Teel~ no snow here as yet. Not a big storm anyway. We're in the middle of a heat wave. Supposed to be 50 tomorrow! So come and take down my decorations too!! Ill make scones!!
Happy~ Nice NSV with the restaurant food choices.... good for you. It always comes down to the If Not Now, When? stuff. Glad the meds are working.
Holly~ Wish you felt better. Must be a bit of a nasty bug!!!
Get well soon!
Ceejay~ When you joined that "get free site", it took your address book with it. I got mail again today and unsubscribed. Glad the weekend is a restful one, I am sure you could use it. I too did bills and mailed them last night!
Linda~ I can hardly wait for the books but they are being held up till May as thae 3fc book doesn't come out till then. Happy recipe testing!
Shad~ I use asparagus and dandelion greens in the summer for fluid retention. Soy milk also works on me.
Sorry about the DB and all the stress. Don't forget to watch over Shad while looking after others. Send him over here....Linda and i will take care of him!
Linus~ When you are ready for support let us know. We'll get the whips and prods ready in the meantime! I am just happy to hear you had enough time to "think" about yourself for a change
Madcat~ It took me a whole year to have that epiphany!! I am not number crunching this year either. My January goal has been exercising and just taking care of Mel. Good for you. I think the cat is saying get off our buns!! I went back to the old ticker. I love that one too.
Meadow~ When we first heard about the changes so long ago, there was a sadness thast things have to be that way. with all the obesity in children down here there was a lot of pressure on the Sesame Street people I am sure.
(sniff, sniff) Another innocent childhood memory gone
I have chairs to clean and charge for tomorrow and Tuesday. I was a bit of a sloth the last two days, lounging around in between cooking. But the fridge is ready for 'grab and go' times. Makes my life so much easier that I really don't know why I stopped it and gained the 6 lbs! I don't want to brag but...i think I was so sugared-out that getting off the stuff is easier this time. I was feeling so nauseaous that any change feels good. Hope it lasts. Would be nice to have control and just be able to eat just ONE of ANYTHING!!!
Happy Sunday and have a good week!
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Good morning peeps,
If they want to change nutrition they'd be better off converting Ronald McDonald instead of the beloved Coooookie Monstah. Argh.
So asparagus considered to have diuretic qualites? No wonder that was one of the foods recommended on my diet.
A bit on the quiet side, everyone must be getting down and busy. The tree comes down today, it's the last bit of Christmas left around the house. Supposed to get near 70 degrees today but windy as all get out so blow the man down. That means the yard will be full of all kinds of tree junk - good for those lunges and knee bends, huh? It feels like spring is in the air and it's only the first week of January so I am confused
Make the most of the day, I'm going to poke my face out the door and breathe some fresh air for the first time in 2 weeks (stuffy nose that finally cleared up). Be back later...
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
How To Stay Young
A friend just sent me this, I thought it was cute enough to pass along...
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. -- Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. -- The grouches pull you down. (keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches)
3. Keep learning -- Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. -- Laugh until you gasp for breath and your nose stuffs up. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with them.
6. The tears happen -- Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourself. LIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love -- Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health -- If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips -- Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10.Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
Morning.. cold here today, but part of that is because I have the window open in here for Her Royal Furball Majesty. Yes she has me wrapped around her little paw. I just finished 73 minutes of step aerobics and am now working on the first mocha of the day!
Painterwoman.. Cookie Member is something I put in there, not the system. I happen to adore cookies. They are I think the worst red light food for me. Not store bought ones though.. ick. Homemade or bakery please. I am a cookie snob I guess to boot. I hope your daughter shows up.. I have the prod all rady if needed
Meadow awwwww cookie monster is changing with the times. Don't fret. He'll still eat them on special occasions!
Madcat.. God I remember watching Graham Kerr when I came home from school, with my mother. He use to bring down some lady from the audience to share his food (and the every present "drinkie" ) and I remember him practically going into raptures over everything he made. It sure wasn't ever the same, was it. Just like Tom Jones just isn't quite the same as when he had his own show and the ladies were throwing panties at him.
Mel, go and change you shipping on that book. You can do that anytime.. Don't wait!
Hi Shad, Holly, Happy and everyone else
I put away Christmas yesterday and am glad it is done. I didn't ahve that much stuff out, but it does add clutter. I got most of my cooking done. Today I jsut have to broil my salmon,steam some veggies and make my oatmeal for the week. Easy stuff. Gotta vaccum and do a general tidy, play with the brat and later on upper body weights.
Wednesday I am meeting with the Director from Pennsylvania who has the power to hire me.. this is our second meeting. I would appreciate prayers/good thoughts/ whatever sent my way if you remember. I would still be remaining in CA , but would have a boss 3000 miles away. Can't bea that, can you? I suspect I'd have to fly back there maybe once or twice a year and he'd be coming out to CA maybe once every 6 weeks of so. I really NEED this to be done!!
Anyway, gotta get busy. Hope the rest of you have a wonderful day!!
70?!?!? HAPPY BREAK OT THE COOLER. ICE MY FRAPPES. GET OUT THOS TINY UMBRELLAS. CALL RENT-A-TRUCK. LOAD MY CHAIRS. I'M MOVING!! I DIDN'T OPEN ANY DOORS BUT I STUCK MY NOSE OUT THE WINDOW....DOES THAT COUNT?
LINDA~ :hugs: THANKS FOR THE AMAZON ADVICE AND I BROKE THE ORDER UP. LOTS OF GOOD THOUGHTS GOING YOUR WAY FOR WEDNESDAY'S MEETING.
THINK POSITIVE!!! YOU'RE A TALENTED LADY AND CAN DO THIS!! IT WILL ALL BE OVER SOON. SENDING VIBES NOW SO I DON'T FORGET!! GOING TO VACUUM TOO! JUST TAKING A COFFEE BREAK WITH JEN.
And I scrubbed my bathtub. We seem a very clean group today. Now I'm trying to make sense (rewrite) one of the most poorly constructed user guides I have ever seen. Yikes! The writing itself is fine (in fact, quite elegant) but it's just useless as a document. Sheesh.
LT ~ I'd cross my fingers for you know but that would make it hard to type. If they are smart this should be a no brainer to hire you. And really, a boss 3000 miles away is ideal... unless they really like long phone calls.
Happy ~ Thank you for sharing the list. I want to spend more time with #5.
MEL ~ Way to go getting all your food organized. You have inspired me, my goal this week is to take lunch 4 days this week. We have a new writer starting tomorrow so there will probably be one lunch out. I'm going to try to make lunch when I am making dinner the night before (you can't really make a sandwich that far ahead).
Shad ~ Are you ok? You sound as if you are a bit down. Hang in there, my down under friend.
Painter ~ Your wedding sounds lovely. Yeah we are really trying to keep focus on what matters to both of us in this and not "have to have" things we don't care about. I love your DH's saying. I may have to print and frame it for the next 4 months. Thank you.
Everyone else ~ Hi! Holly, hope you are back up to par.
Mel--Guess nothing is free anymore if it invades the address book. I'll never do that again. I was trying to help out a cousin. Please accept my apologies. I've taken your email addie out of the address book. I'm thinking of changing my email addie to cut down on the spam.
I'M also with Madcat and Mel on not counting anything this year. I know that I'm tired of it to the point that it's depressing me, and the thyroid is not as stable as I would like for it to be. Doc is working on the meds for that problem. My food is decent most of the time. I will be concentrating on exercising.
Happy-- I understand about the wind. It sounds like March winds and as warm too.
Slept late again this morning and refrained from attending church services, my heart and soul just were not into it.
Need to straighten up the house. I need to do one more load of laundry,and pack way the Christmas stuff, then take it out to the shed. Tomorrow is another work day. UGH!!!!
Thanks Madcat I am okay. Yesterday I was hurt and angry and depressed although not as angry as I was the night before. I guess I will just have to get used to it since I seem to have taken the burden of the brother onboard. And after last nights Gambling anonymous session, I realise I don't have it nearly as bad as some of those poor souls who were partners, wives, husbands, kids of gamblers. There are some pitiful stories out there. It makes you want to get up and give them a big to ease their suffering. I really don't know how some of them survive both financially or emotionally. The enormity of the thing depresses me somewhat - maybe I need some counselling from the Painter. I guess I just don't understand addiction too well.
Anyway - let's think of brighter things.
I've been to the gym this morning - strike three times for this week. I think the weights will need to be upped by the end of the month. Some of it is becoming easy again. I'm on my second bottle of water and I have just finished a big bowl full of fresh fruit salad and yoghurt for breakfast - so the fruit is done for the day. Veges next I guess.
As soon as I finish here, Im off to sand the dining room ceiling and walls. 1/2 hour to cover the furniture, clear the floors, put away any stuff and stick the plants outside, 2 solid hours of sanding, and then another 1/2 to one hour to clean up the resulting mess. That's my plan for this morning. Following that will be siesta and some more digging, fertilising and mulching in the garden when the sun goes down a bit. The weather has turned very pleasant but there are showers on the way I hear.
Linus - so good to hear a happier post from you. Poor little CJ. You have all had a tough time of it with this one. Hope the little angel remains around for a long, long time. I know you will beat the smoking again. You were so positive about it last time. Maybe you need Happy's website which tells you how many ciggies you haven't smoked and how much money you have saved. Happy - can you remember what it was?? Someone else was talking about giving up smoking - can't remember who it was now and they were interested in the calculations.
Madcat - I've practically given up on weight loss, it just doesn't seem to happen for me. I may have lost inches but not weight and that's just fine by me. I control the portions and keep going to the gym and working up a sweat. I don't eat junk except on the odd occasion (had a pie with the DS2 for lunch the other day - now I know why I haven't had one in a while!), so I figure that I'm doing pretty good for my age!
I think you are doing the right thing for the wedding. Less stress, less mess, less fuss, just good friends, a nice meal and the service. I did like Painters mental picture of her wedding.
Holly - I may have to agree. I have met some wonderful Canadians on my travels and here as well. They are always oot and aboot! Get better soon.
Painter - Hiya - do you do long distance counselling sessions for angry, disillusioned, non-comprehending and dictatorial Shaddies?
Meadow - Oh dear Next thing you know, Oscar will be advertising Dove moisturing bars. Seriously I do think it is a shame that children are being put in a position where they have to be told that cookie monster is wrong and politically incorrect. Shouldn't Cookie just be a ficitional character that loves cookies but is nothing to do with real life?? What is actually wrong with some good old fashioned parenting where the mother sits down with the child once in a while and sings along to Sesame Street etc.etc. Hey, kids are kids for such a little time in todays world.
Hiya Mel - bless you for your sweet thoughts (Mel, LindaT, prods and whips gave me good vibes for most of yesterday). Stay warm over there. Asparagus is a diuretic??? Well I can tell you it gave me the sh*ts when I had a summer job picking the stuff. I've never been able to face it since. All I can think about when I see it is sitting on that trailer behind the tractor with my legs spread apart, bending forward and cutting off the spears as they came into view. By the end of the day, the green gold sat in the boxes and I could neither sit straight or stand straight. And I got paid at the princely sum of 1c per stem. $5.00 days were common. Get off the
Happy - Love the thoughts. I'll take a couple of them as well. No 5. sounds good. So does 7. And I love 9. I should be worried if I were you - Mel is on her way down.
Linda - I remember Graham Kerr - he was probably one of the first tv cooks I think. And he was a Kiwi to boot although he had lived in England for a very long time. Lordy, when I think of the things he made, food has come a long way. Raise the glass of wine one more time.
Ceejay - you sound a bit down too. and to you and all the others. Keep smiling, at least if nothing else it makes the b*stards wonder what you have been up to.
Okay - sheet up the dining room, grab the sander and the mouse sander, get cracking Shad. Day is a wasting.
BikerP constructed a tent for the avocado tree last night because we were supposed to have a hard frost. We decided the rest of the trees could fend for themselves. It was 31 degrees and foggy this morning so we went to church in the truck. I don't think they recognized us right away at our usual breakfast place or at church!
It did warm up this afternoon so we went for a ride. A surprise, right? We went to see if the manatees were out, but I guess it was too cold for them to come visiting. I was going to run this afternoon but I stretched out on the sofa with a book and the dogs and ended up taking a nap instead. Pretty much a lazy weekend. Guess I'll be ready to face work tomorrow.
Evening, everyone. Thank you for the warm welcomes And thank you for all the compliments on the new house. It was a long time coming, and a lot of heartache & agony along the way, but now...now we get to start enjoying it!
Hubby & I spent the weekend at the new house, cleaning, and preparing for a lot to be done over the next few weeks. We think we'll be ready to move the big stuff in about 3 weeks. We have well water at the new house, and there's quite a bit of sulfur and iron in the water. Also, it's hard water, so we needed to have a system installed. That was done Saturday, and I was finally able to scrub 4 bathrooms from top to bottom. Remind me that I am just too out of shape to think I can climb up & down off a tile floor 100 times, and scrub tile on my hands and knees. I am an aching chickie tonight!
Happy2, thank you for the tip on the stainless appliances- I will need to try that. I swear, if you walk PAST these appliances, they pick up fingerprints- you don't even have to touch them. Our original choice for the appliances was black, but along the way, nearly every selection we made was discontinued or no longer available, so we've agonized over 2nd, and 3rd choices. The builder upgraded the appliances at no cost after we couldn't get the stove OR refrigerator the week of closing. A nice gesture, and beautiful appliances that we wouldn't have been able to get otherwise, but more upkeep.
Mel, we set up an airbed in the new house- a 5" inflatable mattress, and again, I have to say I am too fat and out of shape to be sleeping on the floor. I was so stiff, trying to get up, I was like a turtle on my back, and then, sore knees from tile scrubbing, there was no easy way to get up this morning. I will be THRILLED when we can move our regular bed up.
Linda, I can't wait to check out your recipes, since I'll soon be cooking! Yes, vegetables, too!
Shad, we're moving from Broward County (Fort Lauderdale area) north about 40 miles, and both counties have been hit hard by hurricanes in the last few years. We lost all power and services for over 2 weeks from Wilma in Oct 05, and in August 05, Katrina hit us as a strong category 1, before strengthening & hitting New Orleans. The new house has hurricane shutters, and since it is concrete block construction, we'll be a lot safer in the new house.
Thank you again to everyone for the welcome. Time to stagger off for some Advil, and curl up for a little while before I conk out. Have a great night.
Interesting day.
Had a meeting with 7 other therapists to discuss "Facing Ourselves Over Time." Which was about the reasons people get and like/dislike face lifts (or not), and whether one's character is revealed or concealed by one's face. Naturally, it was too hot a topic to really discuss, so instead we talked about every thing else under the sun. Then I had a long IM session with DS who has a 9 week old husky puppy to co-raise with his GF!! (better that than a premature baby but they are surely enchanted and in the nesting stage!)
DH is homing in on finishing the component cabinet... which pleased him. Then we watched the local pro hockey team win against Detroit!! and had dinner. Post dinner nap during 60 minutes! and then some reading sketching and now connect time!!
Happy: Thanks for the how to be young list... 2 & 8 are big for me, still. I've gotten better about most of the others.
I agree, better to curb Ronald McDonald than Cookie Monster. Who couldn't figure out that CM was not exactly a roll model? Kids aren't that dumb. It's the parents who are SO willing to think the kids are stupid rather than take responsibility for their own gullibility. oops.
My plants are confused, too. It was in the high 70's today. More grass fires. and not much rain hope til a week from Tuesday.
Linda: DH was the Graham Kerr fan. I think he learned from him the joy of drinking!! (pre Diabetes Dx...) Now we suffer the over the top exuberance of Emeril and Rachel Ray. I like Paula Deen (in spite of all the butter she uses) because she's a bit calmer.
Shad: We're friends...! so I can't be therapist for you! I will say that I doubt you are all THAT non-comprehending; that angry and disillusioned is appropriate from what you've said of the situation, and your biggest relief may well be giving up the dictator roll. What you are ALWAYS in charge of is yourself. So knowing what you will do and won't do and sticking to it is plenty of "in-charge-ness." (How's that for a word!!) And frankly, I think my weight/food issues are definitely inter-twined with various co-addictive thoughts and behaviors. That is, I've "needed" people who are addicted to one thing or another, and so I modify my behaviors in ways that hurt me.
Tig: You described my perfect day! I'd have done the same if the ocean weren't 400 miles away!!
Jennifer: Ooooh, I couldn't sleep on the floor either... air mattress or not. And I can hardly kneel at church, let alone to scrub floors! Hope the Advil was enough. Too bad there isn't a reality show about extreme housework. It sounds like you could be a contender. (I'm much more for moderation, myself).
I started out okay by getting out there and sheeting up the furniture and fittings in the kitchen, dining room and lounge (in my wee house they are almost all one room) and getting all the stuff ready, plugged in and set up. Where's the sanding discs? Hunt high, hunt low, can't find 'em. Get in the car and go buy some more.
Get back put the disc on the sander, begin to sand. Disc flies off sander. Get down the ladder, put it back on, get up the ladder and begin to sand. Not long after the disc flies off the sander. Get down the ladder, get new disc, put it on, get back up the ladder, turn on the sander, sand approximately 2 minutes and the disc flies off the sander. Hmmmm, grrrrr, hmmm. Get in car, go to Hardware Heaven look for new sanding pad. Nope, says the bloke, don't stock 'em - yer might try Blackwoods. Where are they? Dunno mate, ask at the counter, they'll be able to tell ya. Ask at the counter, nobody knows and no-one can find a phone book. Come home, look up the white pages and then have a brilliant idea - look at deWalts website. Well it is easy if you spell it right and don't put a space between the words. Nearest deWalts store is in Hamilton out by the airport. 40 minutes drive down the tollway. idea, ring the contact number on the website. Hello, I'm looking for a sanding pad for a deWalt DW4162-au 115mm but I live way down on the southside, can you tell me who would stock them down here. They don't come in 115 luv! Yes they do, I'm looking at one. No they don't! Don't wish to be rude but this one is a 115. No it is not. Okay, I'll tell it it has a gender problem when I get off the phone, do you know where I can get one? Try Glenfords or Blackwoods. Okay, thanks.
Ring Blackwoods, they don't have one, but they will try to get one for me. Okay. Ring Glenford, Slacks Creek branch don't have one, but there is one at Archerfield. That'll do, thanks. Get in the car go up to Archerfield, get the pad - $36.00 thanks.
Come home, take the old pad off, fit the new pad. Fit the sanding disc - now smaller than the pad because the 115mm doesn't exist right? Get up the ladder and start the sander. Sanding disc flies off the pad after a few minutes. #$%^&%%$#$##%%#$
Fit the sanding disc again, this time putting it a bit off centre and ensuring it fits on at least one edge, get up the ladder and try again.
Yippee - it works. It works. IT WORKS. An hour later, the sander stops. It just stops! It won't go. I think it has burnt itself out. My sander is dead. Guess tomorrows little jaunt is to go get ANOTHER sander! I still have the mouse but it is not big enough to do this job. I didn't try it. I swept up, cleaned up, had a shower, got the cat's dinner and then had mine.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
PW - Huskies are cute, adorable AND extremely hyper and born to run and run in very cold weather. Many people are enchanted by them at first only to become vastly disiilusioned. I certainly hope your DS has done his reseach and knows full well what he's gotten himself into. (Think hyper 2 year old quadruplets on a sugar rush). Used to have a great website put together by a lady who did Husky rescues that best explained a Husky's behavior and needs. Oh and they are diggers too!
Shad my poor friend you certainly have had a most frustrating weekend. As always I admire your perseverence. Having what I consider an addictive personality myself, I can completely understand your frustrations with the DB - to a woman who sets her mind, lays a plan and accepts nary a roadblock, working with a personality who comes to you pleading then after a few days forgets the urgency as they reach back into the addiction... well it's bound to make you shake your head faster than that disc flying off the sander. I had a long conversation with you in my head as I was tidying the kitchen, weighting and measuring - just never got to put it to actual words on the keyboard. Suffice to say that although you are doing as much as you can for him, each person MUST make up their own mind that they are the ones who must change their behaviors and thinking.
I have overslept today. Perhaps it is the proverbial Freudian slip as it is not going to be a fun day on the work front and I might have been subconciously avoiding the inevitable. Not a good way to start the day. Will perhaps try to get back here at lunch.
Hope it's not a day where we all "fly off the handle"
Well I think I'm finally back in the world of the living.
I can't believe Cookie Monster is advocating good health. He will always be singing that song in my head... I love Cookie Monster!! Thanks Meadow for sharing those cute pictures with us.
I think the bronchitis monster is still lingering with me, but I feel about 80% better than last week, so I'm trying my best!!!
Thanks for all of the well wishes. I'm going to do my spinning class today, coughing or not!! Wish me luck.
What's snow like??? It's about 60 degrees here today. Very weird weather, almost feels like spring. I wouldn't mind a bit of the white stuff. It would be nice!!
My step-son just left us on Saturday (he's seven). He was with us for three weeks. The house feels very empty (and quiet now). He'll be back with us for the summer.
Not a big storm anyway. We're in the middle of a heat wave. 
Supposed to be 50 tomorrow! So come and take down my decorations too!! Ill make scones!!
Must be a bit of a nasty bug!!!
Happy recipe testing! 
I think the cat is saying get off our buns!! 
I went back to the old ticker. I love that one too.
I don't want to brag but...i think I was so sugared-out that getting off the stuff is easier this time. I was feeling so nauseaous that any change feels good. Hope it lasts. Would be nice to have control and just be able to eat just ONE of ANYTHING!!!
How To Stay Young
I hope your daughter shows up.. I have the prod all rady if needed
I would still be remaining in CA , but would have a boss 3000 miles away. Can't bea that, can you? 
do you do long distance counselling sessions for angry, disillusioned, non-comprehending and dictatorial Shaddies?
to you and all the others. Keep smiling, at least if nothing else it makes the b*stards wonder what you have been up to.
Hope the Advil was enough. Too bad there isn't a reality show about extreme housework. It sounds like you could be a contender. (I'm much more for moderation, myself).
idea, ring the contact number on the website. Hello, I'm looking for a sanding pad for a deWalt DW4162-au 115mm but I live way down on the southside, can you tell me who would stock them down here. They don't come in 115 luv! Yes they do, I'm looking at one. No they don't! Don't wish to be rude but this one is a 115. No it is not. Okay, I'll tell it it has a gender problem when I get off the phone, do you know where I can get one? Try Glenfords or Blackwoods. Okay, thanks.
