Evening ladies,

Annie
No I didn't pour out the coke. :sigh: Congrats on the 2 year sobriety. Is brain spotting a technique to get the patient to open up more? Still need to research that. I've started the AA approach to help with my overeating. It helped the last time. I'm not going to any AA meetings.
I may look into getting one of those scales. Trouble is I probably would not be able to program it.

Susie,
Good idea to walk 15 minutes in the hall. My doctor's appointment is tomorrow.

Laura
What did you eat with mom? How long are your video work outs?

----
My sis called while ago stating that some one with a red vehicle rammed her car knocking it sideways in her parking space last night. She waited till this morning to call the police who wasn't to helpful telling her that she should have called last night. She's upset. I told her I would come up and let her use my vehicle if I needed to.
It rained this morning. The temps were in the mid 60's which really felt good.
Took my vehicle to get the oil changed this morning and to the gym this afternoon.

Morning all. Another nice day today, though only 50 degrees when I left the house. I was glad for my fleece jacket.

Ceejay – Mom had been wanting to try the Wednesday night special for a while, which is buddy night pricing - 2 for $24. It was rather disappointing. About five menu items, and you can’t order off of the regular menu, or any substitutions from the limited menu. The food was mediocre, though the soup was good, and the fish I ordered was cooked nicely and got to the table nice and hot. The potato was mashed, and the veg was mixed with mostly peas (wrinkled), a couple green beans (mushy) and a couple bits of carrot. No bread brought to the table. Server couldn’t answer any of our questions about the menu, had to keep asking someone else. Now that we’ve finally tried that, we won’t do that again, LOL. == My BE workouts are the ones that are the 30 minute shows previously aired on PBS stations. So they end up being about 22-25 minutes long, including warm-up and cool-down. I probably should do two of them to make it a better workout for myself, but some nights I’m just not in the mood. I need to intersperse some of my other workouts between those – kettlebell, large ball, etc. == How’s the gym going?? == Oh, horrible about your sister’s car getting hit in the lot. And yeh, the police comment wasn’t helpful at all. But she needs to get a report done for her insurance claim, so she needs to tolerate them.

==
Warning, long ramble about my petty first world problems.

Yesterday’s dinner started off badly and didn’t really go all that great as the evening went on. BF and I were running late because the access road in mom’s community was blocked off before the turn-in to her building’s parking lot and we wasted time trying to find another way to my mom’s building. Finally, I was dropped off nearby, and bf had to go around the entire property to get to the parking lot. In the meantime, mom had decided to go to the dining room before the seating would end. Took her cordless landline phone with her and tried phoning us from the restaurant to tell us that she was already in the dining room – obviously that wouldn’t work, the range on those phones doesn’t extend very far. So I was trying to phone mom because she wasn’t answering her door and getting no answer, of course. Bf left me to see if she was in the DR, which she was. What a mix-up. And as I told Ceejay, the dinner was a disappointment.

We took mom back to her apartment after dinner. She gave us back the cell phone she isn’t using and was apologizing about that and she asked how much it cost. We told her that it was about $15 per month for service and she commented “that’s not too much”. Bf didn’t say anything until after we left, but when we were alone he said that her comment ticked him off because for a year that’s $180, and over the 10 years that we’ve been paying for a cell phone she doesn’t even use, it’s almost $2,000. It isn’t necessarily the amount of money we’ve put out, it’s that she’s very VERY frugal about money, but when it isn’t her money - that amount wasn’t “too much”. As an example - bf went shopping with her recently and she bought a 4-pound bag of sugar (bf had to reject her attempt to buy two bags), yet as we left our table in the restaurant, she grabbed several sugar packets. I told her she just bought a 4-lb bag of sugar and she said it wasn’t open yet, so she’d use the packets. Sigh. I actually think what my mom said about the cell phone is a reaction to her thinking that having a cell phone is expensive, so the $15/month didn’t sound like much - not understanding that that’s the amount just for her additional line. Sigh. But bf took it the other way. But now that I think about it, all those years ago (I believe it was after my father had passed away), we decided she should have a cell phone and just bought one and sent it to her. I don’t think we ever really asked her if she even wanted it. And she never said she didn’t want it. But the truth of the matter is that she almost never used it and she had it squirreled away more often than she ever had it on her person, charged and ready to use when it was needed.

Anyway, we were both irritated with the dinner experience, the cell phone comment, and the unfinished/unfurnished state of her apartment that we were grouchy and arguing with each other on the ride home and in the house. Stupid stuff about mom shopping for furniture and getting her framed artwork out the boxes still leaning against her walls and getting them hung up and making the place a home and not someplace to which we dread going. Apparently mom doesn’t want to furniture shop with my sister and SIL because she thinks they will pressure her into getting expensive furniture. So I was glad to have brought the Ikea catalog with me for her to see if she likes anything in there. If not, there are also big box furniture chain stores with less expensive stuff.

I hate how bf and I get when we’ve been with my mom – she seems to drive us both nuts. And then I feel guilty over my feelings.

Enough of that.

Today didn’t start all that well. The admin wasn’t there when I finally arrived (train delays, grrr). Boss asked me if I knew where she was. Nope. He said “she didn’t tell me anything” in a certain tone. But she had something in her calendar from 9-930, so it seemed premature to think she was “missing” instead of in a meeting or something. A bit after that, she did text the boss, taking a sick day. Then she texted me saying she’d texted the boss earlier - 5 am - but didn’t hit send. (doh!) She was asking me why he wouldn’t have someone try to reach her. Sigh. I was glad to text her back about her calendar item, otherwise I had been thinking I should text her. But my concern was worry that she might have felt unwell during her commute and something bad had happened. And I don’t think she’d appreciate an “are you okay” kind of text. She doesn’t want to be the sickly employee, in spite of all her health issues, so I didn’t want to make her angry. Oh the dilemma, oh the drama.

Enough rambling for me, back to work.

Afternoon all,
Hot, hot, hot. If this is spring, I'm dreading summer. Yesterday was 36C which is around a 100F and today it is 33C inside my lounge. Guess it could be worse. They are getting 39 and 38 and 37 out west. Got up early this morning and worked in the garden for an hour or so before it got too hot. Then I had breakfast and went and visited my bank - I use an internet bank and they only have about 3 branches. One is half an hour away from me, the others are a 3 day drive. Had a nice chat and a catch up with some folk that I used to work with and then came back, stopped at a shopping centre to pick up some preserving jars and seals and picked up a couple of plants along the way. They will need a good soak tonight and then planted tomorrow. Hope the heat breaks by then.

Hoping to do a fair amount of painting tomorrow and Sunday but I just looked at the walls and it seems I have a fair amount of preparation to do as well. No doggy day care over the weekend so I have a clear path to paint. With him there I am likely to have 'tail art' everywhere.

Annie - congratulations on your 2 year sobriety. I have the same sort of scale and I don't use all of the information either. I did set most of it up in a fit of being GOOD forever but that doesn't work.
Actually, compared to some of the prices in homeware stores these days, IKEA is reasonably cheap. Maybe not by American standards as Australia is the country of the con - high prices, shoddy Chinese goods. I had to laugh at one place I went to. The salesperson was carefully telling me about the deal they have going to try to combat the China syndrome and that all these pieces were made in Australia. Yes they were and very well at that, however they were nearly three times the price.
My best wishes to your Sister-in-Law. Seems to me that those who live longest at stage 4 are those who have an agenda and a will of iron. I hope she can plan out her future to give her things to strive for and live for.

Susie - hope you enjoy the change to Office 365 and the Cloud. I have some worries about the cloud although my tech head son tells me there is nothing to worry about. Yes it is like there are no leaks in government computer systems and private e-mails, not to mention identity theft through Facebook etc. Sometimes I think there is far too much reliance on technology and the web to the detriment of people and their needs.

Laura - Still haven't found my vanity or cabinet or whatever. One day it will pop up and say here I am. I will be off to Ikea tomorrow to check out sizing and then corralling up some store people to tell me what is what and how much.
Hope your catch up with the boss means less for you to do and more money for not doing it! Yeh like that will happen.
Sorry to hear your catchup with Mum didn't go so well. Often happens when we get old. Sometimes DS2 kittyfoots around me like I was about to crack and then I do and tell him to say what he thinks and the **** with being diplomatic and then we get on again. Mind you, he tells me the same thing from time to time and then when I let loose he then says, "don't hold back Mum, tell it like it is" Kids!!!

Ceejay - sorry to hear about your sisters car woes. What a bunch of losers that hit her. Did they leave a note or anything. Probably not. A$$holes. Hope it gets fixed soon.

I went to the local council today to change the registration for Romeo the cat from J's name to mine so I could pay the bill. Oh no it isn't a simple as that. I have to fill in a form and she has to fill in another part of the form and then I have to fill in all the information that is already on the current registration Bah humbug. So it will wait until next week now. DS2 will take the form home when he takes Ruger home and I will have to wait until she has time to SIGN the form and fill in her name. I should get it back in about a month no doubt.

And that is about it for more. I'm about to get a long glass of water and lie on the couch for a while until the heat goes down a bit. Then I will go out and water the garden and check the plants and maybe do a bit more weeding and a bit more fertilising. Later gators

Hi guys,

Not a banner week for me. The part for the refrigerator did not work. DH had to take a bunch of stuff out of the freezer, that brought the temp up to 29 - things are still frozen hard. He wound up going to a nearby town and ordered a new freezer - should come next Saturday. I have a place to store the food if necessary. Wednesday we went to one of our chef's classes. It was fun, we had a lot of fresh ingredients so he had us all do the cooking - I made guacamole, pan fried/ roasted vegetables and DH made dessert fruit kabobs. We also had tomato and mozzerella salad, a wayyyy to spicy gazpacho soup that had no time to chill and a delicious beef brisket and braised cabbage as well as this awesome salad which I will give you the recipe for. I came home that night with the most awful gas pains - it was really awful - I was sick all night.

But the worst of all is that we had to put Meadow to sleep Thursday. She had stopped eating and drinking on Wednesday and was looking very listless. I said the bar was when she stopped drinking - the diabetes did her in finally. We are both very sad so it was a bummer day.

I do have to go and help out cleaning cat cages first thing in the morning and then we have a 9:45 eye doctor appointment with another an hour after that. So I have to get to the shelter before 7am so I can do some good before I have to get to the eye doctor. Run run run.

Congratulations Annie on your sober anniversary. I am really proud of you.

I just wanted to do a quick post. Will try and get back on tomorrow afternoon.

Awww HAPPY...so sorry to hear about Meadow. You were theee bestest momma ever to her. She can now torment the other animals in heaven and be free of her ailments. HUGE, HUGE HUGs to you my sweet friend. Love you. Yeee, a new freezer. Dang the luck. Can you send the part back for a refund?? OH BTW, Portillo's opened yesterday in Fishers. OMGosh should of seen the lines of wait both inside and drive thru. No thank you. I will wait a couple of months for it all to die down before checking it out.

SHADDIE...you are always so busy. I feel like I need a nap after reading your posts. :) I think if I have time today I am going to go on IKEAs website and check it out. IKEA opens next door to the new Portillo's in Fishers on October 11. I may never get up there to try either as the traffic was already horrible that way. I really don't know if my SIL has an agenda or not. Her being Phillipino, I am lucky if I understand what the heck she says half the time anyway. You would think it would get better for me as she has been around about 30 years now. lol. I just pray for her and my bro. Romeo, Romeo where for art thou? Lil kitty doesn't know who his momma is. lol.

LAURA....had to laugh at your momma's fiasco. Funny how we let other's get us worked up over a bit of nothing. Just laugh and move on from it. Hard to when you and BF are feeding off of each other about it. Hugs. Didn't know it was up to co-workers to find out where the heck you are when you don't show up at work. Sorry the admin caused strain at work with the boss. And boss, the admin does not report to me, it is in your ball court. Just sayin'

Curtis has officially been diagnosed as bi-polar and placed on Latuda. He has not started on it yet but will in the next day or two. Hopefully this will help him. We are doing ok as far as we go. Just trying to stay in the moment and not let my head get carried away.

I made Keto chicken cordon bleu for dinner last night. So yummy. Also cauliflower and a Caesar salad with bacon. All was yummy. Plenty of leftovers. Probably enough for a meal and make chicken salad with it.

Going to a festival in Knightstown on Saturday with my Bro, SIL and possibly Samantha. Chris has the boys which will make going to the festival much easier. Knightstown is about a 45 minute drive for us from my house. I am looking forward to it. My friend Gina lives in Knightstown so hope to see her there. Sunday, Cs parents and brother are coming over. We are celebrating Cs birthday. Ordered a German choc cake from the local restaurant near our house. C tried it last week and raved about it. It is his fav cake. I was going to make one but this was easier. I am all about easier these days. My bro, SIL, and son will also be coming over.

That is about it for me. Have a wonderful, restful weekend. Hello to SUSIE, CEEG, DEE and all the lurkers.

Hugs...to all. Special hugs to HAPPY.

Afternoon all.

Happy – I’m so sorry to hear about Meadow, but you did what had to be done. Not just now - taking her out of her pain - but especially when you and dh adopted her and gave her a wonderful home for all those years. I know you and dh are sad right now, but I hope you both take comfort in knowing you gave Meadow a good life and were great parents to her. :hug: == Bummer that the freezer couldn’t be repaired. It wasn’t even all that old, was it?? I’m glad you have someplace to store all the food!! Our microwave bit the dust the night before last, but that’s not nearly the problem or expense of the freezer failing. == Glad you enjoyed the cooking class - well, except for the post-class gas – had to be the cabbage, right?? == Hope the eye doctor appointment goes well. :mag:

Shad – Wow, that is some hot weather you have down under! :flame: I was trying not to be grouchy during all the recent 90-degree days we had (many records were broken as a result), but I really don’t care for that kind of heat - and yours is a lot hotter! Hope you’re a/c is in good working order!!! == I have an internet bank account, but I can make transfers from it to my bricks and mortar bank if necessary, so I’m not really inconvenienced by lack of physical locations. Would that be an option for you?? == “Tail art” - love it! :D == The catch-up with the boss was the opposite of what you said – I’ll be getting more to do and no mention of money was made (not that kind of meeting). What I don’t like is that I get more to do because another department member is supposedly overloaded. I’ve seen how this person works and it’s more of a time management & work style issue if you ask me, so I’m not happy taking on more of her work. The boss needs to learn to manage her and challenge the amount of time she spends on certain things. This woman spends way too much time looking closely in all directions instead of zoning in on what’s truly important. But now that I know this is happening I can plan for how I will address it. Oops, sorry for the rant. :o == I forget, is Romeo the cat of DS2 and J that you had at your house along with Ruger? Has Romeo stayed with you all along, even after the others moved out? What a complicated thing it turns out to be to become Romeo’s mum!

Annie – I know both bf and I have to try and chill out with the stuff that goes on with my mom, especially since it’s not that important. (And it is funny a day or two later…) Just have to zone in on what is important and let the rest roll off our backs. == I hope the med helps C. and helps the two of you. == Sounds like a fun weekend for you – festival, friends, family. Enjoy! :yes: == Oh boy, Portillo’s and Ikea opening in your area. Yeh, I’d wait a while to visit, or find the right times to go check them out. I just hate being in crowds.

Hellos to Ceejay, Susie & Dee. :wave:

==

As I commented to Happy, our microwave died the other night. Last night bf and I went to our go-to electronics/appliance store and bought a new one. Also saved some good money by buying a floor model. Some minor scratches on the top, but that’s where we put a couple of potholders, a spoon rest, and a couple other items, so we didn’t care about that. This new one is a Kitchenaid and has a convection feature, which might come in handy if we need an extra oven. Our toaster oven also has a convection oven feature, but it’s pretty small and couldn’t be a backup to our full size oven. The microwave is small too, but still, it's a bit larger than the toaster oven. It could at least hold a round casserole dish or an 8x8 baking pan. We’ll see.

I didn’t exercise Wed. or last night, so I guess I’ll do workouts on both Saturday and Sunday morning. Unless I’m motivated by the nice weather to get out for a bike ride. :bike:

I hope you all have a good weekend!! Cheers!

Hello Everyone!

It is a beautiful fall day here in Ohio. So happy that the heat is out of here. It was better yesterday and today is even better.

I had a small loss at TOPS last night 0.4 lbs. I will show a loss of 2 lbs for the month. I'm used to bigger losses for the month but for the month of September I didn't exercise like I had been doing and while I didn't go off my way of eating, I did eat at the top of my calories so I would say I got what I worked for.

As we head into October in just a few days that got me to thinking that it is the last quarter of the year and what do I want to do in this area of my life.

My answer is, I want to return to what I was doing Jan-July and get this weight off, so then I can focus on maintaining a healthy weight (which I feel I did in the months of August and September). So that is it..that is my focus for the next 3 months and maybe, just maybe I'll get to goal. If not, then I should hit it January 2019.


Happy: I was so sorry to hear about Meadow. When I read it on FB my heart just felt heavy. I know you and DH will miss her bunches :hug::hug:

Annie: What sort of festival is in Knightstown? This year is when so many festivals happen and I do love to go to them. Enjoy your time there.

I hope that C will take his meds as he should; I know they will help. You did a good things ordering the cake...easier is my option as well when it can be.

Ceejay: What did you find out at the doctors office? And have you poured that coke out? You will be glad you did after you do...or at least about a week after. You will realize how much better you feel and also you will not have the "crashes" that comes from not having the coke as usual.

I hope you sister gets things sorted out with the car.

Laura: My DH and I can get into a tizzy after we both spend time with DH's father. So, we try to not talk about the visit when we leave...we give it a few days to just settle.

A weekend bike ride sounds nice. I hope you are able to fit one in.

Shad: Always busy. You should set up a camera and film all your projects and maybe some day you will have one of those DIY shows I watch all the time when I'm on the treadmill or bike. I think you would be successful! Do you have a Aussie accent? Americans would eat that up! ;)

Hi Dee if you are out there!

Time for me to get back to work. I'll be around sometime over the weekend to post.

Hi ladies,

Let's see if I can catch up. I am still down about Meadow - cleaning up the house, putting away her bed and the things that were "hers". I will have a bunch of blankets to take to the shelter for new kitties to use. I also seem to have an abundance of cat toys - don't know why - no one ever really played with them outside of the thing we have that we hide treats for Nina - she loves that thing. Nina is super clingy to DH now. DH went to go take pictures yesterday so I did some cleaning. Spent alot of time on my feet and by late afternoon my one foot was killing me. Had a stern discussion with DH - he is upset because I will not go to the doctor about this and get it x-rayed. I say I have been complaining for years now about this crippling pain and they run tests and nothing comes up. He also delicately mentioned that my excessive weight does not help - like I don't already know that. I have my dining room table back again - cats used to sleep on their beds up there and I allowed it only because we never use the table and it gave Meadow a chance to get away from her pesky sister although they would often sleep together in their own beds. I put a fresh tablecloth and centerpiece and found some cute autumn placemats I had in the drawer shaped like autumn colored leaves. DH came in, pronounced the look "cool" and then promptly dumped the mail on the table and cluttered things up. :rolleyes:

Today I want to get out and finish ripping out the remaining tomato plants. I should cover the beds with straw for the winter to help stave off the growth of weeds since we cleaned out both beds. So much schmutz in the air that the weeds appear overnight and completely overtake the bed if I leave it that way until spring. My new freezer is coming on Saturday - I think I will barely make it with the food that's in there now. Even if some of it defrosts, the meat from the farm is vacumn sealed really well - you can literally leave the meat refrigerated and it keeps for 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator just fine because they pull all the air out when they seal it. I have a pot roast and some chili to make today. Made a chicken soup yesterday but decided to put tumeric in it - we are both taking tumeric supplements. Of course what happens when I go to pour it is a whole glob comes out - soup is quite yellow as is the chicken meat - a little off putting visually but doesn't affect the taste. I do have to be careful as that stains the counters if I set a spoon down. This week we have a Cooking Chinese Food in a Hurry class one night, I have a shelter meeting we rescheduled from last week and I have a new class on Writing Your Life Story. I have gotten away from writing and drawing and I'd like to get back to that again.

Ok girls - you made me smile - :D seems our parents all make us a bit batty - we love them but still :dizzy:

Susie - I think you did very well eeking out a small loss considering how distracted you are with all the demands of work. You have done well keeping an eye on things and adjusting. I have complete faith you will meet your goal. Have you started shopping for new fall clothes yet? Skinny pants and cute booties in your future! Thank you for your sympathies :hug: I hope you were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather. And yes, Shad has a bit of an accent. You have to listen carefully but she tries to Americanize herself for us :lol:

Laura - thank you too for your kind words :hug: Yes, the darn freezer was only 5 years old!! :mad: We got it shortly after we moved in here. They just don't make things like they used to. Can't complain - won't do any good. I debated about replacing it but I don't have much room at all in my new refrigerator's freezer compartment. And I do like the meat from the farm - such a better quality. One thing I will do different is change what I store. When I first got the freezer I bought packaged meats like the 4 pack of steaks you can buy at the regular grocery store and things like frozen pizza dough and odd combinations of packaged vegetables that looked good. I can now see alot of stuff I never actually used up so I'm a bit smarter about what to save and I will leave some space for storing things in the future. I find the microwaves last about 10 years if you are lucky. I hope your new microwave holds up. Do you do more than just rewarm things with it? That's about all I find I used mine for. I hope the weather has cooled enough for you to get out on the bike paths this weekend. My sister said it's awfully dry out your way. We are fortunate in that we've had rain - too dry always scares me with fire dangers.

Annie - thank you for your love :hug: Yes, Portillos is a GOLD MINE. It will ALWAYS be crowded. First comes the curious, then the crowds continue because they like the food. It's always a maniac place there. Part of the fun I guess. I'm glad they are closer then Chicago but far enough away so that they aren't too much of a temptation. I hope you try them once. They do have good salads too. I hope Curtis will do well with Latuda. I'm sorry but from the minute I saw that commercial - I have always laughed at that name Latuda. But then again, I am immature. Oops - I just realized I made a mistake on Fb when I posted about C's BD and the cake :o - oh well - I figured since you liked to bake you'd make one but why not go for easy AND his favorite cake? Hope you had a great time in Knightstown. What is there to see?

Shaddie - you would freeze to a block in my winters and I would melt to a puddle in your summers. So if you are taking Romeo does that mean DS2 and the partner split up and you are adopting Romeo? How is Miss Sunday doing? I was thinking of her with our situation with Meadow and the fact that we here at 3FC seem to travel in similar circles when it comes to certain instances. I also agree with you over your concerns with the cloud - I don't care what anyone says. They tell you that companies are very secure with your private info and then oh, so nonchalant that oops there is a small security breach. I also agree that we are too reliant on technology and perhaps a bit complacent at time - although I am astounded at how casual the younger people are about security and sharing things and such. As always you completely blow me away with all of your energy and the things you get done on a daily basis. Where does that little bunny get it's energy from?

Ceejay - I am with you sister on the Coca Cola. We all know it's bad for us. Not that easy to completely walk away from. But we are working on it, right? ;)

Dee - hope you are doing ok :hug:

Ok girls, nothing getting done by sitting here. On with the day. Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Evening all,

Great day today, it's raining :dance: :dance: and it is going to rain for most of the night. Yahoo.

Spent today clearing out the kids stuff from the main bedroom. Then I went and had a look at a vanity which was advertised on Gumtree for $250.00 and yes I bought it. Now I just want to get a top for it and the bathroom will be nearly finished apart from a few its and pieces. I'll get around to some pictures soon. DS2 picked up the furniture and brought it down to my place and we manhandled it into place, with a little help from Ruger. Then we went down to a bathroom/ kitchen place that was having a carpark sale. Since the rain was pouring down, the stuff was not in the car park. I got some great ideas for the laundry. Now all I need is some money! Next step is to paint the ceiling and part of a wall in there and decide on where the cabinetry is to go and get out there and buy it and put in a splashback. Then there is painting in the hall, spare bedroom and main bedroom to be done and I will be collapsed in a heap for a while. My builder has a new job and will be working on a drive in/ drive out basis, 4 weeks on and 1 week off. So he won't be available for the next part of the renovation darn it all.

Happy - sure enjoyed reading about the chef's course. The food sounds great.
I'm so sorry to hear about Meadow. That's the second kitty cat that has gone to the Rainbow Bridge in the last month or so. Sunday is still here. For how long I don't know. I'll take her to the vet this week because she is just not the cat she used to be. She seems to be having episodes in that she will just sit in the middle of the floor and make the most terrible noises - they sound quite terrorised. The only way to get her out of them is to touch her, whereby she leaps 3 feet into the air but comes back to her normal self. She is also impossible to feed properly. What she ate earlier, can not be eaten again later. She is surviving on a small amount of cat food and milk. And she yowls at me every time I move. Apparently this is supposed to mean that I should feed her but I don't know what to give her because she probably will take one sniff and walk away.
:lol3: on the Turmeric glob. Shouldn't we always use a measuring spoon??? Of course if you are a celebrity chef, you shake or dribble out an extraordinary amount of whatever and say about a teaspoon of this, 2 tablespoons of that.
See later comments to Annie and Laura about Romeo's transition to this house instead of that. No DS2 and J have not split up, mores the pity.

Annie - Romeo doesn't care who his mummy is. Just feed me and pet me and let me sleep in the middle of your bed, I will be fine. Actually he is a lot more active now that the dog isn't here permanently. He is getting a personality. Follows me around like a puppy dog.

Laura - Romeo was the cat who lived with DS2 and J. He is a very quiet cat and just seemed to turn up for meals. After Ruger went to his other home, I noticed that Romeo was a lot more active and was following me around the yard watching me garden - sometimes at very close quarters e.g. his nose was in the hole that I was trying to dig. And he wandered around, climbed fences, and checked out the neighbouring back yards. So I mentioned to DS2 that he was happy in his current environment and then I got landed with him.

Susie - small loss or not, it is still a loss. I'm having trouble getting back into the portion control I was having so much success on late last year. Doesn't seem to matter what I do, the weight is going up. I think some of it is building muscles with all the activity I am doing on the renovations and the garden, but a small loss wouldn't be too bad. I am working for it.
I don't think I will be very good at those DIY shows. I do enjoy seeing the whole reno coming together but I like it when the professionals do the hardest work.
Do I have an accent. Well when I am in your country I guess I do. Over here, nobody seems to know whether I am Australian or New Zealander. If I am in New Zealand, they think I am an Aussie, if I am in Australia they think I am Kiwi. I guess I must have a true trans-Tasman accent. Or maybe I just speak both languages really well. Both countries speak English but with a difference.

Hi to Ceejay and Dee

So tomorrow should be wet and soggy as well, inside work will be done, probably sweep and dust down the bedroom end, clean the bathroom and laundry and maybe get some paint on the walls. I will have Ruger here so maybe only the crown moulding and door frames will be done. He will not doubt be interested in the paint, brush and roller. And then maybe some more packing of the kids stuff. They must have too many clothes to leave so many here and not need them.

s

Morning.
 

Brought my sis back to Branson yesterday. Some one hit her car in the parking lot at her work and left without any information.
I did go to the doctor on Thursday. Said he was 95% sure that i have an ulcer or gastritis that is causing an ulcer. Told him i was a coke a holic and he cringed. Told me he couldnt tell me to stop but to definitely cut back. He likes cokes too lol.
Im on the phone but i will ppst more later

I am going home with yet another UTI. Headache and gut ache.

Cs party was a success!

His girls are being aholes. Long story.

SHAD....strength.

HAPPY...hugs and peace.

SUSIE...kudos!!

CEEG...Calm and feel better

LAURA...May the force be with you...

Chat tomorrow. Hugs to all

Morning all.

Susie – A loss is a loss, and not a gain, so good for you. :yes: Especially with your challenging weeks at work lately. BTW - when do your bosses go away??? == Good to take the time at this new quarter to revisit your WL goals. == Good advice to not rehash parent visits after the fact. I will make that a plan for myself & bf!

Happy – That empty spot at home where Meadow used to be will take time to adjust to. :( :hug: == I’m sorry your foot’s been giving you such pain. How frustrating that nothing’s been found when tested. == Sounds like you’ve been in cooking mode – I hope the food from your freezer makes it through to the new freezer’s arrival, or to the time you find to cook it! LOL re the turmeric glob. I’m always one to use measuring spoons, for that very reason. Re your cooking class – I always thought Chinese was one of the quicker cuisines to cook anyway…what will be the “secret” to making it in a hurry – buying pre-chopped veggies for that stir-fry??? :D == I hope your new freezer lasts longer than the old one. As for the microwave – yes, mostly used for reheating leftovers. Hot water for tea. Scrambled eggs. Hot cereals. Defrosting. Making noodle mix side dishes. Can’t forget about heating those frozen entrees!! And killing germs on the kitchen sponge, LOL. So it’s not used much for cooking items from scratch, but it’s used a lot nonetheless. I can’t imagine not having one, can you??

Shad – I could collapse in a heap from just reading about all your reno activities, LOL. == You must be so worried and frustrated about Sunday. :( Poor baby. I hope the vet can help. == Nice that Romeo is happy with you and your digs. == So you have a hybrid NZ-Aussie accent now? :D == I say get all the kid’s clothes out of the house – that’s what suitcases are for. In fact, tell DS2 to bring a suitcase by the next time he drops off/picks up Ruger so you can pack the clothes in it!

Ceejay – What a bummer about your sister’s car – and no information from the driver that hit it. == How does the dr diagnose if it’s an ulcer or gastritis? I understand that some ulcers are actually caused by bacteria… or do you use a lot of anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen? I’m sure the doc already asked about that. Hope you feel better soon.

Annie – I hope you feel better. Those UTI’s can be the pits. == Happy belated birthday to C – good wife to get him his favorite cake, glad the party was a success! How was the festival??

Hello Dee. How’s it going in MI? :wave:
==
I had an early hair appointment on Saturday – too early. Thanks to staying up too late three days in a row, I woke up Saturday with puffy eyes and would rather have hidden them behind my glasses, but no, it’s better if I wear contact lenses when I get my hair done. So I did. Not liking what I see in the mirror, and I’m not talking about my hair or puffy eyes. The number on the scale this morning was appalling. :yikes: I need to get back to tracking my eating!! Anyway, I scheduled not only my next appointment, but the one after that too! I was told the salon is down by one stylist, and also the holidays are coming, so glad they warned me. I spent a big chunk of the rest of the day on housework – more than typical. Ugh, the dust!

I was in sloth mode yesterday. Reading and watching the rest of the Outlander dvds. On to season 3. I watched the first episode of that with the Amazon firestick, but as usual it had a lot of freezing and getting hung up throughout – not a fun way to watch a program. I think I’ll wait for the dvds to hit the library. Maybe we need a better router for our wifi?? Bf has talked about a hard-wired connection to the devices from which we would stream video… it just gets to be too much with all this tech stuff. I should just stick with books.

No formal exercise or bike rides this past weekend. :o Need to get my workouts in on the weeknights!

This week at work I have some quarter-end work to do. Also have the wellness blood draw and a flu shot.

Bf has our full bath toilet removed and could not find anything hung up in the drain part of the toilet itself that is causing it to get almost clogged several times within the past several weeks. Can’t imagine something being wedged in there so tightly it couldn’t be dislodge by the toilet auger or the snake. He used the snake on the large waste pipe since it was accessible with the toilet being off of there – nothing noted, though the waste pipe is a large one, so the skinny snake probably wasn’t effective for that. Today bf may rent whatever electronic thing plumbers use to rod out pipes. None of the other drains that go to that waste pipe are slowing or backing up, so we don’t know what the deal is. The joys of plumbing.

That’s about it for me. I’ll get this posted and get back to work now. Have a great day everyone!

Good morning girls,

Was supposed to be raining today but apparently that is coming in during the afternoon. Heavy storms, lots of rain. We don't need it. Which means I have to get out and run my errands before dinner time. Sun is shining brightly at the moment.

I have started to knock the gained weight back down again. I have decided that I don't want to go back on the Contrave - when I went off the weight just zoomed back up and I don't want to take anything like that forever. The issue with losing is that I get very little food to eat in order to lose. Coffee in the morning and one other meal for the day - that's about it. If I want to eat a lunch and dinner, I have to split it. Yesterday I had a grilled cheese for dinner and some cashews earlier in the day. I made a chili for DH - cut up a chuck roast into small cubes. I watch a TV show - America's Test Kitchen and they had an episode where they made beef hamburger chili. The thing that was different was 1) they soaked the beef in a solution of 2 spoons of water, 1 spoon of baking soda and a spoon and a half of salt. This brine of sorts helps the meat to retain moisture and helps it to brown up better in the pot. The second thing they did differently was make their own chili powder. I had picked up some poblano peppers at the farmers market about 2 weeks ago and air dried them - DH kept complaining they should be tossed out because they were shriveled up but I said patience. I did lose one of the 3 thinking that putting them in the sun would help the drying process. It didn't - just made the green turn a weird yellowy brown and I had to toss it. The other two turned a fiery red. So I de-seeded them, chopped them to squares and put them in the food processor. I also had some chilies that chef gave us from last week - a long green one, a jalapeno and some thin skinny red chilies. I roasted those over the fire and chopped and de-seeded them. Added them to the processor with some powdered cumin, a bit of salt, black pepper, oregano, some ancho chili powder, powdered garlic and onion too. Since the peppers were not totally dry I added a bunch of crumbled tortilla chips - cilantro lime flavor into the mix to help dry it out and process better. The mix chopped in about 30 seconds and smelled wonderful. I then tasted it and almost burned my darn tongue off :lol: I told DH to come check this as I didn't want to toss all of it into the chili mix without his ok - it was his hot chili, not mine. He approved, we decided to use half. I used my Instant Pot pressure cooker because I wanted tender meat. Browned some onions and garlic, added the meat cubes until I got good color and added the chili mix. It was really smelling good. I then added some tomato paste but it needed more tomato so I added a can of Rotel tomatoes with chilies and some crushed tomatoes. Still needed something else so I added a can of chili beans that are packed in chili sauce. Set it to pressure cook for 40 minutes and then DH and I went over to the casino for a special they had going. Came home in 2 hours and the chili was ready to go. Nice tender chunks of meat and flavorful sauce. DH like it - told me to add in the rest of the chili mix as it was good but not as spicy as we thought it would be. I also added another can of red kidney beans and let it cook a bit more. We'll see what he says about it today. I did check my freezer yesterday - going to have to get the meat out of there unless I want it to be cold but defrosted. I will get some ice today - I have some freezer space at a friend's I can use if I need it (probably will). I'm going to sort through the stuff and probably cook up alot of it which I may then portion and freeze the meals. I will have to toss out some old freezer burned stuff or things I won't ever use and really should have done this last Wednesday so I could put it out with the trash. Ugh.

Shad - so happy to hear you have rain at last. May everything get a good drink of water. How nice of you to take in Romeo since he seems much more happy about living apart from ODDU. Sorry to hear about Miss Sunday. Sounds like she is advanced in the age and not sure what all the caterwauling is about. Meadow would do the same - I suspect a combination of being hungry yet everything upsets her stomach and makes her feel ill - kind of like my poor grandmother at the end of her days. But Meadow would do the same - meow loudly and then turn her nose up at everything that was offered to her. When you do come visit again, I promise to cook very differently than the last time you visited. I now understand you are all about the fresh fruits and vegs - living in the country and having far less fast food convenience options - it's easy to change one's style of cooking. I even like lamb now! Good score on the bath cabinet. There are so many interesting topping options - can't wait to see the finished project. Sounds like you will be doing a lot of the work yourself as always. At least if the builder can get the basics of electricity and plumbing done properly, you can manage the rest. Do it before the heat and bugs drift into town although it already sounds steamy out your way. Yes, I have learned my lesson about the turmeric glob - but not enough that I won't do it again :lol3: I don't understand why some spices have shakers on them and others not. :dizzy:

Annie - sorry you are feeling bad. Hope you feel better :hug: - did you get some antibiotics for the UTI?

Ceejay - that's really awful about your sister's car. :( Ignorant that it was a hit and run too. What is wrong with people today? If you are having that serious a stomach problem, you really need to trim back on the soda. I try for just one a day - it does make a difference with the stomach upset and acid reflux symptoms.

Might as well post this and see if Laura signed in yet.

Ah there she is - good morning Laura.

That's frustrating about the toilet. One day when we lived in Memphis the upstairs bath tub was slow to drain to the point it almost stopped. Turns out when the built the house (30 years prior) they dumped rocks and construction waste in the drain and it took that long to accumulate to cause the blockage? Can you imagine??? I do hope you find the mystery issue. Did I understand that you use the microwave to make scrambled eggs? Do it get hot enough to kill the potential salmonella bacteria? I know you can make quick eggs in a coffee cup but I always shied away from cooking raw eggs or chicken in it. And yes, I would miss it if I didn't have one which I briefly considered because with today's new stoves that sit higher, it does make it a hassle for tall pots when you have the microwave in the cabinet right above the stove. I don't think our coffee maker makes the coffee hot enough and in the winter the coffee mugs are cold in the cabinet so I nuke my coffee an extra 30 seconds each morning to give it an extra boost of warmth. I guess I am a slow drinker too :lol: That's interesting that you say some ulcers are caused by bacteria. I always thought it was old school acid foods, stress or too much booze ;) You are wise to pre-book appointments with your stylist, especially if the schedules will fill up fast. The person I saw in Memphis you had to book 3 THREE appointments ahead to get in and yet she STILL kept taking on new clients. Kicked her to the curb after a while when she'd rather take on younger people for a $20 appointment to put feathers in their hair and push off her loyal older clients. I know, not everyone is like that. When my stylist was pregnant, we wisely booked around her time off. Our internet connection is so slow here that I don't stream anything. Tried to watch some stuff On Demand, just let it run and completely download because I hated all that pausing. And I don't do any of that on my phone. I laughed when you said you should just stick with books. Sometimes I feel that way too. Oh and it just reminded me that with my eye appointment I always have them check for macular degeneration as all of my Mom's siblings had it and she has it bad too. Doctor said that now they are finding it's about 60% hereditary and is also brought on by factors like lack of leafy greens in a diet and (as I knew) smoking. They are finding that exposure to blue light from electronics also can be a contributing factor. I told him I have had my face in front of a computer screen since 1972 so I was a good test case for that! :lol: Anyway no signs of macular degeneration and he also showed me how to change the lighting on my smart phone so that it's in night mode - more yellowish than blue light.

I will let you know how the Chinese cooking class goes. I can stir fry but never get my food to taste as good as the sauces and such at the Chinese restaurant. Perhaps the "secret" is using a 40 year old "seasoned" pan that has never been truly cleaned :yikes: :rofl:

Have a good one peeps. Clouds moved in - rain is on it's way. Looks like a good time for a nap :faint:

Back to the condo and on this silly willy tablet. Thinking about taking it over to the Geek Squad and having them to check things out for me.

Laura
I've been taking quiet a bit of Aleve for arthritis pain because I was afraid of the regular pain med that he had given me. He thinks this is the cause of the ulcer. He did Tell me to cut down on the coke's. I'm to take and over the counter med for this for three months to see if it eases up if it doesn't then I will have to have an endoscope to make sure what is going on. To bad that the dinner with you're mom wasn't that great. Maybe next time it will be. Hope the plumbing situation is solved soon.

Happy
Condolences for your loss from Meadow. You were very good to her. Sounds like the cooking class was a success also.

Annie
Feel better soon. Drinking enough water?

Shad
Is the renovations about done?

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I've had a good week end which started on Friday night. I've posted pictures on FB from our family outing to Busiek State Park. WE hiked a 3 mile trail which wasn't easy to say the east for this 67 year old. They had to stop several times for me to rest but I made it through. Saturday evening we went to my nephew's wife family's for her birthday party. I've got to post those picture on line too. I got to ride a 4 wheeler. Something I haven't done in ages.
Sunday was church and book club meeting.
My sister's insurance has put us in subrogation again from the water damage to the floors last year. They are now trying to get me to reimburse them for their loss. But I'm beginning to wonder if this might be a scam. They mentioned today that it was their church property. I don't answer the phone when they call and let it go to voice mail.
I was tired this morning when I got up so I told sis that I was going to stay here for the night and drive home tomorrow.
Let's see if this post.
Hello to Susie.