Goodmorning! I am just running out the door.. I've been REALLY slow this morning. Hope yah'll have a great Monday (ugh, is it Friday yet?), and I'll post later.. much later (I'm not home until 7:30pm tonight, I hate these 12hour days!).
Hey, y'all. Howie went to the YMCA and worked out at noon, but I stayed in bed. I am going with my MIL at 6:30pm, though. I'm trying to stay with the same 3-day schedule as Howie for the summer months since we will mow the lawn and work outside the other days of the week.
Here's a smile from today. My MIL had to drag Emma up onto her lap, but once she got up there, she settled right down. It cracked us up how Emma was straddling Nancy's legs as if she were riding a horse!
Coney Island looks like our kind of place; we love to people-watch and there's always so much to see at a place like that. Photography is my big life's passion, above gardening and...almost...above computers. I couldn't do the digital photography and editing without computers, so really they're the same.
For lunch I enjoyed a yummy salad topped with veggies, an ounce of almond slivers I toasted in a skillet, an ounce of cheddar cheese, and some fat-free thousand island dressing. Those almonds gave every bite such a delicious nutty flavor. Sure beats a Quarter Pounder, in every way.
Nancy and I walked at the YMCA from 7-7:20pm and made it a mile, so 3mph. Then we went into the fitness center and I showed her a few of the machines. Denton, the same nice guy that showed Howie the equipment, was there tonight and he had time to show me the lower body machines I'd skipped at first. My knee's been feeling better, so I wanted to learn how to safely operate those machines, too. I'm a little sore, 'spect I'll be a lot more sore in the morning, but I feel so good!
Providing it's not pouring rain tomorrow, I might divide some perennials. What I need to do most, though, is clean. I'm a messie and a packrat, but the house is so bad even I feel claustrophobic in it. LOL!
hey all. Beautiful pictures...We went to maine last year and got some nice ones, but not with the digital, didn't have it yet...took them with my Elph...love that camera...I really like my new Kodak Easyshare he got me for Christmas, it is 5MPs, which is way better than the one we had before 2.5 mps...I just wanted to say hey and hagn am off to bed..Coney looks like a really neat place, and not nearly as dirty as some of the pictures I have seen of it in the past...I saw one pic of people on the beach there, laying on towels and blankets amidst butts, cans, bottles, wrappers, and lots of trash in general...I was in shock, they acted like it wasn't anything out of the orinary , lol...Looks like it is cleaned up some, let's hope it stayes that way...well am off to bed, HAGN!!!
It's that time again...morning! I woke up this morning in a panic thinking I was extremely late. I checked the clock...3:30am. Nope, not late for anything I hate that feeling of panic, especially when it's for no good reason. Other than that, slept alright last night. Now I'm eating my store-brand Fruit Loops with skim milk for breakfast at my desk
I didn't get to go to the gym yesterday. Jeff's birthday is Saturday, so I ran to Target between jobs to buy him new jeans since almost all of his have holes in them and he refuses to buy new ones ("but they're still good!"). I bought him a new watch, too, but not a really good one. He works in a metal shop, so he says he doesn't want "good" things because if he wears them, they'll just get ruined. However, the watch he has now has a velcro band and is so old that the velcro barely sticks anymore. When he puts his arm around me, the worn-out velcro gets caught in my hair (ouch!), so it's really a gift for me, too It still has velcro (I know he'd prefer that over a real band), but hopefully it won't be ripping my hair out as often. I also ordered our HFStival tickets online (we went last year and loved it), so that will be part of his gift, too.
Kimberley--what a cute picture! I am a big fan of black and white pictures. My sister has actually booked a photographer for her wedding that specializes in black and white photography as well as color tinting. There is this amazing picture of her from her first wedding that is all in black and white except for a hint of blue in her eyes and touches of pink on her cheeks and lips. I've always loved that picture (especially since it doesn't have her ex-husband in it!). Then again, I think I'm a photo snob since my grandfather was a professional photographer and used to actually hand-paint the color tints on black and whites. We used to play with his old cameras all the time when we were little--probably worth lots of money nowadays.
Aimee--You lied! You never came back and posted last night--I'm so used to looking for your 1am posts
Marge--I live in one of those overpriced apartments I miss the houses where I grew up--actual houses! WITH YARDS! Here, everything is apartment/condo complexes and townhouses. Even the homes that are not attached to another have almost NO land (it's a stretch to get a whole 1/4 acre). It is absolutely insane. I pay $870 a month for rent for a 1-bedroom apartment, and it was a bit of a challenge to find one for less than $1000 a month in an area where I wouldn't get shot when I went out to get the mail Welcome to the DC metro area...but I'm sure you know how it is, being in NY.
Diana--I agree with you that it depends on the actual day you were born--I have some Leo characteristics because my birthday is on the Cancer-Leo cusp (though predominately Cancer--July 20).
Heather--Great job on the 3 pounds! And you're absolutely right--whether you exercise once or ten times a week, every little bit helps. Makes me feel a little better about missing the gym yesterday--I will be there today, though!
Last edited by jillybean720; 04-12-2005 at 06:49 AM.
I started taking photos at our local botanic garden, I have a Vivitar 35mm manual. I did take a class, but do it for fun and don't stick to it as much as I should to learn how to do it really well. You'd like the Nikon gallery here. They always have great exhibits (it's a little place).
You'll always see people with cameras at Coney Island, it's a great place to get nice shots. Lots of different kinds of people, from all over the world. There's so many clams on that beach that the seagulls have a field day, you'll find hundreds of shells all up and down the shore. The wildlife has made a big comeback in this area since there's been a big push to stem the pollution. We have hawks again in Prospect Park.
It would be much better if those new apartment buildings were renting units, they sell them as condos. That means only people (or people with wealthier parents) with enough money to invest $250,000 plus can get a place in them. And since they're not selling them very quickly at all, the buildings stand empty or mostly empty. We have two on our block alone.
Now I'm eating my store-brand Fruit Loops with skim milk for breakfast at my desk --Jill
My dad got into a generic brand kick when we were teenagers. We ate the store brands too, but the generic had plain yellow packaging that would just say: TACO MIX I don't think the stores do that anymore. He hates spending money on food.
Aimee, one day without a post from you seems like a week!
Went to the gym today and I think I'm finally getting to the point where I'm getting a decent workout I do the elliptical and recumbant bike then do resistance machines.
I'm going to make another ratatouille tomorrow. I made that roasted pork loin, but ever since I made that horrible potato ham casserole for Easter with the thyme, I'm having a hard time eating anything with thyme in it.
GM everyone ....and yes, one day without our Aimee is like a week, lol, she is so darned cute...
Wow, Marge~ Your photos are lovely ...and willl have to go the Botanical gardens someday, they look beautiful...I have some really nice pictures from our past vacations, and of flowers we have seen at festivals and our yard, not too shabby for an amature, but My DH will hav to get the Scanner set up so I can send them to you to downsize for me so I can show you all..
Kimberley~ I love that picture, your dog looks like a sweety...
Jill~ Apts, nice ones that are not dumpy and in drug dealer complexes, go for 900 a month...so glad I no longer have to worry about that...
And Heather, WTG...You are amazing...And even if I am not his aunt by blood, I will always be his Aunt in Heart...You can tell him that too, I wish Chelsea remembered me, she was such a cutie when she was my buddie...
I am getting reaady to make the cream cheese frosting and frost the cake, and wrap her gifts...I am dying to have a piece, then she can do with the rest whatever she wants, lol...It will not be in our house any longer...I bought some of that French Silk ice-cream, I forget who said they loved it...Sounded good, so am gonna give it a go, bought some cones too, will eat it that way.
And, I have been a published poet for a few years now, though have not had anything published recently...I gave one book that I have 2 poems in to my parents, and another is an anthology of poets, from about 9 years ago...I have some of them on Poetry.com, but have a ton of them put away in storage...I have really always wanted to be a writer, and maybe one of these days I will stick to my guns and do what I want with that...I remember my Contemporary Lit teacher in HS tell me how gifted I was, so, who knows, maybe I will...I would love to do a poetry book with Watercolor paintings...I love to paint...and I want to write a couple of novels I have in my head..
You can find my poetry, or a few of them at:
www.poetry.com you can find me under: Diana L. Shrome, or Diana Shrome
Look at all of us fabulous women, just bursting with talent! That's great! We're more than just these bodies we're trying to shrink, we're writers, mothers, photographers, gardeners, teachers, lovers, encouragers...Quite simply, we ROCK. And we need to remember that, especially on discouraged days.
I can't believe the rents you guys are quoting! We're pretty spoiled in this area, I think. Howie and I rented a 2br townhouse in a wooded area. It had washer/dryer, dishwasher (cruddy) and 1.5 baths. It was actually in a group of condos which sold for around $45-55K because there were several in the group which were rentals like ours. I think our rent was $575/mo. in 1998. We bought our house in 1999. It's just insane how different the markets are in various parts of the country!
We love our little 2-bedroom house. We bought one well below what the bank was willing to loan us -- like half of what they said we could borrow. We're so glad we did, for when Howie was downsized from his last job and I was off work on medical leave, we were able to survive.
When he got another job, we juggled bills and figured out I could stay home. We don't have kids and having my MIL live here doesn't really add anything of consequence to our utility bills. I'm just really glad we didn't get a $150K house now. Keeping this little abode clean is challenging enough with 2 cats and 2 dogs, anyway.
Well!! I am Alive, who knew eh? I got home at 7:30 last night, and my bf was very needy. He survived the pulling of his wisdom teeth thanks to Valium, which he now loves. I can't even believe how it effected him, I expected him to be normal, but he was a little loopy. I also had to talk to my friend who is going away (she left this morning) to New Orleans, she's gone for a week and a half.. I miss her already! I have no one to complain about work to!
I slept pretty good last night, and Josh slept the entire night through, he was all energetic this morning so we went out! We went to Vancouver and shopped downtown, wandered around for hours, spent too much money, and had a REALLY good lunch Chicken Foccacia sandwhich, it was SO yummy. I bought a new purse by Matt & Nat, which makes animal friendly purses (ie, not leather), a cute cute cute shirt from the gap, lip gloss from the gap (I'm addicted), and I can't even remember what else. On our way home we stopped at another mall, and then at IKEA, it was QUITE the eventful day. I'm completely pooped now though.
It was bitter-sweet being downtown, I love the excitement, and the atmosphere, and if I was making more money, I could afford to live there. I found a 1 bedroom place overlooking the ocean for 775, including parking and gym/pool use. I love the ocean, and that area of town was so fun to live in (I lived there once before, but with friends, and only for a month). I feel so unsophisticated, and FAT, I miss shopping at all those stores, I went into my fav store and couldn't buy anything because I've gained so much weight. What a horrible feeling.
So you all missed me eh? And my "late night" posts, I have to laugh at that because it shows Jill's posts at like 3:30 in the morning for me. What are you going to do without me this weekend? I will hopefully be around, but my brother arrives Friday night, and will be here until Sunday night. Either way, I love to be loved. lol.
I now pay 575 for a 1 bedroom place in a really upscale area of town, it's not really huge, but we have our own laundry room, and access to the yard. It's a basement suite without the basement part, we are totally above ground. Jill - my brother was once paying 1100/month for a bach pad in downtown Seattle, it was INSANE! I'm sorry ladies, I'm so tired, and Josh is bugging me to spend more time with him.. I'll try and come back later for a proper post!
I'm shopping eBay for a digital scale right now. I read reviews of various models at a UK website which reviews scales, and it looks like My Weigh Ultraship 50# scale is what I want. I'm not just going to weigh food with it, but also packages, so that'll be so nice! It weighs in both ounces and grams, which will make portion control a lot easier (no more having to figure how many ounces a serving listed in grams converts to).
So, it's going on 6:30am here--I didn't even think about how the time zone differences affected our posting times for each other! I have some work to do, but I know it's not enough to last me till 9:00 (when my boss gets in), so here I am procrastinating
I have been checking out apartments online just to get an idea--I'm trying to convince Jeff to make the leap from Maryland to Northern Virginia. If we live in Alexandria, VA, we'll be close enough so we can both stay at our current jobs. However, Alexandria is closer to DC and, therefore, more expensive than where I am now. For a 1-bedroom (with AC, dishwasher, and washer/dryer), we're looking at about $1200 a month. With the two of us, I know we can swing it, since I pay more than half of that right now alone. However, Jeff has never lived alone, and I'm not sure he really knows just how expensive it can be. I'm sure we'll be okay, though.
Wow, Kimberley, you found a house for less than $150k?? Here, that would be a studio-apartment-style condo (if you're lucky). It's definitely crazy how different values are in different areas. Where I grew up, you could get practically a mansion with a few acres of land for $500,000...here, that's about the price of those "cookie-cutter" houses in the developments where the houses all look almost exactly the same and have less than 1/4-acre lot (you know what I'm talking about?). Craziness
Aimee--I LOVE Ikea! But I try to stay away or else I will eventually cave and actually buy something (and I'm sure it would be something I don't need, at that!). I have a few near me--one about 15 miles from my house, another in Maryland--and they are ALWAYS insanely packed. Any store that needs its own food court and child care service is definitely worth looking at, though
Diana--yeah, I'm close to 900 a month already (hence the 2 jobs). I don't think Jeff quite understands why I want to buy a house as soon as I get married (if I even wait that long--not that I want to buy a house with him, just that I want to buy one at all so I can stop renting). He grew up in an icky apartment, so he doesn't always quite see where I'm coming from. Then again, most boys are pretty clueless anyway
Marge--LOL @ Taco Mix. I try to get generic brand EVERYTHING--or at least as much as possible--unless a name brand is on sale for less than the generic. Then again, I don't buy a whole lot since it's just me I'm feeding.
Well, I made it to the gym yesterday. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical instead of 20 elliptical/15 bike like usual. I wanted to sweat a little more since I had 2 slices of pizza for lunch (I know the elliptical burns a lot more calories than the bike or treadmill). I included the calories of the pizza in my calories for the day, but I still was over my usual daily calories by about 150. I will do the same today and tomorrow since I have pizza again (Jeff bought pizza while I was gone on Saturday and, of course, left it at my house). I cheated and got on the scale this morning, but I won't tell ya'll what it said till I weigh in tomorrow, since Thursday is my normal weigh-in day. As long as I lose that pound I gained during the week I was in CT, I will be happy to be heading in the right direction again
Look at all of us fabulous women, just bursting with talent! That's great! We're more than just these bodies we're trying to shrink, we're writers, mothers, photographers, gardeners, teachers, lovers, encouragers...Quite simply, we ROCK. And we need to remember that, especially on discouraged days.--Kimberley
It's true I love hearing about everybody in this group.
Diana, I admire anyone with the talent to write. How great is that you're a published poet! I took a class in college with Robert Pinsky (he was the poet laureate for a while -- yes, America has a poet laureate ). Once he said my full name in class in front of all 200 of us and said he liked the sound of it. I just about died. I'd love to see your pics, send them any time and I'll resize them for you.
Jill, the rents in your area sound about the same as in Brooklyn here. One bedrooms are going for $1,000 to $1,200. Rob's family owns the building we live in; we're dying to buy a house. It's really tough to save up the money even to get to the point where you can make a downpayment and get that loan for the mortgage.
Sometimes what happens here is unscrupulous realtors build units in cheaper areas, like Pennslyvania (usually poor quality), they advertise them here and convince low income families that they can afford it. These realtors steer them towards certain banks that agree to finance them for loans that they truly aren't qualified for. Then the families move out there not fully realizing how high the costs will be and how difficult the commute will be. They end up defaulting on the loans, losing the homes, and coming back to the area with all their savings depleted.
Aimee's back yeah! man, an apartment overlooking the ocean! that's awesome. I do think you live in a great area from everything I've seen of it. It's funny, I was dying to live in Manhattan, then when I lived there I thought it was just too intense and now I love living here in Brooklyn. I had the wackiest neighbors. The guy next door painted his entire apartment a deep blue, had a pro IRA certificate on his wall, and played Pink Floyd's the Wall constantly (and when he wasn't playing that, it would be Ace of Base). Another lady had two old Chows, she'd sit in the doorway of the building with them and they'd snip at anybody trying to get in. Then she'd turn to the dog and say, are you ok? She gave massages out of her apartment for a living.
Anyway, have a good time with your brother this weekend.
I'm going to the gym this afternoon, I did an early weigh in and I think that Coney Island splurge may have done some damage. I still have a couple of days to try and curb the tide, or whatever that saying is.
Whats all this cheating and getting on the scale stuff? I did the same, and my scale is holding steady at 259. I need to get off my duff and get back to working out, my vacation is coming up REALLY quickly, and I'm still a chub-meister! I'm going to dust off my tae-bo tape (it's been "hiding" for almost a month!!), and work that into the mix again. And once I gather all my stuff I can do that Winsor Pilates plan thingy, I'm so excited to try it, dunno why.. I watch too many infomercials!
Jill - you posted at 3:40 am my time, goodlordy! heh. Do you realize if I stayed up late enough, and you got up early enough, we could talk! It wouldn't make much sense, because my brain goes to mush past a certain time.
Marge - Vancouver is divided by areas, the area thats RIGHT downtown, by the ocean, is called the West End, and it's full of gay guys. Its great! I used to get my coffee from this place where the staff was all gay guys, they were funny, and very cute. Manhattan is such a glamourized city, heck, I'd live there just for the stories I'd be able to tell. lol. My friend Karen and I talked about going to New York for Fashion week, we'll see if that turns out... she's kind of a flake at times.
Alrighty ladies! I am off to spend some quality time with the bf, he's just begging for some attention. bbl!
We're fortunate to have reasonable housing here, yes! We probably have a lower average wage, though, too. I've been out of the job market since 2001, so I'm not sure what admin assistants and other office support people are paid in central Ohio.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DianaLS
...we were in the back of a very cramped mini van when we drove to Saratoga for dinner, and, mini-vans are not that great on my long legs, felt like my knees were in my face for 20 minute stretches...
That reminds me of my most recent trip to Louisiana to visit my friend Lisa. It was just me that time, and we camped a couple days at Grand Isle. We were quite a ways from the park's payphone (plus the mosquitoes were unreal), so I drove her van up to the park entrance one night to give Howie a ring at work. She warned me that the seat adjustment didn't work, but I didn't think anything of it until I climbed behind the wheel. I felt like I was crammed in a little clown car! Lisa's only 5' and a breath tall, and I'm 5'9"! I had to kind of straddle the steering wheel so I'd have room to move my foot between the gas and break pedals.
I was still prone in all my sluggish glory when Howie went to the YMCA today. If I'd just pried my eyes open, I actually did want to go with him! My MIL has church tonight, so she isn't going today -- I'm exercising solo. You heard me, I'm doing it. I think I'll walk the track at the elementary school nearby and soak up some sun and fresh air, then head to the YMCA for the resistance machines. Wish I knew where my little quasi-Walkman radio is! Maybe I need to stop and pick up one on the way.
If you all want to read a really encouraging thing, be sure to check out Sarah's blog entry from Monday. It was so beautiful and full of hope I had to write about it and link to her site.
I hate that feeling of panic, especially when it's for no good reason. Other than that, slept alright last night. Now I'm eating my store-brand Fruit Loops with skim milk for breakfast at my desk 
Welcome to the DC metro area...but I'm sure you know how it is, being in NY.
Hey all!
....and yes, one day without our Aimee is like a week, lol, she is so darned cute...
...and willl have to go the Botanical gardens someday, they look beautiful...I have some really nice pictures from our past vacations, and of flowers we have seen at festivals and our yard, not too shabby for an amature, but My DH will hav to get the Scanner set up so I can send them to you to downsize for me so I can show you all..
I still have a couple of days to try and curb the tide, or whatever that saying is.