Arrgh, knew it was close to DS1's birthday and I still didn't get in early.

Happy birthday big sis, hope you get a break from all the ills and dramas of the job for the one special day.

MELLIE...I only hope your birthday was peaceful and enjoyed with Jen and Richie. Did you go out dancing at the disco? lol or snowshoeing across all that snow you are getting? Peace sister.

SHADDIE...With all that is going on with work and home it is a wonder you remember your name.

Not much going on at the home front. Just working on the houses this weekend. Taking Cs truck tomorrow morning to get the other headlight replaced as it burnt out yesterday. Should of just had them both replaced when I had it in for the other one. Oh well...just add it to my list of errands to do.

Work is settling down a bit, now it is just a matter of submitting reqs to have things fixed that do not work since the move. One internet connection, the doorbell, silly stuff like that.

Finally got the last load of DDs crap out of Cs house on trash day this past Wednesday. It only took about 6 Wednesdays of trash pick up to succeed with that, plus the one major haul to Goodwill.

Better get on with this day and get me a cup of java.

Have a fabulous Friday or super Saturday all...

Morning all. TGIF!! :carrot:

Annie - Glad work is settling down for you now. That's a lot of trash pickups to get rid of C's dd's junk! Maybe now that her mess is almost done being eliminated, the anger will fade and after a time there will be an opportunity to touch base with her and try to start fresh...

Mel - Hope you had a lovely birthday yesterday and that you have a nice quiet weekend. With the nasty weather on the East coast now, I hope there aren't any problems in the building this weekend. :crossed:

Hellos to the rest of the Worldlies!! :wave:
===
Nothing much to report. Doggy had an upset tummy when I got home from work, so I delayed his dinner by an hour and he seems alright since.

Nothing special going on this weekend. Errands to run, laundry, cleaning, dog walks, etc. The temps should be milder, but Sunday we're supposed to get rain. Well, the warmer temps are certainly welcome! :)

Okay, gonna get this posted and get cranking. Everyone have a great day and a great weekend.

:coffee2::coffee2::coffee2::coffee2::coffee2:

Morning kids,

Friday, Friday. Just another day to me - happy weekend for others. Nothing much planned except stuff to do around the house. Yesterday we went to the next big town to pick up more of the storage shelving we got intially for the greenhouse. It's nice sturdy stuff and reasonable priced so we figured we'd use it in the house and garage(s). Stopped at Burger King for lunch. I ordered a swiss and avocado burger. They were out of swiss cheese (what??? :shrug: ) and then I was disappointed to see that instead of slices of avocado as it illustrated on the menu board, it was just a tiny smear of green goo like you'd squeeze out of a ketchup packet. It did however taste pretty good since I haven't had a burger there is probably a year. And unlike Mc D's it did not upset my stomach. Because that was a calorie bomb for the day, just had a light supper of chicken salad with apple chunks and pomegranate seeds. I love me those seeds. They had a container of them at the store about 2 weeks ago - was pricey but hey, the hardest part of eating a pomegranate is getting the darn seeds out so I thought it was worth the extra expense to have a container of seeds I could just spoon out at will. They keep pretty well and I am hoarding them now because it seems like that was a one time only item at the store. :( DH is anxiously awaiting his UTV - they are still waiting on some of the accessories. Apparently this thing drives pretty well in snow also so there will be no problem on the trails. We just need to get it very soon because they do close the trails for about 6 weeks around the spring thaw - maybe around March 15. As things thaw out the ground gets wet and muddy and they don't want people tearing up the trails. It would kill DH not to be able to at least try out the machine and while we could take some back roads that are also marked as ATV trails, DH does not like driving on asphalt as he said it tears up the tires. So we'll see. Also as we were driving through town yesterday we passed by the popcorn shop. At first there was a sign in the window "Closed Until Further Notice" which was understandable as they dealt with the funeral and she also said back when I was there that she might close for March and April since business was so slow that she threw out way more than she sold. Yesterday however there was a new sign in the window that said "Business and Building for Sale or Rent". We just drove by rather quickly so didn't get to see much other than that. I guess their son's death might have been the last straw. I can speculate on a bunch of different reasons but no need to go into that here. Just kind of sad to see things come to an end like that - they really had some good stuff and were a nice couple. They just bought the building last year (there is an upstairs rental apartment). There are several businesses that closed up (4 that I know of) just since I've been in town since September. Add to those the ones already for sale and a few that are still open but trying to sell of the business and that's alot of real estate. I'm sure the shop owners will take a substantial loss on the place IF they can sell it at all. Town is starting to look like a rag tag bunch of t-shirt shops and bars and that's about it. :( We got another delivery of propane today and DH keeps track of that and it seemed like we were using it faster than we should. He had the delivery man check and sure enough, we have a small leak in the tank (their tank). No telling how much leaked to the sky since October :(

Mel - hope you had a nice birthday and got a chance to rest up your arm and didn't wear it out whooping and hollering on your day ;) :carrot:

Laura - hope you got the rest of your office furniture pieces. Yes, we have room to expand the commune - the land is flat (which we wanted) but trees will have to come down. And the lot next to ours in undeveloped so maybe we can all pitch in and buy it which will give us 5 more acres and lots of room to park :rofl:

Java - hi there. :wave: How's the new job coming along?

Patty - prayers for you and Dad :hug:

Ceejay - not sure the lemon water will be as effective as the fluid pill. My weight was up 2 pounds today which I'm sure was all about that fast food meal yesterday. Whoa - what an eye openner :yikes: At least you know the MRC plan is working for you and worth the expense.

Annie - geez that's an awful lot of stuff to toss out. I can't believe that someone could leave so much and then go to another place and not need anything at all. Did she move into a furnished unit or something? I'm sure it's a relief to be done with it. Thank you for the reminder on Mel's birthday. They way you are going gangbusters at the 3 houses (yours, Dad's and C's) hopefully you'll be done in just enough time to get your garden and yardwork started. At least that will be more enjoyable.

Shad - you seem to be one busy little bee lately.

Guess I should be too. Have a good one chicks.

Afternoon kiddos. Met a friend for lunch at Season 52. Ordered from the 475 calories or less menu and drank water. Sissy and lil man ended up joining us also. Then we went to Osh Kosh store to check out their sales. Got lil man two shirts...one was 1.57 the other was a little under 2 bucks. What a steal. Came back to work..blah. All and all it was a nice 2 hour lunch. lol. As many lunches that I miss on a daily basis and all the extra time I put in with the move, heck they owe me.

LAURA...We are having better temps this weekend also. 45 tomorrow and 54 Sunday, but rain. Shoot I will take it, much better than ice and snow. I am not angry with Cs dd anymore but would like to give her a piece of my mind and a few taps with my wooden spoon.

HAPPY.....so sad when the town closes down. It get dirty and dengy..so empty. Oh yeah, if it gets time to garden and whatnot and the houses are not done, too bad...Annie is heading out to the yard and the heck with the houses....Hard to believe dd had so much crap. We took 10-12 bags of clothes and shoes to Goodwill, along with furniture and stuff. It reminded me of a hoarder. I think she didn't like to do laundry so she just bought more stuff which answers why she did not pay rent. Oh well.

Guess I shall get busy so I can sneak out a bit early and get started on a lovely weekend of more busy stuff. It is getting easier as the more we get done, the happier I am.

MELLIE....hope you are feeling ok, had a nice birthday and are not swamped with this snow storm and the seniors. Hugs dear sister!

Morning all,
Back home for the weekend. And wouldn't you know it, it is raining or about to rain anyway. Can't do much out there since it is so wet. Lawns need a mow, hope I can get to them before the weekend ends - that is if the mower decides to run. Think it is still busted from the last time this grass got this long.
Pretty good flight home last night. Left more or less on time, got in more or less on time. Traffic was light going my way so it did take more than 40 minutes to get to the house. All is more or less okay here although we could do with some drying out. Today I am off to the hairdresser, badly need a cut and some colour up there. There is a large hint of silver in amongst the dyed stuff. If I knew it would turn out to be a nice shade under there I would let it go, but it looks pretty boring salt and pepper from what I can see.
After that, I'd better get some groceries in. And some veges. I need to start eating properly again, although I am not eating badly, just too much meat and not enough vege. And probably too much of everything.

Heck look at the time. Back after the hairdresser.

It's a bit late but I'm here. Been to Jonesboro to get my hair cut and high lighted but didn't spend the night. My bff has fibromyalgia and it flared. I like my hair. Didn't really like the way he comb and styled it but that was fixable after I got home. I asked my neighbor to go with me.
_____________

Mel
Did you party hearty? Or was it a quiet one with Jen and Ritchie? Either way you deserve the best.

Annie
You found some good bargains at Osh Kosh. J.C. Penny's had a 2 dollar sale today but I didn't feel like fighting the crowd. My neighbor found some good bargains. Getting outside may be good for the soul. That was a lot of clothes.

Happy
It's always sad to see a business close no matter what reason. I had eaten some fast food the night before my weigh in so I'm sure it was the sodium that was my culprit. I'd like to go natural on my meds but am afraid to.

Laura
A laid back week end sounds good. Sorry Coal was sick.

-----
I'm taking a rest day on exercise today. I've had a headache today. It's responding to the Tylenol sinus meds so I'm hoping that it will be gone tomorrow. I'm going to Paragould tomorrow to eat lunch with my uncles. I may stay for church on Sunday but it's suppose to rain. I hate driving in the rain so we'll see how that pans out.

Good Morning Ladies...for those that set their clocks back, don't forget to do that before you go to bed tonight.

Two chicklets with new do's....that should make you feel better for a minute.

Gonna start the day with getting the headlight changed on Cs truck...then go by dad's house to visit, then the rest of the day will be errand filled. Probably do a roast in the crockpot with mushrooms etc.

Monday a few of us are supposed to start going to the fitness center for about 30 to 45 minutes. I think if I have someone to motivate me to go, I may just do it...we will see.

That is about it for now....have a great weekend all....

Annie
A roast in the crock pot sounds good.

Everyone must be asleep. I should be but woke up at 6.40 with a headache. It's eased up some. Can't find the Ultram-for migraines anywhere. Need to call the pharmacy to see if I have refills.
Going to take a day trip to Paragould to visit with the uncles. One front is coming through now but with no rain, just clouds. The bigger front will be here tomorrow and I don't want to get caught on the way home in a thunderstorm tomorrow.

Everyone have a good day.

Hi ladies,

Picked up the new UTV yesterday. Good thing because today is a crappy weather day. We went out for a very short ride - just up the road and back. Should be alot of fun. Cripes this thing can get up to 75mph which is way too fast for me. DH is all smilin' and stuff. It's definitely a boy's toy. We ran to Walmart last night for a few things before the weather hit and he did not read up on his Garmin. Turns out he needs a memory stick to plot trail routes and take checkpoints and stuff so he had to go back there today anyway. He will spend the day plotting trails and learning how to use the thing.

I wish we had some of the warmer weather you guys are having. I'm tired of winter already and we have a few months to go yet.

Going to just putter around the house today. I picked up a book at the library yesterday - ALL GONE - one woman's story of losing her Mom to dementia. It's a quick read and so far it's managed to keep my interest. I also downloaded an ebook about getting started in vegetarianism. Not that I think I could ever become a full on vegetarian - just looking for some different ideas.

Ceejay - I think DH had some Ultram on one point - that sounds familiar. Hope you can find some for yourself.

Annie - what time's dinner? Pot roast and mushrooms - don't get no better in my book. I'll bring a nice salad. Sometimes it's good to have an exercise buddy but if that person is a raging crazy when it comes to working out - that can be a big turn off too. Hope you find someone like minded ;) Outstanding deal on the kid clothes. Had to laugh with your comment about someone not liking to do laundry so just bought replacements - sounds like something a guy would do :lol: No wait, they'd just turn the stuff inside out.

Shad - I totally understand the part about eating decent, just not enough fruits and veggies. Happens here during the winter when we are more casserole based in our cooking. Hope you find some yummy stuff at the market. Have you ever tried tomatoes that are a different color than red? Enjoy your weekend home - let the sun shine brightly so you can get some outside stuff done.

Laura - enjoy the warmer temps. My sister said this week's snow is already melting fast. Is your office at home completed now?

Mel - hope you are doing well and not totally laid up there. No snow shoveling - hope you got the rain instead.

I did place a hold on the first season on Downton Abbey. Gotta see what the fuss is all about. Must be popular as they have lots of copies in the library consortium but there are also alot of holds on them and a substantial wait list. That's ok, I have lots of other stuff to do...

Have a good weekend all...

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I AM SORRY WE DIDN'T GET TO CELEBRATE MY BIRTHDAY TOGETHER.
BUT I BRING CAKE TO SHARE TODAY :hb:

SOMETIME DURING THE NIGHT I GUESS WE FINALLY GOT INTERNET SERVICE BACK. OUR BLOCK WAS OUT. IT WAS A NICE VACATION OF SORTS FROM THE WORLD AND MUCH NEEDED TOO AFTER A NOT SO GREAT AND VERY EMOTIONAL WEEK. I HAVE NOT READ ANY POSTS YET AND WILL DO SO DURING BREAKFAST. HOPING EVERYONE IS DOING WELL.
BE BACK IN A LITTLE WHILE......................

Morning MELLIE....you didn't miss much except HAPPY and DH got a their new toy for OUR commune. Today is 69 and sunny until the rain comes in this evening. I WILL TAKE IT!! Sass and I slept on the couch last night as that is where we both fell asleep.

I bought a new light pink dress to get married in while in Destin next month. It really is pretty but have to send it back as I ordered it once size too large as I really do not know what size this fat body wear since gaining 30 lbs over the pat 1.5 years...hoping the fitness center gets me moving enough to drop some of this flab. How depressing.

Joel Osteen..just said God has the power to override anything so stay in faith, well then Dear God in Heaven, please override this fat mentality and help me get where I want to be....in Jesus' Name I pray..amen. Whatever you are facing is under your feet. Write a message to the devil on the bottom of your shoes....

HAPPY...may the power be with you as I cannot read sad books about losing someone, like my momma. I hope it gives you the strength you need. hugs sister. Unfortunately my exercise buddies (2) have the same motivation as I. Hopefully we can bully each other into doing it. I have to do something as I am so miserable with myself, I don't even want to make plans with anyone since gaining weight for fear of judgement. I am a mental case. It is really too bad that I LOVE to cook and bake and actually like my own cooking. I need to get my old mentality of "you taste this" "is it ok" good then I will write it down and continue with it. That way I do not eat it. Maybe I shoud pschye myself into thinking my cooking has rat poisoning in it. lol Downtown Abbey is kind of like a soap, you get hooked, then want to see what happens next with the characters. I know I am hooked.

CEEG...you poor thing, you have been battling ailments for the past couple of months. I pray you get a break from the BS and you headache goes away quickly. xoxo

Happy Sunday/Monday all...working on Cs house today. He is sleeping in at the moment as he certainly needs it. He works so hard. God love him.

Later lovies!

:cofdate:
THE STORM BROUGHT ABOUT 6-8 INCHES OF SNOW.
DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU STUCK THE RULER.
THE TOWN HAD A TOUGH TIME KEEPING UP.
WE HAD WHITE-OUTS WHERE THE WIND WAS SO BAD YOU THOUGHT THE SNOW WAS FOG.
SOME THUNDER TOO. REALL A BAD STORM.
BUT THE TEMPS HERE KEEP RISING AD MELTING IT.
AT NIGHT IT'S ICY.
TODAY LOOKS LIKE WE HARDLY HAD ANY SNOW!! LOL
WE HAD THE DRIVEWAY DONE YESTERDAY.
OF COURSE LOTS OF CONFUSION & THE OFFICE WAS CLOSED.
JEN & RICHIE HELPED OUT WITH KEYS AND CARS.
THE BIRTHDAY WENT BY AND I CANCELED EVERYTHING.
TOLD JEN WE CAN CELEBRATE NEXT WEEK.
I WAS JUST TO TIRED AND TOO MANY ACHES & PAINS WITH THE WEATHER.
FEELING MUCH BTTER TODAY & HOPING IT CONTINUES.
I DID NOTHING PHYSICAL TO HELP ANYONE.
JUST KEPT POINTING, TAKING AND BARKING ORDERS.
I'M GETTING SO MUCH BETTER AT THAT LAST PART!! :rofl:
RICHIE GAVE ME A LOT OF COMPLIMENTS.
HE RARELY SEES ME IN ACTION BUT IT AMAZED HIM.
I TOLD HIM I HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF SISTERS THAT CAN DO THE SAME RIGHTHERE ON 3FC!!
HE AND JEN LAUGHED.
I MISSED YOU GALS:grouphug:





CEEJAY....SO GLAD THEY DID THE BATHROOM.
THAT MUST HAVE BEEN SUCH A GREAT SURPRISE.
IT MUST LOOK AND FEEL SO BRANDY NEW!!
YOU AND EXERCISE ARE TRUL;Y AMAZING. GREAT JOB WITH THE MILEAGE.
HOPE ALL THE HEADACHES ARE GONE NOW.
WE HAD SOME REAL BEAUTS WITH THESE STORMS.




MARY......NICE TO SEE YOUR TURTLE HEAD POPPING IN.
DO IT MORE OFTEN!!!




LAURA.....A SPA WEEKEND SOUNDS GREAT!!
WHAT A GREAT TIME TOO. SPRING BREAK!!
THANK GOD I AM DISABLED & NOW OFFICIALLY A SENIOR CITIZEN....NO JURY DUTY!!
A BIG CONGRATS ON THE 4 LBS. WTG!!!:cheer3:
I WAS SHOCKED AT THE WOMAN'S SALAD COUTNT FOR POINTS!!:yikes:
WHEN I FIRST BEGAN THE NS, THE CALORIE COUNT WAS EYE OPENING!!


HAPPY....I GOT YOUR CARD. BELIEVE ME IT DID A WORLD OF GOOD.
I HADN'T GOTTEN THE MAIL FOR DAYS. I KEPT FORGETTING.
THEN I FOUND IT ON MY BD!!! LOL
LOVED IT & THANK YOU FOR THE HEALING THOUGHTS :hug:
SHOULDER & BACK ARE MUCH BETTER.
SORRY YOUR TAXES ARE BEING SUCH A PAIN.
WITHOUT THE INTERNET, I GOT MY ONE PAGE DONE:lol3:
OUR MAINT MEN USE THE SNOW BLOWER EVEN WHEN IT'S ONE INCH!!:rofl:
HOPE YOU BOTH LOVE THE NEW MAN TOY!!:scooter:
I AM SURE DH WILL FIND MANY JOURNIES FOR YOU BOTH TO ENJOY.




SHAD......OMG!!!! I FORGOT ALL ABOUT THIS BEING YOUR WEEKEND HOME.
WHAT WHAS I THINKING??? I AM SO VERY SORRY.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE MY HEAD HAS BEEN LATELY.
PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGY. :faint:
SORRY THE WEEKEND WAS SO DAMP BY YOU.
I CAN SEND YOU SOME SNOW TO COVER THE LONG GRASS!! :lol3:




ANNIE......GLAD WORK IS SETTLING DOWN NOW.
I CAN IMAGINE YOUR HAT COUNT BY NOW WITH THAT MOVE.
GLAD THAT C'S HOUSE IS ALMOST DONE. I FORGET THE PLANS??
6 WEDNESDAYS OF GARBAGE PICK UPS!! YIKES!!
WHAT A MESS. BET SISSY IS GLAD THE WORST IS OVER.
I LOVE OSH KOSH FOR KIDS. THEY ARE ADORABLE.
BET HE IS GROWING LIKE A WEED TOO.
HOW IS THAT FITNESS CENTER. NICE??
HOPE YOU DO HAVE SOMEONE TO GO WITH. GOOD INCENTIVE.



MICHELLE...HOPE YOU & THE FRIEND WILL BE HAPPY TOGETHER.
AT LEAST SHE KNOWS SHE'S NOT ALONE & SHE HASA GOOD FRIEND.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU BOTH. :hug:

ANNIE....YOU SNEAKERINNER!! LOVE THE IDEA OF A PINK DRESS ON YOU WITH YOUR HAIR & COLORING. GREAT CHOICE!!
IF JOEL SAYS IT'S SO...THEN IT WILL BE SO!!
I LOVE HIM!! HE PERKS ME RIGHT UP.
THE KIDS HAVE THE PHONE & KEYS.
I HAVE NO PHONES OR PROBLEMS TODAY :dance:
SO LET'S GO OUT AND CELEBRATE:cheers:

Morning all.

Mel - Welcome back after the involuntary break. Glad you made it through the latest winter delight. Yup, it's all melting like crazy here too. Sorry you had to cancel a bday celebration, but now you get to celebrate it and enjoy it without the weather-related chaos. :) Enjoy! No jury duty for seniors? I wasn't aware of that.

Annie - Nice that you have workout buddies to support you and each other. That'll really help. And a very special event like your wedding should certainly help!!! (Sounds like you made the decision to marry during your vacation!!!! Whoo!!) Yeh, I can certainly see how cooking and baking would make it all the more difficult to eat the right things and portions. Maybe you can start experimenting with lightening up your recipes or collecting new ones?? Don't be so hard on yourself, it's time to see solutions, not berate yourself!!! Got it??!! Back to your Friday post...what bargains you got for the li'l guy!! Bf and I will have to try the Seasons 52 in our area - bf's friend tends bar there, btw.

Happy - How exciting it's going to be to tool around on that fancy new ATV this spring/summer!! Just going outside to get the paper and to pick up after the dog this morning was nice - it's mild and the air had that springy smell. :) Surely winter won't be there for a "few months" yet???!!! :yikes: To me "few means more than two months, and that's what - May or June??? Surely April will bring some milder, spring-like weather?? Sure hope so!! :flower2: Re the home office - yes, we have all the items owed to us now, and a really nice keyboard tray that is nearly like the one I have at work - very sturdy, high quality. The file organization, however, will continue... Sorry to hear about the popcorn shop closing down. Very sad to see so many closed businesses in town. A lot of restaurants in our area closed over the past few years, but it's good to see some of them open as something else.

Ceejay - Sorry to hear about the headache - I hope it's gone now. Have you decided to go to have a meal w/ the uncles today? Rain is in our forecast today. It rained a bit early yesterday and today, and the backyard is really soggy from the melting snow.

Shad - Hope you were able to get some yard work done over the weekend. How did your hair turn out?? I hope your trip back to Darwin was as good as the one out.

Hellos to the rest of the Worldlies - hope your weekends are going well!
====
Mild weather today, ahhh. The flower and garden show opened this weekend. I'm going on Friday afternoon and I hope that good garden scent is still there by then!

Friday bf and I went out for Thai food, yum. Picked the healthiest options that I learned of online - steamed potstickers, tom yum soup, and cashew chicken.

Yesterday I ran a couple errands, but spent too much time at the thrift shop. Ended up buying quite a bit more than usual there, but things just caught my eye. I bought the usual 5 for a $1 paperbacks; a decorative knick-knack of some natural wood formation that I can't quite describe, but found interesting; a beautifully printed tablecloth with vivid colors; a light green linen table runner that I'll either use as-is or cut in two and make dishtowels; a pretty scarf; a summery short-sleeved camp shirt and a
very nice raffia sun hat. The sun hat, I learned, is actually by an Australian designer, Helen Kaminski. Ever heard of her Shad? The hats go for big bucks based on what I saw on her website. Outside of winter headwear, I very rarely wear hats except for ball caps while gardening or dogwalking. Sure wish they were more popular here. They need to be - people need to do more to protect their skin from the sun's harmful rays. I think people in Shad's part of the world are much more aware. Shad - do you agree??

In the afternoon, bf and I went out to lunch (middle eastern, skipped the few fried falafel and the olive oil on the baba ghanoush dip), and then to the gigantic, fabulous electronics palace nearby. They are having one of their customer appreciation sales and we went there to replace our crummy old bedroom tv. It was very busy, but we finished our shopping in a surprisingly short amount of time. We found a nice flat-screen and also bought the mounting rack and shelf for it as well. I also finally bought myself an immersion/hand blender. Whoo! Might have to make a smoothie today to christen it, lol.

I've watched 3 episodes of Monarch of the Glen - it's much more lighthearted than Downton, and I'm enjoying the show itself and the gorgeous scenery. One of the actors on that show went on to create Downton - Julian Fellowes. No surprise that Downton ends up featuring Scotland in one of the episodes...

No plans today. After I post this, I'll get online to see if I can register for the park district fitness class passport and the kettlebell class. I suppose I really should go work out...don't feel like it...bleh.

Enjoy what's left of your weekends everyone!

The new ride has arrived girls...

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Happy Daylight Savings Day - the one day a year I always felt cheated because we lost an hour. But then again when we gained it back in the fall it always made me smile. ;) Takes a couple of days to get used to the time change.

Annie - I think you will look Pretty In Pink. I agree with Mel - with your coloring you will look gorgeous. As for the weight issues, be proud that you did not gain the weight back that you once carried - this IS a sign of discipline you know. And when you lose a big amount of weight - one always seems to lose below the body's ability to set point and a bit of a gain is inevitable. At this point do the things you can to make yourself feel good - you look like you are making better food choices and it will help if you get some toning in at the gym. I'm sure you will make a gorgeous bride! The prettiest thing you can wear is a big smile :D And my interpretation of the book I am reading is not so much a sad story - more like a tribute to her Mom. There are some parts where her Mom was starting to lose it and I took note of those just for future reference while keeping an eye on my Mom. I agree with you though - books like My Sister's Keeper are just big cry fests for me. 69 degrees out by you. Oh my - what I wouldn't give... enjoy it for me and don't stay inside all day and waste the fresh air.

Mel - glad you got the card - just wish it was a birthday card :( So your internet was down. Whew - I think we were all thinking it was your arms bothering you. Glad you got a bit of a much needed break. Also happy to hear that you have transisitioned from :censored: I'll just do it myself over to the natural leader than you are. Crack that whip and get 'em scurrying is what I say. And everyone BETTER fear Mel's computer friends with their cattle prods and rolling pins although we are just as loveable as we are tough. ;)

Laura - good on yah for chosing the healthier choices at the Chinese restaurant - that's not an easy thing to do when there's so many tempting choices. As for winter up here, as much as we want spring, winter is here until the end of May. We will get some warm, springlike days but it's going to be another month before we even start to kiss the 50 degree temps if that soon. I remember I could not put my garden in until the first week of June because while we got warm days, the nights still dipped towards freezing. While all of you have barely a trace of snow, we still have lots though it is starting to melt a bit. But ... this is the place I chose to live - not complaining - just wistful... Sounds like you got some really interesting stuff at the thrift shop. Pretty cool that you could repurpose the table runner as dish towels! Nice find on the sun hat too. I'll bet they are much more careful about the sun down under. Good thing they don't have that pale Eastern European skin like alot of us - we'd be burnt to a crisp after only a week's vacation. Been meaning to ask if you (or any of the chicks) have a good lentil recipe. I tried them at the heart center at DH's hospital and would like to try incorporating them into some of our meals. They had mixed lentils into a sloppy joe recipe and it was quite tasty.

Ceejay - did you try anything different with your hair or was it just the case that the color came out especially nice this time?

Shad - how did the hair come out? I tend to agree with the salt and pepper - I like it either all silver (and it must be a stunning silver) or when the first bits of gray come in and there's a nice contrast of light and dark. Hard to pull off. Merryl Streep for example in the Devil Wears Prada movie - her hair was silver and stunning. Of course it would help if we all had hair and makeup people following us around and making us look our best :lol: Did the rain let up enough to allow you to do some work?

Michelle - did the new roomie move in yet? Are you sorry you offered? :lol: Will probably be good company unless after a long day on the job you just want to sit and relax in solitude.

Not much else to say chicks. We stopped at an art store in town - art supplies to get me all excited but as DH says - FIRST I have to start on the art work. They also provide a place for local artists to exhibit their pieces. Among them they have greeting / note cards. DH has some amazing pictures of butterflies, flowers and now wildlife. I told him he should check into seeing if they will take his cards on commission - he always wanted to do that. Now we are searching for his pictures. Most of them were on an old computer whose hard drive crashed and I fear they are lost. But I just booted up my old desktop and perhaps I have something on it but the real deal is trying to get anything off of it as it is very old, cranky and persnickity.

Have a good Sunday ladies...

Afternoon
Decided to spend the night with my aunt and uncle. A class mates brother had passed away so I decided I should go pay my respects. I went to stand in for my sister who was in his class.
It made for a tough drive home today as there was rain, rain and more rain.
----

Happy
The color is almost like the color changing from my dark hair to my gray hair. I love the new ride. Don't think I've seen one this big before.

Annie
I'm with the others you made the right choice with the pink dress. And yes my headache is finally gone. I'm sure that dealing with the stuff I've dealt with previously at work is the blame for it. It's not the first time but it will be the last time.

Mel
I was beginning to wonder about you. I'm glad it was the internet being off.

Laura
I do want to go to Goodwill some time and look around, but afraid of all the good stuff I'd find. I don't have any room to store things.

Shad
:wave:

Slip, slop, slap, seek and slide - that's our mantra down here for sun stuff.
Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat, seek the shade, slide on sunglasses. We have this animated duck on our screens just about every night.
Queensland is the Melanoma capital of the world, and we all - well those that care - get skin scans every couple of years. I'm due for one now. Whether we are more careful here or not, I doubt since I see all these virtually naked bodies on beaches and who look like the cooked lobster at the end of the day. Seems that after all these years, we still hanker for a tan - well those of us who don't have one do, and those that have a natural tan don't. No pleasing the human race.

My hair is now back to it's 'natural' brown with some streaky highlights. Since my hair is the normal colour of my mothers family and the thick thatch of my fathers family I would suggest that the greying will be that of my mothers family - not exactly pretty and never seems to go white, just dirty grey.

Annie - pretty in pink. Sounds nice. Have a great time and don't forget to post photos. Sorry you aren't coming to Oz, but it is a long way for a short length of time. You wouldn't get to see a lot since distances are vast.

Ceejay - new hair do for you too. Hope it looks good.

Happy - nice new vehicle. Pity you can't take it down to the shops in the good weather - or maybe you can by blazing your own trail through the neighbourhood.

Laura - more op shop bargains. Well done. I went and looked up Helen Kaminski - never heard of her before. What a load of bollocks. Even the sun visor thingy is $80. I might pay big bucks for an Akruba but not what she's touting.

Mel - it is okay. I did dial the number once and the 'voice' told me that you memory is full. Maybe that's why you never thought of it?? :rofl:
Seems like you have had plenty of things to do anyway what with storms and snow and cold and wind and yelling at Richie and Jen and everyone else. Barking out orders. What could be nicer?

Flight back today was pretty good. I upgraded myself to business class. They have a cooked breakfast and much better service than down in cattle class. So I am back in the work frame. It was nice at home over the weekend. I managed to mow the lawns and do some weeding and some catching up with family and friends. DS2 + G/F and I went to a Mexican restaurant called Diegos Cantina. It was nice and not too chili hot. I do not like really hot chili stuff. But this was good.
Then last night I went to my friend Chris' place for dinner. Her DH had cooked a couple of beef ribs. We had them with coleslaw and corn and potatoes and a yummy gravy.
Had a chat with the neighbour and cleaned the garbage out of my car and the day was about done. Up early this morning for my flight.

And that is about it really. I'm still in the office waiting for my ride to stop talking in his meeting. Then it is home for some dinner and a drink or two.

http://lifeinbkln.com/sites/default/...280-1024_0.jpg

GOOD MORNING CHICKS

NOT AWAKE YET.
NOTHING TO REPORT REALLY.
ALL I DID WAS MY TAXES AND CLEANED MY FILE CABINET.
THE PAPER WASTE JUST FROM THE GOVT OFFICES IS ASTOUNDING!
HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY.




LAURA....YES I MADE IT THRU EVERYTHING. LOL
I LOVE YOUR WEEKEND OUTINGS.
HOPE THE FLOWERS STIOLL HAVE THEIR SCENTS.
THOSE WERE GREAT BUYS AT THE THRIFT STORE.
YOU REMINDED ME OF A TABLECLOTH I SHOULD GIVE MY DAUGHTER.
THAT'S ANOTHER CLOSET NEEDS CLEARING OUT!!:rofl:




HAPPY.....THE TOY IS ADORABLE!! HOW CUTE IS THAT YELLOW BUG???
REMINDS ME OF AN OLD VW WE OWNED. A SUPER BEETLE.
I AM SHURE DH IS GOING TO HAVE LOADS OF FUN WITH THAT THING.
HE'SLL BE FEARLESSLY DUNE BUGGYING AROUND THE FOREST! ENJOY.
HOPE YOU GUYS CAN GET THE PICS OFF THE COMPUTER.
I STILL SEE THE PINK ROSE EVERY NIGHT. IT'S MY BOOKMARK!!




CEEJAY....SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT THE SISTER'S CLASSMATE PASSING.
WAS GOOD OF YOU TO GO IN HER STEAD.
I THINK YOUR RAIN IS ARRIVING TODAY.
IT'S VERY DARK OUTSIDE.




SHAD....YOUR WEEKEND SOUNDED NICE.
SPEAKING OF CHRIS....HOW IS THE OTHER CHRIS DOING??
I JUST THOUGHT OF HER THE OTHER DAY.
SOMEONE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT JAPAN ON TV & REMINDED ME OF HER.
THE "SLIP, SLOPPING...." HAD ME LAUGHING.
HUMANS ARE NEVER SATISFIED.
GOOD THING YOU SAID THE ANSWERING MACHINE IS FULL.
I DIDN'T KNOW!! I BETTER EMPTY THAT THING RIGHT NOW.

Good morning ladies -

Sorry I've been away. Saturday was really busy...first, had a massage to try and get rid of this back pain and horrible sciatica down both legs. It helped but the pain is still quite bad. :( Saturday afternoon I went to a movie and dinner with a friend. The movie we saw was "Oz - The Great and powerful" because I love the Wizard of Oz and Wicked, so I thought this could be good. It was...eh...just ok. Dinner, however, was really yummy.

My roommate went to meet up with a male friend/former co-worker of hers and wanted me to join her after I got home from dinner. I was too tired, so just went home and relaxed with the dogs. Santa and her dog are getting along great, which is nice. Anyway, my roommate came home at around 11:30 and was really drunk. Her friend had picked her up and drove her home, so at least she wasn't driving drunk. Anyway, they stayed up talking until at least 2:30, which is when I finally fell back asleep.

I slept in until 10:30 or so on Sunday and was still exhausted when I got out of bed. I couldn't get my brain or body in gear all day. I watched "The Hunger Games" on DVD, which I thought was really good. It stayed fairly true to the book; though there were lots of things from the book that didn't make it to the movie in order to condense it into a 2 hour movie. I wanted to work on my resume, and some other stuff...but was just in way too much back/leg pain and too brain foggy to do much of anything. The way I felt, you'd think I had too much to drink on Saturday night...and all I had was diet coke. :rofl:

Anyway, I think this new roommate situation will work out. She is really nice, and fun to talk with. I mentioned to her that if she comes home late like that, to please be quiet and respectful. And she agreed. And at least she doesn't do this on work nights. :)

================
No time for much in the way of personals today...other than to say, Annie, you will be such a lovely bride...you are so beautiful!!

I'll try and check in later.

Much love,
Michelle

Morning ladies,

Monday Monday and both DH and I have doctor's appointments. Due to some confusion on both of our parts we have appointments an hour apart and our doctor's offices are across the parking lot from one another so someone is going to be waiting on the other.

I only have 5 minutes left and have to hop in the shower so I will say good morning and then be back later to re-read the personals I just read so I can do proper responses.

Back later...

Good Morning Girlies........

Rainy days and Mondays...stink, wish I was snuggling with Sass.

Thank you all for pepping me up about the dress and fatness. Today I brought the rest of the smoked chicken and a hard boiled egg for lunch. I had greek yogurt for breakfast. Trying to eat more proteins than anything, just as I did after bariatric surgery. Minimal carbs, no sweets, lots of veggies and medium fruit. If I could lose 10 or 15 lbs before vacay that would be great. I have 6 weeks before vacay. Pray for me to have the motivation and willpower.

Went to Cs house yesterday, he worked on the leaky toitie and got the entire kitchen painted. I hate painting. Chris is not moving fast enough for me, so I am trying to boost him along. Really he is starting to annoy me. Bout ready to rip him a new arse. Gotta be careful tho, my grandbabe resides with them..haha

HAPPY....Ooooohhh, I love our new toy for the commune. Cannot wait to go for a ride. Bet DH is like a kids in the candy store with it. From the front of it, it looks like a face.

SHADDIE...gotta love that saying...Slip, slop, slap, seek and slide - that's our mantra down here for sun stuff. Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat, seek the shade, slide on sunglasses. I imagine we will be doing that while in Destin, FL next month. Hope your travels back to h*ll to work went smoothly.

CHELLE...Good you got a handle on the new roomie about coming in and being quiet about it. Sheesh that is all you need, one more thing to keep you awake at night. What kind of dog does roomid have, or did I miss that?

CEEG...sorry to hear of the death of a classmate, always makes be feel old when one of my classmates dies. Boo.

LAURA...how did you do on WW points with eating out over the weekend? You got some nice bargains at the thrift store.

MELLIE...liked the kitty pix, sent it to our cat lady in the office, she liked it too. Hope your day is quiet and maybe even a MELLI-day!

Probably ought to get my act together.

Have a marvy Monday/Tuesday all.

Morning all. Rainy gloomy day today. :rain:

Happy - Love the new toy! Boy does that look like it'll be fun. :) Has dh gotten some routes mapped for your first ride yet?? I hope you find the photos. Hope you both have books to pass the time while you're waiting on each other this morning!

Michelle - Sorry to hear you're having such pain in your back/legs. :( I'm glad your insurance has kicked in and you can get some help with that. Sounds like things are good with the roommate situation - well, her dog anyway, lol. Seriously though, I hope you and she both settle in well together. I was wondering how the new Oz movie was. Also heard a critic say he was disappointed. The admin was going to see it this weekend, but she's not in today to ask...

Shad - I love that "slip, slop, slap, seek and slide". I'll have to remember that one. I'm a bit haphazard with the sunscreen - I'll use moisturizer and foundation with sunscreen in them, and apply sunscreen to my neckline/chest, but then not apply it where the skin on my arms is exposed. Duh. And on the weekends, any sort of routine often goes out the window beyond washing my face and brushing/flossing. And I definitely need to buy a pair of quality sunglasses - after my last pair broke, I've been wearing a crummy old pair that are low quality and the size of the lenses probably doesn't offer much protection at all. But at least I've got a nice hat to wear now, haha. I agree, I'd never pay the steep price for something like that. Had to look up Akruba - yeh, those seem like the kind of hats that you invest in and they'd be worn for many years. Well, at least someone's Monday is over now - lucky you. :)

Mel - Yay for you getting your taxes done!! Still on my list of to-dos. :halfempty Hopefully "nothing to report really" means the building was quiet over the weekend. :D Love the cat pic. Vaguely reminds me of Friday afternoon when I ran out to pay my cell phone bill down the block from the office and a huge chunk of ice fell off the building across the street and crashed to the pavement very loudly. Everyone on the street was so startled - thank goodness that didn't hit anyone!! Anyway, your little kitty is lucky it's just snow falling on his fuzzy head, LOL.

Ceejay - Good of you to pay your respects to the classmate/brother. You are right about going overboard with the shopping, even if it's thrift shopping. The little set of built-in book shelves in our home office are rather full now, so I need to do a full purge on those if I'm to keep buying used books.

Hi Annie!!
==
Nuttin' much to report here. I got online and registered for my kettlebell class that starts in April. I can't register for the passport online because they have to give me the passport punchcard. Duh. I'll go this week.

Bf installed the tv wall mount and shelf yesterday while I went off to the gym. I did a strength workout on the machines. I'm rather sore today, bah. Not a great way to start a Monday. I went home and showered, then walked the dog in the rain and we both got soaked.

Bf and I went out for an early dinner. Eating out three times over a weekend is not an easy thing when also trying to lose weight. But at least portions were under control for that meal. However, I really overdid it on the Golden Oreos yesterday. The good news is that they are now just about gone, LOL. The scale this morning seemed fine with it, but I'm not sure I'll show much of a loss at tomorrow's weigh-in. We'll see. At least I'm out of the house and those temptations today. :)

TTFN!

Hi Annie - You snuck in on me while I was blabbing away. You are the energizer bunny with all the stuff you accomplish in a weekend!! Your eating plan sounds good - sounds sort of like WW - they seem to really hate carbs and sweets, LOL. I did so-so on Saturday with my points and really tanked yesterday - I completely used up my daily points, and then finished off my weekly ones and am currently in the red. Good thing today's the last day of my ww week and I start fresh tomorrow. But back to better choices today - brought a healthy sandwich and fruits to work. We can do it!! Are you ready for your workouts this week?

Happy - I keep forgetting to answer your question from way back when - yes, we get a weekly mini-magazine at our ww meetings. Has a couple testimonies, a couple recipes, some tips, etc. All the usual rah-rah stuff, lol.

Annie - You are NOT fat. You will look gorgeous on your wedding day! I'm with you on eating proteins...they make me feel much fuller and for longer. I need to do better on limiting sweets...or replacing sweets with fruit, but I'll get there. BTW, my roommate's dog is a 12 year old Golden Retriever. He's a sweetie. I'm not used to being around such a big dog...he frequently picks spots to lay down in that block hallways and doorways. But he's so easy going, he doesn't mind being stepped around or over...and he'll move too.

Laura - I think Oz is definitely a movie to wait for Netflix or cable, and I'm not usually that tough of a critic. I'm just glad that my friend and I saw the matinee, so it was cheaper. It wasn't awful. The visual effects were stunning. But I give it about 2 stars for the plot and about 1 star for the acting.

Yeah go ME!!!! I did 1.5 miles on the elipical at the fitness center during lunch. We did 30 miutes and burned 256 calories. Ate a little less total calories than that for lunch. You know how they say a battle of any sort is just one day at a time, well my battle is 1 hour at a time. Maybe my endorphins will keep me "high" for a while. My bra is all sweaty and not liking that much but I will make it till this evening when I get home.

I too am an Oz and Wicked fan. Sam and I saw the play when it was here in Indy. It was very good, I even had read the book some years ago. However upon suggestion by you lovely ladies I will wait and rent it.

Gotta get busy.

eliptical

Michelle
Is the "Oz" movie the one with James Franco? I love the Golden Retriever dogs. They are beautiful but big for my liking. Sorry the pain hit you again.

Annie
You are definitely not fat. I wish I had some of your height.

Miss Mel
What are you doing today? Relaxing!!!!!!

Happy
It's good that your appointments are across the parking lot from each other.

Laura
How are you liking the ww websight for tracking points?

-------
Not much to report. I've been in a depressed mood this past week end and today. I decided to take the Xanax last night and boy did I sleep well. I'm going to take it early enough tonight that I will not be groggy in the morning. So far the bosses are behaving themselves.
Forgot to mention that I had so much frustration last night that I rode the bike for 50 minutes.

Annie
does the word eliptical mean that you've done your exercise on it? Curious minds?

Okay Annie
I reread your post. And a job well done.

Annie - :bravo: on the exercising!!

Happy - I love the new ATV! Looks like tons of fun! How are your feet doing? I hope the doctor appointments went well today.

Ceejay - Sorry that you're feeling blue. I hope the blues pass quickly for you. Yes, James Franco is in the "Oz" movie. I was not impressed by his acting, but I haven't seen him in anything else...maybe this was just a "low" point in his acting. Not sure. :dunno:

Check out my facebook, my DDIL tagged me in wedding photos....see the little fat man that looks like a gnome? That is my xdh and the ugly girl next to him is what he settled for, cause he told me he settled....You lose faggit.

http://www.adonecu.org/images/ad_present.jpg I had a wonderful BD party.
Jen made a gorgeous cake and on top was small cupcakes making a blue caterpiller and Pink Peeps.
It was so adorable. Everyone loved it. Maybe she should be a cake caterer!!
I got new Spring tops and giftcards.
I'll be all decked out for when the warmer weather arrives.
My friend Frank wasn't there though.
I missed him in a way but there is office drama with him and the girls. SIGH!
Tomorrow I need to work a bit and get some laundry done so ergo tonite's post.
Hope you all have a Happy Tuesday/Wednesday:scooter:




Annie....my poopy sister.....I got the card.
I was cracking up over the dogs!!! Too frasasing funny. Thank you.
Praying for your skinniness:yoga:
(Please God hear my prayers or we'll never hear the end
of how the dress didn't fit....and what she did to it with a pair of scissors!!!:yikes:) :rofl: :rofl:
All kidding aside....you are sure to lose something in 6 weeks.
Keeping my fingers crossed:crossed:
Better be careful with the GBabe's Dada....you'll lose visitatation rights!!:rofl:



Michelle....I am very happy to hear you made some ground rules with the friend.
Good for you sister. Very sorry to hear about the pain though.
Hope you will be feeling better soon.
Just do whatever it takes to get well. :hug:




Laura....I need the BF to install a wallmount here too! LOL
But first I need to get a skinny TV Richie said.
This old one could be used for weight training!!
Those golden Oreos can get addictive and I am a choc-o-holic too!
Get thee behind me Satan!!!:devil:




Ceejay.....yes I was relaxing and eating cake!!
Not sure what the calories were.
But Jen told everyone BD cake doesn't have any calories!!! :lol3: :lol3:
I am glad you took a pill and had a good night's sleep.
The depression can come from sinus drugs too...don't forget.
I wish my Dr would give me some DRUGS!!!!
I could use a day without anxiety!!!!!
Hope you feel better tomorrow too. :hug:



Happy....Jen took the cards and hung them on the wall.
She said I should find the map Shad sent me and use it as wallpaper!
Hope you & DH both got good reports.
I think of your hubby often.

Pix
 

Don't know the order of the pix....but one is of Sassy sleeping on the back on the love seat that faces the kitchen while I am fixing dinner...She has to be where I am. The other one is of Sassy, I wuv my momma and daddy's bed. And of Course the best for last...lil man after an exhauting day at Nanna's house, getting ready to go home, slept right through it. Jesus my heart swells with love for that little boy.

Mel
So glad you were celebrating your bd. My sis always tells me that bd cakes do not have calories. I didn't know that about the sinus meds.

Hi all,

Annie - I would have NEVER pictured you with someone like the ex. You tower over him. In fact, I thought it was kind of cute, you look so tall in the first few pictures and then when you are just with the kids, it's like you dropped the high heels or something and look a little shorter. :lol: You look sooooo pretty in your dress. That's a really hard color to pull off and you look fabulous. Actually the whole family looks great - such lovely pictures of you all. I love Sissy's hairband and dress. And your dress is a very flattering cut as well as DDIL's wedding gown. Love the flowers too. P.S. that's no "girl" (I thought you meant 20 year old) with the ex ;) I wish I could see your other pictures you posted here but there are too small for my old eyes. :(

Also Anne - I have a suggestion if you are game. I know you want to look your very, very best in the next 6 weeks so instead of fretting over everything and feeling pressure - which only makes the weight loss harder - instead why don't you post something positive each day that you are doing in support of your desire? I have seen so far that you are choosing lower calorie selections at lunch, drinking water instead of other beverages, moving around alot (cardio) and possibly some gym sessions - like today :carrot: . I think if you posted one thing each day you'd see that you are making good progress. And for every day you miss, I will eat a big bowl of Blue Bunny Homemade Vanilla ice cream in retaliation. Now you wouldn't want that on your head, would you? :shrug: :no: :nono:

Mel - how great that you had a nice birthday celebration. That's unfortunate that Frank felt it was better to stay away. The cake sounds absolutely adorable. I'll bet she had so much fun doing that. Cake decorating would be fun but the seniors would never pay her what it's worth. I had a friend at work who took it up and she said people were barely willing to cover her expenses much less make any money on the labor and I tell you - her cakes were delicious! I guess it's quite an investment at first in cake pans, decorator stuff, and then the real killers - dyes and flavors.

Ceejay - sorry you are feeling down. Sounds like you haven't been getting a good rest lately. I think that has a big effect too. Glad you got a good sleep - hope you are doing better.

Michelle - thank you for the movie review. I was interested in seeing that too and probably would have had to go by myself. I guess I will wait for the DVD too. I'm glad you had a talk with the roomie. Can't say I blame anyone for tying one on after a shocker like that - just as long as it's not a habitual thing. Sometimes well intentioned friends don't always make the best choices either when trying to be supportive - here have a drink. :^:

Laura - thank goodness you were nowhere near the falling ice chunk. I used to work in the "ivory tower" on Michigan and Randolph and ice would constantly slide down that big diamond window face. It was darn scary there! Worse than the headwinds and tow ropes at the IBM building. :lol: So what are golden Oreos? I've seen them in the store. Kettle bell class sounds like fun. Have you done that before? Hope your weigh in goes well today :crossed: Stressful, those weigh ins.

Shad - laughed at the sun stuff mantra. Love the colorful way you put things. I think there will always be half naked people on the beach no matter what. I can only imagine what the older Brazillians look like - even with the darker skin tones - they have to be dry and wrinkly after all that sun worshipping. I am happy to get my 15 minutes a day to boost the vitamin D and that's enough exposure for me. Sounds like you had a nice weekend in spite of the rain. The new vehicle is definitely for soft dirt or sand, not automobile roads. Apparently due to it's power one has to be quite careful driving it. Guess DH will do most of the driving and we won't be giving Mum a lesson after all :lol: Is your garden winding down now that you are headed towards autumn or is this time to get another planting in before the winter rains? Are you even home enough to plant anything? Did DS2 buy dinner after leaving the house open? :lol:

Went to the doctors today. DH's blood levels are just where they need to be. I got another shot in the foot. Was painful but not the excruiating agony that the first one was. This should take care of the last of the residual burning and pain. Then in 2 to 3 weeks I hope to start my walking program with DH. That is as long as the roads stay clean. We also stopped at the cell phone shop and picked up a new phone for a trial. Got it home and sure enough, we got no better signal than we did on the no contract phone from Walmart. DH is totally against shelling out a couple of hundred dollars for a cell phone booster - he thinks the vendor should provide one. I said they are not responsible for topography. They put in a cell phone tower less than 4 miles from here so the signal should be good - we apparently like to chose homes that sit in the low point of the road and the strong signal goes right over our roof. He's ready to chuck it all, I'm not so sure and I have 2 more days to decide - if we return the phone in 72 hours or less, everything is 100 percent refundable. We only got 1 or 2 bars when we got home. I was able to chat with the cousin (local), Mum and Sis. I could hear fine on my side and no dropped calls but my Mum complained loudly that I was breaking up and Sis said the voice mail I left her was almost indistinguishable. So that's not good. DH said we either have a land line or a cell phone but cannot afford both so I have some hard thinking to do. I do want to try the booster just so I can say if it doesn't work that we have done everything possible to try. We then went out for a late lunch / early supper to the Chinese restaurant in town and both had a good meal. Came home and I finally watched Slum Dog Millionaire that I recorded back last December. It was a really good movie. And now it's past my bedtime so I'd better get off the computer.

Good night all...

Good Morning....

HAPPY....lmbo at your comments on xh. He was 34 and I was 19 when we met. He looked like Chuck Norris/Kenny Rogers cross between and taller. He is now 67, shrunk and looks like Santa Clause. ba haha. No his "old lady" is probably near or at 60 herself. Look how far she stands from family. She hates everyone except my DS. What a b*tch.

I accept your challenge of posting a positive every day. Would hate to be responsible for Cs company going down to Blue Bunny and you weighing 500 lbs. So today my positive is two...1) I dreamed I was thin and had a flat belly with no scars from tummy tuck, so that has made me think that I will picture in my mind myself thin instead of frumpy. 2) I heard a couple of songs on the radio that put me in a great frame of mind. Especially the Good Morning song by Mandesa that I have mentioned before. So stay positive and smile. Cell phones are a pain, seems like if you are not in a fairly decent city, reception just sucks. When I used to live out in the stix while married, I had Verizon and could barely get reception unless I went out on the back patio. The only carrier that had reception out there was Singular. Glad to hear DHs blood work came back within reason. That should be a bit of a relief. Hope the foot does better with this shot, owie on the pain...you are brave. Thank you for the challenge!

MELLIE...the cake sounded adorable. Jen sounds creative. I believe CEEG is correct on BD cakes have no calories and I have heard no fat either. lol Too sad that Frank could not make the party.

LAURA...I made your taco soup recipe last night only tweaked it just a bit. Added green chilies, beans and cayenne pepper. YES, it is a little (lot) on the warm side. C didn't even want to try it so I made him something different for dinner. Thanks for the recipe....I brought the soup to work to share, if anyone dares...lol.

Nothing much else going here. C is actually taking his Wednesday off this week, instead of work it. He is going fishing with his brother, I told them they were nuts as the high tomorrow is only 36. Burr...not me.

Chat at you chickies later...loves and hugs

Super quick post...

Annie - those pictures of Sassy and Lil Man are adorable! thanks for sharing! Haven't looked at the wedding photos. I'll do that when I get home.

Mel - I'm so glad you had a nice b'day!

Happy - Yay for your DH's good test results and for your shot not hurting as bad. I hope you can start a walking regimen in a couple weeks. Not sure if that comment about well intentioned friends not making the best choices was directed at me. Things are going well with my roommie. She is going to a basketball game tonight, hopefully she's quiet when she comes in...though the dogs will wake me up regardless. That's okay though, I plan to go to bed early.

==========
My massage yesterday was literally THE BEST EVER! I'm so glad I didn't cancel! She worked out literally every single knot! :dancer: I still have muscle spasms occasionally in my back and legs, but not nearly as bad. And today, I'm walking without a cane. I can't say all the pain is gone...but there is improvement. :) I'm hoping to be able to start walking regularly or getting to the gym later this week.

Tonight is a counseling appointment, followed by a quiet evening at home with the doggies (Santa and roomie's dog Rusty). :cloud9:

Gotta go for now!

Much love and many hugs to all,

Morning all. Cold and blustery today. Ick. I never really expect mild weather until April, but I do hope things get better in March...but no. So today we had a coating of snow when I woke up. :shrug:

Michelle - Glad the massage helped! Did you have one over the weekend too, or am I mistaken? I'm jealous regardless - I could use a massage about now, especially with being sore after my workout on Sunday. The admin didn't like the Oz movie at all, didn't like James Franco or Mila Kunis. That's a rental, or more likely, I'll just get it from the library someday. What's interesting is that both a film critic and the admin said they liked "Return to Oz", which I've never seen. That might be worth watching someday too.

Annie - Okay, for some reason I couldn't see the wedding photos on fb on my iphone, but I can see them on fb on my work computer (shhh, don't tell!). Anyway, wow, like Happy said, you really do tower over your ex! And the body language - it looked like he was actually facing away from everyone else in one of the photos, and not really smiling in any of them. Oh well, like you said, his loss. Everyone else looks fabulous - I love that dress, and you've got the legs to show it off girl!! I love Happy's challenge and that you accepted it. Way to go on the exercise! Whoo!! :cp: Re the "taco soup" recipe, wow, I had to look back at it to see if it really had a lot of spice...yep, 1 tablespoon each of chili powder and hot sauce. Forgot about that...and you amped it up more with chilies and cayenne. Good luck to your officemates, LOL. Bf and I are spice lovers and probably have a higher tolerance level than a lot of people out there.

Mel - Glad you had a wonderful bday celebration. :) Your cake sounded adorable! I was watching a dvr'd episode of the Worst Cooks in America last night and their big challenge was making a cake - boy did they do some crazy stuff, and much of it wasn't good at all, both with the cake baking and the cake decorating!! Sorry Frank wasn't at your party. :( Yeh, the old tv's are so giant and bulky and HEAVY compared to these skinny ones. Bf called a couple friends to see if they wanted the old tv from our bedroom and nope, he can't even give it away. It'll have to go to a recycling event. Reminds me, one's coming up in our area - I'll have to tell bf about it.

Ceejay - Sorry you've got the blues, and it doesn't sound like work is thrilling at the moment either. But good for you working off some of that frustration - I always feel better after exercise. Get those endorphins going!!! Re the ww etools point tracker - yes, it's pretty easy to use. And it has some good features that the sparkpeople tracker doesn't have.

Happy - I'm glad dh's blood work came out good. And what a relief the shot you got wasn't as painful as the previous one! Hope it blasts away the last of the pain and you can get out and walk when the weather improves. Wow, what a problem with the cell phone reception. Is it also equally bad when you're away from home? I should think you'd want to have a cell phone at least when you're on the road, just in case, but I do get the cost factor. A golden Oreo is just vanilla, but I do like them. When we bought that package, it seems that there's all sorts of Oreo varieties now - variations on the filling flavor and I think you can even get them with one half chocolate cookie, one half Golden.
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Did I mention the spa getaway four of us have booked? It'll be one night overnight on 5/4 at a resort in the Lake Geneva area of WI (south WI just north of the IL-WI border). I booked my deep tissue massage appointment yesterday, not sure if i'll book anything else in the way of spa services. I'm not a huge fan of facials, but a body scrub sounds kind of nice...we'll see. Looking forward to it. :carrot:

Okay, haven't eaten anything yet - it's weigh in day. Didn't even have time to finish a warm mug of lemon water before I left the house. I'm drinking an herbal lemon tea here at the office - time for another, in fact. Only 2.5 hours now, groan. I don't expect much of a loss, if any, this week, since I've struggled the past two days. It would help if we'd gone grocery shopping over the weekend. I'm skipping the movies tonight so we can get over to Walmart tonight.

Okay, enough babble, time to get back to work!! Have a great day everyone!!

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Morning all,

Ok, no ice cream for me today - thanks Annie ;) good for both of us :high: in fact I may join you in the challenge - just the idea of it is making me think better choices right off the bat. Been eating too much sugar lately and considering that I quit the blood sugar meds almost 2 months ago - I should be paying attention to that more. I quit the meds on my own - they are expensive and not sure I need them. I made an appointment to see my regular doctor on Thursday - will get my A1C (long term blood sugar) checked and if it's still on the low side then maybe I can kiss these pills goodbye for good. If not I will work hard on doing what I need to change my diet and exercise so I don't have to take the meds - I will not play Russian Roulette with diabetes potential.

As for the cell phone, DH and I had a discussion today. He's not against the cell phone but thinks the Verizon 2 year contract is alot to pay with only getting 1 or 2 bars in the house. There's a bit of me that feels like I'm missing out on something because I don't have a smart phone because that's the way things are going - kind of like people who don't use a computer and the smartphones and iPads are replacing computers in the same way that laptops replaced desktops. So I did some research on smartphone features - email (I will check this at home - always found the phone too tiny a screen for that), Facebook Updates (will do at home also), GPS app - we have 2 Garmins, Camera - I have my nice digital camera, Apps in general - I have an iTouch that I can load apps to - I just don't have the on the go digital internet connection when I'm on the road. So ... the thing comes down to if I want to pay an additional $70 a month for things that are nice to have and a combination all in one unit of things I already have??? In the end I convinced myself not. We will probably go with a cheap use it as you need it Tracfone to give us the security of having a cell phone when we are out and about. It uses the Verizon towers out here so there's no benefit to Verizon's phones or Tracfones. The Verizon store phone guy fibbed a bit - he said Verizon offered phones with stronger signals than you could get at Walmart with the no contract Verizon phones and we proved that is totally NOT the case. So there went the argument for Tracfone having cheaper quality phones. Ahhhh - such first world problems, eh???? Also part of the problem of living in a rural area with lots of hills and slopes that interfer with the radio signals. I think DH is happy that I'm not fighting him on the cell phone thing... neither of us were pig headed about it, we were just trying to justify what was the best option for the money.

Laura - I think you sealed the deal on a rental with the Oz movie - renting from the library for free sounds even better ;) thanks for your input. I saw that episode of Worst Cooks too - I saved it because I'm interested in trying their technique of stir fried rice and lo mein but the second part of the show with the cakes - I agree. Would surely lose my interest in cake (not that I'm a big fan anyway) with their techniques and flavor choices. Oooh a girls weekend in Lake Geneva sounds wonderful. We always liked that town for a get away weekend. Sounds like you'll have a great time. Hope you do well on the weigh in today.

Michelle - oh oh - let me clarify. :o My comment about well intentioned friend was certainly not directed at you. What I meant was that your roomie went out with a friend who probably was trying to be supportive (no doubt roomie was unloading feelings) and well meaning friend was like - ok, let's have a few drinks. Sadness can cause one to consume an awful lot of wine / drinks/ food. Next thing you know, you've gotten your friend toasted and drop her off at the door of her apartment where the new roomate wonders geez what is this???? So I was trying to say and it came out awkward that she probably had good intentions to take her out and get her to let her hair down and then things went a bit overboard. Ooops. I'm really glad that Santa is getting along well with Rusty. I'm sure in his own doggie way he is glad for the company and that has to be a bit of a relief for you now that things are not so inviting at the ex's house. How nice that the massage was able to help you! Well worth the money I'd say and probably something you should treat yourself to once a month - make a can for it and drop in spare change and bills when you can.

Annie - ex and his new "squeeze" certainly do not look like a fun loving couple. So you're saying that you were once married to Bad Santa's brother? :rofl: :lol3: oh that just amused me to no end - hahahahahahahah I'm surprised he produced such happy looking kids like yours - although that probably means they take after you, right? :lol: I'm glad you decided to accept the challenge. Sounds like you are off to a great start and remember that Spanx hides alot of sins. Everyone on TV - even people I thought were thin and didn't need them - seems to wear Spanx. Seriously - there's so much fake on TV - fake hair, nails, extension, push up bras, spanx, photoshopping pictures - sets such an impossibly high standard for the rest of us that we can never achieve. :( So I try not to look in mirrors too much and avoid cameras. ;) You keep eating that speecy spicy food girl as long as it doesn't cause you tummy issues. Will help boost that metabolism. Can you sweet talk the coworker into another smoked chicken? *bats eyelashes and smiles pretty pretty *

Mel - good luck with the laundry - I may see your load and raise you two ;)
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The sun finally came out. DH has to go out and pick up some feed for the animals - I will tell him to return the cell phone before I change my mind. My foot is a little sore today - the cortesone irritates the surrounding tissue for a day or two but that will pass. So I'll stay home today and do some things around the house. I have so much to do - need to make a list, complete a task instead of flitting around as I do.

Have a good day chicks.