[Shad]

Good to see you back happy. Take your time to come back to today. It is never easy. Families are funny things.
We've (Simon, Brendan and I) have spent the day at an airshow. Brendan is interested in all things aviational and so we tagged along with him. Was a very hot day. I'm glad we took food and water with us as it was impossible to buy anything sensible to eat and water was hard to get as well. Plenty of Coke and Sodas however and all food was either highly sugared and coloured or baked, fried in fat. The airshow wasn't too bad but is not something I would want to go to very often.
New bath and shower is now working. It's taken a long time but it has finally happened, now we need to rip out the old and start on the floor. Things will get better given time no doubt.
Back to work tomorrow. Oh well = somethings are sent to try us!!!

[shaker]

hI THERE, WELL SUN NGIHT AND whoops the caps were on, have finshed my work. First of all congrats to you on the weightloss shad, I hope it stays off for you and plenty more to come (although plenty might be a bit over-exhuberant!).. anyway you looked just fine in the photos so take your time. I have had a bit of a the flu and felt quit bad on Fri ngiht, I had to race off and get miss5 from school as she was sick and then went home and had to race around after fil which was most annoying but still goota luv dem aye!!

Had a busy w/end with the soccer tournament which was OK horrible day though but glad to have it out of the way now, long live sat sleep-ins!!! well until the summer season of sports starts anyway which isn't till the end of october. Fathers day was spent pottering around today and I went out with DH for a ride on his bike, was quite nice but he does need to get me a more comfortable seat, is OK till you get off!!!

I am still doing bfl and have got a good plan for the week so looking forward to that, Dh has brought in the barbell so guess my arms are going to be punished!!! I have a good diet plan for the week and going to make sure I am not pushing the carbs to much.. have lost a few more inches but not enough for me so going hard again.

Teel nice of you to drop in, perhaps we did all get a bit lost in the new thread and I hope you get that darned mess sorted out when you can!! Dh is currently watching a spoof called Kung Pow, boy is it lame!!! Happy I am glad to have you back and how lovely that you found some photos to keep some more of your memories safe!!! Has DH put the bike on the market yet?.. I couldn't believe the amound of bikes there, honestly NZ oughta get it's a into g and get more bikes around this place. We are patiently waiting for the next Amazing race, that one was quite good I was surprised who one as I thought those other two single guys were doing so well, just shows what one silly indecision can cost you!!

Well I am going to logoff and have a cuppa and get an early night, have to get up early for the workout.. shad the airshow sounded ok I have never been to one and don't think I will am quite scared they might put me off aeroplanes!!! ka kite..

[Shad]

Airshow was okay, although the day was long and hot. Some sunburnt bodies around. Wouldn't you think they would learn. The show itself was interesting and I saw a helicopter that I would just love to park on my driveway. Wonder if I can rustle up the readies to buy one of them! There were a lot of WW2 warbirds on display and most of them flying as well. Interesting sight when they are all in the air. The F1-11 came over and did its thing so the testosterone set were happy, although through the rules of CASA, it was not allowed to do it's top speed, so that became a bit of a bone of contention. They like it zooming around dumping and burning and making enough noise to wake the dead.
All in all, I found the show a bit slow. Not quite enough action all of the time, but when the action was there I loved it.
Nothing would ever put me off aeroplanes.
Nice to see all of our little group back safe, now we need Annie back as well.

[kiwi-annie]

Hello chickies of the world!!

Tis I, Annie, the wayward one...

I have been so distracted of late and just havent had the energy to sit on the puter to write you all a letter my apologies to you special ladies. Teel sorry to hear your case is dragging on, happy sorry to hear about FIL, Shad great to have you back, Shaker good to see those bfl muscles popping up..and welcome bunji.

Well, i have had a bit of a stressful time of late, you will recall DH was hassling to move to Sydney and I was getting more than a little irritated with his attitude so decided to show him some girl power and sung him my favourite song by Gloria Gaynor (thanks to happy for telling me the correct singer many moons ago)..I will survive...Go now go..walk out the door, just turn around now youre not welcome anymore...Anyway, scared the pants off him and after a bit of soul searching i decided not to show him the door..he does have his uses i guess. i am still coming to terms with my decision and are not 100% sure I have done the right thing..however, he is in NZ at the moment and i have some breathing space and some time to think about it all.

On top of it all i have really been quite down and i guess its just the whole upheaval thing and my little libra scales are just so out of balance but i am working hard to fix them.

Not that you want to hear my problems as i know we all have them and being positive and looking to the future is what counts..and i am feeling more and more that there is a light at the end of the tunnell for me..or a heck of a lot of gloworms in here anyway!!

Needless to say.my weight has been a bit up and down..so has my temper also..hee hee.

Anyway, chin up girls..you are all great..keep on chatting and talking and i will come back and visit again and maybe my kiwi feathers will be a little glossier and shinier next time...big hug from me..love you all...annie

[Shad]

Poor little Annie. No wonder you have not been here. It's time to gloss up those feathers buddy.
We've all had problems from time to time and we all have vented either here or in other threads or forums. Sometimes help even comes our way from those who don't even know us. So keep with us and maybe we can help.
I've been through the hassles of a DH who wanted to shift - only with mine it was not work that made him want to move it was the shear 'fun' of going somewhere new. Only thing was, he loved to organise the move, but did little to actually get the show on the road or unpack at the other end. Then in six months or so, the itch would be there again, usually about the time I landed a job I really enjoyed and had the kids settled. Yes I told him to move on without us, but I should have done it earlier than I did. That way we may have had a chance of talking the problem out, putting thought to the actions etc.
Anyway, we are here if you need us. I think I speak for all of us here.

[happy2bme]

Hi everyone, sorry I've been missing. Got home Saturday and everything sort of shut down for a while. I was waking up each morning wondering where am I, what day is it, what am I supposed to be doing? Sunday was catch up day - laundry, groceries and then the dreaded HOMEWORK. I sat doing homework from 8pm until 1:30 in the morning. Yesterday I was hoping to have some time to come here but started on homework at 7pm and finally stopped at midnight. This class requires ALOT of time and effort. And I haven't even started my second class yet. So, I'm taking a break tonight for a few minutes to come say hello.

So, Hello How is everyone doing? It's funny that you should talk of spring. We're getting ready for fall here, some of the trees are showing hints of turning colors. The east coast has the most brilliant of all the color shows, if we had to make our trip a month from now, we would have been treated to some breathtaking spendors.

Annie, I am very sorry to hear of the troubles with you and DH. You said he's in NZ now - did he leave his job in Syndey? Hope things work out for you, it's especially hard when children are involved but remember - you always have one more CHILD than you planned on and that is the DH. Sometimes even they need a good stern talking to. I do miss your wit and humor tho. Wish circumstances were such that you could be around more often. But we are always glad to hear from you when we can.

So Shad, with spring rolling around does this mean you will be digging up the garden again? Or are things mostly in place all season long? Have you gotten back to the home remodeling yet or are you just taking some time to enjoy a little visit with the sons?

How goes it with the barbells Shaker? Are your arms laying limply by your sides because it hurts too much to lift them Actually no laughing matter that is, but I remember the feeling. Hope you are feeling better and recovering from your cold.

Teel, good tidings with the new doctor on Thursday. Will send some prayers your way that things can be expedited. I am appalled at the gross unfairness in this world today. Be of good cheer because we and Holly would rather see you smiling than hiding under the bedcovers. I'm sure Holly is not up for a game of hide and go seek - she looks too small to be able to jump the bed well enough.

Got home on Saturday and within 24 hours I was feeling all achy and stiff - blame the barometric pressure out here as I was doing better on the east coast. DH said to me quite sternly you have GOT TO, GOT TO lose some weight and stop smoking already. He did not say it in a mean way - I suppose that after losing someone, you become more concerned about keeping those around you still with you. Although I did not like what he said, he is right. We also took some pictures and that was proof again that the eyes in my head do not really see the me that is me. There is one picture of me sitting on the rocks at the ocean front - a lovely picture with a huge wave rolling in and crashing against the rocks. Would have been a better picture if I did not look like a beached whale myself. Also another with a side shot of me that shows that my favorite sweater does not look as good as I thought it did. I did not gain any weight on our trip which is amazing considering how erratic our eating was. I really have to get back to exercising again - am concerned that this class is taking so much of my evening time and we just started - the work gets more intensive as the class goes on - right up until Christmas time. One good thing about being on the east coast, they are an hour ahead of us and so I am getting used to going to sleep a bit earlier. If I can make that adjustment over the next week, perhaps I can wake earlier and get my walking and exercise in first thing in the morning after coffee. My foot is feeling better again. No more walking around in bare feet for me anymore.

Guess this is way long enough for now. I should get back to homework and we have a group chat in 2 hours I must participate in. Take care ladies, will try not to be absent without leave.

[shaker]

Hi there, nice to welcome you back annie and happy, we are quite quiet around here for now, must be the changing of the seasons. Auckland is quite rainy in the springtime so guess we have some of that coming up today.

Yest my friend and I went to the bfl shop and talked to the guy there, most helpful, guess we just have to keep on pushing it all the time, easy to get complacent but I think well at least I haven't put on any weight and sometimes I even enjoy the workouts, the cardio's I have been pushing hard so I get off that treadmill and need a cup of tea and a lie down The arms are OK and he said that the day after you should feel your muscles but by now they shouldn't be sore for longer than a day.. ho hum.. sometimes mine hurt for days..!!

Happy that studying sounds very intensive, do you have to do it or is it something that you wanted to do? hats off to you tho gal I have thought about learning something else and really couldn't face studying.. I help DH out with his papers for the police but that is about all, and even those are difficult at the moment as he is doing law and is a totally different language.

Well is my fathers birthday today Sept 11, noone can forget that date of course so will ring him tonight, I rang him for fathers day and he seems to be a lot happier now and handling things well. He smokes those horrible cigars geez imagine what his lungs look like!!! he has managed to give up once so might encourage him to do so again. Am sure you can do it happy, has been over a year now since I have had a cigarette and I wouldn't go back for anything now, but just do one thing at a time, look after the weight and get that in order cause when I gave up smoking I put on about 5kg and then because I had already lost weight once I knew I could do it again and then you have something else to focus on instead of smoking... ka kite everyone...

[happy2bme]

Hey Shaker, congrats on the one year smoke free anniversary. That is a WONDERFUL accomplishment, especially when you say you wouldn't go back again. What is the BFL shop you speak of? I've never heard of that before.

Things are going ok here. This class I'm in is different. I'm teamed with 4 others. We are a misdirected bunch. I will probably be elected project leader since I want to keep my high grade average so I've been doing all the thinking and planning and organizing thusfar. Easier for them to just say - hey I like your ideas (and the fact that you did all the work for us).

Next week DH and I will try to have a get away weekend which I am looking forward to. It's been an emotional couple of weeks for both DH and I - we need some quiet time to make peace within ourselves. And after that my new autumn exercise challenge begins. I see the signs of autumn all around, the leaves are slowly changing, you can smell a difference in the air, the nights get dark much sooner in the evening. In a way, it's a chance for me to grab hold of these last few weeks of nice weather and enjoy each day to the fullest knowing it will end all too soon, but I also mourn a bit for the coming winter. Has been a very cool summer for us. Hope that does not mean a dreadful cold and snowy early winter. My aching bones can't take it.

DH is making scrambled eggs for supper tonight - he makes the best ones. And we'll have some fresh fruit. And a nice cup of tea I think. A light, but satisfying meal. I think he's about wrapping up his phone call with his sister, so I better run and get my eggs.

Have a good Friday...

[shaker]

Hi there, well that sounds nice to have a w/end away, DH starts nightshift tonight so I will get out and about with the kids on the w/end, bit stressful trying to keep quiet, he sleeps through them but I am always worried we might wake him, and having done shiftwork myself I know how tiring it can be.

The bfl shop is just a little trendy shop that sells all the myoplex/lite range and products as you can only get the EAS cheaper versions in the supermarket (what I use).. I don't use the myoplex as it is far to expensive. They do body composition tests and the guy that owns the place has done it before and can answer all the questions, quite fun but he told us what we knew anyway... you get out what you put in!!!

I know what you mean about winter happy, we are just going into spring and although it has warmed a bit it is our rainy season so that's not much fun!! DS and I ae off to a fun park on Sat, dropping DD off at her mates place as she can't come.. should be fun I suppose.. plenty of exercise walking around that place, will avoid the roller coaster though doesn't do much for me!!!

On Sunday we will go visitng for a bit, grocery shopping and fun stuff like that.. have a nice w/end all if you manage to pop in would be great!!.. ka kite.

[Shad]

Weekend is here - yahooooo! However I have a list of things to do which is longer than my arm and I must achieve at least half of them before I go to Toowoomba for the week.
It's been very hot today and I find my feet have swollen again, despite the fluid tablets, so obviously I am holding fluid. That will show on the scale tomorrow no doubt. I also seem to have developed tinea in the feet, which will no doubt send me crazy for a week or so or until I can get rid of it.
Simon has gone away for the weekend and Brendan is going to Adelaide tomorrow so I should be able to get on with a few things around the house without worrying about what they are up to and what they want to do. There isn't much time tho as I have agreed (jeez I am stupid) to go to an Enjo party on Sunday before I drive out to Twmba. So that means nothing doing on Sunday afternoon and with taking Brendan to the airport tomorrow, not much will get done tomorrow morning. Best I get on with the list tonight. They have just said that today was 35C - the hottest day of this year so far. Ummmm it is only spring. However look on the bright side, the humidity is not yet here!!!
I think we are missing Teel. Wonder where she is??? May try to get in touch with her tomorrow or Sunday. Hope she is okay.
Shaker I did not know that you smoked! One year anniversary is great. I just celebrated 14 years without a ciggie, and like you there is no way that I would go back. Rather have the extra weight! and that is saying something.
Time to go catch you all tomorrow

[happy2bme]

Shad, pray tell, what is tinea? Doesn't sound like anything pleasurable! Hope you are feeling better as you have too much to get done to be sidelined by problems.

The weekend is here but no rest for the wicked me. Have a meeting in the morning with my class team, then rush back, write up the notes while I can still remember them and then on to the regular weekend chores.

Was browsing a catalog today of fancy items for people who have more money than they know what to do with it. For $30 US I can have a tower clock with a spin of a dial will instantly tell me the time in New York, Chicago, London, Amsterdam, Sydney, Auckland and and 12 other international cities. Just what I need so that I don't wake you up in the middle of the night when I ring up.

It is after midnight and ignorant neighbor across the street has a garage full of people making all sorts of noise yelling and hollering and running power tools. Who keeps their 2 year old up after midnight on a regular basis? Do people in this area not have the right to sleep at a reasonable hour? When did the world change such that people have no respect for anyone else anymore? I am going to head west to the mountains and find me a nice cave in the wilderness. Wild bobcats and mountain lions would make for more pleasant company.

Teel and Annie, would like you to check in please. To all, have a pleasant weekend.

[happy2bme]

Oh my. 1:30 yesterday morning neighbors were making more noise than ever. I got dressed and went stomping across the yard and street. We had a civil conversation but they said the task they started was going to take 7 hours to complete (so they would have made noise ALL night long) and whatever they were doing was making horrible fumes so they could not close their garage door or stop the task. They asked me if I had called the police prior to this - apparently other neighbors are as tired of them as me and the police have visited their house at least 3 times regarding complaints. (You would think they'd get a clue already but the wife just said someone has nothing better to do than call the police all the time. No comprehension that THEY were breaking the LAW). I said no, I did not call the police ever but had WANTED to several times and figured I'd had enough of their regular habit of making lots of noise at 2am, so I finaly had to go and speak to them myself. I also said they had to give consideration to the rest of us (including a huge retirement community right next to them) who had to live with them and reasonably expected to be able to sleep at 1 or 2 am. They thanked me for at least coming over to say something instead of just calling the police. I went back home and laid awake for an hour as I was pumped up. Finally fell asleep and woke up at 3am. I peeked outside and all was quiet and closed up across the street. We will see how things go from there. The goofball husband said it's nice that after 4 years you have FINALLY come over here. Geez, I have always waved hello to them and spoken to the wife a few times (she's nice, he's an idiot). We live in a quiet neighborhood, people don't associate much more than a hello. WHY would I WANT to be friendly with a person who was such a clown????? But I didn't say this, just remarked that we keep to ourselves and have always waved hello.

Such is my adventure for the weekend. Back to doing schoolwork now....

[Shad]

What a fruitloop you have for a neighbour happy! And while I am at it, just what did the police do while they were there? Have a beer and say try to keep it down fellas?
Sorry I did not check in yesterday. I had a very busy day. When I got on here, I saw happy's post and thought I must reply to that and promptly did my journal and forgot all about it. I was also busy uploading photos of England and Teels neck of the woods. They are on Webshots if you still have the address. I'll post the addy on my journal later - oh no I won't, I'll put it here too. Hang on a minute. Aach this thing is running so slow today. Darned if I know what is wrong with it. Come back to that.


Another beautiful morning here in the South Eastern corner of QLD, but it will get hotter shortly. Yesterday was supposed to be a scorcher but the wind got up and cooled us all down a bit. Nice one wind. It also blew half the pot plants over and sent a couple of buckets flying down the street. Got my exercise running after the things I had not put away properly.

Any way, better go and finish of my list of to-do's. I have to leave for Toowoomba no later than 4.30pm and I am going out to a friends place at lunchtime.http://community.webshots.com/user/joy_clover

[happy2bme]

Well it has not been a banner week for joy and happy dancing in my house this week.

1) this business about settling the estate for FIL has been an emotional rollercoaster as these things usually are
2) As expected, I have been elected the Project Leader for my group in my class. I am trying hard (and not succeeding) not to feel overwhelmed by all the work in this college class, the separate online classes I am taking for my job, the new project at work and keeping up with my regular work duties.
3) ahem.. "discussion" with neighbor yesterday. Although today they are blessedly quiet toight for a change. They are out and about, but quiet about it.
4) We recieved a notice from the fearsome Federal Government tax man saying we owed half my annual salary in taxes, interest and penalties for an omission in our 2001 tax filing - due in 30 days if you please. After much sweating and digging around in old papers, we found that it was a mistake when we moved our retirement funds from one brokerage to another. Not our mistake but we still had to make several phone calls, obtain copies of all we needed to prove that things did not happen the way the tax man percieved it and send off a letter to the government authorities.
5) to cap out the week, I was outside this evening when I heard a strange gurgling sound. Our basement is below the ground foundation and the windows are set below the ground with a "well" type of hole between the ground and the window. I looked around - hose was shut off and was shocked to see what looked like soapy water in the well hole by the window. I called DH who immediately said, looks like the roots of the big tree in front of the house have creeped into the sewer line and broken the pipe. I had just finished washing dishes, hence the soapy water in the well. We checked the basement, thank goodness nothing seeped in. Now we have to find a plumber to come out on Sunday and investigate. Will probably result in the whole front yard being dug up, possible removal of our nice shade tree (and home to many birds we enjoy watching) not to mention lots of money. It also means for the time being, we have to severely restrict water usage in the house unless we want the window well to fill up with water, break and flood the basement. Do I have to make up with neighbor across the street to use his loo? Of course I have all the laundry to do - looks like I will be packing it up to the laundromat tomorrow. I guess the good thing is that we caught this BEFORE it became the big problem it would have. If I had started the laundry, we would have had a problem for sure.

I am feeling quite down at the minute. I would drown my sorrows in food, but I don't have many bad things in the house and the stuff that is, I'm not interested in. This too shall pass...

[teel]

Yes hello to everyone from nearly a blast from the past!!!!
I am sorry I have not been in communication lately but I have now caught up with at least this thread and am sorry to read of everyone's trials of life. Big (((((HUG))))) for Happy...too much agro going on for you at the moment, you need a big to sort your list out, especially the neighbours....are they on amphetamines or the like? To be able to work all day and all night too. Perhaps a would help them all sleep.
Shad, what is Tinea? from this dunce nurse, too!!!!I am looking forward to looking at all your holiday photos, thank you for re-posting the address.
Shaker, well done on giving up the smoking...I hope you are NEVER temted to have one again..
Kiwi-Annie..a.k.a. Gloria Gaynor.. what a star to deal with DH in such an awe-inspired way...good job you knew the words.Hope a bit of time out in NZ helps him to asess his assetts, and where he belongs!!

Now for some news from me, now I have finally settled down enough to Holly has not been well this week and has visited the vets, her favourite place, hee hee!!She was SO scratchy and was being a bit sick early in the morning and generally right off her food (and you lot can STOP thinking about what I know you are all thinking about 'cos she is really an "it") so I thought she had scavanged some disgusting treat from somewhere. The vet said her temp. was fine and also thought the original thought or perhaps a virus so gave her a jab and me the bill She is so much better and her nearer her usual..no no I did not say NORMAL ...self that I realised she has probably been stewing this virus up for a few weeks. Boy, didn't I feel guilty for not reading the signs. Poor baby

Now I know I have not said anything about me personally, but I thought I'd do everyone first, and there is method in my madness 'cos I have not got enough smilies left to enhance my tale, so I will be right back....give me two secs.....