[suzi in auz]

What a lovely place you have created once again Shad...thank you . There is always a wonderful welcoming feeling here. The house looks stunning.
I have to make this quick as I still have 10 teenagers in the house! DH had his birthday party and all was well. Actually these kids were great, he has a neat set of friends but everyone is a little tired, including Mummy. The house looks like a bomb has hit it and I don't think i will talk to DS for the rest of the day. He's a tad tired too. He will just need his teenage space.
I was proud of myself. I didn't pig out. DH ordered a gourmet Pizza for us, which was ok but I think my tum really doesn't like the higher fats. I resisted the chooie cake ( which is saying something from a chocoholic!)
I kinda feel like the picture that meadow put up yesterday. Infact are you sure you didn't sneak in and take it?
Welcome Gigi ( lovely name by the way) How interesting living in Germany. WE have a few ex pats here. I'm a kiwi living in Australia and so is shad .
Kirsty you are such the tidy queen. I think Mel needs to share her crown. Please come to my house next. I was looking on our cupboards the other day and though ...oh uh these need a sort and anyway it's always a great excuse to go to the sales, yes the kiddies are off til Jan ..end of. It's our Summer break and so they have 6 weeks total. We are all kinda glad when school starts but then I miss them! ...go figure. I better go shower or the parents of this lot are going to get a shock..toodles for now and catch you all later ...have wonderful days

[suzi in auz]

Not DH DS....oh boy I am tired :P

[Tig]

I did a long post last week but then it got gobbled up by the amazing popup post killers. And then I just ran out of time to spend online. :grrr

We ran the Winter Blast 5K last Saturday and I came in second in my age group and came home with a nice trophy and another t-shirt. This shirt is long-sleeved and green. Very cool. That race was the first 5K race that we ran one year ago. Our first race-iversary. It is a beautiful run along the river. I was hoping to run the whole race, but got worn down by a strong head wind. I did run over 2 miles before I stopped to walk a bit. I ran more than I walked. I did my best - ALWAYS my goal!

Work has been horribly horrible. I'm the technical project manager - we had a stress test scheduled last weekend but had to postpone to this weekend because of all the problems, of course none of the problems have been resolved but the boys are ****-bent for leather to get this test over with. Talk about stress! I told them we could save our time and just declare it a failure since that is what they are going to say anyway. (Is there a Jerks emoticon somewhere?)

Dearest Hubster's elderly aunt died and he is leaving early this Sunday morning for DC for her funeral. He'll be home Tuesday afternoon. We bought him a new suit because the last suit that he wore belonged to our youngest son and turns out is two sizes larger than the suit we bought for him. He tried to claim the old suit wasn't that bad.

I need to go back and read to catch up. Any more risqué comments I should look for?? Please highlight in red and bold, please.

I've been faithful with the arm weights and journaling. My next attack will be for four days of treadmill time or running a week.

Hello to all!

[Shad]

Good Lord, page 2 already. I'm going to make this short because we have a big storm on the way. It's hot - nearly 40 degrees C in my yard at the moment. This dirty big black cloud is coming in from the south and I can hear the rumbles in the distance.
My challenge went to pot. My point system is very basic, 1 point per activity per day. Therefore max points = 14. My results are:

Extra exercise = 0
No bread no cheese = 5.

Errrrgggh Shad - you'll have to do better than that.

Been haranguing the boys today. We've been running through training packages and finding all the gaps, finding where they have tried to cut corners, finding where they have forgotten to do things, finding where they have made assumptions. Never assume - it makes an *** out of u and me every time. More harassment on Monday - they will want to get rid of me shortly I am sure.

Been down and got the shopping already. Now I'm off to do the housework so I don't have anything to do in that line tomorrow. I feel like a day off.

Anyway, the thunder is getting closer. I'm off. I'll catch up either later tonight or tomorrow morning.

So

[mooz49]

Hi there ....... just dropped into your new home to have a nosey around and to see if MEL has turned up yet. Nice place you have picked Shad ...... better than ours ..... I am jealous!
I brought along some fruit etc., as a gift for all of you and if you just open it before I go I will take home the chocolates & champagne as you lot are all off them .... RIGHT??
I hope MEL finds her way here soon.

Take Care

Anne

[Shad]

Nice fruit Anne. Nice of you to drop in too. Come back and chat anytime. You'll be very welcome.

Mel has not turned up yet. It worries me a little, but I will probably try to ring her in the morning and see where she is at.

[Roseblush]

Where is our Miss Mel?????? Come over to the new thread my dear we are waiting and this thing is busy....... but it is never the same when you are not here to cheer us on!!!!
Welcome to everyone who has decide to pop in and say hi.... please stay a while and join in our efforts to be big losers!!!!!! It is so fun here the ladies are terrific and we cover a bit of the world and meet here to share a piece of our own worlds with one another!
Ok Shad so let me see if I understand this system..... you are using one point a day for good eating and one point a day possible when exercise is met? Is that right? I like that ..... simple but easy....what day of the week do you want the challenge to run from? I am determined to make this next week better........ so I want the challenge to continue........
I never got any exercising done and I can't sleep tonight...... tomorrow should be very interesting... I think my boss is going to speak to the new girl and we shall see.... I don't think she even has a clue how frustrated we are with her..... she isn't exactly bringing a good positive attitude to the office. She is starting to drain the energy.
Shad I hope your programs get worked out and it is so true about thinking you can cut corners.,..... it never works that way.
Kirsty I did spell you name wrong...you will forgive won't you???? I do hope you are feeling better and able to do some walking when weather permits with the dogs.... try not to overdo on the days you do feel good!
Everyone have a great day...... watch those calories and move those bods!!!
Peace,
Nae

[Shad]

We've been running it from Saturday to Friday 'Nae, so if you want to join in, think up some goals for next week and I will add them to my siggy. That way you don't forget what you need to do.
My 'boys' are enthusiastic, I'll say that for them. They are not trainers, don't think like trainers and it is typical of companies today to fish out a bunch of good blokes and stick them in the job and say you can train the mobs. They tend to think that professional trainers are too expensive, and don't know the business, but they would get a lot more out of training if they just thought about the knowledge trainers accrue and used them to get the best out of the company people. I'm not saying I should do the training, I'm saying that it would be beneficial for people like me to be there to ensure that the guys stay on track, stay focussed and discuss that which is on the agenda.

Arrggh I bet get off here and go to bed. I've just been watching the tennis and keeping an eye on the storm out there. It's coming in cells and I can hear thunder rolling in again. See ya

[MELODY525]

Shad~ OMG!! I love the new place and the others have done wonders decorating it!! On the job front...you are a special and honest person and I am glad the "lads" recognize that and treat you well! Lovely to get some respect!!! Hope tis one lasts very long!!! This week was a washout for eDiet food and the exercise too. Really got too sidetracked for words.

Holly~ Hope the hormones go and bother someone else this weekend!!! (((((HUGS))))) I haven't been good this week either with the challenge!

Nae~ found you on the last page cause I had the email prompt tpo follow! LOL Hope the girl can wise up a bit!!! Who does she think she is?! We'll sic Kirsty on her and she'll set things to rights!!! Hope she can learn before the axe comes. Not nice for you at all to be getting sassed back to. ((((HUGS))))) Thanks for the note! I would have missed our new home!

Kirsty! I think we need to fly you out to handle Nae's PIA!(pain in the azz) She has no idea who she's fooling around with!
Hope the boys are keeping out of trouble and you are feeling fine!
I can't imagine the DH resisting you no matter WHAT YOU WEAR!

Gigi~ Hello and a late welcome!!! You'll love it here I'm sure. I'll be singing that song from the musical all day now!!
I think I read you somewhere cause I know the name.......wait a minute...OH YES!!! On the SBD forums!!! When I gave that diet a try, I saw you there. Hello again then! LOL

Meadow~ I was starting to feel like a prisoner! LOL But got released yesterday!!! I actually stayed out almost all day!!! Starved for company! Hope Antonio loves our new abode and doesn't mind our moving about all the time! Glad the legs feel better!! You really went to town with that exercise! LOL

Teel~ Glad the pc is up and running. Is it the same one or another. I seem to have missed something along the way!
How nice to have 4 men in 10 days! Want I should send the rug men too?! Not bad looking! Very polite too!! Hope you are feeling good too. Love your sun siggie. How close you are to your goal too! I had no idea. Guess I haven't been paying attention enough!

Happy~ Loved to see you here. Maybe it's just as good you can't log on at work. I once did that and forgot to log on....next day I found someone reading!! Some people can be very sneaky. I should have used my OWN aol but I used another. Bad choice on my part but I had no idea things were tracable! LOL Hope you get your new house soon and can get settled in! Fingers crossed and thinking of you both! ((((((HUGS)))))

Hope I forgot no one!!! We keep losing people! My situation here is forcing me to cut back on computer time. I find myself swamped at times and I have even had to ask for help myself. Very difficult thing to admit...needing help. Some nights I am not finished till almost 10 and a few even later. My conscience will not let me leave Clara to her own defenses either. We were friends for a long time now and she would do the same for me or Jen for that matter. On days when I have to shop or go to the mall, I won't be posting or journaling. I come home and try to catch up but I haven't got the energy anymore. This year my goal is to learn moderation if it kills me Something has to give here or else I will pay the ultimate price. I've been in denial for soooo long that the truth now hurts. But this is just something I have to finally face. Super Woman is dead and gone and I will have to LEARN, and more importantly, LIKE being just MEL!
She's not really a bad person......lol......just a little slow and boring
Your support here has made it even easier for the transition. I think you know ME better than I know MYSELF! Thanks for the caring and your comments have REALLY helped me to find what is good for me instead of just others.
Hope the day is a great one and you all have a wonderful weekend.

[MELODY525]

I missed the whole second page!!
Hello to our missing Tig!!!! I will try and think of some new smut and post it in red so you cannot miss it!! Linus is going to be our resident "tart" Not sure exactly what that is?! could even be apple or peach!!

So surprised to find Miss Mooz too! Hope you make it here more often than just "popping in"!!!

Suzi~ Hope the boys left you with some shreds of your sanity!

SHAD~ I only got 2 points for the one day! I will havbe to polish the crown and get the tarnish off so the next winner can put it on their head!!! Hopefully at a much less rakish angle than I wore mine!!!

[teel]

Well I am sitting here very blurry but I can just about see what I am up to so forgive any major spelling mistakes. I went to eye clinic today..as a Diabetic I have my eyes photographed after having drops inserted every year...boy I am sure it comes round quicker and quicker every time!! Then you are blurry for about 6 hrs to follow. Headache as well. to this I add terrible involuntary muscle spasms in both hands which I find quite alarming as every so often I suddenly do an enormous spasm and end up throwing a mug of hot something or other all over me...
AND I have had a few teething troubles with Mozilla Firefox. It couldn't find any of the pages in my bookmarks and favourites and my e~mail wasn't recieving anything either. I shut the whole thing down and after a few times it came up and I have no problems yet!!

MEL my friend I am NO where near my final target. That one that you see is just an interim one that I feel I might reach in the next decade or so!! I think if you added another 36lbs or so you might be nearer the real one!! So please do not polish my halo just yet!!

ANNE lovely to see you drop in to our new home..thank you so much for the lovely basket of fruit!! Very thoughtful..How's the weather in your neck of the woods right now? Here in Suffolk it is very cold and windy and we are almost promised snow over the weekend. I do hope it is not much although now I have gas central heating installed I am nice and cosy...

HAPPY I bet you are looking well forward to the weekend and you can stop at least one part of your new life..the work bit! Although you must still have loads of sorting out to do at home. How's it looking now?I wish we all lived a lot nearer and we could all roll up and give you a hand...or would that be more of a hindrance? I could at least make pints and oints of tea and coffee and keep the sandwich supplies coming!! Low fat fillings of course... and organise the troops...
LINUS how are you today...how is that sore back of yours? Any plans for the weekend? Apart from getting snowed under, of course! :sman:
Well I think that's all I can manage for now so I'll disappear off and let someone else get in the sand pit...
Take care and keep safe....

[Hollyhock]

I had flashes of social anxiety last night. I wrote in the journals about it if you are interested.
The Book Club's first meeting was excellent. I was excited and thrilled.
8 people showed up. 1 man. I knew 1 woman from church the rest were strangers. I was the youngest by about 15 years. We brainstormed ideas of how to run it. We will meet once a month,all read the same book. We will take turns "hosting" the evening and providing a snack. We all threw out suggestions of titles or Authors and then put them all in a bowl. We picked 4 out for the next 4 months. Very cool.
Our first book for Feb is Fall on Your Knees- Anne Marie Mac Donald then Mar- Life of Pi- Yann Martel, Apr-Robertson Davies-your choice, May- No Great Mischief- Alistair McLeod.

I will meditate this aft at nap time.

3 kids here today.Had a good morning with my crew. DS has a special "boys day" Japanese style at school. Very excited. He ate his soup yesterday and the world didn't end. LOL.
DH is staying in London tonight to install a dishwasher, pick up car parts and visit with the guys. It will be nice. I am glad he is getting out more. In the beginning he still acted like a bachelor which was not okay. Then it was moderate social stuff and lately he is just hanging at home. I tried to get him to go out for pickup hockey with some of the other dads. At least he is seeing some friends more. Ya gotta have more than work and kids in your life!!

I am feeling better physically today. I usually dont have any pms at all except that I cry at tv commercials the day before, LOL. It's been more than a week of odd stuff going on. I will watch for it next month. I am fine today.

It's friday, wow. Not much going on. A late hockey game tomorrow. SS on sunday.
I still need to finish DH's books. I will putter at that. Nice.

Teel~ hope you feel better in the next while.
Nae~ Is today going better? What kind of work do you do?
Meadow~ is that you on the waterskis? What a refreshing pic. Remember summer?
Mooz~ nice basket and wine. Hope you will stay a while and partake with us!
Miss Mel~ It is so hard for doers not to do. It is an art to let go and relax and realize the limits of our body and mind. Deep breathing is a start.
Shad~ you are +40C and we are -36C. Want to meet in the middle some where? LOL! Hope you survive the storm. Have a wonderful, restful weekend.

Hello and hugs to everyone!

[Meadow]

Mel-yeah, you found your way back to us. You know we worry when you go missing. Good to hear you were out and about yesterday. Remember to "be" not seem. You are a terrific lady and I know you will find the balance to be able to manage all that comes flying at you.

Shad-are you wearing leather to the office while you are whipping these boys into shape? It is cloudy and cold here, all the snow was rained away. The fact that you are sweating just sitting boggles my mind, I think we might get one month a year when that is possible

Tig-you are doing great on your goals! Treadmill running, that sounds dangerous though, be careful. How many t-shirts do you have? Do you wear them all or they more like trophies? Glad you zoomed in and updated us on your progress.

Holly-"No Great Mischief" was an excellent book, images that really stick with you. You book group sounds very cool, I hope everyone has a great experience doing this. Hugs for your up and down hormones. Step away from the chocolate or worse the salt will start its siren call and you will be making microwave popcorn with parmessan cheese and spices... wait, no that is me again

Teel-Eek! what kind of dye do they put in your eyes? Is it green? Do you look like an alien? I'm sorry you are in pain, the flying hot liquids scares me and I have a computer to block the toss, hope you aren't burnt. I don't know what to say except I hope things improve. A hot cup of tea is a thing to savour not fear, maybe you should start drinking things through straws and not pick them up when the spasms are visiting.

Rose-I think Shad's points program sounds easy and will implement it for my stuff too. So far exercise 4 and sweet avoidance 1 Your coworker is going to get the boot isn't she? From what you have said she is going down. Hope the newer person isn't a mouthpiece and incorporates better into your company.

Suzi-summer break, that sounds so funny to hear in January Are you kidding, that picture was of me I guess we all have those yucky mornings sometimes. Great job on resisting the cake, I would have been in there with a fork for sure

:waves:hey Anne, thank you for coming into the new space and visiting. Lovely fruit and wine, I'll drink the wine, I'm not that good probably the chocolate too.

[MELODY525]

Teel~ so sorry to hear about the eyes! I know the feeling myself. Hope you and they feel better soon. I have to have it done in March! Had a goiggle at your goal for the next DECADE!!! I think it's a great idea and may steal that! LOL I hope to lose 5 lbs by this Xmas!!! We can celebrate together!!!

Holly~ I will send you a copy of my journal. It should make great reading for your group one month during this year! I have thought about you since this morning's journal. wish I knew what to say but no magic words have come to mind. Just sending more hugs((((((HOLLY))))))) and just be YOURSELF!! if it's good enough for you and I .....it's good enough for them!!!

Lorraine~Thanks for the caring. Just wish I could get this done as I'm sick of hearing it myself! Still getting ready to try any lunges? Or are they off limits for awhile? I see the no sugar/upper body in the siggie.

Jen came again for a visit. Don't know how I am supposed to get anything done with her here! Next time I am going to put an apron on her and put her to work! She is helping Clara today so it's giving me a 3 day weekend. Still in my flannel nightie and enjoying the day "off".
I think the most strenuous thing I will do is play SweetTooth on Pogo Games!!!! LOL See ya tomorrow. TTTT!!

[Shad]

Just sitting here thinking about my to do list. Mostly bathroom stuff today. A bit more tiling, a bit of marking up and cutting out where the cabinet is to go and a bit of plumbing work to be done. So close to being finished - just have to get up the impetus to get it all done. The new light fitting won't go in until I have several bits for the electrician to do. No point in getting him in for one job and then having to get him back for another and another. He charges enough as it is.

The weekend is stretching ahead of me. The only thing in the way of housework is to change my bed and mop the floors.

The storms have passed for the time being and it is just drizzling with rain out there. Good for the plants. I see my lettuces have taken off and as yet nothing has found them to eat them. Maybe I am speaking too soon, but usually the slugs and snails get them as fast as I plant them. Maybe Percy is back down the bottom of the garden. I should go check it out. Everyone else has fairies at the bottom of the garden, I have a bearded dragon named Percy who looks as old as the hills and is still quite young according to the Park Ranger who should know about these things. I’ll have to see if I can find my picture of Percy. I did take one some years ago. Why did I think about Percy??? Well he loves slugs and snails. They are his desserts. He seems to arrive in the garden in the summer when the slugs and snails are making tracks over the patio and paths and disappears come Autumn to some place else. He helps to keep the place biologically clean - I try to keep my garden free of pesticides and poisons, so Percy stays happily in his pipe down the back, but doesn’t venture next door where the neighbour sprays the weeds and the aphids and the black spot and uses chemical fertilisers and then wonders why my roses do better than his. Mine are apparently neglected and cause his to have black spot and fungal diseases. Care Factor - ohhh about 5%

Enough waffling. I need to go get dressed and get on with the day. Double time at the gym today - weights and the usual body balance class. That will teach me to go goofing off on Thursday.