I am new to this. Just noticed that mexico was missing so would it be alright if I joined you all? Right know we have noche buenas(poinsettias)galore. The weather right know is 82 degrees. The posadas are going to start pretty soon and so the tequila is just going to pour. Well I have 75 lbs to lose and don't know where to start. Any pointers? hello to everyone and happy holidays where ever you are

i point blank refuse to call you overweight so youll have to give us your name
arent you the l;ucky one im in scotland well edinburgh and its bloody freezing here and raining and to top it all weve got fog and everyone is allowed to join as long as your well prepared were all a bit nuts but we like a good blether and we all talk to much but the good thing is we get the different view from around the world,SHAD is in austraila MEL is in usa HAPPY is in usa ROSE is in usa as is TIG and MEADOW
TEEL and MYSELF ARE IN THE UK
so tell us something about yourself and welcome to the nuthouse
MEL how sre you today ?? hope your feeling a wee bit better and not in so much pain i finally forced craig to eat a bit toast im just waiting to see if it stays down
TIG your card was posted today so you should get it just after the rest of them dont know how long it takes to go transatlantic ??
MEADOW how are you feeling now??? surely if its not cleared by now you might need some antibiotics to shift it theres nothing worse than trying to look after wee ones while your not feeling your best
ROSE hi glad you enjoyed your turkey day with cousin were going to have to come up with a new name for your" dead tree" maybe the sculpture ???? people are going to think were mad if we keep talking about the dead tree

SHAD men with manners !!!!!!!! where on earth did you find those ?? never heard of these strange beings and the bit that had me in fits was the brain fart id never heard that saying before and dont i know how you feel about the room ive still got two of them here and they do not know the word hygene some of the science projects{plates} is unbelievable
TEEL how goes the xmas shopping???? worked out the pressies yet?? im going to phone you anyway so ill ask you myself
well i started buying my kids xmas today so now ive had to start hiding things and trying to come up with good reasons for them not to go near them suits my kids to the ground as they are lazy buggers anyway well im going to go and do tomorrows shopping and ill speak to you all later on
kirsty

Dear Mexico~ Welcome and give us some kind of name!!
We will all move in with you as your weather is soooo much nicer!
Glad to have you with us. Happy holidays to you also.
Any pointers?~ Well....drink water, exercise if you can and walk!
Watch portion sizes and hidden salts in foods already prepared or canned. Good luck. Are you doing any special diet? Are posadas HOLIDAYS?? I will have to get a dictionary! I live in a part of NJ that is predominately of Latin decent now. Maybe I can actually learn something. My neighbors and I use a lot of sign language and they are very patient with me! Have a great day.

Linus~ Yes I had a quick lie down but couldn't sleep. The sun is now shining like nobody's business and drying up all the rain with the wind! We seem to be going through all the seasons in one days time!! maybe snow is next?!?!?
good news with Craig, and hope it settles his stomach. Tea and soldiers to the rescue as my Gram would call them. Lovely toast strips slathered with deliciously fresh butter. YUM!
See you all later. Feeling a bit restless so I'll find something to do!

Welcome Mexico - I'm going to have to call you Ms Mexico until we have a name. And good luck with your new weight loss journey. It will be interesting to find out all about your life in Mexico and you too. As Linus said, we are nutters but we are nice nutters. The girls here have kept me on the straight and narrow for many, many moons now and with their help, butt kicking, and enthusiasm, I have finally started to lose weight. It's been a long hard journey and doesn't get much easier either, but you too can make it. Tell us a bit more about yourself. Where is Guadalajara - eastern, western, northern, southern Mexico??? Married, single, kids, dogs, cats?????? Sorry I am getting nosey again.

Can't stop long - just wanted to welcome Ms Mexico - then I am off to shower and get ready for work. Gym will be tonight along with some shopping for fruit and veg.

Oh and I forgot, Linus you will be starting world war 111 if you are not careful. Meadow is Canadian. There is a large difference you know!!!! Whoops

Catch you all later. Have a fun filled day.

BIG BIG APOLOGIES MEADOW my only excuse is that i have no excuse my brain resembles a leaky bucket and even the family have started saying im going through premature senility and nobody ask me for dieting tips ive just had chocolate spoke to teel shes wrapping pressies
craig will have to go back to the doctor tomorrow as he didnt keep the toast down{sorry your all probably getting fed up with me talking about being sick}so thats where were going in the morning by for now
kirsty

Hi girlies!
This is a mega mega quickie post as I am going nuts trying to get ready for the weekend visit to the parents. It is not filling me with joy I am sorry to say but I have bought their Christmas gifts and those for the brother and his family so this evening has been spent wrapping them up and writing the cards and labels. All done in that department at long last. I feel totally exhausted. Tomorrow I have to go shopping with my neighbour to the supermarket as we are "doing Christmas" over the weekend for the parents. I hate eating large meals at midday but the olds are out in the evening so we are having to eat mid day and not in the evening. Yuk. Double yuk. I feel very ungracious about it all. Apologies to one and all.
I have not seen my brother for over 13 years and we are not very close. Cannot wait until it is all over, actually.
Sorry I am a bit gloomy tonight. I am pleased to be out of hospital. It was on the news this evening. There are 5 wards shut because of the winter vomiting bug. Lucky escape, I think!!
Hello to Mexico! I shall cheer up soon I promise. I am not usually down in the grumps. 18days in hospital has not sorted anything out really. Just upped the medication. Still undiagnosed. Consultant arguing with consultant as to the diagnosis. One day one says it is that. The next day someone else says it is not that. Ye gads I give up.
Shad I tried to phone you yesterday but missed you too. I shall try again in a little while. I don't know your hours of work at the moment so it is rather hit and miss.
I thought this was going to be a short one!!
Anyway I am going now!! Be good. Take care.

Welcome, Bonita!

I need some addies - PM, please. I promise I'll get cards out. Did you know that Christmastide season lasts until January 6?

We are going out to dinner tonight after Dearest Hubster gets back from a meeting with a Cub Scout troop. We are going to our favorite Thai restaurant - Thai for him and sushi for me. Yum. Meanwhile, I'm catching up on some cleaning.

LATER!

Teel~ Good to see you and I know exactly how you feel. got a note from SIL and she wants to come and see me without the brother. she'll be complaining about him the whole time and try and get me to agree! I guess we just grin and bear it?!?!? don't make yourself sick over it. We don't want you back in that "you know where" place again! Be at peace my friend and have a good night.

Tig~ sent the addie and leave it to you to drag out the date till the 6th! I cracked up reading your post! Hope you and the DH enjoyed your dinners!

I gave jen the art supplies tonite and we had a good chat too. I wish life could be a little kinder to her. She's such a good kid and has a big heart. It always seems like she gets the short end of the stick. When she saw the box she asked if this was "therapy in a box?! I said yes and we can both use it! To not be creative is to be dead. I think she was very pleased and we'll start soon as we get some things out of our way. I'm going shopping tomorrow and the drs on Friday so if I go AWOL for 2 days, you'll know where I went to!! LOL In the meantime, hold the fortress down and stay well and happy.

Here we are again at end of another day. I should be writing Christmas cards and getting organised but hey what - it'll get done one day soon. Maybe even before Christmas if I am lucky. Or my friends are more to the point.
Just had a conversation with Teel. Good to talk to her - well giggle really. Managed to find her at home this time - sans dog of course.

How does Tig know Ms Mexico is Bonita??? Has she been sneakily peeking at bios or something or is pyschedelic or what!!

Another good day at work, I am beginning to quite like this job. However I left my phone there tonight so had to go back through the phone bills to find Teels number. One hopes the phone will still be there in the morning!

Went to the gym and did 4 rounds with the weight lifting stuff. I upped the weights a bit in Melbourne and am still finding 40k fairly tuff on the shoulders and neck and 80K nearly kills the legs for a while, but I will persevere. The more I do, the more the muscle burns the calories.

Mel take it easy will you. Don't want you flat on your back over the holiday period, especially as you have gone to so much trouble to decorate and get into the spirit.

Tig, I'll PM you immediately I finish here, which won't be long as the thunder is rumbling in the west and the humidity is climbing out there. I think we are in for a bit of a blow shortly.

So this will be a bit short and sweet tonight. I'd better get off here.

Catch you all tomorrow.

Linus and Craig~ Craig, good luck at the doctors. I'm sure being sick is no fun for you so I hope you'll be feeling better soon. it's no fun for us either because when you're sick you aren't not up to your old tricks!
linus~ couldn't get the kid off my mind. Fingers crossed for a good visit!
Gotta run or I'll miss the bus. Adios!

Ola Chicas and welcome Ms. Mexico!

Well we bought a house last weekend. Its absolutely gorgerous. It's the house I fell in love with the minute I walked into it when we were down there 2 weeks ago. It's a bit more than we need but after looking at about 30 houses, DH decided that he was ok with it too. We have room for guests and it has a gorgeous built in pool out back. It's a half acre lot - 1/3 of the yard is the pool area with a fence dividing that from the rest of the yard. The left side of the yard has tall mature trees and is just screaming for someone like Shad to come and add some decorative landscaping. It's very shady right now, too shady in fact so some trees and overgrown bush will have to come out. The house has been vacant for 8 months so there's lots of yard work to be done - lucky that spring hits in early March down there. The sale is contingent on a home inspection being done today - we wanted to make sure there are no big ticket repairs that we are not aware of - a few things need to be done but we accept that we'll be putting some work into it. I'll get DH to post some pics once we know the deal is final. I think things are all settled with selling our current home too. We'll be packing up and moving right after Christmas and picking up the keys to the new house New Year's Eve.

So far we've had 2 good dumpings of snow here. A bit unusual this early in the season. As I tried to scrape the ice and snow off my car (can't use the garage as it's packed with boxes) - I can't tell you how much I won't MISS snow.

I have been perusing the threads here but I don't have much time to post. It's been a madhouse here and will continue until we get settled into the new house I'm sure. Yesterday the telephone rang over 25 times. By the time DH got home I was ready to toss the phone in the yard.

Gotta run now, doctor and dentist appointments this morning, then reading all the bank papers and getting them notorized this afternoon.

I'm sorry I can't quite respond to everyone individually right this minute, please don't kick me out of the group!

Catch you later... zoom, zoom, zoom

evening kiddies
how are we all tonight ? have we scared mexico away ??? HAPPY well done you must be so happy now you have somewhere to go{subject to inspection} and not living in the car although the downside is youll have to travel to work now and not just sleep in the car park SHAD for the very first year im organised all my cards are written and most of them posted or delivered just some family ones that i like to hand over myself and not just pass to the nearest family member that might see them but i have finally started the shopping for my kids today got craigs i-pod { £220 ) my mum just about had a bloody fit when she saw the size of it for how much we payed for it didnt have the heart to tell her that was £80 off MEL have i missed something with jen???? maybe because i dont read the journals is there something wrong that she needs therapy in a box??? or just life in general!!!! hope the eyeglasses are better than the last lot TIG i did send you my addie did i not ?? or has my brain went on holiday if not just give me a shout and ill give it to you {again???}MEADOW please dont stay away cause i got your country wrong ill grovel if it helps ?? hows the girls ?getting excited yet ? beleive it or not my two still wanted advent calenders this year and i thought theyd be too old and didnt buy them so had to go today and get them ROSE did you do the SCULPTURE had a thought about it when i was lying in bed at 4.15 am not sleeping why dont you try and persuade the wood pecker to move into the dead tree and maybe your walls would be safe i know im not funny but the things that pop into my head when i cant sleep is unbeleivable TEEL how did the food shopping go ?? did you bury your xmas spirit in the freezer only to be taken out when you come home again???
well ladie craig is still not very well the doctor had to come out to him this morning as he wasnt well enough to go there she suspects hes got glandular fever and had to send off a blood test i did warn her that craig did not like needles but she just about died off when the poor bugger fainted at her feet
and poor dh just about died of fright when i shouted him through to lift him to bed as hes never seen it before and didnt realise how bad he is he got a bigger fright than craig but the docs changed his anti-biotics and gave him an anesthetic spray for his throat so as hopefully he can eat again as hes lost a stone since friday and well get the blood test results tomorrow
right im going im in the middle of making lentil soup and the dogs are sitting drooling waiting to get the leftover ham hough so id better put them out of there misery
speak later
kirsty

ps forgot to say according to my quit counter ive saved £83.47 and ive been stopped for 10 days now the longest ive ever stopped smoking before
kirsty

Linus I forgive you We Canadians are an easy going bunch, we don't take offense often I forget where everyone is from all the time... in my mind you are all simply in my world and I think you are all great! I hope your Craig is on the mend and feeling like his old teenage self again. I've still got my cough but feeling more energetic, not exercising yet but I am thinking about it. I'll take a bowl of that lentil soup, slurp.

Hola chica nueva Mexico, hope you join in and tell us about what is happening on your journey to fitness. Mine is rather slow but I'm optimistic I am heading the right way

Happy! Hooray! You have a place, your own southern plantation by the sounds of the yard work necessary Picking up the keys New year's eve, how fitting, a new life for the new year I'm so excited for you, it is all coming together.

Shad-your new position sounds very thrilling. I love working surrounded by men, they have such a vibe! Always playing and flirting, such fun. I hope you are getting some work done, how many naughty jokes have you heard since Monday? Good energy though right? Nothing making you uncomfortable just relaxed and easy? You make me jealous with your talk of summer, it is frosty here and my girls are just itching for it to snow... they ask every morning if it snowed in the night Good going on the weight lifting my arms got a twinge just reading how strong you are.


Teel-glad you are out of the wards and getting into the Christmas swing of things. I haven't bought a thing but am plotting all sorts of decorating, presents I haven't a clue I know how you feel about the family gathering stuff, I had a reunion that I went to during the summer that was very odd and nerve racking. I just kept telling myself it was just a couple of days and pretended not to have any opposing opinions I was wallpaper.

Mel-How is your neck? Good luck tomorrow at the sinus and eye docs, fingers crossed that these new glasses give you a clear view of things
How yummy were your strawberries in your fruit mix? I am still drooling. Had to make do with an orange, not the same Hope you don't get waylaid again for a therapy session during your Christmas shopping this time. Just smile and enjoy the muzac being piped through the speakers in the mall... of course you know they are trying to lull you into a zombie spending spree, resist! Do you have a list, always the best plan during Christmas time. I have done no shopping, I just want to decorate this year. Sigh, I love the glitz of Christmas. I may take my kids with me to buy their presents, they haven't said what they want other than a horse for the backyard, which isn't possible. Maybe some more "My little Ponies" They will forget what we bought and be all surprised when they unwrap the gear on the day leased:


Tig-are you cleaning the entire house? Pre-Christmas dusting and decobwebbing? I keep looking at the chandeliers and wondering how I can get the clingons off the chain, I think a ladder and the vaccuum might be required. I washed the windows and glory be there was light. Oh the power!

Rose-have you tried using some lavender to help with the sleeping? I have probably asked you this before but the essential oil rubbed into your skin or used in a diffuser can really help with the relaxing, even if you don't actually sleep. My kids are just aching for some snow, they want it so bad. It is December you know, there has to be snow!!

********JOKE********
Todays Answer to 'THAT' Question

Cyrus SAYS: Daddy, how was I born?



DAD SAYS: Ah, my son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway!

Well, you see your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on MSN.

Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe.

We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download

from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that

neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the

delete button, nine months later a blessed little Pop-Up appeared and said:

You've Got Male!

Mel ~ I have been meaning to tell you that dear Jen was the first to send me an encouraging email - okay the ONLY email - from the times that I was posting in the journals. Give that dear kindhearted girl a big hug from me. She's the BEST!

Shad ~ um, yes, I do believe that I am psychedelic... specifically, a trifle color blind and occasionally psycho... by the way, good job on the weights. I've tried to keep up with weights and just don't. Not sure why. I know it would be good for me, particularly if I could build up the upper body strength. Anyway, I'm impressed with your work out.

Happy ~ congratulations on the house! I'm sure it will pass inspection. I loved reading your description of it. My dearest Hubster's hobby is cutting down trees...every time we move to a new house, I can count on a few trees going down. And then I have the excitement of hearing about the stumps and how to get rid of them....

linus ~ YES, you did send me your addie. Thank you very muchly. I hope a Christmas card for May Day will be okay. I've added your Craig to my prayers. That poor boy has been sick long enough. Time for wellness.

Today was an exhausting day at work and tomorrow will be more of the same. Friday begins with a four-hour long Rip Tig's Project Plan Apart meeting. At least I don't have to sit down at the dinner table with them at night. Or take their temperature when they are sick. Or even remember a birthday or laugh at their jokes!

Saturday is a 5K race on the beach, but we won't be going. Dearest Hubster agreed to help the Flower Guild at church with their yard sale on Saturday. They are the Executive Board of his Fan Club. I'm a little sorry about missing the race, but I can get my hair cut in the morning and then go to Toys R Us for the grandchildren Christmas gifts. If I can get the gifts bought this weekend, then Hunkster can mail them on Monday. Did I tell you the average age of the Flower Guild is likely 78? They do love their Younger Men!

Bonita ~ I know my basic problem is portion control. I don't 'Diet'. I eat sensibly - chicken, fish, veggies, salad. I'm not a snacker, so no problem there; I just have to watch and track volume. I do like to run. It has taken me a year to get to the point where I can run for 20 minutes without stopping, so I don't trivialize the motivation to exercise.

that's it for now, chickies.