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#16

Maggie , 08-18-2012 02:54 PM

Simply Sunny Saturday

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

I have gotten the meat we just put in the freezer yesterday re-arranged in the proper places now and it is easy to see what we have in each category. Makes it easier when I am meal planning to know what is in there. Not much planning today for we shared a can of soup for lunch and for dinner we are having outdoor grilled burgers. I have some beautiful ripe tomatoes on the counter that we purchased yesterday. I always slice up more than is necessary to go in the burgers for I like eating them on the side. Life is good.

Not much on my calendar to get done today aside from the usual picking up and cleaning that is an on-going chore. I noticed the small water measure cup used for the smoker on the kitchen counter and when I put it in the smoker where it belongs I got a good whiff of what the smoker smells like inside. Yum ~ yum. Even after a nice washing it still smells like smoked meat which isn�t a bad thing.

JEAN How is your sorting and pitching coming along ~ any progress there? Good idea to get "batman" on your speed dial and get him there proto for those little critters are not welcome in domiciles. Give that recipe a try for I am sure you will like it.

Have a wonderful day Magnolias.

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#17

gma22 , 08-19-2012 07:52 AM

Good morning girls. Yesterday I had an eye dr appt and they have cut benefits so I only bought two boxes of contacts and will buy the rest online. Walmart/1800contacts charges $62 a box for them and vision direct online charges you $48 a box plus you get 5% off at checkout and free shipping. So I always buy enough from Walmart to cover my allowance and get the rest online. She said my eyes look great and my pressure is "impressive." She said normal eye pressure is around 22 and mine is 11 so for the time being I have no cataract problems for sure. She said the eye looked really healthy and no change in my eyes. I have the same prescription for both eyes so that works out well too. I never have to remember which eye is which, etc. I felt really bad going yesterday, but she only works every other week and I was late going anyway so I just sucked it up and went. Luckily, she only had one patient and she finished him up when I got there so I didn't have to sit around and wait. It took longer to do all the new stuff for the insurance. They have changed policy and such and it had just come out on Friday so the stuff wasn't in the system yet.

Today is commissary day. I am a little sick at my tummy this morning, but I am hoping as the morning goes along that will go away. I figure the hormones have been in my system long enough now to cause problems so will just have to deal with them, right???

I got a call from our post office yesterday as we were going to lunch and he said they don't know why the sort center was holding on to the package, but tomorrow they would get on it and get them to pull it and send it on its way. Well, I reordered and had them shipped Fedex and contacted Walmart and they issued me a refund so I imagine when they do get here I will have a time of it returning them because I won't need a refund and they probably can't take items without issuing a refund. So, I may just have to keep the darn things if they ever appear. At least they are one black and one white so can be used with anything.

Maggie: The Amish make this dish called baked steak. You pound rd steak or I use sirloin until it is tenderized, cut into pieces, brown it on both sides and cook it in gravy. I am sure they make homemade gravy, but I cut corners. I use a 1 lb piece of steak, then for the gravy whisk 2 c ff beef broth and two packets of gravy mix together, pour over the browned steak pieces and cook about half an hour or so until the meat is super tender. I have a pannini sandwich type machine and never use it. Jack won't eat them that way, and I rarely make a lot of sandwiches for myself. I was dying to have one then didn't use it. It is a small one, makes just one sandwich at a time.

Jean: Geez, you could be overrun by bats by the time that guy gets out to your house. Isn't it unusual to find them in the basement? I am assuming that is where Ernies bowl was not in the attic! I got bit repeatedly by something under my fat area and am trying to get it healed. I thought it was like heat rash or something, but I don't think so. I think I got bit by a spider or something over and over. I have used protective cream to keep it dry, anti fungal cream, and will get some kind of antibiotic stuff today and see if it will heal it up. If not, guess I will be going to the doctor.

Well girls, Jack is up and around. I need to get us some breakfast so we can get cleaned up and go shopping. Have a great Sunday and great start to your week. Faye

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#18

QuilterInVA , 08-19-2012 12:02 PM

Good morning, ladies! Only 75 degrees and getting ready for yet another storm.

While Glory and I were at tea last week, it rained 3.5 inches in 1.5 hours. I never thought about that area flooding and when we went to leave, the water was half way up my wheels and I had about 1.5 inches in the passenger side of the car, front and back. We had to wade though water half way to our knees to get to the car. Much praying got us started and out of the water and finally home. I cleaned out the water and dried it as much as I could and left the windows down for several days and the heat dried it. TG!

I added pilates to my workout this week. Lots of fun and I swear I used muscles I haven't used in years. Now I need to get my own mat. The Y has them but I don't much like the idea of using a mat someone else has sweated on. Pilates is supposed to be one of the best weight bearing exercises so we'll see. A young lady who had twins 4 months ago also started the day I did and we have buddied up. It sure is harder than Yoga. Anyway my exercise schedule now is 2 sessions (45-60) minutes of water aerobics, weight training, yoga, pilates, and walking on days I don't go to the Y.

Faye, your baked steak sounds good. I'll give it a try. I hope you feel better before you have to go to the commissary.

Jean, I've heard of bats in the belfry but never bats in the basement! People around here put out bat houses since they eat mosquitos, etc. Not me!

Maggie, I have one shelf each for seafood, pork, beef, chicken/turkey, vegetables and entrees I have made. I plan my meals a week in advance and get everything out of the freezer at one time and put it in the fridge freezer. Works well for me.

Have a wonderful day - I hear thunder so want to shutdown the computer now.

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#19

QuilterInVA , 08-20-2012 07:42 AM

Good morning, ladies! A cool 70 degrees and I woke up to rain this morning. Its a nice soaking rain instead of a thunderstorm for a change so shouldn't shut down the pool at the Y this am.

I'm going to the Y this morning for water aerobics, pilates and yoga. I need to mop the kitchen this afternoon and then I can quilt for the rest of the day.

I hope you all have an enjoyable day!

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#20

Jean , 08-20-2012 12:23 PM

Good Morning, Flowers! It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood, sunny and cool. Church and gift shop balanced first time which is always nice. I have P.E.O. this afternoon and then we are heading to Sioux City for Maddie's soccer game.

Maggie -- I did get another box ready for the SOS store and part of a garbage bag for the Good Will. I am making progress . . . I think!

"Gma" -- I do hope the po finds your package and gets it to you. Glad you had a good eye exam.

Susan -- It would be scary to have water running into your car! I'm glad you were able to get it started and leave the area. You are definitely our exercise queen!

I need to make some phone calls and pick up my gift shop papers off the kitchen table. Everything has sheet rock dust on it. *sigh* Have a marvelous Monday and enjoy your day!

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#21

gma22 , 08-20-2012 02:01 PM

Good afternoon gals. Brother this post office business has gotten to be funny at this point. I did get the two tanks just a few minutes ago. This is the second ones I ordered and paid for overnight shipping Fedex. I have to tell you they are super soft, will work great, and are long enough. I hate shirts and tops that are short. On the other end of it, I doubt the others will be delivered. I went to the Walmart website and pulled up the order and got the USPS tracking number. I put it in and it showed the package was in LITTLE ROCK on Saturday night. I would say this means they didn't try to deliver it, but have sent it back to Walmart. That is ok since they already have given me a refund, but this is so screwed up! lololol

I am getting ready to head upstairs and clean upstairs. It was a busy weekend and I never did get any housework done. I did get the laundry done though.

Susan: The baked steak is really good and you can make the gravy using just the broth thickened with flour or cornstarch then cook the meat in it. Jack likes the taste of the powdered gravy mixes. Sounds like you had a bit of a harrowing time of it just to go to tea. Jack wants to do another cruise on the big ship year after next. One of the excursions is in Jamaica and they have high tea. I would love to do high tea. I am not sure he would be totally up for it, but I think it sounds grand. Glad you got everything dried out. You may end up needing Febreeze like the commercials!

Jean: Nice to get everything even the first go around. Hopefully it won't be too long and everything will be finished and you can clean up the mess. I dread when we tear this place apart and remodel. Hope you have fun at the soccer game. Jackson starts kindergarten this week so that should be interesting, but he is used to being in a school atmosphere all day long so he shouldn't have much to adapt to thank goodness.

Well, Fortune wants to go out and is barking his head off so I need to get out of here. Have a great start to the week. Faye

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#22

Maggie , 08-20-2012 02:03 PM

Marvelous Monday

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood in the high 70�s and said to not get over the mid 80�s. Puts a smile on my face for sure. I ordered a new top and pants outfit today. Bright colorful top and black pants of a light material that will be good for this summer and fall weather. It is called ‘Mandarin Spice’ Satin with top having a light tangerine background with pretty flowers and leaves scattered about in white, green and black. Looks prettier than I can describe it. Anyway the top is nice caftan type ~ long & loose like I like them.

We ate our lunch out after church yesterday out at our favorite Italian restaurant and needless to say I was about out of points for the day. However, I have not used many of my extra weekly points and had a light dinner. I do so want to show a loss at WW but this morning weighed the same on my scale as I did last Monday. I still have 38 of the 49 points allotted for the week and it looks like I won’t show a loss at WW this evening. AH ~ but this is how my system loses. Sporadically to say the least. It would be easy for me to get discouraged but I am holding on and will attend WW this evening. I just think I should lose if I have had a good week ~ but alas that isn’t how my system wants it to be. I guess maybe I need to bump up my exercising routine and maybe that will help with the weight loss. It will make me stronger anyway. I can add more sweating with the oldies with the “Blast Off” DVD’s by Richard Simmons and my weighted ball workout by “Danskin”. I have lots of WW DVD’s and some other stuff and will add something to my routine this week. I love to listen to James Brown belt out “I FEEL GOOD” on his 20 All Time Greatest Hits DVD when I am working out with my hand weights and heavy balls. Yep, I will bump up my routine.

I have to use lip moisture and like the “Nivea” brand which does a great job of sealing in moisture. Anyway I keep a tube by my water container on my night stand so if I wake during the night I can use it. Here lately it has disappeared off that table and Will finds it in his office floor under his desk. We could only figure that Cecil was absconding with it so last night I put it in my shoe and when he got on that table I heard my water bottle go thump. The little scudder didn’t have that tube to swipe so swatted my water bottle off the table. That little guy is such a good source of entertainment. He isn’t quite as smart as Turn was but he is a smart little critter. OH but he loves to bring in June bugs and play them to death.

JEAN I'd say you are making progress in your basement. That game will be fun to watch ~ kids are always a treat to see play ball.

SUSAN I wish we could get some of that moisture you are getting where you live. We are very dry. Seems the edges of the country are either gettin rain or they are burning. We in the middle need moisture badly. I am so glad we got those water bladder bags to keep our little trees alive. I do so admire your exercise routine. I wish I had your gumption. It is sure nice to have your freezer organized isn't it.

DONNA FAYE That Amish way of cooking steak sounds yummy and I will just have to give it a try. Hope you do finally get your package. A gal can always use 2 white and 2 black slings if you end up not being able to return one set.

OOPS DONNA FAYE Your post wasn't there when I posted ~ glad you got a refund. But they need to deliver things when they are supposed to and not just return them ~ lazy folks.

Have a wonderful day Magnolias.

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#23

Maggie , 08-21-2012 12:37 PM

Titilating Tuesday

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

Well folks I am up half a pound. I really don�t have a clue why but I do know this has happened so many times in the past so it is really is a part of how my system sheds pounds. I didn�t use most of my 49 weekly allowance points +, kept close track of what I put between my lips and did everything right (I thought) so here I am with a half a pound gain. Just doesn�t seem right but it is the way it is. This week I plan on bumping up my exercise routine and watching my sodium intake. I can tell when I am packing water by the way my rings fit and they are currently tight. At WW last evening one of the members that is a teacher of grade school said that they have those big exercise balls for each child to sit on instead of a chair. As long as they just sit and don�t start bouncing them they can keep sitting on them but if they bounce they are taken away and given a chair. It is to promote and improve their core muscles and balance. I am thinking of getting one to use here at my desk instead of my chair. My core muscles and balance could use some improvement. Plus there are some of the exercises they do with them that I could do but not all of them for they are a bit much for this old body. Today I am going to start by bumping up my walking laps and adding more reps to my weight lifting routine and do some sweating to the oldies. While watching TV in the evening I get up and walk around. That�s the plan. I really don�t know what else to do to nudge the scale. Any suggestions are welcome. I seriously want to lose weight and I am almost half way there ~ so close I can see it. 7 Pounds more gone by my birthday on the 12th of ♪♪Roctober ♪♪ ~ at a pound a week. I should be able to do that in a couple months if my body will co-operate, that is. Won�t it be grand to be half way there on my birthday. That�s my plan and I am sticking to it.

Have a wonderful day Magnolias.

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#24

gma22 , 08-21-2012 12:43 PM

Good morning girls! I got the upstairs cleaned so I will tackle downstairs tomorrow I guess. Jack is going to have to reshampoo again since Fortune got sick while the guys were here. We do spot cleaning on each area, but then fit in doing the shampooing again when we have the time.

I just told off the customer service person for the post office. She gave me this blah, blah, blah excuses as to why it kept being passed around in the same processing area and finally being shipped back to Walmart. She didn't know that I had talked to Walmart and found out that they take the addressing off the package and put it on order status page so that the address is correct, which means the address on the package wasn't incorrect like she tried to tell me it was. Anyway, I gave her an earful and told her employees that worked for the post office should be embarrassed to say they do, but oh yeah, they are union employees who are almost impossible to fire so why would they care??? I told her I was tired of waiting for anyone to care enough to answer my emails and such so I took care of the problem myself and to leave me alone. I said I didn't appreciate having to pay overnight FEDEX fees just so I could get the tanks. I then told her good bye and hung up. Guess I am getting to be a real crab in my old age.

Maggie: Yes, try the steak this way. It is lovely and tender and yummy. I always buy a piece of sirloin then tenderize it. I find not only is it easier to tenderize, it comes out so tender you can cut it with a fork. I am a huge fan of Burt's Bees lip balm, cuticle stuff, etc. For some reason, my thumb cuticle seems to get torn up a love and his salve for cuticles seems to fix it right up.

Well girls, I need to do a couple chores around the house before Jack gets home. Have a nice day all. Faye

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#25

Jean , 08-21-2012 02:50 PM

Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's another beautiful day in my neighborhood, sunny and breezy cool. Love it! I'm meeting a retired friend for coffee a little later this afternoon. Have been wiping sheet rock dust and picking up the clutter this morning. I think the clutter appears during the night when I'm asleep. We had to take pictures and move some furniture away from the wall where the new doors will go so my livingroom area really looks cluttered with the extra stuff in it.

"Gma" -- It will be intersting to see if Jackson has any different thoughts about school now that he is in kindergarten. Ian and Zowie will get on the bus at 7:15 and not get home until around 4, which is a long day in my opinion. I don't blame you for telling off the po gal. Sad part is she probably can't do anything about it except listen, and then didn't have anything to do with the snafu in the first place.

Maggie -- I'm sorry about the gain! That is hard to take when you did everything right last week. Just keep on doing what you know you are supposed to do. I hope you have a BIG loss next week. I've thought about getting one of those exercise balls. They look easy but I'm such a clutz that I would probably fall right off.

I need to decide what I'm going to wear and get going. Have a nice rest of the day and enjoy!

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#26

Maggie , 08-21-2012 04:00 PM

Back For A Bit

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

While Will was gone to visit a gentleman at the hospital I had one of WW oatmeal cups for lunch and it was yummy. I drank a small can of hot V8 with it and I still am not hungry for it all stuck with me. I just finished making a little booklet which Will just took down to the shop to have it spiral bound. The categories across the 3 x 5 pages are ~ Date, Exercise, Time, Reps, Feelings. I figure when I check my heart rate I can write in the �feelings� area. I made lots of pages front and back and put a stack of colored paper in the back for whatever I want to stick on them or write on them. I laminated the front and back and it will be a nice little booklet for me to keep track of my exercise sessions. I am determined to do this thing. I was kind of figuring to wait until I reached my half way point to get real serious about exercising but looks like now is a good time to get going with this. I am one of those who hates to exercise and have to force myself to do it. Any excuse to �not do� has been a valid one.

JEAN Those balls are supposed to help your balance. I doubt if you would fall off. Start out sitting on it with something to hang on to like your desk or a table. Come pay day I am going to order one. Does the school where you are use them in the grade school area?

DONNA FAYE I will look for that Bart's Bee lip balm ~ sounds interesting ~ thanks for the heads up on that product.

Have a wonderful day Magnolias.

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#27

Maggie , 08-22-2012 01:00 PM

Wonderful Warm Wednesday

GOOD EARLY AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

It is currently 82� and said to just nudge the low 90� this day. I actually got in 3 sessions of walking yesterday and will do the same today adding more time each session each day of the week with Sat & Sun off. I quit my walking awhile back and have to ease back into it. My heart rate got up in the proper zone for my age so I know it is doing me some good. If you are a beginning walker, use this formula to find your target heart rate during a workout.
Here is how you find your �heart rate�:
Step 1: Subtract your age from 220.
Step 2 To find the low end of your target range, multiply the result of step 1 by 0.5.
Step 3 To find the high end of your target range, multiply the result of step 1 by 0.6. Your �heart rate� should fall within that range.
I have the plans for Beginning Walkers, Advanced Walkers, and Expert Walkers. I am starting all over with the plan for Beginning Walkers. The plan tells how many minutes to do each step in the plan ~ starting up to cooling down. I have collected walking �tips� from WW magazines and have them a small spiral bound booklet. I am serious about this walking business.

I am going to make a nice brunch in a bit. The plan is to make a batch of Maple-Bacon Breakfast Rolls and serve boiled eggs and fruit. The rolls are 4P+ each, yummy, and freeze well which is a good thing for the recipe makes a dozen. If any of you want the recipe I will e-mail it to you.

Have a wonderful day Magnolias.

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#28

gma22 , 08-22-2012 01:01 PM

Good morning girls. It sure is nice having cooler less humid mornings now that we are winding down summer. It still is getting into the 90's during the day, but most of the day stays cool and nice.

Jean: I think Jackson is taken to school by his mom or dad every morning. I was going to attach his first school day pic, but their attachment link isn't working properly. I imagine he will have a great time. His school is one of the public schools that dedicate learning to specific areas like math, reading, science, etc. I am not sure how his school works. Here they are called charter schools. I know you will be glad when your doors are put in and all the mess is cleaned up again. I probably wouldn't have gotten so mad, but this woman was condescending only saying they were sorry for the inconvenience. They sure weren't willing to take responsibility for screwing stuff up or explain properly why they sat on my stuff so I got mad.

Maggie: Make sure you look for Burt's Bees, not Bart's Bees. All the products are in a yellow orance containers and they make a variety of products. I figure I will be able to get loads of exercise while on the cruise. Between walking all over that huge ship, swimming and walking on the excursions I should get plenty of exercise. Jack and I have made a pact that we would try something we never had. Jack swears he is gonna try the escargot, but I think he will chicken out! lol You seem to have eaten lots of different stuff, have you ever eaten a fish called barramundi? Jack looked it up and I guess it is some kind of tropical bass. Maybe that's what I will try, who knows?

Well girls, time to go check on the laundry. We are having pork chops for dinner tonight and I am going to go out and put a couple yeast rolls on to raise. So, have a great day today! Faye

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#29

Jean , 08-22-2012 02:40 PM

Good Afternoon, Flowers! It is 90 degrees as I'm typing, and the wind is picking up. We are in a "fire warning" until the weekend. I ran some errands this morning among which was WM. I found several grocery items that were almost $2 cheaper than the grocery stores, but a couple that were $2 more. I hate running from store to store trying to save money. Gas just went up another 11 cents to add to the
mix.

Maggie -- I don't know if any of the pe classes use the exercise balls or not. The high school classes are so big that there was talk of having some classes take turns walking the halls while others used the gym and the wrestling room. I would like your Bacon Roll recipe. It sounds like something to make when others are there to help eat them.

"Gma" -- I hate to tell you but more heat is on the way. It is cooling down at night so that helps. We have a charter high school/college program here. It's actually 5 years of "high school" with college classes included. The kids don't get their high school diploma at the end of 4 years, but it plus an associate degree (2 year community college) after 5 years assuming they complete and pass all of the classes. It amounts to 2 years of FREE college classes, which isn't a bad deal. Of course there are restrictions as to whom may apply depending on "need." I guess all four grandkids have had great first days of school. I hope it continues as otherwise it could be a long year for them.

We have a dinner tonight, put on by Bob's federation board. Last year there was entertainment but this year is a speaker . . . and a boring one who will talk about farming, the drought, and projected crop outcome most likely.

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the day and enjoy! Stay cool if it is hot in your neighborhood!

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#30

Jean , 08-23-2012 02:22 PM

Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's warming up this afternoon and the air just came on. It cools down at night once the sun goes down. Crazy weather! I'm sneaking up on vacuuming but could talk myself out of it quite easily. I look for the electrician to come tomorrow and hopefully the doors on Saturday. I think I will be living with sheet rock and tile grout dust for the next couple weeks since our guy can only work on the weekends.

It's too quiet here today. Hope you all have a terrific Thursday and enjoy!

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