[linus]

hey ho kids
good morning to everyone ,i have a question for everyone ,how comes i can go to the pub and knock back southern comfort like its the last bottle on the planet and suffer no ill effects ..... but go to the pub and drink coke and orange and lemonade and wake up with a thumping sorehead ????????? go figure ,
i havent been to the pub since i found out i was pregnant , everyone was brill even though people kept on buying me drink !!!!!! my freind was very merry by the end of the night , well someone had to drink them !!!!!
right im having a slow morning so im off and ill be back later to post properly and check the challenge results
have a good one
kirsty

[Shad]

It's because it's fizzy. All those bubbles create holes in your brain!!!!! Well that's my excuse - the bubbles will do it every time.

[Tig]

The temp was colder by 20* but with no wind to speak of it was good racing weather. I ran in my sweat pants and a LS shirt. Slim ran in shorts and a LS shirt. I ran the ENTIRE race once again and came in third in my age group.

The first mile is hard because I'm getting my respiratory opened up. The second mile is not so bad because I know the third mile is coming up. But the third mile needs work because my pace is slowing. Gotta RUN! <Insert Short Runner>

[MELODY525]

AB for Valentine's Day!!! Nothing better.....Thanks Meadow! I should reall copy your signature and send it to the office. ALL WEEK LONG they re-hash what coulda, woulda shoulda been done or said!

Shad~ Did the song motivate you??? The bacon was delicious!! Done just right. Next time I come I want to be the one holding the power tools when the cops come! This way I will be the one they drag away. I love a man that's strong and in blue......or black or brown or red
Good gardening!! Sweet dreams

Had my breakfast and am thinking of bed! Not sure why each morning is starting out this way but there you have it. Seems like it takes me awhile to get the buns rolling(no pun intended) and start the day off.
Tomorrow is Mall day so I will go. I need to get some $$ back from the bookstore. They overcharged me in December and she said to come back in Feb and bring the receipt and book jacket. We'll see if she told the truth!
I think I'll clean the computer desk off today. Lots of junk there!
Have a good day Chickies of the World!!

[Shad]

Where is that teel??? What is she up to that she can't get back to the computer and tell us all about it. Maybe she is buried in red roses from Valentines day?? Maybe she and Holly are out and about trotting the lanes and hedgerows?

Tig - glad to hear that you had some more success in running. You are doing really well. I'm going to try to get to run outside again soon. Then maybe next time I get to the States we can do a run together. Now that will be the race of the competants (is there such a word)

Holly, I hope you feel better soon. Not much fun having gastric problems.

We are a very quiet lot today. Yes Mel the song obviously did something because I rushed out and mowed and trimmed and chopped and fertilised and weeded - the neighbours didn't complain but I bet they were thinking plenty!! I didn't get around to all the friends as one in particular rang to ask if I could go help her DH with his new computer. Neither of them are very computer literate - they are better - much better - at food. We sort of sorted out the problems but the program doesn't do exactly what it says you can do. So T had to ring the ATO today to ask why certain things happened and why some did not. I told him to write the answers down as they were said and report back to me. Haven't heard from him yet. Maybe he can't spell the words.

Mel, thanks for the e card. Loved the little angels. Cute little song too. Have to practice the ending tho' - little cuties.

Boys flew through their training session today. The one I had problems with on Friday breezed through it today. So much for the heart attacks on Friday. Now he says he will be bored with it by Friday. Only got to Easter to go!!! But lordy I am tired tonight. I'm off to bed in a few minutes.

Actually, think I won't last more than a few minutes, so time to get off the computer and go iron some trousers for tomorrow. Seeya

[teel]

Oh bum. I clicked off the wrong page so I have lost an entire post. I'll come back later, suffice to say I have lost 3 lbs. I think this is largely due to me being too tired to eat and seemingly completely off my food so no praise...aw ok, just a small one then!!
I'll go shoer and then come back later.

[Hollyhock]

I have missed you chicks. It seems longer than it's been.
I have had a wicked tummy bug since 5pm Sat. I literally slept all day yesterday. Bland food and fluids today. Still very wonky.
DH has been pleasant about stepping up.
Kids are home today. Our part of the world is under ice. Everything is closed and the power keeps going out.
I am back to bed.
Hugs and take care.

[happy2bme]

I'm bbbbbbbaaaaaaaccccckkkkk!

Hey ladies, missed you all very much. I see you have kept yourselves busy as usual with all sorts of many and varied activities interlaced with lots of singing.

Happy Valentines to you all. Nice to know in a world where there's often alot of mean things and there's a place you can COUNT on for a little love.

In a nutshell, we are moved in. Lots of boxes still to be unpacked. We seem to be missing our stereo system - all individual components AND DH's extensive collection (as in 75 or so) of decorative collector's plates. Fortunately before we left I suggested to him to take digital pictures of all the plates, their certificates and the plate number which he did so we have a good inventory. The movers said we have to unpack EVERY box before we can file a claim. Not gonna happen in the next 3 days sister, let me tell you. They offered to send someone to help us unpack but in order to do that 1) you have to know where everything is going to be put and 2) we are trying to keep some rooms packed with boxes to the center of the room so we can paint. I love the house but the colors are hideous here. And everyone used the same painter as all houses are painted the same reds, yellows and yuck yuck browns. I guess it goes with the decorative theme of chickens, roosters, monkeys and elephants that I see in all the stores. I don't care if pastels are "dated" I can't live in a house that is only red, yellow and brown.

On a delightful note it's 67 degrees outside and will be near 70 tomorrow. The weather roller coasters here - will be in the 40's by the end of the week so we appreciate the few days of sun and dry warm weather we get. The yard is filled with all sorts of song birds and woodpeckers. DH got a field guide over the weekend and he can see them from afar better than I can so his job is to point them out to me. We have to figure out some way of feeding the birds but keeping the squirrels out as they like to burrow here and tend to chew on the siding and create problems here.

There are signs of spring - I have bulbs blooming out front - possibly daffodils, the grass is going from brown to brownish green and the real estate agent said our yard will be gorgeous in the spring with all the azalea bushes in bloom. We certainly have alot of plants out there.

I am tired of unpacking boxes but we push on each day and make headway. I have a personal goal to be unpacked by Shad's birthday.

As for you ladies...
Mel, thanks for the lovely card. You are such a sweetie. Sending love back at you -- Holly - stay warm and snuggly. Being under ice doesn't sound like fun by any stretch - especially with the power out - be careful walking outside too. Teel - good going on the 3 pounds down - I don't recommend that as a permanent way to diet but will cheer the loss for you :clap: Shad, I hope you are feeling better. Since you are my adopted personal botanist, I will no doubt be sending you some pictures - or posting on webshots - can you tell me what this is? - Shad is the most amazing person when it comes to the plant world ladies. Yay Tig on that 3rd place finish AND completing the race. You are very inspiring. Linus, you blonde bombshell you - I've heard that the hangover is related also to the amount of sugar in whatever you are drinking. I used to do Vodka Gimlets with Rose's Lime juice which is rather sweet. Nasty hangover or was it due to downing about 15 of them Had the same issue with rum and regular Coca Cola. I switched to white wine instead and did much better. Meadow, thanks for the Valentine wishes and the nice AB pic! And finally to Nae, oh my oh my oh my. Read your story about the tanks with my mouth open. Got to say that angels are watching over you - not once but TWICE! Eeeeeek. Glad things are ok but what a fright!.

Well I'd best gobble my lunch and get outside. There's a nice water pond outside the building and it's about a 1/2 mile walking loop around it. I have been trying to get in a good walk when the weather is nice. Have to remember to bring the sneakers with me and leave them at the desk - easier to walk in than office shoes.

I picked up Bob Greene's new book over the weekend - Total Body Makeover. I have always liked his advice as it's very practical. DH promises me the treadmill will be put together and working in 2 weeks. I hope so as I need to start 30 minutes of cardio and the indoor bike will kill me. The weather is still iffy for the outside bike and we have lots of gentle hills around my new neighborhood so we'll no doubt be getting a good workout. Anyway, time to get crackin'.

Have a good day everyone .

[linus]

god evening chickies ,right before i forget the weekly challenge ,firstly ROSE AND SUZI im so sorry girls i couldnt find any results for you anywhere so i am so sorry but will you let me know what your challenges are for next week and ill add you in
MEL is being pardoned again {ive enclosed the order of the garter below}
SHAD =7 points
TEEL=6 points
TIG=6 points
MEADOW=1 point
HOLLY=7 points
LINUS= 5 points
************* THIS WEEKS WINNERS ARE
SHAD AND HOLLY
the honuors of wales are below for you to time share enjoy
next weeks challenges that i already have are
MEL=eat own on plan food +drink water
MEADOW=weights for dummies {maybe you should add more water or something for more points}
TEEL= more water+more pounds lost
SHAD=??
HOLLY=no eating after 7pm+30 mins exercise
LINUS= drink water {i have drunk none this week}+walking everyday
SUZI=???
ROSE=????
TIG= are you staying the same???
right im off and ill be back later to post as my ironing needs to be done
kirsty

[Meadow]

We had a dusting of snow last night, everything looked like it had been sprinkled with icing sugar. All melted away now but it was beautiful this morning. My kids both had Valentine's Day parties at school today and are here munching on suckers, chocolates and cookies. I send orange pieces to the party, they said they got eaten When did they start giving out candy with the valentine's? How out of the loop am I? I am sucking on the cinnamon hearts they got that they don't like I know, I know. Linus thinks I should add more to my challenge because I don't have enough points with my not doing the weights,I fear she thinks my one point looks pathetic with all the higher numbers all of you are racking up. I was quite proud of that "one" and have managed another "one" for this week It is great to hear that Happy is plotting colour changes and gardening research in her new abode, you sound alot more chipper than some of your previous posts... I hope all is picking up

Hugs to Holly for her dicky tummy ((((HUGS)))) How sick are you Teel? must be bad if you can't even eat (she says as she sucks on another cinnamon heart) Shad congratulations on getting the guys so confident and brazen in their techniques. What are you going to do with all this attitude now? Must figure out a way to direct it to your advantage Can they dance? Tango? Mel how was the mall? Did you get inspired to buy another book with the money they returned to you? Tell the rehashers in the office that you can't change the past so focus on the future and smile, smile, smile...there is a song in there somewhere

[MELODY525]

I am happy but too tired to think. Went to the mall and then had to daeal with the accountants again! will read and post tomorrow so stay happy and safe till them!

they have a lot of baby stuff in a LOT of stores!!!

[Shad]

Hey hey, must be my birthday or something. Two lots of honours this week. Since I can only wear one crown at a time, the honours of Wales must sit squarely on Holly's poor cold, tired, unwell head. I'm having enough trouble hanging onto the orb and sceptre and pirouetting around the joint whilst trying to keep the crown jewels of England on my head.
I'll do the same challenge again this week Ms Linus if you are still willing to carry on? See if I can improve on 50%

Meadow, I think I have unleashed a couple of monsters on the world. They are going gungho out there today. I went to another training class and made my mark there. Funnily enough everywhere I go I seem to hear my own words being spouted back at me. One person in one of the classes told me that C was threatening to beat them about the ears if they didn't listen good. Shades of Shad. Geez, it is a great responsibility on my shoulders. Heaven forbid I should say something wrong, or give them the wrong gen on something.

Happy, why are you groing to be unpacked by my birthday. Is it so you can relax and dream on your birthday??? The garden sounds good and we expect to see the photos of the azalea and daffodils soonest!!! I can identify some plants but not all. As I told your DH - Edna Walling I ain't. But I do love gardens so yours will be a pleasure to see. Good to hear that you are walking in your lunch breaks. It sounds like a nice idea - don't forget to hop, skip and jump around the areas where the ducks have been!!!! Are you posting from work - I thought that was frowned upon.

Holly, so sorry to hear you are not well enough to stay and visit. Mind you if the power keeps going out, you aren't going to be posting for long are you? Get well soon.

Teel, come on back and tell me what's wrong. I was going to ring you yesterday, but got home too late after the gym - you would have been in bed - unless of course you haven't got out of it yet. Yooo hooo Teel come on back in. Such a pain hitting the wrong button. Done that several times. Just call me plain forgetful. You gotta post the thing before you go out of the page.

Mel, have a good sleep. Dream the dreams of the just. I'll catch up with you tomorrow.

By you all.

[linus]

good morning chicks ,hope evryone is good and having some fun ???, me im having the day from **** and its only 11.47am cleo has decided that my living room floor is her personal loo and i woke up to puddles and presents this morning coupled with morning sickness thats not a good start to the day so im changing feeding times to lunch time and extending the 8pm walk to see if that helps because im not willing to put up with this from a 2and a half year old dog
due to the fact that i keep bouncing out of bed at 7am {even though the kids are on half term} ive got loads done this morning ,ive got all the outgoing mail ready,de-junked my comp desk ,moved the microwave to where the bread bin was ,the breadbin to where the goldfish where and yes you guessed it the goldfish to where the microwave was ,reason being the bread bin with the fruit bowl on top was under my combi-boiler and everything kept going stale really quick{ } and ive scrubbed all my worktops and scrubbed all the canisters {thay are all stainless steel and if you breath on them the wrong way they smudge }and ive scrubbed the living room carpet {for obvious reasons} so now i just have to do the rest of the house and the department of health might not close me down !!!!!!!
MEL update for just you the hospital phoned and told me the student has worked my dates wrong and it will be the end of september after all personally ill wait until the hopital dating scan on the 9th of march maybe theyll get it right by then !!!!!! ive already bought a few bits forbaby ,you know some vests ,socks ,a hat glove and bootee set adn of course the essential stuffed dog mums already knitting ,adn sister in laaw has decieded that she has to buy all of john lewis,s baby department
SHAD thank god they finnaly got it !!!!! should ease your stress levels a wee bit , well done on the gym front your putting the rest of us to shame
ROSE i did read about the rug thingy ,and your so lucky ,so lucky im too far away to smack you round the head ALWAYS UNPLUG THE HEATER those bloody things explode and they are also live my god woman are you planning on a new afro hair do ????? im so glad it was minimal damage and that all of you are good !! be careful woman we would all miss you so much im going to send you a "danger woman at work "sticker for you to stick to your back
HOLLY hope your feeling better soon luv {{{{{hugs}}}}}
MEADOW the snow dusting sounds so lovely i sat here freezing yesterday until i read your post and realised just how much colder you are there ill send you my hot water bottle and my thermal piggy socks
HAPPY so glad your in and {nearly ???} unpacked what a sod about the missing items hope they turn up in a box somewhere if shad cant help with the plants give me a shout and ill whip the picture up to the local botanic gardens for you because at the moment if its not a house plant i wont know what it is either
TIG ill put your name down for the next edinburgh marathon for you and ill meet you every 5k and bring a nice cup of tea and an oxygen mask {altitude}
SUZI where are you love did you get lost in china town ??????
TEEL ill call you at the usual time tonight
right ladies i have to go and finish this sodding housework and get my darling brats out of bed
have a good one
kirsty

[Hollyhock]

Nae~ I keep thinking about you. I am thankful your incident was not worse than it was.Thoughts and prayers have been coming at ya.
Happy~ Happy to hear from you!
Shad~ you rock!
Mel~ ditto!
Linus~ doggie doodoos when you are preggers are monumentally unfair!!
Meadow~ I LOVE your heart pic. I collect hearts. It's beautiful!!!!

I will wear my crown at a tilt since I am only earning 50% of my points.

I have lost a few days and today will be much the same. Still very weak. I have eaten some bland food. Lots of fluids. Still VERY wonky. C'mon, the kids bounced back in 24 hours. All us parents who got it are looking at 72+.
My DH has truly been wonderful. I am surprised in a pleasant way. He was helpful ,was kind and considerate All day yesterday. I know I make him sound like a jerk and he is not but I can honestly say that that every single time I have "needed" him in the past he gets defensive and pulls back. It is fear on his part. I am thrilled that he has come around. I love how we constantly grow and make progress in our relationship. It has always been this way.He was raised to never show emotion.He was punished for it. He is a sweet sensitive man who did not have a clue how to process or express what he feels inside.He tries his best and he had come a LONG way, baby.When we were dating he introduced me to someone as his girlfriend. I asked later, Am I your girlfriend? He replied, Do think I fix everyone's transmission?
He is soooooo open and loving with the kids and that has spilled over to me. It is actually amazing how feeling safe and secure and building trust can open a person's heart. It goes both ways. It is all about loving and learning from each other.
I remember last year when my former best friends were down on DH and they blamed him for this and that and thought I was a big victim. Marriage is so not about two separate identities you cant indentify where one thing or issue starts or stops. It is all intertwined. We have learned to say okay, this is where we are at right now, doesn't matter how we got here. How are we going to resolve it.
I guess these are my Valentines Day thoughts, LOL!

Hope everyones day is better than mine!!!!!!

[linus]

"where oh where have my poor chickies gone................ oh where oh where can they be " where are you ladies im all alone here me and holly that is just thougth id better remind you all that i might not be here for the next few days as i get the 8 teeth pulled at 9.15 tomorrow morning just so you dont worry
i spoke to teel tonight shes a wee bit better and promised me shed try and get in tomorrow right ladies ive ,mopped hoovered scrubbed ironed and dusted and cooked and shopped so im now knacked and ive been up since 6.45am so im off and even if i dont post ill probably get in for a read
have a good one chickies
kirsty