http://timbuktu.eluria.com/hushblinksfiles/ab-slee.gif NOT! :lol:

Good Morning!

Just wanted to post a couple of pictures of our yard and of the street. I just took my yardstick out with me and measured between 16 & 18 inches of snow. Not including the mounds you see in the picture. And it is still snowing here.

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GARY, I haven't worked out since Tuesday! I think I have the flu of some kind... no fever, just achy and feeling very tired. So I have stayed home and spent allot of time on the sofa. It's going around.

How was SD's game? Sounds like you had a great evening out.

ANGEL, What a bummer! Did that virus take your pictures!?! I have backed up all my pictures on a RW-Disk... I do it every time I have bunches of new pics that I want to keep, for fear of a bug wiping them out! I hope you are able to recover them & your sofware.

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Here are some pictures of our place. NOTE that you can hardly see the one deer in the yard or the other's legs! That's how deep the snow is: (*Don't forget to click ON the pic to make it larger)

http://users.bigpond.com/cutecolorz/...ringgirl10.gif Spring... did you say Spring? Here you go MICHELE, ;)

Hi! So glad to hear that you had a wonderful time last night with Charlie. I thought you would ;) Sounds like you are feeling as if this is too good to be true... but God has plans for His children. Do I understand that Charlie is Christian? If so... even more wonderful! If I may be so bold to ask this... Do you know anything about Charlie? Anything about his past, family, etc. Just be informed, you said he is intense that's the only reason why I asked. Hope that doesn't mean possessive. Then again, it could just be that YOU are not used to being treated so well. You are very intuitive... rely on that & God ;)

A little bit too cold for me out there, Michele, for making snow angels... :lol: glad you enjoyed the pictures. I was just watching the weather channel (watch it allot these days) and saw that Minnesota had the coldest area in the U.S.!! You guys are really getting it! Hope you layer up before you head out for work in the mornings?! I think once we begin talking about temps into the single digits - that's when it becomes seriously cold for this desert rat :mouse: (remember, I am originally from CA! The desert mind you...) I look like a granny right now with layers and layers of clothes on trying just to keep warm here. We don't want to turn up the heat any higher then 71* inside - our gas bill came in and it was $110.00 for last month and that's expensive enough. Hate to see the next one. So I haveta layer up, instead of turning it up.

Have a great evening! Stay warm...

Sunny~I knew there was another reason i like you. I didn't remember that you are originally from CA! The desert where? I love Palm Springs and that area out there. Give me 100+ temps and a body of water (river, pool, etc) and I am a happy camper!

I do know enough about Charlie to be comfortable with him, don't worry about that. It's just that I really don't know him well. But I guess that's what dating is about.

http://www.countrycolors.nu/colors/iconirma.gif :) MICHELE, I am from 29 Palms, California. That is about 35 / 40 minutes North of Palm Springs. And we had temps well into the 100's when I lived there. I loved it! It never bothered me, because we never really delt with humidity living there. I didn't experience humidity until I moved East... yuk!

Do you see where Joshua Tree National Park is? Look toward the bottom. We were only a few miles from the park when I was growing up. I use to climb and camp out there, before it was a national park... yep, I am that old :lol: And I have pictures of us boating on the Salton Sea :) Good times!!!

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/st...s/image002.gif

Have FUN tonight!!!

Checkin in for January 30/04
 

Feeling fairly good considering all things.

Sunny: Looked at our pictures re the snow. Yes it is a lot but where I live in Canada (BC) - the previous city we lived in would have up to 8 - 12 FEET of snow every year so yes you have a lot but not as much as we are used to. Where we currently live in BC Canada we get snow but only about 1 foot - and that is pushing it.

Kids, don't you just love them. We have had some seriousl issues with our son AGAIN - getting into things he shouldnt be - going into our bedroom and going through our closet and dress of drawers - for the fun of it. And not completing assignments that have been given him for school - asking us to trust him and when we check up on him - nothing is completed. I mentioned before that I homeschool him but we are on a program that is funded by the Ministery of Education. So today we did not do any school - made him get up and leave the house at 8 am telling him to return in time for lunch at noon. He did - and at 12:30 he asked him to leave the house again and to return at 4 pm - should be arriving any time. We needed this time to get our 'act' in control. Contacted our supplier of the curriculum - they have provided us with 2 tutors also - explained what we are going through - again - and how all this 'stress' is only aggravating my health issues (cancer) - there suggestion was not to pack it all in completely but to put it all away for min. of 14 days. And during that time make sure that he is out of the house for min. of 4 hours - and when he is home do not allow any TV time. We are praying that he will come to his senses and realize that he does need an education - he tells us he wants to finish grade 12 and go on to college but that he just doesn't want to do the work or listen to instruction from us or any other 'teacher' - terrible state to be in right? We are praying that within the next 14 days of having to be out of the house doing nothing and no TV that things will start to click. We have also told son that when we have to leave the house for such things as grocery shopping, that he is not allowed in the house - this being because he has decided to be a 'snoop' and we can't trust him. We have a challenge ahead of us and I am concerned it is only going to get worse. He will be 16 in 8 days and has only completed grade 8 - has only to finish math and his grade 9 would be done - but he refuses to do so - just wants to sleep, eat and watch tv. So - meals are now at a given time, he has no access to kitchen freely as before - and no tv as he is not working or doing school. Hopefully a 'bell' will click on soon!! Please pray for son and especially me as the stress is making me very ill - and the doctors have told me that this stress is affecting how my body is handling the cancer. Friends here are worried that I am close to a breakdown due to what this child is doing to us - actually more to me than his dad.

Anyway on a positive note. Today I joined Curves!!!! Tomorrow will be my first workout!! Am looking forward to it. Hopefully at the end of February I will see some definite changes in measurements and weight due to my walking and working out at Curves.

Have updated my signature to include joining Curves!!

Another cool night!
 

Well it is a cool one here tonight - glad I am inside.

Sunny: I am glad you have that amount of snow - I was telling you in the previous post that we used to have 8 to 10 feet - the amount you have is plenty - you beat us where we are currently living. Looks nice in the pictures but am glad you have it and not us -- don't like all the shoveling - but that is exercise right!!

Am looking forward to going to Curvers. A friend of mine (walking partner) has also joined today and after tomorrow (I go at 9 am for my first session and she will go at 10 am for hers) then we are going to co-ordinate it so that we are there at the same time. Looking forward to seeing the results we both have at the end of our first month.

Tgif
 

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT SUNNYD??????????????????

You are always trying to outdo us! Me on the elliptical, Angel on the graphics, Sprout on the snow......... :D :D :D :D :D

I'M KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We NEED you!! and LOVE you!! And if you don't quit apologizing I am gonna post Joe and tell him to shove some of those day old items down your throat to quiet you down :lol: :lol: You are our captain-- our ship only floats as well as you skipper it!!

Speaking of ships-- most of us are old enough to remember the USS Pueblo, their Cmdr. Loyd Pete Bucher passed away last night- he was a resident of our county-- had a tough time during the 1968 incident and after-- but a christian!!!

SUNNYD- $110 for gas? does that include electricity too? My gas and electric bill here last month was $143, but then it has been down in the 50's at night. We leave our heater at 60 degrees and it rarely comes on at night. Love the pics of your yard but that poor deer looks frozen, should bring him in don'tcha think? NO EXCUSES!! for the elliptical!! (ssshhh... I haven't done mine since Wednesday either. With SD's game, a 3-1 loss and today I had to change Angie's tire (flat this morning) when I got home from work .... plus it's Friday right?? EXCUSES ME!!! too. Not much of a coach am I? :lol:

SPROUT I am so proud of you!! All those troubles and you still keep going forward with things such as Curves!!! Won't be long and you will be our new HERO!! AH Heck! you already are!!!

MICHELE Ditto with what Sunny says! And Where are my pictures :D

ANGEL Angie got hit with the virus bug too. Prayers for your family. Alot of stuff going around on the war with the election-- pay no attention to it! Just pray!

GARNET Tell your DD that there are an abundance of $8 to 10 jobs here in San Diego county-- not sure what she is looking for but they cannot nearly fill entry level jobs and it goes up from there.

SAMI Hey those are California drivers dear!! Send those kids outsidfe when you want to post-- what is more important? their homework or US!! :lol:

WILMA Bathroom duty for the boys? this Saturday? How are those girlfriends treating them? not jealous are you? Prayers!

SUE Don't work too hard!

Hey gals- if you take the map from SunnyD and look at California-- at the bottom where it says Salton Sea draw a straight line to the coast and that is where I live, 45 miles above San Diego. I'd invite you all to visit but, ah gee, we are so crowded already--- KIDDDING!!! come visit anytime!!

Keep my Vicar's father in your prayers please, no new news.

Peace and FAITH in JESUS for you all, Gary

Well the kids are off the computer (because it is 9:00 in the morning and most are in bed! and DH is at Men's bible study) I am going to visit my DM today she lives across town so I will bundle my little doggie up and we will go visit (she has a little doggie too) I will take pictures so you can see. They are so cute together!
Mitchypoo-My little doggie is having a tough time in the snow it is deeper than she is tall! I tried to put a little coat on her but it drives her nuts and she gets out of it. Glad you had a great time at the dinner. I guess I have to room to say go slow Married my DH 4 months and 1 day from our first date that was 23 yrs ago and 6 kids ago!
Sunnyd-Keep the snow your way! LOL we have had enough! we have a two story plus basement and we are total elect. my bill last month was 230.00 and I look for this month to be in the 300.00's. When we moved in this house I almost died the first winter because we had a hot tub in the sun room and we keep space heaters going to keep and on a mild month the bill was 350.00. We no longer use space heater!
EZ-Is Angie over her flu bug? Ashli stayed home sick on Friday but low and behold Sat she seems fine! (this is the one who struggles with the homework)
Did you get your camera back yet?
Sprout-Just wondering what does your son do while he is out of the house during the day? You need to take care of yourself! I am glad you joined curves it sounds like it may help destress you!
Wilma-Is the weather any better today? We took the SIL and DD out to dinner last night and it was cold!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My DD has gained alot of weight since she has gotten married (alot of it is because they get taken out to dinner often from both sides) The Dr thinks she has a thyorid problem so she is going for more tests. She has had two before and hers jumped up alot from the 1st to the 2nd. So if it has gone up again they will have to get her meds for it.
Angellover-I hate to say this but to get a worth while settlement you have to get a cut throat att. When my DS was killed we just wanted enough to bury her and I had a hard time finding an att. who would only ask for what we wanted (and if the insurane would have paid that without us suing them it would have cost them less!) When I think of you I think of Romans 8:18. I hope that gives you Hope.

Well got to run need to find out where DH is he always brings us breadfast on Sat.

http://timbuktu.eluria.com/hushblink...SunBlinkie.gif We awoke to SUN :sunny: today!!!!!!! Thanks GARY & GARNET, for sending us some CALIFORNIA sun!

It's 4* this morning and we had -20* in windchill. Yes, we have the sun to enjoy this morning, but because the clouds are cleared away - it all that much colder. We have about 18" of snow here as of today. But it is so pretty with the sunshine and blue sky we have this morning... just love it. Makes a body feel so much better to see and feel some sunshine :sunny:

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Great to hear from you SAMI! My Gas bill is separate from my electric bill. We had $110.00 in Gas & $100.00 in electric, so it really isn't too bad considering we are running de-icing cables up on the roof. Those take up allot of electric.

Enjoy your breakfast!!!

Thanks GARY,

I am afraid I didn't do too well this week on my elliptical either... I think I had the flu for a couple days there, but am just fine this morning. The sun sure does help!

If I compare my bill's to yours we are doing pretty darn good considering the temps we have here. We only paid with both ele. & gas a total of $210.00... not too bad. I keep the temp at 71* during the day and 67* at night ~ all programmed. And on the weekends at 69* during the day, because most times we are not here. Right now Joe is watching a movie on the Hallmark Channel - "The Apple Dumpling Gang". He is quiet and enjoying it, so I snuck in her to post, teeeheeeheee.

MICHELE, :cp: So wonderful to hear that you had such a great date and will be going on another... enjoy!

We moved around allot! Remember, my father is a retired Marine. So that's why I was born in Ca. but ended up on the East coast. Joe & I met when my father was stationed on a Navy Base in Brunswick, Maine. Joe - Navy, Dad - Marine... like oil & water :o But now... they are the best of friends. Joe is from Ohio, so when we married in Brunswick, Maine we settled here. So that's how I got here :) Yes, just love the season's here! Especially the FALL!!! Much too short of a season though. I really don't mind it here, but I so miss my hometown too. I just love the desert and the serenity there... not to mention the SUN!

Have fun tonight with John...

Good Morning!
 

It's still pretty cold here -32C -26F. I slept in and thoroughly enjoyed it. Now it's time to get my house clean for company tomorrow. We should be getting our car back today. I sure hope so because we really need it. I've been begging rides off co-workers the past couple of days.

I'm still doing okay with WOE but am really missing my Curves. I hope to go again on Monday.

Sunny: Up here in the winter sunshine doesn't been warmth-it means clear and cold. It is nice to have sunshine though and when you start to feel the warmth in spring it's wonderful feeling.

Michele: Wow! You are a busy gal! It sounds like you're meeting some really nice guys. Have fun!

Sami: It sounds like you're feeling better. Hope you had a nice visit with your mom.

Gary: I am so not jealous of those girlfriends. It's one step closer to empty nest. They are really nice girls and all seem to get along with each other. No bathroom duty for DS today. His childhood friend is here for the weekend so I'm going easy on him. The highschool kid he was tutoring last semester brought his average form a 50 to a 63. We're really proud of him.

Sprout: I was glad to hear you have joined Curves. I love going. Don't be too disappointed it you don't see results weight wise right away. It's taken me a few months to notice it there. Inches are coming off every month though and I see muscle where I didn't know I had it. It has helped my motabolizm too. Good luck!

So sorry to hear the struggles you're going through with your DS. I'm praying for him and for your health.

Well, better go get this started around here. Have a super day.

Januaray 31 already!!
 

Must be my age but time sure seems to be going fast!!

Sami: you asked what my son does while 'walking' - Yesterday we all went walking in the morning and when we fnished and were going for our 'coffee/water break' told him he had to go elsewhere as we needed a break. Told him when we would be home otherwise the house was locked to him. He arrived home about 10 minutes after us. All he did was walk for 4 hours - we have a lot of areas for walking here - he did them all. Then lunch. He then asked if he could watch TV - answer NOPE!! So he asked if he could go walking again. Told him YUP be home no earlier than 4 pm. He arrived at 4 pm. Asked where he walked: Said he went to the library for awhile, then went and watched some hockey, then over to the mall and ran into 2 friends from youth group that he talked to for awhile and then home. This morning he has been out all morning walking - went to one of our nature paths and when he got there he met a friend from youth group so they walked around the little lake for awhile, then he came home. Last night while the rest of us were watch the CD "Radio" he decided that he would 'disobey' and play with the other tv - he didn't actually watch the tv but he did put on a music channel - but without asking. We discovered that this morning. So at lunch we informed him that there was no TV today and no reading of his novels (he loves reading) - so he asked if he could go out for another walk. Yup but only one thing this time - has to be home by 3:30 and has to give us min. of 2 applications for part time jobs - don't want him just 'wasting time' and looking for trouble so he can show us that while out 'walking' he did somethng useful like looking for work. He will be 16 in 7 days so a part time job I think should be encouraged. Will be interesting to see how he does from 3:30 onward today with no tv, no music and no reading. If he gets through the evening ok, then his books will be given back to him tomorrow. Good news about this is that I feel myself releasing some of the stress - don't like what is happening, would much rather see this intelligent boy get with the program and get an education but this is his choice. Now I have to learn to destress myself so that my blood pressure will remain normal!!

Good news? I went to Curves for the 1st time today. Watching the ladies my first thought was 'doesn't look too hard - 3 x should be rather easy' -NOT!!! It is really quite the workout.

I am looking forward to going there 3 x per week and working it up to more when I can. With Norm's work schedule some weeks it could be 3 x and some weeks it could be 4 or 5 x. Looking forward to seeing some results at the end of February.

Today is my first day of revised food plan. I had made some changes in January - no bread, no potatoes. But for February I am actually going to work on the outline of what Dr. Phil gives for the Rapid Start Plan - the outline for the 3 meals and snacks. I am sure if I follow this plan just for February and with the walking and Curves I should get some jump start on this weight.

Well, son just walked in the door - it is only 2:15, he has been gone 1.75 hours - got a ride home from his Dad. Ask him for the application forms - he said 'Oh I forgot to get them' - yeh another lie - he just did not want to get them so he is using the standby that he forgot. So now he has been informed - today no tv, no reading because of fooling around with tv last night when he wasn't supposed to - and because of not following through with getting the applications today and using the excuse 'I forgot' - tomorrow (Sunday) there will be no tv, no reading, no music and no walking unless we leave the house. Hopefully this having only to sit on bed will 'twig' in soon.