Funny being 60???!!!! Well we are all going to get there sooner or later Cat. In my case, it is not that far away.

Not a very interesting day today I'm afraid. I did my work and came home. Didn't go to the gym today as I am feeling a little stiff and sore from yesterday, but I will be back there tomorrow once more never fear. Also for some reason or other I am not feeling 100% and I have noticed that I am getting what looks like a boil or abcess on the lump of flab just above my waist. It's been many a year since I had one of those. I had a look at it and found that there are 3 hard little lumps surrounding it, so it seems that something is happening with the system. I'm thinking that it may be the vitamins. They are the only thing that I'm doing differently this week. I know I have had some strange reactions to vitamins previously - in fact I had a very bad encounter with Vit B some years back and to this day can not take it in any quantity at all.

Tomorrow I go to pick up my new contact lenses and glasses. That will be another blow to the credit card. Not that I worry about it too much, it always gets paid off at the end of the month. But sometimes the totals come as a bit of a shock. Fortunately this will come on the next bill and not this one which should arrive in the next couple of days. There is enough on that as it is - tyres for the car, some wine and a couple of other things which should make it look awful. Ohh well I guess it's only money.

Weight is still being slow. Somedays I see an improvement but it swings around again in the next couple of days and I am back where I started. Painful journey this one.

Today I also bought myself some new trousers (black) and a new bra (pink). I am weeding out all the saggy baggy bits from the wardrobe and ditching them. I may have got smaller everywhere else but the bra size has grown. Don't know how.

Okay, time to move along again. Hope everyone is doing well. Your challenge for this weekend should you choose to accept it, is to take a walk for 30 minutes (try early in the morning before the heat hits)

Hi All,

Happy Birthday Cat--you and Gene were born on the same day. I do believe Leo people and I get along very well--I am April 1st--two fire signs! Have a "super" day! I was working on a brief for my attorney this morning and come to find out she has just decided to revamp the whole thing. I guess all my efforts were in vane. However, I still will get paid for my work.

Our new furniture is coming Saturday and today a couple of young men came in and steamcleaned our carpet. Gene thought it was easier on me if we had it done--I totally agree!

In our newspaper today they had an article on the glycemic way to lose weight. I guess I will have to dig out my Volumentics book again and give it a "real" try this time. I was surprised to see cantalope and baked potato were not the best choices--mashed potato outranked the baked ones. The apple definitely outranked banana. I do eat a lot of fiber and I do read ingredients which is very important. If only someone else could do the cooking!

Well ladies, the brief should be coming back any minute. Once again, it's so great to have friends like you!

Take care,
Anita

Gym this morning - did a workout on the cardio stuff. Probably wasn't quite long enough but you do what you can in the time available. There is no other choice.

I had LindaT's soup for lunch again today. Don't think I will need much dinner tonight - that stuff sure sticks to your ribs and lets you know that you don't want anything more for a while. It's good, but next time it will have more pumpkin and veg and less chili. It is so darned thick you could eat it with a knife and fork as well. Biggest problem I find with bringing stuff like this soup to work is that it stains my plastic containers orange. So I guess there will only be a couple of containers that get used for this soup - the rest can be for other things.

I tried to go shopping today for a bedside lamp. I had a pair of touch lamps for each side of the bed. One of them has relocated to DS2's house - it appears to have permanently relocated. The second one - the one in my bedroom got out of sorts the other night and blew it's bulb plus the touch facility. Now it has to be turned on and off at the wall. Am I impressed with this - NO!!!! So I am looking for a new bedside lamp or two if I can find what I like. Mind you, DS2 also has the beside table that the lamp lives on - again I think it is a permanent loan. So I will now have to go find a lighting shop. Nothing here in town has even raised a spark of enthusiasm for any stock on hand.

Anyway, time to get on with it again. At least I have something to do at the moment. It won't last long and I'll be haunting the internet again. Roll on Friday night - around 4.30pm.

Hello Ladies,

Just a quick hello. Planning on going to Austin this weekend, another family party for my niece. This one will be really big. All my cousin live in San Antonio, which is an hour drive from there. So I will get a chance to catch up with all of them. Looking forward to having a relaxing weekend.

Hal - when is your b-day?

we'll need to run... might not log on til sunday night...

Have I told you about the EAting Awareness TRaining? I find I have left part of a chocolate bar in the fridge for a week! Never happens.

Still, she is very strict, and if you haven't followed the steps the first week, you have to do it over. So guess I am not ready to move on to week 2. The hardest part is not reading while eating. Also, I put down my notebook (you write all you eat), and forget to bring it home or to work, then I don't have it. Now I have a very small one, so the temptation to leave it behind is less.

This could work . . .

Saturday
I'm pleased to say that the abcess/ boil/ whatever has gone. It was painful while it lasted, but in true Shad style I gave it the threat, come to a head and I'll get rid of you the easy way, or stay like that and I'll lance you myself. It came to a head and things got a bit messy there for a while, but it is now gone. There do not seem to be anymore around so that is that for the time being.

Seem to have been busy today but what have I achieved?? Well, the laundry is in, folded, put away (almost) and the ironing is ready to do. I've done the shopping and bought loads of veges for soups etc. Made some fish chowder (which I had for tea) and froze a couple of containers of it for lunches. Had a nap, and now am making some of the pumpkin chili stuff and then it will be a case of watching tv - footy is on. My much loved All Blacks are about to take on the Wallabies. Geez, there is some good looking butts and legs among that lot. Probably why I like to watch it.

I should have changed the bed today but it will wait until tomorrow.

It's cold out here. Yesterday was the coldest day on record for over 100 years. We did not even make double figures. This is always the coldest part of the winter - its the time of the State Fair otherwise known as the RNA Exhibition aka 'the Ekka' and during that time the wind always blows and the winter gets a bit nasty. Well this time it outdid itself. Still the wind blew the washing dry in record time.

Sunday
Now lets see, what's going down on the threads? My footy team won. Maybe I should go out early to get the paper and stay indoors for the rest of the day. That should stave off the wrath of the neighbourhood!!! I have to admit that I wasn't impressed with the first 20 mins of the game when they were 13 - 0 down. I was thinking some very unholy thoughts at that stage. But they came through and won 30-13 So todays list consists only of a couple of things - sanding and painting. With a bit of luck I can get a fair amount of preparation done today and a coat of sealer over the lounge ceiling and walls. That will make me very happy.

This cat has gone beserk. She runs from room to room and looks as if she is three parts gone on uppers. I took the brush to her last night as she is dropping fur everywhere. I have the scratch marks to show for it as she figured that I was about to attack her with this thing. So then the clippers came out and she got her claws clipped as well. She's talking to me again now, but wasn't earlier on. Maybe this is the onset of Spring.

Cat - chocolate is not one of my things. Yes I will have a binge on it once in a while but it is not often. When the DS2 was living at home we cleared out the bar fridge and the back room and found chocolate in there which was out of date by 3 years. Neither of us are sweet eaters. Obviously the chocs must have belonged to the ex-dh. My eating problems rest with cheese and dairy products as well as the savoury things like pizza, tacos etc.

I guess it's time for breakfast and then on with the day. I see the journals are still not back. That's fine. Less time spent on the computer. Today is McBusy day.

Hello Ladies,

Back from my weekend getaway. It was a really nice visit. My brother had about 60 guest at his house. My mom and I went over saturday morning to help with some side dishes. By the time the first guest arrived we were ready. Spent the evening visiting my cousin who drove in from San Antonio. (We were all in Austin,TX). Sunday morning drove back home. I'm taking a extra vacation day just to regroup, go grocery shopping. I was going to try and get a massage in, but i did not make an appointment. Tomorrow i'm going to start a somewhat modified version of South Beach, Or i guess it's like Ww Core program. I have got to get off the sweets(processed cookies, cakes, chips, etc).

Hal - Some of our schools started last monday and I think 4 of the major districts started today. My sister is in education and I know she went back last week. I'm sure Rocky is going to miss having you home during the days.

Mooz - I'm sorry to hear that your mom's not doing well. Wishing her a belated birthday. We'll if you ever make it to America you have a place to stay in Texas.

Shad - It's hard to image you having your coldest days there and here we're having our hottest days. Now on your footies team. Is that rugby or soccer? You seem to have so much energy. I know it's from eating healthy and of course exercising.

we'll i guess i need to get going. I do have a small list of things to do today.

Mooz--sorry about your mom. Does she have a walker? I know they can help so much. DMiL has one with a seat on it, so she can (possibly) sit down if she needs to. It gives her more independence, too. Did you ever get set up for respite care so you can go out?

Shad & Patty--yes, we forget about the seasons being reversed. I subscribe to an Australian quarterly, and when I got the "winter" issue I thought it was very late--until it hit me!

I think I have lost weight, but NOT going to WI as that is not the idea with this.

Well, the new dr is coming in to replace my old one, but I already made an appt. somewhere else. Think I will try the other doctor anyway. My old dr's office just has developed terrible customer service skills. Phooey.

See y'all later.

Hello all,
Been sitting here feeling sorry for myself as I am not feeling well today - or yesterday for that matter. No matter, I will survive - as the song goes!

Patty, it is Rugby Union that I watch and follow. Being a New Zealander and it is our national game (along with netball) - there is another type of rugby - Rugby League, similar game and of course footy here in Australia could cover Union, League, AFL (Aussie Rules) or Soccer. But when I talk footy, I mean Rugby and you don't want to be around me or my niece when things go wrong or the referee gets a bit shortsighted (in our humble opinion).

Talking about being a New Zealander, the news of the death of David Lange ONZ hit the news on Saturday. Who was he? Well he was the NZ Prime Minister who took on the wrath of the US Defence Force and Government Agencies when he banned US warships from entered our ports due to his Nuclear Free Zone policies. When they and the Australians threatened us with reaction, he withdrew the country from the ANZUS treaty He was also the Prime Minister who took on the French Government regarding the Mururoa Atoll nuclear testing (he asked the French, if it was so safe to detonate these things, why did they not do it in mainland France?? Among other things he bombarded them with). He really let them have it with a terrorism charge after the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and he was the man who set the terms of imprisonment for the perpetrators of the bombing (4 French Secret Service personnel).
Sadly we do not have politicians with the same sort of standards anymore. A brilliant speaker and a man with a huge sense of humour who could also be bluntly sarcastic. After a long battle with bad health, he passed away. Goodbye Mr Lange. As you might be able to tell, I did admire the man. Didn't always agree with him tho'. Sorry if speaking politics upsets anyone. I normally don't do it. But today I needed to.

Mooz, sorry to hear that your Mum has not been well. She certainly is a remarkable old lady though. I do hope you are getting enough rest and recreation. Taking care of the 'folks' is not an easy occupation.

Cat - what magazine do you subscribe to?? Quarterly? I'm sure it is not the Queensland Country Times!! I hope that you have lost weight - sounds good anyway.

Better go get a bit more done for the day.

Hello Ladies,

Did not start South Beach diet today like I had planned. Last night got lazy and didn't make it to the grocery store. And tonight came straight home, major headache, so I probably won't start tomorrow either. And to top it off it's that TOM so i'm just feeling cranky and tired.

Shad - i'm sure you and your niece feel the same way we do with our referee's here. During football season I think i sometimes hear my neighbors. I hope you get to feeling better.

Cat - What program are you doing? Good luck with your new doctor. I too need to find a new GI one. My old one went back to teaching. I really like him.

Hal - are your gas prices as high as ours. This past weekend when I gas up to go to Ausint I paid 2.34/gal coming home it was 2.57/gal. I think our prices are still lower than other countries. I have noticed a big increases on the train in my morning commute. I know the storms bother Blackie. He barks quite a bit when it's thundering and lighting.

Hope everyone is having a great day!