I just lost a HUGELY long post I had been working on because when I tried to post, it said I wasn't logged in. I logged in and then got ANOTHER error that my form submission could not be processed. I lost my entire post. This is not the first time this happened and I'm getting more frustrated with this 3FC site.

I don't have time to redo this so I'll post on another day.

Signed a VERY ANGRY not very "Happy".

Happy
I fully understand about this website. Wish they could do something. I I agree with food choices. Everything in moderation.

----------
Still working on retirement and moving paper work. I really didn't know how much was involved in all this.

It's really dark outside. We sure do need the rain.

I think the heat is robbing me of my energy. It's been around the 100 degree mark this week. I managed to trim the bushes today. They needed it.

Our new Mcdonald's was opened yesterday. It's like the ones in Jonesboro. Vey nice. It's not on my way home either so that's good news.

Like Susie, I found my fit bit. I didn't really know how attached I was to this thing. I was cleaning in the bathroom and there it lay.

I'm supposed to go to Paragould tomorrow to eat lunch with the uncles. It will depend on the weather in the morning.

This will be the second time I try to post. Keeping fingers crossed.

Does everyone want to try for a facebook page instead then?

Shad
I'm all for it.

Hi everyone,

Regarding starting a Facebook page - that doesn't lend itself well to conversations and I find it a personal peeve when people never communicate with you, just click "like" on your posts. That's kind of up there with people who never actually talk to you, just forward a bunch of emails with jokes and junk, basically sending your email address out to the spammers of the world. So I don't see how a Facebook page would do us any good other than making my posts alot quicker

Ceejay - retiring is a lot like getting married (the first time) you change your name and the paper trail is a mile long... I retired from my company and it wasn't all that bad but when it came to DH turning 65 and switching insurance, getting social security and medicare and all that junk, I took a course at the local junior college so I could try and figure out what needed to be done. DH is a typical guy and has no tolerance for all of that. I don't envy you all that needs to be done, not looking forward to it myself in a few years. But at least by the end of the year all the dust will be settled and you can relax and enjoy life.

Laura - I'm glad BF's Mom made it through surgery ok. Multiple fractures was that because of the seriousness of the fall or did she have osteo issues with weak bones?

Annie - hope you got all your marketing packages put together and were able to go home and relax and enjoy the weekend.

Susie - you sure packed in a fun filled week on vacation. Everything you did sounds like it was great fun.

The MRI went fine, I hope to hear the results shortly. I took a Valium before the test, didn't need it because the tube is open at both ends and I was sticking out of one of them. Above on the ceiling they have a panel with blue sky and clouds and they give you headphones and ask what kind of music you like to listen to so that helped alot. I hated the effect of the Valium - made me feel dull and stupid and it was almost hard to form words to talk. I was the "big cheese" at bingo this week. My partner decided to attend not one, but 3 meetings so it was me and D most of the night. D is an old timer so it's helpful to have him there in case I have questions. Yesterday I planned on canning those peaches as I probably should have done it 3 days ago and some of them were starting to go bad. So I'm in the kitchen trying to figure out what I'm doing - I could not seem to find my recipe from last year and tried a new one that was more complicated. It does make a sticky mess with all the syrup and boiling. DH helped me with the first batch and did not put the lids on correctly/tightly so after the water bath for 30 minutes, I pulled out the jars and had to redo them all over again. I hope those won't turn out mushy after being "cooked" for an hour. And that was 6 quarts of peaches. The second set I made in pint jars and added some cinnamon to them. It tasted pretty good to me. My phone was also ringing off the hook since Thursday because the Humane Society talked about our upcoming fundraiser which I am co-chairing. It's our "professional beggars day" where we go out on the street with pink buckets and beg for cash donations. Takes an army of volunteers to do this and we need people. They put my name in the newspaper article so people were calling. Not a bad problem to have but setting up the schedule, updating the volunteer list, all that takes time away from other things. This is a very labor intensive fundraiser for me.

Then I get a call from my sister in law whom I have not heard from in 2 years. (Very dysfunctional and odd situation). In her typical style she decided to go into the city and pick my Mom up and surprise her by bringing her up here for a visit. No advance planning, just "hey I got an idea and your Mom's at my house right now." This is how she does things. My house is not ready for company, my leg won't support full on marathon cleaning and in the upcoming week I have a kick off meeting for the fund raiser, my thrift shop shift (which they will both happily come in and help me), an evening cooking class, a planned fishing trip with friends, bingo and was invited to a girl's night out of wine and games which we do about every other month. Oh and I am still cleaning up stickiness from my kitchen with those darned peaches. We were supposed to go on the boat today but fortunately (I guess) it's supposed to thunderstorm so at least I have today to do as much as I can. My sister said not to fuss, do the basics on housecleaning and that's what it might come down to. Poor kitties will have their world turned upside down but on the good side, DH will sleep in the upstairs bedroom so that my Mom won't have to climb the stairs to the guestroom and that has a king sized bed so both kitties can sleep with their daddy which will make them very happy.

Although I wish I had been given more advance notice, when my SIL told my Mom that they were taking a trip up here, my Mom was so very happy I could not say no. I am surprised she said yes, travelling is difficult for her although my SIL is super understanding about potty stops and stretching the legs and she lives in the south end of my state so it cuts the trip down to about 6 hours. My Mom is excited to have a "vacation". I think she is going stir crazy in the house because the weather has been very hot and humid which is hard on her. I guess they are bringing the heat with them as the next 2 days are supposed to be almost 90 degrees - far warmer than it has been up this way. They are planning on getting her tomorrow and staying through Saturday. So I won't be posting much this upcoming week.

Now I have to get off the computer, strap on my Ipod with some fast beat music and start the cleaning madness. It's times like this when I realize I have far too much in this house and I need to seriously cull things out. Anyway, have a good week everyone, I will check in when I can.

oh yay - thank goodness my post took this time around

where is everyone?

Morning....

Off to a funeral this afternoon for my cousin, 42 years old. Drug OD. He was doing so well with it all. 2 years clean. Full time job. College. Addiction of any type is just horrid. Drugs, alcohol, food, sex, you name it. Addiction is a very sick disease.

I did get another closet cleaned out this weekend. The pantry closet. Bleh! Where in the H does all the S come from. 1 1/2 bags of trash. Even got a small bag for the food bank. Laundry all done, for a minute. In a blink of an eye the basket is full again. Next I have to clean out my bedroom closet, again. So much junk to get rid of, still.

My fingers have been hurting at the joints. I hate to think I have arthritis coming my way in my hands. I know my momma struggled with it the last 25 years of her life. I certainly do not want that pain on top of this other crap. H*ll getting old. These young kids need to live there life while they can, cause these ailments are BS.

Sam went to a fund raiser last night with a GF. She did not contribute any money as she doesn't have any but it was nice of her to support her friend. Stand up for Pits..Pitbulls. We watched the boys which was not too awful hard as not long after Sam left the boys went to bed.

C is still working his arse off. 7 days a week. This hot humid weather wears him out more than the job itself. He was beat last night, ate his dinner and went straight to bed. I feel so badly for him.

HAPPY...you are way too busy for me. Me thinks at the commune, you will be the one doing all the running and volunteering, I will be the one doing the cleaning and cooking. lol. Not a bad set up! Surprise visit from SIL and momma. Nice to see momma. Glad the MRI went fine and you didn't have a panic attack. When will you know the results? Did DH get over the shingles ok?

CEEG...the heat does really rob you of your energy. C can acclaim to that. Less paperwork with computers was the idea when computers came out. No, now we keep a copy on the computer and a paper copy in the file drawer.

SUSIE...your vacation sounded fabulous. Now back to work to recoup. lol. I am sure your desk is covered with work.

LAURA...how is DMIL doing? Poor thing what a whammy on the break. Did you enjoy your few days off?

SHADDIE...were you home this past weekend? Can't remember. Was ODDU glad to see you?

HELLO to Chelle and Dee...get back in here ladies.

Loves and hugs

Morning all. Hope you're well. I'm prepping for a 10 am meeting, so I'll be back later.

Morning all. My meeting was short, yay for that.

My weekend was ho hum. The dentist appointment was fine. I had a $10 reward from Eddie Bauer to use and since my dentist appointment took me as far east as I needed to go, the EB outlet was only a few miles away from there. However, I didn’t find anything and I was determined not to spend much of my own money over and above the $10 reward. Finally I just decided on a tank top, but it was discounted to well under $10, so I couldn’t use the stupid reward, so I left with nothing. Waste of time. EB changed direction with the type of clothing it sells, and I no longer see much at all I like, so I’ve unsubscribed to their emails and won’t bother with them anymore.

The rest of Saturday was a lot of puttering and a dog walk, etc. Our living room gets so hot since that tree across the street isn’t there to shade our house (was removed last year). We close the blinds and run the fan, but the sun is still beating down on that part of the house starting in late afternoon up through sunset. At one point it got to be 80 degrees inside and I finally closed the place up and turned on the AC. What a shame because the temps were beautiful outside. And I felt so warm and lethargic and icky I decided to get out of the house for a bit (bf had gone to watch some UFC fights with friends). I drove through the grounds of the small conservatory not far from the house, and then went to Kohl’s just to browse. Ended up with a pair of pj’s.

Sunday I lazed a bit, then got outside and dug out the hosta from a spot under the lilac bushes in front. The hosta were too overgrown for that spot. It took some effort digging them up because the previous owner had some landscape stone in that area, and also, the roots of the lilac and the roots of the hosta had grown together. Aaargh! But I persevered and when I was done I had three gigantic hosta, one large one, and a few babies that had come apart from the larger plants. I decided to try and sell all of them in one lot on one of the FB local garage sale sites/groups I belong to and I was successful! It was nice that I cleared that spot and made a few bucks to boot.

We visited bf’s mom in the hospital Sunday afternoon. She was a bit loopy from her pain meds, which concerned us. Bf wants to talk to his mom’s doctor. She was in the ICU on Friday to watch her BP and blood levels and was moved to the TCU (transitional care unit) on Sunday. When we arrived, the PT & OT people had just finished up, and we understand she can put her full weight on her repaired hip, so that's a positive thing. Hopefully she can soon get back to a regular room, and then go into the rehab facility.

Otherwise the rest of my weekend was uneventful. I set up my pedometer last night, but I reset it this morning because I thought I might have input my stride length incorrectly.

That’s it for me, on to personals.
--
Happy – Sorry you lost a long post the other day. I’ve not (knock on wood) had any problems lately, but I'm in the habit of typing my post in Word or Evernote (on my phone) and cutting and pasting it into 3fc. But I do recall having cursor issues a ways back. So annoying. == Re bf’s mom’s multiple fractures – dunno if it was the fall or brittle bones – I imagine it was both. == You sound busy as heck with bingo, the HS fundraiser, and the peach canning. Does all this busyness at least keep your mind off your knee pain for a bit?? And now you’ve got this out of the blue, totally unexpected visit from your mom & SIL! Oy! Please don’t overdo it with the cleaning and all the other stuff! Enjoy the time with your mom, and I hope she enjoys it too!

Annie – So sad about your cousin – so young to lose him. Yes, addictions are so awfully destructive. === Good for you getting the pantry cleaned out. My village’s food pantry needs donations, so we’ll shop for some food items for that, but we might have an overload of boxed pasta in our cabinet that we can whittle down and donate the excess. I don’t know how that happens. The funny thing is that we don’t eat pasta at home all that often anymore. And I also have a new pasta maker I want to try out so I should stop buying it… == Yes, experiencing aging and seeing it in my mom and “MIL” is very disheartening…this is what we have to look forward to?? Sigh. === I feel bad for C – all that physical labor in such heat and humidity, and being in the hot truck. Yes, even with AC, vehicles heat up just sitting there in the heat and sun and by the time they cool down, you’re already where you need to be and it starts all over again. == I took vacation days last Tues. & Wed. and it was okay, though naturally bf’s mom’s fall and hip break put a damper on things. It was good we didn’t have any big plans.

Ceejay – Wow, really hot by you! What an accomplishment to do any outdoor task when it’s that hot. I try to time my garden work before the sun hits the area I want to work on.== Good for you finding your fitbit!== Did you eat lunch with the uncles over the weekend?

Shad – I know we could set up a private group on FB, but I still don’t like the idea of what FB might do with the content. I rarely post anything on FB. I suppose I could (should?) have the same concern about the 3fc site, but that’s how I feel about it.

Hellos to Dee, Michelle & Susie!

Everyone have a great week.

Morning all,

Been busy with training in Orange this week and was home in Brisbane last weekend - so much to do, so little time. This weekend is Adelaide for the party. Not really looking forward to that sadly. Probably I am just tired. I haven't yet found the little suitcase I want for her. I did see some in the airport this week but what a price. It's like I am buying the ticket for the flight to Paris as well. Since when did suitcases start costing over $500 for a very small case? That is sheer price gouging even if it was made in Switzerland or somewhere European.

We have a polar mass coming in to Adelaide for the rest of the week, predicting freezing temps and maybe snow to low levels. That will be nice(not) for a tropical bird like me. It's cold enough here in Orange. At least it will be warmer in Wollongong by the sea.

Annie - Sorry to hear about the cousin and yet another funeral for you. Seems you have your hands full with the family at the moment. Sad for those two little boys to be left without their Dad now. What a jerk. Wonder if he will ever grow up.
Hope it isn't arthritis in your hands. That can be awfully painful.
ODDU is always glad to see me. He likes it when his pack gets back together and he has everyone in their right place. He is calming down slightly and has graduated to the highest class in dog school but still needs reinforcement of manners and rules. Like all dogs, he is a delight - when he is being good.

Laura - best wishes for the MIL as she gets back on her feet. Tough times when the elderly break bones although many seem to manage to recover well. Hope she does.
Don't you wonder about some of the stores these days - changing their styles and then losing customers. Is it beyond thought to understand that the reason you have a customer base is because they like your stuff?

Happy - enjoy your Mum's visit and forget the housework. As long as they have a clean bed to sleep in and food on the table at the appropriate time who cares if there is a bit of dust in a corner somewhere. Anyway if SIL decides to descend on you without notice, she can also help in the house.
Good job on the peaches. Will make a great winter treat.

Ceejay - Things to do, lots to think about, just plough on through it thinking how nice it will be when you don't have to wake to alarm clocks and get up on freezing mornings.
Seems the others are not so keen on Facebook, but that's okay. We can just keep cutting and pasting. This computer is okay with staying logged in, but the work one is not. I wonder if it has something to do with computer settings maybe?

About it from me. Might try for another hour of snoozing before getting packed and ready for my flight back to Sydney and the drive to Wollongong. At least I don't have to be there ready to start classes today. That's tomorrows job.

Good Morning Everyone!

So being in the blah mood that I have been in for the past couple of months, I decided to buy the coffee for the person in line behind me. Not a small feat as I was at Starbucks. Hope their day is grand now and I do feel a bit better. Also have decided to be a bit more positive and thankful. I am tired of being in this rut.

Last night was more organizing of Samantha's stuff. We rented the smallest space at a self-storage. We will begin to load it up this week. Thank God she has no furniture. Just "stuff". Boxes of stuff.

Dinner was leftovers. Homemade fried rice. Homemade pizza. Rolls from Cracker Barrel. Rotisserie chicken from Costco. Yep, got a membership to Costco over the weekend. A new Costco opened up on the south side of Indy about 10 minutes from the house. Nice bargain on diapers, altho Royce is more than ready to be potty trained but wants nothing to do with it. OMGoodness he is not on board with that. Also got a good deal on paper towels. Purchased a small 4.2 cubic fridge for the garage for Sam to keep her upteen gallons of milk she gets with her WIC checks, also the juice. Hmm, beginning to think this is all costing me some bucks. lol, it is only money and can't take it with us, right HAPPY! Sides HAPPY how much $$ will we need a month for the commune, would like to start saving. ba hahahahaha On the commune and saving....

My boss is leaving for a business meeting today and will be out until Thursday. Good, I have reports to do. This also means I have to run the Pipeline Ccall this afternoon, I hate chairing it. Bleh. Good with the bad I suppose. Just when I think things are smoothing out here at work with reports and meetings, all H breaks loose and their is something added to my agenda.

I checked my garden, HAPPY. Small but quaint garden. I have 4 tomatos growing amongst the weeds. Hard for me to weed when my ankle hardly allows me to walk on uneven ground, much less bending and stooping. I am useless I say, useless. My rose of sharon are blooming and beautiful. Between those two ROS is a peony bush that I thought had died that is also blooming like crazy. Both were momma's favorites. Then just beyond those hangs my humming bird feeder that has a few humming birds fluttering around. A very nice view out the back windows and also the sliding door. Oh and the one ROS bush blooms pink and white flowers, must of got both starts from a friend that were mixed bushes.

Best get busy, will post and come back for personals as I just noticed there is page 2 that I have not even read yet.

Hugs

SHADDIE...Safe Travels. Hope you get to enjoy the wee one. Is your training in Orange the new Black? ba haha Too bad you don't have enough time to internet search for a suitcase. I seem to find EVERYTHING I need on the internet, on sale, especially on Amazon.com. Yuk on the snow. NO THANK YOU! Our snow will be here before you know, heck half of summer is already over here.

LAURA...Does Coal realize his walks are a bit shorter than the norm? Or just glad to get back home? Hope MIL is doing better each day. Poor thing. Has to be rough on her, on everyone as well. New York &Co also changed what they carry in their stores. Not a happy camper and you are not with Eddie Bauer. NY&C only carries one brand of pants and the zippers don't seem to stay zipped on them. Plus they are rediculously priced. Done with that place too.

***********Who wants to do a little bitty challenge with me? I would like to lose 5-10 pounds by surgery date of August 11. Pretty sure this is doable and would help me to get around afterwards on crutches and walkers. Starting tomorrow 7/13. That will be 4 weeks and 1 day to get there. Who is in?***********

HAPPY...has momma arrived yet? Don't kill yourself cleaning. Enjoy your time together at least torment her and SIL a bit. lol

Ok, hey to all you lovely ladies...Make it a great day/night.

Morning all. Hot and humid again today. Ick. At least I rode my bicycle to the train today and that’s cooler than walking!

Shad – I’m sure once you get to your son’s place, you'll enjoy seeing little S, even if it’s a chaotic birthday party is involved... Anything at the airport is bound to be overpriced – captive audience and all that… Polar mass! Brrr. Though I do admit to anxiously awaiting the passing of the hot/humid weather we’ve had this week! Just a big ick! When stores/companies shift their focus, I don’t wonder why because I just know that they are chasing the almighty dollar. That’s what it all comes down to. Abandoning one customer base for a more profitable one. == Safe travels!

Annie – How nice of you to buy someone’s Starbuck’s this morning. And good to set your mind to being more positive and grateful, even if you’re not quite “feeling it” and are really in a “fake it ‘til you make it” mode. You'll get there! === Well, at least you have the right size household at the moment to benefit from a Costco membership. We have one, but we mainly use it for purchasing gas and doggy meds. And the rotisserie chicken!! Yum. Don’t wanna know what they inject it with to make them so moist and flavorful, just know it’s convenient and tasty. ==== Your garden sounds nice – I love my peonies, but this year’s blooms went way too quickly. This is late for them to bloom isn’t it? What do I know, they could be a completely different variety than what I have. I was out in the yard last night to water the flowers and veggie plants. I found some horrible vine thing in the flower bed adjacent to the veg garden. I don’t know what it’s called, but it grows on anything and was trying to latch onto my veggies. So I started pulling it out. That’s when I lost my balance (probably tripped over the hose) and twisted my ankle and fell down. Thankfully onto the lawn. My ankle’s a bit sore today, but nothing bad and no other injuries, thank goodness!=== Yay for a few days of no boss!!=== Re Coal’s walks – yes, he knows his walks are shorter now and he just wants to keep going – my boy still loves his walks. Amazing how the bad hip isn’t so bad when it comes to walk time, lol. When the weather's cooler, I’m okay with going a little bit further, but right now – nope! He gets too warm and it takes him too long to cool off afterwards. === Yes, I’m in for a “little bitty challenge” since my own challenge didn’t yield more than a 2-3 pound loss for me. Now just need to hire someone to slap the food out of my hand…

Hellos to the rest of you!

==

Concerned about bf’s mom. Bf talked to her doctor. He wants to get her into rehab soon. However, she’s very sensitive to pain and not moving enough. She also claims to have no appetite and therefore hasn’t been eating. They’re having her drink Ensure. It won’t be long before she starts having complications from this. Not a good situation. Please keep her in your thoughts/prayers. Thanks!

Nothing much else to report, so I’ll get this posted. TTFN.

Annie I'm in with you for your weight loss challenge It's been a bad year since my immune system diagnosis & then my hand problem. For some silly reason I gained my extra weight in my top, now a DD & 38" around & my calves are bigger around now instead of slim. Every where else is normal, size 9-10 jeans still fit fine. But why couldn't I have gained weight in my tushie instead to give me a curvy figure.
I put a foam pad on my kayak paddle to grip easier & thought I was ready to go until I put on of several swimsuits I had wayyy too much spillage from my ta-ta's in all 3 one piece swimsuits, so I tried on my 4 two piece swimsuits & found just one top that fits okay.

Annie, it's been so hot I don't know how I'll lose weight, but my goal is -8 pounds by your date & anything more will be a wonderful bonus. Do we weigh ourselves daily & post up or down by a full pound, my scale will measure to half a pound but nothing lower. I just got on my scale a minute ago & I'm 154#, when I wake up & do a nudie scale weight I'm about 3-4 pounds lighter than stepping on my scale in the evening.

Everyone joining could each give a no-no & yes-yes...for the week to follow like a fun game

I'll volunteer with the first no-no for 7 days... No-no: ice cream after 6pm, yes-yes: instead of soda drink your water with ice & add a slice of fruit or a sliced of veggies like cucumber or mint, pineapple basil leaves or yummy ice tea w/o sugar added.

I'll be back tonight, I have people coming soon to pick up a bedroom headboard from our guest bedroom, I sold at our garage sale. It took me 2 days to carve-out the flowers on it then stain-highlighting the details. They gave me $50 & when I did that custom work for a client with a outdoor scene he paid me $300. I was offered $350 for my business design portfolio with sketches & info, from another business but it's like selling a few of my fingers & I'm not ready to say goodbye to those memories yet.

Annie & everyone pLease let me know what you think about my thoughts regarding Annie's weight loss challenge. Please give us whatever ideas you have about us all doing it together