I'm back from the doctor's office visit. He scheduled me for a CT of the upper and lower GI tract this afternoon. I'm glad he's doing this. I'll be going to the hospital to have this done as an out patient.
Happy
Wow you picked a lot of blueberries! I like them frozen as well. A good warm blueberry muffin sound good.
Michelle
How high up is you zip line? Going across to bodies of water would be scary for me. I will check into some in the Branson area.
Laura
Sounds like you are planning some good vacations. I need to plan some more of my vacation time. May take off some more me time.
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They didn't tell me to go through admissions at the hospital but I have no earthly idea as how to get to the x-ray department. Guess I'll find out soon enough.
Ceejay - The highest Zipline that I'll be going across is 150 feet in the air. Not nearly as tall as the redwood trees they're attached to. I don't think I'll be going over any bodies of water (maybe a very small stream). Are you getting the CT done today?
Morning all,
Going home day and I need to move along and get my sh*t packed, get showered, dressed and ready to go. Just dropped in to talk about the ziplining finish some more.
Most places have a platform and you descend to a point where the apparatus slows and almost stops. You then glide into the platform, bend the knees and just drop on, there is usually someone there to help. On the ground landings - much the same but the drop to the ground is usually a little steeper.
Yes you can go ziplining at 60+. I've done it and I'm here to tell the tale. There are much scarier things out there believe me, like bungee or heli bungee or wire piloting or all the other silly things that people throw themselves into, off or under. I found that if I relaxed into the journey and thought that I was a bird just hovering over the forest, then I could begin to see things that I had never seen before, for example, eagles nests in cliff faces and birds nests in trees branches. It can be magical. Go for it.
Anyway - as I said, time to pack this up and get ready to be a bird in a silver tube for a number of hours. I'll see you lot on the other side of the Tasman.
Whew, 150 feet in the air, not sure about this. I'll be giving this some serious thought.
Spent most of the day at the hospital getting ready for the Cat Scan. They poked and dug several times before they found a vein. My arms are bruised and my arm is still puffy at the sight of the I.V. But I don't have any signs of gallbladder problems just the same thing, good ole diverticulitis. Therefore no nuts or corn, two of my favorite staples. I still have a salty taste in my mouth from the saline solution before the I.V.- a contrast dye.
Yep I had to drink one of those yucky shakes to "highlight" the stomach.
Invited my neighbor to go eat a burger at Huddle House.
Called my sis while ago to make sure things are still okay for me to come. She did tell me that she had found an outlet store for Alfred Dunner. So I told her I'd be coming to Branson Friday night so we could go shopping Saturday morning.
Afternoon all. Just finished reading the book club book for tonight's meeting. Not sure it was worth my time but it will be a good discussion if the group decides to discuss it at any length. I skipped class this morning to finish this book but to be honest I was feeling like I was tired last night and just not up getting up early this morning. But of course I didn't sleep late, but that didn't stop me from just skipping class.
Yesterday's lake cruise with my friend D was really nice - couldn't ask for better weather. Glad she asked me back on it again this year.I also went to the Art Institute before the cruise and did an Express tour and that was only half an hour but it was really interesting. Everytime I go for such short visits to the Art Institute I wish I had more time to spend. One of these days I'll definitely have to get there Saturday or Sunday for more time there. So many galleries so little time!
Today I think bf and I might be watching some of his niece's Golf team match at a nearby golf course and I also have to make a snack book club. Or buy something to bring.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to just buy something I'm not sure what. So I guess I better get dressed and head to the store or maybe the bakery and find something to bring.
Going to skip personals for now. I'll be back tomorrow- everyone have a wonderful day!
PS. I did most of this post using the voice speaker feature on my phone and I like it. Not that I would do it I'll sitting on the train. Lol.
Aaaah, nice to be home.
It's warm in the daytime, cool still at night. Just nice.
Today I went to get measured up for my implant tooth. The dentist had to take moulds of my teeth and bite and from that, they will develop the tooth. Strangely enough I would have thought that this process would have developed more than it has. Not the nicest experience ever.
Ceejay - enjoy the shopping with your sister. Hope you get something special.
Laura - sounds like a nice cruise you had. Voice feature! It's amazing that it got the words right. So often you have to proof so much, it really is not worth doing.
Tomorrow I have a list of jobs worked out to do, Hope I can get through most of them. I wouldn't mind having a weekend off to just relax rather than rushing around doing things. I've been trying to get hold of the accountant today, he is not co-operating. I might have to get nasty with him as well as the car salesman and the power and gas people. Why can't some folks just do their jobs and do what they promise to do.
HELLOOOOOO, back from the woods/lake/hot tub/naked running....lol
It was fabulous. Hot tub and a glass or two of wine. What a wonderful night that was. We went into Nashville, Indiana one of the days and walked around all the shops. Such a cute town with many little shops of a multitude of items. Then we ate at Nashville House, a bit pricey but sooooo good. C got the BBQ ribs which literally fell of the bone every time he tried to take a bite and I had roast beef that could be cut with a fork, mashed tatos with gravy, greenbeans, fried biscuits and applebutter, cole slaw. Had to take some of it back to the cabin for later. YUM!! Got me a new pair of rose earrings, very cute. C got new suspenders...lol. The weather was beautiful and the fishing great. C caught a 5 lb bass on the last morning. Of course I was in the cabin tidying up and getting ready to head home. No picture, sure C you caught a 5 lb bass. lol. I caught a few crappy and the hugest bluegill I have ever seen. Sassy had fun at Sissy's house but was also very happy to see us and come home.
Yesterday I had my son's late birthday meal for him. He was at guard and we could not celebrate on his BD. Italian meatloaf, fried taters and onions, corn on cob, cukes/onions, my salsa and chips, deviled eggs and strawberry cream cheese angel food dessert. Played cards and BSsed for the most part. My nephew fixed my printer. So it was all a great day.
Lil man is saying more and more words and speaking sentences. He is just so darn cute. Throws his hands up in the air and says, I don't know, when you ask him something. Lil fart.
Not going to try to do personals...SHAD sweet pix of the wee one, CEEG hope you get your tummy feeling better, CHELLE....have fun at your re-do 50th wish I could come, HAPPY Yikes the bears-stay inside, LAURA .02 isn't a bad gain just kick b*tt this week. MELLIE that senior building keeps you hopping, hope the extra check is a biggie!!
Morning all. Monday again. Pretty quiet here in the office since the admin and the sr. mgr are both out today.
Happy – So what have you been doing with your 7 pounds of blueberries? Re the caprese, yes, I forgot to say before, but I did include fresh leaves of basil on the sandwiches – it’s a critical part of it!
Michelle – Re your question about the weekly allowance of points – ever since I began WW, I have always exceeded my daily points and used up all of my weekly points and then some. Yes, I’ve still lost weight, but always going over points might explain why I still haven’t made my goal yet, LOL. I’ve never factored in my activity points either. Lately I haven’t even been counting WW points –I've been using the SparkPeople food tracker and counting calories instead. I find calories more meaningful to me, and if I do want to see the nutritional components of the food I eat, it’s there too. Yes, so far our cruise is just a girls trip.
Ceejay – Good to hear the CT scan came out good. The stuff you drank sounds icky. No nuts or corn – bummer. So you have some nice plans set up for your Labor Day weekend with your sis. Whoo! You do need to schedule that “me time”. Glad you had a nice time with the uncles. How do you like your haircut? Not as short as last time??
Shad – Thanks for the further description of the ziplining. I might try to do that on our cruise... Glad you’re back at home sweet home and you’re comfy again with the temps. Implants sound like a very long process. Bf’s friend was supposed to get a tooth extracted, but the doc is trying to save it and just do a root canal so he won’t need an implant, just a crown. Hope it’s successful – it costs and arm and a leg and he can spare neither! Hope you get all the people who owe you something back on track. Yes, why must we pester to get anything done??!!
Annie – Can’t recall if you’re back in town yet or not. If you’re still away, I hope you’re having a fantastic time w/ C.
Hi Mel!!
+++
Let’s see…I left off somewhere on Saturday. I bought a cheese plate and crackers for the book club. Went home with 95% of it – there’s always so much food at these things. I did better than I usually did - I had a late lunch, so I wasn't very hungry when I got to book club. We talked a fair amount about the book. I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like it, no surprise. I hope the next book is a complete 180 from this one.
My friend D booked the two rooms for our cruise, and she also found a reasonably priced room in our departure port city, so she reserved that too. Whoo!! I’ve completed 90% of my passport application (there’s not much to it), but I need to get a photo taken. I’ll see how much it costs at the drugstores that do it, and if it’s comparable to the deal the motor club offers, I’ll just do it there because the motor club probably won’t be as convenient. Like I told Shad – glad to be mostly done with all the bookings and moving on to the fun stuff.
Sunday I was up early and spent relatively little time w/ my paper and tea. I dressed in my ratty garden clothing and got out to pull weeds. This time it was the south side of the house which has a lot of gravel, but apparently not enough because it was very weedy. An hour later and one full trash bin later, clear. Yay. I was worried about the skunks beginning to think it might be a good spot to nest.
Then I moved on to the flower bed next to the veg patch. Another dense place that a skunk might find ideal for shelter. I cut back all the peony foliage and the milkweed. No more allowing the milkweed to grow – I didn’t even see any butterflies this year! Tore out a lot of grass that grew into that bed, and some weeds. Discovered another sedum plant hiding in there that I’ll transplant when it’s a bit cooler. So now all that remains are the phlox and the daylilies, both of which are just about done for the season. That leaves me with a lot of digging later on when it’s cooler. Phlox will be transplanted somewhere else. Daylilies will be given away at the curb or via freecycle. The peonies…I do like them so much. I might have to find spots for them elsewhere, but I think I’ll end up giving those away too. With the cleared bed, I will either expand the veg patch or just shift it over. That assumes I don’t get thoroughly sick of digging. I tried at one point to dig out a peony from there many years ago and it had such a root system that I just gave up.
After filling nearly 2 yard waste cans with weeds, etc. I’ve decided instead of spending the $$ on yard waste stickers to dispose of weeds, I would rather put the money towards weed killer and save myself the labor of yanking so many weeds. And bf is happy about that because he was hounding me about buying a nicer sprayer bottle for the weed killer.
Last night we watch the movie “It Happened One Night” on the classic movie channel. Just love that one! I’ve watched it so many times in bits and pieces that I’d forgotten some of the funny scenes.
Okay, I’ve rambled enough. Time to get back to work. TTFN!
I had a nice weekend. On Saturday, I helped my step-mom with some housework, then took Santa to a workshop where I learned pet massage...he really enjoyed that! Afterward, D and I went out to see the movie "At World's End", which I thought was cute and funny. It was a typical Simon Pegg movie. If you liked "Shaun of the Dead", you'd like this. On Sunday, Santa and I went to the dog park, then we picked up my friend B (who is undergoing radiation) and drove him around on some errands. Afterward, B treated me to lunch. We found a restaurant that had outdoor seating so Santa could sit outside with us, and we had a lovely meal. Santa even behaved himself. He was very, very good. I think being tired out from nearly 2 hours at the dog park probably helped!
Not much planned for this week, other than getting to the gym hopefully every day. Today is water aerobics, so I don't want to miss that. This Saturday, I'm having friends over for a poker game, and the following Saturday is my birthday party. Lots of grocery shopping to get done, especially for the birthday party.
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Annie - sounds like you had such a lovely time! What a nice getaway!! Naked running, huh? Was that through the streets of Nashville, IN? Your son's b'day meal sounds super yummy! I wish you and all the chicks could come to CA for my birthday.
Shad - I hope you get through your "to do" list quickly so that you can relax a bit. Thanks for the tips on ziplining! Good pointers, especially about landing with soft/bent knees to cushion the impact.
Ceejay - I know a bunch of people who have diverticulitis. They have to be really strict about avoiding nuts and corn. Glad you had a nice time with the uncles. The ziplines in Branson might not be as high up as 150'. If you're interested, I'm sure they have a website you can check out that also lists restrictions (or who they would recommend NOT do ziplining). I figure Ziplining is much less scary than sky diving, bungee jumping, etc., because you are all harnessed in and not free-falling. Even my step-mom said that some of her senior friends have done ziplining.
Laura - Glad you had a nice time on the lake cruise! A few years ago, my ex and I did a Chicago river architecture cruise that went out into the lake for a little while. It was a very interesting and fun cruise. Thanks for the input about the WW points. I think it may just take me a week or two to get out of old habits. For breakfast, I used to frequently have an Egg White Delight McMuffin (6 pts) and a large McCafe mocha frappe (15 pts), and snack on trail mix or nuts (4 pts per 1/4 cup, and I'd have A LOT more than 1/4 cup). Now I'm trying to do 7 points for breakfast, 7 or 8 for lunch, 8 for dinner and two snacks (3-4 pts each). It is good that fruit is 0 points now, but my leader said that doesn't mean I should eat tons of fruit all day, 3-4 servings is good, she said. Another fun thing to do while you're on your cruise is parasailing. You're wearing a parachute and are hooked to the back of a boat. The boat speeds off and your parachute lifts you into the air! So fun and great views! I've done that twice...once in Lake Tahoe (and oh the water was SO cold) and once in Hawaii (where is was a much nicer experience). Where are you cruising to again? So cool that your friend booked your rooms. As for the passport picture. It's roughly $10-$15 to get your passport photos done at Walgreens. Good for you for getting all that weeding done. I love "It Happened One Night"! That's the one with Clark Gable, right? And the "Walls of Jericho"?
to Happy and Mel!
I'm so happy in my new life. Santa and I are doing well, and I'm getting my health and finances on track. Last year, it seemed impossible that I would ever be happy again, or feel strong and much more confident and self-assured as I do now. I'm so grateful to all my friends (including you ladies) for helping me through this!
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Hi all,
I had a great weekend. Worked Friday afternoon but DH picked me up and we went to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner. Since it was Friday I had to have fish so I ordered grilled fish tacos. DH was hungry so he ordered a small nacho plate and after nibbling on that and some chips and salsa, I was stuffed by the time my dinner came so just boxed that up. Saturday we had plans to do breakfast at a place I've been wanting to try. He also suggested a road trip to see a picturesque grist mill as well as travelling to one of the bigger towns that we haven't explored yet. Got up early but I was hesitant to eat a sizeable breakfast and then go driving for 4 hours so I suggested we save breakfast for another day and instead packed some water and snacks and off we headed. One of DH's coworkers who we haven't seen in something like 30 years lives in the town with the grist mill. DH had emailed him and G said to stop by if we decided to go down there. So we did. We went to the door, he came out, said hello and we talked for a few minutes. Finally he said "WHO are you????" I thought he was kidding so I started joking around - I answered "Candygram" which is a take off on an old Saturday Night Live TV skit with Gilda Radner". Then I realized he truly did not know who we were even tho they had spoken via email just 2 days prior. We had a short but nice visit catching up and the guys vowed to get together and go fishing some weekend. Afterwards we were hungry and cruised though town but they only had small rinky dink restaurants which DH does not like to eat at - I guess he feels he will get food poisioning or something So we opted to take a different route home. Fortunately that too us through some very pretty farm country and we headed in to a town that had a meat market I wanted to try out - we have a smaller outlet of that brand here in town and I was happy with the frozen meat we purchased there. We got to this place 20 minutes before closing. Bad place to be when you're hungry In addition to the pork, chicken and beef they also had a lot of game meat - elk, bison, venison. We got some sausages, bacon, a few roasts and some chops and set back home. I did bring a cooler bag with me just in case and it came in handy. Yesterday DH needed something to calibrate the scope on his rifle and I thought we might have better luck finding it in the Walmart Supercenter an hour's drive from our place so we got dressed and headed out. It was very, very hot here - 96 degrees mid day. Now mind you, I've had the heat on 3 times this month to take the morning chill out of the house and we did hit a low of 39 degrees one night. What is up with this weather? Anyway I did some shopping, brought 2 cooler bags and couldn't get everything I needed so I just stuck with what I could not get at our store here. Came home and we ate a quick dinner of leftovers. They predicted rain but it was no where in sight so I went out and gave the garden a big drink of water as well as the flowers. The heat of the last few days really popped out my tomatoes. I need to go do some picking today. I rounded out the night with calls to my mom and sister and trying to give the cats some playtime but they are being lazy, disinterested slugs. There was quite a lightning show in the sky when I went to bed - it even woke up DH. No thunder, just constant lights in the sky. There were really bad storms way north of us and I guess we got the residuals. Apparently after I fell into a coma, the storms did move in and DH said it poured like crazy with lots of thunder and lightning and I slept right through it. At least everything got a good watering. We still have bears around - we haven't seen them but they are leaving their "calling cards" all around the property to DH's chagrin. Actually it is quite dangerous having a cub and momma around - I wish they'd move off also. Have to be very careful in the yard. Today I have housework, laundry and making up a few recipes to use the frozen meat as well as those fresh blueberries. And that's it for me.
Mel - hope you are doing ok, miss you. Come back
Shad - glad you are back home, hope you can get what you need to done. I know the feeling of just too much and not enough time. I also share your frustration on having to hound people just to do what you are giving them good money to do.
Laura - sounds like you got a lot accomplished in the yard. Bet it's looking nice. We commented that we have a lot fewer butterflies than we did last year. I'm not even sure I've seen the swallowtails which on one hand is good because that means I get to enjoy my parsley this year. Funky weather may have affected them so don't give up on the milkweed yet. I agree with you about too much food at the book clubs - would be better if people alternated. We got down to the point of the host providing 2 dishes - generally cheese and crackers along with some fruit and veggies or a dip of some kind. It came out to less food overall than if everyone brought something to each gathering as we often had a lot of excess too prior to that. Sounds like the plans for your cruise are shaping up nicely - what a great time you will have! Thanks for the rundown on the WW points. I would eat healthy - but perhaps carb based and always run out of points which I would find very discouraging. Also I never really came to grips with the increase in points when they changed the program over to no longer count plain fruits and veggies as zero points. I have been reluctant to give up my WW membership but I truly am not using it. Sparkpeople is probably a better way to track.
Annie - welcome home. Glad you had a wonderful trip - need to do that more often just to keep your sanity. Came home to a nice party - even if you did all the cooking - but I'm sure you were smiling all the way. Nice family get together! Now to forget the fun and get back to work
Michelle - hope you had a nice weekend too. Wow 5 more minutes of biking gets you 2 more activity points? Go for it! Now that you are back in the land of freshest fruits and veggies might have a better variety of meals for your plan. But you know you're going to miss that Midwest beef and cheese
Ceejay - an Alfred Dunner outlet store??? Ooh I could not be trusted - save your pennies and have a fun shopping trip. Bet you are glad you are over the tests. Hate when they have people at the hospital who can't do a proper blood draw. I am not an easy stick but for people who know what they are doing, I have never had a problem so I think it's them rather than me. Hope you get some relief from this.
Well it's almost lunchtime. Better get a move on - at least I don't have to water anything outside today for the next day or two - that saves me at least 90 minutes of work which I'm sure will be gobbled up by something else.
Hello
I'm feeling much better. Still having some symptoms but as bad.
Michelle
Yes, I'm going to have to be on a very strict diet. Santa sounds to be as happy as you are in his new surroundings.
Laura
I'm with you on counting calories instead of points. Points takes to much time to figure. I hope I don't get to obsessed with every thing like I have in the past.
Shad
Thanks for the tips on zip lining. Don't work to hard.
Michelle
I've seen pictures of people parasailing and that does look like fun. True Branson's lines may not be that high. I'm going to check into it.
Annie
Sounds like you had a good time away. Hope I do.
I don't think I'll be going over any bodies of water (maybe a very small stream). Are you getting the CT done today?
Now I'm trying to do 7 points for breakfast, 7 or 8 for lunch, 8 for dinner and two snacks (3-4 pts each). It is good that fruit is 0 points now, but my leader said that doesn't mean I should eat tons of fruit all day, 3-4 servings is good, she said. Another fun thing to do while you're on your cruise is parasailing. You're wearing a parachute and are hooked to the back of a boat. The boat speeds off and your parachute lifts you into the air! So fun and great views! I've done that twice...once in Lake Tahoe (and oh the water was SO cold) and once in Hawaii (where is was a much nicer experience). Where are you cruising to again? So cool that your friend booked your rooms. As for the passport picture. It's roughly $10-$15 to get your passport photos done at Walgreens. Good for you for getting all that weeding done. I love "It Happened One Night"! That's the one with Clark Gable, right? And the "Walls of Jericho"? 
I thought he was kidding so I started joking around - I answered "Candygram" which is a take off on an old Saturday Night Live TV skit with Gilda Radner". 
Then I realized he truly did not know who we were even tho they had spoken via email just 2 days prior. 
We had a short but nice visit catching up and the guys vowed to get together and go fishing some weekend. Afterwards we were hungry and cruised though town but they only had small rinky dink restaurants which DH does not like to eat at - I guess he feels he will get food poisioning or something 
So we opted to take a different route home. Fortunately that too us through some very pretty farm country and we headed in to a town that had a meat market I wanted to try out - we have a smaller outlet of that brand here in town and I was happy with the frozen meat we purchased there. We got to this place 20 minutes before closing. Bad place to be when you're hungry 
In addition to the pork, chicken and beef they also had a lot of game meat - elk, bison, venison. We got some sausages, bacon, a few roasts and some chops and set back home. I did bring a cooler bag with me just in case and it came in handy. Yesterday DH needed something to calibrate the scope on his rifle and I thought we might have better luck finding it in the Walmart Supercenter an hour's drive from our place so we got dressed and headed out. It was very, very hot here - 96 degrees mid day. Now mind you, I've had the heat on 3 times this month to take the morning chill out of the house and we did hit a low of 39 degrees one night. What is up with this weather? Anyway I did some shopping, brought 2 cooler bags and couldn't get everything I needed so I just stuck with what I could not get at our store here. Came home and we ate a quick dinner of leftovers. They predicted rain but it was no where in sight so I went out and gave the garden a big drink of water as well as the flowers. The heat of the last few days really popped out my tomatoes. I need to go do some picking today. I rounded out the night with calls to my mom and sister and trying to give the cats some playtime but they are being lazy, disinterested slugs. There was quite a lightning show in the sky when I went to bed - it even woke up DH. No thunder, just constant lights in the sky. There were really bad storms way north of us and I guess we got the residuals. Apparently after I fell into a coma, the storms did move in and DH said it poured like crazy with lots of thunder and lightning and I slept right through it. At least everything got a good watering. We still have bears around - we haven't seen them but they are leaving their "calling cards" all around the property to DH's chagrin. Actually it is quite dangerous having a cub and momma around - I wish they'd move off also. Have to be very careful in the yard. Today I have housework, laundry and making up a few recipes to use the frozen meat as well as those fresh blueberries. And that's it for me. 
