HAPPY BIRTHDAY to NAE!!!!

:hb: :bravo: :wave: :love: :cool: :gift: :hat: :flow1: :grouphug: :cloud9: :dance: :balloons: :wizard: :lucky: :encore: :cheer: :lol3:

Well the day is here for our third June chick's birthday and all good wishes coming your way dear Roseblush. Have a super day as you stop "pushing 50!!!".
Tonight's the night! I have packed my cabin bag...weighs 4kg out of an allowed 5kg, and I have put a few extra bits in my case....I just hope those scales are correct!! My only wish is that I was sleeping better. I have really got into this pattern of waking every two hours or less. I'm sitting here :comp: :comp: thinking shucks! I am tired even now, at this hour of 09:47hrs! :tired: :tired: :tired: I think my best plan is to go to sleep early this evening and get as much as I can....
Well I had better go now as the gardener is arriving so ta ta for now...see you next Thursday probably! Take good care.
Love from Teel xx :D

Goodbye Teel!!!!!!
 

:wave: Goodbye Teel!!! Have a great time!!! :wave:

Nae~ Hope the birthday is going well and you are celebrating along with us! :rofl: We'll use any excuse to bend the elbows whether it's with Pepsi or spirits of some sort! :rofl:

Happy~this whole day has been a joke but not the laughing kind as of yet. I plan to change my mood soon though! I promise! :lol: Hope you find some good things to laugh about today too! :DMy daughter and I have tried very hard to grow ivies indoors. Many different varieties but neither of us have been successful. They grow for awhile, we train them on a wore shape and just when they start to look like something, they start to die!LOL She hasd a varigated one too, something like the pic but smaller leaf. I am babysitting it along wioth the bird!! I had a lovely english Ivy and we had a funeral for it last year! :rofl: Good luck!

Well met with a boss man. neither of us raised our voices. He will take care of everything this time and has already started to put me back as a tenant and putting the blame on them for "taking orders" from a tenant. They all took it as a slap in the face from him and are now mad at him too. He says this is the was it's done in the "busiiness" world. I must take his advice cause Im never was in this position before. Everyone is "sad" for me and think I'm getting squeezed out. It's exactly the reaction he exp[ected and said for me to leave him as the "monster". so I came up and here I am!!! Guess I better start learning what to do with my time and break open the waterco.ors.:rofl:
There is a bit of sadness on my part though. I liked some of the responsibility. Makes you feel needed, important and keeps you "alive". I must now learn how to do this on my own cause if I screw this up this time, He will kill me! :rofl: In the end, the "passing" of authority went off with out the roar, or bang or any noise other than his scathing tongue and ever so quietly too. :shrug: who'd a thunk it! :lol: I need to get the chicken ready to bake so catch you all later.

just a quick pop in im still decorating TEEL havr a lovely time and maybe like i was your just plain old excited and looking forward to your holiday hope so and that your sleep pattern goes back to normal SHAD youve got itchy feet and an itchy brain if youve worked all your life and now are having an enforced holiday i felt very lost bored depressed and OLD and feeble when i had to give up work but i suppose you cant lift old people when your likely to drop them on there *** so that was me hope things get back on an even keel soon HAPPY will show mum the photo when she comes back from hull shes going to visit my sister for her birthday and stepdad is going to visit his family while they are there but if you want to grow ivy and dont want to end up with a lovely building covered in ivy {and we have 4 floors} pot it and the secret with ivy,s is to be very mean to them they dont like rich soil and they like to fend for themselves we treat them like weeds over here everywhee you go there are buildings covered with ivy what they are really good for is if you have a really well established decidous tree they will climb over it and when the tree drops it,s leaves the ivy will still be there as its evergreen even down to minus 5 and colder i will try and find the syrain for you our local garden centre specialises in them but i think shad might be right NAE hope your still celebrating i wont ever forget your birthday as youre right between my mum and dad so if i forget it means ive forgotten theres and i will be in big trouble well conners at his leavers party and im bent over double after painting skirting boards and the bloody walls decieded that they would need two coats and poor dh after helping me move one set of bunk beds and one wardrobe and then sitting on his backside all day has pulled his back and hasnt stopped moaning all day actually apoligies he moved the telly and craigs pc all by his self poor soul MEN
kirsty

so sorry mel i left you out it wasnt meant we all know you are mush youve got a golden heart and an angels soul and we all love you kepp well and get real good at your painting and ill buy one and well all make you rich by having a mel original
kirsty

Hi ya all. I'm back again to celebrate the rest of 'Nae's birthday :cheers: and to publish the dreaded weights and measurements.

Weight - 75/75/75/74.5/74/ 73
Upper Chest 40/39.5/39/39.5/39 / 39.5
Bust 44/43.5/42.5/43.5/43.25/ 42.5
Lower Chest 36/35.75/35.5/36/35/ 34
Waist 36/36.5/35.5/35.75/35.5/ 34
Upper Hips 42/41.5/41/42.25/41/ 40.5
Lower Hips 41/40.5/40/40.5/40/ 40
Top of Leg 22.5/22/21.5/22/21.75/ 21.75
Top of Arm 12.5/12.5/12.5/12.5/12.5/ 12.5

Not too bad eh??????

'Nae, I hope you are having a great birthday. I rang my sister last night as it is/was her birthday as well. She is 51. So she has survived her first year in the 50s.
:hb: :gift: :queen: :balloons: :cheers: :hat: :dance: :hb: :gift: :queen: :balloons: :cheers: :hat: :dance:
Linus - your poor DH - Oh I feel so sorry (not) for him. Well I do, because back pain is not funny, but here you are always aching and he comes in all gungho and strains his back. Sounds like the renovating is coming along a treat. Of course you know what happens when you get it all done? You move and have to do it all over again.

Mel, maybe when the watercolours start to flow, you can get together with mooz49 - she paints in oils and very well too! You can stage an exhibition - maybe you can get happy to create a virtual gallery so you can show all over the world!

Teel, you are off today - probably already at the airport and floating free over the 'uberland' Have a wonderful time and I am sorry I missed your call yesterday. I meant to ring back last night, but decided you needed sleep more than my dulcet tones telling you the same warnings your Mum probably gave you.

Okay, I am getting cold. I need to go shower, have breakfast and move on with the day. I have a recruitment bloke from Melbourne ringing me at 11.45 for a chat. I'm not getting excited yet. We will see what gives.

I heard YOU'VE GOT MAIL and I thought let me look! I went to read yours post but opened Ralph Marston by mistake! :rofl: Look what it was! Is this an omen?!?! :lol:
I think today IS my someday!


Someday, you keep telling yourself, you'll truly start to
live. Someday you will take the very best of your possibilities
and make them real.

Someday you'll escape from the meaningless distractions that
only waste your moments. Someday you'll focus all your time
and energy on what is really important.

Someday your longing to move vigorously forward will overcome
the fears and insecurities that have caused you to hesitate.
Someday you'll realize that you've always had the courage and
the confidence to fully live, and wonder why you didn't start
sooner.

Someday you'll laugh at the petty angers, frustrations,
worries and annoyances that keep you from being all you can
be. Someday you'll learn to let go and live.

Someday you'll decide that your life cannot wait any longer.
Someday, you'll realize that living with richness and
fulfillment is infinitely better than making endless
excuses.

Someday you'll see that someday is here, that there's no
reason to wait any longer. And there's every reason, here
and now, to be fully alive.

Ralph Marston

Shad have a great day and think positive thoughts!!! Whatever you do, don't tell the man what a dolt he is in case he is one! :rofl: Paste on that lovely smile I have seen in pictures and behave! :lol: Good luck and hope you get warm! :D

Great Ralphie post Mel --- thanks for sharing with us. Sometimes inspiration comes in the most unlikely places and just when you need it...

A huge Good 'on yah :cp: :cp: :cp: to Miss Shad on achieving some great results for the month of June. I know you were fairly frustrated earlier this week. Hopefully this will put a smile on your face and a spring in your step. You certainly worked very hard for the results. Does this mean Jason will live to see another week, but as to whether you take his advice :dunno: :dunno: I hope this is a start to things looking in a more favorable light all around - job and all.

Linus I hope that you have decided that you have accomplished enough for one day and that we don't find you laying on the floor, painted over and becoming an ergonomic PC stand for the family :lol: Take a rest and a soak and tend to your husband like a good wife that you are :rofl: :rofl: Sorry, not making fun of you, but I can imagine you are doing quite a bit of the eyes rolling in the head about now. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Pain... let me tell you about pain...

Nae, birthday is done with for the year. Hope it was a lovely and memorable one for you.

Good wishes Teel who is hopefully safely asleep in her room in Austria by now.

Tomorrow the new company takes over and rumor has it that the first of the layoffs will begin. I sit on pins and needles. Also it is day 70 of my non smoking life and I tell you I am hanging on to my quit by a mere thread. I just can't get the idea of smoking out of my head. Seems I see it all around, the neighbor and his dad are smoking next door, I see it on the TV, and it's crawling in my head like a nasty devil that it is. Send me some good karma or prayers or magic resistance dust - whatever you believe in for I am a weak souled individual. DH says he doesn't understand how someone who claims they are as stubborn as me cannot just be well... stubborn about this. But it's stubborn about wrecking a good thing, not stubborn about insisting on leading a virtuous life. :angel: I am also struggling with the food stuffs which is possibly why I'm thinking about the cigarettes also. I don't want to eat, I don't want to smoke. Good thing is that at least I got all my water and some extra in today. Celebrate the little victories.

Now off to bed for me...

Hi Friends
 

Well. I guess I am on the top of the hill now looking for the easy coast to the other side of life...... hurrah! I heard some funny theories about it all over the week but attitude is the key and a good sense of humor shall prevail! You guys are the best support around and really help to cheer a girl up!!!!thanks for all your best wishes.
Happy you are doing so well with the smoking jig and I am sending you so good vibes to keep you on the path. It is sucha difficult path to keep on...tell us what the site you go to about not smoking says at this point and time about how many cigs you would have inhaled at this time and all of that I found that very inspiring.
Shad you are doing so awesome on your challenge and should be very proud. You always try to remain so steadfast in your journey and are our rock of encouragement. Bravo for the a job well done!!!! You should be proud.
Mel thanks for the words! You are so clever in sharing thoughts and words and songs for us! I hope the day didn't shake you up too much but it is a good thing to take time for yourself and try to be more creative...art is so releasing.... I wish I could paint. I have been out of my knitting yarn for my little project now for about a month and I have been surprised that I look to go pick it up and I don't have a dishcloth on the go. When I go to the big city again I will get some more. Hope you are feeling better and good luck on the challenge.
I do hope Teel has a fabulous time and tells us all about it upon her return. I have a friend leaving in July for Europe so excited for her.
WEll, I did get some nice things yesterday.... black baloons, a bouquet of dried dead roses.... very cute..... and 3 other lovely bouquets of flowers the office started to look like a flower shop or a funeral parlor very quickly!!!!
I had two nice phone calls from my boys and that made myday..... don't feel much different today just blessed with good friends family and a sense of peace.
Have a good day everyone and thanks again for making me smile with all those posts...... I had a drink or two last night also..... might have to continue through the weekend..... lots to celebrate. And Dear Linus, you better take care of yourself and not get over tired. Everything doesn't have to be done in one day!!!!!!
Peace and Love,
Nae

Morning all, quick post this morning as I am off out to take Mooz's daughter and her friend for a whirlwind tour of Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Not exactly sure where we will go yet, but a trip to the wildlife sanctuary to cuddle a koala is probably on the cards along with the Gold Coast and some shopping at the fancy coast centres.

I've finally got my new computer up and running and posting pictures. Heres the latest bathroom ones, although I have done more since these were taken (like grouting and floor) Not the best photos I've ever taken.

Okay, gotta go get breakfast and shower and get into town. Maybe catch up tonight with some photos of the girls.

I lost my post and I think we tried to post together!!! :rofl:
Shad~ did you share your good numbers with Jason??? :lol: Be careful lest he come to work one day with a Hockey Mask on and a machete in his hand!!! :rofl: You must feel vindicated wioth the losses after all this work!!! Still moving forever forward Missy!!! Enjoy the time with the friends and I think it's a great time for DISTRACTIONS FOR YOU!! Have fun!!!

Nae~ Get that yarn and get to work!!! I have been a terrible procrastinator this month. House, wash, writing letters, phonecalls etc!!! maybe July better be butt moving month!!!:rofl: I will celebrate wioth you this weekend too! lemonade here I come! I could use some happy celebrations! :rofl:

Happy~ I did love Ralph yesterday. so perfect for the things I am going through. Hope the new boss weilds the axe very slowly so you can keep on looking. Any chance of a reprieve? Good luck and fingers are crossed. I think there is only allowed to be one at a time looking for a job on this thread!!!:lol:

Linus~ Busy little lady that you are!!! Did you come up for air yet??? :rofl: How goes the new house thing?? Did you leave anyone alive after the last meeting???:lol:
With all this cleaning and painting maybe you should hire out! At least you'd get a paycheck for it!:rofl:

today was good. The old driver and the new bus took me to the library for 2 hours, out to lunch at a hotdog vender and for a tour of all the new developments and construction on the waterfront. had a great day and pulled in about 4. I am tired! but very happy. Everyone was very nice but acted like they were walking on eggshells today with me. only one woman is a bit cool but she always wanted the most from me.
This man in one day did what i was trying to do for a year now...retire. Well it is here and my first day was a great one. the sadness from yesterday is gone and once again maybe I can find the old Mel when the stress subsides once again. Free and ME!

Have a great night all and good morning Sunshine!

forgot to say I like the Pics Shad!! I especially like the detailed tile trim!!! Lovely color blue(on my PC)! Nice work. I will recommend you to my friends! :rofl:

Home again. Stuffed. Driven just over 300Kilometres today and it's all in front of me tomorrow again. But we enjoyed ourselves. The girls were beside themselves when they found out they could touch a kangaroo and cuddle the koala.
Too tired to think straight as a hot drink and bed. I post the rest of the pictures tomorrow.

Good morning chickies,
Shad - very nice of you to be the tour guide to the girls. I would have loved to see the places you described that you were taking them to. Another round today or was it just a one day stint for you? The bath tiles are looking quite pretty also. Good job lady!!!! Rest up a bit now.

Mel, sounds like you had a nice, peaceful day too even if there was a bit of awkwardness at times. Why must it be like that? As you say, hopefully now you can get to retirement - be a friend when one is needed but no longer everyone's doormat!

Hope the weekend holds up well for you Nae to keep on celebrating. It's our Independence Day holiday weekend - the holiday is Sunday but this is the summer "midpoint" technically and the holiday filled with fireworks. For my little corner of the world they are predicting rain, rain, rain Friday all the way until next Tuesday. Temps are slightly starting to creep to the low 80's - it's been another rather cool summer again - not good for swimming pools and growing tomatoes, but otherwise comfy. However most of the big fireworks displays will be Saturday night so we shall see if they get ruined.

Got my termination date yesterday. I will have a job until the end of September which is when they will close the office that I work at. At least that gives me 3 months of guaranteed salary in which to find a new job. They say the economy is picking up but I'm not sure in what direction as of yet... :dunno:

Busy day ahead, must be rolling along now. Have a good one all!

Oh Canada.......
 

HAPPY CANADA DAY TO ANYONE OUT THERE READING!

I am very lazy today but feel good about it. Been an exhausting week for me mentally and physically. I have 5 days before everyone comes back to get my stiff back! :rofl: maybe I better put a broomstick up my blouse!!! Now girls, no bad comments here! :rofl:

Shad~ You are a friend to beat all!!! Nice work lady. Very generous of you and you have also made moozie happy with the pics I'm sure! :D
You may need a good rest when all this week is over. Tiling and Traveling. Maybe you should try another letter of the alphabet!!!

Happy~ I am going to remember the "doormat" thing incase I need it next week! The old driver just called and said I better be ready for shopping(food) tomorrow!! He's on our emergency radio that I have too. :rofl: I was pedalling away to your Grand Canyon trip. Really nice, clear photos!! I had forgotten how nice they were the first time I saw them. maybe the butterflies for the next round of exercising.

I am going to plan my N.O.P.E. for next week. I need to get a routine now and try to stick to it. One that will include bus trips and Dr. visits etc.
maybe I should train myself with the timer on the handheld thingy. Hmmmm
Well I have 5 days to decide what to do. Hope you all have a great day!!! Just think, now we can celebrate Canada day and July 4th!!! The parties continue!! gotta run. The loo is calling! :rofl:

I need to get my NOPE organised too Mel. I just find being accountable is better for me than my thinking - oh I'll do that this week or whatever. Unless I write it down it probably wont get done. If I write it here, I am accountable to everyone. And it stands a chance that way.

Anyway, I've gotta go. I'll see if I can get this pic up - but if not I'll try putting some of them on the webshots tonight. See you.

Just dropped by with the addy for the Ireland/Canada day photos. Enjoy!!!

http://community.webshots.com/user/joy_clover Look for the Album - Running the tourist route

See you all tomorrow

Morning
 

It is so good for me to wake up early and see that Miss Shad has made an early reply and then this morning is an extra treat with pics........cool! I marked it to my favorites to enjoy. Thanks for doing that Shad!
Well, the celebrating continues, last night my friend who use to be my neighbor took me out to dinner with a group of people and wined and dined me. I eat and drank it all!!!! I am so blessed with so many friends and feel so lucky to be their friend. She was my best neighbor and saw each other through some hard times. With her move we just don't get to see each other very often but when we do it is so great!
I made 4 pies yesterday to take to our pie sale for woman's scholarship fund which will be sold today at the parade. OUr 4th parade is today they have a long weekend celebration here starting this morning.
I will be gone for the weekend so I will miss seeing all of you and wish each of you a safe a Happy Weekend no matter where in the world you live and enjoy whatever activity you engage in.....be safe.
Still feeling fabulous and fifty!!!!!!!!!
Love to you all,
Nae

Great pictures Shad. That park looks like a wonderful place to visit. You probably spent the better part of the last 2 days in the car driving along. Had to smile at a comment you had made in your journal that your guests were amazed at just how FAR it is from one place to the next out your way. Hope your petrol is not at the hair raising prices ours is. :yikes:

Thanks for the compliments on the pictures Mel - glad you enjoyed them. I guess by now you've pedalled across the canyon more than once.

It's the start of a somewhat soggy 3 day weekend. Optimum thing being 3 days off from work. We have a BBQ tomorrow but other than that I want to take some time to start doing some things around the house. DH is off on vacation next week and will be underfoot so I might go into the office a few days just so that we aren't in each other's way. Nothing much else to say at the moment so I will get the day's work over with and plan for an entertaining weekend. Take care ladies...

Morning all, it's another lovely day here in Aus and soon I'll be getting back into the swing of the bathroom again. Today will be cutting floor tiles ready to stick them down. Everytime I think I have it sussed, something else pops up and I think - oh brother have to do that as well. I suspect I never planned this too well at all. But with a bit of luck cutting, the worst of it will be over by tonight. Then we grout it all. I found a greyish blue grout which should do the trick. Not quite the right shade, but you should have seen the look on the face of the guy at the hardware shop when I asked if there was any navy blue - or a darker shade of blue than those I had seen. Blue is apparently blue!!! Don't ask for more than blue.
Glad that you enjoyed the photos. Nae, if you go back to those pics you will see some of the garden and also some of some of the places I have been, Not all my photos are up there and soon I will have to move some off the site to make way for others. I will attempt to update the Renovations collection soon with some photos of what the yard looks like now as compared to then which is 2 years ago. My word, how things have grown.
I'm off to Pilates this morning. Did an hour of the weights the other day and will do some more this morning. I don't mind them that much I suppose. They just don't seem to set me alight like they are supposed to. Guess that's the female side of me coming out. It's not an attractive sight is it?
Miss Sunday is sitting, gazing out of the door. Sometimes I wonder what if anything goes on in that head. As far as I am aware, there is nothing moving out there that is worth such study. Maybe she is just waiting for the sun to come into the garden to wake up the lizards and geckos. We have a lot of little ones running around at the moment, maybe now is hatching time for them???? Don't know, will have to try and find out. I put some decorative stones around the plants in pots on the patio yesterday afternoon to try to stop some of the drying out of the soil. Then when I went back to water them again, there were two of these little lizards basking in the sun on the warm stones. Didn't have the heart to wash them off. Watering will be before the sun gets round the back this morning. Mustn't disturb my new little friends, they will eat some of the pesky grubs later in the year.
Mel, are you keeping track of how far you have pedalled? Should I expect to see you rock up at my door anytime soon??
Hope your weather bucks up for the long weekend Happy, damp fireworks are not fun. I guess we have to have a 41 hour celebration for the 4th of July starting tonight??? I know there will be fireworks on the Brisbane River tomorrow night in your honour and on the Gold Coast. No doubt there is a 'socialite' do at City Hall tonight as well - once more I wasn't 'invited'. I'm a social outcast!!!! :cry: :cry: :snooty:

Okay, suppose it is time that I went and got breakfast and got on with the day. I need to get some more fruit and veg when I go out, other than that I don't have any shopping to do for the week, that's good for me and for the wallet.

I hope teel is having a wonderful time and I guess linus is up to her armpits in carpet or paint as well. Hope she hasn't left the hubby under the underlay!!!!

Hello all,
Well if slightly tighter pants and a general feeling of bloatedness was not enough to tell me that I have gained some weight, the blood test results were the kickers. I found a website that pretty well explains what each of the things it tests for mean. For example - my triglicerides are up and I was surprised to learn that carbohydrates are converted to triglycerides when eaten to excess. So the results are there staring me in the face.

Saturday will be a busy day - housework in the morning, and then a BBQ with friends in the afternoon and evening. I still have to figure out what dishes I'm bringing to share. So this will be my post for the day most probably.

Good luck with the floor tiles Shad. Hope everything lines up nicely. After spending 3 days last summer cleaning the light grout on the kitchen floor, I can totally understand why you want dark grout. It's such an effort to clean that you could probably skip an arm weight workout or two. It's quite nice that you are having a fireworks celebration in our honor. You might get to see more than we will. Hope it's not too rainy tomorrow.

Oh and Sunday the cat is quite the looker - such a pretty kitty she is. If you've ever had a cat and seen them stare into space for long periods of time, you might believe as I do that they see things we don't. I have to believe it's more than just supreme patience, especially when just the very tip of the tail flips ever so slightly back and forth. After all dogs can hear at higher pitches than we can, who is to say that cats can't see things we don't. Birds also seem to react to things we don't see.

Well I'm off to bed, told DH to wake me early. Tomorrow I will also get to see the friend who had gastric bypass surgery. Supposedly she has lost 65 pounds in less than 2 months. Sounds like an awful lot very quickly but we'll see. And I WILL behave myself eating at the BBQ tomorrow. DH and I went to dinner tonight - Italian and I only ate half the meal and bagged the rest for tommorrow's lunch. Night all and happy Saturday....

and a lovely Saturday it is too Happy!!! LOL Hope you have a great BBQ!!! Bring me home a hamburger!!! Try not to walk all over the DH next week though!!! How is the new garden stuff?? Butterfly bush have any friends yet??

Shad~ I used to live the little lizards in Florida when we wnet to visit my Aunt. Nice if you to let them soak up the sun and get their little hides tan! :rofl: I'm surprised sunday doesn't kill them! :lol: Happy gluing of the tiles!:D

I was up and out early and enjoyed the morning with a couple who live hear. Then they went out and brought me home 2 bagels. I ate one for lunch! With the windows open I was cleaning till Jen's bird heard or saw something that made him absolutely insane!!! Mr. Frantic screamed out the window and it echoed so much I had to close them to shut him up!!!! so I put on the A/C and started cleaning. Got a box and am having a 27 fling boogie like Flylady!:lol: Only one thing in there so far!! 26 to go! LOL

Nae~ Glad you had fun with the friend. always nice to get a chance to share good times with friends. Hope the weekend away is good too! Enjoy!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and
Happy Fourth of July to all of us!!!:D

Happy~ I missed the first paragraph of your post somehow!! Just read it in the e-mail version. My triglycerides were up to 264:( The Dr almost had a stroke herself when we got them back! I got rid of almost all the carbs I could. Soda was doing me in. I have to go back soon and get re-tested! Hope you're goes down too. What web addie were you looking at? I was at www.prevention.com and searched cholesterol. They have a 20 or 30 day wasy to lower it all. I was thinking of trying it but have to get all the foods etc together first. Good luck!

http://www.prevention.com/cda/featur...-5169,00.html?

This was the addie for "24 DAYS TO A HEALTHY HEART". just in case you are interested,

Morning all, it's Sunday 4th July here so:

HAPPY 4TH JULY

:cheer: :cheer: Happy:cheer: :cheer: :encore: :cheer::encore: :encore: Birthday :cheer: :cheer: :encore: :encore: America :cheer: :cheer: :encore: :encore: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and the sunshines shines lightly on you all.

We have a dull and overcast day here. The Canadians are off to Cairns for a week to do some scuba on Great Barrier Reef. They seem to be having some off season rain up there, but it should still allow them to see plenty under the sea, just won't be as bright as usual. They are a nice couple of people. They have just gotten engaged. Apparently he proposed to her in Akaroa in New Zealand. A spot they apparently just loved. Mind you so do I and I would like to live there one day as well.

I'm not that sure about the intelligence you give to Sunday the cat Happy. Sometimes, I don't think there is much between those pretty ears. Sometimes I think there is plenty there and she doesn't want me to find out about it. However I'm fairly sure that while she was in that plastic bag before I found her, she did have a certain amount of lack of oxygen. She does some strange things at times, but mostly she is a loving little thing if somewhat annoying at times when she insists on sitting right on top of you or digging in the claws for no reason at all. She's gone back to surveying the territory again this morning. As to why she doesn't catch the lizards - well, she tries at times, but doesn't often succeed, pesky little things run up the verandah posts or the patio poles and she has a little difficuly following - besides which I think the pesky little things have her measure in full and as soon as she appears on the scene, the message goes out that she is about. The lizard population then moves to high ground.

Happy, DH won't get underfoot too much - just give him his camera and the car keys and point him in the direction of the park and he will be a happy camper. Do we have his website address to see the results of all your hard work?

Time for breakfast I think and then some laundry and cleaning. As soon as the vanity is in the bathroom, I will be doing the flylady fling on things like old and grotty towels and wash stuff and so get some more junk out of the house. Maybe today, we can take some stuff down to DS house and store it in the Garage/basement so it will take some of the pressure off this place. Now that he has the house, he doesn't seem to be in much hurry to move in.
KIDS - YOU GOTTA LOVE THEM

Journals are closed, so I don't have to check there. Guess I will just have to get off here and go do something. Have a great day.

Happy Fourth Of July!!!
 

I FEEL LIKE CELEBRATING THE WHOLE MONTH!!! All these celebrations are not good for my NOPE challenge! :rofl: Good thing I went out yesterday. The weather doews not look good for today. The sun is out but the sky is dark! :rain: I am sorry to say this but I feel like 3FC gave me a vacation:D
I didn't feel like journaling this weekend and was thinking of taking it off! OOPS I just forgot Clara! Be back in a few!

Clara is the 92 yr old that needs her blood tested twice a day now. Her Dr needs to see what's going on before or IF he changes anything. Now she just found out she's losing her eyesight with macular degeneration. :( with my eyes we are making a fine pair but her checks are done and the bills are in the mail along with mine:D She wants her checkbook balanced! I haven't done that in at least 30 years!!! :rofl: I told her next week that I would do my best:lol:

I just heard that any showers we'll have will be over before the fireworks are planned. Guess that will make a lot of people happy. I shampooed the bedroom carpet this morning and maybe the living room tonite or Tuesday. I can't go on them till they dry or my tires make them dirty AGAIN! I also think this may be the last time I can push and pull the steam cleaner around! :faint: :faint: God, I forgot how much strength it took.:yikes: I just hate to pay for something that I used to do! :mad: Maybe one of the maint. men would help:D Anyway, one is done.

Well girls I hope you all have a great Sunday Fourth!!! Enjoy and stay safe. Shad, hope your Sunday was a great adventure in the bathroom!!! Really so good of you to have done the Canadians as well. How did their game go? I am going to webshots later with the pedals. Last night I was just too tired. To answer a long ago question, no I have not kept track of the miles as I never found a global map in ANY store. People looked at me like I had 9 heads on my shoulder each time I asked! :rofl: I am trying to think of a NOPE for this week that is not too agressive. When I do I'll post it in the journal when it opens! Thanks for the happy 4th decorations! I must say the site looked lovely!!! Sweet dreams.

hi all well i did pop in last night but as my freind and i had been indulging in a we bitty too much alcohol it was wise for me not to leave a message as you all would have been sending the yellow van for to come and take me away.SHAD dont make room for new photos yet ive just found theses ones and would like a couple of days to have a quick peek bathroom looks lovely and so fresh looking lovely colours i tried persuading hubby once that the tiles dont have to go all the way to the ceiling but well hes british what can i say!!!!! :?: my kids room is finally finishe dwell truth be told it was finished wednesday night and we went and picked up the carpet on thurday morning and had it layed by thursday afternoon and i let dh lay it with my assist and he made a really good job of it so i can releave myself of that job in the future {thats one less a million to go} :lol: :rolleyes: :tired: MEL ive sure missed something whats the n.o.p.e challenge someone will have to enlighten me as ive gone back and checked and cant find it maybe it was in the journals i dont read them anymore as im not in the habit of biting my tounge so best not to look good luck balancing the chequebook i just dont use mine well actually we did 4 years ago to send for the passports to go to tunisia and sinse then i just dont use it the bank keeps sending me new ones i think we have 5 each now we really have to shred some!!!! HAPPY have you got photos like shads id really like to see them i love loking at all these places ill probably never go {money ,fear of flying , dogs } but you never know one day :yes: ;) NAE enjoy your weekend you sound like you enjoy being in the kitchen just like me at the moment ive got a chicken in the oven stuffed withleek,green pepper,bacon,carrotts ,red wine vinegarand extra virgin olive oil i love cooking i could do it all day dont like the washing up afterwards too much so i try and do it as i go along i fail miserably but i try :^: :coffee: the only thing about all the rushing about this week conners leaving party his leavers assembly and craigs school concert and trying to,get the room done before the kids finished up for the holidays trying to get mum organised to go to my sisters for the week ive been smoking like a chimney so im going to go back to the docs this week for him to retest my iron levels and hopefully theyll be back to normal and i can have a go with the zyban. my freind and i deceided to have a drink at my house last night while her dh and mine were at the pub she managed to get through nearly a whole litre of vodka and i pritty much cleaned out a bottle of southern comfort and we thought we where drunk but when dh and his mate came in they were paralitic and dh could hardly walk so i knew he had been drinking spirits and he cant handle them so him and his mate sat on the setee declaring there undying love for each other and then dh promptly threw up on the floor in my living room so i was not a happy bunny so after i had said goodbye to our freinds anf got dh to bed {bolstered on his side for good measure} sort of straightened up and got to bed at 3 oclock this morning for some strange reason i jumped out of bed at 6.45am this morning so i deceided to clean house take the dogs out while the rain was off {yes its still raining its been raining nearly solidly for 3 weeks now} and scrubbed the livingroom carpet did the washing and polishing and went to the shops and made the breakfast dh ate threw up and went back to bed i called my freind and she said my carpet was bad enough but her dh waited till 4 oclock this morning and threw up on her while they where in bed so i got the easy shot i think much rather the carpet than me and my bed :p :mad: :o :dz: :love: aint love grand
right im off to check the chicken and put the washing in the dryer and put another load in the machine and ill catch you all later
happy 4th of july to you all
kirsty

Thank God I went to the loo before reading linus' post!
 

:lol3: :lol3: :lol3: :dizzy: :joker: :crazy: :lol3: :lol3: :lol3:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Jen's bird is yelling at me to stop laughing!! I think he thinks I'm laughing at HIM! :lol: OMG I can hardly breathe!!! I am sorry for all the throwing up business but when it's not in your OWN house it is quite funny! :rofl:
Hey! Some of us English know tiles don't have to go all the way up the wall! :lol3: :rofl: I watch Home and Garden Television!!! :rofl: When I get down in the dumps, I will come back and read this post!!! It will definitely cheer me up! :cb:

N.O.P.E. is No Off Plan Eating. Shad changed the name and it fits everyones plans now. Fits mine perfectly as that is the terminology my diet plan uses! :lol: It used to be the NCC No Crap Challenge.
I hope you have a great day Linus cause you just made mine a lot brighter!!! :lol:

Linus, was DH celebrating the 4th of July for ALL Americans?? I should imagine he will suffer greatly today. Oh goody, put a screecher on the disc player and keep it at full volume.
Spent yesterday cutting tiles in the bathroom and going down to Simon's new place and ripping out carpet and deciding which bits need work and which bits can wait. Things like kitchen and bathroom can wait - they will need to be done, but it is not urgent. They have a few cupboards, and drawers and a stove so they will get along for a while. The bedrooms need a paint before they move in and the floors will need sanding and staining. Really don't need carpet here, and they have nice wooden hardwood floors under that stained and baggy carpet. Mother is advising - kid is not listening much!!!!
Anyway on todays menu is more cutting of tiles and putting in the new waste pipe for the vanity and ensuring it is watertight. Then laying the tiles and cleaning the adhesive off before it dries. If I can get that much done today, I will be a very happy bunny.
Also on the menu is gym - debating whether to try step class again or leave it for a couple of weeks and go back to it. Maybe the latter. I'll go do an hour rowing and weights instead.
Spent some time last night, sorting photos on the computer and loading up the backup from the other computer. I seem to have had stuff all over the place - how unorganised.
Well best go spend some time looking for work. Funnily enough - although it's getting a little anxious in the money department, I really don't care. Strange sensation. Che sera sera.

shad luv im always skint and im nearly always happy go figure glad i made you two laugh i did have a giggle myself but not in front of dh he still thinks im pissed off at him and hes not happy that i dont get hangovers my da says im a waste of an alcoholic speak later
kirsty

Actually Linus, I meant to make a comment the comment you made on the tiles in the bathroom. I always think that those bathrooms that have tiles up to the ceiling look like a hotel loo. With mine I am going to add a wooden moulding on top of the tiles and wax it to finish it off. It will hopefully match with the vanity top - if I ever get it. Not sure yet whether it will go over the shower area but probably will. I'll have to get a new toy oooops tool, a mitre box to cut the corners. This will be fun.

shad if you have a protractor and can saw straight lines you can make one out of a block of wood dh reliably tells me and since he is a joiner ill take his word for it me i couldnt saw in a straight line if my life depended on it thats why i married a joiner and yes we have no shelves or wood panneling or pine ceilings in our house just all his freinds houses
kirsty

I used to be a good mitre corner cutter!! I built a shelf unit in my old kitchen with a friend. She made the plans and I did the sawing!! LOL Twas a very lOOOOng time ago! :lol:

Well girls it's officially raining and I feel sleepy! Today I am back on plan and ready to rock and roll. Had 2 sodas, 2 potpies, some ice cream and cookies. The scale says 175 and I am blown up like a baloon ready for take off. Guess the sugar and salt are swelling my feet! good thing I don't have to walk on them! :rofl: Sometimes you just have to be bad. :(

Hope you all have a great Monday and a great week too! I will make a new NOPE and go on from there. Guess I should check and see if the journals are open.

Linus~If you are interested in NOPE....just post something here. No need to journal if you don't want to. We can all post our "promises" here!:lol:

Shad~ Rest welll my friend and see you when you get up. Do you ever get a day off? Or was that when you were tour guide? Has everyone gone home? Hope the MOM is not still worried. I worry too. Jen will be leaving for Florida by car on Thurs to return the step-kids and returns next Sunday. Oh well the do grow up! LOLOL

Adios my friends far and wide! :wave:

I find it funny that I said it was a vacation not to have to journal this weekend and now I CAN'T!! It keeps asking me who I am no matter how many times I try. I can comment but not post! Wrote Suzanne a post in the journal newbie forum and hope I get an amswer.So I'll post here instead.

I weighed in at 175 this morning. I am bloated and retaining a LOT of water. I think from the salt intake these last few days. so I have been drinking a LOT or water now! :rofl: My NOPE clallenge will be:
1- eat only plan food
2- pedal 5 days
3- stretching 2 days
4- drink my 64 0z. of water
%- listen to my cd's
6- write in my journal

I'm just doing the back to basics thing and make a routine again. Somehow with first working and then all this going out business on the new bus, I lost sight of where I was heading. Next thing I know the big holidays will be here and I won't have a routine in place! :faint: I'd probably just eat my way through them all!!! So I'm starting today and so far so good!! Pedals are on the agenda as soon as I take Clara's blood! :lol:

See ya later.

my plan is to get through this day before i murder either my dogs my kids or my dh
kirsty

Hello ladies,
Flurries of activities here these last few days with all the sawing, cutting, measuring and chasing of husbands, children, cats, dogs, and neighbors. Ooof duh.... my head is dizzy! :lol:

Yes, the new journals will take quite a bit of getting used to - but this is the 3rd time they've changed the journals since I've been here and each time the new ones were so complex I thought I'd never get the hang of it but I did after a while. I have decided I will start journalling again as I need to admit my sins and get serious again about weight loss.

I am just disgusted with all I have gained and it's because I have not even attempted to place any restrictions on myself since I stopped smoking. At this rate I'll be bigger than the house soon and will only be able to enter via the double wide garage door. I was trying to find something to wear for this weekend and my midsection has taken the brunt of the extra weight. Pants are uncomfortable too. I will not gain another ounce - from here on in it's downward on the scale, exercise and think about every bit in my mouth. Enough goofing off. I slouch terribly too which does not flatter the mid section so hauling out the Pilates tape is a priority too.

I am sitting here with my trusty bottle of water tho :D

We went to 2 nice fireworks celebrations. The BBQ with friends on Saturday was nice. My friend who had gastric bypass looks good but they want her to lose weight quickly for her back surgery so she has lost 60 pounds in one month. She looks "deflated" tho - it's as if the weight is draining from her head and shoulders first rather than an overall weight loss. It does appear to be working tho once she got past that first scare with the leak after surgery. Last night on an impulse I suggested we go to our town's fireworks show at the local racetrack. I knew it would be very crowded as it's one of the biggest shows in the area. Usually we miss it because we are at the other show by our friends house but due to the extended holiday weekend, some had their shows on Saturday and some on the actually 4th holiday on Sunday. The one yesterday was just awsome. We were on the upper level of the grandstands and were able to see a clear view of the horizon. At one point we could see at least 7 other fireworks shows in the distance. It was very inspiring, especially with the patriotic music that was playing. DH did take pictures but each subject requires a learning experience and the same is true with fireworks. He put a few fireworks on webshots but he said none of the pictures from last night came out to his liking which was a shame.

Give me strength as he is on vacation this week which means he will be underfoot and I'm sure there will be tense times. You know, the old DH habit of drop what you are doing IMMEDIATELY to tend to whatever they have going on at the moment, regardless of your schedule. I may just have to haul myself over to the office this week to keep the peace...

Speaking of which, I am being summoned right now. Best go see what it is now - no, I don't know where you laid your tools last....

Sorry to not address you all, will try to get back later tonight after I work more with the journals. Be good...

About the new journals
 

I haven't messed with them much but here's what I've discovered so far.

You have to login to the journals. To do that, go to the journals page, scroll down on the screen until you see a calendar. Right above the calendar it says MEMBERS: LOGIN | REGISTER. Click on the login and sign on with your user name and password. As you are logging on, check the box AUTOLOGON on future visits so you won't have to keep logging in and out each time. This is safe to do since you are the only one using your computer at home. I wouldn't use this feature if I was using a computer at a public place such as a library or Internet cafe.

At this point, once logged in you should be able to comment on other people's entries.

To add a new entry to your journal it's a little tricky. Again scroll down to the bottom of the screen to the calendar picture. Once you're logged in you will see an option to ADD AN ENTRY. (For some reason the task commands are awkwardly placed at the bottom of the screen instead of to the left side like the old journals). Click on ADD AN ENTRY. Yes, even tho you just signed on, you have to sign on again. (Sounds like a glitch to me). Calm down and sign in again as the computer always wins. You'll see a screen with your recent entries. At the top of the screen click on PUBLISH. That will take you to a new screen where you can then enter a new journal entry. Don't worry about all those fancy buttons at this point, just type a title and your text and when ready to submit, click the SUBMIT button at the upper right top part of the screen.

It's a little goofy but we'll get used to it I'm sure. That's all I've had time to play with so far and DH is yelling for me so I've got to run. Will catch you later...

Obviously, if you look at my instructions and the journals, it appears that Suzanne is working on making tweeks and changes as we speak...

Happy~ I had already tried everything you wrote. No dice. I logged in a hundred times! I even auto checked too. I called that girl who works downstairs and told her suzanne said it may have something to do with cookies. so she told me to dump all my temporary internet files and delete 3FC from my favorites and go back and try it again. Hooray!! It worked or Suzanne fixed it .....one or the other. But I finally got to post! :rofl: also....my calendar picture is on the right hand side one minute and on the bottom the next!!! This last time it was on the right again! LOL

Guess the bugs will get worked out during the week. I also found my settings and changed the size fo all the fonts. Now everything is big and I can type without going blind!

Happy~ Don't be too hard on yourself. You gave up the smokes and that was one of the most important things you could have done for yourself this year. Now you can work on your weight. I hate to say this but I STILL want a ciggie once and awhile. I might have said that already....not sure. Just hang in there. I will send you all good thoughts for diet success!!(this from someone who weighed in more this morning! :rofl:)

You know after 15 years of not smoking, there is still the odd occasion where someone will open a fresh packet of cigs and the smell gets up my nose. Then I think back in nostalgia. However the smell of a dirty ashtray generally puts that right in a nanosecond or two. Mel is right Happy, don't be too hard on yourself, one habit at a time particularly something like smoking is as much as the human body can stand. But you are also right, because if you leave the weight too long, it will become really difficult to get off.
Life just got busier again. I have 'volunteered' to help spruce up DS's place. So I have organised myself to spend 2 hours per day at his place, scrubbing, sanding and plastering the bedrooms. He and his friend ripped up the carpets on Sunday and they are going to polish the floorboards, but first the painting should be done. Since DS hates painting and will not do it properly - guess who has stepped in! He can sand and stain the floor.
The Journals are interesting - I am going to play a bit more soon. I feel for Suzanne, every time she puts something new up there, the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth is tremendous. Perhaps I should write a couple of manuals for the masses.
Linus, I'm not sure about going without the mitre box and using protractor etc. My maths - geometry included was never that good. Sawing is not usually a problem and I bought myself a good short saw a while ago - why short? Because I have problems with the long ones, probably because I am short. They should make ladies saws as well. Besides which the cordless circular saw is very handy for people like me.
Okay, its time for the gym. Running today. Then 2 hours at DS's place. Then back here for lunch and bathroom stuff once more. Might be time to look at the job boards as well. Off to go see the journals and check the overnight changes. Ciao