sorry for yesterday chickis but me and hubby had the god awfull blow out to end all blow outs ,its a long story but here goes
when we had the shower installed the council being the council completely tiled the wall where the shower sits and the wall adjacent to it but not the wall above the bath taps that they only tiled half way up and stopped at the border tile ,so hubby and i had a brain wave and decieded that wed tile the rest of the wall ourselves,hubbys cousin works at the tile warehouse so we got the tiles for nothing a[should have been £38 }and hubbys bil is a tiler he said hed tile it for us the first week in august when he went off work on holiday so we were all set ,the bathroom is all papered painted new floor down new cistern in new door all done except the tiling ,hubby and bil then decieded that the pipes which run up the wall would look so much better boxed in which means that the tiles on the wall would have to come off i threw a hissy fit as im just so fed up the house being half done{theres bits needing done in all the rooms} and just demanded that the tiling be finished as is or id just paper it hubby then chose to take a hammer and remove said tiles in a fit of rage ,needless to say we now have one complete bare wall and the argument continued till 3 am this morning ,fil came at 11 to start painting the hall so i wouldnt have to do it {apart from the woodwork which hubby and i had already first coated and resanded ready for its second coat}but as there is a 12 foot drop from the top of the stair well and the bottom step and fil doesnt keep good health i ended up helping anyway aswell as hubby ,family all descended to wish craig happy birthday so the house is a tip ,im completely knackered and im going for a bath and bed
craig had a brill day got about £300 for his pressies {he just wanted money}and surprise surprise he stated that being 16 is just like being 15 lol
bye for now chickies
kirsty+bump

Just got back from the Public Services Club where we all went for lunch to farewell Glen to \Brighton, England and the SAP Real Estate sector. Had a very nice lunch (huge plate which I couldn’t fully eat) for 6.50 and a small bottle of white burgundy for a couple of bucks (enough for 1 1/2 glasses). Won’t need dinner tonight.

Which is good in a way because I can then get the laundry done, the sweeping done, the floors washed and the house generally tidied before the couple of tv programs I like to watch on Friday night. That way I can go to the eye man on Saturday, do a gym workout and come home to a clean place on Saturday - Sunday will be spent painting and plastering some more. All good plans as long as the hammock stays out of sight and mind!

Sunday is of course weigh in and measure day. That should be interesting all I don’t think all that much has changed. Yes I have moved inches I think in the hip area. I’m beginning to wonder if these trousers that I bought yesterday should have been a size smaller. They just feel a little loose, particularly in the crotch area and all (since they are stretch) maybe a smaller size would have been better. I have no grumbles with loosing the butt, hips, gut area but it would be nice to match the top bit up. I’m still a 16 up there. If I moved to a smaller size in the hip I will be a 12. That is a bit too much out of proportion. One thing is for sure, I won't fall flat on my nose if I trip up!!!!!

Last night was gym with weights. I did actually manage 5 reps of the hip/ chin/ dip thingy waving the legs around madly 20 times on each. It doesn’t seem so long ago that I couldn’t even support myself on it much less move anything around. I just get so tired at the end of it all, I wish the stamina would build up somewhat. It is a pain to come home, sit down and then wake up just after the end of the program I wanted to see. Tonight is cardio circuit. I’m getting better at that too, but the rowing machine stills really gets me going. I do 5 minutes on whichever is the warm up machine and then 10 on 4 others. That gives me 45 minutes. The rowing machine is the one which really taxes this body. The bike is in second place. The rest I actually quite enjoy. In fact last night after weights, I had ten minutes left of my time at the gym so went onto the treadmill to do a short program there. I must be mad.

Sorry to hear of the almighty balls-up with the stubborn DH Linus. Honestly sometimes men are the absolute end. Why not just get one thing finished instead of carrying on and on and on and not finishing anything at all. Now he has to get those tiles off the wall. Horrible job which I'll bet he gets jack off very soon and doesn't completely finish. It will all come out in the wash I guess.

Mel I hope you are feeling better soon. Do you want me to give tomorrow morning a miss on the phone? Try for Sunday instead??? No 'smellie mellie' roses around at the moment. Will check it out next year to see if someone has put this on the market. We have Sexy Rexy, but no Smelly Melly. Have to put up with Fiona's Wish and Aotearoa.

Holly & Happy - I didn't actually eat the pizza. When I went to check it out they sort of looked greasy and thick on the base. I like my pizza thin and crispy based, so I went looking for other things. Couldn't find soup and so ended up with a cheese and spinach roll (not so nice really) and a fish cake. Naughty me, but the weight was up this morning as well - a real off putter in case I wanted to indulge today! But thank you for the kick in the butt anyway.

Right, need to ring the vet to book Sunday the cat in for a dental check, tartar removal etc. Oh joy!!!! Another trip in the car for the little she-devil.

I BETTER MAKE THIS FAST AND GET OFF THE PHONELINE. ALMOST TIME FOR MISS SHAD'S VISIT! LOL WENT FOOD SHOPPING AND FEEL MUCH BETTER. TOO MANY DRUGS FOR SINUS MADE ME FEEL AWFUL BUT WHAT COULD I DO!!
LINUS~hOPE IT ALL GOES WELL AND GETS FINISHED!! (((((hugs))))) AND TRY NOT TO KILL ANYONE!!
sAHD~ TALK TO YOU SOON.
cHICKIES....TAKE CARE AND HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

I'm back on line after I did a lot of complaining and 2 computer tech's later.

That cattle prod is still at my uncles. I will not be using it here.

Linus--Calm down. You shouldn't be arguing right now. Things will work themselves out.

Mel--Sorry to hear you don't feel well. Feel better soon.

Shad-- I thought about you today. I've turned my armoir into a t.v. cabinet. Got that jigsaw going but it took me a minute or two to figure out where the blade went. My next project is to hang a shop light in the closet so I can see while I'm using the computer. Will just need my drill to do this.

Hello to Holly and Happy.

It's just dawned on me. I haven't had lunch yet. Think I'll grab a bite to eat and get busy tidying up the place.

Will be mowing the lawn later this after noon. The temperatures have dropped considerably here. It's actually nice to be outside.

Yeaaaaah CeeJay, another DIYer around the place. Glad to see that you got those techies running around and patching things up again. Must see if I can mow my lawn tomorrow as well. The back particularly needs doing.

Mel, good to talk to you as always. The world is always a better place when we have finished putting it to rights.

The others must have been busy today I guess. They haven't come in to report - come on Teel, Happy, Holly, Meadow, Tig

Went to the eyeman today. He was pleased with the way the eyes have improved since a couple of weeks ago. I can now carry on wearing contacts. So I have ordered a 3 month supply and also a new pair of glasses. The cost may prove prohibitive later on but for now I am happy. Because I don't carry medical insurance I have to pay full price. If I had insurance I would be paying 10 dollars less each time (40 dollars a year). However the insurance would cost me around $500 per year so I think I am still winning. Such a gambler I am with my health.

So I wandered around the shopping centre. Couldn't find anything to spend my money on. Came home via a furniture shop and purchased a chest of drawers for the DS1 - it's his birthday, Christmas, next Christmas and birthday present all rolled into one. I like it. Whether he will or not remains to be seen.

Two of my orchids are in flower. Here you go - There's Chocolate drop x Red Fire and Lemon Tree x Golden Magic.



The Chocolate Drop one is brilliant as a full size photo even if I do say so myself. If any of you want it for your wallpaper let me know, I'll mail it on or maybe put it onto webshots for you to download.

Better go, it's almost time for The Bill.

CEEJAY~ WOW!!! GOT IT ALL TOGETHER GIRL!!! NICE IDEA WITH THE ARMOIRE AND THE ELECTRONICS. I STILL AM MAD THAT I LET SOMEONE TALK ME INTO GETTING RID OF MINE! I COULD HAVE USED IT NOW FOR ALL MY STUFF! HAVE FUN. NOTHING FEEL MORE FULFILLING TO ME AS WHEN A PROJECT IS DONE AND YOU GET TO SIT BACK AND ADMIRE YOUR HANDIWORK!!!

SHAD~ IT WAS GREAT TO TALK TO YOU ALOS. I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE I AM FLYING AND YES THE WORK IS A BETTER PLACE WHEN WE GET DONE SORTING IT! THE ORCHIDS REMINDED ME OF A DANCE I WENT TO AND THE BF GAVE ME A PURPLISH ONE. SIGH. MEMORIES..........
GLAD THE LUNCH WAS GOOD AND YOU BID THE FIND FAREWELL! i REALLY THINK YOU AND cEE SHOULD JOING FORCES AND START A COMPANY! LOL

to Teel, Happy, Holly, Meadow, Tig

i HAVE SPENT WAY TOO MUCH TIME IN THE JOHN. WILL NEVER TAKE ALL THOSE MEDS AT ONE TIME WITH M.O.M. AT BEDTIME! FEELING BETTER TODAY AND HOPING I CAN GO TO THE MALL ON MONDAY SO I CAN FINALLY RETURN THOSE BRAS!!! LOL NOT MUCH ON THE AGENDA THIS WEEKEND. ALL THE COOKING IS ALREADY DONE! BIT OF TIDYING AND TV.
HAPPY WEEKEND TO ALL OF US WORLDY GALS AND HOPE IT'S A SMILEY ONE!

Hi girls,
The end of a very busy work week leads right into a very busy weekend. Besides the usual household chores, I promised myself that I will clean out and shampoo the car interior - it could use a good bath. My spindly tomatoes needs some trimming - a disappointing crop this year but I will learn and do better next year. And it's high time to go through a few of those packing boxes.

DH and I each got a new computer this week - a fabulous employee discount from work so that means cleaning off ALOT of stuff on that puppy too.

Which doesn't leave me much time to actually sit on the computer. So rather than lurk, please accept a quick pop in here. I will try and make some sit down time tomorrow night.

Good to hear that all is going well with you (mostly). Have a good weekend.

Hello to everyone!!!!!!!!
This is my daily news.

When we bought our house 6 years ago the yard had never been used. This place was built as a resaurant/gas station in the 60’s, turned into apts in the 80’s and a single family home in the early 90’s.We are the first family with kids and who wants to use the yard as a yard. Our property was severed from a larger one and a newer house was built on the other part. Our neighbour own 5 acres that is around 3 sides of us. They are our only neighbour.It is odd to be surrounded like this. I had started planting trees, shrubs and flowerbeds for privacy and prettiness and they told me most of it was on their property.Our driveway and clothes line etc were over the line too because everything was done half assed right from the beginning.We do have an old survey with measurements off of our house.Anyhow they have put in a pool and want to put up a solid fence for privacy and safety and had a survey done yesterday. ALL my stuff is ON our property, in fact out the back where she has been planting veggies is actually our property.We have gained 10 feet of yard!! Can you say spruce trees!!?
It is soooo nice to have this resolved. It is sooo weird that in 65 years no one has used the back yard. It has also been a weird feeling to not know where our land ended. There were many stories from locals and the previous owners and none were right. I am happy it is resolved and I can continue with my gardening uninhibited.

I had an Avon meeting yesterday. I have signed up 2 new reps out here as my team. That means my name goes into a draw for a 27 in TV, 2 out 25 chances.
woohoo!
We went to a bday party last night that was supposed to be for dinner, i made a pasta salad but the plans had changed and no one called us. So at 7:30 I ran to the restaurant in town for some burgers for takeout to go with my salad for my family.
We had a nice time.
We all slept in til 9. Hubby is still in bed.
I had my coffee out on my new porch swing, on my new porch!!!!
Today is about laundry and moving gravel and dirt. I have a load of wood chips coming next week to cover everything til I plant. I need to weed and cozy up my other beds and trees too.

Food yesterday was good, water good ,not much extra exercise.

Have a fulfilling day!!

Interesting history your property has had Holly. Hard to imagine restaurant to apartments to home. I find it odd too here that they are rather lacidasical about where the property lines fall. When we bought this house, we expected to get a plat of survey as is customary up north. Nope. We were told we could order one if we wanted to but they don't mess with that 'round these parts. Sometimes it becomes important. As in big huge dangereous bush at the end of my driveway obstructing my view. After I almost hit a little dog I didn't / couldn't see, I told DH it HAS to come out. Some former owners planted 9 trees around a metal utility box and never kept it neat and trimmed to eye level. Anyway, from the position of it, up north it would have been considered to be on our property. However the neighbors fence was along that same line so did our property start on the very edge of the driveway? DH called the town who said there are "crow's foot" markings in the cement to demarcate your property line. Yeah, right. We finally got hold of the neighbor who gave us her blessing to saw them down, we just have to do all the work - well mostly DH does. Anyway I am glad to hear that you gained back some property Holly. Would have been such a hassle if someone had laid the driveway over the neighbor's land and they were going to wreck things for you. Be sure to thank your neighbor for planting some stuff on YOUR property for you to enjoy!

Ok, lunch break over, back to work for me.

Lets get the news (good/ bad/ indifferent) out of the way first.

Weight - 73/ 73 - Same
Upper Chest - 37.5/ 37 - down .5inch
Bust - 41.5/ 40 - down 1.5inch
Lower Chest 34.25/ 34.25 - same
Waist - 33/ 32 - down 1.inch
Upper Hip - 38.5/ 38 - down .5 inch
Lower Hip - 39.25/ 39 - down .25 inch
Top of arm - 12.5/ 12.25 - down .25 inch
Top of leg - 21.5/ 21 - down .5 inch.

There it is out. Happy? well not really. I really thought I had done better this month. Although most of it is down so I should not really complain. Sometimes it just seems that I do a lot of hard work for so little results. Still I know I haven't been good on the water. I know I have skipped a meal or two that I really should have had and I know that I had a bit of a chocolate binge there in the middle somewhere. At one stage the weight was back at 71.5 and is now at 73. Can't blame it all on water!

Holly - imagine all the fun you could have had if the swimming pool was now on your land!!! Oh dear what a shame! Here they are big on the survey pegs at the boundaries of the blocks, however it is a real shame (ha ha) that they make the pegs out of soft wood timber (probably not treated) so in a few years the pegs have completely disappeared or have been moved 15 times to get fence posts and retaining walls straight. Gives the surveyors work to do in later times as the neighbours prepare to go to war over the boundary lines.

It is still too dewy out there to go wake up the neighbours with the lawnmower so I will take the spade and go dig over the front garden bed by the fence. That is right after breakfast and trip to the shop to get the paper. I was going to go to the markets up at Forest Lake today, but I feel energetic enough to do some gardening. The markets can wait for another Sunday.

Anyway - seize the day before it gets too hot and sunny. Let's go.

SHAD~ I THOUGHT OF YOU LAST NIGHT. ON TV THEY WERE SELLING A T-SHIRT WITH A TUSCAN LANDSCAPE ON IT!! I WAS CRACKING UP! NICE OF YOU TO LET THE NEIGHBORS SLEEP. THE WIGH AND MEASURE ISN'T BAD. THINK WAHT YOU'VE BEEN EATING AND THERE IS NO GAIN!!!! HERE IS A SHORTER VERSION OF MINE:

WEIGHT 174/172.5 -1.5
TOTAL INCHES 297.5/297 -.5 IN THE BUST ONLY
I AM STILL LOSING AND GAINING THE SAME 5 LBS! LOL BUT I WILL DEAL WITH IT.

HOLLY~ SO GLAD YOU FOUND OUT WHAT IS ACTUALLY YOURS....SOUNDS BIG ENOUGH FOR ME TO BUILD A SHED FOR MY 'CARS' GOOD LUCK WITH THE TV DRAWING!!! NICE WORK! ALSO GOOD SAVE ON THE CANCELLED PLANS! NICE IDEA! I OWULD NEVER HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT! LOL

HAPPY~ BOTH JEN AND I GOT A PC FROM DOWNSTAIRS. I HAD ORIGINALLY GIVEN MINE TO JEN AND IT 'BURNT' UP SOMEHOW! WHO KNOWS! SO THEY TOOK IT BACK AND SOLD ONE TO ME AGAIN. OF COURSE THEY WERE ONLY $1 EACH!! SHOULD I HAVE ASKED FOR A REFUND?!?! HAVE FUN GETTING SORTED OUT WITH THOSE PACKING BOXES. BET YOU'LL BE GLAD TO SEE THEM ALL GONE SOMEDAY!!

TOMORROW IS THE MALL AND I FEEL GOOD ENOUGH TO GO. I THINK THE WHOLE PROBLEM NOW WITH MEDS IS MY AGE DUE TO THE DISABILITY AND I NEED TO SPACE THINGS OUT BETTER.
JEN WENT TO THE TRAILER WITH RICHIE FOR A FEW DAYS SO IT'S JUST BIRDIE AND ME.(HERS) I THINK HE LIKES TO COME HERE AND GET SPOILED....WHAT ARE GRANDMAS FOR ANYWAY!!! MY BIRD IS STILL IN DEATHS CLUTCHES. HE'S SUCH A LITTLE FIGHTER BUT WISH IT WERE OVER.
HUMIDITY IS SO BAD AGAIN THAT I HAVEN'T BEEN OUT FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME AND THAT MANHUNT STILL CONTINUES TOO. I THAT GUY HAS FLOWN THE COOP CAUSE THERE HAVEN'T BEEN ANYMORE HURT BUT THERE WAS ONE IN NYC THAT SOUNDED SIMILAR.....MAYBE HE WENT ACTOSS THE RIVER.
BY THE TIME THE WEATHER GETS GOOD IT WILL BE EFFIN' XMAS!!! THEN I'LL BE COMPLAINING OF THE COLD!!!
HAPPY SUNDAY/MONDAY AND HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Hi Mel~ We have been humidity free. It sure makes life bearable. I am glad you are feeling better. Happy Shopping!! The land we gained is as big as most yards in the city.LOL!
Shad~ it would appear that that most of your news is GOOD!! Our pegs are iron.They found 2 buried way down deep.
HI Happy~ nice of your neighbours to LET you take care of the bushes. I am happy to only have 1 neighbour and they are okay.We have a acre and they have 5.Lots of space in between.
All of the changes in our house have been done by the owners.Many major renos but the last 2 owners did things the quick fix way. Most of what we have done is tear things right back to the wood and start fresh. Hubby is a builder and knows what he is doing. It is beautiful when it gets done. Actually, inspite of a torn up starwell and bathroom we have accomplished a LOT in 5 1/2 yeas. it is certainly livable and quite nice really.
Laughing in a sad way today.
After much dirt shovelling yesterday Hubby went to his home town to visit friends last night.
I just asked him how everyone was. They are a close knit bunch who have been friends since grade school. They married gals from the area and never moved away. They are all in their mid forties now. We have had a lot of deaths in the crowd this year starting with A’s suicide and then there have been parents and grandparents dying and then Tyler drowned.
Last night hubby asked one gal how they were doing and her response was,” 2005 can just f*** right off.”
Wher Tyler drowned DH went outside saying,"there is too much death”, and had a big cry.
Wanda can be a little rough around the edges but she sure made hubby feel better and she kinda said it all for the gang.

I had a nice quiet evening. The kids and I went for a swim next door.
There is somethig magical about floating on your back in a pool surrounded by huge trees.

I was super tired but didn’t fall asleep til 1am. Slept til 9am. The kids have vacation bible school starting tomorrow. I need to get all of our butts into bed earlier and get up earlier.
I cut the grass with the push mower for the exercise and then edged around the trees out front.
I ate well all day, water and exercise we great and then I ate 4 bowls of maple walnut frozen yogurt. sigh. I was overtired and relaxing and I ate. ARG!
Lately food and water have been good and exercise has been lame. I really need to do all 3!!
I did get 3 loads of wash done, 2 still to put away. 3 more loads today. House work is a MUST!
Hubby is going to put topsoil up the south side of the house. I will have 2 new 30 feet long flower beds to work on in the spring. I will get some mums and bulbs in this fall.
I have a load of wood chips coming this week.
This year I have just been maintaining the stuff i have planted over thelast 5 years. I actually have a hydrangea and a bleeding heart that need to be divided. I will have quite a bit od Sept gardening to do.

I suppose that is it for today.

Have a spectacular day.

hi folks im here ,were super busy !!!! well hubby is im supervising ???who knew it could be so tiring?????? halls done just need the men to come and lay the carpet{were not attempting that one the staircase turns at the bottom}and then its just the re-tiling to be done in the bathroom and the kitchen ,all i can say is phew its nearly over
love to you all
kirsty+bump

Made the decision
It’s taken a while and a bit of soul searching but I have finally decided to carry on and extend my contract at the Ministry of Funny Walks aka OSR.

I had at first decided not to, and up to a few days ago was sticking with that decision. However I’ve been checking out the available work and there isn’t an awful lot of it around and that which is there is not paying the sort of money I’m getting here. So............. here I stay for the next 5 months or so.

Thanks for the comments re the weight for the month. Sometimes it is like pulling teeth trying to get this weight off, but there is simply no way I can give up now, I’ve come too far and been through too much. Besides which who would Madcat have to annoy and be annoyed with if I gave up. I’m trying to work out what to do this month which may shift the final kilos from this butt and gut and tummy. Not that the butt is big, but it is flabby.

Today my DS2’s christmas and birthday present arrived. What !!!! Well he asked for a chest of drawers made of timber not the cheaper veneered MDF/ chipboard and I said I would look for something and check it out with him. However he didn’t go and have a look at my choices - too busy Mum - so finally on Saturday I took the plunge, paid for it and had it delivered. He liked it. At least I think he did - maybe it was only an impression that I got. But anyway he has got it now and is putting in orders for Christmas this year. Unbeknowns to him, I have already got part of his Chrissy pressy - the goofy part. Every year I try to get them something that is totally ridiculous - last year he got a singing bottle opener and stubby holder and a few other gimmicky things relating to his footy team. This year I have found a seat pad (no it doesn’t sing) and a dressed teddy bear. I’m sure I will find a couple of other goodies before Christmas strikes as well. Now all I have to do is find something for the older one (whose sense of humour doesn’t run to footy paraphenalia) - maybe crutchless bike knickers or something equally stupid.

So no gym tonight. I’ve been feeling so worn out lately that I am going to cut the gym back to 4 sessions per week for a while and carry on with the walking at lunch time (I can do 4k in my lunch break and the scenery is superb). I may still do a double on Saturday morning - we will see.

And that is about it for today. Clean the bathroom, do the dishes and the ironing and that’s about me for tonight. I'll catch up on all your posts tomorrow.

I got a bunch of stuff done last night after I got home from work. It sure helps to have something in the fridge to pull out and heat up in the microwave. Did my 15 minute flylady tidying last night in the living room, and a load of laundry. I want to have most of the house work done before the week end because I have a shelf to hang in the kitchen and a t.v. cart from the bedroom to spray paint, and a yard to mow. The t.v. cart will be going to the kitchen to house some small appliances. This is my long week end and will be going to Paragould on Saturday.

My 2 week limit on exercise ended this past week end so I’m going to the gym tonight for my weight session. The gym doesn’t have a wide varity of machines. It seem’s the men hog those and I do free weights. I want to walk at least a mile around the inside track. That’s 20 minutes for me. To make it in 15 minutes I have to jog and that’s to much weight on my bad feet.

Hello to all the chicks

J. just informed me that the chemical truck will be here today or tomorrow. He was sure in a good, bossy mood. The time was not right to ask him about his week end.

Weighed in this morning at 182. Have a couple of fluid pounds cause I did not drink the required amount of water Saturday and Sunday. I also measured and I’m glad that the tape measure is shrinking.

Time to get to work after all that’s why I’m here