Annie ~ Yeah I will get plenty of rest because your right I have a busy couple of weeks ahead
Happy ~ Yeah the new jurassic world movie is really popular. Since seeing it I have a huge crush on Chris Pratt, The main guy in the movie.
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Woke up at 6:00 a.m. this morning, Its now 7:00 p.m. I'm about to head to bed soon. I did my 40 min work out to VB's dvd's today and I took out the trash and did the cans but other then those things I didnt do much around the house today. At 2 p.m. today we ran errands. We went to Walmart to pick up my glasses then we went to pick up Scott from work and then we went to 2 banks,Dillions and Chipotle to get dinner and then we came home for the day.
I made it through end of fiscal....we will know sometime next week if we came in "on target". Which is $100,000 + or - what was expected. Can yo imagine having that sort of play in YOUR budget!!!
Both DH and I were off yesterday and this weekend. We did some deeper house cleaning yesterday and then used a gift card at one of our favorite Italian restaurants to go out to dinner and celebrate our 29th 1st date anniversary last night. We met on a blind date. We had friends who were dating each other and thought we should meet...I guess they were right!
Today, I'm cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, finishing laundry and will de-clutter my home office a bit.
I'm also reading Daniele Steele's newest novel "Country". Tonight we will stay local for fireworks.
I think I see a nap sometime this afternoon too!
I am happy to report a 3.4 lb loss at TOPS on Thursday night!
I am really behind on personals and will just go forward from here. I really want to get back to where I read and post daily....you all are my accountability and keep me focused so I am really going to work hard to get here daily....and besides, I miss you all when I don't!
The sun is FINALLY shinny here today (after rain every day last week!) and no rain predicted for today. It feels good to see the sun.
Have a wonderful 4th of July everyone...and Shad.....today you can celebrate with us!!!
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
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What gorgeous photos Shad! Looks like a lovely place for a walk and picture taking.
Congratulations on the great weigh in Susie! Continued success!
Ceejay - hope you had a quiet holiday at work yesterday.
We went into town to run errands and see a friend. Another friend invited us to a casual bbq - we got to take a nice ride on their pontoon boat and they cooked up burgers and we all pitched in and made salads. I made fresh fruit kabobs with watermelon and cantaloupe. The other one had grapes, strawberries fresh from the fields, pineapple and a black cherry. We also had a tasty coleslaw, potato salad from the deli and some yummy baked beans. It was such a nice way to spend a summer holiday. Really had a good time. Afterwards we headed over to the casino to watch the fireworks. We got there about 2 hours ahead of time as it does fill up there. Unfortunately they have a fireworks stand so people were setting off fireworks all around. Of course there are a lot of kids who are less than responsible - yikes. Made for an uncomfortable amount of smoke and sulfur for me. The fireworks started at 10pm and lasted about 30 minutes. Afterwards it was jam packed trying to get out so DH and I went into the casino for a while. We left at 12:30 - I didn't realize it was so late. DH had a lucky run at the craps table and did very well for himself. I spent my budget and DH kindly covered my losses.
He had wanted to take a trip north today to take some flower pictures at a berry farm but they don't open up raspberry picking until Tuesday. He had a headache this morning - they have changed his blood pressure medication because of swelling in his feet and vasculitis in his legs and I hope that does not bring back the migraines he used to get. Not sure what we are going to do today - I would not mind just hanging around the house but I think he wants to go out. It is going to be a hot one today. Was nice on the boat on the lake yesterday. We have to find another friend with a boat
I guess I will ask him what he wants to do and plan accordingly. Hope you are all having a good weekend.
Had a good day yesterday at work with only one phone call. Today so far is the same thing. I decided that since yesterday was a holiday and today is Sunday I'm doing only the basic things. I did have to call the maintenance man as we are having trouble with filter number 2. I had to back wash that filter. The drain valve hasn't been closing. I tried to close it before I called him. I got it half way before my arms gave out on me. Then he tells me to use a different thing to close it but I couldn't reach it. I didn't feel safe climbing around on those big pipes. A male co-worker fell off of them when he tried the other night.
My exciting event for the night was to watch the fireworks from my bathroom window. I've been doing this for years.
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Shad
I'm so envious of you location. I'd love to walk that trail with you. Happy moving day.
Happy
Sounds like you had a nice time yesterday with your friends. Did DH feel like going to take some pictures?
Susie
Congrats on the 3 pounds lost. Hope I have a good weigh in Thursday at home.
Laura
Happy Birthday to you. Did you do anything special?
Terra
I will definitely buy Jurassic World when it comes out on DVD. I can't handle the loudness of the movies at the theater.
I took a long nap today after church. It felt great! I am not mentally ready to go back to work tomorrow, but I have to be. Once I get there and get into the swing of things it will be ok.
I think I am dealing with hormones these days. I have noticed for the past 3 months, I have a pattern of where I'm really energetic and then really tired and feel weepy and out of sorts. I also find that when I feel that way, I also feel "foggy" in my thinking.
I don't go for my annual until September but I will mention it then and ask him to draw my hormone levels to see if I might be in or through menopause. I had a hysterectomy 12 years ago, but still have my ovaries. For a bit they shut down and I had this sort of feelings then. Eventually they started working again and while I don't have a period I do go through the cycle somewhat. I get "that headache" and things. Who knows! I believe that I will experience a lot of things now that I have turned 50!
Laura: I hope you had a lovely birthday. What did you do?
Happy: Your time on the pontoon boat sounds lovely! Our fireworks last night were at 10 and lasted about 30 min. It does take a bit for the traffic to thin out. That was smart that you went to the casino for a bit. How nice of Eric to cover your losses!
I hope he gets acclimated to the new blood pressure medicine soon.
Ceejay: I believe you will have a good weigh-in on Thursday. Just keep making good and healthy small changes each day.
Shad: You go to the most beautiful places! Thanks for sharing your pictures.
Terra: I see that you posted that you picked up your new glasses. How are you liking them?
Had a busy weekend housesitting and dog sitting for my friend Bob's sister Debi. I never truly appreciated how flexible and "low-maintenance" Santa is. He's so flexible and adaptable. As long as he's with me....he's fine. Her dog Monet is very demanding, but at least she's cute and sweet...though it took her nearly the whole weekend to warm up to me, despite numerous visits prior to Debi going out of town.
I was going to go watch fireworks with Doug...but I heard from the groomer at Santa's day care who lives in the same mobile home park as Debi that it's pretty much a war zone with loud (and illegal) fireworks, so I changed my plans and stayed at home with the dogs. I'm glad I did because Monet got pretty upset at all the noise.
I've been dealing with depression lately. I think part of it is because of gaining 3 lbs this past month rather than losing the 10-15 lbs that I should've. I've realized that I absolutely have to kick the sweets to the curb. It doesn't matter that I don't dump *much* when eating them, they will still make my body very sick in terms of increased insulin production and it's not out of the realm of possibility that I could become diabetic again.
Also, my therapist thinks I'm probably still mourning Bob, so staying at his sister's home with all the photos of her family was a bit rough. Debi and her daughter went to Vegas to do some of the things that were left undone on Bob's bucket list. And later this month, Debi and her other daughter are going to Macchu Picchu to fulfill the biggest thing on Bob's bucket list. I've agreed to housesit for Debi during that time too...at least for the first half of her trip until I leave for my trip to southern CA for my family reunion.
Sounds like a fun weekend was had by most of you. Mine was mostly spent going to the dog park and to OA (Overeater's Anonymous) meetings.
I got home yesterday in time to watch the Women's World Cup Final game...Wow! what a game! I don't really follow soccer...but I thoroughly enjoyed watching this game.
I've signed up for two more 5Ks in August and another one in November. I'm still at a stage where I can run 1-1.5 miles and walk the rest of the way. I'm also trying to decide about what distance to do for the Rock & Roll run in September. If I do the 10K, there will be live bands throughout the course, but if I do the 5K which is the day before...no live music. I'm sure I could walk the 10K and maybe run part of it....but I might be able to run the whole 5K by then (which is what my trainer is suggesting). But no music...where's the fun in that? LOL. I need to make a decision.
Well, I've got lots of work to get done so I'd better get to it.
Sorry about no personals. You ladies are in my thoughts daily, and I frequently read your posts...even if I don't get to post as often as I'd like.
What a busy day this has been. No time to even post, my brother and SIL are coming over for dinner. Monday's are rough at work as that dumb stinking report that never seems to satisfy anyone is due by noon. Bleh, makes me in a crappy mood.
Will be back tomorrow with a better, positive post.
Michelle – Hopefully Monet will warm up to you a bit more quickly next time! I’m so sorry you’re suffering from depression. I imagine it was hard seeing all the photos of your friend Bob over the weekend. I don’t get the point of the live music during the rock and roll run – do the runners actually stop enroute and watch the performances? Or is that mainly for the onlookers to enjoy? I guess if you walk part of the course it could be entertaining.
Susie – Awesome weight loss last week!! Sorry you’re dealing with hormones lately. It’s smart to get the levels checked and see what's what. Hope you’re back in the swing of things at work. It's very quiet here with two department members being out.
Ceejay – Glad your Sat./Sun. at work went well. Are there skeleton crews on weekends/holidays? Had to chuckle when you said you watched the fireworks out your bathroom window. I imagine that’s got the best view of them??
Happy – Sounds like a lovely 4th with friends, on their boat too! Ugh, don’t like the amateur fireworks – loud and scary. Congrats to your dh on his lucky run. Did you ever get out yesterday?
Shad – Lovely photos – what a beautiful place you visited! I like the moss-covered boulders!
Terra – How are the new eyeglasses working out?
Annie – Kind of nice to be in the office when it’s so quiet…but also leave early!! Are you getting the sunshine now? We had a fantastic weather weekend, and it's nice today too. Thanks so much for the birthday card. Very cute card and envelope!
Hello Dee!
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It was a nice weekend. Good mix of fun and productivity. Naturally I can’t recall all the way back to Thursday evening, lol.
On Friday morning I got out and did session #2 of digging at the sewer line dirt hump. I’m not sure I want to spread any more of that clay soil in the back of the yard in the arborvitae area. As I’ve said, it’s clay soil and not dark at all – it looks awful. I’ll almost welcome the weeds eventually poking through so the soil is less visible. In the fall, I’ll make bf mow over some leaves to make them like mulch so I can spread them over that dirt and maybe amend that soil a bit. As for the rest of the dirt hump...we'll have to find another place to dump it.
On Friday night we met another couple at a nearby festival and saw Dennis DeYoung (from the band Styx) perform. It was a good show. I always forget how much I like people-watching at these events.
On Saturday morning I lazed around a bit and finished watching season 6 of Mad Men and discovered that season 7 is available already on Netflix. Of course I watched an episode of season 7. An old HS friend of mine that I’ve been trading texts with lately phoned me. She’s facing hip surgery and couldn’t discuss all the details via text messages, LOL. Wow, this is now the 2nd HS friend who’s having hip surgery!
Later, bf and I went out for lunch. We also bought a couple new portable chairs from a sporting goods store. We’ve had a number of these kinds of chairs over the years, none of them all that comfortable. I’d even reverted to bringing an old-school aluminum lawn chair to the annual fireworks display (the ones with the woven webbing). But when we tried out my friend S’s chair at the festival the previous night, bf decided we needed to buy a couple like hers. It’s definitely a step or two above the cheapies in price, but the support is worth it.
Afterwards I took doggie for a walk and did some laundry.
That night we went to our village's festival to see a local band and the fireworks. We parked in a different spot, which was a big mistake when it came time to leave. Oh well, live and learn… Otherwise, I enjoyed the band, the food, the fireworks, and the new chairs! Back home, we sat out on the patio and had a couple summer shandies and listened to some iPod music playing on the wireless speaker we got at Christmas last year. When an obnoxious neighbor a couple doors down started with the fireworks, I took doggie inside with me. We had the windows closed and AC running to block out the sound and doggie was fine.
On Sunday I got out right away and went to the laundromat with the comforters and throw rugs. After breakfast, I puttered around tidying up the kitchen. Then I cleaned the interior of our new corner cabinet and put our cookbooks, knickknacks, and other stuff inside. Not all the cookbooks fit. We have a built-in book shelf in our home office. I think I’ll clear part of a shelf for the rest of the cookbooks.
For my birthday, bf and I met his mother for lunch at a nice Mexican restaurant located in the downtown of the village next to ours. It was wonderful.
Although bf was pooped from mowing the lawn earlier in the day, he agreed we should go buy the mulch while it was on sale. So we bought the last of what they had – 17 bags. We had a bit of help from an employee to load it in the SUV, but had to unload it ourselves back at home. Still, I’m glad we bought it since it was a good sale. We also bought a serrano pepper plant – better late than never! Still, I’m hopeful it'll produce, since it already has blossoms on it.
After stacking the mulch in the garage, I planted the pepper plant and tied up my tomato plants (they always manage to escape the tomato cages)! Finally came watering, at which point the skeeters were trying to eat me, so doggy and I got our butts inside.
That was it for my weekend. And that’s it for my long and rambling post. TTFN.
Annie - Sorry your Monday is stressful and crappy. I hate it when things don't work as we want to.
Laura - The music is for the runners/walkers (if they want a break) and the onlookers. I just think it would be nice to hear the bands along the route. On Sunday when they have the bands, the two distances are either the 10K or the 1/2 marathon, which a woman from my Packers Fan Meetup group runs....yes, I said "runs". As I said, if I do the 10K (roughly 6.5 miles), I'll be lucky to be able to run a couple of those miles and walk the rest. I like run/walks with fun incentives like the "bubble run" which had bubble stations (like the picture I posted on FB); or the Color Run 5K I'm doing in August where you get plastered with a variety of colored paint powder so you can get your white T-shirt all multi-colored (I will have a bandana over my mouth/nose to minimize asthma issues from the powder; or the FroYo run, where you get frozen yogurt at the finish line; and I signed up for the Night Glow run/walk, where you have glow light bracelets and I think glow in the dark color powder for your white shirt. The night glow run/walk also benefits Stand Up 2 Cancer. I'd definitely do run/walks that benefit charity...and I'll probably sign up for the Relay For Life...but I'm not up for the Avon 60 mile walk (nor can I afford the entry fee or "guaranteed contribution").
Well, I've waited too long to eat and am having a blood sugar crash. Dang it. Better go get some fruit/carbs. Bleh.
Laura
Yes we have a skeleton crew ever day. One operator per shift which is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. then to 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.. There is a stand by person in case there is a maintenance problem.
Michelle
Hope the depression subsides. Hopefully the more you are around Monet the more she will get used to you.
Annie
I hope all the kinks in the report gets worked out soon.
Susie
I'm not looking for a weight loss this week. To many high carb foods due to a couple of binges. I'll be happy if I stay the same. I'm getting back on track. I need to make an appointment for myself to go to the gyn.
Terra, Happy and Shad
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Our electronics engineer came today to fix a problem and to see if he could find another problem. And yes one of our problems was fixed and found the other problem. The boss didn't want to hear one of the major problems.
Text with my cousin from Midland, TX today. She's always a joy to talk to.
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
Hello again,
I kind of got coerced into going into the thrift shop tomorrow. But there are some people I want to see so it's not a total no thanks, I don't wanna do this
Today was a super super rainy day. Heavy storms in the area - we had to get a couple of inches of rain. I did go into town to the Farmer's Market - she had some fresh cut up chickens and I got a couple halfs for suppers. They are so much better tasting than the stuff at the store. I got tons of vegetables too - kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet onions, garlic and garlic scapes which is something totally new for me to cook up. My own garden is limping along so this was a welcome supplement. I also got some honey from the local organic farm - the neighbor's bees visit his farm. AND today was peach day - peaches from Georgia I got a box of 25 pounds and am going to split a box with a friend. The split box will probably get divvied up with a few bags to friend's who have shared other bounties with me in the past. I also was hesitant but did pick up a box of Michigan blueberries. HUGE blueberries. They were on the tart side last year but these are just wonderful. DH and I were popping them in our mouths as snacks. We had good eating today and will continue throughout the week. I got some bones and I'm going to make a nice beef vegetable soup from the steak bone and some soup bones I got today and make a small pot of chicken soup from the carcass and leftover meat from tonight's chicken dinner. The weather is a bit cool today - even for a July day so that will be quite tasty. Town was ridiculously busy, traffic was horrible. Everyone decided to come in because they could not be outside. I could not get back home fast enough.
Ceejay - glad you had a nice conversation with your cousin. Holiday's over - hope you enjoyed it and now back to clean eating
Michelle - I am sorry you are struggling with depression. You certainly don't want to risk the diabetes. I will never forget the term you used pre-op - food funerals. I think it's time to have one for sugar. And it's not giving up sugar as much as finding more reasonable substitutes. I do feel for you - I am trying to convince myself that a lot of my aches are probably due to sugar based inflammation. I know what I need to do but it's hard to accept it. Perhaps we can walk that road together. You certainly are becoming the running lady I think it's nice that they incorporate fun into the runs - not everyone is a serious marathoner and I think that increases participation.
Laura - what kind of portable chairs did you get? I have thought the camp type chairs were uncomfortable too. Sounds like you had a fun weekend - hope you had a good birthday too - I am going to have to mark things on a calendar for next year. Wow - you sure do go through the mulch!!! Score on the good sale! Are you taking a pass on book club over the summer?
Annie - sorry you had a crazy busy day. Always pay for a day off, don't you? Your fish looked so very good. Was that supper tonight?
Susie - yay for long naps. Yes it sounds as if you are the victim of fluctuating hormones. I hope they can find something to make you comfortable.
Hi to Shad, Dee, Terra. I'm kind of tired now. Going to hit the sack I think. But first to feed the cats and one last litter run. Goodnight all.
Let me see, Friday evening my brother of IL (the black sheep) came into town. We all met at Lil Mexico restaurant, quite yummy food, way too many chips and salsa.
Saturday morning we all met at Cracker Barrell for breakfast and shopping in the lobby, I always find something in there to buy. lol. Then the girls all went to Edinburgh Outlet mall shopping. <----I hate shopping, however I did find Curtis 3 really nice shirts. The most I paid for one was 12.50. The other two were under 10 bucks. I also got 3 work blouses. Guess it wasn't a total bust. Saturday night we all went to Scotty's Brewhouse for dinner. I had very yummy fish tacos. Curtis had the best tasting tenderloin and loaded waffle fries.
Sunday I picked Sissy up, we went to Jared to get her wedding band that had come in. Very pretty band. Then we went to Olive Garden for lunch, onto Kohls and Super Target. I sure did a lot of eating and shopping both of which I need not do. Expensive weekend to say the least.
Last night my other brother and SIL came over for dinner. Yes, HAPPY the fresh catch was for dinner. I served rice and greenbeans with it. No dessert as NONE of us needed it.
LAURA...what a busy weekend you had and sounds like your BD was great. Good for you.
HAPPY...I need to find a farmers market near me as it looks like my garden will be a bust also. Tomato plants are getting too much water and turning yellow with no tomatos on them.
CHELLE...maybe you need to have you depression meds changed. I went through about 3 or 4 before I found one that worked the best for me. Cymbalta, it also helps with aches and pains.
SHADDIE...lovely pictures, see there is a bright side to working, lovely pictures.
CEEG...I had to laugh at watching fireworks out your bathroom window. I think you are confused. You are supposed to go to the bathroom when tornados come. haha
SUSIE....I know I don't have enough of the female hormone as I have chin hairs I have to pluck to proove it..lol Hope docs can figure out a good treatment for you.
So much to get done today....and after work, I'm meeting a friend to go on our weekly walk. Yesterday, my trainer was doing an assessment test on all of us in the group...for example, how many pushups we could do in 1 minute, how many squats, how many rows. I do really well in terms of rows, squats get me a bit out of breath, but I can do them...pushups are my nemesis especially since I have the calcification in my left rotator cuff tendon. She's aware of that and is always willing to show me modifications, which she did yesterday. After that...it was get on the treadmill and run as fast as you can for 15 minutes without any breaks. Normally we run at 80-90% of our max heart rate for 1 or 2 minutes with a 30 second break. When we do those bursts with rest periods, I can run at between 5.8 and 6.0 mph. But since yesterday was 15 minutes sustained...I started off at 5.2 mph for the first 5 minutes...and then gradually increased my speed up to 6.0 mph for the last minute. I was exhausted. My lungs were giving out much faster than my legs...but I really wanted to complete the challenge without stopping.
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Happy - You're absolutely correct about food funerals. I'm finding that a reasonably good substitute to keep me from stopping for ice cream is to eat a protein bar on the way home from the gym. The ones I get are very low sugar, high protein and taste REALLY good. And after I finish it, I'm too full even for ice cream, and I remind myself that I have yummy sugar free pudding, popsicles and jello at home...and also yummy flavored Greek yogurt, which is what I've had for dinner the past two nights.
Annie -- I just increased my depression med (Celexa) from 10mg to 20mg. I'd really rather not switch as I've been on it for well over a decade...but maybe it's time. I'll schedule an appointment and talk to my dr. Sounds like you had a great weekend.
I've got to run...lots to get done and not much time.
Did you do anything special?
I hope you had a lovely birthday. What did you do?
I don’t get the point of the live music during the rock and roll run – do the runners actually stop enroute and watch the performances? Or is that mainly for the onlookers to enjoy? I guess if you walk part of the course it could be entertaining. 
As I said, if I do the 10K (roughly 6.5 miles), I'll be lucky to be able to run a couple of those miles and walk the rest. I like run/walks with fun incentives like the "bubble run" which had bubble stations (like the picture I posted on FB); or the Color Run 5K I'm doing in August where you get plastered with a variety of colored paint powder so you can get your white T-shirt all multi-colored (I will have a bandana over my mouth/nose to minimize asthma issues from the powder; or the FroYo run, where you get frozen yogurt at the finish line; and I signed up for the Night Glow run/walk, where you have glow light bracelets and I think glow in the dark color powder for your white shirt. The night glow run/walk also benefits Stand Up 2 Cancer. I'd definitely do run/walks that benefit charity...and I'll probably sign up for the Relay For Life...but I'm not up for the Avon 60 mile walk (nor can I afford the entry fee or "guaranteed contribution"). 
I got a box of 25 pounds and am going to split a box with a friend. The split box will probably get divvied up with a few bags to friend's who have shared other bounties with me in the past. I also was hesitant but did pick up a box of Michigan blueberries. HUGE blueberries. They were on the tart side last year but these are just wonderful. DH and I were popping them in our mouths as snacks. We had good eating today and will continue throughout the week. I got some bones and I'm going to make a nice beef vegetable soup from the steak bone and some soup bones I got today and make a small pot of chicken soup from the carcass and leftover meat from tonight's chicken dinner. The weather is a bit cool today - even for a July day so that will be quite tasty. Town was ridiculously busy, traffic was horrible. Everyone decided to come in because they could not be outside. I could not get back home fast enough. 
You certainly are becoming the running lady 