Thought I would post happier thoughts now that the irritating troll is at work now.

SO, my baby girl turned 5 at 8:01 am this morning. She is my heart. I feel such a goddess connection with her.
She woke up and asked, all bleary eyed, is today really the day!Then she said,” I need to wear my best dress.” AW!
One family brought her a set of My Little Pony, out neighbour gave her another one. My family gave $. I will open bank accounts for the kids this week.DH’s folks are stopping Christmas presents cause the kids dont need anything and will give $ too.
Bon Jovi ,on Oprah, yesterday was DREAMY!!!! Hard bodied little rocker guys with pouty mouths make me insanely happy!!!!!
DH watched it with me. It was fun. He is a skinny rocker guy with pouty lips too. Too bad he didn’t have millions to give away.
I need to decide how to use my day. I have 2 loads to fold. 3 to wash. Many toys to tidy. I will give some away.
Dishes to wash. Books to stamp. A few calls to make.

I am so happy not to be going out tonight!!!! Hope DH is less crusty.LOL!

Holly, Holly, Holly... how would you feel if DH went to work and you overheard him talking to his buddies referring to you as an "irritating troll". Bet you wouldn't like it much, even if he said he was just funnin'.

I too have found that when you bring up the fact that you're contributing too, they sometimes get defensive - I've heard the "well I'll just separate my pay too then" speech.

As far as the housework goes, for the better part of 4 years I got to work from home. During that time I did the lion's share of the housework because I was home even tho I was often working more than 40 hours. Now our roles are reversed and DH is working from home and I'm gone 10 or more hours a day. The majority of the work around the house now falls on his shoulders. I might toss a load of clothes into the washer as I get ready to leave in the morning and ask him to pop it in the dryer and take it out and fold it. He's good about washing and drying but often forgets to pull it out of the dryer before it's horribly wrinkled so I admit I still do most of the laundry. I cook, he cleans the dishes, rinses them and puts them in the dishwasher. If there's stuff that can't go in the dishwasher, then I wash the dishes.

I found the easiest way to avoid the standoff of chores is to follow Fly Lady's advice. If everyone picks up after themselves and you don't keep clutter around, things stay much neater and are easier to clean. No reason why when you have 9 kids over that you can't set the loud timer right before they are getting ready to get picked up and make a game of everyone picking up and putting toys away.

I've been married over 28 years, had my share of "discussions" with the DH about sharing duties. I can tell you from experience that no matter what you say, you won't change the situation, best that will happen is you both go to separate corners with arms crossed over chest thinking you are both right and the problem never gets resolved. So you have to change your approach. I beat on hubby to stop that bad habit of dropping things where ever he left them and take the extra step to rinse out a glass, pick up his shirt, etc. AND I needed to do the SAME. :lol: I do a 15 minute tidy up before I go to bed and the house stays remarkably clean. Just a thought...

Some wise words there Happy. I can well understand Holly's frustration, but perhaps it was not the most tactful to state that I earn as much as you. Still, I well remember when money was a prime object and the lack of it or the amount of current debt can make one somewhat snappy. Now is not the time to withdraw to opposite corners and only come out to make snarky remarks - him or her.

As far as the toys go. I've been watching a program on pay tv about making space. The woman who fronts it, quite frequently drives me crazy with her very best whinging pom voice (no offence Teel or Linus) but she has some good points about creating routine to get the kids to tidy up the toys. She maintains that they always have too many toys and that some should be put away and rotated with those remaining - makes the novelty of them last longer and they think there are new toys. And she says that if you and the kids get into the habit of tidying up the toys last thing - eventually they will do it automatically. You never know, you might have other mums thank you for it in time to come. Also if the toys are tidied up just before the good folk arrive to take them away, they may have time for a story as well. Thoughts to ponder. Not getting at you Holly, just trying to help. I know your kids are not that old, but there is nothing to stop them from helping out with the dishes either. One clears the table, one dries the plates or whatever. They helped to eat the food after all. Mine were encouraged to do the dishes from a very early age. They had to stand on a stool to reach!!! Don't get me wrong there was the odd tantrum over it as well. Mind you, I did lose a few plates from the dinner set from time to time. I still haven't got DS2 into the habit of putting clothes away after they have been washed, dried and folded. DS1 is house trained completely. He is tidier than me.
By the way if CJ gets excited about your bloodlines, maybe he ought to have a go at mine - there's Kiwi, Maori, Pom, Irish, English and German that we know about.

:wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: to Happy's Mum. Now she, via the daughter, is checking on me on the computer late at night. I'll have to try sneaking around without the egg being lit.

Mel, this pesky couple of pounds. Arrgghhhhh :yikes: :eek: I am really getting hacked off with them. I would just love to get rid of them. I'm trying (yeah very trying, I know) but they just don't seem to want to shift. Up and down, 73.0, 72.0, 71.5, 73 and on and on and on it goes.
Mooz tells me she has lost 3 pound. You and I seem to have found them. Will we ever stop looking for lost things?

Morning to all others. I'll be back. Better go and do some work.

Hi. May I loiter a bit?
I see many familiar names from the Journals... and think I am ready to re-commit to increasing my behavioral sanity-- there's another thread I check in on sometimes, but ... well.... I'm "shopping"...and a little weary and tired. At least today I've eaten better than all last week.
I still have "chemo fatigue"... but had a RN friend, my DH and another friend tell me to accept that I'm tired and stupefied off and on all day.

Congratulations on the arrival of the new baby! I like that quote about babies being confirmation that life should continue.... With all the hurricane news (it's heading this way along with many many evacuees), Iraq, etc., not to mention the meds, I haven't been all that optimistic myself.

Let's hear it for Mad Ludwig (or the tropics)!

Nice to see you here Painterwoman, and I'm pleased that you chose us to loiter with. No policeman here to stop you from loitering with intent.

Rest your weary bones on our verandah. Happy will be along shortly with the smoothies cart. All good stuff here. Sorry to hear that you are feeling tired and stressed after all that chemo. Sometimes the 'cure' is worse than anything else, I guess. However you can relax among friends here. One thing about being all over the world is that there is usually someone on line most of the time. However as to behavioural sanity - well that's not always evident on this thread.

Come on in and chat whenever you feel the need or the want or just some one to whinge, complain, celebrate or generally just talk to.

HI PW!!! I a thrilled to see you pop in here. Giant HUGS!!!

So, DH came home all contrite. His way of communicating is soooo indirect. On Wed he was being so cocky and sarcastic and it continued Thurs AM. It is his backwards way of saying he misses me because I have been busy. The thing is, everything I do is for the well being of all of us.He knows that but was being a suck.
Instead of apologising he cracked a few jokes. It was lighthearted. I told him if he wanted a fulltime house wife he had better get out there and double his income.
Needless to say he helped out last night.
The kids do help with their own stuff and rooms. He does not. There is a shirt, hat and papers on every surface in the house. I put it all in a basket and toss it in his closet regularily. I do keep toys away and rotate.
The bottom line is this is a 2500 sq ft house, with a 900 sq ft basement and there are 4-10 people in her every day, I cook 3 hot meals and 2 snacks every day and it is a lot of work. Our yard is an acre.Plus there is the reno mess. I am tired of it right now.

On a happier note, I am thrilled that I have come through the last 5 weeks of massive work and commitments unscathed.I kept myself balanced and even tho I was exhausted last Sat I was smart enough to go back to bed and rest.
I am proud of my acheivements.
Last night I relaxed and watched TV and folded laundry. It was nice.
I didn't snack.
We had a long gentle rain all aft and eve yesterday.Great for the hydrangea I dug up and divided in the morning. That was job. Definitely a work out.
2 little guys for the morning and 1 little guy in the aft.
I am picking up cucs today. I will work on dill pickles over the weekend.
We have 2 bday parties Sat aft and then a very casual gathering for DD on Sunday.
She had a wonderful Bday. Loved playing with her Little Ponies.
DS had a awesome day!!! He asked his teacher to be moved cause the boys at his table were distracting him from his schoolwork!! I am so proud of him. What a huge deal. He has been getting his work done. He has a spelling test today.He has seemed calm and rested for a couple of days. Yahoo!!
I am looking forward to today and the weekend.
Best go feed the kids and get them organized for their day.

Mel! Thought this would brighten up your day

"Mel, I need a song!!! .... by dlzbth
I miss Mel and her songs! I was thinking of a good song for today. One that would reflect how happy I am that’s Friday. "

....from the journals

Holly-- Way to go telling DH what was required to have a "full time wife."
I'm giving a presentation on Marriage: a history -- from Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered Marriage... (long title, no?) Anyway, it claims that women were valued (A LOT) until people stopped bartering and began using money and banks... Because THEN women didn't have access to cash. So maybe our plight isn't because of male patriarchy so much as because of BANKS!! :lol:

I had a lovely long nap this afternoon after collecting anything that I thought Rita might blow off our patio. They've changed the forecast for North Texas as well as downgraded the Category to "just" 3... so we might not EVEN get any rain here. It is anti-climax that makes people stop preparing for disasters, don't you think.

DH is watching the Friday night SF marathon... but first he took me out for dinner (I had soup and veggies... yay me!!) and then to Borders. I am set for the weekend whether it storms or not.

IF it cools down, and doesn't rain, I'll pull weeds. Otherwise, knit, read, nap.


PS: I look forward to getting to know those I don't already know from long ago at the journals.

:high: Way to go PainterWoman by going out to dinner and ordering soup and veggies. It's really difficult to look at a a menu, know you can order whatever you want and ordering healthy. You should be proud.

I hear you on the hurricane petering out, people in traffic for 18 hours and wondering why :?: and thinking I'm NOT going through this again. My niece lives in Houston and was no doubt stuck in the traffic jams herself. I think everyone was freaked after hearing about New Orleans so that was good that they attempted to leave but look at what happened... Just brings up the fact that disaster planning takes time, effort, thought and money and most planners feel it's not worth it until the disaster is staring you straight in the eye and then it's too late.

For a change I'm looking forward to a nice weekend. Mom insisted on doing some laundry today so that's all caught up. House is still nice and clean from my marathon cleaning session over the weekend, just some quick surface cleaning and I'm good to go. DH did the yard work over the last 2 evenings after work so he's free to goof off too if so desired. Mom wants to go shopping so we'll have a girl's day out tomorrow. Rains are supposed to come in late tomorrow and probably on Sunday too. Monday we might get a bit of the hurricane but shouldn't be more than a steady rain. We will have to see what else she wants to do as outdoor activities will probably be out and she can't really walk that well. Was complaining about the knees tonight so that's a sure thing that rain will be heading our way. Actually between DH's back, my head and her knees I'd say that's a DEFINITE :rain:

None the less it will be nice to be relieved of chore duty this weekend and spend it just having a nice time.

So what's everyone else's plans for the weekend?

Hi,

It's Saturday night and I've just got back to the computer after a busy day. The weekend is already half over.

I seem to have been busy all day but not got a lot done. Chasing my tail maybe? I got up early this morning and dug out the little patch for the new pavers, then I dug some more weeds and trimmed up some bushes. There will be some more veges going in down there soon. Bit more preparation of the soil needed there. Following that I had a light breakfast and went to the gym for an hour in the gym and an hour in Body Balance. I had intended to go do weights but got on the treadmill to warm up and was still there 30 minutes, 4k and 304 calories later. So I filled in the rest of the time with a 7.5k free weight in each hand doing squats (and sweating).
After gym came the shopping then I came home to shower, put the groceries away and have some lunch. DS2 invited me round to see the photos of his trip - that kid has the weirdest sense of humour!!!!! - I was taking a photo Mum of the sea and the sunrise when this dirty big whale got in the way, waving his flippers! Yes son. Sure here's a photo of him. Then the whale apparently ruined the next shot by flapping his tail. Not that you can see that much on the camera. It's a long way away and the lens wasn't anywhere near big enough to capture him in all his glory. I picked up my camera lens, bag and container and went to Joy heaven (hardware store/ nursery) for cement, pebbles, creeping thyme plant and came home with cement, pennyroyal plant, cat plants (yes for the cat to roll in and sniff) a large pot, some dynamic lifter and some potting mix. The pebbles will need to wait for an increase in my bank balance.
So tomorrow is cementing in the pavers, going to the gym, planting the pennyroyal between the pavers, potting up some mint that is not doing well in the terracotta pot, planting up the old wheelbarrow tray with the cat stuff and fertilising the garden. Talking of the wheelbarrow - I went down to Joy heaven last weekend to buy a tyre for the old wheelbarrow. No tyres, wheels only and the bl**dy wheels are dearer than the lady size wheelbarrows!!!??? WTF. I bought a new wheelbarrow.

Happy, how nice to have Mum doing the chores for you. Brings back memories of the times where my Mum came down and cooked up a storm - she loved to cook and she was good at it. When the fridge and freezer and the cupboards were full she went home. I then invited the Mother In Law down - she cleaned and washed and ironed - and she was good at it too. These are the times to treasure. They won't last forever unfortunately but enjoy them as you can.

Painter - doesn't matter if Rita peters out and you get nothing. At least you are reasonably prepared. The authorities have got it more or less right this time. It's far better to blame them for erring on the side of caution than blaming them for not doing anything or not being prepared as in New Orleans. My only whinge about the evacuation is that they should have opened the other side of the highways except for one lane in for emergency vehicles should they have been necessary. That may have had some problems too, but not the 2miles per 9 hours problem. And as for sending in the gas tankers - what were they thinking - or not thinking as the case maybe.
Now there sounds an interesting speech. Bartered brides versus the banks. Ummmmmm.
Hiya Holly, glad to see you are getting it all together again. That's just about all you can do sometimes. Just get on with it.

Oooh yes, I was speaking to Teel yesterday on the phone. She is okay, still trying to get in to see her doctor. The chest pains are no worse, no better. Linus got the flowers I sent. 18 long stemmed carnations. They thought Teel had sent them, then Teel's flowers arrived as well. Apparently when mine appeared, Andy said that they can't be from Teel as she apparently said that she would only send flowers if the baby was a girl!!! Nothing for a boy!!!! So then the second lot appeared from the worldly chicks and they were very puzzled. Don't know what was in Teels bunch. Glad the rest of you didn't decide to do something as well. We may have had the whole of Scotland trying to work it out. I did tell you that behavioural sanity was not always part of our brief did I not Painter??

So it is now bedtime. I have much to do tomorrow. Those concrete pavers are not light. Still it will look better tomorrow night. I'll take a photo for you.
Painter, stay in and stay safe. Happy enjoy the shopping trip with Mum. Holly don't work too hard. Mel, Tig, Meadow, Roseblush, Teel, Linus - time for another of those famous waves :wave:

:encore: FLOWERS EVERYWHERE:encore: :dance:
GLAD THE FLOWERS ARRIVED FOR LINUS AND CJ AND THEY SEEM TO HAVE BROUGHT PAINTER WOMAN!!! SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AND WHAT A GREAT SATURDAY MORNING SURPRISE. PICK A ROOM AND REST THE WEARY BONES. DID YOU BRING YOUR KNITTING?! LOL HEALING TAKES TIME AND IS EXHAUSTING. GO WITH THE FLOW. :balloons:

SHAD~ HAPPY PAVING OR SHALL I SAY CONCRETING!!!YOU'RE PROBABLY TIRED AND SLEEPING OFF THE FIRST DAY OF IT! YES I WISH WE COULD BOTH GET RID OF A FEW LBS INSTEAD OF CONSTANTLY FINDING THEM AFTER WE HAVE JUST GOTTEN RID OF THEM!! :tantrum: :rofl:

HAPPY~ HAD A GOOD GIGGLE AT THE 3 "WEATHER" MACHINES YOU HAVE NOW IN YOUR HOUSE!!!! IS IT RAINING IN NEW JERSEY....CAN YOU PREDICT THAT FAR NORTH?!?! HAPPY SHOPPING WITH MOM AND DON'T FORGET TO GET SOME LOVELY FOO FOOS!!! :lol3:

HOLLY~ EVERYTIME I READ ABOUT THE DH I THANK GOD I'M DIVORCED AND OLD!!! :rofl: GOOD FOR YOU TO STICK UP FOR YOURSELF BUT MEN ARE STILL MEN AND HAVE DELICATE EGOS. ANOTHER WORDS DON'T TRY AND MAKE HIM A BALL-LESS WONDER! :lol3: YOU WON'T BE HAPPY WITH THAT EITHER!!

TEEL AND LINUS~ HOPE YOU BOTH ARE FEELING BETTER AND I THINK OF YOU OFTEN. ((((((HUGS)))))))

:wave: TO NAE AND TIG AND MEADOW. CEEJAY SEEMS TO BE LOST IN THE WATER PLANT WHERE SHE WORKS! :lol:

GOTTA GO AND GET DRESSED AND SHINE THE BUGGY FOR THE TOWN BBQ, TODAY IS A REST DAY. NOTHING THERE I CAN BE ASKED TO DO. MAY NOT STAY LONG CAUSE THE WIND IS WINDING ITSELF UP TO A FRENZY AND THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT GOOD FOR THESE PEEPERS. WILLY PROMISES TO GET ME HOME ASAP IF I NEED TO. A GOOD MAN OUR WILLY. I THINK HE STILL FEELS BAD. WE WENT FOR ANOTHER WALK TO THE STORE. I THINK IT MAKES HIM FEEL BETTER TO SEE ME OUT AND ABOUT. THIS TOO SHALL PASS.
HAPPY SATURDAY/SUNDAY AND GOOD MORNING MISS SUNSHINE!!!

Lordy I LOVE you chicks!!!!
PW~ we just read The Davinci Code for book club and the discussion was great about how the church ruined things for us chicks ,LOL. My inner Goddess was dancing for joy. The banks too, huh? hmmmmmmmm. Nice food choices. Hope you are resting and healing.
Spose us women could barter sex? LOL!!

Mel~ you wise soul. I wonder sometiomes why the **** I am married too. i could have found a sperm doner for the kids. I do love the guy....with all my heart and soul....
You post sounds so happy and lighthearted!!
Shad~ hubby cringes when I say iam "just" heading to the hardware store. Ohoh. I LOVE it there. Happy paving!!
Happy~sounds like a lovely time with your mum so far.Enjoy the girly time.
Where is my Meadow?????
Hugs to Teel,Nae, Linus and all her men!!

So here is my deep thoughts and questions for you wise worldly chicks today....
Is it me??
What is the balance between what I need and what my family needs and if their needs are just as important to them as mine are to me then is it their right to ask for it just like I do for myself?
This is my first real day off in 5 weeks.The cucs I had hoped to get couldn’t be got, so no pickles. So this morning at 7 am DD crawls in bed beside me and says she is hungry, we have a nice little cuddle and I tell her Daddy is already up go ask him, she kisses me and says okay mommy.
DS then crawls in and enmeshes both hands tightly in my hair and wiggles and whines and pushes at me. i told him I just wanted to lay quietly and please be still and he freaks out ,crys and stomps out of the room. A few minutes later DH climbs in on top on lifting my nighty, gropes a bit,I tell him I will get up in a few minutes, he scraped me with his beard by mistake, I tell him he hurt me, he stomps out of the room and slams the door.
Obviously they all love me and felt a need to connect with me. What I needed was a 1/2 hour to lounge in bed and enjoy some solitude. I didn’t get it and feel irritated. They didn’t get what they wanted and feel irritated. Hubby will sulk for a while.Big baby.
Is it a gender thing and just personality? DD usually listens and respects my requests. DH and DS always get mad and pissy.I always stand my ground and state my positon clearly to both. You think in 9 and 7 years respectively they would get it.
I feel sad right now that I dont get the tenderness from DH I would like( need).
I get it from DD and my cat. LOL!
If DH wants to have sex, which is how he communicates love, he should try giving me what i need to to feel loved, which is space, solitude and tenderness.Then I would come to him with open arms. It is hard to explain this to someone who cant stand to be alone. I am not sure he like his own company. Very much like DS.
Fro what it worth we have a regular, wonderful sex life. I am not sure how much he wants from me in life in general.
I have always struggled with the balance of my needs and those of my family. I LOVE to be alone as much as I love them. I lived alone happily for 15 years, I spent most of my childhood alone and feeling separate from my family.I love my own conpany.
So now I have a pissy hubby to deal with when what I want is to enjoy the day and him and the kids, puttered and clean, garden a bit.......

Is it a wonder I nurture myself with food?

Later, this aft, we have 2 bday parties to go to. I will check out the farmers market in town for cucs and pick up the south beach book.

thankyou all of you the flowers from you and shad were beautiful,teels flowers arent here yet they arrive on monday
my wee man is absolutly lovely and as soon as hubby gets his finger out ill have a piccie for you all im posting birth announcement cards this week sometime,im very slowly getting in to a routine and hopefullt if my wee man keeps being such a good sleeper mummy will finally find her brain and get organised,hes sleeping on average from 12.30 till 6 am for the last 4 nights now so i cant complain at all
right folks im so sorry but the wee mans stirring and im the only one who can feed him so i have to go
thankyou all again and welcome painter
kirsty+cj

Quick post, I'm on my way to bed.
Sorry I got the message wrong linus. Maybe I need to take English lessons, I obviously misunderstood Teel.

Here's pics of what I did this morning. The pavers are yet to be planted out with pennyroyal as I wanted to let the cement set before I started poking and prodding between the pavers. And the flowers are hippeastrums, rescued from the wild wind the other day. I see I now have some dark red ones out as well.

HOLLY~ A SPERM DONOR!! :rofl: :lol3: WISH WE HAD A SPERM SMILEY!!! BUT I UNDERSTOOD ALL OF YOUR POST!!! HARD TO FIND MIDDLE GROUND WHEN YOU "CARE" SO MUCH! GOOD LUCK!!! WE HAVE ALL GONE THROUGH THIS. PERSONALGROWTH....THE GOOD TIMES AND THE BAD TIMES BUT IT ALL HAS TO HAPPEN SOONER OR LATER.

LINUS~ SO GLAD THE FLOWERS CAME AND CJ IS SLEEPING SOMEWHAT AND GIVING POOR OLD MUM A REST! LOTS OF LOVE AND KEEP AN EYE ON THE MAILBOX!! OR PARCEL BOX WHATEVER YOU CALL IT!!! LOL

SHAD~ YOU CAN COME AND PAVE OUR BACK YARD!!! LOVED THE FLOWERS. WHAT A GORGEOUS COLOR. ARE THEY IN THE LILY FAMILY? SO LONG AS THE WIND DIDN'T BLOW YOU AWAY! LOL

MONDAY I WILL GO TO THE MALL AND TRY DIETING(BAD WORD) ONCE MORE FOR 6 WEEKS. IF IT FAILS, THEN THAT'S IT. GIVING IT ONE LAST ATTEMPT. GOING TO TRY RE ARRANGING THE FOODS I EAT AND NO TATERS OR RICE AT NIGHT.
WEATHER IS GLOOMY AND SUPPOSED TO GET RAINY. WON'T CARE CAUSE I'LL BE WINDING UP THE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING. LOOKING FOR SOME STUFF FOR JEN'S BEAU. POOR RICHIE IS ALWAYS LAST ON MY LIST BUT HE HAS A BD SOON TOO! SO I DO IT ALL AT ONCE. NOTHING BUT COOKING SOME CHILI, STEAMING RICE AND VEGGIES AND WATCHING A MOVIE WILLY LENT ME YESTERDAY....UP IN ARMS....WITH DINAH SHORE AND DANNY KAYE!!! LOL HE AND THE DW ARE OLD MOVIE BUFFS TOO. I BOUGHT HIM AN ABBOTT AND COSTELLO COLLECTION LAST XMAS. WE SWAPED LISTS OF WHAT WE HAVE. I THING WE'LL BOTH HAVE ENOUGH TO LEND EACH OTHER RIGHT THROUGH THE WINTER. WE'VE DESIGNATED ONLY SUNDAY AS OLD MOVIE DAY SO I KNOW THEY'LL LAST US.
BETTER GET GOING. EYES ARE SO SO. TAKING THEIR TIME BUT THEN THE FACE IS IN FULL BLOOM STILL. NO ONE NOTICED IT YESTERDAY. I HAD ON A MAKE-UP CALLED SHEER COVER THAT LEEZA GIBBONS SELLS ON TV. IT REALLY DOES COVER ROSACEA. EVERYONE WAS SAYING HOW GREAT MY SKIN LOOKED! ROFLMAO ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT IT'S GROUND UP MINERALS AND I THINK THE GRIT GETS INTO MY EYES EVEN WITH CAREFUL APPLICATION. LOL (SIGH) I AM BEGINNING TO RAMBLE SO I BEST GET THE BUTT OUTTA HERE!:moped:

:wave: TO HAPPU AND PAINTER AND NAE AND MEADOW AND TIG AND TEEL!!!!:wave:

HI Linus~ glad you are getting a bit of rest. Give the wee lad and hug from is Canadian Auntie.
Shad~ nice work!! I saw some lavendar in bloom there too.
Miss Mel~Have a great day!! You sound happy. Be careful of your eyes.

Woohoooo!!
I had a day off!! It was great.
I relaxed, had coffee, puttered at housework, took the kids to 2 relaxing bday parties, came home for leftovers for supper, had a nice time with DH, had a good sleep, enjoying a coffee again!!! Life is good.
I have been reading the south beach book. I was feeling depressed about it. There seems to be a lot of what you cant have. I was feeling like a big loser because of the food I eat that apparently is not good me.
I have trouble thinking a banana is not a good choice. They are full of potassium and other good things.
As far as the lean meats go I am fine. I need to read more and ask questions. i am not sure about the foods listed and what is a limited choice and very limited and how much that is or how often.

Today we are having DD’s bday party at 2. Cake and punch and bunch of her friends and the grandparents.
I wanted to do everything outside but the yellow jackets have been horrible. They were swarming the parties yesterday that were outside outside.

Okay, tidying, one more room to clean, laundry to do and a family to enjoy.
Oh, and eggs for breaky.

Morning All
 

So good to hear from Linus about our little nephew and what a good sleeper he has been so far. Oh course he is going to be an angel just ask his worldly Aunite's!!!!!!! We are dying for a pic....
Well I have been absent in relating all the nature adventures here in the wilderness so I will give you a few tidbits. Last week the lone meadowlarks were gathering in groups to begin their long flights to where ever it is they go.
Inside this huge pine tree by the office the sparrows were so thick and riotous for about 4 days in the morning their little twitters and songs were deafening, but now they are gone. In the evening this week the temp was perfect the air so clear and warm that my little Toby and I were outside pushing around some rocks. When we began to hear the meowing in the tall grass just above us. So we looked and remained very stil the two of us expecting to see possibly a little kitten or two.... Instead from behing the rise came two does and 5 offspring and the fawns were mewing to each other it was so amazing..... soon the hillside behind my house was full of mewing deer..... what a treat to experience.
I don't know if I had related the story of thelittle lost dog that kept showing up at my house but he has not returned now and toby and I miss him.......
Shad I wish you could give me lessons in your paving and cement work.... I need to do so much here but seem overwhelmed to even begin.....
Yesterday I went to a rock shop that is outside of town and this place if full of fossils and beautiful stone and i brought home 3 big boxes for $7, I couldnt believe it so I have some nice ones to lay down for stepping type stones and interesting stone to surround my plants.
The tops of the mountains have a nice blanket of snow this morning and the air is crisp and cold.... good for working outside for a while today.... putting a small turkey in the oven to help through the week.
I do hope you are all doing well and this is a great place to come and sit with your coffee or tea and to visit with these amazing women around the world... welcome to all!
Blesssings to all,
Nae

Hello chickies!!
Linus its great to see you online having a moment to yourself at last! C.J. seems to be doing really well in the sleeping stakes....better than me and he is only 10 days old :faint:
Enjoy the flowers tomorrow..They are a called "INDIAN SUMMER" AND SHOULD CONTAIN THE FOLOWING: 1 YELLOW CRYSANTHIMUM...opps! 1 orange crysanthimum 3 orange spray carnations, 3 orange Alstoemeria and 3 Solidago...the picture looks lovely. I hope you have enough vases!!! Oh and they are flying out from Jersey!!

Its come out a gorgeous autumnal afternoon here in Suffolk...but sadly I have spent the entire afternoon in bed...I caught a stomach bug on Friday evening...coo that sounds a bit funny but you know what I mean! and although I have stopped the constantly going to sit on the lavatory, today I feel as though I am a pregnant cow :moo: :moo:...really bloated and I haven't eaten anything today...should be good for the weightloss!!

Hello to PW., I hope you are safe and sound in Texas with Rita having zoomed in. I am sorry you are having such a bad time following the chemo...HUGS to you.

Ah talking of chemo leads me to tell you that I spoke to Bob The Builder yesterday. He is having difficulty swallowing so cannot eat properly...apparently he went to see his consultant who said he didn't think he did have an oesophagul tumour but he would do an endoscopy and if he did come across a tumour he would blitz it with lazer...I don't quite know what to make of this!Ah well time will tell.

Holly has been trying to get me to give her her dinner for the past 30 minutes and I am not sure if I can hold her tummy any longer! So I had better go and appease her...hee hee hee!

Mel---I've not gotten lost in the water plant. If I had to go outside very far this morning I might of had to swim. Remnants of hurricane Rita. I've just not had time to post. I have been reading. I thought about you last week end. My aunt and I were shopping in the Mall in Jonesboro when I heard a familiar voice call my name. There stood this good looking hunky police officer in uniform. He was a former boss. Got a hug also. Think he was glad to see me.

Happy--Have you survived the remnants of hurricane Rita? Think this one was worse than Katrina. The water plant has weepy walls from the excess rain. Down on the street in front of the plant the water was up to the fire hydrant.

Hello to all the rest.

painter woman--glad you are here, even though I'm not most of the time. This is a good group of ladies.

Linus--Glad to hear that baby CJ is doing great as well as mommy. By the way I've been called CJ most of my life.

I may not post daily but I do try to read. Most of the time I'm at work and don't have a lot of time to spend on the computer. By the time I get home I'm to tired to turn on my computer.

Heard a boom while ago and got up to look out the window. It was a fender bender. I called the police station but an officer was already in route.

Gotta get some work done. Every one have a nice day.

Morning all,

Ceejay - good to hear from you and know you are okay. If you have too much water up there would you care to send some our way. We are getting to the desperate stage. Dear oh dear, Mel does inspire us to think funny thoughts does she not.

Teel - so your flowers came from the Jersey Islands as well! Mine came from those Charity Flower mob that I found when I first sent you some. They keep sending me (by mail) a brochure on their specials. Mind you I get brochures from the Colman's Mustard people too. I'm going to have to take lessons in 'Suffolk' speak.

Roseblush - what a wonderful place you live in. All those animals. I would be in heaven I think. Paving is not hard, just time consuming. All of the pavers on my patio are going to have to be lifted eventually and cemented in. That's a job I really am not looking forward to but it will need to be done as the road base that is there now is sinking and full of weed seeds. DS2 is not always the most patient or slowest of people when doing project jobs and doesn't take the time to plan and think - just do it was a slogan invented for that child.

Holly - so glad you got a day off. Pity you had to p*ss everyone off to get it. I was going to reply to your post, however my day got a bit tangled up with paving, mixing cement, digging, planting whatever. I'll get back to that post with words of wisdom in the near future. Meantime take it easy. South Beach is not a particularly hard diet as I figured, but I have problems with the phase 1 no fruit and no bread. I can see that it would work but it's a very long time to go without fruit. Being a fruitbat myself, I see that as deprivation.

Mel - Sorry to hear of the rosacea rearing it's ugly head again. Be careful with that makeup - may not be doing the skin much good. The flower is a hippeastrum, related to the amaryllis and therefore kin of the belladonna lily - so yes I guess it comes under the family liliaceae. Grows from a big bulb just like the lilies. Doesn't have much scent, but grows well in the tropics - I have a long bed full of them and they are sticking up through the heliotrope - the purple, lavender and mauve goes well with the pink, white and red lilies.

Gotta go do some work. Already given one bloke a slight panic attack this morning, so best go fix things up and soothe the savage beast.

Glad to see you are doing your job Shad. We need more of your kind in the corporate world before it totally implodes from ineptness. Your flowers are pretty as always, glad you explained what pavers were. We have flagstone stepping paths in the back. I think the sandstone is too soft for stepping on, DH said it should be ok. What do I know :dunno: Pavers are way way heavy tho, hope you had some help.

Hey Ceejay, good to hear from you again. Rita is visiting today. A steady rain, mostly soaking, at times a bit heavy. Everything went from bone dry to waterlogged. Sounds like you got more of it than us. Do you always work the weekend shift or do you rotate days on and off?

Teel, the Indian Summer flowers sound gorgeous. Sorry to hear you're home in bed. Hope your friend Bob gets some help. Sounds wretched not being able to swallow like that. Why must people suffer so for so many reasons? :cry:

Nae you paint a delightful picture of your surroundings. Mewing doe, I am trying to imagine it. I'll bet that turkey smelled so wonderful looking out at the snow capped mountains. How soon before the flakes fall at your door?

Holly, glad you got a day to yourself. I understand what you mean about the bananna. After years and years of fat is bad, it's so hard to get used to the idea of fat is ok but fruit is bad. I mean we all understand that sugar is bad but fruit :?: I should do SB - would be best for me and my body type but I just can't fathom no fruit. So I'll stick with Mel on Michael Thurmond even tho some mods on the forum think it's a stupid diet.

Miss Mel the boy scouts were selling popcorn - which is THE BEST and I bought some. Of course it comes in like 15 pack sets. Small bags but alot of them. Will have to send some your way, will go perfect with those grand old movies.

Linus, I'm glad little CJ is letting you get some rest. We eagerly await pictures!

It was a busy weekend for me. I thought I came and posted but I see that it was only in my mind :o Yesterday was a marathon shopping trip with mom - over 6 hours here and there. At least we got in alot of walking but it tired out both of us. Today we got the remnants of hurricane Rita - lots and lots of rain. A good day to stay in and cook which is what we did. Made a batch of Mom's famous homemade spaghetti sauce which even she admits she hasn't made in years and years and can I say it was :T :T :T :love: :love: We've got her favorite slow roasted beef on the menu for tomorrow - will feed her good before she's off again on Wednesday already :(

Better sneak off now, it's after midnight and if she hears me typing I'm done for :lol:

Hellos to Meadow, Tig and Painterwoman too... (she whispered) :sssh:

CEEJAY~ BUT DID YOU GIVE HIM YOUR PHONE NUMBER?!?! :rofl:
OR MINE OR MINE FOR THAT MATTER???? GOOD TO SEE YOU DIDN'T FLOAT AWAY MY PARAGOULD FRIEND! WE GET LOTS OF RAIN THREATS BUT THEN ONLY A FEW DROPS COME. MAYBE SOME TODAY. BESIDES UNIFORMED MEN....DID YOU BUY SOMETHING NICE FOR YOURSELF?

SHAD~ THE GARDEN SOUNDS WONDERFUL AND I CAN JUST SEE YOU PUTTERING AROUND IN THERE. GOOD THING YOU HAD JASON THE TORTURER TO BUILD THOSE MUSCLES UP! MAYBE LAYING PAVERS IS A GOOD BUSINESS! U'M ALWAYS LOOKING FOR ALTERNATIVE JOBS FOR YOU! :lol3: SHOULD HAVE BEEN A LANDSCAPER WITH YOUR GREEN THUMB.:flow1:

TEEL~ HOPE THE TUMMY FEELS BETTER. :faint: JUST WHAT YOU NEEDED....ANOTHER PROBLEM! YOUR CHOICE OF FLOWERS SOUNS BEAUTIFUL. ARE THEY COMING FROM YOUR JERSEY OR MINE!! :rofl:

NAE~ THE SMELL OF A ROASTING TURKEY, ALL THE ANIMAL COMINGS AND GOINGS AND THE CRISP AUTUMNAL BREEZE.....DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT I'M SURE.
THANKS FOR THE MENTAL PICTURE. MAYBE I'LL SPEND THE DAY IN THE "WOODS".:moped:

HOLLY~BANANAS MIGHT NOT BE A GOOD CHOICE ON THAT PARTICULAR PLAN BUT I HAVE SEEN MANY GOOD RESULTS. YOU CAN HAVE THE BANANAS LATER ON WHEN THE WEIGHT IS GONE!! LOL GOOD LUCK NO MATTER WHAT YOU DECIDE TO DO.

WELL CHICKLETS THERE IS NO MALL TODAY FOR ME. WOKE UP A WEE BIT LATE AND JUST DIDN'T HAVE IT IN ME TO RUSH. MAYBE CAUSE IT'S SO DARK OUTSIDE! LOL CALLED JEN AND WE'LL SPEND SOME TIME TOGETHER LATER ON TRYING TO FIGURE OUT ALL THE FEATURES ON THE CABLE TV'S NEW REMOTE!!! THERE'S MORE PUSH BUTTONS ON THERE THAN A NASA ROCKET. CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT THE SENIORS WILL THINK ABOUT THIS. THEY'LL END UP ORDERING PORNO MOVIES AND GETTING CHARGED!!! :rofl: SPENT THE MORNING WATCHING "USED PEOPLE" WITH SHIRLEY MACLAINE AND MARCELLO MASTRIANI(SP). SOMETIMES I LIKE A GOOD "PEOPLE" FLICK. BUT I BETTER GET MOVING BEFORE I FIND ANOTHER ONE TO WATCH! LOL
HAPPY MONDAY AND HAVE A GREAT WEEK.

Mel--better Than A Phone Number. He Gave Me His Business Card. It Has All Pertinent Information On It. Come To Find Out He's A Criminal Investigator Now.

Happy--i Usually Rotate Every Other Sunday But This Week I've Worked A Couple Of Extra Day's For A Co Worker. Just A Little Extra Pocket Money.
My Regular Days Are Monday, Tuesday And Wednesday, And Every Other Sunday.

Holly--fruit Cannot Be All Bad Because Of The Vitamins, Nutrients And Fiber Found In Them. Those Who Are Diabetic Need To Watch Both The Sugar And Carb Intake. Those Who Have Choleserol Problems Need To Watch The Fat Intake. It Would Be A Good Choice To Choose A Healthy Life Style And Forget The Fad Diets. You Are What You Eat. Blood Test Will Prove That. I Know That For A Fact. Ugh !!!!!! I Need To Watch All Of It.

Shad- I Wish I Had Your Desire To Work In The Flowers, But This Year The Allergies Have Gotten The Best Of Me. I Will Probably Give It Up All Together Before Next Year.

Some Weird Sounds Going On Downstairs--better Go Check Them Out To See If Anything Major Is Happening.

Hi To All The Rest.

Oooh, now that can be kind of scary when you work in a water plant :yikes: hope everything is ok. :rain:

As far as fruit goes, Mel and I can tell you that there is high sugar fruit - like banannas, cherries, watermelon and lower sugar fruit - apples, pears, and plums. Also fruit juice is a :nono: My doctor gave excellent advice. She said it takes 6 to 10 oranges to make one glass of fresh squeezed. Now you wouldn't eat 10 oranges in one sitting would you? So eat 1 fresh orange, get the juice, the vitamins and the all important fiber and cut out fruit juices or at least cut them half and half with flat or sparkling water.

I think CJ offers excellent advice. Eat wisely from all food groups limiting fats, sugars and portions. After a while of self monitoring you can usually figure out what causes trigger binges and what diets you can't possibly live with -- and which ones you can!

Happy--I got that quote in an email not long ago. As far as the weird sounds--it's the guys outside grading the parking area. I should have known, but it's better safe than sorry i always say.

I'm on a sugary high right now. My blood sugar count will be out of sight in the morning if I don't stop.

I have a question about pass words on an excel worksheet. Does anyone know how to get back into a work sheet. I know the pass word but it is refusing it.

Morning all,
Ceejay - Will it let you go to the tools > options > security area to get rid of the password? No didn't think so, okay who is the IT geek in your workplace help desk (or is it a case of no-help desk)? They can get rid of it through system administration. If the password is new, did you spell it correctly? and if it is not new, has a system restore been done since you last used it and it has gone back to the old password? We are currently having a 'small' problem with the OnDemand system having brought back an old file path in the development area. Now it can't find anything!!!! I could say NMP but I will be helpful and volunteer some info if requested. I've been told so often by various system administrators that 'that won't work here' or 'can't do that', that I no longer suggest ways and means.

Mel - being a landscaper would have been okay in my younger years. Now the heat would just be too much in the summer. I would only be able to work a full day in the winter. I somehow don't see the punters being very happy with me mixing concrete at 0500 or even earlier. You are always finding something for me to do! :crazy: Don't you think I have enough to do already???? :eek: :faint: :yikes: Yes I do thank Jason (once in a while) for the muscles. Although those pavers are real heavy suckers. Happy movie watching. Sounds like a lovely idea to me.

Fruit is high in sugar and no the Fads don't work for more than a short period of time. The reason that they don't work is because the mind and body get bored with the same old same old. SB and WW seem to be the more responsible and workable ones. I presume the 2 week phases are to cleanse and detox the body before going onto better things. Fasting for a day probably does much the same. Certainly cleans me out - all that water and nothing else. I had heard that about fruit juices as well Happy. Throw away that juicer - eat the fruit and veges instead.

Anyway, better move along. Need to go to the Duty Free store today to look at camera lens. DS2 and I need something a little larger for the digital camera. I apparently don't need to take any bribery and corruption up for the students, Chris has enough to keep her going but she wants some crosswords and codebreaker books to keep the mind occupied for the time she can stand no longer or do any crafty things because of the hands and feet. She sounds thoroughly fed up with herself at the moment.

Have a good day all.

Hey, Thanks for the fruit info. I must say i agree. I try to follow the Canada food guide but i have not been. Veggies low and starches and fats way up. I have been reading up on SB. The principals make sense. I will try out some recipes too. I have been living off of sandwiches for a few months.
Basically i am revisiting the whole food thing because I have time to focus on myself right now.
I had a great day. 6 kids most of the day.DH was home because of steady rain and worked on installing the bathroom sink!!! Just waiting for a seal to set and then we can use running water in our upstairs bathroom!!!!!!!!!!! weehee. it's been 5 years wihtout a sink up there.
At 5 the boys went to hockey practise and DD went home with a friend for supper and play. I puttered at Avon, watched a soap and relaxed a bit. Since then i worked on final revisions of the parent handbook. I had a great chat with the school board media guy!! We may be in print next week!!

I firmly told my mom we were not coming for thanksgiving dinner on the 9th but would come for lunch on Monday for some leftovers.( she emailed 6 times).
We really want to spend two days home uninterupted just the 4 of us.
The traffic in here is crazy some days.We were planning on three. Two
in a row is better than nothing.

HUGS worldly chicks!!!

You are all being so virtuous... Working, cooking for each other, keeping old folks from porno....
Me, on the otherhand... listened to an extra hour of NPR while still in bed petting the cat. There are NO edible fresh fruits OR vegetables in the house-- and since I rooted around night before last, we're out of bread, too. Which means I might have to go to the grocery store. Ack.

But worse than that, I actually have two client meetings to which I'm completely unmotivated to go. (Wait, my syntax is scrambled. or maybe fried.)

I have two hours to change said cat's litter, wake up, and get motivated... OH, and prepare for presentations tomorrow morning and Friday afternoon.

Rumor has it there might be a cold front in this week... maybe that will help.
Best to all.

Geez Painter, I went back through the thread looking for porno!!! Now my day is ruined! Or rooned as they say around here. Get out of that bed woman, go get some good things for the fridge and give the puss cat another hug then change her litter and get ready to go deliver the word to the masses. Geez you're busy Painterwoman - what you trying to do? Wear me out???

Hey Holly, we had rain last night - it was lovely to go to bed and listen to it pattering on the roof. Not heavy stuff but a gentle drizzle to make the plants grow (not to mention the weeds)

Had my last workout for the week this morning :dance: :dance: Five days on the trot, I feel virtuous and no I haven't lost any weight. It's leading up to weight and measurements day as well for those of us who, once a month, put ourselves through the torture of weigh, measure, sigh. :faint: :eek: :yikes: :censored:

Now for the next two days I can sleep a little longer in the morning, and get home a little earlier at night. Gotta love those two days. I had my treat for the week this morning after a lovely ferry ride to work. I got a bacon and egg muffin - no sauce, no salt, no oil, hold everything else. It was good too. Aaaah well there's always next week for another one. Lunch today will be salads - I forgot to get anything ready last night so salads from the MYO is on the menu. Dinner tonight will be chargrilled salad and veg.

Hope everyone is doing okay. Catch up with the news later tonight.

I must say I am surprised at the number of people who have dysfunctional families that they avoid. It's very sad. I guess I am very very lucky as I love my family and would give anything to be with them on Thanksgiving this year. It will be a sad and lonely day for me this year. At least I know we'll have Christmas together (travel weather permitting). While DH's family (who lives 1500 miles away) can be odd at times, I loved my dear MIL as much as my mom. Was a great tragedy to all of us that cancer took her away in 1979. I cherish the few short years I got to spend with her and still miss her dearly. Ah well, I am making myself all weepy at the moment...

Last day with mom today - we're up at the crack of dawn to take her to the airport tomorrow. She wishes now she had made her visit a few days longer but I think she was intimidated by the reservationist on the phone who set up her tickets. As of Saturday there are no more direct flights between Memphis and the smaller Chicago airport she uses so it would not be worth the extra expense to change her ticket for just 2 more days. Besides she is persnickity about when and how she wants to travel, so I just go along with it. We had a great visit. Spent last night talking all evening long. I am truly blessed and very grateful for what I have in my life. I really understand the live for the moment philosophy.

I think the chiropractor might (just a teeny might) be doing some good. We had a treatment yesterday, I am not as stiff as sore as I was over the weekend. Also could be that the achy rains have gone north Mel's way. I am still "evaluating" this, will give it 2 weeks to decide if I continue.

I have also decided that it's time to get serious once and for all. Enough empty talk and pity parties. As the fall weather comes in I can see how I will stiffen up. The x-rays from the chiropractor clearly showed arthritis on the spine. One look at my mom tells my future. I already know moving and what I eat affect so much of how I feel. Besides that, I would really like to make a dent in some of this weight by Christmas. Tonight I will have that last celebratory meal of the yummy spaghetti Mom and I made the other day. Tomorrow when she leaves, I am back on the challenge. This week it's water, water, water and 50 crunches a night. It's supposed to get cooler by Thursday, perhaps a walk with DH around the area is in order too.

I'd join Red's 21 day challenge but there are so many people on there, I always feel I have to post to all and that just requires more time than I have available for the computer. So I'll do my thing by myself.

It's always amazing to think as we transition around the world that we are thinking soups and warm comfort foods and Shad's thoughts are turning to cool refreshing tasty salads. I see the fall colors are starting way up north, if you see snow Nae are the trees turning too? We're just getting brown dried leaves cluttering up everything here. Oh and the pool gets closed for the season tomorrow - another sad thing :cry: it was rather cloudy after the weekend's rains and too cool for one last swim for old times sake. Guess it's time to strenghten those legs and get on that bike of mine. Can I remember how to change gears on the inclines around here? Would be too flattering to call them hills, but steep enough to make you work hard at it.

Time to go get supper ready. Hello to all the chicks.

Too Tired For Words Tonite. Hello Te Everyone And The Best I Can Say Is I Read The Posts....porno????roflmao
Food Shopped Today And Got Left Behind. Willy Had Too Many Chairs On The Bus For Assorted Stops And Asked Me If I Wanted To Shop A Bit Longer. It's A Strip Makk With Some Other Shops. Was A Great Opportunity And Found Some Really Cheap Xmas Gifts For $2.99@. Glass Snowman Dishes. Very Cute And They Don't Look Cheap At All. Filled In A Bit In The Office Too. Got The Xmas Craft Sorted Out And Boxed Up. Fran Got All The Stuff I Wanted From The Craft Store. I Am Way Ahead Of Myself For The Holidays So Maybe This Year I Can Really Enjoy Them!!! The Office Wasn't Busy But....gotta Earn That Next Check Before The End Of December. It Was A Good Day Out And Had Fun All By Myself! Willy Is So Attentive That People Are Wondering Why! Roflmao But He Is Like A Brother. Although Younger Than Me, He Acts Like He's The "big" Brother! The Funny Thing Is I Always Wanted My Oldest Db To Behave This Way And He Never Did! Now I Have Chilly Willy. I Call Him Chill For Short. Remember That Cartoon Penguin? I Am Rambling For Sure Cause I Am That Tired. Glad You Chicks Are Doing Ok And I'll See Ya Tomorrow. Sweet Dreams And Hope Wednesday Is A Great One!!!

Happy, I joined the 21 day challenge and I don't post to all. Just make the odd comment as I see fit. Would be a long post if I did mention everything and everyone. Join in and just do what you can. Don't be shy, be standoffish like me :rofl: :lol3:

Aw Happy~ I would give anything for what you have with your family. I have tried and tried and tried and tried and just get hurt and hurt and hurt more. It is not all 1 sided but I am definitely the odd one out. I am just nothing like the rest of them. I love them with all my heart. It breaks my heart. I put all that love and energy into my own little family.I am making new traditions for us. Our thanksgiving in Canada is Oct 9.
We have Christmas/Thanksgiving with DH's family here in Nov before his folks go to Arizona.I am close with them. Very close to one SIL.
I wish it we different. I have to do what is best for me and my kids.

CEEJAY~ NOW YOU HAVE HIS INFO....CALL AND ASK HIM TO COME AND INVESTIGATE YOU!!!!:encore:

HOLLY~ I LEARNED A LONG TIME AGO THAT MY FAMILY WAS JUST TOO DISFUNCTIONAL FOR WORDS. THAT'S THE LUCK OF THE DRAW! SO I REPLACED THEM WITH GOOD FRIENDS!:dance:

HAPPY~ I WISH I COULD SEND YOU HOME FOR ALL THE HOLIDAYS!!!

SHAD~ STANDOFFISH?! YOU?!?! :rofl: :lol3:

WAS A BIT DOWN YESTERDAY BUT HAVE SINCE BOUNCED BACK. GOTTA LOVE THE RUBBER BALL QUALITIES OF LIFE. TODAY IS WASH DAY AND IT'S GETTING NEAR TIME TO STUFF IT IN THE DRYER. SO TAKE CARE AND HAPPY HUMP DAY!!!:moped:

HAPPY~ I WAS JUST WANDERING AROUND AND FOUND THAT 21 DAY THREAD. I JUST LEFT MY CHALLENGE ON PROVIDA BECAUSE IT WAS FAR TOO MUCH TO KEEP UP WITH AND I HAVE SO MANY OTHER THINGS TO DO WITH MY LEFE BESIDES READING AND TYPING! LOL BUT I WAS WONDERING WHY WE DON'T DO ONE OF OUR OWN RIGHT HERE? LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.
I WAS GOING TO PM YOU BUT....
MAYBE OTHERS WOULD LIKE TO GIVE SOMETHING UP, TRY A NEW EXERCISE, BREAK A HABIT OR WHATEVER FOR 21 DAYS.
I'M GOING TO START MINE ON OCTOBER 1ST. GOTTA PUT MY THINKING CAP ON NOW! :dizzy:

Mel,
Let's do a challenge here! Will be good to keep us in a positive mindset. I always do better when I have to post. Do you want to stick with Red Balloon's philosophy of keeping the challenge to 21 days? I know she's going to be dissapointed that I'm not posting on her thread - maybe I will pop my head in occasionally but I prefer doing something here if anyone is up to it?

Challenge is open to anyone who's interested.

My 21 Day Pledge To Myself
 

:D YES!!! I AM READY FOR THIS AND RED'S IDEAS WOULD BE FINE. ANYTHING ANYONE WANTS TO DO FOR 21 DAYS AND THEY CAN START ON WHATEVER DAY THEY WANT, AND GO BACK TO SQUARE ONE WHEN THEY SCREW UP. :p I LOVE HER IDEA BUT NEED A SMALLER SCALE OF PEOPLE. THIS WAY I ONLY HAVE TO POST ONCE A DAY AS THE EYES AREN'T WHAT THEY SHOULD BE :dizzy: AND MY TIME ON THE PC IS A WEE BIT LIMITED AS A RESULT.
SO FOR ME IT'S SATURDAY AS MY START. I'LL POST WHAT I AM DOING BEFORE THEN.:scooter:

HAPPY I HAVE BEEN LAUGHING SINCE YOUR POST.....:rofl:......WHEN I READ IT I COULD FEEL ENTHUSIASM AND IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF MICKEY ROONEY AND JUDY GARLAND GETTING EXCITED ABOUT PUTTING ON A PLAY!!! :dance:

happy---I'm in for a challenge. It would be more convient for me instead of going to one thread to another. October is just around the corner. It would be a perfect time for a 21 day challenge.

Mel-- I have had an email from that hunky police officer, but when I knew him before he was married. Besides I'm old enough to be his mother.

Holly--I understand about wanting to be with just your immediate family for a few day's. I would love to spend more time with my siblings but one sister lives in Texas and the other sister lives in Missouri. I'm making plans to visit both in November.

Shad thanks for the information. I even tried to reset the read only attribute but it's just not letting me. Instead of being a check mark this one is shaded. I'm waiting for a response from my nieces husband who has a degree in computers. If he can't remove it don't know who could.

Where are the other's. Linus has her hand full with little CJ I'm sure. Hello to the rest.