Evening all,
Feeling a lot better now. Those 2 to three days where the chemicals wreck the system are the pits. Once they are over, it is all pretty good again. However it does seem to affect the taste buds and nothing tastes good anymore. Guess this will pass as well.

Susie - well done on the 3.6 loss. You will be loser of the month again if this continues.

Annie - nice to know you got the maximum raise. You're worth it.

Happy - Hope the hound does not need to hang his snout out the window all the way to Chicago. That could be uncomfortable.

Laura - So sad to have friends pass over. Hope the b/f isn't taking it too hard.

Not much to report here. We have had some rain. It's been good and the grass is no longer brown and crunchy. I've lost a few plants along the way when we haven't had a drop for months. Today there was a good downpour. Other than that I really haven't been doing too much except doing the deep clean of the kitchen. One wall and window to go and it is finished. I will then have to start on the dining room. Hate cleaning windows but they have to be done once in a while otherwise you can't see through them.

DS2 is taking ODDU to dog club. Hope he behaves tonight. He gets excited when all the dogs are supposed to be sitting and waiting on recall. He comes when called but deviates to see his doggy friends on the sidelines. Naughty lad.

That's about it for me. Time to think about what comes next on my list of things-to-do. And there is a large number of them.

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING/EVENING! Happy, Healthy, GRATEFUL, Blessed!

Today I am grateful that the freezing rain that we were supposed to have last night and this morning during rush hour was only rain. 35 degrees out. Made my life/drive so much easier. LAURA...did you get any if this cr&ppy stuff?

SUSIE...I am so excided for you and your 3.6 loss. REMARKABLE! Remember to please post your total along with your loss cause I am too lazy to go back through the thread and figure it out. I have recruited another KETO way of eating gal here at work. We are such great support to each other. Samantha is going to try it too! HAPPY DANCE!!!

SHADDIE....ODDU and dog club...you know boys will be boys. lol. Very cute pic on FB of ODDU. He looks so sweet but I do see that ornery side in him too. Glad you are feeling better. Just about the time you get to being back to yourself it is time for another treatment. Boo Hugs sister.

LAURA...OMGosh In all my smash o grams this has to be the worst one. This gal was very quick about it but also a little rough. Then this morning I was having a bit of pain under my b**b so I looked in the mirror and there is a tear under each b**b just where it leaves the body. The crack so to speak. Yeow! Yes we are driving down. 10 or 11 hours depends on potty stops. We are leaving probably 3 am so the boys will sleep most of the way. We are stopping in Alabama twice. Once to visit for may an hour with one of Sam's HS buddies and softball team. The other to visit with a friend I met on E-diets when it was free a very long time ago. Me and the kids stopped and visited her one other time on our way to FL about 20 years ago. Her daughter was 2 and is now 18 or more. Curtis owns his route. Company might break it down at some point but since he owns his route (no more payments on it) they would have to pay him big $$ to take some back. They are in no hurry to help him. Mike, my bro, was his help. He cannot find anyone reliable enough to pay to do it. He has tried a couple of people, didn't work out. Sam does go do some of his pull ups for him that let's him get home maybe an hour earlier each night. We don't pay her...you know why. lol. Great memories of your dear friend are nice!

HAPPY...sorry Happy, no songs yet this morning, haven't been to the toitie yet! haha. BINGO sounds like the job for me. Brainless. I will be your assistant, you can handle the $$. Hope your trip to Chicago is more than just a two day thing. Hardly worth the wear and tear on the body and dogs to annoy you. haha. Hope they are good car riders. Bruno is, Sassy shakes and shivers for the first 20 minutes. Nutbag.

Howdie to all, hugs.

Pork rinds ground fine-rolled them with MELLIE's rolling pin, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Dipped in egg then breading, then fried in a bit of olive oil.

OMGosh, so dang good.

Morning all. Happy Friday. Sure has felt like a long week for me.

Susie – All right, another fabulous loss!

Shad – Glad you’re feeling better. I’m sorry nothing tastes good to you right now. My mom was saying that a while back. I don’t know if it was from the meds she's on or what. She hasn’t said that lately. Anyway, I hope that’s a temporary thing for you. How did ODDU do at his class last night? LOL, picturing him visiting his doggy friends on his way back to DS. Naughty – but cute.

Annie – I think it rained overnight here, but nothing freezing. And we’re in the mid-thirties now and it's starting to drizzle. Dark and dreary day but nothing awful. == Wow, that smashogram sounds awful – I’ve never experienced anything like that. Everybody on earth is sending out surveys after you buy something or have a service done, so make sure you complete one for this so they know! == Long vacay drive, but you’re doing it the way my parents did – leaving in the middle of the night to avoid the traffic. Nice you’ve planned stops to pop in on old friends. It’ll be nice to see them - and to break up the drive a bit. == Oh, I do recall you saying your brother M helping out C on the route. Nice that Sam can help out a bit, but too bad he hasn’t found a reliable helper to hire. His current schedule will wear him down and make him sick!

Hellos to the rest of you. Have a great weekend everyone.

==
Nothing much to report. I’m meeting my work buddy from a previous job for breakfast tomorrow. Nothing else planned.

Plenty to be done around the house, as usual. We have work we need to hire out and I think I’ll try to find people to do it myself. Bf has a tendency to want to hire off Craigslist, or he’ll get someone out to get a quote and has them quote on everything and anything that needs doing (and is ticked off when the quote is so high). He’s also tried unsuccessfully tried to get contractors doing work nearby to do a side job for us. The latter is not a bad idea in itself, but we never hear back and I suspect it’s because our job might be too small for them. Bleh, the PITA part of being a homeowner – finding good help.

I finally commented to my bank about fixing their !@#$% account statements so they don't plaster my name and full account numbers all over all the pages. Honestly, not displaying the full account number is like 1990's-era data security and I'm always annoyed to see all that information on my statements. And please don't suggest going paperless. If I did, I'd still print the statement so I can reconcile it to my checkbook, and I do that most often on the train. Right now I go through and black out all the personal info before I work on anything. I messaged my bank and the response makes it seem like it really won't go anywhere. Sigh.

Well, things are looking up, I got the last couple pieces of information related to a PITA project I've been working on. Good way to finish up the work week.

Good morning ladies,
Found this easy press in style low carb pie crust using almond flour. I would try the savory version to make a quiche. I picked up 2 dozen eggs from the farmer's market last week. Didn't look at the dates on them and they were about 3 weeks old. Typically not a problem because even from the farm this is still fresh compared to what you get in the grocery store but I would rather have had fresher eggs as I already had over a dozen older eggs I had to hard cook and use up. So I might try a quiche with these. That's quick and easy to rewarm too. I also have 2 eggplants and some really good spaghetti sauce right now so might make chef's version of eggplant parm which only uses a bit of breadcrumbs. Would maybe try Anne's crushed up pork rinds but today's Friday, it's Lent and I'd rather go meatless if possible.

Yesterday DH and I enjoyed our drive in the country. He took pictures of 2 old dilapidated barns we passed. He is fascinated with old broken down barns, I don't share his passion for that subject but it's his pictures. Even though I didn't eat anything at one point my tummy got rumbly and I needed to find a bathroom. We were not far from one of the casinos we go to so we stopped in there. Had lunch - I was able to eat lightly and we stayed for about an hour to play. I fronted DH with money and he turned it into a $230 profit playing craps. I walked out $4.06 ahead so I was able to play for an hour on their money. It was a nice day spent together. We got home in just enough time for me to pick up my stuff, change my sweater and head off to bingo. We had a good night, the jackpot did not get won so we actually made some money. One of the Senior Center staff came upstairs. She said they are very worried about Trump's proposed cuts to the federal programs that supply money for Meals on Wheels. We have a large senior population here and many are dependent on that program. For the last few years funding has been cut again and again and the MOW programs are really struggling to make ends meet. Our bingo profits the Meals on Wheels program. This makes me really angry because this is about our seniors, American citizens who worked hard their entire lives. Many of them are like me - did not have children or their supporting family's careers have taken them to big cities across the country and they are struggling to make it here on their own. Instead they are increasing military spending - why - so that fat cat defense contractors can stuff more money in their pockets. I swear there is a plan to have us all die at 67. But the joke's on them as we are the ones supporting this country right now with our taxes.

Then I got home and checked email and our sister shelter in the next county had a devastating fire overnight which destroyed their shelter. They were able to rescue 1 dog and 10 cats but 2 cats perished in the fire and one cat is still not accounted for. Our shelter is taking in all of the surviving animals. That was pretty sad news. It's almost a good thing that the majority of animals transferred to us were cats because we just took in another 18 dogs from a rescue operation out of Texas. We can house about 3 times as many cats as dogs. But like the shelter manager said, they would find a place for the extras, no matter what. And they would.

We got some ice last night - I think the sound of the ice on the roof scared Meadow as she hid upstairs almost all night long. Fortunately the temperature is rising just above freezing so this will melt by the evening. Just in time for DH to take me out to dinner If not I will just make some baked fish tonight.

Laura - I hear you on trying to get help on fix it projects. It's especially bad when it comes to plumbing jobs. They just don't want the little jobs and what do you do when the job requires something more than you have the skills for? I hope you can get everything done that you need to before you leave work today. Especially if it's something you'd rather just finish up and be over with in the first place! I'm surprised you don't have a Mariano's grocery store up near you already. Kind of pricy but ooooh so tempting with all of their premade foods. BEST CHICKEN SALAD in the whole world! And my homemade stuff is pretty good. Their BBQ ribs are good too. I love going there when I visit my sister for some treats but I'd go broke shopping there all the time. It's a foodie's paradise for sure. Yes, one day we will meet at Oakbrook - I promise. Even my sister is happy to go there again - we haven't been there in at least 15 years. I am somewhat skeptical about this trip - I am having a hard time trying to pin R down to get some specifics. Why are people making me feel so anal about wanting to plan stuff???

Anne - tiny picture but that pork chop does look delicious. Nice and crispy. Yum. Glad the icy stuff bypassed you. Why does the worst stuff come right at commute time? OMG sister - what the heck did they do to you at the smash-o-gram? Sounds like she shoved you and cut you. I hope they get rid of that tech before she maims more people. Regarding C not being able to get reliable help - that's one thing I have to roll my eyes at up here Some people are complaining that there are no jobs any more. I guess they think they are entitled to make a 6 figure salary hunting the internet and posting on Facebook. They are ALWAYS looking for help this way - people don't want to do manual labor. They would even train them on their dime. The problem is that they don't want to work for $10 an hour or they have just LONG records for unreliability (late, no show, drug offenses, police records, etc) that they are just looking for something to get them to the next fix. Sad. And hardworking people like C have to suffer for it. I would also be concerned he's going to wear himself into the pavement. You BOTH need that vacation.

Shad - that's awful that the medications are messing with your taste buds. Do things taste metallic or just not "right". A double whammy because you need to keep your strength up with good nutrition too. Does the tastes change or is it something that lingers for a while? Funny story about ODDU at dog camp - sounds like a bunch of teenaged girls trying to catch up with each other. Is he calming down a bit now that he's not so much puppy anymore? Glad to hear you finally got some rain although where rain falls, mossies are not far behind. Take care of yourself

Susie - congrats on another great weigh in ! The pounds seem to be just falling off although I know it's the hard work you are putting in that's making the difference. Hope you get to rest up some this weekend.

Ceejay- are you travelling this weekend?

Once again I have spent all morning on the computer. Of course I did make some phone calls - changed my hair appointment, called to get an appointment with my doc who is back from maternity leave to talk about this ongoing pain of mine and I handled a few calls and emails regarding decisions about supporting the shelter that burned down. Now I think I will go find me some lunch and take out fish to thaw since they don't have the clams that DH was thinking of for eating out tonight.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Hi Ladies. What a crazy busy weekend I have had. I decided to stay home from church today to just rest. I don't do it often but decided to today.

Yesterday the day was full with basketball for niece A. Last game is next Saturday. After that DH and I had eye exams and ordered new glasses for both of us. We went to bath and body, Target and I went to Lane Bryant and bought two new pairs of jeans, and 3 more pairs of dress pants and 5 shirts....we are broke after all that shopping yesterday! Lol

I am happy to say I am down 2 pants sizes and 2 shirt sizes since Christmas.

Happy: your DH is so artistic and it shows in his soul when you talk about the things he likes to photograph. I so wish I had that side to me but I dont. I am to practical. I think maybe I do when it comes to music and I know heart beauty when I look at things like your DH photographs and my friend Chuck paints. I have good sensory for it all but can't get it to my fingertips. I can sing...I am so greatful for that artistic gift.

Your Saturday sounded very busy as well. Your havemail a lot of energy. I was wondering if you have used the Nustep workout machine yet or has it not been delivered yet? I think I am behind in that area.

Annie: when is your upcoming trip again? It is going to feel so good for you to go and know you have lost weight. Especially when putting on summer things.

You asked for my total weight loss total and my total weight loss since Christmas is almost 38 lbs. It iseems like 37.6 or something like that.

You were talking about hearing music in the bathroom at work and the other day is was Fleetwood Mack. I had to go and download some FM onto my Ipod as I kept waiting to hear, Go your own way, Landslide, Break the Chain and One wing Dove!

Laura:I am glad that the Admin seems to be getting along so well riget off with her new kidney.

It sounds like your foot is slowly getting better as you are wearing some type of shoes more often.

I hear you about trying to find contractors to do small jobs. And to find ones who will start and finish the job. I need to finds someone to come and look at our fireplace and chimney. We are losing some brinks everyone in a while. I don't even know where to start with this project. We havery a nice tax refund coming that will most likley take a big hit with this project. I also have a tree that died last summer/fall that needs to come down and I have someone lined up for that. I am just waiting on the refund to hit my bank account.

Shad, sorry to hear about the taste buds bring off. I remember my SIL talking about that. Hopefully all the chemo aches have gone by now and you are getting back to yourself until the next round. Is that in 3 weeks? And you only have two rounds left?

Ceejay: It seems you are busy these days with church, your family, your piano and book club...all sounds wonderful. Enjoying retirement just like you should.

I am going to end here and get my workout in. I have not worked out in two days, and need to get back in gear. I have to balance the checkbook later and get things together to turn into my FSA so when the credit card bill comes I have the $$ pay for the glasses. I also believe a nap is on my list today as well.

GOOD MORNING! HAPPY, NOT HEALTHY (round two, dang it. Up coughing last night), GRATEFUL AND BLESSED.

Yeee, I am over this sick crap. I did start Zicam and taking zinc yesterday. It all started with a tickle in my throat Sat night and coughing slightly. Has progressed to full coughing and headache. THe boys are still fighting the initial crap. Fever off and on, much much coughing and runny noses. I did sterilize the remotes and doorknobs. I think I need to do the same here at work. Bleh. The guy in the next office over hacked non-stop on Friday so I am blaming this on him. hahaha He is traveling this week, good riddance.

Sam and I went to see Beauty and the Beast saturday night after she got the kids to bed. That way C doesn't have to really watch them and they know when momma is not in her bed to come get me or C. They did not get up so all was good. The movie is so good. We have it on our buy list. Yes it is so worth it for us to buy as I watch certain movies over and over. You all need to go see it, rent it when it comes out or something. Very good and I did not know Emma Watson (Belle) could sing so wonderfully. WOW!

I brought the rest of my Keto chili for lunch today. I am looking forward to it as I did not eat any over the weekend. So good! I made chicken stir fry for dinner on Saturday. I just ate that without the rice. The rest of the team had it with rice. C ate it for dinner last night too. I didn't feel like cooking and just laid around all afternoon.

WI. 178.6 which was a 1.6 loss for the week. Total loss since KETO (5 weeks) is 13.6. I will take it. My goal is 165-169, but may go lower than that to like 159. We will see. I wanted to be down 15 lbs before vacation on April. I think I might make that. That will be a 1.4 loss in the next two weeks. Sounds doable to me. Just think I am almost perfect. lmfffffffbo. That is fat fat fat fat fat fat bo. bahhahahahha

SUSIE....Congrats on your loss and down lbs. Looks like KI is very now doable! Wish my ankle could stand KI. Maybe one day. Baby steps. You are as busy with your niecelets and nephews sports, excitement as I was with my kiddos. I miss those days. Jacob starts baseball practice the week we are at the beach. So he will miss the first practice. Bummer, we have to go to the beach. haha. We leave April 1st and come back April 8th. I may try to post from my phone during that week, but IDK with all the fun I demand we have. lol. Soon you will not be able to shop at Lane Bryant, what a great feeling. Has DH said how great you are looking?

HAPPY...yes in KETO almond flour is our friend. That is what cookies, crusts and cakes are made with KETO recipes. Good for you on choosing almond flour. I keep boiled eggs in the fridge for salads. I love hard cooked eggs in my salad, good thing for me as it is a staple with KETO. Funny the dilapidated house DH wants for a get-away place is just funny. My ex and I used to flip housed for HUD and some of them were in about that bad of condition. Roof to sewer jobs they were. I agree with you on this stupid govt taking away from those who REALLY need it. My thing is, start taking away the govt and representatives bennies and see how they like it. Huge huge huge b*tts they are.

LAURA...too bad we don't live closer. DS does only small plumbing jobs on the side and is very good at it. AND doesn't charge ridiculous prices. You pay for the parts straight out and he only charges labor. Have you thought about changing to a bank that does their statements the way you like. I know 5/3rd here does theirs without all the numbers showing.

Got to get busy while I have the energy.

Hello to all. Hugs

Morning all. Dreary Monday here, but the temps are mild. It's damp out, and we had a period of heavy rain overnight. Don’t know how long it went, but I woke briefly to hear rain crashing onto the roof.

My weekend was alright. I had breakfast with my former co-worker on Saturday morning and then went to the bakery to get a loaf of rye bread. Popped in next door to the thrift shop but left with nothing.

Back to when I was leaving the house to meet B for breakfast that morning…the wind took the storm door out of my hand and violently flung it all the way open and the door closer mechanism broke off from the door – one of the brackets broke off. Luckily there was no other damage to the door. So in the afternoon bf and I went to Home Depot (where we'd bought the door) to order the part. We also checked on another part that locks the window in place (and when you unlock it, you can pull down the screen). The employee couldn’t find but it, and it turns out the part was held on with a double-sided tape – nothing was missing after all, it just needs some new tape.

On Sunday morning, I watched a dvd I’d borrowed from the library – “The Player”. It’s an older movie (1992) and it was sort of a mystery about a movie studio executive who is being threatened. It starred Tim Robbins and he’s not a traditionally handsome guy, but he sure is a tall drink of water. I could tell they had to back off the camera to fit him in some of the scenes with other people. I looked it up on IMDB and it said he’s nearly 6’5”. Anyway, I enjoyed it – tons of well-known actors (and probably plenty of character actors too) and it poked fun at the Hollywood movie industry.

After that I started some laundry and did two Body Electric workouts. I did minimal standing movements and was able to modify most of it to sitting, and the workouts I did happened to have a lot of floor routines, so it was fine. I’m sore today, feeling it in my abs and especially in my hamstrings.

Otherwise, a ho-hum Sunday – lunch, grocery shopping, tv. I made a Thai coconut chicken mushroom soup which was alright. Needed more to brighten the flavor. It had lime juice and zest in it, but I think lemongrass would be a good substitution.

==

Happy – How did the quiche turn out? Good use of your excess of eggs! -- I can understand DH’s fascination with old barns – knowing nothing about rural living, when I see them, it harks back to simpler times (which we imagine to be the Good Old Days) when most of the population was rural and a high percentage of the population was farmers. --- It’s horrible to see programs like Meals on Wheels being cut. Illinois has had no budget for about two years now and we hear about organizations providing services for those in need (specials needs children and others) not getting the payments they need to operate and having to cut/eliminate those services, and state colleges have to close down during seasonal breaks. I’d like these politicians get a taste of this. As Annie commented – take away their benefits. They’d probably become more cooperative with each other and accomplish something if they knew what it was like to lose what you depend on. Sigh. – We do have a Mariano’s not far from us in AH, but it’s not quite convenient, and the place is a zoo. This new Mariano’s will be more convenient to us and hopefully once the newness of it wears off (it opens tomorrow), it won’t be too crazy. I think the AH one was one of the first of them and is cramped; this new one will probably be roomier and have improvements based on all the other ones that have come before it. == Hey, you’re retired, you’re not supposed to be anal about planning stuff, don’tcha know that, LOLOL.

Susie – You sure had a busy weekend. Your shopping trip made me tired! Yay for smaller clothing!! == Yeh, I’m planning to use the tax refund for some of the stuff that needs to get done around the house.

Annie – So sorry you’re sick again. I bet it was something different passed along by someone else – doesn’t the body have an immunity from an illness you’ve already (recently) had?? If not, it should!!! -- Thanks for your recommendation of B & the B. One of our local critics also praised it. == Yay for your WL last week! I’m sure you’ll make your WL target by vacation time. == Changing banks sounds like a PITA. I really don’t have any other complaints about them, so I guess I’ll stick with blacking out the account numbers with a Sharpie.

Hellos to Shad, Ceejay and Dee! Have a good week everyone!

Happy
I can understand the dh's fascination with old barns. I love them too. We went to a birthday party yesterday in an old round barn. Really it was octagonal but looks round. The owners have refurbished it into a gathering place for weddings etc.

Laura
I have some DVD's that I bought before I retired. Need to get those out and start watching some of them.

Susie
Wow, you have a whole new wardrobe. Okay with you and Annie losing weight I'm going to have to get on board. I've counted up that I've been on this website alone since around 2002. Guess it's helped some, but it has to be me to do the actual work.

Annie
Sigh, Hope this one doesn't last as long a the other. Good for you in sanitizing the door knobs. Are you excited about your trip.

Shad
Hi

----------
I really enjoyed my trip to Texas. My sis and bil can sure pack in the things to do. We did get to visit with both his daughter and granddaughter and my other sis and bil. I'm tired. But back home. We went to the Arboretum in Dallas on Friday and what a gorgeous place. It was like a little piece of heaven on earth. The tulips were gorgeous. And colors I've never seen before.
Today I may mow the back yard as it's supposed to rain tonight. The front is not that bad yet.

Good morning ladies,

Happy (pretty much), healthy (meh not so much, think I am picking up the creeping crud that is plaguing so many people right now) but still grateful and blessed as I am not bedridden or wheezing.

Random thoughts of a madwoman here - I was binge watching a series on cable called FEUD - with Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange playing Bette Davis and Joan Crawford on the making of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane". I wasn't sure I'd like it after the first episode but I had recorded it and by episode 2 I started to get into it. Susan Sarandon has the perfect big Bette Davis eyes. Got a phone call this morning from my Bingo partner. I guess they are really worried about losing even more funding for the Meals for Wheels program so they want to have a meeting next week to brain storm increasing our revenues for bingo. Sadly the one thing that brings people in is big cash prizes which we can't afford. I spent some time on the Internet this morning looking at websites with ideas to increase attendance. Gads, there is always SOMETHING to fill the day up. I finally heard from the friend who is driving to Chicago, we have set our plans in place - now she wants to leave on Monday - would have been better traffic wise to stick with Sunday but she's driving. Now we will have to get up at the crack of dawn to avoid coming in to the city right at rush hour. I'm not even there yet and the week is already booked up. My cousin sold his house and is moving to Florida so they want to get together, there are doctor appointments for sis and mom so that kills part of the day, my sister wants us to cook a few things together so she can get some tips, and Aunt J is hoping we will have time to come and visit her at the retirement home. DH said that if I wanted to stay longer he would either drive down and pick me up or I could buy a one way ticket and fly home. The trouble with that is the following week is Easter which bumps up the fares and I really don't want to stay 3 weeks in Chicago as that's too long for me to be away. So I'll just have a jam packed week. After all, won't be the only time I come to visit this year. Again got side tracked as DH came downstairs and started talking to me. We tossed out the possibility of maybe renting a camper and taking a week's vacation somewhere near the national parks. So I probably spent an hour looking at options. I would not want a huge camper but given our aches and pains and the fact that we can't comfortably sleep on a 3 inch foam mattress any more, we might be stuck with a more upscale camper you drive instead of something you tow. I finally had to quit looking because that's not getting any of today's tasks done and I should have already been out and about getting things done already which I have not. Pushed to tomorrow. Again.

Laura - sounds like it's making up for the wetness you didn't get much of in January and February. I hope the weather will be nice when I come. I would not mind sunny and fifties. Although I just checked and it looks like it's going to be pretty wet. I'm glad your door wasn't too seriously damaged when the wind caught it. That can be pretty nasty and also you can easily wrench your arm trying to hang on to it. If you perfect the coconut mushroom Thai soup, please share the recipe. I know what it's like when something's on the right track to tasting good but just needs a little bit more of something to give a touch more flavor.

Anne - sorry you are sick - going to be tough to try and get over it with the kids in the house before you go on vacation as it will be easy to just pass around and round. Get lots of sleep, eat nutritiously and take your vitamins. Glad you enjoyed Beauty and the Beast - she looks so tiny and delicate next to the Beast but I'm sure they planned it that way. And how nice is that going on vacation with a nice weight loss? Sure does boost your spirits. I hope you enjoy walks on the beach and lots of fun stuff. Are you getting excited???? Yes, I sure do wish we could control the politicians the way that they inflict stuff on us. Pipe dream. Sad that they don't represent us...

Susie - thank you for the kind words about DH's pictures. I think once you open your mind to something, you start to train your eyes and ears to notice more. From watching the singing competitions I notice I hear more "pitchy" or notice nuances in singers and from observing the night skies I see more in the stars than I ever did. I even notice birds in trees and animals now that I didn't before when we were driving in the car. Yes, to your question, we did get the NuStep a few weeks ago. I am working on it - have to stagger my workouts so as to not aggravate the knee too much but so far both of us are really liking it. Thanks for asking. Your fantastic weight loss so far reminds me of the motivational quote that "a year from now you'll be glad you decided to start today". Yay on the new clothes - what a fun reward and you can totally justify it - ain't that GRAND!!!! How are things on the work front?

Hello to Ceejay and Dee and Shad. Shad I have a package for you,will send it out tomorrow - I hope it won't take 6 weeks to get to you. I don't think the post office will give me any indication on how long it will actually take.

And with that - I need to get off my duff and get some more things done before it's time to start supper. DH made it easy - hot dogs and beans. I will have roasted cauliflower and a brat that has cranberries in it - not to DH's liking. Don't have to worry about bread because all the fresh loaves we bought last week from the bakery and such are all moldy now. Makes you wonder what those preservatives we are adding in our food are doing to our bodies. I can tell you - it's NOT preserving me any better

Happy Monday Chicks.

ah there you are Ceejay- nice to hear that you had such a nice time in Texas. I love the big flower gardens and arboretums. Did you take pictures???

Morning all,

A lovely wet week we are having here. If you are Irish, it could be said that 'tis just grand. We haven't had rain in so long that everything in the garden is grabbing it's share and growing fast. On the garden front, I have decided to take down the hedge in the back yard. It's a shame because it is a wonderful green privacy screen but it just grows so fast and is becoming uncontrollable and the more I age, the less I want to be trimming 3 metre tall hedges and be up ladders and scaffolding. I will miss the beautiful perfume of the flowers but there it is. I will leave one or two of the trees there to allow the little fairy wrens to nest in the future. They are a delight to see hopping and bobbing about the place but the rest will go.

ODDU has developed a whole new way of getting people out of bed and herding them together in the lounge. We have had to change a couple of door knobs to stop him from opening the handle type doors. Those doors now have round handles. He hasn't learnt to open them yet. He now 'collects the folded washing' if you don't put it away fast enough and it ends up on the lounge room floor. All his favourite smells together. Actually speaking of him, I should probably get dressed and get out there and walk him before the rain comes back. Although looking at the radar, there isn't too much of that on the horizon today, so I will expect humid, humid, humid and dripping.

Annie - hope you get over that recurring crud fast. DS2 has something similar. Home from work yesterday and today. Slept most of the day on the couch. Says he is feeling better but will have today off anyway. Who needs to feel bad in his job (electrician)

Susie - If it is not one thing, then it is another with a house. Mine needs the bathroom redoing badly. It's not always easy to find a reputable builder to come do the hard bits. Between DS2 and myself, we can do the tiling, install the vanity and paint etc., but getting the waterproof stuff done is sometimes a bit of a nightmare to find the right person.
Hope you get brickie to come do the job soon. Dangerous things chimneys.

Happy - Was talking to your DH on messenger last night or rather this morning 2.00am my time. Seems he reno'd one of the barns - I sent him a picture. We had a bit of a laugh about that. So hard to understand why anyone would disband places where people actually volunteer to help out the sick and the elderly. I know M.O.W's here has a problem with funding as well. Perhaps they should just put something in the water that kills off anyone infirm or over 65 so they don't have to pay out social security. Our pensioners worked long and hard for that money, went to war for their country and get kicked in the teeth by business men turned politician - yes we have one of those too as head of government. I used to think that they would be a good model for that job, but changed my mind a couple of years back when they started whinging about needing to access our superannuation - that they forced on us because according to them we need to plan for our own old age. Now they want that too and our pensions. I'm just thankful that we still have free health care, although it is getting much harder for those out in the country to have good health care because of the funding cuts going on there. It means that those unfortunate enough to suffer life threatening diseases or their children who do, must leave the country area and go to a big city. Splits up families and relationships and creates much hardship. Enough Joy, get off the

Laura - Double sided tape on a storm door??????? Wonders never cease. Lucky you don't get cyclones or hurricanes out there. Good on you for the workouts. I have a need to do some as well however I am easing back into the exercise slowly. This week has been about walking the dog and keeping up the pace to get a reasonable workout it. Which reminds me, do you still have the address for those 21 day challenge exercises? I'd like to start on one of those again.

Ceejay - so glad you enjoyed your trip down to Texas. Lovely to meet up with the family again and see the additions and growth of the younger members of the family tree.

I have decided to go to Adelaide at Easter. Should be over the worst of the 31st March chemo by then and back in time for the 21st April final session. Then we should be able to celebrate the dual birthdays of Happy and me (hopefully with good news as well). So I will rebook my flight voucher today and inform the DS1 and his missus and the grandkid as to when I will arrive and depart. I'd also like to go to NZ after the birth of my nieces new baby due at the end of April beginning of May. Got to met the new twig on the tree. I should also go to Nelson in NZ to meet another new sprig on the tree whom I have only seen in photos so far.

Right well I guess it is time to get dressed, get this dog out for his walk and get on with my day. Can't sit here forever.

Hack hack hack, cough cough cough. Bleh Told C I was going to lay on the beach and let the sun bake this mess out of me. 11 days till launch. oh yeah!

I think this is a chest cough/cold. Different from the last ailment. It is all batsh*t. The boys are still hacking away. Jacob has missed last Friday and yesterday of Pre-K.

Yes, HAPPY-well ok, HEALTHY- not so much, GRATEFUL AND BLESSED.

Made KETO cauliflower cheese soup for dinner. It was just ok. Not cheesy enough nor flavored enough. Probably won't make that again. I even added more cheese than required. Don't feel like tweaking either. In a mood I guess.

SHADDIE...you sound better than you have in a few days. Glad you are getting out a little. Hopefully you will feel ok in time for Easter.

HAPPY...geez Happy are we spreading this crud via this thread? The weather is not helping at all. After tomorrow it is supposed to warm up a bit. 50s & 60s. THen the week we are at the beach 70s. Hope to come home to a warm up. Song - She's got Bette Davis eyes. Got me going on it, you did. Your week in Chicago will go fast being that booked up.

CEEG...Nice trip with sis. The gardens sound beautiful. What are you doing for Easter? Have you been back to the Uncles since you moved?

LAURA...always something with a house. Hope your screen door gets fixed soon.

All for me. Busy day here at work. It has taken me all morning to get to this.

Hugs.

Good morning ladies,

The day is running fast already. I think time speeds up when it's bright and sunny out. Maybe we're not so sluggish

I have to drop things off at the post office, run over to the Senior Center and buy 2 tickets for the fashion show this weekend, grab one of their soup and salad bar lunches and then head over to my shift at the shop. The roads are dry so I can drive again. I did 45 minutes on the NuStep last night. The tricky part is getting my arthritic knee to tolerate the workout beyond 15 minutes. I was feeling ok but when I got out of the seat - my legs almost buckled and my knees (both of them) said - maybe a bit much missy? Kinda like being drunk and not realizing it till you get off the bar stool They are a bit sore today. I went into the hot tub last night afterwards but I should have sat and iced them for a bit of time. I didn't get a chance to watch all my America's Test Kitchen DVDs I borrowed from the library. I owe a dollar each for a fine now - I think I'll keep them one more day today (fines go to a good cause at the library ) and if I don't get them finished today, well that's that. Lots of good recipes on there. Going to the doctor on Thursday - will see if she can give me something for the all over arthritis pain I've been having. Yes I know keto will help - I am still wrapping my head around low carb - might as well cauterize all my taste buds. No wine either - not that I drink that much but there are a few restaurants (3) that I have one glass - maybe two but never more than that of Moscado with my meal. I would miss not having a glass of wine. I did up my subscription to premium on MyFitnessPal so I can track micronutrients. It breaks down the foods you eat to what's more carby in rankings so that's helpful with planning and tweaking. Blah, blah, blah - nothing really interesting going on in my life except I always seem to be behind ... It's been sunny the last few days which is nice, but today the temps dropped and it's cold out there. Should warm up a bit again but they are talking yuckly slush, snow, snain, sleet on Friday morning. Good thing I don't have to go out.

Anne - I was going to roast some cauliflower for dinner tonight. I would tend to agree with the cauliflower soup being too bland. While I love the stuff and adding cheese to it would enhance the flavor, I'm thinking there isn't enough flavor to carry it as a soup. Maybe adding some chile spices? Hmm found a recipe with turmeric, garlic, onions. Even pancetta - I was thinking bacon tho I am not that big of a fan would also add some flavor. Pancetta would be more subtle. That's the same thing like baked potato soup - if you don't add green onions and bacon - it's too bland. Now I'm hungry. I hope they have a decent soup for lunch - not pea soup - that would be after Easter when everyone donates leftover ham bones. Gosh I sure do hope you are able to get over the congestion before vacation kicks in. Are you driving down there? Everyone gets a mask with lysol. Thank you for bouncing back "She's Got Bette Davis Eyes" into my head again. Why is it some songs just stick like glue. Get out and replace with Barry Manilow "Can't Smile Without You". I like that one better.

Shad - sorry you had to take out some landscaping but I'm glad you left nesting for the little fairy wrens. I wonder if those are the same kind that would nest in the Coca Cola boxes on our back porch down south. Hard to believe that you have something that is not big, loud and noisy. I can't believe you have to do a bathroom reno again - didn't you do one with blue Italian tiles a few years ago. I thought you had gotten them all completed. We are having the same issues with healthcare out this way. The people who live in the rural communities like mine have far less choices. But then again, Anne lives in a big city and was also having a problem getting in to see a specialist. I think our health care system is imploding. Soon we will go back to an average life span of 40 years. Good to hear that you have decided to buck up and go travel in spite of things. Loved your term - newest twig on the tree (of life) That made me smile.

My computer is acting funny - screen keeps jumping - not sure if it's the touch pad which should be disabled or some creepy virus I might have contracted clicking on a stupid internet article that I should have avoided in the first place. In any event, I have to get rolling anyway.

Hello to the rest of the chicks, will check back tonight.

Morning all.

Ceejay – I’m glad you enjoyed your trip to TX. You might need a few days to rest up now, lol. The arboretum sounds wonderful – I could use some spring flowers right now, but I chose not to go to our city’s annual flower & garden show this year.

Happy – That Bette Davis tv program sounds good – good cast anyway. == Glad your plans for Chicago are now set. That week will fly by! -- If you rent a camper for a vacation, you could take the kitties with you, LOL.

Shad – We had hedges all along both sides of our backyard – outside our (old) fence! Keeping them trimmed was a PITA, especially having to go onto the neighboring properties to do it! We had them removed and had a new fence installed out to our lot lines. Good decision. Not that we’ve done much with the extra couple feet of width, but no more hedge trimming is nice. == Oh how funny that smarty ODDU caused a change in doorknobs, LOL. I should think he would prefer the undone laundry – more human smells. == The piece of the storm door that is held on with the double-sided tape is on the inside of the door at the top and serves only to keep the window up. Without it, the window creeps down a wee bit and the screen is pulled down. Not a huge issue without that part, except we do keep pushing up the window to keep it closed during the cold weather. I really like the door because the screen retracts into the top frame of the door and you can pull it down as little or as much as you want. It was good to keep the window up a bit high when we thought doggy would jump on the door and tear the screen. == The challenges are 30 days, and here is the site:

http://30dayfitnesschallenges.com/

I hope you’re feeling well enough to travel at Easter and see your family in Adelaide. And more travels planned. Sounds nice!

Annie – I hope the crud has cleared out of you and the boys by the time your vacay starts! I hate when a recipe doesn’t turn out satisfactorily. That’s why I try to be picky about the recipes I try, though the Thai soup recipe was from Parade magazine that comes in the Sunday paper. Hmmm. Bf lucked out with the meatloaf recipe from Allrecipes. But he also took the time to read through the tips by the reviewers - use more of this, less of that, etc. and made his own adjustments. I need to nag him to make his notes on the recipe since it was tasty and is a “keeper”.
==
Nothing much to report. Spring must be coming – lots of bird sounds outside. We also had a duck couple out on our front lawn/border yesterday morning. This morning I scared one away when I made a noise in the front bedroom open the blinds in there. Didn’t see either of them when I left the house for work this morning. I also saw a robin flying near the house in back outside the kitchen window and it flew over to the spot under the eaves where the gutter downspout curves and then runs down the brick to the ground. I wonder if the bird is trying to build a nest there. It seems sort of tight, but maybe it’ll be cozy for the family.

I was sore from my Sunday workout last night, so I didn’t do any exercise last night except a few knee pushups and some stretching of my hamstrings. I had something “gumming up the works”, with the works being my gut yesterday and there was some “discomfort”. I took an otc med for it last night and I do feel better today.

That’s about it for me, so I’ll get this posted and get on with lunch.