECTED. NOT EVEN NEAR A 100 PEOPLE. DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DEAL WITH THAT WAS. I USUALLY HAD 150-200. IT FIGURES THOUGH DOESN'T IT?? JEN IS STRUGGLING WITH SINUSES AND NOW THE "FLUSH" OF THE SHOT. I AM SO SO. BUT JUST GOING TO HAVE SOME LAZY DAYS. CARPET IS BEING REPLACED IN THE OFFICE AGAIN....THEY DID A BAD JOB AND IT'S BEING REDONE. I ONLY NEED TO OPEN AND CLOSE THIS TIME AND ALSO FOR THE COMPUTER TECHIE. HE'S GOING TO BE HERE ALL DAY SETTING UP THE HOST COMPUTER FOR THE INSTALLATION OF ALL THE NEW COMPUTERS. SO THE WEEKEND IS ALL MAPPED OUT FOR ME BUT THIS IS A "CASH" JOPB SO I AM HAPPY. O JUST HOPE THE SENIORS STAY QUIET!!!
HAPPY THURSDAY/FRIDAY

Mornin Chickies.

Well H*ll, I forgot to set the alarm clock last night and didn't wake until 6:30 this morning. That is about 1 1/2 hours later than I need to get up. Was rushed getting ready for work and was only 25 minutes late. WOuldn't of been that late except the traffic at the later hour is horrendous.

Chelle.....Great on the steppers. March on chickie. Goodluck at weigh in today. Poor doggie, hope everything is ok with him.

Shad...I vote for picture #3. It is brighter and more colorful..Altho a pink flower would look lovely also. Smiles...

My check in...not so good....up 1 lb. to 155. I know exactly why too and nuff said about that.

Heys to everyone.

Love and hugs.

MEL...you win the sneaker inner prize today.....You just can't stay away from that office, can you. It is hard to give up something you worked so hard to organize to an unruly crowd...

Good morning ladies,

Quick check in for me.

Michelle I hope everything will be ok with your puppy. Working on the teeth is always traumatic for them. Do you have to give him insulin or just monitor his food? I am astounded by all the steps you get in.

Annie - I'd say you did good (25 minutes) for oversleeping that long. Sure does wake you up fast when you realize what's going on

Mel - you'd better get in and out of the office with that carpet installation. All those smells and dust will not be doing you any good my friend. Oh how they depend on you - but the cash is always welcome, right?

Ceejay - hope you got in to see your doc and your hip is feeling better. I think they had me doing some physical therapy exercises. Not sure if they helped much.

Shad - I actually like the orchid shot as it's an interesting display. But the 2 orange flowers will no doubt pop on your aquamarine walls. That will add some interesting contrast. The pics are all very pretty.

Laura - did you get your mojo back again?

I guess I'd say I did ok this week. Didn't get to walk yesterday -started out 3 times and continually got disrupted. Got a few things done last night when I got home so feeling good about that. I'd say I started to tackle some of the bad habits. Taking my shoes (which I can feel working the leg muscles now that I'm doing regular walks in them) and plan on making up some laps today.

Gotta run. Everyone have a good day.

Well, it's Thursday so I'll just report for the challenge that my weight went the wrong way by an appalling number this week. Other goals were not met. Yesterday was okay for eating though, and in spite of the shock of the number on the scale this morning, I think I'm feeling less anxious about things overall and ready to get down to business.

I dug out my pedometers (turns out I have three) yesterday. I have an old one from McDonald's (a freebie that they were giving away when the introduce their new salads several years back) that's really just a step counter. I figured that was good enough for the time being, and the display still displayed and it reset when I hit that button, so I clipped it on yesterday evening and took doggy for a 25 min. walk. Total: 27 steps. I think the battery is gone, you think? I will look at the other two pedometers tonight and get one of them set with fresh battery and settings, etc. I suppose if I only care about counting steps and not the actual distance I go, I don't really need to worry about entering the correct length of my stride, etc. Such a PITA.

Okay, I'll have to get back later for personals!

Checking in. I actually lost .4 pounds, and it's better than a gain. I also lost an inch in the bust and gained an inch in the hips. I'm wondering if my hip is swollen due to the imflammation.

michelle
Poor doggie. I didn't realize that they had diseases such a diabetes. And yes the heating pad does work for awhile and so do the Tylenol arthritis strength meds. I need to take some more. I'm going to wait till tomorrrow to make sure these will help.

annie
Hugs. You've had some rough spots this week. Don't let it discourage you. Yes, I have had the injection in my hip but I think I over did it on the first day. The injection made me super hyper.

Laura
Hugs to you also. I know life gets in my way but it's not going to rule my emotions any more, easier said than done though. Good for you in digging out your pedometers. They probably all need new batteries. Had to replace the batteries in my blood pressure machine this morning. I thought I was a walking "dead person" this morning. It kept giving me errors.

Happy
Hope you get your walk in today at work. Working on the bad habits are great goals also. 50 miles is a good walking goal.

Mel
I think I smell a rat in the office. If I were a betting pere I'd say they just didn't do what they were supposed to do knowing you would do it. Get some rest.

Shad
I like all three picture's but the last one is my favorite. Glad the dust storm has moved out of your area also.


We had a horrible accident at work yesterday in the electric department. One of our line man was working on a transformer when it exploded. He was severely burned. He's in the Memphis Medical burn Center. Keep him in your thoughts.

I've been cleaning house this morning. The bathroom and kitchen are clean, and most of the laundry is done.

I still had over 7,000 steps last night from work.

Well Cr*p....I forgot my shower knob broke again in my shower. Will have to purchase yet another knob. I can't believe it as I am the ONLY one who showers in there and I am certainly not rough with the shower handle. It is like the metal is eating the plastic knob. Can't find a metal one anywhere, don't even know if they make them to fit that. This life is nichol and diming me to death. Will I ever meet the needs of my bills. Just shoot me in the eye.

Thanks everyone for your good wishes for my doggie. I am leaving in about 1/2 hour to take him to the vet. They want to examine him and do blood tests before they even consider doing a teeth cleaning and putting him under anesthesia. Hopefully, they'll just give us antibiotics and something to stop the bleeding and the pain and then we can bring him in for a cleaning when it's healed. My poor little guy.

Weigh in went good...not as good as I hoped given all my exercise....but I lost 0.4 lb, so I'll take it. Despite the stress of my doggie, my eating is good today. Not sure if I'll get in all the exercise I planned...what with the trip to the vet and all.

Mel - Sounds like you do have a busy weekend planned, but extra cash is definitely good.

Annie - Good thing you were only 25 minutes late. Up a lb isn't bad considering the wedding last weekend. Sorry to hear you have to change your shower knob again. That sucks. I'm surprised you can't find a metal one...not even at Home Depot?

Happy - We give my dog insulin injections twice a day, and we have to make sure he eats well at the time of the shot...so he doesn't get too much insulin. We don't check his blood daily (like I used to check mine). But we do take him in for periodic blood tests. Good for you for all the walking! I love that you're charting your miles!

Laura - I think your McD's pedometer has seen better days or at least needs a new battery.

Ceejay - You and I lost the same amount, and you're right...it is better than a gain. I'll bet the increase in your hip is due to inflammation...are you putting ice on it? A heating pad will increase inflammation (even though it does sometimes feel better than ice - ice will reduce inflammation). Yup...doggies and kitties can get diabetes...and we've taken care of both. Steroid injections can make a person hyper...as can oral steroids (Prednisone). Sending and saying prayers for the line man who was burned.

Well, I've got a few things to finish before I leave so I'd better get to it.

Thanks again for all the good thoughts about my dog!

Lots of love and hugs,

Annie – Oy, the alarm. I get ticked when I forget to turn it off for the weekend and it goes off on Saturday morning, but it's worse when it doesn't go off on a workday! Had no idea CVS did such a big liquor biz. Not the shower knob again! How frustrating.

Ceejay – Sorry you hip's still bothering you, even after the cortisone! Hope the doc can help you get some relief from the pain. Good to tell the boss you're taking it easy on the steps at work. And remind him about your hip the next time he wants to rearrange things in the office! Congrats on the loss this week. Awful news about the burned employee. I'll keep him in my thoughts.

Happy – Glad you had a good week for the challenge. Hope you make up the laps today. I just took a walk after lunch (Subway turkey sandw., baked chips) and now that I'm downloading podcasts, it's nice to walk and focus on something other than food and work while on my lunch break. I think I'm getting my mojo back.

Mel – Wonder why the flu shot volume was lower this year. Busy weekend for the office. What a hassle with the redo of the carpet. Don't hang around there sucking up those toxic fumes! Crossing my fingers the seniors stay quiet.

Michelle – I'm so sorry your doggy is suffering gum problems. I hope the vet can get them taken care of. I do not look forward to the day we have to have our dog in for teeth cleaning. I wish we'd gotten him on a tooth-brushing regimen as a pup! Good job on your exercise and food, and the loss! I didn't see anyplace on the McD's pedometer for a battery, or a screw to get to it, so I think that's it. I have a red heart-shaped freebie pedometer from Barbara's Puffins cereal, and I have another I bought from a sporting goods store many years ago. One of those should be fine, once I get the batteries changed out.

Shad – I hope the dust settles soon – the yellow sky seems so apocalyptic. Like Annie wrote – is that how it all ends? Keep inside! As for the pic for the loo – I think a more intense color against the aquamarine paint would look very nice. I also prefer the light, bright colors. I just bought a new shower curtain, but haven't gone out and bought all new coordinating rugs, towels, etc to go with it because the curtain colors are all deeper and I'm unsure if I even want to keep it.

Most of this morning was spent in a CPR class – I'm on the emergency committee at work. Thank goodness they have annual refresher courses! Nothing going on tonight, but I want to get out for a dog walk - with a working pedometer. Have a good afternoon ladies.

Afternoon all,

Meant to post this morning but got sidetracked. It's easy to do. I'm just waiting for the plaster to dry on the loo walls so I can patch up a couple of bits of paint. The tiling is finally finished. I can put all the tools away - Yahoo. Now only a few bits to do in there and get on with something else.

Not much to add today. I'm very tired for some reason so think a siesta might be in order.

I'll be back later to catch up on the posts.

Happy Friday ladies -

I took my dog Doppler to the vet yesterday. She examined him and ran blood tests. She was planning on doing a full dental cleaning today, but the blood test showed he was anemic (from his gums bleeding so much) and that his platelets were very low (which is why his gums were bleeding so much). She said that the low platelet count can be caused by his immune system seeing his platelets as something that shouldn't be there and destroying them, which can sometimes be caused by something a tick excretes into the blood when they bite (and we were just in tick country up north, but we checked the dogs for ticks and didn't see any). All our dogs are on Flea and Tick prevention...but that means that the flea or tick dies when they bite, so they could bite and get their anti-clotting agent into the bloodstream. She said normally they would treat this with antibiotics and steroids, but a side effect of the steroids would be that Doppler's nicely stabilized blood sugar would be thrown all out of whack. So instead she prescribed an immunosuppressant drug so that his platelet count would get back to normal. She said essentially, he has an auto-immune disease right now. But she believes it will clear up in a couple weeks. So antibiotics and immunosuppresants it is for a couple weeks. And she said that we can use Anbesol on his gums to help him be more comfortable. And for awhile, we're supposed to wet his food to make it softer for him to eat (and not as rough against his gums). I'm using low sodium, fat free chicken broth...and he's wolfing it down. He already seems more comfortable and hopefully by the time I get home today, he'll be feeling better.

I didn't get any exercise in yesterday, as after the vet appointment, which took awhile, I went to the pharmacy to get the prescriptions. But my eating was good and healthy. I'm planning to go to the gym tonight and this weekend. Other than that, no big plans for the weekend. We're kind of playing it by ear based on the weather. I will get to the gym and make some veggie soup though.

Laura - Every time I pay for a teeth cleaning for my dogs, I kick myself for not brushing their teeth regularly. But they hate it so much. I've got to do it now though at least once per week. Of course, I'll wait 'till Doppler's doing better before I brush his teeth, I don't want to aggravate his gums and get them bleeding again. Get those pedometer batteries, girlfriend! Glad to hear you got your mojo back. That's cool that your company sends you to CPR class. I'd used to know how to do that...but my certification lapsed long ago.

Shad - You might be tired because you're always busy doing something! Or it could be with all the dust in the air, which doesn't allow you as much oxygen as you need. Sometimes we all need a siesta.

A big to everyone! I'll check back in later.

Love and hugs,

Good morning chicks,

A quick hiya before I have to skeedaddle out of here.

Nothing much going on here other than I'm eager to get the work part of Friday out of the way so I can get busy here at home.

I'll try and get on at lunch time. Happy Friday

Good Morning All....

Well got to work and went to make coffee, couldn't stand the site of the silverware and plastic ware drawers...soooooo clean both out with 409, went to the supply room, found some vinyl folders, cut them in half taped them together and made drawer liners. Washed out the ware holders and now it is all nice and clean....Eventually I will have that breakroom clean and useable to my standards. lol

Chelle....well the news on doggie is better than expected. Could of been a lot worse. Hope he gets to feeling much better. I finally got 8500 steps in yesterday. I had been wearing my pedometer in the wrong place and it was only chalking up about half my steps, so now I am getting a better count where I am wearing it now. I have been cheating myself of steps since this past January, almost a year. What a duh head.

Shad...you are exhausted from all the work you do in the loo...lol. More ways than one. hehe.. I am the jokester this morning.

Laura...at my last place of employment, I was on the Safety Team and got CPR and ADE training for free. I do miss that now as I am no longer certified. Good for you! Keep OP this weekend and give us a great report on Monday.....

Tony's OT got changed to Sat night, so we actually get to spend some time together tonight. Sad thing is we are both exhausted and will probably sleep most of it. LOL. At least we will be together. How dorkie is that?

I have had....drum roll please....4 nights of uninterrupted sleep. I am feeling pretty good at the moment. The funny thing is I have been sleep on top of the comforter, sleeping side to side rather than the normal direction on the bed. I am thinking, hey whatever it takes....I will do it to sleep. Hella Bella thinks I have lost my mind, cause when I kiss her goodnight and love on her before bed, it is from the wrong side of the bed according to her. She just stands and looks at me.

Hey to all....have a great Friday...TGIF fo sho.

Love and hugs.

Happy...you are the sneaker inner today...have a great day at work, my dear.

Hugs

Annie – we covered the AED in the CPR class as well. Our company has this training annually, so I should be able to keep up the certif. as long as I'm willing to be on the Emerg. Committee.

Food's been much better the last couple days (eating more rationally) and I weighed in this morning down two pounds from yesterday's weigh in. Certainly was something going on other than pure weight gain at yesterday's weigh in, but I'm still up a pound from my starting point. But I earned that. Bummer about the undercounted pedometer steps - you could have earned your $$$ more quickly. But it's better than having overcounted.

Hope your co-workers follow your example and keep the break room clean.

So nice you're sleeping well this week! LOL about Bella's reaction.

Michelle – Doppler has a pretty complex health situation. I hope the immune system drug does the trick and he gets back in balance quickly. Re the toothbrushing – my bf thinks it's too late in the game to start (doggy is 6.5 yo), but I think it's worth a shot. But it's too tempting to take a short cut and just get in there with a toothbrush, instead of taking all the steps to get him accustomed to it – i.e, getting him used to having your fingers in his mouth, rubbing his teeth, etc. It's something that takes consistency, that's for sure.

Finally: I popped a fresh battery in my pedometer and steps so far today are 2282.

Shad – Your post reminds me that I have to finish the patching project I started last month in the dining room. A couple patched areas were larger and took longer to dry… and I never got back to it the next day. Yeh, I agree w/ Michelle – wonder if all that dust in the air is making you feel tired.

Hellos to Ceejay, Mel and Patty!

I have my annual mammo tomorrow morning, oh fun. No other exciting weekend plans, but I need to do some shopping for just about everything. Saturday is forecast as rainy, so I won't mind being indoors at the stores. Okay, back to work for me. Have a good weekend everyone.