Good morning everyone,

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend. DH had to work Sat., but he had yesterday off. It was so nice here Sun. morning that we got to open up the sliding doors and a few windows. It won't be long now before we'll be able to keep them open.

It doesn't look like we're going to get much of anything out of Rita. They're talking about showers and thunder showers for tomorrow.

Anne, we miss hearing from you. Hope everything is ok and that you're just busy.

Kate, hope you had a good time with your friends over the weekend. Glad you enjoyed yourself at the wedding. My suitcase is already packed and standing by the front door as we "speak". It sounds like you had a lot of rain. Did you get any flooding? Yes, I have started The Da Vinci Code. It's really good. I know it's just a story, but where these organizations really do exist, it makes you pause and think a bit. It has a lot of twists and turns that keep me on the edge of my seat. Have you decided on what eating program you're going to follow? I saw an ad in the paper for Curves and they have an eating plan that you can follow. I don't know if the plan is something new, or if it's the same 2 they've always had.

Nikki, how are things coming on DD's house? I bet she's all excited about moving in. I am so happy for her. I saw gas yesterday at around $2.74, which is about what it was before Katrina. I read in the paper that most of the people from Katrina are opting to stay where they relocated because they know they have nothing to return home to, or they don't have any insurance. That is odd that some chose to stay put rather than go to Iowa.

Hi to you too Barb, Hope things are getting better for you.

Lucyee, hope you're having a good time. By the time you get back I'll be gone for 2 weeks.

Enjoy your Monday everyone!
Ali

HI Everyone,

We are almost done with DD's house. My other DD stopped by this morning and was amazed at how much better the kitchen looks. She said we should go into business remodeling kitchens. I told her I'd never survive that .

Ali, our gas prices as of today were 2.43. I keep wondering why anyone would think staying in the Astrodome was better than coming to Iowa. Does Iowa have that bad of a reputation? It's really not that bad here. I know most people think it's only corn fields, but there is so much more. There's soy bean fields, hog lots and cattle farms . Honestly though, there really is a lot more here and many places are actually beautiful.

Kate, have you chosen an eating plan yet? I am just eating more healthy and I've lost some weight (nothing to get excited about, I've lost these same pounds many times before).

Hi to everyone else, hope your all ok.

Better get off the computer, Stripe has officially sat on my arms and that limits my typing ability, kind of like typing with a straight jacket on. Take care, Nikki

Good Morning Ladies!~
Hope everyone is doing great. Kate, I didn't go to the concert. I sent my
son in my place. Too much going on..... but on a happier note, My DH and
I are going to see Dame Edna at the end of October which is our 27th
Anniversary. That will make up for missing Elton John.

Nikki, our gas prices are a disgrace. I don't know what gives Its
getting to the point where everyone will need a second job to fill the tank.
I bet you are glad your daughters place is nearly ready She must be
thrilled.
Ali, I am so glad to hear you won't be in harms way with Rita. I heard a
couple of guys on the radio yesterday saying these warm temperatures are
here to stay climate change and all that stuff.

Hope you all have a great day!
Anne.

Hello everyone,

It looks like Rita will be hitting the Texas coast. Barb, I hope you're out of harms way. What are they saying for your area? There are tropical storm watches/warnings out south of us. One of the cities (towns) is borders our city. They're saying we'll probably see some showers and tunder showers throughout today.

Anne, it is so nice to hear from you. Sorry you didn't get to go to the concert. You'll enjoy Dame Edna. Are you back to work now?

Nikki, that's wonderful that DD#2 noticed how much better the kitchen looked. I bet you felt like.... I think Iowa would be a great place to live. I'd prefer Iowa to the Astrodome, that's for sure. With your gas prices, I may move there myself. Our gas prices haven't changed very much, if at all.
Congratulations on your weight loss. Even if you've lost these same lbs. before, you're heading in the right direction.

Hi Kate, Lucyee, Barb hope things are going ok with you.

Have a good one.
Ali

Good evening! It's been another beautiful day. I just love fall. The cool nights are great for sleeping and the air is so crisp. Hectic week at work and I haven't felt too good because I have a bladder infection. Probably will have to see a urologist because I've had so many this year. I don't like taking antibiotics so much.

Anne: I'm sorry that you didn't get to the concert. Did your son enjoy it? I think I've heard the name Dame Edna, but I can't remember anything about her. Fill me in please. How is your sister doing? I hope that she made out okay.

Nikki: This week I'm doing WW, counting points. It's going pretty well! Of course I'm only 2 days into it Congrats on your weight loss! It's okay if you've lost those same pounds before...you're back on track. How exciting that you're almost done with DD's house. Did you take before and after pictures? I never remember to do that

Ali: Your trip is getting close! Are you going to be able to post at all while you're gone? I hope you can...I'll miss you. How much rain have you gotten from Rita? I didn't see the news tonight so I'm not sure exactly where it is right now.

Barb: Hope that you're doing okay. Will you be affected by the hurricane? What a terrible thing to have another one. Makes you wonder what's happening to the atmosphere.

Lucyee: Hope you're enjoying your trip!

Has anybody else gotten hooked on Lost? I can't wait for the season opener tonight.

Take care,
Kate

Good morning everyone,

Had an interesting day yesterday. Tues. afternoon some guy let a cat loose at our next door neighbor's house, and they're up north. We have a chain link fence that surrounds our property. On the other side of our house is an empty lot with scrub brush. While we were eating supper out on the lanai I heard the cat crying in the scrub brush. I went to investigate and the cat was rubbing its head on my hand through the chain link, and licked my finger. The poor little thing looked so lost and kept crying. The cat woke me up at 5:00 am crying yesterday morning. I managed to get the cat in my back yard through the gate out back. I gave it some milk and called the animal control people. The officer came out and the cat was scared to death of him, so he left the carrier with me since the cat seemed to trust me. I fed it some tuna fish and while the cat was eating I grabbed it and put it in the pet carrier, then called animal control again and he came back and got the cat. It was a very young cat and someone had it declawed, so it had been a house cat. No wonder the poor thing was confused. I told him that some guy dropped it off, and the animal control officer said that it was probably some sort of domestic dispute. Now the cat is in their facility quarantined for "X" amount of days then will be transfered to the Humane Soc. for adoption. How inhumane to leave a defenseless cat out on its own. It makes me boiling mad everytime I think of it. I would've taken it in but, DH is allergic to cats and I don't think Lacee would be very happy with a sister or brother. I really missed the cat after the officer took it away.

Those poor, poor people in Texas. Some of the people are evacuees of Katrina. My heart goes out to them. DH says we're still heading north on Sat. no matter what the gas situation is.

Kate, glad that counting points is going well for you so far. Just take it one day at a time. We're just getting some feeder bands off of Rita. It's been cloudy and every once in a while we get some torrential rain that only lasts a few minutes. My ILs have a lap-top that we check our e mails from, so I will be able to check in.

Hi Anne, Nikki, Barb, Lucyee

Hope you all have a good day.
Ali

Barb: Stay safe. This is unbelievable.

Take care,
Kate

Hi Everyone,
Today is the big day, we will be moving most of DD's stuff into her house. I am beyond being ready to stop going over there everyday. DH says we will still have to go over more than we expect. I'm hoping that since everything is fixed and really in move in condition now, that she will not need anything fixed, worked on or replaced any time soon.

Barb, stay safe and be careful. This has to be really scarey for you.

Ali, as I sit here, Mr. Stripe is on my lap. Not really on my lap, the spoiled baby doesn't like sitting on my lap, he is use to me holding him up on my chest. If I try to have him just sit on my lap, he keeps nuzzling me and trying to sit on my boobs, slips down and then tries to sit back on them again. I don't know how anyone could be so heartless as to let a cat out like that. I'm glad you were able to get it to safety and hopefully, it will have a good home to look forward to and someone to spoil her too. Have a good time on your trip and take care.

Anne, I can hardly believe that your having your 27th anniversary. Doesn't seem like that long ago you were having your 25th and a big party. Congratulations to you both.
Talk about warm, it's still in the 90's here and humid. It feels more like the middle of August, instead of the end of Sept. This weather has been weird all year.

Kate, bladder infections are so annoying and can be very painful. I hope you get some relief soon.
Yes, I did take before and after pictures of DD's house. If you would like to be bored beyond words, send me a PM with your email address and I will send them to you or anyone that would like to see them. Don't worry though if you want to pass , I won't blame you a bit.

Lucyee, hope your trip is going well. Can't wait to have you back.
Better go get a shower and get going, be careful everyone, Nikki

Good morning everyone,

Just wanted to pop in to say good-bye for now. We're leaving early tomorrow morning. I'll be checking in once we get to my IL's house.

DH has a cousin who lives in Houston. His MIL just passed away a few days ago, so he and his wife flew to NH yesterday. They'll stay up there until they can go back to Houston. They're just hoping they'll have a house to go back to. I also have a cousin who lives there and he's opted to stay put. Stubbornness is a family trait.

Barb, I've been thinking about you and hope you stay safe.

Nikki, how did the moving go? Smoothly, I hope. Your DD must've been so happy to finally move into her new house. Hope she had a good first night sleeping there. I honestly don't know how anyone could be so heartless and let a poor defenseless kitty on its own that had probably never been outside before. The cat will make a nice house pet for someone.

Kate, how are you feeling? Bladder infections aren't any fun. Hope you're starting to feel better. I'm still reading The Da Vinci Code. I'm finding that it's getting rather boring. But, I'm determined to finish it.

Anne, how are things going so far for you this week? How is your sister coming along? I see Fall started yesterday. It still feels like summer here, I'm still in shorts.

Lucyee, hope you have a safe trip back home.

Bye,

Take care,
Ali

Hi Ali,
Just wanted you to know that I'll be thinking of you as you travel north. Be safe and have a great trip!

Take care,
Kate

Hi Everyone,

Ali, hope you have a safe trip and enjoy your time up home. Looks like most of Houston had minimal damage so far. Hope your DH's cousin's place is ok and they are able to return soon. I am afraid that since there was such a mess with this evacuation, that a lot of people will not leave next time. It would be a really difficult decision to make.

Hey Barb, how are things in Dallas? Hope your doing ok. Are there gas shortages there too? I have seen a lot of news about the coast of Texas, but not so much about how it's affecting the rest of the state.
How's your exercise been? I'm not doing anything that is routine yet. I will start this week though, since DD's house is for the most part, done.

Kate, I decided to start eating frozen dinners a couple of times a day with a salad and then cereal for breakfast with fruit, popcorn, a snack bar or something like that for snacks. I wanted to try Nutrisystem, but it turns out to be beyond my budget. Besides, not all the food is that great on their plan and I'd hate to eat things that maked me gag and pay a lot for it. Say, I tried Special K's new Vanilla Almond cereal the other day and it is good. I don't like the regular Special K. Another thing I tried that is new to me is a new non stick spray made by Mazola. It's called Mazola Pure, I purchased the butter flavor, there are two others, olive oil and some other. It says pure aroma, pure taste, no silicone, no alcohol. It has no calories and is fat free (if you don't over spray it of course). I was really surprised, it does smell and taste like butter and there is no funky smell with it when you spray it. I used it to bake some fish with and it worked very well. Can't say there was much of a butter flavor when I was eating it though.

Lucyee, are you home yet girlfriend? Just hope your trip was/is a safe one and that your doing ok.

Anne, I've never seen Dame Edna, just caught bits and pieces of an interview on BBC America. Hope you have a great time. How's the new fur baby? Bet he's growing more all the time.

Better get a shower and get myself in gear. Have lots of fish tanks to clean. Poor things, they have been needing attention for some time now and I've been too busy to do much but feed them and watch the algae grow in their tanks.
Take care all, Nikki

OH I forgot to mention this. If you have a cell phone or know anyone that does, in the next two weeks, they will be releasing all cell phone numbers to telemarketers. If they call you and you answer, you will have to pay for the minutes. If you see a message and don't know who it's from, it's probably a telemarketer.

To stop getting any phone calls you can either call this number or visit this website and put all you numbers on a do not call list. I copied the info from cheapskate.com a website that sends me some useful stuff sometimes. Nikki


You must call (888) 392-1222 from your cell phone or the number you want to have blocked. Better yet, save your airtime and register all of your numbers at www.DoNotCall.gov

I'm ready for fall!!! These 100+ days are getting old, especially now that it's almost October!!! I got several pretty pot plants when mother died, and I have them out on my patio, but it's getting really hard to keep them alive in this heat!!!

I'm not sure excatly what I've told all of you, but it is offical. Our business is closed. We let the final employee go last Friday and we are taking the final inventories today. So my DH is unemployed. At 59 years old that is very scary!!! He's too young for SS an too old from a lot of jobs... Keep us in your prayers, that he will be able to find something soon.

Unfortunately the diet scene has gone by the wayside. Nervous eating has been the big thing this past few weeks. Hopefully, I'll get my act and my head together soon, before too much damage is done.

That's just about all I have to say, I hope all of you are doing well...Keep in touch!!

Hi all,
I'm still crazed at work. Hopefully by this time next week things will settle to a more normal pace. Went to the doctor today because I had such a backache yesterday that I felt queasy. I thought it might have something to do with all the bladder infections that I've had because the last few I've gotten I've had a backache. She's sending me for a renal ultrasound and a lower back xray next week.

Barb: So glad that you got through the hurricane okay. I don't envy your 100 degree heat. I don't think I could take that. I'm sorry to hear about your business. It's a lot of time and energy that goes into running your own business. I hope your DH finds something quickly. Is your job going any better?

Nikki: So what are you doing with all your free time now that DD's house is done???? I'm sure you've found some other projects to keep you going. How has your eating been? I haven't weighed myself since I started back on WW. Last week the eating went real well. This week I've slacked off on writing things down, but I don't think I've done too bad. I'm going to wait a couple weeks before I face the scale.

Lucyee: We're waiting to hear from you!

Ali: You must be at your destination by now. Hope that your drive was okay. How are the fall colors? Hasn't turned much yet around here.

Anne: The weather is getting cooler. I've worn a jacket to work the last couple mornings. Hope things are going well for you. How's Toby?

Take care,
Kate

Morning everyone,

Our temps got down to mid 30's last night, no frost, but you could see your breathe this morning. Now they say it will warm up into the 70's again, which is fine with me, I still have lots of yard work to finish before winter gets here and I'm not ready to take off my gardening gloves yet .

Barb, glad your ok. I'm sorry to hear about your business though, that must be a real worry for you and your DH. I will keep you in my prayers.

Kate, I decided to eat around 1500 calories a day and not beat myself up if I go a little over. I thought I was doing great at that, but, after writing it down for a few days, I realized I'm eating around 2000 cals a day and I still feel hungry all the time. So, I looked at what I was eating and had to make a few changes. More vegetables, fewer puddings (even ff/sf have 70 calories) or snack bars, a lower calorie dressing on my salads, with no or fewer croutons on top (which I just love). You know, this is hard. I already feel deprived from not eating what I really want, now I have to eat less of the stuff that is ok, but not exactly what I want to eat. What I want to eat is a bag of potato chips and a container of dip, instead, I have a small bag of popcorn and a Crystal light. I've heard it's not will power, it's changing your behavior that makes the difference. Keep doing the same things, keep getting the same results. So. I'm trying to do that, change my behavior that is. I know this weekend will be especially difficult, as DH is off and we always have a big binge fest on his days off. He is not worrying about his weight (although, he should, I've never seen him at this weight before.) I'm going to have to figure out how to change that behavior, but it's going to be hard as he looks forward all week to his days off, drinking beer and eating too much.
As far as filling my time, I'm still helping DD with her yard. It looked like a jungle. I spend a few hours a day over there and then tackle my yard too, getting it ready for winter. Still, I'm not working nearly as hard as I was before, so I've no excuse for not exercising. I need to get our camper ready for winter too. The mice have already moved in there, which is early for them. I have some major cleaning to do to in there.

Ali, hope your having a great time and doing lots of shopping.
Anne, hope things are ok with you .
Lucyee, same to you sweetie

Better close, DH will be home soon, Nikki