Aw Santa is so cute! So happy running too! My husband is actually franklin! Claygirl is because I throw pottery on the wheel. I wish that I could just make pottery all day!

Here's a picture with gimli, you can kind of see how small he is!
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/...psrsz85giw.jpg

I just realized how many exclamation points I used... so crazy chipper!

Afternoon all.

Claygirl – I love the photo you posted of your doggies! The story behind it makes it even cuter – watching mommy clean up the mess, LOL. I like all the baby names you picked out – nothing trendy or off the wall. Well, maybe tomorrow you'll know if you're preggers!! LOL re your dogs loving American cheese! We try to avoid giving people food to our dog Coal, but there are exceptions: the occasional smidge of peanut butter in a treat ball (his own unsalted pb that I also use for those biscuits), a bit of liver sausage that hides his two daily pills, and fruits/veggies. Coal loves bananas, carrots and melon – any any supersweet fruit really. I love Maggie Smith, the actress playing the Dowager in DA. I never saw that movie “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and now I just saw a preview for a sequel to it – I think I’ll watch that one to see if I want to go see the second one – I do recall the cast being great, just never got around to watching it. For the sequel, I noticed that the woman in DA that plays Isobel, Matthew’s mother, is also in this sequel. Happy birthday to your husband!! You’ll have to find better gift-hiding spots going forward, lol. Good job with the p90x workouts – I hear they’re super tough.

Annie –Glad to hear you’re feeling better. Now if you could just stay warm in the office! Good for you and DD getting set for yoga classes. I agree with all the others – the pricing is good. The quality of the instructor is important, and I hope the fact that you’re taking the class through a hospital means you don’t get some flake or hack. I hope the class fits your needs, and just take it at your own comfort level.

Happy – No, the potatoes hadn’t started to smell bad yet, they just leaked all over. Okay, now I know I just need to store potatoes and onions in the basement – it’s cool and dark there and the temperature stays pretty consistent. We generally don’t buy the large bags of them often, but if I do, I’ll probably keep them near the big bag of dog food that we store in the basement so we don’t forget they’re down there. We get down there about once a week to refill the smaller upstairs kibble container from the big bag. Re the dog treats – very interesting re your classmate’s dog panel, lol. I suppose I would agree about savory treats – bf said Coal loves the duck-flavored biscuits bf’s mom had bought for Coal. Yeh, I guess a lot of dogs just aren’t all that picky. Too funny imagining Nina’s head bouncing around on your hand as you type away. :lol: I’m glad you’re really getting into yoga and have found instructors you like and classes that suit your needs. I personally wouldn’t like 90 minutes of breathing/meditating, but I do like a leisurely cool-down with a lot of stretching and a bit of guided relaxation at the very end. Glad you’re liking the pork so far!

Susie – Glad the leg isn’t bothering you. Good to get back to walking a bit more. Movement is good. It’s been cold, but since we’re in the teens this week during the day, I’ve gotten outside at lunch and done short walks a couple times so far. I’ve been getting dropped off and picked up from the train station, so half of the walking I get from my commute has been missing lately. I think tomorrow and Friday it will be warmer and I will at least walk to the train from home in the mornings. There’s a good amout of snow and ice on the ground and it’s so dark walking home in the evening after work, I worry about slipping and falling. Hope the rest of your appointments go well today and that you get a cortisone shot for your knee.

Terra – Nice avatar photo – and good to have something to motivate you! Glad you like the exercises – it sure helps! I don’t like doing cardio workouts on machines like the treadmill, elliptical, etc – it can be really boring.

Michelle – I’m glad nothing you’ve been eating has been bothering your stomach. The slaw sounds good…though I do hate when things are named after a highly addictive and destructive illegal drug. Re the fitness challenge here at work – it started today. I went and paid my $10 entry fee and weighed in. The money forms the prize fund and can be increased by side challenges and by “penalties” paid for a gain at the subsequent monthly weigh-ins. I don’t expect to win, but I joined as a motivator – if I weigh in at a lower weight at the next 4 monthly weigh-ins, that will be a good thing for me. Re the dog treats – you are absolutely not a bad mom. I only make the treats about once a year, so Coal eats mostly store-bought treats. Bf’s mom buys him a lot of treats and she knows to only buy high quality US made treats now. Santa is so lucky to have a mom who takes him to the dog park so often!! I wish Coal had more interaction, but there’s no way he’s going to the dog park in the winter! We’ve also fallen off on our intention to get Coal to doggy daycare every once in a while – I think we’re both worried about him slipping around on the concrete surface. Re the ab soreness – good to ease up if it’s giving you pain. I’ve always had my soreness many hours after the exercise – usually the next day, so I IMO having pain within only a few hours means it was just too much too soon. Yes, the scenery in the movie “Wild” was just gorgeous. I really enjoyed that part of it – from the desert in the south to the rainforest in the Pacific NW.

Hellos to Ceejay, Dee and Shad! :wave:

--
So as I told Michelle, I joined the fitness challenge to help me along with my weight loss.

Yesterday I finally set up my Fitbit. Mine’s a flex. The setup was easy enough, but I want to check out the forums for more information. I didn’t see my sleep activity this morning, but then I realized I have to log my sleep times to get that…so I guess there’s all kinds of things to learn with it.

Nothing much else to report. I keep forgetting to make an appointment with my eye doctor to get my left eye’s contact lens rx adjusted. And of course the office is closed on Wednesdays. Oh well, I’ll set up a reminder for myself to phone tomorrow. I’ve got 3 lenses left for each eye and have been wearing my glasses every day for a while now. The glasses are driving me crazy because they aren’t quite right either (from previous eye dr). I’d ordered the larger size frame because I hate when I feel the earpieces touching the sides of my head, but this frame is too large. And wearing glasses when it’s this cold is a PITA because the glasses fog up!

That’s all the excitement here…except…it’s forecast to hit 31 degrees here tomorrow!! :carrot:

Here's my Coal.

http://i1330.photobucket.com/albums/...psbbaa4169.jpg

http://i1330.photobucket.com/albums/...psaba6bbe0.jpg

Hope these don't bog down the thread!

Hi I am a former Worldly chick from away back. Just wanted to stop by and say hi to all you lovely ladies. I was trying to message Shad but because I have not posted I was not allowed to send it. Hope all well with everyone. So hey to everyone and a special howdy for Shad.
Blessings,
Renae

Good Morning...

Rant....people on their phone on the way to work, not paying attention at the light, then when they finally, it is too late for me and I have to sit through the light again. That is my rage when driving. Honk my arse off at them. Done.

Last night was ok. Made mini chicken pot pies for dinner. The recipe that has been on the biscuit commercial. Only I used croissants. Very simple recipe. Flatten out a biscuit, spread in a muffin tin-leave enough to close up the top. Mix in bowl-1 can of cream of chicken, 1 cup cooked chopped chicken, 2 cups mixed veggies-I nuked mine for a bit first. Scoop into biscuit, close up, bake 375 for 20-22 minutes. Not real diet friendly, but quite tasty. The recipe doesn't call for salt and pepper but I did sprinkle a bit into the mix.

C was up most of the night with his gut/colon issue. I swear he needs to go to the doc or ER but won't. He has had this before and insists it will just take time to heal. Well yeah, maybe, meanwhile we all suffer. Sassy and I went to the couch around 11:30, there we stayed until this morning. I am so frustrated with C as he will not do as I tell him. lol On eating the right way for his condition. When he does eat right he feels better, then he eats badly thinking he can handle it. We start all over. bleh

Stopped by DDs house on the way home from work to check on her and the boys. Not much has changed but she did look better. Poor thing, I see so much of what went on in my first marriage in her relationship with Chris that I could just cry. I pray the Lord intervenes.

My brother is holding his own. I am not sure when he goes back to the doc, I am guessing the end of this month. The doc asked him if he wanted a prognosis of time. He told him no, didn't want to know and neither did his wife. Probably a good thing.

January 15, half this month is already passed. Time does fly faster the older I get. The only good thought about that is only 64 days til spring. I hope it is a good spring and summer.

NAE...hello back, I do not remember you but probably because you were gone by the time I joined the Worldly chicks.

LAURA...Coal is so pretty. His coat is so shiny and so black, hence Coal. lol How old is he now? I cannot remember. What a sweetie. My bro and SIL said that Marigold....movie was really good. I haven't seen it but keep meaning too. A gal in this office just started using a fitbit. She used it during sleep and it said she woke 3 times for 5 minutes and 20 something times for seconds. She wasn't sure if that meant like when she stirred or actually woke up. She did not remember all of that herself. She is a bit skeptical, or maybe her settings are wrong. Who knows.

CLAYGIRL...your animals are so dang cute. I would just want to stay home and love on them all day. I really wanted another dog, but feel guilty enough leaving Sassy home by herself as much as I do. Even if she goes to Sissy's two days a week and C is home on Wednesdays, so she is only home Mondays and THursdays by herself. Dogs and kids can make me feel so guilty. Just you wait. lol. Any news??

SUSIE...it sure is nice you can work from home. I am not sure I would trust myself to do the work. I would rather be doing something else besides work and would probably do it. I need the shower, drive in, and being in the office to get my fanny moving. How did the rest of your doc appointments come out?

Hello to all the rest of you lovely chickies, make it a terrific Thursday/night.

Hugs

Hey girls :smug: nice to see everyone's busy, that's better than being in bed trying to recover from a no-no.
I've been way busier since last Friday than I wanted to b. :faint:

Terra, Good going w your workout routine continuing. :)
Happy, For a retired chicklet u keep hopping around being so busy like the Energized Bunny :bunny2: I'm soo very proud of U :lucky: because lots of retirees just turn into house-plants. TY for liking my 'egg platter' avatar, some eyes r bacon, some r black olives I use the eyes from what I put in the deviled egg filling. It's nice to see the avatars change occasionally.

Chelle, It was me that asked about your lab's. U know how protective we all r on this thread, a bunch of 'bossy, careing sisters' here. :lol: :hug:

Susie, No we haven't had enough snow to snowshoe this winter, once we had about 5", that's good because I would've rebroke my foot. Ta-Da it's almost healed again, I overloaded on calcium/vita d for 6 weeks. Lot's of ppl r ice fishing on our local lakes & the snowmobilers have been finding snow up north. I'm happy that your body is getting back to normal w your treatments & exercises, did your Doc's suggest any supplements??

Annie, My heart is w U & C about your Dd's marriage :hug: Why r our men so freaking stubborn about going to see a Doc :eek: Just 'Overgrown Kids' :bb: It just shows that whoever said 'women r the weaker sex' never knew a female :spin:

I have a client appt. in 10 minutes for a special Valentine's gift so I'll b back later to catch-up & do personals. I love all the puppy pics U posted. 4 of my puppies left me over the weekend, 2 left. I'm happy & sad.

Later :wave:

Hi ladies,

Just want to focus on work today...because if I don't, I'm going to think about Bob and get more depressed. His oncologist said that since the tumors are in his lungs and are causing fluid build up around his lungs, the prognosis is not good. He's got roughly 3 months...could be less, but probably not more. This guy is like a big brother to me. Dammit!

Anyway, his goal now is to be able to go back home. He does not want to die in a hospital or hospice facility - if at all possible. His sister is arranging for in-home hospice care. It may take a couple weeks for physical therapy to get him ready so he can be at home. His sister and some friends are getting together tomorrow to help make the interior of his home more accessible for him.

================

Annie - I'm so sorry that your DD is having relationship problems. I hope she and Chris can work it out. Saying prayers for her. As for C, is it possible he's got a sensitivity to wheat. My ex used to have gut/colon problems all the time...turns out, he had celiac. He's now on a gluten free diet and doing better. Saying prayers for him and your brother...and you, sweet sista.

Love and hugs to all,

Oh CHELLE, my heart goes out to you and Bob. It is just horrible seeing someone going through such an illness that we really don't have any control over, sad really. I do understand how you feel. I pray for strength for you, Bob and all his family. Yes, it may be possible he is gluten intolerent. We know he is dairy intolerant and those two seem to run together. If he would just stick to the diet I got off the internet until he is completely better he would do ok. Instead he feels better enough that it doesn't bother him so much and goes back to eating junk he shouldn't then we are back to square one. I want to say to him, I told you not to eat that crap anymore, now you are grounded, then spank his arse in not a good way! Then on the other hand I feel sorry for him because of the pain and want to wrap my arms around him and sooth him. I guess I am fickle about it all.

DEE...I agree, whomever said that about women should be shot. We are the stronger sex that make the men stronger cause they are a bunch of babies, and feed off of us. Hmmm, I couldn't breed doggies, I wouldn't want to let any of them go. Puppies, kitties and babies are all so cute and sweet, but then, all grow into DOGS, CATS and TEENAGERS! Yikes!

Later gaters

Annie
Hope that DD and Chris can work things out. And as far as C goes I can understand where he's coming from. It is most definitely a life style change. The food part is relative easy but my problem is soft drinks. He and I sound a lot a like on our poor eating habits. And I don't blame you for honking at the people using their phones.

Michelle
So sorry to hear the news about Bob.

Hi Renae.
Glad you stopped by.

Dee
Glad that your foot is almost healed.

-------
I'm not as excited about going to Houston as I once was. I don't like the hectic day I will have on the Thursday after working a full week. I may check into Saturday to see what is available to fly straight into Houston. And go from there.
My boss brought an envelope to me yesterday at the water plant. I asked if this were my walking papers! knowing that I hadn't done anything to get them except my age. He laughed and said no. I had won the safety drawing for a 50 dollar Walmart gift card. :woohoo:
Will be cleaning house and doing laundry today. I actually slept till 9.30 this morning.

Yes CEEG...you and C sound very much alike. He loves is soda's too. Any caffeine makes his stuff act up. Coffee, tea, etc. He LOVES sweet tea. Poor guy, guess he is just going to have to start liking water a bit more. I, personally love water and gulp down a huge glass first thing in the morning when I wake up. Congrats on the Walmart gift card. Think of something good to get, if not you can mail it my way. lol. Sorry Houston is not sounding as fun as it was, but I am sure you will have a good time, you should go!

Hello ladies,

Not such a day of sunshiney news today, is it? :(

Michelle - I am so very sorry to hear of your friend Bob's prognosis. While sad and depressing, just my opinion that I guess since we have to die, I think I would rather have an idea of when so I can wrap up loose ends. My best friend in youth was diagnosed with stage one female cancer in her 20's. She made a full recovery but said if it ever came back, she would just up and leave and go somewhere by herself because the most difficult part of all is not being the sick patient, but the pain she saw in everyone eyes who looked at her. I have come to understand what it means - it is terribly hard to handle losing a good friend like Bob. I wish you both comfort :hug: I hope he does not suffer any more than he already does. Make the most of your time left with him - let him know how very much he means to you and take the things he has taught you about friendship and spread them in your life to others so that his legacy can continue. That is what I have learned about love and loss.

Annie - my dear horn honking sister friend. :D You made me laugh with your comment about the drivers. DH once told my sister he could tell when I was about to turn into the driveway. We lived the 2nd house off the corner and there was a stop sign there - people were always blowing past it and I'd be on the horn honking and yelling. I think I was the only one in Germantown who used their horn so he knew if he heard it, 1 minute later I'd be rolling in the door cussing. :mad: :rofl: On a serious note, I am sorry to hear about Sissy's relationship troubles. I hope they can work out there problems, especially with the kids involved. Seems so hard to make anything last anymore - be in marriages, friendships or keeping a job. :( I may swap your pot pie idea - DH likes them - I love them too but they are such calorie bombs that I have a hard time putting them into my mouth. I can relate to C's stubbornness about food. I have taken to writing down things that make me feel bad afterwards because the brain quickly forgets what the stomach protests later on. Sometimes for days on end. Was just reading an article on moderation - interestingly enough she said no one has to moderate broccoli or apples. Most of the stuff we think we can have in moderation (and often don't) is probably stuff we should not be eating in the first place. It's hard. I love my Coca Cola - it's my biggest downfall since cigarettes. And God bless people who can drink unsweet tea :D I guess when he feels bad enough for long enough - he will make the decision to change. Sorry you have to suffer along with him.

Ceejay - is it really worth going to Houston after all? Sounds like it's getting complicated. Congrats on the gift card win - what a nice surprise! :D quick thinking on asking if he was giving you your walking papers :lol:

Dee - how fun - you actually made those eggs? I wouldn't want anyone to eat them. I echo the comment that I'm not sure I could part with any of the cute puppies either.

Hi Nae :wave:

Laura - what's that green stuff in your Coal picture? I think I vaguely remember it? :rofl: Nice pictures of your pretty doggie. Now I wish I had recorded Marigold Hotel when it was on cable last week. I also wanted to see the one about an Indian family who sets up a restaurant across from some ladies restaurant. I am terrible with remembering movie names. :o As for the yoga - we only did the whole session mediation once - even yesterday we started back up again - she did some talking and we did about 10 minutes of guided relaxation and then got our moves on. You might like the Kundalini yoga - it's like aerobic exercise meets yoga. I do understand your concern about walking home from the train station not being able to see things well. I used to get frustrated at these big houses on AH Rd who obviously had money and could not be bothered to clean at least a shovel width's path on the sidewalk. Sometimes when I'd walk home and it was slippery, I'd be afraid I'd fall into the road right into the path of an oncoming car. I was glad once DH's job changed and he could pick me up regularly but I also missed the walking like you do. At least you get a steady walk to and from work and the train station. Do you haul your laptop with you each night?

Claygirl - I would have guessed your name had something to do with pottery. I always wanted to try that - looks like so much fun and yes, let's face it - who wasn't inspired by Demi Moore in Ghost? :lol: Nice picture of the fur babies taking over your furniture. I laughed at your MIL hating deer. One of my co-volunteer friends is in the garden club. We were talking about all the deer in my yard and she started spitting nails and telling me to come get her's. She worked herself into a froth getting all bent out of shape about how much she hated them :rofl: How can you hate Bambi and her kids? I just accept it as part of life here - just like watching out for black bears in the yard in the springtime - we are not the community of green lawns and fancy gardens up this way. :rolleyes:

Susie - glad you were able to work from home yesterday and sneak in a few things. Like Michelle, I loved working from home too. Without the distractions of people chatting and interrupting I got lots more done and I often worked a much longer day even factoring in the commute. I would imagine with your job you could really use a few work from home days to catch up - and see how much you got done too!

Hi Terra :wave:

Well the weather is inching towards 30 degrees so I have to get that frozen pork that is in the cooler in the garage into my freezer once and for all. I am going to get something for lunch and then put on my leather gloves (to protect frozen fingers) and get to work. I hope you all have a good day.

Afternoon all.

Ceejay – Sleeping in – nice way to start your weekend. :yes: Congrats on winning the gift card!! Enjoy! I agree with you about seeing about flying direct to Houston – save yourself the exhaustion of a long car trip.

Annie – Sorry C’s gut is causing him pain. At some point he will get tired of this and learn to avoid the stuff that causes this. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later!! I love water too, but I do get sucked back into the diet sodas all too easily. I hope DD and her guy survive this rough patch and work things out. She sure has quite the load at home – 2 kids FT plus Ainsley too, the puppy, and your Sassy a couple times a week and a home to run. And Chris has a lot of pressure too with this big family. No one ever said it was easy!! Yum, I love chicken pot pies! The way you made them sounds easy, but it’s just not something I should be eating! Boston Chicken has them and I used to get one every once in a while, but then I learned that KFC has them and they are really tasty. Wish I didn’t know that…very tempting and not that far from home. Glad bf doesn’t suggest kfc often. Re the fitbit – we’ll see. I looked at the fitbit site forums and there were a lot of questions and complaints. This might just be a gadget that collects inaccurate information, but then again, I’m only on day 3 of it.

Hi Renae!

Michelle – I’m so sorry to hear about Bob. I hope he can become physically able to be at home as he wishes.

Dee – I hope that after your foot is completely healed and feeling good that you get enough snow to do some snowshoeing and other nice outdoor winter activities.

Happy – Yeh, I miss the green too. Better look at some pretty garden photos or turn on the golf channel, LOL. The Kundalina yoga definitely sounds more my speed than the Hatha. :yes: Re the walks home – I probably blame people for failure to remove the snow more often than not, but this time around I don’t. The ice that's on the pavement now goes back to the day that it was raining and it was probably freezing rain and it was slush when it hit the ground. And then the temps dropped and we had frozen slush. And then a few inches of snow here and there and certainly not enough warmth to melt any of it. And the darkness doesn’t help – we don’t have street lights anywhere but the corners, and some people don’t seem to have any outdoor lighting at all – I guess if you just drive your car into your garage you don’t care about outdoor lighting? I have a mini flashlight in my purse to deal with that. Nope, I don’t bring my laptop home unless I’m doing a work from home day (rare) or expect bad weather to keep me at home the following day. Sometimes I bring it home if I’m talking a long weekend. I like to get on the computer, but not be in the home office, so I can sit on the sofa with the laptop. But usually my smartphone is just fine, and every once in a while I use our iPad. Re the deer damaging the gardens – in your neck of the woods, you just have to forget about having a traditional garden and go with the flow. Too funny that your shop-mate gets so angry – she’s in the deer’s habitat! Good luck getting the pig into the freezer!

Hellos to the rest of the Worldlies! Hope you’re all having a good week.

++
I’m caught up on my pushup challenge – I missed two days, but by skipping a rest day, I only really missed one. Yesterday I managed to do 4 traditional pushups before going to the knee version. I can’t get down as far as I want with the traditional ones, so I’m sure they are working my arms more than my pecs, but I hope to keep plugging along and see improvement.

Last night I decided on my group fitness class plan of attack.

First, I’m going to quit Jazzercise. I missed the 15th of the month cutoff for submitting my cancellation note (can’t be an e-mail, drats), so I will get the note submitted on Saturday and stay through whenever that last payment expires. My payments are posted to my credit card on the 1st of the month, so if I missed the 1/15 cutoff, then I’ll likely be charged on 2/1, and that should bring me through the end of February…I think.

Second, I’m going to buy an 11-class punchcard from my park district, and that’s good for a variety of different group fitness classes at the park facility close to the house (1.5 miles away). That takes me through mid-March – the end of the park’s winter session - or sooner, depending on how many classes I take per week.

Third, I’m going to try out a Yogalaties class offered by the school district (community education catalog). This class is a mix of yoga and Pilates, so it should be good, and it’s also close to home (3 miles). That class doesn’t start until Feb. 11th, when the spring (HA!) session begins.

Looks like there will be some overlap, so I will certainly have a good variety of class options. I’ll be glad to go to classes closer to home.

Been wearing my fitbit the past few days now. There’s definitely a discrepancy between the fitbit steps and pedometer steps, so instead of wearing this fitbit on my wrist, I might put it in my pocket, like I do with my pedometer. I’ve also learned that the fitbit uses some sort of average stride length based on your height, so that might have to be adjusted too.

Last night bf and I watched two more episodes of Breaking Bad. I’m looking forward to finishing this series – this is silly of me, but I worry about seeing or hearing spoilers. This is really funny, but one night bf and I were watching an episode of “Newhart” and I was looking at the IMDB message boards for that show and there was even something comparing the ending of that series to BB! Not that this gives anything specific away, but still…

Okay, that’s it for me. TTFN.

At home. If you want green Happy, then come to my place. The grass needs mowing, the vege patch needs digging, the trees need trimming, the weeds need a poison.

I've finished my coffee and now it is time to get on with my day which is getting busier by the second. I'll be back tonight to get with the personals and see where you chatty lot have got up to already.

Here r pics of my puppy litter from their owners. A pizzeria owner 42 yr. that has a Lab & a Burmese Mountain dog is buying my last 2 girl miniGoldenDoodles Saturday. I'll miss them, but their new families r so thrilled to Love them-up. Puppies sleep on Laptops too, LOL
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